300 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY improved farm land, subsequently trading this for eighty acres in section 32 of Pike Township. He has bought and sold several tracts of land, and has recently divided his estate among his children, retaining a life lease on a 126-acre farm in Pike Township. Mrs. Falor died in 1914. Their children, were : Minnie, Mrs. Frank LaSalle, of Pike Township ; Roy, living with his father; Laura, Mrs. Dell Patterson, of Pike Township. Mr. Falor is a republican and is affiliated with McQuillan Post, Grand Army of the Republic. JOHN FREDERICK HETTINGER, who with his family enjoys the comforts of a good farm and rural home in York Township, is a former county surveyor of Fulton county, a veteran schoolmaster, and altogether his career presents a stimulating record. He was born near Fremont, Ohio, May 27, 1868, son of John and Louise Hettinger. His parents were natives of Germany. John Frederick Hettinger was about eight years old when he lost both his parents, who at that time were living near Perrysburg, Ohio. The township trustees then bound the boy out, but the family with which he lived were people of low ideals and slovenly habits, and the boy soon took it upon himself to run away. He found honest means of making a living, chiefly at farm work, and spent several years in the vicinity of Swanton. He had an ambition for an education and first satisfied this when at the ago of sixteen he entered the Fayette Normal School. Without means he paid his tuition and his board by janitor work, sweeping floors, ringing bells, and remained there until he was qualified for a teacher's certificate. First and last Mr. Hettinger taught about thirty terms of school. For two terms he was at Delta.. In the meantime he was furthering his education and other aims in life. He attended the Northwestern Normal School at Wauseon, also the Ohio Northern University at Ada, and on August 16, 1901, he graduated from the Tri-State Normal College at Angola, Indiana. During those years he took several courses in civil engineering, and had his ambition set upon a career as an engineer. Failing eyesight compelled him to abandon his intentions as to a professional career of this nature. In the fall of 1901, at the Republican County Convention, he was nominated on the second ballot for county surveyor, his nomination being made unanimous. He was elected, receiving 1,622 votes more than his opponent. He served three years and was then chosen for a second term without opposition. He also served an additional year, and was county surveyor from September, 1902, to September, 1909, seven years in all. In the meantime Mr. Hettinger had acquired ten acres of land in York Township, and as his means increased he added from time to time until he now has a farm of ninety acres. The improvements on his original tract consisted of a house and barn. Mr. Hettinger also made a successful record as a traveling salesman. For two years he represented the Lewis Corrugated Culvert Company of Elyria, Ohio, and then the Canton Culvert Company. In 1912 he became a traveling representative for the National Fire Proofing Company from the Huntington, Indiana, branch office. During 1914 he sold $40,000 worth of silos, and as a token of appreciation of the company for his services he received a present of a fifty dollar gold watch. He remained with the Fire Proofing Company until 1917, when he went with the Illinois Silo and Tractor HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 301 Company of Bloomington, Illinois, and was their representative a year. Since then he has' lived on his farm and is well satisfied with the occupations and the profits of a farmer. His farm has been improved with a modern home. Mr. Hettinger is a member of the United Presbyterian Church and served as trustee of his congregation many years. March 30, 1890, he married Abbie Mary Meeker, who was barn at Cleveland, Ohio, a daughter of George O. and Hattie (McQuillin) Meeker, the former a native of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and the latter of Pike Township, Fulton county. The paternal grandparents were John O. and Mary (Hendershot) Meeker, and the former, a native of New Jersey, was taken by his parents to the present site of Cleveland at a very, early time in the history of Ohio. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Hettinger. were David and Lydia, (Switzer) McQuillin, natives of Pennsylvania and early and prominent residents of Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Hettinger have one daughter, Hattie Louise, born July 14, 1892. She is now Mrs. Oliver A. Schnur, of York Township, and has two children, Frederick Henry, born September 10, 1914, and Lois Irene, born August 15, 1915. ARTHUR GILL, of Swan Creek, was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, his parents had previously lived in Wood county, Ohio. He is a son of Jacob and Mary Ellen (Cost) Gill, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Maryland. The grandfather, William Gill, was an early settler in Wood county, bringing the family name to Bowing Green and vicinity. For nine years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Gill lived in Michigan, and some of their children were born there. It was in 1872 that they left Ohio. They had lived in Wood county, but when they returned to Ohio they located in Swan Creek. Her death occurred February 2, 1915, while he lived three years afterward. The children born to. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Gill are: Delmar, of Swan Creek ; William, of Maumee ; Ernest, of Detroit; Arthur, who commemorates the family; Maud, the wife of Bert Reighard, of Swan Creek ; and Virginia, the wife of Charles Born, of Fulton Township. Two children died in early life, Irvin and Claud. In April, 1901, Arthur Gill married Mildred Elton. She is a daughter of Allen and Ida (Bennett) Elton, the father from England while the mother was born in Ohio. Mr. Elton's parents were Thomas and Mary (Young) Elton of England. The Bennett ancestry had lived in New York before locating in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Allen Elton were married in Toledo, and they afterward moved to a farm in Swan Creek Township, where he met an accidental death in 1883. The widow married Douglas Ottinger, and they lived on the farm until 1906, when they removed to Delta. She died four years later. Mrs. Arthur Gill has two half brothers: Emerson, of Toledo, and Tracy, of Urbana, Illinois. After his marriage Mr. Gill lived on a rented farm for four years then bought Mrs. Gill's mother's share in the home farm in Swan. Creek. While the house was built by her father, Mr. Gill finished clearing the land and added many substantial improvements. While he has always been a farmer, Mr. Gill has served Swan Creek Township as road supervisor. He has. beep a member of the school board, and in polities he is a republican. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gill are: Glen, Vaughn, Florence and Vern. 302 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Mr. Gill was born February 9, 1879, and at the age of forty has the best part of his life still ahead of him. Nevertheless his work and his influence have been contributing factors in the affairs of Fulton county, and he has already shown the qualifications of an expert farmer, a public-spirited citizen and one who has handled his responsibilities well in connection with various items in the public welfare. NOAH S. LEIST. Among the citizens of Fulton county who won their prosperity from the soil long before the modern era of high prices and improved agricultural conditions is Noah S. Leist of Gorham Township, who still lives on his farm, but is able to take life at a leisurely pace and enjoy what his past labors have earned him. Mr. Leist was born in Piqua county, Ohio, July 9, 1846, son of Samuel and Lovina (Schlotman) Leist, the former a native of Piqua county and a son of Peter Leist,, while the latter was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Daniel Schlotman. Samuel Leist lived in Piqua county until 1849, when he moved to Seneca county, and died fifteen days after reaching there. His widow then returned to the home of her parents in Fairfield county. In May, 1859, the Schlotman family came to Gorham Township of Fulton county, where Daniel Schlotman died in May, 1864. Noah S. Leist was thirteen years of age when he accompanied his mother and maternal grandparents to Fulton county. He acquired a common school education, and was married at the age of twenty-three and then lived for seven years in Piqua county, where he worked as a wage earner. Returning to Gorham Township, he bought eighty acres of partly improved land. He made that a high class farm, raised many successive crops from it, and improved it with a fine brick home. He continued to live there until November, 1916, when he sold the eighty acre farm, and then moved to a smaller place of eighty acres which he had bought in Gorham Township and had previously owned an improved forty acres in Franklin Township. On his forty acre farm in Gorham Township he resides in a comfortable modern bungalow, and though past seventy years of age is still farming, with some assistance. Mr. Leist is a democrat and a member of the Lutheran Evangelical Church. September 12, 1867, in Fairfield county, he married Orpha Crites, who was born in Piqua county September 15, 1848, a daughter of John S. Crites. Mrs. Leist died June 23, 1910. Born to Mr. and Mrs. Leist were the following children: Minnie, Mrs. Oren Borton, of Lenawee county ; Lucy, Mrs. Charles Warkentin, of Gorham Township ; 011ie, wife of Tale Borton, of Franklin Township ; William of Wauseon, who married Eva Robinson ; Mary, Mrs. Charles Caulkins, of Williams county ; and Denver, who was born September 27, 1881, and died December 26, 1882. JOHN E. SEGRIST, a capable, reliable and respected farmer of York Township, Fulton county, Ohio, is one of the representative agriculturists of that section of the county. And he comes into this historical record of Fulton county with special credentials, his family being among the early residents of the township in which he was born. He was born in section 33 of York Township, Fulton county, Ohio, on February 14, 1859, the son of John B. and Christianna (Lautenschleger) Segrist. The Segrists are of German antecedents, HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 303 although four generations of the family have had residence in America, including the children of John E. His grandfather, John Segrist, was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and there his father, John B., was also born, although the latter was only eight years old when the family crossed the sea to America. Misfortune overtook them almost at the outset of their settling in America, for within ten days of their landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the head of the family, John Segrist, succumbed to an attack of yellow fever, contracted during the voyage. However, as is so often found to be the case with women of German rearing, the widow appears to have been capable of undertaking the responsibilities of farm management and the record shows that the Segrist family settled on a farming property in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and there lived for about twenty years, the widow, Agnes (Lautenschleger) Segrist, then removing to Coshocton, Ohio, where she died in about 1880. John B. Segrist, son of John and Agnes (Lautenschleger) Segrist, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1823, and came with his parents to America in 1831. The death of his father soon after landing undoubtedly had important bearing upon the boy's prospects, and he appears to have spent much of his time as a youth with his uncle, who was a butcher in Philadelphia. It seems that he was indentured to his uncle, and consequently learned the butchering. trade. When he was about eighteen years old, however, he left Philadelphia, and in company with another adventurous youth walked to Mansfield, Ohio, where both found work for a while, Segrist at his trade and his companion as a blacksmith. Mr. Segrist remained in Mansfield for three years, and for five years or more thereafter was in good employment as a butcher in Toledo, Ohio. Toward the latter part of his residence in Toledo he had acquired a tract of timber land in York Township, Fulton county, and ultimately he decided to give up his Toledo connection and take ,up pioneering work on his land. He may be considered to be among the pioneers of Fulton county, for he was in the county when much of it was a wilderness and he probably cleared much more forest than the average Fulton county farmer of his generation. On his eighty acre tract seventy-five acres consisted of virgin timber, only five acres having been cleared by the original settler, who had built a log cabin, which was the only structure on the place, and it was a very primitive hut. However, by the exercise of much ingenuity, and by the cheerful tolerance that comes with the pioneering spirit, the log cabin was made to serve passably as a habitation, and in it some of the children of John B. and Christianna (Lautenschleger) Segrist were born. John B. Segrist soon after taking up residence in York Township secured boards with which he floored the cabin, and bunks were made by boring holes into the logs of the walls, and then by some process of pegging constructed the bunk. And he had to take his team of horses into Maumee Village to procure a cook stove. Those were some of the early experiences of John B. Segrist and his wife in York Township, but he was a worthy pioneer, stalwart and capable, and in course of time he not only cleared that acreage but also much additional land. He purchased eighty acres adjoining, and subsequently another adjacent tract of like acreage, all of which he and his sons brought into good bearing. He was a man of strong personality, and had an enviable reputation in York Township, wherein he lived for almost seven decades, and eventually was one of the largest landowners in the section. Death 304 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY came to him in 1918, July 30, he being then in his ninety-fifth year. His wife, Christianna Lautenschleger, who was born in Pennsylvania, died in York Township, Fulton county, Ohio, in 1869, her husband surviving her for forty-nine years. They were the parents of nine children, who in order of birth were : Amanda, now deceased, married George Yaney ; Mary, who married Jonas Seymour, and now lives in Turlock, California; William H., of York Township, whose life story is elsewhere recorded in this edition ; George, who died at the age of forty years ; John E., regarding whom more is written hereafter; Agnes, who married Samuel. Ruppert, of Wauseon, Ohio, and died in 1907 ; Ellen, who married William Nye, of Liberty Centre, Ohio ; Theodore, who has remained on the home farm ; and Fred A., now of Swan Creek Township, Ohio. John E. Segrist was educated in the country school of his native place, and while still at school gave much of his time to his father. And during the long summer vacations he devoted practically his whole time to such work. After leaving school he applied himself altogether to the hard work of the expanding acreage of his father's farm until he had reached the age of twenty-five years, when he married and set up an independent establishment. He rented a fifty-acre farm in York Township, and for seven years thereafter worked it under such conditions. He apparently prospered by his industry, for at the end of that time he was able to purchase the farm. Later, however, he traded the property for another of eighty acres, only partly cleared, owned by his father-in-law, and to that farm he took his wife, they occupying a log house thereon for two years, but eventually taking up their abode in an old schoolhouse which stood upon their property. In that building they lived for seven years, by which time Mr. Segrist was able to erect a modern house of nine rooms, and which he was able to fit with many modern improvements, including natural gas illumination from his own well. And upon the property he has also been able to build many substantial and spacious out-buildings. In 1907 he built a large double barn, and in 1914 a straw barn. In the former year he acquired an .additional forty acres, practically all cleared land. So that he now owns a fine agricultural property, well balanced, and well adapted to general farming. Mr. Segrist has had much success in the breeding of Belgian horses, and has extensively raised Holstein cattle. He has a large dairy, and enters to appreciable extent into hog raising of good breeds. Politically Mr. Segrist is a democrat, and while he has always taken an intelligent interest in politics, especially movements affecting his home district, he has never sought political office. He has lived a steady life of worth-while industry, and as a good Christian has consistently observed church responsibilities. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In March, 1884, he married Katherine, daughter of Adam and Belinda Katherine (Miller) Anspach. She was born in Perry county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Segrist are the parents of two children : Laura, who is married to Laurence Geringer, of York Township ; and Clarence, who married Grace Williams in 1916, since which time he has been practically in full control of his father's farm, his father and mother having moved to a small portion of the original farm, leaving the management of the farm to the son, who has shown much reliability and earnestness of purpose. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 305 WILLIAM L. CAMPBELL. There is Canadian blood in the veins of William L. Campbell of Pike Township, although December 18, 1871, he was born in Fulton county. His father, John W. Campbell, came from Canada to Fulton county. His mother, Caroline (Miser) Campbell, was born in Coshocton county. When they were married they settled on this Pike Township farm in Fulton county. John W. Campbell was a cheesemaker, and followed that business for many years in Ohio and Michigan. When he quit he bought the farm in Pike Township and lived there a few years. He retired to Wauseon, where he died January 14, 1902, and his wife died there two years later. William I,. Campbell, was the oldest child, and a brother, Howard, works with him, and a sister, Allie, is the wife of Ernest Shadle, of Dover. When W. L. Campbell was eighteen years old he learned the cheesemaker's trade from his father, and worked in many different factories. He worked in Prattsville, Michigan, one year and later he made cheese for George D. Clark of Metamora one year, then he went to Winameg, where he made cheese for A. B. Thompson for five years. Then he formed a partnership with Frank Knoseo in a cheese factory at Winameg, and they continued six years in business together. During that six years the firm located a cheese factory at Ai, and Mr. Campbell bought the Clinton cheese factory of H. J. Gelzer, and the East Gorham factory near Fayette. He started the Condensary Factory at Morenci, Michigan, and five years later he consolidated with the Fulton Dairy Company and the Ramer Dairy Company of Toledo, with the main offices at Morenci. From this center he operated twelve cheese factories, one milk condensary and one dairy distributing station in Toledo. He formed a stock company, of which he was secretary and general manager, with Frank Knoseo its president and H. A. Barber, treasurer. In July, 1903, Mr. Campbell transferred his interests in the Ohio Dairy Company for a stock of general merchandise at Winameg. Five months later he sold the store in Winameg, and removed to Montpelier, where he conducted two cheese factories, one in Montpelier and one in Kunkle. Two years later he sold out and returned to Winameg, where he again went into a general store. Beside being a manufacturer and business man, Mr. Campbell was a public school teacher for several years in the winter, teaching in both York and Pike, his education having been obtained in public school and at the Fayette Normal. He is independent in his political affiliation, and is a member of the Board of Education. On December 27, 1893, Mr. Campbell married Dimma Stuller, daughter of John W. and Jennie (Lash) Stuller, of Eden, Williams county. They have one daughter, Donelda, wife of Harrison M. Ives of Toledo. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Campbell is a Mason in Lyons, and a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Montpelier, Ohio. Few men have given their attention to a greater variety of business enterprises than Mr. Campbell. The efforts he has put forth at different times have in fact proved a powerful impulse to, the development of the dairy industry in northwestern Ohio, and several communities can regard it as a piece of good fortune that Mr. Campbell learned the cheese maker's trade as a youth and for so many years operated factories for dairy product. His home community of Pike also knows and honors him 306 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY for what he has done in behalf of the local schools, his kindly and interested part in other local affairs, and his standing and character as a home maker. FRANKLIN WOOLACE, a surviving veteran of the Civil war, has for half a century been a leading farm resident of Gorham Township. He was born in Seneca Township, New York, January 3, 1840, son of William and Mary (Schlotman) Woolace. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania and in 1842 moved to Fairfield county, Ohio, and in 1857 settled in Gorham Township of Fulton county. Franklin Woolace came to Fulton county at the age of seventeen, and acquired most of his education in Fairfield county. In 1862 he enlisted in Company H of the One Hundredth Ohio Infantry, and was on duty until the close of the war, receiving his honorable discharge in June, 1865. Part of the time he was detailed for guard and hospital duty in Kentucky. After his return home Mr. Woolace married Mary Hoffman, who was born in Gorham Township, a daughter of Charles and Nancy (Spaulding) Hoffman, who came from New York. The first year after his marriage Mr. Woolace lived at Wauseon and worked in the sash and blind factory. He then bought 100 acres in Gorham Township from his father, a place that was already well - improved, and has remained there ever since, sharing in the growing prosperity of this agricultural section and in the fruits of his own toil and industry. He has served several terms as township trustee and assessor, is a democrat and is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at Fayette and the Royal Arch Chapter at Wauseon. He and his wife have two children : Verna D., wife of M. B. Badger, of Fayette; and Charles, who lives at Fayette and married Arville McCurty. WILLIAM HENRY WOODRING, now living retired in Delta, has done his full share in the work of developing Fulton county from the wilderness. He was born in Fulton Township September 11, 1852, a son of Reuben S. and Katie Ann (Watkins) Woodring, his father a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and his mother of Wayne county, Ohio. The paternal grandparents were Cain and Mary (Saeger) Woodring, of Pennsylvania. Reuben Woodring after his marriage lived in Fulton Township, where he died in 1908. His first wife died in April, 1872, mother of the following children : William Henry; Malinda Ann, wife of E. S. Deval, of Metamora; Mary Matilda, deceased wife of Wesley Delano ; Sarah Jane, deceased, who married Jacob Harger ; Emma, Mrs. Del Delano, of Jasper, Michigan ; and Ida, Mrs. Frank Seabring, of Lenawee county. For his second wife Reuben Woodring married Hannah Fisher and had a daughter, Laura, now Mrs. Elwood Hallett of Lyons, Ohio. William Henry Woodring acquired his education in the district schools and at the age of twenty began work as a carpenter. He continued to follow that trade until 1890. In the meantime, in 1884, he bought forty acres of heavy timber in section 21 of Amboy Township. Only five acres had been cleared, and during several successive winters he put in all his time increasing the area of his fields, while in the summer he worked as a carpenter. After 1890 he gave all his time to farming. Later he bought forty acres in HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 307 section 27, this, too, being a tract of stumps and brush. He developed it to cultivation, erected a house and barn, and then sold the place to one of his sons. He also bought forty acres adjoining his old home place, and has seen that cleared up and improved. Mr. Woodring in February, 1918, bought a comfortable home in Delta. August 26, 1876, he married Delila Higley, a native of Huron county, Ohio, and a daughter of George and Sarah Ann (Van Sickles) Higley. Their children are: Leroy, of Fulton Township; Raymond, of Amboy Township; Estella, wife of George Parker, of Adrian, Michigan ; Luella, Mrs. J. Hollinger, of Fulton Township; and Herman, who now occupies the old homestead farm. DANIEL RYCHENER. While Daniel Rychener, of Swan Creek Township, is a native of Fulton county, having been born December 21, 1848, in German Township, two years before Fulton was separated from Lucas county, he is of emigrant stock. He is a son of Christian and Magdalena (Grieser) Rychener, the father having come from Switzerland and the mother from Alsace-Lorraine. It was in the year of 1836 that the Rychener family story began in Ohio, and the Grieser family followe.d within a short time. Mr. Rychener and his wife both grew up in German Township, although both had overseas childhood recollections. This young Swiss emigrant entered forty acres of government land and soon obtained employment on the construction of the Maumee Canal, thereby earning sufficient money to buy forty acres additional farm land—not farm land then, but heavily timbered, and in time he cleared and improved it. It was in 1898 that this pioneer Fulton county resident died on the farm he had made in the wilderness of Fulton county, and his wife also died in 1898. The children born to this pioneer family, were: Christian, of Swan Creek ; Mary, widow of Jacob Nofsinger, of German Township; Joseph,. of Pettisville ; Daniel, subject of this sketch; Magdalena, wife of Jefferson Snuckers, of German Township; Barbara, wife of Joseph Nofsinger, of German. Township ; Henry of Pettysville; Anna, who resides with her sister, Mrs. Nofsinger; and Jacob, of Napoleon, Ohio. In December, 1873, Daniel Rychener married Mary Eckley, of Henry county. Her home was four miles south of Pettysville. She was born there. August 10, 1851, being a daughter of Jacob and Magdalena (Krieger) Eckley. The father was a native of Coshocton while the mother was from Holmes county, Ohio. Soon after his marriage Daniel Rychener bought a farm in German Township, but twenty years later he bought eighty acres of partly improved land in section 22 of Swan Creek Township, where he lives at present.. Mr. Rychener has rebuilt the house and barn and added many substantial improvements, and he was an active farmer and stockman until 1909, when he rented the place to his son, although he still maintains his residence there. Mr. Rychener obtained a common school education and is identified with the Mennonite Church of his native community. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Rychener are.: Nancy, wife of John Rashley, of York Township; Esther, wife of Hyram Houser, of' Toledo; Louisa, wife of Jesse Richardson, of Pinckney, Michi- 308 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY gan Aaron, of Swan Creek, who married Anna Shawley, and who has one daughter, Celia. In this brief review are mentioned a number of names that properly belong in the History of Fulton County beginning with pioneer times. While the son of a pioneer, Daniel Rychener himself performed many of the labors and much of the service for which the first settlers are remembered with affection, and the ease and comfort he now enjoys in retirement are rewards that properly come to the man of toil and one who for so many years has done his duty to himself and by his fellow-men. CLARENCE L. RYCHENER, who has recently entered the employ of the Continental Sugar Company of Toledo, Ohio, and now resides at Cherry City, Ohio, was formerly one of the leading merchants of Pettisville, Fulton county, and from 1915 until April, 1920, was postmaster at that place. He comes of one of the pioneer families of the neighborhood. He was born in German Township November 14, 1886, in the old Rychener homestead, the son of Henry and Josephine (Raber) Rychener, and the family has had good part in the history making of that section. Christian Rychener, grandfather of Clarence L., came from Berne, Switzerland, to America, and to Wayne county, Ohio, soon afterward joining a party of nine pioneer families in crossing from Wayne county through the wilderness to German. Township, Fulton county, where they settled. Christian Rychener married there, the marriage being of historic interest in that it was the first wedding of white people solemnized in the township, the ceremony being performed by a. Methodist clergyman. Henry Rychener, father of Clarence L., and son of Christian, was reared in German Township and married there, but some time later moved with his family to Holden, Johnstone county, Missouri, where they lived for eleven years, eventually returning to Ohio, and to Fulton county. Clarence L. Rychener was an infant when his parents moved from German Township to Holden, Johnstone county, Missouri, and most of his schooling was obtained in the public schools of the latter place. When the family returned to Fulton county he attended the nearest school to their new home, which was the Braily School in Swan Creek Township. He was fifteen years old when he began to work for pay, his first experience being on a farm at Archbold during the summer of 1901. From that time until he was twenty-one years old he found employment on farms in the vicinity of his native place. In 1907 he entered the employ of the New York Central Railroad Company as section-man, continuing to be so employed for three years, after which time he spent one summer in independent business, endeavoring to establish a profitable milk route. That effort apparently was not productive of sufficiently good results to influence him to continue, and for the next year he was employed as a carpenter. He was a man of all-round ability, and possessed distinct capability in commercial affairs. This has been evident since 1912, when he entered a business of merchandising character. He and his brother William Henry in 1912 purchased the established general store business of Jacob Krauss & Company at Pettisville, and the business from March 15th of that year was conducted under the firm-name of Rychener Brothers with advantage to themselves. The brothers established HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 309 themselves very satisfactorily in that business, and secured a good share of the local trade, and also an extensive country connection. In 1915 Clarence Id. Rychener was made postmaster at Pettisville, having been appointed by President Wilson, notwithstanding that he is a republican. He served in that office until April, 1920. In 1913 Mr. Rychener married Emma Lantz, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Nofeiger) Lantz, of near Archbold, Fulton county. They have two children, sons, Lawrence Henry, who was born January 12, 1914, and Lowell John, born July 2, 1918. THOMAS STEDMAN for over forty years has been one of the capable farmers of Amboy Township, and owns part of the old Blaine homestead, one of the first tracts of land entered in Fulton county. Mr. Stedman was born in Amboy Township January 9, 1855, son of Alva and Thankful (Rogers) Stedman. His parents were born and married near Syracuse, New York, and on coming to Amboy Township entered a tract 'of timbered land and lived there the rest of their lives, making a' good farm. Their children were: Roswell, of Tiffin, Ohio ; Orlina, widow of Marvin Robinson, living at Lyons; Clark, Horace, William, and Amelia, all deceased; Lewis, of Fulton Township ; and Thomas. Thomas Stedman at the age of fifteen, after having acquired a common school education, hired out for monthly wages to neighboring farmers, and continued as a wage earner until his marriage. July 3, 1876, Emma Blaine became his wife. She was born in Amboy Township, daughter of Charles and Rachel (Bathalt) Blaine and member of the historic pioneer family of Blaines. After his marriage Mr. Stedman worked the farm of his father-in-law on the shares, and afterward cleared up and improved fifty acres inherited by Mrs. Stedman, and has lived there ever since. He and his wife have two children, Robert, still at home, and Friend, in California. Mr. Stedman served two years as school director and is a republican voter. CHARLES FREEMONT DEWEY has handled and developed a great deal of farm property in Fulton county, also in adjoining counties, is a practical farmer by training and experience, and is now living practically retired at Metamora, though he still continues dealing in real estate. He was born at Metamora October 20, 1856, a son of David and Emily (Elliott) Dewey, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Vermont. The maternal grandparents were Amos. and Sally (George) Elliott, natives of Vermont and early settlers. in Lorain county, Ohio. David Dewey was about eight years old. when his parents died, and he was reared among strangers, accompanying one family, in whose home he was living, to Lorain county,. Ohio, where he lived until his marriage. He then moved to the vicinity of Metamora, where for a number of years he conducted a wagon making shop. He and his wife were laid to rest in the same grave on May 7, 1908. Their children were: Henry, of Toledo; Charles F.; Julia, Mrs. Samuel Hall, of Adrian, Michigan ; Alfred and Alma, twins, the former a resident of Pike Township and the latter wife of Charles Auble, of Morenci, Michigan and,. Ernest, of Jackson, Michigan. Charles F. Dewey acquired a common school education, and as a. young man was employed chiefly in saw mills and heading mills. 310 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY On October 7, 1883, he married Mary Helen Potter, a native of Amboy Township and daughter of John Henry and Mary Lovina (Granger) Potter. Her parents were natives of Herkimer county, New York. Her father's brother, James Emory, and another brother, Caleb, married sisters at the same time. Mrs. Dewey's paternal grandparents were Mora S. and Minerva (Jones) Potter. After his marriage Mr. Dewey lived in Metamora, continuing work in saw mills for three years. He then rented a farm in Michigan, soon afterward bought a farm in Amboy Township, but sold this after four years and bought another farm in Lucas county. On selling that he moved to Riga Township in Lenawee county, was there one year and the following year he spent at Blissfield, Michigan, after which he returned to his farm. On selling the farm he bought another place in Lucas county, Ohio, and remained there eight years. His next farm purchase was in Sylvania Township, where he remained three years before selling and then returned to Metamora and bought town property. Mr. and Mrs. Dewey have two children : Donnah Ann, Mrs. James Dailey, of Adrian, Michigan and Lloyd Millard, of Metamora. Mr. Dewey is a republican and his wife is a member of the Ladies of the Maccabees. WILLIAM F. MILLER is one of the men of Swan Creek Town, ship who is devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits with very gratifying results. He was born at Sandusky, Ohio, October 11, 1878, a son of Aaron and Susanna (Knight) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania and England, respectively. They were married at Sandusky, Ohio, and in 1889 came to Delta Township, Fulton county, Ohio, he trading a farm he owned in Sandusky county for the one in Fulton county on which his son William F. now resides. He is now a resident of Delta, having retired from active life. His wife died about 1895, having borne her husband the following children : Burdetta, who is Mrs. Sherman Coss, of Toledo Clyde, of Delta, Ohio William F., whose name heads this review Grace, who is Mrs. Casey Quist of Cleveland, Ohio and Gertrude, who is Mrs. William Merrilett of Swan Creek Township. After the death of the mother of these children the father was married to Dora Stensel, but there are no children by this marriage. By a first marriage Aaron Miller had two children, namely : George, who is a farmer of Swan Creek Township; and Katie, who is the widow of William Gowell, of Clyde, Ohio. Until he was eighteen years old William F. Miller remained at home, attending the district schools and learning to be a practical farmer, but then went to Clyde, Ohio, and later to Toledo, Ohio, and was variously employed. After he was married in 1904 he settled on the homestead and has since lived on this place, doing general farming and stockraising and keeping ten cows. On November 15, 1902, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Iva Bixler, born in Swan Creek Township, a daughter of Baltzer and Sarah (Deck) Bixler. In politics Mr. Miller is a democrat, and he has never had any aspirations toward public office, so confines his participation in politics to exercising his right of suffrage. He belongs to Brailey Grange and to the Gleaners and is in sympathy with the work of these organizers. Having spent practically all of his life in Fulton county, Mr. Miller is essentially one of its products and deeply interested in its further progress. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 311 CHARLES STURTEVANT, of Swan Creek Township, is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a republican. His birth occurred August 15, 1851, in Huron county. His parents, Russell and Annette (Sturtevant) Sturtevant, were second cousins. He lived in Rochester and she lived in Adams county, and they were married in Jefferson county, New York. Soon after their marriage they located in Huron county, Ohio. Later they lived again in York state, and in 1863 they removed to Bellevue, Ohio, where he died in 1891 and his wife died in 1909. Their children are: Warren, deceased ; Ellen, widow of John Shoup, of Clyde, Ohio,, Charles, of Swan Creek ; Melissa, wife of Frank Clay, of Clyde; Mary and Manford, deceased; Clara, wife of Fred Warner, of Toledo, Alice, deceased; and Spencer, of Akron. Charles Sturtevant lived with his parents until his father went to the Civil war in 1863, and from that time he worked by the month, giving his money to his parents until December 25, 1873, when he married Jennie McFarland of Sandusky county. She was born August 14, 1857, and was the daughter of Aaron and Clarinda (King) McFarland. They had come from New York and located in Sandusky county. Mr. and Mrs. Sturtevant lived for a time in Sandusky county, but in 1886 they removed to Fulton county. After coming to Fulton county Mr. Sturtevant rented farm land until 1913, when he bought forty acres of partly improved land in Swan Creek Township. He is engaged in general farming, dairying and raising livestock for the market. The children are: Clarence, born September 28, 1874, of Toledo; Claude, born September 11, 1876, of Toledo; Estella, born December 18, 1878 ; Clara, born November 16, 1881, wife of Arthur Gingery, of Swan Creek; Russel, born March 1; 1889, died March 31, 1890; and Charles Laurel, born March 1, 1899, who lives at the family homestead. SAMUEL KAHLE. In the death of Samuel Kahle on May 7, 1919, Fulton county lost one of its very capable farmers and business men. Mr. Kahle had done his share of the clearing and improving of land from a wilderness condition, and in later years was active in a prosperous lumber business at Metamora. Mr. Kahle, whose wife and family still live in Fulton county, was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1856, son of James and Mary (Gates) Kahle. His father was a native of the City of Straussburg, France, while his mother was born in Pennsylvania. James Kahle settled in Pennsylvania at the age of nineteen and lived in that state some years after his marriage. On coming to Fulton county, Ohio, he acquired several farms, and he and his wife spent their last years in Amboy Township. Their children were: Henry, deceased; William, of Bradford, Pennsylvania; Ann and George, deceased; Milton, of Fayette, Ohio; James, Rose and Daniel, all deceased; Miles, of Metamora; John and Daniel, deceased; and Samuel. Samuel Kahle, the youngest of the children, grew up in Fulton county, and on January 1, 1880, married Mary Hackett. Mrs. Kahle was born in Amboy Township, daughter of Benjamin. and Sebrina (Miller). Hackett. Her parents were ,natives of Herkimer county, New York, and were among the early settlers of Fulton county, where they bought a farm in Amboy Township about 1845. The children in the Hackett family were: Lewis, of Pittsford, Michigan ; John, who died in 1919; Janette, Mrs. Daniel Miller, 312 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY. of Metamora; Mary, Mrs. Kahle; Benjamin, deceased; Martha, widow of Marion Goodale, of Toledo ; ; and George, deceased. After his marriage Samuel Kahle lived seven years on one of his father's farms, and then acquired 118 acres of the Kahle estate. Very little clearing had been done on this property and it had no buildings. During the next twenty years Mr. Kahle carried out a progressive scheme of improvement and management, brought most of the land under cultivation, and erected modern buildings, so that when he left the farm in 1910 it was a very valuable and productive property. He rented the place to his son and, moving to Metamora, built the fine modern home in which he died and where Mrs. Kahle now resides. .In 1903 Mr. Kahle became asso- ciated with his brother and several others in establishing the Metamora Lumber Company, and upon him devolved the active management of the business. Mr. Kahle filled several offices in the Congregational Church, was township trustee, a democratic voter and was affiliated with the Masons and Knights of the Maccabees. Mrs. Kahle has three children : Lanah, Mrs. Russell Sebring, of Amboy Township ; Myrtle, Mrs. Emmet Miller, of Fulton Township; and Benjamin, now owner of the home farm. FRANK A. GRIFFIN occupies one of the attractive country homes of Gorham Township, located on rural route No. 13 out of Fayette. He has been identified with the agricultural affairs of this section nearly all his active life, though as a young man he was a school teacher for a number of years. Mr. Griffin was born in Gorham Township August 16, 1867, a son of Ezekiel T. and Mary (Wightman) Griffin. His father was a native of New York state, a son of William and Sarah Griffin. Mary Wightman was born at Nauvoo in Hancock county, Illinois, her parents, a Morman family, having moved from Allegheny county, New York, to Nauvoo while that was the center of the Mormon settlement in the west. Mary Wightman was left fatherless at the age of six years, and was then taken by her uncle, Erastus Wightman, to Fulton county, Ohio, where she grew up and where she married Ezekiel Griffin. They located on the old Griffin homestead which William Griffin had acquired from the man who had entered it direct from the government. Much of the land was covered with heavy timber when Ezekiel Griffin went there to live, and he made a good farm of it. His first wife died on the farm June 20, 1883, and in 1900 he removed to Fayette, where he died in May, 1915. His second wife was Louisa Martin, a native of Geauga county, Ohio. The children of Ezekiel Griffin were all by his first wife: Fred, who died at the age of six years; Frank A.; Jennie, Mrs. Elmer E. Martin, of Toledo ; and Lena Fay, who died at the age of two years. Frank A. Griffin acquired a good education as a youth, attending the district schools, the Fayette High School and the Normal School at Fayette. Beginning when he was seventeen years of age, he taught school and continued in that occupation until he had put in seven years. He married at the age of twenty-one, and the first year after his marriage lived at home, then rented and lived on the Mallory farm nearby five years, and from there moved to the Dubois farm in Gorham Township. He rented that several years and then returned to the Griffin homestead, where he remained until 1917. He now owns ninety acres of that home place and it HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 313 is farmed by a tenant. On account of ill health Mr. Griffin has had to give up the more strenuous tasks of farming since 1917, and in that year he moved to a small farm of forty acres in section 20, where he enjoys the comforts of a modern bungalow home. He has been active in local affairs, serving as township assessor two terms, township trustee four years, and for two terms was a member of the Board of County Commissioners. He is a republican, and has been through all the chairs of Fayette Lodge No. 431, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has served as district deputy and representative to the Grand Lodge. In March, 1887, he married Mary E. Martin, a native of Clinton Township and daughter of Elliott S. and Louisa (Russell) Martin. They have two children, Roscoe S. and Ruth A., the latter still at home. Roscoe lives in Gorham Township and married Hazel Graham. EARL ELVIN SLAGLE, of York Township, was born July 29, 1880, and he has always lived in the community. He is a democrat and has served three times on the election board. He is a son of Solomon and Mary (Sharp) Slagle. The father was born in eastern Pennsylvania while the mother is a native of Tiffin, Ohio. The grandparents, Charles and Hannah (Eck) Slagle, came to Fulton county in 1867 from Pennsylvania. Jacob and Elizabeth (Wagoner) Sharp lived in Seneca and later in Henry county. Mr. Slagle died in 1917 and the widow lives among her children. They are: Earl Elvin; Sadie, wife of Charles Tremain, of York Township; and Opal, who is the wife of Paul Wales, of Delta. On December 23, 1900, Mr. Slagle married Minnie Detwiler, daughter of Oliver and Mary (Teff) Detwiler, of Swan Creek. For two years they lived on the Detwiler farm, then bought seventy-five acres—a badly run-down farm, and he improved it. He reclaimed the land by tiling and grubbing, fenced it and erected new buildings on it. Mr. Slagle has a modern house with running water, electric lights and furnace heat. He is a general farmer, specializing with a Holstein dairy. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Slagle are: Vern LeRoy, Thelma Pearl, Cecil Lionel and Kenneth Clare. The family attends Raker Union Church in the community. While Mr. Slagle's parents and grandparents did their part in the pioneer epoch of Fulton county, his own active career belongs to the modern twentieth century. Nevertheless, he has done a real pioneer's part, and it is possible to claim for his efforts that they contributed to the large volume of production by which Fulton county has distinguished itself as an agricultural center during the last decade and particularly during the war time period. The Slagle farm shows the progressiveness of its owner, and his neighbors everywhere speak of him as a man of thoroughly progressive character. CARVER S. GRIFFIN before he was seventeen years of age was enrolled as a soldier in the Union Army. While in the army only a little more than a year, he saw some of the hardest fighting in Sherman's great Atlanta campaigns and until the close of the war. The marks of his service he bears today, but in spite of the crippling effects of the war he put in more than forty years as an active railroad man and farmer. 314 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Mr. Griffin is now enjoying a well earned retirement at Swanton. He is a native of Fulton county, born in Pike Township May 4, 1847, son of William C. and Clarissa M. (Gunn) Griffin. His people were among the earliest settlers of the county. Clarissa Gunn came here with her parents in 1832, about the time the first families were invading this wilderness and starting to make homes. Carver S. Griffin was the twelfth of the children of his parents. Only three are now living, the other two being Louisa M., Mrs. H. L. Miles, of Delta, and Augustus, of Delta. Carver S. Griffin spent much of his boyhood among strangers and had no opportunities to attend school until he entered the army. He studied as opportunity offered and acquired a rather substantial education, greatly improved by his experience with men and affairs. From the age of six he lived with a Mr. Shaffer in Dover Township three years. After that he wandered about and saw much of the country until on February 2, 1864, he enlisted in Company I of an Ohio Regiment, his enlistment being credited to Fulton Township. After a brief period of training he joined Sherman's army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and in the fall of 1864 was continuously under fire during the hundred days advance upon Atlanta. When Atlanta fell he was with the troops that started in pursuit of General Hood toward Nashville, but was called back and took part in the march to the sea, ending with the capture of Savannah at Christmas time. He continued with Sherman's "bummers" through the Carolinas, through Columbia, South Carolina, and on to Raleigh, North Carolina, when General Johnston's army. surrendered. He went on to Richmond and from there to Washington, where he had the honor of marching in the Grand Review. Mr. Griffin was mustered out near Louisville, Kentucky, July 12, 1865, and was discharged at Cleveland July 22d. He then returned to Fulton county, rented a farm for two years, after which he became a brakeman on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. He worked up to the responsibilities of conductor and held that position eighteen years. Then after twenty-two years as a railroad man he left the service on account of rheumatism, induced by his army service. He then moved to a farm which he bought in Swan Creek Township, and worked in the fields for twenty years. Then having performed more than a normal share of the work and labors assigned to a man's lifetime, he sold his farm and bought the fine residence in which he now resides at Swanton. July 4, 1866, he married Elizabeth E. Fashbaugh, a native of Fulton Township and daughter of John Q. and Wilhelmina (Fesler) Fashbaugh, who came from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Griffin died November 5, 1902, mother of three children : Cora May, Mrs. Willis Peabody, of Swan Creek Township; John W., of Garrettsville, Ohio; and Charles C., of Montrose, Colorado. November 24, 1903, Mr. Griffin married Hattie Geer, a native of Swan Creek Township and daughter of David and Mary Ann (Spaulding) Geer. Her father was born in Chittenden county, Vermont, and her mother in Swan Creek Township. Her grandparents, Amos and Dilly (Thompson) Geer, and Africa and Harriet (Bray) Spaulding, were all Vermont people and were identified with the very early settlement of Swan Creek Township, where they acquired and developed a tract of timbered land. Mrs. Griffin's first husband was Lafayette Thompson. Mr. Griffin is a republican voter, is affiliated with the Knights of HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 315 Pythias at Delta, and has held various offices in McQuillan Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Delta. HARRY C. FROGLEY, while a farm owner, has always been in some line of commercial pursuit and for the past several years has directed a successful clothing and furnishing goods store at Swanton. Mr. Frogley was born at Norwalk, Ohio, August 6, 1864, son of Richard P. and Cynthia (Winnie) Frogley, the former a native of Oxford, England, and the latter of Troy, New York. Richard Frogley after coming to the United States was a locomotive engineer, was married in New York, and four years later moved to Norwalk, Ohio, where he continued his work as an engineer for twelve years and lived until his death in 1869. His widow survived him thirty years, until 1899. Their children were: George, of Elyria, Ohio; Ada, Mrs. J. E. Hall, of Elyria; Minnie, widow of J. M. Judson, of Elyria; Richard P., of Norwalk; Harry C.; and Winnie Bell, of Toledo. Harry C. Frogley was reared and educated at Norwalk, and at the age of twenty years came to Swanton and clerked in the jewelry store of S. P. Hike. After a year he became a piano salesman and a year later went to work in the general store of William Geyser, where he remained eight years. After that for six months he was with the Glass Block Company of Norwalk, and again resumed his work as a piano salesman at Swanton for a year. Since then he has been in business for himself with a large and well equipped store, handling clothing, shoes, men's furnishing goods and other wares. Mr. Frogley also gives much time to the supervision of his several farms in Fulton county, where registered Holstein cattle, hogs and poultry are raised. In 1889 he married Mary Jane Taylor, a native of Swanton Township, Lucas county, Ohio, daughter of Robert and Julia E. (Cable) Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Frogley's only child was May Bell, born May 13, 1890. She died May 10, 1915. She was the wife of Ross G. Graham, who served as a first lieutenant in the Engineers with the American Expeditionary Forces. While on duty in France he was stricken with spinal meningitis, and after twenty-two hours died October 11, 1918. He now fills a soldier's grave in France. Mr. Frogley is, a republican voter and is affiliated with Lodge No. 555, Free and Accepted Masons, at Swanton, and Toledo Commandery No. 7 of the Knights Templar. JOHN S. HABLE. The Hable family of which John S. Hable is a member had lived in Williams county before locating in Fulton county. However, he was born at Dutch Ridge, Fulton Township, March 10, 1877, a on of Jacob and Katherine (Ottgen) Hable. When they were married they located on Dutch Ridge, where the father died in 1902, and the mother is now a resident of Bowling Green. John S. Hable has one brother, Orson. Mr. Hable married Louella Batdorff, daughter of Quimby Batdorff. They have one son, Ronald R., born March 16, 1903. The father and son attended the same school—Dutch Ridge. He votes with the democratic party. The family are members of the Evangelical Church. When Mr. Hable married he worked for a while with his father and then they bought land together. He now owns sixty acres of excellent land. When Mr. Hable acquired the farm it had a good brick house 316 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY on it, and he added some porches and many farm buildings. He has pride in his farm surroundings. Along with general farming he is engaged in the livestock business, and he operates a dairy. Dairy farming is very general in Fulton county. LOUIE E. COSGROVE, M. D. Through three generations the name Cosgrove has been prominent in the history of medicine in northern Ohio. Dr. Louie E. Cosgrove has practiced a number of years at Swanton, where his father, also a physician, lived until his death. Doctor Cosgrove has an interesting and rather notable record of military service. In June, 1912, he accepted a commission as first lieutenant in the Medical Department of the Ohio National Guard. In June, 1915; he was promoted to captain. He went with the Ohio contingent of the National Guard regiment to the Mexican border, where he was on duty from June, 1915, until February, 1917. He then resumed his private practice at Swanton, but in June, 1918, was commissioned a captain in the Medical Reserve Corps, and reported for active duty at Camp Sheridan at Montgomery, Alabama. Six weeks later he was ordered to Fort Oglethorp, Georgia, and joined Evacuation Hospital No. 49 and was soon transported for overseas service in northern France. His work there kept him until after the signing of the Armistice, when he reported to the United States Convalescent Hospital at Mentone in the Maritime Alps on the Mediterranean Sea. He was there for eight weeks during the winter of 1918-19, and was then ordered to Coblenz, Germany, with the Army of Occupation, rejoining his original organization, Evacuation Hospital No. 49, and acting as chief of its medical service. He remained there until July 5, 1919, when he was sent home and given an honorable discharge at Fort McHenry, Maryland. Doctor Cosgrove was born at Swanton in August, 1879, son of Sylvanus F. and Alice J. (Cooper) Cosgrove. His paternal grandparents were Dr. T. T. and Betsie (Mooney) Cosgrove. T. T. Cosgrove was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, France, while his wife was born near Dublin, Ireland. Dr. T. T. Cosgrove was one of the early members of the medical fraternity at Toledo, Ohio, and practiced in that city many years. Dr. Sylvanus F. Cosgrove was born in Lucas county, Ohio. His wife, Alice J. Cooper, was a daughter of Nathaniel S. and Irene (Parker) Cooper, Massachusetts people of English ancestry. The Cooper and Parker families were early settlers in Lucas county, near Sylvania. Sylvanus Cosgrove for several years conducted a bakery-business at Tecumseh, Michigan. While there he took up the study of medicine, and after selling his business finished his professional education in Cincinnati. He practiced for one year at Sylvania and from there removed to Swanton, where he was one of the hard working physicians of Fulton county until his death him and was killed in an elevator accident at Toledo October 6, November 25, 1908, at the age of sixty-two. His widow survived 1919. Dr. Louie E. is the only surviving child. His sister Lillie May died at the age of four years and twin children died in infancy. Louie E. Cosgrove grew up at Swanton, attended the grammar and high schools, the Fayette Normal University, where he pursued a special course, and in 1897 began the study of medicine at the Toledo Medical College. He was graduated in 1901 and subsequently took post-graduate studies in the Chicago Polyclinic in HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 317 1903 and in 1906. He practiced as a partner with his father until the latter's death, and since then except for his army service has been alone in practice. Doctor Cosgrove is a member of the County, State and American Medical Associations, served two terms as coroner of Fulton county, was a member of the council three terms and mayor two terms, and has also been a member of the Board of Education. He is a republican and is prominent in the Masonic Order, being affiliated with Lodge No. 555 at Swanton, Royal Arch Chapter at Delta, Toledo Commandery No. 7, Knights Templar, and Zenobia Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Toledo. In January, 1906, Doctor Cosgrove married Minnie M. Grove, a native of Fulton Township and daughter of Herman and Stella (Koder) Grove. They have one son, Louie, born October 13, 1906. CHARLES W. KRAUSS. While Charles W. Krauss, of Swan Creek Township, is of German parentage, he is a native of Fulton county. He was born in April, 1853, and is a son of John George and Barbara (Baumgartner) Krauss, who came from Germany in 1853 to Delta. They lived for a time in German Township and later in Clinton. On December 9, 1880, while the Krauss family lived in Clinton Township, Charles W. Krauss married Mary Baum, who is a native of Germany. She is a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Shakely) Baum. In his early married life Mr. Krauss had a migratory experience, living one year in Clinton, three years in Dover, four years in Chesterfield and one year in Pike, returning then to Clinton, where he lived four years before buying an eighty acre farm in section 28 of Swan Creek Township, which is his home today. When Mr. Krauss located in Swan Creek Township the farm was all in the brush and there was "an old shell of a house" on it, but he went to work with a determination born of the love of one's own "vine and fig tree," and he soon cleared and fenced the tract and made the substantial improvements that mark the site today. He immediately began tiling the land and planting fruit trees, and a fine orchard is the result. In his younger days Mr. Krauss was a carpenter, and the improvements at his farmstead are his own handiwork. Today he devotes himself to general farming, and he keeps a small dairy. He is an advocate of the theory of land improvement through dairy farming, and through his management the small dairy is a good investment. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Krauss are: Carrie, wife of Henry Brookhoff, of Swan Creek Township ; Sophia, wife of Edward Brookhoff, of Swan Creek ; Pauline, wife of Leonard Marydoo, of Swan Creek ; and Charles of Swan Creek. The children at home are: Gottleib and Martha. Those deceased are: George, Mary and David. Mr. Krauss is guardian for seven children who. are relatives. The Krauss homestead is known as "White Oak Farm." Besides being a native son Mr. Krauss has many other ties to bind him to Fulton county. In this county he has performed his life work, has seen his hopes come to a satisfactory measure of fruition, his own children grow up, and has become possessor of a farm that is also a home, and a cherished spot both for himself and for his children and many of his relatives. 318 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY WILLIAM AUSTIN HOGUE, one of the progressive farmers . of Swan Creek Township, has to his credit the development and improvement of his valuable farm in this region. He was born at Delta, Ohio, on March 15, 1872, a son of Austin and Martha (Mattingly) Hogue, of English descent. They had three children, namely: William Austin, who was the eldest; Hattie, who is Mrs. Oscar J. Wismen, of Delta, Ohio, where her husband is a dental surgeon; and Frank, who lives in Idaho. The mother secured a divorce from the father, and was later married to Samuel Casson, and now lives at Delta, Ohio. William Austin Hogue lived with his mother until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he rented her farm in the vicinity of Delta and conducted it for a few years. He then worked for his step-father in a sawmill for about two years, and leaving him went to Chicago, Illinois, where he was engaged in teaming for a few months. He then returned to Delta, resuming work for his stepfather in the mill, but in the spring went to Toledo, Ohio, where he was a street car conductor during the subsequent summer. Once more Mr.. Hogue returned home to resume work in the sawmill. In May, 1899, he was married to Mattie Adams, a daughter of Herman Charles and Margaret Adams, of Swan Creek Township. The year following his marriage Mr. Hogue located on the 120-acre homestead of the Adams family, and after the death of his father-in-law in 1901 he bought the property of his mother-in-law, who survived her husband until in June, 1918, when she, too, passed away. Since becoming the owner of the property Mr. Hogue has rebuilt the house and barns, making them thoroughly modern, and he has otherwise greatly improved the place. Mr. Hogue is carrying on general farming, stockraising and dairying, his herd being comprised of twenty head of cattle. He specializes on raising a mixed breed of hogs of good quality, and is making a success of his several undertakings. Mr. and Mrs. Hogue have one daughter, Helen Adams, who has been graduated from the Delta High School, and is a charming young lady. In politics Mr. Hogue is a republican. The Presbyterian Church of his neighborhood has him as an attendant, although he is not a member of any religious body. Always a hard worker, Mr. Hogue has won his own way in the world and deserves the confidence he inspires among his neighbors. HENRY O. WALES. Although he is now engaged in general Farming and stockraising in Swan Creek Township, Henry O. Wales has had a somewhat varied career and is a gentleman of unusual talents. He was born in Wood county, Ohio, April 6, 1871, a- son of Rev. Oscar L. and Mary E.' (Williams) Wales, he born in New York state, on August 5, 1830, and she born in Sylvania, Lucas county, Ohio, on February 28, 1844. Rev. Oscar L. Wales was a minister of the Universalist faith, and preached at Lyon, Ohio, for fifteen years. On December 10, 1891, he came to Fulton county, where he bought a partly improved farm of 121 1/2 acres, but continued to discharge the duties pertaining to his church while operating his farm. The death of this excellent man occurred on August 19, 1906, but his widow survived him until November 28, 1918. By a former marriage he had the following children : Charles, Lucy and Carrie, all of whom, with their mother, Mrs. Saphronia (Horton) Wales, are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wales, parents of HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 319 Henry O. Wales, had the following children: Fannie, who died at the age of four years; Nellie, who died at the age of three years; and Henry 0., who is the youngest and only survivor. Henry O. Wales was carefully educated, and after he had completed the grammar and high school courses, studied commercial methods in the Ohio Business University, being graduated therefrom in bookkeeping and a general business course. For a number of years Mr. Wales taught penmanship during the evenings to pupils who could not obtain instruction at any other time, and for twenty-two years was a teacher of the piano and organ. On May 25, 1892, Mr. Wales was united in marriage with Nellie Jane Meintzer, born at Fremont, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Sophia (Hultzhaur) Meintzer, and for eight months thereafter resided with his parents. Mr. Wales then bought forty acres of land in section 22 of Swan Creek Township, where lie lived until after the death of his mother, when he came to the homestead which he inherited from her. Here he is carrying on a general farming, stockraising and dairying business. Mr. and Mrs. Wales have the following children : Paul Emerson, who lives at Delta, Ohio, married Opal Slagle, and they have two children, Bonnie Iola and Clarence Burdette ; Blossom Marguerite, who married Donald M. Anthony, has one son, Donald Wales; and Regina Elizabeth, who is at home. Mr. Wales is a republican and has served on the School Board since 1913 and has been assessor since 1915. He belongs to Brailey Camp No. 1165, Modern Woodmen of America. In the teachings of Christian Science Mr. Wales finds expression for his religious faith, and he is a firm believer in them, governing his life accordingly. A quiet, unassuming man, Mr. Wales does his full duty to his family and community, and commands the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact. LEONARD MERIDEW, of Swan Creek Township, came as a child of six years with his father from England. He was born there November 7, 1879, and in August, 1885, he arrived in New York City. The family came at once to York Township, Fulton county. Mr. Meridew is a son of Thomas and Martha (Glass) Meridew. His sister, Editha, became the wife of Carson Carstenton and lives in Frederick, Michigan. In 1883 their mother died, and their father married Caroline Young, of England. The children of this second marriage are: Alice, who is the wife of William Jackson, of Toledo ; Kate, wife of Bert Snyder, of Delta; Ruby, wife of Fritz Emch, of Delta; Benjamin and Jesse, of the United States Navy; Fred of the United States Army; and Earl, of Delta. Mrs. Caroline Young Meridew also lives in Delta. From the time he was eleven until he was twenty-four years old Leonard Meridew worked on farms by the month, and then for eight years he was employed in the Helveta Condensary. In 1913 he bought the eighty-acre farm in Swan Creek Township that is now his home. He has added many improvements and has about seventy acres of the land under cultivation, the remainder in timber and pasture. He is engaged in general farming, stockraising and dairying. May 5, 1908, Mr. Meridew married Pauline Krauss, of Chesterfield. She is a daughter of William and Maria (Baum) Krauss, who are natives of Germany. Their children are: Dorothy, Grace and Ocie. The family belong to the Disciples Church in Delta. 320 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY HENRY SHARTZER was a factor in the life and affairs of Fulton county for over forty years. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war, and when the war was over he returned to his chosen work as a farmer, and members of his family today enjoy the fruits of his labors on one of the highly improved and valuable farms of Swan Creek Township. Mr. Shartzer was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in February, 1836, son of John and Sarah (Greenewalt) Shartzer. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania and spent many years of their lives in Henry county, Ohio. Henry Shartzer grew up in Henry county, acquired a practical education in such schools as then existed, and on October 7, 1862, enlisted in the Union Army in Company B of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was with his regiment for nine months and then received an honorable discharge. On September 3, 1864, he again enlisted in Company B of the One Hundred and Seventy-eighth Ohio Infantry, and continued in service until June 13, 1865, seeing the end of the great struggle that preserved the Union. For many years Mr. Shartzer affiliated with his old comrades as a member of the Grand Army Post at Colton, Ohio. In the intervals of his army service Mr. Shartzer married in December. 1863, Miss Harriet Tharp. She was born in Perry county, Ohio, May 16, 1846, daughter of Nathan and Lucy Ann (Berry) Tharp. After his marriage Mr. Shartzer lived for a time at Napoleon and then moved to Fulton county and acquired thirty acres in Swan Creek Township. This land was covered with heavy timber, and his efforts partly cleared and improved the place. In 1881 he bought another tract of forty acres covered with timber in section 7 of Swan Creek Township, and this he also cleared and improved, ditched and gave it all the building equipment for successful operation. At one time in his career he also traded 100 acres he owned in Swan Creek Township for about 200 acres of Michigan land, but after one year there he found the land unsuited for agricultural operations, and practically abandoned it. Mr. Shartzer, who died December 9, 1905, was known as a hard worker, provided well for his family, was a man of quiet and unassuming character, voted as a republican, and altogether acquitted himself well in the duties and obligations of life. Mrs. Henry Shartzer still lives on the old homestead in Swan Creek Township. The manager of the farm is her son Arthur Roy, who was born September 22, 1880. He has operated the farm for about twenty years, and in addition to maintaining its improvements has bought twenty acres more. Arthur Roy married October 29, 1910, Miss Laura Mohler, who was born in Henry county, Ohio, May 10, 1893, daughter of William W. and Martha E. (Price) Mohler. The children of Arthur Shartzer and wife are: Clayton Leroy, born October 28, 1912; and Clifford Elwin, born December 9, 1918. The only daughter of Mrs. Shartzer is Myrtle, who was born December 3, 1876. She is the wife of Caleb Bundy, and they have two children, Bertha, now Mrs. Clyde Benedict, and Ora, Mrs. Lester Meyers, both living in Hudson, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy reside in Chicago. MARTIN E. ELLSWORTH is one of the substantial citizens of Fayette, where he spent much of his younger life and after a busi- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 321 ness record of about twenty years in Indiana returned to the old home farm of the Ellsworths, near Fayette, where he now enjoys a comfortable home and is living practically retired. Mr. Ellsworth was born at Lysander in Onondaga county, New York, April 2, 1847, and was about four years old when his parents settled in the wilderness of Fulton county. He is a son of Lyman and Elizabeth (Emerick) Ellsworth. His mother was born in New York, a daughter of Elijah Emerick. Lyman Ellsworth was born in Vermont March 17, 1811, son of William Ellsworth, who was born March 30, 1765. After their. marriage Lyman Ellsworth and wife lived in Onondaga county until 1851, when they sold their property and with some of their household possessions started for Buffalo, New York, traveling on a boat on the Erie Canal, thence by lake boat to Toledo, went on by railroad as far as Clayton and thus arrived in Gorham Township. Just east of Fayette they bought forty acres, largely covered with timber. Later ten acres more were added to this home place. Lyman Ellsworth while he improved his farm during his lifetime was a carpenter by trade, and was an old fashioned, careful mechanic, who did practically all his work with hand tools. He dressed the lumber, made the framing and practically all the molding, as was the custom of carpenters of that day, before mill work became so general. Many of the buildings which he constructed around Fayette are still stand-, ing. He died in March, 1876, survived by his widow until May, 1904. Martin was the youngest of their children. The oldest is Anna, a resident of Fayette, Cornelia, also of Fayette, and Hannah, deceased. Martin E. Ellsworth attended the common schools of Fayette and was reared as a farmer and carpenter, both of which occupations. he thoroughly learned. March 12, 1871, he married Ellen 8. Parker, who was born in Gorham Township August 4, 1852, daughter of Jared and Almira (Brink) Parker. Her father was born in Rhode Island October 12, 1819. Almira Brink was born in what is now Fulton county, Ohio, August 21, 1829, one of the first white children born in the county. Her parents, John and Harriet (Kellogg) Brink, located in this part of the Ohio wilderness when there was scarcely another family, between there and. Lake Erie. After his marriage Mr. Ellsworth lived in the town of Fayette, conducted his father's farm until 1880, and also worked at the trade of carpenter several years: For 1 1/2 year he was in the general merchandise business at Fayette and from here removed to Butler, Indiana, where he conducted a general store six years. Then still keeping his home at Butler he became a general agent installing gasoline lighting plants, and was .on the, road much of the time covering his territory of fourteen counties in northern Indiana. He continued in that business sixteen years. After disposing of his interests in Indiana Mr. Ellsworth returned to Fayette, bought the old Ellsworth homestead, and resumed fanning pursuits. In recent years he has sold forty-four acres of the old farm, now known as the Ellsworth Addition to Fayette, much of it divided into small home tracts. Around. his own home he retains six acres, and that ground gives him ample employment in his leisure years. Mr. Ellsworth is a Methodist and has held all the lay offices 'in the church and Sunday School. Politically he is. a republican voter. 322 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY SHERMAN ALFRED JONES, who has to his credit a record of substantial business service at Fayette, where he is now living retired, is an honored survivor of the Civil war, having been one of the youngest men enlisted in the Union Army. He was born in Portage county, Ohio, November 17, 1848, son of John and Margaret (Hoobler) Jones. His parents were born and married in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and some years later settled in Portage county on a farm, and from there in 1856 moved to Chesterfield Township, Fulton county. John Jones acquired forty acres in the dense timber, and applied himself industriously to the clearing and improving, and lived there as a farmer until his death in 1876. He was twice married, and by his first wife had a son, Joseph, now deceased, and also an adopted son, Boyd, who is also deceased. His wife, Margaret Hoobler died in 1872, and was mother of the following children : David, Hulda, Harriet, Timothy, Henry, Amanda, Sherman, Estella and Effie, twins. The only two now living are Sherman and Effie who is the wife of Ed Van Vleet of Detroit. Sherman A. Jones acquired his early education in the Chesterfield Township district schools. He was not yet thirteen years of age when the Civil war broke out, and was a little past fifteen when on February 8, 1864, he enlisted in Company K of the Sixty-seventh Ohio Infantry. This regiment served in Virginia under General Grant in the Army of the James. Mr. Jones took part in the battle of May 10, 1864, and in much other fighting around Richmond and Petersburg, being under constant fire for many days. After the surrender of Lee he was detailed sole guard of government property at Helltown, Virginia, remaining there six months, and was royally treated by the inhabitants. He was mustered out at City. Point, Virginia, December 8, 1865, and was given his final discharge at Columbus December 18, 1865. After his return from the army Mr. Jones worked out by day and month for two years at the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway station. After his marriage he also Worked for the railroad a year and then was employed by a butcher at Delta. He had learned the butcher trade after leaving the army. For four years he was engaged in buying and selling hay and grain for the Raymond P. Lipe Company of Toledo, and was commissioned by them to build an elevator at Fayette. After the construction of the elevator he remained as the responsible manager in charge, and continued the business for twenty years. Since 1918 Mr. Jones has been practically retired, and his chief work is done in his home garden. He is a thoroughbred American citizen, and loyally devoted to the upbuilding of the best American traditions. For many years he has been affiliated with Stout Post No. 108 of the Grand years of the Republic, serving as its adjutant many years and two terms as commander. December 3, 1872, Mr. Jones married Miss Nettie Kinney, who was born in Pike Township September 17, 1852, daughter of John and Harriet (Gunn) Kinney, her father a native of New York state and her mother of Pike Township, where the Gunns were pioneer settlers. Mr. Jones had two children: Pearl, wife of John Carpenter, of Albion, Michigan and Parley, who was born November 13, 1884, and died November 28, 1911, survived by his wife. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 323 JACOB HENRY STONER has been faithful to his responsibilities and opportunities during his active career in Fulton county, by many years of toil acquired a large farm and comfortable prosperity, and in later years has lived retired in Fayette, where he has been' interested in a local bank and the administration of public affairs. He was born in Gorham Township May 31, 1857, son of George and Lucinda (Rhodes) Stoner. His father was born in Richland county, Ohio, and his mother in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Jacob Stoner, was a Pennsylvanian. George Stoner and wife were married in Richland county and in the spring of 1852 arrived in Fulton county and bought a tract of timber land in Gorham Township. After improving this they sold it and bought another farm in the northwest corner of Gorham Township. They removed from the farm to Fayette about 1884 and George Stoner died there February 25, 1891, survived by his widow until April 1, 1914. They have the following children : David, who died in 1885; William, deceased; George, a resident of Los Angeles; Anna Mary, twin sister of George, wife of Samuel Shane, of Fayette ; Jacob Henry; Lucinda, Mrs. Isaiah Sayers, of Fayette ; Daniel, of Toledo; and James, who died in 1890. Jacob Henry Stoner acquired his early education in the district schools and the select schools, and at the age of eighteen began earning his own living by working as a farm hand. He continued in that way for about five years, and later secured his first land by the purchase of eighty acres in section 13, Gorham Township. He built a house there, and in that modest residence on December 14, 1889, he and Elizabeth McCloe were married. Mrs. Stoner was born in Gorham Township, a daughter of William and Berrilla (Lyon) McCloe, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Knox county, Ohio. Her parents were married in Morrow county and in 1852 settled in Gorham Township. Her father died in 1873 and her mother in 1898. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stoner continued to live on the farm, improved it with modern buildings, and exercised the thrift and industry that brought them ample prosperity for all their needs. In 1908 they rented the farm, which in the meantime had been increased to 140 acres, and has since enjoyed the comforts of a fine modern residence at Fayette. Mr. Stoner is one of the organizers and is still a director of the Farmers State Bank of Fayette. He has been a member of the official board of the Methodist Church since 1909. He served three terms as township trustee of Gorham, and one term as mayor of Fayette. He is a democrat in politics, and has filled the various chairs in Fayette Lodge No. 689, Knights of Pythias. JONATHAN WILLIAM BINNS was a youthful soldier in the Union Army during the Civil war, and the greater part of his active life since then has been spent in Fulton county, where he was engaged in farming until he retired and moved to Fayette. He was born at Leroy in Medina county, Ohio, July 28, 1845, a son of Samuel and Ellen (Taylor) Binns. His parents were born in England in 1816, were married there, and in 1838 came to America, first locating at Harlem, New York, where Samuel Binns, a tailor, followed his trade. In 1840 he moved to Leroy, Medina county, Ohio, and after working at his trade several years was ordained as a Universalist minister about 1848. In 1854 he took charge of a church at Amity in Knox county, went to New Way, 324 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Licking county, in 1857, and from 1860 to 1867 was in Richland county. In the latter year he moved to Fayette, where he died at the age of sixty-seven, his widow surviving him to the age of ninety. Their children were : Elizabeth, who died at the age of eighteen years ; Eliza, who died in 1872 as the wife of James Murphy ; Jonathan William ; Sarah, who was born in 1847 and is Mrs. Otis Ford, at Fayette ; Eli T., who lives at Bryan, Ohio, at the age of seventy ; Ellen S., who died in 1855, at the age of three years; and Ella Viola, who died in 1906 as the wife of James Vail. Jonathan William Binns lived with his parents in the several locations above noted, and at the age of seventeen, on July 28, 1863, was enrolled as a soldier in the One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry, in Company D. With this regiment he was in the Army of the James, Third Division, Eighteenth Army Corps, and saw some of the hard fighting around Petersburg and Richmond while the defense of the Confederate capital were slowly crumbling before repeated Federal assaults. After his honorable discharge from the army Mr. Binns returned to Richland county, Ohio, and worked on a farm and also attended Belleville College. From there he came to Fayette, and soon afterward met the young lady who consented to be his wife. They were married at Detroit, Michigan, March 22, 1869. Her name was Lois Ford. She was a daughter of one of the oldest families of Fulton county, and was born in Gorham Township. Her parents were Hosea and Jemima (Bates) Ford, natives of Cummington, Massachusetts, who settled in Fulton county about 1836. Her father acquired a large tract of timbered land and was one of the most useful citizens of the county until his death in October, 1867, and her mother died in 1894. The Ford children were: Ansel B., who died in September, 1919; Austin K., who died in 1914; Vesta J., who was Mrs. William Barager and died in 1880; Laura, living at Fayette, widow of Nathaniel Dewey; Mrs. Binns; Deborah T., who married Spencer Westfall and died in 1882 ; Horace W., a resident of Fayette; Horatio M., who died in 1895 ; and Lewis H., of Fayette. After his marriage Mr. Binns lived in Detroit working as a journeyman cigar maker until 1880. He then bought a farm in Defiance county, Ohio, lived on it several years, selling out in 1883 and buying sixty acres of land in Gorham Township. He was actively identified with farming there more than twenty years, and in 1906 rented his farm and moved to Fayette, where he bought the comfortable residence in which he now lives. He sold his farm in the spring of 1919. Mr. Binns is a republican, has held all the offices in Stout Post No. 108, Grand Army of the Republic, and has filled the various chairs in Fayette Lodge of Masons No. 387. Mrs. Binns, who was educated in district schools and in the Seminary at Medina, Michigan, and taught school for two terms, has been active in the Eastern Star since the local chapter was organized by Mr. Binns. She has filled the various chairs in that organization and since 1906 has continuously served as president of the local Women's Relief Corps. Mr. and Mrs. Binns have three children : Carrie B., Mrs. Walter Hill, of Morenci, Michigan ; William C., who lives at Toledo and married Lena de Groff ; and Harry S., also of Toledo, married Alta Wintzler and has three children, Gertrude, Lorene and Lucile.