HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 375 rity arid ability has been shown by his having been made administrator of three different estates, and it is but just to him to state that he settled all of them in a highly satisfactory manner. There are few men in his neighborhood who stand as high in public confidence as he, and he is a credit to his community. HENRY DOMINIQUE has deserved well of his community through the energy with which he has prosecuted every undertaking, whether growing crops on his farm, or some matter affecting the welfare of his friends and neighbors. While Mr. Dominique owns seventy-eight acres constituting a good farm in German Township, through most of his active life he has been a renter and still rents and operates more land than he owns. He was born at the old Dominique farmstead in Fulton county in 1865, son of Xavier and Mary (Flory) Dominique. His people were French Catholics. His father when a young man came from Alsace-Lorraine and located in German Township, where he bought 160 acres of scarcely improved land. Henry Dominique was one in a large family of twelve children. For a few months each year he attended the Stutzman district school No. 7, and kept that up until he reached his majority. In 1889, at the age of twenty-four, he married Clara Bender, daughter of Benjamin and Marian (McManus) Bender, of Elmira, Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Dominique also had a family of twelve children, and all are living except Hal Leo, who died in 1901, at the age of six months. After his marriage Mr. Dominique rented 160 acres, and has farmed that place steadily, producing one crop after another for over thirty years. He still has it rented, while his own place is a farm of seventy-eight acres. Mr. Dominique and family are members of St. Peter's Catholic Church. He votes as a democrat and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. FRANK S. FLORY. In early pioneer times the Flory family came into Fulton county, entered land from the government, and made their first home in the woods. As a family they have been noted for a continuation of the pioneer spirit, and their faithfulness and energy under all conditions have produced a number of elements of value in the progress of Fulton county. Frank S. Flory represents the third generation of the family, and has spent his active life as a farmer in German Township, where he was born in 1861. He is a son of Frank and Josephine (Richard) Flory. His father was eight years of age when brought to this country from Alsace-Lorraine. The grandfather, John Peter Flory, acquired eighty acres of woodland from the government in German Township and spent the rest of his life there. Frank Flory, Sr., and his brother Fred cleared a tract of land a mile east of Almira, constituting the old Flory homestead. Frank Flory was given eighty acres of this land, and continued to live there, doing his work as a farmer and earning the esteem of the community until his death on October 28, 1915. Frank S. Flory while a boy attended the Stutzman school in district No. 7. His education was completed by the time he was thirteen, and after that he worked both summer and winter help- 376 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY ing his father. After his father's death the old homestead was divided, Frank S. taking part, his brother George fifty acres and his brother Henry thirty acres. Frank S. Flory is a bachelor. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, St. Peter's Catholic Church and is a democratic voter. His brother George A. Flory was born and has always lived on the old Flory homestead. He also attended district No. 7 of the country schools, and later spent one term in the Fayette Normal School. Practically all his life has been given to agriculture. In 1906 he married Emma Pauline Miller, of Wauseon, a daughter of Anthony and Mary (Martin) Miller. They have three children, Ada Josephine, Clarence George and Christine Marie. George Flory is also a democrat, a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, and has always endeavored to sustain the duties and responsibilities of good citizenship. WILLIAM H. MILLER. Apart from the substantial qualities of character exemplified in the acquisition and capable management of a large farm of 200 acres, William H. Miller is also known in Fulton county as a thoroughly public-spirited citizen, a man always ready to do his share in behalf of community improvements and the upholding of the principles of American government. Mr. Miller, whose farm of 200 acres is in German Township, was born in that township in 1868, on the original homestead of his parents, John and Catherine (Knapp) Miller. His father was a native of Canton Schauffhausen, Switzerland, and was brought to this country when a child by his parents. The Millers are an old and prominent family of Fulton county and have long been identified with the lands and farming interests of German Township. John Miller after a long and active career died there in 1903. William H. Miller spent his early life after the manner of most farm boys, attending school in winter to the age of seventeen, and having a regular routine of duties at home. After completing his education he lived at home to the age of twenty-four, working for his father. He then worked for himself, and in 1897 he married Mary Elizabeth Winzeler and established a home of his own. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have nine children, all living. After his marriage he bought a farm, and has been steadily advancing the area of his land holdings, eventually taking in his father's old place and now has 200 acres, well improved and well farmed. Mr. Miller has been active in local affairs. He was twice a candidate for township trustee. He acts independently in elections, casting his vote for the man best qualified. He served on the School Board of German Township nine years, and is a member of the Reformed Church. HARMON KLECK. By his self-reliance, hard work and intelligent management Harmon Kleck has earned the right to be considered one of the leading farmers and citizens of German Township, Fulton county, where he has a model place of eighty acres, devoted to the standard crops of Fulton county. Mr. Kleck was born at Archbold in Fulton county May 24, 1872. Just two years previously his parents, Henry and Anna, (Beuhrer) Kleck, had come from Canton Schaffhausen, Switzer- HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 377 land. Henry Kleck was a shoemaker by trade, followed that occupation for a time in this country, and then bought a farm in Richville Township, Henry county, Ohio. He owned and cultivated sixty acres there, but later sold out and is now living retired. Harmon Kleck was the fourth in a family of six children. While he attended schools at intervals at Richville to the age of seventeen, he always had a regular assignment of duties on the home farm and from the age of thirteen he hired out his services to other farmers, his wages going into the home exchequer. At the age of twenty-one, without capital, but with a good knowledge of farm methods, he began the slow process of acquiring his own property. He worked as a farm hand in German Township, and at the age of twenty-five he had made such progress that he was justified in getting married. Mrs. Kleck before her marriage was Emma Burkholder, a daughter of D. D. and Catherine (Kiefer) Burkholder of Henry county. Mr. and Mrs. Kleck have four children: Inez Ruth, Harold D., Ilva L. and Wilbur Herman. At the age of twenty-nine, four years after his marriage, Mr. Kleck with his father-in-law bought a farm in German Township. Six years later he became sole owner of this place, and he is now owner of a substantial property, and at the same time has given good home advantages to his family. Mr. Kleck is an independent voter, considering the qualifications of the man rather than the party. SAMUEL A. SCHLATTER, who is a successful representative Fulton county agriculturist, and owns a rich farm of eighty-four acres in German Township, is a native of the county, and has lived his whose life within its borders. His father, now in his eighty-fifth year, has. lived in the county since he was twenty-eight years old, and was associated with many of the pioneer settlers of German Township. Samuel A. was born in the village of Archbold, German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, January 24, 1866, the son of John and Mary Magdalen (Buehrer) Schlatter. The family is of Swiss origin, John Schlatter having been born in the village of Buttenhardt, Canton of Schauffhausen, Switzerland, in 1835. He learned the trade of blacksmith in this native place, and married there, and one of his children, Lydia, now deceased, was born in Switzerland. In 1863, when he was twenty-eight years old, John Schlatter brought his wife and child to America, in that year coming direct to German Township, where others of Swiss origin, and from the Canton of Schauffhausen, had settled. Soon after he had arrived in the township he established himself in business in the village of Archbold, maintaining a smithy and wagon shop in that place until 1876, when he bought the farm of sixty-six acres he still owns. He farmed the property from 1876 until 1900, his industry and skillful farming bringing him into comfortable circumstances financially. In 1900, being then sixty-five years old, and having worked hard for practically fifty years, he decided to retire. He and his wife moved into Archbold, where until the latter's death in 1913 they lived a quiet and comfortable life of retirement. In 1917' returned to the home farm, which he had sold to his son Samuel in 1904, and which Samuel had tilled for very many years prior to that. For the remainder of his days John Schlatter will probably 378 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY live quietly with his son upon the farm that has been in the possession of the family for so many years. John and Mary Magdalen (Buehrer) Schlatter were the parents of seven children, five of whom were sons. Only two of their children, however, now survive, Hannah, who married John M. Kaehr, of Bluffton, Indiana, and Samuel A. Samuel A. Schlatter received his early education in the public school of Archbold, attending that school until he was ten years old, by which time the family had moved out of Archbold onto the farm his father had bought in German Township. The boy thereafter attended district school No. 15, that being the nearest to his father's farm. When he was fifteen years old he left school altogether, and from that time until he was twenty-six years old he worked steadily at farming tasks upon his father's farm. Then followed one year of carpentering in the neighborhood, and a further year or so at farming with his father, which brought him to the year of his marriage, 1894. Soon after marriage he went into Archbold to live, and work as a carpenter. So employed, he passed five years in Archbold, after which he again took up farming, renting a farm of 104 acres in German Township. Two years later he again moved onto the home farm, his father having decided to retire altogether. His parents moved in Archbold, and he rented the family property until 1904, when he purchased it from his father. He has had much success in general farming and in the raising of cattle. He maintains a somewhat large dairy, pays thoughtful attention to his stock, and generally does not shirk the labor that the proper operation of his acreage brings. He is known in the township as a man, of marked energy, and in his farming he has also shown good business enterprise. He is independent in politics, placing more importance upon the character of the candidate for office than upon the platform of the party. He is an earnest Christian, member of the Missionary Church of Archbold. He has for many years interested himself in church work and in personal and financial support has been a valued member of his church, of which at present he is deacon and trustee. In 1894 Samuel A. Schlatter married Eliza Nofziger, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Sauter) Nofziger, of Archbold. To them have been born seven children, four sons and three daughters. The children in order of birth are: Floyd Monroe, who is now twenty-four years old, and in good business in Toledo, connected with an oil oompany of that place. He is a veteran of the World war, serving for three months in Camp Gordon, Georgia, and then being transferred to the Machine Gun Officers Training School at Camp Hancock, Georgia, where he went through the course which gained him in graduating the rank of second-lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve on November 25, 1918, being soon afterward mustered out of the service because of the signing of the Armistice ; Ormond Edward, now twenty-two years old in is business in Delta, Fulton county; Olin Guy, now twenty years old, is in his second term at the Bible Training School at Fort Wayne, where he expects to qualify for entry to the ministry. The four younger children of Mr. and Mrs. Schlatter are: Florence Fay, Ada May, Nolo Nell, and Miles Wave. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 379 PETER REBO, an esteemed and prosperous farmer of German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, now lives on the homestead upon which he was born in 1851. His father, associated with the early settlers of the county, did much pioneer work and cleared a very good farm for himself. And, like his father, Peter also did much development work, his energy and enterprise being responsible for the conversion of many acres of wild land to good rich agricultural properties. He has a worthy repute in the township, the reward that comes by a life well lived, by a sincerity of interest in one's fellows, and a helpful co-operation with one's neighbors. Peter Rebo has for the greater part of his life lived by hard toil, prospering well by industrious and well-directed farming in his later days, and in earlier years by the more rigorous labors of a woodsman. He was born in the Rebo homestead in German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, on May 1, 1851, the son of Joseph and Frances (Short) Rebo. His father was born in France, and married in that country, coming soon afterward with his wife to America and settling in Elmira, Fulton county. For five years after coming into the territory, which was then in almost a wild state, with nothing of greater importance for the settlers to do than to clear the forest, Joseph Rebo lived the life of a woodsman, working as wood chopper for settlers in the vicinity. At the end of that time he bought the eighty acre tract now owned and occupied by his son Peter. When he acquired it the land was an undeveloped tract, but he lived on it for more than forty years, and for the greater part of that time worked steadily, first in clearing the acreage of timber, and latterly in bringing it into good fertility, Peter, as he grew, taking increasing share in the burdens of the farm operation. Joseph Rebo died in 1890, his wife surviving him for four years, her death not occurring until 1894. Peter, born in 1851, and reared in the somewhat primitive surroundings of the township of that day, gained what schooling was possible in the country school nearest to his father's farm. He attended district school No. 15 during the winters, or rather for as long each year as the school was open, which meant practically only during the winter months, the summer vacation being planned to extend over the greater part of the growing season, when the sons of farmers would be of use to their parents on the home farms. So Peter grew to manhood. He continued to attend school until he was sixteen years old, and for seven years thereafter assisted his father in the clearing of the parental acreage. He did much work as a woodsman, he and his father clearing 160 acres altogether. He was twenty-two years old when he married, which to some extent affected his future plans. In the following year he rented a farm of eighty acres for himself, and fifteen years later was able to buy the home farm of eighty acres, where he has since lived. It has long since ceased to be necesary for him to rely upon the product of the farm for his sustenance, and he does not now work as strenuously as formerly ; still, having lived so active a life, he even yet undertakes quite a lot of work upon the farm. Politically he is an independent democrat, religiously he is a Catholic, a devout member of the St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church of Archbold, and throughout his life he has been closely interested in all matters that pertain to his native township. He was married in 1873 to Anna, daughter of Joseph and Mary 380 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Ann (Jean-Marie) Socie, whose parents were respected residents in German Township. Mr. and Mrs. Rebo became the parents of thirteen children, of whom eight survive, four sons and four daughters : Mary Alice, who married Enoch Rupp, of Archbold, and is the mother of three children, Stella Cecilia, Wilma Maryann and Viola Margaret; Laura, who married Max Scanlon, of Toledo, but is without issue ; Anna Myrtle, who is at home ; Irvin Sereno, now thirty-five years old ; Edward Peter, now thirty-three years old; Laurence Louis, who was born in 1888, has married, and is a successful farmer in Clinton Township, Fulton county ; Blanche May, who is at home; Hilary Sylvester; and Florence Arville, who died in 1913, had married, and had borne to her husband five children, who survived her. The other children of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rebo died in infancy. KORES THIERRY, one of the intelligent farmers of Fulton county, works a fine farm of 105 acres in Franklin Township, and is engaged in conducting it in a profitable manner. He is a son of Charles and Anna (Roth). Thierry, the former of whom came to the United States from France when nine years old, at which time his family located in German Township, Fulton county, and reared three sons and one daughter. Charles Thierry died October 15, 1900. After his death his wife, Anna, purchased 105 acres in Franklin Township, where she still resides and her son Kores works the place. Kores Thierry was born January 18, 1895, and was only a little boy when he lost his father. He attended the country schools until he was sixteen years of age during the winter months, and helped his mother with the farm in the summer. He has spent his life on this farm and is a very good agriculturist and much interested in operating his land in a modern way so as to make it yield banner crops. Mr. Thierry is unmarried. He is an independent democrat in his political views, and as yet has not become before the public for office, having been too much occupied with his private affairs to be active in politics. Believing strongly in the value of the Farm Bureau to the farmer, he has been a member of the local organization. In connection with the Bureau Mr. Thierry is studying the structure, composition and physiology of farm crops and their environment; that is, climate, fertilizers, soil and similar influences. He has taken advantage of the promulgation of agricultural information by the governmental and other institutions, and is active in urging co-operation among the farmers so as to investigate into the value of such important aids as irrigation, dry farming, selective plant and animal breeding, specialization in crops, fertilizers and cold storage. It is men like Mr. Thierry who have during the past, as they still do at present, made the advancements in -agriculture and brought about the transition from crude beginnings to methods and appliances of the present day. Mr. Thierry and his family, unlike the majority of French extraction, are Protestants. It would be difficult to find anyone who is more alert to the possibilities of an honorable calling than he, and although he is yet a young man he has proven his worth to his community and given promise of much greater progress in the future. WILLIAM A. BIDDLE, a well-known and prosperous farmer of York Township, Fulton county, Ohio, has lived practically all his HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 381 life on the farm upon which he was born, and which his father, who was one of the pioneer settlers of the township, won from the wilderness. His paternal descent is English, but the family has long been resident in the United States. His paternal grandparents, George and Nancy Jane (Lawrence) Biddle, were both born in Pennsylvania. Their son Henry L., father of William A., was born in Pennsylvania, but in early manhood came into Ohio, and for a while lived in Wayne county. There he married Agatha Green-welt, who was born in Russia, but who since her fourteenth year had been living in the United States, her parents having settled in Wayne county, Ohio. In about 1855 Henry L. Biddle and his wife put their few belongings into a wagon and drove through the wilderness from Wayne county to Fulton county, settling in York Township upon wild land Henry L. Biddle had purchased. There they lived the rigorous life of the pioneer, and in course of time, by dint of hard and persistent labor, Henry L. Biddle found himself the owner of a good agricultural property, 127 acres in extent, all cleared and tillable with the exception of twenty acres. He died in the' township on December 5, 1888, aged fifty-five years, having been born on June 4, 1833. His wife, however, lived a widowhood of twenty-six years, her demise not occurring until March 25, 1915, she being then seventy-eight years old, having been born or January 12, 1837. They had many sincere friends among the older people of York Township. Their children were: Nannie, who was born on March 11, 1857, and died on June 9, 1886, married Brainard Fleming; William A., regarding whose life more follows; George F., who was born on October 4, 1871, and now lives in Los Angeles, California; Mary A., who was born on March 27, 1874, and eventually married John Sinkes of Muskogee, Oklahoma. William A. Biddle, son of Henry L. and Agatha (Greenwelt) Biddle, was born in York Township on May 28, 1861. He attended the district school in his boyhood, and after leaving school applied himself industriously to agricultural occupations, becoming of much assistance to his father in the operation of their somewhat extensive farm. He remained by his father until the latter's death, and for twelve years afterward remained single, the responsibilities of the farm and the family to a great extent devolving upon him, he being the elder of the two sons. In 1900 he married, but he continued to work the home farm, and has done so up to the present, with good result, his industry and skill as a farmer having brought him very satisfactory return. He now owns the 127 acres, and although for the first four years of his married life they lived in the old Biddle home, he erected in 1905 the substantial modern dwelling they now occupy. His farming has been of general character, and he has had good success in stockraising and maintains a good dairy. His property is known as the Lake Shore Dairy Farm, and that acreage of good fertile land is the worthy contribution of one family to the development of the United States. Politically Mr. Biddle is a democrat, but he has not taken active part in national politics, and has never sought political office. He, however, has closely followed local affairs, and has upon many occasions shown commendable public spirit in giving willing support to many movements of importance to the community. Religiously he is identified with the Evangelical Church, and fraternally is a member of the Ancient Order of Gleaners. 382 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY His wife, Ella Biery, whom he married on April 29, 1900, was born in York Township, June 9, 1874, a daughter of Christian and Lottie (Schlegel) Biery and granddaughter of Nicholas and Magdeline (Hummel) Biery, all of whom were residents of York Township. Nicholas Biery, who is placed among the pioneers of the township, was born in Switzerland, and came to the United States when he was. in early manhood. He settled in Pennsylvania and there married, his wife being a native of that state. Not long after their marriage they came into Ohio and to York Township, Fulton county, when the surrounding country was practically wilderness. Christian Biery, their son, was born in North Georgetown, Columbiana county, Ohio. He lived in York Township for practically the whole of his life, farming an extensive acreage, and building four residences. He died in 1909, in his sixty-fourth year. His wife, Lottie (Schlegel) Biery, is still living, and in comfortable circumstances, upon the old homestead. She was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, but her parents were also early York Township residents. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Ella (Biery) Biddle were Gotlief and Lydia Ann (Bailey) Schlegel, the former a native of Berlin, Germany, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They lived after marriage for a while in Coshocton county, Ohio, and there Lottie, their daughter, and mother of Mrs. Biddle was born on December 11, 1847, but they later came into Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Biddle are generally well-regarded in their section of Fulton county, and have many close friends among their neighbors. GEORGE WILDON ORNDORFF, who during the last decade has had substantial success in farming in York Township, Fulton county, is a native of that township, and comes of one of the pioneer families of the county. Mr. Orndorff has lived an active life, has always been a responsible citizen of close interest in national and local affairs, and has manifested worthy Christian characteristics, having entered actively into church work. He was born in York Township, Fulton county, in September, 1865, the son of George and Rachel (Biddle) Orndorff. The Orndorff family has had many generations of American residence, the name being encountered in the vital statistics of early Pennsylvanian communities. George Orndorff was born in Pennsylvania, and later came into Ohio, at first living in Wayne county, where he met Rachel Biddle, who became his wife. She was born in Wayne county, Ohio, and they came through the wilderness from Wayne county to Fulton county and settled in York Township, George Orndorff acquiring a tract of wild land in the northwestern part of the township. There they both lived for the remainder of their lives and raised a family of six children, of whom George Wildon was the youngest. Mrs. Rachel (Biddle) Orndorff died in about 1897, two years after the death of her husband, George Orndorff, whose demise occurred in 1895. Their children in order of birth were: Lorinda, who married Samuel Murray, of York Township, and is now deceased; Samuel, also deceased; Luther, deceased; Clara J., who now lives in Wauseon, Ohio; Knight, now of Clinton Township, Fulton county; and George Wildon. George Wildon Orndorff, youngest child of George and Rachel HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 383 (Biddle) Orndorff, was born in the old homestead of the family, and in his youth had to content himself with the limited education he could obtain in the district school. Afterward he devoted his time mainly to work upon the home farm until he was twenty-three years old, when he married. Soon after that important event in his life he went to live in Wauseon, Ohio, and there for about six years did well in the teaming and trucking business. In 1894 he went to Signet, Ohio, and for the next eighteen months worked as a teamster in the oil fields. Returning to Wauseon, he took up his former connection, continuing in the teaming and trucking enterprises until 1909. He had also concurrently undertaken farming responsibilities, having purchased forty acres of the Orndorff homestead in York Township soon after he had returned to the district from the oil fields. The portion he had bought was practically all timber, and most of this during the next four years he cleared, later selling the property. In 1909, however, he purchased a farm of eighty acres of improved land in section 9 of York Township, and since that year he has devoted himself exclusively to farming, with good results. He is enterprising, has good knowledge of farming, is energetic, and alertly follows the developments of modern methods. His farm is well adapted to the purposes to which he puts it, those of general farming, and he keeps a dairy of moderate size. Politically he is a republican, but his interest in politics has not been that of an office seeker. He has never sought, neither would he accept, public office. His busy life has been too full of production to have much room for deliberation. In church matters, however, he has ever been an earnest worker. He is a stalwart member of the Christian Union Church, and since early in 1917 has been first elder of the local church. He is also an assistant teacher in the Sunday School. Mr. Orndorff has been twice married. His first. wife, whom he married in November, 1888, was Della., daughter of David Pontius, of York Township. Mrs. Orndorff was a native of York Township, but her father was born in Pickaway county, Ohio. George Wildon Orndorff married for his second wife Ida Ledyard, born in Clinton Township, Fulton county, daughter of Frank and Ellen (Kimmer) Ledyard, the second marriage having taken place in March, 1905. Clarence Orndorff, son of George Wildon Orndorff by his first wife, Della. Pontius, is now succeeding well in life in the city of Toledo, Ohio. OLIVER P. RAKER. The vital interest of the whole community in the success of agriculture as the great basal industry has been proven beyond question, and within recent years this interest has been intensified because of the unprecedented demand for foodstuffs. Because of these facts the importance of the farmer has become generally recognized, and his choice of a. calling received universal approval. One of the men who lent distinction to Fulton county as an agricultural center was Oliver P. Raker, of York Township, whose death occurred December 2, 1919. Oliver P. Raker was born in Swan Creek Township on December 5, 1841, a son of Jacob and Fannie (Perry) Raker, natives of Pennsylvania and Wayne county, Ohio, and grandson of Martin Raker, a native of Pennsylvania, and Levi and Frances (Humphrey) Perry, all of whom were very early settlers of Ohio. Jacob 384 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY Raker and his wife were married in what was then Lucas county, Ohio, but is now Fulton county, and they settled in Swan Creek Township, then all wild timberland, about 1835. Hee they cleared and improved 'a farm, and in 1854 bought 160 acres of land on section 24, York Township, which was also in the timber. On it the father built a log cabin, and then went to work to clear it off and place it under cultivation. He died on this farm in 1888, when he was sixty-nine years of age. His widow survived him until November, 1907, when she passed away at the age of eighty-seven years. Their children were as follows : Oliver P., who was the eldest; Wealthy Ann, who is deceased; George, who is also deceased; Diantha Jane, who is Mrs. John Love, of McClure, Ohio ; Harriet, who is Mrs. George Shaub ; Amos P., who lives in Pike Township; Daniel, who lived at Napoleon, Ohio, until October, 1919, and now resides Qn his farm one mile south of Delta; and Calvin, who lives near Tedrow, Ohio. Oliver P. Raker has a war record, for he enlisted in, November, 1861, in the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for service during the war between the states, and was at Fort Donelson, and in many of the important battles in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, including the siege of Vicksburg. Later his regiment was with General Sherman's command in the campaign in Georgia. Mr. Raker received his discharge on December 10, 1864, near Savannah, Georgia, and returned home by way of New York City. On October 4, 1866, Mr. Raker was married to Martha Dumaresq, born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on June 26, 1845, a daughter of Frederick and Jane Maria (Norton) Dumaresq, natives of the Isle of Guernsey and Wayne county, New York, respectively. Mrs. Raker's grandfather, Abram Dumaresq, was born on the Isle of Guernsey, and he married a Miss Simon. The maternal grandparents were Benjamin and Betsey (Minor) Norton, natives of Wayne county, New York. After his marriage Mr. Raker took up his residence on his farm of five acres, to which he kept on adding until he had forty acres, all of which he cleared and improved, and in 1916 he rented it. In the spring of 1919 he sold this farm to Melford Baldwin, but continued to make his home on the property until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Raker became the parents of the following chil dren : Charles, who is a resident of Toledo, Ohio ; Mrs. N. D. Fonty, of Wauseon ; Mrs. Henry Smout, of Toledo ; Fred, who lives at Delta, Ohio; Albert, who died in infancy; and Carlton, who lives at Bellefontaine, Ohio. Mr. Raker had nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and was very proud of all of them. For many years he was a member of the Christian Church of Delta, and from 1888 he served it as a deacon. While he gave an intelligent support to the candidates of the republican party, he never cared to enter public life as an office seeker. He was a member of McQuillan Post, Grand Army of the Republic. Having spent his entire life in Fulton county, with the exception of his army service, Mr. Raker was naturally much interested in its advancement, and felt proud of the fact that he had the privilege of taking part in this work. He was a man of high character, one who carried his religion into his every day life, and those who knew him appreciated the fact that he was one who not only treated his neighbor as well as himself, but considerably better. While his HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 385 educational training was restricted to the district schools he had added to his store of knowledge as the years went by, and was a very Veil informed man in every respect. HEZEKIAII MARKS. Strictly a self-made man who has created his own opportunities, Hezekiah Marks has long been identified with the agricultural community of Fulton county, and after acquiring a competence as a farmer he moved to Fayette, where he is now enjoying a well-earned retirement. He was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, January 18, 1861, son of Jacob Frederick and Barbara Ellen (Musser) Marks, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The paternal grandparents were Daniel and Hannah (Lillie) Marks, the former a native of Pennsylvania, while the latter was born on the Atlantic Ocean while her parents were coming to this country from Germany, the voyage requiring seventeen weeks. Daniel Marks and wife settled in Williams county, Ohio, while the Musser family were pioneers of Gorham Township, Fulton county. Jacob F. Marks after his marriage lived for a few years in Hillsdale county, Michigan, spent two years in Lenawee county, that state, and then returned to Williams county, Ohio. Their family consisted of four children : Benjamin Franklin, who died at the age of twenty-one; Hezekiah ; Hattie, wife of Gilbert Van Arsdalen, of Michigan ; and William Peter, of Pioneer, Ohio. Hezekiah Marks had no opportunities to attend school while at home. He was seventeen years of age when he took his place among much younger children in a district school, and altogether , his schooling was limited to about twenty-one months. However, he early learned to make the best of a bad situation, and has maintained an open mind and willingness to learn by experience, and therefore has not suffered as great a handicap as might be supposed. He left home at the age of seventeen, and worked out as a farm hand until he was thirty years of age. By industry and careful economy he was able to invest his savings in eighty acres of land in Gorham Township, and after getting that partly improved he married a year and a half after purchasing it, on November 12, 1891, Miss Amanda M. Alleman. Mrs. Marks was born in Richland county, Ohio, August 30, 1864, daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Gleim) Alleman. Her parents were natives of Ohio and early settlers in Richland county. Mr. Marks put in many strenuous years on his farm, working in the fields with the growing crops and constantly studying to make the land more productive and improving with barns, house and other equipment. He remained there engaged in general farming until March 9, 1915, when he bought his residence in Fayette, turning over the management of his farm to his son, and has since lived practically retired. He has two children, the son being Josiah Franklin, while the daughter, Ruby Marie, is the wife of Bernard Crawford of Milan, Michigan. The son married Bertha Long and has a daughter, Gladys Lucile. Mrs. Marks received a district school education. She is an active member of the Missionary and Ladies Aid Societies of the Disciples Church, in which Mr. Marks is serving as deacon and treasurer. Politically he votes as a democrat. 386 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY ANSEL LANDIS FORD was born and has spent all his life in Fulton county. His business interests from first to last have been concentrated in land and its fruits and products. His success has been a rather unusual and striking one. He began his active career with little capital except a determined ambition and unlimited energy. In the course of many years he has owned seventeen different farms, and his possessions today include six farms, aggregating about 500 acres. Mr. Ford, who is now enjoying the comforts of a part town and part country home at the edge of Fayette, was born in Gorham Township August 15, 1851, son of Cyrus and Fannie (Landis) Ford. He represents old New England stock, his people for several generations living in Cumington, Massachusetts, where his father was born in 1821. The Landis family came from Pennsylvania, and one of Mr. Ford's maternal ancestors was an American officer in the Revolutionary war. The principal facts regarding the Ford ancestors and the Fulton county branch of that name are given on other pages of this publication. Ansel Landis Ford grew up on his father's farm, acquiring his education in Fayette, and after his marriage at the age of twenty-four lived on his father's old home place a mile from Fayette. He was a renter there, and continued to occupy this place even after he had acquired other farms. In 1909 he bought eighty acres of the old Ford homestead, including the buildings. Under his ownership many of the buildings have been replaced with modern structures, and the farm has been highly developed in every way. On June 1, 1917, Mr. Ford bought a modern residence and an acre of ground at the east edge of Fayette. He married in September, 1874, Anna Humphrey, a native of Fayette, daughter of Rensselaer and Cornelia (Emerick) Humphrey and member of another prominent and well-known family of Fulton county whose records are given in detail elsewhere. The oldest of Mr. and Mrs. Ford's children is Alva, of Gorham Township, who married Ida Taylor and has three children, Anna, Naomi and Van. The second child, Bermah, is the wife of Clyde Brown of Napa, California, and the mother of two children, Lowell F. and Leland Robert. Clare Ford, who now has the responsibilities of managing the home farm, married Gertrude Wilcox, and their children are Blenda June and Don Wilcox. Demah is the wife of Cass Cullis, of Swanton, and has a son, Ford Miller. Denver, twin brother of Demah, lives in Gorham Township, and by his marriage to Lois Richmond has a daughter, Pauline Lucile. His experience as a farmer and land owner has given Mr. Ford a wide and diversified knowledge of land values, and he has served as real estate appraiser in Gorham Township and the village of Fayette and for two years was township assessor. He has been deeply interested in public schools and for forty years has been a member of the township School Board of Gorham. He is now serving his second term as justice of the peace and in politics is a republican voter. He has held all the chairs of Lodge No. 689 of the Knights of Pythias at Fayette. EMERSON E. BOURQUIN, partner of the firm of Bourquin Brothers, tile manufacturers of Archbold, Fulton county, Ohio, is one of the substantial and enterprising business men of that section HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 387 of the county, in which he has lived during practically the whole of his life. He was born about three miles to the west of Archbold in 1877, the son of Charles and Martha Bourquin. The family is of Alsatian (French) ancestry, but three generations have had American residence, the American progenitor of the branch to which Emerson E. and Ira 0. Bourquin, of Archbold, belong being their grandfather, James, who was a cabinetmaker in his native land, although after he crossed to America and settled in Fulton county, near Archbold, he followed agriculture almost exclusively. He had married anterior to the year of his immigration, and some of his children were born in France, but concerning his immediate family the data now available is not explicit or complete. It appears, however, that for some short period after immigrating with his wife and children James Bourquin lived in Williams county, Ohio, subsequently moving into Fulton county, where the family home has ever since been. The Bourquin family has been thus connected with the county and with Archbold for very long. Of the four children of James Bourquin, two sons and two daughters, his son Charles, father of Emerson E., was the last born and possibly he was born in America. Charles Bourquin farmed for the greater part of his life, assisting his father throughout the latter's life, and after his death continuing to till the Bourquin family homestead, to the westward of Archbold, until somewhat recently, when he retired from agricultural occupations altogether and moved into Archbold, so that he might pass the remaining years of his life in quiet comfort and be near his children. He married Martha Klopfenstein, and they were the parents of four children, all sons, of whom Emerson E. is the youngest. Emerson E. as a boy attended the district school nearest to the family homestead, following the classes until he had reached the age of eighteen years. Like most country boys of his time, his schooling practically resolved itself into winter terms, the school being closed for the greater part of the growing season. However, he made good that deficiency by attending school for a greater number of years than he otherwise might have. Still, as his long summer vacations were spent generally in doing what tasks connected with the home farm he had the strength to undertake, he was almost an experienced farmer before he finally closed his schooling altogether. From the age of eighteen years until he was in his twenty-third year he remained at home, giving his time exclusively to his father, and to the affairs of the home farm. In 1899, however, he went to West Unity, Williams county, Ohio, where for the next four years he was a clerk in a general store of ;hat place. He returned to Archbold at the end of that time and joined his brother Ira 0. in a business enterprise, the two then becoming established in a grocery business in Archbold, trading as Bourquin Brothers, and during the next four years having satisfactory return upon their investment. They then sold the business to advantage, being influenced in the matter by another business opportunity then open, and from which they expected to get an even better return than the continuance in merchandising business would have brought them. They purchased thirteen acres of land to the eastward of Archbold, and ever since have been manufacturers of building tile and other clay products, valuable clay deposits being upon their land, which 388 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY fact the Bourquin brothers had cognizance of prior to their decision to purchase the land. Their manufactured products find a ready market among users within seventy-five miles of Archbold, and they have generally been able to keep their plant operated at full capacity. Thirteen men find constant employment in the plant, and the brothers have not an inconsequential business in their retailing of coal in Archbold and the neighboring country. Politically Mr. Bourquin is of independent affiliation in fact it may be said of him that he is of independent mind, placing more importance upon the strength and moral standing of the candidate for his vote rather than upon the party such candidate was linked with. If such discrimination were more generally shown at elections, politics would be of higher standard in all probability. Mr. Bourquin has upon many occasions shown a commendable community interest, and has at all times been ready to co-operate, personally or financially, in worthy local projects of communistic bearing. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, a member of the West Unity branch of that order, and is also a member of Masonic order at the same place. Generally he enjoys good repute in Archbold and the vicinity, being recognized as a helpful, responsible resident and loyal citizen. In 1904 he married Bertha, daughter of J. O. and Jane Swisher. They have one child, Martha Jane. SAMUEL C. SCHANTZ. Upon the roll of representative citizens and influential business men of Fulton county consistently appears the name of Samuel C. Schantz, cashier of the Peoples State Bank of Archbold. He is one of those sturdy spirits who has contributed largely to the material welfare of the locality in which he lives, representing that class of earnest citizens who have done so much for the development of the country, while at the same time they have benefited themselves in a very material manner. He has spent practically his entire life in this county, during which time he has gradually won his way into the affections of the people, for he possesses those sterling qualities of character which commend themselves to the people of a community. Samuel C. Schantz was born on his father's farm near Archbold, Fulton county, Ohio, on August 8, 1869, and is the son of Christian and Mary (Gingerick) Schantz. His paternal grandfather, Christian Schantz, Sr., was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, who came to the United States in an early day and settled on a farm in Wayne county, Ohio. Among his children who accompanied him on the immigration to this country was Christian, Jr., father of the subject, and who at that time was twelve years of age. The latter became a pioneer settler of Fulton county, where he entered and created a home. Of his fifteen children the subject of this sketch is the youngest. Samuel C. Schantz was reared to manhood on his father's farm and secured his elementary education in the schools of District No. 10, near Archbold, after which he attended the Trenton high school at Butler one year. Having decided to adopt the teaching profession, he attended the Fayette Normal School two terms, and then for eight years was employed as a teacher in the country schools of this section, including two terms in Springfield Township, Henry county, two terms in District No. 10, German Township, Fulton HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 389 county, and several years in other local schools. Then for fourteen years he was a teacher in the Archbold High School, winning a splendid reputation as an able and conscientious teacher. In 1907 Mr. Schantz resigned his position with the schools and organized the Peoples State Bank, of which he became the cashier, in which position he still serves. The bank was organized with a capital stock of $25,000, and has steadily grown in public favor until now its deposits are, in round numbers, about $500,000. It is one of the solid and influential financial institutions of the county and has been an important factor in the commercial development and prosperity of this section of the county. In addition to his bank stock Mr. Schantz also owns extensive tracts of farm land, as well as real estate in Toledo and Lima, Ohio. In 1892 Mr. Schantz was married to Fanny Eicher, the daughter of Joseph and Catherine Eicher, of Ridgeville Corners, Henry county. To their union have been born eight children, four sons and four daughters, namely : Otto R., Lloyd C., Raymond Lee, Milton M., Mary C., Orpha, Lottie and Osee. Politically Mr. Schantz supports the democratic party, though he does not take a very active part in political affairs. However, he is deeply interested in public affairs as affecting his community, and rendered three years of effective service as assessor and one term as a member of the School Board. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The qualities of keen discrimination, sound judgment and executive ability enter very largely into his makeup and have been contributing elements to the material success which has come to him, and because of these attributes he has won the confidence and respect of all who know him. ELMER E. RUPP. It cannot be other than interesting to note in the series of personal sketches appearing in this work the varying conditions that have compassed those whose careers are outlined, and the effort has been made in each case to throw well focused light onto the individual and to bring into proper perspective the scheme of each respective career. The banks of Fulton county have ever maintained a high standing, and among the able young workers in this field of endeavor is Elmer E. Rupp, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Archbold. With a natural predilection for this vocation and endowed with a ready faculty for business affairs, he has been successful in his present position and enjoys the fullest measure of confidence on the part of his business associates and the patrons of the bank. Elmer E. Rupp was born in 1885 on his father's farm about one mile north of Archbold, Fulton county, Ohio, and is the son of Rev. Daniel and Magdalena (Gerber) Rupp,, the former being a well known pastor of the Mennonite Church. The subject received his elementary education in the common schools of his home neighborhood, which he attended until fifteen years of age. He is descended from sterling old pioneer stock, his great-grandfather Rupp having been one of four brothers who settled in Fulton county in an early day, devoting their lives to agricultural pursuits. Mr. Rupp completed his studies in the high school at Archbold, where he was graduated in 1903. He then engaged in teaching school, being employed for three years in District No. 5 of German Township, and one year in his home school. Mr. Rupp then went 390 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY to Wauseon, and during the following year and a half was employed as bookkeeper in the First National Bank. Then he went to Archbold and became assistant cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, predecessor of the present Farmers & Merchants State Bank, and of that institution he became cashier in 1912. One year later he resigned and became connected with the Salem Orphanage at Flanagan, Illinois, first being in the office, but later was placed in charge of the electric plant and machinery. This is a well-known and successful Mennonite institution, and Mr. Rupp gave it good service for one year, at the end of which time he went to Chicago and attended the Moody Bible Institute, where he took courses in Bible Study and music. He graduated there in December, 1914, receiving special honor in his music class. He returned to Archbold and again became cashier of the bank from which he had resigned about three years before, and he has remained with this bank ever since. He is closely devoted to his work, and not a little of the splendid success which has come to this bank is due to his business ability and high personal character. In November, 1915, Mr. Rupp was married to Esther J. Slagle, the daughter of Rev. E. M. and Magdalena (Sommers) Slagle, her father being a Mennonite minister at Pioneer, Ohio. To the subject and wife have been born two children, Pauline May and Ruth Anna. Religiously Mr. Rupp is a member of the Defenseless branch of the Mennonite Church, in the activities of which he is prominent. He is a trustee of Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary. at Bluffton, Ohio, and is a director of the Salem Orphanage at Flanagan, Illinois. He is a good citizen in every respect, being of that type of man who cheerfully gives his support to all movements for the betterment of the people and the welfare of the community generally. Personally he is genial and companionable, and has a host of warm personal friends throughout this section of the country. OLIVER RICHARD GEORGE. Since 1873 the George family represented by Oliver Richard George of York Township has been in Fulton county. He was ten years old when his parents came from Seneca county. He was born February 26, 1863, in Seneca county. He is a son of Oliver R. and Salinda (Trexler) George, the parents having been born in Pennsylvania. When the family came to Fulton county they bought land in York Township, where the father died in 1880, and the mother died fifteen years later. The oldest daughter, Cora, deceased, was the wife of Joseph Dickerson. Oliver R. George, who enrolls the family, has a younger sister, Ida, the wife of Charles Snyder, of Napoleon. After the death of O. R. George, Sr. the son Oliver R. continued his residence with the mother at the family homestead. He remained there two years after her death, when he bought eighty acres and moved to it. He has added many new buildings, and is engaged in diversified farming and raising livestock. He is engaged in milk production and always has a good herd of dairy cows. In 1887 Mr. George married Jessie Aumend, a daughter of Samuel and Martha Aumend, of York Township. Their children Russell, who married Lena Atherton and has three sons, Clarence, Richard and Marvin; Clair, who is a state dairy inspector; Enid at home; Leon, of Fulton, who married Georgia Foster and has two children, Marion and Margarita; Emerson, of the United States HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 391 Army, who had his military training at Camp Taylor. Clair was also a soldier, having his training at Camp Sherman, and he spent twenty months in the service. Russell and Leon are both up-to-date farmers. They have good farming properties and doing well. Russell is working an eighty acre farm in York Township and Leon, forty acres in Fulton Township. Enid was a school teacher and was also a bookkeeper at Delta. The family vote is republican. Mr. George has served as trustee in the Grange for many years. He has passed all of the chairs in the Knights of Pythias Lodge in Delta. ELMER H. STRUBLE, a well-known resident of York Township, Fulton county, and a Civil war veteran of honorable record, comes of a family which was among the early settlers in Trumbull county, Ohio, and among the pioneer settlers of York Township, Fulton county. Elmer H. Struble has lived in the township since 1844, for seventy-six years excepting those of the Civil war, when he gave worthy national service in the Army of the Cumberland, taking part in Sherman's famous march to the sea through Georgia. His manliness, demonstrated during his war service, has been continued with stalwart purpose during later life, which he has spent in York Township, mostly in pioneering occupations, and the resultant material independence has been strengthened by the good will borne toward him by his neighbors in the township, who esteem him for his moral qualities as well as for his consistent and persistent industry. He has been a factor in the township for very many years. Elmer H. Struble was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, on July 1, 1843, the son of William and Elizabeth (Dixon) Struble. William Struble was born in Mifflin county, Ohio, and his wife, Elizabeth Dixon, in Washington county, Ohio. Both are of record in the early annals of Trumbull county, Ohio, where they settled after marriage. But subsequently they removed to what is now York Township, Fulton county, having purchased a tract of timber land in section 10 of that township from an attorney named Rawson. The tract was eighty acres in extent, and William Struble settled his family thereon, the family at the outset living in a primitive dwelling which, through the industry and parental purpose of William Struble, eventually gave way to a homestead, commodious and comfortable, just as the timber land eventually was won from the wild state to a satisfactory condition of tillage. William Struble prospered and gradually added to his acreage, ultimately becoming the owner of a rich farming property, 160 acres in extent. He and his wife lived in the township until his children were full-grown and independently established, and then he and his wife moved into the City of Wauseon, Ohio, and there passed their declining years. His wife died in December, 1886, and he three years later, in December, 1889. William and Elizabeth (Dixon) Struble were the parents of ten children: George W., Angeline, Ann, Elmer H., Clara who is now the widow of William Skeels, and lives in Wauseon, Ohio, Walter D., James C., Charles W., and two who died in infancy. Elmer H. Struble was less than a year old when his parents moved from Trumbull county to York Township of Fulton county, and most of his youth was spent under conditions such as the average pioneer experienced. As a boy he attended the district school, 392 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY and in all probability spent a good portion of his boyhood years in minor occupations upon his father's farm. He grew into sturdy manhood, and was of good heart, loyal and patriotic. That was evident during the troublous times of his young manhood. Indeed, he was not yet eighteen years old when the Civil war came into being, and he could not be held long from enlisting in the military forces of the Union. On May 27, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Eighty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after the expiration of the local emergency, September 23, 1862, he was discharged. He returned to his home, and for a few months worked as hired hand on farms of that district. However, on February 8, 1863, he again enlisted, joining Company B, of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which became part of the Army of the Cumberland, and as such took part in the famous campaigning of General Sherman throughout the southern states during the years 1863-64-65. The campaigning of General Sherman in Mississippi and Tennessee during 1863 was but preliminary to his famous and devastating "March to the Sea," through Georgia in 1864, in which the Thirty-eighth Ohio Regiment had honorable part. Elmer H. Struble with his regiment took part in most of the preliminary fighting that led to the siege of Atlanta and in the major battle of Jonesboro on August 31, 1864, upon the outcome of which battle depended the fate of Atlanta, and, ending as it did in a victory for the Union forces under General Sherman, it brought about the evacuation of Atlanta on the following day, September 1, 1864. Young Struble with his regiment subsequently took part in the Grand Review at Washington, District of Columbia, and was ultimately, on. July 12, 1865, given an honorable discharge, soon after receiving which he returned to his home in York Township, Fulton county. There he followed agriculture industriously during the next decade, toward the end of which, in 1874, he married, and soon afterward settled upon an undeveloped tract in section 5 of York Township, which tract he had sometime previously acquired. The acreage was wholly in timber, and his early married life was therefore somewhat similar to what had been the experience of his father. He had to build for himself and to gradually clear the acreage. This he did to good purpose, subsequently acquiring an additional acreage and thus increasing his holding to seventy acres, fifty acres of which he brought into good cultivation. He farmed wisely, and was generally successful in dairying and cattle raising, and thus for many decades has been among the reliable and responsible agriculturists of that section of Fulton county. Throughout his long residence in York Township, which might almost be considered his native place, seeing that he has lived in it since his first year, he has taken close interest in the public affairs of the township. Politcally he has given allegiance to the republican party, but has not concerned himself actively in national politics, excepting those that had bearing upon local conditions, but he has given support to most of the consequential public happenings in his community. Religiously he is a Methodist, and for very many years has been a member of the local church of that denomination. And he has given personal service to the church also, having been trustee and steward. Generally, he has lived a long and worthy life of useful activity. In 1917, however, being then seventy-four years old, he rented the greater portion of his farm, and has since taken life less strenuously. HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 393 He was married on December 17, 1874, to Alice, daughter of Charles and Thankful (Stone) Shreves, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Connecticut. Their daughter, however, was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, where they lived at that time. The Shreves family later moved into Huron county, Ohio, and in the district schools of that county Alice (Shreves) Struble was educated. Mr. and Mrs. Struble are the parents of two children, daughters : Stella, who married Clyde Demaline, of York Township, and Nora, who lives with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Struble are within a few years of their Golden Wedding Anniversary, and have very many friends throughout Fulton county. WILLIAM SEGRIST, who has been a responsible resident of York Township, Fulton county, Ohio, for more than forty years, and is one of the successful farmers of that section of the county, comes of a family well-known in York Township. His brother, John Barnhart Segrist, lived for ninety-five years, more than sixty of which were spent in York Township, and some of his and his brother's children are now among the substantial farmers of the township. William E. Segrist was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in May, 1829, the son of John and Agnes (Lautenschlager) Segrist, and he was but an infant when his parents brought the family to America, an adventurous voyage, for conditons of sea travel in those days were perilous for passengers, the importance of hygiene and sanitation not being at that time properly understood, with the consequence that in the congested quarters available on the passenger vessels of those days mortality among the voyagers was high. It affected the prospects of the &grist family very materially, for within ten days of landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John Segrist, the father, died of yellow fever, presumably contracted during the voyage. The children were left almost unprovided for, but the widow, Agnes (Lautenschlager) Segrist, appears to have been a woman of strong, self-reliant purpose, and for the next twenty years of her widowhood she owned a farm in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, which presumably she managed. With the aid of her husband's brother, who was a butcher in Philadelphia and assumed the care of one of her sons after the death of their father, she Mann aged to rear into sturdy manhood and womanhood her children. After living in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, for about twenty years, the widow moved to Coshocton county, Ohio, where she died in about 1871. William Segrist had taken resolutely to farming and re, mained near his mother until her death, after which he moved to York Township, Fulton county, where his brother had a good farm. William Segrist had owned a farm in Coshocton county since 1860, when he married, but that farm he sold in 1882, and in the same year purchased one of 120 acres in York Township, which today is a good property, practically all cleared land. William Segrist, like his brother John B., was a very active man and a good farmer. He held steadily at farming occupations until 1904, he being then seventy-five years old. In that year he rented his farm in York Township, and has lived in comparative retirement since, although he still resides on the farm. In national and local politics William Segrist has been a democrat for the greater part of his voting years, and had held local office. For two years he served as supervisor of roads in his district. Religiously he is a Lutheran. In 1857 he married Nancy Baad, daughter of Adam and Bar- 394 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY bara Baad, early settlers in Coshocton county, Ohio. She was born in Germany, but was brought to America, by her parents when young, and lived in Coshocton county, Ohio, until about middle age, when with her husband and children she took up residence in York Township, where she lived for thirty-four years, death coming to her in June, 1916. William and Nancy (Baad) Segrist were the parents of four children, John, Louis, Amanda and Sophia. Their two sons are enterprising farmers in York Township, and Sophia, their daughter, devotes herself to caring for her father in his old age. ALBERT J. KLINE. One of the best known and most successful veterinarians of northwestern Ohio is Albert J. Kline of Wauseon, Fulton county. He has won success in life in a definite manner because he has persevered in pursuit of a worthy purpose, and is gaining thereby a most satisfactory reward. He is thoroughly qualified by training and experience for the important vocation which he follows, and has been successful to such a degree that he is favorably known over a wide radius of surrounding country. Albert J. Kline was born in Henry county, Ohio, on December 30, 1872, and is the son of Abraham and Alice Jane (Gibbs) Kline. The Kline family is of German origin, the subject's great-greatgrandfather, Joseph Kline, having come from the fatherland to America many decades ago, settling in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, where he followed agricultural pursuits. His son, the subject's great-grandfather, also spent his life in the Keystone state, and followed the same vocation. He was the father of twenty-four children, hav- ing been married twice. His son, Joseph Kline, lived at Home- stead, Pennsylvania, until 1849, when he came to Ohio, locating in Freedom Township, Henry county, making the trip in a wagon with his wife and children, among the latter being the subject's father, who at that time was but two years of age. The year following his arrival in Henry county his wife died, and was the first person buried in Kline Cemetery, Freedom Township, Henry county. He was the father of four children, two sons and two daughters. Abraham Kline was only twelve years of age when the Civil war came on, and he tried several times to enlist, but was refused on account of his youth. He spent his entire life in Henry county, where he owned a fine farm of 130 acres, his death occurring on January 8, 1917. His wife had passed away in April, 1894. Of their five children the subject of this sketch is the eldest. Albert J. Kline received his educational training in the country schools of Henry county, the summer months being spent in work on his father's farm. He was fired with an ambition to devote his attention to professional work, and spent 11/2 years as a student in the Wauseon Normal Academy. In 1892 he entered the Ontario Veterinary College, where he was graduated in 1894, with the de- gree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. Soon afterward he located in Hicksville, Ohio, and engaged in the practice of his profession until July 26, 1896, when he came to Wauseon, where he has been established in practice ever since. Later Doctor Kline took a postgraduate course in the veterinary department of the University of Pennsylvania, and also took an advanced course in veterinary medicine. On February 7, 1893, he had received a diploma at the Toronto Veterinary Dental School, and in 1894 was made an honorary HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 395 member of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Society. He was admitted to practice by the Ohio State Board of Veterinary Examiners in July, 1897, and was admitted to practice in the State of Michigan in 1900. In 1899 he joined the American Veterinary Medical Association, and in 1908 joined the Ohio State Veterinary Association. He has practiced extensively in both Ohio and Michigan and, as before stated, has gained a wide acquaintance and an extensive practice throughout the surrounding country. Doctor Kline is, aside from his professional interests, also engaged in the breeding and raising of live stock, his favorite breed being Holstein cattle, in which he has met with pronounced success. He is an active member of the Holstein-Friesan Association. He is also, and has been for twelve years, a director of the Fulton County Agricultural Association, and has been an important factor in the success of these annual exhibitions. On June 8, 1898, Doctor Kline was married to Lizzie E. Swingle, the daughter of Franklin Swingle, of Hicksville, Ohio. Politically he is an ardent republican, while fraternally he is a member of Wauseon Lodge No. 349, Free and Accepted Masons, at Wauseon, and in the Scottish Rite branch of Freemasonry he has attained to the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, being affiliated with Zenobia Temple at Toledo, and is a member of the Lodge of Knights of Pythias at Wauseon. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. While devoted to his profession and engaged in the prosecution of his chosen work, the doctor has not been neglectful of his duties to the community and is numbered among the public-spirited and progressive citizens of Wauseon, giving his support to every movement for the advancement of the community along material, civic or moral lines. C. A. COLE. It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of this review a man who has led an 'active life and by his own exertions reached a position of honor and trust in the lines of work with which his interests are allied. But biography finds' justification, nevertheless, in tracing the record of such a life, as the public claims a certain property interest in the career of every individual and the time invariably arrives when it becomes advisable to give the right publicity. It is, then, with a certain degree of satisfaction that the chronicler essays the task of touching briefly upon such a record as has been that of Doctor Cole, one of the men of high standing and influence in Fulton county, who professionally long ranked with the leading dentists of this locality and who in other lines has also gained a reputation as an enterprising and progressive citizen. C. A. Cole was born in Crystal Valley Township, Oceans county, Michigan, on September 5, 1868, and bears the unique distinction of having been the first white child born in that township, of which section his parents were among the early settlers. His parents were Griffin and Ida (Hager) Cole, the former of whom was of English descent, though the family has been established in America for many generations. Griffin Cole was born and reared in Pennsylvania, the family home being close to the New York state line, where he followed agricultural pursuits. Sometime after his marriage he and his wife went to Michigan and established a home in 396 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY the woods of Oceana county, but a few miles from Lake Michigan. When the subject of this sketch was about two years old the family came to Fulton county, Ohio, locating in Dover Township, where he was reared to manhood. He was early inured to the labors of the farm, to which he gave his attention during the summer seasons and attended the district schools during the winter months. After completing his common school education he attended the Wauseon Normal School for ten weeks, and also spent one winter as a student in the Fayette Normal School. During all this time his vacation periods were invariably spent on the home farm, but when twenty-one years of age he went to work for his uncle, W. D. Hager, being employed to drive trotting horses at the county fairs in Ohio. After two years with his uncle he decided to take up the dental profession, and to this end he matriculated in the Ohio College of Dentistry, where he was graduated in 1892, with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. Immediately thereafter he went to Angola, Indiana, and there engaged in the practice of his profession, remaining there ten years. In 1901 Doctor Cole came to Wauseon and opened a dental office, but a few years afterward was compelled to relinquish the active practice on account of •continued ill health. He then turned his attention to agriculture and stockraising, buying two farms, comprising 272 acres all together, on which he engaged in general farming: He gave considerable attention to the breeding and raising of registered cattle and blooded Duroc hogs, in which he met with gratifying success. He is now retired from active farming, having rented his farms. Politically, Doctor Cole is a republican and takes a deep interest in public affairs, especially as affecting his community. He rendered efficient service as probation officer of Fulton county for eight years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has been a trustee for sixteen years. In 1892 Doctor Cole was married to Mayme Clark, the daughter of Andrew B. and Ellen (Cuff) Clark, of Wauseon, and to them have been born two sons, Charles J., born, in 1901, who graduated from the Wauseon High School and is now a student at the Michigan State University, Ann Arbor, and Richard Sterling, born in 1908. In both professional and farming circles Doctor Cole has enjoyed a high standing, and because of his success and his high personal character he enjoys the confidence and regard of the entire community. REASIN ISAIAH TEDROW. Having acquired ownership of the fifty-five acres of land he owns and operates in Clinton Township, on the outskirts of Wauseon, Reasin Isaiah Tedrow feels that he has reaped a fair profit from his industry and thrift, while at the same time he realizes he has held the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been associated. Reasin Isaiah Tedrow was born in the township in which he resides in 1857, a son of Isaiah and Phoebe (Cornell) Tedrow, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. The paternal grandfather, Isaac Tedrow, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania at an early day, and bought 320 acres of land near what is now called Tedrow, and there he rounded out his useful life, dying on his farm. In recognition of his value to his neighborhood the town of Tedrow was named in his HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 397 honor. Isaac Tedrow reared a family of nine children, of whom Isaiah Tedrow was one, and he spent his life on his father's homestead. Reasin Isaiah Tedrow was one of two children born to his parents, and he was reared in Clinton Township and attended its rural schools until he reached his majority, according to the prevailing practice, being engaged in farming during the summers of these years when he was acquiring his education. After he was twenty-one he worked on the farm of a neighbor for a year. In 1879 Mr. Tedrow was united in marriage with Columbia, Bland, of Pettisville, who died three months later. In 1882 Mr. Tedrow was married to Cora Pocock, a daughter of Jesse and Susanne (Robinett) Pocock, of Clinton Township. Mr. Tedrow has three children, namely : Bessie, who is Mrs. L. D. Fauver, of Dixon, Ohio, and the mother of five children; Jesse Frank, who was born in 1891, married Lavina Ziegler, lives in Clinton Township, but has no children; and William, who was born in 1894, is at home. Following his marriage Mr. Tedrow was engaged in farming on shares for two years, and in 1880 bought his present farm of fifty-five acres, on which he carries on general farming. He has made many improvements on this property, which under his care has become a valuable one, and his premises show the results of his efforts. While he holds in general to the principles of the republican party, he prefers to vote independently, making his choice with reference to the man, rather than be tied down by hard and fast lines. The First Methodist Episcopal Church holds his membership, and he is accounted one of its pillars. His fraternal connections are represented by his membership with Wauseon Camp, Modern Woodmen of America. A hard-working and thrifty man, he has steadily forged ahead and has become one of the well-to-do men of his community. While not inclined to go headlong into anything until he has made a thorough investigation, once he is convinced of its merit he will support a measure until it is carried through to successful completion. This fact is recognized by his neighbors, and if he is quoted as favoring a project, proves to them that it is a reasonable one and worth taking up, and a number depend upon his judgment with reference to public matters. HENRY JAMES DOWLING. While he is of Irish ancestry, Henry James Dowling of the North Star Farm in Fulton, was born May 8, 1865, and has always lived at one place. While his father, James Dowling, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, his mother, Mary (Bracken) Dowling, was born in Kings county, Ireland. A generation earlier the Dowlings and Brackens were all from Ireland. Daniel and Catharine (Bracken) Dowling and John and Bridget (Tobin) Bracken, the quartet of grandparents of H. J. Dowling were all from Ireland. When they came to the United States the Dowlings settled in Trumbull and the Brackens in Fulton county. The Dowlings located in Trumbull county in 1840, and ten years later they came to Fulton county. They bought land and here James Dowling and Mary Bracken were married, and here their son was born. His time of life was from 1834 to 1915, while she was born in 1829, and died in 1903—residents of the community where the son lives today. 398 - HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY H. J. Dowling had one sister who died in infancy, leaving him to inherit the property—the family homestead known as the North Star Farm. He was the only heir to a farm of 260 acres of excellent land, with two sets of farm buildings on it. In 1912 Mr. Dowling built a modern eleven-room house, and he has built and rebuilt farm buildings until he now has all up-to-date improvements. In April, 1903, Mr. Dowling married Rose Bertha Dennis. She is a daughter of Philip and Eunice (Welch) Dennis. While' she was born in Fulton county her father was born in 'Seneca and her mother in Lucas county. The grandparents, Charles and Margaret (Case) Welch, lived in New Jersey before locating in Ohio. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Dowling are : J. Harold, Walter E., Mildred L., Dean F., Stanley L., and Ferol C. The family belong to the Caraghan Catholic Church, and since 1910 Mr. Dowling has been a member of the church council. Beside common school education he studied at the Fayette Normal School. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus of Toledo. The Dow- lino- vote is cast with the democratic party. ''As this record shows, the Dowlings have been in Fulton county for seventy years. Mr. H. J. Dowling is distinguished not only by the ownership of one of the most completely equipped and thoroughly modern farms in the county, but also by a constant exercise of his personal influence in behalf of community progress, advancement of church and moral causes, and his record is one of which his immediate and more remote descendants will always be proud. WILLIAM SATTLER, of Fulton Township, has only recently lived in Fulton county. He was born April 23, 1872, in Wood county, at Perrysburg. He is a son of Philip and Genevieve (Volk) Sattler, both immigrants from Germany. They were married in Medina county, but soots removed to Wood county. They both died in Wood county. William Sattler continued his residence in Wood county, and on August 21, 1895, he married Anna Haas, of Wood county. 'She is a daughter of Frank and Anna (Ault) Haas. Her parents came from Germany. Mr. Sattler rented a farm in Troy Township, Wood county, and lived on it six years. He bought a farm near Perrysburg and remained there seven years. When he sold it he removed to Fulton county, where he bought unimproved land and cleared and improved it. He owns 120 acres and he cleared thirty-five acres, giving him ninety acres of cultivated farm land with some in timber and pasture. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Sattler are : William, of Amboy ; Paul, of Fulton ; and Floyd, Lillian, Genevieve, Richard, Agnes, Peter, Victoria, Boniface, Cecil and a boy and girl who died in infancy. The family are Catholics, and Mr. Sattler votes with the democrats. JOHN W. DENNIS, of Fulton Township, was born September 12, 1870, and he has always lived in one community. He is a son of Philip and Eunice (Welch) Dennis, both natives of Ohio. They settled near the Fulton-Lucas county line. Their children are: Mary and .Jane, deceased; Madison, of Swanton; and Ella, wife of Uriah Denlinger, of Kansas. The second group of children are: Georgia, wife of Frank Crippen, of Findlay ; Jessie, wife of Frank HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY - 399 Warner, of Buckley; John W. Dennis, of this sketch, and Rosa, wife of Henry Dowling, of Fulton Township. On February 11, 1896, Mr. Dennis married Eva Coon, of Spencer Township, Lucas county. She is a daughter of Almon and Mary Ann (Cunningham) Coon, the father from New York and the mother from Wayne county, Ohio. After two years with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis moved to their own farm of 178 acres in Fulton Township. He cleared and tiled the land and now has 140 acres under cultivation. Beside general farming Mr. Dennis has a Holstein dairy. The Dennis children are : Enid, born June 26, 1897, and died December 24, 1898; Philip, born October 25, 1899, at home ; Hazel, born August 14, 1902; Fern, born July 6, 1906, died December 25, 1906; and Vern,. born February 23, 1910. Mr. Dennis has a ten-room house with bath and furnace heat and electric lights. He votes with the republican party. While he has always lived in one community, Mr. Dennis' life has not been without variety and has been expressed in hard work, progressive advancement in material prosperity, and the accumulation of the esteem and respect of his friends and neighbors. FREDERICK GRAEDEL, of Amboy, was born August 24, 1847, in Switzerland. His first introduction to the United States was six weeks spent in a hospital. When he was able to work he went to Louisville, Kentucky, for a few months. He was a journeyman at the brick and stone mason's trade, and worked in several different states before he finally settled down to the quiet life of a farmer. In July, 1889, Mr. Graedel married Elizabeth Messer, who was also from Switzerland. She is a daughter of John and Barbara Messer, who came to Woodville, Ohio, in 1857, and there is where Mr. Graedel met her. His own relatives did not come to the United States. For five years Mr. Graedel conducted an ashery in Woodville, and then he moved to a farm near Woodville, where he remained twelve years. Then he bought a forty acre place in Harris Township, Ottawa county. He occupied this farm six years, when he sold it and located in Amboy Township, Fulton county. Mr. Graedel remodeled and added to the improvements in Amboy and he now has a farm with every advantage. For years he would work at bricklaying and stonemasonry at times, but now he devotes his whole time to the farm. He makes a specialty of Duroc Jersey hogs along with general farming and other livestock. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Graedel are: Elizabeth, Bertha and Frederick John. Mr. and Mrs. Graedel had their education in Switzerland. They belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he votes with the republican party. He is a member of the National Union and Council. WILLIAM LEISKA. While the Leiska name harks back to Germany, the family located in Ottawa county, Ohio, as early as 1883. William Leiska, of Amboy, was born near Berlin March 3, 1873, and he was quite young when his parents immigrated to the United States. He is a son of William and Willamena (Schumebeck) Leiska, who immigrated to America and died in Ottawa county, Ohio. William Leiska married Ida Lacumska, November 23, 1904, in Ottawa county, Ohio. She is a daughter of August and Willamena