500 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY owner has repaired it and has erected the other buildings now on his land, including those on his other farms. In politics, Mr. Norris is a stanch Republican and he has served frequently in township offices, as noted above, being township treasurer and formerly was township clerk, and in 1889 was his party's candidate for county recorder. He is a member of Findlay Lodge No. 73, Odd Fellows, and of the Golden Rule Encampment, and is a charter member of the local Grange. SOLOMON SHAFER, owner of 330 acres of fine farming land in Delaware Township, Section 11, and seventy acres in Mt. Blanchard Sections and 2, upon which he lives, was born in Knox County, O., March 23, 1836, a son of Michael and Nancy Shafer. The father came to Hancock County in 1835, with two of his eldest sons, and two of his eldest daughters, and cleared a small piece of land, on which he built a log cabin. In the following spring he was joined by his wife, who made the journey on horseback, carrying her little six-weeks old son, the subject of this sketch. Their farm was located in Section 12, half a mile south of Mt. Blanchard. Michael Shafer added to his little property from time to time until he finally be-came one of the largest land owners in Han-cock County, a result which speaks volumes for his industry and perseverance. He died on his farm in Section 1, on August 16, 1862, being survived for eight years by his wife. She was a native of Ireland, coming to this country with her parents, who settled in Knox County, where they engaged in farming. She and her husband were the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the ninth in order of birth. Solomon Shafer was reared in Delaware Township, attending the country schools in boyhood and also the city schools at Mt. Blanchard. During his leisure hours he was gradually initiated into farm work, which subsequently became his life occupation. In 1859 he bought out the heirs of his father's estate, and in the following year he married Mary Elizabeth Hoge, who came to Hancock County from Belmont County, O., with her parents, when thirteen years of age, they settling on a farm in Amanda Township, this being about the year 1851. Subsequently they removed to the State of Iowa, where Mr. Hoge bought a farm, upon which he later died—in 1885. His wife passed away three years afterwards. Soon after his marriage our subject began housekeeping upon his 70-acre farm in Sections and 2, which property he has since cut up into city lots. Upon his other property he carries on general agriculture and has been quite successful in this occupation, partaking of the prosperity which farmers in general are now enjoying throughout the country. He and his wife have had one child, Anna Lorena, who is now the wife of Lewis Renfrew Kious, of Madison County, and the mother of five children—Clifford Shafer, Mary Louise, Lewis R., Lorena and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer attend the Methodist Protestant church. From 1865 to 1869 Mr. Shafer served as county auditor, being elected on the Democratic ticket, and living during those four years in Findlay. The rest of his life has been spent in Mt. Blanchard. FRANK C. SHANK, county auditor of Hancock County, O., is well and favorably known all over this county, belonging to one of its prominent old families and for a number of HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 501 years being active in political circles. He was born in Union Township, Hancock County, O., August 20, 1873, and is a son of Albert and Mary E. (Watson) Shank. Albert Shank was born in Allen County, O., and came from there to Hancock County where he followed an agricultural life until his decease in 1892. He married Mary E. Watson, a native of Mahoning County, O., who survives. Frank C. Shank was reared on his father's farm and after attending the country schools for some years, began to teach school, first in Union Township, for thirty-two months, and later at the village of Rawson for thirty-one months. He had always been a zealous Republican and after he left the school-room he was elected deputy county auditor and served in that office for seven consecutive years. He was elected in the November election of 1908 to the office of auditor, assuming the duties of this office on the third Monday in October, 1909, and was one of the two Republican county officials, out of sixteen candidates, who were elected. Mr. Shank's long experience as deputy particularly qualified him for this office, in which he is efficient and popular. Mr. Shank married Miss Gertrude Crist, who was born and reared in Eagle Township, Hancock County, and they have two children : Mary and Josephine. Mr. Shank is a member of a number of fraternal organizations, including : the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows, the Maccabees, the Elks, and the Sons of Veterans. JACOB ANTHONY KIMMELL, M. D., was born on a farm near the village of Oneida, Carroll County, Ohio, on the 17th day of September, 1844. He was a son of David and Christena Oaks Kimmell, the former of Dutch and the latter of English descent, and was the eighth of a family of ten children, of whom three are still living. In October, 1851, the family moved to Hancock County, and settled on a farm in Marion Township about three miles from Findlay. Here he attended the country common schools and at the age of sixteen obtained a county certificate and taught school in the winter time and attended the Findlay select school in the autumn season for two years, when in February, 1863, he enlisted for three years in Co. A, list Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war, receiving his discharge from the service May 30th, 1865. He was present and took part in numerous skirmishes and battles of the Civil War, among the most prominent of which was Chickamauga, Tunnel Hill, Rocky Face, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope church, Chattahoocha and Atlanta, serving with General W. T. Sherman in the "One hundred and twenty days' fight" from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Upon the arrival of Sherman's army at Atlanta, he was taken with rheumatism, and sent back in stages to Chattanooga, Nashville, and Jeffersonville, Ind. Fully recovering at the latter place, he received a detail as prescription clerk in the Joe Holt General Hospital, of twelve hundred beds, where he remained until the close of the war. Upon his return home, he taught one year in the Findlay schools, read medicine and attended the Medical Department of the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, Ohio, graduating in the class of 1869. In 1875 he took the ad eundem degree at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, and a Post Graduate course in the same city in 1898. He commenced the practice of medicine at Can- 502 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY nonsburg, Hancock County, O., and was postmaster of that village under Grant's administration, but has practiced his profession in Findlay continuously since 1872. In politics, Dr. Kimmell has always been a staunch Republican, and has served as a member of the city council and municipal gas trustee; he was appointed on the board of pension examiners by President Harrison. In 1895 he was elected to the Ohio Legislature from Hancock County by a majority of 631, this being the largest majority given to a representative from this county in its history, and at this time secured the passage of the medical law of Ohio for the examination and registration of physicians and surgeons within the State. He has held the position of surgeon on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad for twenty-two years, and was president of the railroad surgeons of that system in 1909. Dr. Kimmell is a member, and has been president of, the Hancock County and Northwestern Ohio Medical Associations ; he is also a member of the Ohio State, National and International Medical Associations, as well as examiner for a number of the large life insurance companies. The Doctor has been an extensive traveler, having been in every state and territory in the United States, the British Maritime Provinces, Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Central America, Cuba, and the Isle of Pines in the Western Hemisphere, and has visited almost every country in Europe as well as the western part of Asia and the northern part of Africa. Owing to this extensive intermingling with people of different political and religious views, he has become quite liberal in his views, and charitable to all, and while he is not a member of any church, he holds strongly to the Unitarian creed. Having had the misfortune to lose two wives, he was married the third time August 30th, 1909, to the estimable Mrs. Effie Afton Gibson, of Detroit, Mich. He has one son, Alfred Graber Kimmell, by his second wife, Rosa Evelyn Kimmell. HON. D. P. HAGERTY, once a member of the General Assembly from Hancock County, O., and a prominent retired farmer of Liberty Township, resides on his farm of 142 acres, which is located in Section 18. He was born April 3, 1844, in Fayette County, Pa., on the Pittsburg and Uniontown Road and is a son of Samuel and Maria (Gween) Hagerty, both natives of Fayette County, Pa. Samuel Hagerty, who was a mason by trade, spent his entire life in Fayette County, Pa. He was the father of five children, and he and his wife and two sons all died within two years, and were buried at Liberty, Fayette County, Pa. Our subject's two sisters reside in Fayette County. Mr. Hagerty was politically a Democrat. Hon. D. P. Hagerty was reared and spent the first thirty years of his life in Fayette County, Pa., and there obtained his education in the public schools. He was engaged in farming there for some years after his marriage and also in Westmoreland County. In 1874 he came to Hancock County, Ohio, and settled on his present farm of 142 acres in Liberty Township, where he followed general farming and stock raising until 1905. He has since continued his residence here, overseeing his farming interests, and during the busy season he lends a helping hand with the work. In 1908 he was elected a member of the General Assembly, and has since received the nom- HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 505 ination for a second term. He was a member of the Farmers' Institute of Benton Ridge of which he served five years as president, and was also a member of the McComb Farmers' Institute. Mr. Hagerty was married in Fayette County, Pa., in 1865, to Sarah Browneller, a daughter of Samuel Browneller, who was a native of eastern Pennsylvania. Of their union were born the following children : Lizzie D., who is the wife of A. T. Richard, of Findlay, Ohio ; A. L., who married Clifford Hauver, of Tippecanoe City, Miami County, Ohio; Anna B., who is residing at home; Samuel J., who married Permilla M. Eshelman; and Emily, living at home. GEORGE F. SHARNINGHOUSE, who resides on his excellent farm of eighty-three acres, eighty of which lie in Section 21 and three acres in Section 28, Portage Township, Hancock County, O., owns also a life lease in thirty-eight and one-half acres, situated in Section 33, the same township. He was born in Pleasant Township, Hancock County, October 24, 1875, and is a son of William and Dora (Kuhlman) Sharninghouse. William Sharninghouse was born in Hanover, Germany, December 12, 1849, and is a son of Henry and Mary Sharninghouse. His people were in humble circumstances and when he was seven years old he had to go to work to help support the family. After working for a time at herding cows, he bound himself out for a period of five years, under these conditions : for the first year he should receive nine dollars; for the second year, twelve dollars ; fifteen dollars for his third year of service ; forty dollars for the fourth year and fifty dollars for the fifth year. In those days that looked like a very large amount of money for a poor boy to earn. He kept faithfully to his contract and at the expiration of it had $126 comig to him. In the meanwhile he had heard much of the land of prosperity and opportunity across the Atlantic Ocean and when he received the money his toil had earned, he paid out a goodly portion of it for a ticket on a sailing vessel for America. He landed in the United States in 1869. He immediately sought employment but before he found any work that he could do, his money had dwindled to six dollars. After reaching Hancock County, O., he secured work in Allen Township as a farm hand and in four and one-half years had saved the sum of $500. He kept on working, sometimes renting land for a season or two and by 1881 was able to purchase seventy acres for himself. In 1896 lie added enough more to make his farm 15o acres, located in Portage Township, where he has long been a leading farmer and respected citizen. In 1872 he married Dora Kuhlman, who died in 1904. They had four children : Amelia Jane, George F., Henry W., and Ora. Mr. Sharninghouse and sons all belong to the German Lutheran church. George F. Sharninghouse was a babe when his parents moved into Portage Township and here he grew to manhood and attended the country schools in his youth. His business has always been farming and stock raising and he has met with much success in his efforts. He bought his farm in the winter of 1909-1910 and moved on it in the following spring. Mr. Sharninghouse married Miss Jennie Pearl Mowery, a daughter of George Mowery, a prominent farmer of Pleasant Township, where she was born and reared. Four children have been born to this marriage : Ralph, Joice, Zella May and Dorothy. Mr. Sharning- 506 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY house has taken an active interest in township affairs and has served as a member of the school board of Portage Township since March of the current year. JOHN H. JELLEY, an enterprising farmer and highly respected citizen of Allen Township, Hancock County, O., is the owner of 127 acres of highly cultivated farm land, fifty-seven acres lying in Cass Township, and the remaing seventy acres, adjoining being in Section 20, Allen Township. He was born December 7, 1848, on a farm in Cass Township, Hancock County, O., and is a son of John H. and Hannah (Johns-ton) Jelley. John H. Jelley, was born in Jefferson County, O., on a farm, through which the line dividing Jefferson and Harrison Coun-ties ran, and was there reared to maturity. In 1840, on the eve of Halloween, he first came to Hancock County, and after remaining but a short time, went to Coshocton County, O., where he had two brothers living. He subsequently returned to Hancock County and purchased a farm in Section 32, Cass Township, and there spent the re-mainder of his life, his death occurring May 13, 1880. He was first united in marriage with Hannah Johnston, who died April 1852, and his second union was with Ann Maria Spangler, who died December 27, 1866. His third marriage was with Mrs. Susan (Johnson) Cratty, a widow of Hiram Cratty, who died while in service in the Civil War. John H. Jelley, subject of this sketch, was reared in Cass Township, his father's farm being the scene of his boyhood activities, and with the exception of ten years spent at carpentering, has always followed general farming. For two years after his marriage he rented a farm in Allen Township, but in November, 1882, located on his present farm, which he had purchased some time before, and has here carried on general farming. Mr. Jelley is one of the substantial and enterprising citizens of the township, and has served six years as justice of the peace of Allen Township. Mr. Jelley was married to Rozena Mellott, who is a daughter of Elijah and Jane (Kline) Mellott, and is a granddaughter of Obadiah and Katherine (Sipes) Mellott, natives of Bedford County, Pa. Obadiah Mellott was of English descent and his wife of German ancestry. He died in 1862, and his wife died in 1859. Elijah Mellott was born in 1820 in Bedford County, Pa., and was married there in 1842. In 1851 he located in Ashland County, O., and four years later came to Hancock County and purchased eighty acres of land in Allen Township, which he later increased to 117 acres. Mrs. Elijah Mellott died in Allen Township in 1891, and is still survived by her husband, who resides with his son, John H. Mellott, of Allen Township. Mr. and Mrs. Jelley became the parents of the following children : Jenny Pearl, who teaches music in Findlay, O.; Eiljah Oral, who teaches the school of District No. 5 of Allen Township ; Cleveland Hazlett, who is employed as a machinist at Detroit, Mich. ; Elva J., who is employed as an oil pumper, married Belva Shafer, and they have one child, Gale Lillian ; Leland Laverne, who died aged seven months and twenty-eight days ; Clarence Ithel James Jule; Harland Henry ; and Bernard Lowell. HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 507 C. E. BECK, who enjoys the distinction of being the youngest business man in the growing little city of Mt. Blanchard, O., is also numbered with the most prosperous. He was born at Mt. Blanchard in December, 1873, and is a son of Peter and Katherine (Morehart) Beck. Peter Beck is one of Mt. Blanchard's leading citizens. He was born in Amanda Township, Hancock County, O., and followed farming until he moved to Mt. Blanchard, where he was appointed postmaster by the late ex-President Cleveland. His wife died when their son, C. E. Beck, was small. C. E. Beck was educated in his native place and after leaving school he became a clerk in the post office and remained with his father until the close of his term as postmaster. He then opened up a retail grocery and has demonstrated much business ability and commands a large amount of the most desirable city trade. In November, 1895, Mr. Beck was married to Miss Mamie E. Bell, a daughter of J. T. Bell, of Mt. Blanchard. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have two children : Helen and Katherine. With the other representative business men of the city, Mr.' Beck is identified with the Masons and the Odd Fellows and is the treasurer of both organizations at Mt. Blanchard. DON. B. BIGGS, M. D. The medical profession at Findlay, O., has many able representatives and among these may be mentioned Don. B. Biggs, M. D., who has been established in practice in this city for the past eight years. He was born at Arcadia, Hancock County, O., June 16, 1873, and is a son of Rev. Peter and Anna (Eyer) Biggs. Rev. Peter Biggs is now living retired at Findlay, after a continuous service of thirty-three years in the Methodist ministry. Few residents of Hancock County are better known or more highly esteemed. Dr. Biggs attended the public schools of Hancock County and afterward spent three years at Louisville, Ky., and then entered Starling Medical College, at Columbus, O., where he was graduated in the class of 1902. In August of the same year he came to Findlay where he has built up a substantial practice. He is a member of the Hancock County, the Northwestern, the Ohio State and the National Medical Societies. He is affiliated with the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. JOHN BRENNER, justice of the peace and leading citizen of Cass Township where he is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens, in association with his son owns 287 acres of fine land, of which, the home farm of eighty acres lies in Section 25, while the remainder is in Section 13, almost adjoining. Mr. Brenner was born October 12, 1846, in Washington Township, Hancock County, O., and is a son of Mathias and Caroline (Mouser) Brenner. Mathias Brenner and wife were both born in Wittenberg, Germany, and shortly after their marriage they embarked for America. Travel in those days was slow and laborious and we are not surprised to learn that a stage journey of eighteen days had to be undertaken before they reached Havre, where the steamer was ready to carry them to the 508 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY unknown land across the ocean. Mathias Brenner was a skilled blacksmith and after they reached Philadelphia, he found work at his trade and two years later came to Ohio. In partnership with his brother-in-law, Jacob Hofer, he bought fourteen acres of land in Mulberry Township, Stark County, and together they carried on a blacksmith business for two years. They then came to Hancock County, where Mr. Hofer bought forty acres in Washington Township, while Mr. Brenner purchased thirty acres from Peter Wyant. He continued to work at his trade but found time to clear twenty acres of his land and build a round log house and shop and later one of hewn logs and still later erected better buildings. Mr. Hofer, however, apparently became discouraged as he sold out and moved. to Williams County where he subsequently died. Within five years, Mr. Brenner sold his thirty acres to such good advantage that he was able to buy eighty acres in Section 25, Cass Township. He was a man of enterprise and courage. He walked the whole distance to Coshocton County in order to pay the sum of $462.50, for this land, prudently putting $3 in his pocket for expenses on the way. He accomplished his purpose and when he reached home had one-half of his expense money still in his pocket, proving himself a man of resource and expediency. This trip he made in August, 1847. He continued to live on that land until within six years of his death when he sought the comforts of his son's fireside, his wife having died, and here he passed away in April, 1897, at the age of eighty-six years. There were four children : Rosean, deceased, married first John Scott and second Joseph Foust ; Mary, deceased, was the wife of Henry Pfeiffer, also deceased ; John, and Caroline, deceased, was the wife of Fred Mouser. The mother of the above family died in August, 1890, aged seventy-five years. John Brenner was one year old when his parents came to Cass Township and here he grew to manhood, in his boyhood attending the district and later private schools, and the High School at Findlay. For thirteen years he continued to work on the farm during the summers and teach school in the winters and in the fall of 1874 he purchased sixty-four acres of his present farm from Joseph Linhart. Five years later he added forty acres and still later the home farm of eighty acres, and still later, in partnership with his son Henry, bought 103 acres, situated in Section 13, all of which is under the farm management of Henry Brenner. On October 6, 1872, Mr. Brenner was married to Miss Mary Ann Myers, a daughter of Gotlieb and Mary (Ott) Myers, natives of Germany. Five children were born to this union, namely : Henry ; Ella, who is deceased, was the wife of C. P. Taylor, and the mother of two children—Ethel and Genevieve ; Ida, who is the wife of C. P. Taylor ; John W., who died aged eleven years and five days ; and Treva Netta. Mr. Brenner and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a Democrat and has frequently been elected to township offices, serving as school director and township clerk and also as justice of the peace. He is identified with the order of Ben Hur, of Findlay. HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 509 C. R. BURNETTE,. Ph. G., the owner and proprietor of the best equipped and most modern drug store, of its size, in Northwestern Ohio, has been established in business for himself at Mt. Blanchard, Hancock County, since 1902, in which year he was appointed postmaster. Mr. Burnette was born at Orangeville, in Trumbull County, O., and is a son of John W. and Alice (Seiple) Burnette, natives and residents of Orangeville. C. R. Burnette attended the schools in his native place and when twenty-two years old entered the Ohio Normal University of Ada, and was graduated there in pharmacy in 1900. He came then to Mt. Blanchard and for two years managed a drug store which he then bought. He carries only the drugs and preparations which are guaranteed by the Pure Food & Drug law, together with the usual line of merchandise now found in every drug store and in addition has a de-partment fitted up with a full line of wall paper, books and jewelry. He is a man of much enterprise and his business qualities are freely recognized by his fellow citizens who have sought his services on many boards. In 1901, Mr. Burnette was married to Miss Dawn Pugh, a daughter of Newton and Mary Pugh, who were people of prominence in Delaware Township. Mr. and Mrs. Burnette are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Burnette has been a member of its board of trustees for a term of years. He is also trustee and treasurer of the cemetery board. He is identified fraternally with Lodge No. 519 F. & A. M., and Lodge No. 481 Knights of Pythias, both of Mt. Blanchard. JOHN B. HEIMHOFER, president of the Commercial Bank and Savings Company, of Findlay, O., and a prominent old producer, has been a resident of this city since 1886. He was born in Switzerland, November 13, 1863, and is a son of John M. and Agatha (Miller) Heimhofer. John M. Heimhofer was born, reared and married in Switzerland. When he came with his family to America he settled in what is now Lackawanna County, Pa., where he secured employment in the coal mines, but later became interested in the oil fields, at which time he moved to Red Rock, in McKean County. Later on in life, when his son, John B., came to Findlay, he and wife accompanied him and in this city Mr. Heimhofer died in 1904, but his widow survives. They had three children: John B., Fred H. and Ida. John B. Heimhofer was quite young when his parents came to America. He was afforded educational advantages, being sent to a select school at Archibald, Pa., and was seventeen years old when he went with the family to McKean County. There he engaged in teaming in the oil fields for a time and then entered into partnership with his brother and E. V. Wyssbrod and together they purchased a lease in the Bradford oil fields and thus his start was made in the path which has resulted in his becoming so successful an oil producer. In a short time they acquired other leases and kept on until they owned seventy-two wells. In 1886 the firm disposed of its holdings in Pennsylvania and in November of that year opened a hardware store at Findlay, O., under the firm name of Wyssbrod & Company. This business was continued for three years and at the end of that time the firm resumed operations as oil producers. 510 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY In 1899, Mr. Heimhofer purchased a fine farm but he has placed tenants on it. In 1901, when the Commercial Bank and Savings Company was organized, he was elected vice-president and became president on January I, 1910. He has additional interests both at Findlay and other points. He is a director in the Findlay Sucker Rod Company and in the Buckeye Steam Laundry Company, and is also interested in zinc and mineral lands, the former near Joplin, Mo., and the latter in Arkansas. In 1898, Mr. Heimhofer was married to Miss Rosetta Boyd, who was born and reared in Hancock County and is a daughter of the late Richard W. Boyd, whose death occurred March 10, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Heimhofer have had two children : John Russell, who died when aged one year ; and Bessie M., who was born in 1901. In politics, Mr. Heimhofer gives support to the Republican party, and has served one term in the city council. He is a member of the order of Elks. JOHN W. SMITH, one of the representative men of Blanchard Township and well known in Hancock County, owns 300 acres of valuable land which is divided into three farms, all of the land being situated in Blanchard and Pleasant Townships. He was born in Washington Township, Hancock County, O., April 10, 1864, and is a son of Henry and Albertina (Tagler) Smith. The parents of Mr. Smith were born in Germany and there grew up and were married. Two days after the ceremony they left their quiet homes for Hamburg, with the intention of embarking there for America. It took them two weeks to reach the city of Hamburg and six months had passed before they landed on American soil. Henry Smith soon made arrangements to rent eighty acres of land near Fostoria, O., as he could not purchase as his sole capital was represented by a coin of the value of ten cents. He had not been accustomed to hardship, as his father was a man of means in Germany, but, on account of the son marrying against the father's will, he was cut off from his inheritance. The family is familiar with the story of his successful and courageous efforts to acquire independence in the new land and of how much he was helped by the thrift and industry of the wife he had chosen. John W. Smith attended school in Pleasant Township, north of McComb, and the Blanchard schools. He was married August 8, 1884, to Miss Nancy A. Fundum, a daughter of Henry Fundum, of Blanchard Township. After marriage they resided on the present farm which then belonged to Mr. Fundum, who spent the closing years of his life with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. After the property became his own, Mr. Smith did a large amount of improving, including the thorough draining of the land. He engages in general farming and raises a large amount of stock. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely : Ella, who married D. A. Johnson and they live in Blanchard Township, and have two children—Clarence and Harry; Cora, who resides at home ; and Arthur, who is yet at school. Mr. Smith and family belong to the Lutheran church at McComb, O. In politics he is a Democrat and has been a member of the school board for several terms and has also been township trustee, and is known as an honest and capable official. He has other investments and is a stockholder in the Farmers' Mutual Telephone Company of McComb. Perhaps no resident of this section is more HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 513 kindly thought of than Mr. Smith by the poor and needy for his charities are large and the kind heart that prompts them is in sympathy with all who are in trouble. HON. JOHN MELVILLE K. LONG, manager of Snyder's saw mill, situated in Amanda Township, Hancock County, O., and dealing in concrete and lumber and mill supplies, is one of the best known and most popular citizens of Vanlue, having been elected to the office of mayor of the place on both the Democratic and Republican tickets. He was born at Vanlue, O., June 3, 1858, and is a son of J. W. and a grandson of John Long, who was known far and wide as "Honest" John Long. J. W. Long, father of John M. K., was born in Wyandot County, O., May 12, 1833, and died October I, 1909. He married Wealthy Ellen Woodard, who was born July 24, 1838, and still survives. Nine children were born to them as follows : John M. K.; Minnie, who is now Mrs. Dr. Gemmell; Almeda Josephine, who is now Mrs. R. Leese, of Dunkirk; Charles Sherman, who lives at Carey, O.; Emma, who is now Mrs. Cesna of Forest; Nettie, who is now Mrs. Snook, of Delaware Township; Kenneth, who resides at Wharton, O. ; Daisy, who is Mrs. McClelland, of Delaware Township; and Fred, who resides at Arlington, O. John Melville K. Long was educated in different schools in Wyandot County and the Mt. Blanchard High School in Hancock County and later completed a course in civil engineering. He started into the mill business shortly after leaving school and became so much interested that he has continued in the same line and has greatly prospered. Mr. Long was married to Miss Jessie F. Hammond, who was born and reared in Hancock County, and they have had three children, namely : Rex R., who was in the shoe business at Toledo, and died at the age of twenty-four years; Alice Lenola, who married John Gamel, of Cary, has one child, Ronald ; and Mollie, who married H. G. Early, of Vanlue. Mr. Long is a member of the Lutheran church, while his wife attends the Methodist church. He is a 32nd degree Mason and belongs to the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Carey, O., to the Commandery at Findlay and to the Shrine at Toledo. He belongs also to the Knights of Pythias at Forest. In politics he is a Republican. GEORGE J. HICKLE, one of the most prominent farmers in Hancock County, is the owner of 250 acres of fine farming land, upon which he lives, it being located in Sections 7 and 12, Delaware Township. He has resided on his present farm for fifty-three years, but was born in Ross County, O., April 15, 1836, his parents being Henry and Eliza (Smith) Hickle. Henry Hickle, who was born at Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., settled in Ross County when a young man, occupying a farm which he cultivated until his death in 1842, at which time his son George, our present subject, was but five years old. Mrs. Henry Hickle died at Mt. Blanchard in 1871. When he was eleven years of age George J. Hickle accompanied his mother and brothers to Hancock County, they settling on a 160 acre farm one and a quarter miles east of Mt. Blanchard. He attended the Delaware Township schools and subsequently found employment as a clerk in a general store at Mt. Blanchard, which occupation he followed for 514 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY some time. Later, however, he turned his attention to farming in which pursuit he has been very successful. Besides raising the ordinary grains and other farm produce, he possesses some of the best registered horses in the state, which have taken prizes at numerous county and state fairs. Among them are the following: Prosper No. 44,888. Prosper is recorded by the Percheron Society of America, his recorded number being 44,888. Color and description : Dark grey; star in forehead. Pedigree : Foaled May 10, 1905; bred by E. D. Kohli, Pandora, Ohio ; owned by G. J. Hickle & Sons, Mt. Blanchard, O. Sire : Rotrou 27,437 (43,665), by Jules (37,987), Viliers 13,169 (8,081), by Briard 5,317 (1,630), by Brilliant 1,271 (755), by Brilliant 1,899 (756), by Coco II (714), by Vieuxchaslin (713), by Coco (712), by Mignon (715), by Jean Le Blanc (739). Teddy No. 43,560. Teddy is recorded by the Percheron Society of America, and his recorded number is 43,560. Color and description : Black; star. Pedigree : Foaled May 10, 1905, bred by Lonzo McClain, Lima, Ohio, and owned by G. J. Hickle & Sons, Mt. Blanchard, O. Sire : Excelsior 26,128, by Itasca 20,034, by Introuvable 16,875 (24,146), by Seducteur 8,850 (7,057), by Fenelon 2,682 (38), by Brilliant 1,271 (755), by Brilliant 1,899 (756), by Coco II (714), by Vieux Chaslin (713), by Coco (712), by Mignon (715), by Jean Le Blanc (739). In addition to horses Mr. Hickle also breeds high grade cattle, hogs and sheep. On April 15th, 1858, Mr. Hickle was married to Miss Virginia E. Latham, of Delaware Township, Hancock County, O., a daughter of Rouzee and Nancy Latham. Her parents, who were prosperous farming people, both died in this county, Rouzee Latham attaining the remarkable age of ninety-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Hickle have been the parents of eleven children, whose record in brief is as follows: Cordelia F., born April 3, 1859, died at the age of three years. Mary E., born January 12, 1861, and became the wife of George Riter of Delaware Township, and the mother of five children-Stanley, Fairy, Emmons, Ellen and Hazel. Alben Vinton, born December 24, 1862, married Miss Hattie Warren of Hancock County, and his children are Stanley, Anna and Ethel. Maud A., born April 13, 1865, became the wife of Edward Shoemaker, of Hancock County, and her children are George, Florence, May and Helen. Blanch A., born March 24, 1867, married Mr. O. S. Bell, of Mt. Blanchard, this county. Anna E., born May 24, 1869, married J. W. Nessbaum, of Hancock County and has three children-Helen, Mabel and Bernice. Orland E., born May 5, 1871, died at the age of twenty-six years. He married Miss Fanny Stewart of Hancock County, and they had two children-Grace and Maynard. Grace G. Hickle, the eighth member of the family, was born June I I, 1873. Harry H., the ninth member, was born January 21, 1876. Lawrence C., born July 6, 1878, and Austin, born December 16, 1880, complete the family. The last named married Miss Edith Grace Jenkins, of Delaware Township. Mrs. Virginia E. Hickle, the mother of the above mentioned children, died December 5, 1909, at the age of seventy-two years. She was a worthy woman and a member for many years of the Methodist Protestant church, to which her husband also belongs, having been a member for sixty-two years. The various members of the Hickle family are worthy men HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 515 and women, of progressive citizenship and sound principles, and are esteemed and respected in the several communities in which they reside. ALBERT J. REYCRAFT, M. D., president of the Hancock Medical Society, has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Fostoria, O., since 1895, with offices at No. 111 1/2 South Main Street and his residence in the Hancock County side of the city. He was born in the Dominion of Canada, at Highgate, Ontario, February 22, 1862, and is a son of James and Phillicia Reycraft, the latter of whom died in 1906, but the former still resides in Highgate. Dr. Reycraft was reared on his father's farm and attended school first at Highgate, where he graduated and went then to a more advanced school at Ridgtown, after which he went back to the farm and remained there until prepared to enter the Detroit College of Medicine, at Detroit, Mich., where he was graduated, and came then to Fostoria. He engages in a general practice but makes a specialty of diseases of women and children. Dr. Reycraft is widely known and is in the enjoyment of a very substantial practice. Dr. Reycraft married Miss Ida A. Wigle, of Leamington, Ontario, and they have one son, James Leonard, who is a student in the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, O. For eight years Dr. Reycraft has been a member of the Hancock Medical Society and his election to its presidency is a signal mark of honor shown him by his brother practitioners. He is identified also with the Masonic fraternity. CONRAD HILLSHAFER, one of the prominent oil producers and representative farmers of Hancock County, O., is the owner of 185 acres of valuable oil and farm land in Allen Township, his residence property of eighty acres being located about three miles north of Findlay, O. He was born October 21, 1850, in Bavaria, Germany, and is a son of Nicholas and Catherine Hillshafer. Nicholas Hillshafer was a brewer by trade and about 1851 came alone to America. Three months after locating in Ohio, he sent to Germany for his family to come to Findlay and upon their arrival here they were greatly disappointed in not finding the father and husband. Seventeen years later it was learned through a lawsuit, that he had gone to Lawrenceburg, Ind., in search of employment, and died very suddenly while there, among strangers, thus leaving no way for his family to discover the fact of his death. His widow subsequently married David Rohrer, who was one of the hardy pioneers and large land owners of Hancock County, O. He first looked over land in this section of the country in 1827, but finding it too wild did not locate, but returned in 1833 and took up 640 acres which lay in what was later discovered to be the heart of the great oil belt of Hancock County. Had Mr. Rohrer kept the entire 640 acres until the time of his death, which occurred in 1875, he would have died a millionaire. The mother of our subject died in 1906, at the age of eighty-four years. Conrad Hillshafer was reared in Allen Township, where his mother and step-father located when he was about five years old, and received a limited amount of schooling in the local schools. He was reared a farmer, which occupation he has always followed, and for years also dealt extensively in buying and selling stock, which work necessitated consid- 516 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY erable traveling over various parts of the country. Mr. Hillshafer is a self-made man, is a very fluent talker, and is exceptionally well informed for one whose educational advantages have been very limited. When oil was discovered in this section of the country, Mr. Hillshafer entered actively into that industry, and was soon as widely known for his extensive oil operations, as he had formerly been as a stock dealer. Besides his home farm Of eighty acres, he also owns a tract of eighty acres one mile west from where he resides, both of these farms having been owned by his step-father, David Rohrer, who entered the land from the government in 1833. Mr. Hillshafer also owns twenty-five acres east of the Perrysburg turnpike road in Allen Township, and has had over seventy producing oil wells on his three farms, having at one time forty wells in operation on the home property. Mr. Hillshafer was joined in marriage with Miss Mary Groth, a native of Wood County, O., and a daughter of Fritz Groth, and to them have been born the following children : Ella, who is the wife of Samuel Conant, of Columbus, O. ; William, who is a resident of Findlay; Conrad, who married Nancy Edelman, has one child, Fred; and Elmer, and Orin. GEORGE R. THOMPSON, who is proprietor of the leading jewelry store at Findlay and is also an optician and dealer in optical goods, was born in West Virginia, July 23, 1854, and is a son of L. F. and Sarah E. (Latham) Thompson. L. F. Thompson, father of George R., is now in his eighty-seventh year and is an esteemed resident of Parkersburg, West Va., where he lives retired. In early manhood he was a school teacher and later entered the employ of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, with which corporation he remained for fifty years. He married Sarah E. Latham, who died in 1906. George R. Thompson was small when his parents moved to Parkersburg, this being during the Civil War, and in that city he attended school and from there went to Cincinnati and later to Springfield, O. In 1875 he came to Findlay, at that time being a poor apprentice boy, and entered the employ of George W. Kimmell, who was in the jewelry line here. He remained with Mr. Kimmell for about one year and then was with D. C. Connell until 1885, when he went into business for himself. He is one of the experienced men in this business and has been connected with the jewelry trade here for thirty-five continuous years. When he first came to this city he had little hope of becoming what he is, one of the representative and substantial business men of Findlay. Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Elta B. Tate, of Findlay, O., and they have two children: Marshall B., who is associated with his father; and Kenneth M. Mr. Thompson and family are members of the First Presbyterian church. He is identified with the Masons and the Elks. He is not active in politics but has high standing as a citizen and gives hearty support to all movements affecting Find-lay's substantial development and the welfare of its people. S. C. WALKER, owner of 123 acres of fine farming land in Section 18, Delaware Town-ship, upon which he has lived for seventeen years, was born in Shelby County, O., September 25, 1858, son of James and Melvina (Eltzroth) Walker. Our subject's \father was born in Ireland and came to Ohio at the age of HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 517 twenty-one years, soon after becoming identified with railroad work, at which he continued until reaching middle life. He subsequently moved to southern Indiana, where he bought a farm, upon which he resided until his death, at the age of seventy-three years. His wife, who was a native of Ohio, died when her son, the subject of this sketch, was a babe of four months, at Sidney, O. S. C. Walker in his boyhood attended school in Delaware Township, and subsequently began work on a farm in that township, the property being owned by his uncle, by whom he was employed. In 1893 he became its owner by purchase, and has since put in all the present standing improvements, including the house, barn and fences. Here he carries on general farming and stock raising very profitably, and is known as one of the prosperous and enterprising citizens of the township. Mr. Walker was married in 1881, to Miss Laura Wolford, a daughter of Hamson and Barbara (Trackler) Wolford, prominent farmers of Delaware Township. Hamson Wolford lost his life fighting in defense of the Union, when his daughter Barbara was but a small child. Of this, Mr. Walker's first marriage, two children were born—James Earl and E. Guy. The former, James E. Walker, served forty-nine months in the United States Navy. E. Guy Walker, born March 24, 1887, was accidentally killed on a farm near his father's place, on January 29, 1906. In March, 1888, the subject of this sketch was married to his second wife, who was Miss Alice Trackler of Blanchard Township, a daughter of J. A. and Anna (Poorman) Trackler, who were farming people. Of Mr. Walker's second union four children have been born, namely : Clarence Ray, born January 20, 1889, who died as the consequence of having been kicked by a colt on his father's farm, April 23, 1908; Ida May, born February 15, 1891 ; Harry Wayne, born October 26, 1893; and Stanley Eugene, born June 21, 1908. Mr. Walker and his family are supporters of the Hope Chapel in Delaware Township. He is also a member of the Masonic Lodge No. 519 at Mt. Blanchard. He served as township trustee for one year and was assessor of Delaware Township from 1890 to 1895, being elected on the Republican ticket. For a number of years also he was a member of the school board of Delaware Township, in all these various positions proving a capable official and rendering good public service that was appreciated by his fellow townsmen. DAVID B. KAGY, township trustee and one of the progressive farmers of Allen Township, resides on a farm of fifty-seven acres located about one-half mile east of Van Buren, O., and was born June 16, 1851, on his father's farm about one and a half miles east of Van Buren, O., a son of Samuel and Hannah (Baker) Kagy. Our subject's parents came to Hancock County from Fairfield County, in 1847, and settled on a farm in Allen Township. David B. Kagy was reared on the home farm in Allen Township and received his early instruction in the local schools, later entering Mt. Union College, at Mt. Union, O., where he spent three years. After completing his education, Mr. Kagy taught school for fifteen years, teaching four terms in the Van Buren school, and also taught summer school terms several years, but usually spent the summer months in farming. In 1884, Mr. Kagy bought his present 518 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY farm of fifty-seven acres, which is located on the Ridge Road, and has lived here continuously since that time. Mr. Kagy was married in 1879 to Elizabeth H. Higgins, a graduate in the class of 1879 at Mt. Union College, whom he met while a student there himself, and whose father, Rev. Thomas J. Higgins, had previously been pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church of Mt. Union. Mr. and Mrs. Kagy have one son, Emmerson G., a bright lad of ten years. The family are members of the Presbyterian church of Van Buren of which Mr. Kagy is now serving as congregational clerk. Mr. Kagy is a Democrat and in the fall of 1907 was elected trustee of Allen Township, and reelected to that office in 1909, his present term expiring January I, 1912. He has also held other township offices, having previously served several terms as trustee and clerk of Allen Township. HENRY STOUGH, whose possessions include 139 acres of valuable farming land situated in Sections 33 and 34, Cass Township, Hancock County, O., was born April 12, 1844, in Ashland County, O., where his father owned a small farm. His parents were George and Catherine (Gearheart) Stough. George Stough was born in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio with his father, Moses Stough, who settled and lived in Ashland County, O., into old age but died at the home of his son George Stough, in Hancock County, when he was eighty-three years old. George Stough was married in Ashland County, to Catherine Gearheart, whose parents were also from Pennsylvania, and in 1853 moved with his family to Hancock County, securing land in Allen Township on which stood a small log cabin. In the following fall he built an addition which served until the present handsome and commodious brick residence took its place. George Stough cleared the land and burned the brush off where his buildings later covered a large space. He bought first 160 acres to which he subsequently added eighty acres and on this place he passed the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-three years, having survived his wife. Ten children were born to them, eight in Ashland County and two in Hancock County. The family record is as follows : Eliza Jane, who is the widow of Samuel Wagner ; Daniel ; Mary Ann, deceased, who was the wife of H. B. McCracken ; Henry ; Christopher ; Susanna, deceased, who was the wife of Fred Weiler, also deceased ; Sarah, deceased, who was the wife of George Nelson ; Catherine, deceased, who was the wife of John Taylor ; Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of John Bly ; and Amelia, deceased, who was the wife of William Shafer, also deceased. Henry Stough was nine years old when his parents came to Hancock County, reaching here on his birthday. He was a bright, inquisitive boy and when he started to school found the schoolhouse a log structure in the woods not far from his father's cabin, and on its old slab benches he passed many a winter day later on. He was soon called on, however, to help in clearing up the land, his first work in this line being the watching of the brush heaps in burning, to see that no conflagrations started. Later he became his father's most valuable helper in farming and stock raising. HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 521 In December, 1865, Henry Stough was married to Miss Susanna Shafer, a daughter of Josiah Shafer, an old resident of Hancock County. Mrs. Stough became the mother of two children—Henrietta and William, and died in 1902. Henrietta was born in 1866 and died in June, 1905. She married Edward Wachtel and they had two children: Merle and Corinne. The latter was reared by her grandfather to the age of fifteen years and was a student in the Findlay High School when her death occurred in February, 1910. William, the only son of Mr. Stough, who was born in November, 1874, died in 1892. Mr. Stough moved into a log cabin on his present farm in the fall of 1867, this farm being the old Shafer home place, and in 1875 he erected his present comfortable residence. He carries on general farming. In, politics, as was his father, he is a Democrat and he has served as a justice of the peace and as land appraiser in 1900 and 1910. JOSEPH OEHLSCHLAGER, director of Public Service, at Findlay, O., has been a resident of this city since 1888 and as business man and public official is widely known. He was born in a village in New York, September 14, 1855, and is a son of Martin and Amelia O. Oehlschlager, the latter of whom died when he was one year old, in New York, and the father at a later date in Iowa. Mr. Oehlschlager was young when his father took him to Iowa and he was reared and attended school there and prior to coming to Findlay, was engaged in a grocery business in that state. After reaching this city he engaged in the liquor business in which he continued until 1902, when he became interested in the oil business and remained so engaged until in the fall of 1907, when he was elected on the Republican ticket to membership on the Board of Public Service and served as president of that body until January 1, 1910, when, under the new code he was appointed director of the Public Service by Mayor Groves. He is one of the city's substantial as well as reliable citizens. In 1895 he bought the property at No. 331 South Main Street, which is now occupied by the Edwards Shoe Company, and has other interests. Mr. Oehlschlager was married in Iowa to Miss Amelia Braumberger. He is a member of the Elks and the Maccabees. HON. JOSEPH R. KAGY, formerly mayor of the city of Findlay, and for many years a public official of Hancock County, during which time he capably filled many offices of responsibility, has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Findlay, for over a decade. He was born December 21, 1842, in Fairfield County, Ohio, and in 1847 was brought to Hancock County by his parents, and from that time until the present he has been identified with the interests of this section of Ohio. When nineteen years of age, Mr. Kagy began to teach school during the winter seasons, passing his summers in healthy farm work ; and for about nine years he had charge of the public schools of Van Buren. During his many years of residence in Allen Township, Mr. Kagy proved himself an active and useful citizen, and after serving a number of terms as township clerk, assessor and treasurer, in 1877 he was elected auditor of Hancock County, 522 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY being re-elected in 1886. After the close of his second term, he served for almost two years as deputy auditor. When Hon. W. L. Carlin, then mayor of Findlay, was elected to the State Senate, Mr. Kagy, who was then serving as a member of the city council of Findlay, was elected by the council to fill out the unexpired term of Mayor Carlin, which he did to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens. The duties of his other public positions occupied a large part of his time, these offices including membership on the board of county school examiners, and the positions of assistant clerk of the State Senate, deputy state superintendent of insurance, and roll clerk in the Pension Department at Columbus. Since 1901, when he was put forward by the Democratic party as its candidate for state senator, Mr. Kagy has not been as active in politics as formerly and thus has found more time to give attention to his own business affairs. From 1886 to 1889, he was engaged very successfully in the oil and gas business, but since 1898 he has been mainly interested in fire insurance and realty, and in these lines is a representative business man of this city. He has offices in the Marvin Block and is agent for fire, tornado, and plate glass insurance, representing the following standard companies : the Aetna Insurance Company, of Hartford, Conn.; the Phoenix Insurance Company, of Brooklyn, New York; the Royal Exchange Assurance, of London, England; the Sun Insurance Office, of London, England; Lloyd's Plate Glass, of New York ; and the Citizens, of St. Louis, Missouri. At Van Buren, Ohio, on January 21, 1864, Mr. Kagy married Miss Catherine M. Zarbaugh, and the survivors of their family of six children are : Nora B., who resides at home and is associated with her father in the office (she is prominent in the Rebecca branch of Odd Fellowship, and is past president of the Rebecca Assembly of Ohio) ; Mary E., who is the wife of Dr. E. B. Jacobs, residing at Chicago, Ill.; David C. D., who is an attorney and a well known educator in Hancock County; and J. Rodney, who is engaged in the practice of dentistry, at Chicago, Ill. The family home is situated on Perrysburg Road. Mr. Kagy is an Odd Fellow and an Elk. P. McDOWELL, who resides on his well improved farm of ninety-three acres, which is situated in Sections 4 and 9, Union Township, Hancock County, O., came here in 1877 and this has been his continuous home, He was born in Licking County, O., February 16, 1832, and is a son of John and Eliza (Ackley) McDowell. John McDowell was a native of Ohio and was a farmer all his life. In 1836 he moved from Licking to Putnam County, where he died in 1842. He married Eliza Ackley, who was born in New York, in 1812, and died in Putnam County, in 1900. They were well known and highly respected people. P. McDowell obtained his education in boyhood in the country schools but early went to work as he was only ten years old when his father died. When he reached manhood he married Miss Nancy E. Harris, who was born in Licking County, O., in 1833, and they began housekeeping in Putnam County but moved to Hancock County and settled on the present farm in 1877. They have had six children, namely: Lorenzo, who died in Putnam County in 1877; Ansel, who died at the age of four weeks; Mary, who married a Mr. Rother, of Hancock County, and they have six chil- HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 523 dren—Claude, Olive, Clare, Arby, Guy, and Alma. Lida, who married Sheridan Wilkins, of Putnam County ; Delbert, who married Miss Allie Aurand, resides on his farm in Union Township, they have one son, Hollis age eight years ; and Clara, who resides at home. The mother of the above family died here in 1897, when aged sixty-four years. She was a loving wife and mother and a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Benton Ridge. Mr. McDowell is also connected with this church and for a number of years was the superintendent of the Sunday-school. General farming and stock raising are carried on by Mr. McDowell and he has always met with satisfactory returns. It is conceded that this is the best grain farm in Union Township. At different times he has made improvements, has substantial buildings, plenty of fencing and excellent accommodations for his various kinds of stock. PETER A. MATHEWSON, who carries on general farming and has a reputation for raising especially fine road horses, owns 160 acres of valuable land situated in Section 25, Orange Township, Hancock County, O. Mr. Mathewson was born in Van Buren Township, Hancock County, May I, 1882, and is a son of Dr. W. R. and Flora (Bender) Mathewson. Dr. W. R. Mathewson is a well known veterinary surgeon and horse dealer and has been a resident of Bluffton, O., since September, 1900. He married Flora Bender, a native of Orange Township, who, like himself had neither brother nor sister. They had but two children born to them : Lottie and Peter A. Peter A. Mathewson obtained his education in School District No. 7, Orange Township, and then began to assist his father, having always resided on a farm with the exception of a short period following his marriage, when he lived at Bluffton. In association with his father he has greatly improved this farm, about 102 acres of which is in first class condition, the soil mellow and fertile and very productive. They carefully drained the land and it is one of the best cared for farms in the township. The farm buildings are substantial and have been remodeled and made very presentable. Mr. Mathewson is an enterprising and practical young farmer and horseman and success is attending his efforts. Mr. Matthewson married Amanda Bame, who is a daughter of George Bame, of Williamstown, and two children have been born to them : Kenneth G. and Byrl. The former died April 15, 1904, and was buried at Hassam Cemetery. The latter was born June 12, 1902, and is a bright student at school. Mr. Mathewson calls himself an Independent Democrat in his political views. He is a member of the order of Modern Woodmen of America and attends the lodge at Bluffton. REUBEN B. KEERAN, M. D., physician and surgeon, with offices at No. 315 1/2 South Main Street, Findlay, O., has been in active practice in this city since 1886 and is numbered with her leading professional men. He was born near Burgoon, Sandusky County, O., February 20, 1853, and is a son of Nathaniel and Eliza (Linch) Keeran. Nathaniel Keeran, who was a blacksmith and farmer, came to Hancock County in 524 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY 1866, and settled on a farm near McComb, on which he continued to reside until his death, in 1879. His widow survived until 1886. Reuben B. Keeran obtained his education in the country schools and a select school at Findlay and thus prepared himself for teaching, and afterward taught three terms in the country districts, one term at Findlay, and two terms in Clark County, Ill., where he had gone in 1876. Prior to this move, however, he had read medicine with Dr. Jesse Watson, at McComb, Hancock County, and later entered the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1876. He immediately engaged in practice in Clark County but his health failed and instead of practicing he taught school for a time and rested a year, when he resumed medical practice and remained in Clark County, until 1886, when he located permanently at Findlay. Dr. Keeran is a member of the Northwestern, the Ohio State and the National Medical Societies. He married Miss Annie C. Fahrer, of Lancaster, O. WILLIAM P. HAMMOND, who conducts the only bakery at Rawson, O., has been in business here for the past four years and has become one of the representative citizens. He was born at Mt. Blanchard, Hancock County, O., May 15, 1851, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Missmore) Hammond. Thomas Hammond was born on a farm in Jackson Township, Hancock County, and for a number of years was an acceptable school teacher through Delaware and Jackson Townships. He died at Mt. Blanchard in 1875. He married Mary Missmore, who was born in Pennsylvania, on the farm of her parents. She survived until 1901, her death taking place in Delaware Township, Hancock County. William P. Hammond attended the schools of Delaware Township and later became a teacher, for a number of terms teaching in Jackson and Amanda Townships. He has always taken an active part in politics, being identified with the Democratic party, and for eight years served as clerk of Amanda Tow1880,, being first elected in 1880, and for one year was also township assess1890.lected to this office in 1890. In the performance of public duties he has been honest and efficient and numbers his friends, both political and personal, by the score. In 1875, Mr. Hammond was married to Miss Laura Lee, who died in 1904 at Vanlue, O., aged thirty-five years. They had three children : Harry, Cora and Trude. Harry married Gertrude Corbin, of Big Lick Township and they have one daughter, Helen. Cora married Charles Kear, of Wyandot County, and they have two children : Russell and David. Trude married Robert Earley, of Amanda Township, and they have one son, Clarence. In 1905, Mr. Hammond was married to Miss Emma Shull, a daughter of Franklin Shull, a farmer in Amanda Township. Mr. Hammond and family belong to the United Brethren church at Rawson. He is a member of Lodge No. 353, I. O. O. F., at Vanlue, and for the past ten years has been a member of Lodge No. 71o, Knights of Pythias, at Vanlue.