550 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY nell. J. Bennett Bicknell was a merchant during his early life, but after removing with his family to Cleveland, O., in 1879, he engaged in paper manufacturing with the Cleveland Paper Company. He died in Cleveland in 1899, and is survived by his widow. J. E. Bicknell was about sixteen years old when his parents removed to Cleveland, and after attending the High School there one year, began working in the Valley Paper Mill, of which his father was manager, and two years later entered the employ of the Meriam and Morgan Paraffine Company, with whom he continued six years, and who were the pioneers of the paraffine business. In 1886 he went to Oil City, Pa., where he became manager of the Keystone Refinery and in 1889 came to Findlay as superin-tendent of the Peerless Refining Company, with which concern he was identified seven years. Since that time he has been engaged in the production of oil in Indiana, Illinois, Kansas and Hancock County, O., and de-votes the greater part of his time to this business. He was appointed the receiver for the Findlay Ax & Tool Company. Mr. Bicknell was married in 1890 to Ida Grove, who is a native of Belmont County, O., and they have one daughter, Helen G. Bicknell. He is affiliated with the Elks, the Maccabees and the Masons. JOSEPH PUGH, who resides on his valuable farm of eighty acres, which is situated in Section 35, Madison Township, Hancock County, O., was born in Van Buren Township, Hancock County, April 30, 1843, and is a son of John W. and Sarah Pugh. The parents of Mr. Pugh were early settlers in Hancock County. His father entered 160 acres in Van Buren Township, one mile west of Mr. Pugh's present farm, and there carried on agricultural pursuits until the close of his life. He was a man of some consequence in his township and served some eight years as a justice of the peace. Joseph Pugh was reared in Van Buren Township and obtained his schooling there. From youth he has been engaged in farming, locating on this place after his marriage. He devotes his land to general agriculture, grain growing and stock raising, and is numbered with the prosperous and successful farmers of Madison Township although in late years he has practically resigned the management of his farm to his son, John W. Pugh. Joseph Pugh was married in 1865 to Miss Martha Johnson, a lady who was born in Van Wert County, and they have had three children : Zenobia, who is the wife of John Steinman of Van Buren Township, and they have eight children— Della, Bertha, Marie, Cloyd, Ivin, Franklin, Howard and Ray-mond ; John W., who was born and reared and attended school in Madison Township and now is manager of his father's farm, married Mattie Chestnut, of Hardin County, O., and they have three children—Cuma, Emma and Wilbert ; and Arlando, who died in infancy. Mr. Pugh has always been one of the responsible men of his township since locating here and for fourteen years served as a member of the school board in District No. 6, Madison Township. J. W. Pugh is identified with the Order of Maccabees and attends Lodge No. 471 at Williamstown HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 553 JOHN D. RENSHLER, funeral director and embalmer, has been established in this business at Findlay, O., since 1895. he was born on a farm east of Findlay, near the Van Horn Cemetery, in Amanda Township, Hancock County, May 6, 1871, and is a son of Levi W. and Mary J. (Harrison) Renshler. The father of Mr. Renshler moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio. John D. Renshler attended the local schools and when he embarked in the undertaking business, with J. Clark Bright, of McComb, he was entirely without capital. He was associated with Mr. Bright at McComb for about six years and is still interested there although residing at Findlay, and is also a member of the firm of Renshler & Deeds, at Rawson, O. Mr. Renshler is also proprietor and manager of the Twentieth Century Couch Manufacturing Company, which manufactures couches, caskets and davenports, together with a general line of funeral furnishings, making a specialty of a davenport which he has patented, as he has also a casket with an old iron finish. They also manufacture the Landon Patent Cement Grave Vault. This factory has been in operation since 1906. Mr. Renshler is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Embalming at Boston, Mass., of the class of 1894. He is a member of the Guaranteed Undertakers' Cooperative Syndicate and Exchange List Company, of Philadelphia. He has well appointed quarters and keeps a full line of all paraphernalia pertaining to the necessities or demands of his business. Mr. Renshler married Miss Harriet R. Lanck, of Findlay, a daughter of Michael Lanck, and they have two children : Nellie and Clarence J. With his family he is a member of the Central Church of Christ. He belongs to the Elks, Odd Fellows, Maccabees, Tribe of Ben Hur, Modern Woodmen, Red Men and the Home Guards. P. P. SWINEHART, a retired farmer of Blanchard Township, where he owns 227 acres of valuable land and is one of the highly respected citizens, was born in Hopewell Township, Perry County, O., July 23, 1848, and is a son of Andrew and Lydia Ann (Stimmel) Swinehart. Andrew Swinehart was born also in Perry County and was a son of John Swinehart, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and came from there to Perry County, O. John married in Pennsylvania, Christiana Gruber and they had a family of twelve children, which was not an unusual one in those days. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and escaped all injury in the service. He and his wife died in Perry County. Andrew Swinehart learned the plasterer's trade and he was also a farmer, purchasing forty acres of land in Wood County, of his brother, Daniel Swinehart, and on that farm he died in October, 1897, and was buried in the Weaver Cemetery, Wood County. His widow remains on the homestead. They attended the Lutheran church. Andrew married Lydia Ann Stimmel, a daughter of Peter Stimmel, of Perry County, but a native of Maryland. Andrew Swinehart and wife became the parents of twelve children, eight of whom survive. Of these, the subject of this sketch and one of his sisters are the only ones to make their home in Hancock County. P. P. Swinehart attended school until he was about sixteen years of age in Perry County, with the exception of one term in Wood County. From his boyhood he helped his father, he being a renter, and followed his 554 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY trade in Perry County and afterwards in Wood County, remaining at home until he was twenty-seven years of age. In 1865 he moved to Wood County and helped to clear the farm. After his marriage he settled on his own farm in Wood County, on which he remained for over fifteen years. He then moved to another farm in Wood County and lived there seven years. Subsequently coming to Hancock County, he settled, in September, 1908, on his present farm. The property required but little improving, as the land and buildings were in good condition. While act-ive he carried on farming along general lines, all his land being tillable except twenty acres, which is yet in timber. In 1875 Mr. Swinehart was married in Wood County to Eva Staley, who at that time was a widow. They had five children, namely : Oliver Allen, an infant (daughter) ; Charles H., another infant daughter, and Mathias Burton. Mrs. Eva Swinehart died May 6, 1897, and her burial was at Fostoria. Two of the sons, when aged respectively five and seven years, gave their father a terrible fright and aroused the whole city of Findlay. The little lads started to get the cows (which pastured in forty acres of fenced woodland) and became lost, and before their distracted father found them, they had wandered thirty-five miles. Practically the whole city of Findlay, aroused by pealing bells, joined in the search, which happily proved successful after an all-day hunt. Mr. Swinehart married for his second wife, Miss Sarah Diebert, a daughter of Solomon Diebert, of Lehigh County, Pa., and they had one child, Claude Arthur. This wife died in November, 19m, and was buried in the Weaver Cemetery, in Wood County. On June 19, 1904, Mr. Swinehart was united in marriage with his present wife, who was formerly Miss Mary M. Merryman, a daughter of Fred Merryman, of Marion, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Swinehart are members of the North Baltimore Lutheran church, being charter members of the same, The former casts his vote independently, not being a strict party man. JOHN BAME, who is one of the representative German-American citizens of Orange Township, Hancock County, O., owns an excellent and carefully improved farm of eighty acres. He was born in Germany, November 5, 1857, and was twenty years of age when he came to America, making the voyage on a vessel that required two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Bame had attended school in his native land and had a good German education. He landed at the port of New York and from there came to Hancock County, O., and secured farm work in Van Buren Township and attended two terms of school there. He worked by the month and by the year as a farmer until after his, marriage. In 1897 he bought his present farm from Jacob Heldman. He imme-diately began to improve his property, completing the draining of the land and rebuild-ing his farm residence and putting all the different structures in good shape. He devotes himself to general farming, especially grain growing and each year also turns out some fine cattle. Mr. Bame was married in Van Buren Township to Miss Barbara Beach, a daughter of John Beach and they have three children: Mena, Henry and Harvey, Mr. and. Mrs. Bame are members of the Lutheran church. He is an independent voter, making his own esti-mate of the men who desire office and casting HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 555 his ballot according to his judgment. Mr. Bame has very sensible, practical ideas on general subjects and enjoys the respect of his fellow citizens. DANIEL E. CHILD, manager of the Hancock Brick and Tile Company, and also manager of the Buckeye Tile Company, at Findlay, O., is one of the representative business men of this city. He was born on a farm in Lorain County, O., June 7, 1843, and is a son of Abijah and Cordelia (Ennis) Child, the former of whom is deceased but the latter survives, being now over eighty-six years of age. After leaving the country schools, Daniel E. Child attended Oberlin College and for seven years afterward taught graded schools, during the last two years being engaged in the Union Christian College, at Merom, Ind. In 1869 he located at Dayton, embarking in the sewing machine business and from that became a manufacturer of organs and was engaged in the music business in that city until 1887, when he came to Findlay. In 1888, with Mr. Dorney and Mr. Murray, he entered into the business of brick manufacturing and in 1891 he purchased Mr. Dorney's interest, the firm name having been Dorney, Child & Murray. The old factory was near the present plant of the Hancock Brick and Tile Company. In September, 1892, a fire destroyed the old plant and at the time of this disaster, Mr. Murray was caught by the falling walls and lost his life. In the winter of 1892-3, Mr. Child bought the interest of Mr. Murray's heirs, rebuilt the plant and continued until 1903, at which time he purchased the Dorney and Harris plant. This plant had burned two years previously but Mr. Child rebuilt and in March, 1903, the Hancock Brick and Tile Company was organized, the old site of Dorney and Harris being occupied. This plant lies along the T. & O. C. Railroad in the southern part of Findlay, but the offices are in the Buckeye National Bank Building. Employment is given sixty men at this plant and the foreman is D. Earl Child, who is also vice-president of the company. D. E. Child and Sons also hold a controlling interest in the Buckeye Tile Company, of which D. Earl Child is president and his father, Daniel E. Child, is manager. The Buckeye Tile Company operates three separate factories—one being located at Pemberville, Wood County, O., another at Trowbridge, in Ottawa County, and the third at Curtice, also in Ottawa County and in each of these plants ten men are employed. They are under the supervision of Daniel E. Child and his sons : D. Earl, Leo, and Roy B. Child. The secretary of this company is George E. Harper, of Ada, O. The output is exclusively farmers' drain tile which is shipped to agents in different parts of the country. Mr. Child has been prominent in the brick and tile industry for twenty-two years but his interests are not confined to this line. In 1887 he entered into the dairy business and in 1900 organized the Findlay Dairy Company, of which he was president until 1908, when he sold. He owns the old Stopher farm of 180 acres, which lies in Marion Township and adjoins Findlay and for twenty years operated a dairy business from that farm. Although formerly and at present interested at North Baltimore, O., Mr. Child never resided there, having maintained his home at Findlay ever since coming to this city in 1887. He organized the North Baltimore Pressed Brick plant and owned a large amount of land there, one tract of sixty acres which he laid out still being 556 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY known as the Child's addition to North Baltimore. Mr. Child is a man of great business ability and with few exceptions his undertakings have proved successful. Mr. Child married Mrs. Minnie J. Richardson, of Pittsburg, Pa., and they have three sons, all unmarried, and two of whom are associated with their father in his business. enterprises. Mr. Child is one of the active members and liberal supporters of the Baptist church at Findlay. Mr. Child has been since 1893 an active member of the Symposium, the oldest literary society in the city. He has been an active supporter of reform in politics, but not a strong partisan. W. A. WILLIAMSON, who is one of the largest breeders and dealers in full blooded stock in Hancock County, O., owns 160 acres of fine farm land, eighty of which is situated in Section 34, Union Township, which has been his home since he was twenty-one years of age, while the other eighty acres are located in Section 3, Orange Township. He was born in Orange Township, Hancock County, O., February 19, 1854, and is a son of W. M. and Jane (McCrosky) Williamson. W. M. Williamson was a well known farmer and man of influence in Orange Township, where he lived for forty-four years. He was born in Greene County, O., came to Orange Township in Hancock County, in 1850, and died at Mt. Cory in 1894, at the age of eighty-four years. His widow survived him but a short time. W. A. Williamson obtained his education in the schools of Orange Township and lived at home until his marriage, in 1880, when he came to the present farm. Here he has done a large amount of improving and during the past twelve years has erected his new frame house and barn and has completed the tiling of his land. While he carries on general farming he also gives much attention to stock and his reputation for high grade stock of all kinds has extended all through this section of Ohio. He has other business interests, being one of the directors of the Mt. Cory Elevator and Exchange Company, at Mt. Cory, and is president of the Farmers' Mutual Telephone Company, of Hancock County. He has taken an active part in township affairs, has served as assessor six different times, for seven years was a member of the school board and now is land appraiser. Mr. Williamson was married October 14, 1880, to Miss Jane Hamilton, of Fairfield County, O., and they have two children: James M. and Ruth Ethel. Mr. Williamson and family are members of the United Presbyterian church of Cannonsburg, in which he is an elder. WILLIAM F. HOSLER, cashier of the City Banking Company, at Findlay, O., of which he was one of the organizers, was born on a farm in Washington Township, Hancock County, O., February 1, 1862, and is a son of Peter and Susan (Sherman) Hosler. Peter Hosler was born in Pennsylvania and was only a child when his parents moved to Stark County, O., where he was reared a farmer, but later became a carpenter and contractor. He was married at Canton, O., and immediately afterward moved to Tiffin and shortly afterward to Hancock County, HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 557 and to Findlay in 1875, when he was elected county treasurer. He was a man of ample fortune, good business perception and public spirit. In 1890 he built the business block in which the City Banking Company has quarters, and he was one of the organizers of this financial institution and its first president. He died in 1897. William F. Hosler was educated in the country schools and at Findlay, where he attended the High School and after his father became county treasurer he served one year as a clerk in his office and from there entered into the banking business in the Farmers' Bank, as teller. The City Banking Company began business as a private bank on May 1, 1887, and was reorganized as a state bank in 1897. The original organizers were : Peter Hosler, William F. Hosler, Morgan D. Shafer, P. B. Morrison and David and Morris Hosler, brothers of William F. The first president as stated, was Peter Hosler, and the first president after reorganization, was Morgan D. Shafer. All have passed away with the exception of the sons of Peter Hosler. The bank was moved to its present location in 1890. Its present officers are : D. H. Hiestand, of Findlay, president ; Charles E. Jordan, vice-president ; and William F. Hosler, cashier. The board of directors is made up of the following capitalists : D. H. Hiestand, Charles E. Jordan, William F. Hosler, Morris Hosler and Elmer Y. Sphar, all Findlay men. 6 Mr. Hosler has been cashier ever since 1887, when the bank was organized. Mr. Hosler married Miss Helen M. Shafer, a daughter of Morgan D. Shafer, now deceased, who was a leading attorney of this city, and they have one child, Mary Louise. Mr. Hosler has additional interests. He is a director of the Buckeye Traction Ditcher Company ; is secretary and treasurer of the Findlay Courier Company, and is a director also in the Findlay Table Manufacturing Company. He has been affiliated with the Odd Fellows since he was twenty-one years of age and is a charter member of Lodge No. 75, Elks. GEORGE H. WERTENBERGER, who, for the past twelve years has been engaged in the furniture business at Arlington, Hancock County, O., was born April 28, 1876, in Madison Township, Hancock County, O., and is a son of John Wertenberger. John Wertenberger was born in Germany and in 1859, at the age of eleven years, came to this country with his father, George Wertenberger, who settled on land just south of Arlington in Madison Township. The father of our subject is still living, a resident of Arlington, but the mother died in 1898 on the home farm just south of Arlington. George H. Wertenberger was reared on the home farm in Madison Township and attended the district schools of his home locality. Since 1898 he has been engaged in the furniture business, and also carries a general line of other goods, including glassware, silverware, rugs, carpets, sewing machines and jewelry. In 1898, Mr. Wertenberger was joined in marriage with Miss Lizzie R. Rettig, who is a daughter of Peter and Eva Rettig, well known farmers of Madison Township. Mrs. Rettig died on the home farm in Madison Township in 1908, but Mr. Rettig survives and resides on the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wertenberger began housekeeping in Ar- 558 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY lington. They have one child : Marvin E. They are both members of the Lutheran church of Arlington, in which Mr. Wertenberger is superintendent of the Sunday-school. SAMUEL S. STOVER, deputy probate judge of Hancock County, O., and one of the representative citizens of Findlay, was born October 5, 1885, on a farm in Amanda Township, Hancock County, and is a son of John L. and Emma J. (Snyder) Stover. They had three children: Jessie M., Samuel S. and Morris L. John L. Stover died on a farm in Allen Township, Hancock County, April 29, 1892, but is survived by his widow. Samuel S. Stover was reared on the farm and attended the district schools of the township and the public schools of Findlay, after which he spent twelve years working in the oil fields. In February, 1909, he assumed the duties of deputy probate judge, receiving the appointment from Probate Judge Dorsey. Mr. Stover was united in marriage with Laura B. Reimand, who is a daughter of Philip Reimand. Fraternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. RICHARD N. LEE, M. D., one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the southwest part of Hancock County, O., is a prominent citizen of Mt. Blanchard, of which place he has been a resident for twelve years. He was born in Jackson Township, this county, and is a son of Noah and Mary (Sampson) Lee. Noah Lee was born in Amanda Township, Hancock County, O., August 15, 1845, a son of Richard and Lydia (Wyant) Lee, both of whom were natives of Fairfield County, Ohio. Richard Lee came to Hancock County in 1830 and entered a tract of land from the Government, on which he settled in the following spring. He died in 1856 at the age of forty-eight years. Of his eleven children, his son Noah was the youngest. He married Mary Sampson, a daughter of Nicholas and Eliza Sampson. The Sampsons lived on a farm adjoining that of the Lees, and at the time of marriage, Mary Sampson was twenty years of age. After his marriage Noah Lee rented the Houck farm, near Houckstown, and after living thereon for some seven years he purchased it, thereby becoming the owner of 146 acres of land. To this he added from time to time until he now owns 260 acres of some of the best farm land in Hancock County. His wife died on the homestead on August 20, 1881. She had been the mother of seven children. Richard N. Lee, who was the third child of his parents in order of birth, was reared in Jackson Township and attended the common and high schools of Arcadia. During the years 1892-3-4 he taught school. In 1895 he began the study of medicine, reading under two of the leading physicians of Findlay. From under their instruction lie entered Starling Medical College at Columbus, where he was graduated in 1898, and in May of that year he established himself in practice at Mt. Blanchard. Dr. Lee also attended school at the New York Post-Graduate School and Hospital in 1907. He has been very successful in general practice, and there have been special occasions when he restored to health patients for whom there seemed to be little hope. He has thus won public confidence in his professional capacity and is personally esteemed and held in HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 559 high regard as a useful and progressive citizen. On June 15, 1898, Dr. Lee was married to Miss Sylvia Marquett, who was born in Madison Township, Hancock County, Ohio. They have two children, Ruth M. and Robert J. Dr. Lee and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Mt. Blanchard. He has been active in public affairs and in 1899 consented to become a member of the town council. He is identified fraternally with the Modern Woodmen, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, being a Past Grand of the Odd Fellows. WILLIAM R. RUMMELL*, proprietor of the flourishing furniture, stove and upholstery business located at Nos. 116-118 East Sandusky Street, Findlay, is one of the representative business men of the city. He was born at Findlay, Ohio, September 2, 1860, a son of David and Mary (Reed) Rummell, and he is a grandson of Jacob Rummell, who was born in Germany, in 1792, who was the first of this branch of the family to come to America. Grandfather Rummell was an early settler in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and followed his trade of brick mason and contractor for many years, dying in Findlay, in 1879. He was respected as a good and useful citizen by all who knew him. David Rummell, son of Jacob and father of William R. Rummell, was born in Columbiana County, O., in the year 1830. He followed the occupations of chairmaker and brick mason. In 1848 he came to Hancock County and continued to work at his combined trades until 1875, when he established himself in the furniture business at Findlay. He proved a successful business man, his enterprise combined with honorable methods bringing their reward in a comfortable degree of prosperity that ranked him among the well-to-do citizens of the town. He took an interest in public affairs and was a man highly respected in the community, serving for a number of years as a member of the city council and also on the board of education. He was married in 1851 to Mary Reed, who was a daughter of William Reed, of Leetonia, Columbiana County. Their family numbered four children, namely : Ellen M., Jesse B., William R. and George B. William R. Rummell received his educational training in the public schools of Findlay. He began his industrial career at the age of fifteen, becoming clerk in his father's furniture store. During the years that followed he familiarized himself thoroughly with every detail of the business, and in 1888, thirteen years after his industrial initiation, was admitted to partnership, at which time the firm name of D. Rummell & Son was adopted. The elder Rummell died in 1897, since which time, William R. Rummell has continued the business alone, having considerably increased its size and prestige. The store, equipped with a large and select line of furniture, stoves, etc., is now one of the most popular business establishments of the city, and every year sees the business increase, as the result of the straight-forward, honorable, methods adopted years ago by the father and since continued by the son. Mr. Rummell is identified fraternally with the Odd Fellows, Elks, Knights of Pythias, and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. In politics he pays allegiance to the Republican party, while religiously he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. In Allegan County, Michigan, in 1882, Mr. Rummell was married to Miss Nancy E. Bowman, who died March 8, 1908. Her father was 560 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY William Bowman. She is survived by three children : Karl R., Maud B. and Mary C. The family home is at No. 409 E. Lincoln Street, Findlay. JOSEPH WORST, who owns 160 acres of some of the finest farm land to be found in Madison Township, has lived on this place for sixty-two years and is one of the best known and most respected citizens of this section. He was born in Stark County, O., March 16, 1848, and is a son of Israel and Anna (Maner) Worst. The parents of Mr. Worst were born in Germany and after they married they came to America and settled in Stark County, O., and from there came to Hancock County in 1849. Here they entered forty acres of land in Madison Township and the father developed a good farm on which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1890. The mother survived but one year longer. Joseph Worst attended the district schools in boyhood whenever his father could spare him, and as soon as he was old enough he became the home farmer and remained with his parents until his marriage. He started housekeeping on a farm quite near the one which he now owns but shortly returned to the old homestead and has lived here practically all his life. He carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Worst was married January 30, 1870, to Miss Mary Isenbarger, of Madison Township, Hancock County, a daughter of Arnold and Susan Isenbarger who. were natives of Columbiana County, O. Mr. and Mrs. Worst have had five children, namely : John, who married Maggie Eibling, of Washington Township, Hardin County, O. ; who died at the age of three years; Edward; Frank, who married Catherine O'Roark of Blanchard Township, and has one son, Richard; and Donna, who resides at home. Mr. Worst takes no very active part in politics but he is a good citizen and shows his worth when any question comes up in regard to the general welfare of his neighbor-hood. He believes in good schools and good roads. ROBERT LEFFLER KING, one of the leading men of Big Lick Township, a justice of the peace and the owner of one of the good improved farms in this township, belongs to one of the old and substantial families of this section of Hancock County, O. He was born at Springfield, O., August 24, 1863, and is a son of R. Q. and Hattie (Danforth) King. R. Q. King, father of R. L., was born at Tarlaton, O., August 13, 1832, and is a son of David King who purchased the farm owned by his grandson in 1849. R. Q. King resides in Springfield, O. He was married in early manhood. to Hattie Danforth, a native of New Albany, Ind., who died in 1907. Five children were born to this marriage : D. Ward, Thomas D., Robert L., Almena A., and Madge C., the second and last named being deceased. R. L. King traveled through the west for several years, working at farming part of the time. February 2, 1887, he began to live on and improve this land which had first come into the King name thirty-eight years before, but had never been even cleared. After taking up his residence on this land he cleared, fenced it and began to prepare it for cultivation. The draining of this land was the cause of a great deal of trouble, the county having put through HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 563 two ditches, from one of which came considerable litigation. Mr. King, however, finally succeeded in getting all necessary draining completed and has found himself in possession of a farm of exceeding fertility. Being enterprising and progressive, he has made other improvements, erecting buildings, which have no superior in the township. On December 18, 1908, he lost his large barn by fire, a conflagration which was deemed the largest that ever occurred in Hancock County, outside of Findlay. At the present writing he is rebuilding and the new structure will be practically indestructible, being largely made of concrete and vitrified blocks. It is his object to make all his buildings equally fireproof and he has completed his horse stable and granary and also two very large vitrified block and cement silos. He has very practical ideas and has adopted many modern methods in conducting his farming and stock raising. In 1891 Mr. King was married to Miss Lola Askam, who was born and reared at Vanlue, Hancock County, and they have three children : Edwin A., Hamlin C. and Jessie. ROBERT P. TWINING, one of Liberty Township's large farmers and well known citizens, resides on what was formely known as the old Bushong farm, which is now owned by Mrs. Twining—a tract of 221 acres, lying in both Liberty and Portage Townships, Hancock County, O. He was born in Hancock County, August 27, 1860, and is a son of Eleazer and Eliza Jane (Sharp) Twining. Eleazer Twining was born in Bucks County, Pa., and was seven years old when he accompanied his parents, Joseph and Mary Twining, to Hancock County, where they 'spent the remainder of their lives. Eleazer Twining was married twice, his first wife being a Miss Thomas and his second wife Eliza Jane Sharp, who was a daughter of Philip Sharp. Their family consisted of five sons, two of whom are now deceased. Eleazer Twining spent the greater part of his life in Marion Township, Hancock County, where his death occurred when he was fifty-four years of age. His burial was in the Van Horn Cemetery. The mother of Robert P. Twining died at the age of thirty-eight years and her burial was in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. They attended the Methodist Episcopal and the Evangelical churches. In politics Mr. Twining was a Republican but cared nothing for office, his time being fully occupied with farming and work at the carpenter's trade. Robert P. Twining obtained his education in the public schools of Hancock and Wood Counties and then worked for two years at the plough. He finally decided to learn the bricklaying trade and has done a large amount of first class brick work through this section, building many schoolhouses, foundations and furnaces. After marriage he lived at Findlay for six years and then moved to a farm for two years, later returning to Findlay. Subsequently he came back to Mrs. Twining's farm, which he has managed ever since. On October 12, 1887, Mr. Twining was married to Miss Florella Bushong, a daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Cooper) Bushong, and they have one son, Carl, who is a member of the graduating class of 1911 at Findlay College. He is talented in music and is proficient on the cornet. Mr. and Mrs. Twining are members of the Church of God. In his views on politics he is a Republican but does not call himself a politician, merely a good citizen who cheerfully upholds the laws by his ballot. 564 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY Isaac Bushong was born in Portage Township, Hancock County, a son of David and Elizabeth Bushong. Isaac Bushong enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company B, 21st O. Vol. Inf., and while in the service was so injured that he lost his voice for six months but finally recovered and at the close of the war returned to Portage Township. He died at the age of fifty-six years and his burial was in Maple Grove Cemetery. He married Nancy Cooper, a daughter of Amos Cooper of Portage Township. She died at the age of fifty-four years. They were leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was a class leader for some years. He owned over 220 acres of land and was a man of high personal standing in Liberty and Portage Townships and served in numerous township offices. JAMES W. KIRKBRIDE*, deceased, formerly one of Findlay's capitalists and a highly esteemed citizen, was very prominently identified with the business interests of this section and for a number of years was one of the largest independent oil producers in Ohio, and also owned oil leases and properties in other states. He was born November 22, 1854, at Ogdensburg, New York, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Nugent) Kirkbride, natives of England. James W. Kirkbride was thirteen years of age when he accompanied his father in the family removal to Warren County, Pa., where his education was completed, after which he assisted his father for four years in contracting and building oil derricks and tanks. In this way he gained a thorough knowledge of the oil business, of its methods and its possibilities, and as soon as he had accumulated a little capital he made not unsuccessful ventures for himself. He became interested in the Butler and Armstrong County oil fields, in Pennsylvania, and remained there until 1880, when the finding of a rich oil field in Alleghany County, New York, attracted him to that point. In 1886, when the promising field was opened in Hancock County, Ohio, he established his permanent home at Findlay, investing a large amount of capital in oil leases as well as in the, lumber regions, and for years afterward he carried on both a retail and wholesale lumber business. He became a power in this line as well as in the oil industry. The drilling of the wonderful Kirkbride oil well, in November, 1894, in which successful enterprise he was associated with his brother, and which was the largest well ever opened up in the Ohio fields, is easily recalled, as it was a most notable event in oil history. Mr. Kirkbride had never entered into the wild speculation which so greatly affected the fortunes of many of the oil men of the day, his natural business caution and unusual foresight preserving him from the failures which on every side marked the want of wisdom of many one-time capitalists. He owned stock in some of Findlay's financial institutions and owned numerous mining properties in the West. He had shown his faith in the future of Findlay by also investing largely in real estate here and he erected the handsome Kirkbride Block. As a citizen he was public spirited and open handed. Personally he was held in affection by a devoted family, and in highest esteem by friends and associates. He was a worthy member of the Howard Methodist Episcopal church. In 1877 Mr. Kirkbride was married to Miss Amy C. Carson, of Parker, Pa. They had three children : Charles W., who is largely interested in the oil business, and resides at 202 Hancock Street ; Amy G., the wife of C. H. HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 565 Messinger, a prominent business man of Toledo, Ohio ; and Harry C., who resides with his mother in her beautiful residence situated at No. 941 South Main Street. MARION SWARTZ, who owns an excellent farm of eighty acres, which is situated in Jackson Township, Hancock County, Ohio, was born in Hardin County, Ohio, September 3, 1867. His parents were Samuel and Sarah Elizabeth (Obenoure) Swartz. Samuel Swartz was born in Muskegon County, Ohio, January 27, 1839, and died in Kansas in 1890. He married Sarah Elizabeth Obenoure, who was born in Ohio, January 12, 1847, and resides at Pacific Grove, California. They had five children, namely : Marion ; Clarence E., who died when aged twenty-four years ; Mertie Ann, who married Silas Jefferson, who belonged to the same branch of the Jefferson family as did President Thomas Jefferson (they live in California where he is a stock buyer) ; Alberta Ellsworth, a railroad man in California, who married Ida Linguist ; and Lydia Melvina, who is the wife of Arthur Durba, a barber at Fresno, California. When Marion Swartz was eight years old his parents moved to Henry County, and as the family home continued there for eleven years, he secured his schooling there. Removal was then made to Kansas and while living there he worked out on farms by the month for his father, and after reaching his majority he engaged in farming for himself for two years. In October, 1891, he went on a trip that extended through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California, after which he went back to Kansas for two years. In 1894 he again visited California and remained in the far west for five years. He then returned to his native state to marry, and then went back to California for one year more. In 1901 he came to Hancock County and bought his present farm from Mary Vanhorn. This land was entered from the Government on July 10, 1837, by George Goodell, and the legal papers bear the signature of President Martin Van Buren. Mr. Swartz has done considerable traveling and has seen many other parts of the country than the one in which he was born, but when he decided to locate permanently he found no section quite equal in every way to beautiful Ohio. Many other natives of this noble State have felt the same way and for that reason her citizenship, natural born, is of so high and loyal a type. In 1900 Mr. Swartz was married to Miss Elizabeth Winemiller, a daughter of J. J. Winemiller and wife, who live in Jackson Township. Mrs. Swartz is the second born in a family of three children, having a brother and a sister : Frank, who is a farmer in Henry County, where he owns eighty acres of land ; and Minnie J., who is the wife of Frank Alger, who owns eighty acres of land in Jackson Township. Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have two children, Ervin T. and Ama Marcella. Mr. Swartz has been a member .of the Methodist Episcopal church at Houcktown since he was twenty-two years of age and for about the same time has been a member of the fraternal order of Woodmen of the World, No. 333, California. He votes with the Republican party but the only township office he has ever accepted was that of school director. He is numbered with the reliable and representative men of Jackson Township. HILTON A. VICKERS*, M. D., who has been engaged in medical practice at Findlay, Ohio, since 1893, has become identified with 566 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY the interests of this city to a very large degree and numbered among his personal as well as professional friends, the representative people of the community. Dr. Vickers was born June 18, 1857, at Old Plainfield, Ohio, a son of the late Dr. W. H. Vickers, for many years a physician in Coshocton County, Ohio. Dr. Hilton A. Vickers attended the schools of his native place until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Indiana, where he al-ternated going to school with working on a farm, in Henry County. Subsequently he taught school in that State for several years, after which he returned to Ohio and entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. A. E. Walker, a well known physician of Old Plainfield, and in 1884 he was graduated from the Columbus Medical College. For eight subsequent years, Dr. Vickers engaged in a general practice at Evansburg, and for two years at Deshler, in Henry County, and then came to Findlay, where he has been established ever since. He is a member of the Hancock Medical Society and of the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association, and keeps closely in touch with all matters of scientific research in the profession to which he has devoted his life. His office with its library and expensive equipments which successful modern practice demands, is located in the Goodwin Block on North Main Street, Findlay. In 1881, at Old Plainfield, Dr. Vick-ers was married to Miss Sallie Smith, and they have an interesting family. Their comfortable home is situated at No. 804 Franklin Avenue. Politically, Dr. Vickers is a Republican and fraternally he is a Mason. DANIEL MATTER, a successful farmer residing in Section 31, Orange Township, where he owns ninety-four acres of excellent land, was born in this township, November 12, 1862, and is a son of Christian and Regina (Stauffer) Matter. Christian Matter was born in Richland County, O., and in childhood was brought to Allen County by his parents, who were Samuel and Elizabeth Matter. He grew up there and married Regina Stauffer and ten of their eleven children were born in Allen County. They were as follows: John, Samuel, Daniel, Noah, Peter, William, Theopholis, Sarah, Anna, Katherine and Henry, Daniel being born during a period of eighteen months that the family lived in Hancock County near the Allen County line. The parents of the above family were members of the Reformed church. In pol-itics the father was a Democrat. His death occurred July 10, 1895, at the age of fifty-six years and his burial was at Bluffton. His widow and youngest son reside on the old home farm. Daniel Matter attended the district schools in boyhood and youth but after he was nineteen years of age his time was mainly given to farming and about the time he reached his majority he began to man-age property on his own account, in Allen County. After his first marriage he came to Orange Township and for two years operated the farm on which D. D. Hilty resides, after which he came to his present place, where he erected the fine buildings which add to the attractiveness and value of his property. He carries on general farming and also is interested in breeding cattle. For some three years he has been. pumping oil from six wells on his land and they are still producing. Mr. Matter was married the first time to HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 567 Miss Lizzie Jane Stratton, a daughter of Asa Stratton, of Bluffton, O. She died December 3, 1901, and was buried at Bluffton, She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Two children survive her : Grace May, who married Clyde Klingler, of Allen County, and they have one daughter, Rhea ; and Edith Lillian, who resides at home. His second marriage took place on July 8, 1903, to Miss Lillie E. Welsh, of Hardin County, O., and they have had two children : Don Edgar, who died at his home, aged eight weeks, and Daniel Emerson. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is very active, being a trustee and steward and superintendent of the Sabbath school. He is a Democrat in politics, served six years as township constable, also was on the school board and is at present a trustee of the township. Mr. Matter is one of the representative men of this section and one of the busiest. In addition to cultivating his own farm he also operates another of eighty acres which he leases. HON. S. N. E. PRIDDY*, president of the Buckeye Traction Ditcher Company, of Findlay, of which city he has been a prominent business man for almost twenty years, was horn February 21, 1844, in Van Wert County, O., a son of Thomas D. and a grandson of William Priddy. The latter was the pioneer of the family in Ohio, a native of Virginia and a son of a Revolutionary patriot. On the maternal side Mr. Priddy is a descendant of General Warren of the Revolutionary War. S. N. E. Priddy attended the district schools in Van Wert County and grew to manhood on the home farm. The opening of the Civil War aroused in him the old patriotic spirit of his great-grandfather and September i 1, 1861, saw him an enrolled soldier in Company H, 15th O. Vol. Inf., in which he served faithfully until he was obliged to accept his discharge on account of physical disability. His spirit, however, was not quenched nor his enthusiasm dampened, and in November, 1863, when his health had been re-established, he re-enlisted in his old company and regiment and continued to face all the many hardships and dangers of his command until the close of the Rebellion. His military record is one of which he may well be proud. After the close of the war Mr. Priddy returned to the home farm and remained there until 1871, when he embarked in the business of supplying railroad ties for one of the great transportation lines then creeping across the country, and two years later went into the milling business and for about a dozen years operated a saw mill, a grist mill and a planing mill, at Middlepoint, O. He there became a man of affairs, honored and respected by his fellow citizens, serving on the city council and school board and for five successive years was elected mayor. In 1890 Mr. Priddy transferred his interests to Findlay and in this city identified himself with both public and private interests. Mr. Priddy was married in 1872 to Miss Elizabeth Price, a daughter of John and Rachel (Coslett) Price, of Middlepoint. Of their children, Thomas D. is a drainage contractor now in business at New Orleans ; John E. is a prominent attorney of Findlay, and has his offices in the Commercial Bank Building and his residence at No. 568 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY 121 Baldwin Avenue ; Edgar is a mechanical expert with the Buckeye Company of Toledo, O.; Vernon is now general manager of the Western branch of the Review of Reviews at Chicago, Ill.; Miss Edith is the one daughter. Mr. Priddy and family reside in one of the most beautiful homes in the city, at No. 109 South Main Street, Findlay. They are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church. In his politcal views, Mr. Priddy, with his sons, is a Republican. J. M. RUCKMAN, M. D., one of the leading medical practitioners of Jenera, Ohio, was born April 24, 1872, in Big Lick Township, Hancock County, Ohio, and was there reared to maturity. After obtaining a common school education in Big Lick Township, he taught five years in the schools of the county, then spent two years at the Ohio State Normal at Ada, and in 1900 graduated from the Starling Medical College of Columbus, Ohio. He then came to Jenera, Ohio, where he has established an extensive practice, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens to the fullest extent. Dr. Ruckman was married June 4, 1901, to Caroline Edwards, a native of Findlay, Ohio, who taught for five years in the schools of Hancock County. Of their union have been born : James Merritt ; Kenneth Edwards ; and Lucia Adele. Dr. Ruckman is an adherent of the Democratic party in politics and is a member of the Hancock County and the North Western State Medical Societies. CHARLES E. VANHORN, one of Amanda Township's prominent citizens, successful farmers and stockmen, resides in Section 7, Amanda Township, Hancock County, O., eight miles southeast of Findlay, where he owns 165 acres of valuable land. He was born in Amanda Township, April 17, 1843, and is a son of Charles and Sarah (Twining) Vanhorn. Both parents of Mr. Vanhorn were born and reared in Bucks County, Pa. They came to Hancock County in 1833 and the father bought 200 acres of land in Amanda Township, at $4 an acre, which is almost beyond belief, considering the price of the same land at the present time. Later he again invested, in 1835, purchasing fifty-four acres situated in Section 6, in the same township. The parents lived in this township during the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1881, at the age of eighty-one years and the mother passing away in 1879, when aged seventy-six years. They had ten children, namely : George W. and J. M., both of whom are deceased ; Robert ; Mary, who is Mrs. Aurand ; Martha, who married a Mr. Marvin ; Phebe, who is Mrs. Grove; Harrison ; Sarah, who is Mrs. Caruthers, lives at Findlay ; Charles E. ; and John. Charles E. Vanhorn obtained his education in the township schools and helped his father on the farm. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. For forty-five years he has been engaged in buying and shipping livestock and wool and in carrying on general farming. Mr. Vanhorn was married first in 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of Rev. Smith, of Amanda Township. She died in 1894, and was survived by two daughters, Agnes and Garnet. Agnes is the wife of HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 569 Joseph Shull, of Amanda Township, and they have six children : Edith, Esther, Ethel, Russell, Harold and Erma. Garnet married George Davis, of Findlay, and they have one daughter, Mary. Mr. Vanhorn was married second to Mary M. Sutherland, of Amanda Township. Mrs. Vanhorn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Vanhorn is one of the leading Republicans of his township and has served for ten years in the office of land appraiser. WILLIAM F. BLOOM*, county recorder of Hancock County, Ohio, was born in Union Township, Hancock County, November 13, 1864, and is a son of Jacob and Mary (Zelert) Bloom. Jacob Bloom was born in 1841, in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and died in Hancock County in 1872. He married Mary Zelert, who is a sister of Professor Zelert. They had four children. William F. Bloom was educated in the public schools of Union Township and the Normal School at Ada, Ohio. He engaged in teaching for a time and then returned to agricultural pursuits, which he continued until he was first elected to his present office, in November, 1901, on the Republican ticket, by a plurality of 349 votes. It is very evident that he gave satisfactory service, as when he was re-elected in 1904, it was by a plurality of 1,470 votes, a remarkable increase. The people of Hancock County speak well of him and in these days of corruption in public office in many sections, they feel well contented with their officials who have many times proved their honesty and integrity. Mr. Bloom owns a well improved farm of fifty acres which is situated in Orange Township, Hancock County. Mr. Bloom married Miss Mary Ford, a daughter of John Ford, of Hancock County, and their children are : Jacob P., Edgar B., and William F., Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Bloom are members of Grace Episcopal church. Their pleasant home is situated at No. 414 North Cory Street. He is an Odd Fellow. HENRY WILLIAM BRINKMAN, who is engaged in general farming on a tract of sixty-five acres, located in Section 15, Cass Township, was born April 23, 1842, in Hanover, Germany, and is a son of Lewis and Dorothy (Trader) Brinkman. Lewis Brinkman and his wife were both born in Hanover, Germany, and spent their entire lives in their native country. They were the parents of one child, Henry William, the subject of this record. The mother of our subject first married Henry Agathon, by whom she had the following children : Frederick Coberg, Henry, Detrich, Dora, and Lenora, all of whom are now deceased. Henry W. Brinkman grew to maturity in Hanover, Germany, where during his early manhood he worked in a factory, and in 1880 he came to the United States. He had saved some money before coming to this country, but the expenses of the trip, together with sickness, swallowed up the greater part of it, leaving him just sufficient capital with which to buy a cow and some furniture. For the first two years after coming here he worked out by the day at seventy-five cents per day. In 1890, however, he purchased from L. Stacey his present farm, where he has since carried on gen- 570 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY eral farming, and has made all the improvements on his property, having erected a good substantial house and other buildings. Mr. Brinkman was first married in Ger-many in 1868, to Margrethe Schuhlenber, and of this union were born five children, namely: William ; Henry, who married Emma Lyons, and has three children, Floyd, Bertha and Ruth ; Minnie, who is the wife of Frank Harrold, and has six children, Clara, Alice, William, Edward, Clarence, and Floyd ; and John and Sophie, who are deceased. Mrs. Brinkman died in 1880, and Mr. Brinkman formed a second union with Marie Flinert, who died about three and a half years after their marriage. On August 20, 1884, Mr. Brinkman married Minnie Nickie, a daughter of Fred and Mary (Doll) Nickie, both natives of Germany. Mrs. Brinkman was born January 18, 1863, in Hancock County, Ohio, the other children being: Carl, Sarah, Mary, Dora, Josie, and one that died in infancy. Mrs. Brinkman's father subsequently married Augusta Cuert, which union resulted in the following issue : Augusta, Lena, Emma, Anna, Martin, and Elva, the three last mentioned being now deceased. The father died in January, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Brinkman have had the following children : Charles, who died in infancy ; Edward, who married Ethel Wilkes ; Nora, who is the wife of George Drake ; Lewis; Dora ; Emma ; Lydia, and Augusta. Mr. and Mrs. Brinkman are members of the Lutheran church. JACOB MELVIN ROBINSON, a successful farmer and representative citizen of Pleasant Township, Hancock County, O.. where he owns eighty acres of valuable and well improved land, was born in Blanchard Township, Hancock County, June 28, 1864, and is a son of Samuel H. and Elizabeth Deter Robinson. Samuel H. Robinson was born in Columbiana County, O., in 1833, and is a retired resident of McComb. He was a mere boy when his father, Jacob Robinson, moved to Wood County, O., near Hoytsville. The latter later moved to McComb, where he and wife died. Samuel H. Robinson lived in Hancock County, near the Putnam County line, for forty years, and owned a farm of seventy acres in Blan-chard Township. Before the railroad was built through McComb, he engaged in teaming for some years for the firm of Snyder & Barney, of McComb. He has always been a re-spected and useful citizen. He married Elizabeth Deter, who died in 1902, at the age of seventy years. They had three sons born to them: John Wallace, who is a farmer in Union County, near Marysville, O.; Peter Amos, who is engaged in the poultry business at McComb, and Jacob M., of Pleasant Township. Jacob Melvin Robinson was educated in the public schools of Hancock County. Farming has been his main business. His unmarried life was spent in Pleasant Township. After marriage he lived for five years in Blanchard Township and then removed to Richfield Township, Henry County, where he resided for eleven years. In the spring of 1905 he purchased his farm from his father and immediately began improving the property, building his comfortable and attractive residence and a modern, well proportioned barn, with dimensions of 60 by 36 feet and with a crib and wagon shed that is 16 by 36 feet in dimensions. He carries on general farming and stock raising, following modern methods and considering the use of improved farm machinery one of the necessary HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 573 adjuncts. In politics he is a Democrat, but takes only the interest of a good and intelligent citizen in public affairs, entertaining no desire to hold office. In 1889 Mr. Robinson was married to Miss Ida Alwilda Bowers, a daughter of Daniel Bowers, of Blanchard Township, and they have three children, namely : Harold Clinton, aged eighteen years; Carrie Alta, aged fifteen years ; and Velzora Marie, aged ten years, all of whom are being given educational advantages. OZIAS E. BENINGTON, who owns seventy-one acres of valuable farm land which is situated in Section 3, Big Lick Township, Hancock County, O., ten and one-half miles east of Findlay, is one of the successful fa;ers of this neighborhood. He was born February 27, 1861, in Seneca County, O., and is a son of George S. and Amanda (Spragg) Benington. George S. Benington was born in Carroll County, O., November 10, 1825, and died on our subject's farm, May 27, 1910. He married Amanda Spragg, who was born in Pennsylvania and died in 1905. They had eleven children : Ignatius, Susan, Calvin J., Uriah C., Libbie, Ozias E., Jane, Benson A., Alice, Belle, and Cora. Ozias E. Benington remained at home helping his father until he was nineteen years of age, in the meanwhile obtaining a common school education. When he started out for himself, he bought a farm in Indiana on which he lived for a few years and then came to his present property in Big Lick Township. He carries on a general farming line which includes the growing of fruit and the raising of stock for his own use. In 1886. Mr. Benington was married to Miss Eliza A. Taylor, who was born in Washington Township, Hancock County, and is a daughter of Robert Taylor, and they have six children: Ralph, Genevria, Grace, Dewey, Harold and Taylor. In politics, Mr. Benington is a Republican and keeps well posted on public matters, but he has never sought office. He is a practical man and finds his time well employed in looking after his own business affairs. SAMUEL E. RENNINGER*, plumber and gas fitter, at Findlay, Ohio, is the head of the firm of S. E. Renninger & Co., at No. 602 South Main Street, and has been established in this line in this city since October, 1903. Mr. Renninger was born on a farm in Liberty Township, Hancock County, Ohio, October 20, 1876. and is a son of William and Sarah (Emerson) Renninger. William Renninger was a prosperous farmer in Liberty Township for many years and then retired to Findlay, where his death occurred September 21, 1897. His widow is still living. Samuel E. Renninger was reared on the home farm and after leaving school worked for eleven years in the oil fields as a pumper for the Ohio Oil Company, after which he learned his trade with a plumber at Findlay and for several months was in partnership with A. E. Powell, and then bought his partner's interest. He has a first class establishment in which he employs from four to eight men and takes contracts and separate orders for plumbing, steam, gas and hot water heating and sheet metal working. Mr. Renninger was married to Miss Anna R. Brady, a daughter of Mathew Brady. She was born in Ross County but was reared in Hancock County. They have two children, Mary Ilene and Margaret Elizabeth. Mr. 574 - HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY Renninger is a member of the order of Ben Hur and of the Modern Woodmen of America. WILLIAM W. COLE, who owns 143 acres of fine land, lying in Section 22, Big Lick Township, Hancock County, O., on the New Haven turnpike road, ten miles east of Findlay, is one of the representative and reliable citizens of the township. He was born near Portersville, Mich., December 27, 1856, and is a son of John W. and a grandson of James Cole. John W. Cole was born in Ashland County, O., in 1831, a son of James Cole, who was born in Delaware, where he married. With his wife he came to Ashland County, O., where his children were born, and then moved to Big Lick Township, Hancock County, where the remainder of his life was spent. To James Cole and wife the following children were born : William, John, Dickson, Benjamin, James, Roland, Andrew, Raymond, David, Elizabeth, Milla, and \Vilminer. John married Sarah McCree, who was born in Scotland and was brought to America when eight years old by some relatives of the name of Allen, and with them she lived until they died, in 1851, when she married John W. Cole. A large family of children were born to them, namely : James, William, Elmer A., Charles W., John J., Dilman D., Benjamin, Raymond C., Lemuel, Ralph, Irvin, Jennie, Marietta, Minta and Janet and Rosett, twins, and almost the whole family still survives. The father died in 1905, and the mother in 1879. For a few years in boyhood, William W. Cole attended the local schools and then went to the West for a few years and after he returned, settled on his present farm in Big Lick Township and here has ever since carried on general farming and stock raising with much success. In 1881 Mr. Cole was married to Miss Ellen Bright, who was born and reared in Big Lick Township, a daughter of William Bright, and thirteen children have been born to this marriage, namely : Cloys, who is in the real estate business in Kansas ; Ray C. ; Carl M. ; Florence, who married Charles Myers, a farmer in Washington Township ; and Jessie, Aura, Edna, Mary, Nana, Esther, Glenna, Myrtie and Vertie. The two youngest, Myrtie and Vertie, were twins and they died at the age of 6 weeks from measles. Mr. Cole and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Republican in his political views. HENRY SWINDLER ROLLER, whose valuable farm of eighty-nine acres lies in Section 31, Washington Township, Hancock County, O., is one of the enterprising and representative men of this part of the county. He was ,born on his father's farm in Big Lick Township, Hancock County, April 20, 1862, and is a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Swindler) Roller. Michael Roller was born in Ashland County, O., and was twelve years old when he accompanied his parents to Hancock County. His father, William Roller, was born in Pennsylvania and was one of the early land agents in Ashland County and came from there to Big Lick Township, Hancock County, where he had entered large tracts of land. He had eight children : Wilson, Michael, George, Agnes, Mary, Lucinda, Charlotte and Susan. All are now deceased. The daughters married and the larger number of them moved farther west. When Michael Roller came with his parents to this section, Findlay was a scattered village