HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 301 ordained by Bishop Rappe, December 2, 1860. He subsequently labored in Toledo, Grafton, St. Mary's Seminary (Cleveland) and St. Mary's parish (Norwalk). Al- though his last charge was a heavy one, and fraught with adversity, he was always equal to the task; a princely priest and veritable man of God, he died January 4, 1885. During his pastorate in Norwalk, he labored hard to put down all practices that would tend to lower the morals of his flock, Among other things his aim was directed against the dance. When he took charge of the congregation it numbered thirty families; at his death it numbered 130, and was out of debt. After the death of Father Halley, the present pastor, Rev. Charles Vincent Clievraux, was appointed. He was born in the eastern part of France January 22, 1848, a son of August and Justine (Poinsot) Chevraux. When Father Chevraux was a boy of six years, his parents emigrated to America, and located in the town of Louisville, Stark Co., Ohio. Here he attended the local schools, and subsequently the diocesan college at that place. He afterward entered St. Mary's Seminary, at Cleveland, Ohio, where he graduated in 1874, and he was ordained at South Bend, Ind., by Bishop Gilmour. In 1874 Father Chevraux was stationed at the cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained ten and one-half years, and while there gained many friends, and proved himself a priest by eminent qualities. When the pastorate of St Mary's, Norwalk, was found vacant, his appointment to the incumbency was eminently fitting. One of the first moves made by him was to introduce the Sisters of St. Joseph to take charge of the parochial schools, and under their management it has prospered in a high degree. He commenced to build a church on the prop- erty purchased by Father Halley, the first work being done in 1889. The structure is now almost completed, and is a beauti- ful piece of architecture, cruciform in shape, Gothic in style, and built of stone throughout. It will stand as a lasting monument to the pious zeal of Father Chevraux and his flock. The laying of the corner-stone, which took place September 22, 1889, called to Norwalk the largest assemblage ever gathered in the city, very many coming from Cleveland, called hither on the occasion, greatly by Father Chevraux's popularity in that city. [Since this sketch was written the church has been frescoed, the windows set in. The fresco, windows and paintings are beautiful and grand.] Father Chevraux is a man of over me- diutn stature, pleasing and kindly in his manners, an earnest preacher of the Gospel, and an enterprising citizen. He is thoroughly American. and his views on politics are of a broad and liberal character. The following very flattering no- tice of this reverend gentleman is taken from a recent issue of the Toledo Bee: "Rev. Chas. V. Chevraux, of Norwalk, Ohio, sang solemn high mass at St. Francis de Sales Church Wednesday morning. Father Chevraux is considered and undoubtedly is the most celebrated vocalist in the American Priesthood, and the people of St. Francis de Sales parish were delighted to have an opportunity of hearing him. A voice of superb timbre, clear, powerful baritone, of such volume that his notes could be often heard a block from the church, the lofty vaulted ceilings seemed alive with charming music. A cultured auditor remarked: 'There! in the sanctuary for once Madame Machen has found her match, in church music.' Come again, noble-voiced monsieur, and give our thousand cultured Toledo people due notice of your coming." J. L. MEAD. Many years ago three brothers of the name of Mead left their home in Wales, and sailed across the ocean to America. On arriving in the New World they finally 302 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. located in Huron county, Ohio, and one of them, Abram Mead, became the first white settler of Fitchville township. Some years afterward he and his family moved to Norwalk township, where they became prominent settlers. He was married four times, and died near Norwalk in 1852. Joel E. Mead, youngest son of the pioneer just mentioned, was born in Putnam county, N. Y., and was brought by his parents to Huron. county, Ohio, when but three months old. He came with the family to Norwalk township when about fifteen years of age, and grew to manhood on the farm. When a young man he selected a life companion in the person of Betsey A. Lewis, a native of the "Firelands." and she bore him seven children. The father died in 1870, at the age of fifty- three years, the mother on December 31, 1888. Jerome L. Mead, third child of Joel E. and Betsey (Lewis) Mead, was born November 7, 1850, in Norwalk, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. He worked for several years handling and shipping stock near to Norwalk, and now has charge of the grain, feed and seed store in Norwalk, formerly owned by Woodward Bros., and now the property of J. L. Mead & Co. Our subject is also a partner in the grocery firm of D. 0. Woodward & Co. at Norwalk. On May 2, 1877, he was united in marriage with Miss Lucinda Woodward, who was born in Clyde, Sandusky Co., Ohio, and they have two sons, Ralph and Fred. Politically Mr. Mead is a Republican; socially he is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., and Royal Arcanum; in religious faith he is a Presbyterian. JACOB P. HOUFSTATER is a grandson of Adam Houfstater, who was the pioneer of the family in America. Adam Houfstater was born in 1755, in Germany, whence when a youth he came to the United States, and settling in Pennsylvania he learned the weaver's trade, at which he worked until he became a farmer. He was married in Pennsylvania, and moved some time later to Niagara county, N. Y., where most of the following named children were born to them: Adam, Philip, John, George, Jacob, Jane, Susan and Polly, all now. deceased. George Houfstater, father of subject, was born in 1797, in Pennsylvania, accompanied his parents to Niagara county, N. Y., when a boy, and was reared on the frontier. In New York State he met Elizabeth Barre, also a native of Pennsylvania, to whom he was wedded, and after his marriage he began farming. Seven children were born to them on the homestead, namely: Almira, Mary, David, Matilda and Fidelia (twins), Jacob and Catherine; Lucy Ann, the eighth child, was born in Huron county, Ohio, October 15, 1836. In 1836 the family moved to Ohio, and settled on the farm which is now the property of Jacob P. Houfstater, which territory was then a complete wilderness. While the new corners were surrounded by neighbors, the particular lend selected was still in the forest, and the clearing of this tract devolved on the father and sons. He subsequently bought a farm of 186 acres, which he saw cleared before his death in 1874. Of a hardworking, economical disposition, he left a valuable property to his children, and died with success stamped upon his work. Prior to 1856 he was a Whig, and from that time until his death, a Republican. In religion he affiliated with the Christian Church. Jacob P. Houfstater was born January 17, 1830, in Niagara county, N. Y. In 1836 he accompanied his parents to Ohio, where, February 16, 1854, he married Roena M. Carpenter, of Fairfield township, Huron county. The young couple at once entered farm life, and for forty years have continued to follow it successfully. Not only does Mr. Houfstater own HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 303 130 acres of improved land in Ripley township, but he has also endowed three of his children most liberally, giving to each two thousand dollars. Of their children, Cora married Agnew Welch, editor of the Record, at Ada, Ohio; Elva married Abert Young, a farmer of Ripley township; and Carrie married Edward L. Young, who was city editor of the Huron County Chronicle, at Norwalk, from 1885 to 1892, when he was appointed Great Record Keeper of the Knights of Maccabees. Mr. Houfstater is a Republican, an active member of the party, serving his township as justice of the peace and in various other offices. He was a member of the Christian Church of Ripley, and is a citizen of acknowledged worth. JARMAN PATRICK, a well-known agriculturist of Townsend township, Huron county, is a native of the State of Ohio, born December 10, 1836, in Florence, Erie county. He is the eldest child and only son in a family of four children born to James Jarman and Lucy A. (Tucker) Patrick, the former of whom was born in the County of Norfolk, England, the latter in the State of New York. James Jarman Patrick was born about 1809, and received a good English education in his native land. Soon after attaining his majority he immigrated to the United States, landing at New York after a stormy passage of six weeks, during most of which time he suffered from seasickness. After his arrival in America he farmed on shares, or rented lands in New York for a short time, and then removed to the far western frontier and almost unbroken wilderness of northern Ohio, first stopping in what is now Erie county, where he took the job of chopping and clearing space for a mill-pond on the old Sprague farm. Here he was married, and soon afterward removed to Townsend township, Huron county, where he bought wild land, built a log house, and commenced to carve out of the dense forest around him a home for himself and family. He and his brother-in-law were both accidentally killed, December 23, 1842, their death being caused by the premature falling of a tree, which fell upon and crushed them. The Patrick family in England were among the old and well-to- do families of English commoners, owning quite an extensive landed property, subject to the law of entail, that is, it descended to the eldest son, generation after generation. Mrs. Lucy A. Patrick's death occurred October 1, 1886, when she was in her seventy-third year. Jarman Patrick, the subject of this sketch, received a very fair common-school education in early life. After his father's death, which occurred when he was only six years old, he remained with his mother on the old home farm for a time, and then lived with his grandfather Tucker, who employed him on his farm, until he reached his twentieth year. He then commenced for himself, being employed at working out by the month and farming on shares for several years. In the spring of 1862 he bought a partially- improved farm in Townsend township, Huron county, upon which he now resides, and where he has ever since been successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, the place being now well improved and under a high state of cultivation. During the Civil war Mr. Patrick enlisted in Company B (organized in Townsend township), One Hundred and Sixty-sixth O. V. I., N. G., which was called out by President Lincoln in May,1864, for one hundred days service. The regiment organized at Cleveland, where Mr. Patrick was transferred to Company F, and did duty in and around. Washington, D. C., until September 9, 1864, when they were mustered out and returned home, each soldier receiving a certificate of thanks from President Lincoln. 304 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. On February 2, 1861, Mr. Patrick was married to Miss Maryette Hill, a native of Townsend township, born August 24, 1841, daughter of Moses and Sallie (Brooks) Hill, both of whom were natives of Delaware county, N. Y. Seven children were the fruits of this union, only four of whom are now living, viz.: James Delbert, born October 10, 1866; Frank J., born November 14, 1868; Guy B., born September 6, 1878; and William C., born July 23, 1883. Edgar Royle, who was born August 12, 1864, died April 9, 1886, in his twenty-second year. Mr. Patrick is a member of Townsend Post No. 414, G. A. R., and Mrs. Patrick is a member of the Townsend Relief Corps, No. 142, auxiliary to the above mentioned Post. He is also a member of East Townsend Lodge, F. & A. M. In politics Mr. Patrick is a liberal Republican, but claims the right to think and act for himself in all things and at all times. G. M. S. SANBORN, lumber and coal dealer, is a well known business man of Norwalk. He is a son of John M. Sanborn, whose father was a native of New Hampshire, of English ancestry, and passed his life on a farm near Franklin, that State. John M. Sanborn was born in 1821, in Franklin, Merrimack Co., N. H., and when a young man was married to Fannie J. Fisher, a native of Francestown, N. H., and a representative of an old New England family. He was master mechanic of the Norwalk division of the Lake Shore Railroad from 1874 until a short time be- fore his death, May 12, 1890. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, of the thirty-second degree, and in religious faith was a Baptist. Mrs. Sanborn died June 27, 1892, in Norwalk, leaving two children, G. M. S. and Edward D. G. M. S. Sanborn was born March 24, 1858, at Nashua, Hillsborough Co. N. Y. He came west with his parents when quite young, and after attending school for a number of years, secured em- ployment with the Lake Shore Railroad Company, at Norwalk; in April, 1875, he began to learn the trade of machinist and draftsman. He became an expert as draftsman, and in July, 1884, accepted a position as superintendent of the drafting department of the Lake Shore shops at Elkhart, Elkhart Co., Ind. On November 24, 1880, he was married to Blanche O. Pepoon, who was born April 1, 1857, in Painesville, Ohio, a daughter of Lycurgus and Susan (Morse) Pepoon, the former of Painesville, Ohio, the latter of Elizabethtown, N. J.; she is still living. Mr. Pepoon was twice married; first time in 1856 to Mary Lovelace, of Painesville, Ohio, who died in 1861, and in 1863 he married Susan Morse, as above. He died at West Farmington, Ohio, in September, 1891. To Mr. and Mrs. G. M. S, Sanborn have been born two sons: Willis E. and George Walter. Mr. Sanborn saved quite a sum of money from his salary, and in January, 1889, entered the Chicago Baptist Seminary, intending to prepare for the ministry. His health failed, however, and abandoning his studies in August, 1889, he bought out a coal and lumber establishment in Norwalk, in which he has been very successful. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and is President of the Y. M. C. A., having assisted in its organization in Norwalk. WILLIAM S. CREECH, proprietor of a stone quarry in Lyme township, was born in England in 1836, a son of John and Caroline Creech, who died while he was young. Our subject immigrated to the United States in 1871, locating in Huron county, Ohio. His worldly goods were few, and he depended solely upon health and strength, and a determination to succeed, to win friends and money in a new home. HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 305 He commenced his business career in this county as a laborer in the stone quarry of H. Smith, and after eight years was able, through practicing rigid economy, to start in business for himself. He purchased the stone quarry he now runs so successfully, and every year adds to his already large business some new improvement ; he now owns the largest stone crusher in Lyme township. At one time he furnished as much as seventeen thousand building stones for the roundhouse of the Nickel Plate Railroad. He also owns a large lime kiln, and furnishes lime throughout all parts of the township. In 1860, before leaving England, Mr. Creech was married to Miss Anna Hole, and by her had six children, five of whom are now living with him, viz.: Thomas G., Fred J., Caroline E., Ada F. and Anna L. Mrs. Creech died in 1873, and in 1884 Mr. Creech married Miss Elizabeth Hole, a sister of his first wife. Mr. Creech is a self-made man of more than the average intelligence, and has by means of his energy and executive ability established a good business and a comfortable home. He is a man of sterling worth, whose integrity is never questioned, and who uses his time and money for the advancement of the township in which he resides. ALLEN T. ASHLEY, grandson of James Ashley, was born April 2, 1829, the eighth in the family of twelve children born to Leonard and Sally (McDougal) Ashley. Leonard Ashley was born about 1790, At Deerfield, Mass., learned shoemaking under his father, and worked at the trade during his life in Massachusetts. His mother died about the year 1799, and the youth then went to reside with an elder brother, Luther. After some years he wished to see the world outside of his native State, and migrated to Canada, where, in 1815, he married Sally McDougal, who was born in 1794, in Nova Scotia, for whose father young Ashley worked ; and while living on Yonge street, and near Toronto, in the Province of Ontario, the following named children were born : Thomas, who died in infancy ; James, who, in 1824, accompanied his mother to Ohio, where he married, became a Free-will Baptist preacher, and thence moved to Michigan, where he died, leaving twelve children ; Stewart B., late a resident of Steuben, Ohio, who died October 30, 1893, and is buried in Greenfield cemetery ; Sally, who first married David Skeeles, and subsequently Dean Keefer (she is now a widow, residing at Columbus, Kans.); and John, a Free-will Baptist preacher, of Hillsdale, Mich., who was a fellow schoolmate of James A. Garfield. After the family joined the father in Greenfield township, in 1824, there were born Luther, a resident of Bellevue, Mich.; William, of Knoxville, Iowa ; Allen T., the subject of this sketch; Joseph B., of Oberlin, Ohio; Mary, wife of Judge G. W. Lewis, of Medina, Ohio; Henry, a resident of San Francisco, Cal.; and Daniel, who went to California in 1862 and died there. In 1822 Leonard Ashley left Canada for Huron county, Ohio, and worked on farms and at his trade here for two years. In 1824 his wife and children arrived, and all found a home with Alden Pierce, a brother-in-law, who then occupied what is known as the "Sturges Farm'? in Green- field township. The father was known as a good farmer and a good shoemaker, and was a very active man until his death, which occurred in 1873. At that time he was on a visit to his son John at Rockaway, Seneca Co., Ohio, from which place his remains were returned to Huron county for interment in the Greenfield cemetery. His wife, who died March 19, 1863, was interred in Steuben cemetery. Leonard Ashley was a Whig until the organization of the Republicans, when he became a stanch supporter of the new 306 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. party. In religious matters he and his wife were members of the Free-will Baptist Church. Allen T. Ashley was born in Greenfield township, Huron county. He received a primary education in the district school, and worked on the home farm until 1864, when he established his home on the farm where he now resides. On May 1, 1866, he married Clara T. Warner, who was born January 29, 1844, in Medina county, Ohio, daughter of M. B. and Sally (Dimrnick) Warner. To this marriage were born three children, namely: Georgia May, Mrs. A. T. Shaffer, of Plymouth, Ohio; Dessie C., and Thad W. Politically a Republican, Mr. Ashley has only taken a citizen's interest in the great party battles. The township offices which he has filled are not strictly political offices, the man, rather than the party, being sought by the municipal body. He is a practical hnd successful farmer, standing high in the community, and he and his family are held in very high esteem. JACOB DEAN, a retired farmer of New Haven township, and a pioneer of Huron county, was born at Wittenberg, Saxony, Prussia, March 25, 1821. His parents, George Michael and Jacobine Dean, belonged to the class of Ger- man peasant farmers whose probity and industry were acknowledged. In 1827 they decided to immigrate to America, and proceeding to Havre, France, by highway, they sailed for the United States. and after a long voyage landed at New York. Coming westward at once, by river to Albany, by canal and lake to Sandusky, Ohio, and thence by wagon-road to Greenfield township, Huron county; they rested there, and soon began agricultural life. The father's characteristic industry en- abled him to support his family, and, as its members increased, to provide for their daily wants until death removed him. Jacob Dean had to take a boy's share in supporting the family, and thus was com- pelled to forego the advantages of an edu- cation, becoming a bread-winner at an early age. When twelve years old he entered the employ of Capt. Lawther, of Greenfield township, the consideration for his labor being very small. With the object of providing a home for his mother and brothers he worked diligently, saved the little earnings he received, and in time purchased a tract of wild land in New Haven township. Here a cabin was built, and in it the family made their home until the mother died. She was buried beside her husband in New Haven cemetery. For some years after his mother's death Jacob Dean kept bachelor's hall in the old home, and lived with the tenants to whom he rented the farm, in later years with his brother, who came to the old homestead with his family. Mr. Dean is now the owner of 200 acres of fertile land, most of which was cleared and cultivated by him. Redeeming it from the forest, he now enjoys the fruits of long years of stern labor among the trees, and can see that he has taken more than one inan's part in the development of this section, When the Universalist Church existed at New Haven, Mr. Dean was a member of the denomination, but since that time has not been connected with any religious society. He votes with the Democratic party, but his political activity begins and ends at the polls. He has never married. PHILIP J. KNOLL, a prominent farmer citizen of Ridgefield township, is a son of the late John P. Knoll and grandson of Jacob Knoll, natives of the Province of Nassau. Germany, both of whom were farmers, the latter dying in his native land. John P. Knoll was born May 3, 1826, and in the Fatherland received his elementary education in both literary and HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 307 agricultural pursuits: In 1849 he immigrated to America, and purchased land in Ridgefield township, Huron Co., Ohio. He then revisited Germany, and returning to America, brought with him his fiancee, Miss Minnie Cook, whom in 1852 he married at Sandusky, Ohio. She was the daughter of George Cook, and was born March 19, 1832. Mr. and Mrs. Knoll settled on the farm in Huron county now occupied by some of the family, and here by constant toil he succeeded in securing a comfortable competence. In political opinion he was a lifelong Democrat, and in religion a member of the Protestant Evangelical Church, with which his widow is also identified. He died in 1887, and Mrs. Knoll, surrounded by many friends, is yet residing on the beautiful home farm, which she owns. The children of this estimable couple were as follows: Charles, a farmer of Norwalk township, Huron county; William, deceased at the age of three years; Adolph, deceased in infancy; Lewis, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Edward, a farmer of Norwalk township, Huron county; Louisa, wife of Philip Poths, of Fulton county, Ohio; Philip J., whose name opens this sketch, and who is married and lives on part of the farm, in the house last bought by his father (in 1872); Gustavus, living on the home place; and Matilda and Minnie, residing with their widowed mother. WALTER E. BELL, dealer in coal, lime, cement, etc., Norwalk, is a son of James G. Bell, who was born in New York State, of German ancestry, and who married Nancy C. Bacon, a lady of Scotch descent. Our subject was born January 25, 1845, in Henderson, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and coming west with his parents in 1849 located near Berlin Heights, Erie county, Ohio. He farmed there for a time, then moved to Norwalk, Huron county, and about the year 1882 established his present business. Although beginning life with no financial aid, he has prospered, and is now recognized as one of the most reliable business men of Norwalk. He was married January 16, 1867, to Fannie Henderson, then a teacher in the public schools, and three children have blessed their union, namely: Henry, Howard and Charles. Mr. Bell is a Republican it) politics, and in religion a Baptist. He has one sister, Mrs. Eliza M. Gibson, now living in Stryker, Ohio; one brother, Watson J., in Birmingham, Ohio, and the younger brother, W. C., in Norwalk. THOMAS ALEXANDER McLANE was born in Greenfield township, Huron Co., Ohio, April 20, 1832, the fourth son of Robert and Margaret McLane, who with three elder brothers had emigrated from Ireland two years previous. A short time before his birth they had built and moved into a log cabin which stood near the present home. which cabin, at the time of the birth of Thomas, was in an unfinished condition, there being neither floor nor chimney con structed. His school days were begun in the old log school house where the desks were formed of planks resting on pegs driven into the second or third log. The reversible seats found in the schools of the present day were represented by heavy slabs resting on rustic legs. In those days the wood was not provided, and the boys were obliged to go into the woods to procure it. Plain as it was, that school may be considered the vanguard of civilization, and from it went forth men and women superior in many respects to those who now graduate within more pretentious public buildings. When at school young Thomas studied hard, and ranked as one of the best scholars, the teacher often calling upon him 308 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. to help others with their lessons. But time flies rapidly, and Thomas has reached young manhood and his school days are over. He had a strong desire to learn a trade, Vut times were hard and money was scarce, so he was obliged to give up his desire and go to work on the farm. He had a strong constitution, and at the age of sixteen could do a man's work. As it was in the days before machinery came to aid the farmer in his work, his services were in great demand, for forty years ago the modern machinery of to-day was unknown. The grain was cut with a sickle or cradle, and the grass with a scythe; corn was planted with a hoe, and the ground was plowed with oxen. Instead of the threshing machine threshing the grain, the farmer pounded it out with flails. The old house was fast decaying, and often in the winter when the wind was blowing he would awake in the morning to find his bed covered with snow. As all men must in the course of life fall in love, he was not an exception, for he met and loved Miss Susan Channing, and was married to her November 28, 1867. She was born in Somersetshire, England, April 4, 1844, and five years later she accompanied her parents across the ocean to America, they settling in Greenfield township, Huron Co., Ohio, where her father, Joseph Charming, established himself as a farmer. The Charmings subsequently moved to Richmond township, then Norwalk township, and finally to Chicago Junction, where her father died December 3, 1889; her mother is still living. While but a small child, Susie (as she was commonly called) was always willing to help her parents, and since she was thirteen years old she has earned her own living besides giving money to her parents. At the time of his marriage Mr. McLane decided to make farming his vocation, and he and wife took up their residence on the McLane farm, where his boyhood days had been spent. The only child born to them is Margaret C., an accomplished young lady, who resides at home. In politics Mr. McLane is a Democrat, and in religion a Congregationalist. During the last two decades many improvements have been made on his place; the old house has been torn down and the handsome brick residence has taken its place, while the commodious farm buildings and the beautiful shade trees that have been planted speak forcibly of Mr. and Mrs. McLane's taste and industry; for both have acted well their part in the development of this tract, and are now enjoying the fruits of their labors. HENRY LAIS, sole proprietor of the Star Brewery, Norwalk, is one of the many indefatigable, wide-awake citizens and native born business men for which Huron county is so justly celebrated. He was born, in 1853, in Monroeville, a son of Anthony and Catherine (Thomas) Lais, natives of Germany, the former born in Baden in 1826, the latter born in 1828. She came to the United States when a child, and was reared and educated in Huron county, Ohio. In 1849 Anthony Lais came to America, making his new home in Monroeville, Huron county, where he married. In the same year he came here he was given the position of foreman in J. S. H. M. Robey's brewery in Monroeville (established in 1845), which he held with characteristic fidelity for a period of twenty-one years. In 1870 he came to Norwalk, and in 1871 purchased the brewery in that town, from which time until his death in 1886 he carried it on continuously, with more than average success. This industry was at first but a small ale brewery, now the product of it is nearly six thousand barrels of beer annually, the market for same being chiefly confined to local trade in Huron and Erie counties. Anthony and Catherine Lais had a family of eight children, as follows: Mary (married to 309 - HENRY LAIS 310 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 311 W. O. Meyers), Henry (our subject), John, Josephine, Charles, William, Helen, and George, all yet living. The mother is now making her home with her son Henry, who with true filial affection is caring for her in her declining years. Henry Lais, of whom this sketch mainly treats, received his education at the Monroeville public schools, after which he worked two years in the brewery owned by his father. He then went on the road as salesman for the brewery, traveling through Ohio and Michigan, and at the end of ten years he went into the office, and established the trade on a solid basis. For the past eight years the business has been most flourishing, the entire brewing finding a ready market, as the brands are of the very best quality. John Lais brother of Henry, is an able assistant in the management of the rapidly growing business. In the year 1882 he married Miss Mary Helrick. Mr. Lais' paternal grandfather never left Germany, but his maternal grandfather came to America about the year 1830, and was a farmer in Huron county, dying some eight years since. Politically Mr. Lais is a Democrat, and he is a member of t he C. M. B. A., I. 0. R. M., also Hermann Verein. CHARLES L. HAWLEY a prominent agriculturist, manufacturer and justice of the peace, of Townsend township, was born in Roxbury, Delaware Co., N. Y., June 12, 1824, a son of William M. and Malinda (Older) Hawley. William M. Hawley was born in Massachusetts, and was of English descent. He received a good education in his native State, and while a young man moved to New York, studied law and was admitted to the bar, and located in Hornellsville, Steuben county. Here he met with great success, and was soon recognized as one of the leading attorneys of that section of the State. He married Miss Malinda Older, a native of Delaware county, N. Y., and of English descent, daughter of Nathaniel and Anna Older, and their marriage was blessed with a son, Charles L. In politics William M. Hawley was a Whig, and very popular with his party. He represented his District in the State Senate two terms, and was Circuit Judge for four terms. During a long and active professional life he acquired both fame and an ample income, and was sincerely mourned when he died, in 1866. He was a Mason, and a consistent Church member. His ancestors were pioneers of the Bay Colony, and were actively engaged in the struggles of the Colonial days; and the ancestors of his wife, the Olders, were early settlers of the Hartford Colony. Charles L. Hawley received only a limited literary training in his youth, but in later years succeeded in acquiring a practical business education. He lived with his mother and worked on the home farm, until twenty years of age, at which time he commenced life for himself with no capital except health, energy and ambition. Upon leaving home he was given an axe by his stepfather, and that was his only earthly possession, but by means of economy, strict attention to business and good judgment he has accumulated considerable property. Mr. Hawley has always been a great reader, not only of current literature, but also of history and science. When he started out to make a living, he was compelled to labor by the day or month at any honest work, and being both competent and faithful his services were always in demand. In 1849 he came to Huron county, Ohio, where he engaged in the manufacture of potash for five or six years, after which he contracted with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company to supply wood along the line of that road for about three years. In 1866 he moved to Oil City, Penn., where for five years he was foreman for 312 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. the Baltic Oil Company (the Company operating at Petroleum Center and various other points on Oil creek), and in 1871 he returned to Townsend, Huron county, where for three and a half years he acted as foreman for the Collins Pump Company. At the end of that time Mr. Haw- ley began manufacturing pumps on his own account, at East Townsend, and has up to the present time continued in this business with great success. About the time that he settled in East Townsend he purchased a valuable farm in Townsend Center, and has also engaged in agricultural pursuits. Being physically disabled, Mr. Hawley was unable to take an active part in the Civil war, but in September, 1862, Gov. Tod sent a message to Norwalk, requesting that as many men as possible be enlisted to defend Cincinnati against a threatened attack of the enemy. He was notified of Gov. Tod's call, and requested to enlist men and report with them at one o'clock in the afternoon, and reported with twelve men, be- tween seven and eight thousand men responding to this call in less than twenty-four hours. They were regularly mustered into service, organized as the Ohio Squirrel Hunters, and rendered excellent service till May 4, 1863, when they were honorably discharged. Mr. Hawley has held numerous positions of trust: he was clerk of the township five years; was treasurer for over nine years, and justice of the peace for more than twelve years, to both of which offices he was re-elected in April, 1892; and served for thirteen years as post-master, which office he held during the Civil war. Socially he is a member of East Townsend Lodge No. 322, A. F. & A. M., and has filled every position in the Lodge except that of S. D. He has pre- sided over this Lodge about half the time since its organization, and has represented it in the Grand Lodge of Ohio at fifteen sessions. he is also a member of Townsend Post No. 414, G. A. R., and is a stanch Republican. On May 2, 1847, Mr. Hawley married Miss Maria Nichols, who was born in Chelsea, Vt., October 10, 1830, a daughter of Elijah F. and Elsa (Norton) Nichols, natives of Vermont and of English de- scent. Their marriage was blessed with four children, viz.: C. Frank, who was born February 13, 1849, and is now a member of the firm of Haserott Bros. & Co., wholesale grocers of Cleveland, Ohio; Grover M., born July 29, 1850, and died July 20, 1851; Julia A., born April 21, 1852, and died August 20, 1854, and Crosby N., who was born February 12, 1860, and is now settlement clerk for the " Nipano " Railroad Company, at Cleve- land, Ohio. Both the Nichols and Norton families were pioneers in Vermont, were strong Whigs, and served faithfully in the long Strtiggle for American Independence. Mrs. Hawley's grandfather, Zera Norton, took a distinguished part in the Revolutionary war, and died in Cattarangus county, N. Y. Her grandmother, Eliza- beth Norton, died in Huron county, Ohio, after a long and happy life, filled with kind thoughts and generous deeds. LEROY S. HELLER, postmaster at New Haven, a popular citizen and one of the principal business men of this section of the county, was born June 1, 1831, in Tompkins county, New York. Solomon Heller, grandfather of subject, was a native of Pennsylvania, the son of German pioneers of that State. Ephraim Heller, the father of Leroy S., was born in Northampton county, Penn., and when twenty-one years old moved to Tompkins county, N. Y., where he married Anna Jaeobs,and where he was engaged in agriculture until 1835, At that time he migrated, with his wife and children, to New Haven township, Huron Co., Ohio, and purchas- ing the land now held by his heirs established his home, residing there until his HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 313 death, which occurred March 11, 1876, when he was in the sixty-ninth year of his age. His widow died September 9, 1892, in her eighty-second year. Both were Free-will Baptists, and charter members of the North New Haven Baptist Church. Of their six children, Leroy S. is the eldest; L. C. resides at New Haven; F. J. is a farmer of Mitchell county, Kans.; E. C. resides on the homestead; C. A. is the wife of W. E. Geer, of Nemaha county, Kans., and Harriet is the wife of J. G. Hanna, of Brown county, Kans. The family for generations have been con- nected with agriculture, the subject of this sketch being the first to embark in mercantile business. Leroy S. Heller was about four years old when he arrived in Ohio. Like contemporary youth, he attended the district schools, and worked on the home farm until his boyhood days were passed, and then devoted all his attention to farm work. In 1853 he made the journey to California, and in that State, and in Oregon and Washington, he lived for fourteen years, engaged the while in agriculture, mining and lumbering. He returned to Huron county in September, 1866, and during the succeeding decade conducted a general mercantile business, and then went to Colorado. After remaining two years in that State, he returned to Huron county and engaged in the drug trade at New Haven. In November, 1885, he was commissioned postmaster, and held the office under the first Cleveland administration as well as under that of Harrison, and is still Postmaster under Cleveland's second term. Mr. Heller was married, January 31, 1869, to Ella Harrington, who died in 1875, leaving two children, namely: O. E,, who resides in Kansas, and Ida, living at home. His marriage with Lydia Harrington took place in the fall of 1876; she died in 1879, leaving one child, J. Ransom, who resides in Fairfield township, Huron county. In 1883 Mr. Heller married Miss H. J. Young. He has held several township offices, was treasurer for a long period, and is now serving as township clerk. SAMUEL McCAMMON, M. D. (deceased), who for a quarter of a century practiced medicine in Greenfield township, was born January 3, 1821, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents. Samuel and Elizabeth Mc- Cammon, in 1823 moved from their farm near Pittsburgh to the vicinity of Mansfield, Ohio, and there the father died in 1825. When Samuel was twelve years old he was apprenticed to a saddler, learned the trade and for a short time worked as a journeyman. As a boy his desire for study was manifest, and now that he was a bread winner, he could indulge in tbis desire. Accordingly he attended school at Mansfield and at Fredericktown, making rapid progress in study. In December, 1842, he turned his attention toward medicine, and sought instruction in that science under Dr. John Tifft, of Norwalk. Subsequently he attended two courses of lectures at the Willoughby Medical College, in Lake county, and in March, 1845, commenced practice at Greenfield, then a busy village and the center of a rich agricultural dis- trict. His success was assured, and within a little while he purchased a building lot at Greenfield, subsequently buying the farm adjoining that lot. On September 7, 1848, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Philena Blackman, who was born August 27,1828, in Greenfield township, the eldest of three children born to Lebo and Polly (Dubois) Blackman, early settlers of Greenfield township. To the union of Dr. and Mrs. McCammon the following named children were born: George L., born June 26, 1851, died October 3, 1856; Frank, born October 5, 1855; Edward S., born August 16, 1858; and Laura, born July 9, 1861. Of these, one 314 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. son resides with the mother on the homestead; the other son and the daughter are both married, and pleasantly situated in homes of their own not far from the " old home," and the farm and business affairs are at the present time managed by Edward S. McCammon. Dr. McCammon practiced over a very wide circuit from March, 1845, to February, 1870, when his last professional call was made. From the close of February to the day of his death, August 2, 1870, a chronic ailment, which had threatened him for some years, gained the mastery and confined him to his home. He was not a Church member, but entertained a deep respect for sincere Christianity and lived like such, a correct life, doing good wherever it was in his power. He went to Eternity quietly and without fear. JOHN CAROTHERS, an honest, straightforward citizen, was born .April 15, 1824, in Beaver county, Penn. His grandparents, William and Sarah (Kress) Carothers, had a family of seven children—three sons and four daughters— among whom was one named Mathias. Mathias Carothers, father of our subject, was born in Virginia, received an education in the common schools, and learned the trade of wheelwright; he also worked five years at this tanner's trade. When a young man he married Nancy Sample, who was born in Beaver county, Penn., daughter of William Sample. They were married in Beaver county, where he followed his trade, and while residing there children were born to them as follows: John, subject of this sketch; Sarah, Mrs. John Smith, of North Fairfield, Ohio; Margaret, deceased when young; and Robert, of Venice township, Seneca county. In the spring of 1834 the family came to Trumbull county, Ohio, where they purchased fifty acres at forty dollars per acre, part of which was cleared. They remained there until about 1838, and then removed to Seneca county, same State. After coming to Trumbull county they had one son born to them, Philip, who is now a carpenter in Van Wert, Ohio. The family came to Seneca county in an old wagon drawn by two oxen and a horse, and the journey was necessarily a very slow one. In December, 1838, they located in Venice township (Seneca county), where the father purchased eighty acres of land at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, most of which was in the woods, though a clearing large enough for a cabin and a garden patch had been made, While living here three more children were born, viz.: William, a farmer of Van Wert, Ohio; and two daughters who died in infancy, unnamed. Here Mathias Carothers remained until his death, which occurred in 1879; his wife passed away in 1875, and was buried in Pisgah Church cemetery, in Venice township, Seneca county. Mr. and Mrs. Carothers were members of the M. P. Church. In politics he affiliated with the Democratic party. He made agriculture his principal vocation in life, and became a successful farmer and well-to-do citizen. John Carothers first attended school in Poland, Trumbull Co., Ohio, his first teacher being a Miss Coe. He was reared to faun life, and at an early age was put to work, clearing the laud which his father had bought, attending school only such days as his assistance was not required at home. He remained under the parental roof for some time after reaching his majority, and on November 26, 1846, was married to Susan Mowery, who was born in Harrison county, Ohio, daughter of Michael Mowery, who came to Seneca county in pioneer days. Children as follows were born to this union: Nancy, Mrs. Jonathan Crabbs, of North Fairfield, Huron county; Mathias, a farmer of Richmond township; Sarah, Mrs. William Runyan, Venice township, Seneca county; Jennie, Mrs. Albert Runyan, of HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 315 Van Wert county, Ohio; Emma, Mrs. Frank -Weaver, of Seneca county, Ohio; Ida, Mrs. Benjamin Hawn, of Chicago Junction, Ohio; Martha, Mrs. J. J. Link; Ella, who married Cyrus Crabbs, and died in Seneca county; William and a daughter, both of whom died young. After his marriage Mr. Carothers had purchased forty acres of partly cleared woodland, upon which he erected a house and barn. This property he subsequently sold, and purchased eighty-nine And one-half acres of new land in Richmond township, Huron county, upon which stood a log house 18 x 20 feet. He has since added to this tract from time to time, until it now comprises 134 acres, completely equipped with new farm buildings. in 1891 he moved to Chicago Junction, where he has since led a retired life. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but since the for- mation of the Republican party has been a member of same. He has served as township trustee, for twelve years as justice of the peace, and in various local offices. In religious connection he and his wife are members of the U. B. Church, in which he is class-leader. Mr. Carothers' success is due to bard work and good business management, which, coupled with common sense and sound judgment, have brought him the reward he so well merits; and he is a man whose opinions are sought after and valued by his fellow-citizens. ELIJAH WASHBURN, one of the oldest native-born citizens of Fitchville township, is the son of Joseph Washburn, a pioneer of this section of the State of Ohio. Joseph Washburn was born on his father's farm in New York State, near the Catskill Mountains, was raised in the manner common to boys of that time and place, and while still a young man married Sarah Tompkins. To them three children were born in New York State, one of whom died in infancy, while the second lived to an adult age. In 1820 the family migrated to Fitchville township, Huron Co., Ohio, where Joseph Washburn had located a tract of 700 or 800 acres of wild land. On their arrival a log cabin was built, and while awaiting the erection of that cabin the members of the family found shelter in the home of a settler named Palmer. In Fitchville township the following named children were born to the pioneer ,parents: James, who moved to Michigan; Sarah, who married Anson Skellenger, and died at New London, Ohio; and Elijah and Edmund (twins), the latter of whom died when two and one half years old. On this land the father resided until his death, February 7, 1853, and the mother until her death, July 10, 1886. 4oseph Washburn was a practical farmer And a successful one. Politically a Whig, he was always faithful to that party. His widow lived to be ninety-two years old. In her later years she was a member of the Congregational Church, and one of the original members of that denomination in Fitchville township. The husband and wife were buried in Fitchville cemetery. Elijah Washburn was born November 20, 1830, on the home farm, which he now occupies. There he was reared, and in the school of the district received an elemen- tary education, being one of the pupils who attended regularly during the winter months of each year. The rude school- house is not better remembered than the slab seats and stern teacher. During the spring, summer and fall the boy was kept busy on the farm, and thus employed he grew to manhood physically strong and self-reliant. In 1854 he married Harriet Potter, who was born in Ruggles town- ship, Ashland Co., Ohio, in 1835, daughter of Asahel Potter, a native of Connecticut, who was a pioneer of Ashland county. The young couple located on the home farm, and to them were born children as follows: Viola, deceased wife of Peter Richie; Ada, married to George Evans, of 316 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. Fitchville; Nettie, deceased; Charles, proprietor of the "Mansion House," at Fitchville; Hattie, deceased wife of Dwight Kniffin ; Martin; Joseph; Lou isa, deceased; Leeland; Lillie M. (deceased); and Lorin, of whom, Martin, Joseph, Leeland and Lorin are residing at home. During his residence here, or for a term of over thirty years, Mr. Washburn has been a house-mover and farmer, and has been successful in each business. Formerly a Whig, he became a Republican on the organization of the new party. Born in Fitchville township, he has resided on the same farm longer than any other citizen in the township, and in his long life here he has become highly esteemed by all. AARON ROBINSON, one of the largest landowners and most prominent stock growers of Fitchville township, of which locality he has been a resident many years, was born November 27, 1827, in Coshocton county, Ohio. His father, William Pierce, was left an orphan in his boyhood, and was adopted by a man named John Robinson, hence the change in the patronymic. William Pierce was born in Delaware in 1780, and about the first or second year of this century migrated into Pennsylvania, settling in Washington county. Here he married Letitia Coleman, with whom in 1815 he removed to Ohio, locating in Coshocton county, where they made their home until 1829. In the year last named the family removed to Crawford county, same State, locating where the Cincinnati Turnpike how is, at a point six miles south of Bucyrus, and here they resided until 1833, when his twelve children were stricken with milk fever, a peculiar disease then common in Crawford county. The father determined to seek a healthier place, and mounting his horse set out for Huron county. Arriving there he made some explorations, and succeeded in obtaining a small tract of land, about fifty acres, in Norwich township, in exchange for his horse. Without delay he brought his , whole family to Huron county, and resumed the work of pioneers. The land was cleared by Mr. Robinson and his sons, and a tract of 150 acres added to the homestead, much of which was also cleared, and all of it improved by them. Mean time the father sold his estate in Crawford county to a French family for one thousand six hundred dollars, and invested, the proceeds in lands in Wood county, Ohio. In 1848 William Robinson removed to Fitchville township, where he located on the present Aaron Robinson farm, and where he resided until his death, August 10, 1864. His widow died January 25. 1865, and both lie in the Fitchville cemetery. They reared a large family seven sons and five daughters—of whom two sons and two daughters survive, namely: Wesley, a farmer of Norwich; Aaron, a farmer of Fitchville; Christine, widow of John Bowen, of Norwich; and Emma Eliza, widow of John M. Foreman, of Miami, Lucas Co., Ohio. The father of this family was a Democrat down to the period of Buchanan's nomination in 1856, when he joined the American party. From 1856 to the date of his death, he was an active Republican, while, in religious opinion, as was also his wife, he was a member of the United Brethren Church. Aaron Robinson may be termed a pioneer of three counties in Ohio. His school days began in the log house in Norwich township, where Miss Emily Ashley wielded the birch. They were of short duration; for the exigencies of the times would not permit the farm to be neglected, and the boy of the period had, certainly, his place in the economy of the farm. His marriage with Hannah D, Hinkley took place October 1, 1856. She was born June 13, 1832, in Hector township, Tompkins Co., N. Y., to Horace and HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 317 Laura (McIntire) Hinkley, who settled in Ripley township, Huron Co., Ohio, in 1884, and removed to Fitchville township in 1836. After their marriage Aaron and Hannah B. Robinson located on a farm in Fitchville township, which they now own, and resided thereon until 1865, when the family took possession of the present farm. Their children are William H., an attendant of the Lebanon (Ohio) College, now a farmer of Fitchville township, and Laura L. D.; they reside with their parents, Mr. Robinson is the owner of 500 acres of as good land as may be found in the Western Reserve. He is one of the large real-estate owners in the county, and one of its extensive stock growers. Systematic in the management of his estate, he is also a good financier, and in every respect a progressive agriculturist. Politically he is a Democrat, and has been elected trustee; has also filled other public positions, but his manifold business inter- ests are given his closest personal attention. JESSE SNYDER, a well-known farmer citizen of New Haven township, is a native of Tompkins county, N. Y. His grandfather, John Snyder, who was of German descent, followed the milling business in Northampton county, Penn., in which he was quite successful. He was a colonel in the State militia during the Whiskey Insurrection, and was a man of considerable influence. He had twelve children, viz.: Peter, John, Samuel, Melchior, Daniel, Simon, Rudolph, Sally, Hannah, Louisa, Catherine and Susan, all now deceased. Rudolph Snyder, father of subject, was born in 1802, in Northampton county, Penn., passed his boyhood days on a farm, and in early life learned the tanner's trade, which, in connection with agriculture, he followed for a number of years. In 1822 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Heller, who was born February 3, 1803, daughter of Solomon Heller, a farmer. In 1836 Mr. and Mrs. Snyder migrated to Ohio, locating in Bloominggrove township, Richland county, where they lived until 1839, in which year they removed to New Haven township, Huron county, remaining there until 1857, when they took up their residence in the village of New Haven. They were the parents of ten children, of whom four died in infancy, the others being Reuben, Jesse, Solomon, Abner, Mary and Eliza. Mr. Snyder was a decidedly successful man. Politically he was an active member of the Democratic party, and served as justice of the peace in his township; in religious belief he was a member of the Free-will Baptist Church. He died April 2, 1882. Jesse Snyder was born March 3, 1826, in Tompkins county, N. Y., where he passed his early years on a farm. In 1844 he came to Plymouth (then Paris), Ohio, and learned the carpenter's trade, working at same for three years, when he commenced farming, in which he continued until 1853. In that year he went to California, taking the route through Central America, where the Nicaragua Canal is now in course of construction. He remained two years in the California mining regions, visiting all the principal camps—San Francisco, Sacramento, etc.—and toward the latter part of his stay went to San Antonio, where he engaged in the shingle business. During this time he also conducted a store and hotel in West Union, four miles from Redwood City, Cal. In 1855 he returned to New Haven, Ohio, and purchasing a farm worked same for two years, when he engaged in the tanning business until 1865, and then again took up agriculture, to which he has ever since given his attention. Mr. Snyder now owns- 128 acres of good farming land, and by hard work and strict economy has attained considerable success in his chosen vocation. On October 3, 1850, Mr. Snyder was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 318 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. Loveland, daughter of John Loveland, of New Haven township, and to this union came three children, viz.: Ralph, now a farmer in New Haven township; and William W. and Jesse C. (both deceased). The mother of these died February 9, 1862, and September 14, 1863, Mr. Snyder was married to Mrs. Satira A. (Campbell) Easter, daughter of Lorenzo Campbell, of Greenfield township, Huron county. She died September 26, 1864, and on January 1, 1866, he was again married, this time to Miss Martha Dickinson, a daughter of E. Dickinson, of New Haven township. To this union has come one child, Alton S., a farmer of New Haven township. In politics our subject is a stanch member of the Democratic party, and has served in various township offices. In 1848 he made a visit to Chicago, Ill., at which time the city contained no railroads, and he made the return trip to Ohio on a horse. He became a member of the Order of the I. O. O. F. in 1857, and has been a member ever since; in 1870 was elected as repre- sentative of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, I. O. O. F. WARREN SEVERANCE, a worthy member of the Huron county bar, is a native of Sandusky county, Ohio, born October 9, 1836. Elisha Severance, his father, was a native of Massachusetts, where he received a fair education, and passed his early life. When a young man Elisha Severance moved to Pennsylvania with his father, and made his home in that State until 1819, when he settled at Milan, Erie Co., Ohio. In 1830 he located at the site of the present town of Clyde, Sandusky county, and in 1839 came to Peru township, Huron county, where he purchased a farm. Having learned the trade of cooper in Massachusetts, his time in Peru town- ship was devoted to that in connection with agriculture, working at the trade in winter, and giving his attention to the farm during the remainder of the year, until 1853. In the last mentioned yearhe removed to Greenfield township, and there remained until 1863, when he came to New Haven with his son Warren, with whom he passed the remainder of his days. On April 28, 1823, Elisha Severance was united in marriage with Martha Bangs, and to their union were born children as follows: Charles F., Lucien (who died young), Clarissa, and Samuel (who died in 1883). This wife died August 12, 1829, and on May 7, 1831, Mr. Severance wedded Mrs. Phcebe (Tracy) Morgan, of Milan, Ohio, by which marriage were also born four children: William M., who died in 1883 in Illinois; Byron, who died in in- fancy; Warren, the subject of this memoir; and Byron (named after the first Byron), a carpenter and joiner of Fairfield town- ship, who died October 7, 1892. The mother of these children passed away in January, 1879, aged seventy-seven years; she was a daughter of Abel Tracy, of Vermont, in which State she was born; a Presbyterian from the age of sixteen years to her death, she was always a consistent member of that Church. Elisha Severance was a Whig before the war, but in 1856 or 1860 joined the Democratic party. He passed away October 13, 1892, aged ninety- eight years. The family name was originally Sevens, of Norman origin. The ancestor of the family in America moved from England into Scotland, and came from the latter country to the United States in early Co- lonial days. From the genealogy published by Rev. Mr. Severance, of Chicago, we quote: "While no member of the family has ever arisen to any particular promi- nence, none have ever put any stain upon the name," The family are the only rep- resentatives of the name in this section of Ohio, but there is a colony of Severances at Severance, Doniphan Co., Kans., while a number of the name make their home in Chicago, Illinois. 319 - PHOTO OF WARREN SERERANCE 320 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 321 Warren Severance received in his youth a practical education, and for nine years prior to 1875-76 was an instructor of high repute. In 1863 he purchased a farm in New Haven township, four miles east of Chicago Junction and near New Haven village, which he carried on without taking his attention from his profession of school teacher. On February 9, 1860, he was married to Philinda Shepard, daughter of Israel Shepard, who came from New York to Ohio at an early day, and they have had two children: Elmer W., born in 1861, who is now in the office of his father, and Clara M., wife of C. A. Weatherford, of Chicago Junction. In 1876 Mr. Severance was offered inducements by Mr. D. H. Young, a member of the Ohio bar and for thirteen years an insurance agent, to enter the legal profession, which he accepted, entering the office as a partner in the entire business, and for two years he worked in the insurance and real- estate office at Chicago Junction. On March 28, 1878, he was admitted to the bar, at Bucyrus, Ohio, and on June 3, 1880, was admitted to practice in the United States Courts at Toledo, Ohio. In September, 1878, Mr. Young moved to Norwalk, Ohio, and Mr. Severance assumed full charge of the office. In 1891 he was appointed local counsel for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, and he has firmly established himself in the confidence of that great corporation by the close attention he gives to their legal affairs in this division. Apart from this work, he commands a large and lucrative general practice, and is well and favorably known to the people of Huron and adjoining counties. He also conducts an important real-estate business. Mr. Severance was largely instrumental in the organization of the Presbyterian Church here in 1890. In 1885 he was one of four of the Republican candidates for prosecuting attorney, receiving seventy- seven of the seventy-eight votes required for nomination, and as candidate for the judgeship of the Probate court he also received a very flattering support. Almost forty-two years old when admitted to the bar, his success is marvelous, if not phenomenal. His knowledge of the people and the universal respect and esteem in which he was held played an important part in the issue; but this alone, without the actual ability which he possesses to an unusual degree, would be of little use in a battle for precedence among the lawyers of this section, and Mr. Severance may well be proud of the brilliant record which he has made. ELON G. BOUGIITON, abstracter and conveyancer, Norwalk, is a native of Huron county, born June 30, 1839, a son of John and Susan (Benedict) Boughton. The father was born in 1796 at Southbury, Conn., was reared in Cayuga county, N. Y., and in 1836 came to Ohio, where he passed from earth December 12, 1864. The mother was born February 2, 1800, near Norwalk, Conn., and died June 9, 1888. They had a family. of ten children, six of whom are yet living. E. G. Boughton was reared to early manhood in the vicinity of his birth, gaining the experiences of the average boy of the period in the schools, and in learning the practical lessons of patient labor and economy. When only a well-grown youth he taught school successfully for three terms, but when the tocsin of war rang out over our Union, the young man dropped his birch baton and enlisted, in September, 1861, in Company D, Forty-first Regiment O. V. I. He went to the front with the army of the Cumberland, and was wounded November 25, 1863, at the battle of Missionary Ridge, after which he was on detached service to the close of his three years term of enlistment. On his return home he engaged in farming until 1872, when he was elected recorder of Huron county, and was subsequently re-elected, serving three consecutive terms, or nine 322 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. years. While in office, almost as a part of his duties, he commenced work in a set of abstract books, and immediately on retir- ing to private life opened his present abstract and conveyancer's office, in which line he has commanded almost a monopoly of the business. E. G. Boughton and Melinda A. Davis, a native of Huron county, were united in marriage March 22, 1865, and they have had four children: Will. H., Fred G., Lena M. and Laura M. The Boughton family is one of the eminently respected in Huron county. G. A. EHRMAN, baker and confectioner, Chicago Junction, is a German by birth, born March 10, 1852, in Hessen Darmstadt, a son of Frank and Margaretta Ehrman, the former of whom was a baker by trade. After leaving school in his native land, our subject commenced learning his father's trade, under him completing his apprenticeship. At the age of sixteen years he embarked at Bremen on board the steamship "Rhine," for the New World, and after a passage of fourteen days landed at New York. From there he proceeded westward to Cleveland, where he worked at his trade till 1873, in which year he re- visited his native country, remaining there one and one half years, when he again came to America and to Cleveland, resuming his trade. In 1877 he a second time crossed the Atlantic to the Fatherland, on this occasion sojourning there two years, and then again coming to Cleveland, once more took up the baking business. In 1881 he moved to Norwalk, Huron county, and here worked for J. P. Link in the same line, six years, at the end of which time (1886) he came to Monroeville, and commenced business for his own account. In 1891 he gave up his small business in Monroeville, and coming to Chicago Junction has here since conducted the leading bakery and confectionery establish. ment, and grocery and provision business, in the town. On May 8, 1884, Mr. Ehrman was married to Barbara Heeb, born January 16, 1858, in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, a daughter of Frederick and Catherine Heeb. She came to the United States in June, 1883, and was living in Cleveland, Ohio, at the time Mr. Ehrman visited and won her, and took her to Norwalk. The children born to this union are as follows: Philip F. E., George L., Carl J. and Eddie J., all yet living except the last named. In his political leanings our subject is independent, belonging to no particular party, but voting always for the candidate he considers best fitted for the position. In religious faith he and his wife are mem- bers of the Catholic Church. CAPTAIN F. J. LEYDORF, a pioneer of Chicago Junction, was born, November 7, 1841, in Prussia, Germany, where his father, Henry Wilhelm Leydorf, was a dealer in live stock. F. J. Leydorf received a practical education in the public and private schools of his native place, and at the age of fourteen years was apprenticed to a mechanic, with whom he remained three full years. In 1860 he entered the Prussian army, and served until 1866, when the Electorate of Hesse fell [It was annexed to Prussia in 1867], and he did not wish to serve longer. Some short time after the war .his father died, and the son was requested by his mother to return. in 1867 he married Anna Maria Baechman, and in 1868 they immigrated to the United States, coming to Sandusky, Ohio, where friends of the family had settled. Shortly afterward they moved to Custar, Wood county, where Capt. Leydorf established a saloon and meat market, but in 1872 he returned to Sandusky, where he engaged in the hotel HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 323 business, and remained until the fall of 1875. In 1873 he organized the Sandusky military company, of which he was elected captain, a position he held during his residence in that city. Locating at Chicago Junction in 1875 he erected one of the first houses there, on the west side, and engaged in the butchering business, which he carried on until 1877. In 1882 he bought the property of William Oehm, of Front street, and in 1889 purchased the property he now occupies as a hotel, on Spring street. He owns the Fox and Oehm property, purchased previously, and has been exceptionally successful in his business. No man has been more intimately identified with the progress of Chicago Junction in its various phases, and it was through his efforts that the town was incorporated. Coming here when the site was practically in its primeval condition, he labored in the interest of the place, and watched its progress with joy. In 1879 he was elected street commissioner and constable, in which position he served for two years. As street commissioner he laid out a number of what are now the principal streets of the town, and shortly after he was elected a member of board of education for three years. An active, earnest Democrat, he was the nominee of the party for sheriff of Huron county, and at the polls he succeeded in cutting down the Republican majority from 1,400 to 778. In 1888 he was appointed deputy United States marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, and served until 1892. He is now serving his sixth year as justice of the peace, and in 1893 was elected mayor of the city. Of the ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Leydorf, eight are yet living, namely: Kunnegunde (wife of J. L. Von Slagle), Matilda K., Frederick W., Magdalena, Anna Margaret, Maria Theresa, Amelia and Amanda. The eldest child, Annie Kathrina, died when four years old, and Frederick Jacob died in infancy. The family are all popular in the community, and the Captain himself is known to his particular friends as a prince of good fellows. WILLIAM MONTEITH, one of the most progressive citizens of Plymouth, and cashier of the First National Bank of that place, was born March 25, 1861, in Ireland, and came with his parents to the United States in 1864. He is a son of Andrew and Mary A. (Smith) Monteith, natives of Ireland, and descendants of that sturdy Scotch-Irish race that predominates in the North. Andrew Monteith, who was a farmer and ropemaker in the land of his birth, emigrated, in 1864, with his family to the United States, and landing at Philadelphia proceeded at once to Plymouth, Ohio, where two of his brothers-in-law already resided. In 1882 he purchased a farm in New Haven township, and later bought a second tract two miles south of Plymouth, in Richland county, where he now resides. Of the seven children born to Andrew and Mary A. (Smith) Monteith, William is the eldest. William Monteith came to Ohio when three years old. He received a practical education in the public schools of Plymouth, and at the age of sixteen years accepted the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank of that place. His services in this capacity were so well ap- preciated, that in January, 1886, he was promoted to cashier, vice W. B. Cuykendall, who had resigned, and be still holds the position, giving perfect satisfaction to patrons and stockholders. Politically a Republican, he takes an active interest in public affairs, always giving his party a loyal support, and he has served as treasurer both of the town- ship and town. He is secretary of the Plymouth Savings Building and Loan Association, and a stockholder in that company; is also a director and treasurer 324 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. of the Cline Engine and Machine Company, and is interested in every possible way in the development of trade and industry in Plymouth. This popular young man is self-made by intelligence and earnestness, for to all enterprises, with which he associates himself, he gives his best thought and labor, and makes success attend it. PHILIP ERF, a prominent, highly respected citizen of Peru township, was born January 13. 1831, in Nassau, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1852. His father, Jacob Erf, was also a native of Germany, in which country he married Catherine Spangkus, who bore him the following children: Philip, Catherine, Anthony and Jacob. In 1853 the parents, with their three younger children, immigrated to America, settling in Lyme township, Huron Co., Ohio, where their son Philip had previously purchased a farm. Here they passed the remainder of their lives, Mrs. Erf dying in 1875, Mr. Erf in 1889. Politically he was an independent Democrat, and in religious faith he and his wife were members of the Evangelical Church. Philip Erf received a common-school training in his native country, being fairly educated for a young man of his time. He remained in Germany until 1852, when (as above related) he sailed for the United States, taking passage for New York from London, England, the voyage occupying thirty-one days. After landing he proceeded westward to Ohio, traveling by canal, railroad and lake to Sandusky, and thence went to Monroeville, where he obtained work as a farm hand at eight dollars per month. A poor German lad, honest and energetic, he went to work with a will, saved his earnings, and within a few years established himself as a landowner. On October 18, 1856, he married Dora Heyman, also a native of Nassau, Germany, daughter of William Heyman; she crossed the ocean on the same vessel as Mr. Erf, though at the time of their emigration they were entire strangers. After his marriage our subject located on the farm where he still resides, and which at one time he worked in partnership with his father-in-law. Since his location in Peru township Mr. Erf has followed general farming and stock raising, and few if any of the farmers of the town. ship have been more successful. He now owns over 500 acres of excellent land, on which stands one of the finest brick residences in the township. The barn equals anything in the district, and the whole farm gives evidence of progressiveness and thrift. If the title of the most systematic farmer can be consistently bestowed on any one farmer in Peru township, Philip Erf well deserves it. Aside from some property received from his wife his wealth is the accumulation of his own industry. His land is to-day worth thirty-five thousand dollars; the stock which he raises always commands the highest prices, and in the cultivation of the farm only the most improved machinery and farm implements are used. As a business man and financier his influence is keenly felt, and his decisions have great weight in his community. Mr. and Mrs. Erf have children as follows: William, a farmer of Lyme township; Lydia, Mrs. August Horn, of Lyme township; and Lewis and Oscar, at home. Politically he is Republican, is an enthusiastic party man, and has filled several township offices. He and his wife are members of the Protestant Church at Monroeville. W. W. OSBORN, the leading hardware merchant of Greenwich, was born November 30, 1858, in Mahoning county, Ohio, and received a common-school education in the schools of Youngstown, same State. He learned HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 325 the tinner's trade, and worked at same for ten years before establishing his present business. On September 20, 1883, Mr. Osborn established his present house at Greenwich. A practical tradesman, himself, he started on a small scale, gradually increasing his stock to meet his growing trade, and thus built up on a solid foundation a prosperous business. He handles hardware, stoves, tin and copper ware and queensware. keeping in each department a large and varied assortment of goods, making a specialty of paints, oils, varnishes, etc., and tin and sheet-Von work. His store occupies a building 20 x 70 feet in area. On November 12, 1889, he married Annetta Patterson, by whom two chil- dren were born : Mabel Estelle, August 12, 1890. and Mildred Virginia, June 12,1893. Mrs. Osborn's parents, Robert and Mary Patterson, are Irish and Scotch respectively. Mr. Osborn is a Republican politically, has served as member of the Greenwich council, and is now a member of the school board. An active participant in public enterprises, he gives a liberal share of his time to questions affecting the well-being of the town and township of Greenwich. In religious connection he is a member of the Congregational Church. His parents, Freeman and Susan (Strauss) Osborn, are descended from English and Dutch pioneers of Pennsylvania, who settled in Ohio at an early day. THOMAS L. MEAD, grandson of Calvin Mead, was born in Greenwich township, Huron Co., Ohio, November 28,1830. Luther Mead, son of Calvin, was born on his father's farm at Greenwich, Conn., in 1790. When a young man he married Annis Mead, a native of Westchester county, N. Y , and took her to his home in New York City, where he had previously established himself in mercantile life. Subsequently he moved to Ludlowville, where he started a dry-goods store, and carried on business until 1826, when he and family went to Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1830 Luther Mead, his wife and three children set out on a journey to the "Firelands" in Ohio, traveling via Albany and Buffalo to Sandusky (at that time called Portland), and thence by wagon via Norwalk to Greenwich township, where his father, Calvin Mead, had purchased 1,100 acres of wild land. He deeded to Luther 500 acres, and on this tract the pioneers erected a cabin. In this pioneer cabin were born two children, viz.: Thomas L., the subject of this sketch, and Annie M., a resident of Greenwich township. The father of these children died on the original farm January 11, 1876, and the mother in March, 1886, both being interred in the Fitchville cemetery. Luther Mead was a Whig until the Republicans were organized, arid for twenty years was a faithful adherent of the new party. In religious connection he and his wife were early members of the Congregational Church at Fitchville, and among its most zealous supporters. On one occasion Mr. Mead saw a few boys desecrating the Sab- bath Day by bathing in a mill pond, and approaching them invited them to his home to attend Sabbath-school. The boys, now clean, good-natured and vigorous after theit bath, accepted the invitation and appeared in due time at the Mead cabin. The Sabbath-school was thus opened for the first time Greenwich township. Thomas L. Mead received an elementary education in the public school of his dis- trict, and passed a short term in the schools of Milan, Ohio. School days over he worked on his father's farm until 1855, on November 30 of which year he married Allathea P. Finch, who was born April 23, 1834, at Greenwich, Conn., daughter of Gilbert P. and Allathea (Peck) Finch. She visited a sister who resided in Huron county, and here met Mr. Mead for the 326 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. first time. To them the following named children were born: Luther H., now overseer of Dr. Parker's elegant country seat at New Canaan, Conn.; Joseph A., a carpenter, of Cleveland, Ohio; Edward L., a farmer; Annis M., now Mrs. E. D. Nickerson, of Findlay, Ohio; Gilbert F., of Greenwich township; Allathea C. and Thomas L, Jr., residing at home, and Anna D. The firstborn was a daughter unnamed, who died in infancy; another child, Marcus L., died in youth. The present farm has been the family home since 1855, with the exception of two years, when the parents resided at Oberlin, Ohio, to superintend the education of their children in Oberlin College. Mr. Mead is a man well endowed with common sense and good judgment, and is considered one of the leading citizens of his township. Politically a Republican, he gives loyal support to his party, and has served as justice of the peace for six years. He is a deacon in the Congregational Church at Greenwich, of which his wife and several children are also members, and for a quarter of a century he has discharged the duties of Sunday-school superintendent. MICHAEL E. FEWSON, a prominent agriculturist and worthy citizen of Greenfield township, was born March 17, 1841, at Burton, Yorkshire, England. His father, David Fewson, was a laborer in Yorkshire, and there married Johanna Scribner, to whom six children were born in England, namely: John R., who died in his native land; Elizabeth, Mrs. George Billard, of Norwich township; John, a sawyer of Richmond township; Robert, of Surry county, Va.; Michael E., of Huron county, and Jane, who married Charles O'Connell. In 1852 the family emigrated from England to the United States. Sailing from Liverpool in the clipper-ship " Rappahannock," Capt. Cushion, they arrived at New York after a voyage of seven weeks. From that city the family traveled by railroad to Havana, Huron Co., Ohio, via Buffalo and Sandusky. His son-in-law, George Billard, had already settled in the neighborhood; so that, however strange the land appeared, they were not altogether among strangers. Mr. Fewson rented a log house in Norwich township at one dollar per month, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1884. His wife died in 1879. Michael E. Fewson was nine years old when the family settled in the United States. He received a primary education in the district schools of Norwich township, was granted his time by the father at the age of eighteen years, and entered on life for himself. The first money he earned was a dime, which was paid him by the late Dr. McCammon to the young guide who led him through the thicket to the cabin of Clark Eddy, who was suffering from fever and ague. Soon after our subject found employment in a sawmill as engineer, and later he went to work in a clearing, being so engaged up to the time of his enlistment in August, 1863, for five years State duty in Company E, Sixty-third O. V. I., commanded by Capt. A. B. Gilson. On May 2, 1864, this organization was called on by the General Government for one hundred days United States service, Capt. Gilson being elected major of that regiment on the same day. They were ordered to Camp Taylor, city of Cleveland, arriving on the third, and were there joined by the Seventy-ninth Battalion from Medina county, Ohio. They were examined on the 6th and 7th and mustered in on the 8th; and were then known as the One Hundred and Sixty- sixth Regiment' 0. N. G. Vols. In the re-organization Mr. Fewson was attached to Company H, commanded by Capt. B. F. McCormick. His term of service expired September 10, 1864, and he then returned to Huron county, where he resumed work in a sawmill. HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 327 On November 2, 1865, Mr. Fewson married Sarah E. Dailey, daughter of Thomas Dailey, a native of New York, who had settled in Greenfield township, where Sarah was born May 2, 1839. The children by this marriage are Burton E., Nellie M., Minnie M., William G., Dessie D. and Harry D., all residing with their parents. After marriage Mr. arid Mrs. Fewson settled on a rented farm in Green- field township; later he purchased ten acres in Norwich township, of which tract he gave his parents a life lease; subsequently he moved to Bronson township, where he engaged in farming and carried on a meat market, selling from a wagon to the people. In 1878 he returned to Greenfield township, and located on his present farm of 114 acres. In a decade and a half his labors have won him a valuable property, and have given him a home of which many an older man might feel proud. His first vote was cast for Governor John Brough, of Ohio, in 1863, and for the last thirty years he has been a faithful Republican. With the exception of various township positions, which he has been called upon to till, he has never sought office, being content with the service he yields the party in the rank and file of voters. EDWIN L. DOLE, a well and favorably known agriculturist of Lyme township, Huron county, was born April 21, 1842, in Ashtield, Mass., a son of Orrin and Lucinda (Kemp) Dole. The Dole family are of French extraction, were among the early settlers of Ohio, and have always been distinguished for honesty, true worth and irreproachable character. Orrin Dole was born November 1, 1806, in Massachusetts, where he received a com- mon-school education and acquired habits of thrift and perseverance that were of great benefit to him in after life. He also learned the cooper's trade, and followed that until 1843, at which time he moved west and located in Huron county, Ohio, where he numbered among the pioneers who were telling trees, building log cabins and transforming a wilderness into fertile farms. In his new home he began agricultural pursuits, an occupation he continued to follow up to his death, which occurred March 16, 1872. He was popular with his neighbors, and was several times elected trustee for Lyme township. Orrin Dole was married October 18, 1827, to Miss Lucinda Kemp, born January 25, 1808, also of Massachusetts, and eight children blessed their union, viz.: D. W., Fidelia J. (Mrs. Samuel Taylor, deceased), Harriet A. (deceased wife of Ely Cooley), George S., Orrin, Edwin L., Henry S. (deceased) and Julia E. (Mrs. J. B. Stocking). Mrs. Dole died November 15, 1884. The family were members of the Methodist Church, of which they were all liberal supporters. Edwin L. Dole was only a year old when brought by his parents to Ohio, and his early life was one of vicissitude and hard work. He received such education as was afforded by the district schools of Lyme township, and found leisure time to cultivate his mind, and acquired a perfect knowledge of agricultural pursuits. In 1854 be settled on his present farm, about two miles from Bellevue, comprising 128 acres of valuable land, and here he gives his attention to farming and the manufacture of vinegar. He has served two terms as township treasurer and is highly esteemed by all who know him. His younger brother, Henry, was in the Civil war, and engaged in active service two years in Company G, Fifty-fifth Regi- ment, O. V. I. Our subject was married December 24, 1865, to Miss Susan Edwards, who died February 7, 1879, leaving three children: Louise M., Fidelia J. and Orrin. On December 30, 1880, Mr. Dole married Miss Elizabeth Krainb, Erie county, Ohio, who bore him one child, Elizabeth (deceased). His second 328 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. wife passed away May 24, 1885, and on June 8, 1886, Mr. Dole was united in marriage with Mrs. Aura Northam, of Huron county, born November 12, 1853, in Chesterville, Morrow Co., Ohio, daughter of Joseph and Deborah Laycox. Joseph Laycox (born October 1, 1825), and Deborah DeCamp (born February 27, 1832) were both natives of this country, but were of French extraction. Joseph Laycox was a member of Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment O. N. G., and died at Fort Williams, Va., August 20, 1864. He was a fine and noble young man, and was esteemed and respected by all who knew him. Deborah Laycox, an estimable Christian lady, is still living, and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. E. L. Dole. W. T. FRANCIS. William Francis, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Wales, was an admiral in the British navy under Lord Nelson, and saw the hero of Trafalgar receive his death wound. He received an honorable discharge from the British government in 1808, and the same year came to Canada, settling at Gravely Bay. When the war of 1812 broke out he was made brigadier-general, and served until the beginning of the year 1815. About that time a man by the name of Dixon, a neighbor of his from Gravely Bay, formed a small foraging company, and joined the United States. This Dixon owned a little vessel, and with his followers would cross into Canada to plunder; but great-grandfather Francis caught three of the gang and they were shot, Dixon escaping, however, to the United States with his plunder. Shortly after that event Francis was taken sick at his own home, at which time Dixon and his gang, again returning to Canada, surrounded the house which they set On fire, burning all within, and while loading their plunder on his vessel, a party Of Canadians collected and killed five of the gang, among then) being Dixon himself, who was shot by Abraham Savitz, a neighbor of Dixon's before the war. Thomas Francis, grandfather of W. T., came to Canada with his father in 1808, and enlisting in the war of 1812 was made captain, in which rank he served until the close of the war, being twice wounded. He was married in 1817 to Electa Wagner, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1797, and came to Canada with her parents in 1816. Her father was colonel in the British army. As soon as married the young couple settled on a farm at New Sayrum, Elgin county, Ontario, where she now lives, quite hearty, at the ripe old acre of almost ninety-eight years. Grandfather Francis followed farming until 1860, in which year he died leaving a family of eleven children—five sons and six daughters. William Francis, father of subject, was the eldest in the family, and was born in 1817 at New Sayrum. In 1842 he was married to Matilda Doan, daughter of Jonathan Doan, who was born in the State of Pennsylvania, and with his family moved to Canada before the war of 1812, settling on a farm in Elgin county, Ontario. William Francis also settled on a farm in Elgin county, three miles from St. Thomas, where he still lives. His wife died in February, 1854, leaving three children—all Sons-named respectively John D., William T. and George. In 1857 the father married Helen Hepburn, whose parents came from Scotland, and of this union three children were born-two daughters and one son—Catherine, Ellen and Robert. This wife dying in 1862, Mr. Francis, in 1865, married Jessie Davidson, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and six children came to them—four sons and two daughters—James, Wellington, Charles, Nettie, Eva and Arthur, of whom James and Charles are in the western States; Wellington is at home, having charge of the farm; the two daughters and Arthur 329 - PHOTO OF W. T. FRANCIS 330 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 331 are also living at home. Robert Francis owns and is living on the old homestead at New Sayrum, where our subject's father was born (he is married and has three children); Catherine is married to Frank Hathaway, a farmer; Ellen is married to William Guest, an engineer, and is living in Bay City, Mich. John D. Francis, the eldest son of William Francis, was born June 22, 1848; he is a blacksmith by trade, and carries on a lucrative business at Shedden, Ontario; he married Maggie Shaw, a farmer's daughter, and they have two children living, one having died. George Francis was born January 8, 1853, is still single, and is on his farm near St. Thomas, Ontario. W. T. Francis, the subject proper of these lines, was born July 27, 1850. It was his father's desire to give him a classical education, and he remained at home, going to school until the year 1868, when the desire to be in business for himself overcame his better judgment and the wishes of his father. Without money, and refusing assistance in any respect, he left home in the month of June, and secured a situation with a farmer by the name of William Down, near London, Ontario. From him he received one hundred and fifteen dollars and board for five months' work, and this money he changed for two and a half and live-dollar gold pieces, and some silver half dollars, all United States, coin. In the fall of 1868 he left Canada, and proceeding to Grand Rapids, Mich., there sold his gold and silver coin for just double their face value to the Yankees for pocket pieces, such coin being very rare at that time on account of the premium on gold and silver, " green-backs" and " shin plasters" being the only money in circulation. His uncle, Titus Doan, a railroad contractor, being at that time employed by the Grand River Valley Railroad Company in the construction of that road from Grand Rapids to Jackson, Mich., through him our subject got employment, at first in charge of men, then as overseer of his contracts, and timber purchasing agent for the Railroad Company. There he remained till 1871, when he returned home, but again left in the spring of 1873, coming to Newark, Ohio, where May 25, 1873, he found employment as freight brakeman on the Lake Erie division of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. On November 9, of that year, he was injured at Monroeville, Ohio, while coupling cars, in consequence of which he was laid up four months. On May 1, 1875, he was promoted to freight conductor, and until 1878 was conductor on local freight, wrecking, and construction trains, also as extra passenger conductor. In 1878 he was made regular conductor of an accomodation train between Newark and Sandusky, Ohio; in 1881 was put on the through runs from Sandusky to Wheeling, W. Va., and in 1884 was put on the limited trains making the run from Wheeling, W. Va., to Chicago, Ill., covering the distance of 468 miles, and in four different States each trip—West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. In July, 1884, he was placed hack on the Sandusky and Wheeling runs. On December 1, 188,5, he was appointed general agent and yard master at Chicago Junction, Ohio, which position he held until December 1, 1887, at which date he gave that up to again take the old position as passenger conductor on the Ohio divisions. Removing to Sandusky, Ohio, he there remained until February, 1891, and then returned to Chicago Junction. As passenger conductor Mr. Francis has been remarkably fortunate, having, in over sixteen years of such service, had only one passenger injured (caused by the passenger himself being intoxicated), and in all that time has never had but two pair of wheels off the track. No one appreciates this good fortune more than himself. Chicago Junction in the spring of 1876, with a population of less than 1,000, was quite dull, but Mr. Francis assisted in inspiring new life into it by, among other improvements, making the Baltimore & 332 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. Ohio Park at that place, and by arousing the citizens to get up an old-fashioned "Fourth of July Celebration." The Baltimore & Ohio advertised it extensively, and the consequence was that over three thousand people came in to celebrate, and went home well pleased, with a more kindly feeling than before for Chicago Junction. From this on the town made a fresh start with a growth which as yet has not been retarded, as the population of 2,300 of today amply proves. In May, 1891, Mr. Francis purchased that part of the William Motson estate on the east side of the railroad, together with the famous Deer Lick Mineral Springs; laid out a large addition in lots; graded streets and sidewalks; built a number of fine residences, which he sold, with several of the lots, cheap and on easy terms, whereby many procured homes who would not have been able to do so under other circumstances. He has improved the surroundings of Deer Lick Springs, and given the citizens the free use of the water; is now building on the grounds a large Sanitarium bath-house on the latest improved plans, where all the different baths will be given as at other water-cures. The natural surroundings of these springs are beautiful, no less than seven different kinds of water flowing out within a space of 300 feet, among them being one of white sulphur and one of iron. With the medicinal qualities of these waters, the surroundings and location, together with the improvements above named, designate Deer Lick Mineral Springs to become famous the world over. On September 1, 1875. Mr. Francis was married to Rettie M. Holler, of Newark, Ohio, the daughter of Elias and Mary Jane Holler, and four children were born to their union, two of whom are living, viz.: Myrtle Della, born September 24, 1877, and Willard Thomas, born January 12, 1888. Two sons were taken away in early life,: Willie Earl, born July 28, 1880, died September 1, same year, and Walter Merton, a remarkably bright child, born July 13, 1882, died of diphtheria June 9, 1885, Mrs. Francis has always been a kindly wife, and true mother to her children, never allowing the care of them to others, and sharing alike with her husband the burdens of sickness and misfortune. He says of her with honest pride: "She is entitled to her share of credit for any good I may have done, worthy of' mention." ALEXANDER LEWIS, who is a I son of Philip Lewis, one of the pioneers of Huron county, holds a high rank among the representative agriculturists of northern Ohio. Philip Lewis was born in 1788 in Lewis county, N. Y., and was reared on a farm, In the spring of 1816 he took a lumber raft down the Susquehanna, the timber having been "taken out" during the preceding winter, at the headwaters of that river. On delivering the raft at its destination lre received his winter's pay, and immediately set out for Ohio, with the intention of making a home here. The journey across the Alleghany mountains was made on foot, and the youth reached the site of Mansfield. (then a village of a few huts and a log cabin) in safety. The conditions surrounding the title to the land in and around Mansfield were then unsatisfactory to buyers, so that Philip Lewis had to seek another location. Walking north to Plymouth, Huron county, he began work for a settler named Barney, and earned a little money clearing land. Having learned something of the district in which he sojourned, he went down to Greenfield township, and purchasing a tract of 200 acres at three dollars per acre, erected a cabin - thereon, cleared a small area and planted some corn. In the fall of 1816 he returned to his native county, where, in the spring of 1817, he married Louisa Coleman, who was born in 1796, in Oneida county, N. Y., and immediately afterward the young couple set out for the partially made home in Ohio, making the HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 333 journey along the lake shore, sometimes traveling on the ice, in a wagon drawn by one horse. Here the following named children were born to them: Maria, born September 18, 1818, who was burned to death in 1821, while left alone in the cabin by her mother; David, born July 24, 1820, who graduated from Cleveland Medical College, was a physician at New Haven, Ohio, and also in the Quincy (Ill.) Hospital until his death at Ashland, Ill., December 15, 1880; Eli, born August 24, 1822, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced at Juneau, Dodge Co., Wis., until his death there in 1890; Alexander, born October 3, 1824, is the subject of this sketch; James, born September 28, 1826, taught school in several townships of Huron county, and afterward moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he died; Philander, born June 28, 1829, is now a lawyer of Juneau, Wis.; Philena (twin sister of Philander), who married John Worley, and died in Illinois; Lyman, born September 25, 1832, died in youth ; Alvira, born May 22, 1835, married Augustus Colvin, and died at New Haven, Ohio; and Lorenzo, who died in youth. The mother of this large family died September 2, 1848, and the father August 17, 1859. Both are buried in the Greenfield cemetery. Philip Lewis was a farmer, lawyer and politician, a very active man. Loaning money without good collateral was one of his faults; if he had others they were buried with him. In Church connection he was a Presbyterian, and in politics a Democrat. Alexander Lewis was born in Greenfield township, received his primary education in the common schools of the district, and subsequently worked on the home farm. On October 11, 1849, be was united in marriage with Martha M. Gunn, who was born November 2, 1829, at Danby, Tompkins Co., N. Y., and came to Huron county, Ohio, in 1834, with her parents, John and Martha M. (Fletcher) Gunn. The Gunns located in Greenfield township, and resided there until 1849 when they moved to Norwich township, where John Gunn died in 1880, and his widow in 1891. Alexander and Martha M. Lewis have one son, an only child, Augustine W., born February 11, 1859, in Greenfield township. He received his education in part at the district schools of the locality of his home, in part at Oberlin, Ohio, and he is now a farmer living on the homestead. On January 28, 1874, he was united in marriage at Juneau, Dodge Co., Wis., with Miss Annie M. Travis, and two children have come to brighten their home, viz.: Clarence A., born in Juneau, Wis., October 26, 1875, and Ada L., born in Greenfield March 10, 1879. They represent the fourth generation that have occupied the Philip Lewis estate. Alexander Lewis resided on the old Lewis farm, and cared for his father, who was an invalid for some time prior to his death, after which event he (Alexander) assumed charge of the estate, and settled with all the heirs. In 1871 his new home was completed and occupied. Since the memorable Lincoln campaign Mr. Lewis has been a Republican. In Church relation his wife is a member of the Disciple Church, and unquestionably one of the most estimable women in Huron county. Mr. Lewis has always been a farmer, and even now, when approaching his seventieth year, he is an active man of the world, enjoying labor and taking pride in a well-cultivated and improved farm. CHARLES A. PAUL, cashier of the Norwalk Savings Bank, Norwalk, is a native of Huron county, born December 12, 1860, a son of J. L. and Eliza (Delamater) Paul, the former a native of Ohio, the latter of the State of New York. They are one of the prominent families of the county, living on a stock farm two miles south of Norwalk, where the father and son raise and deal in 334 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO fine stock extensively, and in this line are widely and favorably known. About their household is an air of comfort and unostentatious refinement, in itself a sufficient guarantee that their son was given those influences and advantages that are adapted to the production of the best citizenship. Our subject was well grounded in the fundamentals of an English education in the Norwalk schools, and, passing these, he spent the next three years at the Ohio State University, taking a special course. Returning to his home he entered into partnership with his father in their stock farm, an interest in which he still retains, the firm being one of the most extensive buyers and sellers of fine stock in this part of Ohio. Their place is known as the "Norwalk Stock Farm." In 1891 C. A. Paul went to Cleveland, and was employed in the Arcade Bank of that place, but severed this connection to return to Norwalk and take his present position in the Norwalk Savings Bank, of which he is also a stockholder and director. He was married on June 28, 1893, to Miss Clara B. Cannon, only child of Mr. and Mrs. Cannon, of Cleveland, Ohio. It is saying nothing more than what the records bear out, when we publish the fact that no young man in the county stands fairer in the public estimation than Mr. Paul. ANDREW LOVE, JR., a prominent farmer citizen of Townsend township, is a native of the same, born April 10, 1842. He is the ninth child in a family of twelve children born to Andrew and Eliza (Kelsey) Love, the former of whom was born in Catskill, Greene Co., N. Y., the latter in Monmouth county, N. J., of English and Irish descent, respectively. Andrew Love, Sr., was born April 1, 1798, and received but a very limited English education in youth. At the age of ten years he was bound out to a farmer in his native county, with whom he remained until he attained his majority, and then went to Monmouth county, N. J., where he was employed in a brickyard until the fall of 1841, at which time he came to Townsend township, Huron Co., Ohio. Here he was employed for several years at anything he could find to do, working by the day or job and frequently taking contracts to chop arid clear land. He cleared several hundred acres of land, perhaps more than any other one man in the township, and in about 1848 bought fifty acres of wild land in same township and county (upon which our subject now resides), where he engaged in manufacturing staves, which he hauled to Milan, then the nearest market, where many thousands were disposed of. In 1851, after having partially improved the place, he sold out and removed to Wapello county, Iowa, where he bought a partially improved farm and engaged in agriculture, but after two years, in 1853, he again sold out, and returned to Townsend township, Huron county, where two years later, in 1855, he bought a place adjoining his first purchase. Here he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred July 20, 1869. His father, John Love, was born in England, where he received a meager common-school education. At the age of nineteen he emigrated to the United States, landing at New York, where he afterward learned the ship carpenter's trades which he continued to follow for several years, or until he was disabled by a log rolling against and crushing his left limb. His death occurred in 1833, in New Jersey, when he was about sixty years old. When he left England he brought with him an old Bible, published at Oxford in 1725, which is now the property of our subject. Mrs. Eliza Love, who was born April 15, 1808, is yet living and resides with her son, the subject of our sketch; she is a devout member of the M. E. Church. Her father, James Kelsey, was born in Monmouth county, N. J., where he received a good education in English and mathe- HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 335 matics in early life. At the age of thirteen he shipped on board a sailing vessel as cabin boy, steadily advancing from one position to another, at a very early age attaining the rank of master or captain of a vessel, which he continued to hold until he was seventy-three years old, having followed the high seas continuously for sixty years in the waters of every clime and quarter of the globe. He was married in his native place and had two sons, both of whom followed in their father's footsteps and became captains of vessels, serving as such till their ships were wrecked and they were drowned, both being wrecked in the same storm, but on different vessels. The Kelsey family were among the stanch patriots in New jersey, and took an active part in the fortunes— civil and military—of that commonwealth in early days. Andrew Love, Jr., the subject of this sketch, received an ordinary common-school education in early life, and remained with his parents, sometimes on the home place and at other times working out by the month, until he attained his majority. On February 15, .1864, he enlisted in Company C, Fifty-fifth O. V. I., joining the regiment at Chattanooga, Tenn., early in March, after which he served with his command in all its marches and engagements up to and including the battle of Resaca, Ga., where he was wounded in the left hand, sent to the rear and subsequently taken to a hospital at Jeffersonville, Ind., Where, after his wound had partially healed, he was taken sick and removed to a hospital at Camp Dennison, Ohio. After his recovery he rejoined his regiment at Atlanta, Ga., just before starting with Gen. Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea, upon which campaign he accompanied his regiment, suffering very severely the while with rheumatism, and participated in all the subsequent battles and engagements in which his command was engaged to the close of the war. He was in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., and was finally discharged from the service July 20, 1865, at Cleveland, Ohio. After his return from the army he chopped wood and worked by the month for a year and a half, and in the spring of 1867 commenced farming on his own account on the old home place in Townsend township, Huron county, upon which he now resides, and where he has since been successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. The farm, consisting of seventy-five acres, is in a high state of cultivation, and here he has built a good house and barn. He has served the township as trustee and in various other official posi- tions. Mr. Love was married, February 2, 1867, to Miss Lucy Ann Hoff, a native of Monmouth county, N.J., where she was born August 22, 1839, a daughter of Samuel O. and Elizabeth (Aumack) Hoff, both natives of Monmouth county, N. J., and of Holland-Dutch descent. One daughter has blessed this union, Lizzie A., now Mrs. S. J. Hawkins. Samuel O. Hoff died in September, 1872, in his sixty-sixth year. Mrs. Elizabeth Hoff is yet living, and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Lucy A. Love. The Hoff family were among the very earliest of the Dutch settlers of New Jersey, and among their ancestors was a lady who was the first white woman in that State. Both Mr. Love and his wife are devout members of the M. E. Church at East Townsend. In politics he is a stanch and uncompromising Prohibitionist, and he is one of the well- known, enterprising and respected citizens of the community. JOHN S. HESTER, of Norwich township, for many years a well-known prosperous citizen of the county, is a native of Ohio, born in Columbiana county November 8, 1810. His father, Martin Hester, was born in Greene county, Penn., a son of John Hester, of German birth, who came to 336 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. America when a young man, settling in Greene county, Penn., where he carried on a farm of his own, and followed the trade of weaver. He married Miss Elizabeth Mason, by whom there were three sons— Martin, John and Matthias--and five daughters-Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary, Margaret and Emily. From Pennsylvania he moved with his family to Columbiana county, Ohio, settling on a farm of 160 acres, where he continued agricultural pursuits and weaving. He passed from earth about the year 1825, at the age of sixty-two years. Politically he was a strong Whig, and he was a member of the German Lutheran Church. Martin Hester, eldest son of this pioneer, was born in 1787 in Greene county, Penn., and was reared on his father's farm, attending during a few winter months the subscription schools of the locality. He became a great reader, and what he lacked in education he made up amply by home study. When his parents moved to Columbiana county, Ohio, he accompanied them, and farmed there some four or five years after marriage, removing then to Orange township, Richland now Ashland) Co., Ohio. At that time this was the extreme frontier of civilization, and if there were any neighbors north of them, save "Redskins," they never heard of them. The Indians were numerous, and wild animals, such as bears, wolves and deer, roamed the dense forest at will. One day Mrs. Hester, being out after the cows, found a very young deer, so small that she carried it home in her apron, and kept it as a pet for a year or two. In Orange township Mr. Hester owned about 160 acres of land, and there lived till 1824, when he came to Bronson township, Huron county, settling on land bought of Judge Southgate, and here he spent the rest of his busy life, dying in 1870; his wife passed away in 1865. In 1809 he had married Miss Mary Stough, a daughter of Rev. John Stough, of Fayette county, Penn., and to this union were born five children, all of whom are living to-day at advanced ages, none being under seventy years old. Their names are John S., Eliza, Samuel, Matthias and Martin M., of whom John S. is the subject of this sketch; Eliza married Elisha Savage, of Berea, Ohio; Samuel lives in Paxton, Ill.; Matthias is in Norwalk, Ohio; Martin M. is in Bronson township, on the old homestead. The father was a stanch Whig and Republican, and a member of the M. E. Church, in which lre served as steward. John S. Hester, whose name introduces this sketch, received but a limited education, as his boyhood was much taken up in assisting his father on the farm. Being fond of books, however, and gifted with a retentive memory, he was not long in making up for deficiency in that respect. At the age of nineteen he commenced to learn carpentry, at which he worked three years, receiving one hundred and fifty dollars for his time. He then went to Milan, Erie Co., Ohio, and continued his trade for one year, his wages being one dollar per day. After this he moved to Huron, same county, and worked on steamboats, assisting among other things in building several boats, among which may be mentioned the " United States" and the "George Washington." Coming to Norwalk in 1834, he here worked at his trade one year, at the end of which time, his health failing and his eyesight becoming impaired, he gave up work and returned to his father's house, where he recuperated. Soon thereafter, in 1835, he married Miss Jane Pancost, of Bronson township, Huron county, but she died the following year. He then bought land in Norwich township, paying therefor four dollars and fifty cents per acre, which property he subsequently traded for the farm in Norwich township, where he now lives. He received from his father's estate four hundred dollars, which alone gave him a start in the world, and he has now 200 acres of land, although he at one time owned 400 acres, having sold 200 acres of valuable timber land, the pro- HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 337 ceeds of which he invested in five-twenty Government bonds at par, to aid the Government in carrying on the Civil war, which investment proved remunerative. For his second wife Mr. Hester married, in 1841, Miss Lucinda M. Hildredth, born in Tompkins county, New York, a daughter of Benjamin Hildredth, and five children were born to this union, of whom the following is a brief record: Charles T. died in the Civil war; Eliza is the wife of S. R. McConnell, of Burlington, Iowa; Susan died in infancy; Julia is the widow of William Dougherty, late of Mansfield, Ohio, and has one child, Bessie (they reside with our subject); Hattie H. is mar- ried to Rev. H. P. Richards, of North Fairfield. Politically our subject has been respectively a Free-soiler, Abolitionist and a Republican. He is a member of the Methodist Church, in which he has held the offices of class-leader, steward, etc., and in 1879 was elected a lay delegate to the annual Conference of northern Ohio, and successively every four years up to 1891. Mr. Hester relates many interesting anecdotes of the early days in the settlements. His great uncle, Uriah Hester, was once attacked by Indians, who scalped him and left him for dead; but he re- covered, and afterward moved to Indiana, becoming the progenitor of the family of the name in that State. Martin Mason, great-grandfather of subject, when a boy was. captured by Indians, and taken to Canada, where he was sold to some man of prominence. When he was twenty-one years old he was allowed to return to Pennsylvania to visit relatives, with whom he remained. Jacob Fast, great-uncle of John S. Hester, was also captured by Indians, who told him that he would have to "run the gauntlet," and his life would be spared. Instead of running the customary way, however, he treated the Redskins to an exhibition of side hand-springs, known among boys as "making a wheel of himself," which must have considerably astonished his audience, who not only spared his life but made him a chief. HIALMER GRIFFIN, a successful farmer of Fitchville township, and a progressist in all agricultural affairs, was born in Greenwich township, Huron Co., Ohio, May 6, 1842, a son of Riley and Philena (Washburn) Griffin. His youth was passed much in the manner of boys of that time and place— attending the district school and working on the farm. Miss Clarissa Parker was his first teacher, and for many terms he was present as a pupil in her school. Later he attended an academy at Greenwich Center, which was conducted there for one year, completed his education and returned to the farm. On August 4, 1864, he married Amanda Knapp, a native of Westchester county, N. Y., who came to Ohio with her parents, and after marriage the young couple moved to Montcalm county, Mich., where he purithased a farm. One year later they returned to Ohio, and renting a place in Fitchville township, Huron county, for two years, resumed farming here. In 1869 he located on his present farm, two miles south of Fitchville village, and has since made the place his home. From boyhood Mr. Griffin inclined towards carpentry. He has cultivated his mechanical talents to a practical extent, utilizing them in the construction of new buildings on his own farm and in the repair of old buildings. A systematic agriculturist, and consequently a successful one, he finds time to devote to a very important branch of farming—poultry raising. In this department he employs the most modern appliances, and the most ap- proved methods; he is a supporter and reader of the leading poultry journals, and a strict observer of scientific methods in the poultry-yard. A few years ago fire destroyed the hennery, entailing a heavy 338 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. loss, but he at once went to work and built a larger and more complete one. A lifelong Republican, Mr. Griffin has always been a loyal member of the party; for twelve years he held the office of township trustee, and during that time the public affairs of Fitchville went forward with precision and harmony, for he took an interest in every public and private enterprise which promised benefit to the township. His children are as follows: Blanche, Mrs. George Black, of Birming- ham, Erie Co., Ohio; Loren, a farmer, and Lola W., an accomplished young lady, both residing with their parents. LIEUTENANT GEORGE BARGUS, a prominent agriculturist, and commissioner of Huron county, was born in Newark, N. J., April 29, 1839, a son of William and Charlotte (Argyle) Bargus, the former a native of New Jersey and of German extraction, the latter of Scotland. Lieut. Bargis was left an orphan in infancy, and compelled to rely entirely upon his own efforts even from the tenderest years. He, therefore, received only such education in his youth as was afforded by the common schools of New Jersey at that early day, but in after years succeeded in acquiring a good practical knowledge of the English language, which, added to his judgment and energy, enabled him to win success in every undertaking. His only inheritance consisted chiefly of a stout heart, willing hands and great faith in humanity. He has always been a constant and extensive reader, and possesses a wide range of general information, being a subscriber for newspapers and magazines, and owning a carefully selected library of several hundred volumes. He is particularly interested in ancient and modern history and the various sciences, and his wealth allows him to gratify his literary tastes. At the age of thirteen our subject went to Rochester, N. Y., where be learned the baker's and confectioner's trade, serving an apprenticeship of four years, after which he journeyed west with the intention of working at his trade, but found no opening, and was glad to do whatever offered an opportunity to make an honest dollar, During the winter and spring of 1859-60 he traveled through Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana, but when the first clouds of the Civil war gathered in the South he returned north. Early in 1861 he enlisted in Company E, of Yates' Sharpshooters, which in- 1864 became the Sixty-fourth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered in as sergeant. Owing to distinguished service and gallantry at the battle of Corinth and elsewhere, he was rapidly promoted through all the intermediate ranks to First Lieutenant. For snore than a year he commanded his company, and was with his regiment through all its marches and campaigns, participating in the battles of New Madrid, Island No. 10, the Siege of Corinth, Resaca (Ga.), Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta of July 22, and also on July 28, 1864, Ezra's Church, and numerous minor engage- ments. He accompanied Gen. Sherman in his famous march to the sea; was slightly wounded several times, and was mustered out of service in January, 1865. Lieut. Bargus, soon after his return from the army, took a commercial course in Oberlin College, and then moved west, but after one year returned to Huron county, Ohio, settled on his farm near Collins, and engaged in agricultural pursuits and raising fruit. His farm contains 400 acres of valuable land, all well improved. He also conducted a sawmill and lumber business, until the cyclone of April, 1890, entirely destroyed his large mill, On April 12, 1866, Lieut. Bargus married Miss S. Alice Humphrey, who was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, a daughter of William and Sarah Ann (Bierce) Humphrey, natives of Litchfield county, Conn. Their union has been blessed by 339 - PHOTO OF GEORGE BARGUS 340 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 341 four children: George (deceased), Alvin Dudley, May (deceased) and Edwin Humphrey. Lieut. Bargus has served as township trustee several terms, was a member of the county board of the Infirmary directors, and is now serving his second term on the hoard of county commissioners. He belongs to no church, but is a firm believer in Christianity of a practical kind. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post No. 414, Townsend, of which he has been commander since its organization, in April, 1885. About two years ago Lieut. Bargus was general commander of the Fourteenth District Brigade, and is now assistant inspector and aid-de-camp on the Department Staff, Ohio G. A. R. He is also the colonel commanding F H. Boalt Command No. 17, U. V. U., of Norwalk, Ohio, and last year served as deputy commander of Ohio. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and W. M. of East Townsend Lodge No. 322, A. F. & A. M., to which Lodge he has belonged for over a quarter of a century. He is a member of Huron Chapter No. 7, R. A. M., of Norwalk Commandery No. 18, K. T., and also of Norwalk Council No. 403, Royal Arcanum. Lieut. Bargus is an uncompromising Republican, and while quite young became very much interested in the slavery question, being in sympathy with the slaves. He is in harmony with his party on the tariff question, and though he has never been an office seeker, is deeply interested in the success of the G. 0. P., and is an excellent organizer. His first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln. WILLIAM HUMPHREY, father of Mrs. Bargus, was born in Goshen, Conn., October 13, 1812, the seventh child of Dudley and Polly M. (Sherman) Humphrey, and of Scotch-English descent. In April, 1834, he married Miss Sarah Ann Bierce, a native of Cornwall, Conn., and of English-German descent, by whom he had four children, viz.: Emma Louise (Mrs. Joseph Hyde), Sarah Alice (Mrs. George Bargus), Delia Lucretia (Mrs. W. D. Johnston, deceased) and Willie (who died in infancy). Mrs. Humphrey died November 13, 1854, and Mr. Humphrey was married, June 28, 1855, to Miss Sarah M. Hyde, of Wakeman, Ohio. Mr. Humphrey's education was chiefly acquired by experience and observation, his school days having ended when he was twelve years of age. While young he manifested unusual mechanical skill, and during his long and active business career invented many improvements in machinery, such as " Humphrey's Direct Action Steam Mill," and the "Humphrey Double Action Pump." In 1835 he moved from Connecticut to Parma, Ohio, where he engaged with his brother Dudley S. in manufacturing clocks, lumber, etc., and in 1849 they came to Townsend township, purchased a large tract of land, and began an extensive lumber business. They built mills and plank roads, furnished employment for a great number of men, and transformed an almost unbroken forest into broad acres of pasture, meadow and orchard land, where two thriving villages now stand. Their lumber was shipped to eastern markets from Milan, Ohio, via the lakes. Mr. Humphrey soon became, and continued until his death, the largest landowner in Townsend township. He was president of the Central Plank Road Company, and was the leading spirit in completing the work, his judgment in business matters being clear and decisive. He boldly entered into and controlled commercial enterprises that men of broader experience hesitated to consider, and was cool, self-reliant, and equal to every emergency. His father's estate having been spent in paying security debts for friends, he learned in childhood the lessons taught by poverty, and endured its struggles, trials and tempations. He was remarably charitable, and always found time to listen to the complaints of those who were in distress. Himself incapable of a mean or dishonorable action, he scorned and despised 342 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. treachery and deceit in others, and was even-tempered, forbearing and forgiving. He was prepossessing in personal appearance, genial and attractive in manner, and a devoted husband and father. Politically he was a Democrat, but in sympathy with the preservation of the Union, and during the Civil war contributed generously to the comfort of Union soldiers and their families. In 1865 he was nominated by his party for State legislator. While Mr. Humphrey was engaged in repairing the roof of his house, November 23, 1874, the scaffold gave way, and his skull was fractured, causing death in a few hours. He was never identified with any Church, but believed in and practiced practical religion. The Humphrey family is numerously represented in Europe and America, and is of noble and ancient origin, few families even among the British peerage being its equal in antiquity. A few years ago Dr. Frederick Humphrey, of New York City, his sister Mrs. Sarah W. Churchill, and others, prepared with great labor and at much expense a complete and elaborate genealogy of the Humphrey family, tracing its origin to Sir Humphrey De Bohum, of Normandy, born A. D. 996, and also giving an account of the coats of arms adopted by the different branches of the family. The Humphreys were related to William the Conqueror, and several of them accompanied him in his conquest of Britain, where no less than eight branches of the family are now found, each with a different coat of arms. The Humphreys were found in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and were barons of Prudhoe and earls of Angus. Many of them took .part in the Crusades and perished in the Holy Wars; others were beheaded and some burned at the stake. Among them were Philip Humphrey (the martyr), Lawrence Humphrey (an eminent Puritan divine), and Lieut. Gov. John Humphrey (one of the organizers of the East India Company, and one of the original patentees of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay). The Humphreys found in America are divided into four distinct branches: First—Jonas Humphrey, who came from England in 1634 and settled in Dorchester, Mass,, and whose descendants are included in the Dorchester and Weymouth branches. Second—Daniel Humphrey, who came from Wales in 1660, and located in Philadelphia, Penn., and whose descendants include Charles Humphrey (member of the first Continental Congress), Joshua Humphrey (designer and builder of the American Navy in 1812-14), Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphrey, and also the Humphreys of New Jersey, Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi. Third—Hugh Humphrey, who settled on the Hudson river in New York. Fourth—Michael Humphrey, who came from Lyme Regis, England, in 1643, and located in Ancient Windsor, Conn., and whose descendants are his sons Sergt. John and Lieut. Samuel Humphrey, William Humphrey, Mrs. George Bargus, Mrs. Joseph Hyde, Mrs. W. D. Johnston (de- ceased), and Gen. Humphrey (on Gen. U. S. Grant's staff during the Civil war). Gen. Bierce, the grandfather of Mrs. Sarah Ann (Bierce) Humphrey, was a general in the Hessian 'army. Ke was sent by the British ministry to America during the Revolutionary war to assist in subduing the Colonies, but soon after reaching America Gen. Bierce's sympathy was enlisted on the side of the Colonists, and he espoused their cause, rendering gallant and distinguished service in the American army. He married in Connecticut, and continued to reside there up to the time of his death. J. H. WEBER, one of the leading business men of Bellevue, was born January 29, 1842, in Darmstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany. Eleven years later he accompanied his parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Betzendorfer) Weber, to the United States, and traveled HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 343 west with them to Tiffin, Ohio, where the family located. The father died during a visit to Hessen-Damstadt, and the mother, now seventy-eight years of age, resides at Cincinnati, Ohio, with her daughters. J. H. Weber attended the public schools of Darmstadt, and on his arrival here resumed his studies in the primitive schools of the time. In about 1859 the youth found employment as clerk in a store at Bellevue, and when a young man his sterling qualities recommended him so strongly to his employer that he became a partner in the concern. Later he purchased the interests of his partner, and has since managed, with marked success, the large grocery establishment in the development of which he took so important a part. He has carried on business so many years in Bellevue, and has been so closely connected with all the enterprises attending the growth of that city, that his name is synonymous with it; for " going to Weber's " was at once generally understood to be the same as going to Bellevue, and it is a fact that very little has been planned or projected by the community without his counsel and aid. In the board of education and in the city council he has been an invaluable adviser, always favoring progress, but keeping the cost of improvement within reasonable bounds, and opposing municipal jobs of every kind. As president of the Electric Light and Power Company, he has directed its affairs in such a public-spirited manner as to satisfy both the people and the stockholders. Politically he is a Democrat; in social relations he is a member of the I. 0. 0. F. and the Royal Arcanum; in philanthropical work an earnest member of the German Aid Society, and in Church relation a Lutheran. During the summer of 1892 he made an extended tour through Europe, giving his special attention to the modern condition of the German people. Mr. Weber is the junior member of the lumber firm of Gross & Weber, who have, by their energy and fair dealings, built up an extensive trade in their line, and their success is identified with the growth of the village. In 1893 he sold out his grocery business to his son-in-law, H. A. Schlicht, who, of late years has been his manager. Mr. Weber may be said to have grown up in, and materially assisted, the growth of Bellevue, and ever had its interests at heart. Strictly a business man, his life has been one of continued success and commercial progress. GILBERT L. ROSCOE, who is a grandson of Josiah Roscoe, was born October 7, 1844, in Greenwich township, where he is a pushing, progressive farmer, and a. citizen of high standing. Josiah Roscoe lived in Putnam county, N. Y., and there married Hannah Boughton. Shortly after marriage the young couple moved into the wilds of Cayuga county, N. Y., where the following named children were born to them: Jeremiah and Benjamin (twins), Mary, Clara and Sally. Jeremiah is referred to at length below; Benjamin married, reared a large family in Greenwich township, and died there; Mary married Charles Pierce, and subsequently became the wife of William Farley (her death occurred in Greenwich township); Clara, who married Daniel Kniffin, died in Greenwich township; Sally married Shadrach Reed, and also died in Greenwich township. About the year 1819 Jeremiah and Benjamin Roscoe visited Huron county, and secured a large tract of land at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. After this one of them revisited Cayuga county, and in 1820 brought his father, mother and sisters to his new home in Greenwich township, where the sons had a log cabin ready for them. The trip was made in a wagon drawn by oxen and horses, and beyond its delays and tediousness was uneventful. Josiah Roscoe was a well-to-do citizen in New York, so that 344 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. on his arrival here farm work was commenced and carried out systematically. The father died here in 1845, the mother a short time afterward, and both were buried on the farm. Jeremiah Roscoe was born February 6, 1797, in Cayuga county, N. Y., and came to Huron county when twenty-two years of age. On April 4, 1826, he married Selinda Sheldon, who was born in New York State January 26, 1807. To them were born the following named children: Harriet, Mrs. Charles Dills, of Monroe county, Mich.; Hulda, Mrs. Robert Griffin, of Fitchville township; Asenath, Mrs. William T. Smith, of Greenwich township; Johanna, Mrs. William Sutton, of Nebraska; Mary, who died in youth; Sarah, who married Charles Bell, and died in Wood county, Ohio; Selinda, who died very young; Benjamin, a citizen of Nebraska; Gilbert L., the subject of this sketch; Lestina, Mrs. Frank Hawkins, of Lyon county, Kans.; and Alva, who died young. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Roscoe settled on the homestead, where he was engaged in farming until his death, April 5, 1872. His widow died in 1877, on the farm, near the graves of Josiah and Hannah Roscoe. lhe sawmill owned by Jeremiah Roscoe was the pioneer manufacturing industry in Greenwich township, and he operated it in connection with the farm until about 1840 when he sold it. In 1856 he left the Whig party, and became a Re- publican, and he served as clerk of Greenwich township for years. In religious connection he and his wife were members of the Universalist Church. Gilbert L. Roscoe was born October 7, 1844, on the home place. Attending school and working on the farm occupied his time until 1862, when he joined the National Guards. In 1864 his command was ordered to Washington, D. C., and he was stationed at Fairfax, Va., until the fall of that year, when he returned home. On March 17, 1869, he married Hattie P. Brady, who was born at Mecklenburgh, N. Y., September 2, 1848, daughter of David J. and Parinelia (Franklin) Brady. To this marriage the following named children were born: Franklin B., Mary E,, Lew W. and Johanna, all residing at home. For some time after marriage the young people resided on the home place, then moved to Lorain, Ohio, where they remained until 1872, when they returned to the homestead, and have since been engaged in general farm work and stock growing. Mr. Roscoe is a natural mechanic, and has done trade work for himself, such as repairing machinery, buildings, etc. In politics, he is Republican; has represented his party in county conventions, and served in various township offices. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Congregational Church, in which he has held office. JOSEPH WALTER is a native of Germany, to which country so many of our most gifted citizens trace their origin. The country of the Rhine has ever been as famous for the intellectual strength of its people', as for the magnificent grandeur of its scenery, and well may every German cherish a loving pride for his beautiful Fatherland. Joseph Walter is a son of Francis Walter, who was born in 1793, in Baden, Germany, and there learned the butchering business. In early manhood Francis Walter was married to Maregarth Heinbecker, who was also born in 1793, in Baden, Germany. The young couple settled in a small town in their native place, where he followed his trade, and also conducted a grocery store. Here the following children were born to them: Frederick, a resident of Mansfield, Ohio; Joseph, whose name opens this sketch; John, living in a western State, and William, in Columbia City, Ind. In the spring of 1833 the family embarked from Havre, France, first landing in New York. HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 345 From this port they came by river and canal to Buffalo, then via Lake Erie to Sandusky, Ohio, whence they proceeded with horse teams to Peru township, Huron Co., Ohio. Mr. Walter there purchased sixty acres of woodland, and found a temporary shelter in a vacant schoolhouse, where the family remained until a rude cabin was constructed of poles and bark. In this home two children were added to their circle, namely: Dennis, now living in Columbia City, Ind., and Mary, widow of E L. Strause, living in Bismarck, N. D. The parents died in Huron county, the mother April 25, 1865, the father in February, 1874, and both are buried in the Catholic cemetery of the German settlement, in Peru township. Joseph Walter was born January 2, 1828, on the home place in Baden, Germany, and was but five years of age when the family settled in Ohio. He began to assist with the farm work at the earliest possible age, and little leisure was ever allowed, as, so he now says, " It was work, work, work all the time." His educational opportunities were limited to two terms, of twenty-one and twenty-seven days each, at the neighboring subscription school. A hard life was this for an active, fun-loving boy, but the stern lessons and tasks of that dull childhood developed a self-reliant and persevering spirit which might have remained dormant in an atmosphere of luxury and ease. Notwithstanding the privations of his youth he has acquired a practical business education, which is sufficient for all ordinary purposes. On January 3, 1853, Joseph Walter was united in marriage with Biligelldis Snyder, who was born in 1828, in Germany, a daughter of Joseph Snyder. She came with her parents to America in 1847. Joseph and Biligelldis Walter remained on the home farm several years after their marriage, and eared for his aged parents. Here he conducted a butcher business in addition to his agricultural interests. When the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad was in process of construction he contracted to furnish beef for the graders employed there, but lost seven hundred dollars on the transaction. This sum was a serious loss at that time, but undismayed by one failure he persevered in the business, and success soon rewarded his patient efforts. Year after year his prosperity increased, and he now owns over 300 acres of excellent farming land, and in 1880 erected a handsome frame residence, also other good buildings which give ample evidence of prosperity. He owned and managed a threshing outfit for fourteen years, and made many acquaintances in this business; but of late years failing health has required him to retire from the more arduous tasks and devote his time to overseeing the work. He is a systematic farmer, whose success has been achieved in the face of many obstacles. In politics he is a leader in the Democratic party, and he served as assessor of Peru township for ten years, also in various other local offices. He and his wife are members of the Catholic Church at Monroeville. Their children have been born as follows: Dennis, deceased farmer of Peru township, Huron county; Frank, living at home; William, a resident of Monroeville; Emma, wife of Hard Derringer, of Tiffin, Ohio; Jeanette, married to Henry Zipfel, of Monroeville, and Adolph, residing with his parents. Mr. Walter has been a very robust man, and now weighs over 200 pounds. JOHN T. TOWNSEND, the eldest son of one of the pioneers of Huron county, is himself one of the oldest natives of this section of Ohio. William Townsend, grandfather of John T. Townsend, left Massachusetts to make his home with his sons in Ohio, and died in New London township, Huron county, in February, 1847. Hosea Townsend, son 346 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. of William Townsend, was born at Greenbush, N. Y., May 25, 1794, and grew to manhood there, serving in the war of 1812 when little more than a boy. On the day be was twenty-one years old he ar- rived in New London township, Huron Co., Ohio, made an examination of the lands in the county, and returned to his home in Tyringham, Berkshire Co., Mass., where his father's family then resided. The country impressed him favorably and, on February 4, 1816, he and his brother Hiram started for Ohio. The journey, made in a wagon drawn by oxen, occupied fifty-two days, or until March 28, 1816, when the brothers arrived in New London township. There they at once erected a cabin, began the work of clearing the for- est, planted four acres in corn, and com- pleted the introduction to pioneer life. The product of the four acres confirmed the opinion which the brothers had formed on the character of the land. It was not only sufficient for feeding the oxen, but also for food for the pioneer owners of the farm, who ground the grain in a beech stump mortar, and then formed it into cakes, to be baked before the great log fire. What corn they could not use was sold to the Indians at one dollar and six cents per bushel, who paid for it in English specie. In 1820-22 Hosea Townsend set out the first orchard in New London township, and in 1826 he built the first frame barn there. His marriage with Sophia Case took place March 25, 1821. She was born April 26, 1798, in the town of Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y., and was the first school-teacher in New London township. To this marriage came the following children: Sarah, born October 7, 1822, married S. W. Gates, and died at Oberlin, Ohio; John T., the subject of this sketch; Eliza L., born December 22, 1825, now Mrs. R. C. Johnson, of Fitchville; Dalinda, born January 12, 1828, married George Washburn, and died in New London in 1876; Ira S., born June 14, 1831, residing in Fitchville; Philotha, born July 18, 1835, wife of Alfred Johnson, of New London; Mary F., born September 16, 1834, deceased (she devoted herself to study); and Hiram W., born March 5, 1842, cashier of the New London National Bank. This large family grew to maturity in Huron county, blessings to their parents, who lived to see them settled in life. The mother of these children died March 2, 1875, the father in 1885; an elegant monument in New London cemetery rises above their graves. Hosea Townsend was truly a pioneer; for when he and Isis brother located in New London township, in 1816, the country was a wilderness. When be died the ancient forest was a thing of the past, for a collection of homes and farms, and flocks and herds, crowded out the trees as well as the savage, and showed the reign of industry. What his share was in the development of the township may be described by young as well as old. A large land- owner and farmer, he yet found time for public lite. His vote was cast in 1840 for James G. Birney and Francis J. LeMoyne, candidates for President and Vice-President, respectively, chosen by the Abolitionists in convention at Warsaw, N. Y., in 1839. In 1844 he voted for James G. Birney and Thomas Morris, nominees of the Liberal party, and exerted all his power in opposing slavery. While not attached to any Church, he was a believer in the teachings of Christianity, and an ob- server of its tenets. John T. Townsend was born in New London July 22, 1824. When of proper age he was sent to the school presided over by Miss Mary Frost, which was a very primitive institution, in building and surroundings, but it accorded with the time and place, and was useful in its way. For several years the boy attended this school, until sent to Oberlin College, where he prepared himself for the profession of teacher. Returning home, he soon was given the position of teacher in one of HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 347 the Clarksfield district schools, and subsequently taught in New London and Fitchville townships. On September 20, 1849, he married Elizabeth A. Palmer, who was born in Clarksfield township January 15, 1828, and by this marriage there is one child, Elmer E., of New London township. After their marriage the young couple took up their residence in a log house, which stood on the site of their present home. The improvement of this tract, and the erection of new buildings, must be credited to him, for he has proved himself a practical farmer and stock grower, making a success of those two departments of agricultural industry. He is now interested as stockholder in the New London National Bank. Politically a Republican, he was formerly a Free-soiler, and in 1848 cast his first vote for VanBuren and Adams, nominees of the Free soil convention held at Buffalo, N. Y., in August, 1848. Since that time Mr. Townsend has taken a deep interest in the political issues of the country, and in local affairs has always been prominent. For twenty-three consecutive years he was justice of the peace, and might have held the office indefinitely had he not declined to serve another term; for several years he was trustee and assessor of the township. In 1880 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners for a term of three years, at the end of which time he was re-elected for another term, and since the close of the second term he has filled the office by special appointment. Without retard to the influence of the Town- send family in general, John T. Townsend is honored for his own personal worth. WILLIAM F. HEYMANN ranks high among the prominent agriculturists of Lyme township, and is esteemed by all who know him. He was born February 18, 1839, in Germany, a son of John G. and Mary Heymann, and came with his parents to America in 1848. Immediately after their arrival in this country they journeyed west, and located in Huron county, Ohio, numbering among the early settlers who suffered the trials and hardships incident to transforming the forest into fertile farms. In this country our subject received such education as was afforded by the district schools, where the teachers were but poorly prepared to impart information. He remained with his parents until eighteen years of age, laboring on the home farm, after which he worked five years on the farm of his brother Henry. At the end of that time he had accumulated a sufficient amount of money to purchase two horses, a wagon and a complete outfit for farming, and in 1861 he bought ninety-one acres of land and engaged in general agriculture. In 1872 he bought ninety-six acres, and still later 170 acres, making a tract of 357 acres of valuable land. H is popular in political circles, and has served as school director of Lyme township. Mr. Heymann was married, December 3, 1863, to Miss Verena Ballmer, of Henry county, Ohio, a daughter of John Jacob and Verena Ballmer, and thirteen children blessed their union, viz.: Mary (deceased), Samuel, Julius August, Oliver William, Veren, Charlotte, Walter William, Arnold Cyrus, William Frederick, Roscoe Winfield, Arthur Oswald, Paul Benjamin and Calvin Karl. In politics our subject was originally a Democrat, but is now associated with the Republican party. In religious matters he is a member of the German Reformed Church, in which he has been an elder twelve or fourteen years. He furnished quite a large sum of money for the Civil war, but was unable to serve; he was worth about two thousand dollars. John G. Heymann, father of our subject, married a Miss Oppermann, and by this union had ten children: Jeanette 348 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. (deceased), Anna (deceased), Philip, William (deceased), George, Henry, John P., Catherine, William F., and Margaret (de- ceased). John G. Heymann and his wife passed the later years of their lives at the home of our subject, where Mrs. Heymann died in 1872, and her husband in 1881. They were members of the Ger- man Reformed Church, WESLEY ROBINSON. The subject of this sketch is the tenth son in the family of eleven children of William and Lutica (Coleman) Robinson, who removed from Washington county, Penn., to Ohio soon after the latter became a State, first locating in Linton township, Coshocton county, where the subject of this sketch was born in October, 1822, or 1823. In 1828 the father of our subject, with his family, removed to Marion county, Ohio, where they remained until April, 1832, when they came to Huron county, arriving in Norwich to.wnship May 5 of that year. Young Wesley was brought up in the wild woods, as there were only about fifteen acres cleared off the farm his father had settled on, the country being almost a perfect wilderness, a very heavy growth of timber covering the surrounding country. All kinds of wild animals, such as deer and turkeys, were numerous. Mr. Robinson's privileges of going to school were much limited, and the schools were supported by the parents who sent children, so much being paid for each scholar. Young Wesley went to school chiefly in the winter time, as his father had other business for him to do in the warm weather. After several years of hard work and exposure he was stricken with rheumatism, and was a cripple for about five years, it having settled in his left knee. After a time he attended common school for a few terms, and his father sent him to the seminary school at Norwalk one quarter, which finished his limited education. He then taught winter school two terms, at the end of which time he felt satisfied that it required more patience than he could command. He then turned his attention exclusively to farming, re- maining on the old homestead. The first real estate he ever purchased was on March 8, 1851, from which time he bought and sold land, and finally became the owner of the homestead farm of 200 acres. Subsequently he bought land adjoining the homestead, until he owned, in the aggregate, 437 acres. On the homestead farm he erected new buildings, and since the time of the war he has sold a part of his real estate, and now owns but 290 acres. Believing in the old adage, that "a rolling stone gathers no moss," he and his wife have remained on the old homestead farm, from May 5, 1832, up to the present time. On April 5, 1846, Mr. Robinson was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Isaac H. and Sally (Cassgily) Bennett, of Reed township, Seneca Co., Ohio. After mar- riage the young couple continued to live under his father's roof until the spring of 1848, when his parents moved to Fitch. ville, Huron county, and our subject and wife were left alone on the old homestead, which at that time contained 200 acres of land. Here they remained, working the farm, and rearing their family of children, consisting of the following: William, born March 30, 1847, married Susan Bennington, and now lives near Jackson, Mich.; Isaac H., born February 8, 1849, married Isadore Bramble, and is now living with his parents on the farm; George A., born November 26, 1852, married Frances E. Eddy, and is now living at Bellaire, Antrim Co., Mich.; and Daniel B G., who married Mary Amend, and is now living in Norwich township, Huron county. In his political affiliations Mr. Robinson is a sound Democrat, very conservative, believing that every man has a right to his own honest convictions. The first township office he ever held was that of con- 349 - PICTURE OF WESLEY ROBINSON 350 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 351 stable, having been elected in the spring of 1846, and ever since he has held office of one kind or another. He has been town- ship assessor several times; real-estate assessor three times; was first elected justice of the peace in the spring of 1857, holding the office until 1863; was re-elected in the fall of 1874, and has held the office ever since. Some twenty-five years ago he united with the United Brethren Church, and has been a member ever since. Socially, he is a member of the F. Si A. M., having joined Richland Lodge No. 201, in the fall of 1858, which Lodge holds its regular session at Plymouth, Ohio. About the same time he became a member of the I. O. O. F., Centreton Lodge No. 607, and continues a member of both Fraternities. Some years since he advocated that the time had come when it was necessary for the agricultural class to organize for their better protection, as they were being robbed, from day to day, of the benefits and fruits of their honest work, by trusts and other combinations, by the moneyed kings of our country, who to-day stand in our midst, to use his own words, "as monuments of evil and a disgrace to free Ameri- can people." Thus he became one of the charter members of what is known as Live Oak Grange, No. 747, Norwich township; he was elected master on its organization, March 23, 1874, and has occupied that position most of the time since; has also served as master of Pomona Grange, of the county, several times. Some twenty years ago he purchased seven head of the American Merino sheep, of L. C. Clark, of Vermont, at seventy-five dollars per head, and later made several other purchases, for all of which he paid what was considered extravagant prices. He was one of seven that paid twenty-one hundred dollars for one buck, and held an interest in several bucks that cost from one hundred to seven hundred dollars per head; he has devoted considerable time and attention to the breeding of this fine Merino sheep, . keeping upward of two hundred on his farm year by year, and has found it a profit- able investment. Mr. Robinson, with all his wealth, has been a victim of losing several thousand dollars by signing notes for others; and his only reason for having this mentioned in the sketch is that it may be a warning to others never to sign an accommodation paper. R. A. SEVERANCE, M. D., late of Bellevue, descended from an old and highly respected New England family. His father, Elihu Severance, was the eighth son of Jona- than Severance, who, coming from England in 1755 (an officer in the Commissary Department of Gen. Braddock's army), became a pioneer settler of Greenfield, Mass., and afterward a soldier in the Revolution. In 1801 Elihu Severance married Martha Hitchcock, a woman of cultured intellect, from a family eminent in the educational and scientific circles of Massa, ch ti setts. Ralph Abercrombie, the elder of their two sons, was born in Greenfield on January 15, 1803. He inherited the sturdy virtues of his pioneer ancestry on the father's side, and the scholarly tastes of his mother. He early decided to follow one of the learned professions; and after an unusually thorough preparation, he graduated from the medical department of Bowdoin College in 1831. Soon after, he began the practice of medicine at Saxton's River, Vt., where he remained twenty-one years, in constantly increasing esteem and honor among his fellow townsmen, being the most eminent physician in the region. In 1854 Dr. Severance left Saxton's River, greatly to the regret of the whole community, and removed to Bellevue, Ohio. Here again he won wide confidence in his skill as a physician, high admiration as a public-spirited citizen, and warm esteem for his sterling qualities as a man. 352 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. For sixty years he was an active and influential member of the Congregational Church, to which he contributed with a liberality out of proportion to his means, as he did also to many educational and philanthropic enterprises. He helped to establish an academy in Vermont, and was one of the founders of a college in Michigan. He was a consistent Mason, holding high office in the Order, until failing strength prevented his attendance upon its meetings. By birth and tastes he was inclined to the " best things; " yet, in his social relations and manner of life, he was most democratic. In politics he was always the friend of the oppressed. An anti-slavery man by instinct, his house for many years was a station on the "Underground Railroad." Though possessing for fifty years an extensive practice in his profession, his constant generosity prevented the accumulation of a large estate. On June 11, 1845, Dr. Severance married Joanna Bailey, of Westmoreland, N. Y., with whom he spent a most happy wedded life of nearly forty-eight years. To them were born three children, a son and two daughters. Dr. Severance died April 23, 1893, at the great age of ninety years, three months and eight days. A. G. ROE, one of the most widely known agriculturists of Peru township, was born April 21, 1849, on the place where he now resides. He is the son of Joseph and grandson of Thomas Roe, natives of Northamptonshire, England, who emigrated to the United States in the " twenties," and settled in Huron county, Ohio. Thomas Roe was married in England to Mary Ann Barnett, where several children were born to them, namely: Charles, Annie, Barnett, Mary Ann., William and Joseph B. In 1821 the family immigrated to America, and after landing in New York pushed westward to Auburn, N. Y., where they remained ten years, and where three more children were born, namely: Mark, Reuben and Thomas. About 1831 two sons visited Huron county, Ohio, purchased a tract of land in Peru township, and prepared a home there for the rest of the family, who came in the spring of 1832. The parents resided here for the remainder of their lives. The following is a brief record of their children: Charles, a well known farmer of Peru township, died in the fall of 1891; Annie married Samuel Wicks; Barnett, who was a farmer and miller of Greenfield township, died in the county; William was the first member of the family to pass away here; Mark resides at Granville, Licking Co., Ohio; Reuben is a machinist in Toledo, Ohio; Thomas went to California in 1852, and now resides in Oregon; Joseph B. was a farmer of Peru township. Joseph B. Roe was born December 15, 1818, in England, and was brought to the United States by his parents in 1821. He received a primary education in the schools of Auburn, N. Y., and after the removal of the family to this county attended school in Peru township and worked on the farm. He was united in marriage with Amanda Gale, of Chautauqua county, N. Y., and to this marriage was born one child, A. G. Roe, of whom mention will presently be made. Immediately after marriage Mr. Roe located on the farm where his son now resides, being a part of the original tract occupied by the family. Mrs. Amanda Roe died in June, 1849, during the cholera epidemic, and Mr, Roe was afterward married to Harriet Hildreth, sister of a well-known preacher of Norwalk. Mr. Roe was a Jacksonian Democrat up to 1856, when he became a Republican. At an early age he united with the Methodist Church, and was always one of its most liberal supporters; he was a member of the building committee during the construction of the HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 353 present house of worship. His death occurred January 19, 1883, the result of an attack of paralysis. A. G. Roe received his rudimentary education in the district school, and afterward completed a commercial course in Oberlin Commercial College. He worked on the home farm until 1873, in which year he visited the Pacific coast, went from San Francisco, Cal., to Portland, Oregon, and remained in the latter State for some time. Returning he worked on Ids father's farm until 1877, when he married Esther P., daughter of George M. Ryerson, of Peru township, and to this union were born two children: E. Anna and J. Clarence, both of whom are living at home. Since the spring of 1878 he has had charge of the home farm. In 1884 Mr. Roe was shot in the right leg, an accident which checked his rapid progress as a farmer, and handicapped him in the race for precedence. Notwithstanding his physical disability he is fairly endowed with wealth, and what is superior to wealth, taste and intelligence. He is an omnivorous reader, a good speaker and a close student of events. He was a Republican up to a few years ago, when he joined the Independent party. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which Society he has served in various offices. ANGUS McDONALD. The ancestry of the family, of whom this gentleman is, a prominent member, is traced to one Roger McDonald, a native of the island of Skye, one of the. Inner Hebrides, Scotland. He removed to Campbelltown, Argyleshire, in early manhood, and was there married to Mary McAllister, and nine children— four sons and five daughters—were born to them, of whom one son, Roger, came to America and made a settlement here. The father was a shepherd, and his eldest son, named Donald, perished in a snow- storm while tending sheep on his native hills, leaving one daughter Mary who came to America and married an officer, by name Donald McDonald, a resident of Ontario county, Ontario (Canada), where they are yet living, and have a family of four sons and one daughter. Another grandchild of Roger and Mary McDonald is Mrs. Flora Simpson, a widow lady, at present living in Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio, with her two daughters, Flora (a teacher in high school at Norwalk), and Maggie (living at home). Roger McDonald, son of Roger and Mary (McAllister) McDonald, was born in Campbelltown, Scotland, March 20, 1820, and in 1840 he emigrated to Amer- ica, making his way from the port of landing to Huron, Erie Co., Ohio. Here he was married in 1844 to Charlotte Par.- ratt, a native of Somersetshire, England, and in the following year they moved to Noble county, Ind., where he followed farming until 1849, in which year, being seized with the "gold fever" which had become so epidemic, he set out to the then new" El Dorado "—California—his family returning to Huron county, Ohio. In A. 1851 he returned to Huron county, and here he purchased 102 acres of farm land in Lot 10, Section 4, in Bronson township. In 1885 they removed to North Fairfield village, still retaining the farm property, however. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have had six children, two of whom died when quite young, and four children are living, viz.: Angus, the subject of these lines ; Bruce, a prominent horse dealer of North Fairfield, Ohio; Emma E., married to H. H. Hoyt, a dry-goods merchant, and has three children; and William H., a bookkeeper, all residents of Huron county, William H. and the Hoyts living in Norwalk. In politics Roger McDonald votes with the Prohibition party; in religion both he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. . 354 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. Angus McDonald, the eldest son of Roger and Charlotte (Parratt) McDonald, was born April 22, 1846, in Noble county, Ind., and after receiving a liberal common- school training he entered the Toledo Commercial College, where he graduated in the spring of 1866. In 1868 he purchased the farm and began farming on the place where he is now living, being Lot 7, Section 4, Bronson township (101 acres). In 1869 Angus McDonald was married to Libbie H. Adriance, a native of Greene county, N. Y., born of parents of Dutch and French descent, and they have two children: Hugh A. and Elnora V., both living in the parental home. Mr. McDonald is a thorough business man, and has given his chief attention to general farming and stock raising. From 1886 to 1891 he was secretary of the Huron County Farmers' Mutual Fire Association; has been prominently connected with the various farmers' and labor organizations in Huron county for many years. Politically he is a Prohibitionist, and was a candidate for the office of county recorder in 1890, his opponent being elected by only a small majority. In religion himself and family are members of the Bronson Baptist Church. C. B. TUDOR, a leading merchant of Chicago Junction, is the son of Salathiel and Mary J. (Wilson) Tudor. His great-great-grandfather Tudor was born in Wales; the maternal great-grandfather of subject was born in Ireland, and the maternal great-grandmother was a native of Germany. Salathiel and Mary J. Tudor were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. Salathiel Tudor was a tailor, but later learned carpentry, and applied himself to that trade for some time. About 1827 he came with his parents to Richmond township, Huron Co., Ohio, but some time afterward removed with his father to Muskingum county. He was married in Muskingum county, where he resided for a short time, until the glowing accounts of the prairie lands of Illinois urged him to move farther west. For thirteen years he lived in that State, but in 1859 returned to Muskingum county, Ohio, where he made his home until his removal to Chicago Junction in 1883. His wife died in Illinois in 1855. They had three sons and three daughters, four of whom grew to maturity, namely: William, who enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-second 0. V. I., when seventeen years old, and was killed at Locust Grove, Va., in 1863; J. W., a farmer in Clarke county, Ill,; Lyman, residing in Guernsey county, Ohio; and C. B., a resident of Chicago Junction. The father entered the army in 1862, served through the Civil war, and is now a veteran of the G. A. R. C. B. Tudor was born March 18, 1851, in Edgar county, Ill., received a somewhat limited education in the district schools there, and came to Ohio in 1859. He was engaged in farm work until the age of nineteen years, when he was employed for the bridge and carpenter department on the B. & 0. R. R., where he remained from 1873 till 1880. In that year he and George Dillon established a hardware store at Chicago Junction, but at the close of a year's business Mr. Tudor purchased his partner's interest, and for the two succeeding years conducted it alone. His brother-in-law, D. A. Bishop, then entered into partnership with him, and the firm carried on trade until the spring of 1892, when Mr. Tudor again became sole proprietor. He began business on a capital of twelve hundred dollars, and now carries a stock ranging in value from seven thousand to ten thousand dollars. His interests are not altogether mercantile. In 1889, in partnership with Otis Sykes, he bought fifty-six lots in Matson's west side sub-division, and of these only twenty remain unsold. Seven years before, in 1882, he and Mr. Sykes built the brick block in HURON COUNTY; OHIO - 355 which our subject's large hardware store is located. On October 8, 1878, Mr. Tudor was united in marriage with Miss Della Se- vault, who was born in Huron county, of which her father, Jacob Sevault, is an old settler. Of their two children, Ebert died in infancy, and Glenn, a bright boy of eleven years, resides with his parents. In political life Mr. Tudor votes with tbe Re- publican party in State and National elec- tions, but is not a politician, as his busi- ness interests are too numerous to warrant him in giving his attention to public matters, though he has served four years on the school board. Socially he is a mem- ber of Lodge No. 748, I. O. O. F.; in religion he is a member of the United Brethren Church. HOSEA M. HOOD, once of the moist popular and widely-known citizens of Hartland township, where he enjoys a very large circle of friends, was born August 19, 1824, at Sweden, Monroe county, New York. His father, Thomas Hood, was born January 1, 1791, in Canaan, Conn., and about 1812 was married, at Steventown, N. Y., to Dorothy L. Hill, who was born there February 20, 1794. They soon afterward moved to Sweden, N. Y., then a frontier settlement, the trip being made with an ox-team. In Monroe county he found work as a wood-chopper, supplying fuel for the salt works, near which he lived. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hood were: Henry L., born June 29, 1813, now a resident of Medina, Orleans Co,, N. Y.; Horace E., born October 13, 1815, an auctioneer, who died at Springfield, Ill., while traveling with Van Amberg's circus; Hiram B., born December 30, 1817, was accidently killed in 1850, while working in a stone quarry at Sweden, N. Y.; Lydia L., born May 2, 1820, married first to William Seely, of Medina county, Ohio, and subsequently to a Mr. Coates, of Michigan; Dorothy L., born March 17, 1823, died in infancy; Hosea M., the subject of this sketch; Betsey M., born January 20, 1827, married Freeman Russell, and died at Holley, Orleans Co., N. Y.; Alvin J., born August 31, 1831, a farmer of Norwalk township, Huron Co., Ohio; Edwin T., born April 24, 1834, who served during the Civil war in the Fifty-fifth 0.V. I., was wounded in 1864 at Peach Tree Creek, Ga., received an honorable discharge, and is now a resident of Nashville, Tenn.; Mary L,, born November 25, 1836, now Mrs. Randall, a widow, of Rochester, N. Y. Some time after the birth of the last child the family removed to Orleans county, N. Y., where the mother died May 15, 1841; the father returned to Monroe county, where he died April 19, 1865. Both were buried at Sweden, where all their children were born and which all called home. Thomas Hood was a Whig prior to 1856, when he joined the Republican party. In religious connection he was a member of the Baptist Church at Holley, N. Y., his wife also being a member of the same church. Hosea M. Hood received an elementary education in the "Stone Bridge School," at Sweden, N. Y., and subsequently worked on the farm, near the salt-works, assisting his father until 1845. In that year he set out on the journey to Ohio, his capital being ten dollars in currency, good health and plenty of pluck. The journey was made from Sweden to Buffalo by way of the canal; from Buffalo to Huron by lake, and thence to Hartland Ridge by wagon. The trip from Buffalo to Huron was so extremely rough that the boat returned to port rather than venture to weather the gale. Arriving at Hart- land Ridge with eight dollars of his capi- tal gone, he found his brother, Horace E., who had previously located there, and who offered him work, The succeeding winter he attended school, and the following spying accompanied his brother, selling notions along the route of June & Tur- 356 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. ner's circus, going through Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. In the fall they returned to Hartland township, where Hosea M. taught the " Bills" school for thirteen dollars per month. For nine seasons he continued to follow the routes of the great circus companies, selling notions and jewelry. Van Amberg's, Spalding & Rogers', Welch's, Franconi's and Barnum's men knew him almost as one of themselves. While thus employed, he acquired a knowledge of the duties of of an auctioneer, and this profession he adopted. On June 4, 1850, he married Hulda M. Holiday, who was born December 4, 1831, in Ruggles township (then in Huron county), daughter of Lorton and Matilda (Gates) Holiday. To Mr. and Mrs. Hood were born the following named children: Elvira I., born October 10, 1851 (deceased in infancy); Alice C., born August 15, 1853, a graduate of Lebanon (Ohio) Normal School, who was seven years a teacher in the Milan Normal School (she is now Mrs. J. W. Ferguson, of Hartland township); Hosea M., Jr., born September 25, 1855, is city salesman for a Denver (Colo.) wholesale grocery house; Evaline F., born November 26, 1856, died in infancy; Herbert E., born November 10, 1858, an employe as telegraph operator and station agent for the C. C. & S. R. R. at Beach City, Ohio; Dora B., born December 16, 1861, wife of S. F. Angus, a leading insurance man of Detroit, Mich.; and Edith M,, born February 21, 1868, residing at home. After his marriage Mr. Hood located in Hartland township, on a rented farm, but continued to sell notions and jewelry as of old. In 1854 he located on his present home, which then comprised seventy acres, but is now a well-improved tract of 175 acres. Since 1858 he has given close attention to his farming interests. As a " sale crier" he is well known, and his professional calls extend over a wide area. Indeed it is said that some of the best " sale criers " in this section of Ohio have graduated under him. In early years, in fact for fifteen winters after coming to Ohio, he taught school in Hartland township. A Republican in politics, he has served in various township offices; for twelve years he was justice of the peace, and he also served as clerk and trustee, He is a deacon in the Baptist Church, and for some years was superintendent of the Sunday-school. Mrs. Hood is also a member of the Baptist Church, and both are popular in the township. Mr. Hood is a progressive, leading citizen, and his property is entirely the accumulation of his own earnest toil. SIMEON O. RIGGS. This gentleman is a prominent representative of an old Scotch family, the first pioneer of the name having located in New Jersey in the earliest Colonial days. For generations the eldest son of this family has borne the name of Simeon, and many years ago one Simeon Riggs left his New Jersey home owing to some misunderstanding with his relatives. He was a fuller by trade, and settling in Guernsey county, Ohio, there purchased and operated a woolen mill. He was married to a Miss Cheney, who bore him four children—two sons and two daughters—the eldest son being named E. C., a departure from the old family custom. E. C. Riggs was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, and when but twelve years of age suffered the loss of one hand. A few years before this accident his father was burned out, uninsured, and this son (although crippled) engaged in the most menial labors, in order to assist in supporting the family and securing his own education. He worked for some time as errand boy in a general store, studying every hour of leisure time, and when but sixteen years old he commenced teaching a writing-school. At the age of eighteen years he began teaching public school in HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 357 Noble county, Ohio, continuing the same until 1864. In 1854 he was married to Margaret Brokaw, a native of Ohio. When the war broke out he wanted to enlist, and although refused on the ground of physical disability, he assisted in the pursuit of Morgan. In 1863 he was elected clerk of courts of Guernsey county on the Republican ticket. In the spring of 1864 he removed from Senecaville to Cambridge, Guernsey Co., Ohio, continuing to hold the office of clerk for three successive terms. He then conducted a grocery and manufacturing business for some time, and during Gov. Foster's first term was appointed to fill the unfinished term of Judge Buchanan as probate judge of Guernsey county. After occupying this office he served two years as acting judge under Judge Kennan; then took a ,position as bookkeeper with the Cambridge Coal Mining Company, which was eventually merged into the Guernsey Coal Mining Company, when he assumed the duties of general manager and secretary. This position he resigned August 1, 1892, and he is now retired from active business. The following children have been born to the union of E. C. and Margaret (Brokaw) Riggs: Mrs. J. F. Salmon, living in Cam- bridge; Simeon O., whose name opens this sketch; C. N., who owns the finest drug business in Buffalo; Howard, a busi- ness man of Chicago, Ill.; William L., a reeident of Cambridge; H. P., a telegraph operator in Geneseo, Henry Co., Ill.; and Jessie, Delbert and Ruby, all three living at home. Simeon O. Riggs was born May 9,1856, in Guernsey county, Ohio. He received his early education in the schools at Cambridge, and at the age of sixteen was ap- prenticed to learn the printer's trade. After working two years, he accepted a position in a dry-goods store where he worked three years; then traveled for a cigar factory in which his father was interested. In the fall of 1877 he selected a life companion in the person of Alice; daughter of S. H. Culbertson, of Cambridge. After his marriage Mr. Riggs began business with his father-in-law in general merchandise, but dissolved partnership one year later, and then conducted a restaurant for one year. Afterward he clerked for his father-in-law for some time, and during the summer of 1880 worked for the Ohio Valley Hedge Company, of Columbus, Ohio. He assisted his father-in-law the succeeding winter; then took charge of a job and news room in Cambridge, continuing in that business until 1883. At the end of that time he came to Chicago Junction and took charge of the Times newspaper, which had just been started by Lusk & Krause. Six months later he bought the office, and has since been editor and proprietor of this very successful paper, which is now established on a firm basis. It is Independent in politics, and enjoys a large advertising patronage, as well as a wide circulation for a local paper. Editor Riggs contemplates putting in steam presses, which will doubtless greatly facilitate his business. He is a Republican in politics, taking an active interest in the welfare of his party. In religion he is one of the founders of the M. E. Church in Chicago, Ohio, and is a zealous member of that denomination. Mr. and Mrs. Riggs have three sons and one daughter, namely: Walter A., Carlos O., Simeon Otis, and Mable E. [Since the above was written, Mr. Riggs, in the fall of 1892, disposed of the Times, and is now editor and publisher of the Times, a straight Republican paper, at Indianola, Warren Co., Iowa. LOUIS FIESINGER is a native of New York State, born in Utica; Oneida Co., N. Y., February 8, 1844, a son of Francis Joseph and. Theresa Ehrhardt Fiesinger, natives of Alsace (then in France, now in Germany), the father receiving his education in Paris. 358 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. At the age of thirty-five years the father of our subject came to America, locating at first in Utica, N. Y., where he followed his trade of cabinet maker, which he had learned in Paris. In 1854 he came to Norwalk, Ohio, where he also worked at his trade, and was for a time in the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company at that place. In the old country he had married Theresa Ehrhardt, and ten children were born to them, Louis being the third youngest, and of that large family, only he and a sister, Mrs. Doran, in Cleveland, are now living. The father died in 1872, at the age of about sixty-three years, the mother in 1887, aged seventy-nine years; they were members of the Roman Catholic Church, and in politics he was a Democrat. Louis Fiesinger was educated in Norwalk, at the high school of which place he graduated, and after completing his studies he for some years taught school in the southern part of Ohio. Coming to Cincinnati in 1861, he was here employed as recording clerk in the office of the clerk of the courts, from 1861 to 1867, at the end of which time he returned to Norwalk and embarked in the grocery and provision business. But this he soon afterward sold out, and opening a restaurant carried that on till 1871, in which year he accepted a position as traveling salesman for Stephen Buhrer, of Cleveland, Ohio, wholesale dealer in liquors and wines. This line of business he followed till 1873, and then received an appointment as bill clerk on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad at Monroeville, in the same county; but in 1875 he moved to Chicago Junction, also in Huron county, and there once more commenced in the restaurant line, having in connection a ball alley. Thence in 1878 be went to Columbus, where he ran a saloon and bil- liard room one year; then returned to Chicago Junction, thence again moving to Norwalk where he has since successfully carried on his present business. In Norwalk he has opened a brick and tile fan. tory which promises to become one of the best of the kind in the country, the cost of the plant being not less than twelve thousand dollars. It is run by steam, and has a capacity of 20,000 feet of tile and 40,000 brick per day. The firing of the tile and brick is done with oil fuel, part of the plant being a large tank capable of holding 300 barrels of oil, and the work can be carried on in any weather— summer or winter, hot or cold, dry or wet. There is also a disintegrator for crushing clay; in fact, the concern is most thor- oughly equipped in every essential. In 1876 Mr. Fiesinger was married to Elizabeth Fox, of Sandusky, Ohio, and three children have been born to them, viz.: William Louis, May and Leon. In politics our subject is a Republican; in religion he and his wife belong to no particular Church. D. J. C. ARNOLD, manufacturer of brick and tile makers' supplies, and metal wheels, New London, is a native of Massachusetts, born October 27, 1854, in the town of Adams, where he received his education. In 1876 Mr. Arnold came west to Ohio, and locating in New London, Huron county, commenced in the lumber business. In 1878 he established his present industry, the factory being, perhaps, the largest one in the United States devoted to the special manufacturing of brick and tile yard supplies. The buildings have a total area of between 22,000 and 23,000 feet of floor space, and being located on the main line of the "Big Four" Railroad system, which extends over a large portion of the most populous section of the United States, the shipping facilities are unsurpassed. Shipments are made directly to all parts of the country, with but very few changes. The Pittsburgh, Akron & Western Rail- road also runs here, and the Baltimore & 359 - PICTURE OF D. J. C. ARNOLD 360 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO- 361 Ohio through line is very near. The industry does an extensive trade even as far as the Pacific coast, including all intermediate points, and enjoys an unprecedented local patronage. Among the catalogued articles manufactured by Mr. Arnold may be mentioned the following: Represses, dump carts, brick, mud, tile, sand and other barrows, patent pallet trucks, spring trucks, dry press trucks, patent sewer pipe trucks, and sewer pipe and other barrows; pug mill shafts; wrought iron tempering wheels; machine and hand molds of all kinds; brick edgers, etc., as well as everything pertaining to the proper outfitting and furnishing of brick and tile kilns. Special mention may here also be made of the metal wheels for trucks and barrows turned out by the Arnold Metal Wheel Company, for which a patent was secured in 1890. These wheels are light, strong, durable and handsome, and have been in use long enough to demonstrate that they are all that is claimed for them, and that they never fail to give satisfaction. The superiority of good metal wheels over wood, or a combination of wood and iron, has been proven to the satisfaction of all who have used them, and who now use no other. Mr. Arnold. is looked upon as the ne plus ultra business man of New London, his energy and enterprise being proverbial; and in the affairs of both town and county he wields a potent influence in the line of progressiveness and reform. In his political sympathies he is a straight Republican. NATHAN BEERS is descended from one of the early families of Connecticut, of which State his father, Nathan Beers, was a native. Grandfather Beers was paymaster under Gen. Washington during the Revolutionary war, and was subsequently a steward of Yale College. His son, Nathan Beers, was born October 15, 1806, in New Haven, Conn., where he received his education. He completed the freshman year in Yale, and then set out on a journey to Ohio, traveling by canal and lake to Cleveland, and thence, on horseback, to Trumbull county, where relatives resided. After a brief visit he pursued his journey, coming to Huron county, where an uncle and a brother had previously purchased land. Ou July 3, 1828, he married Louisa Ashley, who was born December 6, 1806, in Deerfield, Mass., whence in 1817 she accompanied her parents, Luther and Eunice (Smith) Ashley, to Greenfield township, Huron Co., Ohio, the journey, which occupied six weeks, being made in a wagon, The children born to Nathan and Louisa Beers were as follows: Mary, widow of Lucius Gibbs, who resides in California; Augusta, widow of Isaac Darling, of Greenfield township, and Nathan. The parents of these began married life on the same farm where he died March 6, 1891. His remains were interred in the Steuben cemetery. His widow now resides with her son Nathan on the homestead. Politically this pioneer differed from the majority of the men of Huron county, who voted for Fremont in 1856. He simply changed from being a Whig into a Republican, while the others who changed political ideas at the time were generally Democrats. He filled many township offices in early years, such as clerk, trustee and treasurer. He was a member of the Congregational Church, and was much esteemed by his neighbors. He was tenderly beloved by his children and grandchildren, and at all times he dealt justly, loved mercy, and reverenced God. Nathan Beers, son of the pioneer, was born October 8, 1840, was educated in the district school, and reared to the life of a farmer. He worked on the homestead until 1861, when he married Ellen Conklin, who was born March 14, 1844, at Plymouth, Ohio; her parents, Charles and Rachel (Bevier) Conklin, came from Owasco, Cayuga Co., N. Y., where Mr. 362 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. Conklin was born July 14, 1807, and his wife November 24, 1807. Mr. Conklin was a tailor by trade, but devoted much of his time to agriculture. To the marriage of Nathan and Ellen Beers were born three children, namely: Fred P., a boot and shoe dealer of Plymouth, Ohio; Louise, Mrs. Delno P. Ryerson, of Peru township, and Mary, at home. All were born on the home farm, where the parents settled after marriage. Mrs. Beers is a member of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Beers of the Congregational Society, Politically he is a Republican, and he is one of the advisers of the party in his district. In August, 1862, he enlisted, at Steuben, Ohio, in Company 0, One Hundred and Twenty-third O. V. I., which was attached to the Eighth Corps and army of the James, and served with that command until the close of the war. He received an honorable discharge, and was mustered out in June, 1865, at Columbus, Ohio. With the exception of that radical departure from home life, Mr. Beers has called the farm, which was located by his father, his home. He is a systematic agriculturist and an experienced stock grower, and is in every respect a useful, industrious citizen. WILLIAM A. DANGELEISEN, proprietor of "The Imperial," Bellevue, is of German descent, and ranks high in commercial circles. His father, Joseph Dangeleisen, was born in 1817, in Breunlingen, Baden, Germany, and passed his youth in that country. He learned the trade of tanner and currier, and followed same for twenty years in various places in Germany, afterward working in France, Italy, Austria, Denmark, and five years in Switzerland. During this time he learned several languages and gained much valuable information. At one time he was foreman in a shop at Germany, where he received for his services only one dollar per week. Joseph Dangeleisen emigrated from Germany in 1853, three years after the revolution in that country, in which he was a leader. He was at that time president of a German club, and also filled the office of councilman. After reaching America he located in what was then known as Newburg (now Cleveland), Ohio, and worked at his trade. In 1857 he moved to Talford, same State, but soon returned to Cleveland, and from there went to Akron, Ohio, where he had charge of a tannery until 1859, at which time he moved to Bellevue. and worked for Adam Zehner four years. In 1863 he began business for himself, opening the billiard parlors and sample room now known as "The Imperial," and continued in active charge until four years ago, when his son became proprietor. In 1846 Mr. Dangeleisen married Miss Caroline Rigger, and their union was blessed with five children, viz.: Joseph (I.) (who died in infancy); William A. (subject of this sketch); Emil V. (who married Miss Matilda Schuler, a native of Huron county, Ohio); Josephine (twin of Joseph (II.), who married Otto Marhoeser, of Cleveland, Ohio, and has one daughter, Elsie). His wife died in 1866, and in 1868 Mr. Dangeleisen married Miss Susan Giminey, to which marriage no children have been born. Mr. Dangeleisen has acquired considerable property, is highly respected, and is generally regarded as one of Bellevue's best citizens. William A. Dangeleisen was born in 1856, in Newburg, Ohio. He passed his school days in Bellevue, and was with his father until fourteen years of age, at which time he went to Cleveland and learned the machinist trade. He worked in Cleveland four years, and attended the Commercial College about eighteen months. In 1875 he moved to Adrian, Mich., where he clerked in the " Mineral Spring Hotel," and was given full charge of same. After six months he went to Toledo, but twelve months later returned home, where he had HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 363 a severe illness. He next entered the employ of Higbee & Company, the largest grain dealers of northern Ohio, and for three years was assistant bookkeeper and bookkeeper for four years. He remained with the successors of this firm, Ward & Collins, four years, and then became a partner in the firm of McLaughlin & Company, successors to Ward & Collins. After five months he withdrew from the business and moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he secured a position as bookkeeper, but before he accepted it his father requested him to return home and assume charge of "The Imperial" in Bellevue. He has successfully managed this handsome billiard parlor and sample room up to the present time, and is very popular in business circles. In 1882 Mr. Dangeleisen married Miss Julia Korner, and their union has been blessed with two children: Virginia and William Warren. He and his family are members of the Catholic Church. He was nominated township clerk, but declined the nomination, and the same year refused to run for city clerk, preferring to devote his time and attention to his business affairs. He is a member of the K. O. T. M., and has filled the office of secretary for Lodge No. 6, Guardian Tent; is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, Lodge No. 363, Bellevue Council, and Uniform Rank of K. P. His political views are Republican. WILLIAM A. HEYMAN. Among the agriculturists, who by their exemplary lives have won the esteem of their neighbors and performed an important part in the political, mercantile and social affairs of Lyme township, none are more prominent than William A. Heyman, who was born July 21, 1830, in Nassau, Germany. William C. Heyman, father of subject, was a native of Germany, and remained in that country until the prime of life, when he was induced by the flattering reports of his son's success in America to make for himself and family a new home. He was a farmer by occupation, and after locating in Huron county, Ohio, engaged in agricultural pursuits, renting land until 1852, at which time he purchased a valuable farm of 155 acres in Sherman township. He married Miss Maria Opperman, and to their union were born ten children, eight sons and two daughters. Mr. Hey- man is now living in Huron county, and though eighty-four years of age still enjoys good health, and retains the energy and executive ability that enabled him to accumulate a handsome estate, and manage his business affairs successfully. His wife died in 1884, after a Christian life filled with kind impulses and generous deeds. William A. Heyman received an excellent education in Germany, and learned habits of thrift and industry that served him well during the years when he was struggling for wealth and fame. When nineteen years of age he determined to seek broader fields of labor than were open to young men in the Fatherland, and emigrated from his native shore in 1849. Immediately after reaching the United States he journeyed west and settled in Lyme township, Huron Co., Ohio, where he worked as a farm laborer for Squire Prentiss a short time. By practicing strict economy he was soon able to engage in farming for himself, and he now owns three valuable farms in Huron county, comprising 425 acres, and devotes his attention to general agriculture and stock raising. He is very popular in political circles, and served as justice of the peace four terms. Mr. Heyman was married, December 15, 1854, to Miss Jennette Moore, who was born in Germany, a daughter of Conrad and Clara Moore, and fifteen children -ten sons and five daughters—blessed their union, viz.: Mary, Emma, Charles, David, Adam, Benjamin, William, Henry, Isaac, Jacob, Clara, Louisa and Sarah, and 364 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. two whose names are not given, of whom eight sons and three daughters are yet liv- ing. The mother of these died in 1875, and in 1877 our subject was married, in Lorain, to Miss Ida Schroeder, who was born in Germany, a daughter of Dr. Schroeder, formerly of Lorain county, Ohio; he and his wife were both born in 1799, and the former died in January, 1885, the latter in January, 1893. Two children blessed this last marriage of Mr. Heyman, named Otto and Hugo. Mr. and Mrs. Heyman are members of the German Reformed Church, of which they are liberal supporters, and are actively in- terested in all public matters that have as an object the improvement of the township in which they reside.M MARTIN GROSS, senior member of the firm of Gross & Weber, proprietors of the lumber and planing mills at Bellevue, was born in 1843 in the Province of Nassau, Germany, a son of William and Catherine (Fritz) Gross. In 1860 he immigrated to America, and having learned the cabinet maker's trade, followed that business for about one year in Rochester, N. Y., where he first learned to speak English. In 1861 he began working on a farm near Bellevue, Huron Co., Ohio, and soon afterward enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventh Regiment, O. V. I., in which he served three years with the army of the Potomac. He took part in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and during the former engagement was wounded in the leg and taken prisoner, but twelve days after his capture he was exchanged. At the close of the war he was discharged, and has since drawn a pension. On May 1, 1866, he selected a life companion in the person of a Miss Angel, who died a few years after- ward. Her children were as follows: Louise, Lizzie, one deceased in infancy, and Minnie. After the death of the mother of these children, the father was united in marriage May 26, 1874, with Phillipena Schwenk, who has borne him five children, namely: Katie, Emma. Willie, Martin and Charlie. In 1867. Martin Gross opened a furniture business in Bellevue, in which he continued fourteen years; then sold out, and bought a half interest with J. H. Weber in the lumber and planing mill at Bellevue. In 1888 Mr. Weber sold his interest to Charles D. Stoner, who died January 16, 1893, when M. Gross and J. H. Weber bought the interest of Mr. Stoner. The well-known firm of M. Gross & J. H. Weber carry on an extensive business in lumber, shingles, etc., their yard and plan- ing mills being located on the east side of, and in close proximity to, the Nickel Plate Railroad. Mr. Gross is a successful, enterprising business man, active in all matters tending to public improvement, and is a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratic party. A. B. SMITH, the courteous and efficient postmaster at Bellevue, was born March 25, 1840, in Cleveland, Ohio. His grandfather and father were both natives of New York, the former born of Holland-Dutch ancestry. William T. Smith, father of subject, was married to Frances L. Smith, a native of Connecticut, and they had children as follows: Oliver, Henry, A. B., Geo. E., F. W., Frances M. and Chas. A. In 1835 William T. Smith established a shoe business in Cleveland, where he became a very prominent citizen. Politically he was a member of the Know-Nothing party, and one time, while he was absent from home, he was elected, by his Cleveland friends, a councilman as such, although always a Republican. He died. July 2, 1890; his widow still lives in Cleveland. A. B. Smith received his education in the public schools of Cleveland, and when the Civil war opened he enlisted, in April, HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 365 1861, in the First Ohio Regiment of Light Artillery. He was in the first battery that left the State after the fall of Fort Sumter, and he took part in the battle of Philippi, W, Va., June 20, 1861. After the time had expired for which he had enlisted, he reentered the service in 1864, then went to Washington and remained in fortifications until the close of the war, being mustered out as sergeant. Soon after the war he made a permanent settlement in Bellevue, and engaged in the mercantile business for about ten years. During Garfield's administration he was appointed postmaster at that place, and served four years ; was reappointed by Harrison in April, 1891, having proved himself a faithful official and an enterprising citizen. Mr. Smith was married October 7, 1862, to Miss E. A. Lewis, who has borne him four children, viz.: William F., Albert, Frank G. and Mary L. JOHN P. MEYER is the grandson of George Meyer, a farmer of Baden, Germany, who in 1846 sailed for America with his family, consisting of wife and five children—four sons and one daughter—one child having died in infancy. After landing at New York they proceeded westward by way of the Hudson river and Erie Canal to Buffalo, N. Y., which at that time was the most popular route. From Buffalo, via Lake Erie, they went to Sandusky, Ohio, thence to Ridgefield township, Huron county, where George Meyer purchased land near Monroeville. He had accumulated considerable property in Germany, which was disposed of there, and he came to America to avoid having his boy’s drafted into the German army. in this country he was a Democrat in politics. Soon after locating in Ohio, his wife died, and in 1865 he was laid by her side, having been a sufferer from asthma several years. They were buried Monroeville cemetery. John George Meyer, the eldest child of George Meyer, was born March 27, 1831, in Baden, Germany. He was reared on the home farm and attended the common schools of his native country. At the age of fifteen years he came to America with his parents, and followed farm work with his father, with whom his youth was passed. In April, 1855, he was married to Lena Kohler, who was born May 1, 1833, in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland, a daughter of Jacob Kohler. In 1854 she came to America with relatives, sailing from Havre, France, on the vessel "Gilchrist." After twenty-six days on the ocean, she landed at New York, remaining there three months with a sister, afterward coming to Huron county, Ohio, where she met her future husband. After his marriage Mr. Meyer engaged in farming near Pontiac, Peru township, Huron county, where he resided till 1858, and then purchased the farm in Ridgefield township, on which he was living at the time of his death, which occurred December 27, 1885. Mr. Meyer was a successful agriculturist, and his excellent farm of nearly 142 acres stands as evidence of his prosperity, much of which was secured by the aid of his good wife's economy and energy. In politics he was a Democrat, and was elected by his party to numerous township offices, which he filled with credit to himself. He was a consistent member of and liberal contributor to the Evangelischer Church at Monroeville, with which his widow is also identified. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Meyer has been living on the home place, surrounded by hosts of friends, and enjoying the respect and esteem of them all. She has had one son, John P. Meyer. John P. Meyer was born December 12, 1855, in Ridgefield township, Huron county, Ohio, and received a common-school education, his first knowledge of agriculture being obtained on the same farm where he is now residing. From early youth he evinced a natural mechan- 366 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. ical gift, and though never learning any trade, is now capable of executing work requiring no small amount of skill, in sev- eral trades. On March 25, 1879, he married Wilhelinina, a daughter of Philip Boehler, of Monroeville, and she has borne him four children: Otto J., born March 23, 1881; Albert H., born January 30, 1884; Oscar P., born May 13, 1890; and Clarence G., born August 28, 1892, all of whom are living. After his marriage Mr. Meyer located on a part of his father's farm where he has since lived, following general farming and stock raising. He is one of the leading and intelligent young farmers of the township, and methodical in his labors. Politically he votes the Democratic ticket, and has held offices in his township, taking considerable interest in the success of his party. Both he and his wife are members of the Evangelischer Church at Monroeville. WILLIAM GAMBLE is undoubtedly one of the self-made men of Huron county. By his labor he developed a valuable farm, and in the face of difficulties and disappointments established himself among the well-to-do agriculturists of Greenfield township. Thomas Gamble, a native of Lincolnshire, England, was there married to Mary Rick, and to them three children were born, namely: Joseph, William, and Mary Ann, who married George Wallace and is now residing at Cascade, Iowa. In 1843 the entire family emigrated to the United States, the voyage from Liverpool to New York being accomplished in ninety days. The journey from Manhattan Island to their destination in Huron county, Ohio, was also long and disagreeable. Here Thomas Gamble purchased a small parcel of land and built a cabin, the first home of the family in America. Mrs. Gamble died in 1849, and was buried at Olena, in Bronson township. This was a severe stroke of misfortune, resulting as it did in scattering the children and leaving the father in a condition of depression, which incapacitated him for an active life. He now lives in a comfortable home furnished by his son William. William Gamble was born October 15, 1842, in Lincolnshire, England. On the death of his mother he went to live with an aunt, in Fairfield township; but owing to a disagreement with her transferred himself to his uncle's home in the same township. Ultimately he went to the home of his grandfather, Edward Rick (who came hither from England in 1842), and resided with him until 1853. From that period until young Gamble was twenty-one years old he resided at the house of James Youngs, Sr., and worked for him, receiving at the close of the decade the sum of one hundred dollars for his services. So far in his career little opportunity for educating himself was offered, beyond what could be gleaned in the school of experience. In February, 1864, he married Elizabeth Bennett, who was born October 8, 1847, in New Haven township, and to this marriage five children were born, namely: Mary, who died young; Lillian, Mrs. Charles Earl, of Olena, Huron county; Helen, Mrs. Fred Sparks, of New Haven township; William T. and Jay, both resid- ing at home. Mrs. Elizabeth (Bennett) Gamble is a daughter of Allen and Harriet (Youngs) Bennett, and granddaughter of James Youngs, Sr. From 1855, when her mother died, to the date of her marriage, she resided with her grandfather. The farm on which Mr. Gamble now lives was first occupied by him in 1864, when he purchased sixty-six acres of it on credit. How he worked by the day and year to pay for this tract is a creditable item in the history of the man. By 1866 he had saved sufficient money to warrant him in beginning work on this farm. He split 500 rails for his first five bushels of seed potatoes, and by closely observingthe principles of economy and industry was enabled to pay for the sixty-six acres HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 367 within a few years. He then purchased a second tract, and extended the area to 133 acres; in 1872 he erected a new dwelling house, since which year all the farm buildings have been constructed. This prog ress has not been accomplished under the . most favorable circumstances. His leg has been broken twice, and sickness has invaded the household at intervals, so that at times his pathway was rough and uninviting. But like a trained man he conquered adversity, rose above it, and came out from each trial feeling the better for having fought and won. Mr. Gamble, while engaged in agriculture proper, gives some attention to the growing of Poland- China hogs, line sheep and other stock. He votes with the Democratic party, but is not an active partisan or politician, his policy being to attend closely to his own business, pay his taxes and let others look after the affairs of State. GEORGE LINDER was born February 25, 1822, in Bavaria, Germany, where his father, John Lawrence Linder, was a vine grower and wine producer. George Linder's youth was passed in the manner common to boys of the Bavarian agricultural class. He received a practical education in the schools of his birthplace, and also attended Sunday-school four years. When his boyhood days were over, he began work on the farm and vineyard, and so continued until the emigration of the family to America. In 1845 the parents, with George and his sister, Catherine, set out from their native land for Havre, France, en, route to the United States. At Havre they embarked on the “Argo," one of the giant ships of that period, and after a tempestuous voyage of thirty-five days and a half, landed at New York. At one time during this dreary journey, when the great ship was caught in an ice-floe, grave fears were entertained for her safety; but Providence was with the emigrants, and the good ship "Argo" came safely into port. The travelers proceeded to Philadelphia, thence across the Alleghany mountains to Pittsburgh, and through mistake were sent to Portsmouth, Ohio, thence to Cleveland. It was certainly a circuitous, expensive and trouble some journey; but the brave Bavarians endured it with but little complaint. From Cleveland the party pushed into the wilds of Huron county, and there the father purchased land in Peru township, where the mother died in 1869, aged seventy-three years, the father at the age of eighty-seven years. The fire of 1846 destroyed the little home they had built and the property they had accumulated; but like a majority of his countrymen Mr. Linder rose above this misfortune, and looked upon it as a lesson. He was a hard worker, industrious and frugal, and succeeded in accumulating a good property. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and he and his wife are buried in the Lutheran cemetery at Pontiac. Catherine, their daughter, who married William Brinker, of Cleveland, is also numbered with the dead. George Linder was married January 6, 1849, to Elizabeth Schwan, who was born February 6, 1831, in Germany, and was brought to the United States by her parents in 1834; she grew to womanhood in Peril township, where the family settled that year. George Schwan, her father, moved to Seneca county, Ohio, in 1848. To George and Elizabeth Linder were born children as follows: George, a farmer of Peru township; Lena, deceased; Catherine, deceased; Lawrence J., a farmer in Peru township; and Minnie, Mrs. Henry Linder, of Weaver's Corners. After marriage Mr. Linder established his home in Peru township, where he resided until April 1, 1870, when he moved to his present farm. The family is an industrial one in every particular; father, mother and each of the children work on the farm, in the vineyard and in the home, with a 368 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. single eye to the advancement of all. Each one has his or her place to fill, and does the work of that place cheerfully. Mr. Linder is a Democrat, and a man of influence in local politics. In religious connection Mr. and Mrs. Linder are leading members of the Lutheran Church, in which he has held various positions. As a farmer, grape-grower and stock-raiser he has won his title to success, and is to-day one of the most highly-respected old settlers of Huron county. W. A. KNAPP, a well-known and highly respected farmer and banker, of Fitchville township, was born in Fairfield county, Conn., January 10, 1841, the eldest child of William A. and Harriet (Marshall) Knapp, of New York State. William A. Knapp, father of subject, was born at Lewisboro, Westchester Co., N. Y., February 14, 1817. His father, Sylvanus, was a sailor for years; but having learned the mason's and shoemaker's trades, he worked at same in Connecticut. William A., Sr.. received an elementary education in the schools of his native place, and March 1, 1840, married Harriet Marshall, a native of Westchester county. That he was economical as a youth is demonstrated by the fact that, from a total revenue of fifty cents per diem, he saved two hundred dollars, which sum he loaned to a friend, but lost the loan. Continuing at the shoemaker's trade, which he had learned of his father, be soon replenished his purse, and then, from Judge T. Rosevelt, rented a farm in Connecticut, near New York City, which he operated until 1845, when he set out for Ohio with his wife and two children— William A., the subject of this sketch, and Amanda, now Mrs. Hialmar Griffin, of Fitchville township. The family traveled by river, canal and lake to Ohio, arriving at Huron October 2, 1845. The journey from Huron to Fitchville township was made by wagon, and there, on February 27, 1846, one child was born to them, Euphronia, who married H. D. Palmer, and died at New London, Ohio, March 27, 1884. It appears from the records of the family that Sylvanus Knapp, father of W. A. Knapp, Sr., became, by purchase or State grant, owner of 235 acres in the " Firelands" of Ohio. In 1838 or 1839 William A., the son of the owner, visited Ohio, and selecting lands in Fitchville township brought the family hither in 1845, to occupy the tract. Becoming dissatisfied with his purchase, however, he exchanged it for lands in the southwest part of the township, allowing three dollars per acre for the new tract of wild land. In the Indian summer of 1845 two acres were cleared and a frame house 18 x 24 feet erected, wherein the family passed their first winter in Ohio. From distant neighbors they purchased supplies for a long term. In the spring of 1846 Mr, Knapp planted two acres of corn, the system followed being to make a hole in the ground with an axe, and place therein a few grains of corn. The first crop, so rudely put in, was large, giving the new settlers an idea of what Ohio soil could do. For eleven years the family resided there, and in 1856 or 1857 moved nearer the center of the township, where farming was carried on until 1881, in which year the family moved to Greenwich. There he served as president of the Greenwich Banking Co. until his death in 1888. His widow died at Fitchville in 1889, and was buried beside her husband in the Fitchville cemetery. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he was a Whig down to 1856, and a Republican from that period until his death. For a number of years he served his township as trustee, and in all matters relating to the public welfare his advice was sought and generally followed. He was a most successful farmer and business man. Dealing extensively in live stock, 369 - PICTURE OF PEARL KNAPP 370 - BLANK HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 371 which he shipped to eastern markets, his consignments were received without question, for his eastern correspondents knew, as well as his neighbors, that he was a judge of stock in the fullest sense of the word, and that he would neither stoop to defraud, nor permit any one to defraud him. In financial affairs he was conservative, prompt in thinking and acting, and always a success. W. A. Knapp received a liberal education in the schools of Fitchville, and a practical education on the farm. In 1864 he enlisted in one of the one-hundred day regiments, served the term, and after receiving an honorable discharge, visited his home. Returning to the field, he worked as a laborer in the Telegraphic Department of the army; was promoted to foreman, and subsequently served for two years, at seventy-five dollars per month and expenses. Later he was employed by the Western Union Telegraph Company, by whom his talent and energy were recognized. Returning to the farm in 1869, he became interested in his father's agricultural and live-stock business, which he has conducted since that time. On the death of his father he inherited valuable property, a fraction of what he now owns, and to-day he is the most extensive farmer in Fitchville township, a heavy stock man, president of the Greenwich Banking Company, a director in the New London National Bank, and a stockholder in other projects. On March 27,1879, Mr. Knapp married Philona Kirkpatrick, a native of Troy township, Ashland Co., Ohio, and daughter of William Kirkpatrick, of that county. By this union there were four children: Pearl Knapp, born June 26, 1881; J. D. Knapp, born March 5, 1883; Harley B. Knapp, born November 23, 1886; W. A. Knapp, born December 6, 1889, died June 21, 1892. The mother of this family was called from earth July 29, 1892. Mr. Knapp is a Republican, taking more than ordinary interest in the party of progress, but is not a politician, his agricultural and banking interests demanding and receiving his close personal attention. Though liberally endowed by his father, he may, in a measure, be called the architect of his own fortune; for, since he abandoned the telegraph service, he has given his lands and other interests his undivided time, labor and study. FRANK HACHENBERG, contractor and builder, Bellevue, was born April 27, 1847, in Snyder county, Penn., a son of Samuel and Ellen (Bilcher) Hachenberg, also natives of Pennsylvania. He is one of a family of eleven children-five sons and six daughters—ten of whom are yet living, the only death being that of the second eldest who passed away at the age of fifty-six years; and only twice has a physician been called upon to render aid to this large family. The parents now reside in Elkhart county, Indiana. Frank Hachenberg came to Ohio with his parents about 1860, and one year later moved to Michigan, where he remained five years, thence proceeding to Indiana, where he learned the carpenter's trade, At the age of twenty-three years he settled at Bellevue, Huron county, and worked at his trade by the day for five years. Since 1876 he has given his attention to contracting and building, and to him must be credited some of the finest residence buildings in Bellevue. In the fall and winter of 1892 he erected four houses here, one of which is the finest in the city. In all this work Mr. Hachenberg has given direct employment to a number of skilled workmen, and he has satisfied the owners in observing specifications. Mr. Hachenberg was married July 4, 1872, to Miss Lydia Kreisher, and to this marriage have come six children, namely: William, Carrie, Gertrude, Edith, Bertha and Edwin. Politically he is an ardent 372 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. Republican, and a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, a Society which rendered much aid to the Republican party in 1892. He is also a member of the I. 0. 0. V. and of the K. of P., and in religious faith he is a member the Methodist Episcopal Church, in all of which he is an active worker. As a carpenter and builder he is well known, not only in Bellevue, but throughout the neighboring country. VICKERY BROS., well-known lawyers of Bellevue, command an extensive practice not only on account of their abilities and personal claims, but also on account of their location, which, at the corners of four counties, Huron, Seneca, Erie and Sandusky, is in the midst of one of the most prosperous agricultural districts in the country. Willis and Jesse Vickery are the sons of William and Sarah (Perkins) Vickery, who came to Bellevue from England in 1857. Willis Vickery, senior member of the firm, was born in 1857, at Bellevue, received a primary education in the country schools near there, and subsequently studied in the Clyde High School, graduating with first honors in 1880. He then entered Boston University, and later was enrolled as a student in the law school of that institution, graduating in the latter course in 1884, receiving the degree of L L. B. In 1885, in partnership with his brother Jesse, he established a law office at Bellevue, where he has since continued in the active practice of his profession. Willis Vickery was married September 23, 1884, in Clyde, to Miss Anna L. Snyder, and to this union three children have been born: Lucile, Melville and Howard L. Mr. Vickery is a charter member of Alta Lodge No. 206, Knights of Pythias, Bellevue; representative in the Grand Lodge of Ohio; a member of the committee on law and supervision of the Order. A Republican in politics, he is a member of the Executive Committee of Sandusky county, and is valued highly in the councils of his party. Jesse Vickery was born in 1859, in Groton township, Erie county, Ohio. Like his brother, he received his early education in the local schools, later studied in the Western Reserve Academy, and then entered the University of Michigan, graduating with the law class of '84. Returning to Bellevue, he was admitted to the bar of Ohio, and, in partnership with his brother Willis, established the law firm of Vickery Bros. in 1885. On August 7, 1890, he was married to Miss Bettie Haas, and to this marriage has come one child, Gordon H. Politically Mr. Vickery is a Republican, and is a representative of that party on the board of Deputy Election Supervisors of Sandusky county, he having served as Chief Deputy of the board, which position he still occupies. Both these brothers are popular in law as well as in social circles, and have built up a lucrative business, their clientage in Huron, Sandusky, Erie and Seneca counties being large and influential. Willis Vickery is attorney for Bellevue city. The young lawyers are men of fine legal attainments, physically and mentally strong, and are working steadily onward to take a first place among the legal lights of the State of Ohio. Both are close students, and keep well abreast with the current events and literature of the day. Both have excellent private libraries, being large and well selected. THEODORE C. LAYLIN, ranking among the most prominent and influential citizens of Norwalk township, is one of the only two surviving sons of John Laylin (a pioneer of the " Firelands "), the other being Hon. Lewis C. Laylin. Our subject was born in 1841 on the farm in Norwalk township, Huron county, where Mr. A. D. Clapp now resides. He HURON COUNTY, OHIO - 373 was here reared to manhood, attending the anion schools of Norwalk, at the same time being trained to both the theoretical and practical phases of agriculture. At the age of twenty-two he was united in marriage with Miss Martha E. Alling, of Norwalk, a daughter of Pruden Alling, a farmer of the same township, and three children have been born to them, to wit: John, city engineer of Norwalk, Ohio, and who, considering his age, has already won for himself quite a reputation; Elizabeth G., married to Dudley T. French and living in Brownhelm, Ohio; and David T., assisting his father on the farm. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Laylin came to his present farm, covering one hundred acres of land, the greater part of which is the result of his own industry and enterprise; he also owns a feed mill which is situated on his farm. In addition to his regular vocation as an agriculturist he taught school in the neighborhood for eight winters. Politically he has always been a straight Republican, and filled the office of assessor two years, and township trustee three years. He is the owner of a very fine piece of property, on which there is an artificial lake constructed by his son John as a trial of his engineering skill. REV. FREDERICK RUPERT, present pastor of the Immaculate Conception congregation of Bellevue, was born November 21, 1849, at Massillon, Ohio. He received his elementary education in the parochial and public schools of his native town. In Autumn, 1868, he entered St. Louis College, Louisville, Ohio, where he devoted about five years to the study of Greek and Latin classics, and higher mathematics. In September, 1873, he was appointed to a professorship in Assumption College, Ontario, Canada. This he resigned in September, 1876, when he entered St. Mary's Theological Seminary, Cleveland, Ohio, and on July 5, 1879, received ordination at the hands of Rt. Rev. Bishop Gilmour. Since then he has rendered pastoral service in the Cleveland Diocese. His first appointment was Antwerp and mission, which he held till April 1, 1881, when he was transferred to Shelby and mission. In July, 1882, he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's congregation, Maumee, Ohio, and in April, 1885, was transferred to Bellevue, Ohio, as pastor of Immaculate Conception congregation. The history of the congregation may be said to date back to 1833, when Father Francis Xavier Tschenhens, C. P. P. S., visited the Catholic families in the territory of which Bellevue is now the center, Afterward Fathers Allig and Mahlebouf, and other missioners, came among the people, prior to 1844, when the Very Rev. Sales Brunner laid the humble foundations of the great church in Thompson township, Seneca county. From 1844 to 1859 the people of Bellevue were compelled to attend some neighboring church. In 1859 Rev. J. Poncheil, who was then stationed at Holy Angels Church, Sandusky, was instructed by the bishop to hold services at Bellevue at stated times. On May 11 of that year, a paint-warehouse and the ground on which it stood were purchased from J. B. Higbee for five hundred dollars. The house was fitted up for church pm,- poses, and answered therefor until 1884, when the new church building was completed. In December, 1860, Rev. J. Quinn came to administer the new parish, but remained only two months, and in April, 1861, Rev. James Monahan was appointed the first resident pastor. He purchased, on July 18, 1863, for one thousand and one hundred dollars, a house and three lots, which he had im- proved at once for the purpose of a pastoral residence. In July, 1866, he was trans- ferred, and in September of that year Rev. T. M. Mahony was appointed pastor. In 1867 the school was established, and .the parish was in a flourishing condition in 374 - HURON COUNTY, OHIO. August, 1871, when Rev. E. Mears assumed charge. On January 20, 1873, Father Mears purchased two lots near the .business center for one thousand and eight hundred dollars, and entertained the idea of erecting a new church. His transfer to Crestline, Ohio, in April, 1874, delayed the project, and for the ensuing two years Bellevue parish was in charge of Rev. J. D. Bowles, who also attended Clyde, from which he had been transferred. In July, 1876, Rev. J. Molloy was appointed pastor and remained until the arrival of Rev. W. J. Gibbons, who administered the parish until 1880, when, owing to feeble health, he retired and traveled in Europe, Rev. J. T. Cahill taking his place. In November of that year the secretary of the diocese, Rev. George T. Houck, visited the parish occasionally, but Father Cahill continued pastor, and in October, 1881, work on the foundations of the present building was begun under his supervision. On his return from Europe Father Gibbons resumed his pastorate at Bellevue, and on July 9, 1882, the corner stone of the new building was placed. In the fall of 1882 he purchased a lot, west of and adjoining the lots on which the new structure stands, for six hundred dollars, and thither the pastoral residence was moved. At this time the lots purchased by Rev. Mr. Monahan were sold for two thousand dollars, the sum going far to complete the new church. The blessing of the new church was carried out August 3, 1884, by the Bishop of Cleveland, many priests from this section of Ohio, and a great number of people, being present. The priest, to whose earnest labors the congregation owe this elegant building, died April 1, 1885, and on April 6 his remains were interred at Cleveland. Father Rupert assumed charge of the parish April 16, 1885. The school was placed by him in charge of the Sisters of St. Francis, who came from Tiffin, Ohio, and began teaching here September 1, 1885. In November of the same year a house and lot, opposite the church, were purchased at a cost of eleven hundred dollars, and fitted up as a residence for the sisters. On February 2, 1887, the congregation purchased the public-school property, in the rear of the new church, for one thousand, three hundred and twenty-live dollars. A further sum of nine hundred dollars was expended in repairing the old school building, and it was ready to receive pupils September 1, 1887. There are three rooms here devoted to classes, and one to music. Within, it shows the neatness which exemplifies the life of the community of teachers; without, the grounds are well ordered. The church and school buildings tell of care and taste, within and without, and the tout en8emble is one of the prettiest in the pretty town of Bellevue. The stone steps, leading from the ground level to portico level, and extending along the whole front of the church, were constructed in October and November, 1887, at a cost of three hun- dred and seventy dollars. This improvement, with the lavatory and sacrarium, practically completes the building. The debt of five hundred dollars which was due on all this property in 1887 was a nominal one, and is now paid. Even the library of the Reading Society is paid for, the members, fifty-two in number, taking special care to avoid debt. A decade's work was finished in 1890, and on August 27 of that year, Father Rupert retired temporarily, to renew academic days, this time entering the great University at Washington, D. C. During his absence Fathers P. W. Schirack, C. P. P. S., and W. J. Smith, of the Order of Fathers of Mercy, attended to parish affairs. On January 20, 1891,Father Rupert returned and resumed the duties of pastor. The number of the congregation varies slightly. Dull times at Bellevue, which fortunately are rare, reduce the number, but taking the decade just passed, the increase has been marked indeed. Financially the congregation holds an enviable