HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 825 merce of Lima, of which he is vice president, and the other is the Young Men's Christian Association, in which for many years he has taken an active part. H. C. Fox has had a prominent part in the commercial and civic. activities of Coldwater, Mercer County, for thirty years or more. He was a delegate to the last constitutional convention of Ohio, is a recognized leader in democratic politics in his part of .the state, has been in the general merchandise business for years, is president of the People's Bank of Coldwater, president of the Fox & Hess Company, dealers in flour, grain, feed, etc., and since his appointment in 1916 has served as postmaster of Coldwater. These varied relations show his prominence as a citizen and the sterling success which has followed his long continued efforts as a business man. Mr. Fox is a native of Mercer County, Ohio, where he was born April 26, 1860, a son of Mathias and Barbara (Weigel) Fox. He is of German parentage. Mathias Fox was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1819, grew. up as a farmer boy and with a substantial Prussian education, and at the age of nineteen accompanied his parents to the United States. The family first moved to Seneca County, Ohio. soon afterward in Seneca County Mathias Fox met and married Barbara Weigel. She was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1826, and when eleven years of age came with her parents to America. first locating in Toledo and afterwards in Seneca County. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mathias Fox lived for six or eight years in Seneca' County, and then moved to the western part of Mercer County. In 1868 they went still further west to Jay County, Indiana, where the parents spent the rest of their worthy lives. They had eleven children, and the six now living are: John, of Coldwater, Ohio; Sophia, wife of Charles Hess, a business partner of Mr. Fox: H. C. Fox ; Joseph, of Cincinnati ; Benjamin, of Dayton, and Charles, of Indianapolis. Indiana. H. C. Fox was eight years of age when his parents removed to Jay County, Indiana. They located on a farm in Wabash Township, and that was his early environment until he reached the age of nineteen. While attending the public schools he had an ambition for a higher education, and at the age of nineteen he entered the Ohio Northern University at Ada. where he took the normal course and obtained a certificate to teach. Removing to Coldwater, in his native county, he was actively connected with the public schools for nine years, and during this time attended Holbrooks Normal school at Lebanon, Ohio. He was as successful and energetic in educational work as he had subsequently been in business affairs. On April 9, 1889, Mr. Fox opened a. general store, which has been one of the strong business assets of Coldwater for upwards of thirty years. From merchandising his interests gradually extended, and some years later he and his associate, H. B. Hoffman, and A. Rathweg, established a private bank. Later Mr. Fox bought the Rathweg interests and in 1905 incorporated the bank under the state laws, and Mr. Fox has since then been president of the People's Bank, one 'of the solid financial institutions of Mercer Comity.. On November 19, 1885, Mr. Fox married Rosa. Schockmann, daughter of Henry and Barbara Schockmann. Mrs. Schockmann was born in Mercer County, .Ohio, of German extraction, while her husband! was a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Fox may properly take pride in their fine family of nine children, some of whom are already well established in homes of their own and in useful occupations. Nora is the .wife .of W. O. Borman of Celina. Urban L. is state examiner of city offices. Leo M. is Superior Court reporter at Elkhart, Indiana. Frances is the wife of Christ Heiser of Coldwater, Ohio, and they have a son, Elmer James. Anna is assistant postmaster at Coldwater under her father. Agnes, Henry Paul, Raymond and Cyrillus are the younger children, all still at home, and the three younger ones still in school. In religion Mr. Fox is a Catholic and is affiliated with Council No. 1800 of the Knights of Columbus at Celina and of Commandery No. 289 of the Knights of St. John at Coldwater. Politically he has always been a stalwart worker in democratic ranks. At Coldwater he has held nearly every office within the gift of the people. He has been mayor, councilman, clerk during the past twenty years, and was elected as Mercer County's delegate to the fourth constitutional convention of Ohio, and had an important part in shaping the organic laws of the state at that time. In 1912 he was democratic delegate from his district to the national convention at Baltimore, and has been delegate to numerous county, district and state conventions of his party. 826 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO MATHIAS A. WAGNER, M. D., was born at Sidney, Ohio, September 5, 1888, a son of William H. and Ina M. (Graber) Wagner. His father was born at Sidney, Ohio, in 1854, and was married at Findlay, where his wife was born in 1863. She died in 1912. William H. Wagner is president of the Wagner Manufacturing Company, manufacturing aluminum and iron cooking utensils. It, is a large plant and the goods have a growing popularity and are shipped all over the United States. Mr. Wagner has been in this business for twenty-five years. He is a member of the Catholic Church, as was his wife, and belongs to the Knights of Columbus. They had six children, and the five now living are : Doctor Wagner; Marcell, a priest at Springfield, Ohio ; Alfred, attending the University at Washington, D. C. ; Richard, in school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Rose Evelyn, still at home. Doctor Wagner attended the parochial schools, the Sidney High School, St. Marys College at Dayton and began his medical studies in the medical department of St. Louis University. He took his degree in medicine from that institution in 1912. He also had the advantages of hospital clinics and regular instruction at Pittsburg for one year and spent six months in New York. He practiced and studied at St. Louis for two years and had unusual opportunities for hospital experience, and while in that city was an assistant to Dr. Percy H. Suahlen, one of the most noted of American surgeons. In April, 1915, Doctor Wagner .came to Lima, and while he has devoted himself to a general practice, he is working gradually into surgery, which is his special field. He is a member of the Missouri State and the Ohio State Medical societies. Doctor Wagner was married October 9, 1916, to Miss Stella Cable of Sandusky, Ohio. Her father, Frank Cable, was an extensive owner of real estate in that city. Doctor and Mrs. Wagner are members of the Catholic Church, and he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and. Protective Order of Elks and the Lima Club. FRED HEHMEYER is a splendid example of the German thrift and intelligence that has permeated in so large a degree the agricultural district in Northwestern Ohio and has been the means of improvement and development in many prosperous sections and has contributed so much to the sterling citizenship of this state. Mr. Hehmeyer worked for all he got in the world, and his success is now represented by the fine farm on which he lived in Washington Township of Mercer County and also by various business interests at Coldwater, from which town he receives his daily mail over rural route No. 2. He was born in Germany, April 10, 1859, a son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Knippenberg) Hehmeyer. Both parents spent all their lives in Germany. They had five children : Clara, who is still living in Germany, the widow of William Tordenbear ; Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Brush of Dayton, Ohio; Fred; Mary, who is married and lives in Germany ; Clemonds, who was a German farmer and is now deceased. After the death of Frederick Hehmeyer his widow married a second time, and had three children by that union. Henry and Anna are both living in the United States, Henry being a merchant at Dayton, and his sister residing at Ashland, Ohio. During his youth in Germany the virtues of thrift and industry were inculcated in Fred Hehmeyer. During the first twenty years of his life he lived at home, attended school, and was then enrolled in the German army, where he served a regular term of three years. After being honorably discharged he remained on his father's place only a short time until he set out for America. Landing in New York City, April 14, 1884, a poor and almost friendless youth, he went direct to Dayton, Ohio, and was employed there for a few days as a teamster. In May, 1884, he arrived at Celina, and here he accepted the first honorable employment that was offered him. For a time he worked on the farm of Frank Winker. While there he became acquainted with Christina Winker, and the acquaintance ripened into a lasting affection, culminating in their marriage on February 23, 1883. Mrs. Hehmeyer was born at New Bremen, in Auglaize County, Ohio, June 20, 1861, .a daughter of Frank and Charlotte (Farwick) Winker, both of whom were born in Hanover, Germany, where they were married. Mr. and Mrs. Winker emigrated to the United States in 1854, locating first in Auglaize County, and later in Washington Township of Mercer County. There were six children, four daughters and two sons, in the Winker family, and the four now living are : Henrietta Farwick, of Mercer County; Henry Winker, of Coldwater ; Christina, Mrs: Fred Hehmeyer ; Charles Winker, who lives on the old homestead. . After his marriage Mr. Fred Hehmeyer HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 827 located on the farm in Washington Township 4 ½ miles northwest of Coldwater, which has been the scene of his subsequent succcessful endeavors. There he has 225 acres, and besides general farming he is well known as a stock raiser, having a fine herd of polled Durham cattle, headed by Scottish Chief No. 13095. Mr. Hehmeyer is also one of the directors of the People's Banking. Company of Coldwater and owns a third interest in the elevator at Coldwater. For many years Mr. Fred Hehmeyer has been one of the leading men in the Lutheran Church at Coldwater, helped found it and put up its first edifice, and is one of its elders. He is a democrat in politics. Mrs. Hehmeyer's father, Fred Winker, was for three years a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and was captain of his company. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hehmeyer have been blessed with a fine family of children, ten in number : Carl F. ; Caroline, wife of R. G. Weinert of Coldwater; Otilda, wife of Fred Rasawehr ; George, of Dayton, Ohio; and Ida, Henry, John, Emma, Anna and Elsie. Carl F. Hehmeyer, oldest son of Fred Hehmeyer, is one of Coldwater's leading business men and is active manager and one of the proprietors of the Coldwater Grain and Coal Company. He was born on his father's farm in Washington Township of Mercer County, April 26, 1885. His life up to the age of twenty-one was spent on the farm, and in the meantime he secured a training in the district schools.. .His first business experience was one year in a grocery house at Dayton, Ohio, and after that 'he followed different lines of employment until 1907. He then acquired the business with which his name is now chiefly associated, the business and the elevator being owned jointly by his father, Fred Hehmeyer, Carl F. Hehmeyer and R. G. Weinert, each having a third interest. The active management of the entire business is in the hands of Carl F. Hehmeyer. On January 8, 1907, Carl Hehmeyer married Tilla Weinert. They are the parents of three children : Helen, Albert and Alvena. This family are active members of the Lutheran Church at Celina and Carl is a democrat. T. R. TERWILLEGER, M. D. Thirty years ago, soon after getting his degree in a medical college, Doctor Terwilleger arrived in Lima. He did not possess the advantage of acquaintance with a single person in the city, and relied entirely for success upon his individual ability to render a skillful service as a physician and surgeon. There may have been days in the next year or two when Doctor Terwilleger felt that recognition was not being paid his earnestness and ability, but now for many, years his reputation has been thoroughly established, and in point of attainments he is one of the leading physicians of Northwest Ohio. He was born at New Richmond, in Clermont County, Ohio, June 29, 1860, a son of John and Elizabeth (McDonald) Terwilleger. The Terwillegers are of German ancestry. His grandfather, Abraham Terwilleger, was also a native of Ohio and a farmer. The maternal grandfather, William McDonald, was born in Clermont County, Ohio, was a school teacher by profession, also a farmer, and he met death by drowning one morning while on the way to his school. His wife came from New Jersey. Doctor Terwilleger's father was born in Clermont County, Ohio, in 1830, and died in 1892, and his wife was born in the same county February. 10, 1833, and died in 1914. John Terwilleger spent his active career as a farmer. However, in 1849, when a youth of nineteen, he, went out to California, being a partner with John Thompson and John Ritchie. He spent seven years in the Far West, and during that time mined, operated a pack train, and also owned a farm and a large hotel. By these various enterprises he gained what he then considered .a fortune, and returning invested it in an Ohio farm, on which he spent the rest of his life. He was a democrat in politics, was honored with various township offices, and both he and his wife were active in the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had only two children, the older being Alma T., who now lives at Lebanon, Ohio, widow of the late James McColm, who was a minister of the Methodist Church and died December 11, 1916. Doctor Terwilleger spent his youth on a farm. He supplemented the advantages given him by the district schools by the regular literary course in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, where he graduated in 1884. Then entering the Ohio Medical College he completed his course in 1887 and had six months of preliminary practice in his native town of New Richmond. Doctor Terwilleger came to Lima in 1888. For thirteen years he served as county physician, and for a number of years was physician to the city and county jail. Doctor Terwilleger has never looked upon his work 828 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO as a trade or means of livelihood, but as an opportunity for service, and he has sought every means of advancing his own knowledge and skill. In 1907 he went abroad and attended clinics in the famous medical centers of Leipsic and Vienna, and for six months was a registered student in the Friedrich Wilhelm University at Berlin. He was especially benefited by, his close association with the noted Prof. D. Duhrssen, and became assistant to that great surgeon in his private hospital. He had the distinction of being the first American physician to be accepted in that capacity by Prof. D. Duhrssen. While in Berlin he was a member of the Anglo-American Medical Association, and at a meeting of its members he was called upon to respond to a speech made by Prof. D. Duhrssen. Doctor Terwilleger has also' attended many clinics in American hospitals, in New York, Philadelphia and Rochester, Minnesota. Much of his time has been taken up in later years in the practice of surgery. He is a member of the Allen County, Ohio State, Northwestern Ohio Medical societies and the American Medical Association, and has served as president and secretary of the Allen County Society. Doctor Terwilleger was married November 5, 1891, to Miss Elizabeth Davis. Mrs. Terwilleger was born at Columbus, Ohio, daughter of William Davis, a lumberman in that city.' Both are active workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a trustee Of the Trinity Church and has filled that post for a number of years. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar and Scottish Rite Mason, and belongs to the Mystic Shrine. Politically he is a democrat. Doctor Terwilleger has been president of the Lima Board of Education since 1915. He is also a member of the United States Pension Board and has been its president during the past four years. J. W. POGUE. One of Northwest Ohio's educators, a man of thorough scholarship and high ideals, who has given all the active years of his life to his profession, Mr. J. W. Pogue has been actively identified with the public schools of Celina for the pad eleven years, seven years as principal of the high school and four years as superintendent of the 'city school system. He is a native of Ohio, born at Fletcher, in Miami County, December 11, 1876. His parents were Cyrus and Caroline (Covault) Pogue. His father was born near Bellbrook, in Greene County, Ohio, in 1840, spent his early life in that community, but when a young man, yet unmarried, moved to Fletcher. He is one of the honored veterans of the Civil war, having enlisted in the Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry and serving the entire period of hostilities. He came out with the rank of corporal. By occupation he followed farming for upwards of half a century, but for the last few years has lived retired and he and his wife now make their home in Fletcher. He is an active member of the Grand Army Post and of the Christian Church, and though a democratic voter, has 'seldom been interested in partisan politics. His wife was born near Fletcher in 1850. They are the parents of three living children : John Franklin of Fletcher; Mr. J. W. Pogue, and Harley, a farmer south of Fletcher. Some time in the course of his formative years Mr. J. W. Pogue determined to become a teacher, and having once followed that work has made it his regular profession since reaching manhood. He gained his early education while living on a farm and in the country schools. Later he attended the high school at Fletcher, and with that preparation had an experience of three years as a country schoolmaster. From the first realizing the need of a better education, he converted all his early earnings into capital necessary to complete a college course. He entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, where he remained two years. During the following four years he was superintendent of the schools at Fletcher, when he returned and completed his course at Delaware and received his degree from the Ohio Wesleyan in 1906. In 1905 he was elected principal of the high school at Celina and remained in that capacity for seven years, until in 1912 he was made superintendent of the city schools. In the course of the past eleven years he has done much to build up the public school system and for his work at Celina is widely known to the educators of Northwest Ohio. Mr. Pogue is also a stockholder in and vice president of the Celina Chautauqua Association. He married Miss Mollie Hathaway, daughter of George and Ann (Raish) Hathaway,. They are the parents of one son, Owen H., now attending school in Celina. The family are 1 members of the Christian Church and in politics Mr. Pogue is a democrat. OWEN FRANCIS. Among the men of note in any community there are some who attain distinction in one particular field of activity HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 829 only, while others show a versatility of talent which makes them useful to their fellowmen in various ways. To the latter class belongs Owen Francis of Lima, who when a young man rendered a service to his country as a Union soldier which entitles him to the lasting ,gratitude of his fellow citizens, and who has since carved out, by his own efforts, a prominent place as a merchant, financier and business man of Lima. Mr. Francis is now and has been for more than twenty-five years president of the Citizens Loan & Building Company of Lima. To be the head of this institution is in itself a great distinction. The Citizens Loan & Building Company is the oldest and strongest concern of its kind in Northwest Ohio outside of Toledo. It has been in existence thirty-five years, and while its strength and resources have been steadily conserved and have been growing constantly from the start, the service it has rendered during all these years is the feature of its history in which the stockholders and officers take special pride. This company has done more than any individual or any other institution in Allen County to promote thrift and to enable people of moderate means to secure and build for themselves homes. The careful and conservative management of the company has been due not only to the excellent laws under which it is chartered but also to the broad wisdom and financial ability of the officers and directors. On April 1, 1882, when the company had been in existence about a year, its total resources aggregated a little more than $12,000. Five years later the resources had passed the $100,000 mark, and in January, 1908, the resources aggregated over $1,000,000. The progress and strength and reliability have been even more notable in the past ten years. On January 1, 1917, the total resources of the company were $2,399,675.44. The company now has outstanding loans and mortgage securities amounting to over $2,000,000. It also maintains a large surplus and' reserve fund, and in all the years of its existence the company was never in a more nearly impregnable financial position than at the present time. Besides Owen Francis as president, Louis Koch is first vice president, John Black second vice president, and L. A. Feltz is secretary. The officers and directors are all prominent and influential citizens of Allen County. For a man who began life without fortune and with only his own ambition and willingness to serve and work, Owen Francis has had an unusual career. He was born in Wales January 18, 1841, a son of Ellis and Catherine (Jones) Francis. His father was born in 1801 and died about 1874, and the mother was born in 1820 and died in 1893. They were married in Wales, their children were born in the old country, and finally seeking the better opportunities of the New World they came to America and located in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, in 1852. In 1855 the family came to Ohio, locating in Putnam County, where Ellis Francis bought a farm. After selling his land in Putnam County he moved into Allen County and bought the farm on which he lived the rest of his days: He, too, had begun life poor and in comparative obscurity, but was a man of considerable substance and at the time. of his death. He was a republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Congregational Church. The first year Ellis Francis lived in Pennsylvania he went into the woods and cut cord wood at 50 cents per cord. It took many days of hard work to pay for a barrel of flour at the then .prevailing price of $13 a barrel. Compared with the high mark of flour in the era of high prices now prevailing it would seem that most of our complaints are hardly justified. Ellis Francis and wife had eight children. The four now living are : Owen ; Mrs. Susan F. Jones, mentioned elsewhere in this publication ; Jane, who for many years taught school and is now living retired at Chicago; and Catherine, wife of William R. Jones, living on a farm near Gomer in Allen County. Owen Francis had a very limited education when a boy. He was eleven years of age when he was brought to this country, and in Wales and in America he had opportunity to attend school only a few weeks each winter. The summer seasons were spent in the labor of the farm. He lived at home until 1861. He was twenty years of age when the war broke out, and he was one of those who responded to the first call for volunteers. He went into the three months' service as a member of Company E, Twenty-first Ohio Infantry. This early service did not call him to any special post of danger, and after his discharge he re-enlisted September 2, 1861, for a service of three years. This second enlistment placed him in Company A of the Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was with that regiment in many of its important engagements. He was made a corporal, then sergeant, then 830 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO sergeant-major, second lieutenant and first lieutenant, and was recommended for a captain's commission. About that time he was captured and never received the rank of captain. He was slightly wounded on June 27, 1864, at Kenesaw Mountain, but the wound did not keep him from active service. He went with Sherman on the march to the sea, and during that march had charge of the foraging party. It will be recalled that Sherman on leaving Atlanta cut loose from his base Of supplies and depended entirely upon the country through which his army marched for the food and provisions. From Savannah the army went north through the Carolinas, and on March 12, 1865, the troops with which Mr. Francis was connected got into the sand hills of North Carolina. There he and his command. became ,detached from the main body, and a regiment of. Rebel cavalry captured them. They were first taken to Bennettsville, South Carolina, and kept in jail there three weeks. The -next removal was to Salisbury, North Carolina, but when General Stoneman moved up to that town the prisoners were hidden in the woods and remained without shelter and enduring practically a daily downpour of rain every day for five weeks. It was a terrible experience. Mr. Francis weighed 185 pounds when he was captured, and when paroled on May 8th his weight was reduced to 120 pounds. He and his comrades were paroled near Augusta, Georgia, soon went to Savannah, and from there to Annapolis, Maryland, and thence home. Few men saw a harder and more varied experience as a Union soldier than this veteran business man of Lima. He is an active member of the military order of the Loyal Legion and belongs to the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. Returning home much broken in health, Mr. Francis found employment at farm labor for a couple of years. He then became clerk in a dry goods store. One day he was called to Lima to serve on the petit jury. During that service he took a special fancy for the town, and being offered a position as a dry goods salesman he remained and Lima has been his home now for over forty-five years. He came to Lima in 1870 and continued working for others until 1882. In that year he engaged in the shoe -business for himself, and invested the modest capital which he had been able to save from his earnings. Mr. Francis was a shoe merchant at Lima until 1890. He had become interested in the Citizens Loan & Building Company, and since 1890 has served as president of the company. On November 6, 1873, he married Annie J. Lewis. Mrs. Francis is also a native of Wales, a daughter of Richard and Ann Lewis, who were natives of Wales and came to the United States in 1853, locating at Delaware, Ohio, where they spent the .remainder of their lives. Mrs. Francis 'was born March 12, 1842, and was eleven years- of age when she came to the United States, and when fourteen she began teaching in Delaware city schools and also in district schools in the county. She continued teaching until her marriage on November 6, 1873. They were the parents of four children. The second child, Richard Ellis. Francis, was born in 1875 and died in 1879. The other three are still living. Nannie is the wife of Dr. W. 0. McBride, a specialist in the treatment of the eye, ear and throat at Fort Wayne, Indiana. Edna, the- other daughter, is still at home. Hugh Lewis Francis is a dealer in electrical supplies in Kansas City, Missouri. He married Miss Jessamine Lloyd of Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Francis are members of the Episcopal Church, and Mrs. Francis is especially active in its affairs. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. A republican, he has always been interested in local affairs, and his civic life has been in keeping with the spirit of service which prompted him to give four years in defense of the Union when he was a young man. He has served on the .city council of Lima and for eight years was trustee of the Childrens Home. He is the owner of some city property, but his chief thought and attention for many years have been directed to the building and loan company. REV. JOHN A. TENNISSEN has been an effective worker in the Toledo Diocese of the Catholic Church twenty-three years, and is now the beloved pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church at Clyde. Father Tennissen is a man of culture as well as executive ability, and so far as can be said of any man is self educated. He was born in Holland in February, 1854, a son of Adrian and Catherine (Bos) Tennissen and grandson of Anthony Tennissen. The parents spent all their lives in Holland. His father was a boatman, a navigator and boat owner, and operated his boats on the rivers and canals of Holland. He and his wife had HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 831 fifteen children, ten still living, and three in the United States. Besides Father Tennissen those in the United States are James, a blacksmith living at Calida in Putnam County, Ohio ; and Anthony, a car inspector at Altoona, Pennsylvania. Father Tennissen until he was fourteen years of age lived almost entirely on his father's boats. He had no regular school instruction during that time, though he picked up considerable knowledge from people about him and in the study of such books as came into his hands. For a time he followed contract work, and he also spent a period in the regular army, one month in the infantry, one month in the cavalry, and five months in the navy. His tastes and inclinations were intellectual and he finally secured the opportunity which he had long craved for a liberal education and a preparation for the work of the priest. For five years Father Tennissen pursued his studies in the gymnasium at Megen on the banks of. the River Maas in Holland. For his philosophical and theological studies he entered a seminary at London, England, and remained there five years. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1885 and in the same year came to the United States. His first church was in Baltimore, where he was assistant pastor four years. He then spent six months in the City of London, and on returning to America was for two years working among the coal mines in the diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After some, special post-graduate work in the Catholic University of America at Washington, District of Columbia, Father Tennissen came to Ohio in 1894 and for three months was connected with St. Francis De Sales Church at Toledo and three months at Randolph in Portage County. He finally took the pastorate of the church at Holgate in Henry County, where he remained for nineteen years looking after the church in parts of six counties. Father Tennissen after leaving Holgate spent two years in the church at Oak Harbor and then removed to Clyde in 1915. St. Mary's Catholic Church at Clyde is a congregation consisting of 117 families. Father Tennissen before taking up the study for the priesthood was a student of medicine one year at the famous University of Leyden in Holland. JOHN S. O'CONNOR made his mark in business affairs of Lima as a successful insurance man, and through that business and as a pri vate citizen he contributed years of loyal and effective work to his community. He was born at Lima September 16, 1859. His father, John O'Connor, was long a prominent citizen of Lima, a native of County Limerick, Ireland, where he was born November 27, 1835, and had come to America in 1847. For a number of years he was a mechanic and foreman in the shops of the Cincinnati, Ham- ilton and. Dayton Railway at Lima, but in 1865 he engaged in the insurance business, establishing a general agency which is still in flourishing existence and is one of the largest in Northwest Ohio. John O'Connor finally took in his sons as partners, the name became John O'Connor Sons Company, and after his death in 1900 the business was conducted as O'Connor Brothers Company. John 0 'Connor was also prominent in local affairs, at one time was president of the city council,. was a charter member of the Lima Club and active in the St. Rose Catholic Church. He was married at Lima May 29, 1858, to Sarah O'Connell, a native of Allen County, Ohio. They had a numerous family of children and some of them have .been mentioned on other pages, since it is one of the notable families of Northwest Ohio. John S. O'Connor, oldest child of his parents, grew up in Lima, attended the local schools, and was only about fourteen years of age when he joined his father in the insurance business. He learned that business in all its details and had unusual natural qualifications for successful work in that line. He continued actively identified with the O'Connor Insurance Agency at Lima. until his death on March 21, 1904. He was not yet fifty years of age when he died and his death took away one of Lima's most useful citizens and in the prime of his career. He was a democrat, was exceedingly popular among .the citizens of Allen County, but was unwilling to become a candidate for any office. He was a lifelong member of St. Rose Catholic Church, and was also affiliated with the Knights of Columbus. On October 22, 1878, John S. O'Connor married Miss Bridget O'Neill. She was born in Canada, and came to Lima with her parents when she was a child. She was educated in the local schools: Mr. and Mrs. John S. O'Connor had thirteen children. Twelve are still living : Mary, wife of Warren F. Snyder ; John Henry; Mrs. Rose O'Connor; Mrs. Clara O'Brien ; Charles B. Patrick J. ; Anna E. ; Peter E. ; Mrs. Zita Gallagher; Beatrice ; Eu- 832 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO gene; James. Mrs. John S. 0 'Connor is still living and is esteemed for her devotion to the welfare of her family and her active work in St. Rose Church. John Henry O'Connor, son of the late John S. O'Connor, is junior member, of the law firm of O'Connor & O'Connor in Lima. He has been an active member of the local bar for nearly ten years, and is now serving as assistant prosecuting attorney of Allen County. He was born at Lima April 7, 1882, was educated in St. Rose parochial school, spent six years in St. Gregory College at Cincinnati, and took his law course in Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he was graduated LL. B. in June, 1906. Since that date he has been employed in a growing general practice at Lima. In January, 1915, he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney of Allen County. The firm of O'Connor & O'Connor have their law offices in the Holland Building. Mr. O'Connor is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Holy Name Society, . the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in politics. is a. democrat. GEORGE FELTZ of Lima has been making his own living since he was fifteen years of age. He came to Lima June 19, 1867. The time of his coming serves to recall an item of local municipal improvement, since at the time Main Street was just being graded. Mr. Feltz has been identified with many undertakings and enterprises in Lima during the past, half century. Through the sheer force of his will and energy he has gained a high position in financial. and business affairs in Northwest Ohio. Mr. Feltz was born in Seneca County, Ohio, March 18, 1843, and represents substantial German stock. His parents were Florenz and Margaret (Loeffler) Feltz. His father was born in Strassburg in the Province of Alsace, which was then a part of France but is now one of the best fortified cities of the German empire, and he served in the French army nine years. He was born in 1804 and died in 1890. He married his first wife at Strassburg, and not many years later, in 1840, brought his family to America, locating on a farm in Seneca County. He bought a small piece of land, but in 1850 sold out and removed to Mercer County, Ohio, where he cleared up a farm from the woods. The rest of his life was spent there es a substantial farmer, and though a man of quiet and unassuming disposition he made himself a .factor in the well-being of the community. At the time of his death he awned 120 acres of high class land. In politics he was a democrat, and he and both his wives were active members of the Catholic Church. By his first marriage there were two sons. The one now living is Florenz, who was a soldier in the Civil war and is now living at the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, Ohio. Florenz Feltz, Sr., married his second wife at Sandusky, Ohio. She was a native of Bavaria, Germany. By the second marriage there were also two children, Louis and George. Louis is a resident of Mercer County, Ohio, is a farmer; and is past seventy-five years of age. He is the father of sixteen children, all of whom are still living. Mr. George Feltz grew up on his father's farm in Mercer County, attended the district schools and also St. Mary's College at Dayton. With a good education he first took up school teaching as a vocation, and taught at Frysburg in Auglaize County and at Sidney in Shelby County. Altogether Mr. F'eltz put in about seven years of his youthful life as a teacher. On coming to Lima in 1867 he was at first in the insurance business with the veteran insurance man, John O'Connor. In 1872 Mr. Feltz organized the Mechanics Building & Loan Association. Following this he organized the third building and loan association, both on the terminable plan. Shortly after its charter had expired Mr. Feltz organized the Citizens Building & Loan Company. This company has had a successful and prosperous career for thirty-five years, and is now the oldest building and loan association in Northwest Ohio and the largest outside of the City of Toledo. Mr. Feltz served as secretary in these three associations for thirty years, when he was elected auditor and resigned from the building and loan association, his son L. A. becoming his successor and still so continues. In 1878 he entered still another field when he established the Lima Courier, a German paper, and continued as its editor and publisher for fourteen years, until he sold to its present owners. This was one of the first German papers in Northwestern Ohio, and has exercised a large influence among the German speaking people of this section of the state. The last important enterprise to which Mr. HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 833 Feltz has given his time and energy and to which he now devotes himself in an official capacity is the German-American Bank of Lima. This bank was organized in 1908, and Mr. Feltz has continuously served it as cashier. The German-American Bank is the successor of the old Commercial Bank. It is a strong institution, has among its officers and directors many of the most prominent business men of Allen County, and with its resources stands in the front rank of Lima banks. The bank has capital and surplus and undivided profits of nearly $130,000, while its deposits now aggregate more than $1,000,000. The principal officers are Henry Deisel, Sr., president ; William L. Mackenzie, vice president, and George Feltz, cashier. Mr. Feltz is also a director and treasurer in the Allen County Mausoleum Company, which has erected mausoleums in several states. He is also owner of considerable real estate in Lima, and through his long association with the building and loan business has done much to build up and make a better and greater city of Lima. Mr. Feltz is treasurer of the Allen County Historical Society. He and his wife are active members of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and he served the church as organist for twenty-five or thirty years. He also belongs to the Knights of Columbus and the Elks. Politically Mr. Feltz is a democrat, and from 1900 to 1906 he served as county auditor of Allen County. In 1864 he married Miss Elizabeth Holtgreve. Mrs. Feltz was born in Osnabrueck, Germany, and when three years of age was brought to America by her parents, who settled in Van Wert County, near Delphos, Ohio. She received a liberal education and before her marriage taught school at Delphos, Ohio, and also in Auglaize County. Mr. and Mrs. Feltz are the parents of four sons. L. A. Feltz, the oldest, was born at Sidney, Ohio, February 27, 1865, was educated in the parochial and public schools of Lima, and in Notre Dame College of Indiana, learned the trade, of printer and worked on the Lima Courier, afterward spent a short time in the shops of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, and for the past twenty-six years has given all his time to the Citizens Building & Loan Company, of which he has been secretary since 1900. He was married in 1905 to Mary Wilhelm, a native of Mercer County, Ohio, and a daughter of George Wilhelm. They have one daughter, Delphine, now eleven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Feltz are members of St. Rose Catholic Church, and he is a democrat and member of the Knights of Columbus. Albin G. Feltz, second son of George Feltz, is connected with the Citizens Building & Loan Company of Lima as assistant secretary. By his marriage to Elizabeth Taubken he has one son, Marvin, and two daughters, Leona and Marcella. Arthur C. Feltz, the third son, served twenty-one years in Lima banks, advancing during that time from messenger to assistant cashier, also served four years as deputy probate judge of Allen County, and is now credit man for the Deisel Department Store of Lima. He married Elnora Lawlor. Their four children are : Caelia, Ferdinand, George and Betty Joe. Otmar J., the youngest of the sons, died in October, 1916. He was manager of the dry goods department of a department store at Vincennes, Indiana. He married Miss Susan Mooney, of Binghamton, New York, and they had two children, Angela and Margaret. BLUFFTON COLLEGE AND MENNONITE SEMINARY. Of the many institutions in Northwestern Ohio that deserve special attention one is Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary at.Blufftan in Allen County. Under the present name the institution is comparatively new, having been established under the present title and board of management since January, 1914. However, it is the outgrowth of the older Central Mennonite College of Bluffton, which has a history of useful service and a long list of alumni and former students covering a period of twelve or thirteen years. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of this institution is that it is a standard college in the scholastic sense of that term, with faculty, endowment, buildings, and all the facilities required leading up to the generally recognized degrees of the bachelor and master grades. Furthermore, as now organized, the institution is recognized by and is officially a higher school of learning for the various branches of the Mennonite Church in America, including the Old Mennonite, General Conference of Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Central Illinois Conference of Mennonite, Defenseless Mennonite and any other branches of the church that may wish to cooperate and by appropriate formality may be received into the board of management. For the sake of permanent record an abstract of the history of this institution as 834 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO found in the college bulletin should be in-'eluded in this work. The old Central Mennonite College was founded by the Middle District Conference of Mennonites. The matter had been discussed for a number of years and the subject took definite shape as early as 1894. In the conference a committee to plan for such a school was appointed in 1896 and again in 1897, and in 1898 Bluffton was decided upon as the location for such a school and a board of nine trustees elected. In 1899 a constitution was adopted and the trustees authorized to erect necessary buildings and make preparations for opening the school. The cornerstone of the original building was laid June 19, 1900, and the building was dedi- cated October 31st of the same year. The school was opened November 5, 1900, with an enrollment of twenty students, but courses only in the academic, normal, music and commercial departments were given during the first year. The first college work was done in the winter of 1903 and the first course in the Bible school was opened in the fall of 1904. In 1911 a department of agriculture was established and also a department of art. The movement leading up to the present college organization was started by the leaders in educational work of the several branches. of the Mennonite Church. The subject was thoroughly considered in a meeting at the Hotel La Salle in Chicago in December, 1912. At that meeting a general agreement was reached that the success of the undertaking could be best accomplished by the co-operation of a number of branches of the church. The first formal meeting in the progress of the movement was held at Warsaw, Indiana, May 29, 1913. This was attended by representatives of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. the Defenseless Mennonite, the Central Illinois Conference of Mennonites, the Old Mennonites, and the General Conference Mennonites. The most important resolution of this meeting was as follows : "Resolved that it is the sense of this meeting that an institution be established, representing the various branches of the Mennonite Church, giving the under-graduate and the graduate work of a standard college (courses leading to the A. B. and A. M. degrees), the theological and Biblical work of a standard seminary, and courses in music aiming at the thorough development of the musical ability of our people and meeting. the needs of our churches." Also at that meeting a board of fifteen directors was appointed, three from each of the Mennonite bodies represented, and the board held its first meeting in Chicago on June 24, 1913. The first officers of the board elected were : J. F. Lehman of Berne, Indiana, president ; Rev. E. Troyer of Normal, Illinois, vice president ; and C. H. Smith of Goshen, Indiana, secretary. The first two are still serving, but the present secretary is J. A. Huffman and the treasurer is H. P. Ray. The board at its meeting in Chicago unanimously decided that the proposed school should be established in connection with Bluffton College at Bluffton, Ohio. The name adopted was Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary. Then on January 27, 1914, there occurred a joint meeting of the new board and the old board of the Central Mennonite College, at which time the Central Mennonite College was formally transferred and became the Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary. At that time, according to the report, property at an estimated value of almost $105,000 was turned over to the new institution, including about $50,000 in real estate and buildings. Since then other buildings have been added to the campus until in 1916 the value of such property is more than $100,000. The campus is located on the west side of Bluffton village, and comprises a tract of rolling land of thirty acres, covered in places with a natural forest of oak, elm, beech, buckeye, maple and other trees. The picturesque feature of the grounds is the little stream known as Riley Creek. Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary started with the equipment of the old Central College. The buildings comprised a college hall, a three-story building including the chapel; Science Hall, a four-story structure, devoted largely to agricultural, science laboratories and domestic science department; Rapp Hall is also a four-story building, the two upper floors being used as a woman's dormitory, the second floor as reception and other rooms, while the first floor and base, ment comprise the dining hall and kitchen. There is also a men's dormitory and music hall. Recently a gymnasium has been added to the college buildings at a cost of $5,000; also a heating plant for the college was installed at a cost of $20,000, and plans are now maturing for a boys' dormitory, which, when erected, will cost $35,000. A campaign has also been started for the raising of $500,000. The college property, including buildings and grounds, amounts to $125,000, besides which the college owns lands in different places to HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 835 the value of $125,000, making a total valuation of $250,000 for the institution. REV. SAMUEL. K. MOSIMAN, PR. D. When the old Central Mennonite College of Bluffton was transformed into the new and larger Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary, the change was accomplished without any radical departures and the more easily because the president of the old college became the president of the new. Doctor Mosiman became president of Bluffton College in 1910 and is now the executive head of the new institution. Doctor Mosiman is a man of ripe scholarship, a competent educator and has shown himself abundantly able to cope with the problems of executive management in the institution of which he is now the head. He was born December 17, 1867, at Middletown, Butler County, Ohio, a son of substantial farming people, Christian and Anna (Kinsinger) Mosiman. His parents were also natives of Ohio. Doctor Mosiman graduated in 1897 A. R from Wittenberg College, and on leaving college went to the Southwest and became superintendent of the Mennonite Mission School at Cantonment, out on the western plains of Oklahoma. He filled that position from 1897 until 1902. He then entered McCormick Theological Seminary at Chicago, where he was graduated Bachelor of Divinity-in 1905, and his work also gained him the important honor of Nettie F. McCormick Hebrew Scholar during the years 1905-07. He spent these years chiefly in Germany, and in 1907 won his degree Ph. D. from the Uni- versity of Halle. On returning to America Doctor Mosiman became teacher of Greek and philosophy in Lebanon College, and in 1909 accepted the chair of Professor of Greek and Old Testament. Language and Literature in Bluffton College. The following year he was made president of the college. During 1909-11 he served as president of the Middle District Conference of the Mennonite Church. He is a member of the Modern Languages Association of Ohio, a member of the Federal Council of Churches, and a member of the Commisison on Church and Country Life. He also belongs to the Lima Club at Lima. Doctor Mosiman is author of "Comparison of Parallel Passages of Book of Chronicles with other Old Testament Books." On August 12, 1909, he married Miss Amelia S. Hamm of Beatrice, Nebraska. L. M. OTIS, M. D. Few men enter the active practice of medicine with a better equipment and training than Dr. L. M. Otis of Celina. He is a young physician of the modern school of attainments, and before coming to Celina he had the advantages not only of one of the leading medical schools of the Middle West, but also a thorough practical training, such as hospital experience and positions as an instructor in different branches of medicine and surgery could afford. In addition to his private practice Doctor Otis is now head of the Otis Hospital, which he established in 1915. Doctor Otis was born at Hicksville, in Defiance County, Ohio, November 28, 1886, a son of George K. and Minnie M. (Cowhick) Otis. His father was also a native of Defiance County, Ohio, was reared at Hicksville, and was a well known real estate and insurance business man until his death in 1908. His wife is still living in Hicksville. During his boyhood and early youth spent in Hicksville, Doctor Otis attended the grammar schools and the high school, and in 1908 he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Beginning the literary course he soon extended his studies into the medical department ,and was graduated M. D. from that institution in 1913. During his under-graduate career and also for about a year after graduation he had unusual opportunities for hospital experience as an interne and was also employed as an instructor. He was a member of the staff of pathology and of internal medicine, was instructor of anatomy and was the private assistant to the chief surgeon. For a time he was also orthopedic surgeon. He continued his work as an instructor and hospital surgeon until the fall of 1914, when he came to Celina and began the private practice of medicine and surgery. In 1915 he established a private hospital, which now has equipment making it a medium of splendid service in Celina. The hospital has a staff of three nurses and there is also an assistant surgeon in addition to Doctor Otis. On June 28, 1912, Doctor Otis married Barbara P. De Auritsh of Green Springs, Ohio. Mrs. Otis is a graduate of the School of Music of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. They are the parents of two children : James J. and Betty Ellen. Besides his association with the various medical societies, Doctor Otis is affiliated with Celina Lodge of Masons, the Royal Arch Chap- 836 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO ter at Celina, the Council there, and the Knight Templar Commandery at Van Wert. He is also a member of Celina Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are members of the Celina Presbyterian Church. JUDGE JAMES H. DAY. A long and honorable career as merchant, banker, soldier, lawyer and judge constitutes James H. Day one of the foremost citizens of Mercer County and Northwest Ohio. Though still president of a bank he is spending his years somewhat quietly in his home at Celina, and enjoys a wealth of esteem in that section of the state. He was born in Hancock County, Ohio, February 1840, a son of E, P. and Margaret (Barr) Day. His father was born in the State of New Jersey April 10, 1798, and his mother in Chester County, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1798. Both of them came to Ohio early in life and they were married in Fairfield County of this state in November, 1821. Subsequently they moved to Hancock County, where E. P. Day followed farming until his death on October .20, 1849. His widow survived him until March 5, 1877. E. P. Day possessed a strong individuality and a marked intelligence, and was a man of considerable influence in spite of the fact that his life was spent quietly on his farm. He was a member of the Universalist Church. Out of a family of eight sons and two daughters, Judge Day is the only one now living. His boyhood was spent on a farm in Hancock County, where he attended district school. For a short time he was employed as a teacher. At the age of twenty-one, in 1861, he engaged in the mercantile business at Celina, and about a year later left his store to enter the service of the Union army. He was appointed major of the Ninety-ninth Ohio Infantry, and at the age of twenty-two was one of the youngest officers of that rank among the Ohio troops. He remained in active service with his regiment until a serious illness compelled him to resign his commission in December, 1862. After recovering he continued as a merchant at Celina for three years, but then gave up business for the sake of law. He studied law in the office of one of the leading attorneys of Celina at that time, and from his admission to the Ohio bar in was engaged in an extensive and lucrative practice until 1879. Having become well known for his legal ability and the sterling qualities of his character, Mr. Day was elected in 1879 to the bench of the Common Pleas Court for the old Third District. By repeated re-election he filled that place on the .bench for thirteen years. He resigned from the Court of Common Pleas and was elected circuit judge, and in that capacity remained on the bench for another twelve years. Thus for a quarter of a century Judge Day administered justice from the bench, and his record as a jurist is one that may be contemplated with admiration. Judge Day retired from the bench in 1905. While a democrat he has never been very active in partisan politics, and the various honors paid him by the people have come as a reward of his character and his Undoubted ability as a lawyer and citizen. Judge Day was one of the organizers of the. First National Bank of Celina and has been president since that institution was established. The full list of officers of the First National Bank are : J. H. Day, president; J. E. Hattery, vice president ; C. H. Howick, cashier; while the other directors are W. E. Touvelle and J. H. Romer. Judge Day also has some real estate interests in the State of Arizona. On June 10, 1863, he married Frances Small, who was born in Ashland County, Ohio, December 20, 1846. Five children have been born to their union: Margaret L., who is a graduate of the Celina High School and was a student in Glendale College, is now the wife of A. G. Briggs of Geneva, Indiana.; Anna L., a graduate of the Celina High School, is the wife of John W. Loree of Celina ; Elizabeth S., also a graduate of the high school, married William W. Touvelle, a prominent lawyer and former congressman of Celina ; Mary E., now deceased; and F. Edna. Mrs. Day is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and has been active in its work, Judge Day being one of the liberal supporters of this church. Fraternally he is past master of Celina Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, past high priest of the Royal Arch Chapter and, has been identified with Masonry many years. JOHN W. MCKEE. For the four years just past the responsibilities of the postoffice at Celina devolved upon John W. McKee, who was not without experience in the routine administration there when he began his term, since he had a number of years before been postmaster during Harrison's administration. HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 837 Mr. McKee is an old and prominent business man of Celina, and for many years was the leading jeweler of that city. He was born in Allen County, Indiana, April 11, 1851, a son of John and Mary (Wallace) McKee. Both his parents were born near New Carlisle in Clark County, Ohio, grew up on a farm, had a common school education, and after their marriage moved to Indiana. This was during the '30s, and they secured a tract of Government land which they developed as a home. There they reared a family of ten children; with John W. the youngest. Six of them are still living. It was on the old homestead in Allen County, Indiana, that John W. McKee spent his boyhood days. He had many influences in his youth that would serve to direct his course into worthy and honorable lines. His father was a very ardent Methodist, one of the founders of the Methodist College at Fort Wayne, Indiana, and it was in that school that John W. McKee completed his education. Part of his early experience was teaching three terms of school in his native county. In 1872 Mr. McKee came to Celina, Ohio, and began learning the trade of jeweler with his 'older brother. When his brother went to Sidney, Ohio, John went along and there completed his trade. In 1877 he engaged in the jewelry business for himself at Celina, and with the exception of a period of seven years was continuously a jewelry merchant at Celina until 1913. He then sold his business to give all his time to the management of the postoffice. As already mentioned his first experience as postmaster was gained while Harrison was President of the United States. In 1913 he was appointed postmaster by President Taft, and his appointment coming at the close of that President's term his own service covered practically the entire period of Wilson's first administration. Mr. McKee's term as postmaster expired in September, 1916, and he then took a course in optometry in the Northern Illinois College at Chicago and expects to confine his time and attention to this business. In 1899 Mr. McKee married Miss Josephine Kelsey of St. Marys, Ohio. She died February 1, 1915, being survived by two daughters. Bessie M., who is a graduate of the Celina High School, is the wife of Charles H. Howick, cashier of the First National Bank of Celina. Mame is the wife of Waller R. Pefferle, a jeweler at Dunkirk, Ohio. Mr. McKee and family are members of. the Methodist Vol. II-12 Church and for many years he was chorister in his church. He has always been an active worker in republican ranks, and fraternally is a member of Celina Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, of both the Chapter and Council there and of the Knight Templar Commandery. JACOB WILLHOFF. Some men wait for opportunity to come to them and others go out and look for it. In the case of Jacob Will.- hoff a high degree of energy and, industry enabled him to find opportunity with very little seeking. Though a comparatively young man, only forty years of age, he has been hard at work in a business career for more than twenty years, and about seventeen years ago he established a business which now classes him as one of the leading merchants of Coldwater in Mercer County. His life has been spent in a number of different localities and in different states. He was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, August 13, 1876, a son of Martin and Catherine (Lithard) Willhoff. His father .was born in Wuertemburg, Germany, in November, 1844, and nine years of age when his father died in the old country he was soon afterwards brought by his widowed mother to Jay County, Indiana.. He lived there until the age of sixteen and then went to Indianapolis, Indiana, to start for himself. He learned the trade of brickmaker and later became a carpenter. For seven years he was associated with his brother in the manufacture of brick at Indianapolis. Catherine Lithard was born in Baden, Germany, in 1844, and at the age of five years was brought to America by her parents, who located in Chillicothe, Ross County. She grew up there and in that city became acquainted with Martin Willhoff. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Martin Willhoff lived in Indianapolis for a few years, then removed .to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, where he followed the trade of carpenter, and seven years later returned to Indianapolis, from there went to Lima, Ohio, and then to Jay County Indiana, to the old farm which had been the scene of his boyhood experiences. Quite late in life he moved to Coldwater, Ohio, where he died in 1910. His widow is still living, making her home in Coldwater. Their six children are : Elizabeth, wife of Peter Theis of Coldwater ; J. M., of Toledo ; Jacob ; Theresa, wife of G. I. Smith of Lancaster, Ohio ; Joseph, of Goldwater; and Mary, wife of August Stenger of Indianapolis. The 838 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO father of these children was a democrat in politics though he manifested little partisan interest. Jacob Willhoff lived with his parents until about seventeen years of age, and attended the public schools of various towns in Indiana and Ohio mentioned above as the residence place of his parents. About 1893 he started out to make his own way in the world. For about six months he was employed in the great glass works of the Ball Brothers at Muncie, Indiana. Then for a time he worked at the carpenter's trade. Coming to Coldwater he laid the foundation of his business experience as an employe in the store of Mr. H. C. Fox. In January, 1899, Mr. Willhoff set up a business of his own, and from that date to this has been one of the leading merchants of Coldwater. He is an extensive dealer in hardware, implements and buggies, and his trade extends over a wide territory surrounding his home town. In September, 1901, he married Philmena Birkmier of Coldwater. Mrs. Willhoff died in January, 1913, leaving four children : Beda, Anglea, Otmar and Elmo, all of whom are in school. In November, 1915, Mr. Willhoff married Anna Heuart, a daughter of Nicholas Heuart. Mr. Willhoff and family are members of the Catholic Church at Coldwater. He is affiliated with Lodge No. 1170 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with Council No. 1800 of the Knights of Columbus. A democrat in politics, he has been especially influential and useful as a worker in behalf of community welfare. For the past twelve years he has filled with credit and efficiency the office of township treasurer, was school treasurer of his township for. ten years, and also served on the village council of Coldwater a period of nine years. W. H. PARENT. A physician of wide and versatile experience, and a recognized authority on children's diseases, Doctor Parent has practiced at Lima for the past twenty years. He served as president of the Allen County Medical Society in 1903 and in 1907 was elected secretary of the society. Doctor Parent was born in Mercer County, Ohio, December 24, 1861. He is a member of an old and highly respected family of this section of Ohio, though in his own youth he encountered the problems of life at an early age and his own efforts have brought him to his present position of attainments fir the profession. Doctor Parent is a son of Gordon and Cassandra (Liston) Parent, both natives of Mercer County, Ohio; and both now deceased. The name is of French origin and there was also an admixture of Pennsylvania German stock. The grandfather was George Parent, a native of Darke County, Ohio. The family was established in this state early in the last century. Doctor Parent's maternal grandfather was David Liston, a native of New Jersey, who came to Ohio about 1820, settling in Darke County, where he died. Doctor Parent's father was a farmer. Gordon Parent was a soldier in the Civil war with Company K of the One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry and was in ser¬- vice a year and three months. He was wounded at Lynchburg, Virginia. After the war he was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, was a republican in politics and a member of the Christian Church. He and his first wife had two children : George, now a farmer at West Plains, Missouri, and Doctor Parent. The father married for his second wife Susan Porter of Darke County, Ohio, and there were twelve children by that marriage, seven of whom are still living. Doctor Parent attended the common schools of Darke County, Ohio, grew up on a farm, and he took up teaching as a means of advancing him in education and providing a stepping stone from which he might reach his cherished ambition of becoming a physician. He taught school from 1880 to 1888. .In 1885 he entered Starling Medical College at Columbus, paying his way by teaching and continuing the school room work during the inter- vals of college terms.. He was graduated M. D. in 1888 and at once began practice at Lockington in Shelby County. After nine years of country practice in Shelby County Doctor Parent removed to Lima in 1897. Since then he has given his entire time to a growing practice. He is a member of the Allen County, the Ohio State, the Mississippi Valley and the Northwestern Ohio Medical societies and the American Medical Association. In politics he is a republican and has fraternal affiliations with the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Modern Woodmen of America. His church home is the United Brethren. Doctor Parent was married in 1887 to Miss Jennie Lehman, a native of Champaign County, Ohio. They have three children : K. L. was graduated from the medical department of the Ohio State University in 1913 and HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 839 has since been associated in practice with his father at Lima. William V. H., Jr., is now a student of medicine in the State University. Fawn L. is a student in the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio. JOSEPH MCKINLEY LOWRY. The history of Henry County from the beginning of settlement down to the present time covers little more than ninety years. A lifetime, itself spanning more than eighty of those years, was that of the late Joseph McKinley Lowry. From birth to death his career was passed almost entirely within the limits of Flat Rock Township. His wide variety of business and civic interests made him a notable figure in that section of Ohio. His name always stood for the substantial things, not only in material affairs but in personal character. He was born in Flat Rock Township December 9, 1833. His death came February 4, 1916, at his home in Florida village where he had been married nearly sixty years before and where Mrs. Lowry still resides. His great-grandfather was George Lowry, of Irish stock and a native of Ireland. He married a lady of Scotland and they had three children, two sons and one daughter. This George Lowry grew up in Scotland and became a skilled weaver. When the crowned head of England offered a prize for the finest piece of weaving produced in the British realm, it was the product of George Lowry's loom that was awarded the honor. The prize piece was a coverlet with its threads picturing two armies coming together in battle array. Besides the 50 pounds 'of prize money there was a letter from the king commending the highly skillful and ingenious workmanship of the weaver artist. It was with the money (50 pounds being a considerable sum in those days) that George Lowry paid his way to America. He came with wife and children, the date of his arrival being about 1790. Settling in Old Pennsylvania, he found ready employment in the homes of some of the wealthy planters. His son, George Lowry, grandfather of the late Joseph M. Lowry and great-grandfather of Hon. John H. Lowry, formed a romantic attachment with a planter's daughter, Jane Rippy, and they ran away to marry. Not long afterward George and his brother William built a raft, and upon this raft they constructed a cabin, and in that familiar type of houseboat of those days they came down the Monongahela River to the Ohio. William left the raft in Western Pennsylvania and remained there. On the waters of the Ohio George Lowry continued his journey to the site of Cincinnati, and there in Hamilton County bought a farm in the lowlands. From Hamilton County he moved to Warren County about 1800 and became established as a successful farmer and spent most of his years there. About 1827 George and his family came to Henry County and with his sons John and Washington bought a large amount of wild land along the south bank of the Maumee River in what is now Flat Rock Township and opposite the Village of Florida. The home there was the typical double log cabin on the banks of the romantic Maumee River and at the site where Hon. John' H. Lowry now resides. His daughter being dissatisfied she finally prevailed upon her father George to return to Warren County. While living in Henry County George Lowry had a keg filled with gold and valued at many hundreds of dollars. This was concealed under a barrel of pork in the smokehouse. George and his wife were both very religious people, stanch supporters of the Methodist -doctrine. In the pioneer times after they came to Henry County the log house of his 'son John Lowry was a place of entertainment and not infrequently the meeting house for the preachers and their congregations. There were two well known circuit rider preachers, Reverends Findley and Gavit, and they preached in this primitive house which is the present site of Hon. John H. Lowry's residence on the south bank of the Maumee. The children of George Lowry and wife were John, Washington, Nancy, Eliza Jane and Maria, all of whom married except the last. All were born in Warren County. Of these John was born in 1802. He married in his native county Eleanor McKinley, who was of the same family which produced the late President McKinley. Several children were born in Warren County, but in 1827 John came to Henry County to take charge of some of his father's lands along the Maumee River. He and his family came with wagons and teams, and in crossing the. Black Swamp five or ten miles a. day was considered excellent progress. On arriving in the wilds he began that tremendous undertaking of clearing a farm, and he and his family lived the whole story of pioneer times, with a log' cabin home, meat supplied by wild game, abundant crops but no markets, limited 840 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO social opportunities, and with practically none of the modern institutions available. John Lowry was comparatively a young man when he died in 1848. His widow afterwards married John Thrapp of Napoleon and was past eighty when death came to her. There were no children by her second marriage, and those of the first were: George, now deceased ; Catherine McK. Jane, who became the wife of Gov. Robert K. Scott ; William McK., who died leaving a family ; Joseph McK. ; and John Bryson, who now lives in California, and is married and has children. The late Joseph McKinley Lowry grew up when Henry County was all new, when schools were conducted on the subscription plan, and when few of modern inventions were dreamed of. Energy, sound business judgment, and resourcefulness equal to every demand made him very prosperous. For many years he owned and managed 400 acres of the finest land found in Henry County; and was a past master in the art of farming. He had many other interests in this county and elsewhere. Liberal and public spirited, he gave largely •of his means to the support of the Methodist Church and other local benevolences. He was a republican, a prominent member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and in every circle and at home most of all, he was greatly missed. He neglected no opportunity to improve his mind, and always passed for a man of judgment and broad information. It is said that for a great many years he was a regular subscriber to the Toledo Blade and the Farm Journal. In the old home at Florida in 1857, on the first day of that year, he married Miss Samantha A. Sapp. Mrs. Lowry was born in Flat Rock Township of Henry County January. 24, 1840, and has spent her long and 'beautiful life within this one locality. Her parents were Lemuel and Susan (Miller) Sapp, both natives of Ohio and of an old American line from Dutch stock. The Sapps have been well represented in the professions, arts and commerce. Lemuel Sapp was a skilful carpenter and mechanic in the early days, and built many of the good homes in this section of Ohio. Later he bought a farm, where he and his wife spent their last years. He died when past sixty, surviving his wife. In politics a republican, he was a man of influence locally. Mrs. Lowry, though she has seen three-quarters of a century unroll, belies her age by twenty years, and is keen, intelligent and vigorous. For years she has been one of the active workers in the Methodist Church. Her old age is also solaced by the worthy children reared under her care and now filling places of honor and usefulness. Her oldest child, Hon. John H. Lowry, is a practical farmer and is now democratic representative in the State Legislature. He first married Augusta Gunn, by whom he had four children, and his present wife is Rosamond Light. Jennie, the second child, received a good education in the local schools, and is now living with her mother, being the widow of George A. Leonhart. Mr. Leonhart, who was born in Florida, Henry County, December 22, 1863, was for a number of years a merchant at Florida, and later became foreman of a malleable iron company at Muskegon, Michigan, where his lamented death occurred September 2, 1910. Mrs. Leonhart has one son, Paul, who married Ida Meyer and now manages an 80-acre farm, and a daughter, Ella, who is the wife of Dr. Bert ̊onkle, a dentist, a graduate of the. Cincinnati Dental College and now in active practice at Toledo. George, the second son of Mrs. Lowry, is owner of a farm in Flat Rock Township. George has made a successful career as a dentist at Findlay, Ohio ; he married Carrie Tuttle. May, the youngest, is the wife of Cecil Bradley, an electrician at Napoleon, and their children, Rachel and Ralph, are still at home.. J. C. L. KREBS. One of the big industries of Northwest Ohio is the Clyde Cars Company, formerly the Krebs Commercial Car Company of Clyde, a business that was established by Mr. J. C. L. Krebs, and he is the vice president and active business manager. Mr. Krebs is an expert in the automobile manufacturing field, and though one of Clyde's most successful business men, he started life at the bottom of the ladder and merely as a factory hand. He has climbed steadily and has done much to make Clyde a commercial and industrial center. He was born at Clyde January 26, 1871, a son of John and Elizabeth (Uthey) Krebs. His grandfather, Christopher Krebs, was a German citizen, a carpet weaver by trade, and lived to the remarkable age of ninety-two years. John Krebs was born in Germany in April, 1829, and died at the age of eighty years in 1909. He came to the United States when only fourteen years of age, locating in Buffalo, later moving to Louisville, finally to HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 841 Elyria, Ohio, and about 1864 establishing his home in Clyde, where he married Miss Uthey. She was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France, and is still living. John Krebs was a butcher by trade, and followed that for many years, but finally engaged in farming and was living retired at the time of his death. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church and he belonged to the Knights of Honor and was a democrat in politics. There were two children, J. C. L. being the older, while his brother, Frank B., is in the factory at Clyde. J. C. L. Krebs acquired his early education in the Clyde common schools: He began his career on a farm, and was an independent farmer for eight years before he returned to Clyde and became connected with the Elmore Manufacturing Company. This company formerly made bicycles, and Mr. Krebs had reached the position of superintendent of the factory when its facilities were converted to the making of automobiles.. In 1908 the business was sold to the General Motor Company, and two years later Mr. Krebs resigned his position and founded the Krebs Commercial Car Company, of which he was at first director and general manager. The Krebs Commercial Car Company began with a capital stock of $100,000, and at the reorganization the capital was $500,000, and the growth had been exceedingly rapid and substantial. Mr. Krebs is now vice president of the Clyde Cars Company, and general manager of the plant. The company manufactures automobile trucks in five different types and sizes. The size ranges from a truck of three-quarters of a ton capacity to one capable of carrying a load of five tons. The present capacity of the plant is about 1,000 trucks per year and nearly all of the cars are now for export trade. For a man who started life with absolutely nothing except his hands and his ambition to succeed Mr. Krebs is one of Ohio's noteworthy citizens. He now has interests in many concerns in Clyde and elsewhere, though his time and energies are chiefly devoted to the truck factory. Mr. Krebs was married in 1894 to Miss Louise T. Alberti, who was born at Clyde, a daughter of Louis Alberti. They have four children, Marie, Lauretta, Bertha and Edmund, the youngest being three years of age. Lauretta and Bertha are both in school. Mrs. Krebs and children are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Krebs is a republican and served two terms as a member of the city council. JOSEPH F. HOYNG. Success in any undertaking almost invariably follows long and patient labor and good judgment mingled with practical experience. When a boy Joseph F. Hoyng of Coldwater, Ohio, laid the foundation of his business experience, and through one grade of responsibility rose to the next higher until now for a number of years he has been head of the chief hardware and implement house in his home town. A native of Mercer County, he was born on a farm in Butler Township April 27, 1877, a son of Henry H. and Catherine (Kallmeyer)' Hoyng. His father was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, and his mother in Cincinnati, coming with her parents to Mercer County when a girl and receiving her early education in the district schools. The mother died January 23, 1913, and the father is still living, making his home at Coldwater. After his marriage Henry H. Hoyng located on a farm and was actively engaged in its management until 1900, since which year he' has lived retired at Coldwater. He has been one of the most active members of the Catholic Church since it was founded at Coldwater, he helped build the old church and has always been a liberal supporter of its charities and maintenance. Mr. Joseph F. Hoyng pays a special tribute to the influence of his beloved mother for the success he has attained in the world. Though there were nine sons and a daughter in the family, she was lavish in her love and affection for all of them, and her memory will be cherished by her children as long as they live. The seven sons now living are : Henry L., a farmer in Mercer County ; Fred, a painter at Coldwater; John B., who also lives at Coldwater; Louis, in the livery business at Coldwater ; Joseph F. ; Frank J. and Roma, .both partners with Joseph F. Hoyng in the Hoyng Hardware and Implement Company. Mr. Hoyng took in his brothers as partners a few years ago, but he is active manager of the entire business. and owns half of the stock. His early training came from the public schools of Coldwater. When only fifteen year of age he gained his first knowledge. of the hardware business as a clerk. After clerking for four months, he spent six months with his brother Fred in the painting trade, and then for a period of nine months increased his mercantile experience as clerk for Henry C. Fox in the latter's dry goods store. Then again he became clerk in. a hardware store and remained with his firm consecutively 842 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO for eight years. In 1905 he took a half interest in the business, but after three years sold out and for the following year was in the stove and tinware business. He then erected the building and installed the stock of hardware and implements as the beginning of the prosperous concern which he now directs. He took in one of his brothers as a partner in 1910 and the other in 1913. On August 27, 1902, Mr. Hoyng married Elizabeth Plieman. Mrs. Hoyng was born in Recovery Township of Mercer County July 19, 1879, and received her early education in the district schools. Her parents were Bennard and Elizabeth (Fibe) Plieman, both of German stock. Her father was born in Mercer County and her mother in Cincinnati. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyng are the parents of two sons : Ernest J., born December 3, 1903 ; and Lamont B., born August 3, 1906. The family are active members of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Coldwater. Mr. Hoyng was the primary factor in securing the establishment of the parochial school at Coldwater and has been one of the most liberal contributors to every department of the church and for six years was church treasurer. For nine years he was secretary of St. Joseph's Society, was secretary six years and treasurer four years of the Knights of St. John, and is also a member of the Holy Name Society and belongs to the Council of the Knights of Columbus at Celina. His three great interests in life are his business, his family and his church, but at the same time he has not neglected the general welfare of his civic community and for four year served as a member of the village council. In politics Mr. Hoyng is a democrat. PATRICK H. DONNELLY. The dense forests stretched for miles almost unbroken over Henry. County when the Donnelly family arrived in 1844 and made their first settlement in section 36 of Washington Township. It was a notable contribution to Henry County citizenship, and not only were the first members of the family strong and self-reliant pioneers, but subsequent generations have produced sterling men and women. The arrivals in 1844 were Peter and Alice (O'Hearn) Donnelly. Peter Donnelly was born in Galway, Ireland, in 1814, and his wife was born in County Tipperary in 1829. Peter was a son of Michael and Bridget (Glynn) Donnelly, both natives of Ireland, where they spent all their lives and were devout Catholics. In the spring of 1837 Peter Donnelly came to America with his brother John. They landed in Quebec, Canada, but soon afterward started for Detroit and subsequently came to Toledo. Peter Donnelly was employed on the Maumee Canal for several years, and it was with the earnings from this occupation that he came to Henry County in 1844 and bought eighty acres in section 36 of Washington Township. There he located, and with the aid of his good wife he started to make a home. This old farm was one mile north of the old canal, and their first log cabin was in the midst of the woods, with no neighbor near. There were no roads, and Peter Donnelly is said to have walked all the way to Lima in order to pay for his land at the land office. Like many of the early settlers, he and his wife were inspired to go ahead and endure the hardships of a log cabin home, not only for the sake of the promise of the future, but also because thereby they were helping to develop the new country and lay the foundations for a great civilization in the western states. After a few years Peter Donnelly was able to construct a better home, and some years later he added and remodeled and made the present substantial house of ten rooms. In that home he and his wife spent the rest of their active lives. Peter Donnelly acquired a fine farm of 160 acres, and it comprised some of the best land found anywhere in the county, being apparently of inexhaustible fertility. For many years it has produced abundant crops of corn, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes, and while it has been intelligently managed with a view to conserving its fertility, much of its original fruitfulness is still retained, and many think that the sandy loam with clay subsoil could riot easily be worked out. On that farm Peter Donnelly died April 29, 1891, at the age of seventy-seven. His widow survived until December 26, 1899, and was seventy-two years of age at the time of her death.. As an American citizen he was a democratic voter, and he always took much interest in local affairs and current topics of political discussion. Both he and his wife were confirmed Catholics. Some of their children attained prominence. Michael, the oldest, who died at Napoleon in 1914, leaving a family, was long prominent as a lawyer in Henry County, and served on the bench as Probate, Common Pleas and Appellate Court judge. The son James became a physician, and is also deceased. John died in San Diego, HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 843 California, leaving three sons. Edwin was a farmer and died unmarried. Mary died when two and a half years of age. The next in order of age is Patrick H. Elizabeth is the wife of Frederick Ruhm, a farmer near Whitehouse, in Lucas County, and they have two children, Carl and Fred. Doctor Peter became a physician in Toledo, where he died, and was married, but left no children. Patrick H. Donnelly was born on the old homestead, in Washington Township, September 4, 1864. He still lives there and is one of the well-to-do farmers and land holders of that section. He grew up on the home farm, was educated in the local schools, and has applied his energies most industriously and wisely to his business as a farmer. Besides the 160 acres of the old homestead, he has another 120 acres in the same section, and also a farm of 160 acres in another part of the same section, 80 acres in section 35 and 165 acres in section 34. His has been a generous prosperity, and it has been well earned by his ability to adapt his means and opportunities to the work he has chosen fora life career. He has his land under improvement and cultivation with the exception of forty acres of valuable timber. His business is general farming and stock raising, and he keeps some excellent grades of horses, cattle and hogs, and has the distinction of maintaining the best flock of sheep in the entire county. Mr. Patrick Donnelly has never married and has found. contentment and happiness in the supervision of his extensive interests. He is a democratic voter and a member of the Catholic Church. ELI C. CLAY has been a resident of Henry County since 1873. He has lived a very active as well as useful life, and as a young man he saw active service during the Civil war as a member of the Ohio Home Guards. He came to Henry County as a cooper by trade, and was a man of unusual proficiency in that line. This trade he turned to advantage as a stave manufacturer, and thus he became a factor in clearing off many acres of the heavy timber which formerly covered the fertile soils of Henry County. Much of his clearing was done in the vicinity of Grelton before the village of that name was known. He was also a lumber manufacturer in the Grelton community. Mr. Clay ,was one of the local men who had a part in promoting the building of the Toledo & St. Louis Railroad, now known as the Clover Leaf System. He cleared out the right of way for that road in section 1 of Monroe Township, in Henry County, and altogether he cleared off and, manufactured into lumber 160 acres of timber land in section 1. He was in business in that community until 1896, when he traded his property for 100 acres in the northeast quarter of section 18, in Washington Township, and has made his home there since 1897. Mr. Clay has a good farm, has buildings of a substantial character, and having won financial independence by his hard work in earlier years he is now in a position to enjoy life at leisure. Mr. Clay was born in Scipio Township of Seneca County, Ohio, in August, 1845. Thus he was not yet sixteen years of age when the war broke out, and the service he rendered as a soldier came before he reached his majority. As he grew up he had the advantage of the local schools, but early turned to a mechanical trade. He served an apprenticeship as a cooper, and within three months after beginning he had secured an equipment of tools and he was soon pronounced letter perfect at the business. At the end of the first year he had saved $175, and 'after that he started out on his own account. In 1871 he removed to Wood County, where he was in business as a cooper for about two years, and then came to Henry County, where his general activities have already been traced. Mr. Clay has the reputation among his associates of being a very practical as well as hard-working man, and his success has followed as a matter of course. He represents old Pennsylvania ancestry. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Late in life, and some years after the war, he brought his family to Trumbull County, Ohio, and lived there the rest of his days. He is one of the Revolutionary soldiers buried in that county, and his wife also found her last resting place there. Of their children, Isaac, grandfather of Eli Clay, grew up in Trumbull. County and was married there to Elizabeth Wise, a native of the same county. All their children were born in Trumbull County, but about 1838 the family moved into the wilds of Seneca County. Here Isaac established a home and cleared up a farm from the wilderness. His wife died at the age of sixty years, and he subsequently removed to Wood County, where his death occurred when ninety-three years of age. This family in the various generations have with few exceptions sup- 844 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO ported the English Lutheran Church, of which they have been devout members. John W. Clay, father of Eli, was born in Trumbull County about 1820, and was eighteen years of age when he accompanied the family to Seneca County, where he came to maturity. There he married Helen Heater. She was a native of Union County, Pennsylvania, but at the age of six years had come to Seneca County with her parents, and, for a time the family lived in a brush-covered log cabin. Her father, Adam Heater, met his death soon afterward while raising a log cabin. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, having served under General Harrison at Fort Meigs. After his marriage John W. Clay settled on a farm in Seneca County and lived out their years, hard working people, thrifty, and devout Christians, members of the English Lutheran Church. They are buried side by side in the old Heater Cemetery, John W. having died at the age of eighty-five and his wife when nearly fifty-four. In matters of politics he was one of the early Free Sailers of Ohio. He had also seen service in the Mexican war, having been a driver in a light artillery regiment. Mr. Eli C. Clay married for his first wife, at Napoleon, Addie Duffey. She was born in Grand Rapids of Wood County, Ohio, and died at her home in Henry County in 1883, at the age of thirty-three. She was survived by two children ; Gertrude is the wife of Clarence Mohler; they live in Lucas County, Ohio, and their three children are Luella, Ila and Gladys. Newton E., still single, assists his father in the management of the home farm. For his second wife Mr. Clay was married in Richfield Township, of Henry County, to Margaret Mahler. She was born in that township July .7, 1857, daughter of George and Susanna (Paulus) Mahler, who were of French stock. They were born in Stark County, Ohio, were married there ; their first child was born there, but in 1845 they came as pioneers to Henry County, developed a farm in the midst of the woods, and they, spent the rest of their years in Richfield Township. Mr. Mahler died at the age of seventy-one and his wife -at eighty. They were Lutherans in religion. Mr. and Mrs. Clay have one son, Ralph W., who is now twenty years of age and still at home. Mrs. Clay is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically Mr. Clay gives his active support to the prohibition party. JAMES HOWARD DAVIS. Henry County lost one of its foremost farmers in the death of James Howard Davis at his home in Washington Township on June 24, 1906. Mr. Davis represented a pioneer family in that county and from the time he reached manhood until his death he lived actively and usefully, utilizing his opportunities, making himself honored in his community, and gaining the love of his family and the esteem of his many friends. He was born, at Colton, in Washington. Township, Henry County, September 2, 1865, and was in his forty-first year when he died. His parents were John and Clarissa (Sheffield) Davis, both natives of Ohio and of English and Irish extraction. His parents' grew up in Ohio, his father in Henry County and his mother in Fulton County, and after their marriage they started out as farmers. Subsequently John Davis bought forty acres in section 16 of Washington Township. That Y. land was covered with woods, but he possessed both the courage and strength to make a good home. Having brought this original tract under cultivation, he from time to time purchased other land, continued the work of improvement, and eventually owned over 300 acres in that section. He gave his active supervision to his farming interests for many years, but about five years before his death retired to Delta, in Fulton County, where he died June 10, 1896, when sixty-one years of age. He exemplified the best practices of Christianity, was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, one of its class leaders, an officer and liberal contributor to its various benevolences, and for years served as superintendent of its Sunday school. In matters of politics he allied himself with the republican party. His widow is still living, making her home in Washington Township of Henry County, and though seventy-six years 61d is a woman of many resources and interests. She looks after her home, garden and lawn, and still does her part as a worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she has been a member since girlhood. John Davis saw some active service in the Civil War, being stationed but a few months at Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie, where thousands of Confederate prisoners were under guard. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Davis. Jane died in young womanhood unmarried. Frank, who farms the old HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 845 Davis place, married Emma Ellsworth, and they have a daughter Ada who is also married and has children. Ada, the youngest of the four children, is the wife of Samuel Hoffman, of Washington Township, and their daughter Opal is married and has three children. James Howard Davis grew up on the old farm, learned the lessons of the schools as well as those of Nature, became an adept in the use of the implements of farming, and was well prepared to make farming his vocation when he reached maturity. In the fall of 1894 he bought eighty acres in section 16 of Washington Township, and there :proceeded to carry out his progressive ideas as an agriculturist. He erected one of the finest barns seen in that community, an L-shaped structure, 60 by 42 feet each way, and furnished ample room for the storage of grain and the care of the livestock. He put up other buildings, but the substantial eight-room house, modern and with all the comforts, was erected by his widow since his death. The death of Mr. Davis was one of the tragedies of his community. He was driving his team, had stopped on the road to change bridles, when the horses took fright and starting up suddenly threw him down, and both the horses and vehicle passed over him in such a way as to result in his death. In politics he was a republican and took a keen interest in all local matters and especially those which would permanently benefit the community. In Michigan in 1885 Mr. Davis married Miss Sarah E. Weirich. To their marriage were born three children : John W., who now lives at Colton, in Henry County, married Hattie Heiser and their three children are Flossie J., Nina and Howard. Jane M., who was born August 31, 1888, died February 28, 1910, having been an invalid from birth. Fred Clay, a farmer, married Chloe McCullough, and they have two children, Harold R. and Elizabeth J. Mrs. Davis was born in Washington Township near where she now lives in an old log house on June 2, 1868. She grew up and received her education there, and since her husband's death she has shown very practical ability and capable energy in the management of the old farm. She is a daughter of Frank and Mahala (Wagner) Weirich, both of whom were natives of Ohio, her father of Wayne County and her mother of Sandusky County. They were married in Fulton County, and since then have lived in Washington Township. Mr. Weirich is one of the very thrifty farmers, and though he started housekeeping in a log. cabin in the midst of the woods he has made a fortune. For the past eight years he has lived retired at Liberty Center, where he owns a fine home and is now seventy-three years of age. His wife died there in February, 1915, aged sixty-nine. Both were members of the German Reformed Church. Mr. Weirich is a republican, served several terms as trustee of Washington Township, and his name is well known all over that section of the state. His parents were Pennsylvania people of German stock. All the three sons and six daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Weirich grew up and married, all are still living and have families. On December 24, 1914, Mrs. Davis married Mr. M. B. Turner. He was born in Lucas County, Ohio, October 20, 1866, but was reared and educated at Colton, in Henry County, where his parents, George and Mary (Mohler) Turner, settled when he was an infant. His parents were both natives of Ohio, were married in Henry County and both are now deceased. CHARLES P. HOFFMAN occupies the old homestead in Washington Township of Henry County where his father settled more than forty years ago. The Hoffmans are of an old Maryland family, originally of German stock. Wherever they have lived they have given a good account of themselves, have proved people dependable in their civic virtues, have been hard workers, and have made the interests of their community their own. The great-grandfather of Charles. P. Hoffman was Mathias Hoffman, a native of Germany. He and his two cousins, Jacob and Samuel Hoffman, the latter a bachelor, and all of them young men, came to America prior to the Revolutionary war and settled near Hagerstown, Maryland. They established homes there, and in that vicinity spent the rest of their days. Two of them married and reared families, but Samuel remained a bachelor all his life. These American settlers all spoke German and used no other language in their home. Of the children of Mathias, Jacob was born in Maryland in 1799. He grew up as a farm boy, and after the death of his parents he became owner of part or of all the old homestead, including 156 acres. That was the scene of his industrious career, and he 846 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO passed away there at the age of sixty-eight. He was a man of no little prominence in his community. He was one of the first in all that section to engage in the .heavy wagon traffic. Nearly all transportation through the mountain regions was by wagon roads, and he drew many loads of freight between Hagerstown and Baltimore and frequently went on as far as Washington. Jacob Hoffman married Magdalena Stoffer, who was born and reared in the same neighborhood, a daughter of Abraham Stoffer. Magdalena outlived her husband - and died in 1888 at the ripe age of eighty-six. In these earlier generations the family were all members of the Mennonite Church. Jacob Hoffman became a democrat when the great leaders of that party were Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Jackson. He and his wife became the parents of ten children, three sons and seven daughters. Two sons and six daughters married- and became heads of families.. All are now deceased except one daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Rough, who lives at Opholis, Kansas, being now about eighty-two years of age. Of this large family, Mathias Hoffman was born on the Maryland farm 'June 1, 1831, grew up there and received his education, and for a time lived on a portion of the homestead. He also became engaged in the freighting traffic, hauling merchandise over the famous Cumberland road between Cumberland, at the top of the Allegheny Mountains, and the cities of Baltimore, Washington, Georgetown; Frederick City and other market centers. At the age of twenty-five, on Thanksgiving Day of 1855, Mathias Hoffman married at Ringold, Maryland, Lucinda Beaver. She was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, near Waynesboro, October 11, 1835, and grew up on the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Her family were poor people, and as a young woman she worked out for wages of 50 cents a week and board. She was very capable, industrious, and well able to bear her responsibilities as a home maker and mother. After marriage Mathias Hoffman and wife lived near Ringold, Maryland, until all their six children were born. The oldest of these children, Jacob B., is now section foreman on the New York Central lines at Bascom, in Seneca County, Ohio. He married Minerva DeLong, now deceased, and has two married daughters, Lola and Nina. Clara Alice, the next oldest, is the widow of Adam Gramling of Washington Township, Henry County, and has two married sons and one daughter. Samuel, who owns a fine farm of more than 210 acres in Washington Township, married Ada Davis and has one married daughter, Opal. Anna M. is the wife of Hezekiah Gramling, a wealthy Henry County farmer elsewhere referred to, and hag two daughters, Ethel and Leota. Next in age comes Charles P., and his younger brother John died at the age of four years. Charles P. Hoffman was born near Ringold, Maryland, August 10, 1871, and three years later his parents removed to Bascom, in Seneca County, Ohio, and a little later came to Henry County, making settlement on what is known as the LeBar farm, near Colton, in Washington Township. This farm is in section 21. This was the farm on which Charles P. Hoffman spent his early years. In 1882 his father bought the farm in section 22, where he died October 18, 1915, at the advanced age of eighty-four. He was a democratic voter, was reared and for many years a member of the United Brethren Church, but about twenty years before his death he and his wife united with the Methodist denomination. His widow, now in her eighty-first year, is remarkably well preserved for one so old. She rises every morning between 4 and 5 o'clock, and always has some occupation or task and is one of the brightest and most cheerful members of her household. On August 16, 1916, Mrs. Hoffman and son, Charles P., and his family visited her brother and sister in Maryland, whom she had not seen in forty-two years. They made the trip in her son's automobile. She enjoyed the long ride and stood it as well as any other member of the family. They returned by the same conveyance on September 4, 1916. During his younger years Charles P. Hoffman lent a hand in clearing up portions of his father's farm, and for many years has raised crops on land which he cleared of trees and stumps. He now owns the homestead, containing 200 acres, and has practically all of it cleared and in cultivation. He is one of the model farmers of Henry County. His crops are always the best, and he owes his prosperity to the fact that he has never been wanting in those qualities which make the real farmer. He has his land all drained and fenced, and has some of the best farm buildings in that section of the county. He has a double barn, one portion 40 by 66 and the other 36 by 40 feet, and also an attached shed barn 16 by 56 feet. These HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 847 and other buildings give him ample room for his crops and stock and implements. His eight-room house was erected in 1896. Mr. Hoffman was married at Toledo, Ohio, to Miss Myrtle M. Holford. They were married by Rev. P., S. Slevin. Mrs. Hoffman was born in Lucas County, Ohio, April 7, 1873, a daughter of Charles and Mary J. (Franklin) Roiford, her father a native of Lorain County, Ohio, and her mother of Missouri. Her parents were married in Michigan, and her mother died twenty-nine years ago and. her father twelve years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman have two children : Edna B., born July 20, 1905, and Irene May, born May 25, 1908; both of them now attending the local schools. HEZEKIAH GRAMLING. Every county owes a debt of gratitude to those sturdy men and women who first pioneered into the forests and by their own work laid the foundation of the prosperity which people of the present generation enjoy in almost unlimited increase. Among such early settlers in Henry County are members of the Gramling family, now represented by Hezekiah Gramling, who owns and occupies the old homestead in Washington Township, which his father redeemed from its wilderness condition. The Gramlings were originally from Holland. It was the great-grandfather of Hezekiah who emigrated from that country and settled in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, where he spent the rest of his days. John Gramling, grandfather of Hezekiah, was born in Pennsylvania in Wayne County, about the close of the eighteenth century. He married a young woman of the same county, Mary Groff. They lived long and useful lives and died in Pennsylvania when he was about eighty years of age and she survived him until she was nearly ninety. Both were rugged, capable of almost unlimited toil and endurance, performed the tasks of their time and generation with comparative ease, reared and gave to their family of children their own worthy characteristics and left names that may well be honored by their descendants to the last generation. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters. The sons were John Jr., Jacob, Adam, and Peter. Jacob was killed while crossing the plains to California in 1849. Adam and Peter also went overland to California in the early days, became gold miners in California, and Adam spent the rest of his years there. Peter subsequently sold his mining interests, returned East, later participated in the Black Hills mining excitement, and finally returned to 'California and died in San Francisco. Neither he nor his brother Adam ever married and both were successful as farmers as well as miners. John Gramling, Jr:, was born in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, in 1819. He grew up there, received such education as was supplied by the local schools of that day, and when about twenty-five years of age was still unmarried, and came to Wayne County, Ohio. From there he journeyed still further west to the vicinity of Logansport, Indiana. He secured 150 acres of the wild land along the 'Wabash River, but after doing some clearing he sold out and came to Henry County, Ohio. For several years he worked on the canal but in the meantime he invested in 1.60 acres now owned and occupied by his son Hezekiah in Washington Township. He struck the first blows of the axe in the timber of this quarter section and some of the trees which he cut down he hewed and fashioned into the log cabin to which he took his young bride. He found his wife in Fulton County. Her name was Savena Snell. Her parents were New Yorkers but early settlers in Fulton. County, where they lived till death at very advanced years. After his marriage John Gramling, Jr., set himself with all his strength and determination to the task of clearing up and making a farm. The sturdy blows he struck with the axe soon leveled the forest, he uprooted the stumps, and each season saw a wider area cultivated to crops. He also erected two large barns, and a commodious and comfortable home in which he and his wife sheltered themselves during their declining years. He died at the age of seventy-four, and his wife passed away at sixty-four. She was a member of the United Brethren Church, while he had been reared a Lutheran. They were the class of people whose presence always means much to any neighborhood; and they were accordingly greatly missed not only by their immediate family but by a host of friends. John Gram-ling, Jr., was a republican in politics. In the old homestead in Washington Township Hezekiah Gramling was born January 24, 1863. That farm has been the center of his associations in later years as well as during boyhood. From the old farm house he walked back and forth to the country schools, he did the chores which were assigned to him as his division of home duties, and year by year 848 - HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO he perfected himself in the arts of farming. He finally succeeded to the ownership of the homestead, and like the good and thrifty servant he has not only kept the original talent but has increased it several fold. Mr. Gram-ling is now proprietor of a splendid estate of 440 acres. Nearly all the land is improved, and for many years he has found a high degree of profit not only in raising the general crops but also in handling first class livestock, raising much of it on his own farm, and also. buying and selling. In his home township Mr. Gramling married Miss Anna M. Hoffman. She was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, January 4, 1868, a daughter of Mathias and Lucinda (Beaver) Hoffman. They were Maryland people who came to Ohio when Mrs. Gramling was seven years of age. When she was eleven years old her parents located in Washington Township of Henry County. They lived to a great age. Her father died in October, 1915, at the age of eighty-five, and her widowed mother is still living on the old homestead, now eighty-two years old. They were originally members of the United Brethren Church but subsequently became Methodists, while Mr. Hoffman was a democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Gramling have two children : Ethel W., who was born November 22, 1890, has finished her education in the public schools and is still living at home ; Leota L., who was born September 22, 1899, and has also completed the course of the local schools. The family are attendants at the Methodist Episcopal Church. in their neighborhood. Mr. Gramling is a republican, and his interest in local affairs is shown by his service for nine years as a member of the school board. ARTHUR R. RUSSELL, M. D. While the years of his life were brief, the late Doctor Russell of Hamler, Henry County, accomplished a work and service that will long endear his name to that community. He possessed not only professional ability but also business judgment and integrity, was a man of sterling worth, and the consensus of his community is that he did as much for the village of Hamler as any one who ever' lived there. He was a hard worker from early youth, and it was overexertion in the practice of his profession and in the management of his affairs that brought about his early end. Surviving him is Mrs. Russell, member of an old and well known Henry County family, and a woman of thorough education and cultured accomplishment. With all the burdens and responsibilities of wife and widowhood she still retains her youth and vivacity in a remarkable degree, and is a power for good in her home town. Besides the service he rendered a larg clientage as a physician and surgeon the late Doctor Russell organized and was proprietor of the Citizens Telephone Company of Hamler. This exchange was one of the first in this part of the state. He built it up until it had over 400 ,subscribers and. was con- nected with twenty-eight toll lines covering all this part of the state. Since his death Mrs. Russell and her young son Richard have managed the business with increasing success and have made some important extensions and improvements. The company's service now covers six or more townships in Henry and Putnam counties. Dr. Arthur R. Russell was born in Putnam County, Ohio, October 6, 1883. He had his early education in the country schools. His father moved to Hancock County and later to Henry County, settling in Monroe Township when Doctor Russell was five or six years of age. His father George Russell was elected to the office of county auditor, and young Russell having completed his education became deputy auditor. George Russell after leaving the auditor's office was appointed postmaster of Napoleon by President McKinley. Mr. Russell was a personal friend of the late President. McKinley, and he continued to serve as postmaster at Napoleon for many years. While in the postoffice he bought the Henry County Signal and Doctor Russell became its city editor and filled that office five years. His desire all along had been for a medical career and largely with money earned by himself he entered the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, where he was graduated in 1908. He soon afterward established himself in the Village of Hamler, and in a short time had all the practice he could attend to, covering the entire southern section of Henry County. Many of the families that required his services in. a professional way also came to rely upon his broad judgment and counsel in many domestic and business affairs. Doctor Russell was engaged in practice and in looking after his business affairs until his death on December 12, 1915. His father, George Russell, sold the Henry County Signal several years ago and has since lived on his farm in Hancock County, and is still active there at the age of sixty-eight. HISTORY OF NORTHWEST OHIO - 849 He was born in Hancock County, and married Miss Sarah Van Horn, who came of a family of physicians. She is still living and of about the same age as her husband. Both are active followers of the noted Pastor Russell. George Russell has been a lifelong and prominent republican. With all the other duties that engaged his time and energy, Doctor Russell was also called upon to serve as mayor of Hamler, and filled that office seven years, being in that position at the time of his death. He was also member and chairman of the school board for seven years and member of the county board. At one time he served as president of the Northwest Ohio Eclectic Medical Institute. He possessed an unusually fine mind and also had a splendid physical appearance and commanding figure, and was hardly in his prime when death overtook him. Doctor Russell was married at Napoleon to Miss Sarah H. Welsted. Mrs. Russell was born August 5, 1876, in Napoleon, was educated there, being a graduate of the Napoleon High School. For several years before her marriage she taught in Holgate. Her sister Marion B. Welsted is a teacher at Akron, Ohio, and her brother George E., Jr., is a tobacconist at Lima and married Ollie Na Pier of an old family of Lima. Mrs. Russell's father George E. Welsted was born in Henry County, Ohio, in 1847, and died at Napoleon in May, 1883. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry and his people were early settlers in Henry County, where they spent the rest of their lives. His father was for many years engaged in the manufacture of staves. George E. Welsted, Sr., married at Napoleon Susan Hudson, who was born in New York State, and at the age of seven years, during the '50s, came with her parents to Henry County.. She gained a liberal education and was a successful teacher, being at one 'time principal of the South Side School at Napoleon, and also County Examiner of Teachers of Henry County for twenty. years. She is still living and enjoying excellent health at the age of sixty-five. She is an active member of the Presbyterian Church and her daughter Mrs. Russell was reared 'in that faith, but as a matter of convenience she and her son now have membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Hamler. Mrs. Russell is the mother of two sons George Richard, who was born June 19, 1899, was educated in the local schools at Hamler and in the Lima High School and is now showing his ability, though quite young, as assistant manager to his mother in the handling of the Hamler Telephone Exchange. The other son, John Arthur, was born December 22, 1908, and is now in the third grade of the public schools. HENRY EICKHOFF. The type of success that is due to hard work and hard common sense is that enjoyed by Henry Eickhoff, who in 1916 gave up the active supervision of his fine farms in Monroe Township of Henry County and moved to the Village of Hamler, where he now lives retired, though still looking after his various financial interests. Mr. Eickhoff went into Monroe Township in 1879. He was not one of the first settlers there but in all practical senses was a real pioneer. He found conditions largely as they had been from time immemorial, and he had to subdue the wilderness just as the settlers of 100 years ago had to do. Eventually he acquired 120 acres of land. He drained it, fenced it, and season after season added new areas of cultivation and at the same time kept adding to his building improvements. The land in that section is not excelled in point of fertility and productiveness by any in the State of Ohio. Mr. Eickhoff's farm has a substantial ten-room house, and has two large barns, one 40 by 70 feet and the other 30 by 45 feet. Mr. Eickhoff owes much to American opportunity but even more to his own energy and Henry County also owes him a debt for the work he has accomplished here. Mr. Eickhoff was born in Hanover, Germany, January 20, 1845, and is of old Hanpver stock. All his people up to the generation preceding him had lived in Hanover and had been of the substantial farming class, Lutherans in religion. He was a son of Fritz and Louisa (Buenner) Eickhoff, both natives of the same section of Hanover. Fritz Eickhoff served two years in the German army during the war with Denmark and also during the German Revolution of 1848. In the war with Denmark, while Germany was wresting from that nation the provinces of Schleswig-Holstein, he sustained a severe scalp wound in a battle, the ball breaking his skull. Fritz and Louisa Eickhoff followed their son to America, coming over in 1880 and living with their son in Henry County some years, but later moving to Mark Township of Defiance County, where they bought a farm. Fritz Eickhoff died there at the age of eighty-two and his