COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 75 Sen., by his first marriage were: James, Mary, Janette, Ruth, Nancy, Joseph, John and William D. William D. Sherwood, our subject, spent his childhood among Indian playmates, and grew up to hard work on his father's farm. He helped to set out one of the first apple orchards in Sandusky county. In 1839 he went to Iowa, then a territory, to locate land, and spent a year among the Musquaka Indians, whom he taught many things, and by whom he was a petted hero. He next took a trip to Tennessee and Kentucky, to visit his brother James, and while there engaged in steamboating. In 1845 he returned to Ohio, where he married Miss Mary E. Scovill, and farmed for his father. In the fall of the same year he moved to Burlington, Iowa, where for four years he assisted his brother, Joseph, to run a steamboat wood-yard. In 1849 his wife died of cholera, and he then abandoned business for a time. In the spring of 1850 he started for California with a party of prospective miners, by the overland route. They drove ox-teams, and took a herd of cattle with them over the plains and mountains and across the rivers, occupying six months and one day on their journey. They operated gold mines chiefly on the Yuba and Feather rivers. In the winter of 1853-54 Mr. Sherwood returned to Fort Seneca, Ohio, where, after farming one year, he married Miss Frances Elizabeth Harris, daughter of Mark Harris. In 1856 he engaged in the tanning business at Fostoria, and continued there until 1861, within which time he held the offices of township trustee and mayor of the village. At the outbreak of the Civil war, in 1861, Mr. Sherwood, as first lieutenant, joined Company B, Fifty-fifth 0. V. I., under Col. J. C. Lee, of Tiffin, and served with his regiment about a year, when, on account of impaired health, he resigned and returned to Fostoria. In 1865 he came to Fremont, and bought a tannery of Jesse S. Van Ness. This he worked about two years, when he sold out and purchased the property now occupied as a parsonage by the pastor of St. Ann's Catholic Church, where his family resided several years. Here he suffered another attack of the gold fever, and went on the newly-constructed Union Pacific railroad westward as far as he could, to Evanston, 30o miles .east of Salt Lake City, from which place his party were obliged to " stage it " to Diamond City, a distance of 1, 200 miles, crossing the Rockies twice, and suffering many hardships. In 187o he returned again to Fremont, and for two years, kept the " Croghan House " billiard saloon, and for one year a saloon on Front street. In 1874 he sold out, and went again to California to engage in mining on the Yuba river. He operated a hydraulic mine, at great expense, on Slate creek, and sunk about ten thousand dollars. Two years later he returned to Ohio, and for six years kept a saloon on Croghan street, Fremont, where the News office is located. In the meantime he bought lot 1 o 18, on Hayes avenue, which he improved as a place of residence. Later he kept a saloon, two years, on the corner of Garrison and Front streets. His second wife died October 2, 1884, and on December 26, 1888, he married Miss Ida May Hawk, daughter of Joseph Hawk, a pioneer of Green Creek township. His children by his first wife were Alice and John, those by the second wife being Norman C., Eugene H., and William D. ; those by his third wife being Harry Allen and Olive May. Mr. Sherwood has held various local offices. He has been sanitary policeman, health officer, street commissioner, assessor, and since he quit keeping saloon has been janitor of the Union Club room. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity and of Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R. ; in politics a Republican, and in religious faith a Universalist. A full account of his exploits would fill volumes. Though past his three score and ten years his 76 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. health is good, his mind clear and his memory undimmed; results which he attributes to the fact that he never used tobacco in any form, nor intoxicating drinks, nor indulged in gambling, nor in any social impurity. NORMAN C. SHERWOOD, treasurer of the Trommer Extract of Malt Co., Fremont, was born at Fostoria, Ohio, May 17, 1857, a son of William D. and Frances E. (Harris) Sherwood. His childhood was spent at Fostoria where he attended the village schools, and at the age of eight years he came with his parents to Fremont, where he grew to manhood, meanwhile attending the city schools. At the age of twenty he took a position as bookkeeper in the above named company, and has remained with them, serving in various relations, for a period of more than eighteen years, and becoming a stockholder in the same. Being possessed of a genial and social nature, he is popular in the various social circles of Fremont. He has served as chorister of the M. E. Church for a number of years very acceptably; is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and in politics is a Republican. On April 19, 1882, he married Miss Susan Lewis, who was born November 16, 1858, at Fremont, Ohio, daughter of B. W. Lewis. Their children are: Charles Lewis, Norman Dickinson, Jeannette and Norma, all born in Fremont. LEVI WOLFE, a farmer of Sandusky township Sandusky county, was born April 1o, 1836, in Union county, Penn., a son of Michael and Margaret (Engleman) Wolfe, who were of German descent. Mr. Wolfe's paternal great-grandfather was one of three brothers who emigrated from Germany to America, and served with Washington in the Revolutionary war, and later settled in Union county, Penn. This great ancestor of the Wolfe families, from whom our subject is descended, died in Union county, Penn. , at the age of eighty years. Amongst the first settlers in the Buffalo Valley was George Wendell Wolfe, who served as a private in Capt. Clark's company, Col. Patton's regiment, in the Revolutionary war, in 1776. He had seven sons: Michael, Peter, John (surnamed the strong), Jacob, Christian, Leonard and Andrew. Michael Wolfe, the eldest, and grandfather of our subject, was a man of large stature and robust health, as were also his father and brothers, who were noted for feats of strength. He was a blacksmith by trade. He married Miss Catharine Smith, and settled on a farm in Union county, Penn., where he died. Their children were: George, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Abraham, Julia, John, Michael (Jr.), and Catharine, of whom all except John became heads of families, and only three are now living—Elizabeth, Julia and Catharine, who are widows. Michael Wolfe (Jr.), father of our subject, was born August 6, 1809, in Union county, Penn., and on January 31, 1833, married Miss Margaret Engleman, who was born August 17, 1812, in Union county, Penn. She was the daughter of Solomon and Anna M. (Bruner) Engle-man, the former of whom was born October 2, 1753, in Maryland, the latter on December I, 1753, in Lehigh county, Penn. They died in Union county, Penn. Their children were: Elizabeth, David, Amelia, Jonathan, John, Margaret, Rachel and Tobias, all of whom became heads of families except Jonathan. Of these, only Margaret, mother of our subject, is now living. In 1843 Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe came to Ohio, moving from Pennsylvania in a one-horse and a two-horse wagon, and located on a farm two miles west of Fremont, on Muskallonge creek, in Sandusky township. Michael Wolfe had twice previously walked and staged the distance, a journey of more than four hundred miles through the forests. COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 77 The record of the children of Michael and Margaret Wolfe is as follows: Two sons, one born June 2, 1834, and another March 28, 1835, died in infancy. Levi, born April Jo, 1836, is mentioned farther on. Solomon Wolfe, born February 8, 1838, was married January 16, 1862, to Mahala Bowlus, who was born, April 21, 1839, and they had five children-George W. (who was killed by a traction engine when a young man), Rosa, Catharine, Jessiah and Howard; they live in Seneca county, Ohio, where Solomon Wolfe is a farmer and grain thresher; he is a Republican in politics, and a member of the M. P. Church. Jessiah Wolfe, born February 17, 1840, was married May 9, 1867, to Elizabeth Loose; they had three children-one that died in infancy, and Clarence and Monroe; they live at Lindsey, Ohio, where Jessiah is engaged in the grain, produce and live-stock business. Andrew J. Wolfe, born July 19, 1842, married Jemima Stults, February 16, 1865 (he is mentioned farther on). One son, born June 6, 1844, died in infancy. Jane Ellen, born May 27, 1845, was married in July, 1879, to A. D. Hook, of Fremont, Ohio, proprietor of a shirt factory; they have no children. Catharine Ann, born November 29, 1847, was married February 16, 1871, to William L. Baker, of the firm of Engler & Baker, grain and produce dealers, of Fremont; they have two children-Harry M. and Verna L. Margaret Savilla, born January 25, 185o, was married in 1872 to James D. Hensel, a farmer west of Fremont; they had five children-two living, Nora and Mabel, and three deceased. Two other children of Michael Wolfe died in infancy. In the spring of 1865 Michael Wolfe moved from his farm on the Muskallonge creek to his farm on the Western Reserve and Maumee pike, to enjoy the fruits of his labor and economy, where he lived until his death, April i5, 1879. He was ever a kind and devoted husband, an affection ate father, always looking after the welfare of his children, and it is said of Mr. Wolfe that he never had an enemy. Levi Wolfe, our subject, came with his parents from Union county, Penn., to Sandusky county, Ohio, when seven years of age, and grew to manhood on his father's farm. He received his early education in the country schools, and later attended several terms in the Fremont schools and at Oberlin College. On December 17, 1857, he married Christiana M. Lantz, who was born July 31, 1836, in Northumberland county, Penn., daughter of John and Elizabeth (Dieffenbach) Lantz, whose other children were Mary Ann, Simon, Nicholas, Rosanna, John, Henry, Philip, and Emanuel, all of whom came to Ohio about the year 1846, and settled on a farm in Washington township, Sandusky county. In May, 1864, Mr. Wolfe enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment, 0. V. I., under Col. Nathaniel E. Haynes, in Company H, Capt. Jacob D. Thomas, and served four months at Fort Ethan Allen, Virginia, one of the defences of Washington City, when Gen. Early attempted to take it. Mr. Wolfe was honorably discharged in September, 1864, and resumed farming in Jackson township. A year later he removed to the old home farm, which he conducted, and also engaged in grain threshing. He operated one of the first steam-threshing machines in the county. In 1883 he abandoned farming, moved to Fremont, and sold farming implements and machinery. In 1884 he went to his mother's farm, to manage and care for her, and continued the sale of farm machinery. In 1895 he removed to Fremont, his present residence. The children of Levi and Christiana Wolfe, which includes two pairs of twins, are: (I) Robert Andrew, born October 31, 1858, who married Miss Jane Druckenmiller, November 6, 1879, and had six children-Blanche B., Harry and Clyde, who are living, and Claude, Daisie E., 78 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. and James O., deceased. In 1885 the family moved upon a prairie farm in Edwards county, Kans. (2) Lydia Cecilia, born February 25, 186o, died February 17, 1862. (3) Catharine Cadilia, born February 25, 186o, married February 20, 1882, to John J. Stein, whose children are-Essie A., Minor W., Mary C., and Matilda W. Mr. Stein is a butcher by trade. In 1890 he removed with his family to Lewisburg, Penn., where he had formerly resided, and is at present engaged with the Quaker City Meat & Provision Company, at Sunbury, Penn. (4) Emma Rosanna, born April 28, 1861, married Elliott T. Fox, February 23, 1887, whose children are-Adda Corinne, and George Chester. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fox moved upon a new prairie farm in Edwards county, Kans. (5) Ellen Helena, born July 19, 1862, who, August 10, 1883, married • David Swinehart, and whose children are-Alva A., and Merrill James. Mr. Swinehart lives on his father's farm in Washington township. (6) James H., born October 31, 1863, married November 18, 1891, Miss Kate Boyer, of Fremont, and has one child, James Robert. J. H. Wolfe is assistant secretary of the Lehr Agricultural Company, Fremont. (7) Chester Edward, born November 28, 1865, married November 28, 1889, Miss Hattie Waggoner, and lives on the Samuel Waggoner farm, five miles west of Fremont. (8) Michael John, born November 11, 1867, married September 18, 1889, Miss Minnie Boyer, of Fremont, and has one daughter-Corinne W.; M. J. Wolfe is a butcher in the employ of the Quaker City Meat & Provision Company, Sunbury, Penn., where he resides. (9) Margaret Elizabeth, born November 11, 1867, married June 26, 189o, Calvin Benner, a blacksmith, of Fremont, and has two sons-James Levi, born March 27, 1891, and Robert Rice, born January 18, 1894. (1o) Adda Savilla, born August 5, 1874, married., August 8, 1894, William H. Hensel, a farmer, four miles west of Fremont. In politics Levi Wolfe is a Republican, and has held various local offices. He has cared kindly for his aged mother who has been an almost helpless invalid for the last two years, and who has now reached the advanced age of eighty-three. WASHINGTON GORDON. For more than half a century the name of Gordon has been closely identified with the growth and progress of Ottawa county, more particularly with Salem township. The family is of Scotch ancestry on the father's side, while the mother is of Yankee parentage. The parents and grandparents of our subject were natives of Somerset county, N. J. The first members of the family to settle in Ohio were John and Rachel (Smith) Gordon, parents of our subject, who removed from Somerset county, N. J., in 1831, and located in Salem township. After residing here for about six months, they removed to Harris township, where they remained three years, at the end of that time returning to Salem township, making it their place of abode during the remainder of their lives. They were honored and respected people, and had a large circle of warm friends. The father passed away November 7, 1851, preceded to the grave by the mother, who departed this life March 3, 1842. In every community various pursuits are followed which add to the material prosperity of the neighborhood, while advancing the interests of the individual. Among the worthy representatives of the commercial class in Ottawa county, there is no one more highly respected tha.n Washington Gordon, of Salem township, a self-made man, who is now a prosperous lumber dealer of Oak Harbor. He was born in Harris township, Ottawa Co., Ohio, January 9, 1834, and since his infancy has resided in Salem township, COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 79 being to-day one of its oldest residents. His educational advantages in early life were of a very limited nature, his boyhood having been largely occupied with the arduous duties that accompany farming in a new region. Not wishing, however, to engage in agricultural pursuits through his entire business career, he turned his attention to the manufacture of lumber, and is one of the leaders in this line of industry in Ottawa county. On July 7, 1857, in Portage township, Ottawa county, was celebrated the marriage • of Mr. Gordon and Miss Margaret Rymers, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, January 25, 1834, daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Williamson) Rymers, who came to Ohio, and settled in Ottawa county in 1841. By this union there were six children: William H., born June 13, 1858, and died December 8, 1860; Frank, born August 13, 1860, died February 25, 1867; William, born December 15, 1862, now prosecuting attorney of Ottawa county (on September 12, 1893, he was married to Elizabeth Gernhard, who was born December 8, 1874, daughter of Conrad and Augusta (Wilke) Gernhard, who came from Germany); Eva, born January 31, 1865, married October 11, 1882, to William Bleckner, postmaster at Oak Harbor (Mr. Bleckner was born February 14, 1854); Nora, born June 20, 1867, wife of H. A. Kilmer, of Oak Harbor; and Harry J., born November 7, 1870, now a school teacher. Mr. Gordon capably served for many years as treasurer of Oak Harbor, for four years was county treasurer, was justice of the peace three years, and was a member of the board of education of Oak Harbor. In all these positions he discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity, and won the commendation of all concerned. Socially, he is connected with Oak Harbor Lodge, No. 495, F. & A. M., and in his political affiliations he is a stanch advocate of Democratic principles. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Gordon is a man of more than ordinary natural ability, and has made good use of his opportunities in life. With a generous sympathy, kindliness, and a desire to live an upright and helpful life, he has endeared himself to a large circle of friends. He has devoted himself to his business-pleasure coming as an after consideration-and his success, therefore, has been but the consequence of a natural law. His prosperity is well merited, and his honorable straightforward career has earned for him the prominence he now enjoys in the community. PETER SPIELDENNER, farmer and importer of thoroughbred horses, Fremont, Sandusky county, was born October 25, 1840, in Lorraine, France, a son of Francis and Elizabeth (Gerber) Spieldenner. The father was a native of the same place, and a farmer by occupation. In 1845 he emigrated to America with his family, and locating in Washington township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, bought forty acres of the forest land, which he cleared up for a home. Here he died September 15, 1850, aged forty-seven years, four months, three days, leaving a wife and five children, viz. : Peter, the subject of this sketch; Frank, who resides in eastern Ohio; Margaret, who married John Nomene, and resides in Putnam county, Ohio; Elizabeth, who married Peter Nomene, and resides in Putnam county, Ohio; and John, who lives with his brother Frank. The mother of this family passed away February 28, 1895, at the advanced age of eighty years, six months, three days. After the death of Francis Spieldenner, our subject remained with the family to provide and care for them until the children were all grown up, on which account he was deprived of educational ad- 80 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. vantages, but he mastered the rudiments of English and German by private study at home. On May 2, 1865, he was married to Mary Snider, and they have two children: Fredolina, who married John L. Reineck, of Fremont, Ohio, a member of the firm of Hetrick, Bristol & Co., dealers in hardware, and Adolph, unmarried, who lives with his parents. Two children died, Johannah at the age of seventeen, and one in infancy. Mrs. Spieldenner is the daughter of Martin and Mary (Flatz) Snider, and was born November 19, 1846, in Tyrol, Austria, being educated at Wolfurt, near Bregenz. When she was twelve years old her parents came to America, and the family settled in Rice township, Sandusky county, Ohio. The mother died on the second day after reaching Fremont. The children remained at home until their marriage, and the father is now living at Millersville with his son-in-law, F. Fisher. He was born November 1 1, 18o6, in Austria, and was always a farmer; his wife, born in 1809, died June 25, 1859, and was buried in Ludwick Cemetery. There were fourteen children in the family, six of whom are living, one in California and the others in Sandusky county. Mrs. Spieldenner's maternal grandmother, May Ann Grising, was born in Austria about 1778. After his marriage Peter Spieldenner settled on a farm in Ballville township and followed agriculture exclusively for about six years; then moved to Sandusky township, where he bought eighty-five acres of land west of Fremont, just outside the corporation, on which he now lives. Upon his removal to this place he engaged in buying and shipping live stock to Eastern markets, chiefly to Buffalo, N. Y., and a few years later he became interested in the breeding of horses, becoming an importer of French stallions. He went to France about the year 1882, and purchased two Percheron stallions, which he brought to Fremont. For sev eral years subsequent to this he devoted his attention to the breeding of horses, and on a second trip to France he imported six stallions. While abroad in Europe he traveled through Scotland, England and parts of France, visiting his relatives in Paris. During the last thirty years Mr. Spieldenner has been well known in the vicinity of Fremont as a popular auctioneer, being able to speak both German and English fluently. He is a Democrat in politics, and has served as trustee of Sandusky township. He and his family are members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Fremont. LAUREL ELMER ROBINSON, M. D., a successful and thoroughly trained medical practitioner of Clyde, Sandusky county, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, August 14, 1845, son of Basil W. and Elizabeth (Blair) Robinson. The father was born at Danville, Knox county, in 1818, and now lives at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, a successful retired farmer and stock dealer. He bought horses and sheep extensively, selling them at Chicago and in other markets. The paternal grandfather of B. W. Robinson emigrated from Scotland about the middle of the last century, and settled near Harrisburg, where he was engaged in general merchandising. He died possessed of considerable property, and his will is now in the possession of B. W. Robinson. William Robinson, one of the sons of this Scotch emigrant, was a member of one of the early legislatures of Ohio. Solomon Robinson, another son, father of B. W., migrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1799 or 180o. He had eleven children, the eldest of whom was born in Ohio in 1801. Solomon Robinson died of apoplexy in his eighty-sixth year on the farm he had cleared near Mt. Vernon. Only three of his children survive: Daniel, of Lima; Mrs. Brooks, of Newark; COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 81 and B. W. The latter is a Republican in politics; and a member of the Baptist Church. His wife, Elizabeth Blair, was born in Ashland county, Ohio, in 1821, and died in 1889. Her father was a Scotch emigrant; her maternal grandmother was stolen from Ireland by a brother, and educated in America. The mother of Elizabeth Blair is said to have been the first white child born west of the Ohio river. When a child, during the early Indian troubles, she witnessed, through a crack in the stockade, the massacre of her brother—twenty-one years old—and of her sister—two years younger —both victims of the tomahawks and scalping knives of the savages. B. W. and Elizabeth Robinson had five children, four of whom lived to maturity, as follows: Rovilla, who married John Godfrey Jones, a Methodist minister, and a graduate of Kenyon College, and now resides near Portsmouth; Laurel Elmer, subject of this sketch; Winfield Scott, a physician, who was educated at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Penn., and who died in 1893; R. .J., also a physician, now deceased; and one child that died in infancy. Laurel Elmer Robinson was educated at Mt. Vernon. In 1868 he entered the U. S. regular army as hospital steward for a term of five years, passing a strict technical examination before his appointment could be made effective. From this service Dr. Robinson received great professional benefit. He was stationed in Arizona during the Indian troubles of 187o, and in his professional capacity was often under fire from the savages. His hat brim was once shot off, and bullets several times pierced his clothing. He was under Gen. Crook's command, and not infrequently prescribed medicine for this unassuming commander, but brilliant Indian fighter. Retiring from the army service, Dr. Robinson completed a course of study at Rush Medical College, graduating with the class of 1874. He practiced two years at Mt. Vernon with his brother, R. J., then three years at Re- public, Seneca county, and in 1879 settled permanently at ,Clyde, where he has since built up a large practice. Dr. Robinson was married at Mt. Vernon,. in 1876, to Miss Cora B. McElroy, and four children have been born to them—Howard, Lester, Carl and Russell; the latter died in June, 1894, aged two years and six months. Dr. Robinson is a member of the Sandusky County Medical Society, and in politics he is a Republican. S. B. TAYLOR, M. D., physician and surgeon, Fremont, Sandusky county, has been engaged in the practice of medicine for thirty years. He was born at Lower Sandusky, Ohio, March 19, 1844, son of Austin B. and Delia A. (Pettibone) Taylor. His father was born in Newfane, Vt., in 1814, and at the age of twenty-four came to Lower Sandusky, Ohio, to clerk for Sardis Birchard, of the firm of Birchard, Dickinson & Grant, whom he afterward succeeded in business, and was one of the pioneer merchants of the village. He died February 22, 1863. Dr. Taylor's mother was born in Granby, Conn., in 1822, daughter of Hon. Hiram Pettibone, a native of Connecticut, who in 1836 came to Lower Sandusky, and was one of its first attorneys. He died at Fond du Lac, Wis., in 1886; his wife died at Fremont in 1854. Mrs. Taylor died in 1888, at Fremont, Ohio. The children of Austin B. and Delia A. Taylor were: Mary, who died in 1857, at the age of fourteen; Sardis B., our subject; Charles, who died in Dunlap, Iowa, in 1891; George, who died in Attica, Harper Co., Kans., in 1891; Oscar W., who died in Dunlap, Iowa, in 1891; Austin B., who resides at Dunlap, Iowa; and Delia, who is a teacher of German in the Fremont public schools (Miss 82 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Taylor is a graduate of Wells College, N. Y.). Dr. S. B. Taylor was reared in Fremont, there receiving his primary education in the public schools, and subsequently passed through the Preparatory Department of Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio. He then commenced the study of medicine at Cleveland, Ohio, under Dr. S. R. Beckwith, and later entered Cleveland Medical Institute, from which he graduated with the class of 1864. He afterward attended Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, from which he graduated with the class of 1872. He began the practice of his profession in 1864, in the capacity of assistant-surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment, 0. V. I., at Fort Ethan Allen, Va., and since that time he has been in constant practice at Fremont, Ohio. He was physician at the County Infirmary from 1868 to 1872, and he is now president of the Sandusky County Soldiers' Relief Commission, and a member of the Sandusky County Medical Society, of which he was the first librarian. Dr. Taylor is a member of Dickinson Tent No. 21, K. 0. T. M., of which he has been physician, and a member of Eugene Rawson Post No. 32, G. A. R., numbering 170 members, of which he has been surgeon for twelve years. He was aide-de-camp to the G. A. R. for Sandusky county in 1890. He is a Democrat in politics. Dr. Taylor is a lineal descendant, great-grandson, of Brig.-Gen. Chauncey Pettibone, who served in the Revolutionary war. JOSEPH L. RAWSON. Few families have honored the memory of an illustrious line of English ancestry more than has the Rawson family in Sandusky county, Ohio. Depending wholly upon their own exertions, each has left the impress of his life and character upon the history of the community in which he lived and labored. As an honored representative of the Rawsons we present the one whose name opens this article. Joseph L. Rawson, surveyor, was born in Fremont, Ohio, in 1835, a son of Dr. L. Q. and Sophia (Beaugrand) Rawson, the former of English and the latter of French descent. Dr. Rawson was a native of Irving, Franklin Co., Mass., born September 4, 1804, a son of Lemuel Rawson, who was also a native of Massachusetts, born January 18, 1767. Lemuel Rawson was a tanner by trade until 1812, after which he was a farmer; he was married on September 8, 1791, to Miss Sarah Barrus, and after farming successively at Orange, New Salem and Irving Grant, Mass., until 1836, came to Bath, Summit Co., Ohio, where he remained until September 20, 1844, when his wife died, and he then removed to Lower Sandusky. Their children were: Sallie Rawson, who was first married to Capt. Jesse Thompson, and after his death to Mr. B. Hubbard, who settled in Putnam county, Ohio; she died October 15, 1853. Lemuel, born December 14, 1793, died October 6, 1866; .he settled on the Rawson farm, in South Orange, Mass. Secretary Rawson, who practiced medicine in Summit county, Ohio, forty-two years, after which he went to DesMoines, Iowa, where he died in 1891, aged ninety-five years; he was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Elizabeth, twin of Secretary, died when two years old. Abel Rawson, an attorney at law of Tiffin, Ohio, died in 1871. Bass Rawson, who was a hatter by trade, and later a physician and surgeon of Findlay, Hancock Co., Ohio; he died in 1891, aged ninety-two years. Hannah Rawson, wife of John Galbraith, of Seneca county, Ohio; she died in September, 1867. L. Q., father of our subject. Alonzo Rawson, who published a weekly paper at Athol, Mass., called the Freedom Sentinel, until 1833, when he came to Tiffin, Ohio, and published the Independent Chronicle two years; after this he engaged for a COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 83 time in mercantile pursuits, and then studied and practiced medicine; he died at Colton, Ohio, November 25, 1864, aged fifty-eight years. Dr. L. Q. Rawson was reared and educated in Massachusetts, and in 1824 attended a medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio. He began the practice of medicine in 1825, in Wyandot county, and in 1826 came to Lower Sandusky, whence after a brief stay he then went east and entered the Medical College of the University of Pennsylvania, where he finished his education and received the degree of M. D. ; he returned to Sandusky county, and continued in the practice of his profession until 1855. He held various offices of honor and trust in his community, for a time serving as clerk of courts, and also as clerk of the supreme court from 1836 to 1851. From 1853 he devoted part of his time to the building of the Lake Erie & Western railroad, of which he was president several years. The town of Rawson was named after him, as was also Rawson avenue, Fremont. He was considered a man of good financial ability and force of character. On July 8, 1829, Dr. Rawson was married to Miss Sophia Beaugrand, at Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), Ohio, who was born October 20, 181o, a daughter of John B. Beaugrand, one of the early pioneers of the Black Swamp, who was a merchant at Maumee from 1802 to 1812. He had married in 18o2, at Detroit, Mich., Miss Margaret Chabert, daughter of Col. Chabert de Joucaire, of the French army. Dr. L. Q. Rawson died at Fremont, in September, 1888, and his wife in May, 1882. Their children were: Milton E., a physician, who graduated from Cleveland Medical College, practiced medicine in Grand Haven and Muskegon, Mich., and at Fremont, Ohio; Xavier J., who died in infancy; Joseph L., whose name opens this sketch; Josephine, who died in childhood; Roxine H., born in 1838, and died in 1846; Eugene A., born March 14, 1840, a soldier of the Civil war, who died July 22, 1864, and after whom a G. A. R. Post is named (he enlisted in the Twelfth New York Infantry, was transferred in December, 1861, to the Seventy-second Regiment, 0. V. I., with the rank of adjutant, and soon afterward received the rank of major which he held up to the time of his death. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, first Bull Run, siege of Corinth, Vicksburg, and other engagements of less note. During a skirmish near Guntown, Miss. , July 15, 1864, he received a wound which resulted in his death a week later, at Memphis, Tenn.); and Estelle S., born March 2, 1849, wife of L. A. Russell, of Cleveland, Ohio. Joseph L. Rawson was reared and educated in Fremont, and occasionally performed farm labor. He took up civil engineering, which he followed for a time, and for about ten years also had charge of a grain elevator at the docks in Fremont. In September, 1859, he married Miss Margaret A. Gelpin, of Fremont, Ohio, whose parents were Lyman and Martha (Stevenson) Gelpin, the former from New York State, the latter from Maryland, both having come to the Western Reserve at an early day, where they died. To our subject and wife were born three children: Sophia E., born July 4, 186o, wife of Theodore Harris, a merchant of Tecumseh, Mich., who has one child, Jennie May; Jennie A., born February 7, 1863, wife of Dr. 0. H. Thomas, of Fremont, Ohio, and La Q uinio G., born October 28, 1871, an attorney at law of Cleveland, Ohio, who read law with James H. Fowler, Fremont, attended the Cincinnati Law School, from which he graduated, standing fifth in a class of ninety-seven, and was admitted to the bar in 1891. Our subject is a Republican in politics; his family are members of the St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The Rawson family is of English ancestry, being 84 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. descended from Edward Rawson, who came to the Colony of Massachusetts, in 1636-37, and settled at Newbury, Mass. Some of the family line were ministers, some sea captains, and others physicians. The family have a coat of arms traced back to England, and a well-written book of family genealogy. MAJOR EUGENE ALLEN RAWSON. Prominent among the patriotic and brave young men of Sandusky county, who voluntarily sacrificed their lives on the altar of their country during the Civil war, 1861-65, was he whose name introduces this article. While a student at Homer, N. Y., and just about finishing his academic course preparatory to entering Yale College, he promptly responded to Abraham Lincoln's first call for volunteers by enlisting in the Twelfth New York Regiment. In the capacity of private he took a noble part in the battle of Bull Run, evincing great coolness and bravery. In December, 1861, he was appointed adjutant of the Seventy-second Reginent 0. V. I., by the governor of Ohio, and was accordingly transferred to it by the War Department. He left Fremont with the regiment in January, 1862, when it moved to Camp Chase, preparatory to going to its final destination —Paducah and the Southwest. He shared its perils after it joined the army of the Tennessee, and moved down the Mississippi to Pittsburg Landing. Many boys of the regiment were sick with the diseases peculiar to that Southern climate, and Mr. Rawson's natural buoyancy of spirit and cheerful sprightly manner did no little to drive away despondency. A few incidents will give an idea of his bravery. On Friday preceding the battle of Shiloh, at the head of Company B, Adjutant Rawson, with forty men, having only a fallen tree for their breastwork, kept six hundred Rebel cavalry in check for several hours, until relieved by the timely arrival of Col. Buckland. When the battle opened on Sunday morning, April 6th, and the Rebels came like an avalanche upon the unsuspecting, Union troops, Buckland's brigade responded to the beat of the " long roll " with such alacrity that they stood in the very front of Sherman's Division, ready for action, before the enemy had gained rifle distance of their position. Col. R. P. Buckland being in command of the brigade, the command of the regiment devolved upon Lieut. -Col. Canfield, and as Major Crockett, the only other field officer of the regiment had been taken prisoner two days previous, Adjutant Rawson, by common consent assumed the duties of major for the occasion. At the first or second fire, Lieut. -Col. Canfield fell mortally wounded, and Adjutant Rawson alone remained to command the regiment, and cheer the boys who stood steadfast amid the storm of leaden hail that mowed through their ranks, until Col. Buckland, seeing their extremity, came to their relief. The horse of Adj. Rawson was shot from under him, and another that had been sent for him was captured before it reached him, but he performed his duties promptly and efficiently on foot. He distinguished himself later in the three-days' fight at Pittsburg Landing, at the siege of Corinth, in the pursuit of Forrest through Tennessee, in the marches, skirmishes and battles from Memphis to Vicksburg, in the pursuit of Johnson, under Sherman, to Jackson, in the return to Memphis, and in the expedition into Mississippi. After the Seventy-second had re-enlisted as veterans, and after the main body composing Sherman's expedition had moved southward, a small force of about 1,600 men was sent out on the venturesome expedition of making a feint into the enemy's country, where they were holding a position on the bank of the Tallahatchie to intercept and defeat the cross- COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 85 ing of reinforcements moving to the support of Sherman. Of this small force, the Seventy-second regiment, under Lieut. -Col. Eaton and Maj. Rawson formed a part. The latter Officer had been promoted by common consent to the rank of major, and performed his part of the undertaking with rare good judgment and intrepidity. From the badly managed expedition of which the Seventy-second regiment formed a part, which was sent out from Memphis under Gen. Sturgis, and which ended so sadly at Guntown and Ripley, in Mississippi, Maj. Rawson reached Memphis with such of the officers and men as were saved from the general disaster; marching over eighty miles without food or rest, in less than forty-eight hours. The Seventy-second regiment acted as a rear guard to the fleeing troops, and valiantly beat back the pursuing foe until out of ammunition and having their supply train destroyed by the Rebels, when they were at last forced to make good their escape by flight after 250 of their men had been captured. Scarcely rested from this scene of suffering, the Seventy-second regiment, under Maj. Rawson, started again, under, Gen. A. J. Smith, to encounter the same foe. Coming up to the enemy at Tupelo, Miss., Maj. Rawson was mortally wounded at Old Town Creek, while gallantly leading a charge against the Rebel lines. He was borne from the field and conveyed back to Memphis, where he died July 22, 1864, aged twenty-four years. His remains were embalmed and sent home to Fremont, Ohio, where with appropriate ceremonies they were interred in Oak Wood Cemetery. Resolutions of respect were adopted by the remaining officers of the regiment, and forwarded for publication to the Press of Sandusky county. In the year 1881, the first organization of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Fremont, was named after Maj. Eugene Allen Rawson, and among its charter members were Gen. R. P. Buckland and Gen. R. B. Hayes, the latter of whom donated the use of Birchard Hall to the Post, free, as long as they shall maintain their organization. Major Rawson was the son of Dr. La Quinio and Sophia (Beaugrand) Rawson, and was born at Fremont, Ohio, March 14, 1840. While absent from his regiment on furlough, August 31, 1863, he married Miss Jennie Snyder, an amiable and accomplished lady of Cortland, New York. J. D. BEMIS, M. D., is a native of Ohio, born in Elyria, March 14, 1858, a son of Eri and Lydia A. (Griswold) Bemis, the former of whom was a well-to-do farmer of Lorain county until the breaking out of the Civil war. At that time, fired with the spirit of patriotism, he gave his services to the government, for the preservation of the Union, by enlisting, in August, 1862, in Company E, First Ohio Light Artillery (Edgerton's Battery), in which he bravely served until he died at Nashville, Tenn., July 13, 1863; his remains were sent home to Elyria for burial. The mother of our subject also died in comparatively early life, leaving four children, namely: Charles, who lives in Elyria, Ohio; H. E. , in California; Dr. J. D. ; and Clara, now the wife of C. W. Benton, of Elyria, Ohio. The subject of these lines after the death of his parents was placed in care of his uncle, Dr. Griswold, of Elyria, Lorain county, and attended the schools of that city until he was about nine years of age, when he was received into the Soldiers and Sailors Orphans home, at Xenia, Ohio (of which institution his uncle had just been appointed superintendent), remaining there until he was thirteen years old. This brings us now to 1871, at 'which time our subject received, at the hands of Lieut.-Gov. J. C. Lee, the appointment of bill-room mes- 86 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. senger for the Ohio Senate, in which capacity he served two years. During the State Constitutional Convention, 1873-74, he was appointed page, and later he filled the office of assistant sergeant-at-arms, under appointment from M. R. Waite, president of the convention, and afterward chief justice of the United States. In 1874-75 Dr. Bemis attended Baldwin University, and from there returned to Elyria, where he pursued the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Perry, having previously studied at intervals with the aid of his uncle's medical library. From Dr. Perry's office he went, in 1876, to the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati (Ohio), graduating thereat in 1879, and then came to Fremont, where he at once commenced the practice of his chosen profession, and, as a hard student of advanced ideas in both medicine and surgery, has placed himself in the foremost rank of skilled practitioners in the county. In 1892 the Doctor was elected health officer for the city of Fremont, and is at present filling the incumbency with his proverbial skill and efficiency, the quality of which is well evidenced by the present high sanitary condition of the city. In 1892 he was appointed a member of the United States Board of Pension Examining Surgeons, and has been its secretary since 1893. WILLIAM A. CLEMONS, familiarly known as '' Judge Clemons, " one of the most prominent citizens of Ottawa county, was born in Erie county, Ohio, December 15, 1829, and is a son of Alexander and Angeline (Hollister) Clemons, the former a native of Maine, the latter of Connecticut. They were of Scotch ancestry on the maternal side, but the Clemons family, as far as known, originated on the Isle of Guernsey, where two little boys, Isaac and John Clemons, were stolen while on their way to school, and brought to America, locating at Salem, Mass., in the early part of the eighteenth century. Our subject is descended from Isaac, who afterward located in the State of Maine, and became the father of two sons—Edward and John. The former had four sons—Jock, Samuel, Jabez, and Frank—and these four brothers removed to Madison, N. Y., in 1795. The first named became the father of three sons and two daughters. Samuel had one son and two dughters; Jabez, two sons and three daughters; Frank had three daughters. Jabez became the father of David Clemons, the father of the celebrated humorist, who is best known to the world as Mark Twain. John, the brother of Edward, had three sons and three daughters, namely: John, Jonathan, Eli, Ruth, Hannah and Eunice. John wedded Mary McLellan, of Gorham, Maine, and their children were—Cary, Andrew, Alexander, John, Eunice, Ai, Elijah, Nancy, Samuel and William. Ruth, a sister of the father of this family, became the wife of Col. Charles Wadsworth, son of Gen. Peleg Wadsworth, of Revolutionary fame, and the brother of the mother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Hannah married William Cotton. The mother of John Clemons, and the great-grandmother of our subject, was Abigail Wetherbee, who lived to be one hundred and four years old, and left one hnndred and sixty-four descendants. Alexander Clemons, father of our subject, was born in Hiram, Maine, February 11, 1794, and was a cabinet maker by trade, but after locating in Ottawa county engaged in stone quarrying. He was one of the best known and most prominent men of his day. He was married February II, 1824, to Almira Angeline Hollister, who was born in Glastonburg, Conn., April 5, 1806. Their children were: Winslow, born in Sandusky, Ohio, December 29, 1824; Milo, born April 6, 1827, and died March 6, 1888 ;William Alexander ; Phineas COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 87 Harrison, born February 16, 1832; Sarah, born March 4, 1834; Frances, born April 6, 1836; Myron Elijah, born February 25, 1838; Albert Alonzo, born April 9, 1840; Lucian Monroe, born November 28, 1841; Lester Newton, who was born in 1843, and died March 5, 1846; Lucia Louise, who was born in December, 1844, and died November 20, 1849; Hubbard Mortimer, born March 27, 1848; Ai Jay, born June 17, 1850; Eunice, who died March 6, 1888; and one son who died in infancy. When our subject was three years old he was brought by his parents to Danbury township, Ottawa county, and he is to-day an honored pioneer whose residence covers a period of sixty-three years. His father passed away March 12, 1886, his mother on March 24, 1861. William obtained a limited education in the district schools, and then worked in his father's quarry, after which he engaged in business for several years with his brothers, but later was associated with no partner. Since 1891 he has lived retired, enjoying a rest which he truly earned and well deserves. Mr. Clemons was married at Marblehead Lighthouse, January 1, 1856, to Alvira V., daughter of J. B. and Arvilla (Knapp) Keyes, the former a native of New York, the latter of Vermont. Her father was born May 8, 1815, was a seafaring man, and for several years lighthouse keeper, at Marblehead. He was married December 24, 1834, to Mrs. Arvilla Wolcott, who was born September 21, 18 I o, and February 21, 183o, married William B. Wolcott. In her family were sight children: Harrison W. born February 21, 1831 ; Mary E. , born December 2o, 1832, and Arvilla A., born April 21, 1835, all three now deceased; Alvira V., born September 17, 1837; Charles M., born October 28, 1840, now living in Sandusky City; Thomas J., born December 28, 1842, is at Berlin Heights, Ohio; Jane Ellen, born March 21, 1845, - 6 - died in infancy, and Jennie V., born September 5, 1846, now the widow of Horace Pond, of Elyria. The father died July 20, 1891, the mother on June 8, 1892. Our subject and his wife have had twelve children, as follows: Ada V., born February 16, 1857, now the wife of Richard Coorty, a prominent merchant of Marblehead; Arvilla C., born March 1860, and died December 3, 1869; Cora A., born April 19, 1862; Sarah E., born July 12, 1864; James A., born August 29, 1866, a merchant of Marblehead; Charles B., born August 22, 1868, now a member of the crew of the Marblehead life-saving station; Francis J., of Marblehead, born April 12, 1870; Harry R., born November 12, 1872; Clarence M., and Clement M., born June 17, 1874, and died in infancy; Walter L., born July 26, 1876; and Erie May, born February 21, 1879 In his political views, Mr. Clemons is a Republican. His business enterprises have been generally successful, and by industry, integrity and perseverance he has accumulated a snug fortune, and to-day is in a position to enjoy the rest which he has so well earned. He has lived in Marblehead for sixty-three years, and has applied himself to business pursuits unfalteringly, never failing to discharge his pecuniary obligations, and his business record is without a blemish. Most of the pioneers of the county have passed to their long homes, yet they were men of sterling integrity who left the impress of their individuality upon the community with which they were identified. The log cabins of the early settlers, in which all received a hearty welcome, have disappeared, and in their place stand handsome and imposing residences. Where once there was nothing but a dense forest there are now well-cultivated farms and fruit orchards, and most of this change has taken place within the memory of Mr. Clemons. The good old pioneer days 88 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. have passed, but he well remembers the generosity and helpfulness which characterized the early settlers. He was favored with but few advantages in his youth, yet he made the most of his opportunities, and is known as a straightforward business man, a public-spirited and progressive citizen, an affectionate husband and kind father, and a trusted friend and neighbor whose example is well worthy of emulation. ELIJAH CULBERT, who has been a resident of Sandusky township, Sandusky county, for the past several years, is a native of Ireland, born August 9, 1821, in the city of Belfast, County Antrim. William Culbert, grandfather of our subject, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and was there married to Sophia Greer, of the same nativity, by whom he had four children, as follows: David (our subject's father); Sophia, who married Hugh Patton, and died in Belfast; Mary, who married William Ross (they both also passed away in Belfast); and Andrew, who was drowned about the year 1830 at Belfast. The parents both died in that city. The family are of Scotch descent, the father of William Culbert having migrated from Scotland to the North of Ireland. David Culbert, eldest son of William and Sophia (Greer) Culbert, and father of Elijah, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, removing to Belfast with his father's family. He was a wholesale and retail merchant in glass, oils and colors. In his native land he married Eleanor Patton, who was born in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland, and a record of the children of this union is as follows: David, born January, 1817, died July, 1888, at Southampton, County of Bruce, Upper Canada (now Province of Ontario); William, born October 23, 1819, died in Toronto, Canada, July 16, 1893; Elijah, who is the subject proper of this sketch, comes next; Mary, born in 1823, died in Belfast, Ireland, in 1828; Sophia, born in 1825, was married in 1857 to John Moore, and died in Lindsay, Canada, in 1877; Thomas, born August 12, 1828, died December 20, 1877, at Cape Croker, County of Bruce, Upper Canada (now Province of Ontario); Isaac Cookson, born in 1830, died in Lindsay, Canada, November, 1856; Mary Amelia, born January 19, 1834, in Lindsay, Canada, died September 12, 1855, in Toronto, Canada. All the others were in the city of Belfast, Ireland, and on April 26, 1833, the family set sail for the New World, Little York, Upper Canada (now the city of Toronto, Ontario), being their destination. From there, after a brief sojourn, they moved to Lindsay, County of Victoria, where the mother died May 6, 1853, the father on Good Friday, 1856. He was a man of mark in his day, and while a resident of Lindsay held four commissions under the Canadian government, to wit: commissioner of the Court of Queen's Bench; commissioner of the Court of Requests; justice of the peace (under commission from the Governor General of Canada); and postmaster at Lindsay, holding all the offices up to the time of his death. Elijah Culbert, of whom this memoir more particularly relates, was a lad of twelve summers when he accompanied the rest of his father's family across the ocean. On April 3o, 1846, he was married at Port Hope, Canada, to Miss Eliza Day, Rev. John Genley officiating; in 1848 he moved to Lindsay, where he resided nine years, and then left Canada for the United States, making his first home under the Stars and Stripes at East Hamburg, Erie Co., N. Y. From there he, in 1859, removed to Fremont, Sandusky Co., Ohio, where he engaged in the nursery business for a short time, or until his enlistment in the Union army during the Civil war, an account of which COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 89 will presently be given. Since his discharge from the army in June, 1865, he has been engaged more or less in agricultural pursuits. To Elijah and Eliza (Day) Culbert were born ten children, as follows: (I) Eleanor Jane, born in Toronto, Canada, March 2, 1847, died in Lindsay, Canada, September 2, 1848. (2) Sophia Elizabeth, born in Lindsay, Canada, January 21, 1849, graduated from the Fremont (Ohio) public schools, and is a teacher in the Fremont Grammar Schools of twenty-five years' standing. (3) Thomas Andrew, born in Lindsay, Canada, July 5, 1851, died at the same place, March 7, 1853. (4) Samuel James, born in Lindsay, July 22, 1853, married Margaret Conly, and has three children-Gracie, Walter, and one whose name is not given (he lives in Michigan). (5) John Patton, also born in Lindsay, Canada, September I, 1855, died in Ballville township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, November 13, 1893; he married Lena Cook, and has six children-Jessie, Eva, George W., Wilbur, Susan and Lula. (6) Letitia Emily, born in Lindsay, Canada, September 2, 1857, was married, in 1880, to John Nickles, by whom she had the following children: Lottie, Maud, Lucy E., Helen S., Addie E., Walter W., and Ruth, the last named dying August 11, 1894. (7) Charles Henry, born in Ballville township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, December 24, 1859, and died unmarried, December t 0, 1889, in Sandusky township. (8) Albert Edward, born in Ballville township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, March 27, 1862, married Mary Rose, and has three children-Chester, Stella and Ralph P. (9) Mary Eleanor, born in Ballville township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, January 15, 1866, and is still living at home, single. (10) Edgar Augustus, born in Sandusky township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, June 25, 1868. War record of Elijah Culbert is as follows, from his own graphic pen: " On September 7, 1863, I enlisted at Fre mont, Ohio, in Company I, Twelfth 0. V. C., for three years or during the war. My regiment belonged to the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, Twenty-third Corps, Army of the Cumberland. I participated in three battles, the first being at Mt. Sterling, Ky., when we encountered Gen. John Morgan, Gen. Marmaduke and others. The engagement commenced in the early morning of Thursday, June 9, 1864, and continued until 9 A. M.; at Jo A. M. Morgan was reinforced and the fight was renewed, lasting till 3 P. M., Morgan being defeated in both engagements, and terribly used up. On the Ticktown pike his dead lay like ranks of cordwood, presenting a horrible sight such as I wish never to set eyes on again. At 3:30 P. M. the Rebels started for Lexington, Ky., twenty-six miles from Mt. Sterling, and there plundered the stores and banks, besides looting the government corrals of the best horses. and mules they could lay their hands on, destroying the remainder. Our division lay at Mt. Sterling that afternoon and night, on the following morning proceeding to Lexington, Morgan's rear guard leaving that city just as our advance guard was entering it. At this time we were under Gen. Burbridge, who for some reason halted our division on the main street, keeping the men standing at their horses heads all day. At night we pursued the Rebels, and reached Paris about sunrise Saturday morning, June II, where we remained all day; the following night found us riding to Cynthiana, overtaking Morgan on the morning of June 12, with whom we had another stubborn tussel, again defeating him. This was Morgan's last fight, for we slew and took prisoners: a great number of his men; most of the remainder sought safety in the mountains, while Morgan himself and his generals fled to Tennessee, where he was afterward betrayed by a woman and killed. " My third and last engagement occurred on Sunday, October 2, 1864, at Saltville, Va., when we fought against 90 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Gens. Early, Breckenridge, Roberts, Jackson and others. It looked as if the mountains were covered with the Confederate soldiers, so vast was their number, at least five to one of us. We expected to be reinforced by Gen. Gillam, but his corps did not arrive in time; however, we kept the enemy at bay all day, and at night our division retreated. Our officers detailed men to light fires on the mountains and the Rebels thought they had us all bagged,' but our men got safely away. The Eleventh Michigan Cavalry was rear guard at first, on this retreat, and next day fought like good fellows, but were unable to check the enemy, who were now in full pursuit, and Gen. Gillam then ordered the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry to act as rear guard. In this engagement I, among hundreds of others, was taken prisoner, and we were at first confined in an old shed at Fort Breckenridge, Saltville, six days, where we were stripped of our boots and clothing, and fed on nothing but a little flour once a day. On the night of October 8, a bitterly cold night, we were hustled off, half-naked as we were, to Glade Springs, eight miles distant, where we changed cars for Lynchburg, but had to wait several hours for the train, during which time we tramped up and down the station platform on our bare feet, although the ice and snow was several inches deep. When we reached Lynchburg prison we were driven, like so many hogs, into the yard which was paved with nigger-heads, and most of the prisoners had to pass the night there. I was more fortunate, being permitted to sleep with some others in a sort of boarded-up place under the stairs, but were nearly suffocated to death when the doorway closed. From Lynchburg we were conveyed to Libby, arriving there October 13, where our first day's rations consisted of one tub of Mississippi pea soup ' to be divided among 150 famishing men. Having no such luxury as a spoon or ladle we were content to dip the soup up with the half of a tin tobacco box, and pass it round. This, however, was too slow a process for a lot of starving men, so three or four of the boys grabbed the tub, and turning it to one side, as many as could get their heads into it at a time did so; then they had to be choked off to allow others to get a chance, and such pushing, crawling and fighting over that tub I never saw equaled except, perhaps, by a lot of pigs at a newly-filled swill trough. " I was confined in Libby until November 8, 1864, and was removed to Pemberton prison, at which time the cold was intense. There were 300 men on each floor, and when time to retire ' at night we would divide into three squads of 100 each; one squad would take the center of the floor, the other two being stretched out by the walls. Before lying down we would take a sort of plebiscite vote as to which side we would lie right or left '—and once down we could not turn over' until another vote was taken, the majority always carrying the day—or rather the night.' This is only one example of the many methods we unfortunates used to adopt in order to keep ourselves warm; but in spite of all our precautions many of our poor boys were badly frozen. Our rations generally consisted of pieces of corn bread (two inches square, the flour being made of corn and cob ground together) every twenty-four hours, and if any mules got killed in battle, and any bones were left after the Confederates had picked them clean, we got the bones. I have even seen some of our boys hunt in the spittoons for any stray bones, which, if found, they would take to a windlass near by, crush them between the cogs and then swallow the fragments. But I will refrain from dwelling further on such disgusting episodes, true though they be, those I have here related being mild in comparison to many I could record. In December, 1864, I was seized with COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 91 congestive chills, and had to run up and down the prison floor for three consecutive days and nights, or die. On Christmas Day, 1864, I was carried to the Confederate Hospital No. 2 1 , Carey street, Richmond, the prison doctor who sent me there affirming that I could not live more than two or three hours. [Only the dying were sent to the hospital!] It was found I had pleuro-pneumonia, and I live to be able to say that I was the only pneumonia patient in my ward who survived! " On the 5th day of February, 1865, I was paroled, and same day left Libby prison for home, after being a captive four months and three days. On Sunday, February 5, 1865, we left Richmond, Va., on the steamboat Cyrus Allison ' which conveyed us to Aikens Landing, on the James river, where I once more beheld Old Glory,' at the sight of which tears came unbidden to my eyes. Aikens Landing, some nine miles from Richmond, was neutral ground, set apart for the exchange of prisoners. At this time one thousand and twenty of us were paroled and sent north, the Northern steamer City of New York ' taking us down the river, on Sunday afternoon, as far as Bermuda Hundred, where we remained until morning, when we started for Fortress Monroe; thence crossed Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis, Md., which city we reached on Tuesday morning in a furious snow-storm. All the clothing I had on was a ragged pair of pants, an old unlined blouse, with no shirt under it, a well-worn pair of shoes, four sizes too large for my weary feet, most of which apparel had been stripped from the dead body of one of my comrades in the hospital—in fact the dead had to be stripped in order to provide covering for his living. But at Annapolis Uncle Sam' supplied us with new and comfortable clothing. After remaining in camp there sixteen days, we were sent to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, where, not having fully recivered my health and strength, I received a thirty-days' furlough. On this I went home, but took a relapse and became very ill, so much so that I was under the necessity of having my furlough twice renewed before I was able to return to parole camp at Columbus. On June 10, 1865, I received my discharge from the service by War Department. Order No. 770. Thus ends the record of my army service." In May, 1886, Mr. Culbert was mustered into Manville Moore Post No. 525, G. A. R. ; was junior vice-commander in 1890; elected senior vice-commander in 1891, and post commander in 1892. On September 4, 1889, he commenced recruiting for S. A. J. Snyder command of Union Veterans Union, an organization composed only of the soldiers who were in active service at least six months, a part of the time at the front engaged in actual warfare. On November 8, 1889, he had his command ready for muster-in, which was effected by Gen. Loomis, of Norwalk, Ohio, at that time Department commander in the State. Mr. Culbert was elected its first colonel; for two years was staff officer on Gen. Ellis' staff; in 1893 was elected lieutenant-colonel, and in 1894 was appointed colonel by Gen. W. T. Clark, of Cleveland, Ohio, which position he holds at the present time. CAPTAIN ANDREW NUHFER, retired farmer, Woodville, Sandusky county, was born in Bavaria, Germany, October 19, 1819, a son of Nicholas and Eve (Weaver) Nuhfer, also natives of Bavaria. They came to America and first settled in Lancaster county, Penn., in the fall of 1835, where for two years they engaged in the nursery business. In 1839 they removed to Maumee City, Ohio, remained two years, and then located in Woodville township, Sandusky county, on the Western Reserve and Maumee turnpike, three miles east of Woodville. 92 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Here Nicholas Nuhfer died, two years later, at the age of sixty-eight years, and his wife at the same age, in 1854. While in Germany they were members of the Roman Catholic Church, but soon after coming to Ohio they joined the M. E. Church. Their children, all born in Germany, were: (I) Frederick, a soldier and sailor; (2) Margaret, now dead, who married. William Geyer, of Washington township; (3) Anthony, a baker, now living at Maumee, Ohio, who, at the time of his parents' emigration, was in the German army, as body guard to King Otto, whom he accompanied to Athens, Greece, and to other parts of the East, but, wishing to accompany his parents to the New World, escaped from a fort by a ruse, made his way to France, and thence to the United States; (4) Nicholas, who died in Toledo, Ohio, in 1892, was formerly a well-known minister of the German M. E. Church; (5) Maria, wife of William Behrends, now living in Illinois; (6) Andrew, our subject; (7) Catharine, wife of Rev. E. Riemenschneider, who was sent as a missionary to Germany, by the M. E. Church, where she died; (8) Helen, who married Jacob Artz, and now lives at Lindsey, Ohio. Our subject first came to Woodville with his parents. Later he spent three seasons as fireman and assistant engineer on lake steamers. After having learned the blacksmith trade in Maumee City, he returned to Woodville and started a blacksmith shop, buying his tools in Buffalo, and the first hard coal ever burned in Woodville township. He carried on his trade at this place with good success for twenty years, until the fall of 1861, when, under a commission from Gov. Tod, as second lieutenant, he enlisted and organized Company D, Seventy-second Regiment, 0. V. I. This company was composed largely of the best young men of Woodville township, and they subsequently chose him captain. At the head of this company he followed the various fortunes of his regiment, participating in all its campaigns and engagements, except when incapacitated by wounds or confined in Rebel prisons. At the battle of Shiloh he was wounded, but he remained with his company until the enemy were driven from the field. For his bravery and soldierly conduct on this occasion he received special mention in the report of Col. R. P. Buckland who commanded the brigade. Owing to the serious nature of his wound .he was sent to the General Hospital at Cincinnati, where his limb barely escaped amputation, and he was shortly after ordered home to recuperate. As soon as he was able to walk about he rejoined his command at Monterey, Miss., and later participated in Grant's futile campaign in northern Mississippi; helped guard our line of communications along the Memphis and Charleston railroad; took a part in the campaign which resulted in the fall of Vicksburg; was in two battles at Jackson, Miss., in the latter of which he commanded the skirmish line which drove the enemy into their breastworks on the day prior to their evacuation; was with the advance on Brandon, and for a short time was in command of the regiment at Oak Ridge, in October, 1863. The regiment having by this time been much reduced in'numbers, Capt. Nuhfer was sent home in charge of a recruiting party. While he was engaged in this duty, the regiment veteranized, and he rejoined it after its veteran furlough. He was with it at Paducah when Gen. Forrest made his attack, and when Sturgis made his first expedition into northeastern Mississippi. On the second and ill-fated Guntown expedition, along with about 250 other officers and men of his regiment, he was taken prisoner by the forces under Gen. Forrest and conveyed to Andersonville prison. Here Capt. Nuhfer, as the ranking officer of the regiment, and being able to speak German, was requested by COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 93 his comrades to interview Capt. Wirz, in command of the prison, and get him to allow all the officers and men of the Seventy-second regiment to remain together. The request was made, but Wirz refused and at once became abusive. He held the privates at Andersonville, but sent the officers to Macon, Ga. When the latter place was threatened by Union troops, they were sent to Charleston, S. C., then to Columbus, S. C. , then to Raleigh, N. C., then to Goldsboro, N. C. , and thence to points in Virginia and to Wilmington, N. C., for exchange, after a confinement of nine months. At Columbia, S. C., Capt. Nuhfer was taken down with fever, and would have died had it not been for his iron constitution and the care he received from a brother officer, Lieut. -Col. Von Helmrich, formerly an officer in the Prussian army, who also loaned him a sum of Confederate money. After his exchange he was furloughed for thirty days to recover his health, and meanwhile the war closed. Capt. Nuhfer married, October 23, 1843, Miss Elizabeth Shuler, of Perrysburg, Wood Co., Ohio, born in Wittenberg, Germany. Their children were: (I) John George, of Fremont, Ohio, who married Miss Olivia J. Totten, by whom he had one child, George Bartlett, after which she died, and he afterward married Mrs. Martha G. Hafford; (2) Caroline, deceased wife of Theobald Schunck, who had five children—George D., Charles, Caroline, William and Albert; (3) Sophia, who married John Otjen, and had four children—Caroline E., Nellie 0., Kate and William; (4) Daniel, who died in infancy; (5) Catharine, who became second-wife of Theobald Schunck; (6) Agnes Amelia, deceased wife of George Blake, who had one child—Flossie; (7) Esther Elizabeth, unmarried, who died at the age of twenty-seven; (8) Charles A., farmer of Woodville township, who married Caroline Baker, and has a son—Elmer L. ; (9) Minnie, wife of John Blake, whose daughter, Minnie E., died shortly after the death of her mother, who was aged twenty-one; (I o) William, a clerk in Toledo, who married Miss Sarah Unger, who has a son—Earl A. Since the war Capt. Nuhfer has been engaged in mercantile business, the sale of hardware, the management of his farm property, fifty acres just outside of the Woodville village limits, and in the oversight of his real estate in the oil region. For fourteen years he was village postmaster, under the administration of Presidents Grant and Hayes. He has twice been nominated for county treasurer by the Republicans, and in each, election polled more than his party's vote. He has been township trustee six years, and a member of both township and village school boards for some twelve years, and a member of the city council. He has always tried to promote the interests of his adopted county in the lines of education, temperance and religion. For the last thirty years he has been a member of the Evangelical Association. During his residence of fifty-five years in Woodville, he has seen it grow from a collection of half a dozen scattered houses to hundreds of handsome homes occupied by well-to-do and happy families. Of the early pioneers of the place, only he and his faithful wife remain. HON. JOSEPH ZIMMERMANN, editor of the Fremont Courier, the German organ of the Sandusky county Democracy, was born in the city of Mainz, Germany, June 19, 1851. After his graduation in the Protestant public schools of his native city he studied the languages and prepared himself for mercantile pursuits, under private tutors. In 1866 he came to America, and, after eleven years of newspaper work in Pennsylvania and Ohio, he in 1877 took editorial charge of the Fremont Courier, to succeed Judge F. Wilmer. In 1883 94 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. he was elected member of the board of education, and was re-elected in 1886 and 1889, serving as president of the board six years and clerk two years. While presiding over the deliberations of the board he displayed great executive ability, and under his administration three fine new school buildings were erected in Fremont, while all his dealings with school officials, teachers and the public, were characterized by good tact and judgment. He is a stanch friend of the public-school system, and keeps thoroughly informed on all matters pertaining to educational peogress. In 1885 Mr. Zimmermann was elected State senator of the Thirtieth District of Ohio, consisting of the counties of Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky, and was re-elected in 1887. As a State senator he was in favor of every measure tending toward educational progress, and was also one of the most active promoters of the compulsory education law now on the statutes of Ohio, which has worked so well for the promotion of the interests of Ohio's school youth. Though a Democrat in a legislative body which was two-thirds Republican, he was elected chairman of the committee on public printing. On October 6, 1891, he was appointed, by Gov. Campbell, probate judge of Sandusky county to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge E. F. Dickinson, and in November following was elected to that office by the people, by a large majority. Since that time he has devoted his attention to professional duties as editor of the Courier. His office is in the New Opera House, corner of Arch and State streets, and is well supplied with literary helps, a well selected library, maps and pamphlets. Judge Zimmermann is the author of the Criminal History of Sandusky County, published by Williams Brothers in 1882, giving a detailed account of the Sperry and the Thompson murder trials; He also wrote the first Masonic history of Fremont. Socially he is a member of Fort Stephenson Lodge, F. & A. M., McPherson Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., the Knights of Honor, B. P. Order of Elks, and other organizations. Since 1877 Mr. Zimmermann has been local representative of the Cunard, the Hamburg-American and the North German Lloyd lines of ocean steamers. A. B. LEVISEE, familiarly known as Judge Levisee, was born in Livingston county, State of New York, March 18, 1821. In 1832 he migrated, with his mother, an older brother and a sister, to Ohio, and settled in Sandusky county, where the brother and sister still live. The mother died, in July, 1845, at the home of an elder daughter in Michigan. Sandusky county was at that time essentially a wilderness, interspersed here and there with hardy pioneer settlers--most of them located right in the solid woods, with but little to aid them save their brave hearts and strong arms. Here the subject of this sketch, with an axe or a hoe in his hands, from one end of the year to the other, practically "grew up with the country." The only educational facilities he enjoyed in his youth were those afforded by the primitive log schoolhouses, with such teachers as the time could furnish. It was in these circumstances that he lived and grew to the years of early manhood. In the meantime he had become inspired with a purpose to improve his education. Under the impulse of this thought he labored in season and out of season to accumulate the necessary means wherewith to accomplish this great purpose. At length, in March, 1844, with the few hundred dollars thus gathered at the slow rate of $ 10 to $11 per month, he went to Ann Arbor and became a student at the University of Michigan, where he pursued the regular undergraduate course until November, 1847. For COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 95 want of means to continue his studies longer at the University, he left without a degree and went directly to Louisiana, where he taught in a private school in Baton Rouge a short time, and then went to Alabama. He spent about two years teaching in Selma and Montgomery, and in the spring of 1850 went to Talladega, and there established an independent private school, which he continued to conduct some three years, and which won for him a wide reputation as a successful teacher. One of his students entered the Junior Class at Princeton, New Jersey, while one entered the Junior Class of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and others in the lower classes. The board of regents of the last-named school recognized his scholarship and efficiency as a teacher by conferring on him the honorary degree of A. M. During the years 1853 and 1854 our subject attended law lectures in New York; then returned to Alabama and was tendered the presidency of the teaching faculty of the Female Collegiate Institute at Talladega, which he accepted temporarily to accommodate the board. At the close of 1854 he resigned the same, and went to Louisiana to enter upon the practice of law, and located at Shreveport in March, 1855, where he continued to practice until 1877, including nearly five years, during which he occupied the bench as judge of his district. The Judge's thorough education, previous mental training and studious habits, brought him rapidly forward in his new profession in which he achieved a high degree of financial success, and an enviable reputation as a jurist and attorney. In 1875-76 he held the position of commissioner of United States Circuit Court. In politics Judge Levisee was a follower of Clay and Webster while they lived. He was a Republican and Anti-Secessionist in 186o, and took a decided stand against the secession movement. He remained in Louisiana during the en tire war; was nominally in the Confederate service from July, 1863, to the close, as an attache of the Inspector General's department, with the rank of first lieutenant. He was never assigned to any command. In April, 1868, he was elected judge of his Judicial District, and was reelected in the general election of 1872 by at least 1, 500 majority and was " counted out." By that time the survivors of the lost cause had partially recovered from the fright incident to their defeat. The returned brigadiers and their subordinates, together with the small politicians, were reorganizing the Rebellion under the auspices of the White League. It was the same old fight under changed circumstances and a new name. The White League was the paramount authority in the State at that time, and, of course, dominated all elections and dictated the results. In 1874 Judge Levisee was elected a member of the State Legislature, and was " counted out; " but under the Wheeler Compromise the leaders of the White League were themselves compelled to admit that he was elected and he held his seat. In the National campaign of 1876 he was a candidate for Presidential elector for the Fourth Congressional District of Louisiana, comprising an area of not less than ten thousand square miles. He made at his own individual expense a thorough canvass of the entire District, which was the first time that it had been undertaken by any Republican. He went up and down throughout the District, rallied the negroes in great mass meetings, told them their rights, and encouraged and emboldened them to assert their rights in a proper and legal way by registering and voting. The result was a larger majority in that District than the entire Republican majority in the State. But he was " counted out " again; and this time it required the National Electoral Commission to settle the matter. At length, disgusted and weary of the insane 1 strife that had raged about him so long, 96 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. he determined that the opportunities of life were too valuable to be further thrown away in such bootless contest, and at the cost of professional prestige and wealth honorably earned by useful service, he abandoned the home of his adoption to find again a place where he could live a free life and enjoy the equal privileges of a citizen. For three years from July, 1878, he held the position of a Government Agent in the Internal Revenue Service, at the close of which period he resigned that position, and in 1881 located, with his son, in North Dakota. In addition to his other professional labors in Dakota, Judge Levisee rendered a highly appreciated service to the bar of that then Territory by the preparation and publication of an annotated edition of the Dakota Codes, which was approved and adopted by the Legislature and the profession, and is still in general use. After experiencing the vicissitudes of frontier life for twelve years in North Dakota, the Judge began to feel that it was time to retire from active pursuits, and to prepare for the end. He returned to his old home—the home of his childhood and youth. Here in the beautiful village of Clyde, Sandusky Co., Ohio, he has built for himself a sumptuous place of abode. Here, in elegant retirement, amid his books and maps, he spends the evening of his long and useful life, surrounded by all that can make old age agreeable, blessed with excellent health and cheered by the merited friendship and esteem of all who know him. R. W. SANDWISCH, ex-sheriff of Sandusky county, was born in Woodville township, that county, July 20, 1846, a son of Hermon and Catharine (Mergel) Sandwisch. The father was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1811, and died at Woodville in 1854, of Asiatic cholera. He had come to this country a young man, married in this country and worked at the blacksmith trade. The mother was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1810, came to this country, and is still living as one of the pioneers of Woodville. Their children were: Mary Jane, wife of Jacob Bishoff; Louisa, wife of Benedict Emch; R. W., our subject; J. G., in Bowling Green, Ohio; and Emeline, who married C. G. Bradt, a contractor, living at Atlanta, Georgia. Our subject grew to manhood in Woodville township, on a farm, learned the blacksmith trade in early life at Woodville, and later worked two years at the same in Toledo, Ohio. In the fall of 1868 he opened a blacksmith shop in Woodville, which he operated himself for eighteen consecutive years, making twenty-two years of work at his trade. For several years past he has been prominently identified with politics in Woodville township as an ardent Democrat. He was first elected supervisor of roads, and afterward justice of the peace for three terms. He became the • regular nominee of the Democratic party for sheriff, and was elected to that position in 1885, taking charge of the office in January, 1886. In 1887 he was re-elect-. ed, serving a second term. After leaving the sheriff's office he engaged in selling farming implements, and in that capacity traveled extensively over Sandusky county. Mr. Sandwisch was married, in 1868, to Miss Clarinda Swartzman, who was born in Woodville township, January 11, 1849, a daughter of Isaac Swartzman, a native. of Pennsylvania, and an early pioneer of Woodville township. They have children as follows: Albert H., born May 3o, 1869, who was his father's deputy when he held the office of sheriff, and is engaged with him in business at the present time. Catherine Lovisa, born September 20, 1871, living at home; and Adolph Franklin, born January 18, 1877. Mr. Sandwisch is a member of the COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 97 I. O. O. F., McPherson Lodge, No. 637, Fremont, and has filled all the chairs in the subordinate lodge, having been a member since 1870. He is also a member of Fort Stephenson Masonic Lodge, Fremont, and has taken the third degree. CAPTAIN B. S. OTTEN. In scanning the pages of this volume one will find the history of many men who have made a success of life in various lines of terrene occupations; but the subject of this sketch is a man who has been highly successful not only on land, but also on the sea. Many a time has Capt. Otten stood on the deck of his vessel in the night time and gazed at the great clock whose face is the blue heavens, the markings on which are the glittering stars, and whose hand is the silver moon. With his sextant he has measured the moon's distance from some prominent star, thus determining the variation of his chronometer. Then on a beautiful morning we again see him, measuring the altitude of the sun, by which means he determined the latitude and longitude of his vessel, thus enabling him to guide her safely into port. Capt. B. S. Otten, the subject of this sketch, now one of the most prominent merchants of Woodville, Sandusky county, was born in Hanover, Germany, January 26, 1835, son of Herman and Anna (Juils) Otten, both of whom died in their native country, the former at the age of eighty-five years, and the latter at the end of her three-score years and ten. To them were born six children, as follows: Margaret and Etta, who now live in Germany; Marie, who came to America, and settled in Woodville; Herman, a commission merchant in Germany; B. S. ; and Gerhard, who lives in Pemberville, Ohio. Our subject attended the public schools of his native place until about sixteen years of age, when he went to sea on the Atlantic as mast-boy, in which capacity he served six years. He then returned to Germany and took a full course in navigation at one of the leading schools of that country, graduating therefrom in 1859, after which he resumed sailing, putting into practical use the studies of his college course. Mr. Otten now entered marine life as mate, in which position he served for two years, when he was given a ship and made captain thereof, serving ably in this capacity for thirteen years. Be it said to his credit as a sea captain that while he encountered severe storms, he never, in the entire time he had charge of a boat, lost a man by accident. His first wife, Betty Bringman, who accompanied him many a time on long journeys on the sea, was born in 1850, and they were married in 1872. To their union came one child, Otto D., born July 19, 1874, in Baltimore, Md., who never saw his mother, as she died the next day after his birth. She was the daughter of John and Rebecca (Bringman) Bringman, the former of whom was a sea captain for many years, and now resides in Wood county, Ohio; his wife died some time ago. In January, 1876, Capt. Otten married Miss Matilda Bring-man (a cousin of his former wife), who is a daughter of Borchard and Marguerite Bringman. Borchard Bringman was also a sea captain, and was drowned in the Atlantic while on a voyage; the mother still lives in Germany. To them were born five children, of whom Mrs. Otten is the second; her brother Gustav was washed overboard in a high sea and buried in a watery grave, as was also her brother Borchard. The grandfathers on both sides were sea captains. On leaving the sea, Capt. Otten was for two years engaged as ship chandler in Baltimore, Md., after which, in 1876, he sold out, and came to Woodville, Sandusky Co., Ohio, where two years later he embarked in the general mercantile business, which he has ever since suc- 98 - COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. cessfully conducted. Mrs. Otten is a thorough business lady, and is well acquainted with their extensive mercantile business, being often found assisting in the different lines of their enterprise. To Mr. and Mrs. Otten have been born six children, three of whom are living, namely: Anna, who is now in the store; Etta, who is devoting her time to study in the public schools of Woodville; and Olga. The family is one of the most prominent in Woodville, in both a business and social way. Capt. and Mrs. Otten are highly esteemed by all who know them, while their beautiful brick residence on Main street is a standing witness to their admiration of a modern home. ISAAC MARVIN KEELER, senior editor of the Fremont Journal, and one of Fremont's most respected citizens, is of Puritan parentage on both sides of his family. Of his ancestors to the seventh generation, Ralph Keeler came from England in 1639, settling at Hartford, Conn., and Matthew Marvin preceded him in 1635. His grandfathers, Luke Keeler and Isaac Marvin, emigrated with their families to Ohio in wagons from Norwalk, Conn., in 1817, coming by way of Pittsburg and making the trip in six weeks. Two of their children, Eri Keeler and Sally Marvin, both born in Connecticut in the last year of the preceding century, were married in July, 1821; and Isaac Marvin Keeler was born in Sharon township, Richland Co., Ohio, September 8, 1823. Five years later the father, Eri Keeler, and the grandfather, Luke Keeler, were among the incorporators of the town of Norwalk, Ohio, named after their old home, Norwalk, Conn. Eri Keeler died April 1 1, 1894, lacking but a few days of being ninety-five years of age. The subject of this sketch lived at Norwalk until 184o, when he came to Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), and en tered the office of the Lower Sandusky Whig- as an apprentice. Between 1843 and 1849, Mr. Keeler was temporarily in Milan, Norwalk, Sharon and New York, and in 1850 was commissioned postmaster at Fremont, serving in that capacity two years. In 1854 he purchased the Fremont Journal, the predecessor of which was established in July, 1829, which he edited and published until 1865, during all the bitter years of the Civil war, selling the office at last on account of poor health, and going into the insurance and real-estate business. In December, 1877, he repurchased the Journal, and in association with his son, S. P. Keeler, continues to edit the paper. Mr. Keeler was married June 23, 1847, to Anna F. Hulburd, of Lower Sandusky, who died October 26, 1850, leaving one child. On May 12, 1857, he married Janette Elliot, daughter of Judge Samuel and Linda (Hayes) Elliot, of Brattleboro, Vt., by whom he has two children—one son and one daughter. In the more than fifty years of his residence in Fremont Mr. Keeler has not only watched its development from a rough frontier hamlet into a beautiful and thriving city, but he has been prominently instrumental in that development; and while his voice and pen have ever been on the side of municipal progress they have never swerved in time-serving expediency from what was pure and just and of good report. BYRON A. FOUCHE, attorney at law, Fremont, Sandusky county, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, September 8, 1858, a son of Josiah and Susannah (Stutzman) Fouche. The father of our subject was born in Somerset county, Penn., in 1830, where he grew to manhood, and whence he came at the age of twenty-three to Wayne county, Ohio, where he still resides. He was a school teacher by profession, and followed his vocation in COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD - 99 Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties for many years. He finally settled on a farm where he is now passing his declining years. Our subject's mother was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1833, and here she grew to womanhood and became the wife of Josiah Fouche. Nine children—two sons and seven daughters—were the fruits of their marriage. Our subject's paternal grandfather was born in 1793, either in France or in Somerset county, Penn. He emigrated thence to Holmes county, Ohio, where he died in 1873. His father (subject's great-grandfather) was a native of France, enlisted under Lafayette, came to America, and assisted the Colonies in the Revolutionary war. Byron A. Fouche attended the common schools in his native place, and then the University of Wooster, at Wooster, Ohio, from which he graduated in the class of 1883. He worked his own way through college by teaching school. He studied law in the office of the famous criminal lawyer and advocate, John Mc-Sweeny, and was admitted to the bar in 1886. He located in Fremont, Ohio, in 1888. He is at present Deputy State Supervisor of Elections for Sandusky county. In politics he is a Republican. On December 31, 1887, he married Miss Jane Parmeter, at Caanan, Wayne county, Ohio. WRIGLEY BROTHERS, proprietors of the Daily and Weekly News, Fremont, Sandusky county, are sons of James and Mary (Haywood) Wrigley. James Wrigley was born in eastern Pennsylvania, September 25, 1821, and died December i6, 1878. His wife was born in Lancashire, England, in 1824, and came when a child with her parents to America. She resided at Denison, Iowa, where she died July 15, 1895. To them were born ten children, of whom seven are living: Alfred C., December 19, 1849; Mark H., July 12, 1853; James B., February 2 I, 1859; Alice J. ; Gertrude V. ; Anna A., wife of Philip A. Schlumberger; and Mary H. All of the daughtersreside at Fremont, Ohio, excepting Mrs. Schlumberger. The Wrigley Brothers are natives of the town of Conshohocken, Penn., where they grew up, attended the public schools and learned the printer's trade. They were proprietors of the Conshohocken Recorder, a weekly paper, from 1877 until 1881, when they sold it and removed to Denison, Iowa, where they bought the Denison Review, which they published in English and German. In 1888 they sold out, and next published the Boone Weekly Republican, at Boone, Iowa, about four years. In June, 1892, they purchased the Fremont News, the only daily paper in Fremont, Ohio, with a circulation of 1,25o, and also publish a weekly, which has a circulation of 3,20o. It is devoted to the business interests of Fremont and Sandusky county, furnishes fresh and reliable news from all parts of the world in a brief and attractive form, and is neutral in politics. The proprietors are sparing no pains to make it the best local paper in northern Ohio. H. G. EDGERTON, D. D. S. The name Edgerton is of English origin, but representatives of that family have been many years in the United States. Prominent among the business men and manufacturers of Fremont, Sandusky county, for nearly half a century has been Chester Edgerton, who was born in Pawlet, Vt., in 1819, and came to Ohio in 1844. He is now seventy-six years old, and is living retired. He was an attorney in his day, and a very successful collector. He was also for a number of years engaged in the lumber business, as a member of the firm of Edgerton Bros. ; by fair dealing and close attention to busi-