OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 25 but turned his attention to agriculture, after coming to the United States. He died about 1874, and his wife followed him to the grave ten years later. The following are the names of their children: John, Joseph, Michael (deceased), William, Margaret, wife of V. Blume; Mary, deceased, and Veronica. The two oldest sons, John and Joseph, served in the war of the Rebellion, Joseph in the Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and John also in an Ohio regiment. William Annesser received his educational training in a small log school-house, common in the early days of Ohio, and assisted his father on the farm until attaining his majority. He married October 8, 1835, Mary M. Fisher, daughter of B. F. and Mary (Bush) Fisher, after which he rented a farm in Auglaize county, and operated the same until purchasing a place of his own about the year 1862. Mr. Annesser's first purchase consisted of twenty acres, to which an addition of a similar area, inherited by his wife, was subsequently made, and upon this farm he resided until about 1876. In the meantime he purchased other land in the vicinity until his farm consisted of 16o acres, upon which he expended a great deal of labor and made many valuable improvements. In the above year Mr. Annesser exchanged his farm for a flouring-mill in Wapakoneta, and engaged in the manufacture of flour in that city until 1879, when he sold out and purchased the flouring-mill at Ottawa, which he thoroughly remodeled and also supplied with machinery for the manufacture of flour by the roller process, and has operated this mill very successfully ever since. His mill has a capacity of 100 barrels per day, the greater part of which is purchased to supply the local trade of Ottawa and other towns in Putnam and adjacent counties. Mr. Annesser gives his whole attention to his business, and is one of the progressive men of the county. He began life for himself with little, if any assistance, and by prudent management and good business judgment, has won for himself not only a comfortable competence, but a name for honorable dealing second to no other man in the community. Mrs. Annesser was born in Baden, Germany, April 11, 1833, and came to the United State when about eleven years of age. The following are the names and dates of birth of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Annesser: William B., November 23, 1856; Andrew, February 13,. 1858; George, July 26, 1859—died in Texas in the year 1888; Charles, November, 1861; Francis, October 3, 1863; John M., March 3, 1866; Joseph, April 11, 1868; Rosa, wife of George Sherlow, May 25, 1873, and Lewis F., February 26, 1877. Politically Mr. Annesser is a republican. JOHN B. AUSEON, a thrifty and progressive farmer of Liberty township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Stark county, March 29, 1842. His parents, Anthony and Margaret (Gass) Auseon, were natives of the kingdom of Belgium, and were there married. Before marriage, Anthony Auseon had fulfilled his obligation to his monarch by serving five years in the army, received an honorable discharge at the hands of the king, and after marriage worked at anything he could find to do—mostly about a colliery, or at chopping wood and burning charcoal. He had one child born to him in Belgium, and in 1832 he brought his little family to America, landing in New York and reaching Canton, Ohio, via the Erie canal to Buffalo, N. Y., and so on to Cleveland and Massillon, Ohio. After securing a cabin for his wife and child at Canton, he went to Pennsylvania to work on the Sandy Beaver canal, and there remained two years, making quarterly visits to his 26 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY wife and child. After his final return he bought thirty-two acres of very rough and hilly land in Stark county, Ohio; this land was improved with a cabin, into which Mr. Auseon moved; he cleared off the timber, picked off the loose rock and stone and made a comfortable home, and on this little farm, John B., our subject, was born. In 1856, the father sold this property and moved to Carroll county, bought seventy-five acres, all improved, then sold out again, and finally settled near Canton, where he died in 1888—his wife dying a few .months later, in the fall of the same year—both members of the Catholic church. They were the parents of five children, viz: John, who moved to Michigan, and died, the father of five children; A. D., who resides in Carroll county, Ohio; Henry, who died at the age of nineteen years; Catherine, wife of Anthony Lebus, and residing in Columbiana county, and our subject, John B. John B. Auseon, whose name introduces this sketch, lived with his parents until 1861, when he enlisted in company H, Fifteenth Ohio infantry, and was assigned to Buell's command, Cook's division, and served all through the campaign of Tennessee, but at the end of seven months was discharged on account of disability and returned home. In February, 1864, he re-enlisted, this time in the Thirty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and was assigned, first, to the army of the Cumberland, and later to the army of the Ohio, marched with Sherman to the sea, and was in all the important battles of that campaign. At the time of Lee's surrender, Mr. Auseon was near Goldsboro and Raleigh, N. C., whence he returned to Louisville, Ky., and then to Columbus, Ohio, where he received an honorable discharge. Returning home, he assisted his father in seeding and corn cutting, etc., and in the winter of 186566, came to Putnam county, and for a while tarried in Riley township, where he married Miss Margaret Linden, who was born in Luxembourg, Germany, January 13, 1846, and came to America with her mother in 1857— the father having died at the time he had made arrangements to bring his family to this country. The widow, however, having some money, carried out this project, and came via New York, direct to Stark county, Ohio, but bought a farm in Carroll county. While residing there she married again, and in 1864, after selling her farm for the purpose of coming to Putnam county, her husband got possession of the greater part of her cash and squandered it. Consequently, on reaching Putnam county, Mrs. Auseon's mother was fain to be content with a house and lot in Pandora, where she lived for twelve years, her second husband, meantime, hiring out and being finally killed by a falling tree in Paulding county. The widow then made her home with our subject, dying in May, 1889. By her first husband she was the mother of .seven children, but to her second marriage there was no offspring. Of the seven mentioned four died in Germany and three came to America with their mother, viz: John P. Linden, now of Nebraska; Margaret, wife of our subject, and Susan, wife of Joe Richard, of Monroe, Mich. The union of our subject and wife was blessed with seven children, as follows: Clara F., wife of Jacob Wagner, of Leipsic; James, at home; Rosa C., wife of Robert Stirret, farmer of Henry county; Nora A., Frank, Mary and Josephine, at home with their father, the mother having died May 9, 188o, a devoted member of the Catholic church and a lady of many virtues. The first year after his marriage Mr. Auseon followed ditching and then rented land and farmed around Pandora about nine years; in 1876 he bought 120 acres of his present farm in Liberty township; in 1877 he bought a lease near by and located OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 27 his wife thereon; in March he built a cabin on his own farm, and the following year moved into the same. He commenced clearing and continued to clear, set out an orchard, bought more land, and now owns 165 acres, of which 140 are in an excellent state of cultivation. He retains the original log cabin, though in June, 1895, he moved into the modern two-story frame building, keeping the cabin as a relic of early days; He now has a commodious barn and wind-mill, and all the conveniences that make farm life desirable. He does the usual farming and also devotes much attention to improving live stock. At one time he was seized with the Jersey cattle fever, but gave them up as being too small, and now raises short-horn cattle only; his horses are Normans and Clydes, and he has been very successful in all his undertakings. He began farming under many disadvantages, but he was patient and perservering, and can now be said to stand. with the foremost agriculturists of Putnam county. He is a member of Daniel Miller Post, G. A. R., of Leipsic, Ohio, and in politics is a democrat, having filled the office of township trustee four years. He has also served as supervisor and as a member of the school board. In religious faith he is a consistent Catholic, and a true and valuable member of his church. CLARK P. AYERS, the deceased husband of Mrs. Sarah E. Ayers, was during life one of the most substantial farmers of Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, was the son of William and Rachael (Crow) Ayers, and was born on May 7, 1842, in Greensburg township. His father was born in Fayette county, Pa., on January 1o, 1813, and his grandfather, John Ayers, was a native of New England, and his great-grandfather was James Ayers, who was of English ancestry, and served in the Revolutionary war. John Ayers, the grandfather of our subject, was reared a farmer, but when the war of 1812 broke out he left his farm and entered the service of his country, holding a lieutenant's commission. He married Sarah Wallahan, who had come from Ireland with her parents. John Ayers, after marriage, settled in Putnam county in 1837. They were among the earliest pioneers of Greensburg township, the husband having come a year earlier (1836) than his wife, and having taken up a tract of government land and built a log cabin, and from the immense forest he cleared a farm and soon saw fine fields of grain standing where but a short time before gigantic oaks had reared their heads. He remained on this farm till his death in January, 1852. His son William, and the father of the subject of this sketch, passed most of his early life on a farm. In his youth he learned the shoemaker's trade, and worked at it in the intervals of his farming. He was brought by his parents to Putnam county in 1837, and here married Rachael Crow, and to them four children were born: Dr. Hiram M., of Paulding, Ohio; Asahel, who died in infancy; Clark P., the subject of this sketch, and Sarah M., deceased wife of Henry Dangler. Both husband and wife were members of the Disciples' church. In politics he was a democrat and had served in local offices. He was a very successful farmer and a much respected citizen. He died October to, 1893, his wife having preceded him twelve years, dying on May 8, 1881. Clark P.. Ayers was the youngest son and was given a fair education in the public schools of Greensburg township. Having been reared on a farm he decided to adopt agriculture as a calling for life. On June 22, 1869, he married Sarah E., who was born in Greensburg 28 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY township on April 7, 1849, a daughter of Jacob and Susan (Guy) Dangler, and was one of a family of twelve children, eleven of whom are still living. She was given a good education both in the English and German languages. After their marriage the young couple settled on the old homestead of the Avers, where the husband had been successfully engaged in farming, and here their family of six children were born: Vela V., born June 9, 187o, now the wife of William Mullett, a farmer living in Greensburg township; Alta A., born September 22, 1871, now married to Charles Kirkendall, of Croswell, Ohio; Octa 0., born March 17, 1875; William \V., born April 9, 1878—both the latter attending school in Angola, Ind. ; Rachael, born June 4, 1881, and Mazie M., born October 12, 1885, both at home. Mr. Ayers was a member of the Disciples', church, to the support of which he always contributed liberally. In politics he was V a stanch democrat and was elected by them to the office of justice of the peace. He was an upright man and a public-spirited citizen, and had the confidence and respect of all his neighbors. Death called him away December 26, 1889. His widow has continued to reside on the farm and manages all its affairs with skill. She is a member of the Disciples' church, and is giving her children the advantage of a good education. JOHN BACON, one of the oldest and best known farmers of Blanchard township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Virginia, August 8, 182o, and is the third son in the family of nine children born to Isaac and Ruth (Siler) Bacon. His grandfather, also named John, was a native of Ireland, of Scotch-Irish descent, and came to America prior to the Revolutionary war, in which he served, later settling in Tennessee, where he passed the remainder of his life, having reared five sons and three daughters, four of the sons subsequently finding homes in Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee. Isaac Bacon, the second son of John the elder, was born November 1o, 1775, in Ten nessee, and was reared a farmer. He served in the war of 1812, as a volunteer from Virginia, in which state he had settled, and in September, 1825, came to Ohio and located on a farm he had previously purchased in Licking county, and on which he resided until 1852, when he came to Putnam county and passed the remainder of his life with his children in Blanchard township, dying July 17, 1862. He was married, January 22, 1801, to Miss Ruth Siler, who was born near Martinsburg, Va., June 13, 1778, a daughter of Jacob Siler. This lady died August 1;, 18(6, the mother of the following children: George; Elizabeth, who married George Barnes and died in 1838; Jeremiah S. , who died in Louisiana after the close of the Civil war; Agnes, who was first married to James McDowell, then to William Sackett, and died in 1882; Mary, wife of Eli H. Maxwell, died in Blanchard township; Ruth, died in infancy; John, the subject of this sketch; Jane, the wife of Henry Dusch, died in Gilboa, Ohio; and Isaac who died in Licking county, Ohio. John Bacon, our subject, was brought to Ohio by his parents, who located in Licking county. At the age of twenty-one years he came to Putnam county and purchased eighty acres of land in section 22, Blanchard township, cleared and improved the tract, and added twenty acres additional, but now retains forty acres only, living, as he does, in comparative retirement. Mr. Bacon was first married to Miss Jane French, daughter of Robert French, and there resulted to this union five children, as follows: James. OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 29 Olivia; now Mrs. Theodore Patrick; Harriet, married to D. S. Blakeman; Mary J., deceased, wife of Cyrus Worden, and Clement L., who died at four years of age. The mother of this family died in 187o, and for his second helpmate Mr. Bacon chose Mrs. Elizabeth Bacon, daughter of Henry Sherred, and this union has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Ruth, who is now a public school-teacher. In politics Mr. Bacon has been a life-long democrat and has served as township trustee, and for nine years has been a member of the school board; he is a gentleman highly honored for his integrity and public spirit, and his worth is freely admitted by all who have ever had the pleasure of his acquaintanceship. HON. SAMUEL S. BACON, druggist, Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio, and a resident of the city for over a quarter of a century, was born in Licking county, Ohio, July 11, 1833, a son of George and Nancy (Stewart) Bacon, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Bacon family were doubtless of English descent, but for several generations they resided in Virginia. The grandparents of our subject, Isaac and Ruth (Siler) Bacon, came to Ohio from Virginia about 1825, and located in Licking county, whence they came to Putnam county, and died at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Isaac Bacon was a patriot of the war of 1812, was a man of the strictest integrity, and detested a prevaricator. To Isaac and Ruth were born nine children, viz: George, the father of our subject; Elizabeth, deceased wife of George Barnes, of Licking county; Jeremiah S., a school-teacher, student of medicine and a ripe scholar, died in Louisiana after the close of the late war; Agnes, widow of the late James McDowell, of Putnam county, and the deceased wife of William Sackett, she dying in 1882; Mary, wife of Eli H. Maxwell, of Gilboa, Putnam county; Ruth, who died in infancy; John, a farmer of Blanchard township, Putnam county; Jane, deceased wife of Henry Dush, of Putnam county', also deceased, and Isaac, who died in boyhood, in Licking county, Ohio. George Bacon, the father Hon. of S. S. Bacon, passed the early part of his manhood in Licking county, was there married, and in 1836, with his wife and three children, came to Putnam county, bought eighty acres of land in Blanchard township, to which he subsequently added forty acres, making in all 120 acres, on which he resided until his death, February 22, 1866, at the age of sixty-six years; his widow survived until 1886, when she died at the age of seventy-eight years. They had born to them a family of seven children, named as follows: Isaac, a deceased farmer of Putnam county; Samuel S., the subject of this sketch; Jeremiah, a farmer of Blanchard township; Homer, who died when about nineteen years of age; Wilson, who also died when a young man; William, who served in the Ninth Ohio cavalry during the late war, was with Sherman on his march to the sea, and is now a farmer of Sacramento Valley, Cal., and Oscar, who died in early manhood. Hon. Samuel S. Bacon was reared on the home farm in Blanchard township, Putnam county, Ohio, was educated in the common schools, and at the age of twenty years began teaching school during the winter seasons, employing his vacations on the farm. For one year he taught in Licking county, and for five or six years followed the vocation in Putnam county, acquiring a fine reputation as an educator. In 1859 he engaged in mercantile business in Gilboa, Putnam county, Ohio, and five years later engaged in buying and shipping live stock, in which occupation he employed him- 30 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY self for about twelve years, doing an extensive business. Mr. Bacon is quite popular with the democratic party, and for several years was a a justice of the peace in Blanchard township, and also served as mayor of Gilboa. In 1878 he was elected probate judge of Putnam county, was re-elected in 1881, and occupied the bench in all six years. In 1885 he purchased a half interest in the drug store of Justice Bros., at Ottawa, in 1887 became the sole proprietor, and now carries one of the most complete stocks pertaining to a first-class establishment of the kind to be found in the county of Putnam. The marriage of Mr. Bacon took place March 16, 1858, to Miss Emeline H. Stewart, a daughter of Andrew, a soldier in the war of 1812, and Elizabeth (Borst) Stewart. She was reared in Huntington county, Pa., where she was born August 28, 1835. To this union were born three children, viz: A son, who died in infancy; Jessie M., who died January 12, 1873, at the age of six years; Gertrude, P., born January 4, 1871, now wife of Alton R. Robenalt, a pharmacist in the employ of Mr.' Bacon, and to this union one child, named Samuel S., was born December 9, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Bacon, and their daughter and her husband, are members of the Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Bacon has been an elder for the past fifteen years, and represented Lima Presbytery. in the general assembly of the Presbyterian church of the United States of America, in conference at Minneapolis in 1886. Mr. Bacon was made a Mason in 187o, at Ottawa,. and is now a member of the Ottawa lodge, No. 325. He is a thoroughly progressive gentleman, and as such is fully recognized by his party and the public at large. Beside the office held by him as alluded to above he was appointed, in 1889, by the city council, mayor of Ottawa to fill a vacancy, a position he held for one year with credit to himself and to the full satisfaction of the public. It may be well here to add that while on the bench as probate judge Mr. Bacon had a case before him in which an appeal from his decision was carried to the court of common pleas, in which judgment was reversed; the case was then carried to the district court, in which the decision of the common pleas court was sustained; from the district court the case was appealed to the supreme court of the state, which gave a final judgment, sustaining the decision of Judge Bacon. In all his judicial career Mr. Bacon carefully weighed every point in the cases brought before him, and not one of his decisions was ever successfully appealed from. He is a profound thinker, is a gentleman of sound judgment, and deservedly holds the full esteem and confidence of the people of Putnam county. JEREMIAH BACON, a prosperous farmer of Blanchard township, Putnam county, was born in Licking county, Ohio, April 5, 1836, a .son of George and Nancy (Stewart) Bacon. The father, George Bacon. the eldest son of Isaac and Ruth (Siler) Bacon, was born in Berkeley county, Va., in 1803. He came to Ohio in 1825 with his father, who settled in Licking county, and in 1836 came to Putnam county, where he entered eighty acres of land in section No. 36, Blanchard township, cleared up a fine farm, and here passed the remainder of his life, dying February 28, 1866, a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was a democrat, and for twenty years was assessor of his township. To his marriage with Nancy Stewart were born seven children as follows: Isaac, deceased; Samuel, of Ottawa, Ohio; Jeremiah our subject; Eminger, deceased; Homer, deceased; William, of California, and Oscar, deceased. The mother of this family died in 1886, and her mortal remains now lie interred OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 31 beside those of her husband in the Harmon graveyard, in Blanchard township. Jeremiah Bacon, whose name opens this biography, received the usual common-school education furnished to farmers' boys, his attention during his youthful days being chiefly devoted to his farm duties and the study of matters agricultural. In 1836 he came to Putnam county with his parents and located on forty acres of land in section No. 14, Blanchard township, and here made his home for three years, when he purchased the old homestead left by his father. In 1883 he bought ninety additional acres just west of the old, and now has under cultivation 125 acres. He has built on his place a substantial modern dwelling, has erected all the necessary farm buildings, and the farm presents as neat an appearance as any in the county, showing the care it receives through the supervision of an intelligent and skillful owner. October 19, 1862, Mr. Bacon was joined in wedlock with Miss Catherine Smith, daughter of Nimrod and Mary Smith, and this union has resulted in the birth of two children—Stoddard and Rollo J., the last named having been twice married, his first wife being a Miss McClure and the second a Miss Eva Moffitt. In politics Mr. Bacon is a democrat, and has filled the office of township trustee; in religion he is a Methodist, being a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church at Gilboa; fraternally he is a member of the Ottawa lodge, No. 325, F. & A. M., and socially he stands with the best people in the township. JOHN P. BAILEY, senior member of the law firm of Bailey & Bailey, is a native of Page county, Va., born near Harrisonburg, Rockingham county, on the 12th of September, 1853. George. W. Bailey, his father, a native of Page county, Va., was married September 16, 1852, to Malinda Driver, and shortly thereafter moved to Ohio, locating about four miles north of the city of Lima, Allen county, where for some time he found employment as a farm laborer. After accumulating sufficient means, he engaged in the pursuit of agriculture for himself, which he carried on for some years as a renter, and subsequently purchased a farm of t to acres, where he has since resided. The subject of this sketch was a child some six weeks old when the family moved to Ohio. He was reared in the county of Allen, and, after acquiring a good public-school education, attended the normal schools of Ada and Lebanon, in which he pursued his studies assiduously for the purpose of preparing himself for the teacher's profession. He was engaged in educational work for a period of eight years, the greater part of which time was spent as principal of the schools of Beaver Darn, Bluffton and Leipsic, and during the last three years as a teacher he read law with Barr & Werner, Leipsic. Mr. Bailey came to Putnam county in 1878, and since February, 1882. has been a resident of Ottawa. He was admitted to the bar January 4, 1881, and began the practice of the profession in partnership with C. N. Haskell, under the firm name of Haskell & Bailey, a partnership which lasted until March, 1888. From the latter date until May, 1890, he was alone in the practice, and then entered into partnership with his brother, D. M. Bailey, the firm thus constituted still continuing. Mr. Bailey has been an active man of affairs, and a hard worker in the democratic party in Putnam county several years. He held the office of prosecuting attorney from January, 1886, until January, 1892, and was twice his party's candidate for the office of attorney-general, the first time in 1891, and again in 1893. He has represented his party in various conven- 32 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY tions. As a lawyer, Mr. Bailey is careful, conscientious and capable, and as a citizen is progressive, public spirited and liberal, enjoying in an unusual degree the confidence and good will, not only of his professional brethern but of the public as well. Mr. Bailey takes an active interest in the K. of P. fraternity, being a charter member of lodge No. 565, Ottawa. He was married, September 2, 1875, to Miss Laura Edgecomb, daughter of Ezra and Louisa (Thayer) Edgecomb. Mrs. Bailey was born in Allen county, Ohio. Seven children have been born to them, viz: Arthur C., born August 17, 1876--died November 9, 1870; Maggie M., born May 2, 1879, died October 5, 1880; Lena B., born July 21, 1881; Bessie I., born July 5, 1884 ; George E. , born August i6, 1886 ; Thayer E., July 8, 1889, and Ralph E., whose birth occurred December 3, 1893. Mr. Bailey was one of the organizers of the N. Y., M. & W. R. R. now the F. Ft. W. & W. R. R. ; he also assisted in the organization of the Ohio Telephone company, and to him, as much as any other man, is Putnam county indebted for this great improvement. Daniel M. Bailey, brother of the above, and junior member of the law firm of Bailey & Bailey, is a native of Allen county, Ohio, and was born March 4, 1862. He was reared a farmer's boy, first attended the common schools, and later acquired a knowledge of the higher branches of learning in the normal schools of Lebanon, Ohio, and Valpariaso, Ind. He taught school for eight or ten years in Allen county, and for a period of three years held the position of deputy clerk of the probate court, pursuing the study of law in the meantime under the instruction of M. A. Hoagland, of Lima. After his admission to the bar, March 6, 189o, Mr. Bailey began the practice of the profession at Ottawa in partnership with his brother and he has already won a conspicuous place among the successful attorneys of the Putnam county bar. Mr. Bailey, though a young man, has made commendable progress in his profession, and by adhering to the same has before him a future of much promise. On the 17th of September, 1884, Mr. Bailey and Miss Laura Hadsell, of Allen county, daughter of Daniel A. and Catherine (Aldridge)Hadsell, entered into the marriage relation. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are popular in Ottawa and are deservedly classed with the most respectable people of the city. SELAH BARNARD, one of the old substantial residents of Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Vermont December 28, 1825, and is the son of Edward and Lorainy (Giegory) Barnard. The father was born on Nantucket island May 26, I 797, his father having been Da- vid Barnard, who was a sea-faring man and captain of a vessel, but also had acquired the trade of cooper. His wife was Lydia Starbuck, and to them three children were born— Moses, Seth and Edward. Edward, the father of our subject, was reared on the farm and was united in marriage to Lorainy Giegory October 25, 1820. She was the daughter of Selah and Maria (Wheeler) Giegory, and to this union eight children have been born, namely: Ann Eliza, wife of F. M. James, a farmer of Lincoln township, Monroe county, Ohio; Selah, of this biographical mention; William P. and Mary J., deceased; Rachael P., widow of Henry Cole, of Ashley, Iowa; Susan L., deceased; Lydie P., wife of Norton D. Chapman, of Toledo, Ohio, a blacksmith by occupation; Mrs. Emma E. Wilson, of Morrow county, widow of Peter Wilson, who lost his life from a wound received in service in the late war, while a member of the valiant Ninety-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry. After his marriage the father of our subject lived in OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 35 Vermont until 1833, when he moved to a farm in Delaware county, Ohio, and remained there until his death, which occurred in September, 1880. His earliest political affiliations were with the Whig party, and naturally with the inception and organization of the republican party he became identified with that. He served as clerk of the township for nearly a fifth of a century, and was a man of marked ability. Mrs. Barnard, his wife, died in August, 1880, six weeks before the death of her husband. Selah Barnard, of Jackson township, from which this sketch receives its title, spent his early days on a farm in Delaware county, Ohio, now Morrow county, and learned the wagon and buggy-making trade, which occupation he followed for twenty years, being a skillful and successful workman. On the 27th of January, 1856, he was united in marriage to Isabel M. Taynor, who was born in 1831, and to this marriage eight children were born: Ida, wife of John Hitchcock, of Jackson township; Florence, wife of James Hamilton, of Union township; Alberta, wife of John Leidy, whose sketch will be found elsewhere; Edward Arthur, and four others, deceased. After his marriage Mr. Barnard lived in Morrow county until 1872, engaged in farming and wagon-making, and then spent ten months in Fulton county, where he married his wife, who died February 27, 1866. May 7, 1862, he enlisted in the Union army, in the three months' service, as a member of company C, Eighty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry; under this enlistment he served five months, then re-enlisted in company M, Third Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until August 4, 1865, receiving his discharge at Columbus, Ohio. He was a participant in the battle of Lovejoy Station, and all of the others from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and was a brave, true soldier, and to such men as Selah Barnard do we owe our country's preservation and life and honor. In the year 1872, October 26, he located in Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio, where he lived until 1891, when he purchased his present place, but still retained the old. He is an enthusiastic Odd Fellow, having been a member of this order for a fourth of a century; a strong republican in politics—a faith born and bred of his whip ancestry. His public trusts have been those of school director and supervisor, both of which he faithfully fills. Mr. Barnard is a man to live by, stand by, and, if need be, swear by; liberal in his views, faithful in his friendships, and ever to be found where the right needs a friend and champion. J. C. BASINGER, of Riley township, Putnam county, Ohio, is the youngest of the five children born to Christian and Catharine (Lugibill) Basinger, early settlers of Putnam county, where our subject was born February 19, 1840, and where he has been identified with agriculture since his earliest days. His education was acquired after he reached his twenty-first year, at Ottawa, Ohio, in a select school, he himself defraying the expense of the instruction he there received. Hard work had never been a terror to him, and he labored day after day digging ditches in water up to his waist in order to realize funds for future use. His first investment was in eighty acres of land in Indiana, but this land he soon traded off for a sawmill in Putnam county, Ohio; this mill he conducted for five years, then sold it and purchased the farm of 16o acres on which he now lives, paying for the same $8,000. There had been made some indifferent improvements on this place and forty or fifty acres had been cleared up, but now he has 120 acres cleared and has erected substantial buildings, planted orchards, ditched and tiled the lands and 86 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY wrought out a farm of which any man might feel proud. In 1867 our subject married Miss Mary Basinger, who was not, however, connected with him by any ties of consanguinity. This lady is a daughter of C. Basinger, of Allen county, Ohio, and was born in 1845. Her father was a native of Alsace, France, came to America when a single man, settled in Allen county, Ohio, married Miss Catherine Lugebar, became the father of eight children, and died quite a wealthy man, our subject becoming the administrator of the estate. To our subject and wife have been born eleven children, named as follows: Tobias J. and Daniel J., at home; Purces, wife of Peter Amstutz, a clerk at Columbus Grove; Katie A. ; David J. and Elizabeth D., at home; Matilda, preparing for school-teaching; Susan, Silas D. and Ida, at home, and Alvin, who died at the age of two years. Mr. Basinger has alway been a strong advocate of education and has had his children thoroughly trained. Three of his sons are teachers of both German and English, and to educate them properly he hired help to do his farm work, that his sons might have time to spare to attend school. Mr. Basinger is altogether a self-made man, his only extraneous assistance in business life having been a legacy of $700, but, being blessed with a strong constitution, a determined will, a natural capacity for mechanics and a shrewd financial ability, he has earned for himself and now enjoys a more than average competence. He has always taken' an active interest in pOlitics, at first leaning toward republicanism and voting for Lincoln and Grant, but he later became a democrat. He has served as township committeeman for his party, has been a member of the board of education for a number of years, is now serving as township trustee, and has filled a number of minor offices. Christian Basinger, father of our subject, was born in Alsace, France; and came to America in 1819, while yet a single man, on an inspecting tour. A few years later he was followed by his father, brothers and their fami. lies, who,. with their descendants, have greatly aided in clearing up, developing and beautifying the country. The father of our subject, on arriving in Putnam county, Ohio, entered 200 acres in the woods. He first married Miss Catherine Lugibill in Wayne county, Ohio, whither she had been brought in her childhood by her parents, from France. To this union were born five children, named as follows: Elizabeth, who was married to John Zimerly, a farmer of Wayne county, Ohio; Christ, deceased; John C., a farmer of Allen county; Ulrich, who died the father of eight children; and J. C., the subject of this sketch. The mother of this family died February 19, 1840, and Mr. Basinger next married Mary Sutter, of Alsatian descent, and to this last marriage have been born ten children, viz: Peter C., Moses, Benjamin, Aaron, Catherine, Nathaniel, Theophilus, Fanny, Mary and Magdalena. The Basinger family are all members of the Mennonite church, of which the grandfather of our subject was a bishop, and no family in the county is more highly respected. CHRISTIAN BASINGER, one of the leading citizens and farmers of Pleasant township, Putnam county, president of the Peoples' bank of Columbus Grove, was born in Riley township, Putnam county, on March 12, 1846. His parents were John D. and Elizabeth (Moser) Basinger, both natives of Switzerland. John D. Basinger was a Frenchman, though born in Switzerland, and came to the United States when about eighteen years of age, his mother coming with him, his father having died in the OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 37 old country. They settled in Wayne county, Ohio, first, and then came to Putnam county. His wife came over when she was about twelve years of age, her family coming at the same time. They settled in Wayne county first, moved to Allen county, and then to Lucas county, Ohio. It was in Allen county that the parents of C. Basinger were married, and they settled in Riley township, where he purchased a farm. He died in 1885 at the age of sixty-nine years. His widow still lives, and makes her home in Riley township. To the parents six children were born, as follows: John D., now residing at Flora, Ind. ; Christian; Elizabeth, now the wife of Peter Seucher, of Kansas City; Mary, now the wife of Edward Leibe, of Riley township, Putnam county, Ohio; Magdalena, deceased, was also married; John Kratz and Peter, deceased while young. The family are members of the Mennonite church. Christian Basinger, our subject, was reared on the farm in Riley township and attended the district schools. He remained on the old homestead until he was about twenty-nine years old, and, having married, he removed Pleasant township and settled on a farm of 142 acres he had purchased, on the Ridge road, three miles northeast from Columbus Grove. He has since added to his original farm until he has 321 acres in it, all improved. He also owns forty acres in Blanchard township. In 188o he erected a barn on his place and in 1889 he built a large stock or horse barn, which is the largest horse barn in the county. In 1893 he erected a handsome new residence on the same road, but about a quarter of a mile nearer town than his old one, where he now resides, his son having the old one. Mr. Basinger was married in 1867 to Regina Lugibill, who was born in Allen county, Ohio, and was the daughter of David Lugibill. She died in the fall of 1890, leaving two sons —William, who is working a part of the farm, and Levi, assistant cashier of the Peoples' bank, of Columbus Grove. Mr. Basinger was married the second time in June, 1872, to Barbara Bucher, who was born in Allen county and is the daughter of Christian Bucher. To this union three children have been born, one of whom still lives, she being a daughter —Miss Susie Basinger. In about 1885 Mr. Basinger began dealing in Percheron and French coach horses, making five importations, visiting Europe, himself, four different times. He became part owner and president of the Peoples' bank of Columbus Grove in 1892. In his political views he is independent. In his religious convictions he is a Mennonite, and is a member of Saint John's church. CHRISTIAN BAUGH, a substantial farmer of Jennings township, Putnam county, was born in Clarke county, Ohio, October 21, 1846, of German descent. Christian Baugh, his father, was born in the southern part of Prussia, and there married Catherine Smith, their union being blessed with seven children, viz: Jacob, Wilhelmina, Frederick, Christian, Caroline, Anna and Lizzie, of whom Jacob and Wilhelmina (deceased) were born in Germany. The family came to America about the year 1826, or 1828, and in 1858 the father died in Clarke county, Ohio, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, a member of the Lutheran church. Christian Baugh, our subject, came to Jennings township in 1875, and on the twenty-fourth day of December of the same year was married, on the Smit homestead, to Johanna Smit, who was born on the place July is, 1853, a daughter of Frederick J. and Arnolda (Kortier née Haverhaultz) Smit. The father, 38 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Frederick J. Smit, was born in Meppel, Holland, July 23, 1816, a son of Henry, born August 1o, 1774, and Johannah Jongkindt, born June to, 177o. Frederick J. and Arnolda Smit were the parents of nine children, of whom six lived to maturity. The father came to America in 185o, with his brother-in-law, Harmon Meyers; came to Jennings township and was married, September 19, 1851. Further mention of the Haverhaultz family will be found in the sketch of Aart Kortier. y Mr. Smit settled on his homestead in 1853. It then comprised forty-eight acres, and had been partly cleared by Joseph Rekart. Mr. Smit cleared up the balance from the woods and converted the whole into a most desirable farm, on which our subject and wife now make their home. Mr. Smit died July 17, 1893, at the age of nearly seventy-seven years; his widow still makes her home on the old homestead, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. After his marriage, Mr. Baugh continued to reside on and cultivate the Smit homestead, and here have been born his two children, Katie A. and Elida. He has industriously exerted himself to improve and beautify the homestead and to increase its productiveness, and has been thoroughly successful in his efforts. He stands deservedly high in the regard of his fellow-citizens, and with his wife is a consistent member of the Lutheran church. In his politics he is democratic, but is not an office seeker. AMOS BEAM, a well-known citizen and retired farmer of Union township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a native of Lancaster county, Pa., and a son of Jacob and Rosa (Carnes) Beam, also natives of the Keystone state and of the same county. Amos was born June 27, 1823, and Jacob April 13, 1796, and Peter Beam, father of Jacob, December 5, 1732. Peter, the grandfather of our subject, was a member of the German Lutheran church, and his brother John was also a member of the Lutheran church, and it is related of the latter that one day during the Revolutionary war, while attending divine services, word came that the British were coming along and stealing horses. John left the church, seized a fence rail and went for" the British, and, single-handed, forced them to surrender the stolen animals. Peter Beam was a democrat in politics, and died December 8, 1808. Jacob Beam, son of Peter, was reared a farmer, and also learned the blacksmith's trade, and about 1819 married Rosa Carnes, daughter of Abraham and Barbara (Stire) Carnes, the union resulting in the birth of eight children, viz: Maria, wife of Matthias Stauffer, of Kalida; Amos, our subject; Mrs. Susanna Miller, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Daniel Shipper, of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Katie Burkhart, deceased; Isaac, farmr of Pennsyl vania; Sarah, wife of I. E. Mussleman, merchant of Barnesville, Pa., and John, a farmer of the same state. The father, Jacob Beam, died November 25, 1878, a member of the Lutheran church and in politics a democrat; and his wife, who was born in 1798, died in July, 1874, in the same faith. Amos Beam, subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farm in Pennsylvania, and learned the shoemaker's trade at the age of twenty; this he followed for five years, and in 1846 married Mary Burkhart. This union has been blessed with ten children, viz: Mrs. Louisa Maybury, .deceased; John, deceased; David, farmer of Pleasant township, Putnam county, Ohio; Henry, farmer of Union township; Sarah, wife of James Glansey, of Union township; Mrs. Mary Scott, of Hardin county, Ohio; Katie, wife of John Buckingham, of Columbus Grove, Putnam county; Lydia, wife OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 39 of John Normain, of Union township, and Rosa, wife of J. E. Bougard, also of Union township, and one other. Amos Beam for about eight years after his marriage continued his residence in Pennsylvania, and in 1854 came to Putnam county, Ohio, and first located in Riley township. In 1855 he bought a quarter section of land in Union township, endured the hardships of pioneer life here for twelve years, and then bought another farm two miles southwest of the first, and here, in 1871, erected a fine brick dwelling, in which he has ever since lived. Mr. Beam was formerly a democrat in his olitics, but is now an ardent prohibitionist. e has never desired to hold public office, but, Ling popular with the people, who felt they could repose every trust in him, he has been ekted township trustee and also school director. He is active as a member of the Unted Brethren church, to which his wife and all Is children also belong, and for more than thirty years has been faithful to its teachings. He has several times been a class leader, and is no the superintendent of the Sabbath-school. As a citizen he is public spirited and prompt in his aid of every worthy project designed for the general welfare, and as a farmer he is among the best in the township—progressive, enterprising and successful. HENRY BEAM, still a young man and one of the rising farmers of Union township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., June 14, 1852. The sketch of Amos Beam, father of our subject, will be found above, and, taken in connection with this, will furnish all the facts incidental to the two histories. In 1854 the family came from Pennsylvania to Ohio and settled in Putnam county, where our subject grew to manhood on the home farm wrought out from the wilderness by his father and himself, and on March 23, 1882, married Sarah A. Hughes, who was born in Putnam county, January 3, 1861, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Perry) Hughes. John Hughes, the father of Mrs. Beam, was born in Wales, January 29, 1833, a son of Jenkin Hughes, who came from Wales to Putnam county Ohio, the year his son John Hughes, was born. The last named grew to manhood on "a farm in this county, and in 1859 married Elizabeth Perry, who was born in Wales March 3, 1836, and to their union were born six children, who were named Sarah A., wife of subject; Margaret, wife of William Evans; David L., who died November 23, 188o, at the age of sixteen years; Mary Ellen; Jenkin, of California, and Elizabeth, of Fort Wayne, Ind. Mr. Hughes was a soldier in the late war, having served in company F, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and two of his brothers, David and Evan, died in the service. Mr. Hughes was a republican in politics, and in religion was a Presbyterian, in which faith he died August 12, 1874, his wife following him to the grave March 27, 1875. The children born to Henry and Sarah A. Beam are five in number, and are named as follows: Mary Naomi, born February 26, 1883; Henry Orlando, born June 18, 1884; John Amos, born May 25, 1889; Levi Augustin, born December 24, 1892, and Lelia Loretta, born June II, 1895. After his marriage Mr. Beam settled on his farm in Union township, on which he still lives, and which his superior agricultural skill has brougnt to a first-class condition of fertility. In his political affiliations Mr. Beam is a democrat, and has held the office of school director; he is a prominent member of the United Brethren church, in which he holds the office of steward, and his wife 40 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY is also an honored member of the same congregation. Mr. Beam, although a comparatively young man, has done much to develop Putnam county and Union township into their present highly cultivated and fertile condition, and it is to such men as he that the commonwealth owes its prosperity. JOHN BEARD, an old-time and prominent farmer of Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, and a son of John and Mary (Carey) Beard, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in September, 1830. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a native of Ireland and settled in Maryland, where he was renowned as a teacher, and lived to be 100 years of age. John Beard, Sr.,. the father of our subject, was born in North Carolina, came to Ohio when a young man, and was married in Fairfield county; the mother was born in Maryland, July 4, 1802, a daughter of John and Mary Carey. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Beard were born the following children: Mrs. Margaret Pickering (deceased), George (deceased), Jacob, Samuel, John (our subject), and Cornelius. The father of this family was a miller by trade and died of cholera in 1832. His widow subsequently married Jacob M. Allen, to whom she bore six children, and died January 13, 1889. John Beard, the subject of this sketch, was reared to his present vocation of farming; was educated in the common schools, and at the age of fourteen years left the parental roof to seek his own fortune. He worked by the month at farming and in the meantime prepared himself for teaching. In the fall of 1855 he taught his first school at Cuba, Putnam county. At this place he taught some four winter terms, and continued teaching winters until 1866, in the townships of Greensburg and Jackson, and the public school of Fort Jennings. In 1856 he purchased a farm of eighty acres, his capital invested being $20, and the place being at Cuba. He partly cleared and made some improvements on this place, and in 1865 removed to Franklin county, Ohio. Returning in 1866, he purchased a farm south-east of Fort Jennings, where he lived until he bought his present place of 165 acres in 1872, upon which he has made all the improvements and partly cleared. November 2, I 854, he married, at Columbus, Ohio, Mary Jane Case, a native of Canada, who bore him two children--William H., who died in infancy; and Charles W., of Green! burg township. Mrs. Beard was called fro& earth in 1866, and died a strict member of the Christian church. September 22, 187, Mr. Beard married Mrs. Sophia (Shank) Gayton. This lady was born in Ottawa, Putam county, February 15, 1840, a daughter of Henry and Barbara (Meyers) Shank, natives of Maryland. She was married first to John Guyton, July 4, 1861, and bore, him one child, who died young. John Guyton died September 15, 1861. By his second marriage Mr. Beard is the father of six children, viz: Christian, of Greensburg township:; Lucy A.. wife of John Bibler, of Palmer township; John F., of Greensburg township; Margaret, died in infancy; and Ella B., and Samuel S., at school. About 1874 Mr. Beard erected his substantial dwelling, having by this time otherwise so improved his farm as to make it profitable as well as attractive. Mr. Beard is in politics a a prohibitionist. In 1857 he was elected a justice of the peace and served until 1864; reelected in 1872 and has served since; was land appraiser in 1880, and has served as public school director, off and on, for thirty-five years, and for this latter position he is particularly well qualified, having been a schoolteacher for twenty-one terms in Cuba, and in OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 41 Jennings and Jackson townships. In 1861 he was made a Mason, and is a member of Delphos lodge. He is prominent in the Sunday-school work of the Christian church, and stands very high in the esteem of the citizens of Greensburg township as a gentleman of integrity and moral usefulness. CHARLES E. BEARDSLEY, M.D., is one of the eminent physicians and surgeons of northwestern Ohio, and the oldest practitioner at this time in Putnam county. Paternally he traces his ancestry to England, from which country his great-grandfather, Daniel Beardsley, came to America in the time of the colonies, and settled at Hartford, Conn. The grandfather, Daniel Beardsley, was born in Hartford, Conn., April 21, 1773, where he was reared until eighteen years of age, after which he went to Massachusetts, where he married Hannah Brush, who was born September 23, 1776, of Welsh parentage. Mr. and Mrs. Beardsley made their home in Massachusetts for some time and then moved to Genessee county, N. Y., where for several years Mr. Beardsley was engaged in the milling business, having erected several flouring-mills on the Catskill river. In 1808 he emigrated to Ohio, settled in Licking county, where he remained thirty-one years, and about 1841 became a resident of the county of Hancock, where his death occurred in 1845. His widow survived him about ten years, dying, in 1855, in Putnam county. Daniel and Hannah Beardsley had a family of ten children, the eldest of whom, Barney; was born March 9, 1792. By trade he was a mill-wright, but late in life emigrated to Iowa, where he engaged in the mercantile business. The second child, Anna, was born April 27, 1795, married Osborn Wells, a prominent farmer, and lived and died in Ohio. Talmon Beardsley, the third in order of birth, was born December 15, 1799, was a contractor, and did much of the work on the locks in the city of Akron. Orlando, father of the subject of this biography, was born June 8, 1801; Philo the next son, a prominent lumber dealer and contractor of Akron, where his death occurred, was born August 23, 1803; Alfred was born April 8, 1805; he was a farmer and departed this life in the state of Tennessee. Hial was born May 1, 1807, and resides in Iowa, where he is extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising. Daniel was born January 22, 1809, and for years practiced law in Licking county; Hannah, born July 15, 1812, married John Strowther, of Findlay, Ohio, and died in the county of Hancock; Dorinda was born October 6, 1818, was twice married—the first time to a man by the name of Spicer, and afterward to a Mr. Walters; her demise occurred in the city of Akron. The doctor's father, Orlando Beardsley, was engaged, the greater part of his life in blacksmithing, and some years before his death moved to a farm, and followed the pursuit of agriculture. His first wife was Mahala Sweetland, who died January 13, 1837, a few years after her marriage, leaving two children —Laura, born January 22, 1829, now the wife of Elias Ramey, of Fredericktown, Ohio, and C. E., whose name introduces this biography. Mr. Beardsley's second marriage was with Mrs. Nancy (Graves) Williams, widow of Philip Williams, who bore him one child, John, at this time a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Coshocton county. Orlando Beardsley was a man of the highest integrity, a pious member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and departed this life March 5, 1883. Dr. Charles E. Beardsley, the leading facts of whose life are herewith set forth, was born in Newark, Ohio, October 14, 1834. He spent the first twelve years of his life under 42 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY the parental roof, when, owing to a lack of harmony between himself and step-mother,' he decided to leave home and seek his fortune elsewhere. The doctor states that he quietly stole away after nightfall, and, without money, trudged his way many miles to Licking county, where, after some time, he succeeded in securing employment in the old Marion furnace, in which he afterward learned the trade of molder; he was thus employed until his fifteenth year, during which time he husbanded, with the greatest of care, his small earnings, by means of which he was enabled to enter the West Bedford academy, where he pursued his studies about three years, spending his vacations as a farm laborer. In the winter of 1852-53, the doctor taught school in Hocking county, Ohio, and afterward accepted a position as instructor in the academy at Findlay, where he was engaged in educational work with gratifying success for some time. While engaged in teaching, the doctor determined to prepare himself for the medical profession; accordingly he began the study of the same in the office of Dr. Bass Rawson, of Findlay, Ohio. Not being able financially to prosecute his studies satisfactorily, he accepted a position as salesman in the dry goods-house of A. H. Hyatt at Findlay, in which city he was married, June 22, 1856, to Miss Naomi Swapp. The same year the doctor went to Grand Rapids, Ohio, and engaged in the drug business, but after the death of his wife, which occurred March 5, 1857, in that city, he disposed of his stock, and the same year (1857) entered the medical department of the Michigan university at Ann Arbor. He pursued his professional studies in that institution from 1857 to 1860, and in April, 186r, entered the army, enlisting in company D, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, for the three-month service. He entered the army as a private, but was soon appointed surgeon and placed in charge of the hospital at Gallipolis, remaining in charge of the same for a period of four months. Severing his connection with the army, the doctor, in the fall of 1862, returning to the university of Michigan, from which he was graduated the following year, and at once resumed his practice at Ottawa, Ohio, which he had established before taking his final course. He continued the practice very successfully until 1869, at which time, actuated by a laudable desire to increase his professional knowledge, he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical college, New York city, graduating from that noted institution with the class of 1870. Three years later, he again went to New York city, and took a course in the college of Physicians and Surgeons, in addition to which he afterwards took special courses in Chicago and Cincinnati, sparing no reasonable means to place himself in the very front rank of his profession. At Chicago the doctor made a specialty of abdominal surgery and the diseases of women, and at Cincinnati he made a study of the eye under some of the greatest specialists in the United States. From the foregoing it will be seen that Dr. Beardsley brought to his life-work a mind well fortified with professional training and his career, since engaging in the practice, presents a series of continued successes, second to that of no other physician in northwestern Ohio. He combines within himself the characteristics of the deep thinker and true healer; believes in the dignity of his profession, and has a reputation extending far beyond the limits of the county where he has so long practiced. Financially his success has been most flattering, having realized a fortune, owning valuable property, consisting of a handsome business block and residence in Ottawa, and over Soo acres of valuable farm lands in different parts of the country. Dr. Beardsley has been twice married—the OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 45 first time, June 22, 1856, to Miss Naomi Swapp, whose death is mentioned in a preceding paragraph. The second marriage occurred March 5, 1862, to Miss Talitha Ann Davenport, daughter of Gove and Ann Davenport. Dr. and Mrs. Beardsley have a family of three sons, the eldest, Corydon Orlando, being associated with his father in practice. He is a graduate of the university of Michigan in the class of 1888, and also an alumus of the Ohio State university. He read medicine with his father, took a special course in the treatment of the eye and ear in Cincinnati, and was graduated from the institution in that city in 1895. The second son, Ed. Beardsley, is a graduate of the Ottawa high school, took a three-year course in jewelry mechanics at Dayton, after which he was for a short time engaged in the jewelry business in Ottawa. In 1894 he began the study of dentistry, and is now perfecting himself in that profession by a course in the Ohio Medical university. The third son, Charles D., also a graduate of the schools of Ottawa, completed the law course in the university of Michigan, June, 1891, and is now practicing his profession at the state capital, in partnership with W. L. Merwine. Dr. Beardsley is a member of the state and district medical societies, also a member of the American Medical association, and has been three times a delegate to the International Medical society, as the representative of the Northwesteru Ohio Medical association, of which he has served as president. With one exception, the doctor is the oldest Mason in Putnam county, having been initiated at Grand Rapids, Ohio, in the year 1855; he is still an active worker in the order, belonging to Ottawa lodge, No. 325. He belongs to the R. A., Tama council, No. 406, of which he is now past regent, and supervising grand regent of the same. WILLIAM BLODGET, an experienced and very prominent agriculturist of Blanchard township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a son of Stillman and Mary (Flint) Blodget, and was born July 13, 1828, in Wayne county, Ohio, and is primarily of English extraction. His paternal grandfather was a descendant of the old and well known Blodget family of Vermont, who were the progenitors of all of the name in the northern part of this country, and his immediate family consisted of seven members —of venom three resided in Canada and four came to Ohio. One was killed in the Dominion and two died in that country. Mr. Blodget came to Ohio late in life, and died at the home of his son Stillman, in Blanchard township, Putnam county, at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Mr. Flint, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution and died in Vermont. Stillman Blodget was born in Orange county, Vt., March 14, 1788, moved early in life to New York state, was a farmer and distiller, and between the years of 1826 and 1828 came to Ohio and in Wayne county resumed his vocations of farming and distilling. In June, 1838, he came to Putnam county, purchased eighty acres of land in section No. 31, Blanchard township, cleared up his farm, and here passed the remainder of his life, dying December 20, 1863. He had married, in the state of Vermont, January 17, 1817, and the children of whom he became father were named, in order of birth, as follows: Caroline, who was married to Nathan Stout, and died in Illinois; Nancy, wife of Nelson Hubbard; Charlotte, wife of Orin Thompson; Celica, deceased wife of James Rice; Stillman, deceased; William, of Blanchard township; Stillman, of Defiance county; Ann, deceased wife of E. Cook, and Martin,of Leipsic, Ohio.' Politically, M. Blodget was first a whig, and later 46 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY became a republican. He was a Protestant Methodist in religion and was one of the original members of the Riley creek church, of which his wife, who survived him until September 24, 1891, was also a devout member. William Blodget, whose name stands at the opening of this biography, was reared to the hard work of the farm, and received his early education in an old-fashioned log schoolhouse. Ih 1849 he made a trip to California, where he engaged in mining and teaming for six years, and then returned to the homestead in Putnam county, Ohio, where he has since resided. He has now in cultivation 208 acres in section No. 31, Blanchard township, and forty acres in Section No. 6, Riley township, all in one tract. This farm has been improved with a most excellent dwelling and substantial out-buildings, is well drained and thoroughly cultivated, and is very productive, yielding a rich reward for the labor bestowed upon it. The first marriage of Mr. Blodget took place April 16, 1857, with Miss Sarah J., daughter of Adam Miller, and this union was fruitful in the birth of the following children: Mary Ellen, born January 24, 1858, now the wife of William Carr; Cordelia, born September 4, 1859, now the wife of David Marks; Clara, born August 29, 1863, and married to Adam Marks; Royal Nelson, born November 18, 1864, and died in Kansas; Charles and William, twins, born July 18, 1869, and Earl, born September 12, 1873, all three residing in Blanchard township. Mrs. Blodget, the mother of this family, was called from earth April 5, 1874, and for his second helpmate Mr. Blodget selected Miss Eliza A., daughter of Hartford and Rachael Harriman, of Riley township, whom he married August 19, 1875, and this union was blessed with the birth of two children-Oscar Hartford, born January 20, 1879, and Waiter Garfield, born July 22, 1883. In their church membership, Mr. and Mrs. Blodget belong to the Protestant Methodist congregation of Riley township, Mr. Blodget being a trustee. In politics he is a republican, but has never sought public office. Mr.. Blodget is well known for his charitable disposition and generous impulses. He is liberal In his contributions toward the church support and toward the advancement of the educational interests of the county. His christian influence is felt throughout the community; and his social standing is with the best members of the society of Riley, Blanchard and the surrounding townships. THOMAS BEGG, a practical and thriving farmer of Sugar Creek township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Dumbartonshire, Scotland, August 5, 1839. His parents, John and Mary Begg, came to America in 1843, landing in New York with our subject when about four years old, whence they came to Ohio, and rented land in Franklin county. In the old country John Begg had been a miner, but after coming to the United States he adhered to farming, after he had once entered upon that vocation. In 1855 he came to Putnam county and entered a tract of land in Jackson township, to which he added an adjoining tract by purchase; in 1875 he moved across the line into Allen county, where he bought still another farm, on which he passed the remainder of his days. Here his wife died May 21, 1878, and he September 20, 1886, both in the faith of the Presbyterian church. Of eight children born to John and Mary Begg two died in infancy Of these, that grew to maturity, William, at the age of twenty-five years, enlisted August 15, 1862, in company A, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer. infantry, was assigned to the army of the Tennessee and was killed October 8, 1862, at the battle of Perryville, Ky. ; Thomas, our subject, enlisted OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 47 May 2, 1864, in company K, One Hundred and Thirty-third regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, for the 100-day service, was assigned to the Tenth army corps and was in an engagement between Richmond and Petersburg, Va., escaped without injury, and received an honorable discharge at Columbus, Ohio, in August, 1864; Janet, the eldest daughter, is vet single; John is a prominent farmer of Allen county., Ohio, and is one of the state lecturers of the state board of agriculture; James died. young, and Mary married Lewis Rower, who died and left her a widow with five children, still on her home farm in Putnam county. Thomas Begg, the subject of this sketch, grew to manhood in Franklin county, Ohio, and was married in October, 1870, to Mary J. Kalb, a native of the county, born May 3o, 1837, daughter of Jeremiah and Mahala (Shoemaker) Kalb. Jeremiah was a native of Franklin county, Ohio, and his wife of New Jersey, and they were the parents of two children, Mary J. and Sarah E. To the union of Thomas and Mary J. Begg no children have been born, but they have reared two adopted children--Harry D. and Emma K. Barto, for whom they have done all that parents could possibly have done. In 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Begg cache to Putnam county and lived on rented land for a year, when Mr. Begg bought eighty acres of his present farm, almost all of which is now under a good state of cultivation, and well improved with a comfortable dwelling and commodious out-buildings, and also well tiled. In 1891, he bought eighty acres additional, of which sixty-eight were cleared, and this tract Mr.Begg is also placing under cultivation. He has given some attention to live stock, but as a rule devotes his attention to general farming. He is quite popular in his township and has filled several local offices, including that of township trustee. He is esteemed as an honorable and industrious citizen, whose thrift and skill are meeting their due reward, and whose patriotism is duly appreciated by his neighbors. WILLIAM H. BEGG. M. D., one of the leading physicians of Columbus Grove, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, having been born on January 5, 1853, at Groveport, Franklin county. His parents were William and Jane (Dobbie) Begg, both natives of Scotland, the father having been born at Cumberlandshire in 1808, and the mother in Bannockburn in 1812. They were married in June, 1834, and started at once for America, arriving at or near Columbus, Ohio, in September of the same year. They resided in the vicinity of Lithopolis and Groveport until December, 1856, when they came to Columbus Grove, making the journey by wagon and arriving here in January, 1857. They remained in Columbus Grove two years, and then removed to their farm, one and one-half miles south of Columbus Grove, which farm they had purchased before coming here. They resided on their farm the balance of their lives, the father dying August 28, 1864, and his widow January 18, 1883. To the parents seven children were born, two Of whom died in childhood, and another, Elizabeth Morris, died October 4, 1864. The living children are Mrs. Mary J. Cheadle, of Kansas; Mrs. Meron E. Light, of Rushmore, Ohio; our subject, and John Andrew, of Scott, Van Wert county, Ohio. The parents were members of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Begg was four years old when he came to Columbus Grove, and from his sixth to his eighteenth year he was reared on his father's farm. His educational advantages were limited to the schools of the district, which he attended during the winter. months. But his surroundings at home were most excellent, as 48 - BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY his father was not only well educated, but possessed a fair library, and then, too, the doctor's eldest sister was a finely educated woman, and was of great assistance to him. During the winter of 1870-71 he clerked in a drug store in Columbus Grove, and the following summer he worked on a farm near Columbus, Ohio, after which he took a position in a dry-goods house in Columbus for three years. In the fall of 1874 he came home from Columbus, and entered the Columbus Grove public school, where he spent the year. The following summer he taught school in the district where he was reared, and then in the fall of 1875 he went to Wilkesville, Vinton county, Ohio, where he entered the academy as a teacher, and also pursued a course of studies in that institution. 'He taught there two terms, and the following spring he entered the National Normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, where he remained until the following August. He taught school through the winter and attended school during the summer at Lebanon for two years. In the winter of 1877-78 he taught the Columbus Grove high school and also held that position until December, 1879, when he resigned to enter the medical department of the university of Michigan, he having for three years previous to that time been reading medicine at every opportunity while teaching. He attended a full year at Ann Arbor, leaving there in June, 1880. The following fall he entered the Ohio Medical college at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in March, 1881. Returning to Columbus Grove he opened an office on the 1st day of April, andy entered at once into the active practice of his profession. In the fall of 1882 he went to New York and took a three-months' course in the Post-Graduate Medical school of that city. Dr. Begg was united in marriage on September 8,1881, to Miss Mattie Kohli, of Columbus Grove, daughter of Peter Kohli. To their union four children have been born, the eldest one, Harvey, dying in infancy. The living children are Ethel Jane, Russell Stuart and Harold Kohli. Dr. Begg is a member of the American Medical association, the Ohio Medical association and the Northwestern Ohio. Medical association, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. In politics Dr. Begg is a republican and takes an active interest in public affairs. In 1892 he was an alternate delegate to the national republican convention in Minneapolis. JOHN BELL, a retired farmer of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio, and a well-known citizen, is a son of John and Eliza (Kilpatrick) Bell, and was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, June 16, 182o. The father, John Bell, Sr., was born in the same county about 1761, and was a son of William and Elizabeth (McCutchen) Bell. The parents, John and Eliza, were married about the year 1808, and there were born to them ten children, viz: Joseph, of Perry township, born in 181o; Mrs. Mattie Hawks, deceased; Mrs. Eliza Colbert, deceased; Jane, of Phila delphia; William, deceased; John, our subject;, James, of Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio; Kate, of Philadelphia, and two that died in infancy. John Bell, Sr., came to Amer ica in 1856, his sons having preceded him ten years, and died in Philadelphia about 1859, a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he held various official positions of trust. His widow expired in the same faith in 1861. John Bell, subject of this sketch, was reared on his father's farm in Ireland, and also learned the weaver's trade. In 1846 he came to the United States, and in Philadelphia worked in the wareroom of a weaving establishment until 1859, when he came to Putnam county, Ohio, and worked on a farm until OF PUTNAM COUNTY - 49 April 15, 1861, when he responded to the call for volunteers to defend the flag of his adopted country, enlisting in company A, Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years, and serving through the entire war. He fought in over 100 battles, beginning at Shiloh, and then through to Memphis, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, and on with Sherman to the sea, and was finally honorably discharged at Little Rock, Ark., August 14, 1865. While on a furlough home, July 4, 1865, Mr. Bell married Miss Almira Scott, a daughter of Hugh and Mary (Ridenour) Scott. She was born in Perry township August 18, 1839. Hugh Scott, her father, was a native of Ireland, was a republican in politics, served as township trustee, and died in November, 1868; his widow, who was a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, survived until July 4, 1881 , when she passed away, in the faith of the United Brethren church. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott were born the following children, beside Mrs. Almira Bell: William, of Greensburg township; Louisa, wife of Jacob Spitznagle, of Perry township ; George and Crosswell. Grandfather Ridenour was serving in the war of 1812 when Mrs. Mary Scott was born. Mr. and Mrs. Bell, immediately after their marriage, settled on their present farm, which was then in the wilderness, but is now one of the neatest and most beautiful farms in the township, having been brought to its present splendid condition through the indefatigable labor of Mr. Bell himself, with some assistance, of course. In politics Mr. Bell is a republican, and has served s thirteen years as township trustee. As a farmer he has a widespread reputation; as a soldier he was always alert, ever at his post of duty, and on the battle field displayed on all occasions a coolness and courage that won the admiration of all beholders. During the war, however, he lost his health, in consequence of which he has done no active farm work for years, but had been prudent and wise enough to labor zealously as long as his health permitted, and now is enjoying, in retirement, the competency he has earned, honored by all who know him and esteemed by scores whom he knows not of. SEBASTIAN BENDELE, a practical farmer of Monterey township, Putnam county, Ohio, and a son of Sebastian and Catherine (Sharer) Bendele, was born in Alsace, France (since 1871 a province of Germany), February 9, 1839. (In this connection the reader is respectfully referred to the sketch of Martin Bens dele, given below.) In October, 1852, the family reached Ottoville, Monterey township, Putnam county, Ohio, our subject being then a lad of thirteen years. He had gained some knowledge of the French and German languages before leaving his native land, and his after education was acquired in the little log school of his district in Monterey township. This temple of learning was sixteen feet front by eighteen feet in depth, was built of round logs chinked with clay; the writing desk was a split log set against one wall of the cabin interior and held up with pins of wood, and the rude seats were made in the sarne manner. But Sebastian and his brother found the task of making a living of more paramount importance than that of attaining a literary education and farm duties more imperative than those of the school-room, and three months' attendance at the latter terminated their pursuit of knowledge. The forty-acre tract on which the family had settled had to be cleared. The father had expended his last dollar for his land and for some supplies, consisting of two barrels of flour, an ax, two iron wedges, two hoes, etc. The work of clearing a space for the erection