400 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. valued, and is in constant and extensive use in Ohio and several of the western states. Judge Seney, near the close of his judicial term, which was in the second year of the late Civil war between the states, enlisted in the One Hundred and First Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and upon its organization was commissioned one of its first lieutenants, and subsequently its quartermaster. Recruiting for this regiment, in which he and another enlisted man largely assisted, began late in July, 1862, and early in September following the regiment, over one thousand strong, was on the hills near Covington, Kentucky, resisting the advance of the Confederate forces under General Kirby Smith upon Cincinnati. In the Army of the Cumberland, under Generals Buell, Rosecrans. Thomas and Sherman, the One Hundred and First Ohio Regiment served until the close of the war. Its service was conspicuously effective at the battles of Perryville, Lancaster, Nashville, Stone' Riyer, Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Franklin, and in the five months of fighting and marching from Missionary Ridge to Atlanta, under General Sherman. From the day the One Hundred and First Ohio Regiment crossed the Ohio, river at Cincinnati until impaired health unfitted him for further seryice in the field, a period of nearly three years, Judge Seney served with his regiment in all of its campaigns. Upon resigning his commission in the army he resumed the practice of law, at Tiffin, and in a short time was in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice, easily maintaining his place among the leading representatives of the profession. In the law. as in every other walk of life, success depends largely upon industry, and the Judge was known as One of the most indefatigable and tireless workers. His large clientage connected him with much of the most important litigation tried in the courts of this part of the state. More than twenty years ago a. biographer in writing of him said: "As a lawyer he is highly esteemed by the profession; his cases are thoroughly prepared and ably and effectively presented to the court and the jury. While he is a fine speaker and with his oratorical gifts and graces excels as an advocate, he no less excels by his sound judgment and rare sense as an attorney and counselor. The fact that he is CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 401 usually assigned the closing argument in a case indicates the esteem in which he is held by his associates in the trial. As a man he is genial, and has the native delicacy and refinement of the educated gentleman." A later biographer says : "Judge Seney rose rapidly in his profession and is known as an able lawyer and an eloquent and effective jury advocate,—firm and decisive in character, quiet and gentle in manner, unostentatious in bearing, a pleasing public speaker, a person of refined tastes, and esteemed and popular with his professional associates." Still another biographer says: "Judge Seney was the youngest man who ever held common-pleas court in Ohio. He was elected judge at the age of twenty-six years and served a. term of five years with satisfaction to litigants and lawyers and with honor to himself. He was a hard and conscientious worker and has the qualities that commend a judge,—patience and gravity, dignity and courtesy, urbanity in demeanor, a high sense of justice, a desire to be right and the application required for careful research and inyestigation to ascertain the law applicable to a case." In politics Judge Seney has taken more or less interest, more as a Democrat and less as a politician. His paternal ancestors were strong in the Democratic faith and the Democracy of the Judge is, and has been, always and ever, unwavering. He has made many speeches in support of the men and measures of his party, and in many other ways has been active and efficient in the affairs of his party. In conventions to nominate Democrats as candidates for office he was either a delegate or a spectator, but never a candidate except when nominated for judge and for member of congress. When elected to congress he was fifty-two years of age, and the only office that he had held or had been a candidate for was that of judge twenty-five years before. The Democratic state convention in 1856 nominated him for presidential elector on the Buchanan and Breckinridge ticket. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at St. Louis, in 1876, which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for president of the United States. He was the president of the Democratic state convention which met at Cleveland in 1887. As a spectator he was at the Democratic national convention which nominated 402 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. for president James Buchanan at Cincinnati in 1856, Stephen A. Douglas at Baltimore in 1860, Winfield S. Hancock at Cincinnati in 1880, and Grover Cleveland at Chicago in 1884 ; and as a spectator attended the Republican national convention which nominated for president Benjamin Harrison at Minneapolis in 1892, and William McKinley at St. Louis in 1896. He was a delegate at large from Ohio to the conyention of Democrats at Indianapolis, in 1896, which nominated General John M. Palmer for president and Simon B. Buckner for vice president, and to them he gave his vote at the election. In 1874 he was the candidate of the Democratic party for congress, and at the election was defeated by less than one hundred and forty votes. This defeat a friend explained in this language: "It will be remembered that in the convention he refused, again and again, to be a candidate for the nomination, and protested, again and again, against his candidacy when nominated. These refusals and protests gave every voter to understand that he was opposed to his own election, and this, with the fact that he made no effort to be elected, was enough to elect the opposing candidate by a very large majority." Indeed, of Judge Seney it may be truthfully written that he had no ambition for distinction in public affairs, but regarded the pursuits of private life, and particularly those pertaining to his profession, as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. Endowed by nature with high intellectual qualities, to which have been added discipline and embellishments of culture, his is a most attractive personality. Well versed in the learning of his profession and with a deep knowledge of human nature and of the world, with great 'shrewdness, keen sagacity and extraordinary tact, he is in the courts an advocate of great power and influence, while his private life has left its impress upon the moral growth of the community. Had Judge Seney been less a lawyer and more a politician, his public career would not have ended at the close of his fourth term as a representative in congress. He was the choice of several members of the Ohio legislature for United States senator when the late Henry B. Payne was elected to that office, and later, when the late Calvin S. Brice was made a senator in congress. More than once CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 403 during his congressional term, and since, he was urged by prominent and leading Democrats and by his party press to be a candidate for governor of Ohio, but always and ever refused the use of his name in a nominating convention. When the free coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one became a political issue, the Republican party and the anti-free-coinage Democrats proposed to make him their candidate for congress, and in refusing the candidacy he said that he would not accept the commission of a member of congress if tendered him. Years of industrious and energetic labor in his profession have not been without substantial rewards to Judge Seney. Until recently he was the owner of the Tiffin Gas and Electric Works. He is the largest stockholder in the Tiffin Savings Bank, and now is, and has been, since the organization of the bank twelve years ago, its president. In the city. of Tiffin and in the county of Seneca he is the owner of valuable real estate and gives personal attention to its management. His elegant residence at the corner of Clay and Water streets is, within and without, a most elegant structure. Progressive, liberal and enterprising, he takes an active and leading part in whatever is calculated to advance Tiffin and the good of her people. His estimable wife, Anna Walker Seney, is a daughter of the late Joseph Walker, Esq., long a merchant of Tiffin, and a granddaughter of the late Josiah Hedges, Esq., who was the founder of Tiffin and is remembered by many citizens as an active leader in public affairs fifty years. ago. JOHN M. McDONALD. This name is one known throughout Seneca county, for here Mr. McDonald has passed his entire life and here his parents resided for many decades.. He has long been recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of his locality, and for many years has held a foremost place in the public affairs of the county. He has been faithful to his concep- 404 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. tions of the duties of citizenship, ever striving to advance the interests of his fellow men. Mr. McDonald was born in Tiffin, Ohio, May 6, 1835, a son of Upton and Rebecca (Cromer) McDonald. The father, who was a native of Maryland, was there reared and married, and after that event they came with her parents, three brothers and two sisters to the Buckeye state, immediately taking up their abode in Seneca county. For a time after their arrival here they camped in a tent in Tiffin, the city then containing but two or three houses, and later her father located on a farm near what is now Cromer Station, which was built on the farm of her brother, Ezra Cromer. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald made their home with her father for about three years, when they purchased a farm near by, consisting of eighty acres, and there they spent the remainder of their lives,. he dying when our subject was about ten years of age. After the father's death the mother became the wife of Jacob Warner and survived about twenty years. The union of Mr. and Mrs. McDonald was blessed with ten children, seven of whom are now living, namely : James, a resident of Carbondale, Kansas; Susan, the widow of John Walters and a resident of Liberty township, Seneca county ; John M., the subject of this review ; David, a prominent farmer of Pleasant township; Ezra, a shoemaker at Fort Seneca; Rebecca, the widow of Lafayette Letherman and a resident of Liberty township.; and Albert, of Williams county, Ohio. John M. McDonald, of this review, acquired but a limited education, for in early life his services were needed in developing a new farm. From the time of his marriage until 1861 he was employed at various occupations by the day or month, and at the latter date enlisted for service in the civil war, becoming a member of Company F, Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for one year. During his military career he took part in the battles of Murfreesboro and Stone river, also. many others of lesser importance, and after being confined in a hospital in Murfreesboro, on account of a severe illness, for three months, he was honorably discharged. For about three years after his return from the war he suffered from ill health, and he has never fully recovered his former strength and vigor. He subsequently became the CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 405 owner of forty acres of land in Pleasant township, where he made his home for three years, when he sold that property and purchased the land which he now owns, paying eight thousand four hundred dollars for eighty acres one and one-half Miles northwest of the courthouse in Tiffin. Incurring five thousand dollars of indebtedness, Mr. McDonald paid it in seven years. He is a man of energy and enterprise, and along the line of his chosen calling he has met with a well merited degree of success. On the 22d of February, 1855, occurred the marriage of Mr. McDonald and Miss Emily R. Van Natter. She is a native of the state of New York and a daughter of Moses and Rachel (Adams) Van Natter, who came to Seneca county in 1841, locating near Bettsville, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Of the nine children born unto our subject and wife only five are now living, namely : Nelson W., who is engaged in the manufacture of buggies in Tiffin, Ohio; Milan W., who is employed in a glass factory in Fairmount, Indiana; Chester, of Liberty township; Seneca county; Orton W., a prominent farmer of Reed township; and Daisy B., the wife of Otto Bour, also of Reed township. At the age of eight years Effie E., the eldest girl, was drowned through carelessness of playmates. One child died in infancy. Korah G. died at thirty-two. He had been a farmer in Seneca. county, and a daughter, Adelsa, died at twenty-three, having lived at home and being summoned to the great hereafter almost without a moment's warning. In his social relations Mr. McDonald is a member of General W. H. Gibson Post, G. A. R., and his political support is given to the Republican party. His religious preference, as is that of Mrs. McDonald, is indicated by membership in the United Brethren church in Tiffin. WILLIAM H. DORAN. For many years the Doran family has occupied a distinctive place in the affairs of Seneca county. From a wilderness this section has been gradually transformed to a fertile farming country, dotted with happy 406 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. homes, and in this glorious labor the Dorans have been active and zealous, leaving to their children and to posterity the records of useful, well spent lives. John Doran, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Virginia, but as early as 1822 he came to Seneca county, Ohio, entering eighty acres of government land where a brother of our subject, George W., now resides. At the raising of the old Hunter mills his back was seriously injured, but he survived the fracture for thirty-five years and reached the ripe old age of ninety years. Jonas Doran, the father of our subject, was born on his father's farm in Hopewell township, Seneca county. As a companion on the journey of life he chose Mary A. Armstrong, and they became the parents of ten children, five sons and fiye daughters, namely: William H.; Inez, the wife of W. C. Welty ; John; Della, the wife of 'Walter Hiser; Rosa, the wife of Lafayette Covert ; Ella, the wife of Elias Zeis; Sheridan; Frank; George; and Ida, de. ceased. The father of this family was called to his final rest in 1890, at the age of fifty-nine years, but his widow still survives and resides on the old home farrni, three and one-half miles northwest of Tiffin, where their children were born and reared. William H. Doran, whose name introduce's this review, was born on the 19th of February, 1855, and he continued to reside on the old homestead until after his marriage, when he rented a farm in Clinton township, there remaining for one year. For the following six years he farmed on rented land in Seneca township, coming thence to Hopewell township, where he again located on rented land, thus continuing for seven years. On the expiration of that period he became the owner of one hundred acres of his present farm, and as the years have passed by he has added to his original purchase until his landed possessions now consist of one hundred and eighty acres of rich and fertile land. He has placed his fields under a fine state of cultivation, has erected commodious and substantial buildings, and in may other ways has added to the value and attractive appearance of his place. In addition to the raising of the cereals best adapted to this soil and climate he has also. engaged CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 407 extensively in the stock business, and in both lines of labor he has met with a high degree of success. In October, 1877, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Doran and Miss Amanda Lynch. Mrs. Doran is the daughter of John A. and Sarah, (Utz) Lynch, was born in Liberty township, and was eighteen at her own marriage. Her father died the year of her marriage, while her mother is still living, residing at Tiffin. Mr. and Mrs. Doran have become the parents of eight children,—Nellie, Olive (wife of Peter Warner), George, Thomas, James, William, Jesse and Laura. Mr. Doran's social relations connect him with the Masonic fraternity, and politically he is identified with the Republican party. He is greatly esteemed by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance, and is a man of wide influence in this, his native township. PHILLIP BOLLINGER. One of the well known and influential citizens of Venice township is Phillip Bollinger, who has spent his entire life here. He has always been actively interested in everything which tended to promote the development of this region, and has been confidently counted upon at all times to endorse progressive measures and to uphold the law, right and justice. The Bollinger famlily are numbered among the old and honored residents of the county, and their history may be found in the sketch of L. W. Bollinger in this volume. Our subject was born in Venice township, Seneca county, February 20, 1852. Shortly after his marriage he became the owner of eighty acres of land in this locality, and as the years have passed by and prosperity has rewarded his well directed efforts he has been enabled to add to his original purchase until his landed possessions now consist of two hundred and thirty acres of rich and fertile land. His fields are under an excellent state of cultivation, good and substantial buildings adorn the place: and it; neat and thrifty 408 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. appearance indicates to the passer-by the supervision of a progressive owner. In matters of political importance he gives his support to the Democracy, and his religious preference is indicated by his membership in the Reformed church, in which he has long served as a deacon. For a. companion on the journey of life Mr. Bollinger chose Miss Anna M. Funk, a native of Stark county, Ohio, and a daughter of Isaac and Catharine (Kitzmiller) Funk, he now residing in Bloomville, Seneca county, and she being deceased. Seven children have blessed the union of our subject and wife, namely : Ida, the wife of James Freer. born, who resides On a portion of his father's farm; George F., William E., Ollie, Ccra, Emma and Andrew J., and with the exception of the eldest all are at home. Mr. Bollinger is at all times charitable and benevolent, and it is safe to say that no man in Seneca county has a wider circle of friends and acquaintances. CLAY HOLTZ. A native son of Seneca county and one of its progressive and influential citizens is Mr. Holtz, who is a worthy representative of one of the honored pioneer families of this section of the state, where he has passed his entire life, devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits, in connection with which he has attained a high degree of success, the while commanding the high esteem of those who have known him and had appreciation of his honorable and useful career. Mr. Holtz was born on the old homestead, in Pleasant township, Seneca county, on the 11th of December, 1841, one of the six children of William and Catherine ML (Cramer) Holtz, who became the parent:, of four sons and two daughters, namely: Harrison, who was drowned in childhood; Clay, the immediate subject of this sketch; William, who was a member of Company I, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being captured by the enemy at Chickamauga and dying while held a captiye in Andersonville prison : Susan, who is the wife of CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 409 Norman Egbert, of Clinton township; Rosa, who died in infancy; and Scott, who is a resident of Tiffin. The father of our subject passed away in 1862, and his widow survived him by many years, her death occurring on the 16th of November, 1895, at the venerable age of seventy-one years. Clay Holtz grew to maturity on the old homestead farm, receiving his early educational training in the public schools and continuing to assist in carrying on the work of the home place until he was prompted to take up the sterner duty devolving upon him as a. loyal son of the republic, when the integrity of the Union was menaced by armed rebellion. On the 9th of October, 1861, when nineteen years of age, he enlisted as a private in Company H, Fifty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three years. He proceeded to the front with his regiment and was thereafter a participant in many of the most notable engagements of the great civil conflict, among the number being the following: Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, after which last the regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumberland and was thereafter in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Burnt Hickory, Resaca, Peach Tree Creek and the siege of Atlanta. At Franklin, West Virginia, on the 22(1 of May, 1862, Mr. Holtz was. taken prisoner, being in the field hospital, but was. immediately paroled and returned to his home and here attended school until his exchange,. in January, 1863, and he rejoined his regiment in the early part of the following month, at Burke's. Station, Virginia, arriving in time to take part in the battle of Chancellorsville. He thereafter continued to serve' constantly in the ranks until the close of his term of enlistment, when: he received his honorable discharge, and he forthwith returned to his. native county and here assisted his mother in the operation of the old: homestead until 1869, when he located on his present farm, which was a part of the estate. To this he has added from time to time until he now has a fine farmstead of three hundred and forty acres, in one body, while he has made the best of improvements upon the same, having a commodious and substantial residence, good barns and other requisite - 23 - 410 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. buildings for the accommodation of stock, products and implements, and he has thoroughly developed his broad acres and brought the farm into a high state of cultivation. He raises diversified crops and also gives attention to the raising of a high grade of live stock. Mr. Holtz is essentially public-spirited in his attitude, and his influence has ever been cast in support of all enterprises for the general good, his political allegiance being accorded to the Republican party, of whose cause he has been a zealous supporter, though never seeking the honors or emoluments of public office. Fraternally he perpetuates his interest in and friendship with his old comrades in arms by retaining membership in the Potter Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Green Spring, while in the same place he is identified with the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On the 28th of February, 1868, Mr. Holtz was united in marriage to Miss Andorah Closson Egbert, who was born in Clinton township, this county, the daughter of Jeremiah and Lucy Ann (Rule) Egbert, her name having been conferred at the request of a Mr. Closson, an old friend of the family, who wished to thus perpetuate the name of his deceased fiancee. Of the eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Holtz we offer the following brief record: Harry, who assists in the management of the homestead farm; Alice, who is the wife of John Stackhouse, who is located in Cleveland, being in government employ; William, who served in the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American .war, having been for nine months an orderly sergeant on the staff of General Bates, and he is now attending a dental college in the city of Cincinnati; Kathryn, who attended Baldwin University, is now one of the successful and popular teachers in the schools of this county; Susan, who was graduated in the Green Spring Academy and later attended the Lebanon Normal School, began teaching at the age of fifteen years and continued her pedagogic work for a. period of three years, at the expiration of which she was married to a schoolmate, Charles Bridwell, and they now reside in Solitude, Kentucky; Charlotte, who is the wife of Eugene Crabill, a farmer near Tiffin, Ohio; Lucy, who was educated in the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, was a success- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 411 ful teacher and is now the wife of Elmer Rosenburger, of Melmore, this county ; and Zula Juanita. (pronounced Wau-ne-ta) is attending the township graded schools. JACOB BRENDLE. No better illustration of the characteristic energy and enterprise of the typical German-American citizen can be found than that afforded by the career of this well known farmer of Hopewell township. Coming to this country in early life, he has made his way to success through wisely directed efforts, and he can now look back with satisfaction upon past struggles. Mr. Brendle was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 14th of June, 1839, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Wertz) Brendle. These parents had five children, namely: Jacob, the subject of this review ; George, a resident of Tiffin, Ohio; Christina, the widow of Henry W. Creeger and a resident of Hopewell township; Barbara, the lately deceased widow of Michael Walters; and Margaret, the wife of Jacob Fleckner, who makes his home in Loudon township, Seneca county. The father of these children died in Germany, in 1852, and two years later the mother, with her five children, came to America, locating in Bascom, Seneca county, where she resided up to the time of her marriage to Henry Creeger, the father of Henry W. Creeger. She was called to her final rest on the 16th of March, 1884. Jacob Brendle, of this review, was but fifteen years of age when he came with his mother to Seneca county, Ohio. His education was received principally in the schools of his native land, for after coming to this locality he was permitted to attend school during only two months of each winter for two years. During his first summer here he found employment on the farm, while for the following two years he worked in a sawmill, later spending six months in a potash factory in Carey, Ohio. After his mother's second marriage he worked on his stepfather's farm for eleven years, and after the latter's death he rented the prop- 412 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. erty for one year. In 1869, in company with his brother George, he. purchased his present farm, then consisting of one hundred and forty acres, and this relationship was continued until 1884, when the property was divided, the brother securing as his share the town property, while our subject became the owner of the farm. As the years have passed by and prosperity has rewarded his well directed efforts he has added to the original purchase until he is now the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of as fine land as can be found in Seneca county. He is one of the progressive and skilled agriculturists of the locality, and his undaunted enterprise and resolute purpose have been the means of raising him from a position of comparative obscurity to one of affluence in the business world. In 1874 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Brendle and Miss Anna Baughman, a native daughter of this locality, where her father, Casper Baughman, located in an early day. Six children have blessed this union, namely: William and Jacob, who are attending school; Emma and Ella, at home; and two deceased; Charles and Catherine. In political matters Mr. Brendle votes with the Democracy, but he is liberal in his views and his support is withheld from no movement or measure which in his best judgment is intended for the public good. He is a worthy member of the German Reformed church, in which he has long served as an elder and for a number of years he has also held the position of deacon therein. No one in the community enjoys a better reputation for integrity of word and deed, and when a man stands high in the estimation of the people who have known him during nearly his entire lifetime no greater testimonial of his worth. can be given. FRANK J. FREDERICK. Everywhere in our land are found men who have worked their own way from humble and lowly beginnings to places of leadership, and of this class Frank J. Frederick is a prominent representative. A native son CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 413 of the Buckeye state, his birth here occurred in Tiffin, on the 21st of October, 1864. His parents, John and Rosella (Kuepper) Frederick, were born in Luxemburg, Germany, and in 1849 they came with their parents to the United States. The paternal grandparents of our subject were John and Margaret Frederick, and the former was a stone-mason by trade. They took up their abode in Tiffin. The maternal grandfather was stricken with cholera during the voyage, and for a time was quarantined on Bedloe's Island, where he soon afterward died. His wife brought her family to Seneca county, locating on a farm near New Riegel. John Frederick, the father of our subject, learned the carpenter's trade, and since his marriage, which 'occurred in 1863, he has continued to work at his trade in Tiffin. He gives his political support to the Democracy, and the family are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church. Of the twelve children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Frederick only three now survive : Frank J., of this review ; Charles, a resident of Tiffin; and Mary, at home. Frank J. Frederick grew to years of maturity under the parental roof, and the common schools of the neighborhood afforded him his educational privileges. At the age of fourteen years he began work in the agricultural works in Tiffin, where he was employed as a machinist for the following four years, while for a similar period he worked as a millwright. He was next employed as a pattern-maker in the Tiffin National Machine Company's works in Tiffin, resigning his position therein after a four years' service to work at the carpenter's trade. He had never before worked at the trade, but he hired as an experienced workman. However, he was a close observer, and in the course of three years was recognized as one of the most expert workmen in the city of Tiffin. After four years lie engaged in contracting and building, and during the succeeding five years he erected many houses in Tiffin, many of which were built for parties who paid for them on the installment plan. When twenty-one years of age Mr. Frederick purchased a residence property in that city, for which he paid one hundred dollars down and assumed an indebtedness of nine hundred dollars, but in three years' time, by careful and judicious management and indefatigable industry, he was 414 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. enabled to pay the entire amount. He also purchased a lot and erected another residence, for which he was obliged to go, in debt to the amount of about seventeen hundred, dollars, but eighteen months later he sold that property and in 1893 bought another residence, for which he again assumed an indebtedness for seventeen hundred dollars. About six months afterward he purchased a half interest in a sawmill at St. Stephen's, but after continuing therein for six years he sold his interest to his partner, Peter Foos. In 1898 he purchased his present general store and residence property at St. Stephen's, and in the mercantile line he is meeting with, a high and well-merited degree of success. In 1890 Mr. Frederick was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Foos, a sister of Peter Foos, whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume. Five children have blessed the union of our subject and wife, namely : Clarence W., Bertha R., Irvin A., Hilda L. (who died in infancy) and Leland B. Mr. Frederick is identified with the Democratic party, but he is liberal in his views and supports the men whom he regards as best qualified to fill positions of trust. The family are members of St. Stephen's Catholic church. JULIUS UNSER. One of the practical, progressive and enterprising agriculturists of Seneca county is Julius Unser, who owns a beautiful and, highly cultivated farm in Hopewell township. He was born in this locality on the 17th of December, 1863, a son of Joseph and Johanna (O'Brien) Unser. The father was a native of Germany, but on the 14th of March, 1825, when he was a babe, the family left their little German home across the sea and, came to America, locating in Loudon township, Seneca county, where they were among the early pioneers. The grandfather was a stonemason by trade, and in addition to following that vocation he also farmed an eighty-acre tract of land which he had entered from the government. On this place the son Joseph grew to years of maturity, and after his CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 415 father's death he assumed the entire responsibility of the place, thus continuing until 1876, when he removed to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which he had purchased the year previously. There he continued to make his home until 1892, when he took up his residence in Tiffin, and there his death occurred on the 17th of March, 1893. He became yery successful in his farming operations, and in: 1885 he was enabled to purchase an additional one hundred and twenty acres, where his son Daniel now resides. His widow also owns eighty acres adjoining the home place. Mr. Unser gave his political support to the Democracy and religiously was a member of St. Mary's Catholic church. Unto this worthy couple were born seven children, three of whom still survive, namely : Julius, the subject of this review ; Daniel, a prominent farmer of Hopewell township; and Mary, the wife of John Smith, also of this township. One named Cecelia, died at eleven years of age, and a second was given the same name, and died at the age of twenty-seven years, on March 17, 1898, while still an inmate of her parental home. Loretta died in childhood, and Catherine married Andrew Shingler and died when twenty-seven years of age. Julius Unser assisted his father in the work of the home place until 1889, when he assumed its entire responsibilities, and from that time until the present lie has had entire charge of this valuable tract. Since attaining to mature years his business ability has been constantly manifested, showing unlimited possibilities, and as the result of undaunted enterprise, perseverance and resolute purpose he has risen to a commanding position in the business circles of Seneca county. He gives his political support to the Democracy, and in all. matters pertaining to the welfare of his county, state or nation he takes an active interest. Mr. Unser was first married in 1890, when. Miss Matilda Phillips became his wife. She was a native of Seneca county and. a daughter of John' Phillips, a prominent farmer of St. Stephen's, this county. One child, Idella, came to bless and brighten their home. In 1895 the devoted' wife and mother passed' to her final rest, and two years later Mr. Unser wedded Miss Catherine Kauffman, also a native of Seneca county, and they have one child, Richard. The family are members 0f St. Mary's 416 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Catholic church, and are held in the highest regard by their innumerable friends. The Unser place is one of the attractive farms of the county, the house being one 0f the large two-story brick structures for which this section is noted. DANIEL L. CRUM. One of the progressive, practical and enterprising farmers of Seneca county is Daniel L. Crum, who resides in Hopewell township, where he owns and cultivates a rich tract of land. He is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth haying occurred in Dauphin county, on the 18th of August, 1844, and his parents being Frederick and Susanna S. (Reeme) Crum. Upon the home farm he was reared and in the common schools he obtained his education. His early work in the fields well fitted him for carrying on farming on his own account when he entered upon an independent busicareer. In February, 1867, Mr. Crum was married to Miss Anna C. Kepple, a daughter of George Kepple, who was one of the pioneers of Seneca county and is now deceased. The young couple began their domestic life upon a farm of one hundred and thirty-four and a half acres in Clinton township, three miles north of Tiffin, which his father had purchased the year previous. There our subject engaged in the tilling of the soil for four years and then removed to the farm upon which he is now living, although his residence here has not been continuous since that time. This farm was also owned by his father, and Mr. Crum of this review leased it for seven years, at the end of which time he had accumulated capital sufficient to purchase it and since then he has been its owner. In 1889 his father persuaded him to rent his farm and removed to Clinton township in order to look after the farm owned by Mr. Crum, Sr., and through the succeeding eight years 0ur subject rented and operated his father's place, returning to his own farm 0n the expiration of that period. Here he owns ninety-two and a half acres, and in addition his wife owns seventy acres 0ne mile north of the home farm, all of which Mr. Crum CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 417 cultivates and annually he garners rich harvests as a reward of his labor. The home of our subject and his wife has been blessed with eight children, seven of whom are yet living : Viola L., the wife of Colonel Cleggitt, of Pleasant township, Seneca county ; Naomi G., at home; Alice McCleta, the wife of A. L .Lightner, of Tiffin ; Ella E., who is with her parents; Edward D., an employe of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company ; Arlington L. and Irvin R. who are still under the parental roof. Mr. Crum and his family are well known in the community and their home is a very hospitable one. He has never been an aspirant for political office, but has firm faith in the Republican party and its principles and always supports it with his ballot. He is one of the enterprising agriculturists of the county and is an esteemed citizen, worthy of high regard. WILLIAM H. KING. The record of an honorable, upright life is always read with interest, and it better perpetuates the name and fame of the subject than does a monument, seen by few and soon crumbling into dust beneath the relentless hand of time. Those who have fought and suffered for the country in which their lot is cast are especially deserving of an honored place in its annals, and their posterity will turn with just pride to these records of the founders and preservers of a prosperous, united nation. Born in Sandusky county, Ohio, October 31, 1837, Mr. King is a son of Samuel R. and Mary (Stewart) King. The father, who was a native of Maryland, and married there, located in Wyandot county, Ohio, and began farm life there on rented land. After remaining in that locality for a time he removed to Sandusky county, where he purchased a farm, but in 1850 he disposed of that property and came to Seneca county, taking up his abode in Hopewell township, and there he spent the remainder of his life, passing away about 1858. In early life he gave his political support to the Whig party, but after the Republican party was 418 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. formed he joined its ranks and was ever afterward a stanch supporter of its principles. Of the six children born unto Samuel R. and Mary (Stewart) King only three are now living : Davenport S., a prominent farmer of Hopewell township; Henrietta, the widow of Henry S. Ruse and a resident of Lorain, Ohio; and William H., the subject of this review. Savilla Jane married George Mundwiler and died about one year later ; Martha married George Ruse and died about the same length of time thereafter ; and Daniel R., the youngest of the family, was a teacher for eight years in Seneca county, and was later in the hardware trade :it Sycamore, Ohio, where he died at about twenty-eight years of age. William H. remained under the parental roof until his sixteenth year, during which time he pursued his education in the village schools near his home. At that early age he began life on his own account as a farmer boy, working out for others by day and month, thus continuing until the inauguration of the civil war, when; in 1864, he loyally offered his services to the Union cause, entering Company I, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three months at Arlington Heights, Virginia. After his return home Mr. King again took up the quiet duties of the farm, pursuing agriculture for two years on land belonging to his mother-in-law, and on the expiration of that period, in 1867, he became the owner of his present home farm of seventy acres, where he has ever since continued to make his home. He had an indebtedness of over two thousand dollars, which was cleared off at the same time he was making improvements, having a comfortable house and convenient barn. He has laid several hundred rods of drainage tile, and the fields are now in a first-class productive condition. He is an enterprising and prosperous farmer, and his efforts in the line of his chosen calling have brought to him a high and well merited degree of success. In the year 1859 Mr. King was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Ruse, who was born in Hopewell township, a daughter of Solomon Ruse, one of the early pioneers of this locality. Three children were born of this union: Ida, the wife of William F. Martin, of Hopewell township; Silas and John H., both of Hopewell township. This loving CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 419 wife and mother has been called to the home beyond, and for his second wife the father chose Miss Madora Freeze, a daughter of Barney Freeze, 'who was also among the very early settlers of Seneca county. This marriage has been blessed with eight children, namely : James, at home; Lillian, the wife of Charles Creeger, of Hopewell township; Susan, the wife of Ross Creeger, also of this township; and Russell, Lulu, Ray, Harrison and Carl, at home. Mr. King's political support is given to the Prohibition party. He is a member of Hopewell Bethel Church of God, and its interests have been greatly promoted through his zealous and earnest work. His many admirable qualities of heart and mind have gained for him a large circle of friends, and he is widely and favorably known in Seneca county. SAMUEL WANNAMAKER. The name of Wannamaker has been an honored and respected one in Seneca county, Ohio, since 1849, when the present family of the name was established here by Isaac Wannamaker, who was the father of Samuel Wannamaker, a highly respected citizen of Seneca county. Samuel Wannamaker, who is the subject of this sketch, was born December 16, 1836, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and he was a son of Isaac and Catherine (Billig) Wannamaker, both of whom were natives of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. Isaac Wannamaker and family moved to the former county in 1834, and there followed a farming life until 1849; then he removed to Seneca county and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Seneca township. He acquired more land, became prosperous and prominent in his locality and at the time of his decease owned an aggregate of two hundred and eighty-seven acres. Mr. Wannamaker was one of the leading members of the Lutheran church, where now his widow, who lives with Samuel, is one of the "mothers in Israel," having reached her ninetieth year, the record of Tier life being one of kind, good deeds. Isaac Wannamaker and wife were the parents of eleven children, the 420 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. survivors of the family being as follows : Caroline, Samuel, Joel and Sylvester, all of Seneca township. The names of those who haye passed away were Edwin, Daniel, Elias, Henry, Jacob, Mary A. and Isaac. Samuel Wannamaker was thirteen years of age when the family .came to Seneca county, a happy, healthy schoolboy, useful on the farm even at that early age, the "chores" being usually apportioned to him. After locating here he re-entered school and acquired a good common-school education, which has been supplemented in later years with reading and association with public men and office through the county. He continued to make his home with his parents until he was thirty-five years of age, for fifteen years following the threshing business. His tastes and talents, however, were not all in the direction of an agricultural life, and Mr. Wannamaker entered a carpenter shop in order to thoroughly learn this trade, becoming in the course of time a most skillful workman. Although the demands of his business take him away from home quite frequently, he has always made Seneca township his place of residence, and there enjoys the respect, esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens. To this esteem his friends haye testified by calling upon Mr. Wannamaker to fill positions of responsibility in the township, notably in the office of township treasurer, which he has efficiently filled for the past nine years. On the school board he has been a man of excellent judgment, and while school director the educational affairs of his district haye been carefully considered. He has taken a deep interest in political matters in this township, and is justly considered one of the leading members of the Democratic party, with which he has been identified since his young manhood. Mr. Wannamaker was reared in the tenets of the Lutheran church and he has been an interested and active member for a number of years, serving as trustee of the church in Tiffin, where he has been one of the elders during a long period. Mr. Wannamaker is a man of parts, well read on a number of subjects and one who has testified in many ways to the interest he feels as a public-spirited citizen. In private life he is a man of exemplary character and has always been devotedly attached to his aged mother, who still experiences his tender care. He was married CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 421 in 1871 to Amanda Huntsberger, who died in less than one year thereafter. His sister Caroline has continued at home and has charge of the household, being devoted to her aged mother. MICHAEL WALTER. For many years Michael Walter occupied a very conspicuous place. among the agriculturists of Seneca county. His career was that of an honorable, enterprising and progressive business man, whose well-rounded. character also enabled him to take an active interest in education and social and moral affairs, and to keep well informed concerning the momentous questions affecting the nation. In all life's relations he commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he came in contact, and the memory of his upright life is an inspiration to the many friends who knew him well and were familiar with his virtues. A native son of the Buckeye state, Mr. Walter was born in Big Springs, Seneca county, April 12, 1843. His parents were Michael and Margaret E. (Witrick) Walter, and they had ten children, namely : Elizabeth, the wife of George Hetzel, of Wyandot county, Ohio; Martia, of Wayne county, Ohio; George, a prominent farmer of Hopewell township; Michael, of this review ; Henry, of Williams county ; Mary, the wife of George Brendle, of Tiffin; John, who makes his home in Liberty township, Seneca county ; Joseph, also of Williams county ; Sarah, the wife of Martin Weigel, of Seneca township; and William, a resident of Liberty township. Michael was the first of this family to pass to the home beyond, and the youngest child has now reached the age of forty years. Michael Walter, of this review, grew to years of maturity on his parents' homestead farm, receiving his elementary education in the common schools of the neighborhood, but being a broad reader he greatly added to his knowledge in later life and became a well informed man. In 1870 he went to Wayne county, Ohio, spending several months in that locality, and following this he was employed for two years in the lum- 422 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ber regions of Michigan. Returning to his boyhood home, he once more took up his abde on the home farm with his father, and after his marriage he farmed. the place for one year, removing thence to Liberty township, where for the following two years he was engaged in the sawmill business. On the expiration of that period he again returned to the old homestead, his parents having both died in the meantime, and for three years thereafter he farmed the place in the interest of the other heirs. In 1877 he became the sole owner of the farm, which consisted of one hundred and twenty acres, and there he continued to make his home until his life's labors were ended in death. He took a leading and active interest in the public affairs of his locality, and his political support was given to the Democracy. In 1870 Mr. Walter was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Brendle, the history of whose father will be found on another page of this volume. Eight children were born unto this union, only five of whom are now living, namely : Jesse William, a prominent farmer of this county ; Frank S., who is engaged in the operation of a threshing machine ; and Charles L., Orlando H. and James E., at home. During the last sixteen years of his life Mr. Walter was a cripple, having been injured by being thrown from and run over by a binder. He closed his eyes in death on the 3d of October, 1901, passing away in the faith of the German Reformed church, of which his family also are members. A prominent representative of industrial interests, a popular factor in social life, a faithful friend, a kind husband and father and a consistent Christian, he leaves behind him an untarnished record. His widow, who supplied the principal facts in the above article, also passed to the great beyond on the 20th of January, 1902. JAMES ALBERT NORTON. Probably no person ever born in Seneca county has had a wider reputation or a more extended acquaintance than James A. Norton, who was born on the 11th day of November, 1843, in the village of Bettsville, this county. CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 423 His parents were among the pioneer settlers of the county and did much in giving an impetus to the advance and growth of the progressive features which have so distinctively marked the history of this section• of the state. His father, Dr. Rufus Norton, born in Utica, New York, was a son of Isaiah Norton, who was a native of the north of England, a descendant of a long line of ancestors, the representatives of which still remain prominent in English municipal affairs. The family was a branch of the Scottish McNaughton clan, well known in Scotch history of the time of the "Dark Douglas." His mother, Clarissa Waters, was of French-English descent, and possessed the vivacity and determination characterizing the union of the Anglo-Saxon and Latin races. Born of such an ancestry and endowed by nature with more than a liberal share of intellectual power, personal attraction, magnetism, eloquence and courage, it is no wonder that James A. Norton should rise to the position and success he has achieved. The youngest of a family of five, four sons and one daughter, his boyhood days were passed in his native village, where he attended school, and accompanied his father in the long drives consequent upon a large medical practice, in which he became deeply interested in the profession he afterward followed. His studies were continued later in the public schools at Tiffin, and were marked by the close application and thoroughness which he has shown in every undertaking engaged in since then. Bred and nurtured in the Democratic faith, inspired with an ardent love for his country, moved by patriotic impulses, young Norton was an enthusiastic advocate for the maintenance of the Union, and found the restraint of school especially irksome, when the civil war came; and the news of battles fought, victories won or lost, made his heart beat with ambition and his pulse tingle with excitement until he could no longer endure inaction, so on the 16th of August, 1862, he bade adieu to home and friends, went to Monroeville and enlisted, when only eighteen years of age, in Company K, of the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being mustered in as a sergeant. He soon had occasion to begin actual service, for in September he went with his regiment to Covington, Kentucky, to repel a threatened invasion of the rebels under General 424 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Kirby Smith, but was soon afterward ordered to Louisville, where the regiment became part of General Buell's army. On the 8th of October he first faced the enemy in battle array and thrilled with "The stern joy which warriors feel In foemen worthy of their steel," when, at Perryville, a stubborn fight with the Confederates was had. This was quickly followed by a skirmish at Lancaster, then, on December 30th, the year was closed by the memorable battle of Stone River. The young soldier bore himself well in all these scenes of carnage, and won the admiration of his comrades by his conduct, and often to this day he is greeted by survivors of that fight by their recalling incidents of Stone River. In this battle the One Hundred and First Regiment took a most prominent part, and suffered greater loss than any other regiment engaged in the fight. Nearly all its officers were killed, the gallant Colonel Leander -Stem being among the number. The remnant of the regiment passed the winter in scout duty around Murfreesboro until it was ordered to take part in the Tullahoma campaign, and later to move against Chattanooga. It was in this latter campaign, at the battle of Chickamauga, September 20th, during the second day's fight, while supporting the Hotchkiss battery, that Sergeant Norton was wounded, his ribs on the left side being broken, and his left lung injured, from which he has never fully recovered. He was left lying on the field of battle until found in an unconscious condition by his brother, Cyrus G. Norton, who was also a member of his company. He was taken to Chattanooga and placed in the old dye house used as a hospital, from which place he was removed to Stevenson, Alabama, and then to Hospital No. 8, at Nashville, Tennessee. Here he was granted a furlough, and returned to his home on a visit. Rejoining his regiment at Nashville, he was ordered by the brigade commander to report before an examining board for promotion to the regular army, under general orders requiring the selection. of the most capable men to officer new troops. After a severe examination he was passed and received his commission as lieutenant, signed by President Lincoln, and was assigned to the One Hundred and Twenty-third United States (Colored) Infantry, with orders to report to General