550 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. ing a firm belief in an all-wise Providence, he never identified himself with any religious body, though his ideas were to a large extent in harmony with the tenets of the Universalist church. Hugh B. Cain, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was for many years high sheriff of New York state and was a man of influence in political affairs in that state, as was he later in Seneca county, Ohio, having located in Attica in the year 1835 and here erected a residence of octagonal form, the same being one of the most pretentious and unique dwellings in the town at that period. He was a man of fine mentality and was an important factor in the Democratic party in this section of the state. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Susan B. Lemon, both died in Attica, in whose best social life they were conspicuous figures. The mother of our subject was summoned into eternal rest on the 18th of August, 1898, having been a resident of Attica for sixty-three years and having been its oldest inhabitant at the time of her demise. George C. Lake grew up under the influences of farm life, but was only twelve years of age at the time when his father's misfortunes made it necessary for him to contribute to his own support, and thus he has depended upon his own resources from his boyhood to the present time. As may be inferred, his early educational privileges were thus very limited in scope, but as a boy he began an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, and it has been well said that to thus serve in a newspaper office is equivalent to a. liberal education, and through his intimate association with the "art preservative of all arts" Mr. Lake has acquired a broad and exact fund of information and is an able writer and thinker. At the early age of fourteen he was made foreman of the Attica Journal, and two years later he assumed the editorial chair. He continued in the employ of the Journal for sixteen and one-half years, within which time he had won his spurs in the field of journalism and had developed a distinctive executive capacity, fortified by intimate knowledge of all details of the line of enterprise to which he had thus given his attention. On the l0th of March, 1896, Mr. Lake severed his connection with the Attica Journal and founded the Attica Weekly Hub, which he has conducted with signal success, developing a valuable paper and an excel- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 551 lent business in the other departments of his enterprise. The paper is independent in politics, is a seven-column folio and is issued on Wednesday of each week, while it now has a circulation of nearly one thousand copies, going into the best homes in this locality. and exploiting local interests and affairs in the most approved style. The job department of the Hub office is well equipped and the work turned out is of the highest type. Mr. Lake is. one of the representative newspaper men of the county and is popular in both. business and social circles, having a wide acquaintanceship in this section and being a progressive and public-spirited citizen. In politics he exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party. Fraternally he is identified with Attica Lodge, No. 302, Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the official chairs ; with Attica Lodge, No. 212, Junior Order United American Mechanics; and with Attica Lodge, Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Lake has been twice married. On December 17, 1891, he was united to Miss Susie L. Goodnough, of Wheeler, Gratiot county, Michigan, she having been the daughter of Romanzo Goodnough, a prominent factor in the ranks. of the Democratic patry. He and his wife were both born in Seneca county, whence they removed to Michigan a number of years ago. Mrs. Lake was summoned into the eternal life on the 18th of January, 1898, having been the mother of three children, of whom Durell Bird and Ferris McKinley survive. On the 14th of October, 1900, Mr. Lake married Miss Lulu Honey, who was born in Seneca county, the daughter of Christ Honey, who was born in Baden, Germany, and who became one of the pioneer settlers in Seneca county. Mr. and Mrs. Lake have one daughter, Beulah Angeline. CHARLES H. FEASEL. Charles H. Feasel is a self-made man, who from early boyhood has been dependent upon his own resources. Unaided he has fought the battles of life and has come off conqueror in the strife. To-day a valu- 552 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. able farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres pays to him a golden tribute and is the visible evidence of his life of industry and perseverance. Mr. Feasel is numbered among the native sons of Seneca county,. his birth having occurred in Liberty township, April 5, 1857. His parents, Alexander and Mary A. (Turner) Feasel, were also natives of Ohio, and the former was born in Liberty township, the paternal grandfather of our subject, Henry Feasel, having been one of the honored pioneer settlers of the locality. Coming here in early days, he entered land from the government and began the development of a farm, making a good home for his family. Alexander Feasel spent his entire life here and after attaining to man's estate devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-five years of age. In his family were four children : William, a resident of Seneca county; Elmer, who is living in Jackson township; Charles H., of this review; and Mariette, the wife of Frank Brown, an agriculturist of Liberty township. On the old home farm Charles H. Feasel was born, and in the common schools he pursued his education. When a little lad of seven summers he went to live with his grandparents and at the age of thirteen he began earning his own livelihood by working as a farm hand in the neighborhood. The compensation was not great, but it made him independent and he developed a self-reliance and a force of character which have proved important elements in his later business prosperity. When nineteen years of age he' left Ohio, going to Michigan, but after a few months he returned to this state and for a year was employed as a farm hand in Seneca township and has since been a representative of its agricultural interests. At the age of twenty-one, August 6, 1879, Mr. Feasel was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Jane (Flack) Updegraff, a daughter of Lewis and Margaret Ann (Null) Flack and the widow of John Andrew Updegraff, and their home has been blessed with seven children, as follows: Alexander; Nora Augusta, who died when three years of age; Eva Belle, LeEtta, Hattie E. A., Mary Jane and Franklin E. J. Mrs. Feasel CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 553 has two children by her former marriage, Ernest and Minnie May Updegraff, now wife of Herman Barton. Eva Belle is the wife of James Cheney, Alexander married Viola Cheney and Ernest Updegraff married Ada Sheets. Mr. and Mrs. Feasel began their domestic life upon the farm which is still their home. Our subject here owns and operates one hundred and twenty-five acres of rich land and is carrying on general farming. His fields are well tilled, his buildings are substantial and kept in good repair, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. He deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, having from his early boyhood been dependent upon his own resources. His life has been quietly passed, yet there is much in his history that is worthy of commendation. He has ever been straightforward. in his dealings with his. fellow men and has placed his dependence upon the substantial qualities of industry, careful management and resolute purpose, so that he now occupies a prominent position among the substantial farmers of Seneca county. NORMAN DUNN. Norman Dunn, one of the leading and representative agriculturists-. of Seneca county, was born on the farm on which his brother, Deroy C. Dunn, now resides, on the 20th of March, 1853, a son of William Nelson Dunn, the history of whom will be found in the sketch of Arlington Dunn in this volume. Our subject received his education in the common schools of the neighborhood, and at the age of eighteen years: secured employment in the molding department of the Tiffin Agricultural Works, where he remained for one year, and for eight months thereafter worked on the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, while for the following two months he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Returning thence to the old home farm, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits with his brother Deroy until May, 1875, when he began farming a forty-acre tract belonging to - 35 - 554 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. his father, located where the Belgian Glass Works were later, built. After his marriage his father gave him thirty acres of the tract, and about three years later he was able to purchase the additional twenty acres, but in 1889 he disposed of that property and the following year became the owner of his present valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where he has ever since resided. On this place he has erected a handsome brick residence and a commodious barn, has placed his fields under an excellent state of cultivation, and his is now one of the best developed and most desirable homesteads in the county. In February, 1876, Mr. Dunn was united in marriage to Miss Jennie B. Wagner, a daughter of John Wagner, now deceased. Three children have been born of this union : Ida May, the wife of John Eitz, of Tiffin, Ohio; Ralph Clark, at home; and Parker W., who also is with his parents. The Democracy receives Mr. Dunn's hearty support and co-operation, and although he takes an active interest in the public affairs of his locality he has never been a seeker for political preferment. He has attained prominence in business circles, while in private life no man in Hopewell has more friends than he, and they have been won and are being retained by his attractive personality, his outspoken devotion to the best interests of the community and his mental ability. JAMES T. WALTERMIER. During the war of the Rebellion, representing a most crucial epoch in our national history, Seneca county sent forth a due quota of her valiant sons to defend the integrity of the Union, and one of the number to be thus honored as a veteran. of this great fratricidal conflict is the gentleman whose name initiates this sketch and who has made his home in the county during his entire life, being now a successful farmer of Jackson township. Mr. Waltermier was born in Big Springs township, this county, on the 24th of June, 1844, the son of John and Gertrude (Carter) Waltermier, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, whence they came CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 555 to Seneca county in an early day. They became the parents of ten children, of whom three are living at the present time. James T. was but seven years of age at the time of his father's death, and he was then taken into the home of Martin Fiant, of Jackson township, by whom he was reared, assisting in the work of the farm; and attending the public schools as opportunity afforded. He was a youth of but seventeen years when the thundering of rebel guns: against the ramparts of old Fort Sumter aroused a loyal protest in his heart, and he did not long delay tendering his services in defense of his country. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company B, Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, his term of enlistment being for three years. His command was assigned to the Second Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, and he took part in some of the most fiercely contested and ever memorable battles of the great war which determined the integrity of the Union. Among the number were the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Resaca, Vicksburg and Chickasaw Bayou, and later he was with General Sherman in the famous march to the sea. At Dalton, Georgia, Mr. Waltermier was captured by the 'Confederates, and was held prisoner from May 27, 1864, until the close of the war. He was released and duly mustered out of the service, and then returned to Jackson township, greatly broken in health by reason of the many 'hardships he had endured on the field and while in captivity. On this account he was practically unable to do any active work for a period of nearly two years, but finally resumed the occupation to which he had been reared and in which he has ever since continued. He is one of the few survivors of the ill-fated "Sultana," whose boilers exploded and fifteen hundred returning Union prisoners were drowned. He is a member of the Sultana Memorial Association. After his marriage, in 1867, Mr. Waltermier purchased a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, and there resided for two years, at the expiration of which period he sold the property and rented the farm on which he now lives, purchasing the same in 1883. Here he has a well-improved and highly cultivated farm of eighty acres, and through his well-directed efforts he has been successful in his farming enterprise and is one of the substantial men of the township, where 556 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. he is known and honored for his sterling worth of character. His political support is given to the Democratic party and his religious faith is that of the Reformed church, of which he is a devoted and prominent member, having been a deacon of Olive Chapel for a period of about twelve years. On the 24th of January, 1867, Mr. Waltermier was united in marriage to Miss Mahala Swope, who was born in this county, the daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Hampshire) Swope, pioneer settlers. Of the seven children of this union five are living and all remain at the parental home except the eldest, their names, in order of birth, being as follows:. Ella, the wife of Charles Master, of Wood county ; and Etta M., Nora A., Oscar J. and Irvin T. Mrs. Waltermier was born in the house in which she now lives,. December 7, 1845. Her father, Daniel Swope, was born in Morgan county, this state, as was also her mother, they being married there, and. he entered this tract of land from the government, settling here about 1831 in the woods before there was another house between here and Fostoria, five miles distant, and there were very few in the entire county. Indians were thick about them, with whom they were on pleasant terms. The present residence, built about 1835. was one of the first frame residences erected in the. county. Her parents lived here till her mother's. death, at fifty-five years of age. Later her father removed to Knobnoster, Missouri, about fifteen years ago, and there died, in his ninety-sixth year. They had six children, all but one still living (1902). Lydia. is the widow of Levi Wertz, of Wood county ; Eli Swope lives in Missouri; Noah died at the age of fifty-two years; Israel and Samuel, also of Missouri; and Mahala, who has lived, except three years, on a farm in Kansas. ELI L. ROSENBERGER. One of the prominent old pioneer families of Seneca county is that • of the Rosenbergers, which has been well represented in Liberty township from a very early day. They have ever borne their part in the up- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 557 building and development of this region, and have invariably been exponents of progress and liberal ideas upon all subjects. Henry Rosenberger, the founder of the family in this portion of Ohio, came from Virginia to Clinton township, Seneca county, in a very early day. In this locality Anthony Rosenberger, his son and the father of our subject, was born about 1829. When the time came for him, to choose a life occupation he continued in the vocation to which he had been reared, farming, and after his marriage he rented his father's farm and land adjoining. Later he became the owner of forty acres in Hopewell township, but remained there only a short time and then located on land belonging to his father-in-law. In 1863 he became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of our subject's present farm, which continued to be his home from that time until 1872, when he purchased and removed to a farm of one hundred and twenty-seven acres in Pleasant township, there spending his remaining days, his death occurring about 1880. He was a Republican in his political affiliations and was a member of the Methodist Protestant church, in which he was an active and efficient worker and for many years he led the singing therein, having a fine bass voice. For his first wife Mr. Rosenberger chose Jane Michaels, and they had three children, namely : Jennie, the wife of Edward Heilman, of Clinton township; Mary, the wife of David Zimmerman, of Hamilton county, Indiana ; and Eli L., the subject of this review. The wife and mother passed away in death in 1862, and for his second wife the father chose Miss Margaret Zimmerman, by whom he had one child, Ida, now the wife of Frank Edwards, of Pleasant township. Mr. Rosenberger is ,still living at the old homestead, aged sixty-seven. Eli L. Rosenberger received his elementary education in the comman schools of this locality, and later he was a student for one term in Heidelberg College, where he enjoyed superior educational advantages. He was twenty years of age at the time of his father's death, and in the following spring he removed to his present home farm, near the homestead, where he owns ninety-seven acres of rich and productive land. The place is extremely fertile and well improved and is considered one 558 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. of the most valuable farms of its size in the county. In 1896 he erected one of the most magnificent farm residences in Seneca county, which is supplied with all the modern 'conveniences known to the city home and is complete in all its appointments. Two months after locating upon his present homestead Mr. Rosenberger was united in marriage to Miss Flora I. Michaels, a daughter of George Michaels, now a resident of Illinois. Two children have been born unto this union,—Ralph R. and. Ward E. The Republican party receives Mr. Rosenberger's support and co-operation, and his religious preference is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Protestant church. He gives his support to all moral, educational, social or material interests which he believes will benefit the community, and as a man of sterling worth he justly merits the high regard in which he is held. H. G. BLAINE, M. D. Dr. H. G. Blaine. is one of the well-known residents of Seneca county. He has gained distinction in the line of his chosen calling, in which he has. ever been an earnest and discriminating student, and he holds a position of due relative precedence among the medical practitioners of this section of the Buckeye state. A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, his birth occurred on the 25th of November, 1858, a son of William I. and Nancy V. (Voshal) Blaine. His father's nativity was in the Keystone state, his birth occurring in Carlisle, in 1827; and while yet a boy he accompanied his parents on their removal to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared to manhood and learned the printer's trade. On his father's side he was descended from good old English .ancestry, while his maternal ancestors were of Welsh descent. By his marriage to Nancy Voshal he became the father of six children, five now living,—George H., who is employed by the Colonial Steel Company in South Monaca, Pennsylvania; Ella, the wife of A. J. Whitney, of Beltsville, Ohio ; CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 559 Lillie, the wife of George Sherman, of Attica, this state; Laura, the wife of Bentley McLean, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and H. G., the subject of this sketch. Owing to misfortunes which befel his parents, H. G. Blaine was left to the cold mercies of the world at the age of three years. His parents had early removed' to the south and the ravages of war had thus devastated the home of his childhood. Cast upon the charities of distant relatives, he was brought to this state and finally found shelter in the home of William F. Leonard, a farmer of Seneca county, who reared him to years of maturity and gave him the advantages of the common schools. Later he attended the normal school of Republic and Fostoria. He has depended entirely upon his own efforts since the early age of sixteen years, when he began teaching in the schools of the neighborhood, following that occupation during the winter season, while in the summer months he was employed at farm labor, thus continuing until his twentieth year. Two years previous to this time, however, when eighteen years of age, he determined to adopt the medical profession as a life work, and accordingly soon afterward entered the office of Dr. James M. Parker, of Attica, Ohio. In the fall of 1880 he matriculated in the Columbus Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio, where he attended his first course of lectures. In the spring of 1882 he was graduated at the Indiana Eclectic Medical College, of Indianapolis, Indiana, also receiving a second diploma from the Toledo. Medical College in 1886. A month after his graduation he opened an office for the practice of his profession in the village of Reedtown, a small hamlet in Seneca county, but after one year's residence there, in February, 1883, he formed a partnership with Dr. Alfred Force, at Attica, Dr. Blaine's present location, this partnership relation continuing until July, 1884, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. With his great love for the work in which he was engaged and his indomitable energy, Dr. Blaine did not feel that his practice then called forth his entire efforts, and he therefore set to work to establish a medical journal, in which the would be able to set forth his own ideas relating to medical science and at the same time open an avenue through which 560 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. he might become more familiar with the opinions of the profession at large. Accordingly, on the 1st of October, 1884, he issued the first number of the Medical Compend, a practical monthly epitome of medicine and surgery and the allied sciences, and this he published in Attica until April, 1889, when his private office, the office of the Medical Compend and the printing office, together with their contents, were destroyed by fire. In the following June Dr. Jonathan Priest, of Toledo, Ohio, became associated with our subject in the publication of the Medical Compend, and the office of the journal was moved to that city, of which Dr. Blaine became a resident in 1892. Upon the death of Dr. Priest Dr. H. S. Havighorst was made a partner, and the name of the journal was changed to the Toledo Medical Compend, thus continuing until 1894, when the journal was sold, and in 1896 our subject returned to Attica. In 1885 he was appointed to the chair of diseases of women and children in the Toledo Medical College, and he was afterward chosen to fill the chair of diseases of the nervous system in the same institution, which position he held until May, 1892, when he resigned from the faculty. He is the author of the work entitled "The Physician: His Relation to the Law." The principal object of this book is to give in a condensed form the relation of the physician to the special laws which control him and of which he, as a rule, has a very vague and imperfect idea, together with a more extended knowledge of the legal rules which govern the collection of his fees. The ethical code of the three schools of medicine are also given without comment, and other chapters contain the statutory enactments in the various states regulating the practice of medicine. In 1877 Dr. Blaine was united in marriage to Lucy E. Shanks, a daughter of James Shanks, of Chicago Junction, Ohio, and they had four sons : Ernest G. and Earl H., twins, the latter now deceased; Harry S., a mail clerk of Toledo, Ohio; and William G., a student in the high school of Toledo. On the 18th of June, 1898, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Maude Endslow, a native of Crawford county, Ohio, and a daughter of Thomas B. Endslow, the well-known miller of New 'Washington, Ohio. The only child of this marriage is CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 561 now deceased. The Democracy receives Dr. Blaine's hearty support and co-operation, and he is now a member of the Democratic county executive committee; was elected mayor of Attica, Ohio, in April, 1902, while for the past three years he has also been the health officer. In 1899 he and his son, E. G., erected the Attica Telephone Exchange and the toll lines to Bellevue, Monroeville, Chicago Junction and Scipio, but in June, 1901, he sold his interest in that corporation. In the interests of his profession he is connected with the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association and the Ohio Medical Society, and in his social relations he is a member of Attica Lodge, No. 302, K. of P., of which he is a past chancellor; is deputy state counselor of Attica Council, No. 317, J. 0. U. A. M., and is examining physician and consul of Attica Camp, No. 9216, Modern Woodmen of America. ANDREW WERLEY. 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 citizen of Seneca county. He was born in Braunlingen, Baden, Germany, November 22, 1825, and is a son of Francis J. and Agatha (Ra.penegger) Werley, also natives of Baden, Germany, where they died in 1848. The father was a clock-maker, and followed that occupation as a means of livelihood up to the time of his death. Of the nine children born unto this worthy couple only three are now living, namely : Jane, the wife of Casper Richter, of Columbus, Ohio; Andrew, the subject of this review ; and Teresa, the wife of Jacob Schiffer, of New Riegel, Ohio. Andrew Werley was reared and educated in the land of his nativity, and in 1846, when a young man, he left the home of his childhood and youth for the United States. Traveling through France from Strasburg to Havre de Grace, he there embarked on the French steamer "Globe," and arrived in the harbor of New York on the 1st of June, 1846, after 562 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. an ocean voyage of forty-four days. After his arrival in this country he made his way by canal to Delaware county, Ohio, arriving in Newark on the 29th of June of the same year, and on the following Fourth of July joined his brother John in Delaware. He there made his home for the following two years,.during which time he wa.s engaged in selling clocks through that and adjoining counties. From 1848 until 1856 he worked in the Ohio Tool Company's plant in Columbus, and in that year he located in New Riegel. His brother John was then engaged in the mercantile business in that village, and for two years our subject remained in his employ, going thence to Thompson township, where he erected and conducted a store at Frank's Corner for four years. He then returned to New Riegel and at a sheriff's sale purchased the store formerly owned by his brother John, the latter having sold the same about two years prior to that time. From that time until 1878 Mr. Werley was there engaged in a general mercantile business, but on the expiration of that period he sold his stock of goods to his son-in-law, Charles H. Klein, and in 1880 built an elevator and engaged in the grain business. After devoting his attention to that occupation for eight years he sold his interests and retired from the active duties of a business life. While residing in Columbus, Ohio, on the 27th of August, 185 Mr. Werley was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Smith, a native also of Baden, Germany, and a daughter of Philip and Anna Smith. The family came to Seneca county, Ohio, in 1835 purchasing land in Seneca township, and there they spent the remainder of their lives. Of the twelve children born unto our subject and wife only nine are now living, namely: Stephen A., a resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas ; Rosa, the wife of C. H. Klein, of Auglaize county, Ohio; Minnie M., who makes her home in Chicago, Illinois.; Clotilda and Sophia T., at home; Victor M., of Carey, Ohio; Loretta E., the widow of Albert E. Friend, of Cleveland, Ohio; Isabelle M., the wife of George Fowler, of Dubuque, Iowa; and Seraphin C., a bookkeeper, of Marysville, California. The children all received excellent educational advantages, and they CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 563 speak and write both the German and English languages. Mrs. Werley died November 1, 1889, aged sixty-three years. Mr. Werley gives his political support to the Democracy, and for nineteen years he held the office of township treasurer. When the New Riegel post-office was established he became its first postmaster, and when the town was incorporated he became its first mayor, in which he is the present incumbent, this being his sixth term in that important position. For a period of twenty-four years he has served as a school director, and for many years he has served as a delegate to the county, state, judicial and senatorial conventions of his party. The family are members of St. Boniface's Catholic church. CHARLES E. FEASEL. In the history of the agricultural interests of Seneca county Charles E. Feasel well deserves .prominent mention, being one of the leading and enterprising farmers of Liberty township. He was born in Jackson township on the 24th of June, 1863, and is a son of John and Rebecca (Stahl) Feasel, who were the parents of seven children, as follows: Clara, deceased; Charles E.; William, who resides in Liberty township; Ida E., who died in childhood; John L., a resident of Jackson township; Esther E., the wife of George Aumaugher, of Jackson township; and Irvin, who resides in Jackson township. Throughout his active business career the father of this family was connected with agricultural pursuits, becoming a well-known and enterprising fanner. He died in 1886, at the age of fifty-eight years, and his wife, surviving him eleven years, passed away in 1897, also at the age of fifty-eight years. Charles E. Feasel is indebted to the public-school system of his native county for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. He worked on the home farm through the months of summer, attending school during the winter season, and with the labors of field and meadow he early became familiar. At length he left the home place in order to engage in business on his own account and chose as his vocation the 564 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. work to which he had been reared. He is to-day the owner of a tract of rich and arable land of one hundred and thirty-five acres and carries on both general farming and stock-raising. His fields give promise of golden harvests and in his pastures and feed lands can be seen good glades of cattle, hogs and sheep, which find a ready sale on the market and add materially to his annual income. He has good improvements upon his place and a glance will indicate to the passer-by that the owner is a progressive agriculturist. In the year 1885 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Feasel and Miss Mary Millhine, of Jackson township, and a daughter of John and Sarah Millhine. Seven children have been born of their union, namely : Irvin E., Harvey H., Cora E., Alberta B., May Ethel, Belvah M. and Gladys A. The parents hold membership in the United Brethren church, taking a very active part in its work and contributing materially to its support. Mr. Feasel has been honored with several offices in the church; has been superintendent of the Sunday-school, class-leader, trustee, and is now secretary of die board of trustees. He has also filled civic positions, having for three years capably served as the township treasurer. He has likewise been a member of the school board and the cause of education has found in him a warm friend, who does all in his power for its advancement. His political faith is that of the Republican party, and, as every true American citizen should do, he keeps well informed on the issues of the day and does what he can to secure the adoption of the principles in which he believes. In manner he is frank and genial, and his many good qualities are recognized by friends who have known and respected him from boyhood. J. FRANK TITUS, M. D. Seneca county, Ohio, has its full quota of skilled physicians and surgeons, and among the number may be noted the subject of this review, Dr. J. Frank Titus. He was born in Jackson township, this CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 565 county, on the 20th of January, 1870, a son of Giles J. and Sarah E.. (White) Titus. The father also claimed the Buckeye state as the place. of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Cleveland in 1838, and there he grew to mature years and learned the trade of plasterer. When a young man he removed to Iowa, and there remained until the break-. ing out of the Civil war, when he went to Quincy, Illinois, there offering his services to the Union cause by becoming a member of the Eighty-. fourth Illinois Infantry. He remained a brave and valiant soldier until, the terrible struggle was past, and during his services he was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga. After his honorable discharge he came. to Seneca county, Ohio, establishing a turning factory in the village of Kansas, where he was engaged in the manufacture of wooden bowls.. About 1878, however, he removed his plant to Woodville, Sandusky county, and from 1883 until 1890 was engaged in the same business at Green Spring, Ohio. In the. latter year he became a resident of Fostoria, where he has since been living a retired life, enjoying the fruits of former toil. He gives a. stanch and unwavering support to the Re publican party, and religiously is a member of the United Brethren church.. While a resident of Iowa he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. White, and they became the parents of eight children, four now living : 'Roger, a commercial traveler of Cleveland, Ohio ; Lillian, the wife of George W. Mallott, of Rocky Ford, Colorado ; and Gertrude, the wife of E. J. Earnest, of Jackson, Michigan; and J. Frank., the subject of this review. J. Frank Titus began the active battle of life for himself when but a boy of seventeen years, as an employe' in a general store at Cummings, Wood county, Ohio, there remaining for four years. On the' expiration of that period he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in which institution he was graduated in the homeopathic department in the spring of 1896. In the fall of that year he came to Attica and opened an office for the practice of his chosen profession. Although one. of the more recent representatives of the profession, he has already gained distinction in the line of his chosen calling, has ever been an earnest and discriminating student, and all who 566 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. know him have the highest admiration. for his many excellent characteristics. The marriage of Dr. Titus was celebrated June 5, 1900, when Miss Bertha L. Rhineberg became his wife. She is a native of Green Spring, Seneca county, and a daughter of T. B. Rhineberg, now a resident of Reed township. The Doctor is a member of Attica Lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he is now serving as vice grand, and is a member of Attica Lodge, No. 302, K. of P., in which he has held all the offices and at the present time is master at arms. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. JACOB S. ARMSTRONG. Among the native sons of Scipio township who still reside within its borders. is Jacob S. Armstrong, whose birth here occurred July 28, 1834, his parents being George and Mary A. (Swickard) Armstrong. The father was a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, and in 1834 arrived in Seneca county, at which time he took up his abode upon the farm in Scipio township, where our subject was born. His first home was a little log cabin, in which he lived in true pioneer style, bravely meeting all the hardships and trials which fall to the lot of the pioneer. Only a few acres of the land had been cleared, but with characteristic energy he began the further development of the farm, which. he continued until ill health caused him to return to Jefferson county. There he remained through the succeeding decade and then returned to Scipio township, again locating upon the old homestead. It was his place of residence until 1856, when he went to Reed township, where for twenty-eight years he carried on agricultural pursuits, his life's labors being ended in death in 1884. He was then seventy-three years of age, his birth having occurred in 1811. His wife passed away March 9, 1883. In his business undertakings Mr. Armstrong met with excellent success. He acquired nine hundred acres of land in. Reed and Scipio townships and well did he earn the proud American title of a. self-made man. His prosperity was CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 567 the outcome of earnest and diligent effort, guided by sound judgment. His fellow townsmen recognized his worth and ability and frequently called him to serve in township offices, and the Methodist Episcopal church found in him a valued and worthy member. In the family were four children, namely : Jacob S., of this review; Samantha, the wife of Alpheus Wall; John G., a resident of Reed township.; and Tabitha, the wife of George Wail, who served as a soldier in the One Hundred and Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the civil war. In taking up the personal history of Jacob S. Armstrong, we present to our readers the life record of one who is. widely and favorably known in Seneca county as a representative farmer. His preliminary education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by study in the Republic Academy, and his business training was received upon the home farm, where he early became familiar with the work of the fields. On the 5th of March, 1861, he gained a companion and helpmate for the journey of life in the person of Miss Sarah Ann Tompkins, who was born in Thompson township, Seneca county, and is a daughter of Isaac and Christina (Scothorn) Tompkins. Her mother was the first white. child in Reed township, the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Armstrong having located there in 1824, when she was three years old. Mrs. Tompkins is still living with Mrs. Armstrong, and has reached the advanced age of eighty-one years. Her husband came to Seneca county from New York about 1833 and here met and married Miss Scothorn. The marriage of our subject and his wife has been blessed with one child, Lillian, the wife of Daniel Benfer. They reside with her parents and have four children,—Wade A., Glee S., Claude E. and Darl J. The family home is a fine brick residence which was erected by Mr. Armstrong and is one of the largest houses in. Seneca county. It is tastefully furnished and is surrounded by a beautiful and well kept lawn.. Many excellent improvements have been made upon the farm, which comprises two hundred and eighty acres of rich land. In addition to the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to the climate, Mr. Armstrong is engaged in stock-raising, and both branches of his business-are remunerative. In politics his views are in harmony with socialistic ideas, as ex- 568 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. pressed in Populistic platforms. His wife is a member of the Baptist church and he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, with which he has been identified for more than thirty years. He is also a member of the Grange and is widely known in his native county, where his life has been so honorably passed that his record is well worthy of emulation. There have been no exciting chapters in his history, but his record is that of a man who has ever been true to the duties of citizenship, of friendship and of the home. DAVID W. BROWN. From his boyhood the subject of this sketch has been a resident of Seneca county; and that he is a representative of one of its pioneer families is evident when we revert to the fact that he has now attained to the age of nearly four-score years. His life has been one of signal usefulness and honor, and his memory links the early pioneer epoch, with its primitive surroundings and equipments, inseparably with this latter era of prosperity and opulent achievement and conditions which have marked the advent of the glorious twentieth century. As a representative farmer of the county and one of its pioneer citizens, it is incumbent that we enter this review of the life history of Mr. Brown. David W. Brown is a native of the state of Maryland, having been born in Frederick county, on the 9th of December, 1826, the son of George and Julia Ann (Scott) Brown, who became the parents. of seven children, namely : Catherine, who married William W. Null and died in 1866; David W., of this sketch ; Christian, who died in 1879, from disability contracted in the war ; Sarah, the wife of Aaron C. Reese, of Linden, Ohio Thomas, who died in childhood ; Leetha, the wife of Jacob Ash, of Kansas, Ohio; and Wesley B., who enlisted in the Civil war when only sixteen years old and is now a resident of Williams county. Thomas Brown, the grandfather of our subject, was of English ancestry, a farmer in Frederick county, Maryland, married Susan Harmon, of German descent, and died in 1828, at the age of fifty-five years. His CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 569 wife died in 1831, at the age of fifty-six years. Their children were John, who died at the age of twenty-one years; Thomas,, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, fought in the engagements at Bladensburg and Baltimore, and in 1836 settled in Miami county, Ohio; William, who died while a young man, at Greencastle, Pennsylvania; and Christian, who came to Seneca county, Ohio, with his. brother George in 1833, married Susan Shaull, a daughter of John B. Shaull, who located on the present homestead of David W. Brown about 1822 or 1823; 'Christian died in 1842. George Brown, the father of our subject, came with his family from Maryland with a team and wagon, taking up his abode in Tiffin, then a mere hamlet in the midst of a wild forest, where settlers had inaugurated the work of reclamation not many years previously. Here he followed his trade, that of cooper, for a short time, and in 1835 removed to Eden township, where he leased land and engaged in farming. In 1839 he removed to Liberty township, where he purchased a tract of eighty acres, which served as the nucleus of his well-improved estate of one hundred and sixty acres, since he had purchased additional land and had improved the property prior to his death, at the venerable age of eighty-four years, the last twenty-seven years of his life having been passed at the home of his son, the subject of this review. He was a man of sterling character and held the unqualified esteem of the people of the community. He served as a justice of the peace for a number of years and. was also the incumbent of other local offices. His religious faith was. that of the Lutheran church, of which his wife was likewise a member.. She passed away at the age of forty-two years. David W. Brown was a lad of seven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Seneca county, and here he was reared to maturity, his educational advantages being necessarily limited, so that it may be said that he is self-educated, even as he has been the architect of his own fortunes in a temporal way. When twenty-two years of age. he began learning the shoemaker's trade at Bascom, serving an appren ticeship of one and a half years, and thereafter he worked at Fort Seneca, from 1852 to 1854, and then removed to Liberty township, where - 36 - 570 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. he continued to follow his trade for a year, and next extended the scope of his enterprise by also engaging in agricultural pursuits and the raising of live stock. He had, indeed, begun his business career by buying farm animals at the early age of seventeen years. He has continued to reside in Liberty township to the present time, and has followed his trade to a greater or less extent in connection with his farming and stock-raising industry. His efforts have met a merited success and he is now the owner of a well-improved and highly cultivated farm of eighty acres, having retained this amount of the estate of two hundred and forty-eight acres which he here owned at one time. In politics Mr. Brown is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, with which he has been allied from the time of attaining his majority, and during all his years of toil and endeavor he has been broadminded, upright and public-spirited, and has commanded the confidence and esteem of those among whom his life has been passed. On the 28th of March, 1852, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Susanna Null, who was born in Hopewell township, this county, the daughter of Jacob and Susanna (Puffenberger) Null, who were born and married in Virginia, whence they came to Seneca county about 1830, settling on a heavily timbered tract of land in Hopewell township, whence about two years later they removed to Liberty township, where Mr. Null purchased eighty acres, subsequently adding to his property, owning four hundred acres at the time of his death, when eighty-two years of age. His wife died at the age of seventy-six ;years, six months and two days. Mrs. Brown is one of five children .living, the others. being W. H. Null, retired, a resident of Kansas, Ohio; Lovina, now Mrs. Dr. Joseph Cessna, at Kalamo, Michigan; Sarah, the wife of John Chester, of Tiffin; and Clarinda, the wife of Samuel Shrodes, of Tiffin. The ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown are: Thomas J., who read law at Tiffin, was admitted to the bar, practiced at Chicago, was married in Illinois to Miss Susie McCullough, and is now a practitioner ,of law and an insurance agent at Atlanta, Georgia ; Albert, who was -reared on the farm, married Luella Astry, is a farmer in Williams CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 571 county, this state, and has two children,—Lottie K. and Ariel; Catherine, now the wife of William Wagonhouser, of Sylvania, Lucas county, Ohio, with four children,—Claude W., David Albert, Alva and Myrl ; William H., a farmer of Hopewell township, who married Malinda Altman had has six children,—Ladema, Viola, Maud, Alvernon (who died at the age of seventeen years), Isora and Virgie; Susan E., who married Jacob H. Wagoner, of the same township, and whose children are George, Marie, John and Louisa; John D., who read law at Valparaiso, Indiana, practiced his profession at Kansas City, has been engaged in editorial work in Missouri, married Mary Young and has one daughter, named Mabel; Elander, who died in infancy; Awilda, who is the wife of Henry Puffenberger, her husband having the farm of the old Puffenberger homestead in Liberty township; they have lost one child in infancy and are now rearing a nephew, George A. Brown, aged at present five years; Jessie, now Mrs. John Smith, of Wood county, this state. with two children,—Ethel Leone and Eva.; and Charles S., who married Mrs. May McCall and has three children,—Clio, George and Susie. He is engaged in the oil business in Wood county. JOHN BALL. One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful business men of Seneca county is John Ball. He is public-spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the community, and for many years he has been numbered among the most valued and honored citizens of Seneca county. His birth occurred in Huron county, Ohio, November 18, 1851, a son of Joseph and Celia (Clous) Ball. His father was born in Germany about 1820, and he was there reared and married, and prior to his removal to this country three children were born to him in his little German home. In 1850 he crossed the broad Atlantic to the United 572 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. States, spending about fourteen weeks on the voyage, and after arriving in New York he made his way to Huron county, Ohio, there purchasing fifty acres of land in Norwich township. About 1862 he sold his possessions there and removed to Venice township, Seneca county, here becoming the owner of an eighty-acre tract, but later sold that property and removed to Bloom township, where his last days were spent, .his death occurring in 1894. Eight children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Ball, namely : James, a prominent agriculturist of Seneca county ; Benjamin, deceased; Margaret, the widow of Frank Schank and a resident of Huron county, Ohio; John, the subject of this review ; Frank, who is employed by his brother Joseph; Catherine, deceased; Mary, who wife of Michael Brown, of Huron county; and Celia, the wife of Leo Layman, of Ottawa county, Ohio. To the public-school system of his native locality John Ball is indebted for the educational privileges which he received in his youth, but his advantages in that direction were extremely limited. About six years. prior to his marriage he rented the Jacob Funk farm of one hundred and sixty acres, but in 1890 he removed from that place to the Jacob Hossler farm of two hundred and forty acres, on which he made his home for one year. While residing there he became the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Bloom township, exchanging for the same a tract of sixty acres which he had purchased some time in the '70s while making his hone on the Funk farm. He gives his entire attention to the raising of the cereals best adapted to this soil and climate, and in the line of his chosen vocation he is meeting with a high and well-merited degree of success. In matters of national importance he gives his political support to the Democracy, but at local elections he supports the men whom in his best judgment he regards as best qualified to fill positions of honor and trust. On the 14th of October, 1879, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ball and Miss Catherine Reiderman. The lady is a native of Erie county, Ohio, and a daughter of January Reiderman, whose birth occurred in Germany. Of the five children horn to Mr. and Mrs. Ball four now survive,—John C., Bertha M., Celia B. and Christian O.,-- CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY - 573 all at home. The family are members of the Catholic church, in which Mr. Ball is serving as councilman and as a member of the building committee, having assisted in the construction of the St. Stephen's church, parsonage and school building. Many years of his life have been *pent in Seneca county and among its best citizens he is widely and favorably known. OWEN P. GREEN. Owen P. Green owns and cultivates sixty acres of land in Scipio township and is a progressive farmer, following modern methods. He was born in this township August 7, 1843, and is a son of Elias and Mary A. (Lapham) Green. His father was a native of Cayuga county, New York, and in an early day emigrated westward, taking up his abode in Scipio township when the work of progress and improvement was in its incipiency. When our subject was nine' years of age the father removed with his family to Hardin county and there spent his remaining days. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Green were born five children: Eliza J., now deceased; Timothy ; Owen P.; Ansel C.; and Lavinia A., who has passed away. After the death of the father the family returned to Scipio township, where Owen P. Green was reared to manhood. When a youth of fourteen he began earning his own living, working as a farm hand by the month. After the inauguration of the Civil war he felt that his. duty was toward his country, and to the government offered his services on the 7th of August, 1861, becoming a member of Company H, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was sent to the front and the first engagement in which he participated was at the battle of Stone River. He was also in the engagements at Chickamauga and Franklin. At the battle of Chickamauga he was wounded by a shell and for four months lay in a hospital. On the 19th of June, 1865, the war having ended, he received an honorable discharge. His record was ever characterized by fidelity to duty and bravery in the midst of battle and he returned to his home with a creditable military record. 574 - CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. Again Mr. Green took up his abode in Scipio township. He was married February 2, 1871, to Miss Sarah E. Wilkerson. Mrs. Green was born on the farm where she now lives, a daughter of Charles and Jane (White) Wilkerson, who were both born in Cayuga county, New York, where they were married September 10, 1837, and they came to Seneca county in 1840. Mr. Wilkerson secured this tract of land in the Woods, erected a log house and in 1858 built the present residence. Both himself and wife died here, he October 19, 1889, in his eighty-first year, and she August 31, 1901, aged eighty-nine years. They had three daughters,—Della, now the widow of Edgar S. Lamkin, and Celia C., Mrs. Stephen Howland, both residing in Republic; and Mrs. Green, the youngest. She was educated in the academy at Republic and taught for a time in the home school. Mr. Green is carrying on general farming and stock-raising with good success, his place being neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and believes firmly in its principles. He is to-day as true to his duties of citizenship as when he followed the old flag upon the battlefields of the south. GEORGE BRINEY. George Briney was born upon the farms where he now resides, August 4, 1843, and is a son of John Henry Briney, a native of Alsace, Germany, who came to America with his parents about 1827, being at the time thirteen years of age. His father was Henry Briney, who with his family took up his abode in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, where he became connected with business interests as a clerk in a hotel. In the Keystone state John Henry Briney was reared to manhood and as a companion and helpmate on the journey of life he chose Rebecca Linebaugh. They became the parents of six children: Jacob, who died at the age of seventeen years; Caroline, the wife of George Detterman, of