450 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY following year he established himself in the dry goods business in Kalida, which was, then the county seat of Putnam county. In 1867 he located in Bryan, where he was engaged in the same line of enterprise for the ensuing fourteen years, after which he was identified with agricultural pursuits in this county about nine years. In 1890 he removed to the city of Chicago, where he has since maintained his home. He served for a time as superintendent of he Illinois industrial home for the blind. In Lithopolis, O., he parried Miss Clarissa Crumley, a daughter of Daniel and Jane (Betser) Crumley, the former of whom served many years as justice of the peace in Fairfield county, where he was a substantial farmer. The Crumley family originated in the kingdom of Wuriemburg, Germany, whence came the original American ancestors to Pennsylvania in the Colonial era of our national history. Andrew W. and Clarissa (Crumley) Killits have five sons, all of whom reside in Chicago except John M., subject of this sketch, who is the eldest. John Milton Killits was born in Lithopolis, Fairfield county, O., on the 7th of October, 18518, and his early educational discipline was secured in the public schools, while at the age of sixteen years he entered the preparatory department of Oberlin College, at Oberlin, O. A year later, in 1876, he was matriculated in historic old Williams College, at Williamstown, Mass., in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1880, with high rank, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in 1887 the degree of Master of Arts from the same college. In the year of his graduation he located in Red Oak, Iowa, where he purchased the plant and business of the Red Oak Express, and successfully published a weekly and daily newspaper there for the ensuing three years, supporting the Republican party and making his publications a power in that section. His determination to enter the legal profession led him to close out his newspaper interests and return to Bryan in 1883. Here he secured as his professional preceptors the firm of Pratt & Bentley. In March of the following year he was appointed to a clerkship in the war department in Washington, D. C., retaining this incumbency until October 31, 1887, when he resigned. In the meanwhile he had availed himself of the un-equalled advantages offered in the national capital to the student of law, and completed a course in the law school of Columbian University, now George Washington University, in which he was graduated in 18185, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. To further fortify himself in the learning of his profession he took a postgraduate course in the same institution, receiving the degree of LL. M., and in 18186 he was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia. After resigning his position in the war department he reurned to Ohio, in whose capital city he was admitted to the bar in December, 18187, to practice before the supreme court of the state. On the first of the following February he opened an offnce in Bryan, which city has since been the scene of his very successful and noteworthy professional career, his clientage having been of a represen- BIOGRAPHICAL - 451 tative character, while he has been concerned in much of the important litigation in the local and Federal courts. His knowledge of the law is particularly broad and accurate, and his alertness of intellectuality enables him to have ready recourse and practical application in the trial of causes; and he never goes into court unprepared, always canvassing his case carefully in all its relations before presenting the same. He is thus to be designated as one of the strongest trial lawyers of the Williams county bar, while his strength as a counsellor is tantamount. In 1892 he was nominated on the Republican ticket for the office of prosecuting attorney, being elected by a majority of only fifty-one votes, but so excellent a record did he make as public prosecutor that he was returned to the office in 1895, as his own successor, with the most significant and gratifying majority of eleven hundred and twenty-five votes. In 1901 Mr. Killits was nominated as the Republican candidate for common pleas judge in the old sub-division of Williams, Defiance and Paulding counties, and was defeated by thirty-four votes, although the sub-division at the previous judicial election had given 1,500 Democratic majority. In 1904 he was elected common pleas judge for the new sib-division, consisting of Fulton, Williams, Defiance, Paulding and Van Wert counties, by nearly 4,800 majority, running ahead of the Presidential ticket. His vote, 4,050, and his majority, 1,415, in Williams county, was the largest ever given here to a candidate for any offnce. Mr. Killits has been a most ardent and uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and is one of the leaders in its local ranks. He is affiliated with the lodge, chapter and commandery bodies of the Masonic fraternity, and also with the Knights of Pythias, and is popular in professional, business and social circles in his home city. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist church. In 1887 Mr. Killits was united in marriage to Miss Alice N. Stuart, of Washington, D. C. She was born in 1863, near Corpus Christi, Tex., being a daughter of Captain Alexander S. and Emily (Nourse) Stuart, the former a descendant of the famous Stuart family of Scotland, whence the original American ancestors came in the early Colonial days, settling in Maryland, while the American branch has been distinguished for military valor, representatives having served in the war of the Revolution, the war of 1812, the Mexican war and in both the Northern and Southern armies during the Civil var. Captain Stuart himself was an officer in the Confederate army. He was extensively engaged in the raising of cattle and horses in Texas, and while attending to his ranches in the Lone Star state he was robbed and murdered by Mexican bandits. Mr. and Mrs. Killits have two children: Alice Milton, born March 218, 181818; and Edith Stuart, born December 4, 1891. IRVIN D. KINTIGH is one of the progressive vounn farmers of Northwest township and is a representative of one of the well-known pioneer families of this section of the Buckeye State. He 452 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY was born on the homestead farm, in Northwest township, this county, on the 31st of December, 1880, and is a son of Isaac and Rebecca (Beaver) Kintigh, residents of Northwest township. The former was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., on the Loth of April, 1831, being a son of Jacob and Margaret (Kent) Kintigh, who likewise were born in the old Keystone State, whence Jacob removed with his family to Ohio in 1834, first settling in Defiance county, and in 1852 taking up his residence on a tract of wild land in Northwest township, Williams county, where he developed a good farm, continuing his residence in Northwest township until his death, which occurred in April, 1881. Jacob Kintigh's first wife died in this county and he later married Miss Elizabeth Kent, who also was born in Pennsylvania, and died in Williams county, on the 27th of February, 1892. Six children were born of the first marriage, namely: Isaac, Cyrus, Mary Ann, George, Sarah and Hannah M., and one son, John W., represented the offspring of the second union. Isaac Kintigh is one of the progressive farmers and honored citizens of Northwest township, and he continues to reside on the old homestead which has been his home for fifty-three years. In politics lie is a conservative Republican, and his religious faith is that of the Church of God. He has been twice married, his first wife having died in 1862, after which he wedded Miss Rebecca Beaver, of Hillsdale county, Mich. Of his eight children by his second wife, five are living, namely: Elsie, Ida, George, Irvin D., and Vincent. The children who were born of the first marriage were Emily Ann and Sarah Jane, the latter being deceased. Irvin D. Kintigh was reared on the home farm and was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his native county, and he has been identified with agricultural pursuits during the major portion of his adult life, though for eight years he operated a threshing outfit, making the enterprise a prosperous one. His present farm comprises eighty acres and is well improved, being eligibly located in Sections 13 and 18, Northwest township. In politics lne is arrayed with the stanch advocates of the principles of the Republican party, taking a proper interest in the public affairs of his township and county, but never having been ambitious for office of any sort. October 26. 1903, he was married to Miss Pearl Beach, daughter of Remus O. and Rebecca (Haughey) Beach, of Northwest township, and they have two children. JOHN W. KINTIGH, a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser of Northwest township, is a native of the township where lie resides, in Williams county, O., and was born June 5, 1852. He is the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Kent) Kintigh, mentioned in the foregoing review. John W. Kintigh was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his home county. In addition to farming he has been at times successfully engaged in the mercantile business. He is the owner of one hundred and two acres of the homestead, and with his son-in-law, Orlo K. Coolnian, the joint owner of an- BIOGRAPHICAL - 453 other tract of twenty-two acres. In' the breeding of fine stock he has been quite successful. In public affairs he takes a deep interest and has served as township trustee six years, assessor three years, land appraiser one year, and is now a member of the school board. In politics he is a Republican. On November 2, 1873, he was, wedded to Miss Rosa E. Burk, a native of Camden, Mich., born on January 19, 1854, the daughter of Isaiah and Harriet (Johnson). Burk, the latter a daughter of George Johnson, a pioneer of Steuben county, Ind. To the marriage of John W. Kintigh and wife there has been born one daughter, Nora D., educated in the common schools and the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Indiana. In 1895 she was married to Orlo K. Coolman, and by him has given birth to the following children: Lisle J., born March 23, 1896; Laurence, born October 13, 1897; and Mildred Blanche, born August 23, 1902. Orlo K. Coolman was born in Northwest township on October 24, 1875. He is the son of Jacob and Mary (Musser) Coolman, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work. Mr. Coolman is a farmer, an Independent in politics and has served his community in the capacity of school director. EPHRAIM KISSELL, of West Unity, is one of the well-known and honored citizens of Williams county, where he has maintained his home since 1872, while for fourteen years he was engaged in the hotel business in West Unity, where he still owns the valuable property known as the Kissell Hotel, as well as his pleasant residence, adjoining the hotel. He is now living practically retired, though maintaining a general supervision of his various capitalistic interests. Mr. Kissell was born in Franklin county, Pa., on the i5th of September, 18318. His father, Jeremiah Kissell, was born ill Franklin county, Pa., on the 1st of January, 1819, and his death occurred on his birthday anniversary of 1897. He was a son of John B. Kissell, who likewise was born in Franklin county, Pa., whence lie came with his family to Franklin county, O., in 1844. In 1857 John B. Kissell removed to Indianapolis, Ind., where he died in the following year, while his wife died in Putnam county, O., in 1872. Jeremiah Kissell chose as his companion on the journey of life Miss Anna Bowman, who proved a devoted wife and helpmeet. She was born in Franklin county, Pa., in 1805, and her death occurred in 1883. She was a daughter of Jacob Bowman, who was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and who died in Franklin county, that State, which facts were likewise true of his wife, whose maiden name was Leyman. Ephraim Kissell was reared to manhood in Franklin county, O., where his father was a farmer by vocation, and his scholastic advantages were limited to those afforded in the somewhat primitive schools of the pioneer days Hecontinued to be identified with the agricultural industry in Frankhn county until 1864, when he removed to Putnam county. where he followed the same calling until 1872, when he came to Williams county and settled on a farm in Brady township, where he was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until 18186, when 454 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY he sold his farm and came to West Unity, where he purchased the McIntyre hotel (since known as the Kissell hotel), and he personlly conducted this place for the ensuing fourteen years, bringing it nto high popularity with the traveling public and the local trade; hut he has since leased the property, which is still kept up to a ]sigh standard. As before stated he owns a fine residence here resides the hotel property. In politics Mr. Kissell has ever been ound stanchly arrayed as a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, though he has never been an aspirant for public office of any sort. He and his wife are consistent and valued menni)ers of the Reformed church. In 1865 Mr. Kissell was united in narriage to Miss Julia Metzler, who was born in Hocking county, O., on the 27th of August, 1842, being a daughter of Abram and Margaret (Markle) Metzler, the former of whom was born in York county, Pa., in 1814, while the latter was born in Pickaway county, O., in 1816. The father made the trip on foot from Pennsylvania to Ohio in an early day, locating in Pickaway county, whence he and his wife removed to Hocking county, and in 1844 they came to Williams county, where both passed the remainder of their lives, ?both dying in the year 1891, the former in April and the latter in August. Abram Metzler was a son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Stainhaugh) Metzler, the former of whom died in York county, Pa., in 1833, while his wife died in Coffee county, Kan., about 1895, at the venerable age of ninety-five years. Margaret (Markle) Metzler was a daughter of Abraham and Maria (Stumpf) Markle, both of ,vhom were born in Berks county, Pa., the former dying in Pickaway county, O., in 1845, while his wife, who was born May 4, 17189, survived him by several years. Mr. and Mrs. Kissell became the parents of four children: Albert Eugene, born July fig, 1866, in Allen county, O., and at present is engaged in the United States mail service at Toledo, O.; Jeremiah W.; Anna L., born in Allen county, O., February 10, 1870, and is the wife of W. C. Ayers, a prominent merchant of West Unity, and Bertha D., born in Williams county, O., on October 22, 1878, and died on January 19, 1885. Jeremiah W. Kissell, who is now conducting the leading barber shop in West Unity, was born in Allen county, O., March 4, 1868, and completed a course in the West Unity high school, remaining on the farm with his father until he had attained to the age of seventeen years, after which he was with his father in the hotel for a time, and then passed five years in the employ of F. L. Felger, in the piano and organ business. In 1891 he engaged in the barbering business in West Unity, where lne has since followed his trade. He is a Democrat in politics and has served as village clerk. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Evergreen Lodge, No. 637, Knights of Pythias. December 27, 1899, he married Miss Gertrude L. Coslet, daughter of Judge William C. Coslet, of West Unity, and they have one child, Carter Coslet, born March 20, 1902. BIOGRAPHICAL - 455 ALLEN TOWNSEND KNEPPER, a progressive and thrifty farmer of Center township, Williams county, O., is a native of Columbiana county, of that state, where he was born January 12, 1843. His parents were Jacob and Mary (Morgan) Knepper, the former a native of Washington county, Pa., and the latter was born near New Lisbon, O. Jacob Knepper is the son of John Knepper and wife, who were pioneer settlers of Ohio, where both are buried. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was John Morgan. Jacob Knepper reared on a farm and received a fair education in both English and German in the common schools. While he was a shoemaker by trade he also followed farming. In 1852 he removed to Superior township, Williams county, and located on and cleared a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. At that time game was still quite plentiful, especially deer and turkey. In politics he was a Democrat until the organization of the Republican party, when he cast his lot with that party. In religious matters he was identified with the Presbyterian church and his wife with the Christian church. He died at the homestead in 1876. To him and wife were born seven children, of whonn only three are now living. Allen Townsend Knepper grew to manhood on hip father's farm and was educated in part in a select school in Williams Center, O. After quitting school he was engaged for several years in teaching school. He is now engaged in general farming, being the owner of one hundred and five acres of very fertile and valuable land, on which he has resided for the last twenty-two years. From 1893 to 1898 he was an employee of the Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company. He and wife are active members of the Christian church, of which organization he has been an elder for over thirty years. In 1869 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dodge, a native of New York, the daughter of Joel P. and Mary E. (Vincent) Dodge, both natives of New York, who first came to Lorain county, O., and in 1853 to Williams county, where Mrs. Dodge died on April 12, 1905, in her eighty-fifth year. Mr. Dodge continues in fair health at the age of eighty-five. He is a blacksmith and wagon maker by trade 456 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY and with his wife was a member of the Christian church. They had five children, of whom three are still living. To Allen T. Knepper and wife have been born nine children, all living. They are: Holly Palmer, Maggie Emma, Dora May, Blanch Evaline, Giles Allen, Charles Alsinos, George Adelbert, Edwin Garfield and Vern Cullen. The children are all actively employed in their various vocations and each child seems a source of pride to the venerable parents who have so nobly reared them. It is to be hoped that the kindred who may read this in years to come will give due credit to these honorable pioneers, when forming a true conception of the trials and hardships incident to the making of the home and the rearing of this large family. BENJAMIN F. KNIFFIN, who is now living practically retired in the attractive little city of Stryker, is one of the substantial capitalists and extensive landholders of Williams county, and is one of those strong and valiant men to whom success came as the prerogative resulting from initiative energy and good judgment, since his marked prosperity represents the diametrical result of his own efforts and thus redounds the more to his honor. Mr. Kniffin was born in Huron county, O., on the 13th of April, 1825, and is a son of Benjamin and Bloomy C. (Hobby) Kniffin, the former of whom was born in Westchester county, N. Y., while the latter was a native of Connecticut. Benjamin Kniffin was a son of James and Sarah Kniffin, who were born in Westchester county, N. Y., of English extraction, both families having been early founded in America. Benjamin came to Ohio in 1827 and located in Huron county, being the third white man to locate in that county, and being one of the earliest settlers of that section of the State, and having been one of the influential men of the locality during the period of his residence there. He took up his abode on an old Revolutionary claim in Greenwich township. Huron county, O., but later returned to New York State. In 1833, however, he took up his permanent residence upon his claim, where he passed the remainder of his life, being eighty-one years of age at the time of his death, while his, devoted wife passed away at the age of seventy-five years. In the early days Mr. Kniffin conducted a general store, doing a very considerable and profitable trading business with the Indians, while he often acted as a peacemaker between them and the white settlers, having had the implicit confidence of the red men who remained in the locality. He was very active in public affairs in the pioneer days and was a man whose name was a synonym of integrity and honor. He served a quarter of a century as justice of the peace, having been a stanch Democrat in his political allegiance, while both he and his wife were birthright members of the noble organization known as the Society of Friends, commonly designated as Quakers. He became the owner of twelve hundred acres of land, much of which lne reclaimed to cultivation. and he also handled live stock on an extensive scale for the day. He died on his old home- BIOGRAPHICAL - 457 stead, July 18, 18718, the death of his wife having occurred in March, 1874. They became the parents of seven children: Hobby resides in Huron county, and is a successful farmer; Benjamin Franklin is the immediate subject of this sketch; Hannah Maria died unmarried; Charles B. died in Greenwich township, Huron county, having been a farmer; James and Sarah were twins, and both are deceased, the former having been a farmer in Greenwich township, Huron county, and Sarah having been the wife of Harvey Critzer, of the same township; Josephine became the wife of Or. Ingersoll, of Cleveland, O., and both are now deceased. Benjamin F. Knifpnn was reared on the homestead farm and was afforded superior advantages in an educational way, considering the locality and period, having duly availed himself of the privileges of the common schools and having supplemented this discipline by a course of study in an academy at Ashland. He continued to remain at the parental home until he had attained his legal majority. and his was the distinction of having been one of the venturesome spirits who crossed the weary stretch of plains to the goldfields of California as argonauts of the memorable year 1849. He was a member of the second train to start forth on the dangerous trip, the party comprising sixteen men, equipped with four teams and wagons. They started from St. Joseph, Mo., where they secured their outfit, and two months were consumed in making the journey. The party arrived in Hangtown, in the northern part of Cahfornia. and in that locality Mr. hniffnn became associated with a partner in placer mining, also hiring several men, and meeting with fair success in securing the precious metal, while they also operated a train of pack mules between that section and Sacramento. Mr. hniffin remained in California about eighteen months and them returned home by the way of the Isthmus route, landing in New York city and thence returning to his home in Ohio. Soon after his return to Huron county he engaged in buying stock, which he drove over. the Alleghany mountains to the Eastern markets, making the enterprise a profitable one, and continuing to deal in live stock for many years, shipping principally to Buffalo and New York city. He continued to reside in Huron county, engaged in farming and stock dealing, until the close of the Civil war. In April, 1865, he came to Williams county and purchased five hundred acres of land in Springfield township, for a consideration of twelve thousand dollars, and there he continued to reside for seven years, engaged in general farming and stock growing. The next seven years he passed in Stryker, in the meantime continuing his operations in the way of buying and shipping stock, and he then returned to his farm, where he continued to reside until 1893, when he again took up his residence in Stryker, where he has since lived retired, though maintaining a general supervision of his extensive interests. He is the owner of a landed estate of more than a thousand acres in Williams county, the greater portion being tinder cultivation, while the improvements are of the best type ; and he also owns one hundred and eighty-seven acres in Greenwich 458 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY township, Huron county, six hundred and forty acres in Lynn county, Tex., and a fine residence property in Stryker, besides having other important capitalistic investments. He is a stanch Democrat in politics but has never sought or held office of any description, though never failing to do his part as a public-spirited and progressive citizen. As has been well said of him, "He has made for himself an honorable record, and as a citizen, friend and neighbor he has been true to every duty, thereby winning the high regard of all with whom he has come in contact." In Kalamazoo, Mich., in September, 1859, Mr. Kniffin was married to Miss Margaret E. Popineau, who was born in Zanesville, O., being a daughter of David L. and Jane (Appleman) Popinean, the former of French and the latter of English lineage, and native respectively of Orange county, N. Y., and Harrisburg, Pa. David L. Popineau was reared in his native county, whence he came to Ohio as a young man, first locating at New Lisbon, Columbiana county, where he married Miss Elizabeth Howard. They removed to Richland county, where she died, and he later married Miss Jane Appleman, as already intimated. He resided for a time in Zanesville, and thereafter resided in Indiana, whence he came to Williams county and located in Bryan, in 18183, where he stood high in estimation as a citizen and business man. He died in Bryan, in 18183, at the patriarchal age of ninety years, his second wife passing away in the following year, at the age of seventy-six years. David L. Popineau's paternal ancestors were exceptional in their various vocations and some became prominent in national affairs. His second wife, Jane Appleman, also had some noted ancestors. Her grandmother on her mother's side was a sister to Alexander Hamilton, and she was a first cousin of the late Bishop Harris. Mrs. Kniffin accompanied her sister and brother-in-law, John and Elizabeth Spaulding, to Lawrence, Kan., in 1853, when there were but few white people there. She taught the first white school ever taught in Lawrence, Kan., and she has a vivid recollection of the stormy times incident to the admission of the State. She rang the bell at 4 o'clock to give the alarm to the citizens on the morning of the famous raid and fight. She arose early that morning and started to a near-by spring for a bucket of water, when she spied the raiders. It was understood that if attacked this particular bell should be rung. Hence, she ran to the bell and soon the town was aware of the raid. The object of the raiders was to destroy the abolition printing presses and also the new hotel, named the "Free State Hotel." After accomplishing this they left without molesting anyone further. Mrs. Kniffin returned east from Kansas in 18518, having resided five years in Lawrence. Three children were born of the first union: John, who was a soldier in the civil war, and who now resides in Sturgis, Mich.; William, who met his death in the battle of Gettysburg; and Elizabeth, who is likewise deceased. Of the six children of the second marriage a brief record is as follows: Letitia is deceased; Deborah is the widow of William Jeffards and resides in BIOGRAPHICAL - 459 La Grange, Ind.; Mary is the wife of Griffith Hall, of Brushy Prairie, La Grange county, Id.; Margaret is the wife of Mr. Kniffin, of this sketch; Alice is the widow of William Widop, and lives in Noblesville, Id.; and Amasa is a resident of Marion, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Knifiin became the parents of seven children, of whom Charles and James died in early childhood; Josephine now resides in Toledo, O.; Arminda C. is the wife of George W. Stoffer, a progressive farmer of Springfield township; Benjamin F., Jr., who is likewise a successful farmer of that township, married Miss Unie Bezanson, and they have five children; Harry W. remains at the parental home; and Alta is the wife of David M. Shaler, of Stryker. CHRISTIAN G. KOERNER, one of the representative farmers of St. Joseph township, where he has a well improved homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, was born in Afalterbach, Wurtemburg. Germany, on the 6thyof October, 184o, being a son of John Michael and Catherine (Heisler) Koerner, both of whom died in Germany, the father having passed away in February, 1852, at which time Christian G. was twelve years of age, while the mother had been summoned to the life eternal nine years earlier. In 1854, at the age of thirteen, in company with his younger sister, Caroline, he came to America, two older brothers and a sister having come to this country two years previously. The eldest brother, Gottlieb D., learned that his younger brother and sister were receiving improper treatment at the hands of their guardian in Germany, and he accordingly made a special trip to the Fatherland for the purpose of assuming charge of his orphaned brother and sister, who accompanied him on his return to the United States. Following is a brief record concerning the children of John M. and Catherine (Heisler) Koerner: Gottlieb David, who settled in Milford township, Defiance county, O., and with whom Christian and Caroline for a time made their home, died in 1883; Catherine is the wife of William Hoffman, of Defiance; O.; John F. is a retired farmer of Mount Vernon, Ind.; Christian G. is the immediate subject of this sketch; and Caroline became the wife of Christian Geiger, a prominent manufacturer of Defiance, O., where both died, in the year 1901. Christian G. Koerner, with his brothers and sisters, became a resident of Defiance county, O., soon after coming to America, the older brothers and sisters, who came two years earlier as already noted, having lived for a time in Lenawee county, Mich., Gottlieb and John having removed to Defiance county, O., in 1883, becoming pioneers of that section, where they took up government land in the following year. Gottlieb D. settled on his farm, which he reclaimed from the wilds, and with him Christian made his home for the ensuing six years, within which he supplemented to a degree the educational training which he had secured in his native land. When a young man he was employed for a number of years at railroad work and on the canal extending from Toledo to Defiance and thence to Cincinnati. While working for his brother, John F., 460 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY who had settled on a farm in Posey county, Incl.. he added sufficiently to his savings to feel justified in purchasing a home of his own. In 1865 he located on a farm in Defiance county. O., and by energy and good management succeeded in paying for the property within the ensuing three years. He then disposed of this place and came to Williams county, purchasing the farm of one hundred and sixty acres which constitutes his present homestead, and which has been his place of abode and the scene of his well directed labors for a period of forty years, while he reclaimed a considerable portion of the land from the virgin forest and has made excellent improvements on the place, making it one of the valuable farms of St. Joseph township, where it is eligibly located in the vicinity of the village of Edgerton, which is his postoffice address. Mr. Koerner has been in a significant sense the architect of his own fortune, and his position is one of independence and definite prosperity, while he has so ordered his life as to command the esteem and confidence of those with whom he has come in contact. In politics, while never a seeker of public office, he gives a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, taking an intelligent interest in the issues and current events of the day, and he and his family are consistent members of the German Methodist church, of which his deceased wife likewise was a devoted member. In 1866 Mr. Koerner was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Rennollet, who was born in Henry county, O., in April, 1845, being a daughter of Paul and Mary Rennollet. both of whom were natives of Germany, the former dying in Paulding county, O., in 1875, while his widow died the following year, in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Koerner. Mrs. Sophia Koerner entered into the life eternal on the 11th of April, 1876. Of the five children of Mr. Koerner four are living: Marie Ada, Bertha Catherine, Florence and William Gottlieb. The third child, Carrie, died in September, 1883. ELMER KOLLAR, a successful farmer of Florence township. Williams county, O., is the grandson of George and Margaret Kollar, both natives of Tuscarawas county, O.. who removed to Williams county in 1852, locating on a farm in Superior township. As the land was heavily timbered, he proceeded at once to clear and improve it. Here both spent the remainder of their days. His maternal grandparents, Frederick and Sarah (Livensperger) Darr. were both natives of Pennsylvania. who settled in Williams county in pioneer days and there lived and died. Jacob and Susan (Darr) Kollar, both natives of Pennsylvania, came with their parents to Williams county, in an early day. Jacob Kollar grew to manhood on a farm and enjoyed the benefits of a common school education. Having purchased a tract of one hundred acres of timbered land in Florence township, he proceeded at once to clear and improve it. This land has been brought to a high state of cultivation and is equipped with all the necessary buildings that go to make up a first-class farm. In politics he was a Republican, and with his wife a member of the Christian Union church. From February 28th to September 11, 1865, he served as a private in Conn- BIOGRAPHICAL - 461 pany C of the One Hundred and ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He died on March 9, 1905, aged sixty-nine years, ten months and eleven days. To these parents the following children were born:Cheara,, deceased: Elmer; and Orda Ann. Elmer hollar, the son of Frederick and Sarah Kollar, was born in Florence township on May 2, 1868. He grew to manhood on the home farm and attended the district schools. Since the death of his father he has had charge of the homestead, which he is managing with marked success. Inpoliticss he is identified with the Republican party, and in religious belief he and his wife are ardent members of the Christian Union church. In1890 he chose as his helpmeet Miss Effie Hicker of Williams county. To this marriage four children have been born. They are: Zelma Gay, lerah Leona, Jessie May and Delpha Adell. JOHN E. KREIGER, a prosperous farmer near Melbern, Williams county, O., is a native of Center township of that county, where he was born December 24, i1866. His grandparents were Daniel and Elizabeth (Domcr) hreiger, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former having first removed to Holmes county, O., and in 1842 to Williams county, where he died. His wife, the daughter of Michael Dourer, was born in Pennsylvania and died in Williams county in 1875. The maternal grandparents of John E. hreiger were Samuel and Elizabeth Lint, both natives of Holmes county, O. In 1844 they settled in Center township, where both died, his death occurring in 1897. The parents of Mr. Kreiger are Jacob and Mary (Lint) Kreiger, the former borer in Holmes county, O., December 24, 1831,, and the latter in the same county June 9, 1841. Jacob Kreiger was educated in the common schools of his home county and chose farming as his life's work. He cleared and improved the farm of one hundred and twenty acres on which lie now resides, and in 1903 erected a substantial residence on it. When he came to Williams county with his parents deer and wolves were still quite plentiful. In political matters lie is affiliated with the Democratic party. To him and wife nine children were born, seven of whom are still living. John E. Kreiger was reared on his father's farm and received a fair education in the common schools of Center township. He is farmer by occupation and owns a farm of eighty acres of well improved and highly productive land, on which he in 19o4 erected a handsome residence. The raising of potatoes is a specialty with him, and on some of his land as many as five hundred bushels to the acre are raised. In politics he is actively identified with the Democratic party, but in no sense is he an office-seeker. Together with his wife he is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On March 3,1897, he was united in marriage to Miss Arminta Jordin, a native of Williams county, the daughter of Ellis and Mary (Brown) Jordin, the latter being a daughter of Nicholas Brown, mentioned in this work. Ellis Jordin was a son of John Jordin, an early settler of Williams county, who removed to Dakota, where he died in 1895, his widow, Emily (Varnum) Jordin surviving him. Ellis Jordin was born in Williams county, August 6, 1849, and edu- 462- HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY cated in the common schools. He was a farmer by occupation and a Republican in politics. He died in January, 1896. Ellis Jordin and wife were the parents of two children: John, a farmer of Williams county, and Mrs. Kreiger. Mary (Brown) Jordin died in 1880. To John E. Kreiger and wife two children have been born. They are: Armin Thorp, born January 26, 1899, and Mary Ardilla, born January 19 1904. HENRY KRILL, an influential and prosperous merchant of Edgerton, Williams county, O., is a native of Gaudernbach, province of Nassau, Germany. His father, John Krill, emigrated to America in 1869 and located in St. Joseph township, where he died in 1890, aged sixty-seven years. The mother of Henry Krill is still hale and hearty, notwithstanding she is seventy-four years old. Henry Krill was educated in the public schools of Germany, whose system of education is not excelled by that of any other country in the world. In 1875 he entered the employ of J. H. Miller of Edgerton, who was then engaged in the furniture and undertaking business. After having served as an employee for eleven years, he became a partner of Mr. Miller, and in 1891, by buying out his partner, he became sole proprietor of the business, which he has conducted so successfully ever since. His trade is not limited to Williams county, but it extends also to Defiance and the bordering Indiana counties. While busily engaged looking after his mercantile interests he has not neglected puhlic affairs. For two terms he was township treasurer and for the same length of time member of the town council. He has just been re-elected a member of the school board for a term of four years, his sixth term of service on that body. For the past four years he has been treasurer of the school board and he is now its president. In politics he is an active Republican. With the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is closely identified. Since the organization of the Oak Manufacturing Company he has been one of its stockholders and directors. In religious affairs he and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he being a trustee and class leader in that organization. He married Miss Mary Helmling, the daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Krall) Helmling, the former a native of Baden and the latter of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. They came from Baden, Germany, in 1850, and located first in New York, coming from thence to Cleveland, O., and thence to Toledo, O.. and in 1855 to Edgerton, where he died January 14, 1883. His wife still survives him at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Krill have the following children : Minnie, Oscar, Paul, Edwin, all being still at home. Of Mr. Krill it may truthfully be said that lie is an excellent busine,s man and a fine type of the German-American citizen. HENRY S. KUNKLE, in whose honor the town and postoffice of Kunkle, in Madison township. were named, is one of the most venerable, best known and most highly honored pioneer citizens of Williams county, and the failure to accord him recognition in this publication BIOGRAPHICAL - 463 would be to stultify its consistency. The founding of the Kunkle family in America has historic significance, since three brothers of the name, Jacob, David and John, who were natives of Hesse, Germany, where numbered among the Hessian soldiers whose services were sold by their government to the British to assist in the attempt to suppress the revolution of the American colonies. These three brothers were not of the sort of whom mercenaries are made, not of the sort who would oppose the cause of freedom, and soon after arriving in America and learning that it would be their portion to fight against many of their own countrymen, they deserted from the British army and joined the America forces, with which they rendered valiant service until the close of the great struggle. At the close of the war they located in Berks county, Pa., whence they later removed to Mercer county, becoming sterling citizens of their adopted country, whose cause they had defended and in whose development they aided, and honor, integrity and good citizenship have characterized the name in all succeeding generations. Of these three brothers Jacob was the grandfather of him whose name initiates this paragraph. Henry and Mary (Stone) Kunkle, parents of Henry S., subject of this review, were born in Berks county and Perry county, Pa., respectively, and in the latter county the mother died, having had seven children, of whom Henry S. is now the only survivor. Henry Kunkle later married Catherine Shaffer, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who passed the closing years of her life in Kansas. She became the mother of three sons and one daughter, all of whom are deceased, three sons having served as Union soldiers in the Civil war. Henry Kunkle came to Williams county, O., in 1854, and here continued to reside until his death, in 1871. He was a carpenter by trade, but the major part of his active career was devoted to agricultural pursuits. His religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. Henry S. Kunkle was born in Perry county, Pa., December 23, 1823, and he was but five years of age at the time of his mother's death. Under these unfortunate conditions he was bound out to a farmer of his native county and his boyhood and youth were filled to repletion with arduous toil, while his educational advantages were very meager. In 1843, at the age of twenty years, he started forth, alone and on foot, for Ohio. Of his early experiences the following succinct account has been given and is worthy of reproduction here: "His money was exhausted ere he reached his destination and he was forced to sell his overcoat to pay for a night's lodging. Fortunately, the next day he arrived at the place where his brother was then located, near West Unity, Williams county, and after a short visit he found employment at chopping wood and clearing land, at which he worked by the month for some time. Saving his wages, he was at length able to buy one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land, and on this tract he slashed and deadened forty acres of timber. In 1850 he made the overland trip to California, being six months en route, and after clerking in a store in that State for three months he secured a mining claim, which he at once began to operate. During the two and one-half years he remained on the Pacific slope 464 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY He was fairly successful, and at the end of that time he returned by cater to the East. For the ensuing four months he was engaged in chopping the timber and otherwise working on his land, but in 1853 he returned to California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and, securing another claim, he engaged in mining for seventeen months, excellent success. Selling out at an advantage, lie returned by way of he Nicaragua route, landed at Norfolk, Va., visited for a time at his Id home in Pennsylvania and then returned to his farm in Williams county, O., upon which he then made many substantial improvements, including the erection of a house. In 1856 he returned to Pennsylvania and married the sweetheart of his youth, after which he brought its young bride to his humble home in Williams county, where together they began the struggle of life. She has proved to him a most faithful helpmeet. In the early days she fired log heaps, picked brush, cradled wheat around stumps, gathered sheaves and made garden, besides attending to her domestic duties, thus aiding her husband in very possible way. Success crowned their efforts, and as their financial resources increased they added to their landed possessions from line to time. In connection with farming. Mr. Kunkle has also engaged extensively in stock-dealing, and in 1866 he embarked in merchandising at what was then known as Barrett's Corners, where he conducted a general store for eight years. A postoffice had been estabished by Mr. Barrett. but after Mr. Kunkle purchased the land adjoining and platted the town of Kunkle, the postoffice also was named in his honor. The place is now a prosperous village of several hundred population, and when the line of the Wabash railroad was built hrough the town, in 18181, Mr. Kunkle gave four acres for the depot and also five hundred dollars in money." It may well be said that no citizen of Madison township has contributed more generously to the ievelopment and advancement of local interests than has Mr. Kunkle, who is essentially liberal and public-spirited and whose life has been unblemished, so that he has commanded the unequivocal respect and confidence of all with whom he has cone in contact. In political affairs Mr. Kunkle has been a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party from the time of its organization, and he has served in various local offices, including that of township trustee, of which he was an incumbent for several years. Both he and his wife are devoted and valued members of the Presbyterian church, in whose work they have been active for many years. After years of earnest toil and endeavor they are living retired in their attractive home, adjoining the village of Kunkle, and in the midst of those who are tried and true friends, so that they find the evening of their lives filled with most gracious associations. On the 7th of February, 1856, Mr. Kunkle was united in marriage to Miss Matilda J. Baltosser. who was born in Perry county, Pa., on the 4th of February. 1833, being a daughter of Daniel and Maria (Long) Baltosser. both of whom were born in Dauphin county. Pa., of German descent. They came to Williams county, O., in 1867. and here the mother died August 28, 1890, aged eighty-one years, while the father passed away on the 28th of the BIOGRAPHICAL - 465 following November, aged eighty-seven years. Of their six children four are living. Mr. and llrs. Kunkle became the parents of four children: Mary Alice, who remains a member of the home circle; Martha Jane, who married Peter O. Stiving, of Madison township, and died two years later, in February, 1881; John C., who is a representative farmer of Madison township, married Miss Lora Stiving, and they have four children: Henry P., Lauren S., John S., and Lefa G.; Ira H., the youngest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kunkle, married Miss Arvilla Finnacle. Ira H. died August 24, 1893, leaving one son, Ora. CHRIST. LANDLE, one of the most prominent German-American citizens of Williams county, O., and now residing on his fine farm, two miles northeast of Edgerton, is a -native of Alsace, Germany, where he was born on September 14, 1834. His parents were Philip and Charlotte (Howery) Landle, the former the son of Michael Landle. Philip and Charlotte Landle were married in Alsace, Germany, and in August, 1847, they took passage on a vessel for America. They landed in New York, whence they took a boat for Albany and thence by railroad train to Buffalo and located on a farm six miles north of that city. There both continued to reside until their respective deaths, the wife in 1853 and the husband in 1873. They were both members of the German Lutheran church, and were the parents of ten children, viz: Philip, who resides at Louisville, Ky.; Fred, who died in Buffalo in 1905 ; Michael, who removed to Williams county and died there in 1899; Christ, the subject of this sketch; Sarah, who married George Haine and resides in Buffalo, N. Y.; Charlotta, who married Peter Rache and resides near Edon; Henry, who died in Buffalo, N. Y.; Lena, who lives in Cincinnati, O.; Jacob, who died at Robison, Ill., in 1893; and the youngest was Sophia, who lives in Cincinnati, O. Christ. Landle was reared in Erie county, N. Y., and received a good education in German. Being reared on a farm he made farming his life work. On March 26, 1860, he married Lena Miller, daughter of Philip and Charlotta Miller. To this union three children were born: Christ; Lena, now the wife of Samuel Burkhart, a prominent farmer of St. Joseph township; and Caroline, the wife of Joseph Yeager, and who resides three miles south of Bryan. The mother having died, Mr. Landle took for his second wife on October 25, 1878, Sarah Miller, daughter of Jacob Miller of DeKalb county, Ind. To this last union three children were born, Allie, Eva and Fred. Mr. Landle is a member of the German Lutheran and Mrs. Landle of the Methodist church. Mr. Landle is spending his declining years on his beautiful farm of 120 acres. It is equipped with a fine brick residence, a new barn and other necessary buildings. He is a stanch Democrat in politics and one of Williams county's most respected citizens. THERON LANDON was one of the worthy pioneers and prominent citizens of Millcreek township, having been identified with various lines of business enterprise and having been signally true and loyal in 30 466 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY all the relations of life; so that it is fitting that a tribute to his memory he incorporated in this publication. Mr. Landon came of stanch New England stock, the family having been established in America in the early Colonial days. He was born in Litchfield county, Conn., on the list of May, 1814, and in that State he was reared and educated, having been but nine years of age at the time of the death of his father, Horace Landon. In November, 1835, he came to the west, first locating in Washtenaw county, Mich., where the city of Ann Arbor now stands, where he remained about one year. He then came to Williams county, O., and settled in Millcreek township, this section being at that time little more than a virgin forest. He was a man of great energy and of progressive ideas, soon becoming influential in local affairs and contributing largely to the material and civic advancement of the comi''inity. Fora number of years he conducted a general store in Hamer, where he served several years as postmaster. He also bought and sold in produce, owned and operated a farm and was identified with other business enterprises. He retired from active business in 186D, but during the Civil war he rendered effective service for some time in the quartermaster's department. His son Henry was a member of Company C. One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in a hospital at Chattanooga, Tenn., from the effects of a gunshot wound received in action, at Dallas, Ga. In politics Mr. Landon was identified with the Republican party, and he served a number of years in the office of justice of the peace. He was summoned to the life eternal on the 25th of March, 1879, secure in the esteem of all who had known him and crowned with years of honor and usefulness. Mr. Landon was twice married, the maiden name of his first wife having been Harriet Bates. She was born in Canada and her death occurred in 1862. Nine children were born of this union and all are now deceased except Theron, who resides in Missouri. The names of the children are here entered in order of birth: Lucy, Malinda, Elizabeth, Henry, Horace, Theron, Joseph, and twins who died in infancy. For his second wife Mr. Landon married Miss Mary Miller, who was born in Richland county, O., on April 9, 1848, being a daughter of Adam D. Miller, who removed thence to Williams county in 1848, when she was three months old. Mrs. Landon survives her husband and resides with her son and daughter near Alvordton, where they have a pleasant home. She became the mother of three children, namely: Martha, who is the wife of Isaac H. Page, of West Unity, this county; Anna R., and Nathan T., who remain with their mother on the homestead. one and one-half miles south of Alvordton. This is the same home that Mr. Landon entered as wild land in November, 1835, and had to cut a road through the forest for twenty-seven miles to reach it with a team. WILLIAM H. LASER is one of the successful farmers of Brady township and also owns and operates a fine threshing outfit, which is in requisition over a wide section of country during the successive seasons. He was born in Richland county, O., August 11, 1844, and is BIOGRAPHICAL - 467 a son of Gideon and Margaret (Ghullshaw) Laser, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, of stanch German lineage. When Gideon Laser was twelve years of age his father, Abram Laser, removed with his family from Pennsylvania to Richland county, O., where he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in agricultural pursuits. In that county Gideon was reared to manhood and there his marriage was solemnized. On the 4th of April, 1867, he removed with his family to Williams county and secured a farm of eighty acres, in Brady township, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, being held in high esteem by all who knew them and both being members of the German Reformed church, while in politics he was a stanch Democrat. Of their ten children eight are still living, the family being well and favorably known in Williams county. William H. Laser was reared to maturity in Richland county, in whose common schools he secured his educational discipline. He was about twenty-three years of age at the time of the family removal to Williams county, and here he has given consecutive allegiance to the agricultural industry, in connection with which he has gained a distinctive success and precedence. For nineteen seasons he has operated a threshing outfit, and he is known as a reliable and straightforward business man and. public-spirited citizen. His attractive farm comprises one hundred and seventy-seven and one half acres, is under a high state of cultivation and is devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising of live stock of good grade. The buildings are of substantial order, including the fine modern residence, which Mr. Laser erected in 19o4. In politics Mr. Laser is an adherent of the Democratic party and lne manifests a loyal concern in local affairs of a public nature, though never an aspirant for office. In 1866 he was united in marriage to Miss Arabella Bly, who was born in West Virginia, being a daughter of Henry Bly, who came to Williams county in 1818, settling on a farm in Jefferson township, where both he and his wife died. They became the parents of twelve daughters and four sons, and of the number eight are living. Mr. and Mrs. Laser have had three children : Jennie and Charles, who remain at the parental home. and Cora, who died at the age of nineteen years. CLEM VICTOR LASH, manager of the family homestead in Florence township, Williams county. O., was born there on November 15, 1863. His great grandfather, David Lash, a native of Germany emigrated to the United States and located in Pennsylvania in pioneer days, and there spent the remainder of his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. Henry S. and Nancy (Craven) Lash, his grandparents, were both natives of Pennsylvania, the former born on February 1i, 18or, and the latter on November 3, 1802. Henry S. Lash was a' pioneer settler of Wayne county, O., where he entered, cleared and cultivated a farm of considerable size, and died there on January 29, 18182. His wife was the daughter of James Craven, and spent her declining years in Wayne county, where she died on September 1, 1870. To these parents the folowing children were born: David. 468 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY born April 17, 1822; James, born January 1, 1824; William, born November ig, 1825; Samuel, born October 10, 1827; John, born December 29, 1832; Elizabeth Ann, born September 24, 1836; Henry S., born May 9, 1838, and Sarah J., born December 14, 1839. Of these children there are now living, James, William and Elizabeth Ann. Clem V. Lash is the son of James and Julia A. (Davis) Lash, the former born in Pennsylvania on January i, 1824, and the latter near West Lebanon, Wayne county, O., on September 2, 1826. Prior to her marriage to James Lash, in 1850, Mrs. Lash had married David R. Krairie, by whom she had one son. James Lash came to Williams county from his native State and located on the farni of one hundred and sixty acres in Florence township, of which he is still the owner. The land being heavily wooded he proceeded at once to clear and improve it. The buildings erected on it are of a substantial character. In addition to this farm he owns valuable property in Edon, where his wife died on January 13, 1899. Believing it to be the duty of every citizen to look carefully after pubhc affairs, he has served in the capacity of township trustee and assessor. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, his deceased wife being also a member of the same religious organization. To James Lash and wife the following children were born, all still living: Ann Jane, born in Wayne county, O., on July 19, 1851; James Elmer, born September 218, 1853; Olive, born July 13, 1858; Calvin L., born July 4, 1861 ; Clem Victor, the subject of this sketch, who was born November 15, 1863, and Edith, born June 27, 1866. Clem Victor Lash grew to manhood on the parental farm and was educated in the district schools. With the exception of the four years, during which he served as deputy for Sheriff M. W. Burgoyne, he has always lived on the home farm, of which he is now manager. General farming and stock raising command all of his time and attention, and it is needless to .state that he is meeting with unusual success in both. In politics he is actively identified with the Democratic party. On November 12, 1895, he was wedded to Miss Clara Simmons, a native of Bryan, who died August 15, 1899. His second wife, whom he married September 21, 1901, was Miss M. Isora Toner of Edon, O., the daughter of John M. and Elnora (Matthews) Toner, old and respected residents of Edon. Mrs. Lash is a devout member of the Church of Christ. CASSIUS CLYDE LATTANNER merits recognition in this compilation by reason of his status as one of the leading business men and most public-spirited citizens of the attractive town of Montpelier, as well as on the score of being a native of Williams county and a representative of one of its well-known and honored families. He was born in Montpelier, September 23, 18618, and is a son of Adam and Mary Katherine (Gilbert) Lattanner, the former of whom was born in Williams county and the latter in Richland county. The father made Williams county his home throughout life, having been of German descent, while his wife's parents came to Ohio from the State of New York. Adam Lattanner was for many years engaged in the BIOGRAPHICAL - 469 hotel business in Montpelier, and he was also interested in milling, farming and other lines of enterprise, having been one of the well-known and extremely popular citizens of the county. August 26, 1861, he tendered his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company A, Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three years, at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge, having made a gallant record as a loyal and faithful soldier of the Republic. The principal engagements in which he took part were the following: Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack Creek, Atlanta, Utoy Creek, Jonesboro, Perryville and Stone River. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his political support was given to the Democratic party. He died, December 218, 1895, at the age of fifty-eight years, and his widow still resides in Montpelier, Cassius C. having been their only child. The latter secured his educational discipline in the public schools of Montpelier, and then learned the art of telegraphy, after which he was employed five years as operator and station agent of the Wabash rail-road at Montpelier. He then engaged in the shoe business in Mont-pelier, where he has since continued in this line of enterprise, having a finely equipped store and controlling a large and representative trade. He takes an advanced position in the matter of lending his influence and co-operation in furthering local interests and is essentially one of the most public-spirited citizens of his attractive home city. He is secretary of the Board of Public Affairs of I\Jontpelier ; is secretary and manager of the Montpelier Telephone Company, of which he was the organizer; and is secretary of the Williams County Agricultural Society. In politics Mr. Lattanner is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic order, having been master of Montpelier Lodge, No. 547, Free and Accepted Masons, for the long period of nine years. June 5, 1894, Mr. Lattanner was united in marriage to Miss Blanche Marie Lightfoot, daughter of John J. and Lucy H. Lightfoot, now residents of Terrace Heights, WVashington, D. C. Mr. and Mrs. Lattanner have two children, Adam Jerome and Helen Katherine. MURVIN A. LEES, a well-to-do farmer and highhey respected citizen of Florence township, Williams county, O., is the son of Hugh and Nancy (Heller) Lees, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Pennsylvania. His maternal grandfather came from Pennsylvania to Steuben county, Ind., in an early day, and there spent the rest of his days. While living in Ireland, Hugh Lees married Catherine Delarga,i and by her had four children, three of whom are still living. Early in 1842 lie emigrated to the United States, landing at New York City. After working at the shoemaker trade in Whitehall, N. Y., for two years, he came to Williams county and settled on a farm of two hundred acres in Florence township. As this land was heavily wooded, he proceeded at once to clear it. When he died he had brought the 470 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY land to a high state of cultivation and had equipped it with all the buildings necessary to a well conducted farm. While a shoemaker and weaver by trade, he followed farming after he came to Williams county. He was a stanch Democrat in politics and took a deep interest in public affairs. In religious matters he was identified with the Presbyterian church. After the death of his first wife, in 1872, he married Miss Nancy Heller, a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died on the home farm on January 18, 1891, highly esteemed by all who knew him. Murvin A. Lees was reared on the paternal homestead and educated in the common schools of his native county. He is a farmer by occupation and owns eighty acres of the home farm. This land is very fertile and equipped with substantial buildings. In politics he is actively identified with the Democratic party, having served for six years as township trustee. On January 218, 1883, he was wedded to Miss Hannah Fetters, the daughter of Samuel Fetters, mentioned elsewhere in this work. They are the parents of the following children, Beulah, Florence, Howard and Fay. JOHN V. LESNET, M. D., a representative physician and surgeon of Montpelier, Williams county, O., is engaged in the practice of his profession in Montpelier, where he has been thus established for nearly a score of years, having been eminently successful in the work of his chosen calling. John Vance Lesnet was born near Dungannon, Columbiana county, O., on the loth of March, 1846, and in the agnatic line he is of stanch German descent. His great-grandfather, Christian Lesnet, was born in Hessen Castle, Germany, whence he came to America in 1752, locating in the city of Baltimore, Md., and his death occurred in 18o4, at which time he was seventy-six years of age. Concerning his children the following data are given: Nancy first married John Vance, and after the latter's death became the wife of James Morrow; Frederick married Isabella Wilson; Frank married Rachel Kettler; Sophia became the wife of William Rowley; Margaret married Richard Boyce; Christian was shot and killed by an Indian; Christopher, who married Darby Elliott, was the grandfather of the Doctor; Christena married John Neale; and George, who was a bachelor at time of death, is buried in the cemetery at Lisbon, O. Christopher Lesnet removed from Maryland to Pennsylvania, where he presumably followed farming, and later came to Columbiana county, O., where he and his good wife passed the remainder of their lives, having been pioneers of that county, where he reclaimed a farm in the forest. Their nine children were as follows: John, Richard, Shirley, James, Frank, Elizabeth, Rachel, Vance and Eliza. Vance Lesnet, father of the subject of this review, came with his parents to Columbiana county when a child, and in that section he was engaged in farming until 1848, when he came to Williams county and located in Superior township, where his death occurred on the 11th of August, 1850. He married Miss Jane Brannan, who was born in Ireland, whence her parents immigrated to America when she was six years of age. She died in 186o. Following is a brief record con- BIOGRAPHICAL - 471 cerning the children of Vance and Jane (Brannan) Lesnet: Margaret, born August 27, 1834, and died in September, 1894; William, born July 7, 1836, died July 26, of the same year; Milton, born November 16, 1837, died in February, 1902; Elizabeth, born October 30, 1840, died in 1864; Christopher, born November 9, 1842, died September 20, 1859; John Vance is the immediate subject of this review, and Hugh, born December 6, 1849, is a resident of New Mexico. John Vance Lesnet was about two years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Columbiana county to Williams county, in which latter he was reared to maturity, having been afforded the advantages of the common schools and the normal school in Bryan. He learned the trade of carpenter, to which he devoted his attention for five years, while he was also a successful teacher in the public schools of the county. He began the study of medicine in the office of Drs. Long & Riggs, at Bryan, and prosecuted his technical reading under these able preceptors until 1876, when he entered Worcester Medical College, in the city of Cleveland, which is now known as the Cleveland College of Physicians and Surgeons and is the medical department of the Ohio Wesleyan University, located in the city of Delaware. He was graduated in 1880 and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the same year he engaged in the practice of his profession at Brunersburg, Defiance county, where he met with gratifying success. He remained there until 1886, when he came to Montpelier, in which broader field he has gained much prestige and become numbered among the most successful and honored physicians and surgeons of the country. He is a member of the Tri-State Medical Society and is at the present time health offncer of Montpelier, while he has been continuously a member of the board of examining surgeons for pensions for Williams county since the administration of President Harrison, when he received his initial appointment, excepting the four years of Cleveland's second administration. The Doctor is one of the stalwarts in the camp of the Republican party, and is a member of the county central committee. In 1881 Dr. Lesnet was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth S. Reid, daughter of George and Jane (Rudisil) Reid, of Bryan, and they became the parents of two daughters, of whom the elder, Ivy June, died at the age of seventeen years, while the younger, Bessie L., still remains at the parental home, being one of the popular young ladies of the city. WHALON LINDSAY, a prosperous farmer and stock raiser of Bridgewater township, Williams county, O., was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., August 15, 1822. He is the son of Francis W. and Polly (Adams) Lindsay, the former a native of Essex county, Vt., and the latter of Essex county, N. Y. Francis Lindsay removed from his native state to Calhoun county, Mich., in June, 1837, and three years later to Williams county, O., where he and his wife spent the rest of their days. He was a hard working, industrious man, and cleared much of the extensive tract of land that he owned. In politics he was first a Whig and heater a Democrat. The office of trustee, as 472 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY well as other minor township offices, was acceptably filled by him. He died on April 15, 1859, and was survived by his widow until February 12, 1871. They were the parents of the following children: Whalon; George, deceased; Cyrena, deceased, a native of Essex county, N. Y., and the late wife of Simon Waterston, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Mary Ann, a native of Calhoun county, Mich., who became the wife of Robert Boyce on January 1, 1860, and by him had the following children: Infant, deceased; Arthur, deceased; Celia, the wife of Webster Wert and the mother of three children, Ethel, Ida and Nettie; infant, deceased, and Adda, deceased; and Jane, a native of Williams county, where she was born June 24, 1844. Whalon Lindsay grew to manhood on his father's farm and received such an education as the common schools of that day afforded. He is a very successful farmer and stock-raiser. In politics he is identified with the Republican party. For seventeen years he has satisfactorily filled the important offnce of township assessor. In religious matters he is affnliated with the Church of God. In 1854 he was wedded to Miss Julia E. Sumner, of Essex county, N. Y., and by her has had one son, who died in infancy. COURTLAND C. LLOYD is one of the popular and progressive young agriculturists of Jefferson township, and is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Williams county. He was born on the ancestral homestead, in Center township, this county, on the 6th of November, 1874, and is a son of David and Sophia (Snyder) Lloyd, the former of whom was born in the State of Vermont, the Lloyd family being of Welsh extraction and having been founded in New England in the Colonial epoch. David Lloyd first married Miss Emily Welch, likewise a native of Vermont, and she died in Williams county, O., having become the mother of. four children, namely: Mary, who is the widow of William Morris and resides in Gladwin county, Mich.; Frank, who is deceased; Alice, who is the wife of Daniel Ridenour, of Defiance county, O., and Emma, who likewise resides in Defiance county. Martin Lloyd, father of David, came from Vermont to Ohio in an early day and settled in Center township, Williams county, being one of the pioneers of that section, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. David Lloyd came to the county about 1842 and lived on the old homestead farm until his death, which occurred in 18918. He was one of the representative farmers of the county, was a Democrat in his political allegiance and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, who still lives on the home farm, which comprises one hundred and eight acres. David and Sophia (Snyder) Lloyd became the parents of two children, of whom the subject of this review is the elder. His sister, Edith, is the wife of Edward Harold, and they reside on the old Lloyd homestead, in Center township. Courtland C. Lloyd received a good public school education and remained on the home farm until 1891, when he purchased his present fine farm property, in Jefferson township, the same comprising eighty BIOGRAPHICAL - 473 acres. The land was wild and rough at the time when he took possession, but he has developed the same into one of the valuable and attractive farmsteads of the county, having cleared all but five acres. He has secured from the place five thousand five hundred cords of wood, besides timber for manufacturing. The farm is under effective cultivation and the owner also has been very successful in the raising of live stock, including cattle, horses and mules. In politics Mr. Lloyd is a stanch Republican and he has shown a lively interest in public affairs of a local nature. In the autumn of 19o4 he was elected clerk of Jefferson township, being also clerk of the school board, while he made an honorable and almost successful race for the nomination on the Republican ticket for county clerk, in 1905. He is affiliated with Fountain City Lodge, No. 113, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in Bryan. October 22, 1899, Mr. Lloyd was united in marriage to Miss Edna Wilson, who was born in St. Joseph township, this county, being a daughter of Philander E. and Fanny M. (Hopkins) Wilson, likewise natives of Williams county. Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd have an adopted son, Russell. GEORGE LOCKHART, a successful and highly respected farmer of Pulaski township, Wilhams county, O., is a native of Ohio, having been born in Ashland county, July 5, 1829. He is the son of Wiheliam and Jane (McCartney) Lockhart, the former a native of Washington county, Pa., and the latter of Columbiana county, O. About the year 1823 William Lockhart removed to Richland county, O., where he was married and where he located and cleared a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Later he removed to Williams county, where he died in 1880, and was survived by his widow, who died in Pulaski, O., in 1891. His early occupation, besides farming, consisted in teaming from Ashland to Pittsburg, Pa. In politics he was a Democrat and in religious views a Presbyterian. To these parents there were born thirteen children, six of whom died when young. The names of those who reached mature life, follow: Nancy, the wife of Ephram Reid of Pulaski, O.; John, a resident of Holland, Mich.; Hiram, who died in Kansas; George, the subject of this sketch; Jefferson, of Kansas City, Mo.; Louisa, deceased; and Lewis Oliver, of Montpelier, O. George Lockhart received only a limited education in the private schools of his locality and remained with his parents until he was twenty-three years old. In 1852 he, with a party of fourteen others, driving three teams and a buggy, made the overland trip to California. Starting from Ashland on March 17, they first went to Wellsville, O., from there down the Ohio and up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Independence, Mo.; then by way of St. Mary's Mission and Forts Kearney and Bridger to Salt Lake City, and finally to Plumas county, Cal., where he engaged in freighting with pack mules for a number of years. In 1860 he engaged in freighting from Placerville, Cal., to Carson City and Virginia City, and throughout that territory in Nevada. Later he followed the same occupation in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. At one time he and a party of 474 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY freighters took a stock of goods valued at $10,000 to Blackfoot City, Montana. On his return to the States he came by way of St. Joseph, Mo., and traveled by rail from there to Philadelphia, Pa., where he had the gold dust, accumulated while in the west, coined into money. Mr. Lockhart made three trips to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama and crossed the plains twice, first with teams and second by stage. In the fall of 1866 he purchased a farm in Fulton county, O., which he traded the following year for one of one hundred and sixty acres in Pulaski township, Williams county, where he has since resided, following quite successfully general farming and stock raising. By adding to the original purchase at various times he succeeded in acquiring altogether two hundred and seventy-eight acres of as fine farming land as the county affords. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Reformed church. In 1867 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Critchfield, the daughter of Abner Critchfield, a pioneer of Williams county. Mrs. Lockhart died on May 13, 1900. To these parents there were born eleven children, as follows: Daisy May, the wife of Charles Silcox, of Bryan, O.; Elwood G., who died at the age of twenty-five years; Arizona, who died in infancy; Della, now Mrs. William Ames of Jefferson township; William M., a farmer of Pulaski township, who married Myrtle Hecock; Oscar T., a salesman at Waverly, O., who married Miss Gertrude Rotsel; Wirt, a farmer of Pulaski township, who was wedded to Miss Bertha Fix; Bertie, the wife of Edward Carland of Pulaski township, and Zona, Solon and Willa, all still at home. HIRAM LONG, justice of the peace, real estate and loan agent, and manager of the Hy. Long Drug Co., of Edgerton, Williams county, O., is of foreign descent, his father, John Long, having been born in Wurtemburg, Alsace, Germany, and his mother, Margaret Long, in France. John Long and wife came to America many years ago and located on a farm in St. Joseph township, Williams county, O. The father died in ygoi, having survived his wife twenty-one years. Seven children were born to this marriage: Laura; Lona; Myron A.; Jennie; Hiram; Harvey V. and Alma. Laura died in 1884: Lona is a resident of Tipton, Iowa; Myron A. resides in Edgerton; Jennie died in 1887; Hiram is the subject of this sketch; Harvey V. died in 1900, and Alma is a telegraph operator in Columbus, O. Hiram Long was born in St. Joseph township, Williams county, September 9. 1868, and received his elementary education in the public schools of that county. In 1890 he graduated from the American Normal College at Logansport, Ind., teaching during his vacations to earn money with which to pay his way through college. He taught in this State and Indiana until 1892. He has been engaged in the drug business in Edgerton since 1893. For two terms each he served as clerk and treasurer of his hone township. In 1903 he was elected justice of the peace on the Democratic ticket, and he is now holding that office. In politics he is a Democrat. He has also served as a delegate to county and district conventions, and in 1904 was a delegate BIOGRAPHICAL - 475 from the Fifth Ohio district to the National Democratic convention at St. Louis. As a teacher, a business man and a public official Mr. Long has uniformly been quite successful. By dint of strong will power and clear judgment he has been enabled to accomplish every thing that he has undertaken. His standing in the community, county and district is everything that could be desired, for his honesty and integrity are universally recognized. JOHN W. and JAMES W. LONG, M. D.'s. Any history of Williams county and its leading people would be incomplete unless it contained extended mention of the Long family, one of the oldest and most influential families of the county, being closely identified with its growth and development for a period of more than fifty years. The founder of the Long family in America was William Long, who was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1795. He was the son of John and Susanna Long and was reared in his native country, where he was married to Miss Mary White Hamilton about the year 1819. In 1830 he emigrated to the United States and settled in Carroll county, O., where he engaged in general farming. In 1849 he removed to Williams county and purchased a half section of land in Superior township. This land was all in the woods when he settled on it. After building a log cabin on the land he set to work to clear it. He was a very industrious man, possessing many of the sterling characteristics of the pioneer, and he met with well-earned success in his undertakings. He died in 1871, esteemed and respected by all who knew him or had dealings with him. To him and wife were born the following children: George E., born in County Donegal, May 1, 1821, who came with his parents to this country, settling in Carroll county. He studied medicine under his brother, Dr. Henry C. Long of Mt. Vernon, O. In 1850 he came to Williams county and began to practice medicine in Superior township. Five years later he received his degree from the Eclectic Institute of Cincinnati. In politics he was originally a Whig, then an Abolitionist and finally a Republican. In 1864 he was appointed probate judge of Williams county to fill a vacancy, elected in 1866 for a term of three years and re-elected for a like period of time, serving altogether nearly seven years. Declining to serve longer in that capacity, he continued a citizen of Bryan, where he was afterwards elected justice of the peace and mayor of the city. On September 4, 1856, he was wedded to Miss Harriet H. Parker, a daughter of Judge Payne C. Parker, one of Williams county's old and prominent citizens. Judge Long died on September 20, 1898, and is survived by his widow. Henry C. Long, the second son of William Long, was born in County Donegal on October 4, 1823, and came to this country with his parents. He was apprenticed to learn the tailors' trade, but soon gave that up and began the study of medicine. He began the practice of his profession at Waynesburg, O., and subsequently practiced at Mt. Vernon and Wooster, both in Ohio. In 1857 he removed to Bryan, where he became one of the most distinguished physicians of his time in Wiliams county. Dr. 476 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY Henry C. Long was married to Miss Armenia Ehle, a native of Syracuse, N. Y., on March 20, 1851, and died April i i, 1867. William H., the third son of William Long, was born in County Donegal on July io, 1826, and came with his parents to America. He received his education in the old school houses of Carroll county and remained with his father until 1852, when, marrying, he began to work for himself. He began farming on the south half of the half section of land which his father had purchased in Superior township. In the spring of 1869 he left the farm and came to Bryan. The following year he engaged in the drug business in Edgerton, in vhich business he continued for nine years. He then returned to Bryan, where he engaged in the same line as senior partner of the firm of Long & Kennedy. This firm carried on the business for fifteen years, when Mr. Long retired from active business. He still owns his farm in Superior township and the property which he has accumulated at Bryan. For fifteen years Mr. Long served as trustee of Pulaski township. In 1852 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Mortland, a native of Washington county, Pa., her parents being natives of County Tyrone, Ireland. She died in November, 1896. Rosanna, the fourth child of William Long, was born in County Donegal in 1830. She married Patrick S. Slevin, who was Colonel in command of the One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment during the Civil war and was brevetted Brigadier General for gallant conduct on the field of battle. She died in 1896, her husband having died four years earlier. Sutisanna, the next child, was born in Carroll county, O., in 1832, and died at the age of eight years. John W., the sixth child, was born in Carroll county on November 2, 1834. After he had received an academic education at Hagerstown, Carroll county, he taught school in the country for several winters. In 1856 he began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of his brother, Dr. (Judge) Long. He graduated from Bellevue Medical College, N. Y., in 1864. Before establishing himself in regular practice the Doctor entered the service of the United States government as acting assistant surgeon and was stationed at Fort Ruby, Nevada, from the summer of 1864 o 1867. He then returned to Williams county and began the practice of his profession in Bryan, where he has since continued. In the a inter of 1871-72 the Doctor returned to New York City and took special course in both Bellevue and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Again in 18718 he spent some time in that city pursuing his studies in special lines. Dr. Long is a member of the Williams county and the Northwestern Ohio Medical Societies, and the Ohio State Medical and the American Medical Associations, the sessions of which he has frequently attended, having attended the American Medical Associations at Buffalo, Detroit, Saratoga, Cincinnati, Denver and Portland, Oregon. In 1872 he was appointed surgeon of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway company, and he has continued as such to the present time, except during the period of the few years in which the company dispensed with surgeons. Dr. Long married Miss Eugenia Perrin, born in Perrysburg, O., in 18318, the BIOGRAPHICAL - 477 daughter of Jonathan and Amelia Perrin. James H. Long, the seventh child, was born in Carroll county in 18318. He served as First Lieutenant and Captain of Company K, of the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment during the Civil war and was seriously wounded at the battle of Peach Tree Creek, near Atlanta, Ga., from the effects of which he died in 1869. He was wedded to Miss Sarah Ehle, a sister of H. C. Long's wife. Thomas Long, the eighth child, was born in Carroll county in 1841 and died June 6, 1862. Loretta Long, the youngest child, was born in Carroll county in 1844 and married Dr. John U. Riggs, a practicing physician of Bryan. James Wilkerson Long, M. D., one of the young physicians of Northern Ohio, and a son of Dr. John W. Long, now of Bryan, was born in that city on February 17, 1871. His early education was secured by an attendance at the Bryan public schools. Following this training he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University, and in 1893 he entered the Medical department of the University of Michigan, where he spent three years. In 1896 lne entered Bellevue Medical College of New York, from which he was graduated with the Class of 1897. He then took two months training in a post-graduate course in the Post-Graduate School in New York. Returning to Bryan he entered the practice with his father, and in 1898 he returned to New York City and spent three months in post-graduate work at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. In 1899 he spent some time at the Chicago Post-Graduate College. In 1902 he spent two months at the New York Polyclinic, and in the year 1903-4 he was junior assistant surgeon at the Royal Opthalmic Hospital in London, England. In December, 1895, he was married to Miss Minnie L. Kautsky of Indianapolis, Ind., the daughter of Wenzel Kautsky. To this union one son has been born, Perrin, born April 6, 1899. MOSES H. LOUDEN, the first representative of the Louden family to settle in Williams county, came from Crawford county, O., in 1844. He located on a farm in Superior township and carried on general farming with marked success. He and wife, a Miss Bacon before her marriage, spent the remainder of their lives on this farm. William Harrison Louden, after the close of the Civil war, settled on a farm near Montpelier and followed the occupation of general farming. In 1881 he erected the store building in Montpelier now occupied by his two sons, Willard and Charles. Later he engaged in the lumber business for two years, meeting with unusual success. Then he built a fine opera house, but it was soon after destroyed by fire. In public affairs he was quite prominent, taking an active part in politics. He served on the city council and school board for some years. In 1890 he moved to Kansas, where he died on December 15, 1893. His widow, Miss Mary Lattanner, before her marriage, still resides in Montpelier. Willard Asher Louden was born in Montpelier, where he was reared and educated. From the spring of 1890 to the fall of 1894 he resided with his parents in Kansas. His attendance at school was limited to that of the public schools of his native town. When 478 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY seventeen years old he engaged for a short time in the grocery business, and then removed to the West, locating in Kansas, where he was engaged in stock raising. In 1894 he returned to Montpelier and a second time opened up a grocery establishment. Six Years later he added drugs, jewelry, etc., to his original stock of goods. From the time of its organization he has taken a deep interest in the affairs of the Montpelier Telephone Company. For six Years he has served as township and corporation treasurer. He is actively identified with the order of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Louden married Miss Isabella Stainthorp, a native of Hillsdale, Mich., and the daughter of George Stainthorp. LOWELL McKELVEY is the owner of a well improved and ably managed farm in Superior township and is known as one of the representative farmers and stock-growers of Williams county. He is a native son of the old Buckeye State, having been born in Portage county, O., on the 3d of October, 1845, and being a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of that section. The genealogy is traced back to stanch Irish origin and the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was the founder of the family in Portage county, having immigrated from the Emerald Isle, and having been a prosperous farmer of Portage county in the pioneer era. Stephen B. McKelvey, father of Lowell, was born and reared in Portage county and was a man of much intellectuality, having been for a number of years a successful teacher in the common schools, but he later turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he was successfully engaged during the remainder of his long and useful life. In the late forties he purchased a tract of wild land in Center township, Williams county, and there he and his family took up their abode in 185o. He developed a valuable farm and continued to reside on the old homestead until his death, which occurred in 181818, his devoted wife having passed away in the preceding year. Her maiden name was Jennet Byers and she was born in Mahoning county, O. They became the parents of eleven children: Lucetta, Artilisa, Antoinett, Lydia E., Lois A.. Lowell. Benjamin F., Hiram, an infant who plied unnamed, Wilson A. and Robert R. Lucetta, Artilisa, Antoinett, Lydia E., Lois A. and Robert R. are all deceased: Lowell. subject of this sketch, was the first son born; Frank is a farmer of Marshall county, Iowa: Hiram is engaged in farming in Center township, and Wilson is a farmer in Pulaski township. Stephen B. McKelvey was a stalwart Democrat in his political adherency and he served as justice of the peace for more than thirty years. Lowell McKelvey was reared on the pioneer farmstead and received his educational training in the common schools of Williams county, having been a student in the school of which his father had charge for a portion of his scholastic days. After leaving school lne went to the west, passing three years in various parts of Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. In 1871 he returned to Williams county and here he has since been successfully engaged in fanning and stock-growing. His well-improved farm, comprising one BIOGRAPHICAL - 479 hundred acres, is eligibly located in Section 34, Superior township, and practically the entire tract is under cultivation or eligible therefor. He gives his attention to diversified farming and to the raising of high-grade cattle, sheep and swine, while his progressive ideas and good management are manifest in the general appearance of his farni and its appurtenances. He is a member of the board of directors of the Williams County Fair Association, and is one of those energetic and enterprisinci citizens whose efforts are conserving the prestige and advancement of the opulent agricultural resources of this favored section of the Buckeye State. In politics Mr. McKelvey is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and while he has never sought or desired office lne has rendered effective service as school director in his district. June 24, 18i4, Mr. McKelvev was united in marriage to Miss Emma L. Miller, daughter of John _Miller, of Boone count-, Iowa, and they have two children: Harry, who was born July I, 1876, is engaged in farming in Superior township. He married Miss Mirtie Cummings, of this township, and they have three children—Arleen, Zola and Mildred. Stephen B.. the younger son, was born September r, 18181, and is now a resident of Oklahoma City, Okla. FREDERICK E. MADER, member of the city council and agent of the Cincinnati Northern Railway Company at Bryan, Williams county, O., was born in that city December 14, 18i5. He is the soft of Richard and Catherine (Miller) Mader, both natives of Germany, where the former was born February 7, 1843, and the latter on May 27, of the same year. Richard Mader emigrated to America about the year 1871 and located at Bridgeport, Conn., where lie remained two years. Then he removed to Williams county. O., spending the first two weeks at Stryker, and then locating permanently at Bryan. His first work was in the stave factory, which was followed by employment in the plow factory. For eighteen years he was engaged in the business of buying grain and wool, after which he retired from the active duties of life. For the past twenty years he has taken an active part in the work of the Odd Fellow organization. In politics lne is identified with the Democratic party. His wife cane to Bridgeport, Conn., a short time before he did, and there they were marreid. Two children have been born to these parents. They are: Minnie C., born at Bridgeport, and Frederick E. Frederick E. Mader received his education in the public schools of his native city, and at the age of fourteen years became a messenger boy of the Postal Telegraph Company, whose offices were in the depot of the Cincinnati Northern Railroad Company. After serving in this capacity for a year and a half he was appointed to a clerkship in the office of the railway company, having learned telegraphy while acting as messenger boy. Here he served three years, when he entered the employ of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company, working in the freight department. A year later lie was made agent of the Cincinnati Northern and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railway companies, in which capacity he acted for three and one-half years. On September 480 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY 12, 1898, he was appointed telegraph, freight and passenger agent of the Cincinnati Northern Railroad Company at Bryan, a position which he now holds. In the fall of 1904 he was elected to the city council. In this body he is a member of the Electric Lights and Water Works, the Streets and Sidewalks and the Judiciary committees, and chairman of the Claims and Ways and Means committees. When twenty-one years old he joined the Masonic fraternity and is now a member of the Fountain City Lodge, No. 215, the Northwest Chapter, No. 45, and Defiance Commandery, No. 30, Knights Templar, and is a Thirty-second Degree Mason in Toledo Consistory, of which he is a charter member. FRANK A. MALCOLM, a successful farmer and merchant of Cooney, O., was born in Northwest township, Williams county, on October 20, 1867. He is the son of Archibald T. Malcolm, mention of whom is made in the succeeding review. Frank A. Malcolm was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools of the county and in Montpelier high school. Until 1904 he was engaged exclusively in general farming on the home place, consisting of one hundred and forty acres of highly productive land. Since then he has devoted a part of his time to merchandising at Cooney, O., having as a partner Mr. H. S. Ely, mentioned elsewhere in this work. In politics he is actively identified with the Republican party, having; served as township trustee. Since 1896 he has been a member of the Republican county committee. In the work of Northwest Lodge, No. 722, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and that of the Rebeccas, he takes an active part. On December 31, 1892, he was wedded to Miss Lena Jane Lougheed, the daughter of Robert and Electa (Goodrich) Lougheed, the former born in Ireland on August 15, 1822, and the latter in Pompey, Onondaga county, N. Y., on May 3, 1832. Robert Lougheed enlisted in Company I of the First Michigan Light Artillery on August 15, 1862, and served with credit until the close of the war. In 1870 he removed to Williams county, O., and located on a farm of eighty acres and there ended his days, on January 4, 1899. In politics he was an ardent Republican, serving his people in the capacity of township trustee and clerk. He was the son of Robert and Maria (Cuff) Lougheed, both natives of Ireland, who came to Canada in 18218, where the latter died two years later. Mrs. Lougheed was the daughter of Archibold and Mabel (Beebe) Goodrich, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of New York. Archibold Goodrich removed to Michigan from Connecticut and died there in 1865. His widow survived him until 1888, when she died in Williams county. The father of Archibold Goodrich was Samuel Goodrich, a native of Connecticut. He and wife died in Courtland county, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Malcolm there have been born two children. They are: Zander E. and Francis Harold. BIOGRAPHICAL - 481 JOHN W. MALCOLM, a representative farmer and stock-grower of Northwest township, was born in Williams county, O., in the township where he now resides, on the 3oth of November, 1862, and is a son of Archibald T. and Lucretia (Mahan) Malcolm, the former of whom was born in Scotland, October 24, 1818, while the latter was born in Avon, Lorain county, O., June 22, 1826. Archibald T. Malcolm is of stanch Scottish lineage and the only living child of Alexander and Barbara (Titlear) Malcolm, both of whom emigrated to America and settled in Huron county, O., where they ended their long and useful lives. He was a skilled horticulturist and general gardener, having won many prizes for the superiority of his products. He was a son of William and Catherine Malcolm, both representing old and prominent families of the land of hills and heather. Archibald T. Malcolm secured his educational discipline in his native land, where he was reared in the vocation of gardening, under the effective direction of his father. In 1834 he came to America, settling in Huron county, O., and in 1854 he came as a pioneer to Williams county, where he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, most of which was reclaimed to cultivation under his direction. He is a citizen of influence and was during his active life one of the most prosperous farmers and stock dealers of the county. He and his wife now reside in Cooney, Northwest township, retired from the activities of life, he being in his eighty-eighth year. In politics he was originally a Whig, but lie espoused the cause of the Republican party at the time of its organization and has never since wavered in his fealty to the same. He has served as township trustee and treasurer and as land assessor, wielding much influence in local affairs. He and his wife are valued members of the United Brethren church. Lucretia (Mahan) Malcolm, whose marriage to Archibald T. Malcolm was solemnized in 1843, is a daughter of John and Mary (Cooper) Mahan, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in the State of New York. They came from the Empire state to Lorain county, O. They later removed to Michigan, and Mr. Mahan died in Eaton county of that State, and his wife died in Steuben county, Ind. They had thirteen children, of whom five are living. Mr. Mahan followed the vocation of farming during the greater portion of his active career, and in politics he was a stalwart Democrat. John W. Malcolm passed his youth on the homestead farm and after completing the curriculum of the local schools lne availed himself of the advantages of the high school in Montpelier. He is the owner of a finely improved farm of one hundred and forty-six acres, in Section 15, Northwest township, and in addition to being engaged in diversified agriculture he makes a specialty of breeding O. I. C. swine and of the feeding and shipping of cattle and hogs upon an extensive scale, being one of the leading stock dealers of his township. In politics he is arrayed as an uncompromising supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and lne has rendered effective service as trustee of his township. He is affiliated with Northwest Lodge, No. 722, Inde- 31 482 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and with the Encampment of the same order at Camden, Michigan, and is also a member of the Rebeckah branch of that order. Of the other children in his father's family it may be stated that William, who resides in Springport, Michigan. being a farmer by vocation, was four years in service as a Union soldier during the Civil war; Alexander died in 1871 ; Emma also is deceased; and Frank A. is engaged in the general merchandise business at Cooney, Williams county. November 30, 1885, John W. Malcolm was united in marriage to Miss Lodema Coolman, daughter of David Coolman, of whom specific mention is made elsewhere in this work. Of the two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm the first died in infancy and the second, Ted, at the age one and one-half years. GEORGE WASHINGTON MASTELLER.—A few miles to the southwest of the village of Pioneer, in Madison township, is located the finely improved farm of Mr. Masteller, who is one of the worthy citizens of Williams county who claims the old Keystone State as the place of his nativity. y He was born in Columbia county, Pa., on the 15th of September, 1834, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Stettler) Masteller, both of whom were born and reared in that State, the father of George having been a native of Germany, whence he immigrated to America and located in Pennsylvania in the early pioneer epoch. In 1844 George Masteller removed with his family to Knox county, O., his wife having died in 1834. He continued to reside in Knox county, an honest, industrious citizen, until his death, which occurred in 1864. He was a blacksmith by trade and vocation, was a Democrat in his political proclivities, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the German Reformed church. George W. Masteller secured his early educational training in the common schools of Pennsylvania and Ohio, having been about ten years of age at the time of his father's removal to Knox county. He learned the trade of blacksmith under the effective direction of his honored sire, and followed the same as a vocation for the long period of twenty years. In 1872 he came to Williams county and purchased his present farm of eighty acres, where he has since made his home, having developed one of the valuable farms of the county and having made most substantial improvements in the way of buildings, while the years have brought to him a full measure of peace and prosperity. He gives unequivocal allegiance to the Democratic party, but has never held office, save that of member of the school board, of which he was incumbent several years. He is held in high esteem in the community and is a man of intelligence and sterling character. He was one of the organizers of the Cyclone Insurance Company of Williams county, and was its president for five years. November 19, 18518, Mr. Masteller was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Sever, daughter of James and Sarah Sever, both of whom died in Knox county, O. The gracious domestic ties of thirty years were severed by the death of Mrs. Masteller on BIOGRAPHICAL - 483 the 7th of December, 1888. She had borne to her husband two children: Ellen and Jennie May, the latter of whom died in April, 1904, at the age of thirty-two years. Ellen is the wife of George W. Durbin, a representative farmer of Madison township, and they have one child, Bessie. Mr. Masteller is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and belongs to Joy Lodge, No. 461, located at Pioneer. He takes a great interest in the order and has filled all the chairs. He has passed through all the branches of the order except the Canton. GOTTLOB MAUERHAN, JR., proprietor of an extensive meat-market of Edon, is of German descent, his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents having been born in the "Vaterland." His great-grandfather was Konrad Mauerhan, a man of influence in his community. Melchoir Zindel, who married a Aliss Ball, was his maternal great-grandfather. His grandparents, Konrad and Jokobine Zindel, lived and died in Germany, where the former was a prominent merchant. The following children were born to these parents: Magdalina, Torotea, Konrad, Jokobine, Frederika, Gottlobine, Pauline, Gottlob and Karl. Gottlob Mauerhan, Sr., the father of the subject of this sketch, born in Germany on March 21, 1845, was reared and educated in his native land. In 1864 he emigrated to America, landing at New York city, where he remained one year. In March of the next year he enlisted in Company A of the Thirty-fifth New Jersey volunteer infantry and served until the close of the war. In September, 1865, he removed from New York City to Williams county, locating in St. Joseph township. Six years later he located in Edon, and for two years worked at such employment as he could secure. In 1874 he opened up a meat market in Edon and conducted it with marked success for twentytitwo years. In 1896 he retired to his farm of forty-one acres, situated one-half mile from Edon, and there he is now living a happy and contented life. The home farm originally contained fifty acres, but nine acres were sold to his oldest son. The farm is in a high state of cultivation and well equipped with all the necessary buildings. In politics he is a stanch Democrat. He has served as a member of the town council, and for four years as township treasurer. Mr. Mauerhan and family are devout members of the German Lutheran church. On May 13, 1866, he was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Louisa Keinath, a native of Germany and the daughter of John and Louisa (Overider) Keinath. After the death of her husband Mrs. Keinath emigrated to America, locating in Richland county, O., in 1861. The following year she removed to Crawford county and in November, 1865, to Williams county. To Gottlob Mauerhan, Sr., and first wife there were born the following children, all of them still living: Gottlob, Mary, Christina, Louisa, Lena, Clara and Karl. His first wife died on November 26, 1893, and he married Miss Caroline Hoch, a native of Germany, but for the past twenty-five years a resident of Williams county. Gottlob Mauerhan, Jr., was born in Williams 484 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY county on February 20, 1868, and was reared and educated in Edon. Until 1890 he worked for his father in the meat business and then became a partner. When his father retired in 1896 he formed a partnership with F. W. Grim, and the business was conducted very successfully by this firm until 1903, when Mr. Grim withdrew and Mr. Mauerhan became sole proprietor. Under his management the business has flourished beyond all reasonable expectation. He is a Democrat in politics and has served as township, corporation and school board treasurer. In religious matters he and his wife are devout members of the Lutheran church. On April 11, 1894, he was wedded to . Miss Louisa Kaltenbach, a native of Edon and the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Merick) Kaltenbach, who emigrated from Germany and located in Edon in pioneer days. He was a blacksmith by trade and did an extensive business in that line. To Gottlob Mauerhan, Jr., and wife two children have been born: Arthur, born January 25, 1895, and Edwin, born July 7, 1896. Both are attending the Edon public schools. LOREN S. MAXWELL, a prominent and successful dealer in buggies and agricultural implements of Edon, was born in Steuben county, Ind., October 7, 1872. His grandparents were Samuel and Mary (Houtz) Maxwell, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish descent. His maternal grandparents were Sylvester and Henrietta (Ogden) Parrot, both natives of Ohio. Slyvester Parrott was a Republican in politics and with his wife a member of the Baptist church. Of the seven children born to these parents six are still living. Both parents are deceased. Loren S. Maxwell is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Parrott) Maxwell, both natives of Ohio, the former born in Wayne county in 1840 and the latter in Crawford county on December 28, 1847. Samuel Maxwell grew to manhood on a farm and was educated in the country schools. Having learned the blacksmith trade, he came to Steuben county, Ind., when a young man and there plied his trade for some years. In 1865 he was married and moved to the farm which he made his home until 1893, following general farming. He was a Republican in politics, a member of the order of Knights of Pythias and with his wife a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Maxwell died in 1895 and is still survived by his widow, who is now the wife of James H. Hatheway, of Edon. Their marriage was blessed with the advent of six children, of whom four are still living. Loren S. Maxwell was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of Steuben county, Ind., and at the Tri-State Normal of Angola, Ind., taking the commercial course in the latter institution. At the early age of fourteen years he began working for himself. Coming to Edon he .clerked for one year for W. E. Gross, hardware merchant, and in 1896 he embarked in the buggy and agricultural business, which he has ever since conducted with marked success. In the buggy line he carries the largest stock in the county. This business has grown to such proportions that two traveling salesmen are kept constantly BIOGRAPHICAL - 485 on the road. In politics he is an active Republican, having served on the central committee of Florence township. In the affairs of Edon Lodge, No. 6, Knights of Pythias, he has always taken an active part, having passed all of the chairs and having represented the lodge at the sessions of the Grand Lodge at Cincinnati and Springfield. On December 26, 1897, at Hamilton, Ind., he was wedded to Miss Mabel C. Swift, the daughter of George O. and Mildred (Lemon) Swift, early settlers of Steuben county, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell are devout members of the Methodist church, the former being a trustee and member of the building committee. To these parents there have been born the following children : Russell V., and Duane, who died in infancy. CHARLES MEHRLIMG, a prosperous and progressive farmer of Bridgewater township, was born in Huron county, O., on October 30, 1836. He is the son of John and Lydia (Raver) Mehrling, both natives of Fayette county, Pa. John Mehrling removed from his native State to Huron county O., in 1857. Later he removed to Northwest township, Williams county, and in March, 1861, died in Superior township. His widow, who survived him until September 13, 18187, was a Presbyterian. He was a farmer and a Democrat_ To their marriage there were born ten children, six of whom are stihel living. Charles Mehrling was reared on a farm and received his education in the common schools of the county. In 1857 he settled with his parents on a farm of one hundred acres in Northwest township, which he at once proceeded to clear and prepare for cultivation. In 1864 he patriotically answered his country's call for troops by-enlisting as a private in Company B of the One Hundred and Eighty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry and served creditably until the close of the war. On his return from the war he resumed his chosen occupation on the farm. In 1890 he purchased the farm which he now owns. In addition to this farm of seventy-two acres he owns one of forty-five acres in Northwest township. In politics he is affiliated with the Democratic party. In 1877 he was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Eliza Joice, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth r Johnson) Joice, and a sister of William Joice, mention of whore is made elsewhere in this work. FREDERICK WILLIAM MEYERS, a prominent and well-to-do citizen of Edon, is the grandson of Jacob Meyers, a native of Germany who emigrated to the United States in the forties and located in Williams county in pioneer days. He and his wife, also of German birth, died on the homestead east of West Unity. Jacob and Philipena (Mann) Meyers, the parents of F. W. Meyers, were both natives of Germany, the Mann family having emigrated to America at about the same time the Meyers family came over. Jacob Meyers received his education in his native country, and, coming to the United States with his parents, located on a farm in Williams county, where he followed successfully general farming. In August, 1863, 486 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY he died on the homestead south of West Unity, leaving a widow and four children. His wife, who died on February 14, 1889, was a devout member of the German Methodist church. Six children were born to these parents, three of whom are still living. Their names follow: Elizabeth, deceased; Frederick, William, Jacob, Louis and two others that died in infancy. Frederick William Meyers was born two and one-half miles south of West Unity on November 29, 1862. He grew to manhood on the home farm and received his education by attending the district and West Unity graded schools. Having served an apprenticeship at the carpenter trade he worked for W. C. Gill of West Unity for about six years. In 1887 he removed to Kunkle, a village of Williams county, and there embarked in the furniture and undertaking business. After a short stay there he removed to Waldron, Mich., where for the next five years he engaged in the same line and suffered the loss of his business by fire, carrying no insurance. While in Waldron he twice formed a partnership with his brother Jacob and as many times dissolved it, the last time in 1893, when he removed to Edon, just in time for the fire of 1894. He at once rebuilt the store in Edon that he now occupies, and the following year his substantial residence. Since the fire in 1894 he has met with unusual success. Among the public buildings that he constructed in Edon are the old and the new school buildings. In politics he has been actively identified with the Republican party, having served in the capacity of school board member and town councilman. He and his wife and daughter are members of the Christian church. On May 6, 1888, he was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Effie Rosalie Knoff of Williams county, the daughter of Dr. William and Elizabeth (Alleman) Knoff, early settlers of Primrose, Williams county. Dr. Knoff was born in Coshocton county, on February 11, 1831, and died at the home of his daughter in Edon November 17, 1903. His father was of Yankee-Dutch and his mother of Scotch-Irish descent. Mrs. Elizabeth (Alleman) Knoff was born August 27, 1844, at Shelby, O., and died at her home, near Primrose, O., on October 28, 1900. She was of German descent. They were the parents of eight children, four of whom are living, one son and three daughters—Effie Rosalie, Della May (Knoff) Nicolen, Willis Legrand and Almeda Grace (Knoff) Osborn. To Mr. and Mrs. Meyers there have been born four children. Their names are: Lola Fern, Hoy Atley, Donald Reid and Relmond Dale. JAMES H. MILLER, one of the representative business men and influential and popular citizens of West Unity, is cashier of the West Unity Banking Company and secretary and manager of the Citizens' Telephone Company. In Hicksville, Defiance county, O., on the 29th of June, 1867, James Heywood Miller was born, being a son of James M. and Catherine (Caselleer) Miller. James Madison Miller was born in Wayne county, O., in 1835, and he died in Hicksville, in March, 18618, when the subject of this review was less than one year of age. He was a son of John and Margaret (Boone) BIOGRAPHICAL - 487 Miller, both of whom were born in Wayne county, where the respective families were early founded, while the parents of the latter were numbered among the early settlers in Defiance county. John Miller was a pioneer of Hicksville, that county, and was one of its most prominent and valued citizens, having been a manufacturer of lumber and also having conducted a grocery business for a long term of years. Both he and his wife died in Hicksville. James Madison Miller devoted his attention principally to the saw-milling business, and was in the prime of his life at the time of death. He was a reliable and successful business man, commanding uniform confidence and esteem. He was a Whig in politics and was in the three months' service as a member of an Ohio regiment in the Civil war. His widow is now the wife of George Rings, Sr., of West Unity. She is a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Lower) Casebeer, the former of whom was born in Tuscarawas county, O., in 1818, while the latter was born in West Virginia, in 1817, and died, in Hicksville, Defiance county, in 1902, at the age of eighty-five years. James Casebeer, who now resides in West Unity, is one of the honored pioneers of Defiance county, where he became an extensive farmer and stock dealer. He was the first president of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, of Hicksville, the predecessor of the present First National Bank. James H. Miller has passed the greater portion of his life in Williams county, in whose public schools he secured his educational discipline, having been graduated in the high school at West Unity. In this place he initiated his business career as a salesman in a general store, and he followed this line of occupation for several years. In September, 1888, he effected the organization of the West Unity Banking Company, which began business on the 15th of the following month, and lie has served as cashier of the company from the start, and the fine business now controlled by the concern is to be attributed in a large degree to his efficient executive and administrative management and to the high personal esteem in which he is held in the community. On the ist of January, 1890, Mr. Miller also organized the Citizens' Telephone Co., of which he has since been secretary and manager, and in divers other ways he has shown his enterprising spirit and his interest in the advancement of his home city and county. In politics he gives his support to the Democratic party, but in local affairs he maintains an independent attitude. He served one term as a member of the village council and is at the present time a member of the board of education, with which he has been identified for three terms. He is a valued and appreciative member of the Presbyterian church of West Unity, of which he has been secretary and treasurer from the time of its incorporation, in 1891. He is affiliated with Superior Lodge, No. 179, Free & Accepted Masons, of which he was Worshipful Master for two terms; and he is a charter member of Evergreen Lodge, No. 637, Knights of Pythias, of which he was the first chancellor commander. Mr. Miller enjoys unqualified popularity in both business and social circles and is properly accorded recognition in a compilation of this nature. 488 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY ALFRED M. MOORE, the efficient and popuhear superintendent of the Williams county infirmary and farm, located in Jefferson township, was born in Richland county, O., on the 12th of September, i185G, and is a son of Joseph and Harriet (Barr) Moore, the former of whom was born in Cumberland county, Pa., and the latter in Richband county, O. The father came to Ohio and located in Richland county when a young man, and there he followed the carpenter trade until 1862, when he removed with his family to Hillsdale county, Mich., where he continued in the work of his trade, maintaining his home in Amboy township. He remained there until 1869, when he came to Williams county, locating in Bridgewater township, where he engaged in farming and also worked at his trade, here passing the remainder of his long and useful life, commanding the high regard of all who knew him. He died in October, 1891, and his cherished and devoted wife died in November of the following year. Both were devoted members of the German Baptist church, in which he was a local minister, and in politics he was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party. Of the eight children in the family the following is a brief record: Henderson is a well known carpenter and farmer of Jefferson township; Margaret is the wife of Benjamin F. Wendt and resides in Norton county, Kan.; Alfred M. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Charles is a prosperous farmer of Norton county, Kan.; Annie died in 1893; Eliza resides with her brother in Norton county, Kan.; Joseph is deceased; and Hattie is the wife of James Silvernail, of Midland county, Mich. Alfred M. Moore secured a good public school education, in Ohio and Michigan, and in his youth learned the carpenter trade under the direction of his father, with whom he was associated until he had attained to the age of twenty-three years, when he initiated his independent career, locating in Bridgewater township, where he followed his trade, in connection with agricultural pursuits, for several years, being energetic, capable and reliable, and thus meeting with due success in his efforts. In November, igoo, he removed to Jefferson township, where he was engaged in farming until April t, 1902, when he was appointed to his present responsible offnce of superintendent of the county infirmary, in which he has proved a most efficient and popular executive, showing much consideration for the unfortunate wards in his charge and securing the best returns from the cultivation of the county farm. He is the owner of a farm of eighty-five acres, in Center township, and gives a general supervision to the same. In politics he accords unqualified allegiance to the Republican party, and both he and his wife are members of the German Baptist church. In October, 18718, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Moore to Miss Diana Koch, who was born in Elkhart county, Ind. being a daughter of Moses and Sarah (Troxel) Koch, both of whom were born in Wayne county, O., whence they removed to Indiana, and eventually came to Williams county and located in Jefferson township, where the father has since been numbered among the influential farmers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Koch have had BIOGRAPHICAL - 489 six children, namely: Diana, wife of Mr. Moore; Lenetta, deceased; Daniel and George. farmers of Jefferson township; Saloma, wife of George W. Bohner, a farmer of Hillsdale county, Mich.; and Frank, remaining on the homestead with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have three children: Howard E., who married Miss Florence Krabill, is a farmer of Defiance county O.; and Paul L. and Grace remain at the parental home, popuhear young folk of the conirnunity and prominent in its social life. BENJAMIN F. MORRIS (deceased), who was a highly respected citizen and retired farmer of Montpelier, was the representative of a family that was established in America in a very early day, one that can be traced even as far back as the settlement of Jamestown, Va. His grandfather was Benjamin Morris, a native of the Old Dominion. The parents of Benjamin F. Morris were William and Hannah (Smith) Morris, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. William Morris, born in 1794, after leaving school learned the shoemaker trade, and for some years traveled over the country plying that avocation. After the close of the War of 1812, during which he served as a soldier in the American army, being the youngest soldier in his company, he came to Berks county, Pa., and opening up a shop in Lynn Creek township, conducted a very successful business for some years. In 1835, after his marriage in Berks county, William Morris removed to Stark county, O., where he bought a farm and spent the remainder of his days. He was a broad-minded and well-read man, an exemplary citizen and a kind, indulgent parent. His death occurred in February, 1860, his wife having died eight years earlier. To these parents there were born four sons and seven daughters, of whom four daughters are yet living. Benjamin F. Morris was born in Berks county, Pa., on August 10, 1829, and was a lad of five years when his parents moved to Ohio. He grew to manhood on the parental farm in Stark county, receiving a common school education. In 1853 he came to Williams county and purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Bridgewater township, where he established his permanent home. Later he purchased an additional tract of ninety acres, making a total of two hundred and ten acres in the farm. On June i, 1955, he married Miss Mary J. Crowl, a native of Coheumbiana county, O., who died in 1863, leaving four children, as follows: Elizabeth H., deceased, who married Fred Shammel; William H., who died at the age of eight years; Sarah A., deceased, who was the wife of George Waterston; and George E., ex-auditor of Williams county, of whom more extended mention is made on a following page. Two years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Morris married a second time, the lady of his choice being Miss Harriet Umbenhaur, born in Superior township on April 12, 1842, the daughter of George and Laura (Lloyd) Umbenhaur, the former a native of Berkeley county. W. Va., then Virginia, and the latter a native of the State of New York. To this marriage there were born five chil- 490 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY dren, of whom four are still living. They are: Mary C., the wife of Howard Griffith of Montpelier; Thomas L., of Montpelier; Theodosia, now Mrs. B. O. Bistline of Wood county, O., and Ford B. Benjamin, the first born, died at the age of two years. Mr. Morris was always actively identified with the Republican party, having filled practically all of the township offices and having served as county commissioner from 1894 to 1897. On April 16, 1905, Benjamin F. Morris died in Montpelier, O., respected by all who knew him. He is survived by his widow who resides in the comfortable home at Montpelier. The grandfather of Mrs. Morris, Philip Umbenhaur, came to Ohio in an early day, locating in Muskingum county. Later he removed to what is now Defiance county, and from there to Superior township, Williams county, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and ten acres. At that time he was one of five settlers in the township. He married Miss Elizabeth Pultz, a native of Virginia, and by her had fifteen children, all of whom, except Abraham, the youngest son, are deceased. Her father, George Umbenhaur, married Miss Laura Lloyd, a native of New York State, the daughter of Elijah Lloyd, an early settler of Defiance county. These parents had five children, of whom four are still living. Their names follow: Harriet, now Mrs. B. F. Morris of Montpelier; Benjamin F., a resident of Montpelier; Virgil A., a resident of Miami county, Kan.; Alpheus, a retired farmer of Montpelier, and Francis, who died when two years old. George Umbenhaur died in the fall of the year made historical by, the great Chicago fire, aged sixty-two years, his wife having died in 1852, when only thirty-two years old. WILLIAM MOSS, who is one of the well known and influential farmers of Millcreek township, where he has served for more than a score of years as justice of the peace, is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this county and of one which was founded in America in the Colonial epoch of our national history. His great-grandfather, Thomas Moss, was born and reared in Ireland and there he married a Miss Ross. They immigrated to America and settled near Philadelphia, Pa., where he engaged in farming. Later they removed to Washington county, that state, where they passed the remainder of their lives, honored for their sterling worth of character. Thomas Moss there owned and improved a good farm, providing well for his family. This worthy couple became the parents of six sons and three daughters, all of whom were born in Pennsylvania. Their names, in order of birth, were as follows: Joseph, John, Thomas, Margaret, Polly, James, William, Jane and Ross. Thomas Moss, Jr., grandfather of him whose name initiates this sketch, was born about the year 1759 and received a good education, being a man of high intellectuality and stanch integrity. He followed the vocation of surveyor for some time and also taught several terms of school. When but seventeen years of age he enlisted in the Continental army and did valiant service in the cause BIOGRAPHICAL - 491 of independence during the war of the Revolution, remaining in the ranks until the close of the war, though he held a clerical position during the latter part of the great conflict. In 1792 he was married to Miss Eleanor Swearengen, of Washington county, Pa. She was born July 4, 1776, being a daughter of Daniel Swearengen. Shortly after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Moss removed to Brooke county, Va. (now West Virginia), where he secured a farm. He later sohed this property and came to Ohio, locating in Jefferson county, about one and one-half miles from the present city of Steubenville, where he partially reclaimed a farm of one hundred acres. This property he finally sold, returning to Brooke county, Va., where he bought land. In 1823 he disposed of his property there and again came to Ohio, settling in Blooming Grove township, Richland county, where lne cleared and improved a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he continued to reside until his death, in 1855, at the patriarchal age of ninety-six years. His wife passed away in 1858, aged eighty-two years. They became the parents of twelve children, two of whom died in infancy, while the names of the others were as follows: James, William, Daniel, John, Joseph, Polly, Rebecca, Samuel, Sarah and Ross. Of these children Samuel demands more particular attention in this connection, having been the father of William, the subject of this sketch. Samuel Moss was born in Brooke county, West Va., which was then a part of the Old Dominion, on the 4th of February, 1811, and in the autumn of 1823 he made his first trip to Ohio, driving a flock of sheep through to Richland county. He remained a short time and then returned to his native county, where he remained in the home of his maternal uncle Samuel Swearengen, for some time, in the meanwhile attending school. Thereafter he made several trips back and forth between Brooke county, Va., and Richland county, O., to which latter place his parents had removed in 1823, as already noted. Tn said county, in 1832, he entered claim to eighty acres of government land, in Blooming Grove township, and the deed to the property bore the signature of President Andrew Jackson. Thereafter he gave his attention to the development on his farm, while he continued to work more or less at the carpenter trade, which he had learned in his youth. April 25, 1833, he married Miss Priscilla Turbett, of Mansfield, O. She was born in Mifflin county Pa., being a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Rice) Turbett, who removed to Richland county, O., in 1824, settling in Blooming Grove township. Here her mother died in 1833 and her father in 1871. They reared a large' family of children and Mr. Turbett also had a number of children by his second marriage. He was a son of Thomas and Jane (Wilson) Turbett, and was born in Mifflin county, Pa., about 1786, being one of a family of eleven children. His parents were natives of Ireland, whence they came to America prior to the Revolution, during which his father was colonel of a regiment of Continental troops. Samuel Moss came to Williams county in the spring of 1853 and became one of the representative 492 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY farmers and honored citizens of Millcreek township, where he died on the 25th of February, Ic ot, at the advanced age of ninety years and twenty-one days. His devoted wife passed away June 13, 1882. They were the parents of the following children : Thomas; Ellen, now the wife of Thomas Crawford; Joseph, deceased: Sarah, now the wife of Samuel Holenbaugh; and William, who is the youngest of the family and the subject of this sketch. All of these brothers and sisters are residing in Williams county : William Moss, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born near Rome, Richland county, O., on the 13th of December, 1852, and when he was about five months old his parents removed to Williams county, where he has ever since made his home. He was reared on the farm and secured his early education in the common schools, duly profiting by his advantages in the line, as is evident when we revert to the fact that he became eligible for pedagogic honors, having taught during the winter terns for about four years, working on the farm in the summer seasons. April 29, 1815, Mr. Moss was united in marriage to Miss Malinda Clay, who was born in Williams county, March 6, 1856, being a daughter of George and Margaret (Glime) Clay, who were numbered among the early settlers of Millcreek township. George Clay was born in Lancaster county; Pa., August 22, 1819, and he died in Wilhams county, O., June 29, 1893. He accompanied his parents on their removal from the Keystone State to Richland county, O., where his marriage to Margaret Glime was solemnized, August 22, 1838. They became the parents of nine children, of whom five are living, namely: Dr. John C., of Pomona, Cal.; Samuel. who likewise resides in California; Jacob, of Bellevue, Kan.: Margaret, wife of John Blair, of Bryan; and Malinda, wife of William Moss. Mrs. Clay was summoned into eternal rest on the 29th of December, 1860. To Mr. and Mrs. Moss have been born six children: Margaret, born October 16, 1877, died in infancy; Sarah Ellen, born May 30, 1879, died May 19. 18180 ; George Samuel, born June 18, 1881, is engaged in the practice of law in the city of Toledo: Thomas Earl, born July 6, 1883 is a student in Toledo; Mary Allora. born December 6, 1885. is the wife of Frank Raymond, of Millcreek township; and William D., born May 22, 1889, remains at the parental home. Mr. Moss has been engaged in agricultural pursuits from his youth to the present time ann his homestead is .one of the model farms of Millcreek township. comprising one hundred and sixty acres and having excellent improvements. In politics he is a stalwart in the Democratic camp, and he has been called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust. For twenty-one years he has been incumbent of the office of justice of the peace, while he was township clerk for five years, and has also served as land appraiser, assessor and school director. In 1893 he was the candidate of his party for county auditor, and in 1902 for probate judge, running ahead of his ticket at each election, but he was defeated owing to the large adverse party majority. No man in the community commands more unqualified esteem, and he is liberal and BIOGRAPHICAL - 493 public-spirited in his attitude , He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. GEORGE F. MORRIS, the efficient and obliging auditor of Williams county, who Las just recently retired from that position, was born On the farm of his father in Bridgewater township on January 1, 1865. He is descended from an ancestry that has had an abode in America for nearly four hundred Years. The first American progenitor came with the followers of Capt. John Smith and assisted in establishing the first English settlement iin the Western hemisphere at Jamestown. Va., in 1607 In Old Dominion continued to be the abiding place of the famihey for several generations, and finally the ancestors of the Williams county branch took up their abode in Pennsylvania later removing to the Buckeye State and for the past fifty years the Morris famihey has been identified among the lcadin citizens of Williams county. The late Benjamin F. Morris, the father of the subject of this sketch, is given appropriate mention in a preceding memoir. George E. Morris was reared on the farming and attended the country schools, also the graded school at Pioneer. He remained with his father until he was twenty-one years olh. When nineteen years old he began teaching school, continuing in that capacity for six winters. For several years he was engaged in selling farming implements, meeting with marked success, and from that time on he has followed farming and buying and selling farm'e In the spring of 1889 he bought a farm west of Montpelier. In pohtics he has been prominent and active ever since he attained his majority, serving as a member of the central committee and as a delegate to county and congressional conventions. In November. 1899, he sold his farm and engaged in the real estate business in Montpelier and continued so employed until January 9, 1904, when he was apponnted auditor to fill out a vacancy and his term expire October 16, 1905. He holds membership in the organizations of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. On October 31, 1889 he was married to Miss Sarah B. Glover, the daughter of Henry and Hannah R. Glover. Two children have been born to George E. Morris and wife, named Elsworth and Warren B. 494 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY JACOB A. MOWRY, a successful farmer of St. Joseph township, was born in Seneca county, O., July 31, 1858. He is the son of Levi and Mary A. (Kline) Mowry, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. His grandfather, Daniel Mowry, a native of Pennsylvania, removed first to Seneca county, O., and afterwards to Williams county in 1867, where he died in 1870. He was twice married. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Jacob Kline, a native of Germany. Levi Mowry was reared on his father's farm, receiving a fair common school education. After coming to Ohio he first resided in Seneca county and then removed to Williams county, locating on a farm which he bought there. He was drafted into the Union army, but escaped service by furnishing a substitute. Selling his farm he returned to Seneca county and in 1867 removed a second time to Williams county, locating on a farm near Edgerton. Two years later he bought the farm in St. Joseph township, where he now resides. In politics he is identified with the Repubilcan party and with his wife, who died March 17, 1905, a member of the Evangelical Association. They have had nine children, eight of whom are still living. Jacob A. Mowry grew to manhood on his father's farm, being eight years old when he came to Williams county, and received a fair common school education in the schools of his home county. For several years he resided in DeKalb county, Ind., where he followed the occupation of farming. In 1884 he bought the farm on which he now lives. In politics he is an ardent Republican and with his wife a member of the Evan. gelical Association. On March i r, 1880, he was wedded to Miss Catherine Hunter, born in Williams county on December 18, 1860, the daughter of Daniel I. and Elizabeth (Jennings) Hunter. Daniel I. Hunter is the son of William and Lucy (Gardner) Hunter, the former born in 18oi and the latter in Salisbury, Montgomery county, New York, in 1800. William Hunter was a farmer by occupation and in 1829 removed to St. Joe county, Mich., where he was wedded in 1822, and of his six children four are living. He died in Defiance county, aged thirty-nine and one-half years. Daniel J. Hunter was born in Henry county, O., December 31, 1828. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. For some time he carried on horseback the United States mails from Denmark, O., to Defiance, O., and Lima. Ind., his brother, John W., serving in the same capacity for nearly three years. Then he bought a farm of forty-six acres and gave his attention to farming. In politics he is a Republican and with his wife a member of the Evangelical Association. In 1854 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Jennings, born in Carroll county, O., in 1830, the daughter of Peter and Catherine (Rainshurg) Jennings, the former born in New Jersey in 1802 and the latter in Pennsylvania in 1806. They came to DeKalb county, Ind.. in 1843, where she died in February, 1881. Mr. Jennings surviving her eleven years, died in Williams county on the farm belonging to Mr. Hunter, in 1892. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom are living. Daniel J. Hunter and wife, BIOGRAPHICAL - 495 the latter of whom died October 6, 1902, aged seventy-one years, were the parents of six children. They are: Peter J., born January 5, 1855; William J. (deceased), born May 5, 1857; Sarah Catherine, born December 18, i186o, the wife of Jacob A. Mowry; George W., born December 31, 1862; Mary Phoebe, born July 28, 1864, the wife of Henry Wellington; Della J., born December 28, 1866, the wife of George Richard, a farmer of St. Joseph township. To Jacob A. Mowry and wife six children have been born. They are: Charles Elsworth, the eldest, was born in DeKalb county, Ind., November 2, 1881, and received a fair education in the public schools and in the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Ind. He has taught school for the past five years. Virgil Loy, the second child, was born May 1, 1884, educated in the public schools, and for the past three years has been engaged in teaching. Albert Aaron was born June 17, 1887, and died September 27, 1889. Etta May was born January 5, 1890, and passed the Boxwell examination at the age of fifteen years. Wallace Gilbert was born May 4, 1893; Samuel Orin; April 17, 1896. FREDERICK GEORGE MYERS has resided on his fine little farm property in Brady township for more than half a century, and is one of the honored pioneer citizens of Williams county, standing representative of that sterling manhood which so typified those who assumed the burdens and strenuous labors involved in the reclaiming of the wild and heavily timbered lands of this section to a condition of productivity, manifesting that energy and enterprise which are ever worthy of considerate study and practical emulation. Mr. Myers has little available data concerning his ancestry, which is of stanch German extraction, both of his parents having died when he was a mere child. He was born in the city of Baltimore, Md., on the 18th of November, 1826, and is a son of George and Christina Myers, the father having been killed while assisting in the building of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. After the death of his parents Mr. Myers was brought to Ohio. and he was reared in the home of Dr. A. W. Shipley, of Licking county, with whom he remained until he had attained the age of nineteen years, having been afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period, while; he learned the trade of carpenter in his youth. In 1847 he came to Williams county and located in Brady township, where he worked at his trade a number of years, being economical and inuustrious and finally feeling justified in purchasing his present farm, in 1852. The place comprises forty-two acres of excellent land, and he cleared the same of its native timber, bringing it under a high state of cultivation, while he has made good improvements in the erection of substantial buildings, etc., so that he now has one of the valuable and attractive farms of the county and is enjoying that independence which is the just recompense for earnest and honest endeavor. In politics Mr. Myers was originally a Whig, but he found his abiding political faith in the principles of the Republican party, whose cause he has supported from the time, of its organization to the present. 496 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY His course in life has been one marked by righteousness and thorough conscientiousness in all its relations, and both he and his wife, who have walked side by side down the pathway of life for more than fifty-five years, are worthy and valued members of the Christian church. November 25, 1849, Mr. Myers was married to Miss Ann Eliza Chambers, who was born in Richland county, O.. February 27, 1828, being a daughter of John and Mary (Combs) Chambers, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in the State of New Jersey. They were numbered among the pioneers of Richland county, O., where the mother died many years ago, while the father passed the closing years of his life in Iowa, where he died on the 29th of March, 1885, at the patriarchal age of ninety years, eight months and eleven days. To Mr. and Mrs. Myers have been born. five children, concerning whom the following data is consistently entered: Edwin Harrison, who married Cynthia McLaughlin, resides. in Lenawee county, Mich.; William Randolph, who married Sarah Lillian Brott, resides in Allegan county, Mich.; Mary Ann Christina is the wife of Joseph Francis Smith and they likewise reside in Allegan county, Mich.; Esther Minerva Jane is the wife of Emerson Benjamin Eyer, who has charge of the operation of Mr. Myers' homestead farm: and Clara Luella Eunice is the wife of Wilford A. Rozell, of Kalamazoo, Mich. Mrs. Myers died on July 24, 1895, and is buried in the Floral Grove cemetery in Brady towntiship. JAMES A. NEIL, a prominent builder and contractor of Montpelier, is the representative of an old and highly respected family that has for more than fifty years been prominently identified with Williams county, its members having always ranked among the foremost and most progressive citizens of the county. The Neil family is of Irish origin, and was established in this country at a very early date, by Joseph Neil. the great-grandfather of James A. Neil, the subject of this sketch. When he emigrated to America he settled in Pennsylvania. His son, John Neil, was born in the Keystone State and was married to Miss Alice Lightfoot, also of Pennsylvania. In 1828 John Neil removed to Ohio, locating in Wayne county. Having learned the carpenter trade, he followed that occupation in connection with farming the balance of his natural life. His wife having died in 1832, he married a second time and died in 1865. To his first marriage there were born eight children, among whom was Joseph, the father of James A. Neil. Joseph Neil was born in York county, Pa., September 18, 1827. He was reared on his father's farm in Wayne county and received his education in the country schools. While on the farm he learned the carpenter trade, and when eighteen years old he left the parental roof to follow that avocation. In 1849 he came to Williams county and located in Bridgewater township on land purchased by him, where he followed carpentering and farming until 1887, the date of his removal to Montpelier. For forty years he was an active minister of the Church of God, giving BIOGRAPHICAL - 497 up the work of preaching the Gospel about eight years ago. In 1849 he was wedded to Miss Sarah Ann Bowen, born in Richland county, O., on November 15, 1827, the daughter of Robert and Sarah A. Bowen, who died April 18, 1904. To this marriage the following children were born: Isaiah S.; Harriet E., first the wife of Ezekiel Smith and afterwards married to Andrew Miller of Bridgewater township; Jane, the wife of Eli Ault, who died in Hardin county, O.; Alice, now Mrs. Warren Utter, of Bridgewater township; Joseph A., deceased; James A.; Elizabeth, deceased; Sherman G., a minister of Montpelier; Maggie C., and Robert Eli, deceased. James A. Neil was born in Madison township, Williams county, O., on February 21, 1861. He grew to manhood on the parental farm and was educated in the district schools. Having learned the carpenter trade while on the farm, he followed that avocation for some years. From Madison township he removed with the family to Bridgewater township. After his marriage, in 1882, he worked for two years on his father's farm, when he removed to Meade county, Kan., where he entered government land. In 1888 he returned to Williams county and took up his residence in Montpelier, where he now resides. Having traded his Kansas land for the Montpelier opera house, he conducted that business for about five years, in the meantime engaging in building and contracting. In 1893 he formed a partnership with a Mr. Dargitz, and since that time the firm of Neil & Dargitz has constructed the principal business and residence properties in Montpelier. In addition to a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Florence township Mr. Neil owns three substantial houses in Montpelier. He is actively identified with the Knights of Pythias, being at present Chancellor Commander of the Montpelier Lodge. On March 12, 18182, he was wedded to Miss Viola Reader, born in Jefferson township on December 16, 1861, the daughter of George and Sarah Reader. Leslie R., the only child of these parents, was born May 30, 1883, and is engaged in business with his father. JOHN I. NEWCOMB, M. D., one of the leading representatives of the medical profession in West Unity, was born on the homestead farm, near Shelby, Richland county, O., on the isth of September, 1857, being a son of Robert and Sarah (Stock) Newcomb, the former of whom was born in Lincolnshire, England, July 24, 1826, and the latter was born in Pennsylvania, in 1829. John Newcomb, grandfather of the Doctor, passed his entire life in England, as did also his wife, who attained to the venerable age of ninety-eight years. John Stock, the maternal grandfather, was one of the pioneers of Richland county, O., where his death occurred. Robert Newcomb was reared to manhood in his native land, where he secured a good common school education and where he remained until 1851, when he came to America; and in the following year he located in Richland, county, O., where he followed agricultural pursuits until 1868, when he came to Williams county and settled on a farm in Millcreek 32 198 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY township, and about half of the place was reclaimed from the native forest under his direction. He is now (1905) living retired, at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife died in March, 1888, and of their four children three are living. The father is a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities and is a member of the German Lutheran church, as was also his wife. Dr. Newcomb passed his boyhood days on the farm, and was about ten years of age at the time of the family removal to Williams county, of the advantages of whose public schools he fully availed himself, having been a member of the first class graduated in the high school at Pioneer. Having determined to adopt the profession of medicine as his vocation, he then entered the medical department of the clelebrated University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1888, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine from this institution, whose diploma stands in evidence of the most thorough technical training. He began the practice of his profession in Evansport, Defiance county, O., where he remained until 1892, and then located in West Unity, where his success has been of unequivocal order and his support of a representative character. He has been the architect of his own fortune, and sincerity, integrity and self-reliance have been the steppeing stones to his marked success. He is the owner of two good farms in Williams county, besides an attractive residence property in his home town. The Doctor is a member of the Williams County Medical Society, the Northwestern Ohio Medical Society and the Tri-State Medical Society, and he is identified with the Masonic fraternity and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also Mrs. Newcomb. The political faith of Dr. Newcomb is that represented in the tenets of the Democratic party, and though he takes a loyal interest in public affairs, especially those of a local order, he has never desired official preferment. He is, however, a valued member of the board of education of West Unity. September 12, 1881, Dr. Newcomb wedded Miss Minnie Stevens, who was born and reared in Fulton county, being a daughter of Charles L. and Hannah (Masters) Stevens, of Wauseon. Of their seven children four are living: Leland Guy, Raynor Rowe, Paul Barkley, and Charles Robert. Clyde W., the first born, died at the age of eleven years and eight months; Ethel Marie and Mary died in infancy. JOHN NIEDERAUR, a noted citizen of Bryan, O., was one of Williams county's substantial business men, who spent the best part of his life in furthering every means at his command to advance the interests of Bryan and Williams county. He came of stanch German ancestry and was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 28, 1833. He was one of five children born to John D. and Barbara (Young) Niederaur. In 1851 he landed in New York City and for a time worked at the trade of cabinet making. He soon decided to go West and we next find him employed at Mansfield, O., then. at Tiffin, where his parents and the rest of the family joined him from the "Father Land." In the spring of 1855 he and a brother BIOGRAPHICAL - 499 came to Williams county and located at Bryan, to which place the remainder of the family soon moved. Here John D. Niederaur, his father, died in 1879, aged seventy-five years, his wife having died nine years before at the age of sixty-five years. Their children were: John, Philip, Charles, Jacob and Barbara. Upon locating in Bryan the sons all engaged in cabinet making, but soon after John branched off and took up carpentering, which he successfully followed for some years. In 1866 he and his brother, Philip, embarked in the planing mill business, equipping their plant with modern machinery throughout, and from the start the enterprise proved very successful. From the spring of 1855 to the day of his death in St. Vincent's Hospital, Toledo, O., September 1, 1905, he was closely identified with the development of Bryan and vicinity. No man in his day was more sincere and honest than John Niederaur. He was ever ready to assist those in distress and to lend a hand in any enterprise that would aid Bryan. While he never united with any religious denomination, still be always freely gave to the various church organizations when solicited. After years of perseverance and industry in Bryan, and when it seemed that he had many more years of usefulness before him, he was suddenhey stricken with the disease that ended his long and useful career. The most skilled physicians were consulted, but the seal of death was present in every diagnosis of his case. His ailment was sudden and of such a malignant type that within two months from the first symptom he passed away. He was not only actively identified with the business interests of Bryan, but took time to serve the community in various capacities. He served as a member of the city council of Bryan four years and was a member of Bryan Lodge No. 215, F. & A. M., of Bryan, and was regarded by his brethren as a zealous worker in the order. He united with the lodge January 20, 1870, passed April 20, 1870, and was raised July 11, 1870. He was highly esteemed by all of his lodge members and was ever ready to lend assistance to the sick and afflicted. He was also connected with the Building and Loan association from its organization, being its president up to 1900, and on the board up to his death. He was also president of the Union Trust and Savings Bank up to his death. When a man of the type of John Niederaur passes away it is certainly a great loss to the community, and it is to be hoped that those who may read these lines may And in this noble man's life much to emulate. In 1854 John Niederaur was married to Miss Margaret Guffney, of Tiffin, O. To this union one child, Flora A., was born, February 20, 1855, and she is now the wife of Charles Wagner, cashier of The Union Trust and Savings Bank, of Bryan, who was born at Massillon, Stark county, O., June 6, 1857. His parents were Mathias and Magdalena (Millamann) Wagner, both of whom were natives of Germany, the father having been born in Baden and the mother in Alsace. They were married at Massillon, where Mathias Wagner was engaged for many years at blacksmithing and horse-shoeing. He still resides in Massillon, although