500 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY retired from active business. Charles Wagner was reared in Massillon, where he received his public school education. His first work was as a clerk in a grocery store, followed by his appointment as a manager of a similar establishment. Later he learned blacksmithing, which occupation he successfully followed for some years in Massillon. In the spring of 1880 he came to Bryan and formed a partnership with William Aungst in the horse-shoeing and general repairing business, which he conducted for about two years. Next he became foreman in the sash and door department of the Niederaur & Brother planing mill. In 1898 he was elected secretary of the Bryan Building and Loan Association and filled that position for about two and a half years, when he resigned and resumed his old position in the planing mill. On January 1, 1903, he was elected cashier of the Union Trust and Savings Bank, which position he is at present filling. On October 27, 1881, he was married to Miss Flora A. Niederaur, daughter of John and Margaret (Gaffney) Niederaur. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner have no children. -Mr. Wagner is a member of Bryan Lodge No. 221, K. of P., and has filled the office of treasurer in that lodge since becoming a member. He was a member of and connected with the Bryan city band for a period of twenty years. DANIEL P. NIHART, a successful and highly respected farmer of Melbern, was born in Center township, January 8, 1840. He is the son of Jacob and Anna May (Frock) Nihart, both natives of Pennsylvania, where the former was born in 1795, and the latter in 1807. His grandparents were Conrad and Elizabeth (Kreiger) Nihart, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Pennsylvania. Conrad Nihart when a boy emigrated to America with his parents and located first in Pennsylvania, where he was reared, educated and married. Then in 1840 they removed to Holmes county, O., where he died. After his death his widow removed to Williams county. His maternal grandfather was Michael Frock, a native of Pennsylvania. After his marriage he removed to Coshocton county, O., where both he and his wife died. Jacob Nihart came to Williams county in 1837 and bought the farm of eighty acres on which the subject of this sketch now resides. At one time he was the owner of three hundred acres of fine land. In politics he was a Democrat until the organization of the Republican party, when he espoused the cause of the latter. With his wife he was a member of the English Lutheran church. They were the parents of eight children, six of whom are yet living. He died in 1870, aged seventy-five years, and his widow in 1894, aged eighty-seven years. Daniel P. Nihart grew to manhood on his father's farm and was educated in the public schools. It has fallen to his lot to clear many acres of land, and for the past twenty years he has dealt extensively in live stock, shipping his purchases to all parts of the country. During the past eight years he has given his time and attention almost exclusively to his shipping interests, in which he has a BIOGRAPHICAL - 501 partner, John A. Brown. He owns two hundred and ninety acres of land in Center township and four acres in Melbern, cut out of the eighty acres in the old homestead. The eastern part of Melbern has been built on this land. Other tracts of land formerly owned by him he sold. In politics he is identified with the Republican party, having served as land appraiser in his township. In 1868 he was wedded to Miss Alice Gabriel, a native of Wayne county and the daughter of John and Catherine (Brenizer) Gabriel, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Wayne county in an early day and then to Williams county in 1863, where the father died in 1889 His widow is now a resident of Edgerton. To Daniel P. Nihart and wife two children were born. Orrin H. Nihart, M. D., the elder, is the subject of the succeeding review where proper mention is made of his successful career. Charles A., born in April, 1872, was educated at Wauseon, O., and Valparaiso, Ind. He is a manufacturer of shingles in the state of Washington, where he married Miss Gussie Milnee. Mrs. Nihart, mother of Orrin H. and Charles A., having died in 1884, Daniel P. Nihart, in 1886, married Miss Alice Bell, a native of Holmes county and the daughter of William and Margaret (Shipley) Bell, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. William Bell was a Democrat and with his wife a member of the English Lutheran church. They are the parents of eight children, six of whom are still living. Mr. Bell died in Wayne county in 1884 and his widow the following year. ORRIN HOWARD NIHART, M. D., a prominent and highly successful physician of Edon, was born in Center township, Williams county, O., on October 17, 1871. He is the son of -Daniel P. Nihart, mention of whom is made in the preceding sketch. Dr. O. H. Nihart grew to manhood on his father's farm and was educated in the public schools of his native township and the Wauseon Normal. For the next three years he followed the honorable avocation of teaching. He then entered the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Ind., and, in 1895, graduated in the scientific and classical course of the Valparaiso, Ind., Normal. After completing his literary education he spent two years in the medical department of the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, and on April i6, 1898, graduated from the Starling Medical college at Columbus. Three days after graduating he began the practice of medicine at Edon, O., where he has since built up a large and lucrative practice. In politics the doctor is an enthusiastic Republican. In 1898 he was elected coroner of Williams county, and in 1901, to the state legislature as the representative of Williams county. Two years later he was re-elected to the same office. Doctor Nihart is a member of Edon Lodge, No. 474, Free and Accepted Masons, of Edon Lodge, No. 644, Knights of Pythias, and Northwest Lodge, No. 722. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On April 11, 1898, he was wedded to Miss Lulu I. Ewan, born in Center township, December 6, 1871, the daughter of A. H. and Eliza (Stahl) Ewan, both natives 41 502 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY of Williams county. A. H. Ewan is a son of Isaac Ewan, a son of David and Edith (Townsend) Ewan, who came to Williams county from Carroll county, O., on October 24, 1842, where both lived and died, being buried at Lick Creek, this county. Isaac Ewan was a farmer by occupation and followed farming continuously, excepting the five years he was engaged in the shoe business at Butler. In politics he was identified with the Republican party and in religious matters with the Christian church. He died at Bryan in 1900. His wife, Elizabeth Gilbert, was born in Portage county, O., on June 6. 1824, and was the daughter of Walter and Hannah (Calvin) Gilbert, the latter a native of Connecticut. They came to Williams county in 1842 and settled in Center township, but spent their last days in Michigan. A. H. Ewan was born in Center township in 1850 and educated in the high schools of Williams Center and Edgerton. He was a farmer by occupation and a Republican in politics. His wife, born in Williams county in 1852 and educated in the public schools, was the daughter of Simon Peter and Catherine (Hoyer) Stahl, both natives of Wayne county, Pa., who came to Williams county about 1842, where both died. The wife of A. H. Ewan died in i880. To them two children were born, as follows: O. E. Ewan, superintendent of the Edon High School, and Mrs. O. H. Nihart. The paternal grandfather of the wife of Dr. Nihart was a teacher in pioneer days, teaching for a salary of one dollar and fifty cents a week. To, Dr. Nihart and wife one daughter has been born, Alitza, born August 21, 1903. WILLIAM A. NIHART, a prominent farmer of Center township, was born at Edgerton, August 11, 1862, and is a descendant of one of the oldest families in the county. His grandparents, Jacob and Mary (Frock) Nihart, were natives of Holmes county, Q, but in 184o removed to Williams, settling in Center township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. John Nihart, the father of William A., was born in Holmes county, came with his parents to Williams, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Martha Karnes. To this union were born the following children: William A., the subject of this sketch; Jessie B., wife of Josiah H. Childers, now residing in Indian Territory; Mary A., now Mrs. William Holden, living in Indiana; Theodore F., now a resident of the state of Missouri; George H., residing in Edgerton; Anna, now Mrs. Ernest Wines, residing near Waterloo, Ind.; Emma V., living with the subject; John H., now living in Center township, and Walter K., attending medical college in Detroit. John Nihart was a prominent figure in the affairs of Williams county in his day and was for a number of years a justice of the peace. He died in 1901, his wife having passed to her eternal rest in 1882. William A. Nihart was reared on the farm, received a good common school education and adopted agriculture as a pursuit. Politically he is a Republican, and the respect in which he is held by his fellow-citizens may be seen in the fact that he now holds the office of BIOGRAPHICAL - 503 township trustee. He is a member of St. Joseph Lodge, No. 6o8, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in other ways is identified with the progress of the community. On December 22, 1887, he was united in marriage to Miss Hannah, daughter of Peter and Sarah Suffel, old and honored residents of St. Joseph township, where Mrs. Nihart was born and reared. Mr. and Mrs. Nihart have had two children born to them, both now deceased. Emma M. died when three days old and John W. lived to the age of one year and nineteen days. HIRAM B. OBERLIN has the distinction of being another of the sterling citizens who have assisted in the development of the agricultural resources of Williams county, and he is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred acres in Jefferson township. Mr. Oberlin was born in Holmes county, O., on the 7th of October, 1843, and is a son of Jacob and Rosanna (Lotzbaugh) Oberlin, the former a native of Stark county, O., and the latter of Franklin county, Pa. The Oberlin family was founded in Stark county in the early pioneer era, and there Jacob Oberlin was reared to maturity and married, while he removed thence to Holmes county about the year 1838,, purchasing eighty acres of land, of which a portion had been cleared, and there continued his residence until 1854, when he disposed of his holdings and came to Williams county, settling in Section 25, Jefferson township, where he secured a quarter section of land, upon which a small clearing had been made and a log cabin and barn had been erected. He continued the development and improvement of this homestead, on which he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, both having been consistent members of the Reformed church and having richly merited the high esteem in which they were held. Of their seven children four are deceased—Amanda, Maria, Mary and Alice—while those surviving are: Hiram B., to whom this sketch is dedicated; Orlando, a prosperous farmer of Jefferson township; and Milton, likewise a successful farmer of the same township. In the log school house of the pioneer days Hiram B. Oberlin secured his early educational training, attending school during the brief winter terms and assisting in the arduous wort of the home farm during the remaining months of the year. He remained at the parental home until he had attained the age of eighteen years, and thereafter farmed for two years on rented land. The insistent urge of patriotism prompted him to tender his services in defense of the Union when its integrity was placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion, and in October, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he proceeded to Nashville, Tenn.; and he thereafter assisted in the construction of nine different forts on the Cumberland river, remaining in service eleven months and then receiving his honorable discharge. He participated in no important engagements, owing to the nature of the work to which he was assigned. In 1864 Mr. Oberlin purchased 504 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY forty acres of his present attractive homestead farm, the land at that time being covered with the native timber and no improvements having been made. With the passing of the years he has reclaimed this tract to cultivation, has erected good buildings and has purchased and improved adjoining land, now having one hundred acres, while his success has been such that he has been able to materially assist his two sons in starting their independent careers as farmers. He has devoted his attention to diversified agriculture and to the raising of an excellent grade of live stock, and is recognized as one of the progressive farmers and public-spirited citizens of the county. In politics he is stanchly aligned as a supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Brady township, while Mrs. Oberlin is a member of the Reformed church, in which faith she was reared. October 9, 1864, Mr. Oberlin was united in marriage to Miss Malissa Snear, who was born and reared in Richland county, O., a daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann Snear, who came to Williams county in 1864 and settled in Pulaski township, where they passed the remainder of their lives, Mr. Snear having been a representative farmer of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Oberlin 'have two sons, Sylvester C. and Festus A., both of whom are successful farmers of Jefferson township. ROBERT OGLE, who resides upon and owns the old homestead farm on which he was born, in Superior township, is a scion of one of the well known and honored pioneer families of Williams county, with whose history the name has been identified for nearly seventy years, and the original settlement was made in the State by his paternal grandparents, less than a decade and a half after the admission of Ohio to the Union. The family is of English extraction, and Robert Ogle, the grandfather, came from England to America and first located in Pennsylvania, where his principal vocation was that of millwright, though he had marked facility in various other lines of mechanical work. He came with his family to Ohio in an early day and located in Carroll county, being one of the pioneers of that section, and there he remained until 1836, when he took up his abode in Williams county. In the following year he leased a tract of land in Superior township and turned his attention to farming, with which he continued to be identified until his death, having accumulated a good property before his demise, which event occurred in April, 1852, at which time he was an incumbent of the office of county commissioner. He was a man of forceful and sterling individuality and wielded no little influence in, local affairs. He was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, and for many years was an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which his wife also was a devoted member, her maiden name having been Julia Ann Burns. Thomas Ogle, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, was born in Carroll county, O., in 1818, and was there reared and educated. He accompanied his parents on their removal to BIOGRAPHICAL - 150 Williams county, as noted. He devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and was a man of fine attributes of character, commanding the unqualified esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He died in November, 1852, in the very prime of his manhood, and his widow still survives him, in her eighty-first year. He was a Democrat in his political proclivities and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. He married Miss Jerusha Clark, daughter of Horatio and Eliza (Bailey) Clark, of Huron county, O., and they became the parents of four children: Julia Ann, who dial in infancy; Robert, who is the subject of this review; Eliza, who is deceased, and Mary Ann, who is the wife of Frank Lyons, of Bucyrus, O. The venerable mother now resides at Bucyrus, O. Robert Ogle, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born on his present homestead, in Section 31, Superior township, on the 22nd of July, 1846, and after duly availing himself of the advantages afforded in the district schools he continued his studies in the high school at Bryan. At the age of seventeen years he abandoned his school work to go forth in defense of the Union, whose integrity was in jeopardy through armed rebellion. August 13, 1863, he enlisted as a private in Company E, Ninth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, in which he was later promoted to the office of sergeant, and with which he saw active service, participating in a number of spirited engagements, the most prominent of which are here noted, with respective dates: Florence, Ala., April 13, 1864; Center Star, May 16, 1864; Rosseau's raid in Alabama, July 11-22; East Point, Ga., August 3o; Waynesboro, Ga., December 4; near Savannah, Ga., February 2, 1865; Aiken, S. C., February 11; Waynesboro, February 22; Monroe's Crossroads, N. C., March io, Averysboro, March r6; and Raleigh, April 13, 1865. He had charge of the advance guard in the last skirmish between the armies of Sherman and Johnston near Chapel Hill, N. C. He was mustered out with his company on the loth of July, 1865, and duly received his honorable discharge, after which he returned to his home in Williams county, where he has ever since been actively identified with farming and stock-growing. His fine landed estate comprises three hundred acres, is maintained under a high state of productivity and it has excellent improvements of a permanent order, including an attractive residence. In political matters Mr. Ogle is a stalwart Republican, taking an active concern in party affairs and being one of the party leaders in his township. He has served in the offices of township trustee and school director, and in 1888-9 was the representative of his county in the Sixty-eighth general assembly of the legislature of the State, where he made an excellent record. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Eagle Creek, and he is a member of its board of trustees. May 19, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ogle to Miss Margaret Hoverstock, daughter of George and Mary Hoverstock, of Superior township. Following is a brief record concerning the five children of this union: George, who is a farmer of Superior township, mar- 506 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY ried Miss Louise Bailey, and they have one son, Robert; Alma is the wife of Henry Pressler, of Fairbury, Illinois, and they have four children, Ruth, Leland, Beatrice and Harold; Blanche is the wife of Orville Grose, of Superior township, and they have one child, Kermit; Ray is deceased, and Herbert is attending school in Angola, Ind. WILLIAM, HENRY PALMER, a prominent manufacturer of Edon, is a native of Florence township, having been born two miles west of Edon on March 27, 1852. He is the son of Cyrenous and Elizabeth (Richey) Palmer, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. Cyrenous Palmer came to Williams county in the forties, where he purchased and cleared a farm of eighty acres. In addition to this farm he owned one in Steuben county, Ind. In politics he was a Democrat and with his wife a member of the Christian church. Before removing to Ohio he married in his native State and by that marriage became the father of five children, only one of whom is now living. His first wife having died he married a second time and reared a family of three children, two sons and one daughter, all of whom are still living. He died in 1864, aged sixty-four years, and his widow survived him thirty-five years, dying in Kansas in 1899, aged seventy-five years. William Henry Palmer was reared on the old homestead and •educated in the public schools of Florence township. He worked on the farm until he was eighteen years old, when he learned the carpenter trade and followed the occupation of contractor and builder until 1899, when he engaged in the manufacture of church furniture, kitchen cupboards, cabinets and wardrobes, under the name of Edon Furniture Manufacturing Company, an enterprise that has been remarkably successful from the very beginning. In 1904 the company purchased a saw-mill and is now prepared to saw its own lumber. In politics Mr. Palmer is a Republican. He takes a deep interest in any and every enterprise that concerns the welfare of his own town and for some years served on the town council. He is a charter member of Edon Lodge, No. 644, Knights of Pythias, and with his family attends the Methodist Episcopal church. On September 18, 1873, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Anna Jenette Stewart, born in Elmore, O., and the daughter of Joseph Stewart, who died near Fort Wayne, Ind. Two sons were born to this marriage. Ellis L., the elder, was born July 20, 1878, and was educated in the Edon high school. For four years he was railroad station agent and telegraph operator at Edon, then he taught in the county schools for two years, and followed that by working for one year as agent of the Equitable Life Assurance Company, of New York. Since then he has been engaged in the restaurant business at Edon. His wife was Miss Alice Paul, a daughter of James Paul, of Bryan. Leslie E., the younger, was born on March 24, 1880, and was educated in the Edon high school, the Valparaiso, Ind., Normal University and the Davis Business Col- BIOGRAPHICAL - 507 lege, of Toledo, O. After serving as principal of the Edon high school for four years he entered the employ of the Wabash-Portland Cement Company, of Stroh, Ind., as bookkeeper.. His wife was Miss Sallie Hines, the daughter of C. L. and Larnissa Hines, of Florence township. ALFRED ROYDEN PARKER, a farmer and teacher of Northwest township, is a native of Bridgewater township, where he was born on February 15, 1875. His great-grandparents, Joseph Seeley and Julia (Phillips) Parker, both natives of Pennsylvania, were early settlers of Ashland county, O., where both ended their days. Samuel and Eleanor (Bailey) Parker, the grandparents of Alfred R. Parker, were both natives of Ashland county, where they spent their days. His maternal grandparents, David and Lydia (Yerda) Bloom, both natives of Northumberland county, Pa., removed to Williams county, O., in 1855. He died during the Civil war and his widow is now a resident of Bridgewater township. Laban and Rebecca (Bloom) Parker, the parents of Alfred R. (the former born in Ashland county, O., on February 2, 1852, and the latter in Pennsylvania in 1854), came to Williams county in 1860, and located on a farm of forty acres in Northwest township in 1885, where both still reside. He is a Republican in politics and has served as township trustee two terms. In religious belief he and his wife are affiliated with the United Brethren church. To this union, which was solemnized in 1873, there have been born the following children: Alfred R., Seeley C., Mary, Elton, Orpha, Edna and Lulu. Seeley C. served as a private and sergeant in the Spanish-American war. Alfred R. Parker was educated in the public schools of his home county and the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Ind. In addition to farming he is actively and successfully engaged in teaching. In politics he is identified with the Republican party and he is now serving as township clerk. In the work of the Grange he takes an active part. He and wife, to whom he was married on November 8, 1899, are devoted members of the Eagle Creek Presbyterian church. Mrs. Parker, whose name in maidenhood was Miss Lola B. Ricketts, is the daughter of Samuel P. and Rebecca (Heiserman) Ricketts, of Northwest township, the former born in Seneca county, O., on August i8, 1847. Here he owns a farm of one hundred and sixty-two acres. Her grandparents were Thomas W. and Mary E. (Kime) Ricketts, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Virginia. William Ricketts, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Parker, removed from Fairfield county, O., to Seneca county and died there in 1870, aged seventy-seven years. The maternal grandfather of Samuel F. Ricketts was Samuel Kime, a native of Virginia, who came to Ohio in 1824, locating in Seneca county. Here he and his wife ended their days. To the marriage of Alfred R. Parker and wife no children have been born. 508 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY JUDGE PAYNE CALVIN PARKER, deceased, a pioneer of Williams county, was born in the city of London, England. February 28, 1793. He was the son of Calvin and Eliza (Payne) Parker. The Parker family came to America in 1794, when Judge Parker was in his first year, and settled in Pennsylvania, where his parents remained the balance of their days. In 1811 the Judge came west to what is now Northwestern Ohio, and located on eighty acres of land near Napoleon, which he proceeded at once to clear and cultivate. During this time he also practiced medicine and taught school. After a time he sold his land at Napoleon and removed to Defiance, where he practiced medicine and engaged in the mercantile business in partnership with. Colonel Hunt, a pioneer merchant of Toledo. In 1836 Judge Parker removed to what afterwards became the town of Denmark, in Williams county, which town he and Colonel Hunt laid out. Here he engaged in trading with the Indians, and as the country was settled up, in the practice of his profession. Later he devoted all of his time to farming, which occupation he continued on his fine homestead near Edgerton the balance of his life. Judge Parker was very successful in business and used his large means freely in helping those in distress. Whenever there was a failure of crops he would send off for supplies, purchasing them with his own money, and distribute them among the needy. Many a bushel of corn and barrel of pork was distributed among the needy in and about the town of Denmark. He was at one and the same time preacher, elder, judge, physician, merchant and supervisor. The first school of that section was taught in his own home, and in time of much sickness his home became a hospital for the treatment of those who could not be properly treated elsewhere. While living at Defiance he was one of the three associate judges of the Williams county common pleas court, and he continued to serve in that capacity after Defiance was cut off. Soon after coming west Judge Parker was married at Waterville on the Maumee river, to Jane Hunter, a native of Painted Post, now Bath, N. Y., the daughter of John S. and Mary (Mulholland) Hunter, natives of Belfast, Ireland, where they were married. Jane Hunter, the wife of Judge Parker, was a noble woman and an angel of mercy in those pioneer days when neighborly assistance counted for so much. She was a devoted helpmate and took charge of all of Judge Parker's business in his absence. After completing her own housework, many is the time when she would spend the remainder of the day in cooking delicacies and distributing them among the sick and distressed. The weekly religious services were usually held at Judge Parker's, and on such occasions Mrs. Parker always prepared a surprise in the shape of a sumptuous meal. never to be forgotten by those in attendance. No one ever went from her door hungry, and the greatest pleasure of her life was in assisting those in distress. She was a devout Presbyterian and in those days began on Friday to cook and prepare everything so that there would be no work on Sunday, not even so much as the grinding of BIOGRAPHICAL - 509 coffee. The Sabbath was regarded as a sacred day of rest and worship at the home of Judge Parker, and its observance was so strict that it has been said in jest, that Judge Parker wouldn't let his bees work on Sunday. An incident in the life of Judge Parker is the sojourn of Elijah Stoddard, a Presbyterian minister of Ithaca, N. Y., who came with his family to preach the gospel in the wilderness. He was accompanied not only by his family, but also by his brothers and their families. They all entered land in St. Joseph township. About one year after he came Rev. Stoddard took sick and died. The following are the names of the children of Judge Parker and wife: Cyrus and Robinson, both of whom died in infancy: Mary, who died single at the age of twenty-five years; Eliza, who died at the age of eight years; Harriet H., now Mrs. Long, of Bryan; Foreman E. and Aurelia A., twins, the former of whom died at the age of sixteen years, and the latter who married Dr. J. F. Stough and died in 1865; John P., Lucy J., Sophia M. and Ellen A., all of whom died in childhood. Harriet H. (Parker) Long was born on her father's farm on the Maumee river near Napoleon, October 15, 1828. She received a good education in the public and private schools of her home county and also attended a seminary in La Grange county, Ind. On September 4, 1856, she was married to the late Doctor George E. Long, one of the leading physicians and citizens of Williams county. To this marriage the following children were born: Mary J., who was born July 2, 1861, and died July 3, 186r ; Parker, born October ii, 1864, a graduate of Davis Business College of Toledo, who followed the avocation of bookkeeping until his death on November 30, 1902. John P., the third and only remaining child, born January 1, 1866, was educated in the Bryan city schools and in Earlham College, Richmond, Ind., and embarked in the drug business in Bryan in 1894, the style of the firm being White & Long. Since the death of the senior partner in 1895, Mr. Long has been sole proprietor of the Long Drug Company, which drug business has been in the Long family for more than fifty years. On July 17, 1905, Mr. Long was married to Miss Anna, the daughter of the late A. J. Tressler, a well-known banker of Bryan. ELWIN CADWELL PECK, a lawyer of fine ability, until recently was engaged in practice in the city of Bryan, where he held high rank at the bar of his native county and State. He was born in Northwest township, Williams county, O., on the 16th of March, 1864, and is a son of Chauncey S. and Mary (Smith) Peck, the former of whom was born in Utica. N. Y., July 10, 1826, while the latter was born in Hartford, Conn., October 13. 1829. Chauncey Sanford Peck was a son of Sanford and Harriet (Curtis) Peck, who were natives of New Haven, Conn., in which locality the original ancestors took up their abode prior to the war of the Revolution, hating immigrated from England, and for several generations the family was identified principally with agricultural pursuits. The Smith family 510 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY with which Mr. Peck is identified in the maternal line, is likewise of English extraction and was founded in America prior to the Revolution, locating first in Connecticut, whence representatives later removed to Vermont. Champlin Smith was born in Vermont in 1800, being the maternal grandfather of Mr. Peck, and his father sacrificed his life in the war of 1812. Champlin Smith removed from Vermont to Hartford, Conn., where he married Emily Wells, and about 1836 they came to Ohio and settled in Lorain county, near Elyria, where he was engaged in farming about eight years, then removing to Huron county. His wife having died while visiting her daughter in Illinois he passed the closing years of his life in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Peck, in Northwest township, Williams county, where he died in 1892, at the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. Sanford Peck early removed from New England to the state of New York, and after having been there engaged in farming for a number of years he came to Ashland county, O., where he died at the age of seventy-five years. His children were five in number. Chauncey Sanford Peck received a good common school education, having been about ten years of age at the time of his parents' removal from New York to Ohio, and after leaving school he was identified with farming and stock-growing in Huron county until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years. He then removed to Williams county and located in Northwest township, where he had a fine farm and where he devoted special attention to dealing in live stock for many years, his death occurring there in March, 1904. He was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and was a man who ever commanded unqualified confidence and esteem, being upright and honorable in every relation of life. His devoted wife preceded him into eternal rest, her death having occurred in May, 1901. They had five children, namely: Boyd, who died in infancy; Sanford and Blinn, who are representative farmers of Northwest township; Elwin C., whose name initiates this sketch: and Frank, who resides in Montpelier, this county. Elwin C. Peck duly completed the curriculum of the public schools and then entered Hilisdale College, in Hillsdale, Mich., an institution to whose founding and upbuilding his paternal grandfather had been a liberal contributor, and after continuing his studies for a number of semesters in this college he was successfully engaged in teaching in the public schools of Williams county for two years. He then took up the study of law, finally entering the law department of the University of Cincinnati, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1892, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws and being duly admitted to the bar of his native State. His initial professional work was in association with the law firm of Parks & Barber of Toledo, and he later located in Montpelier, in his home county, where he was engaged in practice about six years, at the expiration of which he located in Bryan, the county seat, where he built up a representative business, both as an attorney and counsellor. He was associated in partnership with Charles E. Scott until the 1st of January, 1905, when the partnership was dissolved, and in August, 1905, Mr. Peck removed to Toledo, where BIOGRAPHICAL - 511 he is now successfully engaged in the practice of his profession. Mr. Peck is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and he served nearly a year as prosecuting attorney of Williams county, having been appointed to fill a vacancy. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. On the 23d of December, 1900, Mr. Peck was united in marriage to Miss Ialeen Kelly, daughter of Edward and Mary (Manon) Kelly, of Montpelier, this county, and they have one daughter, Mary Carmen Peck. SANFORD PECK, a successful farmer of Northwest township, Williams county, O., is a native of Northwest township, where he was born on December 5, 1852. His grandparents were Sanford and Harriet (Curtis) Peck, both natives of Connecticut, who removed to Ashland county, O., in pioneer days and there spent the remainder of their lives. Champlin and Emily Smith, his maternal grandparents, were early settlers of Lorain county, O., and in the latter part of his life Mr: Smith removed to Williams county. Here he died, his wife having died while on a visit to a daughter in Illinois. The parents of Sanford Peck were Chauncey and Mary (Smith) Peck, the former a native of New York and the latter of Connecticut. Chauncey Peck came to Williams county, O., in 1852, locating in Northwest township, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. From time to time he added to his original purchase until he owned a farm of four hundred and fifty-five acres. Much of this land had to be cleared by him, as it was heavily timbered. He was an extensive stock-dealer and shipper and was rated one of the best judges of live stock in Williams county. In politics he was identified with the Democratic party. Mr. Peck died on March 29, 1904, his wife having died May 16, 1901. To these parents there were born five children of whom four are still living, Boyd, the eldest, having died in infancy. Those living are: Sanford, Blinn. Elwin C. and Frank. Sanford Peck grew to manhood on the parental farm and was educated in the common schools of his native county. He is a farmer and thresher by occupation and owns one hundred and sixty-seven and one-half acres of fine land. In politics he is a Democrat and he has held the offices of constable, supervisor and tax collector. He is a member of Northwest Lodge, No. 722, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has been twice married. In 1875 he was wedded to Miss Emma Lamb of Williams county, and by her had two children, named Homer and Clara. Sometime after the heath of Mrs. Peck, he married Miss Cora Bechtol, daughter of William and Susan (Mehrling) Bechtol, both of German descent. They are both dead. Their family consisted of five sons and one daughter (the latter being Mrs. Peck), all of whom were born and reared in Northwest township. To Mr. and Mrs. Peck have been born two children. They are: Blanche and Goldie, both at home with their parents. 512 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY JOHN WESLEY PEW, one of the well-known and substantial citizens of Montpelier, was born on a farm in Superior township, just two and one-half miles southeast of Montpelier, in the geographical center of Williams county, on May I, 1845. His paternal and maternal grandparents were among the pioneer settlers of Williams county. He is the son of Richard and Hannah (Starr) Pew, the former a native of New York State and the latter of Pennsylvania. Both are deceased, the father dying in September. 1865. To these parents there were born the following children: Ann E., the wife of Wilson Brubaker of Illinois: John Wesley: Joseph, deceased, who enlisted in the Third Ohio Cavalry and died in Columbus; William, a meat dealer of Montpelier; Elenora, now Mrs. Frank Fidler of Indiana; Albert and Arthur, twins, the former deceased. John Wesley Pew was reared on the farm in Superior township and educated in the public schools. He remained on the farm until his father's death, having practically had charge of it for some time before that sad event. By his father's will he was given the farm, with the proviso that he support his mother during her natural life. Before the Civil war he lived on a farm in Bridgewater township for four years. After working in the stock-raising business for Alfred Riley, he formed a partnership with him in that line, and they conducted the business successfully for many years. In 1889 he and Mr. Riley embarked in the elevator business in Montpelier. A year later he removed to town from the farm and has since resided there. In 1896 this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Pew retiring to engage by himself in the hay and grain business, in which he is still actively employed. He is a Republican in politics and holds membership in the Masonic fraternity and the Methodist Episcopal church. The maiden name of his wife was Agnes Allman, a native of Ohio. To this union there have been born the following children: Ralph, a resident of Ft. Wayne, Ind., who married Miss Orpha Travis, by whom he has two children, John Maxwell and Louisa; Cora, a stenographer, who has resided in Detroit for ten years; Carrie, the wife of Fenton Gall, an employee in the civil service department of the government at Washington, D. C. Mr. and Mrs. Gall are the parents of one daughter, Olive Agnes. TAYLOR PRIEST, a thrifty and successful farmer of St. Joseph township, was born in Holmes county, O., August 24, 1849. He is the son of Levi and Ellen Priest, both natives of Holmes county. In 1851 they removed to Bryan, where the latter died the same year and the former in 1855. They were the parents of six children, of whom four are living. By his first wife Levi Priest had eight children, all deceased. Taylor Priest began life's battle by working first four years for William Ayers on a farm northwest of Bryan. Then for a like period he worked for H. H. Ensign. The next eleven years he was in the employ of Judge George Edward Long, serving five years on the four hundred-acre farm near Denmark, St. BIOGRAPHICAL - 513 Joseph township. Having carefully hoarded his earnings, he was enabled to buy a farm of forty acres in St. Joseph township, two mile's north of Edgerton, to which he has added at different times thirty-six acres, making a total of seventy-six acres. By dint of hard, earnest work and rigid economy he has fully paid for his farm. This farm he has also fully equipped with all the necessary buildings. In politics he is identified with the Republican party, and he can boast of the fact that he has never aspired to public office. While extremely liberal in his religious views he has ever been ready and will -ing to aid any church calling upon him for assistance. On March 24, 1872, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Henry, born in Canton, O., February 15, 1845, the daughter of David and Catherine (Moore) Henry, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Germany. They were married in Stark county, O., and first removed from that county to Henry county and after two years to Williams county, where he died on the old homestead, four miles south of Stryker, February 21, 1863, aged forty-eight years. His widow, after her husband's death made her home in Stryker until within four weeks of her death, when she came to the home of Taylor Priest. She had always said that she wanted to die at his home, and when she took sick she requested to be carried on a cot to the home she longed to die in. She died March 8, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Henry were the parents of eight children, of whom four sons and two daughters are living. To Taylor Priest and wife four children have been born. They are: Emma, educated in the public schools, and the wife of William Stotze, formerly of St. Joseph township but now a resident of Edgerton; George Edward, a farmer; John Parker, a farmer, and Harriet Ellen, now the wife of Don Thompson and residing at Hicksville, O. All received a fair public school education. ISAIAH W. PRESSLER, a prominent and successful attorney of Montpelier, Williams county, O., was born on the parental farm, in Richland county, O., near the village of Olivesburg, on January 15, 1864. He is of German descent, his great-grandfather having been born in Germany. His grandfather, Stephen Pressler, a native of Center county, Pa., was a miller by trade, who married in 1815 Susan Kuhns, a native of the same county. Emigrating to Ohio about the year 1820, they located in Richland county, entering the last piece of government land, subject for entry in that county. His wife died in 1860; he then disposed of his farm and in 1864 removed to Iowa, and soon after to the neighborhood of Winamac, Pulaski county, Ind., where he remained one year. His health failing, he disposed of his property there and returned to Richland county, O., dying there in the year 1866. Samuel Pressler, 33 514 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY father of the subject of this sketch, was born on the ancestral farm in Richland county, where he grew to manhood. Learning the carpenter trade, he followed the double occupation of carpentering and farming until the year 1868, when he came to Williams county, where he located on a farm in Superior township, and there he has since resided. In religious matters he is identified with the Church of God. The lady of his choice for a helpmeet in life's journey was Miss Kezia C. Weir, a native of Stark county, O., whose great-grandfather was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, being one of the unfortunates who were captured by the British and imprisoned in one of their infamous prison ships in New York harbor. Mrs. Pressler died in August, 1898. To this marriage were born three sons: Isaiah W.; Hiram M., born July 22, 1865, now a practicing physician at Cullom, Livingston county, Illinois; and Henry A., born in Williams county, August 22, 1869, now a resident of Illinois, where he has practiced veterinary surgery in the village of Fairbury, Livingston county, since the year 1894. Isaiah W. Pressler grew to manhood on the homestead in Superior township and was educated in the public schools of the township, the Montpelier high school, the Fayette, O., Normal, the Normal University at Ada, O., and the Tri-State Normal at Angola, Ind., in the meantime following the avocation of teacher. In 1894 he began the study of law in the Sprague Correspondence School, of Detroit, Mich. After graduating from this school he entered the law department of the Indiana Normal at Valparaiso, Ind., and in June, 1896, received the degree of LL.D. from that institution. On June 3d of that year he was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Indiana, and on June 9th, of the same year, passed the examination held by the Supreme Court at Columbus, O., and was admitted to practice by said court on June 11th. In November, 1896, he formed a partnership with T. V. Maier and for seven months practiced the profession at Goshen, Ind. On the dissolution of this firm, in 1897, he removed to Montpelier and, on September 15th, began the practice that he has since so successfully conducted. In addition to his law practice Mr. Pressler has clone a large and lucrative real estate business. In 1898 he was appointed mayor of Montpelier, and it is needless to state that he performed the duties of that office with credit to himself as well as to the city. On November 7th, 1891, he was married to Miss Clara Phillips, a native of Superior township and a daughter of John Phillips. She died May 3rd, 1896, and on October 8th, 1901, Mr. Pressler was united in marriage to Miss Martha A. Hays, daughter of James and Catharine Hays of Northwest township. Mrs. Pressler was born on the old homestead in Northwest BIOGRAPHICAL - 515 township, on July 16th, 1869. She is of Irish descent, her grandparents all having emigrated from Ireland about the year 1816. She attended the district school in Northwest township until the age of fourteen, when she successfully passed the county examination and received license to teach school. After attending the Fayette Normal the following winter she began the occupation of teaching, in which she continued for ten years, having taught twenty-two terms. Mr. and Mrs. Pressler have a modern home on Main street in Montpelier, and a happy and successful career seems to be before them. VOLNEY POWERS.—Still residing on the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, a part of which he bought forty-eight years ago when the land was covered with heavy timber and wholly unimproved, Volney Powers, of Quaker ancestry, is today recognized as one of the most successful and progressive farmers of Northwest township. He is the grandson of Josiah and Hannah Powers, the former a pioneer settler of Ontario county, N. Y., where he died, and the latter a native of New York, who removed to Steuben county, Ind., where she ended her days. His parents were Stephen and Mary Anti (Campbellll) Powers, both natives of New York, the former born in Ontario county and the latter in Allegheny county. Stephen Powers grew to manhood on a farm and was educated is the common schools. In 1837 he removed from New York State to Indiana, locating on a tract of eighty acres of timbered land in Steuben county. This land he partly cleared and improved, and then sold it and bought one hundred and sixty acres in the same township, which he partly improved, and then selling this farm he purchased a larger tract of land in Clear Lake township, on which he was residing when the Civil war broke out. During that great conflict he served with credit as a private in Company A of the Forty-fourth Indiana volunteer infantry. In addition to farming he was quite active and very successful as a surveyor in Steuben county, and taught school during the winter for about fifty years. In politics he was a Democrat, holding for some time the position of surveyor of Steuben county. Later he removed to Antrim county, Mich., where he died on October 5, 1872, survived by his widow until February 7, 1883. Volney Powers was born in Steuben county, Ind., on March 17, 1838. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. This training was supplemented by the instruction that he received from his father. At the age of eighteen years he began to teach, following that occupation for seven terms. In 1858 he purchased a farm of eighty acres in Northwest township, to which during the Civil war period he added a like number of acres, making a total of one hundred and sixty acres in the farm. In answer to his country's call for defenders, he enlisted in the Seventh Michigan volunteer infantry, in which he served over two years, and then he was commissioned as second lieutenant in the First Michigan colored troops. Later he was promoted to first lieutenant and held that position until the close of the war. His 516 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY command took part in the battle of Honey Hill, S. C., and in a number of skirmishes. In a skirmish at Swift Creek, S. C., he was wounded in the left hand. The fact that he was twice promoted, the first time from the ranks, proves that he was a brave soldier. In public affairs he has always taken a deep interest, having served as township clerk, justice of the peace and notary public. He is a Republican and with his wife a member of the Presbyterian church. On April i8, 1866, he was married, the iady of his choice being Miss Mattie Kimmell, born in Richland county, O., July 27, 1848. She is the daughter of Adam and Eliza (Culbertson) Kimmell of Northwest township. Eight children have been born to these parents, all of whom are living. They are: Ellen, now Mrs. Emery Bunce; Viola, the wife of Lee E. Amidon, principal of the Iron Mountain, Mich., public schools; Oliver, a resident of Lawton, O. T.; Jennie, the wife of Henry Sines of Northwest township; Stephen A., of Northwest township; Vada, the wife of John Redfield, superintendent of schools at Wiltshire, O.; Clyde V., a graduate of Berkley high school, California, and now a student of Michigan University; and Mary, still at home. JAMES F. REASONER, proprietor of a general store in Edgerton, is of Dutch descent and traces his ancestors back to the time of the settlement of New Netherlands. At that time two brothers of the Reasoner family came to what is now New York and there separated, one going South and the other locating in Dutchess county, where Talmond Reasoner, the grandfather of James F. Reasoner, was born in 1790. Talmond Reasoner removed to Millcreek township, Williams county, in 1837, where he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Alvordton. The fact that he filled several township offices proves that he took an active part in public affairs. He was the father of nine children, six sons and three daughters, named as follows: Joseph, Daniel, Jane, George, Peter, Mercia, Jacob, James B., and Elizabeth. The year 1864 records his death at Bryan. His father served in the Revolutionary war and took part in the battle of White Plains. When eighty-four years old he met with au accident that resulted in his death. Joseph, the eldest son of Talmond Reasoner, was a prominent man in his time, having taught school and having filled the office of commissioner of Williams county for a number of years. He served as justice of the peace of Millcreek and Franklin townships for twenty-eight years. Jacob, another son, and Mrs. Elizabeth Borden, a daughter, both residents of Adrian, Mich., are the only ones of the family now living. James B. Reasoner, the father of James F., grew to manhood on his father's farm near Alvordton and in 1849 went to California, where for two and one half years he worked with considerable success in the gold mines. Returning to Ohio he located at Bryan, where he conducted a hotel and livery business until his death in 1864, aged thirty-five years. James F. Reasoner, the subject of this sketch, was born in Bryan in 1864, and when four years old came to Edgerton, where he BIOGRAPHICAL - 517 was reared and educated. As a boy be clerked for George Heiwig and other parties for several years. In 1888 he started in business for himself at Edon and remained there seven years. Then he embarked in the general store business in Edgerton, in which he has been very successfully engaged for the past eight years. Mr. Reasoner is an enthusiastic Odd Fellow, doing all that he possibly can to strengthen the organization in his home city. His only sister, Mrs. Ada Lindermuth, resides at Brentwood, Ark. He married Miss Alice Mast, the daughter of John Mast, Sr., of Edgerton, and to this union has been born one child, Arthur, a lad of fifteen years who is a pupil in the public schools. WILLIAM H. RICE, a prosperous farmer and prominent citizen of Northwest township, was born in Butler county, Pa., March 7, 1527. He is the son of John and Rachel (Lambert) Rice, both natives of Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Henry Rice, a native of Pennsylvania, was a valiant soldier in the war of 1812, and died in his native county. John Rice was a farmer, a Democrat, and with his wife a member of the Lutheran church. He died in Butler county and his widow in Hillsdale county, Mich. William H. Rice was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his native county. Having learned the carpenter trade he followed that occupation for five years. In 1845 he removed to Medina county, O., and twelve years later he removed to Williams county, and located on a farm. In 1852 he purchased eighty acres of land and proceeded at once to clear and improve it, and several years later he erected a fine barn and a substantial house on this land. To his original purchase he, in 1872, added eighty acres, and later gave a like number of acres to his son Leander. In politics he was in early life a Democrat, but afterwards joined the ranks of the Republican party. At present, however, he is actively identified with the Populist party. In 1847 he was joined in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Matilda Reich, a native of Pennsylvania. Of the nine children that have been born to William H. Rice and wife seven died while quite young. Stephen married Miss Sophronia McClain and by her had four children, two of whom, Elby and Harry, are living. Stephen died in Williams county about 1880, and Leander, the only living child, is a resident of Minnesota, where he is engaged in general farming. He married Miss Emma Case and by her has had the following children Charley, Annie, James, Clayton and Lewis Guy. JOHN M. RICHARD, one of the venerable and highly esteemed citizens of Stryker, where he has maintained his home for more than two score years, is one of those valiant souls who have risen to a plane of independence through personal effort along legitimate avenues of industry and enterprise; and he is now living practically retired, enjoying that dignified repose which properly crowns a life of usefulness and honor. Mr. Richard is a native of France and was born on the 16th of August, 1824, being a son of Joseph and Rose 518 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY (Dudee) Richard, both of whom were born and reared in France, where the father followed the vocation of coal mining until 1832, when he immigrated with his family to America, the voyage being made on a sailing vessel and .being fifty-five days in duration. The family disembarked in the city of New Orleans, whence they went to Cincinnati, later to Wellsville, Columbiana county, and finally to Stark county. There the father lived sixteen years, being variously employed, and he then, in 1848, came to Williams county, where he secured twenty acres of wild land in section 14. Springfield township, clearing this place of its native timber, while later he purchased a place of one hundred and sixty acres, and still later an adjoining eighty acres, at a cost of thirteen hundred dollars, this land having been partially reclaimed and having been improved with modest buildings. Joseph Richard continued to he actively engaged in farming on this place until 1853, when he traded it for an eighty acre farm on Brush creek in Springfield township, after which he sold the eighty acres and bought a farm of forty acres adjoining the village of Stryker, where he resided until 1857, when he sold it and resided for a number of years with John Chappius and Frank Flory (both of whom were his sons-in-law), after which he spent the remainder of his days with his daughter, Jane Brown, and died at her home in Stryker on June 19, 1884, his wife having died in Stark county, O., in 1847. Both were devoted members of the Catholic church. Of their six children John M. was the first born; Louise is the wife of Joseph Flory (deceased), and resides in German township, Fulton county; Virginia is the wife of John Chappius, who resides near Stryker; Jane, who is the widow of Frank Brown, likewise resides in Stryker; Sophia, who became the wife of John Meek, of Stryker, is deceased; and Josephine, who was the wife of Frank Flory, is deceased. John M. Richard was about eight years of age at the time of the family immigration to America, and his early educational advantages were very limited in scope, being confined to a brief attendance in a subscription school in Stark county, O. He remained at the parental home, assisting in providing for the family, until he was seventeen years of age. and then began an apprenticeship at the trade of carpenter and joiner, in Robertsville. Stark county, serving three years and becoming a skilled workman. Thereafter he followed his trade one year in Canton and Massillon, Stark county, after which he went to Pittsburg, Pa. Not being able to find profitable work there he went into Virginia, visiting various places, in search of employment, and finally securing work in Portsmouth, O., where he remained three months. He then passed four months in Cincinnati, after which he was in Louisville, Ky., for a short interval, later visiting Cairo, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo., in which latter city he was employed in the shipyards for three months. He passed the ensuing eight months in New Orleans, La., whence he returned to Cincinnati, and two months later returned to Stark county. In 1848 he came with his father to Williams county, shortly afterward going to Defiance, where he maintained his home until 1861, in the mean- BIOGRAPHICAL - 519 while having been employed on the Miami canal in the capacity of a carpenter for fully a decade. In 1861 Mr. Richard came to Stryker, where he has since maintained his residence, and where he has done a large amount of excellent work as a carpenter and joiner, having erected many buildings in this section, while he has also done considerable work as a millwright. He is a man who has worked indefatigably, and through this means he has accumulated a competency, being the owner of good property in Stryker, besides farm property in the county. In politics he is a Republican so far as national issues are concerned, but in local affairs he supports the men and measures approved by his judgment, regardless of partisan lines. To him is accorded the uniform respect and esteem of the community, and he stands as an exponent of useful and upright citizenship. In Defiance, this state, November 20, 1849, Mr. Richard was united in marriage to Miss Catherine A. Miller, who was born in Crawford county, O., and they have six children: Elizabeth resides in the city of Chicago; Ida is the wife of John Shaffer, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; John is a successful carpenter and builder of Stryker; Samuel is a resident of Bryan, and is a mover of buildings; Alvaro is a carpenter by vocation and resides in Stryker; and Claude remains at the parental home. JOSEPH RIES, a successful farmer and dealer in live stock of Florence township, was born in Seneca county, O., on June 1, 1845. He is of German descent, his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Etcher) Ries, having both been born in Germany. His maternal grandfather was Frank Etcher, a native of Germany, who came to America, locating in Seneca county, O., in an early day. Here he spent the remainder of his days. Joseph Ries, Sr., emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in Seneca county, where he carried on general farming until his death. He was a Democrat in politics and with his wife a member of the Roman Catholic church. He died on March 25, 1892, aged seventy-eight years, and his widow in September, 1899, aged eighty-four years. Of the eight children born to them, two daughters and four sons are still living. Joseph Ries, Jr., was reared on a farm and received such an education as the common schools of Seneca county afforded in that early day. In 1867 he removed to Williams county and located on a farm of one hundred acres in Florence township. He at once began to clear this land and to bring it to a high state of cultivation. The buildings erected on it by him are of a substantial character, answering every purpose of a well equipped farm. Some time after his purchase he added forty acres to the farm, but subsequently sold a like number of acres, leaving his farm the same size as originally. General farming and stock-raising engaged all of his time and attention. Joseph Ries is a Democrat in politics and with his wife a member of the Roman Catholic church. In 1867, in Defiance, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Baker, a native of Henry county, and the daughter of Andrew and Anna (Wertz) Baker, both natives of Germany, who emigrated to America 520 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY and settled in Henry county, O., where their daughter Anna was born on April i8, 180. In 1857 the family removed to Defiance, where the father died in 1899, aged eighty-four years, and his widow in April, 1901, aged eighty-one years. He was a Democrat in politics and with his wife a member of the Roman Catholic church. Of the nine children born to them only three are living. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Ries were David and Mary Baker, both natives of Germany, who settled in Henry county, O., where his wife died in 1855, aged forty years, and he in 1875 at the ripe old age of ninety-five years. To the marriage of Joseph Ries and wife there have been born ten children, of whom six are living. Their names follow: Ellen (deceased), Mary (deceased). Agnes (deceased). George, Ida, Henry (deceased), Robert, Flora, Julia and Alice. WILLIAM E. RILEY, a prominent grain and coal merchant of Montpelier, was born in Bridgewater township on September 3, 1867. He is the son of Alfred and Eliza (Kollar) Riley, the former a native of Stark county and the latter of Wayne county, both in Ohio. His grandparents were John and Drusilla (Carr) Riley, both natives of Stark county. Few men of Williams county were better known or more highly respected than was the late Alfred Riley, who during his lifetime was a prosperous farmer of Superior and Bridgewater townships and who was twice honored with election to the all-important and responsible office of county commissioner. In 1845 Alfred Riley removed from his native county to Williams county. In 1855, having in the meantime married, he purchased a farm of fifty acres in Superior township and established his home there until 1862, when he sold this farm and purchased another of one hundred and forty acres in Bridgewater township. Here he resided, following general farming, until 1888, and then removed to Montpelier, where he died ten years later. In politics he was actively and prominently identified with the Republican party, having creditably filled various township offices prior to 1880, when he was elected county commissioner. In 1883 he was renominated for that office, and so satisfactory had been his conduct in the office the preceding term, and so fully did he enjoy the confidence of the people that he was again elected, although at that election the Republican party met its Waterloo, the entire ticket. with the single exception of Alfred Riley, going down in disastrous defeat. He served in the Thirty-eighth Ohio regiment; was an Odd Fellow, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 18S5 he was wedded to Miss Eliza Kollar, who was born in Wayne county, O., and died in February, 19o4. This union resulted in the birth of the following children: Lenora, the wife of G. B. Williams of Bridgewater township: Emma, who died unmarried at the age of twenty years; Ella, now Mrs. James O. Coler of Montpelier; Lida, the wife of A. F. Brigle, of Florence township; William E., and Cora B., the wife of Cooper Farlee, of Montpelier. William E. Riley grew to manhood on the parental farm and removed to Montpelier, where he, in partnership BIOGRAPHICAL - 521 with his father, engaged in the grain elevator business, and, upon the death of the latter, succeeded to the entire ownership. In addition to buying and selling grain he also deals largely in coal. He is a member of the city council and of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Miss Eva Bailey, a native of Bridgewater township and the daughter of John and Hannah (Parker) Bailey, became his wife. To Mr. and Mrs. Riley one daughter, Thelma Josephine, has been born. GEORGE C. RINGS is a representative of one of the oldest and most distinguished pioneer families of Williams county, and the thriving little city of West Unity, where he is successfully engaged in the practice of law, is located on land secured by his paternal grandfather from the government more than seventy years ago. Mr. Rings has served two terms as mayor of West Unity, and is one of its popular young business men, as well as one of the representative younger members of the bar of the county. He was born in West Unity, on the 4th of December, 1872. His father, Judge George Rings, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., April 25, 1834, and is a son of John Rings who was born in the same county, in 1804. There the latter wedded Anna Brinker, native of the same county. Michael Rings, father of John, was a native of Germany, as was also his wife, whose maiden name was Albrecht, and they came to America in an early day and became numbered among the sterling pioneers of Westmoreland county, Pa., where they continued to reside during the remainder of their lives. John Rings came with his family to Williams county, Ohio, in 1834, and he here secured three hundred and twenty acres of land in Brady township. taking up his residence on the property in 1835. On a portion of this tract he platted the village of West Unity in 1842, reclaimed a considerable portion of his land to cultivation, and was one of the most highly esteemed and most influential citizens of the county at the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of April, 1855. His first wife died August 25, 1840, and of their four children Judge George Rings is the only one now living. John Rings married as his second wife Mrs. Rachel Hanzy, of Williams county, her maiden name having been Clifton, and she survived him by a number of years. They became the parents of six children, of whom two are living, Mrs. Anna Sindle and Mrs. Harriet Spade. One son, William C., enlisted for service in the Union ranks when seventeen years of age and died while in the army, at Murfreesboro, Tenn. John Rings was the first justice of the peace of Brady township, was county commissioner in 1837, and he was twice elected county treasurer, of which office he was incumbent at the time of his death. He was a man of much force and initiative power and did much to further the development and material and civic advancement of his township and county. He was associated in the ownership of the first sawmill and the first grist-mill in West Unity, and at the time of his demise was engaged in the general merchandise business in the town which he had thus founded. Judge George Rings received 522 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY a good common-school education, having been a pupil in the first school house erected in Brady township. He early became actively concerned in the reclamation and development of the homestead farm, and he has ever since continued to be identified with the agricultural interests of the county, owning at the present time a most valuable landed estate of two hundred acres, a considerable portion of which lies within the corporate limits of the village of West Unity, where he has lived practically retired for the past twelve years. August 6, 1862, he tendered his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as a private in Company C, One Hundredth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he was made first lieutenant and appointed adjutant. At Limestone Station, Tenn., on the 8th of September, 1863, he was captured, and was held for eight months in Libby prison, after which he was transferred to Danville prison, later being removed to Macon, Ga., and finally to Charleston, S. C., where, with about twelve hundred soldiers, he was placed under fire of the Union batteries then bombarding the city. This continued for a month, within which time yellow fever broke out in the locality, and in September, 1864, he was taken to Columbia, S. C., where he succeeded in making his escape, finding his way to the Union ranks and joining Sherman's army in front of Savannah, Ga. He had been promoted to captain of his company while he was in prison, and after his escape he was granted a furlough of thirty days, having gone from Savannah to New York city and thence to Washington. At the expiration of his furlough he rejoined his regiment at Wilmington, N. C., remaining in active service thereafter until the close of the war. He was mustered out in North Carolina and received his honorable discharge in Cleveland, Ohio. The more gracious memories and associations of his faithful military career are perpetuated through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. Judge Rings has ever been a stalwart in the camp of the Democracy, and has been an active worker in the party cause. In 1858 he was nominated for the office of county auditor and was defeated by a small majority, but in 1877 he was elected to the above-named office by a flattering vote, and he has held other positions of public trust, in which his preferment has indicated the high esteem in which he is held in the county. In 1887 he was elected probate judge, and re-elected in 1890, serving in such capacity for a period of six years. Judge Rings has been a potent factor in local affairs, political, social and industrial, and he assisted in the building of the flour and woolen mills in West Unity, having been at one time proprietor of both; while his personal influence and capitalistic support has been given to other enterprises and to measures advanced for the general good of the community. He and his wife are prominent and zealous members of the Presbyterian church. February 16, 1871, Judge Rings was united in marriage to Kate L. (Casebeer) Miller, widow of James H. Miller and a daughter of James Casebeer, who was a prominent citizen of Hicksville, Defiance county, Ohio. BIOGRAPHICAL - 523 She had one son by her first marriage, James Haywood Miller, who was born June 29, 1867, and who is now cashier of the West Unity Banking Company. Judge and Mrs. Rings became the parents of five children, of whom the eldest is George C., the immediate subject of this sketch. Mary E. was born May 25, 1874, now residing in West Unity with her parents; John Edward, born July 20, 1875, is now a resident of Jackson, Mich.; William C., born March 9, 1877, died April 21, 1882; and Lucy A., born April 6, 1878, is the wife of William A. Hollington, assistant cashier of the West Unity Banking Company. George C. Rings completed a course in the West Unity high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1889, and be then entered the literary department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, after which he was matriculated in the law department of the same famous institution, being graduated as a member of the class of 1893 and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He forthwith established himself in the practice of his profession in West Unity, and his native town and county have afforded him a field for most successful professional work, while he also gives attention to the management of his father's business interests. He is a stanch Democrat in his political allegiance, and he has served two terms as mayor of his native city, giving a most acceptable administration; and in a fraternal way he is identified with Superior Lodge No. 179, Free and Accepted Masons, and Evergreen Lodge No. 637, Knights of Pythias. February 9, 1895, Mr. Rings was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Allen, who was born in the state of Maine, being a daughter of John and Alice (Lane) Allen, both of whom were likewise .natives of the Pine Tree state, and the latter now resides in West Unity, her husband having died in Williams county. He was long identified with the lumbering industry. Mr. and Mrs. Rings have four children, whose names and dates of birth are here entered: James Allen, born November 29, 1897; Margaret Alice, July 27, 1899; Catherine Anna, October 9, 1901 ; George Edward, July 9, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Rings are members of the Presbyterian church. DAVID ROBISON, a representative farmer and prominent citizen of Millcreek township, is a native of the old Buckeye State, which has been his home from the time of his birth. He was born in Richland county, Ohio, on the 27th of October, 1848, and is a son of Elliott and Rosanna (Walkup) Robison. His father was born in Cumberland county, Pa., where he was reared to maturity and where he learned the carpenter trade. In company with his first wife, Mary (Cassette) Robison, he moved from Pennsylvania to Richland county, O., in the spring of 1834, where he followed his trade until 1854. To them were born five children, Jane, Samuel, Robert, George and Mary, all of whom are dead except Robert, who is living in Bridgewater township, Williams county, Ohio. Mary, wife of Elliott Robison, died on the 14th day of 524 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY June, 1840. He then married Miss Rosanna Walkup, who bore him five children, James, Martha, Mary Louisa, David and Franklin, all of whom are deceased except David. Mary Louisa married Amos Sayers, and to them was born one daughter, Jenny S., who married Wilkes Turbette, who is now living in Millcreek township. Mary Louisa died May 18, 1898. Elliott Robison moved to Williams county, Ohio, and located on a farm which constitutes a portion of the fine homestead, now owned by his son David, subject of this sketch. Elliott Robison reclaimed his farm from the virgin wilds and remained on it until his death, which occurred on December 30, 1864, his funeral occurring on New Year's day of the year 1865. His second wife passed away in 1859, both having been consistent members of the church. In politics he was a staunch Democrat, though never an aspirant for office. David Robison remained at the parental hone until he was fifteen years of age, in the meanwhile attending the district schools in a somewhat irregular way. After leaving home he was variously employed working by the day and month until he was twenty-three years of age. On the 1st of February, 1872, Mr. Robison was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Crum, the marriage being solemnized at Ganges, Richland county. She was born in Millcreek township, Williams county, June 12, 1851, being a daughter of John and Catherine (Clay) Cruin, the former of whom was born on a farm six miles east of Shelby, in Richland county, Ohio, on the 1st of March, 1820, while his death occurred August 24, too. He was a son of Jacob Crum, who was born in Huntingdon county, Pa., on the 4th of August. 1789. He married Elizabeth Keith and they settled on a primitive farm in Richland county, Ohio, in 1815, having been numbered among the sterling pioneers of that section and having there passed the remainder of their lives, becoming the parents of seven sons and one daughter. Their son John was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Clay on the 2d of November, 1848, and of the union was born eight children, of whom four are living, Mrs. Robison being the eldest of the survivors. Mr. and Mrs. Robison became the parents of three children, the second having been a son who died in infancy. Eva Bell, who was born May 25, 1874, is now the wife of William C. Leist and they reside in Fulton county, Ohio. Mary Catherine, who was born on October 2, 1882, is the wife of Virtle Dean, and they reside on the Robison homestead. Upon the death of his father, in 1864, Mr. Robison came into possession of the old homestead, comprising eighty acres, and he has since added fifty-eight acres to its area, so that the place now comprises one hundred and thirty-eight acres. The farm is one of the best in Williams county, being under most effective cultivation, and being improved with a fine brick residence, substantial modern barn and other excellent buildings. The farm is thoroughly equipped with a system of tile drainage and gives evidence of thrift and good management on every side. Mr. Robison gives his undivided attention to the work and BIOGRAPHICAL - 525 management of his fine landed estate. and is one of the popular citizens of the community. He and his wife are zealous members of the Christian Union church, in which he holds the office of deacon. while he has been most successful in his work as a revivalist. That he follows his conscientious convictions in a practical, as well as theoretical, way is shown in the staunch support he gives to the Prohibition party, of whose principles he is an uncompromising advocate. CARLETON S. ROE, editor and publisher of the "Press," of Bryan. has brought this old and popular journal up to a high standard of excellence, both as an exponent of local interests and of the principles of the Republican party, as well as in the matter of letter press and general makeup. The "Press" is the oldest paper of this section of the State, dating its inception back to 1854, and it has passed through several changes in ownership within the half century of its existence, Mr. Roe having been identified with its publication since 1889. He was born in Buchanan, Berrien county. Mich., on the 27th of June, 1864. and is a son of Rev. William M. and Harriet (Whitman) Roe, the father having been an able and prominent member of the clergy of the Christian or Disciples' church, in whose active ministry he labored long and faithfully. The Roe family has been established in America for at least four generations, and its representatives have been most numerous on Long Island, N. Y., where the original American progenitors settled. Carleton S. Roe secured his early educational discipline in the public schools of the various cities in which his parents resided during his youth. He spent two years in the schools of Davenport, Ia., and in 1882 was graduated in the high school at Dowagiac, Mich. He taught school in Cass county, Mich., about one year, and then went to St. Joseph. that State, where he devoted two years to learning the jewelry and watchmaking business. This occupation, however, could not prove satisfactory to one of so alert mentality and intellectual grasp, and in 1884 Mr. Roe came to Bryan and took up the study of law in the office of Hiram H. Calvin, who was mayor of the city at that time. In 1888 he was admitted to the bar and he forthwith entered into partnership with his honored preceptor. with whom he was engaged in practice for one' year. At the expiration of this period, in June. 1889, he associated himself with James H. Letcher and purchased the plant and business of the "Press," which they continued to publish under the firm name of Letcher & Roe until March 1, 1896, Mr. Roe presiding at the editorial helm. The partnership was then dissolved by the retirement of Mr. Letcher, whose interest was acquired by Mr. Roe, and the latter gentleman has since been the sole owner of the paper and business. The "Press" is published on Thursday of each week, as a seven-column quarto, and its circulation is large and representative, since it is a welcome visitor in the best homes of this section. The plant is mod- 526 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY ern in equipment and facilities, including an excellent job department, and the business is ably managed and duly profitable. Mr. Roe is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party and his sentiments are ably voiced in the columns of his paper. He is a vigorous and forceful writer, keeps his paper up to a metropolitan standard in its subject matter, and he is one of the most loyal and public-spirited citizens of the county, and is prominent in the local councils of the Republican party. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. October 25, 1888, Mr. Roe was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Moore, daughter of Samuel C. and Lovina (White) Moore, of Bryan, and they have two children, James M., born June 14, 1890, and Marjorie M., born September 17, I892. FRANCIS ROSENDAUL stands as a type of that sterling element which the great empire of Germany has contributed to the American republic, and he has been a resident of the latter from his early childhood, being thoroughly American in spirit, thought and action. He is one of the substantial farmers of Pulaski township and is well entitled to representation in this publication. Mr. Rosendaul was born in Westphalia, Germany, in August, 1832, and is a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Metz) Rosendaul, both of whom were born and reared in that same province, where the father was in modest circumstances up to the time of his immigration to America, in 1836. He and his little family made the voyage on a sailing vessel, the trip being long and wearisome, and they finally disembarked in New York city. From New York they proceeded to Buffalo, whence they came to Youngstown, Ohio, the father finding employment in connection with canal construction, eventually removing to Columbiana county, where he remained until 1853, when he came to Wiliams county and purchased eighty acres of wild land in section 24, Pulaski township. He built a log house of the type common to the pioneer era and then essayed the herculean task of clearing his farm and placing it under cultivation.. For nearly a score of years he lived on the homestead, developing a good farm and attaining a position of independence. Here he died in the year 1872, his wife having passed away in 1860, both having been communicants of the Catholic church, while in politics he gave his allegiance to the Democratic party until the formation of the Republican party, when he espoused its cause, ever afterward remaining a staunch advocate of its principles. This honored pioneer couple became the parents of four children, namely: Francis, whose name initiates this sketch; Bennett, who died in this county, where he was a successful farmer; Sophia, who is the wife of William Kaiser, of Bryan; and Maria, who is the wife of Uriah Tawney, residing near Portland, Ore. Francis Rosendaul was afforded the advantages of the common schools of Ohio in the pioneer days, having conned his lessons in the primitive log BIOGRAPHICAL - 527 school house, and he remained on the parental homestead for three years after the removal of the family to Williams county. He then married, and for the ensuing period of about four years he worked at the carpenter trade and taught school during the winter terms. In 1860 he purchased forty acres of land in section 13, Pulaski township, the entire tract being covered with the native timber, and he has developed here one of the fine farms of the county, the area of his place at the present time being one hundred and twenty acres, while he has made excellent improvements in the way of buildings and modern utilities and is recognized as ,one of the progressive and substantial farmers and stock-growers of the county. He is a stalwart Republican in his political proclivities, and both he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church. In 1863 Mr. Rosendaul manifested his loyalty to the Union by enlisting as a member of Company H, Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. He was taken ill after the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and for a time was confined in the hospital at Chattanooga, after which he took part in the battle of Nashville, returning to Chattanooga in the spring of 1865, and thence proceeding with his command to North Carolina, when he was again incapacitated by illness. In July, 1865, he was with his regiment in Louisville, Ky., and received his honorable discharge at the close of the war. His devoted wife looked after the interests of the homestead farm during the time of his absence as a soldier of the Union. In 1856 Mr. Rosendaul was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Partee, of Williams county. She was the daughter of James and Lotta (Read) Partee, old and respected residents of Defiance county, Ohio, where they continued to reside until their respective deaths. They were the parents of three children: Nancy, who is the widow of Solomon Wisler, residing in Defiance county; John, deceased, and Margaret. Thirteen children have been born of this union, eleven of whom are living. Matilda is the wife of Harvey Cline, of Stryker, O.; James, who married Miss Nancy Davis, is a prosperous farmer of Pulaski township; John resides in Ashley, Ind., where he is yardmaster for the Wabash Railroad; Minerva and Elizabeth are deceased; William is a successful farmer of Pulaski township; Diana is the wife of David Shaffer, of this township: Alice is the wife of Frank Meyers, of Center township; Daniel and Lemuel reside in Strvker, O.; Charles has charge of the old homestead farm, and Olive is the wife of Asa Huff, of Pulaski township. PRESTON ROSE, general superintendent of the Oak Manufacturing Company of Edgerton, to which position he has recently been promoted from that of foreman of the basket department, is the descendant of a prominent Pennsylvania family. He is the son of John A. and Betsey M. (Handy) Rose, who emigrated from Pennsylvania to Indiana and settled on a farm near the town of 528 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY Butler. John Rose, the grandfather of Preston Rose, was a very successful farmer in the Keystone state. In 1876, John A. Rose, having disposed of his farm in Indiana at a considerable profit, removed to Minnesota, where he resided four years, when he sold out and came to Edgerton, and purchased the woolen mill located there, and conducted it successfully until his death in March, 1904. Alfred Rose, a brother of John A. Rose, served with distinction in the Civil war. Preston Rose attended the public schools until ten years of age, when he began to work in his father's mill. He continued in this business until twelve years ago, when he became an employe in a basket factory, and in 1902 engaged with the Oak Manufacturing Company as foreman of their basket department. After he had served this company faithfully for three years as foreman, he was promoted to the responsible position of superintendent of the entire plant, which position he now holds. One hundred and thirty men are regularly employed by this company, and its products, consisting of one hundred different styles of baskets, are shipped to all sections of the country. As a matter of course, this success is largely due to the executive ability and the good business sense of the superintendent. He has been frugal in life, and so well remunerated for his services that he has not only become a stockholder in the company, but has also been enabled to purchase a comfortable and substantial home. In Odd Fellowship Preston Rose takes a very active part, having several times passed all of the chairs of that organization. He married Miss Alice Harker, the daughter of Amos and Mary (Mowery) Harker. Preston Rose has met with success because he has attended strictly to his own business and has led the life of an industrious and highly repected citizen. He is a Republican in politics and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. JAMES H. ROTSELL is the owner of one of the fine farm properties of Pulaski township, where he is successfully following general agricultural pursuits, including the raising of live stock of an excellent grade. He was born in Richland county, Ohio, on the 25th of July, 1863, and is a son of Dr. Oliver J., and Rebecah (Bachenstaugh) Rotsell, the former of whom was born in Northampton county, Pa., on the 12th of January, 1823, and the latter was likewise a native of the old Keystone State, where both families were established in the pioneer epoch. Both Dr. and Rebecah Rotsell had been previously married, and each had one child by the former union. Irene, daughter of the Doctor by his first marriage, died when about fifteen years of age, and Amanda Miller, daughter of Mrs. Rotsell by her first husband, died in 1896, in Stryker, Ohio. Dr. Rotsell came to Ohio in an early day and located in Shenandoah, Richland county, where he was engaged in the practice of medicine about fifteen years, having been a man of high scholastic and professional attainments. In that county was solemnized his second marriage, and in 1865 he removed with his family to Wil- BIOGRAPHICAL - 529 liams county, where he secured two hundred and ninety-six acres of wild land, in section 14, Pulaski township, and under his able direction much of this land was cleared and made available for cultivation, his homestead becoming one of the best in this attractive section. The Doctor continued in the practice of his profession for many years, and he died in the city of Bryan, this county, on the 14th of April, 1902, while his cherished and devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal on the 14th of November, 1904. Dr. Rotsell was a man of positive character and sterling integrity, and none knew him but to accord to him the fullest measure of confidence and esteem. Though never an aspirant for office he took a loyal interest in local affairs of a public nature and was a stalwart adherent of the Democratic party. He was identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife were members of the Universalist church. Of their children the following is a brief record: Josephine is the widow of Dr. Festus A. Snear, and resides in Bryan; Oliver C. is a successful stock-grower of Blackfoot, Idaho; Quintus C. resides on the old homestead; James H. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Wiliam C. is engaged in business in Defiance, Ohio; Sadie is the wife of Frederick Morrison, of Bryan; Ella is the wife of Charles Langel, and they reside in the State of Kansas. James H. Rotsell was afforded the advantages of the public schools, completing a course in the graded school in Bryan, and in the meanwhile assisting in the work of the home farm. In 1899 he purchased his present farm, known as the George Pask place, in section 14, Pulaski township, and the same comprises one hundred and twenty acres, improved with good buildings and maintained under effective cultivation, while he also devotes no little attention to the raising of prime grades of live stock. He has been a farmer during the greater portion of his active career, and his thorough knowledge of details and his progressive methods have enabled him to derive the maximum returns from his efforts. In politics he accords a stanch allegiance to the Democratic party, and both he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church. October 27, 1887, Mr. Rotsell was united in marriage to Miss Florence Silliman, who was born and reared in Williams county, being a daughter of Britton Silliman, a representative farmer of Pulaski township. Of this union have been born two children, Elery J., who was born May 29, 1889; and Leona V., who died in August, 19o2, at the age of two years. JOHN D. RUMSEY, one of the representative business men of Williams county, being engaged in the manufacturing of drain tile, sewer pipe, building brick, fire brick and allied products, at Stryker, was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., on the 18th of February, 1862, and is a son of John G. and Roxana L. (Stubbs) Rumsey. John G. Rumsey was born in the village of Newfield, Tompkins county, N. Y., on the 8th of March, 1832, being a son of Moses 34 530 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY and Elizabeth (Miller) Rumsey, both of whom were born and reared in the old Empire State, where the father learned the blacksmith trade and was also engaged in farming. In 1866 they removed to St. Louis, Mo., where both he and his wife died. Both were members of the Christian church, and in politics he was a Democrat, while he served in various offices of local trust. Of the ten children in the family only two are now living, Moses, who is a resident of St. Louis; and John G. The latter secured his education in the schools of his native county, remaining at the paternal home until he was sixteen years of age, when he set forth to fight the battle of life on his own responsibility. He finally found employment in connection with the construction work on the New York & Erie railroad, having charge of the blacksmith and tool works, and later he was in the employ of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company, in a similar capacity. He came west to St. Louis, Mo., and was foreman of construction for this railroad for two years, after which he went to work on the Wabash railroad. having his headquarters in Lafayette, Ind., and he also had charge of the operation of a steam shovel. His health finally became impaired and he returned to the State of New York, where he remained until 1857, when he came to Williams county and purchased two hundred acres of land in section 21, Springfield township, about one-half of the tract having been cleared. He engaged in general farming, and for two years also raised tobacco, the first propagated in the county, the product being abundant and of good quality. In 1860 Mr. Rumsey joined the throng of goldseekers who were making their way to Pike's Peak, Colo. He joined a party which had an equipment of twenty wagons, and which transported a quartz mill, he having charge of the train, which had a successful trip, making the overland journey from St. Joseph, Mo., to Colorado in about sixty-five days. He was engaged in mining in Colorado about six months, meeting with indifferent success. and then returned to Williams county. Here his marriage had been solemnized May 9, 1859, when Miss Roxana L. Stubbs became his wife, she being a daughter of William M. Stubbs, a pioneer farmer of the county. In 1861 Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey went to New York State, where he was engaged in farming until 1865, when he returned to Williams county and resumed his agricultural operations, finally disposing of his original farm and purchasing hi§ present finely improved homestead. During the intervening years he has been actively identified with farming in this county for the greater portion of the time, though for a number of years he traveled through Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan as a traveling salesman. Later he purchased the brick and tile works now operated by his son, John D., in Stryker. He is now living practically retired in Stryker, where he has a nice home, and where he and his wife have a wide circle of loyal friends. He has been very successful in his various business enterprises and is one of the well-to-do citizens of Williams county. He is the owner BIOGRAPHICAL - 531 of a landed estate of two hundred acres, in this county, and leases the same. He is an ardent Democrat in his political proclivities. and fraternally is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Rumsey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of two sons, of whom the subject of the sketch is the younger. Horace S., who died on the 5th of November, 1895, was at the time engaged in the drug business in Stryker, and also conducted a hardware business in Waldron. Hillsdale county, Mich., across the state line from Williams county. He served as postmaster of Stryker and was a prominent and highly honored citizen and business man. He married Miss Lucy Schuler, who survives him, as does also their only child, Floyd, who, with his mother, still resides in Stryker. John D. Rumsey, whose name introduces this article, was afforded the advantages of the public schools and remained at the parental home, assisting his father in his various business operations until his marriage. and he succeeded his father in the brick and tile business, which he has since conducted with much energy, discrimination and consequent success, well upholding the high prestige of the family .name in connection with public-spirited citizenship and valuable productive enterprise in fields of legitimate business industry. The business which he now controls was established in 1882 by Walter I. Pepple, and in 1888 the plant and business passed into the possession of John G. and John D. Rumsey, who have greatly amplified the capacity and functions of the same since assuming control, while the business has been conducted under the name of J. D. Rumsey since the change in ownership noted. In the plant, which is an extensive one and equipped with the most modern machinery and accessories, are manufactured superior lines of drain tile, sewer pipe, hollow-block Y's and T's, building and fire brick, fire clay, etc., while the concern also handles lime, cement, wall plaster, concrete building blocks and other building supplies, besides coal, wood and ice. The business is constantly expanding in scope and importance, extending into Michigan, Ohio and other States, and under the progressive management of Mr. Rumsey it has come to represent one of the most valuable adjuncts to the industrial status not only of Stryker but also of the county. The county has no more public-spirited and loyal citizen than the popular young business man to whom this sketch is dedicated, and he is never neglectful of any of the duties of citizenship, no matter how pressing the demands of his private business interests. He is a valued worker in the local ranks of the Democratic party, and his services have been in requisition in his home city, where popular appreciation of his eligibility has been manifested, in that he has been retained as mayor for the last seven years, giving an administration which has been characterized by wise and progressive ideas, while previously he was a member of the municipal council for four years and served two years as a member of the board of education. He is a member of the Independent Order of 532 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which latter he is affiliated with the lodge in the city of Toledo. Mrs. Rumsey is a member of the Baptist church. In 1903 Mr. Rumsey erected his fine brick residence, which is modern in architectural design and all equipments, being one of the handsomest residences in the county. In October, 1886, John D. Rumsey was united in marriage to Miss Leah Louys, who was born and reared in Williams county, being a daughter of Frederick Louys, who was born in France, having been eighteen years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to America. Peter Louys, father of Frederick, settled in Springfield township, this county, where he was identified with farming until his death. Frederick was for a time employed on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad, and finally he engaged in the general merchandise business in Stryker, building tip a large and substantial enterprise and continuing to be identified with the same until his death, which occurred January 3, 1903. His widow still resides in Stryker, and of their seven children, six are living. Mr. and Mrs. Rumsey have one son, Louys A., who was born May 7, 1889, and who is being afforded the best of educational advantages. ROSWELL A. RUSSELL, a prominent and successful merchant of Bryan, was born in West Unity, March 20, 1860. He is descended from an influential English family, founded in America in the Seventeenth century by three brothers who settled in the New England colonies, two in Maine and one in Massachusetts. His grandfather, James Russell, the son of James Russell, came west from Rochester, N. Y., and located first near Cleveland, Ohio, where he married Miss Cynthia Leach, and then removed to West Unity, where he followed the occupation of shoemaking. To these parents the following children were born: Franklin P., the father of the subject of this sketch; Louisa, the wife of a Mr. Martin, and after his death the wife of Ezekiel Griffin, of Fayette, Ohio; George, deceased, late a minister of the Baptist church; Alice, now Mrs. Cline, residing near Liberty Center, Ohio; Cynthia and Warren, both deecased; Allen, who resides near Morenci, Mich., and Ida, now Mrs. Flickinger, of Liberty Center. Franklin P. Russell was a shoemaker by trade. After his marriage in West Unity, about 1862, he removed to Bryan, where for some time he was an employee in the shoe establishment of a Mr. Fairfield. Then he became a traveling salesman of Samuel Kennard, a wholesale shoe merchant of Cleveland. His death occurred at Kansas City, Mo. The maternal grandfather of Roswell A. Russell was William Cline, a native of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors emigrated in an early day from Germany to that State. He first removed to Richland county, Ohio, and in 1837 to Williams county, locating at West Unity, where he was one of the first to engage in merchandising. During the gold fever of 1849 he went to California and was never heard of afterward. His widow, who before her BIOGRAPHICAL - 533 marriage was Miss Hannah Tyndall, was a native of Pennsylvania, and removed with her parents to Huron county, O., in an early day. She died in Bryan in April, 1904, aged eighty years. To William Cline and wife these children were born: Sarah M. and James K. P., the latter of whom, at the age of eighteen years enlisted in Company C of the Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry in 1861 and died at Danville, Ky. Roswell A. Russell was but ten years old when his mother died. After the death of his father she married again and he removed with her to Portland, Mich., in 1868. Two years later, immediately after his mother's death, he returned with his grandmother to Bryan. To the second marriage of his mother one daughter was born, named Ida M., now the wife of R. M. Rice, of Bryan. When only thirteen years old Roswell A. Russell began to make his own living by working at various occupations. For nine years he was employed in the Bryan foundry and the, Bryan Manufacturing Company, in the meantime attending school during the winter months. Then for a time he was engaged in the dray and express business, following that employment by acting as traveling salesman for a wholesale house. After a brief experience in the restaurant and confectionery business, he formed a partnership with H. M. Clodfelter and engaged in the mercantile business for two years, carrying a limited stock of goods. Selling his interest in this establishment to his partner, he bought a stock of clothing at a bankrupt sale and drifted into the clothing and shoe trade. Two years later he formed a partnership with C. E. Thomas. and under the firm name of Russell & Thomas the business has ever since been successfully conducted. This establishment carries a large stock of clothing, shoes and ladies' and gents' furnishings. Mr. Russell is a Chapter Mason, an Odd Fellow and a member of the Presbyterian church. He chose as his life partner Miss Clara E. Hogue, a native of Florence township, and the daughter of Milton and Sophia (Miser) Hogue. The first representative of the Hogue family to come to Williams county was Jonathan Hogue, who located in Florence township in 1837, where he died and where his widow still resides at the advanced age of ninety-two years. To Roswell A. Russell and wife the following children have been born: Charles E., who married Miss Maude E. Blair, and is an employee in his father's store, and Harry E., an accountant of Toledo, O. MARTIN D. SANDERS, a prominent public and school official of St. Joseph township, is of German descent, his father and grandparents having been born in Germany, where the family owned a fine farm. In 1840 Anthony and Mary Sanders, the grandparents of Martin D. Sanders, emigrated to America, locating in the State of New York, where the former died in 1852 and the latter in 1874. Francis A. Sanders, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Germany in 1825 and was fifteen years old when he came with his parents to New York. There he grew to manhood. For some years 534 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY he was engaged in business in Newark, N. J., and took a yery active part in the public affairs of that city. In 1868 he remoyed to Ohio and located in St. Joseph township, Williams county, where he purchased a farm of two hundred and twenty-six acres, which he soon brought to a high state of cultivation and equipped with up-to-date and commodious buildings. In 1879 he went to Saline, Kan., and spent two years there. In 1849 he married Miss Mary L. Siever and they were the parents of six children: Frank L. (deceased), John C., Joseph, William A., Martin D. and Mary A. He died in 1895, aged seventy years. Martin D. Sanders was born in Newark, N. J., November 13, 1863, and came with his parents to St. Joseph township, where he grew to manhood on his father's farm, receiving his education in the public schools of the township and of Edgerton. In farming he has been very successful, as his valuable farm near Edgerton proves. In school affairs he has taken the deepest interest, having served on the township school board for the past twelve years, and is now the president of the same. In 1905 he was elected chairman of the township board of trustees and re-elected three years later. In politics he is actively identified with the Democratic party and in 1903 was a member of the county central committee. Mr. Sanders is a member of the organization known as the Maccabees. He married Miss Della Stevens, the daughter of John H. Stevens, a pioneer settler of St. Joseph township and a veteran of the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders are the parents of three children, named Ralph. Steven and Mildred, all still at home and attending the public schools of Edgerton. Martin D. Sanders is one of the most successful men of Williams county, and has always taken an active part in furthering any enterprise calculated to benefit the people of that county. It is his happy lot to be respected and highly esteemed by his neighbors and fellow citizens. He and wife are members of the Catholic church at Edgerton, O. PROF. WILLIAM A. SAUNDERS, superintendent of the public schools of Montpelier, is the representative of a prominent English family, remotely related to Lord Townley, that emigrated to America in an early day. His grandfather was Reuben Saunders, a native of the State of New York. He is the son of Stephen Tillottson and Rachel Teresa (Bassett) Saunders, both natives of New York State, the latter being also of English descent. In 1853 Stephen T. Saunders came to Ashtabula county, O., and settled on a farm in Orwell township, where he pursued the occupation of farming. He died at the homestead in 1863, and his wife, the daughter of Ivory Bassett, suryived him six years. To these parents there were born two sons and one daughter. Ivory Bassett, the eldest son, was born in Pennsylvania, enlisted in Company A of the Sixth Ohio Cavalry, and died at Camp Chase, O., in 1862. He was a magnificent specimen of physical manhood, being six feet and three and one-half inches tall. Matilda Maria was born in Erie county. Pa., and died when six months old; and William A. is the subject of this sketch. William A. BIOGRAPHICAL - 535 Saunders was born in Wayne township, Erie county, Pa., on June 30, 1851. He was reared on the parental farm and secured his education in the public schools and at the Orwell Normal Institute, Orwell, O., from which institution he graduated in 1872. The same year, through an appointment of James A. Garfield, following a competitive examination, he received the appointment of Cadet to the West Point Military Academy, reporting for admission in June, 1872. After an attendance of two years he returned to his home in Ohio. In 1875 he came to Williams county and taught for several terms. In 1879 he was elected superintendent of the Montpelier schools and served in that capacity for six years. His next appointment was to the superintendency of the Stryker schools, which position he filled for three years, and then for five years he held a like position in the Bryan schools. Following his work in the Bryan schools he served for four years as manager of the Educational Publishing Company, and he is now serving his seventh consecutive year as superintendent of the Montpelier schools. During this time he has for five years held the office of County School Examiner, having received his appointment at the hands of Judge Martin Perky. Since 1889 he has held a life certificate in Ohio. Mr. Saunders is a prominent Mason, holding membership in the Bryan Blue Lodge and Chapter, the Wauseon Council and the Adrian, Mich., Commandery. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, Montpelier Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Bryan Encampment of the latter order. In politics he is identified with the Democratic party. He was wedded to Miss Mary L. Johnson, born in Northwest township, the daughter of Aldis Johnson, who was of Scotch nativity and a pioneer settler of Northwest township, coming to Williams county from Vermont in 1843. Since the death of Mr. Johnson his widow has made her home with Mr. Saunders. One daughter, Nellie Ludlow, deceased, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Saunders. She was educated in the Bryan and Stryker schools. MICHAEL M. SCHAEFFER. —Varied as are the vocations to which man turns his attention, the great basic industry of agriculture is one which has never been subordinated to any other, and the cumulative wealth and prosperity of all nations have depended largely on the sturdy husbandmen. Williams county, from the pioneer days to the present, has enlisted in the development and promotion of its agricultural interests a class of energetic, reliable and able men, and no further evidence of this is demanded than that offered in the appearance of the hundreds of beautiful farms within its borders. One of these fine landed estates is that of Mr. Schaeffer, in section 22. Springfield township, and he gave his personal attention to the operation of the place until 1903, when he removed to Stryker, where he has since lived measurably retired from active business. Mr. Schaeffer is a native of the Buckeye State, having been born near the city of Dayton, Montgomery county, on the 26th of September, 1832, son of John C. and Mary (Winters) Schaeffer, the former of whom 536 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Maryland. John C. Schaeffer was reared in the Keystone State, where he learned the trade of carpenter. He was numbered among the pioneers of Montgomery county, O., where he was married and where he remained until 1840, when he came with his family to Williams county, making the, trip overland with a one-horse wagon. The family resided about six months in Evansport, (now Defiance county), and then took up their residence on the pioneer farm in Springfield township. Here the father secured eighty-six acres of wild land, upon which a small clearing had been made and a log cabin erected. He reclaimed a considerable portion of the land and made good improvements for the day, and he also continued to work at his trade at intervals. He died on this old homestead in 1851, and his wife passed away in 1883, at the venerable age of eighty-three years. John C. Schaeffer was a Democrat in politics and held various township offices, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the German Reformed church. They became the parents of eleven children, all but one of whom attained maturity, and five of the number are living at the present time. Rebecca and Thomas are deceased, as is also David, whose twin brother, Valentine, resides in Dayton, O; Susanna is deceased; John W. is a resident of Gratiot county, Mich.; Michael W. was the next in order of birth; Adeline is deceased; Harriet resides at Burlington Junction, Mo.; and Mary Jane is the wife of Wesley B. Kitzmiller, of Stryker. Michael W. Schaeffer was about eight years of age at the time of his parents' removal to the wilds of Williams county, where he assisted in the reclamation of the home farm, his educational advantages being naturally limited, as very few schools had been established in this section, and these were primitive. He continued on the home farm after the death of his father, caring for his mother with much devotion, and the homestead is a portion of his present estate, which comprises two hundred and six acres, of which one hundred and sixty acres are under effective cultivation, and the place is improved with good buildings and is one of the valuable farms of Springfield township. Mr. Schaeffer continued to give his personal supervision to his farm until 1903, when he took up his residence in Stryker, where he is now living retired, as has already been noted in this article. He is a Republican in politics and has served as township trustee and school director, though never ambitious for official preferment. He has been a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church for half a century, and Mrs. Schaeffer likewise is a devoted member. At Evansport, Defiance county, on the iith of May, 1856, Mr. Schaeffer was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Grimes, who was born in Guernsey county, O., July 27, 1837, being a daughter of Richard and Jane Elizabeth (Duffy) Grimes, who became pioneers of Henry county, where both died. Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer have ten children, concerning whom brief record is here given: Ina M. is the wife of Mezzina Slusser, a prominent member of the bar of DuPage county, Ill., where he is serving on the circuit bench, maintaining his home in Downer's Grove and having an BIOGRAPHICAL - 537 office in the city of Chicago. Judge and Mrs. Slusser have five sons. Ambrose M. Schaeffer, who is a carpenter and builder of Stryker, married Miss Flora Swank, and they have three children. Alta M. is the wife of Elmer Christy, a farmer of Springfield township, and they have four children; Sarah is the wife of Edward L. Ditto, a merchant of Bryan, and they have one son. Thomas J., who is a successful farmer of Springfield township, married Miss Maggie Prettyman, and they have four children. Mary S. is the wife of Frederick H. Reynolds, a grocer in Stryker, and they have fur children. Kathrine I. is the wife of Dr. Clarkson P. Hockett, of Kouts, Id.; Ervin, who married Miss Lillian Young, has charge of his father's homestead farm. Olive E. is the wife of Dr. William Stoner, of Vilas, Kansas. Frederick W. is second gunner on the "Dauphin," a war vessel of the United States navy, in which he has served four years. JACOB F. SCHIEBER is the owner of a fine farm in section 6, Superior township, and is known as one of the representative agriculturists and sterling citizens of this part of the county. He was born in Wittenberg, Germany, on the 19th of July, 1853, and is the eldest of the five children born to Jacob and Margaret (Fink) Schieber, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, where the father followed farming and ropemaking as a vocation until 1862, when he immigrated to America, locating in Defiance county, O., where he maintained his home for a number of years, finally removing to Texas, where both he and his wife died. They were members of the German Methodist church, in which he was a class leader about five years, and in politics he was a stanch Republican. Of the other four children in the family it may be noted that Mary is the wife of Jacob Shoup; Frederick is a resident of Denver, Colo.; Julia is the wife of Henry Martin; and William was last heard from at Memphis, Tenn. Jacob F. Schieber, Jr., subject of this sketch, secured his rudimentary educational training in the excellent schools of his fatherland and was about nine years of age at the time of the family removal to the United States. He continued to attend school in Defiance county, O., where he grew to manhood, associated in the work of the home farm, and he has ever continued to follow agricultural pursuits, winning independence through his earnest and honorable efforts. He came to Williams county about 1873 and purchased his present farm, $which comprises one hundred and twenty-three acres, nearly all being under effective cultivation, and the buildings and other improvements are of substantial character, indicating the thrift and good management of the owner. Mr. Schieber is a loyal adherent of the Republican party, and both he and his wife hold membership in the United Brethren church, his first wife having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1879 Mr. Schieber married Miss Alice Page, daughter of William E. Page, of Superior township, and she died August 28, 1902, leaving four children, William, Irwin, Mary and John. The eldest son married Mabel Kirk, and they have one child, Earl. On Thanksgiving day of the year 1903 Mr. Schieber 538 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY consummated a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Cora McCabe of Northwest township. She is the daughter of Asal and Martha J. (Van Imins) Ackley. Mrs. Schieber was born in Defiance county, O., on September 7, 1863, and came with her first husband, Lucius McCabe, to Williams county in 1884. The pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Schieber is a most hospitable one and they have many friends in the community, being accorded uniform respect and esteem by all who know them. ADOLPH SCHMACHTENBERGER, one of the representative farmers of Pulaski township, has passed his entire life in Williams county and is a member of one of its well-known pioneer families. He was born in Bryan, the judicial center of this county, on the 29th of June, 1848, and is a son of Benjamin and Susanah (Miller) Schmachtenberger, the former of whom was born in Canton township, Stark county, O., in 1816, while the latter was born in Paris, that county, where the respective families were founded in the early pioneer era. The father was reared to manhood in Stark county, where he received a good common-school education, and also learned the carpenter trade. In 1846 he came to Williams county and secured a quarter section of wild and heavily timbered land in section 33, Pulaski township, no roads having as yet been constructed in this now beautiful and opulent section of the county. After thus locating his embryonic farm he returned to Stark county, where he was shortly afterward married, and in 1847 he came with his young wife to Williams county and took up his. residence in Bryan, where he worked at his trade about seven years, in the meanwhile hiring men to do some clearing on his farm. He finally took up his residence on the homestead, having erected a two-room log house, eighteen by twenty-four feet in dimensions, and this continued to be the family domicile until 1869, when he erected the substantial brick house which is still standing, having manufactured the necessary brick on the farm. He carried forward the work of reclaiming and cultivating his farm, and did more or less work at his trade, becoming one of the most influential and honored citizens of Pulaski township, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on August 15, 1894. His first wife died on October 14, I889, and he later married Johanna Griener, a widow. of Richland county, O., and she survived him, passing the closing years of her life in Michigan. No children were born of the second marriage, and of the seven children of the first union only two are liying. The names of the children are here entered in order of birth: Cleophas, Adolph, Rudolph, Ada, Samuel and Simon (twins), and Ida. The two living are Adolph, whose name initiates this sketch, and Ada, who is the wife of Samuel Farber, of Defiance county, O. Adolph Schmachtenberger was reared to the sturdy discipline of the homestead farm, in whose reclamation and cultivation he lent his quota of aid, while his educational advantages were those afforded in the primitive log school house of the locality and BIOGRAPHICAL - 539 period. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained the age of twenty-nine years, when he was married, after which he passed one year on the farm of his wife's parents. In 1880 he located upon his present farm, which comprises eighty-two acres of the old homestead of his father, all being available for cultivation except eight acres, which are still covered with the native timber. Mr. Schmachtenberger erected his present commodious and comfortable residence in 1881, and in the following year built the large and well equipped barn, and all other improvements on the place are of the best type. indicating progressive and enterprising management on the part of the owner. He raises the various agricultural products best adapted to the soil and climate, and also has on his place each season a select assortment of high-grade live stock—cattle, horses and swine—while the place yields a fine variety of orchard and small fruits. In political affairs Mr. Schmachtenberger maintains an independent attitude, voting for the support of the men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, and he has neyer consented to become a candidate for office, save that he has been a school director of his district. In 1877 Mr. Schmachtenberger was united in marriage to Miss Christena B. Smeltz, who was born in Seneca county, O., being a daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Lebold) Smeltz, who were pioneers of that county. Mrs. Schmachtenberger died in 1887, being survived by four children, namely: Susana H., who remains with her father; Mary Luella, who is the wife of Stanley Bishop, of Bryan; Carrie M., who is the wife of Lester J. Salsbury, of Pulaski township, and Chauncey F., who is associated with his father in the management of the home farm. In 1888 Mr. Schmachtenberger married Miss Susan Miller, who was born in Stark county, O., being a daughter of Henry J. and Rachel (Baum) Miller, who were born in Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Stark county, O., in an early day and later to -Richland county, then to Putnam county and in the year 1851 to Florence township, Williams county, where Mr. Miller died in March, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Schmachtenberger have no children. Both he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church. DAVID SCHALL, a successful farmer and well known citizen of Florence township, is a native of Superior township, having been born on a farm within a mile of Montpelier on February 17, 1845. His parents were William H. and Mary Ann (Heavett) Schall, both natives of Virginia, the latter having been born within three miles of Harper's Ferry. His grandfather, John M. Schall, a native of Virginia, came to Seneca county, O., and located on a farm near Tiffin, where he spent the remainder of his days, engaged in general farming. William H. Schall grew to manhood on the parental farm, having come to Seneca county with his parents. Having chosen farming as his avocation he began early to make his own way in the world. In 1844 he removed to Superior town- 540 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY ship, Williams county, and there purchased, cleared and cultivated a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. In politics he was a stanch Republican. For eleven years, including the stirring period of the Civil war, he served as trustee of Superior township. In religious matters both he and his wife entertained quite liberal views, neither being identified with any religious denomination. In 1888, while on a visit to Eaton Rapids, Mich., he died, his wife having died twenty-five years before. Of the twelve children born to these parents ten are still living. David Schall was reared on his father's farm and received only a limited education, as the common schools of that day had not yet reached their present high standard. Having purchased a farm of eighty acres in Florence township, he proceeded at once to clear and improve the land, erecting substantial and convenient buildings on it. Altogether he has cleared more than one hundred acres of land, abundant proof of his enterprise and industry. In public, affairs he has always taken a deep interest, having served as supervisor for many years and as cemetery trustee for fourteen consecutive years. He is a farmer by occupation, a Democrat in politics, and with his wife a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he himself having been identified with that organization for the past thirty years. In August, 1865, he chose as his helpmeet on life's journey, Miss Emily Flegal, a native of Columbiana county, O., where she was born in 1847, and the daughter of William and Susan Flegal, who came to Jefferson township in pioneer days. Mr. Flegal died in Steuben county, Ind., and his wife at Bosworth, Mo. Two sons have been born to David Schall and wife. William C., the elder, was born May 24, 1869, educated in the public schools and trained for the occupation of farming. He resides in Steuben county, Ind., where he married Miss Ida Cook, the daughter of Samuel Cook, whose father is mentioned elsewhere in this work. To them there have been born three children. They are: Leroy, Arden and Marie. Ernest E., the younger, was born November 28, 1875, educated in the district and Edon high schools, and is a farmer by occupation, having charge of the homestead. In politics he is identified with the Democratic party. In 1897 he was wedded to Miss Minnie Rockey, the daughter of William and Laura (Lechleidner) Rockey and granddaughter of William Rockey, Sr.. of Florence township. Mrs. Schall is an earnest member of the Christian Union church. To Ernest Schall and wife three children have been born. They are: Erma, Leon and Duane. THE SCOTT FAMILY of Williams county, of which Charles E. Scott, an eminent lawyer of Bryan, is a member, has been prominently identified with the State of Ohio for more than a century. The original progenitor of this branch of the family in America was Matthew Scott, a native of Ireland, who settled in Columbiana county, O., in January, 1801, where, soon after his arrival, he married Miss Nancy Eaton. About the year 1809 he removed BIOGRAPHICAL - 541 to Wayne county, and he was so unfortunate as to lose his wife. Subsequently he contracted a second marriage with Miss Lucinda Bevington. By these two marriages he became the father of sixteen children, five by his first wife and eleven by his second. Robert Scott, the grandfather of Charles E., was the third child born to the first marriage. On April 6, 1824, in Wayne county, he was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Cunningham, a native of New Jersey, who was born on February 6, 1824, and died in Wayne county on January 8, 1871. On September 7, 1877, he married Mrs. Nancy Austin, after which he removed to Stark county, where he continued to reside the remainder of his days. His children were as follows: William C., James, Noah, John, Cunningham R., Elizabeth, Mary and Olive. William C. Scott, the father of Charles E. and a child by the first marriage, was born in Wayne county, on January 23, 1825. He remained at home until 1848, and then went to Fulton county, O., where he resided one year. Then he removed to Allen county, Ind., where on November 13, 1851, he was wedded to Miss Elizabeth Millhouse, who was born in Somerset county, Pa., on September 14, 1822, the daughter of Abraham and Margaret Millhouse, natives of Somerset county, the former born in 1799 and the latter in 1802. Abraham Millhouse was married in 1821, and in 1851 removed to Jackson county, Ill., where his wife died on November 3, 1873, and he on August io, of the following year. After his marriage William C. Scott left Allen county, Ind., and returned to Fulton county, O., and resided there until 1855, when he removed to Bryan, Williams county. After being engaged for about four years in the saw-mill business, he purchased a farm in Center township. Seven years later he sold this farm and purchased another in the same township, which he made his permanent residence. To William C. Scott and wife the following children were born: Margaret A., Robert A., Charles E., H. Winfield, J. Ellsworth and Matis R. Robert A. Scott, deceased, the eldest son of William C. Scott, in his life one of the most prominent members of the Williams county bar, was born in Fulton county. O., on August .7, 1854, and died in 1886. He was reared on the farm in Center township, receiving his education in the district schools. In 1874, after having taught for several years, he began the study of law in the office of Pratt & Bentley in Bryan. He then attended the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated and received his degree in the spring of 1876. Continuing in the office of his preceptors until November of that year, he then formed a partnership with Judge Leidigh. In 1878 he was elected as a Democrat to the office of prosecuting attorney of Williams county, his competitor being C. S. Bentley, one of his preceptors. After serving two years with ability and to the entire satisfaction of the people, he was re-nominated, but was defeated by a nominal county majority, notwithstanding the fact that he ran ahead of his 542 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY ticket. In 1884 he was nominated for the third time and was triumphantly elected, defeating C. H. Masters, now a prominent attorney of Toledo, O. On March 1, 1879, he was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Meeks, of Wauseon, Fulton county. To these parents there were born four children: Hernia, Bertha, William R., and Mary. JOHN MADISON SHAFER, postmaster of Edon and deputy State supervisor of elections, is a native of Center township, where he was born January 13, 1863. He is the son of Franklin and Sidney (Snider) Shafer, the former born in Massillon, O., October 30, 1830, and the latter in Jefferson township on May 29, 1837. His grandparents were Amasa and Elizabeth (Hill) Shafer, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Stark county, O. Amasa Shafer removed to Stark county with his mother and two brothers when a child and was married there. On May 8, 1835, he and family came to Williams county and settled in the woods one mile east of Melbern, where he resided three and one-half years. Then he removed to west of Lick Creek church and located on a tract of eighty-six acres of timbered land. After clearing and cultivating this land for a time he removed to Williams Center and there followed the cooper trade, which he had learned while growing to manhood. In politics he was first a Whig, then an Abolitionist and finally a Republican. For quite a number of years he served as justice of the peace, and with his wife was actively identified with the Methodist Episcopal church. To these parents there were born the following children: William, deceased; Franklin; Washington; Jane; Elizabeth, deceased; Lucinda; Anson, deceased; and Mary, deceased. Mr. Shafer's maternal grandparents, John Snider and wife, were natives of Ohio and Virginia respectively, the former born in Columbiana county, in March, 1800, and the latter in May of the same year. After their marriage in Columbiana county they removed to Williams county, in 1836, and located in Jefferson township, where John Snider owned and cleared a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. In 1864 he removed to Hillsdale county, Mich., where he resided for fifteen years on a farm of eighty acres and followed general farming. In politics he was first a Whig and then a Republican. He and wife were actively identified with the Baptist church. In 1888, at the age of eighty-eight years, he departed this life, and was surviyed by his widow, who made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Alphonso Ewan of Bryan. She died at the venerable age of ninety' one years. The maternal great-grandparents of the subject of this sketch were William and Jane (Hitchcock) Hill, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Scotland. William Hill emigrated to America and settled in Stark county, O., in a very early day. In 1835 he removed to Center township, Williams county, where he died at a ripe age. After his death his widow made her home with her son, William Hill, in Henry county, Ill., and BIOGRAPHICAL - 543 there died. Andrew Shafer, his paternal great-grandfather, was a valiant soldier of the war of the American Revolution. Franklin Shafer was reared on a farm and received his education by attending the district schools. His early life was indeed a strenuous one, for he helped to clear no less than seven different farms. In 1864 he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, located two miles north and two and one-half miles east of Edon, of which he afterwards sold fifty acres. In March, 1901, he removed to Edon, where he owns a valuable residence and about two acres of ground. In politics he is a Republican and in religious belief a Methodist, of which denomination his wife also is a devout member. They were married in Center township on April 13, 1862, and are the parents of the following children: John Madison, and Lizzie, the latter of whom was born July 22, 1871, educated in the common school and married to Hiram Anspaugh, of Florence township. The names of Mr. and Mrs. Anspaugh's children are Donald, Marion, Sidney and Martha. John Madison Shafer, a lineal descendant of Robert Morris, was eighteen months old when he moved with his parents to the farm in Florence township which he now owns. His education was acquired by attending the district schools and the Edon high school. Having learned the carpenter trade, he followed that occupation for two years, spending the winter months in the pine woods of Northern Michigan. Until 1884, when he was so unfortunate as to lose an arm, he followed farming and saw-milling. He then removed from the farm to Edon and for three years worked for L. W. Johnson, canvassing for agricultural implements. His next engagement was with the Walter A. Wood Reaping and Mowing Machine company, for whom he worked three years. The three following years he acted as assistant manager of the Cleveland branch of the Milwaukee Harvesting company, traveling over Eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. For four years he represented the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner company, with headquarters at Fort Wayne, Ind.. two years and at Findlay, O., two years. Upon the expiration of his contract with this firm he returned to his farm and spent two years there. On August 1, 1904, he received the appointment of deputy State supervisor of elections from Secretary of State Laylin. On March 1, 1905, he took charge of the postoffice at Edon, to which office he had been appointed a short time beforehand. He is a Republican, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, and with his wife and son William a member of the Methodist church. On September 10, 1887, he was wedded to Miss Harriet J. VanFossen, born in Northwest township, November 26, 1869. She was the daughter of William and Clarissa (Ely) VanFossen. William VanFossen was a soldier during the Civil war. He died September 14, 1877, and is survived by his widow who resides in Edon. He and wife had one son and three daughters, viz.: Harriet J., 544 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY Alvin U., Mary E. and Iva I., all living. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer haye three children, viz.: William F., born July 2, 1889; 'Mary V., May 29, 1892, and Ruth, born June 28, 1903. HERBERT SHARP, a prominent farmer of St. Joseph township, is of Dutch descent, his ancestors having emigrated to America in an early day. Henry Sharp, the father of Herbert Sharp, was born at Albany, N. Y., January 19, 1809. In 1830 he came to Defiance county, O., and started a hotel and general store there, also one at Fort Amanda, where he traded with the Indians. In 1832 he entered land on which his son, the subject of this sketch, now resides, and several other tracts, among them the Heisler and Melba farms. At that time Solomon Lewis, the father of Sheriff Lewis, McDonald, a Scotchman, Fee and Hollin were the only residents of St. Joseph township. When in the hotel and general store business in Defiance county all of the early settlers of St. Joseph township lodged with him and bought their supplies of him. In 1836 he removed to Fort Wayne, Ind., and embarked in the wool and fur business, manufacturing hats and caps. He also took a deep interest in public affairs and was elected mayor of the city of Fort Wayne on the Independent ticket, although he himself was a Republican. He was a man of the strictest integrity and until the day of his death, June 11, 1900, was held in high esteem by all classes. He first married Louisa Olds of St. Albans, Vt., who died soon after. His second wife was Roxey Olds, a sister of his first wife, and she came with him to Fort Wayne in 184o. She is still living and resides with her son at Edgerton. They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters. They are: Herbert; John, deceased; Thomas Loring, who died at Clarinda, Page county, Ia., in 1890; Caroline B. of Chicago, a member of the Presbyterian board of foreign missions; Abbey, now Mrs. F. R. Morton, of Haywards, Cal., and Mrs. Baugher of Chicago. John Sharp, the grandfather of Herbert Sharp, was born at Albany, N. Y., in 1773, and on February 26, 1804, he married Mary Loring, whose father was a farmer near Boston, and after the Revolutionary war located at Albany, where he died January 26, 1815. The maternal grandfather of Herbert Sharp, Elias Olds, who married in 1808, was a soldier in the War of 1812 and died at the age of ninety-one years. The father of Mary (Loring) Sharp was Thomas Loring, who served as quartermaster of Washington's army and lost his fortune by accepting Continental money. Herbert Sharp, the subject of this sketch, was born in Fort Wayne, Ind., on December 31, 1852, and resided there until he was fifteen years old. In 1867 he removed to St. Joseph township and settled on one hundred and sixty acres of wooded land, which he at once proceeded to clear. Since that time he has added twenty-three acres, making a total of one hundred and eighty-three acres. In school affairs he has been quite active, having served on the board of education for some years. BIOGRAPHICAL - 545 He has in his possession some very interesting documents in the shape of deeds and mortgages taken by his ancestors who were bankers in Holland. Two other papers in his possession are worthy of mention: A mortgage for one hundred and seventy-three pounds sterling from Conrad Sharp, merchant, to Barent Ten Eyck, merchant of Albany, N. Y., dated June 9, 1791, and one from June Sharp and Koenrait Sharp to Barent Ten Eyck for one hundred and eighty pounds, dated July 27, 1774. He married Miss Helen A. Newman, the daughter of John Newman, a natiye of Germany, who came to America when he was forty years old, and located in Edgerton in 1855, residing on his farm just outside of the corporate limits until his death in 1893, at the age of seventy-eight years. He was an exemplary and public spirited citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Sharp are the parents of eight children. They are: Fred Newman and Thomas Loring, partners in the hardware business at Ossian, Id.; Herbert Moore, who graduated from the ciyil engineering department of Armour Institute, Chicago; Harlan Humphrey; Anthony Wayne; Helen; Esther, and Marjory, the last five being still at home. In politics Mr. Sharp is a Republican. Mrs. Sharp is a member of the Presbyterian church. Their home is one of the prettiest in the vicinity, situated near the picturesque St. Joseph river, one mile southeast Edgerton. WILLIAM HENRY SHINN, whose name appears as the author and editor of this volume, is descended from a long line of American ancestry. In the spring of 1677 two hundred and thirty Quakers left England on the ship Kent for West Jersey. Half of these were from London and the other half from Yorkshire. Smith, in his "History of Nova Caesarea; or New Jersey," says that they chose as a landing place the spot where Burlington now stands, and there began a settlement which they named New Beverley. He also gives partial lists of emigrants who came between the year named above and 1680, and among them is found the name of John Shinn, the first ancestor of the Shinn family in America. From him are descended a large number who bear the name, and representatives of the family can perhaps be found in every State of the Union. But it is not within the scope of this review to follow the different branches of the family tree—brief mention alone will be made of the ancestral line through which the subject of this sketch is descended. It will perhaps be within the bounds of propriety, however, to state that the history of the family in general takes in a vast body of "plain people," who have lived by the nobler arts of peace and looked with suspicion upon the emblazoning of arms, crests, etc. In short, the life of the family has been in general a triumphantly happy farm life. The names appearing in the ancestral line with which this memoir has to do are, in their proper order, as follows: John, James, Francis, Vincent, Israel and Aaron. John Shinn was a wheelwright by 35 546 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY trade and followed that occupation after coming to America, although he also became possessed of large land interests in Burlington county, N. J. He was a member of the Burlington Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) and for a period of more than twenty-five years his name appears with frequency in the minutes of that church organization. On the 6th of the 12th month, 1687, John Shinn and John Day were appointed to notify Daniel Leeds to bring in his paper to the Burlington Meeting before sending it to Philadelphia. The gentleman thus notified had issued an almanac, which was the first publication ever made in either New Jersey or Pennsylvania, and as it gave offense to the Friends on account of some of its "superfluities," Leeds was forced to make amends. As to the position of John Shinn in the matter there is no recorded testimony, but he executed the duty put upon him by the church and doubtless looked upon Leeds as a refractory member. This unfortunate occurrence drove a good man out of the church and a budding printing enterprise out of the colony. John Shinn was born in England in 1632, and died in Burlington county, N. J., in April, 1712. Hir wife's name was Jane and they were the parents of five sons and fiye daughters, all of whom were born in England before the migration to America. James Shinn was probably the youngest of the children of John Shinn. At least he lived longer than any of his brothers and sisters and died in 1751. He married Abigail Lippincott, a granddaughter of Richard Lippincott, the ancestor of the Lippincotts in America. To this marriage ten children were born, six sons and four daughters. Francis Shinn, eldest son of James Shinn, seems to have been more prominent in church affairs than any of the other children in James' family. He was born in Springfield township, Burlington county, N. J., October 25, 1706. He passed meeting regularly for marriage on September 1, 1729, his choice for a wife being Elizabeth, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Curtis) Atkinson. Of this union were born eight sons and one daughter. Vincent Shinn was the seventh child of Francis Shinn, and was born in 1745. Although a devout Quaker in religious belief he served in the Revolutionary war as a wagon-master. He married Elizabeth Budd in 1772, and died twelve years later, October 6, 1784. To this marriage there were born four sons and two daughters. Israel Shinn was the fourth child of Vincent and Elizabeth (Budd) Shinn and was born in 1780. By trade he was a carpenter. He was twice married, first on January 10, 1799, to Hannah Haines, who died in 1803; and second on February 12, 1807, to Sarah Wright. After the death of his first wife he journeyed from New Jersey to Cincinnati, in 1804, and bought lands situated in Ross county, O. He remained there but a short time and then returned to New Jersey, where he died in 1807, at the age of twenty-seven years. He had two children, a son and a daughter, by his first marriage. Aaron Shinn, the only son of Israel Shinn, and the father of him whose name introduces this sketch, was born at Mt. Holly, Burlington county, N. J., in 1803. BIOGRAPHICAL - 547 His mother died the same year of his birth and his father when he was but four years old, and being thus orphaned he was reared by his maternal grandmother. He learned the blacksmith trade in his youth, and in 1825 migrated to Logan county, O., where he married Susanna Hamlin. He then removed to Kosciusko county, Ind., where he followed his vocation for several years and where his wife died. In about 1855 he removed to Williams county and located in the vicinity of "Kintightown," in Northwest township, where he followed blacksmithing until his death, January 16, 1867. After coining to Williams county he was married, on March 4, 1860, to Miss Henrietta C. Speaker, daughter of David and Martha (Lynn) Speaker, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Pennsylvania. To the first marriage of Aaron Shinn four children were born, all of whom are deceased, and the same number were born to the second marriage, three of whom with their mother suryive. Hannah J., the only liying daughter, is the wife o: Orlando Knapp and resides in Chesaning, Mich. A. Franklin, t `e elder son of the second marriage, resides in Jackson, Mich. William H. Shinn, the younger son, was born in Northwest township, Williams county, O.. on March 19, 1867, two months and three days subsequent to the death of his father. He attended the district school and did a boy's work as a hired hand in the fields until fifteen years of age. On January i6, 1883, he entered the Enterprise office at Montpelier as an apprentice and learned the trade of a printer. In the autumn of 1885 he began teaching school, which occupation he followed until 189o, with the exception of eighteen months (beginning in August, 1887), during which time he edited the Democrat at Montpelier. During his school teaching career he taught in the States of Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. In September, 1890, he purchased the Tribune at Newaygo, Mich., and changing its name to the Newaygo County Democrat, continued the publication until November, 1893. In June, 1894, he remoyed to LaGrange, Ind., and edited the Democrat at that place until January, 1896. In the spring of 1897 he entered the employ of the Northwestern Historical Association, the publishers of this volume, and has been engaged with that company the greater part of the time since. In politics, Mr. Shinn has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and in 1900 was its candidate for state senator in the LaGrange-Noble district of Indiana, but was defeated at the election. On December 25, 1891, he was united in marriage to Mss Zoe Thomas, of Montpelier, daughter of Albert P. and Nancy J. (Dole) Thomas, mention of whom is made on another page; and to this marriage one son has been born—William Thomas Shinn, born November 1, 1900. Mr. Shinn is a member of the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. JAMES SILLIMAN.—More than half a century has passed since the parents of James Silliman located on the finely improved 548 - HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY farm which is now his home, in Pulaski township, and thus he is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Williams county, where he has resided from his youth to the present time, and where he enjoys that popular esteem which bespeaks his personal integrity and honor in all the relations of life. Mr. Silliman claims the old Keystone State of the Union as the place of his nativity, having been born on the 20th of November, 1834, in Northampton county, Pa., where also were born and reared his honored parents, Samuel and Lavina (Lockhart) Silliman, who came thence to Ohio about 1844, making the trip overland with team and wagon, by means of which they transported their household effects. They first located in Ashland county, where they remained until 185o, when they came to Williams county, and m December of that year they located on the homestead now owned by the subject of this sketch. The father here secured -eighty acres of land, in section 29, Pulaski township, the entire tract being covered with heavy timber, while no improvements had been made. He was compelled to clear an opening in the midst of the forest before proceeding with the erection of his primitiye log house, and he then set himself vigorously to the task of reclaiming his land to cultivation. As the years passed, prosperity crowned his efforts and he became not only one of the successful farmers of the township, but also one of its influential and popular citizens. He was a Democrat in his political proclivities, and while he did not affiliate with any church his wife was, a member of the Christian church. He died in the year 1860, and his wife continued to live on the old homestead until her death, which occurred on March 20, 1887. They became the parents of ten children, namely: Theana, Miriam, Nancy, James, Thomas L., John, Nathaniel B., Scott L. Samuel and Hiram. Thomas, John and Scott are deceased; Nathaniel B. resides in Bryan, as does also Hiram, and Samuel is a resident of Oakland, Cal. James Silliman was about ten years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Pennsylvania to the wilds of Ohio, and thus his educational advantages in his youth were naturally limited in scope, though adequate for him to lay the foundation of that broad knowledge which he was later to. gain in the school of experience. He was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and has never abated his allegiance to the great fundamental industry of agriculture, and of him it has been consistently said, "He has always been a farmer and a good one." A better endorsement than this could not be asked. He remained with his parents and cared for them with true filial solicitude until both had passed to the eternal life, and he is now the owner of the old homestead, endeared to him through the associations of many years. The place comprises one hundred and sixty acres of most fertile land, and all is available for cultivation except about twenty-six acres, being devoted to diversified farming and to the raising of high-grade live stock, while the buildings are substantial and properly BIOGRAPHICAL - 549 equipped, making this one of the model farms of Pulaski township. Ever interested in all that appertains to the well-being of the community, Mr. Silliman is essentially public-spirited, and his political faith is that of the Democracy. While he has never sought political preferment he has served as township trustee and supervisor and also as school director, and is one of the leaders of his party in the township, where his friends are in number equal to the list of his acquaintances. On January II, 1863, Mr. Silliman was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Himes, daughter of John and Catharine Himes, at that time residents of Pulaski township, Williams county. Mr. and Mrs. Silliman became the parents of three children—Orwell James, who was graduated from the law department of the University of Cincinnati, was a prominent and honored member of the bar of Williams county where he was engaged in the practice of his profession at Bryan up to the time of his death, which sad event occurred May 20, 1898; Almon W. is an engineer on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, and resides in Garrett, Id.; and Alice I. is the wife of Dr. John W. Sides, a prominent physician of Annawan, I11. CLYDE LAVONIUS SIPLE, the popular carrier on rural mail route No. 3, from Montpelier, also has the distinction of being the secretary of the Rural Letter Carriers' Association of Williams county, within whose borders his life has been passed thus far, and his circle of friends is circumscribed only by that of his acquaintances. He was born in West Unity, this county, on the 26th of April, 1876, and is a son of Clinton L. and Serelda A. (Hager) Siple. His paternal grandfather was Joseph Siple, who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, residing for a brief interval in Williams county and then removing to Montcalm county, Mich., where he remained until 1868, when he returned to Williams county, where he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1882. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Smalley, died in 1868. They had four children: Clinton L., Ellen, John and William. Clinton L. Siple received a common-school education, and as a young man he found employment in the saw-mills at West Unity, where he was engaged for a period of eleven years. For the ensuing eighteen years he was identified with the agricultural industry in this county until April, 1897, when he again took up mill life in the employ of C. H. Boon & Co., where he is still employed. He is a stanch Republican, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the adjunct. lodge of Daughters of Rebekah, and his religious faith is that of the United Brethren church, of which his wife also was a devoted member. April 23, 1873, he was married to Miss Serelda A. Hager, daughter of William B. and Amanda (Pennington) Hager, of Williams county, O., and she died October 19, 1896, being survived by her two sons, of whom Clyde L. is the younger. Walter P., who resides in Van Wert, O., married Miss Bell Dorshimer, daughter of George Dor-