(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 1150 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. elected assessor on the Union ticket, holding that office eight years in all. In the spring of 1895 he was elected to his present position, that of justice of the peace, and in all these offices he has proved. himself worthy of the trust reposed in him, and has gained the respect of all with whom be has come in contact. Up to 1885, Mr. Esterly was an ardent Republican, but since that time he has. been independent in local matters, supporting the candidates he considers best fitted for offices; in National affairs, however, he votes with the Democratic party. In 1894 he was the candidate of his party for recorder of Wood county. Owing to the large Republican majority in the county, he was defeated by his Republican opponent, Herman Hinkly; August 25, 1896, he was nominated by the Democratic and Populist Fusion Convention for auditor, but was again defeated by the Republican candidate. WILLIAM JEFFERY, deceased, was a worthy representative of the farming interests of Lake township, and was numbered among its pioneer settlers. He was one of the first to locate within its borders, where he arrived in 1832, and, in Section 32, entered land from the government, which he continued to improve and cultivate until October, 1844, when he traded that property for the present homestead of the family in Section 18. He endured all the hardships and trials that fall to the lot of a frontier settler; but, by perseverance and determined effort, he succeeded in in placing his farm of forty acres under a high state of cultivation Mr. Jeffery came from across the sea, being born in Cornwall, England, June 10, 1806, and was a son of William and Mary Jeffery, natives of the same place. His father was a whaler, and died while away from home on a long cruise. While a young man, William determined to come to America, and embarked on a sailing vessel at Liverpool, England, which was three months in making the voyage. After his arrival in New York City, in July, 1832, he had the cholera, but on his recovery started at once for Wood county. In Lake township, in 1842, he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Lewis, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, and was a daughter of Philip Lewis. Her parents both died in England, and at the age of ten years she came' to the New World, being six months upon the ocean. She came direct to' Wood county where she had a sister living—Mrs. Goss, then a resident of Lake township, but who died in Troy township. To Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery were born ten children —Isaac, who enlisted in April, 1865, in the 189th 0. V. I., was taken sick at Nashville, Tenn., and after coming home died August 8, 1865; Mrs. Sarah Haskell died in Lake township, June 17, 1895;, Hannah is at home; Cornelia died on the home farm September 16, 1867; Mary A., died June 30, 1870; Jane died March 11, 1855; James is upon the home farm; George is next in order of birth; Wesley was married October 19, 1895, to Mrs. Anna Cole; and Charles died January 8, 1864, The family is one of the oldest and most highly respected in the township. Mr. Jeffery took a prominent part in public affairs, assisting in the organization of Lake township, where he served as the first assessor, and held that office for many years, while for several years he was trustee. For three years he held the position of State assessor, and throughout the county he was well and favorably known. He did much toward the development of his township, clearing 100 acres of heavily timbered land, and was numbered among the liberal-minded and public-spirited citizens, who, while carving out their oun fortunes, contributed, as they had opportunity, to the well-being of the people around them. In early life he Was a member of the Evangelical Church, but later was connected with the Methodist denomination, and he was a conscientious, Christian gentleman. His earthly career was ended December 13, 1890, that of his wife, on the 13th of March, 1875. DANIEL N. EASLEY, deceased, was one of the well-known citizens and highly respected men of Bloomdale. He was a native of Switzerland, born in Canton Berne, January 30, 1831, and was a child of only three years when he emigrated to America with his parents. His father, Jacob Easley, was a farmer of limited means in Switzerland, and hoped by coming to the United States to better his financial condition. Landing on the shores of this continent, he remained in the Empire State for about a year: but, as land was cheaper farther west, he removed to Crawford county, Ohio, and in Cranberry township, that county, died, March 30, 1847, aged fifty-four years. He was twice married, the mother of our subject being the second wife, and his family was quite large. The boyhood days of Daniel N. Easley were spent upon his father's farm, aiding in the arduous task of clearing and developing the land with the primitive machinery of that early day. His father dying when he was quite young, he was deprived of the care and advice of that parent; but he had, however, a kind and loving mother, who endeavored to teach him the principles of WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1151 good citizenship, in which she succeeded, as his later life plainly demonstrated. Learning the carpenter’s trade, he afterward followed that occupation in Missouri and Illinois, and while in the later state attended a business college at Aurora, from which institution he was graduated in February, 1860. He latter taught school in both Illinois and Wisconsin. In Crawford county, Ohio, July 5, 1863, Mr. Easley was joined in wedlock with Miss Rosanna Bittikoffer, a native of Stark county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Bittikoffer, who was born in Switzerland, and was a farmer by occupation. Eight children blessed this union, as follows: (1) Justin L. is a carpenter and contractor, and is the present mayor of Bloomdale. (2) Francis died at the age of ten years. (3) Jacob N,, of Bowling Green, is one of the three gentlemen comprising the Wood Courtty Abstract & Loan Company, and his business has given him a wide acquaintance throughout the county, where he is well and favorably known. He was formerly a teacher in the public schools of Bloomdale, removing in February, 1890, to Bowling Green. (4) John C. was a teacher in the public schools of Bloom township, but iS now the carpenter and joiner in Bryant & Linhart's planing-mills at Bloomdale. (5) Paul M. died when five years old. (6) Webster D. died August 16, 1896, aged twenty-two years. (7) Ida M. is at home. (8) Edna R., who is also at home, completes the family. Mr Easley began his domestic life upon a fifty-acre farm which he owned in Crawford county, and about 1874 he removed with his family to Cass township, Hancock county, there remaining until 1881, when they came to Bloomdale. A comfortable home was here erected, and, on disposing of his land in Cass township, he purchased eighty acres of land in Section 20, Bloom township, Wood county, which is still in the possession of the family, but was never occupied by them. Here Mr. Easley followed carpentering and contracting until his untimely death, August 15, 1893. His remains were interred in Van Buren cemetery, Hancock county. While a lifelong Democrat,. always taking a deep interest in the success of his party, he was by no means a politician, and after regularly casting his vote his interest subsided. Notwithstanding this, however, he was elected the first city treasurer of Bloomdale, and also served as a member of the city council, which position he held at the time of his death. He was connected with Odd Fellows Lodge No. 406, of Bloomdale, and also with the Daughters of Rebekah. Religiously, he was a leading member of and liberal contributor to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was an intelligent. hardworking man, a good mechanic and a prominent citizen, and every enterprise for the advancement and welfare of the community received his support. Since his death Mrs. Easley, a most highly respected lady, has resided in their comfortable home at the corner of Main and Vine streets, Bloom dale. BYRON FREDERICK. The subject of this personal narrative is one of the most successful and progressive farmers of Bloom township, and is most highly esteemed and respected by those who know him best. He is descended from a family that has resided in this State from an early day, his father having been born in Green township, Ross county, September 24, 1816, to Jacob and Elizabeth (Bitzer) Frederick. The grand- father's birth occurred in 1778, in Northumberland county, Penn., where he married Miss Bitzer, born in 1786, a daughter of a New Jersey family. They continued to reside in Pennsylvania until after the birth of their eldest children; but in the early part of the present century crossed the Alleghany mountains, locating in Ross county, Ohio. In 1834 they removed, in wagons, to Big Spring township, Seneca Co., Ohio, driving their cattle, and located on a quarter-section of land, which Jacob Frederick had previously entered, and on which he erected a log house, into which the family moved. He died on that farm at the age of seventy years, and his wife at the age of eighty-five. They were members of the German Reformed Church, and in politics he was a Whig. In their family were the following children: William, who died in Seneca county; Peter, John and Jacob, who all died in RosS county; Susanna, who became the wife of Samuel Pontius, and died in Ross county ; Solomon, who passed away in Bloom township, Wood county; Anthony, the father of our subject; Jonas, of Bowling Green, Ohio; Samuel, who died in Ross county; Daniel, who entered the one-hundred-days' service, during the Civil war, and died at a fort near Washington, D. C. ; and Maria, who married J. W. Laughead, and died in Seneca county. At the age of about nineteen years Anthony Frederick came, with his father, to Seneca county. By agreement he and his brother, Solomon, were to remain at home and clear half of the 16o-acre tract, and receive a deed for the other eighty acres; but the father died suddenly before the deed was made, and the two brothers divided the land, receiving forty acres each. On November 1152 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. 3, 1838, in Seneca county, he married Miss Rhoda Nafus,. who was born in Hopewell township, Ontario Co., N. Y., April 15, 1817, daughter of William and Saloma (Carpenter) Nafus. Her father was a shoemaker by trade, and, in the fall that Andrew Jackson was first a candidate for the Presidency, came to Ohio, locating in Wyandot county; near the present site of McCutchenville, where he bought three acres of land close to his two sons, John and Cornelius, who had preceded him. There he built a shop, where he carriedl on shoemaking. His first wife died at the age of, sixty-two,. after which he was again married, and he died, in Wyandot county, at the age of seventy- seven years. After his marriage Anthony Frederick located on his forty-acre timber tract, where a log house 16 x 18 feet had been erected, and carried on the improvement of his place until 1852, when he removed to Adrian, Seneca county, there conducting a sawmill, in connection with his brother Jonas: for two years and a half. On disposing of his interest, he secured a position as foreman of a sawmill in Berwick, Same county; but after a short time he returned to his farm in Big Spring township. Later he went to Benton, Crawford county, Where he also engaged in the sawmill business, following that pursuit in several places until. January, 1861, when he came to Jerry City, Wood county, there operating a sawmill until 1865, In the year 1867 he went to Bloom Center, and there engaged in the same business for awhile; but he now operates his farm of forty acres at that place. His first vote was casts for William H. Harrison, the Whig candidate, but he has supported the Republican party since its organization. For five years he served as constable and for two years as assessor of Big Spring township, Seneca county, while he was assessor of Bloom township, Wood county, for five years, and trustee for one year during the war. He and his estimable wife belong to the Church of God, in which he is at present an elder. In their family were the following children: Solomon S., of Henry township, Wood county; William H. of Jerry City; Nathaniel, who died at Bloom Center, at the age of forty-three years; Charles, who died in the same place; Byron. whose name introduces this sketch; Susan E., who martied J. A. Bailey, and died in Bloom township; and Rosa E., wife of W. H. Dennis, of Bloom Center. In Big Spring township, Seneca county, Byron Frederick first opened his eyes to the light of day,, July 16, 1850, and at the age of ten years was brought by his parents to Jerry City, Wood county. He received. a common-school education, and became familiar with farming, milling and several other lines of business October 26, 1873, at the home of W. S. Richard, in Bloom township, he was united in marriage with Miss Amanda J. Bailey, who was born at Bloom Center, November 5, 1853, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Simon) Bailey. They have become the parents of two children - Naman O., born July 15, 1875; and Harry B., born March 23, 1883. After his marriage Mr. Frederick took up his residence in Bloom Center, where he became interested in a sawmill, in connection with George Dennis; but he disposed of his interest before they began operations. At the end of six years he removed to Jerry City, entering the employ of the Dewey Stave Company, for which he continued to work until March, 1885, when he removed to his present fine farm in Section 3, Bloom township, on which an old house was then standing; in the fall of 1890 he completed his present comfortable residence. He is a natural mechanic, taking great delight in machinery, with which he is quite familiar. Politically a stanch supporter of the Republican party, socially he is a member of Vitus Lodge No. 602, I. O. O. F., of Jerry City, and religiously he and in, his worthy wife belong to the Church of God, in which he was formerly an elder, and is now superintendent of the Sunday-school, while she is a teacher in the same. They are earnest Christian people, and well deserve the high regard in which they are held. RUFUS A. EMERSON, the pioneer merchant of Bloomdale, was born October 21, 1855, in Wyandot county, Ohio. He is descended from. an old Virginia family, a son of Noble and Mary (Keesecker) Emerson, who were the parents of ten children, three of whom were born in Ohio. His grandfather Emerson was a slave-holder, but his father, Noble Emerson, being opposed to this, in early manhood determined to seek a home in a free State. He had been employed in boyhood as a boatman on the Potomac, and as a steersman on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, but later learned the cooper's trade which he followed throughout his life. In 1833 the family moved to Beaver county, Penn., an in May. 1848, they came to Mexico, Wyandot Co., Ohio, traveling in a small two-horse wagon. Our subject's father had but limited means, and on reaching Mexico he found employment at his trade, and later bought the shop, the trade in potash and in pork barrels furnishing him a good income. In 1859 he moved to Sycamore, where our subject’s mother died December 7, 1862. The father WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1153 never married again. , He survived her thirty years, dying September 10, 1892, at the age of eighty-three and their remains now rest in the cemetery at Sycamore.. Two years after his wife’s death, he moved to the vicinity of Frankfort, Pike Co., Mo., and bought a farm, which he later sold. He worked at his trade for some time, and in 1871 came to Eagleville to live in time of our subject's elder brother, Hon. E. P. Emerson. He was a man of industrious habits, and was over 6 feet, 2 inches tall, but spare in flesh. While he was no politician, he took an intelligent interest in all the questions of his time, and was a regular voter, being a Whig in his party years and later a Republican. Our subject is one of Six surviving children in the following family: Samuel B. died-in Ohio, a wealthy man, after many years spent in the practice of medicine at Eagleville. Elijah P. Resides at Bloomdale. John M. enlisted in Company G.123d O. V. I., and, it is believed, was one of the many who perished in Andersonville prison. Rachel A. died in Virginia. William W., lives in Bloomdale. Enoch died in Virginia. Mary J. is the wife of Rufus W. Lundy, a hardware merchant of Myrtle Point, Ore. Milton L. Is prosperous resident of Sycamore, Ohio, a blacksmith by occupation. Frank N. lives in San Francisco. Rufus A. is our subject. Until the age of ten years Rufus A. Emerson attended the schools of Sycamore, Ohio, but after that his educational opportunities were less satisfactory. In 1869 he returned to his native county, and for two years made his home with a brother-in-law, R. W. Lundy, then returning to Missouri. In the spring of 1870 he accompanied Mr. Lundy to Mitchell county, Kans., then a frontier section, where . buffaloes were plenty. The journey was made by wagons, and Mr. Emerson walked, driving the cattle. He came to Eagleville, Wood county, in March, 1871, and assisted his brother, E. P. Emerson, in the work of his store and farm, attending school in the winter. Remaining there until 1874, he was then employed for a short tinge in a brickyard in Hancock county, belonging to Isaac Hale, returning in July of that year to Eagleville to haul stone for the first building constructed in Bloomdale for business purposes exclusively, and here, on December 22, 1874, his brother, E. P. Emerson, opened a general store, our subject being employed as clerk. In April, 1877, Mr. Emerson and another elder brother, William W., bought out the business and conducted it under the firm name of Emerson Bros., until August 15, 1882, when he became the sole owner, having in the meantime built a new store which was first occupied in February, 1882. Courteous in manner, upright in character, and possessing keen perceptions and judgment, he enjoys the confidence of a wide circle of acquaintances. One seldom finds a town like Bloomdale which has only one dry-goods store; but so strongly is this one in- trenched in the favor of the community that when opposition has been attempted it has failed. Mr. Emerson takes an active interest in the improvement of the tOWn, and is connected with a number of business enterprises, being a director in the Bloomdale Building & Loan Association, of which he was an organizer, a stockholder in the Lakeside Co., owners of the assembly grounds at Lakeside, and, since March, 1894, he has been sole owner of the Bloomdale Gas Company, Mr. Emerson was married, October 24, 1878, in Bloom township, to Miss Ellen Shirk, a native of Mercer county, Penn., whose parents, A. J. and Harriet May Shirk, came to Wood county during her childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson have had nine children: Jay N. and Edna, at home; Max C., who died at the age of three years; Lois, Mary and Roland R., at home; Robert B., who died when nearly three years old; Nellie A.; and one unnamed. Mr. Emerson and his wife are lead,ing members of the Radical U. B. Church, of which he is a trustee. In 1890 he built one of the finest residences in the town. He was a Republican until 1887, since when he has given his support to the Prohibition party. JOHN SCHUTZEBÈRG. Success in any calling is an indication of persistent effort, enterprise and sound judgment qualities which are possessed in a high degree by the subject of this review. From a humble position he has worked his way upward to one of affluence; has surmounted difficulties and overcome obstacles, and, to-day, as the reward of his earnest labor, has one of the fine farms of Middleton township. Mr. Schutzeberg Was born in Hessen, Germany, November 2, 1824, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Chollpiffer) Schutzeberg, who spent their entire lives in that country. In the public schools near his home, John acquired a good education, and, at the age of fourteen, began earning his on living. He spent one year in the German army, and continued to work at various employments until 1851, when, determined to seek a home in America, he took passage on a westward-bound sailing vessel, which dropped anchor in the harbor of New York, after a voyage of sixty-five days. He at once made his way to Erie county, Ohio, where he worked 1154 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. as a farm hand until 1853, when he rented land and began farming on his own account. His first purchase made him the owner of forty acres in Middleton township, WOod county, on which he erected a log house, and then began clearing the place. He has since added three forty-acre tracts, and now has a very valuable and desirable property, which yields to him a golden tribute in return for the care and labor he bestows upon it. In Erie county, Ohio, in 1853, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Schutzeberg, and Miss Mary A. Keithel, who was born, in Hessen, Germany, in 1831. They became, parents of eight children—Lizzie, wife of George Forst, a farmer; Henry and John, who carry on agricultural pursuits; Mary, deceased wife of William F. Brinker, of„Cleveland; Christ, an oil operator; Anna, deceased wife of G. Rudolph, a farmer of Washington township, Lorance, a teamster of Haskins; and William, wbo operates the homestead farm. The mother of this family died in April, 1892, and her death was mourned by many friendS as well as her family. In politics, Mr. Schutzeberg is a Democrat, and has served as road supervisor and school director for a number of years. He is a very active and consistent member of the German Reformed Church, and for twenty-eight years has been an elder in same. He came to this country empty-handed, but has' steadily worked his way upward, and his honorable, upright life is certainly worthy of-emulation. WILLIAM MASON. The handicap of early poverty does not prevent socv energetic natures from making a success in worldly affairs, which iS all the more creditable for the difficulties overcome. The subject of this review was born in Yorkshire, England,. March 8, 1825, the son of James and Hannah (Taylor) Mason, both of whom died in the old country. His fdther was a day laborer, and, as our subject was the youngest in a family of six sons and eight daughters, he had to make his own way from the early age of eight years. He worked for the first five years for five pounds, doing such tasks as his youth permitted, but as he grew older his services became more valuable. He never knew a home until his marriage, in January, 1850, to Miss Jane Fenton, who was also a native of Yorkshire, born about 1828. He had no schooling whatever in his native country; but since coming to America he has gained a practical education, his shrewd brain making the most of every opportunity. In March, 1850, Mr. Mason and his bride left Hull on the " Rumswell," and landed at New York after a voyage of eighty-five days. Their destination was Ohio, but they spent Some months with Mr. Mason's brother, Thomas, at South Bend, Wis., before locating upon a rented farm in Riley township, Sandusky county. The forty pounds, which Mr. Mason had when they left Hull, was by this time nearly exhausted, and he worked as a laborer for two years at fifty cents a day in ordinary times, and seventy-five cents in harvest. He managed to buy a team of oxen, and forty acres of partly improved land located in Scott township, Sandusky county. After two years Mr. Mason sold this farm and purchased forty acres in Section 1, Montgomery township, where he now resides. The first house on the place was a log shanty, 16 x 20 feet, and it has taken many years of hard work to bring the property into its present highly- improved condition. He has met with well-deserved success, and his possessions now include 126 acres of land in Wood and Sandusky counties. In the dark days of the Rebellion, he manifested his loyalty to the land of his adoption, by enlisting in Company K, 144th 0. V. I and was one of the twenty-nine survivors of company. Politically he is a steadfast Republican, but he but he is not a seeker for political position. On February 7, 1889, his home was darkened by "death angel" when the beloved partner of his life passed from earth. Her remains lie in the Bradner cemetery. Six children survive her Charles lives in Missouri; Margaret married Samuel Wygant, of Madison township, Sandusky county; James also resides there; Hannah is the wife of Noble Holcomb, of Rollersville, Ohio; Edward T. resides in Freedom township; Mary is at home. Mindful of the deprivations of own early life, Mr. Mason has given his children good educations, and two, Mary and Hannah, have. taught school. JOEL KIMBLE has justly earned the proud American title of a self-made man, and the farm which he occupies to-day has been acquired entirely through his own industrious efforts. He was born in Harmony township, Morrow Co., Ohio, February 25, 1842, and is a son of William D. and Rebecca (Stilley) Kimble, who, in April 1864, came to Wood county. The father purchased 120 acres of land in Freedom township, and our subject cut the first tree on the farm. William Kimble was born in Chester township, Morrow county, in 1814, and was a son of Daniel Kimble, who removed to this State from Washington county, Penn. The mother of our subject was born in Knox county, Ohio, and was a daughter of John Stilley, who left the Keystone State WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1155 and became one of the pioneers of Knox county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Kimble are Nellie, wife of S. J. Munsel, of Freedom township; Sarah, wife of William Bell, of Freedom; Joel; Lavina J., who died in 1868; Perry, of Monroe county, Mich.; and Josephus, of Freedom township. The father of this family died December 14, 1883, and the mother died July 10, 1887, their remains being interred in Bradner cemetery. Mr. Kimble gave his political support to the Democracy, but never sought office. He made farming his work throughout life, and the success that attended his efforts was due to his own' energy and perseverance. Joel Kimble, of this review, received only such educational privileges all the primitive Schools of the neighborhood afforded. He was reared on the home farm until seventeen years of age, and then began to learn the carpenter's trade under Milton Hathaway, following that pursuit the greater part of the time for twelve years. He was married in 1868, and for five months thereafter resided on a rented farm in Montgomery township. His first purchase was forty acres of wooded land in Section 36, Freedom township, whereon he built a framer house 18 x 24 feet. He lived there until removing to his present home, April 14, 1873. He purchased sixty acres of land in Section 25, Freedom township, and cleared a space for the erection of a log house, 20 x 24 feet. He was at that time $400 in debt. During the first two years he worked out by the day, and in the evenings and mornings cleared his own land. His earnest labor ankl, persistent efforts have brought him success, and he is now the owner of a valuable farm of ninety-two acres. In 1891 he built a good barn, and in.1896 erected his present excellent residence. Mr. Kimble was married December 24, 1868, in Madison township, Sandusky county, to Miss Eva Hanline, who was born in Section 1, Montgomery township, Wood county, July 31, 1844, a daughter of David and Eve (Rumler) Hanline. Their children are Geneva, now the wife of Henry Saam, of Madison township, Sandusky county; Josephus, who died at the age of five months; and Effie, wife of Frank .Wolfe, of Pemberville, Ohio. The parents are members of the Lutheran Church and in politics Mr. Kimble is a Democrat. BENJAMIN RHODES is one of the most genial abd whole-souled men of Portage township. He was born in Bingley, Yorkshire, England, December 15, 1835, and is one of a family of ten children, four sons and six daughters, whose father was Joseph Rhodes. His parents both died in England, the father, when our subject was only ten years old. At the age of fifteen he began learning the machinist's trade, which he followed in his native land until the spring of 1854, when he left the Old World, resolved to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic. Thirty days after sailing from Liverpool, he arrived in New York City, a stranger in a strange land, with only $5 in his pocket, with which to begin life. Mr. Rhodes first secured work with J. S. Gwynn, a maker of rotary pumps, on 29th street, but the shops were afterward removed to Brooklyn, and with that gentleman he remained for sixteen months. He then worked for four months in the Essex Machine Shops in Lawrence, Mass., at the end of which time he returned to New York City, being employed on Cherry street by machinists. Later he entered the Sirwell White-lead Works aS a fixer; but in December, 1857, he went to Chicago, where he worked for Wimple, Kline & Co., manufacturers of threshing machines, for a year and a half. On August 9, 1859, Mr. Rhodes first arrived in Wood county, driving to the village of Portage from La Porte, Ind., with an ox-team, for an emigrant family who came by rail. For a time he was employed in the sawmill of Hiram Ives, of Center township; but the following spring went to Toledo, where he obtained work at his trade, in the Fulton Iron 'Works, at the foot of Lafayette and St. Clair streets. At Portage, in September, 1861, Mr. Rhodes enlisted in Company C, 21st O. V. I. At Camp Vance, Findlay, Ohio, under Capt. A. McMahan, the troops received their arms, after which they were sent to Camp Dennison, Cincinnati. The first engagement in which our subject participated was at Ivy Mountain, Ky, November 8, 1861, and from that time until they reached Nashville, he was with the regiment; but there he was ill for three weeks, and rejoining his command at Murfreesboro, remained with it until September zo, 1863, when he was taken prisoner at Chickamauga. He was confined in Rebel prisons in Richmond, Danville, Andersonville, and other places until paroled in March, 1865. He endured all the sufferings and privations of Southern prison life, and, when liberated at Goldsboro, N. C., lay unconscious for seventeen days, the result of the cruel treatment he had received. From Wilmington he was sent to Annapolis, and at Columbus, Ohio, was honorably discharged April 9, 1865, after almost four years of arduous and faithful service. In Fremont, Ohio, July 2, 1865, Mr. Rhodes was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Brown, a 1156 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO native of Sandusky county, Ohio, by whom he bad one child, Katy, who died in infancy, and the mother died fourteen months after her marriage. Later, in Montgomery township, Wood county, our subject wedded Caroline Lein, and to them were born two children: Mary, now Mrs. E. E, Rickard, of Montgomery township; and Joseph A., at home. The lady, who now beats the name of Mrs. Rhodes, was in her maidenhood Miss Mary Shinew, a daughter of Francis Shinew. At the close of the war, Mr. Rhodes made his home for a time in Portage, after which for three years he worked at his trade in Toledo, and then bought land in Liberty township, Wood county, which he operated about a year. Next he bought a farm in Montgomery township, which he cultivated until 1885, when he removed to his present farm of 12'2 acres. The land has been brought to a high state of cultivation, and yields in abundance the rich crops adapted to this climate. He holds membership with Randall Post, No. 55, G. A. R., at Prairie Depot, and in politics he is an unswerving Republican, by which party he was elected supervisor. He is. recognized as an honest man and good neighbor, and has the esteem of all who know him. A. VAN VORHIS. There is no class of biographies which is more interesting to read than that of the industrious and enterprising farmer's boy, who has risen unaided from a state of comparative perverty to a position of affluence and comfort. Prominent among the men of Portage township, who have thus laboriously toiled onward and upward, is the individual of whom this sketch is written. Mr. Van Vorhis was born in Whetstone townsbip, Crawford Co., Ohio, February 12, 1850, and is the eldest child of H. N. and Sarah A. (Beck) Van Vorhis, with whom he came to Wood county, at the age of fourteen years. In the primitive log school houses of that day he received. hiS literary training, and, when not in school, he aided in the labor of the fields on the home farm until reaching his majority. He then returned to Crawford county, where for two years he was employed as a,farm hand. On Christmas Day of 1873, in Portage township, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. VanVorhis and Mary J. Long, who was born in Medina county, Ohio, April 22, 1852, and when quite small was brought to this county by her parents, Lewis and Polly (Yonker) Long. Five children have been born to our subject and his wife: Alice L., who is now Mrs. F. W. Lembrich; Aura B., at home; a son who died in infancy; and Albert C. and Lewis E., also at home. At the time of his marriage Mr. Van Vorhis had no property, but later purchased forty acres of land in Section 15, Portage township, covered with a dense growth of timber, and after improving that tract for some time, farm in Section 33, Center township. While residing there, in March, 1886, his home was burned to the ground. He next removed to Plain township, and, in January, 1890, returned to Portage township, purchasing fifty-four acres in Section 3, which still continues to be his home. Four years later he built his comfortable residence, and the neat and thrifty appearance of his place denotes that the owner is a good manager and systematic farmer. He has held several minor offices in the township, and his political support is given the Republican party, while religiously he and his wife are members of the Christian Church. JOSEPH S. ENOS, one of the highly-respected and representative citizens of Bloomdale, has since 1892 been engaged there in painting and paper-hanging. His father, Joseph Enos, was born September 1, 1805, near the city of Wilmington, Del., of Welsh-Irish parentage, and , in 1837, was married in that city to Miss Elizabeth Shakespeare, who, though native-born, was of high English parentage. Her birth occurred May 11, 1815. The parental household included seven children, two sons and five daughters, namely: Caroline E., who became the wife of Robert Cellar, died in Jerry City, Ohio, in 1874, leaving three children; Mary A. is the widow of John Bosler, and now makes her home in Toledo, Ohio; Joseph S. is the next in order of birth George W. is a painter and paper-hanger of Fostoria, Ohio; Jennie E. is the wife of Henry Myers, who is engaged in the oil business at Toledo, and they have three children; Lorain, F. G. Horn, a furniture dealer and undertaker of Bloomdale, and they have five children; Henrietta M. is the wife of George Adam, an extensive farmer and stock dealer of Jerry City, By trade, the father was a millwright and miller, which vocation he continued to pursue until 1845, when he came to Ohio, arriving at Fostoria in November, He then engaged until his death, October 2, 1856, which was caused by typhoid fever. Two years later his widow became the wife of John Cellars, who died at Bloomdale in 1883, and she now makes her home at Fostoria. Our subject first saw the light of New WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1157 Castle, Del., March 8, 1845, and in November of same year was brought by his parents to Ohio, his boyhood days being passed in Perry township, Wood county. His primary education was there received at the Beech schoolhouse, his first teacher being Mary Jane Halsey, and he later attended a school taught by Frank W. Dunn. In 1862 he entered the Fostoria High School, but on the 13th, of June, of the following year, at the age of eighteen, he joined the First Heavy Artillery, and served in many skirmishes and foraging expeditions. He was an adept at the latter. For example, he once turned over a barrel, resembling an ash barrel set up to run off lye, to find four large hams roll out. At the close of hostilities, he was discharged, in August 1865, and then returned to his studies at Fostoria, which he completed in 1866. He then followed carpentering for a time, and during the years 1869 and 1870 engaged in school teaching. On September 29, of the latter year, Mr. Enos married Miss Martha Johnson, a lady of Scotch-Irish descent, who was born October 31, 1888. Three children graced their union—John J., a painter living at Bloomdale, is married and has one child; Flora E., died at that place in 1888, from dropsy, originating in a diseased hip and curvature of the spine; and Glenn D., married ed to Scott S. Pelton, a driller of Wood county. Until 1882 Mr. Enos worked at the carpenter's trade in Perry township, and then came to Bloomdale to enter the shops of Bryant & Linhart, where the following ten years were passed. In 1892 he met with an accident which came nearly costing him his life. He caught his right arm in a saw, which completely severed the ulna bone, and partially the radius, and though he still retains that member, it is in a crippled condition. He has since devoted his time and attention to painting and paper-hanging at Bloomdale, where he has built up a good trade, and there has a pleasant home on Garfield street. Mr. Enos has been a lifelong supporter of the Republican party, in whose ranks he is an earnest worker, and he has held several local offices, having seen constable of Perry township two terms, clerk of the same township three terms; assessor of Bloom townshipl three terms; a member of the board of education also for three terms; and at present he is serving as city marshal of Bloomdale. He is one of the founders of the special school district of Bloomdale, and has always taken a commendable interest in educational affairs. He has been a worthy member of and active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church of that place since 1866, and socially he is connected with Urie Post, G. A. R. For eight years he belonged to the Ohio National Guards, holding the rank of sergeant; was a member of Bloom Lodge No, 406, I. O. O. F., fifteen years; and of the Independent Order of Good Templars at Ted, Ohio, for nearly ten years. He has ever been a loyal citizen, faithful to his country in days of peace as well as when following the old flag on Southern battle fields, and he discharges every duty, whether public or private, in tbe most satisfactory manner. W. C. BURDICK. The subject of this history is a man of more than ordinary intelligence and business capacity, and now owns a good farm in Perry township. Like a large portion of the go- ahead men of Wood county, he is a native of New York, born in Cattaraugus county, March 25, 1829, and his ancestors were originally from Calais, France. His father, Seth L. Burdick, was born in Connecticut, but when a boy removed with his parents to Oneida county, N. Y., and at Paris Hill, that county, wedded Lydia Maltby, by whom he had six children—Charlotte, now the widow of John F. Todd, of Saco, Texas; Susan, who was married and died in Montana; Morris, formerly a printer, but now a proof-reader of New Haven, Conn. ; Augustus P., a machinist of Niagara Falls, N. Y. ; Lucy, widow of Henry J. Burdick, of that city; and W. C., of this review. The mother died in 1831, and in 1836 the father removed to Niagara Falls, where the following year he witnessed the burning steamer, " Caroline," drift over the Falls, having been set on fire by the Canadians. In that city he followed the trade of millwright and tbere died in March, 1859. Our subject received a common-school education, and at the age of sixteen began the millwright's trade under his father. He was very handy, with tools and for two years served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's and joiner's trade in Buffalo, N. Y., after which he went to Genesee county, that State, where he built a fine farm house for a man named Barnes. Later he was employed at carpentering in New York City and New Haven, Conn., after which he started for Mississippi City, Miss. ; but while en route he learned that yellow fever had broke out there, So changed his mind and went to Niagara Falls, where he worked in his father's sash and blind factory for several years. Going to Buffalo, he was employed by his brother-in-law, H. J. Burdick, for two years at car building, and on the expiration of that time went to Niagara, Canada, where 1158 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. he was employed in the same business for the Grand Trunk railroad. Several years previous, an acquaintance of our subject, John Bradner, had come to Wood county, and through his influence Mr. Burdick located here in June, 1859. He was accompanied by the brother-in-law with whom he worked in BuffalO, but that gentleman died a month later. It had been their intention to erect a cabinet shop, but this caused a complete change in the plans of ouir subject, and at Millgrove he erected the first steam sawmill, which he conducted for some time.: In 1870, however, he removed to Section 4, Perry township, where he owns a good farm of forty acres, and there has a pleasant home. He is an excellent mechanic, and to some extent has also engaged in carpentering since coming to the county,. many of the best farm residency in Perry and adjoining townships standing as monuments of his skill. On October 24, 1861, in West Millgrove, Mr. Burdick was joined in wedlock with Miss Cornelia A. Willard, a native of that place, born August 13, 1841, and a daughter of John G. and Malissa (Peabody) Willard, the former born in Trenton, Oneida Co., N. Y., February 25, 1802, and the latter in Stonington, Conn., November 26, 1804. The father was a farmer, merchant and hotel-,keeper, and, in the spring of 1837, he brought his family to Perry township, Wood county. In his family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, Mrs. Burdick is the sixth in order of birth. After completing her education, she taught in Bloorri and Perry townships for $2.50 per week. Seven children have been born to our subject and his wife—Charles W., who died at the age of five years; Helen A., now Mrs. Barton Phillips, of West Millgrove; Frederick C.,.at home; Emma, who died at the age or two years; Ralph A., agent at Hatton, Ohio, for the Toledo & Ohio Central railroad, and Louis G. and Edgar B., at home. In politics Mr. Burdick is a Republican, though at one time he was a Know-Nothing, and has served several years as school director, taking a. great interest in advancing the cause of education. Socially, he is a Mason, and religiously he and his wife are members of the Congregational Church. They are frank, opened-hearted people, and have many friends throughout the community. ISAAC ACKERMAN was born in Henry township, November 24, 1846, on the farm which is still his home, and is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family. His father, David Ackerman, was a native of Switzerland, and, on a sailing vessel, started for America with his parents, but they died while en route, and were buried in the ocean. After a six-months’ passage, David Ackerman landed in New York, and went to Lancaster county, Penn., where he was bound out to a farmer, with whom he remained until he attained his majority. He there married Catherine Auwerter, a native of Germany, and in the fall of 1838 removed, with his family, from Lancaster county to Wood county, Ohio. The boat on which they took passage cat,, they reached their destination without loss of life. The father entered eighty acres of wild land in Henry township, erected a rude dwelling of round logs, There he carried on but afterward replaced it by a a more substantial one of hewed logs. There he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1876, his wife having passed away in 1875. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and she was a Dunkard in religious faith. Their children were as follows: Bevy, who died in childhood, Fan nie, wife of B. L. Peters, of North Baltimore, Ohio; Mary, who died at the age of eighteen; Jacob, a farmer of Michigan; Catherine wife of . Fergus Hughes; Lydia, widow of Lewis Bloom, of Henry township; David, a farmer of Knox county, Mo. ; Isaac; Phebe, wife of D. Wiley, of North Baltimore; Michael, a farmer of Michigan; and Millie, wife of John W. Sterling, of Henry township: Our subject was reared on the home farm, and educated in the district schools. In the fall of 1865 he enlisted in Company F, 12th U. S. V. I., but was afterward transferred to the 21st, U. S. I., from which he received an honorable discharge in 1868. He was engaged in doing guard duty, being stationed at Richmond, Va., at Petersburg, and at Fortress Monroe, where for six months, he guarded Jefferson Davis. Later he was sent in pursuit of a band of robbers in Virginia, and was discharged at Camp Hamilton. Returning home, Mr. Ackerman followed farming, with his father, until his marriage. In Henry township, January 6, 1870, he wedded Nancy J. Slaughterback, who was born in Bloom township, Wood county, October 10, 1849. They located on the old family homestead, and their union was blessed with seven children: Lillian G., wife of Loring Leathers, of Findlay, Ohio; Franklin E.; Lulu C,; Margaret; Calvin; and two, Arthur W. and Ray, who died in infancy. From his father, Mr. Ackerman inherited forty-four acres of land, and afterward purchased thirty-six acres of his brother, so that he now has an excellent farm, upon which he hasmade many WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1159 splendid improvements. His present commodious home was erected in the fall of 1893. In politics he is a Democrat, and is an intelligent, self-made man and highly esteemed citizen. His wife belongs to the United Brethren Church. J. D. PHILO, a well-known agriculturist of Webster township, and one of the leaders in local affairs, was born in Erie county, Ohio, October 28, 1854. Daniel Philo, the father of our subject, and one of the most prominent pioneers of this vicinity, was born in 1827, in Luzerne county, Penn., where his father, Hurlbut, Philo, was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits. On reaching his majority, Mr. Philo left home and worked as a laborer for three years. He then rented a farm of 200 acres in Erie' county, Ohio, where he remained until April, 1858, when he came to Wood county, and settled on a farm near Tontogany. He was married in Erie county, January 19, 1854, to Miss Caroline Marks, a native of England, born April 27, 1835, who came to America with her parents when she was seven years old. Of this union seven children were born: J. D., subject of this sketch; Mary is th wife of Isaac Emmett; William A., George, Ward, and William L., are all prosperous farmers, and Sarah Jane, the youngest, is the wife of Job Walker. Our subject was educated in the schools of his district, and remained at the old homestead until he age of twenty-one, when he started in business for himself. ma 1879 he bought twenty acres of land near Fenton, to which he added later purchases until he now has eighty acres under cultivation, with fine modern buildings. He was married in 1879 to Miss Maria Fenton, of Webster township, and has three children, Lewis, Fred, and Robert. Mr. Philo is a man of rare geniality and kindness, and his good judgement and ability make him a popular candidate for the Democratic party of his township. He as a supervisor for a number of years, school director for six years, also a member of the board of education, and is now serving his second term as trustee, giving general satisfaction in the discharge of his his duties. SAMUEL HYTER, of Bloomdale, has accomplished satisfactory work as a farmer, and, having acquired a competency to live on in his declining years, has retired from the business to make room for younger blood, required in the active life of a farther. He was born in what is now Carroll county, Md., July 22, 1826. His father, Jacob Hyter, was also a native of Maryland, where he married Margaret Koontz, and to them were born the following children: Elias, who was known as the " lame schoolmaster," being crippled from white swelling from the age of three years; Ephraim, a farmer of Henry county, Ohio, who died in March, 1895; Alice, who became the wife of John Longley (after whom the station on the Ohio Central railroad was named), and died in Seneca county, Ohio; Susan, who married Hezekiah Dern, in Maryland, and died in Fostoria, Ohio; Catherine, now Mrs. Samuel Shunk, who resides near Westminster, Md.; Julia A., who first wedded G. W. Crabb, but is now the widow of John Conley, and lives in Hillsdale county, Mich.; Jacob, who died at the age of three years; Margaret, now Mrs. David E. Coe, of Perry township, Wood county; Samuel; Abraham, of Bradner, Ohio; and William, a farmer of Clinton township, Seneca county. The parents were both of German descent, and spoke that language very readily, but the children never learned it. On October 18, 1839, the parents, with six of their children, including a married daughter and her husband, started for Ohio with two two- horse wagons. The father had disposed of all his property in Maryland, and had several hundred dollars. He purchased forty acres of partially improved land in Pleasant township, Seneca county, to which he later added an adjoining forty acres, and there died at the age of seventy- five years, his remains being interred at Tiffin. His wife, who survived him, lived to the age of eighty years, and was buried in Perry township, Wood county. She was a Methodist in religious belief, while he belonged to the German Reformed Church. He was a strong man, never ill, weighing almost two hundred pounds, and, at the time of his death, his hair was not yet gray. In the success of the Whig party he took an active interest, and he delighted in arguments both on politics and the Scriptures, on which he was well informed. The education of Samuel Hyter was obtained principally in Maryland; the nearest school in Seneca county was three miles from his home, and he was allowed to attend only a few weeks in the winter season, as through the summer months his services were needed upon the home farm. At the age of twenty-three he started out in life for himself, securing forty acres of land in Jackson township, Seneca county. In that townShip Mr. Hyter was united in marriage, on October 18, 1849, with Miss Rebecca McKee, who was born August 27, 1824, in Washington coun- 1160 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. ty, Penn., daughter of Thomas and Nancy si(Scheller) McKee. Her father was a native of County Down, Ireland, whence, at the age of nine years, he came with his father, John McKee, to America, locating in Pennsylvania, where the son was married. " When only two years old Mrs. Hyter was taken by her parents to Muskingum county, Ohio, later to Guernsey county, where she taught two terms of school, and, after going to Seneca county, in 1846, engaged in teaching for one term, her wages being but $1o.00 per month. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hyter began their domestic life upon the old " Longley homestead?" in Jackson township, Seneca county, and she Itin and wove the cloth for the family's use, being quite an expert in spinning flax. The children that came to brighten their home are as follows: John A., a farmer of Perry township, Wood' cciunty; Margaret A., wife of Dr. B. R. Hubbard, of Sandusky, Ohio; Emily J., now Mrs. Charles Redfern, of Perry township; Cora, who died at the age of four years; William A. and Rolla, who died in infancy; and Luella, who died at the age of fifteen years. They have an adopted son, Earl D. Bossier, who has lived with them from the age of four weeks. On selling his first farm of forty acres, in Seneca county, Mr. -Hyt,r,r bought eighty acres in Section 28, Perry township, Wood county, to which he subsequently added until he at one time had 20o acres. There he made his home until November 14, 1882, when he removed to Bloomdale, where he haS a commodious brick residence, and there he arid his estimable wife expect to spend their remaining days in peace and retirement. They are leading workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, .to- which they have contributed liberally, and Mr. Hyter was one of the building committee at the time the present house of worship was erected, and is now• trustee of the Church. C. B. HATFIELD, M. D., a rising young physician of West Millgrove, is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of Wood county. Our subject's birth occurred in Perry township, December 2, 1861, and he is the son of John S. and Johanna (Bunnell) Hatfield. During his youth and early manhood he remained upon his father's farm, receiving in the meantime a substantial foundation for an education in the district school. In the fall of 1889, at the age of twenty-seven years, he entered Western Reserve Medical School, at Cleveland, Ohio; but, before completing the prescribed course, was compelled to leave school, in the spring of 1891, on account of ill health. He later, however, became a student in the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, where he graduated in the spring of 1893. In June of that year, Dr. Hatfield located at West Millgrove, Wood county, where he has since engaged in a successful practice. He has won his way to the regards of the people, with whom he comes in contact in his daily rounds, by his ready tact and kindly sympathy. At Fostoria, Ohio, on the 1st of Sept, 1892, he wedded Miss Caroline E. Simon, a native of Bloom township, and a daughter of Stillings Simon. A bright little daughter blesses this union, — Neva V., born August 5, 1894. At locations the Doctor is independent of party lines, his only criterion in such matters being that a proposed measure is for the benefit of the community in which he lives; but on national questions his sympathies are usually with the Democratic party. JOSEPH G. STARN, a well-know merchant of Bowling Green, dealing in decorators’ materials, was born in Galion, Ohio, December 10, 1853. His grandparents, Jacob and Mary Starn, were among the early settlers of Wingard’s Corners, Crawford county, coming from Pennsylvania, where their son, Samuel, our subjects’s father, was born in 1815. He was married in Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Dague, a daughter of Gabriel Dague, a hardy pioneer of Medina county,' eighty-two years old at the time of his death in November, 1868. For some years the young people lived in that county, where Mr. Starn was employed as master mechanic on a railroad. Later he moved to Crawford county, and then to Hancock county, farming and working at the carpenter's trade. In 1864 he came to Perry township, Wood county, and ten years later went to Fostoria, where he died in 1891. His wife who was born in 1823, survives him and resides in Fostoria. They had nine children: (1) Rachel, deceased, formerly the wife of H. B. Nievel; (2) Martha, who died in childhood; (3) Hannah, who married J. H. Nievel, of Tiffin (4) Hannah the wife of J. B. Linhart, a wealthy farmer living near Van Buren, Ohio; (5): Joseph G., our subject; (6) Frank and (7) Johnson, residence of Fostoria; (8) Thomas C., who died in early manhood; and (9) Edwin Wilkins, who died December 20, 1895. Mr. Starn passed the first five years of his boyhood in Galion, but, his parents removing then from that town, his education was obtained chiefly in the district schools of Arlington, Ohio WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1161 and Perry township, Wood county, and in the high school at Fostoria. At the fast mentioned place he learned the trade of decorator, serving a two-years' apprenticeship. His employer then put him in charge of one of his shops where he remained until 1873, when he went to Akron and engaged in carriage painting. In 1878 he came to Wood county; and for some time followed his trade in Bowling Green. He was married the same year to Miss Maggie Minear, a native of Hancock colnty, born September 29, 1856. They have one living child, Harold, their first born, Glennah, having died at the age of nine. In 1880 Mr. Starn moved to Fostoria and formed a partnership with his father in the grocery and queensware trade; but about a year later he sold his interest, and returned to Bowling Green to work in the auditor's office. The term expiring; he began clerking, and this he continued for several years with different firms— fires, failures and sickness giving him a number of unwelcome vacations, In January, 1890, he opened his present store, where he keeps a well-selected stock of paper hangings, paints and artistis’ supplies. He also contracts for the artistic decoration of interiors, taking orders in town and country. He has a number of other business enterprises, and is a director in the Globe Building and Loan Association of Columbus, a stockholder ' appraiser in the Indemnity Building & Loan Co., of Cleveland, and owns a farm of forty acres near Bowling Green. He is an active and influential worker in the Republican party, and has held the office of clerk of Plain township for seven years, and been trustee of Oak Grove cemetery for nine years, serving as secretary and treasurer of the board, and devoting much time and energy to the improvement of the grounds. He belongs to the fraternal orders of the K. of P. and the P. O. S. of A. GEORGE WAGONER is well known throughout Lake township ,as one of the most thorough-going and enterprising farmers, pleasantly situated in Section 33. His.birth occurred in that township, in 1844, and here he has ever made his home. His parents, Samuel and Catherine (Shook) Wagoner, were natives of F-ranklin county, Penn., where they were reared and married, and emigrated to Wood county, Ohio, in 1835, making their first location at Stony Ridge, or East Empire House, where the father followed blacksmithing and was also employed on the pike. He entered 100 acres of Wild land in Lake township, which he at once began to clear and cultivate, and made his home thereon until his death in 1883. His wife departed this life in 1889. The parental household included nine children, namely: Joseph, who joined the boys in blue during the Rebellion, becoming a member of the 189th 0. V. I:, and died in Alabama: Samuel, who was a member of the same regiment, with which he served nine months, and died in Lake township, in 1894. Mrs. Sally Crayo, who resides in that township. Catherine, who became the wife of Joseph Shook, and lives in East Toledo, Ohio. Barney, who also served for nine months in the 189th 0. V. I:, and now resides on the old home farm in Lake township. Jonathan, who was a member of the same regiment, died in Ottawa county, Ohio, in 1891. Isaac, who served for three years in the 11 I th 0. V. I., and died in Lake township, in 1893. George, the subject of this sketch, is next in order of birth. Henry, who also belonged to the o1 1 th 0. V. I. , in which he served for three years, and now makes his home at Emporia, Kansas. Our subject obtained his education in the district schools of Lake township, and remained upon the home farm until his enlistment in the Union army. In February, 1865, he joined Company G, 189th 0. V. I., for one year or until the close of hostilities. At Camp Chase, Coplumbus, Ohio, he was mustered in and was first ordered to Nashville, Tenn. At Huntsville, Ala., the regiment was engaged in guarding railroads and bridges and in scouting, until honorably discharged at Nashville in the fall of the same year. Mr. Wagoner at once returned home to Lake township, where he has since engaged in farming. In 1875 he located upon his present farm; having purchased eighty acres of timber land, and erected thereon a good brick residence. He has two substantial barns besides other outbuildings, one built in 1876, which is 18 x 28 feet, and the other 36 x 5o feet was erected in 1882. He now has ninety-three acres, all cleared and placed under a high state of cultivation, and the neat appearance of the place indicates the progressive and enterprising spirit of the owner. In 1865, in Sandusky county, Ohio, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Wagoner and Miss Matilda Baker, a native of Stark county, this State, and. a step-daughter of Levi Baker, who became a resident of Lake township, but is now deceased. Her mother, Mrs. Leah Baker, still makes her home in this township. Six children have been born to our subject and his wife— James, who is married, and resides at Stony Ridge; Mrs. Laura Truman, who lives on the home farm; Hallie, also at home; and three 1162 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. others who are all deceased: Cyrus G. died April 18, 1872, aged two months; Dory Edna died March 9, 1883, aged three years, one month and, twenty-five days; and Gracy Ellen died March 29, 18183, aged five years, eight months and seventeen days. Mr. Wagoner belongs to one of the old and honored families of Lake township that was so well represented in the Union army during the Civil war, seven of the sons having entered the ranks' to fight for the old flag that now waves so. proudly over the united nation, and one laid down his life on the altar of his country. The political support of our subject is unswervingly given the Democratic party, and he has served as a member of the school board. He takes a just pride in the welfare and advancement of his township and county, and has aided materially in its improvement. JOHN A. CREPS is, numbered among the county's pioneers, and for fifty-seven years has been identified with .the interests of his locality. He lias, therefore, witnessed much of its growth and upbuilding, and has ever borne his part in the work. of progress as a loyal and devoted citizen, He was born in Perrysburg, this county, August 24, 1838. His father David Creps, was a native of Cumberland county, Penn., and, in 183o, was married to Rosanna All. They came to Ohio, in 1831, taking up their residence in Perrysburg, where he. was engaged in tanning leather from 1831 to 1847. They became parents of seven children, namely: Joseph, deceased; Amanda, wife of John Mercer; Shebna S., deceased; John A.; Marl, wife of Samuel Ryder; Catherine, deceased wife of George Chapman; and David R., a farmer of Waterville, Ohio. The father of this family carried on-agricultural pursuits for twenty-one years, His death occurred in 1868, and his wife passed away in 1878. In the district schools of Middleton township, John A. Creps acquired his literary education. and subsequently attended the Commercial College of Maumee, graduating from that institution. He then worked in a sash and blind manufactory at Perrysburg, and after a time became the owner of a controlling interest in the establishment. Later,. he sold out, and from 1858 to 1861 was in the grocery business at Perrysburg, when he sold his interest to his partner who gave his note for the amount. The partner afterward became bankrupt, and Mr. Creps lost over $700 through the transaction. From 1861 to 1871 he was engaged in- the wholesale and retail butchering business in Maumee, meeting with fair success in that undertaking. In 1871 he returned to the homestead farm which he operated for his mother until her death, and has since carried it on in his own interest. He now has an excellently improved farm, and is successfully engaged in the raising of grain and stock. Mr. Creps is a man of excellent business and executive ability, of resolute purpose and of great fore of character. He started out in life for himself a poor boy, but has been enterprising and progressive, and is now the possessor of a handsome farm. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and for six years served as director. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1888, in Lucas county, Ohio, he was united in marriage with Susanna Carroll, a native of Waterville, Ohio, and a daughter of James Carroll, of Lucas county. JOSHUA WEAVER, an agriculturist of energy and ability, is a native of Bloom township, where he still resides, belonging to one of the pioneer families. His birth occurred August 17, 1849, and he is a son of John and Harriet (Martin) Weaver, both natives of Washington county, Penn., the father born in March, 1815, and the mother December 26, 1814. There they were married, and about 1840, with their two children started for Wood County, Ohio. The father purchased eighty acres of land in Section 28, Bloom township, from Joshua Swayne, and immediately began its improvement. There he died April 12, 1875, and his wife on December 26, 1886. They were laid to rest in Weaver cemetery, which is on a portion of the old home farm. He had become one of the substantial farmers of the community, owning at the time of his death 320 acres, 240 of which were in one body. He always took quite an active interest in political affairs, supporting the Democratic party, and held several prominent positions, including the of justice of the peace, assessor, treasurer, and trustee. Although not a member of any Church, he always contributed liberally to the support of several. In the family were the following children: Isaac, who died after reaching manhood in Bloom township; Joel, of Hancock county, W. Va., Sarah A., who first married Cornelius Howard later became the wife of Conrad Flaugher, and died in Bloom township; George, a farmer of Kosciusko county, Ind.; James, who died in Bloom township after reaching maturity; Mary. E., who died while young; Joshua, subject of this sketch; Thomas, deceased; Harriet S., now Mrs. William Nusbaum, of Hancock county, Ohio; WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1163 Emma, wife of :Samuel "Kochensberger, of North Baltimore, Ohio: Joshua Weaver passed his early life upon his father's farm, which he now owns and successfully operates, and received his education at District school No. 9, his first teacher being George Bronson. After completing his studies he gave his entire time and attention to the cultivation of the land, and now has a good farm of forty acres in Section 28, on which, in 1886, he erected his present comfortable residence, while the barns and other outbuildings are all that could be wished for. The marriage of Mr. Weaver and Miss Amy Whitacre took place in Bloom township on September 13, 1874. The bride is a native of that township, born June 12, 1855, and is the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (McCrory) Whitacre. To this worthy couple Have been born six children: Mary R., George, Isaac N., Alta M., Earl R., and Floyd J. All are at home with the exception of George, who died in infancy, and Floyd J., who died at the age of four years. parents The parents active members of the Disciples Church at Eagleville, and are true and sincere Christian people. In politics Mr. Weaver is a strong adherent of the doctrines of the Democratic party, although bit little of a politician. As a friend he is an ardent and consistent one, and at his death will leave to his children the priceless heritage of a good name, which is to be chosen rather than great riches. M. C. BRIGGS. Foremost among the enterprising business men and capitalists of Bairdstown is the subject of this sketch, who, though he is not a native of the county, has during his short residence here so thoroughly identified himself with its best interests, and demonstrated his ability and public spirit, as to. receive the entire confidence of the community. He is of " Yankee " ancestry, and displays all the shrewdness, caution and energy which characterize that race. Mr. Briggs was born December 12, 1851, in Plessis, Jefferson Co., N. Y., where his parents, Clark and Margaret (Spalsbury) Briggs, still reside. Only two of their children lived to adult age, the other being Edwin D. Briggs, a prominent resident of, Bairdstown. During boyhood our subject attended the schools of his native village and assisted his father, who was a carpenter by trade, working also, at odd jobs as opportunity offered. At the age df sixteen he began clerking in the general store of Vandeberg & Avery, at fifty cents per; day, which seemed a small fortune to him. It required twenty-six and one-half days of this labor to secure a new overcoat, and, although it was by no means of the best material, he took great pride and satisfaction in it. After one year passed in the store, he attended a select school, where he pursued advanced studies and made rapid progress. At nineteen he began to learn the trade of cheesemaking, and for five years worked at that in summer, teaching school in the winter. From boyhood he has been noted for thoroughness and efficiency in any work he undertakes, and, therefore, he naturally made a success of his cheese making. In 1875 he received a gold medal and $75 in money from the Watertown Dairymen's Board of Trade for the best sample of cheese made, the contest being open to New York State. On March 15, 1876, Mr. Briggs was married at Plessis, by Rev. William M. Holbrook, to Miss Amanda Jones, a native of Oneida county, and a lady of fine social gifts. She was a teacher in Jefferson county, N. Y., for fifteen terms. They have a bright and interesting family of four children—Tennie C., who is now teaching music (she studied music under Prof. Billings, of Findlay); and Carie M. and Maud C. (twins), and Estella. Mr. Briggs came to Wood county November 17, 1877, to take a position as bookkeeper for the Dewey Stave Co., at Bairdstown. He discharged his duties so satisfactorily that in the following year he became manager of the general store conducted by the company. In October, 1881, he and a brother- in-law, William A. Jones, bought this store, which they have carried on ever since, the firm name being first M. C. Briggs & Co., and later Briggs & Jones, They now own 555 acres of land, of which 405 acres are in Bloom township, seventy acres in Perrysburg township, and eighty in Hancock county. On March 26. 1886, the Palmer Oil Company was incorporated, Mr. Briggs being one of its leading members, and he has been the secretary from that date to the present. The affairs of this company have been managed with unusual discretion and ability, and it is one of the most successful companies operating in Wood county, where they hold 600 acres in fee, and 4,000 acres under lease. No less than 125 wells are in operation, and the average monthly output is 30,000 barrels. They drilled the largest gas well ever put down in Wood county, " The Simon Well," on the N. W. of Section 29, which at this writing has been in active operation for ten years, and is still a paying investment. The Company have also extensive interests in southeastern Kansas, where they have 40,00o acres under leaSe, and are operating thirteen wells, 1164 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. ten of them gas wells which yield an average of $5,000,000 feet of gas per day. The remaining three, which are oil wells, are not yet in operation. The officers of the Palmer Oil Company are Andrew Emerine, of Fostoria, president; C. E. Palmer, of Fostoria, treasurer; William A. Jones, of Bairdstown, field manager; James S. Rodgers, of Toledo, S. Z. Foster, of Toledo, William Hardee, of Toledo, Joseph L. Wolcott, of Toledo, Andrew Emerine, of Fostoria, C. E. Palmer, of Fostoria, and M. C. Briggs, of Bairdstown, directors. In addition to giving to the details of his business enterprises that close attention which ensures success, Mr. Briggs finds time to keep well informed upon general topics, and to take an active part in local affairs. He is a generous supporter of various philanthropic movements, and contributes to the M. E. Church, of which his wife is a prominent member. He is a leader in the Republican party in his locality, and served a term as postmaster at Bairdstown under Arthur's administration. He has also been the clerk of the village, and is now village treasurer. SAMUEL KNIGHT. Prominent among the active citizens of North Baltimore, as well as influential officials of Wood county, is found the gentleman whose name is here recorded. Mr. Knight is a native of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, in the English Channel, having been born there July io, 1859, a son of Thomas W. and Eliza (Warren) Knight. The family came to America in 1861, making their first New World home in Erie county, Ohio, on Kelley's Island, and her vemained until 1872, in that year removing to Sandusky county. Our subjec't received his education in part at Sandusky City, and in part at Clyde, Sandusky county, remaining under the parental roof until November 23, 1882. On 'November to, 1881, he was united in marriage with Miss Ella Hostetter, who was born April 4, 1863, in Meigs county, Ohio, a daughterof James and Mary J. (Daugherty) Hostetter. She received her early schooling in her native county, made a study of elocution, and in June, 1895, was graduated from the Cleveland School of Elocution and Oratory. She is now a highly efficient teacher in her chosen profession, having classes in Bowling Green, Fostoria and North Baltimore, and is an officiating member of the National Association of Elocution and Oratory. Some time after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Knight took up their home at Mungen, Wood county, and were residents of that village until 1866, when they purchased a farm in Henry township, from ex-Gov. Foster, for whom Mr. Knight was land agent at the time. On this property they lived until 1892, then sold and bought a place in Milton township, which, also, the recently sold. In the same year purchased a neat home on Tarr street. North Baltimore, where they have since reside and where their many friends enjoy unstinted hospitality. To our subject and his amiable wife was born at Mungen, Wood county, November 23, 1883, one child, named Earl Alonzo. In his political preferences Mr. Knight is a Republican; in 1891 he was elected a member of the board of commissioners of Wood county, and is still filling that incumbency, having been reelected in 1894. The parents of Mrs. Knight are both natives of Virginia, the father born in 1831, the mother in 1833. They had a family of two sons and four daughters. Mrs. Knight's grandfather, James Hostetter, was born about the year 1800, and his widow is still living, at the patriarchal age of ninety years. LEWIS CRAMER, a wealthy citizen of Bowling Green, and now retired from active life, was born April 6, 1830, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a son of Jacob and Louisa (Moore) Cramer. The great-grandfather of our subject, on the paternal side, was born in Germany, and, when ten years old, came to America with his parents. They located in Pennsylvania, in what was then known as Penn's Valley. He was a farmer by occupation, and a soldier and pension, of the Revolutionary army. Lewis Cramer, the grandfather of our subject, was a resident of Fairfield county, Ohio, where he died when nearly seventy years of age. In the early part of his life he was a farmer, and a minister in the United Brethren Church, afterward, in that county, operating a flouring-mill and sawmill, by water-power, on Walnut creek. He was one of a large family of children, the following being the names of some of them: Lewis, Philip, John, Michael, Adam, Jacob, George, and Sarah. Lewis became the father of eight children, namely: Jacob, George,' Adam, Lewis, Sarah, Margaret, Mary and Christina. Jacob Cramer, the father of our subject, was born .in Pennsylvania, in 1808, was married in Fairfield county, Ohio, to Louisa Moore, who died in Fairfield county, in 1836, at the age of thirty-three. They followed farming for many years. Jacob was three times married, having five children by his first wife, namely: Levi, who died in Wood county, when sixty-one years old; Susan, married to Daniel Knepper, of Fairfield WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1165 country, and died when about twenty years of age; our subject; Irvin, who enlisted from Fairfield county, in the regular army, during the Civil war, and died in-Libby prison; and Louisa, marrieed to Henry Knepper, and now residing near Carey, Wyandot county. Mr. Cramer's second marriage was to Miss. Sarah Derr, and of this union three children were born: William, who died when seven years old; Margaret, who is married, and residing in Lancaster, Ohio; Sarah, married, and living near Warsaw, Ind. Jacob Cramer's third wife Was Mrs. Annie Moore (widow or George Moore), by whom he had no children. Mr. Cramer died in Ohio, about the year 1873. Mrs. Louisa (Moore) Cramer, mother of our subject, was a daughter of Levi and Mary (Bright) Moore, natives of Delaware, and who were among the first settlers of Fairfield county, where they followed farming. They were the parents of several children, named respectively: John, Louisa, Edward, Abigail, George, Elizabeth, Sarah, Levi, and Erwin. The father was very highly respected citizen, and a leader among men. Both parents died on the farm they had settled on. The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in Fairfield county, remaining on the home farm with his father until he was some twenty-two years old, when he moved to Hancock county, on to a new farm, whereon he lived twenty-one years, and then came to Wood county. At the age of twenty-three he married Miss Martha Carnes, who, died in l852, and December 13, 1855, for his second wife, he wedded Miss Jennie Black. In 1876 he purchased land in what was then the suburbs of Bowling Green, but which is now a part of the city, and has an elegant and comfortable home. He has spent a busy life, dealing in real-estate, flour-milling and loaning his money; but is now taking his ease and comfort, his chief occupation being to look after his property, and his interest in the Union Flouring Mills of the city, of which he is one of the proprietors. Mr. Cramer .cast his first Presidential vote for James K. Polk, his last Democratic vote going for James Buchanan, and for many years past has exerted his influence in behalf of the Republican party. He is a member of the United Brethren Church, liberal in his contributions to all worthy causes, and is highly regarded as one of the valuable citizens of Bowling Green. Mrs. Cramer was born in Fairfield county, in 1838, and is a daughter of Lemuel and Sarah (Bogart) Black, the former of whom was born in Fairfield county, the latter near Reading, Penn. Mr. Black was a wheelwright and chairmaker by trade, and when died about sixty-five years old, a member of the United Brethren Church; his wife died in June, 1894, aged eighty-two years. Lemuel Black was the son of John Black, who was of Scottish descent, and whose family comprised six children: Lemuel, Ira, John, Millie, Susan, and Catherine. Mrs. Cramer was the eldest of seven children, the others being Maggie and Martin, both deceased; William, living at Findlay, Ohio; Elroy, living in Smithton, Mo. ; Elmer and Cloe K., living in Hancock county. Mrs. Cramer died suddenly at Bowling Green, mourned by many friends by whom she was beloved, and held in the higheSt respect for her many virtues, her amiability, and her sweet disposition. J. H. SMITH, a retired agriculturist of Jerry City, was born November 13, 1817, in Mifflin township, Richland county, on the " Black Fork of the Mohegan river." John H. Smith, his father, was born in Frederick county, Md., in 1789, but he came to Ohio when a young man, the family settling in Harrison county. During the war of 1812 he, and a brother-in-law, went to Richland county, and spent their time making improvements upon a tract of land; they returned home for a supply of clothing, expecting to be drafted, but while there peace was declared. Mr. Smith was married in Harrison county to Miss Elizabeth Keefer, also a native of Maryland, and soon after moved to Richland county. Of their ten children our subject was the second in order of birth, but the eldest living, the first child, Margaret, having died in childhood; the others were Henry, who died in Bloom township; Maria, who died in infancy; Jacob, who died in 1859; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Asa Brown, of Michigan; Solomon, still living; Sarah A., who died in infancy; Mary A., deceased wife of David Wirick, of Bloom township; and Ellen, deceased, who married Abraham Myers. Mr. Smith attended the district schools of his day, such as they were, and, as the eldest son, found no lack of employment at home, where he remained until his marriage, April 22, 1841, to Miss Sarah Wirick. She was born March 18, 1822, daughter of Henry and Catherine (Spade) Wirick, early settlers of Richland county. They began their housekeeping on land belonging to his father, and their shanty, though rude in construction, was clean, and their furniture good for the time. On November 1, 1849, Mr. Smith moved on his eighty acres of land in Crane township, Wyandot county, all of which was in its primitive state, and lived there for over two years in true pioneer style. Game was plenty, but 1166 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. Mr. Smith was too busy with his farm work to do much hunting. Later they bought a tract of i6.0 acres of wild land, which they cleared and cultivated, making a fine farm which they still own.. He also has seven oil wells in operation at the present time. Mrs. Smith has been her ,haband1s faithful helper in all his efforts, and he talies manly pride in acknowledging her share in his success. Five children were born to them, all of whom are living: Mary married William B. Woolsey, of Wyandot county; Frank H. lives in Cedar county, Mo.; Lodemia married S. P. Balliet; of Wyandot county; Samantha married, Samuel Suder, who died seven months later, arrd she rfbw resides with her parents; Almarine is the wife of Samuel B. Bowman, of Wyandot county. Although now advanced in years, Mr. Smith is vigorous and well preserved, and still works occasionally by way of exercise. Since October 1, 1889, he has lived in Jerry City, and he owns ninety-one acres of land near by. He has never been a believer in unnecessary self-denial, and while he has saved as he could, he has always lived comfortably. He and his wife have been active members of the M. E. Church for a number of years, and they take a generous interest in the welfare of others, and in all public movements. Politically, Mr. Smith is a Democrat. GEORGE D. CHASE, a retired agriculturist, came from Liberty township, Hancock Co., Ohio, where he was born July 10, 1842. He is the son of Justus and Mary Ann (Jones) Chase. Justus Chase was born in New York, August 29, 1817, and went to Hancock county with his parents when he was thirteen years old. He was married in that county to Miss Jones, who was born in Westmoreland county, Penn., July 24, 1821. After their marriage they settled on the farm where Mr. Chase resided until 1895, in which year he went to Findlay, the mother having passed ,away June 27, 1889. They reared the following children: Martha J. married William Bryan, who died while in the army; George D. is the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth is the wife of C. Porter, and lives in Michigan; Serelda M. married Isaac Taylor, and now lives in North Baltimore; Mary M. is the wife of Mr. Thompson, now living in Olympia, Wash.; Aretta is the wife of John Osbourne, of Hancock county; J. Z. lives at honiel; James W. died in Chillicothe, Mo. ; Robert H. died at the old homestead. Grandfather George Chase was born in New York, and died in Hancock county, Ohio. The maternal grandfather, James Jones, was born in Pennsylvania, and also died in Hancock county Our subject remained at home until the out break of the Civil war, when on February 1, 1862, he joined Company G, 21St O. V. I. Fourteenth, Army Corps, and served nine months and ten days He again enlisted, on February 10, 1864, in Company I, 21st regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Chattahoochee River, Resaca and Buzzard’s Roost, and was wounded at Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864, by an exploding shell. After the war Mr. Chase came home and located on a farm in Henry township, Wood county, and in 1867, he was married to Mary M. Caskey, who was born in Henry township December 10, 1846. They became the parents of the following children: John W:, born December 14, 1867, married Norah Frederick (they live on a farm and have three children, Iva, Edith and Naoma Cleo), Thomas is unmarried; Edith married A. C. Seguyne, and died April 4, 1894; Mattie A., Clyde H.. Mr. Chase followed farming until 1871, when he went into the sawmill business, continuing in that until 1890. He then became interested in the oil fields, and at present has a large income from the wells on his land, which he leases. His income from this source averages over $200 a month, and has been as high as $1,700. He is a Republican, and a member of the U. V. U. Mr. Chase is one of the substantial citizens of North Baltimore, and does everything in his power to promote the interests of the community in which he resides. WILLIAM DUNIPACE, one of the honored old pioneers of Webster township, has dwelt on his present homestead for the past fifty-eight years. In his early manhood he took up a tract government land, paying therefor $1.25 per acre, and, from that time forward, he devoted his energies to its improvement and development. The place was heavily timbered, and barely five acres a year could be cleared by the most industrious efforts. Mr. Dunipace helped to lay out the roads, to erect school houses, and in other ways to advance the interests of the community. The birth of our subject occurred in the parish of Liberton, Edinburghshire, Scotland, January 19, 1816—his parents, William and Margaret (Gill) Dunipace, being likewise natives of that country. Their children were as follows: Robert, Margaret, Jeanette, Isabella, Mary (Mrs. James Muir), James, Annie, and Charles. Margaret was born January 4, 1813, and January 10, . WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1167 married William Weddell, a mechanic, who died in 1843, aged thirty-two years; his son George is deceased; another son, William is a farmer of Webster township; his only daughter was named Margaret, in honor'of her mother. Jeanette, the second Sister; of our subject, died in infancy; and the net sister, Isabella, was born July 24, 1814. Robert and James are deceased. On March 28, 1834, William Dunipace, Sr., and his family, started for the United States on a sailing vessel, and for eight weeks were tossed to and fro on the Atlantic. Finally landing at New York City, they proceeded by way of the canal and the great lakes to Perrysburg, Ohio, arriving there July 3. In that place the father died about one month later, in his fifty-fourth year. His wife, after surviving him many years, died in 1878, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years. William Dunipace came to America at the same time as this parents and brothers and sisters, and, by the death of his father, was early obliged to make his own livelihood. He obtained a position as a farm hand near Perrysburg, and worked for $13.00 a month. In 1837 he removed to the homestead, which he has since cultivated, and which was situated in what was formerly known as Freedom township. As the years passed, he added to his possessions until he now has over five hundred acres of valuable and improved land. He experienced all the. hardships which fall to the lot of a pioneer, and for years his humble abode was in a log cabin, 18 x 24 feet in dimensions. Though those years were full of toil and difficulties, yet they were not unhappy, as he was full of hope and ambition, and could not but feel pride in the success which he was achieving. Mr. Dunipace received but a limited education, as he was able to attend school only until he was thirteen years of age, and he has had to rely upon his own private study and observation for the practical knowledge which he possesses. In politics he is a Republican, and religiously is identified with the Presbyterian Church. He can look back upon a life well spent in doing good to his fellows, and is now passing his declining years surrounded with comforts which his toil has provided and in the secure enjoyment of the confidence and respect of .his many friends and neighbors. GEORGE ADAMS. One of the finest and best conducted farms in Bloom township is the result of the labors of this gentleman, and it is also the place of his nativity. He was born September 18, 1885, and is a member of a well-known pioneer family, his parents being David and Lucinda (Henry) Adams, who were married in this county. The father's birth occurred March 3o, 1821, in Beaver county, Penn., while the mother was a native of the Empire State, born December 27, 1825. The former came with his father, David Adams, Sr., to this locality, first locating in Montgomery township, but in April, 1837, bought from the government the northwest quarter of Section 2, Bloom township, making his home there when the nearest post office was Fremont. The father of our subject was a remarkably active man, stout and robust, and was one of the best financiers of the township; and had it not been for his untimely death he would probably have become one of the wealthiest men of the county. He served as trustee and school director, always voted with the Democratic party, and he and his wife always attended religious service. He departed this life June 9, 1866, but his wife long survived him, dying February 1, 1895, and they were laid Side by side in West Millgrove cemetery. Their children were as follows: Emeline, wife of Norrington Beadall, of North Baltimore, Ohio; Henry, a farmer of Portage township; Sarah, who married Peter Landis, and died in Perry township; Thomas J., of North Baltimore; Mary E., who became the wife of Lorenzo Hatfield, and died in Bloom township; George ; Almira, now Mrs. Jerry Blair, of Bloom township; Minerva, wife of Erastus Bosler, of Portage township; and Madison, a farmer of Perry township. Our subject in his boyhood received the education that the district schools of the neighborhood afforded, and at the age of thirteen assumed charge of the home farm, while two years later he had almost absolute control, as his father had died when he was only eleven. On December 29, 1876, in Bloom township, Rev. Isaac Feasel, a Methodist Episcopal miniSter, performed the wedding ceremony that united the destinies of Mr. Adams and Miss Etta Enos, who was born in Jackson township, Seneca Co., Ohio, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Enos, farming people. The date of her birth is July 12, 1855. The first land owned by Mr. Adams was a tract of forty acres in Section 4, Bloom township; but he never lived upon the place or upon any of the numerous tracts he later purchased, his residence always being on the old homestead, which he still cultivates. In the spring of 1877 he began its operation on shares, which system was continued until the death of the mother, whom he had always cared for like a dutiful son, having the greatest regard for his parents. 1168 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. Besides the home place, which comprises seventy- two acres of valuable land, he also owns a half interest in the celebrated Alva Thomas farm, in Perry township, whicb is the acknowledged banner farm of Wood county. He is a wide-awake, progressive business man, and in addition to general farming also deals quite extensively in fine stock. He is an excellent judge of horses, which he handles in considerable numbers, and has sold many fine animals. In politics Mr. Adams votes for the candidates of the Democratic party, and, although not taking an active part in public life, he conscientiously performs his duties as a good citizen. He is intelligent and public-spirited, deeply interested in the advancement of educational affairs, and for three years acceptably served as school director. His excellent wife is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Adams' parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Shakespeare) Enos, were born in Pennsylvania and Delaware, respectively. The father was a miller in the East, but after his removal to Ohio engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he continued to follow the remainder of his life. He passed away October 2, 1856, near Fostoria, in which city Mrs. Enos now resides. She has been a resident of Wood county for over fifty years. She is the mother of seven children, two Sons and'five daughters, six of whom are yet living, one daughter, Mrs. Carrie Cellors, having died in 1874. FRANK W. STRATTON is proprietor of the general store and a livery stable in Portage, and it is to such enterprising, progressive citizens that the upbuilding and welfare of a community is attributable. He was born in Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio; February 13, 18-52, and is a son of Matthew T. and Jane (Smith) Stratton. His early school days were passed in Milan, Huron county, and at the age of sixteen he accompanied his parents on their removal to Plain township, Wood county, where he continued his studies for two years. He was reared on the farm and remained at home until his marriage. His parents lived in Plain township only one year, and then removed to Liberty township, where in 1863 the father purchased 165 acres of wild land. He erected a rude board shanty in which' the family lived for- many years, and then made more substantial improvements upon the place. Mr.. Stratton was married in Weston, June 22, 1875, to Hattie L. Caswell, who was born in Michigan, September 19, 1852. They bean their domestic life on the old homestead—his parents having removed to Michigan– and in Jannary, 1876, our subject and his wife took up their residence at Averill, Midland Co., Mich.,. where Mr. Stratton opened a general store, and also speculated in lumber, meeting with and excellent success in both undertakings. On the expiration of eight years, Mr. Stratton returned with his family to Wood county, and established a general store at Weston, where he remained for two years. He then came to Portage, where he established a general mercantile store, and in the spring of 1895 began the livery business which he is now conducting. Mr. and Mrs. Stratton have four children - Fred, Charles, Lerma and Howard. The family attend the Methodist Church, of which our subject is a member. In politics he is a Republican, and has served as an officer in the township for many years. In his business dealings he has won success, and is the owner of considerable valuable farming land in the county: progressive and enterprising, he is recognized as one of the leading merchants of his locality, and will deserves representation in this volume. GEORGE DOIL— Among the citizens whose well-spent lives entitle them to representation in the history of Wood county is this gentleman, who is a leading and influential farmer of Henry township. Mr. Doil was born November 9, 1858, in Seneca county, Ohio, son of Michael and Catherine (Souders) Doil, the former of whom was a native of Ireland, the latter of America. The father came to this country when a young man, locating in Seneca county, Ohio, where he followed farming. There he was married, and about 1860 he removed with his family to Bloom township, Wood county, where he purchased eighty-eight acres of wild land, erected a log cabin, and at once began to improve the property. As his financial resources increased he added to it, and, at the time of his death, owned a valuable farm of 168 acres. Both he and his wife spent their remaining days on the old homestead, the former passing away in March, 1886, at the age of fifty-six, while the latter died in 1879, aged forty-five years. Their children were: Anna, deceased; George James, deceased; Emma, wife of William Pattee, of Tiffin, Ohio; and Ella, wife of James Gilder, of Portage township. George Doil was only two years of age when his parents came to Wood county. He attended the district schools of Bloom township, and until his marriage gave the benefit of his services to his father in the development of the home WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1169 farm. On April 2, 1891, he wedded Miss Annie Shatzer, who was born January 25, 1870, in Richland county,. Ohio, and was educated in Richland and Henry counties. They began their domesstic life on the old. homestead, and there resided until March, 1894, when they removed to North Baltimore, residing there the succeeding year. In the meantime Mr. Doil sold his interest in the old homestead. In connection with his brother who owned 246 acres, which they sold at $100 per acre. He then, in November, 1892, purchased his present farm, comprising 160 acres in Henry township, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation, while the well- tilled fields and many, improvements upon the place indicate the thrift and enterprise of the ower. He located thereon in March, 1895, and today has one of the most desirable farm properties in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Doil have three interesting little children: Mabel, born May 16, 1892; George, born May 21; 1894; and Reah, born May 25, 1896. Mrs. Doil is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a most estimable lady. Mr. Doil gives his political Support to the Democratic party. He owes his success in life to the honest pursuit of a persistent purpose, to his energy and sound judgment, and to-day he is numbered among the substantial citizens of the community. WINFIELD BARBER. Among the native sons of Ohio who well deserve. representation in this volume, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, and who in all the relations of life has proved himself a valued citizen. He was born in Seneca county, March 19, 1836. His father, Jonathan Barber, was born in Orange county, N. Y., and was the only child of Joseph , Barber, a farmer of the Empire State, who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Jonathan learned the shoe-maker's trade, which he afterward followed in connection with farming. In Cattaraugus county, N. Y., he married Esther Millerman, and located in Steuben county, that State. In 1848 he brought his family to Medina county, Ohio. making the journey by wagon, and in the fall of 1852 came to Wood county, locating on forty acres of land in Milton township. His death occurred in 1855, and his wife survived him fifteen years. Their children were: Rachel, who became file wife of John Annobel, and died in Medina county, Ohio; Hannah, who became the wife of Amos Knapp, and died in Michigan; Nancy, who died in Steuben county, N. Y., and was the wife of George Bird; Mary, who was the wife of William Brower, and died in Steuben county; Joseph, William and Jonathan who are residents of Michigan; Israil is a resident of Oklahoma; Chauncey, who mysteriously disappeared in 1894 and has never been heard from since; Betsy, who was the wife of Joseph Clark, and died in Medina county; and Winfield. Our subject is indebted to the district schools for his education. At the age of eighteen he came with his parents to Wood county, and in 1857 he left home, going to Hancock county, where he worked through the winter, then rented a farm of his brother in Lenawee county, Mich. After operating that farm for two years, he returned to Hancock county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits and carpentering. In 1861 he was found among the loyal defenders of the Union, enlisting in Company F, 2ist O. V. I., under Capt. Alban. He participated in the battles of Ivy Mountain, Stone River, and Resaca, and on August 9, 1664, was transferred to the 1st United States Engineer Corps. On September 28, 1863, while building a corduroy road, he waS quite severely, injured by a log falling on his chest. He served sixteen montfr in the pioneer brigade, under Gen. Rosecrans, and when the war was over received an honorable discharge. Mr. Barber was married in Hancock county, February 21, 1864, to Elizabeth Fox, a native of that county, and in 1868 they came to Wood county, where our subject purchased eighty acres of land, living first in a log house. For many years he has been engaged in ditching, and is numbered among the industrious, progressive citizens of the community. His wife died July 8, 1892, leaving two children--George, at home; and Nora, wife of Elder Salisbury, of Milton township. On January 28, 1894, Mr. Barber married Sarah Jane Kramer, widow of Emmet Thomas. In politics he is an ardent Republican, and his religious belief is in harmony with the doctrine of the United Brethren Church. His Success in life is the result of his own exertions. ISAAC J. DENT, a prominent resident of Fen' ton, is a native of Cambridgeshire, England, born April 1, 1848. Charles Dent, his father, was also born in England, and was married there to Miss Frances Johnston. He came to the United States with his family in 1853, locating first on a farm in Medina county, Ohio. He afterward lived for a short time in Lorain county, but finally settled in. Wrood county, where he died November 6, 1872, his wife having passed away ten years previous. Seven children were born to 1170 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. this worthy pioneer couple: Sarah, the wife of, George Bell; Mary, who married John Whitney, a carpenter in Lorain county; Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Bales, of Kipton; Isaac, our subject; George, who died at the age of twenty-three; Lutisha; and Adolphus, a- resident of Kipton, Ohio. Mr. Dent was only six yfears of age when he came to Ohio, and his boyhood was spent mainly in Medina and Lorain counties. He worked for two years as a farm laborer, and then, in 1869, came to Wood county, and bought forty acres of land; improving and adding to it, until he now has a fine farm of eighty acres. He also carries on a general supply store and for eleven years has been postmaster at Fenton. Energetic, progressive and honest, he holds the esteem and confidence of the entire community, which he has served as school director, and supervisor, in addition to his other important trusts. On July ii, 1871, he .was married, in Webster township, to Miss Martha Emmett, a native of Huron county, and a daughter of P. G. Emmett, of Fenton. Three children were born to this union: Mary F., a young lady of fine mental gifts and rare womanliness, is a teacher, and also assists her father in conducting the store; Emily and Ida are attending school. The family are active and prominent .workers in the U. B. Church of Webster. JAMES CASKIE, a farmer, was born in Wigtownshire, Scotland, March 17, 1834, and is the son of Alexander and Mary (Wilson) Caskie. Our subject attended the common schools in the old country continuously until fourteen years old, at which time he worked on the farm in summer and went to school in the winter. In the fall of 1853 he carried out an idea that he had entertained for some time, that of coming to America, where there was a better chance of getting a home, which he must do by his own efforts. In October, 1853, he left Liverpool on the sailing vessel "Schackmaxon," and after a voyage of Seven weeks, landed in Lehigh county, Penn., where he had an acquaintance in the slate quarries. Here he secured his first employment and received seventy-five cents a day in winter, and one dollar in summer. After working there one year lit left for the West, and located at Carey, Ohio, working on a farm near that place, where he received $8 a month in the winter season, and $13 a month in the summer. On March 17, 1855, Mr. Caskie was married at Care, Ohio, to Miss Matilda Smith, a native of Scotland, where she was born October 5. 1835, the daughter of James and Martha (Elder) Smith, Her father was Scotch, and was an officer in the British army for many years. After marriage our subject located near Carey, Ohio, on a rented farm, where he lived until the fall of 1859. In 1857 he bought eighty acres of land in section 18, Montgomery township, then in a primitive condition, for which he paid $200, going in debt for part of the amount. In order to meet the last payment he was obliged to return to the state quarries of Pennsylvania, where wages were higher, and where he stayed one year. In the fall of 1860 Mr. Caskie made the last payment on his land, to which he moved. He and his family lived in a cabin made of round logs, which was the first home our subject could call his own. A portion of his farm was wet and swampy, and a small part of it was sandy, and on the latter he raised his first crop, fifty bushels of wheat. He farmed other lands, and was in this way able to support his family. He added sixty acres to his other land and built a larger log house, which was his home until, in 1883, he moved to his present place of residence, where he has 120acres of good land and a fine house, all the improvements on the place being made by Mr. Caskie, To Mr. and Mrs. Caskie have been born the following children: Mary, December 22, 1856, married Albert Faatz, of Montgomery township, and they have two children; Martha, May 3, 1858, became the wife of F. T. Hedge, of Montgomery township, and they have two children; Alexander R., August 21, 1861, married Miss Emma Sutton (they live in Jerry City and have one child); William C., October 7, 1863, a farmer of Perry township, married May Westmore, and they have five children; John December 9, 1865, married Frankie Spielman, and lives in Toledo (they have one child); Daisy, May 9, 1868, married William Odell, of Montgomery township; James R. , March 29, 1872, died February 19, 1873; Milton, August l, 1875, is at home. In 1882 Mr. Caskie went to Scotland and revisited the scenes of his childhood, after an absence of twenty-nine years, spending six weeks there. He went over on " The City of Rome” and returned on " The City of Berlin." Politically Mr. Caskie is a Republican, and cast his first vote for Lincoln’s second term. He has served his party in various offices, among them being township trustee and school director, holding the latter position for over twenty years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, of which he has been steward and is at present one of the trustees. WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1171 Alexander Caskie was a laborer, and made his living by farming and working by the day. Our subject was the only child. In 1854 he brought his wife to the United States, and one week after their arrival Mrs. Caskie died at Slatington, Penn. Mr. Caskie lived with his son until his death at the latter's home in Montgomery township, at the age of seventy-eight years. He is buried at Prairie Depot, The grandfather of our subject was David Caskie, a farmer. V. R. PORTER, a wealthy retired farmer, residing at Bowling Green, was born August 1, 1837, in Chautauqua, New York. His father, Truman Porter, was a native of Vermont, born in 1801, and left his native hills in early manhood, to carve out for himself a fortune in the West. Locating first in Pennsylvania, he met his future wife, Miss Maria Darrow, who was born there in 18 1 2. They were married, and a few years later came to Ohio, settling upon a farm in Ottawa county, where they lived seventeen, years. In 1847 they moved to a farm in Plain township, Wood county, near Bowling Green, where Mr. Porter, Sr., died in 1878, and the farm is now owned by our subject. V. R. Porter was just entering manhood when his parents came to Wood county. On January 1, 1858, he married Miss Lydia A. Sizer, who was born in Huron county in 1835. They went to housekeeping on a rented farm in Portage township, making their household furniture out of drygoods boxes, and building a stove out of " nigger heads." After one year they moved to Plain township, but returned the following year to Portage. Fortune's frowns had but little effect upon the happy young couple, and tbey worked hard, and soon began to prosper. In 1863 they bought a farm in Plain township, in the corporation of Bowling Green. Finding a good opportunity to sell, they did so, and for some time Mr. Porter speculated in a small way in real estate, " coming out head " on every deal. The proceeds of the first sale bought sixteen acres in Plain township. The price of that bought forty acres in Weston township, and when that was sold Mr. Porter purchased sixty acres in Portage township, which he still Ans. He has since bought other property, including forty-two acres in Plain township, and at the present time ownS 1591 acres in different places, upon which he has three good oil wells. His first wife died in 1877, leaving four children: (1) Sophronia, now deceased, born December 11, 1862, married Edward Woodruff, of Michigan, and had two children, of whom only one - Linnie - is now living. (2) William, born November 15, 1864, married Miss Rosa Freen, and lives in Jackson township. They have one child. (3) Milo, born July 18, 1866, married Miss Sadie Kromer, and resides in Center township; three children were born to them — Archie, Claude, and Ina. (4) Rosa, born January to, '868, married Charles Strubble and liveS on the old farm in Portage township; they have three daughters — Linnie, Vernie, and Hazel. Mr. Porter married for his second wife Miss' Jennie Miner, who was born in Michigan in 185o. She died in 1893. Of their three children, one died in infancy; the others are — Fred H., born December 17, 1882, and Ada, born April 19, 1885. Mr. Porter's present wife was Miss Ina Daniels, who was born in Oneida county, N. Y., July 4, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Porter are leading members of the M. E. Church of Bowling Green, and take a prominent part in the social and philanthropical enterprises in the community, using their wealth to advance every good cause. Mr. Porter is a Republican, politically, but has never sought office. He has now reached a point where his past hardships can be surveyed with satisfaction, as a sharp contrast to the present, although, with youth, and all its blessings, and with hope to gild the future, life was happy then. CHARLES ROPER, a prominent agriculturist of Webster township, residing near Fenton, was born in Lincolnshire, England, June 9, 1830. Noah Roper, his father, who was by occupation a laborer, married Miss Lucy Dorr, also a native of England, by whom he had nine children, our subject being the eldest. Four others grew to maturity, Eliza (now deceased); Ann (married), George, Fannie, and four died in infancy. Both parents died in England. Mr. Roper availed himself of the educational opportunities afforded by the schools near his home. In 1855 he married Miss Elizabeth Emmett, who was born in Lincolnshire, April 8, 1829. He worked as a laborer until 1856,when, desiring a better outlook in life, he emigrated to America. He first located in New Castle county, Del., but a year later came to Erie county, Ohio, and worked upon a farm for a year. In 1861, he bought twenty acres of land in this county, which formed a nucleus'for his present fine farm of sixty acres. His time mainly is devoted to dairying and stock raising. His energy and wise management have met reward, and he is one of the most highly respected citizens of the community. He is one of the stockholders in the Luckey Creamery Company. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian Church. They have 1172 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. had five children, whose names with dates of birth are here given: Lucy A., May 4, 1857, married Robert Forrester; Perry, January 23, 1859, is a farmer in Webster township; Jeannette, May 24, 1867, is now deceased; Mary, February 8, 187o, married Anthony Siefert, of Webster township; and Charles, June 28, 1865, died in infancy. In politics Mr. Roper is a Democrat, and he takes an influential part in local affairs. He has served two terms as supervisor and trustee of his township. HARRY MAIDLOW. Among the native sons of Maryland, who have emigrated westward in search of homes, and have become valued and esteemed citizens of the localities in which they reside, is numbered this gentleman. A son of Charles and Sarah (Care) Maidlow, he was born in Baltimore, Md., February 12, 1859. His father was born near Evansville, Ind., in 1821, and during his childhood, went with his parents to the Oriole City, where he learned the trade of brick laying, and also engaged in clerking in that city. There he was married to one of the native daughters of Baltimore. Her death occurred June 25, .1885, and the father has also passed away. Their children were Isabel, who died in infancy; James, who died in childhood; Mary, who became the wife of Robert Brooks, and died in Putnam county, Ohio; Charles, who died in Baltimore, Md. ; Kate, wife of James Bowers; Harry; .and Edward, of Baltimore. Mr. Maidlow, of this sketch, acquired a good education in his native city, and entered upon his business career with his father, in the wholesale and retail produce business. He afterward engaged in traveling for several years, and was married in Baltimore in 1887, to Miss Mary Maidlow. The lady was born in Vanderburg county, Ind., April 24, 1863, and is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Earl) Maidlow, who reside near Evansville, Ind. Our subject's wife had always remained at home until her marriage, and was one of a family of eleven children— John, who died in childhood, Leslie, Alice, William, Maria, Emma, Mary, Kate, Fannie, Richard and Elizabeth. In 1889, Harry Maidlow removed with his wife to Liberty township, Wood county, and purchased eighty acres of land, the greater part of which waS still wild and unimproved. He erected a good residence and substantial outbuildings, and now has one of the valuable and desirable farms of the community, his land being under a high state of cultivation. The home is blessed by the presence of two daughters- Sarah and Ruth. Mr. Maidlow has been the architect of his own fortunes. All that he has, has been secured through his own efforts, and his diligence and enterprise have been the factors in success. F. G. ENSMINGER, the efficient and capable foreman of the Dewey Stave Company, of Bairdstown, Wood county, is a native of Hancock county, Ohio, born in Van Buren Feburary 22, 1862, son of A. G. and Lucy (Ishman) Ensminger. By occupation the father was a carpenter and cooper. He reared a large family of children. He is now deceased. Our subject passed his early life under the parental roof, receiving his education in the common schools, and when a child was brought by his parents to Bairdstown, arriving soon after the village had been laid out. He remained at home until his marriage, which important event occurred May 3, 1888, Miss Frances E. Ault becoming his wife. She is a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter of John Ault, an agriculturist, and by her marriage has become the mother of three children—Ralph W., Bertha and Elsie. At the time of his marriage Mr. Ensminger was engaged in drilling water wells, which, business he continued to follow for three years, and in Bairdstown began his domestic life. He later entered the employ of the Dewey Stave Company, where he had previously worked, and has since remained with that firm, with the exception of five months, when he was hired by the Montpelier Stave Company. In June, 1894, he was made foreman, and is now filling that important position to the satisfaction of all concerned. It is one of the most extensive plants of the kind in the county, and he enjoy, the highest confidence of his employers. Mr. Ensminger has served as a member of the city council of Bairdstown, was treasurer for one term, and in 1894 was elected city marshal. His public as well as his private duties are always faithfully discharged. He uses his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He is a straightforward, upright gentleman, highly regarded by all, and one who has fought his own life's battle unaided from boyhood. FREDERICK WITTMER. Among the most successful and reliable citizens of foreign birth, who make their home in Bowling Green, is to be found the subject of this sketch. He is the son of David and Mary (Maitrot) Wittmer, who were WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1173 natives of France, where the former was born in 1805, and died in 1873. He was a butcher by occupation, and carried on a meat market and bakery. His family consisted of three children, our subject and two daughters, Catherine and Louise, who still live:in France, and own a large amount of property. The grandfather of our subject was also a Frenchman by birth, but during the Napoleonic war was forced to join the German army. He was finally able to make his escape and return to the assistance of his countrymen. He died when only thirty-three years of age. Mr. Wittmer is the only one of his family who came to America. He landed at New York City January 18, 1866, and soon after came to Wood county, where he settled in Center township. He was a butcher by trade in the old country; but as he could not speak English, he engaged in farming, which he carried on for eleven years, removing to Bowling Green in 1877. Unlike most Europeans who come to America, Mr. Wittmer brought considerable money with him, and soon became known as one of the most successful business men of Wood county. He possesses remarkable financial ability, and it may truthfully be said that no, business enterprise with which he has been connected, has ever been a failure. He has assisted materially in the development of the oil fields in the vicinity of Bowling Green, and his investment in this line is now paying him a handsome annuity. He is a man of progressive ideas, of untiring energy, honorable and straightforward in all his dealings, and is one of the respected and substantial citizens of Bowling Green. He at one time owned a farm of 120 acres, in Wood county, which he afterward sold, his other numerous interests demanding his entire time and attention. Mr. Wittmer was born in the southeast part of France, May 26, 1840, and was there married to Miss Marie Marchand, whose birth took place in 1846. Six children have been born to them, namely: Marie, Frederick, David, George, Eugene, and Henry.   HERMAN H., SCHROEDER, deceased, who was a pioneer agriculturist of Perrysburg township, was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1818. In 1842 he came to America and settled in Wood county, where, in Perrysburg township, he bought eighty acres of land, which formed the nucleus for further acquisitions. So successful was he, that at the time of his death, in 1891, he owned 400 acres of the finest land in the county. He was a leader in his community, and delighted in his later days to tell the Story of early times to the generation which is reaping the reward of the labors of the pioneers. In 1847 he was married to Miss Angeline SielScott, who was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1831. Six children were born to them, named, respectively, Henry A., John F., Louis, Louise, Frank and Sophia, all of whom are yet living except Frank, who died at the age of one year and four months. The widowed mother is yet living on the home farm, in vigorous health for one of her advanced years, and is tenderly cared for by her son John. JOHN F. SCHROEDER, the second in the above named family, received his education in the district schools. On entering business life he was for a time engaged in business at Toledo, Ohio, and then returned to the farm, where he assisted his father in his declining years, and of which he has now entire charge. Possessing great energy and much tact, he operates the homestead by modern and progressive methods. Politically, he is a Republican, and in religious faith he is a member of the Lutheran Church. JOHN KATON, deceased, was a well-known retired agriculturist of Grand Rapids, and a veteran of the Civil war, born in Fairfield county, Ohio, October 18, 1841. His ancestors have been for many generations people of culture and good standing, and his grandfather, Thomas Katon, was a farmer of Fairfield, Ohio. Jesse Katon, our subject's father, born in Pennsylvania, May 3, 1808, was a teacher, and in 1834 moved to Hancock county, Ohio, where he married Miss Nancy Johnson, who waS born June 19, 1812. Seven children blessed this union, whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Thomas, April 25, 1835, a resident of Hillsdale, Micb. ; Anna M., March 4, 1837, who died in early youth; Mary E., April 28, 1839, the wife of E. A. Moore, of Weston, Ohio, died September 24, 1896; John; our subject; Sarah D., December 31, 1843, the wife of James Barrett, of Fulton county, Ohio; William F., April 2, 1845, and James H., September 1, 1854, who resides near Deshler, Ohio. In 186o our subject's father sold hiS farm in Hancock county, and moved to Michigan, remaining five years, and then located in Wood county, where he bought forty acres of land in what is now known as Grand Rapids township. Here he passed to his final rest March 24, 1881, his wife having died two years before, on December 8, 1879. John Katon was instructed during his boyhood by his father, who was a man of unusual mental ability and attainments, and remained at 1174 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. home until August 5, 1862, when he enlisted in Co. H, 18th Mich. V. I., Col. Doolittle and Capt. Ingersoll commanding. He participated in all the battles in which his regiment was engked, and endured hardships and exposure from which his health ever suffered. He was discharged June 26, 1865, and returned to Michigan, and, after the removal of the family to this county, he continued to assist his father until 1869, when he bought twenty acres of land and began farming on his own account. He possessed naturally the energy and industry which ensure success, and gradually enlarged his farm until he owned seventy-nine acres of fine land with well-planned improvements. His ill health, which dated back to his gallant service in the army, had of late years been a source of anxiety, and on the advice of his physicians he retired to Grand Rapids to seek freedom from responsibility and care. He was married October 13, 1869, to Miss Ruvilla Kerr, a sister of W. B. Kerr, a prominent resident of Grand Rapids township, and had three children: William W., born November 8, 1870, a farmer in Grand Rapids township; Carrie, born May 17, 1874, who resides with her parents; and Clyde E., born January 16, 1876, who has a prosperous grocery and meat market in Grand Rapids. Mrs. Katon is a lady of fine social Fifts and gracious marrners, and is one of the leading workers of the Presbyterian Church, to which Mr. Katon also belonged, and in which faith he passed away July 20, 1896. He held a high Place in the esteem of his acquaintances; his uprigit cbaracter and liberality of thought made his friendship something to be valued. In politics he was a Republican, and he was for several years school director and member of the school board in his township, and, later, was elected to the office of trustee, but he was liged to resign because of his health. He was a rnember of the G. A. R., Bond Post No. 24, at Grand Rapids. J. R. PHILLIPS, a merchant and farmer of West Millgrove, was born in Rutland county, Vt.," March 10, 1832, a son of Caleb and Rhoda (Sherman) Phillips, Our subject was two years old when his parents moved to Seneca county, Ohio, and . located near Melmore, where they livedeuntil 1854, and then went to Linn county, Iowa, where the mother died in 1864. The father returned to Vermont, and died there in 1888, at the age of seventy-eight years. They had seven children, as follows: Izetus died in Millgrove; J. R., our subject; Sally A., married Solomon Yambert, and died in Iowa; Montroville was a soldier, and ex-sheriff of Brown county, Kans,, and died at Oil Spring, Cherokee Strip, Indian Territory, in 1890. Th Iowa; Mercy died at an early age in Iowa; Winfield S. is a specialist physician of St. Joseph, Mo., and possesses great natural ability. Mr. Phillips' first schooling was obtained in Seneca county, in log school houses, furnished with plank seats, and of which he has fond recollections, as he claims that better progress was made then than at the present time. He learned rapidly, although his attendance was interrupted by his being compelled to work on the farm; as his parents were poor. He walked three miles to and from school, without overcoat or underwear in winter, as such luxuries were unknown in those days, and for his lunch carried a package of corn bread. His clothing was home made, the product of his mother's skill. He was a hardy, robust boy, to whom sickness was unknown, and in the morning he would get up, and in his bare feet would run eighty rods in the snow to a quail trap. In the spring of 1853 Mr. Phillips started for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, riding the entire distance on a little bay mare. He had $45 in cash, and was twenty-eight days on the road When he reached Linn county he had $27 left. He worked at odd jobs by the day, but in July 1853, was unfortunate enough to be taken ill. He sold his mare for $95 and bought eighty acres of land in Otter Creek township, Linn Co., Iowa, where he put up a shanty twelve by fourteen feet, with one window in it. On September 18, 1855, he was married in Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio, to Miss Ann M. Lott, who was born in that county, October 16, 1835. She was the daughter of Peter and Mary (Black) Lott, the former of whom was born in born in Adams county, and the latter near Fredericksburg, Md. They were early settlers in Seneca county and had eight children, three sons and five daughters. Peter was one of the well-to-do men of his section, and was justice of the peace for twenty years in Seneoa county. Our subject went to housekeeping, first on his prairie farm in Iowa, where the furniture consisted of what Mr. Phillips made himself, and was consequently very crude. At that time he was as poor as “Job’s turkey. " In the fall of 1864 he returned to Ohio and in the spring of 1865 bought eighty acres of land in Montgomery township, Wood county, where he remained a few years and then went to Pleasant township, Seneca county, and later to Perry, near Norris Station. In the spring of 1871 he. came to Section 9, Perry township, bought 16o acres of land, for which he paid cash, WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1175 and on which he now, lives. To him and his wife were born the following children: Lisuel, died in infancy; May, May 8, 1857, married E. D. Maffett, of Hartford City, Ind., who is editor of the Times; Elmer E., April 9, 1859, a farmer of Perry township; Metta E., January 22, 1861, is the wife of J. M. Laurence, of Prairie Depot; Barton M., March 30, 1866, is employed in the store of our subject;, Jennie, April 13, 1869, died in infancy. Mr. Phillips is a Republican, and was for nine years justice of the peace of Perry township, and for eight yea:rs mayor of West Millgrove. He is counsellor and advisor of his party, in which he has always manifested a keen interest. In 1876 he entered into partnership with his brother in the general merchandise business at West Millgrove. After his brother's death he took entir charge of the store, which he now conducts in connection with his firm. Both he and his wife are members of the Disciples Church. Squire " Phillips, as he is known, is a self-made man, and one of the substantial citizens of Perry township. He is a man of fine intellect, a fair legal knowledge, and his opinion is sought by many on matters of various kinds. By hard work in his younger days, and with the cheerful assistance of his good wife, he has secured a comfortable competency, and is enjoying his latter days in the peace,and quiet he has so well earned. CORNELIUS BIERLY. Among the influential members of the farming community of Montgomery township, and one. of its most highly respected citizens, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. He is. entirely a self-made man in the truest sense of the word, having been the architect of his own fortune, and he was one of the brave defenders of the Union during the Civil War. He was born April 24, 1837, in Miles township, Center Co., Penn., and traces his ancestry back through several generations to a Prussian cavalryman, who served in the Thirty-Years war in Europe, and was founder of the family in the United States, locating in Pennsylvania. His son, Anthony Bierly, aided the Colonies in their struggle for independence, and in the Keystone State weed a. Miss, Warner. The next in direct line was Nicholas Bierly, the the grandfather of our subject, who was born in Sunbury, Penn., 'and was one of the oldest in a family of twelve- children, three sons and nine daughters. Ili Miles township, Center Co., Penn., he was until in marriage with Lucinda Buchtel, also a native of Sunbury, and they became the parents of ten children—Nicholas; Hannah; Michael; John; David, living in Montgomery township, Wood Co., Ohio; Anthony, the father of our subject; Reuben; Peter; Simon; and George, also of Montgomery township. The grandfather, who was a large, tall man, was a farmer by occupation, a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, while his wife belonged to the German Reformed Church. He died at the age of seventy-five, and she when sixty-three years of age. Anthony Bierly was a natural mechanic, and a cooper by trade, but be also engaged in agricultural pursuits. In Center county, Penn., he wedded Rachael Ruhl, a native of that State, and to them were born nine children, as follows: Catherine, Hannah, Lydia, Cornelius, Abie, Margaret, Paulina, Reuben and Fayette; all are still living with the exception of Catherine and Abie. The parents, who are now deceased, passed their entire lives in Pennsylvania. Our subject is the only one of the family to come to Ohio. He had a common district-school education in his native State, and remained at home until seventeen years of age, aiding in the work of the farm and in his father's shop, as he was a natural mechanic. At that time he began learning the trades of a brick-layer and a plasterer, and during the first summer, while he was working as an apprentice, his wages were only two shillings per day. As he learned quite rapidly, he then became a journeyman, and was employed at his trade until the spring of 1837, when he came to Ohio with his uncle, George Bierly, who at that time had a felon on his thumb, and wished our subject to help him in getting settled in this State. On his arrival he decided to remain, and he worked at his trade for some time at Fostoria, Bellevue and elsewhere. On January 3o, 1858, in Section 12, Montgomery township, Mr. Bierly led to the marriage altar Miss Caroline Hartman, who was born near Prairie Depot, November 19, 1840, the daughter of William and Esther (Buchtel) Hartman. They now have three children—Clara E., wife of C. H. Hailes, of Prairie Depot; A. A., a plasterer, of Prairie Depot, Ohio; and Delta G., a music teacher, residing at home. Mr. Bierly located upon his father-in-law's fai-m, but also worked at his trade in connection with farming. In n86o he removed to Prairie Depot, where he bought a log house on a lot which is now in the center of the business portion of that village, for $ oo, and his first payment consisted of cattle worth $17. Prompted by patriotism he enlisted, on October 8, 1862, in Company C, 72nd O. V. I., under 1176 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. Capt. Samuel Snyder, and joined the regiment at Duck Port, La. He was with the command during the siege of Vicksburg, but illness compelled him to enter the hospital, and he was later transferred to the invalid corps, with which he served until discharged in August, 1865. After visiting his old home in Center county, Penn., Mr. Bierly returned to Prairie Depot, very much broken down in health, and for three years was there engaged in the mercantile business, in connection with work at hiS trade. Selling out his store, he gave his entire attention to the latter occupation until November 23, 1886, when he removed to his present home, having previously purchased sixty acres in Section 52, Montgomery township, which is one-half of the old Hartman homestead. He has a very pleasant residence, and has also erected all the other buildings upon the place. Until 1881 Mr. Bierly was a Republican, but since that time, on account of his views on the temperance question, he has been a stalwart Prohibitionist. While a resident of Prairie Depot, Mr. Bierly served as a member of the council, receiving every vote cast with the exception of four, and was a member of the first board of aldermen that assembled in that village. He has also been constable in Montgomery township, and a member of the school board of Prairie Depot District. CLARENCE POTTER, Of Liberty township, is a young man of excellent business and executive ability, whose leading characteristics are enterprise and energy. He is careful in his management, far-sighted in his dealings, and above all is Abonorable and straightforward in every transaction, His fellow citizens accord him a place among the representative men of Liberty township, and give him their confidence and high regard. Mr. Potter was born in Fayette county, Penn., September 5, 1859, and is a son of George and Almira Jane (Collins) Potter. The father was born in Fayette county, in 1833, was educated in the district schools, and then began work at the stone mason's trade; he also learned cbair-making before his marriage, and followed that occupation for a number of years. At the age of twenty-six he was married, in Fayette county, to Miss Collins, a native of West Virginia, who died April 14, 1879. The father afterward wedded Mary Leonard, with whom he is now living, on a farm which our subject purchased in the spring of 1889. The children of the first marriage are Clarence; Miriam, of Youngstown, Ohio; Charles, a lumber merchant of Washington county, Penn. ; Isaac, who died at the age of three years; Joseph who died in infancy; Eunice, who died at the age of three years; Josephine; Angeline, who is living with our subject; and Horace. The children of the second marriage are Jessie and Logan. Our subject received a good English education, and at the age of sixteen began work in a tannery, on Beaver creek, one mile and a half from his home. He also followed the mason’s trade to some extent, and before the age of sixteen laid the foundation under his father’s barn. As a boy he greatly enjoyed hunting and fishing and was an expert shot with the rifle. At the age of twenty he went to McKean county, Penn.; and procured work as a tool dresser in the oil fields of Bradford, receiving $2 per day for a year, and afterward $3 per day. He continue in the oil fields of McKean county and of Allegany county, N. Y., for three 'ears, and became driller. Subsequently he went to Bottineau county, N. D., where he secured a squatter's claim on the bank of Willow river. The journey was made by rail to Devil's Lake City, and thence on the to his destination, a distance of 200 miles. This was in the summer of 1884. On his 160-acre his it claim of prairie land he built a rude cabin, partly of logs and partly as a dug-out, and then broke fifteen acres of land, with a team of horses borrowed from his nearest neighbor, whom he repaid by aiding him to erect a substantial dwelling. As he could not get a deed for his land, on account of it being unsurveyed, and not in the market, Mr. Potter returned in the followin November, to the Allegany county oil fields, expecting to return to his claim in the spring; but having a paying position, he abandoned this plan. After two years in the oil fields, he returned home, and in March, 1887, removed to Findlay, Ohio, where he engaged to go to Bowling Green and take charge of the De Witt oil well for his uncle, Isaac Collins. He continued to work in the oil fields of Ohio and Michigan until the spring of 1888, when he purchased tools and began taking contracts for drilling wells. In 1888 he drilled, on the Ducat farm, a well whose estimated yield was 10,000 barrels per day; after two weeks he sold this well for $l0,000. In June, 1889, he purchased forty acres of land, to which he has added until he now has 200 acres, upon which he has drilled twelve wells, which have proved productive and profitable. Mr. Potter has also many acres of leased land, upon which he has nineteen producing wells; his produntion of oil for the month of March, 1896, shows over she three thousand barrels, net. WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1177 Mr. Potter was married, in Milton township, August 31, 1866, in Hancock county, Ohio, April 15, 1891, to Miss Luella Poland, who was a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Swisher) Poland. They have one child, George Poland. In politics Mr. Potter is a Republican. He is a and esteemed citizen, genial and pleasant in manner, and ever ready to extend a helping hand to those in. need, many having received timely assistance from him. HENRY HUFFMAN, a leading agriculturist of Grand Rapids township, was born near Harrisburg, Penn., November 4, 1831. His family is of German origin; but his father, John Huffman, was born in Pennsylvania, where he followed, for many years, the : occupation of tailoring. He married Miss Nancy ____ , and reared a family of twelve children, of whom our subject is the eldest. Catherine is the widow of Jacob Walters; Mary is the widow of John Walters; Jacob and Daniel are farmers in Washington township; Harriet married Francis Franklin, of Tontogany; John is a farmer in Grand Rapids township; Jeremiah is a grocer in Grand Rapids; Israel is a butcher in the same town; Anna married R. D. Hannah; Joseph is a farmer in Washington township: and Sarah is the wife of Byron Phillips, of Ostego. Our subject's father came to Wood county in 1850, and bought a large tract of land in Grand Rapids' township, which he cultivated until his death, which occurred March 15, 1864. His wife survived him many years, passing away August 12, 1880, having seen her large family, whom she and her husband had early trained in the Christian faith, all well settled in life. Henry Huffman, the subject of this sketch, attended school in his native State during his boyhood, and afterward learned the tailor's trade, which he followed for some years. At the age twenty-one he took a farm on shares, and kept it for seven years, when he bought eighty acres in Washington township, where he constructed a dwelling and farm buildings out of logs. In 1868 he bought forty acres more, and built a handsome brick residence, with barns of modern style, , and a few years later, he bought forty acres near Grand Rapids, building a fine residence, in which he now lives, and making first-class improvements. He has. since purchased thirty acres more, now owning 190 acres of land; but for the last ten years he has left the active work of his estate in the hands of his sons and sons-in-law. He has been twice married-first, in 1859, to Miss Christiana Seitz, who was born in Lancaster, New York, October 31, 1836. Eight children were born of this union, whose names, with dates of birth, are as follows: Lucy E., November, 1860, is the wife of C. A. Eager, of Pleasant Bend, Ohio; Clark F., April 25, 1864; Samuel H., August 10, 1862; Fannie E., July 17, 1865, married Charles Riggs, of Grand Rapids, Ohio; Sarah A., April 9, 1867, married George Kylean; John W., November 13, 1868, is in the windmill business at Boston, Mass. ; Cristie Maria, October 9, 1872, married George Mason; and Meno M., February 15, 1874, is a manufacturer of windmills, at San Francisco, Cal. The mother of this family died May 21, 1876. On March 3, 1878, he married, for his second wife. Miss Mary Roth, who was born February 27, 1844, a daughter of Nicholas Roth, a well- known farmer of Lucas county. Cheered by her companionship, Mr. Huffman is passing his declining years in retirement, taking no part in worldly affairs, and already looking forward to the joys of another and higher life. He is a devoted student of the Bible, and a member of the New Mennonite Church. B. P. STRATTON, a member of the well-known firm of Stratton, Powell & Co., leading hardware merchants at Bowling Green, was born at Milan, Ohio, August 1o, 1859. His grandfather, Daniel Stratton, came from Beaver county, Penn., to Norwalk, Ohio, as a "Fireland Pioneer " at an early date, and lived there for many years. He died at Tontogany, Wood county, in 1876. Our subject's father, N. T. Stratton, was born in Norwalk, he has followed farming as an occupation all his life, most of the time in Wood county. In 1871 he en gaged in lumbering, and had a general store at Averill, Mich., but he now resides at Yale, Mich. In politics he is a Republican, and he has always been an earnest supporter of progressive movements in his locality. He married Miss Jennie A. Smith, who was born on August 18, 1834, in Milan township, Erie county, by whom he had seven children: Frank, who resides at Portage, Ohio; B. P., our subject; John W., of Yale, Mich. ; Hattie, wife of Harry Higgins, of Yale; Mellie, the wife of Frank A. Griswold, of the same place; Burt S,, and Louie, both residents of Howell, Mich. Our subject's mother died in 1884, deeply mourned by a large Circle of friends in the M. E. Church, of which he and her husband had been members for many years. Mr. Stratton's early education was obtained in the schools of Wood county, and in Flint, Mich., where he studied for about eight years. For a short time he worked on his father'S farm 1178 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. in Wood county, but soon established a store at Portage, dealing in hardware and all sorts of implements. This he sold in 1885, and, corning to Bowling Green, he and J. W. Powell formed a partnership in a similar business, which is now known far and near, and is regarded as one of the most substantial, as it is certainly one of the most popular, in northern Ohio. Much of its success is due to the personal influence of Mr. Stratton, whose fine presence and courteous manners have won him friends wherever he is known. His energy and judgment are highly appreciated in business circles, and he is a valued member in the Crystal Oil Co., holding the offices of secretary and treasurer; he owns a one-fourth interest in this company. In municipal affairs, also, is his advice prized, and he is a leading member of the city council of Bowling Green, where his influence tending always be relied upon for any measure tend to promote the good of the community. Mr. Strattton, married Miss Hattie J. Avery, an accomplished and honored young lady, of Weston, and has two children, Pearl and Harold. He is a member of the fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Masonic Order. HENRY A. SCHROEDER, a well-known agriculturist of Perrysburg township, residing near Dowling, was born in Perrysburg township, April 1, 1849. His parents, Herman and Angeline (Sielscott) Schroeder, were natives of Germany, the father born in Prussia, in 1818, the mother born in Hanover in 1831. They were early setlers of Perrysburg township, where they acquired a large tract of land. The father died in 1891, but the mother is still living at the old homestead, which is now managed by our subject's brother, John F. Schroeder. Henry A. Schroeder received his early education in the district schools, and assisted his̊ father on the farm up to the age of twenty-seven, when he inherited 137 acres of land from his father, which he has since improved and converted into a fine farm. He does a general farming and .dairy business, and is engaged, to some extent, in stock raising. His industry and frugality, combined with a sound business judgment, have made him successful in every undertaking so far, and. given him a high reputation in business circles, 'while his genial nature makes him friends throughout the community. In 1877 he married Miss Eliza Hartman, a daughter of Philip and Clara Hartman, a prominent citizen of Woodville, Ohio. She was born December 7, 1852, and died March 5, 1891, leaving two children: Edward H., born September 10, 1882, and George P., born January 14, 1836. On May 7, 1896, Mr. Schroeder was married to Miss Carrie White, a daughter of Henry R. and Mary White, prominent citizens of Perrysburg towship; she was born in Toledo, Lucas county, September 21, 1856. In politics Mr. Schroeder is a Republican. A. J. HASTINGS, one of Risingsun’s substantial citizens, and a man who has been identified with its business interests ever since his residence there, was born on November 30, 1846, in: Groton township, Erie Co., Ohio, and is a son of Ephraim Hastings, a native of New York and a farmer by occupation. Our Subject is next to the youngest in a family of eight children all sons—and was reared in the usual manner of farmer boys of his day, his school privileges being such as the locality afforded. Mr. Hastings remained at home his enlistment in the Union army, December 28, 1863, when he became a member of Company K, 128th O. V. I., which did guard duty on Johnsons Island, near Sandusky City, until the close of the war, our subject being discharge in July, 1865. When hostilities had ceased, he began life for himself, ambition and energy being his only capital. At Sandusky he worked for sometime in a wheel factory, and after leaving that employ opened a grocery store at Parktown, Ohio, which was his first experience in mercantile pursuits. He was there engaged in buiness for six years, during which time he was quite successful, and on selling out he became proprietor of the well-known hotel, “Seven-Mile. House," in Erie county, which hostelry he continued until October, 1888. It was at that time of life that Mr. Hastings came to Risingsun, where he was engaged in the same line of business for some time, but later carried on a retail liquor store, which proved very profitable, and he was thus employed until 1895. During that time he conducted a very respectable and most orderly place of business. In 1896 he erected a valuable store room on Main street, where he owns a lot, having a 132 foot a front, on which is also located his comfortable home. In 1866, in Erie county, Ohio, Mr. Hastings married Miss Barbara Hastings, a native of that county, and a daughter of Joel Hastings, a farmer. This wife died June 28, 1889, and was buried at Risingsun. For his present wife our subject chose Miss Minnie Groff, who was born in Sherman township, Huron county, and is a daughter of George Groff. They now have WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1179 on son, Vivian A., born in 1895. In politics, Mr. Hastings is a firm believer in the principles of the Democratic, party, but has never been an office seeker or politician, and socially holds membership with the Grand Army of the Republic. His comfortable competence is the result of good business management, and " Jack," as he is familiar1y called, has many friends throughout Wood county. CHRISTOPH LEHMANN. The history of this gentleman, who for a quarter of century has made his home in Bowling Green, where he holds a high position in the esteem of his fellow citizens is a ing example of what can be accomplished in this land of the free, by the man who possesses sufficient force of character to overcome adverse circumstances and work his way steadily forward. Mr. Lehmann is a native of Germany, born in Baden, April 9, 1.843, the son of William and Catherine (Hauenstein) Lehmann. His parents were both natives of Baden and were married there. His father, who was a weaver by trade, died when our subject was three years old; the mother remarried, and lived to be sixty-eight years of age. She had a large family, of whom four grew to maturity: .Thomas, a farmer in Wood county; Jacob, who still lives in Germany; Christoph, our subject; and Gottlieb Schwechheimer, a son by her second marriage. When twenty-two years of age Mr. Lehmann came to America, laiiding at New York City with a capital of fifty cents. Through the kindness of a friend he was enabled to reach Tiffin, Ohio, where he worked at anything that came to hand, shoveling dirt on the-railroad, working in a brewery, etc. , until lit went' into a meat market and learned the trade of a butcher with John Remerly, remaining with him three years. At this time he determined to improve his knowledge of English and ekered a country school at Tiffin, Ohio, where be.,remained a short time. He then went to Toledo, Ohio, and while in that city, came to the did of his resources; wondering how to raise money.. to live on, he fell in with a wandering Italian musician. The two concluded to do business together, and Mr. Lehmann passed the hat while the other performed on the harp. They made considerable money, but one fine morning, our subject awoke to find that his partner had decamped. He had enough money left to take him to Tiffin. There he met Gen. John C. Lee, for whom he worked over a month, doing various odd jobs about his premises and being paid $1.65 per day. He then went to Chicago, Ill., where he worked at his trade for three months, afterward going to Buffalo, N. Y., and then to Crestline, Ohio, finally returning to Tiffin, where he borrowed $roo, and in 1868 started a meat market of his own. On August 27, 1871, Mr. Lehmann took up his residence in Bowling Green, where he has since pursued his calling with great success. He made money steadily, and invested it in property, his first purchase being the building which he still occupies. In 1877, in connection with Messrs. Bolles & Manville, he put up the brick structure known as the " Union Block," in 1885 built another brick block, and still another in 1896, of which he iS the sole proprietor. Mr. Lehmann was married November 11, 1869, to Miss Caroline Kabig, of Tiffin, who was born in Wooster, Ohio, July 22, 1848, and seven children have come to them: William and Frank, associated in business with their father; Mrs. G. W. Fernside; Margaret; Carrie; James Garfield; and Katie. In politics Mr. Lehmann is a thorough Democrat, and a worker in the interests of his party. Socially he belongs to the Masonic Order and the I. 0. 0. F. He was a member of the city council for many years, and has always commanded the respect and esteem of the community. He is a man of good sense and excellent judgment, and his advice is often asked in matters of interest pertaining to the welfare of the public. He is always willing and ready to give of his time and money for the furtherance of public enterprises, and has proved a loyal citizen to his adopted country. He has made his way in the world by his own industry and thrift, and well deserves the success which has attended him. SHELMAN BAIRD is a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Wood county, who for half a century has been connected with its upbuilding and progress. He was born December 17, 1829, in Wayne county, Ohio, and is a son of Asa I. and Sarah (Shelman) Baird. When the latter was quite small her mother died, and she was reared in a family by the name of Whitford. The father was an Eastern man by birth, and a son of Charles Baird, who came to Wood county at a very early day, dying here in March, 1848, and was laid to rest in Perry Center cemetery. Asa Baird had been married in Wayne county, and in October, 1848, brought his family to Perry township, where he owned forty acres of land in Section 2o, and eighty acres in Section 19. Two of his brothers had previously come to 1180 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO Wood county---Ora, who had located in Bloom township as early as 1833; and Milton B., also an early settler of that township. The first home of the family was of round logs, with a clapboard roof and puncheon floor, the size of which was only 18 x 2o feet, but later an addition of hewed logs was built. Only a small portion of the land had been cleared, mainly the high knolls. The father brought the first separator into the southern part of Wood county, and for twenty years followed threshing in connection with the operation of his own land. He possessed a great fondness for hOrses, and owned a draft horse known as " Old Rockingham." He was a hardy, robust man, who lived to the age of sixty. eight years, dying in 187o, and surviving his wife about five years. Their remains were interred side by side in Perry Center cemetery. They belonged to the Disciples Church, and he was an enthusiastic member of the Republican party, while before its organization he was a Whig. Their children, who lived to an adult age, are as follows: Hannah, who died in Wayne county, Ohio, upon her wedding day, of scarlet fever; James, who died in Charlotte, Mich. ; Shelman, of this review; Mary A., who first wedded Levi Spitler, but is now the widow of John Langam, and lives in Indiana; David, a farmer of Perry, township; and Sarah A., now Mrs. H. J. Pelton, of. Bloomdale, Ohio. Shelman Baird passed his boyhood and youth in the Tanner of most farmer boys, and with his parents came to Wood county in the fall of 1848: It was on October to, 1850, that he married Keziah Lacey, who was born in Pennsylvania, March 23, 1831, and was a daughter of Peter Lacey, who followed farming as a means of livelihood. , They became the parents of the following: children: Sarah J., born August 8, 1851, is the wile of George Zimmerman, of Sandusky county, Ohio; William S. resides in Bloom township, this county; Malissa L., born July 23, 1855, tarried John W. Sharp, and died in Henry townsh, Wood county, March 31, 1892; Mary Ann M. , . born January 13, 1858, is now Mrs. John Houtz, of Sandusky county; Minnie K., born July 6, 1861, is the wife of David Henning, of Henry township; David, born October 24, 1863, lives in the same township; Claria E., twin sister of David, married Charles Milbourn, of Bays, Wood county; and Lorenzo C., born December 1866, makes his home in North Baltimore, Ohio. The mother of this family died May 17, 1873, and was laid to rest in Millgrove cemetery. At Tiffin, Ohio, September 12, 1881, Mr. Baird was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Isabella Taylor, widow of Henry Taylor, by whom she had seven children: Mary E., now Mrs. Daniel Weller, of Fremont, Ohio; Eva M., who died in infancy; Addie, now Mrs. George Bowersox, of Tiffin; Richard; Richard H., of Sandusky, Ohio; George D., of Rockaway, Ohio Leonard E., who lives with our subject; and Herbert, who died at the age of five years, Mrs. Baird was born in Mansfield, Ohio, October 5, 1837, was a bright scholar in the common schools, learning rapidly, and at the age to twenty was licensed to teach, but never followed that profession. Her parents, Henry and Sarah (Kitchen) Bowen, were married in Pennsylvania, and had eight children, three sons and five daughters. The father, born in Connecticut, February 6, 1801, was a tailor by trade, which he followed in Mansfield and near Sandusky, Ohio, as well as in Portland township, Erie county, and in Hancock county, Ohio, died, when past the age of seventy-three. His wife, who was born in Lycoming county, Penn., August 7, 1806, died in Fostoria, Ohio, when nearly eighty years of age. After his first marriage Mr. Baird had located upon his present farm of eighty acres in Section 18, Perry township, and has converted to dense forest into one of the best farms of the locality. He is now the oldest male descendant of this branch of the Baird family, is conservative, but commands the respect of all, and in politics, was a Republican until 1875, when he joined the Greenback party, but is now a Populist. Mrs. Baird is an intelligent, cultured lady, possessing a retentive memory, and her knowledge of National issues of importance is wonderful. She is an earnest Christian, a member of the Disciples Church. JOHN T. JOHNSON, a prominent agrculturist residing-near Dowling, was born November 13, 1850, in Hanover, Germany. He was a son of Garrett and Mary Johnson, their family consisting of Mary, John T., Catherine, Garrett, Margetta (wife of Fred Myers of Hanover, Germany), Henry, Hank and Derrick. Mr. Johnson availed himself of the excellent educational opportunities afforded by the schools of his native place, and on reaching manhood determined to come to America to make his home. Previous inquiries had caused him to decide upon this locality as the best field for his efforts, and in 1872 he arrived in Perrysburg. There were but fifty-four cents in his pocket; but he possessed a stout heart, and a willingness to accept WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1181 toil and hardships as the price of success. He secured employment on a farm by the month, later worked in a sawmill, and by close economy managed to save enough money to buy forty acres of wild land. Here the proud and happy owner proceeded to build a log house and clear a farm. In 1874, Mr. Johnson married Miss Engel Brnker, of Perrysburg township, and ten children were born to the union, of whom seven are : living: Mary (the wife of Charles Shelden), Hank, John, William, Louie, Whilomene and Katrina. As his first little home came under cultivation, Mr. Johnson gradually extended its borders until he now owns one of the finest farms in the township.. He is a Democrat in politics, and a leading member lof the Lutheran Church. JOSIAH HALL.. Among the most progressive and successful farmers of Perry township will be found the gentleman whose name opens this sketch, and who is regarded as one of its representative citizens. Mr. Hall was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, December 15, 1828., and is one of eleven children comprising the family of Joseph and Mary (Mills) Hall. The father was of Irish ancestry, and a man of sturdy build and of an active, energetic character. He was a self-made man, and acquired, through his own efforts, a comfortable fortune, being the owner, before his death, of 300 acres of good land in Crawford county. He died in the latter county, at the age of seventy-two years his wife preceding him to the better land some eight years. Josiah Hall was the youngest son of the family, and was only one year old when his parents settled in Likens township, Crawford county. He had a very limited education, and his boyhood was spent in the usual manner of farmer's lads, working on the home place, and getting what shooling he could during the short days of the winter time. Ail. the other sons, as they reached maturity, went out into the world to make their own way, but our subject remained with his parents until their death. November 1, 1885, in Bloom township, Seneca county, Mr. Hall was married to Miss Sarah A., daughter of Christopher and Mary Swartz, and who was born in Virginia, January 23, 1830. For eight years after his marriage our subject lived on the old Homestead, and then, in April, 1864, bought acres in. Section 18, in Perry township, Wood county. For this he had paid in part with a team and some tools, but was still heavily in debt. Only ten acres of the place were cleared, and on this was built a hewed-log house, but much work was Still needed to bring the soil under cultivation. He owned this land for eight years, working on and improving it, before taking up his residence there, in the meantime adding eighty more acres to it, so that when he finally removed to the farm he had a fine property of 16o acres. After locating there permanently, he erected good buildings, and otherwise improved the place, and has never since spent a month at a time away from his home. He now owns 280 acres, and is one of the well-to-do farmers of the community. To Mr. Hall and wife eight children have been born, as follows: William, who is farming in Milton township, this county, on forty acres given him by his father; Mary and Franklin, who died in childhood; Eliza, who died when twenty- three years of age; Owen, living with his parents; Alice, now Mrs. Frank Patterson, living in Perry township; Dow and Daniel, both at home with their parents. Mr. Hall has always been a stanch Democrat, and, while taking the interest which every good citizen should take in the government of the State and Nation, he has never aspired to office. He is unusually well preserved for a man of his age, and is still industrious, working about his place, and overseeing affairs as actively as a much younger man might do. He is an excellent citizen, progressive in his ideas, and has deservedly made a success of his calling. HARRISON NELSON. The story of our heroic American ancestors is a source of inspiration, interest and encouragement, and often valuable lessons can be learned from those around us. The life of our subject is in many respects exemplary, for his career, honorable and upright in all respects, is that of a self-made man who has overcome the obstacles of limited circumstances, and by persistence, energy, and resolute purpose worked his way steadily upward. Mr. Nelson was born in Mercer county, Penn., January 8, 1840, and is a son of Nicholas and Catherine (Lightner) Nelson, also natives of the Keystone State. His great-grandfather, William Nelson, was born in the North of Ireland, and in the latter part of the eighteenth century came to America, establishing the family in this country. His son Joseph, the grandfather, removed from Huntingdon to Venango county, Penn., in 1802, but in 1810 returned to Huntingdon, where he made his home until 1837, In that year he removed to Mercer county, where his death occurred in 1850. His children were John, who died in 1878; Harriet, deceased wife of John Mc- 1182 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. Kim, of Pennsylvania; Daniel and James, both deceased; Margaret, wife of Matthew McCord, of Mercer county; Lydia, wife of Curtis Pierson, of Mercer county. On both the paternal and maternal sides the family of our subject is connected with men prominent in American annals, especially the history of the Revolution. Among the number were Thomas Nelson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from Virginia. The father of Robert Lee was also descended from the same ancestry. The father of our subject was born in 1804, was reared as a farmer boy, and throughout his life carried on agricultural pursuits, owning 100 acres of valuable land in Mercer county, Penn. There his death occurred in 1882, and his wife passed away July 12, 1859. Their children were James, who is living on the old homestead in Mercer county; Samuel, also on the homestead fault; Adam, who has lived in California since 1860; Nancy, who died at the age of seventeen; David, who entered the United States army in 1861, and died in the hospital in front of Richmond, June 9, 1862; Harrison, of this sketch; and Catherine, who died at the age of four years. In his youth Mr. Nelson, of this review, acquired a good English education, and at the age of fifteen entered upon his business career as clerk in a mercantile establishment in his native county, being thus employed at the time of the breaking out of the war. In October, 1861, he enlisted as a private of Company F, 57th Penn. V. I., and served until November 12, 1864, participating in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, seven day's fight in front of Richmond, Bull Run, Chantilla, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Kelly's Ford, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Deep Bottom and the siege of Petersburg. In May, 1862, he was promoted to the rank4of second lieutenant, and in May, 1863, after the battle of Chancellorsville, for gallant and meritorous service was made first lieutenant. After the battle of Gettysburg he was promoted to the. rank of captain, but for two months was forced to lie in a hospital in Virginia, owing to a wound received in the left thigh during that most important engagement of the war. In March, 1863, he had been detailed as adjutant of the regiment, and continued in that capacity until January I, 1864, when he assumed command of his company. When his term expired, Capt. Nelson returned home and resumed clerking. In 1877 he entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company, with which he has remained continuously since. On the 29th of November, 1888, he came to Wood county, and assumed charge o the business of the company here in the capacity of guager. He started out in life for himself as a poor boy, but has steadily worked his way upward, his merit and fidelity winning him continued promotion, until he now occupies a remunerative and responsible position. On March 29, 1866, Mr, Nelson was joined in wedlock with. Miss Kate Bell, a native of Mercer county, Penn., born December 14, 1844, and a daughter of John B. and Ann (Scott) Bell, natives of the Keystone State. In politics Mr. Nelson is an active Democrat, and an earnest worker in his party. In religious faith, his views coincide with the doctrine of the Presbyterian denomination. Socially, he is oonnected with the Masonic Lodge, the Union Veteran Legion, and the Grand Army of the Republic, and in all the relations of life he displays the same loyalty and fidelity, that marked his career, when, on Southern battle fields, he followed the old flag that now it waves victoriously and proudly over the united nation. LEWIS F. MYERS, who is engaged in general farming in Bloom township, is a native of the same locality, born in Section 12, July 26, 1854, and is a son of John Myers. The paternal grandfather, Frederick Myers, was born in Switzerland, where he was married, and later came to the United States, being six months upon the ocean, during which time some of his children died and were buried at sea. After living for a time in Pennsylvania, he removed to Stark county, Ohio and later, to Seneca county, same State where he owned forty acres of land, but he and his wife passed their last days in Indiana. The birth of the father of our subject occurred December 25, 1820, in Pennsylvania, and when ten years of age he left home, going to live with a man who sent him to school. On the removal of his parents to this State he came with them. In Seneca county he was married June 15, 1840, the lady of his choice being Miss Polly Bare, who was born in Washington county, Penn., February 3, 1817, daughter of Henry and Catherine (Kraft) Bare. Her father died in the Keystone State, after which Mrs. Bare accompanied her father, Henry Kraft, to Stark county, Ohio, later moving to Seneca county, where, she married David Snyder, and there her death occurred. After his marriage Mr. Myers rented land in Seneca county for a time, but in the fall of 1854, he removed to Section 14, Bloom township, Wood county, having purchased eighty WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1183 acres there the, day after Franklin Pierce was elected President. Not a stick of timber had been cut, and most of the place was under water, while the dwelling was a rude log cabin with clapboard roof, and boards, laid loosely, formed the floor. It was a difficult task to clear and develop the land, provisions were high, flour being $14 per barrel, and the family experienced all the sufferings and privations incident to pioneer life. The father still makes his home upon that land, which is now one of the best-cultivated tracts in the community, and is-operated by the youngest son, while he is practically living retired. He was formerly a Democrat., but now supports the People’s party, taking little interest in politics, however. During their early residence here Mrs. Myers, after, after a hard day's work, would sew for others, thus aiding .in the support of the family. She is an earnest Christian woman, a member of the the Protestant Methodist Church. In the family were the following children: Catherine A., wife of William Apple, of Bloom township; William, who was a member of Company A, 8th O. V. I. and was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, being buried in the National Cemetery there; Henry, of Toledo, Ohio; Barbara, now Mrs. Snowden Sargent, of Jerry City; John G., of Cygent, Ohio; George, who died at the age of twenty-one years; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Madden, of Bloom township; Lewis F., of the same township; David, of Jerry City; and Josiah at home. As his parents were in limited circumstances the school privileges of Lewis F. Myers were limited, and since the age of fourteen he has provided for his own maintenance, working as a farm hand for several years. His first property consisted of forty acres, which had originally belonged to his broth-er George, who was drowned, and he purchased the interests of his brothers and sisters. It was in its primitive condition, and he began its improvement while still under the parental roof. On December 5, 1886, Mr. Myers was united in marriage with Mrs. Aggie Munn, widow of David Munn. Her birth occurred in Liberty township, Wood county, March 12, 1850, and she is a daughter of Snowden L. and Hannah (Jones) Sargent, farming people. Our subject and his wife, began their domestic life upon rented land; but in the summer of 1887 he erected his present home upon his place, and, on its completion, they removed to it. He has also built a barn 36 x Go feet, with 18 foot posts, and made other necessary improvements. He is a systematic farmer, progressive and industrious, as the neatness of his place well indicates. At State and National elections he generally votes the Democratic ticket, but in local affairs he is not strictly partisan, holding himself free to vote for the man and not the party. ISAAC WHITSON is one of the highly-esteemed and popular citizens of Wood county, who, during the Civil war, went forth in the defense of his country, and made for himself an honorable record as one of the boys in blue. All who know him, respect him for his genuine worth, and he is justly numbered among the leading citizens of Perrysburg township. His father, James Whitson, was a native of Scotland, and in the early '40s became a resident of Stark county, Ohio. In 1843 he married Jane Rideout, and took up his abode near Massillon, Ohio, whence, in 1853, he removed with his family to Davenport, Iowa. He died in that city two years later, leaving a widow and the following children : Isaac; George Washington, who was drowned in Maumee river, in 1857; Mary, wife of Horace Coy, of Oregon township, Lucas Co., Ohio; and Ella, wife of Arthur Mandell, of Perrysburg township. The subject of this review acquired his early education under rather unpropitious circumstances. He entered the schools of Massillon, Ohio, spent two terms in a school at Davenport, Iowa, and continued his studies in Ross township, Wood county, whither he had come after his father's death to live with his grandparents. Before he attained his majority he entered the army, enlisting February 13, 1864, as a member of Company C, 3d Ohio Cavalry, under Capt. O. M. Brown, and Col. Horace Howland. He served for eighteen months, holding the rank of corporal, and participated in the battles of Edgefield, Big Shanty, Atlanta, Kenesaw Mountain and Wilson's raid. On August 4, 1865, he received an honorable discharge and returned home. In October, 1868, Mr. Whitson was united in marriage with Miss Lavina Mogle, a native of Wood county. They have four children: George E., born July 2, 1869, is now married, and living at home; William J., born January r 3, 1871, is also married, and living at home; Ida May, who was born October 28, 1875, and is the wife of Charles Zingg; and Sarah Jane, born May 4, 1881. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Whitson removed to a forty-acre farm, one mile south of Lime City. To this he has added until he now owns 120 acres of valuable farming land, improved with good buildings, and all modern accessories and conveniences. His political support is given the Republican party, and he was 1184 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. elected and served as trustee of Perrysburg township, although the township is strongly Democratic. His election certainly evidenced his personal popularity, and it is said of Mr. Whitson that he has not an enemy in all Wood county. Socially, he is connected with Fort Meigs Lodge No. 774, I. 0. 0. F., and Wolf ord Post No. 54, G. A. R. He usually attends the National Encampments of the G. A. R. In 1890 he visited his old home in Iowa, and in 1893, he had the pleasure of attending the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. HOWARD H. MCCLARAN, M. D., is one of the rising young physicians of Wood county, and has also taken an active part in the public affairs of his locality, where he enjoys great popularity. His father, Avery McClaran, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, of Scotch-Irish extraction, and became a successful medical practitioner. He graduated at the Wooster Medical College, Cleveland, later followed his profession in Nashville, Holmes Co., Ohio, and in Seal, Wyandot county, and then came to North Baltimore, Wood county, where he was successfully engaged in practice at the time of his death. He passed away December 23, 1887, at the age of fifty- eight years, and was buried at North Baltimore on Christmas Day. He married Eleanor Boles, who still makes her home at that place, and to them were born the following children: Mary A. , wife of W. W. Lemon, a shoe merchant of Mansfield, Ohio; William B., agent for the Lake Erie & Western railroad at Frankfort, Ind. ; Florence, wife of B. H. Peters, of North Baltimore; Howard H.; and Zella M., wife of J. W. Borough, of North Baltimore. The father was a self-educated as well as a self-made man, having been left an orphan at the age of seven years, and he managed to secure a good education, and, later, a comfortable amount of worldly goods. He took an active interest in the welfare of the Democratic party, with which he always cast his ballot, and intended in later life to take a more active part in politics. Howard H. McClaran was born at Nashville, Holmes Co., Ohio, February 4, 1867. When he was a boy of about nine years, his parents removed to North Baltimore, where he completed his literary studies in the public schools. At the age of seventeen he began work in a stave factory, and, after being employed tbere for some time, learned telegraphy, which he followed from 1885 until 1890, during that time filling various positions: On November 25, 1885, he became night operator at St. Joe, Ind., and was then stationed at Hoyts Corners and Holgate, Ohio, at the latter place working for both the Baltimore & Ohio and Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas city, (now Cloverleaf) railroads. He later went to North Baltimore, remaining there until April 14, 1890 when he resigned to accept the position of bookkeeper for J. S. Hamilton, in the lumberyard and planing-mill business, at North Baltimore. In September, 1890, he was offered a higher salary by the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, with which he went to Station 33, one and one-half miles north of Jerry City, Wood county, as engineer and operator. At the end of a year, however, he resigned and began the study of medicine, entering Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, on September 5, 1891. At the end of six months his means were exhausted, and he was compelled to secure work, being employed at driving a delivery wagon for a time. Later he resumed his studies at the Nashville (Tenn.) Medical College, where he was graduated February 23, 1893, and, returning to North Baltimore, practiced there for a short time. On April 22, 1893, he located at Bloomdale, where he has since built up a good practice. In Bloomdale the Doctor was married, November 15, 1894, to Miss Mary George, of that city, daughter of David George, who was at one time a miller, but later engaged in farming. Dr. McClaran has always been a strong supporter of the Democratic party, and in the spring of 1894 was elected mayor of Bloomdale on the Democratic ticket, although the village is Republican by 100 majority. This honor was conferred upon him after only one year's residence in the place and there is probably not another instance of the kind in Ohio. His administration was highly satisfactory, and he displayed careful judgment and sound common sense in his management of affairs. The Bloomdale Derrick, which opposed to the Doctor in politics, gave him the following highly complimentary "send-off” - DOWN AND OUT: This week the mayor, Dr. McClaran, steps down and out, and his successor, J. L. Easley, takes his place. The Doctor has proved to be a careful and pains-taking officer. His administration of the village government has been one of conservative action. He has always taken pains to be on the safe the public questions." He enjoys the confidence of the best citizens, and by his successful practice in his chosen profession has gained a liberal patronage. He takes quite an active interest civic societies, belonging to Bloomdale Lodge No. 278, K. of P. , also the Rathbone Sisters of B1oomdale and was formerly a member of Fostoria Division WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1185 No. 32, Order of Railway Telegraphers. The Doctor is a stockholder in the Bloomdale Building and Loan Association, and owns an interest in a business. block at North Baltimore. JACOB METZGER, a valued and esteemed agriculturist of Perrysburg township, was his residence upon Section 24, where he has a farm of seventy acres of most superior land, which is under excellent culture and well improved. The buildings upon the place, including a good brick residence, are of a neat and substantial character, betokening thrift and prosperity. He is meeting with a merited success in his farming operations, and bids fair to achieve an easy competence, so that in his declining years he may rest peacefully from the cares of life. Mr. Metzger was born in Liverpool township, Medina Co., Ohio, and is the son of Jacob and Catherine (Struble) Metzger, natives of Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, where they were reared and married about 1835. Coming to the New Word, they located in Liverpool township, Medina county, where the father opened up a fifty-three acre farm in the midst of the woods, and there his death occurred in 1882, while his wife died in 1888. In their family were nine children, namely: Fredericka, who was the wife of Jacob Kurfus; died April 14, 1883, in Troy township, Wood county; Lewis resides in that township; Mrs. Julia Hager makes her home in Michigan; John was killed in Troy township, March 19, 1855; Mrs. Kate Bordner lives in Onawa, Iowa; Jacob is. next in order of birth; Mrs. Margaret Brooker died June 21, 1874, in Litchfield, Medina county; Mrs. Eliza Messmer resides at Erhart, Medina county; and Andrew lives upon the old homestead farm in that county. Mr. Metzger, of this review, was reared and educated in his native county, and has always followed the occupation of farming, working at home until coming to Wood county in 1861, when he located in Troy township; but the following year found him a resident of. Perrysburg township, where he has since made his home. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, 111th O. V. I., three years, or until the close of the war, and was mustered into service at Toledo, being assigned to the Western army. He was first on guard duty at Bowling Green, Ky., was then in the East Tennessee campaigns, after which he joined Sherman's army and participated in the siege of Atlanta. Returning to Tennessee, he was in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, and Clifton, was then ordered to Cincinnati, whence he proceeded to Washington, D. C., and later was in the Carolina campaigns. At Salisbury, N. C., he was discharged, and was' paid off at Cleveland, Ohio, in June, 1865. On the termination of his war experience he returned to his home in Perrysburg township. In November, 1865, in Liverpool township, Medina county, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Metzger and Miss Catherine Snyder, a native of that county, and a ,daughter of Daniel and Amelia (Swartz) Snyder, who were born in Germany and became residents of Medina county, Ohio, at an early day. Since 1852 her father has made his home in Troy township, Wood county, where her mother died in 1892. To our subject and his wife were born five children, two of whom died in infancy. Those living are Anna, who is preparing for a teacher; William, at home; and Bertha. Politically, Mr. Metzger is a stanch Republican, always taking a deep interest in public affairs, and socially is connected with Wolford Post No. 51, G. A. R., of Perrysburg, of which he is past commander. Both himself and wife are members in good standing of the Lutheran Church, and have a large circle of friends and well-wishers. GEORGE W. SLOTTERBECK, an agriculturist of energy and ability, who is residing in Section 23, Bloom township, is a native of Wood county, born in Perry township, February 15, 1840. He is a son of John and Rachel (Anderson) Slotterbeck, both of whom were natives of Westmoreland county, Penn., where their marriage was celebrated. As early as 1833 the father entered land in Perry township, where he brought his family the following year. Several children were born before coming to this county, namely: Sarah, Henry, Leah, Samuel, Mary and John, and the family circle was later increased by the birth of three Jacob, Catherine and George W., of whom three sons and one daughter yet survive. From Pennsylvania the trip was made in,a covered wagon, and from Fostoria to their farm the road lay through an almost unbroken forest. There were few settlers in Perry township on their arrival, and they experienced all the sufferings and privations of life on the frontier. The father was a strong man, of powerful build, and lived to the ripe-old age of nearly eighty years, dying June 27, r 880. He was born July 4, 1800. His wife had preceded him to her final rest, passing away in 1876, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery, while his remains were interred at East Toledo, Ohio. For his second wife he married a Mrs. Barnhisel. He was originally a 1186 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. Whig in politics, was a stanch Abolitionist, and on the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks. Four of his sons served in the Union army during the Civil was, two being wounded, though none killed The educational privileges of George W. Slotterbeck were such as the district schools of Perry township afforded, and his first teacher was Ellen Keiger; of West Millgrove, Ohio, while his early farm training was received under the supervision of his father. On the outbreak of the Rebellion he resolved to strike a blow in defense of the Union, and on April 15, 1861, joined company H, list 0. V. I., under Capt. Blackman. From Fostoria the troops went to Columbus, where their guns were secured, on to Gallipolis, Ohio, and pursued the enemy through West Virginia to Charleston, where their term expired. At Columbus our subject was discharged in July, 1861, and he returned to his home in Perry township. In Toledo, Ohio, in the following November, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Slotterbeck and Maria Prentice, a native of Wood county, and a daughter of Augustus Prentice. They began their domestic, life upon the home farm in Perry township, our subject remaining there until 1862, when he re-enlisted, this time becoming a member of Company B, r r ith 0. V. I.; but at Perrysburg, Wood county, he was taken ill and was ordered home by Capt. Norris. Later he went to the recruiting office of the 57th Regiment and joined Company B, under Capt. Faulhaber. They met the regiment at Memphis, Tenn., and his first active engagement was at Chickasaw Bayou, which was followed by the battle of Arkansas Post, where he was wounded, a ball grazing his chin, taking away a small portion of his beard, and entering his right arm near the shoulder. For eight months he was at Lossing Hospital, St. Louis, after which he was discharged, but his wound has never entirely healed, and still bothers him. After remaining for a time in Perry township, Mr. Slotterbeck removed to a farm near Toledo, in Wood county, where, besides farming, he also engaged in hauling wood to that city. On his father's removal to Bloom township, he also came here, securing an eighty-acre tract in Section 23, which was partially improved, though no buildings stood upon the place. With the exception of fifteen acres, the land is now under a high state of cultivation, and the improvements found thereon include a good class of farm buildings and an excellent orchard, all of which has been accomplished by our subject's persistent energy and unfaltering determination to succeed. He now has in his possession the patent deed to his land, signed by Andrew Jackson, which he preserves as a relic. To Mr: and Mrs. Slotterbeck have been born eight children, namely: William A., of Eagleville, Ohio; Charles, who died in infancy; Frederick, of Freeport, Wood county; Bert, of Eagleville; Frank, a farmer of Henry township, Wood county; Maud, the wife of Dr. Charles D. Dibert, of Millbury, Wood county; and Clyde and Edward, at home. The parents are earnest members of the Disciples Church of Eaglesville, and are people of refined tastes, genial and social in disposition. Mr. Slotterbeck is a charter member of Uric Post No. 110, G. A. R., of Bloomdale. He cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, since which time he has been an ardent Republican, and he has served as a member of the school board. D. C. FAST. Among the sturdy, energetic and successful farmers of Bloom township stands prominent the subject of this sketch. On both the paternal and maternal sides he is of German descent, and was born in Greenwich township, Huron Co., Ohio, July 25, 1834, a son of John and Sarah (Hess) Fast, the former born in Pennsylvania, July 10, 1809, and the latter on June 13, 1811. David Hess, the maternal grandfather, born in Germany, married a Miss Hess, a lady of English extraction. The father of our subject was the youngest son of Christian Fast, who, for a time, was held in captivity by the Indians. The parents were married in Richland county, Ohio, November 11, 1830, and there the father carried on farming until 1839, when he brought his family to Bloom township, Wood county, locating in Section 27. Their first home here was a structure made of poles and clapboards, which was soon replaced by a substantial log building, and the land was still in its primitive condition, not a road even leading to the place, while wild game of all kinds was plentiful. There the father died of cholera, September 22, 1854, and in less than a week two of his children, John and Eliza, died of the same disease. This left the mother with five small children, whom she kept together. She passed away January 17, 1888, and she and her husband and deceased children now lie side by side in the Bloom Chapel cemetery. Mr. Fast was a strong, muscular man, standing five feet nine inches in height; in politics he was an earnest Democrat. In the family were twelve children, namely: (1) Hannah J., born August 27, 1831, became the wife of James McGiffin, and died in Henry coun- WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1187 ty, Ohio, at the age of sixty years. (2) Eliza C., born January 31, 1833, died in young womanhood, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery. (3) D. C. the subject of this sketch, is next in of order of birth. (4) Nancy A., born January 23, 1836, married Cornelius Keeran, but is now the wife of David Farral,.of Eagleville, Ohio. (5) Sarah A., born August 31,, 1837, died at the age of sixteen, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery. (6) John B., born April 22, 1839, died at the age of about sixteen, and was buried in the same place. (7) Anna B. was the first child of the family born in Wood county, the date being February 25, 1841; she married Asa Loman, and died in Bloom township. (8) Mary M., born November 12, 1842, is now Mrs. E. L. Stove, of Bloom township. (9) Ephraim, born February 7, 1845, makes his home in Jefferson county, Kans. (10) George W.. born July 3, 1847, is a school teacher of West Plains, Howell Co., Mo. (11) Charlotte E., born July 3, 1849, is the wife of George Black, of Bloom township. (12) Mathias J., born September 13, 1851, died, and was buried Bloom Chapel cemetery. The education of our subject was acquired in District No. 8, in a log school house on the Leathers farm, furnished with rough benches and having, a huge fireplace at one end, while the floor was puncheon, and a desk ran along the entire side of the room. He has watched with satisfaction the improvements made in the schools and takes an active interest in the cause of education, although his own advantages in that respect were somewhat limited. At the age of twenty he assumed the management of the home farm, which he controlled until his enlistment, on August 29, 1862, at Fostoria, in Company H, 49th O. V. I., joining the regiment at Murfreesboro; soon after, however, he contracted rheumatism, and for three months was unfit for active service. After being examined at Nashville, Tenn., he was consigned to the Veteran Reserve Corps at Louisville, Ky., and later entered Hospital No. 7, near that city, as nurse, filling that position until May 13, 1864. He was then sent to Washington, D. C., as a member of Company H, 12th Regiment V. R. C., and did guard duty in that vicinity and in Virginia until discharged, June 29, 1865, after which he returned home and resumed farming. On May 31, 1866, in Montgomery township, Wood county, Mr. Fast was married, by the Rev. William Dowling, to Miss Calesta Smith, who was born in Madison township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, February 25, 1843, the daughter of Daniel and Jeannette (Holcomb) Smith. To this worthy couple bave been born two children: ROLLA B., who completed his education by two years' attendance at the Ohio Normal University, of Ada, has since taught school, and is at present clerk of Bloom township (in 1892 he held the office of constable); and Mary M., still with her parents. Mr. Fast works 107 acres of rich, arable land, eighty of which are comprised in the home farm, and all the improvements found thereon have been the work of some member or other of the Fast family, as it was still in a wild state when they located there. For fifty-Six years our subject has known no other home and throughout the community he is widely and favorably known. His first vote waS cast for the Democratic party, but since the Civil war he has been an unswerving Republican. He has served as supervisor and school director. He and his estimable wife are active members of the Christian Church at Eagleville, Ohio, in which he has served as deacon, and to the support of which he has contributed liberally when the house of worship was being erected, and since. G. F. CLAUS, whose name is familiar to many people in this county, has been engaged in the boot and shoe business in Luckey since 1881, and has built up a fine trade. His first store here was conducted in a building near the depot, now used as a dwelling-house, where he carried on operations for seven years. At the end of that time he traded that property for a frame building, which was destroyed by fire on July 12, 1893 ; but, in the fall of that year, he erected a one-story double-brick block, where he carries a large line of boots, shoes, harness, etc. In 1888 he had added harness to his stock, and, in both lines of trade, has secured a liberal patronage. Mr. Claus comes from the far-away Fatherland, his birth having occurred in Hanover, in 1859, and he is a son of Frank and Mary (Roehi) Claus, natives of the same kingdom, where the mother died, in 1864. In 1879 the father crossed the Atlantic and located in Pemberville, but his last days were spent near Perrysburg, where he passed away in 1888. In his family were four children, namely: Mrs. Mary Kahlenbrink, of Perrysburg; Ernest, who came to Ohio in 1874, and makes his home in Pemberville; G. F., of this review; and Henry, who died in Chicago in 1882. Our subject received a very fair education in his boyhood days in the schools of Hanover, where he remained until 1878, when he determined to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic. In his native land he had learned 1188 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. the trade of a shoemaker, at which he worked for three years, and, on coming to America, in 1878, was employed at that occupation in Pemberville, Ohio, until his removal to Luckey, in 1881. The marriage of Mr. Claus with Miss Julia Landwehr took place in 1884. The lady of his choice was born in Troy township, and is a daughter of Frederick Landwehr, now deceased. One son has been born of this union— Frank. Mr. Claus votes the straight Democratic ticket, and, in February, 1895, was appointed postmaster of Luckey, which office was established in 1881. In religious 'affairs he is identified with the Lutheran Church, and, his fair dealing and systematic methods of doing business have won for him the confidence and respect of all with whom he has had any transactions. A. L. THOMPSON is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Wood county, and has been a prominent factor in its development, so that his identification with its interests well entitles him to representation in a volume of this character. His father, Aaron Thompson, was born in Hunterdon county, N. J., December 31, 1811, a son of Cornelius and Frances (Gano) Thompson. The grandfather was a farmer who spent his entire life in New Jersey, and died at the age of seventy-seven, while his wife survived him several years. Their children were William, Mary, Wilson, Eliza and Aaron, who reached adult age; and George, who died in infancy. Aaron Thompson was reared on his father’s farm, receiving but limited school privileges. At the age of twenty-four he began earning his living at whatever work he could find to do, and afterward followed the cooper's trade for some time. At the age of twenty-eight he removed to Lorain county, Ohio, where he was married in August, 1841, to Lucetta McBride, who was born in Leroy, N. Y., November 13, 1825, a daughter of Amos and Clarissa (Brown) McBride, who removed to Niagara county, N. Y., during Lucetta's early girlhood, and later to Lorain county, Ohio, where they died. They had nine children—four Sons and five daughters—and the father followed farming as a means of livelihood. Aaron Thompson began his domestic life in Elyria, and afterward lived in Ridgeville, Ohio, until his removal to Pemberville, being there engaged in the manufacture of potash. Subsequently he came to Woodville, where he also worked in an ashery until about 1856, when he purchased a small farm in Webster township, on which he has since lived. He has made all the improvements on the place, including the erection of the buildings and the transforming of the wooded tract into cultivated fields. In August 1861, he joined Company K, 21st O. V. I. and. was discharged on account of disability in September, 1862, but in February, 1864, joined the' construction corps, and was in vicinity of Chattanooga until hostilities had ceased. He has always been a stanch Republican, is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a highly respected citizen. He and his estimable wife have lived together for more than fifity-five years. Their children are: Victoria, wife of James Van Buren, of Mendon, Mich.; Caroline, wife of William Meeker, of Mendon; A. L. ; Augusta, wife of Adelbert Wright, of Gratiot county, Mich.; John, of Freedom township; Salina, wife of Walter Davidson, of Webster township; and Wesley, of Woodside, Ohio. A. L. Thompson, of this review, was born in Pemberville, May 23, 1851, and was an only child when his parents located in Webster township, near Scotch Ridge. He there attended school, and has ever been a warm friend of education, being deeply interested in its progress. He was married, in Webster township to Emma Bassor, daughter of John Bassor, who lives near Blissfield, Mich. He then rented a home near Scotch Ridge, and was employed at various places in the neighborhood, mostly at farming, until the spring of 1884, when he bought sixty acres of land in Section 27, Freedom township. This land was then but slightly improved. It was undrained, and hard labor has been requited to transform it into the valuable farm which it is to-day. Oil has been found upon the place, and is a profitable source of income. He has been largely engaged in clearing timber tracts, having cleared over Soo acres, probably more than any other man of his age in Wood county. Industry and energy are numbered among his chief characteristics, and have been the means of bringing. to him the success which orowns his efforts. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have five children - Robert C.; Agnes G., wife of Harvey Center, of Lima, Ohio; Lula M., Walter L. and Nellie at home. By his ballot, Mr. Thompson evinces his hearty endorsement of Republican principles, and is a liberal, progressive citizen, devote to the welfare of the community. Socially, he is connected with the Masonic and Odd Fellows societies. EVERHARD GERKINS, who devotes his time and energies to agricultural pursuits, in Perrysburg township, was born June 24, 1826, in Ger WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1189 many, and is a son of Clamor and Gertrude (Bruning) Gerkins, natives of Schledehausen, Prussia, and farming people of that country. They had six children, of whom our subject is the eldest; the others being John, who was born September 16, 4833, and is a farmer of Prussia; Annie Elizabeth, who was born in 1835, and died April 3, 1860; Annie Marie, who was born October 13, 1837, and is now in Prussia; Clara, who was born September 29, 1840, and died in America in 1872; and Berman, who was born in 1844, and is now living in Prussia. Our subject acquired his education in his native land, and came to the United States in 1853. reaching Toledo, Ohio, on October 6. The following spring he began farming, which pursuit he followed two years. He then removed to Lucas county, Ohio, where he remained home eight years, when he came to his present home, a valuable and well-improved property of one hundred acres. He has placed this under a high state of cultivation, and has added all the accessories of a model farm. In April 10, 1849, Mr. Gerkins married Miss Anna Maria Schwake, who was born July 15, 1825. They have nine children: Kathrina, who was born June 2, 185o, and is now deceased; William, who was born 1852, died 1853; Melissa, who was born 1853, died in infancy; Sophia, who was born February 28, 1854, and is the wife of Philip Ziss, of Wood county; Elizabeth, who died at the age of three years; Henry, who was born June 2, 1859, and was killed by a runaway team October 2, 1888; Anna, who was born December 4, 1861, and is the wife of Albert Limmer, of Wood county; Amelia, born February 2, 1864, now at home; and Carrie, who was born September 22, 1866, the wife of Theodore Minneker, of Toledo, Ohio. The parents have been consistent members of the German Reformed Church, of Toledo, since 1866, and for twenty years our subject has served as elder. Since becoming an American citizen he has given his political support to the Democracy, and has been an advocate of all measures calculated to prove of public benefit, or to promote the general welfare. G. B. BRIM. The well-appointed farm of this gentleman is finely located in Section 27, Lake township, within whose limits he arrived in 1877, though he had purchased the land two years previously. He has given his close attention to its cultivation and improvement, with results which can hardly fail to be satisfactory to himself. He is numbered, among the energetic and stirring men who have operated to such good purpose in Wood county. His first purchase comprised eighty acreS, but now 116 acres pay to him a golden tribute in return for the labor expended upon them. The birth of our subject occurred in Woodville, Sandusky Co., Ohio, in 1853, and he is a son of George and Betsy (Loop) Brim. His father, who was a native of Devonshire, England, came to Wood county, when a young man, locating in Troy township, where his marriage with Miss Loop, a native of Pennsylvania, was celebrated. He was employed on the construction of the Maumee pike, but, after his marriage, removed to a farm in Woodville township, Sandusky county, where he made his home until his death in 1873. His wife departed this life in the same township, in March, 1895. In their family were eight children: James, who still operates the old home farm; Walter, a resident of Millbury, Wood county; Mrs. Emeline Duke, of Pettis county, Mo. ; George, who died in Johnson county, Mo. ; Mrs. J. C. Ricker, of Troy township, this county; G. B., of this review; Tillie, wife of George Ash, who is engaged in the manufacture of furniture at Logansport, Ind.; and Mrs. William Gardner, of Lake township. Mr. Brim, whose name introduces this sketch, passed his boyhood days in a manner similar to most farmer lads. and remained a member of his father's household until coming to Wood county in 1875, where, for two years, he resided in Millbury, and then removed to his present farm. In Lake township, on March 1, 1877, he was married to Miss Lizzie Hahn, who was born in Perrysburg township, Wood county, and is a daughter of Valentine and Magdalene (Berg) Hahn, who are both natives of Germany, but were married in Ashland county, Ohio, whence they removed to Perrysburg. Both are still living, and are numbered among the honored pioneers of the county. Seven children grace the union of our subject and his wife-George, Clara, Otto, Orville, Lloyd, Logan and Edna. The Republican party finds in Mr. Brim a stalwart supporter, and he has served as a member of the school board for a number of years. Socially, he is identified with the Knights of the Maccabees, being an honored member of the lodge, and takes a genuine interest in the enterprises set on foot for the progress and welfare of his adopted oounty. WILLIAM BUDD, a farmer of prominence in Perrysburg, was born in Minden, Prussia, June 3, 1845, and is the son of Casper and Anna 1190 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. Mary Budd, the former of whom was born in Hanover, December 13, 1786. Casper Budd's name was Casper Henry Curtis, but according to the custom of the country at that time, he took his wife's surname upon marrying her. She was born in Minden, Prussia, September 8, 1811, and was married the day before Easter, 1828. Mr. and Mrs. Budd remained in Germany seventeen years, following the occupation of farmers. Mrs. Budd owned an estate, but they lost it, and in 1846 they came to America, the voyage occupying seven weeks and two days. They located at Cincinnati; Ohio, where Mr. Budd secured work in a stone quarry. He had a hard time of it, and among other misfortunes broke his leg. He then moved to Perrysburg and chopped wood, saving enough to buy four acres of land on which he built a log cabin, where our subject was born. Their lot was a hard one, and Mrs. Budd worked hard and took in washing. Later they bought eighty acres of Government land in Perrysburg township, built a shanty on it and subsequently sold it. Mr. Budd was a long time in recovering from the injury he received, and Mrs. Budd was obliged to earn a living for the family. During the war Mr. Budd engaged in the huckstering business, in which he made money enough to buy 18o acres of land. After the war he quit the huckstering business and retired to his farm, where he died in 1872. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, as is also Mrs. Budd, who is still vigorous for one of her age. To this couple were born ten children, four of whom grew to maturity, as follows: Anna Mary, who married Chris Spilker, lives in Perrysburg township, and they have ten children, all of whom are living; Caroline M. is the widow of Charles Clauder, and lives in Minnesota; Peter is a contractor and carpenter, and lives in Toledo, Ohio; William, our subject, was the fourth child, and he grew up in Perrysburg where he was able to obtain but limited advantages in the way of schooling. He learned the butcher and huckster business, in which he was engaged for ten or twelve years, eight months of which he spent in Wisconsin. He gave this up, and returned to the home farm, where he has continued to reside ever since. On April 10, 1888, he was married to Miss Jennie Walker, who was born in Scotch Ridge, May 23, 1866, and who is a daughter of William and Lydia Ann (Bowen) Walker. Six children ,have been born to them, namely: Sarah M., November 17, 1888; Mary Della, December 27, 1889; John C., February 15, 1891; Eugene W., August 29, 1892; Esther R., February 4, 1894; Jennie S., September 30, 1895. Mr. Budd is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the I. O. O. F. at Perrysburg. WILLIAM BUCK, who is successfully engaged in general merchandising in Milton, and is numbered among the leading business men of the community, was born in Stark county, Ohio, July 31, 1832. His grandfather, David Buck, was one of the heroes of the Revolution, and served throughout the long struggle for independence. The family was founded in America by three brothers, who came from England and located in Pennsylvania. The father of our subject, Thomas Buck, was born in Lancaster county, Penn., in 1791, and was a farmer by occupation. When a young man he came to Ohio, and married Miss Twesch, who died in Stark county. They had five children, but Mrs. Susan Bishop; of La Salle, Ill., is the only one now living. One son served in the United States army during the Mexican war. He afterward joined a surveying expedition, and it is supposed was massacred by the Indians while on his way Utah. For his second wife, Mr. Buck married Mrs. Wintrode, a lady of German descent, who was formerly Elizabeth Fox. She became the mother of our subject. Her father served all through the war of 1812, and while returning home was accidentally killed by the discharge of a gun. The parents of our subject had six namely: William; Levi, of Deshler, Ohio; Thomas, a farmer of Iowa; Rachel, of Nebraska, widow of John Heldenground; Sophia, of Illinois, widow of Joseph Stover; and Louisa, wife of Leal Mitchell, of Kansas. William Buck was a child of seven years when he came with his parents to Wood county, and first attended school in Milton township when thirteen years of age. His father had entered forty acres of land from the government which he aided in clearing, until fifteen years of age when he started out to make his own living. He also aided in the support of his parents until their deaths, which occurred in Illinois, whither they had removed in 1862. During the summer months our subject worked at farm labor, receiving $8 per month and board, and in the winter season attended school. His wages were afterward increased to $16. When a young man of twenty-four he went to Portage, and began learning the harness-maker's trade, at which he served a two-years' apprenticeship, when bought out his employer, and continued the ness for four years. He then sold out, and for three years was engaged in general merchandising WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1191 in Portage. On the expiration of that period, he again disposed of his property, and came to Milton, conducting there a general merchandising for three years. When he had sold his store there, he bought a farm of forty acres in Milton township, which was afterward taken from him on account of a mortgage that had been placed upon it by the former owner. He lost everything he had, except the household goods, and in consequence returned to Milton, and once more engaged in the harness trade. In 1887 he added a store of general merchandise, and in the conduct of this business has been quite successful. He is strictly a self-made man, whose success is attributable entirely to his own efforts. In politics he is a Republican, and has served for many terms as school director, trustee, township assessor and school treasurer. He also belongs to the Disciples Church. Mr. Buck was married in Milton township, December 13, 1861, to Ann Hartz, who was born in Pennsylvania, February 11, 1843, a daughter of Conrad Hartz, now deceased. Their children are Burton B., who married Jessie Schooley, abd is cashier of the Bank of Weston; Cora E., wife of Solomon Harris, of Toledo; and Royal William. JULIUS HAHN, a prominent and progressive farmer, and a business man of more than ordinary ability, is a worthy representative of the agricultural interests of Troy township, owning a fine farm of 120 acres in Section 2, where he located in June, I 8 76. He is a native of the Buckeye State, born in. Ashland county, in 1848, and is a son of Valentine and Elizabeth (Burg) Hahn, both natives of Bavaria, Germany. On becoming. a resident of Ashland county, the father was still single, but there he married the mother of our subject, and in 185o removed to Perrysburg township, Wood county, where the mother died three years later, leaving two sons— Julius, of this review; and Rudolph J., a resident of Lake township, this county. In 1855 the father purchased land in Troy township, Wood county, on which he still makes his home. He was again married in Perrysburg township, his second union being with Ellen Burg, and to them were born ten children—Elizabeth, now the wife of G. a Brim, of Latchie, Ohio; Harmon, of Cygnet, Wood county; Mary and Laura, twins, the former now Mrs. Brown, and the latter Mrs. Andrews; Theodore, at home; Mrs. Barbara Waggoner, of Toledo, Ohio; Katie; Albert; August and Clara. The boyhood days of our subject were passed in Perrysburg and Lake townships, where he aided his father in clearing his land until his removal to his present farm in 1876, which at that time was mostly covered with timber. In 1885 he erected his present comfortable and substantial residence, and upon his place is engaged in general farming with most excellent success. In Troy township, in 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hahn and Miss Emma Keller, who was born in Lake township, and is a daughter of John and Ursula (Houser) Keller, natives of Switzerland, who in a very early day became residents of Lake township, where they opened up a farm. The father died in 1876, but the mother is still living and makes her home at Perrysburg. Three children bless the union of our subject and his wife--Walter, Nettie and Orvil. In political sentiment, Mr. Hahn is a stalwart Democrat. No man takes a deeper interest in the prosperity of his adopted country, and it is safe to say that few have contributed in a larger degree to bring about the results. J. C. BRANDEBERRY, an industrious and thrifty farmer of Wood county, was born in the northeast corner of Section 34, Bloom township, February 29, 1844, and is a son of William and Anna (Clark) Brandeberry. The father's birth occurred in Columbiana county, Ohio, October 19, 1819, and in pioneer days he located in Perry township, Wood county, where he married Miss Clark, a daughter of George Clark. Soon after he located on the farm of eighty acres, where our subject was born, erected a log house, 18 x 20 feet, with stick chimney, and made all the improvements upon the place, which at the time of his purchase was still in its natural state. There his first wife died in 1851, and was buried in Brandeberry cemetery, Perry township. She left five children—Philip, who enlisted August 12, 1861, becoming a corporal of Company E, 49th O. V. I., and died at Camp Nevin, Ky., November 5, of the same year; J. C., of this review; Thompson, a butcher of Jerry City, Ohio; Isaac, who died after reaching manhood, at Bloom enter, Wood county; and Samantha, who first wedded Joseph Wilson, but is now the widow of Henry Mardis, of Bloomdale, Ohio. The father later married Miss Sophrona Monroe, by whom he had six children—Henry and William, both farmers of Bloom township; Grace, who died in infancy; Mercy, who also died in infancy; Oliver of Bloom township; and Silas, who died in infancy. The mother of these children passed away April 1, 1883, and was also laid to rest in Brandeberry cemetery, as was her husband, who 1192 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. died February 14, 1893. He always took an active part in political affairs, casting his vote with the Republican party. The first school which our subject attended was taught by Clarissa Roberts, and he has watched with satisfaction the great improvement made in educational matters since that time. He remained under the parental roof until his enlistment on the znd of May, 1864, in Company E, 144th 0. V. I., under Capt. Smith, and was mustered into the United States service at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, whence he proceeded to Baltimore, Md., to report to Gen. Wallace. He was later sent to Wilmington, Del., where he did guard duty, until the expiration of his time, and on being discharged at Columbus, August 25, 1864, he returned home, working on his father's farm until his marriage. In Bloom township, on the 13th of February, 1868, Mr. Brandeberry was married to Miss Harriet Berger, who was born in Boardman township, Mahoning Co., Ohio, July 26, 1849, and is a daughter of John and Susan (Fiester) Berger. To this worthy couple have been born five children: Adell, who was born August 22, 1869, is now Mrs. James O'Leary, of Bloomdale, and a member of Jewell Temple, Rathbone Sisters; Harry E., who was born February 16, 1871, and is a member of Sr. 0. U. A. M. ; H. James, who was born July 7, 1873, and now makes his home in Bloomdale; J. Scott, who was born October 7, 1875, and died at the age of ten years from measles and pneumonia; and Minnie M., born July 3o, 1883. After his marriage Mr. Brandeberry located on the fifty-acre tract in Section 35, Bloom township, which he still makes his home. The land was all wild, and he erected the first buildings upon the place. He is an energetic, enterprising man; the trees soon fell before his sturdy blows, and the place has been transformed into a highly- cultivated farm. Politically he is a Republican, for which party he always casts his ballot, and, socially, is a charter member of Urie Post No. to, G. A. R., of Bloomdale, while his wife belongs to the Woman's Relief Corps, an auxiliary of that order: and is a faithful member of the Lutheran Church. ABRAM MANSON LASHUAY. It is largely to the young men that the West is indebted for its rapid advancement, and to this class of enterprising, progressive citizens belongs our subject. He was born in Liberty township, October 4, 1866, son of Alexander Elixir and Charity (Mercer) Lashuay, the former of whom, a native of Michigan, came during his boyhood to Wood county and was married in Liberty township. The children born to tbis union were Abram M., Hattie, deceased wife of William Kidd, of Portage township; Dana Cline, who died in infancy, and Clarence, at home. Under the parental roof our subject spent his boyhood days, and attended the common schools of the neighborhood until eighteen years of age, when he entered the Normal School at Ada, Ohio, pursuing his studies there for three years He then returned home and resumed farm labor on the old homestead, being thus employed until he went to a home of his own. He was married November 24, 1887, to Miss Luella McMahan, who was born in Liberty township June 29, 1867, daughter of George and Emily (Bradshaw) McMahan. Her father, a farmer, died in 1874, leaving one child, Mrs. Lashuay; Benjamin Franklin, her brother, died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs, Lashuay at the time of their marriage located on a tract of land of eighty acres which she had inherited from her father, and there lived about three years. They next removed to an eighty-acre farm, of which our subject had inherited ten acres from his father. He now controls the entire amount, and his wife rents her property, on which are eight producing oil wells. Their union has been blessed with two children, Flossie B., born November 1, 1888; and Eldon Stanley, born August 20, 1893. Mr. Lashuay was a supporter of the Repubican party until 1892, after which he was stalwart advocate of the Prohibition party, until the " money question" came up, when he returned to the Republican party. In religious faith he holds membership with the Disciples Church takes quite an active part in his work, is a warm friend of the cause of education, and lends his aid to all enterprises that he believes will benefit the community or promote the general welfare. A. FULTON M MERCER, still a resident of Liberty township, was born there August 1, 1859, son of Charles and Jane (Moraine) Mercer, of Bowling Green. To the public schools of his home neighborhood he is indebted for his education. He left school on attaining his majority, and began farming in his own interest on a tract of 137 acres of land in Liberty township. He is a wide-awake and enterprising farmer, follows progressive methods, and is always found on the side of advancement. In 1888, on the removal of his father to Bowling Green, he took up his abode on the old homestead, which he has since purchased, and here owns 100 acre WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1193 together with a farm of 249 acres in Jackson township. Over his business career there falls no shadow of wrong, for every business transaction conducted by him has been one of fair dealing, and he has the confidence and support of many friends. On February 26, 1879, .Mr. Mercer was married to Miss Frances C. Frisbie, a native of Wood county, and a most estimable lady. Their union has been blessed with four children—Clayton, who died at the age of ten years; and Elmer, Blanche and Leonard, all at home. In his political views Mr. Mercer has always been a Republican, and he has served ten years as school directing a'warm champion of the cause of education. He is also an active member of the Chrisian Church of Rudolph, And does all in his power to promote its interests. Popular and esteemed, his friends are many, and he is well liked by all who know him.. B. F. LUSHER an enterprising merchant and the popular postmaster of Latchie, established business there on March 21, 1892, when he purchased the building which he now occupies. For a year and a half previously he had conducted a store at Moline, Wood county. He has succeeded in building up a good trade, which his well-selected stock and courteous treatment of his customers well merit. He also owns a good farm in Lake township, well improved, and from that source adds not a little to his income. A native of Wood county, Mr. Lusher's birth took place in Perrysburg township, in 1846, at the home of his parents, Rudolph and Lavina (Zimmerman) Lusher. His father was born in Switzerland, and on coming to the New World, he first located in Virginia when nine years of age. Later he accompanied his father to Perrysburg township, Wood Co., Ohio, where he assisted in building the pike, and was there married. The mother's death occurred in Perrysburg township, November 1, 1889, when she was aged sixty-nine years; the father died June 16, 1896, aged eighty-four. Their family consisted of four sons and four daughters, namely: Samuel, who in 1861, enlisted in Lake township, in the 72nd O. V. I., for three years, and died at Corinth, Miss. ; David,' a merchant at Moline; B. F., of this sketch; Ezra, who operates the home farm in Lake township; Emeline; Mrs. Edgar Mandell, who died July 15, 1893, at the age of forty-three years; Mary Ann, who died in Lake township, October 5, 1884; and Delilah. B. F. Lusher was seven years of age on the removal of the family to Lake township, where, as soon as large enough, he began to assist in clearing and developing the land, and continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until starting in the mercantile business at Moline. He acquired his education at that place, and is well informed, especially on the current topics of the day. In 1893 he was appointed postmaster of Latchie, which position he is now capably filling. In Perrysburg township, in 1895, Mr. Lusher was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Margaret Creps, a native of that township, and a daughter of John and Maria (Cranker) Creps, the former born in Pennsylvania, and the latter in Perrysburg township. Her father was one of the early pioneers of the township, arriving there in 1833, when only thirteen years of age, ' and there his father, Joseph Creps, carried on a tavern for some years. The latter died at Perrys- burg, in 1854. After his marriage, the son located there, where he engaged in carpentering, but at present he and his wife are living upon a farm in Perrysburg township. ' On political questions, Mr. Lusher affiliates with the Democratic party, and served as trustee of Lake township from 1887 to 1893. He is nothing of a politician, however, giving moSt of his attention to his business; but is in favor of any or every thing that is calculated to elevate the community in which he lives. Whatever he has accumulated in this world is due entirely to his own industry, energy and perseverance. Mrs. Lusher, a most estimable lady, is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Lime City. FRANK H. VENIA, one of the well-to-do and prosperous farmers of Ross township, is one of those men who thoroughly understand the business they are pursuing; and he is rapidly progressing toward a comfortable competence. Besides general farming he is also extensively engaged in fruit growing. In 1867 he came to Ross township, where he bought a tract of forty acres of timber land, which he sold in 1883, and purchased his present farm of sixty acreS, forty of which he has tiled and placed under a high state of cultivation. He is the architect of his own fortune, having started in life with but little capital beyond his own industry and laudable ambition to rise in the world. He was born at Monroe, Mich., July 27, 1845, and is a son of John and Mary (Shinaver) Venia, natives of Canada, who at an early day located upon a farm in Michigan, where the father died in 1852. The mother still resides near Monroe, that State, and is now the wife of 1194 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. John Boimier. By her first union she had ten children, two of whom are now living—Godfrey, who resides at Whiteford Center, Mich., and Frank H. The educational privileges of our subject Suring his youth were very limited, he being able to attend school for only about six months; but, through reading and observation in later years, he has become a well-informed man. On leaving his native State he located in Lucas county, Ohio, and at Sylvania, Ohio, on August 27, 1862, he enlisted in the 18th United States Regulars for three years. He became a member of the army of the Cumberland, and participated in all the battles from Murfreesboro, Tenn., to Jonesboro, Ga., under Gen. Sherman. At the latter he was taken prisoner September 1864, and was confined in Andersonville for twenty-two days. After being exchanged he went to Atlanta, where he was granted a furlough, and after a visit to Toledo, he rejoined his regiment at Lookout Mountain, where he was honorably discharged, August 27, 1865. Returning to Toledo, Mr. Venia worked there for $20 per month at gardening, until coming to Ross township in 1867. In 1882, he again made his home in Toledo for a time, and was there engaged in contracting, furnishing all the heavy timbers for elevators, bridges, and other improvements at that place. He now devotes most of his time and attention to fruit raising, having all kinds of fruit on his farm, and has been very successful in this venture. In Washington township, Lucas county, in 1868, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Venia and Miss Hattie E. Johnston, a native of Toledo, and a .daughter of Martin R. and Harriet E. (Breed) Johnston, who were from the New England States, and located in that city in the early '4os. Her father engaged in gardening near Toledo, where his death occurred in 1882. His wife also died in that city, in 1890. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Venia (four of whom are still living): Martin R., who died at the age of eleven years and seven months; Carrie, wife of W. L. Alexander, of Crestline, Ohio; Frank E., who is married and resides in Ross township; and Harvey R. and Edith, at home. Mr. Venia is quite prominently identified with the interests of the community in which he lives, and has assisted materially in the development of his portion of the county. He bears a high character for sterling integrity, is entirely a self-made man, and well deserves the success that has come to him. In political questions he casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party, and has been called upon to serve as trustee, assessor and constable in his township. JOHN A. ROGERS is one of the representatives of agricultural interests in Wood County, and is also numbered among the prominent farmers. He was born in Henry township September 30, 1869, and is a son of William W. Rogers, a native of Maryland, who, during his infancy, was taken by his parents to Guernsey county, Ohio. About 1853 the family came Wood county, and Lilburn Rogers, the grandfather purchased boo acres of wild land in Henry township. In that township William Rogers married Miss Elizabeth Hough, and then located on the old family homestead, where he lived until the spring of 1891. He has since resided in North Baltimore, Ohio, and has laid aside the cares of business life. His wife died on the old homestead in 1872. Their children were as follows: Winfield Scott, of North Baltimore; Melissa and Bart, who died in childhood; James Madison, a farmer of Hancock county, Ohio; Mrs Ida Wilson, of Henry township; Mrs. Ada Haines, of Henry township; John A., and Mrs. Lillie Brewster, of Dunkirk, Ind. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Rogers married Nancy Burkhead, and they have a daughter, Eva, at home. Mr. Rogers, of this review, attended the district schools, and spent one term in school in North Baltimore. He has always lived on the old home farm, with the exception of one year spent with his father in the town, and since old enough to handle the plow has engaged in farm work. He is now successfully engaged in the operation of eighty acres of land, and has developed upon the place nine productive oil wells. He is a wide awake young business man, thoroughly abreast with the times, and is meeting with success in his undertakings. In Henry township, on April 1, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rogers and Miss Edith Peters, who was born in that township. December 23, 1873, a daughter of J. C. Peters, of Henry township; at first they lived on the old home place, but later moved from North Baltimore to Hancock county, one mile south and one-half mile west of Mt. Cory. Their union has been blessed with one daughter, Vera, who was born September 26, 1894. Mr. Rogers gives his political support to the Republican party. GEORGE RIEHM; a prominent agriculturist and manufacturer of Perrysburg township, residing near Lime City, was born February 26, 1840, at Haardt, Bavaria, Germany. WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1195 His parents, George and Barbara (Naumer) Riehm, natives of Germany, came in 1850 to Cuyahoga county, Ohio, to spend their remaining years. Both were devout adherents of the Lutheran Church, and were highly esteemed for their excellencies of character. The father in died in 1867, aged sixty-seven years; the mother, surviving many. years, died in 1893, at the age of eighty-three. Of their two children, the elder Elizabeth, is now Mrs. William Mack. The younger, the subject of our sketch, was only ten years old at the time of the removal to Cuyahoga county, and he received his education mainly in the public schools of that vicinity. He was married June 5, 1866, to an early acquaintance, Miss Mary Rietz, a native of Germany, born May 9, 1843, whose parents had settled in Cuyahoga county, in 1849. Six children were born of this union; Elizabeth married George Elder, and has two children—Henry and Mary; John G. is at home; George P.. is a student in the Normal University at Ada;. Katie and Annie, twins, are greatly admired for their culture and social graces, and their marvelous resemblance adds a unique interest to their physical and mental charms; Fred A. student at Normal University at Ada, with a view to preparing for the study of law. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Riehm came to Wood county, and his well-tilled farm gives pleasing evidence of his years of industry and judicious management. The improvements are of a high order, and his residence, a handsome twenty-room brick house with furnace and other modern conveniences, is one of the finest in the county. In 1892 Mr. Riehm and his sons opened a factory for the manufacture of brick and tile, the enterprise meeting with success. Mr. Riehm takes an active part in local affairs, and is an influential worker in the Republican party, serving as a delegate to the county conventions at various times, and being recognized as a shrewd and safe advisor. SAMUEL WIKLE, deceased, who owned and operated a good farm in Liberty township, had acquired a competence through his own perseverance and unfaltering energy. His father, Andrew Wikle, was a pioneer of Wayne county, Ohio, where he located in his younger years, and was married to Elizabeth Lawrence. He then located on a farm where our subject was born, June 13, 1846. In 1859 he brought his family to Wood county, and secured forty acres of wild and in Henry township, which he cultivated until his death in 1868. His wife survived until 1889. They had seven children—John, who is a living on the old homestead in Henry township; Mary, who resides with her brother; Sarah, wife of Percival Bishop, of Paulding county, Ohio; Martin, who died in the army after three months' service in the Civil war; Samuel; Margaret Ann and Daniel, who died in infancy, Samuel Wikle was reared in Henry township. His educational privileges were meager, but his training at farm work was unlimited. He worked at home until 1867, after which he was employed as a farm hand for two years. He was married March 4, 1869, in Findlay, Ohio, to Martha Jane Cox, who was born January 16, 1848, in Crawford county, Ohio, a daughter of George and Nancy Jane (Young) Cox. For a few months they lived in Findlay, then came to Wood county, and after Mr. Wikle had worked for others for a short time, he purchased a house and lot in North Baltimore, which was his home for four years. He afterward lived in Liberty for two years, then went to Allen county, Ind., where he purchased twenty acres of wild land. Having cultivated it for four years, he returned to Wood county, where, at the time of his death, he owned a good farm of thirty-six acres, on which are seven producing oil wells; in 1886 he erected a fine residence. Mr. Wikle was a stalwart Republican in politics. His widow is an active worker in the Methodist Church, and, as was also her husband, is highly esteemed. Their children are Francis Marion, who was born October 12, 1870, and died December 18, following; George H., who was born December 15, 1873, and married Rebecca Waltemyer; Maud M., born February 11, 1876, wife of Albert Rose, by whom she has one child, Verner; and Ofta, born February 5, 1879. Mr. Samuel Wikle had been in poor health for about six years, and in April, 1896, was prostrated with heart trouble, from which he suffered greatly until relieved by death, June 2, 1896. Even in the hour of their affliction, the wife and children found their greatest comfort in the certainty, the faithful have, of future reunion, when, weary of the gaudy trappings of this world, the soul puts on the robes of immortality. DAVID G. POTTER. Among the leading and influential farmers of Washington township, who thoroughly understand their business and pursue the vocation of their chosen calling in a methodical and workman-like manner, is the subject of this biography. He was born in Huron county, Ohio, between Monroeville and Norwalk, on August 24, 1822, and is one of the eleven children of Elihu and Jerusha (Cadwell) Potter, only four 1196 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. of whom are now living, the others being: Allen, an employe in a glass factory of Anderson, Ind. ; Jane, wife of Joseph McKenzie, a farmer residng near McClure, Henry Co., Ohio; and Henry, a farmer of Washington township. Our subject received his education in the district schools of Huron county, and remained under the parental roof until he had attained the age of twenty-six years. He was married in 1848, his wife bearing the maiden name of Mary Ann Bates. She was born in 1827. By this union they had six children: Loron C.; Emma Jane, wife of Israel Huffman, who resides in Grand Rapids, Wood county; Celia, deceased; Elnora, a resident of Toledo, Ohio; Rosilla, deceased; and.Alice, Wife of William Bemis, of Waterville, Ohio. The mother of this family departed this life in 1882. On December 17, 189o, Mr. Potter was again married, his second union being with Clara Etta (Parks) Roderick, who was born in Vermilion county, Ill., March 4, 1857. Her parents were Isaac and Mary (Fahl) Parks, the former of Quaker stock, and the latter a Canadian by birth.. By her first husband Mrs. Potter has a'son, Ransom W., born November 5, 1882. Her father was a millwright by trade, and his political views were in accordance with those of the Republican party. In both Huron and Wood counties Mr. Potter has served as school director, and in politics is identified with the Democratic party. He has won his way to the regard of the people with whom he has come in contact, having the respect and confidence of all, and is numbered among the self-made men of the locality, starting out in life entirely unaided by capital or influential friends, sb that all he now possesses is due to his untiring energy and perseverance. He and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, and she holds membership with the Helping Hand and Foreign Missionary Societies, and for two years has been a teacher in the Sunday-school. She is a most estimable lady, winning the love of all by her kindly ways and deeds of charity. OLIVER C. ALEXANDER, the owner of a good farm of eighty acres in Washington township, is one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of the locality. He is a native son of Wood county, born at Pemberville, New Year's Day, 1856, and his parents were Nelson and Mary (Huff) Alexander. When but six months old he lost his mother, and then went to live with his grandfather, William Huff, where he was reared to manhood, assisting in the work of the farm through The summers, while in the winters he attended the district schools. For ten years he was employed as a farm hand, and for four years of that time pursued his studies during the winter season. He then, in February, 1882, purchased fifty-three acres of unimproved land which he cleared, ditched and fenced, and erected thereon a good house, and set out a quantity of fruit. This place he disposed of in September, 1890, and bought his present property, which comprises eighty acres, on which he moved the following March. He now has an excellent farm, whose cultivated fields show his careful management, and attest his industrious and progressive spirit. The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Alexander was, in her maidenhood, Martha Bailey, a daughter of William and Mary (Cook) Bailey, who make their home in Plain township, Wood county, near the Carr school house. She was born February 1, 1861, and her marriage with our subject was celebrated on February 25, 1886, by which union, one son has been born - Harry C., whose birth occurred November 11, 1890. Mr. Alexander uniformly votes the straight Republican ticket, but has all the business he can attend to without desiring to take up self the responsibilities of office. The family is one of prominence in the social world, having the esteem and friendship of all. FREDERICK SOMMERS, a popular and enterprising man, is by nativity an Ohioan. He was born in Medina county, August 4, 1860, a son of Frederick and Rosetta (Groh) Sommer. His father was a native of Germany, and at the age of twenty-five entered the German army, serving seven years. During that time he participated in the war with Algeria, where he witness great suffering among the soldiers, who were tortured by the Arabs in every conceivable manner. Soon after his return he was married, and in 1854 emigrated to America, sailing from Havre, France, and reaching New York after a voyage of thirty-three days. For seven years they resided near Liverpool, Medina Co., Ohio, then came to Wood county. In 1862 the father enlisted at Perrysburg, for service in the Union army, in Company I, 111th O. V. I. During a long and tedious march he was overcome by the heat, and for sometime was forced to remain in different hospitals. Later he returned home on a furlough, and then started south again. On being examined by a physician in Cincinnati, he was declared unfit for further service, and so received his discharge a month before the end of the war. Returning home, he resumed farming, and gave his forty WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1197 acres of land and $600 for eighty acres in Liberty township. There he died September 13, 1877, aged fifty-four years. In his family were the following children-John, born May 2, 1854, now a practicing physician of North Baltimore; Jacob, born June 2, 1857, a farmer of Henry township; Christina, who was born January 21, 1859, married Thomas W. Knight, and died March 9, 1889; and Frederick, who completes the family. Our subject was reared on the home farm, and has always carried: on agricultural pursuits. He operates this place for his mother, who is still living. She was born May 6, 1831, in Wurtemberg, Germany, and is a daughter of Jacob and Fredericka (Reck) Grob. She is a member of the Disciples Church, and a most estimable lady. Out subject has upon his farm eight oil wells which add materially to his income. The place comprises eighty acres, and is now well improved. In politics he is a Democrat, and he is a gentleman of genuine worth, who has the respect of many friends. GEORGE L. MEEK, an enterprising young farmer of Washington township, is a native of Wood county, born on June 6, 1862, and is one of a family of ten children, that graced the union of Charles and Mary (James) Meek, the former a native of Herefordsbire, England. In order of birth the children are as follows: Henry, who was drowned at the age of four years; John, who was drowned at the age of fours; John, who who died at the age of twenty-four; Mary, wife of Henry Boice, a farmer of Monroe county, Mich. ; Annie Jane, who makes her home with our subject; Charlie, who is employed in Toledo, Ohio; Jennie, deceased wife of J. Bowers, of Washington township; Emeline and Edwin, twins, both of whom are now deceased; George L., of this sketch; and James Edward. District School No. 1, of Washington township, afforded George L. Meek his educational privileges, which he attended during the winter months, while through the jammer season he aided in the work on the home farm. At the age of fifteen years he commenced working for others, as a farm hand. To agricultural pursuits he has ever devoted his attention, and now operates his fine farm of forty acres, which is highly improved. He takes quite an active interest in public affairs, and his political support is given the Republican party. In September, 1882, Mr. Meek led to the marriage altar Rhoda May Edwards, a lady of English parentage, whose father was drowned in the Atlantic ocean, while on his way to the New World. To this worthy couple have been born five children: Bertie E., born September 21, 1883, and died at the age of eight years and fourteen days; Gertrude Hannah, born September 12, 1885; Clara Bell, born March 19, 1888; Laura Viola, born February 16, 1892; and Edwin O., born March 15, 1894. HENRY HERSH, deceased, who during his life time was a pioneer agriculturist of Grand Rapids township, and a soldier in the Civil war, was born November 1, 1828, in Carroll county, Ohio, a son of John and Rebecca Hersh; his father had been for many years a leading farmer in that county. The district schools of his native county furnished Henry Hersh an elementary education, and he grew to manhood upon his fatherls farm with the usual training of a country youth. In 1854 he came to Wood county and purchased forty acres of land in Weston township, and cleared and improved it, planting an orchard, and putting up substantial buildings. A few years later he sold this and bought eighty acres near Grand Rapids, which he also cleared and transformed into a habitable and productive farm. He constructed the first cider-mill in the township, and made thousands of gallons of cider each year. In 1864 Mr. Hersh enlisted in Company I, 144th O. V. I. (Capt. J. McKee commanding), for the one-hundred-days' service, and served until the expiration of the term. He was disabled in the army, and died of typhoid fever, September 26, 1889. Not feeling strong enough to work his farm after his return from the army, he followed the carpenter's trade, building many of the homes of the neighborhood. On April 14, 1853, Mr. Hersh was married in Holmes county to Miss Hannah Bell, a native of that county, born April 18, 1833, a daughter of Margaret and John Bell. They had nine children whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Margaret, June 12, 1854, married Jacob Gundy; Emily A., born March 20, 1857, died April 16, 1862; John A., August 23, 1859; George E., February 7, 1862, is a farmer of Grand Rapids township; Edward G., January 29, 1865, graduated at Middle Point, Ohio, and in the Cincinnati Medical College, being now a successful physician at McComb, Ohio; William H., October 12, 1868, received part of his education in Grand Rapids, and is a leading dentist at Piqua, Ohio, having prepared for his profession at the Chicago Dental College, and also at Cincinnati; Arthur B., January 13, 1872, graduated from the Veterinary College at Toronto, Canada, and is now a veterinary surgeon near Grand Rapids, Ohio; Delevan, June 11, 1875, farming on 1198 - WOOD COUNTY, OHIO. the homestead; Doctor Franklin, January 29,1878, is at Cleveland, Ohio. In politics our subject was a Republican, and in local affairs his well-known ability and integrity gave his judgment great weight. He was school director for several years, and took deep interest in educational matters. He and his wife were prominent members of the U. B. Church: Mrs. Hersh still resides at the old homestead, which she manages with rare discretion, adding valuable improvements from time to time. A wise and loving mother, her chief care since her husband's death has been the education and settlement of her children, who by their success are bringing her abundant honors. JOSEPH PERKINS, who is engaged in farming in Perrysburg township, was born in 1844, and was bound out for service, until twenty-one years of age, to Cornelius Lamb, of North Carolina. When a youth of eighteen he ran away, and entered the Union army, as a servant to the officers, beipg thus engaged from July, 1862, until February, 1865. In the latter month he entered the regular service, in which he continued until February, 1866, valiantly defending the Union. On May 25, 1868, Mr. Perkins was united in marriage with Miss Mary Dent, a daughter of John and Sarah Jane (Grubbs) Dent, natives of Mt. Sterling, Montgomery Co., Ky. She was the eldest of thirteen children, and was born Au-tgust 22, 1850, in Good Hope, Fayette Co., Ohio. Her parents at the time were engaged in aiding the " Underground railway" at that place, and were in this service until their daughter was seven years of age. Their " station " was located on the farm of John Parrott, one mile west of Good Hope. In 1857 they went to London, Ohio, whence they went to Canada, and after a short time removed to Detroit, Mich. In 1858 they took up their abode in Lucas county, Ohio, where the father died May to, 1891. He met his death by violence at the hands of some one who had sold him liquor until lre was drunk, and then threw him out of a second-story window, the fall breaking his neck. After his marriage, Mr. Perkins came to Wood county, and purchased forty acres of land, whereon he has since made his home. He is a respected and well-to-do citizen, enterprising and industrious, and his success has come as the reward of his own labors. His family numbered twelve children, seven of whom are living, namely: Joseph Milton, born May 16, 1874; George Melvin, born March 3, 188o; Florence Evalena May, born June 28, 1882; Hettie Alemida, born July 13, 1884; Frank Ellswoth K., born January 18, 1887; Harry Walter A. Wood, born July 9, 1891; and Frederick Arthur born June 29, 1893. The father of Joseph Perkins was born in Virginia, where he was a slave for fifty years, and went under the name of Joseph Willliams, being in the service of a Mr. Williams. In 1879 he came to Ohio, to the home of his son, Joseph, in Wood county, and died January 1, 1894, in Sylvania, Lucas Co., Ohio. R. W. DAVIDSON, one of the native sons of Wood county, was born in Webster township, August 31, 1852, and now occupies a conspicuous place among those who are devoted to commercial pursuits. His parents were James and Mary (Williamson) Davidson. The former was born in Scotland August 23, 1818, and when sixteen years of age came to the United States with his father, Robert Davidson, who located in northwestern Ohio, where he died soon afterward, his death being occasioned by drinking cold water when intensely heated. James Davidson went to Jo Daviess county, Ill., where he operated the first enclosed threshing machine seen in that locality. During the gold excitement in California, he made an overland trip with oxen across the plains, and visited different parts of the West. He was married in Illinois and came direct to Wood county, purchasing land near Scotch Ridge in Webster township, where he lived for sometime. Later he located near Bellville Ridge, near Dowling, Wood county, and about the close of the war purchased eighty acres of land in Section 20, Freedom township, to which he added from time to time until the farm comprised 200 acres. There he lived until his death October 2, 1894. His wife passed away November 6, 1889, and both were buried in Scotch Ridge cemetery. In politics he was a stanch Republican, and both were prominent members of the United Presbyterian Church in which he served as an elder, and contributed liberally to its support. He belonged that substantial and worthy class of farmers who are ever faithful to their duties of citizenship, and true to their friends and families. His children were R. W., of this sketch; Mary, who is living in New Rochester; Maggie, deceased; William, a farmer of Freedom township; Nettie, wife of W. S, Kennedy, of Mansfield, Ohio; James, a farmer of Freedom; and George, who died in infancy. R. W. Davidson, whose name is found at the beginning of this review, was reared on a farm near his present home, and received the educa- WOOD COUNTY, OHIO - 1199 : tional advantages afforded by the common schools. At the age of twenty-two he began life for himself as a farin hand. His father afterward purchased eighty acres of land in Center township, on which he made a payment of $1,000, and gave the property to our subject on the condition that he was to, pay off the indebtedness. At the time he left home, Mr. Davidson was married, and then began farming. in Center township, where he he lived until the fall of 1882. He did not, however, engage in farming, but hired this work done while he devoted his energies to carpentering, enjoying a liberal patronage along that line. In the fall of 1883, he began merchandising in New Rochester, and, though not experienced in this undertaking, his practical common sense, steady. application and perseverance soon enabled him to conduct his operations with the ease of an old-time merchant. For the first year and a half he was associated with a partner, but 'since that time has been the sole owner of his store, which is now one of the most extensive and profitable country stores in Wood county. As a merchant he is thoroughly reliable, and has the confidence of all his patrons, which he values highly, and which has never been abused in the least degree. He erected his store building in New Rochester, also his residence, and in addition to these owns two others in New Rochester, and one in Bradner. Mr. Davidson was married in Center township, October 22, 1873, when twenty-one years of age, to Miss Jessie Bandeen, daughter of William and Jane (Clark) Bandeen. Mr. Bandeen was born in Alford, Scotland, August 24, 1824, and died in Wood county, March 8, 1889; he was a stone mason by trade. His wife was born July 1, 1832, in Ireland, and they were married September 29, 1859, and were the parents of eight children—five boys and three girls. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson hold membership in the Presbyterian Church, taking an active part in its progress and u.pbuilding, while Mr. Davidson is serving as treasurer of the Church, and as teacher in the Sunday-school. By his ballot he supports the Republican party; but his attention largely given to his business interests, and his life demonstrates that success is not a matter of genius, but the legitimate outcome of resolute purpose, industry, and good management. SAMUEL SHROYER, one of the worthy pioneers of Wood county, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, July 5, 1838, and is a son of Philip and Salinda (Fiddler) Shroyer, the former a native of Pikke township, Stark Co., Ohio, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather, Leonard Shroyer, was also born in the Keystone State. After their marriage in Stark county, the parents removed to Crawford county, Ohio, but later returned to the former county. It was in 1848 that they arrived in Wood county, where the father purchased too acres of cheap land in Montgomery township; but, after two years' residence, learned of an $80o mortgage against the place, which caused him to sell, thus losing two years' labor. His next property consisted of eighty acres in Portage township, and, on disposing of that tract, he bought forty acres in Section 3 of the same township, where he lived for many years. His last days, however, were spent in the village of Portage, where he died December 23, 1892, at the age of seventy-eight years. His widow still resides at that place. In religiouS belief they were both Dunkards, and he was a supporter of the Republican party. Our subject is the oldest in their family of elevep children, the others being: Martha, now Mrs. Frank Bordner, of Portage; Eliza, who married Resin Mercer, and died in Bowling Green, Ohio; Mary, wife of William Philo, of Portage; Levi, a grocery merchant of Columbia, S. C. ; Sarah, now Mrs. Caleb Mercer, of Portage township; Joseph, of Center township, Wood county; Lavina, who became the wife of Gustavus Cox, and died in Bowling Green; Salinda, now Mrs. Willard Finlay, of Bowling Green; Riley, of Portage; and Della, of Bowling Green, formerly Mrs. Stacy. Being the eldest son, Samuel Shroyer was called upon to assist in the support of the family, so that he had a poor chance for securing an education in his youth. He endured all the hardships and privations of frontier life, their bread being mostly of corn, and their meat wild game, the father often killing a deer before breakfast. On account of the rude machinery of those days, farming was not an easy task, especially in an undeveloped country. Mr. Shroyer remained upon the home farm until his marriage, in 1861, which was celebrated in Portage townShip, Miss Catherine Scott becoming his wife. She was born in that township November 2, 1842, and is a daughter of James and Cynthia (Johnson) Scott, the former a native of Ashland county, and a farmer by occupation. While peacefully pursuing the vocation of an agriculturist, the dark cloud of war, which had for sometime lowered over our beloved country, broke upon our people. Patriotic men from all the walks of life thronged to the front in response to the call of the general government to defend

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