BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 375 matters, he was early confirmed a member of the German Reformed church, and, although not now retaining an. active membership, he maintains that "righteousness and love" are the true elements of a Christian life, in which view Mrs. Moser coincides, and the attainment of these things is their ideal of a true life. IRA T. MATTESON, A representative farmer and stock raiser of Wyandot.tounty, and son of Job Matteson, whose biography appears elsewhere, was born on the farm in Salem township where he now lives. Reared to agricultural pursuits, he early became familiar with the details of farm labor, and in the public: schools, which he attended at intervals during his minority, he received an education which has enabled him to transact successfully the duties of an active and useful life. He remained at home with his parents until about twenty years of age, at which time he engaged in agriculture, and a little later purchased of his father the beautiful farm of one hundred and sixty acres which under his thrifty management has become one of the model places of Salem township. As a farmer Mr. Matteson ranks with the most enterprising and successful in Wyandot county. He prosecutes his chosen calling, according to the latest and most approved scientific methods, keeps fully abreast the times in all matters relating to agriculture and seldom fails to reap abundant harvests. In addition to general husbandry, he pays considerable attention to live stock, and of late years has become widely and favorably known as a successful chicken fancier. He keeps on his place some of the finest poultry in this section of the state and invariably receives premiums wherever his fowls are exhibited. He has spared no: expense to procure fine varieties, and at the present time he has fifty different breeds, some of his fowls costing many dollars each. In this interesting and profitable industry he has earned a reputation which places him among the most noted fanciers of the state. The business has also been very remunerative, resulting in handsome financial returns nearly every month of the year. Mr. Matteson's place, which is three miles distant from the county seat, contains many valuable improvements, including good barns and outbuildings and a large and commodious dwelling, complete in all its appointments and furnished with many modern conveniences. Fine shade trees and an orchard, in which are raised all fruits common to this latitude, add variety and beauty to the premises and in many respects the home is a model of comfort and convenience. In the way of stock Mr. Matteson has made a specialty of Poland China hogs, Shorthorn cattle, fine horses and Shropshire sheep. His hogs have captured premiums in abundance at county fairs and his horses are as fine as can be found in the county. In fact, in all his stock dealings: he has made a signal success. A Republican in politics, Mr. Matteson has long been one of the aggressive party workers in Salem township, but he has never sought nor desired office at the hands of his fellow citizens. He has frequently served as a member of the election board, and there is seldom a township, county or district conven- 376 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. tion in which he is not chosen to represent the voting precinct in which he resides. In the summer of 1900 he was appointed one of the census enumerators for Wyandot county, in which position, as in all others with which he .has been honored, his duties were discharged in a manner 'highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to all concerned. In his fraternal relations he belongs to the Pythian order, having filled all 'the chairs in Wyandot Lodge, No. 174, meeting in Upper Sandusky. His religious belief is represented: by the creed of the Church of God, with which body he has been actively connected for a number of years. On the 21st day of August, 1898, Mr. Matteson was united in marriage to Miss Jennie A. McBeth, daughter of Robert McBeth, a union blessed with one child, a daughter, Ilo E., a bright and promising little miss, in whom her parents take great delight and in whom are centered many fond hopes for the future. Mr. Matteson is in the very prime of life and usefulness, and his influence as an honorable, upright citizen is. productive of much good upon all with whom, he comes in contact. His past success gives assurance of something yet to come, and he is evidently destined to continue a potent factor for substantial good for many years yet to come. ISAAC NORTON. Probably no resident of Wyandot county, Ohio, is more widely or favorably known than 'the gentleman whose name heads this biography. He is one of the wide awake, prosperous farmers of this section, and first saw the light of day in York county, Penn., near the city of Harrisburg, on March 26, 1822. He is a son of Hugh and Rebecca (Baliss) Norton, both of whom were born in York county, Penn. He followed his trade, which was that of a cooper, and also carried on farming in his native state until 1829, when he disposed of his business and moved to Wayne county, Ohio. The journey was made in a four-horse wagon, in company with several other families, who. settled near the village of Wooster. Mr. Norton purchased. one hundred and sixty acres of land which had been partly cleared, paying ten dollars per acre for it, and continued to live there until death removed him from earth at the good old age of seventy-eight years. He took an important part in all public work and was elected by the Republicans as trustee of the township. He was a good man and affiliated with the Missionary Baptist church. He was the father of ten children, all of whom, save only two, are with him in the mansions above. Their names, in order of their birth, are as follows : Benjamin, Katie, Sarah,. Polly, Jane, Isaac, John, James, John and Betsey. James is a resident of Medina county, this state. Isaac Norton received but a limited education, as his boyhood was mostly spent in work. The school which he favored with his attendance on limited occasions was one and one-quarter miles distant from his home, an:d in order to reach it the Norton children, were compelled to walk through that distance of timber and over roads which were oftentimes well nigh impassable. He was married in his twentieth year to Miss Elizabeth Nesbitt, a native of the state of Pennsylvania. Their honeymoon, continued BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 377 for almost half a century, when, in 1887, it was ended by the death of his beloved wife and companion. She was a lady whose mild and gentle disposition made her a general favorite and whose hand was ever extended to help those whose distress was brought to her attention. Thirteen children were the offspring of this union; many of whom have ascended to the heavenly realms. They are: John, whose life was given in the service of his country; Amanda; Hiram,. also a soldier of the Civil war; Rebecca, who: is her father's housekeeper ; Clay, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Kate; Finley, deceased; Catherine, deceased; Stephen Pike, a farmer of Antrim township; Addie; deceased; and two who died in infancy. Mr. Norton cultivated the home place in Wayne county for seven years and then came to Wyandot county, where he bought eighty acres of land in section 4,. Antrim township. This was an old and improved farm, which cost him ten dollars per acre, and on which he lived for about fourteen years, when he sold it and bought his present property, his first purchase being two hundred acres. He has added to this, first eighty acres, then twenty-four and later twenty-nine, until he now owns three hundred and thirty-three acres. He was the owner of four, hundred and fifteen acres at one time. Although his farm was in part improved when he purchased it, yet he has erected the buildings, built the fences, set out trees and made many other improvements which place it among the most beautiful and well-tended farms of Wvandot county. He raises a great deal of stock, to which he feeds much of the grain from his farm. He is one of the progressive and brainy farmers, whose common sense tells them the proper thing to do and whose energy enables them to accomplish it while many another man is hesitating and consequently losing money. He is a Republican, having first voted for Fremont, and an active worker for the cause of temperance, believing the liquor traffic to be the greatest curse which blots our fair land. He served as township trustee several years and is a rnan who is liked by everyone and whose character is above reproach. CHAS. S. MATHEWS. Chas. S. Mathews, the oldest resident member of the profession of dentistry in-Upper Sandusky, . was born in Canton. Ohio, September 24, 1854, a son of Josiah H. and Mary (Shorb) Mathews. The father was. a native. of England and came to the United States .with his parents .when a lad of sixteen yearn of age, settling in Canton, his father being well advanced in years. Josiah H. Mathews, father of the subject, read medicine with Dr. Estep, of Canton, and afterward graduated from the Cleveland Medical College. He became a prominent and well-known. physician of Canton, where he practiced his profession for many years, but retired a few years prior to his. death, passing away at the age of sixty-nine. Politically he was a Democrat, but never took an active part in politics. He was a devout member of the Episcopal church and was. ever earnest in all efforts to promote its. welfare and advance the Moral and material condition: of the community. The mother of the subject, a native of. Canton, Ohio, was also a member, of the Episcopal church. She died in 1879, leaving two 378 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. children, Charles S., and a younger brother, Joseph H.,. an electrical engineer of Canton. The boyhood days of Charles S. were spent in Canton, where he was educated in the public schools. Later he entered a military academy at Springfield, Ohio, where he remained one year, going thence to Gambier, Ohio. Young Mathews then entered the dental office of Dr. Craig, with whom he studied for a time, going thence to Philadelphia and entering the dental college of that city, from which he was graduated in 1877 after a three years' course. Returning to Ohio he located in Upper Sandusky city, where he has practiced his profession with marked success ever since. Dr. Mathews was married September 8, 1886, to Miss Victoria Van Marter, a daughter of John and Celestia Van Marter. They are the parents of one child, Mary, who is at home with her parents: Politically Dr. Mathews is a Democrat, but takes little interest in politics beyond informing himself upon the issues in question and the exercise of the franchise at the polls. Fraternally he is a member of the American Order of Woodmen of the World and the Bankers Fraternal Union. Being the oldest resident dentist in this city his long continued residence makes him a familiar figure to a large number of friends and acquaintances whose confidence and esteem is often expressed and worthily bestowed. JOHN N. PAULIN. Holding prestige among the successful farmers and stock raisers of Eden township, and ever since his. birth an honored resident of Wyandot county, John N. Paulin, member of the board of county commissioners, is entitled to more than passing notice in the biographical history of this section of Ohio. His father, Nathan Paulin, was a native of Columbiana county and an early settler of the county of Crawford, where he located in 1832, purchasing eighty acres of heavily timbered land which he partly improved and upon which he lived for a period of eleven years. Disposing of his real estate at the end of that time, he removed, about 1843, to Wyandot county and purchased eighty acres, of land in the township of Eden, to which he made an addition of the same number of acres two years later. Here he labored long and arduously, removing the dense growth with which his place was covered and otherwise improved the land until he brought it to a high and successful state of cultivation,. Nathan Paulin was a man of substantial worth, very industrious and energetic and as a farmer ranked among the most enterprising in the township of Eden. By diligent devotion to his vocation he succeeded in accumulating a liberal competence, owning at the time of his death a finely improved farm of One hundred and sixty acres, besides, valuable personal property and a bank account considerably, in excess of fiye thousand dollars. In politics he was a representative Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, though by no means an active partisan nor an aspirant for official honors at the hands of his fellow citizens. He was a man of deep, religious convictions and for a number of years a leader of the Evangelical church in the community where he resided. In every relation of life he endeavored to live up to his highest ideal of manhood and BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 379 his influence, at all times potent and far reaching, was exerted on the right side of every great moral issue. He was married about 1832 to Miss Mary Hahn, also a native of the county of Columbiana, and reared a family of five children: Sarah, widow of the late George Hildebrand, an agriculturist of Eden township; Mary Ann, wife of John Failor, also a farmer and stock raiser of Eden township; Andrew, accidentally killed at the age of twenty-four ; Susan, who became the wife of John Ahlefeld, of Wyandot county, and John N., Whose name appears at the beginning of this sketch. The mother of these children is still living, a remarkably well preserved and highly respected old lady of eighty-seven years. She proved a true helpmeet to her husband, knew not what it was to eat the bread of idleness and by her industry .and unselfish devotion contributed greatly to the success which subsequently crowned their joint efforts. Reared in the faith of the Evangelical church, she has proved true to the claims of religion and her daily life bears eloquent testimony to the efficacy of the Gospel as a great spiritual agency in the uplifting of humanity. Nathan Paulin departed this life at his home in Eden township October 17, 1887, and his death was considered a great public loss to the community in which so many of his years were passed. Peter Paulin, the father of Nathan, was a native of Maryland and an early pioneer of Columbiana county; whither he .moved while the foot. of the savage still pressed the soil. He served with distinction in the war of 1812, at the conclusion of which he turned his attention to farming and carpentering, meeting with encouraging success in both vocations. He became one of the prominent and influential men of Columbiana county and died in Wyandot county when seventy-five years of age. The family were among the original settlers of Maryland, in certain localities of which state the name is still common. John N. Paulin was born on the place where he now lives in Eden township, May 14, 1854, and received his early educational training in the district schools, which he attended winter seasons during his minority.. Reared On at farm, he developed' great strength of muscle and earnestness of purpose which well fitted him for the active career which has: since made him one of the leading citizens of. the township of Eden, and one of Wyandot county's most worthy and popular public servants. On attaining his majority he began life for himself on the home place and upon the death of his father eighty acres of the farm came into his possession by inheritance. The other eighty acres of his mother's he farms, and at the present time he occupies a deservedly conspicuous place among the, leading agriculturists and successful stock men of the county of Wyandot. Mr. Paulin believes in the dignity of his calling and spares neither time nor expense in keeping his place in every respect a model country home. His improvements in the way of buildings, fencing and general cultivation of the soil, bespeak the presence of an intelligent, wide-awake and thoroughly up-to-date farmer, while his influence as a citizen, interested in whatever is calculated to promote the mate- `as interests of the community, marks him as public-spirited in all the term implies., Mr. Paulin was married February 11, 1875, to Miss Melvina C. Imler, of Eden township, who has borne him four children, 380 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. namely : Nora, Maude and Frank Otto, all of whom are still living under the parental roof, and one deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Paulin have given them good, practical educations. Nora completed the common-school course and in 1895 took a course of instruction in the Findlay College, also taking, instruction. in Music. She has taught five successful terms of school in her home township. Maude has finished the common-school course and also a course in music. Frank O., who also was educated in the Common schools, is a practical agriculturist and a lover of live stock. In the public affairs of his township Mr. Paulin has long been. a forceful factor and for many years the local Democracy has looked upon him. as an. active and reliable leader. Since his twenty-first year he has been. a prominent party worker and as such has contributed much to the success of his ticket in a number of campaigns. He usually represents his party in township, county, district and state conventions, in the: deliberations of which his opinions carry considerable weight, while his influence in putting forward the best men for office has had much to do with winning victory in several hotly-contested elections. In recognition of his services as a party worker he was three times elected township Clerk and for a period of nine years 'he served as justice of the peace, discharging the duties of both positions in such manner as to elicit the highest praise from both friends and political enemies. As an official he. proved not only capable, but painstaking and popular, and while serving as justice he had the satisfaction of knowing that few of his decisions were ever reversed at the hands of superior counts. His record in the minor positions mentioned was such as to bring his name prominently before the people of the county for higher official station, the result being his nomination in 1898 for the responsible office of commissioner. After a spirited campaign, he was triumphantly elected and in the discharge of his functions as a member of the board he has demonstrated sound judgment, wise discretion and an untiring devotion to the people's interests. Mr. Paulin is a gentleman of strict integrity and the purity of his motives has never been impeached; no breath of suspi cion has ever been breathed against his good name and his honorable, upright character worth more than great riches to his family and fellow citizens. Fraternally he belongs to Lodge No. 110, I. O. O. F., and Lodge No. 83, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks., both of Upper Sandusky, and in religion subscribes, to the creed of the Church of God. He is. an active worker in the local congregation with which he is identified, contributes liberally of his means to the spread of the Gospel and is a leader in all charitable and benevolent enterprises, in the community. There are few as popular men in Wyandot county a.nd certainly no one has a greater number of warm personal friends. Liberal almost to a fault, enterprising and intelligent, a faithful public official and a model Christian gentleman, Mr. Paulin is one of the noted men of his day and generation in the township of his. residence. Like her husband, Mrs. Paulin is deservedly popular in her neighborhood and elsewhere and possesses those qualities of head and heart that make one a useful mem- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 381 ber of the best social circles. She also belongs to the Church of God, and manifeSts by a life of faith the genuineness of the re. ligion which she has. long professed. WILLIAM. H. FRATER. It is an axiom demonstrated by human experience that industry is the keynote of prosperity. Success comes. not to the man who idly waits, but to the faithful toiler whose work is characterized by sleepless vigilance and cheerful celerity, and it was by such means that William H. Frater, the present popular and capable postmaster of Upper Sandusky, has forged to the front and won an honored place among the substantial citizens of Wyandot county. He is widely and favorably known as a man of high character, and for a number of years his influence in the community has been marked and salutary. In tracing Mr. Frater's family history it is learned that his grandfather, George Frater, came from Scotland in an early day and settled first in Virginia and later in what is now Belmont county, Ohio. Among the passengers of the vessel on which he sailed was a young lady, whose name was Mary Douglass, and who became his wife shortly after landing and who shared with him the fortunes and vicissitudes of 'life in a new and comparatively undeveloped country. From the most reliable information obtainable it .appears that George Frater and wife set up their first domestic establishment in the wilds of Wood county, Va., as long ago as 1819, and after remaining in that state about nine years they changed their residence to the county of Harrison, Ohio. For some time after moving to ..the latter county Mr. Frater carried on the pursuit of agriculture as a renter, but later he purchased a farm, upon which he lived the remainder of his life, dying when about seventy years old. He was a stanch Presbyterian, and in politics originally supported the Whig party, but afterward became a Republican: His wife lived. to a good age, departing this life at her .home in Harrison county when upward of seventy years old. Thomas Frater, son of the above George and father of the subject of this review, was born in. Virginia and when quite young was taken by his parents to Belmont county. Reared a farmer, he always followed, tilling. the soil, and met with fair. success in. the accumulation of property. He spent the greater part of his life in Harrison county, and in the spring of 1862 moved to Marion county, Ohio, where he died the same year, at the age of forty-two years. Like his parents, he was a devout member of the United Presbyterian church, and in politics supported the principles of the Republican party. When a ybung man Thomas Frater married Miss Isabelle Taylor, a native of Scotland ; she was brought to Ainerica when about eighteen months old and grew to womanhood, in Virginia, where she first met the man who afterward became her life companion. Her father, John Taylor, became a resident of the United States as early as 1819 and settled in Virginia, Where he afterwards became a successful farmer and large land owner. He died in the prime of life, aged about forty-one or forty-two. years. His wife, also a native of Scotland, was called to the other life when nearly eighty 382 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. years old. Mrs. Frater survived her husband a number of years, dying at the age of seventy-nine. The marriage .of Thomas and Isabelle Frater resulted in five children, whose names are as follows : George, a business man of Des Moines, Iowa; John T., who is serving his sixth term as treasurer of Crow Wing county, Minn.; William H., the subject of this biography; Thomas died' at the age of twenty-two; and Archibald W.,..an attorney, practicing his profession in Seattle, Wash. William H. Frater first saw the light of day on the paternal homestead, near. New Athens, Harrison county; Ohio, May 23, 1850, and grew to maturity amid the stirring scenes of the farm. The preliminary edUcation he received in the country schools was supplemented by a course in Iberia, College, Iberia, this state, which institution he attended until attaining his Majority, when he began teaching in the district schools of Marion county. After continuing educational work for a limited period, he came in 1872 to Wyandot county and for some, ime thereafter worked as overseer of stock for David Harpster, of Upper 'Sandusky, known at that time as the "Wool King of Ohio." Mr. Frater proved a valuable man and was retained by the above gentleman four years, at the end of which time he engaged in business for himself as a manufacturer of drain tile at the town of Harpster. This he continued for a period of twelve years, realizing during, that time liberal prices for the product of his factories, by reason of the great demand ior tiling throughout the country. Not content to confine his attention entirely to his business enterprises, Mr. Frater, shortly after corning to Wyandot, began taking an active interest in public and political affairs, and it was not long until he was recognized as one of the aggressive young Republican leaders in the county. Active as a worker in the ranks, wise and shrewd as a counselor and planner, he greatly strengthened the Republican cause in a county overwhelmingly Democratic and was largely instrumental in winning success at the polls in several campaigns. In 1889 he secured the nomination for sheriff and in the election which. followed defeated a very popular competitor, overcoming a formidable opposition and going into the office by a majority of one hundred.and twenty-nine votes Some idea of his great personal popularity with the people may be learned from the fact of his having ran ahead of his own ticket in the above election, by eight hundred and forty-one votes, a larger number than any Republican candidate had ever received in the county prior to that time. On taking charge of the office, Mr. Frater moved to Upper Sandusky and during his incumbency the business of the sheriff's office was transacted in a manner highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to the public generally. He proved true to every duty coming within his official sphere and at the expiration of his term was complimented by a renomination at the hands of his political friends. Meanwhile the opposition had thoroughly organized its forces and combined all its. strength to defeat, if possible, the Republican. candidate for sheriff. One of the most popular Democrats in the cOunty was induced to become his opponent and no means were left untried to down the man who had proven so popular and strong in the previous contest. The election resulted, as the Democrats had so earnestly BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 383 desired, in the overthrow of the Republican candidates, although Mr. Frater made a gallant fight and, as formerly, led his.ticket: by a great many votes. At the expiration of his official term he effected a copartnership in the lumber business with D. L. Ingard with whom he was associated until 1898, when he sold out to his partner in order to enter upon his duties as postmaster of Upper Sandusky. He was appointed to the office in the above year and has since given his personal attention to the duties of the same, proving- in. this, as. in his former official station, a most capable, faithful and popular public servant. Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort, with sound judgment and. keen foresight, are among. Mr. Prater's more prominent characteristics, and as a business man or official they have been factors in the success.which he has attained. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful business men. of Upper Sandusky have also brought him the good will and esteem of his fellow citizens, for his career from the beginning has been one of well-directed energy, strong determination. and hondrable. methods. Endowed by nature with strong powers of mind and possessing the energy to direct his faculties in the proper channels, he early became a man of resourceful capacity, as the able management of his private affairs as well as the successful administration of important public positions abundantly testify.. Socially he is a most agreeable gentleman, always genial and pleasant in manner and possessing tliIe happy faculty not only of making friends but of binding them to him by his good qualities of head and heart. Fraternally Mr. Frater is: a Mason of high standing, and he also belongs to the National Union order and the Foresters. In religion he is a Methodist, and for six years has been one of the trustees of the congregation worshiping in Upper Sandusky. Mr. Frater has been successful in many ways, but his life has not been entirely free from sorrow, which. appears to be the cornmon lot of humanity. His wife, with whom he trod life's pathway in happiness and content for a number of years, answered the summons which must finally come to all, dying on the 13th day of January, 1884, leaving one son, George E., now a student of the high school of Upper Sandusky. The maiden name of Mrs. Frater was Rebecca Swartz; she was a native of Wy.andot. county and is remembered by all who knew her as a lady of many excellent qualities, a devoted wife and a loving mother. Mr. Frater's present wife was formerly Mrs. Adaline Davis, widow of the late John Davis, deceased. She is, a native Of Tennessee and was born March 15, 1852. Her maiden name was Harris, and she moved with her parents to Marion county; Ill., when a.sm.all girl. One child, Flora B., was ,born to her union with Mr; Davis. PETER PENNINGTON. One of the most extensive farmers of Sycamore township, and also native here, is Peter Pennington, who was born January 6, 1835, three years after the Black Hawk war. His father, Levi Pennington, was born in Virginia in 1811, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Hurnmon, was a native of Pennsylvania. 384 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. Levi Pennington came to Wyandot county, Ohio., in 1824, with his father,. John Pennington, who had served in the war of 1812. The trip, which was made by wagon, required twenty-six days of tedious travel over rugged roads or no roads, at all, up hill and down dale, from the starting point to the termination. The first location selected for a home in Ohio, by John Pennington. was in Eden township, Wyandot county, and there he lived with his family for five years, and thence came to Sycamore township, where the father, John, rented land for one year. The latter then, bought four hundred and eighty acres' of wild land, a description applying to most land in those days, a part of which was in Seneca and a part in (then) Crawford county. He died' in Sycamore township, in that part of Crawford county now known as Wyandlot county. His children, twelve in, number, were named as follows : Phebe, Nancy, Isaac, Adam, John., Henry, William, Enoth, Levi, Susan, all deceased; James and Fannie. Levi Pennington lived with his parents until their decease,when he inherited eighty acres of land, on which he resided until 1832, when he married Miss Hummon. To this marriage were born the following children : Salomie, widow. of Jacob Stalter, of Sycamore; Levi, a farmer in Sycamore township; James farming in Seneca county : Peter, the subject of this biographical sketch; and Elizabeth. Levi Pennington, the father of this family, died on his farm, in March, 1900, but had lost his wife May 9, 1899: Peter had been a Democrat all his voting day's, was a very prominent man after reaching mature years, and was respected. whereVer he was known. Peter Pennington, the subject of this sketch, lived on the home farm until his marriage, in June, 1858, to Miss Hettie Johnson, of Melmore, Seneca county, Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph. and Margaret (Beatty) Johnson. To the subject and wife has been born one child, Margaret E., who is married to Peter Grubb, a clothing merchant at Sycamore. Mrs. Pennington was born in Bucks; county, Penn., August 16, 1833; and was a maiden of but fourteen years when she accompanied her parents to Seneca county, Ohio. Here she received her education in the common schools. She and her husband have traveled in faithful companionship for almost half a century and are now spending their declining years in their comfortable home, respected by all. Mr. Pennington lived in Seneca county after his marriage and was there engaged in farming until 1899, when he returned to his native township of Sycamore. Here he owns a tract of three hundred acres, on which he now resides, and has carried on general farming with unusually, good' success, although he no longer takes an active part in the labor connected with the cultivation of the place. In politics Mr. Pennington is a Democrat, and also a member of Lodge No. 475, K. of P., at Sycamore, of which he is a charter member. He is one of the public-spirited citizens of the township, always ready to contribute financially toward improving its conditions, and is one of its best-known agriculturists. He bears a fine reputation and is deservedly respected by' the entire community. Mr. Pennington is a true pioneer of Wyandot county, and can remember when Sycamore had but one house and when there was not a railroad in this county. He re- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 385 members the old "Big Four" Railroad when the rails were iron strips laid lengthwise on the wood. He has gone to church behind the old ox team. He has seen many of the Wyandot Indians and they have stayed all night in his father's cabin home. Mr. Pennington said he was but a little boy, but very afraid of the red men. Mr. Pennington has in his possession some of the old parchment deeds. Mr. and Mrs. Pennington in a religious sense believe in the Golden Rule—"Do unto others as you would that others do unto you." Mr. Pennington had the honor of attending the log cabin school and no other. The seats were slabs with wooden legs, and the desk to write on was a broad resting on wooden pins driven in the wall for support. His text books were the elementary spelling book and English reader. He has seen the little log school disappear and the brick of modern style, as well as; the high school, take its place. He cast his first presidential vote for James Buchanan. CHARLES KIRSCHNER. Whenever an emigrant crosses the ocean from Europe to America it means that sooner or later many others will follow hiin, because he will write of his success here, which is sure to come to him, and his former friends, profiting by his example, will take his advice and come over also, to seek new homes upon our free soil. Thus it is that one emigrant brings many others. Every country of Europe thus contributes to our growth, and the people who come over are the most adventurous, independent, self-reliant and liberty loving. Thus it is that we have for more than a century drained all of Europe of its best and warmest blood, and the result has been to stimulate our growth and development almost beyond calculation. Every branch Of industry has felt this invigorating impulse, and has responded with a firmer and more enduring growth. It was some such circumstances that brought the family represented by the subject of this brief sketch to our free shores. His father was Jacob Kirschner, who was born near Berlin, Germany, December 2, 1819. He grew up in that country, receiving, as do all German youth, a free and fair education under the liberal laws of that empire. In his early years he learned the trade of brick-making, which he followed steadily and with much success. Hearing from friends who had gone to America that the chances for advancement here were excellent, he finally determined to cross the Atlantic, and accordingly he boarded a sailing vessel in 1856, and after fifty-two days of tossing on the tumultuous Atlantic was landed safe' in the harbor of New York. The voyage was very rough, a great deal of snow falling and the wind blowing a gale almost the whole time. After landing he came direct to Wyandot county and rented a tract of land in Crane township, operating extensively on it for several years. He had: brought some money with him from the old country,' and had saved more during his period of renting, and was now ready to buy his own land and make himself a home. Accordingly he bought his present place in Eden township. He first bought seventy-seven and a half acres and since then has made nearly all the improvements on the same himself. He is one of the steady and substantial citizens of this portion of the county, 386 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.. and has the confidence of all who know him. In his early manhood he married, while yet in Germany, Miss Louisa Hatter. This lady died on April 4, 1896. She bore her husband nine children, as folloW s, two having died,in the old country : Peter, who lives in Butler county, Neb., and is engaged in farm ing; Hattie, who became the wife of Jacob Haas and died in April,. 1895, leaving four young children; Charles, subject, who was born March 14, 1859. He received a better education than many boys of that period and became familiar with the work on his father's farm. His father needed his assistance, and so he remained with him until 1889, when he went westto Seattle, Wash., and remained there until 1895 working at the carpenter trade, which he had learned in his early years of maturity. In 1895 he returned to this state and located at Upper Sandusky, where he began in the grocery business. He then rented the old homestead, and in the spring of 1901 bought the, same, where he is now engaged in farming. In October, 1887, he married Miss Agnes. Miller, daughter of Emanuel ,and Elizabeth Miller, of Pennsylvania, and by her he has the following children: Earl E., Howard J., Otto S., Karl K. and Louisa. Mr. Kirschner and wife are members of the Evangelical church, and both are worthy people. They are liberal to all important and proper improvements and -stand high in the estimation of their acquaintances for their many good qualities. FRANK SHUMAKER. The well-known gentleman whose name introduces this sketch is a native of Wvandot county and for some years has been one of its capable and popular public officials. Paternally he. is descended from sturdy German ancestry,. his father being John Shu, maker, a native of Baden, born in the year 1800. The name as originally spelled in the old country was Schumacher; but some years after coming to America it was abbreviated to the present Anglicised form and as such has since been used. John Shumaker remained in the land of his birth until his twenty-second year, at which time he came to the United States and settled temporarily in Baltimore, Md. Shortly after locating in that city he secured employment on a canal and subsequently worked on the first railroad constructed in the above state. Some time afterward he rented a farm and engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, which he carried on for a few years in Maryland, and:then removed to the town of Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio. After farming near that place for some time on rented land, he change& his residence about 1847 to the county,pf Vyandot, where he purchased of the government two hundred acres, upon. which he spent the remainder of his life. He became a successful farmer. and stock raiser and for many years exerted a. wholesome influence as an enterprising and progressive citizen. Coming to the new world a poor man he succeeded in overcoming many discouraging obstacles which, beset his pathway and at the time of his demise was one of the wealthy agriculturists of Wyandot county. In politics he gave his allegiance to the Democratic party and in religion he was born and reared a Catholic, proving faithful to the mother church to the end of his days. He died on the 22d day .of January, 1877: The maiden BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 387 name of Mrs. John Shumaker was Mary Magdalene Everly. She was also a native of Baden, Germany, but came to the United States. in childhood and grew to maturity in Maryland. She was the daughter of Henry and Catherine. Everly, who came to Wyandot county a number of years ago and settled in Salem township: .Upon their arrival here, these parents mere poor. in this world's goods and depended for: their start in the new country upon the subject, who kindly permitted them to locate on an eighty-acre tract of land which he had previously purchased from the government. By industry and economy they soon became well established, and in due time their home was supplied with many of the conveniences and comforts of life. For Some. years Henry Everly was an officer in the. German army and is remembered as a strict disciplinarian in all of his domestic affairs, and exceedingly methodical in all of his.undertakings; this manner of living was learned during his military experiences. He lived to a ripe old age, dying in his eighty fourth year; his wife died about 1853. Mrs. Shumaker was the mother of nine chil dren, five sons and four daughters after a long and useful life she passed into the other, world on the 18th day of June 1887; aged seventy-two. Like her husband, she was also an earnest and devout Catholic and lived a " faithful Christian life until called from the church, militant to the church, triumphant. The children of John and Mary Magdalene ShUmaker grew to maturity and became highly respected men and women in their several communities. The oldest; Elizabeth, married Joseph Riesterer, of Salem township; Mary, who died in the fall of 1874; at the age of thirty-three years, was the wife of Matthew Oreans ; Joseph lives in the town of Carey, Ohio; John H. was called to the other life on the Iith day of April, 1889; Henry J. is a business man of Toledo; Salome is now Mrs. Joseph Oreans, of Wyandot county ; the next in order' of birth. is Frank, the subject of this review, after whom comes Anna, widow of the late John Hill, of Salem, township; the youngest member of the family is Ambrose, a successful agriculturist of the. township of Salem. Frank Shumaker, to a review of whose life the remainder of this article is devoted, was born in. Salem township, Wyandot county, .August 1853. His boyhood and. youth were spent: on the home farm and in the district schools of his neighborhood he obtained a knowledge of the common branches. While not an educated man in the ordinary sense of the term, he early be came well-informed and subsequently in the great school of practical life learned lessons of far, greater import than, those imparted by the popular. schools and colleges, of the present day. Until his marriage, which was solemnized in his, twenty-third year, he remained under the parental root, contributing his full share of the support of the family but, after that event he entered. his. father-in-law's employ and continued to run: the home place for a period of four years. At the expiration of that time he purchased. of Sarah J. Karr sixty-six acres of land in Tymochtee toWnship, which he made his home until his appointment as superintendent. of the Wyandot County Infirmary, three years later.  Since taking charge of the above institution Mr. Shumaker has displayed superior abilities, as his record abundantly demonstrates. Untiring in his efforts to 388 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. promote the comfort of the unfortunates under his control, he spares no pains in making the infirmary as nearly self-supporting as possible, the farm of two hundred and eighty acres being- cultivated to its utmost capacity. Besides furnishing nearly every article of food consumed by the inmates it frequently produces a surplus, which reduces very materially the expense of operating the institution, thus saving the county a considerable sum nearly every year. In the discharge of his official duties, Mr. Shumaker has proved himself worthy of the trust. reposed in him by the public, the people of the county, irrespective of party, having the utmost confidence in his ability and integrity. Financially he has met with flattering success, having- accumulated a handsome property, the greater part being real estate, of which he owns in different parts. of the county two hundred and eighty-six acres. Prior to his election to the superintendency, he served two terms as township, assessor, and for a number of years he has been one of the county's active and influential Democratic leaders. .Like his father before him he was reared in the Catholic faith, and thus far has remained true to the teachings and traditions of the church, belonging at the present time to the St. Joseph's congregation at Salem, of which his wife and children are also communicants. The maiden name of Mrs. Shumaker was Susanna, A. Ogg. She is the daughter of John L. and Katurah (Bonam) Ogg, the father a native of Maryland and from the age of eight years until his death a resident of the county of Wyandot. He grew to manhood in Tymochtee township and after his marriage entered one hundred and twen ty acres of government land in the township of Salem, which he cleared and developed, subsequently adding- to his purchase until he became the owner of five hundred acres, nearly all of which was highly improved and very valuable. He was one of the successful self-made men of Wyandot, a progressive farmer and a most worthy and popular citizen; he was a descendant. of an old Catholic family of Maryland and throughout a long—and very active life never forgot the claims of religion, remaining loyal to the church until hiS death, which occurred January 2I, 1897, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. The mother of John. L. Ogg, before her marriage, was Margaret Arnold, also a member of one of the early families of Maryland and a woman of remarkable intelligence and great force of character. Mrs. Catania Ogg, mother of Mrs. Shumaker, was born in Pennsylvania. When quite young she was brought by her parents to Wyandot county, where she died when thirty-eight years old. She was a pious member of the Catholic church and early implanted in the hearts of her children, a respect and reverence for sacred things. Her children were six in number, namely : Ellen, who became the wife of Christian Krebbs, liyes on a part of the old homestead; Susanna A., wife of the subject of this sketch:. George H; died March 21, 1891; William T. lives, in Upper Sandusky ; Emmet J. departed this life at the age of twenty-eight and Mary E., widow of the late Antony Steinhauser, of. Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Shumaker have had five children, whose names are as follows: John L., manager of one of his father's farms; Beatrice K., who lives with the above brother and looks after his domestic affairs; BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 389 Foster J., still an inmate of the parental home; Blanche died when four years and three months old; and Edna E., the last named a member of the home circle. The second son, Foster J., is a young man of fine mental and intellectual endowments. After receiving a good education in the common schools he prepared himself for practical life by taking a full course in the Bliss Business College, at Columbus, one of the leading institutions of the kind in the state. He received his diploma, from the Capital School of Business and Oratory in the year 1901 and has also achieved considerable reputation as a musician, both vocal and instrumental. He has devoted much attention to this high and.ennobling art and his future outlook is promising. Mr. and Mrs. Shumaker have in their possession two deeds written on parchment, one for forty acres in Salem: township, bearing date of June 1, 1848, and the other for eighty acres in the same part of the county with the date of July 1, 1848, both signed by President James K. Polk. These deeds :are among' .the twelve similar instruments found by the subject's grandparents and are greatly prized as heirlooms. HENRY R. BAINBRIDGE. Fortunate is he who has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy is he that his lines of life are cast in harmony therewith. The subject of this sketch is blessed in this respect, as he springs from two prominent families distinguished in the early annals of our country, and for many years, the name he bears was illustrious in the naval history of the United States. His grandfather was a cousin of Commodore Bainbridge, of the United. States Navy, and a native of New Jersey. This ancestor moved in an early day to Oneida county, New York where he took up a tract of eight hundred acres of land and became quite wealthy and prominent. In early life he studied medicine, but later turned his attention wholly to agriculture, which he carried on extensively and successfully until his death, at the. age of seventy four. Richard S. Bainbridge, father of our subject, was born in New Jersey and at the age of twelve accompanied his parents to Oneida county, New York, where he grew to maturity as a tiller of the soil. He remained in the latter state until 1836, when he migrated to Huron county, Ohio, where, in addition to agricultural pursuits, he labored for a number of years as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. About the year 1846 he moved to Wyandot county, purchasing a tract of timberland in Jackson township, which he cleared' and developed and upon which he lived. the remainder of his days, dying July 18, 1868, at the age of seventy-four. For a number of year' previous to his decease he was actively engaged in the work of the ministry and conducted large revivals in various parts of this and other counties. He became a noted evangelist, and being an eloquent speaker and sweet singer, his services were always in great demand. Enthusiastic in the cause of God and. humanity, he .was the means of planting many churChes and doing much good, and for years he solemnized nearly every marriage ceremony within a radius Of ten or twelve miles from his place of resi- 390 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS deuce. Such was his zeal and enthusiasm that he kept appointments open months ahead in churches and school houses and there were few as well-known and successful preachers, as he in the early days, of the county. Richard S. Bainbridge served with distinction in the war of 1812 as captain of militia, and in after life was rewarded with a liberal pension by the government. He was a man of commanding presence, over six feet in height and correspondingly well proportioned, and he moved among his fellows as one born to lead. Strong of, intellect, wise in business and enthusiastic in his labors to uplift humanity, he was one of the noted men of his day and generation, Wyandot County. Lucinda Wentworth, who became the wife of Richard S. Bainbridge in Oneida county, New York, was, of the sixth generation of Wentworths that settled in various parts of New England. Her ancestors figured prominently in the early history of that part of the. United States and many of the family have since become distinguished in the army, navy, the legal profession and various other public capacities.. She traced a direct descent from Rev. William Wentworth, of England, one of the earliest and most prominent New England divines, .and. was born at Otsego, N. Y., about the year 1797. Her father, a. Revolutionary soldier, was a man of more than ordinary, mental endowments, and became prominent in the affairs of Oneida county, where he settled at a very early day. Mrs. Bainbridge bore her husband ten children, and departed this life in. Jackson township, Wyandot county, Ohio, on the 19th day of February, 1876. Of her children eight grew to maturity, the subject of the sketch being the sixth in order of birth. The names of the children were as follows: Eleanor H:,, Azubah, Andrew, Olive, Emily H., Henry R., John, Mary, Abija, and one that died) in infancy not named. Henry R. Bainbridge, to a review of whose life the reader's attention is now respectfully. invited, was born July 28, 1826, in Oneida county, New York. When about ten years old he accompanied his. parents. to Huron county, Ohio, and at the age of twenty became a resident of the county of Wyandot, locating with the family in Jackson township. On attaining his majority he purchased eighty acres of unimproved land adjoining that of his father, but shortly afterward returned to Huron county and engaged' with a physician by the name of Sanders, at Norwalk. There he remained until his twenty-seventh year, when he married and moved to his farm in Wyandot county. Subsequently he exchanged this place for his father's farm and removing to the latter, made it his home until 1876. In February; 1865, Mr. Bainbridge enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Ninety-second Ohio Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war, being promoted to provost guard some time before the cessation of hostilities. Entering the seryice near the close of the great struggle, he did not take part in any campaigns or engagements of note, but proved himself a good soldier and faithful officer, ready at all times for any duty and never shirking a responsibility. When the star of the Rebellion went down at Appomattox, Mr. Bainbridge returned to his home and resumed the peaceful. pursuit of agriculture, which he carried on extensively and successfully until BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 391 acquiring a fortune of sufficient magnitude to enable him to retire from active life. As a farmer he easily took rank with the most enterprising men in his' part of the county. His place was highly improved and its every appearance indicated the presence of a master mind. The large and commodious dwelling which he erected some years ago is the finest and most costly farm residence in Jackson township and its furnishing and surroundings make it in every respect a model country home. The 4th day of July, 1853, witnessed the marriage of Henry R. Bainbridge and Mary J. Miller, the latter born in Huron county, this state, November 1'9, 183o. Mrs. Bainbridge is the daughter of Henry and Jane (Graham) Miller, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother born in the north of Ireland. Mrs. Miller sprang from a wealthy and cultured family and enjoyed superior educational advantages in the land of her birth. She came to the United States when a young woman, bore her husband nine children and died in Carson, Michigan, at the age of seventy-six. By occupation Henry Miller was a contractor and builder, and later in life turned his attention to agriculture. He was a man of sterling qualities and good business abilities, and some years prior to his death lived in retirement in the town of Carson, Michigan ; he died there at the age of seventy-four ; his faithful wife following him to the other world three weeks and five dayS after his decease. Mrs. Bainbridge was educated in the common schools of Huron county and an academy in Perti. She remained with her parent's until her majority, and since then has proved a valued helpmate to her husband in many ways, contributing much to his success as a farmer and stock raiser and since moving to Upper Sandusky achieving a state reputation as a manufacturer of popular family retmedies. Mr. Bainbridge lived in Jackson township until 1876, at which time he sold his farm and purchased a beautiful home at the county seat, where he has since lived in the enjoyment of the fruits of his many years of labor. In 1888 he and wife began manufacturing the popular patent medicines which have made their names known all over Ohio and throughout a number of other states, besides returning them every year .a liberal income. The merit of these remedies has created quite an extensive demand, and from a small beginning the sales have gradually increased until at the present 'time their manufacture has become a large and important industry. The widely advertised "Tar Syrup" bearing the name of Mrs. H. R. Bainbridge has become a, popular remedy for colds, coughs, quinsy, catarrh, sore throat, habitual constipation, liver and kidney troubles, bron chitis and la grippe, and it is also highly recommended as a blood tonic and sure preventative of the dread disease diphtheria if taken in time. Mrs. Bainbridge has received froM all parts of the country flattering testimonials as to the Merits of this wellLknown preparation., and it is now found on sale on the shelves of all first-class drug houses in the state. The syrup is the result of long and careful study on the part oft Mrs. Bainbridge, who, having been afflicted for many years. with bronchial troubles and having one brother and three sisters die of consumption, was prompted to investigate the nature of these maladies with the object in view of discovering, if possible, a remedy for 392 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. them. That she has succeeded in her laudable desire is sufficiently attested by the fact that her famous. "Tar Syrup" has superseded many other popular remedies for the ailments above enumerated, and it is growing daily in public favor. She is also the manufacturer of "Liquid Electricity," which though but recently put upon the market, has already become widely known as a curative for bruises, sprains—in fact, for all ailments requiring external treatment, and is also taken internally. Mrs. Bainbridge has conferred a great boon upon suffering humanity, as the efficacy of her remedies has been tested in thousands of severe and critical cases with the result of fully vindicating all that is claimed for them. She is in daily receipt of dozens of letters bearing testimony to their wonderful curative properties, which, with other high encomiums, have won her a prominent place in the medical world. Mr. and Mrs. Bainbridge are among the best-known people of Upper Sandusky. Their popularity is not bounded by the city limits, as they are widely and favorably known throughout the country, especially in the township of Jackson, whiere their friends are numbered by the hundreds. A spirit of genuine hospitality reigns in their comfortable home, and all who enter there find themselves in the presence of an intelligent and courteous old couple such as are rarely met with in this day and age. They belong to the Methodist church, and by their lives consecrated to duty, demonstrate the genuineness of the religion they profess. Mr. Bainbridge has, filled. all positions within the gift of the congregation, and at the present time is one of the leading members of the official board. JOHN NEATE, DECEASED. This well-known citizen was one of the old soldiers. who fought in the great Rebellion to perpetuate the union of the states and to wipe from our country the stigma of slavery. He had the advantage of having seen service in the English army before he came to this country,. and when he took the field in 1864 he did not need the drill which raw volunteers required. The English soldier is:renowned the world over for his splendid discipline. A regiment of English troops moves with the precision, of a machine and when they strike it is as if a giant delivered the blow. John Neate had received such training and was thus well prepared to fight for the country of which he had become .a distinguished citizen. He was born in Malmesbury, 'England, February 28, 1828, and was the son of , Charles Neate, of the same country, Who in early life learned the trade of dressing cloth and followed the same for a livelihood. Prior to the age of twenty-six years our subject .served for several years in the Queen's service. Having quit the army he came to America soon after reaching the age of twenty-six years. Re first located in Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained for some time. On May 22, 1857, he married Miss Lucinda Gillen, of Jefferson county, Ohio. She was born August 31, 1825, the daughter of James and Susana (Stewart) Gillen. When Lucinda was lour years old her parents brought her from near Pittsburg, Penn., to Jefferson county, .Ohio, where the family found a home in the dense woods. They were among the first settlers of that county and continued to reside there for ten or twelve years, when they removed to Tuscarawas county and lived there BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 393 fourteen years. In .1846 they removed to Wyandot county and settled on one hundred and sixty acres on section 36, Eden township, which was covered with a dense growth of oak, beech, walnut, hickory, etc. They put up a shanty of round logs and started in with stout hearts to clear off the heavy timber. It was no easy job they had before them, but they were not daunted at the outlook and began to fell the large trees. A little later they replaced the rude shanty with a large hewed-log house which served their . purpose for .many years. Mr. Gillen was, a man of great energy and, like all Englishmen, possessed a good education and good training in business. In the course of time he cleared the one hundred and sixty acres. Soon afterward he sold that place and bought another one hundred, and sixty acres and cleared the most of that before his death. He died in 1877 and his wife in 1889. Our subject, after his marriage, removed to Upper Sandusky and rented a farm, which he conducted until September, 1864, when he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment, O. V. I., as a private, and was soon sent to the front, where he desired to be. He saw his first service in the vicinity of Atlanta, Ga., and a little later participated in Sherman's famous march to the sea. He participated in many hard marches, skirmishes and campaigns, in one of which he suffered a severe sunstroke, which in the end was the cause of his death. Though his military service was short, it was grand, for he was "in at the death," and' finally came: home with his splendid regiment to receive the plaudits of the victorious, the brave and the fair. He passed to the grave April 12, 1881. To him and wife four children were born, as follows : Charlie, who married Miss Ida A. Barden, of Wyandot county, and daughter of Jacob E. Barden, of Antrim township, who has borne him six children : Odessa, Frank B., Charles E., Clarence E., Emma G. and John H. Charles is the inventor of the famous Neate fencing machine, probably the best of all the many put on the market. Stian Victoria, who Married Edward Kuenzli, a hardware merchant.of Nevada. They have four children : Alin M., Edith L., Lester J., Irvin R. Jehiel, who died at the age of twenty-eight years, and Elizabeth. Mr. Neate was a Democrat and a member of the United Brethren church. He was. a man of high character and was universally respected. His war record and his honorable name are appreciated by his descendants. As a matter of decided interest to the reader and of value to future biographers, we make brief mention of some Of Mrs. Lucinda Neate's ancestors. Her maternal great-grandfather, Adam Clay, was a native of Germany, but when a young man emigrated to America. He married Eve Reaves, an American born girl, but of German descent. They settled on a large farm in Maryland, raised flax and castor beans. From these products they made flaxseed oil and castor oil. and took large quantities of both. to Baltimore and Philadelphia, obtaining very. good prices. In the course of time Adam Clay accumulated considerable wealth and in a respectable manner reared a family of children. He was exceedingly generous in his treatment of them. He purchased for each of them one hundred and sixty acres of land, gave them what money they needed with which to start life, and told them if they needed more to go to him for it. His daughter, Susan, Mrs. Neate's grandmother, mar- 394 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. ried Edward Stewart, of English. parents. They reared seven children, of whom two died young, as follows : Mahlen, Adam, William, Jesse, Nancy, Rebecca and Susana, the latter Mrs. Neate's mother. These parents came to Ohio in 1806 and settled on a farm in the woods ten miles west of Steubenville. They were all ardent Methodists and followers of Peter Cartright and Lorenzo Dow. By nature strong, their mode of ing developed them magnificent physiques and prevented any trace of hereditary disease in their family. Some cousins of Mrs. Neate still live in this old home. The father of Edward Stewart, referred to above, was a native of England, but having, some time previous to the memorable war for American independence, come to this country, he cast his lot with the colonials and fought under the command of Washington. At the close of the war, in lieu of other pay for their services, many of the patriot veterans received "tomahawk" warrants, or the authority to go to certain sections of the country and mark of by "blazing" trees such lands as they desired for a homestead. Great-grandfather Stewart was of this number, but before he settled upon the tract he had selected he died. His wife and her two children Were thus left in straightened circumstances, and the son, Edward, was reared in a Puritan family. These people were kind to him and reared him to a respectable manhood. They were in the south and there became very intimate with Henry Clay, they being neighbors. Mrs. Neate's paternal great-grandfather, Gilliland, in an early day moved to the eastern part of Ohio, near the Ohio river. He was of Irish descent and in religious belief a Presbyterian. The Indians at that time were so troublesome it became necessary for the settlers to build a blockhouse for protection. When grandfather Gilliland was but a boy he was one day sent some distance to the mill and on his return found his home on fire and Indians about, but no sigh of his family. He was about to return to the mill in great fright, when he recognized a whistle call by his father, and the family were soon all together and on their way to the fort for safety. When the danger was over the father, nothing daunted, returned and rebuilt his cabin and they once again took up the pioneer farming life. Grandfather David Gilliland lived on. this 'place until he reached manhood. He married Margaret Dunlava, of Scotch parentage, and they reared a family of nine children, as follows: William, Jacob, Samuel, John, Daniel, James (Mrs. Neate's father), Hannah, Luvina and Jane. They removed to a large farm, of their own in Jefferson county, Ohio, and there James married Susana Stewart. William Gilliland, when but nineteen years old, served in the Indian wars under General Harrison. They marched from the Ohio river to the present location of Upper Sandusky and he had many' narrow escapes from the red men. HIRAM F. STALTER. To the person traveling across Ohio at this day on a railway, it seems almost incredible that only a little' more than half a century ago almost every foot of land was Covered with dense forests, through which the light Of day rarely penetrated. But such was the fact. Think of it. In a little more than a half century every root and branch BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 395 was removed, stick by stick, from the soil by innumerable hands. In fact, much of the timber of what is now Wyandot county has been removed in considerably less than half a century. This would never have been done were it not for the fertile soil beneath and the certainty of the comfortable home that was to reward the laborer. Such soil and such a home were sought by the subject of this sketch and by his father before him. Hiram. Stalter, now residing in Pitt township, was born on his present farm June 26, 1854. He is the son of Hiram Stalter, a native of Frederick county, Md., where his birth occurred December 6, 1808. The latter Was the son of Henry and Rachel (Neumaher) Stalter, the forther of whom was born at sea while his parents were crossing the Atlantic, and the latter in Maryland. Hiram, though a boy, served his country in the Revolution, and after its successful conclusion married, and afterward came from Maryland to Perry county, Ohio, the date of the removal being 1818. There Hiram and his wife resided, rearing their large family of fourteen children and clearing the land and tilling the soil, until their respective deaths, the father in 1840 and the mother in 1860. Hiram, the elder, was one of fourteen children. He was brought to Perry county when only ten years of age, and was there reared and educated. His opportunities were very limited, as the country was wild, the houses and settlers few and the soil covered with an almost impenetrable forest of beech, oak and other varieties of wood. From his earliest boyhood he was put to work clearing off the timber, cultivating the soil among the stumps, and reading stock. His education was received at the old subscription schools of the neighborhood. At the age of sixteen years he began for hiniself, learning the carpenter's; trade, serving the usual apprenticeship. After learning the trade he worked at the same for several years, but then went back to farming, though not altogether giving up his trade. After farming for a. few years he purchased a sawmill in 1834 in Perry county, which he conducted successfully for three years. At the expiration of that time he traded the mill for a farm of two hundred acres in Allen county, but continued to reside in Perry county until 1846, when he came to Wyandot county by team and settled in Pitt township upon' a, tract of one hundred and twenty acres in section 22, which, land he had purchased at the government sale. He moved into a small log cabin, which had been built by the Indians, and occupied the same until he could erect a better one, a round-log cabin with one room, clapboard roof and puncheon floor. This was considered a vast improvement over the old cabin built by the Indians. Part of the cabin he built is still standing. The land was enveloped in heavy timber, which must be removed. At this, he went to work, his wife often assisting him and his children, one by one as they became old enough, being also put to work piling brush and burning the heaps. Of his farm very little had been cleared when his children began to assist him. On Seotember 24, 1828, he waS united in marriage to Miss. Anna Teler, by whom he had seven. children: Miranda, who married Gearge Walker and is now deceased; David, who is a farmer and lives in Oklahoma; John, who also lives in Oklahoma ; Mary, deceased; Hiram, deceased; who married and is now deceased; Lydia, who died in childhood. His wife having 396 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. died, he chose for his second wife Miss Laura Dennison, by whom he had four children : Victoria, who. died in infancy; Emeline, who also died in infancy ; Louisa, the wife of Casper D. Ooley and living, at Harpster ; and Harriett, who died in infancy. His second wife having died, he married Miss Catherine Brandt, and by her has three children: Mary E., who married Marshall Freece; the subject; and William, a farmer now living in this township. Hiram, the elder, passed away November 6, 1884, aged seventy-five years and eleven months, after a life of the greatest activity and usefulness. In early manhood he became a member of the Reformed church, and so continued until his death. He was a member of the Democratic party. At the time of his. death he owned three hundred and five acres of excellent land, much of which he himself has cleared from the virgin woods. His life was spent in farming and in working at his trade. He became expert in cabinet-making and built many coffins. It is said that he built nearly every school house in this vicinity. He was always busy. and was. at the head of nearly every movement to better his community. The following- was written by a member of the family : Farewell, to thee, Father, thy spirit has flown To 'the land where the visits of death are unknown. The river is crossed and. the tempest is o'er; Dear father is safe on the heavenly shore. O, lonely indeed and sad was the morning When they from our home our dear father bore. How cheerless our home when we found on returning That our father had gone to. return never more. But he now sweetly sleeps, free from trouble and sorrow. May bright, holy angels watch over his bed, And keep in remembrance our dear father, 'Till the last trumpet shall sound to awaken the dead. But why should we weep that he has gone. Our tears they seem but vain, For could we lift the wail. between, Who would call him back again. Back again to toil and strife; Back to earthly pain and woe; Back to battle with the ills Of poor mortals here below. Our loss is his eternal gain; Why should he longer stay? Immortal glory now he wears, Unfettered by mortal day, Why call it death? 'Tis only life— A Christian's life begun; An eternity of rapturous joy, A thousand years as one. A few more days of earthly strife, A few more days of care, The messenger will come again— We know not when or where. But, "set thy house in order," Our Lord has said of yore, And ready may we be to meet The loved ones gone before. Blessed change! Immortal joy! For sorrow pain and care, There no tears will ever flow, Will know no parting there. Hiram. Stalter was reared on his father farm and educated in the common schools In 1879 he went west and was on the rang for a year in southern Kansas. He then returned and took .charge of the old farm and here he has. continued to reside ever since. On October 18, 1888, he married Miss Emma. Sheets, who has presented him with five children : Frances F., Ira L., George F., Bryan B. and Hiram W. Mrs. Stalter was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, June 14, .1866, a daughter of Peter and Margaret. (Spong) Sheets, the parents both natives of the Keystone state. In their family were eight children, six of whom, two sons and four daughters, are still liv- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 397 ing. Mrs. Stalter was educated in the common schools and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She has been a faithful companion and helpmeet to her husband and they intend giving their children good, practical educations. Mr. Stalter has in his possession two old parchment deeds. One bears date November 5, 1846, calls for eighty acres of land and is signed by President James K. Polk. The other, dated August 1, 1848, calls. for forty acres and is also signed by President Polk. Such deeds are rare, these two being the sixth and seventh, respectively, so far found in this county. Socially Mr. Stalter is a member of the Maccabees, Tent No. 129, at Upper Sandusky. Politically he is a Democrat and served as township trustee six years and on his ticket in 1900 was elected county commissioner. He has also been chosen to represent his county at state and congressional conventions. He is a prominent public man and a leader of his party in the county. Religiously he is affiliated with the Reformed church. In addition' to farthing he is engaged extensively in stock raising, making a specialty of Delain sheep. Francis, the daughter, is bright and well advanced in her studies and is almost ready for the Boxwell examination. She has also taken instruction in music. Because of the fact that ancestors of Mr. Stalter fought in the war for American: independence, our subject and his wife are entitled to membership in the order of Sons and Daughters• of the Revolution. In connection with this sketch the following obituary notice concerning the father of Mrs. Stalter will be appropriately appended here: "Peter Sheets, a resident of Little Sandusky, dies. The deceased was born in Schuylkill county, Penn., and was. seventy-four years of age at time of his death. His marriage occurred fifty years ago, his wife and six children surviving him, viz. : Catharine, William, Mary, John, Elizabeth and Emma. He came to Wyandot county in the early sixties and for the past twenty-six years has resided on the 'Old Holridge farm' in Pitt township, owned by C. R. Fowlen. Mr. Sheets was. an. exemplary citizen, a kind father, energetic and thrifty, and his death is mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances." JAMES KERR, DECEASED. It is no doubt true that Ireland, of all countries of the world, has sent more emigrants in proportion to population to the United States than any other country, and the reason is well known. For hundreds of years the Emerald Isle has been denied many valuable rights and privileges by Great Britain, and the pride and honor of the people were ground into the dust. They could avoid all this only by leaving the island, much as they, loved it, and accordingly a thousand of them, as the years rolled round, have crossed the wide Atlantic to find a home cf greater freedom in America. They began to come in large numbers 'soon after the Revolution and have continued to come until the present time: In every state they settled and built up comfortable homes. They were among our first teachers and business men; and today they occupy many of the proudest positions within the gift of the inhabitants. In 398 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. that country was born the subject of this sketch in the year 1818. He is a native of County Antrim, and in his youth learned the carpenter's trade and later worked at the same. He married Miss Jane Ellis and continued to reside in that country until early in the decade of the forties, when he. made. up his mind that opportunities were better in this country, and accordingly he boarded a sailing vessel and after a long and tiresome voyage landed in New York. He came west and settled in. Upper Sandusky and began contracting and building. The town was growing rapidly and he found enough to do, and his fortunes began to mend. Ere long his skill was recognized and he was given much larger and better contracts. He was associated with others in the construction of the old court house in Sandusky, and scores of buildings in town and surrounding country soon showed the Work of his hand. He pursued his trade of contracting and building until 1876, when he retired from active work. and took up his residence in Sandusky. To himself and wife the following family were born: Sarah, who married John Lowery and died in 1871; Mary M., who married C. Miller and lives on her farm of one hundred and forty-nine acres in Pitt township.; Eliza, who died at the age of fourteen years; Margaret, who became the wife of Harvey Bowers, a merchant of Sandusky ; Robert E., a miller of Sandusky ; James, .engaged in the same business' in Sandusky ; Thomas, who also resides in Sandusky; Joseph H., who resides in the city of Milwaukee, and is the general freight agent of the Missouri Pacific Railway ; he began as a telegraph operator and steadily worked his way up by merit until he is one of the foremost railway men of the United States. Subject. continued to live in Sandusky until his death,. April 25, 1895. He began life a poor boy, but by hard work, good management and right conduct built up. an excellent home and secured the highest consideration of all wj,th..whom he came in contact. He was. a member of the Presbyterian church, and lies entombed at Oak Hill. His aged widow is still living in Sandusky at the age: of seventy-eight years.. His daughter, Mary M., received a good education in her youth and when seventeen years old passed the examination and began to teach school. She taught in various districts and in H.arpster, and continued thus engaged for six years, when her marriage to Mr. Miller put a stop to her teaching any : class but her own. Her children are as follows : William M.; Margaret, the wife of Henry Lavely ; James D., who, married Miss Edna Beahr and lives with: his mother ; Harry, at home; Edith; in school; Robert and Charles. Mrs. Miller carries on farming and stock raising and is a woman of midi, more than ordinary fdrce of character and intelligence. DR. VIRGIL H. GIBSON, V. S. Among the comparatively young men of Wyandot county; Ohio, who by sheer force of individuality have kept pace with the wonderful strides of this wonderful period in the world's history, is the gentleman whose name forms the caption to this article. He takes a pardonable pride in the fact that he a native son of the old Buckeye state. Virgil H. Gibson is. one of the most suecessful practitioners of veterinary surgery in this section: of the state and is also the BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 399 proprietor of a popular and well appointed livery stable in Upper Sandusky. He was born in the city in which he is now located, November 20, 1868, and is the son of Joel W. Gibson, sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume. His boyhood days were spent in his native town and his preliminary education was received in the public schools here. In 1889 Dr. Gibson went to Colorado, where he spent two years on a ranch, after which he turned his attention to a profession, making his choice that of veterinary surgery. In ordet to prepare himself for his life work, he matriculated in the New York Veterinary Medical College, at New York city, where he pursued a two-years' course. He had previously read some upon this science with Dr. Cliff, of Upper Sandusky; and consequently was enabled to Make rapid progress in his college course. He was graduated in March, 1892, receiving the regular veterinary surgeon's degree, and immediately returned to Upper Sandusky and engaged in the active practice of his profession, in which he has been eminently successful. In 1895 he bought the livery business which he now conducts and he also engages quite extensively in the buying and -selling of horses. For a helpmeet in life Dr. Gibson chose Miss Grace Walter, a resident of Upper Sandusky, where she was born June 25, 1872, the daughter of Samuel L. and Candace A. (Stevenson) Walter. This union has been a happy one, resulting in the birth of one son, Joel W., Jr. Fraternally Dr. Gibson is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of Upper Sandusky, and in his life endeavors to live up to the noble and beneficent principles of that order. Politically he is an earn est and stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party. His wife is an active and faithful member of the Presbyterian church. They both enjoy a high standing among a large circle of warm friends, and have endeavored in every way possible to advance the interests of those with whom they are brought in contact. The Doctor' has already earned an enviable standing as a successful practitioner and has received a liberal share of public patronage. In his livery stables he keeps a number of fine animals and an up-to-date equipment of vehicles, so that he is able to meet almost any demand for conveyance. His carer thus far has been eminently successful and his many friends predict for him a still more successful future. JESSE EDGINGTON, DECEASED. This lamented gentleman, late an honored citizen of Eden township, Wyandot county, Ohio, was a native of the Buckeye state, born in Jefferson county November 27, 1811. When a boy Jesse was taken by his father, Thomas Edgington, to Richland county, of which they were early settlers, and there the father passed the remainder of his earthly existence as a farmer. The late Jesse Edgington grew to manhood in Richland county, where he owned forty acres of land, on which he lived until 1845, when: he came to Wyandot county. In 1845 he married Charlotte Koontz, a native of Hagerstown, Md., born in 1812, and a daughter of Abraham Koontz, who lived at different times in Richland and Crawford counties, Ohio. The children born to Jesse