BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 425 part in one of the early Indian wars, and besides gaining. distinction as a soldier, he was known far and wide for his, skill in woodcraft and success as a hunter during the pioneer period. He lived to a good old age, being seventy-eight when he exchanged. mortality for immortality ; Mrs.. Kurtz also reached her seventy-eighth year, but died some time after the decease of her husband. Mrs. Savidge lived in Marion county until her marriage, after which she came to the county of Wyandot, where, her death subsequently occurred at the age: of fifty-nine. She was a pious member of the United Brethren church and her life was marked by many friends . in the community where she dwelt. The following are the names of the children born to Foster and Julia Ann Savidge : Laura, who became the wife of Joseph Carious, of Marion, county; George W.; Sarah J., wife of Elijah Burson, of Salem township; Elizabeth, widow of, the late John Stoll, • of Crawford township; and Michael, who lives in 'Hardinccounty, this state. George W Savidge, the direct subject of this mention, was born July 24, 1847, in Crawford toWnship, Wyandot county, and spent his childhood and youth on. the home farm near the village of Crawfordsville. He enjoyed the best educational advantages the common schools afforded and until his twenty-first year remained under the parental roof, meanwhile assisting his father on the farm and acquiring a strong and vigorous physique by reason of healthful outdoor exercise. On attaining his. majority he rented his grandfather's. farm in Marion county and continued to cultivate the same until the latter's death, four years later. He then returned to Wyandot county and leased his father's farm for one year, at the expi ration of which time he purchased a small place of forty acres in Allen county, Ohio, and resided there four years. He then sold the farm and again returning to Wyandot, bought seventy acres of land in Crawford township, where he lived for a period of eleven years, removing at. the end of that time to the old homestead, which he rented for five years and then purchased it for sixty-five dollars per acre. Mr. Savidge has made the old place his 'home from that time to the present and, like the progressive man that he is, has spared neither labor nor expense to make it one of the best and most successfully conducted farms in the township of Salem. He has pursued his chosen, calling with ardor, and in connection with general farming does quite a large and lucrative business as a stock raiser, paying especial attention to high grade cattle, fine wool sheep. and superior breeds of horses. He has been remarkably fortunate in his every undertaking and from an humble beginning has gradually risen step by step over many discouraging obstacles until he now occupies a place in the front rank of Wyandot county's most enterprising, men of affairs. As an agriculturist he is methodical and far-sighted, and the satisfactory results he has attained prove him possessed of sound judgment, keen discernment and a faculty of taking advantage of every circumstance calculated to advance his interest in a business way. His place contains many valuable improvements, and he believes money well invested that adds to the beauty- of his hoine or in any manner enhances its comfort or attractiveness. In common with -the. majority of Ohio's successful farmers and stock raisers, he is a self-made man and as such is easily the peer of any one of like vocation 426 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. in the township, in which he lives. On the 29th of August, 1876, Mr. Savidge entered into the marriage relation with Miss Alice Davis, who was born in Marion county, Ohio', the daughter of Isaac and Fariby (Walker) Davis, both natives of the Buckeye state. Isaac Davis was born in Fairfield county and when quite young was taken to the county of Marion, where he is still living at the age of Seventy-two. For many years he was a successful contractor and builder and, although quite old, is still a very active man, devoting a great deal of time to his business interests, which are quite extensive. He was a soldier in the late Civil war and has always taken a prominent part in the public affairs Of that part of the county where he lives. Mrs. Davis. was born in Marion county and spent. all her life there, dying several years ago at a good old age. Her parents, Jesse and May Walker, natives of Maryland, were among the first pioneers of Marion county, the father having served in the early Indian wars in the army of Gen. William Henry Harrison; previous to his removal to Ohio he was a seafaring man, in .which capacity he visited nearly all the principal seaports in the world. He bore a conspicuous part in the pioneer history of Ohio, lived a life of adventure and excitement and died many years ago in the county of his adoption, honored and respected for the part he took in redeeming the county from its wilderness state. The early life of Mrs. Savidge was spent in the county of Marion and it was there that her marriage was celebrated. She has borne her husband five children, whose names are as follows: Julia Ann, Foster W., Lulu L., Ada Belle and Harry Arthur, all still inmates of the parental home. All of these children have received good common school educations and Ada Belle has successfully passed the Boxwell examination. At the present time. Mr. Savidge owns two good farms, of one hundred acres and seventy acres, respectively, the greater part of which represents. the results of his own industry and tact as a business man. In politics he votes with the Republican party on . state and national affairs; but in matters purely local invariably gives his support to the candidates who in his judgment are best qualified for the positions sought. He is a man of deep religious. convictions and is an earnest member of the Methodist church, to which body his. wife and children also belong. ISAIAH HEISTAND. One of the most thorough going and respected farmers. of Eden township, Wyandot county, Ohio, is Isaiah Heistand, who was born in Sycamore township, this county, July 30, 1831, and who has here made his home all his long and .useful life. His parents were Martin and Catherine Heistand, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, and was in his early manhood one of the bravest of the brave who gallantly resisted the attempt of "Albion, the perfidious," to crush the young American republic in 1812-15—the United States: being then but an infant in the family of nations. In an early day Martin Heistand Came to Ohio and located in Fairfield county, where he lived until 1830, when he came to Wyandot county, and entered eighty acres in the wilderness of Sycamore township, his BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 427 being the first family to settle in that section of the county. On this umbrageous tract Mr. Heistand built a hewed-log house, in which the subject of this sketch had his nativity. Martin Heistand cleared up . from the dense forest sixty acres of land, and on this place he and his wife passed the remainder of their days; at their death their remains were interred on the premises. They were faithful and active members of the German Baptist church, and were during life among the most respected of the pioneers of Sycamore township. Mr. and Mrs. Martin Heistand had born to them .a family of ten children, namely: Methuselah, Sophia, Mary, Catherine, Martin, John (whose life record appears elsewhere in thiS work), Isaiah (the subject of this sketch), Magdeline, Deliah and Rev: Jacob, a clergyman of the German Baptist church in Aran Wert county, Ohio. These children have all been as well educated as the schools of the sylvan district in which they passed. their youthful days afforded, Jacob, however, being given the advantages of a higher course of literary training. Isaiah Heistand passed his youthful days on the homestead until about fifteen years of age, when his father was taken from him by the remorseless reaper, death. He then worked out for strangers at farm labor or anything at which he could earn an honest dollar until he was twenty-eight years old. Being now at an age when he thought it would be proper, and, indeed, necessary, to have a home of his own and a suitable help-mate, he chose for his life companion. Miss Margaret Desher, whom he married April 14, 1859. This lady was born December 22, 1840. To this union were born ten children, who were named in order of birth as follows : Albert, John, Henry and James, all now deceased; William, who conducts his father's farm, and is married to Mary Forrest; Sylvester, who is married to Myrtus De Jean, and is also farming on his father's land; Huldah, the wife of C. Emler, of Eden township; Avery; who has chosen for his wife Miss Minnie Carpenter, and is also farming in Eden township; Clara, and Robert, unmairied.. Miss Clara loves the beautiful art of painting and kindred work. Mrs. Margaret (Desher) Heistand was called from earth. August 4, 1891, and on the 4th day of June, 1896, Mr. Heistand led to the marriage altar Mrs. Helena Ulrich. She was born in Lancaster county, .Penn., ber 4, 1'837, and was one of a family of five children. Mrs. Heistand was educated in both the English and German languages. On December 25, 1856, she was married to Samuel Ulrich in Wyandot county, and they became the parents of ten children, six sons and four daughters, of whom, six are yet living. Mr. Ulrich died April 11, 1887. Mr. Heistand, as above intimated, started in the pursuit of agriculture on his own account at this first marriage and settled on a small place in the midst of the forest in Eden township. This place he partly cleared and improved, with suitable buildings and lived upon in comparative comfort, when he purchased his present place, which is now a profitable farm of one hundred and eighty acres and which, through his diligence and unceasing industry, has been brought to its present excellent condition and will stand easily in competition with any farm in the township of the same dimensions, both as regards improvements and cultivation. His specialty is sheep raising, in which he is an expert at present he 428 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. has on hand one hundred and ten head of the famous Blacktop breed, and in this flock there are twenty fine bucks. Although a believer in the principles of the Democratic party and an earnest worker in carrying them out in local affairs and in working for the success of the party at the polls, Mr. Heistand has never been ambitious as far as public office is concerned, being contented with attending to his husbandry, which is, in the main, of more intrinsic worth to him than any public position within the gift of his fellow-townsmen could possibly be. To him, the reward that is always vouched to honest and persistent industry is a sufficient recompense, and this is his, as is shown in his present comfortable circumstances in life. In religion the German, Baptist church finds in him a devout member, as is shown by the fact that he is a deacon of his congregation. He contributes freely of his means to the support of this religious organization and has so lived in accordance with its teachings that he has won the unfeigned respect of the community in which he has passed all his long and useful years. Our subject attended the old log cabin school house, with its slab benches, and with an elementary speller as his only text-book. He recalls the old wooden mold-board plow and wooden-toothed harrow. His childhood cabin home was floored with split boards made by his father. At that time the pioneer's table was very meager in its food supply, and when out at work our subject has cut out and eaten, a piece of raw pumpkin, and has often subsisted on raw turnips. He remembers when where Nevada now stands was an unbroken forest. These things are noted merely to mark the contrast between the life of the early pioneer and that of the present day. No pen picture can present the contrast as vividly as it appears to him who, passed through the experiences of that period. The following obituary notice regarding the death of Mrs. Margaret (Desher) Heistand will prove of interest to the many friends: who mourned her death : "DROPPED DEAD.—MRS. ISAIAH. HEISTAND SUDDENLY SUMMONED TO THE OTHER WORLD.—The community was shocked Tuesday morning, August 4, 1891, to learn of the sudden and consequently unexpected death of Mrs. Isaiah Heistand, nee Margaret Helen Desher, which, sad affair occurred on the morning above mentioned while she was engaged in her household duties. For several years past Mrs. Heistand's health has not been very good, but her trouble has been of such a character as would permit of her being up and about, and' there has been no occasion, to believe her in a serious condition. On the morning in question she got up as usual, prepared the morning meal and afterward performed her customary duties. While having an attack with her stomach she was taken with heart failure. "Mrs. Heistand was in her fifty-first year and together with her husband has resided at their home, some four miles north of this place, for the past thirty years or more. She was a member of the Dunkard church and was a kind-hearted, Christian lady and, beloved and esteemed by all who knew her. She was the mother of ten children, six of whom, together with her husband, are left to mourn her sudden death. The funeral took place Thursday, August 6, at io o'clock A. M., and was largely at- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 429 tended. The service were conducted in the Dunkard church, four miles northwest of Nevada. Interment at the Union Cemetery. CHRISTIAN C. KREBS. Among the enterprising citizens of Wyandot county who owe their success and advancement in life to their own industry and well-directed efforts, is Christian C. Krebs, of Salem township. He hails from faraway Germany, but since the age of six years has been living in the United States. He is the son of Gottlieb Krebs, a native of Wurtemberg, who came to America in 1851 and located in Buffalo, N. Y. After remaining a short time in that city Gottlieb Krebs moved to Crawford county, Ohio, where he began life at the bottom of the ladder, starting in as a laborer at Bucyrus. Subsequently he purchased a small farm three miles northeast of Bucyru'S and engaged in agriculture, remaining upon the same several years and meeting with good success as a tiller of the soil. Disposing' of his place in Crawford county he moved to the county of Wyandot and purchased a farm in Salem township, where he made his home until the death of his wife, after which he spent they remainder of his days with his children. Like nearly all German-Americans, Mr. Krebs was a man of great industry and energy and during his residence in this country made a good home and earned the reputation of an honest, upright citizen. He espoused the principles, of the. Democratic party, but was never active as a partisan., and his religious belief was in accord with the teachings of the Lutheran church. He was a quiet, unobtrusive man, who always lived at peace with his neighbors and with the world, and his death, which occurred at the ripe old age of eighty-one, was deeply regretted by all who knew him. Gottlieb Krebs married, in his native country, Rosanna Koeph, who bore him eight children, of whom the subject of this review is the sixth in order of birth. She was also a pious member of the Lutheran church and her death took place in Salem township. Christian C. Krebs was born January 13, 1845, in the Kingdom of Wurternberg and, as already indicated, came to America with his parents when six years old. During the succeeding ten years he lived in Crawford county and at the age of sixteen accompanied the family to Wyandot, from which time to the present he has been an esteemed resident of the township of Salem. When young he learned carpentering under his brother's direction, and for about nine years worked at the trade in various parts of Wyandot county, earning the reputation of a skillful builder. Not caring to devote his whole life to mechanical pursuits Mr. Krebs discontinued the trade at the expiration of the above period and purchasing eighty-six acres of land in Salem township, turned his attention to agriculture. His experience as a farmer proved satisfactory from the beginning and it was not long until he was enabled to enlarge the area of his place by the addition thereto of twenty extra acres. On this farm he lived and prospered until about 1889, when he bought another place, consisting of eighty acres, to which he at once removed and upon which he has since resided. By successful management and judicious economy he was enabled soon afterward to purchase an adjoining eighty-acre 430 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. tract and still later bought fifty-five acres about one mile west Of the home farm and another eighty acres in the same township. Mr. Krebs has been remarkably fortunate in accumulating real estate, his holdings at the present time representing three hundred and Seventy-five acres of as fertile and valuable land as there is in Salem township, the greater, part of .which he. has brought to a high state of tillage. As a farmer he easily ranks with the foremost of Wyandot county and as a breeder of fine live stock his reputation has spread far, beyond the limits of the township in which he lives. For a number. of years Mr. Krebs has paid particular attention to the rearing of shorthorn cattle, Delaine sheep, Hambletonian horses and other fine roadsters, and the better to Prosecute his business in the stock line much of the land has. been converted to pasturage. At the present time he does little in the way of farming, renting his tillable land and devoting nearly all of his attention to his live. stock interests, in which his success has resulted in large financial returns. Mr. Krebs is a man of keen discernment and remarkably clear judgment on all matters pertaining to agriculture and the stock business. He has seldom erred in any of his transactions and the large amount of land he now owns, together with other valeable property in his possession, is. the direct result of well directed industry and judicious investments. In his political affiliations he is,. a Democrat, but has never cared for official preferment of any kind and in local affairs usually votes for the man instead of adhering closely to party claims. He keeps himself well-informed on current events and entertains pronounced views relative. to all the great public and political questions of the day, which he has the courage to express when necessary. Mr. Krebs entered into the marriage relation April 1, 1872, with Miss Ellen Ogg, daughter of John L. and Katurah (Bownan) Ogg, of this county. Mrs. Krebs was born March 20, 1848, in Tymochtee township and has spent her life thus far within a short distance of the home of her childhood. She has borne her husband four children: Gertrude K., wife of Charles Orian, a farmer of Salem; Mabel R., wife of Edward Weaver, a resident. of the same township; Edith. E. and Mary D., the last two named still members of the home circle. Mr. and Mrs. Krebs are highly respected by their neighbors and occupy a prominent place among the best people of Salem township. Religiously both are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church in Salem township, and for years they have exemplified their faith in numerous good works, which proclaim them to be genuinely Christians at heart. GEORGE W. KENAN. The gentleman whose name stands at the head of this paragraph is one of the oldest in point. of business at this time, if not in years of life, in the city of Upper Sandusky. He was .born in Tiffin', Seneca county, Ohio,. October 2, 1835, and is a son of Robert and Josephine (Pulliam) Kenan. Robert Kenan was . born in. Perry county, Ohio, in 1810, where he was reared until about sixteen years: old, when the family came to what is now Wyandot county, being among the early pioneers. Here the father of Robert Kenan entered land in Tymochtee town- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 431 ship, where Robert learned the trade of a wheat-fan manufacturer and later engaged in the business at Tiffin. In 184o he went to Versailles, Ind., where he conducted a factory for the making of this class of farm machinery until his. death, in 1847, when about thirty-seven years. old. He was a man of energy and enterprise and a true and patriotic American. He enlisted at New Albany, Ind:, for service, in the Mexicali war, but was not enrolled, as the quota of the last regiment called for had been filled and he was deprived of the privilege of going to the front. James Kenan, father of Robert Kenan, was a native of the north of Ireland, where his father was. a commission merchant and did a large business in shipping. When yet a boy James set out on a trip to Virginia and on arriving in the new world was so pleased with the country that he concluded to remain. He was there married and about the year 1805 moved to Ohio, and later, though still at an early day, came to what is now Wyandot county, where he afterward resided until his death, which occurred when in his eightieth year. His wife, whose maiden name was. Catherine Yost, also lived. to an advanced age and died in this county. Mrs. Josephine (Pulliam) Kenan, mother of our subject, was born in Jessamine county, Ky., and was a daughter of Benjamin and Frances Pulliam, natives of Virginia. She was very young when the family removed to Indiana and settled .at Versailles, Ripley county. The parents were both of English extraction, lived to prolonged years and died in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. The daughter, Josephine, was twice married and it was to her first husband, Robert Kenan, that the six following named children were born : George W., the subject of. this sketch; Ben- jamin M., who was a sergeant in Company I, Thirteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was killed at Bermuda Hundred, Va., when about twenty-four years old; Tilford J., now in the hotel businesS at Versailles, Ind. William R., who was a private in the Nineteenth Iowa Infantry and, lost his life in the battle of Prairie Grove, Ark. ; Charles N., who served in the Eighty-third Indiana Volunteers, was wounded at Vicksburg, Miss., and subsequently died of hiS injuries ; and Elizabeth, who is. the widow of Cory Hyatt: The father of this family died in December, 1847, and the mother when sixty-three years old; she was a greatly respected lady and trained her children to fully do their duty to their parents and their country, as was fully proven by the gallant part four of them took in the military service of their country during the war of the Rebellion. George W. Kenan attended the common school until seventeen years old, when he went. to St. Louis, Mo., where he clerked in a drug store for seven. years. In 1856 he went to Lexington, Mo., and clerked in a drug store until the breaking out of the Civil war. In May, 1861, inspired by patriotism, he became a member of an independent or "home" military organization, in which he served until August of that year, then en' listed in Company A, Seventh Kansas Cavalry, in which he served until discharged. He then re-enlisted as a veteran, as did his entire regiment, serving. until peace was tri- umphantly secured, following which happy result Mr. Kenan was sent in pursuit of the hostile Indians, ip which capacity he served until receiving his honorable and final dis- 432 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. charge, late in 1865. Mr. Kenan took part in all the marches, skirmishes and engagements in which his regiment participated and the casualties he sustained were a wound in the head, one in the foot, and an injury in the knee by a horse falling on him. While in the service Mr. Kenan was promoted to a captaincy in the Thirteenth Missouri Cavalry, but on looking over the situation he declined the honor, as he preferred the intimate and close companionship of his fellow privates, whose good will accompanied him wherever he went. After his return from the artily Mr. Kenan traveled until 1869, selling drugs on the road, and in that year purchased‘his present drug store in Upper Sandusky, where he now does an extensive business in his line. Mr. Kenan was married at Cedar Springs, Mich., in February, 1871, to Miss Mary J. Groff, of that place, to which union have been born six children, viz. Two died young; Robert, the eldest, met with a sad death at the age of twenty-two years by a gunshot while hunting; Frederick is an assistant of his father in the store; Laura and Joseph still have them home with their parents. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Kenan are among the leading ones of Upper Sandusky and Mr. Kenan is an honored member of The F. & A. M., and also of Robbins Post, G. R. Mr. Kenan is the inventor and proprie for of Kenan's Poultry Powder, Kenan's Hog Powder, the Sterling Stock Food, Kenail's Worm Powder, Kenan's Distemper Cure, and other curatives for live stock disorders, all of which have an extensive sale in the surrounding states: Wherever the nanie of Kenan is known, so are his remedies, and it 'is to such men as he; in every branch of business, that give a reputation to a town and send its fame to the surrounding country. HENRY YEAGER. Among the men of this county who shouldered their guns when Fort Sumter was fired upon and, who followed the flag through many bloody campaigns and harasSing marches during the Civil war, none bore a more honorable part than the subject of this memoir. He is a native of Mifflin township, where he was born December 2, 1840. His birth occurred on the farm now occupied by John. A. McCleary. He is the son of John Yeager, a native of Schuylkill county, Penn. The latter in early manhood married Miss Mary A. Pepple, and to them were born nine children, of born two were sons who both served their country in the Rebellion. John Yeager moved from the Keystone state to Wyandot county about the year 1835, settling in Marseilles township and taking up a tract of goveminent land. Here he remained for a short time and then returned to Pennsylvania. After staying there for some time he again came to this county and settled in Mifflin township, where he bought eighty acres of woodland. There was no houk of any sort on the place, and he was obliged to pitch his tent between two big logs and live in the same Until he could build a rude log cabin. This was rough experience but necessary in a new country; where neighbors were few and houses Many miles apart. The cabin contained but one room; which served as parlor, kitchen and bedroom combined. Here BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 433 himself and wife continued to reside, rearing their family and leading useful lives, until 1870, when Mr. Yeager died while he was in attendance at the Salem church.. He was seventy-two years old at the time of his death. His widow survived him until 1878, when she, too, passed away at the ripe old age of eighty years. Both were people of the highest respectability, filled with that kindliness which greets all mankind as brothers and sisters and decks life with the blossoms of benevolence and love. They left behind them many who regretted their departure and who may well imitate their many virtues. The subject of this sketch was reared on the old farm of his father. When the war broke out in 1861 he enlisted, when the first rush was over, in the Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry in company with his brother, and soon afterward took the field with his regiment. From this time till the close of the war Mr. Yeager saw almost continuous service in arduous marches, pitched battles and the distressing privations of camp life. During his army service Mr. Yeager succeeded, by improving his leisure time, in securing a fair education. His first engagement was at Bull Hill pasture, where he bore an honorable and conspicuous part. He participated in all the stirring marches and battles of the Shenandoah campaign, and still further distinguished himself. He fought at the second Bull Run, was engaged at the dreadful battle of Gettysburg, one of the great decisive struggles of the world, participated in the splendid storming of Lookout Mountain, was hotly engaged at the memorable siege of Atlanta, and marched with Sherman clown through the heart of the Confederacy in one of the momentous military movements of all history. While out with others on, a foraging expedition near Goldsboro, he was captured by the Confederates and taken to the famous, or rather infaMous, Libby prison. The regiment veteranized at Lookout Mountain, and Mr. Yeager received his honorable discharge in 1865. His military record should be a crown of glory and renown, not only to his descendants, but to every citizen of our common country. Flushed with victory, he came home to again take up the other struggle for existence —of making a living by the arts of peace. His brother, Amos, died soon after being honorably mustered out of his country's service. The subject came back with the honors of war and resumed farming in Mifflin township, where he remained until 1869, when he came to the place where he now resides. He owns one hundred and fifty acres, and has made nearly all of the improvements himiself. In politics he is a Democrat. On December 19, 1867, he was united in marriage with Miss Lorinda Fox, and by her has one child, Daisy E., now the wife of Christian Sammet. Three little grandchildren, Homer F., Franklin R. and Ralph L., often come out to, see the old soldier, Mr. Yeager. SOLOMON KOTTERMAN In the old countries of the world, particularly in those governed by kings or emperor's, there is a sharp contrast drawn between persons of title and the laboring classes. The aristocratic members of these countries, from time immemorial, tried to make it appear that the kings or 434 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. Emperors ruled by divine authority, and the families of the nobility attempted to establish their own superiority over the working classes on much the same basis. As a consequence labor has always been looked upon in those countries as degrading, instead of as being the highest employment to which man can turn his hand. In our country, on the contrary, it has been largely the tendency to ennoble labor, and this tendency has been largely successful, because, aside from the weak-minded aristocrats of the cities,, all of us regard labor as wholly dignified and honorable. Even the President himself may have descended from the farmer in the wilds of the West. Among those who have added to the dignity and respectability of labor by fair and honorable conduct is the subject of this notice. He was born near Glanford, Perry county, Ohio, on the 22d of February, 1839, and is the son of Michael and Saloma Kotterman to whom were born a family of eight children : Levi ; Caroline; Susanna ; Solomon, subject ; Noah ; David ; Mary ; Ellen. Michael Kotterman was a native: of Northumberland county, Penn. He came to Perry county when subject was four years of age. In 1848 he located in this county, purchasing eighty acres in Pitt township, which is now occupied by Mrs. Levi Swinehart. Upon that farm he resided until 1892, when he died, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, having lived a long, honorable and useful life. At the time of his death he was the owner of one hundred and eighty-seven acres, and a considerable quantity of personal property. For many years he Was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and at all times he was a'consistent member of the community. His wife, a woman possessing more than the ordinary graces of women, died in 1885, well advanced in years. When the subject of this sketch was nine years old he was brought to this county. Here he grew to manhood on the farm, working summers and attending the district schools during the winters, securing a moderate education. At the age of twenty-one years he began for himself by working out on a farm and thus continued for the period of three years. Important changes having occurred, he then took charge of his father's farm and so continued for the period of fourteen years, when he came to the farm where he now lives. During this long period he managed to acquire considerable property of his own, with which he bought his place and stocked it with excellent varieties of sheep, horses and cattle. Since that date he has steadily forged ahead in this world's goods and in the respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens. He is now the owner of one hundred and forty-five acres, and is more than ordinarily successful in the general management of the farm and in the rearing of the finer grades of stock. Actuated by humane motives Mr. Kotterman took one of his nephews at the age of two years and is. rearing him to useful citizenship. Mr. Kotterman has one hundred and thirty-five acres under cultivation, constituting a fine farm four miles from Upper Sandusky. He is a man of unusual judgment, has led a clean and honorable life, and has served his neighbors in more than one position of trust, always with the highest credit. He has served as justice of the peace, township trustee, assessor, supervisor and school director. In politics he is a Democrat, and is a member of the German Reformed church. He married, September BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 435 28, 1862, Miss Matilda Foucht, daughter of Christian Foucht, by whom he has six children, as follows : Leafee B., wife of Elmer McClain, of Jackson township; Adella C., wife of C. O. Enders, of Crane township; Elizabeth E., at home; Charles A: ; Nevin F., at home; Homer F., deceased. Mr. Kotterman stands high in citizenship and in general worth as a neighbor and man. WILLIAM SIMMONS. William Simmons, a wealthy retired farmer of Little Sandusky, Wyandot county, Ohio, was born in Montgomery county, N. Y., February, 8, 1828; but has been a resident of Antrim township for many years, closely identified with the growth of that community. John Simmons, his father, was born in the same county and learned the trade of a shoemaker, which he followed in conjunction with farming. Be married Miss Margaret Stall and in 1849 left Montgomery county, N. Y., for the west, locating in Pitt township, Wyandot county, Ohio, near Little Sandusky, where he purchased sixty acres of unimproved timber land. He built a small cabin, 18x28, and began the improve, ment of his land, putting out a large number of fruit trees and otherwise improving it. He had cleared some twenty acres of the land when he disposed of the farm to advantage and at once invested his money in another sixty acres, which was his home for about eight years. He sold this farm also and returned to New York, later moving to Kent county, Mich., where he bought land and again engaged in farming operations until his death. After his demise, his wife made her home with our subject and lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years. Ten children blessed their union, viz. : George, deceased; .Henry, deceased; James, a resident of Kent county, Mich. ; William, our subject; Oscar, who lives in Kent county, Mich., as does Martha ; Catherine, deceased; John, deceased ; Clinton, who operates the farm of our subject; and Adelaide, who; lives in Phelps county, N. Y. William Simmons attended the old subscription schools, as did the other children of the family. At the age of eighteen years he left the parental roof to join the great army of wage earners, working at whatever honest labor he could find. Coming to Wyandot county, Ohio, he gave his entire attention to the pursuits of agriculture and has met with that degree of success which places him among the wealthy and influential men of the county. He has carried on a general farming business and is a worthy example of American industry and thrift, showing what may be accomplished by well directed energy when applied in one direction in a systematic manner. His farm consists of two hundred and thirty acres of as good land as can be found in the county and the improvements. are all in keeping with his means. In 1876 he built his commodious and well ordered residence, and in 1888 erected one of the finest and most convenient barns.in this part of the state at a cost of two thousand dollars. It is a bank barn, with a wing, the main body of the barn being forty-five by ninety feet in size. Mr. Simmons has been twice married. His first union was solemnized soon after locating in Wyandot county, to Miss Amanda Swayze, who was :born here, and died in 1876 as. a result of a kick from a 436 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. horse. The present wife, to whom he was married October 24, 1878, was formerly Miss. Sarah Coulter, daughter Of Samuel Coulter, a prominent resident of Crawford county, Ohio, and is a most estimable lady. There were three children by the first marriage who grew to adult years, namely : Flora, wife of Frederick Hero, a farmer of Dunkirk, Ohio; Elizabeth, deceased wife of E. Thompson, a resident of Marion county, this state; and Laura, wife of Lawrence Millbower, of Marion, Wis. Mr. Simmons retired from active labor in 1900 and has since rented his farm to his brother Clinton. He is a Republican, but has never allowed, the use of his name as a candidate for office, although frequently importuned by his friends to do so. He is a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having been affiliated with that organization for the past fifty years, and is a man of steadfast character who is regarded as one of the most stable residents of Wyandot county. Mrs. Sarah (Coulter) Simmons was born February 21, 1855, in Crawford county, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Kerr) Coulter. The latter were the parents of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, of whom but four survive. The eldest, James, is a retired resident of Warren county, Iowa, and is married. He was a soldier in the. Civil war and was slightly wounded. George, a mechanic, is a resident of Bucyrus, Ohio, and is married. Martha is the wife of W. N. 'Kerr and resides with her sister, Mrs. Simmons, who is next in the order of birth. The father of this family was born in Huntingdon county, Penn., May 13, 180l, and died October 10; 1881. He was an agriculturist by occupation and about 1832 became a pioneer of the Buckeye state. Politically he was a Jacksonian Democrat, while his religious affiliations were with the Presbyterian church Sarah (Kerr). Coulter was also a native of Huntingdon county, Penn., 'hawing been born August 31, 1863. She was a kind and affectionate mother and a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. For almost a quarter of a century our subject and his wife have journeyed together, sharing each other's, joys and sorrows, and each has proven to the other a faithful companion. CLINTON R. PALMER. Clinton R. Palmer, a well-known agriculturist of AntriM township, Wyandot county, Ohio, was bdrn in: Richland county, this state, December 7, 1857. His parents were John E. and Susanna (Bachtell) Palmer, the former a native of Richland county and the latter of Stark county. John E. Palmer had two brothers, Francis and Charles, who came to Wyandot county, Ohio, about 1850. and purchased each eighty acres of land in this township; Francis buying the farm now occupied by our subject. He resided there until 1865 when he went back to Richland county. Charles lived on his farm until 1882. About 1853 John E. Palmer came to the county and bought eighty, acres in the same locality as his brothers, his land being covered with a growth of timber, which he cleared off. He also made many improvements on the place and was. one of the prosperous farmers of this section: He afterward bought forty acres in Hardin county, but disposed of it BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 437 later and bought sixty in Crane township, this county. He was a prominent man of the community during his lifetime and was identified with most of the public improvements, assisting in the establishment of roads and other public works. He was a Republican in politics and in religion was a believer in the Golden Rule. He died January 12, 1895. His wife, the mother of our subject, resides in Nevada, where she has many friends. They had a family of three children: Olive L., who lives with her mother Clinton R.; and Morris E., a prosperous farmer of this township. He married Miss Sophia Wyss and is the father of two children, H. W. and Elsie. May. Clinton R. Palmer received a good education and was a successful school teacher for several years in Wyandot county, but finally abandoned that employment for the more congenial work of the' farm. He lo-cater! in Hardin county, where he farmed one year 'and then . purchased thirty acres in Crane township from his father, which was his home for another four years when he sold it and bought his present forty. He is an energetic, industrious gentleman who has madea success of his life by persistent effort. In addition to his regular farm labor, he also earns many an honest dollar by :teaming. HiS farm is well cared for, the soil having been enriched until it is one of the most productive and fertile in the township, no part of which is permitted to lie in idleness. He is up-to-date in his methods and does not believe in following in the old ruts when more improved methods will accomplish the work quicker and. easier. Mr. Palmer was married March 16, 1881, to Miss Anna Kendall, who is the able assistant of her husband in all his undertakings. They are people of sterling integrity and enjoy the respect and good will of the entire community. Mr. Palmer was a Republican, but has never been an aspirant for political honors, his ambition running in other channels. It is such men as Clinton R. Palmer who have made Wyandot county what it is today, one of the brightest stars in the Ohio firmament. As a matter of interest we reprint the following lines touching the demise of our subject's father, John E. Palmer : John E. Palmer died Thursday; January 10, 1895, at the home of his son, Morris E. Palmer, four miles west of Nevada. He was aged sixty-seven years, eight months and seventeen days. John E. Palmer was born in Richland county, Ohio, April 23, 1827. His parents were natives of England. His paternal grandfather was a noted painter of the city of London. His father' einigrated to America in 1819 and was married in Richland county February 16, 1821, to Anna Ward. Thirteen children were the result of the union, our subject being the fOurth child. Mr. Palmer was employed on his father's farm, until twenty-six years of age. In 1853 he came to Wyandot county and purchased eighty acres of land, a part of his present farm, on which he has since resided. Mr. Palmer was married September 12, 1854, to SuSan Bachtell, a daughter of Joseph Bachtell. Three children were born to them, namely : Olive L., Clinton R. and Morris E.: Mr: Palmer was one of Wyandot county's model farmers, and lived the life of a devoted Christian—a man whose moral qualities were as faultless as his intellectual constitution was vigorous and brilliant. His sense of duty, the energy and collectedness of his nature and his cautious regard for 438 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. others were strikingly manifested to the last act of his life. The death of such men detracts from the goodness and brightness of this world and enriches heaven. The funeral services were conducted at the Methodist Episcopal church, Nevada, Sunday, at 10 :30 a. m., by the Rev. Edward D. Smith, and were largely attended by a concourse of admiring friends who followed him to his last resting place." JOB BAKER. A gallant ex-soldier and one of the most prominent and respected middle-aged farmers of Sycamore township, Wyandot county, Ohio, is Job Baker, who was born in Seneca county, this. state, March 27; 1843, and has been a farmer all his life. His parents, Richard Baker and Fannie (Wheeler) Baker, were born in Steuben county, N. Y.', on neighboring farms, grew from childhood to maturity as playmates, and were there married in 1836. Richard Baker first came to Ohio in 1835 and bought four hundred acres of wild land in the woods of Seneca county, then returned to New York, secured as a prize his wife, and at once came back to Seneca county. In due time he cleared off three hundred and twenty acres of his land, converting it into one of the finest farms in the county. He was a very influential man in his township, was a Republican in politics after the disintegration of the Whig party, but would never accept a public office. He and his wife were active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church, in the faith of which she passed away in 1887 and he in 1889. They left a family of six children, who were born in the following order : Silas, now farming in Dickerson county, Kan.; Frank, now judge of the petit court, Chicago., Ill., but in 1868-70 prosecuting attorney in Seneca county, Ohio; job, who is the subject proper of this sketch; Grattan H., farming on the old place in Seneca county; Ralph, a farmer in Decatur county, Iowa; and Richard W., farming in Eden township, Seneca county, Ohio. Job Baker lived with his parents until his enlistment, August 21, 1861, in Company E, Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he Was. assigned to the Southwestern army. He bore a brave and faithful part in all the marches, skirmishes and battles in which his regiment was engaged and endured all the hardships of a soldier's life with unconquerable fortitude until he received an honorable discharge in September, 1863. On his return from the service of his country Mr. Baker again made his home with his parents until 1864, when he began prospecting for a Mime of his own. November 14, 1865, he 'married Miss Eliza Nichols, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Lemaster) Nichols, who came to Ohio in 1848, and first located in Tiffin, Seneca county, and later in Wyandot county, where Mr. Nichols followed the vocations of Miller and farmer. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Baker has been graced with seven children, namely: Mary, married to Lincoln Rhodes, of Melmore; Maud, who died in March, 190o, the wife of William Sheets ; Wheeler, who served twenty months in Company K, Forty-third U. S. Volunteers, at Manilla, Phil- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 439 ippine Islands; Monroe, a.. railroad. man in Kansas City, Kan. ; Nora and Frank, at ome; and Fannie, who died in 1892. After marriage Mr. Baker located in Lykens, Crawford county, Ohio, where he urchased a farm of one hundred and forty acres, on which he resided eight years, when he sold his place and returned to Sycamore township, Wyandot county. He there bought a farm in section 5, on which he lived until 1887, when he again sold out and entered into the grain and elevator business in. the village of Sycamore, which he followed for two years. He then purchased his present farm of forty acres, formerly known. as, the Griffith place, where he is now prospering as. a general farmer. Mr. Baker is an honored member of the F. & A. M., having been made a Mason in Melmore Lodge, No. 31o, and is also a member of Jaqueth Post, G. A. R, at Sycamore. His wife is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which she freely contributes and in the interests of which she neglects no opportunity in promoting. In the social circles of the village and township they hold a high position, their individual merits having won for themselves the unfeigned esteem of the entire community. JACOB J. SCHUPP That the plenitude of satiety is seldom obtained in the affairs of life is to be considered a most beneficial deprivation, for when ambition is satisfied and every ultimate ann realized, if such be possible, individual apathy must follow. Effort would cease, acomplishment be prostrate, and creative tal ent waste its energies in inactivity. The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress, have been those to whom satisfaction lies ever in the future, who have labored continuously, always finding in each transition stage an. incentive to further effort. Mr. Schupp, of this review, is one whose well-directed efforts have gained for hiM a poSition of desirable prominence in the industrial circles of Ohio and it is with a feeling of satisfaction that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the salient points in his career. Jacob J. Schupp, proprietor of the Central Ohio Buggy Company, at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, is a native of Prussia, born oh the 6th of January, 1848. His father, George John Schupp, who was also a native of Prussia, was a farmer and upon arriving in America came at once to Ohio and bought a farm near Crestline, where he remained about three years. He then went to Jay county, Ind., and buying a farm, made it his home until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-three years old. Politically he was a Democrat; religiously, a member of the Lutheran church. When he took the steamer for his voyage to America he probably possessed one thousand dollars. in cash, and this he managed with so much prudence and economy; that. he was deemed a successful man. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Niebch, was a native of the same country as was her husband, and their marriage took place in the fatherland: She .passed away at Galion, Ohio, in January, 1900, aged seventy-four years. She was a member of the Lutheran. church. To this worthy couple were born the following children : George John is working for the Central Ohio Buggy Company ; Jacob J., subject 440 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS: of this review; Anna M lives in Mansfield, Ohio; Lizzie married a Mr. Young and is a resident of Kansas ; Susie is the wife of Carl Leach and lives in Sandusky City ; and Katie, who married a Mr. Cook. The subject of this review was reared in his native country until nineteen years old and at that age had partly learned the trade of carriage smithing. Emigrating to the United States with his parents, he landed in New York city in May, 1867, but believing that the west offered the best opportunities for advancement the family came at once to Galion, Ohio: The family made their home on a farm near that place, but the subject Went to the city of Mansfield, where he procured employment at making buggies. He worked there about two years which, together with. his. two years service in Prussia, completed his apprenticeship. He continued working at his trade in Mansfield and elsewhere for. several years. In 1877 he went to Galion and, in partnership with a blacksmith, started a small carriage shop, Mr. Schupp doing the carriage making and his partner the smithing. They were successful in this enterprise, and later took in another partner. Their increased business necessitated the building of a much larger shop, and the business was carried on. about seven years longer, when one of the partners sold his interest to his colleagues. Two years. later Mr. Schupp bought the remaining partner's. interest and sold it to another gentleinan. They then began the wholesale buggy business, but at the end of a year Mr. Schupp found himself once more with a different partner. After continuing with the latter for four. years Mr. Schupp acquired the entire ownership of the business. At that time he was doing a very satisfactory business, employing fifty-five men in the shop, but on the 23d of May, Two, the plant was destroyed by fire. The citizens of Galion offered Mr. Schupp ten thousand dollars as an inducement to remain there. However, the Bucyrus board of trade were offering strong inducements to Mr. Schupp, as were the business men of Upper Sandusky, who proposed to donate him twenty thousand dollars if he would locate in the latter city and agree to employ fifty men nine months in the year for ten years. The latter inducement prevailed and in October, 1901, Mr. Schupp came here and by January 1, 1901, the new plant was in readiness to operate. The success that has attended the enterprise since its location in this city has exceeded the most sanguine expectations and results have fully justified the action taken by Mr. Schupp in coming here. For a companion and helpmeet Mr. Schupp chose Miss Anna Christena Munzer, a native of Galion, Ohio. This union has been blessed by the birth of five bright and interesting children. They are Harry, Otto, Clara, Nellie and Eugene, and all are still at home. In politics Mr. Schupp adheres to the Democratic party, though he is broad and liberal in his views and makes his choice more according to the personal merits of the candidates than to the dictates of party. Aside from serving on the board of health at ,Galion he has., steadfastly refused to accept any public office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his business affairs and his home circle. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Galion. Religiously he and his wife are both active and consistent members of the BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 441 Reformed church, and while at Galion Mr. Schupp held the office of elder in that denomination for several years. We have thus endeavored briefly to outline the salient points in the career of this gentleman that it may stand as an, example and incentive to others who can do What he has done if they but seize the opportunities. His hopes of winning success in America have been realized and he has never had occasion to regret the step which he took as a young man in leaving the fatherland for "The land of the free here he haS not only prospered in his buSiness, but has also established a good home and won many warm friends, who esteem him highly for those manly and honorable qualities which command respect throughout all lands and climes. ROBERT McBETH. The importance that attaches to the lives, character and work of the early settlers of Wyandot county and the influence they have exerted upon the cause of humanity and civilization is one of the most absorbing themes that can possibly attract the attention of the local chronicler or historian. If great and beneficent results that endure and bless mankind, are the proper measure of the good men do—then who is there in the world's. history that may take their places above the hardy pioneer. To point out the way, to make possible our present advancing civilization, its happy homes, its arts and Science's, its discoveries and inventions, its education, literature, culture, refinement and social life and joy is to be the truly great benefactors of mankind for all time. This was the great work accomplished by the early settlers and it is granted by all, that they bUilded wiser than they knew. Admit that as a rule, but feW ever realized in the dimmest way, the transcendant possibilities that rested upon their shoulders; grant it that their lives, in certain instances, were somewhat narrow and that they realized but little the, great results that ultimately crowned their efforts ; yet there exists the supreme fact that they followed their restless impulses, took their lives in their hands, penetrated the wilderness' and with a patient energy, resolution and self-sacrifice that stands alone and unparalleled, they worked out their allotted tasks, accomplished their destinies and to-day their descendants and others enjoy undisturbed the fruitage of their labors. Prominent among the worthy representatives of the pioneer element in the county of Wyandot is the well-known gentleman to a review. of whose life the attention of the reader is now invited. For many years Robert McBeth has been a forceful factor in the growth and prosperity of Salem township, and as such, his. name and reputation have extended far beyond the limits of the locality in which the greater part of his life has been spent. His father, Thomas. McBeth, a native of the north of Ireland, was born in the year 1800, and when about twenty-one came to the United States and settled temporarily near Mansfield, Ohio. Being pleased with the new world and the opportunities it presented to young men, he soon went back to the Emerald Isle for the purpose of marrying one of his youthful playmates, a Miss. Jane Campbell, after which he returned to America and located in Washington county, Penn., where he pur- 442 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. chased land and engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. From 1822 till 1844 Thomas McBeth lived in the above county and state and prospered in his work as a farmer. In the latter year he bought a tract of land, containing about four hundred acres, a short distance north of Marion, Ohio, and locating upon the same, made it his home Until his removal a few years later to the county of Wyandot. Disposing of the above farm, he invested the proceeds in about the same number of acres in Antrim township, this county, all of which was in the primitive condition as nature made it. In due time. he cleared and otherwise improved a fine farm and became one of the leading agriculturists and prominent: citizens of the part of the county where he lived,. Few if any of his neighbors were as .successful as he in accumulating property and none excelled him as an influential factor in promoting the material, moral and religious interests of the community in which he had his home. A stanch Presbyterian, he was instrumental in planting churches of his faith in various parts of Wyandot and. other counties, and as a local politician, of the Democratic school, he early became a leader in public arid political affairs of his township. He lived to a ripe old age, being eighty-one when called to the other World. Mrs. Jane Campbell McBeth was born in north Ireland of. Scotch parents, and, died at the age of seventy-six ; she was the mother of nine children, all of whom grew to maturity and became well settled in life. Elizabeth, the first born, is, the widow of John Van Voorhis, of Kansas; John, the second in order of birth, died at the advanced age of seventy-four ; he was a suc cessful farmer and .stock raiser of Wyandot county and is. remembered as one of the worthy Men of the township in which he resided ; Thomas,. also a representative farmer of Wyandot, is now living a life of retirement; William, , for many years a leading agriculturist, lives in the town of Nevada, where, like his brother previously mentioned, he is enjoying- in honorable retirement the fruits of his long and arduous labors, as a farmer. The next two, Jane and Ellen, are twins, the former the wife of Lenox Reber, of Marion, Ohio, and the latter is now Mrs. Elkannah Coon ; Mrs. Coon lives in Marion, near which city she and her husband own a valuable tract of land, consisting of twelve hundred acres. Mary, who lives in Pana, Ill., is the widow of the late Lemuel Swazey, of that place, and Fannie, the youngest, is the wife of William Holverstock, a citizen of Marion county, this state. Robert McBeth, the fourth of the family, was born in Washington county, Penn., January 1, 1831. For thirteen years he lived at the place of his birth and then accompanied his parents to Ohio, making the trip by wagon to Marion, near which place he grew to young manhood. Subsequently he. came with the family to the county of Wyandot, and until attaining his majority assisted his father with the labor of the farm, meanwhile of winter seasons attending such schools as were then common in this part of the state. At the age of twenty-one he purchased a farm near the home place, which he at once began to improve, though he continued to reside under the parental roof until about thirty years old, when he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Coon, daughter of Jacob Coon, one of the pioneer settlers of the county. Mrs. McBeth was born Janu- BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 445 time of subject's death, he owned a total of one thousand acres in Pitt, Marseilles and Mifflin townships, all constituting one of the largest .as well as one of the best farms in the entire state. Lewis was a most successful farmer and stock raiser, as well as a good financier. He was of an energetic nature and was rioted for his great industry. He amassed a great property, and left a name above reproach.. He was mainly self-educated, but possessed unusual powers of discrimination. in all the operations that fall to the lot, of a farmer. The soundness of his judgment was fully recognized by his. neighbors; who chose him for township trustee, in which position he served for twenty years, highly to his credit. In politics he was a Republican. He passed away in November, 1891, and lies buried at Oak Hill. His wife preceded him to the grave, dying. April io, 1883. She was a lady of uncommon attributes of mind and heart, and left many close friends to mourn her departure. JACOB PFEIFER. Year has been added to year and decade to decade until over half a century has been numbered with the past since Jacob Pfeifer came with his parents to Wyandot county. Upon his arrival this section of the state was largely an undeveloped region, awaiting the awakening touch of the sturdy pioneers to transform its wild land's into rich farms and beautiful homes, to found cities. and towns, to establish churches and schools, and in many other ways reclaim, the country for the use of man. As a. representative of one of the early families that led the van of civilization into this favored region, Mr. Pfeifer well deserves mention with the substantial men of the county and it is with pleasure that a brief review of his long, busy and useful life is herewith presented. Nicholas Pfeifer; father of the subject, was a native of Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, and by occupation a carpentef, and in the year 1846, with his wife and seven children, came to the United States, landing in New. York. From that city he made his way westward to Crawford county, Ohio, thence after the lapse of a few months coming to the county of Wyandot and purchasing a quarter section of wild land in Salem township. Mr. Pfeifer began life in his new home after the manner of the early pioneers, erecting a small round-log cabin, which answered the purpose for which intended until replaced by a larger and more comfortable structure a few years later. He was not destined, however, to realize his anticipations in the new home, to which he had lookled forward, with so much satisfaction, as he fell a victim to disease a short time after his arrival and' within eighteen months his body was consigned to the earth from whence it came. "He was a good man and a just," a pious member of the Lutheran church, and he left, as. a priceless. heritage to his children, the memory of a good name and a blameless. character. Mrs. Pfeifer survived her husband a number of years, reaching the advanced age of eighty-two before being summoned to meet her companion in the other world. Of the nine children born to Nicholas and Katharine (Horn) Pfeifer, two died in the old country; the other seven accompanied their par- 446 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. ents to United States and reached useful stations in life. Jacob Pfeifer was born on the ancestral estate in Hessen Darmstadt March 10, 1828, and was eighteen years old when. the family landed upon American soil. He spent his youthful years amid the stirring scenes, of pioneer times in Wyandot county and was trained to the duties and labors that fall to the lot of young men who decide to make farming their life work. In his native county he received a good practical education, and after settling here his time was largely spent in clearing the farm and fitting it for tillage, as much of the family support depended upon his labor and management. He remained. with his mother, looking after her and the younger children's interests, until his marriage, when he took charge of eighty acres of the home place, which a little later, came into his possession by purchase. Shortly after the purchase of the eighty acres be sold the forty acres of land in. Salem township and later purchased sixty acres more. With the two places he soon found himself on the high road to prosperity. Afterwards he sold the sixty acres and has eighty acres at present. By long and arduous toil he gradually extended the area of cultivable land, meantime replacing his first buildings with those of larger dimensions and much better grade, and in many other ways he added to the improvement and value of his farm. Be became one of the most careful and successful agriculturists in the township and in addition to tilling the, soil he early began to deal in live stock, being among the first to introduce high-grade cattle, hogs and horses into the part of the county where he lived. Keeping, pace with the growth and development of the country, he has been a forceful factor in promoting its material interests, while his influence upon the moral character of the community has been marked and salutary. In fact "he has grown with the country" and been not only an eye-witness, but an active participant in the many remarkable changes which have transformed Wyandot from a wilderness to its present advanced position among its sister counties of the state. When he came to the county but little farming worthy the name had been attempted in the neighborhood where his father settled. Few roads had been laid out and the passage through the country was often difficult on. account of the dense forests and swampy condition of the land. The latter was a fruitful cause of much of the fever and ague with which the early settlers were afflicted and many years elapsed before the marshes were drained and an improvement in the health. of the people began to be noticeable. Not only as a successful farmer did Mr. Pfeifer make his presence felt in the community, but he early became widely known as a public-spirited man, interested in the affairs of his township, and county. He has served in various local offices, such as supervisor, school di rector and others, and his duties as a public servant were ably and faithfully discharged. In politics he has wielded an influence for the Democratic party ever since old enough to exercise the right of franchise, but he has never been charged with anything savoring of disreputable practice in his efforts, to win success at the polls. He has always aimed to discharge worthily his, duties as a neighbor and citizen and his efforts have been directed towards helping: BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 447 his friends rather than the advancing of his own interests. A Lutheran in his religious belief, he has done much to promote the cause of the church in Wyandot county and for a number of years he has held various official positions in the local society with which he and family are connected. Mrs. Pfeifer's maiden name was Margaret Bessinger. She was born June 26, 1828, in Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, and was reared and educated in that country. When twenty-six years of age she came to America and in May, 1856, at Wyandot, Ohio, became the wife of the subject. Of her ten children, one died in infancy, one at the age of six years,. and one when twenty years old. Those living are Katherine, who married George Will, of Salem township; Elizabeth, wife of. Julius Zahn, a fanner of Richland township; Barbara, wife of Henry Gottfried; Mary; now Mrs. John, Frank, of the township of Salem; Jacob, a farmer of Salem' township, married Miss Emma Frank; Sophia and John, the last two still. living with their parents. John wedded Miss Rosa K. Sammet. The death of Mrs. Pfeifer occurred May 6, 1895, after a happy married life of thirty-nine years. For this long period: this worthy couple traveled life's pathway to ether, sharing its joys and sorrows, and in the establishment of their home Mrs. Pfeifer was an able helpmeet to her husband. She was a kind and. affectionate wife and mother and an .earnest and devoted member of the English Lutheran. church. Her remains lie in the Salem Lutheran cemetery, where a beautiful monument marks her last resting place. After her death her daughter Sophia. assumed charge of the home and remained true to the domestic interests of her father and brothers. Her brother John, who is married and now also resides at home, is operating the home place. Briefly, but we believe correctly, have been set forth in the preceding lines the salient facts in the. life of one of Salem township's most useful and thrifty farmers. Though born and reared to. young manhood under political conditions differing radically from; our own, and retaining many warm and tender .recollections of his childhood's home in the Fatherland, he is nevertheless a loyal citizen of his adopted country and a great admirer of its laws and institutions; Public spirited: and enterprising, he gives his support to all objects calculated to advance the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the county and is therefore looked upon as one of its most worthy and substantial citizens. FRANK RALL. The great task in early years of clearing land of its timber can scarcely be realized by the people of to-day. Not a crop could be sowed or an orchard tree planted until the timber had been cut down and removed either by fire or with horses. Even then the stumps were a great hindrance and it is doubtful if so much as half a crop could be raised until they had been burnt out or pulled up. The amount of hard labor required to thus remove the timber seems almost incredible. It was a task that never ended and all members; of the family were required to assist early and late and at all seasons of the year. This persistence in all instances brought success as the years 448 - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. passed, and in tinie the bare acres were spread: out before the sun and soon covered- with bountiful crops and browsing herds. This was the task set before the father of our subject, and the task was faithfully performed. But the children were required to assist, and thus they grew. up in industry and simple habits. Frank Rall was born in Mifflin township, Wyandot county, Ohio, on the 31st of October, 1870, and is the son of Joseph Rall, who was born in Germany. The latter passed his youth in his native country, receiving a good education, and in 1853 he came with his brother Charles to America in a sailing vessel, landing in New York. He came west and settled in Mifflin township, where he began chopping wood for a livelihood. Later he worked on a farm and so continued until 1857, when he bought forty acres of woodland, erected a small log cabin on the same and commenced to clear off the timber. He continued thus employed for the period of three years, when he bought eighty acres of unimproved land in Mifflin township and began to clear the same. As time progressed he made various improvements to his place and the heavy woods steadily disappeared before his ax. His wife and children, as the latter became old enough, were of great assistance to: him, and amid the stumps they managed to make a good living and lay something aside for a rainy day. Here on the farm which he had cleared from the dense forests the father lived until his death. His life was respectable and useful and his name fair and untarnished. He left at his death two hundred and forty acres of land, much of which was under cultivation, and besides, his personal estate was very large. He was a farmer and stock raiser and took great pride in all the operations of his farm. In his early manhood he married Miss Susan Bricher, who was also a native of Germany, and by her had a family of thirteen children, their names being as follows : John, who lives in Mifflin township'; Annie, who became the wife of Jacob Kin, of Jackson township; Kate, the widow of Warren Wally and lives in Kirby ; Sophia, the wife of Thomas Strasser, of Mifflin township ; Joseph, who resides in Mifflin township; subject; Martin, deceased; Paul, who lives in Mifflin township; Tillie, wife of Ed Company, of Tiffin; Mamie, of Mifflin township; Stephen, of Mifflin township; Jerome, who lives with subject; Sadie, of Mifflin township. Joseph Rall, the father, was a. member of the Catholic church. He held the office of trustee of Mifflin township for several years, and in other ways proved his good judgment and correct citizenship. He died March 6, 1897, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife preceded him to the grave, dying on the same day of the week, and same hour, in 1894. Subject was reared, a farmer and continued with his father until aged. twenty-two years. He then began farm work for R. N. Taylor and two years later, April 3, 1894, he married his employer's daughter, Miss Mabel Bent. He then took charge of the farm and there he has since resided and now owns three hundred and forty-six acre's. He has two children: Sidney and Joseph Nelson. Mrs. Rall was born. in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, November 14, 1872. Her parents were R. N. and Maria (Miller) Taylor, the latter the daughter of David Miller, whose sketch appears elsewhere. Mrs. Rall was reared in Wyandot county and was educated in the common schools of BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS - 449 her neighborhood. R. N. Taylor was born in Franklin county, Ohio, July 11, 1829. He was a pioneer of the Buckeye state, and, though he has almost reached the three-quarters of a century mark, he is still hale and hearty. Politically he was formerly an old-line Whig, and is now a Republican: His wife was, born in Wyandot county, Ohio, in November, 1835, and died April 1, 1874. She was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while her husband guided his life with the Golden Rule. In 1899 Mr. and Mrs. Rail erected a beautiful country residence; but two months later it was destroyed by fire. Nothing daunted by this misfortune, they immediately set to work and erected their present neat and handsome home. It is of the most recent style of architecture and is a credit to Pitt township, as well as to its owners. Their son, Sidney, is now in school, and they intend giving both of their children thorough, college educations. They are young people who, have taken and retain a high place in social circles. Mr. Rall lives four miles south of Sandusky and is engaged in farming and stock raising. He has, two hundred and sixty acres under cultivation and his farm is well stocked. He is as member of St. Peter's Catholic church. In politics he is a Democrat. He has served his township as trustee, and is a progressive and enterprising citizen. He has many years before him yet in which to prove the mettle that is in him. WELLINGTON R. HARE. In its lawyers Wyandot county, Ohio, has a bulwark of strength against oppression by the unjust and in the protection of its citizens in their guaranteed constitutional rights—a, strength that is supplemented by some of the brightest intellects of Upper Sandusky, the home of a number of brilliant members of the bar, but none of whom is more worthy of special mention in this work than: the. eminent gentleman whose name stands. at the head of this. condensed biographical sketch, condensed it must needs be, as a full account of his active life, young as he still is, •would require more space than can be spared by the publisher and justice done to all, but the facts here given are plain; and truthful, without gloss or guile, and unembellished with overstrained rhetoric, being, like himself; plain and sincere. Wellington R. Hare was born in Craw, ford township, Wyandot county, Ohio, August 13, 1857, and a full record of his paternity will be found in the sketch of the life of his brother, Curtis B. Hare, to be found on another page of this volume. The boyhood days of Mr. Hare were passed on the farm where he was born until he was thirteen years of age, when he came with the family to Upper Sandusky. Here he was afforded the privileges of attending school until .November, 1875, after which time he taught a district school until the spring of 1876, when he entered the University of Delaware, which he attended until June, 1878. He then taught a district school in Wyandot county for two years, occupying his spare time in reading law under his brother, the Hon. D. D. Hare, and in June; 1885, was admitted to the bar. He immediately entered upon the practice of his. profession and has been fortunate in securing a long list of substantial patrons, from whom he nets a comfortable income. February, 2, 1887, Mr. Hare was joined