Fulton County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1905 (part 13 of 15)

CHARLES H. STUTESMAN, one of the honored citizens and prominent farmers of Chesterfield township, is a member of one of the old and well-known families of this section of the Buckeye State, his father having settled in what is now Fulton county seventy years ago. Charles H. Stutesman was born on the farm which he now owns and operates, in Sections 4 and 23, Chesterfield township, the date of His nativity having been September 19, 1849. Hie is a son of Samuel and Mary A. (Waite) Stutesman, the former of whom was born in Maryland, August 29, 1806, and the latter was born in England, whence her parents immigrated to America when she was a child of four years, settling in New York city, where she was reared and edu-. cated. She came to Fulton county, Ohio, for a visit, and here met and married Mr. Stutesman. Samuel Stutesman came to Fulton county in 1832 and secured eighty acres of government land in the midst of the dense forests of Chesterfield township. He then went to Maumee, Lucas county, where he was employed for the ensuing three years, at the expiration of which, in 1835, he located on his pioneer farm, the place now owned by his only surviving son, and here he died on the 6th of August, 1890, having become one of the prosperous farmers and rep- resentative citizens of his township. He was a Republican in politics and both he and his wife, who died in 1843, were devoted members of the Christian church. This honored pioneer couple became the parents of three children, of whom Charles H. is the elder. His brother, John W., died at the age of six years, and one daughter, Lucinda Smith, lives in this county. Mr. Stutesman was reared on the old home place, which is an integral portion of his present fine landed estate, and he secured a good common-school education. He has been consecutively identified with agricultural pursuits from his youth to the present, is now the owner of three hundred and fourteen acres of as fine land as is to be found within the limits of Fulton county, and he has made improvements of the best type, including the .erection of a commodious modern residence and large and substantial barns, making his homestead one of the most valuable and attractive in this section. An uncompromising Republican in his political allegiance, Mr. Stutesman has taken an active part in furthering the party cause in a local way, and he has served in offices of distinctive trust and responsibility. He was trustee of his township two terms, and in 1903 was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, his term expiring in 1906. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Grange, and both he and his wife are among the most prominent and valued members of the Christian church at East Chesterfield, in which he is an elder, and he was formerly superintendent of the Sunday-school. In 1874 Mr. Stutesman was united in marriage to Miss Anna Roberts, who was born in Allen county, Ohio, December 20, 1855, and whose death occurred May 30, 1889. She is survived by one child, Ora, who is the wife of G. Scott Roos, mentioned elsewhere in this publication. June 25, 1890, Mr. Stutesman married Miss Nettie Roos, who was born in Chesterfield township, this county, December 5, 1863, being a daughter of John P. and Emily (Noble) Roos, and of this union have been born three children, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are as follows: E. Alleine, July 18, 1891; Glade Roos, March 1, 1897; and Marian Agnes, January 28,

JOHN SWIGERD merits recognition in this compilation by reason of his standing as one of the worthy citizens and substantial farmers of Fulton county, where he has maintained his home for nearly sixty years and where he has gained a competency through his own efforts, which have been directed with zeal and energy, guided and guarded by a spirit of inflexible integrity, so that he has not been denied the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Swigerd is a native of Germany, having been born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, on the 7th of August, 1829, and being a son of John and Elizabeth Catherine (Ely) Swigerd, both of whom were born and reared in Wurtemberg, where their mrraiage was solemnized. The father was bom June 16, 1792, and bore the patronymic of his sire, John Swigerd, who was one of a party of devoted pilgrims who started for the city of Jerusalem for the pur- pose of rebuilding the sacred place, but he died in Russia while en route, in 1817, his wife having passed away in 1806. John Swigerd (2d) immigrated to America in 1831, in company with his wife and their little son, John, who was then about two years of age. They located in New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where they maintained their home for several years, later removing to Coshocton county, where the devoted wife and 'mother died in 1841, in middle life. Her husband passed his declining years in Amboy township, Fulton county, where he died at the age of sixty-four years.

John Swigerd (3d), the immediate subject of this sketch, secured is education in the common schools of Tuscarawas and Coshocton counties, and in his youth he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed as a vocation for a number of years, being known as a skilled workman. In 1846, when about seventeen years of age, he came to Fulton county, and here, in 1849, he was married to Miss Mary Schultz, who was born in Allegheny county, Pa., in 1828, and who was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Coshocton county, Ohio, where she was reared. In the autumn of 1861 Mr. and Mrs. Swigerd located on his present homestead farm, and here she died on February 2d of the following year, leaving six children, namely: Lucy Ann, who became the wife of James Hayes, now of Gladstone, Iowa, died on the 28th of August, 1876; George, who was bom July 29, 1852, died in middle life, of consumption; John, bom in 1853, died July 8, 1881, in Illinois; Elizabeth, bom December 29, 1855, became the second wife of James Hayes, and she died in Gladstone, Iowa; Cyrus, bom February 26, 1858, is engaged in the shoe business at Battle Creek, Mich.; Jacob Washington, bom March 4, i860, is engaged in the restaurant business in the city of Chicago. January 1, 1863, Mr. Swigerd consummated a second marriage, being then united to Miss Delilah Frybarger, who was born in Somerset county, Pa., and she remained his cherished and devoted companion on the journey of life for nearly forty years, her death occurring February n, 1900, when she was suddenly stricken, being apparently in the best of health, her death being almost instantaneous. Concerning the five children of this union the following is a brief record: William Henry, bom April 4, 1864, died October 14, 1881; Charles Wesley, born April 20, 1865, owns a good farm in Pike township but resides with his father on the old homestead, which he rents and operates; Mary Margaret, bom August 12, 1867, is the wife of Addison Hudson, of Beallsville, Monroe county; Samuel, bom November 5, 1869, is a contractor and builder in the city of Toledo. Prior to locating on his farm, where he had resided consecutively since, 1861, Mr. Swigerd gave his attention principally to the work of his trade. The farm comprises eighty acres and when he came into possession of the same it was discovered with the native timber and had no improvements. With the aid of his sons he reclaimed about sixty-five acres, and the place is now one of the best improved and most productive farms in this section, having an effective system of tiling and being under a high state of cultivation, and the improvements of a permanent order are exceptional excellence, including the fine brick residence, two stories and basement, with slate roof, which was erected by Mr. Swigerd in 1887. Since the death of his wife he has passed much of his time visiting among his children, but he still looks upon the old farm as his home, the place being endeared to him through the associations and memories of the past. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he has served in various township and school offices. His religious faith is that of the Evangelical Association, of which both of his wives were also devoted members. He is a man of sterling character and is held in unqualified esteem in the community which has been his home for so many years.

GEORGE G. TAPPAN was born on the farm which is now his home, is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of the county, and he honored Fulton county through his valiant service as a soldier in the War of the Rebellion. His attractive farmstead is located in Section 34, Pike township, and comprises one hundred and twenty acres. Mr. Tappan was bom June 16, 1841, and is a son of Whitfield and Amanda (Woodford) Tappan, the former of whom was borrt in the State of New Jersey, in 1798, and the latter of whom was bom at Batavia, N. Y. The father located in Fulton county in 1834, taking up government land and reclaiming the same from the virgin forest. The original government deed is now in the possession of the subject of this sketch, whose present homestead is a portion of the lapd secured by his father more than seventy years ago. On this homestead the parents resided until their death, the father passing away in 1884 and the mother in 1881. They became the parents of eight children, namely: Mary A., wife of James Debar;

Frances, wife of William Griffin; George G., subject of this review; Helen L., wife of Levi D. Eversole; Laura G, wife of Eugene N. Gunn; Clarissa A., wife of Charles Wright; EHza, deceased in infancy; and Whitfield W., a farmer of this county. George G. Tappan was reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm, assisting in its development and securing such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the day. He was one of those who responded to President Lincoln's call for volunteers to assist in the suppression of the Rebellion. In November, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company F, Sixty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he served until victory crowned the Union arms and the great factracidal conflict came to a close, and he took part in many of the important engagements of the war, being twice wounded - once in the engagement at Fort Wagner, North Carolina, and later at Chapin's Farm, Virginia. He has never lost his interest in his old comrades, and is a valued and appreciative member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Since the close of the war Mr. Tappan has given his undivided attention to agricultural pursuits, and his homestead, endeared to him through the memories and associations of the past, is one of the fine farms of the county, being equipped with excellent improvements and maintained under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Tappan is a stanch advocate of the principles and pol- icies of the Republican party and is one of the public-spirited and influential citizens of his native township. He has served as township treasurer for twenty years, is a member of the board of directors of the county infirmary and has held other local offices of trust. In 1874 Mr. Tappan was united in marriage to Miss Martha D. Dunbar, who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, May 31, 1846, being a daughter of Boyd and Rachel (Fitzsimmons) Dunbar, both native of Pennsylvania, whence they came to Ohio, first locating in Wayne county and coming to Fulton county in 1849, here passing the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Tappan are the parents of five children, namely: Walter R., Florence G., Robert A., Misca J. and Frank G. Florence is the wife of Frank H. Hogue, and Misca is the wife of Ira Rambo.

HERMAN M. TAPPAN is the owner of one of the valuable landed estates of Pike township, is a prominent and influential citizen and is a farmer and dairyman of progressive ideas and marked energy. He was born on the farm which is now his home, on the 15th of July, 1848, and is a son of Moses Q. and Hettie (Miller) Tappan, both of whom were born in Morris county, New Jersey - the former on the 1st of February, 1804, and the latter on the 16th of June, 1806. They were married in their native county, where they continued to reside until 1836, when they came to Ohio, locating in Toledo, where they remained until 1840, when, with their four children, they came to Fulton county and took up their residence on the farm now owned by the subject of this review, the land at the time having been covered with the native forest. The father instituted the work of reclaiming his farm and continued to reside on the same until his death, which occurred on the 27th of June, 1858; his wife passed away on the 16th of September, 1899. They became the parents of seven children, concerning whom the following brief rec-. ord is incorporated: Quinby, who was born on the 25th of September, 1825, died in February, 1902; Jacob H., who was born on the 27th of November, 1827, is a resident of the city of Toledo; William R., who was born in April, 1830, died in May, 1905; Oakley died in childhood; Phineas K., who was born February 16, 1835; is a resident of Colorado; Nancy, who was born May 11, 1842, is the wife of Edward C. Sindel, of Winameg, Ohio; and Herman M., subject of this sketch, is the youngest of the children. Herman M. Tappan assisted in the reclaiming and cultivation of the home farm, and in addition to receiving the advantages of the district schools was enabled to attend school two years in the city of Toledo. He has made farming his life-work, and has been very successful in his operations, bringing to bear much energy and discrimination and thus securing the maximum returns from his efforts. His farm comprises two hundred and forty acres; the same has the best of improvements and is maintained under a high state of cultivation, and Mr. Tappan also finds dairying a profitable feature of his farm enterprise. * In the same locality his son Walter own twenty acres, and he and his two sons conduct their farming operations together, and the results of their efforts are indicated in the fine appearance of the farm and its live stock, buildings, etc. Mr. Tappan gives his support to the cause of the Republican party and is prominent in public affairs in his township. He served thirteen consecutive years as township clerk, was land-appraiser for the township in 1900, and was for nine years deputy State supervisor of elections. He was for several years president of the board of education of Pike township. He also served as secretary of The Fulton County Farmers Insurance Company for one year and refused re-election. His elder son served four years as township clerk and is the present treasurer of Pike township. On the 18th of January, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tappan to Miss Harriet Wood, who was born in Medina county, Ohio, on the 15th of February, 1849, being a daughter of William and Laura Wood, who came to Fulton county in 1854, locating on a farm in Pike township, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the father dying in July, 1900, and his wife passed to the life eternal on the nth of November, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Tappan have two sons - Walter A., born October 27, 1870, and Erwin M., born February 3, 1879.

JESSE S. TAYLOR is numbered among the honored pioneers of Pike township and is now nearing the age of four-score years, being admirably preserved in body and physical powers and exemplifying the results of right living through the long years which represent his life span. He has the unqualified esteem of the community in which he has so long lived and labored to goodly ends, and is living practically retired, having retained a homestead of eighty acres out of his former large landed estate and having one of the fine places of this section of the county. Mr. Taylor comes of stanch old Puritan stock and claims the old Bay State as the place of his nativity, having been born in Franklin county, Massachusetts, on the 18th of January, 1828, and being a son of Orrin and Anna S. (Hall) Taylor, both of whom were likewise natives of New England. In 1836 Orrin Taylor came to what is now Fulton county, where he entered claim to three eighty-acre tracts of government land, the most of which was in Pike township. In 1850 he came with his family to this country and instituted the development of his land, becoming one of the successful and influential farmers of his day. He died on his home farm, in 1875, and bis devoted wife passed away in 1883. He was a Republican in his political proclivities. Jesse S. Taylor was mainly reared to manhood in Ohio, where he received good educational advantages. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Fulton county, having been twenty-one years of age at the time, and for ten years thereafter he was a successful and popular teacher in the common schools of the county, and during the summer seasons he customarily gave his attention to farm work during this decade. Since retiring from the pedagogic profession Mr. Taylor has made farming and stock-raising his vocation, and he accumulated a fine landed estate of four hundred acres, to which he gave his supervision for many years, and the major of the tract still remains in the possession of members of the family, to whom he has deeded the property, retaining in his fine homestead eighty acres, whose operation he still manages, though he has essentially retired from the active labors which marked so many years of his successful and honorable career. No man in the community is held in higher esteem, and he has wielded no slight influene in public affairs of a local nature. The political views of Mr. Taylor are indicated in the stanch allegiance he accords to the Republican party, and both he and his wife are valued members of the United Brethren church. In 1857 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Harriet E. Knowles, who was born and reared in this county and who died in December, 1865, being survived by one daughter, Lillian E., who is now the wife of Solomon L. Valentine, of Wauseon, Ohio. On the 28th of December, 1869, Mr. Taylor married Mrs. Ellen N. Casson, who was born in the state of Georgia. Her first husband met his death while serving as a soldier in the Civil war, and she later came to Fulton county with her two sons. Of this second marriage no children have been bom.

LUCIUS H. TAYLOR, a progressive farmer and popular citizen of Pike township, is a member of a family whose name has been identified with the annals of Fulton county for more than half a century, and the name has stood for all that is worthy in the various relations of life, the subject of this review being a representative of the third generation of the family in Fulton county. Orrin Taylor, who is to be designated as the founder of the family in the Buckeye State, was born in Franklin county, Massachusetts, in 1789. In that State, in 1812, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Anna Hall, who was born in Connecticut, in 1795. They came to Ohio in 1831, locating in Portage county, and in 1836 he came to what is now Fulton county and secured three eighty-acre tracts of government land, in the midst of the virgin forest - two of the places being taken for his sons. In 1850 the family removed to this county, where Orrin Taylor and his noble wife passed the remainder of their lives, his death occurring on the old homestead farm, ip 1875, and his wife passed to the life eternal in 1883. He held various offices of public trust, having been justice of the peace for twenty years, and having served as township treasurer after he was eighty years of age. He was a man of fine character and much ability and was prominent and influential in local affairs, commanding the unstinted repsect and confidence of all who knew him. Orrin and Anna Taylor became the parents of six sons and three daughters. Two of the sons were valiant soldiers of the Union during the Civil war, Luther having enlisted in the Tenth Ohio Cavalry and having met his death while on the field; James was a member of the Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry. Three sons and one daughter are still living, namely: Lucius P., who was bom in 1817; Mary Ann, who was born in 1825 and who is the widow of German Stanley; Jesse S., who is individually mentioned in the preceding review; and James, who was bom in 1830. Lucius P., father of him whose name initiates this review, is one of the venerable citizens and honoredTTioneei^rpf Fulton county, where he has maintained his home since\r843, when he took up his abode on the farm where he now resides, the same having been the land secured in his name by his father. He wjts born in Franklin county, Massachusetts, on the 15th of August, 1817, and was reared and edcuated in the old Bay Sta^e. He reclaimed his farm from the wilderness and has ever retained a strong hold upon the confidence and regard of the people of the community in which he has maintained his home for more than sixty years. In Summit county, Ohio, on the 13th of February, 1840, he was united in marriage to Miss Susanna M. Ozmun, who was bom in Liverpool, Medina county, Ohio, on the 1st of March, 1815, and who remained his devoted and loved companion until her death, in 1892. They became the parents of three sons and six daughters, and one son and five of the daughters are still living, namely: Lucy A., who was bom April 4, 1841; Emma, who was born February 20, 1848, and who is the wife of Milo Barnum: Ida, who was bom February 4, 1850, and who is the wife of Edwin Harriott; Susetta, who was born November 9, 1853; Olive L., who was bom December 29, 1855; and Lucius H., who is the immediate subject of this sketch. The two deceased sons are Orrin and Jesse T. The former was a loyal and efficient soldier in Company F, Sixty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, in the Civil war, and was killed in an engagement with the enemy about ten minutes before the surrender of General Lee. Jesse T. was a member of the same company and regiment, and he never recovered from the effects of his arduous service in the ranks, though he lived for many years after the war, his death having occurred on the 17th of November, 1903. The daughter Charlotte died at the age of six years. Lucius P. Taylor was originally a Whig in his political allegiance, but he has been identified with the-Repubilcan party from the time of its organization. He^was-tawnship trustee at the time of the organization of Fulton county, and has held other local offices. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, of which his wife also was a devoted member. He has lived a life of signal honor and usefulness, and is well preserved in his mental and physical faculties, though he^is eighty-eight years of age at the time of this writing, in 1905. He assisted in the building of the first government pier in the city of Cleveland. Lucius H. Taylor was born on the homestead farm, in Pike township, this county, on the 8th of November, 1858; in his youth he duly availed himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools of the locality, and he has never severed his allegiance to the industry of agriculture, of which he is a successful representative in his native township, where he has charge of the old homestead on which he was born and which is one of the valuable farms of the county. He is a Republican in politics and takes a deep interest in all that concerns the progress and prosperity of his home township and county. In 1893 he was united in marriage to Miss Cora B. Falor, who was born in Fulton county, on the 5th of October, 1873, being a daughter of Joseph and Mary M. Falor.

JOHN G. WELLS, a prominent liveryman of Wauseon and Archbold, was bom in Ripley township, Holmes county, Ohio. He is the son of James and Nancy (Lee) Wells, both natives of Ohio. His grandfather, William Wells, was a native of Maryland, and a pioneer settler of Ripley township, Holmes county. The father of William Wells served in the Revolutionary war. James Wells was bom in Ripley township, Holmes county, in 1819. In 1858 he removed to Fulton county and bought a farm in Clinton township, where he lived until 1886, the year of his death. His wife was the daughter of James Lee, a native of the same township, where he was one of the earliest settlers. The sketch of the Lee family is found in another part of this work. Only one child, the subject of this sketch, was bom to James Wells and wife. John G. Wells was only six years old when he came with his parents to Clinton township, Fulton county. He was reared on the home farm and educated in the public schools of Fulton county. So well was he pleased with farm life that he chose farming as his avocation. In 1886 he removed to Kansas, where for twelve years he resided in Coffee and Osage counties, following his chosen calling. On his return to Wauseon, in 1898, he embarked in the livery business, which he has ever since so successfully conducted. His experience on the farm and his thorough knowledge of horses are of gteat assistance to him in the management of his business. His popularity is largely due to his readiness at all times to accommodate his many patrons, making only the most reasonable charges. He keeps nothing but good horses and the traveling public shows its appreciation of that fact by patronizing him liberally. John G. Wells is actively identified with the Modem Woodmen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He married Miss Sophfronia D. Murphy, of Seneca county, Ohio. Her mother was a native of Canada and she was the daughter of Robert and Arellia (Becox) Murphy, who came to Ohio from Canada, settling first in Seneca and afterwards in Fulton county. John G. Wells and wife have five children. They are: Curtis C., deceased; Clare B., a liveryman of Lima, Ohio ; Ray M., a liveryman of Archbiold ; Robert G., of Wauseon; Howard, of the same city, and John L., deceased.

ADDISON BROOKS THOMPSON, a well-known business man of Delta, is a native of Fulton county and a representative of one of the earliest pioneer families of that county, his birth occurring on the parental farm, October 1, i860. Here and in Delta his life has been spent in various lines of successful business endeavor. His father, Abraham B. Thompson, a native of Lincolnshire, England, w*as born March 5, 1831, and when an infant three months old was bereft of a mother's tender care, and a little over a year old when his father came to the United States, leaving behind three helpless children, who were entirely dependent upon the charities of relatives. In 1848 his father returned to England, and when he again left for America he took Abraham, then a lad of seventeen, with him and established a home in Royalton township, Fulton county, where the son lived until he attained to his majority. His chief consideration when about to start out in life for himself was the acquirement of at least a fair business education. This he accomplished by working out by the month to earn the means to enable him to attend a school at Maumee City, only suspending his studies 'when his means were exhausted. At this time, when he realized so strongly the need of means to prosecute his studies at school, the California "gold fever" was rampant all over the country and young Thompson decided to seek his fortune in the far West. In 1854 he made the journey by way of the Nicaraguan route, but was prevented from landing for some time because of small-pox on snip-board. Upon landing he found himself entirely out of money, but this fact did not long discourage him. Borrowing thirty dollars from a friend he made his way into the mining districts with renewed hope. After enduring all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life and practicing the closest economy for four years he accumulated about two thousand dollars. In the fall of 1858 he returned to Ohio and invested his money in a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Amboy township, which he at once began to improve and cultivate. Abraham Thompson was one of the most prominent and progressive farmers of Amboy township, was honored with all of the township offices and for nine years served as county commissioner. In 1869 he erected suitable buildings on his farm and commenced the manufacture of cheese, in which industry he continued during the balance of his life-time, and which is now operated by his son, the subject of this sketch, who in fact has been interested in the plant since 1880, and £ince 1888 has been the business head of the industry. By the establishment of this industry the farmers of the community have been greatly benefited, the annual distribution of cash among them averaging for many years fifty thousand dollars. While a rival industry at Delta has diminished this amount, the volume of business transacted is still an important item of dairying interests. In 1875 he removed to York township, one half-mile north of Delta, and two years later erected an elegant residence on the place in which he lived until a short time before the death of his wife, when he built a handsome residence in Delta. He built an extensive cheese factory on this farm and operated it in connection with the one in Amboy township until 1883, when the latter was sold. While successful both as a farmer and manufacturer, he was notably so in the cheese industry, accumulating a comfortable fortune. The product of these factories, all of the very best quality, was marketed mostly in Toledo, O., and Adrian, Mich., although a fair proportion was used to supply the home demand. The home farm is owned and occupied by his daughter, Mrs. J. W. Miller, and the village home is the property of the other daughter, Mrs. Grandy. Abraham Thompson was an active and zealous member of the Masonic fraternity and attained to a high rank in the counsels of that time-honored organization. Whatever he found to do- he did with all his might, and from 1863 until the day of his death he was a faithful adherent to the teachings of

Free Masonry. In his intercourse with men he was; ever fair and honorable, and the passing of this venerable pioneer was the occasion of universal mourning. On November 27, 1859, he was married to Miss Susan Ann Powlesland, a native of Devonshire, England, who had accompanied her parents to this country in 1849. To this marriage five children were born. They are: Addison B.; Cara Dora, born May 18, 1862, now Mrs. J. W. Miller; Evaline Fancetta, the wife of Fred Grandy, and Ira J., who is married and lives at Swanton. His first wife having died in Delta, he chose as his second wife Mrs. Mary J. Huntington of Delta, who died in 1901. Addison Brooks Thompson is prominently associated with the business affairs of Delta and the surrounding country. He settled up the business of his father's large estate and distributed the property among the heirs on the most equitable conditions. His own personal interests being* quite extensive, he is one of the busiest men in the county. Realizing the need of another bank in Delta, he succeeded by dint of constant agitation of the question in interesting other capitalists in the project, and in 1900 the Farmers National Bank of Delta was organized and incorporated with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. Since its organization it has paid regularly a semi-annual dividend of two per cent, and has a surplus capital of five thousand dollars beside, the stock being worth one hundred and thirty, and every dollar sold since the organization has realized more than par value. In addition to his banking business, Mr. Thompson is bu$v superintending his large farming and dairy interests. For about five years he was actively engaged in the mercantile business in Delta. Desiring a central location, where he might always be found by those wishing to do business with him, he accepted the agency of the Toledo and Indiana electric railway company at Delta when the road was first built, and he still holds that position. When twenty-one years old he became a member of Fulton Lodge, No. 248, Free and Accepted Masons. In 1890 he received the degrees in Octavius Waters Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and three years later became a member of the Toledo Commandery, Knights Templar. He and family are attendants at the services of the Presbyterian church, of which organization his wife is a member. In politics he is a Republican, as was his distinguished father before him, believing it to be the party of progress and sound government. Being a public-spirited and progressive citizen his efforts in favor of the advancement of public interests have always been felt in the community. On May 9, 1883, he was married to Miss Harriet R-, the daughter of W. fc. and Harriet D. Gilbert, of Delta, her ancestors being of English stock. W. K. Gilbert, a very prosperous business man in his life-time, is now deceased and his widow lives with her daughter, where she finds a hearty welcome, her presence adding cheer to the happy family. They are the parents of four children, three of whom are still living. They are: Arthur B., born in April, 1884, is a graduate of Delta high-school and at present a very successful teacher in the public schools; Winnie A., who was born in May, 1886, and died in November, 1894; Fred G., born in November, 1894, and Floyd E., born in October, 1896.

ELI THOMPSON, who maintains his home in the village of Fayette, is a veteran of the Civil war, and is a well-known and popular citizen, having been for nearly a quarter of a century employed as section-foreman on what is now the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. He was born in Sunbury, Northumberland county, Pa., December 17, 1833, and is a son of William and Mary (Campbell) Thompson, both of whom were likewise born in that same county of the old Keystone State, the original ancestors of the rhompson family in America having come from Scotland and settled in Berks county, Pa., prior to the War of the Revolution. The Campbell family also is of pure Scottish strain, and the original American representatives settled in New Jersey, near the Pennsylvania line, later removing over into the latter State, prior to the Revolution. William Thompson was the youngest in a family of nine children, and all are now deceased. In 1835 he came with his family to Ohio and settled in Knox county, where he worked at his trade, that of carpenter and joiner, for the following eleven years. In 1846 he returned to Northumberland county, Pa., where he remained until 1850, when he came again to Ohio, and located in Morrow county, whence, in 1853, he came to Fulton county, settling on a farm two and one-half miles south of Fayette, in Gorham township, and there remaining until his death, which occurred October 20, 1887, at which time he was nearly seventy-five years of age. His wife passed away in 1872, at the age of sixty-three years. Of their eight children Eli is the eldest; Alba died in 1855, aged twenty years; Elizabeth remains on the old homestead farm, never having married; Sarah is the wife of Charles Gorsuch, of Waldron, Hillsdale county, Mich.; Mary died in infancy; Phynanda became the wife of Frank Spencer, and she died in Fayette, Ohio, in 1901, her husband having previously died on a farm near Cleveland, O. William operates the old homestead farm ; and Bartlett is a resident of Bryan, Williams county. William Thompson was a leader in the local ranks of the Democratic party for many years, and both he and his wife were worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Eli Thompson secured his early educational training in the common schools of Pennsylvania and Ohio and also attends! a select school for a time. As a young man he commenced work at the trade of carpenter and joiner, in Morrow county, Ohio, learning the trade under the direction of his father, with whom he was associated in this field of labor until the removal to Fulton county. Here Eli continued to work at his trade independently, and he also taught in the district schools of the county for three winter terms. In 1861 he was employed as clerk in a general store in Fayette, after which he returned to Pennsylvania for a visit. On the 1st of November, 1862, he there enlisted as a private in Company H, One Hundred and Seventy-third Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry, in which he was forthwith made quartermaster-sergeant, in which office he continued until the close of his term of enlistment. He was with his regiment at Norfolk, Va., and after the battle of Gettysburg the command was attached to the Second Division of the Eleventh Corps of the

Army of the Potomac. He received his honorable discharge, August io, 1863, and he then located in Pottsville, Pa., where he was employed three years as outside foreman of a colliery. In 1872 he came to Fayette, Fulton county, and in that year purchased his present attractive little homestead of fifteen acres, lying within the corporate limits of the town on the south side. The first three years he worked at his trade and he then entered the employ of the Canada and Chicago railroad, continuing with the line after the road became a part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, with which he has been section-foreman for thirty years, having served under five different track-masters and being one of the trusted employes of the system. He is an uncompromising Republican, takes a lively interest in public affairs, and he served four years as a member of the village council of Fayette. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for more than twenty years. October 25, 1863, Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Mary A. Aregood, of Pottsville, Pa., in which State she was born and reared, and they have eight children, namely: William I., a resident of Elkhart, Ind. ; Eli B., at the parental home; Joseph F., of Detroit, Mich.; Olive M., at the parental home; Osman A., likewise a member of the home circle; John H., of Delta, this county; Alva A., of Morenci, Mich.; and Sadie S., of Detroit, Mich.

IRA J. THOMPSON, a prominent manufacturer of Swanton, is a native of Royalton township, Fulton county, born May 10, 1868. He is a son of Abraham B. and Susan (Powlesland) Thompson, and a brother of Addison Brooks Thompson, of Delta, a full sketch of whose life and family history appears elsewhere in this work. Ira 'J. Thompson when seven years old accompanied his parents to the farm near Delta, where his early manhood years were spent. He received his education by attending the Delta public schools and Fayette Normal University. After attaining his majority he farmed the old homestead for six years and then purchased a farm of his own, located one half-mile north of it. Here he resided until 1900, when he leased the farm and removed to Swanton. For the next four years he was engaged in the transfer business. In the spring of 1905 he embarked in the business of manufacturing cement blocks for building purposes, a business that he has since conducted with marked success. Mr. Thompson is the inventor of a machine for mixing the sand and cement, by means of which the mixing process is more quickly as well as more thoroughly done than by hand. This machine is operated by the same gas-engine that pumps the water to wet the blocks and to make the mortar. The stock on hand and ready for use consists of about twenty-five hundred blocks, the daily capacity of the plant being three hundred blocks. In addition to his plant he also operates a steam wood-sawing outfit, and contemplates erecting a mill for grinding feed. Mr. Thompson is a Republican in politics and a member of Swanton Lodge, No. 555, Free and Accepted Masons. On December 25, 1890, he was wedded to Miss Ada E. Haynes, of Ai, the daughter of Jacob and Nancy

Haynes, early settlers of that locality. Mrs. Thompson was bom in Fulton township December 14, 1864, where she was reared and educated. To these parents there have been bom two interesting children. They are: Florence and Fern, both in school. By dint of close application to business and untiring energy Mr. Thompson has won success in life, notwithstanding the fact that he is still a comparatively young man.

ALEXANDER THOMSON, who is now living essentially retired in the village of Fayette, has been one of the prominent and successful farmers of Fulton county, and is known as a citizen of sterling character, possessing those dominating traits which ever distinguish the true Scotsman, though he has been a resident of the United States from his boyhood and is loyally appreciative of the institutions and privileges of our great republic. He was born in Cabrach Braes, Forbes parish, Tullynessel, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the 1st of October, 1842, being a son of Alexander and Ann (Dow) Thomson, who were born and reared in that same parish, vvhere the respective families had been established for many generations. In 1854, when Alexander, Jr., subject of this sketch, was twelve years of age, the parents immigrated to America, making Ashland county, Ohio, their destination. They arrived in New London, Huron county, on the 23d of October of that year, and there the father died the next day, as the result of an attack of cholera, which he contracted in Quebec, Canada, while en route, and he was sixty-three years of age at the time of his death. His devoted wife survived him by many years, passing to the "land o' the leal'* in 1871, aged sixtyeight years. They became the parents of three sons, of whom Alexander alone survives. James, who was a soldier in Company A, Sixty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, in the Civil war, died at Pittsburg Landing, while in service, and is buried at Cairo, 111.; William died in 1862, and his remains were laid to rest in Savannah, Ashland county, Ohio, beside those of his loved mother. Alexander Thomson, to whom this review is dedicated, passed his youth in Ashland and Richland counties, and such were the exigencies of time and conditions that his educational advantages were somewhat limited, though he had received excellent preliminary training in his native land. He has made good the handicap of his youth, however, and through well-directed reading and studious application, as well as through association with men and affairs, he has become a man of broad information, possessing an alert mentality and having all the canny originality of the stanch race from which he is sprung. He traveled for years in various Western States and territories, and in 1872 he located near Boydton, Mecklenburg county, Va., where he secured seven hundred and seventeen acres of land and engaged in farming. He thus continued until 1877, when he traded his Southern plantation for one hundred and sixty acres in Chesterfield township, Fulton county, Ohio, paying an additional consideration of two thousand dollars. He took up his residence on his new farm, which he greatly improved, making it one of the model places of the county and being successful in his agricultural and stock-growing operations. He continued his residence on the homestead, which he still owns, until 1902, when he located in Fayette, where he has since lived retired. March 26, 1872, Mr. Thomson was united in marriage to Miss Mary McCombie Johnston, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Tytler) Johnston, who were born in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, and who came to America on the same ship as did the Thomson family. They also located in Richland county, Ohio, near Savannah, and there Mr. Johnston died May 9, 1881, aged seventy years, and his wife died May 22, 1901, at the venerable age of ninety years. Of their four children all are living. Following is a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Thomson: They are the parents of three children: Anna is the wife of David Carey, of Decatur, Mich.; Margaret died at the age of two years; Lulu is the wife of Arthur Miller, of Fayette. Mr. Thomson is independent in his political views, supporting the measures and candidates meeting the approval of his judgment and taking an intelligent interest in the issues of the hour. Though never ambitious for office he has rendered effective service as trustee and assessor in Chesterfield township.

LYMAN A. TOMPKINS, M. D., after laboring long and faithfully in his chosen profession, in which he gained precedence as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Fulton county, is now living practically retired in the village of Metamora. The Doctor was born in Reed township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 5th of February, 1841, a son of John and Julia (Jordan) Tompkins, both natives of Steuben county N. Y., where their marriage was solemnized and whence they removed to Seneca county, Ohio, about 1835, the father becoming one of the pioneer fanners, of Reed township, where he reclaimed 120 acres of wild land, becoming one of the substantial and influential citizens of the county, where both he and his wife died. His father, William Tompkins, also a native of Steuben county, N. Y., removed to Seneca county, Ohio, about the same time, likewise reclaiming a farm, upon which he passed the residue of his life. Thus four generations of the family have been represented in the Buckeye State. Michael Jordan, maternal grandfather of the Doctor, was a farmer by vocation and passed his life in Steuben county, N. Y. The children of John and Julia (Jordan) Tompkins were as follows: Michael, Sally, Emeline, Betsey, Delos, Lois, William, Myron, Lyman A., Alfred, Margaret, and Ardella. Dr. Tompkins was reared to manhood in Seneca county, where he was accorded excellent educational advantages, having entered the Seneca County Academy, at Republic, after leaving the common schools, and having later continued his higher literary studies in Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, that county. While a student in this institution he also took up the study of medicine, under the direction of General Franklin, M.D., of Tiffin, an able representative of the Eclectic school of practice, and after leaving Heidelberg College Dr. Tompkins took a course of lectures in Miami Medical College, in Cincinnati, this being in the year 1866. In 1867 and 1869 he was a stu- dent in the Physio-Medical College, in the same city, this institution representing a new and beneficent system of practice. In the last mentioned year he was exposed to small-pox and compelled to leave the city, but the college gave him an unlimited certificate to practice medicine, this being in every respect equal to a diploma. In 1871 he began the practice of his profession in Ai, Fulton county, where he was located for sixteen years, building up an extensive practice, ramifying through Fulton, Lucas, Wood, Seneca, Williams and Henry counties, Ohio, and extending into Lenawee county, Mich. At one time he was compelled to keep ten horses in order to meet the exigencies of his widely-extended practice, his stable thus having as large a complement of horses as did the average livery of Fulton county at that period. He gained the distinction of having the largest practice of all country physicians in the State, and his efforts were signally self-abnegating and faithful, no matter what personal discomfort and hardship he was called upon to endure when ministering to those in affliction and distress. In 1887 Dr Tompkins located in Metamora, where he continued in active practice until 1892, when he felt justified in retiring, his labors having been protracted and arduous, and he has since given his attention principally to the supervision of his farming interests, owning one hundred and forty-seven acres of land, in Amboy township, Fulton county, and Richfield township, Lucas county. During the years of his active professional work the Doctor was a valued factor in the county, State and national conventions of the school of medicine of which he was so prominent and able an exponent, and he has done a large amount of work as examining physician for pensions and insurance. In politics he is an uncompromising Republican, but he has never manifested aught of ambition for public office. In 1869 he married Miss Rhoda A. Abbott, native of Vermont, who died in 1873, leaving one son, Abbott D. In 1874, the Doctor wedded Miss Lucy T. Merrill, whose death occurred in 1893. Arthur Lyman, the only child of this union, was graduated in the Fayette Normal University when but fifteen years of age, prior to which time he had accumulated $560 through his personal efforts. The faculty of Fayette University pronounced him the brightest student who had ever attended the institution, and his name is still mentioned there with the same mark of approbation. After leaving school he was cashier of a bank in Fayette for two years, when death cut short his promising life, his age at the time being seventeen years. In 1884 Dr. Tompkins married his present wife, whose maiden name was Mrs. Elizabeth B. Baker, daughter of Azariah and Harriett (Kennedy) Baker, and who was at the time a resident of Seneca county, Ohio. Mrs. Baker is a member of the Methodist church at Metamora, Ohio.

EDWARD VAUGHAN is one of the prosperous farmers and stock-growers of Fulton township and a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Fulton county, where nearly his entire life has been passed. The family history is entered in adequate detail in the sketch dedicated to his brother, James C. Vaughan, appearing immediately following this review, and as ready reference may be made to the same a reincorporation of the data is not required at this juncture. Edward Vaughan was born at Ai, Fulton township, on the 4th of January, 1838, and is the son of Alexander and Rebecca (Jones) Vaughan, whose names are recalled with unqualified honor by all who kne\v them, for they were numbered among the sterling pioneers of this part of the county. Edward Vaughan was reared and educated in Fulton county, his scholastic advantages having been those of the pioneer schools, and he has been to a large extent actively identified with agricultural pursuits from his youth to the present, and has resided constantly in his native county except for a period of about six years, during which he resided in Tuscarawas county, being a boy at the time. November 5, 1861, Mr. Vaughan was united in marriage to Miss Jane Nobbs, a sister of John H. Nobbs, in whose personal sketch, on other pages of this volume, is given a family record. After his marriage Mr. Vaughan lived one year on a rented farm, after which he engaged in the general merchandise business in the village of Ai, continuing this enterprise for eight years and meeting with fair success. He then disposed of the store and business and purchased a farm, which now consists of one hundred acres, in the central part of Fulton township, giving his attention to the operation of the same for about thirty years, and he still owns the homestead, which is one of the finely-improved farms of the county. Since the death of his wife, which occurred in 1872, Mr. Vaughan has made his home during the greater portion of the intervening years with his son Ellis, a portion of the time residing on the homestead and for the past few years on his son's own farm, one mile west. The following is a brief record concerning the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan: Harvey, who married Miss Jennie Canfield, is a farmer in Fulton township: Clara is the wife of Howard E. Wilson, son of Matthew Wilson, of this township; Ellis H., who married Basha Anna Shufelt, and has a nice family of six children, is the owner of a good farm in Fulton township and is one of the progressive agriculturists and stock-growers of the county, and as before stated, his father now resides in his home: Edna is the widow of Ralph Herrick and now resides in Delta, this county, where she is educating her son and daughter: she owns a nice home in that village and also a good farm in Fulton township. In politics Mr. Vaughan has always been an active and uncompromising Republican, and he has been called upon to serve in various offices of public trust, including those of treasurer, trustee and assessor of Fulton township. He was made a Mason in early manhood, but has not been in active affiliation for many years past. He has never been identified with any religious body, though having a deep reverence for spiritual and ethical verities and ever striving to order his life according to the Golden Rule.

JAMES C. VAUGHAN, a retired farmer now residing at Swanton, was born in what is now Fulton township on August 30, 1835. He enjoys the distinction of being the first white child born in the

"disputed strip/' then under the jurisdiction of the State of Michigan. The dispute over this strip of land, about ten miles wide, was peaceably settled and the territory became a part of Ohio in 1836. In history the threatened trouble is known as the "Ohio and Michigan War." The parents of James C. Vaughan were Alexander and Rebecca (Jones) Vaughan, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. James Vaughan, the father of Alexander Vaughan, was a native of Ireland and emigrated to Pennsylvania in an early day. Alexander Vaughan was born in Westmoreland county, of his native State, in 1800, and came to Ohio in 1818, first locating in Tuscarawas county, where he was married in 1827. In April, 1835, with his wife and two children, he removed to Fulton county and there entered government land, which he at once proceeded to clear and cultivate. At that time the territory now comprising Fulton county was a veritable wilderness, the only trading town being Maumee. He died at the age of forty-seven, and was survived by his widow, born in Stark county in 1812, who died at the age of sixty years. They were the parents of ten children, four of whom are now living. Those living are: Mary, now Mrs. Springer of Wauseon: James

C.; Edward, a farmer of Fulton township, and Isabel, the wife of E. Bailey, a resident of Bronson, Mich. Two of the sons, James C. and Caleb J., deceased, were soldiers in the Union army. James C. Vaughan grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the common schools of the county and at Maumee, where he was a student for two years. He opened up a farm four miles north of Swanton. In 1864 he enlisted for a term of one hundred days in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio volunteer infantry and served in West Virginia one hundred and forty days before he was mustered out. Upon his election as a member of the board of county commissioners, in 1884, he sold his farm and retired from active farming. A part of the homestead is now the property of his eldest son. In politics he has always taken an active part, being recognized as a local leader of the Republican party. In addition to serving six years as commissioner, he has filled various offices in Swanton and Fulton township. He has been a Mason for forty years and has passed the principal chairs of Swanton Lodge, No. 555. While he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for a number of years, he is not at present affiliated with that order. For twenty-two years he has been actively identified with the Regular Baptist church. In March, i860, he was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Harriet A. Taylor, who died in 1878, leaving six children, five of whom are yet living. They are: Jason W.. a live stock dealer of Buffalo, N. Y.; Burton, who was killed by the cars in March, 1904; Cora, the wife of W. A.' Scott, of Thomasville, Ala.; Carey, a meat-dealer of Swanton; Brent, and Harry. In 1880 he married his present wife, who was Miss Julia Turney, a native of Ohio. To this union there have'been born the following children: Bessie, the wife of John Lenehan, assistant cashier in the Bank of Swanton; Florence and Neva, both still at home.

JAMES H. WADDELL, M. D., is one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Fulton county, is established in the practice of his profession in Wauseon, and his ability and personal popularity are best attested by the success and prestige which he enjoys in one of the most exacting and responsible vocations to which a person may turn his attention. He has been the artificer of his own fortunes, gaining his education through individual effort and thus being the more deeply appreciative of the advantages which he gained. His early1 education was secured in the public schools, and was supplemented by careful, systematic study and general reading during the years of his minority, and finally he bent all his energies and efforts to the work of preparing himself for the medical profession. In 1869 he was graduated in the Charity Hospital Medical College, Cleveland, Ohio, after a thorough course, marked by the closest application, and from this institution he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He engaged in practice at Lickton, Wabash county, Ind., immediately after his graduation, remaining there established in successful professional work until 1875, and in 1877 he decided to investigate more thoroughly the Homoeopathic system of medicine, with whose beneficent results he had become deeply impressed. He thus took a course in the Huron Hospital Homoeopathic [Medical School, at Cleveland, Ohio, and since that time has been an able and successful exponent of this school of practice. In 1875 Dr. Waddell was united in marriage to Miss Florence A. Van Dorn, who was born in Belleville, Richland county, Ohio, and early in her married life she became deeply interested in her husband's professional work, and rendered most efficient aid in the capacity of nurse and general assistant. Finally she entered the Woman's Medical College, in St. Louis, Mo., in which well-ordered institution she was graduated on the 28th of March, 1880, since which time she has been actively associated with her husband in practice, being one of the leading woman practitioners of her native State. They took up their residence in Wauseon in 1878, and here their professional clientage is widely extended and of representative order. In 1885-6 Drs. James H. and Florence A. Waddell were matriculated in Hahnemann Medical College, in the city of Chicago, from which celebrated institution each received the ad eundum degree. James H. Waddell was born in Jelloway, Knox county, Ohio, Oct. 14, 1842, and is a son of Robert F. and Elizabeth (Critchfield) Waddell, the former of whom died at the age of forty-six years, at which time Dr. Waddell was a child of four years. The family early settled in Marietta, Ohio, coming from Pennsylvania and being numbered among the first pioneers of Washington county, Ohio. Dr. Charles F. Waddell, an uncle of the subject of this sketch, had the distinction of being the first white child born in the State of Ohio. He became one of the most eminent clergymen of the Methodist Episcopal church, being widely known throughout this and adjoining States, and also being an able physician, so that his labors among the pioneers were doubly valuable, since he ministered alike to their spiritual and physical necessities. The Critchfield family has been for several generations prom- inent in the annals of the Buckeye State, representatives having been specially notable in the learned professions and in military affairs. 'Die greater number of the present generation are residents of Knox county. The Van Dorn family, of which Dr. Florence A. Waddell is a representative, was early founded in Pennsylvania, whence the Ohio progenitors came to Richland county and became early settlers of Belleville. Her parents were Nathan and Mary Van Dorn. Dr. James H. Waddell is a stalwart and uncompromising Republican, and his father was a strong abolitionist during the climacteric era culminating in the Civil war, and the family home was a prominent station on the historic "underground railway." October 14, 1861, Dr. Waddell enlisted in Company E, Twentieth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served three years, taking part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing,. Iuka, Holly Springs, and Raymond, Miss., in which last named he was wounded, May 12, 1863, and on the 24th of the same month he was taken prisoner, remaining captive under the Confederate authorities until July 8, 1864, when he was paroled and sent to the North, remaining in parole camp, at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, until his exchange was effected, in November, 1864. By reason of his wounds he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, in which he served until the expiration of his term of enlistment, at Indianapolis, Ind., receiving his discharge October 17, 1864. Dr. Waddell has been a member of the board of pension examiners of Fulton county since March, 1897, and has continuously served as secretary of the board. He is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity. Drs. James H. and Florence A. Waddell have no children. They are not only prominent in the professional circles of the county and State but also in the social life of the community, and their friends are in number equal to their acquaintances.

SYLVANUS WALTER, a retired farmer of Axchbold, was born in Marion, Marion county, Ohio, March 23, 1843. He is the son of John and Tama (Stevens) Walter, the former a native of Catawissa, Pa., and the latter of Schenectady, N. Y. John Walter, the grandfather of Sylvanus Walter, spent his life in Marion. John Walter, in 1848, removed with his family to Huron county, O., and, locating on a farm eight miles south of Norwalk, followed general farming. In 1858 he removed to Clinton township, Fulton county, where he died in 1885, aged eighty-three years. His widow, now' eighty-five years old, resides in Michigan. To John Walter and wife seven children were born, as follows: Abigail (deceased), the wife of Benjamin F. Milly, who died in Indiana in 1884; Sylvanus, the subject of this sketch; Alexander, of Midland county, Mich.; George, who died in 1899; Mary, the wife of L. A. Baker, of Alma, Mich.; Elva, who died in 1866, and Adaline, who died in infancy in Huron county. Sylvanus Walter received his education in the public schools of his youth and remained with his father until eighteen years old, when he enlisted at Wauseon, in Company H of the One Hundredth Ohio volunteer infantry. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the

Tennessee, under the command of General Burnside, taking an active part in the battle and siege of Knoxville. After having been surrounded for twenty-one days by General Longstreet, his regiment was engaged in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, where on June 17, 1864, he received a gunshot wound in the side and was sent to the hospitals of Chattanooga and Nashville. Returning to his command on November 30, he was present at the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Then the regiment joined the army of General Sherman at Wilmington, N. C., and took part in the battle of Greensboro, where Johnston surrendered. On June 22, 1865, Mr. Walter was mustered out of the service at Greensboro and arrived at his home on July 4th. He followed farming in Clinton township until 1874, when he bought a farm of one hundred and ten acres one-half mile south of Archbold and remained there until April 29, 1904, when he retired from active work. In politics he has always been an active Democrat, having held the offices of justice of the peace and assessor of German township, each for two terms, that of census enumerator in 1880 and at present that of assessor of Archbold. He is a member of the Wauseon Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On February 12, 1875, he was unitel in marriage to Miss Emma Yager, a native of Fulton county and the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Mountz) Yager, both natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio and settled first in Columbiana county and, in i860, in Napoleon, where the former died, October 1, 1871, aged seventy-one years, and the latter, May 5, 1891, aged fifty-nine years. To Sylvanus Walter and his wife there have been born four children. They are: Alice, the wife of Nevin Hoffman, of Stryker, O.; Henry, a resident of Norwalk, O.; Owen, of Kokomo, Ind.; and Russell, who is still at home attending the public schools.

ORLANDO O. WALTERS, one of the leading farmers and stockgrowers of Fulton township and one of the influential and honored citizens of the county, is specially deserving of consideration in a publication of the province assigned to the one at hand. He was born in Pike township, this county, on the 17th of June, 1849, and is the sixth child and son of Joseph and Susan (Dull) Walters. Joseph Walters was born in Harrison county, Ohio, where his parents located on their removal from Pennsylvania, and he was there reared and educated. About 1837 he came to Fulton county, first locating in Pike township, where he secured land and* engaged in farming. He finally sold this property and removed to York township, where he remained until 1864, when he removed to Dover township. Here both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. She died when about sixty-five years of age and he was eighty-two years old when he was called to his eternal rest. They were folk of sterling attributes and never lacked the esteem and confidence of those with whom they came in contact, and their names merit a place of honor on the roll of the worthy pioneers of Fulton county. They became the parents of nine children, only four of whom are living. Melinda, the eldest, is the wife of Milo Eldridge, of Spring Hill, this county; Orlando is the immediate subject of this sketch; Henry D. is a farmer of Chesterfield township; George W. is a dealer in hardware and agricultural implements at Spring Hill; Samuel and Jacob died while serving their country as Union soldiers in the Civil war, the latter dying as a result of wounds received in the battle of Nashville. Orlando Walters secured his educational discipline in the common schools of York township, and he initiated his independent career as a farmer in Dover township, whither his parents had removed. He remained at home until he was twenty-four years of age, when, in 1873, was united in marriage to 'Miss Ellen Huffmire, who was born in Dover township,* being a daughter of Abraham and Sarah E. Huffmire, who were numbered among the honored pioneers of this section of Ohio. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Walters the eldest, a son, died in infancy. Lulu Viola is the wife of Albert Griesinger, son of George Griesinger, of whom personal mention is made on another page. William Harley, who is a progressive young farmer of Fulton township, married Miss Herma Merrill, daughter of Frank C. Merrill, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Etta Melinda remains at the parental home, being one of the popular young ladies of the township and having considerable musical talent. After bis marriage Mr. Walters located on a small farm near Spring Hill, where he remained seven years, after which he passed two years on the old homestead farm of his parents. In 1882 he purchased one hundred and six acres in Section 7, Fulton township, and this tract comprises his present finely improved homestead, which is one of the best farms in the township, and which represents the tangible results of his own well directed efforts, since he has been the artificer of his own fortunes. He cleared thirty-five acres of timber land and afterward provided a thorough system of ditch and tile drainage on his entire farm, whose fertility is now of the highest order. In 1895 Mr. Walters erected his handsome brick residence, at a cost of three thousand dollars, and in 1903, the farm was still farther enhanced in value through the building of a large double bam, thirtysix by sixty-two feet in dimensions in the main, with a wing thirtysix by forty-eight feet, and the roof is self-supporting. Tlie bam . represents an expenditure of about twenty-five hundred dollars and is one of the best in this section. Mr. Walters raises horses, cattle and hogs, devoting special attention to the last mentioned stock, and in addition to the diversified crops customarily raised in this locality ' he raises large crops of potatoes each year, having machinery for both planting and digging. He is a man of broad views and progressive ideas, and has made his farming industry transcend the functions of old grooves, so that he realized from each department the maximum returns, and he is ever ready to adopt new devices or methods for facilitating the work. He and his wife are valued members of Berry Grange, No. mi, and in politics he is a stalwart Republican, has served two terms as township trustee, and has held other local offices. In 1902 he was elected infirmary director of Fulton county, having also charge of the poor in Swan Creek, Amboy and Royalton townships, and he was re-elected to this office in 1905, his services in the connection having been earnest and effective. He is an influential factor in the ranks of his party contingent in the county, is one of the stanch advocates of Republican principles and policies, and he has the esteem and good-will of all who know him.

CHESTER R. P. WALTZ, postmaster and general manager of the Atlas Printing Company, of Delta, was born in Knox county, Ohio, March 6, 1867. He is the son of E. L. and Lucinda (Pinklev) Waltz, both natives of Ohio. E. L. Waltz is a native of Tuscarawas county, and spent his early life in the mercantile business in Jelloway, Knox county, and Weston, O. At the former place he served as secretary of the Farmers' Home Insurance Company for about ten years, and as postmaster under the administration of President Lincoln. In 1876 he removed to Delta, where he started the first newspaper in the town, called the Delta Avalanche, the first issue making its appearance February 22, 1876. Since that date he has spent five years in Jelloway, attending to the insurance business, with which he was there connected. Returning to Delta in June, 1885, he purchased the Avalanche, which he had previously sold, and established the Delta Atlas, one of the oldest and decidedly the strongest paper published in Fulton county. The policy of the paper has always been conservative. It has the unique record of never having solicited a subscription or of having offered a premium, preferring that the financial standing of the paper should depend wholly on its merits. E. L. Waltz is the editor, and his son, Chester, is the general manager. Chester R. P. Waltz grew to manhood in Delta, receiving a liberal education in its public schools. For four years he was connected with a dry-goods establishment in Jelloway. When the Delta Atlas was founded he took an interest in that company, and now holds the responsible position of general manager, for which he is eminently fitted, being a skilled mechanic and a thorough job-printer. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster by President McKinley and reappointed by President Roosevelt, and is still serving in that capacity. Mr. Waltz is at present the principal officer of Fulton Lodge, No. 248, Free and Accepted Masons, and holds membership in Octavius Waters Chapter, No. 154, Royal Arch Masons, in the Toledo Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templar, and in Delta Lodge, No. 199, Knights of Pythias. In religious affairs he and his wife are actively identified with the Presbyterian church, of which organization he is a trustee and Sunday School superintendent. In politics he takes a deep interest, being a stanch Republican. In 1891 he was wedded to Miss Grace Richardson, a daughter of Robert Richardson, of Wauseon. They are the parents of two interesting children, Kathryn Florence and Richard Rinard, aged respectively eleven and three years.

GEORGE W. WATKINS is another of those worthy citizens who were born and reared in Fulton county and have here upborne the high reputation of a name honored in the county from the early pio- neer days, and his also has been the wisdom to hold tenaciously and effectively to the great basic industry of agriculture, through connection with which he has met with a measure of success which stands to his credit and which can not be other than a source of gratification to him. He is one of the representative farmers of Fulton township and not far-distant from his present fine homestead, in the same township, was the parental home in which he made his debut in the drama of life, on the 25th of November, 1846. He is a son of Wesley and Catherine (Fesler) Watkins, the former of whom was born in Wayne county, Ohio, February 23, 1816, and the latter was born in Pennsylvania, January 3, 1825. Their marriage was, solemnized in Fulton county, in January, 1846, and they became the parents of six children, of whom George W. was the first born. Julius Alonzo, bom February 13, 1848, died September 20, 1878; Thomas, bom August 8, 1851, is a successful farmer of Pike township; Lewis O, born May 21, 1856, is identified with railroading operations in the South; William W., bom January 24, 1861, is a resident of Nebraska and is a railroad man; Libbie Jane, bom September 19, 1863, is the wife of Thomas H. Fraker, a farmer near Delta, Fulton county. The honored father died on the farm now owned by his eldest son, on the 24th of September, 1869, and his wife died September 16, 1889. They were well-known pioneers of the county, where they lived lives of signal honor and usefulness and where they held the unqualified esteem of all who knew them. George W. Watkins was educated in the district schools of his native township, where he has maintained his home from the time of his birth, and he has been continuously associated with the work of the old homestead farm, of which he became the owner in 1880. having purchased the interests of the other heirs. In politics Mr. Watkins was originally a Democrat, but in 1884 he transferred his allegiance to the Prohibition party, whose cause he supported for a number of years by ballot and influence, and in the election of 1904 he exercised his franchise in support of the Republican candidates, National and- State. As touching the genealogy of Mr. Watkins it may be said that his grandfather, Christopher Watkins, was one of four brothers, and his brother Robert came to Fulton county in the early '30s, securing, in association with his son, Christopher, one thousand acres of land in Fulton and Pike townships. March 20, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of George W. Watkins and Miss Mary IL Biddle, who was bom in Wayne county, Ohio, May 23, 1854, being the youngest of the children of George and Nancy (Lawrence) Biddle, the former of whom was bom in Wayne county, and the latter in Pennsylvania, the respective dates of nativity having been March 11, 1808, and January 25, 1813. Mr. and Mrs. Biddle were married in Wayne county whence they came to Fulton county in i860, locating on a farm near Delta, and they passed the closing years of their lives in York township, the father passing away in August, 1878, and the mother was summoned to the life eternal, August 21, 1902. Concerning the children the following brief data are entered: Henry, bora January 4, 1833, died December 5, 1888; Nancy, bom September 9, 1835, is the wife of

Adam Geitgey, a farmer of Wayne county; Rachel, born December 18, 1837, is the wife of Simon Snyder, of Delta: Benjamin, born April 28, 1840, is a resident of Toledo; Jacob, born February 5, 1843, died in Delta, February 7, 1885; John L., born March 21, 1846. resides in Delta; Samuel, bom November 11, 1848, died in infancy; George W., born November 23, 1851, is a resident of Clinton township; and Mary E., the youngest, is the wife of Mr. Watkins. Floyd B., the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Watkins, was born September 30, 1881, and is associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm. October 4, 1904, he married Miss Pearl McQuillin, who was bom and reared in this county, and the daughter of John B. and Clara (Simson) McQuillin.

MICHAEL F. WEBER, a prosperous farmer and highly-respected citizen of Swan Creek township, is a native of Switzerland, born in Merishausen, Canton of Schaffhansen, March 24, 1833. 1846 he emigrated to the United States with his parents, George and Elizabeth (Meyer) Weber, and two sisters, landing at New York City. The voyage, begun at Havre, France, was made in a sailing vessel and consumed fifty days, the passengers suffering greatly because of the scarcity of food occasioned by the protracted trip. After a stay of twelve days in the metropolis the family proceeded by boat to Buffalo by way of Albany, from Buffalo by way of Lake Erie to Toledo, O., and from there by canal to Maumee, TTie parental home was finally established in German township, Fulton (then Lucas) county. Here Mr. Weber's parents ended their days, the father dying at the age of sixty-eight and the mother at eighty-two. To these parents there were born four children, one son and three daughters, as follows: Anna, who died in Switzerland; Mary, who married Jacob Zeieler, of Maumee, and died at the age of twenty-eight years; Elizabeth, who died at the age of fifteen years; and the subject of this sketch. Michael F. Weber spent his young manhood days helping to clear and improve the parental farm, working each day from four o'clock in the morning until dark. The land was mostly covered with heavy timber, of little or no value at that time. He received his education in Switzerland. His attendance at school in this country was limited to three weeks at one time when a felon on one of his hands disabled him from cutting timber. Mr. Weber has always given all of his time and attention to agricultural pursuits and has met with unusual success. In 1890 he purchased a farm in Spencer township, Lucas county, and there resided until May 17, 1904, when his residence and contents were destroyed by fire. With the exception of these four years he has spent all of his life since coming to America in Fulton county. After the loss of his home he bought a handsome residence and a small farm near Swanton, where he now resides. Prior to the Civil war he was a Democrat, but since that time he has given his support to the Republican party. Although he did not enlist in the army, he contributed liberally by his means to the suppression of the Rebellion. In religious belief Mr. Weber, together with his family, is affiliated with the Ger- man Baptist church. Generous and liberal-hearted, he has always shown a readiness to come promptly to the rescue of those in distress. At the age of twenty-one years he was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Zeigler, a sister of his brother-in-law. To this union six children were born, all living. They are: Mary, George, John, Lydia, Arnold and Sarah. His first wife dying in 1883, he later married Miss Maggie Shudel, a native of Switzerland, who came to Amerca with her parents in childhood. She is the daughter of Ulrich and Anna (Weber) Shudel, the parents erf eight children, seven of whom are yet living. Their names follow: Barbara; George, who died in 1871, aged twenty years; Anna, William, Mary, Maggie, Jacob and John. Of the eight children born to the second marriage of Mr. Weber six are now living. The names of the children are: Anna, Dina, Rhoda, Emil, Freda, Paul, Gideon and Benjamin, the last two deceased.

VIRGIL W. WEEKS is hot only one of the leading farmers of Pjke township, but he is one of the brave "boys in blue" who represented Fulton county in the Union ranks during the greatest civil war known in the annals of history. Mr. Weeks was born in Seneca county, Ohio, on the 2d of December, 1841, and is a son of David and Rebecca (McCarty) Weeks, the former of whom was born in New Jersey and the iatter in Ohio. The father was a cooper by trade, and followed the same as a vocation for many years, having also become the owner of a good farm in Fulton county, whither he came from Seneca county in 1848. He passed the closing years of his life in Wauseon, as did also his wife, and both are interred in the cemetery at that place, a large portion of the tract having been cleared by him in the early days, and he selected the lot in which rest the mortal remains of both himself and his loved wife. David Weeks was a strong abolitionist in the crucial days leading up to the Civil war, and he was a conductor on the famous "underground railway/' through whose beneficent operation many poor slaves were assisted to freedom. The subject of this sketch aided his father in this work, having transported a number of fugitive slaves from the station in Pike township to the one in the River Raisin or Quaker settlement. Two of his brothers also served in the Union ranks, as members of Ohio regiments, Rhinaldo L., who is now a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana; and Bruno L., who died in Andersonville prison. Virgil W. Weeks was reared to manhood in Fulton county, and duly availed himself of the advantages of the graded schools of Wauseon, where .were numbered among his classmates many who later attained prominence in this and other States of the Union. Mr. Weeks responded to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers to aid im suppressing the Rebellion. On the 17th of April, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company H, Fourteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he proceeded to West Virginia, where his first experience in active warfare was in the engagement at Philippi, on the 3d of June, 1861. He later took part in the conflicts at Laurel Hill and Cheat River, remaining at the front until the expiration of his three months' term of enlistment. He then re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company K, Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served three years, having been made corporal of his company. He received his honorable discharge, by reason of the expiration of term of service, on the 31st of January, 1863, but forthwith veteranized, becoming a member of the same company and regiment, with which he continued in service until the close of the war, receiving his final discharge as second duty sergeant, on the 12th of July, 1865, after having made a record as a faithful and gallant soldier, and having been an active participant in many of the important battles of the great conflict. While he was never confined to the hospital during his term of service, he was wounded at Hoover's Gap, a cannon ball passing under him so close to his right hip that it has ever since been partially paralyzed. He never recovered from the effects of this injury, in recognition of which he receives a liberal government pension. After victory had crowned the Union arms Mr. Weeks returned home, and soon afterward, on the 31st of October, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Ruth A. Fewlass, who was born in Fulton county, on the 21st of February, 1840, being a daughter of William and Caroline (Trowbridge) Fewlass, who were numbered among the sterling pioneers of the county. Mr. Fewlass was a native of England and came to America when a young man, and he first came to Fulton county in 1836, taking up his permanent residence here two years later. He became one ef the extensive farmers and wealthy and influential citizens of the county, where he owned two hundred and seven acres of land, much of which he reclaimed from the virgin forest. He passed the closing years of his life in the village of Delta, where he died on the 1st of September, 1884; the mother of Mrs. Weeks died in 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks have six children, namely: David, George, Ada, William, Emma and Caddie C. Emma is the wife of Justin Bartlett, a successful farmer of this county. Caddie C., who is the wife of Charles Prentiss, is one of the successful and popular teachers of Fulton county, having taught twenty-six terms in the public schools and having been a student in the normal school at Fayette, this county. Mr. Weeks is a stalwart Republican and he has served as constable ; was for twelve years incumbent of the office of justice of the peace, and for two terms was township assessor. He is one of the appreciative and valued members of McQuillin Post, No. 171, Grand Army of the Republic, at Delta, of which he is the present senior vice-commander. Mr. Weeks at the present time is entering upon his second term as justice of the peace, having been elected on November 7, 1905, by a large majority. -

CAPTAIN JOHN A. WEIR, local manager of the Northwestern Ohio Telephone Exchange, of Swanton, was born at Waterloo, De- Kalb county, Ind., Februaiy 3, 1868. He is the son of William and Elizabeth A. (Detrich) Weir, the former a native of Blantyre, Scotland, and the latter of Pennsylvania. His grandparents were Alexander and Mary (Orr) Weir, both bom in Blantyre. William Weir emigrated to the United States in 1854, when a young man, and lo- cated in Waterloo, Ind., where he was married. Since the year 1855, with the exception of three and one-half years spent in the army, he has operated a cooperage establishment in Wauseon, where he and his wife are now living. Of a family of ten children that have been bom to them nine are alive. Those living are: Capt. John A.; Jennie, married; Mary Alice, married; Catherine, single; Bessie, married; Libbie Pet, married; Frank R., Charles and Howard, single. Capt. John A. Weir was educated in the Wauseon schools. He learned the cooperage business and followed this occupation until September, 1897. In 1893 he became prominently connected with the Ohio State militia, assisting in organizing Company G, of the Sixteenth Ohio State Militia. Until 1896 he held the position of first lieutenant and then was promoted to the captaincy. On April 25, 1898, the regiment was mustered into the United States service as the Sixth Ohio volunteer infantiw and Captain Weir still remained at the head of his company. After serving for thirteen months in the Spanish-American war, at Chickamauga Park and in Cuba, he was mustered out on August 28, 1899, the company disbanding. Since then he has not given any further attentiop to military affairs. Returning to Wauseon he engaged in telephone construction work, spending two years in West Virginia. In 1901 he came to Swanton in the capacity of local manager of the Northwestern Ohio Telephone Exchange at that place. He is prominently identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the military rank of the former organization and the Encampment of the latter. In politics he is a Republican. Capt. John A. Weir was married in Wauseon on May 25, 1888, to Miss Mary A. Fankhauser, of Fulton county. To this union two children have been bom. They are: William and Clyde. Mrs. Weir is descended from German ancestors, her father and mother being natives of Germany.

ELIZER B. WELCH. - On the fine homestead farm on which he now resides, in Chesterfield township, Mr. Welch was born, on the 18th of February, 1845, but at that time the appearance of the place was far different than at present, since this section was then scarcely more than a sylvan wilderness, and the dwelling in which he made his debut in the drama of life was a primitive log-cabin of the kind common to the pioneer days. He is a son of James and Amy (Clark) Welch, and his father came from one of the Eastern States to Ohio in an early day, being one of the first settlers in what is now Chesterfield township, Fulton county, where he secured a tract of government land, heavily timbered, and the Indians of the vicinity assisted him in erecting his log-cabin. The father reclaimed much of his land to cultivation, being the owner of two hundred and forty acres of the best land in Chesterfield township at the time of his death, in 1855. Amy (Clark) Welch was bora in the State of New York, and accompanied her parents on their immigration to the wilds of Fulton county, Ohio, where she was married. Her father, George P. Clark, was one of the pioneer farmers of Chesterfield township, where his wife died, and he passed the closing years of his life in Morenci, Mich. James and Amy (Clark) Welch became the parents of four children: Mary J. is the widow of Joel Briggs, who died about 1885, and she resides on her homestead farm, in Chesterfield township; Elizabeth, the wife of Sidney S. Beatty, of Morenci, Mich., died in Ann Arbor, that State, May 3, 1905; Elizer B. is the subject of this sketch; and Chester is a resident of Morenci, Mich. The present residence of the mother is Morenci, Mich. Elizer B. Welch was reared on the old pioneer homestead, and had such educational privileges as were afforded in the common schools of the locality and period, and he has made farming his life vocation, and has made a distinctive success in his chosen field of endeavor. He now owns and operates eighty acres of the old homestead on which he was born, and is also the owner of another excellent farm, of one hundred and twenty acres, in section 10, Chesterfield township, about one and one-fourth miles northwest of his residence place. He improved the second farm with good buildings and has reclaimed a considerable portion of it from a wild state. The political support of Mr. Welch is accorded, without reservation, to the Democratic party; he is essentially progressive and public-spirited, and he has served in minor offices of local order. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Grange. December 30, 1868, Mr. Welch was married to Miss Harriet M. Rogers, the nuptial ceremony being performed in Morenci, Mich., by Rev. John T. Hankinson. Mrs. Welch was born in Fulton county, December 1, 1847, and IS a daughter of Leonard and Harriet Gillmore Rogers, both of whom were born in the State of New York, and their marriage was solemnized in Fulton county. Mrs. Rogers died, near Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1853, and her husband long survived her, dying in the State of Washington, March 30, 1902, at a venerable age. He was a blacksmith by trade, but devoted the greater part of his active career to farming. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers became the parents of six children: Otis C. resides in the State of Washington; William P. is a resident of Missouri: George W. resides in Adrian, Mich.; Harriet M. is the wife of the subject of this review; Mary J. resides in Hillsdale county, Mich.; and Mary is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Welch have four children: James L., who was born February 27, 1870, was married. March 25, 1891, to Miss Minnie E. Baxter, and he is now engaged in the banking business in Lawrene, Mich., Van Buren county; Lillie A. was born January 29, 1872, and is now the wife of Charles VanVorce, of Seneca township, Lenawee county, Mich.; Charles C.. born October 30, 1883, is in Canada as a railroad employe; and Jennie E., born May 4, 1887, remains at the parental home.