Wood County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1897 (part 10 of 17)

Mr. Hale's first wife died October 2, 1873, and was buried at Fostoria. On March 15, 1877, he was united in marriage with Miss Rachel Beightle, who was born in Jackson township, Seneca county, August 21, 1848. Her parents, Martin and Maria (Weightman) Beightle, were natives of Pennsylvania, where her father carried on farming. She was one of ten children. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hale: Bertha, January 19, 1879, and Elva, February 11, 1883.

In politics Mr. Hale belongs to the Republican party, but he is strongly in sympathy with the Prohibitionists, as he is an earnest advocate of temperance, and uses his best endeavors to root out the evils of the liquor traffic. He has been a trustee of Perry township two terms, and has frequently been elected supervisor. He has been a school director of District No. 6. He is a trustee and class-leader in the Olive Branch Methodist Church, of which he has been a member since twelve years of age, and to which his wife also belongs. Mr. Hale is highly respected and esteemed as an upright Christian man and an excellent citizen.

Aaron Phillips. The Phillips family is of German origin. The great-grandfather of our subject, Valentine Phillips, was born in the Highlands of Germany, in 1720. His wife was Mary Phillips. He came to America, and settled near where Phillipsburg, N. J., now stands. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, as was also his son Jacob, who was born in New Jersey in 1758, and who married a Miss Sarah Louk, of Philadelphia.

Adam Phillips, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, and died March 20, 1857. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was under General Harrison at Fort Meigs. In 1818 he was married to Catherine Huff, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1797, and died October 6, 1871. They were married in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where they lived seven years, then moved to Pike township, Stark county, and in April, 1833, came to Wood county, arriving on the 11th, and entered 420 acres of land in Center township, part of which is now occupied by the county infirmary. When the township was formed from Portage, the first meeting after organization was held in the cabin of Adam Phillips, who gave the name to the township. There his children grew up, and each child received a piece of land. He was a Whig in politics, and religiously was an exhorter in the Lutheran Church. To him and his wife were born thirteen children. They were: Daniel, who died in

Wood county; William, born October 31, 1821, lives in Wood county; Eliza, the widow of Stewart Anderson ; Moses, who went to California, and is probably dead; Mary, who died unmarried; Susan, who married John Shiner, and died in 1862; Aaron, our subject; David, who resides in Toledo, was in Company F, 25th O. V. I., for one year; Noah, who was a member of Company H, 67th O. V. I., entered the army in 1861, was taken ill and died. Four of the children died in infancy.

Our subject was reared on his father's farm, where he remained until twenty-two years old, attending school in a log school-house for two terms. He was married December 11, 1856, to Miss Anna Crom, whose birth occurred in Center township, Wood county, January 7, 1838. He is a fruit grower, and was born in Pike township, Stark Co., Ohio, March 2, 1832. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, as follows: Levi C., born December 22, 1857 (he married Emma Duley, and they have five children, Frank, Alma, Earl, Herbert and Adel. Levi is an engineer on the M. , K. & T. railroad, in Texas); Mary B., born March 8, 1859, died September 1, 1859; Daniel L., born July 24, i860, married Ella B. Gray, and they have one child, Harvey A.; Daniel lives in Texas; Martha J., born October 3, 1863, died August 15, 1865; Elsie E., born June 24, 1870. died September 1, 1872; George W. , born January 30, 1874, died June 30, 1887. Our subject, after his marriage, settled on a tract of wild land which he improved, and where he lived until 1865, when he sold it. When the Civil war broke out, Mr. Phillips enlisted, August 17, 1861, and served until honorably discharged September 12, 1864. He was in the army of the Cumberland, and took part in the battles of Shiloh and Mill Springs. He was taken ill, sent to the hospital, and discharged for disability, when he went home, remained there a while, then re-enlisted and participated in the battles of Buzzard's Roost, Jonesboro, and the siege of Atlanta. His company led the charge at Jonesboro. He fought close to the works, and was knocked down by the concussion of a shell.

Lenawee county, and lived there until 1870, when he moved to Carroll county, Mo. He located in various places at different times, among them being: Fulton county, Ohio; Tuscumbia,

Ala. ; Nebraska; Colbert county, Ala. ; Portage, Wood Co., Ohio; and finally settled in Bowling Green. He is a member of the G. A. R. , and is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the Baptist Church.

Our subject's wife grew up and was educated in Wood county, and, like her husband, belongs to the pioneer stock of Wood county. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips live in a beautiful home in Bowling Green, where they cultivate fruit, making a specialty of berries. They are hospitable, and are greatly esteemed by their many friends throughout the county.

John Crom, the grandfather of Mrs. Aaron Phillips, was a pioneer from Pennsylvania and Ohio, finally locating near Beaver Creek, in Wood county. Her father, Daniel Crom, was born May 10, 1805, and died May 10, 1864. Her mother, who was a Miss Barbara Oberdorf, was born in 1809, and died February 9, 1892. They were married in 1828, and of the thirteen children born to them the following are mentioned: Elizabeth, Mar^ret, John, Anna, Joseph, Aaron, Simeon, and Martha.

Mr. Phillips states that on the formation of Plain and Liberty townships Dr. Manville gave the name to Plain, and that John Groves, who is yet living, aged ninety-six years, named Liberty township.

Dic&erson Bowles, a farmer of Milton township, was born, November 12, 1836, in Cambridgeshire, England, a son of John Bowles, whose birth occurred in the same country, February 21, 1809. The father was a farm laborer by occupation, and was married, in Cambridge, England, to Jane Dickerson, who was born February 14, 1809. They came to America in 1852, sailing from Liverpool, and took up their abode in Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio. Four years later they came to Wood county, and the father purchased a farm in Milton township, which he improved, and on which he lived until his death, which occurred in December, 1876. His wife survived him, dying in February, 1892. They had a family of ten children, namely: Anna and William, deceased; John, a farmer of Milton township; Dickerson; Sarah, who died in England; Susan, w'ife of John W. Chappel; Elizabeth ; James ; and Charles and Arthur, both deceased.

came with the family to America, continuing his labors on his father's farm until 1856, when he went to Iowa, and for a short time engaged in the cultivation of rented land. At the expiration of that period he returned home, and continued under the parental roof until 1866. During the war, however, he enlisted, at Napoleon, Ohio, in Company I, 68th Regiment, O. V. I., under Capt. Poe, and participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Metamora, Raymond and Champion Hills, and was with Sherman through the Atlanta campaign. He was wounded at the battle of Champion Hills, and again, August 10, 1864, before Atlanta, and after his recovery marched with Sherman to Savannah. He was honorably discharged December 19, 1864. He then returned home, and purchased a farm in Milton towmship.

On February 14, 1866, Mr. Bowles was united in marriage with Miss Jane Anness, who was born in Cambridgeshire, England, January 12, 1846. Four children graced this union: Daniel, a 'farmer of Grand Rapids; Arthur, who aids in the operation of the home farm; Walter, and Albert. In politics, Mr. Bowles is a stalwart Republican. He is a member of the Evangelical Church. Industrious and energetic, his business interests are well conducted, and his duties of citizenship are discharged with the same fidelity which marked his army service.

Thomas Ordway, the well-known contractor and builder, of Bowling Green, has identified his name in a lasting way with the growth and prosperity of that town, and many of its finest residences and business blocks stand as evidences of his skill and workmanship.

His father, Amherst Ordway, was born October 15, 1815, in Vermont, and came to Ohio in early manhood, locating first at Milan, Erie county, where he was engaged in contracting and building until 1854, when he removed to Householder's Corners, Wood county, and remained about five years. He then came to Bowling Green, purchasing a large tract of land, which since his death, October 29, 1880, has been known as Ordway 's Addition. He built the first sawmill and gristmill at Bowling Green, and was a leading promoter of many public improvements. He was a Republican in politics, and an active worker in the temperance cause. He married Miss Roxanna Goodell, who was a native of Huron county, being the first white child born in Townsend township. Her birth occurred January 24, 1817, and she died May 6, 1876. Of their seven sons, four served in the army during the Civil war, two losing their lives in the defense of the Union, name- ly: Andrew, who died at Athens, Ala,, and Hiram, who was killed at Jonesboro, Ga. James returned to Bowling Green after three years of service, and is now a contractor and builder there. Nehemiah spent six months at the front, and then returned home, where he now resides. Of the five younger children, Emma, the widow of W. A. Whitaker, Thomas, our subject, and Sylvester, live at Bowling Green. Frederick resides at Akron, Ohio, and Alice, the youngest, is the wife Wesley Fox, of Chicago Junction, Huron county.

Our subject was born February 5, 1849, near Milan. He received his early education in the district schools near his father's farm in Wood county, and in the high school at Bowling Green. He worked on the farm until the age of twenty-seven, after which he followed the carpenter's trade as a workman until about ten years ago, when he began to take contracts for buildings, and also to construct residences for sale. Among the contracts undertaken are those for constructing the Central school, the East school, and the finishing of the South school building. He has constructed about two-thirds of all the business blocks in the city, some of which are the Royce bank building, Chris. Lehmann's building, the Cunning and Whitehead building, the Lincoln block, the Mowrey block, and the First National Bank building. Although Mr. Ordway is very quiet and unassuming in manner, he has a reputation for great firmness and persistence in any enterprise once resolved upon, and this, with his well-tried ability and integrity, has won for him the entire confidence of the community. He was married in 1880 to Miss Eloria Mounts, who was born in Sycamore, Ohio, in 1859. They have three children, Amherst, Katie and Donald. Politically, Mr. Ordway is a Republican, and he is a member of the I. O. O. F.

T. S. Brandeberry, who is successfully engaged as a butcher and in the meat market business in Jerry City, was born in Bloom township, on April 15, 1846, and is a son of William and Anna (Clark) Brandeberry. On the home farm he was reared to manhood, during which time he received a fair English education in the common schools of the neighborhood.

On February 21, 1864, although not quite eighteen years of age, he manifested his loyalty to his native land by enlisting in the Union army at Fostoria, Ohio, becoming a member of Company H, 49th O. V. I., with which he served until December 28, 1865. After the surrender of General Lee, the regiment was sent to Texas, and there remained until mustered out at Victoria, that State. Our subject received his discharge at Columbus, Ohio. He was never wounded, but on account of illness was confined for three months in hospitals at Chattanooga and Nashville.

On his return home, Mr. Brandeberry worked for his father for a time, and was also employed by his uncle, Isaac Brandeberry, of Perry township, Wood county. In Bloom township, on May 21, 1868, he led to the marriage altar Miss Lucinda E. Fry, a native of Westmoreland county, Penn., and a daughter of Jonas Fry, a farmer. To them have been born four children, one of whom died in infancy; the others are: Carrie E. , wife of Reuben Echleberger, of Bloom township; Alwilma, wife of Wallace Simon, of the same township; and Milton O. , at home.

After remaining upon his uncle's place for several months, Mr. Brandeberry returned to Bloom township, purchasing thirty-eight and a quarter acres in Section 35, and on the place erected good buildings and made other necessary improvements. There he resided until April 4,' 1883, when he bought fifty acres in Section 22, which he still owns. He immediately commenced the improvement of his land, which is now in an admirable state of culture, and has become a valuable piece of property, owing to his careful tillage and the neat buildings upon the place. In January, 1895, however, he removed to Jerry City, where he has since conducted a butchering business.

Mr. Brandeberry does not care to take an active part in politics, but always stands by the principles for which he fought, and casts his vote with the Republicans every time. He is a leading member of Bronson Post No. 85, G. A. R., of Jerry City, and attended the Encampment at Louisville, Ky., in 1895, and also the dedication services at Chickamauga, Ga., in September of that year.

Orrin Stearns (deceased). The subject of this sketch, a veteran of the Civil war, was born in Montgomery township, May 9, 1841, and was the fourth son and fifth child of Justus and Sarah A. (Davis) Stearns, mention of whom is made in another part of this volume.

Mr. Stearns received a common-school education, and was reared as a farmer's boy. On September 23, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, 55th Regiment, O. V. I.; on June 1, 1864, was promoted to corporal, and on July 8, 1865, was further promoted to the rank of first sergeant. He was mustered out July 1 1 , 1865, at Louis- ville, Ky. While home on a veteran's furlough in 1 864, he was married, on February 4, in the ' ' Hays House," Fostoria, to Miss Sarah A. Brandeberry, the ceremony being performed by J. V. Jones, a justice of the peace. Mrs. Stearns was born in Perry township, April 25, 1846, and is a daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Fish) Brandeberry, the former of whom was born in Richland county, and the latter in Columbiana county, Ohio.

In the spring of 1866 our subject came to his farm, which he had bought in the fall of 1865, and where his widow now lives. It then consisted of 120 acres, on which stood an old frame house and another frame building. Mr. Stearns had saved $1,500 from his army pay, and his wife was given $2,000, so they started in life in comfortable circumstances. In 1876 he built one of the best brick residences in Perry township. Mr. Stearns died, October 23, 1888, from a lingering illness contracted while in the army, and he was buried in the Fostoria cemetery. While not physically strong, he was able to attend to his work, was an excellent business man, dealing extensively in stock, and retired from active life fourteen years previous to his demise. He was a representative citizen and a stanch Republican, and served as director of the Infirmary and as trustee of Perry township. Kindhearted, he was always ready to assist the needy and deserving, and his death was a great blow to the community. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he held various offices, and to which he was a most liberal contributor. Socially, he belonged to the I. O. O. F. , and G. A. R. , at Fostoria, and was buried by the latter organization with all its rites and ceremonies.

Since her husband's death Mrs. Stearns has taken charge of the farm, which now consists of 230 acres, and is one of the best in the county. She is a woman of considerable business ability, and has improved the place in many ways. She is a devout Christian, and a liberal contributor to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she has been a member since fourteen years of age. While Mr. and Mrs. Stearns had no children of their own, many others have been given a home with this admirable couple, who took great pleasure in such philanthropic work.

Andrew Joseph, the popular manager of one of the departments in the mercantile firm of A. Froney & Co. , at Bowling Green, was born September 17, 1866, in Troy township, this county.

Bavaria, January 10, 1812, and came to America in early manhood, locating in Wood county, where he met his future wife, Miss Sophia Hettinger, a native of Sencefeldt, Baden, born December 26, 1823, who came to this county with her parents when she was a child. After their marriage, September 12, 1841, they settled upon a farm in Troy township, three miles northeast of Pemberville, where they lived fifty years, but they have now retired to Pemberville to pass the evening of their lives. They are prominent members of the German Lutheran Church. Their golden wedding in 1891 was a notable occasion, their ten children, all living, making an interesting group. Of those living, May, the eldest, is the widow of M. Hauber, of Freeburg, 111. ; Julia is the wife of David Bingle, of Scotch Ridge; Henry resides in Freeburg, 111.; George Jr., at Wahoo, Nebr. ; John lives at Wahoo, Nebr. ; Louie resides in Center township ; Frank is a resident of Luckey; and Emma is at home with her parents.

Andrew Joseph, the youngest of this family, was reared upon the farm, and acquired his early education in the district schools near by. In 1891 he came to Bowling Green, and now has charge of the upper floor of the store of A. Froney & Co., managing the cloak, drapery and carpet departments. In this capacity he has shown unusual ability, and proved himself entirely worthy of the trust reposed in him. He is also the fortunate owner of a tract of oil land now being developed by him, in company with others, under the partnership name of Bankey, Joseph & Moore.

In politics Mr. Joseph is a Democrat, sharing in this the conviction of his father, who has been for many years a firm supporter of the principles of that party. The subject of our sketch is prominent in the social circles of Bowling Green.

J. D. Stearnes, a worthy representative of the old and prosperous family of that name which is well-known throughout Wood county, is a successful farmer of Perry township, where he stands high in the regard not only of his immediate community but also of all citizens in the county who have had business or social relations with him.

Mr. Stearnes is the third child of Justus and Mary (Hall) Stearnes, and was born September 1, 1854. His first schooling was obtained at Sugar Grove, in Perry township, and was the best that could be afforded by the district schools in those days. He has seen many changes since then in the methods of education, and has used his influence in the betterment of the schools of his locality. No one in the county is a warmer friend of education, or has done more in its interests, than Mr. Stearnes, and the advantages now enjoyed by the children of Perry township are in a great measure due to his untiring efforts in their behalf.

Mr. Stearnes was reared upon a farm, and early in life showed such business ability that he was intrusted with matters of great magnitude for one of his youth, and he managed them with discretion and excellent judgment. He remained upon his father's farm until one year after his marriage, and in 1876, removed to the farm on which the "Old Stone House" stands and which is still his home. This old mansion, his first residence, is one of the land marks of Perry township, and was built in 1840 by a Mr. Brown. Mr. Stearnes purchased 1 1 7 acres here of his father, and at once moved onto it, his entire possessions being conveyed to the place in three loads, such as a one-horse sled could carry. The land was wet, and but little draining had been done, and, with his poor team and still poorer equipment, our subject found an up-hill task before him. His energy and industry were, however, equal to the emergency, and by constant labor and untiring perseverance, as well as good management, he succeeded in bringing it under a fine state of cultivation. He has at present 160 acres of excellent land, and in 1892 built one of the finest pressed brick residences in Wood county. His barns and outbuildings are also of the best, and the entire place bears evidence of careful thrift and labor. Mr. Stearnes has done considerable ditching by contract throughout the county, and, since the discovery of oil and gas in this section, has done a large amount of work in teaming, etc., for the oil producers.

Our subject was married September 2, 1875, to Miss Sarah Kyes, who was born August 21, 1855, in Freedom township, this county. Her father, Samuel Kyes, was a native of Lorain county, Ohio, and was a farmer by occupation. He served as a one-hundred-days' man in the war of the Rebellion. His wife, mother of Mrs. Stearnes, was Mary, daughter of John Fish, who died in 1864. Their children were as follows: Sarah, wife of our subject; Caroline, wife of Everett E. Householder, living near Hoytville, Ohio; and Mary A., wife of Albert Addelsperger, of Seneca county, Ohio. On the death of his first wife Mr. Kyes was again married, his choice being Mrs. Mary A. Silverwood, who bore him two sons. Of these, William lives in Bowling Green, Ohio, and Samuel was killed by a falling tree when a lad of seventeen. The father died in Center township, Wood county, when nearly sixty years of age. Mrs. Stearnes was only nine years of age when her mother died, and the children were scattered among different families, she working for her living until her marriage. She is a most estimable woman, and is a good wife and mother. The following children have come to bless the union of our subject and his wife: Nellie, born June 27, 1876; Alice, who

Mr. Stearnes has always been an ardent Republican, and is a leading member of his party in Perry township. He has served three years as township trustee, and has been a director of School District No. 5 for some nine years. In both these offices he has done much for the growth and welfare of his township, and is looked upon as one of its most valued citizens. By the will of his father, Mr. Stearnes was made one of the administrators of his estate, consisting of over 300 acres of land and $10,000 of personal property. He is a member of No. 445 Lodge, K. of P., at West Millgrove, and both he and his wife belong to the Rathbone Sisters, of Bloomdale.

J. M. Baum, one of the prominent and representative men of Ross township, is engaged in general farming and gardening in Section 33, where he located in 1872, at that time purchasing a partially improved farm of forty acres. He also devotes some attention to fruit- raising, in which he has been quite successful. He is a native of Ohio, born in Northfield township, Summit county, on Christmas Day, 1833, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Purkey) Baum, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania. As early as 1801, however, he accompanied his father, George Baum, to Columbiana county, Ohio, where the latter, at that time, purchased 160 acres of land of the government at $1 .25 per acre. The city of Salem is now built on the same. George Baum was a native of Germany, and was born November 17, 1754. At the age of seventeen he sailed for America, but, on account of bad weather, he was six months on the voyage. He landed at Philadelphia, and was "sold" to a man for three years, to pay his passage, the sum being twelve dollars. In 1783 he was married to Mary Higgin, a native of Pennsylvania.

Thomas Baum was married in Columbiana county. In 1821 he became a resident of Northfield township, Summit county, where he purchased a farm eighteen miles from Cleveland, paying three dollars per acre for same, and there his death occurred December 24, 1862. His wife departed this world on her birthday, June 28, 1855, at the age of fifty-eight. They reared a family of six children: John enlisted in the 111th Regiment, O. V. I., in Williams county, Ohio, and served nearly three years; he died in that county, November 16, 1865. Mrs. Sarah Powell makes her home in Northfield township, Summit county. Mrs. Mary White resides in Jennings county, Ind. Mrs. Martha Horner lives at Akron, Ohio. Mrs. Elizabeth Silver also makes her home in Jennings county, Ind. A. M. Baum completes the family list.

During his boyhood and youth our subject attended the district schools of his native county, and assisted his father in clearing up and developing his land. In 1853 he married Maria L. Wetherill, who was born in Vermilion, Erie Co., Ohio, and is a daughter of William and Sarah (Boughey) Wetherill, the former a native of England, the latter of Erie county. The father was one of the first settlers of Plymouth, Huron Co., Ohio, where he opened up a farm; but his death occurred in Ross township, this county. The mother has also departed this life. To our subject and wife two children have been born: William T. , who is married, and resides in Ross township, and Rosetta A. , wife of Horace Rideout, of the same township.

In politics Mr. Baum is a Democrat, and takes considerable interest in all the campaigns of that party. He served as the first justice of the peace of Ross township, and acceptably filled that office for six years. Being very fond of hunting, he used to come to Wood county as early as 1855, when game here was quite plentiful, and engage in that sport. He has always taken a deep interest in everything for the good of the county, and was one of the promoters of the Woodville stone road.

John Schon, a native of Germany, was born in the village of Hontheim, Kreis Wittlich, Beyerk Trier, on the Rhine, April 26, 1836. His father, Casper Schon, who was a farmer of that locality, married Anna Simmons. They spent their entire lives in that village, and to them were born the following named children: Hobartus and Barbara, both now deceased; Margaret, Christina, Mathias, Annie, Mary and Peter, all six deceased; Casper, a farmer of Milton township; and John.

and thirteen years. At the age of twenty-three he entered the German army, and served for three years. At the place of his nativity, in the year 1862, Mr. Schon was united in marriage with Barbara Steffens, who was also born in that village, and in 1866 they came to America, sailing from Rotterdam to Liverpool, where they spent sixteen days. They were then obliged to return to Rotterdam, on account of the illness of their eldest child; but after two days they took passage on the sailing vessel "Disburk," which reached New York four weeks later. From there they at once came to Wood county, and Mr. Schon purchased twenty acres of wild land in Milton township, on which he built a plank house; then turned his attention to the development of a farm. In 1882 he sold that property, and purchased eighty acres of land on Jackson Prairie; but subsequently he bought his present farm, comprising seventy-eight acres. For this land he gave $5,000, and has since made many excellent improvements upon it, so that he now has one of the most highly developed and desirable country homes in Wood county.

years; John, a wagon maker, of Michigan; Annie, wife of John Pouff, of Ohio; Frank, a blacksmith, of Milton, Ohio; Mary, wife of Charles Koch, of Milton township; and Clement, of Illinois. The mother of these died in 1873, and was laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery at Custar. In 1875 Mr. Schon was again married, his second union being with Margaret Schmitz, a native of Germany, born February 2, 1841, and who came to this country in 1873. By this marriage there were six children: Joseph, now of

Lorain county, Ohio; Margaret and Nicholas, both at home; Peter, who died in infancy; Peter, the second of the name; and Lena, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Schon are members of St. Louis Catholic Church, of Custar, toward the building of which he was a liberal contributor.

Anton Schuster, a well-known saloon-keeper of Grand Rapids, was born March 4, 1849, in Wirfus, Rhine Province, the only child of Frank and Sophia (Wolf) Schuster. The father was a native of the same place, born September 8, 1810, and came to America in 1863, locating on a farm in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where he died April 18, 1864. The mother died when our subject was but a child. For his second wife Frank Schuster married Anna M. Wolf, by whom he had five children: Nicholas, now a resident of iam, who died in childhood; one daughter, who died in childhood; and Peter, now living in Milton township with Anna M. Schuster, his mother.

Anton Schuster came to America with his father, and remained in Cuyahoga county until 1 870, when he went to Keokuk county, Iowa, and there remained for two years. On his return to Ohio he settled in Custar, where he followed the trade of carpenter eight years; then moved to Weston, and engaged in the saloon business. After two years there he transferred his business to Grand Rapids, where he has since resided. He has prospered, and has built a fine brick business block there. In 1883, Anton Schuster married Miss Mary B. Shamberger, a native of Lucas county, born October 2, 1864, and died July 27, 1884. On November 17, 1885, Mr. Schuster for his second wife married Elizabeth F. Long, who was born December 25, 1858, in Lucas county, and four children have blessed this union: Clare Cecelia, deceased; George C. ; OmerF. , and Zgro Ross. In politics Mr. Schuster is a Democrat, and he is a leading member of the Roman Catholic Church, of which his parents were also adherents.

Rubellus J. Simon, M. D., the leading and scholarly physician of Pemberville, was born on a farm in Bloom township, Wood Co., Ohio, August 9, 1 846, being the next to the eldest son of Levi Simon, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume.

Our subject is one of ten children, whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Myconius N., March 3, 1845; Rubellus J. (the subject of this sketch); Damiette, December 18, 1847 (she married Frank Ledyard, of Bloom township, and died August 23, 1884); Jerusha, October 10, 1850 (she died November 10, 1872); Belenia, August 6, 1852 (she married D. A. Deal, and died November 11, 1884); Poliander, July 22, 1856 (a remarkable child, and at the time of his death August 30, 1863, was intellectually equal to many of double his years); Montibello and Mettilene (twins) March 28, 1859 (the former now a farmer and dairyman of Bloom township; the latter died September 4, 1863); Phoebe E. , June 11, 1861 (an unusually gifted child, possessing mental development far beyond her age at her death, December 30, 1877); andElmaO., February 19, 1863 (now Mrs. Jacob Fischer, of Helena, Montana).

The boyhood years of our subject were spent at his father's farm. His early education was obtained under the direction of his parents, both of whom had been teachers, and were well fitted to train him for a life of usefulness and honor.

At sixteen he entered the Poland Union Seminary, becoming a student in that institution the same year that Gov. McKinley completed his studies there. After nine months in the seminary, he received a teacher's certificate, and entered that profession, teaching the Mackey school, in Bloom township. For several terms he taught there and in other districts, then entered the Findlay High School, where he continued his studies for eight months. Later he taught in the grammar school in the same institution for three terms, after which he entered Oberlin College, expecting to fit himself more thoroughly for the profession of a teacher.

Two years were spent in study at Oberlin College, but meantime his ambition changed. Noticing that most of those who devoted their lives to teaching remained poor, and having a desire to gain possession of some of this world's goods by honest exertion, he determined to abandon the profession upon which he had entered. However, he taught a few terms afterward, and in that way gained the means with which to prosecute his medical studies. Under Dr. S. B. Emerson, of Eagleville, he began to read medicine, then took a course of lectures at the Eclectic Medical College, of Cincinnati, after which he continued to study and practice with Dr. Emerson' for a year and a half. Later he took another course of lectures at the same college, graduating May 13, 1873. In August of the same year he opened an office at Pemberville, and commenced the practice of his chosen profession.

On March 4, 1874, Dr. Simon was married to Mary A., daughter of Henry Mohr, of Eagleville. At that time he was in debt $600.00, but success came to him quickly, and at the end of a year he was out of debt and owned a house and lot. From that time to this he has had a large practice, and has acquired a splendid competence. In addition to professional duties, he has done an extensive business in fire insurance, and is medical examiner for two of the leading lifeinsurance companies of the United States - the New York Life and the Mutual Life of New York. He is the owner of 180 acres of fine land in the oil regions, which alone represent a small fortune. His home is a beautiful one, and he also owns other property.

Formerly Dr. Simon was identified with the M. E. Church, but there being no Church of that denomination in Pemberville at the time he settled there, he became interested in the Presbyterian faith, assisted in the organization of the Church here, and was for eight years its only elder. He has served in that office up to the present time, and has always been one of the most active workers, not only in the Church, but also in the Sunday-school, of which he was formerly superintendent. For six years he has been a member of the board of education, during which time the new school building was erected. During his service of four years as a member of the city council, the new city hall was built. In fact, he has been one of the most influential residents of the place, and has been prominent in social, professional and business circles. He is a great lover of fine horses, and is proud of having a team that will not ' ' take dust " from any other team in Wood county.

Dr. and Mrs. Simon have had four children, two of whom died in infancy, and one, Ina, when three months old. The only one living is Nina O., a bright and attractive child, now, fall of 1896, about four years old. In politics, the Doctor is a strong Republican, which is also the political faith of ninety-five per cent, of the entire Simon family, now numbering seven or eight hundred members.

Charles Mercer, a wealthy retired agriculturist of Bowling Green, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, April 22, 1826, but has been for over sixty years a resident of Wood county, where his parents w^re among the pioneers.

His father, William Mercer, was born in Lancaster county, Penn., May 13, 1775. On the 8th of November, 1798, he married Miss Charity Pettit, a native of Lancaster county, born June 17, 1781. Her parents, Daniel and Martha Pettit, both lived to a good old age, the former dying in 1831 at the age of eighty-seven, the latter in 1827, aged seventy-six. For many years after their marriage they lived on a farm in Columbiana county, Ohio, but September 20, 1834, they settled in Wood county upon a tract of wild land purchased from the government, which has since been developed into a fine farm. They were prominent members of the Christian Church, to which all their descendants adhere. The father died March 2, 1839, the mother February 2, 1855-

Our subject was the youngest of thirteen children, of whom three are still living. The names with dates of birth and death are as follows: Martha, September 20, 1799, 1830 (married Andrew Pettit); Mary Ann, May 4, 1801, 1875 (married Enos Monehan); George, April 27, 1803, September 1, 1890; William, August 13, 1805, 1849; John, September 9, 1807, March 4, 1890; Daniel, October 10, 1809, August, 1885; Beulah,

November 27, 1811, April, 1887 (married William Pike); Caleb, born March 24, 1814, lives in Bowling Green; Charity, April 3, 1816, 1875 (married Samuel Taylor); Lucretia, May 12, 1818, December 17, 1847 (married Henry Groves); Abraham, July 8, 1820, lives at Rudolph, Ohio; Ellis Ann, born April 24, 1822, died at the age of two years; Charles, the youngest, is our subject. Beulah left a great many descendants in the vicinity of DesMoines, Iowa, and Charity left a large family in Lawrence county, Penn., and to. the north of Enon Valley.

Our subject was but eight years old when he came to this county, and his education was obtained in the public school at Portage. He remained at the old homestead until 1888, when he retired from active work and came to Bowling Green to live. He was married in 1855 to Miss Jane Mominee, who was born in Lucas county, February 28, 1840, the daughter of Anthony and Angeline (De Mars) Mominee. Of the six children of Charles Mercer and wife, three are living. (1) Lenora, born August 3, 1856, died January 6, 1865. (2) Hiram, born December born August 1, 1855, lives at the old homestead. He was married February 26, 1879, to Miss Frances C. Frisbie, who was born in Wood county, November 10, 1859. They have had four children - Clayton, Elmer, Blanche and Leonard, of whom, the eldest died aged ten years. (4) Hamilton, born October 22, i860, died January 7, 1861. (5) J. D., born March 27, 1863, lives upon a part of the old farm. He votes the Prohibition ticket, while his father and brother are ardent Republicans. He was married April 6, 1884, to Miss Rebecca Aller, a native of Geauga county, born May 5, 1863, and has three children - Lorenzo, Ina, and Hazel. (6) Alnetta, born May 6, 1870, was married January 2, 1891, to H. J. Rudolph, and lives in Rudolph, Ohio.

Mrs. Mercer's grandfather, Louis Mominee, was born in 1740, in Quebec, Canada. In 1859, immediately after Montcalm's defeat, he came thence to what was at that time the Territory of Michigan, settlingin Monroe county, near Monroe. In 1761 he married Leahr Preedom, and twentytwo children were born to them, of whom Anthony Mominee, Mrs. Mercer's father, was the twentieth. He was born January 15, 1785, in Monroe county, Mich., and died July 5, 1854. He served throughout the war of 1812, and during that struggle was taken prisoner by the Indians.

On February 17, 1817, he married Margaret Duso, and by her had two children. On June 4, 1821, he wedded Angeline De Mars, who was born October 11, 1800, and ten children blessed their union, seven of whom are yet living. The only son, Peter, enlisted in 1864, in Company A, 130th O. V. I., and served sixty days in the summer of that year. He is now a resident of East Toledo, Ohio. Of the six daughters, Angeline Ducat, Margaret and Matilda McCullock, reside in East Toledo; Mary Edom, in Barry, 111.; Elizabeth Ducat, and Jane, the wife of our subject, live in Bowling Green.

Andrew J. Rickard (deceased) was one of the most prominent and influential business men of Milton, and at the time of his decease was serving his second term as mayor of that city. Through his various commercial interests he proved an important factor in the upbuilding of the town, and no one is more missed in the community. He was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y. , March 20, 1844. His father, Andrew Jackson Rickard, when a young man learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in connection with farming during the greater part of his life. He married Hannah Rockwell, of Chautauqua county, where they resided until 1852, then they removed to Erie county, Ohio, the father renting a farm in Milan township. In 1862 he came by wagon with his family to Wood county, and settled on a farm near Bowling Green. In 1 864, in connection wtth our subject, he purchased fifty acres of land in Plain township, on which stood an old log cabin which he made his home for a number of years. In 1880 he lost his wife by death, after which event he married Maria Porter, widow of Ranee Porter. He is now living in a home in Milton, built for him by our subject.

Andrew J. Rickard, whose name introduces this sketch, was one of a large family, the others being Ellen, deceased wife of Henry Gross; Zinie, I of Erie county, Ohio; George W. , of Sandusky county, who was a member of Company D, 34th [ O. V. I., during the Civil war, and was captured at Harper's Ferry; Orange J. , now of Henry county, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of William Sheets, of Milton, who was a soldier of the 72nd O. V. I. ; | Isaac, who is living near Leipsic, Ohio; Philip, of Milton; John, of Weston; Liddy, who died at the age of seven years; and Nathan, who died in Milton Center at the age of thirty. Our subject attended school in his native county; but had to pay a tuition fee, and the teachers boarded round among the scholars. He was a lad of !

eight when the family went to Erie county, Ohio, where he continued his education and was making preparations to pursue a college course when the Civil war broke out. In July, 1861, at the age of seventeen, he became a private, in Erie county, of Company D, 34th Ohio Regiment of Zouaves, under Capt. Furney. At Cincinnati the troops embarked on a vessel for West Virginia. At the battle of Princeton, under Gen. Cox, our subject was severely wounded in the leg by a revolver shot. He fell into the enemy's hands, and was sent to a Rebel hospital, where he lay for ten months, when he was paroled and joined his regiment as soon as able. His next battle was at Fayetteville, wherein he received a severe gunshot wound. He was takeq prisoner at Rocky Gap, and sent to Andersonville, where he remained until September, when he was transferred to Savannah, Ga. , and on the 12th of October sent to the stockades at Milan, Ga. There he was exchanged, and November 19, 1864, boarded a boat on the Savannah river. At Charleston, in the fall of 1863, he had re-enlisted as a veteran, and was finally mustered out at Wheeling Island, July 29, 1865.

Mr. Rickard then returned to Weston, and began work in a sawmill for Clark, McDonald, Richardson & Stone. In that place he purchased a home, for he had been married in the meantime. While home on ,a parole, after his release from Andersonville, he was wedded in Monroeville, Huron Co., January 17, 1864, to Emma Cole, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, August 31, 1843, and on the 9th of August, 1866, Alice, their only child, was born. She is now the wife of David Willier, a resident of Milton township, and has two children. Mr. Rickard traded his property in Weston for a sawmill in Milton, and began business in this place. His new property was afterward destroyed by fire; but with characteristic energy he rebuilt, and later bought out his partner, Mr. Whitaker, continuing alone for a number of years. For a time he conducted two sawmills, and was also the owner of a farm of 120 acres, but this he sold at the time the mill burned in order to acquire the capital with which to rebuild, after a second fire, in which he lost between $6,000 and $7,000 worth of property. In May, 1885, he purchased a drug store, and up to his death conducted a large and profitable business in that line. In addition he operated a planing-mill and sawmill, and was recognized as one of the most progressive and enterprising business men of Wood county, his success being all due to his own efforts. He died at his home in Milton

Center, January 16, 1896, of blood poisoning, and the funeral was largely attended by members of the several societies to which he belonged. He was affiliated with Neibling Post, G. A. R., of Weston, also the I. O. O. F. and Encampment, in both of which he filled all the offices, and for nine years was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church of Milton Center. In political affairs he took an active interest as a stalwart advocate of Republican principles, and for a number of years served as township trustee, while, as already related, he was serving his second term as mayor of this city at the time of his decease. Fidelity to duty was one of the predominating traits of his character, and in all the relations of life he was found true and faithful to the trusts reposed in him, thereby winning the confidence and high regard of all. Generous and kind-hearted, he was ever ready to lend a listening ear, and stretch out a helping hand, to the unfortunate and the needy.

N. Allen Zimmerman is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born in West Penn township, Schuylkill county, January 13, 1857, a son of Randolph and Hannah (Dunart) Zimmerman, also natives of that county, where they were married in February, 1856. In April, 1857, they removed to Medina county, Ohio, and the father purchased a farm in Homer township, but he afterward left that property and bought ninety -six acres, on which he lived until coming to Wood county nine years later. He here purchased 160 acres of wild land, but afterward sold eighty acres. His first home, a log cabin, was destroyed by fire September 9, 1872, and they lost all their household effects save one bed and a sewing machine. The father died on the old homestead, August 13, 1878, and the mother is now living in Michigan with her son, Gideon P., a farmer. Two children of the family are deceased: Lambert Alfred, who died at the age of two years; and Leanna Elnora, deceased, at the age of twenty-six years. The Zimmerman family is of German origin, and the grandfather of our subject, Samuel Zimmerman, was the first of them to cross the Atlantic to the United States. His parents died when he was very young, and when twelve years of age he came with the family by whom he was reared. i

Our subject was three months old when his 1 parents removed to Medina county, and he there began his education, afterward continuing his studies in Wood county, acquiring good school privileges. During the summer months he aided his father in the labors of the home farm, and j continued under the parental roof until his marriage, which occurred in Milton township, January 1, 1884, the lady of his choice being Miss Elizabeth J. Revenaugh, who was born in Vinton county, Ohio, November 29, 1861, a daughter of John and Catherine Revenaugh. They first located on the old homestead, but in October, 1884, removed to their present home, he trading his interest in the family farm for this property. The greater part of his eighty acres was wild and unimproved; but with characteristic energy he began its development, and soon placed it under the plow. Now well-tilled fields surround a comfortable residence and substantial barn, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the place indicates the careful supervision of the owner. To Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman were born three children, one son and two daughters, the son being the eldest; he was born July 16, 1891, and died on the 20th of the same month. The elder daughter, born August 26, 1893, died on the 29th of that month. The younger daughter, Ruth Ethel, born February 26, 1896, yet survives. They also have a child known as R. O. Zimmerman, born October 31, 1886, whom they have raised from infancy. In his political views Mr. Zimmerman is a Democrat. His wife belongs to the Presbyterian Church, and both are highly esteemed people who have the warm regard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

His immediate ancestors have been distinguished for their valor and patriotism. His grandfather, George Kimberlin, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington; his father, Henry Kimberlin, served in the war of 1812 under Harrison, making a fine record as a soldier. Henry Kimberlin was a native of ' Pennsylvania, born December 23, 1789, and was married there to Miss Sarah Brewau, who was born August 20, 1795, and by whom he had ten children, all of whom lived to adult age, viz.: Mary A., born October 2, 1816, married George Gilmore, May 6, 1841, and died July 13, 1875; Delilah, born April 21, 1818, married John Dull, December 7, 1843, and died May 4, 1888; John, our subject; Frances, born January 8, 1822, married George Older, August 25, i860; George, born January 11, 1824, married Adaliza Olney, June 3, 1856, now a prominent citizen of Bowling Green; Jacob, born February 27, 1826, married Sobinah Guyer, November 10, 1853, and is a leading farmer of Grand Rapids township;

Amelia, born August 8, 1828; Eliza, born September 25, 1830; Catherine, born November 22, 1833, married John W. Brown, March 19, 1862, and they reside in Grand Rapids township; and Martha J., born January 2, 1836, and died October 2, 1846.

The family moved to Wayne county, Ohio, and four years later came to Wood county. Here the father bought a tract of wild land at the mouth of Beaver creek, which he cleared and cultivated with the help of his children. He died October 25, 1867, the mother June 20, 1878.

John Kimberlin obtained his early education in an old log school house in the vicinity, and assisted in farm labor until he attained his majority. After leaving the homestead he worked three years upon a neighboring farm, and then began business as a contractor and builder, in which he was engaged thirty years, building school houses, churches, sawmills, and many private dwellings, including some of the finest in the township. In- May, 1864, he enlisted in the one-hundred-days' service in Company I, 144th O. V. I., Col. Hunt and Capt. McKee commanding, and took part in several of the engagements which make that year notable, among them the battle at Monocacy. His regiment formed part of the force which frustrated Early's designs , upon Washington. On receiving his discharge, in the fall of 1864, he returned home and continued to follow his trade until 1878, when he and his two sisters bought the old homestead, consisting of 210 acres of land near Grand Rapids, and began to develop it into one of the finest farms in the township. He has built a handsome brick dwelling house with fine barns and sheds, and planted an extensive orchard. His attention is chiefly given to stock-raising, and he has one of the finest herds of Jersey cattle in the county, some of the animals being registered. His present success is the result of industry and frugality, and furnishes an encouraging lesson.

Mr. Kimberlin has never married, but lives happily with his two sisters, each of whom owns a third of the farm. He is a Republican in politics, and has always taken an interest in local affairs, serving at one time as township supervisor.

Andrew J. Munn, president of the Exchange Banking Company of Weston, and a leading oil producer of this region, was born in Center township, Wood county, Ohio, January 4, 1842.

where with the exception of a few years passed in Macoupin county, 111., he passed the remainder of his life. He had two brothers, who also came to this country, and one of whom went west, the other settling in New York and acquiring a fortune. William Munn kept an inn on the old Munn farm in Center township until his death in 1852, and his house was a favorite resort for the pioneers, who revelled in old songs and stories, and for the local politicians among whom he was a leader. He married Miss Nancy Boosinger, a native of Portage county, Ohio, and had two daughters, who died early in youth, and seven sons, as follows: Robert, deceased; George F. , living in Portage; David, murdered in Texas on a sheep ranch; James, who died in Bowling Green; Andrew Jackson, our subject; Matthew, who lives at the old homestead, and William a resident of Bowling Green.

A. J. Munn received his early education in the public schools of this county. On June 20, 1862, he entered the 100th O. V. I. for three years or during the war, and was assigned to the 23rd Army Corps, Central Division. Immediately after the battle at Knoxville he was taken prisoner and sent to Lynchburg, Va. , being retained there for a few days, then in Libby prison for three weeks, and in Belle Isle for six months. He and his companions escaped through a tunnel, but was captured while cutting loose a canoe. Mr. Munn was beaten over the head with a revolver, all were compelled to crawl back through the tunnel, and as each man's head emerged it was struck with a spade. While suffering and death reigned supreme in the prison, the captives were aggravated by a gang of thieves among their own numbers, who stole all articles of value which they could secure, and traded them to the Rebels. This gang Mr. Munn assisted in breaking up. Shortly after this was done, he and others were removed to the Pemberton Building, and later to Andersonville, where they arrived March 15, 1864, an attempt to escape from a box car while cn route failing, partly because of the breaking of a saw. Mr. Munn and John Cain of the Pennsylvania Cavalry, Kilpatrick's Divison, escaped soon afterward and traveled all night, but at daybreak, while passing a gristmill, they were seen and pursued by the entire neighborhood assisted by bloodhounds. Fortunately the latter followed the winding trail, and did not come up to them until they were in custody of men who fed them and sent them back to the prison in a buggy. The next escape was accomplished while assigned to carrying out the dead bodies from the prison. Twenty-four who made the attempt were re-cap- tured, and, after a night around a camp-fire, were taken before the notorious Capt. Wirtz. He ordered all valuables to be taken from them; but as luck would have it the man who did the searching had an honest and sympathetic heart, and in Mr. Munn's case he reported that he found only two dollars, and, retaining the rest, he afterward expended it for food and other supplies for him. The prisoners were then formed in line and questioned as to their mode of escape, which they refused to reveal. They were threatened with 1 50 lashes each if they did not re-consider this decision, but while they were debating the matter a dispatch arrived telling how they had escaped. They were then ordered to march to a pile of thirty-two-pound iron balls, each man pickingup one and carrying it to theblacksmith'sshop, where it was attached to his ankle by a chain. This done, they were started on a run for the prison, the chains cutting deeper into their flesh at every step; but after they were out of Capt. Wirtz's sight they were permitted to take sticks, and, by tying strings to end of stick and in link next ball, carried the balls before them as they walked. They were compelled to hobble up to quarters every morning for inspection, but in a few days Mr. Munn managed to make an open link and detached his weight, replacing it when called to quarters. He finally managed to file the band off, and was ready for another escape. Ten dollars secured him a place on the detail which brought in wood, and, while out, his plan was favored by a terrific rain storm which made the guards return in haste to shelter.

Our subject had kept well in the rear, and giving his wood to his companions he ran to an outside building where a friend, Turner Winn, was detailed as cook. On his advice Mr. Munn secreted himself in a marsh near by to wait for a supply of food, but, although he remained immersed in the water for several hours, he missed his friend and was obliged to start hungry on his journey through the inky darkness and pouring rain. He walked all that night, only to find himself at dawn close to the prison walls, having traveled in a circle. His dismay can hardly be imagined, but he had no time to brood over his mistake, and starting south he met, four miles out, a negro who secreted him and brought him food. That evening our hero started across the fields in a northwesterly direction in a cold, drizzling rain, which chilled him to the heart. Almost despairing, he made several attempts to find shelter and rest in lonely houses, but found each one occupied by sleepers whom he feared to arouse. Just as he was about to throw himself upon the ground and abandon all hope, he heard! hogs squealing, and finding their pen he kicked them out of their warm nest and dropped dowm into it himself, losing consciousness the moment, he fell. On awakening, he found the sunshine beaming upon him, and a white-haired negro calling the hogs to feed. When Mr. Munn rose up poor old "Father Buckhom" stood speechless with astonishment until he learned that the stranger was a "Yankee soldier." " Lord bress you," he said, "I thought it was a new Christ come to earth." He was the overseer of the plantation, and taking Mr. Munn out into an oat field he made him a bed of straw, and soon the colored women supplied him with an abundance of food. The news that "Father Buckhorn " had found a "Yankee" in the hog bed spread far and wide among the negroes, and made that poor old slave the hero of the hour. From all directions the darkies crowded in to look upon the visitor, and they alternately laughed and cried as they made him repeat again and again the story of his adventures and the progress of the war. Their joy at seeing one of their longhoped-for deliverers was pathetic, and such expressions as "God bress de Yankee generation; deys done come at last," were frequent. A Confederate uniform was found for him, and at night a haversack full of food was provided; but he was too weak to carry it, and a darkey offered to carry it, as he was going twenty miles north to see his wife. Hope and strength returning, Mr. Munn walked on through several nights without special incident, resting during the day, but when his food was gone he was again in perplexity. Shouts from a darkey meeting led him safely to a place where a friendly colored man cared for him, hiding him in a barn and giving him a new supply of food. Warned against going north, where the Rebel forces were concentrated, he took a new direction, and met varying fortunes, swimming rivers, walking miles in the bed of a small stream in order to leave no trace for the hounds to follow, and at times subsisting on huckleberries when no colored ally could be found. At one point the negroes warned him against following the road farther, as two neighbors kept bloodhounds who would knowthathe was a Yankee in spite of all precautions. He tried it, however, on a dark night, mounted on a mule, but the hounds at the first house made such an outcry that he dared not go on. He had many other narrow escapes, his gray suit serving him well on several occasions. Once, when desperate for food, he entered a house and told the lady who met him that he was a Confederate soldier; but after some conversation learned that she was a Unionist, and then confessed his own identity. Her husband had gone away rather than fight against the North, and, as both were suspected, she was afraid to do much to help him. In a few hours a Rebel neighbor came in, but so good account did Mr. Munn give of himself that he departed satisfied, and the lady expressed amazement that even a Yankee should be able to invent such a story while he was telling it. When night came she sent him to a Union man near by, who was at first chary of his confidence; but he and his son finally accepted him as ' ' genuine," and kept him up until a late hour telling them the news of the war, accurate intelligence seldom reaching the rural communities. He slept that night in a corn crib, as they were in fear of the Rebels, and the next morning while eating his " corn pone " he was told that the Unionists had taken Rome, Ga. , sixty miles away, and had a post at Cross Plains, only fifteen miles from his stopping place. On reaching Cross Plains he found this incorrect. He was well treated there, how- -ever, by the negroes, dined in the yard of a stanch Rebel, and passed the pickets safely. He tried to keep to the mountains in order to avoid the relays and stations on the road to Rome ; but having been told by a negro how to pass them safely, he tried to follow the road, but was pursued by a detachment from the next post. After swimming a creek and running a long distance, he fell down exhausted in an oat field, where he lay all night, listening to sounds of battle, by which he decided that the Rebels were retreating. The next morning, Monday, July 4, 1864, he made his way to the Union outposts. But his troubles were not yet over. The most vexatious incident of all his tedious wanderings came through his very accurate "make up" as a Confederate. He was arrested and placed in the guard house with other prisoners, and with difficulty obtained an interview with the colonel in command, who finally became convinced of his loyalty, and offered him a position on his staff. This was declined as Mr. Munn wished to rejoin his company, which he succeeded in doing a few weeks later, at Atlanta. With the regiment he remained until mustered out in September, 1865.

On returning home he engaged in the grocery business at Ottawa, later moving to a farm near Portage and establishing a grocery in that village, where he also served four years as postmaster. In June, 1883, he went to Cleveland and entered the commission business; but in 1884 came to Weston and opened a store for general merchandise, which he conducted eight years, and of which he made a success. Following the arts of peace as energetically as he did those of war, he has been a leading factor in many enterprises. He was the chief organizer of the Exchange Banking Company of Weston, and has been its president from the start. With others, he engaged in oil producing, and now has an interest in twenty productive wells, and others in process of development, and holds a number of promising leases besides. When Mr. Munn was seventeen years old he received $500 from his mother as his share of the paternal estate, and on this capital founded the prosperity he now enjoys. He bought eighty acres of wild land in Portage township, and has ever since dealt largely in real estate in Wood and Henry counties.

of the Exchange Banking Co.; Maude L., who married J. V. Baldwin, of Weston, and has one son, Andrew Edward; and Jessie M. , the wife of Ambrose C. Vedder, of St. Augustine, Fla. (they have one son, Munn C. A. Vedder). Mr. Munn erected his pleasant home in 1892, one of the finest in the county. He is quite a traveler, and recently spent six months at St. Augustine, Fla., where he has a cottage. Socially he is a member of the F. & A. M. and the G. A. R. He was brought up a Democrat, but during the Civil war changed his political opinions, and is now a member of the Republican party.

Marion V. Cox, a farmer of Milton township, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, near Bucyrus, April 2, 1847. His parents, George and Nancy J. (Young) Cox, were also natives of the Buckeye State, the former born in Harrison county, in 1816, the latter in Guernsey county, in 1 826. They were married in Richland county, later removed to Crawford county, and about 1856 became residents of Morrow county. In April, 1861, the father enlisted in Company I, 65th O. V. I., and served until the close of the war. He afterward removed to Hancock county, and in 1871 came to Wood county, where he is now living a retired life in Weston; his wife died there in May, 1893. Their children were Marion V.; Martha, wife of Samuel Wikel, of Wingston; George, a teamster of North Baltimore; Ellen, wife of Jack Wall, of Wingston; Charles, a farmer of Oklahoma; Viona, wife of Albert Hessong, of Milton township, and Virginia, who died at the age of two years.

when only fifteen years of age, he joined the Union army in Morrow county, and became a member of Company I, 85th O. V. I. At the end of six weeks he was transferred to the 87th Ohio Regiment, and was taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry, but not long after was paroled. Being now a paroled prisoner, he enlisted in Company C, 54th Battalion, Ohio State Guards, for service in the State. In 1863, although he was fully aware of the great risk he ran, as a paroled prisoner, to re-enlist for active service, yet he joined Company E, 21st O. V. V.I., in which regiment he participated in the battle of Tunnel Hill, and, on July 9, 1864, was wounded by a minie ball in the right arm, which kept him from duty for two months. He then joined his regiment in front of Atlanta, went with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, and was in the Carolina campaign. While at Columbus, Ohio, July 21, 1865, he was honorably discharged. Mr. Cox says he could relate many a heart-rending scene he was an eyewitness to during his war experiences. For a man of his age during the war, he saw a great deal of hard service.

Soon after his return home, Mr. Cox went to the lumber woods of northern Michigan, where he was engaged in making shingles for three years. He then returned to Findlay, Ohio, in 1869, and was there married to Miss Almira Feller, who was born near Findlay, May 26, 1850. They rented the old Foulk farm, in Hancock county, but after a year rented a farm in Wood county. On the latter place they lived for a year, and Mr. Cox then purchased his present place of eighty acres. This, however, he sold after a year, and for six years rented and operated the Samuel Case farm, in Liberty township. He then again purchased the farm in Milton township, and has made excellent improvements upon it, including the erection of an elegant and spacious dwelling. Industry and enterprise are numbered among his chief characteristics, and have been important factors in his success. Mr. and Mrs. Cox have a family of seven children: Rosie, wife of Ira Lance; Ina; Eldon; Clay and Clyde, twins; Blaine and Olive; they also lost one child that died in infancy. The parents occupy an enviable position in social circles, and have many warm friends. Politically, Mr. Cox affiliates with the Republican party; in religious faith he is an adherent of the United Brethren Church, and, socially, he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His duties of citizenship are discharged with the same loyalty as when a soldier boy he followed the stars and stripes on Southern battle fields.

William Furry. Among the old pioneers and representative agriculturists of Lake township, there is probably no more prominent figure than Mr. Furry, who makes his home in Section 27. He is a native of Stark county, born in 1833, and is a son of Jacob Henry and Fannie (Butler) Furry, the latter of whom died August 20, 1885. The father's birth occurred in Pennsylvania, where he was reared and married, and in 1833 he took his family to Stark county, Ohio, but the same year came to Wood county, locating at Stony Ridge. He was employed for a time on the Maumee pike, and later entered land in Lake township, which he made his home until his death in 1866. He was one of the first members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Stony Ridge, and helped to build the first church erected at that place. He and his wife were faithful members of that Church until God called them to a better land.

enlisted in October, 1861, at Stony Ridge, in the 72nd O. V. I., and was discharged at Columbus, Ohio, August 21, 1862; he died at Pemberville, Wood county, in August, 1895. George resides at Stony Ridge. Mrs. James Whitmore lives at Haskins, this county. Mrs. Margaret Jennison died at East Toledo in 1890. Mrs. Catherine McCutcheon makes her home at Stony Ridge. John enlisted at Stony Ridge October 19, 1861, in Company E, 72nd O. V. I. , for three years, and was mustered in at Columbus, Ohio; he served in the quartermaster's department until honorably discharged at Louisville, Ky. , in 1865; his death occurred at Woodville, Ohio, in 1887. Mary is the wife of Martin Shook, of Stony Ridge. Charles makes his home at Gibsonburg, Sandusky Co., Ohio.

The childhood and youth of our subject were passed at Stony Ridge and in Lake township, where he was educated, and he remained under the parental roof until the outbreak of the Civil war, when, in 1861, he enlisted at Stony Ridge, in Company E, 72nd O. V. I., for three years. He was mustered into the United States service at Columbus, and was assigned to the Western army. He participated in the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Vicksburg, where he received a gunshot wound, and at the battle near Ripley, Miss. , he was taken prisoner. After three months and a half confinement in Andersonville prison, he was sent to Florence, and later to Lawton, thus experiencing nine months of Rebel prison life. At Salisbury, N. C. , he was honorably dis- charged in 1865, and returned to his home in Lake township, Wood county, where it took him some months to recuperate. He has since made his home upon his present farm.

In 1865, in that township, he wedded Miss Hannah Akersberger, a native of Wood county, and a daughter of George Akersberger, an early pioneer of the township, who died in 1895, but upon the old home farm his widow still resides. Mrs. Furry died in 1868, leaving one child - Edgar George. For his second wife our subject wedded, in 1869, Miss Hattie Wicks, a native of Sandusky county. Her parents, John and Sarah (Hartzel) Wicks, were born in Union county, Penn., thence removed to Wayne county, Ohio, and later to Sandusky county, where they were numbered among the earliest pioneers, and in 1 868 became residents of Lake township. Wood county, locating upon a farm. In that township the father died in 1887, and the mother in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Furry have had eight children: Jonas William, who is married and lives in Lake township; John James; Henry B. ; Floyd A. ; Palmer E. ; Irvin E. ; Ray R. ; and Harry, who died in 1883, at the age of eighteen months.

For sixty-three years Mr. Furry has been a resident of Wood county, during which time he has witnessed its wonderful development, and has been of material assistance in its advancement. On his fine farm of sixty-five acres he is now engaged in general farming, and the place well indicates his careful supervision, enterprise and industry. He takes censiderable interest in political affairs, always supporting the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Stony Ridge, and are faithful workers in same.

John Hartman, who is one of the substantial agriculturists and prosperous men of Wood county, was born in Perrysburg, that county, December 18, 1834, the eldest of the eight children of Jacob and Margaret (Lichtenberger) Hartman.

The parents of our subject were both natives of Germany, the father born May 24, 1808, in Wurtemberg, and the mother on March 12, 1812, near Strasburg. In 1834 they were married in Stark county, Ohio, and came to Wood county the same year, first locating in Perrysburg, afterward, in 1836, removing to Bowling Green, in which vicinity he carried on farming. The father died April 8, 1890; the mother is still living. Their children are as follows: John; Frederick, a farmer in Plain township; Josephine, wife of F. Nobles, a farmer in Center township; David, a farmer in Plain township; George, also a farmer in Plain township; Elizabeth, who resides with her mother in Bowling Green; Electa, also living at home; and Leonard, living on the old homestead in Center township, Wood county. All of the sons are wealthy farmers, and have spent their lives in the vicinity of Bowling Green.

John Hartman was reared to manhood in Center township, and obtained the principle part of his education in the district schools, also attending two years at the Perrysburg High School. When sixteen years old he entered the employ of Lock & Peck, of Bowling Green, as clerk. In the fall of 1854, he studied one term in the college at Berea, and he taught school successfully for six terms. After his marriage, he settled on a farm in Plain township, where he has lived some thirty-eight years. He first bought eighty acres of wild land, and now owns I 50 acres, all of which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, and by assiduous labor and careful attention to the details of his work he has become a wealthy man. His example is one that ought to encourage any young man to go and do likewise. When only eighteen years old he was thrown upon his own resources, and he has been the architect of his own fortune. Many of the settlers at that early day depended upon hunting, trapping and fishing for their livelihood, and as the advance of civilization gradually destroyed these means of subsistence, they eventually drifted out to the frontiers, or took up some other desultory method of making a living. Our subject, on the contrary, turned his attention to tilling the soil, and, as the country grew up around him, found a reward for'his labors in the products of his fields, and the enjoyments of social life. To-day he ranks among the wealthy and honored citizens of the county who have aided in her growth and progress, and who take pride in the great development of her wonderful resources. He has kept a diary for twenty-three years, on one page recording the weather and directions of the wind, and on the other his business transactions and events of the day.

Mr. Hartman was married December 23, 1858, to Miss Estella Sholes, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, January 28, 1841. Her father, Alva Sholes, was of English descent, born December 11, 1815, in Genesee county, N. Y., son of John and Phoebe (Pond) Sholes, who were natives of eastern New York. In 1841 they migrated westward to Illinois, settling in Kane county, where they passed the remainder of their lives, engaged in farming. They had seven children: Solomon, Steven, Roxanna, Alva, Sylvia, David and Hiram. Alva Sholes came to Huron county, Ohio, where he was married, December 6, 1839, to Eliza Jane Moore. They became the parents of five children, viz. : Estella (Mrs. Hartman); Leuthera (Mrs. James Mann), of Plain township; Dalinda (Mrs. Frederick Hartman), who died in 1873; Alice J. (Mrs. Dr. Manville), of Bowling Green; and Frank, on the old homestead. Alva Sholes came to Wood county in 1 848, settling on a farm in Plain township, where he died in January, 1892. Politically he was a Republican. Mrs. Hartman's great-grandfather, John Moore, came from Germany to the United States with Lafayette, under whom he served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war.

the wife of J. W. Underwood, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Bowling Green; they have two children - Estella and Esther. (2) Ernest is a graduate of the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy, and is a druggist at Weston, Ohio. (3) Eugene, born April 17, 1869, was educated at Fayette and Wauseon Normal Schools, and was a teacher in the public schools one term ; he is now farming at home. (4) Winifred, born March 14, 1877, lives at home with her parents. Mr. Hartman is a Republican in political belief; has served as township trustee and as school director of his district, but he is no office seeker, preferring to devote his attention to his private interests.

John Layman, a pioneer agriculturist and lumberman of Webster township, was born November 1, 1839, in Berne, Switzerland. His parents, John and Martha (Jacobs ) Layman, were both natives of that place, and were married there. In 1849 they came to Wood county, and purchased eighty acres of unimproved land in Webster township. Our subject's father was a man of great energy and practical ability, a Democrat in politics, and a consistent member of the Lutheran Church. He died in August, 1872, and his wife survived him until August 13, 1893. Their children were as follows: . Barbara; Peter, a farmer in Webster township; Chris; William; John, our subject; and Anne.

Mr. Layman was ten years old when he came to America, and he remembers well the scenes and experiences of pioneer times, when Indians, wolves and mosquitoes kept the settlers in constant dread and discomfort. The first home of the family was a little log cabin, and they nearly starved at times. Their wheat had to be carried thirty miles to mill. When he reached the age of twenty-two, Mr. Layman enlisted in Company I, 111 th O. V. I. (Capts. Yeager and Norris commanding). He took part in thirty-two hardfought engagements, the principal ones being Stone River, Allatoona, Resaca, Lost Mountain, siege of Knoxville, Chattanooga, Cedar Rapids, Utoy Creek, Fort Anderson, Raleigh, and Atlanta. He was discharged at Salisbury, N. C., June 27, 1865. Returning home, he bought eighty acres of forest land near Luckey, and erected a sawmill, which he operated for twenty years. In 1873, he was married to Miss Mary Smith, also a native of Berne, Switzerland. They have four children: Frank, Fred, Mary and Edward. In politics, Mr. Layman is a Republican, and he belongs to Benedict Post, G. A. R., of Pemberville. He and his wife are prominent members of the Evangelical Church at Luckey.

James S. Salsberry, who is numbered among "the boys in blue" of the Civil war, and now follows farming in Milton township, was born in Liberty township, Wood county, November 2.:8, 1838. Jonathan Salsberry, his father, a miller by trade, was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in May, 1786. He learned his trade in Pennsylvania, and was there married to Catherine Plott, a native of the Keystone State. They afterward removed to Ohio, locating on a tract of wild land in Liberty township, Wood county, where they lived until 1864, when the father purchased eighty acres of land in Milton township, and continued its cultivation until his death in 1883. His wife passed away several years previous. Their children were: Sibylina, wife of W. H. Cotton, of Milton; Salinda Ann, wife of Jonathan L. Wheaton, of Nebraska; Salathiel Edwin, of San Antonio, Texas; Cinderella Phoebe, deceased wife of Langdon C. Hubbard; Stanilaus Rudolph, late farmer of Milton township (now deceased); James S., our subject; Sabina I., deceased wife of Edward Remington; Samaria, wife of Thomas Hill, of Milton township; Samaritan Mortimer, of Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio; and Salva, who died in infancy.

On the old family homestead our subject was reared. While in Liberty township he acquired his education in the old-fashioned log school house, with its fireplace and other primitive furnishings. In July, 1862, he enlisted in the Union army, becoming a member of Company B, 111 th O. V. I. Going to the front soon after, his command was engaged in chasing Buell in Kentucky, and on November 16, 1863, he was taken prisoner and sent to Atlanta, afterward to Savannah, and thence to Richmond, where he remained until released, January 1, 1864. He then joined his regiment at Big Shanty, Ga. He took part in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, the Atlanta campaign, also the siege of the city, and was once wounded by a minie ball in the right knee. He was discharged at Salisbury, N. C., and while at Cleveland, Ohio, June 27, 1865, he was mustered out. At once returning home, he resumed farming.

On November 11, 1866, in Milton township, Mr. Salsberry was married to Susan D. Castle, who was born near Sandusky, Erie Co., Ohio, August 31, 1847, and is a daughter of Thomas Castle, a farmer, who was born in Greene county, N. Y. , in 1818. When a young man Mr. Castle went to Wyoming county, Penn., where he wedded Elizabeth Philo, who was born in that county, March 26, 1 82 1 . A year later they came to Ohio, locating on a farm near Sandusky, and in 1855 they arrived in Wood county, making their home in Milton township, where Mr. Castle died July 26, 1892. His widow is still living in Custar. Their children were: Anna, deceased wife of Stanley O. Shaw; Malbon W. , who entered the army, and died at Graysville, Ga. ; Mrs. Salsberry; Isaac, deceased; Sarah J., deceased wife of Barnett Older; David H., who was drowned at the age of seventeen months; Caroline, deceased wife of David Bredbinner; John F. , a farmer of Jackson township; Alice C. , wife of James Russell, of Isabel county, Mich ; and Henrietta, who died in infancy.

Upon their marriage, Mr. Salsberry and his wife located in Milton township. A year later they removed to Ironton,- Mo., but after six months went to St. Francis county, Mo., where Mr. Salsberry purchased 100 acres of land, on which he lived for a year and a half. He then returned to Wood county, and after a short time took up his residence in Custar, where he engaged in clerking for two years. He next rented land for a few years, after which, in 1883, he purchased fifty acres, twelve of which were cleared. In 1892 he erected his present commodious and comfortable home, and in 1891 he built a large and substantial barn, which was destroyed by fire, August 26, 1895. To him and his wife have been born three children: (1) Elmo Earle, born April 27, 1868, in Missouri; he was married, October 19, 1891, to Fannie E., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Fellers, farming people of Henry township, and to them was born, October 18, 1892, a daughter, named Pearl; Elmo E. Salsberry is now teaching school in North Baltimore. (2) Elda B. (also a school teacher), born November 5, 1871, in Milton township; he was married, September 1 1 , 1890, to Nora B. , daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Winfield

Barber, farming people of Milton township, and to them have been born three children, their names and dates of birth being as follows : James W. , February 25, 1892; Opal M., April 12, 1893; Malbon E., February 5, 1894. (3)

Roland was born November 26, 1880, and is attending school in Custar. The parents are active members of the Disciples Church, and in politics Mr. Salsberry was a Democrat until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he became a stanch Republican.

A. J. Harman, a straightforward and industrious farmer, is a descendant of one of the old and respected families of Montgomery township, where he was born in Section 30, September 7, 1 868, and is the youngest child of William and Mary (Kyser) Harman. He acquired his education in the district schools of the neighborhood - his first teacher being Erasmus Musser - and received a careful home training, remaining a member of the parental household until he had attained the age of eighteen years, when he entered the stave mill at Prairie Depot belonging to Smith, Hathaway & Co. , where he was employed as fireman and at running the engine.

In that village, April 21, 1888, Mr. Harman married Miss Amanda Amos, the ceremony being performed by Steve Angus. The lady is also descended from a respected pioneer family of Wood county, who were early settlers of Portage township, where she was born October 18, 1868. However, she accompanied her parents, George and Sarah A. (Jackson) Amos, to Montgomery township when a small child, and was there reared. Three children grace the union of our subject and his wife: Mabel M. , born October

After his marriage, Mr. Harman rented four lots of his father in Prairie Depot, where he resided until the fall of 1889, when he located upon the home farm in Montgomery township, and there continued until his present comfortable home was erected in 1893, where they removed on October 5. He has twenty acres of rich and productive land, upon which he has placed many substantial improvements, and no happier or pleasanter home can be found anywhere. For nearly two years he was a pumper for the Hazelwood Oil Company, in which position he re mained until January 31, 1896, when he took charge of the oil property for the Stitts, Pool & Harris Oil Co. He is a steady-going young man. destined to become a substantial farmer, and bears an excellent reputation throughout the community, where he has always made his home. In political sentiment he is a stalwart Democrat, ever casting his vote in support of the principles of that party.

A. B. Miller. The subject of this sketch stands second to none among the prominent citizens of Jerry City. The place of his nativity is Upper Paxton township, Dauphin Co., Penn., where he was born March 30, 1816; he was christened Amos, but later for convenience took the initial B, and is now known as A. B. Miller.

His parents, Daniel and Magdalene (Kanaga) Miller, were of Swiss extraction, their ancestors having come from Switzerland many generations ago, locating in Lancaster county, Penn., during its pioneer days. Our subject was nineteen years of age when the family left the Keystone State, making the long journey, by way of Pittsburg, to Scipio township, Seneca county, where the father had previously purchased 182 acres of land and erected a cabin. He and his wife came in a carriage, while our subject drove a one-horse wagon containing bedding and provisions, and his brother Simon drove a four-horse team hitched to a covered wagon. It was two years after the parents left their home in Pennsylvania before they located in Seneca county, as they had stopped at Mrs. Miller's father's farm in Stark county, Ohio, there making a temporary home while the father looked up a suitbale location. His death occurred in Seneca county at the age of sixty-eight years and nine months, while his wife had reached the very advanced age of ninety-three years and three months, at the time of her death. She was a woman of the greatest vitality, always active up to the time of her death. In the family were five children, namely: Simon, who died in Seneca county when nearly eighty years of age; Elizabeth, who became the wife of George Shaffner, and died when past the age of sixty years; A. B. , of this sketch; Fannie, who died in Pennsylvania at the age of thirteen; and John K., of Seneca county.

The early education of our subject was such as the subscription schools of Pennsylvania afforded at that early day, when manual labor was considered of more importance than literary studies. His boyhood and youth were passed on his father's farm, and one of the first important steps toward the establishment of a home of his own, was his marriage which took place in Bucyrus, Ohio, February 23, 1841, his bride being Miss Nancy Shaffner, who was born in Dauphin county, Penn., September 21, 1822. She was the next to the youngest in the' family of nine children, three sons and six daughters, born to Martin and Sarah (Flischer) Shaffner. While a resident of Pennsylvania, her father followed tanning; but on locating in Crawford county, Ohio, in 1828, he took up farming, which he followed until his death at the age of eighty-four. The mother of Mrs. Miller died in 1 824, after which Mr. Shaffner was three times married, and became the father of twenty-one children, one of whom died in infancy, but the others all lived to adult age, the youngest dying at the age of nineteen.

years during the Civil war as a member of Company H, 101st O. V. I., and is now living in Portage township, Wood county; Isaiah S., a resident of the same township; John W., a merchant of West Millgrove, Ohio; Mary M., wife of John Johnston, Jr., of Portage township; Sarah E. , wife of John Reese, of Bloom township; Martha J., now Mrs. Levi Butturf, of Crawford county, Ohio; Amanda, who died at the age of six years; Annie M., who became the wife of John Todd, and died in Portage township; Amos A., who died in infancy; Nannie, who died at the age of eighteen years, was the wife of Cyrus Johnston; Ida A., widow of Henry Brown, of Jerry City, Ohio; and a son who died in infancy. The family is one of prominence, and its members have become useful and respected citizens.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller began housekeeping on an eighty-acre farm in Seneca county, partially cleared, where they made their home until February, 1864, when they came to Section 10, Portage township, Wood county, buying 160 acres of land. There they continued to reside until March 4, 1880, since which time they have found a pleasant home in Jerry City, though they still own fifty-eight acres in Section 32, Portage township. For over fifty-five years they have traveled life's journey together, strengthening each other during the trials and vicissitudes of life, but are now resting after their labors, surrounded by a loving family and many warm friends. Both are earnest Christians, being members of the Radical United Brethren Church. For many years Mr. Miller was a Republican, but now supports the Prohibition party.

James Smith, deceased. The subject of this sketch, formerly a well-known citizen of Bowling Green, was born in the North of Ireland in the year 1815. He came to America when twenty years of age, and for two years lived in New

York City, but 'finally located at Little Falls, Herkimer Co., N. Y., where he remained thirty years engaged in merchant tailoring. He married a native of Little Falls, Miss Phally Dennis, who was born August 15, 1824, the eldest daughter of Cornelius and Betsy (Simmons) Dennis. They were natives of Connecticut, but came to New York in early youth, where they met and married. Mr. Dennis was a prominent resident of Little Falls, a millwright by trade. He lived to the. age of eighty, but Mrs. Dennis died at the age of forty years. Of their four children, Mrs. Smith is now the only survivor. The others were Thomas, a resident of New York State; Mary, who died in childhood, and Eleanor. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith continued to reside at Little Falls, where children were born to them as follows: Edmund, born June 30,

1847, died in childhood; Clarissa, born July 20, 1849, who married George West, and died June 19, 1872, leaving one daughter, Mabel, now Mrs. Strouse, of Fostoria, Ohio; George, born June 5, 1853, who married Miss Maggie Tisseur, and died August 1 1, 1892, leaving three children - Floyd, Laminne, and Marie; Julia A., born March29, 1858, who married Frank H. Boughton, of Bowling Green, and has three boys, Walter, Solon and LeRoy. Two great-grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Smith - Phally and Clara Strouse - live with their parents at Fostoria.