Wood County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1897 (part 2 of 17)

The mother of our subject, who was of Irish descent, was born September 28, 1813, in Virginia, her parents having temporarily located in that State on the way from their home in Pennsylvania to their final destination in Knox county, Ohio. There were three children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Manville, namely: A. J., but a small settlement, and his advantages for an education were only such as could be derived from the primitive schools of that time. At the age of fifteen, owning forty acres of wild land, worth about one hundred dollars, given him by his mother, he commenced life in earnest. He began by occupying his land, building a log cabin, and working as much as he was able at clearing off the heavy growth of timber with which it was covered, and otherwise improving it. By industry and economy he was enabled to purchase twenty acres of land adjoining the original forty acres. He continued the occupation of farming until November, 1863, when, by the advice of his mother, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. G. J. Rogers, a pioneer physician of Bowling Green, who gladly accepted him as a pupil, and who proposed that they buy a small drug store which was then offered for sale. This they did, and the young student spent his time in reading up for his profession and in attending to the store, in the latter way acquiring a knowledge of drugs and the compounding of medicines so I necessary to physicians. - In October, 1 864, he j entered the Medical College at Ann Arbor, Mich.,

I studying there for one year, then returning to the drugstore for another year, after which he entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, graduating from that institution in 1866 with the degree of M. D. During his course at | the latter college he studied under some of the 1 most famous professors in America, among them ! being Drs. Austin Flint, senior and junior, Surgeon-General Hammond, Lewis A. Sayers and Dr. Frank H. Hamilton, all of whom are of inj ternational repute.

| After his graduation Dr. Manville returned to j Bowling Green, and entered into partnership with Dr. Rogers, carrying on a drug store at the same j time. He had an extensive practice from 1866 I until 1875, when, on account of failing health, he was forced to gradually withdraw from active work in his profession, and from that time on devoted his time chiefly to the drug business, which was finally carried on under the firm name of | Bolles & Manville. He was engaged in the drug business from 1863 until January 1, 1896, when he sold out his interest, and during part of ! that time was interested in two stores. Dr. Manville is one of the most widely known citizens of Wood county, and has always taken an , active part in public affairs. He was instrumental in having Bowling Green made the county seat, and was treasurer of the Bowling Green cS: Toledo Railroad Company, which built the short line between Tontogany and Bowling Green. In pol- itics he is a Democrat; socially he is a prominent member of the Masonic Order. He belongs to the Wood County Medical Association and the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association.

On January 17, 1872, Dr. Manville was married to Miss Alice J. Sholes. They have one child, Iona, born September 11, 1875, in Bowling Green, who is attending the female college at Glendale, Ohio, where she is taking a special course in art and music, and expects to finish her education; she is a most estimable young lady. The Doctor has always invested all his spare means in real estate, and in addition to his fine home in the city, which comprises one block, is the owner of several town lots and also some farm lands in the county. He spent the winter of 1895-96 in Florida.

Edwin H. Simmons, an enterprising farmer of Perrysburg, is a native of Huron county, where he was born November 2, 1855. He came to Wood county when eight years old, and went to school at Thompson's school house, in District No. 3. He remained at home on the farm until 1883, and then went to Dakota and Wisconsin for a while to view the western country, subsequently returning to Wood county.

On January 25, 1888, Mr. Simmons was married to Miss Mary Hundley, whose birth took place in Perrysburg, September 22, 1865. Two children have been born to them, Alma, and Ray. After his marriage our subject settled down in Perrysburg, having bought forty acres of land, on which, in 1887, he built a substantial house. In politics he was a Democrat, and was elected trustee of Perrysburg township last spring, by the largest majority (180) ever given to the candidate for that office in that township. He is a member of Fort Meigs Lodge, I. O. O. F. , at Perrysburg, and has been given the position of agent for the Lime City Farmers Mutual Fire Association. He is up to date in all matters pertaining to his business, and the Association has secured a valuable man in Mr. Simmons. He is energetic and progressive, and has numerous friends both in a business way and personally.

Robert Simmons, the father of our subject, was born in Cambridgeshire, England, May 10, 1832. In 1852 he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Jane Van Sickle, who was born in Delaware county, Ohio, February 27, 1836.

They came to Wood county in 1863, and Mr. Simmons bought a farm in Perrysburg township, then full of timber, and he had to clear a space large enough to build a house upon. Later he increased his property, and became an extensive land owner. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons are both living, and reside in the town of Perrysburg. This couple had four children, namely: Edwin, our subject; Ira C., born June 18, i860; Adelbert, born March 18, 1864; Florence May, born December 29, 1866. All are married except Florence.

Mrs. Simmons is a descendant of the Holland Dutch, who settled in New York State. The progenitor's name was Ferdinand Van Sickle, who was born in Holland about the year 1638, and came to America when a young man.

John Ault, one of the leading citizens of Wood county, and a resident of Lime City, was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 1, 1843, and is the son of George and Anna (Pinsil) Ault. Both parents were also natives of Bavaria, where they married in 1841, coming to America in 1852. Four children were born to them: John, Anna, Joseph, and Martin.

Our subject spent his boyhood in Lime City, and attended the district schools, supplementing this education by three years at a college. He was married May 18, 1875, to Miss Barbara Munger, who was born in Perrysburg in 1847, and they had nine children, as follows: Mary,

Elizabeth, George, Frank, Joseph, Bertha, Edmund, Helen, and William. Mr. Ault has always resided near Lime City, settling first on the old homestead of forty acres, which he afterward sold. He now has a substantial house on 200 acres of land adjoining his old home. His energies have been well directed, and he is recognized as one of the leaders in Wood county. For five years he has been a trustee of the township, and secretary of the Lime City Farmers Mutual Benefit Fire Association, of which he was one of the chief promoters. He is a member of the commission appointed for building the county court house. In religious faith he is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. "Ault is intelligent and progressive, and an earnest worker in the interest of the community in which he lives.

Charles E. Auverter has led an industrious and useful life, and has worked his way upward step by step, until he now occupies a leading position among the substantial and prominent farmers of Wood county. He has spent his entire life in this county', his birth having occurred in Henry township, January 1, 1856. His parents, Michael and Rachel (Milbourn) Auverter, are now living retired in North Baltimore.

To the public-school system our subject is indebted for his educational privileges. At the age of nineteen he began to learn the carpenter's trade, but made his home under the parental roof until his marriage. On the 13th of February, 1883, in Henry township, was solemnized the marriage of Charles Auverter and Miss Della Beatty, who was born February 22, 1862, and is a daughter of Hiram and Delila (Willford) Beatty. The young couple began their domestic life upon their present farm, Mr. Auverter having purchased forty acres of land in the fall of 1882, and in the spring of 1883 he erected a pleasant dwelling. Farming, however, is not his chief occupation, as he gives the greater part of his attention to carpentering. He has also worked to a limited extent in the oil fields, and has been a very industrious and energetic man. Upon his own land he has developed ten oil wells, four of which are now running.

In his political affiliations, Mr. Auverter is a Democrat, and for some years has served as supervisor. He has also filled the office of school director, and the cause of education has found in him a stanch friend. In fact he is the champion of all movements that he believes calculated to advance the general welfare, and is therefore a valued citizen of the community.

Judge Henry H. Dodge, a leading attorney of Bowling Green, and for many years Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, was born in the town of Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., February 4, 1830.

His grandfather, Ezra Dodge, a native of Windsor, Conn., and a soldier in the Revolutionary war, removed to New York State in 1800, taking up a " Soldier's Claim " in the township of Pompey, where he died in 1816, at the age of sixty-two.

David F. Dodge, our subject's father, was born at Windsor, Conn., September 8, 1 787, and when thirteen years old accompanied his parents to their new home, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying at eighty-twa years of age. He was a Whig until that party disbanded, when he became a Democrat. During the war he joined the Union party. He married Ada H. Roberts, a lady of Huguenot descent, and a native of Windsor, Conn., where her father had located afcer being driven from France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. She was born in 1797, and died in 1878. Our subject's parents were both Presbyterians in early life, but in 1838 they were converted to the Catholic faith, to which their surviving children adhered. They had three daughters and one son, our subject. Diane, deceased, was the wife of Francis Manahan, a hardware merchant of Utica, N. Y. ; Mary, deceased, was the wife of Daniel G. Wheaton, a farmer of Pompey, N. Y. ; and Cynthia became a sister of charity. She died in 1893 at Mount St. Vincent's Academy on the Hudson, in New York City, after more than forty years of devoted service. .She was known as Sister Maria, and was one of the chief officers of the institution, performing the combined duties of secretary and treasurer for many years. For a few years before her death she held the arduous office of Prefect of studies in the school.

The Judge was educated in the old Pompey Academy, at Pompey Hill, until at the age of sixteen he was sent to St. John's College, New York City, where he was graduated in 1849. He spent the next two years working on his father's farm, and then began the study of law with Victory Birdseye, of Pompey. In the fall of 1852 he came to Perrysburg, Wood county, and finished his preparation for the bar in the office of Spink & Murray. After his admission in 1855, he went into partnership with James Murray, Mr. Spink having died, and continued in practice with him until Mr. Murray was elected Attorney-General of Ohio, in 1859. Our subject then formed a partnership with the late James R. Tyler, which lasted until 1869. Afterward he had as a partner, for a short time, Edson Goit, of Bowling Green, now deceased, and later was associated in the practice of law with Jasher Pillars. In 1877 he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was on the Bench for ten years, making an enviable record for judicial ability, and on his retirement in 1888 he resumed his law practice, taking as a partner John W. Canary.

In 1857 Judge Dodge married Sarah Wilkison, who was born December 20, 1837. Of their two children, the eldest, Mary, born in i860, married Ernest G. Miller, and went to Creede, Col., where she died December 12, 1893, leaving two children, Hobart and Mary D., who now live with our subject. Frederick D., our subject's son, is the General Agent for Bloch Bros'. Tobacco Co., of Wheeling, W. Va. Judge Dodge is an influential member of the Democratic party, and has been a leader in many progressive movements in the community.

Captain David Wilkison (deceased), of Perrysburg, was born at or near Buffalo, in February, 1800, and at an early age went on the Lake as a sailor. In 1815 he sailed up the Maumee river on the schooner " Blacksnake," commanded by his uncle, Jacob Wilkison. This was a small craft to venture upon the lake, being but twentyfive ton burden. At that time nothing but a wild forest was to be seen where Perrysburg now stands. The " Blacksnake " brought up as passengers the family of Mulhollen, who later kept the noted tavern, "Vienna;" also a Mr. Hunter and family, Scott Robb, and a Mr. Hopkins, who settled on land above the present village of Perrysburg. At that time Fort Meigs contained about forty soldiers, who were taken to Detroit by the schooner on her return trip.

In 1817, the "Blacksnake " was in command of Capt. David Wilkison, and made several trips to the Maumee, bringing new settlers, goods, etc., and carrying back fish. In 1818, Capt. Daniel Hubbell bought a controlling interest in the schooner " Pilot," and Capt. Wilkison was placed in command, running between Buffalo and the Maumee Rapids. By that time the Valley of the Maumee began to produce a surplus of corn, and the "Pilot" was well loaded on her return trips with corn and fish. Capt. Wilkison continued upon the lakes, running in connection with the Maumee trade until 1828, at which time he removed his family to Perrysburg. Up to this time he had been in command, successively, of the schooners " Blacksnake," "Pilot," " Mary Jane, " "President," "Superior," " Guerriere " and "Eagle," the latter being a schooner of sixty tons, built at Port Lawrence, now Toledo, in 1828, at a cost of $3,000. The " Eagle " continued under the command of Capt. Wilkison until 1835, doing a profitable business, as was the case with all lake vessels at that period. Capt. Wilkison left the " Eagle " to take command of the new steamer, " Commodore Perry," continuing in charge of her until 1845, when he took command of the steamer " Superior," running between Perrysburg and Buffalo. He continued to run this steamer until the close of navigation in 1852, when he retired after having spent thirty-seven years upon the lakes, in all of' which time he never lost a vessel or steamer, nor did he ever meet with any serious accident. His remarkable success as a navigator was owing to his superior judgment, his coolness under most trying circumstances, and his perfect knowledge of the lake.

After retiring from the lakes Capt. Wilkison devoted himself to the cultivation of his farm adjoining Perrysburg, until he lost his sight. Subsequently his sight was partially restored, and, some years prior to 1873, he was placed in charge of the lighthouse just below Manhattan, the duties of which he discharged until about the year 1872, when he returned to Perrysburg very much broken in health. In the prime of his life he possessed qualities of mind and heart which commanded the respect and secured the friendship of all who knew him, and no man sailed on the lakes who was better known. The Captain was an ardent Whig up to the time of the disruption of that party, and he then became a Republican. At the time of the great celebration at Fort Meigs in 1840, the Captain brought Gen. Harrison to the fort in his steamer Commodore Perry, and entertained a large number of visitors who came to take part there. Although somewhat bluff and a little austere in manner, Capt. Wilkison had the kindest of hearts, and no one ever appealed to him in vain for sympathy or aid in misfortune. His death occurred September 8, 1873.

The widow of Capt. Wilkison, Caroline M. (formerly Forbes), survived him, dying in 1877. He left five children, all but one of whom are still living. William D. Wilkison, the eldest son, was an invalid for many years prior to his death. John E. Wilkison was a partner of Charles Foster and the general manager of the bank of Foster & Co., of Fostoria, until the disastrous failure of Mr. Foster carried the bank down with him. The failure was not in any manner owing to any mismanagement of the bank affairs, as the books showed that the bank was prosperous, and had been making money up to the date of the failure of Mr. Foster. Mr. Wilkison is now engaged in the Insurance business at Cleveland. Capt. Wilkison's eldest daughter is the wife of Isaac P. Thompson, and now resides in Perrysburg. Mr. Thompson was a part owner, and his partner, C. C. Roby, was the master of the steamer "Griffith," which was lost on Lake Erie in 1850, accompanied by a loss of life that spread mourning over the land. Sarah, the second daughter, is the wife of Judge Henry H. Dodge, and now resides at Bowling Green, Ohio. Caroline, the youngest daughter, is the wife of Earl W. Merry, the well-known banker of Bowling Green.

C. L. Huddle, proprietor and editor of the North Baltimore Times, is a native of Tiffin, Ohio, born October 23, 1866. He is the son of Louis and Ellen (Hershberger) Huddle, both of whom were born in Bloom township, Seneca Co., Ohio. Mr. Huddle lived with his parents during the early part of his life, and attended the Sidney (Ohio) High School. He then went to work in the office of the Shelby County Democrat, at Sidney, and learned the printer's trade, after which he was employed as foreman on the

Mt. Gilead Sentinel for a year, and then worked two years as foreman of the job printing department of the Lima Republican. At the end of that time the Republican and Gazette consolidated, forming the Lima Republican-Gazette , with which our subject still retained the position of foreman of the job printing department. In January, 1891, he accepted a position as foreman on the Fostoria Times , which he held until July 1, 1893, at that time moving to North Baltimore, where he secured control of the North Baltimore Times , which he has run successfully ever since. It is Democratic in principle, and is one of the most popular and extensively read papers in southern Wood county. Mr. Huddle is an energetic worker, knows what will interest the people of his community, and, as a consequence, has materially increased the circulation of the Times within the last two years.

The parents of our subject lived in Bloom township until 1871, when they went to Shelby county, going from there in 1886 to Lima, and thence to Fostoria, locating finally in Tiffin, where they reside at present. Mr. vHuddle is a machinist by trade. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics upholds the principles of the Prohibitionists. Mrs. Huddle is a member of the Baptist Church. Four children were born to them: Hershel J. lives in Cincinnati, and is a stenographer for the Union Central Life Insurance Company; Benjamin C. is located at Gann Y'alley, S. Dak., where he is States attorney, C. L. is our subject; Adelma C. resides at North Baltimore, and is connected with the Times.

William S. Haskell, the popular and efficient retiring maj'or of Bowling Green, and member of the well-known law firm of Mears & Haskell, has been a resident of the city some twenty years, and well deserves prominent mention in the pages of this volume.

Mr. Haskell is a native of Michigan, born in Detroit, April 11, 1850, and is a son of Rev. Samuel and Elizabeth ( Granger ) Haskell, who had five children, as follows: William S., whose name introduces this sketch; Samuel, deceased at the age of three years; Frank D., secretary of a paper manufacturing company, with residence at Kalamazoo, Mich.; Belle, who died at the age of eleven months; and Henry ( married ), chief clerk in the office of the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad, with residence at Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Rev. Samuel Haskell, D. D., was born March 20, 1818, in Maine, where he was reared to early manhood, receiving a good commonschool education. At the age of eighteen, the then "Far West" presenting many attractions to youths of ordinary ambition, our subject set out, alone and on horseback, from his Eastern home for Illinois, arriving in due course at Cairo. Entering land from the government near Rock river, near where now stands the city of Rockford, he made his home there for some three or four years, then, selling out, returned to the East, Suffield, Conn., being his objective point. Here he prepared himself for college, in time entering Brown University at Providence, R. I., where he graduated in the class of '45. After this he commenced a course of study at the Theological University of Hamilton, N. Y. , a Baptist institution, graduating in the class of '47, thorough^ equipped, intellectually speaking, for the pulpit or platform. Mr. Haskell was then called to the First Baptist Church, of Detroit, Mich., his first charge, where he remained from 1847 to 1852; from there he was called to the First Baptist Church, of Kalamazoo, which he served as pastor from 1852 to 1871, from the latter date up to 1888, filling a similar position with the First Baptist Church at Ann Arbor, Mich. Being now seventy years of age, Rev. S. Haskell resigned his pastoral labors, and was elected Professor of Biblical research at Kalamazoo College, which professorship he still retains, although he is now in his seventy-ninth year. A man of high literary training and attainments, he has left indelible footprints of his ability that will be visible long after the original has withdrawn from the arena of life. In 1895 he wrote a work on Heroes and Hierarchs, and during his active lifetime has issued many pamphlets, etc., including a " Pioneer History of the Baptist Church of Michigan," and " Pioneer Addresses on Michigan History," besides contributing a mass of literary matter to various Baptist periodicals and newspapers throughout the country. In his political preferences he was originally a Whig, and since the organization of the party has been an equally zealous Republican. Socially he is a member of college societies, and he is universally respected and esteemed. His wife Elizabeth ( Granger ), the mother of William S. Haskell, died in 1887 at Ann Arbor, Mich. ; she was related to the Grangers of historic renown, one of whom was in President Harrison's cabinet in 1841, and the other served in 1801 under Jefferson and Madison; each was postmaster-general.

William S. Haskell, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, was two years old when his parents moved from Detroit to Kalamazoo, Mich., at the common schools of which latter city he received his elementary education, then taking a two-years' course at the high school. In 1865 he commenced studies at Kalamazoo College, taking the Freshman and Sophomore years, then taught two yearg, after which he entered the junior year at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating there in the classical course in 1872. Mr. Haskell then commenced teaching school at Three Rivers, Mich., where he was superintendent one year, after which he taught at Middletown, Ind. , from 1873 to 1877, in August of which latter year he came to Bowling Green. Here he served as superintendent of schools from 1877 to 1883, during which time he organized the present system, and graduated the first two classes - of '82 and '83. Desiring to retire from educational work, Mr. Haskell declined re-election to the office of superintendent of schools, and commenced the study of law in the office of Cook & Troup, passing his examination and being admitted to the bar in 1885. At once commencing the practice of his profession at Bowling Green, he continued in the same until 1887, in which year he was appointed secretary-treasurer of the Hankey Lumber Co., transacting all the legal business of that firm, in which he is now a stockholder. In July, 1894, he resigned his position with that company, in order to enter his present partnership with Mr. Mears, in the practice of law, Mears & Haskell being recognized as one of the strongest legal firms in northwestern Ohio, and enjoying a wide and influential clientele.

In 1875 Mr. Haskell was married in Vigo i county. Ind., to Miss Eliza Weeks, who was born in Hartford, that State, daughter of Harvey and Marv (Piety) Weeks, the father a native of Kentucky, the mother of Virginia; he died -in ' 1865, and she is now a resident of Terre Haute, j Ind. To Mr. and Mrs. Haskell have been born four children, named respectively : Stella, Frank, Mary and George. Mrs. Haskell is a member of the Baptist Church, a member and president of the school board of Bowling Green, elected thereto in 1895.

A Republican in politics, our subject has been a life-long supporter of the principles embodied in the platform of that party. He has served in various offices of trust and honor; member of the school board two terms from 1884; member of ! the Wood county board of examiners two terms; member of the city council two terms, and while serving his second term was appointed mayor of Bowling Green to fill the unexpired term of A. ; B. Murphy. In 1894, such is his popularity and j superior administrative qualifications, he was re- j elected to that incumbency which he filled with characteristic ability and zeal through the term. Socially, Mr. Haskell is a member of the F. & A. M., Wood County Lodge No. 1 12, and of the K. of P., Kenneth Lodge No. 158. By perseverance, energy and assiduous application, he has successfully surmounted many difficulties in the course of his career from boyhood, and has worked his way up steadily to an honorable position in professional life.

Daniel Webster Levers is one of the native sons of Wood county, born in Plain township, May 11, 1861. His parents were William H. and Liddy (Vernon) Levers. He obtained his education in the district schools of the neighborhood, and at the age of nineteen laid aside his text books to learn, in life's school, the difficult lessons of experience. Throughout his boyhood he spent his vacation months in work on the home farm, and was thus employed until his marriage.

On October 22, 1890, in Bowling Green, Mr. Levers led to the marriage altar Miss Della Bordner, who was born July 1 3, 1870. Hepurchased from his father forty acres of land, erected thereon a good substantial dwelling, and has made many other excellent improvements. In the spring of 1895 he purchased an additional forty acres, and now has a valuable farm which in return for his care and cultivation yields to him a good tribute. He is an intelligent, enterprising agriculturist who follows progressive methods, and is regarded as one of the substantial citizens of the community. In politics he is a Republican, and has served for three terms as supervisor, but has never been active. in political affairs, preferring to devote his time and energies to his business pursuits.

Captain Thomas Mawer, a prominent and well-known agriculturist of Washington township, was born in Montreal, Canada, March 14, 1835. His father, William Mawer, was born in Leeds, England, in 1789, and was a butcher by trade. He married Jane Thompson, and they had twelve children: William (1), who died in infancy; William (2), who lived in Illinois, and died in 1893, aged eighty-one years; Matthew (1), died in infancy; Matthew (2), who died in 1838, aged eighteen; John, died in 1839 at the age of sixteen; George (1), died in 1827, aged eight years; Septimus, a farmer in Washington township; Jane (1), who died in infancy; Jane (2), wife of Jacob Huff, of Milton Center; Margaret, who married Philip Smith, and after his death wedded D. Lasbley, but is now deceased ; George (2), who died in the army, aged thirty-one; and Thomas. On October 7, 1830, the parents and six children took passage on a sailing vessel for Canada, and on reaching that country remained until 1837, then lived in New York State a year, and in 1838 came to Ohio, where the father engaged in the building of a canal, and, purchasing the Indian island from a board of missions, he there made his home until his death in 1843. His wife died in 1858.

Our subject acquired his early education in the old log school house near his home, in Washington township, Wood county. When a child of eight years his father died, and two years later he began work at four dollars per month; the following year he received five dollars a month, then took up the cooper's trade, which he followed while fitting himself for the profession of school teaching, to which he devoted his energies some two years. At the breaking out of the Civil war he was the first man in Washington township to enlist, becoming a member of Company B, 2 1st Regiment O. V. I., under Capt. Carr and Col. Norton. He enlisted in the threemonths' service, and from Cleveland, Ohio, went to Charlestown, W. Va., and in August, 1861, returned home. On July 15, 1862, he re-enlisted, received a commission, raised a company, which became Company A of the 100th Regiment, O. V. I. For meritorious service he was promoted from the rank of second lieutenant to that of first I lieutenant, then to captain. He was mostly engaged in skirmish duty and border warfare in Kentucky, and participated in the battles of Hickman, Ky, , and Limestone, Tenn. , at which latter engagement he was taken prisoner, and was held in captivity some fifteen months. He was in Libby prison at a time when the Union soldiers were given only one-fourth of the regular rations. From Richmond he was sent to Macon, Ga. , where he was kept in a stockade during the months of May, June, July, until about August 1, 1864, and was allowed there two ounces of beef and two teaspoonfuls of beans for a meal. About August 1 he was removed and taken to Charleston, S. C., with 1,700 officers, and placed in different parts of the city for the purpose of protecting it from the bombardment of the Federal forces. " Here they were kept about three weeks, when the Union commander placed a like number of Confederate prisoners on the parapets of his fort, who would be kept there under fire as 1 long as the Union prisoners were. " Lieut. 1 Mawer was first placed in the Charleston jail, but in a short time was removed to the jail yard, which was enclosed with a high stone wall. While confined in the latter place a terrific storm occurred and the water stood a foot deep in the jail yard. He, with the other prisoners, was compelled to lie in the water (for it did not pass away for twenty-four hours) and sleep, if they could. " Owing to the exposure he experienced, Mr. Mawer was taken sick, and had to be sent to Rickerville hospital, when many of the patients had yellow fever, which he fortunately escaped. In November of that year he, with some others, was sent to Savannah, Ga., and there paroled." Lieut. Mawer was sent to Annapolis, Md., and placed in the hospital, and was so emaciated that he weighed but eighty pounds. His mind was so affected he hardly realized he was within the Federal lines; was afflicted with scurvy and other diseases common to prison life (was fifteen months a prisoner of war). He remained in the hospital about two months, then was sent home. In February, 1865, he was offered a lieutenantcolonelcy of a new regiment being organized at the time, but on account of not being exchanged he could not accept it. He returned to his command in North Carolina as soon as he was exchanged. During the time he was a prisoner he was promoted to the rank of captain, and on his return to the regiment he took charge of his company, and was present when Gen. Johnston surrendered, the 100th Regiment, O. V. I., taking charge of Johnston's arms and ordnance,

On his return home in July, 1865, Capt. Mawer purchased 180 acres of land, forty of which he afterward sold. It was covered with timber and water, the former of which he cut into lumber and sold. He drained and tiled his land, and as fast as possible transformed it into productive fields. He now has a fine house upon the place, three acres in orchard, a good barn and tool house, a granary and a cooper shop.

On October 15, 1865, he was married to Helen Jane Batt, who was born in New York, October 29, 1843, a daughter of Johp and Ann (Watkins) Batt, natives of the Empire State, who came to Ohio in 1855. The father was a cooper by trade, which he followed for many years. He died in Waterville, Ohio, in 1891, his wife in 1890. They had five children: Levi, deceased;

1 Mrs. Mawer; William, a cooper of Waterville; and < John and Bert, deceased. Mrs. Mawer for seven years prior to her marriage engaged in teaching at Waterville, aud is a lady of culture and refine-

May 24, 1867, married Harriet Roe, and operates the home farm; Anna, born October 27, 1868, is the wife of Erwin Ellsworth, a harness-maker of Oak Harbor, Ottawa Co., Ohio, and they have one son - Erwin; George C., born October 19, 1871, married Anna Lao, and is now a veterinary surgeon at Oak Harbor, a graduate of Ohio University - they have one child, Helen; Elbert C., born December 9, 1878, is at home; Frank, born October 6, 1881, died August 17, 1882. Capt. Mawer is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Grand Army of the Republic. For three years he served as a justice of the peace, and then resigned; for fifteen years he was a school director; for fifteen years member of the township board, and has also been supervisor. In politics he was formerly a Republican, but is now a Democrat. In 1883 he ran on the Democratic ticket for representative, and, though defeated, ran ahead of his ticket; he also made the race for member of the State Board of Equalization, but was not elected.

Owen W. Maloney, the well-known tank manufacturer of Bowling Green was born in Crawford county, Penn., June 4, 1865. He is of Irish descent on the father's side, while his mother's Ancestors were Scotch, and he combines in an unusual degree the best qualities of both races, his sound judgment and unyielding perseverance being accompanied by geniality and pleasing humor.

Henry Maloney, his father, was also a native of Crawford county, Penn., but now resides in West Virginia where he has been engaged in the milling business for many years. He is a Democrat in politics, and a prominent member of the Baptist Church. He married Mis Hannah J. Troutman, a native of Perrysville, Clarion Co., Penn., by whom he had four children: Mary, who died in childhood; Owen W., our subject; Carrie M. and William (twins), the former now the wife of Charles Silkes, of Sisterville, W. Va., an oil operator; the latter is in the mining business in Missouri.

Owen W. Maloney spent the greater part of his boyhood in Cabeil county, W. Va., and attended the schools of Milton. His first business venture was in gardening, but after two years of this he went to Emlenton, Penn., and secured employment in the oil fields, as pumper. In 1888 he came to Wood county, and began the business of tank building at Cygnet, where he remained until 1891, when he transferred his business to Bowling Green. His time is now occupied with his constantly increasing work in this line, manufacturing his tanks from the rough, and employing two men steadily, and eight during the busier seasons. He is also interested in an oil company now operating at Haskins. He was married July 29, 1889, to Miss Malinda Jolly, a native of Emlenton, Penn., born June 29, 1867, and they have three children: Roy, George and Wayne, all of whom are at home. Politically Mr. Maloney is a Prohibitionist, and he belongs to the I. O. O. F. and the K. O. T. M. Lodges.

Judge Edwin Tuller (deceased) was one of the oldest pioneers of Wood county, and, as a leading factor in many events that have marked her progress, he has left the impress of his strong personality upon the history of this region. The family is of Scotch and English origin, the first of the American line being the Rev. John Tuller, who settled in New England at an early day. Rosvyell Tuller, our subject's father, was born near Simsbury, Conn. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and took part in the battle of Fort Meigs and that of the Thames, at the latter being shot, bayoneted and left for dead on the field; but he recovered from his wounds, and finally came with his family to Delaware county, Ohio, where he was killed by lightning in 1824. His first wife was a native of Connecticut, and died in Ohio, leaving a large family of children. His second wife, Mrs. Sarah (Holcomb) Harrington, who was also born in Connecticut, was a widow with four children. Two sons were born of this union, George, who died in infancy, and our subject. The mother died in Monroe, Mich. , in 1858, and of the three families of children, Judge Edwin Tuller was the last.

Our subject was born in Delaware county, Ohio, July 28, 1821, and after the death of his father accompanied his mother to Worthington, Ohio, remaining until the age of fourteen, when, in October, 1835, he came to Maumee City, and clerked in the store of a canal contractor. Later a half-brother and brother-in-law opened a store there, under the firm name of Harrington & Hunter, and he worked for them until 1840, when they sold out. After two years passed in the store of Horace Waite, he, in December, 1842, went to Otsego (where he had already bought land) with a stock of goods of his own, remaining two years, and then bought a farm and settled down to agricultural pursuits and milling for a time. He had already begun to read law, in the office of James Coffinberry, of Maumee; was active in local politics, and one of the participants in the famous mass-meeting at Fort Meigs in

On March 22, 1846, the Judge married Miss Catherine Kuder, who was born near Circleville, August 8, 1824, and six children came of this union: (1) Alice A., March 26, 1848, married

Marshall F. Pennywell, and has two children - Maggie (who married John Losh, and has two sons - Arthur and Edwin), and Eva, the wife of Dr. Lee Willard. (2) Catherine C., August 12, 1850, married Adelbert L. Petteys, of this county, and has one son - Charles. (3) Martha

Lester Hoover, of Union county, and has two living children - Flossie and. Eva. (5) Harriet Ellen, November 10, 1859, married John J. Donald, of Wells, Minn. (6) Melvinia, born November 17, 1861, died April 14, 1864. The mother of this family died in 1871 ; and on June 8, 1887, the Judge married Miss Nellie Paul, who was born in Rochester, N. Y. , October 13, 1856, and was educated in Columbus, Ohio, where her parents were prominent people. She is an active worker in the Presbyterian Church.

In 1863 our subject was appointed probate judge, and was re-elected two terms; in 1865 he was admitted to the bar. During his third term as probate judge he resigned on account of impaired health. He then began the practice of law in connection with James R. Tyler, and resided in Perrysburg some eighteen months when he moved to Tontogany, where he continued his practice for many years. In political circles he was an influential worker, first as a Whig, and later as a Republican, and his well-known abilities caused him to be called many times to the service of the people. He was postmaster at Otsego for several years, and justice of the peace of his township some thirteen terms; was Internal Revenue assessor, appointed in 1861, and served till his appointment as probate judge in 1863. Since 1872 he has been a member of the F. <bc A. M. His death occurred August 29, 1896, at the age of seventy-five years, and a large circle of friends and acquaintances were left to mourn the loss of this grand old man.

Jacob Eberly (deceased), a worthy member of the noble army of pioneers of Wood county, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Huntingdon county, July 14, 1804, and departed this life in his Wood county home, on the Portage river, October 31. 1894.

summers, his widowed mother removed with her family from Huntingdon county, Penn., to Dublin, Franklin Co., Ohio, where she passed the rest of her days, dying March 14, 1868, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. Of her children, those who reached their majority were John, Jacob and Nancy - John by four years the senior, and Nancy two years the junior, of Jacob, all now deceased. Nancy married George Evans, and, as did also her brother John, remained at Dublin during her life. Hon. Eli P. Evans, now occupying the common pleas bench in Columbus, Ohio, is the fourth son of Nancy.

Jacob Eberly remained at Dublin, Ohio, until of age, and then set out to commence life for himself, first stopping at Fremont, Ohio, for a few months, then proceeding farther, reached Waterville (at that time in Wood county) on March 3, 1826. Here he made the acquaintance of Elizabeth Cox, whom he married October 28, 1827. In this "Village on the Maumee" Mr. Eberly remained, carrying on his trade of blacksmithing, until 1833, when he removed upon 127 acres of land pleasantly located upon the Portage river, one mile northeast of the town of Portage, in Wood county, where he thereafter resided. Here he also engaged at his trade, and for fifteen years or more applied himself with much energy, realizing a liberal income, for that day.' A large factor in the success which attended his efforts, however, was the untiring energy, perseverance, ingenuity and economy of his faithful life companion. Through their joint labor, at the expiration of some fifteen years, aside from keeping up the excessive doctor bills growing out of the new and undrained condition of the country, and maintaining a large family, they had paid for and largely improved and drained, the homestead. As the avails of the farm increased, the cares and responsibilities grew lighter, so that during the balance of his life, aside from superintending the farm. Mr. Eberly devoted much time to reading, keeping well informed upon current events, and the political issues of the times. Personally quiet, even-tempered, generous and thoughtful, he enjoyed the esteem and confidence of his neighbors. In earlier life he was ( though against his wish ) elected township treasurer; served the term, and was re-elected for twenty-five years thereafter; was requested to become a candidate for more responsible places, but preferred the quiet domestic life he lived.

Over sixty-one of the sixty-seven years of the married life of this honored couple, and extending to the year 1894, were passed in peace and happiness upon the old homestead, in which year, on the 3 1 st day of October, Mr. Eberly passed away in his ninety-first year, and seventeen days thereafter, in her eighty-ninth year, his companion followed. Six children survive them: Joseph C. , Matilda Johnson, William S. , Elliott, Harriet E. Doud, and Benjamin C.

A graphic description of the homestead and its occupants at an early day is given by O. P. Jaques, a nephew of Mrs. Eberly, in a letter written to a member of the family a few days after the death of Mr. Eberly. Mr. Jaques, who is a prominent citizen of Warsaw, Ind., had made a visit at their home a short time prior to the death of Mr. Eberly, and this sketch will close with the following extract from his letter, which is dated Warsaw, Ind., November 7, 1894:

"When I last saw the dear old man, how plain was it to be seen that he was fast nearing the end of his long life; and I fancy that when he saw that Aunt could not recover, he did not care to live. A plain, good, honest man; a true and devoted father and husband has gone. * * * What a remarkable married life! and how I am moved when thinking of them! Called back in memory, to the beginning as it were, of my life, one of the first places on earth impressed on my young mind, was the home of Aun,t and Uncle Eberly, and although near sixty years have passed since that time, how visibly every feature of that pioneer home, with all of its environments at that time, presents itself to me now! A large twostory hewed-log house, with brick chimney; a double round-log barn; four or five small fields cleared out of the dense wilderness; agarden fenced with pickets near the house; another smaller log cabin near the steep bank of the creek; the well in the yard with the old-fashioned windlass. In the cabin near the creek was Uncle's smith shop, where he could nearly always be found so full of life and energy, happy and cheerful, and so industriously carrying on his business. In and about the house could always be seen the prominent figure of Aunt, surrounded by her large family of little children (the oldest but little older than myself), so full of vigor and perseverance, with her strong will-power, faithfully and industriously doing and discharging the duties of a true young wife and mother, in a new country. I love to reflect upon her noble traits of good, true womanhood."

William S. Ehkkly. senior member of the well-known firm, in Bowling Green, of Eberly & Son, merchants, was born near Portage, Wood Co., Ohio, December 19, 1836, and is a son of the late Jacob and Elizabeth fCoxj Eberly.

Our subject passed his boyhood days working on his father's farm during the summers, and attending the district school in winter time. At the age of twenty he began to teach, winters, thus securing means whereby he was enabled to avail himself of better schools, at the close of each winter term. He taught some four or five winters, attending Fostoria Academy for a time, and also Otterbein College; but his school course was interrupted by his acceptance of the office of deputy clerk of the common pleas court, which had been tendered him by the clerk. During the three years or more he was employed in this office, he at odd times studied law, under the preceptorship of Hon. Asher Cook, of Perrysburg, and he was admitted to the bar August 7, 1868. Opening a law office in Bowling Green, he continued for a short time, then removed to Fostoria, where he soon built up a good practice. Here, about the year 1874, he formed a partnership with Alex. Brown, attorney at law, but Mr. Eberly, after a few years, retiring from the part- I nership, returned to Bowling Green, and in the | fall of 1877 was elected clerk of the common ! pleas court of Wood county, at the expiration of i the term being re-elected - the two terms extending from February, 1878, to February, 1884. In the latter year he again opened an office at Bowli ing Green for the practice of law, but in a few days he was seized with a severe attack of pleurisy, from the effects of which, after a long prostration, he was partially restored to health, yet the effect upon his ! nervous system rendered him unfit to again engage in his profession, or, indeed, in any business, until the discovery of the great oil field of Wood county. Owning eighty acres of land in the heart of this field, his attention was for several years engaged in its development, since which time he has secured a lucrative income from its product.

Mr. Eberly and his son, Joseph F. , under the firm name of Eberly & Son, are carrying on a leading retail boot and shoe business at Bowling Green, in a valuable brick block, of which our subject is the owner. He resides in a pleasant, commodious home, embracing eleven acres, and situated in the outskirts of the thrifty and progressive town of Bowling Green. A lover of reading, Mr. Eberly devotes much time to his extensive library of well-selected books, embracing history, biography, science, and all the subjects that interest modern thinkers.

Early in the summer of 1866 Mr. Eberly met and made the acquaintance of Miss Hattie A. Chubb, of Perrysburg, Ohio, upon her return from Delaware, where she had been attending college. On the 30th of July, in the following year, they were joined in marriage at the home of her father, Rev. R. H. Chubb, then in Perrysburg. Educated, intelligent, graceful in movement, charming in conversation, refined by instinct and by discipline, beloved and venerated by her family, Mrs. Eberly lived her life of fortyseven years, when, after a long sickness, on August 5, 1893, she passed away. The children of this union all survive, viz. : Charles B., Lora

Andrew J. Gardner, M. D., of Grand Rapids, was born July 19, 1827, in Hubbard, Ohio, which has been the home of his family since the year 1801, when his grandfather, John Gardner, a native of North Ireland, settled upon a farm in the then frontier region of Trumbull county. He married Elizabeth Pothour, a native of Pennsylvania, and their son Andrew, our subject's father, was born in Hubbard, in 1805. He married Emeline Roberts in 1826, also a native of Hubbard, whose parents came from Connecticut. She was born in 1804. He was an auctioneer, and later in life also followed farming. He (since i860) was a Republican in politics, and he and wife, from early life, were united with the M. E. Church. He died at Hubbard January 26, 1868, and his widow still resides there at the age of ninety-two years. Of their six children our subject was the eldest; Lydia, next younger, resides with her mother; Harmon G. was a soldier in the artillery service during the Civil war, and died at Memphis, Tenn. ; Caroline married Rev. N. G. Luke, and died in Pennsylvania; Mary Ann is the wife of J. F. Corll, of Hubbard; Dillon P. enlisted at Youngstown, in 1861, in Company B, 19th O. V. I., under Col. Beattie, and served four years. He now resides near Martinsville, Indiana.

Dr. A. J. Gardner lived at Hubbard until he was ten years of age, when he accompanied his father to Youngstown, and there attended school for several years. He read medicine for some time with Drs. Woodbridge and Garlick, and then entered the Medical Department of Western Reserve College, graduating in 1848. For a few months he practiced his profession in Sharon, Penn., and five years at Youngstown and Cleveland, Ohio. In 1853, he came to Grand Rapids, Ohio, where he has since resided, and for thirty- J six years has conducted a drug store.

On May 5, 1850, the Doctor was married, at ' Cleveland, Ohio, to Miss Meribah S. Denison, | a native of Norwich, Conn., born June 30, 1830. j She passed away July 3, 1894, at Grand Rapids,

Ohio. There is one child, Lydia Leanora, now at home. In all measures for local improvement the Doctor has always been a leader. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was also his wife. Politically he is a Republican, not particularly active, however, in party affairs in seeking office. He was a delegate to the State convention that nominated John Brough for governor. He is a Royal and Select Mason, belonging to Council No. 33, at Toledo.

Melvin L. Devore is one of the enterprising merchants of Wood county. He was born at Tidioute, Warren Co., Penn., December n, 1869, and is of French lineage. His grandfather, however, was a native of the Keystone State, and his father, Luke Devore, was born near Meadville, Crawford Co., Penn., where he was reared to manhood. I11 Warren county, he married Sophia A. Garret, who was born in Pennsylvania, and they have since lived in that county, owning there a farm of 138 acres. They have three children - Garret, a farmer of Warren county; Melvin L., and Alfred, at home.

Our subject first attended school in his native county, and completed his education by a collegiate course in Erie, Penn. Up to his sixteenth year he assisted his father in the work of the home farm, and then engaged in teaching school in Warren county for two terms. Subsequently ! he engaged in clerking in a grocery store in his native county for about four years, and in the fall of 1893 he came to Wood county, where he purchased a half interest in his present business, which is now conducted under the firm style of Devore & Otterback. He is an enterprising mer- | chant, progressive in his methods, and keeping fully abreast with the times in all particulars.

Mr. Devore was married in Tidioute, Penn., in 1893, to Miss Eva Henry, who was born in Erie county, in November, 1870. Their only child died in infancy. Mr. Devore is a Democrat in politics, and a member of both the subordinate lodge and encampment of the I. O.O. F. of Tidioute. He and his wife occupy an enviable position in social circles, and are leading young people of the community in which they reside, while Mr. Devore occupies a prominent position in commercial circles.

Alfred Thurstin, who has the honorable distinction of being the oldest living pioneer of Bowling Green, Ohio, was born in Chenango county, N. Y. , April 20, 1806, and is the son of Eli and Margaret (Koons) Thurstin.

married in Livingston Manor. He came to Ohio in 1835, and subsequently bought a large tract of land in De Kalb county, Ind. , and a portion of his family went there with him. He and his wife remained there awhile, finally returning to Ohio, taking up their residence with our subject and his first wife, near Bowling Green, where they eventually departed this life, he at about the age of sixty-seven years, and she when about eighty.

Alfred Thurstin, our subject, grew up in New York State, and came to the site of what is now Bowling Green, in October, 1833. He secured some land on which he built a log house, and then returned to New York where he married Miss Emily O. Pike. She accompanied him to his new home, where she died in 1879. To them were born the following children: (1) A. A., born in 1836, married, and lives in Bowling Green. He has one son, Frank, who is also married, and has a son, Myron. (2) Wesley S. , born -in 1838, and has had six children, all but one of whom are living: Jesse, Wilbur, Alice,

Wesley, Ethel, Mattie, who is deceased. (3) Alfred Earl, born October 1, 1847, married Miss Edna Foot, who was born in Vermont October 18, 1855. Their children are: Nellie, wife of

Andrew Shulson (their marriage took place February 20, 1875); Dora, died January 16, 1885, when seven years old; Alfred, died in 1887, when four weeks old. (Andrew Shulson is a contractor by occupation, and was in Florida for several years, but has recently returned ' to Bowling Green). (4) R. S., born in 1852, married Miss Ada Fairchild, and they have three children, Dora, Robbie and Ada. R. S. is with the Snow Flake Lime Co. Dora married W. B. Cornwell, and is deceased.

Our subject's second marriage took place January n, 1888, his wife being Mrs. Martha Louise Van Tassel, a woman of education and intelligence, and unusual business capacity.

Mr. Thurstin 's farm was located on the east side of what is now Main street. He laid out and sold the first lots, and built the first house in the town. The town now occupies the land used by him as a farm, on which he lived twenty-five years before Bowling Green was started. He. together with his sons and others, got up the first petition to have the county seat moved to Bowling Green. He was originally a Whig and afterward became a Republican, casting his first vote in New York for Governor DeWitt Clinton. He attended the great mass meeting held at Fort Meigs during the ' ' hard cider " and log-cabin campaign.

J. H. Whitehead, M. D. This prominent physician, and well-known citizen of Bowling Green, is a native of Wood county, his birth having taken place in Plain township, July 20, 1841.

The parents of our subject, John and Eunice (Purden) Whitehead, were natives of New Jersey, the former born in 1806, the latter in 1811. They were married in Brooklyn, N. Y., and had a family of five children, as follows: J. H., our subject; Daniel P., a farmer in Lucas county, Ohio; Theodore D., a carpenter, residing at Storm Lake, Iowa; Ellen F. , wife of David Hartman, a farmer of Wood county; and Charlotte E., widow of John J. Parsons, who was killed at Deep Bottom, Va., in the war of the Rebellion. The mother of this family died in 1867, the father on May 12, 1895, at the age of eighty-four years. He was a carpenter by trade, and came to Wood county in 1833, locating at the old Mission, on the Maumee river. Later he removed to within a mile and a half of Bowling Green, where the subject of this sketch was born. He erected many of the residences and other buildings put up in the county in an early day, and was one of the prominent citizens of this community.

Dr. Whitehead attended the village schools during his early boyhood, and was a student in the high school at Bowling Green at the time of the breaking out of the Civil war. In 1861, at the age of nineteen years, he enlisted in Company H, 67th O. V. I., under Col. A. C. Voris, now Judge Voris, of Akron. The Doctor served throughout the entire war, was with Gen. Shield in the West Virginia campaign, with Gen. Gilmore in South Carolina, and with Gen. Ord at Appomattox. He participated in twenty-two battles and skirmishes, including the first battle of Winchester, siege of Fort Sumter, charge on Fort Wagner, Morris Island, and charge at Fort Gregg. In front of Petersburg, while under Gen. Butler, May 9, 1865, he was wounded, in consequence of which he was sent to Newark, N. J., and after an absence of some five months was promoted to lieutenant and adjutant. At Appomattox he was in command of a company, having risen by merit from private through all the grades, including corporal, sergeant, orderlysergeant and first lieutenant. At the close of the war, in which he made an enviable record as a brave and faithful soldier, our subject returned home and resumed his studies in the school at Perrysburg, of which Prof. Ewing was then superintendent. After completing his course at this school, he engaged in teaching, a vocation he followed several years.

In 1871 the Doctor began reading medicine with Dr. John Osborne, of Portage, Ohio, subsequently entering the Cleveland Homeopathic College, from which he was graduated in 1874, and since that time he has been practicing in Portage and Bowling Green. For four years he was a member of the board of county school examiners, was also a member of the city council four years, and of the board of education three years. He is a member of the Ohio State Homeopathic Society, and local examiner for the Northwestern Life Insurance Company.

On July 2, 1867, Dr. Whitehead was married to Miss Susan Osborne, who was born, in 1842, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, daughter of Dr. John and Julia (Buchtel) Osborne, the former of whom was born at Harpers Ferry, W. Va. , the latter at Bethlehem, Penn. They had a family of six children, as follows: Timothy, a farmer of

Wood county; Parsey, wife of J. H. McMahan, a stockman of W'ood county; Lavinia, wife of G. F. Munn, a farmer and oil man; Louisa, wife of F. M. Carr, a farmer of Wood county; Susan (Mrs. Dr. Whitehead); and Catherine, deceased. Dr. Osborne died in 1887; his widow is yet living, now at the patriarchal age of ninety-six years. To Dr. and Mrs. Whitehead have been born two children: Kate, now the wife of Bert Case, and

John, who was accidentally killed at the age of fifteen while hunting. The Doctor owns a business block in Bowling Green, besides numerous private residences, and has invested to some extent in the oil fields of Wood county. In his profession he holds high rank, has an extensive practice, and is highly regarded by his fellow citizens.

I. L. Hankey, one of the successful oil producers of Wood county, and a director of the First National Bank of Bowling Green, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, July 7, 1849.

The members of the Hankey family living in Bowling Green are descended from Louis Hankey, a native of Germany who emigrated to America at an early day. It is related that he had just enough money to pay his way across the Atlantic, and furnish his own provisions. The ship lost its course at sea, and the passage consumed so much more time than was anticipated that his stock of food gave out, and he became indebted to the ship for board. On reaching New York City he was sold by the ship's company, as was the custom in those days, they getting the money for his time, which he worked out with a farmer. He afterward became a minister of the Evangelical Church, and also carried on farming. He married a Miss Less, whose father served seven years in the Revolutionary army, and our subject remembers hearing his grandmother often tell how she could trace the path of the soldiers by the blood left on the ground from their shoeless feet. In later years Louis Hankey lived in both Stark and Summit counties, Ohio, in the latter of which he and his wife spent their last days. This estimable couple were the parents of seven children, as follows: John, father of our subject;

Catherine married John Himmelright, of Summit county; Jacob lived in Summit county, near Akron, Ohio; Lydia married Rev. Miller, a minister in the Reformed Church; Sarah married a Mr. Hawk; Louis lives in Wayne county, Ohio; Samuel is a farmer, residing at Copley, Ohio.

John Hankey, father of our subject, was born in Schuylkill county, Penn., in 1814, and was three times married. His first wife was Miss Polly Fostnight, who was born in 1819, and died in 1854. She became the mother of seven children, viz.: Solomon died in infancy; Sarah married William Shammo, and is deceased; Lewis W. is a minister of the Evangelical Church at Tiffin, Ohio; John R. is fully represented elsewhere in this volume; I. L. is the subject of these lines; two died in infancy.

John Hankey followed farming until the death of the mother of these children, when he went into the dry-goods business with another man. He soon after bought out his partner, and a couple of years later sold out his store and purchased a stock of clothing with which he opened a store in West Salem, Wayne Co., Ohio, in 1859. In 1861 he removed to Burbank, in the same county, and some years later disposed of his business and went onto a farm in Medina county, Ohio, where he died in 1867. Like his father, he was an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church, but did not preach on account of bronchitis. Mr. Hankey's second wife was Miss Margaret Reach, who died fifteen months after marriage; she had one child who died in infancy. Mr. Hankey's third marriage was to Miss Sarah Strouse, of Richland county, Ohio, by whom he has two children : Isaiah S., of Bowling Green, and Sarah Katherine, who married A. L. Sourwine, a farmer of Crawford county, Ohio.

I. L. Hankey, whose name opens this sketch, is the architect of his own fortunes, and is a fine illustration of what can be accomplished by pluck and energy. His childhood was shadowed by the death of his mother, after which sad event he went to live with an uncle, Jacob Hankey. When his father was again married he returned home; but his happiness there was cut short by the death of his step-mother, and the next day he was taken back to his uncle's. There he remained until his father's third marriage, when he spent a short time with the family. After their removal to Medina county, our subject joined the family, and drove a team for his father during the construction of the Broad Guage railway through that county.

When about seventeen years old Mr. Hankey left home with one dollar in his pocket and went to Wooster, Ohio, where he found employment in a brick yard. He was next engaged in driving a wagon for a peddler, working for him some six or eight months, during which time he made a trip to Oil City, Penn., where for the first time he saw oil wells in operation. His next enterprise was to learn the trade of plumber and gas fitter, and from this he went to work on a farm, and later sold patent medicines through the country. He finally drifted into Bowling Green, where his first employment was as hack driver between Bowling Green and Haskins, and subsequently as a clerk in a grocery store.

On December 22, 1870, Mr. Hankey was married in Bowling Green to Miss Sadie Abbott, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, September 28, 1850. He then started a grocery store of his own, but this not proving a success, he began selling sewing and washing machines. In fact, he was a " hustler," and thoroughly tested anything at hand which seemed likely to lead to financial success. In 1874, Mr. Hankey established a clothing business, with his brother, J. R. Hankey, as partner, the firm name being Hankey Brothers. In this he was engaged for ten years, then sold out and went on the road for six years as traveling salesman for A. L. Gans & Co., of Philadelphia. During this time he became interested in the oil business in Wood county, his ventures being very successful. Four years ago Mr. Hankey gave up all other business to attend to his growing and valuable interests in this direction, and to-day he stands in the front rank of a few most successful oil producers in the Wood county field. He is connected with a series of gas and oil companies, and is also a director in the First National Bank of Bowling Green.

Mr. Hankey has taken an active part in all local affairs, and is a public-spirited citizen, whose worth is appreciated. He is a member from the Third ward in the city council, and has been a member of the school board. In politics he is a Republican, and socially he belongs to the I. O. O. F., Daughters of Rebekah, Royal R. A. C. , K. O. T. M. He has always been very patriotic, and, when in his early manhood, was a member of the State Militia for five years. In

Mr. and Mrs. Hankey have had four children, of whom three are living: Minne W., wife of Harry Cook, agent of the T. & O. C. railway, residing at Bowling Green; John W. , who is a partner with his father in the oil business (he married Bertha Brown, and they have one child, Don Brown); Ralph Blaine, at home; and Olive Octive, who died when three months old.

Mrs. Hankey's parents, Sylvester B. and Maryette (Caswell) Abbott, were both natives of New York State, the father born in 1812, near the Catskill mountains, the mother in 1813. They were married in Ohio, whither she came with her parents, and seven children were born to them, viz.: Reuben, of Bowling Green; Elizabeth (Mrs. Bryan Niles), of Blissfield, Mich. ; Melville, of Bowling Green; George, a farmer in Gratiot county, Mich.; Sadie (Mrs. Hankey); Alice (Mrs. S. Ordway), of Bowling Green; and Louis, a farmer, in Wood county. Sylvester B. Abbott was first married to Abzina Morrey, and their son, John Abbott, is a doctor in Illinois. Mr. Abbott was a lawyer by profession. He came to Wood county in 1853, owned a fine farm here, and died in Bowling Green in January, 1890. His second wife dying in December, 1875, he subsequently wedded Helen Robins, by whom he had two children: Grace (who died when eleven years old), and Jerry (a farmer of Wood county).

B. F. Spilker. The subject of this sketch is one of the young enterprising farmers of Perrysburg township. He was born in Perrysburg October 28, 1866, and is a son of Christian and Mary Ann (Budt) Spilker, the former of whom was born in Germany, and came to Wood county when twelve years old. He married in this county, and began farming in Perrysburg township, which he made his permanent home and died there in 1888. The wife still resides on the old homestead. Their children were ten in number, as follows: Christian H., resides in Perrysburg; Mary A., his twin sister, is now Mrs. Libbin, of Toledo; Olive married Mr. John Henry, of Perrysburg; Thomas Jefferson is a telegraph operator, and lives with our subject; W. F. is married, and lives in Perrysburg township; B. F., our subject; Edward resides in Perrysburg; Charles Petw is at home; Carstin is a resident of Toledo; Flora is at home.

he bought his present farm of forty acres, which he has cultivated and improved, and on which he erected his residence in 1891. He was united in marriage in Perrysburg April 16, 1891, to Miss Anna L. Schaller, who was born in Perrysburg township July 10, 1870, and is the daughter of Daniel Benedict Schaller, an early pioneer of the township. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spilker, namely: May E., who died

August 29, 1892; and Orcel Benedict. Mr. Spilker is affiliated with the Democratic party, and, with his wife, is a member of the United Brethren Church at Dowling.

Frank Kabig, one of the most enterprising and successful of the self-made men of Bowling Green, was born in Plymouth, Richland Co., Ohio, October 19, 1852. His father, Anthony Kabig, was a native of Neuberg, Germany, and with whom he not long afterward crossed the Atlantic to find a home in America. He was a butcher by occupation, and carried on that business in several towns in Ohio - Wooster, Plymouth, Bettsville, Fort Seneca - before finally locating in Bowling Green, where he died in 1 886, at the age of seventy-two. His wife died in 1882. They were consistent members of the Lutheran Church from their youth. Their three children, Edward, Caroline (now Mrs. Christoph Lehmann) and Frank, are all living in Bowling Green.

Our subject's education was acquired in the public schools of the different towns in which his parents lived during his boyhood, and at the age of seventeen he began to learn the butcher's trade with Christoph Lehmann, then of Tiffin, now of Bowling Green. He worked for him ten years, and then entered into a partnership with him, which lasted for two years. In 1882 he bought a lot and built a market of his own, and for fifteen years has carried on a constantly growing trade, which has been developed by his own energy and rare business judgment. By careful investments in real-estate and other securities, he has greatly added to his wealth, and now owns 320 acres of land in Wood county, and many valuable pieces of property in the city of Bowling Green, including a half-interest in the Kabig & McKinsie block.

In 1880 he was married to Miss Fannie Micklee, a native of Wood county, born August 19, 1852. They have no children of their own, but are rearing a girl, who is now nine years of age. Mr. Kabig is a Democrat in politics, and takes a prominent part in all progressive local movements, wherein his shrewd practical judgment has been no less effective than in the business lines, in which he has made such a marked success. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. at Bowling Green.

Captain J. W. Knaggs, a well-known agriculturist and oil operator residing near Portage, was born May 22, 1832, at Maumee City, Ohio. His paternal grandfather, Whitmore Knaggs, was a native of England, who came to America in Colonial times and located at Detroit, where he engaged in farming. He gained the confidence of the Indians in his vicinity, and at the time of Hull's surrender he was taken to Quebec and kept in close confinement - the British refusing to exchange him because they feared his influence over his savage neighbors. His farm near Detroit was stripped of everything portable, and his buildings burned, leaving his family destitute. In later years he was an Indian Agent under the U. S. Government. He died at his old homestead. He and his wife were Roman Catholics, and all their descendants are followers of the same faith. They had five children: Whitmore, deceased; George, who died at Maumee City, in October, 1866; James, now a resident of College Hill, Ohio; Elizabeth, deceased, who married a merchant at Detroit; and John W., our subject's father, who was born near Detroit in 1800, and in early manhood engaged in trading with the Indians of northwestern Ohio, and later locating near Toledo, where he owned four farms.

Our subject's father married Miss Melinda Gunn, who was born in 1810, at Salem, Mass., and died in Toledo, in 1889. Seven children were born to them: Mortimer, who died at three years of age; Eliza, who married Tim O'Connell, of Toledo, and died in 1842; Adaline, the wife of Dr. W. W. Jones, of Toledo; James W. , our subject; Henry, a resident of Springfield, Mass. ; Sophia, the wife of Henry Hitchcock, of Toledo; and Maria, who married Mr. Valentine, the editor of a paper in New York City.

Capt. Knaggs attended schools during boyhood in Toledo, and later assisted his father in the management of his farms. He came to Wood county in 1845 to see some land, and there met and married Miss Cynthia Haskins, who was born in Portage, February 6, 1832. After their marriage they spent one year at Toledo, and then returned to Portage where they have since resided. Their five children are all living. Lottie married G. Carlin; Forest, a farmer in Portage, is not married; Ivy is the wife of Charles Vandenburg, and has one child - Ruth; Mortimer lives at home; and Wellington, a farmer at Portage, is married to Cora Gunn, and has one daughter, Myrtle, and one son, George. When the war broke out Capt. Knaggs enlisted in Company C, 21st O. V. I., and was commissioned ist lieutenant; and at Nashville, in 1862, he was promoted to the rank of captain and placed in command of Company B. He was wounded at Stone River and discharged for disability, but after a short stay at home he returned to the front only to find that he could not endure the strain of active service. Coming home, he again engaged in farming and later in oil producing. He now owns 120 acres of land and four oil wells. A patriotic and popular citizen, he is a prominent worker in the Republican party, and shortly after his return from the army he was elected clerk of the court of Wood county. He is a member of the F. & A. M.

I. V. Wirebaugh, a prominent physician and surgeon of Prairie Depot, has been remarkably successful in his chosen calling owing to his ability, professional knowledge and skill. He is a native of Ohio, born in Tod township, Crawford county, August 1 1 , 1863, a son of John and Elizabeth (Horner) Wirebaugh, well-to-do and successful farming people, the latter now living. Our subject was reared like most farmer boys, assisting his father in the labors of the field, and attending the district schools of the neighborhood. In 1886 he began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Chesney, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and the next year attended a course of lectures at the Western Reserve Medical College, from which he was graduated in March, 1890, after completing the three-years' course and continuing his studies during vacations with Dr. Chesney. He began practice at Tiro, Ohio, where he also owned an interest in a drug store, but gave most of his attention to his profession. In December, 1892, he sold out his business there, and on January 31, 1893, he closed a deal for property in Prairie Depot, and on March 4, following, opened an office there, where he has since been successfully engaged in practice. He is a talented and skillful physician, and has attained his present honorable position among the medical fraternity by his own unaided exertions. He gives the closest attention to his business, and surely an honorable career lies before him in his chosen calling.

The Doctor takes quite an active interest in civic societies, belonging to the Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of the Maccabees.

H. A. Hamilton, M. D., of Perrysburg, one of the oldest and most honored members of his profession, is descended from a long line of physicians and surgeons. Of his ancestry the Centennial Edition of the Hartford County Medical Association says: "One of the most distinguished names upon the roll of physicians in our locality, whether during the last or the present century, is that of Hamilton. Early in the eighteenth century Josiah Hamilton, then a boy, came to Boston from Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied medicine and located for practice in the town of West Brookfield, Mass. He begat Josiah, Jr., who also became a physician, and followed his father in practice in the same town. About the middle of the century Josiah, Jr., begat Asa, who also studied medicine, and commenced practice at the age of seventeen or eighteen, so precocious was he in the art inherited from his father and grandfather. Dr. Asa Hamilton early left Brookfield and settled in Somers, Conn. He with his young wife and infant son made the journey on horseback. This Somers physician was the most distinguished of his family, and became an officer and surveyor in the Revolutionary army. He was a remarkably finelooking man, physically, and exceedingly popular in his professional capacity. He was one of the early members if not a charter member of this society. Although he lived only about twenty years after he commenced practice, his reputation for skill in surgery became extensive. On one occasion his services were sought from East Windsor Hill, a village only eight miles from Hartford. He lived about twice that distance in the opposite direction, and this call was worthy of note because it shows that his reputation enabled him to encroach upon the domains of the surgeons of a capital city. This fact seems to us quite remarkable, for their reputation is now so pronounced that we surgeons eighteen miles away can hardly keep our minor surgery out of their hands.

"Horatio Arnold Hamilton, who when an infant rode into Connecticut with his father, Dr. Asa, on horseback, early in or just before the Revolutionary war, in due time studied medicine also, and practiced in Somers until his two sons, Horatio Asa and Erskine Erasmus, who also studied medicine, were ready to practice, when he gave up the field to them and retired to Enfield. Here he built up a large practice, in which he continued to labor until his death, which occurred about the year 1850. He was a remarkable man in his way. He had quite a literary taste, and was proud of his professional pedigree, he being the fourth doctor in direct line from Dr. Josiah. He was anxious to contiue the line in his posterity, and it is said that on one occasion when his only remaining son, Dr. Erskine Hamilton (Dr. Horatio having died), was inclined to give his time and attention to farming exclusively, he spent whole nights in violent lamentation. His vigorous protestations prevailed, and the line remains unbroken to this day. Dr. Horatio and Dr. Erskine each begat a son who studied medicine, and both of these are now in active practice;. one. Dr. Horatio Arnold, in Perrysburg, Ohio, and the other, Dr. Theodore Erasmus, in Springfield, Mass. And still further, a son of Dr. Horatio Arnold (Harry Arthur) is practicing with his father, and a son of Dr. Theodore Erasmus is graduating this year (1S92) from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. "

As will be seen from the above, Dr. Horatio Arnold is the subject of this sketch. His father, Dr. Horatio Asa, who died at the age of forty, married Miss Clarissa Peck, a daughter of Dr. Peck, of Stafford, Conn., and had three children: Elizabeth married Dr. Royal Strickland, of Enfield, Conn., who despite his eighty years is still in practice; H. A. is our subject; and Marinda j Eliza is the wife of James Murray, a prominent lawyer, once State's attorney of Ohio.

Dr. H. A. Hamilton was born in Somers, Conn., March 27, 1829, was educated in Suffield, Conn., and in the Medical Department of the University of New York, graduating from the latter school March 22, 1852, after a three-years' course. He practiced three years in Springfield, Mass., and then, in 1854, came to Perrysburg and commenced practice along with the late Dr. Peck. Dr. Hamilton married October 3, 1855, Miss Delia Dewey, who was born in 1828, in Middleton, Conn. They have three children: Ida married W. J. Parks, of Toledo, and has four children - Grace, William, Hamilton and Harold; Harry Arthur, born January 27, 1862, is now practicing medicine with his father; Charles Murray, born July 1, 1866, is in the employ of the Milburn Wagon Co., of Toledo (he married Miss Anna Bryant, and has two children - Harry and Helen). Dr. Hamilton and his family are prominent in the social life at Perrysburg. He I is a man of unusual robust physique, and although nearing the ordinary term of three score years and ten, no task is too difficult for him, and he displays an energy which puts time at defiance. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the Northwestern Ohio Medical Association. He has been a Freemason for many years; in politics was originally a Whig, and has been a Republican since the formation of that party.

Arthur B. Murphy, the able prosecuting attorney of Wood county, was born in Condit, Delaware Co. , Ohio, December 15, i860. Since coming to Bowling Green, in 1887, he has made rapid progress in his profession, his thorough legal training and fine oratorical gifts receiving prompt recognition.

Mr. Murphy's ancestors on both sides were among the early settlers of the Buckeye State. His paternal great-grandfather, William Murphy, came from Maryland early in the century, and settled in Franklin county, Ohio. He was a prominent Democrat, and an extensive land owner, but was chiefly noted for his love of hunting and his large pack of fox hounds. He married a Miss Leaf. Their son Basil, our subject's grandfather, was born in Franklin county, in 1802, whence, in 1828, he moved to Delaware county, and bought a farm on Rattlesnake creek. He acquired a fine competence, and in later years retired to Delaware, Ohio, where he died at the age of seventy-nine. In early life he was a Democrat, but on the nomination of Fremont he joined the Republican party. He married Miss Rachel Algire, a lady of German descent, and a member of an old pioneer family living near Winchester, Fairfield county. She was greatly beloved for her good works. She was an aunt of the late John A. Shannon, a prominent attorney of Bowling Green, whom she reared. Basil Murphy and his wife had seven children, two of whom died in infancy. The others were Minerva, who married John Sinkey, of Delaware county; Mary, the wife of the late Abraham D. Adams, a well-known lawyer and a partner of Ex-Gov. Dennison; Charles Leaf, our subject's father; Linnie B., now residing in Delaware, and William, who went to Texas and died there.

Charles L. Murphy was born in 1837 at the old homestead in Delaware county, Ohio, where he now resides. He is a Republican with Prohibition tendencies. He married Martha S. Adams, a native of the same county, and a descendant of an old Connecticut family. Her parents, John and Desire (Cook) Adams, came to Delaware county when that region was a wilderness. They were at first undecided whether to locate there on " Derby Plains " or at the present site of Columbus; but the finding of a peach tree growing in the woods at the former place turned the scale in its favor. They were devout Methodists, and their house was for many years a regular place of meeting for that society. Both lived to advanced age. Mrs. Adam's sister, Cassandra (Cook) Converse, was the mother of Hon. George L. Converse, of Columbus. Jay Cooke, the financier, was a relative of the family. John Adams and his wife reared a family of seven children named as follows: (i) Ursula, the widow of Dr.

L. P. Sigler, formerly of Upper Sandusky, and later of Garden Grove, Iowa. (2) Calvin, a fruit grower in Placer county. Cal. (3) Abraham B. , who married Mary Murphy, our subject's aunt. (4) Martha S. (Mrs. Murphy). (5) James, deceased, formerly a resident of Delaware county. (6) John, the recorder of Placer county, Cal. (7) Elijah, formerly recorder of Delaware county, and now a resident of Columbus. Our subject is the eldest of a family of eight children, the others being: (2) Lovett, now in

Washington. (3) Delano, who died at the age of twenty-two. (4) Grant, at home. (5) Ernest, deceased at the age of twenty-one. (6) Farrah, a student in the Ohio State University at Columbus. (7) Gertrude, married to George E. Thrall. (8) Cora, at home.

Mr. Murphy attended the district school until he was twelve years old, and then entered the Sunbury High School, and two vearslaterthe Ohio Wesleyan University, where he graduated from the scientific course in 1885, with the degree of A. B. He was one of the editors of the college paper, The Transcript. In 1884 he won the college prize for oratory, and in February, 1885, took the second place among eight contestants in the State oratorical contest at Oberlin, Gov. Mc- Kinley being one of the judges. He began the study of law with John S. Jones, of Delaware, and in 1886 entered the senior class of the Cincinnati Law School, graduating the following year. He also engaged in oratorical contests there, obtaining second place. On the advice of J. D. Cox, Secretary of the Interior in Grant's cabinet, he came to Bowling Green in the fall of 1887, and engaged in general practice. In November, 1890, he was appointed mayor to succeed Andrew Mears, and in the following April was elected to that office. In 1892 he was re-elected, but resigned to take the office of prosecuting attorney January 1, 1894. He is acknowledged to be the most polished speaker of his age in this part of Ohio. He is a close student, but occasionally breaks the routine of professional life by social diversions and hunting expeditions. Mr. Murphy is a Republican in politics; socially he is a member of the K. of P. , the K. O. T. M., and the Phi Delta Theta.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1893, our subject was married to Miss Lizzie Kershner, a native of Liberty Center, Henry county, and they have one child, Nellie F., born January 28, 1895. Mrs. Murphy's parents, Andrew R. and Lanie (Andrix) Kershner, were natives of Pennsylvania, and were married in Ohio. They had eight children, viz. : Jennie and Alice, who both died in infancy; Kate, wife of Rev. W. P. Bender, a minister of the M. E. Church; Mrs. Murphy; George Washington, of Bowling Green; Zella, at home; Adaline, teaching in the Bowling Green schools; and one whose name is not given. The father was a hotel-keeper. He served in the 160th O. V. I., during the Civil war, and was wounded in the service. He died May 15, 1879; the mother resides at Fostoria. Mrs. Murphy was born August 16, 1868, was educated at Liberty Center under the superintendency of George H. Poulson, now of Cleveland, Ohio, and commenced teaching when sixteen. She taught four years in the Bowling Green schools.

George Rethinger, of Custar, is a native of Ohio, born in Lucas county, February 13, 1848, a son of John and Mary C. (Long) Rethinger. Our subject passed his boyhood on his father's farm, receiving the usual winter school advantages, later taking a business course at Toledo. In early manhood he worked on a farm during the summer, teaching school in the winter season, till 1874, in which year he came to Custar, and entered the general merchandise store of Ingram, Keeler & Co., in the capacity of clerk and bookkeeper, remaining there some nineteen months, or until the firm was burned out. Mr. Rethinger then taught the parochial school of Custar for one winter, after which he embarked in the grocery trade, in course of time, in connection therewith, engaged in the grain and live-stock business, and .expanding his grocery store into one of general merchandise. This he conducted some nine years, then selling out, and again taking up the profession of teaching, this time in the public schools, in which he continued for one winter. Once more he commenced general merchandising, including, as before, the grain trade, having a partner in the person of Abram Phenix; but at the end of one year our subject purchased his partner's interest, and conducted the business for his own account until the winter of 1895, when he retired from it. He is now representing Southworth & Co., in the grain business at Custar, managing their elevator, and buying grain.

On June 8, 1876, Mr. Rethinger was married to Miss Catherine Dunigan, daughter of Manus and Bridget (Burns) Dunigan, the former of whom died in 1877, and the latter resides in Springfield, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Rethinger were born ten children, as follows: Charles J.,

Lucy R. , Mary P. .Frederick J. , Bridget A. , George Leo, Lawrence I., Anna G., Andrew Raphael, and Agnes C. (who died July 26, 1895, at the age of eight months). The entire family, including the parents, are members of the Catholic Church ; socially Mr. Rethinger is affiliated with the Catholic Knights of St. John, and the Catholic Knights of Ohio.

Gilbert T. Knauss. Devoting his energies to farm work is this native son of Ohio, who now owns and operates a farm in Middleton township. He was born in Medina county, June 2, 1852, and is a son of George Knauss, one of the early settlers of this locality. When only two years of age he came with his parents to Wood county, and attended school in Plain and Center townships. He worked with his father on the farm, aiding in its development, and also learned the trade of a blacksmith, which he followed for two years in Plain township. At the age of nineteen he came to Middleton township, where he owned forty acres of land, and at once began the development and improvement of his property. He has erected a comfortable country home thereon at a cost of $1,500, built good barns, laid many rods of tiling, and set out an excellent orchard. In connection with the development of this property, he has also engaged in conducting a blacksmith shop, and has been quite successful in his business. His son now cares for the farm, while he is devoting his energies entirely to the work in the smithy.

Mr. Knauss was married on June 18, 1871, to Frances Grover, who was born in Ballville township, Sandusky county, September 3, 1848. They now have four children - George Franklin, born September 26, 1872; Nora M., born February 20, 1877, now the wife of Allen Ewing, of Plain township; Florence May, born November 19, 1878; and Edna M., born August 9, 1889.

but on account of his extreme youth his father prevented him. He has for a number of years served as school director, and was instrumental in securing the establishment of a school near his home. In politics, he is a Republican, and in religious faith adheres to the United Brethren Church. He is a broad-minded man, possessed of excellent qualities, and is deservedly numbered among the leading citizens of the community.