Wood County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1897 (part 3 of 17)

Frank A. Reid, a well-known attorney of Bowling Green, was born at Ottokee, Fulton Co., Ohio, December 4, 1852. His grandparents, James and Priscilla Reid, were born near Edinburgh, Scotland, and a few years after their marriage they came to America, locating in Pennsylvania and later in Hancock county, Ohio, at a point since known as Reid's Corners, where Mr. Reid, who was a ship carpenter by trade, engaged in business as a housebuilder. He was also a justice of the peace for many years. Seven of their children grew to maturity; James, who lives in Van Wert Co., Ohio; William, a character sui generis , a carpenter, a shoemaker, a lawyer and world-wide traveler, who died at Sedalia, Mo.; John H. , our subject's father; Raine, a resident of Paulding county, Ohio; Alexander G., living at North Baltimore, Wood county; Sarah P., the wife of Edward Koons, of Lawrence, Kans. ; and Thomas C. , who died at Bowling Green, Ohio, September 7, 1892.

John H. Reid was born in Pittsburg, Penn., February n, 1823. Not being content with a common-school education and the carpenter's trade, he determined to enter Oberlin College, where, by working in the harvest field in summer, and doing odd jobs during term time, he succeeded in paying his expenses and graduating. He then read law in Findlay, and on being admitted to the bar located at Delta, Fulton county, where, in 1851, he was elected prosecuting attorney. There he remained until 1853, when he moved to Perrysburg, Wood county. He had previously married a native of this county, Miss Aurelia Augusta Howard, who was born at Grand Rapids January 30, 1826. On his appointment as postmaster in Perrysburg, his wife, a lady of fine mental ability, took charge of the office while he devoted his time to his profession. In 1863 he organized Company D, 86th Regiment, O. V. I., and went to the front as their captain. The company went through the campaign which resulted in the evacuation of Cumberland Gap, Capt. Reid receiving a severe sunstroke while in the mountains. His company had enlisted for six months, but were kept on duty nearly a year. After returning home he again entered the army, this time as quartermaster of the 144th O. V. I., in the 100-day service. Shortly after the regiment went to the front Frank A. joined his father at Fort Dix, Md.. and saw considerable of army life during that summer. They took part in the operations in the vicinity of Annapolis and Harper's Ferry. At the close of the war Capt. Reid resumed his practice at Perrys^urg, and at the time of the contest over the county seat he was retained on the side of Bowling Green, whose interests he heartily espoused and earnestly defended in the highest courts of appeal. Victorious in spite of the array of learned counsel on the opposing side, he removed to Bowling Green, where he carried on his practice, the latter part of the time in partnership with our subject, until a stroke of paralysis gave warning of his approaching death, which occurred on November 1, 1885. As a judge he had few equals in soundness of logic and subtlety of analysis. As an advocate he was remarkably successful, and when occasion required he could rise to an impassioned yet graceful eloquence. So well balanced was he in his acquirements and gifts that it is difficult to make a distinction, and mention any leading characteristic. Before the war he was a Democrat, but studying the issues of that time he became a Republican.

He and his wife, who survives him and resides at Chattanooga, Tenn., were members of the Presbyterian Church. Of their children, five grew to adult age, of whom Frank A. is the eldest; J. Howard, born May 13, i860, died September 30, 1886; James R. and Richard W. are clothing merchants at Chattanooga; Mary Augusta lives with her mother.

The Howard family, from whom our subject's mother descended, were prominent in the history of the Maumee Valley. Thomas Howard, our subject's great-grandfather came from Yates county, N. Y. , in 1823 with his wife, a daughter, Sidney, who afterward became Mrs. Howard Davidson, and his three sons - Edward, Robert A., and Richard M. W. - with their respective families. Part of the family came by water, the rest taking the land route and driving their live stock. They first located at Fort Meigs, but later removed to the Rapids of the Maumee, Gilead, where they made their home for many years. Thomas Howard (who was born November 15, 1758), died there May 25, 1825. His son, Robert A. Howard, oursubject's grandfather, was born November 10, 1798, and survived all the other members of the band of pioneers. His last years were spent in what is now Pike township, Fulton county, where he died November 26, 1872. The Toledo Commercial of December 4, 1872, gave an extended obituary notice, and mentioned his valued services as a justice of the peace in Fulton county, an office which he held for many years, and used as a means of quietly adjusting difficulties, his kindly advice as a man of well-known impartiality being as potent in its influence as his judicial decisions. After Fulton county was established he was employed to transcribe the old records, and later was elected county recorder. His wife, formerly Miss Priscilla Nelson, was highly esteemed by all who knew her. After a half century of married life, they died within a year of each other. Of their nine children five are now living: A. A., of Mason, Mich.; Col. N. M., a prominent business man of Omaha; Edwin A., of Hillsdale, Mich., formerly an Indian agent in Dakota under President Grant; James W. , of Fulton county, Ohio; and Aurelia Augusta (Mrs. Reid).

Frank A. Reid was less than a year old when brought to Wood county, and he received his elementary education in the public schools here. He then entered the Law School at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in 1877. Until his father's illness he practiced with him, and since that time he has continued alone, conducting his extensive practice with unusual ability and marked success. He is an active and influential Republican, and during Garfield's campaign was organizer and president of the Garfield Club. On June 15, 1878, he was married to Miss Alice Lundy, born November 15, 1856, the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Smith) Lundy, who came from Pennsylvania to Wood county in 1836. Mr. Lundy was prominent among the pioneers of Wood county, was for years a director of the County Infirmary, trustee of Center township, and took a leading part in securing the location of the county seat at Bowling Green, contributing generously toward the new court house. Mr. and Mrs. Reid have two children: Earl A., born August 30, 1879, and Helen A., born March 27, 1881.

Leonard Daniels (deceased), who was a highly respected citizen of the county, born in New York December 5, 181 1, died at his home in Middleton township in 1871, esteemed by all who knew him. He was one of a family of ten children born to William and Prudence (Prior) Daniels. In his early life he learned the carpenter's trade, and followed that occupation for some years.

On February 15, 1856, Mr. Daniels was united in marriage with Miss Martha Worth, a native of the Empire State, born on the 2d of May, 1817. She was one of a family of ten children, whose parents were Thomas and Mary Worth. By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were born nine children, namely: D. W., a farmer of Washington township; Prudence, wife of G. A. Simmons, of New York; Amon J., who is operating the old homestead; Herbert R., who is in the West; Jesse M., a carpenter; H. C. , who is living in Bowling Green; D. L. , a farmer; Alice M., wife of E. H. King; and Inez M., wife of V. R. Porter, of Bowling Green.

The subject of this review continued his residence in the East until 1 866, when he came with i the family to Wood county, where he purchased 100 acres of land, on which the widow now resides. It was then wild and unimproved, but he at once began to clear it, and worked long and earnestly in transforming it into richly cultivated fields. He continued his work until 1871, when death relieved him of his labors. He was a man of sterling integrity and commendable worth, and had the confidence and good will of all who knew him.

After his death Mrs. Daniels took up the work where her husband laid it down, and, with the help of her sons, has succeeded in clearing the farm and bringing it under a high state of cultivation. Many rods of tiling have been laid upon the place, and, thus drained, it has been transformed into richly cultivated fields. A good residence and barns add to its value, and it is now highly improved. Mrs. Daniels deserves great credit for carrying on the work as she has done, and she is still, at the age of seventy-eight years, keeping house for her sons.

Hon. Benjamin F. James, a prominent young attorney of Bowling Green, of the firm of James & Beverstock, and ex-representative of Wood county in the State Legislature, was born near Mt. Gilead, Morrow Co., Ohio, April 30, 1863.

His paternal grandfather, Edmund James, a native of Wales, came to America when a young man, locating near Granville, Ohio, where he met and married Miss Esther Griffith. She had come from Wales in childhood with her parents, who settled at the "Welsh Hills," in Licking county. After their marriage they remained some years in the same locality, and then moved to Chesterville, in Morrow (then Knox) county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They had ten children, among whom was William D. James, our subject's father, who was born near Chesterville, December 22, 1815. He was a farmer and stock dealer by occupation, and an active politician, first in the Whig, and later in the Republican, party, being one of five in his locality to vote the latter ticket during the war. Strange to say, in 1894, each one of this little band was represented in the State Legislature; William D. James, by his son, the subject of this sketch; John McConica, by his son Senator Thomas H. McConica, of Findlay; Benjamin Philips and David Thomas (cousins of William D. James), by Senator Dudley B. Philips, of Manchester; while Hugh G. Rogers, one of the survivors of the quintette, was there in person as member from Morrow county.

Our subject's mother, Sarah (Meredith) James, was born in July 30, 1818, at Chesterville, the seventh of the ten children of William and Mary (Farmer) Meredith. Their respective families had emigrated from England to America in 1800, and settled near Chesterville, where, after their marriage a few years later, Mr. Meredith and his wife also located upon a farm. Our subject's father died May 13, 1875, his mother on September 27, 1894. They also had ten children, of whom Benjamin F. is the youngest. Lucretia married T. H. Peterson, of Longley, Ohio. Milo, a private in Company D, Third O. V. C. , died at Nashville, Tenn., September 10, 1862. Mary E. is the widow of Capt. James A. Moore, of Olathe, Kans., and now resides in Fulton, Ohio. James H. is a farmer in Fulton, Morrow county. Milton D. is the president of the Globe Building & Loan Association of Columbus, Ohio, and a prominent real-estate dealer there. Robert W. , formerly a stock dealer at Marengo, Ohio, died May 9, 1883. Keturah is the wife of G. L. Donals, of Helena, Ohio. Jennie E. died July 9, 1883, the wife of A. A. Crawford, county commissioner of Morrow county.

Mr. James spent his boyhood upon his father's farm, and up to the age of fifteen was mainly employed in outdoor labor. But he was not one to be contented with the peaceful but monotonous life of a farmer, and he determined to secure an education and take a place in public life. The next six years were passed in different educational institutions, the Chesterville High School, the Ohio Wesleyan University, Dennison University, at Granville, and the Chicago University, where he was graduated June 11, 1884, at the age of twenty-one, with the degree of A. B. The following year he took the professorship in Latin i and Greek in Burlington College, Burlington,

Wood Oounty, Ohio

Iowa, which he resigned at the close of the year to enter Yale University, New Haven, Conn., although he was tendered the presidency of the college, which he declined. At Yale he took post-graduate and law studies, and on June 28, 1887, he received the degree of LL. B. In October of that year he began to practice his profession, first in partnership with Judge G. C. Nearing, and later with Edward Beverstock, his present partner. Although the firm of James & Beverstock is one of the youngest in the county, they already have an extensive practice, having law offices both in Bowling Green and Toledo, Ohio.

Mr. James is highly gifted as an orator, and his speeches at the bar and before public assemblies are regarded as masterpieces by competent judges. He is a born politician, and his abilities were promptly recognized by the older members of the Republican party. In 1890 he was chosen vice-president of the Ohio Republican League, and a year later a vice-president of the National League. In local politics he was also a leader from the firstj and in 1890 he was elected city solicitor, resigning that office in 1891, after his election to the General Assembly. His first term gave him a reputation as a tireless worker, and a fearless champion of any measure which he believed to be right, and he was re-elected in spite of strong partisan opposition. He has the happy faculty of making friends, seldom forgetting a face or a name, and there are few other men in this county who have as wide a circle of acquaintances. He is a 320 Mason, holding his membership in the Cincinnati Consistory, and he belongs to the Zeta Psi, a college fraternity, as well as the Phi Delta Phi, a legal fraternity, having been the founder of the Yale Chapter during his attendance there.

Christopher Finkbeiner, ex-recorder of Wood county, and one of the most prominent residents of Bowling Green, was born June 9, 1845, in Wurtemberg, Germany, where his ancestors on both sides had for many generations been worthy and industrious citizens. His parents, Friedrich and Mary A. (Audee) Finkbeiner, came to America in 1847, settling finally in Perrysburg, Wood county. The father was a miller by trade, but after coming to this county found more profitable employment as a carpenter and contractor. He took a hearty interest in the welfare of his adopted country, and sent three of his sons to the defense of the Union. Previous to the war he was a Democrat, and then became an ardent Abolitionist and Republican. He died January 17, 1863, aged forty-eight years, and his wife in 1865, at the age of fifty. Of their large family four lived to adult age: Frederick and

John, who have been engaged in mining in Arizona and the West since the war closed; Christopher, our subject; and Mary, the youngest child, now the wife of Charles Church, of Toledo, Lucas Co., Ohio.

Our subject, who is the third son, was two years old when he came to this county, and his education was obtained in the common schools of Perrysburg. His first business venture was driving a dray, which occupation he followed until December 4, 1861, when he enlisted in Company E, 72nd O. V. I., under Gen. Sherman. During the advance upon Corinth, he contracted typhoid fever, and July 25, 1862, he was discharged for disability, and sent home. On July 1, 1863, he again enlisted, this time in Company L, 3d O. V. C. , joining in time to take part in the battle of Chickamauga, the pursuit of Gen. Wheeler, and the engagements at Missionary Ridge and Knoxville. In the spring of 1864 his regiment joined Sherman's forces at Cartersville, Ga., and took part in his famous . campaign. After the capture of Atlanta they followed Hood into Alabama, and in the last engagement with his troops, October 25, 1864, near Gadsden, our subject was w'ounded, necessitating the amputation of his right foot. Until March 16, 1865, he was a patient in various hospitals - at Rome, Chattanooga, Nashville, Jefferson Barracks, at St. Louis - and then declining to enter the Invalid Corps he came home. For a short time he worked in a stave factory in Perrysburg, later clerked in a store, and September 30, 1867, he opened a store of his own, dealing in books and notions. After four years he moved his stock to Napoleon, where he remained two years, and then sold out to take a position as traveling salesman lor a firm of dealers in wooden ware. During the next seven years he visited in their interests points in Canada, and the northern States from Massachusetts to Colorado. Under Garfield's administration he was appointed postmaster at Perrysburg, and after four years and a half he opened a store for notions and gents' furnishing goods, which he carried on until his election to the office of county recorder in 1888. He served the people of the county in this capacity two terms, his faithful and efficient service having been rewarded in 1891 by a re-election.

On January 1, 1867, Mr. Finkbeiner was married to Miss Mattie A. Bellville, a native of Perrysburg, born November 8, 1847, and they have had four children: Fred J., born November 5, 1867, is living at Bowling Green, Ohio; William A., born September 13, 1869, is a merchant at Perrysburg (he married Miss Winnie See, and has one son - Donald A.); Helen Gertrude is now at home; and Jessie Belle is also at home. Mr. Finkbeiner is one of the influential' Republicans of Wood county, and he is a member of the I. O. O. F. , the N. U. and the G. A. R.

Henry S. Chapin, editor and proprietor of the Democrat , Bowling Green, is a native of Connecticut, born January 4, 1835, at Collinsville, Hartford county, a son of Ariel S. and Mary D. (Jones) Chapin, natives of Berkshire county, Massachusetts.

Ariel S. Chapin was a son of Amos and Rebecca (Sheldon) Chapin, who were also of Berkshire county nativity. Mary D. (Jones) Chapin was a daughter of Barnabas and Ada (Harmon) Jones, of the same locality in Massachusetts, and on both sides of the house they followed agricultural pursuits. Both families (Chapin and Jones) moved in 1836 from Massachusetts to Lenox, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where they bought land and cleared up farms. Ariel S. Chapin, father of our subject, lived in Collinsville, Conn., for a time, being there employed in some of the manufactories of that place, though his occupation in the main was that of a farmer. The son, Henry S. , was a year old when his parents came to Ohio, and but seven years of age when his father died at Lenox; the mother passed from earth, in 1893, at the home of our subject in Bowling Green. They were the parents of two children: Harriet, who

Henry S. Chapin attended the common schools; also the Union school of Jefferson, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, and worked on a farm until he was seventeen years of age, when he commenced learning the printing business in the office of the Weekly Telegraph , Ashtabula. At the end of two and one-half years he left there, and during the succeeding two years attended the Union school at Bellefontaine, Ohio. Returning to the printer's trade, he, from 1856 to 1862, was a compositor on Cincinnati and St. Louis newspapers, and in October of the latter year, in connection with F. J. Oblinger, he purchased the Perrysburg Journal , which they jointly conducted two and one-half years. In 1864, Mr. Chapin went with Company E, 144th O. V. I., Capt. Asher Cook, on the "100-days' service." In the spring of 1865 he bought the

Republican, of Peru, Ind., and published the same until 1868, in which year he went to Toledo, and opened a job printing office, being associated therein with James Timmons. At Toledo, in 1872, he commenced the publication of the Sunday Journal, which later he sold to Sherwood & Canfield. On April 26, 1876, he commenced the publication of the Toledo Daily Bee, and had charge of that paper eight years, afterward becoming connected with the Toledo Post, which two years later was sold, and for a short time, in 1888, he was identified with the Toledo Neivs. During the year 1889, and up to August, 1 890, he was editor of the Post, of Columbus, Ohio, and on September 1, 1890, took charge of the Bowling Green Democrat, which he had purchased, and he has since conducted it with his well-known ability.

George Williams was born in Heistenbach, Province of Nassau, Germany, January 4, 1847. His father, Ludwig Williams, a native of Germany and a farmer by occupation, was twice married, first to Katharina Danzer, by whom he had two children, Anton and Clara. For his second wife he married Louisa Fischer, and to this marriage one child was born, George, the subject of this sketch, who remained at home until the age of fourteen years, attending school from the age of six until fourteen. November 1, 1858, the father died, and the widow and son were left with but little, and the former was of necessity compelled to work hard from day to day in order to make ends meet. March 15, 1861, when in his fourteenth year, himself and mother left the old home in Germany, and came to Washington township, Wood Co., Ohio, and made their home with a half-brother of the son, Anton Williams, who had come to this country several years before. The first three years after his arrival George remained with Anton, working on the farm, then for four years he worked for Anton Opperman, and one year for Nelson Kuder, farmers of the same township. Following this in 1869, he rented forty acres of land in Middleton township, on which himself and mother made their home for five years.

On October 5, 1873, at the age of twentyseven, Mr. Williams was married to Emma Hartman, of Middleton township, and the union was blessed with one son, George Frederick, born April 2, 1884. March 1, 1874, he bought sev- 1 enty-three acres of land near Haskins, Middleton ! township, at fifty-four dollars per acre, paying $800 down. The land was in a poor condition, only a few acres being cleared, and the improve- ments - buildings, fences, ditches, etc. - were poor indeed, and Mr. Williams was required to work hard to clear and improve this land, and under the burden of 12 per cent, interest part of the time. The present buildings on the place are good and substantial, and the other improvements correspond. This simple record of actual achievements shows better than praise the industry and enterprise of the man. July 27, 1874, the mother died at the age of sixty-one years, having lived only four months and twenty-seven days with them in their own home. The wife's mother, a£ed seventy-four years, is spending the evening of her life with them. Mr. Williams is a member of the Lutheran Church, of which he is a trustee, and he has been superintendent of the Sunday-school since the organization of the Church, at Haskins, twenty-three years ago. He has been a school director for two terms, and assessor also for two terms.

Faithful in the discharge of every duty, energetic, and possessed of an unusual measure of common sense, Mr. Williams has won the esteem and confidence of all who know him.

Joseph E. Burnham, M. D., one of Wood county's rising young physicians, and junior member of the well-known firm of Sage & Burnham, of Prairie Depot, belongs to the homeopathic school of medicine. A native of New York, he was born at Pottsdam, St. Lawrence county, May 1, 1865, a son of Aaron and Sarah (Nesbit) Burnham, the former born at Augusta, Maine, and the latter in New York. The father was a citizen of Pottsdam, where he died at the age of seventytwo years, but his wife is still living at that place.

The Doctor is the third child and eldest son in the family, and was reared to manhood in his native town. His elementary education was obtained in the public schools, where he learned rapidly, and at the age of sixteen years entered the Pottsdam Normal School, an advanced institution, where he pursued his studies for two years and a half at different times, his attendance being interrupted by school teaching, which he followed very successfully. The illness of his father necessitated his leaving the Normal, where he had intended to take a full course, and then followed the profession of teaching in the West.

In 1889 our subject entered the office of Dr. H. D. Brown, of Pottsdam, one of the most successful practitioners of northern New York, and there began the study of medicine. In the fall of 1892 he became a student in the Cleveland Medical College, from which he was graduated with high honor in the class of 1895, standing second in a class of foi^y-two. He began practice at Port Clinton, Ohio, but on November 18, 1895, he located at Prairie Depot, and has since been associated with that successful old practitioner, Dr. Sage. He is a thorough student of his profession, keeping well informed on the recent discoveries in science, and his worth and merit have been justly recognized. Politically, he is identified with the Republican party.

W. H. Wood, the well-known ex-surveyor of Wood county, and a prominent resident of Bowling Green, is a native of this county, born at Tontogany, July 13, 1836.

The family is of English origin, and the founders of the American line were early settlers in Virginia, where his grandfather, Judge Joseph Wood, was born about 1768. He removed to Marietta, Ohio, where he surveyed the first seven ranges that were officially located in Ohio, being accompanied by a guard to keep the Indians at bay. In later years he served as probate judge of Washington county.

His son Emilius, our subject's father, born in 1793, was the third white child born in the old fort at Marietta. He was educated at the university at Athens, Ohio, and became a surveyor, and for twelve years was county surveyor of Perry county where he married his first wife. Miss Addie Fuller, who died in 1833 leaving two children - A. J., nowin Oklahoma, and PI R. , a resident of Belle Plaine, Kans. His second wife was Miss Sarah North, who was born in Philadelphia, Penn., in 1817, and came with her parents, Joseph and Catherine North, to Wood county in 1828, to settle in the wilderness. Her mother, after their arrival, was lost in the woods for three days and nights, staying in a tree at night to keep out of reach of the wolves. She found her way home by following a small stream to the river. Our subject was the eldest of eight children by the second marriage. The others were: Adeline Amelia, Caroline Aurelia (deceased), Catharine Lucelia, John R. (deceased), Josephine Adelia, Emeline Ophelia, and Angeline Fidelia. Our subject's father came to Wood county, in 1834, and settled atTontogany, and for many years was engaged in surveying the wild and unbroken forests. During his later years he followed farming as an occupation. His death occurred in 1875 while on a visit in Iowa. (His wife had died in 1871 at the age of fifty-four). In politics he was a Republican, and he took a leading part in all the progressive movements in the community. The first Masonic lodge in the county was organized in his house where the lodge met for six years, qnd he was the second to hold the office of Master. At one time he rode to Zanesville on horseback, once to Marietta and once to Columbus, to attend Grand Lodge meetings.

Our subject's early education was acquired in the district schools near his home, and in the high school at Waterville and Maumee City. He taught for five terms, and in the intervals worked on the farm. In 1862 he enlisted in Company D. 1 nth O. V. I., and served in the army of the Cumberland. For some time he was detailed as hospital guard, having been sick and unfitted for more serious duty, and here his fine abilities as a musician were found useful. During the first and last years of the war he was with 1 his regiment, and marched across Kentucky and Tennessee, taking part in the engagement at Fort Saunders, Tenn. He was mustered out at Salisbury, N. C.,June 27, 1865, and discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, July 13, 1865. After the war closed he spent eighteen months in Missouri, and then returned to Wood county, where he has since been engaged in his profession. He has laid out over 15,000 miles of ditches, not to mention other work. He was elected county surveyor in 1871, and held the office for four terms, to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1865 he married Miss Josepha R. Hoskins, who was born in Portage county, Ohio, in August, 1844. She is of the family of Morse, the inventor, and her grandfathers were in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Wood has for many years been the organist of the M. E. Church. He is a Republican, and a member of the G. A. R., No. 46, Wiley Post, and of the I. O. O. F.

R. S. Patty, a highly esteemed citizen of Bowling Green, is one of the most extensive oil operators in the country, his interests being located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Indiana. He began work in the oil fields when quite : a young man, being first employed as a driller and pumper. Later he became a contractor for drill- 1 ing wells, first doing business for himself as a member of the firm of Patty Brothers, their wells being located near Bradford, Penn. This firm afterward extended their operations to West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky, and in 1889 to Ohio.

Of late years the firm of Patty Brothers has also engaged in the gas business, and is at present conducting extensive plants at Weston, W. Va. , under the name of the Weston Natural Gas & Fuel Co., and at Logan, Ohio, as the Logan Natural Gas& Fuel Co. The latter supplies the

Boys' Industrial School at Lancaster, and is preparing to extend their line into Circleville and to Chillicothe. At Weston, W. Va. , they supply, among other public institutions, the State Insane Asylum with light and heat. Our subject and his brother were the promoters of these companies, and now control them.

The subject of this sketch was born in Armstrong county, Penn., June 16, 1852, and was reared there, his education being limited to the common schools. He was married December 1 5, 1876, to Mary E. Smathers, who was born in Clarion county, Penn., March 15, 1 859; daughter of Isaac (a lumberman) and Harriet (Reed) Smathers, both yet living, who are parents of children: Sarah, Lawson (who died when a young man), Mary E., Malinda, John, Robert, Amelia, and Palmer (deceased when young). Mrs. Patty is descended from the Hulling family, and her great -great-grandmother was a sister of Daniel Boone. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Patty: Harry L. , Roy Levern, who died when young, and Eddie R. The family occupy a palatial residence in Bowling Green, whither they removed in 1889, Mr. Patty's main office being in the Times building, Pittsburg, Penn., where he directs the affairs of his extensive business. He is essentially the architect of his own fortune, a genial gentleman who has won his way to success by energy and enterprise, and to-day is conceded to be one of the best business men, and most successful operators in the oil fields of this or any other State. In his political predilections he is a stanch Republican, but has no time to spare for office hunting or office holding. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of Parkers City, Penn. ; Mrs. Patty of the Church of the same denomination at Bowling Green.

The parents of our subject, James ( a carpenter by trade) and Nancy (Speer) Patty, were both born in Pennsylvania, the father, in 1800, i in Westmoreland county, of Scotch-Irish descent, the mother, in Armstrong county, in 1817. Both 1 passed away in the latter county, she in 1864, and he in 1882. The father of James Patty, also named James, was a native of Westmoreland county, Penn., and one of the early settlers of Gettysburg, that State. Our subject was one of five children, namely: James, who was a member of the oil firm of Patty Brothers, and died in 1894; R. S.; Belle, who was a prominent school teacher in Armstrong county, Penn., and is now deceased; George, who, it is supposed, was murdered while drilling wells in the West; and Elizabeth, the wife of Samuel Blakely, of Marion, Indiana.

T. T. Rosendale, M. D., one of Fostoria's rising young physicians and business men, is a native of West Millgrove, Wood county, the son of that well-known and successful practitioner, Dr. Charles R. Rosendale. His early education was obtained in the district school of his native village, his first teacher being Miss Sally Buckingham. In 1887 he entered the Northern Indiana Normal School, where he remained three years. He had previously read medicine with his father and Dr. C. A. Henry, of Fostoria, and in 1890 he entered Western Reserve Medical College at Cleveland, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1893. In 1892 he made a trip to Europe in the interest of his profession, and immediately after graduation entered into active practice, taking an office in the opera block at Fostoria, where he is still located. In common with all young professional men he found it no easy matter at first to compete with older practitioners, but each year has found him steadily gaining in the confidence of the people, and he now enjoys a practice highly creditable for one of his years and experience. In 1894 he attended the University of California, where he pursued post-graduate work, giving special attention to dissecting.

On September 10, 1895, the Doctor was married to Miss Madge P. Harris, a native of Virginia, who is the daughter of V. H. and Augusta P. Harris. Mrs. Rosendale was graduated from the Fostoria High School in 1885, and in the scientific course from Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, in 1889-

Dr. Rosendale is one of the wide-awake, progressive young men of Fostoria, seeming to inherit the business tact and shrewdness of his father, whose success in life has but few parallels in Wood county. In addition to his practice he has extensive business interests, which receive careful attention. In 1895 he erected on Perry street one of the finest houses in the city, where he and his wife entertain their large circle of friends in a delightful manner. Politically he is a stanch Republican, taking an active part in the politics of the city.

Captain J. B. Newton, one of the most prominent citizens of Bowling Green, with the chief interests of which city he has for many years been identified, was born September 10, 1837, in Chenango county, New York.

His grandfather, Daniel Newton (1), a native of New England, born May 9, 1786, settled in Chenango county, N. Y. , in early manhood, and married Miss Patty Bell, who was born in Connecticut, July 8, 1788. Their son, Daniel Newton (2), born October 12, 1810, married Miss Sarah Burdick, also a native of Chenango county, born February 10, 1810. They were married January 12, 1834, and six years later came west, located in Wood county, Ohio, first in Center township, and later (eight years afterward) in Bowling Green. In 1864 they removed to Roachton, but in 1876 they came back to Bowling Green, there to pass their declining years. They were both earnest and consistent members of the M. E. Church, and faithful workers in every line of Christian duty. Mr. Newton was originally a Whig, later a Republican, and was an intelligent student of public affairs. He died March 20, 1881, his wife having preceded him to the grave, November 18, 1872. Of their six children, three grew to adult age: Louis M., born October 8,

1834, now a leading resident of Garnett, Kans. ; J. B., our subject; and Jennie, who married L. D. Stearns, now of Willapa, State of Washington. The deceased are: Jeremiah C. , born

Capt. Newton's early education was restricted to an attendance at the district schools near his home. When the Civil war broke out he was among the first to enlist for the three-years' service, in August, 1861, joining Company A, 14th O. V. I. His regiment was assigned to the 14th Corps, army of the Cumberland, commanded by Gen. Thomas, and served through the campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia, taking part in the historic march to the sea, and was present at the surrender of Johnston. Capt. Newton was promoted from private through the grades of corporal, sergeant-major, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, to the rank of captain; as second lieutenant he was detailed as adjutant, and served in that capacity until promoted to captain. During the latter part of his service he was detailed mainly on brigade staff duty. At the close of the war he went to Washington and participated in that "Grand Review," and was finally discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, in July, 1865. He was never wounded, and never absent from his command, except once, by reason of sickness, in 1862.

In 1868 he married Miss Maggie Blackwood, who was born in Oakland county, Mich., January 23, 1844, and four children came of this union: Welles B., born April 17, 1869, now a druggist in Toledo; Clyde B., born May 22, 1874, a stu- ! dent at Alma, Mich.; Earl W., born June 8,

1 88 1 ; and Mary Belle, born November 27, 1882. Soon after his return from the army, Capt. Newton was elected county auditor, and served three terms of two years each. He then engaged in agricultural pursuits in Center township some fifteen years, during which time he did an extensive business in feeding and shipping stock. When the gas boom came to Bowling Green, the Buckeye Glass Co. was among the first to utilize the new product, and selected him to manage the financial affairs of the company. The Ohio Flint Glass Co. was incorporated in 1891 for the manufacture of table glassware, and the attendant lines common to that branch of the business. When the natural gas, for fuel for manufacturing purposes, failed at Bowling Green, the company decided to remove their plant to the gas fields of Indiana. They selected Dunkirk for their location, and entrusted Capt. Newton with the management of the affairs of the company. In 1895 he was elected president thereof, and given charge with general management of its affairs, retaining his residence in Bowling Green. Politically he votes the Republican ticket, is very influential in party affairs, and takes a leading place in all public movements; he has always been ready to assist in any movement tending to advance the interests of the city, and was one of the early clerks of the corporation as soon as he became of age. Socially he is a member of the G. A. R. , Wiley Post, No. 46; of the I. O. O. F. and Encampment, and a member of the Loyal Legion in the Ohio Commandery.

Colonel M. F. Miles, a representative farmer of Montgomery township, was born in Chesterville, Morrow county (at that time Knox county), Ohio, December 10, 1838, and is a son of Davis and Julia A. (Denman) Miles. His grandfather, Enos Miles, was born in Chester county, Penn., July 3, 1786. He married Miss Elizabeth Frame, who was born April 3, 1790. They came to Ohio in an early day, bought up tracts of land, and Mr. Miles named Chester township, I also Chesterville. A man of means, he erected a large brick hotel and other buildings, one of which he fitted out as a school and boardinghouse; but his ideas were far too advanced for those days, and his venture involved him in financial difficulties. Mr. Miles died in Chesterville, May 18, 1840, and his wife on August 18, 1871. Their children were Davis, Euclid, Enos, Jane and Catherine.

Davis Miles, the father of our subject, was born in Chester county, Penn., in 1814, came to [ Ohio with his parents, and was married in Ches- I terville in 1837. His wife was a daughter of Joseph Denman, a farmer. At the time of his father's death, Davis took charge of his affairs, which were much involved ; but he took an extension of time, and was able to hold the property. He conducted the hotel business successfully, and when the property was divided it was not by a forced sale. At the organization of Morrow county Mr. Miles was chosen first sheriff. He owned considerable land adjacent to the village of Chesterville, and hired almost all of his work done, although in early life he was an active farmer. He was a man of excellent judgment and common sense, and possessed a strong natural intellect. He was a stanch Republican, a prominent man in his community, and served two terms in the Ohio Senate. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Miles were as follows: M. F. , our subject; Enos W., a traveling salesman, of Mansfield, Ohio; and Mary C. , who died young. Mr. Miles passed away August 6, 1865, and Mrs. Miles in 1876, and "both are buried at Chesterville. They were members of the Baptist Church, in which, later in life, Mr. Miles took an active part; socially he was a member of the Masonic fraternity.

The early schooling of our subject was obtained in his native village schools. At the age of twenty he entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, where he remained one year. For two years he was a student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and while there enlisted in the students' battalion, whose services were rejected on account of the quota of men being already filled. Mr. Miles returned home, and on September 14, 1861, enlisted in Company B, 43d O. V. I., under Gen. C. Smith, and went into camp at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, where he was appointed sergeant. On January 9, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and assigned to Company A, 49th Regiment, then camped at Green River, Ky. On February 14, 1862, the regiment was ordered to Bowling Green, Ky. , and thence to Shiloh, advancing to the assistance of Gen. Grant. His regiment participated in that battle, and with other forces held their position from 1 1 A. m. to 4 p. m., when the enemy was obliged to retreat. The other battles in which our subject took part are as follows: Corinth, Lawrenceburg, Stone River, Liberty Gap, Crab Orchard, Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, Mission Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Cassville and Pickett's Mills. In the battle of the last mentioned place, which occurred May 27, 1864, the 49th entered the fight with 560 men, and lost 224. After the fall of Atlanta our subject returned with his regiment to Nashville, participating in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. On June 15, 1865, it was taken to Texas in order to quell any continuance of the Rebellion, it forming a part of the 4th Army Corps. On September 30, 1862, Mr. Miles was promoted to first lieutenant, and assigned to Company B, 49th Regiment. On March 2, 1863, he was made adjutant of the same regiment, and was then transferred to Company H, and promoted to the rank of captain of that company. On October 4, 1863, he was made major, and March 29, 1865, promoted to lieutenant-colonel. On June 26, 1865, he was mustered out, but in November of the same year he was sent to Victoria, Texas, and was not finally discharged until December 31, 1865.

After the close of the war, Col. Miles engaged in the lumber business at Logansport, Ind., for some time, and then went to Chicago and started in the retail drug trade on State street, at the corner of Taylor. He had a previous knowledge of this business, but failing health compelled him to give it up and return to Wood county. Here he was married, October 1 1 , 1 866, to Miss Maggie E. Diver, a native of Montgomery township, born June 30, 1843, the daughter of Osman and Esther F. (Robinson) Diver, the former of whom was born August 23, 1809, and the latter April 2, 1818. Mr. Diver was twice married, his first wife being Miss Margaret Kinnaman, who bore him three children, two of whom - Franklin and Laura - grew to maturity; by his second wife, Mr. Diver had three children - Maggie, Osman A., and Harriet M.

Col. Miles began the business of flour-milling in West Millgrove, Wood county, in 1868. The mill burned down in 1872, and he and O. A. Diver built on its site the present structure, with which our subject was connected for twelve years. Since retiring from that business he has resided in Montgomery township, in Section 29, where he has a comfortable home and carries on farming, having over 377 acres under his direction. He has always been a Republican, and in 1 887 was elected sheriff of Wood county, serving two terms, but retaining his residence in Montgomery township during his service. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian Church, in which he has been an elder for many years. He is also secretary and treasurer of the 19th District Ohio Christian Missionary Society. Socially he belongs to the Masonic order in Fostoria, and to the G. A. R. Col. Miles, as he is always called, is a prominent citizen of Montgomery township, is a man with a keen conception of right and wrong, loyal and trusted, and a strong supporter and earnest advocate of whatever is for public good.

Mrs. Miles is State president of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions, an auxiliary to the Christian Church, which is a grand organization. She went to school at Fostoria, Ohio, and at Oberlin, later graduating at the Seminary at Mt. Vernon. She is a woman of considerable literary ability, her writings being mostly on religious subjects, which have been printed in the leading publications of that character.

George C. Stevenson, a member of the firm of Matthews & Stevenson, leading grocers of Bowling Green, who is even better known as a breeder of blooded horses, was born June 2, 1844, in county Down, Ireland.

His grandfather, James Stevenson, was an officer in the British army, a quartermaster under Sir John Moore, and while in Ireland on a recruiting expedition he was so charmed with the beauty of the country that he resolved to return there to live, if it were possible to do so. Some time afterward, having been wounded in the battle of Waterloo, he was retired from service, and he purchased an estate in county Down, whereon he spent the rest of his life.

William Stevenson, the father of our subject, was born in Spain, eight days before the battle of Coruna, in which Sir John Moore was killed. His early life was passed mainly in Ireland. At the age of nineteen he came to America, but returned to Ireland, where he was married to Miss Jane McAlpine, a descendant of one of the oldest and most powerful of the Scottish clans. In 1851 he came to America again, bringing his family, and located first at Pittsburg, Penn., and finally settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he engaged in the lumber business. Our subject was second in order of birth of six children: James, the eldest, lives in Seneca county, Ohio; Margaret is the wife of Charles Scoville, of Ashtabula; Mary (deceased) was the wife of V. L. Chapin; W. J. is a resident of Williams county, Ohio; William died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Our subject was educated in an academy at Ashtabula. When the Civil war began the martial spirit inherited from both paternal and maternal ancestry impelled him, though a boy in years, to join in the struggle. On August 20, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, 83d P. V. I., and served throughout the war, receiving his final discharge June 18, 1865. He was in the battles of Big Bethel, Yorktown, Malvern Hill, Cold

Harbor, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Chancellorsville, Gaines Mills (where he was slightly wounded), Laurel Hill and Charles City Cross Roads. In 1862, at Malvern Hill, he was shot through the right lung, and the night after the battle his captain, who had hunted him up, got the surgeon to examine and dress his wounds; but Mr. Stevenson was then informed that he could not live till morning, as he was bleeding internally. Thus confronted with death, this worthy descendant of heroes declared that, having done his duty, he was satisfied. He could die in no better cause. About 7 o'clock the next morning, however, a negro discovered him, and, lifting him up, gave him a drink of whiskey, which so revived him that he managed to walk or crawl some five miles, when he was picked up and taken to Harrison's Landing. Thanks to his wonderful constitution, he recovered, and at the end of eleven months reenlisted in his old company. At Cold Harbor, in 1864, he fell on the field with two wounds. At Laurel Hill he was rendered unconscious by the concussion of a shell, and when found by his lieutenant he was bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears, but he soon had his external wounds dressed. After the close of the war, Mr. Stevenson engaged in the lumber business in Ashtabula county and that vicinity, and in 1874 located in Dunbridge, Wood county. In 1886 he began breeding fine horses, roadsters and trotters, a business in which he still continues, and he owns a fine stock farm in Middleton township. On May 22, 1895, he bought an interest in a grocery store in Bowling Green, formerly owned by Henry Hughes.

In 1866, Mr. Stevenson married Miss Viola L. Reeve, who was born in Ashtabula county, August 2, 1850. They have six children: E. K. ; Jennie, who married O. N. Grover, a teacher at Dunbridge, and has one child - Genevra; Lamira L. ; Ethel A.; George R. , and Clyde V. The family reside at Bowling Green. They are members of the Presbyterian Church, and active in various forms of philanthropic work. Mr. Stevenson is a leading worker in the Republican party in this county. He served two years as trustee of Middleton township, and also as member of its board of education, of which he was president one year. Fraternally, he is a member of the F. & A. M., and of Kenneth's Lodge ,No. 158, K. of P. , of Bowling Green; he also belongs to Robert Stewart Post No. 690, G. A. R., of Dunbridge. The Reeve family came from Connecticut. Mrs. Stevenson's parents, H. A. and Lamira (Peck) Reeve, were born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where they were engaged in farming. The father is still living; the mother died in 1871. They had five children, three sons - Wells H., Ellsworth S. and Wilson - and two daughters - Viola L. (Mrs. Stevenson), and Celia Adele. The Reeves were noted Abolitionists in ante-bellum days, their home being a station on the famous "Underground Railroad." Capt. James Reeve, Col. Arthur Reeve, Harrison F. Reeve (all three of whom died in the army during the Civil war), and Capt. L. C. Reeve, Mrs. Stevenson's uncles, were valiant defenders of the Union cause.

Daniel Mercer (deceased), who in his lifetime was one of the most prominent of the pioneer citizens of Bowling Green, better known as "Uncle Dan" throughout his wide circle of acquaintances, was born August 3, 1826, in Columbiana county, Ohio, where his ancestors were among the earliest settlers. He was of mixed German, English and Irish blood, and manifested' the best qualities of each strain.

His father, William Mercer, was born in Columbiana county, and was there married to Miss Margaret Ikirt, a native of Pennsylvania. They came to Portage township, Wood county, in 1836, and settled in the woods where they made their first dwelling out of brush supported by a couple of trees. Our subject was ten years old at that time, and can well recall the howling of the wolves around them, and his fear lest they should break through the frail shelter. A log cabin was built later, and the land prepared for crops, the father seeking work after the seed was planted, in order to supply his family with food. He died at the early age of forty-three, and his wife at thirty-seven, the lives of both having been shortened by the privations and exertions of pioneer life. Of their fifteen children, twelve grew to maturity, our subject being the eldest: Elizanna married Josiah Milburn; Elizabeth married W. Johnson; Pierce was a farmer in Liberty township; Mary Ann married Cornelius Simons; Harriet married George Babcock; one son, Bielbv, lived in Indiana: Margaret and Martha (twins), the former was Mrs. Robert Johnson, and the latter is now Mrs. Frederick Amos, of Portage township; Rufus is a farmer in Henry county; Euphemia married Russell Chilcote, of Perry township, and Caroline married John Boozer, of Bloom township. None of this large family are now living except Daniel and the four younger children.

at the age of seventeen gained an insight into the principles of arithmetic in seventeen days. He was twice married, first time at the age of twenty to Miss Susan Roberts, who died August 22, 1865. Ten children were born to this union. (1) Emeline. married Sheldon Welton (now deceased), formerly of Liberty township; they had twelve children - Emmett, who married and has one child; Norton; Lillie, who married and has one child; Della; Daniel; Myrtle, who married George Brubaker, and has one child, and John, Edna, Ruth, Clayton, Anna and Clarence, the six last being still at home, except Ruth, who is deceased. (2) Delascos lives in Liberty township; he married Louisa Donsey, and has five living children - Lucy, married to James White, and has one child; Eddie, a student at Bethany (W. Va.) College; Clarence, Tillie and Abraham G. ; two others died in early life. (3) Apalinda first married Samuel Whitaker (now deceased), and had two children - Thomas E. and Ella E. - both attending Bethany College; she afterward wedded John Knight and had two children, one of whom, Deyo, is living. (4) Alcenus is a farmer in Liberty township; he married Ella Ducat, and has four children - Rosa, Libbie, Normia and Lloyd. (5) Elmira married Robert Place, of Liberty township, and has two living children - Alfred, a student at Bethany College, and Alta. (6) Eugene married Jerusha Bay, and has three children - Mable, Virnie and Edith. (7) Ruth married Robert Marbel, of Bowling Green, and has one son - Leonidas. (8) Cyrenus married Alice Dubbs, and has one son - Ira. (9) Flora and (10) Florence (twins) are married. Flora to Milton Tellers, of Plain township, and Florence to Clarence Griner.

Mr. Mercer was married the second time, June 24, 1866, to Mrs. Lucy A. Aller, who was born in Genesee county, N. Y., July 23, 1828, daughter of Asahel and Lucy (Johnson) Martin. By her former marriage with Zacheus Aller she had nine children, of whom seven are living: (1) Margaret, married to Porterfield Mercer, and has five children - Frank, Ethel, Manley, Marian and Emma. (2) Nelson (now deceased), married to Julia Lowe (now deceased), and had three children - Millie, Leory and Porterfield.

(4) Elliott, married to Cora Hunt, and has three children - Ernest, Bertha and Lucy. (5) Henry, married to Addie Swartz, and has two children - Elmer and Blanche. (6) Amos, not married. (7) Rebecca, married to Dowling Mercer, and has three children - Lorenzo, Ina and Hazel.

Church at Ravenna, Ohio ; was educated at Bethany fW. Va.) College and Chicago -University, and ordained in 1891; he is married to- Jessie Green, of Alliance, Ohio. (2) Robert, a farmer near Bowling Green; he completed his education in Hiram College, Ohio, and is married to Miss Millie De Lano; like his father, he is am ardent Prohibitionist. All of these nineteen children have been reared together by our subject, and all are members of the Church. He lately gave each of them $2,000, making $4,000 in all to each, he having previously given $2,000 to each one.

About two years after his second marriage Mr. Mercer bought a farm of 400 acres in Liberty township, where oil was afterward discovered, and at the time of his decease he had an income from sixty- five wells. In 1889 he retired to Bowling Green, there to spend his declining years, and he employed his time devising new ways to do good with his money. He was a liberal patron of the Christian Church, of which he had been a member some fifty-three years, and an elder for thirty years. He took the lead in the financial affairs of the Bowling Green society, and made large donations in other places, helping to build more than twenty churches. He also gave generously to Bethany College, Hiram College and other educational institutions, and was extremely liberal to Churches, regardless of creed. Politically, he was formerly a Democrat, but in later years was a Prohibitionist, taking an active interest in all temperance work. Daniel Mercer, the subject of this sketch, died September 23, 1896, a"nd was buried in the cemetery at Rudolph.

Murray P. Brewer, one of the proprietors of the Wood County Sentinel, and editor of the same, is a native of Ohio, born November 23, 1849, and received his schooling at Westerville.

In 1868 he went to Toledo and engaged in the printing business as a practical printer, and in 1870 came to Bowling Green, here taking a position on the Wood County Sentinel - the official organ of the Republican party. In 1873 he became sole proprietor of the Sentinel by purchase from C. W. Evers, later selling to Rudulph Bros., and was then for one year one of the proprietors of the Wauseon Republican. In 1884 he again became one of the proprietors of the Sentinel. and has been its editor ever since. He is one of the ablest writers in Ohio, and always alert to the interests of his town and county. He has

On January 8, 1873, Mr. Brewer was married to Miss Luella G., daughter of Norton and Ella R. (Wells) Reed, natives of Ohio and New York State respectively, the father being of Scotch origin. To our subject and wife have been born children as follows: Charles R., John W., Harry and Dixie.

E. L. Spafford, the well-known young civil engineer of Bowling Green, is a descendant of one of the earliest pioneers of this region, his greatgreat-grandfather, Major Amos Spafford, who was born in Sharon, Conn., April 11, 1753, having been for some time deputy revenue collector at Perrysburg. The Major's eldest son, Samuel Spafford, our subject's great-grandfather, was commissioner of Wood county, from 1822 to 1828; he died at Perrysburg in 1831, at the age of fifty-six. Amos Spafford, the grandfather of our subject, went to California during the "gold fever" of 1848-49, and was never heard from afterward. His son, Ara C. Spafford, our subject's father, was born in 1835, and in 1861 enlisted in Company C, 21st O. V. I., and served in the army of the Cumberland until he was stricken with yellow fever, from which he died October, 1864, at Camp Sorghum, South Carolina.

On the maternal side, also, Mr. Spafford is descended from a family which has held a prominent place in the history of northwestern Ohio, his mother, formerly Miss Amanda M. Baird, being the daughter of G. W. Baird, a man of recognized influence in'business and political circles, and a representative in the Legislature from this District, in 1841-42. E. L. Spafford is the second in a family of three children. The eldest, Clifton A., lives in Providence, R. I. ; the youngest died in infancy. His mother, who was born September 18, 1838, is still living, and has contracted a second marriage with F. H. Thompson, of Perrysburg; they have had two children - L. A. and Edward.

Our subject was born at the old homestead in Perrysburg July 8, 1861, and received his early education in the schools of that town. The foundation, thus laid, has been added to by subsequent reading and observation, until he has become noted for his broad and accurate information. His technical studies in engineering and surveying were pursued under the able guidance of Prof. Hubbard, at Perrysburg. At the age of nineteen he began teaching, and, after seven years of successful work in this county, he engaged in the practice of his chosen profession, working as an assistant to the county surveyor. His ability and skill, combined with absolute fair dealing in disputed cases, has brought him an extensive business in this and adjoining counties.

On May 4, 1894, Mr. Spafford was married to Miss Mildred Kramer, of Bowling Green, who is a worker in various philanthropical movements, and an active member of the M. E. Church. One son, James Francis, born January 1, 1896, has blessed this union. Mr. Spafford is a straight Republican in politics; socially, he belongs to the I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 77, of Perrysburg.

Prof. J. N. Baker, a prominent educator, of Wood county, now residing in Bowling Green, was born near New Lisbon, Columbiana county, Ohio, May 9, 1843.

His father, Abraham Baker, was born in 1808, in Adams county, Penn., and came to Ohio, with his parents, when a little boy; his mother, who was Miss Elizabeth Cope, before her marriage, was a native of Harper's Ferry, Va, and came to this State, with her parents, at the age of eighteen months - both families settling in the vicinity of New Lisbon. Poverty was no obstacle in the eyes of lovers in those days, and in 1830 our subject's parents were married, although they had nothing to live upon but the young husband's wages as a day laborer. In 1850, they bought a farm of ten acres, which they sold four years later, when they removed to a farm in Section 31, Bloom township, Wood county. Here they spent the remainder of their days. They were Quakers in religion, with all the sterling moral qualities of that sect. Mr. Baker died May 27, 1888, aged eighty years; his wife August 15, 1894, aged eighty-six years. Of their six sons, five served in the Civil war, and the other had a willing spirit, but failed to pass the examination. Their two daughters married men who volunteered and went to the front. John C., the eldest son, enlisted in the 47th O. V. I. He now resides at the old homestead. Sarah A. married J. R. Slaughterback, of Hancock county, a private in Company E, 21st O. V. I. Joshua C. was drafted, but was discharged on account of physical disability; he now resides in Hancock county. Elisha M. , served in Co. D, 5th Mo. Cav. during the war, and now lives in Auburn, Nebr. Jason C., a private in Co. E, 2 1 st O. V. I., under Gen. Sherman, was killed at Vining Station, Ga., July 9, 1864. Isaac P. served in Co. G, 21st O. V. I., and died in the hospital at Nashville, February 6, 1863, of pneumonia, caused by exposure during the battle of Stone River. Mary C. married Frank Pattee, of White Beach, Wisconsin.

Our subject was the sixth child in this patriotic family. He was about twelve years old when his parents came to Wood county, and he received his early education in the district schools of Bloom township, and in the high school at Findlay. Before completing his course, the war broke out, and August 9, 1862, he enlisted in Co. G, 99th O. V. I., taking the rank of corporal. He served under Buell, Rosecrans, and Sherman, and took part in the battles of Perryville, Ky. , Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Ringgold, Dalton, Dallas, and others of the Atlanta campaign. He was wounded at Kenesaw Mountain, June 21, 1864, and sent to Regimental Headquarters, but returned to duty in three weeks. After the capture of Atlanta, his regiment formed part of the force under Gen. Thomas, sent against Hood, and took part in the twodays' struggle at Nashville, in which that campaign ended. The 99th was then consolidated with the 50th Ohio, and transferred to the East, and was engaged at the capture of Wilmington. They re-joined Sherman at Goldsboro, and were discharged from the U. S. service at Salisbury, when the war closed, and finally mustered out at Camp Dennison, Cincinnati, in June, 1865.

Returning to Findlay, Prof. Baker resumed his studies, finishing the course in the Findlay High School, in 1866. He has ever since been engaged in educational work, teaching two years in the A Grammar Grade at Findlay; three years as superintendent at Carey; two years at home, where he bought a farm and spent his spare time in cultivating it; nine years as superintendent at Portage; three years as superintendent at North Baltimore, and seven years in the A Grammar school at Bowling Green. He then resigned, intending to retire from professional work, but was prevailed upon to take charge of the schools at Tontogany, where he spent last year. He is now resting. While attending school at Findlay, he taught three winters' terms in the country, making, in all, thirty years of work. He married Miss Levina Shellabarger, one of his pupils at Carey, who was born in that town, November 3, 1852. She»has been a true helpmeet, sympathizing heartily in all his plans, and has taught with him in the schools of Portage, North Baltimore, grammar grade, and Bowling Green, in the A Primary grade. Prof. Baker has been a member of the board of county examiners for four

Robert Stewart Davidson. The Davidson family is of Scotch origin, and the subject of this sketch, a prominent business man of Scotch Ridge, Webster township, traces his genealogy back to Robert Davidson, who was a farmer, born in Linlithgow, Scotland.

His son, Robert Davidson (2), grandfather of our subject, was also born in that country, and was one of seven children. He came to America in 1834, and settled at Perrysburg, Ohio. A few months later, going to Pennsylvania and buying a large tract of land. While on his journey homeward he died, when four miles from Fremont, on the Maumee and Western Reserve Pike. His wife was a Miss Margaret Murdock, also a native of Scotland. Nine children were born to them: Robert, who is now a retired

Walter Davidson married Jane Stewart; both were natives of Scotland, born in 1822. They came to America in 1832, when children. For a time they lived in Perrysburg, Ohio, afterward removing to Webster township. Their family consisted of the following children: Robert

Stewart, subject of this sketch; Maggie, born in 1845, married Thomas Shanks, and lives in Webster township; Mary, born in 1847; Sarah, born in 1849, married Frank Stevens, of Webster township; Andrew died when about two years old; Thomas, living in Webster township; Mattie is the wife of Charles Muir, of the same township. The father was county commissioner for six or seven years. He died April 14, 1891, aged sixty-nine years; his wife died some four years previous.

Robert Stewart Davidson was born in Scotch Ridge, Webster township, this county, April 1, 1843. He attended the district school, which in those primitive days was held in a log school house with rough slabs for benches, a puncheon floor, and a slit in the side of the walls, covered with greased paper, doing duty as a window. When eighteen years old his patriotic impulses were stirred by the call to arms, and he offered his services to assist in putting down the Rebellion, enlisting on October 22, 1861, in Company H, 67th O. V. I., his regiment being assigned to the Eastern Division of the army. His term of service expiring, he re-enlisted in February, 1864, and remained until the close of the war.

being mustered out December 7, 1865. Mr. Davidson took part in some of the most noted engagements of the war, among them being the battles of Winchester, Va. ; two battles at Fort Wagner, Chester Station, Va. ; Bermuda Hundred, two battles at Wier Bottom Church, Va. ; Petersburg and Appomattox. He was wounded at Fort Wagner and Chester Station, and has the record of a brave and faithful soldier, of which he may well be proud.

Mr. Davidson was married August 14, 1872, to Miss Alice Stevens, who was born January 28, 1850, in Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio. Eight children have blessed this union, namely: Jennie May died when eighteen months old; Walter is in business with his father; Maggie; Daisy; Bruce, died when two years old; Frank, Arthur and Laura. Mr. Davidson established a general merchandise business in Scotch Ridge, in 1872, being at the outset in partnership with his father, under the firm name of Davidson & Son, and which style is still used, although the senior partner died some years ago. Mr. Davidson erected the large building which he now occupies, in 1883, and has built up an extensive trade by his strict attention to the details of his business, his wellknown integrity, and genial personality also attracting to him many warm personal friends. He has been greatly prospered during the twenty-three years of his active business life, and is one of the highly esteemed residents of the township. Mr. Davidsonhasalwaystakenan active part in politics, in which he affiiliates with the Republican party. He has been treasurer of Webster township for twenty-four years, first being elected in 1869, and serving for twelve years; after an interval of two years he was again re-elected, and has held the position ever since. He is the treasurer and a stockholder in the Pemberville Creamery, and is the treasurer of the United Presbyterian Church, of which he is a member, and is now treasurer of the Wood County Farmers' Mutual Fire Association, which has an assessable stock of $1,000,- 000.00, and is steadily increasing. He is also a member of Wiley Post, G. A. R., at Bowling Green, and is prominent in all public enterprises. He owns a farm of sixty-two acres near Scotch Ridge, on which he resides, where he has a delightful home.

Frank W. Dunn, a well-known resident of Bowling Green, was born on the east coast of England December 18, 1841, and is the eldest in the family of four children born to John F. and Miriam (Wright) Dunn.

1847, and a few years subsequently the father emigrated to Canada, bringing with him his two remaining children - the subject of this sketch and his brother Robert. Members of the family on the paternal and maternal sides had previously emigrated from the mother country, some of them having settled in Canada, others in the United States. For a time, Frank lived with his uncle on a farm near Toronto, and afterward with an old friend of his father. After a residence of about two and a half years in Canada, the father and his two sons came to Ohio, settling in Bloom township, this county, on a tract of land adjoining the village of Eagleville, where some of his father's relatives were then living. The land purchased was covered with heavy timber; the surrounding country was new; money was a scarce commodity, and a good deal of hard work was necessary to make a comfortable home.

With a view of earning money to assist his father in paying for and improving his land, our subject went to Lorain county, in the spring of each year, for several seasons, and worked on a farm, during the summer months, returning to Wood county in the fall. In September, 1862, while employed on a farm in Lorain county, he enlisted, for three years, in the Hoffman Battalion, afterward merged into the 128th Regiment, O. V. I. He remained in the service until June, 1865, and was honorably discharged, by reason of the termination of the war. In September, 1865, he went to Alpena, Mich., then a very small village, aud spent the winter in the pineries north of that place. Returning to Ohio in the spring of 1 866, he followed the pursuits of a farmer for several years, in Perry township. Wood county, and was twice elected assessor of the township, at the second election receiving every vote cast in the township. In the winter months, he usually taught a term of district school, in either Bloom or Perry township. In 1873 he came to Bowling Green, and has resided here ever since, excepting two years spent in western Kansas.

For several years Mr. Dunn was deputy sheriff of Wood county, and at intervals has been employed in all the various offices of the county. In 1880, he was one of the United States census enumerators, and was clerk of Center township, for two years. While living in Kansas he was elected and served as county recorder.

In the spring of 1888, our subject was married to Miss Emma J. Loomis, the eldest daughter of Daniel Loomis, of Bowling Green. She was deputy clerk of courts, in Wood county, for several years, and has the distinction of being the first lady legally appointed to an office in the county, the late Judge Pillars making the appointment. Subsequently she filled the office of deputy recorder of the county. Mr. Dunn is a member of the firm of Robert & Frank W. Dunn, abstracters of land titles, who have made a specialty of this work for more than twenty years.

George W. Gaghan, auditor of Wood county, and one of the most capable and popular business men of Bowling Green, was born in Whitehall, N. Y., May 3, 1850.

His parents, George and Mary (Finney) Gaghan, were born in Ireland, the father in 1816, the mother two years later. They came to America in 1849, settling in Whitehall, where they lived some eight years, in 1857 removing to Toledo, where they remained two years. In 1859 the family removed to Medina, Medina Co. , Ohio, where they also resided two years, thence removing to West Millgrove, Wood county, where, in 1865, they rented a farm near Tontogany. Here they lived three years, at the end of that time buying a farm in Milton township, where Mr. Gaghan died. Politically he was a Democrat. An upright citizen, and an energetic worker, he never spared his strength when he set himself a task to accomplish. His life was extended beyond the limit of three-score and ten, his death occurring September 23, 1892. His wife, and six sons and daughters survive him, of whom our subject is the eldest; Catherine is the wife of J. Dubbs, of Milton township; Mary married Nate Corhell, of Jackson township; James lives at the old home in Milton township; Rosa married Wesley Sharp, of Hammansburg, Wood county; Myrtle is the wife of Caleb Roe, of Jackson township.

G. W. Gaghan acquired the rudiments of his education in the common schools near his home, and at about the age of fifteen came to Bowling Green, to find or make for himself a place in the business arena. For two years and a half he clerked in the general store of C. F. Button, and for four years with S. L. Boughton, in the same line. Possessing in a marked degree those innate qualities of character which win public confidence, he had by this time gained a host of friends, and on venturing to invest his savings in a stock of dry goods, his enterprise found ready support. He continued in business with a growing trade until late in the year 1887, when he was burned out with a loss of $3, 500, He then engaged in the oil business, in which he continued some two years. In 1888, he rebuilt the Gaghan Block, which is a fine property. In 1889, he was appointed postmaster of Bowling Green, receiving the appointment from Harrison without solicitation on his part, and held the office nntil January 1, 1894, when he gave it up, having been elected to his present position the previous November. Since October 15, 1894, he has ably discharged the duties of county auditor, to which office he was re-elected in November, 1 896. He did not come to this work an untried and inexperienced official, having held many minor offices in which the public had learned his worth. As township clerk, and for ten years treasurer of Center township, and as a member of the city council for twelve years, his integrity, good judgment, energy and public spirit had been fully proven. What Mr. Gaghan lacked in collegiate training has been made up by close observation and private study, the love for which college life does not always develop. He has always been a recognized leader in the local ranks of the Republican party, for whose interests he has devoted both his time and means. He has served on the County Central Committee, and is regarded as one of the party's best men in Wood county.

Mr. Gaghan was married, March 14, 1872, to Miss Alice A. Pike, who was born in Bowling Green in 1853, and they have two children, Byrdie and Mabel. He is a member of the K. of P. and Modern Woodmen of America.

John Gaghan, who is one of the agriculturists of Jackson township, has lived an honorable and upright life. His career, however, is unmarked by events of thrilling experience, but is that of a man who has faithfully performed his duty. He was born in Wood county, January 15, 1868, of parents George and Mary (Finney) Gaghan, who for a time resided at West Millgrove, then in Washington and Milton townships respectively. In the latter our subject began his education, acquiring a fair knowledge of the English branches. He .was brought up as a farmer's boy, and his training in that line of labor was not meager. He early displayed an industrious, energetic nature, and these qualities are among his marked characteristics, and have been important factors in his success.

Mr. Gaghan remained at home until twentyfour years of age, and then removed to his parents' farm, comprising eighty acres of land which was given him by his father. He was married in Milton township, Thanksgiving day, 1892, and at once took up his residence on his land where he has since had a comfortable and pleasant home. The work of improving the property has all been accomplished by him, for it was an unbroken wilderness when it came into his possession. His characteristic energy, however, has transformed it into a fine farm, and he now has a valuable and richly improved tract of land.

Mrs. Gaghan bore the maiden name of Sarah Srohl. She was born in Ottawa county, Ohio, in January, 1873. By her marriage she has become the mother of one child, an interesting little daughter, Myrtle, born July 20, 1894. The parents are widely and favorably known in this locality, and have many warm friends. In politics, Mr. Gaghan is a Democrat, unswerving in his support of the principles of the party.

Daniel W. Huffman, farmer and fruit grower, Washington township, was born September 12, 1841, in Dauphin county, Penn., the third son of John and Nancy Huffman.

Our subject's boyhood was passed on his father's farm, which he assisted in clearing up, while in the winter months he also attended the district school. He was seven years old when he accompanied his parents from Pennsylvania to Weston township, Wood county, and when he attained his majority, he began to work for his father on wages. In 1867 he bought his first land, forty acres, and, when he had improved it to a considerable extent, sold it and bought sixty acres. On disposing of this last property, he bought eighty acres in Washington township, and has transformed it into a valuable farm, highly improved. In 1872, he bought eighty acres adjoining, and now has a quarter section, all under a high state of cultivation. Thereon he erected a comfortable country residence, at a cost of $2,000.00, and has built commodious barns and other necessary out-buildings. In addition to the cultivation of grain he raises some fine varieties of fruits, which find a ready sale on the market. For the past ten years he has also engaged in stock raising.

On May 2, 1864, Mr. Huffman enlisted at Tontogany, in Company B, 144th O. V. I., under Capt. Black and Col. Miller. The regiment went to Columbus, Ohio, thence to Baltimore, Md., participated in the battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864, and August 13 following, our subject was taken prisoner, by Col. Mosby, while he was guarding a wagon team en route from Harper's Ferry to Winchester. It was the more aggravating to Mr. Huffman, as on that very day his term of enlistment had expired, and he fully expected he would be sent home as soon as the wagon train should arrive in Winchester. After capture, he and three fellow prisoners ( two of whom were John Phillips, of Tontogany, and

Hugh Stewart, also of Wood county ) were placed on mules and started off, under guard, to join the Rebel army at Culpeper, Va. At the end of some forty-eight hours' ride, however, Mr. Huffman succeeded in effecting his escape by hiding in the bush, his guard being not over ten feet from him when he made his dash for liberty. This was on a Monday morning, and the following Saturday night he found himself within the Union lines, near Alexandria. During the nights he tramped along with great caution, in daytime keeping close or resting himself, never once stopping at any house for fear of capture, but living on green apples and anything else he could find in the woods. He suffered much from hunger and exposure, which resulted in an attack of rheumatism. On September 14, 1864, he was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio.

In 1866, Mr. Huffman was married to Carrie Phillips, who was born April 27, 1844, a daughter of John Phillips, of Washington township. They had four children: Arthur, who died in infancy; Alice, wife of Charles Bassett, of Weston township, by whom she has three sons - Wayne, Clyde and Cecil; and Eva and Howard, both at home. The family is one of considerable prominence in the community, and the home is noted for its hospitality. Mr. Huffman has been school director for a number of years, and clerk of the board. He was also supervisor for some years, and is now serving his fourth term as trustee. He belongs to Walter A. Wood Post, G. A. R., of Tontogany, and in politics is a Republican. His possessions have been acquired entirely through his own efforts, and his career demonstrates what can be accomplished through earnest labor.

Norton Reed, a prominent capitalist and real-estate holder of Bowling Green, has been a conspicuous factor in the growth and development of the commercial interests of this region. Coming to this county in 1865 with ample means, his energy and financial ability soon made him an acknowledged power. In the removal of the county seat from Perrysburg, he gave noteworthy evidence of those qualities which insure success in the business world.

Mr. Reed is of Scotch descent, his grandfather, Samuel Reed, having come from Scotland to America in the last century, locating in Connecticut. His son, Samuel (2), our subject's father, was born in Hartford, in that State, in 1791, and in 1814 came to Ohio, settling first in Erie county, but finally in Huron county, where he died in 1865. He married Miss Hannah late Volney Beverstock, of Milan, Ohio; Edwin, a resident of Toledo, Ohio; Norton, our subject; Helen Jane, the wife of Thomas J. Butman, of Milan; Harriet, Mrs. Thomas Bradley, of Milan, Ohio, and Samuel, who lives at Carthage, Missouri.

Our subject first saw the light in Erie county, Ohio, January 18, 1821, and received his early education in the district schools there, and in Huron county. He was married in 1845 to Miss Ellen R. Wells, who was born September 4, 1823, in New York. Their three daughters are all married: Julia, born October 14, 1848, is the wife of W. C. Martin of Bowling Green and the mother of four children - Martia, deceased, Norton, Jo., and Frank. Helen W., born May 18, 1850, married George Wooster, of Bowling Green, and has one . daughter - Carrie. Luella G. , born September 6, 1851, married M. P. Brewer, editor of the Sentinel, of Bowling Green, and has four children - Charles R. , John, Harry, and Dixie.

Mr. Reed followed farming as an occupation for some time after his marriage, first in Ridgefield township, Huron county, and then in Oxford township, Erie county. Since 1865 he has had his home in Bowling Green (with the exception of two years spent in Fulton county), and his fine brick residence is an ornament to the city. Mr. Reed takes a philosophic view of life, and enjoys the privileges which his wealth bestows. He spends a portion of each year in travel, and of the last nineteen winters, one has been spent in California and the rest in Florida, where he owns a large tract of wild land. His first vote was cast for James K. Polk, and he has remained a Democrat to the present time.

John S. Mahony. This gentleman, who spent his early manhood in active labor, and mainly in agricultural pursuits, is now living retired in Fostoria, Ohio, but still owns some valuable oil land in Montgomery township. A man of great energy and more than ordinary business capacity, his success has been largely due to his own efforts and sound judgment, by which he has been enabled to make wise investments and take good advantage of his resources.

Mr. Mahony was born at Liverpool, England, December 31, 1828, and is one of the four children - two sons and two daughters - of Thomas and Ellen Mahony. His father, who was a successful grain merchant, died when our subject was only four years old, leaving his family in comfortable circumstances, and they continued to carry on the business. In the common schools John S. Mahony received a fair education, but at the age of thirteen years he formed the acquaintance of a sea captain who took a liking to him, and, despite the pleadings of his mother, he shipped on the "Mary Gray," where he was chore-boy. They sailed for Brazil, but the voyage ended with a shipwreck on the Falkland Islands, while en route for Valparaiso, Chili, where they lived for a month on a desert island, but were finally taken by a schooner to Port Egmont, and later were taken on board a New Zealand vessel, the "Bolena," which came to that port for water. He and another boy appealed to the governor of the Falkland Islands for passage home, but were refused. Finally, however, by working his passage, he got back to London, and then, after an eighteen-months' absence, to his home in Liverpool, where he found the family mourning for his supposed death. Mr. Mahony then clerked in the American wholesale house in Liverpool of James Mc- Henry & Co. until the hard times caused him to lose his position, and then he went as a sailor to New Orleans, whence he went to Havre, France, and on that trip returned to New York with immigrants. For a time he sailed along the Atlantic coast and to the West Indies, but, on January 26, 1849, he left New York for San Francisco, having been taken with the gold fever, and arrived there the following August. He became part owner of a small boat engaged in rafting on San Francisco bay, and remained in California until June, 1854, engaged in rafting and mining. He returned to New York by way of the Panama route.

Before leaving the Golden State, Mr. Mahony had been told, by a fellow-worker, of the "Black Swamp" in Wood county, Ohio, where he proceeded after his arrival in New York, and purchased 120 acres of partially improved land in Sections 3 and 10, Montgomery township; but before he located thereon he made a visit to his mother in England, who died the following year. Farming was entirely a new business to our subject, who, under many difficulties, secured a knowledge of the business, and his first attempts at plowing will never be forgotten. He also made several runs on the lakes in the fall after the farm work was done.

On February 21, 1855, in Montgomery township, Mr. Mahony was married to Miss Lorinda F. McFerren, a native of Wood county, and a daughter of Ezekiel and Hannah McFerren, and they have become the parents of five children -

Ellen A., now Mrs. R. C. Canfield, of Washington; Kate E., wife of E. D. Tandy, of Colorado; Clara E., wife of Charles A. Whaley, of Washington; Mattie G., at home; and John F. , a hardware merchant of Fostoria, Ohio.

Resolving to aid his adopted country in her struggle to preserve the Union, Mr. Mahony enlisted in 1 86 1 , leaving his plow standing in the field, and became a member of Company K, 21st O. V. I. He was in all the battles in which his regiment participated until September, 1863, when, after the battle of Chickamauga, Ga., he, with his regiment, was taken prisoner, and for seventeen months he was confined at Richmond, and in other Confederate prisons. Was mustered out May 15, 1865. He has never regained his former health. From private he received one promotion after another until after the battle of Stone River, when he was given a commissioned office, and later received a first lieutenant's and captain's commission. He was mustered out May 15, 1865, when his services were no longer needed, and returned to his home with an honorable war record.

Until 1893 Mr. Mahony continued the cultivation and improvement of his excellent farm, and then removed to Fostoria, where two years later he built his elegant residence on West Fremont street. He comes from a good English family, and he has given to his children excellent advantages. In religious belief he is a Congregationalism while his estimable wife belongs to the Presbyterian Church. He is a charter member of Hamilton Post, G. A. R. , of Bradner, Ohio, in which he served as its first adjutant. He is a stanch Republican, a firm believer in high protection, and is one of the most progressive and enterprising men of the county, who has here secured a comfortable competence and the regard of all with whom he comes in contact.

W. M. Tuller, M. D. Among the physicians of Bowling Green none bears a higher position in the respect and esteem of the community than does the subject of this sketch, who well merits the confidence the public reposes in him, and who has attained to success in his professional career by his force of character and devotion to his work.

Dr. Tuller was born in Delaware county, Ohio, July 7, 1848. On the paternal side he is of Dutch descent, John Tuller, the original American ancestor, having come from Holland some two hundred years ago. Roswell Tuller, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 1794 in Connecticut, was a lifelong farmer, and died in February, 1866, in Delaware county, Ohio. He married Nancy Thompson, who was born in 1797 in New York State, and died in 1876. Roswell Tuller was a soldier in the war of 1812, in which his father, also named Roswell, served as captain.

Alvin Tuller, the Doctor's father, was a native of Delaware county, Ohio, born August 5, 1817, was married, and engaged in farming there until after the birth of all his children, who were five in number, viz. : Adelbert D. , a farmer in

Wood county; Mary A., the widow of Isaac W. Yoakam, who was killed in Franklin county; one who died in infancy; W. M., and Milo A., living in Wood county, Ohio. Mr. Tuller subsequently removed to Franklin county, and in 1893 to Bowling Green, where the family still reside. His wife, whose maiden name was Elvira Maynard, was born in Franklin county October 30, 1819, and was there married. Her parents, Stephen and Mary (Philips) Maynard, were both natives of Massachusetts, the father coming to Franklin county, Ohio, when he was nineteen years old. He was a farmer by occupation, and lived to be eighty-three years old. The mother died at the age of thirty- nine years. They had four children - Matilda, Elvira, Darwin and Augustus. The Maynard family is of English and Scotch descent.

Until sixteen years of age our subject remained at home, attending the common school and assisting his father on the farm. He then entered Central College, in Franklin county, Ohio, and after completing the course taught school for six years, after which he began reading medicine with Dr. H. Hendrickson, of Columbus, Ohio. He subsequently took a course in the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, from which he was graduated in 1876, coming immediately thereafter to Bowling Green and beginning the practice of his profession, in which he has ever since been engaged. When Dr. Tuller first took up his residence in the place the town was composed of small wooden buildings, and was primitive in all its surroundings. He has been a witness of its growth and prosperity, and his practice has grown and prospered with it. For the past eight years he has been the physician and surgeon for both railroads passing through Bowling Green - the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton and the Toledo & Ohio Central. Of late years Dr. Tuller has confined his practice more especially to consultation and office business, in which he has a large clientage, being known far and near as a man of deep learning and great skill. He is a member of the