Wood County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1897 (part 5 of 17)

Edward Beverstock, the junior member of the well-known law firm of James & Beverstock, Bowling Green, was born in Tontogany May 8, 1862. As one of the brightest of Wood county's sons, the people of this locality look upon his success in his chosen profession with pride, and regard his future as assured. Reared upon a farm, his educational advantages were limited to an attendance at the neighboring district school until January, 1883, when he entered Oberlin College, where he completed the classical course and graduated in 1889, with the degree of A. B. Having determined to enter the legal profession, he took the course offered by the Cincinnati Law School, defraying his expenses while there by acting as librarian of the School and secretary of the Faculty. The degree of LL. B. was conferred upon him May 27, 1891, and he was admitted to the bar a few days later.

In August of the same year Mr. Beverstock entered the office of Hon. Benjamin F. James, and in November they formed a partnership which still continues, with an office also at Toledo, Ohio. This firm has become better known, and acquired a larger practice, than any other has done in an equally short time in this county. Mr. Beverstock is a close student and is remarkable for his well-balanced abilities. With a clear insight into legal principles, and the power of ready application, he possesses also a high order of practical talent. In politics as well as in legal affairs his advice is valued, and he was chairman of the Wood County Republican Central Committee for the year r 894.

Mr. Beverstock was married July 7, 1891, to Miss Elizabeth Ferguson, who was born in Oakland county, Mich., February 1, 1866. They have two daughters, Mary V. and Helena I. Mr. Beverstock and his wife are prominent members of the Presbyterian Church.

A. M. Russell, the deputy auditor of Wood county, and a prominent resident of Bowling Green, is an official whose worth has been proven in various positions of public trust. He comes of sturdy Scotch-Irish ancestry, and possesses many of the admirable traits of character which distinguished that race.

His father, James W. Russell, was born in Washington county, Penn., in 1784, and came to the Western Reserve in early life, locating upon a farm in what is now Mahoning (then a part of Trumbull) county, where he married Miss Jane A. Wolfcale, a native of Virginia, born near Harper's Ferry, in 1792. She died in 1847; her husband lived at his old farm to an advanced age, and died in 1870 at the home of a son in Paulding county. They reared a family of ten children, as follows: Nancy, born in 1812, married John Cushman, and lives in Michigan ; John, born in 1814, died in Wood county in 1884; Robert, born in 1816, died in Bowling Green in i860; Caroline, born in 1818, married Davis Randolph, and lives in Mahoning county; James M., born in 1821, died in Paulding county, in September, 1879; Jonathan W. , born in 1824, died in Trumbull county in 1855; Betsey, born in 1826, married John Williams, of Trumbull county; Abraham W., born in 1829, lives at Ithaca, Mich.; Martha Jane, born in 1832, is the widow of John Moore of Mahoning county; and our subject, the youngest.

A. M. Russell was born March 7, 1835, and remained at home until the age of fifteen. He attended Antioch and Oberlin Colleges for some time, and later engaged in teaching and clerking in a dry-goods store. On the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted at the first call to arms, and went to the front as first lieutenant of Company G. 14th O. V. I. At the end of his threemonths' term of service he returned home, and being injured on the way, at Columbus, did not re-enlist until 1863, when he went as a private in Company C, 68th O. V. I., and served until the end of the war, receiving by well-earned promotion the rank of sergeant-major. His regiment was attached to the army of the West, and took part in the battles at Atlanta and Bentonville, besides many other lighter engagements. After being mustered out, July 10, 1866, he came to Bowling Green as deputy treasurer, and later clerked in a hardware store at Perrysburg until his appointment as county treasurer in September, 1868, to serve out an unexpired term. So well did he perform the duties of the office that he was elected on the Republican ticket for the succeeding term, serving until 1871. For the next four years he was in the drug business at Perrysburg, but sold out in 1875, and a year later began clerking in different offices in the county court house. In 1879 he was again elected county treasurer, and since his term ex-

Mr. Russell has been twice married, first time in 1861, to Miss Rachel A. Carey of Paulding' county, who died in less than a year afterward. His second wife was Miss Alta Sullivan, who was born in Defiance county, July 7, 1843. They have two children living: (1) Charles H., born June 21, 1867, is a druggist's clerk at Bowling Green (he is married to Miss Charlotte Morrison), (2) Maude, born September 23, 1875, a young lady of fine social gifts, lives at home. Mr. Russell is a member of the G. A. R. , and of the Masonic fraternity.

Hon. Elijah P. Emerson, of Bloomdale, is one of the representative citizens of Wood county, a business man and farmer, having won a distinguished success in every line of effort which he has entered. He is a self-made man, who as a boy walked into Ohio, accompanying the slowly-moving wagons which conveyed his parents and their household goods to their new home on the frontier.

Mr. Emerson was born January 23, 1834, in Berkeley county, Va. (now W. Va.), which had been for many years the home of his father's family. His grandfather Emerson was a slaveholder, but his father, Noble Emerson, being opposed to this, in early manhood determined to seek a home in a free State. He had been employed in boyhood as a boatman on the Potomac, and as a steersman on the Chesapeake & Ohio canal, but later he learned the cooper's trade, which he followed throughout life. He married Miss Mary Keesecker, and had ten children, of whom three were born in Ohio. In 1833 the family removed to Beaver county, Penn., and in May, 1848, they came to Mexico, Wyandot Co., Ohio, traveling in a small twohorse wagon, our subject with others walking most of the way, a tedious journey for even a healthy lad of fourteen. One day his feet became sore, and mounting one of the horses he rode for a few miles; becoming weary, he fell asleep, tumbled off the horse without waking up, and narrowly escaped being run over. The father had but limited means, and on reaching Mexico found employment at his trade, later buying the shop, the trade in potash and in pork barrels furnishing him a good business. In 1859 he moved to Sycamore, where our subject's mother died December 7, 1862. The father survived her thirty years, dying September 10, 1892, at the age of eighty-three, and their remains now rest in the cemetery at Sycamore. Two years after his wife's death he moved to Pike county, Mo. , and . bought a farm, which he sold later. He worked at his trade for some time, and in 1871 came to Eagleville to live in the home of our subject. He was a man of industrious habits, was over six feet two inches tall, and was spare in flesh. While he was no politician he took an intelligent interest in all the questions of his time and was a regular voter, being a Whig in his early years and later a Republican.

Our subject is one of six surviving children of the following family: Samuel B. died in Ohio, a wealthy man, after many years spent in the practice of medicine at Eagleville; Elijah P. comes next; John M. enlisted in Company G, 123d O. V. I., and it is believed is one of the many who perished in Andersonville prison; Rachel A. died in Virginia; William W. lives in Bloomdale; Enoch died in Virginia; Mary J. is the wife of Rufus W. Lundy, a hardware merchant of Myrtle Point, Ore.; Milton L. is a prosperous resident of Sycamore, Ohio, a blacksmith by occupation; Frank N. lives in San Francisco; Rufus A. is a merchant at Bloomdale.

Elijah P. Emerson attended the subscription schools of his time until he was fourteen years old, and after coming to Ohio availed himself of the privileges afforded by the district schools. Later he studied for three terms at Heidelberg College, Tiffin, and one term in the Seneca County Academy. At the age of twenty he began teaching, and was very successful; he taught thirteen terms in Wyandot and Seneca counties, and spent his vacations making shingles, owning a complete outfit, shaving-horse, drawknife, froe and brake. He received twentyfive cents per hundred when the timber was prepared, and $3.75 per thousand when the wood was taken from the stump, white and red oak being used principally. In March, 1865, he went to Pike county, Mo., and taught there for a short time. On April 17, 1866, he was married at Crawfordsville, Ohio, to Miss Catherine Smalley, and they began housekeeping at Eagleville, where Mr. Emerson previously fitted up a home. His brother. Dr. Emerson, who was then practicing there, had pointed out an opening for a mercantile business, and, as our subject had several hundred dollars saved, he made the venture. The cost of goods was high after the war, and his stock was small, but trade increased year by year, bringing him prosperity.

In 1 874, when Bloomdale was only a crossroad, he built a store there, which was conducted by his brother R. A., and in April, 1877, he sold it to him and another brother. In the spring of

1878 he sold his Eagleville store. In 1882 he opened a dry-goods store in Bloomdale, but sold it after a few months; in 1889 he bought a hardware store in Bloomdale for a son, but subsequently sold it. He has been engaged in farming since 1876. He was then the owner of eighty acres in Bloom township, but had not given much attention to it, and one day, at a sale of the "French farm" of 232 acres, he made a bid merely to enliven the proceedings, and the farm was "knocked down" to him. The business was new to Mr. Emerson, but that could be said of all his other enterprises, and, despite the predictions that his uniform good fortune would desert him if he tried farming, he ventured, and succeeded. He now owns 352 acres in Bloom township, and fifty-eight and one-half acres in Hancock county, which he works in a thoroughly systematic and progressive manner.

Politically Mr. Emerson has been identified with the Republican party nearly all his life. He cast his first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and continued to vote regularly with that party until 1890, when, feeling fully convinced that nothing would be done by the Republican party to seriously interfere with the whiskey traffic, he began to enter his protest to the manufacture and sale of intoxicants by voting with the only party that makes public declaration of its intention, if clothed with power, to close the saloon by stopping the manufacture and removing the national sanction of partnership in the business, viz. : the Prohibition party. He has never aspired to office, but has been chosen to different positions. At one time he was clerk of Bloom township, declining a second term; from January 1, 1867, to 1875, he was postmaster at Bloom (now Ted), and when the office was transferred to Bloomdale he became the first postmaster there, serving until 1877. In 1883 he was elected to the Legislature as Wood county's representative, and filled the place four years.

He served four months in the Civil war, enlisting April 22, 1861, in Company G, 15th O. V. I., with Capt. Tyler, in the 100-days' service, being sent to West Virginia. On his return home he prepared to go again, helped to raise a company for the 123rd Regiment, and was one of the three men whose activity in recuiting was to be rewarded by positions of honor in the company. Mr. Emerson was elected by the men to the office of second lieutenant, but through some manipulation of the County Central Committee he was not appointed.

charming home is his library, filled with wellselected books which he finds pleasure in perusing. He and his wife are leading members of the Church of Christ, in which he has been an elder, and for many years he was superintendent of the Sunday-school. He contributes also to the support of other Churches in the locality. Their nine children were as follows: John J.

died in infancy; Scott S. is a farmer in Bloom township; Olive L. married Benton Leathers, of Bloom township; Horace W. is at home; Dow P. died in infancy; Howard H. is at home; Elijah P., Jr., died in childhood; Lola E. and Florence E. are at home. Socially, Mr. Emerson was for some years a member of the I. O. O. F., but on moving to a distance from a lodge he "dropped out," and for the same reason he has withdrawn from active membership in Urie Post No. no, G. A. R. , of Bloomdale.

Mrs. Kate (Smalley) Emerson was born August 20, 1844, near Rowsburg, Ashland Co., Ohio. She was the sixth child born to Isaac and Elizabeth (Smith) Smalley, whose family was subsequently augmented to the number of seventeen - eleven sons and six daughters - of which number but seven grew to manhood and womanhood. At the age of nine years Mrs. Emerson was brought by her parents to Wyandot county, Ohio, and settled on a farm adjoining the village of Crawfordsville, near the site of the memorable spot where Col. Crawford was burned by the Indians. Her father was classed among the progressive farmers of his day. He was strongly imbued with the belief that a well-raised child - one to whom the parents had faithfully discharged their duty - should be sent out to combat the realities of life, fully panoplied in head, heart and hands for whatever position fate held in store or whatever condition circumstances might develop. Hence Mrs. Emerson was early sent to the district school, and during the intervals between terms was schooled by the mother in the duties pertaining to housekeeping. Not infrequently she was also found in the field with her father, dropping corn - at which she was an adept - digging potatoes, and aiding in gathering corn and storing fruit, etc. Early in her 'teens she commenced teaching in the district schools, at which time she assumed all charges for clothing, and also managed by economy to pay her expenses at a select school in Carey for three terms. Mrs. Emerson was during the war of the Rebellion an active sympathizer in the cause of the Union, and spent much time in soliciting and forwarding supplies for the sanitary and commissary departments of the army. She is nat- urally inclined to faith in the teachings of Christianity, and early in life united with the Methodist Church, of Carey, Ohio. When she removed to Wood county with her husband, not finding near her home a Church of her first connection, she united with the membership of the Church of Christ, at Eagleville, and has remained a consistent Christian and constant attendant at the various services, and a helper in the many labors of the Church up to the present. She served as superintendent of the Sunday-school several years, and in the Church diligently labored to unite the congregation with the missionary wing of the Church.

During the period of her teaching she met Mr. Emerson - her subsequent husband - at a teachers' examination. An attachment - mutual - was formed, that afterward culminated in their union for life, which was sealed April 17, 1866. Together their life barque has floated down the stream of time for over thirty years. Of the nine children born to Mrs. Emerson, six remain to bless her life - three having passed to the silent beyond. Like nearly all mothers she is devotedly attached to her children, and no sacrifice of time or labor is withheld when duty calls. Her father and mother are dead. Her brothers and sisters have all been married, and are living in their own homes. The elder brother, Allen, is known as Judge Smalley, and M. A. has recently been appointed and confirmed as U. S. marshal of northern Ohio. The distinguishing characteristics of Mrs. Emerson's life are patient industry, devotion to home, family, kindred and friends, and a conscientious regard for the rights and feelings of others.

Frank A. Baldwin, a leading attorney of Bowling Green, whose abilities and attainments won for him at an early age a high standing among the legal fraternity, was born near Geneva, N. Y., July 30, 1854.

His parents, Sanford and Juliette (Smith) Baldwin, were also born in New York State, the father December 7, 1825, at Saratoga Springs, and the mother October 12, 1827, at Seneca Falls. Soon after their marriage they came west, in 1846 settling at Perrysburg, Wood county, where Mr. Baldwin soon became a prominent and influential worker in municipal affairs, holding various official positions during his residence there. In i860 he moved to Weston and opened a hotel, which he conducted some twelve years. He then transferred the active management to other hands, and he and his wife settled down in Weston to spend their declining years

Worth, who manages the hotel at Weston; Hattie, the wife of Judge Young, of Bowling Green; Frank A., our subject; Nellie, the widow of Dr. G. W. Pennington, of Weston; and Lulu, a bookkeeper for J. W. Long & Co. , of Weston, who lives at home with her parents.

Our subject attended the public schools at his home during his boyhood, and later studied in the high school at Toledo, and the Eastman Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Under the direction of J. R. Tyler, of Peri;ysburg, and McCauley & Pennington, of Tiffin,, he prepared for the bar, and was admitted April 12, 1877. In June of the same year he began the practice of his profession at Weston, and a few months later he received an extraordinary evidence of the esteem of his fellow citizens in an election to the responsible office of prosecuting attorney of Wood county; as he was the Democratic candidate this is the more remarkable, Wood county having been a Republican stronghold ever since the Civil war. Retiring from this office at the end of two years, he engaged in practice at Bowling Green. An able advocate, his professional efforts have been attended with uniform success, and at the present there are but few cases of importance in which he is not retained on one side or the other, this being especially true of those which involve questions of criminal law. Mr. Baldwin is at present a member of the building committee for the Wood county court house. In 1879 he was married to Miss Clara Foote, who was born April 22, 1855, in Washington township, where her father, Joel Foote, was a prominent resident for many years. He died February 22, 1896.

D. H. Hill, the deputy recorder of Wood county, and one of the most able and hard-working officials in the service of the county, was born in Milton Center, June 30, 1841.

His father, William Hill, was born in eastern Ohio, and in 1836 came to Wood county, locating in Milton Center upon wild land which he cleared and cultivated. He was prominent among the pioneers of his neighborhood, and was a Whig in politics. He raised a family of twelve children - two girls and ten boys - the subject of this sketch being the youngest. Only three of the twelve are now living, viz.: Mrs. Eliza Stewart, wife of Robert Stewart, of Bowling Green, Ohio; Joseph B. Hill, of Piqua, Ohio; and the subject of this sketch.

Our subject attended the district school in boyhood, and afterward learned the carpenter's trade. In May, 1862, he enlisted for three months in Company K, 84th O. V. I., and went to the front. He returned home October 1 , of that year, and three weeks later joined Company G, 10th O. V. Cav. for three years; was appointed sergeant January 18, 1863, and first sergeant in September, 1864. His regiment was assigned to the army of the West, and did gallant service under Kilpatrick. In May, 1865, our subject was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant of Company C, but was wounded during a skirmish at Ringgold, Ga., was sent to the the hospital, and was mustered out with his company, July 24, 1865. After his return he followed farming at Milton Center, and for some years was postmaster there. Since September 2, 1895, he has held the office of deputy recorder, giving faithful and efficient service. In 1 889 he was married to Miss Susan Masks, a native of Wood*county,and they have one child - E. A. Hill, of Custar. Ohio. Politically our subject is a Republican; socially he is a member of the G. A. R.

G. W. Helfrich, the efficient manager and secretary of the Wood County Tribune Company, was born in Tiffin, Ohio, February 14, 1854. His grandparents, John and Barbara Helfrich, came from Germany to America in 1832, and died in Pennsylvania at an advanced age.

His father, Adam Helfrich, was a native of Darmstadt, Germany, born May 4, 1828, and when four years old came with his parents to Franklin county, Penn. In early manhood, in company with some other young men, he walked to Tiffin, Ohio, where he secured work in a gristmill at ten dollars a month. He was married there to Miss Margaret Ruch, and not long after he bought eighty acres of school land near Mc- Comb, Ohio, to which he removed. Not being a skilled chopper of trees, and lacking money to hire help, he was obliged to resort to primitive methods of preparing logs for his new dwelling, burning them into proper lengths, after "pacing them off " for want of a better way of measuring them. However, he built the house. After a year he sold that property and bought twenty acres in the same county, six miles east, lived there ten years, then bought 116 acres within one-half mile of the first eighty acres, where he made his permanent home. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company G, 21st O. V. I., assigned to Gen. Rosecrans army, 14th Army Corps, commanded by Gen. Thomas, 2d Division, commanded by Gen. James S. Neegly, 2d Brigade, Col. John F. Miller. At the battle of Murfreesboro he was captured and taken to Libby prison; but was released on parole eleven days after, having had nothing to eat in the meantime but some "hard tack." Taken to Annapolis he there contracted the smallpox, and lay for seven weeks in the hospital. Returning home, with his health ruined, he never received a pension because, having never been ill for a day before entering the army, he had no ' ' family physician" who could certify to his physical condition previous to that time, as required by the pension office. Politically, he was a Jacksonian Democrat, and in religious faith was a member of the U. B. Church. His death occurred September 29, 1892. His wife who was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, September 2, 1 83 1, died December 11, 1895, atherhomeat Deweyville, Ohio. Our subject is the eldest of their nine children; the others being B. F., a butcher and stock buyer at North Baltimore, Ohio; Mary L. ,the widow of E. L. Ward, Findlay, Ohio; Jacob R. , who is engaged in the real-estate business at Eldon, Mo. ; Amanda Cordelia, who died when sixteen months old; Permilla J., the wife of E. O. Dexter, of Chicago, 111. ; Calista A., who married John Arnold, of Findlay, Ohio; Charlotte Elizabeth, the wife of M. Brooks, of Shawtown, Ohio; and Caroline May, the wife of Byron Powell, of Benton, Ohio.

G. W. Helfrich was educated in the district schools near McComb, also in the high school at Findlay, and at the age of eighteen began to teach. After two terms he secured employment in a drug-store, and shortly afterward bought a half-interest in a harness shop, investing his entire capital, thirty-five dollars. This concern was closed by the sheriff two weeks later for old debts contracted prior to his entering the business. With most men this would have ended the matter, but a certain indomitable perseverance which is characteristic of our subject revealed itself, and he determined to go on, with no money, no tools, no stock, no custom, and no knowledge of the business. He borrowed a few tools, and as he was opening the shop a tanner called to collect an old bill for leather. After discussing the situation Mr. Helfrich obtained credit for forty-eight pounds of leather, which he brought on his back from the tannery, ten miles distant. He had never watched any one make a set of harness, but he was not to be daunted by a trifle like that, and he proceeded to manufacture one according to his own ideas. As trade came in he gradually learned the business, being assisted usually by the well-meant advice of his customers. This proved vexatious at times, and wishing to perfect himself in the trade, he went to Ottawa, Ohio, where he worked under special instruction for seventeen months, and then returned to his old shop, from which time it was distinctly understood that the proprietor would accept no suggestions as to his methods of work. He established a fine trade, and in 1882 sold a half-interest to his brother, who took charge of the shop, while our subject opened a store for the sale of agricultural implements. Nine months later a fire destroyed everything he owned except a small dwelling house, he having no insurance, and was $2,000 in debt. He then went "on the road" as a salesman for different firms, and in a short time paid every cent he owed, besides $800 security for others. With the exception of a short interval in the grocery business, and, later, in a real-estate and life insurance enterprise at Bowling Green, he continued to travel until January 1, 1894 - in all ten years - when he assumed the duties of his present position, of which he is making a great success. Previous to that time the liabilities of the Tribune were $4,000 more than the assets; in less than two and a half years the Tribune was out of debt under his management, and a steady increase in circulation and advertising patronage promises rich rewards in the future.

Mr. Helfrich was married, in 1875, to Miss Mary M. Hardy, who was born in McComb, March 27, 1856. They have had three children: Myrtle Pearl, born February 15, 1876; Edward Earl, born June 27, 1878; and Hazel Lurain, born February 21, 1891. Our subject and his wife and children are members of the Presbyterian Church, and actively interested in its work. In politics he is a Republican, and he is a member of the K. of P., the I. O. O. F. and T. T. M. A. of Toledo, in all of which he is an enthusiastic worker. In and out of the Lodge rooms, no society or business is lowered any by having Mr. Helfrich as one of their number, but are bettered, morally, socially and financially.

Lewis W. McCrory. There is in the character of this gentleman some of the qualities of the Scotch-Irish ancestry from which he is descended - the thoroughness and unfaltering purpose of the former, and the adaptability to circumstances of the latter. His fellow-townsmen recognize him as a gentleman of sterling worth; for his life has ever been an honorable one. He was born in the town of Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio, November 5, 1835, and is a son of Samuel and Hannah ( Pennypacker ) McCrory. His father was born in Mifflin county, Penn., May 7, 1795, and was reared as a farmer boy. Subsequently he removed to Wayne county, Ohio, locating on a farm near Wooster, where he resided for twelve years. On October 6, 1836, he came to Wood county, and purchased eighty acres of wild land in Henry township, on which he erected a small log house. His death occurred in 1866, that of his wife on July 3, 1845. Their children were: John, who was born November 20, 1819, served as a soldier in Company H, 2 1st O. V. I., and died February 6, 1873; Mary, who was born March 19, 1820, became the wife of Reason Whitacre, and died in Bloom township; James, born March 13, 1823, died in Liberty township; Elizabeth, born May 15, 1825, became the wife of Isaac Whitacre, and died in Bloom township; Jacob, born March 14, 1827, died at the age of. tour years; Hannah, born March 7, 1829, married John Otterbach, and died in Liberty; Samuel, born April 12, 1831, died on the old homestead in Henry township; Daniel, born February 17, 1833;

Lewis W., our subject, comes next; and Liddy Ann, born December 26, 1837, became the wife of Jefferson Shinebarger, and died in Liberty township. The mother of this family having passed away, the father married Eliza Shaffer, and they had four children: Eliza Jane, born

January 13, 1847, died Henry township; Philander, born November 20, 1 848, a merchant of East Toledo, Ohio; Lucinda, born July 19, 1853, died in girlhood; Nancy, born in 1850, now the wife of Frederick Sheron, of Portage township. The mother of these died December 28, 1859.

Lewis W. McCrory was only a year old when his parents removed to Wood county. He was educated in the district schools near his home, and in the usual manner of farmer lads was reared to manhood. He was married in Portage township, February 10, 1856, to Caroline Lucy Gorton, a native of Bloom township, whose parents came from Rhode Island to Wood county at an early day. They began their domestic life on a farm of twenty acres of wild land in Liberty township, and Mr. McCrory continued its cultivation until June 9, 1862, when he enlisted at Portage in Company A, 100th O. V. I. Soon after the regiment went to the front, and was assigned to the army of the Cumberland. He participated in the important battles of the campaign of that year, and September 8, 1863, at the battle of Limestone Station, was captured by the enemy and conveyed to Lynchburg, whence he was afterward first taken to Libby prison, then to Belle Isle, lastly to Castle Thunder; he was at the last two on two different occasions, and March 13, 1864, was conveyed to Andersonville, where he remained until March 27, 1865; until April 24, he was at Vicksburg, and on April 27, he was put on board the "Sultana." When the vessel was within seven miles of Memphis the boilers exploded, and 1,700 men lost their lives. Mr. McCrory clung to the wreck for hours, but it finally took fire and he was obliged to let go his hold. He was also in the water nine hours before he reached the shore, and narrowly escaped drowning. At length he was taken to Memphis in a boat, from there to Cairo, 111., on the steamer "Silver Spring," and was discharged at Columbus, Ohio, May 21, 1865.

In the meantime the news of the terrible disaster had spread northward, and Mrs. Mc- Crory was told that her husband was dead. When he appeared before her alive and well, the shock was too great for her, and caused her death seven days later. Their children were, Melissa, born December 10, 1856, now the wife of George Gorton, of Providence, R. I. ; Silas Augustus, who was born October 13, 1858, and resides in Portage; Frances Imogene, born September 6,

1 860, wife of William George, of Liberty township; and Lewis La Fayette, born August 5, 1862, now in North Baltimore, Ohio. Mr. Mc- Crory was again married, this time on March 11, 1866, to Julia A. Taylor, who was born November 7, 1 840, in Ashland county, Ohio, a daughter of David and Eliza (Myers) Taylor. They have always lived on their present farm, Mr. McCrory having in the fall of 1865 sold his first purchase and bought eighty acres in Section 25, Liberty township. They have four children: Florence

May, born January 20, 1867, wife of E. C. Marvin, of Liberty township; Mary Gertrude, born September 30, 1868, died November 10, 1883; Tryphena, born December 25, 1870, died January 27, 1874; Delia May, born February 4, 1874, now the wife of Albert Roberts, of Liberty township!

In his business interests, Mr. McCrory has prospered, and is known as a man of unquestioned integrity and honorable dealing, his success being well merited. He has greatly improved his place, and has recently erected upon it a handsome residence, wherein hospitality reigns supreme. In politics he is a stanch Prohibitionist, and in religious faith he is an active member of the Disciples Church, in which he is serving as deacon. Since the fall of 1874 he has also been a member of Whitney Lodge No. 589, I. O. O. F., of Portage.

James Hughes, one of the oldest and most highly respected residents of Bowling Green,, known to young and old as "Uncle Jimmey,"' was born in the County of Sussex England, July 26, 1819. His father, 'James Hughes, was also a native of Sussex, born in 1799, and previous to his emigration to America, in 1857, he was a farm laborer. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Bachelor, was born in the same county, in 1801, and both spent their last years on a farm near Tontogany, Wood county, where Mr. Hughes, Sr., died in 1876, Mrs. Hughes surviving him until 1890. While living in England! they were members of the Established Church, and, in this country, of the Episcopal Church. The subject of this sketch is the eldest of their four children, the others being Charlotte, who died in youth; Harriet, the widow of James Ellis, of Wood county; and Ann, who married ]ames Challen, of Tontogany.

Our subject was married in England, December 31, 1844, to Miss Ann Evans, who was born November 8, 1 829, the groom being twenty-five years of age, the bride a little over fifteen. The father of Mrs. Hughes, James Evans, was a farm laborer at Malsey, Sussex county, and several generations of her family had been tenants of the same house in which she was born. He was a man of regular habits, and a devoted adherent of the Church of England, often walking ten miles to hear a favorite preacher. He married Jane Greenfield, also a native of Malsey. He had no brothers or sisters, and his wife was the only one of four children to live to maturity. Fifteen children were born of this union: Maria, who married William Challen, and came to Wood county, Ohio, in 1857, had also fifteen children; James came to America, and died after his return to England; William and the twins, Hannah and Samuel, all died in England; Elizabeth (deceased), married A. Mead, and lived near the old home; Jane, now Mrs. Phillips, lives in England; Ann became Mrs. Hughes; Sarah is the widow of Luke Marsh, and the mother of twelve children; Ellen (Mrs. White), lives in England; Alfred is a resident of Sussex, England; two whose names are not known; Susan, and Mary Cornwell. The youngest child was born when her mother was fifty-two years old. She married, and has a son who came to this country and now lives in Bowling Green. Mrs. Hughes' father died at the age of eighty, her mother when seventy-two.

After their marriage our subject and his wife lived near the old home for ten years. In 1854, they came to America on the sailing vessel I " Southampton," which was five weeks and three days on the voyage. For over two years they lived in Erie county, and then settled upon a farm in Plain township, Wood county, which he still owns. Of their eighteen children twelve grew to maturity, and eleven are still living: James lives in Bowling Green; he married B. McMillen, and has three children - Mina, Rollo and Bertha. Harriet is the wife of Todd Brown, of Plain township, and has five children - Carrie, Jesse, Howard, Blanche and Ethel. Rose married Albert Avery, of Wood county, and has three sons - Harley, Homer and Allen. Hugh, who lives in Bowling Green, married Kate McCaulley, and has one son - Harry. Henry is a merchant in Bowling Green. John married Racy Bowerman, and is a resident of Bowling Green. Orlando married L. English, and also lives in that city; they have four children - Viola, Arthur, Gertrude and Flossie. Frank married Bertha Mearing, and lives in Plain township; has one daughter - Helen. Adonna married Albert Huffman, and has two children - Harrison and Aleta. Emma married Henry Ostrander, of Chicago, 111., and has one son - Harry. Burton married Chloe Rader, and lives in Bowling Green; they have two children - Florence and Floyd. Sarah Ann married Henry Newton, of Perrysburg, . and died leaving three children - Adonna, Willard and Coy - of whom, Adonna married George Haskill, of Columbus, Ohio, and has one child - Gladys; Willard married Gertie Hartman, and lives in Toledo; Coy is married and lives in Toledo. Mrs. Hughes passed away January 26, 1896.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes visited England in 1866, and again in 1882. The last time the trip out was made in eight and one-half days, a striking contrast to their first voyage; but coming back the ship struck a sand-bar near Sandy Hook, and they were detained for three days just outside of New York harbor. Mr. Hughes has not united with any Church since coming to this country. In politics he is a Republican.

Edward Rue (deceased), who at the time of his death was a wealthy retired farmer of Bowling Green, was one of the fortunate men whose fertile acres have of late years given up their long-concealed treasures, and enriched their owners by copious supplies of oil. He was born May 12. 1838, in Monroe county, Mich., where his father. Dominick Roe, was also born, in the year I 784.

The family is of French-Canadian descent, and are counted among the early settlers of Michigan. Dominick Roe was a typical pioneer, robust and powerful, and possessed of perfect health, never knowing a day's illness until death came to him in 1861. His first wife was a lady of French-Canadian stock, Miss Lucy Bumean. For some years they lived in Michigan, but in 1847 they came with their family to Liberty township, and settled in the swampy woods among the muskrats, deer and bears. Here, in time, a large farm was cleared and a comfortable home made. Eleven children were born of the first marriage, of whom the following lived to maturity : Dominick and J ohn ( now deceased ) ; Lucy, living near Detroit; Olive ( now deceased ) ; Stephen, living in Lucas county, Ohio; Victoria, the wife of Peter Malask; Jane ( now deceased); Justus, now living in Michigan; and Edward, our subject. Three others died in childhood. Our subject's father was married, second, to Miss Viana Leveret, by whom he had three children: Margaret (now Mrs. L. Garno); Mary, the wife of David De Sadler; and Eliza (the wife of Frank Ducat).

Edward Roe was about nine years old when he came to Wood county. He grew to manhood upon the old farm which he helped to clear, and November 14, i860, he married Miss Margaret Ducat, a lady of French descent, born in Michigan December 30, 1841. Her father, Anthony Ducat, was born April 20, 1815, in the same State. He died May 8, 1892, in Wood county, where he had located fifty years before. His wife, Margaret Renerdo, died in early womanhood. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Roe lived upon a farm in Liberty township, removing some years later to another in Portage township. Ten children were born to them: Caleb, August

26, 1861, married Myrtle Gaghan; Robert, August 20, 1863, married Miss Addie Elder and had two daughters - Emily and Cora; Eliza, January 29, 1865, died at the age of fourteen months; Sherman, January 22, 1867, a farmer in Portage township, married Miss Bertie Creps, a native of Wood county, born October 15, 1871, and has two children - Burtsell and Floyd; Hiram, September 5, 1870, married Miss Myrtie Miller, and has two children - Loren and Harry, the younger of whom died in infancy; Alfred and Albert (twins), died at the same time and were buried in the same coffin; Louis, December 18, 1875; Lucetta, September 28, 1878; and Guy, April 7, 1880, are all at home.

After many years spent in farming his 280 acres, Mr. Roe began testing for oil with encouraging results, and he owned ten wells at the time of death. A few years ago he and his wife came to Bowling Green to secure for their youngerchildren advantages of education and society denied the dwellers in rural districts. During the Civil war Mr. Roe served for eleven months in Company A, 1 82d O. V. I. , and took part in the engagement at Nashville. In politics he was a Republican. He passed from earth August 22, 1896.

Albert Froney, senior member of the leading dry-goods firm of A. Froney & Co., Bowling Green, has been a resident of that city since the commencement of its progressive period. He is a distinctively self-made man, one who took the tide of fortune at its flood, and carried himself to one of the highest places attainable in the commercial circle of Wood county.

Born in the kingdom of Hanover, Germany, September 23, 1842, he was, in 1847, brought by his parents, Augustus and Caroline (Gyer) Froney, to America, landing at New York on the first day of July that year. For a time the family lived at Buffalo, N. Y. , then removed to Elmore, Ohio, at that time a mere village in the wilderness, where the parents both died in 1873, within a few days of each other, the father at the age of seventy, the mother when sixty-four. They had a family of five children as follows: Henry, now a resident of Bay City, Mich. ; Rachel, wife of George Gossman, of Elmore; George, a farmer at Kewaunee, Wis. ; Albert, subject of sketch; and Sophia, wife of Daniel Eckert, of Elmore.

Albert Froney received his education at the public schools of Elmore, and at the age of sixteen, in 1859, commenced his business career as clerk in a dry-goods store at Pemberville, Wood county, his salary at first being sijcty dollars per annum. In this connection, with the exception of a four-months' experience in the army during the war of the Rebellion, he remained until December 1, 1865. So valuable were his services in the store that before the end of the first year his salary was raised, and five years later he became a partner in the concern. On May 2, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, 144th O. V. I., was appointed first sergeant the same day, and served until the muster-out of the command August 31 following, after a short but useful campaign in Maryland and the Virginias.

In December, 1865, Mr. Froney embarked in business, and soon won not only popularity but also success in the village where he first entered on his life's mission. He was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of Pemberville of 1876, treasurer of the town in 1877, and a watchful guardian of the public interests of the ambitious village of Pemberville. Elected treasurer of Wood county, he came to Bowling Green in 1 886, took possession of the office and served one term, refusing point-blank to accept a second election on the grounds that the salary attached to the office did not warrant the financial risk carried by the incumbent. This political diversion was based on business principles, without any sentiment attached, and the experience of one term was quite sufficient to show him that mercantile life suited him better than official life. In 1889, selling out his business in Pemberville, he set out on a four-months' trip to Europe, visiting his birthplace and other points of interest. Returning to Wood county, he established in Bowling Green his present business, along with Mr. Boughton, under the firm name of Froney & Boughton, and with the exception of a four-months' trip through the Western States, his family accompanying him, the business thus established has claimed almost all his working hours, down to the present time. In 1892 he built a business block on South Main street, and in 1 895 he erected his present three-story store building, 42 x 125, the first and second floors of which are occupied as the store proper, the third floor being utilized as a store-room. The store is equipped with all the latest improvements and accessories to be found in a first-class establishment of its kind, and filled with a large and wellselected stock of dry goods, carpets, etc., to the value of over $50,000, employment being given to some dozen clerks. Mr. Froney's sole partners now are his son, B. J., and son-in-law, Mr. Moore, each of whom, like the senior member himself, holds an important place in the commercial and municipal economy of Bowling Green.

Politically Mr. Froney has been an ardent Republican since the formation of the party, and has well served his adopted county and city in various capacities, being a man of great public spirit, and taking a generous interest in every measure tending to benefit the community at large. In 1891 he was elected a member of the common council of Bowling Green, and in 1892 was a member of the City Hall building committee. A reference to the chapter on Plain township, to the political chapter of the general history of the county, and to the sections of the chapter on Bowling Green, dealing with municipal affairs, will disclose the fact that once in a while Mr. Froney is drawn into public affairs, perhaps not infrequently against his inclination. With the leading institutions of Bowling Green he is closely identified, and he was one of the organizers of the First National Bank, of which he is a director. In addition to the business blocks, etc., already mentioned, he built a hotel and some private residences at Pemberville, also two stores, besides his residence in Bowling Green, two of the finest in the city.

On October 24, 1863, Mr. Froney was married to Miss Sarah J. Pember, who was born at Pemberville, July 8, 1842, a daughter of James Pember, the founder of that village, and one of foremost pioneers of the county; he never ran for office, but he possessed great influence in political circles, and took an active interest in the movements which resulted in the formation of the Republican party. He lived to the age of seventy-five years. To Mr. and Mrs. Froney were born four children, as follows: Augusta, who died of diphtheria at the age of thirteen; B. J., a partner with his father; Florence, at home; and Stella, wife of Fred Moore, also a member of the firm of A. Froney & Co. The family attend the Presbyterian Church, and are held in the highest respect. Mr. Froney is broadminded and liberal in his ideas, is charitable to the poor and needy, and in his unusually successful business career has developed the industry, souud judgment and frugality so characteristic of the German-American.

William W. Hill, M. D. , one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Weston, is a native of Ohio, born in the township where he now resides, September 6, 1845, and is the eldest in a family of ten children born to John and Hester (Crom) Hill. The birth of the father occurred September 9, 1822, in Stark county, Ohio, where he lived until 1831, when with his father, William Hill, he came to Wood county, locating in Milton township, where his father purchased some government land, and with the help of his sons began the arduous task of clearing and cultivating the same. William Hill came to this country from England after the Revolutionary war.

John Hill remained upon the farm of his parents for several years, but after his marriage to Hester Crom he removed to Weston township, where he purchased a farm and immediately set about making the necessary improvements. In early life he was a member of the United Brethren Church; but after his removal to Milton township, Wood county, where there was no Church of that denomination, he united with the Christian Church. At the end of an exemplary Christian life he passed peacefully away August 10, 1887, at the age of sixty-four years.

The mother of our subject was also a native of this State, born in Harrison county, January 5, 1821, and with her parents moved to Wood county, in 1831, locating in Washington township, where she lived until her marriage. Her father was an early pioneer preacher, who traveled through this country when it was inhabited mostly by Indians and wild beasts of all kinds. Like her husband she was first a member of the United Brethren Church, and afterward joined the Christian Church. Her death occurred November 9, 1894, when she was seventy-three years of age.

At the early age of ten years our subject started out in life for himself. As his father was in limited circumstances, and the family large, it became necessary that the older children should do all in their power to assist in maintaining the others. Although young, William was strong and willing to work, and soon found employment on a neighboring farm, where he was hired by the month. When a little past fifteen years of age he enlisted in Company G, 10th O. V. C., with which he served for three years. On May 13, 1864, he was slightly wounded in the left hip by a piece of shell at the battle of Resaca, Ga. , but as the wound was not serious he did not go to hospital; again, at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain he received a slight flesh wound in the right leg while supporting a battery. On August 20, 1864, he was again wounded, this time at the battle of Jonesboro, Ga. , the ball striking him in the left leg about half way between the ankle and the knee, shattering both bones very badly. He was sent to Kingston field hospital, where he contracted gangrene in the wound, which proved very serious. Being granted a furlough in October, 1 864, the Doctor returned home and remained at Perrysburg, Wood county, under the care of Drs. Peck and Hamilton for three months. When able to walk on crutches, he was ordered to report to David's Island, in New York harbor, where he remained until the close of the war, being honorably discharged, June 12, 1865. After his return home, he did not recover from the effects of his wound. For seventeen years he was a constant sufferer, being at times compelled to walk on crutches, and in 1886 his life was despaired of. As a last resort his leg was amputated, since which time he has enjoyed good health.

After his return from the war Dr. Hill attended the Weston schools for a time, there receiving a fair education, after which he was engaged in teaching. Later he became clerk in a store, but after a short time decided to adopt the medical profession as a life work, and in 1874 he began reading medicine. In 1880 he entered the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1883 entered Toledo Medical College,from which he %vas graduated. July 11,

1883, the Doctor began practice in Weston, where he was reared from childhood, and from the start met with success. His practice is now large and rapidly increasing in the town and throughout the country, and he is known as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Wood county.

1872, is a prominent young business man of Toledo, Ohio, where he is working for the large firm of Armstrong & Co. ; he was married November 20, 1895, to Helen Gibson Canary, and they now make their home in that city. ( 2 ) Fred M., the younger son, was born March 31, 1874, and is also a thorough business man, having charge of the telephone business of Bowling Green, Ohio, where he now makes his home. On April 11, 1894, he wedded Florence E. Holbrook. The family are members of the M. E. Church.

Dr. Hill is a member of the Wood County Medical Association, the Northwestern Medical Society and the Ohio State Medical Association. Having started out in the world with nothing, and at the same time being a cripple, the prominence to which he has attained is due to his own individual efforts and perseverance. In all matters pertaining to his profession he is interested, and in addition to his duties as a general practitioner he does a large amount of surgical work.

In politics the Doctor is an ardent Republican, believing in the principles of true government, free schools, free speech and above all the right of franchise to all, irrespective of race or color. He has never actively entered into political affairs, but has filled the offices of mayor, clerk and member of the board of health. He is an earnest supporter of the temperance cause, as he himself never smokes or chews tobacco, or drinks anything stronger than tea or coffee. He gives his aid to anything that will build up the town or advance the interests of the community. The Doctor has been a Mason twenty-eight years, being a member of the Grand Rapids Lodge No. 289 and Crystal Chapter No. 157, Bowling Green. He is also a member of Neibling Post No. 20, G. A. R. , of Weston; of Kenilworth Lodge No. 340, K. of P. , of Weston; and also of Anthony Wayne Tent No. 140, K. O. T. M., of Weston, in all of which he has been active, especially in the Masonic Order, having filled most of the Chairs in the Blue Lodge.

eleven children born to Elihu and Anita (Mallory) Hathaway, both of whom were natives of Queensbury, Warren Co., N. Y. , the former born November 18, 1797, and the latter on July 1, 1804. They were married February 23, 1820, at Westfield, Medina Co., Ohio, and the father was a pioneer farmer in Lorain county, where the mother died October 31, 1865. The father subsequently came to Wood county, where he passed away March 12, 1876. She was a member of the M. E. Church, he of the Baptist; in politics he was a Democrat of the Jacksonian type. Daniel Mallory, Mrs. Hathaway's father, was a merchant in New York State; he was murdered while on his way to enlist in the war of 1812.

Giles C. Rockwood, a prosperous farmer and oil producer of Plain township, was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., August 19, 1819. The paternal grandfather of our subject lived for many years in the State of New York, and there died. Three of his sons were: Asa, who lived

David Rockwood was born in 1777 in New Hampshire, and was reared to farm life. When a young man he came with some of his older half-brothers to Cherry Valley, N. Y. , and, as they kept "bachelor's hall," he was their cook. In later years their parents came to New York State, also locating in Cherry Valley, and David and his half-brother William moved into Jefferson county, N. Y. , and bought land. David was united in marriage in that county with Miss Ruby Rounds, a native of Westchester county, N. Y. , and while living in that State they became the parents of six sons and one daughter, namely: Henry, a resident of Elyria; Benjamin S. , who went west many years ago and has never since been heard from; Emeline, widow of David Gott; F. W., a prominent farmer of Lorain county, Ohio; Giles C., the subject of this sketch; David P., of La Grange Centre, Ohio; and Almon A., residing in California. Another child, Pauline, now the widow of Hiram Buswell, was born in Lorain county, Ohio. Mr. Rockwood was a well-to-do farmer in New York, and traded his farm there for 600 acres in La Grange township, Lorain Co., Ohio, for which place he set out in June, 1826, driving a team of horses.

Five sons and the daughter came with the parents, the other son traveling by the water route with the household goods. Asa Rockwood, a brother of David, came at the same time. The journey to New York occupied ten days, and they came by Cleveland, where at that time there was no bridge across the Cuyahoga river, and where Mr. Rockwood was offered land, now the site of the public square, at four dollars an acre, or land on the west side of the city at twenty shillings an acre. However, they pushed on to Elyria and thence to La Porte, where the family remained while the father went out to look over the land he had bargained for at La- Grange. Upon seeing this he was so disappointed that he concluded to return to Cleveland and invest in land there, but was dissauded from this by Belden, Ingersol and Mennels, three of the leading men in Grafton township, who induced him to remain in La Grange in order to more thoroughly settle up the country. He remained on the 6oo-acre farm, a portion of which he traded to Nathan Clark for a like amount in Lot No. 49, and built thereon a rude house of logs, covered with elm bark, into which he moved. This was shortly after supplanted by a better one.

Mrs. Rockwood died and was buried in La- Grange township, and Mr. Rockwood married for his second wife Miss Polly Graves, who bore him five children, all of whom died young. He was always a farmer, and after moving on his farm in the northwest corner of La Grange township sold some of it, giving it out for work on other parts of the tract. He was stirring, energetic and active up to the age of sixty-five, when he retired from business. His death, which occurred in 1877, when he was 100 years and one month old, was the result of old age. In politics he was originally a Whig and later a Democrat, and in religious connection he was a member of the Christian Church.

G. C. Rockwood, subject of this sketch, came to Lorain county with his parents when he was about eight years old. His boyhood days were spent in a manner common to the lads of those pioneer days in the West, but of which the present generation can know but little. His services were required at an early age to help chop the timber, clear away the underbrush, and prepare the primitive soil for cultivation. School houses were few and far between, and such as they were were built of logs, the chinks daubed with mud, the floor, generally the bare earth, and the seats and desks of slabs. In these, school was held during the winter months, when out-door work was almost impossible, and happy the boy who could attend even for that limited season and get a smattering of " three R's. " Yet from these rude temples of learning have come some of our brightest and most powerful intellects, men who

When old enough Mr. Rockwood learned the trade of cabinetmaker and also of a house-builder, which occupations he followed for a number of years. In 1852 he svent to California, where he remained eleven months, going and coming via the Panama route, after this making his home in Lorain county until 1864, when he removed to Wood county and located on his present farm of ninety-one acres. On this place he has five oil wells, some of which have been running for two years. He also has the lease of some oil producing land, and has, at this writing, just drilled a fifteen-barrel well. His operations so far in this line have been very successful and bring him in a handsome income.

Mr. Rockwood was married May 30, 1845, to Miss Laura A. Wack, who was born in Dorset, Vt., February 19, 1819, and who is still living. Three children have been born to them, namely: Emma V., who is the wife of Judge Guy C. Nearing, of Bowling Green, Ohio, and has one child, Charles; Hoyt O., married Miss Lucia Miehe, July 4, 1872, and died when about twenty-seven years old, his wife also dying soon afterward, leaving two children; Frank died when an infant. Mr. Rockwood took charge after his son's death of the two orphan children and reared them as his own. The elder of these, William P. , was a bright, studious, ambitious young man and his death, which occurred July 3, 1892, when he was twenty years old, was a sad blow to his grandparents. The other child, Ernest, makes his home with his grandfather. Mr. Rockwood is a man of strong character and of high principles, and is worthy of the esteem in which he is held. For many years he was an infidel, but later accepted the belief of the Spiritualists and finds much comfort in their doctrines. He was at first a Republican in his political affiliation, and for a time was with the Greenback party, but afterward joined the Democratic ranks.

Allan W. Rudolph, a leading real-estate dealer of Bowling Green, was born in Center township, Columbiana county, Ohio, September 19, 1853, and is the son of Joab and Mary A. (Wheatley) Rudulph.

The father of our subject was born in Scott county, Ky. , June 26, 1820, and the mother in Wheeling, W. Va., July 4, 1824. They were married at New Lisbon, Ohio, and lived at that ! place, and in the vicinity, until 1855, when they ; came to Wood county and settled on a farm in i Middleton township. They made this their home until 1867, when they took up their residence in Bowling Green, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Rudolph was a merchant, and was engaged in business until 1 890, when he retired from active life, his death occurring two years later, in October, 1892. He was a prominent man in his community and helped to organize the Republican party in his State. He held various township and city offices and was a leading member of the Swedenborgian Church. To this worthy couple twelve children were born, of whom the following record is given: William

H., deceased, formerly deputy sheriff of Wood county; Emma A., deceased, was the wife of Frank C. Culley; George W. , Sarah, Harriet and Adelbert died in infancy; Alice I. became the wife of J. D. Dolles, a druggist of Bowling Green, and died in 1874; Ernest E. married Addie F. Close and died in 1871; Allan W., our subject; James W. , a physician, died in Bowling Green in 1881; Herman J. resides in Bowling Green; Mary May, the wife of R. B. Moore, a lawyer of Bowling Green, died in February, 1896.

Titan K. Rudulph, the paternal grandfather of our subject, resided at different times in Columbiana and Carroll counties. He moved temporarily to Kentucky and while there left home on horse back, intending to go to Atlanta Ga. , but as he was never heard from, it is supposed that he was murdered in the mountains. The name Rudulph is of German origin, but the family has been known in America since an early day. Our subject's great-uncle, Michael Rudulph, went from this country to France, and is supposed to be identical with Marshal Ney, who played such a prominent part in the history of that nation.

Mr. Rudulph's maternal grandfather, Charles Wheatley, was born and reared in Maryland, going thence to Wheeling, W. Va., where he engaged in buying and selling stock, driving cattle over the mountains to the New York and Baltimore markets. He also met an untimely death, being murdered for his money while on one of his trips, and his wife dying soon after their children were left to the care of strangers. At the time of her parents' death Mrs. Rudulph was a mere child and she and our subject's father were married at a very early age, he being nineteen and she fifteen years of age. Allan W. Rudulph was only eighteen months old when his family came to Wood county, and thirteen years of age when they settled in Bowling Green. He attended the public schools of that city for one year, when he left home and went to Michigan where he learned the trade of printer with F. C. Culley, at Eaton Rapids. He early developed the instincts of a newspaper man, and at the early age of nineteen years was both editor and proprietor of The Sentinel, published at Bowling Green, which he conducted for twenty years, a part of the time in connection with C. W. Evers and M. P. Brewer. During this time, however, he had for a short period disposed of his interest in the paper, and was engaged in the drug business, and in 1887 was appointed clerk of the court to straighten out the affairs of the previous occupant of the office, who had proved a defaulter. Mr. Rudulph finally retired from the newspaper business September 15, 1893, since which time he has been dealing in real estate, and is one of the most active and enterprising men in Wood county.

Our subject was married February 25, 1875, to Libbie A. Kitchen, who was born in Center township, Wood county, February 1 5, 1856. Two children have been born to them, Gerald Kitchen and Katie Wheatley. Mr. Rudulph is one of the organizers and a member of the board of directors of the Equitable Building & Loan Co., and is also secretary of the Water Works Co. He belongs to the I. O. O. F. , Encampment and Subordinate. In politics he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in all public enterprises.

William Weddell, deceased. The subject of this sketch was one among the foremost of the able and enterprising men who have redeemed Wood county from its original state and established modern ways of life throughout its borders. He was born at Perrysburg March 20, 1839 - his father, William Weddell, a Scotchman by birth, having settled there in 1832. He married Miss Margaret Dunipace, who was also born and educated in Scotland, and had three children: George, deceased, formerly the clerk of Wood county; William, our subject, and Margaret, deceased. The father of our subject was a contractor and builder by occupation. In politics he was a Republican, and he was a stanch and consistent adherent of the United Presbyterian faith. His sterling character speedily gained for him the confidence of the people, and his death, which occurred in 1 840, was felt as a loss by all who knew him.

Our subject received his early education in the common schools of Webster township, and worked on the homestead until he was twentysix years of age. He was married on Thursday, December 29, 1864, to Miss Isabell Zimmerman, who was born July 22, 1846, a daughter of William and Isabella (Householder) Zimmerman, a well-known resident of Webster township. Five in the Pemberville High School, the Normal at Ada. Ohio, and Valparaiso, Ind., is now a successful teacher in Wood county; (2) Margaret is also a school teacher; (3) Sarah J. married J. G. Hurr, a telegraph operator at Bellevue, Ohio, and has had three children - Max, George (deceased), and an infant daughter; (4) William L., and (5) Isabell. On August 26, 1861, Mr. Weddell enlisted in Company K, 21st O. V. I., under Capt. Canfield, but was discharged January 9, 1862, on surgeon's certificate. He was a member of the Ohio Militia, being commissioned lieutenant of Company G, 1st Regiment.

Previous to his marriage he bought 160 acres of land in Webster township, near Pemberville, and built a handsome brick residence costing $3,000 - one of the finest in the township. He was a good financier and was highly respected, not only for his ability, but for his integrity and manliness. He was a Republican in politics, and was justice of the peace and supervisor for a number of years, and school director from 1864 to the time of his death, which occurred July 1 1, 1895. He was a prominent member of the United Presbyterian Church at Scotch Ridge, as are also his wife and daughters, Minnie and Margaret, and a generous supporter of every good cause. He belonged to Benedict Post, G. A. R. , No. 26, of Pemberville, in which he held for a number of years the office of Commander.

Thomas W. Knight, M. D., who is successfully engaged in the practice of medicine, in Portage, was born in Taunton, England, January 8, 1855, and is a son of Thomas W. and Eliza (Warren) Knight.

The father of our subject was a native of Somersetshire, England, born April 7, 1821, a son of Richard and Ann (Warren) Knight, the former, of whom was a well-to-do farmer, owning 1,053 acres of land whereon his death occurred in 1828; his wife survived until 1855. They had a numerous family, no less than twenty-two children, including the following named: Amy; Ann; Richard, a wealthy woolgrower, who died in Australia; William and Anna, who died in England; Samuel, who died in London; John, who died in England in early manhood; Elizabeth, who passed away in the same country; and Thomas W. The parents of our subject had a family of nine children: (1)

Mercer, widow of Samuel Whitaker; he now resides in Wood county. (3) Our subject comes next. (4) Fred, born September 25, 1856, died at the age of twenty-five years. (5) Samuel, born July 10, 1858, married Ella Hostetter, and is living in North Baltimore. (6) Eliza Jane, born January 14, i860, married John Robertson, and after his death wedded Manning Goddington; they are now living in New Jersey. (7) Amy, born January 31, 1862, is the wife of John Groh, of Wood county. (8) Ellen, born December 27, 1864, is the wife of Jacob Sommers, of Wood county. (9) William Henry, born January 5, 1867, died at the age of nine months. (The three youngest children were born in America).

The parents of this family were married May 22, 1850, in Plymouth, Devonshire, Eng. , where Mrs. Knight was born March 23, 1825. Prior to his marriage, Mr. Knight worked in a grocery store for seven years. He afterward embarked in merchandising on his own account in Taunton, but disposed of his business in 1856, and with his family removed to the Isle of Guernsey. There he rented a farm and remained until 1861, when he came to America, sailing from Southampton, England, September 29, 1861, and after a voyage of fifteen days landing at New York. For eighteen months Mr. Knight and his family resided in Sandusky City, and then went to Ottawa county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming and grape-growing. After three years he returned to Sandusky City, locating on a farm near there, which he operated for seven and a half years, when he disposed of that place, and removed to another farm where he engaged in fruit culture. In March, 1876, he came to Wood county, and purchased the Mungen farm, which was his place of abode until the spring of 1884, when he sold, and has since lived with the Doctor. , His wife died June, 1873, and lies buried in Clyde cemetery. The father was a stanch Republican in politics, served as trustee of Portage township for three years, and is honored and esteemed by all who know him.

Our subject, as will be seen, was an infant when his parents removed to the Isle of Guernsey, and attending a French school there he learned to speak that language very fluently. He also continued his literary education in the public schools of Sandusky City, Ohio, and afterward taught school for a number of years in Wood county. The study of medicine he took up under the direction of his mother, who for many years was engaged in practice, and in 1890, he entered upon a four-years' course in

Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago. On his graduation he came to Portage, where he has since successfully been engaged in practice, and now has a large and lucrative clientele. In addition, he owns twenty acres of land and four dwelling houses in Mungen, one house and three lots in Portage, and a quarter interest in eighty acres in Liberty township, a quarter interest in the one-sixth royalty of thirteen oil wells in Liberty township, and oil wells in Portage township.

On December 14, 1884, Dr. T. W. Knight was married to Christina Sommers, who died March 9, 1889, leaving one son, Walter A., born June 24, 1886. Our subject was afterward married, April 4, 1893, to Miss Maud Book, who was born June 27, 1871. They have one son, Roy, born November 28, 1895. The Doctor and his wife are well known in their locality, and have many warm friends who esteem them highly. In politics he is a Republican, and a strong advocate of temperance. He has served his township as clerk for one year, and for nine months was township trustee, filling out an unexpired term caused by a removal.

John E. Carson, deceased. The honored pioneer agriculturist of Grand Rapids township, whose life forms the theme of this biography, was born in Pennsylvania in 1826, the son of John E. and Jane Carson, both of whom were natives of the same State. He was the eldest of their six children, the others being Elisha, James M., Margaret, Oliver and Elija.

The family came to Wood county in 1835, locating on Beaver creek, in what is now Grand Rapids township, and here John E. Carson received his education. He supplemented his district-school course by private reading and study, and fitted himself for teaching; for several winters he taught in this county, working in the intervals upon the homestead, of which he took entire charge after the death of his father, caring for his widowed mother. He was married March 30, 1854, to Miss Sarah McCabe, a lady of Scotch descent, born April 17, 1836, and the seventh daughter in the family of twelve children of James McCabe, a well-known farmer of Lucas county, Ohio, who was born in Pennsylvania, and married there to Miss Sarah Uhler, who was also a native of the Keystone State, of German parentage. Mrs. Carson's father died at his home in Lucas county, August 20, 1878, and her mother survived him ten years, passing away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Rebecca Mower, October 6, 1881, aged seventy-seven years.

A year after his marriage Mr. Carson bought 160 acres of land near Grand Rapids, to which he removed, having built a log cabin and made other improvements. He cleared 140 acres and continued to cultivate it until his death, which occurred March 13, 1878. Fourteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Carson, ten of whom were twins. (1) Emma, born April 21, 1855, married John Stephens, of Grand Rapids. ( 2 and 3) Jennie and James (twins) were born June 21, 1857; the former married Albert Whitney Weston; the latter died in childhood. (4 and 5) Luther E. and Lucy W. (twins) were born March 18, 1861, and the former now manages the homestead for his mother; he married Miss Lula Gestice and has three children; Lucy W. died in infancy. (6) John J., born October 8, 1862, is a farmer in Weston township; he married Miss Mary Judson. (7) Harriet E. , born June 11, 1865, married L. D. Judson, of Grand Rapids. ( 8 ) Addie, born August 20, 1 868, died at nineteen years of age. (9 and 10) Dora and Leonard ( twins ) were born October 12, 1870; the former married Harris Heath, of Portage, and the latter died in childhood. ( 1 1 and 12) Nellie and Florence (twins) were born February 21, 1873; the former married John Ducat, of Sugar Ridge, and the latter died when nine months old. ( 13 and 14), also twins, died in infancy.

Mr. Carson was for a time a soldier in the late war, enlisting in the one hundred days' service in 1861, in the 144th O. V. I. But illhealth compelled him to return home where he sustained the cause of the Union to the best of his ability, giving liberally to secure troops, and hiring a substitute, John D. Gestice, whose daughter Lula is now the wife of Luther Carson. [To him he gave ten dollars a month in addition to the pay allowed by the government.] Mr. Carson was a man of unusual ability and influence, standing high in the esteem of his neighbors. A kind husband and father; his death was a sad loss to the home circle, but in his wider sphere of usefulness he was sincerely mourned. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, in which Mrs. Carson has also been a leading worker for many years, especially in the Home Missionary Society. He was a Republican in politics, and was supervisor for two terms, and also served as school director, and was at all times ready to help forward any measure tending to benefit the community. After his death Mrs. Carson conducted the estate, displaying marked executive ability, and adding many improvements, including a tasteful and commodious dwelling

John W. Brownsberger, the well-known furniture dealer and undertaker of Weston, was born in Perrysburg, Ohio, March 24, 1843. His parents were both natives of Lancaster and Cumberland counties, Penn., the father, John Brownsberger, born March 27, 1800, in Lancaster county, and the mother, Barbara (Failor) born August 30, 1804, in Cumberland county. They were married November 18, 1824, and in 1833 they came to Wood county, locating on a farm four miles east of Perrysburg. John Brownsberger was a weaver, having been bound out in childhood, after the death of his father, as an apprentice to that trade. He made much of the linen and woolen cloth, used by his family, from flax and wool grown on his own farm, for some years, and also filled occasional orders from outside parties. For twenty years he kept the tollgate on the Maumee and Western Reserve pike. After the death of his wife on March 18, 1878, he moved to East Toledo, where he died June 2, 1885. He was a Democrat before the war, then becoming a Republican, and he and his wife were both members of the Evangelical Church. They had nine children, eight of whom grew to maturity: Joseph, born August 20, 1825, was killed by accident at Toledo October 3, 1879; William, born September 6, 1827. was a shoe dealer at Maumee and Toledo, and died at the latter I place December 23, 1892; Ann E., born Febru- ! ary 24, 1829, married Benj. F. Myers, (since deceased) and now resides in Toledo; Mary, born February 28, 1833, married Henry Girkins, of West Toledo; Andrew J., born January 28, 1835, was a soldier in Company A, 100th O. V. I., and was fatally wounded at Limestone Station, Tenn., September 8, 1863. (His brother, John, our subject, carried him off the field, and he died in the hospital September 26, following, at Knoxville, Tenn.); Caroline, born January 28, 1839, married John Farley, of Toledo; John W., our subject; Sidney, born September 20, 1845, lives near Sheboygan, Michigan.

John W. , whose name opens this sketch, obtained his education in the district school near his home, in the high school at Perrysburg, and the high school at Maumee, where he completed the business course. He clerked in a grocery store at Maumee until August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, 100th O. V. I. His regiment was assigned to the army of the Ohio, served in Kentucky and Tennessee, until after the Atlanta campaign then participated in the battle of Nashville, Tenn., after which they went to Wilmington, N. C., and fought to Goldsboro, N. C., where they joined Gen. Sherman's forces, then returning from the sea. Mr. Brownsberger was taken prisoner on the same day that his brother was wounded, and spent the next six months and a half at Libby prison, Belle Isle, and Castle Thunder. He was company clerk throughout his service, and at Franklin, Tenn., was promoted for gallant conduct to the rank of corporal. June 20, 1865, he was mustered out at Greensboro, N. C. , and after the disbanding of his regiment at Cleveland a few weeks later he returned home. During the following winter he took a business course at Toledo, and in March, 1866, opened a store in Weston, dealing in groceries, boots and shoes and other commodities. An attack of small-pox interfered with his plans, and he disposed of the business and for some time clerked in the largest store in Toledo. He then went to work for Earl W. Merry in the recorder's office, where he made out a set of geographical abstract books for all the land of the county. He afterward worked in the county clerk's office, and during the latter part of C. W. Evers' term as sheriff, he served as deputy so acceptably that in October, 1868, he was himself elected sheriff. After serving two terms of two years each, he returned to Weston, and built a planing mill which he sold a year later. For ten months he was record keeper for the county probate court at Bowling Green, and for six years following was deputy county clerk. From 1882 to 1895 he was engaged in various enterprises, in the undertaking business at Toledo, and with the Clover Leaf railroad as conductor, and later as express agent and baggage master. In May, 1892, he opened his present establishment in Weston, where, if energy and integrity count for anything in business life, he.should make a success.

He was married February 24, 1869, to Miss Lucy J. Bonney, who was born in Penn Yan, N. Y., February 19, 1850. Their only son, John L. , was born June 2, 1870, and died October 30, 1873. They have two daughters, of whom the elder, Bessie May, born August 1, 1872, was educated at Bowling Green and in the high school at Toledo, where she graduated in 1891; she taughf for one and a half years with unusual success, but left the profession to become the wife of C. K. Merrill, of Toledo. Mabel Bonney, the younger daughter, born February 1, 1879, is attending school at Toledo.

ney, were natives of New York State, the father born in 1813 in Yates county, the mother in 1826 in Hammondsport, N. Y. They were married in New York in 1842, and had a family of six children: William A.; Sarah L. (Mrs. John E. Clark, of Weston); Lucy J. (Mrs. Brownsberger) ; Jethro, who was killed on the railroad when twenty-six years old; Merritt H., residing in Weston; and James F. , who died in infancy. In 1863 the Bonneys came to Ohio, where the father engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died in Weston in 1883; the mother is still living. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church, to which he also belonged. In politics he was a Democrat.

Mr. Brownsberger is a man of high spirit. His friendship is steadfast and his enmity impetuous. During his service as sheriff of Wood county he was known as a man who was absolutely fearless in the discharge of the duties of the office, and his ability and trustworthiness in that capacity are still spoken of by his fellow citizens. In the first year of his term, on July 3, 1869, a murder was committed at Bowling Green, and the mob attempted to lynch the murderer, the notorious -Dave Phillips; Mr. Brownsberger was at Perrysburg, which was the county seat, but he reached Bowling Green on horseback within an hour, and rescued the man, although the rope was already around his neck. On various other occasions he displayed rare courage and coolness, and his official record is indeed one of which he may be proud. Mr. Brownsberger is an influential worker in the Republican party. Socially he is a member of the G. A. R., the U. V. U., and the F. & A. M. In religious connection he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and take great interest in Church work.

Samuel E. Vail, editor of the Sentinel, of Bowling Green, was born May 3, 1863, at Findlay, Ohio, the youngest born of the three children of Samuel B. and Eliza Vail. The other two are Frank B. (unmarried), born October 3, 1861, at present a compositor on the Chicago Record ; and Cora M., born February 28, 1862, married to C. C. Potter, of Bowling Green, by whom she has one son - Rolland - and two daughters - Myrtle and June.

Samuel B. Vail, father of our subject, during the Civil war, enlisted February 2, 1864, as a member of Company A, 49th O. V. I., and was ordered to Chattanooga, Tenn. On May 27, same year, during the preliminary movement of Sherman's march to the sea, Mr. Vail was killed at the battle of Pickett's Mills, and was buried by the Confederates, who were left in charge of the field. He was twenty-eight years old at the time. After the close of the war the widowed mother, with her three children, removed to Bowling Green.

On the paternal side, Samuel E. Vail is of Scotch origin; on the maternal side his ancestors were of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Edwin Vail, paternal grandfather of our subject, came in an early day from Connecticut to Ohio, locating first in Cleveland, but soon thereafter removing to Hudson, Ohio, where he married Hannah Post, also a native of Connecticut (she was one of a 'family of thirteen children). To Edwin Vail and his wife were born five sons - Cyrus, Alfred, George W., Samuel B. and Charles - and two daughters - Harriet and Mary. Some time during the "forties" the family moved to Findlay. Cyrus died in 1895, at Arlington, Ohio, where he had lived many years; Samuel B. was killed in battle as above related; Harriet (Brower) died, in 1896, at Hudson, whither she had removed from Bowling Green fifteen years previously; Mary (Mungen) died at Findlay in 1894. Of the sons now living, Alfred still resides in Bowling Green; George W., is a physician at Port Angeles, Wash., and Charles has his home in Findlay, Ohio. The father of this family died at Findlay in 1868; the mother passing away at Hudson in 1883.

Enos P. Lease, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania; Catherine Oswald, the grandmother, was born in Girard, Trumbull Co., Ohio. The father of Enos P. was a soldier in the war of 1812. During the " forties" the family removed to Hancock county, locating in the vicinity of Arlington, soon after which the father died; the mother survived until 1874. The children who grew to adult age were: sons - Henry, Nelson, Ferris, George and Enos Lease; daughters - Clara (Reel), Eliza (Vail), Rebecca (Fabun), Lucy (Holmes), and Mary (Long). Nelson died in 1890, at Warren; George in 1886; Enos in 1878; Clara in 1861. Rebecca, Lucy and Mary still reside at Arlington, while Eliza, who is now sixty-one years old, makes her home in Bowling Green.

To return now to the life history of the subject proper of these lines, Samuel E. Vail. In 1870 he was admitted to the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' home, where he remained until 1876, at which time he entered the Bowling Green schools, attending same two years, in 1878 commencing the printing trade in the office of the Wood Comity Sentinel. Five years later, at the age of twenty, he went to Lawrenceburg, Ind. , where, associated with others, he conducted a daily newspaper; soon afterward he located at Toledo, and until 1886 "worked at the case" on various daily newspapers of that city. In the fall of that year he accepted a proposition from Brewer & Co., and became manager of the Sentinel , of Bowling Green; four years later bought an interest in the firm (Brewer & Rudulph), the new firm becoming Brewer, Rudulph & Vail. Upon Mr. Rudulph's retirement in 1893 the firm became Brewer, Vail & Hoffa, and by a change in the present year (1896) is now known as Brewer, Vail & Co. Mr. Vail's connection with the Sentinel has been for an almost uninter-* rupted period of eighteen years.

On September 8, 1884, Mr. Vail was married to Miss Elsie D. Long, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob F. Long, who in 1867 had removed from Sandusky county to Center township, Wood county, and to Bowling Green in 1871; they were the parents of three children: Frank

M. , at present engaged in the dry-goods business at Bowling Green; Elsie D. (Mrs. Vail); and Nettie, wife of R. P. Hankey, of Bowling Green. To Mr. and Mrs. Vail was born December 19, 1885, one son named Merl De Witt. Seven years ago Mr. Vail built himself a pleasant home on the corner of West Wooster and Maple streets, Bowling Green, where he still resides.

Benjamin F. Kerr is descended from a family who were pioneers in the country east of the Alleghanies, and married into one of the families who were forerunners of civilization in the beautiful Valley of the Maumee. Inheriting and imbibing, by such connection, that desire for an independence which made him self-reliant, industrious and economical, and which led to the success in life he has attained, a rank among the foremost business men and men of means in Wood county, and among the leading merchants of Grand Rapids.

The ancestors of Mr. Kerr were of Scotch origin. His great-great-grandfather, James Kerr, accompanied by his wife, came from Scotland to this country with their family in 1765, settling in the State of New Jersey, and near the city of Philadelphia, Penn. A son of these pioneers, Joseph Kerr, was married in New Jersey, and soon afterward, in 1782, in company with several other families, moved to Western Pennsylvania, settling in Beaver county. Here he and his neighbors, among whom were Adam and Andrew Poe, whose names have gone down in history, had many thrilling adventures, and many narrow escapes, while fighting the Indians, who were troublesome and treacherous in those times. At this place, in 1785, a son, David, was born to Joseph and his wife, grew to maturity, and in 1824 with his family moved to Richland county, Ohio.

Jesse, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Beaver county, Penn., March 4, 1817, and at the age of six years came to Ohio with his parents. He grew up in the country, assisting his father to clear up a farm, received a good common-school education, and when a young man taught school during the winters. On September 14, 1837, he was married to Miss Eliza Evans, and in 1848 they moved to Lucas county, Ohio, where Jesse Kerr bought land and cleared up a farm. In politics he was a Whig, later a Republican. His death occurred July 2, 1862.

Eliza (Evans) Kerr was a descendant of Thomas Evans, who came to this country with his family from Wales in 1796, making his home for a time in Philadelphia. Subsequently he removed to Cumberland county, Penn., where his death occurred. David, a son of Thomas Evans, was married in the State of. Pennsylvania, and with his wife and children moved to Ohio in 1824, settling in Richland county. Eliza, the mother of our subject, was a native of Cumberland county, Penn., born May 24, 1818; her death occurred in 1892.

To the marriage of Jesse and Eliza (Evans) Kerr were born ten children, four of whom died in infancy, the others being: John W., a resident of Lucas county; Benjamin F. ; Nancy Ann, the wife of Jeremiah Walter; Thomas B., a resident of Zanesville, Ohio; William E., a merchant of Grand Rapids; and Charles F. , who is in the United States postal service in Texas.

Benjamin F. Kerr was born in Richland county, this State, February 7, 1843, and was five years old when the family settled in Lucas county. He received a good common-school education at Maumee, and, on the breaking out of the Civil war, was among the first to offer his services to his country, enlisting in August, 1861, when eighteen years of age, in Company I, 14th O. V. I., commanded by Col. James B. Steadman. During the winter of 1861-62 this regiment was in service through Kentucky, and, owing to the exposure and hardships to which the men were subjected, the command sustained a great loss of men, and Mr. Kerr was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability, August 22, 1862. In February, 1864, he returned to the army, accepting a clerkship with Capt. S. H.

Lunt, a disbursing quartermaster, then at Knoxville, Tenn. Mr. Kerr remained with the army in this capacity until November, 1865, serving in the Atlanta campaign. After hostilities had ceased he assisted in removing the dead from the battlefields of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge to the National Cemetery at Chattanooga, this work being in charge of the Quartermaster's department. He had saved some money, and on leaving the service, in November, 1865, he purchased an interest in a general store at Chattanooga. Here he remained in business until in April, 1866, when he disposed of his interests and returned home.

On October 24, 1867, Mr. Kerr was married to Miss Ann S. Pratt, the youngest daughter of Jonas and Susan (Reed-Griffith) Pratt. Jonas Pratt was a son of William and Bertha (Brown) Pratt, natives of Massachusetts, who came to Ohio in June, 1818, and settled near Perrysburg, in what subsequently became Wood county.