Adams Township (part 7 of 7)

The grandfather of George Ebliert Seney was Jiishua Seney. of Marj-land. He was a distinguished citizen of that State, and took a prominent part in the public affairs of that colony during thi> Revolutionary struggle. He represented Maiyland in ilw last session of the Continental Congress, and in the tirst Congress under the Constitution of the United States. He resigned his seat in Congi'ess to accept a seat upon the judicial bench of Maryland. He was chosen one of the presidential electors for the State of Maryland and voted for George AVashington when he was first elected president. No less distinguished were the other ancestors of George Elibert Seney. His grandmother, upon his father's side, was a daughter of James Nicholson, a distinguished commodore in the United States Na\'y. in ITTT), (.-om. Nicholson was in command of the United States Frigate "-Trumbull." when she fought the British man of- war "Wyatt." The engagement was one of the most desperate naval battles of the Revolutionary war. Oneof the daughters of Com. Nicholson married Albert (iallatin,then Secretary of the Treasury, and afterward Ignited States senator from Pennsylvania; another became the wife of Col. William Few. who was a member, from the State of Georgia, of the convention that fi'amed the Constitution of the United States, and afterward a senator in Congress fi'om that State; the third miirri(>(l Joliii Montgomery, oi Maryliiiul, then mayor of the city of Baltimoro and aftciward a member of Congress ft'om that State: the foui-th, Frances, man'ied Joshua Seney. Upon the mother's side the grandparents of the subject of this sketch were George Ebbert and Sarah Wood, liorn in Philadeli)hia. where they were married. Removing to Uniontown. Penn.. George Ebbert there established a mercantih^ business, which he couductixi with maiked success for forty years. The older j)eople of that busy little eif \- s]ieak of him as a model man. He was. they say, "the soul of honor, a man of line business capacity and energetic and successful in whatever he undertook. H(> had a sound judgment and ex])ressed his views in a few words, but witli gi'eat clearness. He had a kind heart and a generous hand. He was without malice and with him charity was a great virtue. He was a well informed man and reailing was his favorite pastime. ' ' Sarah Ebbert is said to have been more than an ordinai-y woman; domestic in her tastes she lived a quiet life. She was a pious woman and took an active ])art in promoting the good of her church. The fathers of George Ebbert and Sarah ^\'ood were merchants in Philadelphia. In th:it city they accumuhited wealth and held high social positions. Their lives were full oi good deeds and their memoi'ies are greatlv revered by tlu>ir descendants, and by the descendants of those who knew them a hundred years ago. To Mr. and Mrs. George Ebbert children were born, number unknown, five the writer of this sketch knew - three sons and two (huighters: two of the sons, Henry and John H. , were men of high character, both had ability, and their lives were conspicuously useful. One of the daughters, Elizabeth Dorsey, wife of the late Dr. Caleb Dorsey, of Virginia, was a lady well accomplished in mind. The other daughter, Ann. the mother of Cieorge Ebbert Seney. is said to have been a bcNUitiful girl. She received a liberal education at IJrownsville (Penn. ) Female Seminary. She was a ladv of great practical sense and had strong religious convictions. Before her marriage she was an active Christian worker in her native town. At Tiffin, where she lived twenty-two years a wife and tw(>nty-si.K a widow, she was highly esteemed. In her the poor had a fi'iend. She was a fi-equent and welcome visitor to the bedside of the sick and dying. A leading member in the Methodist Episcopal Church, she took an active part in ]>romoting the interests of that denomination. One of the handsome memorial windows in the Methodist Episcopal Church, at Tiffin, was placed there by Judge Seney, in honor of the memory of his mother. Mrs. Ann Seney died May Ti. 1S79, aged seventy-five years.

George Ebbert Seney was brought to Tiffin (then a village of 4(in inhabitants) an infant in his mother's arms. Judge .Seney (for by this name George E. is universally called) was educated at Norwalk (Ohio) Seminary, then under the charge of Dr. Edward Thomson, subsequently a bishop in the Methodist Ejiiscopal Church, .\fter four- years spent at that institution Judge Seney returned to Tiffin, and for a year or more was clerk in a dry goods store. In 184S. perhaps, and while a mere boy, he and his uncle. George Ebbert. opened a book store in Tiffin. The stock with which the firm of Ebbert iV; Seney commenced business was purchased in New York City by the boy partner, wlio went there for that ])urpose. Judge Seney remained in this store for less than a year. The business being small and un]>roritable for two. Judge Seney retired and ^Ir. Elibert remained. Ujwn leaving the book store. Judge Seney deter mined that St. Louis should l)e his futm-e home, and through a family relative in the East had secured a jiosition in a wholesale dry goods store in that city. This was ojijiosed by his mother and opposed as well In- his father, who had his heart set upon making a lawyer out of his son. Judge Seney's ambition was to be a merchant. To being a lawyer he was stoutly opposed. Simply to please his father, and to show his filial respect to his wishes he entered the office of Luther A. Hall. Esq., in Tiffin, to read law. but with an understanding that, if at the end of three months he 25referred the place open foi' him at St. Louis, neither father nor mother would further object. Years after, when Judge Seney was strong in his profession, ]\Ii'. Hall said: ''the first day George was in my office he and the law fell in love, and they have been loving each other ever since." Neither he, his family, nor his friends have cause to regret that he l)ecame a lawyer instead of a merchant. Two years of close and attentive study of the law books prepared Judge Seney for admission to th'' bar. He was admitted in 1858, and immediately commenced practice in company with his pri'ceptor. ISlr. Hall. This partnership lasted about two years. The Judge, preferring to be alone, opened an office close by the one he now occupies, and alone, until his election to Congress, has he practiced his profession, except when on the bench and in the army. At the time Judge Seney left the office of JIi'. Hall there were eighteen practicing law^'ers in Seneca County, several of them being gentlemen of large experience and acknowledged ability. Judge Seney had clients and cases fi-om the beginning: they grew in number, and when at the end of foiu- years he left the bar for the bench his bixsiness favoraltly compared with the best done by eithei- of the older attorneys. The reputation Judge Seney acquired during these six years of jiractice was that of a studious, methodical and reliable lawyer, and an able, effective and eloquent jiuy advocate. After his election as judge, and before his term of office commenced. President Buchanan tendered him the appointment of the United States district attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, which he declined, preferring the place on the bench to which he had just been elected: Judge Seney was on the bench five years. He was elected when he was twenty-six years of age, and is j)erhaps the youngest man who ever held a common pleas coiu't in Ohio. That he was not over anxious for the place is to lie inferred from the fact that he refused to take his party" s nomination unless it was tendered unanimously. At a convention held at Carey, largely composed of lawyers fi'om Seneca, Crawford, "\^'yandot, Hancock and A\'ood Counties, he was nominated by acclamation as the Democratic candidate for common pleas judge of the third subdivision of the Third Judicial District. The jiolitics of the district at that time were doubtfid: Judge Seney caiTied it l>y a majority of l.OOn over his opjiouent. Gen. John C. Lee. The first coiu't held by Judge Seney was at Perrysburg. in AYood County, and the first lawyer who addressed him in the argument of a case was Hon. M. R. Waite, then a jiracticing attorney at T^>ledo. and now the chief justice of the Supreme Coiu't of the United States. During his term of five years on the bench Judge Seney held three terms of court each year at Tiffin, Bueyrus, Ujjper Sandusky, Findlay and Perrysburg, and fi'equently a term, or a part of a temi, in other counties in the first and second subdivisions of his district. In addition to this he and the judges of these two subdivisions, with one of the judges of the sui)reme coiui of the State, held a term of the district coxui, once a year, in each of the twenty counties comprising the judicial district. Upon the bench Judge Seney met the expectations of his friends. Youthful as he was, he presided with marked dignity, impartiality and eoiutesy, and by his decisions added to his reputation as a soiand lawver, a dispassionate reasoner and an honest, discreet and just judge. It Vas while Judge S(>ney was on the Ixnich that he published what is known to the profession as ' 'Seney' s Ohio Code, " " and, this volume he republished in 1874. Among lawyers this work is highly valued, and is in constant and extensive use in Ohio and several of the ^N'estern States. Judge

Seney's term npoii tlio bench closed diirinn; the second year of the w<u'. Oiu' subject was an ardent Democrat, a stanch friend of the Union and nncoml)roniisiug in Ids opjwsition to secession. Upon the chwe of the hist term of court he enlisted in the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunleer Infantrj'. he and three others binng tht> lirst to enlist in that regiment. Judge Seney was commissioned a first lieutenant, and immediately he and his three fellow soldiers commenced I'ecruiting for the regiment. In thirty-eight days the regiment, over 1.000 strong, was iipon the (,'ovington (Kentucky) Hills, defending (jineinnati against attack from rebel forces, led by (ien. Kirby Smith. He was ajipointed <|uartermaster of the regiment. ser\'ing with it in the field for two years and a half under Buell. Rosecrans. Thomas and Shernian. He was with the regiment in its encounters at Perryville. at Lancaster and Nashville. He was j)resent at the engagement at Knob (xaj). and was within sound of the guns at Stone River. He saw service at Chickamauga and at Liberty Gap, and witnessed the heroic valor of the One Huntb-ed and First in the battles of Chattanooga and Franklin. He was with the One Hundi'ed and First in its five months" campaign of almost continuous marching and fighting, under Sherman, from Mission Ridge to Atlanta. Resigning his army commission he returned to Tirtin in Decemlier. 1X()4, reojiened his law office, and in a short time was in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice. For the next eighteen years few lawj'ers labored harder in his pnjfession than Judge Seney. Early anil late, day after day, and night after night, he could be found at his office, or in court, or if elsewhere, always full of legal business. In ISTit a biograjiher speaks of Judge Seney in these words: "As a lawyer he is highly esteemed l)y his brethren of the profession. His papers are thoroughly prepared, the witnesses are sifted to the bottom, and the case is effectively presented to the coiu-t and jiuy. While he excels as an advocate, being a fine speaker, and {)ossessing naturally oratorical gifts and graces, as an attorney and counsellor he is no less excellent, being well read upon points of law. From the fact that he is usually assigned the closing of a case, one can judge of the esteem in which he is held by those who are with him in it. As a man he is genial, and possessed of the native delicacy and refinement of the educated gentleman. ' '

"With politics he had little to do, unless to attend a convention to help a friend make a few sj)eeches during a campaign, and regularly, spring and fall, vote the Democratic ticket. When elected to Congress in ISS'2 he was fiftyyeai's of age and yet the only office he had held was that of judge, twentyone years before. He was a candidate for pr(>sidential elector on the Buchanan ticket in INaC). ANith these two exceptions his party had never been troubled with him in a convention or at an election, as a candidate foi- office. With the exception of judge and ineinber of Congress he never held an office, ward, township, city, county, district or State; never was a candidate for one before a convention or the people. In 1874 he was nominated to make the race for Congress against ex-Gov. Foster. There were other able Democrats who sought the place and in the convention were put in nomination. Without his knowledge his name was ])resented. Judge Seney declined to be a candidate, saying that he would not acce[)tthe nomination if it was made. In spite of this refusal he was nominated upon the first ballot, receiving nearly all the votes. He again arose to decline. I)ut the convention was unwilling to heiir him. and in the noise and confusion that prevailed he was declared the nominee, and immediately the convention adjourned. It was thought that Judge Seney could carrj' the district against Foster, who had twict> before been elected, but Foster beat "him by 18!l votes. There is no remark respecting that election more common than that Judge Seney did not want the f)lace and conaequently made no effort to be elected. It is the opinion of those supposed to know that the Judge was pleased at his defeat. That he had no desire to be in Congress was satisfactorily demonstrated at Upper Sandusky four years later. The district had been changed, and was then Democratic by 5,000 majority. An election was certain, he was about to be nominated, and would have been had he not arisen and appealed to the delegates not to vote for him, stating that under no circumstances would he accept of the nomination. In 1876 he was made a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis, and assisted in nominating Samuel J. Tilden for President. He was an active member of that body, and, in the campaign which followed, he eloquently and ably advocated before the people the justness of his party's cause. In 1882 he was made the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Fifth District. Soon after his nomination he made a thorough canvass of the district, speaking at fifty or more places. He was elected by a majority of 5,(513. In Seneca County he received many Republican votes. His majority in this county was 1,472; in Tiffin. 776, and in the First Ward of Tiffin, where he lived, 173. In 1883 his district was changed by taking off Putnam County with 1,4:17 Democratic majority and adding in Wood County with 496 Republican majority. This change reduced the Democratic majority in his district, on the vote of 1882, to 3,644. Judge Seney was nominated in the new district in 1884. This was a presidential year. He made a thorough canvass, addressing over seventy public meetings within his district. He was elected by 4,006 majority. The majority for Cleveland and Hendricks in the district was 3,21(5.

The reputation of Judge Seney as a lawyer followed him to Congress; he was appointed a member of the Judiciary Committee upon which were the ablest lawyers in the House. Diuing the session he was always in his seat in the committee or in the House, giving faithful attention to every duty; modest and unassuming, he talked little, but listened much. His speeches in the Ohio contested election case of Campbell vs. Morey, against the repeal of the tax on tobacco and spirits not used as a beverage, and against allowing National banks to increase their circulating notes, are exceedingly able efforts, and attracted, as they deserved, public attention. Judge Seney is known far and near as the friend of the soldiers. To their interest before Congress and in the departments he gives especial attention. All the letters he receives from soldiers about their pension claims, and they number thousands, he promptly answers, and as promptly attends to all their requests. In 1884 the Ohio Legislature was Democratic in both branches; Judge Seney was prominently named for United States senator to succeed Senator Pendleton. He refused to be a candidate, and wrote to those who were urging his candidacy that he would neither seek nor decline the place. He was known to be the first choice of a few members, and the second choice of several others. Several of his party newspapers advocated his election, and not a few of the public men. in and out of the State, favored his election. It was thought that neither of the leading aspirants - PajTie or Pendleton - would be chosen, and in that event. Judge Seney, better than any other Democrat, would be acceptable to the two factions, Pendleton and anti-Peudleton, into which the Democratic members appeared to be divided. Mr. Payne, to the surprise of everybody, was chosen in the caucus upon the first ballot. Among those prominently named as the Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio, in 1885, is the distinguished congressman fi-om the Tiffin district. He positively refused to be a candidate or allow his name to be used in connection with the gubernatorial office.

substantial Towards to Judge Senoy in fortune, as he has been successful. By his own exertions he has accumulated property estimated to be worth |ir)0,0()0 to .S-JOO.OOl). He is the owner of the Tiffin Gas Works, which thirty years ago he assisted in constructing, and was for the tirst three years of their existence the secretary of the company who built them. He is a progressive, liberal and enterprising man. In whatever is calculated to advance Tiffin and the good of her [leople, he takes an active and leading part. If money is wanted to help the poor, the sick, or the unfortunate, no on(? gives more cheerfully or liberally. If a church is to be built, a minister lacks support, the cause of education needs help, or any enterprise for the public good wants assistance, he is always ready and willing with his purse. He is a member of no church, yet the friend of religion and of all Chi-istian effort. Judge Seuey has no children. His estimable wife, Anna (Walker) Seney, is a daughter of the late Joseph Walker, Esq., long a merchant of Tiffin, and a granddaughter of the late Josiah Hedges, Esq., who was the founder of Tiffin, and is remembered by older citizens as an active leader in public affairs forty years ago. There are those who believe that still higher honors are in store for Judge Senev. We write not of the future, but of the past and the present.

WILLIAM HALDERMAN SHAFFNER, dealer in agricultural implements. Tiffin, was born in Dauphin County, Penn. , September ». IS'24. His parents, Martin and Sarah (Flescher) Shaffner, were descended from pioneer stock of that State, former of whom came to Crawford County in 18211. and to Bloom Township. Seneca County, in 1843. Martin Shaffner had twenty-one children by tkree maiTiages, William H. being the youngest of three sons and six daughters by the first marriage. Our subject took up farming, and has been very successfully identified with that industry, buying and selling considerably. He has exchanged nine different farms, aggregating about !?!-(). 000 or .1100.000. He man'ied. in Scipio Township, this county, in 1846, Mary A., daughter of Joseph and Frances (Lanaga) Coft'man, natives of Pen-yCountv, Penn., and to this union have been born fovir sons and five daughters: Joseph Wesley, residing in County. Ohio: Sarah F. . wife of Jacob Basore, of Huron County. Ohio: Emma, wife of Leo Andi-ews, of Liberty Township, this county; Charles B. . of Hughes County, Dak.: Martin F.. of Loudon Township, this county; Alice, wife of Charles Cramer, of Loudon Township, this county; Clara (deceased): Elmer L. and Ida. ^Ir. and Mrs. Shaffner are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has served as trustee, steward, class leader and su])erinten<lent of the Sabbuth-school. He has been a member of the Masonic order for several years, and has attained to the degree of K. T. of De Molay Commandery. He is also a member of Isaac Rule Post G. A. R. , having seen service during the late war of the Rebellion as a member of the One Hundred and Sixty-fomih Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Shaffner' s present fann comprises 240 acres of valuable laml iu Loudon Township, this county.

JOHN SHAULL, retired farmer, Tiffin, was born December 13. 1813, in Berkeley County, Va. : son of Jacob and Susan (Pulse) Shaull. natives of Virginia. Jacob Shaull came to Ohio in 1833, and for a few months his family stopped in Marion until he could find a suitable location. He finally entered land in Williams County, where he and a ])ortion of his family settled, and there he and his wife lived and died, the latter departing this life in 1882, aged ninety-two years. Jacob Shaull liecame one of the leading farmers of Williams County and was one of its respected pioneers. His family consisteil of six sons and three daughters, of whom Milton, Samuel and John, only, survive. Our subject came with his father to Ohio, but did not remain with the family, coming direct to Seneca County to his graudfatber. Michael Shaiill. an old pioneer, and here began life, and by industrious habits and economy soon accumulated enough to make a start for himself. He was married, in 1837, to Miss Barbara Shedingham; subsequently pm-chased a piece of land of his fatherin-law and began life in earnest. To Mr. and Mi-s. Shaull were born ten chil driui, nine of whom are now living: George J., Mary E. (]\[rs. F. Fisher), Samuel K., David, Lydia (Mrs. K. Hill). Sarah (Mrs. Truman Zise), Conrad. Smiley and Joseph. The mother of these children dying. Mr. Shaull, October IS. 1.S6S, was married to Mi-s. Libby Staub, a widow, a daughter of Henry Stoner, an old settler of this county. John Shoull. who has been a successful farmer, still owns his farm in Hopewell Township, this county, but is living a retired life in TifiSn. He has been a leading pioneer; served in the offices of township trustee for several years and also as school director.

REZIN ^V. SHAN\'HAN stands prominent among Tiffin's people as a successful mercliant and an active, public spirited citizen. His is an example of jiwell spent life, of careful, painstaking industry. His parents were Frederick and Eleanor (Wells) Shawhan. the latter a native of Virginia. His father was a native of Kent County. Md. , but had settled in Virginia after the Revo lutionary War. in which he was an active ])articipiiiit. having enlisted when but seventeen jears of age. He served under Gens. Wayne, Green, Lafayette and Washington, He was at the caj)tiire of Stony Point by Wayne, at the battle of Monmouth, at the crossing of the Delaware, and at the sixbsetpient capture of the Hessians at Ti'enton. In ISTi he moved to Ohio, and first located in Fairfield County, and afterward settled in Seneca County, and died near Tiffin August '2B, 1840, in the eightieth year of his age. The subject of this sketch was born October 19. INll, in Berkeley County, Va.. and worked on a farm until lifteen years of age. His chances for ediication were verj' limited. comj)rising only a common district school education of twentyeight months. In 1S27 he entered the store of William McComb.in ^^'ooster, Ohio, as clerk, and when eighteen he was employed in the store of Zopher T. Moore, with whom he remained about three years. In 183;} he located in Tiffin, then a ullage of less than 500 inhabitants. In company with his brother, L. D. Shawhan. he opened a small store, but at the end of two years L. D. , fearing his health was being injured, withdrew his entu-e interest. K. W.. thereaftej-, driving the business alone. In April. 18;{U, Mr. Shawhan was married to Elvira Tuller. of "Worthington. Ohio, who died Mav 20. 1880. June 29. 1881, he man-ied Delia A\atson, of Toledo, Ohio, still 'living. Having engaged in many enter])rises. many of which were unprofitable, still, by dint of persevereuce and unyielding industry, he has accumulated a handsome fortune, and has assisted in the growth of many important industries, among which may l)e mentioned the bankinjr and building interests, the "Shawhan House"" built ill 1850), being the only one however bearing his name. His entei-prise has not been confined to Tiffin only, but he has been connected with merchandising in other places, and has been interested in extensive land ])nrchases in Wisconsin. Nebraska and Kansas, all of which accrued to his profit. Mr. Shawhan is a man of excejttionally vigorous constitution, and gives personal attention to all of his affairs. He has always been a close student of business matters, and has given considerable attention to general reading, having ac(]uired a fine library. The subject of our sketch is the only siu'viving child in his father's family, and he has an onlv daughter. Ella, a ladv of excellent attainments.

HENEY SHEATS, farmer, P. O. Tiffin, was born in Lancaster Coimty, Penn., May 28, 1822, son of Henry and Nancy Sheats. who were married in Pennsvlvania, came to Seneca Countv. Ohio, in October, 1839, and remained ill Clinton Townsliip until the doiith of the fiirin(>i'. After bis death All's. Sheats went to Henry County, and there remained until her death. Our .subject was united in marriage, January IB. \H(V2, with Anna Ditto, born in Seneca County, Ohio, December '27, 1S82. daughter of John W. and Elizabeth Ditto, the former boru in 1785, in Northumberland County, Penn.. and the latter bom on the Atlantic Ocean in 1795; died Augusts, 188'"). They were married October 14, 1814, and si^ttled in this county, where they remained until the death of Mr. Ditto, which occiured in 1853. Mr. Sheats is a cari)enter and blacksmith by trade, but since his marriage has engaged in farming. Hi> and his family reside on a farm of 214 acres, owned by the late Jlrs. Ditto. Mi\ and ]\Irs. Sheats are members of Grace Reformed Church.

ELDRID(}E SHERMAN, farmer. P. O. Tiffin, was born in this county Febrary 1, 1844, son of Howland and Huldah Sherman, the foi-mer a native of New York State, born June 8, 1814, and the latter a native of Connecticut, born March H, 1823. They were manied March 3. 1842, and settled in this county, where they remained until the death of Howland Sherman, which occuiTed June 13, 1805; his widow resides with our subject, the mother of five children : Eldridge, Frances, Phrona, Elnora and Lucinda. Our subject was united in marriage, AprO 23, 18()7, w'ith Catharine Earl, born in this county May 8, 1845, daughter of Matthew and Susanna Earl, the former deceased, the latter now living. To oiu- subject and wife have been born four children, three now living: William T. . Aura I. and Earl J. ; one died in infancy. Mi-. Sherman owns eighty- four acres of good land. He served his country in the late war, and is a member of the G. A. R. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Chiu-ch.

DANIEL SHUBERT, farmer, P. O. Tiffin, was born in Lehigh County, Penn.. November 3, 184(); son of Lewis and Esther Shubert. natives of I'ennsylvania, where they were married and first settled, remaining thme until 1847. at which time they moved to Tiffin, Ohio, where they afterward resided. Our subject was united in marriage, December 31, 1808, with Barbara Einsel, l)orn in Clinton Township, this county, a daughter of Henry and Sarah Einsel, whose sketch appears elsewhere. To Mr. and Mi's. Shubert have been born five childi-en. four now living: Cyras A.. Sarah E., Oleva M. and Henry L. The deceased is an infant. Our subject is a carpenter and joiner l)y trade, but has of late years been engaged in farming, owning 107 acres of fine land. He served his country in the late war of the Rebellion, enlisting in Company B, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in 18<i3. He was in several sharp engagements, and was mustered out at the expiration of his term of enlistment. He and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church.

H. E. SIMON, born in Boardman Township. Mahoning Co., Ohio, July 17, 1847. In 1851 the family moved to Bloom Township, Wood County, iu-riving there September 1. and in the public schools of that township our subject was educated. He was deputy auditor of Mahoning County in 1805-0(5. and in 1870-71 he was deputy recorder of that county. In Octolier, 1872, he came to Tiffin, Seneca County, where he was engaged with the Baltimore & (Jliio engineer corps until the line was located, upon which that railway was Iniilt in the spring of 1S73. September 15, 1873, he entered the Tribune office (Locke «& Bro., proprietors) to learn the printer's trade, and remained at the case for about eighteen months until March 7, 1875, when C. N. Locke, the junior editor died. At this time Mr. Simon entered the counting room of the Tribuw office and took the position left vacant, and became associate editor with O. T. Locke, a position which he has held over ten years. ]Mr. Simon was married,

May 14, 1879, to Miss Maiy L. , dauj^hter of Michael and Mary (Rinker) Wall, old settlers of Tiffin, then residing at Toledo, moving to Toledo in 1878, after about thirty years' residence at Tiffin.

JAMES V. SIX, dealer in groceries and provisions. Tiffin, is a native of Tiffin, this county. His father, AS'illiam Alfred Six, was born in Frederick County, Md. , of pioneer German ancestry in that State, and, at the age of twenty-one (1843), came to Tiffin and learned brick-making, eventually taking an important part in the building interests of the city for many years. He married, in his native State, Henrietta A. Filler (whom he buried here), and the issue of this union was three sons and three daughters : James V. , David H. (a mason and builder); Winfield Scott (deceased); Ida (deceased); Lizzie (deceased); and Emma. The siibject of our sketch was reared to his father's business, which he followed, doing considerable building,* many of the business blocks, factories and residences of Tiffin being monuments of his handiwork. Retiring from that industry he took up merchandising. Mr. Six mairied, in Tiffin, Ohio, Hattie Crawford, a lady of estimable attainments, a graduate of the academy at Republic, and this union was blessed with three children, of whom but one daughter, Mabel, survives. Our subject and wife are worthy members of the Evangelical Church. He is a member of the K. of P. , and of the American National Union Insurance Company of Mansfield, Ohio.

SAMUEL BAUGHER SNEATH, banker and merchant, one of Tiffin's prominent commercial citizens, is a native and to the " manor born ;' ' his parents, Richard and Catharine (Baugher) Sneath, settling here in 18'27, and his birth occurring December IS) of the following year. His father was a native of Connecticut, and was a prominent pioneer and business man of Tiffin. His mother was a native of Pennsylvania, descended from a pioneer family of that State. Three sons and one daughter of the family survive: William O. and Richard G. , residents of San Francisco, Cal. ; Catharine, wife of James T. Drake, of Missouri; and Samuel B. The subject of our sketch, in early life, engaged in manufacturing business, and was successfully identified with that industry here till 1853, when he turned his attention to merchandising, and embarked in business with Jesse Shriver, the firm of Shriver & Sneath continuing with good success for many years. In 18()0 or 1861 Mr. Sneath retired from the firm, and established a produce and commission business, which he still carries on, and in 1862 he bought his former partner (Shriver) out and continued in drj' goods and merchant tailoring for a year or so, when he sold to P. Scheib, who still pursues the business. In 1865 he became an incorporator and stockholder of the National Exchange Bank, severing his connection with that institution recently. In 1876 he took an active j)art in the organization of the Commercial Bank, and has remained its cashier since. He is a very cordial supporter of measures tending to the city's growth and development, and has contributed in no small degi'ee to its social and industrial institutions. Mr. Sneath married, in IfSOl, Mary L. Davis, a native of Tiffin, and daughter of Levi Davis, a native of Marj-land, and pioneer farmer of this county. Mrs. Sneath passed away from this life in 1868, and is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery, leaving a daughter and son: Fannie, now the wife of C. F. M. Niles, an attorney at law and banker, a resident of Garden City, Kas., and Ralph D. , associated in the bank. In November, 1879, Mr. Sneath married Laura A. Stephenson, of Findlay, Ohio, a lady of excellent attainments, daughter of William Stephenson, a prominent farmer near Findlay. To this union has been born one daughter, Marian Lee. Mrs. Sneath is a member of the Presbyterian Church, to which Mr. Sneath has always been a liberal contributor. In public life he has kept aloof from holding office, but has nevertheless considered the importance of the ballot, his motto being ' ' What is worth doing is worth doing well. ' ' Mr. Sneath has applied his abilities to the furtherance of the commercial interests of this locality, in which he stands a prominent character.

CALVIN SNYDER, proprietor of saloon and restaurant. Tiffin, was bom in Tiffin, Ohio, August '.^8, 1847, son of John W. and Barbara (Hammon) Snyder, natives of Baden, who settled in Tiffin in early times, and who reared a family of eleven children, of whom five sons and three daughters survive. Calvin Snyder was reared to the molder's trade, which he followed for many years. He spent a number of years traveling through the Western and Northwestern country, trading and trapping. In 1881 he returned here and embarked in his present business. In 1882 Mr. Snyder married Mrs. Emma (Rhu) Smith, who was born in New Riegel, this county, and by thisj union there is one daughter, Edith Smith. Mr. Snyder is a member of the Molder's Union and Veteran Firemen, and of Rescue Hose Company No. 1.

WILLIAM A. SPONSLER, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, was born in Boardman, Mahoning Co., Ohio, in 1834, and comes of a line of pioneer Pennsylvania people of German ancestry. His parents were pioneers in Ohio. The subject of this sketch was reared in Cumberland County, Penn. , and, at twenty-one, went to Burbank, Wayne Co., Ohio, where he eventually engaged in merchandising. In 1874 he removed thence to Tiffin, this county, where he has since carried on a prominent business in his present industry. He was united in marriage at Bui-bank, in 1857, with Miss Sarah Jane Bowman, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Smith) Bowman, natives of Pennsylvania and pioneers of Wayne County, Ohio.

C. D. SPRAGUE, manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company, Tiffin, was born in Fowler, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., June 28, 1847. His parents, Seth and Cynthia (Bowen) Sprague, are of Scotch and English ancestry, respectively; the Spragues of pioneer Scotchmen in Connecticut and Rhode Island, who settled there in the seventeenth century, of the family lineage of Gov. Sprague of Rhode Island; the Bowens of early English settlers in New York State. The subject of our sketch was the youngest of a family of four sons and five daughters, of whom three sons and three daughters survive. His father carried on mercantile business in St. Lawrence County, N. Y. C. D. Sprague took up telegraphing at fifteen, at Gouverneur, that county; the year following he came to Elyria, Ohio, and clerked for awhile, completing his education in telegraphy. He was creditably identified with his profession in Ohio and New York States, alternately, till 1872, when he came to Tiffin, and has been connected with his present occupation here since, meanwhile taking an active part in other important pursuits. Mr. Sprague was married in Morristown, Minn. , to Jane, daughter of Joseph Hopkins, of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. She is a lady of estimable attainments, and was reared and educated with Mr. Sprague. This union has been blessed with four children: Mildred, Mamie, Charles B. <ind Sadie. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague are worthy members of the Presbyterian Church, of which be is treasurer, superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and leader of the choir; she is treasui'er of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. Mr. Sprague has been a Mason, socially, since he was twenty-one years old, passing all the chairs of the chapter and council, and is a member of the Royal Arcanum. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and served as private secretary to Gov. Foster during his canvass in 1877.

(Boery) Stalter, uatives of Faii-lield County. Ohio, were old residents of Edeu. and his father, one of the township's most enterjsrising farmers luitU 18(5!5. 'Mi-. Stalter attended the common schools of the district until 1859, when, owing to the death of his mother, he was compelled to work as a farm laborer. Early in 18G5 he moved to Indiana, and dui'ing the summer of that year worked t)ii the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Eailroad as a section hand. In the fall of 1865 he removed to Michigan, and was there employed in bi'ick-making. and subsequently in the lumber industry. During the latter part of the year 1807, he returned to Ohio; entered a select school at Adrian, in 18(58; soon obtained a teacher's certificate; took charge of a school in Big Spring Township, and subsequently jjresided over the school at Melmore for eleven terms. During this period of school-teaching he saved sufficient money to meet the expenses of schooling at Heidelberg College several terms. In 1873 he accepted the position of traveling correspondent for a Toledo paper, and eventually became one of its stockholders. His natmral tact and industry, aided by the experiences which this position offered, pointed out to him other fields of labor. Disposing of his interest in the Toledo newspaper, he purchased a half interest in the Ottawa County Neics, and became editor and manager of that journal. The columns of this newspaper he stamped with his indi\iduality, and its business department with marked success until the spring of 1878, when he j)urchased the Wyandot Democratic Union, which journal he published at Upper Sandusky until November, 1879. Like theA'eii's of Ottawa County, he built up the interests of the Democratic Union until the jovu-nal became valuable property under his management. Early in 1880 he founded the Tiffin News, a new joiu'nal which has won for itself a large measure of support from the people of Seneca County since the day of its establishment. Mr. Stalter" s marriage, with Miss Lucy M. , daughter of Amos and Penelope (Thompson; Westover, natives of Ohio, was solemnized at Nevada, Wyandot Co., Ohio, July 2, 1874. Two children were born to them - David K. and Miss Touie Bernice; the former died in 1883. and was inteiTed in Green Lawn Cemetery beside his mother, who died in February, 1 883. Mi'. Stalter was nominated by the Democratic Convention of 18S3 to represent his native county in the Legislatuj'e. The nomination was bitterly opposed by the machine section of his party ; and, in a measure, this opposition was can-ied to the polls, but the votes thus lost were largely compensated for by the votes of Republicans, as he received 4,762, or 9(56 votes over his Republican opponent, 4,717 votesover his Greenback opponent (W. H. Patterson), and 4, 655 votes over A. T. McDonald, the candidate of the Prohibitionists. In 1872 he was elected clerk of Eden Township, the only Democrat ever chosen for that position by the people of Eden. His nominations for the major ixnd minor offices were only agreed to by him on representations made by the best men of the party, and on condition of retiring after one term of office. ^Vhether in the newspaper office, Leg' islatiu-e or Masonic and Odd Fellows' circle, with which he is connected, industry and zeal mark his every action.

EDWARD W. STEPHENSON, jobbing and commission house in general merchandising. Tiffin, was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1845, son of Charles H. and Emily (Bellchamber) Stephenson, natives of England, the former born in Ycjrkshire and the latter in London. The subject of oui- sketch served an apprenticeship at the tinning business, and at the age of twenty came to this country and after traveling through the States a few years located in Tiffin, this county, in February, 1870, and united with jMi\ Ranaldo A. Gray in the establishment of the present enterpi-ise, Mr. Gray retiring in 1878. The business at first was small, but by dint of steady and persistent industry, Mr.

Stephenson has j'.-iirecl it lu au annual accounting of over 5^20,00(1, and it now employs eighteen well equipped wagons on the road. Mr. Stephenson was man-ied, in Tiffin in IST'J, to Mary Cooper Giay, only surviving child of Kanaldo A. and Elizabeth (Jolly) Gray, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Zauesville, Ohio. They have au adopted child, Daisy May Stephenson. He and his wife are worthy menib((rs of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is au active member of the K. of P., is Grand Inner (iuard of the Grand Lodge of the State and recorder of the Uniform Rank of that society. He is a member of the P. O. of A., and of the I. O. O. F. ; is expresident of the National Union Insurance Company of Mansfield, Ohio. In industrial matters Mr. Stephenson has always contributed liberally, and was one of the prime movers in the establishment of the National Machinery Company of Tiffin. In jjublic life he has done efficient sei-^ace and has contributed in no small degree to the advancement of the Republican party.-,

JAMES STINCHCOMB, farmer, P. O. Tiffin, was born in Bloom Township, this county, March 2."), ISiU. His grandfather. George Stiucl^^omb. emigrated from Scotland, with his family, to America, and died in Maryland. The father of our subject, John Slinchcomb, came fi'om the neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. , to this county, December 3, 1825, and settled in Bloom Township, where he purchased laud and remained until 1851, when he removed to Clinton Township, and where he died, his widow, Barbara ( Turnllinger) Stinchcomb, soon following him. They had tea children: Elizabeth A., George S., James, Mary J., Frances A., Daniel, Catharine (deceased^, Ajiiauda M., Henry and John. James Stinchcomb, the subject of this sketch, began to receive his education at the age of twenty-one, in Heidelberg College. He gradually worked up in his classes, and after the first term taught school, and continued teaching for twenty years. He is a quick observer, a lover of books, and a natural scholar. Mi'. Stinchcomb was twice married; his first wife being Matilda, daughter of Ezra and Mary Baker. This wife dying February 15, 1871, our subject married, September 17, 1875, Annie S. Baker (a sister of his first wife), by whom he has one son - Robert Sherman.

FRANCIS EDWIN STONER, late auditor of Seneca County, was born in this county, April 15, 1842; son of Dennis Caspar and Charlotte (Smith I Stoner, who settled here fiom Frederick County, Md. , in 18;i8. The Stoners were descended from German pioneers of Marylanil. the name being originally "Steiner." The Smiths, originally from Holland, were also pioneers of Maryland. Of the family of nineteen chiklren (born to the two families) nine now survive - four sons and five daughters. Francis Edwin Stoner was reared upon the farm in Clinton Township, this county, and was educated in the schools of the county. In 1872 ho embarked in the grocery business, which he retired from in 18S1, upon accepting his late incumbency, which he creditably filled to the time of his death. He maiTied, in April, 1872, Juliet, daughter of the late Hon. J. D. O'Connor, M. D., and to this union were born two sons: Clark and Francis Edwin, Jr. Mr. Stoner died, after a short illness, at Ridge Farm, near Paris, HI. , August U, 1885, and was buried in Green Lawn (,'emett'ry, Tiffin. He w.is an obedient, affectionate son, a d(^voted, loving husband, and a kind, indulgi>nl father. Mr. Stoner was a member of the Presbyterian Chiuch'. a wortliy member of the I. O. O. F. Ho was always a generous supporter of all public measures, and contributed liberally toward the development of the social and industrial inter(>sts of his city and county. He was a most sociable gentleman, drawing around him a very liberal support, from all parties, to his official position. His widow is a member of the Presbyterian (Church.

CHARLES J. M. SULLIVAN, Tiffin, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, September 0, 184!). His father, the late William Sullivan of Tiffin, was a native of Cork, Ireland, and son of Michael Sullivan, who died there in 1852. William Sullivan was reared to mercantile pursuits in his native land, and came to America in 1846, eventually locating, in hardware merchandising, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he married Miss Hanora Leonard, a native of County Leitrim, Ireland, who bore him a family of nine children, of whom three sons survive: Charles J. M. , Dr. Emmett W., of Cleveland, and Jerald E., business manager of the loioa State Leader, at Des Moines, Iowa. In 1855 ^\'illiam Sullivan removed his family and business interests to Tiffin, this county, and was favorably known as an upright and successful business man, and an excellent citizen till his death, which occurred in April, 1873. The subject of this sketch received a good literary training in the college at Notre Dame, Ind. , and in June, 1867: graduated from that institution in a commercial course of study. He continued in the hardware business of his father, retiring from it in 1875. In 188'^ he opened his present business, insurance agency, and has operated it successfully since. He married here, in 1879, Miss Aldee M. Coonrod, a graduate of the Ursuline Academy, and daughter of the late Uriah P. Coonrod, of Hopewell Township, this county. They have two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, He and his wife are regular communicants of the Roman Catholic Church. He is a member of St. Patrick's Total Abstinence Society and Catholic Knights of America. Is a liberal supporter of all measures tending to the development of the interests of his locality. He was clerk of Tiffin from 1879 to 1885.

IRA H TOMPKINS, dealer in agricultural implements. Tiffin, was born in Thomson Township, this county, August 20, 1843, and comes of Welsh ancestry on his father's side. His father, Isaac, was a son of William, whose father, William Tompkins, Sr. , settled in this country from Wales before the Revolution, and was a soldier in that war to its close. His mother, Christina (Scothorn) Tompkins, was a daughter of Samuel Scothorn, of pioneer Virginia stock, and settled in Reed Township, Seneca County, in 1823, from Fairfield County, Ohio. She and her one-year old sister, Ann, were the first white children in Reed Township. Ira H. is the fourth child and eldest son in their family of five sons and five daughters, and was reared to farming pursuits. At the age of twenty-three he embarked in the grocery business at West Lodi, this county, but after three years' successful work his store was destroyed by fire, and he subsequently engaged in dry goods and general merchandising there for about five years. In the meantime he dealt in agricultural implements, and upon retiring from his other interests there he came in 1875 to Tiffin, where he has since been identified with the implement business, meanwhile doing considerable in inventions in that industry. Mr. Tompkins was married in Adams Township, this county. May 8, 1870, to Louisa Jane, daughter of Henry and Catharine (Beard) Neikirk, of Adams Township. They have one son and one daughter: Cosie Dale and Vance Vick. Mr. and IMrs. Tompkins attend St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a worthy Mason, and has attained to the degree of K. T. of De Molay Commandery. Mr. Tompkins is a practical business man and an excellent citizen, and has contributed liberally toward the futherance of many social and industrial intercuts of Tiffin.

DAVID C. TUNISON, of the firm of Tunison & Son, photographers. Tiffin, is a native of New Jersey, of Scotch ancestry. He learned his profession in New York City, where he completed a first-class education in the art. In 1854 he came to Tiffin. Ohio, where he has since been favorably known to the profession and to the public. He was united in marriage with Abigail Fraser Dolbier, of New Jersey, of Scotch pioneer ancestry of that State. This union has been blessed with one son and three daughters: Emma, wife of Samuel S. Hunter, of Tiffin; Gusta, unmarried; Oscar Barnett, and Addie, wife of John De Witt, a manufacturer and machinist of Richmond, Ind. Mr. Tunison is a worthy member of the Odd Fellows' Society and of the National Photographers' Association.

OSCAR BARNETT TUNISON was born in New Jersey, November 11, 1842, but was reared and educated in Tiffin, where he learned the profession of his worthy sire, and joined him in the business. He was married, in Tiffin, to Mary E., daughter of John J. and Frances Hanna (Boyer) Steiner, worthy pioneers of Clinton Township, and this union was blessed with two bright sons: Hal and Berton. Mr. Tunison is a member of the National Photographers' Association. Mrs. Tunison is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

DR. JOHN FRANKLIN WAGNER, dentist. Tiffin, was born in Liberty Township, this county, August 1, 1857. His father, Edmund Carpenter Wagner, was a native of Franklin County, Penn., and settled in Liberty Township in 1843. His mother, Catherine Berkey^ was born in this county. They were married April 18, 1850, and resided in Liberty Township, where they reared a family of eight sons and one daughter: Levi J., Byron A., Edmund Berkey (deceased), John F. , George W., W. Scott, RoseB., William B. and Elmer E., all except John F. and W. Scott residing in Arkansas City, Kas. \\. Scott resides in this county. The subject of ovir sketch completed a good common school education, and at twenty-one entered the Cincinnati Dental College, and after two years passed a very creditable examination before the Ohio State Board of Dentistrj'. He then located here, and has been very favorably connected with his professional work here since. He is a member of the K. of P., and P. O. of A. Societies.

AURELIUS C. WARNER, druggi.st, Tiffin, was bom at Congress, Wayne Co., Ohio, February 28, 1860, and comes of honorable pioneer stock there. His father. Dr. C. J. Warner, stands among the most prominent men of the medical profession of that locality as well as of the State, being present member of the board of censors of the medical department of the University of Woostor, at Cleveland, Ohio; his mother was Mary Ellen (Pancoast) Wai-ner, and both were of Pennsylvanian ancestry. Aurelius C. Warner, the eldest in a family of two sons, was reared to medical studies, and completed a regular pharmaceutical study at the College of Pharmacy in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1883 he came to Tiffin, and, in company with Mr. Winkler, purchased his present extensive drug business, which he has successfully conducted since. He is an active and progressive business man and citizen, a clever gentleman, and altogether eminently fitted to till no small position in the growth of the lively, commercial interests of Tiffin. He is a member of the K. of P.

HENRY J. WELLER, attorney at law. Tiffin, was born in Thompson Township, this county, January 21, 1850. His parents, John and Christina (Orner) \N'eller, were natives of Pennsylvania, the former of whom settled here in 1843, from Snyder County, Penn. ; the latter is a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Orner, pioneers in this county. The subject of our sketch (the eld- --st of a family of five sons and three daughters) obtained a good common school education in his native township, and developed such ability that at the age of fourteen he received a teacher' s certificate. He, however, completed a normal education at Republic, this county, and at seventeen engaged in teaching, continuing in very reputable connection with the profession for five sue- cessivo terms. In April. 187S, he commenced to read law iu the office of Messrs. Noble & Adams, and Juue 2, 1880, was admitied to the bar of the State, at Columbus, being the first fi'om the county to receive his license fiom the Supreme Court of Ohio under the new law. He continued in the office of his worthy preceptors, till in March of the following year, he opened an office for himself, and may be found in professional dignity over the Commercial Bank. Mr. Weller has always been an ardent aspirant for the highest honors in his different professions, and while attaining them in teaching he is (since leaving that profession) rapidly gaining the golden proiuises of his present calling. June 10, 1885. Mr. Weller associated himself with Hon. John McCauley, ex- judge of the Ohio Supreme Court, and now composes the law tirm of McCauley & Weller, with office over Commercial Bank, Tiffin, Ohio. Our subject married, in Tiffin, December 30, 1884, Miss Julia M. Paynter, a lady of estimpble attainments, daughter of Martin S. and Sarah L. (Roller) Paynter, natives of Maryland and Pennsylvania respectively. Mr. Weller haw taken gn active part in the development of the social and industrial life of his native county. He has been a member of the Seneca County Agricultm-al Society for several years; has been its secretary for the past live years, and is its present treasvirer; is now a member of the city council of Tiffin, having been elected from the Fourth Ward of said city (a Republican ward) by the Democrats, by a majority' of thirty-eight votes. He is a F. & A. M. , and is Past Gj'and of the I. O. O. F. He speaks German tiuently, and is a popular man with the German element in this county A peculiar characteristic of Mr. Weller is that while busy in his different professional piu-suits he hiw never missed an entry in his diary, which he has continued since his eighteenth year, and which contains not only the events of his locality but his personal monetary receipts and disbiu'sements.

H. C. .\ND T. E. WELLS, physicians and surgeons of the New School of Medicine, Tiffin, come of pioneer Ohioans and are the only siu'viviug son.s of Job and Deborah (Butler) Wells, of English and Welsh descent, respectively. Thej' reckon amongst their ancestry, on the father's side, some physicians of repute. Richard Wells, father of Job Wells, was of Quaker lineage fi-om English stock in Virginia; he was a veterinary surgeon by profession, and came to Ohio from Virginia in early daj's and settled in Morrow County. His people were planters and owned slaves, and some of them figured in the Confederate service dui'ing the late civil war, a brother's son serving with j)rominence as sui'geon in that army. The family of Richard, however, with the exception of Job, settled in the ^Vest, principally in Iowa and Missouri, and he returned from Iowa to be buried near the old home in Morrow County. Deborah (Butler) Wells, was a daughter of Barrick Butler, a native of Pennsylvania and of Welsh descent in that State. They were a literary people and developed some prominent teachers. The immediate family of Job and Deborah (Butler) Wells was three sous and three dautrhters; of the latter two are married and have families in Morrow County. Richard, the third son, died at Tiffin October 10, 1882. a student at Heidelberg College. Hem-y Clay Wells, senior member of the firm of Wells Bros., at seventeen entered the Union Ai-my August 8, 1802, as a member of Company C. Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and continued in field service till after the fall of Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss., when he received an injury to his back, was taken sick and sent to hospital at New Orleans, where, after recuperating, being unfit for field duty, he was appointed ward master in the United States Marine and later to St. Louis hospitals. Receiving an honorable discharge at the end of the war he returned home and completed a course of study at Cardington Academy, from which he and his brother gi'iiduated. He then tiiujjht school and studied medicine, gradi;atin<( innu the Homceopatliic Hospital CoUej^e of Cleveland in 1872. He then located in Tiffin and has been very successful in his' professional practice since. He man-ied, in Bellevue. Ohio, Amanda J., elde.st dauf^hter of John and Ancreline (Close) Hilbish, pioneers there from Pennsylvania. This union has l)een blessed with one son and one dauj^hter: .John Hilliish and Mabel Grace. Thomas Elwood Wells (junior partner of tlie firm of AVells Bros, i after j^raduatinj;; from Cardington. taught school and sub.se- (juently embarked in the drug husiness with Dr. L. L. Benson, an eclectic school j)hysiciau. with whom he read medicine for nearly two years. He, however. becamt> convinced of the greater advantages of the practice of the homoeopathic, and sold his interest in the drug business, and after a thorough course of study (of three years) gi-aduated fi'om Pulti College of ]SIedicine and Surgery at Cincinnati in January, 1S77. He locateil in the practice at Mount Vernon. Ohio, where he remained until 1SS4. when he joined his biother at Tiffin, this county. Dr. T. E. Wells is a prominent member of the I.' O. O. F. . a verv genial gentleman and of prepossessing appearance.

BEKNARD AVELTER. cigar manufaetm-er, Titlin. born in Echternach, in the Grand Duchy of Luxemhiu-g. March Id. 1828. is a sou of Henry and Elizabeth Schoraer Welter. In ISril he came to America and located where his Iwother Valentine had preceded him in 184'.l. Here he carried on the cigar manufacturing and tobacconist lousiness. He married, in 1S(')1, Agni's Riley, who bore him two daught<>rs: Annie (deceased), and Elizabeth. Mrs. ^\'elter died in Se])tember. 1S(>4, and in 18(58 Mr. "Welter manied Mary Kerch, daughter of Nicholas Kerch, a native of Greivelding. Luxemliurg, and to this union were born nine children ; Jlary. Henry. Lucinda. Bernard. Florence, Blanche, Elsie and Pearl living: and Henry the eldest son (deceased). Mr. Welter and family are comnuuiicants of St. Joseph's congregation of the Roman Catholic Church. He is a member of the Bniderbund.

FRED L. WENNER was born in Tiffin, Ohio, January 8. 18()4, second son of Henry S. and Siirah A. W(>nuer, both of whom were mitives of eastei'u Pennsylvania, and of German descent. At the age of seven he entered the public schools of the city. and. with the exci'ptioii of three intervals, ho remained in them for twelve years, graduating fi-<jm the high school on the ITth of June, 1888. Early in life he evinced an aj)tness for rapid composition, and during his first year in the High School he edited a small amateur pafier called the Hiyli Sfhotil Rt'iitirti'r. and the rest of the foiu' years acted as cori'espondent for several ))a])ers. Jun<' 21. four days after graduating, he accepted a place as reporter on the Tiffin Ihiili/ t/rrrtltl. and in the following October became local editor of the same. In November he resigned his position, owing to failing eyesight, and Vjcgan teaching school in sub-district No. 1. Seneca Township, teaching a successful term of five months, and boarding at Eden Lease's. At the age of thirteen he had met with an accident, which destroyed the sight of his left eye. and caused him considerable trouble. He now entered the homeopathic hospital at .Vnu Arbor. Midi., where several operations were perfoiTued, which ))artially restored the sight and gi'eatly reliev<>d him. April 'J8, 1884, he again became local editor of th(> />(//// Hi'rahi. and remained in that position until October 'I'l. of the same year, when he resigned to accejit a similar one on the Tiffin Tribunv. which he holds at the pre.sent time. He was united in marriage, January 18. 188r>,with Ammy D. Myers, a teacher in the Bloom^-ille public schools, and the eldest daughter of Rev. S. P. and Ui-silla Myers, of that place, her father being a minister of the Reformed Church.

THOMAS JEFFERSON WEST, M. D., Tiffin, comes of hardy pioneer descent in this county and State. His parents, Thomas and Margaret (Donnell) West (the former of English pioneer ancestry in New York State, and the latter of Scotch Irish ancestry, of Pennsylvania), were married here, and reared five sons and one daughter. Thomas West came to this county in 1820, and located land in Eden Township in 1822. The subject of our sketch received a liberal literary training in the Academy at Republic, and taught school. On the breaking out of the late war of the Rebellion, he enlisted in Company C, Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and did active and honorable service for over three years, and upon the expiration of term of service of his regi ment, he was honorably discharged. He was wounded in the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg. After the war, Mr. West taught school and engaged in the study of medicine. In 186G-67 he attended Charity Hospital Medical College of Cleveland, from which he graduated. He located in the practice of his profession at Melmore, this county, where he remained in creditable professional work till the spring of 1884, when he came to Tiffin. The Doctor is a member of the State, Northwestern and County Medical Societies, and has contributed in no small degree to the advancement of his profession in this locality. He was married in 1871, to Mary Horner, a native of Darlington, England, who bore him two sons and one daughter: Nettie May, and Freddie and Eddie (twins). Mrs. West passed from life in 1881 , in full communion with the Presbyterian Church, and is buried in Rock Creek Cemeterj'. Oui- subject was mamed on second occasion to Mrs.E. Steele, daughter of R. C. Steele, of Eden Township, this county, and bj^ her he has one son - Robert Karl. Mrs. West is a worthy member of the Presbyterian Church, to which the Doctor is a liberal contributor and respectful attendant of. He is a worthy member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained the degree of K. T. in De Molay Commandeiy. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F. and of Isaac Rule Post. G. A. R.. and of the Pioneers' Society of Eden Township.

GEORGE W. WILLIARD, D. D.. president of Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio, was l)orn in Birrkettsville, Frederick Co., Md. , June 10. 1818. and is the fourth son and fifth child in the family of five sons and two daughters of John and Mary (Shaffer) AVilliard, natives of Frederick County, Md. Elias ^\'illiard, father of John A\'illiard and a native of Germany, reared a large family in Maryland. John ShafFer, father of the mother of our subject, also a native of Germany, reared his family in Marj'land. The subject of our sketch received a good rudimentary education in the common schools, and at sixteen went to the high school at York. Penn. , and after its removal to Mercersbiu-g (where it was merged in Marshall College) he pursued and completed a thorough literary and classical training in that institution, gi-aduating at the age of twentyone. He then pursued a theological course of study with his ahiia mcder. and after about a year entered the ministry of the Reformed Church, and was ordained at Jefferson (in his native county) at twenty-two years of age. He continued in charge there for over four years, when he removed to Huntingdon. Penn.. where he had charge of an academy in connection with his pastoral work. He afterward removed to Winchester, Va., and after laboring there three years he came to Columbus, Ohio, in the spring of lSr)0, where he can'ied on church work for about five years, diu'ing which time he took charge of the Western Missionanj (1858), which paper he conducted for thirteen years thereafter. Diu-ing his stay in Columbus, he translated from the original Latin and published the Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberj,' Catechism

(the confessional book of the Eeformed Church) into the English lanrjuage. In 1855 he removed to Dayton, Ohio, where he edited and published the Western Missiouari/. in connection with his pastoral work, till his call to the presidency of Heidelberg College, Tiffin, Ohio, in ISfJO. During the first foui' years of liis residence in Dayton he had charge of the First lleformed Church there, and subsequently served congregations in the vicinity of Dayton. In 1866 he accepted his present incumbency from the Board of Trustees of Heidelberg College, and has also performed ministerial work in a variety of forms. Dr. Williard married, in Mercersburg, Penn. , in 1842, Louisa Catharine Little, fourth daughter in the family of two sons and five daughters of Dr. P. M'. Little, a prominent physician of that place, a native of Maryland and of German ancestry. To this union four sons and one daughter were born, of whom three sons survive: John Newton and Dr. George P., of Tiffin, and the Eev. E. R. Williard, of Germantown, Ohio. In September, 1808, Mrs. Williard departed this life, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, at Dayton, beside her son and daughter, Cephas L., who died at the age of twenty-six, and Mary Louisa, who died at the age of six months. In 1866 our subject was married again; on this occasion in Xenia, Ohio, to Emma Jane Hivling, a lady of estimable attainments, and a daughter of Col. John Hivling, banker, of Xenia, and a prominent pioneer of Greene County. Dr. Williard while busy with his professional work has always taken a prominent part in the various benevolent enterprises of the day, and has contributed liberally thereto. He is the author of several books and a regular contributor to the ])eriodicals of the Reformed Church. He is apparently as active as ever in his professional work and has the gratification of seeing many of his students occupying important positions in the various professions of life.

GEORGE PARKER WILLIARD, M. D., was bom in Huntington, Penn. , July 1. 1845, son of Rev. G. W. Williard, D.D. (president of Heidelberg College) and Louisa C. Williard, daughter of Dr. P. W. Little, of Mercers- Inirg, Franklin Co. , Penn. The subject of this sketch received a liberal literary training in the schools of Dayton, Ohio, and at the age of eighteen years began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John Davis, of Dayton. He attended his first and second collegiate courses, at the Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, and completed his professional studies at the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Penn.. graduating from this honored institution March 1), 1867. In the following June he came to Seneca County, Ohio, locating at Fort Seneca, and caiTied on an active jiractice till 1874, when he went to California and located at San Buena Ventura, Ventura County, entering into jiartnership with Dr. Cephas L. Bard, a prominent physician of that place. He returned to Tiffin, this county, in 1876, and soon afterward entered into i)artnership with the late Dr. A. B. Hovey, with whom he remained two years. Retiring from that partnership, he established himself independently, and has carried on an active jiractice ever since. He has been {)rominently nominated, and has served as examining surgeon for many life insiurance corporations: is a member of the Ohio State Medical Society, and of the Seneca County Medical Society. He has always given a cordial support to all measures calculated to elevate the character and standing of his chosen profession, and is ever ready and willing to lend his assistance in matters pertaining to the social and industrial development of Tiffin. During th(> war. and uj)on the organization of the One Humked and Thirty-first Ohio National Guards, he enlisted as a ju-ivate in Company A, of that regiment, and was shortly afterward promoted tL> the position of hospital steward. During its term of service, and while the regiment was stationed at Baltimore. Md. . gan-i.soniug Forts Marshall and Federal

Hill, he was appointed post-steward of Fort Federal Hill Hospital. Although lirokeu in health from close confinement at the hospital, and the arduons duties of his position, he remained in the service until the term of his enlistment had expired, and he was honorably discharged with his regiment. In February. 1881, he was married to Miss Electa A. Stout, of Dayton, Ohio, a lady of estimable attainments, cultured and refined and of high Christian character. She is a daughter of Elias Stout. Esq,, of Davton, a merchant and native Ohioan.

FREDERICK WOLF, dealer in boots and shoes. Tiffin, was born in Eppingen, Baden. April 14, 1S34, son of Ludwig and Catharine (Heiser) Wolf, the former of whom died in that country in IS-it"). and the latter in Tiffin, in Oc tober, 185fi; the names of their children are as follows: Frederick: Elizabeth, widow of Christian Bloom, of Mexico: Christina, widow of Joseph Schoertschinger, and Jacob (deceasedy. The subject of oiu- sketch learned shoe-making in his native city, and at nineteen came to this country, locating in Tiffin June 8, 1853. and in 1862 embarked in business with which he has been successful}y connected since. He was married in Tiffin, in 1857, to Catharine Baker, born in Detwiler, Rhenish Bavaria, November 18, 1835, and who came to this country in 1853. To this union foiu- sons and one daughter were born: Henry, a merchant: Frederick, a harness-maker; Caroline: Loiiis Ludwig, a grocer, and William Dietrich. Mr. ^^ olf is a member of the Sangerbund and Bruderbund societies. He and his family are members of the German Lutheran Chiu'ch. Jacob Wolf learned his trade here and united with Frederick in Inisiness, continuing with him until his death, August 8. 1884: he left five children.

CHARLES J. TINGLING, merchant. Tiffin, was Iwrn in Baltimore, Md, , October 26, 1847. and descends from a line of mercantile people on both sides of his parentage. He is the fifth child and second son of Joshua and Margaret (Skriver) Yingliug. The foi-mer a prominent business man and banker of W^estminster. Md. . and son of the late Jacob Tingling, a tanue)- and merchant of Westminster; and the latter a daughter of Hon. Isaar Shriver, banker of Westminster and of pioneer fan^ily of the State. The subject of our sketch completed a liberal education in the high schools of Westminster, and at seventeen entered the First National Bank of that place us teller, in which cajjacity he served with credit for about foui- years, when he was compelled by ill health to withdraw fi-om the biisiness and to travel through the West, principally in Iowa. Returning, he embarked in the dry goods merchandising with his father, January, 1869, firm being known as J, Tingling iSj Son. In September. 1872. h(> retired from that firm and came to Tiffin and engaged in mainifacturing ladies' shoes, which he abandoned just two years later and then purchased his present extensive diy goods business. Mi\ Tingling was married, in Taneytown. Md. . in October. 1875. to Miss Mary E. Rudisel. only siu'viving child of the late Tobias Rudisel. merchant of that place. To our subject and wife have been born two sons: Tobias Rudisel and Charles Shriver. Mr. Tingling has, since locating here, established an excellent reputation as a business man and citizen. He has cordially supported all measures tending to the progressive development of this locality. He and his wife are estimable members of the Methodist Protestant Church, of which he has been for many years a meml)er, and of which he has served as superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and secretary of the l)oard of stewards. He is a K. T. and a member of the R. A. and K. of P. societies. Jlr. Tingling comes fi'om a line of slaveholders, but upon the event of the late war. his people renounced theii- principles and remained steadfast with the Union tenets for which they had always maintained strong ]>refoi-ence.

JOHX FKEDEKICK ZELLEK. coal mt'ichaiit. Tiffin, was bora at Canal Fulton. Stark Co., Ohio. May 4, 1S42. His parents, John and Doretha (Jacobs) Zellt'r. were natives of Germany, the former born in ^\'ei(len, in the kinj^dom of A\"iirtember{i;. and the latter in Kaiser Lantern, in the kingdom of Bavaria. They came to America in 1834 and settled in Stark County where John Zeller cairiod on contracting and building for many years, rearing a family of one son (John Frederick) and two daughters. The subject of this sketch was reared to building with his fathei'. November 1 2, 1 SO 1 , when nineteen years of age, he enlisted his services in defense of the Union, in Company K, Seventy-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and veteranized in Jackson County, Ala. , in 1S()4, serving in all three y(>ars and eight months, receiving an honoral)le discharge at Camj) Chase, Ohio. July 2. 1 S( l"). He served in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Siege of Corinth. Chickasaw Bayou. Arkansas Post, Jackson, Miss.. Vicksbiu-g, Lookout Mountain, Taylor's Ridge and Missionary Ridge, and was in the engagements at Lovejoy, Atlanta, Marietta. Kenesaw Mountain, Pumpkin Vine Creek and Sugar Creek (lap; was with Sherman in his march to the sea. February 20, 1805, he was captiu'ed by Gen. Hampton's cavalrj- at Cheraw. S. C. and spent fom* days in Libby jmson, after which he was paroled. Ouisubject marched and traveled by rail and water over 1 !.()( '(> miles and after his captui'e, as just related, he was marched over 500 miles barefooted and half naked over rough and often fi'ozen ground. After the war he spent several years in the drug business in his native place and in 1873 embarked in the coal Imsiuess, in Norwalk, Ohio, which he retired fi'oni there, and opened up in Tiffin, in 1878. Mi-. Zeller was married in Canal Fulton. Ohio, in 1807. to Margaret Jane Porter, a lady of estimable attainments, daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Stotler) Porter, the former a native of Beaver County, Penn., the latter of Wayne County. Ohio, and by this union there are three sons living: Clarence Porter. William Newton and John Logan; two deceased. Carl Frederick and James Gartield. Mr. Zeller is an active member of the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F., has served his ward in th(> city councils. Politically he is a stanch Republican and has been an active worker for his jiarty.

L. W. ZIMj\rER, bookseller and stationer. Tiffin, was born in Tiffin, this county. November 25, 1850; son of Jacob and Caroline (Von Blon) Zimmer, the former a native of AVindesheim, Prussia, and the latter of "Waldmohr, in Rhenish Bavaria. They were man-ied in Tiffin, and reared two sons and a daughter: L. W.. Caroline Louisa and Jacol). latter a clerk with L. W. Mr. Zimmer was reared to bookbinding, and followed the drvig business for a few years. In ISSO he joined Mr. Emich in the book and stationery business, from which he retired in 1SS3. and estalilished his present business. He was \inited in mairiage, in 1881. with Emma, daughter of John and Susan (Gross) Laiix, uativi>s of Ba\aria. He and his wife are members of the Second Reformed Church. Mr. Zimmer is a member of the U. A. O. D. and Tiu-nverein Societies.

JOHN BURGERT ZINT. of the Jii-m of Zint & Kreader. plumbers and gas titters. Tiffin, was born in Paris, Stark Co.. Ohio, July 31. 1842; son of Joseph and Julia Ann (Burgert) Zint. the former a native of Germany and the latter of Pennsylvanian German ancestiy. Tlie subject of our sketch was reared in Adi'ian. Ohio, and in ISC) I came to Tiffin and began the trade of harness-making. August 12. 18()2, he enlisted in Company I. One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantiy, and did honorable service till the (>nd of the war; was honorably discharged as ili'ummer fr(jm the Eighth Veteran Reserve Corps, to which he had been transferred. Returning to Tiffin. Ohio, he eugag(>d in the wooleu-mills. where he spent fifteen years, the last eight of which he was engineer. Fi>on the dissolution of that comjjany. in 1881. he embarked in his present industry, ilr. Zint was mamed in Tiffin, Ohio, to Ellen Lowe, by whom he has two daughters: Laura Bell and Myrtle May. He and his wife are members of the M. P. Church. He is a member of the I. C). O. F.. and of Leander Stem Post No. 31.. G. A. K.

Town 3 N. Range 10 E.

-Assigned to James Roblson and Edward Avery .Tan. 4, Is33. tAssigneil to John Myers Dec 1813. tAssiuniMl t,.J..hn J ,-lieuer D.c . I'.12 Assigned to Hugh Culbertson, s^tiue date.