Findlay City (part 17 of 28)

Association,'' with a capital stock of $50,000, by H. P. Gage, M. C. Whiteley, John D. Bishop, Dr. Charles Osterlen, William IL. Davis and Aaron Blackford. By a decree of the court of common pleas of Hancock County, issued October 6, 1873, the name was changed to the '' Hancock Savings Bank,'' and incorporated under this name three days afterward. Its authorized capital was placed at $200,000, with a guaranteed security to depositors of $100,000. It carried on an apparently successful business until the failure of the Citizens' Bank, when a ''run'' was at once made upon it, and on March 28, 1878, it closed its doors. The stockholders at this time were H. P. Gage, Abraham Grabill, John D. Bishop, Richard Dukes, Dr. Charles Osterlen, Alfred Graber and A. R. Belden, with H. P. Gage president, and Alfred Graber cashier. The bank suspended for ninety days, but an investigation revealed the fact that President Gage had squandered the funds in speculation, and business was never resumed. The successive failure of these two banks caused large financial losses to many people, and therefore wide-spread dissatisfaction, and under the pressure of the stigma attached to his name through the misuse of the bank's funds, Mr..Gage committed suicide.

The Farmers' Bank commenced business January 10, 1873, the firm being Seymour, Vance & Co. The owners of this bank were C. E. Seymour, M. W. Vance and H. M. Vance. P. J. Sours was cashier during its brief existence of about one year, when the firm mutually concluded to give up the business and then ceased operations.

The Farmers' National Bank is the successor of the Farmers' Bank, established January 1, 1880, by Peter Hosler, George W. Hull and J. G. Hull, with a capital stock of $60,000. Messrs. Hosler and J. G. Hull were president and cashier, respectively, of the old bank from its inception up to the close of its history, April 30, 1886. On March 30, 1886, the Farmers' National Bank was incorporated with a capital stock of $80,000 and an authorized capital of $160,000. The present officers of the bank are Peter Hosler, president; Milton Gray, vice-president; J. G. Hull, cashier; W. F. Hosler, assistant cashier; Charles Williams, teller; Peter Hosler, T. Carnahan, Milton Gray, Aaron Blackford, E. T. Dunn, John A. Scott, George W. Hull, S. D. Houpt and A. H. Balsley, directors. The new bank commenced operations on the Ist of May, and as many of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the town are stockholders of the institution, it will doubtless continue to do a safe and extensive business. Its officers are successful, energetic and careful business men, which also insures sound financial management. vo ,

The '' Findlay Savings and Building Loan Association' was organized October 12, 1867, by John M. Hamlin, C. D. Ettinger, Charles E. Niles, J. S. Henderson, O. S. Langan, H. P. Gage, D. C. Fisher, da isk Ballentine, Lewis Glessner, John C. Martin, W. A. Millis and C. N. Locke, with a capital stock of $500,000, divided into 2,500 shares of $200 each. In January, 1870, the capital stock was reduced to $200,000. _The association was carried on successfully till the spring of 1878, when its business was wound up and it ceased operations. irate '

The ''Findlay Building and Loan Association'' was organized March 20, 1886, with a capital stock of $500,000 in $250 shares. The officers are F. B. Zay, president; A. C. Heck, vice-president; W. F. Hosler, secretary ; John Shull, treasurer; E. T. Dunn, attorney; P. E. Hay, R. A. McGeary,

Edward Dietsch, A.W. Ray, A. C. Heck, William Edwards and F. B. Zay, directors. These associations are in a certain sense banking institutions, and may properly be placed in the same class of business interests.

From the days when Findlay was a small village up to the present the ever poptlar circus and other traveling shows came at intervals to amuse and entertain the quiet lives of its inhabitants. One of the first, if not-the first, of these was June & Turner's circus, which pitched its tent on West Front Street in 1847. Of course, as circuses always do, this pioneer drew a big crowd. In February. 1848, the theatrical company of 5. E. Brown & Co. appeared to large audiences in the court house for one week. Melodeon Building was erected by James H. Wilson this year (1848), on the site of the Carnahan Block, and contained the first public hall worthy of mention opened in the village. In August, 1851, Van Amburgh's menagerie, with the then famous elephant, ''Columbus,'' exhibited in North Findlay. He came again in 1856 with the big elephant, '' Hannibal," and pitched his tent in East Findlay. In 1855 Maj. Ward, a conjurer and ventriloquist, gave a tent exhibition on the public square which created a good deal of curiosity. Maybe & Co's, in 1856, was the first combined circus and menagerie that appeared in Findlay. The street parade which it gave was then a new feature and attracted much attention. A traveling company gave Uncle Tom's Cabin in Melodeon Hall in 1856, and created a profound impression, as at that time the question of the abolition of slavery was at its height. Spalding & Roger's circus came to Findlay in August, 1857, and their steam calliope, drawn by forty horses, driven by one person, drew out a very large crowd to their tent, near Eagle Creek. Corbin & Co's '' Hunters of the West," a sort of Indian combination troupe, showed here in October, 1857, and, with gaudy trappings, paraded Main Street. Yankee Robinson's circus gave an exhibition in the village about this time, pitching its tent near Eagle Creek, between the Branch Railroad and Main Cross Street, where Spalding & Rogers had previously exhibited. In the fall of 1858, Prof. Winchell, one of the greatest ventriloquists and facial performers of his day, appeared in Melodeon Hall. He was also a good singer and performed to large and delighted audiences. Gulick's Old Folk's Concert Company gave one of their very popular entertainments in Melodeon Hall in the winter of 1858 - 59. In the summer of 1860, Dondley's Theater Company, of Cincinnati, showed for a week in the court house, was well patronized and regarded with high favor. The foregoing comprise only some of the principal shows that appeared prior to the Rebellion. Wheeler's Hall was built by William H. Wheeler in 1863, and completed the following year, and was subsequently used for all classes of entertainments up to the opening of the present Davis Opera House, on Thanksgiving night, 1876. The latter was built by William L. Davis, John W. Davis and Martin L. Detwiler. It was commenced in 1875 and completed in the autumn of the following year. Though an occasional troupe or lecturer is well patronized by the people of the village, Findlay is not generally regarded by the profession as a good show town, and the gentlemen who have heretofore run the opera house, have therefore, made no money out of the business. Public places of amusement are, however, a necessity in every progressive town, and the Davis Opera House is sufficiently large to supply the present demands of Findlay in that direction. The several bands that have existed in the village have been so closely identified with the amusement field as to deserve mention in this connection.

The first of these was the Findlay Brass Band, organized by the Germans of the town in 1857, which lasted some three years. In 1858 the Schneyer Band broke off from the German Band, but existed only about one year. The Citizens' Band was organized in 1859 by Charles Mains, and was in great demand during the earlier stages of the war. Some of its members went into the army, and it was reorganized by Prof. Wildman in 1868, as the Findlay Cornet Band. About five years afterward the name was changed to the Northwestern Band, and in 1879, to the Opera House Band. This lasted about three years and then went out of existence. In the fall of 1882 the Union Band was organized but never amounted to anything, and February 11, 1883, it was reorganized by J. B. Markle as the Northwestern Band, of which organization Findlay has good reason to be proud. It contains eighteen instruments - brass and reed - and is generally recognized as the peer of any other band in northwestern Ohio.

Chapter Xxxiii Findlay Concluded

NATURAL GAS IN HANCOCK COUNTY - ITS DISCOVERY IN 1886 - FirsT NATURAL GaAs FOUND AND USED IN FINDLAY - NUMEROUS EVIDENCES OF ITS PREs- ENCE - DR. OSTERLEN'S BELIEF IN ITS PLENTIFUL EXISTENCE, AND His EARLY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE SUBJECT - THE GAS ON THE Foster Lot UTILIZED BY JACOB CARR - OIL EXCITEMENT IN FINDLAY - ATTEMPTS TO FIND OIL AND THEIR FAILURE - DR. OSTERLEN'S PERSISTENT ADVOCACY oF A GREAT NATURAL GAS DEPOSIT - ORGANIZATION OF THE FINDLAY NATURAL GAS COMPANY - THE MEN Who First RISKED THEIR MONEY IN THE ENTERPRISE - THE FIRST WELL DRILLED, AND GAS DEVELOPED IN PAYING QUANTITIES - To WHOM THE CREDIT Is DUE - MAINS LAID AND Gas PIPED INTO FINDLAY - OTHER WELLS PUT DOWN - CONSOLIDATION OF THE OLD AND NEW COMPANIES - SUBSEQUENT ENTERPRISES, AND NUMBER OF WELLS Now DrRILLED - THEIR CAPACITY, PRODUCT. AND PERMANENCY - LATER COMPANIES IN THE FIELD - DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT KARG WELL - ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF (GAS, ITS SUPERIORITY AS FUEL, AND Com- PARATIVE SAFETY - COST TO THE CONSUMER - A FEW CASES ILLUSTRATING Irs WONDERFUL CHEAPNESS - WHAT NATURAL GaAs Has ACCOMPLISHED

O event in the history of Findlay has given the town such a wide reputation, and conferred upon its people such material benefits, as the recent development of its great natural gas deposits. The history of natural gas in Hancock County goes back to the fall of 1836, when a small vein was tapped by Richard Wade while digging a well on his farm, on the southeast quarter of Section 6, Jackson Township, about two miles and a half south of Findlay. Plenty of water was found at a depth of ten feet, but the flow of gas was so strong that the well had to be abandoned, as the water was unfit for use. The escaping gas was subsequently conveyed from the well through a wooden box, to the end of which Wade attached a piece of iron tubing, and he would sometimes light it in exhibiting the phenomenon the ample reason that the pioneers were then struggling to establish homes, and possessed neither the knowledge nor means to investigate the subject.

In the autumn of 1838 Daniel Foster, a brother of Jacob Foster, of North Findlay, put down a well on the lot now owned by Jacob Carr, on Main Street, in the village of Findlay. At a depth of eight feet he struck a very strong vein of gas, and had to suspend operations. Covering it over he placed a pump tube, extending under his house from an opening in the well covering to the vicinity of the chimney, and then boring a hole through the floor attached a musket barrel to the pump tube, through which the gas was conducted to near the mouth of the open fire-place, and first used in Findlay. Foster utilized the gas to light his house, and his wife would often boil her coffee in the summer time on top of the gun barrel, and thus this primitive contrivance; first constructed as a curiosity, became a source of great convenience to the family. Soon after the discovery of gas by Foster. a well was sunk by Jesse George on the southwest corner of Main and Hardin Streets, a sycamore gum put down to prevent caving in, anda loose covering of puncheons placed over the top. The water had a strong sulphuric taste, and the family soon began to amuse strangers by showing how the water in the well would burn. But an event finally occurred which gave them a wholesome respect for this strange fluid. While a party of young ladies were exhibiting the wonderful phenomenon to a Mr. Green, he jokingly thrust a torch into the well, when an explosion occurred, blowing off the covering and seriously burning the experimenter. John H. Morrison then decided to nail down the top, and thus prevent further accidents. Two days afterward Henry Byal and Anthony Strother came in from the country to examine the strange well, and inserted a light under the covering. A loud explosion followed, blowing off the cover, which had been nailed down, and throwing both young men into the air. They were thoroughly frightened, and Mr. Byal, who is now a resident of Findlay, says: '*'Thave ever since had a very respectful opinion of the power which this fluid possesses.''

The well on Daniel Foster's premises gave an unremitting flow of gas, and would burn until forcibly extinguished. Few persons thought much of the phenomenon after its novelty had worn off, but it was useful to the Foster family, and a source of amusement to the boys of the village. Findlay people bought wood for fuel, and lighted their houses with candles or whale oil, dreaming not of the strange fluid deep down in the bowels of the earth, where it had been stored by the great Creator, to be brought forth in due time by the developed skill and science of the nineteenth century. Within the limits of the village, north of the river, was a spring of water impregnated with sulphur, which tasted and smelled vilely. A lighted torch held above it would ignite the escaping gas, that burned with a blue flame, and threw out an intense heat. All these things were common knowledge and talk for many years, and similar indications of gas were found in scores of wells in different parts of the county, which were usually called ''sulphur wells.''

Among the more thoughtful people of the county there was one man upon whom these natural phenomena made a deep impression at an early day, viz.: Dr, Charles Osterlen, then a young German physician, of Findlay. Being something of a geologist, he became earnestly interested, and, after careful investigation, concluded that underlying the village was a great nat- ural gas deposit which could be developed by drilling through the supervening rock strata. The more incredulous people laughed at what they designated as '*the Doctor's wild theories," some going so far in their ridicule as to intimate that he was crazy. During his investigations he discovered many strong indications of gas, all of which strengthened his belief still more in the plentiful existence of the fluid; In 1850, while passing by Robert S. Mungen's quarry, located in the east part of Findlay, the Doctor remarked to Mr. Mungen, ''I smell gas very strong;" to which the latter replied, '' Yes, I am almost suffocated by it." Dr. Osterlen at once mixed some clay and constructed a small hollow mound over a fissure in the rock, on the top of which he placed a wooden bucket. In a few moments he touched a lighted match under the edge of the bucket, which was followed by an explosion, throwing the vessel into the air, and the gas burned for a short time. Some years afterward he observed on his farm, east of the village, a small patch of ground upon which nothing grew. He employed a boy to dig a funnel-shaped hole on the site, six feet deep, from which the gas began escaping, and upon applying a match the fluid ignited and burned for several hours. Dr. Osterlen continued to advocate his belief in an underlying natural gas or oil-bed, which the foregoing investigations had developed into an absolute fact, so far as he was concerned, until many thinking men agreed with him. The subsequent discoveries of oil and gas in Pennsylvania and New York did much, no doubt, to strengthen his position and cunvince the most incredulous that there was a method in the Doctor's madness.

With the death of Daniel Foster, in 1849 or 1850, the property upon which the first natural gas in Findlay was found and used by that gentleman, passed into other hands, and in the spring of 1863 was purchased by Jacob Carr, a dentist of the village, and previous proprietor of Carr's Hotel, which stood on the southwest corner of Main and Crawford Streets. In speaking of the purchase, Mr. Carrsays: '' When I bought the place, the tube and gun-barrel arrangement, which Foster had used to conduct the gas into his house, had been removed, and I found the water in the well so unpleasant to the taste that I dug a cistern, intending to run rainwater into it for family use. When the cistern was finished and lined with boards it would not stay in place, as the escaping gas would keep forcing it up. Iremoved the boards and digged deeper, until reaching the limestone rock, six feet and a half below the surface. I then found that the gas came up very strong through the rock crevices, and I concluded to try and utilize it, as Foster had done years before. I made a sheet-iron pipe, larger at one end than at the other, and, placing the larger end on the bottom of the well, fixed a connecting pipe to the small end sticking out of the ground, and conducted the gas into the house, where I afterward used it for lighting and cooking. I subsequently had a thechanic construct a sheet-iron drum, about six feet in diameter and six feet deep, and used this as a gasometer in which to collect a supply for my own consumption." These evidences of Mr. Carr's ingenuity and thoughtfulness are still in his yard as when constructed, though he has not used them since the great development of natural gas, but gets his supply from the company's mains. . 0

In the meantime the development of petroleum in paying quantities in western Pennsylvania, in 1859-60, caused a flurry of excitement in Findlay over the supposed presence of oil-bearing sand underlying Hancock

County; and as the real indications of the existence of petroleum were but little understood at that time, every sulphurous odor and gaseous exudation from mother earth was looked upon as a sure precursor of oleaginous wealth below. Among the places where the signs of the coveted fluid were supposed to be most strongly marked, was an old abandoned well on the north side of Sandusky Street east of Main, near the southeast corner of Frey & Son's drug store. This old well had long been dry, and was half filled with rubbish. But one winter morning in 1859-60, Daniel Dixon, an oldtime merchant of Findlay, since deceased, while passing by noticed a strong gaseous odor coming from it. The oil excitement was then at fever heat all over the country, and thinking that perhaps he had found a sign of the much sought for article, Mr. Dixon procured an iron bar and began forcing it through the debris. Through the opening thus formed the gas poured out abundantly, and raised the old gentleman's hopes to a point of enthusiastic anticipation. While thus engaged, a citizen of Findlay, now living, passed by and very naturally inquired the meaning of the vigorous probing of the old well. Mr. Dixon turned to the interrogator, and with a smile and a merry twinkle of his eye, replied, ''It's oil, Squire, oil!" The next day Mr. Dixon had the old well cleaned out, and being a man of intelligence, soon found that the flow of gas resulted from natural causes which he did not understand. The matter caused no little excitement, however, and it was some little time before it entirely died out.

A well on the premises now occupied by D. D. MeCahan, on South Main Street, which is strongly charged with sulphur, caused some excitement soon after Mr. Dixon's explorations. Several experts examined this well and pronounced the sulphurous condition of the water to be from underlying petroleum. The same notions prevailed about the sulphur spring north of the Blanchard. Nothing was done, however, toward testing this theory and the matter was soon forgotten by the great majority of the people. With the light of recent developments we now know that the escaping natural gas was the cause of these petroleum evidences, and also that petroleum does exist under the superincumbent strata through which the gaseous odors were then pushing their way to the surface.

*Karly in 1861 a company was organized in Findlay, with the intention of prospecting for oil, in which the following citizens were stockholders: William H. Wheeler, Robert S. Mungen, U. G. Baker, C. A. Croninger, Albert Langworthy, David Goucher, H. P. Gage, E. M. Burkle, William Mungen, J. B. Horn & Co., William Vanlue, Jesse Wolf, Frederick Henderson, George H. Crook, Israel Green, Jesse Guise, Henry Brown, Isaac Davis, Dr. Bass Rawson and William C. Cox. The company was organized by electing Israel Green, president; Robert S. Mungen, secretary, and E. M. Burkle, treasurer. The spot selected for the well was a few rods southeast of the Presbyterian Church, but the preliminary operations were suspended through the breaking out of the war and were never resumed.

The subject again begar: to be agitated in the fall of 1864. and witb some show of vigor toward determining if oil existed in this county. In that year a party of gentlemen, who claimed a thorough knowledge of the business, came from the East, and, after an examination of the territory, declared that oil could be found here in paying quantities. In the winter of 1864-65 a derrick was rigged up on the premises of Jacob Carr by two men from Gallipolis, Ohio, and an oil-well drilled by a kind of spring pole method to a depth of 141 feet, when the drill stuck fast in the bottom of the well, which was then abandoned. Of course no satisfactory results were obtained, and it looks strange, from our present knowledge as to the great depth at which oil has since been found in Findlay, that any could have been expected from such a primitive mode of drilling.

The Hancock Oil Company was incorporated February 9, 1865, by Messrs. Hanks P. Gage, William Anderson, Robert S. Mungen, K. S. Baker, C. A. Croninger, William H. Wheeler, J. J. Wheeler, W. B. Taylor and Squire Carlin, ''for the purpose of engaging in the business of digging and boring for oil, salt and other vegetable, medicinal and mineral fluids in the earth, and for refining and purifying the same; and mining coal ores and other minerals.'' The capital stock was placed at $100,000, in shares of $10 each, and all operations were to be carried on within the counties of Hancock and Wood. Though the company was organized to prospect for oil, their charter was sufficiently broad to cover any valuable substance they might find. A well was sunk at Waterville, on the Maumee River, to a depth of 700 feet, and a little gas found, but the project was then abandoned asa failure, and all further operations discontinued.

The same year (1865) Hon. Parlee Carlin, of Findlay, in company with William H. Ijams & Co., from the East, leased a large amount of property in this county ''for the purpose of mining and excavating for petroleum, coal, rock or carbon oil, or other valuable mineral or volatile substances.'' As an equivalertt for the use of his land the party was to receive ''one full equal eighth part of the petroleum found at the well.'' The person from whom the land was leased was also required to furnish barrels in which to store his share of the oil. Messrs. Carlin, Ijams & Co., leased ground from Solomon Slupe, H. B. Wall, Allen Wiseley, Henry Burman, Addison Hardy, Robert L. Strother and others. A huge derrick was erected on the ground now included in Gage & Carlin's addition to Findlay, but nothing was ever done with it. With the exception of the well sunk on the premises of Mr. Carr no efforts were made to determine whether oil could be found or not. This last excitement soon died out, and belongs to the unprofitable enterprises of the past.

ie all these years Dr. Osterlen remained firm in his belief that natural gas existed here in paying quantities, and a few others accepted his opinion 6n the matteras probably correct. We find strong evidence of this growing belief in the franchise granted in 1867, to Robert S. Mungen and associates, to erect gas works and light the town. In that franchise the following clause relative to natural gas appears: 'That nothing herein shall be so construed as to prevent said village or the citizens thereof from using and laying pipes for conducting all natura! gas found in the wells or public cisterns within the corporate limits of said village.'? Whenthe gen- 'tleman who built the artificial gas works in Findlay was commencing the enterprise, Dr. Osterlen told him to sink wells for natural gas instead of building works. But his predecessors in the enterprise had consulted the State geologists, who informed them that natural gas did not exist in the State of Ohio in paying quantities, and, therefore, gave the matter no further atten tion. So a costly plant to manufacture gas from coal, brought hundreds of miles, was established, while all the time the vast deposit of natural gas under the town was making itself obnoxious to the nose and disagreeable to the palate of the man who was putting his money into the enterprise. Dr. Qsterlen while serving in the Legislature had also called on the State geologists and informed them that in his opinion their survey of northwestern Ohio was superficial, and that a mighty bed of natural gas lay undeveloped in that part of the State. The geologists learnedly replied that whatever natural gas existed at Findlay came from Michigan underneath the bed of Lake Erie, and there was not sufficient gas here to pay for sinking wells. The Doctor bluntly told them they were all mistaken, and time would prove the correctness of his opinion. We now know that Dr. Osterlen was right and the geologists wrong, and the venerable physician was the main instrument i organizing the company which put down the first well, and proved to the world what every one now concedss - that a great natural gas bed underlies Findlay, sufficient to supply light and fuel for a city of metropolitan dimensions.

Early in 1884 Dr. Osterlen determined to make an effort to organize a company to prospect for natural gas, and approached Charles J. Eckels and Fred H. Glessner on the subject, both of whom agreed to join him in the enterprise. Henry Porch, George W. Kimmel, Peter Kunz, Jason Blackford and Vincent H. Coons were next seen and secured as supporters of the proposed project. April 18, 1884, articles of incorporation under the name of "The Findlay Natural Gas Company," were drawn up, signed and acknowledged by Dr. Charles Osterlen, Charles J. Eckels, Fred H. Glessner, Henry Porch, George W. Kimmel and Peter Kunz, in the presence of Jason Blackford and Vincent H. Coons, and three days afterward filed in the office of the Secretary of State. The capital stock was $5,000, divided into 100 shares of $50 each. On the 30th of April the eight citizens of Findlay previously named, together with U. K. Stringfellow and John H. Decker, entered into a private agreement, ''to prospect for natural gas, petroleum, coal, minerals and artesian wells (all of which the charter covered), in and about the village of Findlay, Ohio," and share all profits arising therefrom. The subscription book for stock opened July 19, and on the 25th Dr. Charles Osterlen took fifteen shares; Charles J. Eckels, ten; Fred H. Glessner, five; George W. Kimmel, five; U. K. Stringfellow, five; Jason Blackford, two, and Henry Porch, two. Vincent H. Coons and Peter Kunz subscribed to the capital stock soon afterward, and the following persons were also subsequent stockholders in the enterprise: A. ©. Heck, John Ruthrauff, J. W. Zeller, W. H. Haven, W. T. Platt, Edward Dietsch, W. B. Porch, Ernest Bacher, William Edwards, J. W. Gassman, Lemuel McManness, G. L. Cusac, Dr. Anson Hurd, John M Hamlin, Frank Karst, Sr., Isaac Hershey, Brownyer & Martin, Mrs. Harriet Detwiler, Mrs. E. H. Young and B. F. Bolton, some of whom, however, took very little interest in the progress of the work, as the enterprise was not then looked upon with much favor, outside of curiosity, by the great majority of the people.

August 22, 1884, Dr. Charles Osterlen, Charles J. Eckels, Henry Porch, Vincent H. Coons, George W. Kimmel, A. C. Heck and U. K. Stringfellow, were chosen directors of the company for the ensuing year, and at once organized by electing Henry Porch, president; A. C. Heck, vice-president; Fred H. Glessner, secretary; George W. Kimmel, treasurer. On the 5th of September the contract for drilling the well was let to Brownyer & Martin, of Bradford, Penn., at the following prices: $2,200 for 1,200 feet; $2,800 for 1,600 feet, and $3,200 for 2,000 feet, to which depth they intended to sink the well if necessary to a thorough prospecting of the territory. Messrs. Eckels, Coons and Stringfellow were appointed to select a location for the well, and chose a site in the eastern suburb of the village, on the land of Dr. Osterlen. Work was soon after commenced by the drillers and pushed vigorously. The first gas vein was tapped at 314 feet, the second at 516 feet, the third at 618 feet, oil at 718 feet, and the general gas bed was struck at 1,092 feet. They, however, drilled on to a depth of 1648 feet, which was reached December 5, 1884, and operations were then stopped. Salt water was found in great quantity, and to shut off the flow the hole was subsequently filled up a few hundred feet. The drilling of this well cost the company $2,825, while the whole expense exceeded $3,000. But what of that in comparison with the great result. It had now been demonstrated beyond any doubt that natural gas existed here in paying quantities, and only a few months more were required to develop it to an apparently inexhaustible degree.

During the period that the company were engaged in sinking this well, many wiseacres condemned the scheme as a chimerical idea of Dr. Osterlen's; but lo! when gas was found, it was very strange, indeed, how many there were who exclaimed, ''I told you so! I always said there was plenty of natural gas in Findlay." Numerous "original discoverers" of this wonderful fluid have since appeared, but if ever a man deserved whatever honor attaches to the persistent advocacy for years and belief in the plentiful existence of natural gas in Findlay, as well as to its first development, Dr. Charles Osterlen is certainly that man.

Though the well was finished and plenty of gas found, thousands of dollars were yet needed to push the enterprise to a successful completion, and in January, 1885, $5,000 of eight per cent bonds were issued to lay mains and pipe the gas into the town. A new board of directors was chosen for 1885, consisting of Dr. Charles Osterlen, Charles J. Eckels, Fred H. Glessner, Vincent H. Coons, George W. Kimmel, A. C. Heck and U. K. Stringfellow. This board elected Fred H. Glessner, president; A C. Heck, vice-president; U. K. Stringfellow, secretary; George W. Kimmel, treasurer. On March 23, 1885, the capital stock was increased to $50,000, and an effort was made to dispose of some of it among the business men of Findlay, but though quite a number were called on the effort proved a failure. No one wanted to invest money in the natural gas business at that time, and all seemed yet to view the enterprise with distrust. The company also tried to sell some stock to capitalists of Bradford, Penn., and Columbus, Ohio, but they, too, held aloof. Money was then borrowed by the company on their individual notes, and the work of piping the gas into Findlay carried forward through the spring of 1885, with Vincent H. Coons as superintendent of construction, and in May the gas from the Osterlen well began to be used in the village. - '

Natural gas was now a demonstrated fact to the Findlay people, and in the meantime other parties had concluded to profit from the experience of those who risked their money when it required very strong faith to do so. A well was drilled near the gas works on Hast Sandusky Street by the old Findlay Gas Light Company, who shut down their works February ia 1885, and began using the natural fluid; and another well on East Front Street was put down by, W. K. Marvin, in which also plenty of gas was found. 'Three more wells were drilled in the summer of 1885, viz.: the

Adams, Lima Street and Barnd, and all proved successful enterprises. The first and last mentioned were owned by the old Findlay Gas Light Company, and the Lima Street well by the Findlay Natural Gas Company. By this time it had become plainly evident to both companies that they were pursuing a very unwise business policy, under which neither would make any money. So conferences were held, and September 1, 1885, they consolidated as the Findlay Gas Light Company. Since that event the company has put down four wells, which, with the Marvin well, previously leased from the owner, W. K. Marvin, makes a total of ten wells controlled by the Findlay Gas Light Company. In July, 1885, the Findlay Drilling Company was organized, composed of a large number of local stockholders, and the Putnam Street well was sunk. The Kirk, McManness, Cory and Jones wells were private enterprises, while the Briggs well was put down by public subscription and donated by the citizens to the Briggs Edge Tool Company. The Firmin well was drilled by the Trenton Rock Oil Company, the Matthias, No. 2, by a local syndicate, and the Taylor by a Pennsylvania firm. The following table gives the names, date of completion and depth of each of the nineteen wells put down in Findlay or vicinity up to the close of April, 1886:

In drilling these wells the following strata are usually found: From 10 to 25 feet of drift, 245 to 450 feet of upper limestone, 800 to 900 feet of shales and slate (wherein is located a layer of from 40 to 60 feet of red rock) and then comes the Trenton limestone in which the gas and oil is found at a depth of from 20 to 50 feet. The flow of gas from thirteen of the wells mentioned in the foregoing table ranges from 200,000 to 2,000, - 000 cubic feet every twenty-four hours; while the estimated daily product of the great Karg well is 10,500,000 cubic feet. The Adams, though a good gas well, also produces about twelve barrels of oil per day. The two Matthias and Taylor wells are solely oil producing, No. 1 now averaging about thirty barrels per day, while the product of No. 2 and the Taylor has not yet been gauged. This oil readily brings from forty to sixty per barrel at the well. It will thus be seen that Findlay possesses what now appears to be an inexhaustible supply of natural gas. But a cloud of uncertainty has always hung over its permanency, and the general idea heretofore encouraged by the State geologists has been that the gas was simply in "pockets," and it was only a question of time when such reservoirs would be exhausted. But we have already shown in this article that the learned geologist has been wrong upon every point connected with the existence of natural gas in northwestern Ohio, and if his ipse dixit had been followed, Findlay would still be using wood and coal for fuel, and the great underlying storehouse of nature would have remained undeveloped for perhaps another generation. Scientific and unscientific opinion appears to be about settled down to the belief that the supply of natural gas is produced by continual generation, and though wells may give out, and local supplies may fail here and there, like the great natural product of spring water, it will keep flowing from the earth forever. So far the supply from the Findlay wells seems to be on the increase, and with the sinking of new wells the gas pours forth with added force and denser volume.

In addition to the companies previously mentioned, several others have been organized for the purpose of prospecting for oil and gas, or to pipe the latter fluid to less fortunate towns. These are "The Findlay Oil and Gas Company," incorporated November 3, 1885; "The Hancock Oil and Gas Company," January 20, 1886; "The Findlay Pipe Line Company," February 3, 1886; "'The Wood and Hancock Oil and Gas Company," March 11, 1886; and "The Limestone Oil and Gas Company." A large amount of land has been leased by these companies in Hancock and Wood Counties, the right of way for a pipe line from Findlay to Toledo obtained by ''The Wood and Hancock Oil and Gas Company,'' and two have commenced active drilling operations. Tall derricks are springing up in every part of the county, and ere this article goes to press many more wells will, doubtless, be sending forth valuable streams of oil or gas.

The first feature that strikes an observer is the great supply of gas, as evidenced by its tremendous pressure. It comes not with a flow as ordinarily understood, but in force like a mighty rushing wind. The gas from the great Karg well leaps and roars from its mouth night and day - a semivolcanic pyramid of flame. The company has so far been unable to utilize the flow from this well, and, therefore, as a matter of safety allow the millions of feet of escaping gas to kurn from an iron pipe extending from the mouth of the well to the bank of the river. Thousands of visitors have been attracted to Findlay during the past year to view her wonderful gas wells, and numerous articles relating thereto have appeared in the leading papers of the country. A special correspondent of the Toledo Bee gives the following graphic account of his visit, in February, 1886, to the great natural gas town of Ohio: be este ;

'' Five or six miles before reaching Findlay a brilliant light is seen in the heavens, and a mile or two further on discloses to the vision a great cloud of fire. This was the great Kargwell. Its proportions, intensity and grandeur increase as the town is neared, when the church steeples and house tops are brought out with the distinctness of day. Unexplained, the phenomenon would be awful and fearful. Passing into the main street of the town the light from the burning Karg is somewhat modified by the bright flames from the immense jets of gas shooting upward from the tops of the lamp-posts. These jets are three or four feet in height, and under their glare, a pin in the street, which is 100 feet wide, can be readily picked up, and the finest print can be read as easily as in a parlor in Toledo lighted by the best gas our company can produce. It is impossible to give a correct idea of the impression made upon a stranger as he stands in the center of this wide, level street, with long vistas of light narth and south of him; the house fronts are as clearly defined as if the king of day were pouring the noon-day light upon them, and the pedestrians on the street readily recognized blocks away. The effect was peculiar and inspiring.

"To obey the impulse to visit the monster who was shedding a light which, to unused eyes, exceeded anything before imagined, beyond the sun itself, though tired and hungry, a carriage was called, and with the artist of the Bee we drove at once to it, more than half a mile from the hotel. As we neared the spot, sounds like the rushing waters of a great fall struck the ear, and in the houses where the windows looked in that direction, the interior was as light as day. Passing through several streets, the hack brought up suddenly 100 feet from the well. The sounds of the escaping gas from the stand-pipe now forcibly reminded me of Niagara, and as I looked up at the great cloud of flame shooting upward as if angry that there was not something for it to destroy, the feeling of the sublime called up by the great cataract forced itself still stronger upon me.

''The scene is one of indescribable grandeur. The well is located on the south bank of the Blanchard River, which passes through the north part of the town. It is 1,144 feet from the surface to the gas-bearing rock below, and the hole is five and five-eighths inches in diameter. From the top of the ground it is conveyed about 100 feet from the well in a six-inch iron pipe, and from this a stand-pipe fifty-seven feet high is connected, which is three inches in diameter at the top where the gas escapes. A cut-off above the ground at the well is placed to shut off the flow, but for some time the gas has been allowed to have its way and millions of feet are wasted to satisfy the curiosity of the throngs of people who visit it daily. As far as the eye shas uninterrupted scope, the landscape is illuminated by this monster light, and persons could be distinctly seen more than half a mile away, and the color of their clothing readily discerned. Within 100 feet of the flame, with a cold crisp atmosphere outside, it was uncomfortably hot. On the opposite side of the river and for a considerable distance all about the well, the grass was growing with the luxuriance of May, and the water in the river below, everywhere else covered with ice, was as blue and limpid as a lake."'

The stand-pipe alluded to by the correspondent has recently been taken down and placed upon the ground, with its mouth extending over the bank of the stream. In this position the scene is, if anything, grander'and more awe-inspiring than before, the water in the river fairly boiling from the intense heat thrown out by the constantly burning fluid. The flame licks the surface of the water, and leaps at intervals almost across the stream, and, in close proximity, the noise made by the escaping gas is indeed bewildering to the average visitor.

While the number of wells already sunk, and the quantity of gas produced would seem to be more than sufficient to supply the wants of Findlay and its 6,000 inhabitants, and even ten-fold that number of people, wells are still being sunk to meet the demand of the increasing number of manufacturing establishments attracted to the town by the abundance and cheapness of the gas as a fuel. There has been no perceptible decrease in the product of the wells except in instances where a flow of oil has interrupted the flow of gas. The discovery of the great Karg well, which of itself pours out more than enough gas to light and'heat the town, and supply all of its manufactories, justifies the belief that the Findlay gas territory is almogt inexhaustible, and from it enough of the valuable fluid could be obtained to supply two or three cities the size of Toledo. The gas supplies all the purposes for which coal is used - heat and light - and is readily, cheaply and safely applied to all purposes of lighting the streets, and lighting and heating halls, theaters, churches, stores and dwellings, and for all manufacotries where power is used. Its capacity to heat steam generating boilers is demonstrated beyond question, and there does not seem to be any purpose to which fuel can be applied that it is not the best, most convenient and cheapest.

The superiority of the Findlay gas in the amount of heat which it produces is one of its most valuable features. It is doubtful if any other article known to use as fuel can produce as high a degree of heat in so short atime. Burned from simple perforations in an ordinary gas-pipe, which can be introduced into any stove or grate, in a brief time the stove will become a cherry red. A little valve regulates the supply and pressure, and in the morning, if you do not want the fire burning all night, you turn the valve, thrust in a lighted match, and at once your fire is booming. Firebuilding, of a cold winter morning, has lost its terrors for the fortunate people of Findlay, and wood-sheds, coal-bins and ash barrels are to them merely an unpleasant memory. Another important advantage is the fact that it is characterized by a strong odor, more pungent than artificial gas even, which is a great safe-guard against explosions and accidents. The Pittsburgh gas is nearly or quite odorless, and there is nothing, consequently, to give warning when there has been an escape. The use of gas greatly lessens the danger of loss by fire and so reduces rates of insurance. Burnt with air as it is, the combustion is complete, and there is no soot and no chimneys to burn out. Ina thousand different ways this new factor in the affairs of the world adds to the wealth, the convenience, the comfort and pleasures of existence.

Aside from all the remarkable advantages the new fuel and illuminator possesses, its cheapness is, however, the main thing in its favor. The gas company now charges $12 per year for cooking stoves, and $1.50 per month for seven months, for the average heating stove; the larger heaters in the business houses run as high as $3 per month during the winter season. Gas burners for lighting purposes cost from 15 to 30 cents per month each. In this respect, as in the item of fuel, a great saving is made. Many of the stores light up at night with scores of blazing jets, and on short winter days light them early in the afternoon, for there is no stingy measurement of the gas through meters, the use of which is discarded. It is, however, proper to state that the light is not so good as that furnished by the manufactured gas or coal oil, as the powerful pressure makes it unsteady, and the least draft or puff of air affects it badly. It is, therefore, not a pleasant light for reading or other close work, and is very trying to the eyes. But Findlay possesses the cheapest fuel in the United States, and here the manufacturer may build immediately over his supply of fuel and light. The cost of sinking a well averages from $1,200 to $2,000, and that is the end of all expense and trouble to light, heat and furnish power to the establishment. This is marvelous, and makes a reduction in the running expense and cost of production that is nothing less than a revolution.

Very little fuel outside of gas is now used in Findlay, and the wood and coal trade has fallen off to a comparative insignificance. A few cases will serve to illustrate the wonderful revolution that natural gas has brought about in the cost of lighting and heating. The proprietors of the Joy House claim a saving of about $400 per annum on light and fuel, and this hotel is one of the best heated and lighted country houses in the State. The proprietor of one of the principal stores of the town says that it used to cost him $360 per annum to light and heat his establishment. Now it costs him not quite $60 or a saving of $300, besides being rid of all the dirt, trouble and inconvenience of wood and coal. Elijah Barnd, proprietor of the limekilns, south of town, pays the gas company $200 per annum for all the gas he can use in his kilns. It used to cost him $1,800 per year for wood, with which to 'burn the same amount of lime. Adams Bros. & Co., foundry and machine shops, with a previous fuel capacity of $1,000 per annum, are supplied with fuel and light from a well on their premises at no cost, such being the contract with the company when the well was sunk. W. K. Marvin & Sons, foundry and machine shop, owners of the Marvin well, run their establishment at a saving of $2,000 a year in fuel, and, besides, supply a planingmill and furnish a large surplus to the gas company, which pays them a considerable profit. The planing-mill supplied from this well saves $1,000 a year in fuel. The most striking example, however, in the saving of fuel in manufacturing is furnished by the Eagle Roller Flouring-mills. This establishment consumed $1,500 worth of coal a year, and employed two stokers, which, with the handling of the coal, made the cost about $2,000. Ata cost of $1,600 for boring a well, gas has been obtained which furnishes all the fuel and light for the mills. And, in addition, the well supplies a woolenmill with fuel and light, for which they get $100 a year, also thirteen families with fuel and light. The results in these cases illustrate the value of natural gas as a fuel-saving element to a remarkable degree. And yet with all this, the capacity of the wells is by no means heavily drawn upon, and millions of feet of gas go to waste every twenty-four hours.

Capital is eagerly investigating matters here, and the attention of manufacturers is turned in this direction. There is a noticeable increase of visitors, the hotels are full all the time, and there has been a general advance in valuation all along the line. But those proposing to locate and establish any kind of manufacturing institution may be sure of generous treatment. That the development of natural gas in such large quantities is the beginning of a new era in the history of Findlay is now plainly evident. No one feels any doubt about that. From the handsome, quiet capital of one of the richest agricultura! districts in the State, she will become a busy manufacturing center, with mills and factories, foundries and glass-works. The present wells can furnish an unlimited supply of fuel, available at an instant when wanted, for every conceivable use to which fuel can be applied, at a reduction in cost so great that it is hard to realize, working a most important saving in domestic economy, and a veritable revolution in the cost of running large manifactories. Real estate has advanced and is advancing in value, business confidence has been restored, and everybody and everything is aroused to the impetus of a new life and fresh activity. It has not been our fortune to witness or hear of, in a town the size of Findlay, since the beginning of the existing period of financial depression, so revived an activity in all general business, nor so buoyant a spirit among the people as is now prevailing here. Hotel keepers, merchants, grocers, clothing dealers, boot and shoe people, butchers, bakers and tradespeople generally, are making money and feeling good. The place has already a goodly number of manufacturers of various sorts, all of which have been prompt to utilize the benefits of cheap fuel and light; while many more industries of like nature are seeking locations in the town to share in the seemingly assured prosperity. These are bringing in their train more people to Findlay to live, swelling the volume of trade in every branch, insuring yet better prices to farmers for their products, to the mechanic and workman for their labor, ete. ; in short, simply following the law of general prosperity that uniformly marks a thriving industrial community.

Biographical Sketches

GEORGE B. ALBAN, farmer, P. O. Findlay, was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, March 10, 1811, son of William (a farmer) and Elizabeth (Shane) Alban. William Alban served in the war of 1812 as captain; he was a justice of the peace for many years; in politics he was a stanch Whig. His father, George Alban, was a Virginia farmer. William Alban was thrice married, Elizabeth (Shane), the mother of our subject, being his first wife. There were eight children in this family: James S. (the eldest, was a lawyer by profession, and at the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion was a resident of Wisconsin; he became colonel of the Eighteenth Regiment W. Vv. I, and was killed in action at the battle of Pittsburg Landing), Eliza (deceased), Jane (deceased), George B., Mary, William (a lawyer and a former partner of James 8.), Sarah, wife of Solomon Franks, of Medina County, Ohio) and Capt. H. H. (of Findlay, Ohio). William Alban's second wife was Jane Whitcraft, daughter of William Whitcraft, of Stark County, Ohio, and by her were eight children - three of whom are still living: Nancy, Rebecca and Levina. William Alban's last marriage was with Isabel McCaughey, daughter of Joseph McCaughey, of Stark County, Ohio; she bore him two children: Joseph P. and Newton. George B. Alban, the subject of this sketch, passed most of his early life in Stark County, Ohio, and there married, October 15, 1835, his first wife, Maria McCaughey, daughter of John McCaughey, of Stark County, Ohio; there were three children by this union, two of whom are living: Eliza J. and John M. Mr. Alban came to this county February 12, 1839, and has since resided here, engaged in farming. He has a farm of 160 acres of land which is crossed by the '' Nickel Plate'' Railroad. His second wife was Susan Edgar, daughter of William Edgar, formerly a farmer of this county. To her he was married in January, 1844. She bore two children, both of whom died young. Our subject's third marriage was November 9, 1848, with Mary A. Davis, daughter of John Davis, a farmer of Waod County, Ohio; the only child born of this union died in infancy. Mr. Alban's present wife, Jane, to whom he was married November 1, 1854, is a daughter of J ohn McLeester, a farmer of this county. Two children have been born of this union: Maria and Helen. George B. Alban is an energetic and enterprising man, and still retains a goodly share of youthful vigor, both in action and in appear- ance. He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church; one of the old and substantial citizens of this county. He and his family are connected with the West Union Presbyterian Church. In politics he is a Republican.

ALLEN DORSEY, farmer, P. O. Van Buren, was born in what was formerly Cass Township, this county, February 22, 1834, son of David and Rosanna (Weand) Dorsey, natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer and one of the first settlers in Allen Township, this county, and helped organize the township, serving as justice of the peace for several years. He came to this county in 1833, and died in this vicinity. Of his family of seven children who grew to maturity four are now living: George, Allen, Cordelia and Henry; William and James, members, respectively, of the One Hundred and Twenty-third and Twenty-first Regiments, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, were both killed in service during the war of the Rebellion; David, died in Idaho. 'The father of our subject married, for his second wife, Margaret (Deal) Adams, whe is now living in Wood County, Ohio. The subject of this sketch has all his life resided in this county, engaged in farming and stock dealing. He has farm property to the extent of 180 acres, most of which lies in Portage Township, this county. He is a member of Haywood Lodge, No. 333, I. O. O. F. Mr. Dorsey first married Miss Mary A. Howard, daughter of James Howard, a farmer of this county, and by this union there are two children: Ardinell and Allen D. Our subject's present wife, Margaret J., is a daughter of James McMurray.

WARREN L. DRAPER, farmer, P. O. Wineland, was born in Washington County, N. Y., October 5, 1824, son of Moses and Marilla (Wilson) Draper, former of whom, a son of Jonathan Draper, a Revolutionary soldier, devoted his life to farming and saw-milling. Warren L. Draper moved from Pennsylvania when six years of age to Summit County, Ohio, and in 1853 came to this county, where he has since resided, engaged in farming. He has at present 180 acres of improved land in Allen Township. Our subject was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Sobercole, and by her he had five children: Ann, Warren C., Edward, Elizabeth and Jane. His present wife, Hannah (King) Draper, is a daughter of John King, formerly a resident of this county, and by her our subject has two children: Emma and Belle. Mr. Draper is a much respected citizen of this county.

DANIEL FRICK, farmer, P. O. Van Buren, was born May 3, 1828, in Westmoreland County, Penn. His parents, Daniel and Catherine (Miller) Frick, were also natives of the same place, the former a farmer and blacksmith. Daniel Frick, Sr., had a brother, George, who served in the war of 1812. Their father, George Frick, a German by birth, died of scarlet-fever in New Orleans, where he, in company with a man named Hannah, had taken a flat-boat loaded with flour. The father of our subject was twice married. His first wife (the mother of our subject) bore him nine children: Mary, John, George, Lucinda, Daniel, Delilah, David, Jacob and Abraham, all of whom are still living. His second wife also bore him nine children, of whom six are still living: Catherine, Jane, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Luther and Joseph. David, of the first family, and Isaiah, of the second family, served in the late war of the Rebellion. Daniel Frick, Sr., came to this county in the spring of 1855, and died the following fall. The subject of this sketch came to this county in 1856, and engaged in the mercantile trade. He was, however, a miller by occupation, and, in 1861, he purchased a flouring-mill (which is still standing in Van Buren, unused) and operated it for several years. In 1871 he bought a farm of 160 acres of land, north of Van Buren, which he still owns, and on which he resided until last spring, when he moved to Van Buren, having purchased a store-building and residence combined. Mr. Frick has long been a member of the I. O. O. F., belonging at present to Haywood Lodge, No. 333. In politics he is a Republican. He was united in marriage, November 6, 1851, with Esther Dinsmore, a daughter of John Dinsmore, a farmer of Westmoreland County, Penn., and two children have been born to this union, both now deceased.

EDWARD GEORGE, M.D., Van Buren, born in Mercer County, Penn., March 18, 1850, is the eldest son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Harlow) George, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and Germany, and who came to this county in 1855, where they still reside. They have two children: Dr. Edward George and Louisa (wife of Orrin A. Ballard, of Findlay). Jonathan George, a carpenter by trade, is the son of John George, who was a soldier in the war of 1812. Dr. Edward George received his education in this county, and in early life clerked in a store. He commenced the study of medicine in 1872, under Drs. T. & T. C. Ballard, of Benton Ridge, Ohio, and took his first course in the medical department of the Michigan University in 1873-74; in 1875-76 he attended the Butler University, at Indianapolis, Ind., graduating therefrom February 25, 1876. In May of the same year he located in Van Buren, where he has since enjoyed an extensive practice. He was united in marriage, September 30, 1875, with Esther Whisler, daughter of Samuel Whisler, a merchant of Benton Ridge. The Doctor is a Republican in politics. He has filled the office of mayor of Van Buren. He united with the Presbyterian Church in January, 1882, and was elected and has served as Sabbath-school superintendent four years in succession, up to the present time.

S. M. HARTMAN, farmer, P. O. Van Buren, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, November 11, 1844, son of Samuel J. and Eva (Whonsetler) Hartman, natives of Washington County, Penn., reared a family of ten children. The mother and seven of her children are still living. The father, who engaged in farming during his life, was a son of Peter Hartman, who, with many brothers, served in the war of 1812. S. M. Hartman, the subject of this sketch, came to this county in 1872, and has since resided here, having a farm of seventy-six and a half acres of land. He was united in marriage, November 29, 1867, with Julia A. Zimmerman, daughter of Henry Zimmerman, formerly of Wayne County, Ohio. Ten children have been born to this union: Charles O., Ettie G., S. Della, Fannie S., ZoaA., Samuel T. (deceased), Jessie E., Wella Z., Oda L. and Henry B. In politics Mr. Hartman is a Prohibitionist. The family are members of the United Brethren Church. Sigs it

HUGH McMURRAY, farmer, P. O. Van Buren, was born in Richland County, Ohio, November 4, 1832, son of James and Margaret (McHarry) Me. Murray, natives of Ireland. James McMurray was born May 2, 1800, and came to Canada July 3, 1821, shortly afterward removing to the United States. .He was a farmer, an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and an ardent Republican. His family consisted of eight children: William (deceased), Ann (deceased), James (deceased), Hugh, George (deceased), John H., Thomas H. and Margaret J. George was a member of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in Andersonville Prison. Hugh, the subject of this sketch, came to this county in 1840, and has since resided here. He has a farm of 258 acres of land and a beautiful residence. He was united in marriage with Eliza Zarbaugh, a daughter of John Zarbaugh, an old resident of this county, now living in Van Buren. Our subject and wife have seven children living: Albina, born February 27, 1868; George, born February 22, 1870; Antonette, born December 27, 1872; Harry J., born November 2, 1874; Mary C., born December 12, 1877; Ardinell, born December 12, 1879, and John F., born February 4, 1883.

* SAMUEL SPITLER, retired farmer, Van Buren, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, September 5, 1813, youngest child of John and Susanna (Buswell) Spitler, both natives of Virginia, who settled in Fairfield County, Ohio, in a very early day. Their family consisted of ten children, eight of whom lived to maturity, but our subject is now the only survivor. Samuel Spitler resided in his native county until after his marriage, when he moved to Crawford County, Ohio, where he remained eight years; then, in 1840, came to this county, where he has remained since. He has.been engaged principally in agricultural pursuits, and ownsa farm of 320 acres of land in Allen Township, this county, and is one of the substantial citizens of the county. He served his county two terms (from 1863 to 1867) as treasurer, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents; during this time he resided in Findlay. Samuel Spitler married, April 18, 1832, in Fairfield County, Ohio, Miss Anna Bretz, a daughter of Conrad and Susanna (Foreman) Bretz. Mr. Bretz served in the warof 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Spitler are the parents of ten children, eight of whom survive: Israel (married to Miss Jane Bushong), Noah (united in marriage, the first time with Sarah Loehr, and after her death, with Susa Hegerman), Eli(married to Miss Ensminger), Lucinda (wife of Paul Bryan), Cass W. (married to Benia Pingle), Samuel B. married to Nettie Poe), John H. (married to Irena Taylor) and Stephen D. (married to Lucy Rader). The deceased are Susannah EK. and Conrad. In politics Mr. Spitler has always beena Democrat. Our subject and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Israel Spitler, Mrs. Lucinda Bryan, and Mr. and Mrs. Cass W. pe all belong to the Primitive Baptist Church, called the Van Buren

GEORGE STOUGH, farmer, P. O. Findlay, was born in Fayette County, Penn., March 27, 1815, the eldest child of Moses and Mary (Riddle) Stough, natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a cooper by trade, but engaged also in farming; removed to what is now Ashland County, Ohio, and finally to this county, and died here at the age of eighty-three years. He was a son of George Stough, Sr., and of German descent. The subject of this sketch came to this county in 1853, and has since resided here, engaged in farming. He is the owner of farm property to the extent of 240 acres. He married, January 28, 1836, Miss Catherine Gierhart, daughter of J onas H. Gierhart, at one time a farmer of this county. There have been ten children born to this union, four of whom are living: Daniel, Henry, Christian and Eliza J. Mr. Stough is one of the substantial and progressive citizens of this county. In politics he is a Democrat. The family are connected with the Disciples and Methodist Churches.

ROBERT THORNBURG, farmer, P. O. Findlay, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, February 12, 1832, the eldest of twelve children, eight of whom are now living: Robert, Ruth A., Martha J., Matilda, Elizur J., Oliva F., Enos R. and Elmer. John W. and Elizur J. served inthe war of the

Rebellion, the former being a lieutenant in an Indiana regiment, and sustained injuries at the battle of Gettysburg, and the latter a member of the One Hundred and Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The parents of these children were William and Beriah (Loveland) Thornburg, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the former of whom, a farmer and bridgebuilder, helped to construct the Ohio Canal. He was ason of Robert Thornburg, a pioneer of Holmes County, Ohio. The subject of this sketch came to this county from Holmes County, Ohio, in October, 1860. He had taught school in early years, and had served as deputy sheriff of Holmes County, Ohio, but during his residence in this county he has devoted his attention to his farming interests, having a farm of 115 acres of land, besides an interest in the old estate. Mr. Thornburg is a justice of the peace of Allen Township, this county, which capacity he has filled for eighteen years. He was married, April 19, 1860, to Miss Gennette Rockwell, daughter of P. V. Rockwell, formerly a miller of thiscounty. Our subject and wife have seven children: Annie B., Catherine O., Malinda, George W., Jessie, James E. and Mary. In politics Mr. Thornburg is a Democrat.

LLOYD WEISEL, farmer, P. O. Van Buren, was born in this county, April 23, 1835. His parents, Isaac and Jane (Dorsey) Weisel, were natives of Pennsylvania, the former a shoe-maker by trade, but in later life a farmer; they came to this county in 1833, and died here in 1878, their deaths ocurring only one week apart. They were the parents of ten children, six of whom are yet living: Oliver, Lloyd, Charlotte, Sarah, John and Laura. A son, Rufus, served in the Ninety-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in the hospital. Lloyd, the subject of this sketch, has resided in this county all his life, except eight years spent in California. He returned to this county in 1864, and has since engaged in farming and stock raising, having farm property to the extent of 300 acres. He is a member of Haywood Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 333. He married, September 14, 1865, Nancy, daughter of James Telfer. No children have been born of this union, but Mr. and Mrs. Weisel have reared two, who have been in the family since they were quite young: Mary Telfer and Melvin Needham. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church. In politics Mr. Weisel is a Republican. He is one of the substantial farmers of this county.

DANIEL ALSPACH, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born in Fairfield County, Ohio, December 10, 1811, is a son of Adam and Barbara (Wyant) Alspach, natives of Schuylkill County, Penn. Adam Alspach, born in 1788, was a soldier in the war of 1812; he came to Ohio at the age of twenty years, and lived in Fairfield County with his parents and grandfather, Henry Alspach, who were pioneers in Ohio. Adam Alspach married in Fairfield County, and came to Hancock County in 1830, entering 160 acres of land in Section 19, Amanda Township, where he resided until his death. He was the father of seven children when he came to Amanda Township: Daniel, Aaron, David, Richard, Elizabeth (now deceased), La- vina, wife of Samuel Treece, and Sarah A., who was born in this county, and is now the wife of Henry Beck. Daniel Alspach married, September 15, 1836, Catharine, daughter of Cornelius Vanlue, whose brother, William, laid out the village of Vanlue, this county. (He afterward moved to Nebraska, and there died.) Cornelius Vanlue settled in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1823, and moved to Hancock County in 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Alspach are the parents of ten children: Barbara A. (wife of N. Buckingham), William, Savilla (deceased), James, Elmyra, Sarah E. (wife of L. Clark), Lavina (deceased), J. W. (deceased), Salathiel, and Alice (wife of F. Copeland). Our subject and wife endured many hardships during their early pioneer days. They lived for a time in Vanlue, but, preferring farm life, they again moved into the country.

AARON ALLSPACH, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born February 12, 1818, in Fairfield County, Ohio, is a son of Adam and Barbara (Wyant) Allspach. His great-grandfather came from Germany to Pennsylvania, and his grandfather, Henry Allspach, moved from Pennsylvania in an early day, and settled in Fairfield County, Ohio. Adam and Barbara Allspach were the parents of nine children, six of whom are now living: Daniel, Aaron, David, Richard, Lavinia (wife of S. Treese), and Sarah (wife of Henry Beck), now living in Michigan. The deceased are Samuel, Polly and Elizabeth (wife of J. Litsenberger). Aaron Allspach was married February 22, 1889, to Sarah, daughter of Joshua Brown (deceased at the age of ninety-five years), and by her he had eleven children, of whom five are deceased and six are living: Nathan (married to Nancy Furnish), Marion (married to Viola Reynolds), Mary L. (wife of W. E. Ewing), Jacob E. (married to Emma Bell), Joshua D. (married to Sarah A. Beard), Ella A. (wife of Charles Dame). Those deceased are Adam, Caleb, Daniel, Benjamin, Barbara E. Mr. Allspach came to this county with his parents in 1829, and stopped over night on the Henry George farm. His father's family was the first to locate on the west side of what was then a great swamp, but has since become fine farms. After his marriage Aaron had only 25 cents left to begin life with. He has been a successful farmer, and now owns the Henry George farm, the same on which he passed his first night on coming to this county in 1829.

AUGUSTUS F. ASKAM, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born March 6, 18388, in Findlay Township, Hancock Co., Ohio, is a son of John and Julia A. (Leader) Askam, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in 1837-88, and settled in Findlay Township, this county. They entered land near what is now the city of Findlay. Of their family of three sons and one daughter, our subject is the only one now living. He was educated in Findlay, and, in 1859, married Savilla, daughter of Stephen Lee. She bore him three children, two of whom are now living: Alice M. (wife of J. Campbell) and Alvin L. Their mother died in 1865, and Mr. Askam married, in 1866, Melinda Ault, daughter of a pioneer of' Marion County, Ohio. By her he has three children, now living: Lola M.; John B. and Anna L. Mr. Askam has been engaged in mercantile business, has also followed the carpenter's trade, and for the last four years has been engaged in farming. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Good Templars. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

(Fairman) Bright, natives of Ohio, and a great-grandson of Major Bright, who located or entered. 3,000 acres of land in Amanda Township, this county, and was an extensive stock raiser and one of the oldest pioneers of this county. His son, Nimrod, Sr., the grandfather of our subject, one of the largest land-holders and stock raisers in the county, resides in the village of Vanlne, this county. He is a thorough farmer, and held at one time as much land as his father, and perhaps more; he and his brother, John C., were pioneer ministers. The father of our subject is a well-to-do farmer, occupying lands in Amanda Township, this county, and, like his ancestors, has given his children land and educated them to become thorough farmers. His children are Elizabeth (wife of Melvin Ewing), Emma L. (wife of E. Wilcox), an infant (deceased) and Nimrod W., Jr. Our subject is a young man of promise, and has received an education equal to his day. He is a man of quick perception and good judgment, and has become an efficient teacher, a profession he follows during the winters.

BENJAMIN F. BURNAP, P. O. Vanlue, born January 30, 1837, in Columbus, Ohio, is a son of Daniel G. and Harriet (Baker) Burnap, natives of Vermont and Pennsylvania respectively, and who were married June 2, 1822. Daniel G. Burnap, by profession a physician, came to Ohio about the year 1818 and settled near Lancaster, in Fairfield County, where he had quite an extensive practice. He afterward moved to Orange Township, Delaware County, and there died. His widow became the wife of William D. Whitney, a merchant, who moved in 1850 to Mt. Blanchard, this county, where he kept a grocery, and later they removed to Vanlue, Ohio. Mrs. Harriet Whitney died in Vanlue February 19, 1869. There were seven children in the first family: John (deceased in California), Lampson S., Angeline R. (wife of Henry Cockrell), Eliza B. (wife of E. Ellis), Benjamin F., James K. and Daniel G. Daniel G. Burnap was a man of considerable talent and natural tact. His son, Benjamin F., the subject of this sketch, has engaged extensively in land speculations in the West, where he has at the present time several hundred acres; he also owns a fine farm in Amanda Township, this county, and a saw and planing-mill, picture gallery and harness shop, in Vanlue, Ohio. He taught school for many terms, and has filled the office of mayor of Vanlue; he has been school director, and held the office of justice of the peace for six years, elected in a Democratic township although he is a Republican in politics. He married, in 1877, Nancy J. Howard, and by her has one son, Guy F.

JOSEPH CARVER, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born October 10, 1808, in Northampton Township, Bucks Co., Penn., is a son of Robert and Mary(Smith) Carver, natives of Pennsylvania, and who died in that State. Our subject came to Ohio in 1855 and settled in Amanda Township, this county. He first moved into a cabin called ''The Ashery,'' and soon after entered eighty acres of land on which he still lives (having improved it from the primitive forest); to this he has since added forty acres. His children were eight in all, five of whom are yet living: John; Martha, wife of William Gorden; Mary, wife of S. Lee; Elizabeth, wife of D. Kimble; Ellen, wife of W. Morehead. John married Miss Orwie (their children are Dora M., Anna E., William P., Robert, Ida E., Elizabeth and Rosa). He is the only son of Joseph Carver now living, and has charge of the old home farm.

Clark, natives of Pennsylvania, whose parents came to Ohio in 1799 aud purchased 640 acres of land in what is now Bloom Township, Fairfield County, and remained there until their death. Their children, ten in number, were reared on the banks of Walnut Creek. The lands entered by Horatio Clark are held by the Clark family to-day. For some years there were two Indian villages near the Clark homestead. Cornelius Clark, now in his eighty-second year, is an intelligent old gentleman, full of life and vigor. He married, in 1826, Elizabeth Stephens, who bore him thirteen children. She died in December, 1883. Those of their children still living are Lewis C., Horatio, Cornelius, Mary, wife of Jacob Slike (have six children), Clara, wife of Henry Putnam (have five children), Wilkison, Van Buren, William, Luther C. and Erwin. Wilkison and Van Buren are living on the old Clark homestead farm in Fairfield County. William, Luther C. and Erwin also live in Fairfield County. Cornélius Clark came to Hancock County in 1864 and bought the old Daniel Beck farm, now owned by his son Luther ©. Clark. Our subject lives a retired life with his widowed daughter, Mrs. Alspach, in Vanlue, Ohio.

JOSEPH W. CLASON, farmer, P. O. Mount Blanchard; born Septemtember, 1827, in Stamford, Conn., is a son of Benjamin and Nancy (Ayres) Clason, natives of Connecticut, both of whom died in that State. Benjamin Clason was the father of seven children, four of whom are now living: Joseph W., Stephen, Samuel and John, all in Connecticut except Joseph W. The subject of this sketch came to Ohio in 1857, and settled in Amanda Township, this county, on land formerly occupied by his brother James, who came to Ohio prior to this date and died here. Joseph W. Clason had been a teacher in Connecticut for several years. He belongs to a family who early learned to take care of themselves. He received a fair education, as do most sons of New England, and, in 1858, married Sarah E., daughter of Sanford Smith. To this marriage were born two children: Solomon W. (deceased) and Lillie A. Mr. Clason has 118 acres of good land in Amanda Township, this county. He has been a successful farmer and has laid up a good competency for himself and family.

ALMON L. CONE, carpenter, P. O. Vanlue, was born in Oneida County, N. Y., December 1, 1826, son of Joseph (a native of New York) and Phebe Cone (a native of Vermont), who lived on the Indian Reservation. Joseph Cone came to Ohio, bringing with him the six survivors of his eleven children, settling in Marion County, in 1840, and afterward came to this county. Only two of his family now survive: Almon L. and Mrs. M. I. Crawford. Almon L. Cone was married, in 1849, to Margaret, daughter of William and Rachael Long, pioneers of this county, and to them were born six children: Julia A., William J., Mary E. (deceased), Elizabeth, Jacob A. (deceased) and John G. Mr. Cone has assisted in erecting many of the buildings in Vanlue, Ohio, including its best church buildings. He was a member of Company H, Fifty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry under Capt. Henderson. He participated in the battle of Arkansas Post and the siege of Vicksburg, and in other engagements of the war of the Rebellion. He is an intelligent man and a great reader. He has been engagéd for some time in the sash and door factory of Messrs. Hatch & Askam, at Vanlue.

tives of Pennsylvania. Israel Corbin came of one of the pioneer families of Fairfield County, Ohio, and he himself is one of the early settlers of Hancock County, Ohio. He came to this county in 1852, and purchased of Smith Carver 123 acres of land in Section 5, with slight improvements already made. The purchase price was $9 per acre, and the terms of sale were $25 cash and the balance to be paid in annual payments of $100 gach, without interest. Other lands around him were soon after entered, and four years later he sold his land for over $2,000, and removed to Vanlue, Ohio, where he engaged in the grocery business and in butchering. He remained in Vanlue a few years, then purchased a farm and removed to the country. Israel Corbin married three times. Of his family of nine children three are now living (these are by his first wife). Their names are Peter F., Naomi V., now Mrs. Andrew Sallzman, and George W. The subject of this sketch married, October 24, 1872, Harriet, daughter of William Brown, and to this union have been born three sons and one daughter: Merle C., Orland E., Gertrude E. and Edwin G. Mr. Corbin has a fine farm of 128 acres of excellent land, which he purchased from Jesse Ford in 1870, and on which, in 1878, he built a fine frame house, and in 1880 a good barn. He has also laid many hundreds of rods of tiling on his place. In politics Mr. Corbin is a Democrat.

URIAH W. EGBERT, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born May 18, 1810, in Northumberland County, Penn., is a son of David and Mary (Williams) Egbert, natives of New Jersey, who moved to Pennsylvania, and in 1812 came to Ohio, first settling in Fairfield County, and in 1822 moving to Seneca Connty, where they entered land. In 1830 David Egbert came to this county and entered land in Monroe and Amanda Townships, near Blanchard Bridge. He afterward sold his land and moved to Wood County, where he and his wife died. He was the father of ten children, six of whom. are now living: Joseph; Uriah W.; Sally, wife of J. Charles; Percilla, wife of George Shoemaker; Reuben and Maria E. Our subject entered 100 acres of land, fractional lot, which he cleared, and on which he made the first improvements. He was twice married; first, in May, 1841, to Mary, daughter of Major Bright, pioneer minister and the most extensive land-holder in the county since its organization. This union was blessed with six children: Amos (deceased), Mary Louisa (deceased wife of J. Cross; she left eight children), Sarah A., wife of J. Stephens; Major; David, married to Sallie Benner, and Martha J. In 1863 Mr. Egbert married for his second wife, Marcia, M., daughter of Richard Jaqua. Mr. Egbert has been a resident of this county for fifty-five years, engaged in farming most of the time. He is a leading member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

FREDERICK ESTERLY (deceased) was a son of Jacob and Mary (Boyer) Esterly. Jacob Esterly came to America in 1830, and settled in Mahoning County, where he remained two years, then moved to Seneca County, Ohio, where he settled on the south line adjoining Hancock County and lived for twenty years. In 1858 he came to this county and purchased a farm of William McKee, on which he passed the remainder of his days. He was the father of seven children, of whom four are now living: Christena, John, Caleb and Caroline, now Mrs. Segrist. The deceased are Margaret, Jacob and Frederick. The' subject of this sketch received a part of his education in the German and a part in the English schools. He was twice married; first, in 1840, to Mary Stackawalt, who died in 1852, leaving him one child - Marion - wife of Leo Fenstemaker. Mr. Esterly's second marriage was in 1857, with Mena Kirchner, by whom he has one child - Caroline - wife of William Gilbert. Mr. Esterly purchased his present farm from O. Gordon, in 1857, and made many modern improvements on it. He was a member of the Lutheran Church. ;

JOHN EWING, farmer, P. O. Vaulue, born in September, 1889, in Amanda Township, Hancock Co., Ohio, is a son of Samuel and Rebecca (Alspach) Ewing, natives of Maryland, and who were among the early pioneer children of Fairfield County, Ohio, where they married. They came to Hancock County, Ohio, in 1834, where Samuel Ewing entered eighty acres and bought part of another eighty-acre tract of land in Section 28, Amanda Township. Here they began life as pioneer settlers of the county, cutting the first timber, putting up the first cabin on the land, and making a home for their family. This old home farm is now owned by Henry Davis. Samuel Ewing was the father of seven children: Levi; Rosilla, wife of David Alspach; William I.; Christiann, widow of Mr. Gordon, who resides in Michigan; John; Lavina (deceased) and Lucinda (deceased). The subject of this sketch married, in 1862, Lovica, daughter of Peter Shoemaker. Their union has been blessed with five children: Della D., Ella J., Jay, Orra and Bell V. Mr. Ewing is a thorough farmer and a good business man. He purchased the farm on which he now lives, in Section 16, Amanda Township, this county, from J. Lemont. He has filled the office of assessor, also that of school director of Amanda Township.

ISRAEL W. GEORGE, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born December 27, 1850, in Amanda Township, this county, is ason of Peter and Mary (Woodruff) George, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. Peter George, born October 138, 1799, came to Ohio with his parents whei. five years old. They settled near Ball's Bluff, Fairfield County, where he remained until 1827; then came to Hancock County, Ohio, and entered 160 acres of land. In 1880 he married Mary Woodruff, by whom he had nine children: Hannah, Henry (deceased), Amanda, John (who served in Company G, Fiftyseventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry), Eliza, Franklin ( a member of the Fortyninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was killed at the battle of Lost Mountain), Mary C. (Mrs. Harland, deceased), Sarah (wife of J. Siddall) and Israel W. Peter George was a successful farmer, and held the office of commissioner for several years. He died December 10, 1884, leaving his widow to the care of their children, among whom he divided 312 acres of land. Israel W. George received his education in Amanda Township, this county. September 21, 1882, he married Mary, daughter of William Cole, of Marion Township, this county. Two children have been born to this union: William K. and one that died in infancy. Mr. George has filled the office of eee eP clerk, and is now township trustee, and a leading young farmer of

G. W. KROUT, farmer, P. O. Mount Blanchard, born October 14, 1823, in York County, Penn., is a son of John and Ann (Boyd) Krout, natives of Pennsylvania. John Krout and family came to Ohio in 1856, and settled in Amanda Township, this county. His children were nine in all, of whom G. W., Elizabeth, Ann, John L. and Adam (a physician in Van Wert County, Ohio) are now living. He was a farmer by occupation, and purchased a farm in Amanda Township, this county, which he afterward sold to his son, G. W. Our subject came to Ohio two years prior to his father's arrival in the State. He has been twice married; the first time, in 1847, to Jemima Anstine, who bore him four children: Rebecca (wife of La- Fayette Gordon, of Kansas), John F. (married to Ella Atchison), Henry A. (married to Ann Tuttle) and Eli W..(a widower). After the death of his first wife Mr. Krout married, in 1858, Elizabeth, daughter of Eli Sampson, one of the pioneers of Jackson Township, this county. This union has been blessed with eight children: David B. (married to Emma Patterson), Amos W. (married to Emma A. Misamore), Emmet, Floyd E., Retta A., Clark L. (all now living), and Rosa and Wilber (deceased). Mr. Krout has filled the office of township trustee. He has made many fine improvements on his farm, which is situated one mile and a half north of Mt. Blanchard, on the Blanchard River.

STEPHEN LEE, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born July 15, 1839, in Amanda Township, Hancock Co., Ohio, is ason of Richard M. and Lydia (Wyant) Lee, natives of Fairtield County, Ohio, and who came to this county in 1828 or 1830, settling in Amanda Township, where they began pioneer life, enduring many hardships and privations to secure a home for their children. Richard M. Lee departed this life in 1854, and his widow followed him in 1882. They were parents of the following named children: Perry, Caroline (wife of D. Gilbert), John (deceased), Marion, David, Stephen, Jason and Noah. Most of these children are living in Amanda Township, this county. Stephen Lee, thesubject of this sketch, married, in 1862, Mary, daughter of Joseph Carver, and by Her had six children: Caroline (deceased), Joseph W., Loren, Laura, Addison and Louie, the five living being with their parents. Asa pioneer child Mr. Lee had but meager chances to acquire an education himself, and being a reasonable and thoughtful man he is giving his children an opportunity to profit by the educational advantages which the present day affords. Mr. Lee is a well-to-dofarmer. His father left him 120 acres of land, which he sold. He then purchased of James Hughes 120 acres in the eastern part of Amanda Township, this county, a well-regulated and well-improved farm. Heis a member of the United Brethren Church.

SILAS LONG, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born August 14, 1837, in Ridge Township, Wyandot Co., Ohio, is a son of John and Mary (Wingate) Long, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Ohio. They were married in Pickaway County, Ohio. The parents of John Long were early pioneers of Ohio, and he a pioneer of Wyandot County, Ohio, His children, seven in number, were all reared in this county, and five of them are now living: John W., Francis N., Eliza (now Mrs. A. Alspach), Mary J. and Silas. Our subject received his early education in Wyandot County, Ohio, and January 23, 1862, married Rebecca, daughter of Charles Cross, an old settler in this county, and the third child and second daughter in a family of six children. To Mr. and Mrs. Long have been born ten children: Charles 5., William G., Jay, Bertie, Scott, Mary E. (wife of George H. Grant), Rosilla E., Malinda A., Lillie V. B. and Minnie G. A. Our subject removed to Amanda Township, this county, in February, 1863. Mr. Long is a member of the I. O. O. F. He has a well watered farm of 107 acres of the best of land. He is a member of the United Brethren Church; a Democrat in politics, a native of Pennsylvania, latter of Ohio. Sebastian Miller, a wagon-maker by trade, was born August 10, 1816, in Chester County, Penn., came to Ohio in 1838, and settled in Pickaway County, Ohio, where he purchased land. In 1852 he came to Hancock County, settling in Amanda Township, and there remained for many years, then sold his property and removed to Michigan, where he remained for three months; then returned to Hancock County and purchased a farm adjoining the one he formerly owned. Here he died; his widow survived him about three years and a half. He and his brother, J. R., were the only members of the family who came to Hancock County, both settling in Amanda Township. Sebastian Miller was father of eight children: Henry, Perry (married to Miss Wingate), John (married to Miss A. Beard), Maggie, Emma, Mary, Elizaand Martha. Henry Miller, the subject of this sketch, is a substantial farmer. He owns land in Marion Township, and also has charge of his father's old homestead, which has not yet been divided. He is a prominent member an] trustee of the United Brethren Church.

JOHN MISAMORE, farmer, P. O. Mount Blanchard, born December 25, 1813, in Pickaway County, Ohio, isason of Michael and Mary (Hager) Misamore, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Michael Misamore came to Ohio soon after it was organized as a State, and settled in what isnow Pickaway County. In order to get land at that time he was obliged to take 640 acres. He came to Hancock County in 1831 and settled in that part of Jackson ToWnship which was afterward struck off into Amanda Township. He entered 160 acres of land, in two tracts, erected his cabin in the forest, and made his home on what is now Section 138, Amanda Township. He had at that time eleven children, of whom there are now living Henry, Emanuel, Mollie (wife of Chester Cook), Matilda*(wife of Elijah Gorsage) and John. The subject of this sketch has been twice married; first, in 1835, to Rachael Hammond, who bore him five children, of whom three survive: Henry, Amanda (wife of J. Siddall) and Mary Jane (wife of Harrison Hoy). After the death of his first wife Mr. Misamore married Mary A. Sheldon, and to this union were born James, Milton, Michael, Ellen, Eli J., Presly H., Owen G., Emma, Delma and Mollie, all now living, and three others deceased, Mr. Misamore being the father of seventeen children in all. Mr. Misamore has been a successful farmer, and says he worked to accumulate property in proportion to the increase of his family. His father built the first grist-mill in Amanda Township, and our subject afterward rebuilt and operated it for twenty years.

AMOS MOORE, farmer, P. O. Vanlue, born August 15, 1807, in Fairfield County, Ohio, is a son of John and Annie (Spurgeon) Moore, natives of Maryland and pioneers of Ohio and of Hancock County. John Moore moved from Fairfield County, Ohio, to this county in 1832, and entered land near the Limestone Ridge, called '' Ridgeville" or "Big Spring," where he resided untjl his death. Of his family of seven children three only are now living: Rosilla.(wife of J. Duddleson), Elizabeth (now in Tennessee, widow of Stephen Lee), and Amos. Our subject received his education in Fairfield County, Ohio, and there learned the wheelwright trade, and engaged in the manufacture of spinning wheels, both large and small. He carried on this business until some time after the breaking out of the late war. He married, in 1838, Margaret, daughter of Robert Walker, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, who came to America in 1802, settled in

Pennsylvania, and afterward moved to Stark County, Ohio, where Mrs. Moore was born in 1815, the sixth child in a family of ten children, only three of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have been blessed with two children: Francis and George W. Mr. Moore resides on his farm near Vanlue, this county. He is in good circumstances, and is respected by his fellow citizens.