Fulton Township (part 26 of 34)

After his marriage Samuel Kahle lived seven years on one of his father's farms, and then acquired 118 acres of the Kahle estate. Very little clearing had been done on this property and it had no buildings. During the next twenty years Mr. Kahle carried out a progressive scheme of improvement and management, brought most of the land under cultivation, and erected modern buildings, so that when he left the farm in 1910 it was a very valuable and productive property. He rented the place to his son and, moving to Metamora, built the fine modern home in which he died and where Mrs. Kahle now resides. In 1903 Mr. Kahle became associated with his brother and several others in establishing the Metamora Lumber Company, and upon him devolved the active management of the business. Mr. Kahle filled several offices in the Congregational Church, was township trustee, a democratic voter and was affiliated with the Masons and Knights of the Maccabees.

Mrs. Kahle has three children: Lanah, Mrs. Russell Sebring, of Amboy Township; Myrtle, Mrs. Emmet Miller, of Fulton Township; and Benjamin, now owner of the home farm.

Frank A. GRIFFIN occupies one of the attractive country homes of Gorham Township, located on rural route No. 13 out of Fayette. He has been identified with the agricultural affairs of this section nearly all his active life, though as a young man he was a school teacher for a number of years.

Mr. Griffin was born in Gorham Township August 16, 1867, a son of Ezekiel T. and Mary (Wightman) Griffin. His father was a native of New York state, a son of William and Sarah Griffin. Mary Wightman was born at Nauvoo in Hancock county, Illinois, her parents, a Morman family, having moved from Allegheny county, New York, to Nauvoo while that was the center of the Mormon settlement in the west. Mary Wightman was left fatherless at the age of six years, and was then taken by her uncle, Erastus Wightman, to Fulton county, Ohio, where she grew up and where she married Ezekiel Griffin. They located on the old Griffin homestead which William Griffin had acquired from the man who had entered it direct from the government. Much of the land was covered with heavy timber when Ezekiel Griffin went there to live, and he made a good farm of it. His first wife died on the farm June 20, 1883, and in 1900 he removed to Fayette, where he died in May, 1915. His second wife was Louisa Martin, a native of Geauga county, Ohio. The children of Ezekiel Griffin were all by his first wife: Fred, who died at the age of six years; Frank A.; Jennie, Mrs. Elmer E. Martin, of Toledo; and Lena Fay, who died at the age of two years.

_ Frank A. Griffin acquired a good education as a youth, attending the district schools, the Fayette High School and the Normal School at Fayette. Beginning when he was seventeen years of age, he taught school and continued in that occupation until he had put in seven years. He married at the age of twenty-one, and the first year after his marriage lived at home, then rented and lived on the Mallory farm nearby five years, and from there moved to the Dubois farm in Gorham Township. He rented that several years and then returned to the Griffin homestead, where he remained until 1917. He now owns ninety acres of that home place and it is farmed by a tenant. On account of ill health Mr. Griffin has had to give up the more strenuous tasks of farming since 1917, and in that year he moved to a small farm of forty acres in section 20, where he enjoys the comforts of a modern bungalow home. He has been active in local affairs, serving as township assessor two terms, township trustee four years, and for two terms was a member of the Board of County Commissioners. He is a republican, and has been through all the chairs of Fayette Lodge No. 431, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has served as district deputy and representative to the Grand Lodge.

In March, 1887, he married Mary E. Martin, a native of Clinton Township and daughter of Elliott S. and Louisa (Russell) Martin. They have two children, Roscoe S. and Ruth A., the latter still at home. Roscoe lives in Gorham Township and married Hazel Graham.

Eart Etvin Suiacrz, of York Township, was born July 29, 1880, and he has always lived in the community. He is a democrat and has served three times on the election board. He is a son of Solomon and Mary. (Sharp) Slagle. The father was born in eastern Pennsylvania while the mother is a native of Tiffin, Ohio.

The grandparents, Charles and Hannah (Eck) Slagle, came to Fulton county in 1867 from Pennsylvania. Jacob and Elizabeth (Wagoner) Sharp lived in Seneca and later in Henry county. Mr. Slagle died in 1917 and the widow lives among her children. They are: Earl Elvin; Sadie, wife of Charles Tremain, of York Township; and Opal, who is the wife of Paul Wales, of Delta.

On December 23, 1900, Mr. Slagle married Minnie Detwiler, daughter of Oliver and Mary (Teff) Detwiler, of Swan Creek. For two years they lived on the Detwiler farm, then bought seventy-five acres - a badly run-down farm, and he improved it. He reclaimed the land by tiling and grubbing, fenced it and erected new buildings on it. Mr. Slagle has a modern house with running water, electric lights and furnace heat. He is a general farmer, specializing with a Holstein dairy.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Slagle are: Vern LeRoy, Thelma Pearl, Cecil Lionel and Kenneth Clare. The family attends Raker Union Church in the community.

While Mr. Slagle's parents and grandparents did their part in the pioneer epoch of Fulton county, his own active career belongs to the modern twentieth century. Nevertheless, he has done a real pioneer's part, and it is possible to claim for his efforts that they contributed to the large volume of production by which Fulton county has distinguished itself as an agricultural center during the last decade and particularly during the war time period. The Slagle farm shows the progressiveness of its owner, and his neighbors everywhere speak of him as a man of thoroughly progressive character.

Carver S. Grirrin before he was seventeen years of age was enrolled as a soldier in the Union Army. While in the army only a little more than a year, he saw some of the hardest fighting in Sherman's great Atlanta campaigns and until the close of the war. The marks of his service he bears today, but in spite of the crippling effects of the war he put in more than forty years as an active railroad man and farmer.

Mr. Griffin is now enjoying a well earned retirement at Swanton. He is a native of Fulton county, born in Pike Township May 4, 1847, son of William C. and Clarissa M. (Gunn) Griffin. His people were among the earliest settlers of the county. Clarissa Gunn came here with her parents in 1832, about the time the first families were invading this wilderness and starting to make homes. Carver S. Griffin was the twelfth of the children of his parents. Only three are now living, the other two being Louisa M., Mrs. H. L. Miles, of Delta, and Augustus, of Delta.

Carver S. Griffin spent much of his boyhood among strangers and had no opportunities to attend school until he entered the army. He studied as opportunity offered and acquired a rather substantial education, greatly improved by his experience with men and affairs. From the age of six he lived with a Mr. Shaffer in Dover Township three years. After that he wandered about and saw much of the country until on February 2, 1864, he enlisted in Company I of an Ohio Regiment, his enlistment being credited to Fulton Township. After a brief period of training he joined Sherman's army at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and in the fal] of 1864 was continuously under fire during the hundred days advance upon Atlanta. When Atlanta fell he was with the troops that started in and took part in the march to the sea, ending with the capture of Savannah at Christmas time. He continued with Sherman's "bummers" through the Carolinas, through Columbia, South Carolina, and on to Raleigh, North Carolina, when General Johnston's army surrendered. He went on to Richmond and from there to Washington, where he had the honor of marching in the Grand Review.

Mr. Griffin was mustered out near Louisville, Kentucky, July 12, 1865, and was discharged at Cleveland July 22d. He then returned to Fulton county, rented a farm for two years, after which he became a brakeman on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. He worked up to the responsibilities of conductor and held that position eighteen years. Then after twenty-two years as a railroad man he left the service on account of rheumatism, induced by his army service. He then moved to a farm which he bought in Swan Creek Township, and worked in the fields for twenty years. Then having performed more than a normal share of the work and labors assigned to a man's lifetime, he sold his farm and bought the fine residence in which he now resides at Swanton.

July 4, 1866, he married Elizabeth E. Fashbaugh, a native of Fulton Township and daughter of John Q. and Wilhelmina (Fesler) Fashbaugh, who came from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Griffin died November 5, 1902, mother of three children: Cora May, Mrs. Willis Peabody, of Swan Creek Township; John W., of Garrettsville, Ohio; and Charles C., of Montrose, Colorado.

November 24, 1903, Mr. Griffin married Hattie Geer, a native of Swan. Creek Township and daughter of David and Mary Ann (Spaulding) Geer. Her father was born in Chittenden county, Vermont, and her mother in Swan Creek Township. Her grandparents, Amos and Dilly (Thompson) Geer, and Africa and Harriet (Bray) Spaulding, were all Vermont people and were identified with the very early settlement of Swan Creek Township, where they acquired and developed a tract of timbered land. Mrs. Griffin's first husband was Lafayette Thompson.

Harry C. Froerry, while a farm owner, has always been in some line of commercial pursuit and for the past several years has directed a successful clothing and furnishing goods store at Swanton.

Mr. Frogley was born at Norwalk, Ohio, August 6, 1864, son of Richard P. and Cynthia (Winnie) Frogley, the former a native of Oxford, England, and the latter of Troy, New York. Richard Frogley after coming to the United States was a locomotive engineer, was married in New York, and four years later moved to Norwalk, Ohio, where he continued his work as an engineer for twelve years and lived until his death in 1869. His widow survived him thirty years, until 1899. Their children were: George, of Elyria, Ohio; Ada, Mrs. J. E. Hall, of Elyria; Minnie, widow of J. M. Judson, of Elyria; Richard P., of Norwalk; Harry C.; and Winnie Bell, of Toledo.

Harry C. Frogley was reared and educated at Norwalk, and at the age of twenty years came to Swanton and clerked in the jewelry store of S. P. Hike. After a year he became a piano salesman and a year later went to work in the general store of William Geyser, where he remained eight years. After that for six months he was with the Glass Block Company of Norwalk, and again resumed his work as a piano salesman at Swanton for a year. Since then he has been in business for himself with a large and well equipped store, handling clothing, shoes, men's furnishing goods and other wares. Mr. Frogley also gives much time to the supervision of his several farms in Fulton county, where registered Holstein cattle, hogs and poultry are raised.

In 1889 he married Mary Jane Taylor, a native of Swanton Township, Lucas county, Ohio, daughter of Robert and Julia E. (Cable) Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Frogley's only child was May Bell, born May 13, 1890. She died May 10, 1915. She was the wife of Ross G. Graham, who served as a first lieutenant in the Engineers with the American Expeditionary Forces. While on duty in France he was stricken with spinal meningitis, and after twenty-two hours died October 11, 1918. He now fills a soldier's grave in France. Mr. Frogley is a republican voter and is affiliated with Lodge No. 555, Free and Accepted Masons, at Swanton, and Toledo Commandery No. 7 of the Knights Templar.

Joun S. Hasur. The Hable family of which John S. Hable is a member had lived in Williams county before locating in Fulton county. However, he was born at Dutch Ridge, Fulton Township, March 10, 1877, a son of Jacob and Katherine (Ottgen) Hable. When they were married they located on Dutch Ridge, where the father died in 1902, and the mother is now a resident of Bowling Green. John S. Hable has one brother, Orson.

Mr. Hable married Louella Batdorff, daughter of Quimby Batdorff. They have one son, Ronald R., born March 16, 1903. The father and son attended the same school - Dutch Ridge. He votes with the democratic party. The family are members of the Evangelical Church. When Mr. Hable married he worked for a while with his father and then they bought land together. He mow owns sixty acres of excellent land.

on it, and he added some porches and many farm buildings. He has pride in his farm surroundings. Along with general farming he is engaged in the livestock business, and he operates a dairy. Dairy farming is very general in Fulton county.

Louie E. Coscrove, M.D. Through three generations the name Cosgrove has been prominent in the history of medicine in northern Ohio. Dr. Louie E. Cosgrove has practiced a number of years at Swanton, where his father, also a physician, lived until his death.

Doctor Cosgrove has an interesting and rather notable record of military service. In June, 1912, he accepted a commission as first lieutenant in the Medical Department of the Ohio National Guard. In June, 1915, he was promoted to captain. He went with the Ohio contingent of the National Guard regiment to the Mexican border, where he was on duty from June, 1915, until February, 1917. He then resumed his private practice at Swanton, but in June, 1918, was commissioned a captain in the Medical Reserve Corps, and reported for active duty at Camp Sheridan at Montgomery, Alabama. Six weeks later he was ordered to Fort Oglethorp, Georgia, and joined Evacuation' Hospital No. 49 and was soon transported for overseas service in northern France. His work there kept him until after the signing of the Armistice, when he reported to the United States Convalescent Hospital at Mentone in the Maritime Alps on the Mediterranean Sea. He was there for eight weeks during the winter of 1918-19, and was then ordered to Coblenz, Germany, with the Army of Occupation, rejoining his original organization, Evacuation Hospital No. 49, and acting as chief of its medieal service. He remained there until July 5, 1919, when he was sent home and given an honorable discharge at Fort McHenry, Maryland.

Doctor Cosgrove was born at Swanton in August, 1879, son of Sylvanus F. and Alice J. (Cooper) Cosgrove. His paternal grandparents were Dr. T. T. and Betsie (Mooney) Cosgrove. T. T. Cosgrove was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, France, while his wife was born near Dublin, Ireland. Dr. T. T. Cosgrove was one of the early members of the medical fraternity at Toledo, Ohio, and practiced in that city many years.

Dr. Sylvanus F. Cosgrove was born in Lucas county, Ohio. His wife, Alice J. Cooper, was a daughter of Nathaniel S. and Irene (Parker) Cooper, Massachusetts people of English ancestry. The Cooper and Parker families were early settlers in Lucas county, near Sylvania. Sylvanus Cosgrove for several years conducted a bakery business at Tecumseh, Michigan. While there he took up the study of medicine, and after selling his business finished his professional education in Cincinnati. He practiced for one year at Svlvania and from there removed to Swanton, where he was one of the hard working physicians of Fulton county until his death him and was killed in an elevator accident at Toledo October 6, November 25, 1908, at the age of sixty-two. His widow survived 1919. Dr. Louie E. is the only surviving child. His sister Lillie May died at the age of four years and twin children died in infancy.

Louie E. Cosgrove grew up at Swanton, attended the grammar and high schools, the Fayette Normal University, where he pursued _a special course, and in 1897 began the study of medicine at the Toledo Medical College. He was graduated in 1901 and subsequently took post-graduate studies in the Chicago Polyclinic in

1903 and in 1906. He practiced as a partner with his father until the latter's death, and since then except for his army service has been alone in practice.

Doctor Cosgrove is a member of the County, State and American Medical Associations, served two terms as coroner of Fulton county, was a member of the council three terms and mayor two terms, and has also been a member of the Board of Education. He is a republican and is prominent in the Masonic Order, being affiliated with Lodge No. 555 at Swanton, Royal Arch Chapter at Delta, Toledo Commandery No. 7, Knights Templar, and Zenobia Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Toledo.

In January, 1906, Doctor Cosgrove married Minnie M. Grove, a native of Fulton Township and daughter of Herman and Stella (Koder) Grove. They have one son, Louie, born October 13, 1906.

CHarLes W. Krauss. While Charles W. Krauss, of Swan Creek Township, is 'of German parentage, he is a native of Fulton county. He was born in April, 1858, and is a son of John George and Barbara (Baumgartner) Krauss, who came from Germany in 1853 to Delta. They lived for a time in German Township and later in Clinton.

On December 9, 1880, while the Krauss family lived in Clinton Township, Charles W. Krauss married Mary Baum, who is a native of Germany. She is a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Shakely) Baum. In his early married life Mr. Krauss had a migratory experience, living one year in Clinton, three years in Dover, four years in Chesterfield and one year in Pike, returning then to Clinton, where he lived four years before buying an eighty acre farm in section 28 of Swan Creek Township, which is his home today.

When Mr. Krauss located in Swan Creek Township the farm was all in the brush and there was "an old shell of a house" on it, but he went to work with a determination born of the love of one's own "vine and fig tree," and he soon cleared and fenced the tract and made the substantial improvements that mark the site today. He immediately began tiling the land and planting fruit trees, and a fine orchard is the result.

In his younger days Mr. Krauss was a carpenter, and the improvements at his farmstead are his own handiwork. Today he deyotes himself to general farming, and he keeps a small dairy. He is an advocate of the theory of land improvement through dairy farming, and through his management the small dairy is a good investment.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Krauss are: Carrie, wife of Henry Brookhoff, of Swan Creek Township; Sophia, wife of - Edward Brookhoff, of Swan Creek; Pauline, wife of Leonard Marydoo, of Swan Creek; and Charles of Swan Creek. The children at home are: Gottleib and Martha. Those deceased are: George, Marv and David. Mr. Krauss is guardian for seven children who are relatives. The Krauss homestead is known as "White Oak Farm."

Besides being a native.son Mr. Krauss has many other ties to bind him to Fulton county. In this county he has performed his life work, has seen his hopes come to a satisfactory measure of fruition, his own children grow up, and has become possessor of a farm that is also a home, and a cherished spot both for himself and for his children and many of his relatives.

Wit11am Avstin Hoaun, one of the progressive farmers of Swan Creek Township, has to his credit the development and imrovement of his valuable farm in this region. He was born at Delta, Ohio, on March 15, 1872, a son of Austin and Martha (Mattingly) Hogue, of English descent. They had three children, namely: William Austin, who was the eldest; Hattie, who is Mrs. Oscar J. Wismen, of Delta, Ohio, where her husband is a dental surgeon; and Frank, who lives in Idaho. The mother secured a divorce from the father, and was later married to Samuel Casson, and now lives at Delta, Ohio. , é

William Austin Hogue lived with his mother until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he rented her farm in the vicinity of Delta and conducted it for a few years. He then worked for his step-father in a sawmill for about two years, and leaving him went to Chicago, Illinois, where he was engaged in teaming for a few months. He then returned to Delta, resuming work for his stepfather in the mill, but in the spring went to Toledo, Ohio, where he was a street car conductor during the subsequent summer. Once more Mr. Hogue returned home to resume work in the sawmill.

In May, 1899, he was married to Mattie Adams, a daughter of Herman Charles and Margaret Adams, of Swan Creek Township. The year following his marriage Mr. Hogue located on the 120- acre homestead of the Adams family, and after the death of his father-in-law in 1901 he bought the property of his mother-in-law, who survived her husband until in June, 1918, when she, too, passed away. Since becoming the owner of the property Mr. Hogue has rebulit the house and barns, making them thoroughly modern, and he has otherwise greatly improved the place. Mr. Hogue is carrying on general farming, stockraising and dairying, his herd being comprised of twenty head of cattle. He specializes on raising a mixed breed of hogs of good quality, and is making a success of his several undertakings.

Mr. and Mrs. Hogue have one daughter, Helen Adams, who has been graduated from the Delta High School, and is a charming young lady. In politics Mr. Hogue is a republican. The Presbyterian Church of his neighborhood has him as an attendant, although he is not a member of any religious body. Always a hard worker, Mr. Hogue has won his own way in the world and deserves the confidence he inspires among his neighbors.

Henry O. Wares. Although he is now engaged in general farming and stockraising in Swan Creek Township, Henry O. Wales has had a somewhat varied career and is a gentleman of unusual talents. He was born in Wood county, Ohio, April 6, 1871, a son of Rev. Oscar L. and Mary E. (Williams) Wales, he born in New York state, on August 5, 1830, and she born in Sylvania, Lucas county, Ohio, on February 28, 1844. Rev. Osear L. Wales was a minister of the Universalist faith, and preached at Lyon, Ohio, for fifteen years. On December 10, 1891, he came to Fulton county, where he bought a partly improved farm of 12114 acres, but continued to discharge the duties pertaining to his church while operating his farm. The death of this excellent man occurred on August 19, 1906, but his widow survived him until November 28, 1918. Bv a former marriage he had the following children: Charles, Lucy and Carrie, all of whom, with their mother, Mrs. Saphronia (Horton) Wales, are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wales, parents of

Henry O. Wales, had the following children: Fannie, who died at the age of four years; Nellie, who died at the age of three years; and Henry O., who is the youngest and only survivor.

Henry O. Wales was carefully educated, and after he had completed the grammar and high school courses, studied commercial methods in the Ohio Business University, being graduated therefrom in bookkeeping and a general business course. For a number of years Mr. Wales taught penmanship during the evenings to pupils who could not obtain instruction at any other time, and for twentytwo years was a teacher of the piano and organ.

On May 25, 1892, Mr. Wales was united in marriage with Nellie Jane Meintzer, born at Fremont, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Sophia (Hultzhaur) Meintzer, and for eight months thereafter resided with his parents. Mr. Wales then bought forty acres of land in section 22 of Swan Creek Township, where he lived until after the death of his mother, when he came to the homestead which he snherited from her. Here he is carrying on a general farming, stockraising and dairying business.' Mr. and Mrs. Wales have the following children: Paul Emerson, who lives at Delta, Ohio, married Opal Slagle, and they have two children, Bonnie Iola and Clarence Burdette; Blossom Marguerite, who married Donald M. Anthony, has one son, Donald Wales; and Regina Elizabeth, who is at home. Mr. Wales is a republican and has served on the School Board since 1913 and has been assessor since 1915. He belongs to Brailey Camp No. 1165, Modern Woodmen of America. In the teachings of Christian Science Mr. Wales finds expression for his religious faith, and he is a firm believer in them, governing his life accordingly. A quiet, unassuming man, Mr. Wales does his full duty to his family and community, and commands the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.

Lzonarp MeripEew, of Swan Creek Township, came as a child of six years with his father from England. He was born there November 7, 1879, and in August, 1885, he arrived in New York City. The family came at once to York Township, Fulton county. Mr. Meridew is a son of Thomas and Martha (Glass) Meridew. His sister, Editha, became the wife of Carson Carstenton and lives in Frederick, Michigan. In 1883 their mother died, and their father married Caroline Young, of England. The children of this second marriage are: Alice, who is the wife of William Jackson, of Toledo; Kate, wife of Bert Snyder, of Delta; Ruby, wife of Fritz Emch, of Delta; Benjamin and Jesse, of the United States Navy; Fred of the United States Army; and Earl, of Delta. Mrs. Caroline Young Meridew also lives in Delta.

From the time he was eleven until he was twenty-four years old Leonard Meridew worked on farms by the month, and then for eight years he was employed in the Helveta Condensary. In 1913 he bought the eighty-acre farm in Swan Creek Township that is now his home. He has added many improvements and has about seventy acres of the land under cultivation, the remainder in timber and pasture. He is engaged in general farming, stockraising and dairying. j

May 5, 1908, Mr. Meridew married Pauline Krauss, of Chesterfield. She is a daughter of William and Maria (Baum) Krauss, who are natives of Germany. Their children are: Dorothy, Grace and Ocie. The family belong to the Disciples Church in Delta.

Henry Suarrzer was a factor in the life and affairs of Fulton county for over forty years. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war, and when the war was over he returned to his chosen work as a farmer, and members of his family today enjoy the fruits of his labors on one of the highly improved and valuable farms of Swan Creek Township. aa

Mr. Shartzer was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in_ February, 1836, son of John and Sarah (Greenewalt) Shartzer. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania and spent many years of their lives in Henry county, Ohio. Henry Shartzer grew up in Henry county, acquired a practical education in such schools as then existed, an on October 7 1862, enlisted in the Union Army in Company B of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was with his regiment for nine months and then received an honorable discharge. On September 3, 1864, he again enlisted in Company B of the One Hundred and Seventy-eighth Ohio Infantry, and continued in service until June 13, 1865, seeing the end of the great struggle that preserved the Union. For many years Mr. Shartzer affiliated with his old comrades as a member of the Grand Army Post at Colton, Ohio. ;

In the intervals of his army service Mr. Shartzer married in December, 1863, Miss Harriet Tharp. She was born in Perry county, Ohio, May 16, 1846, daughter of Nathan and Lucy Ann (Berry) Tharp. After his marriage Mr. Shartzer lived for a time at Napoleon and then moved to Fulton county and acquired thirty acres in Swan Creek Township. This land was covered with heavy timber, and his efforts partly cleared and improved the place. In 1881 he bought another tract of forty acres covered with timber in section 7 of Swan Creek Township, and this he also cleared and improved, ditched and gave it all the building equipment for successful operation. At one time in his career he also traded 100 acres he owned in Swan Creek Township for about 200 acres of Michigan land, but after one year there he found the land unsuited for agricultural operations, and practically abandoned it.

Mr. Shartzer, who died December 9, 1905, was known as a hard worker, provided well for his family, was a man of quiet and unassuming character, voted as a republican, and altogether acquitted himself well in the duties and obligations of life.

Mrs. Henry Shartzer still lives on the old homestead in Swan Creek Township. The manager of the farm is her son Arthur Roy, who was born September 22, 1880. He has operated the farm for about twenty years, and in addition to maintaining its improvements has bought twenty acres more. Arthur Roy married October 29, 1910, Miss Laura Mohler, who was born in Henry county, Ohio, May 10, 1893, daughter of William W. and Martha E. (Price) Mohler. The children of Arthur Shartzer and wife are: Clayton Leroy, born October 28, 1912; and Clifford Elwin, born December 9, 1918.

The only daughter of Mrs. Shartzer is Myrtle, who was born December 3, 1876. She is the wife of Caleb Bundy, and they have two children, Bertha, now Mrs. Clvde Benedict, and Ora, Mrs. Lester Meyers, both living in Hudson, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy reside in Chicago. ] ness record of about twenty years in Indiana returned to the old home farm of the Ellsworths, near Fayette, where he now enjoys a comfortable home and is living practically retired.

Mr. Ellsworth was born at Lysander in Onondaga county, New York, April 2, 1847, and was about four years old when his parents settled in the wilderness of Fulton county. He is a son of Lyman and Elizabeth (Emerick) Ellsworth. His mother was born in New York, a daughter of Elijah Emerick. Lyman Ellsworth was born in Vermont March 17, 1811, son of William Ellsworth, who was born March 30, 1765. After their marriage Lyman Ellsworth and wife lived in Onondaga county until 1851, when they sold their property and with some of their household possessions started for Buffalo, New York, traveling on a boat on the Erie Canal, thence by lake boat to Toledo, went on by railroad as far as Clayton and thus arrived in Gorham Township. Just east of Fayette they bought forty acres, largely covered with timber. Later ten acres more were added to this home place. Lyman Ellsworth while he improved his farm during his lifetime was a carpenter by trade, and was an old fashioned, careful mechanic, who did practieally all his work with hand tools. He dressed the lumber, made the framing and practically all the molding, as was the custom of carpenters of that day, before mill work became so general. Many of the buildings which he constructed around Fayette are still standing. He died in March, 1876, survived by his widow until May, 1904. Martin was the youngest of their children. The oldest is ie = resident of Fayette, Cornelia, also of Fayette, and Hannah,

Martin E. Ellsworth attended the common schools of Fayette and was reared as a farmer and carpenter, both of which occupations he thoroughly learned. March 12, 1871, he married Ellen S. Parker, who was born in Gorham Township August 4, 1852, daughter of Jared and Almira (Brink) Parker. Her father was born in Rhode Island October 12, 1819. Almira Brink was born in what is now Fulton county, Ohio, August 21, 1829, one of the first white children born in the county. Her parents, John and Harriet (Kellogg) Brink, located in this part of the Ohio wilderness when there was scarcely another family between there and Lake Erie.

After his marriage Mr. Ellsworth lived in the town of Fayette, conducted his father's farm until 1880, and also worked at the trade of carpenter several years. For 114 years he was in the general merchandise business at Fayette and from here removed to Butler, Indiana, where he conducted a general store six years. Then still keeping his home at Butler he became a general agent installing gasoline lighting plants, and was on the road much of the time covering his territory of fourteen counties in northern Indiana. He continued in that business sixteen years. After disposing of his interests in Indiana Mr. Ellsworth returned to Fayette, bought the old Ellsworth homestead, and resumed farming pursuits. In recent vears he has sold forty-four acres of the old farm, now-known as the - Ellsworth Addition to Fayette, much of it divided into small home tracts. Around his own home he retains six acres, and: that ground gives him ample employment in his leisure years. Mr. Ellsworth is a Methodist and has held all the lay offices in the church and Sunday School. Politically he is a republican voter.

Suerman ALFRED Jonzs, who has to his credit a record of substantial business service at Fayette, where he is now living retired, is an honored survivor of the Civil war, having been one of the, youngest men enlisted in the Union Army.

He was born in Portage county, Ohio, November 17, 1848, son of John and Margaret (Hoobler) Jones. His parents were born and married in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and some years later settled in Portage county on a farm, and from there in 1856 moved to Chesterfield Township, Fulton county. John Jones acquired forty acres in the dense timber, and applied himself industriously to the clearing and improving, and lived there as a farmer until his death in 1876. He was twice married, and by his first wife had a son, Joseph, now deceased, and also an adopted son, Boyd, who is also deceased. His wife, Margaret Hoobler died in 1872, and was mother of the following children: David, Hulda, Harriet, Timothy, Henry, Amanda, Sherman, Estella and Effie, twins. The only two now living are Sherman and Effie who is the wife of Ed Van Vleet of Detroit.

Sherman A. Jones acquired his early education in the Chesterfield Township district schools. He was not yet thirteen years of age when the Civil war broke out, and was a little past fifteen when on February 8, 1864, he enlisted in Company K of the Sixty-seventh Ohio Infantry. This regiment served in Virginia under General Grant in the Army of the James. Mr. Jones took part in the battle of May 10, 1864, and in much other fighting around Richmond and Petersburg, being under constant fire for many days. After the surrender of Lee he was detailed sole guard of government property at Helltown, Virginia, remaining there six months, and was royally treated by the inhabitants. He was mustered out at City Point, Virginia, December 8, 1865, and was given his final discharge at Columbus December 18, 1865.

After his return from the army Mr. Jones worked out by day and month for two years at the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway station. After his marriage he also worked for the railroad a year and then was employed by a butcher at Delta. He had learned the butcher trade after leaving the army. For four years he was engaged in buying and selling hay and grain for the Raymond P. Lipe Company of Toledo, and was commissioned by them to build an elevator at Fayette. After the construction of the elevator he remained as the responsible manager in charge, and continued the business for twenty years. Since 1918 Mr. Jones has been practically retired, and his chief work is done in his home garden. He is a thoroughbred American citizen, and loyally devoted to the upbuilding of the best American traditions. For many years he has been affiliated with Stout Post No. 108 of the Grand Army of the Republic, serving as its adjutant many years and two terms as commander,

December 8, 1872, Mr. Jones married Miss Nettie Kinney, who was born in Pike Township September 17, 1852, daughter of John and Harriet (Gunn) Kinney, her father a native of New York state and her mother of Pike Township, where the Gunns were pioneer settlers. Mr. Jones had two children: Pearl, wife of John Carpenter, of Albion, Michigan; and Parley, who was born November 18, 1884, and died November 28, 1911, survived by his wife.

Jacop Henry Stoner has been faithful to his responsibilities and opportunities during his active career in Fulton county, by many years of toil acquired a large farm and comfortable prosperity, and in later years has lived retired in Fayette, where he has been interested in a local bank and the administration of public affairs.

He was born in Gorham Township May 31, 1857, son of George and Lucinda (Rhodes) Stoner. His father was born in Richland county, Ohio, and his mother in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Jacob Stoner, was a Pennsylvanian. George Stoner and wife were married in Richland county and in the spring of 1852 arrived in Fulton county and bought a tract of timber land in Gorham Township. After improving this they sold it and bought another farm in the northwest corner of Gorham Township. They removed from the farm to Fayette about 1884 and George Stoner died there February 25, 1891, survived by his widow until April 1, 1914. They have the following children: David, who died in 1885; William, deceased; George, a resident of Los Angeles; Anna Mary, twin sister of George, wife of Samuel Shane, of Fayette; Jacob Henry; Lucinda, Mrs. Isaiah Sayers, of Fayette; Daniel, of Toledo; and James, who died in 1890.

Jacob Henry Stoner acquired his early education in the district schools and the select schools, and at the age of eighteen began earning his own living by working as a farm hand. He continued in that way for about five years, and later secured his first land by the purchase of eighty acres in section 13, Gorham Township. He: built a house there, and in that modest residence on December 14, 1889, he and Elizabeth McCloe were married. Mrs. Stoner was born in Gorham Township, a daughter of William and Berrilla (Lyon) McCloe, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Knox county, Ohio. Her parents were married in Morrow county and in 1852 settled in Gorham Township. Her father died in 1873 and her mother in 1898.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stoner continued to live on the farm, improved it with modern buildings, and exercised the thrift and industry that brought them ample prosperity for all their needs. In 1908 they rented the farm, which in the meantime had been increased to 140 'acres, and has since enjoyed the comforts of a fine modern residence at Fayette. Mr. Stoner is one of the organizers and is still a director of the Farmers State Bank of Fayette. He has been a member of the official board of the Methodist Church since 1909. He served three terms as township trustee of Gorham,. and one term as mayor of Fayette. He is a democrat in politics, and has filled the various chairs in Fayette Lodge No. 689, Knights of Pythias.

JONATHAN WILLIAM Binns was a youthful soldier in the Union Army during the Civil war, and the greater part of his active life since then has been spent in Fulton county, where he was engaged in farming until he retired and moved to Fayette.

He was born at Leroy in Medina county, Ohio, July 28, 1845, 'a son of Samuel and Ellen (Taylor) Binns. His parents were born in England in 1816, were married there, and in 1838 came to America, first locating at Harlem, New York, where Samuel Binns, a tailor, followed his trade. In 1840 he moved to Leroy, Medina county, Ohio, and after working at his trade several years was ordained as a Universalist minister about 1848. In 1854 he took charge of a church at Amity in Knox county, went to New Way,

Licking county, in 1857, and from 1860 to 1867 was in Richland county. In the latter year he moved to Fayette, where he died at the age of sixty-seven, his widow surviving him to the age of ninety. Their children were: Elizabeth, who died at the age of eighteen years; Eliza, who died in 1872 as the wife of James Murphy; Jonathan William; Sarah, who was born in 1847 and is Mrs. Otis Ford, at Fayette; Eli T., who lives at Bryan, Ohio, at the age of seventy; Ellen S., who died in 1855, at the age of three years; and Ella Viola, who died in 1906 as the wife of James Vail.

Jonathan William Binns lived with his parents in the several locations above noted, and at the age of seventeen, on July 28, 1863, was enrolled as a soldier in the One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Infantry, in Company D. With this regiment he was in the Army of the James, Third Division, Eighteenth Army Corps, and saw some of the hard fighting around Petersburg and Richmond while the defense of the Confederate capital were slowly crumbling before repeated Federal assaults. After his honorable discharge from the army Mr. Binns returned to Richland county, Ohio, and worked on a farm and also attended Belleville College. From there he came to Fayette, and soon afterward met the young lady who consented to be his wife. They were married at Detroit, Michigan, March 22, 1869. Her name was Lois Ford. She was a daughter of one of the oldest families of Fulton county, and was born in Gorham Township. Her parents were Hosea and Jemima (Bates) Ford, natives of Cummington, Massachusetts, who settled in Fulton county about 1836. Her father acquired a large tract of timbered land and was one of the most useful citizens of the county until his death in October, 1867, and her mother died in 1894. The Ford children were: Ansel B., who died in September, 1919; Austin K., who died in 1914; Vesta J., who was Mrs. William Barager and died in 1880; Laura, living at Fayette, widow of Nathaniel Dewey; Mrs. Binns; Deborah T., who married Spencer Westfall and died in 1882; Horace W., a resident of Fayette; Horatio M., who died in 1895; and Lewis H., of Fayette. ,

After his marriage Mr. Binns lived in Detroit working as a journeyman cigar maker until 1880. He then bought a farm in Defiance county, Ohio, lived on it several years, selling out in 1883 and buying sixty acres of land in Gorham Township. He was actively identified with farming there more than twenty years, and in 1906 rented his farm and moved to Fayette, where he bought the comfortable residence in which he now lives. He sold his farm in the spring of 1919.

Mr. Binns is a republican, has held all the offices in Stout Post No. 108, Grand Army of the Republic, and has filled the various chairs in Fayette Lodge of Masons No. 387. Mrs. Binns, who was educated in district schools and in the Seminary at Medina, Michigan, and taught school for two terms, has been active in the Eastern Star since the local chapter was organized by Mr. Binns. She has filled the various chairs in that organization and since 1906 He continuously served as president of the local Women's Relief

Mr. and Mrs. Binns have three children: Carrie B., Mrs. Walter Hill, of Morenci, Michigan; William C., who lives at Toledo and married Lena de Groff; and Harry S., also of Toledo, married Alta Wintzler and has three children, Gertrude, Lorene and Lucile.

_ ArrHuR ALLEN is a retired business man of Fayette, has lived there continuously for over a half century and is a brother of Mr. Charles L. Allen, also of Fayette, whose individual record will also be found in this publication.

Arthur Allen was born in Monroe county, New York, February 8, 1842, and was the youngest of the large family of Isaac and Mary (Terry) Allen. He was well educated, attending district schools, the Brockport Collegiate Institute and by a commercial course at Poughkeepsie. At the age of twenty Mr. Allen left home and went out to Bloomington, Illinois, where he became an employe of the United States Express Company, and part of the time was also located at Springfield and Peoria. About 1865 Mr. Allen engaged in the merchandise business at Fayette, Ohio, but soon returned to Illinois, and since 1867 has made Fayette his permanent home. He was in the grist and sawmill business here for thirty-one years, finally selling out his interests, and has since lived retired in a beautiful modern house at Fayette.

Mr. Allen also served as mayor of Fayette several terms, has held the offices of township clerk, justice of the peace, member of the School Board, and has always acted with that group of citizens working for the best interests of the community. -He is a democrat in politics.

In June, 1869, he married Frances H. DuBois, who was born at Orange in Ashland county, Ohio, a daughter of George and Amelia (Hoadley) DuBois, the former a native of New York and the latter of Connecticut. Her parents settled in Gorham Township of Fulton county in 1847, living on a farm there. Mrs. Allen's mother died in 1904, having been born in 1803, and her father died in 1908, having been born in 1814. Both parents therefore lived to extreme age. Mr. Allen has four sons, all of whom have made places for themselves in modern industry. George, the oldest, is a mechanical engineer at Cleveland and is district manager for the Heffenstall Forge Company of Pittsburg. Harry L., also a mechanical engineer, is with the Bruce-McBeth Engine Works at Cleveland. Edwin, a graduate civil engineer, is now district manager at Chicago for the Lakewood Engineering Company of Cleveland. Terry Joe is purchasing agent for the Firestone Steel Products Company of Akron, Ohio.

Henry Becustein. While Henry Bechstein was born in Swan Creek Township in January, 1862, his parents were immigrants from Germany. He is a son of Jacob and Anna (Goodlock) Bechstein. The father was born in 1833 in Germany, but when he was about twenty years old he immigrated to America. When he first came to the United States he worked in a clay pit in Pennsylvania. Later he worked eight years in Erie county, Ohio, where he married and in 1858 he bought a farm and removed to Swan Creek Township.

ae 1888 Henry Bechstein married Ella Biddle, a daughter of "Henry and Hannah Biddle. There is one daughter, Florence, the wife of H. T. Krauss, of Swan Creek. Another daughter, Bertha, died in childhood. The wife died in 1897, and Mr. Bechstein married again in 1899. The second wife was Emma Wilhelm, a daughter of David Wilhelm of Seneca county, Ohio. From this marriage there is one daughter, Carmen.

thirty acres in the brush and cleared it all but two acres, and from time to time he has added to the farm until he now has 100 acres, thirty-four acres still in timber. Mr. Bechstein has good farm buildings, making all the improvements himself. For a number of years he worked as a carpenter, and for eight years he did mason and cement work. In politics he is a democrat. He has served the community as road supervisor, and the family is identified with the Christian Union Church. : ' The outstanding facts in the career of Mr. Bechstein are the industry and perseverance that enabled him to perform the heavy work of clearing up new land in Fulton county, making a fine farm, and, nevertheless, finding time to serve his community in behalf of its good roads and other matters connected with the general welfare.

Eimer C. TurpENING, of Swan Creek, secured his education in the district school, and for a number of years he has served the community as a member of the Board of Education. He is a republican in politics, and is a member of the United Brethren Church. He has served the church in the capacity of class leader, and the Sunday School as its superintendent.

While Mr. Turpening is a native of Fulton county, having been born April 14, 1863, in York Township, his father, Ephraim Turpening, was born in New York and his mother, Mary Ann (Croyle) Turpening, was born in Pennsylvania. Since 1854 they have lived in Fulton county. Mrs. Turpening's family ancestors had come in 1845, her grandfather, Samuel Croyle, having come into Swan Creek when there was nothing but a wilderness, and he had his part in reclaiming it.

Ephraim Turpening settled in Swan Creek Township soon after his marriage, and for five years he lived there. He sold his land and bought a farm in York Township, but he soon sold it and bought again in Swan Creek Township. He died there in 1871, while his wife lived at the old home until her death in 1897. E. C. Turpening, who relates the family story, is second from the youngest of their children, the others being: John, of Swan Creek; Alfred, of Toledo; Jane, of Delta; Rebecca, wife of Amos Keith, of Delta; Elmer C. and Alfred. Charles, the oldest child, died early, and Cicero died in the Civil war.

On March 4, 1883, Elmer C. Turpening married Mary Delilah Warren, a daughter of Lyman and Sarah (Wilson) Warren, of York Township. Their children are: Charles N.; Loretta, wife of Henry Metzger; Beulah, wife of Watson Lewis, of Swan Creek: Florence, wife of Opher McKinley, of Cleveland; Maud, wife of Fred Enteman, of Toledo; Jay, Ruth and Cecil.

His well ordered farm, his substantial home, his attractive family, and the calls that have been made upon him for leadership and service in the community sufficiently establish the place of Elmer C. Turpening among the prominent citizens of Fulton county. He has lived here nearly sixty years, in his mature life has carried forward the work begun by the pioneers and probably has many years of usefulness still ahead of him.

Joun W. Erenart, of Swan Creek, has for many years served as chaplain of Hendricks Grand Army Post of Colton. He enlisted in the Union Army December 17, 1863, in Company H, Eightyeighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, his home then being in De

Kalb county, Indiana. He was in many of the hard fought battles of the Civil war and marched with General Sherman from Atlanta to the sea. He was mustered out of the service June 1, 1865, and the regiment disbanded the twentieth of the same month. Mr. Erehart votes with the republican party.

_ While Mr. Erehart's army record shows him as a soldier from Indiana, he was born December 6, 1844, in Stark county, Ohio. He is a son of Adam and Maria (Kiner) Erchart. The father came from Germany, but the mother was a native of Pennsylvania. Adam Erehart's parents died when he was fourteen years old, and he came to join some brothers who were already in the United States. He worked at the shoemaker's trade and was married in Pennsylvania. Soon after his marriage he came to Stark county, and in 1848 he removed to DeKalb county, Indiana, where he bought a farm of forty acres. He died there in 1887, and his wife died seven years later.

In the Erehart family there was a daughter, Catherine, who died in infancy; John W. was the second child; Daniel, of Steele City, Nebraska; Mary Jane, deceased, was the wife of Lon Henning; Eleanor, wife of Henry St. Clair, of Auburn, Indiana; Eliza, deceased, was the wife of William Pepple, and Adam died at the age of five years.

On October 11, 1868, Mr. Erehart married Elvira Mathews, of DeKalb county, Indiana. She is a daughter of Nathan and Maria (Richmond) Mathews. The father was a native of Vermont while the mother was born in the state of New York. Her paternal grandparents, John and Chloe (Hatch) Mathews, were early settlers in Portage county, Ohio.

After his marriage Mr. Erehart lived in Newaygo county, Michigan, where he followed farming, and in winter he worked in the lumber camps for six years. When he sold the Michigan farm he removed to DeKalb county, Indiana, remaining there three years, when he located in Henry county, Ohio. After living eight years in Henry county Mr. Erehart sold out again and located in Swan Creek Township. He bought a twenty-four acre tract of improved land and selling it he bought forty acres where he lives today. He remained as an active farmer until 1917, when a son assumed charge and he lives there in retirement.

The children born to Mr. and 'Mrs. Erehart are: Ralph, of Huntington, Indiana; Nellie, wife of William Wagoner, of Toledo; Edward, at home; and Gladys, wife of Joseph McCullough, of - Toledo.

Mrs. Juxia Carter AtprRicH. (JosepH D. Atpricw.) In the history of the Aldrich family of Fulton county is the same old story of three brothers who came from England many years ago. In writing of Mrs. Julia Carter Aldrich, who is one of the most widely known women in the county, a relative says: "It often seems unfortunate that we cannot see how important is our task. To the youth of Fulton county the cultivated fields, the traffic on the network of roads, the great web of telegraph and telephone wires, the steel rails and so many minor things which are so commonplace that in hasty retrospection I do not think of them, are necessities.

"Seldom do they think of a civilization without them, and when they do, because such life seems quite impossible, they conceive of it as a very hazy past, and yet the generation that built these roads and wrested the fields from a trackless wilderness has but recently completed its task, and there are still many of these runners before of our civilization, their part in the herculean task complete, sitting quietly silent - not knowing that a recital of their labors would hold us in a thrilled attention as absolute as the telling of an Iliad. Among those early comers was Mrs. Aldrich, who was with her brother, Jabez William Carter, when he was one of the owners of that first Fulton county paper which changed hands so often in its brief existence."

Mrs. Aldrich says: "In July, 1853, J. W. Carter, of Medina' county, Ohio, came to Ottokee and bought the printery but recently established there, and commenced the publication of the Fulton County Union, a business he very much enjoyed, having been connected with a printing office since his boyhood. He was then twentysix years old. He wrote his mother, a widow, his father having died in 1852, to shut up the house and come with the family, Charles, Julia, Julius and Margaret, to Ottokee for the winter. We arrived early in November and were taken to the Henry Taylor Hotel until our goods arrived (no trains then from Toledo came farther than Whitehouse.). Our coming happened at the same time as Mr, Aldrich's arrival from New York. Mrs. Taylor was a very genial, motherly sort of a landlady - made her guest room like a family gathering place.

"The schoolmaster and editor readily formed acquaintance which soon ripened into friendship, thus bringing Mr. Aldrich to the county seat to spend the week-ends at that home-like hotel. The courthouse, with its genial, intellectual officials, and the editorial sanctum had an attraction for him," and thus began another acquaintance - Joseph D. Aldrich with Julia Carter.

In the spring of 1854 Joseph Aldrich was engaged to teach in Spring Hill and Julia Carter in Ottokee. Her brothers, Charles and Julius Carter, assisted J. W. Carter in the printing office. John Youngs, still pleasantly remembered by many in Wauseon, was efficient help on the Fulton County Union. He came from Medina with J. W. Carter when he was seventeen. His daughter, Nora Youngs, became the wife of Willis, son of Edwin Patterson, of Dover. "We all liked Ottokee, and as we all had employment none cared to go back to Medina.'' The mother went back and sold the place, and returning to Ottokee she bought a home there.

On October 3, 1854, Joseph D. Aldrich married Julia E. Carter, and they went into a cozy little home of their own in Ottokee. In 1858 they sold the Ottokee property and bought the Quaker Wright Farm on the north line of Clinton Township. The Aldrich family still own and love the place where three sons: Amos Eugene, Fred Hampson and Benjamin F. Aldrich, were born, and their father, Joseph D. Aldrich, died in 1889, aged sixty-two years.

The Fulton county Aldrich family is deseended from Abel Aldrich, one of the three brothers who came from England. He married a Miss Tilson and they lived in Providence, Rhode Island. They had the following children: Tilson, Orrin, Abel, Amos, James, Dorcas, Prudence and Hannah. The son Amos is the one to whom the Fulton county family owes its existence, and again it is Amos who perpetuates the name in Fulton county. His son Joseph linked his fortune with Julia Carter, the woman who January 28, 1920, passed her eighty-sixth earthly milestone. On that day her only son, Fred Hampson Aldrich :zf Detroit, visited her.

The files of the Fulton County Union have long ago disappeared, and it is doubtful if a single issue is still in existence. For a time in the history of Fulton county it was the only voice from the outside world other than the stage driver and the transient guest. The Fulton County Union was the voice of the community expressing its ambitions, its hopes and disappointments. In every frontier press room there is the nucleus for innumerable romantic tales. Fulton county was then a frontier, and within the memory of Mrs. Aldrich its farms were small clearings in the primeval forests. The deer would often come out of the woods and destroy the corn unless speedily driven from the fields; there were few beaten roads and unless one went a-foot he must depend upon his horse; the furniture was made, as was the cabin itself, by the owner, and in all this primitive life Mrs. Aldrich had an active part.

Mrs. Aldrich was one of the first contributors to the press in Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich were among the first school teachers; they were always interested in working for better schools, better farming and better social conditions. While Mrs. Aldrich has been an occasional contributor to various publications, she also has a volume of verse from her earlier writings, entitled "Hazel Bloom." She was the Ohio vice president of the Western Writers' Association, and one of the editors of the National Grange, a paper connecting her with readers all over the United States.

Mrs. Aldrich has survived her husband by so many years that she is the one best known in the community of today. Her son Amos Eugene married Mary Siebold, who is of German parentage, her ancestry leaving the Fatherland in the exodus of the '40s as a protest against despotism. He died in Wauseon, leaving his wife and the following children: Ione, Julia Margaret (Madge), John Paul, Joseph Eugene and Donald. The second son, Hon. Fred H. Aldrich, has lived in Michigan since beginning the practice of law, being circuit judge for many years. He married Corine Isbell, daughter of Henry and Jane Lemmon Isbell. Mr. Isbell was born in Connecticut, and was descended from Robert, one of the early settlers in Salem. The Lemmons originally lived near Baltimore. The Aldrich children are: Fred, Compton, May and Corine. Rev. Benjamin Frank Aldrich, D. D., Ph. D., married Bertha Yerkes after he left Fulton county. At the time of his death he was pastor of old First Congregational Church in Chicago. He had made of this church an unusual center of influence. His wife survives him, and their children are Benjamin, Margaret, Baldwin and Julian. Five grandsons of Mrs. Aldrich, above enumerated, were in the World war, and all returned in safety.

In a poem entitled "Freedom," Mrs. Aldrich answers the question why she was never a church member, and there is no creed or dogma in her conception of Christianity. While she gave one son to mechanical pursuits, one to law and one to the ministry, she has found all church work molds itself to her idea of life. She holds her own judgment unbiased and recognizes good in all things. All over Fulton county Mrs. Aldrich is regarded as an oracle - a bulwark in the

Rev. Bensamin F. Atpricu. As noted elsewhere in the sketch of the Aldrich family of Fulton county, Rev. Benjamin F Aldrich at the time of his death was pastor of the First Congregational Church of Chicago. In an official publication of that church devoted to the history of the church and its successive pastorates, his suc- cessor in the ministry published a tribute to the character of Dr. Aldrich and particularly his influence and work in the ministry in Chicago, a brief sketch that may appropriately be entered as a part of the records in this history of Fulton county.

The late Benjamin F, Aldrich, D. D., was born at Wauseon, Ohio, January 29, 1863, and passed to his eternal rest on Sunday evening, November 5, 1916. is

If Dr. Moses Smith (one of the earlier ministers of the First - Congregational Church of Chicago) had many of the qualities of St. Peter, and if Doctor Noble (also a predecessor of Doctor Aldrich) reminded one of the apostle Paul, Doctor Aldrich's character and disposition were finely suggestive of the beloved disciple, John, or rather, perhaps, some would say both of John and of his Divine Master. The foundations of his sturdy and gentle character were laid amid the hardships and simplicities of the old farm life of Ohio, where his mother prayerfully moulded him towards the holy ministry. Though he studied law and was admitted to the bar, the essential quality of his life was that of a pastor and he gladly resigned the emoluments of the lucrative profession of law in order that the whole tendency of his life might be heavenward and that making the complete oblation he might render a whole-hearted, undivided service to men in the Spirit of Christ.

Having diligently served in other churches at Ironton, Sault Ste. Marie, Lansing, Pontiac, Ypsilanti, Aurora and Wellington avenue, he brought the fruit of his large natural endowment, varied experience and whole-hearted consecration to the service of "New First" in the heart of the great west side. He had a genius for friendship, and the time had come when consecrated and unselfish friendship was a gift most needed in this parish. In some ways he stood in strong contrast to the two men of whom we have been speaking . While Doctor Smith's preaching had a dogmatie and prophetic flavor, and Doctor Noble's preaching was highly intellectual and strongly individualistic, the heart of Doctor Aldrich ached for this needy wayward and suffering community. So in its utter simplicity and great practical helpfulness his preaching was a veritable breaking of the Bread of Life to hungry hearers.

He had a large and sure vision of the place this church should occupy in the midst of a great unchurched community, and with an ardor greater than his strength he threw himself into the splendid task of adjusting this historic and influential congregation to the needs of a modern and sinful city. Like Timothy he "naturally cared" for men's state. He well knew the needs of the hungry soul and the perils and pitfalls of the great city. So in regard to the summer services on the lawn, and in the development of the Union Theological College, which was born in the vestry of this church in the brain of Professor Jernberg and in the heart of Doctor Aldrich also in regard to the potentialities of Carpenter Chapel and Hooker Hall, in the development of our Sunday School work and summer camps, in the whole social life of the church and especially in the intense and practical pastoral work, he caught the vision, followed the gleam, lived on a high plane and at a high tension until he had prematurely worn himself out with unselfish abandonment in the service of Christ, of this church and this community, but not before he had proven himself an efficient, wise, foresighted and _ great-hearted

Slowly he had become an epitome and practical interpreter of that democracy men hear so much about and understand so little because its keynote is service - unselfish service even until death. He laid down the pathways of service in this community which New First will probably follow for many years to come.

He touched all sorts and conditions of men. While developing loyal and loving contact with rescue and reclamation agencies, he stood between men and the prison walls, stood between the hungry and want, and was looked up to by hundreds for guidance in their hour of trouble and was beloved by hundreds more who seldom entered the church but were the better for this church and his ministry in it.

He loved unselfishly, sympathized with and suffered vicariously with and for those lives he touched and touching lifted toward the crystal purity of his own trustful, hopeful soul.

He looked out at this multitude scattered abroad and going astray because they had no Shepherd, so he made the pastorate the crown of all his work. He could not rest while these multitudes were away on the wild mountains of sin. He longed to see them safe in the fold of the Good Shepherd. So he went out after them, carried them on his strong shoulders, literally bore their burdens, shared their sorrows and poured out his life's strength for them until one Sunday two short years ago, about the time of the evening sacrifice, God said: "It is enough, come up higher." Then "God's finger touched him and he slept."

But the scene in this church when thousands passed his bier with eyes blinded by tears was eloquent of the people's love for the beloved pastor and will never fade from the memories of those who were privileged to be present. The tablet unveiled now by his son Baldwin bears the legend Psa. 78:22: "So he was their Shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands."

CarLtos ALEXANDER Rogperts was born March 28, 1861, in Wood county, Ohio. He is a son of Cutler Fellows and Jeannette (Voss) Roberts, who upon their marriage settled near Wallbridge, where the son grew up and was educated in the common schools. Here he worked at farming many years.

Mr. C. F. Roberts first bought land in Wood county, then he bought farm land in Lucas county that is now within the city limits of Toledo. After disposing of this property he owned another farm .in Lucas county. Whenever another man offered him his price the land was for sale, and his next land investment was in Henry county where he lived five years, sold the land and in 1878 he invested in timber land in Swan Creek Township. Twenty years later he sold it and removed to McClure, Ohio. He died there February 12, 1907. and his wife died two years later in Wauseon.

he was married to Fannie Carter, of Amboy Township, Fulton county. She is a daughter of Solomon Carter. She had been married before to Samuel Baldwin, and she has one son, Frank Baldwin, of Swan Creek Township. Soon after his marriage Mr. Roberts bought 120 acres of land, with about sixty acres cleared, and he now has ninety acres under cultivation. He is engaged in general farming and the livestock business, giving special attention to thoroughbred Holstein dairy cattle. , ;

Mr. Roberts has modern farm improvements, having built and rebuilt all the buildings himself. He is a member of the Christian Union Church and in politics he is a republican. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are: Esther Carter, wife of Jacob Evans; and Nolan F. Roberts.

The business in which Mr. Roberts has been engaged for many years is a truly constructive service. He has developed farms, bringing them to a state of profitable production, has built homes, and while he has done this as a regular business, the aggregate results have brought substantial benefits to the several communities in which he has lived. His business and his good citizenship are facts that are thoroughly appreciated in his home community of Swan Creek.

Grorce H. Crank, a banker of Fayette, spent his early life in Lenawee county, Michigan, but for many years was in Pennsylvania, with the iron and steel industry.

Mr. Crane was born in Madison Township, Lenawee county, November 25, 1871, son of Calvin H. and Jennie (Merrick) Crane. His paternal grandparents were George L. and Leah R. (Ramsdell) Crane, the former born in 1810. The great-grandparents, George and Charity (Lincoln) Crane, were natives of Massachusetts, and in 1817 became part of the moving tide of population going over the Alleghenies to the middle west, and were among the first home makers in southern Michigan, in Lenawee county. Calvin H. Crane was born in Lenawee county, and while attending school at Union Springs, New York, met Miss Jennie Merrick, who was born in Rose Valley, that state, daughter of George W. and Elsie O. Merrick. After his marriage he returned to Michigan and became an engineer with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. He died in 1916, while his wife passed away November 30, 1871, George H. being her only child.

George H. Crane was reared in the homes of his paternal and maternal grandparents in Lenawee county. He attended the Friends school at Adrian, graduating in 1890, and soon afterward went to Cleveland, where for 1% years he was superintendent of motive power for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. For seven years he had charge of the office of the C. B. Pennock wholesale house at Adrian, Michigan, and then joined the Page Fence Company at Monessen, Pennsylvania, serving as chief paymaster two years and then as chief clerk for the entire plant. He remained with that industry seven years, and in 1906 resigned and located at Fayette. Here he assisted in organizing the Favette State Savings Bank, of which he has since been cashier. H. ©. Rorick is president, John C. Rorick, vice president, A. V. Foster, M. B. Badger, Eva M. Crane and George M. Griffin, directors.

Mr. Crane married September 17, 1897, Miss Eva Rorick. who was born in Seneca Township of Lenawee county, daughter of Casper and Alice (Horton) Rorick, also natives of the same countv. Mr. and Mrs. Crane have two children, Amy C. and George H. The

Mr. Crane has-served Fayette as mayor one term, as member of the School Board five years, and during that time was president three times. He is a democrat and is a Knight Templar Mason.

Srmon Marion Waconer. While John Wagoner, who planted the family tree in the United States, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, Simon Marion Wagoner of Swan Creek is in the third generation of the family in Ohio. His parents, John and Catharine (Kessler) Wagoner, are natives of Seneca county. The grandfather, John Wagoner, of Perry county, was a son of the immigrant, John Wagoner. John Wagoner, Sr., came to the United States when he was fifteen years of age.

When John Wagoner came to America he was accompanied by an older brother, who wanted to enlist in the army, but on account of the age of the younger brother the young man had difficulty in enlisting, and finally both were made soldiers. The brother was killed at the battle of the Cow Pens, and at Yorktown John Wagoner was within fifteen feet of General Washington when General Cornwallis surrendered to him.

The maternal grandparents of S. M. Wagoner, John Kessler and his wife, came from Germany and they were early settlers in Sandusky county. The paternal grandfather, John Wagoner, Jr., was a soldier in the War of 1812, and he was at Detroit when Hull surrendered. After his marriage John Wagoner, Jr., purchased an eighty-acre farm from his father in Sandusky county, but in 1852 he sold it to a brother and he then located in Swan Creek Township, Fulton county. He entered forty acres and bought forty across the line in Henry county. It was all wild land and he cleared and improved it. He died in 1907, at the age of eighty-six years. His wife had been dead forty years.

Simon M. Wagoner was the oldest child born in the family of John Wagoner, and the others are: Mahla, who is deceased, married Frank Werich; Mary, wife of Charles Stevens, of Liberty Center, Ohio; Jacob, of Swan Creek; Thomas J., of Swan Creek: Sarah, wife of Michael McGee, of Sandusky county; Emma, wife of James Gabriel, of Ashtabula county; and George, who died in childhood; and John, deceased.

While the Wagoner family's military history began in the Revolutionary war and cropped out again in the second war with England, S. M. Wagoner sustained the reputation of the family in the Civil war, enlisting February 4, 1864, in Company 9, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, S. S., under Capt. W. L. Sterns, and he was mustered in on the eighteenth of March. He was a private to be armed with a Spencer rifle, but bartered the position for a major's commission in the Sixtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, much against the wishes of the company.

Major Wagoner was in many of the hard fought battles of the Civil war, including the battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Nye River, North Ann River, Salem Court House, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, where he was stationed at the time of a mine explosion, and he was at Weldon Railroad. At Cold Harbor Major Wagoner was shot in the right arm, and he was sent to an army hospital at Washington City. Later he was in the following yaitlen! Yellow Farm, Ream Station, Poplar Grove, Pegram Farm, Squirrel Level Road, Hatches Run, Notaway River and Fort Steadman. On July 28, 1865, Major Wagoner received his discharge. rr

When Mr. Wagoner was again a private citizen he cleared a forty acre tract he had purchased from his father. He built a house and barn and made other necessary improvements there, later buying another forty acre timber tract, which he also converted into farm land, and he was always active in farm work until 1913, when he rented his land, although he lives in retirement at the old homestead where he began his activities at the close. of the Civil war.

In September, 1866, Mr. Wagoner married Catharine Smith. She was born September 6, 1843, in Seneca county. She is a daughter of Abraham and Rebekah (Berkstresser) Smith. They were natives of York state, but they came early to Ohio.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wagoner are: Charles and William, of Toledo; Alpha, wife of Ralph Earhart, of Huntington, Indiana; Estella, wife of Charles Hoyt, of Toledo; and one child, Rebekah, who died in infancy. j }

Mr. Wagoner has been an active man in community affairs. While he had but meager educational advantages, knowing only the log school houses of the day, he has served Swan Creek Township as justice of the peace, and he has served as an elder in the Christian Union Church. In politics Mr. Wagoner is a democrat. He is a member of Hendricks Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Colton, Ohio. For thirty years he served the post as quartermaster.

There is perhaps no family represented in the citizenship of Fulton county more completely imbued with American patriotism than that of Simon M. Wagoner. He and his descendants are eligible to membership in the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution and he himself has earned the lasting esteem of his nation for the part he played in preserving the Union. Mr. Wagoner was born at Sandusky, Ohio, August 27, 1842, was a young man when he entered the army, and during the half century since the war he served equally well in civil responsibilities by clearing and developing one of the good farms of Fulton county.

JoEL GEARIG, one of the prosperous general farmers of Swan Creek 'Township, deserves special credit for his success, for he has earned it through his own efforts. He was born in German Township, Fulton county, on September 23, 1863, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (King) Gearig, natives of France and Switzerland, respectively. Christian Gearig, the paternal grandfather, and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Fry, came to the United States about 1829, settling in Wayne county, Ohio, and when Swan Creek Township was still a part of Lucas county he came to it and entered 160 acres of land north of Pettisville. The maternal grandfather came to Fulton county at an early day and entered 240 acres of land in German Township, on which Joseph Gearig and his wife settled after their marriage, and where they spent the remainder of their lives. Their children were as follows: Mattie, who is Mrs. Fred Peters, of Michigan; Anna, who is Mrs. Nathan Aeachliman, of Clinton Township; Daniel, who lives at Elmira, Ohio; Amos, who lives in Hillsdale county, Michigan; Catherine; who is Mrs. Joseph Bonier, of Clinton Township; Joel, whose name heads this review; and Joseph, who lives in Michigan.

Joel Gearig attended the schools of his home district, and remained with his parents until his marriage, which occurred on April 6, 1886, when he was united with Rose Bonier, born in France, a daughter of Andrew and Catherine (Guyman) Bonier. After his marriage Mr. Gearig bought forty acres of land in German Township, but not long afterward sold it and moved to Schuyler county, Missouri, where he bought an eighty-acre farm and conducted it for two years. Selling that farm, he bought another one of 154 acres in the same county, and the operating of it occupied him for five years. Receiving a good offer for this land, he sold it and came back to Fulton county and rented the family homestead in German Township until 1900, when he bought eighty acres in section 8, Swan Creek Township, of which thirty acres were cleared and the remainder in timber. The buildings were old and small, and he has rebuilt and enlarged them, and put others where needed, and made other necessary improvements, having his premises in good condition. At the same time he has kept busy putting his land in condition, having it now all cleared with the exception of about four acres of brush. In all of his farming he has raised a general line of crops, and he is now milking from six to seven cows of the Holstein strain.

Mr. and Mrs. Gearig became the parents of the following children: Ira, who died when he was twenty-six years and four months old; Edwin, who is at home; Homer, who is a farmer of Swan Creek Township; Oscar, who is a farmer of Fulton Township; and Catherine, who is at home. Mr. Gearig is a democrat, but aside from exercising his right of suffrage, he has taken but little part in public affairs. He is a very practical man, and has devoted himself steadfastly to the earning of a living for his family through the medium of his farming activities. While he has been in sympathy with those measures which had for their object the advancement of the several communities to which his business took him, Mr. Gearig did not feel that he was so placed that he could be active in promoting them. His recreation has been found in his home and with his family, and he is not a member of any fraternity. He does maintain a membership, however, in the Christian Union Church, and gives it a generous financial support. It is such men as Mr. Gearig, dependable, upright, industrious, never sparing themselves, but working along in a straight path of every day duty, who make up the great backbone of real Americanism. They are the men who can be depended upon to rise to the occasion in any emergency where solid citizenship is needed, and are the founders and preservers of the agricultural interests of the nation.

Witt1am V. Barwarp. There is a great satisfaction to be found in the realization that one's life work has brought forth results which are visible to the world. It sometimes happens that a man has accomplished much, but that circumstances are such that he receives no outward credit for his work, and is made to feel that to his neighbors he is anything but a success. Such a condition is not a happy one, and consequently when results appear on the surface the one producing them is to be congratulated. The fine farm property of William V. Barnard of Swan Creek Township proves that he is a good farmer and excellent business man, for he has developed and improved this estate from wild land through his own personal efforts.

William V. Barnard was born in Wayne county, Ohio, April 6, 1839, a son of Jacob and Hannah (Smith) Barnard, natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, respectively. They were married in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio in the early '30s. His wife died about 1843, having borne him five children after they came to Ohio, as follows: John, who is deceased; Mary Jane and Margaret, both of whom are also deceased; William V., whose name heads this review; and Jacob Smith, who is a resident of Wooster, Ohio. After the death of his first wife Jacob Barnard was married to Catherine Burns, and they had four children, namely: Hannah, who is Mrs. James Dennis of Ashland, Ohio; Jane, who is deceased; Thomas, who is a resident of Medina county, Ohio; and a fourth who is deceased. Following the death of the second Mrs. Barnard, Jacob Barnard was married to Margaret Cravin, and both are now deceased.

Until 1860 William V. Barnard lived with his father and then for two years conducted one of his father's farms. For the subsequent year he worked by the day, and then rented a farm in Seneca county, Ohio, until he bought fifty acres of land on a sand ridge in Hancock county, Ohio, all of which was in a wild state. He partially improved this farm, living upon it for six or seven years, and then sold it and bought forty acres of partly improved land in Wood county, Ohio, operating it for ten years, a portion of the time residing at Hoytville, Ohio, where he bought 1% acre of land and erected a house on it. This continued to be his home until in 1894. On September 24th of that year he bought forty acres of wild woodfand in Swan Creek Township, and since then has cleared off all the brush and timber, dug out the stumps, and made many valuable improvements, including the erection of suitable buildings, and he now has one of the best farms in the township

In 1860 Mr. Barnard was united in marriage with Mary Bastel, born in Wayne county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Bertha (Bastel) Bastel. Mr. and Mrs. Barnard had the following children: Anna Maria, who is Mrs. Elmer Letherman of Colton; Lorinda Jane, who is keeping house for her father; Ezekiel, who lives in Kansas; and Mrs. William Thomas, who lives at North Baltimore, Ohio. Mrs. Barnard died about 1897.

Mr. Barnard had but few educational advantages in his youth, as he had to go to work as soon as he was able to handle the farm implements, but he has been a keen observer and has kept himself well informed on current matters, and has always had more than his share of good common sense. In politics he is a strong republican. For 'some years he has been a member of the Church of God. A man of strict integrity and upright living, he stands very high among his neighbors, and deserves the prosperity which is his.

_ Woopson T. Campsett. Although he has extensive theatrical interests elsewhere, Woodson T. Campbell maintains his residence at Wauseon, and this city would be loath to have him depart from its midst, for he is recognized as one of its leading and most progressive men. He was born in Rush county, Indiana, in 1851, a son of Rev. George W. Campbell, a minster of the Christian Church, and a member of a family founded in this country by William Campbell, who came here from Scotland and located at Bangor, Maine. His son, Reverend Campbell, came as far west as Indiana near a young man and remained a resident of that state until his eath.

sixteen years of age, when he had the misfortune to lose his father, so he had to become self-supporting, which he did by working in a printing office for two years at Rushville, Indiana. Seeking experience, Mr. Campbell became a sewing machine agent, and canvassed the territory about Cincinnati, Ohio, for a year, then going to Connersville, Indiana, where he was clerk for the Sheridan House, owned by his uncle, and for two years he attended to the office of that hostelry and made friends with the traveling public.

His is not a nature to be content with the ordinary routine of life, and his love of adventure led him to join Cooper & Bailey's circus, with whom he secured show privileges and remained with this firm for a time, when he left to engage with a variety show. Still later he was with other circus owners, traveling all over the country and gaining an intimate knowledge of the demands on the part of the public for entertainment as he could have secured in no other manner, and which has been very valuable to him in his after life. His experience brought him positions of added responsibility, and he was with several circus firms as master of transportation, going as far west as California several times. At last after a number of years with this branch of the amusement industry Mr. Campbell rented the old Woods Museum at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, fitted it up and conducted it for three years, when he sold his interest and returned to circus life, engaging with P. T. Barnum in 1884, but, marrying not long afterward, to please his bride he left the circus and bought eighty acres of land and began breeding trotting horses. Overcoming his wife's objections, he returned in about five years to Barnum's circus and for a season had the feeding contract. Receiving a good offer for his stock farm, he sold it, and then in partnership with Frank M. Drew, bought the Star Theatre at Cleveland, Ohio, and they operated it for three years. They then secured the lease of the Colonial Theatre of Cleveland, Ohio, and own the building in which it is located and were interested in a number of theatrical enterprises throughout the country, and also operated in Canada, but disposed of his holdings in them some time ago. He still is interested in agricultural matters and owns a fine farm of 137% acres in Clinton Township.

In 1884 Mr. Campbell was married to Lura Hollister, a daughter of David and Pamelia (Lamb) Hollister, of Wauseon. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have no children. Mr. Campbell is a Mason, be- - longing to Rushville Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Cleveland Commandery, Knights Templar. He also belongs to the Elks of Cleveland. In his politics Mr. Campbell is a strong republican and is not backward in expressing his opinions. His career has been varied but eminently successful, and he never allows his interest to flag but is constantly looking for new ideas in connection with his business. Genial in a marked degree, he has friends from Maine to California, and from Winnipeg, Canada, to the Panama Canal, all of whom recognize his many excellent traits of character and the warm sympathy which makes him so responsive to the calls upon his purse and his time. Regarding Wauseon as his home, Mr. Campbell is very generous in his support of its improvements, and can be depended upon to subscribe liberally whenever a movement is started looking toward a change which promises to be of benefit to the community.

Grorcr Ex1as ArNoxpD. Visitors in Swan Creek Township have occasion to comment upon and admire the productive farm and the improvements created by George Elias Arnold. Those who understand his career appreciate even more what he has accomplished in this community as a farmer. He came face to face with the serious responsibilities of life at the age of twelve years, and for half a century he has given his time to an uninterrupted program of work and the utilization of such opportunities as have come. He is a good farmer and an equally good citizen of his community.

Mr. Arnold was born in Copley Township of Summit county, Ohio, December 18, 1857. He has an interesting ancestry, and on both sides of the family it has been American for several generations. His paternal great-grandparents were Daniel and Christina (Plum) Arnold, natives of England. Daniel Arnold came with two brothers to this country, and was one of the very early settlers in Summit county, Ohio, where he entered and improved a tract of government land. The paternal grandparents were Samuel and Maria (Oswalt) Arnold, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Pennsylvania.

George E. Arnold is a son of Daniel and Ellen (Durthick) Arnold, the former a native of Summit county and the latter of Wayne county, Ohio. In the maternal line his great-grandfather was a native of Scotland, but came to the American colonies in time to participate as a Continental soldier in the Revolutionary war. The Durthicks were early settlers in Medina county, Ohio, where they acquired large tracts of government land. The maternal grandparents were Cordon and Fannie (Huckelbone) Durthick. Cordon Durthick about the time of the War of 1812 was pressed into the English service, but soon found opportunity to desert and join the American forces.

Daniel and Ellen Arnold after their marriage lived in Summit county, and from that locality Daniel enlisted in the Union Army and gave a gallant service from 1863 until the end of the war. Soon afterward he came to Clinton Township, Fulton county, and thus the Arnold family has been identified with this section of Ohio for over half a century. After a year of residence here he moved to Newaygo county, Michigan, spending three years in that state, and then returned to Fulton county and settled in Swan Creek Township, where he lived an honored citizen and substantial farmer until his death on March 1, 1909. His wife had died in 1876. George E. is the oldest of their children and a brief record of the others is as follows: Fannie, Mrs. George Stacy, of Sand Lake, Michigan; Flora, wife of Dr. Arthur Cooley, of Cleveland; Samuel, who was born in Clinton Township, Fulton county, June 22, 1866, and died in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, March 1, 1919: Clara, wife of George Wheatley, living in Colorado; Etta, deceased, wife of Earnest Andrews; and Alma, Mrs. Edward Rowe, of Swan Creek Township.

George Elias Arnold was eight or nine years of age when he came to Fulton county, and after he was twelve years old had no opportunity to attend school until he put in one more winter term at the age of seventeen. In spite of lack of early advantages he has used his opportunities for observation and reading and has learned many lessons in the school of experience. As a boy he did farm work, and also followed the strenuous occupation of a woods-

In this way he solved some of the early problems of life and in September, 1881, married Lovina Null, a native of Summit county, Ohio, and daughter of George and Christiann Null. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Pennsylvania.

For one summer after his marriage Mr. Arnold was employed as a farm hand in York Township, and soon afterward invested his very modest capital in a tract of five acres of woodland in Swan Creek Township. This purchase presented little more than an opportunity for a great deal of hard work in clearing it up. He built his first home on that tract, and has lived there for over thirty-five years, and each year has brought added proof of his industry and good management. By subsequent purchases he has increased his farm to eighty acres, and of this only six acres are now in timber, all the rest being well cultivated. Mr. Arnold also operates a dairy of eight or nine Holstein cows, and is one of the successful farmers of that locality. In politics he is a democrat, and for many years rendered a valuable service to the community as road supervisor.

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold had three children, their twin daughters dying in infancy. The only surviving child is their son Ralph, a well known young resident of Swan Creek Township. He married Blanch Bowers, and their four children, the grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold, are named Ruth, George, Clara and Ethel.

Henry Jacop SCHLATTER is regarded as one of the keenest and most resourceful business men and merchants of Wauseon, being senior partner in Schlatter & Howard, owning and managing the largest general hardware house in Fulton county.