Fulton Township (part 28 of 34)

Township, Henry county, Ohio; Blessy, who is a resident of Clinton Township; Caroline, who was Mrs. Albert Buhrer, is now deceased; Albert, whose name heads this review; Manno, who is a resident of Dover Township; Rudolph, who lives at Morenci, Michigan; Emil, who is deceased; and Ida, who is Mrs. Archie Feltzer, of Pike Township.

Albert Kutzli was reared in Henry county and attended its district schools. When he was nineteen years old he began working by the month for farmers with a threshing outfit and in sawmills, and continued this line of work for six vears. He was then married, on March 18, 1897, to Virginia Buhrer, born in Williams county, Ohio, a daughter of Andrew and Adeline (Gashie) Buhrer, natives of Switzerland and Clinton Township, Fulton county, Ohio, respectively. On April 9, 1901, Mr. Kutzli bought seventy-eight acres of land in section 6, Pike Township. At that time there were no fences on this farm, it needed tiling and buildings, so he had a lot of work before him when he moved on this property. Now he _ has the place cleared and under cultivation with the exception of ten acres he is keeping in timber. The necessary fences have been put up and are maintained in good order, and the whole farm is well tiled. Not only is his residence a comfortable and modern one, but his barns and other buildings are equally good, and he has one of the best farms in this part of the county. Here he is carrying on general farming, stockraising and dairying, and is successful in all his undertakings, for he is an experienced farmer.

Mr. and Mrs. Kutzli became the parents of the following children: Theron, Luetta, Rosella, Ruth, Fernando, Agnes and Florence, all of whom are at home. The children, Orpha, Caroline, and Dorothy died in infancy. Mr. Kutzli is a member of the Reformed Church of Archbold, Ohio. In his political convictions he is a democrat, but aside from casting his vote for the candidates of his party he has not taken much part in public matters, being too much eccupied with his farming.

Ernest CHRISTOPHER Lann. The Oakland Farm is one of the best improved rural properties in Pike Township and has been brought to its present state of development through the intelligent efforts of its owner, Ernest Christopher Lane, whose methods are so progressive as to cause them to be adopted by a number of his fellow citizens. Mr. Lane was born in Clinton Township, this county, September 8, 1879, a son of William and Lydia (Lozer) Lane, natives of Muskingum county, Ohio, and Clinton county, Ohio, respectively, and grandson of Harrison and Harriet (Gorsuch) Lane, early settlers of Clinton Township, and Stephen Lozer, who also came to Clinton Township at an early day.

William Lane owned a large tract of land in Clinton Township, three miles west of Wauseon, Ohio, and on it he and his wife were engaged in farming activities for many years. Her death occurred in February, 1914, but he survived her until January, 1919. Their children were as follows: Ernest Christopher, whose name heads this review; Fred, who is a resident of Texas; Jesse, who is a resident of Zanesville, Ohio; Edward, who is a resident of Amboy Township, Fulton county; and Grace, who is Mrs. Roy Parish, and lives at Delta.

Lane was given the advantage of a year's attendance at the Wauseon High School, but then, at the age of eighteen years, he decided to become self-supporting, so he left school and began working out by the month among the neighboring farmers, continuing this mode of operation for nine years. He then rented land for another nine years, all the time saving his money, and as soon as he had acquired a sufficient amount he bought forty acres of land in York Township. One year later he rented eighty acres in section 12, Pike Township, from his father, and he later inherited it from his father's estate. Of this eighty acres Mr. Lane has sixty-five under the plow, and the remainder is in timber. He has put in all his improvements and here he is carrying on general farming. The farm takes its name from the beautiful oak trees which Mr. Lane has taken such pains to preserve.

On September 16, 1903, Mr. Lane was united in marriage with Lois Greeley, born in Franklin Township, Fulton county, Ohio, a daughter of Lewis and Mary (Wickey) Greeley, natives of German Township, Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Lane became the parents of one son, Earle, who was born on April 9, 1908. The creed of the Disciple Church affords Mr. Lane adequate expression for his religious views, and he is one of the earnest members of the local congregation. Being in perfect sympathy with the work of the Gleaners, Mr. Lane belongs to the Pike branch of this organization, and is active in it. Since casting his first vote Mr. Lane has been a strong republican and is proud of the record of his party. In all of his operations Mr. Lane has exercised good common sense, and his present prosperity proves that he was wise to follow the methods he did in the conduct of his business affairs.

Joun G. RoraBeck, one of the substantial men of Fulton county, is now living in Pike Township after a somewhat varied career in commercial circles. He was born in New York state on November 30, 1841, a son of George T. and Tabatha (Rorabeck) Rorabeck, cousins, who were born at Bridgeport, Connecticut, where they were married, going from there to the State of New York. A carpenter and builder, George T. Rorabeck went in 1851 to Prince Edward county, Ontario, Canada, near Picton, and there continued in business until his death at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife died three months before him, at the age of eighty-six years. Their children were as follows: Thomas, who is a resident of Osseo, Wisconsin; Julia, who is Mrs. Byron McDonald, and lives at Allendale, Ontario, Canada; Emma, who is Mrs. Francis McDonald, of Comber, Ontario, Canada; John G., whose name heads this review; Doreas Ann, who is deceased; Reuben, who lives at North Bay, Ontario, Canada; Edward, who is deceased; and Elizabeth, who is Mrs. Charles Mitchell, of Midland, Ontario, Canada.

When he was sixteen years old John G. Rorabeck began learning the trade of a carpenter and joiner from his father, and completed it by the time he attained his majority. He then went to Rochester, New York, where he worked at his trade for two years. Returning to Canada, he was engaged in carpentering for nine months in the west. He then returned home for a visit, and the following spring found employment at Kent, Ohio, with the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company in car construction, and continued with that concern for eight years. Leaving that com- pany, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and for fourteen years was with the bridge and car works of that city, rising to the office of assistant foreman, and he also spent several years working at the tinner's trade. His next employment was at Ashtabula, Ohio, where for two years he worked in a tinshop. Mr. Rorabeck then changed the nature of his work and was a clerk in a shoe store of that city for a year. Returning to Cleveland, Ohio, he worked for a year in a sash and blind factory, becoming foreman for the Knowlton Valley Railroad Company after leaving the factory, and holding that position for two years. Mr. Rorabeck then spent one year in a pattern shop of Cleveland, and was then called to Toledo, Ohio, to take charge of the estate of his father-in-law, and for the subsequent eighteen months was occupied in settling it up. He then came to Delta, Ohio, and bought the tinshop of that place, conducting it for seven years. He then bought a half interest in the butcher shop of Mr. Geer at Delta, but sold it in 1898, and became superintendent of building construction at the state prison at Columbus, Ohio. Two years later he returned to Delta and clerked in various stores for eighteen months, when he bought a half interest in the drug store of Edward Pratt. Two years later they sold the store and Mr. Rorabeck continued to clerk in various establishments until July 5, 1916, when he moved to the ten-acre farm of his wife in Pike Township. She also has a life lease on sixty-five acres in Pike Township, and Mr. Rorabeck is now engaged in keeping up the improvements on the property.

John G. Rorabeck was married at Jefferson, Ohio, in October, 1870, to Augusta Toleott, and they had two children, namely: Winifred, who is Mrs. Frank Cately, of Delta, Ohio; and Mabel, who died at the age of three years. In 1883 Mr. Rorabeck was married to Eva T. Clark, a daughter of Ira L. Clark, one of the first conductors of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. She was the widow of Charles Mason,, by whom she had five children, two of whom survive, namely: Carrie Brigham, of Portland, Oregon; and Maude. The second Mrs. Rorabeck died on April 8, 1914. On July 5, 1916, Mr. Rorabeck was married to Mrs. Ellen (Niel) Taylor, born in Cass county, Georgia, a daughter of James and Carrie (Champlin) Niel. Ellen Niel was first married to Grifford Cassin, and she and her husband lived with Mrs. Niel until the outbreak of the war between the states, when she, her husband and two little sons went to the vicinity of Lexington, Kentucky, where he was later killed, leaving her without resources. She returned to Ohio and in order to support herself worked in the household of different families. Owing to her lack of money she was forced to turn her children over to others. In 1867 she came to Fulton county, Ohio, and in 1870 was married second to J. S. Taylor, who owned a farni, which he deeded to her. Mr. Taylor died in December, 1903.. Her two children by her first marriage were as follows: Samuel, who lives at Delta, Ohio; and Benjamin, who lives at Elery, Ohio. Mrs. Rorabeck belongs to the United Brethren Church, and is active in its work. While residing at Delta, Ohio, Mr. Rorabeck served as a member of the City Council one term, and on the Cemetery Board for two years, being elected on the republican ticket. He belongs to Fulton Lodge No. 248, of Delta; Octavius Waters Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, which he has served as high priest, and Wauseon Council, Royal and Selected Masters. During the many years Mr. Rorabeck has lived in Fulton county he has become known. as one of the dependable citizens of this locality, and one worthy of the highest esteem. He and Mrs. Rorabeck have many warm personal friends, who are always made welcome at their pleasant rural home, and an open-handed hospitality is shown by these two estimable people, who after the strenuous years of earlier life are now enjoying the comforts to which they are most certainly entitled.

Joun H. Mitte. The study of the life of the representative American never fails to offer much of pleasing interest and valuable instruction, developing a mastering of expedients which has brought about satisfactory results. John H. Miller, the well-known president of the Peoples State Bank of Archbold, is a worthy representative of that type of American character and of that progressive spirit which promotes public good in advancing individual prosperity and conserving popular interests. He has long been prominently identified with the farming and business interests of Fulton county, and is numbered among the progressive and public-spirited citizens of the community.

John H. Miller was born on his father's farm in German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, on December 29, 1859, and is the son of John and Catherine (Knapp) Miller. He is descended from sterling old Swiss stock, and the family was established at Tedrow, Ohio, whence they moved to German Township, this county, when the subject's father was about eighteen years of age. Here they established their home in the midst of the forest which covered that section of the country, their first labors being directed toward clearing the land and fitting it for cultivation. John H. Miller is the first son in order of birth of the eight children born to his parents. He received his elementary education in the common schools of German Township during the winter terms, his summers being spent in assisting his father on the home farm, where he remained until he was twenty-two years of age, at which time he was married. At that time he bought his first land, consisting of eighty-five acres. to the operation of which he devoted himself during the following eighteen years. This farm, which is located in Richville Township, Henry county, he still owns. His next purchase was 128 acres of land near Archbold, this county, on which he made his home up to June, 1920, having bought a fine home in the town of Archbold in that year and is now living in town. Mr. Miller also owns twenty-five acres of land in Richville Township, Henry county, besides his other holdings there, and Mrs. Miller is the owner of 100 acres in Springfield Township, Williams county, Ohio. In 1908 Mr. Miller was elected vice president of the People's State Bank of Archbold, of which he was a stockholder and director, and subsequently he was chosen president of the institution, which is-one of the strong and influential banks of Fulton county, much of the popularity of the bank being due to the sound business management and personal qualities of its president.

On October 1, 1881, Mr. Miller was married to Susan Luty, the daughter of Peter and Martrit Luty. and to this union have been born the following children: May V., who has been a teacher for many years; Carietta, who is the wife of E. C. Sieler, a dentist of Chicago, Illinois, and they have one child, Lucile; Blanche and

In political affairs Mr. Miller is independent of party ties, reserving to himself the right to vote for the men he considers best qualified for office. His religious affiliations are with the German Reformed Church. He is essenially a man among men, moving as one who commands respect by innate force as well as by his superior ability. As a citizen he ranks among the leaders of his community in all efforts to advance and conserve the general welfare, and he enjoys to a marked degree the confidence and regard of all who know him.

ALBERT WANNER, who is now one of the leading agriculturists of Clinton Township, Fulton county, Ohio, owner and successful farmer of an extensive acreage in Clinton and Dover Townships, comes of one of the pioneer families of Franklin Township, in which he was born in 1876.

He is the son of Jacob and Mary (Pfound) Wanner, and grandson of Andrew Wanner, who appears in the early records of Franklin Township. Andrew Wanner was born in Schaueffhausen Canton, Switzerland, and came to America with his wife and family of five children. They came into Ohio, and drove to Franklin Township, Fulton county, where Andrew Wanner gained title to eighty acres of wild land which he gradually cleared with the aid of his sons. He prospered well, and before he died was the owner of 160 acres of good land, the majority of which had been cleared. In Franklin Township, and upon this farm, Jacob Wanner, son of Andrew and father of Albert, lived for the greater part of his life, and at his death the extensive Franklin Township estate was divided among his children. Jacob Wanner died in 1914, and of the seven children, four sons and three daughters, born to him and to his wife, Mary Pfound, Albert is the oldest, but he seems to have made his own way. The Franklin Township estate of Jacob Wanner is occupied by his younger brother, Frank, who was born in 1889, and married Effie Gusman in 1914. Frank has eighty acres, and the other eighty acres belong to their two unmarried sisters, Anna and Ida.

Albert was raised in the wholesome environment of the home farm, and until he was seventeen years old attended the country school during the winter and spring, and in the summer vacations gave sturdy assistance to his father in the operation of the large acreage belonging to the family. As a matter of fact he had been doing minor tasks on the home farm long before he left school, and when eventually he took wholly to farming he was almost completely efficient in the ordinary operation of a farm. He stayed with his father and worked steadily on the home farm until he was twenty-one years old, when he married, and took upon himself the responsibilities of an independent farmer. Soon after he had married he bought a farm of forty acres, which small acreage he tilled so well that it was more than ample to meet the requirements of his family; in fact, as the vears passed and he accumulated some substance, he was able to take on additional acreage, until he has today 200 acres in Clinton Township and forty acres in Dover Township, all good land. He is a man esteemed by those who know him for his sturdy industry and steady life, his characteristics being those of the strong-purposed pioneers. A successful farmer is so in- variably because of his readiness to take upon himself the laborious burdens that come up for execution in the general course of farming; and it may truthfully be said of Albert Wanner that he never shirked such labors. Whatever has been necessary to carry through the Operation to the successful harvest, he has always taken the task upon himself when hired help has not been available. So he has succeeded, and so he has been able to raise a well-nourished and healthy family of nine children, a worthy record. Not only in the raising of a large family has Albert Wanner been a helpful American citizen, for during the recent war he was one of the patriotic citizens who made it possible for the various loan issues to reach their expected quota in his district. '

Politically he is independent; indeed, he is a man of much discrimination in political matters, not following any party without thought to the present platform of that party. In his voting he is more disposed to be influenced by the reputation and convictions of the candidate than by the party. And in local affairs and in all projects that have bearing upon the prosperity of his own community he has always shown a close interest, although he has never sought office in the civic administration.

He is still in the prime of life, being only forty-four years old, yet he has been married for twenty-three years, as it was in 1897 that he married Amanda, daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Ricker) Ruger. Their nine children have all been reared in the county, and the elder children are, or will soon be, entering upon manful and useful careers.

CHarLes E. Reep. In the early days farming was carried on in a much different manner from what it is today. Then a man was content to earn his living from his land, and whenever the opportunity offered made his escape from the rural regions. Now the man fortunate enough to own a farm is one of the most independent of business men, and he carries on his transactions systematically and profitably. His land, buildings, stock and machinery are a well-balanced organization, and with them he is able to produce foodstuffs which he markets to the world. One of the most progressive of the representative agriculturists of Fulton county is Charles E. Reed of York Township, whose farming plant is one of the best equipped in this region.

Charles E. Reed was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 1852, a son of Henry and Christie Ann (Burger) Reed. also natives of Franklin county. They spent their lives there, and there they died and are buried. Growing up on his father's farm, Charles E. Reed learned the fundamentals of agricultural life from his father while he was acquiring a common school education in the rural schools. .

In 1882 he was united in marriage with Anna Krome, a native of Pennsylvania, and for about two years lived on a farm in Pennsylvania, but in 1884 moved to Fulton county, Ohio, and for a year was in the employ of D. K. Shoop of York Township. Mr. Reed then bought eighty acres of land in section 30, York Township, for which he paid fifty dollars an acre. There were some old buildings on the farm, but Mr. Reed has replaced them with thoroughly modern ones, has tiled and fenced the place and made other improvements, so that it is now one of the fine rural properties of the town-

The first Mrs. Reed died in 1890, leaving no issue. On November 19, 1893, Mr. Reed was married to Katherine Rupp, born near Fostoria, Hancock county, Ohio, a daughter of Michael and Mary (Gassman) Rupp, natives of Germany. There are no children of this marriage. Mr. Reed is a democrat, but has no political record, as he has not cared to hold office.

CHarLes Jacop Brinpiey. There is German and Swiss in the blood of Charles Jacob Brindley of Swanton. While he was American born - November 11, 1851, his father, John William Brindley was born in Wurtemberg, Germany. His mother, Minnie (Schochley) Brindley, was born at Elk, Switzerland. They were married at Maumee, and their son Charles J. Brindley was born in Spencer Township, Lucas county.

In 1889 the Brindley family moved to Swanton. The father was born in Germany, February 18, 1825, and died in Swanton, June 17, 1909. The mother was born in Switzerland, February 8, 1828. and died in Swanton, April 26, 1897. They had five children: Charles J.; Sophie, wife of Edward Dilgart, of Lucas county; Sebastian, who met an accidental death in 1919; William and Nettie, both deceased.

C. J. Brindley lived with his parents on their Lucas county farm until he was twenty-one years old, when he went to work in a grocery store in Toledo. Two years later he located in Swanton. He started a general merchandise business, and continued it eleven vears. At that time he sold his interest to his partner, William Geyser, and he engaged for a time in the butcher business in Swanton. His next business venture was a livery barn, and six months later he sold it and engaged in the hardware and implement business. Eleven years later Mr. Brindley sold this business and went onto a _ farm in Lucas county. .

After one season on the farm Mr. Brindley opened a furniture and undertaking business in Swanton, August 15, 1898, it being the only business of the kind in the community. He purchased the business of Robert Fenton. It had been established in 1874, and is the oldest business establishment now in Swanton. Mr. Brindley carries a full stock in both branches of the business - an up-to-date furniture store in Swanton.

On May 6, 1875, Mr. Brindley married Eva A. Kaley, who lived in Swanton Township, Lucas county. She is a daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Stair) Kaley. They were a Pennsylvania family who had come early to Lucas county. They came in 1840 - at a time when the pioneers knew the meaning of the word privations. The children are: Charles Edward, associated with his father in business in Swanton, married Myrtle Haynes, and they have one daughter, Londa. Nettie, the wife of W. W. Butler, of Toledo, has two children, Charles and Martine. Alfred, of Kenton, married first Nettie Hatfield. and they have two children, Alfred and Jack. He married second Grace Norigan. Arthur Aquilla, a physician at Port Clinton, Ohio, married Catharine Thomas.

Mr. Brindley has had his share in public life, having been Swanton town treasurer four terms. He has also been township treasurer and for twenty-one years he has been a member of the Swanton School Board. He was a member of the board when the high school was built in Swanton. For eight years he has served as township clerk - elected by the republicans, but serving the whole community. :

Mr. Brindley was active in the organization of the Farmers and Merchants Deposit Company of Swanton. He was a director and has since served as its president. He is a stockholder in the Swanton Milling and Elevator Company, and closely identified with all busiress movements in the community. i

While in his early life Mr. Brindley belonged to the Baptist Church, in Swanton he belongs to the Methodist and is chairman of the board of trustees. For many years he was Oe eo of the Sunday school. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons No. 555, of Swanton, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 528, and has been through all of the chairs. With his wife he is a member of the Eastern Star in Swanton.

Gipron Reusen SHarer. One of the substantial farmers of Fulton county who is successfully engaged in operating his fine 140-acre farm in German Township is Gideon Reuben Shafer, a native son of the county. He was born in Franklin Township, Fulton county, in 1855, his parents, John B. and Mary Catherine (Huke) Shafer, having come to the United States from Germany and settled in Franklin Township, where they bought fifty acres of land. They continued to live on this farm until claimed by death, she passing away in 1907 and he in 1910.

Growing up in his native township, Gideon Reuben Shafer attended the Fisher and Masters schools during a few months each winter until he was seventeen years old, after which he had to spend all his time working hard, first assisting his father and later as a hired man. In those days wages were small and the hours long, and a man certainly earned all he received, and generally a good deal more. |

When he was twenty-three years old Mr. Shafer was married to Mary Shetler, a daughter of George and Sarah Ellen (Collins) Shetler, of Franklin Township. Of the three children born to them, only one survives, he being Jesse Dale, who married Rody Bemo. Following his marriage Mr. Shafer bought seventy-five acres, to which he later added land until he now has 140 acres, and on it has since engaged in general farming. He is an experienced and practical man and understands every phase of his work. Having spent his life in this line, he feels that he is able to conduct his farm in his own manner, and is somewhat conservative about making experiments. However, when he is convinced that a new method is good and can be adopted without serious inconvenience, or that the outlay will pay him, he gives it a trial.

He is a republican and has always given the candidates of his party the support of his vote. [For six years he served as a justice of the peace of German Township, and his decisions were so just and equitable that they were seldom reversed by the higher courts. Mr. Shafer has held a number of other offices, having been on the township School Board for six years, township trustee for two years, and county commissioner for four years. Since 1914 he has been manager and one of the directors of the Northwestern Mutual Telephone Company, and he is a stockholder and director of the Farmers Commercial Bank at West Unity, Ohio. Recognition of his integ- rity and ability has been shown by his having been made administrator of three different estates, and it is but just to him to state that he settled all of them in a highly satisfactory manner. There are few men in his neighborhood who stand as high in public confidence as he, and he is a credit to his community.

Henry Dominique has deserved well of his community through the energy with which he has prosecuted every undertaking, whether growing crops on his farm, or some matter affecting the welfare of his friends and neighbors. While Mr. Dominique owns seventyeight acres constituting a good farm in German Township, through most of his active life he has been a renter and still rents and operates more land than he owns.

He was born at the old Dominique farmstead in Fulton county in 1865, son of Xavier and Mary (Flory) Dominique. His people were French Catholics. His father when a young man came from Alsace-Lorraine and located in German Township, where he bought 160 acres of scarcely improved land.

Henry Dominique was one in a large family of twelve children. For a few months each year he attended the Stutzman district school No. 7, and kept that up until he reached his majority. In 1889, at the age of twenty-four, he married Clara Bender, daughter of Benjamin and Marian (McManus) Bender, of Elmira, Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Dominique also had a family of twelve children, and all are living except Hal Leo, who died in 1901, at the age of six months.

After his marriage Mr. Dominique rented 160 acres, and has farmed that place steadily, producing one crop after another for over thirty years. He still has it rented, while his own place is a farm of seventy-eight acres.

Frank §S. Frory. In early pioneer times the Flory family came into Fulton county, entered land from the government, and made their first home in the woods. As a family they have been noted for a continuation of the pioneer spirit, and their faithfulness and energy under all conditions have produced a number of elements of value in the progress of Fulton county. ;

Frank S. Flory represents the third generation of the family, and has spent his active life as a farmer in German Township, where he was born in 1861. He is a son of Frank and Josephine (Richard) Flory. His father was eight years of age when brought to this country from Alsace-Lorraine. The grandfather, John Peter Flory, acquired eighty acres of woodland from the government in German Township and spent the rest of his life there. Frank Flory, Sr., and his brother Fred cleared a tract of land a mile east of Almira, constituting the old Flory homestead. Frank Flory was given eighty acres of this land, and continued to live there, doing his work as a farmer and earning the esteem of the community until his death on October 28, 1915.

Frank S. Flory while a boy attended the Stutzman school in district No. 7. His education was completed by the time he was thirteen, and after that he worked both summer and winter help- ing his father. After his father's death the old homestead was divided, Frank S. taking part, his brother George fifty acres and his brother Henry thirty acres. Frank S. Flory is a bachelor. He is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, St. Peter's Catholic Church and is a democratic voter.

His brother George A. Flory was born and has always lived on the old Flory homestead. He also attended district No. 7 of the country schools, and later spent one term in the Fayette Normal School. Practically all his life has been given to agriculture. In 1906 he married Emma Pauline Miller, of Wauseon, a daughter of Anthony and Mary (Martin) Miller. They have three children, Ada Josephine, Clarence George and Christine Marie.

George Flory is also a democrat, a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, and has always endeavored to sustain the duties and responsibilities of good citizenship.

Wituram H. Mitier. Apart from the substantial qualities of character exemplified in the acquisition and capable management of a large farm of 200 acres, William H. Miller is also known in Fulton county as a thoroughly public-spirited citizen, a man always ready to do his share in behalf of community improvements and the upholding of the principles of American government.

Mr. Miller, whose farm of 200 acres is in German Township, was born in that township in 1868, on the original homestead of his parents, John and Catherine (Knapp) Miller. His father was a native of Canton Schauffhausen, Switzerland, and was brought to this country when a child by his parents. The Millers are an old and prominent family of Fulton county and have long been identified with the lands and farming interests of German Township. John Miller after a long and active career died there in 1903.

William H. Miller spent his early life after the manner of most farm boys, attending school in winter to the age of seventeen, and having a regular routine of duties at home. After completing his education he lived at home to the age of twenty-four, working for his father. He then worked for himself, and in 1897 he married Mary Elizabeth Winzeler and established a home of his own. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have nine children, all living.

After his marriage he bought a farm, and has been steadily advancing the area of his land holdings, eventually taking in his father's old place and now has 200 acres, well improved and well farmed.

Mr. Miller has been active in local affairs. He was twice a candidate for township trustee. He acts independently in elections, casting his vote for the man best qualified. He served on the School Board of German Township nine years, and is a member of the Reformed Church.

Harmon Kurcx. By his self-reliance, hard work and intelligent management Harmon Kleck has earned the right to be considered one of the leading farmers and citizens of German Township, Fulton county, where he has a model place of eighty acres, devoted to the standard crops of Fulton county.

Mr. Kleck was born at Archbold in Fulton county May 24, 1872. Just two years previously his parents, Henry and Anna (Beuhrer) Kleck, had come from Canton Schaffhausen, Switzer- land. Henry Kleck was a shoemaker by trade, followed that occupation for-a time in this country, and:then bought a farm in Richville Township, Henry county, Ohio. He owned and cultivated sixty acres there, but later sold out and is now living retired.

Harmon Kleck was the fourth in a family of six children. While he attended schools at intervals at Richville to the age of seventeen, he always had a regular assignment of duties on the home farm and from the age of thirteen he hired out his services to other farmers, his wages going into the home exchequer. At the age of twenty-one, without capital, but with a good knowledge of farm methods, he began the slow process of acquiring his own property. He worked as a farm hand in German Township, and at the age of twenty-five he had made such progress that he was justified in getting married. Mrs. Kleck before her marriage was Emma Burkholder, a daughter of D. D. and Catherine (Kiefer) Burkholder of Henry county. Mr. and Mrs. Kleck have four children: Inez Ruth, Harold D., Ilva L. and Wilbur Herman.

At the age of twenty-nine, four years after his marriage, Mr. Kleck with his father-in-law bought a farm in German Township. Six years later he became sole owner of this place, and he is now owner of a substantial property, and at the same time has given good home advantages to his family.

SAMUEL A. SCHLATTER, who is a successful representative Fulton county agriculturist, and owns a rich farm of eighty-four acres in German Township, is a native of the county, and has lived his whose life within its borders. His father, now in his eighty-fifth year, has lived in the county since he was twenty-eight years old, and was associated with many of the pioneer settlers of German Township.

Samuel A. was born in the village of Archbold, German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, January 24, 1866, the son of John and Mary Magdalen (Buehrer) Schlatter. The family is of Swiss origin, John Schlatter having been born in the village of Buttenhardt, Canton of Schauffhausen, Switzerland, in 1835. He learned the trade of blacksmith in this native place, and married there, and one of his children, Lydia, now deceased, was born in Switzerland. In 1863, when he was twenty-eight years old, John Schlatter brought his wife and child to America, in that year coming direct to German Township, where others of Swiss origin, and from the Canton of Schauffhausen, had settled. Soon after he had arrived in the township he established himself in business in the village of Archbold, maintaining a smithy and wagon shop in that place until 1876, when he bought the farm of sixty-six acres he still owns. He farmed the property from 1876 until 1900, his industry and skillful farming bringing him into comfortable circumstances financially. In 1900, being then sixty-five years old, and having worked hard for practically fifty years, he decided to retire. He and his wife moved into Archbold, where until the latter's death in 1913 they lived a quiet and comfortable life of retirement. In 1917 he returned to the home farm, which he had sold to his son Samuel in 1904, and which Samuel had tilled for very many years prior to that. For the remainder of his days John Schlatter will probably live quietly with his son upon the farm that has been in the possession of the family for so many years. John and Mary Magdalen (Buehrer) Schlatter were the parents of seven children, five of whom were sons. Only two of their children, however, now survive, Hannah, who married John M. Kaehr, of Bluffton, Indiana, and Samuel A.

Samuel A. Schlatter received his early education in the public :chool of Archbold, attending that school until he was ten years old, by which time the family had moved out of Archbold onto the farm his father had bought in German Township. The boy thereafter attended district school No. 15, that being the nearest to his father's farm. When he was fifteen years old he left school altogether, and from. that time until he was twenty-six years old he worked steadily at farming tasks upon his father's farm. Then followed one year of carpentering in the neighborhood, and a further year or so at farming with his father, which brought him to the year of his marriage, 1894. Soon after marriage he went into Archbold to live, and work as a carpenter. So employed, he passed five years in Archbold, after which he again took up farming, renting a farm of 104 acres in German Township. Two years later he again moved onto the home farm, his father having decided to retire altogether. His parents moved in Archbold, and he rented the family property until 1904, when he purchased it from his father. He has had much success in general farming and in the raising of cattle. He maintains a somewhat large dairy, pays thoughtful attention to his stock, and generally does not shirk the labor that the proper operation of his acreage brings. He is known in the township as a man of marked energy, and in his farming he has also shown good business enterprise. ,

He is independent in politics, placing more importance upon the character of the candidate for office than upon the platform of the party. He is an earnest Christian, member of the Missionary Church of Archbold. He has for many years interested himself in church work and in personal and financial support has been a valued member of his church, of which at present he is deacon and trustee.

In 1894 Samuel A. Schlatter married Eliza Nofziger, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Sauter) Nofziger, of Archbold. To them have been born seven children, four sons and three daughters. The children in order of birth are: Floyd Monroe, who is now twentyfour years old, and 'in good business in Toledo, connected with an oil company of that place. He is a veteran of the World war, serving for three months in Camp Gordon, Georgia, and then being transferred to the Machine Gun Officers Training School at Camp Hancock, Georgia, where he went through the course which gained him in graduating the rank of second-lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve on November 25, 1918, being soon afterward mustered out of the service because of the signing of the Armistice; Ormond Edward, now twenty-two years old in is business in Delta, Fulton county; Olin Guy, now twenty years old, is in his second term at the Bible Training School at Fort Wayne, where he expects to qualify for entry to the ministry. The four younger children of Mr. and Mrs. Schlatter are: Florence Fay, Ada May, Nolo Nell, and Miles Wave. piss

Petrer Rego, an esteemed and prosperous farmer of German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, now lives on the homestead upon which he was born in 1851. His father, associated with the early settlers of the county, did much pioneer work and cleared a very good farm for himself. And, like his father, Peter also did much development work, his energy and enterprise being responsible for the conversion of many acres of wild land to good rich agricultural properties. He has a worthy repute in the township, the reward that comes by a life well lived, by a sincerity of interest in one's fellows, and a helpful co-operation with one's neighbors. Peter Rebo has for the greater part of his life lived by hard toil, prospering well by industrious and well-directed farming in his later days, and in earlier years by the more rigorous labors of a woodsman.

He was born in the Rebo homestead in German Township, Fulton county, Ohio, on May 1, 1851, the son of Joseph and Frances (Short) Rebo. His father was born in France, and married in that country, coming soon afterward with his wife to America and settling in Elmira, Fulton county. For five years after coming into the territory, which was then in almost a wild state, with nothing of greater importance for the settlers to do than to clear the forest, Joseph Rebo lived the life of a woodsman, working as wood chopper for settlers in the vicinity. At the end of that time he bought the eighty acre tract now owned and occupied by his son Peter. When he acquired it the land was an undeveloped tract, but he lived on it for more than forty years, and for the greater part of that time worked steadily, first in clearing the acreage of timber, and latterly in bringing it into good fertility, Peter, as he grew, taking increasing share in the burdens of the farm operation. Joseph Rebo died in 1890, his wife surviving him for four years, her death not occurring until 1894.

Peter, born in 1851, and reared in the somewhat primitive surroundings of the township of that day, gained what schooling was possible in the country school nearest to his father's farm. He at- | tended district school No. 15 during the winters, or rather for as long each year as the school was open, which meant practically only during the winter months, the summer vacation being planned to extend over the greater part of the growing season, when the sons of farmers would be of use to their parents on the home farms. So Peter grew to manhood. He continued to attend school until he was sixteen years old, and for seven years thereafter assisted his father in the clearing of the parental acreage. He did much work as a woodsman, he and his father clearing 160 acres altogether. He was twenty-two years old when he married, which to some extent affected his future plans. In the following year he rented a farm of eighty acres for himself, and fifteen years later was able to buy the home farm of eighty acres, where he has since lived. It has long since ceased to be necesary for him to rely upon the product of the farm for his sustenance, and he does not now work as strenuously as formerly; still, having lived so active a life, he even yet undertakes quite a lot of work upon the farm.

Politically he is an independent democrat, religiously he is a Catholic, a devout member of the St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church of Archbold, and throughout his life he has been closely interested in all matters that pertain to his native township.

Ann (Jean-Marie) Socie, whose parents were respected residents in German Township. Mr. and Mrs. Rebo became the parents of thirteen children, of whom eight survive, four sons and four daughters: Mary Alice, who married Enoch Rupp, of Archbold, and is the mother of three children, Stella Cecilia, Wilma Maryann and Viola Margaret; Laura, who married Max Scanlon, of Toledo, but is without issue; Anna Myrtle, who is at home; Irvin Sereno, now thirty-five years old; Edward Peter, now thirty-three years old; Laurence Louis, who was born in 1888, has married, and is a successful farmer in Clinton Township, Fulton county; Blanche May, who is at home; Hilary Sylvester; and Florence Arville, who died in 1913, had married, and had borne to her husband five children, who survived her. The other children of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rebo died in infancy.

Korres Turerry, one of the intelligent farmers of Fulton county, works a fine farm of 105 acres in Franklin Township, and is engaged in conducting it in a profitable manner. He is a son of Charles and Anna (Roth) Thierry, the former of whom came to the United States from France when nine years old, at which time his family located in German Township, Fulton county, and reared three sons and one daughter. Charles Thierry died October 15, 1900. After his death his wife, Anna, purchased 105 acres in Franklin Township, where she still resides and her son Kores works the place.

Kores Thierry was born January 18, 1895, and was only a little boy when he lost his father. He attended the country schools until he was sixteen years of age during the winter months, and helped his mother with the farm in the summer. He has spent his life on this farm and is a very good agriculturist and much interested in operating his land in a modern way so as to make it yield banner crops. Mr. Thierry is unmarried. He is an independent democrat in his political views, and as yet has not become before the public for office, having been too much occupied with his private affairs to be active in politics. Believing strongly in the value of the Farm Bureau to the farmer, he has been a member of the local organization. In connection with the Bureau Mr. Thierry is studying the structure, composition and physiology of farm crops and their environment; that is, climate, fertilizers, soil and similar influences. He has taken advantage of the promulgation of agricultural information by the governmental and other institutions, and is active in urging co-operation among the farmers so as to investigate into the value of such important aids as irrigation, dry farming, selective plant and animal breeding, specialization in crops, fertilizers and cold storage. It is men like Mr. Thierry who have during the past, as they still do at present, made the advancements in agriculture and brought about the transition from crude beginnings to methods and appliances of the present day. Mr. Thierry and his family, unlike the majority of French extraction, are Protestants. It would be difficult to find anyone who is more alert to the possibilities of an honorable calling than he, and although he is yet a young man he has proven his worth to his community and given promise of much greater progress in the future.

life on the farm upon which he was born, and which his father, who was one of the pioneer settlers of the township, won from the wilderness.

His paternal descent is English, but the family has long been resident in the United States. His paternal grandparents, George and Nancy Jane (Lawrence) Biddle, were both born in Pennsy]lvania. Their son Henry L., father of William A., was born in Pennsylvania, but in early manhood came into Ohio, and for a while lived in Wayne county. There he married Agatha Greenwelt, who was born in Russia, but who since her fourteenth year had been living in the United States, her parents having settled in Wayne county, Ohio. In about 1855 Henry L. Biddle and his wife put their few belongings into a wagon and drove through the wilderness from Wayne county to Fulton county, settling in York Township upon wild land Henry L. Biddle had purchased. There they lived the rigorous life of the pioneer, and in course of time, by dint of hard and persistent labor, Henry L. Biddle found himself the owner of a good agricultural property, 127 acres in extent, all cleared and tillable with the exception of twenty acres. He died in the township on December 5, 1888, aged fifty-five years, having been born on June 4, 1833. His wife, however, lived a widowhood of twenty-six years, her demise not occurring until March 25, 1915, she being then seventy-eight years old, having been born on January 12, 1837. They had many sincere friends among the older people of York Township. Their children were: Nannie, who was born on_ March 11, 1857, and died on June 9, 1886, married Brainard Fleming; William A., regarding whose life more follows; George F., who was born on October 4, 1871, and now lives in Los Angeles, California; Mary A., who was born on March 27, 1874, and eventually married John Sinkes of Muskogee, Oklahoma.

William A. Biddle, son of Henry L. and Agatha (Greenwelt) Biddle, was born in York Township on May 28, 1861. He attended the district school in his boyhood, and after leaving school applied himself industriously to agricultural occupations, becoming of much assistance to his father in the operation of their somewhat extensive farm. He remained by his father until the latter's death, and for twelve years afterward remained single, the responsibilities of the farm and the family to a great extent devolving upon him, he being the elder of the two sons. In 1900 he married, but he continued to work the home farm, and has done so up to the present, with good result, his industry and skill as a farmer having brought him very satisfactory return. He now owns the 127 acres, and although for the first four years of his married life they lived in the old Biddle home, he erected in 1905 the substantial modern dwelling they now occupy. His farming has been of general character, and he has had good success in stockraising and maintains a good dairy., His property is known as the Lake Shore Dairy Farm, and that acreage of good fertile land is the worthy contribution of one family to the development of the United States.

Politically Mr. Biddle is a democrat, but he has not taken active part in national politics, and has never sought political office. He, however, has closely followed local affairs, and has upon many occasions shown commendable public spirit in giving willing support to many movements of importance to the community. Religiously he is identified with the Evangelical Church, and fraternally is a member of the Ancient Order of Gleaners.

His wife, Ella Biery, whom he married on April 29, 1900, was born in York Township, June 9, 1874, a daughter of Christian and Lottie (Schlegel) Biery and granddaughter of Nicholas and Magdeline (Hummel) Biery, all of whom were residents of York Township. Nicholas Biery, who is placed among the pioneers of the township, was born in Switzerland, and came to the United States when he was in early manhood. He settled in Pennsylvania and there married, his wife being a native of that state. Not long after their marriage they came into Ohio and to York Township, Fulton county, when the surrounding country was practically wilderness. Christian Biery, their son, was born in North Georgetown, Columbiana county, Ohio. He lived in York Township for practically the whole of his life, farming an_ extensive acreage, and building four residences. He died in 1909, in his sixty-fourth year. His wife, Lottie (Schlegel) Biery, is still living, and in comfortable circumstances, upon the old homestead. She was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, but her parents were also early York Township residents. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Ella (Biery) Biddle were Gotlief and Lydia Ann (Bailey) Schlegel, the former a native of Berlin, Germany, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They lived after marriage for a while in Coshocton county, Ohio, and there Lottie, their daughter, and mother of Mrs. Biddle was born on December 11, 1847, but they later came into Fulton county.

GrorGE WILtpon OrNporfr, who during the last decade has had substantial success in farming in York Township, Fulton county, is a native of that township, and comes of one of the pioneer families of the county. Mr. Orndorff has lived an active life, has always been a responsible citizen of close interest in national and local affairs, and has manifested worthy Christian characteristics, having entered actively into church work.

He was born in York Township, Fulton county, in September, 1865. the son of George and Rachel (Biddle) Orndorff. The Orndorff family has had many generations of American residence, the name being encountered in the vital statistics of early Pennsylvanian communities. George Orndorff was born in Pennsylvania, and later came into Ohio. at first living in Wayne county, where he met Rachel Biddle, who became his wife. She was born in Wayne county, Ohio, and they came through the wilderness from Wayne county to Fulton county and settled in York Township, George Orndorff acquiring a tract of wild land in the northwestern part of the township. There they both lived for the remainder of their lives and raised a family of six children, of whom George Wildon was the youngest. Mrs. Rachel (Biddle) Orndorff died in about 1897, two vears after the death of her husband, George Orndorff, whose demise occurred in 1895. Their children in order of birth were: Lorinda, who married Samuel Murray, of York Township, and is now deceased; Samuel, also deceased; Luther, deceased: Clara J., who now lives in Wauseon, Ohio; Knight, now of Clinton Township, Fulton county; and George Wildon.

(Biddle) Orndorff, was born in the old homestead of the family, and in his youth had to content himself with the limited education he could obtain in the district school. Afterward he devoted his time mainly to work upon the home farm until he was twentythree years old, when he married. Soon after that important event in his life he went to live in Wauseon, Ohio, and there for about six years did well in the teaming and trucking business. In 1894 he went to Signet, Ohio, and for the next eighteen months worked as a teamster in the oil fields. Returning to Wauseon, he took up his former connection, continuing in the teaming and trucking enterprises until 1909. He had also concurrently undertaken farming responsibilities, having purchased forty acres of the Orndorff homestead in York Township soon after he had returned to the district from the oil fields. The portion he had bought was practically all timber, and most of this during the next four years he cleared, later selling the property. In 1909, however, he purchased a farm of eighty acres of improved land in section 9 of York Township, and since that vear he has devoted himself exclusively to farming, with good results. He is enterprising, has good knowledge of farming, is energetic, and alertly follows the developments of modern methods. His farm is well adapted to the purposes to which he puts it, those of general farming, and he keeps a dairy of moderate size.

Politically he is a republican, but his interest in politics has not been that of an office seeker. He has never sought, neither would he accept, public office. Huis busy life has been too full of produc. tion to have much room for deliberation. In church matters, however, he has ever been an earnest worker. He is a stalwart member of the Christian Union Church, and since early in 1917 has been first elder of the local church. He is also an assistant teacher in the Sunday School.

Mr. Orndorff has been twice married. His first wife, whom he married in November, 1888, was Della, daughter of David Pontius, of York Township. Mrs. Orndorff was a native of York Township, but her father was born in Pickaway county, Ohio. George Wildon Orndorff married for his second wife Ida Ledyard, born in Clinton Township, Fulton county, daughter of Frank and Ellen (Kimmer) Ledyard, the second marriage having taken place in March, 1905.

Oriver P. Raker. The vital interest of the whole community in the success of agriculture as the great basal industry has been proven bevond question, and within recent years this interest has been intensified because of the unprecedented demand for foodstuffs. Because of these facts the importance of the farmer has become generally recognized, and his choice of a calling received universal. approval. One of the men who lent distinction to Fulton county as an agricultural center was Oliver P. Raker, of York Township, whose death occurred December 2, 1919.

Oliver P. Raker was born in Swan Creek Township on December 5, 1841, a son of Jacob and Fannie (Perry) Raker, natives of Pennsylvania and Wayne county, Ohio, and grandson of Martin Raker, a native of Pennsylvania, and Levi and Frances (Humphrey) Perry, all of whom were very early settlers of Ohio. Jacob

Raker and his wife were married in what was then Lucas county, Ohio, but is now Fulton county, and they settled in Swan Creek Township, then all wild timberland, about 1835. Here they cleared and improved a farm, and in 1854 bought 160 acres of land on section 24, York Township, which was also in the timber. On it the father built a log cabin, and then went to work to clear it off and place it under cultivation. He died on this farm in 1888, when he was sixty-nine years of age. His widow survived him until November, 1907, when she passed away at the age of eighty-seven years. Their children were as follows: Oliver P., who was the eldest; Wealthy Ann, who is deceased; George, who is also deceased ; Diantha Jane, who is Mrs. John Love, of McClure, Ohio; Harriet, who is Mrs. George Shaub; Amos P., who lives in Pike Township; Daniel, who lived at Napoleon, Ohio, until October, 1919, and now resides qn his farm one mile south of Delta; and Calvin, who lives near Tedrow, Ohio.

Oliver P. Raker has a war record, for he enlisted in November, 1861, in the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for service during the war between the states, and was at Fort Donelson, and in many of the important battles in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, including the siege of Vicksburg. Later his regiment was with General Sherman's command in the campaign in Georgia. Mr. Raker received his discharge on December 10, 1864, near Savannah, Georgia, and returned home by way of New York City.

On October 4, 1866, Mr. Raker was married to Martha Dumaresq, born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on June 26, 1845, a daughter of Frederick and Jane Maria (Norton) Dumaresq, natives of the Isle of Guernsey and Wayne county, New York, respectively. Mrs. Raker's grandfather, Abram Dumaresq, was born on the Isle of Guernsey, and he married a Miss Simon. The maternal grandparents were Benjamin and Betsey (Minor) Norton, natives of Wayne county, New York.

After his marriage Mr. Raker took up his residence on his farm of five acres, to which he kept on adding until he had forty acres, all of which he cleared and improved, and in 1916 he rented it. In the spring of 1919 he sold this farm to Melford Baldwin, but continued to make his home on the property until his death.

Mr. and Mrs. Raker became the parents of the following children: Charles, who is a resident of Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. N. D. Fonty, of Wauseon; Mrs. Henry Smout, of Toledo; Fred, who lives at Delta, Ohio; Albert, who died in infancy; and Carlton, who lives at Bellefontaine, Ohio. Mr. Raker had nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and was very proud of all of them. For many years he was a member of the Christian Church of Delta, and from 1888 he served it as a deacon. While he gave an intelligent support to the candidates of the republican party, he never cared to enter public life as an office seeker. He was a member of Mc- Quillan Post, Grand Army of the Republic.

Having spent his entire life in Fulton county, with the exception of his army service, Mr. Raker was naturally much interested in its advancement, and felt proud of the fact that he had the privilege of taking part in this work. He was a man of high character, one who carried his religion into his every day life, and those who knew him appreciated the fact that he was one who not only treated his neighbor as well as himself, but considerably better. While his educational training was restricted to the district schools he had added to his store of knowledge as the years went by, and was a very well informed man in every respect.

Hezexian Marxs. Strictly a self-made man who has created his own opportunities, Hezekiah Marks has long been identified with the agricultural community of Fulton county, and after acquiring a competence as a farmer he moved to Fayette, where he is now enjoying a well-earned retirement.

He was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, January 18, 1861, son of Jacob Frederick and Barbara Ellen (Musser) Marks, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The paternal grandparents were Daniel and Hannah (Lillie) Marks, the former a native of Pennsylvania, while the latter was born on the Atlantic Ocean while her parents were coming to this country from Germany, the voyage requiring seventeen weeks. Daniel Marks and wife settled in Williams county, Ohio, while the Musser family were pioneers of Gorham Township, Fulton county. Jacob F'. Marks after his marriage lived for a few years in Hillsdale county, Michigan, spent two years in Lenawee county, that state, and then returned to Williams county, Ohio. Their family consisted of four children: Benjamin Franklin, who died at the age of twenty-one; Hezekiah; Hattie, wife of Gilbert Van Arsdalen, of Michigan; and William Peter, of Pioneer, Ohio.

Hezekiah Marks had no opportunities to attend school while at home. He was seventeen years of age when he took his place among much younger children in a district school, and altogether his schooling was limited to about twenty-one months. However, he early learned to make the best of a bad situation, and has maintained an open mind and willingness to learn by experience, and therefore has not suffered as great a handicap as might be supposed. He left home at the age of seventeen, and worked out as a farm hand until he was thirty years of age. By industry and careful economy he was able to invest his savings in eighty acres of land in Gorham Township, and after getting that partly improved he married a year and a half after purchasing it, on November 12, 1891, Miss Amanda M. Alleman. Mrs. Marks was born in Richland county, Ohio, August 30, 1864, daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Gleim) Alleman. Her parents were natives of Ohio and early settlers in Richland county. Mr. Marks put in many strenuous years on his farm, working in the fields with the growing crops and constantly studying to make the land more productive and improving with barns, house and other equipment. He remained there engaged in general farming until March 9, 1915, when he bought his residence in Fayette, turning over the management of his farm to his son, and has since lived practically retired.

He has two children, the son being Josiah Franklin, while the daughter, Ruby Marie, is the wife of Bernard Crawford of Milan, Michigan. The son married Bertha Long and has a daughter, Gladys Lucile.

Mrs. Marks received a district school education. She is an active member of the Missionary and Ladies Aid Societies of the Disciples Church, in which Mr. Marks is serving as deacon and 'treasurer. Politically he votes as a democrat.

Ansex Lanois Forp was born and has spent all his life in Fulton county. His business interests from first to last have been concentrated in land and its fruits and products. His success has been a rather unusual and striking one. He began his active career with little capital except a determined ambition and unlimited energy. In the course of many years he has owned seventeen different farms, and his possessions today include six farms, aggregating about 500 acres.

Mr. Ford, who is now enjoying the comforts of a part town and part country home at the edge of Fayette, was born in Gorham Township August 15, 1851, son of Cyrus and Fannie (Landis) Ford. He represents old New England stock, his people for several generations living in Cumington, Massachusetts, where his father was born in 1821. The Landis family came from Pennsylvania, and one of Mr. Ford's maternal ancestors was an American officer in the Revolutionary war. The principal facts regarding the Ford ancestors and the Fulton county branch of that name are given on other pages of this publication. -

Ansel Landis Ford grew up on his father's farm, acquiring his education in Fayette, and after his marriage at the age of twentyfour lived on his father's old home place a mile from Fayette. He was a renter there, and continued to occupy this place even after he had acquired other farms. In 1909 he bought eighty acres of the old Ford homestead, including the buildings. Under his ownership many of the buildings have been replaced with modern structures, and the farm has been highly developed in every way. On June 1, 1917, Mr. Ford bought a modern residence and an acre of ground at the east edge of Fayette.

He married in September, 1874, Anna Humphrey, a native of Fayette, daughter of Rensselaer and Cornelia (Emerick) Humphrey and member of another prominent and well-known family of Fulton county whose records are given in detail elsewhere. The oldest of Mr. and Mrs. Ford's children is Alva, of Gorham Township, who married Ida Tavlor and has three children, Anna, Naomi and Van. 'The second child, Bermah, is the wife of Clyde Brown of Napa, California, and the mother of two children, Lowell F. and Leland Robert. Clare Ford, who now has the responsibilities of managing the home farm, married Gertrude Wilcox, and their children are Blenda June and Don Wilcox. Demah is the wife of Cass Cullis, of Swanton, and has a son, Ford Miller. Denver, twin brother of Demah, lives in Gorham Township, and by his marriage to Lois Richmond has a daughter, Pauline Lucile.

His experience as a farmer and land owner has given Mr. Ford a wide and diversified knowledge of land values, and he has served as real estate appraiser in Gorham Township and the village of Fayette and for two years was township assessor. He has been deeply interested in public schools and for forty years has been a member of the township School Board of Gorham. He is now serving his second term as justice of the peace and in politics is a republican voter. He has held all the chairs of Lodge No. 689 of the Knights of Pythias at Fayette.

Emerson E. Bourquin, partner of the firm of Bourquin Brothers, tile manufacturers of Archbold, Fulton county, Ohio, is one of the substantial and enterprising business men of that section

He was born about three miles to the west of Archbold in 1877, the son of Charles and Martha Bourquin. The family is of Alsatian (French) ancestry, but three generations have had American residence, the American progenitor of the branch to which Emerson E. and Ira O. Bourquin, of Archbold, belong being their grandfather, James, who was a cabinetmaker in his native land, although after he crossed to America and settled in Fulton county, near Archbold, he followed agriculture almost exclusively. He had married anterior to the year of his immigration, and some of his children were born in France, but concerning his immediate family the data now available is not explicit or complete. It appears, however, that for some short period after immigrating with his wife and children James Bourquin lived in Williams county, Ohio, subsequently moving into Fulton county, where the family home has ever since been. The Bourquin family has been thus connected with the county and with Archbold for very long. Of the four children of James Bourquin, two sons and two daughters, his son Charles, father of Emerson E., was the last born and possibly he was born in America. Charles Bourquin farmed for the greater part of his life, assisting his father throughout the latter's life, and after his death continuing to till the Bourquin family homestead, to the westward of Archbold, until somewhat recently, when he retired from agricultural occupations altogether and moved into Archbold, so that he might pass the remaining years of his life in quiet comfort and be near his children. Jie married Martha Klopfenstein, and they were the parents of four children, all sons, of whom Emerson E. is the youngest.

Emerson E. as a boy attended the district school nearest to the family homestead, following the classes until he had reached the age of eighteen years. Like most country boys of his time, his schooling practically resolved itself into winter terms, the school being closed for the greater part of the growing season. However, he made good that deficiency by attending school for a greater number of years than he otherwise might have. Still, as his long summer vacations were spent generally in doing what tasks connected with the home farm he had the strength to undertake, he was almost an experienced farmer before he finally closed his schooling altogether. From the age of eighteen years until he was in his twenty-third year he remained at home, giving his time exclusively to his father, and to the affairs of the home farm. In 1899, however, he went to West Unity, Williams county, Ohio, where for the next four years he was a clerk in a general store of that place. He returned to Archbold at the end of that time and joined his brother Ira O. in a business enterprise, the two then becoming established in a grocery business in Archbold, trading as Bourquin Brothers, and during the next four years having Satisfactory return upon their investment. They then sold the business to advantage, being influenced in the matter by another business opportunity then open, and from which they expected to get an even better return than the continuance in merchandising business would have brought them. They purchased thirteen acres of land to the eastward of Archbold, and ever since have been manufacturers of building tile and other clay products, valuable clay deposits being upon their land, which fact: the Bourquin brothers had cognizance of prior to their decision to purchase the land. Their manufactured products find a ready market among users within seventy-five miles of Archbold, and they have generally been able to keep their plant operated at full capacity. Thirteen men find, constant employment in the plant, and the brothers have not an inconsequential business in their retailing of coal in Archbold and the neighboring country. -

Politically Mr. Bourquin is of independent affiliation; in fact it may be said of him that he is of independent mind, placing more importance upon the strength and moral standing of the candidate for his vote rather than upon the party such candidate was linked with. If such discrimination were more generally shown at elections, politics would be of higher standard in all probability. Mr. Bourquin has upon many occasions shown a commendable community interest, and has at all times been ready to co-operate, personally or financially, in worthy local projects of communistic bearing. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, a member of the West Unity branch of that order, and is also a member of Masonic order at the same place. Generally he enjoys good repute in Archbold and the vicinity, being recognized as a helpful, responsible resident and loyal citizen.

Samuet C. Scuantz. Upon the roll of representative citizens and influential business men of Fulton county consistently appears the name of Samuel C. Schantz, cashier of the Peoples State Bank of Archbold. He is one of those sturdy spirits who has contributed largely to the material welfare of the locality in which he lives, representing that class of earnest citizens who have done so much for the development of the country, while at the same time they have benefited themselves in a very material manner. He has spent practically his entire life in this county, during which time he has gradually won his way into the affections of the people, for he possesses those sterling qualities of character which commend themselves to the people of a community.

Samuel C. Schantz was born on his father's farm near Archbold, Fulton county, Ohio, on August 8, 1869, and is the son of Christian and Mary (Gingerick) Schantz. His paternal grandfather, Christian Schantz, Sr., was a native of Alsace-Lorraine, who came to the United States in an early day and settled on a farm in Wayne county, Ohio. Among his children who accompanied him on the immigration to this country was Christian, Jr., father of the subject, and who at that time was twelve years of age. The latter became a pioneer settler of Fulton county, where he entered and created a home. Of his fifteen children the subject of this sketch is the youngest.

Samuel C. Schantz was reared to manhood on his father's farm and secured his elementary education in the schools of District No. 10, near Archbold, after which he attended the Trenton high school at Butler one.year. Having decided to adopt the teaching profession, he attended the Fayette Normal School two terms, and then for eight years was employed as a teacher in the country schools of this section, including two terms in Springfield Township, Henry county, two terms in District No. 10, German Township, Fulton county, and several vears in other local schools. Then for fourteen years he was a teacher in the Archbold High School, winning a splendid reputation as an able and conscientious teacher.

In 1907 Mr. Schantz resigned his position with the schools and organized the Peoples State Bank, of which he became the cashier, in which position he still serves. The bank was organized with a capital stock of $25,000, and has steadily grown in public favor until now its deposits are, in round numbers, about $500,000. It is one of the solid and influential financial institutions of the eounty and has been an important factor in the commercial development and prosperity of this section of the county. In addition to his bank stock Mr. Schantz also owns extensive tracts of farm land, as well as real estate in Toledo and Lima, Ohio.

In 1892 Mr. Schantz was married to Fanny Eicher, the daughter of Joseph and Catherine Eicher, of Ridgeville Corners, Henry county. To their union have been born eight children, four sons and four daughters, namely: Otto R., Lloyd C., Raymond Lee, Milton M., Mary C., Orpha, Lottie and Osee.

Politically Mr. Schantz supports the democratic party, though he does not take a very active part in political affairs. However, he is deeply interested in public affairs as affecting his community, and rendered three years of effective service as assessor and one term as a member of the School Board. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The qualities of keen discrimination, sound judgment and executive ability enter very largely into his makeup and have been contributing elements to the material success which has come to him, and because of these attributes he has won the confidence and respect of all who know him.

Eimer E. Rupp. It cannot be other than interesting to note in the series of personal sketches appearing in this work the varying conditions that have compassed those whose careers are outlined, and the effort has been made in each case to throw well focused light onto the individual and to bring into proper perspective the scheme of each respective career. The banks of Fulton county have ever maintained a high standing, and among the able young workers in this field of endeavor is Elmer E. Rupp, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Archbold. With a natural predilection for this vocation and endowed with a ready faculty for business affairs, he has been successful in his present position and enjoys the fullest measure of confidence on the part of his business associates and the patrons of the bank.

Elmer E. Rupp was born in 1885 on his father's farm about one mile north of Archbold, Fulton county, Ohio, and is the son of Rev. Daniel and Magdalena (Gerber) Rupp, the former being a well known pastor of the Mennonite Church. The subject received his elementary education in the common schools of his home neighborhood, which he attended until fifteen years of age. He is descended from sterling old pioneer stock, his great-grandfather Rupp having been one of four brothers who settled in Fulton county in,an early day, devoting their lives to agricultural pursuits. Mr. Rupp completed his studies in the high school at Archbold, where he was graduated in 1903. He then engaged in teaching school, being employed for three years in District No. 5 of German Township, and one year in his home school. Mr. Rupp then went to Wauseon, and during the following year and a half was employed as bookkeeper in the First National Bank. Then he went to Archbold and became assistant cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, predecessor of the present Farmers & Merchants State Bank, and of that institution he became cashier in 1912. One year later he resigned and became connected with the Salem Orphanage at Flanagan, Ilinois, first being in the office, but later was placed in charge of the electric plant and machinery. This is a well-known and successful Mennonite institution, and Mr. Rupp gave it good service for one year, at the end of which time he went to Chicago and attended the Moody Bible Institute, where he took courses in Bible Study and music. He graduated there in December, 1914, receiving special honor in his music class. He returned to Archbold and again became cashier of the bank from which he had resigned about three years before, and he has remained with this bank ever since. He is closely devoted to his work, and not a little of the splendid success which has come to this bank is due to his business ability and high personal character.

In November, 1915, Mr. Rupp was married to Esther J. Slagle, the daughter of Rev. E. M. and Magdalena (Sommers) Slagle, her father being a Mennonite minister at Pioneer, Ohio. To the subject and wife have been born two children, Pauline May and Ruth Anna. Religiously Mr. Rupp is a member of the Defenseless branch of the Mennonite Church, in the activities of which he is prominent. He is a trustee of Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary at Bluffton, Ohio, and is a director of the Salem Orphanage at Flanagan, Illinois. He is a good citizen in every respect, being of that type of man who cheerfully gives his support to all movements for the betterment of the people and the welfare of the community gen- ' erally. Personally he is genial and companionable, and has a host of warm personal friends throughout this section of the country.

Oxiver Ricuarp Grorce. Since 1873 the George family represented by Oliver Richard George of York Township has been in Fulton county. He was ten years old when his parents came from Seneca county. He was born February 26, 1863, in Seneca county. He is a son of Oliver R. and Salinda (Trexler) George, the parents having been born in Pennsylvania. When the family came to Fulton county they bought land in York Township, where the father died in 1880, and the mother died fifteen years later. The oldest daughter, Cora, deceased, was the wife of Joseph Dickerson. Oliver R. George, who enrolls the family, has a younger sister, Ida, the wife of Charles Snyder, of Napoleon. :

After the death of O. R. George, Sr., the son Oliver R. continued his residence with the mother at the family homestead. He remained there two years after her death, when he bought eighty acres and moved to it. He has added many new buildings, and is engaged in diversified farming and raising livestock. He is engaged in milk production and always has a good herd of dairy cows.

In 1887 Mr. George married Jessie Aumend, a daughter of Samuel and Martha Aumend, of York Township. Their children are: Russell, who married Lena Atherton and has three sons, Clarence, Richard and Marvin; Clair, who is a state dairy inspector; Enid at home; Leon, of Fulton, who married Georgia Foster and has two children, Marion and Margerita; Emerson, of the United States

Army, who had his military training at Camp Taylor. Clair was also a soldier, having his training at Camp Sherman, and he spent twenty months in the service. Russell and Leon are both up-to-date farmers. They have good farming properties and doing well. Russell is working an eighty acre farm in York Township and Leon, forty acres in Fulton Township. Enid was a school teacher and was also a bookkeeper at Delta. The family vote is republican. Mr. George has served as trustee in the Grange for many years. He 6 passed all of the chairs in the Knights of Pythias Lodge in elta.

Eimer H. Srrusxe, a well-known resident of York Township, Fulton county, and a Civil war veteran of honorable record, comes of a family which was among the early settlers in Trumbull county, Ohio, and among the pioneer settlers of York Township, Fulton county. Elmer H. Struble has lived in the township since 1844, for seventy-six years excepting those of the Civil war, when he gave worthy national service in the Army of the Cumberland, taking part in Sherman's famous march to the sea through Georgia. His manliness, demonstrated during his war service, has been continued with stalwart purpose during later life, which he has spent in York Township, mostly in pioneering occupations, and the resultant material independence has been strengthened by the good will borne toward him by his neighbors in the township, who esteem him for his moral qualities as well as for his consistent and persistent industry. He has been a factor in the township for very many years.

Elmer H. Struble was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, on July 1, 1848, the son of William and Elizabeth (Dixon) Struble. William Struble was born in Mifflin county, Ohio, and his wife, Elizabeth Dixon, in Washington county, Ohio. Both are of record in the early annals of Trumbull county, Ohio, where they settled after marriage. But subsequently they removed to what is now York Township, Fulton county, having purchased a tract of timber land in section 10 of that township from an attorney named Rawson. The tract was eighty acres in extent, and William Struble settled his family thereon, the family at the outset living in a primitive dwelling which, through the industry and parental purpose of William Struble, eventually gave way to a homestead, commodious and comfortable, just as the timber land eventually was won from the wild state to a satisfactory condition of tillage. William Struble prospered and gradually added to his acreage, ultimately becoming the owner of a rich farming property, 160 acres in extent. He and his wife lived in the township until his children were full-grown and independently established, and then he and his wife moved into the City of Wauseon, Ohio, and there passed their declining years. His wife died in December, 1886, and he three years later, in December, 1889. William and Elizabeth (Dixon) Struble were the parents of ten children: George W., Angeline, Ann, Elmer H., Clara who is now the widow of William Skeels, and lives in Wauseon, Ohio, Walter D., James C., Charles W., and two who died in infancy.

Elmer H. Struble was less than a vear old when his parents moved from Trumbull county to York Township of Fulton county, and most of his youth was spent under conditions such as the average pioneer experienced. As a boy he attended the district school, and in all probability spent a good portion of his boyhood years 1n minor occupations upon his father's farm. He grew into sturdy manhood, and was of good heart, loyal and patriotic. That was ev1- dent during the troublous times of his young manhood. Indeed, he was not yet eighteen years old when the Civil war came into being, and he could not be held long from enlisting in the military forces of the Union. On May 27, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Eighty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after the expiration of the local emergency, September 23, 1862, he was discharged. He returned to his home, and for a few months worked as hired hand on farms of that district. However, on February 8, 1863, he again enlisted, joining Company B, of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which became part of the Army of the Cumberland, and as such took part in the famous campaigning of General Sherman throughout the southern states during the years 1868-64-65. The campaigning of General Sherman in Mississippi and Tennessee during 1863 was but preliminary to his famous and devastating 'March to the Sea," through Georgia in 1864, in which the Thirty-eighth Ohio Regiment had honorable part. Elmer H. Struble with his regiment took part in most of the preliminary fighting that led to the siege of Atlanta and in the major battle of Jonesboro on August 31, 1864, upon the outcome of which battle depended the fate of Atlanta, and, ending as it did in a victory for the Union forces under General Sherman, it brought about the evacuation of Atlanta on the following day, September 1, 1864. Young Struble with his regiment subsequently took part in the Grand Re- ' view at Washington, District of Columbia, and was ultimately, on July 12, 1865, given an honorable discharge, soon after receiving which he returned to his home in York Township, Fulton county. There he followed agriculture industriously during the next decade, toward the end of which, in 1874, he married, and. soon afterward settled upon an undeveloped tract in section 5 of York Township, which tract he had sometime previously acquired. The acreage was wholly in timber, and his early married life was therefore somewhat similar to what had been the experience of his father. He had to build for himself and to gradually clear the acreage. This he did to good purpose, subsequently acquiring an additional acreage and thus increasing his holding to seventy acres, fifty acres of which he brought into good cultivation. He farmed wisely, and was generally successful in dairying and cattle raising, and thus for many decades has been among the reliable and responsible agriculturists of that section of Fulton county.

Throughout his long residence in York Township, which might almost be considered his native place, seeing that he has lived in it since his first year, he has taken close interest in the public affairs of the township. Politcally he has given allegiance to the republican party, but has not concerned himself actively in national politics, excepting those that had bearing upon local conditions, but he has given support to most of the consequential public happenings in his community. Religiously he is a Methodist, and for very many years has been a member of the local church of that denomination. And he has given personal service to the church also, having been trustee and steward. Generally, he has lived a long and worthy life of useful activity. In 1917, however, being then seventy-four years old, he rented the greater portion of his farm, and has since taken life less strenuously.

- He was married on December 17, 1874, to Alice, daughter of Charles and Thankful (Stone) Shreves, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Connecticut. Their daughter, however, was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, where they lived at that time. The Shreves family later moved into Huron county, Ohio, and in the district schools of that county Alice (Shreves) Struble was educated. Mr. and Mrs. Struble are the parents of two children, daughters: Stella, who married Clyde Demaline, of York Township, and Nora, who lives with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Struble are within a few years of their Golden Wedding Anniversary, and have very many friends throughout Fulton county.-

Wi1iaM Secrist, who has been a responsible resident of York Township, Fulton county, Ohio, for more than forty years, and is one of the successful farmers of that section of the county, comes of a family well-known in York Township. His brother, John Barnhart Segrist, lived for ninety-five years, more than sixty of which were spent in York Township, and some of his and his brother's children are now among the substantial farmers of the township.

William E. Segrist was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in May, - 1829, the son of John and Agnes (Lautenschlager) Segrist, and he was but an infant when his parents brought the family to America, an adventurous voyage, for conditons of sea travel in those days were perilous for passengers, the importance of hygiene and sanitation not being at that time properly understood, with the consequence that in the congested quarters available on the passenger vessels of those days mortality among the voyagers was high. It affected the prospects of the Segrist family very materially, for within ten days of landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John Segrist, the father, died of yellow fever, presumably contracted during the voyage. The children were left almost unprovided for, but the widow, Agnes (Lautenschlager) Segrist, appears to have been a woman of strong, self-reliant purpose, and for the next twenty years of her widowhood she owned a farm in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, which presumably she managed. With the aid of her husband's brother, who was a butcher in Philadelphia and assumed the care of one of her sons after the death of their father, she mane aged to rear into sturdy manhood and womanhood her children. After living in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, for about twenty years, the widow moved to Coshocton-county, Ohio, where she died in about. 1871. William Segrist had taken resolutely to farming and re mained near his mother until her death, after which he moved to York Township, Fulton county, where his brother had a good farm. William Segrist had owned a farm in Coshocton county since 1860, when he married, but that farm he sold in 1882, and in the same year purchased one of 120 acres in York Township, which today is a good property, practically all cleared land. William Segrist, like his brother John B., was a very active man and a good farmer. He held steadily at farming occupations until 1904, he being then seventy-five years old. In that year he rented his farm in York Township, and has lived in comparative retirement since, although he still resides on the farm. In national and local politics William Segrist has been a democrat for the greater part of his voting years, and had held local office. For two years he served as supervisor of roads in his district. Religiously he is a Lutheran.

bara Baad, early settlers in Coshocton county, Ohio. She was born in Germany, but was brought to America, by her parents when young, and lived in Coshocton county, Ohio, until about middle age, when with her husband and children she took up residence in York Township, where she lived for thirty-four years, death coming to her in June, 1916. William and Nancy (Baad) Segrist were the parents of four children, John, Louis, Amanda and Sophia. Their two sons are enterprising farmers in York Township, and Sophia, their daughter, devotes herself te caring for her father in

Aupert J. Kurne, One of the best known and most successful veterinarians of northwestern Ohio is Albert J. Kline of Wauseon, Fulton county. He has won success in life in a definite manner because he has persevered in pursuit of a worthy purpose, and is gaining thereby a most satisfactory reward. He is thoroughly qualified by training and experience for the important vocation which he follows, and has been successful to such a degree that he is favorably known over a wide radius of surrounding country.

Albert J. Kline was born in Henry county, Ohio, on December 30, 1872, and is the son of Abraham and Alice Jane (Gibbs) Kline. The Kline family is of German origin, the subject's great-greatgrandfather, Joseph Kline, having come from the fatherland to America many decades ago, settling in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, where he followed agricultural pursuits. His son, the subject's greatgrandfather, also spent his life in the Keystone state, and followed the same vocation. He was the father of twenty-four children, having been married twice. His son, Joseph Kline, lived at Homestead, Pennsylvania, until 1849, when he came to Ohio, locating in Freedom Township, Henry county, making the trip in a wagon with his wife and children, among the latter being the subject's father, who at that time was but two years of age. The year following his arrival in Henry county his wife died, and was the first person buried in Kline Cemetery, Freedom Township, Henry county. He was the father of four children, two sons and two daughters. Abraham Kline was only twelve years of age when the Civil war came on, and he tried several times to enlist, but was refused on account of his youth. He spent his entire life in Henry county, where he owned a fine farm of 130 acres, his death occurring on January 8, 1917. His wife had passed away in April, 1894. Of their five children the subject of this sketch is the eldest.