Sandusky Township (part 16 of 57)

This volunteer civilian service attracted the attention of the commander of the brigade and b}' reason of the boy's interestedness and efficiency he was recommended to Gen. Jolm Brough, then governor of Ohio, for a commission, which recommendation was approved and acted upon March 15, 1865. Young Commager was made second lieutenant in the One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Regiment Ohio Infantry. At this time he was sixteen years of age. He reported to his connnand and on the request of General Coon, cavalry eommander of the Middle Division of the Mississippi, became aide de camp on his staff', and as sueh entered upon duties of staff offieer. Later he was directed to and did organize a company of detached dismounted cavalry. By order, July 23, 1865, Lieutenant Commager was detailed as commandant of the above company of cavalrj', when he was just past his seventeenth birthday, serving as sueh commandant until mustered out of service September, 1865. During his command of this' cavalry company he attracted the attention of Gen. George H. Thomas by service which willingly and spontaneously drew from General Thomas a letter to the President commending the young officer. Thomas says: "Commager has always had the reputation of a gallant, enterprising and efficient young officer." This is in the handwriting of General Thomas before the days of the typewriter.

After the war Mr. Commager returned to Delaware, where he resumed his studies until the death of his father compelled him to relinquish them. He then entered the office of Judge Lemmon, of Toledo, Ohio, and took up the study of law and later was admitted to the bar and entered upon its practice. In April, 1868, prior to his taking up the law, while on a visit to Michigan and while under age, was nominated and elected to the office of police commissioner on a non-partisan ticket. Upon his return and learning of his election he sent a letter of resignation to the mayor, Charles A. King, saying that he was not of age and could not accept the honor conferred upon him. This caused an appointment to fill the vacancy. The Toledo Commercial, commenting upon the fact of this election and resignation, said: "That the real value of the incident was the opportunity given the people of Toledo to pay a tribufe to General Commager and his military family." General Commager and his two sons, Maj. Frank G. Commager and Lieut. David H. Commager, were soldiers in the Union army.

Upon taking up the practice of law Judge Commager pursued it vigorously and became very successful. In 1877 he was elected a member of the Toledo School Board and immediately selected as its president, continuing until his elevation to the Common Pleas bench in 188.3. He served as judge of that court until 1892, when he resumed the practice of law. In 1895 he was appointed a member of the board of election, serving on the same four years. Upon several occasions Judge Commager has declined positions of an honorary character.

Judge David H. Commager was married January 1, 1874, to Elizabeth Williams of Toledo, a daughter of Elijah and Susan (Belyea) Williams. The three children born to their union are James W., a salesman; H. S., an attorney and present law director of Toledo ; and Anna, a teacher in the Toledo High School. Mrs. Commager died October 1, 1914. Judge Commager 's .son, Henry S., was named in honor of his gi-andfather, Gen. Henry S. Commager.

Judge Commager is a member of Forsyth Post, Grand Army of the Repiiblic. In conclusion it should be stated that the above army record of Judge Commager has been verified by documents seen by the writer of this article.

RoL.vND A. WiLLETT, il. D. There has been something more tlian the ordinaiy achievement and attainment of the physician in the record of Dr. Roland A. Willett at Elmore during the past quarter century. Doctor Willett is a very .skillful ph.ysician. as hundi-eds of families over Ottawa County attest, but is also public spirited as a citizen, and has done much to fill public offices acceptably and with ci-edit to himself and benefit to the comnuinity. However. Doctor Willett is no office seeker and has assumed such official duties as have come to him from a sense of civic responsibility and not fi-om ambition.

Six weeks after his birth his parents, Peter and Maria (Augustine) Willett, removed to Elmore in Ottawa County. His father was also a physician, a native son of Ohio, and practiced for many years in the northwestern quarter of the state. Roland A. Willett attended the public schools at Elmore, took a literary course in the Oberlin College, attended the medical department of the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1888 M. D. from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College at New York City. Returning to what was almost his native village, he has continued to be engaged in general practice for upwards of thirty years. He is a member of the Northwest Ohio and the Ohio State Medical societies and the American Medical Association. In a business way he is vice president and a director in the Elmore Bank.

Doctor Willett 's first wife was Marie Quincke of Elmore. There are two sons to this union. Gaillard Peter, who was born July 25, 1892, and now a student in the University of Michigan; and Rudolph Edward, born February 19, 1897, and a student in the Elmore High School. After the death of his first wife Doctor Willett married Emina Bullimer of Elmore. In a public way Doctor Willett has served as a member of the village council and on the village school board, and in 1915 enjoys the confidence of his fellow citizens expressed in their gift to him of the office of mayor, and he is making a very admirable municipal administration. He held membership in the County Republican Central Committee and also on the Executive Committee.

Christopher Henry Damschroder. This veteran merchant, now retired, of Elmore through his own career, that of his father before him, and through his son as his successor, has supplied much of the mercantile enterprise to this section of Northwest Ohio for almost a century. It is a long and honorable record that has been en.ioyed by the members of the Damschroder family. They have been diligent at business, maintained a strict honor and integrity in all their relations, have worked for the public welfare both individually and through public offices, and altogether it is a name worthy of more than passing reference in the annals of this section of the state.

It was in the City of Toledo that Christopher Henry Damschroder was born January 1, 1S41. His parents were Christopher Henry and Mary (Meyerholts) Damschroder, who came from the Kingdom of Hanover, Germany. His father was born there in 1812 and the mother in 1813. The former came to America in 1827 and the latter in 1830, and they were married at Sugar Creek on the old State Pike, in Northwest Ohio. Christopher H., Sr., bought a farm and some extensive tracts of timber lands, also conducted a stoi-e on his farm, and was a man of varied affairs and interests. For a great many years he served his community as school director. Christopher H. Damschroder, Sr., died in November, 1892, and his wife in December, 1897.

Their son, Christopher, Jr., was reared on a farm, and gained his initial business experience as clerk in his father's general store, which was located on the old homestead along the Stone Pike Road. Later he went to Woodville, Ohio, was in business there for a time, and in March, 1865, bought a clothing store and two years later a general store. This business at Elmore has been uninterruptedly under the management of the Damschroder famil.y now for more than half a century. It is now conducted by his son, John H., as the J. H. Damschroder & Company. Christian H. Damschroder remained in active business affairs until January, 1908, and has since lived in quiet retirement. He and his wife enjoy the comforts of one of the very attractive homes in Elmore. John Damschroder served a number of years as a member of the school board. .

John Henry Damschroder, who represents the third successive generation in this section of Ohio, was born October 10, 1876, at Elmore. He was well educated, first in the public schools and then at Hiram College, and quite early in his career joined his father in business. In January. 1908, when his father retired, he took over the business, and now has as partner Elmer Damschroder. This is the largest general store in Elmore, occupying a building 24 by 115 feet and two stories, with all its space given over to a large and well selected stock.

John H. Damschroder served three terms as a member of the school board, and is now in his second term as corporation treasurer. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Lodge and Royal Arch Chapter of ]\Iasons.

William M. Thrasher. Few of the farm homes of Hem-y County show better results of cultivation and more of the real comforts of rural life than that of William M. Thrasher. This home is located on section 13 of Ridgeville Townsliip, and it is a part of the homestead acquired by his father in the early days of settlement.

On the farm where he now resides Mr. Thrasher was born Jauuaiy 12, 1857. Practically all his years have been spent in this one locality. He secured his education in a log sehoolhouse of District No. 1. This log school was known as the "'Quail Trap." It was the temple of learning in which many citizens of Henry County secured their early training, and its pupils were drawn from four townships and two counties. Thus Mr. Thrasher, though not an old man, has very definite recollections of many pioneer things in Henry County. His farm comprises forty acres of veiy fertile and productive land. In 190-4 he erected there a beautiful home, a two-story eight room house, surrounded with spacious lawns and with trees and flowers to make a perfect picture of comfort and beauty. He has also improved other buildings on the farm and has kept the productiveness of the helds up to the highest standard.

The house in which Mr. Thrasher was born was built of hewed logs. In the early days he assisted his father in clearing up the laud and thus most of his associations and memories are centered around this attractive home. It is known as the Locust Shade Fann.

His parents were Timothy and Cynthia (Porter) Thrasher. Both parents were of New England ancestiy and were natives of Massachusetts. His father was born about 1820 and his mother about 1825. His mother had a twin sister, Eunice, and as their mother died soon after their birth, they were reared by their grandmother. After the marriage of Timothy Thrasher and wife they lived in Massachusetts for several years. He was a mackerel fishernian and when not employed in that occupation followed his trade as carpenter. In 1817 he brought his family West to Ohio. In Lorain County he was engaged in farming for several years, and in 1853 started for Henry County. The family made the .journey by way of Toledo and thence down the canal to Napoleon. Prom Napoleon they went out into Ridgeville Township and found a tract of land in section 13, where about the only improvement was the deadening of some of the forest trees. It was in that locality that Timothy Thrasher and wife spent the rest of their years. He died in March, 1881, and his widow on May 29, 1897. He was a democrat and while a member of no church was an upright and moral man and very favorably known in that community.

William M. Thrasher was the only son of his parents. There were also five daughters, but the only one of them still li\ing is Mary, the wife of John Bailey of Ridgeville Township.

Mr. Thrasher was married in his native township to Anna Kiefer. She was born there June 17, 1862, and received an education and early training to fit her well for the duties of wife and mother. Her parents were Martin and Anna (;Kutchley) Kiefer. Her father was born in France and was bi-ought to America when not yet three years of age, while her mother was a native of Switzerland and came with her parents to the United States at the age of fourteen, being fifty-three days on the oceaii between Ha\'re, France, and New York. ilrs. Thrasher's grandfather, Martin Kiefer. was a private soldier through the Wai- of 1812 and one of the very early pioneer settlers of Northwestern Ohio. Both the Kiefer and Kutehley families located in tlie wiJds of German Township, Fulton Count\-. The families were members of the Refoi-iiiril I Imivh. After their marriage Mrs. Thrasliei's p:ii'ei!ts lived on a farm in German Township, but later sold that and removed to Ridgeville Town.ship in Henry County and bought 120 acres of wild land in section 17. By hard work they cleared tliis up and made it a good farm, ami there her father died. April 21, 1914, liaving passed his eightj^-fourth birthday on December 6th of the preceding vear. His wife had died in 1889' at the age of fifty-six. They were Reform Church people and he was a democrat.

Mrs. Thrasher was one of a family of thirteen chilflren, eight daughters and five sons, and of the.se two sons and four daughters are still living. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Thrasher are: Timothy, who was born in 1883, was educated in the public schools and in the Ohio Northern University at Ada and about twelve years ago graduated from a

Toledo business college, and since then has been in the purchasing department of the Toledo Traction ComiJan.y; he married Lottie Ridenour of Toledo, and their children are Tarlton, now in the fourth grade, Arthur, in the sixth grade, and Ralph, in the tirst grade of the public schools. Robert Thrasher, the second son. is a prosperous young farmer in Freedom Township of Henry County, and by his marriage to Alma Inmau has two children, named Dora and Donald. Abigail is the wife of William Lather, a famier in Ridgeville Township, and their children are Orville L., Stella, and Elmer. The youngest of the family is Almina, who is still unmarried and living at home with her parents.

William Zipfel. Steady application to the development of an idea has brought about the success of W^illiam Zipfel, proprietor of a general machine shop and garage and plumbing, heating and gas-fitting establishment at Oak Harbor, Ottawa County. He first engaged in business here in 1895 and was well on the highway to prosperity when misfortune visited him in the shape of ill health, which swept away his holdings and compelled him to make a new start. Perseverance, however, has been one of his strongest characteristics and has enabled him to rise superior to his discouragements, his present business, founded in 1908, being one of the prosperous enterprises of the town.

- Mr. Zipfel is a native son of Ottawa County, having been bom at the county seat. Port Clinton, September 1, 1863, a son of Lawrence and Hedwig Zipfel. His parents, natives of Germany, came to the United States in 1858 and located in Ottawa County, where the father passed the remainder of his active life in working at the trade of shoemaker. The public schools of Ottawa County furnished William Zipfel with his education, and as a youth he applied himself to learning the trade of stationary engineer. ' He began working at the age of fourteen years at the machinist's trade, a vocation which brought him into connection with millwrighting, and, having accumulated some small capital in this direction, in 1895 he opened a machine shop at Oak Harbor. Sickness compelled him to dispose of his holdings after several years of hard and energetic work, and when he had recovered, in May, 1900, he became superintendent of the Michigan Headlining Company, remaining in that position for eight years. In 1908 he again entered business at Oak Harbor, establishing machine shops and an auto garage, where he does all kinds of welding, in addition to plumbing, heating and gasfitting. Mr. Zipfel 's business has grown and developed, and at the present time he employs eight people in his shops, having a fireproof, concrete building, 50 by 110 feet. He has undertaken some of the most important contracts for plumbing and heating in this and nearby to\viis, and his expert workmanship, fair estimates, promptness and reliability insure a continuance of his present gratifying patronage. Mr. Zipfel has made a special study of sanitation and never fails to estimate its importance as an adjunct to his vocation. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having numerous friends in the local lodge. His public service has been of a most important character, he having been for twenty years chief of the Oak Harbor Fire Department.

In 1884 Mr. Zipfel was married to Miss Frieda A. Meinka of Ottawa County, and to this union there have been born six children- Agnes, who is now Mrs. Charles Games and resides at Fremont, Ohio; Mi.ss Ada G., who resides with her parents; Arthur Carl, who is a machinist and associated with his father in business; twins. Leota E. and Leona A., and Edward W^illiam.

Henry William Nibman. The tendency of men trained in the law to engage in vocations outside of the profession results in numerous advantages. The law equips its followers for successful activity in other lines, causing the profession to be justly accounted as a means rather than an end, or as an adjunct rather than an entirety. As a result, commercial and financial standards are elevated, complications are frequently avoided, and the knowledge of underlying principles and penalties makes for a general simplifying of conditions. An illustration of this modern type of lawyer is found in Henry William Nieman, cashier of the First National Bank of Elmore.

ilr. Nieman was born in Minden, Germany, July 11, 1857, and is a son of Frederick and Christina Nieman, farming people of that country', who came to the United States in 1871 and settled on a property in Ottawa County. Henry W. Nieman 's early educa- tion was secured in his native land, and after coming to the United States at the age of fourteen yeare he went to school in Ottawa County at a private institution. Next he entered the university at Ada, Ohio, where he completed his preparatory coui'se, and then, having shown a predilection for a professional career, became a student of the law department at the University of Michigan, being graduated therefrom with his degree in 1886. After several years spent in teaching school, Mr. Nieman began the practice of law at Elmore and devoted his entire attention thereto until 1903, when he became one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Elmore. Elected cashier of that institution, he has continued to act in that capacity to the present time, his well known integrity and probity of character having done much to increase the confidence of the people in the institution's strength and solidity.

The First National Bank of Elmore was organized March 5, 1903, and its doors were thrown open for business on June 7 following. The officers are Louis Frese, president; J. G. Steinkamp, vice president ; H. W. Nieman, cashier; and E. H. Meyer, assistant cashier. The capital is $25,000, the surplus $12,500, and the deposits, attracted from all over Ottawa County, $355,000. The bank owns its own building, a two story brick edifice, 20 by 60 feet, the main floor being devoted to the business of the bank, while the second floor is given over to offices. Mr. Nieman, in addition to capably performing the duties of his official position with the bank, has been engaged in other enterprises, and is at this time president of one of Elmore's leading industries, the Multiplex Concrete Manufacturing Company. He has been a ver_y busy man, but has found time to devote to the afi'airs of his community, particularly in the line of education, having been a member of the board of county school examiners of Ottawa County for twelve years and a member of the school board of Elmore for a long period. His hobby is farming and at this time he carries on general farming, the breeding of registered stock and sugar beet raising on a 200-acre model farm in Ottawa County, where he has buildings valued at $25,000, and model improvements of every kind. This farm has been in his wife's family since 1823. Fraternally, Mr. Nieman is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Shriner, and past master of his lodge, and is

Mr. Nieman was married in 1886 to Miss Delia A. Boggs, of Elmore, daughter of James and Susan B. (White) Boggs, and one daughter has been born to this union : Amy, who is the wife of Karl Hannaman, a machinist of Tiffin, Ohio.

Leslie Edward Meyer. Few business men are better known in that section of Ottawa County of which Oak Harbor is the center than Leslie E. Meyer, who not only enjoys a successful position in banking and general business affairs but has also given much of his time and attention to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.

Born in Danbury Township of Ottawa County October 24, 1874, he is a son of Edward H. and Emma (Grey) Meyer. His father was a merchiant. Educated in the public schools, Mr. Meyer was himself a teacher for two years, and from that he came into the Oak Harbor State Bank as a clerk. Fidelity to duty and a willing industry brought him successive promotion, and since January, 1908, he has been cashier. He is also treasurer of the Oak Harbor Fruit Company.

For six years Mr. Meyer was postmaster at Oak Harbor and resigned that office on account of other duties. For ten years he was clerk of the village, and is now a member of the board of public service. He is affiliated with the Ma.sonic Order, up to and including the thirty-second degree of Scottish Rite, and also with the Knights of Pythias.

On September 11, 1901, j\Ir. Meyer married Miss Laura Luella Leow of Ottawa County. They have three sons : Walter Dimsdale, Leslie Evan and Robert Bruce.

Russell Bordeaux. Some of the most substantial business interests at Oak Harbor reflect the enterprise of Russell Bordeaux, whose home has been in Ottawa County for more than twenty-live years. Originally a mason by trade, he made that a basis for a contracting biisiness, and now has a large plant for the manufacturing of builders' materials and enjoys a niimber of substantial relations with the flourishing little community of Oak Harbor.

deaux. His father was for many years engaged in merchandising. Russell Bordeaux gained his early education in the public schools, and in 1888 came to Ottawa County. He learned the trade of mason, and has ever since been engaged in mason contracting, at first on a modest scale and in later years with considerable capital and a trained staff of men capable of undertaking almost any contract in that line. One feature of his present business is the manufacture of concrete building blocks, his plant having a large daily capacity, and he also handles all classes of builders' supplies, lime, cement, and other products, and has about seven persons on his regular payroll.

Mr. Bordeaux is also a director in the National Druggist and ilanufaeturing Company of Oak Harbor, and is manager of the Home Building Company, a building and loan organization. He is now president of the Oak Harbor Business Men's A-ssociation, and enjoys the complete confidence of the entire community. He is a member of the school board and for two years served on the village council. Mr. Bordeaux has been much interested in Masonrj-, is a past master of his lodge, served as high priest of the Royal Arch Chapter in 1915, and is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason. In Odd Fellowship he is a past noble grand, and is an elder in the Christian Church.

On May 31, 1889, he married Miss Ida Vining of Oak Harbor. Six children were born to their union : Olive Emma, the wife of Harry Wheeler, of Duquoin, Illinois; Opal ^Marie, who married Oscar Zehner, of Oak Harbor, Ohio; Hattie Odessa; Mrs. Charles M. Schwartz, of Detroit, Michigan ; Mary Olelia ; Ovivian Leone ; and Adelle Mayse.

William Jones. For many years Mr. and Mrs. Jones have lived in a comfortable and commodious home in the City of Van Wert. It was nearly half a century ago that they married and started out together, young and ambitious, to make that success for which their talents fitted them. They have gained success and prosperity, and also that esteem and admiration paid to people who have a purpose in life, who perform their duties and obligations without regard to the consequences for themselves, and who have arrived at that impressive point in their mutual careers where they will soon - as

Mr. Jones is now one of the largest taxpayers in Van Wert County. It is significant of his career of industry when it is stated that the first tax he ever paid to support the local and state government was 48 cents.

Some of his thrifty virtues have doubtless been inherited from his Welsh ancestry. William Jones was born in North Wales, August 10, 1845. His father, David Jones, was a native of the same section of Wales, and the family have been Welsh as far back as can be traced. David Jones acquired a good education and was a musician. He spent his active life in Wales and died there about 1848. His wife, Elizabeth Thomas, was also born in North Wales, a daughter of Levds and Margaret Thomas. Her parents came to America about 1852, , settling in York Township of Van Wert County, buying land and making improvements, then selling it and purchasing other land. From York Township Lewis Thomas removed to Hoagland Township, bought land there, and remained a resident until his death. He was survived by the following children : William, Richard, Lewis, Elizabeth, Ann, Margaret and Ellen.

At the death of her husband Mrs. Elizabeth Jones was left a widow with two sons. A few years later she came to America with her parents, and after living with them a short time she went to Dayton, where she found employment. Later she was married in York Township to Robert Brown, and she continued to live in that township until her death in 1864. Her two sons were William and David. David was a soldier in the Civil war, a member of one of the regiments of Ohio heavy artillery, and died of fever. His remains are now at rest iu the National Cemetery at Knoxville, Tennessee.

William Jrnes was about seve.i years of age when he came to America with his mother and grandparents. The voyage was made by a sailing vessel, and the ship encountered some severe storms, so that they were six weeks before Landing in New York City. From there they came on to Ohio and to York Township in Van Wert County. The date of their settlement it should be remembered was sixty-five years ago. Northwest Ohio was still a wilderness. Game of all kinds was found in the woods and on the prairies, including deer, wild turkey, coon, porcupines, and numerous other kinds of wild life, some valuable and some dangerous. Thus it was a strictly frontier community in which William Jones spent his early years. He lived with his grandparents until his mother married and then spent part of his time in her home. The first school he attended was taught in a log house. He attended school in four different districts, but in each one there was a log cabin school. His education was not gained without considerable exertion on his part. He worked to pay for his board, would arise early in the morning and do the chores, and after walking a mile and a half or more to school and the same distance back home, he would again work until after dark. During one winter he husked corn every Saturday.

His schooling over he started out to make his own way by working at daily wages or by the month. At first he was paid only 25 cents a day, and the first year he was employed by the month his .salary was $8 for each month or $96 for the year. Even then he had more ambition than most boys of his age, looked ahead to the future, and saved all he could spare from his meager earnings. With these savings he made his first purchase of land, forty acres in York Township, for which he paid $450. An unfinished log cabin stood on the land, but not a foot of the soil had been plowed or was in cultivation.

The outbreak of the war in 1861 found him a vigorous and hard working country boy, with a little to show for his expenditure of energy, and with ambitious plans and projects for the future. He willingly abandoned these plans, and in September, 1861, enlisted in Company E of the Forty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With that regiment he went South, and his first great battle was at Shiloh on the 6th of April, 1862. Thousands of brave men in both armies laid down their lives that day, and Jlr. Jones was one of those carried from the battlefield severely wounded. He was sent to a hospital at Paducah, later to Cincinnati, and from there was returned to Delphos and was cared for at home until he had recovered from his wounds. He then rejoined his regiment in Tennessee in season to participate in the battle of Missionary Ridge. The following winter was spent at Seotsboro, Alabama. In 1864 he and his comrades became a part of Sherman's manificent army and participated in the constant fighting during the fall of that year between Chattanooga and Atlanta, including the siege and capture of that city. He was in the battle of Jonesboro, and then marched with Sherman to the sea and at Savannah embarked on a steamer and was taken to Hilton Head, South Carolina. From there he and his command again proceeded on foot through Richmond and into Washington. The war was over and at Washington was gathered the finest army of veteran soldiers ever .seen in the Western Hemisphere, and Mr. Jones was one of those who marched in that splendid pageant up Pennsylvania Avenue before the distinguished commanders and in front of the White House from which only a few days before the great President had been removed by assassination. From Washington he and his regii^ent were sent to Louisville, thence to Columbus, and he was given his honorable discharge.

He had hardly exchanged his uniform for civilian garb when he 'was once more busy at work in the hai-yest fields, at wages of $17 a month. In the winter of 1865-66 Mr. Jones bought 931/2 acres of land in section 33 of York Township. The purchase price was $1,800 and he could pay only a part and assumed the obligation to pay the balance. He continued working by the month until his marriage in 1867, and he and his wife then removed to his land and set up housekeeping in a log building, which was chinked and daubed with mud.

A very small portion of the land had been cleared for cultivation. The rest was covered with heavy timber. In the stupendous task of cutting and clearing away the large trees Mr. Jones was loyally aided by his good wife, who went with him into the woods, and learned to handle the axe and saw with the expertness of a practical woodsman. For many months they continued at their task. Large logs that would now bring a big price were rolled together and burned in heaps. Mr. and Mrs. Jones not only put in the hours of daylight in this work, lout even at night continued to toil by the light of the burning wood. Being young, in good health, and with an ambition to get ahead in the world, they found the work pleasant as well as profitable. Some time later Mr. Jones succeeded in selling the forty acres which he had bought before the war and applied the proceeds in pa.\^nent of the land which he was clearing. Along with the clearing he put in ditches and drained out the low places, and as the soil was exceedingly fertile his fields produced what would now be called "bumper" crops. Thus in a few years his farm was paid for, and he at once bought

In December of that year they came to Van Wert, bought city property, and since then they have improved several places in Van W^ert, including the pleasant home in which they now reside on South Washington Street. Besides his town real estate Mr. Jones has more than 500 acres of land. It is divided into five farms, and each one is improved with good buildings, is tile drained, and is worked to a maximum of yield consistent with the proper conservation of the resources of t^e soil. In spite of the fact that he retired from his farm many years ago Mr. Jones has never been idle, and in fact idleness has no place in the character either of himself or his wife. *

IMrs. Jones before marriage was Miss Annie E. Spicer. She was born in Wayne County, Ohio, May 4, 1-840, and they were married March 27, 1867. Her father, Abraham Spicer, was bom near Little York in York County, Pennsylvania, January 6, 1810. He was of German ancestry. He had four brothers named Samuel, John, William and George, and all were orphaned when children ; they subsequently became separated and Mrs. Jones' father lost track of them and nothing is now known by her concerning their whereabouts or their descendants. Abraham Spicer learned the trade of miller. He was married in April, 1834, to Rachel Harvey, and soon afterward they settled in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, but in 1836 removed to Wayne County, Ohio. There he followed his trade, but in 1856 bought 160 acres near Mendon in Mercer County, and continued to live on this farm until his death on April 11, 1888. For a time after coming to his farm he operated a mill at Mendon. His wife had died several years before he passed away. In the Spicer family were six children : Elizabeth, Samuel, Anna E., Frances, Barbara and Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had only one child, Annie, who was born February 3, 1868, and died October 14, 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Jones took a very active part in the United Brethren Church while living in the country but have not united with any church in the city.

Charles Fr.\nk Dunn. The present owner of the Hotel Dunn has conducted its affairs for many years and under his management it has steadily increased its patronage and high standing among the leading hostelries of Noi-thwest Ohio. Brought up in the hotel business, his entire career has been spent therein, and no more genial or courteous host may be found in Ottawa County than Charles Frank Dunn, of Curtice. However, while he has devoted himself closely to the administration of his house, Mr. Dunn's reputation does not rest alone upon his connection therewith, for during the last twenty years there has not been a movement launched that has not had his support, and it is largely through his efforts and unselfish activities that Curtice has grown so rapidly and developed so substantially during recent years.

Mr. Dunn was born not far from Curtice, in Lucas County, Ohio, May 8, 1877, and is a son of Henry (Harry) and Lena (Misshler) Dunn. His father was for many years one of Northwest Ohio's best known hotel keepers, and the lad was early instructed in those things which go to add to the comfort and convenience of the guest. As a youth he attended the public schools, completing his education at Curtice, to which place he accompanied his parents in 1887, when he was ten years of age, and which place has continued to be his home. Mr. Dunn continued to apply himself assiduously to learning every detail of the business of conducting a hotel, and in 1895 finally decided that he was ready to embark upon a career of his own. Accordingly, on May 2d of that year he secured by purchase the Hotel Dunn, and his general business experience, his knowledge of the details of the business, and his natural qualifications, have aided him to a well earned success. The Hotel Dunn is a house of which Curtice may be .justly proud, as it is conducted along modern plans, is spacious and finely equipped, and is first class in every respect. In 1897 in connection with this house, Mr. Dunn established a livery business, and in 1911 fitted up a garage, having taken over in that year the agency of the Buick, King, Hudson and Dart automobiles at Curtice. He is also the owner of a finelycultivated farm of seventy-five acres, on which he has modern improvements and substantial and attractive buildings.

Mr. Dunn was the prime mover and originator of the idea of building the first stone road, in this section, this becoming a part of the State Road, and raised the first $500 for this project. It was also through his enterprise and generosity that Curtice was placed upon the way as a trolley terminal, he buying a large lot in the center of the town for a station and presenting it to the street ear company. He also raised the money to defray the expenses of building a crossing for the W. & L. B. Railroad, and in many other ways has shown his public-spirited citizenship and his desire to further the development of the city of his adoption. Since its organization, in 1900, Mr. Dunn has been connected with the building committee of the Knights of the Maccabees, of which lodge he is serving as treasurer, and also holds member.ship in the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose.

Mr. Dunn was married to Miss Agnes Castle, who died in 1898, and they became the parents of two children, Wallace Charles and Franklin. Mr. Dunn was again married, February 16, 1904, being united with i\Iiss Sophia Hoeflinger, and they have two children : Clifford Edward and Donald Leo. Mr. Dunn is a democrat in political belief but in local matters he votes for the man who is best qualified to fill the office.

Samuel W. May. In the length and breadth of Henry County there was no more popular citizen than the late Corporal May. He was an honored veteran of the Civil War, and for three years he followed the flag on many a hard fought Southern battlefield. He was a useful citizen in every sense of the term, prospered through his enterprise as a farmer, and left a fine estate for his children. Though he was affiliated with the political party which is strongly in the minority in Henry County, he at one time came within twenty votes of being elected county commissioner. He held nearly all the local offices in the school and village, and even better than the results of his material success he left to his descendants an honored name. Mrs. May, who survives him and lives in the Village of Florida, is widely known socially in the county and is an active member of the Woman's Relief Corps.

In Stark County, Ohio, Samuel W. Jlay was born November 8, 1841. He lived almost three-quarters of a century, passing away at his home in the Village of Florida May 25, 1916. His father, Lewis May, and his mother, Nancy Truby, were both natives of Pennsylvania, but were married in Stark County, Ohio. All their children were born in Stark County and it was only a few years after the birth of the late Corporal May that the family came in 1845 to Henry County. Henry County was then pretty much on the frontier, and the roads thither were all unimproved highways. The family journeyed with covered wagons and teams, and spent many days in making the trip. Arriving here Lewis May entered a tract of Government land, containing eighty acres, on the south side of the Maumee River in Flatrock Township. The entire country was wild, and the family like most of the other early settlers had their first home in a log cabin. Lewis May was a hardy and rugged pioneer character and in the course of time cleared up and developed a good farm. He died at the age of fifty-five, and after his death his widow located at a little home on the ]Maumee River and pa.ssed away at the age of seventy-two. Both were devout people in their religious activities and were members of the Bible Christian Church. All their children are living except the late Samuel W. May. The daughter ^lary married Jeremiah Huston, who enlisted early in the war as a member of the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry in Company F, and being taken ill during the first year of his service was furloughed home and died on the boat while returning. He was about twenty-five or twenty-six years of age when he diedi He left three children, all of whom are living except the daughter Louisa, who died as the mother of three children. The two sons of Mrs. Jeremiah Huston are Samuel D. and Lewis R,, both of whom are married and have families, and the former is a machinist at Danville, Illinois, and the latter in Napoleon. Harrison May, the second child of Lewis ]\Iay and wife, also served as a soldier in the Sixtyeighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and is now a retired farmer at Defiance, Ohio, and has four sons. The third in age was the late Corporal May. Alcetta is the wife of Philip Huston, a brother of the late Jeremiah Huston, and Philip was also a soldier, serving in the Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and is now deceased. His widow is living in Liberty Center of Henry County and has two daughters.

Samuel W. May grew up on the old farm in Henry County and found ample employment for his youthful strength in assisting in its clearing and cultivation. He was about twenty years of age when early in 1862 he enlisted in Company F of the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantiy and went to the front. He was in all of the thirty-two battles of that gallant regiment, and after his three years expired he veteranized and was with the fighting armies until the close of the war. He was never captured or wounded and came out

This splendid veteran of the Union continued to live in Henry County, married in a few years, and then bought forty acres of partly improved land, on which he lived and followed farming for about fifteen years. He then sold his first property and bought nearly 118 acres on the Maumee River near Girty Island. That farm he developed into one of the finest in Henry County. He erected a fine set of farm buildings, and kept his land and the buildings up to the best state of repair and efficiency. For a number of years he grew the very finest crops, and before his death the land was worth $200 an acre. In 1903 Mr. May retired to the Village of Florida and resided in a comfortable home on Main Street until his death.

In October, 1868, he was married in Flatrock Township to ilrs. Catherine Kaylor, widow of Samuel Kaylor. Samuel Kaylor was also a veteran of the Civil war. having served from the beginning to the end as a private in Company P of the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being a comrade of Corporal May. He died five months after his marriage in January, 1866, leaving no children. ^Irs. May, whose maiden name was Catherine Dancer, was born in Ashland County, Ohio, January 2, 1848, and when six years of age was brought to the Village of Florida in Henry County, by her parents, John and Margaret (Huston) Dancer. Her parents were both natives of Ashland County, Ohio, and were married near Mansfield. Her father became a stock buyer, but when Mrs. May was a young girl the family moved to the Village of Florida, making the removal in covered wagons and spending several days on the journey. They located near the canal, where her parents for several years kept a boarding house for the canal men, and also provided quarters for the horses employed an the tow-path. Her father also conducted a store, but after some years sold out his business and then bought a farm of 160 acres in Napoleon Township near the Village of Florida. He improved this farm in many ways, built up ho\;ses, added eighty acres to his first purchase, and there his wife died in 1896 at the age of seventytwo. Mr. Dancer subsequently lived with his granddaughter, Mrs. Emma Shively and died at the age of eighty-four. He was a very influential republican in this county, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist

Corporal and Mrs. May became the parents of five children. The daughter Dora, who died three years ago, was the wife of Philip Smith and she left two sons, Howard and Arlie. George, who is now a farmer near Westhope, Ohio, married Rose Franz and has children named Bernice, Paul and Dorothy. Madge is the wife of Edward Grossman, who spent twelve years as a school teacher and is now on rural delivery service out of Napoleon, where he resides ; he and his wife are the parents of Audrey and Helen, both of whom are well educated in the Napoleon High School and the former is a successful teacher. Charles, the next in age of Mrs. May's children, is a farmer in Liberty Township, and by his marriage to Nettie Heflinger, has two daughters. Fern and Eva. Bessie, the youngest child, married Frank Leonhai'dt, and the.y own and occupy the old May homestead ; their two children are Donald and Catherine.

Leo G. Kellermeyer. From farmer boy to one of the responsible positions in the courthouse of Auglaize County is in brief the record of Leo G. Kellermeyer, who is now serving with commendable efficiency in the office of county recorder. He began his duties in that office September 6, 1915, and is successor of former Recorder James Killian, who remained as assistant or deputy to Mr. Kellermeyer.

Born in Auglaize County at New Bremen, July 12, 1865, Leo G. Kellermeyer is a son of Fred C. and Mar.y Anna (Buehler) Kellermeyer. His paternal grandfather, Henry Kellermeyer, was a shoemaker by trade and spent his last years in Auglaize County. His maternal grandfather, George Buehler, who also died in Auglaize County, wa.s a cabinet maker, and some of the furniture which that skillful and methodical workman made is now carefully preserved by his descendants.

Mr. and Mi's. Fred C. Kellermeyer were married in Auglaize County. Fred Kellermeyer was born in Germany in January, 1835, and his wife in February, 1839. They were brought to America as children. Fred C. Kellermeyer worked as a laborer, learned the trade of shoemaker, and afterwards owned a shoe shop in New Bremen. From there, when Leo Kellermeyer was a child, about 1872, he moved his family to a farm in St. Marys Township, and he lived in that town until his death on December 12, 1916. Though he started life poor, he acquired sufficient means by constant industry to provide well for his family and secure a home of comfort for declining years. He had been honored by his fellow citizens and from 1900 to 1907 served as county commissioner. He was a democrat, had taken an active part in politics, and is a man of good education and of high character. He and his wife were members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. They had eight children : Mary, wife of William Weasch, a farmer in St. Marys Township; Edwin, a retired farmer at St. Marys; Leo G. ; Irma, wife of Craig Quellhorst, a retired farmer at New Bremen; Ewald, a farmer in St. Marys Township ; Fred, Jr., formerly a farmer and now a carpenter at St. Marys; August, a farmer in St. Marys Township ; and Lillian, wife of Benjamin Eisley, a farmer in Logan Township. Mrs. Fred C. Kellermeyer is still living in Auglaize County.

Leo Kellermeyer was reared on a farm. He attended the district schools and St. Marys High School, and after his education he spent four years as a farm hand employed by Henry Coop. In 1890 he left the farm to serve an apprenticeship with the St. Marys Machine Company, and learned that business in every detail. He was connected with that old and reliable industrial concern of Auglaize County for almost a quarter of a century, and retired from his responsibilities there only when his fellow citizens called him to his present honor as county recorder.

Mr. Kellermeyer is the type of citizen of whom any community would be proud. He has worked faithfully and intelligently in behalf of local improvements in his home town of St. Marys and in the county at large, and for six years, from 1908 to 1912, he served as member and president of St. Marys Council. In the party primaries of 1914 he was nominated by a majority of 450 votes over five other candidates, in the November election of 1914 he went into office with a margin of 850 votes over his opponent and at the election held November, 1916, he was re-elected for a second term, leading the whole county ticket.

Mr. Kellermeyer is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. He has been prominent in Odd Fellowship and belongs to Shawnee Lodge No. 75, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at St. Marys, and to Encampment No. 40, and has passed all the chairs of the Encampment.

William J. Gackel. About twenty-three years ago William J. Gackel came from Dehance County to the Village of Florida in Henry County. Ever since he has been a dynamic source of energy and enterprise in that locality. Successful in business, he has made his energy count in various other directions and any city might be proud to possess such a live wire.

His principal business is general hardware. He has a large double store 40 by 60 feet, and that store carries everything in the hardware line to supply the wants of the surrounding agricultural community. His shelves are laden with hardware supplies, sundries, paints, and he also cai'ries a complete stock of heavy hardware, stoves and ranges, etc. Outside is a warehouse 45 by 50 feet, stocked with farm implements. He also has extensive yards for lumber and building supplies and he makes it a point to furnish everything which the trade demands, and if he does not have the article in stock he is more than willing and ready to procure it promptly.

Mr. Gackel is what is familiarly termed a "hu.stling business man." He established his store in Florida largely on his own account, though he succeeded a former hardware merchant, Mr. Jones, in 1899. Mr. Gackel several years ago perfected arrangements with the Auglaize Power Company, so that the village now has electric lights. In ^fact he is credited with having a hand in the starting of every improvement in the village during the past twenty years.

Mr. Gackel was born in Richland Township, of Defiance County, Ohio, December 14, 1872. He grew \ip there on a fann, receiving his education in the district schools, and came to Florida after reacliing manhood.

He is of French and German stock. His father was Fred Gackel and his grandfather was Henry Gackel. Henry Gackel came to America from Alsace, then a French province, when his son, Fred, was fifteen years of age. The family left Havre, France, and spent sixty days in a very ti-ying ocean trip before arriving in New York. Coming on west they located near Bryan, in Williams County, Ohio, where Henry Gackel settled upon aiid cleared up a tract of wild land. The family in the early days lived in a typical log cabin. Henry Gackel and wife spent the rest of their years in Defiance County. He died at the age of fifty-six years and she at the age of sixty-five. They were of Lutheran stock and were very substantial and active pioneers.

Fred Gackel, who was born in 1831, grew to manhood in Williams County, saw much of pioneer conditions when a boy, and then removed to Richland Township of Defiance County, where he married Elizabeth Deach. She was born in Bavaria, Germany, and was brought to America when quite young. Her people also crossed the ocean on a sailing vessel and spent many weeks in the voyage between Hamburg and New Yoi"k. From there they came to Defiance County, and her father developed a new home in the wilderness. Her parents died when quite old in Richland Township.

After their marriage Fred Gackel and wife located on a farm of 180 acres in Defiance County, developed a first class home, and lived there until about twenty-three years ago when they retired to the Village of Florida. Mrs. Gackel died there some years later. William J. Gackel was one of a family of three sous and two daughters.

In Florida Village he married Flora Brubaker, who was born and reared at Florida. Her father, Frank Brubaker, is a prominent old timer in Heniy County and is a veteran of the Civil war, being now retired from the active responsibilities of farming. Mrs. Gackel 's mother died about twenty- four years ago. Mrs. Gackel has one sister, Eva, the widow of Edmund Reddig.

Mr. and Mrs. Gackel have a bright and promising daughter. Alpha, who was born_ April 15, 1903. She is now pursuing her studies in the seventh grade of the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Gackel take an active part in the social affairs of the village, and Mr. Gackel has served as corporation treasurer. Politically he is a democrat.

Charles W. Brinkman. The importance of the Village of Florida in Henry County as a trading center largely depends upon a general store which has been conducted in that village for half a century or more, and for the past seventeen years its proprietor has been Charles W. Brinkman. The business was originally established by John Long, Sr., one of the pioneer merchants of Henry County, and he was succeeded by John Long, Jr., who conducted the store about eighteen years. The successor of these merchants, Charles W. Brinkman, has continued the business very much along the same lines as his predecessors, though with such moditicatidus as changing circumstances demand. He carries in his stock everything necessary to

The enterprising qualities of Mr. Brinkman as a merchant were well illustrated a few years ago. On July 28, 1912, his store, its entire stock of goods, and also the postoffice, which was conducted by his clerk, were destroyed by fire and not a penny's worth of goods was saved. Without an instant's hesitation Mr. Brinkman laid plans for rebuilding, and in a few weeks had a solid cement block building erected on the original foundation, 30 by 50 feet, the building being thirteen feet high at the eaves. Here he has continued to serve the public with a well assorted stock of merchandise.

Mr. Brinkman was born in Flat Rock Township, of Henry County, November 27, 1868. He was reared on a farm on the south side of the Maumee River, and acquired his education in the local schools. His early training as a farmer has kept him in close touch with the agricultural community, and has been an advantage rather than a handicap in his business work.

His parents were John and Harriet (Schull) Brinkman. Both were natives of Crawford County, Ohio. His grandfather, Christopher Brinkman, was of German parentage, was a farmer and cabinet maker. Some very substantial ehaii's which he made as a cahinet maker are still kept as valued and useful relics in the family. After the marriage of John Brinkman and wife in Crawford County they lived there some years. In that county were born three children: Mary, Amanda and Louisa. About the close of the Civil war the family removed to Henry County, locating on an almost new farm in Flat Rock Township. The children born in this township were John A., born in 1865, and Charles W. John Brinkman was a very industrious farmer, and besides improving the greater part of his own 137 acres he erected a substantial house and barn. His death occurred there September 28. 1886, when fiftysix years of age. His wife died in September, 1896, and she, too, was fifty-six. They were members of the German Reform Church and he took a very active part in democratic politics, serving his township as trustee and inother offices. All the children have had children of their own, and two of the daughters are now widows and one son has lost his wife. After reaching his ma.iority Charles W. Brinkman married Daisy D. Hall. She was l)orn and reared in Lucas County, Ohio, a daughter of Eugene aud Fannie (Guyer) Hall, both natives of Ohio, probably of Lucas Couuty. They were married in Lucas County aud afterwards moved to Henry County, loeatiug at the Village of Florida. Eugene Hall for a number of years conducted aud owned a canal boat, but finally removed to West Virginia, whei-e for the jiast twenty years or more he lias liccii iiss-iiriatc<l with a prominent company dl hiiiiln )- maiiiifaftui'ers and dealers. He is uuw well kuuwii to the lumber trade over that section, aud has been greatly prospered. Mrs. Brinkman's mother now lives in Toledo with her aged mother, who is ninety-four years of age and quite feeble. Mrs. Brinkman 's maternal grandfather Guyer was very prominent in the early days of Lucas Couuty. He served as sheriff of that coimty when the courtliouse aud county seat were at Mauiiice, and he met his death while in the perfiii-iiianrc of his duties. He was protecting a laiiil) licliiiiiiiiig to his daughter from the attack of a inaihnan and was killed. That tragedy occuri'i'd alioiit three scoi'e \ ears ago. After tlK'ir maiTia-v Mv. and Airs, Brinkman lived ou a ianii until IStiS, and he then came to Florida and bought the Long store. They are the parents of three children : P^ugene, a daughter, is a graduate of the Mary Hall Kindergarten aud Experimental School. where she had two years of teaehinu experience, and completed her work theie in IUKJ. Erma, now eighteen years of age. w^is 'jiaduated from the Napoleon High School in ihe spring of 1916, finished a course in the Deliance Normal in the summer of the same year and is now engaged in teaching. Doiudd. born in December, 1902, is still attending the grade schools. Mi-. Urinknnin and faiiiil,\- ai'e active members nf the .Methodist H|iisi-o|ial Church. For ten years lie served as a member of the .school board, and also tilled the office of corporation clerk one term. Politically he is a democrat. He belongs to the National L'niou and the Knights of the Maccabees.

T. A. Campbell, M. D. A wide circle of patron.s and friends recognize Doctor Campbell as one of the leading physicians of Wapakoneta and Auglaize County. He has practiced steadily there since his graduation from medical college in 1897, and his professional ability is as high as his professional standing. He has been unusually successful in the treatment of diseases of women, and that is his specialty.

Doctor Campbell early in life determined what he would do aud he was willing to risk practically every hazard in order to complete the requisite preparation for his medical career. Thus when he began practice his cash capital amounted to only 2 cents and he was $5,000 in debt, a debt incurred largely for his education and living expenses before he graduated.

He was born on a farm in Auglaize County, January 2, 1875, a son of George and Sarah A. (Chiles) Campbell. His paternal grandfather was Ambrose Campbell, who was born in Virginia of Scotch parents. The maternal gi-andfather, James M. Chiles, was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, and his father was one of the pioneers of that county. George Campbell, father of Doctor Campbell, was born in Virginia, in 1823, and was brought to Ohio when three yeai's of age, the family settling near Columbus. During his active career he followed farming and dealing in livestock, and was quite successful. He died May 4, 1885. Most of his active career was spent in Auglaize County, where he located at the age of twenty-one, buying a farm. By his marriage to Miranda Burton he had six children, and two of the sons are still living, Jerry, of Auglaize County, and George W. For his second wife George Campbell married Sarah A. Chiles, who was born in Auglaize County in 1844 and is still living. There was also six children by this union, and the three now living are: Dr. T. A. Campbell ; J. M. Guy Campbell, who lives on the old homestead; and Zelia, wife of Clinton Armstrong of Piqua, Ohio. George Campbell and wife were faithful members of the Christian Union Church, and in politics he was a democrat.

Doctor Campbell was graduated from the Wapakoneta High School in 1893 and soon afterward entered the University of Cincinnati, where he completed his course in medicine in 1897. He at once returned to Wapakoneta and began the practice which has since grown to such large and profitable proportions.

On August 8, 1895, he married Virgie Williams, daughter of Judge J. S. Williams, who for a number of years was probate judge of Auglaize County. Mrs. Campbell died in February, 1896. On October 26, 1897, he married Blanche Jarman, who was born in Maysville, Kentucky, and died June 18, 1911. She was the mother of two children : Pera N'. R. E., now in high school, and Zenith G.

E., ako in high school. On February 14, 1912, Doctor Campbell married Emma Flory, who was born in Pleasant Hill, Ohio. Mrs. Campbell is an active member of the Presbyterian Church.

Doctor Campbell takes much interest in fraternal affairs, is a member of the lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having passed the various official chairs in those degrees, and has also filled the chairs in the Knights of Maccabees, and is a member of the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Modern Brotherhood, the Woodmen's Circle and belongs to the Sehwaebiscber Unter Stuetzungs-Verein. In politics he is a democrat.

Fred A. Gunn. A representative of the old pioneer stock in Noi'thwest Ohio Fred A. Gunn has spent his active lifetime near Napoleon, and over Henry County he is known far and wide as proprietor of Brookside Farm in section 28 of Napoleon Township.

He is a son of the late honored Edward McCartney Gunn, who was one of the first white children born in Henry County. He first saw the light on the old Gunn homestead, February 10, 1821, and died at a ripe old age at his home in Waterville Township, March 9, 1914. There were few better known and none more respected in his community than Edward M. Gunn. His parents were Charles and Elizabeth (Mattic) Gunn, both probably natives of Ohio. The great-grandfather was Elijah Gunn, a native of Massachusetts, who had come to Ohio when it was still a part of Northwest Territory, and lived for some years near Cleveland when that was just starting to grow. Later he moved to Waterville, Ohio, and finally came to Henry County, purchasing property in Napoleon Township from the Government. All this country was then sparsely settled, only here and there had settlers placed their cabins' and begun the work of development, and in this and surrounding counties a few points had been selected as a trading center or as sites of mills, and the roads leading to such places were mere trails blazed through the woods. Elijah Gunn made some improvements on the Back Farm and there he passed away at the venerable age of ninety-six, being one of the true pioneers of Henry County. Charles Gunn, father of Edward M. Gunn, was still a young man when his father came to Western Ohio, and had spent a portion of his younger life near

Cleveland. He found his wife. Miss Mattic, in Cuyahoga County, and they were married about 1800. On moving to Henry County they located in Damascus Township, where he and his wife were among the first to make a clearing in the wilderness, and when the entire Maumee Valley was populated by Indians and a few trader settlers. They died within a few weeks of each other in the year 1832.

Edwai'd McCartney Gunn grew up in Henry County and his playmates wei-e chiefly Indians, and he was very popular among the red men. A French-Indian halfbreed was especially fond of this young white boy, and gave him the name Edward McCartney Gunn. After the death of his parents he lived with Elijah Gunn in Flatrock Township until 1847, when he located on a new farm in section 28 in Napoleon Township and there worked out a thrifty career, accumulating more than 200 acres of rich alluvial lands and becoming well known as a successful and prosperous farmer. On June 6, 1847, he married Miss Jane Stone, who was boi-n in Onondaga County, New York, July 20, 1828. daughter of Joseph and Polly (Milliugton) Stone, both of whom were of New England ancestry, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Vermont. The Stone family came to Ohio in the very early days and Joseph Stone, who was a stonecutter by trade, died from cholera when that disease was epidemic in Defiance, Ohio, at the age of sixty-five. His widow lived with her daughter, Mrs. Edward Gunn, for twentyfour years and died at the age of eighty-six. She was one of the real pioneer women of Northwest Ohio, and was always busy until her last days. Even in later days she found work for her fingers, and she long bore the reputation of being the best cheese maker in Henry County. Mrs. Edward M. Gunn died October 19, 1909. Both were active members of the Presbyterian Church. Edward M. Gimn cast his first presidential ballot for William Henry Harrison, and afterwards supported the whig party and still later the republican organization.

A descendant of these worthy Ohio pioneers, Fred A. Gunn was born on the farm that he now owns and occupies July 5, 1866. He was reared and well educated in local schools and by practical experience, and has spent his active career on the old homestead, and is now owner of 133 acres of black loamy soil, which grows every cereal known to Ohio and also all kinds of vegetables. He has pursued diversified farming, raising a number of good grades of cattle, hogs and horses, and has supplied his farm with all the necessary equipment in the way of barns and machinery. His principal stock and grain barn stands on a foundation -10 by 60 feet, and there is another barn 40 by 70 feet used exclusively for the storage of grain and other farm products. He and liis family occupy a roomy and substantial house of nine rooms. Mr. Gunn has had control of the old homestead for a great many years.

In Napoleon Township he married Rose Shumaker, who was born, reared and educated in Henry County, and is a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Wiler) Shumaker. Her father was born in Wayne County, Ohio, and her mother in Pennsylvania. They were married in Crawford County, Ohio, and prior to the Civil war located in Henry County, where her father improved a good farm out of the woods, and lived there until his death when past eighty-five years of age. Her mother died at the age 'of seventy-six. They were reared in the German Reformed Church but later were consistent Presbyterians, while Mr. Shumaker was a democrat. Mr. Gunn is nowserving as assessor of Napoleon Township, being in his second term.

Mr. and -Mrs. (TUini are the parents of four children: linward i... who married Helen Rasmus of l-'latrork Township, is connected with the Hollinshead Furniture Company of Napoleon. Ortis E., now twenty-two years of age, was reared and educated on the old homestead in Napoleon Township and is still with his father. Burdette is nineteen years of age and has finished his education in the local scliools. The youngest is Myron, now nine years of age, and attending school.

Henry J. Riessen. As evidenced in a fine country home, a productive and highly valuable farm, and all the improvements and comforts of country life, one of the most substantial men of Henry County is Henry J. Riessen. His home is on section 11 of Napoleon Township, and the fine display of industry and thrift shown there is entirely a result of his well directed efforts through a purposeful career beginning in early youth and continuing to the present daj'.

He was born in Obendorf, Holstein, Germany, March 2, 1857. His people had lived in Holstein for several generations, first as subjects of Denmark and later of Germany. His parents were Henry and Dora (Jahn)

Riessen, also natives of Holstein. The mother died in the old country at the age of fortytwo. Her first husband was a Mr. Redman, and by that union there was one son, Charles Redman, who is now living in Napoleon Township of Henry County. Henry Riessen, the father, was a weaver by trade, an occupation he followed in the old country until 1869. Then with his three children, Charles Redman and his son Henry and a daughter Matilda, who died in Henry County unmarried at the age of thirty-two, he set out for the New World. The little family party traveled from Kiel to Hamburg, thence took passage to Liverpool, and from there on an English liner crossed the ocean to Boston. From there they went west to Detroit, then to Toledo, and they arrived in Henry County June 2, 1869. After a j'ear of miscellaneous labor at wages, the father bought forty acres of wild land, and devoted all his time and energy to its improvement. His subsequent career was spent in Henry County as a practical farmer, and he died a number of years ago in Napoleon Township at the age of sixty-four. He was a Lutheran and a democrat in politics.

Henry J. Riessen, whose mother died when he was nine years old, received his early training in German schools, and had only three months of schooling after he came to this country. He early learned to rely upon his own efforts, and his independent vigorous career has brought him the best of rewards in material circumstances and also in the esteem of his community. He has acquired and improved a fine place of 123 acres in section 11 of Napoleon Township, and has done much to equip his farm with the best and most up to date improvements. In his gi-oup of buildings is a barn on a foundation 36x48 feet, a granary 24x36 feet, a cow shed 18x36 feet, and a garage 14x20. His home is one of the most attractive in that part of the township, a modern ten-room house. Mr. Riessen finds his profit chiefly in the growing of good stock, cattle, hogs and horses and his fields produce all the staple cereals raised in this section of Ohio. Mr. Riessen was married in Napoleon Township to Miss Mary E. Snyder. She was born in Henry County January 12, 1855, and has spent practically all her life there, being a woman of superior intelligence and an excellent homemaker. Her parents were Henry and Christiana (Meyers) Snyder. Her father was born in Ohio or Pennsylvania and her mother in Stark County, Ohio, but of German parentage.

They were married in Henry County. Mr. Snyder served three years as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war. He was once wounded in the heel, and he spent three months as a prisoner in Belle Isle. His years after the war were spent as a farmer in Napoleon Township, where his wife died January 12, 1881, when about forty-one years of age. She was the mother of nine children, five sons and four daughters, and all are living except one of the sons. With the exception of one son, those still living are married and have children of their own.

Mrs. Riessen, the oldest of the children, is the mother of a son and a daughter. Charles H., aged thirty-four, is a bachelor, and still lives at home with his parents. Mary Christina, also at home, finished her education in the local public schools. The family are all members of Emanuel Lutheran Church, and Mr. Riessen and his son are democrats.

Thom-vs E. Marshall. The work he has done in business and public afi'airs has made Thomas E. Marshall one of the best known citizens of Auglaize County. A mark of this fame in the August primaries of 1916, when he was nominated by two votes over several competitors a.s democratic candidate for the office of county treasurer in Auglaize County. Mr. Marshall has been very active in democratic politics since casting his first vote, and has served as clerk of the town council of St. Marys and on the ward committee.

He was born in St. Marys, Auglaize County, March 27, 1882, and in both the paternal and maternal lines represents some of the very old and honored families of this portion of" Ohio. He is a son of Samuel K. and Priscilla ( Smith ) Marshall, both of whom are now living at St. Marys. His paternal grandparents were James A. and Nancy Mary Marshall, the former born in 1822 and died September 13, 1860, and the latter born in 1824 and died in 1877.- Smallpox was the disease which carried both of them away. They arrived in Auglaize County in pioneer times, and James A. Marshall acquired land from the Government during President Polk's administration. Mr. Marshall's maternal grandparents were Henry P. and Mary Smith, both of whom were bom in Auglaize County and are still living at the advanced ages of eighty-two and seventy-seven, respectively. The Smiths were among the very first white people to locate and make homes in this part of Northwest Ohio. Samuel K.

Marshall was bom in Auglaize County, February 4, 1851, and his wife was bom there October 22, 1860. The former followed fishing for some yeai-s, afterward lived on his farm in this county, but in 1900 removed with his family to the Town of St. Marys. He is a democrat in politics, has served as democratic ward committeeman, as assessor and on the school board. His wife is active in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of the seven children born to Samuel K. Marshall and wife five are now living : Julius is private secretary and manager in an oil concern at. Tulsa, Oklahoma; Thomas E.; Belva L., a school teacher; Nellie, clerk in a store at St. Marys ; and Mary, a bookkeeper with the First National Bank.

Thomas E. Marshall after graduating from high school at St. Marys in 1899 entered a machine shop to learn the trade. While there he carried a course in the International Correspondence School of Scranton, and thus perfected himself in theory while his daily work gave him abundant practical experience. For six months he was employed in the Gas Engine Supply Company at Muncie, Indiana, and then returning home became shipping clerk in a box factory at St. Marys. He has proved a competent and efficient workman in every capacity, and is now warehouseman under Mr. Long in the Ohio Oil Company.

In 1904 he married Miss Neva Elizabeth Baxter, whose former home was near Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have a family of three children : James B., Evelyn Irene and George Kenton, all of them now in the public schools of St. Marj's. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall are members of the Presbyterian Church, and fraternally he is affiliated with the lodge, chapter and council of Masonry and with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Gerhard H. Prior. The grotesque appearing farmer with whom the comic artist has made us familiar has gone out of vogue in Northwe.stern Ohio, if, indeed, he ever existed, and in his place has come a man who appears well, thinks well, is informed on current events, and has that sincere desire to elevate himself to the top notch of his occupation which cannot fail to secure him some measure of success. He is prosperous and intelligent, is a thorough master of the calling which forms his life work, and commands respect and attention wherever he goes. To this class belongs Gerhard H. Prior, one of the prosperous and progressive agriculturists of Henry

County, the owner of two fine farms in Harrison Township, and a man who has honestly won his own way to his present success. Mr. Prior was born at Sladenhauser, Hanover, Germany, October 2, 1851, and is a son of Louis and Louise (Filling) (Cook) Prior.

Louis Prior was a member of an old and honorable German Lutheran familj^ of Hanover, which could trace its ancestry back for generations in its native land. He was a farmer in a small way, and by his first marriage had three children : William, Mary and Adam, all of whom came to this country and were married, and one of whom, Adam, is still living in Sandusky County. Ohio, in advanced years. After the death of his first wife, Louis Prior was married to ^Irs. Louise (Cook) Filling, the widow of Herman Filling, who also had three children: Henry, Fred and Eliza. Of these, Eliza is living in Sandusky County, Ohio, is married and has ten children. Fred is a bachelor and a resident of Sandusky County. Henry married and located in Napoleon Township, Henry County, where he accumulated a large farm, on which he died in 1910. He left six children, namely : Louis, Fred, Henry, William, Mary and Carrie, all single. But one child was born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Prior: Gerhard H., of this review.

Louis Prior was an earnest, sober and industrious workman, steady in his habits and honorable in his dealings. He was able to make a living for his family in the old country, but his ambition reached out beyond that and he finally decided to try his fortunes in the land across the water where he had heard that opportunities in profusion awaited the energetic seeker. Gathering together all the means that lay at his disposal, with his wife and children he boarded a sailing vessel at Bremen, Germany, in September, 1853, when his son Gerhard H. was not yet two years old, and .just six weeks later arrived at the harbor of New York. From the metropolis the little party made its way to Toledo, and then all struck out on foot, through the woods, to within four miles of Woodville, Sandusky Coiinty, Ohio, where the father rented a farm. They found American customs and -methods different, but the father, with the adaptability of his race, soon mastered these difficulties, and after three years of renting was ready to start on a property of his own. Thus it was that he purchased a forty-acre tract of wild land for $300, not a large sura as it would be viewed now, but at that time representing all of Jlr. Prior's capital. On this property he erected a small log cabin, and in this primitive dwelling the children, including Gerhard H., were reared. In later years, as the family finances permitted, more commodious and comfortable buildings were erected, the ground was cleared and improved, the farm was brought to -a high state of development, and there the parents rounded out well-filled and useful lives, the father dying in 1882, at the age of seventy-six years, and the mother eighteen months later, in 1884, when seventytwo years old. Throughout their lives they were members of the Lutheran Church, and their faith was lived every day. They were charitable and kindly people who were highly respected in their community, and in their deaths their locality lost two who had helped to lay broad and deep the foundation for the coming generations. Mr. Prior was a democrat, but politics played only a small part in his life, which in the main was devoted to his home and his family.

Gerhard H. Prior spent the greater part of his boyhood and youth on the old family homestead in the vicinity of Woodville. His early years were filled with hard, honest toil, for when he was not assisting in the work of the homestead, he was helping his father at the trade of carpenter, and he was compelled to devote his every leisure moment to study in order to gain education. When he reached his majority he was eager to embark upon ventures on his own account, and made the first move in this direction when he established a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Mollie Luebker, a resident of Sandusky County. She was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1870, and was a child of ten years when brought to this country by her parents, William and Anna (Coolman) Luebker, who first located in Sandusky County. Some years later the Luebker family removed to Henry County and settled on a farm in Napoleon ' Township, a tract of sixty acres. Here the mother died in December, 1912, at the age of sixty-six years, while the father still survives at seventythree. For many years Sirs. Luebker was known as one of the devoted Christian women of her community, a faithful member of the Lutheran Church, to which her husband also belongs. He is a democrat in his political views, and is considered one of the substantial men of his township, where he is held in high esteem.

and came to Henry County. Here Mr. Prior purchased eighty acres of land in section 31, Harrison Township, which he immediately began to cultivate. He now has a farm fertile and productive, on which he raises fine crops, and in addition grows a good grade of horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. He is a keen and far-sighted business man, secured a good price for his product in the market, and has won the friendship and esteem of his associates by reason of his honorable and straightforward methods. In line with his progressive and enlightened views, he has erected a good set of buildings on his property, including a comfortable nine-room residence, and a large grain barn and garage, 25 by 30 feet, with suitable and attractive outbuildings. His equipment has always been of the best, and the whole property breathes an atmosphere of thrift and prosperity. In addition, Mr. Prior is the owner of forty acres of highly improved land located in section 28, Harrison Township.

Mr. and Mrs. Prior have long been members of the Lutheran Church, and have reared their children in that faith. He is a democrat in his political views, but is not an office seeker, preferring to give his time and attention to his farm work. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Prior: William, who is his father's chief assistant in the work of the farm ; Louise, who ably assists her mother in the housework; Henry and Marie, who are attending the Napoleon High School; and Lucy and Walter, who are students in the grammar school.

Joseph Russell McAllister. During the past eleven years. Napoleon Township, in Henry County, has been the scene of the agricultural activities of Joseph Russell INIcAllister. Formerly a railroad man, at the time of his marriagej Mr. McAllister began farming and since then has developed into a practical and progressive agriculturist who is able to hold his own among the more experienced farmei-s of his locality. He is now engaged in the cultivation of a handsome property located just south of the city corporation of Napoleon, and while his homestead is not as large as some of the others in the township, its equipment and the manner in which it is conducted make it a model Ohio farm.

Mr. McAllister was born near Ashland, Kentucky, September 23, 1880, and is a son of Joseph R. and Elizabeth (Hannah) McAllister, natives of Kentucky and descendants respectively of English and Scotch ancestry His mother was a daughter of William Hannah, whose father was born in America and his mother in England. William Hannah was born in Kentucky, was there reared, educated and married, and passed his entire life in the Blue Grass State, his death occurring in middle life in the explosion of a boiler in a sawmill where he was employed. Joseph R. McAllister died when his son, Joseph R., was. an infant, leaving also another child, Bertha, who is the wife of Otto Birkmaier, of Portland, Oregon, and has two children. Otto, Jr., and Elizabeth. After the death of her first husband. Mrs. McAllister was again married, being united with Marion Canby. They now reside at Tumwater, not far from Olympia, Washington, and have no children.

When he was still a small child, Joseph Russell McAllister was taken by his mother and stepfather to Olympia, Washington, in the vicinity of which place he was reared to manhood and received a common school education. He grew up an ambitious youth, and when little more than a lad left home and secured employment with the Northern Pacific Railroad, the line of which ran near his stepfather's dwelling, and the next fifteen years of his life were passed in railroading. First employed as a brakeman, he worked his way up by successive stages until he was put in charge of an engine and for three years traveled through the West and Middle West in an engine cab with his hand upon the throttle. His journeyings finally brought him to Ohio, but it was in St. Paul, Minnesota, that he met and married the lady who is now his wife and who prevailed upon him to give up railroading for agricultural work. Mr. McAllister had had but little experience in farming, but his adaptability demonstrated itself in the manner in which he adopted his new vocation. He applied himself resolutely to mastering the principles of farming, and in the short time that he has been a tiller of the soil has achieved a marked success. At this time he is the owner of a farm of 621,1; acres, in section 24, Napoleon Township, just south of of the corporation limits of the City of Napoleon, in the fertile valley of the Maumee River. The greater part of this land is in a fine state of cultivation and has grown as high as 100 bushels of corn, 40 bushels of wheat and 70 bushels of oats to the acre. Since his arrival Mr. McAllister has constantly endeavored to add to his buildings and equipment, and in addition to his comfortable dwelling has good outbuildings and a barn 30 by 86 feet, with an "el" 36 by 44 feet. He uses modern machinery and appliances in his operations and is quick to realize the benefit of new ideas and to use them in his own work. Mr. McAllister is a Mason and a member of the Woodmen of the World, having joined the latter lodge while a .resident of the State of Washington. He has _had no time for politics, but has supported good men and beneficial measures and maintains an interest in things that affect his community.

Mr. McAllister was married October 7, 1905, to Miss Olive May French, who was born September 23, 1872, on the farm on which she now lives, and was educated in the local schools and in an art school in New York State. She is a daughter of William and Sarah (Miller) French, who were born in Licking County, Ohio, and were brought to Henry County by their parents when they were children. They were educated, reared and married in Napoleon Township, where they settled down to farming on a property located on Holgate Pike, south of Napoleon, the property on which Mr. and Mrs. McAllister now make their home. They were greatly respected and esteemed in their community. Mr. French died October 29, 1914, at the age of sixty-seven years, Mrs. French having pas.sed away on the 7th of the .same month, when sixty-three years old. They had two children ; Leonard E., now one of the prosperous farmers of Napoleon Township, married Freda Stroeh and has three children: Margaret, Inez and Ernest ; and Olive May, now Mrs. McAllister. To Mr. and Mrs. McAllister there have come three children : William L., who was born May 5, 1909; ]\Iarion Francis, born September 2.3, 1910 ; and Elizabeth Ellen, born July 24, 1914.

L. C. Brodbeck is a very successful lawyer at St. Marys. His membership in the local bar covers ten years, and the service he has rendered as a capable attorney has well .justified his choice of this profession as a career.

Nearly all his life has been spent in St. Mar.ys and his parents Were also natives of that town and still reside there. His grandfathers on both sides came from Germany. The name of his paternal grandfather was Mathias Brodbeck.

L. C. Brodbeck was born at St. Marys, October 30, 1882, a son of Julius P. and Paulina (Hoppel) Brodbeck. His father was born November 28, 18.54, and his mother April

27, 1861, and they grew up and were married at St. Marys. Julius Brodbeck is a contractor and for some years was connected with the oil fields as a rig builder. He is a republican, and while his own church aifiliation is Lutheran his wife and children are Catholics. At an earlier period of his career Julius Brodbeck spent five years in Kansas, and when he returned to Ohio he was at the bottom financially, but by hard work has recovered and is now rated as a successful man in his community. He and his wife have seven children : Agnes, wife of L. C. Hirsch, a St. jMarys attorney; L. C. ; Walter, who is a rural mail carrier: Ethel, employed at Piqua; Helen, a trained nurse at Dayton; Stella, a stenographer living at St. Marys; and Pauline, still at home.

L. C. Brodbeck was graduated from the St. Marys High School in 1900. Following his liigh school course he taught two years, and largely from his earnings in that occupation he paid at least part of his expenses while in law school. He attended the University of Michigan in the law department, and was graduated in 1906. Since then he has practiced in his native city, and has handled business not only in the local courts but in the federal courts of Ohio. For the year of 1914-1.5 he served as city solicitor. Through the vacancy caused by the removal from St. jVIarys of H. F. Wittenbrink, Mr. Brodbeck was appointed to fill the vacancy.

In 1906, the year he graduated from law school, Mr. Brodbeck married Olece Barkume. She was born in Detroit, studied law, and she and Mr. Brodbeck became acquainted while in law school at Ann Arbor.' They are active members of the Catholic Church and Mr. Brodbeck is a republican.

Amos Bl.\nk. With the coming of Amos Blank to Henry County in 1895 an element of strength and purpose was added to the upbuilding forces of a prosperous community. For a number of years Mr. Blank had been engaged in farming and in the sawmilling Imsiness in Sandusky County, and when he came to his new home he was prepared to enter actively into the life of the community and to contribute to its progress and wellbeing. So strongly did he impress his personality and ability upon the agriculturists of his locality that at the organization of the Henry County Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company they unhesitatingly elected him its first president, and he remained at the head of the organization until his retirement, a few months prior to his death, his soundness of judgment and strong executive ability placing the company upon a sound and stable foundation.

Mr. Blank came of good, sturdy Pennsylvania ancestry and of Dutch stock. His father, William Blank, was born in the Keystone State in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and was there thi-ee times married. The name of his first wife is not known. His second wife was Anna Hess, who became the mother of David, Abraham, Peter, Amos, Malinda, Matilda, Elizabeth and Mary, all of wliom were married except Mary, and all now deceased except Malinda and Matilda, both widows. The latter now lives in Toledo and is Mrs. Crisleb, and the former, Mrs. McChristen, i-esides near Saint Johns, Michigan. By his last marriage, to a Pennsylvania girl, William Blank had two children : Emmeline, deceased, who was the wife of Daniel Shively ; and William, Jr., formerly a farmer of Washington State, but now living with Mrs. Blank, a widow with one daughter, Lena, who is married and has two children.

The youngest of his parents ' children, Amos Blank was born at Gibsonburg. Sandusky, County, Ohio, April 20, 1841. He was reared in his native county, where he secured a public school education, and continued to be engaged in farming on the home place until about the year 1885 when he left home to go into the sawmilling business in partnership witli his brother, each having a half interest in the enterprise. After three years he disposed of his holdings in the mill and resumed farming, and continued to be so engaged until coming to Henry County, in 1895. Here, in section 19, Harrison Township, he purchased a tract of 260 acres of the very best land, which continued to be his home until the time of his death. He made many improvements on this property, including barns and outbuildings and a fine ten-room residence, brick, of modern architecture, and equipped the farm with every up-to-date appliance in the way of machinery.