Sandusky Township (part 31 of 57)

^Ir. Claty married Miss Norah ilcEarnner. Mrs. Claty was born in Madison County, Ohio, in 1868, but when a small girl came to Henry County with her parents, Thomas and Anna McEarnner, who bought and located on a farm in Washington Township. Her father died there at the age of sixty-five and her mother when past seventy. They were devout Catholics, and her father a democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Claty have two children: Thomas, who is now twenty-four years of age and is still single ; and Leon, aged twelve and in the fourth grade of the schools. Mr. and Mrs. Claty are communicants of the Catholic Church. He manifests a commendable degree of interest in the welfare of his home community, is a supporter of the democratic party, and is a man entitled to esteem and honor for what he has accomplished in life.

William Thomas Robinson, now in the automobile business at Lima, has had a long experience as a banker and business man in Ohio, and is one of the native sons of the northwest cpiarter of the state. He was born in Hardin County, Ohio, May 18, 1869, a son of John W. and Sarah (Elliott) Robinson. His father, who W'as a farmer, was born in Ireland, and on coming to this country first settled in West Virginia, afterwards in Crawford County and then in Hardin County, Ohio.

William Thomas Robinson acciuired a liberal education before taking up his active business career. Following his courses in the public schools, he entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, where he was graduated in the classical course with the degree A. B. in 1892. Since then for almost a cjuarter of a century he has been in active business life. He was assistant cashier of the Hardin County Bank at Forest nine years, and then became cashier of the First National Bank at Newcomerstown, Ohio, where he remained three years. Mr. Robinson next organized the First National Bank at Forest, mikI rniiained as its cashier until the instiliit imi was sold. Following that he went on I lie i-ciail as a tfaveling .salesman, and in 1914 located in Lima and engaged in the automobile business. In 1915 with H. C. Thew he established the local agency for the Reo car.

Mr. Robinson, who is unmarried, has identified himself with various fraternal and other in.stitutions, and while living at Forest was trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church and superintendent of its Sunday school. He is a Knight Templar Mason and as a republican served on the Central Committee while living at Forest.

in farming in America than those who represent the Dutch stock. It is of this nationality that John P. Maugas of Henry County comes, and though he was born in Henry County, his people were all of the thrifty German nationality that has so largely prevailed in the early settlement of several of Henry County's townships.

Many people call Mr. Mangas a model farmer, and from the general condition of his environment and proi:)erty in Marion Township this title seems well qualified.

The early generations of the family in this county were headed by his grandfather, Henry Casper Mangas, and his father, Henry Mangas. Both were born in Prussia, Germany. Henry Mangas was born there October 24, 1829. When he was five years of age Casper ilangas brought the family to the United States. They sailed from Bremen, Germany, and were fifty-two days on the ocean before they reached New York. At that time there was not a single railway built west of the Allegheny Mountains, and only a few miles of track had been built anywhere in this country. The principal route of emigration to the West was the Erie Canal, which had been opened to traffic about nine years before. Thus the Mangas family journeyed up the Hudson River, thence by canal boat across the state to Buffalo, and from there by the Great Lakes to Cleveland and to Toledo. From Toledo they came up the Maumee to what is now New Bavaria in Pleasant Township of Henry County. The Mangas family, together with the Hornungs and the Marches, were the first three families to comprise the original German colony at New Bavaria. Henry County was then a wilderness, divided between heavy forests and swamps. Nearly all the land /«vas available for settlement by direct contract with the government. Casper Mangas entered his land and filed the claim and paid the initial fees in the land office at Lima. He walked all the way to Lima. Outside of Indian trails there was probably not a highway justifying the name anywhere in Henry Couut}^ The entire district where the Mangas family settled was in its utmost primitive condition. There were no near neighbors, no roads, no schools, no churches, and the mills were many miles away. Casper Mangas would usually put a sack of grain on his shoulder and start out to walk fourteen or fifteen miles to the nearest mill, going one day and returning the next. One time he carried his grist on his shoulder a distance of thirty miles to the mill at Findlay. Thus the Mangas family had to contend with difficulties, inconveniences and privations during their early life in Henry County. They had the true grit and courage of pioneers, and never lost hope, worked on and braved the storms of adversity, and in time they were looked upon as some of the most substantial home makers and citizens of the entire district. Casper Mangas and his wife died on the old farm when in advanced years. Their first home of round logs had been replaced by a house of hewed logs, and they had acquired many of the elements of comfort in their home before death came to them. They were sincere Catholics, and were among the charter members of the Sacred Heart Parish, and both are bui'ied in the churchyard of that parish. Casper Mangas was a democrat in his political affiliations.

It was in this frontier locality that Henry Mangas grew to manhood. He had some iiistruction at church and some at home, but otherwise was without education, since a real system of schools did not exist while he was growing up. He became a man of good judgment, strong character and of much practical wisdom, and was one of the first men elected to the office of justice of the peace in Marion Township, where he settled as a pioneer. He was also assessor, and had some place of responsibility during the greater part of his life. He was prominent as a democrat. He lived to be seventy-five years of age, passing away September 11, 1904. In Pleasant Township Henry ]\Iangas married Miss Mary Diemer. She was born in Bavaria, Germany, and when eight years of age came to America with her parents, who located in Pleasant Township of Henry County, and were also settlers on government land. Six years after they arrived her father, Thomas Diemer, died, and was then in the prime of his years. Her mother survived and was eighty-six years of age when she died in 1902. Both were lifelong Catholics. Mrs. Mary Mangas grew to womanhood in Henry County, and gave the best of her life to her family and home and friends. She died at the old home in Marion Township April 8, 1903, when about fifty years of age. Both she and her husband were confirmed in the Sacred Heart Church and were buried in the cemetery of the parish.

John P. Mangas was the oldest son in a family of four sons and seven daughters. All but two are still living, and eight of them are married.

John P. Mangas was born June 27, 1865, in Marion Township, grew up here with the advantages of the local schools and has used his early experience and training as the foundation of his success in farm life. In October, 1895, he took up farming as an independent vocation, and at that time bought 120 acres in sections 29 and 30 of Marion Township. Everj- year has seen an increase in his property valuation and in the extent and scope of his operations. At the present time his ownership extends over 360 acres, divided into three distinct farms. His home place has a noteworthy group of improvements. His barn is a structure 40 by 90 feet, with 20-foot posts, and he has a complete equipment of tools, implements and other facilities for cultivating his land and getting a maximum yield from his acres, also for the handling of all other branches of the farm business. His home is one of the best to be found in the country districts of Henry County. It is a two story brick house containing twelve rooms, with a basement under all, and has conveniences and equipment such as are to be found in the better class of city homes. It has hot and cold running water, operated by the automatic system, there is a furnace to heat the house from basement to attic, and it is electric lighted. On each of his otlier two farms Mr. Mangas has a barn nearly new, 36 by 60 feet, and a good house. His crops have been chiefly corn, wheat, oats and sugar beets.

In 1894 Mr. Mangas was married at Now Bavaria to Miss Margaret Wagner, who was born in Lorain County, Ohio, June 23, 1868. They were married in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at New Bavaria. Mrs. Mangas grew up and received her education partly in Lorain County and partly in Henry County. Her parents were both natives of Germany, and her mother died in Lorain County when Mrs. Mangas was a child. Her father, John Wagner, who died June 5, 1911, had spent his early years as a sailor on ocean vessels, and finally brought his family to America on a sailing vessel. They were all active members of the Catholic Church, and Mr. Wagner was a democrat.

A fine family of children have grown up in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mangas. Mary S., tlie oldest, is now twenty-two years of age and still at home. Ellen, aged twenty, is the wife of Owen Brubaker, a farmer at Hamler, Henry County. Gilbert is seventeen j-ears of age and is still in school. Catherine is twelve years old and in the sixth grade, and Paul, aged seven, has also begun his education. The youngest of the family is Julian, now five years of age. The family are members of the Sacred Heart congregation, and Mr. Mangas is a democrat and a member of tlie Knights of Columbus.

Jacob B. Shepard. Some of the oldest and best known families of Henry County are represented by Jacob B. Shepard. He himself is a native of the county, and his own parents and other relatives have been identified with this section since the first clearings were made and the first crops produced.

Mr. Shepard was born in Damascus Township June 30, 1853. His family is of Irish origin, but for many generations they have lived, first in Virginia and later in Ohio. His father was Daniel Shepard, who was born in Athens County, Ohio, December 1, 1822. The grandfather, ilartin Shepard, was a Virginian but spent his last years in Henry County, Ohio. When Daniel Shepard was still a young man he enlisted and went away to serve in the Mexican war, and saw some active fighting south of the Rio Grande, hut escaped any serious injury. After his return and before his marriage he came to Ohio, accompanied by his father Martin, and the latter 's wife. They located in one of the wildest districts of Henry County. Their cabin was built of logs, the woods surrounded them on every side, and these woods were filled with wild game. Daniel even killed some bears during the first years of his residence here. Some of the heavv- work of pioneering fell to his lot. He cut down the trees, cleared up the stumps, drained the land and in some of that work to the extent of his strength his father, ilartin, shared, but finally became too old for further duties, and died at the age of eighty-four. Martin was twice married. His first wife died when Daniel was eighteen years of age, and for his second wife he married Mary Shradden. There were seven children by each marriage. Religiously the Shepards were United Brethren people, and ever since that party was organized they have usually been republican voters.

Daniel Shepard was married in Henry County to Maria Hookman. She was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, December 1, 1833, and her name recalls a very early and prominent family of pioneers in Henry County. When she was quite young she came to Da- maseus Township with her parents, Joseph and Mary (Macklin) Hockman, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The Hockmans were among the first to settle in Damascus Township, and their lives were spent usefully and energetically in clearing up a part of the wilderness and making farm homes. They paid a dollar and a quarter per acre for government land, and on their farm they lived out their lives, Joseph Hockman dying in 1884 and his wife a year later. They were among the very early members of the Christian Union Church, and Joseph Hockman was a democrat. Some of his characteristics have been recalled. He was exceedingly domestic in his tastes, and of very reserved nature. It is said that he would never interrupt a questioner and would wait until the discussion got around to him, and then after careful consideration would express his opinion, and it was usually found to be the right one.

Before he married Daniel Shepard had acquired a tract of land in Damascus Township, and he took his bride there and began the heavy work of clearing, draining, fencing and cultivating. His old homestead of 120 acres lies a mile west of McClure. He and his wife were highly respected people. They were prospered and spent their last years with every comfort. His death occurred April 11, 1909, while his wife passed away December 18, 1914. They were members of the United Brethren Church, and he was quite active in local affairs as a republican, serving as township trustee, and was late in life nominated for the office of county commissioner and his defeat is ascribed to the fact that he was then past seventy years of age.

Jacob B. Shepard was the oldest in a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters. Five of them are still living, all married and having children. Mr. Shepard was reared in Damascus Township, attended the local schools, and from an early age has been industriously carving out an independence by successful work as a farmer and as a mechanic. Before he married he paid $623" for forty acres of wild land in section 32 of his native township. The task of clearing up that land began with his marriage. He has made of it a fine home, and his wife also owns a considerable tract of land in the same section, and that is likewise well developed. Mr. Shepard has contributed much value to his farm by the erection of good buildings. His main barn is 36 by 51 feet, and there is a building for the housing of corn and other grains, besides several other substantial smaller buildings. His home is a good seven room house, with cellar under all. Mr. Shepard is his own architect and builder. His services have been in demand for the erection of a number of barns and houses throughout the township and county, and while he is a very skillful carpenter, he is even more successful as a thorough farmer.

In his home township in 1894 he married Miss Candis Jones. She was born here November 5, 1861, and has spent practically all her life within the vicinity of her birthplace. Her parents were William and Catherine (Kinney) Jones. Her mother was the daughter of William and Jerusha (Leech) Kinney, the former a native of Ireland who came to America as a youth and was married in New Jersey, afterward moving out to Seneca County, Ohio, where Mrs. William Jones was born. Later the Kinney family moved to Hancock County, Ohio, and still later to Harrison Township in Henry Count.v, where Mrs. Kinney died. Her husband subsequently moved to Kansas and died there when quite old. William Jones and wife after their marriage lived in Hai'rison Township, but subsequently sold their place there and moved out to Kansas. Their experiences in that western state were not profitable, and they finally returned to Ohio, where Mr. Jones died in 1898. His widow is still living with her son Howard, and she was seventy-seven years of age on March 22, 1917. She is an active member of the United Brethren Church, while her husband was a Methodist.

Mr. and Mrs. Shepard have one daughter, Ada E., who "was born in Damascus Township. She completed her education in the McClure High School in 1914, and has since lived at home with her parents and is one of the social leaders in the younger set of people in Damascus Township.

Charles E. Tanner. The career of Charles E. Tanner of Napoleon constitutes a steadily progressive success since early boyhood. He began selling goods in his early teens, and is now a successful merchant, a sterling citizen and a man who deserves the honorable position he occupies in the community.

His place of business is located near the postoffice on Washington Street, in Napoleon, and is one of the oldest grocery .stores in the city, Mr. Tanner liaving succeeded Frank

C. Fisk, who had eomlueted the store foi- a period of fourteen years or more. Mr. Tanner carries his stock of merchandise in a liuikling 22 by 80 feet, with basement, and lie specializes in staple goods of high quality and has a tine trade.

For many years Mr. Tanner was clerk and learned the business with Ernest Spangler. For tive years he also conducted the 0. K. restaurant and then bought out Mr. Fisk.

Charles E. Tanner was born in Henry County. Ohio, February 26, 1881, and has spent all his life in this section of Northwestern Ohio. His education came from the public schools, but his real training for life was gained by business experfence. His parents are Thomas G. and Malinda (Bonnefield) Tanner, both of whom were born in Lincoln County, Ohio, where they grew up and married, and where some of their children were born. For a number of yeai's they lived in Napoleon, where the father conducted the elevator for twenty-eight years, and then retired. His death occurred in liti:', at the age of seventy-six. His widow is si ill li\ iiii; at the age of seventy-seven, and still strong and bright for one of her years. Both parents were members of the Dunkard Church, and Thomas Tanner was a democrat and served for two years as marshal of Napoleon. In their family were ten children, seven sons and three daughters, and eight are still living, tive of them married, and all living in Ohio except one.

Charles E. Tanner, who was the youngest in age and the seventh son. was married in Napoleon to Miss Nellie Yokf. wlm was bnrn and reared in Henry Count\-. ilaiitihter of Joseph Voke, who married a ^liss Keen. Both her parents were natives of Germany, came to America and settled in Henry County, Ohio, and her father died here fourteen years ago, while her mother is .still living in Napoleon past sixty years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Voke were members of the Catholic Church, and he was a democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner are also Catholics, and he is in polities a democrat and is affiliated with Lodge No. 929 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Knights of Columbus.

Thomas Upton McClure. Anyone who knows the farm in Damascus Township owned by Thomas Upton ]McChire need not be informed that he is one of the most progressive farmers of Henry County and a man who has lived a very full and useful life. He is not old yet, and in vigor of movement and appearance looks ten years younger than his age. Neither he nor his family brought wealth with them to Henry County, and his prosperity has been almost entirely a matter of his individual achievement.

He was born in Wayne County, Ohio, August 22, 1864. His grandfather, Samuel Mc- Clure, Sr., was born in Penn.sylvania, and married in the same state Elizabeth Sidel. They became early settlers in Plain Township of Wayne County, and Samuel ilcClure cleared up a good farm there. lb' dii'd at the age of seventy and his wife at srvriit\-live. Both were members of the Christian Church, and he was a loyal democrat as long as he voted. There were six children. John married and is now deceased. Samuel S. is the father of Thomas U. jMary J. is the wife of Otto Kauffman and both are now deceased. Sarah married Jacob Kahl and died without children. Upton served as a soldier in the army from Wayne County and died as a result of illness, his body being returned home for burial. Lucy married Elijah Hague and lives in Iowa, the mother of three children.

Samuel S. McClure, father of Thomas Upton, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, October 23, 1838. He lived for many years in Plain Township of his native county, and later came to Heni-y County and found employment working for others. He finally brought his family to Henry County, arriving with his wife and children in Augiist, 1883. For two years he was a renter and lived on a place that was almost entirely surrounded liy dense woods. In 1886 he and his son Thomas bought forty acres in section 35 of Damascus Township. That was the home of Samuel S. McClure the rest of his life, and he died there highly respected October 9, 1908. His widow still makes that farm her place of residence and is now past seventy years of age. Her maiden name was Jane S. Alexander, and she was born December 3, 1841, and spent her early life in AVayne County, Ohio. Her parents, John and ilary (McKee") Alexander, were born and married in Pennsylvania and were early settlers in Wayne County, Ohio, where they died on their farm, he at the age of eighty and she at seventy-three. The Alexanders were active Presbyterians, and John Alexander was a democratic voter. In the Alexander family were the following children : Thomas, William, Mrs. Elizabeth ^McClure, Harvey, Sadie, Albert, Samuel, Ellen. All of them grew up and all married except two, and four are still living besides Mrs. MeClure. Mrs. Samuel ileClure is now seventy-three years of age and retains all her mental and physical faculties and is especially devoted to the Christian Union Church, where her husband also worshiped. The late Samuel McClure was a democrat and took an active part in local affairs, serving as township trustee. He and his wife had the following children: Eva married W. H. Tyler, a farmer in Wayne County, Ohio, and their children still living are Clair, Dwight and Jennie. The second in age is Thomas Upton. Calvin lives with his mother and is vinmarried. William W., more familiarly known as Ted, is a farmer in Damascus Township, and by his marriage to Elizabeth Long of Grand Rapids, Ohio, has a son Don. Clara is the wife of Wilbur Roberts, a farmer in Fayette County, Michigan, and their children are Herschel. Denton, Maude, Bessie, Dolly and Burt. Lizzie is the wife of Edward Main, a farmer in Liberty Township of Wood County, and their children include Frances, Claud, Calvin and Eva. Sadie is the wife of Jay Pugh of Wood County and has children named Luther, Lake, Lindsey and Masine. Maud, now deceased, married John Bortle, and she left three children named Delmer, Dailey and Nola.

Thomas Upton MeClure was nineteen years of age when he came with his father and the rest of the family to Henry County. His early life had been spent in Wayne County, and there he received such advantages as were afforded by his life at home and the public schools. As already stated, he helped buy the fii^st forty acres owned by his father in this county, and after selling his interest in that place he bought forty acres of his own in section 2 of Richfield Township. There has been no cessation of his vigorous activity, no lapse in his progress, and when one important task has been fulfilled he is already engaged in another. The forty acres which he fir.st bought was entirely wild land. He put it in a state of cultivation, and then bought forty acres ad.joining. That too has long since yielded up its crops and fruits in season, and he then extended his ownership to eighty acres in section 35 of Damascus Township. There again he repeated what he had accomplished on his first land. He owns another forty acres well improved in section 36 of Damascus Township, and his home place is 160 acres in section 36, known as the Taylor Dull Farm.

Hockman, daughter of Peter and Eliza (Shepherd) Hockman. Her parents were early settlers in Damascus Township, coming from Fairfield County, Ohio, and they are still living, her father nearly eighty and her mother past four score years of age. They are active members of the Christian Union Church, and ilr. Hockman has been a life-long democratic voter.

The success which Mr. and Mrs. McClure have gained has been largely for the sake of their children. Their oldest is Eva, wife of Bert Fiser, and they live on one of Mr. Mc- Clure's farms in Damascus Township and are the parents of Ruby, Vondale and Clair. Guy, the oldest son, is already prospering as a farmer in Wood County, and by his marriage to Pearl Russell has two children. Russell and Marie. Gail is a farmer in Hancock County, Ohio, and has a son Donald by his wife, Alta Courtright. The three younger children are Brice, Bernice, both in high school, and Vernon, still in the grade schools. The family are members of the Christian Union Church. In matters of politics Mr. McClure has departed somewhat from the traditions of his forefathers, and is a stanch republican.

Henry Here. If there is one class of citizens that especially deserve the honor and esteem of this and all .succeeding generations it is those sturdy men who have set themselves to the task of making land productive. Nearly all the State of Ohio was at one time covered with dense forests or with impassable swamps, and only by the intervention of thousands of strong men and their labor, exerted over a period of nearly a century, have the thousands of fine fai'ms become possible.

Not all the men who did this important work are of a past generation. One of them who has cleared up and put into cultivation many acres in Henry County is Mr. Henry Herr, who now enjoys the fruits of his toil and labors at a fine country home in Richfield Township.

It was thirt.y-five years ago that he began his task in this county, purchasing forty acres which he cleared up from the woods and brush. Subsequently he sold that forty acres and then bought eighty acres in section 28 of Richfield Township. He made that purchase twenty-nine years ago. In its original condition this land was hardly worth anything in productive crops. It was in the midst of the woods, and much of it under water. His energy effected a magic trans- formation, and it is now one of the best farms in the county. While living there. Mr. Herr put up some substantial buildings, and made the place his home for twenty yeai-s. He then sold out to advantage and bought his present place of 160 acres, all in one body, in section IS of Richfield Township. Mr. Herr is the kind of a fanner who does not allow a single foot of his land to go to waste. It is all under cultivation, he has some fine stock, and he raises crops that equal in quality and quantity the best output of Henry County farms. Mr. Herr has lived in his present home for the past six years. He has some good farm buildings, has his land all well drained, and well fenced. Besides the staple crops, he has been unusually successful in the growing of sugar beets. Some of his land has produced as much as twenty-one tons to the acre.

Henry Herr was born in Erie County, Ohio, March 16, 1856. His has been a life of varied experience, mingled with thrift and hard work and a constantly growing prosperity. When he was a small child his parents went to Sandusky County, and lived for six years near Clyde. Even at that early age Henry Herr made himself useful. Throughout the winter seasons for several years he drove a team and wagon to Sandusky, Ohio, sixteen miles away, the wagon being loaded with spokes.

In January, 1867, the Herr family came to Henry County. They made the removal with teams. There was only one highway at the time by which it was possible to reach Monroe Township. Henry Herr was then eleven years of age. He grew up in the wooded district of Monroe Township and became very familiar with the country along West Creek in its condition of forty or fifty years ago. When he was twelve years of age, and one day while out looking for the cows, he became lost and spent the entire night alone in the woods. The more he wandered about the more completely he became lost and he finally waited until sunrise, when he was able to follow one general direction, finally arriving at a creek and recognizing his whereabouts, and after a walk of four miles he reached home.

After reaching his majorit.y Mr. Herr went to Paulding County, and spent six years doing some very heavy work, getting out ship timbers from the woods. At the same time he bought and improved a portion of a 160- acre tract near Paulding Center. On the death of his father he sold his Paulding County holdings and returned to Henry

He is a son of Joseph and Benedieta (Fetherley) Herr. They were both born in Germany not far from the River Rhine. They grew up there, and when Joseph was twentyeight and Benedieta seventeen they crossed the ocean on the same ship, a sailing vessel, which was twenty-two weeks in making the voyage from Hamburg to New York. That Avas about 1848. A storm nearly wrecked the vessel and the passengers suffered a great deal from lack of wholesome food. Joseph Herr spent one year in New York City, and then went to Syracuse, New York, where he was connected with the, salt works for four years. He then removed to Erie County, Ohio', and from there came to Henry County. Here he bought four tracts of eighty acres each in the wild woods, and he lived there until his death in January, 1871, when nearly fiftysix years of age. His widow and sons subsequently lost the property, and she died twenty-eight years after her husband in the month of June. Both were members of the Catholic Church and he was a democrat in politics. Of their seven sons and one daughter that grew to maturity, all are now living and married except one.

Mr. Henry Herr was married in Monroe Township of Henry County to Miss Hannah Watson. She was born near the Village of Malinta March 28, 1866, and lived there until her mai-riage. Her parents were Joshua and Elizabeth (Hill) Watson. Her father was born in Virginia and her mother in Ohio and they were married in Napoleon and settled in Monroe Township. Her father died near Malinta at the age of seventy and her mother when about seventy-six. Mr. Watson was a Methodist, while his wife belonged to the Christian or Disciples Church.

A constant incentive to the sturdy efforts of Mr. Henry Herr has been the fine family of children who have grown up or are growing up in his household. To him and his wife were born eleven children, but two of them died in childhood. Herman, the oldest of the living, is assisting his father in the management of the farm ; Harlan, a farmer, married Genevieve Whitehead, daugliter of George Whitehead, and they had twin boys, one of- whom is still living. Nellie is the wife of Edward Ward, a farmer in Richfield Township. Ross, after finishing the common school course, attended Ohio ITniversity at Athens, and also a school at Bowling Green,

Ohio, and has been very successful as a teacher in Henry County. Henry Jr., who pursued exactly the same course of instruction as his brother Ross and in the same schools, has also qualitied as a successful teacher. Julia is a student in high school, Joshua is also in high school, while Francis and Benedieta are both in the grade schools. The family are members of the United Brethren Church, while Mr. Henry Herr and his older sons affiliate with the democratic party.

John Spanglee. This is a name that has stood for many years representative of the best enterprise and all the virtues of thrift and industi-y in Henry County. The Spanglers came out of Germany in the early days and settled in Henry County when the entire country was new and undeveloped. They have done their share toward the clearing away of the forests and the making of homes where only wild Indians and wild game had lived for centuries.

The birthplace of Mr. John Spangler was the Village of New Bavaria, in Pleasant Township of Henry County. He was born May 28, 1861, and he grew up in that community. His father, Frederick G. Spangler, was a shoemaker by trade, but subsequently became an active farmer. However, his chief business was trading farms. He would buy and keep a farm for a time, till opi^ortunity came to sell it at advantage, and his success in this business made him quite wealthy many years before he died. His death occurred August 9, 1897, and he died on the farm now owned and occupied by his son, John Spangler, in section 30 of Marion Township. This old Spangler farm is situated along the Ridge road, which was developed from an old Indian trail, and has been the scene of many historic events and circumstances in this section of Ohio. The Spangler home is about four miles east of New Bavaria.

The late Frederick Spangler was born in Bavaria, Germany, July 19, 1828. His father died in the old country. The widowed mother and her son Frederick who in the German language spelled his name Gotfritz, when the latter was a young man, set out from Bremen during the early '40s and after many weeks voyage arrived in New York City. From there they came west to Ohio, and the' widow Spangler married a Mr. Redabaugh. After that she spent her life near Bdgerton in Williams County, Ohio, where she died when quite old. She left a son and daughter by

Frederick Spangler was married in Defiance County to Miss Anna Mess, member of the well known Mess famih^ elsewhere referred to in this publication. She was born in the Duchy of Luxemburg December 11, 1830, and was quite young when her parents came to America and located in this section of Ohio. She grew up there, and after her marriage proved a most devoted wife and mother. She died at the old Spangler home in Marion Township July 1, 1907. She and her husband are buried in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.

John Spangler was one of twelve children who grew to manhood and womanhood. Their names were George, Fred, Mary, Susan, Peter, John, Frank, Henry, David, Helena, Sophia and Gustave. Eight are still living, all married and in homes of their own. George, Peter and Mary died after they nmrried, while Fred died a bachelor twenty-nine years of age.

Heniy County has been the home of John Spangler practically all his life. Besides the training he acquired in the country schools he learned the trade of carpenter, and has combined the vocations of carpenter and farmer. For nine years he spent most of his time as a practical house carpenter, but since then has devoted his time and attention largely to farming. For eighteen seasons he also operated a threshing machine outfit, and in that work he gained a large acquaintance with the farmers throughout this section of the state. His first farm was eighty acres in section 29 of ;\[arion Township. It was good land and well improved with buildings. In 1912 he sold that place and then bought the old homestead which his father had so well improved and which is capable of growing every crop suitable to Northwest Ohio. The farm contains very good buildings, including a nineroom house, which was erected by his father thirty-one years ago. The house was well built and though it has stood thirty-one years is still better kept and more substantial than many buildings erected at a later date. As proof of this, the original roof put on the building has stood the test of service for over thirty years and is still weatherproof and in good repair.

On February 17, 1886, Mr. Spangler was married in Marion Township to iliss Margaret Schwab. She was born in the same township February 21, 1867, and has spent practically all her life here. Her parents were

Mathias and Emma (Schnyder) Schwab, both natives of Prussia. They came to the United States and to Ohio with their respective parents, who located in Marion Township of Henry County. These families arrived some years before the Civil war, and the grandparents on both sides died in Henry County, and all four of them were about eighty years of age when death overtook them. These families were also active workers in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and the men of the households were democratic voters. Mathias Schwab after his marriage lived on a farm in Pleasant Township and also in Marion Township, where the last thirty years of his life were spent. He was born January 27, 1831, and died April 10, 1906. His widow was born May 12, 1812, and is still living on the old farm and is bright and active for a woman of her years. Mr. Schwab was buried in the Sacred Heart Church Cemetery.

Mr. and Mrs. John Spangler have four children. Peter B. born December 1, 1887, has had the advantages of the local schools and is doing his part as a practical farmer at home. Philip William, also at home, was born January 13, 1890. Mathias F., born September 12, 1892. is also on the home farm. Frances C. was born June 13, 1895, and has finished the course of the I'miiiiion si-IkkiIs jukI is still with her jiarents. 'I'lir laiiiil) iir>' all a^'tivimembers of the Sacr.Ml Heart ( Cliurcli. Mr. Spangler casts his vote as a democrat.

WiLLi.\M F. ToBi.\s is a successful Henry Country farmer, who served his apprenticeship at this industry on some of the large stock farms of Illinois. Mr. Tobias came to Henry County in 1907, buying eighty acres in section 18 of Rii'hfiehl Townsliip. The result of his' experience and his individual ability have borne a rich fruitage in the past ten years. Practically every foot of his land is under cultivation or put to some u.se. It is well drained, and he has carried on a good deal of ditching and other improvements. He is the type of farmer who allows no slackness to show any where around the farm. The fences are strong and well kept, his buildings in good repair, and all of substantial construction and well arranged for the work of the farm. His main barn in 36 by 60 feet, and he has other sheds, and his home is a ten-room house with a basement. Mr. Tobias grows as good crops as any land in Henry County produces, and his success has been well earned.

Though he spent a number of years in Illinois, Mr. Tobias comes of an oldOhio family of Welsh antecedents. His grandfather, John T. Tobias, was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, about 100 years ago, his parents having come from Wales. He was married in Hamilton County to Mrs. ilaria Jones, whose maiden name was also Jones, and whose first husband was John Jones. They were born and married in Wales, and came to the United States when sailing vessels were in vogue. They located in Southern Ohio, where Jlr. John Jones died, leaving one daughter, who grew up and married but is now deceased. After John T. Tobias was married in Hamilton County, he moved to Scott County, Indiana, and began farming in the wilds there, when his home was surrounded by dense timber, and all kinds of game furnished meat for the table. He cleared up a farm and lived there until his death, at the age of sixty years. His wife survived him until she was about seventy, and they both died on the farm which was the result of their joint - labors. They were Baptists, and Mrs. John Tobias was a very warm-hearted and generous woman, exceedingly devoted to her church and her family-, (^f her seven children by her second iiiai'iiai;-!' six were daughters. Two of these <langhtci-s, Emily and ilargaret, now widows, live at Deput,y in Jefferson County, Indiana.

John J. Tobias, father of William F.. was born about 1830, grew up on the old Scott County, Indiana, farm, and was married in that same community to Miss Hannah H. Whitsitt. She was born in Indiana about 1840, a daughter of Joseph and Mrs. (Foster) Whitsitt. Her parents were natives of Ireland and were among the pioneers of Scott County, Indiana, where they lived for many years. Mr. Whitsitt had a family of fifteen children by his first wife. He afterward married Elzina Robinson, but there were no children by that union. They were members of the Methodist Church, and Mr. Whitsitt died when about seventy .years of age, and his second wife lived about as long. The Wliitsitts were prominent people, and a number of them are still found in the states of Indiana and Kansas.

John J. Tobias after his marriage took up his career as a farmer in Scott County. Indiana. His first wife died there, and he was a second and third time married, but had no children bv the last two wives.

William F. Tobias was born in Seott County, Indiana, August 26, 1867, and was seven years of age when his mother died. After that he lived among strangers and with relatives, had to work hard and had few advantages of education. He married a young lady also from Scott County, Miss Alice Griffith. She was born in Scott County, in 1870, and was reared and educated there. Her father, Lloyd Griffith, was born in Scott County, a son of Ivan and Mary (Talman) Griffith. They were both natives of the United States, possibly of Indiana, but of Welsh ancestry. Ivan Griffith was a pioneer farmer in Scott County, where he and his wife died. They were members of the Baptist Church. Lloyd Griffith was married in Scott County to Sarah Bovard, who was a daughter of James and Sarah (Young) Bovard. James Bovard was a first cousin to the late President William McKiuley. James and Sarah Bovard reared about a dozen children, but ]Mrs. Sarah Griffith was the only daughter. Eight of her brothers became Methodist ministers. One of them, Marion McKinley Bovard, was for some years president of the University of Southern California, and died there, being followed in the office by his son, George F. One other brother, Melville Y. Bovard, was a missionary to India. The others were well known local preachers and educators. The Bovards are rather a remarkable family. Lloyd Griffith was a blacksmith and carpenter. Very skilled as a mechanic, he was often employed on the delicate and important parts of finishing up a job of carpentering. His death occurred in Abington, Knox County, Illinois, about twelve years ago, when sixty yeai-s of age. His widow died two years later, at Moline, Illinois, but her remains were laid to rest beside him in the Abington Cemetery. Both were members of the Methodist Church.

After his marriage in 1893 Mr. William F. Tobias took his wife to Knox County, Illinois, and there spent eleven years in the employ of Mr. Alfred Ridden, a prominent Short- Horn cattle breeder and raiser. Following his long services with ilr. Ridden he was for two years engaged in operating 200 acres of the Ridden estate, and then rented a farm of 280 acres from Captain Reynolds, and managed it three years. While in Illinois he showed a great capacity for looking after stock farms, and while there he and his wife by close economy accumulated the capital which enabled them about ten years ago to

Mr. and Mrs. Tobias became the parents of eleven children, one of whom died in infancy. Ernest T., a farmei-, married Laura Haynes, and has two sons, Evert and J. Wesley. Elsie, a gi-aduate of the high school, is now employed as a stenographer in Indiana. Lane, who lives at home, nins a threshing outfit with his next younger brother, Morton. Morton married Olive Dunkle and has a daughter Florence. Lloj'd, a mechanic living at Toledo, is a widower with one son, Harold. Catharine, after finishing her high school course, became a teacher and is now the wife of Ovid Winner, and has a daughter Marcile. The four younger children, still at home, and the two youngest, yet in school, are Dorothy, George, Lewis and Alice. All the family are members of the Methodist Church, while Mr. Tobias and his grown up sons give their political allegiance to the republican party.

Luther S. Pugh. More than fortj- years have passed since the late Luther S. Pugh came to Henry County and began the work of a home maker and business man, as a result of which he left at the time of his death in 1910 not only a large estate but a memory and esteem for his upright character, and his kind deeds and words.

His father, John Pugh, was a native of England, and with his brother William came to the United States. William remained in New York State, where he followed his trade as a cooper and where he died. John Pugh came on west to Ohio, locating in Paulding County. He married his first wife there, and afterward removed to Beaver Creek in Wood County. There he established a home on a farm, and there his first wife died, leaving three children, William, Sarah and ilary. For his second wife John Pugh was married in Beaver Creek Township of Wood County to Clarissa Junkins. They spent the rest of their lives near Beaver Creek. John Pugh was born February 11, 1810, and died when eighty-six years of age. His widow was born January 3, 1820, and lived to be nearly as old as he. She was a devout member of the Methodist Church, though in the early days in Wood County a church of that denomination was not near at hand and she often worshipped in other churches. John Pugh after becoming an American citizen allied himself with the republican party. By his second wife John Pugh was the father of the following children:

Luther S. ; Aim ^I., who has been twice married and is living with her second husband in Fostoria, Ohio: Lueretia J., now Mrs. Martin, of Weston, Wood County, Ohio; Mrs. Chester L. Powers, of Weston ; and John, who died unmarried.

Luther S. Pugh was bom near Beaver Creek in Wood County, Ohio, February 3, 1848. His early life was spent as a farmer, and his education was such as the common schools could impart. About a year before his marriage he came in 1874 to Henry County. He bought land in section 6 of Richfield Township, and there not long afterward he and his wife began the task of making a home. Mr. Pugh also developed a large stone quarry, and much of his success was derived from his business as a quarryman. For a number of years he carried on an extensive trade in dimension stone. He also invested his surplus capital and at one time owned over 400 acres. Among the improvements which he left to attest his progressiveness and enterprise were a fine barn 40 by 70 feet and a large elevenroom house which was erected in 1898 and is one of the most attractive homes in that section of the county.

As already indicated Mr. Pugh was known and esteemed not less for his character and personal virtues than for his business ability. His generosity was proverbial, and he was always giving of his time and resources to the church and to the helping of the poor and unfortunate. When he died in 1910 his community felt the sense of a great loss, and his memory is still kept green. While he was a republican voter, he was never in politics.

At the home of the bride in Wood County, Ohio, ill April, 1875, he married Miss Harriet Martin. Mrs. Pugh was born on the farm where she was married April 22, 1844. She was reared and educated there and also in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Mrs. Pugh has lived a good many years, but shows few of the marks of age. She is distinguished by strong intelligence and an active interest in evei-j'thing that goes on about her, and especially she has a great fund of information concerning early days in Northwest Oliio, and talks most entertainingly of many incidents that have occurred within her own time. Her parents were James T. and Matilda (Smith) Martin, both natives of Ohio and married in Fairfeld County. In 1831 her parents removed to Wood County, and her father entered eighty acres of Government land on Beaver Creek. He was one of the pioneere there. The year

1880 brought an unusual fatality to the members of the Martin family. Mrs. Pugh 's sister Jane was taken away by death, and a few hours later her mother died, at the age of sixt}', and the following day the summons came to the father. Mr. Martin was a cabinet maker by trade, which he followed in Fairfield County, and his father, William Martin, also followed that line of occupation. During his long residence in Wood County James T. Martin not only prospered as an individual but was a valuable man to his community. Though a democrat, he was pronounced in favor of the Union cause during the war.

Mrs. Pugh, who still occupies the old homestead in Richfield Township, is surrounded by her children, several of whom remain with her and carry the burdens of farming and business management. Her oldest child is R. M. Pugh, who is unmarried and lives at home with his mother. John J., who is successfully operating a part of the old homestead, married Sarah McClure, and has four children, Linsey R., Lake, Luther S. and ]\Iaxiue. Otis W., who owns and occupies eighty acres near the old farm, married Anna Dull, and has children named Chester, Ermine, James and Sarah. Elfa S. is the wife of Albert Brightman, of Columbus, Ohio. One child of ^Irs. Pugh, David R., died when seven months of age. Mrs. Pugh is an active member of the Presbyterian Church.

Amos Dilsaver has his home at the Village of Westhope in Richfield Township of Henry County, a village with which the Dilsaver family iias had much to do in the founding as well as the subsequent growth. This is one of the early families of Henry County. Its members came to Ohio as home seekers, were industrious, upright, Christian people and have done much to promote those civilizing agencies such as churches, schools and other institutions.

Though most of his life has been spent in Henry County, Amos Dilsaver was born in Delaware County, Ohio, September 30, 1858. His birth occurred on a farm along the west bank of the Scioto River. His parents were Michael and Jlary (Arrowhood) Dilsaver. His father was born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia May 10, 1825, and died at W'esthope in Henry County February 14, 1903. When he was a small boy his parents, who were of old Virginia stock, moved out to Fairfield County, Ohio, where the grandfather died when about sixty years of age.

The grandmother subsequently removed to Delaware County and died there when about eighty years of age. Both were religious people and the grandfather was a strict democrat. By occupation he was a tanner and farmer.

Michael Dilsaver grew up in Delaware County and was one of a large family, all of whom are now deceased. His brothers and sisters were Jacob, John, George, Simon, Elizabeth and oiie other daughter. All these children grew up and married. On September 30, 1849, Michael Dilsaver was married in Delaware Coiuity to Miss ilary Arrowhood. She was of Irish parentage and was born in Pennsylvania May 17, 1827. Her parents came early to Delaware County, Ohio, and spent the rest of their lives there. They were members of the Dunkard Church and were farmers.

In 1859 Michael Dilsaver brought his wife and family of four children to Richfield Township of Henry County. He made the journey with wagons and teams and had to cut a road through the woods to reach his location in section 15. The preceding year he had come to Henry County and located the land, and had remained long enough to put up a log house, which was the first habitation of the Dilsavers in this county. This log cabin stood at one corner of the present village of Westhope. The village had its start when David Flowers built the first store about forty years ago. For some years Michael Dilsaver and his family lived strictly in the woods. It was a wild country for miles around, and the woods were filled with game. Michael shot many deer, and he would sometimes have as many as six carcasses of deer hanging on a pole at once to dry. Dried venison was almost constantly on the table, and for some years was the chief meat eaten by the family. Michael Dilsaver in coming to Richfield " Township had selected eighty acres on the highest spot in that district and at about the center of what was known as the Great Black Swamp. "With the aid of his wife and children he cleared the land and in time had a substantial frame house and a good barn. He lived there cultivating his crops and enjoying the esteem of his community until his death. His first wife and the mother of his children died May 17, 1869, when in middle age. He married for his second wife Mrs. Abbie (Klunk") McLaughlin. She had no children bv the second marriage,

The children of Michael Dilsaver and his first wife were : William, born in 1850 ; Drusilla, born in 1851 ; Hannah, born in 1853 ; Eliza J., born in 1855; and Amos, born in 1858, all these being natives of Delaware County. After the parents came to Henry County three other children were born : Margaret L., born in 1861 ; Albina L., born in 1862 ; and Adaline R., born in 1865. Of this family the only ones now living are Amos and his sister Albina, wife of Clarence Weeks of Damascus Township, Henry County. The oldest child, William, subsequently located in Kansas, cleared up a farm and died there, leaving a wife and one daughter, Estella, who is now married and has two sons. Some of the other children married but had no children.

Amos Dilsaver grew up and received his education in the township schools of Henry County. After his father died he acquired the interest of the other heirs to the homestead and became its sole proprietor. His father had sold some of the land for lots in the Village of Westhope, but Amos still retains the rest and has it all except ten acres in a fine state of improvement, well drained, fenced and with buildings thoroughly adapted to his business as a farmer. His land is capable of growing every crop from corn to sugar beets.

Mr. Dilsaver was married in Monroe Township of Henry County December 21, 1879, to Alvert R. Hill. She was born in Monroe Township January 17, 1859. Her grandfather was Michael Hill and her father Jacob Hill, the former a native of England and the latter of New York State. Jacob Hill came with his parents to Richland County, Ohio, in the early days, and later Michael and his family moved to Monroe Township of Henry County, buying land on Turkey Foot Creek, where he and his wife lived to old age. Jacob Hill grew up in Monroe Township and was married in Henry County to ilary Gunter of Richland County. Jacob Hill died in the prime of life, leaving his wife and two children, Mrs. Dilsaver and another daughter who died young. Mrs. Hill subsequently married George Boocher, who became a soldier in the Civil war and died while on his way home. There was one daughter by that union. The widow Boocher married for her third husband Frederick Sprow, had two children by

Mr. and Mrs. Dilsaver are the parents of tive children. Lea Edith, the oldest, mai-- ried Oliver Fuller, of Deshler, Ohio, and their children. Beatrice L., Grace N., Ora S. and Creston L., are all attending school. George, who was born in 1882, was educated in the public schools and is still living- at home. Ora C. is unmarried and is living on a farm in Kansas. Mary M. married Herman Niefer, and they occupy the old Dilsaver farm and have one son, Darwin 0. Martha M. is the wife of Cecil Bueklin, of Damascus Township, Henry County, but they now live with ilr. and Mrs. Dilsaver and have a daughter, Creola M., born March 26, 1916. All the family are members of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Dilsaver and his sons are democrats.

John W. Taylor, a Henry County farmer, who, in the opinion of his neighbors and friends and all who have observed his efforts, thoroughly knows his business, and has made more than an ordinary success in improving and developing a tract of land formei-ly unproductive and in managing his crops and stock. His home is in Monroe Township.

His ancestry is English. His grandfather was born in England, came to the United States and settled in Ohio, and in the eastern part of that state married a young woman of Scotch birth and parentage. They spent their last years in Carroll County, where they died on their farm in middle life.

James R. Taylor, father of John W., was born in 1832, and married Catherine Fickel. She was born in 1835 in Perry County, Ohio, daughter of "William Fickel, who was an early settler there and a farmer. William Fickel after losing his first wife moved to Henry County and married Mary Frazer. He and his second wife spent their last years in Richfield Township, Henry County, and he was past eighty years of age when he was called to his, last rest. They were members of the United Brethren Church. James R. Taylor after his marriage lived in Perry County for several years. While there three children were born, William, Jane and John W. In 1864 the family moved to Indiana, and lived in the central part of that state for some years. While there the grandmother died. In the fall of 1878 the rest of the family returned to Henry County, Ohio, and James R. Taylor finallv retired and died at Malinta February

1, 1916. Mrs. James R. Taylor died in Henry County December 15, 1893, when fifty-six years of age. They were active members of the United Brethren Church. During their residence in Indiana two children were born, Benjamin, now deceased, and Oliver. Delia was born in Henry County and is now the wife of Melvin Wright and has a daughter Phyllis.

Mr. John W. Taylor was born in Perry County, Ohio, October 18, 1863, was an infant when the family moved to Indiana, and he grew up there and received his early education in the public schools. For fourteen years he was employed in a hoop and stave company at ilalinta. In 1891 Mr. Taylor bought sixtyfive acres in Monroe and Richfield townships. It was almost without improvements when he bought it, and since then he has cut away the timber and brush, has made fields capable of growing all the staple crops and has gradually accumulated a prosperity sufficient for all his needs. Like many of the progressive farmers of Henry County he devotes part of his land to the growing of sugar beets. He has invested a large amount of money in buildings and other facilities for the perfect care of his live stock and his crops. Besides the main barn 36 by 65 feet, he has a covered farmyard 26 by 66 feet and has such arrangements that all the routine work of the farm is performed like clockwork. His home is a house of six rooms.

At Malinta in Monroe Township in 1888 j\Ir. Taylor married iliss Maggie Berno. She was born in Lucas County, Ohio, December 17, 1865, but spent most of her early years in Henry County. Her parents were Julius and Bridget (Clark) Berno. Her mother was born in Ireland and her father in France. They were married in America, probably in Lucas County, Ohio, and while they lived there three children were born. They finally came to Henry County, and Julius Berno died at the Village of Texas in this county May 22, 1874, at the age of forty-seven. He and his wife were both devout Catholics and in politics he was a democrat. His widow died at Malinta March 15, 1911, when seventy-nine years of age. In the Berno family were eight sons and four daughters, all of whom grew up except one and all now living except three, and seven of them married.

Mr. and Jlrs. Taylor have two children: V. Ray, who was born April 27, 1891, has finished his schooling at Grelton and is now assuming a considerable share of the duties

Dudley S. Shepard, D. V. S. One of the best known veterinary surgeons of Henry- County is Dudley S. Shepard, who has been in the active practice of his pi'ofession for a quarter of a century, and has lived in the Village of McClure for the past seventeen years. He grew up on a farm, is a practical farmer as well as a professional man, and it was his inclination and early manifested skill in the handling and treatment of domestic animals that led him into his present profession, where he has not only made a personal success but has rendered a great service to the community.

He was born in Damascus Township of Henry County March 23, 1859, grew up on a farm, received an education in the local schools, and only left the farm which he still owns in Damascus Township to remove to a town home in McClure.

His parents were Benjamin and Mary (Guire) Shepard. His father was born in Pennsylvania in 1830, and his mother in Athens County, Ohio, in 1835. Both were still young when their respective parents moved into the wilderness of Henry County and added their resources to the improvement and development of this wild section of country. Doctor Shepard 's grandfather, Martin Shepard, located a farm in section 21 of Damascus Township, and lived to see it well improved before he and his wife died. He lived past eighty, and he was twice married, both wives dying in Henry County. Doctor Shepard 's maternal grandfather was Hezekiah Guire, who also died in Henry County when quite old. Both families supplied voters to the whig party as long as that organization existed, and the family polities then became republican.

Benjamin Shepard after his marriage started out as a farmer and was also one of the early sawmill owners and operators. For years he had a mill at the junction of Turkey Foot Creek with the Maumee River. He also improved a good farm, but death came to him comparatively early. He died in 1870, aged forty-two. His widow afterward married Jacob Hoffman, and they spent their last years near McClure, where Mr. Hoffman died at the age of eighty-one and his wife at seventy-five. There were two children of the Hoffman marriage, James and Estella, both

Doctor Shepard was second of three children. His older brother, William, is a farmer near JMcClure and married Lilly Schafer, and they have two sons. His younger brother, Lincoln, is a farmer near McClure and married Jennie Smith.

In his native township Doctor Shepard married Ada Jennings, who was born on the old homestead in the same township October 23, 1861, and was reared and educated there, being a daughter of Milton and Mary (Davidson) Jennings. Henry Countj' acknowledges the Jennings family as one of the earliest group of settlers. Mrs. Shepard 's parents were born in Seneca County, grew up and married there, and before they left two children were born, Austin and ilatilda. The latter was six weeks old when in December, 1851, the family started with wagons and ox teams and with untold labor and difBculty traversed the trails and roads through snow and ice to Henry County. Mr. Jennings bought 160 acres of wild land in section 21 of Damascus Township, and had to clear away some of the trees before setting up his log cabin home. He was an industrious worker, well fitted for pioneer life, and eventually he had a fine house, large barn, his land weU drained and fenced, and a splendid property and all the comforts that his growing family required. His wife died there in 1892, at the age of sixty-four, and he survived a number of years and died at the home of his oldest daughter, Mrs. Matilda Schank, when seventyfive years of age. He was born in 1825 and died April 5, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings were among the earliest members of the United Brethren Church, and the first church of that denomination in that part of Henry County was b.uilt on their land. They supported the organization and also kept an open house for all the preachei-s. After ilr. and Mrs. Jennings moved to Henry County three children were born, who died in infancy, and six are still living, all of whom are married and all of whom have children except Doctor and Mrs. Shepard.

Doctor and Mrs. Shepard have alway shown themselves active leaders in every com-| mnnity enterprise, and have done much for the upbuilding and improvement of McClure^ They are members of the United Brethren Church, and Doctor Shepard is a republican^ has served on the school board and the town

Jacob Brown. To mention the name of Jacob Brown in Marion Township of Henry County is to mention a man whose generous success has not been won at the expense of those other qualities which make life pleasant and worth living. Mr. Brown has been through the experiences of the pioneer, has worked as hard as anyone in his time, and yet still preserves a rugged physique and has a most jovial and happy nature. He is an optimist, and looks at life broadly and genially.

Forty years ago when he settled his first homestead of eighty acres in Marion Township his land was not only covered with woods but the woods extended for miles in all directions. His present farm in section 1 of Marion Township comprises 200 acres. No land in the county is better developed and has finer possibilities for productiveness. A number of years ago Mr. Brown got along with a very simple equipment of farm appliances, but it has been a matter of pride with him and it is a part of his efficient sy.stem to get the best in the way of buildings and tools and he has found it profitable to do so. He has one of the best barns in Marion Township, one wing being 40 by 60 feet and the other 30 by 30 feet, with 20-foot posts. Surrounding this main structure are other buildings for the shelter of his crops and his implements. In 1904 he put up a modern country residence, a two-story basement brick house, with ten large rooms, and with the modern facilities of hot and cold water, bath and furnace heat. He made his first purchase in this locality in 1875, and has lived there continuously since 1879. His first home was only a log cabin standing in the shade of the large trees which covered nearly all the farm. The log cabin gave way to a small frame house, and gradually he put up the various buildings which now stand on his farm and give it character and value.

Jacob Brown was born in Hancock County, Ohio, August 28, 1849, and in 1865 his father moved to the vicinity of Bryan in Williams County where he spent the rest of his youth. He had only the advantages of the common schools, and after reaching manhood he came to Henry County and made his first purchase of twenty-five acres in Liberty Township.

He is a son of Henry and Catherine (Keller) Brown. His father was born in Stark County, Ohio, of Pennsylvania parentage, while his mother was born in Holland and came to the United States at the age of six years. Henry Brown and his first wife were married profjably in Hancock County and they, too, started to build a home in the midst of the woods. Jacob's mother died there in 1853 when Jacob was only four years of age. He had seven sons and five daughters, and the youngest of her children was only fourteen days old when she died. Henry Brown married for his second wife Mrs. Leah (Meyers) Dickey. After his marriage he moved to Williams County and he and his second wife spent the rest of their days there. He died at the age of seventy-two, and by his second wife had two children who came to maturity. Henry Brown was a democrat and he and his family were members of the Duukard Church.

Mr. Jacob Brown is the only one of his brothers and sisters to locate in Henry County. He was married in Hancock County April 16, 1872, to Miss Eliza Jaqua, a native of Hancock Countj-. She was reared and educated in that county and was a faithful companion and helpmate of Mr. Brown until her death on March 9, 1888. She was the mother of four living children. Ella is the wife of Henry Eisaman, a farmer at Deshler in Henry County; Alvin C, a resident of Ashtabida County, married Nellie Watkins and has a son Orlo, now fifteen years of age; Robert is a farmer in Hancock County and by his marriage to Addie Nichols has two daughters, Ruth and Marie; Lotta is the wife of Cloid Hayman, a hardware merchant at Deshler.

For his second wife Mr. Brown was married in Henry County to Miss Martha M. Brown. She was born in Washington County, Ohio, September 20, 1869, grew up there and was only eighteen months old when she lost her mother, whose maiden name was Eliza Ann Mc- Lain. Her mother was of Scotch-Irish family. Her father, James Brown, died in December, 1911, at the age of eighty-nine years. He had married for his second wife Lucy Mobley, who is now living at Marietta, Ohio, at the age of sixty-six. Mrs. Bi-own's father was a Methodist and a republican in polities.

served on the school board. He is affiliated with Lodge No. 715 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Hamler and also belongs to the Lodge and Chapter of Masons at Deshler. He and his wife are parents of the following children : Ralph was well educated and followed teaching before he took up farming and married Eva Hawkins; Julian, who is now the responsible manager of his father's farm, married Nanna George of Putnam County, Ohio; Roy is a student in Defiance College and specializing in electrical engineering; Ada is member of the class of 1918 in the Hamler High School; Myrtle is twelve years of age and is in the eighth grade of thv^ public schools.

Basil ^Ieek was born at Newcastle, Henry County, Indiana, April 20, 1829. His parents were John Meek and Salina Stevenson Meek. His father, by a former wife, had born to him six sons and three daughters. The eldest of these, William, was born May 29, 1793, and the youngest, Lorenzo D. was born May 29, 1812. Six of these children were born in Henry County, Kentucky, where their father lived at the date of their births. John Meek was born at Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, in 1772, which, as seen, was before the declaration of American Independence. With his parents, when a small boy, he moved near to what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, and from thence moved to Kentucky about the year 1789. From Kentucky he came with his then family, in 1805, to W^ayne County, Indiana, where he resided until 1827, when he moved to Newcastle, Henry County, Indiana. Here he married Salina Stevenson. After a few years residence here, he returned to Wayne County, and there lived until 1841, when he moved with his family to Owen County, Indiana, where he lived until his death in 1849, aged seventy-seven years. There were born to John Meek of this last named marriage, six children, four sons, of whom Basil is the eldest, and two daughters. The mother died in May, 1883, aged seventy-five yeai-s. Her grandfather, James Stevenson, served three years in the Revolutionary war, and held a captain's commission at its close.

Basil Meek's school education was that of the common schools. He, however, improved such opportunities as were afforded for self improvement in the use of which he acquired a more liberal education. In later life he graduated from the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle.

On December 23, 1849, he married Miss Cynthia A. Brown, daughter of Abner Brown of Morgan Township, Owen County, Indiana, born in 18S3; the result of this luiion was four children, namelj' : Minerva Bullitt, Mary E., Lenora Belle, and Flora B. Of these, Minerva B. died at Clyde, Ohio, November 22, 1869, in the eighteenth year of her age ; Flora B. died in infancy; Mary E. married Byron R. Dudrow, attorney at law, of Fremont. She died May 17, 1914. And Lenora Belle married L. C. Grover. She died December 4, 1907. The mother of these daughters died in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana, in August. 1861. Mr. Dudrow died ^larch 12, 1916.

On September 30, 1862, Basil Meek married Miss Martha E. Anderson, daughter of Alvin and Harriett (Baldwin) Andei-son of Bellevue, Ohio. By this marriage two children were born, namely: Clara C, wife of Dr. II. G. Edgerton, dentist, Fremont, Ohio, and Robert Basil Meek. M. D., who practiced his profession in Fremont, and died December 24, 1911.

The grandchildren of Mr. Meek are Robert Basil Grover, Mary B., Rachel, Dorothy and Henry Meek Edgerton. Mary B. is the wife of Victor Zahm of Oberlin, Ohio. Rachel is the wife of Harrison Temple, of Britton, Michigan. He has four great-grandchildren : Virginia, Edgerton and Clara Louise Temple, and Harry Victor Zahm, Jr.

In 1853, at the age of twenty-four, Mr. Meek was elected clerk of the Circuit Court of Owen County. Indiana, and was re-elected without opposition in 1857. serving two terms of four years each. During these years he devoted such time as could be spared from his official duties in studying law, and in 1861, was admitted to the bar in Owen County, Indiana, forming a partner.ship at Spencer with Hon. -Samuel II. Buskirk of Bloomington, Indiana, who subsequently was a judge of the Indiana Supreme Court. In 1864 he removed from his native state to Sandusky County, Ohio, making at first his residence on a farm which is now within the Village of Clyde. In 1871 he became a member of Sandusky County Bar and practiced until February 10, 1879, when he entered upon his duties as clerk of courts, to M'hich office he had been elected at the previous fall election. He removed with his family to Fremont in the fall of 1879. At the close of his first term he was re-elected and served six years in all.

dent Cleveland postmaster at Fremont. He took charge of this ofRce September 1, 1886, and served until March 1, 1891, a period of four years and six months. It was during his term, and through his cft'orts, that the free delivery system was extended to this office and put in successful operation under his management and that of his son Robert B. who was his first assistant postmaster.

April 1, 1891, he became associated with his son-in-law Byron R. Dudrow in the practice of law. In 1905 Mr. Dudrow, owing to illness retired from practice, since which Mr. Meek has been alone in the practice. He is a charter member of the Sandusky County Bar Association, and was its secretary for thirty years prior to 1909, when he was chosen president, which position he has since held.

He was a member of the school board of Fremont for nine years, part of the time its clerk, but most of which time he was president thereof. He was active in making the kindergarten a part of the school system of Fremont. He is a trustee and also secretary of the Sandusky County Pioneer and Historical Association, and editor of its publications: he is a life member of the Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society, and an occasional contributor to the columns of the Quarterly published by the same.

He has given much attention to the interesting local history of the Sandusky Valley region, and is a contributor to the local newspapers of historical sketches. In 1909 he edited a history of Sandusky County entitled the "20th Century History of Sandusky County, Ohio." published by Richmond- Arnold Publishing Company of Chicago, a large number of copies of which have been sold in the county.

Politically he has all his life been a democrat, loyally supporting the measiires and candidates of his party, and cheerfully working for the promotion of its principles, serving several campaigns as chairman of the county executive committee with acceptability to his party.

He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church from 1857 till 1901, when he became connected with the First Presbyterian Church of Fremont, Ohio, and has represented the church in Presbytery a number of times and twice in Synod and was a ruling elder commissioner from Huron Presbytery in the General Assembly at Atlantic City in May, 1916. He has since 1854 been a member of the Masonic Order, and was Worshipful blaster of Spencer Lodge, No. 95, Spencer, Indiana, the lodge in which he became a Mason. He is a member of Brainard Lodge, No. 336, Fremont, Ohio. He is an advisory editor and contributor of the History of Northwest Ohio.

H. Taylor Dcll. It is coming to be generally recognized that when a man brings to farming the same kind of enterprise, ability and .judgment that other men take into the ]n-ofessions and manufacturing activities, there is no discounting the success of the farmer as compared with those who choose other vocations.

It has been the possession of these cjualities which have differentiated H. Taylor Dull from many other farmers and made him so unusually successful. He knows how to get the mo.st out of his land, out of his stock and his splendid estate in Damascus Township, Henry (.'ounty, is conducted on a real factory basis. He has a close ajid accurate knowledge of both the income and the outgo, and has constantly studied iiictliiiils of improvement and increased cfti.Mcijry in his business. Mr. Dull is widely known over both Henry and Wood counties, and he represents a family whose activities have been concerned with the development and improvement of many tracts of fertile Northwest Ohio lands since pioneer days.

The family originated in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Samuel Dull, after his marriage to a Miss Koester moved from Pennsylvania to Perry County, Ohio. In that county his son John was born in 1822, and there were a number of older children, including Jacob, Peter, Elizabeth, Peggy, Catherine. Hannah, Sarah, Martha and Susan. All of these children grew up and married and all are now deceased.

In 1831 the entire family moved from Perry County to Weston Township in Wood County. There they established homes in the wilds, and there was hardly an item of pioneer experience, hardship, difficulty and danger which escaped the Dull family during their early years of residence in Wood County. Mrs. Samuel Dull di(Hl there about ISoO. Grandfather Dull mai-ried for his second wife ^Irs. Riggs and they spent their last years in Washington Township of Wood County. They were active members of the United Brethren Church, and in politics Samuel Dull always voted the democratic ticket.

mentioned, grew up ou the farm in Weston Township of Wood County. A few years after his mother died he started out on his own account and later he was married in Wood County to Delilah Kuuberlin. Her parents were Henry and Sarah (Miller) Knuberlin. Her father was a quite prominent character in early Northwest Ohio. He had served as a soldier through the War of 1812, and in the course of that service he had crossed and recrossed Northwest Ohio when it was practically an unsettled wilderness. So impressed was he with the advantages and the future of the country that after the war he returned and entered Government land at the mouth of Beaver Creek in Wood County near the Town of Grand Rapids. Some years later he moved to another place in Grand Rapids Township, and had it all improved and was quite a prosperous man. His activities were closed with his death at the age of seventyfive, while his wife lived to be eighty-two. They were widely known among the pioneer settlers, were thrifty honest people, were leaders in the United Brethren Church and Mr. Knuberlin for years was a lay preacher in that denomination, and often officiated at the funerals of his neighbors.

After his marriage John Dull brought his wife to Damascus Township in Henry County, and bought eighty acres of canal lands from the state. This land he cleared up and from time to time niade other purchases, in some of which transactions his son Ta.ylor Dull joined. Thus he acquired a very large amount of property. Taylor Dull also owns 240 acres which belonged to Grandfather Samuel Dull. Nearly all this land was well cleared up before John Dull passed away in 1897. His wife had died in 1888. They were exceedingly industrious people, and that quality has descended to their son Taylor Dull.

The old home which John Dull built in Damascus Township in 1861 is still standing, stanch and firm, and is now owned and occupied by Mr. Taylor Dull. Besides the old home which is a landmark in that community Mr. Dull has added a number of other improvements that stand as visible evidence of his thrift and progressiveness. One of these is a magnificent barn 45 by 106 feet with 20- foot posts. Taylor Dull now owns in a solid oody in section 36 of Damascus Township 400 acres. It is hardly excelled in point of fertility and productiveness by any land in Henry County. It has another group of building improvements besides those of the home.

Mr. Dull also owns eighty acres of highly improved land in section 2 of Richfield Township. As a farmer he has raised every kind of crops profitable and adaptable to this section of Ohio, and he has always given close attention to the consem-ation of the fertility of his land.

David J. Frazier of Damascus Township, Henry County, has a prominent relationship with a number of people in Northwest Ohio, and the members of his own family and his kinfolks have been sturdy and representative farmers, soldiers and influential citizens of Perry and Henry counties since early days.

Mr. Frazier himself was born in Perry County, Ohio. :\Iarch 6, 1862. His parents were Horatio and Eva (Kinder) Frazier. The maternal gi-andparents were David and Eliza Kinder, and the paternal grandfather was Floyd Frazier. The Fraziers came from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and were early settlers in Perry County. There the grandparents on both sides spent their lives. The vocation of these families was that of farming, the Fraziers were loyal members of the United Brethren Church, the Kinders held to no one church creed, and on both sides they supplied voters to the whig party. The Frazier and Kinder families were large, and there were sons on both sides who fought valiantly for the preservation of the Union during the Civil war. Horatio Frazier and his brother Levi were both out with an Ohio regiment and gave up their lives as sacrifice to their country. Horatio Frazier died in 186.3 of illness when his son David was only a year old. The maternal grandfather, David Kinder, and his son Peter were all through the war, both of them veteranized, and with the close of hostilities they returned home without ever having received a scratch nor having endured capture. Both lived to be very old, David passing away when about eighty and his son Peter still living in Corning. Perry County, and now about eighty years of age. Both of the Frazier boys who were soldiers were buried in the South. Horatio Frazier and wife had two sons. David Frazier 's brother Thomas died at the age of fifty-three in Perry County, leaving a widow, who is now deceased, and three children, still living.

Jlr. Dodson was also a resident of Perry County and he contributed his part to the military record of this family. He went all through the war with an Ohio regiment, escaped unhurt and is still living in Perry County, being now about eighty-three years of age and quite sturdy and active for one of his years. Mrs. Dodson died in August, 1910, at the age of about seventy. By his second marriage he had eight children, four sons and four daughters, and four of the sons and two of the daughters are still living, all of them heads of families, and these various families are all in .some capacity or another identified with the coal mining industry near Corning, Ohio.

David J. Frazier grew up with. his mother and step-father until he was twenty-six years of age. He gained such education as the local schools afforded and for eleven years of that time he had employment in the local coal mines and he knows coal mining in all its phases.

On leaving home Mr. Frazier came to Richfield Township in Henry County and married here Nettie Blanche Winner. She was born in that township October 6, 1869, and was reared and educated there. Her parents were Taylor and Sally (Yarington) Winner, both of whom were born and reared and married in Logan County, Ohio. After their marriage they set out over the rough roads and trails and reaching Richfield Township of Henry County acquired an eightj'-acre tract of land in the midst of the woods. There they started housekeeping in a log cabin, and Mr. Winner eventually cleared up all his land and erected a good house, barn, and lived in substantial comfort for many years. In 1896 he and his wife removed to Damascus Township, and his wife died in her home near McClure December 8, 1906, at the age of sixty-two. Mr. Winner is still living and makes his home with his daughter Mrs. Frazier, being now seventy years of age and still retaining much of the vigor that characterized his early years when he was working as a pioneer in the woods of Henry County. The Winners were loyal and active members of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Winner enlisted for service in the Union army during the closing days of the war, going out from Logan County, but he never participated in any actual fighting. Politically he is a democrat.

with the inconveniences of a log cabin home for several years while he was e}ierting all his strength to clear off the timber and extend the area of his cultivated fields. On that first home he erected some good buildings, but later sold the farm and bought eighty acres near Westhope in the same township. On that land he also placed many improvements, and selling out at an advantage in 1908, he bought eighty acres in section 16 of Damascus Township, where he and his family now reside. This farm is the old Garster homestead. It was well improved when he bought it, and the land is thoroughly drained, fenced, and other improvements comprise a large barn and a two-story and basement ten-room house, with slate roof, and all the modern conveniences.

Mr. and Mrs. Frazier have taken great pains to give their children the best of advantages at home and in school. These children are six in number. Ina, who was educated in the common schools and high school, is the wife of Carroll Rausch, engaged as clerk in a store at Napoleon, and they have two sons, Russell and Burdette. Rose is the wife of Grover Mitcliell, a farmer at Liberty Center, and their three sons are named Lloyd and Walter G. and Waldo D., twins. Gertrude is the wife of Albert Zellers, who conducts an ice cream parlor and restaurant at Napoleon ; they have two sons, Norman and Raymond. Gladys married Rolla Browning and they live on a farm near McClure and have a daughter named Dorothy I. Lola is a gi-aduate from the McClure High School with the class of 1916, while Mildred, the youngest of the family, is still pursuing her studies in the high school.

All the family are members of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Frazier has never deviated in his support of the republican party since casting his first vote for Blaine. For two years, one term, he was assessor of Richfield Township, also served as trustee, and for nine years as a member of the school board. For tlie past thirty-three years he has been an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the lodge at Malinta, and the encampment at Milton Center in Wood County.

James C.iv.ANAT'GH is still living a quite active life as a farmer in Marion Township. His has been the kind of career which deserves the comforts and pleasures of the world, since he put in many earnest and productive vears as a laboring man and also as a farmer, and it is with a pride and satisfaction that, most people can readily appreciate that he compares his present prosperous circumstances with his condition when he arrived in America a young Irish lad with only $5 to his name.

He is of Irish ancestry, of a family that for many years lived in South Ireland, and in all the generations have been loyal Catholics. Four generations of the name have been identified with Northern Ireland in the Province of Ulster. With few exceptions the Cavanaughs were tillers of the soil. His great-gi-andfather Hugh Cavanaugh spent his life in County Monaghan, and his wife also died there when in advanced years. Of their children James was boi'u in the same county, and married a Miss ilarkey from County Cavan. They lived as farming people in Ulster and died there when about three score and ten years of age. Their children comprised three daughters and four sons, and all these died in Ireland except Philip, who after growing up and marrying an Irish girl came to the United States in 1858, locating in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later at Terre Haute, and died in the latter city leaving descendants. He was well educated and did clerical work all his active career.

James Cavanaugh, father of the present James, and representing the third generation of the family in Ulster, was one of the last of the old family stock. The Cavanaughs had moved from the south of Ireland about 200 years ago, and in Ulster they lived principally about the old forts which had been built by the Danes in times of great antiquity. Perhaps the last of the old family stock in that section was Hugh Cavanaugh, a son of the James last mentioned. The family in this generation had their home about the old fort known as Drumlood. a famous landmark, and the Cavanaughs had tilled the soil in its vicinity for many years. James Cavanaugh died there when about sixty-five years of age. He married Ann, daughter of Patrick Conlon, of the same parish and county. The Conlons had been substantial farming people of that section for many years and were likewise Catholics. Ann Cavanaugh was the mother of four sons and one daughter: Patrick, who died young; Hugh, who died after his marriage to Catherine Boyle and she and her children are still living in Ireland; James; and Terence, who is now a railroad man living at Cecil in Paulding County, Ohio, and by his marriage to Johanna Machanny of Indiana

Mr. James Cavanaugh was born in those interesting scenes of Northern Ireland above described on February 2, 1852. He was educated in the National schools and was sixteen years of age when his father died. He continued to live on the old place for a time, but soon took stock of conditions and realized that his possibilities would be greater in 1 American land of opportunities. Five months after his eighteenth birthday therefore he took passage on a vessel at Liverpool, and reached New York City June 15, 1872. The old steamer on which he had crossed the ocean sank during its return voyage.