Sandusky Township (part 36 of 57)

He was born in Springfield Township of Lucas County October 16, 1855, a son of John and Rosetta (Ackland) Bamsey. His parents were married in Springfield Township. His father was born in Devonshire, England, and came about 1850 to Lucas County. The mother was born in one of the eastern states, but her parents were also Devonshire people. The Acklands settled in Springfield Township some years before John Bamsey arrived. After his marriage John Bamsey conducted a halfway house in Springfield Township along the stage road. His death occurred in 1871 at the age of forty-four, while his widow pa.ssed away in 1911 at the age of seventy-three. Their children were: Adelaide, wife of George Hovey, a -farmer in Springfield Township; Jennie, wife of John Blackburn, who lives in Jennings, Northern Michigan; Robert, who died in 1881 at the age of twenty-two; and George W.

George W. Bamsey was reared in Lucas County and after his school days were over he took up farming as his regular vocation. In 1882 he married Sarah E. Hoadley. They are the parents of two children, Beatrice and Enid. The daughter Beatrice is a graduate of Oberlin College and is now teaching English at Rockyford, Colorado. Mr. Bamsey is a republican and is now filling with credit his third term as justice of the peace.

William S. Daly. The accumulation of wealth by the exercise of energy and sound business sense is such a usual thing in America that it often passes practically unnoticed. More important than the gaining of wealth is its wise use and distribution. And apparently more of character and ability are required for the latter than the former.

It was in the liberal and general use of his means and the fundamental sympathy that went with every one of his acts of cliarity that especially distinguished the late William S. Daly of Toledo. Measured in years his life was comparatively brief. He was born in Buffalo, New York, February 13, 1849, and died at Gratiot Beach, Michigan, September 11, 1902, at the age of fifty-three. But in that time he accomplished man's work, and so closely were his life and character interwoven with the best activities and the lives of hundreds of Toledo's best known people, that his loss was regarded as nothing less than a calamity. To family, friends, church and the masses of humanity he represented the best elements of the successful American character.

He was educated in the public schools of Buffalo, his native city. When seventeen years of age his family removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and there he found a position witli the Novelty Iron Works. At the age of twenty he was made manager of this plant and served it with characteristic efficiency for five years. He then came to Toledo, and was made secretary of Smith Bridge Works. A little later he was elected president and for a number of years was the principal stockholder of what was then one of the largest manufacturing concerns in Toledo. In 1893 the I>usiness was sold to the American Bridge Company, and the plant thereafter was operated as Tlie Toledo Bridge Works. After leaving the Bridge Company Mr. Daly occupied himself chiefly in the real estate business. He became owner of some very valuable property in Toledo, including the fine Daly residence on Collingwood Avenue, where the family has lived since 1891.

On coming to Toledo Mr. Daly identified himself with the Trinity Episcopal Church and was its junior warden some j^ears. He was one of the organizers of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and was its junior warden until May, 1902, when he declined re-election on account of failing health. A few weeks before his death he went to Gratiot Beach in the hopes of regaining his health and death came to him while he was there. His funeral was held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and it was conducted under the auspices of the Toledo Commandery No. 7 of Knight Templar. He was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery and besides the large concourse of sorrowing friends the pallbearers were some of his intimate former associates, including C. H. Strong, F. K. Hogue, J. M. Spencer, Graff M. Aeklin, Jerome Smith and G. W. Tonsin.

Mr. Daly was prominent; in Masonic circles, being affiliated with Rubicon Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, Fort Jleigs Chapter No. 29, Royal Arch Masons, Toledo Council No. 33, Royal and Select Masters, Toledo Commandery No. 7 Knight Templars, also the various Scottish Rite bodies of Toledo and Lake Erie Consistory.

In 1871 Mr. Daly married Miss Elizabeth Perry of Cleveland. Mrs. Daly survives her husband, and of their six children four are living : Frances, Bertha, Albert and Lawrence. The son William died in 1888 and Edward died at Camp Meade with the Tenth Ohio Regiment.

The broad minded ability with which he prosecuted his business affairs was matched in every particular by the quiet and unostentatious liberality and charity which made him so greatly beloved and so much missed in Toledo. On Thanksgiving and Christmas there were scores of poor families in Toledo who acknowledged his generous helpfulness in making life brighter and more cheerful for them, and if he ever turned a case of deserving charity away empty handed, no one knows of it. He was not the type of a man who trumpets his philanthropy to the world, and the record of many of the good deeds he did in life died with him. Those who knew him best, whether in the family circle or as business associates, had particular reason to admire the sterling qualities and steadfastness of his character and his entire life waa an example for good and an inspiration.

William E. Irwin was born at Peru, Indiana, and is a son of Clarence R. Irwin. His grandfather, Christopher P. Irwin, was one of the early settlers of Fairfield Township, Huron County, Ohio, where he settled on a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits, being engaged in these activities up to the time of his death. Clarence R. Ii'win removed from Huron County, where he had been reared and educated, to Chicago and after a short stay had gone on to Peru, Indiana, where he was located for some years. When his father's health failed he was called back to the homestead farm and remained thereon until 1892. He is .still the owner of this valuable and well-cultivated property. In the year last mentioned Mr. Irwin left the farm and established the North Fairfield Savings Bank, of which he has been cashier to the present time. He is also the proprietor of a general merchandise business which he founded on locating at North Fairfield, and is generally conceded to be one of the town 's most progressive business men and infiuential citizens.

William E. Irwin received his education in the public schools, and had his first banking experience at North Fairfield when he started to work after his graduation from the North Fairfield High School. In 1899 he removed to the City of Toledo, where he entered the Auburndale Savings Bank, and when that institution established a downtown office he was transferred thereto and remained with the house during a series of consolidations that resulted in the forming of the Continental Trust and Savings Bank. On August 1, 1909, Mr. Irwin came to Sylvania to become cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, a position which he retained until August 1, 1916. He is an example of the type of man who particularly deserves success because he persistenth' uses his position of power for the safeguarding of the interests of the community. That Jlr. Irwin was highlj- thought of by his banking associates is shown in the fact that he occiipied the position of secretary and treasurer of Group Three, Ohio Bankers Association, which comprises nine counties in Northwestern Ohio, including the City of Toledo. He resigned his position as cashier of the Sylvania bank August 1, 1916, and is now treasurer of the H. M. & R. Shore Company of Toledo, Ohio.

On June 15, 1904, Mr. Irwin was married at Toledo to Miss Edna A. Hoskin. They are members of the Congregational Church, and Mr. Irwin serves as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a democrat in national issues, but in local affairs gives his support to the men and measures which he believ&s will best benefit the community and its people.

the leading fruit growers in Lucas County, having a place near Silica in Sylvania Township. A number of years ago he was working at good wages in Toledo but country life and its activities made a strong appeal to him, and he went out into the fanning districts and until he accumulated enough to start on his own account worked at from 75 cents to $1 a day.

He was boi"n in Sussex, England, February 1, 1847. He had only six weeks of regular schooling, in all his career, and began working and supporting himself when only seven years old. His grandfather, John Matthews, had been compelled to leave England because of his poaching, and consequently went to America and lived for some years at Sandusky. Maurice ilarsh was about seven years of age when his grandfather returned to England. The boy listened to many tales told by his grandfather of the New World, and was particularly interested in the fact that American boys had a very easy time of attending school and did as much hunting as they liked. From that date Maurice Marsh, as he says, became a rebel to England, and his one ambition was to get money enough to come to the New World. While a boy he learned ship carpentry and caulking, and in 1868, having married, came to this country and located at Toledo. He worked there a few years and also in Michigan, and then moved to Wood County, Ohio, where his older brother, John Marsh, was living, and where another brother, Luke Marsh, had lived for twenty years.

From Wood County Mr. Marsh moved to Sylvania Township, where another one of his brothers lived. After working at small wages here he bought a part of his present farm, which was then completely covered by woods, and he now owns a place of thirty-five acres and rents about sixty acres in addition. Nearly all of his land is in fruit and fruit growing is a specialty upon which he has concentrated his efforts and which has brought. him his ricJily earned prosperity. Mr. Marsh has a peach orchard of about 1,000 trees, a fine apple orchard, some cherries and pears, and in 1916 had seven acres in strawberries. In 1913 he erected his fine new home, and though still active for a man -of his years is able ^0 look the future in the face calmly and enjoy such prosperity as he has earned.

In 1869 before leaving England he married Emma Still, who died a few months after they came to America. By his second marriage Mr. Marsh had six children : William.

who married Melvina Halleck ; John, who married Nellie Case and lives at Ypsilanti, Michigan; Frederick, who has a home near his father but is a contractor, and he married Lettie Read; Moses, who died in Missouri in 1902 at the age of eighteen, and Emma and Harry, who died in childhood. The mother of these children died in 1892. For his present wife Mr. Marsh married Catherine Schlicher, who was born in Germany. Their children are : Thomas ; Ashley ; Tressie, wife of Nelson Pemberton of Sylvania; Mary, wife of Michael Pepon; Nelson; Mark; Lucy; and Frances.

Mr. Marsh is a republican, and has served as a school director. He is a member of the Protected Home Circle in Sylvania Lodge and belongs to the Evangelical Church.

Valentine Hicks Ketcham, Sk. When Valentine Hicks Ketcham, Sr. died in Toledo July 30, 1887, he left behind him a record of singular success in the fields of merchandising, banking and business affairs, and represented not merely by the accumulation of great wealth but also by its wise use and by the influence which he constantly exerted as a constructive factor in the upbuilding and progress from the time it was a small village until it began to assume the great proportions of modern times.

It can be properly said that Mr. Ketcham and his varied activities constituted one of the real cornerstones of Toledo's modem prosperity. He came to Toledo eighty years ago. He possessed not only the judgment and industry which made him a successful merchant, but also the wise faith and foresight that enabled him to embark with enthusiasm upon enterprises whose fruits could only be appreciated after years of growth. Much that is good and permanent in the city today reflects the enterprise of an individual whose earthly career terminated upwards of thirty years ago. To single out one institution, there is the First National Bank of Toledo. In resources and general stability it is one of the largest financial institutions of Ohio. It is a bank with traditions as well as magnificent material assets. Some of those traditions, still governing today, were supplied by the late Valentine H. Ketcham. who for many years was its president.

Though the success of his lifetime could be traced largely through his own initiative and self reliance, it is also true that he came of fine family stock. His parents were Samuel and Rachel (Sands) Ketcham, and his father was both a farmer and miller at Cornwall in Orange County, New York. At the old home there Valentine Hicks Ketcham was born November 12, 1815, the beginning of his life coinciding with the close of the War of 1812 and with the beginning of the great movement toward the West which had already proceeded as far as the Mississippi River when he himself entered actively into the pioneer concerns of Toledo.

His first experience came from his father's farm and from his father's mill. The winter months were spent iu the district schools. In 1827, when he was twelve years of age his parents removed to New York City, where hia father was in business for some years. During the next three years Valentine attended school part of the time but for the most part was learning the trade of carpenter and joiner. At the end of three years he was sent back to the farm at Cornwall, and employed his energies there for two years. Upon the return of his father to take the management of the farm, young Valentine again went to the city to complete his apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade.

knew he secured a position as clerk in the mercantile house of J. F. Cropsey. He never completed his apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade. Merchandising was his real vocation, and remaining with Mr. Cropsey until July, 1836, he steadily progressed and made himself master of all the fundamental details.

In the summer of 1836 Mr. Ketcham, then not quite twenty-one years of age, started for the West with a Mr. Lane. At that time not a single mile of railroad had been constructed west of the Allegheny Mountains. Accordingly they came West by canal boat and the lakes as far as Detroit, and thence journeyed into the interior of Michigan. Mr. Ketcham purchased eighty acres of Government land in Oakland County of that state. He spent a brief time in Toledo, but soon returned to New York. The possibilities of the then rapidly growing and developing West left a permanent impression upon his mind, and soon led him to join the great army of pioneers who were redeeming the country from the domain of the wilderness.

In August, 1836, Mr. Ketcham left New York City with a small stock of general merchandise. Arriving in Toledo he opened a store on St. Clair Street at the location where the Merchants Hotel now stands. He rented his storeroom from Coleman I. Keeler, Sr. The next summer his store was removed to Summit Street near Perry, and in 1838 to the corner of Summit and LaGrange streets. As one of the prominent pioneer business houses of Toledo it is well to follow the different changes of the establishment. In 1841 the location was moved to 32-34 Summit Street, and while there Mr. Ketcham extended his trade to wholesale, beginning in a very modest way. The opening of the Miami Canal in 1843, connecting Toledo with Cincinnati, proved a great impetus to his business. In 1846 Joseph K. Secor became a partner, under the name Ketcham and Secor. In 1851 Mr. Ketcham withdrew from the mercantile house to devote all his attention to his banking affairs.

In the meantime, in 1850, Mr. Ketcham had formed a partnership with John Poag, and they opened one of the private banks that furnished financial connections to many of the Toledo business men of that time. In 1854 John Berdan and S. S. Hubbard became associated with the older partners in the bank, and this change gave rise to the old firm name of Ketcham, Berdan & Company. When the National Bank Act of 1863 was passed a charter was taken out, and the First National Bank of Toledo organized. This bank took over the old business of the firm of Ketcham, Berdan & Company, and Mr. Ketcham became first president of the institution under its national charter. He continued to hold that office until his death nearly twenty-five years later. Both while he was alive and since much of the prestige of the First National Bank can be traced to the conservative policy established by Mr. Ketcham.

Another important field to which his activities extended was real estate. He showed his faith in the growing town by making investments in realty soon after coming to Toledo. At times he lost money, but as a rule his judgment was sound, and his profits were correspondingly large. His wisdom in real estate is reflected by one or two instances that may be noted, and those instances also have a historic value in showing how Toledo property has increased in value during the last seventy years. In 1843 Mr. Ketcham cleared the ground where the Produce Exchange Building now stands at the comer of Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street. He erected a brick dwelling house on the site. Toledo had not yet built up to that point and it was prob- lematical whether the corner would ever be included in a valuable district. The nearest house at the time was the residence of Charles G. Keeler on the southeast corner of Madison and St. Clair Street, at the place where the Government Building now stands. Mr. Keteham paid $1,000 for his lot, and a few years later sold it to John Poag for $4,700, while years later it was sold to the Produce Exchange for $55,000. Another instance: In 1852 Mr. Keteham piirchased sixty feet on the west side of the present site of the Government Building, paying $1,200. Twelve years later he sold it for $4,500 and in 1880 the United States Government purchased the ground at a price of $27,000.

By his various business ventures, and his activities as a wholesale merchant, banker and real estate operator, Mr. Keteham became recognized as one of the wealthiest men in Northern Ohio. His means were almost constantly employed in investments that made for a greater and better Toledo. He erected many dwellings and business blocks. One of these was the four-story building at 28-36 Summit Street, another was the stores at 63- 65 Summit Street, a building at the corner of Summit and Jefferson streets, and in association with the late Mai's Nearing he built the four-story block at Summit and Adams streets. This last named block was occupied by the late J. L. Hudson, the Detroit clothier, until it was destroyed by fire in 1909. Mrs. Nearing, a daughter of Mr. Keteham, at once began the work of rebuilding and the site is now occupied by a fine modern structure the home of The Thompson-Hudson Company department store. Mr. Keteham also put up the four-story block on the comer of Oak and Summit streets and at the time of his death had a similar structi;re under way at another location on Oak Street.

Mr. Keteham passed away at his residence on the corner of Cherry and Bancroft streets. It is said that his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Toledo, and among citizens of all classes who followed his remains to their last resting place was a delegation from the Produce Exchange and all the bankers of Toledo. Politically Mr. Keteham was a republican, and while always interested in party success was not an aspirant for any public honors.

On December 30, 1841, he married Miss Rachel Ann Berdan, daughter of John and Pamelia Berdan. John Berdan was for many years actively associated with Mr. Keteham in banking. To their marriage were born four - children, three of whom are now living. The oldest is Mrs. Mary Keteham Nearing, widow of the late Mars Nearing. Mars Nearing served as president of The First National Bank, succeeding Mr. Keteham. Mrs. Nearing whose home is at the corner of 17th Street and ^Madison Avenue, is one of Toledo's best known women and most active benefactors. Many movements of a social or charitable purpose have received her support and encouragement, but she has perhaps given her greatest interest and work to the First Congregational Church. Only recently that church was made the beneficiary of a gift aggregating nearly $25,000, in the form of a magnificent organ, known as the Mary Keteham Nearing Memorial organ. This instrument was dedicated in May, 1916. It is said to be the finest pipe organ in Ohio and in many points is superior to the most famous organs in the country. It contains 2,355 pipes, is a four-manual organ, with more than 60 stops. Valentine H. Keteham, Jr., the second of the living children, is referred to on other pages. The youngest child is George H. Keteham, who resides in Toledo, and who completed his education in Swarthmore College, an old and noted Quaker institution at Swarthmore, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Valentine Hicks Ketcham, Jr., a son of the late Valentine Hicks Keteham, Sr., inherited much of the business ablity of his honored father, whose career is sketched on other pages, and at different times has been a decided factor in commercial affairs at Toledo and wields a powerful influence still through the control and direction of the extensive properties owned by him.

Born in Toledo January 14, 1855, he received his early education in the Toledo public schools. As a boy, though the son of a wealthy father, he started to learn business from the bottom, and was for about six months clerk in the retail grocery store of E. Bateman on Summit Street. He left that position to enter the First National Bank, where he remained for fourteen years, and on severing his connections was assistant cashier. For several years Mr. Keteham was actively identified with the Keteham Furniture Company in the manufacture of furniture, but in later years has devoted all his business energies to his extensive property interests.

of the Maumee River. He has a beautiful summer home there, and has made that location the center for his favorite recreation of boating. During the summer months of the year he spends most of his time boating and owns three fine boats. He pursues this entirely for recreation and has no inclination for the so called sporting side of the amusement.

He is a member of the Ottawa River Yacht Club, and belongs to Toledo Lodge No. 53. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He maintains an office in the Valentine Building.

The Valentine Building, it should be noted, was erected by his brother George H. Ketcham and stands as a memorial to the late Valentine H. Ketcham, Sr. In this building is the Valentine Theater, the finest theater in North Toledo. Mr. Ketcham was married in January, 1915, to Ann G. Courson, of Newton, New Jersey.

Rowland C. Overiiier. A lifetime that had its practical benefit and that exemplified the virtues of good citizenship, upright and honorable conduct, was that of the late Rowland C. Overmier, who died at his farm home in Washington Township of Henry County March 11, 1910.

He spent most of his life in Ohio, having been born in Jackson Township of Sandusky County in 184fi. The genealogj' of his family goes back to colonial days in old Pennsylvania, and the family originally came from Gei-many. The emigrant ancestor was John George Overmier, who came to the United States in 1751 and located in that part of Northumberland County which is now Union County, Pennsylvania. That was one of the newer sections of the Province of Pennsylvania. It will be recalled that four years passed before the outbreak of the French and Indian war and the great defeat of Braddock's troops in Western Pennsylvania. John George Overmier probably married after coming to Pennsylvania, and as a result of his labors a large estate was improved and built up. He died in that locality. The first generations of the family were probably members of the Lutheran Church. All of them exemplified the rugged characteristics of their ancestry and became prosperous farmers.

and married Catherine Hoffman. They were thrifty farmers, spent their lives in Union County, and died when quite old. As was the custom in that day they reared a large family. One of their children was John George Overmier, grandfather of Rowland C. He was born in September, 1784, not long after the close of the Revolutionary war but liefore the establishment of our present Federal Union. He grew .up iu Union County, and gave the best years of his long life to the business of farming. After his marriage he moved to Perry County, Ohio, and was one of the pioneers who made the first breaks in the wilderness of that section. He lived there until his death.

Joel Overmier, also one of a large family of children, was born in Perry County, Ohio, in February', 1822. When a young man he moved to Sandusky County, and married there Julia 'SI. Geesman, who was a native of Pennsylvania. They were married in 1845 in Jackson Township of Sandusky County, and several of their children were born there, including Rowland. Later they moved to St. Joseph County. Indiana, and while living there Rowland C. Ovemiier secured the most of his educational advantages. In 186.3 the family returned to Ohio and went into a portion of Washington Township, Henry County, which as yet had been left almost untouched bv the civilizing hand of man. Buying land, Joel Overmier cleared it up and made a farm, and he died there at the age of eighty-one, while his wife pa-ssed away at the age of seventy-five. They wei-e much respected people, good Christians, early members of the Lutheran Church, paid their debts, helped their neiglibors and set a good example in the community. Joel was a democrat.

It was after the family came to Washington Township that Rowland C. Overmier reached his ma.iority. From early years he had been trained in the habits of industry, and was always a hard worker and mixed his industry with good judgment. In that township he married ]\larie E. Emmel. Mrs. Overmier was born in the Province of Hesse Nassau, Germany, November 12, 1846. Wlien she was five years of age she came to the United States with her parents. Henry A. and Mary S. (Walralenstein') Emmel. who located in Sandusky Conntv. Ohio. Her parents were also natives of Hesse Nassau and both were of excellent ancestry. Her father was born in 1821 and her mother on September 7, 1818, and thev were well reared and given the best of advantages in the schools. They were married in 1841, and ten years later came to America with their four children. They made the voyage from Antwerp to New York in a sailing vessel, being seven weeks on the ocean. Near Fremont in Sandusky Cniinty they bought a new farm, lived their imiil isiKi, and in that county their three ydiiiiLivst rhildren were born. Coming to Washuigtou Township of Henry County, Mr. Emmel bought eighty acres of wild laud and lived to see it improved as a comfortable home. He died there in 1891, and his wife in 1901. They were Lutherans and he was a democrat and tilled places of trust and resi^onsibility, serving for years as township trustee. Four of the Emmel cliildreu are now living, all married and all have children of their own except Mrs. Overmier.

After their marriage ilr. and Mrs. Overmier started out as farmei-s, and by being thrifty and economical, and not sparing in toil, they had a good farm home on which to spend their declining years. It was on that farm that Mv. Overmier passed away.

Besides fanning he always took an active interest in local affairs as a democrat. He served as township trustee for several terms, and was affiliated with the Knights of Pythias Lodge at' Liberty Center.

In 1911 Mrs. Overmier removed to Liberty Center and bought a comfortable home on East Maple Avenue. Here she spends her time quietly, is a regular attendant at the Reformed Church, and being a woman of education she enjoys that respect paid to one who is well informed and a fluent talker, and has the best qualities of social leadership.

George P. Kneip. Through the ups and downs of an average business career George P. Kneip has worked steadily, undiscouraged by misfortune, with eyes fixed resolutely on saccess, and is now one of the leacKng business men of Gibsonburg, and has a large and prosperous general insurance business and also handles inany of the better class of securities.

Mr. Kneip was born in Sandusky County, Ohio, August 28, 1865. He is a son of Jacob and Eva (Ney) Kneip. His father was born in Germany in 1828 and died in June, 1911. He came to Ohio when a young man, locating at Fremont, where he Avas a laborer during the construction of the Lake Shore Railway. He afterwards worked for some year.s foj- General Buekland, and finallv invested his limited capital in a farm and was well to do before he died. That farm is still in the family. He became a democrat in politics, served as a member of the school board, and he and his family were active members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church at Fremont. Jacob Kneip married Eva Ney at Fremont. She was born in France in 1833 and died in February, 1903. Her' father, Henry Ney, came to America by way of New Orleans. It required fifty-two days to make the voyage from the old country to that southern city, and from there he bi-ought his family on a river boat north and first arrived at Norwalk, from which point they took a stage to Fremont. Mr. Ney had only a dollar when he came to Fremont, but by industry acquired a good home and provided well for his children. George P. Kneip was one of three children, only two now living. His sister Anna is the wife of Mr. Irvin Batesole and they live on the old home farm in Sandusky County.

On that old farm George P. Kneip spent his early years. He attended the district schools, for one year was a student in the Ohio Northern University at Ada, and also took a course in the Columbus Commercial College. On returning home he taught two term.s of country school and then found employment in a clothing store at Fremont. He remained with his employers eleven years and with such capital as he had been able to save then entered the restaurant business in Fremont and later in Gibsonburg. That last ventui-e proved unsuccessful, since at the end of two years he was burned out, when the whole .south side of Gibsonburg was destroyed by fire. Somewhat reduced in circumstances, he resumed clerking for the firm of Dreyfus & Bach at Fremont. Two years later he was back in Gibsonburg, and took charge of the clothing and .shoe department of one of the large local stores. He was with that store five years, and in 1906 opened his office as an insurance man. He has built up a large clientage in general insurance, and in the handling of secui'ities. To this business he gives all his time.

Mr. Kneip was married in 1889 to Caroline Groff, who was born in Sandusky County. They have three children: Irene, at home; George Dewey, a student in the Ohio State LTniversity ; and Frederick, still in high school. The family are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Kneip is n democrat, and has held practically all the ofni^'es within tlie gift of his fellow citizens at Gibsonburg. He has

Allen E. Avery, of Bowling Green, represents one of the fine old families of this section of Ohio. His mother was a Hughes, and four generations of the Aveiy and Hughes families have been represented in this section, from pioneer times to date.

Mr. Avery has built up a fioie business at Bowling Green in coal, building supplies, tile, brick and other commodities. His headquarters are at 525 West Wooster Street near the station of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway. He has 800 feet of side track to furnish ample service and connection with the railroad. His ofSce is a stucco on tile building. He also has a modern ten-room cement block house at 126 Gorrill Avenue. Besides handling general building supplies he operates a concrete block factory and also builds and manufactures concrete burial vaults. Mr. Avery has been very successful since engaging in business at Bowling Green. He was born in Plain Township of Wood County September 29, 1882. He grew up on bis father's farm, graduated from the Bowling Green High School in 1902, and subsequently took a course in the Metropolitan Business College at Toledo. For a year or two he was a bookkeeper and then entered business on his own account.

His grandfather, Washington Avery, came to Wood County when a young man with his parents. He manned Narcissus Meeker, also of an early family in this part of Ohio. Washington Avery and wife were married in Plain Township and spent their careers as farmers in that and in Center Township. They died when quite old and had a number of children.

Alfred Avery, father of Allen, was the first son and second child. He was born in Center Township in 1852, grew up there and married Rosetta Hughes. She was born in England in 1854 and was an infant when her parents, James and Jane Ann (Cornwall) Hughes, and also her grandfather, James Hughes, Sr., came to America. They made the journey in a slow going sailing vessel, and arriving in Northern Ohio settled on a tract of wild land in Wood County. They did their share toward clearing up the wilderness, and the older generations of the Hughes family spent the rest of their days in this section. In earlier times the Averys were worshipers in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In polities the Averys were democrats, while the men of the Hughes house were republicans. Washington Avery once served as county infirmary director, but as a family they have not been seekers for political honor.s. Alfred Avery and wife after their marriage located on a farm and followed farming actively until 1902, when they retii-ed to Bowling Green and have since lived in a comfortable home at 427 West Wooster Street. Alfred Avery is a democrat and his wife is a member of the United Brethren Church.

Allen E. Avery is the youngest of three sons. His older brother, Harley, is a farmer west of Bowling Green and by his marriage to Lotta Kaylor of Genoa, Ohio, has five children, one son and four daughters. The son Homer is a drainage contractor living on South Grove Street in Bowling Green. He married Emma Carr and has two daughters and one son.

Mr. Allen E. Avery was married at Bowling Green to Loretta Castner. She was bom in Southern Indiana in 1885, and when five years of age removed with her parents to Findlay, Ohio, later to Rudolph, and at the age of twelve she came to Bowling Green. She finished her education iu the local high school. Mr. and Mrs. Avery have one son, Gerald Elwood, who was born March 29, 1910. Mrs. Avery is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and while he belongs to the United Brethren Church he usually attends the Methodist services. Politically he is independent and is a member of the Knights of Pythias.

WiNFiELD Scott Ratdure, of Bowling Green, is one of the veteran oil producers of the United States. He began his active connection with that industry back in Pennsylvania over fifty years ago. He has outlived many of his early contemporaries iu the business and* it is said that as an individual he has probably sunk more drills into the oil sands than any other man now living.

He gained his first experience in the business as an employe of the old United States Oil Company in Pennsylvania in 1866. Later in the same year he started operations on his own account. At first he was in the district of Pleasantville and Titusville, and then became a partner of Jonathan Watson. They were associated in this business for fourteen years, chiefly in Warren, Venango and Butler counties. They put down many wells in the Western Pennsvlvania fields and also extended

On dissolving this partnership Mr. Raydure became identified with the Duke & Norton Oil Company. For nine years they were successful operators in Allegany County, New Yorlc, and also extended their operations into Tennessee for a short time, and from there to the South Lima field in Ohio. This company put down the second well in that field on the Rightner farm, where the paper mill people had sunk the first well. Both proved producers and around them soon gi-ew up a forest of derricks, and one of the biggest fields of the country developed there. This company subsequently turned their property over to the Ohio Oil Company, which was organized about 1889 or 1890.

At that time Mr. Raydure and his family moved back to Crawford County, Pennsylvania. He had his home there until 1899, when, with several friends from Bowling Green, he bought the Palmer oil property, conducting it four years as the Exchange Oil Company. They sold this and Mr. Raydure then went West and leased some extensive oil lands in Kansas and also in Oklahoma. His Kansas operations were in the vicinity of Independence and for about a year he was in Washington County, Oklahoma. There he became a large holder of leases and sunk about 200 wells. Mr. Raydure still owns oil property in Oklahoma and it is under the management of his son. In October, 1915, Mr. Raydure went into the Kentucky field and began operating in the Irvine oil pool in Estill County.

In the course of his fifty years of experience Mr. Raydure has put down wells to the number of many hundreds, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas and Oklahoma. This extended activity would justify almost any claim made for him as one of the best known veteran oil producers of the United States.

Mr. Raydure was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in 1846, and grew up and received his education there. He was fifteen years of age when the war broke out and he made two unsuccessful attempts to convince his father that his services were needed by the country. In the third attempt he was permitted'to join Company F of the Eighty-third Pennsylvania Infantry. This regiment became a part of the Fifth Army Corps, Third Division, under General Warren. With that great commander Mr. Raydure fought twentyseven engagements, including thirty days in the trenches in almost continuous fighting at Richmond and Petei'sburg. He was in the fii-st and second battles of Bull Run, at Pittsburg Landing, the Battle of the Wilderness and at Gettysburg. At Gettysburg his regiment was one that opposed the gallant charge of Pickett's Brigade and though in the midst of the hail of shot on that day he escaped unhui-t. He was never wounded and never captured. He was at Appomattox when Lee surrendei-ed. ilr. Raydure made a record as a gallant soldier that his descendants will always cherish.

Mr. Raydure is a republican, and has attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry, being affiliated with the Consistory at Rochester and with the Lodge at Bowling Green. He and his son are both members of Lodge No. 818 the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Bowling Green.

Jay Dolson Swing. Among the Scotch- Irish families which were established in Maryland and Virginia prior to the Revolutionary war, took part in the same and later came to Ohio, was that of Ewing, one that has given men of great and substantial achievement to the United States in difl'erent generations since. At present the name is worthily borne at Carey, Ohio, by a prominent business man of this place. Jay Dolson Ewing, who is sole owner of the drug store which is conducted under his own name. He has been identified with this drug house, in its various changes, since 1892, when he purchased his first half interest.

Jay Dolson Ewing was born at Bluffton, Ohio, and is a son of Silas and Elizabeth (Shiveley) Ewing. His father was a physician and also a farmer and cleared up his land in Hancock County, not far from Bluifton, from the virgin wilderness and was one of the pioneer physicians of that section. He was a man of education and energy but, like many other pioneers of his profession, left little estate to his descendants except an honorable name.

In the district schools of Orange Township, Hancock County, Jay Dolson Ewing was started on his educational path which led through the Bluffton High School, from which lie was graduated in 1884. His first businessventure was as a book canvasser, and with the money he secured by selling Bibles for one year through Allen aud Hancock counties he took an advanced course in the Ohio State Normal School at Ada, following which he returned to Bluffi'tou and spent a summer on his father's farm. Having no particular leaning toward an agricultural life, but rather an inherited tendency toward the medical profession, perhaps it was quite natux-al for him to leave the farm and seek a position in the drug trade, accepting a clerkship in the drug store of A. Hauenstein, at Blutt'ton, where he remained for five years and during that time learned to speak the German language. He also was a diligent and interested student of pharmacy and in the meanwhile took a correspondence school course in the Chicago National Institute of Pharmacy.

In 1892 came the opportunity for which Mr. Ewing had been waiting and saving his money, and he purchased a half interest in the drug business of E. F. Schneider at Carey, and the firm style became J. D. Ewing & Company. For five years Mr. Ewing continued the partnership but in 1897 he purchased the other half interest in the business and since then the firm name has been J. D. Ewing. In addition to carrying a full line of pure drugs he handles many specialties, including the popular "Rexall" remedies, paints and oils and the commodities that are usually to be found in a modern drug store. He has a substantial trade that covers a wide territory.

In 1888 Mr. Ewing was married to Miss Elizabeth Flick, who is a daughter of Daniel and Phoebe (Rugh) Flick, old Dutch families of this section, the father being a retired farmer. Mr. and Mi's. Ewing have three children : Clare Olan, Ruth Elizabel;h and Robert Flick. Clare Olan Ewing was born August 17, 1889, and was graduated in 1913 from the Ohio State University with his degrees of B. S. and M. S., and is a chemist employed by the Government at Washington, District of Columbia. In 1914 he was married at Columbus, Ohio, to Miss Marie Murphey and they have two children, Robert, born in 1915, aud Clare, born in 1916. The only daughter, Ruth Elizabeth, attended the municipal schools at Carey and displaying unusual musical talent, was given a musical education, taking a course of four years in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and being graduated in piano and pipe organ. She then established a conservatory of music at Spencer, Iowa, where she was married in 1915 to Randall M. Tuttle and they have one son, Frank Ewing, who was born in 1917.

The youngest member of Mr. Ewing 's family, Robert Flick Ewing, was born at Carey, Ohio, in 1894, attended the public schools and after being graduated from the liigh school spent four years in the engineering department of the Ohio State University, being graduated in 1917. He resides at WeUsville, Ohio, where he is connected with the ^IcLain Fire Brick Company.

]\lr. Ewing has always been a decided public-.spirited citizen. He helped to organize the National Electric Porcelain Company of Carey, of which he is a stockholder and the secretary aud a director, and also was one of the organizers of the Carey Mill and Elevator Company, of which he is secretary and a director, and has additional personal interests and lias ever been ready to give encouragement to enterprises which have promised to be generally beneficial. .

In his political views Mr. Ewing has always been staunch in his adherence to the republican party, but his personal following was great enough to elect aud re-elect him treasurer of Crawford Township on the independent ticket. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity at Carey and the Eastern Star and belongs also to the Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters. He is a member of the Carnegie Library Board. He and family are very active members of the English Lutheran Church.

Henry C. Prigge. To take a tract of raw land, much as nature left it, and develop it as a modern farm homestead, is a task worthy of the best that a man has of ambition, industry, and intelligence. Such has been the measure of the achievement of Henry C. Prigge of Henry County.

Twenty-seven years ago Mr. Prigge came to his present farm of 120 acres in section 25 of IMonroe Township. The land was rough, much of it covered with timber and brush, was unacquainted with the plow, and the houses, fences and other improvements were largely conspicuous by their absence. In the yeai*s that have since elapsed Mr. Prigge has found time and energy to bring about a notable transformation. All his land except thii-tyfive acres is now under cultivation. It grows .splendid crops of corn, wheat and oats. The soil is black loam and will compare favorably with any of the land found in this fertile section of Northwest Ohio. The building improvements are on a par with the fields. There is a large bam 40 by 80 feet. A granary

24 by 36 feet, a hog house 20 by 32 feet, and a number of other sheds constitute the business end of the farm. For the home of himself and family Mr. Prigge has a modern constructed ten-room house, with slate roof, painted a cream color, and with interior arrangement and furnishings all devised to make country life attractive.

This substantial farmer of Henry County was born in Adams Township of Defiance County March 22, 1864. He grew up and received his education there and twenty-seven years ago came to the farm which he now occupies.

His parents were Henry and Catherine (Driscahorse) Prigge, both natives of Hanover and of old Lutheran stock. Henry Prigge was reared in Germany and was married there for his first wife to Miss Rhors. Soon after their marriage they came to America, locating in Defiance County and he was one of the early settlers there. They arrived after a six weeks' voyage by sailing vessel. Locating in the woods of Defiance County, he improved and cleared up 120 acres of land. On that farm three children were born, Henry, Maty and Sophia. Their mother died in the prime of life. Henry Prigge then married for his second wife Miss Catherine Driscaliorse, who became the mother of the following children : Catherine, now deceased, married Detrieh Drewes, who is also deceased, and there were nine children of their union; Jlinnie, living in Napoleon, the widow of John Liest, and the mother of a son William ; Dora, wife of John Drewes, a farmer in section 26 of Monroe Township and the mother of a family of two sons, Arnold and Fred ; Henry C. ; Fred, who died on the old homestead in Defiance County, and is survived by his widow and five sons and four daughtere who are still living there.

Henry C. Prigge was fourteen years old when his father died, and after that he had to shift largely for himself. In Napoleon Township of Henry County he married Miss ^lary Helberg. Jlrs. Prigge was born on the old Helberg farm in Napoleon Township March 4, 1871, a daughter of Christopher and Anna (Drewes) Helberg. Her parents were natives of Hanover and were members of a prominent colony of Hanoverians who did so much for the early development of Henrv' County. They are still living on their old farm in Napoleon Township. Mr. and Mrs. Prigge have three children: Albert, the oldest, was born November 14, 1886, looks after a farm in JIarion Township of Henry County, and by his man'iage to Artena Schwiebert of that township has a daughter Laura who was born February 1, 1916. Otto, born July 4, 1893, lives at home and is assisting his father in the management of the splendid estate above described. Emilia, born January 1, 1897, is also at home. All the children were well educated in the local public schools. The family are active members of the Lutheran Church and ilr. Prigge has cast a democratic vote in many elections.

William W. Wilder is one of the leading business men of Clyde, and is now president and treasurer of the Clyde Kraut Company, an industry of large importance not only locally but throughout the section of the Middle West, and a business that was established by his father over twenty-five years ago. The company was at first a partnership concern, but was incorporated in 1900 with a capital stock of $10,000, which has since been increased to $50,000. The products of this company are tlia famous "Silver Fleece" of ki'aut, cherries and other commodities, and the output has had an increasing consumption and is now shipped all over the United States.

Mr. Wilder was born at Clyde, Ohio, August 28, 1872, and is a son of Alonzo J. and Mary A. (Hough) Wilder. The late Alonzo , J. Wilder, who died in 1912, was born January 14, 1841, on his father's farm in Granger Township of Medina County, Ohio. The grandfather William Wilder was born in Barkhamstead, Connecticut, in 1789. As a young man he started westward to make a home in what was then the Western Reserve of Ohio. He carried an axe on his shoulder and a few apple seeds in his pocket, and walked the entire distance from Connecticut to the heart of the new Connecticut in Ohio. In 1818 he located in Medina County, and in 1819 married Elsie T. Hatcli, who had come to Medina County in 1817, also walking part of the way from Onondaga County, New York, where her father had been at one time owner of the entire North Bristol Township. William Wilder and wife established a home in the forests of Medina County and reared a large family. They lived undisturbed by their Indian neighbors and in time they had a valuable property. The apple .seeds which William Wilder had earned with him from the east were planted and in time made a pro- duetive orchard. The children of William Wilder and wife were : Lucy A., William H., a California fort.v-niner who died in the West in 1858, Calvin H., Annie, Charlotte E., Martin J., Sophrouia A., Alonzo James, Nathan Thomas and Jeanette. The mother of these children lived to be ninety-two years of age and passed awa.v at Clyde in 1892.

Alonzo J. Wilder spent his boyhood on his father's farm in Medina County, was educated in country schools and the Granger Academy, and like other members of the family had pronounced musical talent and taste. He taught music for a time in his young manhood. In 1868 he removed to Clyde and bought the Metealf grocery store. Though without previous experience as a merchant, he had the energy and the persistence which in time brought him success. In 1870 C. A. Miner became a partner in the firm Wilder and Miner, but six years later Mr. Wilder bought his partner's interest. In 1882 he was joined by his brother Nathan T. and the firm then became Wilder Brothers. In 1889 they sold a third interest to W. G. Estell, a former clerk, and the new title of the business was Wilder Brothers & Estell. As general merchants they had extensive dealings with the surrounding farming communities, and to provide better facilities for the storage of farm products they built a warehouse and a cold storage plant, the latter particularly for keeping butter, eggs and apples.

It was in 1890 that Alonzo J. Wilder engaged in the kraut business. His factory more than anything else stimulated an important feature of agricultural enterprise in that section of Ohio and the farmers found cabbages a profitable crop. The business was founded under the name Clyde Kraut Company, and it had a rapid growth almost from the first. In a few years the burdens of its management were such as to cause Mr. Wilder to sell his interests in the grocery business, and the brothers sold out to W. G. Estell and to W. W. Wilder. The two Wilder brothers continued the management of the kraut business until 1900, when they incorporated, taking into the company W. W. Wilder, C. N. Wilder, the latter a son of Nathan Wilder, and B. E. Babcock, a son-in-law of Nathan Wilder. The officers of the company were: A. J. Wilder, president; Nathan T. Wilder, \'ice president ; W. W. Wilder, secretary and treasurer. About that time the company established a branch house for the manufacture of kraut and pickles at Jackson, Michigan.

Alonzo J. Wilder was married November 27, 1866, to Miss ilary A. Hough, a daughter of John Hough of Wayne County, Ohio. She died in 1871, leaving two children: William AV. and Helen M., who subsequently married Carl S. Breckinridge, of Chicago. Alonzo J. Wilder married for his second wife Mrs. Nealie Watterson, daughter of Rev. George R. Brown. His second wife died in January, 1895, and in March, 1898, A. J. Wilder married Mrs. Rosaline Bemiss, daughter of Daniel White.

William W. Wilder grew up in Clyde, was educated in the local schools, including the high school, and even as a boy gained considerable knowledge of business in the store of his father and uncle. At the age of eighteen he went West to Portland, Oregon, and while emploj-ed in a wholesale hardware company in that city he took a course in a business college, completing it in 1891. In 1895 he returned to Clyde and soon afterward entered the firm of Wilder, Estell & Company, successors of Wilder Brothers & Estell. Mr. Wilder was an active factor in this old and reliable mercantile house until 1900, when he joined in the incorporation of the Clyde Kraut Company and accepted the office of secretary and treasurer. He held that office and was active in the management until after his father's death, when he became president and treasurer. The plant of the Clyde Kraut Company covers over an acre of ground, and is .situated by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad ti-acks in Clyde. A large niimber of persons find employment during the seasons and it is a business which has proved decidedh' beneficial to the commercial prosperity of this section of Northwest Ohio.

Mr. Wilder is an active citizen, was a member of the Board of Education of Clyde from 1911 to 1913, is a director of the Home Building and Loan Company, and in politics is a republican. He was married September 25, 1895, to Miss Hallie McCleary daughter of Capt. Charles H. and Corlissia (Brown) Mc- Cleary. Mr. and Mrs. Wilder have one son, H. Tristan, who was born in 1901 and is now a student in the Clyde High School. Mr. Wilder is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Clyde.

Patterson has by a cai'eer of sustained effort and ability to advance himself demonstrated his thorough fitness for official responsibility and the splendid esteem in which his name is held in this communit}^

Mr. Patterson has for many years been connected with the county treasurer's office at Bowling Green. His fellow citizens recognizing his unusual qualifications re-elected him for a second term in 1916, and that term begins in September, 1917. Mr. Patterson has been a resident of Bowling Green and of "Wood County since 1884.

He was born at ilcConnelsville in Morgan County, Ohio, November 8, 1865, and when eleven years of age went with his parents to Seneca County, and from there came to "Wood County in 188-1. He completed his public school course in Seneca County and after coming to Bowling Green he attended local schools for a time and subsequently the college at Fostoria.

Mr. Patterson is of old Scotch and Scotch- Irish ancestry. The Pattersons of this branch came to America and settled in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolutionary war. His greatgrandparents were James Patterson and wife, who left Pennsylvania in very early times and made their way through the wilderness to ilorgan County, Ohio, locating near MeConnelsville. Through their efforts a home was established in the woods, and there they reared their children. Mr. Patterson's gi-audfather was Leander Patterson, who was born in Pennsylvania and was reared in Morgan County, Oliio. He married a neighbor girl, iliss ilcMurray, of noted Scotch ancestry. Her parents had come to America and had lived in Pennsylvania and from there went to Morgan County, Ohio. The Pattersons and McMurrays were among the founders of the Methodist Church in that section of Morgan County. James Patterson lived to be past ninety years of age. Leander Patterson and wife after their marriage spent their lives usefully and with a widening esteem on their farm at ilcGonnelsville, and were always active in the work of the Methodist Church. They had a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters.

Henry M. Patterson, father of the county treasurer of "W-ood County, was the oldest of tliis family and was born in Morgan County about 1840. As he grew up and attended the local schools he also acquired knowledge and skill as a carpenter mechanic. At the first call for troops on the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Company M of the Sixtysecond Ohio Infantry and was in service three years. He went out as a drummer boy, but subsequently his mechanical skill caused him to be assigned to special work at Norfolk, "Virginia. Afterwards he was connected with the Seventh New York Battery as an artillery man and was finally discharged after he had completed three years of service. He went through the war without injuries. He was granted his discharge early in 1864 and on November 24th of the same year he married Arelia E. Andrews. She was born in Seneca County, Ohio, November 24, 1841, and was reared and educated there. Her parents came from Pennsylvania, first locating in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and then moved to Seneca County about the same time as the General Gibson family located there. The Andrews were an old Scotch stock family and furnished many members to the Presbyterian Church. After his marriage Henry M. Patterson took his wife back to McConnelsville in Morgan County, but in 1876 they located at Bloomville in Seneca County, and on June 4, 1884, they came to Bowling Green. Henry M. Patterson was a very skilled carpenter and in Bowling Green he followed the business of making boat oars and finishing up boats. Later he and his wife returned to Bloomville in Seneca County, where his death occurred as the result of an accident in 1894. His widow is still living there at the age of seventy-six and is well preserved for a woman of her years. She is active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was her husband, though she was reared a Presbyterian. Politically Henry M. Patterson was a republican.

Mr. Charles A. Patterson was the oldest of a family of eiglit children, five sous and three daughters. His sister Mrs. J. M. Jennings lives in the oil district of Oklahonla and has several children. Another sister is ilrs. Frank Siple of Bloomville, and she has four children. Mr. Patterson's brother J. L. Patterson is a contractor at Tiffin, Ohio, and is married and has one daughter.

After he had finished his education Charles A. Patterson found employment for four years as a bookkeeper with the firm of J. D. "Wilsey & Sons, a firm with which his father was then employed. He afterwai-ds did clerical work in a general store at Bowling Green until 1904, when he was appoint. ilrpiity in the county treasurer's office, lie sitvc] tlircnigh the terms of two county treastnvi's, :ind subsequently was appointed to fill out the vacancy in the office caused by the death of County Treasurer Fowler. He was county treasurer by virtue of the vacancy for fifteen months.

The work of this department Mr. Patterson performed through the aid of two very capable assistants, R. F. Gordon and iliss Julia Cramer. Miss Cramer has been identified with the county treasurer's office since 1901 and knows every detail of its organization and system.

In Jerry City, Wood County, Mr. Patterson married Miss Cora Doering who was born at Lancaster in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have two children. Miner A. and Arthur M. Miner was born at Jerry City twenty-five j'cars ago, was educated in the Bowling Green schools, and is now following the business of painter and decorator. He married Florence G. Richard, and they have two children, Janet and Veva, aged four and two year.s respectively. Arthur M. is a graduate of the Bowling Green High School with the class of 1913 and is now connected with the Wood County Savings Bank. All the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with Mr. Patterson on the official board. He has filled all the chairs and is now past noble gi'and of Centennial Lodge No. 626, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he also belongs to Ideal Court No. 44 of the Tribe of Ben Hur. In politics his associations have always been with the republican party and he has done much to strengthen the party organization and is a faithful worker for his fi'iends.

W. K. White of Bowling Green is one of the prominent oil men of the country today. In that business he is fortified by years of practical experience. Experience has sharpened his judgment and has strengthened his natural spirit of courage and enterprise so that he has long been looked upon as one of the most resourceful and progressive men in the business.

The field of his operations is widespread. He was a pioneer in developing the oil fields of Wood County, and in recent years has extended his work to Kentucky, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Indiana, Southern Ohio, Montana and Wyoming. In Kentucky, particularly, much of the recent oil development that has attracted the attention of all oil men to that state is due to Mr. White and his associates. When he went into the Irving field in the State of Kentucky there were only four producing wells in that field. Mr. White has an interest with the Ohio Oil Company in a number of the most productive wells of Kentuck}^ He is also jointly interested with Newton and Moore in the Irving Pool in Estill and other counties. This field extends twentyseven miles from Irving to Campton. The oil belt is from a mile to three miles wide. Mr. White and associates have sixty producing wells in this district.

Around Station Camp the Avells are producing about 300 bari'els a day and are especially remarkable for their shallowness, the oil sands being found at a depth of from 83 to 135 feet. In still another Kentucky pool they have found oil at from 500 to 800 feet and the production ranges from 100 to 300 or 400 barrels a day. These Kentucky wells were the first profitable ones in the state. Winchester, Keutuckj', is the headquarters now of one of the world's biggest oil districts. The oil operations conducted by Mr. White and associates have made many millionaires from poor men and a vast field has been developed within a few years, much of it within the last eighteen months.

Mr. White also has extensive Oklahoma interests. About six years ago he began development work in Morgan County, Ohio, around Pennsville and drilled the first producing wells in this field. After determining to his own satisfaction the value of the field he associated with him IMr. Newton and Mr. Moore, and they sunk 145 wells, developing many profitable producers.

As early as 1888 Mr. White began operating in the Wood County field and has since put down many wells in this county and is now owner of a nvunber of wells. Like every successful oil man he has had his set backs and vicissitudes. In fact the first hole he sunk was a dry one.

There is nothing of doubt or hesitation about Mr. W^hite. He goes ahead, dauntless in spirit, and many times has proved his willingness to sink his last cent in a field where others have considered the effort foolhardy. There have been scores of instances in which his output has operated at a loss, but in other cases there have been almoirt phenomenal strikes, and altogether his career has been unusually fortunate. In 1892 :\Ir. White, Mr. I. M. Taylor of Bowling Green and James Hardy of" North Baltimore, Ohio, drilled the well on the Emanuel Constable farm that opened up a very large field. At that time this well was seven miles north of the nearest producing well on the Mercer farm. One not- able well Mr. White sunk in Wood County was on the Fleetwood Ward Lease at Portage. It produced 400 barrels a day. Through his work some very wealthy men have been made and a number of farmers made by his enterprise not only a substantial foi-tune but also the saving of their farms, which were previously burdened with debt. It is conservatively estimated that the wealth of this county through its oil resources has been multiplied forty times.

Mr. White has been a resideiat of Bowling Green for many years and has long been esteemed as one of its most active and public spii'ited citizens. He was born in iluskingum County, Ohio, and is of old Virginia stock. His ancestors lived for sevei*al generations around Culpeper. His grandfather, John JaeksoH White, was a well known Virginian and for a number of years held court as a squire or justice of the peace in that place. He was married to Polly Simms, who was one of the F. F. V.'s of the Old Dominion. Some years after their marriage they removed to Muskingum County, Ohio, and settled near Zanesville on the old National Pike near ITniontown. They both died there when quite old. Squire White was an active democrat and a leader in the local party of his section of Ohio. Their children were five sons and four daughters, and all are now deceased except Colonel White, who for many years was superintendent of public schools at Dayton and in recent years has been governor of tlie National Soldiers' Home at Dayton. Colonel White won his laurels as a soldier under Grant at Vicksburg. After the war he graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware and has long been one of the noted men of Ohio.

George Jackson White, father of W. K. White, was born near Uniontown, Ohio, in 1835. In the early '70s he located at Zanesville and was a merchant tailor during his active career. He also lived for several years in New Albany, Indiana, and finally came to Bowling Green, where he died in 1912. He married Mary A. Hewitt, who was born in Muskingum County and died in Bowling Green in 1911. George J. Wh'ite was a republican and was a leader in the party in Muskingum County for some years after the war. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Church.

born in Pittsburu'. l*ciins\lvania, and she died at Bowling Gnvn .M.iirll 1(1, 1912. She was a most faithful wile and (-(unpanion and liome maker. Her parents were Philip and Jane Stuart. Her father was identified with the oil fields of Pennsylvania and afterwards transferred his interests to Wood County, where he was well known as an oil operator. He died in Wood County when about seventy years of age. Mrs. White received most of her education in Pennsylvania. Mr. White has three living children. Norine S. is a graduate of the Bowling Green High School and of Wooster College for Women at Wooster, Ohio, and is still at home. Dorothy M. graduated from the local high school and is now a student in Downer College at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Keith J., the only son, was born in 1900 and is now pursuing his studies in the junior class of the Bowling Green High School. In polities Mr. White is a Republican.

John Bixel. The success of John Bixel has been that of the typical American in enterprise and energy. He was reared on a farm, gained a lilieral education rather than been given one, taught school, clerked in a store, and having shown ability and having gained the confidence of people in his integrity, he became a factor in banking affairs at Blufifton a number of years ago. and from its organization has been one of the chief officials in the First National Bank in tliat city.

Mr. Bixel was born near Bluffton, June 9, 1869, son of Peter and Fannie (Sutter) Bixel. His grandfatlier, Peter Bixel, was born in Switzerland, and was one of tlie early pioneer farmers of Holmes County, Ohio, where he lived out the rest of his lifr. The maternal grandfather, Christinii SultiT, was born in Alsace-Lorraine. France, and on coming to America lived fo)- a lime in Virginia, and came West and settled in Allen County, Ohio, when it was still out on the frontier and when the Indians still coveted it as their happ.y hunting ground. Peter Bixel, father of the Bluffton banker, was born at Millcrsburg, Holmes County, while his wife was a native of Allen County. They were married in Allen County and both are now deceased. Peter Bixel followed farming all his life and after securinsc a tract of wild Government land developed it as a farm and lived for a number of years in a log cabin and after much hard work and the enduring of many privations enjoyed prosperity botli for himself and his

John Bixel was the seventh in a family of ten children, eight of whom are still living. He was graduated from the Bluffton High School in 1889, after which he attended the Ohio Northern University at Ada and the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. His college training was paid for by his efforts as a farm laborer and as a school teacher. For seven years he taught school and following that came an experience in the clothing and shoe business. In 1900 Mr. Bixel became one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Bluffton. He has steadily occupied the post of cashier since its organization and has done much to promote the security and success of the bank. This bank has a capital of $50,000, undivided profits and surplus of $11,000, and its average deposits of $400,000 reflect the prosperity of the community and of the bank itself.

Mr. Bixel was married in 1889 to Halla Russell. Mrs. Bixel is a native of Bluffton, where her father, Orlo Russell, was a grain dealer for a number of years. Her grandfather, Daniel Russell, was one of the early settlers at Bluffton and the first banker of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Bixel have one son, Russell, now attending high school. The family are communicants of the Mennonite Church. Mr. Bixel, while he allows no outside interests to interfere with his work as a banker, has taken much interest in the democratic party and in local affairs, and is now a member of the county school board and the board of public affairs. For a number of years he served as president of the school board.

Harry S. Core began the practice of law in Putnam County fifteen years ago and long since passed that period of struggle which every young lawyer must face and has reached a secure professional prestige. He is now serving capably as prosecuting attorney of Putnam County.

Mr. Core is a native of Putnam County, where he was born on a farm September 1, 1873, a son of David and Rebecca (Layton) Core. His parents were both natives of West Virginia. David Core came to Putnam County about the close of the Civil war and established a home on a farm near Columbus Grove. He has long been one of the leading farmers in that section and is still living at the age of seventy-seven. He has had his home in Putnam Countj' for fully half a century and his material prosperity is represented by the ownership of 200 acres of land. He is a republican in polities, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Columbus Grove.

Hai'ry S. Core was the sixth in a family of nine children, eight of whom are still living. He grew up on the farm, was educated in the district schools, and prior to his admission to tlie bar worked on farms and taught school. He also attended Crawfis College of Putnam County and in 1890 became a student in the State Normal School at Angola, Indiana. Subsequently he studied law in the Ohio Northern University at Ada and in the Ohio State University at Columbus. Mr. Core was admitted to practice at Columbus in 1902, and at once located in Columbus Grove, a town where he had practically grown up and where the people had known him since childhood. He still retains his residence in Columbus Grove, and for manj^ years did a large practice as a lawyer. In 1916 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Putnam County, in which ofSce he is officially serving.

Jlr. Core has always taken much interest in educational affairs and served on the board of education of Columbus Grove from January 1, 1916, until he entered his present office. He is a stanch democrat and has done much to develop the party strength in his county. Fraternally Mr. Core is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America.

At Columbus Grove November 14, 1906, he married ]\Iiss Anna Baxter, daughter of C. B. Baxter of Columbus Grove. ]\Irs. Core was educated in the public schools of Putnam County. Thej' are the parents of six children : William Heniy, Ulala Imogene, James Lewis, Harriet Marcile, George Richard and David Baxter.

Peter Schall. The fact that the late Peter Schall was born in Pleasant Township of Henry County June 20, 1844, is of itself evidence that the Schall family were numbered among the pioneers of that district of Northwest Ohio. Henry County seventy or eighty years ago was little more tlian a wilderness. Almost the onl.y homes were log cabins, and it was a slow process, measured by years rather than months, as a result of which the clearings around these cabins gradually expanded and the area of cultivation enlarged. Peter Schall was a vigorous youth, himself working in the

His individual career was one of much accomplishment, and exemplified the equalities of good citizenship which has so long been associated with descendants of the pioneer German stock in America. Mr. Schall died at his home at Liberty Center on April 7, 1916, having lived retired for some years. His parents, Heniy and Anna (Horning) Schall, were both natives of Germany, his father of Wuertemberg and his mother of Bavaria. Henry Schall came alone to the United States, locating in Pleasant Township of Henry County. His wife was quite young wlien she came with her parents, making the voyage on a slow-going sailing vessel. In I-Ienry County when everything was so new and primitive these two people met and married, and being impelled by an ambition to make a home and do their part toward the development of the new country they started out living in a cabin in the woods, cleared up the farm and endured all the trials and hardships of that early day. Henry Schall at the beginning had neither horses nor oxen. Thus when he needed meal or flour in the house he would carry a sack of corn or wheat on his back and walk many miles to the mill which stood on the banks of the Maumee Canal. Having got it ground, he would traverse the same path back home, and it meant an entire day from his work" in order to get a small bag of flour. Neither he or his wife was dismayed by hardshii^ or difficulty, and while for a number of years they had only the bare necessities of existence, they gradually became prosperous and added some of the comforts of life. After clearing up his first eighty acres Henry' Schall bought other land, continued the work of improvement, erected substantial farm buildings, and had surrounded himself ^rith all the evidences of material prosperity before he passed away at the age of seventy-two. His wife died at seventy-six. All their children were born and reared on the old farm. The parents attended the Refnrinod T'lmrch, and Henry Schall was a very ])fi)iiiiiiciit early democrat in Henry County, (illi'il llic (ifli'-i- nf county commissioner two terms and was ;ilso given the responsibilities of offices in his home township.

The late Peter Schall was the oldest in a family of six children and the only son. Of liis five sisters, one died young, one after her marriage, leaving a family, while the other

Peter Schall made the best of such advantages of scliool as were given him, and after his marriage lie spent seven winter terms as a teaelii'r. For eighteen years he was a resident of Pleasant Township, and then removed to Liberty Township, buying eighty acres in section 27. He put that in splendid condition as a farm, fencing, tiling, putting up barns and also the nine-room house which still stands on the fai-m. About ten years ago he and liis wife retired to a town home in Liberty Center. It was in that liome that he died. Mrs. Schall still lives at Liberty Center.

Mr. Schall was keenly interested in local welfare, and for two terms was county infirmai\y director and held all the township offices. He was a strong democrat. During the Civil war he had .served in the One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted toward tlie end of the war when he was about twenty vears of age. He was long identified with Post No. 25 of the Grand Army of the Republic at Liberty Center, and filled the office of commander.

In Highland Township of Defiance County, Ohio, Peter Schall married Miss Christina Barbara Bauer. Mrs. Schall was born in the same township and county on June 9, 1851, and has spent practically all her life in this section of Northwest Ohio. Her father. Earhart Bauer, was born in the Province of Bavaria, Germany, and when twenty-seven years of age came to the United States with his parents. They immigrated in the style and fasliion nf tlie time, and both he and his parents located in Henry County. His parents, John and Margaret IBauer, improved a farm in Defiance County, and John died when he was about sixty and his wife lived to be very old. They were members of the Lutheran Church, and he was a democrat. Earhart Bauer bought forty acres of land in Highland Township of Defiance County and forty acres in Pleasant Township of Henry County. With tlie aid of his wife and daughters he made a good farm out of this land. For a time they lived in a hewed log house, and later replaced that with a dwelling of more comforts and conveniences. Earhart Bauer's children were all daughters. He was married to Henrietta Boly. who when three years of age was brought to this country by her parents, who located in Pleasant Township of Henrv County, and as pioneers hewed a farm out of the wilderness.

Her father, Theobald Boly, died wheu uearly ninety years of age, aud his wife had passed her seventieth birthday when called beyond. They were Reformed Church people and helped build up aud establish the tirst church of that denomination in their community. As a family the Bolys were democrats.

iMrs. Schall was the oldest of eleven daughters, most of whom died when young. She now has two living sisters, both married. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Schall were bom ten children, five sous and five daughters, and it is a remarkable testimony to the rugged virtues of the parents that all these are still living aud all married.

Catherine is the wife of Edward Wright, of Toledo, Ohio, and their four children are Burdette, Marion, Helen and Clyde. Henry, a_ farmer on the old homestead, man'ied Alpha Kiger and has children named Eunice, Bernice, Roy and Sauford. John is a widower living at Liberty Center. George, whose home is also at Liberty Center, has four children named Lawrence, Robert, Minor and Helen. Margaret is the wife of Charles Miller, an electrician living at Detroit, Michigan. Carl, whose home is in Grand Rapids of Wood County, Ohio, has a daughter, Dorothy. Cora married George Wagoner, of Foi't Wayne, and their children are Ruth aud Robert. Bertha married Louis Beilhartz, of Toledo, and has three children, George, Josephine and Nelson. Eugene has recently established himself in the di'ug business at Toledo. Irene is the wife of Leo Tester, of Toledo, and they have a son, Leo, Jr. Mrs. Schall and all her children are members of the Reformed Church.

Harvey Newell Trumbull, M. D. Though one of the youngest members of the medical fraternity of Sandusky Couuty, Doctor Trumbull in ability and the extent of his patronage enjoys a substantial position in the community of Woodville. He has brought to his profes- .sional work an exceptional equipment, gained both from the schools and from the resources of his own mind.

A native of Northwest Ohio, he was born in Lucas County near Holland February 22, 1884, a son of William Oscar and Eliza (Rush) Trumbull. His parents are well known people of Lucas County, where they reside on a farm. Doctor Trumbull attended the grammar and high schools at Holland, and in his early manhood was engaged in teaching for four years, preparatory to taking up the career which he early decided upon. He studied medicine at the Toledo College of Medicine where he was graduated Doctor of Medicine in 1910, and soon afterward in 1911 took up his home and established his office at Woodville. Besides the large private practice which has come to him, he is medical examiner for the leading life insurance companies doing business at Woodville. He is also a member of the Sandusky County and Ohio State Medical societies and the American Medical Association, aud fraternally is identified with the Masonic Order.

Earl K. Solether, prosecuting attorney for Wood County, has every talent and equipment for conspicuous success and achievement in his chosen profession. He is a splendid specimen of virile physical manhood, and he commands unusual intellectual resources with a sterling integrity of personal character.

Mr. Solether was nominated and elected to his present office in 1914, and was reelected in 1916. His first term expired January 1, 1917. It was distinguished by an unaccustomed vigor in the enforcement of the laws and he set a standard of official administration such as his successors will have difficulty in equalling. ' Mr. Solether is one of the young and energetic and progressive republicans of Wood County, and is a 'former secretary of the executive committee.

A native of Wood County, he was born in Bloom Township October 14, 188.3. He grew up on a farm, was educated in public schools and at Oberlin Academy, and subsequently entered the State LTniversity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was gi-aduated in the law course in 1907. The same year he was admitted to the bar and b.y virtue of his examination before the Supreme Court was qualified for practice in all the courts of the state. Mr. Solether then located in Bowling Green and for five years was in general practice with William Dunipace as a partner. Afterwards he was associated witli Judge Guy C. Nearing, until their associations were dissolved on Mr. Solether 's election as prosecuting attorney.

His grandfather, Charles Solether, came from Germany and was a pioneer in Wood County, Ohio, where he cleared up a home from the forest. He proved his loyalty to his adopted land by enlisting aud serving three yeai*s as a Union soldier. He was exposed to man.v dangers and hardships but went through without wounds and then returned home and lived peacefully as a farmer until his death iu Bloom Township when past eighty years of age. He was twice married, the names of his wives being Miller and Stull. Both were mothers of children, and of the children by the first wife one was Cyrus AVilson Solether.

Cyrus Wilson Solether, father of the prosecuting attorney is a man of sixty years, still active aad vigorous and a resident of Bloom Township, where he was born. He grew up there, married, and then undertook the development of a new farm. He has been very successful, accumulated a large amount of land, and has much to show for his life of effort. He married Elizabeth Weaver, who was born in ]\Iuskingum County, Ohio, and was reared in that locality. Botli are well known people in Bloom Township, are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the father as a republican has been keenjy interested in local affairs and has tilled several minor offices.

Earl K. Solether was the oldest of his father's children. He was married to a young ladyfromBowlingGreeu,Miss Mildred Meeker, who was born in that city in 1888. She is a graduate of the Bowling Green High School, ilr. and Mrs. Solether have two daughters, Helen S. and Lois L. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Solether has taken much interest in Masonry, has been secretary of the Lodge and Royal Arch Chapter at Bowling Green, belongs to the Fostoria Council, Royal and Select Masters, and to the Knights Templar Commandery at Toledo. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

EbJiEE A. Powell. M. D. For a number of years Dr. Elmer A. Powell has been one of the leading physicians and surgeons of North Baltimore and his abilities and service have been constantly growing to keep pace with widening opportunities and experience.

He graduated from the Illinois ]\Ipdieal College at Chicago M. D. in 1902, but tliroughout the fifteen subsequent years he has been both a student of theory and practice while attending college. Four years after graduation he received a diploma from the Chicago Policlinic, and has taken several other post-graduate courses in other schools.

Doctor Powell was born in Hancock County in Blanehard Township, November 19, 1872. After the common schools he gained his higher education largely through his own work and ambition. At the age of twenty he taught his first term of country school in his native township and put iu ten successive winters in teaching in that county. It was his earnings as an educator that enabled him to complete his course in medicine.

His parents, Alexander B. and Rebecca (Jackson) Powell, were both born in Ohio and both in the same year, 1842. His father was born in Fairfield County and his mother in Wyandot County. Both families were among the pioneers of Ohio. Alexander B. Powell was married near Carey in Wyandot County and at once moved to a tract of new land in Hancock County, where his energies developed a good farm in Blanehard Township. Here the wife and mother died in February, 1901, and Alexander B. Powell is still living on the old homestead, but now retired. He has prospered and has always borne an enviable reputation as a man and citizen. He is a democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Doctor Powell was the second child and five of the family are still living, all married except one. The oldest is Rev. Webster H. Powell, a graduate of the Ohio Northern University at Ada and of the Ohio Wesleyan at Delaware and now for a number of years has been actively engaged in his work as a Methodist minister. He has filled pastorates both in Ohio and in Massachusetts and is one of the prominent members of the Massachusetts Conference. Since 1914 he has been district superintendent of the New Lynn Conference. He married in Massachusetts and has a daughter, Ruth G.

Doctor Powell married in Hancock County Miss Carrie Walter. She is the same age as her husband and was reared and educated in Blanehard Township. They were schoolmates together and she also taught until her marriage. They are the parents of two children, Avery D., who was born at Benton Ridge, December 17, 1902, and is now a junior in the North Baltimore High School; and Ruth Marian, born April 20, 1913.

Doctor Powell and wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a democrat, is president of the North Baltimore School Board and is also a member of the County Board of Commissioners. Since January, 1917, he has filled the office of director and vice president of the Hardy Banking Company. He is a member of the County and State Medical societies and the American Medical Association, and has gone through both the York and Scottish Rites of Masonry, being affiliated with North Baltimore Lodge No. 561, Free and Accepted Masons, Knights Templar Commaudery at Findlay and the Consistory at Toledo.

Daniel Carroll Henry. One of the prominent citizens and substantial business men of Carey, Ohio, who has through his own eii'orts made a name for himself in the milling industry, is Daniel Carroll Heni-y, who is general manager and also treasurer of the Carey Mill & Elevator Company at this place. Mr. Heniy has been identified with the milling business and the handling of grain since boyhood and his training has been thorough and his experience wide. In this connection it may be mentioned also that he is a self-made man and that his standing in the business world and his stable reputation as a citizen are the result of a well directed life of industry and integrity.

Daniel Carroll Henry was born in Peace VaUey, Howell County, ]\Iissouri, May 17, 1878. His parents are Thomas Hale and Lucy Elizabeth (Matthews) Henry, and his grandfather was John Henry, who was born in Ireland. In early manhood he came to America and settled first in Greene County, Missouri, but later removed to Howell County. There he cleared land that he secured from the Government and spent his last days. He was a veteran of the Civil war, as were also three of his sons, Thomas Hale included. The latter still resides on the old homestead and is a farmer and stockraiser.

Daniel Carroll Henry had few educational advantages, for a few years attending the country schools near his home in the winters only. When thirteen years of age he secured his first job, a humble position with the Peace Valley Milling Company, and worked for that concern for about eight years, applying himself so industriously that he gained rapid promotion and when he left to accept another position he had complete charge of the mill and was probably the youngest manager at that time of any flour mill iu ilissouri.

Mr. Henry then went to Pomona in Howell County and invested in stock in a new mill there and was made secretary of the company, but one year later sold his interest and came to Portsinoutfl, Ohio, where he accepted the position of head miller in the P. H. Harshey Flour Mill and remained one year. On October 12, 1902, he came to Carey and entered the W. H. Snyder Flouring Mill as second miller and served as such for ten months.

when Mr. Snyder made him head miUer and he continued as such for four years. In the meanwhile he had been provident and saving and when the advantageous opportunity eauie, had the capital to purchase, in association with W. L. Lindsay, his brother-in-law, the groceiy store of C. E. Gibbs, the firm name becoming D. C. Henry & Company, which still prevails, Mr. Lindsay being tlie manager. In January, 1917, the old Snyder Mill Company was reorganized and the name changed to the Carey Mill and Elevator Company, in deference to the home of the prosperous business and as more clearly indicative of its wider extended facilities. Mr. Henry is one of the leading stockholders in the present enterprise and is, as mentioned above, its secretary and general manager. The company does a general milling and grinding business, shipinng flour all qver the country and locally dealing also in coal.

In June, 1900, ]\Ir. Henry was united in mai-riage with Jliss Cora Lindsay, who is a daughter of John C. and Lydia (Foui't) Lindsay, of Portsmouth, Ohio. They have had two children born to them : Carroll Lindsay, who was born May 4, 1901, and died one week later; and Margaret Eugenia, who was born in 1908. ilr. and Mrs. Henry are membere of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Carey, and are interested in other agencies for good, but their charities are unostentatiously bestowed and their benevolences unheralded.