Sandusky Township (part 41 of 57)

He was born in Cleveland February 15, 1878, a son of Max and Rachael (Gottlieb) Rosenblatt. Both parents were natives of Russia. His paternal grandfather, Moses Rosenblatt, was a blacksmith in Russia, and was at one time employed in making bayonet points for the army. During the Crimean war he served as a guard to Czar Nirliohis. When about forty years of age he brou.ulit his family to America and located in Cleveland, and that city was liis home for sixty years. He lived to be a centenarian, and always followed the trade of blacksmith during his active years. Max Rosenblatt was very young when his parents settled in Cleveland. He was educated in the public schools there and spent his active life as a commercial man. He and his family were active and devout members of the Jewish Synagogue in Cleveland. He and his wife had ten children and the five now living are: Arthur; Fannie, wife of Barney Barnett, a Cleveland tailor; Jacob, who is employed by his brother Arthur at Tiffin ; Sarah, wife of Ben Sclmeckrod, a tailor in Tiffin ; and Harry, a Cleveland attorney.

Arthur Rosenblatt attended school in Cleveland, including high school, and afterwards graduated from the Spencerian Business College. As a boy he learned the trade of blacksmith, and he followed that for three years in Cleveland, but on moving to Tiffin in 190-i entered the .junk business, which he has since built up to large and successful proportions. In 1900 he married Miss Gertrude Barnette, of Wooster, Ohio. They have five children: Harold, Herman, Alton David, Bernard B. and Sarah, all in school except the youngest, who is now four years of age. Mr. Rosenblatt is affiliated with Lodge No. 9-1 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also with the Knights of Pythias, and he and his family are members of the Jewish Church.

Harve Doty is senior partner in the firm of Doty Brothei-s, general gi-ooei*s, of South Main Street, in Findlay. He is a young and progressive business man, and like many whose careers in commercial affairs have proved notable, he spent his early life in the wliolesome and invigorating atmosphere of a farm.

Mr. Doty was born in 1879 in Amanda Township of Hancock County, a son of William C. and Anna (Shields) Doty, both of whom are of English ancestry. His parents are still living and his father has been one of the substantial men in the agricultural industry of Hancock County.

Harve Doty gained his education in the country schools of Jackson Township. He learned the meaning and value of hard work when a boy, and he stayed on the farm helping his father from the age of eighteen until he was about twenty-four.

in the city. He not only gained experience but thriftily laid a.side all the money he could, and with this modest capital he and his brother, Harry C, in 1913 bought the grocery store of Ewing & Roberts at 534 S. Main Street. They have continued the busines.s and have in many ways improved it and they now cater to a large and distinctive trade.

In 1902 Mr. Harve Doty married Cora D. Hartman, daughter of Philip and ElizabetJi (Elsea) Hartman of a pioneer family in Hancock County. Mr. and Mrs. Doty have two childi-en: Harold, aged twelve, and Dorothy May, aged eight. Mrs. Doty, who was a splendid Christian woman, and a liberal supporter and member of the United Brethren Church, died January 16, 1917, leaving ilr. Doty with the care of his two young children. Politically he is democrat, aJid is affiliated with Lodge No. 400 of the Knights of Pythias.

Albert E. Culbert is one of the prominent lawyers of Fremont, where he began practice more than twenty years ago. His standing as a lawyer is supplemented by his extensive popularity and acquaintance over Ohio through his leadership in republican politics and his large personal following due to his prominence in the Knights of the Maccabees of the World.

Mr. Culbert is a native of Sandusky County, grew up on a farm, and like many successful lawyers had an experience as a country school teacher before he was able to attain the real ob.ject of his ambition, admission to the bar. He was born March 27, 1862, a son of Eli.jah and Eliza (Day) Culbert. His father was a native of Ireland and his mother was born in Canada, the latter 's father being a native of England. The paternal grandfather, David Culbert, was born in Ireland and immigrated to Canada about 1832. He was a pioneer in Ontario and founded and laid out the Town of Lindse.v in that province. That was in the '30s, and he became the first postmaster of the town and continued to occupy a con- .spicuous place in the commv;nity until 1845, when he became lost in the dense woods of that section and was starved to death. He was succeeded in the postoffice by his son Elijah, who remained in Canada, married, and only left that countiy to come to the United States and take part in the Civil war which was then imminent. Eli.iah Culbert enlisted in the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry and served continuously and faithfully until the close of the war. He was wounded, and being captured was confined in both Libby and Andersonville prisons. After (he war be returned to Sandusky ('(iiinty auil louk up farming, which he f(;)]h)\\f(l until bis dcatli. He became a man of prominence in Sandusky County and was very active as a republican and a popular member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He had bad military Irainin'^ and i-xperience in Canada. He and liis w ilr were artive members of the .Aletbodist Kpisr.,pal ( linich. They were the parents of ten (.'hildren. and the five now living are : Sophia E., who for over forty years has been a teacher in the public schools of Fremont; Samuel J., a Michigan farmer; Emily L., wife of John Nickles, a farmer near Fremont ; Albert E. ; and Marj' E., who lives on her father's old homestead.

Albert E. Culbert was educated in the public schools of Fremont and graduated from Fostoria College, where he prepared liimsrlf for teaching. At an early age lir p.i'-^r,! the teachers" examination and for l\\el\r ^cars taught in tlie distriet sr1i(,(,ls of Sandusky and Ottawa counties duriuL;' llie wintei' tei-in.s. while each sunuucr was spent un tlie farm. Mr. Culbert has shaped his own destiny in life, and has not only paid his own way but has made his profession a means of important service to others. Mr. Culbert pursued his law studies in the office of Buckland & Love at Fremont and was admitted to practice by the Supreme ('(jurt in 1894. In the same year he entered tlie pinliate judse's office as deputy under the late -Indye .bilm I. Garn and performed the duties of his office fur three years. Since that time he has allowed litth> to interfere with a continuous and succt^ssfnl pi'actice as a lawyer. His reputation as a lawyer is by no means confined to his native county and he has clients all over the north\\-estern part of the state. He is now senior member of the firm of Culbert & Culbert, bis associate being his son Chester A. Culbert, who is himself a capable lawyer.

For many years Mr. Culbert was the great commander of the Ohio Great Camp, Knights of the Maceab&es of the World. Through that position he gaiued a personal acquaintance with thousands of Ohio people, and it is said that he is as widely known over the state at large as any other citizen of Fremont. He is also afSliated with other fraternities and has served as commander of Chester A. Buckland Camp of the Sons of Veterans. He has also proved himself active in the local Cham-

Politics has been only au incident to his real career, but anyway he has entered the game, he has played it with remarkable efficiency, and but for the fact that he is a republican in a democratic stronghold he would undoubtedly have enjoyed official distinctions outside liis own community. While a resi(h>nl of Sandusk-y Township he was elected lo \arious oflices on the republican ticket, overcoming tlie democratic majority by his personal popularity. In 1904 he was elected city solicitor of Fremont. He also served as a member of the board of education and was elected clerk of the board four successive terms. In 1914 he was proposed by the Sandusky County Republican Club as republican candidate for the nomination for secretary of state.

The strongest tie and interests of his life have been his family and children. He was married to Miss Mary Rose,, of Oak Harbor, Ohio. Mrs. Culbert, who was very active in Methodist Church affairs and in the Lady Maccabees Society, died May 21, 1916, having reared a large family of nine children. Chester A., the oldest, was graduated from the Fremont High School, studied law under his father, and while practicing as a member of the firm of Culbert & Culbert has also served as city solicitor of Fremont. He made a very creditable record at the bar examination, standing sixth in a class of 252. Ralph P., the second son, is connected with the nnniug industry at -Toiilin, ^lissouri. Harold, who is now about ei.eiiteen years of age, is serving as a ser-vaiit iu ( 'onipa'uy K of the Sixth Ohio liifaidry and has I'ecently been in service with his reiziuieiit on the ;\iexiiau border. Iva is the wife of I'Mwiu .1 uiT'jfns. a mechanical draue'htsnian Jivinu' in ("hicaiid. The vounser chih1r-n. Kstella M.. I'aul, Raymond,' Donald and .Mai'ion. ai'e all at hmnc and in school except Estella. wliii is ber father's housekeeper. She look (heiM'stic science training in the Bowling tii'eeu stale Normal.

William C. Schroeder, a vigorous and progressive young business man of Cygnet, is manager of the Cygnet Grain & Hay Company. He has been identified with this business from its establishment. It was first known as the Cygnet Elevator Company, but after a year, on July 1, 1913, was incorporated as The Cygnet Grain & Hay Company. The original capital stock was $16,000, and it now has a capital of $25,000. Lewis Pierson has been president of the company from its beginning. Mr. Harry Lillie is vice president, W. R. Tabbert is secretary-treasurer, and Air. Schroeder, manager. The latter was the first secretary and assistant manager of the company until July 1, 1915, when he took the active control of the entire business.

This company does a large amount of grain shipping, comprising about 150 ears annually. They are dealers in hay, grain, straw and coal, and handle all classes of building material. The company also has a mill for the custom grinding of feed supplies. The power for the plant is electricity.

Mr. Schroeder was born in Benton Township of Ottawa County, Ohio, January 27, 1885. He grew up and received his education in the public schools there and spent his early life on his father 's farm until twenty. He then had some experience as clerk in a store and in a local elevator, and his experience and capability caused him to be selected as one of the responsible men in the establishment of the Cygnet elevator and grain business. He helped construct the plant and turned the first wheel of the business. The trade of this company has constantly grown and prospered under his management, and his personality has been a factor in the increasing clientele and the reputation of the firm for strictly fair dealing.

Mr. Schroeder is of German parentage, son of Charles and Minnie (Hankammer) Schroeder. His father was born in Prussia in 1849 and his mother in Hesse Nassau, Germany, in 1851. The father came to the United States at the age of twenty-two, going directly to Illinois to work for an uncle. This uncle had paid his railroad fare from New York to Illinois. A year later he left his uncle's farm. His brother Fred, who had come across the ocean at the same time, is now living in Chicago, a pensioner of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He is now seventy-four years of age and has a family.

At the age of twenty-three Charles Schroeder removed to Erie County. Ohio, where he met and married his wife. They started out as farmers, and their first children, Lena and Louis, were born in Erie County. In the fall of 1883 they removed to Ottawa County, and there bought their first farm near Rocky Ridge. Charles Schroeder continued his business as a practical farmer until his death eight years ago. His widow is still living on the old homestead, is sixty-six years of age, and has never used glasses and can thread a needle and read and sew by lamp light. Both parents were confirmed in the Lutheran Church in Germany. Charles Schroeder was a democrat and filled several local offices in Ottawa County. He possessed a good German education, and he also acquired a substantial knowledge of the English language after coming to this country. Four other children were born to them in Ottawa County. "William C; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Kelow of Toledo, and the mother of a son and daughter; Minnie, wife of Louis Drier ; and Charles, who is unmarried and lives with his mother.

William C. Schroeder married at Jerry City in Wood County Grace Phillips. She was born at Jerry City March 13, 1882, and received part of her education there and also was for a time in the Soldiers and Sailors Home for Children at Xenia, Ohio. She is a daughter of Amos and Elnora (Simons) Phillips. Her father was a soldier in the One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio Infantry, whose commander was Gen. I. R. Sherwood, the present congressman of Toledo. He fought gallantly as a Union soldier from 1861 to 1865, and though in the many battles of his regiment escaped unhurt. After the war he returned home and died near Jerry City in 1891, when about forty-five years of age. His widow is still living in Jerry City and is now sixty-seven years of age. She is an active member of the Church of the Disciples.

Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder have no children of their own but on September 11, 1916, adopted a son, Philip Randolph. Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder are active members of the Christian Church, and he has always concerned himself with the affairs of the different communities where he has lived. He was formerly clerk of Rocky Ridge and a member of the board of education and is now serving his second term as city councilman at Cygnet.

Carl D. Finch, of Bowling Green, is head of the Finch Engineering Company of that city. He is one of the thoroughly experienced and well qualified civil and construction engineers of Northwest Ohio. The company which he organized and of which he is head has for a number of years conducted a large business in the building of stone and other roads over Northwest Ohio, in the paving of streets, building of bridges and in general engineering and construction enterprise.

county surveyor and the Board of County Commissioners of Wood County from 1904 to 1911. During four years of that time he had complete control of the road construction laid out by the county commissioners. In that time the county constructed about 210 miles of stone, asphalt and cement roads. In the files of the records of the county commissioners under date of January 15, 1911, is a statement signed by the commissioners of that time with reference to the work of IMr. Finch as a civil engineer. This stated his connection Wood County covering a period. of five years. During that time, according to the statement, he had prepared plans and specifications for and had full charge of improvements, including macadam and other roads, amounting to over $500,000, steel and reinforced concrete bridges to a value of over $400,000, street improvements and sewers and ditches to a value of over $300,000. The commissioners also noted that Mv. Piiieli liad performed railroad work, land surveying and civil engineering, understood electrical engineering, and commented upon his excellent character and ability and the marked force and energy with which he had executed every undertaking.

After leaving the employ of the county commissioners of Wood County Mr. Finch constructed at Portage a stone quarrying and threshing plant operated entirely by electrical power. It was the first plant of the kind with this power in the state. It was constructed in the spring of 1911 and has since been in continuous operation. It has produced on an average from 6,000 to 100,000 tons of road building material each year.

Mr. Finch acquired his early professional training at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, while connected with the Government Coast Artillery engineers. He had enlisted in that department when only eighteen years of age, and besides becoming an expert gumier was employed in other technical duties which gave him a thoroughly comprehensive knowledge of general engineering. He was in service tliree vears and was given his honorable discharge September 4, 1904, and on the 13th of the same month he entered the service of Wood County.

The Finch Engineering Company was organized in March, 1913. Mr. Finch is associated with P. J. Rudolph and A. G. Mercer in this company. Mr. Rudolph is an expert mechanical engineer, while Mr. Mercer is superintendent of construction. The combination is a very strong one. At the present time they have in process of carrying out a contract for asphalt construction in Weston township amounting to $56,000, and other road contracts bring the aggregate of business now on hand up to $150,000.

Carl D. Finch was born in Indiana, December 7, 1882, and was four years of age when his parents located in Wood County. His great-grandfather came from England more than 125 years ago, and located in Massachusetts, where he married a girl of Irish birth. It is believed that they spent their last years in that state. The gi-andfather of Mr. Pinch grew up in and subsequently went as a pinii.ci' td Starke County, Indiana, where he spi'iit his yoai's as a farmer, and both he and his wife lived to be quite old. Mr. Finch is a son of Douglas and Susanna (Philo) Finch, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Wood County. Susanna Philo is in the tenth generation of the family from France. The Philos were pioneer settlers at Hoytville in Wood County. Douglas Finch and wife moved from Wood County to Findlay, Ohio, where Carl attended school eight years. His parents subsequently removed to North Dakota and are now living near Denbigh, where his father has a horse and cattle ranch. Both parents are still under sixty yeare of age and are still vigoi'ous and capable.

Mr. Carl D. Finch was married in Wood County to Jliss Anna Rudolph, a sister of F. J. Rudolph of the Finch Engineering Company. Both ^Ir. Rudolph and his sister were born in Milton Township of Wood County, were educated in the local schools and Mr. Rudolph took special courses in engineering in the Cleveland Scientific School and for a number of years was in the Railroad Signal Service. He is married and has a sou, John B.

The children of ilr. and Mrs. Finch ai-e : Hulda, aged eleven ; Ruth, who died at the age of three years; John, aged eight; Mary, aged five; Douglas, four years old; and Anna, now in her second year.

Mr. Finch is an active member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Bowling Green, has served five years as esquire and one year as esteemed leading knight. A republican in politics, he has been a factor in the local party and was a Roose-

Mr. Finch is a lover of the wild and each fall spends a few weeks in the great north woods. Laro-e game specimens killed by him are mounted in two of the state colleges.

William H. Good has been one of the practical business men of Tiffin for a long period of years, has built up a book and stationery business, his connection therewith dating back to the time of boyhood and while he was still in school. Mr. Good is one of the capable citizens of Tiffin, and has always manifested a public spirited interest in its affairs.

He was born at Tiffin January 9, 1860, a son of Reuben and Mary J. (Winters) Good. The Good family originated in Germany but located in Pennsylvania several generations ago. His maternal grandfather was Rev. David Winters, widely known in Ohio as the "marrying parson." He held the record for many years in the performance of marriage ceremonies, and he joined in matrimony over 5,000 couples. Reuben Good was born at Rehrersburg, near Reading, Pennsylvania, while his wife was born at Dayton, Ohio, in 1825, and is still living. They were married at Dayton. Reuben Good was educated in Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania and early identified himself with educational work. He came to Tiffin in 1850 with his brother. Dr. Jeremiah H. Good, and assisted in organizing Heidelberg College and gave the rest of his life to the work of that school, being professor of natural science. He was a leading member of the Reformed Church and in politics a republican. He and his wife had eleven children, and the five now living are: Rev. C. W. Good, a retii-ed minister of the Reformed Church, living at Tiffin; William H. ; Anna, wife of M. E. Kleckner, professor of chemistry and geology at Heidelberg College; Lily, wife of Rev. H. E. Nicholson, pastor of the Refonned Church at Grove City, Pennsylvania ; and Ii'ving, who is monotype operator in a large printing office at Philadelphia.

William H. Good was educated in Tiffin, and is a graduate of Heidelbei'g College with the class of 188.3. In 1875, when only fifteen years of age. he joined his brother in the establishment of a book store at Tiffin, and with this business his time and energies have been absorbed since he left college. Until a few years ago he also conducted a printing

In 1887 he married Miss Olive R. Smith, of Bloom Center, Ohio, daughter of John M. Smith, a farmer. Four children were born to their marriage and three are still living. Eugene A. is a graduate of Heidelberg University, has been associated with his father in business, and is now an applicant with other college men for ser\ace in the American Ambulance Corps. He is a member of the Masonic Order. Helen il.. the only daughter, graduated in 1917 from the University of Michigan. Herbert is now attending high school. Mrs. Good died in September, 1908. Mr. Good is a member of the First Reformed Church and of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. In politics he is independent. He is a member of the Board of Regents of Heidelberg University and for years has kept in close touch with the Reformed Church and its institutions and for many years served as an elder.

Judge Frederick L. Hw, judge of the Court of Common Pleas at Defiance, has been a member of the bar at that city for over thirty years, and though a republican residing in a democratic community, he has again and again been officially honored. He is a scholarly lawyer, a learned and upright judge, and a man whose character and abilities have commended him to the complete confidence and esteem of his community.

Judge Hay was born at Girard, Pennsylvania, Dccnmber 22. 1856, a son of James L. and Einiii,! r.i'iinctt Hay. His father was a native nf P''iiiis> Ivania. His mother, born in New Haiii])shin\ lived in that state and in New York in her youth, and came to Pennsylvania with her parents, where she married. She taught school at Oneouta, New York, and also in Pennsylvania. After their marriage James L. Hay lived on a farm near Girard and finally retired to that city, where he followed merchandising until his death. Judge Hay was the only son of his parents. He has two sisters : Inez E. White, of Kalamazoo, Michigan ; and Birdie E. McEntire. of Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania.

The first few .rears of his life Judge Hay spent in Girard with his parents. Later he lived for four years in Cleveland, paying his own way by work and also studying under private tutors. Another two years he spent in Cincinnati, and in 1885 came to Defiance and in December of that vear was admitted

In 1888 Judge Hay was elected mayor of Defiance and re-elected in 1890. In 1893 he was elected probate judge of the county, served one term, and as a caudidate for reelection was unable to overcome the democratic majority of that year.- He also tilled the office of city solicitor one term, and in 1912 was elected one of the judges of the third subdivision of the Third Judicial District, that district embracing Fulton, Williams, Defiance, Paulding and Van Wert counties. His dignified and impartial administration of justice has gained him favor among all parties and both with the profession and with the laity.

Before his elevation to the bench he served as a member of the Board of Sinking Fund Trustees of Defiance. Judge Hay has taken an active part in party campaigns. In the Knights of Pythias order he has filled all the chairs and has been delegate to the Grand Lodge, and is a member of the various Masonic bodies at Defiance, including the Knights Templar Commandery. He is also a member of theElks and the Knights of the Maccabees.

In October, 1887, he married Miss Marguerite Daoust. They had three children. F. L., Jr., who is a law student and abstractor at Defiance, married Miss Elsie Cromley and they have two children, Helen Marguerite aud Mary Louise. Roger D. is now serving his second tenn as prosecuting attorney at Defiance. Jlamie D., the only daughter, is still at home. -

Wayne Crawford has long been well and favorably known in Hancock County, has been a hard and successful worker in his private business affairs and has performed with fidelity the various offices of trust to which his fellow citizens have called him. He is now serving as postmaster of Vanlue.

Mr. Crawford was born in Amanda Township of Hancock County in December, 1859, a son of Jolm and Mary A. (Thompson) Crawford. His father was a practical farmer. His grandfather came from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and settled in Bloom Township of Fairfield County, Ohio, in the early days. The Crawford family is of Scotch-Irish descent; John Crawford wa.s one of the best known citizens of Hancock Countv. He filled the

The early education of Wayne Crawford was such as the country schools could afford. He did not attend continuously, but accepted every opportunity he had to get an education aud he was twenty-one years of age when he finally left school. He worked as a farm laborer and at the age of twentyseven removed to Findlay and entered the employ of the John H. Shull Novelty Works. He remained with that firm six yrars, performing tlie duties of an all arouiKl iii(vli;iiiic. He finally gave up the confining- \\(jrk of a manufacturing plant and removingi to tlie vicinity of Mount Blanchard in Hancock County bought a farm of forty acres. After three yeai-s lie sold that and bought a well improved place of ten acres near Vanlue. This he farmed and improved, and finally sold the property and bought ground and built a residence in the Village of Vanlue, where he has lived for many yeare. Mr. Crawford is an expert mechanic and for a number of years has been identified with contracting and building.

He was appointed to his office as postmaster of Vanlue by President Wilson on May 1, 1914. He has given an efficient and economical administration and one that is more than pleasing to the patrons of the office. Mr. Crawford was also justice of the peace of Amanda Township for a number of years and in 1911 was elected mayor of Vanlue, but resigned that position after 1^^ years. He is a democrat in politics.

In 1884 he married Laura C. Davis, daughter of Henry and Isabella (Moore) Davis, her parents being farmers near Vanlue. Mrs. Crawford died April 28, 1900, leaving two children. Willard, the older, was bom in 1885, and was married in 1916 to Verna Hill of Toledo and has an infant child, Willard, Jr., born in 1917. Edna was married in 1908 to Wheeler Kimmell of Wyandot County, Ohio, and they are the parents of four children. In 1901 Mr. Crawford married for his present wife Frances Byal, daughter of James Byal of Findlay. Mr. Cl"awford has been for thirty-five years an active member of Lodge No. 853, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, has held all the chairs including that of noble grand. He is also affiliated with Lodge No. 481, Knights of Pythias, at Mount Blancliard, and with the Masonic Lodge at

William H. Rh.\my. The people of Findlay have special reason to be proud of their fellow citizen William H. Rhamj', not only for the success he enjoys in business but for the capable citizenship he has manifested throughout his long residence iu that city. Mr. Rhamy is now proprietor of the Feed and Builders Supply Company at 600 South Main Street.

He was born on a farm at Mohicanville in Ashland County, Ohio, in 1850, a son of Richard R. and Mary Rhamy. His parents were substantial farmers iu Ashland County. The earliest known ancestor in America was a Hessian soldier who was hired by Great Britain to come to America and fight against the American colonists in the Revolution. This mercenary soldier after a brief service came to know the facts in the case and deserted from the British army and subsequently fought with the Americans. He received the protection and favor of a Virginia planter, whose daughter he subsequently married, and thus established the only line of the Rhamys in the United States.

William H. Rhamy grew up on the home farm at Mohicanville and was a student in the country schools until he was fourteen years of age. As a boy he determined to make the best of his talents and opportunities in life, and he steadily pursued that purpose until he gained a successful position at Findlay. As a boy he worked as a farm hand, but at the age of twenty began learning the trade of blacksmith at Haysville in Ashland County. After two years of apprenticeship he came to Findlay in 1872, and was at once employed by a local blacksmith. After six months he started a shop of his own, and continued it with increasing patronage for twelve years. He conducted the first exclusive horse shoeing shop in Hancock County. While in that business he suffered an accident which injured him severely, and after he recovered he was compelled to give up the business.

There are some men who when stopped in one course never make any further progress, but ]\Ir. Rhamy was not of that type. Being obliged to give up his regular trade, he soon made other opportunities. For two years he was a salesman for the old Superior Iron Well Pump, and he sold hundreds of those pumps all over Hancock and adjoining counties. With the proceeds of this business he established the nucleus of a general store at Findlay and became a dealer in hay and feed. From time to time he increased his business, adding lime, cement and building materials, and besides the main business handled under the name Feed and Builders Supply Company he now carries a stock of crockery and garden seeds. His is the oldest and largest establishment of its kind iu Hancock County.

Mr. Rhamy was married in 1877 to Miss Anna L. George, daughter of Daniel and Martha (Opp) George, of Findlay. Her parents are now living retired. Mr. and Mrs. Rhamy have two children : Mabel is the wife of Bernard B. Biglow of Findlay, and they have two children, B. B. Biglow aged three, and George Vance, who was born in 1916. The second child is Edna, now Mrs. Harvey L. Dale of Fostoria, Ohio.

Mr. Rhamy is a democrat in politics. He is affiliated with Lodge No. 85 of the Knights of Pythias, and he and his family attend the English Lutheran Church.

Frank W. Stratton, who has lived in Wood County most of his life, has developed the leading mercantile business at the Village of Portage. His store occupies a two-story building with thirty-foot frontage and 132 feet in depth, and carries a full line of staple stock for both village and surrounding country. This is known as the ' ' Big Store ' ' and it thoroughly lives up to its name in prestige and volume of trade. I\Ir. Stratton built this store building fourteen years ago and his career as a merchant at Portage covers a period of twenty years.

WTiile most people recognize in him the leading merchant of Portage, he also has been closely identified with local agriculture and owns one of the best farms in Liberty Township. He has three hundred acres, all under the plow and improved with most substantial buildings. As a sample of his farm enterprise it may be noted that during the past year he had sixty acres of sugar beets, thirty acres of tomatoes, twenty-five acres of wheat and fifty acres of corn.

Mr. Stratton was born at Monroeville, Ohio, February 13, 1850, but has lived in Wood County since 1861. His early life was spent on the old homestead in section 2 of Liberty Township. He is the son of Nathan T. and Jane A. (Smith) Stratton, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The paternal grandparents were born in Pennsylvania, and the maternal grandparents in New York State, and all the families were identified with agriculture. The grandparents died in Ohio and all of them in advanced years. The Smiths were a Presbyterian family while the Strattons were J\Iethodists. Nathan T. Stratton died in Toledo Avhen past seventy and his wife passed away in Michigan at the age of seventy-two. They were liberal members of the Methodist Episcopal Chi;rch.

Frank W. Stratton married at Portage in 1874 Miss Harriet Caswell. Mrs. Stratton was born in Michigan, but her parents, Asa and Lucinda Caswell, were natives of New York State, having gone in an early day to Michigan and from there came to Portage, Ohio, where they spent many years of their useful and honorable lives. Both of them were quite old when they passed away. Mrs. Stratton 's brother George Caswell was a Union soldier in the Civil war. In one battle he was captured and was sent to Andersonville prison, and was starved to death in that notorious stockade.

Mr. and Mrs. Stratton have some very capable children. Fred, the oldest, received good educational advantages and is now clerk in his father's store. Charles, who also assists in the management of the mercantile business, married Fern Emsberger, and they have two children, Harriet L. and John Whitford, both of whom are still young. The only daughter, Lenna Slay, still living at home unmarried, is a very talented and cultured young woman. She attended the Woman's College at Oxford, Ohio, in the musical department, and also spent two years in the Conservatory of Oberlin College. All the family are members of the IMethodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Stratton and his sons are republican voters.

Charles IMartin. From the point of continuous service Charles Martin is the oldest merchant of Tiffin, and one of the oldest grocers of Northwest Ohio. His has been a career of much achievement and experience. He is a veteran of the Union Army and though a native of Germany he fought for his adopted country and has always shown great loyalty to American institutions.

He was born in Baden, Germam', March 27, 1837. His father, I\Iartin Martin, was born in Germany in 1786 and died there in 1844. He was a tailor by trade and a very industrious citizen. He and his wife were both members of the Catholic Church. Of their eight children Charles was the youngest and the only one now living.

Reared and educated in Germany Mr. Charles ^Martin came to the United States in his seventeenth year with his sister. For a time he worked on a farm near Castalia, Ohio, and then removed to ]\Ielmore, where he attended school and perfected his knowledge of the English language. While there he worked in a general store. About that time gold was discovered in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado and he with thirty others started West with that point in view. He got only as far as Fort Kearny, Nebraska, and after one week on the frontier all returned home, except three who proceeded to the gold fields of California. Mr. ]\Iartin then located at TiiSn and became clerk in the grocery store of H. A. Buskirk. He soon returned to Melmore and found emplojTnent in a store there, and during 1862-63 was again in Tiffin, working for Souder and Carpenter.

Mr. Martin volunteered his services for the defense of the Union in 1864 with a 100 days regiment. During the four months he was in the army he was stationed out on the western frontier around Fort Kearny, Nebraska, where his earlier western experience had been. With his honorable discharge from the army he returned to Tiffin and engaged in the grocery business with John H. Nighswander, under the firm name of Nighswander & IMartin. That was fully half a century ago. The partnership continued until 1868, when it changed to Martin & Negele. In 1876 Mr. Martin became sole proprietor and has conducted the business under his own management and with the aid of his capable children for over forty years. He began merchandising with modest capital, and has always looked carefully after every detail of the store and his credit rating has always been first class. He has a large and well appointed store and one of the best stocks of merchandise in this line in Seneca County.

In October, 1860, Mr. Martin married Sophia Fow. She was born in Crawford County, Ohio. Five children were born to their union, three daughters and two sons. James G, the oldest, is now proprietor of a cherry oi'chard at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The daiighter, Emma, for over twenty years was manager of the Western Union Telegraph Office in Tiffin. Elsie married Jacob Gorgeon, a grain broker in Chicago. Florence is now her father's housekeeper and also assists in the store. Silas, the youngest, is a farmer in Wisconsin.

odist Episcopal Church. He is widely known in Masonic circles of Ohio, especially in the York Rite. He has tilled many of the chairs in the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. Masonry is a subject which has received his deep study and he is a recognized authority on its ritual. He was eminent commander of the Knights Templar for three years, 1886-88, and was high priest of the chapter from 1880 to 1887, inclusive. He also served as thrice illustrious master from 1872 to 1879. Politically Mr. Martin is a republican.

0. W. DoNiVRT is one of the leading lawyers of Paulding, has been in active practice over twenty years, and has identified himself with many of the substantial interests of the city in a business and civic way.

He was born at Wiltshire, Ohio, September 6, 1875, a son of George W. and Celeste (Hartzog) Donart. In the paternal Line he is of German and English ancestry. His father was born in fiercer County, Ohio, and his mother in Van Wert County. His grandfather, Joshua Donart, was a pioneer of Mercer County and developed and owned a farm there until he removed to Portland, Jay County, Indiana. He served as a soldier in the Civil war. George W. Donart was a carpenter by trade and after his marriage moved from Van Wert County to Mercer County and in 1896 settled with his family in Paulding County. He died at Pierce City, Missouri, October 23, 1915. He was a devout ilethodist and for five years superintendent of the Sunday school of his church. He was a democrat in politics and a man who could be depended upon for straightforward and honorable action in every one of life's relations. During Cleveland's administration he held the ofSce of postmaster at Mendon for four years, and was also a justice of the peace. For a time he was in the mercantile and milling business. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men. The seven children are: Orin W. ; Clement F. ; Catherine L., wife of H. S. Webster; Susie J., wife of Dr. J. Nieolay -, George F. ; Nettie G., wife of F. Turner; and ]\riss Nell Donart.

0. W. Donart spent the first twenty-one years of his life at home with his parents, and in the meantime attended the common schools and the high school at ]\Iendon, and his higher education was acquired in the Ohio Wesleyan University and in Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tennessee, where he graduated in law with the class of 1896. He was admitted to tlie Tennessee bar in the same year and in 1897 admitted to the bar of Ohio and has since been in active practice at Paulding. He is associated with his brother in a large real estate business and they have handled much city property. Mr. Donart is a stanch democrat, has served on the county election board, has been active in the interests of his party and has also used his legal and business ability for the benefit of several Paulding enterprises. He is a member of the JMetliodist Church. On October 30, 1905, he married at Chicago Miss Edna Deane Barnes, of a family of early settlers in Paulding County. They have one child. Dean Orin Donart, born January 4, 1915.

Samuel Emer.son Renxinger is a successful plumbing and heating engineer, with headquarters at 621 South Main Street in Findlay. Mr. Renninger is a native of Northwest Ohio, grew up on a farm, left the farm to become a worker in the oil fields when they were first discovered, picked up as a matter of experience and at odd times a knowledge of the plumbing business, and for many years has been established as one of the most reliable men of his trade in Findlay.

Mr. Renninger was born in Liberty Township of Hancock County, Ohio, on his father's farm October 20, 1876. He is a son of William and Sarah Elizabeth (Emerson) Renninger. His father moved to Hancock County in 1854 from Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He was one of the early settlei-s and pioneers and cleared up his land by his unaided labor. He held several township offices, being at one time school director and also served as township tinistee. He was a democrat. He continued to follow general farming, and thei'eby provided a good home for himself and family until his death on September 21, 1899. His widow is still living at Findlay.

Mr. Renninger is of German and Yankee stock. Some of the family were soldiers in the Civil war. As a boy he attended district schools in Liberty Township, and was sixteen years old when the great oil boom started in Northwest Ohio. In a verj' short time he had left the farm, given up his books and studies, and had joined the gi-eat crowd of men who had collected here from all quarters of the earth and was working around the wells. He did work as tool dresser, driller, and in other occupations for eleven years, all that time being in the employ of the Standard Oil Company. He earned good wages and having an eye to tlie future he thriftily saved a portion of them and in 1904 he bought the plumbing business of H. E. Powell at 602 .South Main Street in Findlay. In 1913 he removed to his present address and now has the organization and the facilities for handling almost any class of contracts for general plumbing and heating and sheet metal lie takes contracts both in Hancock and adjoining counties, and has done a large volume of business. His largest contract was furnishing and installing the vacuum heating system in the Lincoln and Washington schools at Findlay, Ohio. He has also furnished the plumbing and heating apparatus and sheet metal work for many business blocks and other structures in Findlay and elsewhere.

Mr. Renninger was married in 1899 to Miss Anna R. Brady, daughter of Matthew and Mary Ann (Gallagher) Brad}-. Her father died in 1897 and her mother is still living. Mrs. Renninger has three sisters and one brother. Mr. and Mrs. Renninger are the parents of three daughters, Mary, Margaret, and Martha.

While his private business has occupied him so thoroughly, Mr. Renninger has not neglected a keen interest in public affairs and is pulilic spirited and ready to work for any local improvement. He is an active member of the Finillay Commercial Club, is a democrat and is a member of the First Presbyterian Churcli. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, tlie Tribe of Ben Hnr and the ]\rodern Woodmen of America.

John W. Hafneb is cashier of the Tontogany Banking Company, an institution which, considering its envii'onment, is one of the strongest and best conducted banks in Northwest Ohio. It is a state bank and state depository, and while the personnel of the officers and directors constitute an effective proof of the integrity of the management, the depositors have a further safeguard of a bond issued by a reputable guarantee company, guaranteeing every dollar deposited in its vaults.

This bank was organized in 1906, with an authorized capital of $25,000. The first president was G. G. Bennet and the first cashier was J. W. Swickard. Three years later Mr. Swickard was succeded by 0. C. Shanower, and he in turn was succeeded on February 1,

1912, by Mr. Hafner. Mr. Hafner has since had most of the active management of the institution. The five directors are all well known farmers and business men in this part of Wood Countv, as follows: Henry Wenig, E. B. Huff, Gus' Wenig, John S. Phillips and C. W. McColley.

The report of the condition of the company in June, 1917, showed total resources of over .$181,000. The bank has $12,500 capital paid in and all its resources are carefully managed with a view to safety as well as service. The bank pays four per cent interest on time deposits and its deposits now aggregate nearly $170,000. The general condition of the surrounding country as well as the prosperity of the bank is reflected by the rapid growth of deposits during the past year. In March, 1916, deposits aggregated approximately $95,000, and in fifteen months the deposits almost doubled.

Mr. John W. Hafner was born at Tontogany October 1.3, 1889. He grew up in that village and graduated from the local high school in 1909 and subsequently took a course in the Davis Bnsiness College. He is a very progressive young man and has a promising business future.

He is of German ancestry. His parents were Karl Kasper and Margaret (Jahn) Hafner. both of whom were born in the Province of Hesse Nassau, Germany, and spent their lives there. The grandfather was a government employe and also a decorator, and was employed in the decoration of the buildings comprising the seminary or college at the old town of Sehlectern. The family were all members of the German Reformed Church.

Karl Kasper Hafner, father of J. W., at the age of twenty enlisted in the regular army and served three years, from 1873 to 1876. In 1882, when still unmarried, he came to New York and worked at his trade in that city for some months, but in 1883 removed to Toledo. On November 25, 1883, he married Miss Margaret Ault, who was also a native of Germany. Two days after their marriage they moved to the town of Tontogany, where the father opened a shop as a shoemaker and continued active in that work for a number of years, until shoemaking as an individual trade had to yield to machine made shoes, and he then engaged in the boot and shoe business and is still active in that line. He is one of the oldest merchants at Tontogany, and is the oldest shoemaker in the village. Both parents are still at Tontogany, active and hale for their years, aud are devout members of the German Reformed Church. The father is independent iu politics and for seventeen years served as a member of the town council. The Hafner family has an ancestry that goes back to the time of the Crusades. This is indicated by the coat of arms owned by the family. Karl Kasper Hafner and wife had the following children : Charles C, who lives in Tontogauy and married Flossie Ingold; Rosa, who died at the age of fourteen ; John "\V. ; and Mary D., now a student in the high school.

Mr. John W. Hafner married in Wood County, Gladys H. Killyen, who was born in Henry County, Ohio, July 28, 1889. She was reared in Wood County from the age of ten years and is a graduate of the Tontogany High School. ]Mr. and Mrs. Hafner have a bright young daughter, born February 3, 1917, and named ilargaret Helen. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church and Jlr. Hafner is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Tontogany and the Royal Arch Chapter at Bowling Green. Politically he is independent.

Feed Meyer. The career of a dutiful, honorable and upright man, a thorough and diligent factor in business, and a useful, intelligent aud patriotic citizen is illustrated in the enviable life record of Fred Meyer, one of tlie old and honored retired residents of Freedom Township in Henry County. He has lived in that county for half a century. In that time he has performed every duty with fidelity, has provided well for his chiL dren, and has well earned his peaceful retirement.

He comes of a fine old German family of Hanover stock. His ancestors were all Lutherans. His parents were Dietrich and Catherine fOttol Meyer, who were born in the same locality of Hanover where Fred Meyer was born. His father was bom in 1800 and his mother five years later. All their children were bom in the old country. Their daughter, Sophia, died about four years ago, the wife of Herman Schweka of Holgate, leaving two sons, both of whom are now married. Henry is now living at Gerald, and has a large family of children. He was a Union soldier during the Civil war. William is a retired farmer in Mieliigan and has a family of children.

America. They embarked ou a sailing vessel at Bremen and were tossed about on the waves for seven weeks and one day before reaching New York. The passengers faced starvation and had many hardships in addition to the rough seas. Landing in October, Mr. ]\Ieyer and his mother came on to Ohio to join the sons and brothei's who had preceded them. Mr. Meyer soon stai-ted out as a laborer with the Wabash Railway and was thus employed for several years. Later for seven years he was a sailor on the Great Lakes, and in that time -visited nearly eveiy harbor on Lake Erie. The last two years of the time were spent as an engineer.

In the meantime he had carefully saved his earnings and invested his meager store of capital in eighty acres of wild land in section 15 of Freedom Town.ship. There he started his career as an agriculturist in a log cabin. He worked hard to clear up the land and also cultivate it, and did a large amount of draining in order to render every acre productive. As a farmer he was soon making money and began investing his surplus in new tracts. From time to time he made purchases of land, each time of eighty acres, and usually improved each new purchase before making another. In that way five different tracts of eighty acres came into his possession and he bought the last farm of that size about five years ago. All of this land is now in a high state of cultivation and the building improvements constitute each eighty a separate farm. In 1905 Mr. Meyer purchased a small farm of twenty acres near the Village of Gerald, and has since lived there retired, having plenty of land to furnish him with almndant exercise and recreation and giving more or less active supervision to his larger interests placed throughout the coiinty.

Mr. Meyer has never neglected his duties as a citizen. He has held the office of township trustee, was township assessor six years and has filled other places in the local government. For nineteen years he was a director of the German Fire Insurance Company of Henry and Defiance counties. He was among the leaders in organizing this company many yeare ago. Every enterprise concerning the public welfare has a warm supporter and participant in Fred Meyer. He has long been prominently identified with St. John's Lutheran Church in Freedom Township. He helped hew the logs which entered into the construction of the pioneer church edifice, and for many years has been one of the official members. In Freedom Township lie married Miss Mary Scheele, who was born and reared in Hanover, Germany, and came to America in 1870, with her father, Henry Scheele. Her father died when past sixty and her motlier passed away many years before. The Scheeles were also Lutherans and as American citizens they voted the democratic ticket. Mrs. Meyer has a brother, Henry Scheele, who is a farmer in Fi-eedom Township, and has a family of one son and three daughters.

Harry P. Hudson is a leading factor in business affairs at the Town of Cygnet in Wood County. He has developed a large trade as a general merchant, and not only supplies the home community with goods of fine quality, lint supplies much of the merchandise consumed and used in the surrounding territory, especially at Hammansburg, three miles from Cygnet.

ilr. Hudson established himself in business six years ago. For fifteen years previously he had been a clerk in the old time store of F. if. Lowe, and there he laid the foundations of a business experience which made him many friends and brought him a large trade when lie started for himself.

ilr. Hudson was born in Cattaraugus County, New York, February 28, 1885, a son of Philip and Amelia (Hurford) Hudson. His mother was born in New York State, of German ancestry. They were married in the state of Pennsylvania, subsequently located in Cattaraugus County, New York, then returned to Pennsylvania, and in 1887 established their home at Cygnet, Ohio. Here the father became identified with the oil industry and in 1907 he and his wife and some of the children moved out to Elk City, Kansas. He is now foreman in the oil fields and also worked in tlie Oklahoma field. He and his wife are now past sixty years of age but both very active and in good health. The mother is a member of the Methodist Church and in politics the father is a democrat. Harry P. was the first son and second child among four. The oldest is Lottie, wife of A. J. McSweeney, present sheriff of Tulsa County, Oklahoma. The two younger children are Clarence and Mabel. Clarence is now foreman with an oil company in Oklahoma and by his marriage to a Kansas City girl has one child. Mabel is the wife of

At Cygnet, Ohio, in 1908, Harry P. Hudson married iliss Lillian Bradford. Mrs. Hudson was born in Kentucky twenty-eight years ago, and was a child when brought to Wood County by her parents, Tillman and Orpha Bradford. Iler parents now live in Cygnet and are about sixty years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson have one son, Robert Harry, born October 27, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson are members of the Christian Church and his wife is active in Red Cross work. He is a democrat and is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World.

James D. Watson. Engaged steadily in the^ practice of law at Tiffin for the past sixteen years, Mr. Watson has repeatedly demonstrated his ability and thoroughness as a lawyer, and has also handled interests in behalf of the community which make him one of the leaders in citizenship in Seneca County.

I\Ir. Watson has spent practically all his life in and around Tiffin. He was born not many miles fi'om that city in Wyandot County, December 18, 1872. His paternal grandparents were James B. and ^Mary Watson. The grandfather, a native of Peun.sylvania, moved to Ohio about 1827, ninety years ago, and was one of the pioneer farmers of Seneca County. j\Ir. Watson's maternal grandparents were James and Mary Dunlap, both natives of Pennsylvania, and coming to Ohio in 1830 spent the rest of their active lives as farmers. David Greer Watson, father of the Tiffin lawyer, was born in Seneca County, Ohio, August 9, 1835, and died August 12, 1909, at the age of seventy-four. He had a varied and eventful experience. Prior to the Civil war he went out to California and for several years was identified with gold mining in the far West. When the war came on he enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Regiment and served three and a half years with the Army of the Potomac. He proved his mettle as a brave and gallant defender of the flag. He participated in a number of the historic battles of the war, and was twice wounded, first at Antietam and afterwards at Gettysburg. For many years he was a loyal and faithful member of the Grand Army of the Republic. After the war he traveled extensively in the West, and following his marriage he settled down on a farm and lived there until his death. He married Rachel Ann Dunlap, -who was born in Wyandot County, Ohio. March 28, 1846, and is still living. She is an active member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. They were married in Wyaudot County March, 28, 1871, and James D. Watson was the first of their four children. The second, Glenn Cummins Watson, is a lawyer at Cleveland. Mary Gordon Watson is the wife of Mr. Gregg Seiple, foreman in the Ford Automobile plant at Cleveland. Anna, the youngest, is the wife of Luther A. Grubb, a clothing merchant at Sycamore, Ohio. David G. Watson was a republican in politics and was a man of thorough education considering his advantages and the times in which he lived.

James D. Watson accpiired a liberal education, beginning in the district schools and afterwards attending Heidelberg College at Tiffin, the college at Wooster, and finally entering Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio, where he was graduated in the classical course and with the A. B. degi-ee. For several years Mr. Watson engaged alternately in work as a teacher and as a student of law and in 1901 was admitted to the bar. Since then he has been in active general practice at Tiffin. For a time Mr. Watson was associated in partnershiji with Clyde C. Porter, who is now judge of the Proliate ("ourt of Seneca County. With tliiit cxciptioii Mr. AVatson has practiced alone.

Oh .liiiiiiin y 1, 1907, he married Miss Delene Titus Vry. who was bom in Seneca County, a daugliter of Frank J. and Augusta (Titus) Fry. Her father was a well-to-do farmer of Seneca County and is now living retired at Tiffin. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have two children, Augusta Fry and James D. Watson. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Watson was educated in Oberlin College and in the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston, and graduated from the Ursuline Convent at Tiffin. She belongs to the Pi Phi Sorority and Mr. Watson is a member of the college fraternity Phi Delta Theta. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a republican. He also belongs to the Ohio State and tlie American Bar associations.

Mr. Watson has distinguished himself by fidelity and devotion to his practice as a profession and has never sought public office on his own initiative. However, he has served as a member of the board of review of the county and the board of elections, and is now president of the Tiffin Chamber of Commerce.

there when a young man and in a clerical position. He showed his worth by fidelity and industry, and from a valued and trusted employe he became a business man on his own account. His name is well known in Putnam County and at different times he has been called upon to act in positions of public trust.

Mr. Kidd was bom on a farm in Allen County, Ohio, June 19, 1851. He is a son of Nathaniel G. and Rhoda (Jennings) Kidd. The family were among the earliest pioneers of Allen County. His grandfather, William Kidd, moved to Allen County in 1831 with his family of eight children. He secured a tract of Government land consisting of eighty acres a mile west of Roekport, and after the trials of the pioneer were over he lived there in prosperity and contentment until his death. William Kidd served throughout the War of 1812 as an American soldier. He was a whig and after the party was organized he became a republican.

Nathaniel G. Kidd was one of the prominent men of Allen County for many years. He was born in Washington County, Ohio, while his wife was a native of Perry County. In 1854 he located on a farm in Allen County, and his place of 120 acres was acquired direct from the United States Government. It was situated two miles from Roekport. Nathaniel Kidd prospered as a farmer and was a man of substance in Allen County many years. He died in 1911. He was deeply religious, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was class leader for upward of fifty years.

One of a family of nine children, W. D. Kidd spent his early life on his father's farm. He attended the district schools of Allen County and for several years was a student in the Ohio Northern University at Ada. Farm work on his father's place was his chief occupation until he was tw'enty-three years old.

After his marriage in 1874 he removed to Columbus Grove and became bookkeeper and supei'intendent for the Kuneke Lumber Company. He remained with that employer ten years, and subsequently clerked for the Hansburger & Alt Dry Goods Store. Having acquired a thorough knowledge of business and merchandising I\Ir. Kidd used his modest savings as capital to start a business of his own. He entered the boot and shoe business, and his has been the favorite store in that line at Columbus Grove since 1891. As a side line and as a recreation as much as any- thing else Mr. Kidd has I'oi- rnauy years been a breeder of high grade poultry. His Partridge Wyaudottes and Rose Comb Barred Rock fowls have won many honors in exhibitions and stand at the head of their class. Mr. Kidd is one of the prosj^erous and publie spirited citizens of Columbus Grove. He was a member of the Board of Public Affairs dui-ing 1884-85. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Ti-ibe of Ben Hur. On Jmie 21, 1874, he married Miss Henrietta Lipjjincott. Their only child died in infancy. They have an adopted daughter, Emma Everett, who married G. W. Needles and has two children, Everett E. and Georgetta.

John Edward Lytle has used meager opportunity and has converted hard work and constant vigilance into a large and successful liusiness at Findlay and is now sole proprietor of the Lytle Transfer Line, a business which employs a large capital and equipment and handles goods not only in Pindlay but all over that section of Ohio.

Sir. Lytle was born at Gary, Ohio, November 4, 1875, one of the twelve children, seven of whom are still living, born to Henderson Lytle and Mary Ann (Lowry) Lytle. The family is of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry.

"When Jolm Edward Lytle was fifteen years of age his father died. That ended his schooling, and being one of a large household he took it upon himself to become self-supporting. He worked at whatever he could find to do for several yeai's at Gary and also at Columbus. He then liecame a bridge carpenter for the Big Four Railroad Company. He learned the steam bending trade. In 1900 he arrived in Findlay, amliitious and energetic, but poor in purse. For fmir yciirs lie worked as a tool dresser in the oil fields. Then for a year he was employed as a teamster for the Frank Adams Transfer Company. He next joined the Howe & David Transfer Company, and was with them until 1911. For two years he was foreman of tlie company. The senior partner had sold his interests to Mr. David in 1909, and for the next two years the business responsibilities devolved almost entirely on Mr. Lytle.

In 1911 he had a great amount of experience, but no capital. He used his cxpi'iiiiice to form a partnership with TIiohkis; Hammond, under the firm name of Lytle & Hammond Transfer Company. They opened their ([uarfers on South Main Street in tlie rear of No. 522. The business had not been conducted long until Mr. Lytle was able to buy out his partner, and he thus became sole proprietor of the Local Transfer Line. Many improvements and increased facilities have since been added. At the present time tlie company has its warerooms and garage and stables at 120-124 East Sandusky Street and also at 121-125 East Crawford Street. Besides many teams and wagons for local traffic, the business has the facilities of a number of big automobile trucks, and these trucks carry goods to all parts of Ohio and even to Siichigan and Indiana. It is a large business and reflects credit upon Mr. Lytle as the proprietor.

In 1904 he was married at Findlay to Miss Gleinia A. Routson, daughter of Charles and Laura (jMorehart) Routson. They have one child, Doris Lucile, born August 14, 1905. Mr. Lytle is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America and in politics is an independent democrat.

F. K. HoGUE is one of Toledo's oldest and best known real estate and insurance men. He ha.s had a varied career, beginning as a lumberman in Northern Michigan, and he also studied and practiced medicine several years. His experience has been very extensive in insurance lines, and for several years he represented some of the large companies both in Ohio and Indiana. He is now head of the firm F. K. Hogue & Son, with offices in the Nicholas Building. His associate is his son, C. W. Hogue.

Mr. Hogue was bom in Erie County, Ohip, August 20, 1851. His father, William Hogue, was also a native of Ohio, was a farmer during his active lifetime, and finally removed to Toledo, where he lived retired with his son until his death. He was a stanch republican and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

F. K. Hogue was the only child of his parents. He attended the public schools in Erie County, Ohio, and completed his literary education in Olivet College in Michigan. He started out to earn his own living in the lumber woods of Northwestern Michigan and the Northern Peninsula. He spent two years there and had experience in every phase of lumbering and logging. While in that district he witnessed the disastrous fire of Mariette, Wisconsin, and was one of the party who went to the rescue of the victims and gath- ered up tlie dead and wounded. His next experience began at St. Paul, Minnesota, from city he took a raft of logs down the Mississippi River. Retnruiug to Eseanaba, Michigan, he spent another two years in the lumber woods, and then came back to his father's farm in Fulton County, Ohio. Besides farming he taught a couple of terms of school in the county, and while there read medicine with Dr. L. A. Bassette. He pursued these studies four years, was granted a license to practice, and rendered his professional service in this line at Swanton, Ohio. After two years he gave up medicine as an uncongeniai pursuit, and not long afterward took up real estate and insurance. He was first in this business at Swanton, and subsequently was appointed assistant state agent for the Continental Insurance Company. He subsequently removed his headquarters as representative of the company to Westerville, Ohio, and later was sent as state agent of Indiana to Warsaw, Indiana, where he was located a year and eight months. Mr. Hogue then became general agent of the American Fire Insurance Company of Cleveland. For two years he was general agent for the Millers Insurance Company at Minneapolis.

He finally located in Toledo and combined the real estate and insurance business and in those lines he has built up a large and profitable clientage. He has also become interested in various business aifairs in the city and is one of its most substantial citizens. Mr. Hogue is a Mason, a past grand and past chief patriarch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a Knight of Pythias. In politics he supports the republican party and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In June, 1883, Mr. Hogue married Miss Flora A. Blake at her home in Fulton County. Two children were born to them, but the only one now living is Clyde W., associated with his father in business, and educated in the Ohio State ITliiversity. Clyde W. married Miss Bessie Dare of Toledo, and they are the parents of two children, Adelaide and Richard.

William E. Diebley is one of the old tim* business men of North Baltimore and for many years has given the closest attention and study and care to the furnishing of a perfect undertaking service.

at Columbus, Ohio, now in Massachusetts. He received his diploma there twenty-two years ago, and when by state law the em- "balmers were placed under a license system he received Certificate No. 104 in 1902.

Mr. Diebley has been a resident of North Baltimore since the fall of 1888. He at first engaged in the livery business and conducted it successfully for many years until 1913. During that time he built and operated three barns and when he sold out in the fall of 1915 he was the oldest liveryman in the county. -

He has been an embalmer and undertaker of North Baltimore since 1894. He used horse drawn funeral cars, two of them, until 1915, and then introduced auto cars and now has two of the finest and best of these. While in the livery business Mr. Diebley was a breeder and raiser of fine horses. He kept for special use in his undertaking business eight pink skin grays, and considering them as a group these animals were not excelled by any in the state. He always had his drivers in livery. Mr. Diebley has witnessed many changes and modifications in funeral equipment and has always endeavored to keep his own plant in line with the advance of the times. His equipment and service are highly appreciated by the people of North Baltimore, and he is one of the city's most popular citizens.

Mr. Dieblev was born in the state, then the territory, of Montana, July 3, 1864. That was an extremely early date in the history of the Northwest. His father, William Diebley, had gone out to that territory as a gold miner in 1849, and lived there for a number of years. He returned from ^Montana to marry in Iowa Miss Amelia Sweet. Her parents were Vermont people and she was born either in that state or in New York. In 1865, when William E. Diebley was one year old, the family returned to Ohio and located in Hancock County on a new farm in Big Lick Township. There the parents spent the rest of their days and died when both of them were eighty-four years of age. The father was born in Canton, Ohio, and his birth occurred very soon after his parents, both natives of Germany, had come to this country in 1826. Grandfather Diebley was accidentally killed at the age of thirtyfour. He was a butcher by trade. ]\Ir. Diebley's parents were both of the German Lutheran faith, which was the church of their ancestors, but they subsequently became communicants of the United Brethren Church. The father was a republican.

County, Ohio, Jessie I. Henderson. She was born there December 27, 1S64, and was reared and educated close to her native home. Mr. and Mrs. Diebley have two daughters. Ethel, born in 1888, was educated in the North Baltimore schools and is now the wife of Charles Shimmons of North Baltimore. Hazel, the younger daughter, born in May, 1890, received good educational advantages in the public schools and business college and is now a stenographer at Toledo. The mother and daughters were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mr. Diebley is a member of the Masonic Lodge at North Baltimore and was formerly identified with the Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Polittically he is a republican. He is now serving as a member of the city council and a member of the gas board. For twelve years he was township trustee, and in that oifice he was instrumental in securing the construction of the first stone road in the township and he practically led the way in the Good Roads movement in this section of the county. Among other property Mr. Diebley owns a fine farm of about ninety acres, most of which is within the corporation limits of North Baltimore and the rest just outside. This land is in the oil territory.

Joseph N. Ewald is a native of Seneca County and a number of years ago started in a small way as a furniture merchant. He has built up at Tiffin one of the best stores of that kind in Northwest Ohio. Besides looking after his private biisiness most successfully he has identified himself with the affairs of his communitj' and is a prosperous and - influential citizen.

Mr. Ewald was born in Seneca County August 9, 1871, a son of John and Margaret (Schmidt) Ewald. His paternal gi-andfather was Nicholas Ewald, who came from Germany with his family and settled on a farm in Seneca County, where he died at the age of seventy-one in 1873. The maternal grandfather was Joseph Schmidt, who died in Germany. John Ewald was born in Germany in 1833 and died in 1897. He came to America with his father and received his education partly in Germany and partly at Tiffin. Farming was his regular vocation throughout his active career and he died on the old farm in Seneca County. He was a democrat in politics and he and his wife were members of St. Joseph 's Catholic Church. His first wife was named

Elizabeth Smith, and the two children of that union are: Anna, wife of ilichael Wank of Star Citj-, Indiana; and John, living retired at Fowler, Indiana. John Ewald's second wife, Margaret Schmidt, was born in Germany in 1847 and is still living at Tiffin, where she was married. She was the mother of eight children and the four now living are : Joseph N. ; Otto, a farmer and stock raiser in Seneca County ; Rose, wife of Albert Krupp, a hardware merchant of Toledo ; and Charles, a partner of his brother Otto, living on the old farm in Seneca County.

Joseph N. Ewald was reared on a farm and received his early education in the schools at Tiffin. At the age of twenty-six he left the farm and moved to Tiffin and the following year engaged in the furniture and undertaking business with A. J. Henzy & Company. * He bought an interest in this concern and for four years was actively associated with ilr. Henzy and Charles Pahl, and still later Mr. Ewald and I\Ir. Pahl bought Mr. Henzy 's interest in the store. The firm of Ewald & Pahl continued for ten years. The partners then effected a division of their business, Mr. Pahl taking the undertaking department while Mr. Ewald concentrated all his attention upon the furniture business. He has since built up a large establishment, with three stories devoted to sales and exhibition rooms for a splendid stock of furniture. He also has several warerooms.

In 1898 Mr. Ewald married Otillia Buchman. She was born in Seneca County, daughter of John and Elizabeth Buehman, her father a farmer of this county. Five children have been born to their marriage : John, who graduated in 1917 from the Tiffin High School ; Herman, now a senior in high school ; Margaret, Anna and Emma, the last two being twins, and all attending school.

The family are members of St. Josepli's Catholic Church. Mr. Ewald has filled all the chairs in the Knights of St. John and some of the chairs in the Knights of Columbus. Ho is affiliated with Lodge No. 94, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in politics is independent. He is now serving as treasurer of the Tiffin Chamber of Commerce, has filled that office five years and through the organization has brought his large personal influence to bear upon the business and civic welfare of the community.

where he entered business over thirty years ago. ]\Ir. Irwin is a veteran in more senses than one, having fought with the Union army for the preservation of the country during the closing months of the Civil war. His life has been an honorable and straightforward one, and he has come to enjoy and riehlj' merit the esteem paid him in Wood County.

]Mr. Irwin was born in Ontario, Canada, September 27, 1843, and is of old Welsh ancestry, though his people located in Ontario, Canada, in pioneer times. He is a son of Eli and Mary (Crone) Irwin, both of whom were born in Ontario. The maternal gi-andfather, John Crone, was a cattle herder in Canada for the English army during the War of 1812. He died at his home north of Toronto at the age of ninety-two, and was a prominent and highly intelligent man. Eli Irwin, who was born in 1811, died in 1863, and spent his active career in business at Ne^vmarket in York County, Ontario. He was an active member of the reformed party in Canada and he served as a soldier during the Canadian rebellion of 1836-37. He was taken prisoner and was confined during that winter and had to witness the hanging of one of his comrades, Samuel Lount. This party was hung as an example to others and Eli Irwin always had a great admiration for him, and named his son, the merchant at Tontogany, in his honor. At the same time another man named Matthews was hanged. Mrs. Eli Irwin died in the same year as her husband. She was born in 1815. They were very devout and active members of the Christian Church. They became the parents of six children: John" C, Henry L., Samuel L., William W., Harriet and Robert M. Those now living are Mr. Samuel L. and Harriet, widow of R. J. Kennedy, living in Ontario, and the mother of a family of sons and daughters._ All the other children married and had families.

Samuel L. Irwin grew up in the Province of Ontario and besides attending the common schools he learned the trade of tinner with his father. When a little past twenty years of age he came to Ohio and began working at his trade in Maumee with George Blaker. He had been here only a short time when in February, 1865, he enlisted in the Union army, in Company K of the One Hundred and Eighty-fifth Ohio Infantry, under Captain Black. He went to the front and during the eight months he was in the armv was on detached duty. He accidentallv suffered a broken foot, and at the close of the war was discharged by general order. Returning to Maumee, he resumed work at his trade, and in 1870 he moved to Weston, where he continued business until January', 1884, which was the date of his location at Tontogany. Here he has since conducted a tinware and general hardware l)usiness and has built up a large trade in the general and staple stock of goods. Mr. Irwin is a decided republican and in earlier years took much interest in local politics.

At Maumee he married Ida Clark. She was a sister of Leroy Clark, now deceased, who was formerly county clerk at Toledo and for many years in the Internal Revenue Service. Mrs. Irwin was born in Perry.sburg, Ohio, August 14, 1848, and was gi-aduated from the school at Maumee conducted by E. W. Lenderson. Her parents were Silman and Vesta Clark, both natives of Wood County, where they were married some time before the cholera epidemic of 1854. Her father established the Perrysburg Journal, which he published for a number of years, and when IMrs. Irwin was a child the family removed to Maumee, where her parents spent the rest of their days. Her father died in middle life and her mother at the age of seventy-two. Her father was a Henry Clay whig and republican. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin had a happy companion.ship of over thirt,y-six years, until it was terminated by the death of his good wife in Tontogany on April 3, 1902. Jlrs. Irwin was an active Methodist. There were the follo-nang children : Charles, who died in infancy ; Lula, who lives in Toledo, the wife of L. J. Mauk and the mother of two daughters, Alice and Marion: Hattie, wife of C. 0. Cummings, a Wood County farmer and county commissioner, and they have a daughter, Olive; Frank, who is engaged in clerical work in Toledo, Ohio, is married hut has no children.

For his second wife ilr. Irwin married in Wood County Hattie Phelps. She was born and educated in ^lichigan and married for her first husband George Abbs, who died witjiout children. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin are active members of the Presbyterian Church and she is a devoted church worker. She is also chairman of the hospital supply committee of the Red Cross Society. Mr" Irwin is the oldest Mason in this section of Wood County and for many long years has been a member of Northern Light Lodge No. 40, Free and Accepted Masons, of Maumee, in which he has filled all the chairs. He was formerlv

KiKK E. Sutherland. Unless the banking interests of a country are carefully conserved the stability of credit is impaired and a panic sometimes results that is far reaching in its disastrous results. It is tlierefore extremely necessary to give banking authority to men who have had training and experience in financial affairs as well as established reputations for honesty and business ability. The Payne State Bank, of Payne, Ohio, one of the younger financial institutions of the state, but which is abundantly financed, has as officials and directors some of the most affluent men of Oiiio, and in its cashier has a young man whose entire business training has been in financial institutions.

Kirk Sutherland, cashier of the Payne State Bank at Payne, Ohio, was born in Michigan, November 22, 1890. His parents are C H. and Rose (Alger) Sutherland, both of whom were born in ilichigan and are highly respected residents of Clare, where the father has been cashier of the Clare County Savings Bank since 1871. He is also largely interested in agricultural pursuits and owns 320 acres of highty improved land. He is a ilason of high degree, belonging to the chapter and council, and in manj- ways is representative of the best interests of his community. Of his family of four sons and one daughter Kirk is the fifth in order of birth. The family has been settled in Michigan since pioneer days.

Kirk Sutherland attended the public schools at Clare and in 1901 entered the Michigan State Agricultural College and after creditably completing his course there chose a business career and began as a clerk in the Dime Savings Bank at Detroit, ilichigan, where he remained two years and then accepted the position of bookkeeper in the Boies State Savings Bank at Hudson, ]\Iichigan. Mr. Sutherland remained in that position for thi-ee years. In December, 1914, he came to Paulding County and accepted the position of cashier of the Payne State Bank, of Payne, Ohio, which was organized in 1912 and has had a truly remarkable growth, largely as a result of honest and painstaking service, but primarily because of the high personal character of all its officials. The officers of the Payne State Bank are : Abe Aekerman, president; Fred White, vice president; David Oreen, vice president; Kirk E. Sutherland, cashier; 0. C. Lehman, assistant cashier. The names on the directing board of the institution equally reflect sterling character and are as follows : Abe Aekerman, Fred White, David Green, Kirk E. Sutherland, all officers, and Simon J. Straus, T. J. Forman, F. V. Matzen, F. P. Wetli, J. W. Bradley, J. P. EUiott and Hugh E. Griffis. The bank was organized with a capital stock of $50,000. Quoting from a bank statement, the deposits on May 5, 1913, were $45,537.28 ; on May 4, 1914, were $33,122.73 ; on May 4, 1915, were $82,050.59 ; on May 4, 1916, were $121,846.02; and on Mav 4, 1917, had reached the enormous amount of $222,000. The bank seems fuUy justified in taking as its watchword, "Watch Us Grow."

^Ir. Suthei-land was married in Lenawee County, Michigan, in 1911, to Miss Ruth Mc- Kahn, who is a daughter of R. B. McKahn, a prominent resident of Hudson, Michigan. Mrs. Sutherland was educated in the public schools and is a lady of social tact and charm. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland have two daughters, Maxine L., who was born in Michigan, March 24, 1914, and Virginia, boni July 11, 1917. Mr. Sutherland is a member of the Congregational Church and a liberal encourager of its many benevolent enterprises. He is identified with the Masonic lodge at Hudson, Michigan. In his political attitude he is a democrat and, like other inteUigeut young men of the times, takes an active interest in public affairs.

David Seppanen has built up the largest trade as a custom tailor at Findlay, and is the head of a shop which in point of equipment, service, expert workmanship in all lines, and variety of stock and patterns carried might compare with the best tailoring shops in any of the larger cities. His place of business is in the Marvin Block.

]\Ir. Seppanen is a native of Finland and all his people were of that countiy. He was born at Nyslot, San Miguel, in Finland, in 1874, a son of Peter and Kate (Peterson) Seppanen. His father was a farmer. In the public schools of Finland David Seppanen remained a student until he was sixteen years of age, and then went to the City of St. Petersburg, now Petrograd, in Russia, where he spent five years in learning the tailoring trade.

After his apprenticeship he returned ' to Finland, was a workman at Waasa three years, and for eight months was employed at his ti'ade in Sunswall, Sweden. Mr. Sep- paneu came to America in 1901, spending tiie first year in New York City, one year in Cliattauooga, Tennessee, four years in Birmingham, Alabama, and then going to Cliicago entered the Kroonbnrg Sartorial Academy, where he had expert instruction iu the art of cutting. He was granted his diploma in 1908, and following that he spent three years as a cutter at Chattanooga, one year at New York City, and for a few luojiths was located at Toledo.

Mr. Seppauen tirst came to Fiiullay -in 1911, and w;is m husiiicss tli.'iv I'l^. years. He was then Im- six montlis li,ca1.Ml at Detroit, but ill 1!M4 (ii)eiied his lirsl-.-lass shop in the Marvin Building, and his success has since gone forward by leaps and bounds until he has the best business of its kind in Hancock County.

Mr. Seppanen, who is unmarried, is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, attends the Fii-st Lutheran Church, is a republican in politics, and is a member of the National Association of Merchant Tailors of America and the Custom Cutters Association.

Edwin B. Barlow, M. D. Since beginning practice at Toledo in 1897, Doctor Barlow has attained some of those professional interests and connections which are most desired by members of the medical fraternity and is one of the highly successful physicians and surgeons of the city.

A native of Ohio, he was born August 11,' 1874, in Madison County, a son of E. W. Barlow, who was a Vermonter by birth. E. W. Barlow is now living in the City of Urbana, Ohio, at the venerable age of eightythree. The youngest in a family of three sons and two daughters. Doctor Barlow spent most of his youth at Urbana, where he attended the grammar and high schools. His early ambition led him into pharmacy and he was licensed in 1894 by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy. Subsequently he entered the Medical College at Columbus, where he was graduated M. D. in 1897. Doctor Barlow at once came to Toledo and has now been in practice in that city for over twenty years. He has been surgeon for the Ann Arbor Railway Company since 1908, surgeon for the Toledo-Detroit Railroad since 1913, and since 1910 has been treasurer of the board of pension examiners. He is an active member of the various medical societies, and in Masonry is affiliated with Sanford Collins Lodge No.

396, Free and Accepted Masons; Toledo Council, Royal and Select blasters; and Toledo Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. His offices are in the Colton Building. Doctor Barlow was married May 15, 1900, to Miss Delia Gib- .son, of Kenton, Ohio. Thev have one son, C. Gibson Barlow, born November 18, 1903.

George H. Ford is one of the veteran oil men of Wood County and for a long period of years has been connected with the Buckeye State Pipe Line, with home at Rudolph. Mr. Ford is a man of sturdy habits and of high standing with his company and has exerted all the power of his influence in behalf of community improvements.

It seems appropriate that such a veteran in the oil industry should be a native of Western Pennsylvania. Mr. Ford was born in Venango County, in that state, September 19, 1861. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His grandfather, Solomon Ford, was also born and reared in Venango County and became a blacksmith and wagon repairer. He married a girl of the same .state, and they lived and died there, he surviving his wife several years and passing away at the age of seventy. They were noble, upright Christian people and active in the Church of God. Their family consisted of four sons and two daughters, George, John, David, Porter, Sarah and Mary, all of whom married except Porter. The only one now living is John, still living in Pennsylvania, where his brothers and sisters died.

David Ford, father of George H., gi-ew up in Venango County, Pennsylvania, and early in life bought a small farm of sixty acres and was industriously identified with its cultivation. In October, 1862, he died suddenly and tragically. He had been away from home, trading a yoke of oxen for a horse, and riding the horse home he arrived after night and on entering the barn he evidently dropped dead. His body was found the next morning by his wife, while the horse was wandering about the barn lot with bridle and saddle still on. The exact cause and circumstances of his death were never known.

David Ford married in Venango County Mary Wareham, who was born in that part of Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania Dutch parentage. The Wareham men were noted as a family of splendid physical proportions, practically all of them weighing over 200 pounds, with strength in proportion. Two of the sons were John and Stephen, both of whom were very large and portly men and they reared large families in Venango County. Mrs. Ford had a sister, Mrs. Rebecca Smith, who is still living, and like the other children is large and hearty.

After the death of David Ford his widow married Philip Baker, and they spent the rest of their days on a farm in Venango County. Mrs. Baker died five years ago, when past seventy years of age, having survived her second husband. By that union they had a son, Kirk, and a daughter, Julia, the latter now married.

George H. Ford was the only son of his father. He had three sisters : Sarah J., living at Clintonville in Venango County, widow of W. G. Aiken and the mother of three sons and one daughter; Elizabeth, wife of Manley Bovee, has four sons ; and Maranda married Munsou Allen, and after his death moved from Venango County and is now living with her son Dr. John Allen of Bowling Gi'een, and is well advanced in years.

George H. Ford was thirteen months old when his father died and he grew to manhood with somewhat limited advantages. He attended the public schools but at the age of seventeen began making his own way and as an employe of the old United Pipe Line Company of Pennsylvania. He worked for that firm as a teamster. In 1890 he came to Cygnet in Wood County, where for several years he did teaming for the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, and twenty-four years ago he established his home at Rudolph. He was made connection foreman for the Pipe Line and for many years has been gauger for the company under JMatthew W. Hanifan, the veteran oil man of Wood County.