Seneca Township (part 16 of 60)

On the old homestead farm where he now lives Mr. Holtz was bom. the date of his nativity being February 15, 1850. Here he grew to maturity, early beginning to contribute his quota toward the cultivation and improvement of the homestead and securing his educational discipline in the public schools. His parents were Jacob and Susan Holtz, both natives of Frederick county, Maryland, whence they came to Seneca county in an early day and here passed the residue of their lives, the father passing away in 1889 ^^^ ^^^ mother in 1896. They were folk of sterling character and all who knew them accorded them a full measure of esteem. Our subject is one of three children, of whom two are living at the present timle. He was associated with his father in the improving and oi>erating of the homestead until the death of the latter, since which time he has individually carried forward the work, having now a fine landed estate of three hundred and eighty acres, improved with modern buildings and under a high' state of cultivation. The farmstead is giv,en over to diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade stocky and Mr. Holtz is known as one of the most progressive and successful farmers of this section of the state, while the regard in which he is held in the community wx>uld seem to set at naught the old scriptural adage that a *'prophet is not without honor save in his owni country." In politics Air. Holtz accords an unequivocal allegiance to the Republican party, and he has maintained a constant and lively interest in local affairs of a public nature, doing all in his power to conserve the material prosperity and general w^elfare of his township and county. In 1901 he was elected to his present office, and in this capacity he is giving signal and effective service. Mr. Holtz is one of the leading members of the Masonic fraternity in the county, and has advanced to the thirty-second d^ree of the Scottish rite in this noble and time-honored organization. His affiliations are w^ith Green Spring Lodge, No. 427; Tiffin Chapter, R. A. M. ; De Molay Commandery, Xo. 9, at Tiffin, while in the Scottish rite he is a member of Cincinnati Consistory, S. P. R. S., at Cincinnati.

On the 26th of September, 1883, Mr. Holtz was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Corthell, who was born in Clinton township, the daughter of George and Susan Corthell, and of this union one child has been born, Fannie, who is now a student in Heidelberg College at Tiffin. Mrs. Holtz died May 18, 1889, ^^ consumption. The family has taken a prominent part in the social life of the community, and the attractive home is a center of refined hospitality.

Leroy J. Michaels

In connection with this work, touching upon the life histories of those who have figured as the founders and builders of this favored section of the Buckeye state, there is definite interest attaching to the career of Mr. Michaels, who stands as a representative of two of the early pioneer families of Seneca county, who is himself one of the prominent and influential citizens of the county and whose is the distinction of being a veteran of the war of the Rebellion.

I70 Centennial Biographical History

Mr. Michaels is a native son of Seneca county, having been born in Liberty township, on the 4th of September, 1845, the son of John and Eliza (Abbott) Michaels, of whose ten children only three are now living, namely : Elm(ina, the wife of John W. Baker, of Qinton township, Seneca county, Ohio; Leroy J., the subject of this sketch ; and Annie E., the wife of E. T. Olmstead, of Clinton township. Of the other three of the six children who lived to maturity we enter the follmving brief record: Jane F., who became the wife of' David Rosenberger, died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving three children-: Jennie, the wife of Edward HeilmaA; Eli; and Miary Esther, the wife of David Zimmerman. George F., who was a farmer in Qinton township, removed to Vandalia, Illinois, about four years ago, and there his death occurred on the 19th of February, 1902, at the age of sixty-eight years, his children being as follows : Eva, the widow of Adolphus Blue ; Florence, the wife of Eli Rosenberger; Oriette, the wife of Frank Rosenberger; William and Burton, who reside in Seneca county; and Arthur, a resident of Washington. Saraphina became the wife of Henry Houser and she died in 1869, at the age of thirty- three years, being survived by her daughter. Miss Minnie Houser.

John Michaels was bom in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of January, 1804, and when he was about fifteen years of age his jjarents, Philip Michaels and wife, removed to Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives, being numbered amolig the early pioneers of the state. Their son John grew to maturity in Fairfield county, whence, about 1826, he removed to Seneca county, settling in Liberty township, where he purchased a quarter section of government land, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, this being the place now owned by Philip Stuckey. When he established his home here his place was covered with a heavy growth of oak and walnut, and he made a clearing in the forest and there erected a good house of hewed logs, after which he gave his attention to the reclaiming of the land and placing it under cultivation. He there remained until 1856, when he removed to the farm now owned by his son, the subject of this review. At the time of his death he was the owner of eight farms in the cx>unty, having six hundred and forty acres in Liberty township and five hundred and thirty acres in Qinton township, making him the most extensive owner of improved lands in the county. He attained marked success through his agricultural operations, his stock-raising and landed investments, and was known as one of the progressive and influential men of the county, ever commoiiding unequivocal confidence and esteem, by reason of his unswerving integrity in all the relations of life. In his early life he was a stalwart Jacksonian Democrat, later gave "his support to the Whig party, still later became identified with the Know Nothing organization, while upon the formaition of the Republican party he transferred his allegiance to the same and thereafter continued a stanch supporter of its principles and policies, deeming that they were nK)St nearly in accord with the old Jacksonian ideas. Though he wielded marked influence in public affairs of a local nature he invariably refused to accept nomination for political office. He always had a deep appreciation of the elemental truths and teachings of the Qiristian religion, but he did not identify himself with any religious body until late in life, when he became a member of the Methodist Protestant church, of which his wife had long been a member. His death occurred on' the 4th of October, 1884, at which time he had attained the venerable ^ge of eighty years. His wife, Eliza Abbott, to whom he was married December 25, 183 1, was a native of Massachusetts, whei-e she was bom in the year 1809, being the daughter of Moses and Eliza (Snow) Abbott, who came to Seneca county about 1826 and settled in Ginton township, on the farm now owned by Henry Best. She died June 23, 1882, aged seventy-three years.

Leroy J. Michaels was reared to the discipline of the farm and acquired his early educational training in the public schools, after which he continued his studies for a time in Heidelberg Collie, at Tiffin, and supplemented this by a course in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware. It had been his intention to prepare himfself for the profession of civil engineer, but as he was the only son remaining at the parental home, his father persuaded him to abandon his plans and continue in the vocation of a farmer. Such has been his success in this line, and such the independence maintained in the great basic art of agriculture, that he has never had occasion to regret the change made in harmony with his father's admonition.

On the 22d of May, 1864^ Mr. Michaels enlisted as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and he serv^ed one hundred days, doing guard duty in the defenses around Washington, and being mustered out on the 27th of August of the same year, when he received his honorable discharge. He then returned to his homje, and was here associated with his father in farming enterprises until his marriage, in 1867, when he located on the farm now owned by Jacob Hunker, the place having at that time been the property of his father. Here he continued his farming operations, renting the land until 1881, when he removed to the farm now owned by Jacob Zeis, the same having likewise been a portion of his father's estate. This place continued to be his home until after the death of his father, when the estate was settled ; and our subject, by the payment of the amount of valuation above his share of the inheritance, secured the old homestead farm of one hundred and forty acres, which is one of the most valuable in the county, having the JDest of improvements and being under most effective cultivation. The fine barn on the place is one of the l3est in this section of the state, being constructed of brick, with the main portion forty by eighty feet in dimensions and with a wing thirty-five by eighty feet. This building was erected in 1876, by our subject's father, while he himself, in 1887, ci'ected the handsome and commodious brick residence which adorns the fine farm. For eight y^^rs, in the '80s, Mr. Michaels successfully operated a stone quarry, and since 1892 he has conducted a very successful dairy business known as the Willow Spring Dairj- ; in connection with his farming and stock-raising. In 1892 an oil well w-as sunk on his farm, and the same has produced more oil than any other in this field. In his political allegiance Mr. Michaels is stanchly arrayed in support of the Republican party, but, like his father, has never sought the honors or emoluments of public office. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Protestant church, of which his wife also is a member, and fraternally he is identified with General W. H. Gibson Post, of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Tiffin. He is one of the influential men of his community, and in his native county he retains the unreserved confidence and esteem of the people, being a worthy representative of early pioneer families of this section.

On the 8th of October, 1867, ^^' Michaels was united in marriage to Miss Mary I. Baker, who was born in Clinton township, this county, the daughter of William and Margaret Baker, who came to the county about the same time as did the father of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Michaels became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living except Bessie, who died in childhood. The others are Ola B., Courtland L., William H., Margaret E., John, and Corinne D., all of whom remain at the parental home with the exception of Courtland, who is employed by the Sun Oil Company, in Tiffin.

Philip H. Culler

Philip H. Culler, now deceased, was for a number of years actively associated with farming interests in Seneca county. He was bom in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1820, and was a son of Jacob Culler, who removed with his family to Ohio in 1825, taking up his abode in Richland county. There he purchased and developed a farm, on which he reared his family.

Philip Culler was one of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. He spent his boyhood and youth upon the old home place, in Richland county, and early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturfst. On the ist of July, 1845, ^^ was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Roller, a najtive of York county, Pennsylvania, born in 1825. They resided in Richland county until ^856, and on the expiration of that decade came to Seneca county, settling upon the farm which is still the home of Mrs. Culler. A tract of land of ninety acres was first purchased, and later the boundaries of the farm were extended by the additional purchase of eighty acres. Throughout his entire life Mr. Culler was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and his labors brought to him a comfortable living.

Mr. and Mrs. Culler had no children of their own, but out of the kindness of their hearts, reared three, giving homes and lo^'ing care to them. For many years Mr. Culler held membership in the Lutheran church, and he died in that faith on the 20th of May, 1894, respected by all who knew him. His wife is a member of the same church. Since her husband's death she has continued to live upon the farm and superhitend the property. An ^estimable lady, her friends are many and well does she deserve mention in the history of this locality.

Abraham Rinebold

Through a long period the name of Rinebold has been prominently connected with the history of Seneca county. It is an untarnished name and one that is familiar to the people of this section of the state by reason of the honorable and useful lives of those who have borne it. Abraham Rinebold, of this review, is a gentleman whose history forms a connecting link between the pioneer past and modern present. He saw the country in the days when it seemed almost on the borders of civilization, its land wild and uncultivated, its forests standing in their primeval strength, its log-cabin homes widely scattered, and its evidences of development few. In the work of progress and development that has since wrought marvelous changes he has borne his part, and to-day ranks among those substantial and valued citizens of the community who laid broad and deep the foundation of the present prosperity of the country.

Mr. Rinebold is a native of Perry county, Ohio, where he was born on the 13th of October, 1822, being a son of John and Catherine ( Weininger) Rinebold. The father claimed Pennsylvania as the state of his nativity, and there he was born in January, 1797. When he was but three years of age his father, Matthias Rinebold, also a native of the

Centennial Biographical History. 17 S.

Keystone state, removed to Perry county, Ohio, there entering three hundred and twenty acres of forest land, where the son John grew to years of maturity and was married. When he started out in life on his own account his father gave him a small farm, and there he continued to make his home until 1823, when he sold his little farm and removed to Richland county, Ohio, there purchasing a tract of eighty acres. In 1834, howe\'er, he again disposed of his land and in March removed to one hundred and' sixty acres of our subject's present farm, which he had entered previously. The marriage of John and Catherine (Weininger) Rinebold was blessed w^ith four children, two of w^hom still survive, namely: Abraham, the subject of this review; and Rebecca, the widow of John Shonts, and a resident of Bloom ville, Seneca county. Elizabeth, the wife of Henry Stahl, of Jackson township, died March 6, 1902 ; and Jacob, who resided in Jackson township, where he was a prosperous farmer, died at the age of seventy-two years.

Abraham Rinebold early in life assisted his father in clearing his little farm from the native timber and placing his fields under cultivation. Immediately after his marriage he purchased eighty acres of land in Jackson township, where he made his home for ten years, when he disposed of that place, and in 1858 purchased the old Rinebold homestead, for his father had died in 1853, and he returned to it in February, 1859. Here our subject has ever since continued to make his home, and as the years have passed by he has added to his landed possessions until he is now the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of excellent and productive land, constituting one of the finest farms in Seneca county. The work of this extensive place is now carried on by his sons, for Mr. Rinebold has laid aside the active cares of a business life, and to-day, after a useful and beneficent career, is quietly living at his beautiful home, surrounded by the comforts that earnest labor has brought to him. His political support is given to the Democracy, but although a public-spirited and progressive citizen at all times he has never been a. seeker for the honors of public office, preferring to give his time and attention to his home duties.

Miss Elizabeth Fruth, but after a happy married life of seven years the loving wife was called to her final rest. Three children were born to that union, but only two of the number are now living, - Rebecca, at home ; and John, a farmer of this township, and formerly a director of the county infirmary. For his second wife Mr. Rinebold chose Miss Barbara Peters, their wedding having been celebrated April 7, 1853. She is a native of Germany, but when twelve years of age came with "her parents to the United States, the family locating in Loudon township. Eight children have been born of this union, namely : Catherine, the wife of George Yochum, of Jackson township; Levi, of Liberty township ; Henry, deceased ; Savilla, the wife of Fred Rosen, of Loudon township ; Abraham P. is associated with his brother-in-law, Fred Rosen, in the operation of the homestead, each having separate implements; Mary, deceased; Anna E., deceased; and Ephraim, who makes his home in Loudon township. The family are members of the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Rinebold long held office. His life is exemplary in all respects andi he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to benefit and uplift humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of the highest commendation.

Hon. Charles Foster

One of the conspicuous figures in the history of Ohio and in that of the nation is Hon. Charles Foster, the distinguished and honored citizen of Fostoria, Seneca county, - a man whose career has conferred credit and dignity upon the great commonwealth of which he is a native son and whose marked abilities have heightened the fame which the Buckeye state bears as the contributor of men of ability, honor and power in connection with the public life of the nation. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined individuality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader of men and director of opinion. It is manifestly proper that a just celebrity should be given to those men who are distinguished in their day and generation, that the living may enjoy the approbation of their contemporaries as well as that of a grateful posterity. Biography is the essence of all generic history and in it are to be found both lesson and incentive, to an extent not superficially evident. Called upon to serve in positions of distinguished public trust and responsibility, Charles Foster has discharged his assigned duties with ability, discrimination, integrity and with a high sense of his stewardship, and to him has not been denied that ample measure of objective appreciation and honor which is his just desert. As an influential member of the national house of representatives, as the governor of a great state and as secretary of the treasury, Mr. Foster made enviable records, and his name is lastingly inscribed on the roll of those who deserve well of the state and nation which he has so signally served.

Charles Foster was born in a log cabin on a farm near Tiffin, in Seneca township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 12th of April, 1828, being the son of Charlesi W. and Loura (Crocker) Foster, the respective families having been established in, New England in the early colonial epoch. His father was of Scotch-Irish lineage and his mother, the daughter of John and Lucy (Bartlett) Crocker, is of Welsh-English extraction. Charles W. Foster passed away in 1883, but his wife is still living, at the venerable age of ninety-eight years (1902), being specially well preserved in both mental and physical powers. The parents of our subject were native of Massachusetts, later became residents of New York, whence the Crockers moved to Ohio in 1824. His father came to Ohio in 1826, and his marriage to Miss Crocker here occurred in June of the following year. In 1832 they came to what was known as the "black swamp," in the northwestern part of this state, locating at Rome, a primitive hamlet in the forest wilds and the nucleus of the present city of Fostoria, which was named in honor of Charles W. Foster, who there engaged in business as one of the pioneer country merchants of Seneca county. He built a double log house, utilizing a portion of the same for the family dwelling and the remainder as a store, in which he displayed a small stock of general merchandise. He also began handling real estate in this section, and through this medium eventually accumulated a fine property. The preliminary educational discipline of his son, the future governor of Ohio, was received in a little log school-house, over which Warren P. Noble presided as teacher, and at the age of twelve years the lad became a student in the academy at Xorwalk, where he continued his studies about nine months, when illness in the family compelled him to return home to assist in the work of the store, of which he became manager at the age of fifteen years, while he was admitted to partnership when eighteen years of age and the following year assumed full charge of the enterprise. In this connection he made trips to New York city, where he purchased goods, and the enterprise soon became the most important of the sort in this^ section of the state, drawing its trade from a wide radius of country. To those who know the man and his alert mentality there is nothing strange to be noted in the broad fund of knowledge and the high intellectuality which is his, for the lack of early educational advantages of a specific order could not daunt a boy who was father to such a man, in harmony with the old aphorism. He made opportunities and by personal application supplemented his store of knowledge, making each day count for good and gaining valuable lessons in the practical school of experience. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion Mr. Foster consented to assume the office of colonel of the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but owing to imperative exigencies his parents prevailed upon him to refuse the commission. His patriotism was, however, show^n in a practical way, since he granted credit to every soldier of the vicinity who required this aid, throughout the entire course of the war, while he was otherwise helpful in divers ways. In 1867 a change was made in the character of the mercantile business, a bank being established, a hardware store being opened and a grain and produce business being established, and the enterprise thus founded by his father was continued' without interruption, and with the changes noted. Until 1888, - a period of fifty-six years.

save one or two minor local positions, until 1870, but in that year he was persuaded to accept the Republican nomination for congress. Although in a Democratic district, he was elected by a majority of seven hundred and twenty-six votes, overcoming a normal Democratic majority of eighteen hundred, and that on an occasion when the district gave a Democratic victory on the state ticket. His opponent was Edward F. Dickinson, who had been previously elected in the same district by a majority of one thousand, six hundred and forty-five. He took his seat on the 4th of March, 1871, the Hon. James G. Blaine, speaker of the^ house, placing him upon the committee on claims. Mr. Foster soon gained the confidence of the members of the house, and it should be noted in the connection that Horace Greeley spontaneously wrote to Mr. Blaine and stated that a man who could carry his district as had Mr. Foster must possess power and ability entitling him to good places on committees, preferments not usually accorded to new men. This letter was sent to Mr. Foster by Mr. Blaine some years later, and the same is duly appreciated, particularly in view of the fact that Mr. Greeley had at that time never seen the man of whom he wrote. In 1872 Mr. Foster w^as renominated, by acclamation, and in the ensuing election defeated,by seven hundred and seventy-six votes. Rush R. Sloane, of Upper Sandusky, a Greeley Republican and Democrat. In the fortysecond congress the speaker placed him upon the important ways and means committee and he was also made chairman of the sub-committee on internal revenue. As a member of the committee last mentioned he was a prime factor in bringing to light the Sanborn contract frauds. From the close of the war much revenue had remained uncollected, and General Benjamin F. Butler secured the passage of an act authorizing the secretary of the treasury to contract for the discovery and collection of the same, paying fifty per cent, for such work. Sanborn, General Butler's sutler during the Rebellion, secured the contract and was paid four hundred thousand dollars for collections made through regular government officials, Sanborn having simply pointed out the delinquencies. Mr. Foster made an investigation and through his fearless and active efforts secured a repeal of the law, being bitterly attacked by Butler in connection with the debate on the measure and thus gaining a national reputation. He also took an active part in the movement which resulted in the repeal of the moiety laws, and was prominently concerned in the Pacific mail investigation, as a member of the committee on ways and means. Early in 1874, as chairman of an investigating committee, he went to New Orleans in connection with the investigation of Louisiana affairs, and in his official report he severely criticized the methods of "both political parties in that state. He was present at the organization of the Louisiana legislature in 1875, when Wiltz assumed to be speaker and as such entertained motions to unseat sixteen Republican members and place sixteen Democrats in the chairs thus vacated. He was also present when the United States troops, under General Sheridan, upon order from Grovernor Kellogg, reinstated the Republican members in their seats. His report created a sensation and many feared that he had thus entirely ruined his political prospects, but it eventuated that he had but strengthened his position in public confidence and esteem. In 1874 Mr. Foster was re-elected to congress by one himdred and fifty-nine majority over a very popular Democrat, George E. Seney, although the state went Democratic by over seventeen thousand, its candidates for congress being elected in thirteen of the twenty districts. In the ensuing session he served as a member of the committee on appropriations, of which Samuel J. Randall was chairman, and in 1876 he was renominated. By reason of the fact that General Hayes, the presidential nominee, was from his district, the Democracy made a special effort to defeat Mr. Foster at this time, but he was triumphantly re-elected, by a majority of two hundred and seventy-six over his Bourbon competitor. He was the only Republican member of congress from Ohio to vote in favor of the electoral-count bill, a Democratic measure, whose enactment resulted in placing General Hayes in the presidential chair.

Mr. Foster thinks the most valuable service rendered by him was the successful efforts he made to secure the peaceful and orderly inauguration of Hayes. His position was peculiar and especially helpful to this purpose. He represented Hayes, and was known to be on confidential relations with him. He had endeared himself to the south by the fair- ness of his report on the Louisiana matters two years before. The last, most serious and most dangerous movement of the Democrats was a determination on their part to filibuster out the session, and thus prevent the completion of the court, and so entail the necessary failure to elect a president. About two-thirds of the Democrats of the house joined in the movement after it became evident that under the electoral-count bill Hayes would secure the election. They all' believed that Tilden had been elected, and most of them were ready for anything- that would defeat Hayes. If they could get all, or nearly all, of the Democrats to join in their filibustering movement they could prevent a declaration of the count.

No one knows how^ near this movement came to being successful, nor can one now determine the result to follow from such a condition of chaos. There was just one condition of safety: General Grant was president, and he had given out that he would remain president until a legally elected successor was ready to take his place. Fortunately, Mr. Foster, with others, by untiring effort, kept the Democrats from uniting and the danger was averted. Hayes was declared elected at half past one o'clock Friday morning, the 2d of March, ilr. Foster was the leader in the movement. He had the confidence of the southern leaders, - Lamar, Ben Hill, John Young, Brown and others. When he said in a memorable si)eech that under Hayes the *'flag should float over states, not provinces," over *'free men, not subjects," no question was raised as to the attitude of Hayes toward the south. While he and others were charged with bargaining with the southern people to secure the election of Hayes, there was no truth in the statement. Mr. Foster was frank and open in asserting to them that Hayes would not use troops at the polls, - the particular thing the south dreaded.

In 1877 the Democratic legislature of Ohio redistricted the state, placing Mr. Foster in a district which at the previous election had given a Democratic majority of nearly five thousand and which contained but one Republican county. In the face of certain defeat Mr. Foster did not desert his party and made the run in his district in the election of 1878, being defeated by only thirteen hundred majority, having refused nomination in the Toledo district, where his re-election would have been practically certain.

The Republican state convention of 1879 tendered to Mr. Foster the nomination for governor, and he was elected by a majority of seventeen thousand, over General Thomas Ewing, of Fairfield county, one of the strongest candidates the Democracy could put forth. It was in this campaign that the Democrats dubbed Mr. Foster "Calico Charlie," referring to his being simply a merchant, but the sobriquet proved a boomerang. Toward the eitd of the campaign calico was used for badges, and was worn as such by Republicans in all sections of the state, while various newspaper editions were printed on this material. In 1 88 1 Governor Foster was re-elected, over John W. Book waiter, of Qarke county, by a majority of twenty-five thousand. As governor a previous publication has well said that "his administration was regarded as a model." As chief executive of the Buckeye commonwealth he gave special attention to public institutions, making strenuous eflforts to free them from partisan superintendence and control, his boards being made up of three Republicans and two Democrats and such appointments being made with marked discrimination. Through his eflforts in this connection economy was conserved and in other particulars great improvements were made in the management of the state institutions. He believes political control in such cases a curse, and he absolutely refused to place in office men whose claims were based simply on political work done. In connection w ith that distinctively model institution, the Toledo hospital for the insane, the labors and eflforts of Governor Foster will redound to his lasting credit and honor, the new system having had its inception during his gubernatorial regime and having proved a revelation in the matter of providing for and treating the unfortunate wards of the state. The system involves, intrinsically and strenuously, the treatment of the insane by the "extreme application of the law of kindness," as the Governor himself aptly puts it ; the adoption of a plan of detached buildings, now known as the cottage system ; and the elimination of the restraint system so far as practicable. In this article it is impossible to enter into details as to the institution or the results attained through the humane methods employed. Suflfice it to say that the new institution was built and equipped, and that it represents the pioneer undertaking of the sort in the world, the success attending it having drawn the attention of all civilized nations and gained the highest endorsement, leading to the adoption of the new system wherever means and proper appreciation are at hand. Mr. Foster has given untiring interest to the institution for a period of fifteen years, and has been a member of its board of trustees consecutively save for an interim of one year.

Governor Foster's administration was also marked by efforts to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors. The constitution of the state forbade the issuing of licenses, and Governor Foster, in his messages to the legislature, recommended the submission to the people of amendments that should establish either prohibition, high license or local option. Before this was done the Pond bill, imposing a tax on liquor dealers and declaring that such tax was not a license, became a law, in the spring of 1882. This was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court, but in 1883 the Scott law, of a similar character, was passed and was sustained by the courts. In the election of this year two constitutional amendments were submitted to the people, as had been advised by the governor, but both were defeated, as was the entire Republican ticket. The whole agitation was marked by much excitement, especially in the canvass of 1883, in which women took an unprecedented part, and for a time Governor Foster was quite unpopular in his party, which soon, however, endorsed his views and pronounced in favor of his policy.

In 1889 President Harrison appointed Mr. Foster chairman of the commission to which was assigned the work of treating with the Sioux Indians, the result being the distribution of the tribe on six reservations. The Indians had pre\^iously been located on one large reservation in North Dakota, and it was deemed advisable to divide the tribe, and by the adjustment made about one-half of the original reservation was thrown open to settlement. In 1890 Mr. Foster received the support of the Republican members of the Ohio legislature as candidate for the United States senate, and in that year he was again placed in nomination for congress, in the district which had given Governor Campbell (Democrat) a majority of one thousand, nine hundred and sixty, and he was defeated by one hundred and ninety-four votes. Upon the - death of Hon. William Windom, president Harrison appointed Governor Foster to the thus vacant post as secretary of the treasury, on the 27th of February, 1891, and in this responsible office he proved anew his distinctive executive, business and administrative capacity and his fidelity to the trust imposed. The adjustment of the four and one-half per cent, government loan was one of the prominent acts of his official career. Of the $50,869,200 bonds of this character outstanding, $25,- 364,500 were presented on the 1st of July, 1891, fer continuance at two I>er cent., and the remainder called in for redemption and pxaid upon presentation. No other financial officer of the government has ever negotiated a loan at so low a rate of interest, this being the first loan of the sort in the history of any nation. The condition of the country at that time demanded that one hundred million dollars be kept intact and in reserve in the federal treasury, and this caused great anxiety to Secretary Foster, who anticipated the reduction that would come in consequence of Democratic legislation. He studied the matter carefully and besought congress to make provision for increased revenue. He managed to keep the reserve intact, and upon leaving the office of secretary he left the treasury- with more than two millions above the prescribed reserve, but within two months after the accession of his successor this balance had been wiped out and encroachments made upon the reserve. Mr. Foster retired from the office of secretary of the treasury on March 7, 1893, and since that time has been practically retired from public life, residing in peace and repose in his beautiful home in Fostoria, where his friends are as numerous as his acquaintances.

On the 7th of November, 1853, Mr. Foster was united in marriage to Miss Ann M. Olmstead, daughter of the late Judge Jesse 01mstead, of Fremont, Ohio, and they are the parents of two daughters, - Jessie, the wife of Dr. Park L. Myers, of Toledo; and Anna, w+io remains at the parental home.

Of Mr. Foster it may be said in conclusion that he is strong in his convictions, but not intolerant ; firm in the defense of right, but wnth no room in his heart for revenge. Flattery has proved impotent to cajole him into compromise and power to awe him into silence. He is a man of the people and has their confidence. He has done a good work, has gained distinguished honors and has been true in all the relations of life. He has dignified his native state by his life and labors and his strength has been as the number of his days. He has left an indelible impress upon the history of the nation, and has lived the life of usefulness, integrity and honor. Such men are the crown jewels of our republic.

Captain Nelson L. Brewer

One of the venerable and representative members of the bar of Seneca county is Mr. Brewer, who has here been engaged in the active practice of his profession for more than forty years and who is honorded as one of the sterling citizens of Tiffin. At all times a true and loyal citizen, faithful to the best interests of his country in peace or war, he has always commanded unequivocal confidence and esteem, standing high in the regard of his professional confreres and in the respect of the general public. His influence has ever been wielded in the pro-^ motion of the higher interests of the community, and religion, education and all worthy agencies have ever enlisted his earnest support.

The family of which Captain Brewer is a representative is of German origin, and it is practically w'ell authenticated that the founders of the same came to America prior to the war of the Revolution, settling in Pennsylvania and thence sending representatives, of later generations, into the most diverse sections of the Union. Captain Brewer was born near Clear Spring, Washington county, Maryland, on the 17th of September, 1832, and of the same county his father, Emanuel Brewer, was likewise a native, there passing his entire life and devotine his attention to agriculture. He died at the age of forty-three years, having been a zealous member of the Lutheran church, in whose extension he took an* important part, while his political support was given to the old-line- Whig party. He was a son of Henry and Catherine Brewer, both of whom passed their entire lives in Washington county, Maryland; so that the respective families must have been early settled in that commonwealth. The original spelling of the name was Brua. The maiden name of Captain BrcAver's mother was Catherine Zacharias, and she likewise was born in Washington county, Maryland, where she lived until summoned into the life eternal. She was a daughter of George Zacharias, who devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, in Maryland, where he died at the age of seventy-five years, having been of German lineage and a member of the Reformed church, in which his son, Rev. Daniel Zacharias, D. D., became a clergyman, having been for forty years pastor of the church at Frederick, Maryland. His sister, the mother of our subject, died at Clear Spring, in Washington county, Maryland, at the age of forty-three years, leaving four daughters and one son. Captain Brewer being the youngest and one of two who are living at the present time.

Nelson L. Brewer was but six years of age at the time of his father's death and was about ten when his mother passed away. He thereafter passed two years in the home of his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Draper, and then went to live with his uncle, Rev. Dr. Zacharias, to whom reference has already been made. Thus he was given the privilege of attending the old Glade school house near Frederick, Maryland. At the age of nineteen he came west to Monroe county, Michigan, where he joined another uncle, Peter K. Zacharias. He there taught school for a period of about eig*hteen months, at the expiration of which he <:ame to Seneca county, Ohio, arriving in Tiffin on the nth of May, 1853. Here he was matriculated in Heidelberg College, where he continued his studies until June, 1855, when he was graduated. He thereafter was for a time an instructor in the college, while engaged in preparing himself for the profession of law. After his graduation he began reading law under the preceptorship of the late General John C. Lee, and his earnest and' indefatigable application and marked power of assimilation made it possible for him to secure admission to the bar of the state on the 8th of May, 1858. Forthwith, at the request of his honored preceptor, General Lee, he entered into a partnership alliance with him, under the firm name of Lee & Brewer, under vVhich favorable auspices he entered upon the active practice of his profession in Tiffin, this association continuing until June, 1869, when General Lee removed to Toledo. Thereafter our subject continued an individual practice until October, 1890, when he admitted to partnership his son, Edward A., who <:ontinued his able coadjutor until his untimely death, on the 9th of October, 1901. Captain Brewer has maintained the highest reputation in his chosen profession, being thoroughly read in the literature of the law, familiar with precedents and having a ready facility in application, so that he has held precedence both as an advocate and a safe and duly conservative counselor ; while, he has never wavered in his devotion to his profession, observing its highest ethics and ever aiming to make it a vehicle of justice and equity. He has never aspired to official preferment, and, though he has been a stanch supporter of the Republican party, he has refused to allow his name to be considered! in connection with all condidacies - notably that for judge of the court of common pleas, for which he was peculiarly well equipped. His profession has engrossed his attention for nearly half a century, and in all this time his integrity of purpose as lawyer and man has never been questioned.

At the time of the war of the Rebellion Captain Brewer manifested his intrinsic loyalty to the Union by giving to it every possible degree of support. In May, 1864, he recruited and organized Company A, of the One Hundred and sixty-fourth Ohio Voluneeer Infantry, his partner Gei^ral Lee, who had been colonel of the Fifty-fifth Ohio Regiment and who had been wounded at Chancellorsville, being prevailed upon to accept the command of the new regiment. It was sent to the defense of the national capital, being stationed at the forts near by. Captain Brewer continued in the service and in command of his company until discharged, at the expiration of his term of enlistment. He retains a vital interest in his old comrades in arms, holding membership in General William H. Gibson Post, No. 31, of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is president of the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Regiment Association.

Captain Brewer is one of the influential and honoredi members of the First Reformed church, and has long been one of the devoted workers in the same, having been an elder for the past eighteen years, while he has continuously held the office of superintendent of the Sunday-school since 1861. During all this long period he has probably not been absent from his post ten Sundays, save when absent from the city, - certainly a record of notable fidelity, and one probably unequaled in the entire state. He has been active in temperance work also, and his life and example have been such as to make his influence potent for good in all the relations of life. For about forty years he was a member of the board of regents of Heidelberg College, in whose affairs he has ev^r maintained the deepest interest. He is a man of fine physique, strong and vigorous ; and in his manner is genial and unassuming, thus naturally gaining firm and lasting friendships in his intercourse with his fellow men.

On the 17th of September, 1857, Captain Brewer was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Mason, who was born in Tiflin, being a granddaughter of Josiah Hedges, who was the founder of the town. Mrs. Brewer passed away on the 29th of March, i860, at the age of twenty-two years, the only child, Lettie, having died in infancy. On the igth of February, 1861, Captain Brewer married Miss Harriet M. Chidester, who was born in Cayuga county, New York, where she was reared and educated and whence she came to Tiffin shortly before her marriage. She likewise has been a devoted worker in the First Reformed church for many years, and of her marriage four children have been born, namely: Julia, the wife of Dr. Frederick W. Shaley, of Terre Haute, Indiana; Edward A., deceased, is mentioned in an appending paragraph; Wallace W., who is employed in the division freight office of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, in Tiffin; and Grace C, who remains at the parental home.

Edward A. Brewer, son of the subject of this review, was called into eternal life in the midst of a career which he had dignified with high abilities and earnest character and which was untimely in its termination. He was born in Tiffin, on the 5th of July, 1865, and in his native city he was reared and educated, completing the course in the high school and thereafter entering Heidelberg College, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1884. He then began the study of law under the direction of his father, and was admitted to the bar in October, 1890, whereupon he entered into active practice as a partner, gaining a creditable position at the bar of the state and being known as a young man of signal ability and honor. He was a stanch Republican in his political adherency, and fraternally was a popular member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being a representative to the grand lodge at the assembly held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July, 1901, by virtue of his official relation to the home lodge. The death of Edward A. Brewer occurred on the 9th of October, 1901, and was an inexpressibly severe blow to his parents, as well as to a wide circle of devoted friends. His genial nature and sterling character had endeared him to all with whom he came in contact, and he was recognized as one of the most promising and representative young men of the town in which his life was passed.

William T. King

It is always interesting to- watch from the beginning the growth and development of a locality, to note the lines along which marked progress has been made and to take cognizance of those who have been factors in the work of advancement and in the establishing of a prosperous community. The subject of this review has been a witness of the development of Seneca county from the early pioneer epoch, since he was born here more than half a century ago and has here passed the greater portion of his life, which has been one of signal usefulness and honor, involving the rendering of the loyal service of a true patriot, since he went forth in defense of the nation during the war of the Rebellion, participating in many of the most important battles of that memorable conflict and enduring the horrors and privations of one of the southern prison pens. He is now numbered antong the progressive and prosperous farmers of Eden township, and it is fitting that we enter a review of his life history, as being one of the representative men of his community.

I90 Centennial Biographical History

Mr. King is a native of the city of Tiffin, where he was born on the 13th of August, 1844, being one of the six children of Timothy and Margaret King, pioneers of this section of the state. The family comprised five sons and one daughter, and of these four of the sans are living at the present time, while two of them, our subject and his brother Lawrence, were soldiers in the Civil war. While William T. was still a boy his parents removed from Tiffin to Fremont, Sandusky count>% where he was reared and educated, attending the public schools. He was but eighteen years of age when the dark cloud of civil war obscured the national horizon, and his innate loyalty was quickened to responsive protest, as is shown in the fact that, on the 26. of January, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company I, Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three years. He proceeded to the front with his command and the first notable engagement in which he participated was the battle of Shiloh, and after this he was in active service in the battle of Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg and the battle of Chattanooga, after which he was with Sherman in the ever memorable march to the sea. On the 3d of December, 1864, he was in company with fourteen of his comrades on a foraging expedition and A-as captured by the enemy and taken to the stockades at Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he was imprisoned for three months, or nearly until the close of the war. He weighed one hundred and forty pounds when incarcerated, but such were the hardships endured that when he left his prison he weighed only eighty pounds. This loss of sixty pounds with the period of three months is not to be considered strange when we revert to the fact that his average rations during the greater portion of the time consisted only of four teaspoonfuls of corn meal and about an equal amount of peas once each day. It is needless to say that our subject will never forget his experience during that critical period of his youth. After his release, wasted in energ>' and incapacitated for any active duty, Mr. King returned to his home, in Fremont, where he recuperated his strength within a short time, his sturdy constitution soon bringing him back to nearly a normal standpoint of health, and he then came back to Tiffin, and has ever since made Seneca county his home. In 1867 he located on the farm where he now lives, the same comprising eighty acres of valuable and productive land in Eden township, and here he has ever since been engaged in diversified agriculture, in which he has been very successful, while all the improvements made on the place show his progressive energy and scrupulous care. In politics Mr. King is a stalwart supporter of the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church ; he is a communicant of St. Mary's church, in Tiffin. He perpetuates his fraternal interest in and association with his old comrades who followed the stars and stripes on the battlefields of the south, by retaining membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, being idntified with General Willialm H. Gibson Post, No. 31, at Tiffin.

In October, 1867, Mr. King was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Kennedy, and they became the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, namely : Nellie, Minnie, Frank, Loretta, Kittie, William, Jennie and Edward. Mrs. King is a daughter of John and Mary Kennedy and was born in Pennsylvania, but reared in Tiffin, where she was living at the time of her marriage.

In an analyzation of the character of James McDonel we find the qualities of an upright manhood, - loyalty in citizenship, reliability in business, conscientiousness in the discharge of the duties of private life, - and these are so combined as to make his a strong personality, commanding respect and confidence. He has for many years been actively identified with business affairs in Tiffin and is now for the second time filling the office of county treasurer of Seneca county, his re-election coming to him in recognition of his ability and fidelity during his first term in the office.

Mr. McDonel was born in Fostoria on the 7th of November, 1863. His father, John W. McDonel, was a native of Rochester, New York, and, in his early childhood, accompanied his parents to Ohio, the family settling in Fostoria, where he was reared and has since remained. He is a hamessmaker by trade, and through a long period carried on business along that line; but, at the age of seventy-two years, he is now^ living retired, enjoying a rest which by years of earnest labor he has justly earned. He married Ellen Dorner, who was born in Pheroda, county Kilkenny, Ireland, and came with her parents to America when four years of age. She was reared in Detroit, Michigan, andi is now^ about sixty years of age.

In his native city James D. McDonel spent his boyhood days, pursuing his education in its public schools. At the early age of thirteen years he began to earn his own living by clerking for the firm of Ports & Company, dealers in hardware, with whom he remained for seventeen years. What higher testimonial of his ability and faithfulness could be given? He enjoyed to an unusual degree the confidence and respect of his employers, and only severed his relation as a clerk to buy their business. On making the purchase he organized what became known as the Alcott Hardware Company, of which he was chosen secretary and treasurer, and after filling the dual position for five years he became president of the company^ remaining at its head until elected to his present position, when he sold his interest in the store. Under his capable management the business had constantly increased until the company enjoyed a very liberal patronage and theirs became one of the more extensive commercial establishments of the county. Mr. McDonel is also interested as a director and stockholder in the Toledo, Fostoria & Findlay Railroad, which is now under construction. He owes his success almost wholly to his ow^n efforts, and his business ability, diligence, perseverance and reliable methods have formed the foundation stones for the superstructure of prosperity.

On the 7th of November, 1888, Mr. McDonel was united in marriage to Miss Laura Alcott, a daughter of Roger Alcott, a very prominent business man of Fostoria, in which city she was bom. They now have two children : Mary Gretchen, born January 14, 1890, and Leonore Alcott, born August 4, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. McDonel are widely known in the county and not only have many warm friends in their old home,

Fostoria, but have gained many such in Tiffin, who esteem them highly for their sterling worth. Mr. McDonel belongs to the Catholic church, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is also identified with the Knights of Columbus, and in his political affiliations he is a Democrat, warmly advocating the principles of the party. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, and is therefore able to support his position by intelligent argument. In November, 1897, he was elected county treasurer, by a majority of seven hundred and thirtysix, and in November, 1899, he was again chosen for the office, by the increased majority of fifteen hundred and ninety-seven, the largest vote given to any candidate on the ticket. This was certainly a tribute to his personal popularity and worth and an evidence of the fidelity with which he discharged his duties during the first term. His loyalty in citizenship has ever been above question, as has been his honor in business. His social qualities have gained him many friends and one of the most popular residents of Seneca county to-day is James D. McDonel.

Nicholas Wall

One of the native sons of Seneca county who has here passed his entire life figures as the subject of this sketch, and it is not irrelevant to state that he is one of the most popular and highly esteemed citizens of Hopewell township, where he is successfully engaged in farming, having a well improved and highly cultivated farm of sixty-five acres. As a member of one of our leading pioneer families we here enter record of the more salient features in his career.

Mr. Wall was born on the old homestead farm, in Seneca township, on the nth of December, 1839, being the fourth in order of birth of the ten children of Philip and Susanna Wall and one of the seven who still survive, the others being as follows : George, a resident of Iowa county, Iowa ; Joseph, who resides in Labette county, Kansas ; Andrew, of Chicago, Illinois ; Catherine, the widow of John Yeager, of Spring- field, Ohio; Elizabeth, who resides in Toledo; and Teresa, the wife of John B. Bonhoser, of Putnam county. The father of our subject was a native of the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, where he was reared and educated, there learning the trade of carpenter. He was married in his native land, and there his two eldest children were born. About the year 1826 he emigrated with his family to America, coming to Ohio, where he entered claim to forty acres of government land in Seneca township, the same being entirely unreclaimed and covered with heavy timber. He built a primitive log cabin on his place, and this continued to be the family home for a number of years, while the work of clearing and otherwise improving the farm was pushed vigorously forward. Here the father passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring about the year 1850, prior to which time he had increased the area of his farm by the purchase of an adjoining fifty acres. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church, in which he was reared. His devoted wife survived him many years, her death occurring at the home of her daughter Teresa, in Putnam courtty, on the nth of September, 1896, at an advanced age.

Nicholas Wall, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the old homestead farm, becoming familiar with the labors incidental to its reclamation and cultivation at an early age, and securing such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the place and period. He was but eleven years of age at the time of his father's death, and thereafter he was associated with his brothers in the management of the farm until 1862, when the household was broken up, the mother going to the home of her daughter Teresa, where she was cared for with loving solicitude until she was called upon to obey the inexorable summons of death. After thus leaving the old home our subject associated himself with Jeremiah Rex in the operation of a sawmill, in Seneca township, and was identified with this enterprise for a period of about twelve years. In 1874 he leased the Judson Lxx>kinbill farm, in Seneca township, and there continued in agricultural pursuits for eight years, at the expiration of which he purchased a tract of forty acres in Qinton township, at a point three miles east of Tiffin, disposing of this property a year later, and then, in 1882, purchasing his present fine homestead, where he has since been successfully engaged in diversified farming and the raising of a high grade of live stock. He has a good residence, and all other improvements on the place indicate that the owner is a progressive and energetic business man. Mr. Wall exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and in religion he holds to the faith in which he was reared, being a communicant of St. Patrick's Catholic church.

On the 3d of May, 1870, Mr. Wall was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Adelsperger, who was born in Loudon township, this county, of which her father, John Adelsperger, was a pioneer settler. Mr. and Mrs. Wall are the parents of three sons and one daughter, namely: Frank E., who is engaged in farming in Hopewell township; and John A., Leo and Mary, who still remain at the parental home..

Samuel Feasel

One of the prominent and honored early settlers of Seneca county is the gentleman of whom this sketch is penned. He is a practical,, thorough-going farmer, understanding every department of the work connected with the proper supervision of a country home, and success has abundantly rewarded his persevering labors. Now, in his declining years, he may look backward over the pathway he has traversed and truly feel that his efforts have been blessed, while he can have few regrets for idle days and wasted moments.

Mr. Feasel was born in Franklin county, Ohio, on the 29th of September, 1826, a son of Henry and Mary J. (Kennell) Feasel. The father took up his abode in Liberty township, Seneca county, in 1833, at that time locating on the farm on which our subject now resides, at the center of Liberty township, entering the land at the same time that his brother George became the owner of his farm, in 1828. The father erected a log cabin in the midst of the dense wilderness, and there he made his home throughout the remainder of his Hfe, passing to his final reward in the eighty-fourth year of his age. By his marriage to Mary J. Kennell he became the father of nine children, but only five of the number are now living : Catherine, the wife of John Chaney, of Liberty township; John, a resident of Bettsville; Susan, the wife of Edward Pope, of Lansing, Michigan; Jacob, who makes his home in Liberty township; and Samuel, the subject of this review. Those who have passed away are: Polly, George, Alexander and Elizabeth.

Mr. Feasel, of this review^ has spent nearly his entire life on his present home place. Early in life his time was chiefly employed in clearing new land, and thus his educational privileges were somewhat limited, but practical experience, reading and observation have continually broadened his knowledge and have made him a well informed man. After his marriage he continued the operation of his father's land, and after the latter's death he and his brother Alexander became the ow^ners of the old farm. Our subject has earned for himself an' enviable reputation as a careful and progressive agriculturist, always known for his prompt and honorable methods of dealing, and thus he has earned the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow men. Until within the last few years he gave his political support to the Republican party, but he is now identified with the Prohibition party, and to its principles he gives an earnest and unfaltering support. For the past forty years he has been a worthy member of the Zion's Temple United Brethren church, in w^hich he has served as one of the trustees since the building of the church.

When twenty-two years of age Mr. Feasel w^as united in marriage to Miss Ellen Powell, but after two years of happy married life she was called to her final rest, leaving one child, Mary F., w^ho is now the w4fe of A. E. Alderton, of Saginaw, Michigan. Three years after the death of his first wife our subject wedded Miss Martha Kime, and two children blessed their union, - Belle, who is the wife of Lewis Click, a resident of Bascom, Seneca county ; and Alice, who died in childhood. For his third wife Mr. Feasel chose Miss Elizabeth Armstrong, their marriage being solemnized on the 4th of May, 1858, and unto them have been born the following children: Laura J., who is the. wife of John P. Lynch, of Liberty township; Irvin, who died at the age of twenty-five years; Albert, who passed away at the age of thirty-four; Homer, who operates a stave factory at Grafton, Ohio; Roscoe, who carries on the w^ork of the homestead ; Lucetta, who became the wife of Norman Mowrey, died at the age of twenty-five years, and her two children, Bessie and Russell, now make their home with our subject; Eva is the wife of James Blue, of Toledo, Ohio ; Edna, who remains at the parental home, taught the school in her home district for a period of four years, being one of the successful and popular teachers of the county; and Mandie died at the age of three years. Our subject has eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Feasel is one of the most honored and highly esteemed citizens of his community, and it is safe to say that no man in Seneca county has a wider circle of friends and acquaintances.

George Benham

George Benham has since 1896 filled the office of justice of the peace in Fostoria and has been very prominent in public life, always laboring earnestly for the welfare and progress of his community. He is numbered among the native sons of Seneca county, his birth having occurred in Big Spring township, where his father, William Benham, located in 1832. The paternal grandfather, Shadrack Benham, was a native of New England, the family coming from Connecticut to the Buckeye state. When William Benham arrived in Seneca county he entered land from the government and at once began developing and improving a tract for his farm. He married Julia A. Chappelle, a daughter of Caleb and Charlotte (Sperry) Chappelle. Her father settled in Wayne county, Ohio, on emigrating from Vermont to the west. He was a builder by occupation and became one of the earliest residents of Loudonville, Ohio, laying out a part of that town upon his farm. His efforts were very helpful in promoting the early progress and improve- ment of this portion of the state. Mr. Benham, the father of our subject, continued to carry on agricultural pursuits, making farming the means whereby he provided for the wants of his family. At an early date he served as justice of the peace, and his rulings were strictly fair and impartial, being in accordance with his honorable career throughout life. He died in 1847, at the age of forty-five years. In his family were four children, the only brother of our subject being William Franklin Benham, who went to the west in 1854. For many years he was in the United States service and when last heard from was making his home in California.

Greorge Benham early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, assisting his father in the development and improvement of the old homestead in Big Spring township, but when the country became involved in civil war he piit aside all per- :sonal considerations and enlisted, at Findlay, Ohio, in 1861, being sworn in at Tiffin on the 6th of August, as a member of Company A, Fortyninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the 13th of -October, 1864, his regiment being a part of the Army of the Cumberland. He was wounded at the battle of Stone River, but on recovering from his injuries rejoined his command in time to take part in the Atlanta campaign, participating in all of its engagements. He was a brave and true soldier, ever found at his post of duty, whether on the picket line or the firing line.

Returning to his home in 1865, he has since that time been a resident of Fostoria. In early life he learned the trade of carpenter and builder, and he has been closely associated with building interests in this place, his handiwork being seen in many of the substantial and fine structures of this city. He has always lived faithfully up to the terms -of a contract, and, with high regard for the strict ethics of industrial and commercial life, he has commanded uniform confidence and esteem. His fellow townsmen recognize his worth and ability and have frequently called him to public office, and he has been an active factor in that department of service which maintains law and order. For ten years he was constable, and in 1896 he was chosen justice of the peace.

In Hancock county, Ohio, Mr. Benham was joined in wedlock to Miss Eunice Eliza Thomas, a daughter of Liverton and Anna (Wade) Thomas, of Washington township. Prior to his death her father renx)ved to Fostoria, where his last days were spent. He came from Wayne county, Ohio, to Seneca county, and was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until he took up his abode in this city. For some years he filled the office of justice of the peace and was a prominent and influential man. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Benham was blessed with six children : Bruce Burris, who is connected with the Lake Erie & Western Railroad and resides in Muncie, Indiana; Minnie Belle, the wife of Walter A. Hamilton, of Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Anna Cordelia, who is a trained nurse in New York city; Ralph W., who is a clerk in the service of the Wabash Railroad Company, at Chicago, Illinois; Lillian Florence, who is a teacher in the public schools of Fostoria; and Frank Judson, who is engaged in dredging the Grandi river, in the government employ, at Grand Rapids, Michigan. They also lost two children. Mrs. Benham and her family are active members -of the Presbyterian church, and she is a most estimable lady, enjoying the high T^ard of many friends. Mr. Benham gives his political support to the Republican party, and belongs to Norris Post, G. A. R., and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Monroe J. Kistler

In reverting to the lives and deeds of those who initiated the onerous work of developing the virgin wilds of Seneca county and thus laying the foundations for that prosperity and precedence which now characterize this favored section of the Buckeye state, it is imperative that recognition be had of the Kistler family, who have been identified with the history of the county from the early pioneer epoch and whose mem- bers have invariably maintained the highest standard of integrity and honor, commanding unequivocal respect and esteem. Of his immediate family the subject of this review is now the only survivor, and he has passed the age of three score years and ten, while his life and labors have granted dignity and honor to the industrial and social fabric of the county in which he has made his home from his early youth.

Mr. Kistler is a native of the state of Pennsylvania, having been born in Lehigh county on the 12th of August, 1827, one of the seven children of Michael and Mary (Hoppes) Kistler, who were likewise born in the old Keystone state, of stanch German ancestry. Of their children we record that John died in Seneca county at the age of sixtyfive years; Michael in Adams county, aged sixty-five; Selma became the wife of John Garman and died in Indiana, aged seventy-six years; Judith married William Evert and died> in Seneca county, aged fortyeight; Joseph died in Adams township, aged eighty-two, and Nathan in Illinois, aged fifty-eight; Monroe J., the youngest member of the family,, is the immediate subject of this review. Michael Kistler came with his family from Pennsylvania to Seneca county, Ohio, in the year 1832, there having been ten other families in the company which made the trip from the old Keystone state with teams and wagons, all locating in the practically unbroken wilds of Seneca county. Mr. Kistler purchased one hundred and sixty acres of timbered land in Adams township, about the only improvement on the place being a primitive log cabin, in which the family duly installed the household effects and prepared to grapple with the problems of pioneer life. The father cleared and improved his farm, with the assistance of his sons, and there continued to reside until death ended his labors, in 1866, at which time he had attained the venerable age of eighty- four years, being honored and revered as one of the patriarchs of the community. His wife entered into eternal rest in 1852, both having been devoted members of the Lutheran church, in which they were zealous workers and original members.

in Adams township, for the purpose of establishing a home of his own. On the 4th of April, 1852, at the age of twenty-five, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Rine, who was born in Fostoria, Ohio, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Drake) Rine, who were numbered among the early settlers in Seneca county. Being but six years old at her mother's death, she lived twelve years with her uncle, Abraham Rine, on the farm where she had made her home for the past thirtyfive years. A few months afeer his marriage Mr. Kistler located on another farm of one hundred acres, in Adams township, improving the place and there continuing to reside for a i:)eriod of ten years, after which he purchased his present homestead of Abraham Rine, his wife's uncle, who had entered it from the government. He did not take up his residence there until five years later, having passed the interim in cultivating another farm. In the home farm are one hundred and six acres, and in addition to this our subject owns an adjacent tract of forty acres, in Thompson township. He has brought his farm to a high state of cultivation, has made the best of improvements ou the same and has one of the most attractive homes to be found in this section, the success which has attended his earnest and indefatigable efforts in the past years being shown in the general air of thrift and prosperity which pervades the homestead.

In politics Mr. Kistler gives his support to the principles of the Democratic party, and he has served in various offices of local character. His religious faith is that of the German Reformed church, and for many years he has been one of the influential members of Salem church, having served for several years as one of its elders. Mr. and Mrs. Kistler became the parents of three daughters, - Sarah E., who remains at the parental home, though she is in constant demand as an expert dressmaker; Rachel Angeline, the wife of Emery Butz, a farmer of Adams township; and Jane A., who died in infancy. Our subject and his estimable wife have also reared, with utmost care and kindliness, four other children, one being a grandniece, Lana Overmiller, who came into their home at the age of two years and who was reared with the same advantages as their own children. She is now the wife Of John

Flicker, of Thompson township. The other three were from the Protestant Orphans' Home, at Cleveland. Maggie Axe, who entered their home at the age of twelve years, is now the wife of Herbert Kistler; James Gordon Bennett came to them at nine years of age and remained until he was eighteen, and he now resides near Clyde. Pearl Airhart, who is noAv thirteen years of age (June, 1902), has been a member of their family circle from the age of nine.

One of the most valuable and most highly improved farm properties in Seneca county is that owned by the gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph and who is recognized as one of the representative citizens of the county, where he has passed practically his entire life, the family having been one of jjrominence in the community from the early pioneer ep( ch to the present time.

Mr. Dunn was born on the farm whicii is now his home, the date of his nativity having been October 16, 185 1. His parents, William N.and Sophia \V. (Clark) Dunn, were natives of Sullivan county. New York, and tiiey were nunitered among the first settlers in Hopewell township, Seneca county. Ohio, where the father took up a tract of government land, the same having been heavily timbered. They became the parents of six children, of whom five are living at the present time, namely : Arlington, of whom individual mention is made on another page of this work; Devolson, who is a resident of Tiffin; Deroy C, the subject of this sketch; Norman, who likewise is a representative farmer of Hopewell township; and John, of Tiffin.

Deroy C. Dunn was reared on the old homestead farm and received such educational privileges as were afforded in the public schools of the neighborhood. At the age of eighteen years he went to Lyons, New York, and w^as there employed on a farm for a period of three months, after which he returned to his native county and again became identified with the work of the old homestead. After his marriage, in 1876, Mr. Dunn continued to work the homestead for his father for a period of five years, at the expiration of which, in 1881, he purchased one hundred acres of the place, including the residence and other farm buildings, and in 1898 he purchased from his mother an additional tract of ninety-two acres, and thus he has one of the best farms in the county, the land being exceptionally prolific, while the improvements are such as to greatly enhance the value of the property. Mr. Dunn is a progressive and public-spirited citizen, and no man in this section is held in higher confidence and esteem. In political affairs he gives his support to the Democratic party so far as national issues are involved, but in local affairs he maintains an independent attitude, not being directed by strict partisan lines. He and his wife are both active and consistent members of the Protestant Methodist church. The attractive residence of our subject is one of the finest rural homes in the county, and it is a center of refined hospitality.

On the 1 6th of January, 1876, Mr. Dunn was united in marriage to Miss Savilla S. Crum, who was born in this county, of which her father, the late Frederick Crum, was a pioneer settler. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn have two children, Nelson F. and Mary O., both of whom remain at the parental home.

George W. Meyers

He whose life now comes under review must be distinctively regarded as one of the representative citizens of Seneca county, - one whose prominence in the annals noting the progress of agriculture in this favored section of the Bucke}^e commonwealth is similar to the position occupied, in the earlier stages of development and reclamation, by his honored father, who was one of the intelligent and enterprising pioneers of the county, where he lent his assistance in causing the towering forests to give place to the grain fields whose soil has for years been furrowed and refurrowed by the plowshare.

ship, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 27th of May, 1835, being the son of Jacob and Maria (Warren) Meyers, of whose nine children the four surviving are as follows: Mary F., the wife of Henry Meyers, of Attica; George W., of this review; William T., who is engaged in the insurance business in the city of Toledo; and Frederick, a resident of Denver, Colorado. The father of our subject was born in Switzerland in the year 1797, and there he was reared and educated, learning the trade of shoemaker. About the year 1821 he emigrated to America and made his way to Philadelphia, where he worked at his trade until he had accumulated sufficient money to enable him to return to his native land for his parents, thus showing how deep was his filial devotion and how sterling his character. On his return to the United Stares he was accompanied not only by his venerable parents, but also by his two brothers. Henry and David. From Philadelphia they started for Ohio, but while en route the parents became ill, compelling them to stop in Meadvillc, Pennsylvania, where both died about two years later. Jacob Meyers and his brother David then came to Seneca county, locating in Bloom township, where Jacob purchased a small tract of land, to which he added by entering claim to adjoining tracts, and finally became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres, while his brother David accumulated two hundred. They also filed entry on an eighty-acre tract f(T their brother Henry, who had remained in Philadelphia, where he was employed as an instructor in the blind institute, there remaining about eighteen years, and having been the first to teach to the blind the art of making brooms and brushes. His health finally became impaired and he then came to Seneca county and settled on his farm, so that the three brothers were numbered among the pioneers of this section. The father of our subject died in 1861, and his wife, whom he married in Philadelphia, passed away four years later. He was a Democrat in his earlier years of residence here, but was an ardent supporter of the Union cause as the Civil war drew on, and cast his vote in support of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. He and his wife were devoted members of the Reformed church, and their lives were ever in harmony with the sincere faith which they professed.

George W. Meyers was reared on the old homestead farm, in. Bloom township, receiving the basis of a good practical education in the schools of the neighborhood, the supplementation having come by reading, personal application and association with the practical affairs of Hfe. Upon attaining maturity his father gave him employment by the month, and he thus continued to be concerned in the management and improvement of the homestead until the death of his father, and thereafter until the farm was sold by the heirs and the estate settled up, in 1870. Upon thus dividing the estate our subject invested his funds in his present farm, in Venice township, the same comprising one hundred and sixteen acres, and here he has since maintained his home, having been signally prospered in his efforts and having made the best of improvements on the place. In 1900 he purchased an adjoining farm of sixty acres, but he anticipates removing to the town of Attica in the near future and practically retiring from the active duties and labors of the industry through which he has attained success. This will prove the consistent reward of his many years of toil and endeavor. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and in religion his faith is that of the Universalist church.

February 28, 1867, Mr. Me}'ers was united in marriage to Miss Mary Meyers, who was born in this county, the daughter of Rudolph and Magdalena Meyers, who also were born in Switzerland, the two families, however, being not of the same lineal descent. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers have no children.

Harrison Detterman

The Detterman family has been conspicuously identified with the development and the industrial activities of Seneca county from an early epoch in its history, and the subject of this sketch is a worthy representative of this sterling pioneer family, the name which he bears standing for absolute integrity of character and for that productive industry which has conserved the development and substantial upbuilding of this fa- vored section of the Buckeye state. He is a native of Seneca county, where he has passed his entire life and where he commands the highest esteem of those among whom he has lived and labored to such goodly ends.

Mr. Dettemian was born in Bloom township, on the 30th of November, 1837, being the son of John H. and Catherine (Stigameyer) Detterman, both of whom were bom in Prussia, the respective families having been neighbors there. John H. Detterman, in company with his brother Harmon and another young man, named Buckholt, emigrated to America when about twenty years of age, the three running away from home in order to escape service in the Prussian army. They tirst located in the city of Sandusky. Ohio, and thence the three came to Scipio township, Seneca county, whence, somewhat later, the two brothers proceeded to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the}^ were employed in connection with the construction of a canal during one summer. They then came again to Seneca comity, and here John H. was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Stigameyer, who had crossed the ocean in the same vessel. He then effected the lease of eighty acres of raw land in BUx^m township, clearing the same of its heavy growth of timber and developing a good fami. There he continued to reside for a period of ten years, at the expiration of which, in 1844, he located on the farm v.here our subject now resides. Here his original purchase comprised one hundred and tv/enty acres of wild land, and upon the same he built a log cabin of two rooms, making this primitive domicile his habitation for several years. He cleared and improved the place and there remained until 1869, when he purchased another tract, of two hundred acres, in Bloom township, where he continued to make his home until his death, on the 27th of April, 1900, at a patriarchal age. lacking but twenty-six days of ninety years. His wife died on the ist of August, 1866, and he subsequently was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna Somers, who died at the age of seventy-seven years. Of the first marriage six children were born, of whom three - ^William, M^ry and an infant - died young, the others being Harrison, the subject of this sketch ; Amos, a representative farmer of Adams township; and Samuel, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Bloom township. Of the second nuarriage there were no children. John H. Detterman had only five dollars when he arrived in America and here faced the problems of life, and his industry and good judgment were so effectively brought to bear that he became the owner of more than four hundred acres of land in Seneca county. He was a Democrat in politics, and his religious faith w^as that of the Evangelical Association, of which he was a devoted and influential member, having been class leader in the Detterman church for more than sixty years consecutively and having been honored by all who knew him. His wife, the mother of our subject, was a devoted Christian woman, being a miember of the same church and a lady of gentle and noble character.

Harrison Detterman w^s a child of seven years at the time when his parents removed to the farm which he now owns, and in the primitive district schools he secured his early educational training. He continued to assist in the cultivation of the homestead until his marriage, after which he located on a farm of one hundred and nine acres, in Adams township. He disposed of this property at the expiration of nine years and returned to his father's homestead, of which he assumed charge, and here he has ever since continued operations in the line of general farming and stock-growing. He added to his holdings from time to time until he became the owner of four hundred acres of fine land, but he has since divided much of the property among his children, retaining in his homestead one hundred and twenty acres, and having one of the well improved and valuable farms of this section of the state. His political support is given to the Democratic party, and he served for several years as trustee of his township, proving a capable and discriminating executive and doing all in his power to forward the best interests of the community. He is a zealous member of the Evangelical Association and has been an active worker in the church for many years, having held the office of steward for nearly forty years, w^hile for thirty years he has been incumbent of the office of superintendent of the Sunday-school of Trinity church, w^hich is located opposite his own residence.

On the 17th of November, 1859, Mr. Detterman was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Einsel, who \yzs liorn in Pleasant township, on the I2th of October, 1837, ^^^ daughter of Henry and Sarah (Keller) Einsel, who removed to Seneca county from Fairfield county in the early pioneer days and here passed the remainder of their lives, the father fussing away on the ist of September, 1886; and his wife on the 3d of November of the succeeding year, aged, respectively, eighty-one and seventy-four years. Both were lifelong members of the Evangelical Association and were numbered among the honored pioneers of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. Detterman five children have been born, of whom one died in infancy, while those surviving are: John H. and William A., who are rq>resentative farmers of Adams township; Martha E., who remains at the parental home; and George E., who is like\vise a successful farmer of Adams township.

Henry D. Keppel

Among the prominent and successful farmers and influential citizens of Seneca county is numbered Mr. Keppel, whose fine estate is located in Hopewell township. He is a native son of the county and a representative of one of its honored pioneer families, while it has been his to maintain the high reputation borne by his father, who was one of the leading men of this section of the county, being honored and esteemed by all who knew him.

Mr. Keppel was born on the farm where lie now maintains his home, the date of his nativity l>eing April 30, 1849. He is one of the five children born to George and Mary E. (Rosenberger) Keppel, and four of the number still survive, namely: Anna C., the wife of Daniel L. Crum, of whom specific mention is made on another page of this work; Jane E., the wife of J. B. Lautzenheiser, of Hopewell township; Hattie L., the wife of Nelson A. Miller, likewise of this township; and Henry D., the subject of this review. George Keppel, father of our subject, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of March, 1810, being the son of Henry and Anna C. (Steimetz) Keppel, natives respectively of Northampton and Westmoreland counties and representatives of old and prominent families of the Keystone state. They removed to Knox county, Ohio, in the year 1822 and resided there until 1839, when they came to Seneca county, where they passed the residue of their lives, the former passing away in 1842, at the age of seventy-four years. His wife survived him by many years, her death occurring in i860. Henry Keppel served a year in the Indian wars in Pennsylvania. George Keppel, who was the eldest son and the third child in a family of six children, was reared on the homestead farm, and the management of the place largely devolved upon him after he had attained years of maturity, his educational advantages having been such as were afforded in the public schools of the day. In the fall of 1838 he purchased the homestead now owned by our subject, the same having comprised one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land, and in the following year he established his home here, clearing the greater portion of the tract and making the best of improvements, including a thorough system of tile drainage. In the year 1872 he erected a fine brick residence, at a cost of about three thousand dollars, and he attained a high degree of success through his well directed efforts, being one of the influential citizens of the community. He also acquired another farm, of one hundred acres, located two and one-half miles west of the homestead, and was progressive and energetic in his methods, while his attitude was ever that of a public-spirited citizen. On the loth of November, 1842, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Rosenberger, who was born in Jefferson county, West Virginia, the daughter of Henry and Jane Rosenberger, who were numbered among the pioneers of Seneca county, Ohio. George Keppel was a man of fine mentality and inflexible integrity, and he did much to advance the interests of this section of the county. In politics he gave his support to the Democratic party, but he was never an aspirant for public office. He was a devoted member of the First English Lutheran church in the city of Tiffin, and his generous support of the same was indicated by the contribution of five hundred dollars to aid in the erection of the church edifice. Xo man commanded a higher degree of confidence and esteem in the community and his memory is revered by all who know him, his death occurring on the loth of September, 1897, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years, six months and six days. His wndow still survives him, in her eightyfirst year, and makes her home with her children, who accord her the utmost filial solicitude.

Henry D. Keppel, the immediate subject of this review, w^as reared on the old homestead and received his early educational training in the public schools, effectively supplementing the same by a course of study in Heidelberg College, in Tiftin. Upon attaining his majority he assumed the management of the farm, and thus continued until the death of his honored father, when he became the owner of the homestead, where he has passed his entire life. Mr. Keppel has been successful in his farming operations and has made further improvements on the fine old homestead, having erected, in 1899, ^^^ ^^ ^^ best barns in the county, while in every respect his estate shows that he is a progressive and energetic member of the agricultural community. In politics, while never seeking the honors or emoluments of public office, he has given a stanch allegiance to the Democratic party and has been very influential in public affairs of a local nature. His wife is a member of the United Brethren church, to whose support they contribute in a liberal way.

On the 18th of December, 1877, Mr. Keppel was united in marriage to Miss Mary ^L Miller, a daughter of Adam Miller, of whom individual mention is made in appending paragraphs, and of this union three children have been born, namely: Hattie Z., the wife of A. D. Biehler, of Pleasant township; Jesse E. and Nettie C, the two latter reinainng at home.