Seneca Township (part 18 of 60)

The marriage of Mr. Zutavern was solemnized on November 5, 1881, when Miss Alvada Spaulding became his wife. She was bom in Bloom township, the daughter of Samuel D. and Mary (Trail) Spaulding. Three children have been bom to our subject and wife, namely: Harry B., Rollo H. and Ethel B., all of whom have been given excellent educational opyportunities.

Mr. Zutavern has been de\'oted to the principles of the Republican party all his life, and has exerted considerable influence in party ranks in this township. He has served in local offices, and is at present, and has been for the past three years, one of the valued trustees of Bloortownship, having recently been elected for a second term. He is a man of upright life and character, holding the esteem of all his neighbors and having a wide circle of friends. Both he and his estimable w ife and family belong to the Bloomville Reformed church and are prominent in the good work it carries on. For several years he has served as deacon of the church, and he was a member of the building committee under whose direction was recently coralpleted the erection of the present church edifice, at a cost of eleven thousand dollars. Mr. Zutavern belongs to that class of men whose word is as good as their bond. He is highly esteemed in public life and much beloved in his family, where he is a kind and careful father and husband, devoted to the welfare of those dependent upon him. -

Isaac B. Stinebaugh

One of the substantial and representative men of Seneca county, Ohio, is Isaac B. Stinebaugh, who is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Bloom township, where he owns and operates a large and valuable farm. For many years he has been identified with the industrial development and public life of this section, and is widely and favorably known.

Mr. Stinebaugh is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having taken place on the site of the present thriving town of Republic, November 14, 1829. H^ was the only child of Adam and Susannah (Bowser) Stinebaugh, and was bom on his honored mother's nineteenth birthday. His father, Adam) Stinebaugh, w^as born February 20, 1799, in Lancaster coimty, Pennsylvania, in which state the family has many representatives. Adam had married early in the spring of 1829 and in the fall of that year, with his father-in-law, John Bowser, drove from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and in Seneca county he purchased a farm of sixty acres, on which stood a log cabin, this occupying the only spot which had been cleared by the previous owner. Here Mr. and Mrs. Stinebaugh settled and here our subject was born. After seven years of hard work on this place, Mr. Stinebaugh sold it advantageously, the Miami River and Lake Erie railroad having been built through it. He then purchaseil eighty acres of the farm which is now owned by hi^ son. Here Mr. Stinebaugh continued to live until his death, which occurred in 1885. He was a man of great industry and was a very prominent worker 'in the Bloom and Scipio Freewill Baptist church. The death of his wife occurred in 1856. She was bom in Washington county, Maryland.

Isaac B. Stinebaugh, of this sketch, grew up on the farm and was given as good educational opportunities as the local schools aflforded, finishing his studies in the Republic Academy. Before he was seventeen years old he became a teacher, and filled that position very satisfactorily for two winters, but then he returned home to take charge of the farm. Being the only son, his services were needed by his father.

Mr. Stinebaugh was married on July 3, 1856, to Miss Nancy Long, who was a native of Scipio township, this county, being the estimable daughter of Michael and Hepzibah (Famuliner) Long. To this union was born a family of six children, all of whom still survive with one exception, namely, Susan B., who was the wife of Everett Cooley, and who died in 1886, aged twenty-nine years. The others are as follows: Isaac L., a graduate in civil engineering, at the Ohio State University, is now following his profession as a civil engineer; Sceva is the wife of Dr. A. F. Walker, of Sycamore, Ohio; Maggie J. is the wife of Hannibal L. Keller, of Qinton township, this county; Charles E., a well known educator and a graduate of the Ada Normal School, is principal of a school in Rising Sun, Ohio; and Lilly D. is the wife of Nathaniel Loose, of Detroit, Michigan. In his children, Mr. Stinebaugh has been peculiarly fortunate, all of them developing into respected members of society.

Mr. Stinebaugh owns two hundred and forty acres of well improved land in Bloom to\ATiship and is one of its leading agriculturists. His home is one of comfort and plenty, and aJthough time has touched him and silvered his hair, it has done it gently and he is still quite capable of carrying on his business affairs and taking his part in matters of public interest. He is a man of enlightened and progressive ideas, and le of the directors of the Farmers' Mutual ourteen years was township trustee. In IS always testified to his adherence to the supporting its men and measures, being this community, and one who has always public life. For almost a lifetime he has e Baptist church, in which he was reared T, and for thirty-three years he was its lis sketch bears a name which has been nnals of the city of Tiffin and of Seneca ?poch. His father was one of the first to in the little town which has developed ^e city, and was otherwise concerned in 5Ction of the state; while our subject himnty, has here passed his entire life and 1 progress and prosperity to an extent of his contemporaries. He has been nmercial, public and industrial affairs hus has done much to advance the gen- ;h a more striking example of the wise i and safe conservatism than does his. cess is short and simple, containing no >ne of the valuable secrets of the marked i his private and business life are pregr^e, no matter how lacking in dramatic ;e find the record of an honorable and useful life, consistent with itself and its possibilities in every particular. His interests are of diversified and important nature, his attitude has ever been essentially public-spirited, and it may safely be said that no man in the coimty has done more to forward the march of improvement and material progress in this section than has this sterling pioneer and honored business man.

Samuel B. Sneath is a native of the city in which he now maintains his home and in which he holds prestige as president of the Commercial Bank and as the leading business man, his birth having taken place in the family homestead, on WTashington street, opposite the site of the present court house, while the date of his nativity was December 19, 1828. His father, Richard Sneath, of Scottish lineage, was bom in the state of Delaware, where the family had been found in the colonial epoch of our national history, and there he was reared and educated, finally removing to Maryland, where his marriage to Miss Catherine Baugher, a native of Frederick county, that state, was solemnized. In 1826 he came with his family from Mar}^land to Seneca county, Ohio, locating in TiflFin, where he engaged in the mercantile business and also in manufacturing, continuing to be identified with these lines of enterprise until his death, in 1842, at the age of fifty-six years. He was numbered among the first merchants in the pioneer town and was an energetic and able business man : though he met with financial rex^erses shortly before his death. His political support was given to the Whig party, but he was not actively concerned in public affairs of a political nature. Hfis wife survived him, her demise occurring in Tiffin, at the age of about sixty-eight years. She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Tliey became the parents of eight children, all of w^hom grew to maturity, and of whom four survive at the present time, the subject of this sketch having been the sixth in order of birth.

Samuel B. Sneath was about thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and he continued to attend the public schools of Tiffin till the age of fifteen, when he began his practical career by securing work in the fanning-mill manufactory^ which had been established by his father; while shortly afterward he became a clerk in a local drygxx>ds establishment, where he remained about three years. In 1853 he entered into partnership with Jesse Shriver, under the firm name of Shriver & Sneath, and engaged in the dry-gxxxls and clothing business in his native town. At the expiration of about eight years Mr. Sneath disposed of his interests in this enterprise and turned his attention to the produce business, in which he continued for the long period of thirty years, within which time he had expanded the scope of his enterprise by engaging in the grain business upon an extensive scale. He purchased an elevator in Tiffin and also became a stockholder and director of the National Exchange Bank (now the Tiffin National Bank), in whose organization he wasi prominently concerned. In the Centenriial year, 1876, Mr. Sneath effected the organization of the Commercial Bank, of which he acted as cashier for a time, finally becoming president of this important financial institution and having held this chief executive office for the past decade. About 1890, his other interests placing imperative demands upon his time and attention, he turned over his produce and grain business to his son, who then entered into partnership with A. A. Cunningham, as will be noted in the appended sketch of Ralph D. Sneath.

The magnitude and importance of the enterprises and undertakings which have felt the governing hand of Mr. Sneath' can not be lightly estimated in any work which has to do with the development and progress of this favored section of the Buckeye state. In 1897 he inaugurated the constmction of the Tiffin, Fostoria & Eastern Electric Railway, the line of fourteen miles between Tiffin and Fostoria being completed in 1899, together w^ith an operating plant of the best modern order. The cost of this enterprise was very large, demanding a preliminary investment which would have thwarted the designs of one less confident of ultimate results and of his own powers of accomplishment than is Mr. Sneath, the road being now^ in full operation and upon a paying basis, while its value to the localities touched can not be overestimated. Mr. Sneath is also the largest individual stockholder in the National Machinery Company, in Tiffin, owning one-third of the capital stock, which is placed at three hundred thousand dollars. He placed the enterprise on its feet, through his far-sighted and progressive policy, .and it may well be said that his interposition in any undertaking is practically a voucher for its success. He is the owner of 'a half interest in the business of the firm of Sneath & Baker, conducting the most extensive carpet house furnishing establishment in the county, and he also owns what is known as the "Green Line'' city railway in' Tiffin, while he also figures as an extensive land^holder, having three fine farm properties in the county, in addition to valuable real estate in his home city. Mr. Sneath has been identified with every public enterprise in Tiffin, having been one of the committee of three to which was assigned the task of securing the right of way and the putting through of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in this section, and he has been known for years as the leading business man and one of the prominent capitalists of Tiffin, his success having been attained by worthy and legitimate means and through his own efforts, so that to him has always been accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem, the citizens of the county being appreciative of the value of liis influence and co-operation in connection with any project or undertaking conserving the general welfare. In politics Mr. Sneath has given a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, but he is essentially a business man and has invariably refused to accept public office. Though he has now passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, this honored pioneer retains the vigor of a man of fifty, being alert and active and giving his personal supervision to his varied financial and industrial interests. He has passed his entire life in Tiffin, having witnessed its growth from a mere hamlet in the forest to its present position as a modern and thriving city, and in all these years he has maintained a secure hold on the respect and good will of the people of the community.

Mr. Sneath was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Davis, who was born in Tiffin, being the daughter of Levi Davis, one of the pioneer settlers of the town. Mrs. Sneath was summoned into eternal rest some twelve years later, leaving two children, Fanny S., the wife of C.

F. M. Niles, of Toledo; and Ralph D., to whom specific reference is made in the appended paragraphs. Mr. Sneath consummated a second marriage, Miss Laura A. Stephenson becoming his wife. She was born in Findlay, Ohio, the daugliter of William Stephenson, and she now presides with gracious dignity over the beautiful home, which is the center of refined hospitality. She is a member of the Presbyterian church and is prominent in the social life of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Sneath have had two children, - Marian Lee, who is attending school ; and Richard W., who died at the ag^e of seven.

Ralph D. Sneath

As may be seen from the foregoing sketch, the subject of this review is of the third generation of his family in Seneca county, and like his honored father is a native son of the city of Tiffin. Mr. Sneath is known as a young man of distinctive business acumen and sterling character, and he is a worthy representative of the honored name which he bears. He is the senior member of the well-known firm of Sneath & Cunningham, grain dealers and general commission merchants, with headquarters at Tiffin, and through his energy and progressive methods, with the able co-operation of his associate, the enterprise has been made one of wnide scope and importance, having unmistakable influence on the industrial activities of this section of the state. An epitome of the career of Mr. Sneath is certainly apropos in this work.

Ralph Davis Sneath w^s born in Tiffin, on the 31st of October, 1863, being the son of Samuel B. Sneath, of whom individual mention is made in the pweceding review. Our subject secured his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools of Tiffin and supplemented the same by attending Oberlin College for one year. When about nineteen years of age he was given a clerkship in the GDmmercial Bank, of which his father is president, and in this institution he grained that intimate knowledge of business methods which has been of such signal value to him in his later associations. He continued to be employed in the bank about four years and then became associated with his father in the grain and commission business. After three years he conducted operations on his own responsibility and thus continued until 1900, w"hen he entered into the present partnership association with Arthur A. Cunningham, and since that time the business has been conducted under the firm name of Sneath & Cunningham, while the scope of operation is indicated in the fact that they now operate twenty-one elevators, located in Seneca and the adjoining six counties. Sneath & Cunningham are recognized as the most extensive grain dealers in Seneca county and their business is one whose value to the community is unmistakable, touching, as it does, the great productive activities of one of the best agricultural districts of the state. In politics Mr. Sneath is a stalwart Republican, though he is like his father, in never having sought or desired the honors or emoluments of public office.

On the 14th of July, 1886, Mr. Sneath was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Hurst Moore, who was bom in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Rev. R. B. Moore, now a prominent citizen of Vineland, New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Sneath are the parents of two children, - Samuel, aged fourteen years (1902), and Emma Louise, aged ten.

John R. Holmes

No citizen of Eden township, Seneca county, is more widely known or highly esteemed than John R. Holmes. Of a sterling pioneer family, he and his ancestors have been prominent in the development, organization and maintenance of this county, always being safely counted upon to endorse and support to the extent of their ability e\^ery good work, movement and enterprise.

Mr. Holmes was born in Eden township, July 27, 1837, a son of David and Maria (Downs) Holmes. The father was bom in Holmesville. New York, but in 1825 he came from the Empire state to Ohio, and for a time thereafter made his home with his brother-in-law, J. Sherman, in Eden township. He was a blacksmith by trade, and for several years he followed his trade at Melmore, while for a time he was also engaged in the operation of a threshing machine. His father, Jedediah Holmes, who was the founder and laid out the town of Holmes ville. New York, subsequently joined him in the Buckeye state. After coming to this state he located in Eden township, and died here, aged sesenty-seven years. In 1859 C^avid Holmes joined the great army of gold-seekers who were making their way to the Pacific coast, and he made the journey to the Grolden state with an ox team, and on his arrival there he located at Marysville, where he purchased cattle and drove them to the mines. After a residence of two years on the Pacific slope he again returned to his home in this state, locating on the farm which our subject now owns, but about 1879 he put aside the cares of a business life and from that time until his death, which occurred January 4, 1891, he lived in quiet retirement at Melmore. His wife passed away in death February 10, 1882. They became the parents of three sons, - ^Jeremiah, who was bom in 1833, and died at the- age of twenty-two years; John R., of this review; and James W., who is a practicing physician of Tiffin, Ohio.

- John R. Holmes has spent his entire life in this locality and to its public school system he is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth. At tlie age of twenty-two years he began the active duties of life on his own account, and as a life occupation he chose that to which he had been reared, namely, farming, to which he has devoted the best efforts of his life. With the exception of one y«tr, which was spent in Lucas county, his entire life has been passed on the farm which he now owns and occupies. It can be truly said of him that he has grown up with the locality. Here he was born, here his boyhood w^as spent and here he determined to achieve that success in life which illustrates his industry, his intelligence and his sui>erior business qualifications. Not daunted by any adverse circumstances but fastening his eye upon the object before him, by persistent effort and judicious management his business career has been crowned with success. His fami

January 27, 1874, Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Annie Foley, and they have eight children, - Eva, Sheldon M., Bertha, Clara, Benton, Byron, Elson and Anna Helena. The family circle has not been broken by the hand of death, and they occupy an enviable position in society circles in Seneca county. Eva is a bookkeeper in Cleveland, where Sheldon M. is a drug clerk; Bertha is employed in Tiflfin ; and all the other children are at the parental home. Mr. Holmes g^ves his political support to the Republican party, stanchly advocating the principles of that grand old party.

Henry Stucky

Among the representative farmers and stock-growers of Seneca county is the subject of this review, who is the owner of a fine landed estate of more than four hundred acres and carrying on the various departments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequel in definite success. To such men as Mr. Stucky we turn with particular satisfaction as offering in their life, histories justification for works of this nature, - not that their lives have been such as to gain them wide reputation or the admiring plaudits of men, but that they have been true to the trusts reposed, have shown such attributes of character as entitle them to the regard of all, and have been useful in their spheres of action.

Henry Stucky comes of stanch German lineage, but is himself a native son of the old Buckeye state, having been born on a farm in Lykens township, Crawford county, Ohio, on the 5th of August, 1850, the son of Carl and Mary (Kiefer) Stucky, both of whom were born in Germany, where they were reared and where their marriage was solemnized. In 1847 ^^^y emigrated to America, making the voyage on a sailing.vessel and being forty days en route. They located on a farm in

Crawford county, Ohio, the father reclaiming the same from the sylvan wilds, and in that county both passed the remainder of their lives, being folk of frugal, industrious habits and inflexible integrity of character. In his native county our subject was reared to the sturdy discipline of farm life, and his educational opportunities were such as w^ere provided in the common schools of the locality and period. He beg^ his inde- I>endent career at the age of twenty-two years, when he secured emploj^- ment as a farm hand, and finally he rented a tract of land in Bloom township, Seneca county, where he remained eight years, at the expiration of which he located on his present homestead farm, in Eden township. The same comprises one hundred and ninety-three acres, and he also owns another farm of eighty acres in the same township, one of one hundred and twelve acres in Bloom township, and still another tract, of thirty-five acres, - thus bringing the total area of his landed property in the county up to four himdred and twenty acres. The major portion of this land is under a high state of cultivation and of marked productivity, being devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade live stock. Mr. Stucky commands unqualified confidence and esteem in the community, gives his influence in support of all measures for the general good, is a stanch Republican in politics and is a consistent member of the Reformed church, of which his wife also is a devoted member. On the 24th of December, 1874, was solenmized the marriage of Mr. Stucky to Miss Almira Klaiss, and they are the parents oi five children, namely: Emory K., Lucius C, Eliza E., Grattan H. and Grace.

Charles D. Holtz

A representative citizen of Seneca county and a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the Buckeye state, Mr. Holtz is peculiarly worthy of consideration in this compilation. He is a native son of Seneca county, with whose annals the family name has been identified from the early pioneer epoch, and in connection w'ith the indus- trial development and material upbuilding of this locality the members of the family have played an important part, ever commanding the highest confidence and esteem of the community.

Charles D. Holtz was born in Pleasant township, Seneca county, on the farm now owned by his brother John, the date of his nativity being January 31, 1846. He is a son of Jacob P. and Susan (Huss) Holtz, both of whom w-ere born in Frederick county, Maryland, the former being a son of Jacob Holtz, who was of stanch old German lineage. He was born in 1786, and his wife in 1788, and each lived to the age of about seventy-five years. Their children w^ere as follows: William; Jacob P., the father of our subject; Mary Elizabeth; George; Lewis Ezra, now a resident of Putnam county; Ann Charlotte; and Dennis, w^ho resides on the old homestead in Clinton township. Jacob P. Holtz w^as born on the 14th of June, 18 15, and in 1834 he came with his parents and their six other children to Seneca county, Ohio, the trip being iTilade with teams and wagons. The grandfather of our subject purchased several hundred acres of land in Qinton township, and there passed the remainder of his life, having reclaimed a good farm with the assistance of his sons. Here was solemnized the marriage of Jacob P. Holtz to Miss Susan Huss, who was born August 5, 1818, the daughter of David Huss, who removed with his family from Frederick county, Maryland, to Seneca county, Ohio, in 1827, locating in Eden township, of which he was one of the first settlers. Jacob P. and Susan Holtz became the parents of three children, - Jacob S., who enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and who died in July, 1864, in Ft. Strong hospital, at Arlington Heights, District of Columbia; Charles D., the immediate subject of this review ; and John, who is one of the representative farmers of Pleasant township. Shortly after his marriage the father of our subject came to Pleasant township and located on a quarter section of wild land, reclaiming the same and adding to his holdings from time to time until he had a fine estate of about seven hundred acres. Here he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred in 1889, his widow surviving until August, 1896, when she passed away at a venerable age. He was a man of distinct individuality and ability, was one of the influential citizens of the county and was a stalwart Republican in his political proclivities. His life was one of signal honor and usefulness and he was revered as one of the sterling pioneers of the county.

Cliarles D. Holtz, the immediate subject of this review, was born on the old- homestead, in Pleasant township, and was there reared to maturity, his educational advantages being such as were afforded in the public schools of the place and period. After his marriage he located on a farm of ninety-five acres, in Adams township, and there made his home for an interval of eighteen years, at the expiration of which he took up his residence in Pleasant township on the farm where he now lives, having here developed a fine property which was part of the old homestead, and having made the best of permanent improvements, including a commodious and attractive residence. He now owns three hundred and fifteen acres of land, the major portion being under a high state of cultivation, while he has also devoted considerable attention to the raising of high-grade stock, being successful in both departments of his enterprise, which is directed with ability and energy. Mr. Holtz is also the owner of two brick business blocks in the town of Green Spring, which is his post office address, and for more than fifteen years consecutively he has served as a member of the directorate of the Seneca County Mutual Fire Insurance Comj^any, whose headquarters are at Tiffin. He was treasurer of the company in 1896 and 1897, while in 1898 he was elected to the office of president, and has been re-elected consecutively ever since. He served one year as assessor of Adams township and for five years as trustee of the same township, being recognized as a capable executive and a man of spotless integrity in all the relations of life. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, of whose cause he is a zealous supporter. Fraternally he is identified with Green Spring Lodge, No. 427, A. F. & A. M., of which he has served as worshipful master. In 1874 he became a member of Union Grange, No. 1078, Patrons of Husbandry, and has been one of its influential and active workers, having served the same in the various official chairs.

Miss Mary L. Smith, who was born in Green Spring, the daughter of S. H. and Charlotte Smith, now residents of Bellevue, and of this union three children have been born, namely : Grace, who is a graduate of Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, and who is now the wife of H. W. Robinson, a leading grain merchant of Green Spring; Nellie, who is likewise a graduate of Heidelberg College and who remains at the parental home; and Jessie, who is a student in the same college, being a member of the class of 1903.

Michael Borough

The vicissitudes and conditions of pioneer life were not unknown to the subject of this sketch, and though he has marked the intervening years with ''ceaseless toil and endeavor" he has had the satisfaction of realizing that his efforts have been crowned with success, since he stands to-day as one of the prominent and prosperous farmers of Seneca county and as one of its honored citizens.

Mr. Borough is a native son of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Sandusky county on the i6th of January, 1836. His father, Abraham Borough, was born in Pennsylvania, whence he was taken in his early childhood to Virginia, where he was reared and educated. He continued to reside in the Old Dominion state until 1828, when his father, Frederick Borough, removed with his family to Ohio, locating in Jackson township, Sandusky county, where he took up a quarter section of wild government land, upon which he erected a house of hewed logs, and then gave his attention to reclaiming the land. He was a tailor by trade and spent his last years with a son in Michigan, where he died at the patriarchal age of one hundred and five years, five months and twenty days. Abraham Borough married, in Wayne county, Miss Sarah Betts, and they became the parents of six sons and four daughters, namely: Samuel, a resident of Eaton county, Michigan; Michael, of this sketch; Henry,- a resident of Hancock county; Daniel, of Wood county; Mary, the wife of David Mowry, of Fostoria; Lily, the wife

I Centennial Biographical History

0 are deceased. In 1840 Abraham Borough removed from Sandusky mty to Liberty township, Seneca county, where he remained a few irs and then returned to Sandusky county, where he continud to ide until 1850, when he again came to Liberty township, and here -chased a tract of eighty acres, to whose cultivation he devoted his intion for the ensuing fifteen years. He then purchased a farm in ncock county, but eventually came back to Seneca county, his death urring in Fostoria at the venerable age of eighty years. His wife sed away at the age of sixty-nine years, both having been consistent mbers of the Evangelical church.

Michael Borough, the immediate subject of this sketch, grew up the pioneer farms owned by his father, and his early educational vantages were such as the primitive log school-house of the period Drded, and he walked one and one-half miles to the school-house each ^ He continued to assist his father in his farming operations until had attained the age of twenty-two years, when he gave inception bis independent career by engaging in the work of clearing land and 9ping wood, continuing to be thus engaged for three years. He thereer operated a threshing outfit and also engaged in farming on rented d, thus continuing until 1869, when he took up his abode on the farm ich he now owns, near Fort Seneca, Pleasant township, and here he

1 made excellent improvements of a permanent nature, while he has ced the farm under a fine state of cultivation, having one hundred I eighty acres of as good land as is to be found in this favored section the state, his farm bordering the Sandusky river. In his farming rations he also devotes special attention to the breeding of short-horn tie and Shropshire sheep.

In politics Mr. Borough accords allegiance to the Republican part\^, I the personal estimate placed upon him in the community has been nifiedi in his being called upon to serve in the office of township trustee. ; religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as trustee, steward and class-leader for more than a quarter of a century, his wife also being a devoted worker in the church.

On the 5th of December, 1861, Mr. Borough was united in marriage to Miss Mary Oswalt, and they have three children, - William H., who assists in the management of the homestead, married Annie Hushey, of Sandusky, and they have two children, - Horace and Venona; Jennie, the wife of Dr. J. C. Bowman, of Martin, Ohio; and Lola, the wife of Alonzo Taylor, of Oklahoma.

Elijah Niebel

This honored veteran of the Civil war, and now a leading agriculturist of Seneca county, may be justly termed a self-made man, for from his early years he has been obliged to make his own way in the world, and bravely and victoriously has he met adversity. He was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, January 10, 1839, a son of Levi and Elizabeth (Ritter) Xiebel. The father was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, in September, 18 16, and in 1832 removed with his parents to Wyandot county. After his marriage he l^egan farming in Fairfield, Ohio, and th.ere the mother of our subject was called to her final rest in. 1841, and of her two children Elijah alone survives. His only brother, John, was killed by acident at the age of thirteen years. After her death the children found a home with their paternal grandparents until the father's second marriage, about two years later, when Miss Hannah Bish became his wife. From 1844 until 1856 the father made his home in Bloom township, Seneca county, and in the latter year removed to the farm two miles southeast of Fostoria on which our subject now resides, but some time in the '70s he left this place and removed to Fostoria, and since 1901 he has made his home in Hancock county with his son Henry.

Elijah Niebel, the subject of this review, received but limited educational advantages during his youth and early manhood, for in early life he was obliged to assist in the clearing of the home farm, but by constant reading, study and observation in later life he has added greatly to his knowledge and has become a well informed man. On the 31st of October, 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil war, he nobly offered his services to his loved country and was assigned to Company D, Seventysecond Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving as a defender of the starry banner for three years and eight months. During his military career he took part in many of the hard-fought battles of the war, including those of Pittsburg Landing, the siege of Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson and Brandon. After the last named engagement he retunied home on a thirty days' furlough, after which he returned to his regiment and took part in the battle of Paducah. He was captured on the nth of June, 1864, near Meridian, Mississippi, during the engagement at Price's Cross-roads, and was confined in the prison pen at Andersonville for three months, after which he was transferred to Florence, South Carolina, there remaining as a prisoner of war until the ist of the following March. He was then paroled, at Goldsboro, and returned to his home. His army experience is one of which he has every reason to be proud, for he was ever found at his post of duty, and for his promptness, bravery and strict fidelity to duty he won the praise of his officers and the respect and esteem of his comrades.

In 1866 Mr. Niebel took up his abode in Fostoria, which continued to be his home for the following five years, during which time he was engaged in the arduous task of clearing land. For the succeeding twenty months he resided on his father-in-law's farm, in Loudon township, and he then became the owner of seventy-five acres of his present home place, where he has ever, since continued to reside. As the years have passed by prosperity has abundantly rewarded his well directed efforts, enabling him to add to his original purchase until his landed possessions now consist of one hundred and fifty-five acres of rich and productive land. His success, however, is not the outcome of propitious circumstances, but the honest reward of labor, good management, ambition and energy, without which no man can win prosperity.

pioneers of Seneca county, Ohio, coming to this locality from Stark county. They became the parents of six children, - Flora Belle, deceased; one who died in infancy; Sarah A., also deceased; Minnie, wife of William Mathers, of Bowling Green, Ohio; Qara, wife of J. H. Arnold, of that city ; and Arthur C, of Toledo. Mr. Niebel is a stanch supporter of Republican principles, and socially is a member of Norris Post, No. 27, G. A. R., of Fostoria, and has revisited some of the scenes of former strife while he was a soldier. His religious preference is indicated by his membership in the First United Brethren church at Fostoria, of which he is a zealous member and active worker, and in which he has served in various official capacities, being a trustee at the time of the building of the present edifice.

Harry E. Bradner

Harr>' E. Bradner, who is president of the Fostoria Heat & Light Company, represents one of the pioneer families of the state, but farther back into the history of this country can his ancestry be traced. His great-grandfather, the Rev. Bradner, was a native of Scotland and emigrating to America founded the family in the new world. He was a minister of the Presbj'terian church and was living in New York city when William Bradner, the grandfather of diir subject, was born. William' Bradner married Laut'a Everingham, and after residing at Niagara Falls, New York, for some years, he came with his family to Ohio, settling in Perry township, Wood county, and engaging in merchandising in Mill Grove. It was his son, John A. Bradner, who became the father of our subject. Prominently connected with railroad building in this state, he was for many years one of the most distinguished citizens of Fostoria. He married Miss Catherine Phillips and unto them were born eight children, of w^hom Harry E. is the seventh in order of birth.

Mr. Bradner of this review pursued his early education in the public schools of Fostoria, completed the high school course, and then, with a broad general education to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning, he took up the study of law, in the office and under the direction of Charles A. Strauch, of Fostoria. He did not practice, however, but, becoming interested in the City Heat & Light Company, he was made its secretary and treasurer, and in January, 1902, was elected its president.

On the 3d of April, 1899, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bradner and Miss Edith Butterfield, a daughter of Isaac and Antonia (Griswold) Butterfield, the latter being a daughter of Samuel Oris wold, \vh.^ was the first white child born in Columbus, Ohio. He became well known in connection w^ith journalistic interests in Ohio, published a paper at Tiffin, later one at Marion, and at the time of his death was tht editor and proprietor of the Fairfield County Gazette, at Lancaster, Ohio. His son Samuel, an uncle of Mrs. Bradner, was one of the editors of the Omaha Bee. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bradner has been born one child, William Robert. The j>arents are well known in Fostoria, where they have a large circle of acquaintances, and enjoy tlie hospitahty of the best homes. Mr. Bradner is accounted one of the most progressive and energetic business men of the locality and his reliability and pei-sonal worth make him a popular and valued citizen.

Owex T. Brown

Few residents of Fostoria have l^een more actively connected with its upbuilding and progress than Owen T. Brown, the president of the Mechanics' Banking Company, and no history of the county would be' complete without a suitable record of his life.

He was born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, one the 27th of March, 1835, a son of Edward and Margaret (Williams) Brown, who on emigrating to America in 1844 settled in Newark township, Licking county, Ohio, where they spent their remaining years, the father passing away in 1 86 1, at the age of sixty-eight, while his widow survived him until 1870, dying at the age of sixty-five. Owen T. was but a little lad of seven years when with his parents he crossed the Atlantic. He was reared in Licking county and attended the schools of Newark, and when he had put aside his text books he became connected with the grain trade there. In 1875 he removed to Fostoria, but still engaged in buying and selling grain in Newark, as a member of the firm of Brown Brothers. On arriving in this city he became a partner in the firm of Foster, Olmsted & Company, which connection was maintained until 1890, when he went to Europe. At that time a reorganization brought into existence the firm of Brown & Bannister, the business continuing until 1896, Mr. Brown becoming the sole owner of the business. In July, 1899, he became the president of the Mechanics' Banking Company uix)n the reorganization of the old M'echanics' Savings Bank Company. Under his direction the new institution has had a remarkable growth. The conservative business policy w^hich he inaugurated has brought commensurate success, the patronage increasing until it has assumed large proportions.

Mr. Brown w^as united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Jones, who was horn in Cardiganshire, Wales, March 27, 1835. Twice have they revisited their native land and in 1901 they traveled all over the European continent, visiting the princii>al points of modern as well as historic interest. Four children were born to them, but Edward, their first, died at the age of six. Wilbur Charles, Anna M. and Mamie E. are the yoimger members of the family.

Mr. Brown has been active and influential in promoting public progress and the upbuilding of Fostoria. He is a progressive, enterprising citizen, deeply interested in every movement calculated to advance the general good. For three terms he sensed as a member of the city council, and was the president of the board at the time the city waterworks were established and w^hen all the contracts for city paving were given. The coimcil asked him to resign his fK>sition as one of its members in order to make him president of the water-works commission and allowed him to name the other two committeemen. The building of the water-works plant, involving the expenditure of two hundred thousand dollars, was completed in a thoroughly satisfactory and business-like

He has ever been a Republican, strong and earnest in support of tlje party, his efforts in its behalf being accorded of value in party lines. For thirty years he has been identified with the Masonic fraternity, being connected with the blue lodge and chapter, hong a consistent and faithful member of the Presbyterian church, for twentj'-six years he has served as one of its trustees. He is a conservative business man of recognized ability and sterling integrity, acknowledged as a power in commercial, political, fraternal and church circles. He has not been so abnormally developed along any line as to make him a genius, but he belongs to that class of representative Americans who give due attention to those varied lines of thought and action which most affect the general good. Among his warmest friends are those who have known him through many years, - a fact v/hich indicates that his career has ever been honorable, and upon the pages of Seneca county's history appears the name of no man who is more worthy of public regard than Owen T. Brown.

Edward E. Heath

Edward E. Heath, who is connected with the development of the oil industry at Rollersville and makes his home in Republic, was bom in Tompkins county. New York, February 12, 1843. His father, James Heath, removed with his family to Harford, New^ York, in 1849. ^"^ in the public schools of that place Edward E. acquired his literary education. At the age of seventeen years, however, he started out upon his business career, working at the tinner's trade in Homer, New York, w^here he served an apprenticeship to that pursuit. He was thus engaged until the 21st of August, 1862, when he placed his name upon the roll of volunteer soldiers to aid in the suppression of the rebellion in th'e south. On the 19th of September he w^as mustered in the United States service, becoming a member of Company H, One Hundred and Fifty- seventh Xevv York Infantry, at Hamilton. He joined the army for three years, and with his regiment proceeded to the front. The first engagement of importance in which he participated was at Chancellorsville, and there he was wounded by a minie ball, which passed clear through the left thigh and lodged against the bone in the right leg. He was then in the field hospital for three days, after which he was sent to a hospital in Washington, where he remained for seventeen days, during which time the ball was extracted. He was then sent to David's Island, where he remained until the ist of September, at which time he was transferred to Fort Schuyler. Later he was at Bedloe's Island and at Alexandria, Virginia, when he was put on detached service, being thus engaged until his discharge, at the close of his term of three years. He was mustered out on the 14th of July, 1865, as first sergeant, having been promoted to the rank of corporal before leaving New York. On account of his wounds he was at one time granted a furlough of one month. He did his duty faithfully and well and was always found with his command until his injuries necessitated his remaining in the hospital.

After the close of his military service Mr. Heath took up his abode in Homer, New York, where he followed his trade for two years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Tioga county. New York. At Candor, that county, he was engaged in the hardware business until 1874, w^hen he came to' Republic, Ohio, on a visit, hoping that his wife's health might be improved. She was so much benefited by the change that he decided to remain here and soon afterward began buying and selling walnut timber. Later he engaged in the tinware and hardware business in Republic and is now connected w^ith the oil industry, owning six oil wells at Rollersville, Ohio, the enterprise being successful.

On the 1st of December, 1869, Mr. Heath was united in marriage to Miss Helen M. Shaw. She was born in Scipio township, Seneca county, a daughter of Joseph Shaw, whose history appears elsewhere in this work. In his political views Mr. Heath is a Republican, believing firmly in the principles of the party. He holds membership m Captain Horace Robinson Post, G. A. R., of Republic, of which he was formerly commander, and his wife belongs to the Women's Relief Corps, of which she is treasurer. He is a past noble grand of Republic Lodge, No. 40, I. O. O. F., and his wife is a past noble grand of the Daughters of Rebekah. She has been quite prominent in the work of this organization and was a delegate to the state meeting of the order, representing the twentyfirst district. In public affairs Mr. Heath has taken a deep, active and helpful interest. He was a member of the tow^n council and served on tlie fire and water committee. He does everything in his powxr to promote the welfare and progress of his community, and for twenty years he has been correspondent of the Tiffin Tribune. In his business interests he has met with creditable success, owing to his enterprise and keen discernment in financial matters.

Thomas C. Knight

This venerable pioneer of Seneca county is a native son of the Buckeye state and a representative of one of the families who came to this commonwealth in an early epoch, dignifying the same by their services and worthy lives, even as he has done during the more than four score years which have elapsed since he was here ushered into the world. Honored by all, there is no citizen of the county more worthy of consideration in this compilation, and we find satisfaction in noting here, the more salient features in his career. Mr. Knight, after years of active and earnest endeavor, is now living retired in the attractive little city of Tiffin, honored as one of the patriarchs of this locality.

Mr. Knight comes of stanch English lineage in the agnatic line and is a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, having been born on the old lit.mestead farm on the 28th of February, 1821, the son of John and Mary (Glaze) Knight, who became the parents of seven children, of whom only t\^o survive, - Elizabeth, the wife of Barney Brinker, and the owner of the old homestead, where she still lives; and Thomas C, the venerable subject of this review. John Knight was born in the city of London, England, and when he was a lad of nine years hi? parents came to the United States, locating on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, four miles distant from Circleville, Pickaway county, Ohio, where John Henry Knight, the grandfather of our subject, passed the remainder of his life, as did also his wife. He cleared and improved his farm, which ultimately became the property of his son and namesake, who finally sold the place and purchased a tract of wild land in Sandusky county, to which he removed when our subject was but three years of age. Some years later he returned to Pickaway county and there purchased another farm, which continued to be his home for the residue of his life, the old homestead being now owned by his daughter, as has been noted. He died in 1834, at the age of fifty-two years, having been a man of ability and utmost probity. In politics he gave his support to the Democratic party, ever manifesting a deep interest in all that concerned the welfare of the community. His wife was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, her parents being of Prussian lineage, while the family was established on American soil in the colonial epoch, as is evident from the fact that one of her uncles in the paternal line served with distinction in the Continental line during the war of the Revolution. He was captured by the British and was held in duress until he nearly died of starvation, but finally succeeded in making his escape and rejoining the colonial forces. George Knight, an uncle of our subject, also rendered effective service in the second conflict with Great Britain, having served as a soldier in the war of 1812. The mother of Mr. Knight lived to attain the exceptionally venerable age of ninety-seven years, her death occurring in Pickaway county. Thomas C. Knight remained with his parents, assisting in the work of the farm and receiving his early educational discipline in the somewhat primitive schools maintained in Ohio in the pioneer days. He was but thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and he thereafter continued to assist his mother on the home place until his marriage, in 1848, when he came to Seneca county and located on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Hopewell township, reclaiming the place and placing it under a high state of cultivation, while, as the years passed and prosperity attended his efforts, he made excellent improve- ments of a permanent nature, the place now being equipped with substantial buildings and all other requisite accessories and facilities. This fine farm property is still owned by Mr. Knight, and there he continued to reside until 1885, when he sought surcease from the active labors of a busy and useful career and removed to the city of Tiffin, where he has a pleasant home, in which he is passing the sunset years of his life in peace and happiness. In politics Mr. Knight has maintained an independent attitude and has invariably refused to accept official preferment, though he has ever been ready to lend his aid and influence in support of all legitimate objects for the public good.

On the 9th of February, 1848, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Knight to Miss Mary Powell, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, the daughter of Philip Powxll, a prominent and influential pioneer farmer of Fairfield county, and this union was blessed with nine children, of whom seven are living at the present time, namely: William, a successful wholesale business man of the city of Qeveland; Marion, who is a grain merchant of Tiffin; Amos, a prominent and successful physician of Attica, Ohio; John; Laura, the wife of William Reid, of Pickaway county: Thomas E., who has a farm adjoining the old homestead; and Sherman, who is identified with the glass-manufacturing industry at Dunkirk, Indiana. Mrs. Knight died in July, 1891, aged sixty-seven years, and her demise was a source of bereavement to a large circle of friends outside the sacred family precincts.

William H. Anway

William H. Anway represents one of the honored pioneer families of Seneca county, and his birth occurred on the old family homestead, in Scipic township, June 22, 1835. There he was reared, and in the common schools he acquired his early education, which was supplemented by study in the Republic Academy. To his father he gave the benefit of his services until his marriage, which important event in his life occurred on the 3d of September, 1857, the lady of his choice being Miss Lucinda Tremaine, who was born in Fulton county, Ohio, a daughter of Warren and Nancy (White) Tremaine, who came to Seneca county about 1828, estabHshing their home in Scipio township. Her father purchased eighty acres of land, upon a part of which the town of Republic now stands. About 1835 he removed to Fulton county, Ohio, and there entered land from the government. He became one of the prominent and influential pioneer settlers there and took an active part in promoting public progress. He aided in organizing the township in which he lived and was its first justice of the peace. His death occurred in 1841 and his wife passed away in January, 1887, at the age of eighty- four years. He left to the care of his widow two daughters, Mrs. Anway and Qotilda. The latter became the wife of A. H. Smith, and died at Delta, Ohio, in February, 1902. Their mother then conducted the farm of three hundred and twenty acres for eight years after her husband's death. On the expiration of that period she married Elijah Smith, the father of A. H. Smith. She survived her second husband and died at the home Qi Mrs. Anway at the venerable age of eighty-three years.

Mr. and Mrs. Anway began their domestic life upon a farm which continued to be their place of abode until 1872, in which year they came to Republic. After two years, however, Mr. Anway resumed farming upon the old homestead, but when two more years had passed he sold that property and again came to Republic, where he continued until 1880. In that year he began farming upon a tract of land near the town, and there continued agricultural pursuits until 1901, when he retired from active business life and one more took up his abode in Republic. He is still the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land, and of this eighty acres were entered from the government by his paternal grandfather, William Anway, and has since been owned by some representative of the name of Anway. Industry has characterized his business career and his sound judgment and careful management have been the means of bringing to him creditable and desirable success.

became the wife of A. I. Stickney, station agent at Re in 1884; William W. is a farmer of Scipio township; a wife of C. E. Karshner, of Barberton, Ohio. In his pol Anway is a Republican, and, keeping well informed c and issues of the day, is enabled to support his positic argument. He has served as a member of the town cot and is deeply interested in everything pertaining to tl progress of his community. For more than a quarter has been a member of the Odd Fellows lodge of Repu true and loyal to the teachings of this fraternity, whic brotherly kindness and helpfulness. Throughout his Anway has resided in Seneca county, and through sixty witnessed its growth, development and progress, takir what has here been accomplished and bearing his part public improvement. The qualities of upright manhoo him high regard, and his worth is widely recognized.

Josiah Kistler

As a native son of Seneca county and a representati earliest pioneer families in this section of the Buckeye s is eminently entitled to representation in a compilation with those who have been the founders and builders c wealth, while such is his personal honor and integrity < such his standing as one of the successful and progre: the county that this consideration is all the more compa

Mr. Kistler was born in Adams township, Senecj 13th of April, 1838, being the son of Joseph Kistler, \ Pennsylvania, of sturdy German ancestry. Joseph K in the year 181 5, and in his youth accompanied his ] removal to Seneca county, Ohio, where he grew to pioneer farm, which was reclaimed from the sylvan wik of the state. Here his marriage occurred and here he reared his children. Josiah was reared on the old homestead, early beginning to lend his aid in the work of improving and cultivating the same and securing such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the place and period. After attaining his legal majority he continued to work for his father, receiving one hundred dollars per year and the privileges of the family home. He was thus engaged until the year succeeding his marriage, which was solemnized when he was twenty-four years of age.

^Ir. Kistler was united in marriage to Miss Susan Bookholdt, who was born in Seneca county, and to them eight children w^ere born, of wlum four are living, namely: Joseph, a successful farmer of Adams township; Sarah, the wife of William Burger, of Clinton township; Herbert, w^ho is engaged in farming in Adams township; and Webster, who remains at the parental home, assisting his father in his farming operations. He married Miss Lizzie Eberhardt, and they have one child, Leroy.

The year subsequent to his marriage Mr. Kistler leased a farm in his native township, giving his attention to its cultivation for a period of five years, after which he purchased sixty acres of land in Adams township, disposing of this property a year later and returning to the parental homestead, where he successfully engaged in farming for ten years. He then purchased eighty-five acres of land in Adams township and there made his home for seven years, at the expiration of which time he bought his present fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres. This place he has improved in the most effective way, making it one of the most desirable farm properties in the county, and here he has given his attention to diversified farming and to the raising of highgrade live stock, success having attended his efforts in all departments of his enterprise. He has never failed to avail himself of new methods which commended themselves to his judgment, and has been wide-awake and progressive, avoiding the ruts along which so many agriculturists continue to travel, thereby handicapping their success. In his political allegiance Mr. Kistler has given his unqualified support to the Demo- cratic party, taking an active interest in its cause and in those affairs which have to do with the general prosperity of his home community. He has served as road supervisor for the long period of eighteen years, making a most capable official, and was a director of the school board of his district for twelve years. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, of which he has been a deacon for the past six years. His wife, whose death occurred April 4, 1901, had been a devoted mem* ber ef St. Joseph's Reformed church. A man of highest integrity and of unvarying courtesy and kindliness, he is honored by all who know him and is regarded as one of the representative citizens of his native township.

Andrew Emerine

In the anxious and laborious struggle for an honorable competence and solid career on the part of the average business man fighting the every-day battle of life, there is but little to attract the idle reader in search of a sensational chapter ; but for a mind fully awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are noble and immortal lessons in the life of the man who. without other means than a clear mind, .1 strong arm and a true heart, conquers fortune and gains not only the temporal rewards of his toil, but also that which is greater and higher, the respect and confidence of those with whom his years of active life have placed him in contact. America is distinctively a cosmopolitan nation; she has drawn from the four quarters of the world and rapidly assimilated the heterogeneous elements. To no country, however, does she owe more than to Germany, from whose provinces have come men of sturdy integrity, determined purpose and marked intellectual vigor, - ^men who have proved both builder and conservators. The German-American is in the average case imbued most thoroughly with the spirit of our national institutions, and brings to bear his strength of manhood in perpetuating and advancing the higher interests of the republic.

representative and public-spirited citizens of Fostoria, Seneca county, Ohio, where he has maintained his home for more than half a century, having been one of the pioneer business men of the little village of the early days and having contributed a due quota to its advancement to its present status as an attractive and thriving little city of the Buckeye commonwealth. He has had an abiding and practical interest in all that has touched the prosperity and substantial upbuilding of the town, and here he has risen, through his own well directed and honorable efforts, from the position of a harnessmaker plying his trade in a diminutive shop, which he shared with two other young tradesmen in different lines of enterprise, to that of president of the First National Bank and the ow ner of extensive real-estate and capitalistic interests. Such a life record can not fail of lesson and incentive, and it is gratifying indulgence to here trace the career of the German lad who came with his industrious and honored father to the United States, where he early assumed the practical responsibilities of life and w^here he has attained notable success during the long years which have developed his powers and made him a valuable factor in the community.

Andrew Emerine was born in Wittenberg, kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, on the 3d of December, 1829, the original orthography of the name having been Amhrine. His parents, George and Anna (Heine) Emerine, were of stanch old German lineage and their marriage was solemnized in Wittenberg, where the mother died when our subject was about two years of age. His father soon afterward emigrated to America and in 1836 he located on a farm in Liberty township, Seneca county, Ohio, where he remained several years, clearing and improving a farm in the forest. He then removed to Sandusky county, where he made his home until 1861, when he located in Hancock county, where he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until his death, at the patriarchal age of ninety years. He was a man of sterling integrity and indefatigable industry, devoting his life to honest toil and endeavor and commanding unqualified confidence and esteem. His son Andrew remained at home, assisting his father in the wx)rk of the farm, until he had attained the age of eleven years, when he faced the battle of life on his own responsibility, finding employment as a chore boy on a neighboring farm and thereafter continuing to be identified with farm work until he had reached the age of seventeen. It is scarcely necessary to state that the early scholastic advantages afforded to Mr. Emerine were exceedingly limited in scope, but to one of so alert mentality tlie lack of early educational advantages can not prove a bar to the acquirement of definite and comprehensive knowledge, as is evident when we but stop to consider the intellectual strength of the man of to-day, his broad mental grasp and mature judgment. For about three years Mr. Emerine had lived in the home of a Mr. Spielman, a few miles south of Tiffin, Seneca county, and he gave up his work there at the age of seventeen for the purpose of learning the trade of harness-making, in which connection he came to Fostoria, which was then a small hamlet, known by the name of Rome. Here he served an apprenticeship of three years under the direction of Jacob Fritcher, receiving his board and clothing during the interval and becoming a competent artisan in the line. Of the buildings in the little village of Rome at the time he took up his residence here not more than fifteen remain to-day in the flourishing city of Fostoria, the name of the town having been changed in honor of tlic father of ex-Govemcr Foster, who has here maintained his home from childhood. After completing his apprenticeship Mr. Emerine worked as a journeyman at his trade until he had accumulated a surplus of about fifty dollars, and with this as a basis he engaged in business on his own responsibility, opening a harness shop in a little building, sixteen feet square, in which were provided accommodations also for the tailor shop of Charles Kelley, who was also postmaster, and for David Stackhouse, a shoemaker, the three enterprises flourishing in their respective lines. Our subject secured the necessary tools and equipments on credit and invested his entire fifty dollars in stock. There was at the time but one other harness shop in this immediate locality, Joseph Lewis conducting a similar enterprise at a little settlement called Risdon, located alx>ut one-half mile north of Rome, from which it was separated by a strip of woods. Mr. Emerine continued to conduct his harness-making business until 1872, securing larger quarters as the exigencies of his increasing business demanded. The county was rapidly settling up and developing, he secured good prices for his products and work and his business was signally prospered, his sales running as high as twelve thousand dollars a year and orders for work coming so rapidly as to test the capacity of the establishment. He gave credit to every one who asked for same, and the sterling character of the people of the community is indicated when we revert to the fact that he never lost to exceed fifty dollars through thus placing his confidence in those who secured work on credit. For many years our subject manufactured all the horse collars sold in his place, giving his personal attention to the cutting of nearly all his leather stock and working assiduously night and day to meet the demands placed upon him. What more consistent and well merited than that such earnest application should meet with definite reward? He employed several workmen in his shop and its products had the highest reputation for superior excellence, while his business methods were ever above criticism, as they have been in the later years during which he has had to do with affairs of wide scope and importance. At the expiration of twelve years Mr. Emerine found that he had a modest fortune of about ten thousand dollars, and upon this was based the wider success which was to come to him through enterprise and far-sighted business policy. He purchased at that time a tract of land, for which he paid four thousand dollars, and within a year he disposed of the same at a profit of twenty-four hundred dollars, this operation signifying the turning point in his business career and lea.iing to his withdrawing from that line of enterprise which had serv^ed as the nucleus of his success. He continued to handle real estate, and from i860 to 1875 large profits could be realized from the handling of Ohio realty, both improved and unimproved. Mr. Emerine had the prescience and sagacity to take advantage of the opportunities thus afforded during the war of the Rebellion and the years immediately following, and he has ever since continued to lie largely interested in real estate in this section of the state. He retired from the harness business in the year 1874, in order to devote his attention the more closely to his other interests. He purchased tracts of wild land at nominal prices

Hical History

At the present time he is the regate area of fully seven thoucock, Logan, Seneca and Wood lis connection to lease the farms ances he has entered into partis, devoted principally to grain >f high-grade live stock, having e on a fine stock and grain farm istant from Fostoria. erations Mr. Emerine incidenting business and this eventually )nal Bank of Fostoria, of which organization. The institution ber, 1882, under the national lamed stockholders : Andrew , of Bucyrus: G. J. Hull, of ky ; T. D. Adams, of Fostoria : on. John McCauley, of Tiffin, iid dollars and its history has conservative management and iiained, by successive elections, the benefit of his high business e administrative powers. The was succeeded after two years who has ever since been the tion. The list of stockholders [ business and financial circles 1 solidity in the institution, the ut fifty thousand dollars, while ost satisfactory from the start. ;?s the well being and material advancement of the city and county of his home, Mr. Emerine has ever been known for his genuine public spirit and has given his aid and influence to many enterprises through which he hoped to foster the industrial prestige of Fostoria. A glass manufactory and a brick factory wMth which he identified himself proved unable to be successfully operated, but he is one of those prominently concerned in the Seneca White Lime Company, which operates eight kilns, affording employment to forty married men and having a capacity for the daily output of six hundred barrels of lime, the product being specially adapted for use in manufacturing glass and as a fertilizer, in which latter function it is extensively used in Pennsylvania. Mr. Emerine is also president of the First National Bank of North Baltimore, Ohio, the same having been organized in 1892 and being capitalized for sixty thousand dollars. This is likewise one of the solid financial institutions of the state, and its cashier is Levi Wooster, a son-in-law of our subject. Mr. Emerine has still other important capitalistic interests, being concerned in the oil industry as a member of two different op>erating companies, one of which had its inception about fifteen years ago, and since that time it has paid in dividends to each of its fifteen stockholders about sixty thousand dollars. Our subject erected in his home city the Emerine block, one of the finest structures in the business district, and in this the bank is located. His fine modern stone residence is one of the most attractive homes in Fostoria and one of the handsomest and most substantial in this section of the state. In politics our subject gave his allegiance to the Democratic party for many years, but finally became convinced that it had deviated materially from its original principles and he has consequently maintained an independent attitude in politics for some time, exercising his franchise in support of policies and measures rather than holding to distinct partisan lines. He is a member of no fraternal organization, having ever found that his home and his business had full claims upon his time and attention without recourse to extraneous associations. Though not a member of any religious organization he has a deep reverence for spiritual verities, and has been a liberal con-

In 1850 Mr. Emerine was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Bair, of this county, and she entered into eternal rest in i860, leaving twc children, - Alonzo, who is cashier of the First National Bank of Fostoria, and Amanda, who became the wife of Levi W'ooster, cashier of the First National Bank of North Baltimore, and who died at the age of thirty years, leaving two children, - Lula and Trude. In Decenibei. 1863, was solemnized the marriage of our subject to Miss Amy Xoble, wlio was born in Brant county, Canada, and who died at the age of fifty-nine years, leaving five children, namely : Sarah, who is the wife of John FaulKaber, of Fostoria; Lucy, who remains at the paternal home; Cora, who is the wife of J. C. Crisswell of Mount Gilead, Morrow county; Andrew, who is teller in the First National Bank of Fost(*ria; and Amy, who remains at the paternal home.

Wilbur C. Brown

In no other land on the face of the glol^e is there accorded so perfect and consistent a recognition of individuality as in America, and here only has it l^een possible to overcome the prejudicial animus against admitting the ability and capacity of youth and to afford to the individual a full province in which to exercise the most p<itent functions of which he is capable, regardless of the fact that over his head may not have passed as many years as represent the age of those with whom he comes in competition in any of the fields of human endeavor. An exemplification of the potentialities of }'Outh is given in the honorable and peculiarly successful career of the subject of this review, and though he now mantains his residence in the national metropolis, he calls Ohio his home and is still intimately identified with both political and business aflfairs in his native state, while such has been his prominence in Seneca countv, where he was reared to maturitv and where his honored

Among Ohio men in Nevv York city none has more quickly achieved a high p(:sition in the business and financial world than Col. Wilbur C. Brown. He is a son of Owen T. Brown, one of the representative citizens of this county, and as specific mention of him is made on other pages of this work it will not be necessary to recapitulate at this juncture. Wilbur Charles Brown was bom in Newark, Licking county, Ohio, on the 20th of November, 1863, and he received his preliminary education in the public schools of that place and the city of Fostoria, Seneca county, to which his parents removed in his early youth. He was graduated in the Fostoria high school in 1880, with the highest honors of his class. He early manifested a predilection for literary work, his taste in this direction being exact and appreciative and his creative talents definite and critical. It may be appropriately stated that when only fourteen years of age he edited and printed an amateur newspaper, and his initial step after leaving school was to accept the position of city editor of the Daily Jeflfersonian, at Findlay, Ohio. In April, 1882, Colonel Brown resigned his editorial position for the purpose of entering the banking house of the Hon. Charles Foster, in Fostoria, Mr. Foster having at that time been governor of the state. This incumbency Colonel Brown retained until January i, 1888, when he tendered his resignation and became treasurer and general financial manager of a very extensive flouring-mill company which was organized in Fostoria by the late Hon. M. D. Harter, this corporation operating the largest winter-wheat milling plant in the Union. Colonel Brown's business career has been one of brilliant order, and yet has been the natural sequel of the determined application of his distinctive abilities and to his extraordinary grasp of manifold details and his indefatigable energy. As a young man he has risen to a position of unmistakable prominence in the financial and industrial world, and while it is scarcely within the province of this article to enter into details, a brief reference to the more salient j^oints in his career can not prove m'alapropos. In 1896 excessive work and responsibility thrown upon him by the tragic death of

Mr. Harter resulted in Colonel Brown's enduring a most severe attack of congestion of the brain, which barely escaped a fatal termination. After partially recuperating he resigned his position, having carried the great industry through a most critical period in its history, practically, as was said of Lord Brougham, "doing the work of se\^en men,'' and showing a wonderful capacity for the handling of affairs of the widest scope and touching both the working and financial phases involved in the great enterprise.

In November, 1896, Colonel Brown became associated with Hon. Abner McKinley, brother of the late martyred president, and thereupon removed to New York city, where his rise has been rapid and continuous, bringing him in touch with large financial interests. He has gained a reputation as a man well equipped equally with the solid and the brilliant qualities essential to financial success. He was one of the syndicate of capitalists that built the Detroit & Lima Northern Railroad, of which he was treasurer, and of another syndicate that organized the International Fire Engine Company, a nine-million-dollar corporation, and is one of the largest stockholders in the American Mutoscope Company, of whose directorate he is a member. At Fostoria he organized the Fostoria Shade & Lamp Company, representing the largest industry of the sort in the Union, and he is a director and one of the largest stockholders in the White Mountain Paper Company, with twenty-five million dollars capital, while he has various other financial and industrial interests of wide scope and importance.

Colonel Brown served on the military staff of President McKinley during the four years of the latter's administration as governor of Ohio, in w^hich connection he lield the rank of colonel. With clearly defined and ably fortified political opinions, he early gave evidence of his interest in the work of the Republican party in Ohio, and he soon became recognized as one of the most efficient and valuable workers in the ranks of the party in his native state. He was elected delegate to the national convention of his party in 1892 and liad the distinction of being the youngest delegate in the convention, and he W3,s elected secretary of the Ohio delegation rq>resenting the thirteenth congressional district of the state, and was one of the four alternate delegates at large from Ohio to the Republican national convention at Philadelphia in 1900. For ten years he was chairman of the city Republican committee of Fostoria, being at the head of the city organization and a prominent member of the Fostoria Republican Club. He has invariably declined to accept political preferment of any order, though he has often been importuned to become a candidate for important offices. His ix>litical connections and influences have been notable and he has been in close touch with the leaders of his party in both his native state and the nation at large. Colonel Brown is an effective political speaker, and during the presidential campaign of 1900 he devoted much of his time to the canvass, making addresses in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia and Ohio. In his speeches he especially gcive attention to the financial issues of the contest, and gained a reputation for singularly thorough information and great ability and effectiveness in the discussion of those complicated questions. The Colonel was a most intimate personal friend of Pr^ident McKinley, of whom he was a stanch admirer, and it was his sad privilege to have stood at the bedside of the lamented president when he answered the inexorable summons of death and closed a life of exalted usefulness, beauty and honor.

Colonel Brown is identified with the Republican Qub of New York, the Transportation Club, the Lawyers' Club and the Ohio Society of New York, while he is also a member of various social organizations in the old Buckeye state, to which he is ever loj-al as one of its native sons. In the midst of the thronging demands of a busy life he is always approachable, being gracious in his association with his fellow men and enjo)4ng a personal popularity wliich is a natural result of his characteristics.

Among the honored representatives of the medical profession in Seneca county stands Dr. Martin, who is located in the attractive village of Bloomville and who is known as one of the native sons of the county and a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the old Buckeye state. His ability in his profession has gained him marked prestige, while his personality is such as to have gained to him a host of warm friends in the community where his ministrations are given.

Dr. Martin was born in Bloom township on the farm now^ owned by his brother George, in section lo, the date of his nativity being April 15, 1831. Ilis fatlier, John C. Martin, was born near Mifflin, Pennsylvania, the son of William Martin, a native also of that state. John C. removed with his widowed mother and the other members of the family to Fairfield county prior to 181 2, in which year the records show that he went to Hamilton county, where he remained two years. He llien returned to Fairfield county, where was solemnized his marriage to ^liss Mary A. McCandlish, an<l of their children we enter brief record, as follows: William is a resident of Iowa; Robert is deceased; Anthony McCandlish is the subject of this sketch; Wilson and John are deceased; George, a retired farmer, is a resident of Bloomville; Albert resides in King City, Missouri : and Jane is deceased. The father of the Doctor came to Seneca county in 1827, making the trip with team and wagon and transporting his family and household effects to the forest wilds of Blix.m township, where he entered claim to eighty acres of government land, upon which he erected a log cabin. He w^as a wheelwright and chairmaker by trade, and he thus was led to build a shop on his farm, and there he gave a portion of his time to the work of his trade, inchiding the manufacturing of chairs and spinning wheels for both wool and flax, and the necessary reels, and for his products he found a ready demand in the pioneer community. He remained on his original place for two years and then removed to the farm where his son, th^ Doctor, was born, and there he spent the remainder of his life, passing away at the age of eighty-one years, his wife having preceded him into eternal rest, dying at the age of sixty-six years. Both were devoted members of the Presbyterian church and were people of sterling character and marked mentality.

pioneer farm, and his first scholastic training was secured in a primitive subscription school held in the house of John Davis, Bushnell Austin acting as instructor. Later he continued his studies in the old academy at Republic, and when nineteen years of age he put his acquirements to practical test by engaging in pedagogic work, becoming one of the popular and successful teachers of the county. When twenty-one years of age he began reading medicine in the office of Dr. George R. Weeks, one of the early physicians of Bloomville, continuing to teach school during the winter months and thus defraying his expenses. After three years he entered the Western Reserve Medical College, at Cleveland, where he continued his technical studies for one year, after which, in 1854, he entered upon the active practice of his profession in Reedtown, Seneca county. Later he was matriculated in the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1859, receiving the degree of M. D. He was thereafter engaged in practice at Republic for one year, and then removed to a farm in Reed township, where he continued his professional work in connection with agricultural pursuits for a period of eleven years. The following two years were passed in Venice township and the Doctor then, in 1872, came to Bloomville, where he has ever since been established in the practice of his profession, retaining a large and representative supporting patronage and being reoignized as an able member of the medical profession and as a citizen of the highest character. His political support is given to the Republican party, and though he has ever shown a consistent interest in public affairs of a local nature he has never sought political preferment of any order. The Doctor is specially fond of travel, and he and his wife have been able to indulge themselves freely in this interesting and profitable diversion, having crossed the Rocky mountains nine times and having also visited other sections of the Union.

On the 22d of June, 1854, Dr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Susanna Hossler, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, the daughter of Jacob Hossler, one of the pioneers of this county, where he located in 1834. Of this union two children have been born, namely: Anna M., the wife of E. F. Hanna, a wholesale commission merchant of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Franz Sigel, who is a graduate of the Columbus Medical College, and who is engaged in the practice of his profession at Napoleon, Ohio. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Presbyterian church and is prominent in the church and social life of the ccnnmunity. For nearly fifty years the Doctor has devoted himself to the practice of the most noble of all professions, and it should be noted that there are but two other men in Seneca county now actively engaged in practice who were in the practice when he began. His success in his chosen field of work has redounded to his greater professional precedence. With a careful diagnosis he has endeavored to understand his patient, and with careful ajid sympathetic nursing has worked to assist nature in her healing processes.

Frederick Zarges

Stuttgart, the picturesque c4d capital city of Wurtemberg, Germany, figures as the birthplace of the venerable subject of this review, who is one of the honored citizens of Seneca county, where he has maintained his home for almost half a century and where he has attained prosperity through his own well directed efforts. Though advanced in years he retains remarkable mental and physical vigor, and he is esteemed as one of the sterling pioneer citizens of the county where he has lived and labored to goodly ends.

Mr. Zarges was bom in Stuttgart on the 8th of April, 1818, and is now the only survivor of the seven children of Frederick and Catherine (Kideisch) Zarges, both of whom passed their entire lives in Wurtemberg, the former having been a cabinetmaker and joiner by trade and vocation. The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in his native city, and in preparing for the active responsibilities of life he learned the trade of florist and gardener, to which he devoted his attention m Germany until he had reached the age of thirty years, when, in 1847, he severed the ties which bound him to home and native land and set ii rth to seek his fortun<>s in America, where he believed superior oppor-

\unities were afforded for individual accomplishment. His financial reinforcement at the time of his arrival in New York city was represented in the sum of eighty dollars, but he had the exxrellent equipment implied in a sturdy physique, energy, int^rity and a thorough knowledge of horticulture and floriculture, so that he had little to fear in the way of making his services of value, even though a stranger in a strange land. He passed one week in the national metropolis and then proceeded to Rochester, New York, where he entered the employ of the well known nursery firm of Ellwanger & Barry, the senior member of which had been a coworker with him in Germany. After a few months had elapsed Mr. Zarges went to Kingston, Canada, to accept a position, but not being satisfied with the conditions and outlook in that connection, he soon returned to Rochester and thence, somewhat later, w^ent to Groveland Center, New York, where he was engaged in gardening for one year, at the expiration of' which time he went to Duanesburg, Schenectady county, where he was engaged in gardening for two summers, passing the winters in Rochester. He then passed a year in Elmira, after which, in the spring of 1853, he was sent to Kentucky to lay out a nursery for a man named Hobbs, having in the meantime become the owner of eight acres of land within the city limits of Rochester. He established the nursery for Mr. Hobbs, at a point ten miles east of the city of Louisville, remaining in that locality until the fall of 1854, when he returned to Rochester, where he purchased a stock of trees and other requisite supplies, with which he came to Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, where he engaged in the handling of nursery stock, continuing to have his stock shipped in from Rochester and from Sandusky, Ohio. In 1856 he purchased six acres of land in Hopewell township, two miles south of Tiffin, and here set out a nursery for himself, continuing to handle stock shipped in from the east until his own place should become available as a source of supply. Before the close of the war of the Rebellion he had secured a good start, so far as the condition of his own nursery was concerned, but such were the local conditions that he was unable to do a profitable business and much of his stock was dug up and destroyed in a bonfire. Mr. Zarges then abandoned the nursery business and turned his attention to market gardening on his place, and shortly afterward he purchased an additional sixteen acres, across the road from his original tract. In 1876 he erected on the new place a substantial brick house, taking up his residence there in the fall of that year and here he has ever since maintained his home, continuing to follow the line of enterprise which he inaugurated so many years ago and which he has conducted with so marked ability and discrimination as to attain a high degree of success and a position of independence. For the past thirteen years he has given over much of the practical and managerial work to his son, but, though venerable in years he has not resigned the active duties of life, having vitality far greater than the average man of sixty and finding pleasure in maintaining an active supervision of the interests to which he has so long given his time and attention. In 1885 Mr. Zarges purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty-two acres in Seneca township, and this property which is well improved, he still owns. At the time of the crucial epoch of the civil war Mr. Zarges gave his unqualified support to Abraham Lincoln as candidate for the presidency, but in later years has been identified with the Democratic party, of which his son also is a supporter, while both are zealous members of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Zarges has ever retained the unequivocal confidence and esteem of his fellow men and is to-day one of the popular men of his community, the years resting lightly upon him as the shadows of life begin to lengthen, while he stands as a worthy example of what is possible of accomplishment on the part of one who will apply his best energies and abilities in facing the problems of life.

On the 5th of July, 1864, Mr. Zarges was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Staib, who was born in Seneca county, the daughter of Lewis Staib, who emigrated from Wurtemberg, Germany, and took up his residence here about 1835, thus becoming one of the pioneers of the county. Mrs. Zarges has been a true companion and helpmeet to her husband during the long years of their married life, and their union has been blessed with one son, Frederick Lewis, who resides at home and has charge of the gardening business established so many years ago by his father. He was born in this county on the 8th of August, 1865, and was here reared and educated. On the 23d of May, 1888, he was united in marriage to Miss Hattie De Bussman, who was born in this county, the daughter of Frederick and Rosa (Snyder) De Bussman, and of this union three children have been born, two of whom survive, - Frederick and Leila. Myra died in early childhood.

Charles H. Seiger

That independent spirit, enterprise, industry and determination so essential to a successful career in connection with any vocation are possessed in an eminent degree by the subject of this review, who is engaged in the blacksmithing and wagon-making business in the village, of Kansas, Seneca county, Ohio, and who is honored as one of the sterling citizens and representative business men of the place.

Mr. Seiger was born in the county of Sandusky, Ohio, on the 8th of August, 1868, being a son of Ellis and Christina (Shoemaker) Seiger^ whose six children all survive, namely : Lucy, the wife of Phineas Gamertsfelter, of Sandusky county; Charles H., the subject of this review ; Emma, the wife of W. O. Riehm, of Liberty township, Seneca county; Joseph and Jacob, who reside in the village of Kansas; and Minnie, the wife of Edward Lewman, of Liberty township. Tlie father of our subject was born in Pennsylvania, whence he removed with his parents to Sandusky county, Ohio, when a boy, being there reared and educated and being for many years identified with sawmilling, gristmilling and farming in that section of the Buckeye commonwealth. In 1884 he came to the town of Kansas, where he operated a gristmill for a number of years, being now engaged in the oil business, operating several wells in this locality.