Seneca Township (part 34 of 60)

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

Nicholas Wall

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

Mr. Wall was born on the old homestead farm, in Seneca township, on the r1th of December, 1839, being the fourth in order of birth of the ten children of Philip and Susanna Wall and one of the seven who still survive, the others being as follows: George, a resident of Iowa county, Iowa; Joseph, who resides in Labette county, Kansas; Andrew, of Chicago, Illinois; Catherine, the widow of John Yeager, of Spring- field, Ohio; Elizabeth, who resides in Toledo; and Teresa, the wife of John B. Bonhoser, of Putnam county. The father of our subject was a native of the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, where he was reared and educated, there learning the trade of carpenter. He was married in his native land, and there his two eldest children were born. About the year 1826 he emigrated with his family to America, coming to Ohio, where he entered claim to forty acres of government land in Seneca township, the same being entirely unreclaimed and covered with heavy timber. He built a primitive.log cabin on his place, and this continued to be the family home for a number of years, while the work of clearing and otherwise improving the farm was pushed vigorously forward. Here the father passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring about the year 1850, prior to which time he had increased the area of his farm by the purchase of an adjoining fifty acres. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church, in which he was reared. His devoted wife survived him many years, her death occurring at the home of her daughter Teresa, in Putnam county, on the 11th of September, 1896, at an advanced age.

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

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

Samuel Feasel

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

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

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

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

George Benham

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

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

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

Gentennial Biqgkaphical History, 199

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

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

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

Centennial, Biographical History, 201

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

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

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

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

Mr. Dunn was born on the farm which is now his home, the date of his nativity having been October 16, 1851. His parents, William N. and Sophia W. (Clark) Dunn, were natives of Sullivan county, New York, and they were numbered among the first settlers in Hopewell township, Seneca county, Ohio, where the father took up a tract of government land, the same having been heavily timbered. They became the parents of six children, of whom five are living at the present time, namely: Arlington, of whom individual mention is made on another page of this work; Devolson, who is a resident of Tiffin; Deroy C., the subject of this sketch; Norman, who likewise is a representative farmer of Hopewell township; and John, of Tiffin.

Deroy C. Dunn was reared on the old homestead farm and received such educational privileges as were afforded in the public schools of the og Nestor At the age of eighteen years he went to Lyons, New York, and was there employed on a farm for a period of three months.

with the work of the old homestead. After his marriage, in 1876, Mr. Dunn continued to work the homestead for his father for a period of five years, at the expiration of which, in 1881, he purchased one hundred acres of the place, including the residence and other farm buildings, and in 1898 he purchased from his mother an additional tract ot ninety-two acres, and thus he has one of the best farms in the county, the land being exceptionally prolific, while the improvements are such as to greatly enhance the value of the property. Mr. Dunn is a progressive and public-spirited citizen, and no man in this section is held in higher confidence and esteem. In political affairs he gives his support to the Demecratic party so far as national issues are involved, but in local affairs he maintains an independent attitude, not being directed by strict partisan lines. He and his wife are both active and consistent members ot the Protestant Methodist church. The attractive residence of our subject is one of the finest rural homes in the county, and it is a center of refined hospitality.

On the 16th of January, 1876, Mr. Dunn was united in marriage to Miss Savilla S. Crum, who was born in this county, of which her father, the late Frederick Crum, was a pioneer settler. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn have twe children, Nelson F. and Mary O., both of whom remain at the parental home.

George W. Meyers

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

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

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

February 28, 1867, Mr. Meyers was united in marriage to Miss Mary Meyers. who was born in this county, the daughter of Rudolph and Magdalena Meyers, who also were born in Switzerland, the two families. however, being not of the same lineal descent. Mr. and Mrs.

Harrison Detterman

The Detterman family has been conspicuously identified with the development and the industrial activities of Seneca county from an early epoch in its history, and the subject of this sketch is a worthy representative cf this sterling picneer family, the name which he bears standing for absolute integrity of character and fcr that productive industry which vored section of the Buckeye state. He is a native of Seneca county, where he has passed his entire life and where he commands the highest esteem of those among whom he has lived and labored to such goodly ends. . Mr. Detterman was born in Bloom township, on the 30th of November, 1837, being the son of John H. and Catherine (Stigameyer ) Detterman, both of whom were born in Prussia, the respective families having been neighbors there. John H. Detterman, in company with his brether Harmon and another young man, named Buckholt, emigrated to America when about twenty years of age, the three running away from home in order to escape service in the Prussian army. They first located in the city of Sandusky, Ohio, and thence the three came tc Scipio township, Seneca county, whence, somewhat later, the two brothers proceeded to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they were employed in connection with the construction of a canal during one summer. They then came again to Seneca county, and here John H. was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Stigameyer, who had crossed the ocean in the same vessel. He then effected the lease of eighty acres of raw land in Blcom township, clearing the same of. its heavy growth of timber and developing a good farm. There he continued to reside for a period of ten years, at the expiration of which, in 1844, he located cn the farm where our subject now resides. Here his original purchase comprised one hundred and twenty acres of wild land, and upon the same he built a log cabin of two rooms, making this primitive domicile his habitation for several years. He cleared and improved the place and there remained until 1869, when he purchased another tract. cf two hundred acres, in Bloom township, where he continued to make his home until his death, on the 27th of April, 1900, at a patriarchal age, lacking but twenty-six days of ninety years. His wife died on the ist of August, 1866, and he subsequently was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna Somers, who died at the age of seventy-seven years. Of the first marriage six children were born, of whom three - William, Mary and an infant - died young, the others being Harrison, the subject of this who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Bloom township. Of the second marriage there were no children. John H. Detterman had only five dollars when he arrived in America and here faced the problems of life, and his industry and good judgment were so effectively brought to bear that he became the owner of more than four hundred acres of land in Seneca county. He was a Democrat in politics, and his religious faith was that of the Evangelical Association, of which he was a devoted and influential member, having been class leader in the Detterman church for more than sixty years consecutively and having been honored by all who knew him. His wife. the mother of our subject. was a devoted Christian woman, being a member of the same church and a lady of gentle and noble character.

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

On the 17th of November, 1859, Mr. Detterman was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Einsel, who was born in Pleasant township, on the 12th of October, 1837, the daughter of Henry and Sarah ( Keller ) Einsel, who removed to Seneca county frora Fairfield county in the early pioneer days and here passed the remainder of their lives, the father passing away on the rst of September, 1886; and his wife on the 3d of November of the succeeding year, aged, respectively, eighty-one and seventy-four years. Both were lifelong members of the Evangelical Association and were numbered among the honored pioneers of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. Detterman five children have been born, of whom one died in infancy, while those surviving are: John H. and William A., who are representative farmers of Adams township: Martha E., who remains at the parental home; and George E.. who is likewise a successful farmer of Adams township.

Bend Kep Pet

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

Mr. Keppel was born on the farm where he now maintains his home, the date of his nativity being April 30, 1849. He is one of the five children born to George and Mary E. (Rosenberger) Keppel. and four of the number still survive, namely: Anna C., the wife of Daniel L. Crum, of whom specific mention is made on another page of this work; Jane E., the wife of J. B. Lautzenheiser, of Hopewell township; Hattie L., the wife of Nelson A. Miller, likewise of this township; and Henry was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of March, 1810, being the son of Henry and Anna C. (Steimetz) Keppel, natives respectively of Northampton and Westmoreland counties and representatives of old and prominent families of the Keystone state. They removed to Knox county, Ohio, in the year 1822 and resided there until 1839, when they came to Seneca county, where they passed the residue of their lives, the former passing away in 1842, at the age of seventy-four years. His wife survived him by many years, her death occurring in 1860. Henry Keppel served a year in the Indian wars in Pennsylvania. George Keppel, who was the eldest son and the third child in a family of six children, was reared on the homestead farm, and the management of the place largely devolved upon him after he had attained years of maturity. his educational advantages having been such as were afforded in the public schools of the day. In the fall of 1838 he purchased the homestead now owned by our subject, the same having comprised one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land. and in the following year he established his home here, clearing the greater portion of the tract and making the best of improvements, including a thorough system of tile drainage. In the year 1872 he erected a fine brick residence, at a cost of about three thousand dollars, and he attained a high degree of success through his well directed efforts, being one of the influential citizens of the community. He also acquired another farm, of one hundred acres, located two and one-half miles west of the homestead, and was progressive and energetic in his methods, while his attitude was ever that of a public-spirited citizen. On the 1oth of November, 1842, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Rosenberger, who was born in Jefferson county, West Virginia, the daughter of Henry and Jane Rosenberger, who were numbered among the pioneers of Seneca county, Ohio. George Keppel was a man of fine mentality and inflexible integrity. and he did much to advance the interests of this section of the county. In politics he gave his support to the Democratic party, but he was never an aspirant for public office. He was a devoted member of the First English Lutheran church in the city of Tiffin, and his generous support of the same was indicated by the contribution of five hundred dollars to aid in the erection of the church edifice. No man commanded a higher degree of confidence and esteem in the community and his memory is revered by all who know him, his death occurring on the 1oth of September, 1897, at the venerable age of eighty-seven years, six months and six days. His widow still survives him, in her eightyfirst year, and makes her home with her children, who accord her the utmost filial solicitude.

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

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

Adam Miller, father of Mrs. Keppel, was born in Maryland, in the year 1818, and when he was a lad of eight years he came with his father, Daniel Miller, to Seneca county, the family locating on one of the pioneer farms of Hopewell township, where his parents passed the of the home farm until he attained years of maturity, and after his marriage to Miss Margaret Creeger, he rented the farm now owned by the widow of Michael Flynn and there continued in agricultural pursuits for a period of five years, at the expiration of which he purchased eighty acres of the present homestead, in section 20, Hopewell township, adding to the same from time to time until he accumulated a fine estate of two hundred and eighty acres. Here he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred on the 27th of October, 1901. He gave a stanch support to the Republican party and was prominent in public affairs in the community, having held the office of township clerk for a number of years and having been one of the influential men of this section of the county. His religious faith was that of the United Brethren church, of which he was a zealous and consistent member of the church of this name at Bascom. His six living children are as follows: Henrietta, the wife of William Glick, of Tiffin; Nelson A., of Hopewell; Mary, the wife of the subject of this sketch; Bertha, the wife of John Adams; James A., a resident of Bascom; and Hattie, the wife of Elmer Lott, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Tiffin is fortunate in that she has many very able representatives of the medical fraternity among her citizens, - men whose comprehensive study and ready adaptation of scientific knowledge to the needs of suffering humanity has resulted beneficially in the alleviation of humon suffering and the restoration of health. Occupying an enviable position among the prominent representatives of the profession is Dr. Wenner. one of Tiffin's native sons, his birth having occurred here on the 19th of September, 1861. Here he spent his boyhood days until he was seven years of age, and then went to Bucyrus, where he remained for ten years, attending the public schools until he had attained the age of ee on He then returned to Tiffin and was graduated in the high school here at the age of eighteen. He began reading medicine with Dr. A. B. Hovey, with whony he remained for a year, and afterward studied under the direction of Dr. X. C. Scott, of Cleveland, Ohio, and in the medical department of the Western Reserve University, in which institution he was graduated in March, 1882. before he had reached his majority.

Dr. Wenner began practice in McCutchenville, Seneca county, where he remained for six months, and was then in Arcadia for two years, after which he located in Tiffin, where he has since remained. Here he has since been in continuous practice and the success which has attended his efforts has been based upon a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of the sciences of medicine and surgery, and correct application to the needs of suffering humanity. While he has engaged in general practice he makes a specialty of surgery. His success in this direction is due to his minute and accurate acquaintance with anatomy, combined with power of diagnosis, a cool head, steady muscles and mechanical genius.

April 22, 1883, Dr. Wenner was united in marriage to Miss Jennie R. Smith, who died April 26, 1885. On the 26th of October, 1886, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Emma Huss, of Tiffin, and they now have two children: Henry L. and Marjorie E. In his political views the Doctor is a Republican, firm in his faith in, and support of, the principles of the party. He was presidential elector from his district when William McKinley was first chosen to the presidency. For two years he was a member and one year president of the school board of Tiffin and was a candidate for congress in 1898, making a strong run in a district which has an acknowledged Democratic majority of great strength. He has served on the county executive committee for ten years, a part of the time as its chairman, and he takes an active and helpful interest in the work of the party, his labors having been attended with gratifying results. He has been state councilor of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and is now: its state treasurer and is also the Ohio trustee of the Orphans' Home cf that order: with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In the line of his profession he is identified with the Seneca County, Cleveland and the Northwestern Ohio Medical Associations, and thereby keeps in touch with the advanced thought and improved methods which are brought. before those bodies and discussed for the good of all, thus rendering more proficient the labors of the physicians practicing in these districts. In his religious faith and membership he is a Baptist, while his wife belongs to the Methodist church. His life has been consistent with his church relations, and no physician in Tiffin has higher regard for the ethics of his profession. His skill has led to gratifying success and at the same time his hopeful spirit and genial temperament have been important factors in sustaining the courage of those to whom he has ministered thus aiding nature in her attempts to restore the normal condition of the patient.

Among the citizens of Seneca county there is none to whom is accorded a greater meed of honor and affection than to the venerable gentleman whose name appears above, for his life has been consecrated to exalted aims and he has been one of.the most potent factors in the religious and educational advancement of this section of the state, having been one of the founders of Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, one of the prominent educational institutions of Ohio, with whose work he was actively identified for the long term of two score years. He is a representative of a family of distinction and sterling worth, long identified with the annals of American history, and his personal career has been one of signal usefulness, contributing new laurels to the honored name which he bears. Many will there be who will read with pleasure and profit this brief review of his life history.

(Haak) Good, both of whom passed their entire lives in Pennsylvania, being of sterling German ancestry. Philip A. Good became one of 'he influential citizens of his native state, being a man of strong intellectuality and having been a successful teacher for a number of years. He served as a member of the state legislature and was also incumbent of various county offices of trust and responsibility, such as prothonotary of the orphans' court, county surveyor and clerk of the common pleas court. He was an active and devoted member of the Reformed church, as was also his wife, a woman of gracious presence and distinctive refinement. He died on the 4th of October, 1832, aged about forty-eight years. His father, Jacob Good, was born in one of the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland, whence he emigrated to America about 1763, being a young man at that time, and he located in Pennsylvania, where he became a teacher and also followed other vocations and where he passed the residue of his life. He had received a good education in his native land and his mentality was of that high order which has been characteristic of the family in succeeding generations. Upon coming iv America he changed the orthography of his name to the present form, the original patronymic having been Guth. In Pennsylvania he prepared himself for the ministry of the German Reformed church, but his career as a clergyman was cut short by his death, at the age of about fortyfive years.

The mother of our subject was born near Reading, Berks county. Pennsylvania, and in that locality she passed the greater portion of her life, being summoned into eternal rest on the 20th of March, 1840. at the age of about sixty-three years. By her marriage to Philip A. Good she became the mother of eleven children, of whom we enter record as follows: Johanna died at the age of eighty-five years: William A.. a teacher and a clergyman of the Reforized church, wa: the first superintendent of schools in Berks county, Pennsvlvania, where he practically intreduced the public-schcol svstem, and there died at the age of sixty-five vears, having received the degree of Master of Arts from Marshall College at Mercersburg. Pennsylvania:

Elizabeth passed away in 1840, aged twenty-five; Reuben is the immediate subject of this sketch; Jonathan J. was a soldier in the Union army in the Rebellion and was instantly killed by a shot in the forehead, at the battle of Chickamauga, in 1863, at the age of forty-three years; Jeremiah, A. M., D. D., was graduated in Marshall College and was practically the father of Heidelberg College, and is now deceased; Sarah is the wife of Rev. William K. Zieber, D. D., of Hanover, Pennsylvania; James, who likewise was a graduate of Marshall College, died at the age of twenty-four; and Anna M., who became the wife of Dennis Holtz, of Seneca county, Ohio, died in 1890, at the age of sixty years.

The boyhood days of Reuben Good were passed in the parental home, in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he received excellent instruction under private tutors and in Dr. Dawson's classical school. \When he had attained the age of fourteen years he secured a clerkship in a local mercantile establishment and followed this vocation until he was nineteen, when he resumed his interrupted educational work, being then matriculated in Marshall College (now known as Franklin & Marshall College), at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1842, with the degree of A. B. He then entered the theological seminary of that institution, continuing his studies for three years and finishing the course. He was ordained in Ohio, in 1845, to the ministry by the proper judicators of the Reformed church. Locating at Greenville, Darke county, he engaged in missionary work on a circuit including that vicinitv and the field about Dayton, while he supported himself during these early years of devoted labor by teaching. In September, 1850, Rev. Mr. Good was elected by the Ohio synod as rector or head masver of the projected school at Tiffin, which preparatory school was expected to expand into Heidelberg College. Early in November, immediately upon Rector Good's arrival in Tiffin, he, in company with Major Louis Balt- 'zell, a prominent man of the city, personally canvassed Tiffin for the first students, whose number, on the day of opening, was but seven, rapidly increasing to eighty-five, and by the end of the scholastic year the total enrollment showed one hundred and fifty different names. Mrs.

Reuben Good, to the school, and as did Professcr J. H. Good in the chair of mathematics and in the way of an extensive correspondence with preachers and liberal laymen throughout the Ohio synod, and elsewhere in Pennsylvania and Maryland, in behaif of the school with its flattering beginning as to students and its needs as to money for endowment, buildings, etc. The latter gentleman was strong enough to do the work of a half dozen men and he ''did it most excellently well,' so as to be justly named the "Father of Heidelberg College." Like this gifted brother, Rector Reuben Good's work increased, he being chosen to occupy the professorial chair of natural sciences, in which capacity he rendered effective and devoted service until his retirement, in 1890, by reason of advanced age, but he is still connected with the institution as an emeritus professor, retaining a deep interest in the affairs of the college, to whose upbuilding he gave the best years of his life and to whose alumni he is endeared by ties of unequivocal respect and affection. He now enjoys that oti cui dignitate which is the just reward for his many years of able service as one of the world's workers, having a pleasant home, surrounded by twenty acres of land, within the city limits of Tiffin and being still vigorous in mind and body for one of his advanced age. He is well known to the people of this section of the state in educational and religious circles, while to him is granted the veneration due to one who has ordered his life upon a lofty plane and labored fcr the good of his fellow men. In politics Mr. Good has given his allegiance to the Republican party from the time of its organization, and during the Rebellion he was a zealous supporter of the cause of the Union.

On the 29th of September, 1847, was solemnized the marriage of Professor Good to Miss Mary J. Winters, who was born in the city of Dayton, Ohio, and who remains his devoted and cherished companion as the shadows of their lives begin to tenderly lengthen, she being now seventy-five years of age. She has been active in church work and has proved a true helpmeet to her husband, being a woman of unassuming presence and gentle refinement. Her father, Rev. David Winters.

Reformed church in Dayton, Ohio, for a long term of years. At the Dayton Academy Mrs. Good received her education. Professor and Mrs. Good were the parents of eleven children, of whom four died in infancy. Those who lived to mature years are as follows: Rev. Charles \WV., a clergyman ofthe Reformed church, has held several important charges and is now at the old home, caring for his parents with true filial solicitude; he was graduated at Heidelberg College, and thereafter continued his studies for one year at Yale and one at Oxford, England; Edward R., likewise a graduate of Heidelberg, was a member of the firm of E. R. Good & Brother, leading publishers in Tiffin, and his death occurred September 28, 1901, at the age of forty-six years; Mary is also a graduate of Heidelberg; William H., who received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the same institution, is a publisher and dealer in books and photographic supplies in Tiffin; Anna received the degree cf Bachelor of Science in Heidelberg and is now the wife of Professcr M. E. Kleckner, who holds the chair of biology and geology in that institution; Lily, likewise a graduate of the college, with the same degree as her sister, is the wife of Rev. Harvey S. Nicholson, pastor of the Retormed church at Colon, Michigan; and Irving is a compositor in his

One of the prominent citizens of Tiffin, Ohio, is Thomas J. Kintz, who is cashier of the Titin Savings Bank, and who is also financially interested in a number of successful enterprises in this locality, in addition to being identified with public affairs.

Mr. Kintz is a native of Ohio, having been born at Canton, Stark county, February 14, 1844. His parents were George and Eliza (Conaghan) Kintz, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania. In his young manhood he came to Ohie and located in Stark county, and business. He then lived for a short time in Tennessee, going from that state to Indiana, where he went into business, making his home in Terre Haute, where he died at the age of eighty years.

The mother of our subject was a daughter of Dennis Conaghan, who was born in Ireland, but who became a resident of the United States in his youth, his marriage occurring in the state of Pennsylvania, where his children were born. Mrs. Kintz became a resident of Ohio at the time of her marriage, and she died, of typhoid fever, at her home in Canton, at the early age of thirty-five years. She was a woman of many virtues, a devoted mother, and a consistent member of the Catholic church. Thomas J., of this sketch, was a babe of eighteen months when he was thus deprived of his mother's care and affection, and he was then taken to the home of his grandfather Conaghan, in Wyandot county, Ohio. Here he lived until he was three years of age, when his uncle, Joseph Conaghan, who was a prosperous farmer in Seneca township, Seneca county, took the little lad into his household and there he remained until he was twenty-one. He grew up on the farm and assisted his uncle, but he was given excellent educational advantages by this kind relative. After finishing a preparatory course in the common schools of Seneca township, at the age of eighteen he entered Heidelberg Coilege, at Tiffin. After one term of study Mr. Kintz engaged in teaching and by this plan was enabled to continue at the college, following this profession for five years.

In 1867 Mr. Kintz was selected for the position of deputy recorder of Seneca county, filling the position with so much efficiency for eight years that he was made recorder, upon the death of the former incumbent. This vacancy he filled for the unexpired term of one year an two weeks, and at the expiration of that time he was honored with an election to the office and subsequently re-elected, the combined terms covering a period of upwards of seven years. During this service Mr. Kintz had not been inmindful of the interests of the Democratic party, of which he is an active member, and by which he has been frequently office, from 1880 to 1890, Mr. Kintz was engaged in the abstract anc real-estate business in this city. When the project of establishing the Tithn Savings Bank was agitated, Mr. Kintz was one of the financiers who recognized the wisdom of this move and he became one of the organizers of this enterprise. The bank began business on March 3, 1890, Mr. Kintz entering as cashier, which position he has faithfully filled ever since. 'The financial disturbances of the country in 1893 left no trace on the business of this institution. Its capital stock is fifty thousand dollars, of which Mr. Kintz owns eleven thousand. Thedeposits range from three hundred and ninety to four hundred thousand dollars, and it is considered one of the safest banking institutions in the state of Ohio, the careful, conservative methods of its management meeting with the approbation of the public and gaining unqualified confidence. Mr. Kintz has other large business interests in this city. ° He is also interested in a large amount of real estate, one valuable holding being his handsome residence on Perry street.

On February 15, 1872, Mr. Kintz was united in marriage to Miss Adalaide \V. Weller, who was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, where she was educated and reared, but who later became a resident of Rochester. New York, and still later of Tiffin, Ohio.

Ever since his first entrance into political life Mr. Kintz has been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and in 1873 he was elected on its ticket a member of the city council, his personal popularity having an influence, as his residence was then in a Republican ward. Upon removing from the ward within the next year he resigned his position, but he was recalled by the council in 1898 and again in Igo0, and he is still serving the city, being one of its most loyal officials. Fraternally our subject is a member of Seneca Lodge, No. 35, I. O. O. F., of Tiffin, and aiso of the B. P. O. E. of this citv. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Methodist church, and for a time he served as a member of its building committee.

Mr. Kintz is a representative self-made man, and is a liberal, publicspirited citizen, ever living up to the demands of the day and taking an

Newton U. Egbert

The subject of this sketch is of the third generation of his family in Seneca county, which fact gives the natural implication that the original location here was made in those early days when the section now marked by fruitful farms, thriving cities and attractive villages was yet practically unreclaimed from the primeval forests. The transitions have been marked, and the Egbert family has contributed to the work of development and progress and has ever stood representative of sterling integrity of character and of definite energy and enterprise. It is assuredly fitting that mention be here made of the lives and labors ct those who have wrought to goodly ends.

Newton Uriah Egbert was born in Pleasant township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 18th of September, 1844, being the son of Jeremiah W. and Lucy A. (Rule) Egbert. The father was born in Franklin county, Ohio, on the roth of September, 1817, and his wife was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, being the daughter of Daniel and Jane (Groscost) Rule, honored pioneers of Seneca county. Our subject is one of the nine children born of this union, and seven of the number grew to years of maturity, namely: Norman D., a farmer of Clinton township; Newton U., the immediate subect of this sketch; Dora, the wife of Clay Holtz, of Adams township; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Henry Stinchcomb and who died in Michigan, aged forty-four years; John, a farmer of Clinten township; Lillian, a young lady who resides in the same township, as does also Isaac R. Jeremiah \V. Egbert was the son of Uriah and Susanna A. (\Williams) Egbert, who came from Pennsylvania to Franklin county, Ohio, and thence to Seneca county in 1823, taking up a tract of government land in Clinton township and there establishing their family in the primitive log house characteristic of the locality and period. This farm continued to be the family home until 1832, when they removed to Pleasant township, where Uriah Egbert entered a claim of two hundred and forty acres of government land, there developing a good farm and there living to a venerable age, as did his wife Susanna. After his marriage the father of our subject located on a two-acre tract in Pleasant township, where the two elder children were born. Soon afterward he secured eighty acres in Clinton township, and cleared the place ot its heavy growth of timber, making good improvements. There he continued to reside until fifteen years prior to his death, when, at the settlement of the estate, he purchaced his father's old homestead, where he was engaged in farming until his demise, on the 18th of December, 1898, his cherished and deycted wife having preceded him into eternal rest in February, 1890. They were well known and uniformly esteemed in the community. both having been zealous and consistent members of the Methedist Episcopal church. The Egbert church and cemetery are on his farm entered by his father Uriah.

Newton U. Egbert grew up on the parental farm, assisting in its work and receiving such educational advantages as were afforded by the public school of the locality and Baldwin University, which he attended for three years. He remained at the parental home until his marriage, save for the period of his military service in the civil war, and then located on a farm of two hundred and five acres, in Adams township, developing this into one of the valuable places in this county and there continuing to make his home for the long period of twenty-six years. He then located on his present homestead place, which comprises one hundred and thirty-seven acres, and his attention is still given to farming and stock-raising. He is the owner of an estate of one hundred and thirty-seven acres in Adams township, and his farm is one of the most attractive in this locality, having a commodious residence and other excellent improvements.

In 1864 Mr. Egbert enlisted, for a terny of one hundred days, as a private in Company H, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he was sent to assist in the protection of the federal capital, being honorably discharged at the expiration of his term. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and since 1868 has been a member of the Green Springs Lodge, No. 318, I. O. O. F., having passed all the chairs in the same. In politics he is a stanch Re-

On the 8th of November, 1874, Mr. Egbert was united in marriage fo Miss Amanda H. Beard, who was born in Washington county, Maryland, the daughter of John and Susan (Sager) Beard. She continued his devoted companion and helpmeet until her death, which occurred on the 12th of August, 1897, at the age of fifty-six years, her memory remaining as a benediction to all who knew her and had appreciation of her true and noble character. She left three children: Bessie H., who is her father's housekeeper; Mildred, the wife of John Rigegle, cf Clinton township; and Schuyler C., who remains at the paternal home.

Dante. Rule

It can not be other than gratifying, in view of the nomadic spirit which is growing to amimate all classes of American citizens, to find a locality in which are to be found citizens of worth and prominence who have passed their entire lives in the localities where they were born, and who command the respect and esteem of those who have been familiar with their entire careers. In the older settled sections of the far east we find instances where property has been held from generation to generation by one family, and where the old homesteads signify something more than mere names, but in the western and middle states this condition has not been so pronounced. In Seneca county, Ohio, however, as the pages of this work clearly prove, are to be found many representatives of families who here initiated the work of reclaiming the virgin wilderness and who here made for themselves homes which their children and grandchildren are glad to retain as homes. One of the scions of pioneer stock in Adams township is Mr. Rule, of whose career we are pleased to enter a brief review.

Rule, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. They became the parents of nine children, of whom only two survive, - Jane, the widow ci D. W. Dudrow, of this county; and Daniel C., to whom this sketch is devoted. Those deceased are Lucy A., Elizabeth, Samuel, Albert, Byron, Matilda and Isaac P. The father of our subject came from Pennsylvania to Seneca county in the year 1832, locating in Scipio township, where he entered claim to a tract of government land, whose reclamation he instituted, and there he remained for a period of five years, at the expiration of which he removed to Adams township, where he purchased two hundred and sixty-three acres of wild land. which he developed into a valuable and productive farm and which continued to be his home until his death, which occurred in 1887, at the venerable age of eighty-six years, his wife having passed away in 1879, aged seventy-severr.

Daniel C. Rule was born and reared in Adams township, his educational advantages being such as were afforded in the common schools of the place and period, while he supplemented this discipline by a course of study in the academy then maintained in the village of Republic. When eighteen years of age he put his scholastic abilities to practical test, and was a successful teacher for.seven terms, teaching during the winter months and assisting in the work of the homestead farm in the summer seasons. He was married in 1862, and thereupon located on his present farm, which he reclaimed and which he has placed under a high state of cultivation, having a finely improved place of one hundred and sixty acres and carrying on diversified farming, his efforts having been attended with success, implying the reward justly due for his assiduous labors and application in the past. He also gives attention to the raising of stock, and for many years was engaged in the buying and shipping of the same. In politics his support is given unreservedly to the Republican party, and in 1876 he was elected assessor of his township, giving an effective and acceptable administration. He was the candidate of his party for representative in the state legislature in 1877.

of Earl and Calena Church. Mr. and Mrs. Rule have three children: Annie, the wife of Martin Brunthaven, of Sandusky county; Ralph R.. a representative young member of the bar of Norwalk, Ohio; and Daniel C., Jr., who was a student at Adelbert and who is a graduate of the Northwestern Ohio Normal School, at Ada, being a civil engineer by profession.

John Neikirk

One of the native sons of Seneca county who rendered to the nation the valiant service of a loval son of the republic at the time of the war of the Rebellion and who is now one of the honored citizens and successful farmers of Adams township. is Mr. Neikirk, and it is our privilege to here incorporate a brief review of his life. according him due consideration as a representative of one of the pioneer families of this section of the state.

Mr. Neikirk was born on the farm where he now maintains his home. the date of his nativity being December 23, 1834. His father, Joseph Neikirk, was born in Washington county, Indiana. the son of Michael Neikirk, who came thence to Seneca county with his family in the early pioneer epoch. Joseph Neikirk was married in Seneca county. Barbara Noel becoming his wife, and to them seven children were born: Mary, the widow of Dorsey Hardsock, of Adams township: William, who lost his life while serving in the Civil war: David. who also was a soldier in the Union army and who is now deceased; John. the subject of this review: and Samuel. Elizabeth and Barbara, all of whom are deceased. The father of our subject passed away in 1887, at the venerable age of eighty-two vears, and the death of his devoted and cherished wife occurred in 1873, at the age of sixty-four. They Jocated on the farm now owned by our subject shortly after their marriage, and here continued to reside until death terminated their mortal careers. The father was a blacksmith by trade, and followed this vocation in his earlier years in connection with his farming. and his life was one of signal integrity and honor. He reclaimed his farm from the virgin forests and lived to enjoy the fruits of his years of toil and endeavor, being revered as one of the sterling pioneers of the county.

On the old homestead John Neikirk was reared to maturity, early becoming familiar with the strenuous work pertaining to its development and cultivation and securing his preliminary educational discipline in the commen schools. This was effectively supplemented by a course of study in the academy then maintained in the village of Republic, and thereafter he became a teacher in the schools of the county, devoting his attention to successful pedagogic work during the winters of 1856 and 1857. In 1859 occurred his marriage, and after this important event in his career Mr. Neikirk rented a tract of land near the old home and continued its cultivation for a period of four years. In March, 1864, he located on a farm of eighty acres in Adams township, and this continued to be his home until 1888, in March of which vear he returned to the old homestead, where he has since been successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising, having a well improved place of seventy acres.

In May, 1864, Mr. Neikirk tendered his services to the Union by enlisting as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which regiment his brothers David, William and Samuel, as well as his brother-in-law. Dorsey Hardsock, were also members. The regiment was sent to aid in the defense of the national capital, and there our subject was in service for a period of one hundred days. at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge. He still manifests his interest in his old comrades by retaining membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, being identified with Robinson Post, No. 135, at Republic. In politics he has ever given his support to the Republican party, taking a proper interest in public affairs of a local nature and keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the hour.

On the 6th of October, 1859, Mr. Neikirk was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Noel, who was born in Allen county, Indiana, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ensley) Noel, who removed from

Seneca county, Ohio, to Dekalb county, Indiana, in 1839, where the father died at the age of forty-seven years, his widow still maintaining her home in that state and having attained the advanced age of eightyfive years (1902). They became the parents of seven sons and four daughters, of whom five are living at the present time, namely: Philip, who served in the Thirtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, is a resident of Dekalb county, Indiana; Sarah E. is the wife of our subject; Solomon is a resident of Knob, Shasta county, California ; and Perry and Samuel are residents of Indiana. Those deceased are George, who died at Memphis, Tennessee, during the Rebellion, having been a soldier in the One Hundredth Indiana Volunteer Infantry ; Susan, who became the wife of John Long; Lucy, who married Holmes Link; Eliza, who became the wife of Joseph Rechtenwald; and two who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Neikirk are prominent and influential members of the English Lutheran church, with which our subject has been identified for forty years, having served as elder and deacon. Our subject and his wife have no children of their own, but have reared one girl from the age of eight years, Clara Elnora Redfox, now a young lady.

Among the honored veterans of the war of the Rebellion is numbered Mr. Fitz, who accorded to his country the loyal and patriotic service of a true son of the republic, and whose life has been such as to commend him to the respect and good will of his fellow men. He is one oi the enterprising and successful farmers of Adams township, Seneca county, having purchased his present fine homestead in 1886.

The cld Keystone state figures as the place of Mr. Fitz's nativity, since he was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of July, 1842, being the scn cf Henry and Sarah (Harbaugh) Fitz, both of whom were born in that state, of German lineage. His father was the invigorating discipline of the old homestead, receiving his educational training in the common schools. At the age of twenty-two years, on the 19th of September, 1864, Mr. Fitz signalized his patriotism by enlisting as a private in Company M, Seventeenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, with which he proceeded to West Virginia, taking part in the engagements at Cedar Creek and Gordonsville, the regiment being attached to Sheridan's command, in the Army of the Potomac. In the battle at Gordonsville Mr. Fitz was wounded, receiving a minie ball in the right arm just below the shoulder, but he was not long incapacitated for active duty and continued in the service with his regiment until victory had crowned the Union arms, when he received his honorable discharge, having made a record as a faithful and valiant soldier in the ranks.

After the close of the war Mr. Fitz returned to Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1867, when he came to Ohio, locating in Sandusky county, where he was employed as a day laborer for one year, after which he came to Seneca county and turned his attention to farming, renting land until 1886, when he effected the purchase of his present farm, which is located two and one-half miles southeast of Green Spring, in Adams township, and which comprises one hundred and ten acres, having formerly been known as the Benner farm. 'The place is well improved and is of marked fertility, while to his operations our subject has hrought to bear so much discrimination, energy and good judgment that he has gained a place as one of the substantial farmers of the county, his place being a model farm and giving evidence of the care bestowed in keeping everything in the best condition and in securing the maximum returns from its cultivation. Mr. Fitz has not failed to take a proper interest in public affairs of a local nature, and the confidence and esteem in which he is held in the community has been shown in his official preferment, since he served with ability as township trustee. His political proclivities are indicated in the stanch allegiance which he gives to the Republican party, in whose cause he has contributed his

On the 25th of December, 1867, Mr. Fitz was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Donaldson, who was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Andrew J. Donaldson. Our subject and his wife have no children, but he has made a home for her niece, Flora Fowler, from her childhood, and she remains as a member of the family. Mrs. Fitz is one of the active members of the Woman's Relief Corps, maintained as auxiliary to Potter Post, G. A. R.

Ira He. Leppard

Ira H. Lepard, one of the prominent and successful agriculturists of Seneca county, is a native son of Venice township, his birth having here occurred on the 5th of March, 1858. He is a son of John and Harriet (Hoyle) Lepard. The father is also a native of the Buckeye state, where he was born in Lancaster, February 23. 1828, a.son of Isaac and Nancy (Huffman) Lepard, natives, respectively, of Pennsvlvania and Maryland. When two years of age, in 1830, the son John was brought by his parents to Seneca county, the family locating on the south line of Reed township, where the grandfather entered eighty acres of land, and, after clearing a sufficient space, built a cabin thereon. During the erection of this round-log dwelling the family lived in wagons. He at once began the arduous and dificult task of clearing and placing his land under cultivation, and there his life's labors were ended on the 21st of January, 1848, when he had reached the fiftyfirst milestone on the journey of life. Some years after his death his widow removed to Attica, and there she was called to the spirit world September 11, 1892, at the age of ninety-three years. They were among the earliest residents in Reed township, there having been but two houses in Attica at the time of their arrival, and Tiffin. then called Fort Ball, was a small hamlet of about a dozen houses.

John Lepard, their son and the father of our subject, received but limited school advantages, and after his father's death he assumed the management of the home farm. One year after his marriage he located on a rented farm one mile west of the old homestead, where he made his home for about nine years, and on the expiration of that period, in 1864, he purchased the farm of one hundred and twenty acres where his son Ira now resides. As time passed, however, he increased his landed possessions by adding a forty-acre tract, thus making him the owner of one hundred and sixty acres. From the age of two years his entire life was spent in Seneca county, and he therefore witnessed its growth from a wilderness to its present improved conditions. His political support was given to the Democracy, and although not a member of any religious denomination he was an attendant and liberal supporter of the Baptist church and was ever active in any movement tending to promote the welfare of his fellow men. He died on the 7th of October, 1893, at the age of sixty-five years.

On the 8th of October, 1854, Mr. Lepard was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Hoyle, who was born in the state of New York March 1, 1827, a daughter of Horace and Grizella (Holcomb) Hoyle, the former a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and the latter of New York. After their marriage the parents removed to Lorain county, Ohio. Their daughter Harriet became a successful teacher at sixteen, and after coming to Seneca county was the first teacher in the Attica schools, in 1852, where she taught up to the time of her marriage. She is still living on the old home farm, and is well preserved in all her mental faculties. She has ever shown a decided interest in educational work, being thoroughly informed on all lines of literature and takes special delight in the study of the Bible. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lepard were born six children who grew to years of maturity, namely: Mary, who died at twenty-six: Eunice, who has been an invalid for thirtyfour years; Ira, the immediate subject of this review ; Emma and Hattie, also at home: and Flora. the wife of A. N. Kelly of Chicago, Illinois, and who was a teacher for three years.

Ira H. Lepard acquired his primary education in the district schools near his home and later attended the Attica high school. He worked with his father on the home place until 1886, and in that year began farming a portion of the old homestead on the shares, thus continuing until his father's death, when he assumed the entire management of the place, besides fifty acres of his own purchase. Throughout his entire business career he has been industrious, energetic and successful, and he has won for himself an honorable name in trade circles, while at all times he has received the unbounded confidence of his fellow men.

Mr. Lepard was married on the 3d of September, 1887, to Miss May Neikirk, a native of Adams township, Seneca county, and a daughter of D. J. Neikirk. She passed away on the 27th of February, 1898, and on the ist of January, 1902, our subject married Miss Jennie L. Alter, a native of Middletown, Ohio. Her parents, John K. and Emma E. (Bainbridge) Alter, removed to Dakota in 1883, and there the daughter attained to womanhood. After completing a common-school education she received a course in the high school of Ellendale, North Dakota, and later in the Manual Training School at the same place. At the age of seventeen she began teaching, and for a period of ten years taught in the country schools, in the Mound City schools of South Dakota and in the Ellendale schools, in North Dakota, resigning from the latter school to get married. She is one of the correspondents of the "West Land Educator," the official teachers' bulletin of North Dakota, which is a journal founded to'assist teachers, and in the conduct of which she retains an interest. At the time of her marriage, however, she endeavored to withdraw her correspondence, but her resignation was not accepted..

Mr. Lepard gives his political support to the Republican party, and is frequently a delegate to the conventions. In his social relations he is a member of Venice Lodge, No: 197, 1. O. O:; F in which he served as a noble grand for seven terms; is a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars, in which he has held office for the past fifteen years: and during the past year was master of Honey Creek his membership in the Baptist church, in which he has been an officeholder for twenty years, and throughout his life he has been an active worker in the cause of Christianity.

James Leroy Lake

Reed township, Seneca county, Ohio, includes among its representative farmers and respected citizens James Leroy Lake, who is a native son of this township, his birth here occurring on the 27th of May, 1846. His father, Joshua Lake, was born in Cayuga county, New York, May 6, 1805, and there he was reared to years of maturity. About 1833 he came to Seneca county, Ohio, locating on an eighty-acre tract in Reed township, but in 1862 he sold this place and removed to the farm on which our subject now resides, there purchasing one hundred and ten acres, which continued to be his home until his life's labors were ended in death, in his seventy-ninth year. He gave an unfaltering support to the Democratic party, and for many years he served his township as a justice of the peace, as treasurer and assessor, holding the latter position when there were but fifteen families in the township. He later filled various other township positions. He was a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church. As a companion on the journey of life Mr. Lake chose Miss Lydia Thatcher, who was born in Tompkins county, New York, December 4, 1818, and her death occurred on the 21st of August. 1899, when she had reached the age of eighty-one years. She, too, was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Unto this worthy couple were born four children, but only two now survive, our subject and Dr. O. A. Lake, of Green Spring, Ohio. .

James Leroy Lake enjoyed the educational privileges afforded by the common schools of his neighborhood during his youth and early manhood, and at the age of twenty years he began the business of stavemaking, which was a very profitable occupation at that time. While time he also carried on agricultural pursuits during the summer months. As the years have passed by and prosperity has rewarded his well directed efforts he has purchased land and is now the owner of his present fine honvestead, located in Reed township, Seneca county. In addition to farming he does considerable work as a stone mason. In political matters he has followed in the footsteps of his father and also gives a stanch support to the principles of the Democracy, and for four years ke served his township with efficiency as a justice of the peace. He has also held the offices of township trustee and assessor, and in all these positions he has discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity. In his social relations he is a member of Lodi Lodge, No. 493, I. O. O. F., and is a charter inember of Harmony Grange, No. 481, P. of H.

In February, 1868, Mr. Lake was united in marriage to Miss Samantha Insley, but this union was soon terminated in death, for the wife was called to her final rest on the 15th of September, 1869. For his second wife he chose Miss Helen Hakes, but this union was also terminated in death, April 5, 1893. On the 15th of April, 1896, Mr. Lake married Miss Elsie M. Wilhelm, a native of Stark county, Ohio, and a daughter of David and Margaret (Brillhart) Wilhelm, a prominent farmer of Reed township. They have one child, Irvin Leroy, who was born July 15, 1898.

Josep We Bever

Upon the roll of the representative members of the legal profession in Seneca county, Ohio, consistently appears the name of Joseph Milton Bever, who is a native son of the county and a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of the state. In no profession is there a career more open to talent than in that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there demanded a more careful preparation, a miore thorough appreciation of the absolute ethics of life, or of the underlying principles application, mature judgment and a determination to fully utilize the means at hand, are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this great profession, which stands as the stern conservator of justice, and it is one into which none should enter without a recognition of the obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be won, for sucess does not perch on the falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray, but comes only as the legitimate result of application and unmistakable ability. Possessing the qualifications of the able lawyer, Mr. Bever has attained marked precedence in his chosen profession and has high standing at the bar of his native state, - a bar that has been graced by the transcendant abilities of many of the ablest men in the annals of the nation. He has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Fostoria for nearly a quarter of a century, has been concerned in much important litigation and is known to be thoroughly informed in the science of jurisprudence, an able attorney and a safe and duly conservative counsel, while his personal integrity and honesty of purpose have begotten an objective confidence and esteem of no equivocal order. In a work touching those who have been concerned in the public and civic life of Seneca county it is clearly incumbent that specific mention be made of Mr. Bever.

Joseph Milton Bever was born on a farm in Eden township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the gth of December, 1853, being the youngest of the six sons of Rev. Joseph and Elizabeth (Knouse) Bever, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Pennsylvania, she being of stanch old Pennsylvania German stock. Rev. Joseph Bever was one of a family of thirteen children who accompanied their parents on their emigration from Virginia to Ohio, in the year 1822, and within the following year they located about five and one-half miles south of Tiffin, Seneca county, where they made their home in the almost unbroken wilderness. Seneca county was not then organized, and this family endured, with other hardy pioneers, the labors and privations incident to life in the sylvan wilds of this section. One of the early teachers of Rev. Joseph Bever was Mr. Burlingame, father of Hon. Anson Burlingame, late minister to Russia, but his early scholastic dis- cipline was confined to a period of about nine months' duration, the popular appreciation of educational training at that time being greatly subordinate to that of developing a capacity for arduous toil. The youth, however, realized to no slight degree to how great an extent his sphere of usefulness would be circumscribed through lack of proper mental training, and through every means possible he sought earnestly to increase his store of knowledge, reading the few books which he could secure in the frontier settlement and undoubtedly thus applying himself by the light of the open fireplace or the flickering candle, since it is not to be thought that he would or could be released from his share of the arduous daily toil incident to the reclaiming of the farm in the virgin forest. His determination, however, proved sufficient to insure his continuance of study and reading and he developed marked intellectual strength and became a man of no inconsiderable scholastic attainments. As. a young man he felt himself called to preach the gospel, his nature being intrinsically fervent and spiritual, and thus he identified himself with the United Brethren church, by which, in due course of time, he was licensed to preach, forthwith entering upon the active work of the ministry. His first circuit comprised many of the counties of northwestern Ohio, - a section then traversed by few roads, and those of the most primitive type, while few of the streams were spanned by bridges of any sort, thus making the field far from inviting. His zeal and devotion did not falter by reason of these and other obstacles, and he continued in the active work of the Master for the greater portion of his life, as pastor and presiding elder, being one of the revered pioneer clergymen of his denomination in this section. He removed to Fostoria from the old homestead, which he had aided to reclaim, in 1871, and he did not withdraw from: pastoral work until about 1882, when his advanced age caused him to resign to a considerable extent his active labors. He continued to make his home in Fostoria until his death, which occurred in November, 1896, his devoted wife having passed away in 1883. Of Rev. Joseph Bever it may well be said that he was a "friend to truth, of soul sincere, in action thoughtful and in honor clear: who lost no friend." Six sons survive him, namely: Captain Russel H.., of Tiffin, is now deceased; M. A., of Marion; D. M., of Tiffin; L. O., of Kenton; J. T., of Bowling Green; and Joseph M., the subject of this sketch.

To the district schools of Eden township Joseph M. Bever is indebted for his early educational training, and there he continued his studies, also assisting in the work of the old homestead, until he had attained the age of seventeen years, when he accompanied his father on his removal to Fostoria, which has ever since been his home. In 1873 he was matriculated in Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, where he was graduated in the centennial year, 1876, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Shortly after his graduation Mr. Bever entered the office of W. J. Rigby, in Fostoria, and there began the technical reading and study which were to fit him for his chosen profession, his devotion to his work and his excellent assimilative powers being such that he became eligible for and was admitted to the bar of the state in 1878. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Fostoria, where he has ever since continued. His years of close application and his reliability and talent in the various branches of his professional work have eventuated in a definite and worthy success, giving him prestige as onc of the leading members of the Seneca county bar, while his hold upon the confidence and esteem of the local public has been shown in the preferments which have come to him in official capacities. In 1878 he was elected city solicitor of Fostoria and was again chosen as incumbent of this office in 1880. Two years later he was appointed city clerk, to fill a vacancy, and at the regular election following, in 1883, he was chosen to fill out the unexpired term in this office. In 1884 came to him the distinction of being elected to the chief executive office of the municipal government, and that his administration met with popular approval is manifest when we revert to the fact that he was re-elected mayor in 1888, and for a third time in 1891. In January, 1897, Mr. Bever was appointed city solicitor, to fill a vacancy, and was retained in this office by popular election in April of the same year, while he was re-elected in 1899. He has ever taken a deep and active interest in educational matters and served for twelve years as a member of the city board of school examiners, while he was also a member of the first board of trustees of Fostoria Academy. In politics Mr. Bever gives his allegiance to the Republican party, of whose principles and policies he has been an able advocate.

In connection with that noble fraternal organization, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Mr. Bever has attained the most distinguished preferment in the gift of his brothers in the order, being at the present time grand master of the grand lodge of the state of Ohio, within whose jurisdiction are found seventy thousand members. He became identified with the order in 1881 and has been one of its most honored and enthusiastic devotees, having been frequently a representative to the grand lodge and having served in other official capacities. He holds his membership in Fostoria Lodge, No. 305, in his home city.

On the 1oth of July, 1878, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bever and Miss Sootie J. Rugg, of Franklin county, and they have three children, - Mabel M., Roscoe and Thurlow, all of whom are graduates of the Fostoria high school, and all of whom are zealous members of the Presbyterian church.