Seneca Township (part 49 of 60)

Joseph William Kuntz, who was long a representative farmer in Seneca county, is now living virtually retired in the village of Republic, and here he is recognized as a loyal and public spirited citizen who has contributed in generous measure to all projects advanced for the general welfare of the community. He was born in Hopewell township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 10th of December, 1848, and is a son of Michael and Catherine (Unser) Kuntz, both of whom were bom in the great Empire of Germany, whence they emigrated to America when young. The parents of Michael Kuntz came to the United States in 1833, at which time Michael was but thirteen years of age. The family proceeded to Ohio, where they located in Big Spring township, this county, and the eighty acre tract of government land then entered is still in the hands of their descendents. In the heart of the forest they rected a little shack and as time passed and other buildings were needed they considered it a wise thing to construct them in a circle around a certain stump, which was used as a mortar for the grinding of corn meal. This meal constituted the main article of food for the family of six throughout the first winter. Michael was the first born in a family of four children, the others being: Nicholas, Catherine, who became the wife of Samuel Bowser; and Margaret, who married Frank Ulric. All are now deceased. Mr. Kuntz in company with his sons managed to reclaim a fine farm to cultivation and he was an influential factor in public affairs in the community in the early pioneer days. He helped to build the St. Boniface church at New Royal and he was summoned to the life eternal about the year 1904, his cherished and devoted wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Reckennatt, having passed away in 1906. Michael Kuntz continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-four years, when he was united in marriage to Catherine ITnser. Her father came to this country with his family on the same boat as did the Kiintz family. They settled in the same neighborhood and as pioneers contributed their quota to the development and progress of this section. Catherine was the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children, her brothers and sisters being, John, Joseph, Mary, Nancy, Eliza and Elizabeth. Michael and Catherine (Unser) Kuntz became the parents of fourteen children, six of whom are now living, namely : Margaret, who married Lewis Zurk, and resides in Indiana ; Joseph William, to whom this sketch is dedicated ; Michael, of Kirby, Ohio ; Julius, who is engaged in agricultirre in Hopewell township ; Henry, who resides on the old homestead of his mother; and Prank, who maintains his home on the old Kuntz farm. Michael Kuntz had received his early education in the old country and there he had entered upon an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade. In 1836 he entered the employ of the Cincinnati & Toledo Canal Company and after working on the canal one year as a day laborer operating a wheel barrow, he was promoted to the position of overseer. He acquired a thorough knowledge of locks and gates and continued in the employ of the company for a yeriod of three years. After his marriage he settled upon a farm in Hopewell township and late in life he removed to Tiffin, where he passed the residue of a long and active career and where his death occurred in 1902. Mrs. Kuntz was summoned to eternal rest in 1906. In his political convictions Mr. Kuntz was originally a Democrat but he later transfered his allegiance to the Republican party. He was ardently devoted to the good of the county and gave efficient service as a member of the school board, served on the county election board and was prominent in various public affairs of a local order. '- Both he and his wife held membership in the St. Joseph Catholic church.

Joseph W. Kuntz was reared to maturity on the home farm and to the public schools of his native county he is indebted for his preliminary educational training. He remained in the parental home until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years when, in 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth E. Eschenbrenner, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, on the 29th of September, 1852, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Schereck) Eschenbrenner, the former of whom was a native of Germany and the latter of Prance. Mr. Eschenbrenner was about eighteen years^ of age when he came to America and his wife was but fourteen years old. After his marriage the Eschenbrenner family and Mr. Kuntz located on a farm near Postoria, Hancock county, Ohio, and later they removed to Hopewell township, where they continued to operate a finely improved farm until 1907. In that year he established his home in the village of Republic and there he and his wife are now living in the enjoyment of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. In politics he is aligned as a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor and he has ever given freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures tending to advance the good of the community. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church in Republic, to whose charities and benevolences he has been a liberal contributor. For five years he served as a member of the school board and he is a^liated with various fraternal and social organizations of representative character.

Mr. and Mrs. Kuntz became the parents of five children, and concerning the three who are now living the following data is here incorporated: Evelyn, who is the wife of Earl Kimmel, of Bloomville, was born on the 25th of November, 1877; Verona, married Lloyd Grosscup, of Republic, and the date of her birth is December 18, 1880 ; and Wendall, who was born on the 12th of May, 1882, is now residing on his father's farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Scipio township. The two children deceased are, Edward, bom. June 11, 1874, died November 7, 1896 ; and one who died in infancy.

Harry Taggart. - Noteworthy among the leading citizens of Tiffin is Harry Taggart, who is actively engaged in the abstract business. A former county recorder, he has the unique distinction of being the only Republican ever elected to that office in Seneca county, which is a Democratic stronghold. He was born in Tiffin and received his education in the public schools of this place.

Left fatherless at an early age, Mr. Taggart assumed to a certain extent the support of his widowed mother and three sisters, and in the years that followed proved true to the trust imposed upon him. Beginning his active career as clerk in the shipping department of the old Agricultural Works of Tiffin, he served in that capacity some time and was afterward in the employ of T. J. Ejntz for some time, for two years serving under him in the county recorder's office and afterward in his abstract office. Mr. Taggart afterward became proprietor of the abstract business of his former employer, conducting it successfully until 1903.

Prominent in the ranks of the Republican party and popular in all political organizations. Mr. Taggart was the Republican nominee, in 1903, for the office of county recorder, and in November of that year was elected by a majority of four hundred and eightyfive votes. He served so efficiently and ably that at the end of his term, in 1906, he was re-elected to the same position, receiving a majority of eight hundred votes at the polls. Retiring from the office in September, 1909, Mr. Taggart has since been busily employed as an abstracter, having an extensive and remunerative patronage. He never married, but is still caring for his sisters.

Religiously Mr. Taggart is an active and worthy member of the Presbyterian church, of which he is an elder and for seventeen years was clerk of the session.

Xenophen F. Charles, who since 1899 has been proprietor of a drug, grocery and' crockery business, is one of Republic 's alert and progressive men. The concern was formerly known as that of Stickney & Dentler, and previous to the above mentioned date for twenty-five years Mr. Charles was associated with them in business. He has filled many public offices efficiently and is well known in this part of the county.

Mr. Charles was bom June 12, 1854, and is the son of Jasper E. and Susanna (Grossman) Charles, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio in the April prioi* to the subject's birth. Jasper Charles, who was a shoemaker by trade, was born March 8, 1825, and in his youth served an apprenticeship at his trade, being bound out for three years. His father, Abraham Charles, died when he was but thirteen years of age, and he made his home with his mother until his twenty-sixth year, when her demise occurred. He married Susanna Grossman at the age of twenty-eight and became the father of six children, of whom the following is an enumeration: Xenophon F, Jasper E., Emma V., Ida May (deceased), John J., and David M. The father of the subject was Democratic in politics, was a natural leader, and held township office frequently. When he first came to the state, in 1849, he drove through with his mother and youngest sister, and located in Clark county, near Springfield, where he remained for about two years. His sister died and he and his mother went back to Pennsylvania, where he married, and in 1854 he came back to the Buckeye state, of which he had received a favorable impression, and located here. However, in 1873 he removed to Indiana, secured a small farm and upon this property remained until summoned to the life eternal.

Xenophon F. Charles remained beneath the home roof until his twenty-first year. In 1874 he concluded to begin life independently and came to Republic, where he secured employment with the firm of Stickney & Dentler. He had received his higher education in the* normal school under Professor J. Praise Richards and he preceded his business career with several years experience as a teacher in district schools in Indiana. His connection with Stickney & Dentler proved most satisfactory, for he was efficient and trustworthy. He was its pillar in times of storm and stress and saved it from bankruptcy when in embarassed circumstances. In December, 1899, Mr. Charles found himself in a position to buy the business, and its destinies have been in his control ever since that date. Its success has been most gratifying and twenty thousand dollars worth of business is transacted every year.

Mr. Charles was married on Christmas Day, in the year 1877, the lady to become his wife being Flora A. Porter, bom October 1, 1850. to John D. and Jane (Roberts) Porter. Her father died when she was a child four years of age and later her mother married Sam S. Dentler, of the firm of Stickney & Dentler. Both of Mrs. Charles' parents were natives of the state of New York and John D. came to Ohio with his parents in pioneer days. They located in this township, on a farm which they cleared and improved. The father subsequently gave up farming and went to Huron county and engaged in the occupation of a plasterer. Later, however, they returned to this township and the father worked »at his trade until his untimely death. He and his wife were the parents of three children, Flora being the eldest and the names of her brothers being Vernon and Richard T.

Mabel T., born November 30, 1883, is situated with the Michigan Trust Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Thurman P., born November 1, 1886, is in Atlanta, Indiana, where he holds the responsible position of superintendent of schools. Mr. Charles is one who realizes the vast importance of good education and all of his children received excellent educational discipline, being graduated from the schools of Republic and from the Tri-State College at Angola, Indiana.

Mrs. Charles is a faithful member of the Disciple church and Mr. Charles has always given financial assistance to the churches of the town. He is a loyal Democrat and his interest in public affairs has already been suggested. He served thirteen years on the school board and at the age of twenty-two held the office of township clerk. He has, indeed, the distinction of having been the first Democratic clerk in the township. For ten years he held the important office of township treasurer and served on the village council several times, at the present time being represented upon that body. Several times he has been a member of the county central committee. He finds great pleasure in his lodge relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having filled all the chairs and served as D. G. M. on more than one occasion. He likewise belongs to the Junior Order of United American Mechanica having been the first councilor of the local organization and several times sent as representative to the state council.

Henry B. Pupfenbergbr. - A man of talent, possessing natural and acquired mechanical skill and ability, Henry B. Puffenberger, of Tiffin, is rendering excellent service as county surveyor of Seneca county, a position for which he is eminently qualified. A son of John Puffenberger, he was bom, August 2, 1855, in Hopewell township, Seneca county, coming from Virginian ancestry.

He is descended from an early pioneer of this part of Ohio, his grandfather, George Puffenberger, having followed the emigrant's trail to Seneca county in 1825. One of the original settlers of Liberty township, he took up wild land in section twentyeight, erected a log cabin in the midst ofi the forest, and having by dint of persevering labor cleared and improved a homestead, was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death, in 1850. A whole souled, generous man, he was ever ready to aid new pioneers in their efforts to establish homes for themselves and families, and was especially helpful in the building of the township. He married Catherine Null, who was bom in Virginia, a daughter of Jacob and Lucy (Ohler) Null. She survived him, passing away in 1877. Nine children were born of their union.

Bom in Frederick county, Virginia, May 27, 1823, John Puffenberger was scarce two years old when brought by his parents to Liberty township, Seneca county. Beginning life as a teamster at the age of thirteen years, he continued thus employed five years. Gk)ing then to Cincinnati, he was employed in various kinds of labor, including that of carpentering. Seized with an attack of wanderlust, he went from that city to Kentucky, thence to Tennessee, and ere his return to Seneca county had worked at the carpenter's trade in seven different states of the Union. He subsequently settled in Hopewell township, and was a resident of Seneca county until his death in 1902.

On November 2, 1854, John Puffenberger married Margaret J. Shaull, who was bom, March 8, 1828, in Virginia, and died in Seneca county, Ohio, in 1900. Her* father, Bartholomew Shaull, was born August 16, 1797, in Virginia, a son of John and Elizabeth (Benner) Shaull, early settlers of Pleasant township. Bartholomew Shaull migrated to Ohio with his family, settling in Seneca county, where he resided until his death, in 1875. He married Rfibecca Blue, a daughter of John and Hannah (O'Nan) Blue. She was born in Virginia, August 3, 1799, and died in Ohio in 1865. Seven children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. John Puffenberger, as follows: Henry B., the special subject of this brief sketch ; Rebecca C, wife of Solomon Snides; Alice J., wife of John Anderson; H. V. J. and S. A. D., twins; J. S. ; and Jessie B.

Brought up beneath the parental roof-tree, Henry B. Puffenberger had a practical training in the various branches of agriculture while young, and in the district school, which he attended during the winter terms until eighteen years old, he laid a substantial foundation for his future education. He subsequently continued his studies for three years at Heidelberg College, after which he taught school nine successive winters, during the summer seasons working at the carpenter's trade. Taking up the study of civil engineering, he became proficient in the profession, and during the past fifteen years has done a great deal of private surveying. In November, 1908, Mr. Puffenberger was elected county surveyor of Seneca county, and since taking the office, in September, 1909, has performed the duties devolving upon him most satisfactorily. He is a natural mechanic, possessing much inventive genius, and has made a level of his own, an instrument that is both practical and useful.

Mr. Puffenberger married, in August, 1901, Alwilda Brown, who was born in Liberty township, Seneca county, December 25, 1863. Their only child, James B. Puffenberger, was born November 9, 1903. Politically Mr. Puffenberger is affiliated with the Democratic party.

William M. Shaffer. - One of the foremost citizens of Tiffin and an able business man, William M. Shaffer has served with credit to himself and to the honor of his constituents in various offices of trust and responsibility, at the present time, 1910, being county treasurer of Seneca county. A son of Joseph Shaffer, he was born, October 23, 1851, in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. Born, reared and educated in Pennsylvania, Joseph Shaffer began life for himself a poor man, but by means of persistent industry and thrift built up a substantial business as a shoe manufacturer and dealer accumulating a comfortable property. He married Amelia Romior, also a native of the Keystone state, and the thirteen children born of their union are all living, a family of stalwart sons and fair daughters of whom any one might well be proud.

attended the public schools until eighteen years of age, acquiring a practical education. Working in the meanwhile at the bench with his father, he learned the trade of a shoemaker, and on attaining his majority went to Allentown, the county seat of Lehigh county, and was there a resident about four years. In 1876, his health failing, Mr. Shaffer came to Ohio, locating at Plat Rock, Thompson township, Seneca county, to recuperate. His physical strength improving, he secured employment at the Evangelical Orphans' Home, where for eight years he filled any position requiring his services. Proving himself so capable, he was then made assistant superintendent of the institution, at the same time serving as one of its directors.

Retiring from that position, Mr. Shaffer purchased a general store at Flat Rock, and was there engaged successfully in mercantile pursuits until February, 1892. Coming then to Tifiln, he entered the sheriff's office and served as deputy sheriff until 1895, a term of three years. Buying then an interest in Romig's store, he was here a general merchant until November, 1896, when he was elected sheriff of Seneca county, a position which he filled satisfactorily until January, 1901. Having in the meantime retained his interest in the store, Mr. Shaffer again engaged in the shoe business, which he conducted until November, 1905. He was then elected treasurer of Seneca county, and in the discharge of the duties of his office showed such financial and executive ability that he was re-elected ta the same responsible position in 1907, and is still county treasurer.

Mr. Shaffer married, in October, 1882, Louisa Williman, who was bom in Van Wert county, Ohio, and they are the parents of two children, namely : W. W. C, born March 5, 1885, employed in the shoe department of Taylor & Company at Cleveland, Ohio; and Rama R., bom September 29, 1888, a graduate of the Tiffin High School and the Tiffin Business College and now a clerk in the office of the county treasurer.

An active and influential member of the Democratic party, Mr. Shaffer has been a delegate to conventions and has served on committees of importance. Fraternally he is a member of Tiffin Lodge, No. 175, K. of P., and of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.

Eugene W. Allen. - In this age of colossal enterprise and marked intellectual energj' the prominent and successful men are those whose abilities lead them into large undertakings and to assume the responsibilities and labors of leaders in their respective fields of endeavor, and it is certain that success is but the result of the determined application of individual energies and powers along the rigidly defined lines of labor, whether mental or physical. The subject of this brief sketch holds precedence as one of the substantial business men and influential citizens of the city of Fostoria, where his capitalistic interests are of diversified and of important order, and he has contributed a generous quota to the industrial and civic advancement of his home city, where he holds an impregnable vantage ground in popular confidence and esteem. Here he is closely associated with financial and manufacturing enterprises of broad scope and importance, and he merits consideration in this publication as one of the throughly representative citizens of Seneca f county.

Mr. Allen claims the stanch old Hoosier commonwealth as the place of his nativity. He was born at Wolf Lake, Noble county, Indiana, on the 4th of June, 1864, and is a son of Felton and Susan (Childs) Allen. The Allen family was early founded in the southeastern section of Pennsylvania, from which state Daniel Allen, grandfather of the subject of this review, emigrated to Indiana and numbered himself among the pioneers of Noble county, where he reclaimed a farm f romt the wilderness and where he continued to reside until his death. Both he and his noble wife were members of the Society of Friends, and their lives were guided and governed according to the simple and gracious teachings of this organization. Pelton Allen was bom and reared in Noble county, Indiana, where for many years he owned and conducted a large and well improved farm. ^ He devoted much attention to the raising of and dealing in live stock and was one of the leading representatives of this line of industry in that state. His wife was a native of Virginia and was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Noble county, Indiana. Her father became the owner of a large tract of land near Wolf Lake, that county, and was one of the honored and influential citizens of the community.

Eugene W. Allen was reared under the vitalizing and grateful influences of the home farm and early began to assist in its work and management, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages of the publio schools of the locality and period. He continued to maintain his home in Indiana imtil 1893, and had already shown his fine constructive and initiative powers in connection with business affairs. In the year mentioned he came to Seneca county and established his home in Fostoria, where he became one of the interested principals in the organization of the Peabody Buggy Company, of which J. B. Peabody was made president. In 1895 Mr. Allen and his brother Warren 0., purchased Mr. Peabody 's interest in the enterprise, and he thereupon became president and treasurer of the company, while his brgther assumed the office of vice president and secretary. Under their able management the business has been developed from modest proportions until it is now one of the extensive and important industrial enterprises of the city and county. The transactions of this company now reach a business involving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and its trade extends into the most diverse sections of the union. In the well equipped plant employment is afforded to a large force of men, and thus the enterprise contributes in a direct way to the civic as well as the industrial prosperity of the city.

Mr. Allen initiated his association with banking interests in Fostoria in July, 1899. He was one of the leading factors in the transforming of the old Mechanics' Savings Bank Company into the Mechanics' Banking Company, of which he became cashier. Under his effective management as an executive the institution was signally prospered, and under the same title a branch was estab- lished at Bradner, this county, where the enterprise is still conducted under the title noted. In 1908 the bank in Fostoria was re-organized and received its charter as the Union National Bank, which is incorporated with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, all paid in, and of this institution Mr. Allen is vice president, being closely associated with its executive management and having done much to direct its policies in such a way as to make it one of the substantial and popular banking houses of the state. The deposits of the bank now aggregate fully seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and its assets nine hundred thousand dollars. William Manecke is president, Mr. Allen is vice president and George A. Snyder is cashier of the institution. The full personnel of its directorate is here indicated: William Manecke, William J. Wagner, Warren 0. Allen, L. R. Parker, A. Mennel, Eugene W. Allen, Walter C. Beckwith, L. J. Eshelman, Ira Cadwallader, Frank D. Kingseed, Hugo Scherer, Mahlon A. Thomas and Elias Fox.

Mr. Allen is a director of the Mechanics' Banking Company of Bradner, also of the Ashland Bank and Savings Company, of Ashland, Ohio, and of the City National Bank of TiflSn, Ohio, besides which he is interested in a number of other important business enterprises in his home city. He has valuable holdings in the oil district of this state. The> following appreciative words are well worthy of perpetuation in this sketch, as they represent the estimate of one familiar with the career of Mr. Allen: **He is a generous contributor to all movements for the social, intellectual, material and moral benefit of the community and Fostoria numbers him among her valued citizens. He has made good use of his opportunities and has prospered from year to year. He has conducted all business matters care fully and prudently and has shown not only distinctive administrative and constructive ability, but has also guided and governed his course according to the most inviolable principles of integrity and honor. He has not permitted the accumulation of wealth to aflfect in any way his attitude toward those less successful, and he always has a cheerful word and pleasant smile for all with whom he comes in contact. He has a high sense of stewardship and an abiding sympathy for all sorts and conditions of men, a sympathy that is one of helpfulness as well as of sentiment.'*

In politics, while never seeking the honors or emoluments of public office, Mr. Allen is found aligned as a stanch supporters of the principles of the Republican party, and he keeps well informed in connection with the questions and issues of the hour, so that he is well fortified in his opinions as to matters of public polity. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife are numbered among the zealous and earnest members of the First Presbyterian church of Fostoria, of whose board of trustees he has served as a member for about ten y^ars. He has been a most effective and valued worker in the various departments of church activity and is an officer in the Sunday school. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are identified with the best social activities of the community and their attractive home is a recognized center of gracious hospitality.

On the 15th of February, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Allen to Miss Mary Leonard, a daughter of C. Clark Leonard, a representative business man and influential citizen of Fostoria. Mrs. Allen was bom at Fostoria, Ohio, and after due preliminary education along literary lines she entered the celebrated New England Conservatory of Music, in the city of Boston, in which she completed courses in both music and elocution and in which she was graduated as a member of the class of 1897. Mr. and Mrs. AUpn have two daughters, Clara Louise, aged ten, and Mary Winifred, aged eight years.

Joseph R. Dbown. - A well known factor in the many sided life of Pleasant township is Joseph R. Drown, who is entitled to particular consideration as a progressive agriculturist, a Civil war veteran who gave cheerful and faithful service to his country in her greatest hour of need, a good church man, and one whose record in public office is unimpeachable. Joseph R. Drown is a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, where his eyes first opened to the light of day December 22, 1835. The parents of Mr. Drown were Solomon and Fannie (Dennis) Drown, natives of New Hampshire and Maine, respectively, the former's father, John Drown, being of English descent and a farmer by occupation. They were married in the state of New York and one year after the birth of him whose name initiates this sketch they came on to the newer state of Ohio and bought land in Adams township, Seneca county.

Joseph R. Drown resided under the home roof until he was about twenty-five years of age, or about the year 1859 or 1860. He had been educated in the district schools and at Republi(? under those well remembered educators, T. W. Harvey and Aaron Schuyler and he was at the date mentioned the possessor of an eight years* experience as a school teacher, his pedagogical activities having begun at about the age of eighteen years. His career was interrupted by the breaking; out of the Civil war, and hin enlistment under the Union flag was made in the month of Ma3% 1864, as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His immediate ofiicers were Captain Huntzberger and Colonel Whistler.

' During the period of the conflict between the states Mr. Drown was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Bowersox, their union being celebrated in the month of February, 1864, at Tiffin, Ohio. She was bom October 31, 1843, the daughter of Jacob and Susan Qettinger Bowersox, natives of Maryland, who came here about the year 1836 or 1837 and located on the farm which is still owned by the subject, it having at that early day virtually been rL\*laimed f ron* the wilderness.

In the matter of making a choice of a life work Mr. Dn)wn followed in the footsteps of his ancestors and secured some two hundred of the fair and fertile acres of Seneca county as his own. Hia industry and thrift and the assistance of his faithful wife and helpmeet have been rewarded and he stands as one of the veteran and substantial citizens of the section. His three children are all residing in Pleasant township, secure in the enjoyment of the respect of all who know them best. Charles C. Drown, the eldest child and only son, was bom May 19, 1866, received his education in the district school and at Heidelberg College, Tiffin, and is engaged in the hardware business at Old Fort, in whose affairs he plays a prominent part, being in truth one of the most widely known men in Seneca county. Zua was bom June 23, 1868, and is the wife of Gibson Barto of Pleasant township. She, like her brother, was educated in Heidelberg College. Mary A., born May 16, 1879, is the wife of Frank Hover, of Pleasant township.

In his political faith Mr. Drown is Republican, giving enthusiastic support to the men and measures of the Republican party. He is the friend of good education and it was due to the efforts of several such as he that the adoption of the present excellent school system in this township was brought about. His public service includes several years as township trustee and member of Die board of education. Among those additional interests which engage his attention is the Mutual Telephone Company, of which he is a director.

Charles C. Drown. - ^A man much esteemed in the community, whose support is always given to just causes and whose career as a business man, has been marked by prosperity, progress and honorable dealing is Charles C. Drown. Mr. Drown has not always been in business, but has had some experience as an agriculturist and in his youth for a time followed the profession of a teacher in the district schools. He was bom May 19, 1866, in Pleasant township, Seneca county, and is the son of Joseph R. and Mary J. (Bowersox) Drown, natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland respectively. Mr. Drown received his education in the district school and at Heidelberg College and then began upon his career of two years in the pedagogical capacity. After his marriage he and his bride located upon property in Pleasant township but in 1897 found it expedient to give up farming and took up the hardware business, building up one of the largest trades in the county, amounting to over $18,000 per year. This unqualified success has come through his own efforts, for he is a man of indomitable purpose and great executive ability. He is in truth one of the most prominent citizens of Pleasant township and his prosperity has contributed materially to that of the whole community.

Mr. Drown resided upon the homestead of his parents until his marriage to Ella J. Snyder which was solemnized December 14, 1892, the parents of Mrs. Drown being Bartlett and Mary M. (Whitmire) Snyder. She was born March 16, 1866, and received her education in the district schools and Heidelberg College. She taught for five or six years in this and Clinton townships and her efforts in the training of the youthful mind were both conscientious and successful. She is Qerman in extraction, her parents, Bartlett and Mary M. Snyder, having come here from Bavaria, in the early days with their parents, their residence in this country having been of about seventy years duration. The father was bom December 26, 1821, and the mother September 19, 1829. After reaching America they finally drifted out to Ohio and located on land south of TiflSn. They were married after their parents had settled in Ohio, the year in which their union took place being 1850 and nine children were born to them, namely: Sarah, Mary, John, Lizzie, Louisa, Eva, Anna, Calle and Ella, Mrs. Drown being the youngest of eight daughters.

Few men take a more lively and none a more intelligent interest in public matters, than Charles C. Drown. He is a Republican, but is independent insofar that he is willing to vote for the best man to fill an office no matter what party he represents, principle weighing more with him than mere partisanship. That he is the friend of good education has been recognized generally and for ten years he has given valuable service as a member of the school board. He is a member of the Reformed church and takes an active part in its affairs, contributing generously to its support and advancing in every way all the good causes promulgated by it. That he finds time and strength for anything aside from his large business is an evidence of his unusual energy and his many friends and admirers attest that whatever he attempts, whether a campaign for the increase of trade, the putting through of a beneficial educational movement, the strengthening of the church body, etc., is well and capably done. Mr. and Mrs. Drown have one child, a daughter just growing to young womanhood, named Mary 0., whose birth date was April 21, 1894, and whose education has been completed as far as the Old Fort high school.

A sketch of Mr. Drown 's venerable father, Joseph R. Drown, including data concerning his sisters, Ina and Mary A., occurs on other pages of this volume, whose mission is to chronicle the parentage and deeds of all such good and valuable citizens.

David D. Hilsingeb. - Few men are better or more favorably known in Seneca county than David D. Hilsinger, one of the prosperous and progressive members of the agricultural class and a man who has figured to a considerable extent in public life. He is a native of the county which still claims his residence and his birth date is shared by one George Washington, his eyes having first opened to the light of day, February 22, 1867. He is a son of Joseph and Catherine (Smith) Hilsinger, who were married in 1861. The father was bom in Ohio, January 20, 1841, and the mother was born November 22, 1839. The latter was the daughter of David and Susan (Neikirk) Smith and the eldest of twelve children, all of whom lived to reach full manhood and womanhood. She departed this life August 31, 1909. Joseph and Catherine Hilsinger became the parents of five children : David D., Nora S.. Lottie M. (deceased), Calvin J. and Clara B.

The grandfather, whose name also was Joseph Hilsinger, was bom in the Black Forest of Germany. Living was rather meager and wonderful tales of the riches and opportunity of the new world reached his parents' ears and they started off for Amsterdam to take the ship which( would carry them to this **Land of Promise.'* Alas, upon arriving in the city, they found that the ship had sailed and that there would be a long interval before another one. The father concluded to remain in the city until the next departure, but the wife and children set out again for the Black Forest, making the journey on foot. On the way the mother died and the children went on to the old home alone. The father remained in Amsterdam and the son, Joseph, (Mr. Hilsinger's grandfather) apprenticed himself to a clock and watch maker and later came to America, the year of his emigration being 1825. He came with two other men and upon arriving in Philadelphia Joseph's companions appropriated most of the tools and stock and left without leaving their address. Ruefully he packed what was left and went on to Allentown, where he established himself in the jeweler's business in a small way. He afterward married Mary Rairich, of Leigh county Pennsylvania. He subsequently came on to Scipio township, Seneca county, Ohio, where he secured farming property and lived upon it until his death. He and his wife were the parents of three children, Joseph Jr., being the youngest, and the others being named, Harrison and Sarah. Joseph senior's sister was left in Germany, married one of her own countrymen and lived the rest of her life in her native country.

David D. Hilsinger passed his early years upon his father's farm and received a good education, attending the district schools, the Academy of Fostoria and Heidelberg College at TiflSn. When he was eighteen years of age he began teaching and acted in the capacity of a pedagogue for eight winter terms, his educational work giving the highest satisfaction. About the time of his marriage he launched out independently as a farmer, and he now manages an estate of two hundred and thirty acres of fine land. Last year he built upon his farm the largest stock bam in northern Ohio, this being eighty by eighty-seven feet, with a basement under the whole affair with the exception of a space of eighteen by fifty in one comer. He engages in general farming and stock raising, being thoroughly successful in the latter line. He raises thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle and Delaine sheep, having from twenty to twenty-five head of cattle and about one hundred head of sheep.

In 1893 Mr. Hilsinger entered the hardware business in connection with his brother-in-law, B. D. Wyant, and located in the town of Republic, where he and his family now reside. They conduct a very thriving business.

On December 23, 1890, Mr. Hilsinger laid the foundation of an ideally happy married life by his union with Alice M. DeWitt, bom in May, 1867, and the daughter of Samuel H. and Catherine (Miller) DeWitt, both of whom are natives of the Keystone state. In 1831 the De Witts located in Marion county and in 1837 settled in Clinton township, Seneca county. At that date the land was dense forest, which they proceeded to clear, their property becoming one of the finest thereabout. During the gold fever period (in 1848) Samuel DeWitt with Jacob Miller and others went to California, and they were among the minority who found success awaiting them. Mr. DeWitt died a man of means, among other properties leaving three hundred and twenty acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Hilsinger are the parents of two daughters, Veda Mae, bora October 15, 1896, and Vera Dae, May 30, 1898, and both being in attendance at the schools of Republic.

clinations, but he is sufficiently independent to esteem the right man for the office above mere partisanship. He has given efficient public service, having been township clerk for eight years, and also having been a member of the school board, while at the present time he is clerk of the township school board. He is a charter member of the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics. His grandfather, Joseph Hilsinger, whose life was briefly sketched above, was one of the township's prominent men and took an active and intelligent interest in the affairs of the township and county. As early as 1876 Mr. Hilsinger remembers his grandfather predicting that in time the moneyed interests would control the country and Mr. Hilsinger believes that subsequent events have proved his honored forbear to have been a true prophet. The elder man was an unfaltering Democrat and a great reader and he kept well in touch with the issues of the day. The year 1878 witnessed the termination of a life of great usefulness and honor.

Oliver S. Watson. - For many years one of the leading agriculturiste of Seneca county, Oliver S. Watson accumulated a handsome property and is now enjoying a well deserved leisure in the city of Tiffin, having a pleasant and attractive home at No. 36 Clinton avenue. A son of the late James S. Watson, he was born on a farm in Pleasant township, Seneca county, November 11, 1843. James S. Watson was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and there married Mary Saltsman. He came to Seneca county in 1835 for the first time, his wife, however, not coming until 1841. Of their seven children, six were living in 1910.

Completing his early education in the Western Reserve Normal School, Oliver S. Watson was engaged in professional work for nine years, being a most successful teacher. He subsequently turned his attention to farming, and still owns a valuable estate of two hundred and three and one-half acres, which is devoted to general farming and stock raising.

Mr. Watson married, December 22, 1875, Flora A. Titus, a daughter of the late Hon. R. R. Titus, a native of Connecticut. Mr. Titus was a typical New England man, well educated, possessing sound sense and superior judgment, and was quite successful as a farmer. He was influential in public affairs and represented Seneca county in the state legislature during the troublous times of the Civil war. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Elvira Clark, four daughters were bom, all of whom are now living, as follows : Augusta, wife of F. J. Fry ; Calena, wife of A. L. Abbott; Lettie L., wife of R. H. Watson; and Flora A., wife of Oliver S. Watson, the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Watson received excellent educational advantages, after leaving the public schools attending the Fremont High School and Heidelberg College.

Two children have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Watson, namely : Paul T., bom November 3, 1883; and Inez, bom May 24, 1890. Paul T. Watson was graduated from the Tiffin High School, and after continuing his studies for two years at the Ohio Me<lical College took a business course at Oberlin College. He married

Clemence Hubbard, a daughter of the Hon. R. Hubbard, former member of the state legislature. Inez Watson, also a graduate of the Tiflftn High School, is now, in 1910, a student at Adelbert College, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Watson is also an extensive landholder, owning three hundred and eighty-eight acres of rich and fertile land. She is an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and regent of Dollie Todd Madison Chapter. Politically Mr. Watson is a Democrat, and has been a member of the board of public service in the city of Tiffin. Both he and his wife belong to the Presbyterian church.

Jacob A. Metzqer. - In America with its unrest and constant change it is indeed a pleasant and interesting exception to the general rule to find a home remaining the seat of a family for three or four generations. This, however, is the case of the Metzger family, Jacob A. Metzger, one of its representatives, and one of the representative farmers of Adams township, living upon land which was originally entered by his great-grandfather. His ancestors some of them came from Pennsylvania, making the journey through many dangers on horseback, blazing a way through the forest primeval and snatching the necessary sleep to the dismal accompaniment of the howling of wolves and hooting of owls.

Jacob A. Metzger is thus of pure American stock. He was born June 13, 1877, in the township of Venice, and is the son of H. V. and Elizabeth (Petticord) Metzger. His father was bom in Adams township in 1847, and his grandparents were Daniel and Sarah (Whiteman) Metzger, the latter being a daughter of that well remembered pioneer, Daniel Whiteman, who was among the first to enter land in Seneca county, the original parchment giving him a right to the land bearing the signature of President Andrew Jackson. The Petticord family was originally of Maryland and they upon their identification with Ohio became large land owners and men and women whose citizenship was above reproach, their hand being ever given to good causes, such as religion and education, in which respect they resembled the Metzgers. The parents of the- subject were married November 8, 1866, and located upon a farm on the Clyde road inherited by the mother. They lived there a number of years, made several changes, among them a removal to Fulton county, but eventuaUy came back to the old homestead upon which they still reside. He whose name initiates this article was one of six children. Homer is a resident of Clyde, where he engages in the practice of the law ; Burton is identified with the fortunes of Adams township; Charles is deceased; Eva resides in Henry county; and Leroy is a citizen of Fremont, Ohio. A detailed sketch of the lives of these worthy people is contained upon other pages of this work.

Jacob A. Metzger was educated in the district schools of the township, afterward attending Heidelberg College at Tiffin and securing a commercial education in a business college in Sandusky. He completed his training in 1903, and having meantime come to the conclusion to adopt that honorable calling which so many of his forbears had represented, he engaged in the cultivation of the Metzger acres. Previous to this, however, he had taught several terms of school in Seneca county and his services in a pedagogical capacity had been much esteemed, his education and intelligence making him ideally fitted for the guidance of the youthful mind. He engages in general farming and has been very successful. He now owns the original homestead and resides there.

Mr. Metzger is a Democrat and has been well known in connection with public life. He is the present assessor. Like all good citizens he keeps in touch of the issues of the day and is well informed on all subjects pertaining to the welfare of the whole community.

The marriage of Mr. Metzger was celebrated December 21, 1904, the lady to become his wife being Miss Alma Loose. She was bom June 22, 1885, her parents being William and Marguerite (Bickle) Loose, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Ohio about the year 1869, locating upon an eighty acre farm in Thompson township. William Loose gives allegiance to the Democratic party and is of the Dunkard faith. Mrs. Metzger was educated in the district schools. Mr. and Mrs. Metzger have one child, a son, named Forest V., bom July 2, 1908.

Silas W. Baker. - Bom and reared in Clinton township, his birth occurring February 2, 1856, on the farm where he has spent his entire life, Silas W. Baker is an honored representative of the early pioneers of Seneca county and a true type of the energetic, hardy and enterprising men who have actively assisted in the development of this fertile and productive agricultural region. His father, the late F. A. Baker, was bom in Frederick county, Maryland, and when quite young came to Ohio, locating in Seneca county. He married in Clinton township Ann C. Holts, also a native of Frederick county, Maryland, and began life for himself on the farm now owned and occupied by his son Silas. He was there prosperously engaged in cultivating the soil until his death, June 5, 1885. His wife survived him, passing away January 12, 1891. They were the parents of three children, as follows: Jennie, wife of N. J. Gaumer, of Clinton township; Rosa, wife of B. A. Parmeter, of Adams township ; and Silas W., the subject of this brief personal record.

Profiting by the educational advantages oflPered him when young, Silas W. Baker attended the district schools as a boy and youth, continuing as a pupil during the winter terms until eighteen years of age. Choosing the congenial occupation to which he was reared, he eventualy succeeded to the ownership of the parental acres, which under his intelligent management are now highly cultivated and well improved. He is a systematic and thorough farmer, and is meeting with well merited success in his agricultural operations.

Mr. Baker married, November 29, 1881, Hattie L. Miller, who was born in Pleasant township, Seneca county, December 9, 1861. Her father, Andrew J. Miller, a native of New York state, came to Ohio when young, locating in Seneca county. He married Anna

M. Morton, who was bom in TiflSn, Ohio, and he now resides on the old Morton homestead in Pleasant township. Mrs. Miller died on the homestead Au^st 22, 1896. Three children have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Baker, namely: Maud, whose birth occurred Pebmary 23, 1883; Ollie, bom July 18, 1884, is the wife of J. P. Stover; and Ruth, born August 1, 1895. For thirty-five years Mr. Baker has been a member of the local Grange, to which Mrs. Baker also belongs. Politically he is identified with the Democratic party, and is now a member of the Clinton township school board.

Elmer E. Emery is a native of Seneca county, and has spent forty-three years on his present homestead, during which time he has seen remarkable progress in this part of Ohio and has contributed to the same in the capacity of a public spirited citizen and an agriculturist of advanced methods. He was bom November 7, 1851, in Henry county, Ohio, and is the son of Horace and Mary R. (West) Emery, the former a native of Rockland, Maine, and the mother of Vermont. Horace Emery, who was born February 4, 1821, and died November 14, 1908, was the son of Tristram and Lidy Emery. Mary Emery, who was born September 17, 1818, and died April 18, 1909, at the age of ninty-one years, was the daughter of Ezra and Prudence West, who cast their fortunes with the Buckeye state early in the ninteenth century. After their marriage Mr. Emery's parents located on a farm in Seneca county, near Tiffin, later removing to Adams township and taking up land near Grfeenspring, where the father also pursued the vocation of a blacksmith.

Mr. Emery resided under the home roof until his marriage, enjoying the educational advantages of the schools of Andrews township and becoming proficient in the several branches of the honorable calling of agriculture. On December 6, 1876, he was wedded to Mary E. Jopp and shortly thereafter they removed to Hedgetown, Ohio, where they established their household and remained for about five years, after which they removed to their present home, where they have ever since resided. Their farm, cleared by them, is a valuable property, comprising some one hundred acres. Mr. Emery is a Republican and he has held various township offices, among them that of school director and committee of the election board of Seneca county, and* he was a member of the school board for several years. He finds much pleasure in his affiliation with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which organization he has filled all of the chairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Emery have given seven good citizens to the country, in the persons of six sons and one daughter. Charles E., the eldest, was born December 28, 1877, he married Nellie Whiteman December 7, 1901, and they have three children: Holice, Florence and Robert. The second son, Asahel W., bom April vi, 1880, married Jennie Holly, February 23, 1909, and resides in Chicago ; Elbert C, born January 3, 1883, married Bessie Whited in the year 1905, and they have one child, a little daughter named Irene, bom May 1, 1908 ; George N., bom September 6, 1885, took as his wife Nettie Mead on October 14, 1908, and they have one son.

Mr. Emery 's maternal grandfather Ezra West, was born March 3, 1770, and his wife Prudence had her nativity on the same day. Their children were Samuel McGee West, born May 30, 1813; James Henry West, March 26, 1816 ; Mary R. West, September 17, 1818 ; Sarah West, September 10, 1820 ; Asahel West, February 26, 1823; John S. West, April 7, 1825; Nathan C. West, June 1, 1828; Mabel M. West, November 29, 1833; Clementine West, April 6, 1837. Of these the daughter, Mary, married Mr. Horace Emery, and the following eight children were the issue of the union : Cordelia, born January 20, 1845; Elizabeth A., born November 18, 1846; Samuel N., born April 24, 1849; Mr. Emery; Mabel S., born February 12, 1854; Charles N., born September 7, 1856; William J., born December 16, 1858 ; and Ella C, bom December 7, 1864.

Mrs. Emery's parents were Orrin and Mary A. (Mclntyre) Jopp, the former born A\igust 17 and the latter. May 16, 1822, both of them being natives of the state of New York. After their marriage, December 12, 1853, they located on a two hundred acre farm in Pleasant township and here their two daughters were reared, grew to womanhood and married.. Mary E., became the wife of the subject of this biography and Eva married William Horton and resides in Pleasant township.

John R. Bradner. - The present able and popular mayor of the city of Fastoria is well upholding the prestige that has been one of prominence in connection with the history of Seneca county for nearly a half century. He is one of the influential citizens and representative business men of his native city and as its chief executive is fostering all municipal interests with the same scrupulous care and fidelity as did his honored father, who was incumbent of the same office for a period of six years and who is the subject of a special memoir on other pages of this work, so that further reference to the family history is not demanded in the present connection.

John R. Bradner, the youngest in the family of nine children, was born in the city of Fostoria on the 15th of January, 1875, and is a son of John A. and Catherine E. (Phillips) Bradner. After completing the curriculum of the public schools, including the high school, Mr. Bradner continued his studies in the Fostoria Academy, of this city, for two years, after which he engaged in reading law for a number of years. He has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Fostoria since 1894 and is one of the leading representatives of these important lines of enterprise in Seneca county. He is well informed concerning the value of real estate in this section of Ohio and has handled many important property interests, in connection with which he has negotiated deals that have involved heavy investments. The insurance department of his business is one of most prosperous order and he does a large amount of underwriting each year, as representative of several of the standard life and fire insurance companies.

Mr. Bradner has at all times shown a lively and loyal interest in all that touches the welfare of his home city and county and lends his aid and co-operation in furtherance of all measures and enterprises tending to conserve the best interests of the community. He is aligned as an uncompromising advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and from 1896 to 1901 he served as constable of Loudon township, Seneca county. From 1901 to 1906 he was incumbent of the office of justice of the peace and he has served as mayor of his native city since 1910, giving an administration that has met with the unqualified popular approval. He is affiliated with the Home Guards, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics, the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is an associate member. Both he and his wife hold membership in the United Brethren church.

On the 16th of October, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bradner to Miss Laura M. Earl, who was bom in Wood county, this state, and who is the daughter of Leroy Earl, now a representative citizen of Fostoria. Mr. and Mrs. Bradner have six children, J. Alonzo, Earl Milton, Virgil C, Harry R., Leroy J. and Catherine L.

John A. Bradner. - By the death of this honorable and upright citizen Fostoria and Seneca county, and indeed the state of Ohio, sustained an irreparable loss and were deprived gf the presence of one who had come to be looked, upon as a guardian and friend. Death often removes from our midst those whom we can ill afford to lose, those whose lives have been exemplar of the true and good and who are therefore really great citizens. Such a man was John Alonzo Bradner, whose entire career, both business and social, served as an inspiration to the aged and as a model to the young. His work as a member of the legal profession, and more especially as a railroad builder, was of the greatest benefit to the state, and his usefulness and general benevolence he created a memory whose perpetuation does not depend upon sculptured stone or elaborate mortuary crypt, but rather upon the spontaneous and freewill offering of a grateful and enlightened people. His connection with Fostoria 's development and growth and with the cumulative work of material improvement was largely instrumental in placing the city in the proud position it today occupies.

Mr. Bradner was born August 13, 1833, at Niagara Falls, New York, a son of William and Laura (Everiiigham) Bradner. He spent his early life in the place of his nativity, pursued his education in the Lewiston Academv, and in 1849 removed with his parents to Perry township. Wood county, Ohio. His father established a store at West Mill Grove and he became a salesman therein. After clerking for six years he bought the store from his father and for two years carried on the enterprise individually. In 1859 he removed to Fremont, Sandusky county, where he was manager of a warehouse for the ensuing four years. In March, 1863, Mr. Bradner arrived in Fostoria, where he established a warehouse and

«tove business, conducting the same with adequate success for a period of nine years, or until 1872, when the demands made upon his attention by other business enterprises caused him to dispose of the store to devote his entire time to the development of other interests.

For thirty-five years Mr. Bradner was engaged in railroad building. He aided in securing the right of way, and was engaged in the construction of the Hocking Valley, the Ohio Central and the Nickel Plate Railroads; and he also took the contract for the construction of nineteen miles of the old Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Railroad and thirty-five miles of the Clover Leaf Railroad. Thus, as a railroad contractor, he was closely associated with the work of improvement, for no other one agency has so direct or so important 'bearing upon the upbuilding and progress of a country as the introduction of railroads. He also secured the right of way for the Toledo, Fostoria & Findlay Electric Railroad, and at the time of his death he was the secretary and treasurer and the general manager of the Ohio & Northwestern Electric Railroad. In the winter of 1900-01 he secured for this corporation the right of way from Fostoria to Jerry City, and while engaged in that work was taken ill, passing away on the 9th of July, 1901, at the age of sixty-eight years.

When the state had been largely supplied with railroads for transportation by the power of steam, his progressive spirit led him to take up the new methods of travel by the aid of electrical power, and thus he was associated with the upbuilding of interurban lines. This, however, did not comprise the extent of Mr. Bradner 's connection with business interests. He macadamized the principal streets of Fostoria ; was engaged in the stone and lime business, having been a large stockholder and president of the Fostoria Stone and Lime Company; was one of the organizers of the first gas company here; and in all ways was known as a progressive, public spirited and influential citizen. He was a man of keen sagacity, capable of looking beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities of the future. He labored not alone for himself or for his own generation but also for posterity, for through many years to come his efforts will benefit those who follow him. His interests were of important order and of great magnitude, and although his business career was so successful as to seem almost phenomenal, it but represented the fit utilization of his powers along the lines where mature judgment led the way, and his prosperity was the result of his own eflforts. While he was engaged in building the Hocking Valley Railroad Mr. Bradner was associated with Mr. Ransom Crocker in the founding and platting of a town in Wood county, located on the line of this railroad, and the same was named in honor of the subject of this memoir. Bradner is now a very attractive and prosperous town of about two thousand population, being located in the center of the oil belt and having before it an unmistakably auspicious future.

On the 3rd of March, 1856, Mr. Bradner was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Phillips, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Phillips, of Jerry City, Ohio, and unto them were born the foUow- ing named children : Catherine, the eldest, is the wife of Samuel Lynn, of Toledo ; May, became the wife of Pliny Jones, of Fostoria, and is now deceased ; Rosa, who was the wife of Brice M. Stout, of Fostoria, is likewise deceased; Martin, who was editor of the Evening News, of Fostoria, died at the age of twenty-seven yearU, leaving a wife and two children, John A. and Frederick; Jessie, is the wife of Edward Cooper, of Denver, Colorado; Franc, is the wife of Frank Stout, a furniture dealer in Fostoria, which city likewise continues to be the home of one other son, John R. ; and Harry E., now resides in Fremont, Ohio.

In addition to all his other interests John A. Bradner studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1879, and he became the first city solicitor of Fostoria. For twenty-one years he was incumbent of the oflfice of justice of the 'peace, and his rulings were ever fair and impartial. He served for seven consecutive terms in that oflSce in Loudon township, and was elected for the eighth term. For six years he was the mayor of Fostoria, and his executive duties were so ably and faithfully performed that one could readily have believed that he had no extraneous interests and was giving his entire time to the interests and administration of the municipal government. He was a man remarkable in the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance and in his strong individuality. His entire life had not one esoteric phase, being an open scroll, inviting and challenging closest scrutiny. True his were ** massive deeds and great" in one sense, and yet his entire life accomplishment but represented the result of the exercise of the intrinsic talent which was his and the directing of his eflforts along those legitimate and prolific lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination led the way. A man of indefatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, he carved his name deeply on the records of the industrial and professional history of this section of the great state of Ohio, which owes much of its advancement to his labors. Though he had no personal political ambition, Mr. Bradner was a stalwart Republican in his political adherency, and was ever signally true to the duties of citizenship, while his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. His home life was ideal in character, and those to whom he was nearest and dearest find in the grateful memory of his noble and useful life a perpetual benediction; his widow survived him and maintained her home in Fostoria until her death on the 22nd of February, 1904.

John S. Cludy. - One of Republic's enterprising young business men is John S, Cludy, who was born August 29, 1879. and is the son of John J. and Mariah (Groscup) Cludy. The father was a native of Ohio, but the mother came here with her parents from her native state, Pennsylvania, when still of tender years. John J. Cludy, who pursued the vocation of a tailor was bom September 20, 1840, and died September 24, 1898. When he was three years of age he was left an orphan, and his uncle, William Rhoades, took the homeless little lad into his household and reared him and there he lived until his marriage at the age of twenty-five years. He chose the vocation of an agriculturist and farmed in Seneca county until his death. He was survived by a wife and six children, all of whom were sons, their names being: Emmet, Edward, Charles, John, Jesse and William. Emmet resides in Lansing, Michigan, where he is associated with the Grand Union Traction Company; Edward lives on a farm near Carey ; Charles is a citizen of TiflSn ; Jesse is a Clinton township agriculturist ; and William, the youngest son, resides with his mother on the homestead, located south of Tiffin.

The subject's paternal grandfather, Samuel Cludy, and his wife were the parents of the following children: Jonas, William, Samuel, Henry, Charles, John Jacob, Marie, Sarah, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Fannie.

John S. Cludy resided beneath the parental roof until he became eighteen years of age. He received his education in the schools of Adams township graduating with the class of 1895. In the year 1897 he made a step toward independence and secured employment in the way of assisting various farmers in the locality. When about twenty-six years he took up the trade of a blacksmith and subsequently utilized the knowledge derived in a wagon shop. He later accepted a clerkship in a grocery store, which position he held until the spring of 1910. It was in that year that Mr. Cludy engaged in the general merchandise business in Republic, and the success which has attended his efforts has been evidence that his step was a wise one. He has built up a good trade and enjoys the confidence of all those with whom he has transactions. His success was assured almost from the first, for he transacted five thousand dollars worth of business the first seven months, and the subsequent growth has been commensurate. The political faith of Mr. Cludy is Republican, his sympathy and suffrage having always been given to the men and measures of that party. His lodge affiliations extend to the Knights of the Tented Maccabees.

Marion W. Uberroth, M. D. has been identified with the medical profession of Seneca county, Ohio, during the past fifteen years, and since he was a year and a half old has resided within its borders.

Dr. Uberroth was bom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1872, and in his youth enjoyed good educational advantages. Being the son of a physician and later the step-son of a physician, it was natural for him to incline toward the medical profession when old enough to select his life work. His education, begun in the common schools, was carried forward at Heidelberg College and finished in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Maryland, where in 1893, at the age of twenty-one, the youngest member of his class, he received his degree of M. D. In the meantime his father. Dr. A. S. Uberroth, had died and his mother had become the wife of Dr. William H. Focht who took up the practice left by Dr. A. S. Uberroth. After his graduation young Uberroth settled at New Riegel. Ohio, as a partner of his stepfather. Dr. Focht. But after a year Dr. Focht came to Tiffin, and Dr, Uberroth remained there until the death of Dr. Focht, when he

On November 17, 1898, Dr. Uberroth married Miss Cora La Pountaine, a daughter of Nicholas and Theresa Pountaine and a native of Seneca county, bom August 22, 1880. To them have been given three children: Marion W., bom October 8, 1903; Plavius J., March 11, 1907 ; and Marjorie D., July 9, 1908.

The doctor has associated himself with various medical organizations, including the County, State, American and Northwestern Medical Societies. He has membership in Pickwick Lodge, No. 175, K. of P., and, politically; is a Republican.

Dr. Adams S. Uberroth, father of Dr. Marion W. Uberroth, was a man of strong personality and brilliant attainments, tempered with kindness and gentleness. Indeed, he possessed a magnetism irresistable. As a talker he was fluent and entertaining; his voice was heard on many public occasions, and his words always carried weight. And he possessed the power not only to win but also to hold friends.

He was born in Priedensville, Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1850, from whence in his youth he removed to Philadelphia. He was a student at Preeland Seminary, now Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and studied under the late Dr. Levis, celebrated in medical circles. Before he attained his twentysecond year he received the degree of M. D. from Jefferson Medical College, and was tendered the enviable position of assistant demonstrator of anatomy in the college. He felt, however, that a broader field of action awaited him, and visions of a lucrative practice in the west beckoned him on. A few months after his graduation he settled at Sycamore, Wyandotte county, Ohio, but \)efore a year had passed he moved to New Riegel, Seneca county, where, in this village, the surrounding country and adjacent towns, he established a large and successful practice. And here, by the remorseless hand of accident, he was cut down in the prime of manhood, before reaching the zenith of his fame. He died Pebruary 15, 1883. He was a member of the Seneca county. Northwestern Ohio and Ohio State Medical Societies, and the American Medical Association.

On October 15, 1870, he married Miss Mallie WoUaston, who bore him two children, a son and daughter, Marion W., and Lalla, the latter the wife of William H. Kildow, of Tiffin, Ohio. Mrs. Uberroth subsequently became the wife of Dr. Pocht, and is still living.

Mrs. Mallie Wollaston Pocht was born at Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, on the old Governor Bradford homestead, April 6, 1850, a daughter of Thomas P. and Mary (Armstrong) Wollaston. At the age of three years she was taken by her parents to Maryland, where, in the eastern part of the state, on the eastern shore, the family home was established, and where she grew to womanhood and received her education. Her father, Thomas Pennock Wollaston, was bom in Chester county, Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and traced his lineage back through an unbroken line to

Christopher Pennock of Cornwall, England, and Mary Collet, daughter of George Collet of Clonmell, Ireland, who were united in marriage prior to the year 1675.

Cletus B. Rule. - One of the youngest of Adams township's independent agriculturists is Cletus B. Rule, who owns and operates a farm of seventy-six acres in Adams township. Although still very young in years he has had a previous career of four years as a school teacher, and is the possessor of an exceptionally good education. He was born February 2, 1889, and is the son of Sydney and Ninnie (McHenry) Rule, who like him were natives of Adams township. The father was born March 22, 1861, on the old family homestead, and is the son of Jefferson and Eliza (Patterson) Rule, natives of New York and Ohio, respectively. The birth of both of these good people occurred in the year 1820, that of the father being upon March 26. The grandparents of the subject located upon land they had secured in this township in the year 1844 and here they resided until their demise, that of the grandfather being in 1902, and that of the grandmother a good many years previously, in 1879.

Mr. Rule's mother, Ninnie McHenry, was born March 19, 1864, her parents being John and Annie McHenry, natives of the state, who ultimately located in Adams township. The father enlisted at the time of the call for troops in 1861 and was killed in service, near the close of the conflict, Mrs. Rule being a small babe at the time. She lived with her widowed mother until her marriage in October, 1883. Mr. Rule is one of five children. The eldest, Wade H., bom May 2, 1886, married Dorothy King, in June, 1906, and resides in Greenspring. He 'is a prosperous and highly respected young business man and he and his wife have one child, a daughter, Florence. The three younger children are, Floyd W., bom May 8, 1895 ; John M., born March 18, 1898 ; and Helen, born November 18, 1905, and of course still reside beneath the home roof.

Mr. Rule resided with his parents until his marriage. After taking advantage of the Adams township's public schools, which he finished in 1902, passing the Boxwell examination at the age of twelve years, he entered the TifiSn High School. Following that he attended school at Greenspring for a time and then returned to TifiSn, where he matriculated at Heidelberg College. After this he attended the Ohio Northern University at Ada, Ohio, where he completed a mental discipline of an unusually thorough character. He is a natural student and has made the most of his advantages. He began teaching at the age of eighteen years and taught for four years in the schools of Adams township. Although naturally fitted for an instructor, he did not adopt this as a life work, but, having no small knowledge of a scientific character of the great basic industry of agriculture, in July, 1910, he and his bride moved onto a farm of seventy-six acres which he had previously purchased.

Mr. Rule laid the foundation of a household of his own by his marriage on June 16, 1910, to Miss Meda E. Parker, daughter of Elmer and Clara (Meyer) Parker, natives of Ohio, whose ancestors came originally from New York and Germany, respectively. Mrs.

Rule was born March 1, 1889, and attended public school at Old Fort and Greenspring and Heidelberg College at Tiffin. She left that institution in her Sophomore year and took up school teaching at the age of seventeen years, having had a career of three and a half years in this vocation at the time of her marriage. She is talented in music and elocution, having prepared at the Conservatory of Heidelberg, and she also taught these branches. She is a member of the Evangelical church and her social aflfiliations extend to the Hesperian Literary Society. Mrs. Rule's grandfather Parker came from England with his parents when he was only a few weeks old, they being the first settlers at Fort Seneca. The uncle was killed by Indians.

Mr. Rule is one of the stanch young adherents of the Democratic party. He attends the Evangelical Sunday school and will shortly unite with the church.

Carl C. Anderson. - The present representative of the Thirteenth district of Ohio in the United States Congress has been a resident of Fostoria since 1904, and the high prestige which he has gained in public life and in connection with productive industries stands as the diametrical result of his own labors and abilities as he initiated his independent career when a mere boy. Carl C. Anderson was born at BluflPton, Allen county, Ohio, on the 2nd of December, 1877, and his early educational training was secured in the public schools of Fremont, this state. . His initial endeavors in connection with the practical activities of life were started when he became a newsboy and bootblack. His ambition was one of definite purpose and he was not long destined to remain in obscurity. He pushed himself .rapidly forward toward the goal of success and for some time he was agent for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad of this state. After severing his associations with this corporation he was employed as a traveling commercial salesman and later was an interested principal in a company engaged in the manufacturing of underwear at Fostoria. In his home city of Fostoria, Mr. Anderson has gained a secure place in public confidence and esteem and this was significantly shown in 1905, when he was elected mayor of the city, as the second Democratic incumbent of this oflSce within tiie long period of thirty years. His able and progressive administration led to his re-election as his own successor in 1907, though the city gives a normal Republican majority of from five to seven hundred. No citizen has shown greater public spirit or a more lively interest in the promotion of all enterprises and measures that have tended to conserve the general welfare of the community. At the present time he is serving as president of the Fostoria Board of Trade and is a member of the Fostoria Trades Council. He is identified with a number of fraternal and social organizations, including the United Commercial Travelers and the Commercial Travelers of America. He has been a most zealous worker in behalf of the cause of the Democratic party and has shown himself a resourceful and well fortified advocate of its principles. In 1908 he was elected to represent the Thirteenth district of Ohio in the United States congress and his abilities and sterling attributes of character admirably qualify him for this distinctive oflSce in the gift of the people of his native state, which he has honored by his services as a citizen and as an ofScial.

Mr. Anderson married in 1904 Helen May, daughter of W. H. Ford, of Fremont, Ohio. They have two sons, Carl Ford Anderson and Ford Richard Anderson, born June 9, 1908 and June 6, 1910, respectively.

Major Georqe W. Cunningham is consistently given consideration in this volume as one of the progressive, public spirited and essentially representative citizens of Seneca county. He is one of the successful business men of the city of Fostoria, where he formerly served as mayor and he has long been a prominent figure in the Ohio National Guard, as a member of which he tendered his services to the nation at the time of the Spanish- American war, in which he served with much distinction. Major Cunningham is a native son of the Buckeye state and is a member of one of its sterling pioneer families. He was born at Beaver Dam, Allen county, on the 30th of January, 1863, and is a son of Eli B. and Martha (Church) Cunningham, of Beaver Dam, where the father died and the mother died in Fostoria. The father during the major portion of his active career was a justice of the peace. He was also postmaster a number of years, and was conducting a drug store at the time of his death, and was a citizen who ever commanded unqualified respect and esteem.

In the public schools of his native town Major Cunningham secured his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by further study in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware and the National Normal School at Ada, this state. He devoted four years to effective work as a teacher in the public schools and for a time was employed as a clerk in a mercantile establishment in Lima. In 1880 he came to Fostoria, where he was employed as a clerk in a drug store for a time, after which he individually engaged in the same line of enterprise, with which he was identified for a period of more than twenty years, during the greater portion of which he has had s^ an able coadjutor E. R. Pillars, with whom he is associated at the present time under the firm name of Cunningham & Pillars. The well equipped establishment has long controlled a large and representative patronage and the success of the enterprise indicates the correct methods brought to bear by the interested principles.

Major Cunningham's identification with the National Guard of the state dates back to the time of his residence-in Lima, where he was a member of Company C, Eleventh Regiment. In 1897 he became a member of Company D, Sixteenth Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, in Fostoria, and in this command he was made second lieutenant. At the inception of the Spanish- American war members of this company formally tendered their services to the government and on the 12th of May, 1898, they were mustered into the United States service as the Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. At Knoxville, Tennessee, Major Cunningham was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned to Company Q of his regiment. On the 24th of the following May he was mustered out, with other members of his regiment, at Augusta, Georgia, after having been absent for thirteen months. The regiment was the first of the American soldiers to land at Cenfuegos and passed four months on the island of Cuba, after which it returned to the United States and it remained in the south until it was mustered out. After the close of the war Major Cunningham became prominently concerned in the re-organization of Company D of the Sixth Ohio National Guard, of which he was made captain. He retained this office nearly five years. His title of major is given him by reason of his service in this o£Sce as a member of the staff of the governor of his native state. He is also prominently identified with the Knights of Pythias, in which fraternity he formerly served on the staff of Brigadier General Minchull with the rank of colonel. In the Masonic fraternity he has attained to the Knight Templar degree, in which his affiliation is with Port Commandery, No. 62, in which he has served as generalissimo. He also holds membership in the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.

Prom the time of attaining his legal majority Mr. Cunningham has been arrayed for the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor and he has given effective service in behalf of the party cause. He has served as a member of both the Seneca County Republican Committee and the City Committee of Postoria and in the latter he held the position of chairman. Prom 1893 to 1897 he was a valued member of the city council and during the last year was its president. In April, 1901, there was accorded him distinctive mark of popular confidence and esteem when he was elected mayor of his home city. In this chief executive office he served two terms and in this connection the following pertinent statements have been made: **Hi8 administration, businesslike, practical and progressive, gave excellent satisfaction to the fair minded citizens and furnished additional proof of his loyalty to good government and the welfare of his adopted home. His public career has ever been honorable and straight f»)rward and in his life history there are no esoteric chapters, r.ll being an open book. His life is worthy of emulation, .all is above condemnation, and thus it is that Major Cunningham deserves and receives tho respect and confidence of his fellow men."

On the 15th of December, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Major Cunningham to Miss Mary Kenower, who was born and reared in Postoria and who is a daughtx?r of the late Jacob L. Kenower, an honored pioneer and representative business man of this city. Major and Mrs. Cunningham have two children : Harold, who was bom on, the 25th of July, 1892, and who is now a student in the Postoria High School, and George K., who was born on the 20th of January, 1898, and who is attending the public school. Major and Mrs. Cunningham are valued and popular factors in connection with the best social activities of their home city and here they are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal r»hurch.

Neal Spooner Storer, M. D. - In no profession is there more constant progress than in that of medicine and surgery, thousands of the finest minds the world has produced making it their one aim and ambition to discover some more effectual method for the alleviation of suffering, some more potent weapon for the conflict with disease, some clever device for repairing the damaged human mechanism. Ever and anon the world hearg with mingled wonder and thanksgiving of a new conquest of disease and disaster which a few years ago would have been placed within the field of the impossible. To keep in touch with these discoveries means constant alertness and while there may be in many quarters great indolence in keeping in touch with modem thought, the best type of physician believes it no less than a crime not to be master of the latest devices of science. Although the professional career of Dr. Neal Spooner Storer has as yet been brief, he has had time to prove that he is of this type, alert, progressive and conscientious.

Dr. Storer was bom May 30, 1883, in Republic, and on both the paternal and maternal sides he comes of a family of phj'^sicians. He is the son of Benjamin S. and Sophia B. (Spooner) Storer. His father was a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred at Clyde in the year 1850, and the date of the mother's birth was February

26, 1862. Benjamin S. Storer resided with his parents until his marriage and establishment of a home of his own. He was educated in the old Republic Academy and at Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, where he took his degree in 1878. He took up his practice here and a very promising career was cut short in 1885 by his death from typhoid fever. He was associated in practice with his father-in-law, H. K. Spooner, one of Seneca county's most prominent citizens. Dr. Benjamin Storer was married April

Mrs. Storer 's father, Henry Kuhn Spooner, was born on ** Honey Creek," Seneca county, March 21, 1837. He was educated in the town and county schools and took academic work in the old academy at Republic, subsequently teaching for a few years in the Honey Creek schools. He began his preparation for his life work by reading medicine with Dr. William McHenry in Republic and in the year 1858 was graduated from the Western Reserve Medical College in Cleveland with honors. In 1860 he inaugurated a congenial life companionship by his marriage with Miss Harriet Sprague and became the father of three children: Sophia Berten ; Katherine, now Mrs. James P. Barker of Cleveland ; and William Rabley Spooner, of Republic.

Dr. Spooner had a Civil war record which for gallantry and adventure was equaled by few in Seneca county. At the beginning of the great conflict between the states he enlisted near Norwalk, Ohio, in the Fifty-fifth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Having already been in practice at Republic he served as assistant surgeon in the Fifty-fifth until that regiment was so thinned in rank that it and others in similar condition were made into the Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and of that Dr. Spooner was made surgeon in chief. He served to the end of the war, having to his credit the West Virginia campaign, the battle of Bull Run,

Gettysburg, Manassas Junction, Knoxville campaign, Lookout Valley, and many other minor engagements, and finally accompanying Sherman on the famous march to the sea. Thus he participated in many of the crucial battles of the war and was ever at the scene of the most active operations. After the declaration of peace and the mustering out of the troops Dr. Spooner resumed his practice in Republic and it was his good fortune to be able to give distinguished service to the country in times of peace as well as in times of war. He was actively engaged in practice until the time of his death, which occurred December 19, 1907, and during that time he served as a member of the pension board and as representative from his district to the state legislature. He was always a public spirited man, ready to support every measure of general benefit and he was a speaker of no small ability.

Dr. N. S. Storer, the immediate subject of this review, received his preliminary education in Republic and resided with his mother until such time as he went away to receive his medical preparation. He took four years' preparatory work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and four years' collegiate work at the Northwestern University of Chicago, from which institution he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He followed this with a year and a half as interne in the Cook County Hospital of Chicago, and following that valuable experience returned to Republic, where he hung out his shingle, about March 1, 1908. He has won the confidence of the people and has a good sized practice.

On January 7, 1908, Dr. Storer became a recruit to the ranks of the Benedicts by his marriage with Bertha M. Westberg, of Frankfort, Michigan, a trained nurse whose acquaintance he had made in the Cook County Hospital. She was born September 9, 1883, her parents being John and Marie (Ahlberg) Westberg, natives of Sweden. Mrs. Storer was educated in the schools of Frankfort, Michigan, and in Benzonia Academy, Benzonia, Michigan, and was graduated as a trained nurse from the Illinois Training School for Nurses, located in Chicago.

Dr. Storer is a member of Alpha Kappa Kappa fraternity and is also a member of the scholarship society, Alpha Omega Alpha. He is a member of the Episcopal church and his wife of the Methodist church, and the former is independent in politics, believing under present political conditions in the elevation of the best man to the oflSce.

Dr. Storer 's mother, Mrs. Sophia Storer, is an ardent Eastern Star member and is prominent and popular in this important order, having organized several lodges and ever working faithfully for its advancement. Her influence extends through this and adjoining counties and she has frequently attended grand lodge as delegate from Republic.

Hon. Joseph C. Arnold. - As mayor of the city of Tiffin Hon. Joseph C. Arnold holds a position of prominence and influence in the annals of Seneca county, and is eminently worthy of representation in a work of this character. A man of incorruptible integrity, honest and upright, he is held in high respect through- out the community. He was born, September 30, 1863, in Tiffin, being a son of deputy sheriff Anthony H. and Mary B. (Panning) Arnold. His father was born and bred in Pennsylvania, but his mother was a native of Seneca county.

Educated in TiflSn, Joseph C. Arnold attended first the public schools, afterwards attending Heidelberg College. Thinking when young to enter the legal profession, he read law with Hon. George E. Seney, but instead of engaging in its practice entered the railway mail service as a clerk, continuing thus employed for fifteen years. Always taking an intelligent interest in civic affairs, he was elected mayor of TiflSn in 1907, and filled the chair so acceptably and ably that in 1909 he was re-elected to the same high oflBce. As head of the city government Mr. Arnold performs his duties conscientiously, never swerving from the direct line of obligation to benefit a friend or to harm a foe.

Mr. Arnold married, July 1, 1897, Ada Engstrom, of Chicago, Illinois, and they are the parents of two children, namely: Elva, born April 12, 1898 ; and Ruth, born September 10, 1908. Politically Mr. Arnold is an earnest supporter of the Democratic party, and fraternally he belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to the Knights of Columbus. Religiously he and his family are members of St. Mary *s Roman Catholic church.

Father Thomas P. Conlon. - Well educated, a deep thinker,' earnest in his convictions, and sincerely devout. Rev. Father Thomas P. Conlon, pastor of St. Mary's church, at TiflSn, Seneca county^ is doing much toward the betterment of the moral status of the place, and as a man and a citizen is held in high esteem by the people. A native of Ohio, he was born, November 10, 1869, in Ashtabula, where he received his preliminary education, attending the public and the parochial schools.