Seneca Township (part 53 of 60)

A stanch Democrat in politics, Mr. Cockayne was real estate appraiser of the Second ward in 1900, and for three years was a member of the Tiffin Board of Education, declining, however, to serve ^ second term in that office. He is now serving as justice of the peace for Clinton township. Fraternally he is prominent in Masonic circles, being past high priest of Bellaire Chapter and a Knight Templar, a member of the Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery at Tiffin.

Mr. Cockayne married, November 4, 1879, Sarah J. Brockman, who was bom in Wheeling, Virginia, but was brought up in Bellaire, Ohio. Six children blessed their union, two sons and four daughters. One son died in infancy, and five children are now living, namely : Charles A., acting president and professor of philosophy and education at the Toledo University ; Margaret A., wife of Rev. W. A. Clemmer, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio; Carolyn B. ; Florence M. ; and Wilhelmina, a member of the senior class at Heidelberg College. Mr. and Mrs. Cockayne and their children are members of the Presbyterian church.

Earl K. Cunningham. - It cannot be other than gratifying, in view of the nomadic spirit which seems to animate all classes of American citizens, to find a locality in which are persons who have passed their entire lives in the localities in which they were bom, where they have achieved success through well directed efforts and where they command the respect and esteem of those who have bfeen familiar with their entire careers. In Seneca county are to be found today many representative business men who are native sons of the county, and among this number is Mr. Cunningham, who is one of the enterprising and progressive business men and influential citizens of the younger generation in his native city of Fostoria, where he is the owner of the successful enterprise conducted under the title of the Cunningham Manufacturing Company. His status as a loyal citizen and substantial business man well entitle him to consideration in this publication.

Earl K. Cunningham was bom in Fostoria, on the 27th of March, 1875, and is a son of Edward J. and Anne E. (Keller) Cunningham, both of whom are now deceased. The father devoted the major part of his career to the business of milling and was one of the honored and influential citizens of Fostoria at the time of his death. Earl K. Cunningham was reared to maturity in the cfty of his birth and to its public schools he is indebted for his early educational training, which included a course in the high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1893. During the winter of 1893-4 he completed a course in the Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in which he was graduated in the spring of 1894. He then returned to Fostoria and assumed the position of bookkeeper for the Cunningham Manufacturing Company, of whose oflSce details he had charge until 1903, when he purchased the plant and business and has since been the owner, giving his active attention to the management of the enterprise, which has been signally prosperous under his directions. The establishment manufactures wheel stock, and in the same employment is given to a corps of from sixty to seventy-five operatives.

the approval of his judgment, but in national and state affairs, where definite issues are involved he gives his support to the Republican party. He is most appreciative of the time honored Masonic fraternity and has been a close student of its teachings. He is aflSliated with Fostoria Lodge, No. 288, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master ; Garfield Chapter, No. 150, Royal Arch Masons, of which he is past high priest, besides which he is a member of the order of high priesthood of the state of Ohio ; Fostoria Council, No. 90, Royal and Select Masters, of which he was the first thrice illustrious master; Fostoria Commandery, No. 62, Knights Templars, of which he is past eminent commander; Toledo Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, in the city of Toledo, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree; and Zenobia Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Toledo. He is also identified with Fostoria Lodge, No. 935, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Cunningham is a bachelor and it may be stated that this fact in no wise militates against his personal popularity in the social affairs of his home city.

Charles Deppen. - Bringing to the practice of the profession of his choice energetic zeal and a well trained mind, Charles Deppen has gained an assured position among the successful attorneys of Tiffin, where he is now rendering noteworthy service as justice of the peace, a position in which he is serving his second term. A son of Eli Deppen, he was bom, May 15, 1860, in Pennsylvania, but was brought up in Seneca county, Ohio. His grandfather. Rev. Isaac Deppen, was a noted preacher in the Evangelical church.

Inheriting the scholarly tastes of his father, Eli Deppen was interested in educational matters, and for several years was superintendent of schools in Reading, Pennsylvania. Coming with his family to Seneca county, Ohio, in 1860, he purchased land in Eden township, and was there engaged in general farming until his death, 1872. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Zook.

In common with the sons of the neighboring farmers, Charles Deppen obtained his rudimentary education in the district schools. He subsequently entered Heidelberg College, from which he was graduated in 1888 with the degree of B. S. Returning then to the homestead, Mr. Deppen devoted his time to farming for about five years, but was scarce content with his future prospects. Coming, therefore, in 1893, to Tiffm, he studied law in the oflSce of Noble, Keppel & Noble, making such progress as a student that in 1896 he was admitted to the Ohio bar at Tiffin. He subsequently practised law successfully in Tiffin until 1905, when he was elected justice of the peace on the Republican ticket, and served so acceptably for three years that in 1908 he was re-elected to the same position without opposition. Mr. Deppen has an extensive law patronage, his oflSce being opposite the court house, in the Spayth block, while his residence is at No. 71 Coe street.

Mr. Deppen married Ella Blackburn, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and they are both consistent members of the Church of Christ. Mr. Dippen is likewise a member of the Business Men's

Bible Class connected with the Methodist Protestant church. Fraternally he is a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics ; of the Modem Woodmen of America ; and of the Auxiliary branch of the Grand Army of the Republic.

James T. Yant. - One of the native sons of Ohio who rendered to the nation valiant service as a leal and loyal soldier of the Union during the climacteric period of the Civil war and who is now one of the best known and most honored citizens of Fostoria, where he has maintained his home for more than two score of years is James T. Yant, who is a scion of one of the pioneer families of the Buckeye state and who is now superintendent of the water works and clerk of the city council of Fostoria, incumbencies that well indicate the regard in which he is held in the community that has so long represented his home. Mr. Yant was bom in Navarre, Stark county, Ohio, on the 28th of October, 1841, and is a son of John and Mary (Ager) Yant, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Maryland. The father established his home in Stark county in the pioneer days and there reclaimed a farm from the wilderness. Both he and his wife continued to reside in that county until their death and their names merit a place upon the roll of those who played well their part in connection with the development and upbuilding of that section of the state.

James T. Yant gained his vital experiences in connection with the practical affairs of life from his association with the development and other work of the home farm, and after completing the curriculum of the district school he continued his studies in the schools in the village of Navarre in his native county. At the age of sixteen years he completed his school work and thereafter he continued to be identified with the work and management of his father's farm until he had attained to the age of twenty years. He had been ambitious and assiduous in his studies and was thus enabled to do successful work as a teacher in the district schools, having followed the pedagogical profession for several terms. In 1861 he moved to Huntington, Indiana, where he was engaged in the produce business for one year, at the expiration of which he returned to Stark county, Ohio, and resumed his association with agricultural pursuits. In 1864 he laid aside the work of the farm to take up arms in defense of the Union. In May of that year he enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the West, under the command of General Thomas. Mr. Yant saw much arduous service and participated in a number of important battles during the closing years of the great conflict between the north and the south. Among the most notable of these engagements may be mentioned Columbia, Franklin and Nashville. He continued with his command until the close of the war, when he was mustered out and he received his honorable discharge at Columbus, Ohio, on the 17th of July, 1865.

had charge of a farm and also owned an interest in a general store. There he remained until 1867, when he removed to Postoria, where he secured employment as a clerk in a dry goods establishment. He was thus engaged for a period of twelve years, at the expiration of which, in 1879, he engaged in the shoe business, to which he devoted his attention for the following decade. He was then, in 1889, appointed mail carrier in Postoria, a position, of which he continued incumbent until 1903, in which year he was elected city auditor of Postoria. He gave most able administration of this office and remained incumbent of the same until January 1, 1910.

Shortly afterward he was appointed superintendent of the city water works, in which position he is now serving, besides which he is clerk of the city council and also of the city board of control. Mr. Yant is a man of insuperable integrity and honor, of genial and engaging personality and no citizen has a more secure place in the popular confidence and esteem.

In politics Mr. Yant is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the ** Grand Old Party," and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he holds the office of deacon. As evidence of his continued interest in his old comrades of the Civil war may be noted his affiliations with Norris Post, No. 27, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is a past commander.

On the 15th of April, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Yant to Miss Samantha A. Otis, of New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas county, Ohio. She was born and reared in this state and is a daughter of the late Dr. J. D. Otis, who here took up his residence in the pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Yant have one son, Harry 0., who was born in 1870 and who is now traveling freight agent for the Ohio, Central Railroad, with residence and official headquarters in the city of Toledo, Ohio. He married Miss Rebecca Kiger, and they have three children, Ruth K., aged thirteen years; Anna Jeannette, aged eight years ; and James Harrison, aged four years.

George C. Jenney. - One of the native sons of Ohio who has here gained prestige as an able and representative member of the bar is he whose name initiates this article. Mr. Jenney is engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Postoria, and is known as an able and versatile trial lawyer and is a close student of the profession to which he is devoting himself.

Mr. Jenney was born in Greenwich township, Huron county, Ohio, on the 3rd of October, 1864, and is a son of John and Emma (Mervin) Jenney, both of whom were residents of Huron county. The father is deceased, but the mother is still living and resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Jenney was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and is indebted to the district and graded schools for his early educational discipline, which included a course in the high school at Greenwich, Ohio, in which he was graduated. That he made good use of the opportunities thus afforded him is evident when we advert to the fact that for the long period of fifteen years he was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of his native state. He finally determined to prepare himself for the profession of law and with this end in view he entered the law department of the Northwestern Ohio University at Ada, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. After his graduation and admission to the bar he continued to teach school for one year and in the month of May, 1901 he opened an oflSce in the city of Postoria where his novitiate in the work of his profession was of but brief duration, as he soon proved his excellent powers as an advocate and well fortified counselor and gradually built up a large and prosperous professional business, to which he has since devoted his undivided time and attention.

In politics Mr. Jenney has long taken an active and intelligent interest, keeping himself well informed concerning the questions and issues of the hour and giving his unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party, although he is the only member of his family to have become identified with this political body. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.

On the 18th of October, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Jenney to Miss Lucy Mervin, who was born and reared in Huron county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of John Mervin, a prosperous business man of Rising Sun, Wood county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Jenney have no children.

Albert E. Heilman. - An energetic and enterprising business man of Tiffin, Albert E. Heilman is meeting with well merited success in his operations, as a dealer in new and second hand furniture having built up a thriving trade. A native bom citizen of Tiffin, his birth occurring April 28, 1877, he is a son of John Heilman.

Having acquired his elementary knowledge in the city schools, he took a full commercial course at the Heidelberg College, completing his studies in 1895. Learning then the trade of a boiler maker, he followed it until 1904. In that year Mr. Heilman opened a second hand store at No. 1 South Washington street, where he has since been located. He has been exceedingly fortunate in his enterprise, winning a large and lucrative patronage. He handles both new and second hand furniture of all kinds, and makes a specialty of repairing, that part of his business being of much importance.

Mr. Heilman married Sophia Borgee, and they have one child. Vera Heilman. Mr. Heilman is affiliated with the Democratic party, but is not active in politics. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and both he and Mrs. Heilman belong to the Oerman Lutheran church.

Henry L. Seebon. - The great empire of Germany has contributed a most valuable element to the complex social fabric of our American republic and among the citizens of German nationalty in Seneca county is numbered he whose name initiates this sketch. He came to America as a young man without financial resources or influential friends and had the courage to face the battles of life with a strong heart and steady hand, by which means he was enabled to win in the stem conflict and to bring to bear determined purpose, sturdy self reliance and that self respect that is begotten of worthy ambition and a desire to do right under all circumstances.

Mr. Seebon was born in the province of Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 1st of November, 1849, and his parents passed their entire lives in their native land, where the father's vocation was that of a farmer. Mr. Seebon received the advantages of the excellent schools of his fatherland and in 1866, when about seventeen years of age, he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He landed in New York city and from the national metropolis straightway came to Seneca county, Ohio, and located in Postoria, on the 26th of December, 1866. His capital was reduced to the lowest ebb at the time of his arrival but he found work on a farm in this vicinity, where he was thus employed for one year. Por the ensuing four years he was employed in a brickyard in Postoria. He was frugal and industrious and had the good judgment to carefully save his earnings. After the expiration of the period last noted he secured employment in a sash and door factory with the operation of which he was identified for sixteen years. He then, in 1886, initiated his independent career by engaging in the draying business. His original equipment consisted of one dray and a team of horses. He gave careful attention to the demands of his patrons and has succeeded in building up a large and successful business, in connection with which he utilizes six drays and an automobile truck of the best modem type. He has won success through his well directed energies and his sterling integrity of character has not failed to gain to him the unqualified confidence and esteem in the community in which he has maintained his home for more than forty years. Mr. Seebon is a Democrat in his political proclivities and both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. The attractive family home is located on North Poplar street.

In the year 1875 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Seebon to Miss Catherine Delano, who was born in the state of Ohio and whose parents were natives of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Seebon became the parents of six children, of whom five are living : Nellie, Anne, Leo, Hanrey and Margaret.

James P. Mourer. - It is a matter of gratification to the publishers of this work to be able to offer within its pages a brief review of the career of this popular and representative member of the bar of Seneca county, of which he is a native son, being engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Postoria, which has been his home from the time of his nativity.

James P. Mourer was bom in Postoria, on the 18th of October, 1875, and is a son of John J. and Catherine (Knissel) Mourer, the former of whom was bom in Alsace, Prance, now a German Province, and the latter of whom was born iQ Kaiserslautern, Germany. The ifather emigrated to America about the year 1864 and soon after his arrival he established his home in Postoria, where he was successfully engaged in the clothing business for a number of years and where he died in 1898, at the age of forty-six years. James P. Mourer is indebted to the public schools of his native city for his early educational discipline and was graduated in the Postoria high school as a member of the class of 1891. Soon afterward he began reading law in the office of Brown & Guernsey, one of the leading law firms of Postoria, and finally he entered the law department of the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he continued his studies. In June, 1894, Mr. Mourer was admitted to the bar of his native state, at Columbus, where he passed the prescribed examination before the supreme court and he im- ^ mediately opened an office in Fostoria, where he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession. His success is the more gratifying to contemplate by reason of the fact that he has been dependent upon his own resources from his early youth and that he has won advancement through his own efforts and abilities. His loyalty and devotion were shown in the early days, as he assisted in the care of his widowed mother, his younger brother and two sisters, besides which he made provision for continuing his arduous work of preparing for the exacting profession, in which he has achieved much prestige and distinction. He today controls a large and remunerative professional business and has given special attention to corporation law, in which department of ' practice his services have been in connection with many important corporate interests in this section of the state. Concerning his professional ability the following statements are apropos and worthy of reproduction in this article: **His preparation of a case is most thorough and exhaustive; he seems to grasp intuitively the ' strongest points of the law and fact while in his briefs and arguments the authorities are cited so extensively and the facts and « reasoning are presented so cogently as to leave little doubt as to

Though he has never sought or desired the honors or emoluments of political office Mr. Mourer gives a stanch allegiance to ^ the Republican party and in a fraternal way he is identified with the Modem Woodmen of America, besides which he is an associate member of the Grand Army of the Republic, to which he is eligible by reason of his father's valiant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Both he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church.

Mr. Mourer married Miss Alberta Chance, daughter of Henry Chance, an honored citizen of Fostoria. They have one daughter, Gladys V. who was bom on the 4th of June, 1896.

Francis R. Stewart. - Seneca county has been the home of Captain Stewart from the time of his infancy and as nearly three quarters of a century have elapsed since his parents took up their residence in this county it may be seen that he is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this favored section of the Buckeye state. He has wrought out his own success through the persistent application of his energies and abilities and is at the present time, with one exception, the oldest business man in the city of Fostoria, where he has been engaged in the retail hardware trade since 1866. To him belongs the distinction of being a veteran of the Civil war, in which he served with fidelity and patriotic ardor of a true son of the Republic, taking part in many of the important battles of the long and sanguinary struggles through which was perpetuated the integrity of the Union. He has been influential in business and civic affairs and is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the county that has so long represented his home and in which he has ever directed his course in such a way as to keep the needle of life true to the polestar of integrity.

Captain Stewart claims the old Kejrstone state of the Union as the place of his nativity and he is a scion of a family founded in America in the old Colonial days. He was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of December, 1835, and is a son of Thomas p. and Fannie (Riddell) Stewart, both of whom were likewise natives of Pennsylvania. In 183S, when he was three years of age. Captain Stewart's parents came to Ohio and settled in Clinton township, Seneca county, where the father instituted the reclamation of a farm from the forest wilds. He finally removed to Perry township. Wood county, this state, where both he and his wife continued to reside until their death and where both held a secure place in the confidence and esteem of all who knew them. Their names merit perpetuation on the roll of honored pioneers of the Buckeye state.

Captain Stewart was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and well recalls the scenes and incidents as well as the herculean labors that marked the pioneer epoch in Seneca county, with whose development and upbuilding he has been successfully identified. His early educational discipline was gained in the primitive district and subscription schools of Clinton township, this county, and his ambition was of such definite order that he spared no effort in the furtherance of his education. When twenty years of age he proved himself eligible for pedagogical honors and for many years he devoted the winter months to teaching in the district schools, while in the summer seasons he was identified with farm work and also applied himself to study along higher branches. For one year he was a student in Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, this county, and for some time he also continued his studies in a select school in Fostoria. He was still engaged in active work as a teacher at the time when the dark cloud of the Civil war cast its pall over the national horizon and his intrinsic loyalty and patriotism prompted him forthwith to subordinate all other interests to his country's call. Responding to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, on the 15th of August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company H, Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He soon passed through the various grades of promotion until he was made captain of Company A of his regiment, which was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. The history of his gallant regiment practically constitutes the record of his faithful and efficient service as a soldier of the Union and he participated in many of the important battles marking the progress of the war. He was thrice wounded in action and was twice commended in general orders for gallantry in battle. He continued in active service until the close of the war and he received his honorable discharge on the Slst of December, 1865, having been in service with his command in Texas after the surrender of the great Confederate commanders.

After the close of his military career Captain Stewart returned to Seneca county and on the 1st of January, 1866, he arrived at Postoria, where he forthwith established himself in the hardware business, with which he has continued to be actively identified during the long intervening years and in connection with which he has won well merited success. Upon his career as a citizen and business man there rests no shadow of wrong or suspicion of unfairness and the high plane upon which he has ordered his life has not lacked popular appreciation. He is exemplar of the most loyal and liberal civic spirit and has contributed of his aid and influence to the promotion of many enterprises that have had important bearing upon the material and social development and upbuilding of his home city and county. He is one of the most influential and valued members of the Presbyterian church in Postoria, in which he has served as ruling elder consecutively since 1866. He assisted in the laying of the comer stone of the Premont Street Presbyterian church in Postoria in 1858, and he has been a most zealous worker in the vineyard of the divine Master since the days of his youth. Por forty-four years he has been the teacher of the Bible class in his church, and both he and his wife are active in all departments of church work. The political allegiance of Cdptain Stewart has been given without reservation to the Republican party and he has given effective service in the promotion of its cause, having been public speaker in various local and state campaigns and being known as an eloquent and effective orator. His services in this capacity have also been in much demand outside of political lines and he is a man of broad inclination and fine intellectual powers, so that his addresses are invariably interesting and well turned. He served one term as mayor of Postoria and for several terms was a valued member of the city council. He assisted in the organization of the first board of trade in his home city and was vice president of the same for a period of fifteen years. He has been an instrumental factor in connection with the securing of nearly every industrial enterprise in Postoria and is a stockholder in several of the leading manufacturing and commercial corporations of the city. He was a factor in locating the old academy, was a member of the building committee and for several years a trustee. On the reorganization of the academy by Prof. W. E. Ashcraft, Captain Stewart was again elected trustee, and at the death of Hon. Charles Poster succeeded him in the presidency. He has ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades of the Civil war and is one of the honored members of the Norris Post, No. 27, Qrand Army of the Republic, of which he has served as commander for several terms. He is affiliated with Postoria Lodge, No. 288, Pree and Accepted Masons, and in this organization has passed various official chairs. He is well known throughout this section of the state and his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.

DeWitt, of McCutchenville, Ohio, a daughter of John C. and Artemecia DeWitt. To this union were born five sons : Prank D., who died November 10, 1894, aged twenty-four years; Lee R., Homer V. D., Jessie C. and Victor W. The four living sons are all prosperous and influential business men. Homer V. D., is in partnership with his father; Lee R., is a civil engineer for the Bethlehem Steel Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with headquarter ofiSce in Pittsburg; Jesse C, is a very prosperous wholesale flour merchant of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; Victor W., is a large stockholder and the secretary and treasurer of The Colonial Pine Company of Pittsburg Pennsylvania, and Wilson, North Carolina. He is located and has charge of their mills at Wilson. The father gave all his sons a liberal education. Captain Stewart's wife died April 12, 1890. He married for his second wife, Mrs. Mary B. Peugh, the widow of Jesse Peugh, of Grand Rapids, Ohio. The present wife had two daughters when married to Captain Stewart, both of whom have since died.

Harry W. Robinson. - One of the prime inunctions of this publication is to accord recognition to those who stand representative of the various fields of business activity, and one of those who adds materially to the prosperity of Greenspring, whose constantly expanding business is carried on along the most progressive lines, is Harry W. Robinson, engaged in the hay and grain business and owning and operating a grain elevator under the name of H. W. Robinson & Company. Mr. Robinson is an authority in the line he represents, and this has received general recognition in his elevation to the presidency of the Ohio Grain Association, while he is connected with various other organizations of a like nature. The possessor of inexhaustable information on the subject of the grains of the state and their commerce and gifted with native eloquence, he has made many notable addresses, and his reputation is national, rather than confined to the limits of the state.

Mr. Robinson was bom on a farm in Seneca county, July 20, 1872, and is the son of Joseph and Mary (Watson) Robinson, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state and of Seneca county. Henry Robinson, the subject's grandfather and who founded the family in America, was a native of Scotland, who left **the land o' cakes" when Joseph Robinson was a small boy, found his way to Ohio, and settled near Attica, this state. Mr. Robinson is thoroughly Scotch, for on the maternal side he also traces his descent to Caledonia, from whence the Watsons have come to America. Mr. Robinson's parents are successful farmers and large land holders, owning five hundred acres of valuable land near Rockaway. He is the oldest in a family of four children, the other members of the family being: C. G. R., of Greenspring; Dr. Rush Robinson, of Columbus, Ohio, and Alice M. Robinson.

Harry W. Robinson received his education of an elementary character in the district schools and afterward entered Heidelberg University, at Tiffin, where he took a classical course and was graduated with the class of 1895, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His first occupation was as an educator and in 1896 he was made principal of the Greenspring Academy, in which -apaeity he served for three years. In 1895 he was appointed school examiner by Judge Alexander Kiskadden, and was at that time the youngest person in the state to serve as such, his years being but twenty-three.

Subsequently Mr. Robinson turned his attention to the hay and grain business, in which he has achieved signal success. In 1900 he built the large elevator at this place and under his management the business is continually broadening in scope. Important as this industry may be Mr. Robinson does not confine himself to this, but is also president of, the Robinson Kraut Company, of Greenspring, which was established in 1895 on the N. Y. C. & St. P. Railroad. This concern produces between fifteen and twenty thousand barrels yearly of White Line Kraut.

Mr. Robinson is one whose natural abilities fit him to take an active part in public affairs. For a number of years he has been an active member of the Hay Dealers' Association, having been a director since forming his first connection with this organization, and in 1909 he was elected to the presiding office. Also since June, 1909, he has held the office of president of the Ohio Grain Association. In short his affiliation extends to all the local and state grain associations, all of which are eager to possess the memberhip of a man of such thorough information.

Mr. Robinson is loyal to the policies and principles of **the grand old party" and has had some experience in the public life, but has never had political ambitions. He is an enthusiastic lodge man and finds much pleasure in his connection with the Masonic order. He belongs to the Blue lodge of Greenspring and to the chapter at Clyde. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias at Greenspring and he holds membership in the Presbyterian church at Tiffin.

Mr. Robinson joined the Benedicts when on September 9, 1896, he was united in marriage to Grace Holtz, a daughter of C. D. Holtz, county commissioner of Seneca county. They have one child, a daughter named Marion, born November 16, 1900, and in attendance at the public schools of Greenspring.

S. LeRoy Ghaster. the efficient and highly appreciated assistant postmaster of Fostoria, Seneca county, was bom on a farm near that place, but in Hancock county, a son of Solomon and Mary (Pox) Ghaster, sturdy and progressive citizens and well known and respected farmers in this part of the state. Young Ghaster was reared to a knowledge of farming, and as a farmer's boy of all work he attended district schools whenever he could be spared from the labors of the place. His thirst for knowledge and his apptitude for study later brought him to the pursuit of a scientific course at the old Fostoria Academy, from which institution he was graduated at a comparatively early age in 1884. After leaving school he became a drug clerk and was employed as such three years, until he established a drug store which is now owned and operated by Cunningham & Pillars. Progressive, energetic and of excellent habits, he won well deserved success and eventual- ly Mr. Cunningham became associated with him in business. This partnership enabled him to gratify a desire for the acquisition of a broader knowledge of his profession, and for a time he was a student in the medical department of the Western Reserve College of Cleveland. The demands of his business, however, prevented his graduation with the degree of M. D.

Mr. Ghaster married Miss Myra Wilson, who had for several years been popular at Postoria as a school teacher, and they have a son, Karl L., who was bom June 1, 1890, and who was graduated from the Postoria High School with the class of 1908. Mrs. Ghaster is refined and cultured to an uncommon degree and is devoted to her home, where generous hospitality is dispensed. Besides his fine apartment house in Postoria, Mr. Ghaster owns a large, well improved farm in Hancock county and a half interest in the good business structure in which the drug store before mentioned is located. The gradual accumulation of this and other property, including a fine cottage on Catawba Island, testifies to his success and marks him as a self made man of more than common ability.

Politically Mr. Ghaster is a stanch Republican. He has served as a member of the Republican County Central Committee of Seneca county and hag been otherwise influential in public matters. Many of his fellow townsmen, regardless of political afiiliation, frequently seek his counsel as to the management of affairs of local, county, state and even of national importance, and his views are appreciated and given much consideration because his fellow citizens respect him not only as a man of good attainments and sound judgment but as a man of the highest sense of honor. His obliging disposition and friendly manners have won for him many friends far beyond the limits of Postoria or of Seneca county.

Mr. and Mrs. Ghaster are regular attendants upon the services of the Presbyterian church, of which organization he is a liberal supporter. Having taken an active interest in the ancient and beneficent order of Masons, he has risen in it to the thirty-second degree and is past commander of Postoria Commandery, No. 62, Knights Templars and a charter member of Toledo Consistory. He is a member also of the Independent Order of Odd Pellows and is a past noble grand of Lodge No. 305, of Postoria.

John A. SHBODES,.proprietor of a livery establishment on East Market street. Tiffin, Ohio, ranks under the head of self made men. A brief review of his life is appropriate in this connection and is as follows :

John A. Shrodes was bom in Liberty township, Seneca county, Ohio, January 13, 1866, and until he was fifteen years old attended school during the winter months ajad in summer worked on his father's farm. His father was a veteran of the Civil war, having served from 1861 until the close of the conflict in 1865. He was overtaken by financial trouble when his son John A,, was a youth of fifteen, which made it necessary for the young man to start out on his own responsibility. Familiar with farm work, young John naturally looked for a job of this kind when he left home. He worked on a farm and in a brick yard, and later turned his attention to the timber business and to teaming, and was thus occupied up to the time he was twenty-five. In the meantime he had come to Tifim, where he had made many friends and acquaintances and was noted for his fine physique and his fearlessness. These qualities gained for him, in 1891, appointment on the police force, where he developed a character not only for fearlessness but also for uniform courteousness. He remained continuously on the police force until January, 1909, when he resigned in order to engage in business, and bought a meat market, which, however, he sold a short time later. Then he invested in the livery business on East Market street, which he is now conducting, having with him in business his son. Earl W.

In 1891 John A. Shrodes and Miss Dora Maxwell were united in marriage, and the only child of their union is Earl W., who was bom in 1892. He is a graduate of the TiflSn High School and has spent some time at Heidelberg College.

Mr. Shrodes is a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and an associate member of the William Gibson Post, G. A. R. Politically he has always adhered to the teachings of the Republican party.. Personally he is genial and courteous, honest and upright, and in every way is justly entitled to the high esteem in which he is held by the people among whom he has spent his life.

Charles E. Palmer. - ^A strong and noble character was that of the late Charles E. Palmer, who exerted an emphatic and beneficient influence in connection with business and civic affairs in Seneca county, who gained success through his individual ability and application and who ever stood exemplar of that integrity of purpose which figures as the plumb of character and invokes objective confidence and esteem. His strength was as the number of his days and he was summoned from the mortal life in the fullness of years and well earned honors, his death occurring in the city of Postoria on the 26th of August, 1905.

Charles E. Palmer was born in Chester township, Geauga county, Ohio, on the 19th of June, 1838, and was a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of the historic old western reserve. He was a son of Chester and Achsa Palmer, who continued to reside in Geauga county until their death. Charles Palmer's first wife was Betsy Rising, who died four years after her marriage, and at her death left one daughter, Emma,, now the wife of J. T. Jamison, of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Charles Palmer was reared to maturity on the home farm and early began to assist in 'its work, while in the meantime he availed himself of such advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the pioneer days. He supplemented this preliminary discipline by a course of study in Geauga Seminary, where he formed the acquaintance of Miss Mary Dickerman, who later became his wife and who survives him. As a young man, Mr. Palmer removed to the northwestern part of the state of Missouri, where he eventually became the owner of large and valuable tracts of land, the greater portion of which was eflFectively developed under his supervision and direction. He was a resident of that state during the Civil war and his earnest support of the Union cause was indicated by his service in the state militia, which was subject to call into service at any time. He became one of the extensive farmers and stock growers of Missouri, where he continued to reside until 1876, when he exchanged his real estate interests for a number of barrel and stave factories in Michigan and Ohio, sixteen factories in all ; he took up his residence in Fostoria, Ohio, and continued to maintain his home there until his death. The several factories were conducted under the title of the Dewey Stave Company, and he was secretary and treasurer of the company for a time, later becoming its president. He was also a most influential factor in connection with the development of the oil and gas industries in this section of the state and his operations were carried on upon an extensive scale. He was a man of pronounced constructive and administrative ability and through his well directed efforts along normal lines of enterprise he gained a large and substantial fortune. He was a stanch Republican in his political adherence, though never a seeker of public oflSce, and gave a zealous support to the party cause. He was a member of the Columbia Club of Fostoria, was indentified with various other social and fraternal organizations. He attended the Presbyterian church, of which his widow is a member.

On the 11th of February, 1864, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Palmer to Miss Mary Dickerman, who was bom at Mason ville. New York, on the 15th of December, 1841, and who is a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Ann (Ferry) Dickerman. Nathaniel Dickerman was born September 27, 1797 and died December 4, 1845. They came to Ohio when their daughter was a child and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where she was reared to years of maturity. Her father was a farmer by occupation and both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives in Cleveland. On July 8, 1855. Mrs. Dickerman married Erastus S. Stibbin, by whom she had no children. She died in July, 1859.

Mrs. Palmer was afforded the advantages of Geauga Seminary, a well conducted institution of the early days, and she is a woman of broad culture and most gracious presence, having been identified with the best social activities of Fostoria for many years. Here she is a valued member of various literary societies and her beautiful home at 252 West Tiffin street is a recognized center of gracious hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer became the parents of three daughters: Nellie, who is the wife of Marion Miller, of Toledo. Ohio; Gertnide Lillian, who died at the age of six years; and Mary E.. who is the wife or John B. Rogers, of Fostoria.

The subject of this memoir left the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and his life and labors were prolific in good even as his character was moulded upon the most generous scale of integrity and honor.

Aaron Seitz. - ^We come now to the consideration of a man who by his own push and energy, by his own determination and tenacity has succeeded, and we regard with pleasure the work of recording the interesting events in his life of labor and of usefulness. These lines are written with the thought in mind that not all self styled self made men are truely self made. This memorial is here printed to convey to readers in ages to come something of the personal worth of this man, who by sheer force of good character has made a place for his name not only in the history of his township but in that of his county.

Mr. Seitz is one of the well known and representative farmers of Bloom township, Seneca county, Ohio, where he owns a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres, on which he has lived since 1871. His farm is well cultivated, yielding abundant crops which year by year he turns into bankable wealth. It has fine and ample buildings, its machinery is strictly up-to-date and of the most highly efficient makes. His environments, taken as a whole, tell a story of work and of thrift that may be read by the swiftest passerby. The owner of this productive home was born in Bloom township March 12, 1844, a son of the Rev. Ijouis and Barbara K. Seitz, natives, respectively, of Fairfield county, Ohio, and of Virginia. He was reared on a farm and educated in common schools near his boyhood home. He deliberately chose the comparatively uneventful but almost always independent life of the American tiller of the soil. In the fall of 1864, when he was not yet twenty-one, he possessed a pair of gray colts and two dollars and fifty cents in money. Those, with health, good character, determination and invincible courage, were his capital in full ; but with such a foundation for success he was the very one to build a splendid edifice of acjiievement. On October 4 of that year he married Miss Eliza Shock, daughter of Jacob and Lena Shock. Children were borne to him as follows: Irwin E., who married Rose E. Sponseller, who bore him four children, Louis D.. Orlo J., Alvin H. and Herman D. ; Alvin J., deceased; Mattie M. ; and Myrtie B., who married A. Watson.

Except for two years Mr. Seitz has lived his life thus far in his native county. He and his wife and children are members of the Primitive Baptist church. He has been elected to the office of supervisor of his township and has performed its responsible duties with honor and distinction. He is a man of well developed public spirit who may be depended upon to do all in his power to advance any movement which in his good judgment promises benefit to any considerable nitmber of fellow citizens.

Mrs. Aaron Seitz was born in Bloom township in 1842. Jacob Shock, her father, came to Seneca county among early settlers in 1832, and began his life there in a log cabin which is standing in good preservation on the farm of Mr. Seitz. He was a man of worth who exerted a good influence upon the community.

The Rev. Louis Seitz, father of Aaron Seitz, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio. He was pastor of the Honey Creek Primitive Baptist church for fifty-seven years. As a preacher he was powerful, a fearless exponent of the principles of his religious denomi- nation. Intellectually he was rarely gifted. In thought he was deep and comprehensive, logical and searching. His flow of language was something remarkable, and he was so persuasive that he brought about many conversions. Besides preaching regularly to his own congregation he traveled beyond his own domain and ministered at times to other churches of his creed. Nor did the work of the preacher exhaust his activities. He was the owner of a large farm, the operation of which he superintended successfully. In the building up and maintenance of the Honey Creek Primitive Baptist church he was the chief factor and dependence. He was twice married, first to Barbara Kaga, a native bom Virginian who came as a girl with her parents to Fairfield county, Ohio, where she met her future husband. She bore him children as follows: Catharine, Lydia, Elizabeth, John, Barbara, Hannah, Abraham, Louis, Aaron, Levina, Daniel and another who died in infancy. She died in 1848, and in 1851 Mr. Seitz married Mrs. Hershberger, a widow, who had the following named children by her former husband: Samuel G., Jonas M., John, Mattie and George. Mr. Seitz, who was born in 1802, died in 1890, in his eighty-eighth year.

Albert Thornton. - The able and popular superintendent of the Fostoria union stockyards is one of the prominent and influential business men and liberal and public spirited citizens of Seneca county, where his standing is such as to particularly entitle him to representation in this publication. Mr.- Thornton claims the ** right little, tight little isle'* of England as the place of his nativity. He was born at Gunthorpe. England, on the 4th of October, 1866, and is a son of Thomas and Annie Flockton Thornton, the former of whom still resides in England and the latter of whom is deceased. Albert Thornton was educated in the excellent schools of his native land, where he remained until 1881. when at the age of fourteen years he severed his home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. He passed about one year on a farm in St. Joseph county, Michigan, and then removed to Mancelona, Antrim county, that state, where he was identified with a manufacturing enterprise for four years, at the expiration of which, in 1888, he came to Fostoria, Ohio, and secured a position in the freight and baggage department of the Hocking Valley Railroad Company. There his fidelity and effective service won him promotion through the various official positions until he became the local ticket and freight agent for the company. lie continued as one of the valued employes of this corporation until 1897, when he accepted his present position as superintendent of the Fostoria union stockyards. He has done much to forward the success of the important enterprise with which he is thus identified, and his personal popularity is of the most unequivocal type. He is a stanch Republican in his political proclivities and he served five years as a member of the board of education of Fostoria. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Fostoria and he is one of its trustees. He is affiliated with Fostoria Lodge, No. 288, Free and Accepted Masons :

Garfield Chapter, No. 150, Royal Arch Masons ; and Fostoria Commandery, No. 62, Knights Templars. At the present time he is president of the city civil service commission. He is a man of able and progressive ideas and has shown a deep interest in all that has touched the welfare of his home city, where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.

On the 19th of March, 1887, Mr. Thornton was united in marriage to Miss Clara E. Vogelsong, who was born and reared in Fostoria, and they became the parents of two children, Arthur R. and Ethel M., both of whom remain at the parental home. Mrs, Thornton was summoned to the life eternal on the 24th of May, 1900, and on the 11th of June, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Thornton to Miss OUie Green, of Fostoria. They have one child, Ellen A. Arthur R. Thornton is now in the employ of the Hocking Valley Railroad Company and Ethel M. was graduate) in the Fostoria High School as a member of the class of 1910.

Edward L. Yale, who is the present superintendent of the Seneca county infirmary, was born in Pennsylvania, October 8, 1859, a son of T. H. and Mary (Peters) Yale. His father was a general business man of ability. Neither of his parents came to Ohio, both of them dying in their native state. The younger Yale was educated in public schools in the Keystone state, where he remained until he was about eighteen years of age. He came to Seneca county in 1881 and was for about a year employed on the farm of J. W. Payne in Thompson township. Later he found employment as a clerk in a store. In 1883 he opened a butcher's shop in Lodi,, Ohio, and there he remained for twelve years, keeping a butcher's shop, running a hotel and farming. In 1903 he was appointed superintendent of the Seneca county infirmary, filling the position with much credit for one year. From the time that he gave up that responsibility to March 18, 1907, he was superintendent of the Central Delivery at Tiflfin. At the date last mentioned, under a new appointment, he again became superintendent of the Seneca county infirmary, which position he has held with great success up to this time.

The infirmary farm covers two hundred and fifty-three acres and in 1910 produced 5,500 bushels of com, 1,281 bushels of oata and 1,050 bushels of wheat. Sufficient truck and vegetables were raised to supply the institution. At the present writing the institution aflFords a home for seventy-three people, but the number of inmates always increases as winter comes on. There are all comforts, such as steam heat and the like. Since Mr. Yale assumed the superintendency of the institution there has been a material change in its management and all of a beneficial character. His brother, William H. Young and his wife, are assistant superintendent and matron, while the position of foreman of the farm and the rest are taken by the inmates. In politics Mr. Yale is a Democrat. He has been active in politics and was for four years assessor of taxes for Reed township. He is one of Seneca county's real estate owners.

of Pennsylvania, who was brought when but four years of age to Seneca county by her parents. To their union has been bom a son and a daughter. Lillian H. is a graduate of the high school at TifiBn and is a teacher in the public schools at Kansas, Ohio. Noble B., ten years of age, is in school. Brief as is this story of the busy and useful career of Mr. Yale, there may be read between the lines a deeper, more absorbing story of the struggles and successes of a self made man. There is another lesson to be drawn from his life. He has prospered because he has deserved prosperity. He has given generously of himself and his means for the general good and something has been given back to him. Mr. and Mrs. Yale are members of the Evangelical church.

Mrs. Yale's father, William Henry Harrison Yundt, was born in Pennsylvania, attended the common schools of that state, and followed farming, his father, however, being the keeper of a hotel. This was in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Yundt married Elizabeth High, who was a native of the same county. The children bom to them are as follows: Ida Virginia, wife of Mr. Yale; Emma L., deceased; Horace Allen, who married Virgie Ott and resides in Thompson township, Seneca county; Mirah June, who married Jessie Hetrick and resides in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania ; Barton Damrel, who married Clara Heminger and resides in Scipio township; Eliza N., deceased. After coming to Ohio Mrs. Yale's father engaged in agriculture.

Rev. Francis L. Hultoen. - St. Joseph's church of Tiffin is indeed fortunate in having for its pastor a clergyman of the high attainments of the Rev. Francis L. Ilultgen, his labors here in the past seven years having been of the most enlightened and devoted character and productive of remarkable growth in the church. Rev. Father Hultgen was born in Lorraine, France, April 3, 1864, his father, John Hultgen, who died in 1886, being a member of the body guard of Napoleon IIL Father Hultgen studied the classics in the gymnasium at Metz and philosophy at Luxemburg. He came to America in 1885 and entered St. Mary's Theological Seminary in the city of Cleveland Ohio. He was ordained by Bishop Gilmour on December 19, 1889, and was appointed pastor of St. Mary's church at Kirby, Wyandot county. Soon after taking charge of the parish at Kirby he laid plans for a new church edifice. The corner stone was laid on June 22, 1890, and the dedication took place on November 17, 1891. The successful carrying out of this undertaking within two years of the time Father Hultgen took charge of the parish was evidence of the zeal and ability of the young priest as a leader and organizer. In all that he undertook at Kirby for the upbuilding of every interest of religion he had the hearty support of his parishioners and the generous co-operation of the non-Catholic people of the community. Father Hultgen 's labors at Kirby covered a period of thirteen years and three months. On March 17, 1903, he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's church, TiflSn.

fluently as he does English, and he also knows Italian, possessing that linguistic ability that is so seldom the heritage of the American. He has a thorough knowledge of music and his musical gift and ability is constantly employed in the services and ceremonies of the church.

Andrew Pbankenpield. - Seneca county is noted for its well cultivated farms, its comfortable rural homes and its commodious and sightly farm buildings. Comfort and prosperity, independence and wealth are everywhere in evidence, and nowhere more conspicuously than on the premises of Andrew Prankenfield, of Bloom township. He owns not only this beautiful homestead but other lands, all in Bloom township, aggregating four hundred and thirty-one acres. His line of crops is mixed, but of superior yield and quality. Like many another self made man Mr. Prankenfield began at the very bottom of the ladder, to use a familiar and expressive phrase, and by industry and economy made his way permanently to the top. He was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1838, was reared on a farm and educated in the common school, that bulwark of American civilization. Before leaving school he had definitely determined to be a farmer. His parents moved to Crawford county, Ohio, in 1848. They came to Seneca county soon afterward, however, and there, in 1864, Andrew Prankenfield married Miss Mary M. Shock. Por two years after that happy event he worked by the month for his uncle at low wages. Later he worked a farm on shares; still later he rented another; and in 1864 he moved to his father's farm, where he lived fifteen years. In 1889 he bought his original farm of one hundred and thirty acres, to which he has added by other purchases. To say that he is a progressive farmer would not be doing him full justice. He is a thoroughly modern farmer, up-to-date in every sense of the word - the kind of farmer that cuts free from old things that retard his progress and goes forward to the success of today by the best and most direct ways.

The writer is enabled to make some brief mention of Mr. Prankenfield 's children. William married Miss Ella Shock and has two children, Ployd and Ruth Prankenfield. James has not married, John married Emma Bishop and has two children, Karl and Norma Prankenfield. Jacob married Blanche Wax. Ellen is the widow of Charles Heinsicker and has a son, Charles Heinsicker Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Prankenfield and their children are members of the Reformed church. He and his brother William are the only members of his father's family living in Seneca county. He is a son of Andrew and Rebecca Prankenfield, natives of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, who came to Seneca county in 1848, after a brief stop in Crawford county. Here they bought and improved a farm of eighty acres, on which they lived out their allotted days and died honored by all who had known them. Their children were named Andrew, William, Thomas, Asher, Polly, Rebecca and Elizabeth. Polly is dead.

Clarence E. Franklin. - Numbered among the representative business men and highly esteemed citizens of Fostoria is Mr. Franklin, who is here superintendent and manager of the Western Railway Signal Company, one of the important industrial concerns of Seneca county and who has served as a member of the city council of Fostoria. He was born in Richmond township, Huron county, Ohio, on the 11th of April, 1849, and is a son of Edmond and Henri: etta (Thomas) Franklin, the latter of whom is now deceased and the former of whom is still living at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. Franklin gave valliant service as a member of an Ohio regiment in the Civil war and is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He now resides at Chicago Junction, Ohio.

C. E. Franklin was reared on the home farm in Huron county, and was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality. In his native county, in the year, 1885, he was united in marriage to Miss Lou Richards, fend they are the parents of five children : Claude, Maude A., Robert, Glenn and Wilber, all of whom remain at the parental home except Claude. Mrs. Lou Franklin was the only child of John and Maggie Richards. She was born October 22, 1867, at Fostoria, Ohio. Her father died in 1869 and later the mother and daughter moved to Huron county, Ohio, and Mrs. Franklin obtained her education in the vicinity. Her mother still survives at the age of sixty-five years, living with her daughter, Mrs. Franklin. Claude married Miss Eva Robinett and is now foreman of the Seneca county plant of the Torpedo Manufacturing Company, of which his father is superintendent.

After retiring from agricultural pursuits the subject of this sketch was employed as railroad fireman and later he was in the employ of the Harter Milling Company of Fostoria. In 1888 he was appointed manager and superintendent of the Western Railway Signal Company, which is engaged in the manufacture of railroad fusees and torpedoes, and he has since continued incumbent of this responsible position. By reason of his father's service in the Civil war he is an associate member of Norris Post. No. 27, Grand Army of the Republic in Fostoria. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party and he served one term as representative of the Second ward in the city council. Both he and his wife are most earnest and zealous members of the United Brethren church and they are actively identified with the various departments of church work in their home city. He is a member of the board of trustees of the local church and also is a valiant and honored teacher in its Sunday school.

George M. Zellner, a prosperous and prominent farmer, owns two hundred and thirty acres of valuable and productive land in Bloom township and sixty acres in Scipio township, Seneca county. He acquired this land not by gift, not by conquest and not by ** smart" dealing, but by honest purchase with money dearly earned by hard work. Beginning life as a poor boy, he welcomed any honest task however hard and applied himself to its performance with all his energy and determination, pushing forward on the journey of life unappalled by obstacles, undaunted by temporary defeat, till he won success and a competency.

A8T0R, Lenox And

Mr. Zellner was born in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in 1847, was brought up as a farmer's boy of ail work and was edu- « cated in the common schools of Crawford county, Ohio, where his parents made their home from the year 1854. He learned the carpenter's trade and worked at it with success fourteen years. Then he took up farming. His first purchase of land was of thirty acres. To this he added as he was able and as opportunity presented till he is now one of the large land owners of his town ship. He married Miss Catharine Englert, January 13, 1878. She was a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Englert and was bom in Seneca county in 1854. Her parents came over from Germany about 1847. She has borne her husband children as follows: Cyrus, who is dead; Samuel A., Benjamin F., Philip P., Maggie L.,

Phillip and Catharine (Gross) Zellner were bom in Pennsylvania, he in Lehigh county, she in Northampton county. Th^y were married in their native state and about 1853 moved to Crawf ford county, Ohio, where they bought a farm of one hundred and

E, D. Beidel. - In this busy and progressive world, it is a man 's actions, not his words, that proclaim what manner of man he is. He is judged by deeds, not by talk. We are pleased to put on record something of the busy and useful life of E. D. Reidel, of Bloomville, Seneca county, Ohio, who by the exercise of his energy, ^ enterprise and public spirit, has done as much as any one for the development and betterment of Bloom township.

Mr. Reidel was born in Crawford county, Ohio, July 11, 1840, a son of Anthony and Harriet Reidel, natives of Columbiana county, Ohio, and he had brothers and sisters named as follows: August, who is a veteran of the Civil war; Caroline; Albert; Augusta; Oscar and Herman. He was reared on a farm and educated in common schools. Practically all his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits and to the breeding of fine stock. A natural bent for mechanics led him to become interested in machinery, particularly such as is connected with farming, and buying ft thresher he devoted much of his time for many years to threshing and became well known as a thresher in all the country round about his home.

In 1880 he moved to Seneca county, Ohio. There he settled and labored diligently, managing intelligently, and in time was able to buy a farm. Then he retired from threshing, selling his, excellent facilities in that line to his son Prank. In 1901 he bought the farm in Bloom township on which he has since lived. Mr. Reidel married Miss Mary Pussle, who bore him two sons, Wilson and Prank Reidel. His present wife was Miss Mary Dove.

John W. Wbisenauer. - ^The United States ranks today as the foremost nation of the modern civilized world. It has served as the ** melting pot'' of the best characteristics of all other nations and the outcome is a fine sterling American citizenship consisting of strong, able bodied men, loyal and public spirited in civic life, broad minded and honorable in business, and alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with every measure tending to further the material welfare of the entire country. The empire of Germany has contributed its fair quota to the upbuilding of this great nation and among its representatives in this country are to be found successful men in every walk of life from the prosperous farmer to the learned professions.

Of sturdy German stock, Mr. John W. Weisenauer was born in Crawford county, Ohio, on the 1st of April, 1873, and he is a son of John and Mary (Gwinner) Weisenauer, the former of whom was a native of Bavaria, Germany, where his birth occurred on the 22nd of May, 1832, and the latter of whom was born in Lykens township, Crawford county, Ohio, on the 5th of January, 1837. John Weisenauer was a son of William Weisenauer, of Bavaria, and he emigrated to the United States in 1853, when a young man of about twenty-one years of age. He first settled in Gallon, this state, where he followed with success his trade of a shoe maker, which he had learned in the old fatherland. Prom Gallon he moved to Chatfield, whence he later removed to Lykens, Crawford county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of valuable farm land, upon which he resided for a period of thirty-eight years. At Chatfield, on the 27th of March, 1856, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Mary Gwinner and they became the parents of ten children, namely: Jacob, Susan, Plora, John W., Delia, Otto, Laura, Caroline (deceased), Mary and Emma. In 1876 John and Mary Weisenauer became members of the Preewill Baptist church, in the parish of Rev. J. B. Lash, and they were most earnest and active workers in connection with the charities of the same up to the time of their demise. John Weisenauer may be designated as a worthy Christian in the truest and broadest sense of the term, his motto being the Golden Rule, which he practiced and enforced in all the relations of life. He was a very highly educated man, as a Bible student and otherwise, and in politics he gave an uncompromising support to the cause of the Democratic party. He was honored and loved by his fellow men, who showed their high appreciation of his many fine qualities by bestowing upou him various public offices of trust, which he filled with all of efficiency and ability. Mrs. Mary (Gwinner) Weisenauer was summoned to the life eternal on the 13tli of April, 1900, at the age of sixty-three years, and John Weisenauer passed away on the 9th of September, 1908, at the venerable age of seventy-six years. He lived to welcome into this world thirty-two grandchildren and fifteen greatgrandchildren.

John W. Weisenauer, the immediate subject of this review, was the fourth in order of birth of the ten children of John and Mary Weisenauer and he was reared to the sturdy discipline of the old home farm, his early educational advantages being those afforded in tlje public schools of his native county, which were supplemented by private instructions of his father. In 1900 he entered the university at Ada, Ohio. Later he completed a commercial course in this institution. That he put his scholastic attainments to good use needs no further voucher when it is stated that he was a most successful and popular teacher in Crawford county for a period of nine years. In 1902, however, he severed his connection with the pedagogic profession and initiated operations as a farmer, becoming the owner of a finely improved estate of eighty acres in Seneca county. He is a stalwart Democrat in his political proclivities and has ever accorded a stanch support of all movements projected for the welfare of the community. Both he and his wife are devout members of the Evangelical church and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.

In 1907 he was united in marriage to Miss Ona Oberlander, who likewise claims the good old Buckeye state as the place of her nativity, her birth having occurred in Crawford county, on the 1st of January, 1877. She is a daughter of Henry J. and Mary J. (Feltic) Oberlander, representative citizens of Tiffin, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Weisenauer are the parents of two children. Alma R. and Mary M.

Isaac Newton Hossler is numbered among the representative exponents of the great basic industry of agriculture in his native county and is the owner of a well improved farm in Bloom township. He is a man of strong individuality and has ever commanded the unqualified confidence and esteem of the people of the community in which he has maintained his home from the time of his nativity.

Isaac Newton Hossler was born in Bloom township, Seneca county, on the 12th of December, 1852, and is a son of Jacob and Anna (Funk) Hossler, who were numbered among the sterling pioneers of Seneca county. Jacob Hossler was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, in 1806, and the old homestead farm of the family is within the battle ground of Gettysburg. The wife of Jacob Hossler was born in Stark county, Ohio, on the 19th of June, 1814, and her parents were numbered among the early citizens of that section of the state, where they took up their abode before Ohio was admitted to the union. Jacob Hossler came with his parents to Ohio in 1821 and the family located in Stark county. In 1834 he came to Seneca county and established his home in Bloom township, where he developed a productive farm. His marriage to Miss Anna Funk was solemnized on the 23d of September, 1830, and of their sixteen children, eleven attained to years of maturity. In 1866 Mr. Hossler removed to Bloomville, where he continued to reside until his death, and he was one of the prominent and influential citizens of Seneca county. He served for nearly a quarter of a century as a justice of the peace and he also held the oflSce of mayor of Bloomville. - Here he also served four years as postmaster, under the administration of President Grant, and he was called upon to serve in other local offices of public trust. He was summoned to the life eternal on the 5tb of March, 1896, his cherished and devoted wife having passed away in 1891. In 1890 they celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage. They were numbered among the honored pioneers of the county and were held in unqualified confidence and esteem by all who knew them. At the time of his death Jacob Hossler was the owner of a landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres and he contributed in generous measure to the development of the agricultural industry of Seneca county. He was a son of Frederick Hossler, who was bom in the state of Pennsylvania, in 1782, and who was a son of John G. Hossler, a representative of one of the pioneer families of the old Keystone state, where he was born in 1758. John G. Hossler was a son of Michael J. Hossler, who was born in Alsace, France, now a German province, and he emigrated to America and established his home in Pennsylvania in 1754. He married Magdelene Koltriter, who was born in October, 1782, and who died in Stark county, Ohio, on the 3rd of August, 1857. John G. Hossler was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Ramer on the 25th of January, 1779, and they established their home in what is now Adams county, Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Hossler was born in the year 1761.

Isaac N. Hossler was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and he has never wavered in his allegiance to the industry of agriculture, in connection with which he has achieved distinctive success. After availing himself of the advantages of the district schools he continued his studies in an . academy at Republic, Seneca county. After his first marriage Mr. Hossler assumed charge of the farm of his father-in-law, in Bloom town- ^ ship, and he continued to manage the same for eight years, at the expiration of which he returned to the old homestead of his parents, where he continued to be successfully identified with general farming and stock raising for the ensuing eight years, at the expiration of which he secured his present place, known as the John Briner farm in 1890. This estate comprises seventy-eight acres and the improvements upon the same are of the best modern type, including a qommodious and attractive residence.

In politics Mr. Hossler has ever given an unqualified allegiance to the Republican party and he has maintained a distinctively progressive and public spirited attitude. He has been called upon to serve in various offices of local trust, including those of township trustee and township assessor, and in 1900 he served as census enumerator of his township. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and they enjoy unequivocal popularity in their home community.

Astor, Lenox And

Springs to where the mill now stands, the present site of the sanatorium being covered with heavy timber, and not far away was the place where the Indians had been wont to raise their com. There were at that date but three loghouses in Stem Town, now called Greenspring. One belonged to Daniel H. Dana, father of George Dana of Fremont, and the store was kept in his cabin. The others belonged to Bishop Adams and James Watrous. At Hammer Corners, now Clyde, William Hammer kept tavern, and a man named Turk kept a store there, he dying subsequently with cholera. William McPherson, father of General James McPherson, conducted a blacksmith shop and there was a school house. In the year 1833 Mrs. Chase taught school there. She afterward became Mrs. Slocum. My wife was one of her pupils and I have heard her say that the teacher was the grandmother of General McPherson.

**In the spring of 1836 my father died at the age of forty-six years, I being twenty years old at the time, and my sisters ranging from three to thirteen years younger than myself, the youngest being only a little past seven. We were in something of a dilemma, with the head of the house taken away and five hundred miles from any of our relatives. When our friends in the east heard of our misfortune they urged us to come back, offering to pay our way, and to come or send for us. My mother, who had a great deal of pride and fortitude, talked it over with me and we decided to stay in the new country. In the fall of 1836 Mr. Stem built the mill and engaged me to build one hundred and fifty dollars worth of road east of it, which it is needless to say, helped us out very much. In the year 1849 Mr. Stem, Hiram Hurd and myself undertook the job of clearing seventeen acres of heavy timber, the former using the logs for the construction of his mill. That fall, when the presidential election occurred, I voted for William Henry Harrison, and in 1856 I voted for John C. Fremont.

**I was married in 1856 to Hannah Swartz and until that time my mother kept up the home, I providing for the same. Mother died in 1881, on her ninety-first birthday.

**You will believe me when I say that there have been a great many changes in my time. For instance I have ridden in an ox cart, the best conveyance to be had in its time ; and I have covered the miles in an automobile. Is there not some contrast? And there are many other contrasts just as startling.

John D. Wilsey. - For nearly two score years Mr. Wilsey has maintained his home in Bloomville, and here he was long identified with industrial interests, though at the present time he is living virtually retired. Mr. Wilsey claims the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, as he was born near Binghamton, Broom county. New York, on the 9th of November. 1828, and he is a son of Tunis and Nancy A. (Lukin) Wilsey, representatives of families that settled in the state of New York in the pioneer days. Mr. Wilsey was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period and as a young man he engaged in the manufacturing of boat oars and fork and shovel handles. With this line of enterprise he continued to be identified for more than half a century, having first established himself in this line of business in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and later, abdut 1863, in Ohio. He built up a large and substantial business as a manufacturer and continued to be actively identified with the same until 1894, when he turned the business over to his son, Prank D. Wilsey, who has since continued the same with unqualified success. The son has a well equipped mill in Stryker, Williams county, Ohio, as well as one in the state of Mississippi and two in Arkansas. Prank D. Wilsey has well maintained the prestige of the honored name which he bears and is known as a careful and competent business man, having been thoroughly trained in the line of enterprise with which he is identified and having been associated with his father in the same from his youthful days. His official headquarters are maintained in the city of New York, which is the distributing point of his business. The subject of this review initiated his manufacturing business in his native state, from which he eventually removed to Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1863, when he came to Ohio and located in Defiance county, this state. He later established himself in business in Williams county, which continued to be his home for a decade and at the expiration of the same, in 1873, he removed to Bloomville, which has represented his home during the long intervening years. He gained precedence as one of the leading business men of this attractive village and is at the present time one of its venerable and highly honored citizens, having directed his energies along normal lines of enterprise and having ordered his course upon the highest plane of integrity and honor. He built up in this place a large and important industrial enterprise, in connection with which he gave employment to about fifty men, while the products of his factory found sale throughout the Union, as well as in foreign countries. In connection with his business he established his distributing headquarters in New York city and his son has successfully continued the business which he founded in Bloomville nearly forty years ago. His attractive residence is located on a small farm contiguous to the village, and here he is enjoying that well earned repose and comfort which are the just rewards of earnest toil and endeavor. Mr. Wilsey has been essentially loyal and public spirited as a citizen and has given his support to all measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is affiliated with Eden Lodge, No. 310, Pree and Accepted Masons.

In the year 1854, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wilsey to Miss Calfumia Otis, who was bom near Detroit, Michigan, and who was a child of six years at the time of her parents' removal to the state of New York, where they remained for a period of six years, at the expiration of which the family home was established in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where her marriage wan solemnized. Mr. and Mrs. Wilsey became the parents of six children, namely: Jay P., Prank D., Ora P., John H., Helen B. and

Gladys. Helen B. is a trained nurse and is engaged in the work of her profession in New York city; Prank D. is associated with his father in business, as noted ; and Gladys remains at the parental home.

William D. Heckert. - The present city treasurer of Postoria has here maintained his home since 1891 and he is recognized as one of the substantial and reliable business men of Seneca county, where he commands the high regard of all who know him. Mr. Heckert is a native son of the Buckeye state within whose borders his parents took up their abode many years ago. He was born at Leesville Crossroads, Crawford county, Ohio, on the 18th of April, 1872, and is a son of B. Pranklin and Louisa (Groh) Heckert, both of whom were descendants of stanch Pennsylvanian German stock. The parental ancestors in Pennsylvania were of Hessian and Hanovarian extrat^tion and settled in that state in pioneer days. The father of the subject of this review was a gallant soldier in Company K, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and was promoted to the office of corporal. He was variously engaged during his active business career and he passed the closing years of his life in Crawford county, Ohio. He is survived by two children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the elder and May is the wife of Charles D. Hoyt, of Cleveland, Ohio. The mother of William D. Heckert, Mrs. D. M. Mitchell, resides at Galion, Ohio.

William D. Heckert passed the first six years of his life in his native county and then accompanied his parents to the state of Iowa, where he received the advantages of the public schools of the village of Wheatland and that he made good use of the opportunities thus afforded him is evident when the statement is made that he secured a teacher's license before he had attained the age of sixteen years. After teaching school a short time in Crawford county, Ohio, he secured employment in a stone quarry, in connection with the operation of which he finally won promotion to the position of bookkeeper. After the death of his father he was reared in the home of his maternal grandfather, John Groh. He was enabled to advance his educational status by a course in Otterbein College, at Westerville, Ohio. In 1891, Mr. Heckert located at Postoria, where he became bookkeeper and timekeeper for Harry C. Karg, who was a leading contractor of this place. Later he entered the employ of the Pirst National Bank, with which institution he continued to be identified for twelve years. In 1900 he purchased a half interest in the business conducted by the firm of Emerine & Berrenger and in 1903 he became the sole owner of the business, which he has since conducted with marked success.

In politics Mr. Heckert is a stanch supporter of the principles and politics for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and he has been called upon to serve in local offices of distinctive public trust and ability. In 1907 he was elected city treasurer of Postoria and the estimate placed upon his administration of the fiscal affairs of the city was shown as his election as his own successor in 1909. His second term expires in January, 1912.

On the 17th of May, 1910, he received the nomination of his party for the office of county treasurer and in the ensuing election he was elected to the office. lie has said to his constituents, **I have tried to deserve your vote and will try as hard to win your praise while in office,'' and his sincerity is evident. He served as chairman of the Democratic executive committee of Seneca county in 1908-9 and he has given yeoman service in support of the cause of his party. For two years he was secretary of the Postoria board of trade, during which time local business was greatly revived.

Mr. Ileckert has attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Masonic fraternity and he is treasurer of both Postoria Lodge No. 288, P. & A. M., and Postoria Chapter, No. 150, R. A. M., and a member of Postoria Commandery, Knights Templars. He is also affiliated with the I. O. O. P., Woodmen, Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The University Club of Postoria also claims his membership. By reason of his father's service in the Civil war he has been honored with associate membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He also is identified with the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church and are active in the work of the parish of Postoria, Ohio, in which the subject has served as a member of the vestry.

On the 15th of January, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Heckert to Miss Laura A. Plorian, who was born and reared in Postoria and who is a daughter of Joseph Plorian, one of the representative citizens of Seneca county. Mr. and Mrs. Heckert have two children : Helen L., who was born on the 20th of July, 1897, and Otto E., born on the 8th of Pebniary, 1900.

Mr. Heckert is secretary of the Temple Company, a company organized to erect a new three story business block at Postoria. He will probably take up his residence at Tiffin, Ohio, about September 1, 1911.

William Holtz Egbert is one of Pleasant township's representative and estimable citizens; a farmer of advanced ideas; a man of excellent education ; and the descendant of one of the doughty early pioneers of Seneca county. He was born December 19, 1865, in Pleasant township, thus being a native son of that community in which his interests are centered. His pjtrents, Norman D. and Susan C. (Holtz) Egbert, were likewise natives of this county, and his paternal grandparents were Jeremiah W. and Lucy (Rule) Egbert. The former was born near Lancaster and the latter in this county. The great-grandparents, Uriah and Susannah (Williams) Egbert were of northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. They came to Seneca county in 1828 and settled primarily near Tiffin, but eventually became the ow^ners of a tract of land, which is still in the family, one of Mr. Egbert's brothers now residing upon the old homestead in Pleasant township.

were either brothers or cousins and they now have hundreds of descendants in many of the states. Govert is called a Dutchman and taxable in an old document of 1685. The dates of the birth and death of his son Tunis are unknown but he had a son James who was born in 1695 and who married Catharine Denny, who bore him a son John, born in 1722. John had a large family, one of whom was James, born in 1759. He married Sarah Smith in Henderson county, New Jersey and two of their sons, David and Uriah, came to Seneca county, Ohio in 1823 and bought land from the government. David soon moved to Hancock county and there and in Wood county his descendants still live. Uriah's family was very large and at present there are nine households of the name in Seneca county.

The mother of William Holtz Egbert, whose maiden name was Susan C. Holtz, was a daughter of William and Catherine (Cramer) Holtz, natives of Frederick county, Maryland, a section of the country which furnished a good many early settlers to Seneca county. They came here in 1834 and located in Pleasant township a little later. The Rule family, that of Mr. Egbert's paternal grandmother, were among the early settlers in this part of Ohio and none were more highly respected or played a more praiseworthy part in the many-sided life of the community. Norman D. Egbert served two enlistments in the Civil war, and was a private in the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry and a lieutenant in the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth.

As before suggested William Holtz Egbert enjoyed the advantages of a good education. He attended in boyhood the White Hall school in Clinton township and he afterward entered Heidelberg College at Tiffin and was graduated with the class of 1884. Having finished his education Mr. Egbert taught several terms of school in Ohio, Kansas, Minnesota and North Dakota. He believed, however, that a more congenial and independent field of endeavor was presented by that of agriculture, in which so many of his forbears had engaged with entire success. His eighty acre farm in Pleasant township is a good home and a hospitable one. Mr. Egbert is a Republican in his political convictions, but never took an active part in politics.

The marriage of Mr. Egbert was celebrated January 2, 1894, Miss Mary L. VonBlon, daughter of John and Catherine VonBlon, becoming his wife. She was bom November 19, 1872, in this county. Philip VonBlon, her great-grandfather, a native of Rhenish Bavaria, was the founder of the family in America and he was the first president of the German Reformed church in Tiffin. The names of Mrs. Egbert's father and mother were John and Catherine (Staib) VonBlon and their birth dates were February 3, 1842, and February 2, 1845, respectively. John VonBlon was a soldier in the Union army at the time of the Rebellion. He enlisted in Indiana and was wounded at Nashville upon the occasion of Hood's defeat. He served in Company A, Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, under Colonel Stuart and Captain 4jaFlesh. The paternal grandfather was Jacob VonBlon, who was born in Waldmor, Rhenish Bavaria, and came to this country when young, and he married Nancy Wagner, a native of the Keystone state. Tlie maternal grandparents were Lewis and Catherine (Emich) Staib, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany. Mrs. Egbert finished her education at Heidelberg College in TifSn and has taught school in this county. She is a valued member of the Reformed church of Tiffin. Her only brother, John L. VonBlon, is one of the editors of the Los Angeles (California) Times, To the subject and his wife have been bom three children, all daughters. Julia, born May 30, 1896, died in infancy ; Hilda, born February 4, 1898 ; and Frieda, December 13, 1909.