USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 2 > Part 1
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Go 977.101 W85co v. 2 1620295
M. L
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 03003 6211
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis02lees
COMMEMORATIVE 2482
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
-- OF-
WOOD COUNTY,
OHIO;
ITS PAST AND PRESENT,
EARLY SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT; ABORIGINAL HISTORY; PIONEER HISTORY; POLITICAL ORGANIZATION: AGRICULTURAL, MANUFACTURING, COMMERCIAL INTERESTS, INCLUDING OIL AND GAS; HISTORY OF
THE COUNTY, TOWNSHIPS, TOWNS AND VILLAGES; RELIGIOUS, EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND MILITARY HISTORY, INCLUDING ROSTER BY TOWNSHIPS; STA- TISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS MATTER; BIOGRAPHIES AND POR- TRAITS OF EARLY SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS, ETC.
1,2
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO: J. H. BEERS & CO., 1897.
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
1620295
the daughter of James and Jane ( Ralstin) Hall. Mrs. Craw's grandfather Hall was a hatter by trade, and on one of his expeditions after furs it is presumed he was killed by the Indians, as he never returned. After his death the mother bound out her two children, of whom one was the father of Mrs. Craw, to families in Pennsylvania. The people who took the sister moved away from the State, and the two were separated for the re- mainder of their lives. Mrs. Craw's father was married in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio, set- tling first in Richland county, afterward living in Hancock county, two and one-half miles north of Findlay, and finally, in the fall of 1843, taking up his residence in Wood county. He was a wheelwright by trade, but later in life turned his attention to farming. He died in Bowling Green, February 3, 1883, when about eighty years of age. His wife died in Plain township, in 1863. Their family consisted of four children, namely: Olivia, who was married December 12, 1850, to F. E. Meagley, and lives in Middleton township, Wood county; John R. was married April 26, 1853, to L. R. Gregory, and lives in Bowling Green; Ann, wife of our subject, and her twin sister, Jane, the latter of whom died at Findlay when seven years old; Juliett, born July 9, 1836, was married August 16, 1851, to John T. Sweet (deceased), and lives in Bowling Green.
Our subject first settled on a farm in Plain township, where he owned 120 acres of land. This he cleared up and improved, adding to it at various times until he had three hundred acres in one tract. Here he carried on general farming until his removal, on Thanksgiving day, 1882, to Bowling Green. He still owns 160 acres of this land, which he rents out, and is also the owner of four city lots. When Mr. Craw first settled in this county everything was in a primitive state, and he has been a witness of, and an important factor in, its growth and development. Among his early recollections are those of the school he attended in his boyhood days, which was in an old log school house in the Webb settlenient, Ridgefield township, Huron county. He still has in his possession, and in a good state of preserva- tion, the old Elementary Speller and English Reader, which were the text books in those days, the latter of which was given to him April 5. :836. These antiquated volumes, with their coarse paper and coarse wood cuts, are a real curiosity in these days of handsome printing and illustrations.
When Mr. and Mrs. Craw returned from their wedding tour in Huren county, Ohio, all he had was fifty cents in cash; but, as they both say they
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were willing to work. The following children have blessed their union: Laura Jane, born Feb- ruary 25, 1854, died March 15. 1861; Prudence D., born October 4, 1855, married Herbert L Denman, and has one child, Blanche: John B., born May 1, 1857, married Miss Ada Boardman. and lives on his father's farm (they have four children, Lorin, Iva, Howard and Cressa): George S .. born May 23, 1860, married Anna Loomis, and has one child, Roland; Hiram O., born Feb- ruary 3, 1862, died January 6, 1885; Ira Lemon, born December 1, 1863, married Mazie Whet- stone, and has two children, Eva and Hazel A. : and two younger children who died in infancy. Our subject and his wife have been members of the Adventist Church for some thirty-eight years, and have taken an active part in Church work. He is a man of high moral character, and holds an honored place in the community. Mr. Craw has been a leader in local affairs, and has held some responsible offices. He was supervisor of his township for six years, was constable for two years, and assistant postmaster at Lovett's Grove for fifteen years, afterward being appointed postinas- ter and serving twe years, when the post office was discontinued. Progressive in his ideas, he saw at an carly day the advantage of draining the soil, and has used tiling on his farm for a number of years.
The great-aunt of Mr. Craw, Jemima Mitch- ell, had fourteen children, and each of these had fourteen (making one hundred and ninety-six grandchildren), who, with their children, brought the number of her immediate descendants to two hundred and twenty-six.
ROBERT S. PARKER. If history teaches by example, the lessons inculcated by biography must be still more impressive. We see exhibited in the varieties of human character, under differ- ent circumstances, something to instruct us in our duty, and to encourage our efforts, under every emergency. As an illustration of the results of youthful enterprise and earnest effort. the life of this prominent attorney and successful man of Bowling Green cannot fail to be of it- terest, especially to the ambitious young man still struggling on the lower rounds of the ladder.
The Parker family, to which the subject of this sketch belongs, is of English origin. In the history of Westford. Massachusetts, by Rev. Edward R. Hodgman, A. M .: Cutler's History of Jaffrey. New Hampshire; the Genealogy of John Parker, of Lexington, and his descendants. by Theodore Parker, and other authorities, his an- cestors may be traced by clear and mibroken
R. S. Pancer
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a conds as far back as 1470, and by less perfect Lotds to a much earlier date. In these records .. And many divines, the most notable being Matthew Parker, seventy-first Archbishop of unterbury and Primate of all England (1559- The Thirty-nine Articles were passed by « avocation under his presidency in 1562. There were also many lawyers in the family in England, wat it is a somewhat curious and striking fact that among the lawyers were several bearing the Ame of Robert.
Mr. Parker is thoroughly American and demo- «atic in his tastes and sentiments, and therefore 'ays no store by the titles, knightings, coats of wins and the like which are noted in these :«cords; but he respects and reveres his ancestors acause they proved themselves God-fearing. ¿4w-abiding, self-respecting and honorable men and women-having the solid virtues of the sub- tantial yeomanry of the country. He is especially an? ! pardonably proud of the honorable record made by his family as patriots in the Revolu- sonary war. Of this family was Jonas Parker, typical "minute man," who, after being wounded at the battle of Lexington, disdained to retreat from the " Red-coats," though cautioned ! fall back by his commanding officer. but kept los ground, and was bayonetted by the British soldiers; he being the first Revolutionary soldier thus slain. In the celebrated painting, "The Battle of Lexington," which hangs in the Lexing- ton town hall, he appears as the central figure. of him Edward Everett said: "History, Roman History, does not furnish an example of bravery that outsliines that of Jonas Parker." His is one of the names of the eight martyrs for American mdependence cut in the granite monument erect- e! on the Common or Green at Lexington by a . grateful people to their memory.
Capt. John Parker, also of Lexington, who was in command of the "minute men " on that occasion, and who fired the first shot that was fired at the British soldiers, was a full cousin of said Jonas Parker; and there were in the company, and in the fight, Corp. Ebenezer Parker, nephew of Jonas; and Thaddeus Parker, a brother of the Captain. Later in the day, on the march to Concord to intercept the British, Capt. Parker's company was reinforced by troops kom Woburn, with which were two of his r.phews-Edmund and Josiah Parker; and from Krading came seventeen more who bore the " vite of Parker, under the command of Capt. brooke, and they also took part in the hot fire which was poured in upon the enemy's column during the remainder of that eventful day.
In the rosters of the Continental troops en- listed in Middlesex county, Mass., in the Revolutionary war, are found a great many Parkers who served as officers and privates. more of that name than any other, unless the Fletchers and Proctors may equal them in number. These three families were related by many inter- marriages; representatives of all these families removed to Windsor county, Vt., soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, and their descendants are quite numerous in that State at the present time, as well as in Middlesex county, Massachusetts.
Theodore Parker, the famous Unitarian di- vine, was of the same family. In the war of 1812, and in the war of the Rebellion. this fan- ily displayed the same spirit of patriotism as in the Revolutionary war.
At the time of the war of the Rebellion the subject of this sketch and his only brother were mere boys, too young to enter the military serv- ice, but his half-brother, Edwin, enlisted at an early period of the war, and served until near its close, when his left leg was shattered by a shot, and he was compelled to retire from the service. Three of his half-brothers, of the family name of Robinson ( his inother's children by her first hns- band), were also in the Union army. When Cin- cinnati, Ohio, was threatened by Morgan's raid, and volunteers were called for. Abel F. Parker, the father of Robert S., though verging on three- score-and-ten, enlisted to assist in the defense of that city, and his children keep and prize the "Squirrel Hunter's Discharge," which he re- ceived at the termination of that service.
The first ancestor of Mr. Parker in America was Abraham Parker, who was born in Marlbor- ough, Wiltshire, England, in 1612. The exact date of his coming to America is not known, but it was about 1634. He first settled in the town of Woburn, Middlesex Co., Mass., where he married Rose Whitlock in 1644. He removed to the town of Clemsford, samne county, upon its incorporation in 1653. His son Moses was born in Clemsford about the year 1657: he married Abigail Hildreth, daughter of Richard Hildreth, and removed to Westford, same county, where his son Aaron was born in 1689. Samuel, sec- ond child of Aaron, was born in 1717: he was married in 1739 to Sarah Fletcher, daughter of Deacon Joshua Fletcher.
Leonard, the fifthi child of Samuel, was born at Westford in 1745; he married Mary Foster in 1768. Early in this century he removed with most of his family to the Holland Land Pur- chase, in the vicinity of Arcade, Wyoming Co ..
.
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
N. Y., and the large tracts of land which they there took up and improved are still owned and occupied by some of his descendants. His son Abel was born in Westford in 1773, was married to Catherine Edgar, and removed with her to Cavendish, Vt., where in the year 1800 their eldest child, Abel Foster Parker, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born.
About ISIS Abel Parker also removed with his family to the vicinity of Arcade, N. Y., at which place Abel Foster was married, in the year 1824, to Maria Strong. The children of this mar- riage were Edwin ( mentioned above ), who died at Findlay in 1883; Julia Ann, unmarried, residing at Findlay, Ohio; Lucy, married to John Martin, and residing at Lima, Ohio; and Albert. who died in infancy. In 1836 Abel F. Parker removed with his family to Findlay (then called Fort Find- lay), Hancock Co., Ohio, where he spent sub- stantially all the remainder of his lifetime, and where he died in 1881. His wife Maria died in the year 1849, and in 1852 Mr. Parker married Mrs. Sallie Ann (Gail) Robinson, who was born in Wyoming county, N. Y. She was a daughter of Rev. Samuel Gail, a pioneer of western New York, many of whose descendants are liv- ing in Erie county, N. Y., where he died. The children of this union are Frederick Foster, a business man of Conneaut, Ohio; Robert S .; and Dora Alice ( unmarried ), who lives at Findlay, Ohio. By her marriage with Mr. Robinson, her first husband, Mrs. Parker had seven children, all but one of whom are still living, namely, Samuel G., a farmer in Hancock county, Ohio; Benjamin Oscar, a farmer and manufacturer of brick and tile in Putnam county, Ohio; John Edgar, formerly a locomotive engineer, and now employed at the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court House; Henry Harrison, a market gardener, of Findlay, Ohio; William Franklin, a locomotive engineer of Bellaire, Ohio: Mrs. Eleanor Wood- ruff, of Findlay, Ohio; and Elizabeth, who died in infancy. Mrs. Sallie Ann Parker died at Find- lay, Ohio, in 1864.
While a resident of New York, Abel F. Parker was agent for the Wadsworths and other owners of the Holland Land Purchase; upon his removal to Findlay, Ohio, he was for a tinie principal of the Findlay schools, but, applying himself to the study of law, he was soon thereafter ad- mitted to the bar, and, until his health gave way, devoted most of the remainder of his life to the practice of that profession in Hancock and ad- joining counties. He ranked with the leading members of the bar in that part of the State, in his day. He was a public-spirited man, taking a
prominent part in politics, and in all enterprises that tended to promote the interests of the peo- ple of his section. In political sentiment he was originally a Democrat, and held high rank in the councils of his party; served as postmaster under President Pierce, and for three terms held the office of prosecuting attorney of Hancock county, Ohio. In 1860 he severed his connection with the Democratic party, and supported Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, and thereafter ar- dently and loyally championed the principles of the Republican party. He was a gentleman of the old school, courtly and deferential in his man- ner, faithful in his friendships, and universally esteemed for his personal worth and integrity. He was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge at Findlay, and a member of the I. O. O. F. He was a great reader of good books, also a close observer of events, and consequently was pos- sessed of extensive general information, which, united with a cheerful and vivacious disposition. fluency of speech and forcible style of discourse, enlivened by wit and hurnor, made hiin an enter- taining and instructive companion.
Robert S. Parker, whose name introduces this biography, was born March 8, 1855, in Findlay, Ohio, where he attended the public school until he was twelve years old. In early youth he learned the cigar-maker's trade, which he fol- lowed seven years, during part of which time he also attended school, and when not attending school he pursued his studies at home. In 1874 he commenced the study of law in Findlay with Shaffer Brothers, with whom he continued one year, and the following year read law under his father, meanwhile supporting himself by working at his trade, his father and sister reading to him while he made cigars. The mother having died, our subject and his father kept .. bachelor's hall," the son doing the cooking and other housework. In April, 1876, just after attaining his majority. Mr. Parker was admitted to the bar, and im- mediately thereafter opened an office in North Baltimore, Ohio, where he remained several months, practicing in partnership with William H. Anderson. In September of the same year he came to Bowling Green, where he has ever since been engaged in the active duties of his profes- sion. The first year he practiced alone, and then became associated with Col. John A. Shannon, under the firmn name of Shannon & Parker, this connection lasting for about two years, when it was dissolved. Mr. Parker practiced alone from that time until 1890 when he and R. B. Moore established the firm of Parker & Moore, which continued some five years, since the end of which
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time Mr. Parker has practiced with E. M. Fries, under the style of Parker & Fries.
Our subject has been eminently successful in his profession, and holds a leading rank among the lawyers of Wood county and vicinity. Dur- ing his twenty years of active professional life he has never missed a terin of court in Wood county, and has a large and lucrative practice, principally in the northwestern counties of the State. For two terms he served as prosecuting attorney.of Wood county, and he was nominated by the Re- publican party for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but shared the fate of others of his polit- ical faith in the " Foraker landslide;" in three of the four counties of the judicial district, how- eyer, he ran ahead of his ticket. In the fall of 1894 he was indorsed by the Wood county dele- gation' for representative in Congress, but was defeated in the convention by James H. South- ard, of Toledo, at present representing that Dis- trict in Congress.
On May 1, 1879, Mr. Parker was married to Miss Susan Thomas, who was born November 5, 1859, in Bowling Green, Ohio, daughter of George H. Thomas, who was a native of New York State. He was a carpenter by trade, but in his later years was proprietor of the "Thomas House " (now the "Russell House" ), and was widely known in Wood county; he died in 1890; Mrs. Thomas is still living. Mrs. Parker had two sisters: Emma, deceased wife of William H. Rudulph (also deceased ), and Flora, widow of Edward Fryberger, of Bowling Green. Two children came to Mr. and Mrs. Parker: Edward Foster, born January 31, 1880, and Julia Alice, born June 8, 1887. In religious connection the family are Presbyterians. Mr. Parker is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., being connected with Centennial Lodge No. 626; also of Green En- campment, Bowling Green, and is Colonel of the 4th Regiment, Department of Ohio, of the Pa- triarchs Militant. He is a director of the First National Bank of Bowling Green. Highly popu- lar. and held in much esteem by his neighbors and fellow-citizens, he occupies an enviable social as well as professional position.
JONATHAN W. MYERS, who was called from earth September 21, 1892, is remembered by the people of Wood county as one of its most worthy and useful citizens. His birth occurred in Trum- bull county, Ohio, December 11, ISIO, a son of John and Rachel (Wolfecale) Myers, the former born August 8, 1783, and the latter October 28, 1787. The names and dates of birth of the brothers and sisters of our subject are as follows:
Mary Ann, March 30, 1809; Robert C., October 30, 1812; John, October 2, IS14; Reason, Sep- tember 16, 1816; Pleasant, December 21, 1819; Elizabeth, February 25, 1822; Jacob B., Septeni- ber 2, 1824; Rachel M., May 2, 1827; Agnes J., August 3, 1829; Margaret, May 11, 1833; Robert C., died November 9, 1834, John, July 12, 1842, and Rachel M., October 11, 1844.
On April 3, 1834, Mr. Myers, of this review, led to the marriage altar Charlotte Hull, who was born February 5, 1812, and they became the parents of four children, namely: Henry B., born January 7, 1835, making his home in St. Louis, Mo .; Mary Ann, born September 24, 1836, is the wife of G. M. Barnd, of Bloomdale; Caroline, born November 27, 1838, is the wife of Benson Clayton, of Van Buren, Hancock Co., Ohio; and John A., born January 5, 1847, makes his home in Hancock county. The mother of this family died in 1849, and was buried in Hancock county.
In Bloom township, on December 30, 1849, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Myers and Miss Elmira Robbins, a daughter of Daniel and Rhoda (McCarty) Robbins, and a native of Franklin county, Ohio, born October 23, 1827. To this union three children were born-Rachel L., who died in infancy; Ella E., widow of L. D. Hatfield, of Bloomdale; and Jonathan E., of Campbell county, Tennessee.
Daniel Robbins, the father of Mrs. Myers. was one of the first settlers of Bloom township, Wood county, locating near Bloomdale, when it was still a wilderness. He was born September 5, 1795, in Fishing Creek township, Columbia Co., Penn., and was a son of Thomas, and a grandson of William Robbins, a resident of New Jersey. Thomas Robbins lived and died in Fish- ing Creek township, and by his marriage with Elizabeth Kline, became the father of nine chil- dren-William, Abraham, Thomas, Daniel, John, Mathias, Isaac, Clarity and Mercy. In eastern Pennsylvania, the parents of Mrs. Myers were married, and the mother, who was born October 17, ISO2, was a daughter of John and Sarah (Thomas) McCarty, the former born No- vember 8, 1773, and the latter in May, 1776. In their family were the following children -- Mary, Rhoda, Margaret, Phoebe, James. Martha, Samuel, Sarah, and Elida. After his marriage Daniel Robbins lived in eastern Pennsylvania until 1825, when he removed to Franklin county. Ohio, but in October, 1833, came to Wood county, locating on what is now the northeast corner of Main and Vine streets, but was then an unbroken forest. His was the third family to find a home in Bloom township, and their first
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dwelling was a rude log shanty with a blanket hung up for a door. There they lived for six weeks when a more substantial log house was erected. Mr. Robbins died January 7, 1879. His wife had passed away in the fall of 1874, and they now sleep side by side in the cemetery at Fostoria. In 1834 Mr. Robbins and wife as- sisted in forming a Religious Society at the Vicker's home, and taught singing at private houses. Mr. Robbins held the office of justice of the peace for several years. He was formerly a stanch Whig, but on the organization of the Republican party he joined its ranks. In the family were seven children-Ellinda, born in Columbia county, Penn., married Joseph Urie, and died in Bloomdale in 1892; Jackson died in the same city, July 27, 1892; Elmira is next in order of birth; Rhoda A. married John Bolan, and died in Indiana; Margaret is the wife of G. W. Locke, of South Bend, Ind. ; Russell B. died in Iowa; and Minerva is now Mrs. Peter Bussey, of Fostoria, Ohio.
In the fall of 1844, Mr. Myers located in Bloom township, and his first purchase made himn the owner of 160 acres, now comprised within the corporate limits of Bloomdale. To that tract he later added 100 acres, all of which was an un- broken forest, but he cleared his land, making it one of the best farms of the county. He was en- tirely self-made, having started out in life at the tender age of ten years, and assisted his widowed mother in paying for the home place. By good management and close attention to the details of his business, he left at his death a good property, and Mrs. Myers still resides on the home farm. For forty years she has been a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which her husband also belonged. He now rests in the cemetery at Fostoria, and an acquaintance of forty years thus writes of him: " He was indus- trious, always busy-not a lazy drop of blood coursed in his veins. He was honest. This was one of his peculiar traits of character. He deigned to stoop to nothing groveling or low. He was generous, as the unfortunate always found in time of need."
Jackson Robbins (a brother of Mrs. Elmira Myers) was born in Franklin county, Ohio, March 17, 1826, and was but a small boy when his par- ents removed to Wood county where he grew to manhood, and November 9, 1848, was married to Miss Mary A. Beam. To this marriage were born eight children, namely: Emma, Jacob, William, Mary, Richard, Clement, and two who died in infancy.
Mr. Robbins owned forty acres of land in this
county, on which he erected a dwelling, but soon after the Civil war sold the place to W. H. Red- fern (now deceased) and purchased eighty acres north of Findlay, Ohio, where his wife died June 18, 1884, and on July 9, 1887, he was married to Clara May, and to them was born a danghter. During the Findlay boom Mr. Robbins sold his farm to some capitalists of that place for a goodly sum, and moved to Bloomdale, where he purchasd a home, which was within several hundred feet of the place where his first days in Wood county were passed, under a shanty made by driving some forks into the ground, the covering of which consisted of bark and blankets. His death oc- curred July 27, 1892. His pastor, Jason Young, officiated at his funeral. His remains rest in the cemetery at Findlay. He was greatly endeared . to his sister (who wrote this brief sketch) and to all who knew him. He was a good citizen and an excellent neighbor. He was a Methodist, and in politics an unwavering Democrat.
CAPTAIN OMAR P. NORRIS, a leading agricult- urist of Perry township, with residence near " Nor- ris " Station, T. & O. C. R. R., post office Long- ley, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, Novem- ber 18, 1838, and comes of English and Scotch ancestry.
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