A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography, Part 68

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 806

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ing Mr. Craig's interest and becoming sole owner, editor and publisher. He has since been the proprietor of the paper, which in 1873 was enlarged to a nine-column folio, making it at the time the largest newspaper published in Darke county. He continued his active connection therewith until 1878, when his son, E. C. Otwell, took charge of the paper as the managing and local editor, E. W. Otwell still continuing owner and editor thereof.

On the 19th of November, 1857, Mr. Otwell was married to Miss Lucinda Hart- zell, of Darke county, Ohio, a native of Greenville and a daughter of John Hartzell. There were four children born of this union, two sons and two daughters: E. C., who is the managing and local editor of the Greenville Journal; Lula May and William Grant, now deceased; and Onellia B., at home. The family is widely and favorably known in Greenville, enjoying the hospital- ity of many of the best homes in the city. In 1861 Mr. Otwell was appointed the post- master of Greenville by President Lincoln and held the position for four years. So- cially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Probably no man in the community is more widely known or more highly esteemed than the popular and respected editor of the Greenville Journal.

HARVEY LONGENECKER.

Whitney, Stephenson, Morse and Edison and other great inventors have been the most valuable factors in insuring the marvelous growth and development which give basis to our magnificent commercial activities of tc-day. The utility of their inventions is such that the curtailing of manual labor has

almost revolutionized the methods and being of the commercial world. Mr. Longenecker of this review, is an inventor of useful and practical instruments which will be indis- pensible in the bank, the counting room, the office of the accountant and in the schools and commercial colleges and all places where accounts are . kept. He invented the "Dir- plex" penholder and the "Special Duplex." which may cause his name to be a household word in the time to come.

Mr. Longenecker is a product of Darke county, having been born March 6, 1863, one of the three sons constituting the family of John and Elizabeth ( Beam) Longenecker. The eldest of the sons is Frank, who is as- sociated with his brother, Harvey, in the manufacture of the penholders and who is, likewise, of a mechanical turn of mind. He received a good common-school education, is married, is a Democrat in politics and is a member. of the Knights of Pythias. Indi- vidual reference is made to him on another page of this work, and to this we refer the reader who would trace the family history in detail. Harvey, the immediate subject of this review, was the second in order of birth, and Theodore, the youngest. is a resi- dent of Briceton, Paulding county, Ohio, where he is prominently concerned in busi- ness as a carpenter and joiner, being a prac- tical workman and also having distinctive musical ability.

John Longenecker, the father of our sub- ject, is a native of the state of Pennsylvania and is still living, venerable in years. He emigrated to Darke county about 1842. He was always a mechanic, as was his father be- fore him, and his active life was devoted to his trade, that of a carpenter and builder. In his political views he is a stanch Dem- ocrat. Elizabeth B. Longenecker, the mother

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of our subject, is a native of Ohio, and she is sixty-four years of age at the time of this writing. The parents are members of the German Baptist church in Adams town- ship and are among the old and honored resi- dents of the county.

Harvey Longenecker, of this review, has been reared in Darke county, and lie lias followed in his father's footsteps, in that he is a natural mechanic, his talent in this line being instinctive. He has devoted muchi of his time to the art of architecture, and in the county are many specimens which give evidence of his skill and taste as an archii- tect and builder. He has given particular attention to the building of mantels and stair- cases, in which lines the most artistic con- ceptions have been skillfully wrought out by him, his strength as a designer being equalled by that as a practical workman. The young man has found demand for his work in this line not only throughout Darke county but also in the city of Cincinnati. He is well known in Richland and adjoining townships by reason of his ingenious skill, and it was while he was engaged in his draft- ing that there came to him the essential idea of his present important invention, to which reference has been made. The idea was evolved within the year 1899 and within 1 three days after the conception had come to him Mr. Longenecker had made a perfect penholder after the design he had formulated in his mind. It will be interesting to briefly recapitulate the story of this invention, whichi ise destined to be one of the greatest prac- tical value. One day Mr. Longenecker was in conversation with Hon. Ilenry McCoy, ex-clerk of the United States treasury at Cincinnati, the gentleman finally bringing up the matter of inventing a penholder of the sort, and he said: "Longenecker, if you

could devise a penholder holding ink for black and red work on the books in the ac- countant's office, without changing penhold- ers, you could have a fortune." Mr. Long- enecker replied : "I think it can be accom- plished," and through his efforts the result has, indeed, been attained. The invention is a perfect and signal success and is an article for which there will be a constant demand on the market. Our subject and his brother, Frank, are the sole manufacturers of this useful article, and the demand already tests the capacity of their manufactory. The work of manufacturing was inaugurated within the last year, and a patent has now been secured on the Spiral Duplex Holder, which is a positive improvement upon the original design. It will be but a short time before the article is known and used th .ugh- out the length and breadth of our country. The holders are now manufactured at Beams- ville and all correspondence in regard the1 . should be addressed to Longenecker Broth- ers, Beamsville, Darke county, Ohio, where it will receive prompt attention.

Mr. Longenecker was engaged in work at his trade until 1895, when he entered upon the general merchandise business in Beamsville, where a complete and select stock is carried, including all lines customarily found in a village store of the sort. By fair and courteous treatment of his patrons he lias built up an excellent business and he is known as an alert and enterprising young business man, and one worthy of the most implicit confidence.

January 27, 1884, Mr. Longenecker mar- ried Miss Laura Belle York, and of this union have been born two sons and three daughters, four of the number surviving: Nellie is a student in the Beamsville public school and has shown marked musical talent ;

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Nola E. and Jennie E. are also in school ; and Otto E. is the youngest in the home circle. Mrs. Longenecker was born Octo- ber 25, 1860, being the daughter of Squire and Mary (Gilbert) York. She received her education in the common schools and both she and her husband are consistent members of the Christian church at Beams- ville. Mrs. Longenecker's father is deceased, but her mother is still living, as are also two brothers and two sisters, all of whom are residents of the county. Her grandfather, Judge York, was one of the first three judges in Darke county, the family being of English extraction, while the Longenecker family is of pure German origin. Four brothers of the name came from Germany about the opening of the sixteenth century, and from them wave sprung the various branches of the favuly in the Union.

.Our subject has always exercised his schise in support of the Democratic party, having cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland. He held official pre- ferment from the time he was twenty-two years of age until the last year, having served as constable and justice of the peace, his aim in all the relations of life being to do credit to himself and to the honored name which he bears. He served with much efficiency as postmaster of Beamsville for a period of six years, having been the incumbent dur- ing the Cleveland administration.

GEORGE A. KATZENBERGER.

George A. Katzenberger, the only son of Charles L. Katzenberger, a merchant in Greenville, was born December 11, 1867. His mother, Elizabeth nee Ashman, was a daughter of the pioneer, Peter Ashman, and

departed this life in 1868, being followed a few years later by her only daughter, Mary. Our subject's early life was spent in Green- ville, his rearing having been given in charge of Mrs. Rosina Rehfuss. He attended the public schools in Greenville, completing the preparatory high-school course in May, 1884. In July of the same year he began a course in Nelson's Business College, at Cincinnati. Completing the same, he accepted the posi- tion of head bookkeeper for the firm of Gil- more & Company, bankers of Cincinnati, and from July, 1885, to January 1, 1886, was the business manager for said firm, owing to the absence abroad of its principal, Virgil Gilmore. At the close of this time the continued illness of Mr. Gilmore made the dissolution of the firm a necessity, and our subject entered the service of the Ciu- cinnati News Company in the capacity of bookkeeper.

In the fall of 1886, desiring to pursue a course in science, he resigned his position and entered the Ann Arbor high school, at which he graduated in June, 1888, three' weeks after his class at Greenville. After reading law in the office of Hon. John Reiley Knox he began a course in the law depart- ment of the University of Michigan and re- ceived the degree of LL. B. in June, 1890, being subsequently admitted to the bars of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. During his collegiate term he was honored by being ad- mitted to the leading fraternity of Phi Delta Phi, a Greek-letter secret society, founded in the law department in 1869 by Judge. Thomas M. Cooley, a very eminent jurist, subsequently the chairman of the inter-state commerce commission. During his college career he was actively interested in various organizations, namely: The Shakespeare

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Club, Hobart Guild, Choral Union, Knowl- ton Nine and others; was also an associate editor of the Michigan Argonaut and a cor- respondent in Michigan for the Columbia Law Times.

In July, 1890, he for the second time accompanied his father to the old country, where he spent a year and a half, chiefly in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany. Ar- riving in Bremen in August, he enjoyed a Rhine tour, and was at Bingen and Ruedes- heim, their famous "Laetitia Deorum." Soon thereafter he visited the castles and palaces of the late King Ludwig II, of Bavaria, and attended the Passion Play at Oberammer- gau. In October he entered the far-famed University of Heidelberg and spent two most enjoyable semesters, being a member of various musical, duelling and social or- ganizations. Here, while attending the Ice- tures on Grecian and modern philosophy, by His Excellency, Kuno Fischer, he im- proved his knowledge of the German lan- guage, and, collaterally, acquainted himself with the literature of the land of his ances- tors. Rather than spend several years more enjoying a dolce-far-niente life, he preferred to return to his "own, his native land" ("than which none other," he said ) and enter upon the duties of his profession. He there- fore, with his indulgent father, made a tour through Switzerland to Milan and the north- ern lakes of Italy and then returned to this country in November, 1891. In December of the same year he chose Chicago as the seat of his future endeavors and hung out his shingle opposite the court house. Mod- erate success soon was his and his standing in his profession was one worthy of his years.

During the Columbian year he was the

secretary of one of the educational commit- tees of the World's Congress Auxiliary and served during 1893-4 as an assistant attorney of the bureau of justice. At a national convention of his college fraternity in 1893 he was elected the secretary and treasurer of the governing council, to which position he has been re-elected four times at successive conventions in Washington, Chicago and Ann Arbor, Michigan. During his admin- istration nine additional chapters of the order have been placed in the leading law schools of this country and Canada, and in his ca- pacity as secretary lie compiled a catalogue of the members, gathering data covering five hundred and seventy-five pages.

After the death of his uncle, G. Anthony Katzenberger, he returned to Greenville, where he has since resided with his father, whom he has collaterally been assisting in his business. In the autumn of 1897 he made a fair race for representative on the Repub- lican ticket in a county overwhelmingly Democratic. As the treasurer of the vestry of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church, one of a board of directors and secretary of a building association, a councilor of the American Institute of Civics and as an in- terested member of the Masons and Odd Fellows, he enjoys being of some service to his fellow men. For diversion and employ- ment of spare time he indulges in collecting curios, coins and postage stamps as well as in writing for the press, more particularly for The Brief, a magazine published in New York city and of which he is one of the five editors.

In June, 1899, he married Miss Grace Miesse, a young lady of solid merit and varied accomplishments. A son, Charles Hirundo, completes a happy household.

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

DANIEL J. HARTZELL.

The better class of citizens of the state or the nation are those to whom must be given the basic credit in considering the progress and material prosperity of such state or na- tion, and, as the history of the nation is best told in the lives of the best citizens, so is found justification for the careful compila- tion of works of this nature.

Daniel J. Hartzell, the subject of this brief sketch, is a scion of one of the prom- inent pioneer families of Richland township, which was one of the first settled townships of historic Darke county. He was born on his father's homestead and this homestead still continues to be his place of abode, the date of his nativity being December 8. 1856. He is the sixth in order of birth of the ten children-three sons and seven daughters- of Daniel and Mary (Warvel) Hartzell. Of the children six are living, namely : Han- nah M. is the wife of M. F. Myers, a prom- inent attorney of Greenville, Ohio, and she was reared and educated in Darke county, where for some time she was a successful teacher; Charlotte A. is the wife of G. M. Skinner, a telegraph operator at Royal Cen- ter, Indiana ; Daniel J. is the immediate sub- ject of this review; Maggie E. is the wife of B. N. York, a representative of the prom- inent pioneer family of this township and himself a prosperous and influential agri- culturist here ; John H., a prominent farmer of Pikeville, Ohio, married a Miss York : Rosa M., the youngest of the children, is the wife of G. M. Hench, a telegraph operator at Logansport, Indiana.

Daniel Hartzell, the father of our sub- ject, was born near the historic battle field of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the 21st of February, 1819, and his death occurred

March 27. 1896. He was reared to agri- cultural pursuits, but upon attaining ma- turity learned the trades of cabinetmaker and carpenter and joiner, to which lines of work he gave his attention, meeting with a due measure of success. His educational discipline was secured in the old-time sub- scription schools and his advantages in this regard were necessarily limited. He started out in life for himself as a poor boy and from the foot of the ladder worked his way up- ward to success and to a position of honor among men. As the name indicates, he was of German extraction, and being imbued with the indomitable spirit and energy of that sturdy race, he soon established for himself a reputation as a man who aimed to lay firm foundation for the future. At the age of nineteen he started for the wilder- ness of what was then considered the far west, his destination being Darke county. whither he came to join his brother, Philip. He eventually returned to Pennsylvania and soon thereafter, in company with his mother and stepfather, again set out on the weary journey to Ohio, and it is a matter of record that he actually walked the entire distance from Pennsylvania to Gettysburg. Darke county, with the exception of three miles. This statement indicates the sturdy char- acter of our honored pioneers. After lo- cating in the primitive home in the western wilds he went to work with vigor, at first being employed by others at such work as he could secure. It is recalled that the first distinctive work he ever did in Darke county was to split one hundred rails before break fast. He was an energetic young man and soon accumulated a tract of one hundred and thirty-seven acres in the forests of Ricli- land township, which was at that time a practically unbroken wilderness, wild game

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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of all sorts being seen in abundance. At one time when he was working at plowing corn on his brother's farm, east of Green- ville, he saw three or four deer playing around him in a circle. Securing his trusty gun, he concealed himself behind a tree un- til the animals were so near that he was dis- cussing with himself which one to select for his fire, when he was severely attacked with "buck fever," or "buck ague," or, as the modern vernacular would have it, was so "rattled" that he did not secure a shot at any of the deer, greatly to his chagrin. Po- litically Mr. Hartzell was a stanch Democrat of the Jackson type, and he was a valued representative citizen of the township, which he served effectively and with much wisdom in official capacities, having been trustee several terms and having been a zealous advocate and supporter of the public schools. He and his wife were faithful members of the German Reformed church and he was a liberal contributor to the erection of the pres- ent church edifice at Pikeville, Ohio.

The mother of our subject is a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, where she was born in the year 1830, and is still living at Pikeville. Though venerable in years she still retains her mental and physical faculties to an exceptional degree, and she is held in the deepest love and veneration in the com- munity where she has lived and labored to such goodly ends. Her gentle character has ever prompted her to unostentatious works of charity and kindness, and her example and teachings are cherished and held sacred in the church of which she has so long been a devoted and zealous member.

Daniel J. Hartzell, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Richland township, as has been previously noted, and in this coun- ty he has been reared and educated and has

taken his place as a worthy representative of an honored name. He was afforded the advantages of the common schools and was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, remaining with his parents until he attained his majority, having thereafter continued to work for his father at the rate of ten dol- lars per month, so that he has a full appre- ciation of the values of honest toil. He chose for his helpmeet along life's journey Miss Amanda Weikert, their marriage be- ing solemnized February 4, 1879. Of this union four sons have been born and three of the number are living namely: Earl E., born May 6, 1882, who has completed the eight grades in the public schools and passed the Boxwell examination, which admits the successful candidate to any of the high schools in the county, is a studious youth and his trends of thought and natural in- clinations seem to lead to the professional life; Ward C., born October 16, 1884. who is the practical agriculturist of the three bright and promising boys, is perfectly at home on the estate and takes an interest in all phases of its work; he is in the eighth grade of the public schools ; Charlie R., born February 18, 1894, is the youngest of the home circle.

Mrs. Hartzell was born near the great battle field of Gettysburg. Pennsylvania, 011 the 6th of June, 1859, being the second in a family of twelve children-five sons and seven daughters-born to Jacob and Matilda (Slyder) Weikert. Of this large family of children nine still survive and of these we give a brief record as follows: Henry I. is engaged in the tent and awning business at St. Paul, Minnesota ; John D. is a farmer at Bowdle. South Dakota; Emma E. is the wife of Charles Sebring, of Darke county. Ohio ; Daisy L. is the wife of George Reeves,

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of St. Paul, Minnesota ; Lilly M. is the wife of Eugene Cowell. of Bangor, South Dako- ta; Rosa M. resides with her parents near Madison, Indiana, as do also Eva Pearl and Charles D.

Jacob Weikert is a native of Pennsyl- vania, where he continued to reside until he reached maturity. He was present at the great battle of Gettysburg, and though not a soldier rendered effective service in caring , for the wounded and assisting in the burial of the dead. He had to forsake his home, as it was on the site of this ever memorable conflict, and he was compelled to take what few effects could be picked up and to place these in the wagon and with his family make his way out in the midst of the incessant firing, which was at so close range that leaves and twigs from the trees were clipped off by the leaden hail and fell into their wagon, where they were found after a place of com- parative safety had been reached. This is an incident that will not be recorded again in this narrative of those concerned in the history of Darke county. Though but a child of six years, Mrs. Hartzell has a faint recollection of this terrible struggle. The family came on through to Montgomery county, Ohio, and there Mrs. Hartzell's ma- ternal grandmother is yet living. at the ad- vanced age of eighty-eight years.

Mrs. Hartzell has been her husband's counselor in all his business transactions and her aid and advice have always been timely and valuable. When they began their mar- ried life, according to Mr. Hartzell's state- ment to the biographer, his wordly posses- sions were practically summed up in a horse and buggy. He secured the endorsement of his father in purchasing the requisite sup- plies for carrying on his farm and he earned every dollar with which to liquidate h's in-

debtedness. He began farming on shares and eventually he and his wife bought out the interests of the other heirs to the estate, and it is with a feeling of pride that they can look back over the rough road they have traveled, the obstacles overcome in order to accumulate their beautiful property, which is a just reward for their earnest efforts. Mr. and Mrs. Hartzell have been peculiarly successful in life, and the success has been most worthily achieved, as in all the rela- tions of life they have been characterized by that honor and integrity which are more to be desired than gold. As Mr. Hartzell is a native of Darke county he has had the priv- ilege of witnessing its growth and develop- ment from a veritable wilderness to one of the most prosperous and attractive sections of the entire state, improved with fine pike roads, substantial and attractive residences of modern architecture and all other ele- ments which bespeak substantial prosperity. The beautiful town of Greenville, which now has a population of about eight thousand, is far different from what it was when his fa- ther located in the county, for at that time the stockades of old Fort Greenville were still standing.

Mr. Hartzell is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, his first presidential vote having been cast for General Hancock. He has maintained a lively interest in the work of his party and his personal popularity has led to his being chosen for positions of marked preferment. He has been a dele- gate to various senatorial, congressional and county conventions and he was the incum- bent of the important office of trustee of Richland township in 1896, and was re- elected to the office in 1899, his administra- tion having reflected great credit upon him and the township which he represents. He

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has served for about six years as director of the public schools, both he and his wife be- ing zealous advocates of the best possible educational advantages for the youth of our land. They are members of the German Reformed church at Pikeville and he is an elder in the same.

The estate of our subject comprises eighty-five acres, lying one-half mile east of Pikeville and five miles from Greenville. The soil is a rich loam and is admirably adapted to the cultivation of corn, wheat, oats and tobacco,-the last mentioned in particular. In 1899 Mr. Hartzell realized ninety dollars per acre from two acres of to- bacco. This farm was purchased by his fa- ther in 1849 and has remained in the hands of the family for more than half a century.

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A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography, Part 68

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 806

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 806