USA > Ohio > Putnam County > A Portrait and biographical record of Allen and Putnam counties, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Ohio, pt 2 > Part 10
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A 'ARON DONALDSON, who has been associated with the great basic in- dustry of agriculture from the time of his childhood, and who is now one of the prosperous and influential farmers of Mon- roe township, is well deserving of considera- tion in this connection He was born in
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Union township, Putnam county, Ohio, Decem- ber 13, 1864, and was reared on the parental homestead, receiving a good practical educa- tion in the old school-house of the pioneer days. He had a natural mechanical ability, and even in his boyhood took charge of most of the carpenter work on the farm. He has traveled. quite extensively throughout the Union, having made an extended trip through Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and the Indian ter- ritory, and having gained a discriminating knowledge in regard to the southwest.
On the 18th of January, 1880, Mr. Don- aldson was united in marriage, in Monroe township, to Catherine E. Taylor, the widow of William T. Taylor, whose demise occurred on the 23d of January, 1828. By her first marriage Mrs. Donaldson became the mother of the following-named children: Francis Mc. ; Loretta J., wife of Newton Spencer; Mary A., wife of Asa Donaldson, and Alonzo Joseph. Mrs. Donaldson is a daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Yarger) Wood, the former of whom was born in Maryland and the latter in Perry county, Ohio. Their marriage was consum- mated in Perry county, and there they resided some few years, later removing to Fairfield county, where they remained until 1861, when they took up their abode in Putnam county. Here the father passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring March 23, 1878. In politics he was a stalwart democrat. The mother still resides on the old farm, having consummated a second marriage by uniting her destinies with those of John L. King. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Wood we record their names in order of birth as follows: Catherine E., Mary A., Lucretia J. (deceased), Nancy M. (deceased), and John A. (deceased). Ben- nett A. Wood, grandfather of Ms. Donaldson, was a native of Maryland, being a slave holder and the owner of an extensive plantation. After his marriage he emigrated from his native
state to Fairfield county, Ohio, and eventually took up his abode in Perry county, becoming one of the prominent and influential pioneers of the state. He was a Jacksonian democrat and lived a useful and worthy life.
Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Donaldson are the parents of three children, viz: Leroy, David S., and Asa C. Soon after their marriage our subject and his wife settled in Monroe town- ship, with the material interests of which he has been long identified, having devoted his attention most capably to the cultivation of his farm, and being signally devoted to his family. In politics our subject is stanchly in line as a supporter of the democratic party, but he has no aspirations for public office. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church, of which he is a trustee, while she has served most efficiently as teacher in the Sunday-school. Our subject's posses- sions comprise in all 118 acres -- eighty being included in one farm and thirty-eight in the second, much of which property he has acquired through his own efforts. His farm is well stocked, has excellent improvements, and its cultivation is directed according to the most approved methods. Mr. Donaldson is thor- oughly alive to the interests of the farmers and gives evidence of this by his active identifica- tion with Monroe grange, No. 634, while he is a man of influence in the community.
J 'OHN R. DOENGES, who is known as one of the successful and representative pioneer farmers of Monroe township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a German by birth, but he has passed nearly the whole of his life in Defiance and Putnam counties, so that he may literally be said to have grown up with the country.
John Doenges, father of subject, was born in Corse-Hesse, Germany, in January, 1823,
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his mother being a native of the same place and born in the same year. They were mar- ried in Germany, where their first four chil- dren were born. They emigrated to America in 1858, making the voyage in a sailing vessel, which was seven weeks on the trip. They first settled in Pennsylvania, but after a few years removed to Defiance county, Ohio, and settled in Highland township, upon a tract of new land, 120 acres in extent. They had very lit- tle capital to start on, and the land was a primitive wilderness, but with the true pioneer spirit they faced the hardships of the day and country and made for themselves a home. They are upright people, and in Germany had been adherents of the Lutheran faith, but after coming to this country became identified with the Methodist church. They have been blessed with seven children, their names in order of birth being Conrad, Catherine (de- ceased), Elizabeth, John R., Michael (de- ceased), Amanda, and Charlotte. The par- ents are both still living, and are known as honest, hard-working people, who possess the esteem of all who know them.
John R. Doenges was born in Corse-Hesse, Germany, April 3, 1855, and was only two and one-half years of age when he accom- panied his parents to America. When he was four years of age his parents settled in Defiance county, Ohio, and his whole life has been passed in the counties of Defiance and Putnam. He was reared upon his father's farm, and thus became acquainted with all the phases of agricultural life in a pioneer country. Very few improvements had then been made upon the face of Dame Nature, and the forests abound- ed with all varieties of wild game natural to this section. Our subject managed to secure a good common-school education, which has been of use to him through life. Beside this, he gamed a large fund of practical knowledge as to the proper development of a new country.
In fact he has witnessed the transformation of Defiance and Putnam counties from an almost unbroken wilderness into the beautiful and prosperous section that it now is.
In Defiance county, September, 10, 1879, our subject was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Fullmer, who was born in that county July 5, 1855, she being the daughter of Ansel and Margaret (Gunner) Fullmer. Her parents were both natives of Germany, but were wedded in Crawford county, Ohio, and lived there until 1845, when they moved to Defiance county, being among the earliest settlers. They entered 160 acres of new land and made for themselves a permanent home. They were religious people, being connected with the United Brethren church, in which the father was for many years a steward and lead- ing member. In politics he was a republican, and as such took considerable interest in pub- lic affairs. His death occurred March 17, 1885, while the mother still lives upon the old farm. Their children were nme in number: Jane, Jacob, Isaac. David, Mary (deceased). Margaret, Sarah (deceased), Caroline, and Annie. Mrs. Doenges also had two half- brothers, John and Abraham, both now de- ceased, the former being killed in a railroad accident and the latter meeting his death in the late war.
Soon after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Doenges, they settled upon the farm at present owned by them in Monroe town- ship, Putnam county It consisted of 120 acres of new land, rather uninviting in appear- ance, but they set resolutely at work to effect a transformation. P has taken years of hard work to do this, but surely it has been worth the labor, for they possess a fine and fertile domain, every rod of which has become en- deared to them by association. They have devoted their time to the home and family, I and are people who are held in the highest re-
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gard by all. Six children have been born to them, the order of their birth being as follows: Lewis, Ada B., Willbur J., Viola F., Mira, and Jesse-the two last named being deceased. In politics Mr. Doenges is a republican, while in religious affiliations he is identified with the Methodist church, which denomination he aids in a moral as well as a financial way.
URRY F. DOUGLASS, M. D., of Kalida, Putnam county, Ohio, and one of the most prominent practition- ers of the county, was born in Frank- lin county, Ohio, July 14, 1859, a son of Jere- miah and Mary A. (Sherwood) Douglass. The father, Jeremiah Douglass, was also a native of Franklin connty, was born in 1834, and was a son of Eri Douglass, who was born near Plattsburg, N. Y., in 1804. Eri Douglass was a son of John Douglass, a native of Scotland, who, on coming to America, settled in Platts- burg, N. Y., served in the war of 1812, and also had a son, John, Jr., who served in the same war, and who died in Illinois, in 1880, and likewise a son, Sanmel, who is a farmer of Nebraska, and is still living.
Eri Douglass was reared on his father's farm near Plattsburg, N. Y., and was educated in that city; about the year 1830 he married Elizabeth Dominey, daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Norton) Dominey, natives of Rhode Island and of German descent, and whose three living children are Henry, a farmer of Franklin county, Ohio; Jolm, a farmer of Nebraska, and Nancy, wife of Dr. W. Twiford, of Minnesota. Jeremiah Dominey, the great - grandfather of the doctor, our subject, was a patriot of the American Revolution, and also a hero of the war of 1812, became a settler of Madison county, Ohio, in 1813, and died about 1852, a member of the Universalist church, and in politics a whig. Elizabeth Dominey 8
daughter of above, was born in Madison county, Ohio, November 5, 1815, and to Eri Doug- lass bore nine children, all of whom, with the exception of three, died in infancy, those reaching maturity being Mrs. Cloy Sherwood, who died in 1868; Jeremiah, father of our sub- 'ject, and' Hester, wife of Zelora Amlin, a farmer, living on the Franklin county home- stead, purchased by the grandfather of onr subject in 1834. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1868. After his first marriage Eri Douglass bought 100 acres of wild land in Franklin county (alluded to in foregoing para- graph), which he converted into a good farm and on which he lived until his second mar- riage, in 1874, to Mrs. Louisa (Wolcott, Rob- erts. He then moved to Plain City, Madison county, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life in retirement, dying February 15, 1879, a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, an honored citizen, and in politics a republican, which party he had served as justice of the peace for four years.
Jeremiah Douglass was also reared a farmer and was educated in Franklin county. March 4, 1858, he married Mary A., daughter of An- drew and Irene (Beach) Sherwood, and this union was blessed by the birth of two children: Curry F., the subject of this sketch, and Rosa, wife of William Hainer, a prominent grain dealer of Plain City, Ohio. Mrs. Mary .A. Donglass was born in Madison county, Ohio, in 1840. Her father, Andrew Sherwood, was a native of Vermont, born in 1800, of German parentage, and when twelve years of age made his way alone to Madison county, Ohio. March 2, 1832, he married Miss Irene Beach, daugh- ter of the pioneer, Amos Beach, who founded the trading post and village in Cuion comity, known as Beachtown. To this marriage were born the following children. Judith Kilgore and Elizabeth Jolly, deceased, Daniel, a farmer of Darby Plains, Ohio: Samuel, farmer of
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Union county; Mrs. Mary Ann Andrews Doug- lass; Mrs. Sarah Conoverse, Plain City; Mrs. Laura Dry, Plain City; Amos, of the Sher- wood House, Plain City; Kilburn, fariner, West Canaan, and Charles, liveryman, Plain City. In 1867 Jeremiah Douglass sold his farm in Madison county and came to Putnam county and bought a tract of land near Kalida, which he cleared and cultivated until the fall of 1894, when he retired to Kalida, where he still lives in peace under the protection of the flag he fought to save from pollution as a soldier in company I, One Hundred and Thirty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, during the late Rebellion.
Dr. Curry F. Donglass, like many of his ancestors, passed his earlier days on a farm. He was educated in Kalida, his present place of residence, and there began reading medi- cine under Dr. Reed at the age of seventeen years-reading in all four years -- two straight and two during holidays. In 1878 he entered the medical department of the Western Re- serve university, from which he graduated with honors in March, 1881. The same year he went into the drug business in Catawba, Clarke county. Ohio, in which he continued until the fall of 1882. November 2 of the same year (1882), he married Miss Kate W. Melvin, who was born in Clarke county, Ohio, June 6, 1862, a daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Jones) Melvin, and this union has been blessed by the birth of three children, viz: Zella Dawn, born March 10, 1886; Fred Mel- vin, June 26, 1890; and Leon J., November 3, 1891. Samuel Melvin, father of Mrs. Doug- lass, is one of a family of five children, all liv- ing, the remaining four being James, a retired merchant; Silas, a farmer; Susan, wife of James Wright; and Mrs. Anna Allison, all of Clarke county. His wife, Lydia, is a member of a family of three living children, the two besides herself being George and Zeblin A.
Jones, both living on the home farm in Clarke county. To the marriage of Samuel and Lydia Melvin have been born the following children: Melissa, wife of Charles Runion, and Bruce, both farmers of Clarke county; Kate, wife of Dr. Douglass; George, druggist of Chicago; and May, at home. The parents were both pioneers of Clarke county, where the mother died in 1893.
After his marriage Dr. Douglass settled in Kalida, and engaged in the practice of his chosen profession, and also entered into the drug business, but in 1886 disposed of the lat- ter on account of his increasing medical prac- tice, he having attained a success and promi- nence in the profession that precluded all thought of extraneous business affairs, collat- eral or even correlative as they might be. In politics the doctor is a republican; fraternally he is a member of the Kalida Masonic lodge, No. 280; and socially he is a leader among the people and ever forward in every good work. His standing as a plivsician, as a gentleman, and as a citizen, is both desirable and enviable, and few, at his age. have attained a position so prominent.
0 R. ELI DIMOCK, one of the oldest citizens and the oldest practicing physician of Dupont, Ohio, was born in Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., May 4, 1822, a son of Eli and Phebe (Sill) Dimock. His father was born in Windham county, Conn., May 24, 1775, and his grand- father, Timothy, was a native of the same county. He was descended from Jehial Dimock, a native of Spain, who, with his brother, Moores, was implicated in one of the Spanish revolutions, which was overthrown, and they were forced to flee from their native country to escape cruel imprisonment and certain death, which they knew would be sure to fol-
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low if they were captured-for Spain knows no forgiveness, and all who question her right to rule are shot. The brothers came to this country in the early part of the seventeenth century and settled in Connecticut, where Jehial married a Scotch lady and there estab- lished the branch of the family from which the doctor descends. Jehial became a farmer in Connecticut and spent the remainder of his life there. Timothy was the only descendant of the above and was born about 1729. He was a farmer in that state and married Sallie Ballard, who was a native of Connecticut, of Puritan ancestry, and died in 1842 in her ninety-second year.
After marriage Timothy Dimock moved from' Connecticut to Otsego county, N. Y., and settled in what is known as Dimock Hol- low, a small valley which takes its name from the first man who settled in it. Mr. Dimock there took up a grant of land and built himself a log cabin and set to work clearing a farm from out the woods. On this farm five chil- dren were born to them: Jehial, Timothy, Eli, Fannie, who married William Downing, and Chloe, who died unmarried. The father continued to farm here until old age compelled him to give up active pursuits, when he went to live with his youngest son, Eli Dimock, and died at Burlington, N. Y., in 1818. In the Revolutionary war he served his country faitli- fully and courageously. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, and in politics a whig. He was an honorable and up- right man, and a useful citizen, and possessed with the respect of all who knew him.
Eli Dimock, youngest son of Timothy Dimock, was reared on his father's farm and was educated in a primitive log school-house. In early life he embarked in mercantile busi- ness in the town of Butternuts, N. Y., but afterward removed his business to Burlington, where he was very prosperous.
1802, he married Phebe, who was born in Lime, Saybrook county, Conn., on March 26, 1780, a daughter of Andrew and Helen (Door) Sill, of Scotch ancestry. After marriage he lived on his father-in-law's farm, and spent the remainder of his life there, where nine chil- dren were born to them, viz: Helen T., born February 17, 1804, the wife of Ebenezer Shel- don, of Utica, N. Y .; Seneca, a physician, who was born October 5, 1805, and died Au- gust 11, 1860; Door S., born November 19, 1809, and died June 24, 1838; Elizabeth, born April 30, 1812, was the wife of Harmon Wind- sor, of Bainbridge, N. Y,, and died January 21, 1888; Richard B., a merchant of New Ber- lin, N. Y., who was born October 8, 1813, and died March 4, 1892; Cornelia, born May 19, 1815, and died unmarried August 11, 1841; Amanda, born December 19, 1819, and died August 11, 1821 ; Phebe S., born February 18, 1820, and died unmarried November 19, 1855, and Dr. Eli, the subject of our sketch. The mother was a life-long member of the Presby- terian church, and died on June 12, 1868. All her brothers and sisters and mother died of typhoid fever in 1823. The father held a commission as captain of a company of min- ute-inen cavalry in the war of 1812. He was a successful farmer and business man, and in religious matters was a strict Presbyterian. In politics he was prominently identified with the old-line whig party, by which he was elected to several local offices. He was a strict moralist and an upright man, and a progressive, public- spirited citizen, and died June 12, 1848, re- spected and honored by all who knew him. Jehial Dimock commanded a privateer vessel on Lake Ontario in the war of 1812, and cap- tured many valuable prizes. He was an ex- i pert gunsman and a brave and patriotic man.
Dr. Eli Dimock, the only live & representa- tive of this family, laid the foundation for his
October 20, | education in the common schools of Burlington,
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N. Y., and in 1842 began the study of medi- cine in the office f Dr. R. F. Stellman, a practitioner of his native town. In 1845 he entered the medical department of the univer- sity of New York, New York city, from which he graduated with honor in April, 1847. For one year he practiced with his former precep- tor and then moved to Bridgewater, Oneida county, N. Y., where he practiced until 1849 and then came to Dupont, Ohio, where he practiced successfully his profession until 1853, when, on account of ill health, he returned to his old home at Bridgewater, where he remained until 1860, and then returned to Dupont and again took up the practice of medicine, in which he has been eminently successful and has always been prominently identified with the best interests of Putnam county, being well known all over the county, his practice at times extending to its remotest corners.
February 14, 1847, the doctor married Mary E., the daughter of Amassa and Mary (Joliston) Caswell, who was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., on April 23, 1825. Her father was born in Warren, N. Y., July 23, 1796, was a successful farmer, and died October 4, 1847, at Belvidere, Ills., to which place he had moved his family in 1850. The mother was born in Vermont, February 26, 1800, and died in their Illinois home on April 6, 1879. Both were members of the Presbyterian church. Five children blessed their union, three of whom are still living: Mrs. Dimock, Susan and Mary L .; neither of the latter two, is married. Doctor and Mrs. Dimock were blessed with but one child-Jennie, the de- ceased wife of S. Woolam. Both are leading members of the Presbyterian church, and are held in the highest esteem by its members and by all who know them. The doctor is a stanch supporter of the principles of the repub- lican party, having in his youth imbibed well of the doctrines of the old whig party. He
takes great interest in all the successes and achievements of this party, and by them, while yet in New York, was elected to the office of justice of the peace and held it for five years, and has held the office of township treasurer of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio, for three years, and is now justice of the peace. Fraternally he is a Mason, having joined in 1853 the Western Star lodge, No. 15, of Bridgewater, N. Y. This lodge was chartered in 1797. He is also a member of the Good Templars' organization and the American Pro- tective association. He has passed his three score and ten years .. is in the full enjoyment of all liis faculties, and possesses the confi- dence and esteem of all those with whom he has been associated in any way. In his pro- fession he deservedly stands high among those of the same calling and is a man of wide and ripe experiences and varied attainments. He is a student of archaology and his collection of curiosities and relics, the best in the county, he has donated to the Ottawa high school. He can now look back on a well-spent life, full of many vicissitudes and experiences, especially the experiences he passed through in the early days after he came to Dupont, when agne was so prevalent; and many were the long rides and sleepless nights he had; no call went unresponded to when it was possible for him to go, no matter how bad the roads were or how stormy the weather, or dark the night. He is always kind to the poor and freely gives to all good work.
ILLIAM S. DINSMORE, senior partner of the firm of Dinsmore & Davis, was born in Sugar Creek town- ship, of the same county, March 6, 1857, and is a son of William and Jane (Neeve) Dinsmore. His paternal grandfather, also named William, was a native of Ireland, and
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on coming to America, with his wife and four children, lived for a short time in Cincinnati, and then came to Putnam county, and cleared up a farm of ninety acres in Sugar Creek town- ship. William Dinsmore, Jr., father of our subject, was one of the children brought from Ireland by William, Sr., was reared on the Sugar Creek farm, on which he lived until 1893, when he retired from active farming, and has since made his home with his son, our subject. To William and Jane Dinsmore were born twelve children, of whom eight lived to maturity, viz: William S., our subject, An- drew J., Laura, Roselle, Emma and Lizzie, all five deceased; Charles, of Columhus Grove, and Ella, deceased. The mother of this family died in August, 1886.
William S. Dinsmore was educated in the district school of Sugar Creek township and was reared on the home farm, where he re- mained until 1889, when he joined Mr. Davis and established the present prosperous livery business in Columbus Grove. Mr. Dinsmore has been twice married-first to Miss Lissey Roberts, who died in 1892, leaving one child, Clarence. The second choice of Mr. Dins- more was the accomplished Miss May Smith, daughter of the late Andrew Smith, and his marriage with this lady occurred in June, 1894. In politics Mr. Dinsmore is a democrat, and is quite popular with his party, as well as with the public in general, but he has never been an office seeker, being content to care for a business which yields him, under his superior management, an income greater than any or- dinary office could bring.
Dinsmore & Davis, of Columbus Grove, Pleasant township, Putnam county, Ohio, are proprietors of one of the most popular and best equipped livery establishments in the county, and are always prepared to accommno- date the public with whatever may be required in their line and on the best terms.
J OHN E. DAVIS, junior partner in the prominent and prosperous livery firm of Dinsmore & Davis, of Columbus Grove, Ohio, was born July 9, 1863. He is a son of Richard and Sarah (Jones) Davis. The father of Mr. Davis was born in northern Wales in 1826. In 1853, he emigrated to America, locating at Utica, N. Y., where he remained until 1859. He then settled at Co- lumbus, Ohio, and one year later removed to Putnam county and purchased, in Sugar Creek township, 120 acres of land, which he cleared and improved, and followed farming until 1893, when he retired and settled in Columbus Grove, where he now resides. Mrs. Davis was a daughter of Enoch and Sarah Jones, who were residents of Sugar Creek township, but natives of southern' Wales, where Mrs. Davis was born. Her death occurred in 1894, leaving six children, viz: John E., our sub- ject; Sarah A .; Leah M .; Lizzie (deceased). 1890; Enoch, and Mattie. Our subject was reared upon the homestead in Sugar Creek township, where he grew to manhood, receiv- ing his education in the public schools. In 1888 Mr. Davis and William S. Dinsmore formed the present firm of Dinsmore & Davis, in the livery business, which they have con- ducted successfully up to the present time, it being the leading livery business of Columbus Grove, and in this connection the attention of the reader is called to the sketch of Mr. Dins- more, given above.
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