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 17
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A BRAHAM GOOD, a retired farmer of Union township, Putnam county, Morris P. Goetschius, son of the afore- mentioned Nicholas Goetschins, was born in Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio. November 16. Ohio, is a son of David and Barbara (Nieswauer; Good, and was born in Fairfield county, February 28, 1821. The 1862. His boyhood was spent with his grand. i parents were born in Rockingham county, Va.,
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of German descent, and in 1813 came to Ohio and were married the same year, and passed the remainder of their lives in Fairfield county, the father dying in 1836. The mother is also deceased. Their marriage was blessed with six children, of whom three are still living, viz: Christian, in Darke county, Ohio, at the age of eighty years; Abraham, our subject, and Mrs. Mary Berry, of Fairfield county; the deceased were named Jacob, Mrs. Fannie Berry and Mrs. Annie Kinney.
Abraham Good, subject of this sketch, was reared to farming in Fairfield county, and in 1844 married Miss Malinda Askens, daughter of Posy and Nancy (Branes) Askens, and to this union were born six children, as follows: Jane, wife of Enoch Chandler, a carpenter re- siding near Bluffton, Ohio; Henry and Absa- lom, of Union township; Lucinda, wife of Daniel Clevenger; Mary Ann, wife of Frank Ford, and Sarah, married to Roger Reynolds, also of Union township. Mrs. Malinda Good was born in Virginia in 1807, and came with her parents to Fairfield county, Ohio, and died in Putnam connty in 1865, a highly hon- ored lady. Mr. Good, after his marriage, re- sided in Fairfield county until 1851, when he came to Putnam county, entered a farm from the government, and then later bought his present place, which by his own hard labor he redeemed from the forest and brought to its present state of excellence and fertility.
In his politics Mr. Good is a republican, and has held the office of school director, as well as some of the minor township offices. He has been a member of the Christian church for over twenty-five years, and has shown by his daily demeanor and peaceful conduct the fervor and sincerity of his belief in the faith. His children, also, are all members of the same denomination. Mr. Good it will be seen, is one of the old residents of the town- ship, and has assisted materially in converting
it from a wilderness into a blooming garden of fertility and plenty, and he fully deserves the respect in which he is held by the citizens,. near and far.
ILLIAM H. GOOD, a prosperous. and very intelligent farmer of Union township, Putnam county Ohio, was born in Fairfield county, Julv 16, 1845, and is a son of Abraham and Ma- linda (Askens) Good, of whom a brief sketch; is given above, and at the age of six or seven years was brought to Putnam county by his parents, and here he has ever since made his home. He was trained to agricultural pur- suits and became an extraordinarily good hus bandman. November 3, 1867, he married Miss Hannah Clevenger, daughter of Jaco. and Eliza (Rimer) Clevenger, one of the pio- neer families of the township. To this unio: have been born three children, viz. Benja- min, a farmer of Union township, born Ma: 27, 1869; William, born November 1at, 1872; and Perry Albert, born January 20, 1874 Mrs. Hannah Good's birth occurred in Put- nam county, November 26, 1847.
Before marriage Mr. Good had, for two or more years, followed carpentering, a trade he had mastered in addition to the vocation of farming, but after his marriage he at once set- tled down to farming in Sugar Creek town- ship, where he lived eight years; and then came to Union township and for five year . resided on the Clevenger homestead At odd times for thirteen years he has farmred and at tended this calling while working at his trade of carpentering, and also passed, during th > interval, a second occupancy of the Clevenger homestead, lasting seven years. About 1891 he settled on his present farm, and m 1893 erected the handsome dwelling he now occt: pies. In politics he is a republicar , and has
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filled several minor offices, including that of school director, but has never manifested any particular desire for political distinction or office holding. As a member of the Christian church he has always been prominent, ardent, and active, and of this religions denomination his wife and children are also consistent and devoted members. Mr. Good was appointed the guardian of Laura Rager, an orphan, who who has since made her home with his family, and is being reared with all the tender care that would or could have been bestowed upon her by her own parents, Mr. Good having ful- filled his sacred trust with conscientious fidel- ity. He is one of the most substantial citizers of the township and a highly esteemed and honored gentleman.
ON. JOHN H. GORDON, deceased, was a native of Pennsylvania, in which state he spent his early life. He was a self-educated man, came to Ohio a number of years ago and settled in Butler county, where he married Mrs. Jane C. Perry, by whom he had a family of five chil- dren, all daughters, viz: Ruth, deceased, wife of Edward Dunn, of Indianapolis, Ind., Rebecca J., wife of W. C. G. Krauss, of Ottawa, Ohio; Zella, wife of George D. Kinder; Clyde, wife of Dr. Warren F. Reed; Mrs. Minerva Hornaday, matron of the sol- diers' home, Xenia, Ohio. Mrs. Gordon, by a previous marriage, had one child, Mary P., wife of James Johnson, of Indianapolis, Ind.
For some time after coming to Ohio, Mr. Gordon taught school and is remembered as a very efficient instructor, particularly in mathe- matics, of which branch he made a specialty. He served three terms as recorder of Butler county, Ohio, and also operated a farm and was in the livery business in Hamilton, Ohio. In 1866 he moved his family to Putnam 11
county and for some years thereafter was en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber, but later turned his attention to contracting and build- ing and also to the making of stone roads. He was elected to the office of probate judge two terms, was twice mayor of Ottawa, and for many years held the office of justice of the peace. In this latter office Mr. Gordon always used every reasonable effort to effect an amicable adjustment of difficulties without bringing them to trial, as he had a profound dislike for litigation, on account of the bad feeling it usually engendered. He was a man of the strictest morality and integrity, enjoyed the confidence of the community to the fullest extent, and would rather suffer a wror , than commit one. While on the bench, Judge Gordon frequently refused to collect his fees, feeling that the people were too poor to be taxed for his services. Liberal to a fault, his charities were widely dispensed, in conse- quence of which he never succeeded in accu- mulating much wealth, but his good name and almost blameless character were, to him, of far greater value than earthly riches. Politic- ally he was a stanch democrat, and during the war an ardent Union man, doing much to induce young men of his county to volunteer. By reason of an accident in which he lost an arm while a young man, he was not eligible for military service, else he would, no doubt, have distinguished himself as a soldier. His was, indeed, a useful life of high aims, and in his death the county of Putnam lost one of its most prominent and highly valued citizens.
J OHN GRANT, of Monroe township. Putnam county, Ohio, is the oldest liv- ing pioneer and farmer of the township, and was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, July 11, 1822, of evidently Scotch descent.
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His grandfather, also named John Grant, was a native of New Jersey, and plainly came from an ante-Revolutionary family. From New Jersey he moved to Washington county, Pa., and thence came to Ohio and settled in Stark county. There he underwent all the vicissi- tudes of frontier life, but eventually developed a farin of 160 acres from the forest, on which he passed the remainder of his life. He had married, in Washington county, Pa., a Miss Cosner, who, with him, died in the faith of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Grant was a man of splendid physical development, and, like most powerfully built men, possessed a kindly and admirable disposition. In politics he was a Jacksonian democrat.
David Grant, father of our subject, was born in Washington county, Pa., was reared a farmer, and there married Rebecca Rape, this union resulting in the birth of the follow- ing children, in the order here named: Mary A., John, Joseph, Harriet, David. Lytia, George, Ennice, Rebecca, Rnnie and Jere- miah. Coming to Ohio from Pennsylvania, David with his family resided in Jefferson county about four years on a farm, and then went to Sandusky county, and there bought a farm of 160 acres near Fremont, and took possession of it ere there had been built a cabin, but from the wilds of this tract he eventually brought forth a farm that was both productive and profitable. In the beginning there were a few cabins scattered about the neighborhood and a few white settlers, but there were plenty of wigwams and Indians, and wild animals. Mr. Grant became one of the most prominent residents of Sandusky county, was a leader in the local politics of the democratic party, and a pillar in the Methodist Episcopal church. Financially he was well conditioned and consequently greatly respected.
John Grant, the gentleman whose name
opens this sketch, was reared to agriculture, and received as good a literary education as could be obtained at the pioneer log school- house of his early boyhood. His first start in life was as a stock dealer. He married Miss Rebecca Sanford, a nativive of Seneca county, Ohio, and daughter of John and Rebecca (Cas- sidy) Sanford, this happy union resulting in the birth of the following children: David, Frank, Joseph, Lecta. Alice and Lewis. In 1850 Mr. Grant settled on his present farm, there being at that time but two spots in the whole township that were cleared. Bear, deer, and other game abounded, as well as wolves and panthers. He wrought out from the for- est a home of which he may well feel proud, and after undergoing all the privations and hardships of the frontier lite in this county, has been rewarded by a competence, consist- ing of his well improved homestead of 160 acres and an additional farm of forty acres in Defiance county. He has been able, beside, to generously assist Ins children in their life start, and also to place some of his .... plus capital at interest, thus providing for his de- clining years. His faithful life-partner sur- survived until July 25. 1893, when she expired in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal ch irch, of which she had been a life-long member.
Mr. Grant, before the war, was a republi- can and was always a patriotic unionist, and when the Rebellion broke out volunteered in defense of the national flag, but his services were declined on account of disability, evi- denced by the oncoming of age. He still ad- heres to his political proclivities, and as a re- publican he served as township treasurer nearly thirty years, and has also filled the offices of trustee and supervisor of his township. As a Methodist he has fully lived up to the teach- ings of his church, the meeting-house of which denomination in his township he largely aided through huis contributions to build. He is
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largely known throughout the country, and his venerable but still comparatively upright form is reverenced and honored wherever seen.
P RANK GRANT, a young and enter- prising farmer of Monroe township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a son of the venerable John Grant, the pioneer, whose biography may be found above. Our subject was born in Putnam county February 25, 1860, and was reared on his father's farm. The owner of his own farm, he has not only cultivated it and brought it under a thorough state of tillage, but he has added materially to his income by operating a threshing machine since 1883, with the exception, only, of three seasons. He received a very good common- school education near his early home, and was fully qualified with the book learning necessary for the practical affairs of a business life, as far as it pertains to the prosecution of farming and the transactions connected therewith.
December 26, 1880, Mr. Grant married Jeannette Thornton, who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, May 22, 1862, a daughter of David and Sarah (Fifer) Thornton (now resi- dents of Ottawa), and a young lady suited in years, intellectual qualities and amiable dispo- sition to become his life-companion. To this happy mion of Mr. and Mrs. Grant have been born the following children: Orpha V., Loyd, Elmer E .. Iris, Mabel, Edwin H., Otto E. and Chloe B. After his marriage Mr. Grant made his residence in Defiance county until 1884. when he returned to Putnam county and set- tled on his present farm of eighty acres, on which he has erected a fine dwelling, built a good, substantial barn and suitable out-build- ings, and otherwise improved it with thorough tiling and judicious cultivation, having now one of t' . best moderate-sized farms in the township.
Rocked in the cradle of Republicanism, Mr. Grant has grown up imbned with the prin- ciples of that party. In religion both he and wife are earnest Methodists, and both are also members of grange No. 777, P. of H., in which he is the present master. Mr. Grant has reached a prominence among his fellow- citizens seldom enjoyed by a man of his age, and a brighter future seems for him to be in- evitable.
LIJAH W. GREENE, one of the most successful farmers and promi- nent citizens of Pleasant township, Putnam county, is a native of Ohio, and was born in Licking county. August 13, 1826. He is a son of Henry and Charlotta (Gorbin) Greene, both of whom were natives of Huntingdon county, Pa. The parents were married in Pennsylvania, and with their four children came to Ohio in 1825, locating in Licking county. In the spring of 1833 they removed to Hardin county, and in 1834 to Hancock county, where the mother died in 1836, in about her fortieth year, he dying in Columbus Grove, having spent the fourteen years preceding his death with his son, Elijah W. Both parents were members of the Meth- odist church. To them ten children were born, only two of whom are now living. The children were as follows: Sarah, who married Coleman Woodward, and died in Hancock county, Ohio, leaving two children; Jelenor married Thomas Bates, and died on the Osage river, in Missouri, leaving two children, Alli- son, now a farmer, residing about three miles east of Columbus Grove, in Pleasant township. Putnam county, Ohio; Elijah W., our subject; James, Davis, Allen, lontha and Chulotte, who died in childhood, and Margaret, who married Cooper McComb, of Pleasant town- ship, and died, leaving four children.
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Elijah W. Greene's mother died when he was thirteen years of age, and two years later he was bound out to a farmer named John Clawer, of Hancock county, with whom he remained until he was twenty-one years of age. He went to school two months in every year during the time he was bound, thus se- curing a year's schooling during the entire six years. Yet during that time he applied him- self diligently to his lessons, and many a night he pursued his studies by the light of a hickory bark fire, thereby becoming a much better educated man than the average for his time, and when he was twenty-one years old he was given a license to teach school, and taught the same school in which he learned the alpha- bet. In 1874 he engaged in merchandising in VanLue, Hancock conty. On the 13th day of August (his birthday), 1848, he reached Columbus Grove and engaged in general mer- chandising in that place, at which he contin- ued until the breaking out of the late war. In August, 1861, he enlisted in company K, of the Fourteenth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and served one year, when he was ordered discharged for disability. After his discharge he returned home, and the same year, 1863, was appointed internal revenue assessor, and in that year, also, re-entered the army as first lieutenant of company I, Eighty- eighth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until the close of the war. He was mustered out at Camp Chase on July 3, 1865, and then returned to his home.
While in the store at Columbus Grove Mr. Greene read law, in 1853 was admitted to the bar, and is now the oldest man who was ad- mitted to the bar in Putnam county, all those who were admitted before him being now dead. He practiced law before the war, and upon his return from the war he practiced for about ten years. On December 1, 1869, he took the position of internal revenue store-
keeper for the government, he being stationed at Delphos, which position he held for five years longer than any other storekeeper in Ohio.
Just before the war closed Mr. Greene pur- chased forty acres of land in Pleasant town- ship, and August 13, 1874, he moved to this farin, where he has since resided. Subse- quently he added to this farm, by purchase, until he had altogether 155 acres; recently he sold off eighty acres, as he had more than he could look after, personally. In 1877 Mr. Greene was appointed by President Hayes postmaster at Columbus Grove, and this posi- tion he held until the Arthur administration --- a period of four years and three months. Mr. Greene is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Royal Arcanum and the G. A. R. In 1847 Mr. Greene was married to Mary L. Com. who was born in Athens county, Ohio, and was the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Conn. Her death occurred November 17, 1870, in her fifty-sixth year, leaving three out of six children. These children were named as follows: Wilson Taylor, now a resident of Newton, Kans .; Robert Henry, deceased in childhood; Francis Ellen, deceased in child- hood; Laura Jane, deceased at the age of twelve years; Caroline, now the wife of Frank Behin, of Findlay, Ohio, and Alice, now the wife of James Righter, of Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Greene was next married, December 5, 1871, to Jennie Parker. of Lima, Ohio. Mrs. Parker was born in Delaware county, Ohio, May 15, 1844, and is the daughter of Loutilus and Mary (Place) Ward. Her grandfather Ward was the second son of Lord Ward, of Devonshire, England, who, with his wife, two sons and his daughter, came to the United States and settled at Newark, Ohio, where he died, July 15, 1867. Two sons were the re- sult of the second marriage of Mr. Greene, and were uamed as follows: Joseph L. born
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May 30, 1862, now of Kingsley, Kans., and Martin A., born February 6, 1863, now of Kendall, Kans.
S USANNA GREMLING is one of the well known and prominent residents of Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio, and it gives us pleasure to offer our readers a brief sketch of her life. Nicholas Gremling, deceased, was the son of Lewis and Catherine (Reading) Gremling and was born in Belgium, April 18, 1819, and the father of Lewis was also a Belgian, named Michael Gremling. Nicholas, the fourth son of Lewis. came to the United States in 1837, and settled in Seneca county, Ohio, and worked as day la- borer for five years, at the end of which time he bought a saw-mill and operated it for seven years; then bought- forty acres of land in Seneca county, which he farmed for six years, and in 1863 came to Putnam county and purchased a tract of uncleared land, which he began at once to improve.
On March 6, 1838, Nicholas Gremling was united in marriage to Susanna Wagner, the daughter of Michael and Catherine (Neither- core) Wagner, the marriage being blessed with ten children, whose names are as follows: Nicholas; Charles, "out in the world; " Michael, a carpenter of Delphos, Ohio; Susan, wife of J. F. Rudolphi, a well-borer, living in Chicago, Ill .; Simon, a farmer, residing at home; Lewis, an employee on the railroad at Holgate, Ohio; John, who died at eighteen years of age; Lena, wife of J. Magmus, a farmer of Henry county, Ohio; Frank, a rail- way employee at Delphos, and Sophia, wife of John Erhart, a farmer of Jackson township, Putnam county. The mother was born in Belgimm, her parents being natives of that country, the father's birth occurring in 1788 and her mother's ten years later. They came
to America in 1833, locating in Seneca county, where they followed farming until 1857, when they emigrated to Minnesota, where the father died in 1863 and the mother in 1865. Mrs. Gremling's father was a soldier for three years in the army of the great Napoleon, re- ceived a wound in his hand, and was dis- charged with honor. During his residence m the United States he was a democrat in poli- tics, and in religion a communicant of the Catholic church. He was the father of thir- teen children, four of whom are now living: Catharine S., of Indiana; Michael, a retired farmer of Delphos, Ohio; Mrs. Susanna Grein- ling, with whose name this sketch is headed, and Thersa, wife of Peter Sieren, a merchant of Paulding county. Mrs. Gremling stil! re- sides on the home farm which she and her husband moved upon on their first coming to this country, and where the husband died. Politically Mr. Gremling affiliated with the democratic party; he was a member of the Catholic church and died in this faith January 22, 1892, highly respected by all who knew him. Mrs. Gremling has four surviving broth- ers and sisters and many kind and true friends to cheer her remaining years and make life happy and pleasant,
EV. GEORGE L. GRIFFETH, one of the well-known citizens of Columbus Grove, Ohio, and a minister of the Christian church, is a native of Dutch- ess county, N. Y., born on November 1, 1825. He is a son of Lazareth and Matilda (Wilcox) Griffith, both natives of New York state. The father of our subject died when the latter was five months of age, and the mother of subject died in 1880.
George L. Griffeth was the only child born to his parents. He received his academic edu- cation, and was reared upon the farm. At the
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age of twenty-one years he began preaching the gospel, and two years later was ordained a minister of the Christian church. In 1849 he came west to Michigan, where he preached the gospel for twenty-one years. In 1870 he came to Miami county, Ohio, and there preached for seventeen years. He came to Columbus Grove in 1888, and has since resided here, filling the Columbus Grove pulpit four years, and had charge at different points. The last few years he has supplied at various towns, but at the present time he has no regular charge. He intends to make his home in Miami county, where he owns property: In 1892 Rev. Grif- feth was the republican nominee for congress from the Fifth Ohio congressional district, and though he went down to defeat in the general landslide of that year, he rau ahead of his ticket in a democratic district, and would undoubtedly have been elected had everything been equal. He was again solicited to make the race for congress in 1894, but declined to do so.
Rev. Griffeth was married on May 29, 1847, to Miss Lorinda Burr, of New York state, and a descendant of that family of which Aaron Burr was a member. Three children have been born to Rev. Griffeth and wife, two of whom are now living-Laura, now the wife of Henry Jay, of Miami county, and Jennie M., at home.
J OHN H. GRIFFITH, now a well-to-do farmer of Sugar Creek township, Put- nam county, Ohio, is a native of Wales, was born in December, 1826, and is a son of Hugh and Mary (Lewis) Griffith, the former a small farmer. His maternal grand- father, John Lewis, was also a farmer of moderate means. Hugh and Mary. now de- ceased, were the parents of six children: Sarah, Jane, Ann, John H. (subject) Esther
and Humphrey. Of these, only two survive -- Jane, who came to America about 1848, is now the widow of Edward Reynolds, has seven children and resides in Columbus, Ohio; John H., the other survivor, is the subject of this sketch.
John H. Griffith was about six years of age when his mother died; at the age of twelve he was thrown altogether upon his own resources, his father being unable to keep his family to- gether. John H. then worked ont by the year, being deprived of all educational advan- tages until 1850, when he came to America, landed in New York, borrowed sufficient money to bring him through to Columbus, Ohio, and was there employed in various kinds of labor- ing for about fourteen years. In 1859 he mar- ried Margaret Roberts, rented a house, and still continued to do laboring work. Mrs. Griffith was born in Wales in :823, a danghter of John and Jane Roberts, who both died in Wales while their daughter was still a young woman. In 1849, Mrs. Griffith came with a colony to America, and was variously employed until her marriage, having undergone many hardships in the meantime. Mr. Griffith, dnr- ing his many years of labor in Columbus, saved some money, and in 1863 came to Put- nam county, bought an eighty-acre tract of land, of which six acres had bern cleared and which had been improved with a cabin, into which he moved his small family. In May, 1864, Mr. Griffith enlisted, under Capt. Patrick, in the One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volun- teer infantry, for 100 days, served at Wash- ington, D. C., on guard duty, and was honor- ably discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio, August 27, 1864. During the interval, Mrs. Griffith been suffering from illness, and on his return from the army, becoming discouraged with his farm, sold it and purchased the eighty acres in Sugar Creek township on which he still re- sides. On this tract was a cabin, and of the
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