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 22
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drainage in various sections of the country, and has always taken a very great interest in all' improvements. Mr. Holtz has been successful financially, having accumulated a comfortable competency, including 300 acres of valuable land, besides other real estate and good per- sonal property. . For some time he has been largely interested in the propagation of small fruits and is an authority on matters pertaining to horticulture.
Mr. Holtz was married March 7, 1849, to Miss Anna E. Umstead, daughter of Eli and Catherine (Kinzer) Umstead. Mrs. Holtz was born in Fredericktown, Md., December 21, 1826, and in 1830 was taken by her parents to Seneca county, Ohio, where her mother's death occurred in 1850, at the age of forty- seven. The father afterward moved to Put- nam county, where he died May 25, 1881, aged eighty-one years. Eli and Catherine Umstead had a family of three children-Ann E., Margaret, deceased wife of John H. Nighswanger, and John E., deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Holtz are the parents of four children -Hannah C., born January 6, 1850, died August 21, 1855; Amity A., widow of John C. Allen; Mary E., wife of Edwin D. Cox, super- intendent of public schools of Xenia, Ohio, and Laura E., wife of Walter S. Day, of In- dianapolis, Ind. Mr. Holtz has had five grand- children, only two of whom are now living. Mrs. Allen had one child, Zella A., who was born May 12, 1867, and died November 19, 1869. Mrs. Cox has had four children-Mary Edna, died at the age of eleven months; Lewis Clark, born September 24, 1882; Miriam, born October 11, 1886, and died January 26, 1887, and Zella, whose birth occurred February 1, 1889.
From the foregoing it will at once appear that the life of Mr. Holtz has been one of great activity and usefulness. He served as member of the city council for a number of 1
years, and was instrumental, while a member of that body, in promoting much important municipal legislation. He also served for some time as a member of the city school board. He is well and favorably known throughout northwestern Ohio and enjoys in a marked de- gree, the esteem and confidence of his fellow- citizens.
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ON. WILLIAM F. HOFFMAN, of Ottawa township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a native of Glandorf, King- dom of Hanover, in the German Em- pire, born February 2, 1835, a son of John Henry and Anna Katherine (Papenbrock) Hoff- man, natives of the same place. August 8, 1835, John Henry Hoffman, with his wife and two only children sailed for America, landed in Baltimore, Md., and thence came by wagon and afoot to Putnam county and located on thirty acres of land in section No. 20, Ottawa township, hewed out a farm from the woods, and purchased forty additional acres in Greens- burg township. Mr. Hoffman served as a soldier for six years in the old country, and during our war with Mexico, in 1846-47, en- listed in an American volunteer regiment, but did not see active service. His wife died in 1851, at the age of fifty-two years, and he himself passed away November 8, 1892, at the age of eighty-six years. They were the par- ents of two. children only-Ferdinand, a farmer of Pleasant township, Putnam county, and our subject, William F.
William Hoffman was reared on the home farm and was educated in the common schools and at the Teachers' institution, Cincinnati, attending the latter after he had worked at the carpenter's trade a few years. At the age of twenty-nine he began teaching, a vocation he followed thirty years, fourteen of which
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were passed in one school, retiring from the profession in 1892. During this period he was elected county school examiner and served ten years, was a justice of the peace nine years, filled several other local offices, and for ten years was also in mercantile business in Glan- dorf. In politics Mr. Hoffman is a democrat, and in 1893 was elected to the Seventy-first Ohio general assembly, which office he filled with consummate ability and was re-elected in November, 1895. He served on the commit- tee on printing and insurance. He is active in his support of his party and has served it as delegate to several conventions, county and state. He owns and cultivates a farm of ninety acres, and has also purchased farms of eighty acres each for two of his sons.
The marriage of Mr. Hoffman was solemn- ized November 8, 1853, with Miss Clara Schroeder, who was born in Hanover in 1834, a daughter of Nicholas and Anna Maria (Trame) Shroeder, who settled in Glandorf, Ohio, in 1834. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman has been blessed with the following children; Mary, born August 29, 1856, wife of Xavier Wurth, of Monterey township and mar- ried in May, 1875; Wilhelm, born June 20, .1858, and married August 11, 1880, to Ver- onica Haelker, a fine scholar and musician, a graduate of St. Francis college, Milwaukee, Wis., and a teacher of Glandorf, Ohio; Ther- esa, born November 8, 1862, and married August 27, 1885, to Henry Kemper, a com- positor, of Glandorf; Frank, born March 12, 1865, a. farmer of Union township, and mar- ried November 11, 1891, to Ammie Reckfelder; Henry, born December 8, 1868, a farmer of Jackson township, and married June 12, 1895, to Lizzie Hertzog; Anna, born April, 12, 1870, and married August 19, 1890, to Joseph Thome, a hardware merchant, of Glandorf; and Charles, born October 12, 1872, and now at home. The family are commuui-
cants at St. John's Catholic church at Glandorf, and are members of the best society adorning Ottawa and the surrounding townships.
J ACOB F. HOLLABAUGH is a man well known in Putnam county. Sev- eral generations of the family have lived in this county, and the subject of this sketch ranks as one of the most successful and enterprising young farmers of Monroe township. He is of German descent, and in- herits many of the characteristics of that sturdy and thrifty race of people.
. George Hollabaugh, father of Jacob F., was born in Perry county, Pa., August 22, 1826, and in his early youth received a good common-school education. In 1855, he re- moved, with his family, to Putnam county, Ohio, he having previously married, in Seneca county, Miss Charlotte Hoffer, a native of Perry county, and a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Hoffer. Charlotte Hoffer was born October 30, 1828, and when five years of age removed, with her parents, to Seneca county. To George and Charlotte Hollabaugh there were born the following children: Mary A., wife of Daniel Swihart; Amanda E., wife of Samuel Buttermore; Jacob F., the subject of this sketch; Louisa, wife of William McCon- nell; Matilda; Emma, wife of John Faber, and George. Soon after their marriage George and Charlotte Hollabaugh removed to Putnam county and purchased forty acres of land in Liberty township, which was then entirely covered with the primeval forest, the country being comparatively new and undeveloped. With the true pioneer spirit they set to work to make for themselves and their children a comfortable home. In their efforts they were successful, and they lived upon this farm antil the father's death. Both were highly re- spected citizens and earnest christian people,
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the father being a member of the United Brethren church, and the mother of the Luth- eran. The father enlisted in the army of the Union in 1862, Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and died in the hospital at Memphis, Tenn., November 6, 1862. Mrs. Hollabaugh afterward Joseph Faber, and is now living at Leipsic, Putnam county.
Jacob Hoffer, father of Charlotte Hoffer, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1790, came to the United States about 1830, marry- ing, in the same year Elizabeth Brubaker. Joseph Faber, second husband of Charlotte Hoffer, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, October 31, 1830, came to the United States June 6, 1853, to Putnamn county in 1855, and married Charlotte Hollabaugh, July 11, 1872.
Jacob F. Hollabaugh, subject of this biog- raphy, was born in Seneca county, Ohio, August 30, 1854, and received his education in the country schools. His vocation in life has been that of farming, with the exception of four years, during which he owned and oper- ated a tile factory. March 26, 1876, he mar- ried Miss Alvira Pendleton, who was born in Hancock county, Ohio, February 24, 1857, and who is a daughter of John B. and Mary (Kring) Pendleton. John B. Pendleton was born in Licking county, Ohio, February 19, 1832, was a blacksmith by trade, and served in the Civil war as a member of the One Hun- dred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and died in hospital at Knoxville, Tenn., dur- ing the term of his service. Mary Pendleton. née Kring, was born July 15, 1837. The chil- dren boru to John B. and Mary Pendleton as follows: Alvira, wife of the subject of this sketch; Henrietta, born February 19, 1859, deceased; Eva, born February 25, 1861, wife of Charles Myers; Lydia, born February 13, 1863, wife of M. Kellum. After the death of Mr. Pendleton, Mrs. Pendleton married Thomas Sigler, who was born in Mifflin
county, Pa., December 2, 1829. James G. Pendleton, grandfather of John B. Pendleton, was a navigator by occupation, and immigrated to Ohio, with seven children, in 1820. Of these seven children, James was the eldest, born in Maine in 1802. Henry Kring, born in Germany, married Rachel Markley, a native of Somerset county, Pa. She was a daughter of Peter and Polly (Licta) Markley. Henry Kring and his wife, Rachel, were the grand- parents of Alvira Hollabaugh, wife of the sub- ject. Her great-grandparents, on her father's side, were John Henry Kring and Mary Kring, née Kurtz, both of Germany.
Jacob F. Hollabaugh and his family lived at Leipsic, Ohio, until 1889, when they re- moved to Monroe township, Putnam county, and settled on a farm of eighty acres, upon which they still reside. Mr. Hollabaugh also owns seven acres of land within the corporate limits of Leipsic. Their children, in order of birth, are as follows: Marietta, Maud R., Jacob Guy, May C., George, Ernest A., Marchey E., Margery A., and Hazel. Through- out the county, in which the subject and his wife have lived so long, they are well known and highly honored for their many sterling qualities of mind and heart. In politics Mr. Hollabaugh is a republican, and in religious belief he affiliates with the Lutheran church, to which denomination he lends both moral and financial aid.
S AMUEL HOLT, an experienced and prominent farmer of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Boyer) Holt, and was born in Licking county, Ohio, March 31, 1828. The parents were natives of Pennsy !- vania and had born to them six children, as follows: John Emanuel, of Indiana; Leah, deceased wife of John Good, of the same state;
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Louisa, deceased wife of William Bovard; Samuel, our subject; Andrew, deceased, and Hiram, a lawyer of Indianapolis. Samuel Holt, Sr,, the father of these children, died while our subject was still a boy, and the lat- ter was taken by his mother to Perry county, Ohio. He was reared on a farm and educated in Ohio until fifteen years of age, when he went to Indiana, where he remained until 1852, when he came to Putnam county, Ohio, July 15, 1854. He married Miss Hannah McClish, who was born in Putnam county, Ohio, Feb- ruary 2, 1837, a daughter of Silas and Nancy (Mellinger) McClish, and this union has been blessed with three children, viz: John, of this township; Rinaldo, on the home place, and David, also at home. Silas McClish, father of Mrs. Holt, came to Putnam county with his father, who came as an Indian agent when his nearest neighbors lived forty miles away-Mrs. Holt being now the only living representative of the McClish family. After the death of Silas McClish his widow married a Mr. Chap- man, and has been three times married since his death.
After his marriage Mr. Holt settled on his present farm, which was then deep in the woods, but which has since, by a great ex- penditure of hard labor on the part of Mr. Holt, been all cleared up, improved in the most substantial manner, and placed in an excellent state of cultivation. Mr. Holt's uncle, Andrew, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and two of Mrs. Holt's brothers served in the late Civil war-John, in either the Twenty-eighth or Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, and David, in company A, Fifty-seventh regiment. As far back as 1852, Mr. Holt took command of a canal boat and ran it over four years, do- ing a profitable trade. In politics Mr. Holt is a republican, served as township trustee several terms, and has been supervisor and school director. He was formerly a member of the
Methodist church, but no longer affiliates with that religious body; yet he freely contributes to the support of all churches and to all public enterprises of merit. He is thoroughly up- right and honorable in his dealings, has been very successful in all his undertakings, and is highly respected by his fellow-citizens.
a YRUS HOLT, the well-known farmer and manufacturer of Union township, Putnam county, is a son of Cyrus and Hannah (Webb) Holt, and was born in Harrison county, Ohio, July 31, 1836. The father, Cyrus Holt, Sr., was born near Phil- adelphia, Pa., in 1802, and was a son of Charles Holt, a native of England, who for some years resided in the Keystone state, and in 1807 came to Ohio and bought a farm in Harrison county, on which he made his home until his death in the Quaker faith. Cyrus Holt, Sr., was educated and reared to farming in Harrison county and was there married to Hannah Webb, a native of the county, born in September, 1800, and a daughter of Jacob and Hannah Webb, natives of Virginia and of Irish descent, and early settlers of Harrison county, Ohio. To Cyrus, Sr., and Hannah Holt were born four children: Elizabeth, of Dela- ware county, Ohio; Charles, a farmer of the same county; Jacob (twin brother of Charles), who died at the age of twenty-two years, and Cyrus whose name opens this biography. The father, after marriage, moved to Franklin county, in 1850, and there died in 1870, the mother surviving until January, 1890 -the father having first been a Quaker but later a member of the Methodist church, of which he was a trustee for a number of years and in the faith of which he died.
Cyrus Holt, our subject, was reared in Franklin county, Ohio, to farming, and in October, 1861, came to Putnam county, here
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OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
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marrying, March 15, 1865, Miss Martha Nichols, who was born in Union township, this county, June 10, 1845, a daughter of Edward and Margaret (Erwin) Nichols, the union re- sulting in the birth of five children, viz: Edward S., farmer of Union township; Annie E., wife of John Sampsal, Minnie B., a teacher of Putnam county, Charles F., and Lula M., at home. The father of Mrs. Holt, Edward Nichols, was born in Licking county, Ohio, in 1823, and was a son of Joseph Nichols, a native of Virginia and of Irish descent, who settled in Licking county, Ohio, about 1836 and entered 240 acres of land. Joseph began life for himself the possessor of a simple ax, and with this erected a tent of poles and bark, which answered his purpose until he built a house of logs; he then cleared his farm, became quite wealthy, and left a good farm to each of his children. Edward Nichols was reared in Putnam county, married Margaret Erwin, daughter of Josiah and Rebecca Erwin, and to this marriage were born the following children: Martha, the eldest and wife of our subject; Lucinda, wife of James Rimer, car- penter of Columbus Grove, Ohio; Joseph, of Paulding county, Ohio; Sarah Ann, wife of J. C. Best, of Union township, Putnam county; Amos, also of Union township; Hettie, wife of Edward Martin, of the same township; Jane, wife of James Anderson, of Paulding county, and Hannah wife of William Sprat, of the same county. The father lived on the same farm on which our subject now resides, and died at the early age of thirty-nine years, his widow surviving him until October 2, 1893.
Cyrus Holt, our subjeci, bought his present place in February, 1872, and has made it one of the finest farms in the township, and since 1882 has made the manufacture of tiles an accompaniment of his farming operations. In politics he is a republican and for many years has been a member of the Presbyterian church,
of which his children are also members. Charles Holt, the brother of our subject, served for three months in the late war, and his wife's grandfather, Nichols, was a patriot of the Revolutionary war. Mr. Holt is one of the best business men in the township and is held in high esteem for his integrity as well as for his liberality, as he never suffers any project designed for the benefit of the public at large to pass by without his material aid.
ALENTINE HUFFMAN, JR., a re- tired farmer of Perry township, Put- nam county, Ohio, is a son of Valen- tine and Mary (Wallett) Huffman, and was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, July 15, 1826. Valentine, the father, was born in Pennsylvania, a son of Enoch and Barbara Huffman; Enoch was a Lutheran preacher, an early settler of Ohio, a democrat in politics, and died about 1836. Valentine Huffman, Sr., was reared on a farm, and about 1824 married Mary Wallett, a daughter of Philip and Mary (Henry) Wallett, the union result- ing in the birth of Valentine, Jr., the subject of this sketch. Valentine, Sr., died in Han- cock county, Ohio, in 1862, and his widow, who was born April 2, 1800, died at the home of our subject, April 24, 1887, having lived under his filial care for twenty-five years.
Valentine Huffman, Jr., was reared on the home farm until eleven years of age, when he began working for himself. For five years he was employed by a railroad company, and thus became self-dependent, as well as inde- pendent, as he saved some money. August 3, 1854, he married Margaret McClure, who was born in Allen county, Olio, May 21, 1836, a daughter of Moses and Mary (Watt) McClure, of Virginia. After his marriage Mr. Huffman farmed in Allen county, where he had first
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located in 1846, remaining there ten years, then went to Van Wert county, and there re- mained until 1871, when he came to Putnam county and settled on his present farm, which he had bought and paid for in 1870. This farin' he has cleared and thoroughly improved, and built his present handsome dwelling in 1888. He has reared two children-Lydia Wallett, a niece, who is now married to John Holt, of Perry township, and William Alonzo Schaffer, since the latter was fifteen months old, and of whom he is still taking care.
Mrs. Margaret (McClure) Huffman had seven brothers, of whom six served in the late Civil war, and one remained a civilian, and her sisters were two in number, the names of all being here given: John, of Paulding county, served in the Fourth Ohio cavalry; Samuel and Thomas, now deceased, served in the same regiment; William, of Iowa, remained at home; James responded to the first call to arms; Moses, also of the First cavalry, was wounded three times and is now in the Sol- diers' Home, at Dayton; Nathaniel, also of the Fourth cavalry, resides at Lima, Ohio. Of the sisters, Sarah died in infancy and Mary is the widow of Theodore Thatcher, of Van Wert.
Mr. Huffman is a democrat in politics and has held several local offices; he is a promi- nent member of the United Brethren church, has held the office of trustee for years, and has filled other responsible positions in the church. His health for several years past has been in- different, and, as he can well afford it, he has relinquished the active duties of the farm and is now living in quiet retirement. He is a broad-minded, liberal and public-spirited cit- izen, and is highly respected in consequence. Mrs. Huffman has been a member of the United Brethren church since her fifteenth year, and shares with her husband the esteem of all her neighbors.
HOMAS W. HUGHES, a practical young farmer of Sugar Creek town- ship, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Mahoning county, December 9, 1861. His parents, Richard and Mary (Will- iams) Hughes, were natives of the southern part of Wales, in 1838 came to the United States with two children, and located in Ma- honing county, where the father followed min- ing for David Tod until 1855, when he camne to Putnam county and bought the farm of 160 acres, now occupied by our subject, of which about twenty-five acres were cleared and im- proved with a comfortable log house. Mr. Hughes was the third owner of the land, which had been originally deed by the United States government in 1837, and the deed signed by President Martin Van Buren. He was greatly given to the rearing of horses and sheep, at the same time being an excellent agriculturist, and gradually increased his possessions to about 560 acres, of which 350 acres he had under cultivation. The birth of Richard Hughes took place April 15, 1813, and his death oc- curred July 27, 1894. His wife, who died September 24, 1876, was the mother of twelve children, as follows: Daniel, who died in in- fancy; Elizabeth, who was born April 19, 1835, and was married to Thomas Reese; David R., who was a soldier in the late war; Winnifred, who is married to William Wat- kins; Jane, who died at the age of four years; Gomer R., who died in the army, May 20, 1864; John W., also a soldier, and died Feb- ruary 8, 1866; James, of Sugar Creek town- ship; Thomas W., the subject of this sketch; Mary J., who is married to Joseph Williams and lives at Youngstown; David, who died young, and Martha A., married to Charles Mc- Clure, a school-teacher.
Thomas W. Hughes, who owns 160 acres of the old homestead, has given his exclusive attention to agriculture, with the exception of
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ADAM HUMMON.
OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
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that devoted to the rearing of the necessary stock for home use, has become quite well-to- . do, and, it may be said, independent. March 16, 1883, he married Miss Jane M. Pugh, a daughter of Rev. Hugh Pugh, a native of Wales and a minister of the Calvinistic Metho- dist church, who came to America with his two children in 1850, located first in Mahon- ing county, Ohio, then moved to Van Wert county, and finally settled in Putnam county, where he died in 1879, the father of six chil- dren, viz: Owen O., of Van Wert county; David E., who died at the age of twenty-eight years; Hugh, who died in infancy; Margaret C., who died at the age of seven years; Jane M., now Mrs. Hughes, and John E., farming on the old homestead, where the mother still lives at the age of seventy-seven years. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes has been blessed with two children, named Mary C., who was born October 24, 1884, and Martha A., born March 4, 1887. The parents are devout mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, and are among the most respected residents of Sugar Creek township.
DAM HUMMON, one of the most practical and sagacious farmers of Liberty township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Riley township, same county, July 31, 1839, a son of John and Mary (Wyninger) Hummon, natives of Penn- sylvania, who were married in Wyandot county, Ohio, and came to Putnam county in 1837. Here, John Hummon, the father, entered land in Riley township, developed from the wilder- ness a model farm, and on this homestead passed the remainder of his life, dying March 6, 1878, his widow surviving him until 1882. Mr. Hmmmon was in religion a devout Luth- eran, while his wife was a member of the Episcopal church. In politics he was always
a democrat, and from a sense of duty as a good citizen consented to fill some of the minor township offices. He was the owner of extensive tracts of land-his homestead alone comprising 320 acres-and, in other parts of the county he owned several large farms, im- proved and unimproved. He made a speciality of handling stock, bought and fattened cattle and hogs for market, and was very successful. He was a prominent personage in his com- munity and very liberal in assisting new comers, buying for cash all their surplus stock and loan- ing them money at no higher rate than six per cent. per annum. At times, in the early days, settlers who ran short of provisions would raid his smokehouse; on such occasions he would trace out the pilferers, go to them and inform them that when they ran short of food to come to him and they should have it. but he never prosecuted one of the culprits. Peter Hum- mon, the father of John, and the grandfather of our subject, came from Germany and first settled in Pennsylvania, where he was a tory during the war of 1812; he later came to Ohio and located in Wyandot county, where he ran a distillery and farmed for many years, and there lost his wife; a few years later he came to Putnam county and passed his declining years with his son John. To John Hummon and wife were born the following children: "Levi, a prominent farmer of Van Buren town- ship; Adam, our subject; Minerva A., wife of J. Miller of Findlay, Ohio; George a farmer of Hancock county; David, farmer of Riley township, Putnam county, occupying a portion of the old homestead; Clara, wife of James France, of Hancock county; Simon P., farmer and stock man of Riley township, and Ada V., deceased wife of William P. Harris.
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