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 32
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William S. Lenhart was reared to agricul- tural pursuits, attended the common schools of Hancock county, and at the age of nineteen began learning in the city of Springfield the trade of harness making, at which he worked for a period of three years. In 1860 he re- turned to the home farm, which he managed
for seven years thereafter, and in 1867 was married to Miss Matilda Hall, daughter of Jesse and Margaret Hall, of Putnam county. After his marriage, Mr. Lenhart purchased a farm of 120 acres in Riley township, upon which he resided four years, disposing of the same at the end of that time and buying his father-in-law's place, consisting of 160 acres in the aforesaid township, where he lived for about two years; he then sold the latter place and purchased a farm of 130 acres adjoining Columbus Grove, upon which he spent four years, and then moved to that town and em- barked in the hardware business for two years. Serving his connection with the mercantile trade, Mr. Lenhart next turned his attention to the buying and shipping of live stock, also looking after his farin interests. He was enl- gaged in stock buying for about sixteen years, during which time he did an extensive busi- ness, his field of operation being Putnam and Allen counties. While a resident of Cohimbus Grove, Mr. Lenhart erected a large two-story brick block and in many other ways did much toward the material advantage of that town.
In September, 1891, Mr. Lenhart moved to Ottawa for the purpose of entering upon the duties of the county treasurer's office, to which position he was elected in the fall of 1890, by a majority of 300. His party, the republican, was defeated that year by a ma- jority of 1,900, and his election, in spite of such an overwhelming opposition, speaks vol- uines for his popularity with the masses of the people. He discharged his official functions for a period of two years and proved a most capable public servant. At the expiration of his official term, Mr. Lenhart retired from active life and is now spending his declining years in the enjoyment of that quiet and con- tent which only those know how to enjoy who have been so long and prominently identified with business and public interests. Mr. ' en-
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hart is an active member of the I. O. O. F. and Masonic fraternities, in the latter of which he stands very high, having taken a number of degrees, including those of chapter, council and Sir Knight. Mr. and Mrs. Lenhart are the parents of two children-Lulu, wife of W: M. Reese, and Della.
HEODORE LEOPOLD, a represent- ative agriculturist of Ottawa town- ship, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in the city of Glandorf, in the same township, August 24, 1850, and was reared and educated in his native place. February 19, 1873, he married Miss Wilhelmina Kem- per, who was born in Glandorf in 1850, a daughter of B. H. and Wilhelmina (Myer) Kemper. One year after this important event Mr. Leopold moved to the farm he now occu- pies in section No. 17, Ottawa township, which farm now comprises 137 acres, all of which he has cleared with the exception of twenty-five acres, and cultivates a general farm. Mr. Leopold also owns 160 acres in section No. 5. Ottawa township, divided into two tracts of eighty acres each, and one of the tracts he has himself cleared, now having both under culti- vation. In 1894 he erected on his home place a modern two-story brick dwelling, complete in all its parts, and one of the finest in the neighborhood or township, being 56x40 feet in its ground plan. This is the second dwelling he has erected on this farm, the first being a frame, which he removed bodily to Glandorf. He has also erected on home place good, sub- stantial, commodious barns for stock and grain, and the farm is quite complete in all its ap- pointments. Mr. Leopold also owns the old family homestead in Glandorf, which is one of the oldest brick edifices in this part of the Gwinty.
Mr. Leopold, although yet a young man, is '
well known in business circles, as he was en- gaged for eight years in the milling business at Glandorf, in partnership with 1. H. Kahle, and made a splendid record. Besides this, hie at the same time carried on his farining opera- tions, and, in addition, stock raising to a large extent. He has always been energetic as a business man, and as a citizen is one of the most public spirited in the township, always favoring movements designed for the public good. He has a family of seven children, named as follows: John, Philomena, Corne- lia, Herbert, William, Anna and Laura. In religion the family are Catholics and com- municants at Saint John's church at Glandorf. Politically Mr. Leopold is a democrat, but has never been a seeker after office, although he is one of the most popular men in the township, with a large circle of friends and acquaintances who hold him in the highest esteem.
RANK LERO, a substantial farmer of Pahner township, Putnam county, and now in the prime of life, was born in Seneca county, Ohio, Novem- ber 19, 1854, and there his early life was passed in agricultural pursuits. His grand- father, Andrew, was a native of France, and there lived under the various rules of king, en- peror, and president, and there passed his life away. Andrew Lero, Jr., son of Andrew above mentioned, was also born in France, his birth having taken place in 1796. He was taught the trade of a tailor and was quite an artist in his line. He married Mary Kranse, who was of German ancestry, and by her be- came the father of the following children: Tracy, deceased; Frank, our subject; Michael; Angeline, wife of Adam Clemens; Joseph; Martin; Annie, wife of John Reynon; and Lucy, deceased. Andrew Lero and the yonnger members of his family came to the
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United States in 1850, and for eighteen years resided in Seneca county, Ohio, and then moved to Adams township, Defiance county, Mrs. Lero having died in Seneca county, March 3, 1866, a member of the Catholic church. In 1875 Mr. Lero moved to Kansas and now rests in his grave at Osage Mission, having died in Crawford county in September, 187.9.
Frank Lero, the subject proper of this memoir, was well educated in both the English and German languages, and, although reared a practical farmer, began his business life in a saw-mill and stave factory, of which he was foreman for eleven years; for five years, also, he was a head sawyer for different firms, and by this means accumulated sufficient means to purchase his present farin, in 1892, and on which he settled May 27, 1894. This place comprises forty acres, of which twenty-seven acres are devoted to fruit culture, he having one of the best orchards in the township. He has a neat and comfortable dwelling, and good, substantial farm buildings; his remain- ing acres are in a first-class state of cultivation, and he is recognized as as one of the best hor- ticulturists and agriculturists in the township.
In politics Mr. Lero is a democrat and in religion a Catholic. October 16, 1872, he married Miss Mary Diemer, who was born in Henry county, Ohio, May 22, 1854, a daugh- ter of John and Catherine (Wilhelm) Diemer, who were natives of Bavaria, and quite early settlers of Henry county, Ohio, where they had born to them two children-Mary and Frances.
Mr. Lero, although yet a comparatively young man, has made a fair competence through his skillful management of his farm, which he had won through his earlier efforts in life. He stands well in the esteem of his neighbors, and is of that caliber which leads to the npbuilding and prosperity of any com-
munity. His progress through life has been very prosperous, and the future gives promise of still greater success.
J OSHUA C. LIGHT, one of the lead- ing insurance men of Ottawa, and a soldier of the late war, is a native of Virginia, born in the town of Hedges- ville, Berkeley county, April 23, 1839. He is a descendant from an English family, his great-grandfather having come to America, as a British soldier, during the war of the Revo- lution. At the close of that struggle he de- cided to remain in the United States and set- tled at Baltimore, Md., where he passed the remainder of his days. He had two sons, one of whom, Cornelius, the subject's grandfather, was born in Baltimore, about the year 1785. Cornelius Light married, in that city. Eliza- beth Cabol, a German lady, and some years later, about 1822 or 1823, removed with his family to Leitersburg, Md., where he made his home many years, working at his trade, that of shoemaking. His death occurred about 1856; he had a family of four children, three sons and one daughter, one of whom, Elias Light, spent a part of his life in Maryland, and afterward immigrated to Ohio, locating in Champaign county, where he became a promi- nent citizen. About the year 1867 he changed his residence to the county of Putnam, and here remained until his death in 1873. The fol- lowing are the names of Cornelius' children: Elias, Samuel, father of Joshua C., and John, who died in Virginia in 1850.
Samuel Light was born in March, 1819, in the city of Baltimore, Md., and died in Ot- tawa, Ohio, January 24, 1874. He was reared in his native state and when a young man went to Virginia, where he married Amy Chew, and where he resided until his removal to Wash- ington City, D. C., in 1844. He afterward
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lived in Baltimore, Md., Cincinnati and Ur- bana, Ohio, and in 1866 became a resident of the county of Putnam, Ohio, locating in Perry township, where he made his home until 1868, in which year he changed his residence to Ottawa. Samuel Light was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he held the office of class leader for many years, and was noted for the vigorous stand he took in opposition to tobacco and intoxi- cating liquors. Politically he was a democrat. Mrs. Amy Light was born in Berkeley county, Va., April 19, 1818, and died in 1892. She was the daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (McNelley) Chew, of Welsh and Scotch-Irish descent respectively. Joshua Chew was born in Maryland, April 23, 1770, and died in 1858. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and is remembered as a very quiet man, far above the average in intelligence and a strong whig in politics. Mrs. Chew departed this life in 1872. Samuel and Amy Light were the par- ents of the following children: Joshua C .; John W., deceased; Mrs. Elizabeth V. Har- mann, died January 1, 1870; Hezekiah C., died August 3, 1878; Milton C., of Indianapo- lis, Ind .; Mary E., of Fostoria, Ohio; Samuel E., of Moline, Ill .; Caroline, wife of Calvin Frey, of Fostoria, Ohio, and Frank a well- known physician and surgeon of Ottawa.
Joshua C. Light, when young, attended the common schools in winter and assisted with the farm work during the summer season, until the breaking out of the great Rebellion. He was one of the first to offer his services to the country, enlisting April 17, 1861, in com- pany K, Second Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months; this was the first company raised in Champaign county. While in the three months' service he took part in the battle of Buil Run, and shortly after returning home re- enlisted October 11, 1861, in company K. Sixty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, of which
he was made sergeant. He was with his com- mand in the Virginia campaign, took part in a number of battles, among which were Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, second Bull Run, Antietam, and was discharged April 25, 1863. He entered the army a third time in 1864, in the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth regiment, Ohio national guard, with which he partici- pated in Gen. Butler's campaign on Appomat- tox river, and was honorably discharged in August of the same year.
At the expiration of his period of service Mr. Light returned to Champaign county and engaged in teaching, in which he was very suc- cessful, for a period of twenty-eight years in the counties of Champaign and Putnam. He became a resident of the latter in 1871, taught in the district schools during the winter season, and followed the pursuit of agriculture in the summer. In 1877 Mr. Light accepted a posi- tion in the city schools of Ottawa, which he held for thirteen consecutive years, which fact certainly speaks well for his ability as an in- structor. He severed his connection with ed- ucational work in 1890 to become postmaster of Ottawa, which position he held until 1894, when he engaged in the insurance business, which he has since continued. He represents a number of the leading life and fire insurance companies of the United States, also one of the leading companies of England, and does an extensive business in his line. Mr. Light has been active in church work for many years, being at this time one of the leading Sunday- school men of Ottawa; he has held the office of class leader in the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served for some years as su- perintendent of the Sunday-school and stew- ard of the congregation. Politically he affil- iates with the republican party, but is not a partisan in the sense in which that term is usually understood. He is a prominent mem- ber of the F. & A. M., belonging to Ottawa
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lodge, No. 326, Ottawa chapter, No. 115, and Putnam council, No. 69. He also belongs to Thomas Allen post, No. 578, G. A. R., of which he is post commander, and he held the position of colonel of the first county battalion.
Mr. Light was married September 21, 1866, to Miss: Susan Thompson, daughter of Abra- ham and Susan Thompson. Mrs. Light was born February 16, 1847, in Champaign county, Ohio, and is the mother of seven children, all daughters; their names are as follows: Win- ifred, principal of the Seventh ward school, Sandusky, Ohio, and has been engaged in ed- ucational work since since 1883; the second daughter, Carrie, is the wife of William Ack- erman, agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, of Ottawa; Myrta is the wife of Noah Huddle, of Moline, Il .; Eleanore married Oliver C. Tallbott; May is clerk in the Bee Hive store, Ottawa; Amy is a teacher in the Ottawa public school, and Zoa lives at home with her parents.
RANK LIGHT, M. D., of Ottawa, Putnam county, was born in Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, March 2, 1861, and is a son of Samuel and Amy (Chew) Light. He was reared and edu- cated in the city of Ottawa, receiving his pre- liminary education in the common schools and graduating from the high school of that city in 1880; he next read medicine with Dr. Paul, a prominent physician of the city, and being thus thoroughly prepared for advanced studies, entered the Columbus Medical college, from which he was a graduate in 1883. He then returned to Ottawa and for a year practiced his profession in company with his former pre- ceptor, Dr. Paul, following which period he practiced for sixteen months in Custar, Wood county. For the following six years he fol- lowed a successful professional career in West
Leipsic, Putnam county, after which he had a valuable practice for fifteen months in Chicago, Ill. He then returned to Ottawa, and resumed practice among his many friends. Although still a young practitioner, his abilities have been freely recognized by his fellow-profes- sionals as well as by the public in general, and he is now a member of the Northwestern Ohio Medical association and the Putnam County Medical society. He is physician for the county infirmary, is United States pension examining surgeon, having been appointed to the latter position March 20, 1894, and is also health officer for Ottawa, Ohio. In politics the doc- tor is a stanch democrat, and when a resident of West Leipsic was a member of the council for six years.
The doctor was married July 29, 1891, to Miss Aramanta V. Bartholomew, daughter of Rev. A. S. and Sarah (Scott) Bartholomew, of Lima, Oeio, both of whom are now de- ceased. This marriage has been blessed by the birth of two children, Sarah Margaret and Frank B. The religious faith of the doctor and his wife is that of the Lutheran church, to the tenets of which they faithfully adhere.
....
Q OL. JACOB L'H. LONG is an Ohio man, born in the town of Franklin, Warren county, on the 28th day of June, 1833, and a son of Jacob and Maria (L'Hommedieu) Long. Paternally he is descended from English ancestors, while on the mother's side there flows in his veins the blood of the French, English, and Irish, the characteristics of which sturdy races have been reproduced in his life.
At the age of seven years, young Long was taken by his parents to Cincinnati, where he received his literary education, attending. first, private schools, and later Saint John's college, in which institution he made substantial prog-
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ress in the higher branches of learning. While still quite young, he turned his attention to the study of civil engineering, and so well did he master the intricacies of the profession that, when but seventeen years of age, he was placed in charge of a division of the Springfield and Delaware railroad, as division engineer. I.ater he accepted the position of chief engi- neer of the Memphis & Charleston railroad, with which company he continued for some time and then returned to Ohio, in which state and in Iowa he was professionally employed for several years. In 1853 he was engaged in the prelimi- nary survey of the Dayton & Michigan railroad through Oho, and the better to prosecute the work he located in the same year at Ottawa. where, with the exception of two years spent in Dayton he has since resided. After severing his connection with the aforesaid road, Mr. Long continued civil engineering in Ohio, and other states until the breaking out of the late rebellion, at which time he tendered his serv- ices to his country, enlisting in April, 1861, in company D, Twenty-first Ohio volunteers, for the three months' service. Shortly after the organization of said company Mr. Long was made third sergeant of the same, and later re- ceived the appointment of regimental engineer, with the rank of captain, which position he held until mustered out at the expiration of this term of service.
In May, 1862, Capt. Long, again entered the army as member of the Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, but shortly thereafter was transferred to the Eighty-seventh Ohio, as ad- jutant, with the rank of first lieutenant, and when the latter regiment was recruited for vet- eran services he was appointed major. Sub- sequently, upon the consolidation of the Eighty-seventh and the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth, Maj. Long severed his connec- tion with the service, returning home in the fall of 1862. and accepted a position as local
agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad company at Ottawa, which position he held for two and a half years. In the mean- time Mr. Long devoted what leisure time he could spare to the study of law, for which he had long evinced a strong liking, and after be- coming well versed in the principles of the same, was admitted to practice, entering upon the duties of his profession at Ottawa, while still engaged with the aforesaid railroad. In 1865 he accepted the position of ticket agent at the Union depot, Dayton, for all the roads centering in that city, and chscharged the duties of the place for about two years, resign- ing in 1867, in order to resume the practice of law at Ottawa.
Shortly after devoting his entire time to the profession Mr. Long succeeded in building up a large and lucrative practice. and winning for himself a prominent position among the successful attorneys of the Putnam county bar. He has been retained as counsel in many im- portant cases in various court- of northern Ohio, one of the most noteworthy of which was the leading case upon the question as to whether contributory negligence can arise in an action for damages for the wrongful killing of another, which question arose in the case of Darling vs. Williams, 35 Ohio state reports, page 58, in which cause the supreme court sustained Mr. Long in his construction of the law. While engaged in the general practice, Mr. Long makes a speciality of laws pertaining to drainage and irrigation, upon which he has in preparation a learned treaties. For some years Mr. Long has been a member of the State Bar association, and as such has been honored by appointment to important positions in the same, having served on the judiciary and legal reform committee and on the execu- tive committee, following such men as R. P. Ramey, Durban Ward, Rufus Kmg and Gov. Lee. In January, 1895, he was appointed by
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the supreme court one of the committee for examination of applicants for admission to the bar; he has also served as president of the County Bar association, and for several years was a member of the state republican com- mittee, also of the central committee, and chairman of the central committee of Putnam county. As a politician, Mr. Long has ever been in accord with the republican party, and he has contributed much to its success upon the hustings and in private counsel, where his abilities have long been recognized and appre- ciated. He was presidential elector in the Garfield-Hancock campaign, and made a strong canvass of bis district, doing much to swell the majority that year. In all matters pertaining to the material improvement of the town and counrty, Col. Long has been an active partici- pant, and has the credit of having been active in his efforts to procure the construction of railroads through Putnam county, and for other improvements which have conduced largely to the advancement of northwestern Ohio. Col. Long is a Mason of high standing, belonging to Ottawa lodge, No. 325; Ottawa chapter, No. 115; Putnam council, No. 69; Shawnee commandery, No. 14, and Ohio consistory, A. & A. Scottish rite. He has been deputy grand master of the grand lodge of Ohio, grand high priest of the grand chapter of the state, served as chairman of the committee on foreign cor- respondence of the general grand chapter of the United States, and has filled with great credit all the places of honor that can be con- ferred upon a Mason of the thirty-second de- gree. He also belongs to the G. A. R., hold- ing membership with Thomas Allen post, No. 578, at Ottawa.
Col. Long was married, February 2, 1854, to Miss Katie M. Cox, daughter of David Cox. Mrs. Long was born in the city of Mansfield, Ohio, and is the mother of six children: Jane C' . wife of J. J. Brotherton, financial agent for
a manufacturing firm at Rector, Ark .; David C., associated with his father in the practice of law; Charles L. H., city editor of the New- ark Daily American; Tillinghast L. H., en- gaged in silver mining in Washington; Guy P., city solicitor of Continental, Ohio, and Agnes K., wife of Prof. H. L. Creveling, principal of the public schools of Mansfield. Col. and Mrs. Long are members of the First Presby- terian church of Ottawa.
EROTUS LOUB, farmer of Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a son of John and Sarah (Monroe) Loub, and was born in Hancock county, Ohio, June 16, 1848. His father, John, was a native of Pennsylvania and was a farmer. He was twice married: first in his native state, and to this marriage there were born six children, viz: John, a fariner of Mich- igan; Mrs. Betsey Hipkins, of Gilboa, Ohio; Mary, wife of Harvey Hashbarger, farmer of Michigan; Henry, retired farmer of Findlay, Ohio; Daniel, farmer of Hancock county, Ohio, and Jacob, who died in the service during the late Civil war. John, the father of these chil- dren, came to Ohio and located in Hancock county, where his first wife died, and in 1846 he married Mrs. Sarah (Monroe) Giles. Sarah Monroe was born in Chenango county, N Y., a daughter of William Monroe, who was born in 1801, of English-Scotch descent. She was married, in her native state, to William Giles, to whom she bore five children, as follows: Alonzo, deceased; Philora Heck, deceased; William, of Washington, D. C., an inventor and retired farmer; John Murray, of New York, and Thomas Palmer, of Kansas On the loss of her first husband Mrs. Sarah (Mon- roe) Giles came to Hancock county, Ohio, and was here married to John Loub, and to this union have been born two children-Lerotus,
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the subject of this sketch, and Elzie, wife of John Marshall, in the wholesale and retail cigar and tobacco business at Chicago, Ill.
About the year 1854 John Loub died in Hancock county, and in 1855 Mrs. Sarah Loub came to Putnam county and located in Kalida, where she died the same year. In consequence of this bereavement Lerotus Loub, our sub- ject, was cared for by Dr. R. W. Shrift for three years, and his sister, Elzie, was reared by N. McCracken. At the end of three years Lerotus Loub went to live on the farm of Samuel Dunavin, with whom he lived until he had attained the age of fifteen and a half years, when he enlisted at Kalida, in January, 1863, in company A, Fifty-seventh Ohio vol- unteer infantry, and served until the close of the war. He fought at Resaca, Dallas, and with Sherman in all his engagements in his famous march to the sea, was several times wounded slightly, and was honorably dis- charged at Columbus, Ohio, in August, 1865. He then returned to Mr. Dunavin, with whoni he remained until he was united in marriage. October 29, 1868, to Emeline Campnell, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, July 19, 1853, a daughter of Josiah and Lavina (Essex) Campnell, this union resulting in the birth of five children, as follows: Nora Alice, wife of Charles Hash, a farmer of Putnam county; Etta Julia, wife of Logan Harris, also of Put- nam county, and a student at Starling Medical college, of Columbus, Ohio; John, a farmer of Jackson township, and married to Ivy Harris; Martin, a school-boy, and Walter, deceased. After his marriage Mr. Loub located on a farm near the one he now occupies, which latter, an uncleared tract, he bought in 1876. This farm he has now cleared and improved with a dwelling and substantial out-buildings, and converted mto a productive and comfortable homestead.
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