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 47
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child-William Reynolds, who is now a farmer in Kansas.
To the marriage of Roger and Elizabeth Reynolds were born fourteen children, of whom twelve grew to maturity, viz. : Roger, a prominent farmer of Union township, Putnam county; Richard, farmer of Jennings township; Evan, unmarried and living on the homestead; Elizabeth, married to J. M. Guffy, who resides on part of the old place; George, of Jennings township; David, on part of the home place; Thomas, of Paulding county; Charles and B. F., occupying parts of the home farm; Emma, married to A. Sims, a farmer of Sugar Creek township; Maggie, wife of William Hunt, who also has his residence on part of the old home- stead, and Mary, still with her mother. All these children have been provided with homes through the considerate foresight of the? par- ents-Mr. Reynolds having been one of the largest real estate owners in the county. This land Roger Reynolds through his owns exer- tions, aided by his faithful and industrions helpinate, who is now passing her declining years in comfort, surrounded by her loving children and a large circle of truly devoted friends.
ROF. HENRY FRANCIS RAUH, superintendent of public schools at Glandorf, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in Washington township, Mer- cer county, same state, October 4, 1860, and is a son of Ignatius and Mary Ann (Weigelt) Rauh, natives of Germany. Ignatius Ranh was a wheelwright, came to America when twenty-five years of age, and here followed his trade for ten years, first locating in Hamilton, Ohio, and then in Mercer county, in Washing- ton township. His wife was but four years old when brought to the United States. With her parents she lived for a member of years in
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New Riegel. Seneca county, Ohio, and then moved to Jay county, Ind., where she made the acquaintance of Ignatius Ranh. The mar- riage took place in 1850, at Saint Joseph (Vic- toria), Ohio. Ignatius Rauh died in May, 1870, at the age of fifty-four years; his widow is still a resident of Mercer county. There were born to these parents six children, of whom the elder three are farmers, and of the younger three, two are professional men and one a priest.
Prof. Rauh attended the common schools until thirteen years of age, and then attended high school at Celina and Fort Recovery, one year each, and began teaching when less than seventeen years old. He next attended the normal schools at Ada and Lebanon, Ohio, nine and twelve months, respectively, teach- ing in the intervals in Anglaize and Mercer counties until twenty-one. He next entered Saint Francis Normal college at Milwaukee, Wis., from which, two years later, he gradu- ated in the class of 1885. He was then given charge of a private academy for boys and young men at Denison, Texas, which position he resigned after one year's satisfactory labor. In 1886, he accepted his present position and also that of organist of Saint John's Catholic church of Glandorf. Mr. Rauh has re-dis- ciplined the schools since assuming his office, and through his efforts they have been incor- porated into a special district and graded. He has graduated twelve pupils, a fact very grati- fying to patrons, and has made the school a model institution of learning. In 1889 he was elected county examiner and his conpe- tency for the position is evidenced by the high abilities of teachers of Putnain county. Mr. Ranh was one of the founders of the Glandorf Building & Loan company in 1887, of which he was secretary for two years, being the first to fill that office. Since then he has been a member of the board of directors, and chairman
of the finance committee. In 1892 he became interested in Der Demokrat at Ottawa, the efficient German paper of Putnam county, and in 1893 that journal was placed under his sole control. It has a circulation of 1,400 to 1, 500, and is very ably edited.
The marriage of Mr. Rauh took place July 26, 1893, to Miss Mamie Preisendorfer, daugh- ter of J. M. and Elizabeth (Wilhelm) Preisen- dorfer, the father being a native of Germany, and the mother and danghter of Defiance, Ohio. One child, John Clarence, has blessed this union. Few counties in Ohio can boast of a more able and accomplished public in- structor than Prof. Henry Francis Ranh.
EORGE R. REYNOLDS .- Among the well-to-do young farmers of Mon- roe township, Putnam county, Ohio, the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is well deserving of mention in this bio- graphical work. He is one of the model agri- culturists of this section, and a man possessing many warm friends. His paternal grandfather, Ryer Reynolds, was a native of England and a soldier in the British army. He was sent to Canada by the mother country to fight for her, but, believing the cause of the colonists to be right, he deserted to them. In consequence of this act a large property which he owned in Nova Scotia was confiscated to the crown. He married in Canada, and afterward removed to Holmes county, Ohio, and was identified with the early pioneer history of that section. He cleared a farm of eighty acres there and made it his home until his death.
Allen Reynolds, our subject's father, was born in or near Quebec, Canada, and there grew to manhood, receiving a common educa- tion. He was eighteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Ohio, where he married Miss Jane Hawthorne, a native of
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Perry county, Ohio, and the daughter of George and Mary Hawthorne. Their home has been in Allen county, Ohio, where they rescued a fine eighty-acre farm from the wil- derness, and were among the early pioneer settlers. The father was a republican in poli- tics, and both were members of the Methodist church. The father died in 1881, while the mother is still living. Their children, all of whom are living, are four in number, being in order of birth as follows: James H., George R., Josiah and Sarah A.
George R. Reynolds, our subject, was born in Perry township, Allen county, Ohio, July 1, 1851, and his whole life has been spent upon a farm. He received a common-school edu- cation, and has added to it a large fund of . practical knowledge, which has been of great value to him in his agricultural pursuits. He was united in marriage to Miss Candace Mc- Elroy June 25, 1874, and she has proven a valuable helpmate to him in his efforts to make a home and to secure a competence. Mrs. Reynolds was born in Perry township August 17, 1855, she being the daughter of Miles and Mary MeElroy. Her parents were among the early settlers of Allen county, where they set- tied on a fine farin of 120 acres. The union of George and Candace Reynolds has been blessed by the birth of five children: Lewis C., Oliver O., James A., Leonard and Carrie E., all of whom are living. They resided in Allen county until 1872, when they moved to their present farm, which was then a tract of new land with less than eight acres cleared and ouly a log cabin for a dwelling house. The mdustry and perseverance of the young couple is plainly shown by the present appearance of their home. Seventy-five acres of the eighty acres comprising the farin are now cleared and bilable, while a modern farm residence and other buildings have been erected thereon. They have made it all themselves, and take
great pleasure in their comfortable home. Both are consistent members of the Methodist church, and are respected and representative citizens. Mr. Reynolds is a strong republican, and, although not a seeker after office, has twice been chosen as township assessor, an office which he has filled with eminent satis- faction to his constituents.
J OSIAH REYNOLDS, a thriving and skillful farmer of Monroe township, Putnam county, Ohio, is a native of the adjoining county of Allen, in the same state, and was born June 9, 1854. His grand- father, Ryre Reynolds, came from Nova Scota and served, as in duty bound, nnder the Brit- ish flag in the unjust and tyrranous war waged by Great Britain against the United States in 1812-15, but, like the sensible gentleman that he was, became a deserter, and soon after married a Miss Robinet, a native of Canada, and in 1830, came to the United States from Canada and made his home in Holmes county, Ohio, for several years, and then moved to Defiance county, where both he and wife passed the remainder of their days, leading members of the Methodist church.
Allen Reynolds, father of our subject, was born in Canada, April 14, 1812, and can with his parents to Ohio. He received a good com- mon-school education in Canada, and, after having passed a number of years in the Buck- eye state, married Miss Jane Hawthorn, who was born in Perry county, Ohio, December 22, 1827, a daughter of George and Ann Haw- thorn, the union resulting in the birth of the following children: James H., George R. (whose life sketch also appears in this work). Josiah (our subject) and Sallie. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds tock place in Perry township, Allen county, where the father had a comfortable home of eighty acres he ! Fres-
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cued from the wilderness, and where he died in 1890, and where his widow still resides.
Josiah. Reynolds received a very fair educa- tion in the common schools and was reared to manhood on the home farm in Allen county. There, also, he was married, April 13, 1877, to Miss Dora Heskitt, who was born in Ross county, Ohio, June 11, 1860, a daughter of James and Margaret (Southerland) Heskitt, and his marriage has been blessed by the birth of the following children: Frank, Eva M., Vesta and Hattie. Mr. Reynolds, some three years after his marriage, settled on his present farm in Monroe township, Putnam county, and has made of his eighty acres of raw land a farm that few in the township now compare with, in productiveness and excellency of culti- vation. . In politics Mr. Reynolds is a republi- can, and although an active factor in the suc- cess of his party at the polls, has never been an office seeker. He is a member of the Methodist church and is very liberal in his financial aid to this denomination, but is never backward in assisting other christian societies, or in any undertaking that is designed for the benefit of the community in which he lives. He stands in a social position that is in every respect desirable, and having made his own fortune through his energy and industry, has won the respect of the older residents of the township.
OLLIS B. RICE was born in Putnam county, Ohio, December 11, 1846, and was reared on the homestead he still occupies in Riley township, which farm he inherited from his father. His par- ents, Moses and Amy (Dunchay) Rice, were both natives of Massachusetts and came to Ohio in 1823, bringing with them some means and some laboring men, and being accom- panied by two or three relatives. Moses Rice
at once entered 320 acres of land in the wilds of Riley township, as the territory is now called, and to this entry he added another tract through purchase-eventually clearing off a greater portion of his lands and making one of the most comfortable homes and profit- able farms in the county. His two brothers, Myron and Peter, who came with him to the township, also entered lands at the same time, cleared up farms and reared families. Peter is now deceased, and Myron, although he has been deprived of his hearing, is still enjoying life at the age of eighty-four years.
When the Rice family came to the state with their teams, Findlay was their objective point. There were but few people in the country and no roads, and it took the little party three days to cut their way from Find- lay to the Blanchard river, whence they hewed their way through the wilderness to their destination. There were no farms as yet improved in the neighborhood, and when Moses Rice had succeeded in raising a little corn, he was forced to go to Tiffin, to mill. Ox-teams were used for all draft purposes and plowing, and Mr. Rice was particularly proud of his team, as he took the premium at the first fair held in the county, the prize being a book. Game was of course abundant in those days, and many deer fell under the aim of Mr. Rice's trusty rifle. Mr. Rice assisted in the organization of Riley township, and was one of its first officers-serving as township trustee and filling several offices of less im- portance at different times, and at the second election after the permanent organization of the township was re-elected trustee.
Moses Rice reared a family of six children, as follows: James, who went to California, where he was killed by a inte-leaving a widow and four children; Julia A., who died unmarried; Sarah J., who was married to Jesse Joseph -both now deceased; Eunice,
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married William Wamsley, who died in the army --- she also having passed away and leav- ing one child; Wilson D. is a resident of Con- tinental, Ohio, and Hollis B. is the subject of this sketch. Moses Rice continued to reside on his farm until about 1854, when he moved to Pandora and engaged in general merchandis- ing for about eight years, and then retired to the farm, where his death took place in April, 1862. He had been reared in the Presby- terian church, within the pale of which he was called to his everlasting home, deeply mourned by his surviving relatives and friends.
Hollis B. Rice, whose name opens this sketch, was about sixteen years of age when his father died, after which sad event he as- sisted in the management of the home farm . for his mother. In March, 1869, he married Miss Samantha Mills, a daughter of Ahnarion Mills, of Tiffin, Ohio. Mr. Mills was a mason and plasterer by trade, was a public-spirited citizen, and filled several township offices; he died in 1889, the father of the following chil- dren: Francis E., who served through the Civil war; Samantha, wife of subject; James, of Toledo, Ohio; Cortez; Laura, married to J. M. Stuter, of Putnam county, who was also a soldier in the late war; Della, now Mrs. Charles Evans, of Toledo; Simon, mason and plasterer, of Leipsic, Ohio, and Maggie, who died unmarried. The mother of this family still survives at the age of seventy-five years. a devont member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The children born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hollis B. Rice were six in number, of whom four still survive, viz: John E., still aigle, and Nellie M., Amy R., and Myron, at home with their parents. Mrs. Rice is also a fervent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Although Hollis B. Rice devoted a few years of his earlier manhood to road building and other public improvements, he has given
almost all his attention to his farm, which he has brought to a wonderful condition of pro- ductiveness, and never fails in making a crop; he also raises sufficient live stock for home use, and some is always left over for sale. He has won for himself an untarnished name, his in- tegrity never in any instance having been doubted, and his industry and skill as a hus- bandman are universally conceded.
RANCIS S. RIMER, of the firm of Rimer & Meyers, merchants of Ka- lida, Union township, Putnam county, Ohio, was born in the county fann- ary 14, 1863, a son of George D. and Mary K. (Diens) Rimer. George D. Rimer, the father, was born in Luzerne county, Pa., about 1838, and was a son of Jacob Rimer, also a native of the Keystone state, and of Dutch parentage. He was reared a farmer, and be- came the father of three children, viz: John, a farmer of Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio; Mary, wife of George Kerry, a poultry dealer at Elida, and George, father of our sub- ject. In 1841 he came to Putnam county and entered a farm, which he cleared from the forest and resided on until his death.
George D. Rimer came to Putnam county with his parents in 1841, and was here reared to farming. He was educated m the common schools, but was well qualified for teaching, a profession he followed for several years, begin- ning at the age of twenty. About 1862 he married Mary K. Dicus, daughter of Jacob and Hannah Dicus, natives of Maryland, Mrs. Mary K. Rimer was born in Putnam county, Ohio, in 1845, and was a young girl when she was taken to Delphos, Ohio, by her parents, where her father followed the trade of carpen- ter; he was a whig in politics and in religion a Baptist. To George D. and Mary K. Rimer were born four children, viz: Franer, our
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subject: Georgia, the wife of George Shriver, a farmer of Paulding county, Ohio; William M , a furniture dealer in Kalida, and John M., on the home farm.
Francis S. Rimer was, like his forefathers, brought up to husbandry, and received the edu- cation usually granted to farmers' lads. In 1886, on the 17th day of February, he married Miss Mary L. Haller, who was born in Pauld- ing county, Ohio, in 1864, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Haller, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Canada. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Rimer have been born two children-Paul M., who died at the age of four years, and George N., born Decem- ber 27, 1893. In 1886, the year of his mar- riage, Mr. Rimer bought an interest in a tile factory,. in which business he was engaged nearly eight years; in April, 1893, he sold this interest and entered the hardware business, buying out a Mr. Cross, and is making quite a success. Mr. and Mrs. Rimer are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he is a republican. He is also a member of Ka- lida lodge, No. 280, F. & A. M., and has a high standing in the community both as a busi- ness man and a valued citizen.
RS. CAROLINE RIDENOUR, rel- ict of the late Henry Ridenour, and a daughter of Isaac and Adeline Palmer) Allen, was born in Column- biana county, Ohio, June 16, 1836. Her father was also a native of that county, and was born in 1801, a son of John Allen, who was a native of London, England, and while ; still a young man had come to America. He served in the Revolutionary war with Wash- ington, and after peace was declared he crossed the mountams into the almost unbroken region of the vall . of the beautiful Ohio, then known as the northwest territory, and settled in Co-
lumbiana county, when white men were few. There he obtained a tract of timbered land, which he cleared and converted into a fine farm, but not without having to undergo many hardships and privations. Here he spent the . remainder of his life in the quiet way of the Quakers, for he was a member of that faith, in which he died, -in 1821. He was known as a substantial and honest man, was a whig in politics, and had been twice married, becom- ing the father of five sons and three daughters: David, Benjamin, Einer, John, Sallie, Martha, Lydia and Isaac.
Isaac, the youngest son, was given an ed- ucation in a little log school-house not far from the home. When not in school he worked on the farm, and learned the blacksmith's trade, and was recognized as a master of his trade. He believed that if anything was worth doing at all it was worth doing well. He married Adeline, the daughter of James and Catherine (Green) Palmer, who was born August 8, 1810, in Loudoun county, Va., and came with her parents by wagon to Columbiana county, Ohio, where they were early settlers. After their marriage Mr. Allen followed his trade in Columbiana county until 1838, when he moved to Athens county, where he continued at his trade and engaged in farming. In 1853 he moved by wagon to Putnam county, where he farmed, having been compelled, after a time, to give up his trade on account of ill health. Fraternally he was a Mason, having joined the lodge at Kalida in 1855, and was also a mem- ber of the Shawnee commandery of Knights Templar at Lima. In politics he was a whig. and took much interest in its victories. He was much respected and honored by all. His death occurred February 8, 1886, his good and faithful wife having preceded him on the long journey home, she having died in November, 1873, and had been a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their children
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were six in number, viz: Martha, the de- ceased wife of Elias Farabb; Caroline Ride- nour, the subject of our sketch; Lydia, the wife of Benjamin P. Radabaugh (see the me- moir on another page); Lucy, the wife of Jacob Troyer, of Marion, Ind .; Sarah, who died aged eighteen years, and Isaac, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Caroline Ridenour, the second daugh- ter, was given a good education in Athens county, and on February 25, 1855, was mar- ried to Henry Ridenour, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on November 3, 1833, and had early moved to Putnam county, where he was educated, and worked on his father's farm, and when grown to manhood had earned a farin for himself, to which he took his wife soon after their marriage. Politically he was a democrat; in all things he was honorable and upright, and. his death, on July 10, 1882, was lamented by all who knew him. His home was blessed with ten children: Lydia A., the wife of John Jordan, of Logan county; Isaac, of Minnesota; Catherine and Edith, twins, deceased; Martha J., deceased; Saman- tha, the wife of John White, of Leipsic; Lucy I .; Abbie, deceased, and two children who died in infancy, and unnamed.
On the death of her husband Mrs. Ridenour assumed all the cares and responsibilities of caring for the family and managing all the in- terests of a large and productive farm. She has shown remarkable ability in managing the farm, and is possessed with rare business tact. Every detail of all the farm work, the sowing, the harvesting and the selling of the crops, re- ceives her personal attention.
J OHN RIDENOUR, one of the most prosperous and well-known farmers of Putnam county, lives in Perry town- ship, where he was born September 21, 1851, his parents being Jacob and Fanuy
(Fretz) Ridenour. His grandfather, John Ridenour, was of Pennsylvania-Dutch parent- age, and came to Fairfield county, Ohio, in the early 'twenties, and there farmed for a few years, and in 1826 came to Putnam county, where he entered several tracts of government land, in all about 400 acres. He built himself a log cabin on the Blanchard river, and went to work resolutely cutting down the giants of the forest and rolling them into heaps and burning them, for there were no saw-mills here then and no means by which to haul logs to the distant mills, several hundred miles away By perseverance and hard work the land was cleared, and he could see many broad acres of fine farm land where but a short time before was a forest inhabited only by wild beasts and traversed by the savage red men in their hunt- ing expeditions. He also entered forty acres of land where Dupont now stands, and like- wise a tract in Paulding county. His children were: Michael; Jacob, of whom more is spoken below; Daniel (see the sketch of Thomas Ride- nour on another page); Elinor, the wife of Dewitt McGill; Mary, married to Hugh Scott, and Priscilla, widow of Rev. P. B. Holden.
His son Jacob, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Fairfield county March 2, 1815, and passed his boyhood day on his father's farm. He never attended school unti eighteen years of age. In 1851, when the gold fever had well broken out, he joined the cara van going to the Eldorado, and, going around by the Isthinus of Panama, he finally reached California. Two years later he returned to Put- nam county, where, on March 2, 1847, he had married Fannie, the daughter of John Fritz and his wife, who was a Miss Shelby. Miss Fannie Fritz was born in Bucks county, Pa., on August 27, 1825, and came to Putnam county with her parents when she was still a child. Her father was a native of Prensylva- nia, of Dutch parentage, and settled in Putnai ..
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county in 1835 on a tract of land which he entered from the government. Three of his children are still living: Jacob Fritz, of Mis- souri; Levina, the wife of Reuben Adams, of Illinois, and Elizabeth, married to Stephen Crow, of Riley township, Putnam county, Ohio.
On his return from California Mr. Ridenour settled on a part of the old homestead and be- came a very successful farmer, owning 400 acres of land and being very prominent. In politics he was a democrat, and was twice elected by his party friends to the office of township trustee, but he would not serve. He was not a member of any church, but was liberal and enterprising, and held the esteem of all his neighbors. He died in 1888; his wife, who was a member of the United Brethren church, had preceded him three years, dying in the fall of 1885. Their children were born in the following order: William, born Septem- ber 14, 1848, and died October 11, 1849: Jane E., born January 19, 1850, the wife of Samuel Wollam, deceased; John F., born Sep- tember 21, 1851-they being born before their father went to California. After his return the following were born: Albert E., born Febru- ary 5, 1854; Mary A., born January 3, 1855, the widow of Samuel Bibbler; Elizabeth L., born July 26, 1858, the deceased wife of George Merriot; George W., born October 27, 1860; Priscilla E., born January 16, 1863, and married to Nathan C. Shirley; Orlando E., deceased, who was born April 16, 1865, and Clara Ellen, born February 9, 1869, and is now deceased.
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