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 1 > Part 17
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James 1. Reed, father of Mrs. Beals, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., August 28, 1812, was a farmer, and February 8, 1837, married Mary Edgerton, of Richland county, Ohio, and soon afterward settled on a farm in Hancock county, which he cleared up from the wilderness, and then moved to Crawford county, but shortly afterward, about 1844 or 1845, returned to Hancock county, where his death took place, in 1860, at the age of forty- eight years. Having lost his wife while resid- ing in Crawford county, he chose for a second helpmate Susan K. Robinson, To his first marriage were the following children: Isabel J., Samantha L. (Mrs. Beals), Mary, John T .. and Edson G .; and to his second union were born Samuel J., Rachael E. and Emma R. In politics Mr. Reed was a democrat and in religion a Methodist, and as a citizen was use- ful, upright, and highly respected. Of his children, two of his sons were soldiers in the late Civil war-John T. and Edson G. The
ekler of these two, John T. Reed, was born in Putnam county, Ohio, February 10, 1843, and when but eighteen years old enlisted, Septem- ber 6, 1861, in company F, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years or dur- ing the war. He served under this enlistment until January 1, 1864, when he veteranized at Chattanooga, Tenn., in the same organization, and gallantly served until honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, July 25, 1865. At Jones- boro, Ga., he was shot in the left thigh, Sep- tember 1, 1864, and in consequence was con- fined in hospital at Atlanta, Ga., and at Nash- ville, Tenn., about two months-but still suffers from his wound. On sufficiently recovering he rejoined his regiment at Louisville, Ky., in January, 1865, and served until the regiment was mustered out of service. Edson G. Reed, when but seventeen years old, enlisted at Findlay, Ohio, August 23, 1862, also in com- pany F, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, for three years, and valiantly served until killed in the battle of Stone River December 31, 1862.
After his marriage, Marion F. Beals lo- cated in Paulding county, Ohio, on a farm of eighty acres, which he partly cleared, and then engaged in the milling business at Ant- werp, in the same county, where he remained until 1872, when he came to Bluffton and en- tered into the grocery trade, at which he pros- pered for a few years, and then engaged in carpentering, his present occupation. To Mr. and Mrs. Beals have been born four children, who still survive to render the household more happy and are named as follows: Etta M., Charles A., Frank C. and Henry G. In poli- tics Mr. Beals is a democrat, and for two terms served as constable, and for two years as marshal of Bhiffton; he is a member of Rob- ert Hamilton post, No. 262, G. A. R., in which he has filled the office of day guard. He is highly honored by his comrades and fellow-
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citizens and greatly respected for his military record as well as his manly and upright character.
a ILLIAM L. BECHTOL, one of the prominent and successful citizens of Allen county, residing at Elida, was born in Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, April 25, 1849, and is a son of Jonathan and Mary (Bussard) Bechtol, both of whom are also residents of Elida.
Jonathan Bechtol came to Allen county, Ohio, in 1847, locating in Marion township. He was born in Center county, Pa., February 28, 1826, and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Epler) Bechtol, both natives of Pennsylvania. The Bechtol family, as may be inferred from the orthography of the name, are of German origin, but when the first American progenitor emigrated is not now remembered. Samuel and Mary Bechtol came to Ohio in 1843, set- tling in Delaware county, where Mrs. Bechtol died. Mr. Bechtol then removed to Allen county, where he afterward lived with his son, Jonathan, until he died. . His family consisted of fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, some of whom still live in Pennsyl- vania. When Jonathan Bechtol located in Allen county, he was accompanied by Peter Fisher, and they together followed the occu- pation of digging wells and making pumps. This business Mr. Bechtol followed for twenty years, and even now occasionally makes one of the old-fashioned wood pumps. At first he located in Marion township, Allen county, where he met and married Miss Mary Bussard, a daughter of Peter and Catherine Bussard, the marriage taking place April 26, 1848. Mr. Bechtol then leased a tract of land containing sixty acres, and upon this property he lived five years, clearing the land and converting it into a good farm. Moving then to Sugar
Creek township, he purchased forty acres of timber land, which he cleared and improved and made it his home until about 1865, when he sold it and purchased eighty acres of par- tially improved land, also, in Sugar Creek township. These eighty acres lie about two and a half miles north of Elida, and upon this land he lived until about 1888, when he moved to Elida, where he still resides, his son, Emmi F., living upon the farm. Mr. Bechtol has always followed farming, making pumps and digging wells, and has been an unusually suc- cessful and prosperous man. He has always been public spirited and enterprising, willing to aid any enterprise which promised prosper- ity to the people. He and his wife are mem- bers of the United Brethren church. Jonathan Bechtol and his wife are the parents of six children, viz: William L. a farmer and a resi- dent of Elida; Emmi F., residing upon the home farm; Catherine A., wife of Frank Morris, of Ohio City; Sarah A., wife of Peter Collett, of Logansport, Ind. ; David L., a resident of German township; and Mary E., wife of Charles Baxter, of Marion township, Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. Bechtol are both full of public spirit. They have contributed largely toward the building up and the improving of Allen county, and are good, highly respected Christian people. They are now enjoying the evening of their days, surrounded by their chil- dren and by many warm and admiring friends.
William L. Bechtol, the subject of this sketch, was born on the farm and brought up to all kinds of farm labor. His education was received in the old-fashioned log school-house, and with the inadequate facilities common in those days. As the land was all covered with timber there was plenty of chopping to be done, for that was long before the days of the use of the saw for felling trees. He was there- Tore carly initiated into the art of chopping down trees and chopping the fallen trees into
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logs, to be split up into rails and for other purposes. Thus he spent a good many years of his life, feeling that the bodily strength ac- quired by hard work was a sufficient compen- sation. Remaining at home with his parents until he was twenty-three years of age, he was then married, in November, 1872, to Miss Mary Cameron, who lived afterward only six years, and, dying, left two children, viz: Mary A., born January 3, 1874, and an infant, de- ceased. Mr. Bechtol married for the second wife Miss Nannie Blossom, by whom he had four children, viz: Earl, who died when six years old; Grover, who died at the age of three; Mina, born September 18, 1882, and Hazel, born July 24, 1886. The mother of these children died in 1888, March 13, and Mr. Bechtol married for his third wife Miss Anna Snyder, who was born in Van Wert county, and is the daughter of Lafayette and Mittie (Sidenbender) Snyder. His third mar- riage occurred November 3, 1889.
Mr. Bechtol began life for himself by rent- ing a large farm for six years. He then pur- chased fifty-five acres of unimproved land in Marion township, which he cleared and im- proved, and built upon it a good frame house, and barns, beside other out-buildings. This farm remained his home until 1886, when he erected a neat and cosy frame cottage in Elida, in which he has since resided. His time is occupied in looking after his farin, and in performing such duties as his fellow-citizens intrust him with. Politically he is a democrat and takes an active interest in anything that pertains to his party's success and good stand- ing. He has held the office of councihan and has been township trustee for three years. He is a member of Lima lodge, No. 205, F. & A. M., and Elida lodge, No. 818, I. O. O. F. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are of high standing in the community.
J OSEPH T. BENEDUM, one of the lead- ing citizens of Allen county, Ohio, was born in Loudoun county, Va., Novem- ber 27, 1830. That he has been in- dustrious and economical is sufficiently evident from his success in the world, and he is widely known as a solid, substantial man. He has assisted his children to get a good start in the world, and he has always been a liberal, open- hearted and open-handed man, ready at all times to assist the cause of religion, the cause of education, any any other good and worthy cause, by which his friends and neighbors will be benefited in any way.
Joseph T. Benedum is a son of John and Mary (Carr) Benedi, who were respectively natives of Maryland and Virginia. John Bene- dum was a farmer and beside followed teaming over long distances, hauling freight from one part of the country to another, there being much of this kind of work to do before the age of the iron horse. Politically he was origin- ally a whig, but later he united with the re- publican party. He was also a devout mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was for many years a class leader. He was emphatically a good man, large-hearted and loved by all who knew him. Death overtook him when he was eighty-four years of age, in Carroll county, Ohio, his wife, who was, like him, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, dying when she was eighty-six years old. John and Mary Benedum were the par- ents of nine children, viz: James, deceased; Edmund, a tinner by trade, living at Leesville, Carroll county, Ohio; William, a farmer living at the same place; Martha, deceased wife of George Long; Mary Ann, widow of John Moore, now living in Tuscarawas county, Ohio; Joseph T., the subject of this sketch; Amos A., who died while in the service of his com- try; Franklin, who died in Carroll county; and Susannah, deceased wife of Dr. Brower, of
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Coshocton, Ohio, of whom, it will be perceived, the majority grew to years of maturity.
Joseph T. Benedum was reared on a farm and received but a limited education in the public schools. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he rented a farm in Carroll county, and followed farming fonr years, when he married Miss Elizabeth Holmes, of that county. She was born in 1832. After his marriage he contin- ned farming on rented land for about two years, and then bought a farm of 100 acres in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, upon which he lived abont eight years, when he sold that farm and bought another, containing 110 acres, to which he subsequently added forty acres, mak- ing 150 acres in all. This farm he held two years, or until about 1863, when he sold out and removed to Allen county, driving through in wagons, and here purchased 200 acres in German township, in sections 20 and 29. Of these 200 acres he has cleared about 100, and he has from time to time added other acres un- til in all his farm would have contained 270 acres, but for his having given to his children some ninety aeres, so that he has left but 180 acres. This is one of the best improved farms in the township, and has good buildings, house, barn, and other buildings needed by the modern farmer who is abreast of the times. Mr. Benedum has always followed general farming and stock raising, and has met with gratifying success.
Mr. Benedum has always been a republican, and he and his wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. He has taken great interest in the work of both church and Sunday-school, having been assistant super- intendent of the latter for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Benedum have a family of eight children, viz: William, a farmer, owning eiglity acres of land in Amanda township; Mary, wife of Thomas Long, a farmer of Ger-
man township: John, also a farmer of German township; Charles, living at home; Obed, of Spencerville, Allen county, Ohio; Bertha, wife James Kennedy, of Allentown, Allen county; Thirza, wife of Charles Shook, of German township, and Ida, living at home.
DWARD R. BENTLEY, formerly and for some years the leading blacksmith and mechanic of Kalida, but since the fall of 1895 a resident of Bluffton, Ohio, was born May 8, 1866, in the last named place. His parents were James D. and Eliz- abeth (Fenton) Bentley, the former of whom was born in Youngstown, Mahoning county, Ohio, July 27, 1826. James D. Bentley was one of five children born to John Bentley, of Irish parentage, and his wife, Margaret (Patent) Bentley. He was educated in the common schools near his home, and early learned the trade of blacksmith. When a young man he came with his parents in a wagon drawn by oxen to Bluffton, where they were among the early pioneers of that part of Allen county. For some time he engaged in farming near Bluffton and afterward engaged in the huckster and trading business, spending several years of his life upon the road, employed by Abram Long. After settling in Bluffton he engaged in smithing with Robert Cox, and was one of the first blacksmiths in the eastern part of Allen county. For twenty years he success- fully pursued his trade until failing eyesight compelled him to give it up. Hle then again took to the road and sold one of the first sew- ing machines put upon the market. He after- ward engaged in contracting and building roads. Having recovered his eyesight, he re- turned to the forge and opened a shop on the present site of the city building in Bluffton. From that time he continued blacksmithing until old age compelled him to give up active
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work. Along with his smithing he had en- gaged in farming to a limited extent.
January 1, 1830, he was married to Eliz- abeth, daughter of Robert and Mary (McRea) Fenton, who was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, in 1831, of Irish parentage. She was one of seven children, being the twin sister of John Fenton, of Bluffton. She was also edu- cated in the common schools of her native county, and when a child she came with her parents to Bluffton, where they were among the early pioneers of that part of Allen county, Ohio. Eight children blessed this union, viz: William P., ex-postmaster of Bluffton and now a successful livery man there; John M., ex- postmaster of Ada, Ohio, where he is now a grocer and farmer; Jeanie, the wife of Albert L. Clark, of Bluffton; Charles F., a painter of the same place; Minerva I., married to H. S. Martin, of Lima, Ohio; Della, who resides in Bluffton; Frank, deceased; Edward R., the subject of our sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley were prominent members of the Methodist church, in the faith of which the wife died on September 22, 1890. The husband was a deacon in the church, and was also a charter member of the Bluffton lodge, No. 371, I. O. O. F., and member of the Rebecca lodge, No. 263, and was held in high esteem by its mem- bers. Politically he was a stanch supporter of the principles of the republican party, and was frequently elected by that party to local offices of the community. He was charitable and benevolent, honored and respected by all. His death occurred July 16, 1892.
Edward R. Bentley was educated in the Bluffton imion schools, and learned the black- smithing trade of his father, with whom he worked for a number of years, and worked in various places in order to perfect himself in his chosen profession. In 1891 he opened his shop in Kalida, where he enjoyed a large and profitable business. On September 12, 1894,
he married Lillian M. Bowman, who was born in Columbus Grove, April 5, 1871, a daughter of Daniel B. and Martha J. (Galbreth) Bow- man, and a member of the Methodist church. Her father is a native of this county, and was born in 1853 of good old Irish ancestry; he was one of the twins born to Joseph and Cla- rissa (Bigum) Bowman, of Putnam county. Her mother was born in Allen county, in 1854, her parents being William and Christina (Ahlefield) Galbreth, formerly of Allen county, but now living in Kalida. To Mr. and Mrs. Bentley one child has been born, Leon D., born August 6, 1895. In the fall of 1895, as stated, Mr. Bentley found it to his advantage to remove to Bluffton, where he enjoys the respect of all who know him.
J OHN H. BERRYMAN .-- In the case of the family whose history is here to be briefly traced, there were seven broth- ers, who came together from England to America. These seven brothers were named, so far as their names can now be re- called, John, James, George, William and Thomas-the names of two being lost. Their emigration was made prior to the Revolution- ary war, and their settlement in this country was made in New Jersey. From these seven brothers have sprung all the Berrymans in the United States, and they are now found in all parts of the country. From William have de- scended the Berrymans of Ohio. William Berryman served in the Revolutionary war against the mother country, having felt her oppression before his abandonnent of her some years before. He reared his family in New Jersey, and it is presumed, though it is not known, that he died in that state. He had one son, William, that emigrated to Virginia after the close of the Revolutionary war, and settled near Wheeling. Some time later he
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removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, and lo- cated near Dayton, on a farm, upon which he lived some years, and then he removed to what is now Auglaize county, but before that county was organized. In Logan township he en- tered 200 acres of land, upon which he lived the remainder of his days, dying in 1830, and being buried in the Amanda grave yard. He was a soldier in the war of 1812-15 from Vir- ginia, in which state he married Miss Rachel Clauson, of New Jersey, whose parents emi- grated to Virginia when she was small, and by whom he had the following children: Thomas, who died in Allen county, Ohio; William, of Spencerville, Ohio; Russell, Ephraun, and John, deceased; Eliza, who married, for her first husband, Abraham Whetstone, and for her second, Henry Noble; Mattie, deceased wife of Samuel Whetstone; Mercy, deceased wife of Dye Sunderland, who settled in Amanda township in 1820, and Annie M., who married a Mr. Gregory.
Russell Berryman was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1815, and when seven years of age removed with his parents to Allen county. During his boyhood days he spent much time with the Indians, making them his daily companions. Under these circumstances it was perfectly natural for him to learn their language, and the Shawnee language became almost as familiar to him as his native tongue. He was reared on the family homestead, and there spent the most of his life. So far as politics was concerned he was a democrat, and took great interest in political and public af- fairs; but office was distasteful to him, and the only office he could ever be prevailed upon to accept was that of director of the infirmary. He married Margaret Slain, of Virginia (now West Va.), she dying in 1846, the mother of the following children: Cornelia, wife of Dr. E. A. Stockton, who died in Mexico; Ephraim, who died in Spencer township;
Rosabel, wife of A. F. Blackburn, of Kansas; John H., of Lima, and James of Saint Mary's, Ohio. For his second wife Russell Berryman married Elizabeth Whetstone, by whom he had the following children: Flora, wife of J. G. Miller; Mercy, deceased; Abraham, of Paulding county; Margaret, wife of L. Cochran; William, of Auglaize county; Rosetta, wife of William Myers; Corabel, deceased wife of Ben- jamin Shoppel, and Warren, of Saint Mary's Ohio. The father of these children died Jan- uary 9, 1878, his widow surviving him.
John H. Berryman, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born August 19, 1843, on the old homestead, upon which he remained until he was twenty years of age, receiving in the meantime a good education in the common schools, which has been greatly extended and perfected by contract with the world. From the age last mentioned for about three years he was engaged in various occupations, testing himself and testing the world, and in 1867 he settled down upon a farm in Shawnee town- ship, upon which he lived some twelve or four- teen years. In 1880 he purchased his present farin of 120 acres, to which he has since added forty-two acres, so that at the present time his farm is comprised of 162 acres. In 1891 he established his present dairy business, and in the winter of 1891-92 he established his dairy store in Lima.
Politically Mr. Berryman is a democrat and he takes great interest in the success of his party. He has served two terms as township trustee and has been several times a delegate to county and state conventions. In 1896 he was a prominent candidate for nomination to congress at the hands of his party, showing the prominence of the position he holds in the estimation of his party friends. in religious belief he is a Methodist, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Shawnee township. Mr. Berryman was married March
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OF ALLEN COUNTY.
12, 1868, to Miss Sallie Boyd daughter of Abra- ham Boyd of Trumbull county, who emigrated from that county to AAllen county in 1830. To this marriage there bave been born the following children: Myrtle, Margaret, John Russell, Mabel, deceased; Harriet, Robert and Waldo. From the foregoing sketch it is manifest that John H. Berryman is a man of more than ordinary ability and enterprise, and he is in point of fact one of the most progressive and extensive farmers and dairymen in the northwestern part of the state, if not in the entire state. To what extent his example has been contagious can not be fully stated, though it is doubtless true that his life has had a far-reaching influ- ence upon young men who have had before them in his career a demonstration that inde- pendence and influence may be obtained, with- out going into any co-operative plans and schemes, in which the individuality of each member must necessarily be absorbed by and swallowed up in the community to which he may happen to belong.
a ILLIAM F. BLAIR, superintendent of the Orphan Home of Allen county, is a son of Dr. Brice and Rebecca (Perdew) Blair, the former of whom was a son of Brice Blair, of Bedford county, Pa. The family belong to that famous race, Scotch-Irish, which has given to this country so many of its sturdy sons, among them the eighth president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, whose personality produced such a permanent effect upon the destiny of the Union. The ancestors of Mr. Blair origin- ally came from Ireland, and settled in Cumber- land valley in Pennsylvania.
Brice Blair, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one of the early settlers of Bedford county, that state. He married Agnes McCauley, who was born in Baltimore,
Md., and to this union were born the following children: John, Archibald, Edmund, James, Brice, Rebecca, Rachel, Mary, Susanna, Sarah, Elizabeth, Nancy. Mr. MeCauley, father of Mrs. Brice Blair, passed his life as a farmer in Bedford county, where he died in the present century.
Dr. Brice Blair, father of the subject, was born January 22, 1813, in Bedford county, Pa. He read medicine with Dr. McPherson, of Tuscarawas county, coming to Ohio in 1835, and settling near New Albany, Tuscarawas county, practicing there until the fall of 1854, when he removed to Allen county, settling in Jackson township, where he purchased a farm of sixty acres of land. Besides this small piece of land in Jackson township he also owned 240 acres in Auglaize township, and also 160 acres in Stark coumy, Ind., which he, however, purchased some time later, so that he was somewhat of a landed proprietor at one time.
The farm in Jackson township he cleared up of its timber and improved as well as the one in Auglaize township, so that he found but little time to devote to his profession. He died in Jackson township on his farm, March 10, 1876, widely known as a wide-awake, active, industrious and enterprising man. Politically he was a democrat, and religiously a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was a trustee of his church and took unusual interest in the work and success of the Sunday- school. Dr. Blair was married in 1843. His wife, born January 19, 1814, is a daughter of William Perdew, of Bedford county, Pa., and is still residing on the home farm in Jackson township, the father of the following children: Nancy, Sarah, Mary, William and Rebecca. By her marriage to Dr. Blair Rebecca became the mother of the following children: John, of Auglaize township; Edward, of the same town- ship; Martin, who died in 1876; Nathan P., of
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