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 18
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Auglaize township; Brice, of the same town- ship: William F .; James H. (deceased), of Auglaize township: Nancy, widow of Isaac Heffner: Clara, wife of Harrison Heffner; Jen- nie (deceased), wife of John McCullough; Elizabeth, wife of Madill Fisher; and Mary, wife of David Applas, and Jessie Allen (deceased).
William F. Blair was born October 23, 1849, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and was reared in Jackson township, Allen county. His education was superior to that generally re- ceived by the young men of that time, as in addition to a good common-school training, he attended the high school at Lima, and Dela- ware college, and also the Western Normal university at Ada. Besides all this he read medicine with his father; but notwithstanding this preparation for the practice of one of the most useful of the professions, he preferred teaching school, for which he was eminently prepared. He therefore taught in the public schools of Allen county for twenty years-in Jackson township, in Bath, in Anglaize and in Perry township, in all of which has he scholars who still pleasantly remember his work among them and for them. In 1879, tired of the life of a pedagogue, he settled down upon his father's farm in Auglaize township, and became a general farmer and stock raiser. The fol- lowing summer he purchased a farm in Jack- son township, supplying ample room for the exercise of any ability he might possess. Upon this fine farm he was occupied in the way just mentioned for twelve years, and then he ac- cepted a position with the Ohio Oil company, being engaged with them leasing land, etc., until 1893, when he was appointed to his present honorable position, that of superin- tendent of the Orphans' Home, Allen county, which he fills to the acceptance of all. While he was a resident of Jackson township, he was made a trustee thereof. Politically Mr. Blair
is a democrat, and he is a member of the county central committee. Fraternally he is a member of Lima lodge, No. 91, K. of P.
Mr. Blair was married, in 1879, to Miss Rosetta E., daughter of W. H. Craig, of Jack- son township, and has a family of children as follows: Luther C., Cliff, Harry, Ethel and Leah. W. H. Craig, father of Mrs. Blair, is one of the progressive and substantial farm- ers of Jackson township. He is of English descent on both sides of his family. His great- grandfather, George Craig, came from England and settled in Washington county, Pa., and it is believed he was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war. He died in Washington county, in which county the grandfather of the subject's wife was born, was reared to manhood and was married to a Miss Pittinger. After the death of his wife he moved westward, to High- land county, Ohio, in 1833, and was there among the pioneers. He was always a farmer, did not remarry, and died in the last named county, being instantly killed while cutting down a wild cherry tree, when working on the public road.
Joseph Craig, his son, and the father of W. H. Craig, was born in Washington county, Pa. He was about twenty years of age when his father came to Ohio, where Joseph mar- ried a Miss Charlotte Rains, daughter of George and Nancy Rains. Joseph Craig and his wife, Charlotte, were the parents of the fol- lowing children: George T .; William H .; Lonisa, who died at the age of eighteen; Martha, wife of W. F. Straw; Nancy, wife of Frederick Bashore; Angeline, wife of Thomas Bashore; and John. After their marriage the parents of these children lived for a number of years in Highland county, engaged in farming, but in 1852 he removed to Jackson township, Allen county. Upon his 160-acre farm he en- gaged in general farming and in raising stock. He was an old-line whig, later a republican,
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was township trustee, township treasurer, and a school-teacher, besides being one of the early pioneers. He died in 1872, his widow dying in February, 1881.
William H. Craig was born May 3, 1835, in Highland county, and was seventeen years of age when his parents removed into Allen county. While he received a good education in his youth, yet he always preferred farming to any other calling, thereby showing excellent judgment. Mr. Craig was married June 2, 1858, to Susan Hulliber, daughter of John and Mary (Keith) Hulliber, of Licking county, and has children as follows: Rosetta E., wife of Mr. Blair; Mary C .; Iva C., deceased; Ara- minta L .; Nora O .; Walter W. Mary C. is the wife of N. M. Boyd; Araminta L. is the wife of Clement Patterson; Nora O., is the wife of Percy A. Kershaw, a successful teacher of Jackson township, and a printer by trade. Mr. Craig enlisted in April, 1862, in company D, One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and campaigned in Maryland, the Dis- trict of Columbia, and Virginia, doing consid- erable skirmishing near the capital, and was honorably discharged in September, 1862. Immediately upon his marriage he settled on a farm of fertile land, well situated and well im- proved, which he has still more improved. He is a strong republican, but has never cared for office, preferring to devote his time to his legit- imate calling. He is widely known and a highly respected citizen.
0 AVID M. BLISS, one of the most prominent agriculturists of Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, is a son of a pioneer, and was born in Lima, the county seat of Allen county, July 17, 1845, of good old English Puritan descent paternally.
Col. Lester Bliss, father of our subject, is
a putative son of Knox (now Morrow) county, Ohio, and was born Angust 10, 1847, although is claimed by an elder sister that the place of his nativity was Cooperstown, N. Y. Dr. David Bliss, father of Col. Bliss, was a practitioner at Cooperstown, N. Y., but was born in Con- necticut of English Puritan ancestry. He mar- ried Mary VanTress, of New York, of Holland descent. Samuel Bliss, great-grandfather of our subject, and father of Dr. David Bliss, was a patriot in the war of the Revolution. Dr. David Bliss was the pioneer physician of Sparta, Morrow county, Ohio, where he prac- ticed until his death, which occurred in 1846, at the age of about sixty years, and where he also served as a justice of the peace. He was the father of seven children, viz: Dr. Morgan L., Maria, Mason, Mahala, Porter, Lester and Mary A., all now deceased with the excep- tion of the two last named.
Col. Lester Bliss received a liberal educa- tion at Gambier (Knox county) and Granville (Licking county), Ohio, and studied law in Mount Vernon, Ohio, under the Hon. Henry B. Curtis, a leading lawyer and a man of wealth-practiced his profession at Lima, Allen county, Ohio, until 1850, then removed to Delphos, where he continued in practice until the breaking out of the Civil war, in the meantime having been elected, by the demo- cratic party, twice as prosecuting attorney of Allen county; also, in 1850, as the first mayor of Delphos, and in 1853 as a member of the state legislature; the same year he was also nominated for the office of lieutenant-governor of the state of Ohio, but withdrew his name from the ticket in order to accept the position of superintendent of the Ohio & Indiana rail- road-an office he filled for several years.
August 1, 1862, Lester Bliss enlisted at Delphos, in the One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was at once ap- pointed quartermaster, with the rank of major;
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one year latter was commissioned lientenant- colonel and served with Burnside in the east, and was also at the siege of Knoxville, and in many minor engagements, and served until ill- health compelled him to resign his commission in 1865. In 1863 he purchased his present farm, comprising 312 acres, on which he has resided since the close of the war, when he discontinned the practice of his profession, ill- health prechoding its further continuance. The first marriage of Col. Bliss took place, in 1844, to Miss Belinda Hover, danghter of Emanuel and Caroline (Adgate) Hover, and this union was blessed with two children-David M. and Lester L., of whom the latter was a soldier in the Civil war and died at Fort Scott, Kans. The domestic happiness resulting from the first matrimonial alliance of Col. Bliss was of short duration only, as Mrs. Bliss was called away in 1848, and the second marriage of the colonel was with Miss Aldnlia, daughter of William Curtis, the result of this union being one child only-Dr. Charles C. Bliss, of Del- phos. For thirty years Col. Bliss has been a member of the Methodist church, in which he has filled all the major offices. At the outset of his political career Mr. Bliss was a demo- crat, and at the outbreak of the war became a war democrat, and later on joined the repub- lican party; he is a member of the G. A. R. post at Delphos, and has ever been an active factor in the affairs of the county, which he has guarded with the ntmost care.
David M. Bliss, the subject of this sketch, received his preliminary education in the com- mon schools of Delphos, and this was supple- mented by an attendance for two years at the Wesleyan college of Delaware, Ohio; he then read law with his father, but never engaged in practice. For two years he was in mercantile business at Delphos, and also conducted a newspaper at Sidney, Ohio, two years, and later a paper at Lima. His first marriage was
with Miss Mary A. Lytle, who died of con- sumption nine months after the wedding, and Mr. Bliss, in 1870, was joined in wedlock with Alice J. Neel, of Lima, Ohio --- this union being blessed with three children, viz: Lester L., Neel V. and Mary A. In religion Mr. Bliss is a Methodist ; in politics he is independ- ent, but has filled the office of justice of the peace and township trustee, and has been a member of the board of education for fifteen years. He is a member of the K. of P. at Delphos and is well known throughout Allen county for his integrity and unswerving devo- tion to his word. His skill as a farmer is universally recognized, and his social standing, with that of his family, is with the best circles in the township and county.
J OHN M. BOND, of Spencerville, Allen county, Ohio, is among the best known citizens of the township and is a repre- sentative man among good men. His birthplace is Summit county, Ohio, where he was born March 28, 1836. He is the son of Elijah and Catherine (Whipple) Bond, who are supposed to be of English descent. The father of John M. Bond came to Allen county in the year 1814 and rented a small farm where the Lima cemetery is now located; later he purchased 100 acres in Perry town- ship, where he moved his family in 1842 and began clearing up the farm on which he lived until 1871, but had sold it in 1863 to a son-in- law, with whom he made his home until he and his wife moved to Lisbon, Ind., in 1871, where they died-the father in 1876 and the mother four years later. Mr. Bond was in every sense a public-spirited man, a good citi- zen and a zealons Christian. Seven children were born to this union: Mary, Philena, Char- lotte, Harriet, Jane, Marinda and John M.
John M., our subject, the youngest child,
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whose early years were spent in the shop, on the farin and in assisting his father in clearing up a home in Perry township, at the early age of eighteen years began life for himself in 1856, and thereafter operated the home farm and took care of his parents. In 1863 he made a vigorous effort to get into the service, but he did not succeed until May, 1864, when he enlisted in company D, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served four months, being quartered about Washing- ton. Returning west, he settled in Lima and began carpentering and building. which work he continued to follow until 1868, when he engaged as pattern maker in the Lima machine shops, remaining there four years. He then bought an interest in a marble shop and operated it for two years as traveling sales- man, after which he engaged in the grocery business for another two years, when he sold ont and again began traveling for a Philadel- phia wholesale grocery firm, but after a year bought an interest in a grocery business at Lima. In the meantime he had traded for eighty acres of improved land in Spencer town- ship, and in the fall of 1882 moved to Spencer- ville, purchased a lot and built a commodious house, where he now lives, but has devoted much of his time to the improvement of his farm. Since 1860 he has affiliated with the republican party, and in politics, as in every- thing else he is interested in, puts a fair share of enthusiasin into it. In 1895 he was nomi- nated as candidate for county commissioner on the republican ticket, and has served as alder- man for four years in Lima. He has been an Odd Fellow for thirty years, is a member of Allen lodge, Lima, No. 223, and is also a member of Lima encampment, No. 62. Mr. Bond has been thrice married-his first wife was Miss Fannie Davis, who died in March, 1859, at the age of twenty-three years; one child blessed this union, Minnie, who grew to
young womanhood, was educated in the com- mon schools, and at the age of fifteen years was called to her long home, being sadly missed by her school-mates and friends. In September, 1860, Mr. Bond was united in marriage with Sarah Franklin, who died Au- gust 7, 1891, at the age of fifty-three years, having borne here husband three children, viz: Emma, Charley and Fanny, all now deceased. Again, in August, 1893; Mr. Bond chose for his third companion Mrs. Phebe Rose, who shares his lot and enjoys the comfortable home that he provided through his own industry and good management. Mr. Bond is one of the representative and well-to-do men of his neigh- borhood and he and his wife are both mem- bers of the Christian church, being numbered among the honored and highly respected citi- zens of Spencerville.
a ILLIAM BOOGHER, a young, en- terprising and popular citizen of Hume, Allen county, Ohio, was born May 15, 1861, and is a son of Seeley and Margaret (Helwig) Boogher. The family have been residents of Ohio for at least three generations, the grandfather, Daniel Boogher, having been born in this state. His parents settled at an early day in Dayton, Montgomery county, and were among that city's first residents, going there in 1811. Daniel Boogher was born in 1803, and was eight years old when his parents located in Dayton. What became of his parents is not stated, but when he arrived at manhood's es- tate he began operating a stage-coach between Dayton and Springfield, Ohio, which he con- tinued for some years. He subsequently be- came a traveling salesman for a Cincinnati house, and was one of the very first salesmen on the road from that city, and indeed from any city in the country, although it has been
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claimed for Chicago that she was the initiator of this method of reaching the trade. Some time about 1850 he purchased a farm about five miles from Dayton, upon which he lived until 1883, when he died.
Daniel Boogher married Rachel Danford, of Dayton, by whom he had children as fol- lows: Mary, deceased, who married Cooper Crew; Samantha, widow of Daniel Andrews, of Mansfield; Daniel, who resides near Day- ton, and Seeley, the father of the subject. Seeley Boogher was born September 18, 1839, in Dayton, Ohio, was well educated in the common schools, and reared on the farm until 1862, when he enlisted in the Fourteenth Ohio battery, afterward, however, being trans- ferred to the mounted cavalry and was dis- charged in 1865, having served until the close of the war. His experience was very extensive and varied, all the ordinary hardships of the soldier's lot falling to his share, though he was not taken prisoner nor seriously wounded. The war having come to an end, he returned to the old homestead, where he lived until his death in 1872. Politically Mr. Boogher was a democrat and an unusually patriotic man. His wife survives him and now resides in Saint Mary's, Ohio. Seeley Boogher and his wife were the parents of two children-William, of Hume, and Alvin G., of Auglaize county.
The old homestead was the scene of William Boogher's boyhood days. There he worked at whatever his hands could find to do, assisting his father to carry on the farm. His education was secured at the public schools of Dayton, which have been for many years well supplied with good teachers and the most modern school appliances. After leaving school he learned telegraphy, and for five years was employed in telegraphing and in the post-office it New Bremen, Auglaize county. After this ne was located at Saint Mary's, in the same county, as operator for the Lake Erie & West-
ern Railroad company, and finally, in 1880, came to Hume, in Allen county, as telegraph operator and station agent for the company above named, and established himself, in 1881, as a merchant in Hume. In 1890 he resigned his position as telegraph operator, but con- tinned in his position as agent for the rail- road company. At the same time Mr. Boog- her is engaged in purchasing grain and lumber for the eastern markets, finding in all ample opportunity for the exercise of good judgment and business talent.
Politically Mr. Boogher is an ardent re- publican, doing all that lies in his power, with- out reference to office or other reward, for his party's success. In 1892 he was elected town- ship clerk in a democratic township, overcom- ing an adverse majority of upward of ninety, a fact which by itself speaks volumes for his popularity. In 1882 he was appointed post- master at Hume, and held this office until 1893, when, on account of a change in the national administration from Benjamin Harri- son to Grover Cleveland, he was superseded by the present incumbent. Fraternally Mr. Boogher is a member of Lima lodge, No. 91, K. of P. He was married August 13, 1882, to Miss Louisa Fritz, daughter of Adam Fritz, of New Bremen, Ohio, by whom he has had four children, viz: Alice, William F., Charles O. and Nellie-the latter deceased. Mr. Boogher is a public-spirited citizen, active in all good works, not only in local politics, but in school matters, in religious matters, and in all social matters, where there is an oppor- tunity to confer a benefit on his fellow-men.
3 ACOB BOOK, one of the leading and prosperous men of Allen county, Ohio, is a resident of Spencer township. Ile was born in Marion county, Ohio, July 24, 1844, and is the son of John and Cath-
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OF ALLEN COUNTY.
erine (Epley) Book, both deceased. They were natives of Wittenburg, Germany, but came to the United States before they were married, in the year 1819, settling in Marion county, where two sons were born to them, viz: Adam and Jacob. The father of our subject was born about the year 1811, and lived in Marion county until 1863, when he bought a farm of 240 acres in Spencer town- ship, Allen county, and Jennings township, V'an Wert county, where Jacob Book, of whom we write, now resides, on section No. 27. His death occurred May 2, 1893, the mother's in 1878. A family of nine children were born to them: Mary, Catherine, Lydia, Jacob, Car- oline, Adam, Rosannah, Annie, and Louisa.
Jacob Book remained on the farm the most of the time until twenty-six years of age, working now and then at the carpenter's trade. At this time he married and located himself on the home farm, operating the same until now, devoting himself to stock raising of the higher grade and general farming. He is the happy possessor of 219 acres of excellently cultivated land, with improvements of the very best. In 1871 he was united in marriage to Miss Isabel Masters, daughter of William and Malinda (Ross) Masters. She was a native of Cler- mont county, Ohio, and born July 2, 1851. To this union were born nine children, viz: John F., an oil operator; Nancy, deceased; William, deceased; James A .: Joseph and Rosie, twins; Charley, deceased, infant daugh- ter, deceased, and Emma. . Mr. Book is a democrat in politics and a man of serupulous integrity. He has been justice of the peace of Spencer township for the past six years, and also served part of a new, uncounted term, which he resigned March 3, 1893. He served his township as trustee for four years, and has been a member of the school board. He has often been solicited by his party to accept higher honors, but has so far declined, to the
loss perhaps of his constituents. He is a Free- mason and also belongs to the local grange. He is a self-made man and is a product which no good man need be ashamed of. Honor- able in his dealings, industrious in his habits, and true in the best instinct of a generous na- ture, he has succeeded, as such qualities com- bined guarantee success. The parents of Mrs. Book were natives of New Jersey, and War- ren county, Ohio, and made their home in Jen- nings township, Van Wert county, until a short time prior to the father's death, which occurred December 10, 1891, when he was living with his daughter in Allen county. The mother died in 1855. The had seven children: Joseph and Wilson, deceased; Nancy; Isabella; Mahlan, deceased; James; and an infant daugh- ter, deceased; the father was of German de- scent and the mother of English extraction.
ILLIAM S. BOTKINS, senior mem- ber of the firm of Botkins & Stol- zenbach, leading liverymen of Lima, Ohio, having the largest and most complete livery and boarding stable in this section of the state, with accommodations for seventy-five horses, and with the finest rigs in Lima, was born at Botkins Station, Shelby county, Ohio, February 22, 1855. He is a son of Russell and Catherine (Elliott) Botkins, the father of the former of whom, Richard Botkins, was one of the early settlers of Shelby county, and entered and purchased 500 acres of land where the town of Botkins Station now stands. He was of English descent, and probably of English birth, and it is presumed emigrated from England and settled at that point. Russell Botkins, father of the subject, was born in Botkins Station, and lived there until he was thirty years of age, when he re- moved to Sidney, Ohio, where he engaged in the livery business, and during the war was an
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
extensive purchaser of horses for the govern- ment of the United States. By his marriage with Miss Elliott he had three children, viz: Mattie, William S., and Edward, the latter of whom is also engaged in business in Lima.
William S. Botkins was reared at Botkins Station until he was ten years of age, when he went with his parents to Sidney, Ohio, and there received a good common-school educa- tion, and at the age of seventeen began work- ing as freight brakeman on the. Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad. Holding this position for three years, he was then promoted to a similar position on a passenger train, which position he held also three years, and was then made conductor on a freight train. Three years later he was again promoted-to the position of conductor on a passenger train, running from Cincinnati to Toledo, and resid- ing in the former city. This position he held six years, and in 1887 located at Lima, Ohio, where he became engaged in the livery busi- ness with S. F. Large. Later he engaged in the same business with his brother, and in 1893 he became associated with Jacob N. Stolzenbach, his present partner. Mr. Bot- kins was married, in 1876, to Miss Ella Han- son, daughter of Samuel Hanson, of Lima. To this marriage there has been born one son, Harry Botkins. Mr. Botkins is a repubican in politics and is a member of the order of Odd Fellows and also of the O. R. C. He is a good man and citizen, and highly respected by all who know him.
IMOTHY B. BOWERSOCK, a prom- inent man and a leading citizen of Allen county, was born in Noble county, Ohio, April 28, 1853. He is a son of John and Ruth (Bates) Bowersock, both of whom are now deceased. John Bow- ersock, the father of the subject, was born in
Pennsylvania, December 16, 1811, and died in Allen county, Ohio, March 1, 1889. Ruth Bates, his wife, was born in Noble county, and died March 21, 1862. John was a shoemaker in his earlier life, but later he became a miller, which latter trade he followed for ten years after his marriage. During the war he made considerable sums of money purchasing horses for the government. In 1865, he removed to Allen county, where he purchased 176 acres of land in section No. 33, German township, partially improved but which he improved much more. Here he lived and followed farm- ing until his death. In politics he was a re- publican, and he was a member of the Chris- tian church. In every way he was above the average of men, mentally, morally and phys- ically; and of the powers with which he was endowed he made as good use as it was pos- sible for him to do. He and his wife, Ruth, had a family of eight children, viz: Ruth, born January 22, 1842, and now residing on the home farm; Abigail, born February 2, 1844, and married to K. Deffenbaugh, of German township; Susannah, born March 21, 1846, and married to Benjamin Bowersock, of German township; Samuel, born July 25, 1848, and fol- lowing farming in section No. 33, German town- ship; Sarah, born January 11, 1851, and now the wife of William Sarf, of German township; Timothy B., born April 25, 1853; Luana C., born July 4, 1858, and married to Charles Herring, of Van Wert, Ohio, and Walter M., born June 13, 1861, and now following farm- ing in Montgomery county, Kans.
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