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 27
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Mr. Eaton settled in Pennsylvania, on a stream called Picqua, in Chester county, where he erected a fulling-mill and prospered. | there for many years. In the fall of 1788 he
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moved to the headwaters of Pike Run, Wash- ington county, Pa., where he opened up a large farm and became a substantial citizen.
James Eaton and his wife were the parents of the following children: John, Hugh, Nancy, William, James, on one that died in infancy, Elizabeth, Sarah and Rebecca. The last three were born in Washington county, Pa., the others in Maryland. In 1813 Mr. Eaton sent his wife with her two son-in-law to Columbiana county, Ohio, remaining for a time on the farm in Pennsylvania, intending to join them the fol- lowing spring, but he was attacked by typhoid fever and died on the day set for starting out on the journey.
John Eaton, father of Judge James H. Eaton, was born in Washington county, Md., in 1788, and at the age of ten years was taken to Washington county, Pa., by his father. He was reared a farmer, and at twenty years of age married Katharine Marker of Beaver county, Pa., but whose father came to Ohio about ISos, served in the war of 1812, lived near New Lisbon until 1828, and then moved to Bucyrus, where he died about 1849. His chil- dren were James H., Thomas, Reason, Nancy, Sallie and Horace F., M. D.
Judge James Harvey Eaton was born near New Lisbon, Colombiana county, Ohio, De- cember 9, 1813, and is a son of John and Ca herine (Marker) Eaton. With his parents he removed to Crawford county in 1829, hav- ing by that time received as good an education as the times afforded. Residing with his par- ents until 1839, he then married Parmelia A. Fields, and settled in the woods of Van Wert county, but there the deadly malaria so injured the health of his wife that he felt it his duty to return to Crawford county, where she died, leaving one child, Rebecca, who became Mrs. Thomas Rogers. Young Eaton was much in- terested in the study of law, and at Findlay, Ohio, completed his studies and was admitted
to the bar. There he married Sarah Mc Will- iams, who was of Scotch ancestry, and in June, 1846, returned to Crawford county, and under the present constitution of the state, which was adopted in 1851, was elected the first probate judge of Crawford county. With his clear and full knowledge of law he became an exceedingly valuable official, soon winning renown as Judge Eaton.
When the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chi- cago railroad was being constructed he took a leading part in securing the right of way, and gained an insight into railroad building which was of great value to him afterward, in Bluff- ton, in securing the location of the Lake Erie & Western and the P., A. & W. railroad through that place. Five sons and two daughters blessed the marriage of Judge and Mrs. Eaton, those living being as follows: William W., Frank A., Thomas J and Harvey K. The mother of these children. his second wife, died on the home farm in October, 1865, and for his third wife he married Martha A. Morris, née Mungen, in Findlay, Ohio. Six months after this marriage he sold his farm in Crawford county and moved to Bluffton, pur- chasing the farm of 343 acres, on which a large part of the town is now located, of Dr. Godfrey, at a cost of $16,000. Here were added to his family two sons and one daughter, those living being Melvin V. and Mattie. Judge Eaton was a man of great energy and industry, thoroughly renovated things on his new farm, and made many improvements. When the project of extending the L. E. & W. railroad from Findlay to Lima was agi- tated he at once saw the advantages to Bluff- ton and he took hold of it with resistless en- ergy and put into it more money, probably, than any other man, and lived to see his fond- est dreams realized. It was largely through his efforts that the township was bonded to aid in building the road, and was a great pleas-
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ure to him to see the last bond paid. In se- curing the P., A. & W., he was a no less factor, and he made it his business to hope and work when others gave up in despair. During the third of a century which he passed as a resident of Bluffton he was always a con- spicuous figure in the community. His death occurred on Saturday, July 28, 1894, and no man was ever more missed in any community than he in Bluffton.
LEXANDER BROTHERS. - Frank U. Alexander, of Allen county, Ohio, was born in Delphos, November 27, 1858, a son of James and Rachael (Tong) Alexander, also natives of the Buckeye state. Frank U. was educated in the schools of Delphos, and entered upon his business career, in conjunction with his father and a brother, in the buying and shipping of butter. eggs, etc., which business employed his tine and attention until 1880, when he was given the position of inspector of the division of the Erie & Miami canal between Delphos and Spencerville. In 1883 he relinquished this situation and united with his brother, William J. Alexander, in establishing their present popular livery enterprise in Delphos, in which an abundant success has been met.
The marriage of Frank U. Alexander took place, at Delphos, to Miss Eva Lindsey, daughter of Rev. Mr. Lindsey, and this union has been blessed by the birth of five children. named in order of birth, as follows: Laurance, Claude, Jennie, Mattie and Charlie, In re- ligion the family affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Alex- ander is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Royal Arcanum. In politics he is a stanch republican, the owner of valuable city prop- erty and a splendid livery establishment, and
being of a most pleasant disposition, he stands very high in his social relations.
William J. Alexander, partner in the livery business at Delphos, Ohio, with his elder brother, Frank U., was born October 10, 1862, in the city where he still retains his resi- dence and in the schools of which he received his education. At the early age of twelve years he began his business life, having been given one-third interest in the poultry and produce business with his father and brother, and in this he continued until twenty years of age, when he accepted a position on the Miami & Erie canal, as inspector from Delphos to the junction with the Wabash canal, a distance of twenty-four miles, which position he satis- factorily filled until 1884. In 1885, however, in company with his brother, Frank U., he engaged in the present popular and profitable lívery business.
February 26, 1885, Mr. Alexander married Miss Mattie Hipp, who was born at Saint Mary's, Ohio, December 5, 1864, a daughter of George Hipp, a merchant of the place, but now deceased. The family are Methodists in their church membership, and his politics Mr. Alexander is a republican. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias, and as a business man he leads in his calling, having a fine stud of twenty horses and a stock of buggies, cabs, carriages and all equipages necessary for the satisfactory accommodation of the public.
LIJAH EDMAN, retiredl farmer of Allen county, Ohio, is a son of Paul and Hannah (Harris) Edman. Paul Edman was a son of Sammel Edman, who was born near Paterson, N. J., about the year 1760. Samuel was one of the Revolu- tionary fathers, having been a soldier under Washington. After the close of that war Mr. Edman engaged for some time in rafting tim-
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ber down the Delaware river, and some time later he purchased a farm in Powhatan county, Va., upon which he lived for several years, or until 1814, in which year he purchased 206 acres in Burlington township, Licking county, Ohio. Upon this farm he died at the great age of eighty-seven years. When he went to Virginia he was without a dollar in the world, and he chopped 300 cords of wood to obtain the means with which to pay for his farm in that state. His first wife was Miss Dolly Paul, who died some time in the thirties. By her he had the following children, viz: Thomas, and Peter, both of whom died in Virginia: Samuel, who died in Licking county, Ohio; William, who served with Gen. Hull in the war of 1812, and was with him at the time of his surrender at Detroit, and died in Licking county, Ohio; John, who also died in Licking county; Paul, who died in Allen county; Cath- erine, who married John Mckinley, and died in Licking county, and Mary, who married James Hardin, and died in Jackson county. Mr. Edman married, for his second wife, Miss Sarah Chilcoat, by whom he had no children.
Paul Edman, the father of Elijah, was born June 26, 1794, in Staunton, Va., in which state he learned the trade of shoemaker. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Licking county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade for a year or two, and then purchased 106 acres of land in Burlington township, that county. This land he improved and lived upon it until 1851, when he removed to Shawnee township, Allen county, where he purchased 176 acres in section No. 19. This was for the most part timbered land, which he cleared off, burning much of it in order to get it out of the way, as was customary and indeed necessary in the the olden time. The remainder of his life was spent on this farm, and he died March 20, 1873. In religious faith he was a Methodist. and was one of the original members of the
Shawnee Methodist Episcopal church. Polit- ically in early life he was a democrat, but later he became a supporter of the republican party, and he was one of the early trustees of Shaw- nee township. His wife, Hannah Harris, was a daughter of William Harris, of Virginia. She died February 20, 1875, and both she and her husband lie at rest in the Shawnee Methodist Episcopal burying ground. They were the parents of six children, as follows: Thomas, of Calhoun county, Iowa; William H., of Hutchison, Kans .; Rebecca, wife of Samuel Dixson; Elijah, of Lima; Juliana, de- ceased; and Oliver P., of Michigan.
Elijah Edman was born November 7, 1826, in Licking county, Ohio, and was reared on the old homestead farm. After being educated in the district school, and attaining to man- hood's estate, he located on a farm, upon which he remained until 1852, when he re- moved to Allen county, where he united with his father and assisted him in clearing up and improving his Shawnee township farm. In fact all the improvements on that farm were made by Elijah Edman. After his father's death, he purchased the farm, and has added thereto, until now it contains 276 acres. In 1889 Mr. Edman retired from active life, and located in Lima, permitting his sons, Wilson and Charles, to live on and operate the farm.
In May, 1863, Mr. Edman enlisted in com- pany C, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served therein roo days. In 1864 he joined company C. One Hundred and Ninty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and served with this regiment until the close of the war. He is now a member of Mart. Arm- strong post, No. 202, G. A. R. In politics Mr. Edman is a republican, and. though never a seeker after office, has held the offices of township trustee and school director, beside several minor offices of trust.
Mr. Edman was married November 28,
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1852, to Martha J., daughter of John Wag- ner, who settled in Licking county, Ohio, re- moving there from Lancaster county, Pa,, and laying out the town of Chatham. Mr. Edman and Martha J., his wife, became the parents of nine children, as follows. Wilson, who married Miranda Blackburn, and now lives upon the old homestead; Marion, who married Miss Mary J. Bowser, and lives in Auglaize county: Charles, who married Miss Josie McCoy, Amos, who married Miss Ordella Arther, and resides in Luna; Alzeda, deceased; Eva J., wife of Lewis Neff, of Lima; Martin F., of Luna, Grant and Ida. All of these children inheriting the good health and phys- ical strength of their parents, are now living but one, as will be seen by the above record.
J OHN ENSLEN, one of the oldest set- tlers of Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio, and a prominent farmer, descends from an old American colo- nial family of sturdy German origin, and more proximately from the state of Pennsylvania.
Abraham Enslen, grandfather of our sub- ject, came from Germany to America on a sailing vessel, which was sixteen weeks on the ocean. He finally settled in Luzerne county, in the Keystone state, and cleared up a farm from the wilderness, became a substantial hus- bandman, lived to a good old age, and left four children -Jacob, Conrad, John and Henry. John Ensten, son of Abraham and father of ous subject, was born in Luzerne county, Pa., February 3, 1780, was there reared to farming and married Catherine Transil, the union re- sulting in the birth of eleven children, of whom two died in infancy. Mr. Enslen served in the war of 18:2, and about 1813 came to Ohio and was one of the very early pioneers of Franklin county, where he cleared up a farm of forty acres, on which he resided until 1831, i and Catherine Enslen were born in the follow-
when he came to what is now Sugar Creek township, Allen county, and here cleared up from the woods the farm on which his son John, our subject, now resides-there being at the time of his coming but two other settlers in the township, a Mr. Jacobs and William Clevenger, and the township being then a part of Putnam county. He at first entered eighty acres, but, being a man of great nerve, in- dustry and thrift, he increased his possessions until he became owner of 240 acres in Putnam county -- Allen not being then organized-and was the first man to pay taxes in Kalida. Mr. Enslen was one of the organizers of Allen county, took part in the erection of Sugar Creek township, and was otherwise active and prominent in the early public affairs of his chosen place of residence, holding the position of an early township trustee and therefore be- ing a factor in its elementary position as a con- stituent portion of the county. In religion he was an old-school Presbyterian, and also one of the founders of the old-school Baptist church of his township, but prior to the organization of these societies and the erection of their church edifices, religious exercises of both con- gregations were held at his own residence. He was an ardent friend of education and among the first to found subscription schools and to aid in the bringing about the present system of common schools. The first school-house was where John E. Jones's brick blacksmith shop now stands, one mile east of Gomer, and was a round log structure, with split logs for seats, greased paper for window-panes, a fire- place as wide as a barn door, and otherwise primitively furnished. The tuition term lasted for three months in the winter, with Elijah Lippencott as the first tutor, in 1839, and this school even Mr. Inslen attended, going and coming a mile and a half through the woods and swamps. The children of John
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ing order: Abraham, Frederick, Mary, Betsey, Hiram, Sarah A., Catherine, Louis, Margaret, John and Lydia. The father of this family lived until he reached the age of seventy-six years and died in 1856, one of the most re- spected pioneers of Allen county.
Of the above enumerated children John Enslen, the subject proper of this biography, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, February 3, 1831, and was an infant when brought to Allen county by his parents, the journey being made in a wagon through the woods and through which the father had to cut the greater part of the way. Here Mr. Enslen grew to manhood on the frontier tarm of his father, which he assisted in a great measure to : clear from the forest, and here was educated in one of the old fashioned log houses of that early day. At the age of twenty-three years he married, in Delphos, March 30, 1854, Miss Mary M. Shutt, who was born in Medina county, Ohio, in 1832, a daughter of Henry Shutt, who was a weaver by trade and came from Pennsylvania to Delphos, Ohio, about 1852. Mr. Shutt was a member of the Ger- man Reform church and died near Delphos, an aged man and the father of five children --- John Jacob, Daniel, Sarah, Mary M. and Elizabeth,
After his marriage, Mr. Enslen settled on the old homestead, where he has since made his home and on which he has made extensive improvements and placed under a high state of cultivation. On the death of his father he was appointed executor of the estate and sub- sequently bought the rights of the other heirs, and now owns a splendid farm of 160 acres, on which, in 1852, he built a modern resi- dence and all necessary farm structures. To his marriage with Mary M. Shutt the following children have been born: Edgar W., John H., Columbus E., Francis M., William M., Rosa B., George S. and Carrie D).
In politics Mr. Ensten has been a life-long democrat, and has filled the office of county infirmary director; for four consecutive years he served as township trustee, and also as trustee a single term, and has been a member of the school board a number of years, being especially interested in educational progress. He has also been much interested in the roads of the township and has always been an ardent friend of good and solid pikes, and was one of the first to advocate their construction throughout the township. In religion Mr. Ensten has for many years been a faithful ad- herent of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has for a long time officiated as ( lass leader and steward, and in the support of which he has always assisted liberally from his means in the erection of church edifices and otherwise. The death of Mrs. Mary M. (Shutt) Enslen took place February 12, 1895. She was a woman of many christian virtues and died in the full profession of the faith of the Methodist church, of which she had, since almost childhood, been a devoted member, and in the faith of which she had reared her children to worthy manhood and womanhood. Mr. Ensten still resides on the old homestead, an honored citizen and'respected for his public spirit and the great service he has rendered his fellow-citizens in redeeming the county from its original wild and almost uninhabitable condition and in making it the center of a prosperous and civilized comumity, such as it is found to-day.
J OHN H. ENSLEN, the leading mer- chant of Elida, Allen county, Ohio, who forms the subject of this biography, has been engaged in business for the past twelve years, His first entrance into the mercantile field was in company with G. R. Leist, who was one of the old and reliable mer-
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chants of this place; he however had a number of years of experience as a clerk and was not a novice in the trade. When he entered part- nership with Mr. Leist, his capital consisted of a few hundred dollars, but a fortune of pluck and courage. That he succeeded even beyond his most sanguine ambition is evidenced by a look at his handsome store, with its well-filled shelves, of which he is now sole proprietor. At present he carries about $8,000 in stock, and a sewing needle or a harvest-binder can be obtained here without advance notice. The genial proprietor is enterprising and successful, and is one of the most popular men of the town, and altogether the one necessary man. In 1892 he erected his handsome brick block- 20x80 of brick-the upper story being a hall. Mr. Enslen is a native of Allen county, Sugar Creek township, and was born March 20, 1859. He was reared on a farm and educated in the district schools, and at twenty years of age be- gan clerking in a dry-goods store. On Decem- ber 6, 1883 he was married to Miss Ella Laumiller, daughter of Andrew and Catherine Lanmiller, of Marion township, both pioneers of the county. Two children have born to Mr. Ensien and wife-Orlo C. and Critoria. Mrs. Enslen is a member of the United Breth- ren church, in which she is an active and ener- getic worker. Our subject is an Odd Fellow in his fraternal affiliations and an enthusiastic member of the order.
Mr. Enslen was the second son and third- born child in a family of nine children which blessed the union of John and Mary M. (Shutt) Enslen, who were both natives of the Buck- eve state, each of them coming to Allen county in childhood with their parents and here reared among the pioneer scones of the northwest. It is evident that the parents of Mr. Enslen were early taught the valnable lessons of industry and economy, which they have practiced through life and which have
caused them to be numbered among the rep- resentative citizens of Allen county. The father, John Enslen, has been identified throughout his life with agricultural interests, he being one of the progressive and practical men of his day as well as liberal in all public enterprises and encouraging every movement that had the welfare of the community in sight. He was married on the 30th of March, 1854, to Miss Shutt, who was born in Medina county, Ohio, June 9, 1833, and in early childhood came to Allen county, where she was educated, and from 1849 up to the time of her marriage, in 1854, she was one of the prominent school-teachers of her county. As previously stated, there were born nine chil- dren unto this marriage, named as follows: an infant deceased, unnamed; Edgar W., a farmer; John H., the subject of this sketch; Columbus E, and Francis M .. 'twins), both now employed as firemen on the P., F. W. & C. R. R .; William M., practicing physician of Fort Wayne, Ind .; Rosa B., at home; G.orge S., who was of late in the employ of his older brother, John H., the merchant, and was lo- cated at Allentown, and Carric D., at home. John Enslen, the husband and father, is one of the representative men of Sugar Creek township, where he has resided since 1831, having been born in Franklin county, Ohio, on January 3, of the same year: he was the son of John Enslen, Sr., who was a native of Pennsylvania and one of the early pioneers of Franklin county. Mrs. Enslen, after rearing her children to manhood and womanhood, was called to her long home on the 12th of February, 1895, she having been a true and faithful companion, a fond wife, and loving mother, and a lady of many good traits of character which endeared her to all those she came in contact with, and at her death she left a husband and eight children to mourn hier loss.
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ILLIAM H. EULLER, an honored citizen of Bluffton, Ohio, and an ex-soldier of the Civil war, sprang from the best of German ancestry, his parents having been Adam and Phoebe (Weeks) Euller. Adam Euller, the father of the subject, was born January 31, 1808, in Germany, at " Bingen on the Rhine ," a town in the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- many, where he was a miller by trade. For generations before the family had followed the same occupation. Mr. Enller came to the United States when he was twenty-eight years of age. in 1837, settling in Bordentown, N. J., where he married. He united with the Had- donfield (N. J.) Baptist church in 1838, having an interpreter to assist him in giving in his ex- perience. He and his wife became the par- ents of the following children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Mary, William H., George and John. Mr. Euller finally settled in Ashland, Ohio, where he ran a mill for some years, and died there at the age of seventy-three years, in 1882. In politics he was a republican, and he had two sons in the late Civil war, William H. and George W., the latter of whom en- listed when but fourteen years of age. He served in an Ohio infantry regiment, first en- listing for nine months, and then for three years, in which he served two years, the war closing at this time. He was in many battles and skirmishes, among them the series of bat- tles in the Wilderness in Virginia.
Adam Euller and Phoebe A. Meeks were married October 10, 1839, in Colestown, N. J., by the Rev. John Sisty. Phoebe A. Euller, mother of the subject of this sketch, was born October 12, 1821, in Colestown, N. J. Her mother, Margaret D. Meeks, came from Ger- many. When she and her husband came to this country they took passage on a sailing vessel, there being only sailing crafts in those days; it took three months to make the pas-
sage. On boarding the vessel they paid the captain their passage money and it took about all they had. On arrival at New York, the captain, being dishonest, sold them into three years' service to pay fare the second time.
William H. Euller, the subject of this sketch, was born October 6, 1840, at Manayunk, Pa. His education was received in the common schools, and in his youth learned the milling business. He enlisted at Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, in March, 1865, in company B, Sixtieth Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. Robert Eddy, for three years or during the war, and was honorably discharged at Washington, D. C., in July, 1865, the war having then closed. The duties he was called upon to perform were not very laborious or dangerous, being those of a guard in Washington, D. C.
Returning from the war he was married at Perrysville, Ashland county, Ohio, August 10, 1873, to Sarah A. O'Harrow, who was born at Perrysville, March 8, 1852, and is a dangh- ter of Henry and Rachel (Johnson) O'Harrow. Mr. O'Harrow was a pioneer of Ashland county, Ohio, a member of the old pioneer society of that county, and a highly respected citizen, and Mrs. O'Harrow died at the early age of twenty-eight years, when her danghter, Sarah A. (Mrs. Enller), was a mere babe.
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