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 29
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George R. Fetter, the subject proper of this sketch, remained on the home farm, as- sisting his father, until the latter's death, when he came into possession of his present farm, in section No. 27, on the Lafayette road, four miles east of Lima. His marriage took place, in 1885, with Miss Nancy A. Hefner, daughter of Amos Hefner, of Bath township, the union resulting in the birth of five children -- George A., Hattie B., Orrie A., Retta B. and Aaron W. Mr. Fetter had acquired a good knowl- edge of business as well as of farming, and is
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now quite extensively engaged in developing the stone quarries on his land, operating lime- kilns, etc. In politics he is a democrat, and for four or five years has been honored with the position of township trustee, an office he has filled with credit to himself and to the sat- isfaction of the public. As a business man the name of Mr. Fetter stands without a blemish, and his social standing is a very de- sirable one.
J 'ACOB E. FETTER, engineer, quarry- man and general business man, was born on the old homestead in Bath township, Allen county, Ohio, on the old Findlay road, November 8, 1866, a son of George and Sarah (Ward) Fetter. He re- ceived a good common-school education, and at the age of nine years started to run an engine in his father's stone quarry and lime works, one-quarter of a mile south of the rest- dence, where he was employed for six years, and then moved east, up the creek, to the present place, where be was employed in run- ning a steam drill. Jacob E. Fetter remained with his parents until his marriage, April 14, 1879, to Miss Martha Swain, daughter of Jacob Swain, of Branch county, Mich., and settled on a farm then owned by his father, consisting of sixty-nine acres, in section No. 23, Bath township, Allen county, Ohio, five miles east of Lima, on the Lafayette road, which farm has since, in July, 1894, been deeded to him by his respected parent. His marriage has been blessed with four children; of whom the youngest died in infancy, those living to adult age being named Jacob L., Catherine and Henrietta. Jacob Swain, father of Mrs. Martha Fetter, was born in Pennsylvania and married Miss Henrietta Frey, of Michigan, to which union were born three children, as follows: David L., Albert and Martha (Mrs. -
Fetter), who all lived to maturity, to make glad the hearts of their parents.
Mr. Fetter, our subject, has made all the improvements on his sixty-nine-acre farm and has associated with himself his two brothers, George and Daniel, in the stone-quarrying and lime-kiln business, of which business, our subject once had full possession but later formed .a partnership with the two broth- ers named, and together they carried on the business until March, 1892, when another brother, Julins, was admitted to the firm, who remained one year only and then sold back to the three brothers, who originally consti- tuted the firm, who had paid $5, 150 to George Fetter for the thirty-four and one-third acres which constituted his share of the quarry. Daniel, George and Jacob Fetter also own eighty acres in section No. 25, Bath township, derived from their father, George. In 1890 our subject was also employed, in the spring of the year, in blowing stumps for the Van Wert county reservoir at a salary of $20 per day, and also ran a steam drill for Jacob Stehlie, in the year 1882, and Jacob Custer, for $10 per day, in same year. In 1893 he be- gan to traffic in stone, selling large quantities to Edward Davis, of Lima, Ohio, and also en- gaged in shipping large quantities of lime to Niles, Mich., and to J. H. Whiteman, of Wapakoneta, Ohio.
In politics Mr. Fetter is a democrat, and in religion Mrs. Fetter is a devout Lutheran. It will be seen that Mr. Fetter is one of the most substantial, shrewdest and most enterprising business men of Allen county, and the high standing he has attained among his fellow-citi- zens is due, in a great measure, to this inherent energy, which indeed makes him a man among men, which he is universally recognized to be. A pernsal of the biographies of other members of this family, to be found in other pages of this volume, will be found of much interest.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
J ULIUSK. FETTER is a native of Bath township, Allen county, Ohio, was born on the home farm in 1870, and is a son of George and Sarah Fetter, old-timers of the township and county. Until the age of twenty-four years he resided with his parents and then married Miss Susan Coon, a native of Amanda township, Allen county, and a daugh- ter of William Coon, a well-known .farmer. Mr. Fetter, after his marriage, settled on the farm owned by his father in Bath township and four years later removed to his present farm of 109 acres in the same township, which farm was the gift of his generons father; one child, Oris, blessed his marriage with Miss Coon. In
politics, Mr. Fetter belongs to the . young de- mocracy of the county and takes an active part in advancing the interests of his organization, bat has never sought office from his party as a reward for his services, preferring to devote his attention to the interests of his private affairs.
William Coon, father of Mrs. Susan Fetter, muas horn in Amanda township, Allen county, Ohio, in 1843, and there married his first wife, who bore the maiden name of Jane Place. To this union were born ten children, including Mrs. Fetter. Mr. Jane Coon died in 1885, and the second marriage of Mr. Coon was to Lucinda Sheline, of Indiana. Mr. Coon is a prosperons farmer, owning a farm of 182 acres in Amanda township, and is a highly respected gentleman. He is a prominent member of the democratic party, is a consistent member of the Christian church, and an influential and useful member of the farmers' alliance (Patrons of Husbandry) of Amanda township. Julius K. Fetter, although yet a young man, has made his mark in this community as a practi- cal and accomplished agriculturist, and the active interest he takes in the public affairs of his township gives indication of the usefulness he will attar as a citizen in the days yet to come.
AMES FLANAGAN, member of the Delphos city council from the Second ward, and a well-known citizen, is a native of Ohio, having been born in Sandusky city on May 1, 1850. He is a son of Patrick and Josephine (Haley) Flanagan, both of whom were natives of the county Ros- common, Ireland. They were married in Ire- land, and in 1849, with one child, came to the United States. After landing in this coun- try they came direct to Sandusky city, Ohio. In the same party the parents and brothers and sisters of our subject's father and one brother of his mother came, and jater he- par- ents came over. Patrick Flanagan followed railroading after he came to the United States, and his death occurred in Columbus, Ohio, in 1870, he having removed to that city a short time before. His wife's death occurred in Licking county in 1858. They were both members of the Roman Catholic church. To them five children were born, there of whom are still living.
James Flanagan was reared in Sandusky city, where he received his education in the parochial schools. After leaving school in 1862, he went into the office of the Erie County News, in Sandusky city, to learn the printer's trade. He continued in the printing office until the fall of 1864, when the office was re- moved from the city, and he decided to try something else. In 1865 he went to work in the Sandusky Wheel works, and continued in that employment until 1868. He then went to Toledo, where he entered the employ of the Ohio Wheel company, and continued there until 1872, when the works were removed to Delphos, he coming here with the company, and has ever since been with them He is in charge of the finishing department of the work, a position he has held ever sin he entered their employ in 1868.
Mr. Flanagan was married September 12,
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1878, to Miss Elizabeth Fettig, who was born in Spencerville, Ohio, on March 4, 1862, and is the daughter of William and Jacobina Fet- tig, of Allen county, the father now being de- ceased. To this mion five sons and one daughter have been born, as follows: William, born June 12, 1880; Bertha, May 7, 1884; Ferdinand, February 6, 1887; John, July 26, 1889; George, June 5, 1892, and James E., November 30, 1895. Mr. Flanagan and fan- ily are members of Saint John's Roman Cath- olic church. Mr. Flanagan is a democrat in politics, and in the spring of 1893 was elected to represent the Second ward in the city coun- cil for a terin of two years, and in 1895 was re-elected for another term of two years. Dur- ing the first year of his membership of the council he was chairman of the sanatory com- mittee, and was a member of the finance and fire department committees. The second year he was chairman of the claims committee, and a member of sanatory and ordinance commit- tees. In the present council he is chairman of the ordinance committee and a member of the claims and sanitory committees.
ENRY FLEEGER, deceased, was a native of Germany, was born in 1807, and was reared a farmer. He was married, in Germany, in 1832, to Catherine, a daughter of John Weber, and to this mion were born three children, named Henry, Mary C. and Henry J. In 1836, Mr. Fleeger came to America and purchased a farm of fifty acres in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on which he resided several years, and then came to Allen county and purchased eighty acres in Bath township, which he industriously set hunselt to work to clear up from the wilderness and which he converted into a model farm in all respects. Here he passed the remained of
his life, dying June 7, 1892, a strict member of the German Reform church and a democrat in politics. His widow, Mrs. Catherine (Weber) Fleeger, died on the homestead, March 22, 1895, in her eighty-fourth year, venerated by all who knew her for her benevo- lence, general kindness, motherly disposition and many other womanly qualities.
Henry Brown, half-brother of Mrs. Flee- ger, was born in Germany December 16, 1818, immigrated to America in 1833, and settled in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. In 1840 he married Barbara, daughter of Adam Kline, of Tuscarawas county, the union resulting in the birth of eight children, viz: Adam, Henry, and John deceased; Mary, the widow of George Hartz, and now the adopted danghter of Mrs. Fleeger; Henry, Jr., of Lima; Jacob, of Oregon; Catherine, wife of Scott Hays, of Mercer county, Ohio, and John The death of Henry Brown occurred September 5, 1854, and in 1855 his widow was married to Chris- tian Roeder, a native of Germany, but an old resident of Ohio, who, in 1862, enlisted in defense of the integrity of the Union and saw three years' active service. In 1863 Mr. and Mrs. Roeder engaged in farming until his death, which took place in 1884. The chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Roeder were named as follows: Christian, William, Emanuel and Frank.
The late Henry Fleeger was an excellent farmer and a prudent man of business. He was known far and wide for his industrious habits and strict morality and his open-handed generosity and genial disposition. He was a lov- ing husband and an affectionate and indulgent father, as well as a warm and steadfast friend; he was public-spirited and patriotic, and was ever ready to aid from his means any and every enterprise that tended to advance the immediate interests of Bath township or the general prosperity; he was deplored by all
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the inembers of the community in which he had lived so long and which he had done so much to serve, morally and financially.
J G. FOREMAN is one of the young and enterprising business men of the village of Elida, Allen county, Ohio, and is the proprietor of the leading drug-store of the place, being a thoroughly competent and an up-to-date gentleman. His residence here has been of short duration, having located in his present place of business on November 21, 1894, as successor to S. A. Stemen, and from the start his trade began to increase, and con- tinued to do so as he became more thoroughly known. His handsome drug-store is replete with a full line of drugs, patent medicines, toilet articles, etc. Mr. Foreman has had an experience in the drug business of over two years, having learned the business at Vanluc, Ohio. He read medicine for a year and a half and attended the school of pharmacy at Ada, Ohio, gradnating in July, 1884.
Mr. Foreman is a native of Hancock county, Ohio, was born September 22, 1864, and is a son of Joseph and Christina (Alspach) Fore- man, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He is one of a family of eight children, was reared on the farm, and received his education in the public schools, with the addition of a literary course at Findlay, Ohio, where he also took a business course in the college at that place. He was a school-teacher of two years' standing and was very successful; he was also a book- keeper about six months before coming here for a Findlay firm. He was married in No- vember, 1893, to Miss Etta Hartman, daugh- ter of Eli Hartman, of Hancock county, Ohio. Politically he affiliates with the democrats and be and bis companion are members of the Methodist church. Mr. Foreman is truly a live. enterprising young business man of the town.
R. TOBIAS H. FOLTZ, a prominent physican of Lima, Ohio, was born March 23, 1842. He is a son of Phillip and Sarah (Hiester) Foltz. Mrs. Sarah Foltz's father was Bishop Samuel Hiester of the United Brethren church, and the father of Phillip Foltz was John B. Foltz, or, as he spelled it, Voltz. He was born in Shenandoah county, Va., and, as the name implies, was of German ancestry, his fore- fathers being among the earlier settlers of that county. John B. Foltz left Virginia for Ohio about 1830, settling in Fairfield county, where he lived the rest of his days. Phillip Foltz, father of the subject, was reared in the last- mentioned county, but after he grew to man- hood he removed to Hancock county, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. He was prominent in politics, adhering to the principles of the democratic party, and he was a member of the United Brethren church. His death occurred December 19, 1891. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, the subject of this sketch being their second child.
Dr. Tobias H. Foltz was reared a farmer's boy in Hancock county, and received more than an ordinarily good education. First he attended the district schools and afterward the Findlay high school, and being very studious in his disposition, made the best possible use of his time while in the common and in the higher schools. He was one of the patriotic young men that offered their services to the government when the war of the Rebellion came on, enlisting in company H, Twenty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served one year. He was in the battle of Stone River, and in the battle of Chattanooga, and saw consider- able hard service. In 1865 he began reading medicine with Dr. E. B. Hiester, and grad- uated from the Western Reserve university at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1870. He began the practice of his profession at Kirby, Wyandot
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county, Ohio, remaining there until 1875, when he removed to Lima and established himself there in the practice of medicine. Since then he has been in continuous and successful prac- tice. He is a member of the Northwestern Medical society, and of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church of Lima, and is a trustee of that church and also of Epworth Methodist Episcopal church of the same place. Dr. Foltz was married, in 1868, to Miss Mary S. Ott, daughter of John G. Ott, and by her he has had four children, viz: William H. and Harry L., and two that died in infancy. Dr. Foltz is much devoted to his profession, and answers calls without regard to the standing of wealth of those in need of a physician, for his desire is to heal the sick -- compensation therefor being with hun a secondary consideration.
ETER FEEMAN, is one of the sub- stantial men of German township, Allen county, Ohio, and the brief bio- graphy which follows will be of interest to many. His birthplace was Northampton county, Pa., and he was born February 24, 1820, a son of Peter and Mary (Kreiling) Fee- man, both natives of this county. The family is of German origin, first coming to America about the year 1760 and settling in the Quaker state. The parents of our subject came to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1832; the father bought a farin there and lived upon it until he died, in 1884, at the extreme age of ninety- six years. He was a man of great vigor, and until he was ninety years old had never spent a day in bed from sickness. He was a quiet, domestic person, and a devout member of the Lutheran church. Politically he was a democrat. and abounded in faith in the party of his theice. He was moderately success- ful from a financial standpoint and lived in comfort and plenty all his days. His wife
died in 1876 at the age of eighty-eight years. This union was blessed by the birth of eight children: Henry, Susanna, Catherine, John and Sarah, deceased; Peter, the subject of this sketch, Charles and Matilda. Peter was a lad of thirteen years when the family eini- grated to Ohio, where he remained until twen- ty-three years of age. He had learned the then useful trade of saddle-tree making at Wooster, Ohio, and worked at that business in that place for four years, when he went to Tiffin and later to Mansfield, plying his occu- pation until 1863, when he came to Allen county, and located in Lima, where he stayed a number of years.
He began the manufacture of wooden stirrups and operated this business in Lima until 1882, when he engaged in the manufac- ture of tile and cultivating a farm in section No. 25, German township. On this farin of eighty acres he erected his tile plant, where he turns out tile valued at $1, 500 annually. His wares are from two inches to ten inches and are calculated to meet nearly every demand. His place is handsomely improved with a com- modious residence, and with excellent barns for stock and grain. It is withal a thrifty homestead, well filled and well tilled. He was married March 16, 1843, to Miss Matilda Ann Burgan, daughter of Jacob Burgan. She' was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1822. They are the parents of seven children, their names being as follows: Lavina, deceased; Robert, at home; Josephine, deceased; Fran- cis, deceased; Elma A. and Alberta at home, and Samnel J. deceased. Mr. Fee- man started at the lowest round of fortune's ladder.and by industry and good management has worked himself well to the top. Phuck and energy were his first capital, which he used for their utmost worth. He is independ- ent in politics and fastens himself to no one political creed. The best man tor office is his
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man, regardless of his political affiliations. He is public spirited, generous and true hearted, and has surrounded himself with a multitude of warm friends. It is said of Mr. Feeman, that he makes you feel that " life is well worth living." Would that the world's population numbered more such characters.
BRAHAM ALONZO FREY, justice of the peace of Amanda township, Allen county, Ohio, is one of the lead- ing and representative men of the place-is a man of genuine worth and unques- tioned integrity. He was born in Shawnee township, January 14, 1850, and is the son of Jacob and Amy J. (Chipman) Frey. Mr. Frey, the father, was born in Pennsylvania and is of German descent. When the grandfather of our subject married and after his family were born he came to Licking county, Ohio, and entered a tract of land, on which a cabin was built and a pioneer life begun. Seven children were born to them, Abraham, George, Mary (deceased), Christina (deceased), Susan, John, and Jacob, the father of Mr. Frey with whoin this sketch deals. Jacob grew to ina- turity in Licking county, Ohio, on the farm which his father had entered from the govern- ment. In 1848 he was united in marriage to Miss Amy J. Chipman, who was a native of Licking county. In 1849, Jacob Frey, the father of A. Alonzo Frey, came to Allen county, where he rented land, but soon moved upon his own land, which he had entered in 1850, consisting of 120 acres in section No. 3, Amanda township. On this he erected his pioneer home-a log cabin-his present large and com- modious residence, now occupying the site there- of. After years of laborious application the land was redeemed from a wilderness and placed under good cultivation and is now one of the best farms in Allen county. He was a
soldier in the Rebellion, enlisting in company D, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was mustered out July 12, 1865, at Charlotte, N. C. He was a participant in the battle at Kingston, N. C., and proved him- self a brave and valiant soldier. He is a demo- crat in politics and lives consistently with his political faith. He is a member of the G. A. R., affiliating with the order at Spencerville; has served ten years in the school board and has been trustee of the township. Seven children have been born to himself and his estimable wife, namely: Abraham Alonzo. the subject of this sketch; Mary Elizabeth, deceased; Isabella, Rosetta, Ida. A. and Martha E., deceased, and William S. The mother died in 1871 at the age of thirty-eight years, sincerely mourned by her family and all who knew her. She was a member of the Baptist church and passed away in this faith.
Abraham Alonzo Frey, of whom we shall now speak, was raised on the farm on which he now lives, in section No. 3, Amanda town- ship, and received his education, in common with other country lads, in the schools of the county. He has always followed farming and has never been away from the home farm, ex- cept for seven years. He operated the home place for his father until 1882, when he pur- chased a tract of eighty acres in Paulding county, Ohio, which was unimproved. Here he built a house and cleared a portion of it and lived here from 1885 until 1890, when he sold out and returned to Amanda township and pur- chased the old homestead, on which he at present lives. He combines. with farming, stock- raising, and is an up-to-date business man. In politics he is a democrat-stanch and consistent. He has served as justice of the peace and has filled the office of township clerk three times. December 29, 1870, he was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Fryer, daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann (Hahn)
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Fryer. Her birthplace was Spencer township and she was born July 24, 1854. This union was blessed with six children, whose names are as follows: Ida B., deceased; Alpheus, Nettie, Effie M., Clarence, deceased, and Laurence, at home. Amanda township cannot boast of a more pleasant home than this, which is sur- rounded and identified with all that constitutes a happy fireside. Mr. and Mrs. Frey are mem- bers of the Baptist church and lind in this time- honored society the best interpretation of their religious belief.
OMINICK N. GENGLER, justice of the peace and prominent farmer of Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, was born in Luxembourg, Germany, and is a son of Peter and Mary (Bonifos) Gengler, who were the parents of six children, viz: Domanick N., Louis, Peter (who died at the age of forty-two years), Felix, Thomas and Margaret (who died at the age of twenty-two). Peter Gengler, the father of this family, came to America in 1844, bringing his wife and first- born child, Dominick N., then an infant. He first located on an eighty-acre tract of land in the woods of Seneca county, Ohio, and this land was his home for more than seventeen years, he having in the meantime cleared it up by his own labor and that of his children and made of it a fertile farm. In 1863 he came to Allen county and purchased 160 acres of wood- land just south of Landeck, and of this prop- erty he also made a profitable farm and a good home, where he died January 31, 1894, aged about seventy-eight vears. He was one of the founders of Saint John the Baptist church at Landeck, was councilman in the same lor many was, and also assisted it with his means in a most liberal degree.
Domunck N. Gengler, whose birth tock place December 24, 1842, received a good
common-school education in Seneca county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood on his fa- ther's farm. He had nearly reached his majority when he came to Allen county with his father, whom he assisted until his marriage, Novem- ber 29, 1870, with Miss Mary Ardner, daugh- ter of Nicholas and Susan (Adanz) Ardner, the former of whom was a native of Germany, born May 5, 1822, and who came to America, a single man, in 1846, located at Tiffin, Ohio, and was there married. In 1863 he came to Allen county and settled on a 120-acre farm three miles southeast of Landeck, and there made his home until 1884, when he moved to a ten-acre farm at Landeck, so as to be nearer his church, of which he was one of the found- ers. Mr. and Mrs. Ardner have five children still living, viz: Mary, Nicholas. John, Susan and Lizzie.
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