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 43
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Izarial: D. Miller, eldest son of Joseph, was born June 18, 1853, upon the homestead in Amanda township, and received his edu- canon in the common schools. So well did he improve his opportunities that he began teaching at the age of sixteen years, in district school No. 7. He was devotedly attached to the profession of teaching and followed it suc- cessfully for twenty-five years, and closed his career in this line of labor in the same district in which he began. With the exception of one term, when he taught in Elida, he taught the entire twenty-five years in Amanda township. During the many years thus spent, however, Mr. Miller spent some time attending the 1 schools at Lima, and also in the National Normal school at Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, in order that his own education miglit be more complete and that he might be better qualified for the performance of his duties; and it is doubtless owing in part to this course that he met with such extraordinary success. In 1871-2 he was book-keeper for the agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad company, in its freight and express business, at Chda, and at the same t !... was clerk for Rice & Leist, and : son of Joseph R. and Sarah (Berry) Milier.
afterward for G. W. Moore, merchants at that place. In 1876 he married Darthula Place, daughter of James and Susan Place, soon afterward purchasing a farin in Amanda town- ship. In 1877 he was elected assessor of that township, and in 1878 was elected justice of the peace, filling the latter office for five years. While he was engaged in teaching he had made a special study of the law books irom the office of Mckenzie & Robb, and in 1885, as a member of the firm of Remington & Miller, began the practice of that profession, which hs continued until 1887, when, being burned out and losing all his law library, he discontinued the practice, and retired to his farm. From this time on nntil February 9, 1894, he was engaged in farming ind contract- ing, but on the latter date he was appointed clerk of the probate court, and has continued to fill this position until the present tine. Politically Mr. Miller is a democrat and always takes great interest in his party's prosperity. He has been a member of the county central committee for several years, and once filled the office of secretary, as such practically managing the campaign in 1890 in Allen county. Fraternally Mr. Miller is a Knight of Pythias, of which lodge he was one of the charter members-also a charter member of Mount Lebanon lodge, of Lima. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is altogether ore of the most promir ent men in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of the following children: Lehr E., Fredia G., Susan A., James J. and Mabel, all bright and intelligent children.
ON. JOHN J. MILLER, mayor of Spencerville and notary public, was born in Spencer township, Allen county, May 27, 1857- and was the
HON. JOHN J. MILLER,
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The mother is now dead, but the father lives in Spencerville. John J., was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools and began teaching when twenty years of age, which vocation he followed for twelve years during the winter, farming in the summer. During this time he was elected to the office of justice of the peace of Spencer township two different times, and resigned the last term in order to move to Spencerville. He was also elected to fill the office of township trustee when but twenty-four years of age. In 1889 he was elected land appraiser of Spencer township, decennial appraiser in 1890; in 1890 was ap- pointed to hill out the nnexpired term of John H. Dunathen as mayor, and the following spring was elected to the office and has twice been elected since. Mr. Miller has made an excellent mayor, and his incumbency has been characterized by marked advancement and unprovement in the government of the town, as well as in material improvements. He aided in organizing the Cooperage company of Spen- cerville in 1892 and incorporated it with a capital stock of $10,000, and of this he has always been secretary. He has also been sec- retary of the Home and Savings association since 1893. Meanwhile he does a lively in- surance business, both of life and fire, and is withal one of the busiest men in the town. He owns fifty-eight acres of good oil-producing property, and also a neat place in Spencer- ville. His real estate transactions are heavy, doing an extensive business at home and abroad. Farm loans are likewise a specialty with him, and he is in every respect an all- around business man --- such a one as is neces- sary in every community. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 251, also a member of U. R. of K. of P., Spencerville di- vision, No. 60, having passed the chairs of the subordinate and was a representative to the grand lod, “ in 1892, at Columbus, Ohio.
December 24, 1878, Mr. Miller was mar- ried to Miss Naoma Hullinger, daughter of Eli and Nancy A. (Russell). Hullinger. She was born in Perry township. Mayor Miller and wife are the parents of six children --- Jesse E., Sallie, Russell Ray, Cannor, Homer, and Willie (deceased). Both are members of the Christian church and active workers in the society. Politically Mayor Miller is a demo- crat and is a wheel-horse of his party. That Spencerville prospers goes without saying, when it can boast of such men as the one of whom this sketch is written.
ILLIAM FINLEY MILLS, one of the leading and representative cit- izens of Delphos, Van Wert county, Ohio, dealer in hay, grain and seeds, and proprietor of the Delphos elevator, was born in Monroe township, Miami county, Ohio, March 23, 1841. He is a son of Halstead C. Mills, who was a native of New Jersey, born on April 4, 1812, and was a son of William Mills, also a native of New Jersey, who re- moved from that state to Cincinnati, Ohio, in about 1824. From Cincinnati he removed to Lebanon, in Warren county, locating on Turtle Creek, near where the old residence of Tom Corwin now stands. From the above lo- cation he removed to Shelby county, Ohio, where he purchased a fine farin. Subse- quently he purchased eight acres of land near Piqua, where he resided until his death, which occurred during the 'seventies. Halstead C. Mills was a farmer by vocation. While his father was living in Shelby county, he and his brother, Dennis C., left home and went to a point in Louisiana on the Mississippi river, where they cut cord wood and made their first money. Following that, he cuyaged in raft- ing to New Orleans for a short tone. He then went to Miami county, and out cord wood
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near Tippecanoe for a time. He was there married to Mary Pearson, who was born in Miami county, and was the daughter of Enoch Pearson, a wealthy farmer living between Troy and Dayton. After his marriage he farmed one year in Miami county, and in the fall of 1842 he came with his wife and son to Van Wert county, where he had traded for 160 acres of land near Willshire, in Willshire township. There he followed farming the bal- ance of his life, dying there in November, 1885. His wife died in 1883. To these par- ents two sons and three daughters have been born, as follows; W. F., John P, who is en- gaged in business at No. 85, Liberty street, New Vork; Calindia, who married Wilson Johnson, a merchant of Willshire, Ohio, and after his death was married to Samuel K. Christy, M. D., of the same place; Rosanna, widow of the late Nimrod Dailey, and now a resident of Decatur, Ind .; and Viola, now Mrs. Dayton Hard, of Van Wert, Ohio. Hal- stead C. Mills was one of the most succesful pioneers of Van Wert county. He came to Van Wert county in 1842, and was a poor man, owning nothing but the 160 acres of land he had traded for, and at that time land in Van Wert county was of small value. But he was a good business man, and met with success all through life, having accumulated a competency befere his death, owning, when he died, nearly 1,000 acres of good land.
W. F. Mills was reared on the farm, and secured a fair education by attending the com- mon schools of that time, and the Holdbrook academy at Lebanon. He remained on the home farm until during his thirty-eighth year, assisting his father in carrying on the work. He also, during that time, taught several ses- sions of school in the neighborhood during winters. In the spring of 1879 he spent some time in Wilshire, engaged in closing ont a stock of goods belonging to his deceased
brother-in-law. The same year he associated himself with David Casto, now of Dayton, and they erected a grain elevator at Willshire. The same year he came to Delphos, and in partnership with D. A. Johns established an elevator for the purpose of transferring grain from the Narrow Gange (now the Clover Leaf) railroad to the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chi- cago railroad. That year they handled over 300,000 bushels of grain. This was conducted as a transfer elevator until the change in the gauge of the roads in 1885, and since that time as a local elevator. The firm of Casto & Mills continued for one year, during which the elevator at Willshire was conducted by them. This firm then dissolved, Casto renting the ele- vator from Mr. Mills, who still owns the prop- erty, and is this year operating it in connection with the Delphos elevator.
Mr. Mills has met with success in his busi- ness operations. Besides his elevator interests he owns 300 acres of farin land in Van Wert county, lying along the Saint Mary's river, and a number of town lots in Willshire, and his residence property in Delphos. Mr. Mills was married on March 3, 1880, to Miss Anna Banta, who was born in Decatur, Ind., and the daughter of Henry Banta, deceased. To. Mr. and Mrs. Mills three children have been born as follows: Henry Halstead, born in Allen county, August 8, 1882; Leola. born in Van Wert county, and Marion Finley, born Decem- ber 26, 1885. Mrs. Mills is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Mills is a member of the Masonic order and the Royal Arcanum.
J OHN HENRY MOENTER, a farmer of Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Linkameyer) Moenter, also pioneers of the same township and county, of whom
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further mention is made in the memoir of Frank Moenter, brother of our subject, which will be found as an adjunct of this sketch.
John H. Moenter is a native of Hanover, Germany, was born in 1838, and well remem- bers the voyage with his parents across the ocean from Bremen to Baltimore, Md., in October, 1845, when he was about seven years of age. From Baltimore the family went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they passed the winter, then came to Delphos, in 1846-the father purchasing a tract of forty acres in Allen county, a couple of miles east of that then hamlet. The family made their home tempora- tily with a neighbor, Christian Baumgartner, now deceased, until a log cabin could be built. which task was soon accomplished through the kindly assistance of neighboring pioneers, and in April the Moenters settled on their own land. Jobn H. Moenter was early inured to the hard work of frontier farming, and as he grew apace rendered valuable aid in clearing up the farm from the wilderness. He had but few advantages in the matter of education, but did not entirely grow up in ignorance-receiv- ing instruction from other sources than the pioneer schools.
October 28, 1857, Mr. Moenter was united in marriage with Miss Mary Wolfhorst, who was born at Fort Jennings, Putnam county, Ohio, April 5, 1839, a daughter of Anthony and Mary (Siebenach) Wolfhorst. After his mar- riage Mr. Moenter made his home on the Wolfhorst homestead for seven years and then, in 1863 or 1864, came to his present farm in Marion township, Allen county. This farm at that time comprised but eighty acres, but Mr. Moenter was thrifty and industrious and was a good farmer, and increased his possessions to 120 acres, which are all now under a fine state of cultivation and improved with a modern dwelling, barn and other substantial farm buildings
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Moenter have been born ten children, viz: John, Frank, (died at the age of twenty-five years), Annie (died at three and a half years of age), Fred- erick, Henry, Elizabeth, Joseph, Anton, Louis and Theodore, who died at the age of two and one-half years. The family are all members of the Catholic church, and in politics Mr. Moenter is a democrat. The children have all received good educations and have all been reared to habits of industry and morality. Mr. Moenter has built up for himself a fine reputa- tion as a useful neighbor and citizen and has won, through his straightforward and honest conduct in life, the esteem of the community in which so many years of his active life have been passed.
RANK MOENTER, one of the promi- nent farmers of Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, was born in Han- over, German empire, March, 1, 1841, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Linkameyer) Moenter, the former born on a farm in 1800, and a resident of Bohemta, where the family had lived for generations. To Henry and wife were born two children, Jolin Henry and Frank, and in 1845 the family came to Amer- ica, landing in Baltimore, whence they came to Ohio and passed the following winter in Cincinnati, and then settled in section No. 10, Allen county, now called Delphos, in which were a small hamlet and a small log Catholic church, with Father Bredeick as pastor- since supplanted by the city of Delphos and its magnificent Roman Catholic church edifice. Henry Moenter here bought forty acres of land in the woods, two miles east of Delphos, of which tract about ten acres had been cleared; he put up a log cabin and barn, assisted by his neighbors in log-rolling, the . ustom of that day. He soon had his forty arres cleared, and
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as his sons grew strong enough to aid he added another tract of forty acres, built a frame dwelling and substantial out-buildings, brought the farm fully under cultivation, and was soon recognized as one of the prosperous farmers of the township. He lived to be nearly seventy years of age, dying on his farm in 1870, a member of the Catholic church, of which the family had for generations been members; his wife had died three years after their reaching Delphos. Mr. Moenter was an industrious and frugal man and a sincere Christian, and did much to aid in the construction of the Catholic church at Delphos, which is a monu- ment to the piety and liberality of the early Catholic pioneers. After the death of Mrs. Moenter, Frank Trentman and his wife Ange- line came to live with Mr. Moenter to assist on the farm and care for the two orphaned boys, to whom Mrs. Trentman was as kind as a mother for years-a fact never forgotten by either Frank or Henry.
Frank Moenter, our subject, was about three years of age when brought to America by his parents and was reared among the pio- neers of Marion township; he learned to work as soon as his young arms were strong enough to carry a burden, doing the minor chores on the frontier farm. He attended school at Del- phos for a while, and gained a fair common- school education, but his young life was mostly spent on the home farm. At the age of twenty years he married, at Delphos, Miss Elizabeth Wolfhorst, who was born at Fort Jennings, Putnam county, Ohio, January 17, 1843, a daughter of Anthony and Mary (Siebenach) Wolfhorst, the former of whom was a farmer, born in the village of Wittenburden, Hanover, Germany, but who came to America when a young man and was married in Glandorf, Put- nam county, Ohio, and became the father of two daughters-Annie Mary and Annie Eliza- beth. After his marriage Mr. Wolfhorst re- |
moved from Glandorf to Fort Jennings, and cleared up a farm of sixty-five acres from the woods, and there died, March 11, 1852, a de- vout member of the Catholic church.
After marriage Frank Moenter settled on his present farm, where he has since lived and prospered. This farm now comprises 100 acres, is well cultivated and improved, and is one of the most fertile in the county. The marriage of Mr. Moenter has been blessed by the birth of seven children, all living, and named Annie E., Annie Regina, Frantz Henry, Barnet Frank, Mary Elizabeth, Clara Catta- lena and Rosa Elizabeth. The entire family are faithful members of the Catholic church, and in politics Mr. Moenter is a democrat. He has held the office of supervisor and has been a member of the board of education :ev- eral terms, is an ardent friend of education, and has given his children every advantage in that respect. Of his children, Annie Regina is married to Fred Schroeder, a farmer resid- ing near Leipsic, Putnam county, and is the mother of four children; Anna Elizabeth is the wife of Andrew Schroeder, brother of Fred and also farming near Leipsic, and to this union have been born two children. The Moenter family stand very high in the esteem of the residents of Marion township, and like all the early settlers of Allen and Putnam counties, have done much to redeem the wild- erness and transform it into blooming fields. They are a God-fearing people, industrious and peace loving, and ever ready to extend a help- ing hand to the needing and suffering.
HOMAS MONTAGUE .-- That energy and industry are essential to success, and that when embodied in enterprise they will lead to success, has been demonstrated over and over again. This im-
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portant truth is once more illustrated in the brief biography of Mr. Montague which is to follow. This gentleman was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and is a son of James M. and Susan (Lockhart) Montague, both of whom are now deceased.
James M. Montague was brought by his parents, Peter and Mary (Grady) Montague, to Fairfield county, when he was quite young, and in Fairfield county, Peter Montague lived and died From that time until 1854, J. M. Montague remained in Fairfield county, when he removed to Allen county. Other members of this family are scattered all over the United States, for its members are very numerous, and are able to trace their orgin back to early times in France, though the first of its numbers to settled in America came directly from Eng- land in the seventeenth century. When Peter Montague settled in Allen county his family consisted of his wife and three children. Al- most imniediately be purchased a tract of land containing eighty acres, partially improved. It was located in section No. 10, German township, and on this land he was engaged in farmning until his death, which occurred De- cember 14, 1891. In the meantime, however. to the original eighty acres he added at one time fifty-eight acres, and at another time, eighty acres, until at length he owned 218 acres, eighty acres of which he gave to bis daughters. Mr. Montague was exceedingly domestic in his habits, seldom seeking com- panionship away from his family, much less seeking notoriety or office of any kind. He was however widely known because of the ex- cellency of his character and the uniform in- tegrity of his conduct toward all. His widow is still living with her son, the subject of this sketch, and is seventy-two years of age. She and husband were the parents of four children, viz: Thomas, Elizabeth, deceased wife of Will- jam Ballard, of German township; Mary, de-
ceased wife of J. P. Hall of Lima, Ohio; and' James, who died in infancy.
Thomas Montague, like all country boys at that time and age of the world, was reared to work on the farm, and was educated in the district schools. Ever since he began life for himself, he has carried on farming of different kinds; but in 1883 began making a specialty of market gardening on a small scale. His operations have been gradually increased until, at the present time, he is the largest producer of garden truck in Allen county. His farm contains 132 acres, and to this property he devotes his entire attention. All kinds of gar- den vegetables are produced on this farm, but those produced in largest quantities are cab- bage and celery. For watering his vegetables Mr. Montague has erected a tank with a ca- pacity of 800 barrels, which is filled by means of a steam pump. The facilities with which he has surrounded himself are first-class in every particular, and he now has one of the finest farms in his part of the country. He is, it may be said, without qualification, one of the most progressive men of his times, always abreast of all improvements. His marketing is done principally in Lima.
Mr. Montague, perceiving clearly the great and numerous evils of intemperance, has for years been an ardent prohibitionist, and labors, in season and out of season, for the success of the cause. He was married in July, 1874, to Miss Lizzie Neff, daughter of Jacob and Millie (Kessler) Neff. She was born: in Van Wert county. Mr. and Mrs. Montague were the parents of six children, viz: Ethel, James Oscar, Charles E., Oliver E., Chalmers, de- ceased, and Jacob. The mother of these chil- dren chied in August, 1887, at the age of +liirty- tliree. Mr. Montague was married in October, 1888, to Miss Maggie S. Ross, who was born in Rockingham county, Va., September 28, 1863, daughter of David and Julia Ross. By
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this second marriage Mr. Montague is the father of two children-William O., and Emery R.
Mr. Montague and both of his wives were always active in church work. He was one of the principal factors in securing the United Brethren church at Lima, and ever since it has been established has been one of its trus- tees. He was also a delegate from his church to one of its annual conferences. He has al- ways taken an active part in the work of the Sunday-school. His family are all members of the church, and his eldest son, James Oscar, is preparing for the ministry, being at the pres- ent time a student at Otterbein University. Religion, temperance and morality are the three grand conservators of society, and to all of these Mr. Montague and his family are zeal- ously and intelligently devoted.
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Vaughnsville, Ohio, he filled the pulpit for ten years, where he had a large and flourish- ing church. He was distinguished as having preached more funeral sermons than any other clergyman in the conference, and received the largest salary, but returned it all back to the church. He lived in Spencerville for six or seven years, and during this period donated the site and $700 toward the erection of the Christian church, and also gave his labor in building the same. He aided in building many Christian churches in the country and was the first minister in this society who held service in Delphos, Ohio. He was an untiring laborer in the vineyard of Christ, and a pioneer and advance guard in many good and Godly works. In 1871 he moved with his family to the farin on which Ed. Moorman, our subject, now lives, in section 29, Amanda township. The original płat contained 300 acres, which the father sold off, and in the year 1884 moved to Spencerville, where he died, February 14, 1885. His active pursuit was that of milling, and he owned a flour and woolen-mill in the village. As justice of the peace he served a number of terms extending over a period of twenty-one years. He was twice married; the first time to Miss Walters, who died early in life, leaving one child, a daughter, Elizabeth, also deceased. His second wife was Miss Nancy Arnold, who bore him eleven children, and died in 1886. The following are their names: Calvin, a farmer of Spencer township; Louisa, wife of William Bice, Jr., of Spencer- ville; Levi, Samantha, Mary and Rebecca, de- ceased; James, of Amanda township; Edward; John, a barber in Spencerville; Lucetta, de- ceased; and Patience, the wife of J. C. Purdy, of Spencerville.
a DWARD MOORMAN, the represent- 1 ative of the Moorman family in Allen county, Ohio, was born February 15, 1856, in Amanda township. He is a son of William and Nancy (Arnold) Moorman, both of whom are now deceased. They came to Allen county from Fayette county, Ohio, in 1830. The great-grandfather of Edward Moor- man, our subject, was a native of Ireland; the father of "Ed.," as he was familiarly called, was a gun and blacksmith by trade, following these pursuits the greater part of his life. When he came to this country he settled in section No. 32, Amanda township, where he made his home for a fifth of a century, during which time he erected the Hartford Christian church, furnishing material and building it at his own expense, and at its completion donat- ing it to the society. He was engaged in the Our subject was educated in the public schools, and when he arrived at majority be- gan life for himself, choosing farming as an ocru- ministry of the Christian church for nearly forty years prior to his death, riding on horse- back as far as forty miles to preach. At : pation, and working his father's place, uniting
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