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 51
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The Sanford family are of good Connecti- cut stock, but William F. Sanford, the father of our subject, was born at Hoboken, N. J. Their talents were such as to enable them to readily adapt themselves to any branch of business or to any of the learned professions. One of their most remarkable characteristics, and the one which perhaps had as much in- fluence as any other on their success in busi- ness, was their determination to keep out of debt, unless driven to debt by circumstances beyond the power of their will to control. They were and have been men of integrity and high standing in their respective communities, and have been always industrions and prosper- ous, their prosperity being the result of their industry.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Marshall J. Sanford is a native of Madison county, Ohio, having been born in that county December 20, 1856. He is a son of William F. and Caroline (Brown) Sanford, the former of whom died in 1886, the latter now residing in Madison county, with her post-office at Rosedale. William F. Sanford was an extra- ordinary man in many ways. He always took great interest in everything pertaining to the moral and material welfare of humanity. The right of the young to the best education obtain- able, and the duty of the state to provide the best education possible, always found in him an earnest advocate. He constantly strove for what, in his opinion, was the best in poli- tics, and to attain that end identified himself with the republican party. He was of a fam- ily of six brothers, only two of whom are still living, Edwin, and Dr. Samuel Sanford, both of whom live in Lima.
William F. and Caroline Sanford were the parents of ten children, seven of whom are still living, and named as follows: David B., an extensive farmer, and ex-commissioner of Madison county; Mary A., wife of John W. Williams, lumber dealer of Jeffersonville, Fay- ette county; Fletcher P., a teacher by profes- sion, who was accidentally killed in 1880; Charles F., a successful and wealthy farmer and stock raiser, of Madison county, Ohio, who has been a school-teacher and county school examiner for a number of years; Marsh- all J., of whom more will be said later in this sketch; Lida M., widow of Henry P. Hinkle, of Savannah, Tenn., whid formerly was a teacher in Ross academy of that place, and who now resides in Madison county, Olio; Arthur M., formerly a school-teacher and a manufacturer of draining tile, but who died in 1882 of brain fever; Francis M., a school- teacher and farmer of Madison county, Ohio; Carrie M., a school-teacher, and Irwin H., who died of scarlet fever, aged four years.
Marshall J. Sanford was a school-teacher six years, closing his career as principal for one year of the Ross academy at Savannah, Tenn. In his youth he received a thorough course of mental training, and graduated from the National Normal university at Lebanon, Ohio, in which institution he took a five years' course in science, classics and the law. While in attendance at that school he read las, with Judge W. S. Dilatush and John E. Smith, of Lebanon. Immediately upon graduating he opened an office at Lima for the practice of the law, and has been thus engaged ever since 1885, at first alone until 1894, and since then in partnership with Mr. Copeland. This firm attends to general practice, not making any specific department of the law a specialty. In politics Mr. Sanford is a republican, has been chairman of the county central and executive committees, and has at all times beer: inter- ested in the success of his party. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum. Mr. Sanford was married May 16, 1888, to Miss Tirzah K. Crites, daughter of Daniel L. and Martha (John) Crites. They are the parents of three children: Paul D., who died at the age of ten months and sixteen days; Marshall Blaine, born March 16, 1893, and Howard Crites, born August 20, 1895. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sanford are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They reside in Elida at present and Mr. Sanford goes back and forth to Lima to attend to his professional duties.
The grandparents of Mr. Sanford on his mother's side were James and Mary (Burnside) Brown, both of whom lived long enough to celebrate their golden wedding. They were among the most prominent of the early pio- neers of Madison county, and reared a large family of children. Mr. Brown was an exten- sive farmer and was far above the average of men in mtelligence, education and wealth. The educational interests of his children were
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always carefully . looked after, and some of these children were among the early educators of the county.
The parents of Mrs. Sanford, as stated above, were Daniel L. and Martha (John) Crites, the former of whom was born October 31, 1833, and removed with his parents, Charles and Sophia (Ludwig) Crites, to Ohio. His early life was spent in assisting his father in the work upon the farin, and in securing suce education as the facilities of pioneer days would permit. But these facilities were mainly furnished at home, he being his own teacher for the most part, and the traditional pine knot or some other blazing knot supplying him with light. He was a hard and successful stu- dent, as indicated by his beginning to teach school when quite young. He also engaged in clerical work in the office of the county auditor. Beside his activity in other directions, he pri- vately took up the study of medicine, which in later years was of practical use to him.
Mr. Crites was married to Miss John, as above narrated, and they settled in Elida, he teaching school for a couple of terms, continu- ing at the same time to read medicine. For a time he was engaged in mercantile business with S. D. Cremean, but this relation lasted only one year, when he sold his interest and engaged in the practice of medicine at Elida for about two years. Then removing to Fort Jennings, Putnam county, he was engaged, until the fall of 1861, in both teaching and practicing medicine, when he was elected sur- veyor of Putnam county. Soon after the breaking out of the war he took up arms in defense of his country, and went to the front as a substitute for Christian Raabe, and was chosen captain of his company; but by order of the war department of the government at Washington, some one else was appointed to the place He was enlisted in company K. One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer 17
infantry, and on November 8, 1862, was ap- pointed second lieutenant of his company. In 1863 he was detailed for duty under Col. Pierce, as adjutant, and went to Springfield, Mass., to organize a regiment of drafted men. During the summer of that year he joined Gen. Burnside in east Tennessee, and was ap- pointed chief of ordnance upon the staff of Gen. White. Afterward he was appointed provost marshal, but soon resigned on account of ill health, his resignation being accepted December 24, 1863.
Upon arriving home he entered Bryant & Stratton's commercial college at Toledo, but in the fall of 1864 once more went to the front as a substitute, from Pickaway county, and was detailed as clerk at Tod barracks, in which capacity he served until April 15, 1865, when he was mustered out. While in the army he contracted diseases which afterward resulted in partial paralysis. In 1866 he was appointed deputy county auditor, and in 1869 was ap- pointed auditor to fill out the unexpired term of the auditor who had died. In 1870 he was appointed deputy clerk of the county court, and again in 1875. In 1878 he was elected clerk of that court, and while serving in this. capacity he was elected journal clerk of the state house of representatives of the sixty-first general assembly. He was sixteen times a candidate for office and was always elected. In 1882 he retired from official life to his farm near Elida, Ohio, and was thenceforth an invalid until his death, which occurred March 30, 1885. Mr. Crites was a member of Shaw- nee commandery, No. 14, of Lima, Ohio, and was a Mason in good standing. He was a member of Jehu John post, G. A. R., of Elida, Ohio. By his marriage to Miss John he was the father of two children, viz: Bertha W., wife of Adamn Pfeifer, of Elida, and Tirzah K., wife of Marshall J. Sanford, of Lima, Ohio, both of whom still live to bless their parents.
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DWARD SARBER, one of the pio- neers of Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio, a substantial farmer and a highly esteemed citizen, sprang from sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Christain Sarber, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany and early settled in Northampton county, Pa., where he followed farming until his death, and was also a re- nowned hunter. His family, it is thought, con- sisted of ten children, of whom three sons and two daughters came to Ohio. Of these, one daughter, Mrs. Shoemaker, and her hus- band, moved later to Indiana, and another daughter, Mrs. Twicebough, and her husband, also settled in the same state. The three sons died in Ohio, and the other children remained in Pennsylvania.
. John Sarber, father of our subject, was born in Northampton county, Pa., and was reared a farmer. In his native state he was married to Miss Clara Decker, a native also of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Elias Decker, who served through the Revolutionary war. In 1833 John Sarber moved from Pennsylvania to Sugar Creek township, Allen county, Ohio, settling three-fourths of a mile east of where the subject of this sketch lives at the present time, making the entire journey by means of wagons. In Allen county he entered 160 acres of land. cleared a portion of it of its timber, and made a good farm and a good home for his family. He was among the earliest pioneers of the county, settling here when the country was almost a dense wilderness. He lived many years in the log cabin which he built upon his arrival. His children were all born in Pennsylvania, and their names are as follows: Catherine, Daniel, Henry, Peter, Sarah, Martha, William, Anna, Edward and Ehzabeth. They all ultimately came to Ohio, ard settled in Allen county. Mr. and Mrs. Saber were members of the Presbyterian
church, and Mr. Sarber was prominent as a citizen in many ways. He held several of the township offices in the early day, such as township trustee and other minor ones. He was a hard-working man, a great hunter, and killed many a deer and wild turkey in Allen county, which was in fact necessary for the pioneers to do, as wild game was the only meat they had then to eat. His market, when he arrived, and for some time thereafter, was at Lower Sandusky, 100 miles away, and there he had to go for butter and salt, but at times he could secure groceries and dry goods nearer home.
Edward Sarber, the subject of this sketch, was born in Luzerne county, Pa., J .- ly' 3, 1826, was but seven years old when he came with his parents to Ohio, and he can well remember the journey. Arriving in Allen county, after the long, tedious journey, he re- ceived his education in the subscription schools, for that was before the day of "common schools ", attending about three months in the winter season in his youth, and three months after attaining his majority. When twenty- five or twenty-six years old he married to Isa- bel Ridenour, a daughter of Peter and Sarah (Conrad) Ridenour. She was born October 14, 1831, and the marriage occurred June 30, 1850.
Peter Ridenour, father of Mrs. Sarber, was born in Maryland, and was of German an- cestry. Early in life he was taken by his father to Fairfield county, Ohio, and was left fatherless when he was twelve years old. The children of this family were, so far as remem- bered, Michael, John, George, Peter, jacob and Katie. Peter Ridenour, the fourth of these children, married and became the forther of five children, viz: Lucretia, George, John, David and Sarah. The mother of these chil- dren died in Allen county, soon after the ar- rival of the family there, and Mr. Ridenour
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married, for his second wife, Miss Sarah Con- rad, by whom he had also five children, viz: Isabel, Alexander, Catherine, Adeline and Peter. Mr. Ridenour lived for some time in Fairfield before settling in Allen county, his removal to this county taking place in 1830. and the place he selected for his home was near Elida. He was thus one of the earliest of the pioneers of Allen county, and cleared his farm of the timber that was on it. He was also a great hunter in his day, many a deer and wild turkey falling before his unerring rifle. It was during the first year of his res- idence in Allen county that his first wife died, and as no nails could be obtained with which to fasten the coffin together, it had to be bound around with lin or basswood bark. Her's was one of the very first burials at Elida. At the time bread was so scarce, and the pio- neers had to go so far to mill, that they were accustomed to boiling hominy to live on until' bread could be again secured. Peter Ridenour died when he was about sixty years of age, and he is remembered as one of the hardy, in- dustrious pioneers of the county, who did his full share of work in its development.
After his marriage Mr. Sarber located on land in Sugar Creek township, and about 1860 he bought his present farm, forty acres in the woods, of which a small spot had been cleared. He subsequently cleared the remainder and added thereto until he owned 121 acres of fine farming land. By his untiring energy and patient industry, he made valuable improve- ments thereon, and now has a most com- fortable home. With the aid of his faithful wife he has reared a family of excellent chil- dren, whose names are as follows: Perry, Cordelia, Clara, Sheldon, Clinton and Jerome. The parents of these children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he has been a class leader and steward for many years. He assisted to build the first house of
worship of the Methodist society in his neigh- borhood, services having been previously held in his and other private houses, and in the little school-house. In politics he is a dem- ocrat and has been elected trustee of his town- ship twice. He and his wife are among the typical pioneers of Allen county, and among the best of its citizens. He has always stood high among his fellow-men, and having reached the allotted three score and ten, his active life is almost concluded, and he may confidently expect to spend the rest of his life in peace and that joyful contentment which naturally fol- lows a life well spent.
'SAAC SAWMILLER, a patriotic and industrions citizen of Allen county, re- siding on section No. 27, German township, was born in that township, March 29, 1845. He is a son of Jacob and Mary Ann (Huffer) Sawmiller, and was reared in German and Amanda townships to farm life. His education was received in the public schools and his boyhood days and youth, until he was nineteen years old, were spent at home with his parents, to whose kind guidance and advice he owes much of his success in life. In March, 1864, he enlisted in company B, Fifth Ohio cavalry, and was mustered out of the service at Columbus, Ohio, in November, 1865. Hc participated in the battles of Resaca, Atlanta, Macon and Savannah, being, as will be seen, with Sherman on the march to the sea. Be- sides these important battles Mr. Sawmiller was in many battles of minor importance. He was one of the last of the volunteer soldiers to be mustered out of service, being held to guard government property at Raleigh, N. C., for a considerable time after the war was really over From his exposure to the concussion of roar- ing cannon and musketry he suffered a partial
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loss of hearing, which he finds now very in- convenient, and a constant reminder of the attempt by the south to overthrow the national government.
. After being mustered out he returned to his home and lived in Amanda township for a couple of years. He then went to Decatur and Springfield, Ill., where he was engaged in farm- ing, but returning to Allen county in the winter of 1872-3, he was married, March 28, 1873, to Miss Margaret Herring, who was born in Ger- man township, in October, 1851, a daughter of Emanuel Herring. After his marriage he lived upon a rented farm for two years, and then purchased forty acres in section No. 27, German township, where he now resides. To this forty acres he has added other lands, until at the present time he owns 104 acres, finely improved, and having upon it excellent build- ings, all of which he has erected himself. In 1877. he built a fine frame residence, and has excellent barns for his stock and grain. Stock raising and general farming are the branches to which he gives most of his attention. He however operates a steam thresher during the threshing season. On his farm he also has a feed mill, in which he does custom work for the neighborhood. From all of what has been recited it will be observed that Mr. Sawmiller is an industrious, and successful man. Politi- cally he is a democrat, and he is a member of Lima post, G. A. R. He and his wife are the parents of five children, viz: John B., mar- ried and living on his father's farm; Viola, at home; Arville, wife of Samuel Shook, of Ger- man township; Ada, and Harley L., who died November 30, 1887, at home. Mr. Sawmiller is truly a self-made man, for, starting at the bottom of the ladder, without property, he has by his own efforts and industry become one of the prosperous citizens of Allen county, and his family are among the most highly and most justly esteemed.
DOLPHUS E. SCHOSKER is one among the representative men of Spencerville, Ohio. He first saw the light of day in Lorraine, France, Oc- tober 24, 1852, and is the son of Michael and Tillie (Smith) Schosker. Both parents are now deceased, the mother dying in 1872 at the age of fifty-six years and the father June 22, 1886, at the advanced age of eighty- one years. The mother died in New Haven, Ind., near Fort Wayne, and the father at Spencerville, Ohio.
When the subject of this sketch was ten months old, the family came to America, landing in New York, where they remained four years, at the expiration of which time they moved to Syracuse, N. Y., where the fol- lowing eight years were spent, when the fam- ily again moved, this time locating in New Haven, Allen county, Ind. In religion the father was a devout Catholic and in politics an equally devoted democrat. Five children were born to Michael and his wife, namely: Lina, wife of Mr. John Rupple, of Fort Wayne; Christian, of Tipton, Ind., who is an employee in the factories at that place; Adolphus E., who forms the subject of this biography; Michael, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, a drayman of that city; and Franklin, an oil pumper of Spencerville.
Adolphus E. Schosker, with whom this sketch will now deal, spent his early boyhood in town and received his education in the pub- lic schools. At the age of twelve he began to support himself by working in a stave factory, where he was employed until his marriage, which occurred January 2, 1879, after which he became clerk in a general merchandise es- tablishment in Spencerville, where he occupied the position of head clerk for seven years, when he accepted the position of foreman in the Spencerville stave factory, which place he occupied for two years, when he engaged in
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grocery business, on his own account, Decem- / ber 16, 1887. He continued in the grocery trade until January 22, 1895, when he sold out, and on May 22, purchased a half-interest in the Spencerville flouring mills, to which, since then, he has given his nndivided atten- tion. Mr. Schosker is as popular as he is suc- cessful. January 2, 1879, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. J. Halter, daughter of Edward and Barbara Halter. Miss Halter was born in Annapolis, Auglaize county, Ohio, March 18, 1859, and died January 9, 1895, a devout Catholic.
Mr. Schosker is a thoroughly live business man, and from the humblest beginnings has, by ability and perseverance, amassed a compe- tence. At the present time he owns a half-in- terest in the Spencerville mills. He has held the office of town clerk two terms and clerk of the corporation one term, and was a member of the council two terms, and at the present writing is treasurer of the Spencerville school board. In politics he is a democrat, true and consistent. He is a man of genuine worth and an acquisition to the community in which he lives-in business, straightforward and upright and in social life a kind neighbor, a warm friend and always a gentleman.
a ONSTANTINE SCHERGER, one of the well-known citizens of Delphos, Ohio, and the head of the firm of C. Scherger & Son, proprietors of the Delphos Marble and Granite works, is a native of Germany, and was born, on October 1, 1842, and is the son of Anton and Josephine Scherger, both natives of Baiern, Germany. The parents came to the United States in 1845, and located first in Seneca county, Ohio, where Anton Scherger followed farming for a number of years. His wife's death occurred In 1851, she being drowned by falling in a
well. She was in her thirty-seventh year when she died. He died in Delphos in 1875, in his seventy-third year. Both parents were members of the Roman Catholic church. To thein four children were born, three of whom are living, as follows: Anton, living on the old homestead in Seneca county; our subject, and John, blacksmith of Delphos.
Constantine Scherger was three years of age when he came with his parents to America. He remained at home until 1858 and then went to Hancock county, Ohio, where he worked on a farm for about one year. He next went to Fremont, Sandusky county, and there served an apprenticeship of two years at the wagon-maker's trade. He returned home for a couple of weeks, and then struck out to hunt for work at his trade. He found employ- ment at Lima for about a month, and then came to Delphos; here he worked for about one year, and on June 28, 1862, enlisted in company A, Ninety-ninth Ohio regiment of volunteer infantry for three years, serving until the war was over, being mustered out of serv- ice in Nashville, Tenn., in the latter part of June, 1865. He was with the Ninety-ninth regiment for only about fonr months, and then became a member of Rosecrans' pioneers and engineers, and did duty in that capacity dur- ing the war. He was never wounded nor cap- tured, nor ever in the hospital during all his service.
After the war he returned to his old home in Seneca county, passed a month there, then returned to Delphos and went to work with Sam- uel Stuter & Son, with whom he had worked before going into the army. He remained with that firm for about a year, part of the time being in partnership with them, and then began wagon-making for himself in Delphos, and continued for five years, but, not meeting with success, he became so involved that he thought it best to go out of busmess, and went
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on a farin in Van Wert county, owned by his brother Anton. There he remained two years, when his health became so poor he was not able to do outside work, and so returned to Delphos and began to work for Fred Kollsmith, who gave him a position as foreman of the wood-working shops. Ill health still kept him from doing good work in the shops, and so, in 1875, he and his brother John bought out the marble shops of James Toland, and our sub- ject took charge of that business. He and his brother were in partnership for two years, when his brother sold out to him, and he con- tinued the business alone. When he first be- gan it was on a very small scale, but his busi- ness has continued to grow each year until he now has the largest marble works in Delphos, and one of the largest in Allen or Van Wert county. He also owns an interest in a shop at Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio, which is con- ducted under the name of C. Scherger Sons & Co. He works on an average six men the year round, and has three traveling agents. They do business all over Van Wert, Allen, Putnani, Paulding and Auglaize counties. The firm of C. Scherger & Son was formed on January 1, 1892, when John A. became a member of the same.
C. Scherger was married in the spring of 1868, to Miss Fannie Fischer, of. Seneca county, Ohio, but who was born in Huron county, Ohio, a daughter of Saffron Fischer. Her death occurred on February 10, 1883, leaving five out of nine children born. The living children are as follows: John A., Bar- ney, Theresia, Anna and Willian. On April 22, 1884, Mr. Scherger was again married, this time to Mrs. Mary Suever, who was born in Ohio, and the daughter of Joseph Dolt, who was one of the oldest citizens of Delphos. To tias nion four children have been born, as follows: Joseph, Leo, Eda and Anthony. Mr. Scherger and family are members of the Saint
John's Roman Catholic church. Mr. Scher- ger has served on the city council of Delphos from the Fourth ward for two terms, and served part of a term as city treasurer, by appointment.
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