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 61
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
marriage Mr. Weible returned to Hancock county, where he had finished his apprentice- ship, and there opened a shop, and continued there until April, 1851, when he came to Del- phos, and here purchased a lot on the corner of Second and Jefferson streets, where he built himself a residence, and also put a shop on the same lot and engaged in blacksmithing. He retired from blacksmithing in the fall of 1871. In 1876 he engaged in the manufacture of handles, neck-yokes and singletrees, as a mem- ber of the firm of Hartwell Bros. & Weible, and continued in that business for three years. He then had charge of the Delphos foundry and machine shop, which was subsequently sold and removed to Van Wert, Mr. Weible's connection with it lasting one year. He then engaged in the dry-goods business, in which he continued until 1885, his son being his part- ner. In that year they removed the dry-goods business to Dupont, in Putnam county, Ohio, where they were operating a stave factory, and ran the two together until 1887. They then removed their plant to the state of Georgia, where the son is still operating the mill, Mr. Weible still retaining his interest in the busi- ness. But few enterprises have been inaugu- rated in Delphos but that Mr. Weible has been connected with. He was one of the organizers of the Fidelity Insurance company, one of the incorporators of the Delphos Union Stave company, one of the incorporators of the Del- phos Woolen mill, and of the Delphios Eagle Flouring Mill Co. He was also one of the or- ganizers of the Toledo, Saint Louis & Kansas City, Pittsburg, Akron & Western, and the Toledo, Chicago & Burlington (now the D. & M.) railroads, and was a heavy stockholder in each of them. Angust, 1854, Mr. Weible was elected justice of the peace in Washington town- ship, Van Wert county, and March 16, 1855, entered his first case on the docket. April, 1855, he resigned his office so as to bring the election
of justice of the peace on the same date of that of the general election, at which time he was- re-elected, and from that time he has been continuously re-elected, and upon the comple- tion of his present term he will have served continuously for forty-one years. In 1863 he was elected county commissioner of Van Wert county, and served one term of three years. In 1871 he was elected to the Ohio legislature, and re-elected in 1873, serving four years altogether. In 1882 he was elected a member of the Ohio state board of public works, and held that office for a term of three years. He has also served a number of years in the city council of Delphos, and for twenty- two years as a member of the Delphos city school board.
To Mr. and Mrs. Weible eight children have been born, as follows: Nancy J., de- ceased; George C., now in Georgia; Ann E., now Mrs. Henry Holdtreve, of Delphos: Henry J., of Delphos; Martha E., now Mrs. H. J. Bergfield, of Delphos; Agnes J. and Isaac J., twins, both deceased. and Mary J., wow Mrs. Thomas O'Neal, of Delphos. Mr. and Mrs. Weible are members of the Roman catholic church.
p AUL WEISENMYER, the subject of this sketch, belongs to that great race of people, the German, which, to- gether with the English race, furnishes the best brawn and the best brain to the world. While in other races there are individ- uals, yet in none are there so many individ- uals as in these two great races, that present to us the ideal condition of a sound mind in a sound body. It is therefore of itself a piece of good fortune to be either a German or an En- glisliman. Paul Weisenmyer is a son of Fred erick and Catherine (Myer) Weisenmyer, whose lives will be dealt with further on in this sketch.
كامل تلكبنك ــــ
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OF ALLEN COUNTY.
The grandfather of the subject was George Weisenmyer, of Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Ger- many, who emigrated from his native land in 1854, settling in Delaware, Delaware county, Ohio. By trade he was a carpenter, and this trade he followed during his residence in Dela- ware, but that was all too short, for he died of cholera in 1856. His wife had died in Ger- many, and the family he brought to the United States with him consisted only of two sons, George and Frederick. George subsequently settled in Amanda township, Allen county, where he still resides. Frederick, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Stutt- gart, September 5, 1825. Like his father he was a carpenter, and followed his trade in Delaware, Ohio, until 1867, when he removed to Shawnce township, Allen county, purchas- ing 102 acres of land in section No. 19. This farm he improved, following his trade of car- penter, also, until 1891, when he gave up the carpenter trade, and has since devoted him- self to farming in Shawnee township. Before coming to the United States he was married, and by this marriage he became the father of the following children: Caroline, wife of John Lawyer, of Auglaize county, Ohio; Paul, the subject of this sketch; Charles, of Shawnee township; Albert, who is living on the old homestead; Sophia, wife of George Bowsher, of Lima; and Julius, living on the old home- stead farm. Politically Mr. Weisenmyer is a pronounced democrat, but for office he does not care. Religiously he is a member of the Lutheran church, belonging to the congrega- tion of Cridersville, Ohio.
Paul Weisenmyer was born January 2, 1856, in Delaware, Ohio, and received his education in the public schools. Arriving at a suitable age he began to learn the carpenter's trade, which had been followed by both his father and his grandfather. This trade he continued to pursue until 1895, when he pur-
chased his present farm, in Shawnee township, adjoining the old homestead. It consists of seventy-five acres of excellent land, upon which he has himself all the improvements. He is a very enthusiastic and successful farmer, and by his purchase has doubtless provided hinself with work for the remainder of his life, for there is always plenty to do on a farm. Politically Mr. Weisenmyer is a stanch demo- crat and he has always manifested a com- mendable degree of interest in the success of his party, which, in 1895, honored him by giving him the office of township trustee, which he is filling with credit to himself and satisfaction to his friends and neighbors. Religiously Mr. Weisenmyer is a member of the German Re- form church, and is living within its precepts. In 1887 he married Miss Louisa Zimmer- man, daughter of Frederick Zimmerman, de- ceased, of Jackson county, Iowa, and by this marriage he is the father of one child, Ruth O.
Mr. Weisenmyer is well-known as one of the most industrious and progressive young men of Allen county, always trying to keep abreast of the advancement that may be made in everything pertaining to his calling. He is also one of the public-spirited men of the county, taking a deep interest in everything calculated to promote the public good. For these and many other reasons he fully com- mands the respect of his neighbors and friends.
S ETH S. WHEELER, attorney at law of Lima, and president of the First National bank of that place, was born in Bedford, Ohio, October 21, 1850, and is a son of Edwin F. and Mary S. Weeler. The Wheeler family came, as far as it deemed worth while to trace their history into the past, from the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts, and removed thence to Ontario county, N. Y., being among the earliest settlers there. Zenas
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Wheeler was one of those thus to leave his native state of Massachusetts and locate in New York, and in Ontario county, Edwin F. Wheeler, his son, was born. Edwin F. Wheeler removed to Ohio in 1840, was a farmer, and is now retired and living with his children. His wife, Mary S., was a native of Fairfield county, Conn., her ancestry being among the early pioneers of that part of the so-called Nutineg state.
Seth S. Wheeler was reared upon his father's farm, and obtained the rudiments of his education in the district schools. After- ward he attended Grand River academy of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and still later, Ober- lin college, graduating there in 1876. During the next year he was principal of the high school at Salem, Ohio, and in 1877 he began reading law with Marvin, Hart & Squire, of Cleveland, Ohio, being admitted to the bar at Cleveland in 1878. It was in that city that he began the practice of the law, remaining there until 1881, when he removed to Lima, practicing there alone for a short time, and then associating himself with W. E. Hacke- dorn and G. L. Marble, under the firm name of Hackedorn, Wheeler & Marble. This firm was succeeded by that of Hackedorn & Wheeler, which in its turn, in 1889, gave way to the firm of Wheeler & Brice, the junior member of the firm being H. L. Brice.
Politically Mr. Wheeler is a republican, but takes very little interest in political affairs. He is a director of the Lima Locomotive & Machine company, and he is president of the First National bank of Lima, having been elected to that position in 1893. Fraternally he is a member of Lima lodge, No. 205, F. & A. M .; of Shawnee commandery; of Lima conseil and of Lima chapter. He was married in Angust, 1878, to Miss Laura E. Seaver of Pennsylvania, by whom he has two children --- Esther M. and Ruth 1.
S AMUEL T. WINEGARDNER, a sub- stantial and influential citizen of Au- glaize township, Allen county, Ohio, and the present democratic county commissioner, is a native of Licking county, Ohio, and was born October 1, 1842.
Henry Winegardner, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany, and soon after marriage came to America and first lo- cated in Loudoun county, Va., was a solcher in the war of 1812, and was always engaged in farming. He later came to Ohio and set- tled in Licking county in the pioneer days of the state, was ever after connected with the agricultural interests of the county, and there died about the year 1833. a member of the Lutheran church.
John Winegardner, son of Henry and father of our subject, was born in Loudoun county, Va., in 1788, was also reared a farmer, and after coming to Ohio, first married, in Licking county, Sarah Jordan, a native of Maryland, and, after marriage, immediately settled on a farm of 160 acres, which he brought under an excellent state of cultivation. On this farin Mrs. Sarah Winegardner died February 27, 1840, a devout member of the Baptist church. and the mother of the following children: William H., born March 6, 1816; Malinda, September 11, 1817; Delilah, July 30, 1819; Isaiah, February 12, 1822; Eliza A., Septem- ber 8, 1829. The second marriage of John Winegardner was with Catherine Bear, a na- tive of Licking county, and this union resulted in the birth of one child, Samuel T., the sub- ject of this sketch. The second Mrs. Wine- gardner died February 2, 1843, a devont wife and mother, and a conscientious member of the Baptist church, and the father survived un- til October 24, 1853. Mi. Winegardner was very liberal in his aid to church and school en- terprises, and as well to all others having in view the prosperity of his community, and was
SAMUEL T. WINEGARDNER.
MRS. JUDY WINEGARDNER.
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OF ALLEN COUNTY.
an influential, widely known and universally respected gentleman.
Samuel T. Winegardner, the gentleman whose name opens this biographical memoir, received a very good common-school educa- tion, which he supplemented with a course of diligent home study. He remained on the home farm until seventeen years of age, and shortly afterward enrolled himself in defense of his country's flag, his enlistment taking place September 18, 1861, for three years, or until the close of the war, in company C, Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry. For meritorious conduct he was appointed corporal November 4, 1862, promoted sergeant Sep- tember 8, 1864, and commissioned second lieutenant August 10, 1865. At Bellefonte. Ala., he had previously veteranized December 31, 1863, was wounded and captured before Atlanta, July 22, 1864, and for fifty-seven days suffered all the horrors of Andersonville prison. He served through the campaigns of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and took an active part in the battles of Shiloh, Morning Sun, Wolf Creek Bridge, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, Jackson, Missionary Ridge, Snake Creek Gap, Resacca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Statesboro, Fort McAllis- ter, Fayetteville, Bentonville, and participated in all the skirmishes and battles in which his regiment was engaged, excepting that of Jones- boro, Ga., which occurred while he was a pris- oner at Andersonville. At Jackson, Miss., he was struck by a rifle-ball, but not injured, and was never confined in a hospital any time dur- ing his long term of service.
February 24, 1864, while at home on a veteran furlough, Mr Winegardner married Miss Judy Ridley, who was born in Auglaize county, Ohio, April 19, 1845, a daughter of
John and Sarah (Myers) Ridley-the union being blessed with the following children: Alvin D., born February 10, 1867; Ida V., November 18, 1868; Clara E., September 14, 1870; Oliver H., August 22, 1872; Ansel T., May 21, 1875; Josie A., December 15, 1881; Rosco, June 29, 1888. Of these children- Oliver H. died October 8, 1873; Clara, Sep- tember 19, 1871; Roscoe, July 28, 1888
John Ridley, the father of Mrs. Wine- gardner, was born in Vermont, May 1, 1794, served in the war of 1812, and married in Licking county, Ohio, in 1824, Sarah Myers, who was born in Virginia September 4, 1800. Mr. and Mrs. Ridley resided in Licking coun- ty, Ohio, until 1837, when they moved to Auglaize county. They were the parents of the following children: Benjamin, Esther, Barbara, Mary, Sarah, Andrew J., Matthias, Abigail, Eliza, Alanson, Amanda and Julia. The father of these children was an influential and prosperous farmer, was a democrat in pol- itics, and died March 15, 1849, a member of the Disciples' church. After seven years of widowhood, Mrs. Ridley was united in mar- riage with Levi Mix, a farmer of Auglaize coun- ty, who also left her a widow, dying in August, 1875, her own demise occurring October 14, 1884, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Wine- gardner, with whom she had resided for nine years previous to her death. John Ridley, father of John above mentioned, and grand- father of Mrs. Winegardner, was born in Ver- mont in 1753. He fought all through the Revolutionary war, serving eight years, and in his declining years came to Auglaize county, Ohio, where he died in 1858, at the extremely advanced age of 105 years.
Samuel T. Winegardner has made his mark as a resident of Allen county, and has become prominent as a member of the demo- cratic party. His record as a soldier com- pares more than favorably with that ot any
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
man in the county, and as a citizen he has ex- erted an immense influence in promoting the welfare of Auglaize township, being ever free in his contributions to all enterprises designed for the public good, and being especially lib- eral in his aid to church and school. A broad- minded man, he never denies to others the privilege he asks for himself-that of forming his own opinion on all subjects. Raised a farmer, he afterward learned wagon-making, at which he worked for eight years in the east part of Anglaize county, in Waynesfield; then engaged in the saw-mill and lumber business in Allen county, in 1880, at Harrod, and has carried it on since; also contracting, and has heen connected with the erection of all the public and private buildings in that town. He has been a member of the council since the organization of the town, excepting one year.
AVID WHISLER, deceased, was one of the most highly respected pioneers of Hancock county, and the head of a large family, was born in Pickaway connty, Ohio, on a farmi, June 2, 1821. He was a son of Michael and Rebecca (Van Grundy) Whisler. The Whisler family is of sturdy German stock and the Van Grundy family is of good old Holland-Dutch descent.
Michael Whistler was born in Lancaster county, Pa., of which county his ancestry were pioneers, and when twenty-one years of age he removed to Ohio with his father, set- tling in Pickaway county. His father, Samuel Whisler, was the head of a large family of children, and entered a tract of land contain- ing 1,200 acres, settling his children on the land. Hisfamily became well known through- out that part of the state, and was highly esteemed and widely known. Sanmel Whisler lived to be abont eighty-five years old. Of los children the following are remembered: |
Michael, Henry, Jacob, George, Nancy, Bar- bara, Benjamin and Jacob, 2d.
As stated above, Michael Whisler married Rebecca Van Grundy, and to them were born seven children that lived to mature years, as follows: David, Annie, Delilan, Samuel, Rachel, Amanda and Amos. Mr. Whisler lived all his life upon his farm, farming :nd milling being his occupations. He was a member of the Evangelical church, of which he was steward and class leader. He was one of the most highly respected citizens of his neigh- borhood, and died at the somewhat advanced age of seventy-five years.
David Whisler, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the farm and received a good common-school education, such as boys of his day and age could acquire. He was married in Pickaway county February 19, 1846, to Mary A. Tobias, who was born October 29, 1830. Her place of nativity was Schr. "kill county, Pa. She was a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Roth) Tobias, the fornar of whom was a descendant of Dutch ancestors. He was a son of John and Elizabeth (kline) Tobias. Both John Tobias and his father be- fore him were born in Pennsylvania, the faunily having in earlier years come to that State from Germany. John Tobias was in religion a member of the Evangelical church, and was a farmer, removing in 1829 or 1830 to Picka- way county, Ohio, and there living on a farm and rearing his family. His children were as follows: Abraham, Samuel, Daniel, John, Peter, Benjamin, David, Henry and Elizabeth. John Tobias lived to be seventy-eight years old and died on his farm in Pickaway county. He was a man of mild and gentle dispo- inon, and was as highly esteemed for his integrity and industry as he was loved by his family. He brought up a most excellent family of children, three of his sons, Samuel, Dans und David, being ministers of the gospel.
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OF ALLEN COUNTY.
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Benjamin Tobias, the father of Mrs. Whis- ler, was born in Pennsylvania in 1794, and reared a family of ten children, as follows : Elizabeth, Catherine, Louis, Franklin, James, William, Benjamin, Mary A., Susan and John C. At first he settled near Reading, Pa., where he followed his trade, that of black- smith, and moved to Pickaway county, Ohio, about 1839. There he worked at his trade for twenty years, and died in 1846 in Circleville. A member of the Evangelical church, he was highly respected as such, and as an honest and industrious man.
After his marriage David Whisler and his wife settled in Hancock county, in the spring of 1849, on a farm containing 125 acres of land. This farm was at the time covered with timber, which he proceeded to clear and im- prove. By industry and thrift he made for himself a good home, and also increased his landed possessions until he owned 1, 500 acres, besides owning a fine residence and other real estate property in Bluffton. All this shows that he was a very successful man. He was a man of excellent habits, and until his last ill- ness was never sick an hour in his life. He was of great industry, energy and persever- ance, of excellent business qualifications, and managed all his business until the last days of his life. To him and his wife there were born nine children, that lived to mature years, as follows: George, Cyrus, John, Rebecca, Elizabeth A., Scott, Susan, Ada and Olive. To these children he gave the best education afforded by the schools of the time in which their youthful days were passed. He was much interested in the cause of education, and served for some years as a member of the township school board. He was a man of high-toned character and disposition, and it has often been said of him that he never wronged any man of a dollar in his life. Hav- ing accumulated by his industry and thrift a
goodly fortune, he was enabled at his death to. leave to his children an estate worth $10,000.
Mrs. Whisler, his widow. is now a lady sixty-five years of age. She has always been a woman of most exemplary character and conduct and a fine examplar of the old pioneer women of Ohio. She is blessed with good health, sound judgment and an unusually retentive memory. She and her husband were the parents of a large family of children, who married as follows: Rebecca, married Levi Clymer, a farmer of Hancock county, and has three children; Eliza A. married Nelson H. Clymer, and has two children; Scott married Elizabeth Fenstermaker, and is a farmer with two children; Susan married David C. Miller, a farmer of Woodford county, Ill., and has three children; Ada married Franklin F. Tay- lor, a farmer of Woodford county, Ill., and has two children; George married Ellen E. Powell, and is a farmer of White county, Ind., and has seven children, and John married Mary Down- ing, by whom he had four children. She died, and he married for his second wife Madge Kirkland, by whom he has three children, and Olive married Edwin L. Ferrall, of Findlay, Ohio. Mrs. Whisler has twenty-five grand- children. The Roths, her mother's family, were of French ancestry, early settlers in Pennsylvania, of the best citizens of that state.
HILIP WILCH, of Bluffton, Allen county, Ohio, and one of the veter- ans of the Civil war, was born on his father's farm in Hancock county, Ohio, January 21, 1841. His father, Philip Wilch, Sr., was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, January 26, 1802, was a farmer and carpenter, and in 1832 came to America and first located in Pennsylvania, but a few years later came to Ohio and bought forty acres of land in Van Buren township, Hancock county,
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
which land he cleared up from the woods, and by thrift and industry added thereto twenty acres, making a comfortable home of sixty acres, on which he passed the remainder of his days, dying at the extreme age of ninety-three years. Philip Wilch, Sr., was married, in Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Bowers, a native of Germany, the result of the union being seven children, viz: Wilhelmina, Elizabeth, Anna, Philip, Christian, Margaret and Peter.
Philip Wilch, the subject of this biograph- ical record, was educated in the district schools of Hancock county and early began to work on the home farm, dutifully assisting his father until old enough to learn a trade, when he went to Findlay and learned wagon-making, At the age of twenty years, the war for the disruption of the Union having been initiated and hostilities actually begun by the southern states, the heart of young Wilch was fired with patriotism, and he enlisted at Findlay, in June, 1861, in company B, Twenty-first regiment, ·Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt, George F. Walker, his term of enlistment being for three years or until the close of the war, should it terminate before the expiration of that term. Under the conditions of this enlistment he served until December, 1863, when, at Chat- tanooga, Tenn., he veteranized in his own company and served faithfully until the close of the war, being honorably discharged and mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, August 1, 1865-more than four years after the date of his muster in. Among the important battles in which Mr. Wilch took part may be men- tioned the following: Ivy Mountain, Novem- -ber 9, 1861; Bridgeport, Ala., April 16, 1862; La Vergne, Tenn., October 7, 1862; Nash- ville, Tenn,, November 5, 1862; Stone River, Tenu., December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863; Tullahoma campaign, Tenn., June 23 to 30, 1863; Dug Gap, Ga., September 11, 1863; Chickamauga, November 25, 1863;
Buzzard's Roost, Ga., May 8, 1864; Resaca, Ga., May 13 to 16, 1864: New Hope Church, Ga., May 28, 1864; Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., June 9, 1864, and (in the general assault) June 27, 1864; Vining's Station, Ga., July 25, 1864; Chattahoochee River, Ga., July 6 to 10, 1864; Peach Tree Creek, Ga .; Atlanta, Ga. (Hood's first sortie); Jonesboro, Ga., Septem- ber 1, 1864; Bentonville, N. C., March 19 to 21, 1865. During the Atlanta campaign, in which some of the battles' above enumerated took place, the troops were under constant fire for nearly four months, Gen. Sherman having begun his march from Chattanooga, Tenn., May 4, 1864, and the fall of Atlanta having taken place September 2, 1864. Mr. Wilch, as will be seen by the above record of the battles in which he took part, was with Sherman in the celebrated march from Atlanta to the sea, and through to Washington, D. C., where he participated in the grand review, May 23-24, 1865. Mr. Wilch was a robust young man when he entered the army, but is now suffering from acute rheumatism, resulting from exposure during his four years of active army life.
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