USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
On the HIth of July, 1878, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Norton and Miss Kate Anna Adams, who was born in Galion, Ohio, in October, 1859, and is a daughter of Jacob and Margaret Adams. Five children grace this marriage: Myrtle Byron, born March 26, 1879; Ralph Jefferson, born
333
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
September 17, 1880, and died May 4, 1881; Arthur Franklin, born Septem- ber 2, 1882; Fairy Elmer, born March 21, 1884; Mabel Carrie, born March 12, 1886; and Harry James, who was born April 2, 1893.
Mr. Norton has spent his entire life in Bucyrus and his career has been a useful and honorable one. Along the legitimate lines of business he has won splendid success. He is thoroughly conversant with the subject of horticul- ture, understands the needs of plants and their requirements and is not only able to grow and cultivate flowers, but to transact the business affairs neces- sary to make his labors profitable. In all his dealings he is straightforward and reliable and his large business is a merited success.
MRS. ELISABETH TEEL.
Mrs. Elizabeth Teel, a representative of one of the old and firmly established families of Crawford county, was born in Liberty township, in this county, on July 20, 1829. She was a daughter of Horatio and Nancy ( Link ) Markley. Horatio Markley, distinguished as one of the most power- ful men, physically, in Crawford county, came here from his home in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1804, and entered a fractional quarter section of land (one hundred and forty-four acres) in Liberty town- ship, this now being the home and property of the subject of this sketch. He erected a log cabin on his land and spent his life here, being very prosperous and able to assist his children very materially. His death was in 1880, at the age of seventy-six. He was one of the leaders in the English Lutheran church and for many years prior to his death no needy person ever applied in vain to him for assistance. Far and wide his charities extended and he was beloved by all who knew him.
The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Teel was also a remarkable man, living to the age of one hundred and two years, nine months and twenty-seven days, and his death occurring in the house where our subject now lives, in 1864. His father, a veteran of the Revolutionary war, owned six hundred acres of land on the present site of Wheeling, and was killed by the Indians.
Mrs. Teel was one of four children in her parents' family, the three survivors being: John, of Morrow county: Elisabeth, of this sketch, and Mathias, of Wyandot county, this state. She grew up at her parental home, acquiring an education in the pioneer schools, and on September 17, 1844, was united in marriage with Mr. George W. Teel, who during his life was one of the energetic and successful business men of Crawford county.
334
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
George W. Teel was born in Ashland, Ohio, on May 16. 1821. and he was a son of poor but honest and industrious parents. At the age of ten years, having received but a limited education, he went to work in the brick-yard of John Moffit, where he remained for two summers, and during the two follow- ing seasons drove a team on the Ohio canal. Later he engaged in farmi work at various places in Stark county, for several years. In the meantime his father, John C. Teel, had removed to Guernsey county and purchased a small farm. George managed this property for some two years, while his father worked at his trade of blacksmith. In his seventeenth year he taught school in Wayne county during one winter, and also followed the same occupation in his nineteenth year. After this he attended the Ashland Academy for one term of five months and then engaged in clerking for one year in a general store, in Benton, Holmes county. In 1842 he removed to Navarre, in Stark county, and from April to July engaged in the business of buying horses, which he took to Canada and sold to the British officers.
Mr. Teel removed to Crawford county in August, 1843, and purchased the George W. Galloway farm, on which he resided to the time of his death. For fifteen years he taught school in Sulphur Springs and vicinity and con- ducted the first English school ever taught in the Broken Sword district. After this the residents never wished to support a German school in that lo- cality. In 1844, for a period of six months, he was engaged in the mercantile 1:usiness in Sulphur Springs, with a Mr. Allen, the establishment being known as The Great Western Shore. In 1862 he was appointed revenue assessor of Crawford county and served in this capacity fo nine years, and during the fall of 1872 he was employed by the A. & L. E. R. R. as collecting agent for the corporation. continuing with the company in this capacity for three years.
In the spring of 1877 Mr. Teel removed his family to Bucyrus and was engaged one year as assignee in settling up the business of Osman & Wood- side. The family removed to Crestline in the spring of 1878 and remained there some twelve months and then returned to the farm in Liberty town- ship. During this time, however, Mr. Teel still continued in Bucyrus as a partner in a carriage establishment. He served some years as secretary of the Crawford County Farmers' Fire Insurance Company, and was also pur- chasing agent for the Ohio Central Railroad Company, being agent for this corporation, and also for the old A. & L. E. R. R. He secured nearly all the right of way for the roadbed from the coal fields to Toledo, including the depot grounds, which were purchased in the 'zos, in that city. Mr. Teel was also instrumental to a great extent in securing the guarantee fund for over one
335
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
hundred thousand dollars subscribed, in 1880, by the company, along the route as a local aid to its completion. With Messrs. D. W. Swigart, C. Fenton, S. R. Harris and James B. Gormly, he succeeded in the enter- prise of getting the machine-shops bill passed by the legislature and was a member of many organizations requiring a man of integrity.
Mr. Teel died on July 19, 1889. In 1882 he had had a premonition. being stricken then with paralysis and then gave up his position with the railroads and retired to live on his farin. He enjoyed seven years of quiet life before the end came. He was an active member of the Republican party, and had been connected with the English Lutheran church for many years. His death was widely lamented, as he had been one of the most public-spirited men that Crawford county ever possessed. Seven of his eight children still survive, viz. : Leander; Jared, of Mansfield; Laura L., the wife of Milton Ebert, of Elyria, Ohio; Ellen, the wife of Ernest Michaelis, of Spokane. Washington : George, of North Robinson, Ohio; Horatio M., in the electric light business in Seattle, Washington ; and Frances, the wife of Grant Zerbe. of Sandusky. Jennie, the second child, passed away.
After the death of her husband Mrs. Teel, so badly bereaved, removed to the old Markley homestead, the home of her youth. At the time of her father's death she purchased the property and resides upon it, very efficiently managing the extensive farming operations carried on there. She is a very intelligent lady, of superior judgment, and is one very highly esteemed in Crawford county.
W. C. FRANZ.
W. C. Franz is a well-known resident of Bucyrus and the trainmaster for the Toledo & Ohio Central Railway. He represents one of the distinguished and honored pioneer families of the county, the name of Franz being in- separably associated with the history of this section of the state. More than seventy years ago representatives of the name became residents of Ohio, and through the decades which have since been added to the cycle of the centuries descendants of those original ancestors in Ohio have borne their part in the work of progress and development in Crawford county. The paternal grand- father of our subject was a native of Hesse-Darmstadt. Germany, born in the year 1812. He acquired a good education in the schools of his native country and served in the army there. When a young man of twenty-five years he resolved to seek his fortune in America and accordingly crossed the Atlantic
336
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
to the new world, locating in Galion, Ohio, in 1837. He afterward removed to Leesville, this county, but spent his last days in Bucyrus, where he passed away in 1870. He was long a prominent factor in public affairs and his opin- ions carried weight and influence among the leading residents of the com- munity. His worth and ability were widely recognized and led to his selec- tion to various positions of public trust. For nine years he filled the office of justice of the peace in Jackson township and in 1859 he was elected sheriff of Crawford county for a two-years term, in which he acceptably served and was then re-elected, so that he was continued in the office for four years. In 1867 he was chosen by popular vote to the position of county treasurer and was acting in that capacity at the time of his death. His public and private records were alike above reproach. He always discharged his duties in a prompt, efficient and creditable manner, and in private life he displayed those manly qualities that ever command respect and confidence. With him friendship was inviolable, and the duties of the home were to him the most important in life. At the time of the Civil war he manifested his loyalty to his adopted country by entering the service as a member of the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry and became lieutenant-colonel, serving in that ca- pacity until he was forced to resign, owing to wounds sustained in the battle of Perryville. He was married in this county to Miss Jane Burwell, and unto them were born five children, namely : Joseph Burwell, now of Toledo, Ohio; William, the father of our subject ; Kate, who married John R. Clymer : John S., of Tampa, Florida ; and Sally, wife of Alexander Kerr, of Holmes town- ship. The mother of this family is still living.
William Franz, the father of our subject, was born May 21, 1843, in Leesville, and attended school there until fourteen years of age, when he ac- companied his parents on their removal to a farin near Bucyrus. He learned the trade of watch-making and the jewelry business in the city and afterward purchased his employer's store, carrying on the enterprise for some time. Sub- sequently he resided in Plymouth and Cleveland, Ohio, and in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the watch and jewelry business until 1865. He then returned to Bucyrus, and in connection with H. J. Riblet established a jewelry store. In 1867 he removed to Crestline, where he entered business with Dr. William Pope. Here he perfected and patented a knitting machine, and in November. 1869, began manufacturing the machine, incorporating the business under the name of the Bucyrus Knitting Machine Works. In 1871 the name was changed to the Franz & Pope Knitting Machine Company, and a prosperous and growing enterprise was established, the steadily increasing
337
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
trade bringing the stockholders a good financial return upon their investment. Mr. Franz contiued with thec oncern until 1879, when, owing to failing health, he retired, spending his remaining days in quiet and rest from labor. He was a prominent Mason, holding membership with Crawford Lodge, Ivanhoe Chap- ter, No. 117, R. A. M., and Mansfield Commandery, No. 21, K. T. He also became a charter member of Demas Commandery, No. 108, K. T. In Septem- ber, 1881, he was called to his final rest. and the community thereby lost one of its valued citizens, for he had long been an important factor in promoting the commercial activity, whereon depends the welfare, progress and advance- ment of every community. His labors resulted, not alone to his individual benefit, but proved of general good. He withheld his support from no move- ment calculated to promote the general welfare and had a public spirit and abiding interest in everything pertaining to his native county.
On the 22d of January, 1868, Mr. Franz was united in marriage to Miss Almira Melissa Campbell, who was born in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, in 1844, and is a daughter of John and Catherine R. (Staltz) Campbell, both of whom were natives of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. They re- moved from the Keystone state to Byron, Ohio, in 1854 and in 1860 came to Bucyrus. The father was a contractor and builder, and died in Logansport .. Indiana, in 1897, at the age of seventy-eight years. When the country be- came involved in Civil war he responded to the president's call for aid, en- listing in an Ohio regiment. His death occurred about 1880, when he had attained the age of fifty-one years. Obediah Campbell, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Franz, was a native of Scotland, and on coming to America located in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, where he met and married Miss Kate Keader. Unto William and Almira M. (Campbell) Franz were born the fol- lowing children : Katie J., William C., Mellie A. and Jay W. The older daughter is the wife of F. J. Barth, of Bucyrus, and the younger daughter is now a teacher in the public schools of Bucyrus and is a graduate of the high school.
William Charles Franz, whose name introduces this record, was born in Bucyrus, March 14, 1871, and pursued his education in the public schools, being graduated in the high school in 1889. For four months he was with the United States Express Company and afterward with the Toledo & Ohio Cen- tral Railway. He entered the railroad service October 27, 1889, and is yet with the company. His first position was that of night yard clerk, was made chief yard clerk on the Ist of April, 1890, and on the Ist of September, of the same year became clerk to the train master. On the Ist of November, 1890, J. F. Angell was appointed superintendent of the eastern division, with head-
338
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
quarters at Bucyrus, and Mr. Franz was made his chief clerk, in which ca- pacity he remained until the Ist of January, 1901, when Mr. Angell was re- moved to Columbus, as superintendent of the entire line, and Mr. Franz was given the position of train master. His promotions have come to him as the reward of close application, earnest and indefatigable labor and excellent ability, and the fact that he has been for so long retained in the service of one road is an unmistakable evidence of his fidelity.
On the 18th of December. 1895, Mr. Franz was united in marriage, in Marion, Ohio, to Miss Josephine Harsberger, a daughter of the late Jacob H. Harsberger, who was a merchant of Marion. He served as a soldier in the Civil war and was a well-known resident of Marion county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Franz has been blessed with one son, James N. In his po- litical affiliations Mr. Franz is a Democrat, and is an attendant on the services of the Presbyterian church. At the present time he is serving as city clerk, to which position he was elected, entering upon the duties of the office on the Ist of May, 1900, for a term of two years. In the Masonic fraternity he is well known as an exemplary member, has passed all of the chairs in the lodge, and in 1899 and 1900 filled the position of master of Trinity Lodge, of Bucyrus. He is also identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and was exalted ruler for one year. He is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, his lines of life having been cast in harmony with the records left by his father and grandfather. He has many warm friends throughout Crawford county, where the family has been so long widely and prominently known, and no history of the community would be complete with- out mention of Mr. Franz and his ancestors.
JONATHAN CARMEAN.
Jonathan Carmean, who follows farming in Crawford county, was born in what is now Bucyrus township. December 6. 1834. his parents being Matthew and Rachel ( De Long) Carmean. His grandfather was a native of the south and became a pioneer settler of Pickaway county, Ohio, where the father of our subject spent the greater part of his youth. The Carmean family is of French descent, while the mother of our subject represented a family of Pennsylvania Dutch lineage. Matthew Carmean and Rachel De Long were married in Pickaway county, Ohio, and soon afterward came to Crawford county, where he entered eighty acres of land in what was then Bucyrus town- ship. Soon afterward, however, he traded this for property on section II
Jonathan Carmen
341
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in what is now Dallas township. In his undertakings he prospered and became a large land-owner, having about twelve hundred acres at one time. He made judicious investments in real estate and the rise in land values augmented his capital. Both he and his wife died in Dallas township. They were the parents of six children : Mrs. Mary Ann Coulter, a widow residing in Toledo; Martha E., deceased ; Jonathan ; Elizabeth, who died in girlhood ; Nelson, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Matthew L., a farmer of Dallas township.
Mr. Carmean, of this review, was reared in Dallas township and pursued his education in the common schools. He remained with his parents until twenty-three years of age, at which time he married Sarah Jane Goodman. who died about 1890, leaving three children. The daughter, Dilla, however, passed away when twenty-five years of age, and Irvin died at the age of twenty-two. The surviving children are: Alonzo, a farmer of Bucyrus town- ship; Arizona, a farmer of Dallas township; and Eva, the wife of Peter Metz- ker, of Bucyrus township.
During the year after his marriage Mr. Carmean located upon a farm, remaining there for about twelve months, when he removed to his present farm in Bucyrus township. He to-day owns eight hundred and thirty acres of valuable land, of which five hundred and seventy acres is comprised in the home place, which is known as the Elm Tree Farm. The latest improved ma- chinery, well kept fences and substantial buildings are among the leading features of this model farm. Mr. Carmean has engaged in raising and dealing in cattle and now buys and sells stock, being well known in this line of busi- ness throughout his portion of Ohio. He has one hundred and fifty head of cattle, twenty brood sows and high grades of sheep and hogs. He is recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of the community. Systematic and methodical, enterprising and progressive, and his carefully directed busi- ness interests have brought to him a splendid financial return. In his political views he is a Republican.
GEORGE J. EBERHART.
A prominent farmer and highly esteemed citizen of Crawford county is George J. Eberhart, who was born in Cranberry township, this county, on June 30, 1843. He was a son of George F. and Catherine ( Humm) Eberhart. His father was born in Germany and his mother in Stark county, Ohio. When George J. was four years old his father died, and at the age of fifteen the son was apprenticed to John Myers, a blacksmith, for a period of three years.
342
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
After finishing his course in this trade he worked as a journeyman for one year, and then with his mother and two brothers took passage for America. The voyage consumed forty-two days and no doubt they were glad to enter safely the harbor of New York.
They knew that many of their countrymen had settled in Bucyrus, Ohio, and hither they came, arriving on September 14, 1832. Employment was soon given Mr. Eberhart as a chain-carrier for John Schliever, in laying out the village of Schlievertown, later Annapolis, now Sulphur Springs, and afterward he easily secured work of Mr. Frederick Beard, at his trade. Later he went to Harrisburg, Stark county, Ohio, thence to Louisville, in the same county, and there conducted a blacksmith shop for himself, remaining in business there until his marriage on February 14, 1834. to Miss Catherine Humm. To this union seven children were born, the four survivors being : Mary, the wife of John Ulmer, of Cranberry township; Elizabeth, the wife of Frederick Yieter, of Kent county, Michigan ; our subject ; and Christina, the wife of Adam Keplinger, of Chatfield township.
Following his marriage Mr. Eberhart purchased a small tract of land, but two years later he sold this and removed to Liberty township, in Crawford county, where he bought a small farm and immediately began its improve- ment. For some years he continued to operate this farm, and to also work at his trade, but then returned to Stark county and purchased a fine farm of one hundred acres. Two years later found him back in Crawford county, and at this time he located on a farm in Cranberry township, on which he remained for thirty-four years. During this time he dealt extensively in real estate in Cranberry township, but later he removed to Holmes township and became the owner of one of the best improved farms in the county. He died in May, 1901, in Chatfield township, at the home of his daughter. He was an active member of the Albright church for many years, but in later life advancing age prevented his attendance upon the services. In early life he was for several years a "local preacher" in the German Lutheran church.
George J. Eberhart grew to manhood on the farm, but had few educa- tional advantages. In 1865 occurred his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Schieber, who was born in Liberty township, and was a daughter of Gottleib Schieber, who was one of the old pioneers of this county and of Liberty township. Five children were born to our subject and wife, these being: John B., at home; Matilda, the wife of Rev. Joseph Mack, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin ; Mary, the wife of Adam Bittikoffer, of Liberty township; and Oma and Orlando
343
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
F., at home. Mrs. Eberhart died September 4, 1900, at the age of fifty-two years.
During the two years following our subject's marriage he cultivated a tract of land for his father, which comprised eighty acres, in Cranberry town- ship, and then came to Holmes township and rented the farm which is now owned by George Orthwein. Here our subject and family lived but one year, removing then to his most desirable home property at the expiration of that time. This farm is considered one of the most valuable ones in the county and has received most intelligent cultivation. It consists of one hundred and ten acres and is well improved.
Mr. Eberhart is a Republican, believing firmly in the principles of that party, and is a member and liberal supporter of the German Methodist church, to which his wife also belonged. Few men in the county enjoy more fully the esteem of the community than does George J. Eberhart.
HARRISON SMITH.
Few employes of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad have been longer in the service of the company than Harrison Smith, a well-known and popular conductor living in Crestline. He was born in Holmes county, Ohio, December 20, 1841. His father. Jonathan Smith, also a native of the Buckeye state, was a farmer by occupation, born in 1815. He is still living, his home being now on Turman's creek, in Sullivan county, Indiana. He married Miss Sarah Slagle, a native of Ohio, born in 1817, and she is also living. This worthy couple became the parents of eleven children, of whom ten reached years of maturity, while eight still survive.
Harrison Smith, of this review, was the third child and was reared upon the old homestead farm in his native county, his time being devoted to the work of the field and meadow and in mastering the branches of English learning, as taught in the schools near his home. He assisted his father on the farm during the summer time until twenty years of age, but not desiring to follow the plow as a life work, he then made other arrangements, becoming a brakeman on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, running be- tween Crestline and Alliance. He was upon that train from 1865 until 1869, when he was promoted to the position of conductor, and thus served until 1885. His run was then changed from Crestline to Conway, Pennsylvania, and on that route he remained for four years, when he was sent through to the outer depot in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. However, he was afterward re-
344
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
turned to the Conway run and since that time has been continued upon the road between Crestline and Pittsburg. He is the oldest conductor on the road, having been in the employ of the company for forty years.
In 1867 occurred the marriage of Harrison Smith and Miss Emma Wig- gins, who was born near Loudonville, Ashland county. Ohio. They had eight children, of whom seven are yet living, namely: Mattie, wife of G. O. Davis, of Crestline, Ohio: Roy, who married Laura Smetzer and is living in Crest- line: Nettie ; Archie : Lewis; Otto; and May. Of this number Otto is a clerk in the railway office. Archie is a boilermaker for the Pittsburg. Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad Company. Lewis is a fireman in the employ of the same company ; and Roy is airbrake inspector on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chi- cago road.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.