USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 35
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
21
392
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In New Washington, Ohio, in 1892, was celebrated the marriage of L. M. Smith and Miss Bessie Sexauer, a daughter of C. Frederick and Mary ( Zeigler) Sexauer. Her paternal grandparents were Christian and Caroline Schindler ) Zeigler, both of whom were natives of Baden, Germany. They came to America in 1827, locating in Sulphur Springs. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Sexauer married J. G. Kinnger, who opened a wagon shop at Sulphur Springs, Ohio. He was joined in the industry by his step- son, C. F. Sexauer. Together they carried on business for a number of years. The wife of C. F. Sexauer is a daughter of Dr. G. L. Zeigler, who was a prominent physician in pioneer times. Mr. Smith is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church.
P. S .- Since the foregoing sketch of Mr. Smith was penned, the Bu- cyrus Publishing Company, a stock company, was organized. The new or- ganization purchased the Daily and Weekly Forum and the Semi-Weekly News, and combined the two newspapers. Stock in the new company was offered for sale to the public, many leading Democrats of the county taking stock. Such was the popularity of Mr. Smith that he, also being a stock- holder, was, upon the organization of the company, elected a director and the treasurer and business manager, a position he is ably filling at this writ- ing.
JOSEPH W. HOLMES.
As the prosperity or progress of a nation is the result of the aggregate endeavor of its individual citizens, so the history of a nation is the record of the aggregate achievements of its people. Biography thus becomes the very foundation upon which must rest all general history of mankind. The im- portance of making permanent record of the life work of men who are worthy such distinction cannot be overestimated. Colonel Joseph William Holmes is one who has attained distinction in connection with public affairs in Craw- ford county and in the military service of his country, where he won the title by which he is now known. At present he is living retired, enjoying a well merited rest. His life history closely associates him with the pro- gress and advancement in this portion of Ohio, and therefore he well deserves "honorable mention in this volume.
Colonel Holmes is a native of Massachusetts, his birth having occurred in Dalton, in September, 1821, his parents being Joseph and Ruth Ann
393
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
(Renne) Holmes. The father was a native of England, his birth occurring near the city of Boston, in Yorkshire. When a young man he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, and here met and married Miss Renne, who was a native of the Empire state. The wedding was celebrated, however, in the old Bay state, where they resided for a few years, after which the father started on a return trip to England to settle up an estate there, and on his homeward journey was lost at sea. The mother had one brother who served in the war of 1812 and afterward became a pioneer settler of Springfield, Illinois, where many of his descendants are still living.
Colonel Holmes pursued his education in the schools of his native city and spent much of his youth upon a farm, but, not desiring to follow agri- cultural pursuits as a life work, he learned the trade of cabinet-making. After attaining his majority he made his way to Albany, New York, and at different times resided at New Lebanon Springs, Chatham Four Corners, where he was engaged in business as a cabinet-maker and undertaker. While residing at Lebanon Springs he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lord, a daughter of Joseph Lord, but she did not long survive their marriage. She died leaving one daughter, Mary Josephine, who is now the wife of Ernest S. Cooper, a merchant traveler residing in Toronto, Canada.
Colonel Holmes continued his residence in the Empire state until 1862, when, the country having become involved in war over the slavery question and the right of the southern states to secede from the Union, he enlisted in re- sponse to the president's call for troops, joining the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth New York Infantry at Niagara Falls, in 1862. This was afterward changed to the Eighth New York Heavy Artillery and was com- manded by Colonel Peter A. Porter. Mr. Holmes was mustered into the service as captain of Company E, Eighth Regiment of New York Heavy Artillery, for three years, on the 22d of August, 1862; was appointed major on the 19th of June, 1864, and became lieutenant colonel on the 14th of Jan- uary, 1865. He served in the Second Brigade, Second Army Corps, of the Army of the Potomac, and acted as commander of the regiment and also of the battalion, much of the time, for Colonel Porter was killed at Cold Harbor while making a charge upon a masked battery and the senior major was there wounded, so that Colonel Holmes was left to command the battalion. When the start was made for the James he also commanded the battalion. The regi- ment numbered nineteen hundred men. On the 18th of June, 1864, in front of Petersburg, his promotion first came to him on the field of battle, in recog- nition of his coolness and bravery under fire and in return for his services in
394
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
preventing a panic in the line in front of his command. With fixed bayonet he ordered his troops to gather the panic-stricken line into place until their officer could get the men once more under control. This prevented a great disaster to the Union troops. The aide at division headquarters praised this as one of the most prompt acts he had ever witnessed in an emergency. Col- onel Holmes participated in the battles of Spottsylvania Court House from the 17th to the 21st of May, 1864; Harris House, May 19: North Anna, May 22 to 26: Totopotemy. May 27 to 31 : Cold Harbor, June 3 : the move- ment before Petersburg from the 15th of June until April, 1865 : the assault on Petersburg, continuing from the 15th to the 19th of June, 1864; Weldon Railroad, June 21 to 23 ; Deep Bottom, July 27 to 29: Strawberry Plains, Au- gust 14 to 18: Reams' Station, August 25: Boyington Plank Road. October 27 to 28; Dabney Mills, February 25 to 27 ; the attack on the works at Peters- burg, March 25; Appomattox, from the 28th of March to the 9th of April ; White Oak Road, March 29 to 31 ; the fall of Petersburg, on the 2d of April : the battle of High Bridge, April 7; the engagement at Appomattox, on the 9th of April ; and many others of lesser importance. On account of the close of the war Colonel Holmes was mustered out of service on the 5th of June, 1865. In 1863 he had been made provost marshal at Fort McHenry, serv- ing there until the month of May, 1864. The Colonel was ever found at his post of duty as a faithful defender of the okl flag, and his own bravery and loyalty inspired his men to deeds of valor in many an attack upon the Rebel works or the troops in the field.
When hostilities had ceased Colonel Holmes returned to Niagara Falls and entered the railway service. He was afterward at Meadville, Pennsyl- vania, and Kent, Ohio, and in 1865 entered the service of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, at Galion, Ohio, with which he remained for nine- teen years in charge of the car (lepartment. In 1884 he went to Peru, Indiana, in the service of the Wabash Railroad Company, and afterward to Big Springs, Texas, on the Gould railroad. Subsequently he returned to Peru, Indiana, and was later transferred to Butler, Indiana, having charge of the car department. When the shops were destroyed by fire he went to Alle- gheny, on the Pittsburg & Western Railroad, where he was made general foreman in the car department, acting in that capacity most acceptably until ill health forced his retirement in 1890. Mr. Holmes then returned to Galion, where he has since resided, one of the valued and honored residents of this place. His long continuance in the railroad service is a proof of his fidelity to duty and his faithful performance of all work entrusted to his care.
395
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Colonel Holmes was united in marriage, in 1862. in Niagara Falls, New York, to Miss Emily Parsons, a native of that place. They now have one son, Charles Parsons, who pursued his education in the public schools of Galion and afterward entered the railroad service, being foreman in the machine shops of the Big Four Railroad at Lindale, Ohio, and at the present time is employed in the Erie Railroad at Cleveland, this state. The family are Pres- byterians in religious belief, and the Colonel is a stanch Republican, having supported that party since attaining his majority. Since 1846 he has been a valued and loyal representative of the Masonic fraternity, having joined the order at Chatham Four Corners, New York. He now belongs to the blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery, and has attained the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He passed all the chairs in the subordinate lodge and was one of the organizers of Galion Lodge, No. 414, F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and in 1884 served as com- mander of the post in this place. His life has been open to his fellow citizens, and no suspicion of any doubtful practice in business has ever been attached to it. It has been clean in every way, and his influence has ever been for what is honest, for everything that is elevating, for everything that con- serves the interests of the city, for everything that is sound in finance, for everything that is true and everything that is right.
JACOB H. PETRI.
For more than a quarter of century Jacob Henry Petri has been num- bered among the merchants of Galion and is to-day the leading dealer in men's furnishing goods and clothing. He also conducts a general merchant tailoring establisment, and through the long period of his association with commercial interests in the city he has enjoyed a large and constantly increas- ing patronage. A native of Germany, he was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, and is a son of John and Elizabeth ( Yeater) Petri, the former a farmer by occu- pation. In the year 1866 the subject of this review bade adieu to the father- land, and, with a determination to seek his fortune in the new world, crossed the Atlantic to the United States. He had pursued his education in the pub- lic schools of Germany, but aside from his education had little to aid him in starting out in life on his own account.
Ohio became the scene of his labors, and he took up his abode in the city of Akron, whence he came to Galion in 1872. Here for two and a half years he was employed as a cutter in a merchant tailoring establishment and
396
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
then, with the capital he had acquired through his industry and economy in former years, he began business on his own account, opening a merchant tailoring establishment. Success crowned his efforts and in about three years he increased his business by adding a line of ready-made clothing, hats and caps : and so successfully has been his adventure that to-day he has. one of the finest and best stocked gents' furnishing stores in Galion. As the years have passed he has enjoyed an excellent trade, for his workmanship in the one department is reliable and the line of ready-made clothing which he carries is just what it is represented to be. His business methods are in harmony with the strictest ethics of commercial life, and his well known honesty and fair dealing have gained for him a liberal share of the public patronage.
Mr. Petri was united in marriage to Miss Margaret B. Byrider, of Akron, Ohio, and unto them have been born the following named: Edward W., who is engaged in business with his father; Otto G., who is also in the store ; Laura, Estella and Florence, who are at home. Mr. Petri is a valued and consistent member of the German Lutheran church of Galion, in which he has served as trustee through the past twenty years.
He takes quite an active interest in public affairs, doing all in his power to promote the substantial development and upbuilding of the community. For four years he was a member of the city council and for six years was trustee of Polk township, while for three years he occupied a position on the board of equalization. In 1901 he received the nomination for county commis- sioner on the Democratic ticket. In the positions which he has filled his fidel- ity to duty has been most marked and commendable and has been the salient feature which has caused his retention in office. He is public spirited in an eminent degree : national progress and local advancement are causes both dear to the heart of this adopted and thoroughly loyal son of the republic. His devotion to the country is above question, and no native son of America is more true to her institutions or more faithful to his duties of citizenship.
WILLIAM LINN. :
It is generally conceded that the state of Ohio has a type of citizenship which is not surpassed by that of any other state in the Union. From its farming communities have come men of world-wide fame. Crawford county is particularly favored and among the representatives of old and honored. families is William Linn, whose ancestors were among the early settlers.
397
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
William Linn was born in Holmes township. Crawford county, on July 17, 1835, a son of William and Sophia ( Veivle) Linn, who reared a family of eight children, four of whom still survive, these being: William, of this sketch : Caroline, the wife of Augustus Cronenbaugh, of Ada, Ohio; Julia, the wife of Louis Holker, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Louis, of Williams county, Ohio. The father and mother were born in Bavaria, Germany, and married there, where two children were born. In the spring of 1834 they emigrated to America, landing in New York City, after a voyage of thirty-five days, and coming then to Ohio, spending six months in Massillon, where Mr. Linn worked at his trade of shoemaker. They then came to Crawford county and settled on thirty acres of land. nearly all of which was covered with timber, on the Sandusky pike road, in Holmes township. Mr. Linn im- mediately set to work clearing his land and built a log cabin and settled down to hard and laborious work. Later he purchased eighty acres, which is now owned by our subject, and an additional eighty acres, which is now the prop- erty of Henry Leimenstoll. The father lived and died on the thirty-acre farm, on March 30, 1895, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. His political choice of party had been that of Democracy. A faithful member of the German Lutheran church, he was valued for his many excellent qualities.
Our subject was reared on the farm and found much to do while still a lad. His school facilities were limited, but his natural ability enabled him to learn quickly when he had the oportunity. In 1856 he married Miss Leah Fralick, a native of Holmes township, in this county, the daughter of Jacob Fralick, one of the early settlers of this county. Then Mr. Linn located on his present home farm, which was covered with timber except some fifteen acres, upon which was erected a log cabin. Game was plentiful, squirrels, wild pigeons and wild turkeys were abundant. Mr. Linn set about industriously to clear his land and paid his father a stipulated sum yearly up to the time of his death. A number of additions have been made to the original tract, and now Mr. Linn owns five hundred acres of some of the very choicest land in Crawford county.
A family of seven children, two boys and five girls, blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Linn, these being: Washington G., a farmer of this township; Lafayette, a farmer of this township; Allie J., the wife of T. W. James, of Holmes township : Lucy A., the wife of Charles S. Spore, of Holmes township ; Melissa, at home ; Laura J., the wife of George Heilerman, of Marion county; and Clara D., the wife of Welmer Sawyer, a manufacturer of soft drinks in Bucyrus, Ohio.
398
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Linn is a stanch Republican, although he was born and bred a Dem- ocrat. Slavery in the old party caused him to join the Republicans. For many years he has been a consistent member of the German Lutheran church, and is one of the most highly esteemed men of the county.
DANIEL BABST.
Daniel Babst was born at Elkirch, a little village near Strasburg, France, March 11, 1810, and at the time of his death had reached the advanced age of eighty-three years, one month and nine days. His father, Jacob Babst, was an officer in the French army, holding a commission from Napoleon I. His mother was of a wealthy and distinguished family of Great Hoffstaater, near the city of Berne, Switzerland. Her father was one of two staatsrather rep- resenting the canton of Berne in the stænde-rath of Switzerland. an elective body corresponding to our United States senate.
The youth of Daniel Babst was passed amid the stirring events following the time of Napoleon I, a vivid impression of which he ever retained. especially the return of Napoleon's straggling army from Waterloo. His home being broken up by the death of his mother he resolved to come to America, and landed in New York city in the summer of 1832. Some years later he was followed by the members of his immediate family. In his later years he was fond of relating to his grandchildren his hunting experiences on the present site of Central Park : Hoboken, New York's populous suburb, comprising only truck farms. During his three years' residence in the city he was a frequent witness of the heartless persecution of the embryo Abolition Association, a fact which accounts for his subsequent anti-slavery activity. In 1835 he removed to Massillon, and from there to Canal Fulton, one of the most considerable towns on the Ohio canal, then the only direct connection between the lakes and the Ohio river. At Canal Fulton he was married to Margaret Yost in 1841, which union was blessed by seven children, five of whom, and the aged mother, survive him; the children being Mrs. C. F. Frank, Jacob Babst and Daniel Babst, Jr., of this city, Mrs. William Ritter, of Mansfield, and Thomas P. Babst. of Topeka, Kansas.
Previous to his removal to Crestline, he made an extended prospecting tour through the west and northwest. spending several days at the present site of Chicago, then a mere hamlet, presenting no very attractive inducements to a prospective citizen. Crestline was one of the most important railroad towns in the State and presented advantages to Mr. Babst, which resulted in his re-
Dound Babel
40I
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
moval here in 1852, coming on the first passenger train of the old Pennsyl- vania & Ohio Railroad. the present Pennsylvania main line. Possessing con- siderable wealth he made extensive purchases in real estate, building and open- ing the American House, the present Billow block. In 1858 he built his beau- tiful home south of town, where he resided with his aged wife until the time of his death. In 1871 he founded Babst Banking House with his son, Jacob Babst, cashier. In 1878 he retired from all active business in favor of his sons Jacob and Daniel Babst, Jr. In the business life of Crestline there has been no important enterprise which has not felt the influence of his energy and vigorous business ability.
Never seeking political advantage, he always adhered to the principles represented by the Whig and later by the Republican parties, his single polit- ical service being that of delegate to the national Whig convention of 1848. His outspoken and strong convictions on the slavery controversy are matters of local history well known to many of our citizens active in those violent times. In his retirement no picture of family love could be brighter than that presented by this aged couple, living in their beautiful home, surrounded by children and grandchildren. Fifty-two years of constant companionship had taught them the joys of love and contentment, easing life's cares by the confi- dence of mutual steadfastness, and to the immediate friends and family the fading outline of this happy devotion will ever be of blessed memory and a perpetual inspiration to fidelity and love.
FRANK C. McGAUGHY, D. D. S.
Among the younger representatives of the dental fraternity in Crawford county is Dr. Frank Cloud McGaughy, of Galion, who has already attained a success which many an older practitioner might well envy. He is a native of Chesterville, Ohio, and a son of Hugh P. McGaughy, one of the early settlers of the state, who was born at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, March 24. 1838. His paternal grandfather was William McGaughy, of Gettysburg, who in pioneer days came with his family to Ohio, casting in his lot with the early settlers of Morrow county. Hugh P. McGaughy was only fifteen years of age at the time of the removal. The family located upon a farm, and there he was reared to manhood. After attaining his majority he was joined in wedlock to Miss Hannah Bonar, a native of Morrow county, Ohio, and a daughter of John and Clarissa ( Lewis) Bonar, the latter of Knox county, Ohio.
.
402
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
The Doctor spent his youth in Chesterville and at the usual age entered the schools of that city, pursuing his studies there until he had completed the high-school course. Wishing to devote his life to professional labors he resolved to join the dental fraternity and became a student in the dental de- partment of the Ohio Medical College, in which he was graduated with the class of 1897. On the Ist of July. 1898. he took up his abode in Galion, where he has since remained, and already he lias won an enviable place among the representatives of his chosen calling, having a large patronage, which is constantly increasing. His methods are modern, his workmanship excellent and his knowledge of the principles of the science of dentistry is comprehensive and exact. Socially the Doctor is connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge. He is a young man of genial disposition, unfailing courtesy and gen- uine worth, and these qualities have rendered him very popular.
CHRISTIAN F. EISE.
Christian Frederick Eise, a well-known resident of Galion, was born in the city which is still his home, his natal day being July 30. 1859. His parents, Frederick and Catherine (Poister) Eise, are both now deceased. The father was a railroad carpenter and was a well known and highly respected citizen of his community, giving special aid to the work of advancement and the moral interests of his county. He labored earnestly in the church and Sunday- school and his life was a potent influence for good. Both he and his wife were natives of Germany, becoming residents of Galion in 1856, and there remaining tintil called to their final rest.
In the public schools of his native city Christian F. Eise pursued his edu- cation, becoming familiar with both the German and English languages. His desire for newspaper work led him to serve an apprenticeship in a newspaper office in Indianapolis before his graduation at school. which event occurred in 1874. Throughout his entire business career he has been identified with journalistic work. In 1879 he began the publication of a paper in West Milton, Ohio. A year later he was appointed a historian of county histories and in 1881 he established the Bainbridge Courier, at Bainbridge, Ohio, con- tinuing as its editor and publisher until 1885. He was then employed in the government printing office at Washington. D. C., for a year, and afterward about eight years in the office of the Galion Inquirer. In 1891 he estab- lished the Galion Daily Leader, with which he is still connected. This is a wide-awake and enterprising journal and now has a good circulation, which
403
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
makes it an excellent advertising medium. It is devoted to local interests and to the dissemination of general news, and is a journal which would prove creditable in almost any city. In the year 1887 Mr. Eise was elected city clerk of Galion and his faithfulness and ability, as well as the confidence re- posed in him by his fellow men, is indicated by the fact that he held the. office continuously for eight years. He also served as health officer, has been a member of the county election board and has held other important political positions.
Mr. Eise was united in marriage to Miss Zetta Lois Norton, a resident of Yellow Springs, Ohio, the wedding being celebrated in 1881. They now have one child, Florence Norton, a young lady of eighteen years. Socially Mr. Eise is connected with the Independent Order of Foresters, with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and with the Daughters of America. He is likewise connected with Galion Tent, Knights of the Mac- cabees, and has served as a delegate to the great camp. Both as a public citizen and as the publisher of one of the leading papers of the county Mr. Eise contributes in large measure to the general welfare by supporting all movements calculated to prove of public benefit.
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.