USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 64
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J. J. GEARHART.
Too much cannot be said in favor of that excellent German stock which has produced some of our best citizenship in all parts of America. Industry, honesty and frugality are leading traits in the German character and they are qualities which make for success anywhere.
Jacob Gearhart was a pioneer in Jefferson township. Crawford county, Ohio, in 1834. He was born November 30, 1813, in Elshoff, Rhine province, district of Wettinstein, Germany. He was reared and educated and learned the wagonmaker's trade in his native land. April 13, the year mentioned, with his brother George. he came to America in a sailing vessel, which con- summed seven weeks in making the voyage, landing at the American port June 4. He located in Jefferson township, where he entered eighty acres of govern- inent land. on which he erected a log cabin and on which he lived a bachelor life for about a year, when he married an old German sweetheart who had come out to this country. Jacob Gearhart and Mary Elizabeth Baetzel were mar- ried September 8, 1834, in Crawford county, and have had children as follows : J. J., who was born in Jefferson township, February 11, 1837; Mary, who be- came the wife of John Heitzman, who is now a retired farmer living at 29.4. Evans street. Bucyrus, Ohio: Lewis and Adam, who are dead; Lena, who is the wife of Henry Edler, of Crestline, Ohio: Emanuel, who lives on his father's old home farm : and Joseph, who died young.
Jacob Gearhart lived at his place of original settlement in Jefferson town- ship the remainder of his life except during two years. He cleared and im-
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proved the farm and established a brewery on it, which he managed success- fully for several years. From time to time he was engaged in butchering. He was a citizen of influence and a member of the German Reformed church. He died September 4, 1889, aged seventy-five years, nine months and five days.
J. J. Gearhart was reared on his father's farm and assisted him in his various enterprises, and as opportunity afforded attended school in a log school house near his home. In the winter months the big boys took turns at chopping wood with which to keep the school-room warm. In 1859 he married Ja- cobina Iseman, and they had eight children, concerning whom we make the following observations: Henry F. lives in Jefferson township. Clara A. is the wife of Calvin Knell, of Jefferson township. Charles F. lives at Leesville, Ohio. Nettie is the wife of John Kiebler, of Jefferson township. Lena E. is the wife of Samuel Kiebler and they have a home with her father. Lewis is dead. Adolphus and Edward died in infancy.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Gearhart removed to his present farm of eighty acres, eighteen acres of which was improved, and for two years he lived in the little log cabin which stood on the place and which was superseded by a more modern residence. He now owns one hundred and ninety-seven acres of land and is a progressive and successful general farmer and stock-raiser. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church and he has always been liberal in his contributions toward its support. Politically he is of the Demo- cratic faith, and his public spirit has led him to favor every movement for the general good of the people of his township and county. He has many times served on juries and he is the present incumbent of the office of road commis- sioner of Jefferson township.
ROBERT GREGG.
That sensible, practical, industrious and successful Pennsylvania stock which has been a factor in the development of the civilization of nearly every section of our country has been especially potent in Ohio, and among its best- known representatives in Crawford county is Robert Gregg, of Texas township.
Robert Gregg was born on the old Gregg homestead in the township above mentioned, September 23, 1839, a son of William Gregg, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1802, and was brought by his father, Andrew Gregg, to Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1804. There Robert Gregg's grandfather acquired government land and improved a farm on which his son William was brought up to manhood, attending such schools as were then
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available to him in that then new country and doing his part in the work of clearing wild land and putting it under cultivation. He married Margaret Smith and they had ten children. Of these Catharine Achsah and Lewis died young. John lives in Sycamore township, Wyandot county, Ohio. Nancy married James McClung and lives in Iowa. James is dead. Robert was the next in order of birth. William S. and Andrew are dead, and Minerva E., the youngest, married George Tuttle and lives in Crawford county. Robert, John and William S. all served their country as soldiers in the Civil war. The parents of these children went to Crawford county in 1828 and settled in Texas township, where the father entered a claim of two hundred and forty acres of government land, on which he built a two-room house of round logs. He made the journey to the county with an ox-team and settled in the midst of a dense wilderness, in which game was plentiful and Indians were often seen, and he was so handy with his rifle that he soon achieved a reputation as an expert squirrel hunter. He was prominent in local affairs, and helped lay out roads and organize school districts, and in a general way aided in putting the wheels of civilization in motion. He gradually improved his farm in every way and died there in April, 1879. His wife died about 1854. They were mem- bers of the Methodist church, in which to the end of his days Mr. Gregg was an active worker.
Robert Gregg was brought up to farm life, was educated in the common schools and lived with his father until the spring of 1861, when he went to Minnesota, and where a few months later he enlisted as a private in Company G, First Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, to serve for three years or during the war. After the affair at Bull Run, where he had his first experi- ence of actual warfare, he went to Alexandria, Virginia, and thence to Wash- ington. D. C., and not long afterward he was sent to a hospital at Georgetown, and after four weeks there he was sent to another hospital at Annapolis, Mary- land, where after nine weeks he was appointed to the hospital staff, on which he served two years. In the fall of 1863 he rejoined his regiment in Virginia and served in the Army of the Potomac until honorably discharged from the service in April, 1864.
Returning to Crawford county, Mr. Gregg farmed with his father for one year and then removed to the place on which he now lives. His home farm consists of one hundred and twenty acres and he owns another farm of the same size, and he is a very successful general farmer and stock-raiser. He is a prominent Republican and has served his fellow citizens as township trustee for two years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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In 1864 he married Miss Eliza J. Magoffin, who has borne him seven children, the eldest of whom, Clarence E., is dead, and the others are named, respect- ively, Layton H., Willis C., Addie, Blanche, Albert C. and Walter B. Mr. Gregg is a man of much public spirit, who, having a vivid recollection of the old subscription schools taught in log school houses by incompetent teachers, has all his life done everything in his power to advance the cause of education in his township and who has been ready at all times to assist to the extent of his ability all movements which in his good judgment have promised to benefit his fellow citizens.
AARON CARRICK.
The prominent citizen of Chatfield township, Crawford county, Ohio, whose name is above is deserving of the honor which by common consent is accorded to veterans of the Civil war. He was born in Huron county, Ohio. June 27. 1836, the third child of Joseph and Frederica ( Harklerhodis) Car- rick, natives of Pennsylvania. His father was born July 16, 1808, his mother September 8, 1809, in Bedford county, and they were married in Stark county, Ohio, April 6, 1829, and some time afterward removed to Columbiana county, this state. They had children named Laura A., William, Aaron and Sarah. William lives in Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio. Sarah married R. Platt, of Michigan.
The Carrick family located in Chatfield township, Crawford county, in 1846, on the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch. Joseph Carrick had been a carpenter by occupation, but he then bought one hundred and five acres of land and devoted himself to farming, in which he was successful until his death, which occurred November 12, 1877. He left a record as a worthy and respected citizen of much enterprise and public spirit, an honest man, who loved his wife, his children and his neighbors.
Aaron Carrick passed his boyhood in attending school and in work on the farm. In August, 1862, when civil war was rife in our land and brave and stalwart men were needed to crush the spirit of rebellion, he responded to the nation's call and for three years nobly did a soldier's duty in defense of the starry banner. His regiment was the One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was included in the Army of the Potomac. He par- ticipated in the battles of Winchester, Newmarket. Fisher's Hill, Staunton, Perryville, Lynchburg, Richmond and Snicker Gap. At Perryville he drove an ambulance in which wounded soldiers were conveyed to Harper's Ferry,
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and while in that service was captured by the Confederate general, Mosby, under the following interesting circumstances : While returning from Harper's Ferry and driving through a small village young Carrick noticed a fine horse that was tied to a hitching-post at the side of the street, and in a laughing way he said to the man driving the ambulance next behind his: "There's Mosby's horse. I wonder where he is?" Not long after the ambulance train had passed through the village the owner of the horse appeared on the scene, and. joining the officers in command of the party, rode with them nearly ten miles, when, in a strip of woods, Mosby's men dashed down upon them and captured the train and its escort. Mr. Carrick soon escaped, however, and, dodging through the woods, gained a cornfield, where he hid for some time. That night he slept under a pile of rails and early in the morning he set out for the Union lines. Some negroes living in a cabin gave him some cornbread for breakfast, for which he was especially grateful, considering that they had no other food in the house. When he rejoined his command he found that a detachment of Union troops had during the night, after a brisk skirmish, re- captured the entire ambulance train. He served until honorably discharged from the service in 1865, and then returned to Ohio and engaged in farming.
In 1868 Mr. Carrick married Lucy Ann Fike, a native of Venice township, Seneca county, and a daughter of Peter Fike, and she has borne him three children, only one of whom, their son, Jacob A. Carrick, survives .. Mr. Car- rick is a man of commendable public spirit, who to the extent of his ability aids every movement having for its object the general good, and he is known as a friend of education, a liberal supporter of religious worship and an advo- cate of good roads.
DANIEL GREEN.
For twenty years Daniel Green has resided upon the farm which is now his home. The place comprises one hundred and twelve acres of land in Chat- field township, and is highly cultivated, bringing to him a good return for his labor. Throughout his entire life he has been connected with agricultural pursuits. He was born upon his father's farm in Liberty township. Crawford county, June 25, 1846, and when eighteen years of age came to Chatfield town- ship. He entered upon an independent business career when twenty-seven years of age, at which time he purchased his present farm, but he continued to live at home until his marriage, which occurred in 1877. Miss Elizabeth Heiby becoming his wife. Their union has been blessed with six children:
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Adam, Louisa, Matilda, William, Harrison and Emma, and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Green purchased a farm in Chatfield town- ship, upon which he resided for about four years, when, in 1881, he purchased his present farm. He owns altogether one hundred and fifty-two acres of rich land, of which one hundred and twelve acres is comprised within the home place. He carries on general farming and stock-raising and has good grades of cattle, horses and hogs upon his place, while the cultivation which he be- stows upon his fields leads them to return to him excellent crops. Thus he adds continually to his capital. He belongs to the Lutheran church, and in his political views he is a Democrat, voting with that party but never seeking office, preferring to give his time and energies to his farming operation, be- lieving such labor to be a more sure source of income.
WILLIAM BENDER.
There are few men whose lives are crowned with the honor and respect which is universally accorded to William Bender, but through many years' con- nection with Crawford county's history his has been an unblemished character. With him success in life has been reached by his sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly principle. He has never deviated from what his judgment would indicate to be right and honorable between his fellow men and himself, has never swerved from the path of duty, and now, after a long and useful career, he can look back over the past with pride and enjoy the re- maining years of his earthly pilgrimage with a consciousness of having gained for himself by his honorable, straightforward career the confidence and respect of the entire community in which he lives.
A native son of the Buckeye state, he was born in Richland county, Ohio, on the 26th of March, 1850, a son of Jacob and Catherine ( Hoffman) Bender. In his youth he enjoyed only the educational privileges afforded by the pioneer log school houses of his day. but in later life he greatly added to his knowledge by reading, study and practical experience, thus becoming a well-informed man. After his marriage he located on eighty acres of his present home farm, then the property of his father-in-law, which he rented for eleven years, and during that time he also dealt quite extensively in stock, thus greatly augment- ing his income. In 1882 he purchased one hundred and four acres adjoining his present farm on the east, and in 1885 he purchased of his father-in-law his present homestead, thus making the home farm to consist of one hundred and
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eighty-four acres. He also owns three other tracts of land, aggregating one hundred and fifty acres, all of which is located in Auburn township with the exception of fifteen acres in Vernon township. Mr. Bender has been very suc- cessful in his farming and stock-raising interests, and he is to-day accounted one of the substantial and leading citizens of his locality. During his many years of labor he secured a competence sufficient to enable him to lay aside the active cares of a business life and to rest in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. In 1889 he erected a handsome and commodious farm residence, and in the following year he rebuilt his barn, his place being now supplied with all the accessories and conveniences known to the model farm.
On the 3d of September, 1873. Mr. Bender was united in marriage with Miss Cornelia Sawyer, a daughter of Albanus Sawyer. Three children have graced the marriage of our subject and wife, namely : Rilla May, the wife of John W. Hutt, of Richland county ; Minnie Luella, who is now sixteen years of age; and Ruth Ione, a little lady of eight years. Mr. Bender gives his political support to the Democracy, and although he has never been an aspirant for po- litical honors he has served for many years as supervisor of his district, dis- charging the duties of that position to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He is not connected by membership with any religious denomination, but he has been a liberal contributor of both time and means to the Lutheran church, hav- ing assisted materially in the erection of the house of worship in Tiro. He gen- erously co-operates with all movements or measures intended for the better- ment of humanity. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed, and in every relation of life he is true to duty and to the right,-a loyal and patriotic citizen.
HIRAM SHALTER.
The name of Shalter has been well known in Crawford county, Ohio, since John Shalter settled there in 1832, taking up one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Lykens township. Hiram Shalter, John Shalter's eldest son, is a prominent farmer in Texas township, and was born on his father's homestead in Lykens township, March 23, 1834.
John Shalter, of whom a brief biographical sketch appears elsewhere in this work, married Elizabeth Albaugh, of Jefferson county, Ohio, who bore him thirteen children. The first born of these, Hiram, was reared on his fa- ther's farm, in the work of which he assisted his father until he was twenty- four years of age. He then removed to Huron county, Ohio, where he bought
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eighty acres of wood land and lived a year and a half. Disposing of his inter- ests there he moved to Texas township, Crawford county, where he bought of his father-in-law his present home farm, of which he has cleared thirty acres, which he devotes to general farming and stock-raising. He now owns altogether one hundred and sixty acres of land.
When he was twenty-four years old Mr. Shalter married Miss Mary Clark, who has borne him five children. Their son Robert is dead. Their son Frank lives at Sycamore, Ohio. Their daughter Laura is the wife of Charles Oder. Their son George is dead, as is also their daughter Minnie. In politics Mr. Shalter is a stanch Republican, but he has never sought nor consented to hold office. He and his wife are consistent members of the Baptist church. He is a man of much public spirit who takes a deep interest in the cause of educa- tion and has done whatever he has been able to do to improve the common schools of his neighborhod. In his youth he enjoyed few educational advan- tages, and he is largely self-educated. The first school of which he has any recollection was taught at Bulgo, as the original settlement of Lykens was called, in a little log building with no floor, all the appointments of which were of the crudest description, and on account of sickness only one day of school- ing was available to him that summer. He next attended school in another log school house which was not much of an improvement on the one just referred to, and the information imparted in which was scant and somewhat vague in character. The following items concerning his brothers and sisters will be found interesting. His sister Della was formerly a successful teacher. For several years she and her sisters Nancy and Lizzie have owned millinery stores at Bloomville and at other points in Ohio. His brothers Levi and David and his sisters Mary A., Catharine, Emma and Susanna are dead. His sister Sa- loma married Daniel Savage. His brother John lives in Putnam county, Ohio, his brother Abraham in Seneca county, and D. Savage lives at Cripple Creek, Colorado.
CHARLES TOBIN.
Upon the farm where he now resides Charles Tobin first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 20th of January, 1855. He is now the only sur- vivor of the three children born unto William J. and Margery ( Stewart) Tobin. The family is of Irish lineage, and the father of our subject was born in the town of Letter Kenny, in County Donegal, Ireland, about 1820. His parents died within one week of typhoid fever, and he was thus left an
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orphan at the age of eight years. He then became an inmate of the home of an uncle, Mr. John Gibson, with whom he remained until twenty years of age. Attracted by the opportunities afforded in the land of the free. he made his way to the new world in 1840, landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after a voy- age of four weeks upon the sailing vessel "The Lazy Hulk," so named because of her slowness in travel. When he reached the shores of the new world Mr. Tobin had but one English guinea, and this he changed into United States money, receiving four dollars and eighty-four cents. For ten days he re- mained in Philadelphia and then went up the Delaware river about thirty miles, where he secured employment as a farm hand, working in that capacity until the spring of 1841 and during the winter attended school. He then came to Ohio by way of the Ohio river to Pittsburg and by stage to Richland county, locating in Rome, where his uncle, Dr. Gustavus Allen, then resided. Our subject worked upon his uncle's farm during the summer months and in the winter again took up his educational work in the district schools of the neigh- borhood. In the spring of 1853 he entered upon an apprenticeship to the car- penter's trade under a Mr. Haymaker, of Franklin township, with whom he remained for two years. He afterward went to Mansfield, where he was em- ployed at his trade for a similar period during the fall and winter months, while in the summer he worked at farm labor. About 1845 he entered the employ of a Mr. Barnett, a wagon-maker of Franklin township, in whose ser- vice he continued for two winters. He then obtained work with Charles Stewart as a farm hand, and in 1847 he was united in marriage to his employer's daugh- ter, Miss Margorie Stewart, who was born in Franklin township, Richland county. Her mother was Mrs. Catherine ( Sweeney) Stewart, and both of her parents were natives of County Donegal. Ireland. Immediately after their marriage they came to the United States and for a short period were residents of Pennsylvania, coming thence to Ohio. The father entered land on Black Fork, in Franklin township, Richland county, being one of the first settlers in this portion of the state. The Indians were yet numerous and the country was wild and unimproved.
After his marriage William J. Tobin remained upon his father-in-law's farm as a farm hand for three years, in connection with his brother-in-law. In the spring of 1850 he came with his young wife and one child to his present home, having purchased eighty acres of land during the previous winter. This was practically virgin forest, for only a small patch of four acres had been cleared, and upon it a log cabin had been erected. This little pioneer home furnished shelter for the Tobin family until the spring of 1861, when the resi-
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dence in which our subject is now located was erected. In the following autumn he built a substantial bank barn, and in the course of time made his farm one of the best improved country seats in this portion of the state, re- claiming the land from the forest and the swamps and transforming it into richly cultivated fields, whose golden harvests returned to him a gratifying income each year. During the '50s Mr. Tobin also purchased an additional tract of forty-one acres a quarter of a mile west and a quarter of a mile south of his home. He is a stanch Democrat, but the honors and emoluments of office have not had attraction for him, as he has preferred to devote his energies to his farming interests. Of the Presbyterian church he is a consistent mem- ber, and during the past quarter of a century has faithfully served as one of its elders. Although he has traveled life's journey for more than eighty years he is yet in possession of all his faculties and enjoyed remarkably good health until the past winter, when his constitution was somewhat undermined by la grippe. Throughout the community in which he has resided he is venerated and re- spected and enjoys the warm friendship of young and old, rich and poor. His wife passed away in July, 1883, when fifty-five years of age.
Charles Tobin spent the days of his boyhood in the usual manner of farmer lads of that period. In the winter months he carried his text-books to the nearest school and there mastered the common branches of English learning. He worked upon his father's farm as health and strength would permit, and in the winter of 1889-90 he went to southern California for the purpose of recuperating his health. The trip proved quite beneficial and in the spring he returned home. In the same year he was united in marriage to Miss Chloris Beattie Turrittin, a native of Le Seuer county, Minnesota, and a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Kendall) Turrittin. Her father was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and her mother was a native of Maine. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tobin has been blessed with two children, but the son died in infancy. The daughter, Margie Elizabeth, was born May 6, 1894.
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