USA > Ohio > Crawford County > A centennial biographical history of Crawford County, Ohio > Part 72
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James B. Carrothers was reared on his father's farm and acquired his education in the common schools. On September 29, 1862, he became a member of Company K, One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, for service in the Civil war, and almost immediately his regiment was sent to the front, where it took part in the battle of Vicksburg, and on Decem- ber 25th they were at Big Black river. After fighting for six days here the Union officers sent a flag of truce to the Confederates asking to be permitted to bury their dead, and they were given one day, the night following being marched six miles to the river and loaded on transports. The regiment went down the Black river and then up the Arkansas river to Arkansas Post, where they captured seventy-eight hundred prisoners and ten thousand stacks of arms, after twenty-four hours of fighting. On January 16, the regiment then went down the stream to Young's Point, Louisiana, and landed in front of Vicks- burg on March 9, going up the river to Milliken's, where they remained until April 2, at this time leaving this part of the army and going to Richmond, New Carthage and Grand Gulf, where they crossed the river. They were pres- ent at Thompson's Hill, Port Gibson and Rocky Springs, coming around in the rear of Vicksburg, where they engaged in fighting for five days. Then the regiment moved to Big Black river and here he succumbed to fever and was left behind. He rejoined the regiment on June 1, and was a part of it during the siege of Vicksburg and remained until July 6, two days after the surrender, when the regiment started in pursuit of Johnston. They marched to Jackson and there engaged in fighting through a whole week, routing the enemy. Marching back to Big Black creek the regiment reached it on July 23, and remained there for two weeks, but on August 8 the soldiers started on marine boats for Port Hudson landing, and went into camp until August 17, when they went on to New Orleans, remaining until the 20th of the month. On September 5, the regiment reached Brashear City, Louisiana, and our subject went to Carrollton, where late in October he was discharged on account of physical disability, and he arrived home November 8, 1863. This ended a long and trying period, the effects of which he still experiences.
In August, 1864, James Carrothers was married to Miss Sarah J. Cole, who was born in this township and who was a daughter of Barnet Cole. now deceased, who was one of the well known farmers of Vernon township. After marriage our subject remained with his father for two years and during the winter months he taught the district school. In 1866, he went to live with James Carrothers, Sr. At that time this uncle owned the farm which James now occupies and took charge of it. October 14, 1872, the uncle died. James
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and his brother George had previously purchased this farm, which consists of three hundred and twenty acres. For two years they farmed this land in partnership. At the end of this period a division was made by which he retained one hundred and sixty acres, and upon this place he had erected a substantial frame house in 1870. He has been successful in real estate business.
Ten children were born in the family of James Carrothers and wife and eight of these still survive, their names and residences being as follows : Flora E., who is the wife of Isaac N. Latchaw and resides in McComb, Ohio; Emma L., who is the wife of Sherman Morris and resides in Sandusky town- ship: Hattie M., who is the wife of Amos Keller, and also resides in San- dusky township, and E. Ida B. Weaver, Jennie M., Sadie L. B. L., Dee Ora Lee and Robert B. Carrothers, who reside at home. Mr. Carrothers has taken just pride in his intelligent family.
James Carrothers has long been connected with the religious body known as the Church of God. He is a man of high character, is an honorable and upright citizen, and fills every situation in life with dignity and in a manner to gain the respect and esteem of all who know him.
JOHN ECKSTEIN.
John Eckstein, who is a trustee of Vernon township, and one of its lead- ing and most progressive farmers, was born in Richland county, Ohio, on No- vember 20, 1856. His father was George Eckstein, extended mention of whom may be found in the biography of his son, Adam Eckstein, in another part of this volume.
John Eckstein of this sketch was reared on the home farm and acquired a good common school education. After he had reached his twenty-first year he received from his father the customary wages of a farm hand, this being satisfactory to both parties. On November 24, 1882, our subject was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Minck, who was a native of Vernon township and a daughter of Conrad Minck, who was a native of Germany and one of the early settlers of Vernon township, where the remainder of his life was passed.
After the death of the father of our subject, in 1886, the latter and his brother George purchased one hundred and sixty acres of the estate, sixty acres of which our subject owned personally, which was situated across the highway from the home farm. Our subject continued to farm the land upon shares for the following seven years or until the death of his mother, when
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he bought the home farm, consisting of ninety-three acres, and this made his own land aggregate one hundred and fifty-three acres. Since that time Mr. Eckstein has demonstrated that he is a practical farmer and has the satisfaction of owning and operating one of the best cultivated and most highly improved farms in the township. For a number of years he has given his attention to his land, understands its possibilities and intelligently meets its demands.
Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eckstein and seven of these still survive and make a happy home circle. These are as follows: Charles W., Mamie B., John A., Ella F., Grover A., Edna M., and Emery B., as intelligent and attractive family as Vernon township can produce. They are all being thoroughly educated in the common schools and promise to be- come useful members of society.
In politics Mr. Eckstein is a Democrat, but his personal popularity is so great that the whole township has been glad to place him in a position to serve as its trustee, being now in his second term, this honor having been conferred upon him without his consent. For a number of years he has been one of the leading members of the German Reformed church, and for four years was one of the deacons. He is a man who enjoys the esteem of his neighbors and is not only one of the best farmers but also one of the most useful citizens of Ver- non township.
ARTHUR CLELAND.
Distinguished as the first white child born in Vernon township, Arthur Cleland, who is the subject of this biography, is a well-known resident of Crawford county, Ohio, through which he is also known as a substantial farm- er and estimable citizen. His parents settled in Crawford county late in the fall of 1825 and his birth took place on February 6, 1826. He was a son of William and Rachel ( Ramsey) Cleland, who had eight children born in their pioneer home, the brothers and sisters of our subject being as follows : Will- iam, who is a resident of Defiance county, Ohio; and Rachel, who is the wife of Hugh Dobbins and lives in Bucyrus township, while those who passed away bore the following names : Mary, who married Thomas Mccullough; Mar- garet J., who married William Magee; Susan, who married Thomas Alemus; Eliza, who married Davidson Maddox; and John.
William Cleland, the father of our subject, was born in county Down, Ireland, May 14, 1796, and he was a son of Arthur Cleland, the latter being
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of Scotch-Irish extraction. About 1816 an aunt of our subject emigrated to America and soon after wrote such glowing acounts back to the old coun- try of the conditions and opportunities in the United States, awakening in the breasts of those left behind also an ambition to cross the sea, that resulted in the sale of the little farm and the embarkation, on a sailing vessel, of the whole family, bound for a new home across the Atlantic. Our subject's father, with his parents and his brothers and sisters, left Ireland on May 14, 1817. and after a voyage of sixty-six days were landed at Cape May, at the mouth of the Dela- ware river. Their destination was New York, but head winds drove the poorly managed ship out of its course, and as a major portion of the passengers wished to go to Wilmington the captain landed them all there. From Cape May the Cleland family found its way to Washington, Pennsylvania, and re- sided there for a time, later removing to Jefferson county, Ohio. The grand- father had been a famous weaver in his prime, but he and his wife were grow- ing old and from this time remained with some one of their children.
In the fall of 1824 the father of our subject, with his brother John, came to Crawford county, Ohio, and entered our subject's present home farm, a fractional quarter section, consisting of one hundred and fifteen acres. Then they returned to Jefferson county and in the fall of the following year Will- iam Cleland, with his wife and his brother John, removed to the new home in the Ohio woods. The men soon cleared off a space and built a log cabin, and. in the February following, into this frontier home came the child whose biog- raphy appears in this writing. In the following spring John Cleland went to Mansfield, where plenty of work was to be found at his trade of stone mason, and it was in that year the great canal system of the state was begun. For two years he worked in stone and brick and then went back to Pennsylvania.
In the spring following the location of William Cleland in this part of the county, the township was organized, and at the spring election the ten votes were polled by William Garrison. Eli. Arnold, Isaac Hitchkok, George Dick- son, three of the Coles family, James Richards, James Clemens, and William Cleland. During these early days William Cleland worked as a weaver and exchanged the product of the looms for labor to assist in the clearing of land, and much of the laborious work was performed in this way. For many years he continued his work at the loom, finding ready sale or barter for all he could produce. His death occurred on September 25, 1881, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. after a life of usefulness and industry, which left his family well provided for at his decease. His many years here had covered a period that saw the forest give place to smiling, fruitful fields and orchards, and the little
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log cabin, during this time, gave place to the magnificent country home which is not only complete in comfort and construction, but is also an ornament to the landscape.
Mr. Cleland was an excellent man of business and was in the habit of buying land when he found desirable tracts for sale, until he had acquired three hundred and twenty-four acres in Crawford county, and two hundred and twenty acres in Defiance county. Democratic in politics, he always ardently upheld the party of his choice, while he was equally active in the support of the Presbyterian church. The mother of our subject was a most superior woman and came from noted ancestry. She was born in Brooke county. West Vir- ginia, on January 16, 1801, and she was a daughter of Samuel Ramsey, who was a native of Ireland. During the war of the Revolution he, in company with one hundred and thirty others, was captured by the British, and he was one of the four of those who escaped and almost starved, in hostile territory, before he reached his friends. The mother of our subject was one of the hardy pioneers who became a tower of strength to her busband in those early days, and reared a family to habits of thrift and industry.
The early school days of our subject were spent in a very primitive log building, where the instruction was not much superior to the surroundings. Mr. Cleland possessed a quick and active mind and soon absorbed all the teach- er had to impart. His father needed his services and he remained on the home farm until his twenty-ninth year. On October 4. 1855, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Priscilla Gundrum, who was a native of Dauphin county, Penn- sylvania, her birth occurring near Harrisburg, on March 2, 1833, and she was a daughter of John Gundrum. The latter belonged to a fine old Pennsylvania family, and he came to Crawford county in 1836, spending the first winter in Bucyrus, removing in the following spring to Sandusky township where his last days were spent.
After his marriage our subject located on one of his father's farms, con- sisting of eighty acres, in Sandusky township, making an agreement with his father to clear the land, rebuild the house and pay the taxes, for which he was to keep the proceeds of the property. During this time his father purchased an additional forty-nine acres, and our subject took charge of this also, and lived here until the spring of 1877 when he went back to the home farm, in order to extend filial care to his ageing parents. Since that time this has been our sub- ject's home, and it is one of the best improved properties in Crawford county. Success has attended the persistent efforts of Mr. Cleland, and in 1879 he pur-
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chased one hundred and sixty additional acres situated on the west of his home farm, the place now aggregating two hundred and seventy-five acres.
Three children have been born to our subject and wife, only two of these surviving, viz .: William J., who farms his father's land and is serving his second term as township trustee ; Arthur B., who died October 30, 1886, aged twenty-three years and ten months ; and Rachel E., who is the wife of Marion Bender, of Auburn township.
In political sentiment Mr. Cleland has clung to the Democratic doctrine in which he was reared and he has acceptably served for five years as township clerk, and was township trustee previously in Sandusky township. He is held in high esteem in Vernon township, and although his life has not been filled with exciting events, they have been replete with faithful and well-directed work, and he enjoys the consciousness of knowing that he is regarded as one of the best representative citizens of this unequaled county.
ANTHONY BENDER.
Among the enterprising citizens of Crawford county is Anthony Bender, who is extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Vernon township. His marked ability has done much to promote the business activity of the com- munity, and in agricultural circles he enjoys an unassailable reputation. A native son of the Buckeye state, his birth occurred in Richland county, on the 20th of March, 1849. The educational advantages which our subject re- ceived in his youth were extremely limited, as his services were required in improving and cultivating his father's land, but as time has passed he has greatly added to his knowledge by constant reading and observation. He re- mained at home until after his marriage, when he located on what is now known as the Hanley farm, then the property of his father, located in Cran- berry township, where he resided for three years. Returning to the home farm, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits with his brother John for the following three years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Tiro, where he remained for four years, and during that time operated the homestead farm. In 1885 he removed to the place on which he now resides, the land also belonging to his father and consisting of seventy-five acres, but after a few years he was enabled to purchase a tract of eleven acres, and a few years later became the owner of another tract of twenty-four acres. After his father's death he inherited the seventy-five acres on which he resided, and his landed possessions now aggregate one hundred and ten acres. In his
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farming operations Mr. Bender has ever followed the most improved methods, and as the result of unremitting toil and excellent business ability he has won for himself a name and place among the leading business men of his locality.
On the 26th of August, 1876, he was united in marriage with Miss Cath- erine A. Kahler, a native of New Washington, Crawford county, and a daugh- ter of Conrad Kahler, a retired carpenter of that city. He came with his parents to Crawford county, Ohio, when a little lad of five years. On their arrival here the family erected a hut out of brush, and in this rude domicile they made their home until a more suitable log cabin could be erected. Unto. Mr. and Mrs. Bender have been born four children,-Ella E., the wife of Wil- son Hoover, a farmer of Sandusky township, Crawford county; and Frank B., Burton S. and William, who are still at home. In political matters Mr. Bender casts his ballot in favor of the Democracy, and in his social relations he is a member of Tiro Lodge, No. 592, K. P. Mrs. Bender is a prominent and active member of the Lutheran church. The business career of our subject is one most commendable. He is thoroughly reliable in all relations with his fellow men, has strict regard for the ethics of commercial life, and by enter- prise and careful management has secured a most gratifying success.
DAVID C. ROBINSON.
One of the most highly esteemed residents of Crawford county, Ohio, is David C. Robinson, who resides upon a farm now included in the corporate limits of the town of Tiro, upon which he was born June 23, 1848. He was a son of Barber and Mary T. ( Morrow) Robinson, who reared nine children, all of whom reached maturity. The first break in the family circle was caused by the death of C. M. Robinson, in 1899, at the age of fifty-five years, and two weeks later occurred the death of A. C. Robinson, at the age of fifty-three years. The survivors of this vigorous family are as follows: David C., who is the subject of this sketch ; Mary, who is the widow of George Clawson, of Tiro; Martha E., who is the wife of Samuel Baxter, of Van Wert, Ohio; James B., who resides in California : Robert H. ; William F., who is a resident of Tiro: and Florence, who is the wife of A. W. Kaufman, of Tiro.
Barber Robinson was born in Ireland, in 1818, and was the son of Robert and Jane (Barber) Robinson. His parents came to America when Barber was twelve years of age, landing in New York after a voyage of six weeks! They first settled in Virginia, but soon removed to Ohio, locating in Auburn township, in Crawford county, purchasing a farm then located one-half mile
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east of what is now the village of Tiro. This property is now owned by Levi Lash and John Randabauch. When the grandparents of our subject came to Crawford county the country was a wilderness, and in order to build the log cabin for immediate use, the great forest trees had to be first cut down and a space cleared. Industry was the order of the day and hard and un- remitting toil followed, but Grandfather Robinson was one of the hardy, ener- getic men who was well fitted for pioneer life. His death occurred on the farm where his children were born and reared. Barber Robinson grew up amid these pioneer surroundings and did his share in the work of clearing the one hundred and sixty acres of land which his father had entered. After the death of his father he cared for his mother until her death. After the mar- riage of Barber Robinson to Mary, the daughter of Charles Morrow, of Ohio, they settled in Tiro until Mr. Robinson could build their log cabin and then he started into the clearing of his own land, as he bought one hundred acres located across the road from the old homestead. After the death of his father he bought the home farm also and for a time owned four hundred and twenty acres.
Mr. Robinson was a life-long Democrat and was a man who exerted a great influence in the councils of his party. For six years he efficiently served as county commissioner and was one of the best men that could have been found for that position, as he possessed excellent judgment and great executive ability. For years he was a leading member of the Lutheran church, during much of his later life being one of the elders in the same.
David C. Robinson was reared in a good, Christian home and was given every educational opportunity possible in his locality at that time. At the age of twenty-two years he began agricultural work on his father's farm, working on shares, and soon proved to be a very capable and successful farmer. On September 26, 1878, our subject was married to Miss Anna L. Bowers, of Sulphur Springs, and continued to work on his father's farm until the death of the latter. When the estate was settled our subject purchased eighty acres and the buildings on the land, and this has been the family home ever since.
Politically our subject is a Democrat. He was once elected township clerk, but as he found that in order to do justice to the duties of the office he would be obliged to neglect his farm he resigned. However, he has served several years in the town council and has also been treasurer of Tiro, where he is held in high esteem by members of both political parties and by the citi- zens generally.
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ELI RININGER.
One of the most substantial, prominent and highly esteemed citizens of Crawford county, Ohio, is Eli Rininger, a most worthy representative of one of the old and much respected families of Bedford county, Pennsylvania. The birth of our subject took place in Bedford county, on December 14, 1845, and he was a son of John and Sophia ( Black) Rininger, who had a family of nine children, the only survivors being William H .. who is a resident of Lexington, Ohio; and Eli, who is the subject of this biography.
John Rininger, who was the honored father of the subject of this record, was born in Bedford county, where for forty years he conducted a cabinet- making and undertaking establishment, in Shellsburg. He was also a success- ful farmer and owned a farm of one hundred and three acres of land near the above town, but the last twenty years of his life were spent in comfortable re- tirement. He was a life-long Democrat, and for a number of years was a jus- tice of the peace and was identified with many public affairs. From his early youth he had been a consistent member of the Lutheran church and was a con- stant attendant upon its services until his death, in 1890, in his eighty-third year.
The mother of our subject belonged to one of the old and well established families of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, where she was born in 1809. She was a daughter of Joseph Black, who was a native of Maryland and located in Bedford county soon after his marriage. He was well known all through the county as a successful farmer. The mother died in 1865.
Eli Rininger was reared on the home farm and attended the nearest schools and thus acquired a good common-school eucation. At the age of sev- enteen years he enlisted in the service of his country, first entering a regiment called the Independent Cavalry, in July, 1863, for the three-months service, when each volunteer supplied his own horse. His second enlistment, which was for three years, was on January 1, 1864, in Company H, Fifty-fifth Penn- sylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, and his regiment was assigned to the Army of the James. Mr. Rininger was a brave and daring soldier and he took part in thirteen engagements, some of these being : Old Town Creek, in Vir- ginia : three days at Durris Bluff, in Virginia ; two days at Cold Harbor, where he was wounded on June 3, 1864, when eleven thousand men fell inside of ninety minutes! Our subject was sent to a hospital at Fort Schuyler, New York, where he was confined for three months, and when he was permitted to rejoin his regiment it was in front of Petersburg, and the battle that was
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fought there made the fourth one in which our subject was engaged. Then came Chippens' Farm, Signal Hill, and Hatcher's Run, all in Virginia. At the last mentioned place four thousand Confederate prisoners were captured. Next came Fort Craig, which was one of the strongholds of Petersburg; Bright's Station, Virginia ; and Appomattox, when Mr. Rininger was present at the sur- render of the army of Gen. Lee. This list does not include the minor en- gagements, during which many a brave man lost his life. Our subject was discharged on August 30, 1865, at Petersburg, Virginia.
After his return to peaceful pursuits our subject purchased his father's business, as he had learned the trade in his youth, and eight succeeding years were spent in the management of this business ; but in 1873, influenced by the fervid literature of the land agents and the reports of many settlers already lo- cated there, emigrated to Douglas county, Kansas, and there purchased a farm. His experience was discouraging, as the first year the crops through his section were destroyed by the drought and the second year everything was eaten by the grasshoppers. His only remedy was to turn again eastward, leaving almost all he possessed behind. Upon reaching Ohio our subject rented a farm in Rich- land county, near Lexington, and there he engaged in farming for two years, and then came to Crawford county, locating in Auburn township. For two years our subject rented a farm, at the end of which period he moved to Tiro and there erected a residence and during the following year was employed in farming, teaming and other occupations.
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