USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 3
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Joel Eckels is a native of Hancock county, born on the farm which he now cultivates, March 22, 1837. He received his education in the common schools of his district, and passed his boyhood in the active work of those pio- neer days. In his younger years he learned the blacksmith trade, serving his time at Fostoria and doing journeyman work for four years at Findlay. He worked twenty-five years at the anvil, during which time he established the reputation of being one of the best horse shoers and workers in iron in the county.
No event of special importance occurred in the early life of Joel Eckels to vary the usual routine, but after the inauguration of the Civil war all was changed and the patriotic spirit of the young man was aroused. He became one of the boys in blue who went to the front in defense of "Old Glory." He enlisted as a member of Company F, Twenty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the three months' service, expecting as a great number of the soldiers did at the inception of the Civil war, that it would only take a short period to suppress the rebellion. On his being honorably discharged from that first service, he again enlisted, this time as a member of Company K, One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for "three years or the war." He saw much active service, following the flag through inany of the most important battles of the war in the middle west. He was at Mossy Creek, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Nashville, Franklin, on the At- lanta campaign and in many of the lighter skirmishes. Soon after his enlist- ment he was made first sergeant of his company, and in February, 1864, was commissioned second lieutenant for meritorious service on the field, and the following year was advanced to the rank of a first lieutenancy. He received his discharge at the close of the war and returned home with an honorable record as a defender of the Union. He had proved himself a true and brave soldier, and a good and true friend to his men, among whom he was an ex-
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ceedingly popular officer. Mr. Eckels passed through the service without harm, with exception of the battle of Ft. Anderson, where he received a slight wound from a piece of shell. Two of his brothers also served in the Union army. Valentine Eckels was a member of the Fifty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was a sergeant and honorably discharged on account of disability. John Eckels was a member of Company G, One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was advanced to the rank of sergeant for bravery on the field, and was subsequently commissioned second lieutenant of his company. He died while in the service of his country near Kennesaw Mountain in 1864.
November 13, 1867, Joel Eckels celebrated his marriage to Miss Deboralı J., daughter of Llewellyn and Martha Biggs, and their union resulted in the birth of six children : Charles L., Cora V., deceased, Anna B., Martha E., Maggie D., and Clara B. Mrs. Eckels was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, April 1, 1834.
The military record of the Biggs family is as remarkable and as honor- able as that of the Eckels, four of Mrs. Eckels's brothers giving gallant serv- ice during the war, their names being Samuel, Mathew, Wesley and James, Samuel was a captain. His death occurred August 22, 1900. James was a sergeant in the Fifty-seventh regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the same in which Valentine Eckels was a sergeant. Mathew and Wesley were pri- vate soldiers, all gallant men and fought as heroes for the integrity of their country's flag.
Joel Eckels is a member of Urie Post, G. A. R., No. 110, of Bloomdale. He stands well in the community, and has filled some of the minor township offices, such as assessor, constable and supervisor. He enjoys the full confi- dence of his fellow citizens, and well deserves representation in this volume.
JUSTUS CHASE.
After a long and laborious life, characterized by the trials and troubles, good and ill fortune which beset all humanity in its struggle for betterment, the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch has retired from active busi- ness and is spending the evening of his days in repose at Findlay. It has not been an adventurous life, nor have its different periods been marked by either the romantic or the heroic. Just the plain life of an industrious agriculturist, and such as falls to the lot of most of those engaged in wresting a living from the bosom of Mother Earth, has been that of Justus Chase. He is a native of New York state and was born in 1817 on a farm in Saratoga county, near
Hannah 3. Chase
Justus Chase
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Amsterdam. When he was six months old his parents started in a wagon for Ohio, and all who have read the history of the early settlement of the west will understand that this was not a pleasure trip. A jolting ride over bad roads or no roads, all the way from central New York to the then unde- veloped regions of Ohio, was hardly such as would be recommended to in- valids or weaklings of any kind as a means of restoring health. But the littie party, consisting of father and mother and fretfu! baby, eventually got across the mountains and plains lying between and drew up in Madison county, Ohio, which had been selected as their location. It not proving satisfactory for some reason, the Chases resumed their wanderings after a stay of two years and next took up their residence at Little Sandusky, in the county of Wyandotte. They lived there several years and then decided to retrace their steps to the old home in New York, thus illustrating the proverb that a "rolling stone gathers no moss." Again the emigration fever set in, and again Mr. and Mrs. Chase, with the baby and weary team, were on the road, this time headed for Niagara Falls, New York, in the vicinity of which great cataract they settled on a farm and endeavored for two years to extract a living from the same. At the end of that period a consultation was held and a decision arrived at to again try their fortunes at Little Sandusky, to which place they accordingly returned and there lived for the usual space of two years. Still another move, however, was to be made and this proved the final one, which gave the turn to the whole future life of our subject. In 1831 his parents settled permanently in Liberty township, Hancock county, where fortune at last smiled upon them and where they lived in peace until the end of their earthly career.
At the time his parents finally "came to anchor," as the sailors would say, Justus Chase had about completed the fourteenth year of his age, and the succeeding sixty-four years and seven months were spent on this Hancock farm. This long period was unbroken by any special incident, being devoted to agricultural affairs, in all the details and ramifications of which Mr. Chase became very proficient and accumulated a fair share of this world's goods. In 1895 he retired from active business and located at Findlay for that rest and repose with which every wise man desires to spend the evening of his earthly existence. Mr. Chase has been three times married, the first time in 1839 to Mary A. Jones, with whom he lived for fifty years, and who died in 1889, leaving five survivors of her eleven children. The second wife was Mrs. Sarah Williams, whose maiden name was Howard, but this lady only survived her marriage a year or two and died without issue. In 1895 Mr. Chase was united in marriage with Mrs. Anna (Frew) Eckles, who is at
2
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present sharing with him the quiet home life at Findlay. Mr. Chase has long been connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, but his wife is a Pres- byterian in her religious faith. The first presidential vote of Mr. Chase was cast for William Henry Harrison after the exciting "log cabin and coon skin" campaign of 1840. From the Whigs he naturally gravitated into the Republican movement and has voted steadily with that party from Fremont in 1856 to Mckinley in 1900. The only one of the great fraternities to which he belongs is that of the Masons. He is a member of Findlay Lodge, No. 227, A. F. & A. M., which he joined thirty years ago. As a farmer, as a Mason, as a neighbor and as a good all-around citizen Justus Chase has always done his duty to his fellow man and to his country.
JOHN H. LINHART.
One of the most valuable farms in Hancock county, not only for agri- cultural purposes, but in the line of oil producers, is that owned by the sub- ject of this review. It is situated in Cass township, and on it are sixteen pro- ducing wells. The subject of this biography is a son of Jacob and Martha (Homing) Linhart, both of whom were natives of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and born about the year 1808. They passed almost the entire period of their lives in the county of their nativity, where they were suc- cessful and prosperous farmers. In the last year of the great Civil war they removed to Hancock county, where they purchased two hundred and sev- enteen acres of land, to which they added at various times, and at their death tlie estate consisted of three hundred and seventy-seven acres. Jacob Lin- hart attended strictly to his own business, and succeeded in paving the way for his descendants, who have taken up the reins where he laid them down. He gave adherence to the Lutheran faith, and was a liberal contributor to the church. He died in 1872, his wife outliving him by two decades, and their family numbered seven children, five of whom are living.
John H. Linhart was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1844, and passed his boyhood on the farm, no event of special importance occurring to break the monotony of his existence. He acquired the ordinary branches of education in the common schools of his district. He has always confined himself to agricultural pursuits, and upon arriving at maturity purchased one hundred acres of land. He is a practical farmer and a worthy citizen. He stands well in the community, where he has held the office of supervisor for some time. He, like his father before him, is a member of the Lutheran church, as is also Mrs. Linhart. This lady he married in 1867,
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her maiden name having been Hannah Starm. Her parents, Samuel and Elizabeth C. Starm, came to the county about 1856 from Wayne county, Ohio, and settled in Madison township on a farm of eighty acres. They later removed to Fostoria, where Mr. Starm pursued his early trade, that of car- pentry, for a number of years, and where he died in 1892. Mrs. Starm is also deceased, having passed to her rest in the year 1900. They reared a family of eight children, four of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Linhart have five children : Martha E., Jacob A., Nellie M., Harvey S., and Curtis C.
Jacob A. Linhart, the eldest son, now one of the progressive young farmers of the county, was born in Cass township, December 26, 1871. Be- ing reared on the farm, he early became familiar with the labors of the field and meadow and assisted in the general work. He passed his boyhood days uneventfully, and in the common schools of his district acquired his ele- mentary education. Arriving at manhood, he chose for a companion on life's journey a very estimable lady and a member of one of the most progressive and respected families in the county, the record of which will be found elsewhere in this volume. Her maiden name was Arnolda M. Overholt, she being the daughter of J. S. and Maria Overholt. Her marriage to Mr. Linhart occurred August 17, 1893, and to this happy union have been born two children, Le Roy, born August 26, 1894, and Jolin S., born May 14, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Linhart are worthy members of the Lutheran church.
RICHARD W. BOYD.
Richard W. Boyd is now living a retired life in Findlay. He has passed the eightieth milestone on life's journey and receives the veneration and re- spect which should ever be accorded to one in advanced years. He was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1822. His father, Thomas Boyd, was also a native of the same county, while his grandfather, David Boyd, was likewise born in the Keystone state. The father of the last named was killed by the Indians when David was a mere child, and he was carried off and held a prisoner for three years. When the country became involved in war with England, wishing to become an independent nation, David Boyd entered the American army and valiantly fought for the cause of liberty. Thomas Boyd was reared and educated in his native state and after arriving at years of maturity he wedded Mary Scott, by whom he had eight children, two of whom are yet living: Joseph H., a resident of Ashland, Ohio, now ninety-three years of age; and the subject of this review.
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Richard W. Boyd spent the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof in Pennsylvania, there remaining until he was twenty-five years of age, when he came to Ohio, settling in Ashland county, where he engaged in farming for two years. On the expiration of that period he removed to. Mansfield, Ohio, where he lived for two years and during that time engaged in executing a contract to furnish ties for four miles of the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railroad. In 1851 he came to Liberty township, Hancock county, Ohio, and here again turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, success- fully conducting his farm until 1887, when oil was found upon his land, and there are now about forty wells upon his place. These return to him a good royalty and since the discovery of oil and the sinking of the wells he has practically lived retired. In 1900 he took up his abode in Findlay, where he is now living in the enjoyment of a well merited rest.
In 1853 Mr. Boyd was united in marriage to Almira, a daughter of Jacob Ewing, and this union has been blessed with nine children, four of whom are yet living, as follows : Mary M., the wife of Eli Reed; Thomas C .; Etta R., the wife of John B. Heimhofer ; and Jennie, the wife of Parlee Mitchell.
Mr. Boyd has ever been a loyal, public spirited citizen and at the time of the Mexican war he volunteered his services, but the troops were not needed and he never went into action. He has served for four years as justice of the peace in Liberty township, discharging his duties with fairness. and capability. He belongs to the Presbyterian church and his life has been an upright and honorable one, winning for him the commendation of all concerned.
HON. CHARLES BRIGHT.
The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success has. been worthily achieved, and who has acquired a high reputation in his chosen calling, and whose prominence is not the less the result of an irreproachable life than of recognized natural gifts. It is a pleasing duty to write the biography of a man of this character, such as the Hon. Charles Bright is known to be. This gentleman is a well known and influential farmer of Marion township, Han- cock county, Ohio, residing on a farm of three hundred and fifty-three acres, containing both gas and oil. Mr. Bright is not only an extensive farmer, but is a well informed and successful business man. He was born near the. town of Lancaster, in Fairfield county, Ohio, on the 28th of December, 1835, and is the son of David and Leahr (Arnold) Bright. David Bright, the
ChalBright
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paternal grandfather was born in Berks county Pennsylvania, and came in [Soo to what is now the state of Ohio, settling near Lancaster, where he died. Charles Bright received a common school education, which was greatly enlarged by subsequent study. Being of an observant and inquiring dispo- sition and a great lover of books, he has added to his stock of knowledge until he is now looked upon as a very well read man. His life has been an active and eventful one. In the dark days of the Rebellion, in the full power of his manhood, he gave himself a willing sacrifice on the altar of his country. He enrolled as a private soldier in Company F, of the Seventeenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division, Fourteenth Army Corps. Immediately after his enlistment he was made corporal of his company, and the following year was promoted to ser- geant for meritorious service on the field. He participated in the following battles : Wild Cat Mountain (Kentucky), Corinth, Hoover's Gap, Chicka- mauga, Mission Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, the siege of Atlanta, Peach Tree Creek, Burnt Hickory and Jonesboro, besides other battles of minor im- portance. During the three years of his army life he had shown himself worthy of the great nation of which he was a citizen and the great cause he represented and helped to carry through to a successful issue. He had during this time many narrow escapes. The exposures he endured brought on rheu- matism, but he is now receiving a recompense for this, which is richly de- served. He was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant at Atlanta, Georgia, on the 22d of October, 1864. Returning to his home, he on the 24th of September, 1866, was happily married to Miss Katherine A., the daughter of John and Eliza Carnes, of Fairfield county, Ohio. The union has been blessed with two sons and a daughter, whose names are John C., born June 12, 1869; David R., born August 3, 1873, and Effie E. E., born August 2, 1876, now Mrs. Curtis M. Wiseley.
In 1867 Mr. Bright removed to Hancock county, Ohio, where he located on his present farm, containing one hundred and fifty-seven acres at that time, to which he has added at various times two other farms, making in all three hundred and fifty-three acres. In public life Mr. Bright has always been willing to do his share of the work of his immediate community. He has served as supervisor for several years at various periods. He has also served as trustee of the township, and at other periods has held the offices of treasurer and land appraiser, which he has filled with exceptional ability and to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens.
In 1893 he was elected a member of the seventy-first general assembly of the state of Ohio from Hancock county. This was in recognition of effective
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service rendered his party during his long residence in the county, he having always been ready to do anything that would advance the principles which he values so much. His majority over his competitor, who was a very popular gentleman by the name of Moses McAnnelly and a Democrat of the strongest type, was four hundred and eighty-six, the highest majority ever given a Re- publican for the office of representative in Hancock county up to that date. Mr. Bright has connected himself with Stoker Post, Grand Army of the Re- public at Findlay, and takes delight in furthering the interest of the old sol- diers, of whom he is a worthy and honored representative.
It is a pleasure to show our appreciation of such a man as Mr. Bright, who in every relation of life has been faithful to every trust, a statesman dili- gent in the service of his country and keeping before him only the public good.
CHARLES A. STOCKTON.
The well known pension agent of this name at Findlay is entitled to rep- resentation in any history of his county by reason of his services to the com- munity, both in war and peace. He has an unblemished .and unusually meri- torious military record, covering four years of arduous campaigning, dur- ing the Civil war, while most of his time since has been devoted to serving his old comrades in their efforts to get what is due them from the government. Meantime he has not been neglectful of any duty imposed by the obliga- tions of good citizenship, but has stood ready at all times to do his share in promoting the general welfare.
The Stockton family, which originated in England, can justly boast of a long lineage and an aristocratic pedigree. Not attempting to go farther back than the earliest emigration to this country, it may be stated that Charles WV. Stockton, son of the first comer, was born in New Jersey, where he married Elizabeth, sister of Lord North, of England, an adviser of George III. Charles W. was a cousin of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence. Richard W. Stockton, son of the last mentioned, and a native of New York, served as surgeon in the war of 1812, and died in 1870 aged eighty-four years. His son, Erastus D. Stockton, was born in New York in 1811, became a general merchant after his removal to Ohio, joined an Jowa regiment in the fall of 1861 and died in the service about one year later of disease.
Charles A. Stockton, son of Erastus D., was born in Nelsonville, Ohio, în 1839, and seven years later went to live on a farm in Knox county. After
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remaining there until 1858 he removed to Hancock county and located at Mount Blanchard, where he resided until entering the Union army. In 1859 Charles A. began the study of medicine in connection with school teach- ing, which occupied his time until the momentous event which completely changed the whole tenor of his life. April 18, 1861, he enlisted at Forest, Ohio, as a private in Company D, Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, with which he served three months and then veteranized by re-enlist- ing in the same for three years or the war. Mr. Stockton took part with his regiment in the most famous campaigns and several of the most important battles of the Civil war, including Rich Mountain, Romney, Winchester, Front Royal, Port Republic, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg. He received a wound in the arm at Chancellorsville, and after Gettys- burg was detailed as assistant in the adjutant-general's office at Washing- ton, D. C., where he remained until mustered out on June 4, 1864, at Colum- bus, Ohio, with the rank of corporal. After being released from army duty, Mr. Stockton embarked in the dry-goods and pension business at Forest, Ohio, which he conducted in combination for fifteen years. In 1880 he transferred his scene of operations to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he con- ducted the pension business four years and then returning to Ohio established an office for the continuance of his work at Findlay.
In 1865 Mr. Stockton was married to Emma J. Cook, by whom he has five children, and since 1889 the family has resided at Findlay. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Republican in politics, has served on the board of trustees and as justice of the peace. Mr. Stockton is promi- rent in Odd Fellowship, having been representative to the grand lodge four years, and belongs to Stoker Post, No. 54, Grand Army of the Republic.
DAVID C. ROUTZON.
Marion township, Hancock county, has many estimable citizens within its borders, but none more so than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1837. In early childhood his parents removed to Hancock county, where he was reared and was given the ordinary country school education. He came to the county when he was three years old, and has since been a resident here. He passed his boy- hood on the farm engaged in the occupations and pleasures of the average farmer boy. They were such, however, as to develop good traits of char- acter, and he has always been an active and busy worker. He early learned the brick layer's trade, which he followed for a period of thirty-seven years.
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During that time he was an extensive contractor, and he erected many hand- some buildings, which are to-day monuments to his superior handicraft. Many of these buildings are to be seen in the city of Findlay and vicinity. The energy which he devoted to his calling, together with the sound business judgment which he always displayed in making investments of his savings, resulted in the accumulation of a competence which he is now enjoying. He, however, is not entirely inactive, for no man who follows the busy life which our subject pursued, can afford to rust out. People of his class always pre- fer to wear out. He therefore is continuing this wearing process in the management of a small place, making a specialty of bee culture, and having at this time about one hundred colonies of bees. Mr. Routzon is an expert in bee culture, having given attention to this business for the past twenty- five years, and he is well up on all that pertains to a modern apiary. His stock is of the best Italian strain, the output per colony being fifty pounds. He cleared his own land and built his own house, and as he remarks "owes no man anything but-love." March 28, 1861, Mr. Routzon was joined in marriage to Mary Baer, who has borne him twelve children: Jannette ; Jennie, deceased; Margaret ; Vivie; G. W .; John D .; Warren; David E. C .; Jason H .; Wilbur; Eugene, deceased; and Harvey, deceased. The mother of this family was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1842. The parents of David C. Routzon were John and Jane Routzon, natives of Maryland and Ohio, respectively. His father was born in 1796 and died in 1877 in Hancock county, Ohio. He was a brickmaker by trade, and was one of the early pioneers of the state. He was an extensive con- tractor and a well known business man of the town of Findlay. The grand- father of David C. Routzon was David Routzon, a native of Maryland, who came from Columbiana county, Ohio, to Hancock county in 1837, and died at Findlay. David C. Routzon has been one of the upright men of this county. He has never had a lawsuit and is universally esteemed both as a man and citizen.
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