USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 35
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recital that Charles F. Smith is just the kind of man needed in every com- munity to make the wheels of progress go round and who are especially valuable in these days of electric development, when no town is of conse- quence which has not a good transit system, electric lighting plant and other up-to-date improvements. Improvement enterprises will not be established, neither will they progress, without the right kind of men behind them.
In 1885 Mr. Smith was married at Cincinnati to Miss Lizzie J., daughter of John M. Farland, and Harry C. Smith is the product of this union. Mr. Smith's political predilections are Republican, and his fraternal connections are with the Mystic Shrine. Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Elks.
GEORGE WHITEFIELD NORRIS.
Mr. Norris is a resident farmer of Cass township, and was born in Fair- field county, Ohio, on the 27th of July, 1846. Six years later he removed with his parents to Hancock county, since which time he has been a continuous resident. He was brought up on a farm, where he engaged in the occupations incident to his environment, receiving an ordinary school education. When our country was threatened by internal disturbances, in the troublous times of the Civil war, Mr. Norris, though a mere boy, was exceedingly anxious to engage in the defense of the Union. His age, however, was a bar to the active expression of his loyalty until the year 1864, when he enlisted as a member of Company F, of the Forty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer In- fantry as a private soldier. In this company he served until the time of his honorable discharge at the close of the war, participating in all the service that fell to the lot of his command. Returning to the pursuits of peace, he en- gaged in farming, and has since then been a member of that honorable class which is proud to number among its members such men as Washington, Jef- ferson and many other of the prominent men of this country.
December 21, 1870, he led to the matrimonial altar Miss Sarah A., daughter of Alexander and Catherine Baker, who is a woman of superior at- tainments and during all of these years has been a true helpmate to her hus- band. She is a native of Hancock county, having been born in Cass township February 2, 1849. Her grandfather on the maternal side was one of the pio- neers of the county, the name of John H. Eckert appearing in the handwrit- ing of President Andrew Jackson on the original patent to the farm on which she and her husband now reside. Mr. Norris and his wife have cultivated this farm since 1870. Its ninety acres consist of most valuable soil, and con- tain one gas well. . Mr. Norris is a Republican in politics, has held the office
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of township trustee, and at the date of the present writing is the honored treasurer of the township. Fraternally, he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a worthy member of Stoker Post, No. 54, of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Alexander M. Norris, now deceased, the father of our subject, was born in Harford county, Maryland, September 17, 1808. As was the custom in that early day, he was apprenticed to a trade, and became an expert and skilled worker in leather, following for a number of years the particular branch of the trade known as shoemaking. In 1835 he emigrated to Fairfield county, Ohio, and in 1852 removed to Hancock county, where he abandoned the trade of his early life and began a career as an agriculturist. Here he purchased at various times lands amounting to two hundred and twenty acres. He be- came a man in good circumstances before he died. He was a man of fine judgment, honest, industrious, and respected by his neighbors, among whom he had considerable influence. Politically he was a Republican, though he was not given to taking part in the public life of the community. He was married twice, first to Mary J., the daughter of John Norris, in 1837. By this union there were six children, four of whom grew to maturity, and three still living: Mary F .; Elizabeth A .; and Sarah J. The mother died in 1844, and for his second wife Mr. Norris chose Maria, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stone, the second marriage following close upon the death of the mother of his children because of their helpless condition. The second mar- riage was consummated in 1845, and to this union were born five children, three of whom are now living, George W .; David L .; and Annie R. Mrs. Maria Norris was a native of Virginia, having been born November 23, 181I. She died in June, 1892, her husband, Alexander M., dying in September, 1 898.
Mr. and Mrs. George W. Norris have three children: John N., Belle and George D. Mr. Norris owns two hundred and fifty acres of fine land on which there are now four oil wells.
WILLIAM JAMES FREY.
A notable character in more ways than one is the gentleman whose career is herein to be briefly outlined. During his residence of over forty years at Findlay, he has been prominently connected with the politics and busi- ness as well as the industrial and social life of the city. As a popular can- didate for congress, chairman of the state committee of one of the great politi- cal parties, president of the city water works, a leading druggist and in other
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ways Mr. Frey has been constantly in the public eye, and necessarily subjected to the criticism which never fails to accompany prominence of any kind. That he has passed through this ordeal unscathed is sufficient evidence that he possesses those moral qualities which enable one to rise superior to the ordinary faultfinding, characteristic of humanity, and grow steadily in the good will as well as esteem of the community. Mr. Frey comes from an old family, which originated in England, but was long domiciled in Maryland, the first immigrant locating at Baltimore but later settling in the southwest- ern part of the state. His grandfather was Dr. William Frey, who was born and bred in Maryland and became a noted physician, his practice extending over a wide area of the state. He married Elizabeth Coddington, daughter of General Coddington of Revolutionary fame and member of a family of great influence during the formative period of the republic. Samuel D. Frey, son of the Doctor, was born in Alleghany county, near Cumberland, Mary- land, in 1825, and was the first of the name to try his fortunes in the west. In 1846 he came to Bellfontaine, Ohio, as a contractor engaged in building the first line of railroad through that town. A short time before his arrival in a business capacity, he has visited Bellfontaine in a more interesting role and had been married there to Priscilla B., daughter of Hon. John Slicer. The latter was a man of note in Maryland and for many years represented Alleghany county in the state legislature. After finishing his contract with the railroad company Samuel D. Frey followed other pursuits and finally came to Findlay, where he was engaged in the drug business until the time of his death in 1897.
William James Frey, son of the last mentioned, was born at Bellefon- taine, Ohio, December 9, 1854, and was six years old when his parents re- moved to Findlay. His education was received in the schools of the latter city, supplemented by attendance for two years at Cleveland College, and a term at the Commercial College in the same place. It was in 1871 that Mr. Frey finished his course at the last named school and immediately there- after he returned to his home in Findlay, to take up the serious affairs of life. His ambition had always been to qualify himself for the profession of law, and with this end in view he took up the study in the office of Judge M. C. Whiting, at that time one of the distinguished advocates of Ohio. Though Mr. Frey finished his course at the last named school and immediately there- finally abandoned his intention of following the profession and joined his father in the drug business at Findlay, which connection he has since con- tinuously maintained. Mr. Frey got in touch with politics at an early age, exhibited a natural turn therefor and has risen to prominence as one of the
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leaders of the Democratic party. Eventually he was nominated by his party as its candidate for congress in the Eighth Ohio district, which normally has a Republican majority of 6,500, but by a vigorous canvass and much hard work Mr. Frey managed to cut down these figures over two thousand. At the Democratic state convention in 1900, he was made chairman of his party's state central committee and held that position during the two subsequent years to the entire satisfaction of his associates. He was re-elected to this position at Sandusky in 1902. In 1890 Mr. Frey was elected president of the Findlay Water Works Company and has since discharged the duties of that office.
In 1890 Mr. Frey was united in marriage with Miss Mary, daughter of Captain Alexander Gilchrist, of Vermilion county, and the result of the union is an only daughter, named Florence M. Mr. Frey's fraternal connections are confined to membership in the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
JAMES T. HOY.
The story of Philip Hoy, founder of the family of that name in Hancock county, is interesting because so typical of the early pioneer period. Born in Pennsyvania in 1793, he made his way to Kentucky at a time when the " dark and bloody ground " was still unsettled in its government and not the most desirable place for peaceful pursuits. About the end of the first quarter of the ninteenth century Philip Hoy crossed the river to Cincinnati, later went to Columbus and from. there to Fairfield county, finally " winding up " in Hancock county in 1834. During all his wanderings Philip was accompanied by his faithful wife, Tilitha, who was born in 1798 and shared her husband's fortunes for weal or woe for more than sixty years. Philip Hoy entered one hundred and twenty acres of land in what is now Amanda township, erected a rude log cabin after the universal custom of those times and moved in with his family. At this stage of the game Philip made an inventory of his resources and found he had just fifty cents with which to begin life in the new country. But, as a matter of fact, the lack of money was little regarded by the pioneers, who lived principally upon game and fish until they could realize something from their crops. Thus, though there might not be a cent in actual money about the house for a year, there would be an abundance of excellent food and comfortable though coarse material for clothing. By dint of the usual digging and hacking Philip Hoy finally brought his farm into fair shape and improved in circumstances as the years
21
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went by. He was very religious in bis temperament and became a local minister of the United Brethren church, in which capacity he was instru- mental in building and keeping alive several churches for use of pioneer preachers. In other respects Philip Hoy became a man of influence in his community, holding some of the important township offices and enjoying prestige as a soldier of the war of 1812. He passed away in 1879, in the eighty-eighth year of his age, and five years later was followed to the grave by his faithful widow. This worthy couple became the parents of eight children : Caliste Ramsay, Mary A. Clapper, Daniel, Lewis, Wilson, John, Lewis H. and James T.
Of the children above enumerated only four are now living, and among these is James T. Hoy, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, April 19, 1829. He was therefore an infant of tender years when brought by his parents to Hancock county and installed as one of the occupants of the log cabin in Amanda township. Schools in those days were as scarce as other comforts of civilization, and pioneer children seldom secured much learn- ing in these crude academies of the wilderness. Young Hoy got his share as he grew up, but depended much more on the carpenter's trade he had learned than on book knowledge as a means of making his way in the world. Many years of the early part of his life were devoted to carpenter work, which was then much in demand and well remunerated, and from his general work he finally saved up enough to buy a farm. His first purchase of real estate was made in 1872 and consisted of one hundred acres, to which he added forty acres more three years later. Since then his holdings have been greatly improved as well as increased in value by the erection of suitable buildings and other beautifying processes which indicate the progressive farmer. In fact everything on or about the Hoy home has an appearance of prosperity and up-to-dateness that prove better than words can the pres- ence of a master who understands his business.
In 1856 Mr. Hoy was united in marriage with Euphemia, daughter of Rufus and Harriet Bennett, old settlers of Hancock county. They arrived from Pennsylvania in 1835, just one year after the advent of the Hoys, and from that time on the two families were intimately connected in their social relations. The Bennetts entered one hundred and twenty acres of land in Jackson township, but subsequently increased their estate to five hundred acres, which is now in the hands of their seven surviving children. Mrs. Hoy was born near Wilkesbarre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, Jan- uary I, 1833. and was consequently an infant in arms when her parents reached their destination in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Hoy have three children :
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Bennett G., Serelda V. and Harriet T. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Hoy is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has served as township trustee, and in 1875 was nominated as a candidate for county commissioner.
THEODORE KARN.
Prominently known as a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Hancock county is Theodore Karn, who also deserves mention in this volume by reason of his own worth and prominence. He is a well known farmer of Cass township, where he resides on a holding of sixty acres of land, which he devotes to general farming. His parents were Ezra and Elizabeth (Albertson) Karn, the former born in Maryland, September 16, 1815, and the latter in New Jersey, June 23, 1819. Their marriage occurred March 21, 1839, and their family consisted of the following children: Will- iam, born August 22, 1840; Theodore, February 9, 1842; Drucilla, October 13, 1846; Jerome, September 25, 1848; Simeon, June 20, 1852; Albert, April 22, 1855; Martin, July 1, 1857; Mary E., deceased, November 4, 1859. Ezra Karn removed to Cass township in 1835, and previous to that date he had located for a short time in Holmes county, Ohio. In 1840 he purchased forty acres of land in section ten, which was in its primitive state. and the usual log house and outbuildings were erected by him. In 1845 he sold this farm, receiving for it $400, with which he purchased one hundred and sixty acres, also in its virgin state. He continued to improve and beatt- tify this farm, and in 1860 he purchased another eighty acres, part of which his son Theodore now owns. Ezra Karn was a popular man in his day, and a most successful farmer. He served the township for several years as trustee, and was actively interested in educational work, having served on the school board. His religious proclivities found endorsement in the Lutheran church, in which he served for a period as deacon. In political belief he held to the principles of Democracy. He served on the board of agriculture for several years and was one of its projectors. His life, while not being an eventful one, was full of that interest which must ever attach to the noble band of pioneers that built society in Hancock county. He died September 3, 1883, his wife having preceded him by three years, dying May 12, 1880. Valentine Karn, the grandfather of our immediate subject, caine to the county about the same time as the son. He settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land which had but very few improvements. His wife was Elizabeth Smoots, . and their family numbered seven sons and four
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daughters, one of the daughters still living. Valentine was a cooper by trade, and was a first-class mechanic as well as a good and industrious farmer. He died in the spring of 1845. His wife followed him several years later.
Theodore Karn was born in Cass township as above mentioned, and spent his youth on the farm, being early trained to habits of industry and economy, that have proved a substantial foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of his manhood's success. He adopted farming as a profession, and upon establishing a home of his own called to preside over it Miss Mary E. Swisher. This event occurred in 1883. Mrs. Karn is the daughter of Peter and Sara A. Swisher. She was born at Ada, Ohio, on the 28th of December, 1864. She has presented her husband with the following children : Lola E., February 20, 1885; Grace B., January 25, 1887; Bessie A., Deceniber 23, 1889; Cloyse A., April 3, 1893; Laura j., January 23, 1896; and Edwin, December 18, 1899.
Mr. and Mrs. Karn, together with their interesting family, reside in peace and contentment among a host of admiring friends and acquaintances.
ELMER C. BOLTON.
The above named gentleman, at present holding the responsible position of engineer of Hancock county, deserves especial notice among the young men who have achieved exceptional success in difficult lines of employment though scarcely thirty years of age. Mr. Bolton has been connected with the engineering department of the county or city ever since leaving school, and has exhibited an aptitude for the work that bespeaks the born mechanic. In fact, Mr. Bolton is regarded as one of the brightest and most promising of the county's young men, his friends predicting for him higher and better things that any so far achieved. Though not a native, all his adult life has been spent in Hanrock county, and he is so thoroughly identified with its interests as to deserve rank among her most loyal sons.
Elmer C. Bolton was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1873, and when nine years of age was brought to Ohio by his parents. They located in Hancock county, and here Elmer received his edu- cation in Findlay College, supplemented by a course in the Ohio Normal University at Ada. Ile left the last mentioned institution in 1894 and shortly thereafter obtained eniployment as a helper in the office of the en- gineer of Hancock county. Two years later he became a candidate for the office of engineer, and at the fall election in 1896 was defeated by only
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fourteen votes. In January, 1897, the legislature extended the term of several county officers, among the number being that of engineer, and Mr. Bolton was appointed by the county commissioners to fill out a term of eight months in that office expiring in September, 1897. At the expiration of that time he was appointed engineer of Findlay by the city council, and served in that office from September 1, 1897, until June 1, 1900. In the fall of 1899 he had been elected county engineer for a term of three years, and took charge of his office shortly after finishing his service with the city.
Mr. Bolton finds relief front business cares by social communion with his fellows in various fraternities, including the Masons, Elks and Knights of Pythias. Benjmain F. Bolton, father of this popular young official, who was born in Hancock county in 1848, is at present engaged in the insurance business at Findlay, and in one of the respected citizens of the place.
September 25, 1901, Mr. Bolton was united in marriage to Miss Dena Singleton, of Findlay, daughter of M. C. and Jennie Singleton. In politics Mr. Bolton is a Republican and was nominated September 6, 1902, for re- election to the position he was then holding.
DAVID B. SOLT.
David B. Solt has for twenty years been engaged in dealing in stock as a member of the firm of P. Solt & Company, of Eagle township. He makes his home two and a half miles cast of Rawson and six miles south- west of Findlay, where he has a valuable property. He is widely known as a representative of agricultural interests, who through the exercise of business ability and unflagging enterprise has achieved success and won an honored name.
Born in Eagle township May 23, 1857, David B. Solt is the second son of Peter Solt, and upon the home farm he was reared. In his boyhood he began to assist his father by driving cattle, and thus he was employed until twenty-five years of age, when he was admitted to a partnership in his fa- ther's stock dealing operations under the present firm style of P. Solt & Company. The present firm consists of the father, who is the senior mem- ber, D. B. Solt, F. B. McClellan and Smith Hoy. Mr. McClellan and our subject handle the stock at Rawson and P. Solt and Mr. Hoy make Findlay their headquarters. This business relation has been maintained for twenty years and the firm has enjoyed the profits of a constantly growing business. They have handled stock on an extensive scale and their annual sales return
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to them a good income. The subject of this review remained on his fatlier's farm until his marriage, when he secured a farm of his own, and nine years ago he came to his present place of residence in Eagle township, not far from Rawson. Here he has eighty acres of rich and arable land. It is the old homestead farm of Daniel Raddebaugh, whose youngest daughter, Amy, be- came the wife of Mr. Solt.
This land was first improved by Daniel Raddebaugh, whose father had entered the land for him, although living in Fairfield county. The grand- father was Samuel Raddebaugh, who settled near Findlay and was killed six or seven years ago, his death resulting from a beating inflicted by rob- bers. His children were: John, who is now living on Benton ridge, in Liberty township, at the age of ninety years; Joseph, who also lived in that township and died at the age of seventy-five years; and Daniel, the father of Mrs. Solt. All aided materially in the upbuilding and improvement of Hancock county, the family being a prominent one of this portion of the state. Daniel Raddebangh was united in marriage to Maria Hosler, and three years later removed to what is now the Solt farm, although he had previously come and built a cabin on the place. He made his permanent location about 1846. She was born July 27, 1825, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and there remained until her marriage, which occurred when she was eighteen years of age. Her last days were spent on the old homestead, where she departed this life December 11, 1901. In their family were eleven children, of whom one died in infancy, while nine are yet living, and George, who was a farmer of Wood county, Ohio, died at the age of forty- two years. Mrs. Solt is now the only one living in Eagle township, but Edmond and Jane are residents of this county. Monroe is living in Cold- water, Michigan; Jefferson makes his home in Minonk, Illinois; Edward is a resident of Findlay, Ohio; Lucy is living in Marion, this state; Anna is in Bluffton, Ohio; and Ellis is a minister of the Evangelical church, at Bluffton. The father still resides upon the old home place and has now reached an advanced age.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Solt was celebrated April 8, 1880, when the lady was seventeen years of age. Their home has been blessed with five daughters: Pearl May, now the wife of Thaddeus Keller, of Eagle township: Elva Dale, Jessie Fremont, Dora Olive and Eva Milburn, all with their parents, the family circle yet remaining unbroken by the hand of death.
Mr. Solt has continued to improve his farm since locating thereon, remodeling the house, building a barn and adding many modern equipments
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and accessories. He also has two other farms in Eagle township, compris- ing altogether three hundred and twenty acres, and two of these he operates, the well-tilled fields yielding to him a good return. He usually feeds quite a large number of cattle annually. He has eiglit producing oil wells upon the home place, but has confined his attention to agricultural pursuits and stock dealing, in which he has met with very creditable success. He is a working member of the Republican party and attends its conventions. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of Rawson, in which he is serving as a trustee. His interest in everything pertaining to the general welfare is deep and sincere and his hearty co-opera- tion has been given to many measures for the public benefit.
C. A. CARPENTER.
In the popular mind the blacksmith has always been associated with robustness of physique, cheery temperament which comes from good health and honesty of purpose in all the affairs of life. No poem has been more admired and quoted than Longfellow's famous tribute to the "Village Black- smith," and the wholesome, heartfelt utterances in this popular production have thrown a charm around the "anvil chorus" of the old corner shop that constituted an ideal occupation in the mind of every reader. The black- smith is always an important character in the community, not only on ac- count of the indispensable work that he does, but because as a general thing the personage who presides over the bellows and the musical hammer is man of sturdy honesty and genial personality. To this honorable guild the subject of this sketch has belonged for many years, and those who know him will admit that he is a typical blacksmith of the old school and in every way a worthy representative of his class. He is a son of Orson C. Carpenter, who was born in the state of New York in 1820 and moved to Indiana, where he lived at various places and at the time of his death was a miller in Steuben county. His son, C. A. Carpenter, was born in 1852 while his parents were living on a farm in Allen county, Indiana. He lived there until nine years old, when he went with his father to the village of Flint, where he attended the public schools and grew to manhood. At the age of seventeen years he apprenticed himself to learn the blacksmith's trade, a calling for which he exhibited a natural adaptability. After he had thoroughly mastered all the details and become a journeyman in the business, he followed it at Flint until :877, when he opened a shop at Corona, Indiana. He remained at that place until 1881, when he removed to Findlay and entered the employment of
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