USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 44
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Mr. Snider is a public spirited and progressive citizen of Hancock county, and as such is honored and highly respected by a host of friends. While the family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, our subject does not belong but believes in a future and his actions in this life are of a charitable and hon- est kind, he giving in charity to all who apply. He has always been a strong Republican.
WILLIAM P. BLACK.
It is but a natural step from the oil fields of Pennsylvania to those of her sister state, Ohio, and among the great number of oil producers of Find- lay who have originally engaged in the same occupation in their native state Mr. William P. Black is one of the foremost.
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Mr. Black is of Irish descent, his grandfather having been born on the Emerald Isle, but came to America early in the eighteenth century to better his fortunes. He died in America, and has bepueathed to it something more than a name-his own sturdy independence and industry. His son, Patrick Black, the father of him whose name introduces our review, was born in Pennsylvania, in which state he died in 1892, at the age of eighty- three years. He was a blacksmith, and quite successfully combined his trade with farming. William P. Black was born in Freeport, Pennsylvania, in 1861, and soon afterward his parents moved to a farm in Armstrong county, where he lived until he was eighteen. As was the case with so many young men before him, the oil fields were a very strong attraction, and he began his work in that line in Bradford, his first work being that of dressing tools for drillers. He very early began to drill wells on his own account, and after five years went to Marietta, Ohio, and followed his work in the
fields around that city for two years. The Findlay oil fields having shown great promise, he decided to try his luck in them, and the fact that he has since remained indicates that he made a wise choice. He thoroughly under- stands the business of drilling, and is constantly engaged in drilling for others and in producing on his own account.
Mr. Black was united in marriage, in Findlay, to Ora Williams, daugh- ter of Levi and Amanda (Dempster) Williams. Mrs. Black's parents were both born in Ohio, her father's occupation being that of hotel-keeping and farming. He died in 1896, and she in 1900, their entire lives having been passed in this state. Mrs. Black's maternal grandmother was Violet Demp- ster. Mr. Black is an adhierent of the Democratic party, though not actively engaged in politics.
JACOB FRUTH.
WVe name here one of the young and vigorous representatives of the agricultural class of Hancock county, who is making for himself a reputation as a scientific farmer. He resides in Washington township, where he operates a farm of seventy-five acres. His birth occurred in Seneca county, Ohio, May 29, 1874, the name of his father being John F. Fruth, and his mother's maiden name, Marie Peter. The former was born in Germany, May 21, 1853, while the latter is a native of Seneca county, Ohio. In 1854, John F. Fruth came to this country with his parents, who located in the city of Cleve- land, Ohio, and remained there about three years. In 1858 he located with his parents in Seneca county, Ohio, where he was reared and educated, and
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where he continues to reside. He and his son purchased one hundred acres in Washington township, Hancock county, which they now own. John F. Fruth, the father is a worthy and practical farmer, a member of the United Brethren church, and a citizen of whom the county may well be proud. His family include three children, namely: Jacob; Willie C .; and Kate A.
Jacob Fruth, who is the immediate subject of this paragraph, was reared for the most part in Seneca county, in the schools of which he received his elementary education, it being of a character to fit him for the duties of life. March 29, 1900, occurred his marriage, the lady being the accomplished daughter of Gottlieb and Lydia Mertz, her name being the same as that of her mother. The union has been blessed with a bright little boy, Ross R., who was born March 23, 1901. Mrs. Furth was born at Fostoria, Ohio, Sep- tember 12, 1880. Her people are of German descent. Both husband and wife are acceptable members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they are active workers. They combine many fine social qualities and are highly es- teemed by all.
DR. PERRY O. GUISE.
Dr. Perry O. Guise is the son of one of the old settlers of Hancock county, his father, Jessy Guise, having settled in Findlay in the year 1834, coming overland in a one-horse wagon with his sister from Adams county, Pennsyl- vania, where he was born in the year 1818. He was a contractor, and in the building of a city in what was then an undeveloped country, he found plenty of occupation, and passed a useful and industrious life, gaining financial success, and the honor and esteem of the entire community. He died at Find- lay in 1885. Jessy Guise's father was born in Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century, and died there in the nineteenth century.
Dr. Perry O. Guise was born in Findlay, Ohio, in 1851, and after finish- ing his education in the schools of that place entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland, where he graduated in 1882, and im- mediately thereafter returned to Findlay, where he entered in the practice of his profession, and still continues. Dr. Guise was married September 5, 1883, to Caroline H. Hay, daughter of Dr. Carmel Hay, who was a success- ful practitioner in Charlestown, Indiana, and lived about three-fourths of a century, respected and honored by all who knew him. His wife was a native of Virginia. Dr. and Mrs. Guise have two children, as follows : Helen L., born July 22, 1884; Cedric H., born July 25, 1890. He has an ideal home, and a large circle of friends, and is a leader in professional, po-
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litical and church circles. He belongs to the Northwestern Medical Society, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and an active and zealous Republican, working for the best interests of his party. The people of Findlay have shown their confidence in him by electing him to various offices. He has been township clerk and township treasurer of Findlay township, holding each office for two terms, and filling them acceptably and successfully.
He is loyal to his city and county, and is recognized as one of the promin- ent and influential citizens of Findlay, devoted to his work, helping suffering humanity, and eminent in his profession.
MRS. SARAH A. STROTHER.
Only those lives are worthy of record that have been potential factors in the public progress in promoting the general welfare or advancing the edu- cational or moral interests of the community. Among the honored citizens of Hancock county none are more deserving of mention in this volume than the lady whose name introduces this sketch, for much of her life has been de- voted to the uplifting of her fellow men.
Mrs. Strother was born at Gerrardstown, Berkeley county, in what is now West Virginia, May 26, 1819, and is a daughter of Joshua and Eleanor (Chenoweth) Baldwin, who were also natives of that county. Her paternal grandparents, William and Jane (Hedges) Baldwin, were both natives of England and were the parents of the following children, namely: Jonah, Joseph, Joshua, Jane, Rebecca and Mary. William Baldwin was twice mar- ried, his first wife being Mary Woods, of England, by whom he had five children : John, William, Benjamin, Mary and Rebecca. Mrs. Strother's maternal grandfather, Absalom Chenoweth, was born in Wales of Welsh parentage.
In the county of his nativity Joshua Baldwin was reared and in early life learned the tanner's trade. When a young man of about twenty-eight years he came to Ohio and entered a section of land on Buck creek, in Champaign county. He then returned to West Virginia and married Eleanor Cheno- weth, whom he brought as a bride to Ohio. To the improvement and culti- vation of his land he devoted his earnings. He was for a short time in the war of 1812, at the time of Hull's surrender, afterward returning to West Virginia, having exchanged his place in Ohio for one that his brother Joseph owned in the former state, where he continued to make his home until 1828, when he again came to Ohio and this time located at Zanesville, Muskingum county, for the purpose of educating his children. In
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October, 1836, he removed by teams to Hancock county and took up his resi- dence in Findlay, when the city contained but a few inhabitants, among them being Wilson Vance, a brother of Governor Vance. Here Mr. Baldwin en- gaged in the drug business with his son, Dr. W. H. Baldwin, for a short time and then lived retired until called to his rest at the age of seventy-six years. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church and much of his life was devoted to the work of the ministry. Upright and honorable in all the relations of life, he commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he came in contact and left behind him an honorable record, well worthy of perpetuation. In his family were the following children: Will- iam H .; Amy Jane, wife of Charles W. O'Neal, a prominent attorney ; Ab- salom C .; Sarah A ; Eleanor, wife of A. H. Hyatt, a leading merchant of Findlay; Malinda, who first married Joseph Vance, a nephew of Governor Joseph Vance, and for her second husband married Henry Porch, who was one of the first to utilize natural gas in the county ; and Henry and Eliza, who both died in childhood. All of the family are now deceased with the excep- tion of Mrs. Strother. She was educated in the schools of Zanesville and was about seventeen years of age when she accompanied her parents on their re- moval to Findlay. Here she was first married in 1837 to Arnold F. Merriam, a cousin of Stephen A. Douglas. He was educated at Brandon, Vermont, and became one of the prominent attorneys of Findlay in early days. By this union there were born three children : Sarah Jane, wife of John Schell; Emily C., widow of John C. Kemble; and William D., who died at the age of nine years.
About seven years after the death of her first husband Mrs. Strother married Judge R. L. Strother, who was born in Hardy county, West Vir- ginia, and came to Hancock county about 1828, being one of the promi- nent early settlers of this locality. At one time he owned some of the land on which the city of Findlay now stands and he bore a very active and influ- ential part in public affairs, serving as district judge for some years. He died in 1874 and in his death the community realized that it had lost one of its most valued citizens. By her second marriage Mrs. Strother has three daughters, Mrs. Sidney Shuck, Mrs. Eva A. Strickler and Eleanor Cheneweth, who died at three years of age.
In 1831 Mrs. Strother joined the First Methodist Episcopal church of Zanesville, and has since taken a very active part in the work of that de- nomination, serving as president of the Home Missionary Society. Tem- perance work, however, has also claimed much of her attention and she be- came a charter member of the first Good Templar organization founded in
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Findlay, and also a charter member of the Daughters of Temperance. She took the pledge when only eighteen years of age and has never broken it. To-day she is president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, No. I. She led out a band of crusaders in Findlay and assisted in the organiza- tion of the State Union at Springfield and organized the societies in Han- cock county under the name of the Temperance Alliance. She has attended most of the state conventions of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union during the existence of that great organization, and in 1902 was the oldest member to make a report at the convention in Toledo. She has filled all the offices in the society and is called the mother of the movement in Findlay. The state organization sent her as a delegate to the World's Union in London, England. She is well known all over the country as one of its most active and earnest temperance workers and a woman whose life has been devoted to those enterprises calculated to promote the moral and social welfare of the community. During the entire Civil war, with the exception of three months, she was president of the Soldiers' Aid Society and she is now a member of the Woman's Relief Corps at Findlay, of which she was the first chaplain. Her life has been a most exemplary one and she has ever supported those move- ments calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while her own high moral worth is deserving of the highest commendation.
ISAAC THOMPSON.
Many years have passed since this gentleman came to Hancock county, and he is therefore numbered among her honored pioneers as well as leading citizens. He has been actively and prominently identified with the upbuild- ing and progress of Orange township, and his name is inseparably connected with many events and enterprises which have contributed to the development of his community. A native son of the Buckeye state, his birth occurred in Marlborough township, Stark county, Ohio, on the 25th of February, 1828. His father, David Thompson, was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, and when about ten years of age he accompanied his parents on their removal to Columbiana county, Ohio, the family locating near Fairfield, where he was taught the work of the farm in all its departments. The latter's father. Isaac Thompson, was also a native of the Old Dominion state, but in an early day he located in Columbiana conuty, and he lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and six years. He was of Quaker origin.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Eliza McCoy, and her birth occurred near New Lisbon, Columbiana county, Ohio, where she was
Isaac Thompson
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reared to mature years. In the county of her nativity she gave her hand in marriage to David Thompson, and this young couple immediately removed to Stark county, this state, taking up their abode on a farm in the dense woods. The husband immediately entered eighty acres of land, which in time he cleared and improved, but nine years later he sold that place and came to Hancock county, where he located in section 20, Orange township, being the second person to secure land in this locality. Again he was obliged to un- dertake the arduous task of clearing and developing land, but as the years went by he succeeded in placing his fields in an excellent state of cultivation, and on this valuable homestead he spent the remainder of his life, entering into eternal rest in 1854, at the age of fifty-six years. Both he and his wife were members of the Disciples church, and the latter was called to her final rest when she had reached the fifty-sixth milestone on the journey of life, in 1861. Unto this worthy pioneer couple were born ten children, three daugh- ters and seven sons, and all grew to years of maturity, but only two of the number are now living, the brother being S. P. Thompson, who is serving as circuit judge of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana.
Isaac Thompson. the other surviving member of this once large family. was the second child and eldest son in order of birth. He was but five years of age when he was brought by his parents to Hancock county. The school which he attended was a primitive log structure, and he had reached his fif- teenth year ere he was privileged to enjoy the advantages to be secured even in this rude structure, while his school life covered a period of only fifteen months. However, he has greatly added to this meager training by keeping himself in constant touch with the movements of the outside world and by reading and observation, and is now a well informed man. Early in life he as- sisted his father in clearing and improving the homestead farm, and in addi- tion to this work and improving a farm for himself, later he also taught school during the winter months for about six years. After his marriage he located on the farm which still continues to be his home, and all the accessories and improvements on this now valuable estate stand as monuments to his thrift and business ability. At one time he was the owner of two hundred and eighty acres, but as his children have started in life for themselves he has given to them portions of his land until he has now only one hundred and twen- ty acres. Eight oil wells have been drilled on his farm, seven of which have been good producers and they now yield about forty-eight barrels a month. For a period of six years Mr. Thompson served as a justice of the peace. for thirteen years was township clerk, was township treasurer for about four- teen years, for a similar period served as supervisor, was also a ditch super-
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visor, and for the past eighteen years has been a notary public. He has also settled about fifty estates, and has acted as guardian for five persons. His life has been a busy and useful one, and in the discharge of both his public and private duties he has won the respect and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
The marriage of Mr. Thompson was celebrated on the 24th of October, 1849, when Miss Louisa McKinley became his wife. She is a relative of our martyred president. William Mckinley, and is of Irish descent, her grandparents having emigrated from the Green Isle of Erin to the United States. Her death occurred on the 31st of December, 1888, after becoming the mother of six children, concerning whom the following domestic record is furnished: Leticia E. married Bateman Zoll and is now deceased; Mary J. is the wife of Jesse T. Crawford, and they have one son, Ray D .; David F. married Clara E. Buckley and they have two children living, Bertha and Jesse; Jay Allen married Mary Ellen Hall, and they have two children liv- ing, Lulu May and Cecil D .; Willie H. is single; Chester E. married Mary Maude George and they have one son, Otho G.
Mr. Thompson's religious affiliations are with the Christian church, of which he has long been a valued member. Uniformly respected and ven- erated amid a large circle of friends, he is now spending the evening of life quietly at his pleasant home in Orange township.
W. M. METZLER, M. D.
One of the eminent followers of ÆEsculapius, the ancient, and an orna- ment to that time-honored and most beneficent profession which can occupy the field of human endeavor, is Dr. W. M. Metzler, a young but very stic- cessful practitioner of Vanlue, Hancock county, Ohio. His father, Henry H., was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and he married Caroline A. Reed, who was born in Hancock county, and belonged to a family long identified with the history of the county. The Metzlers came into this county in 1850 and located in Liberty township. Henry H. was clerk of the township and also its treasurer. For several years he was in the grocery business at Find- lay and was a clerk for Lemuel McMannis for three years; he was in business for himself for eleven years and bore an excellent reputation in all the lines of his endeavor. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted, in 1861, be- coming a member of Company F, Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; he was taken prisoner at the battle of Chickamauga and was exchanged in 1864. He died April 30, 1892, and his wife passed away August 13, 1899. They
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were the parents of seven children, all of whom are living and filling honor- able places in the various walks of life.
The subject of this biography had his birth in Liberty township, Han- cock county, September 21, 1866, and he was reared and educated there, graduating in the Findlay high school. He was then employed for some time in the railway mail service, but having determined to take up the profession of medicine he entered the Starling Medical College and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1895. The following year he began the practice of his calling in Vanlue and has since gained a very profitable patronage; his methods of practice being based upon the "Regular" school of medicine. In the line of his profession he is a member of the Hancock county Medical So- ciety, and fraternally belongs to the Knights of Pythias.
In the month of February, 1902, Dr. Metzler was married to Miss Lola Cross, who was born in Amanda township in 1877, the daughter of Henry and Octavia Cross. Henry Cross, now deceased, was one of the well known and respected men of Amanda township, whose well tilled farm of sixty acres is situated a short distance west of Vanlue. There his birth occurred on the 4th of February, 1841 ; his parents were Charles and Esther ( Smaltz) Cross, the former a native of Maryland and the latter born in Fairfield county, Ohio; the family came to this county in 1839 and settled on the property which now belongs to Mrs. Octavia Cross. Henry Cross was a faithful member of the United Brethren church and in its belief he died, April 23, 1888. His mar- riage to Octavia, the daughter of William and Octavia Brown, occurred May II, 1865 ; she was a native of Big Lick township, her natal day being February 19, 1842. Of this marriage there were eight children and five of them are yet living : Effie R., Lola A., Bertha I., Forest G., and Morris E.
CHARLES J. KRAUSS.
This prominent representative of the agricultural interests of Hancock county resides just outside the city limits of the city of Findlay, on the Blanchard road, in Marion township, on a farm containing one hundred and ninety-five acres of valuable land, and upon which is situated one flowing gas well, which he sunk himself, and which furnishes gas for his own consump- tion. Mr. Krauss was born in Baden, Germany, on the 5th of May, 1827. His parents were George A. and Mary E. (Keller) Krauss, the former a manufacturer of soap and candles at Baden, and still living. The subject of this sketch upon attaining his majority emigrated to this country and located in Buffalo, New York, the year being 1848, where he remained but a few
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months, and during which time he was employed in a tannery. The same year he removed to Putnam county, Ohio, where he gave his attention to learning the wagon-maker's trade. In 1852, however, he resolved to join the ranks of the farming class, and purchasing a farm of fifty-four acres, he began its cultivation. In 1858 he removed to his present location, where he purchased one hundred and eighteen acres of land, and afterwards added seventy-seven more. Besides this extensive farm he invested in an- other parcel of land, for which he paid $2,600, and in five years it had in- creased in value so as to bring the sum of $14,400. The success of Mr. Krauss is largely due to the fact that he is a man of good judgment and shrewd foresight. In 1851 he married Nancy Krebs, and to this lady were born two children, Mary E. and William T. Both the children and their mother are now deceased, the mother dying in 1854. In 1856, for his sec- ond wife, Mr. Krauss chose Mrs. Glauner, a widow whose name before her first marriage was Annie Snyder. This marriage resulted in four children, the mother of whom died in 1881. She was a woman of most estimable dis- position and many noble traits of character. William J., one of the sons, married Miss Libbie Aultman, of Marion township, and now resides in the county, engaged in farming. Mr. Krauss takes great pride in his surround- ings. In 1889 he built upon his farm the present beautiful and commodious house, furnishing it with all the modern conveniences. He has been hon- ored with the various township offices in the gift of his people. Fraternally he is a worthy member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which organization he is a charter member of Golden Rule Encampment. Mr. Krauss has retired from the cares and worries of an active business life, and is enjoying the comforts which should come as the cap sheaf of a life of worthy industry.
JOHN M. BARR.
As a citizen and substantial business man of Findlay no one stands higher in the community than Mr. Barr, president of the Citizens' Gas Light & Coke Company. He has been closely identified with the business interests of the city and has been an important factor in the advancement of its ma- terial and industrial progress, giving liberally of his time, means and thought to insure the prosperity of the place, and being also a worthy representative of one of the pioneer families of Hancock county, of which he is a native son.
Mr. Barr was born in Findlay, on the 27th of June, 1849, the son of James H. and Mary (Shaw) Barr, the former of whom was born in Fairfield
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county, Ohio, becoming one of the early settlers of Hancock county, where he was honored for his sterling character and his marked ability. He located in Findlay and had the distinction of being the first judge of probate elected in the county, serving three terms in this office and also having been incumb- ent of the position of county auditor in the early days. He was a man of profound judgment and inflexible integrity, was a prominent and influential citizen and impressed himself strongly on the community where he passed so many years of his life, being summoned into eternal rest on the Ist of Sep- tember, 1862, at the age of fifty years. His wife, who was likewise born in Fairfield county, passed away July 20, 1882, at the age of fifty-seven years. Judge Barr was a son of John Barr, who was born in Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Fairfield county, Ohio, in the early pioneer epoch, and there passed the residue of his life.
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