USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 49
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HENRY M. HAUSE.
One of the most prominent and respected citizens of Hancock county is H. M. Hause, a man whose history furnishes a splendid example of what may be accomplished through determined purpose, laudable ambition and well directed efforts. A native son of the Keystone state, his birth occurred in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on the twenty-fifth of July, 1853, his par- ents being Lewis and Jane ( Reichard) Hause, also natives of that common- wealth. The father was an excellent mechanic, and as a means of livelihood followed the wagon maker's trade. Both he and his wife were summond into eternal rest early in life, passing away in their native state, and at their death they left a family of two children, a daughter and a son.
Henry M. Hause received but limited educational advantages during his youth, but being ambitious to acquire knowledge he labored industriously with that end in view and when twenty-five years of age was able to enter the University of Ada, in Ohio, in which he was a student for some time, and after which he was given a teacher's certificate, and for eighteen years there- after he was one of the most efficient school teachers of Hancock county. His career as an instructor ably demonstrated his ability to impart to others the knowledge he had received, and in 1889 he was made a county school examiner, being the incumbent therein for the succeeding three years. For a period of eight years he served as the township clerk of Union township, and has also filled the positions of mayor, clerk and councilman of Mt. Cory, ever. discharging his public duties with the same honesty and straightforwardness
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that have characterized his private life. For ten years Mr. Hause made his home in Mt. Cory, but in 1899 purchased his present farm of eighty acres, where he is engaged in general farming. This homestead was originally entered by Abraham C. Van Courtright, and is a valuable and productive tract.
The marriage of Mr. Hause was celebrated in 1889, when Miss Lottie, a daughter of Isaac A. and Mary Ann Baldwin, became his wife. She is a native daughter of the Buckeye state, her birth having occurred in Blanchard township, Hancock county, in 1866. Four children have come to brighten and bless this home, namely : Ralph, Mirth, Grace M. and Clarence M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hause are members of the Methodist Protestant church, in which the former has served as a steward for many years. The Hause home is a happy and attractive one, where warm-hearted hospitality is always to be found by their numerous friends. In politics Mr. Hause is a Democrat.
WILLIAM P. GRAY.
William P. Gray is a child of Marion township. He was born there September 16, 1853, and has lived on his present farm ever since 1856. His education was dependent upon the instruction of the district school and upon his early home training.
He is connected with the Moorehead family through his mother, Eliza E. (Moorehead) Gray, who was born in Harrison county, this state, May 8, 1825. His father was Samuel R. Gray, a native of the same county, born December 4, 1816. His parents were married in their native county in Feb- ruary, 1846, and one year latter undertook a week's journey, moving all their household effects to this county. where Samuel had bought eighty acres of slightly improved land. For seven years they worked upon this land, joining their labors to secure a comfortable living. Then, when he had the chance, Samuel seized upon the opportunity and closed for two hundred acres with small improvements. With industry and forethought he developed this tract into highly cultivated property and in 1876 sold forty acres, but one hundred and twenty acres remain in the possession of his son William.
Samuel R. Gray was a man of decided business ability. He was the first to use tile in a system of drainage; and all his methods were advanced and progressive. In politics he was in the front ranks of the Republicans. He held the office of assessor for the township and, in the early history of the county, would probably have been a prominent official had not his party been in the minority. He was nominated for county commissioner but defeated
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by a Democratic majority. Mr. Gray was a member of the Presbyterian church. He died October 24, 1881, but his wife still survives. They had five children, namely: Flora G .; Mary B .; William P .; Sallie H. and Phoebe J. Mary and Sallie are prominent in educational work, the former having taught for a number of years and the latter recently completed her twenty-fifth year of sacrificing labor in the school room.
September 30, 1880, William J. Gray was united in marriage to Hettie M. Price. She was born August 9, 1857, in this state, her parents being John G. and Elizabeth Price. Mr. and Mrs. Gray are the parents of four children : Laura E., born March 12, 1882: Mattie B., born September 19, 1883; Samuel P., November 24, 1885, and Frank S., who was born Sep- tember 27, 1898. The family are regular attendants at the First Presby- terian church of Findlay, in which both parents hold membership.
FRANK C. RAY.
Frank C. Ray, city clerk and one of the younger business men of Find- lay, by his alertness and energy is winning his way in the world, and has many friends both in public and social life. He comes of good stock, his ancestry for several generations having been natives of Ohio. His grand- father, Allen Ray, was born in Columbiana county in 1817. At that time the settlements were few and far between, the country was only beginning to be laid out in farms, wild animals were plentiful and the skins valuable. Allen Ray was a trader in furs, an active pioneer, and did his part in help- ing to develop the country. Later, he moved still farther west and settled in Hancock county, where he died in 1849.
Albert W. Ray, son of Allen, was born at Findlay in the same year that witnessed the death of his father, and his whole life was spent in his native town, with the exception of the time when he wore the "blue" and fought for the preservation of his country. He was a carriage maker by trade, and was in that business in Findlay from 1874 to 1896. In 1896 he was elected city clerk and served as such until his death in the year 1900. He was mar- ried in 1873 to Amanda, daughter of Daniel Cline, and they were the par- ents of five children, of whom four are still living as follows: Louisa K., wife of Chas. A. Keller, Frank C. (the subject of this sketch), Bess L., and Marie. Though a mere lad only fifteen years of age, he enlisted in 1864 as a private in the One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, when the troops were mustered out. He was the youngest soldier in the regiment. He participated in bat-
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tles at Harper's Ferry and at Millersburg. His brother, Thomas J. Ray, now living at Houston, Texas, served throughout the war as a member of the Forty-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was commanded by Colonel William Gibson.
Frank C. Ray was born in Findlay, Ohio, in 1876, and was there reared and educated, attending first the public schools, graduating from the high school in 1893, and later, Findlay College, from which he graduated in 1896. The next two years Mr. Ray employed in learning and working at the car- riage painting trade, after which time he entered the service of the Eastern Ohio Gas Company at Canton, Ohio, as a clerk. He remained with that corporation about a year and then returned to Findlay, where he secured employment with the Bradford Oil Company, and so continued until April, 1900, when he was elected city clerk by the city council, the position his father had held before his death. Mr. Ray was married at Findlay, Ohio, in June, 1900, to Dorothy Bickham, daughter of Major Y. Bickham, and they have one little daughter, Elizabeth A. In his political views, Mr. Ray is a stanch Republican and an earnest worker for the interests of his party. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks and the First Methodist church of Findlay. Mr. Ray is a wide-awake, progressive young man, interested in his work, his home, his fraternal societies and well deserving of the success so far achieved in life.
WILLIAM KUHLMAN.
The above named gentleman, who is a worthy representative of the German-American citizenship of Hancock county, resides on a well cultivated farm of two hundred and forty acres in Allen township, and is extensively engaged in the raising of stock. Mr. Kuhlman was born in Hanover, Ger- many, December 28, 1844, remained in the fatherland until twenty-four years of age, gave cheerful and loyal obedience to the emperor and laid the foun- dation of a practical education and training which have served him well in his adopted country. Believing that there were great opportunities in the new world for the advancement of young men, he left the home of his youth and crossed the ocean to the great republic of which he had read with such in- terest in his boyhood days. He came to Hancock county and first located in Portage township, but in 1881 bought his present farm, the first install- ment of which was an eighty-acre tract. As he prospered, he added one hundred and sixty acres to this original purchase, and is now possessed of one of the best farms in Hancock county, which he is rapidly improving. In
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1896 he erected new buildings, besides remodeled the old ones, and the farm is presenting a very attractive appearance under his guiding hand. Mr. Kuhlman had not been long in this country until he felt the advisability of establishing himself in a home of his own. His marriage was celebrated June 16, 1873, when he was united in marriage to Miss Catherine, the daugh- ter of Aaron and Margaret Smith. To this union there have been born the following named children: George E., 1874; Aaron F., 1876; Clara M., deceased, 1878: Susan M., 1881; Charles W., 1883; James A., 1885; Nellie A., 1888; Edmund C., 1891; Lizzie O., 1893; Neil L., 1896; John K., 1900, deceased. Mrs. Kuhlman is a native of Marion township, where she was born October 14, 1856. Her parents came to this county from Germany in 1850. Mr. Kuhlman is a gentleman of excellent standing in his immediate neighborhood. He is a member of the German Lutheran church, but in the absence of his own organization, he and his family are faithful attendants of the Presbyterian church. He has held several of the township offices, and in every way has proved himself a loyal and worthy citizen of his adopted country.
JOHN H. MELLOTT.
The above named gentleman, who resides in Allen township on a well cultivated farm of fifty acres, is the son of Elijah and Jane ( Kline) Mellott. The Mellotts came from Bedford county, Pennsylvania, where the father was born in 1820, and the Klines are natives of the same county. Our subject's parents were reared in the state and county above mentioned and were there married in 1842. After spending four years in Ashland county they came in 1855 to Hancock county and located in Allen township, where they bought eighty acres of land and later added enough to make a handsome farm of one hundred and seventeen acres. Elijah Mellott is held in high esteem in the sec- tion where he resides, has filled several of the offices of the township and is respected by all. His wife died in 1891, after becoming the mother of eight children, of whom four are living. Elijah is the son of Obadiah and Kather- ine (Sipes) Mellott, both of whom were natives of Bedford county, Penn- sylvania. On the paternal side the Mellotts are of English origin, while on the maternal side they are of German stock. Obadiah died in 1862 and his wife in 1859.
John H. Mellott, one of his father's four surviving children, was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1843, and was twelve years of age when his parents came to this state in 1855. He grew up amidst rural
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scenes, and in the invigorating life of the farm developed that sturdiness of character which has always characterized him. Upon arriving at maturity, he bought his present farm, which he has continued to cultivate with suc- cess and has at different times added substantial improvements, his modern and commodious house having been erected in 1889. The biography of Mr. Mellott characterizes him as "a clean-cut practical man of the soil," and such he has proved himself to be in the various branches of agriculture. In 1869 he was united in marriage to Miss Rachel A. Crowel, a native of Stark county, Ohio, and born February 14, 1843.
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Mellott merit and receive the homage of a large circle of friends. He is a good citizen, a model farmer and such a man as benefits any community by association with it, and bravely accepts and faith- fully fulfills the duties of life.
WILSON C. STOKER.
The above named is one of the children of Jacob and Mary R. ( Pence ) Stoker, whose family history is fully given in the sketch of their son Darius and need not be repeated at length. As therein stated three of the brothers served in the Union army and two of them, as the lamented Lincoln said at Gettysburg, "paid the last full measure of devotion that the nation might live." Stoker Post, Grand Army of the Republic at Findlay, is named in honor of the brothers who were killed on the field of battle at Stone river, and this is only one evidence of the high regard in which the Stoker family is and has long been held by the people of Hancock county. Since their fa- ther's arrival in 1845. there has been no time when the Stokers were not con- spicuously identified with the county's farming interests and they have grown in wealth and influence, as well as numbers, from year to year during the last two generations.
Wilson C. Stoker, youngest of the children by his father's second mar- riage, was born in Hancock county, October 18, 1845, and as he grew up he received a common school education while learning farm work between terms. When he reached manhood he became a farmer on his own account and has achieved unusual success in this occupation. He is practical in his methods, progressive in business and thorough-going in everything relating to agri- cultural pursuits. As a result he at present owns two valuable farms in the county, consisting of three hundred and twelve acres, and on his land are found twenty-three producing oil wells. He ranks among the leading farm- ers of the county and is a representative citizen in every sense of that term.
Kurs, W. C. Stoker,
W & Stoker
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Mr. Stoker was fortunate in the selection of a wife, to whose wise counsel and good management he owes much of his success. His marriage occurred December 30, 1869, the bride being Miss Katie, daughter of Jacob and Mary Grubbs, who was born near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1846. This union, which proved happy and congenial in every way, resulted in the birth of three children : Laura M., David D., and Elmer O. David D. Stoker, the only one of the children now living, was born February 14, 1874, and was given a good education by his parents and teachers as he grew to manhood. April 25. 1901, he was united in marriage with Miss Ella M., daughter of Nelson and Hannah Altman, who are residents of Hancock county and the former one of the leading farmers of Marion township. Mr. Wilson C. Stoker's political affiliations are with the Republican party and he and wife are members of the United Brethren church. The family are among the best people of the county socially and no man enjoys higher reputation in the business world than Wilson C. Stoker.
JAMES DECKER.
There is no section of the great state of Ohio that is more noted for its fine farms than Hancock county, and there is no section of Hancock county that is under a better state of cultivation than Allen township. In this town- ship lives the above worthy representative of a worthy family who have for many years been residents of the county, and have been honorably and intimately connected with its growth and progress. James Decker is the direct descendant of Mahlon and Minerva (Dull) Decker, the former born in New Jersey and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. They married in Pennsylvania, soon after came to Crawford county, Ohio, and after a short residence there removed to Hancock county in 1845. They purchased eighty acres of timber land in section 24 of Allen township, upon which they erected a comfortable log house that continued to be their home for twenty-five years. Here they engaged in the active work of subduing the wilds of nature, and it is remembered of the mother that, together with many other accomplish- ments that were necessary in that early day, she was an expert weaver, not only making all the clothing for the family, but doing a large amount of work for her neighbors. Mahlon Decker was a practical man, and succeeded by thrift and honest toil in accumulating three hundred acres of valuable land. He was stanch in his support of Republican principles, a consistent member of the Baptist church and sincerely mourned at his death, which occurred July 18, 1874. His widow still survives at the advanced age of
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eighty-four years, in good general health of mind and body. They reared a family of eleven children, seven of whom are living and six residents of Hancock county.
James Decker, one of the surviving sons, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, January 16, 1837. He was a lad of but eight years when he came with his parents to Hancock county, where he was reared and received what little education was obtainable in the schools at that early day. His first purchase of real estate was in 1860, consisting of a tract of forty-six acres, to which he added at various times. In August, 1862, he responded to the call of President Lincoln for troops to save "Old Glory" from being trailed in the dust and became a private soldier of Company G. One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He participated in a score of battles in the middle west, Mossy Creek and Resaca possibly being the most noted. At the latter battle he was so unfortunate as to receive a wound, after the healing of which he was honorably discharged in 1865. He has no regrets that he offered his life to save the constitution of the grandest country in the world. In January, 1861, he celebrated his marriage with Mary, daughter of John and Sarah Barnd, who were early settlers of Han- cock county. Mrs. Mary Decker was born in Allen township in 1838, and of her eight children the following named are living: Edward, C. A., L. B., M. C., G. H. and Sidney O. The beautiful modern brick residence of Mr. Decker, where he and his family delight to entertain their numerous friends, was built in 1879. Mr. Decker is a popular gentleman in the com- munity, having held a number of the township offices. He is a consistent member of the old school Baptist church, of which he has been clerk for a number of years. In connection with his active work on the farm he looks after the product of twenty oil wells, seven of which he drilled. Mr. Decker was treasurer of the Hancock Gas & Oil Company, the first to open up the North Findlay pool. In 1889 they drilled the first well and this became the most productive locality in the county. He has one hundred and forty acres of land, on which there are twenty-five producing oil wells at this writing. Mr. Decker is a member of Stoker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Findlay, and one of the best known as well as most highly esteemed man in the county.
HENRY FRANKS.
Henry Franks is a worthy representative of the agricultural interests of Hancock county, where his father was at one time an extensive owner of real estate, having been in possession of two thousand acres. Mr. Franks
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lives in Allen township, where he cultivates a farm of one hundred and ninety acres, the methods which he uses producing one of the finest farm properties in the county. His father, John Franks, was one of Hancock county's early pioneers and a man of wonderful resources. He was enterprising, honest, industrious and possessed of large and liberal views concerning life. He had a passion for the accumulation of real estate, selecting his locations with great business sagacity and foresight. This land was afterward disposed of by sale and by division among his children, who have since made good use of their inheritance. Mr. Franks was married twice, his first wife being Sarah Musgrove, who bore him eight children and died in June, 1843. His second wife was Betsie Fast, who presented him with five children, and seven of the two sets are now living. John Franks was a member of the United Brethren church, and supported the principles of government formulated by that great disciple of Democracy, Thomas Jefferson. He died August 9, 1880, and his last wife passed away June 30, 1902.
Henry Franks, a son by the first marriage, was born in Cass township, December 8, 1842, and six months later lost his mother by death. He was reared and schooled in Cass township, passed his life in agricultural pursuits, and has resided on the present farm for the past thirty-two years. In August 1868, he was united in marriage to Mahala Allard, and their union has been blessed with ten children, eight of whom are living: John W., Catherine B .. Andrew J., Charles H., Ella, Mary, David W. and Eliza. The mother of these children is a native of Ohio, and her birth occurred in 1848. Mr. Franks is a quiet, unostentatious, but loyal citizen, seeking no honors himself, but taking delight in placing in office the best man regardless of party affilia- tion. He, however, inclines to Democratic principles. He is an industrious and honest citizen, and in Hancock county is universally recognized and honored for his many good traits of character.
J. A. NUSSER.
Wherever the stranger goes in Hancock county he finds a very large sprinkling of gray heads among the farming element, but there are a num- ber of young and enterprising men who have resisted the wiles of city life and are following nobly in the footsteps of their fathers. It is a mistaken idea that farming has become a lost art. There is just as much material prosperity to be had in the country as there is in the city. The only point necessary to remember is that the farmer of to-day must keep in mind the fact that he is living in a progressive age, that he cannot scratch the ground
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with a forked stick and plant his corn by hand.as was the custom in the early day. The use of modern machinery and the adoption of intensive methods of farming, coupled, of course, always, with hard work, will win in this day just as readily as the old methods won in their day, all of which is being realized by this enterprising and up-to-date young farmer whose worthy name heads this paragraph. Mr. Nusser was born in Findlay, Ohio, November 14, 1872, and was reared in Allen township, where he closely applied himself to his studies during his minority and laid the foundation of his education. His book learning has been the lesser part, for he is a man of observant mind and intelligent comprehension, and has thus added a later equipment that makes him a very useful and worthy citi- zen. From his boyhood he was inclined to the free and independent life of the farmer, and when he arrived at the years of maturity he entered upon agricultural pursuits. He bought his present home in 1899. It consists of eighty acres, which he is gradually bringing into a high state of cultivation, rapidly adding new buildings and improvements of the kind suitable to a modern Ohio farm. Of him his biographer states: "Mr. Nusser is a young man who will not be satisfied to sit on the bottom round of the ladder. His motto is, 'Plenty of room at the top.'"
Mr. Nusser is a son of J. J. and Mary Nusser, his father having been a native of Findlay, and his mother of Allen township. She died in 1880, having been the mother of seven children: Lucretia; Quinn; J. A., our subject ; Caroline, deceased; Frederick; Mammie; and Edna.
Mr. Nusser had barely reached his majority when, on November 12, 1893, he led to the altar Miss Blanche, the accomplished daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Swab. Mrs. Nusser was born November 25, 1873. (See sketch of family on another page). Mr. and Mrs. Nusser have had two children, one who died in infancy, and Dorothy E., born July 9, 1900. They are popular members of society in their immediate neighborhood, where the genial, pleasant manner of Mr. Nusser has made him popular among a host of friends.
JOHN H. GRUBB.
John H. Grubb, brother of Cyrus and youngest son of Jacob Grubb, now holds a two-third interest in the fine tract of farming land once owned by his father, and which save the first six years of his life has always been his home.
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