A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio, Part 50

Author: Lewis publishing company, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 826


USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 50


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Mr. Grubb was born February 17, 1857, on what is now the D. L.


-


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Norris farm in Marion township, this county. In 1863 his parents moved to Liberty township where John received a common school education, and where in due time he added his efforts to those of his father in wresting from nature a free and safe means of livelihood.


In selecting a helpinate for life, he chose one of nature's daughters, a young woman who knew what life on a farm meant and who has fulfilled her highest mission by making for him a happy home.


On November 8, 1884, Mr. Grubb married Miss Sallie Cusac, who was born as the daughter of James M. and Rachel Cusac, on a farm in Liberty township on Blanchard river, September 15, 1858. Their union was blessed by two children : Gail G., born in August, 1893, and Mack, born December 25, 1896. The family are members of the Presbyterian church, enjoying the esteem of a large circle of friends.


Through untiring industry Mr. Grubb has become a prosperous and independent business man. Upon the land operated by him there are twenty- five producing oil wells.


Other details concerning the family record will be found in the biogra- phies of Cyrus Grubb and James M. Cusac.


WILLIAM THOMAS.


William Thomas is a well known and respected citizen of Findlay, the son of one of the first settlers of the county. His father was Charles Thomas, a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, who removed to Tyler county, Virginia, where he married Mary Ripley; she became the mother of fourteen children, ten of whom grew to maturity and two of this number are now living, Narcissa W. and William. Charles Thomas lived the uneventful but eminently useful life of the practical farmer. The farm which he tilled is still in the Thomas family, and has been continously since its first possession by them in 1831. Charles Thomas endured all the hard- ships incident to pioneer life, receiving many friendly visits from his red brother, the Indian, and it might be added many hostile visits from his more vicious brother, the wolf. When he first came to Hancock county, the town of Findlay consisted of but sixteen houses. They were principally of the block house variety, so built for the purpose of defense from the unfriendly tribes of red men which then surrounded the town.


William Thomas was born in Tyler county, Virginia, on April 2, 1827, and until middle life always followed the pursuit of farming. His labors were attended with such success that in 1879 he was able to retire from active


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labor, and purchasing a home in Findlay he removed to the city where he now resides. During his active life on the farm he was honored with most all of the township offices by his fellow citizens which he administered in a worthy manner.


In religious faith he is a believer in the tenets held by the Methodist Episcopal denomination, in which organization he has labored during all of his lifetime, holding many offices of trust. He has held the office of steward for the past twenty years. Mr. Thomas began his domestic life on the thirty- first of October, 1850, when he married Miss Sidney, the daughter of John and Margaret Paden. The marriage proved a most felicitous one, and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have passed a long life of connubial happiness. To this union were born five children: Mary M., Margaret J., Kate, Lezettie and Fannie, the latter being deceased. The mother was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, on December 2, 1833. Her father, John Paden, was born in Ireland and his wife in Ohio.


Mr. Thomas, as must be supposed, is one of the well known men of the county, having passed almost the entire period of his life in this part of the state. He is a worthy representative, though now retired, of that calling which Washington said is the most useful and honorable to which man devotes his energies.


DAVID THOMAS.


The family of which the above named gentleman is an honored repre- sentative, is one of the pioneer families of Hancock county. Henry Thomas and his half-brother, James, were the first of the name to settle in the county, the date of their arrival being as early as 1834. They were natives of Ire- land, where Henry was born November 21, 1781, and emigrated to this coun- try in 1816. September 17, 1811, he was united in marriage to Jane Strana- han, and their first three children, William, John and Mary J., were born before they left their native country. Henry and Sarah were natives of Pennsylvania, while Samuel L., the youngest, was born in Wayne county, Ohio. Henry Thomas died October 14, 1865, and his wife in 1852. Henry entered from the government one hundred and sixty acres of land, which was at that time in its primitive wildness, and which he cleared during his life- time. He was a man of moderate education, but of fine judgment and keen foresight. In his native land he had learned the weaver's trade, but after he came to America abandoned it for agricultural pursuits. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, and gave his support to the policies of the Whig party.


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His son Henry, father of David Thomas, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, November 8, 1819, and was but fifteen years of age when he came to Hancock county with his parents. He passed an entire lifetime in agricultural pursuits, and in this vocation he was very successful. He pur- chased eighty acres of land from his father, on which he continued to reside until his death, which occurred October 4, 1891. In 1843, he married Eliza- beth Shoemaker, who was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, on the fourth of February, 1826, and the results of this marriage were the following named children : Sarah J., born in 1844: Mary A., 1846: John, 1847: Margaret, 1850; Andrew, 1853: David, September 12, 1855; Ellen, 1857; Henry, 1860: Ira, 1863. The father of this family was a man whose reputation stood high for probity with his neighbors and whose character was above reproach. He was bold and positive in his assertions, and lived up to his convictions of right and duty. He, as his father before him, was a con- sistent and earnest member of the Presbyterian church, in which organiza- tion he was for many years a deacon. Politically he gave allegiance to the Republican party during nearly all his life, though toward the close he was more particularly interested in the matter of temperance, on which question he felt the Republican party did not give entire satisfaction. After a long and useful life, and mourned by a host of friends, he died October 4. 1891. His wife survived him about six years and died April 1, 1897.


David Thomas, son of Henry and Elizabeth, was born on his father's fram in Hancock county, Ohio, and reared to manhood in his native town- ship of Big Lick. He received a good elementary education and in early life followed portable wood-sawing and threshing, but his employment later, for several years, consisted in the pressing and shipping of hay. He owned one hundred and seventy acres of land, ninety-seven of which he sold in 1902. and is now on account of failing health not actively engaged in the rougher work of farming. The marriage of Mr. Thomas was celebrated November 6, 1879, the lady of his choice being Miss Ella, daughter of William K. and Martha J. Leonard. Mrs. Thomas is a native of the county, having been born at Findlay, December 22, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are adherents of the Presbyterian faith, in which organization Mr. Thomas is an active worker, being at the present time an elder. They have no children.


The family of which Mrs. Thomas is a member deserves more than a passing notice. Her father, William K. Leonard, was born in Columbiana county in 1821, and spent the early part of his adult life as a school teacher, making a fine reputation as a member of that profession. He followed that occupation until 1863, when he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.


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He also was an active worker in the Presbyterian church, and for many years was an elder. Indeed, in early life he had very serious intentions of being ordained to the ministry, and only the consideration of poor health changed his determination. His marriage to Martha J. Moorhead occurred Decem- ber 15, 1853, and their children were: Edgar H., Francis E., Melissa, Samuel M., deceased, John M., Mary A., deceased, Margaret M., deceased and Robert W. It is worthy of note that John M. Leonard, the third son, spent five years as a missionary of the Presbyterian church in Japan, but his health failing he was obliged to return to his native country, where he is now actively engaged in the ministry in the state of Kansas. The father of this family died October 22, 1890. Robert Leonard, grandfather of Mrs. Thomas, removed from Columbiana county, Ohio, to Hancock county in 1837. He married Frances Bayless and the children born to them were : Elizabeth, Samuel, Silas, William K., Abner and Mary A. Robert Leonard died May 4, 1867, his wife having preceded him some fourteen years. Thus ends the record of two of Hancock county's most estimable families, the rep- resentative of which at the present day are held in the highest esteem by all.


DARIUS R. STOKER.


The Stokers, now one of the strong and prosperous family connections of Hancock county, have been identified with the county's affairs for more than half a century. The paternal ancestors were of German origin, and the first of the name who appeared in America was John Stoker, who event- nally found his way to the west. His son, Jacob Stoker, was born in Perry county, Ohio, June 29, 1806, but in early life located in Fairfield county, where he remained a number of years. In 18.45 he came to Hancock county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, to which he subsequently added eighty acres, and all of this he cleared and improved by his own labor. He was a fine specimen of the sturdy pioneer, of evenly balanced character, industrious habits and not to be discouraged by any kind of hardships. Event- ually he succeeded in converting his originally wild land into a good estate, which increased in value as the years went by and made a comfortable in- heritance for his descendants. By a marriage in 1828, with Elizabeth Hart- sock, he had a daughter named Athelinda.' The first wife dying, he was mar- ried March 4, 1830, to Mary R. Pence, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, January 4, 1812. The children by this second union were: David P., born January 4, 1831 ; Tunis A., September 4. 1832; Dicy R., February 21, 1834; Darius R., December 27, 1836: Cyrus H., born July 19, 1839;


Mary, M. Stoker


D.R. Stoker


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Mary J., November 22, 1841; and Wilson C. Jacob Stoker died February 28, 1866, and his wife on July 14, 1889. Three of their sons entered the Union service during the Civil war and made highly honorable military rec- ords, two of them sealing their devotion with their lives. Darius and David enlisted September 19, 1861, in Company F. Twenty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and their brother Cyrus joined the same command a year later. They took part with their regiment in the bloody battle of Stone River, near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in the early days of 1863, and fared badly as a result of the desperate fighting. Cyrus was killed on the battle .. field and David was so badly wounded that he lingered but a short time after the battle. Darius also received a wound, but recovered, and at the end of two years' service was honorably discharged.


After returning from the army Darius R. Stoker engaged in farm work, and pursued it with such success as to eventually gain standing as one of the leading farmers of his county. At the present time he owns one hundred and forty-three acres of good land in Liberty township, which is well im- proved as to buildings, fences and other adjuncts of an up-to-date farm, and this estate is managed and cultivated by Mr. Stoker according to the best modern methods of scientific agriculture. October 13, 1863, Mr. Stoker was married to Miss Mary M. Strother, who comes of a noted old Virginia family that is deserving of more than a passing notice. John and Anna Strother, who came from Virginia to Licking county, Ohio, in 1818, had a family of seven children. One son, Isaac J. Strother, who came to Ohio at the same time, engaged in farming and achieved success in that line. By his first marriage, with Hannah Beardsley, he had one daughter named Eliza Ann. In March, 1838, his second marriage took place, with Elizabeth Hall, by whom he had six children: Mary M. (now Mrs. D. R. Stoker ), Amos B., Caroline V., Absalom H., Lucy D. and Emily T. Mrs. Stoker's mother died in August, 1866, and her father in 1868.


The union of Darius R. and Mary M. (Strother) Stoker resulted in the birth of four children. Clemma A., the eldest of these, was married in 1892 to Frank P. DeBrandt, and has three children. Viola M., second child of Mr. and Mrs. Stoker, became the wife of Aeneas Collingwood in 1892. Luella D., the third of the family in order of birth, was married in 1894 to Nelson C. Altman, and has four children. Arthur H., youngest child and only son of Mr. and Mrs. Stoker, was married in 1900 to Frankie D. Ulloni. The family attend religious services at the United Brethren church, of which Mr. Stoker is a trustee, and for ten years was superintendent of the Sunday- school, in which he took much interest. It should be added as a matter of


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pathetic interest and showing the regard in which this family is held that Stoker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Findlay, is named in honor of the brother killed at the battle of Stone River.


GEORGE S. PENDLETON.


George S. Pendleton lias inherited to some extent the roving nature of his paternal grandfather, James, who for several years in early life followed navigation on the Great Lakes. George has devoted his life mainly to farm- ing, an occupation in itself very quiet, yet he has not been content to remain fixed to one place. He has made several changes in location; seven of his younger years were spent in the wilds of California and Nevada, where he gave himself up to extensive stock-raising.


In Putnam county, this state, he has spent twenty-nine years, and while there acquired a title to one hundred and twenty-four acres of good farming land. He also held the office of township trustee during his residence there.


George S. Pendleton was born in Findlay, January 1, 1845. In 1868 he married Mary Anderson, who died in 1901. The couple had three chil- dren : Harriet, born in August, 1869; Lucinda, born in 1871; and Louisa, born in 1873. Mr. Pendleton received his education and early training in Findlay. His father was Joel Pendleton, a man of exceeding popularity and superior school advantages. His life has been one of varied experi- ences and his genial nature, robust physique and hardy outdoor habits in- sured for him a ripe old age. He was born in the state of Maine, January 26, 1812; and died Mary 12, 1894. He belonged to a family of twelve chil- dren, of whom one only survives. His parents were James anl Elizabeth Pendleton who were born in 1783 and in 1784 respectively. During the lat- ter part of their lives they resided in Licking county, Ohio.


Joel was but eight years old when he first came to this state. He re- ceived a very good education, studied civil engineering and later took up the business of surveying in connection with farming. In 1835 he removed to this county, entered eighty acres of government land in Blanchard town- ship, worked and kept possession of it for almost eighteen years. In 1853 he came to what was then Findlay township, purchased several acres of land and increased his estate from time to time until he owned seventy acres. Here his widow Amy still lives. She was a native of Vermont, born there May 8, 1815. She was married to Mr. Pendleton on November 22, 1832. Eight of eleven children are living. They are: Anna, born in 1835; Lucinda, born in 1842; George S., born January 1, 1845; Joel W., born in 1848;


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Mary E., born in the year 1851 ; Harriet A., born in 1853; Louise, born in 1856, and Charles F., born in 1859.


Joel Pendleton belonged to the United Brethren church and in politics was a Democrat. He always had the best interests of his country at heart and was extremely popular with the younger element of the community, for he taught school for several years after his removal to Hancock county. As an indication of his popularity and the confidence placed in him by the vot- ers of the county may be mentioned the fact that for over forty years he held the office of county surveyor.


JOHN C. KAGEY.


After a long life of usefulness and work in which he has established and successfully conducted several different mercantile enterprises, Mr. John C. Kagey is able to spend the remainder of his years in comfort, free from the care and work of his earlier life. He was born on a farm in Richland (now Ashland) county in this state in 1831, in which county he lived and received his education until 1862, in which year he went to Ashland, Ohio, where he started in the grocery business. In 1865 he disposed of this business and became a lumber merchant, which he carried on until 1894, at which time he moved to Findlay. After settling in Findlay he again opened a grocery store, which he conducted for a number of years, though he is now retired.


Mr. Kagy married Elizabeth Kohler, and their union has been blessed with four children, who are: Cora, wife of William Beach; William M .; Tully J., Frederick G.


Mr. Kagey is an adherent of the Democratic party, and he is also one of the strong body of Masons of Findlay. He does not affiliate with any church.


B. F. BIBLER.


B. F. Bibler, a farmer and proprietor of the Jackson township poultry yards, is one of those prosperous and able men who began at the bottom of the ladder and by energy, business push and integrity have worked their way up until they now occupy a respected place in the business world. The parents of this gentleman were Samuel and Elizabeth (Empfield) Bib- ler, the former born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. The birth of B. F. Bibler occurred in Fairfield county on the Ioth of October, 1855, and there, after the manner of all boys in the rural


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regions, he received his early training in the schools and on the farm. He pursued farming as his chosen vocation and remained at home until 1875, when he rented a farm and carried on his business until 1897. In that year he bought his present farm of eighty acres, which he cultivated for two years and then started his poultry business. In this most pleasant of occupations he is meeting with eminent success; his pure strains of White Plymouth Rock and Buff Plymouth Rock chickens not only being his own pride but accounted by other good judges the best in the country. His yards and pens are well kept and arranged, and the general surroundings are such as to in- dicate a man of thrift and industry, while his birds show care and painstak- ing in their breeding. He is modern and progressive in many ways, depart- ing from the well worn paths of his forefathers and marking out a course of his own. He has natural gas wells on his farm, from which he gets fuel for his stoves, and heats his poultry pens with the same fuel.


Mr. Bibler was happily married on November 17, 1880, to Selina Swab, a daughter of Solomon and Catherine Swab, who was born March 6, 1868. They are the parents of two sons: Benjamin C., born in 1883; and Charles E., born in 1893. Mr. Bibler is a member of the Jackson Grange, and his life has been such as to command the esteem and regard of the whole com- munity. As he is now in his prime it would be safe to predict for him still greater success as .the result of his future endeavors.


FREDERICK J. KARG.


Among the successful and respected business men of Findlay, Ohio, is Frederick J. Karg, a member of the firm of Karg Brothers, meat dealers, who carry on a business which was established in this city by his father in 1852.


The birth of Mr. Karg was in Findlay, Ohio, in 1854, and he is a son of Carl August Emanuel Karg, who was born in Germany, in 1829. At the time of the latter's emigration to America, he was twenty years of age. He settled for two years in New York city and then removed to Findlay, Ohio, where he opened a meat business in 1852. With energy and industry this business was made to prosper, and as his sons grew up, Mr. Karg admitted some of them to the business, and in 1887 he felt that he could retire from activity, knowing that it was in excellent hands. He is a staunch Republican and he has served in the city council.


A family of five sons and two daughters was born to Mr. and Mrs. Karg, as follows: Elizabeth, the wife of J. D. Klentsche; Frederick J., of


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this sketch; August C .; Charles A .; Minnie, the wife of William Hull; Al- bert E. and William.


Frederick J. Karg obtained a good common school education in Find- lay, and at the age of sixteen entered his father's meat market where he learned the trade. In 1887, with two of his brothers, the present well-known firm of Karg Brothers was formed, which supplies a large part of the city with its choicest meat. In 1877 our subject was married to Miss Eliza Mills, who is a daughter of James Mills, and they have one daughter, Eva.


In politics Mr. Karg, like his father, is a Republican. He belongs to the order of the Knights of Pythias, No. 400, while the religious connection of the family is with the Lutheran church. He is well and favorably known in Findlay, and is considered an honest and enterprising business man and an excellent citizen.


FREDRICK SUTTER.


During his residence there of twenty-two years, the above named gentle- man has been about the busiest man in the village of Vanlue. He has looked after three hundred acres of land, manufactured tile and brick and ran a mill, which "made things hum" by the noisy revolutions which turned off lumber by the thousands of feet a day. Mr. Sutter, however, is not doing all these things at present, having reached that condition of financial inde- pendence which makes over exertion unnecessary, still he is a controlling figure in Amanda township and consulted as one of its best informed as well as most enterprising citizens. A word or two about his life and character and those from whom he is descended will not therefore be inappropriate in a volume devoted to the representative men of Hancock county.


The family is of Swiss origin and founded in this country by Fredrick and Fannie Sutter. This couple was married in Switzerland in the early thirties, but after striving for a decade or two in their native land decided that emigration to far distant America held out a promise of improvement in their fortunes. It was in 1852 that this resolution was carried into effect and the newly arrived immigrants, after the usual trials and tribulations of poor travelers, found themselves settled at Sandusky City, Ohio. As Fred- rick was an industrious and hardworking man, all went well and he was ac- cumulating some means until an unfortunate accident disabled him for work and eventuated in his death in 1854. By two marriages there were five chil- dren, three by the first and two by the second, all of whom are living.


Fredrick Sutter, Jr., one of the children by his father's first marriage,


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was born in Switzerland in 1835 and consequently was about eighteen years old when his parents emigrated to this country. He remained at Sandusky City until his father's death when he entered the employment of a railroad company whose lines extended through that part of Ohio. He remained at work with this company about ten years, afterward worked a while as a mill hand and later removed to Hancock county, where he purchased an eighty acre farm in Amanda township. This tract, only half of which was cleared, was held two years by Mr. Sutter for speculative purposes and then disposed of at a profit. In 1865 Mr. Sutter bought another tract of eighty acres, fifty of which were cleared, and made other deals as buyer and seller until the outcome was his present holding of three hundred acres in Amanda and Lib- erty townships. In 1880 he removed to Vanlue and three years later pur- chased his present home and mill property at the same time starting a tile and brick manufactory. He continued the last mentioned feature for six years, but finding it unprofitable, abandoned the manufacture of tile and brick and confined himself to making lumber. In addition to his other machinery, he put in a planer and has thus considerably extended his busi- ness by converting his ray material into finished product.


In 1861 he was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Shoup, but the only child of this union died in infancy and the mother passed away in 1875. In 1877, Mr. Sutter married Mrs. Cornelia Leader, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1836, and by her he has an only son named Charles. Though not a member of any church, Mr. Sutter believes that the carrying out of the golden rule embodies " all the law and the prophets." His fraternal connec- tions are confined to membership in the Independent Order of Odd Felows. In conclusion it is but just to remark that Fredrick Sutter is a self-made man in the best sense of that word. Beginning life without means and little edu- cation, he now contemplates retiring from active business with a comfortable competence. Still more important as testimony of his qualities is the fact that his neighbors have implicit confidence both in his integrity and judgment and often consult him concerning difficulties of a private as well as public nature.




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