USA > Ohio > Hancock County > A centennial biographical history of Hancock County, Ohio > Part 62
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and the ventilation plant is of the most perfect construction, maintaining the temperature of the rooms and halls automatically.
In political belief Professor Zeller adheres to the party of Lincoln and Garfield, and has never been backward about taking part in its public work. He has acted as a delegate from Hancock county to three of the state conven- tions, and was at the last election the nominee on the Republican ticket as a meniber of the state school commission. As stated in the first part of this review, Professor Zeller is exceedingly active in matters pertaining to his profession. He is ever alert to the organization of associations for the im- provement of teachers. He was instrumental in the organization years ago of the Ohio Teachers' Association, of which organization he has several times served on the executive committee, and has twice been elected president. For the past ten years he has been a member of the legislative committee of the Ohio State Teachers Association, and has also served on the executive com- mittee of this association, and has been president of the section devoted to superintendency. In institute work Professor Zeller is well known all over the state, having conducted institutes in thirty-four different counties. In 1881 he was granted a state life certificate to teach in the schools of Ohio. The fact that our subject began his school work in the country schools of the county and at the early age of seventeen, and then advanced step by step from the rural schools to the village and town schools, rising to the superintendency in the schools of one of the best cities in the state, puts him in touch with every phase of the school system of the Buckeye state. This knowledge he has gained by continuous experience of thirty years, which experience makes him familiar with the needs and wants of our public schools.
Not only in the school room and school matters does Professor Zeller interest himself, but in any line which is meant for the advancement of the interests of young people. He has for long years been prominently identified with the Young Men's Christian Association movement and is at the present time a member of the board of directors for the city of Findlay. He is an active worker of the Methodist Episcopal church, being at the present time a member of the board of stewards, upon which board he has served for twenty years. He was one of the organizers of the branch of the Methodist denom- ination on the north side of the city known as the Howard Methodist church, and for years was a member of the board of trustees. He was also active in the erection of what is known as the Heck Methodist church in Findlay. In connection with his duties as superintendent of schools, Professor Zeller has interested himself in the public institutions of the city, giving aid and comfort to every enterprise that meant the advancement of Findlay. He was a mem-
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ber of the Findlay Natural Gas Company, the pioneer company of the north- ern Ohio oil fields, which drilled the first well for gas not only in Ohio but in the whole northwest. This well was drilled in 1886 at Findlay, and the de- velopment which has followed that first enterprise is well known to all.
The family life of Professor Zeller has been a happy one; he was joined in marriage in 1874, in Warren county, Ohio, to Julia, daughter of Thomas M. Abell.
GEORGE S. STOUGH.
Among the young and enterprising agriculturists of Hancock county we take pleasure in presenting this name, a gentleman who, in the brief time he has been engaged in that line, has given evidence of superior ability. Mr. George S. Stough resides at the present time in Allen township, where he owns eighty acres of valuable land, which he devotes to general produce. He was born in Cass township in 1867, and is the son of Christian and Maria (Eckert) Stough. He received the ordinary education given by the district school, and that other education which is only acquired by hard knocks in the service of Dame Nature on the farm. The thoroughness of this latter training is responsible for the success he is making. The event which rounded out the life of Mr. Stough to its fulness occurred March 8, 1888. On that day he was joined in marriage to Miss Annie, daughter of John W. and Adaline Hudson, of Allen township. The birth of seven children followed this marriage: Chlove; Collin F .; Gail; Glen; Bessie, deceased; Gladys, deceased; and Ralph. Mrs. Stough was born in Allen township in 1869.
Christian Stough, the father of our immediate subject, was born in Ash- land county, Ohio, in 1846, and was a lad of seven years when he, with his parents, George and Ann Stough, removed from Ashland county to Han- cock, where they bought a quarter section of land in Allen township. This land was entirely primitive except a small tract of six acres, and the family thus had the hard labor of clearing the farm for cultivation. Young farmers, like our immediate subject, can hardly appreciate the labor by which they liave come into their inheritance. Mr. George Stough was an excellent citizen, a member of the Evangelical church, and a man in whom his neigh- bors placed implicit confidence. He reared a family of ten children, four of whom are living: Daniel, Louise, Henry and Christian. The father died on June 13, 1898, his wife having preceded him five years before. Chris- tian, the son of George, and the father of our subject, is at the present time
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one of the substantial farmers in Allen township. His farm contains one hundred and sixty acres, and there is one gas well which produces gas for several homes. His family numbered three sons: George S., Charles J., and Guy. There is no family in Hancock county that stands higher socially or in a business connection than that of the Stoughs. They are honest, up- right in their dealings, and are held in high repute by their fellow citizens.
JAMES L. PATTERSON.
The Daily Courier is now one of the institutions of Findlay and a quantity to be reckoned with in the world of politics, business, industrial and social advancement. Its growth in a few years has been phenomenal, as from a feeble and insignificant sheet it has been advanced to a position of in- fluence, due to a large circulation and able management. The gentleman whose name is above given and who has been the chief agent in effecting this, received before entering the newspaper field precisely the training which seems to best fit a man for editorial work. In the first place he received a good general education ; secondly he had large experience as a teacher and superintendent of schools, but better than all a thorough course in law at a first-class institution. With this equipment, aided of course by the practical knowledge acquired by actual contact with the world, Mr. Patterson took hold of the newspaper business and showed himself from the first to be well qualified for this exacting vocation.
James L. Patterson, now editor and principal owner of the Daily and Weckly Courier, was born on a farm in Noble county, Ohio, October 23, 1855. He had unusually good educational opportunities, included in which was attendance in the National Normal School at Lebanon, where he was graduated in the class of 1878, and a subsequent course at the Ohio Univers- ity, in Athens. In 1892 he entered as a student in the famous law school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was given his degree of Bachelor of Laws with the class that graduated in 1892. At the age of nineteen Mr. Patterson began teaching school in Noble county, Ohio, and continued in this occupation for three years. His next move was to Stockport, Ohio, where he was made superintendent of schools and retained this position two years. From there he went to McConnelsville, county seat of Morgan county, where he again joined the educational corps as principal of the high school, followed later by election as superintendent. He remained in this responsible position during the seven subsequent years, and then began the study of law, which termin- ated with his graduation at Ann Arbor. He was admitted to the bar in 1891,
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previous to his graduation, but shortly after the latter event he made a move which diverted him from the field of law to that of journalism. Mr. Patter- son's first venture in that direction was the purchase of the Akron (Ohio) 'Times, which he effected shortly after leaving Ann Arbor. It was a Demo- cratic weekly paper, which, after retaining about one year, he disposed of to seek a better opening. Going to Portsmouth, Ohio, he bought the controll- ing interest in the Times, a weekly Democratic paper published at that place, and in the spring of 1894 added a daily edition, which he con- tinued to manage during the following four years. In 1898 he sold this plant and came to Findlay, where soon afterward he organized the Courier Com- pany, which purchased the material and name of a weekly and daily that had been running for some time, but does not seem to have prospered. This paper at the time of the purchase of the plant had about one hundred and fifty subscribers to the daily edition, which has been increased by the new manage- ment to a handsome list of about two thousand five hundred. Mr. Patterson, who owns the principal interest, was made manager and editor by the new company, and it is chiefly to his skill and energy that the flattering success of the enterprise has been brought about.
In 1888 Mr. Patterson was united in marriage with Miss Nettie B., daughter of George Benjaling, of McConnelsville. Aside from business cares he finds some time for fraternal association and holds membership in the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias.
ABRAHAM ROETHER.
One of the able and successful agriculturists of Pleasant township, who resides on his own farm and tills it to the best interests of himself and the soil, is Abraham Roether. Mr. Roether was born in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, on October 15, 1822, and is the son of William and Elizabeth Roether, who were both natives of Pennsylvania and there lived and died, numbered among the highly respected citizens. When Abraham was but six years of age, his parents removed to Lancaster county of the same state, and there the son grew to manhood, educated in the public schools of the neighborhood.
At the age of nineteen our subject came to Wayne county, Ohio, and after making several removals in that state finally settled in Richland county, where his marriage to Mary Steck occurred on March 13, 1851; she was a native of Switzerland and was born on March 7, 1828. To Mr. and Mrs. Roether were born eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity, and six
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of the number are still living: William H .; Milinda A .; Rebecca J .; Mary E .; Samuel W .; and Reuben, who is postmaster at McComb.
For nineteen years of his life Mr. Roether was a shoemaker, having learned the trade when a boy. In 1858 the family removed to Hancock county, where they located on the present farm in Pleasant township, of which at that time only a few acres were cleared. He first built a log house and in the course of time was enabled to build his present convenient resi- dence. His farm is now in a fine state of cultivation and yields good returns, a sure proof of Mr. Roether's progressive methods.
The family are members of the Evangelical Association, in which Mr. Roether is class-leader and steward. Politically he is a Republican and has always cast his vote in the best interests of his county and state. Now in his old age he has reason to be proud of his long and useful career and he well deserves the esteem of all his acquaintances.
GEORGE MCLELLAN REYNOLDS.
The man who works his way to the top in any business is always the man who is best posted and who knows when things are wrong just where to place his finger and what to advise. Certain kinds of work attract certain men, and if the opportunity does not present itself, the man seeks the op- portunity.
Mr. George M. Reynolds has all his business life been connected with oil wells, and probably knows more about them than any one connected with him in his work. He was born on a farm in Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1863, where he lived and was educated until he was seventeen years of age. He then went to the Bradford, Pennsylvania, oil fields and started in the oil business, his first position being as a pumper; he then rose to be a driller, and soon began contracting to put down wells on his own account in other fields in his native state. He continued to work in the Pennsylvania fields up to 1888, when he went to the gas fields near Brandenburg, Kentucky, where he was engaged in sinking gas wells for four years. In 1892 he came to Findley, Ohio, and has been contracting for oil well drilling ever since, having been connected with some of the largest oil enterprises in that vicinity, his judgment being considered sound, owing to his wide experience. Besides his work as contractor he is also a producer on his own account in the Findlay region.
Mr. Reynold's father was George Reynolds, who was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and died in 1886. He was a farmer and owned
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and worked a large stone quarry. He married Arminta Wooley, of which union there were born eleven children, of whom six are now living. Two of Mr. Reynold's brothers served in the Civil war: Benjamin F., who was a private in a Pennsylvania regiment of infantry, and who served four years; he died in 1901. The other brother was Clark, who was also a private in a Pennsylvania regiment, and was killed in his first battle, at Fredericksburg. Mr. Reynold's grandfather was Anson Reynolds, a native of Pennsylvania. He was a farmer, and the Reynolds family is of old English stock.
In 1889 Mr. Reynolds married Rose E. Dooley, and they have two chil- dren, William D. and Alton Mclellan. Mr. Reynolds is a Republican in political faith; he is a chapter Mason and belongs to the order of the Mac- cabees; he has never affiliated with any religious body.
WILLIAM BRENNER.
The name of William Brenner at the present time is synonymous in the city of Findlay, Ohio, with sound financial standing and executive ability, and in a consideration of his career we find that he has a most admirable rec- ord and is certainly deserving of the success he has won. He is Russian born, and his ancestry have been prominent in social and industrial circles in that country for many generations. His father, Alexander Brenner, was a wholesale dealer in linen, flax and grain in the state of Kovina, Russia Po- land; he had fifty thousand acres of land and employed one hundred and fifty men to cultivate it. He lived to be nearly one hundred years old, and was prominent in many ways, having the distinction of being a friend of Czar Nicholas I of Russia. His wife was Freda Brenner, the daughter of a distinguished rabbi in Poland, who had been a member of the priesthood for forty-eight years.
William Brenner was born of such worthy parents in the state of Ko- vina, Russia, on February II, 1863. He had the advantages of education which European countries usually afford young men of means, and after an extended course in which he studied Hebrew, German, Russian, Polish and Latin, he was graduated in 1882. Shortly after his graduation his father died, and his first experience in a business capacity was as secretary for the mayor of a city of forty thousand inhabitants. At an early age he became confirmed in his dislike for cards and drinking, and the character thus early strengthened has been his mainstay throughout life. A few years later he determined to leave the country to avoid the rigorous
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military service which is the bane of the youth of continental countries, and in 1888 he arrived in Castle Garden, New York, having seventeen cents in his pocket. He made his way to Michigan, and for one year was engaged in the scrap iron business. His arrival in Findlay was in 1889, and he made the beginning of his ultimate success by carrying on the scrap iron trade on a small scale, but he was one of the workers who have no conception of fail- ure or cessation of toil, and by 1893 he had earned by his industry and care- ful business methods fifteen thousand dollars. In 1900 he felt able to enlarge lis enterprise and found a rolling mill. He formed a corporation and be- came its president and general manager, and he is practically owner of the concern. Four hundred men are employed in this large enterprise, and al- though at the time of this writing the mill is not in operation, owing to same labor difficulties, in a short time work will be resumed.
With such an excellent record to his credit in the business world, it is pleasant to mention that Mr. Brenner was happily married in Toledo, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Sugarman, a daughter of a prominent clothing merchant of that city, and they now have three bright children in their home, Rose, Dora and Alice. Mr. Brenner is a stanch Republican, and about twelve years ago became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; he is also a Maccabee. He has had a varied experience with bankers and busi- ness men, and he is known and esteemed as one of the most progressive and honorable citizens of Findlay.
HERBERT V. BEARDSLEY, M. D.
The true measure of success is determined by what one has accomplished, and, as taken in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not with- out honor save in his own country, there is particular interest attaching to the career of the subject of this review, since he is a native son of the place in which he has passed his active life, and so directed his ability and efforts as to gain recognition as one of the representative citizens in Findlay. He is actively connected with a profession which has close bearing upon the welfare of the community, and which is one of the most important callings to which man can devote his energies-the alleviation of human suffering, and in the line of his profession he has won notable and enviable distinction.
The Doctor was born in Findlay in the year 1859, being a son of the late Daniel Baily Beardsley, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, May 12, 1832, and died in Findlay, Ohio, September 29, 1894. He was a son of Barney and
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Anna Beardsley, and was one of the oldest residents of Hancock county, hav- ing moved here with his parents in 1834, where he made his home until his death. In his early youth he lived on a farm and worked as a millwright with his father. Always a great student and reader, he obtained the best common school education possible in those early days, and for a number of years taught in this city, but finally began the study of law under the direction of Walker & West, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, being admitted to the bar in 1856. For twenty-five years he served as a justice of the peace of Findlay, and also held a number of other offices. During the war of the Rebellion he was a deputy revenue collector, and was a man in whom the whole community had the most implicit confidence, being known throughout the county as " Honest Dan Beardsley." On the 22d of May, 1856, Mr. Beardsley was married to Jane Hoisington Summers, of Wayne county, Ohio, and they had one son, Dr. H. V. Beardsley, and four daughters, three of whom are living: Mrs. G. W. Ross; Mrs. W. I. Keefir and Mrs. S. T. Tyler. Mr. Beardsley wrote and had published a history of Hancock county, which contained many valu- able statistics, and more than two thousand volumes were sold to the old resi- dents of this locality. He was a member of many fraternal orders and was a Master Mason, having always taken great pride in attending the meetings of that order.
Dr. Beardsley, of this review, was reared in the city of Findlay, and after attending the common schools until he had acquired his elementary education he entered Oberlin College, which he attended until the junior year. He also pursued a course in Cornell College, at Ithaca, New York, and then, determin- ing to make the practice of medicine his life work, was graduated in medicine in 1883, in the Cleveland Homeopathic College. He located for the practice of his profession in Ada, Ohio, where he remained for sixteen months, and then came to Findlay, where he opened an office and has since remained, de- voting his energies to the constantly increasing demands of his profession, his partonage steadily growing in volume and importance.
In 1886 Dr. Beardsley was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Farrell, a daughter of Jolin Farrell, and she died in 1896, leaving four children, as follows: John D., Frances E., Ruth A. and Geraldine. In 1898 the Doc- tor was again married, his second union being with Laura B., daughter of William M. Morehead. They have two children, Edith N. and Girard G. Dr. Beardsley is a prominent and popular member of various fraternal orders. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge; the Ancient Order of United Workmen. in which he was grand medical examiner of Ohio; the Tribe of Ben Hur, of which he is now past supreme chief ; the Protective Home Circle;
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the Knights of the Maccabees; the Woodmen of the World; the American Legion of Honor; and the Home Guards of America. In city affairs he is also prominent, and takes a deep and helpful interest in many measures for its good. For five years he was clerk of the city school board of Findlay, during which time school buildings were erected at a cost of three hundred thousand dollars. He is now the president of the city election board, serv- ing his second term of four years; has four times been a delegate to the Re- publican state convention, twice to the congressional conventions and twice to the judicial conventions; and is very active in politics, his labors being effec- tive in promoting the growth and insuring the success of his party. In the field of political life and professional activity he has won distinction, and to- day is numbered among the leading, influential and honored residents of his native city.
ADAM GLECKNER.
The Teutonic race is very generously represented in Hancock county. They are almost without exception good and honorable citizens, hard workers and possessed of the spirit of work. The above worthy representative of the common interests of the county is a native born German, where he first saw the light in the kingdom of Bavaria, June 6, 1846. He resides now in Big Lick township, where he cultivates a holding of one hundred and seventy- seven acres. At the age of eight years the parents of Mr. Gleckner, Peter and Susanna, crossed to this country, the great republic of which they had heard so much. Here they located in Seneca county, Ohio, where they en- gaged in agricultural pursuits until 1864, when they came to Hancock county. Here Peter Gleckner purchased a small farm which he cultivated to the time of his death, April 28, 1902. The date of the wife's death was May 29, 1897. They had but two children, one being deceased.
Adam Gleckner received his early education in Seneca county, and re- moved here with his parents at the date above stated. Upon coming to ma- urity he purchased a small portion of land and at various times has added to this first purchase, reaching the acreage stated in the first part of this para- graph. November 17, 1868, he was joined in marriage to Amanda V. Little, born May 7, 1847, in Big Lick township. This lady died December 28, 1898, having proved an excellent wife to Mr. Gleckner and a loyal mother to her children, of whom she had two, Nora E., now the wife of Edwin L. Shoolroy, and John H. Mr. Gleckner gives his influence to every good work in the community, and does not stint his time in administering the unpaid
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offices of the township. He served a period of seven years as trustee, and has been frequently on the school board and as census enumerator. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which body he is trustee. The chief pride of Mr. Gleckner is that he has unaided and alone carved out a place for himself in the society of the county, and that he stands now as one of the leading and most wealthy agriculturists in Hancock county. He is an honored and highly respected citizen and his sterling worth and high moral character attract to him a host of friends.
NELSON H. MORRISON.
Nelson H. Morrison, who is well known as one of the prominent agricul- turists of Marion township, Hancock county, is a native of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, where in 1847 he was born, and where he received his training and education. He is the son of Alexander and Leah (Lowery) Morrison, also natives of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, who were united in marriage in 1846. Their family numbered two children: Nelson H. and Catherine. Alexander was born in 1823 and was a manufacturer of woolen goods in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, but removed to Hancock county, Ohio, in 1876, where he purchased one hundred acres of land and turned his attention to farming the remainder of his life.
His son, Nelson H., was engaged for a number of years in the woolen business also, but is by trade a harness maker. He now devotes himself to farming and carries on business where his father left off. He was married in 1866 to Miss Mary, daughter of Robert McDowell, and to them were born Emery, Charles, Clarence, Harry and Delia.
FRANK R. CROWELL.
Frank R. Crowell is now identified with commercial interests in Findlay as proprietor of a grocery store. He was born in Sandusky, New York, in 1854, and is a son of Spencer Crowell, whose birth occurred in the Empire state and who died in 1877 at the age of sixty years. Joseph R. Crowell, a brother of our subject, joined the Union army during the Civil war, becoming a private of the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth New York Infantry, in which he served throughout the struggle. He was shot through the lungs at Look- out Mountain, but recovered his injury and died in the year 1891.
To the district school system of his native state, Frank R. Crowell is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. He was reared
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upon a farm in Cattaraugus county, New York, remaining there until he was twenty-six years of age, during which time he became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He then left home, going to Allegany, New York, and was employed in the oil fields of that lo- cality for seven years, also spending a part of the time in a grocery store. In 1887 he came to Findlay, Ohio, and here began the manufacture of wooden oil tanks, which business he carried on profitably until 1901, when he estab- lished his grocery store, in which he has already secured a good patronage, and his trade is constantly increasing.
In 1881 Mr. Crowell was united in marriage to Miss Ellen M. Sparks, and to them have been two children: Josephine M. and Frank M. In his political affiliation Mr. Crowell is a Democrat. In manner he is pleasant and genial, and has won many friends among his patrons as well as among his social acquaintances.
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