USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
W. S. MUMAW. M. D.
As a member of the medical profession Dr. Mumaw has won dis- tinction, and, although but a few years have passed since he became one of its representatives, he enjoys an extensive and remunerative prac-
IOS
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
tice. A native son of the Buckeye state, his birth occurred in Wilmot, on the 16th of May, 1865, his parents being George and Lydia ( Fisher ) Mumaw. His father was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1820, but when four years of age he was taken by his par- ents to Holmes county, Ohio, a location being made near the Stark county line, and there his parents died in later life. There, also, the father of our subject was reared, married and reared his children, and the county is still his home. He is now in his eighty-second year, and is feeble in health. He owns two hundred and fourteen acres of valuable and well improved land, a part of which is located in Holmes county and the remainder in Stark county. His political support is given to the Republican party, but although he has always been a public-spirited and progressive citizen he has never sought or desired the emoluments of public office. He is a member of the Mennonite church. The mother of our subject was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, about 1825, and she, too, is still living. Unto this worthy couple were born fourteen chil- dren, ten of whom are now living, namely : Jacob and John, twins, the former a farmer of Stark county and the latter of Geauga county ; Henry, engaged in the marble business in Marshall, Michigan; Wesley, also a farmer of Geauga county : Albert; W. S., the subject of this review; Sarah, the wife of Christian Lentz, of Baltic, Ohio; Hettie, the wife of Isaac Kilmer, of Geauga county ; Emma, the wife of Emanuel Shelter, of Beach City, Ohio; and Maggie, at home.
W. S. Mumaw spent the early years of his life in his parents' home, and in the common schools of his native locality he received his early educational advantages. At the age of twenty years he entered the school room as an instructor, and for three winter terms he followed that pro- fession, but in 1888 he abandoned that occupation to engage in the drug business, becoming a registered pharmacist in Michigan. For the fol- lowing six and a half years he conducted a drug business of his own in Detroit, and on the expiration of that period, in 1893, he began reading medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. J. H. Crawford, of that city. In 1894 he entered the Detroit Medical College, in which he was gradu- ated in the spring of 1897, but he still continued the conduct of his drug
109
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
business until the following year. Selling his store in Detroit, the Doctor then engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in Bascom, Seneca county. Ohio, and in August, 1900, he took up his abode in the village of Kansas, where he is now located, and here he has built up a lucrative and constantly growing patronage. He is progressive in his methods, con- stantly reading and studying, and keeps in close touch with the spirit of the times.
The marriage of Dr. Mumaw was celebrated on the 25th of Oc- tober, 1899, when Miss Margaret Gordon became his wife. She is a native of Detroit. One little son. George, has come to brighten and bless their home. In his social relations the Doctor is a member of Kansas Lodge, No. 282, K. O. T. M., of which he is the examining physician, and he is also a member of the Kansas Lodge of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. His political support is given the Republi- can party, but he is liberal in his views. He inspires personal friend- ships of unusual strength, and all who know him have the highest ad- miration for his good qualities of heart and mind.
JAMES H. PLATT.
For the high rank of her bench and bar Ohio has ever been dis- tinguished, and it is gratifying to note that in no section of the com- monwealth has the standard been lowered at any epoch in its history. To the subject of this review, who is senior member of the firm of Platt & Black, of Tiffin, Seneca county, we may refer with propriety and satis- faction as being one of the able and representative members of the legal profession in the state; and that he is a native son of Ohio lends some- what to the significance of the prestige which he has here attained.
Mr. Platt was born in Columbiana county, on the 22d of August, 1854, being the son of George Platt, who was born in England, where he was reared and educated ; and where also he learned the miller's trade. When about twenty-one years of age, about the year 1849, he came to
110
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the United States, locating in Columbiana county, Ohio, where he fol- lowed his trade for a time, then continuing in the same line of vocation at Paris. Stark county ; Oneida Mills, Carroll county ; and Findlay. Han- cock county, in which last mentioned place he died, being about thirty- nine years of age. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and in politics gave his support to the Democratic party. George Platt was married after his emigration to America, being united to Miss Eva Faulk, who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and who is still liv- ing, having attained the age of seventy-four years and maintaining her home in Findlay. She is a devoted member of the Lutheran church and is a representative of one of the pioneer families of the Buckeye state. All of her eight children are living, the subject of this review hav- ing been the second in order of birth.
James H. Platt remained at the parental home until he had attained the age of thirteen years, when his father died ; whereupon he came to Tiffin and entered the home of his uncle, Benjamin F. Myers, meanwhile continuing his studies in the public schools, where he prepared himself for matriculation in Heidelberg College, which he entered when sixteen years of age, completing the classical course and being graduated a a member of the class of 1875. Thereafter he taught one term of school in Summit county, while for the following three years he was engaged as a teacher in the public schools of Tiffin, being eminently successful in his pedagogic endeavors. In 1879 he here began reading law in the office of the firm of Noble & Lutes, and when a dissolution of the part- nership occurred he continued his studies under the effective direction of Mr. Lutes, making such progress that he was duly admitted to the bar of the state in October, 1881. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession, being associated with Harrison Noble until the early part of 1885, after which he conducted an individual practice until 1887, when he entered into the present professional alliance with Harry P. Black, with whom he has since been associated in the general practice of law, retaining a representative and important clientage and holding high prestige as a lawyer, thoroughly read in the science of jurisprudence, as an able advocate and as one safely conservative in counsel. His course
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
has been such that he has ever commanded the confidence and esteem of his professional confreres and of the general public.
In politics Mr. Platt has ever been known as a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, in whose cause he has rendered effective service in Seneca county. He held the office of city solicitor of Tiffin for a period of eight years, was a member of the board of county school examiners for six years, a member of the city board of education for two years ; and for a similar period was a member of the city board of school examiners, while at the present time he is a member of the board of regents of Heidelberg University and has been president of the executive committee of the board for a year past. He and his wife are prominent members of Grace Reformed church; and fraternally Mr. Platt is a member of Tiffin Lodge, No. 80, Knights of Pythias. He maintains a lively interest in the questions and issues of the hour, is a thorough student and an earnest promoter of the cause popular education.
On the 3Ist of July, 1883, Mr. Platt was united in marriage to Miss Rosa M. Warner, of Tiffin, and they have two sons, Nevin E. and George R. Mrs. Platt, at the death of her father when she was a mere child, became a member of the family of Benjamin F. Myers, and was thus a playmate and companion of her husband for fifteen years previous to their marriage.
ROSCOE L. CARLE.
Roscoe L. Carle is the eldest and only surviving son of the late Jonas H. Carle, a native of Maine, and Mrs. Priscilla F. (Egbert) Carle, a member of a well-known Seneca county family. Both fam- ilies trace an unbroken lineage to Anglo-Saxons of the 9th century, the Carles being yeomen of old England, and one of the Egberts being chief of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy. Our subject was born in Geneva, Wisconsin, May 20, 1863, and has resided in Seneca county since child- hood. He received his elementary education in the village school of
I12
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Green Spring and the district school of Clinton township. Later he con- tinued his studies at Heidelberg Academy, in Tiffin; at the Ohio State University, in Columbus ; and was graduated in 1890 at Cornell Univer- sity, Ithaca, New York, with the degree of Bachelor of Letters. Since graduation he has followed the editorial profession in his county. In April, 1901, he was nominated by the Democrats of Seneca county as their candidate for representative in the seventy-fifth general assembly, receiving fourteen hundred more votes than his opponent at the primary nominating election. In the general election, in the following November, he was elected, leading his ticket by two hundred votes. In the legisla- ture, although a new member, he at once received recognition, and was - placed on the important committees of taxation and common schools, and was chosen secretary of the committee on hospital for epileptics. He became conspicuous for the part taken by him in the caucus for United States senator, and for placing the Republican majority in an uncom- fortable position on the question of popular elections of United States senators. In the issue of tax reform, retrenchment of public expenditure. investigation of state institutions, and the interests of agriculture and labor he took a leading and popular part.
AARON SEITZ.
A representative of one of the early families of Seneca county, Aaron Seitz was born in Bloom township, on the 12th of March, 1844. It was in 1825 that his father, Lewis Seitz, had come to this county, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers and sharing in all the diffi- culties and discouragements that beset those who make their way into an undeveloped region. The latter's father also bore the name of Lewis Seitz and was a native of York county, Pennsylvania, but about the year 1800 he removed to Fairfield county, Ohio, establishing his home near Lancaster. A tract of two hundred and forty acres of land, which he had purchased at the public land sale, he afterward divided among
II3
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
his children. A minister of the Baptist church, his life was devoted to that holy calling and his influence was of no restricted order, for he con- tributed largely to the moral development of the community in which he made his home. It was in Fairfield county that his son, Lewis Seitz, the father of our subject, was born, October 21, 1802. He, too, became a preacher of the Baptist denomination, but as he accepted no pecuniary remuneration for his services his livelihood was gained through the till- ing of the soil, and in the little log cabin, in the midst of the forest, which was the home of the family in pioneer days, he lived for some time. In 1864, however, he removed to Wyandot county, but after a few years returned to Bloom township, where he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1890. For sixty-six years he served as the pastor of the Baptist church at Honey Creek, and on the Democratic ticket he was elected to a number of township offices, while in ante-bellum days he was county treasurer for one term.
Lewis Seitz, Jr., married Barbara Kagy, who was a consistent Christian woman, identified with the Baptist church, and in that faith she died, at the age of forty-two years. In their family were fourteen children, twelve of whom reached years of maturity, and among this . number was Aaron Seitz, of this review. The work of the home farm early became familiar to him, for as soon as he was old enough to handle a team he began to assist in the cultivation of the fields and also to haul logs to his father's mill. As he had opportunity he attended the district schools, thus acquiring his education.
In 1864 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Seitz and Miss Eliza Shock, a native of Bloom township and a daughter of Jacob and Lana (Shanour) Shock. The young couple began their domestic life upon rented land and for several years Mr. Seitz continued to operate farms which he leased, but in 1873 he took up his abode on the farm which he now owns and which he purchased in 1871, becoming the owner of eighty acres. Since that time his attention has been devoted to its de- velopment and improvement and it is now supplied with all modern equipments. About 1880 he purchased an additional tract of one liui- (red and six acres, so that his place now comprises one hundred and
114
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
eighty-six acres. The greater part of it is under a high state of cultiva- tion, and in 1891 he erected an attractive modern residence. The home has been blessed with four children, but Alvin J., the second, is now deceased. The others are Irvin L., Mattie May and Mertie Blanche. The last named was educated in the common schools and the Ada Nor- nial University, at Ada, Ohio, and is now engaged in teaching in the district schools.
Mr. Seitz is a Democrat in his political affiliations, but takes no active part in politics as an office-seeker, preferring to give his entire time and attention to his farming and stock-raising interests. At the time of his marriage he possessed only two dollars and a half, and around this nucleus he has gathered a comfortable competence, which he richly deserves.
PHILIP GRIFFIN.
Philip Griffin is now living a retired life in Republic. He has attained to the age of seventy-four years and his career has been so honorable and upright that he has won and ever enjoyed the respect and confidence of his fellow men. His present home is far from his birth- place, for he was born in Norfolk, England, on the 9th of April, 1828. In the common schools of that country he secured his education, and in 1851 he severed the ties that bound him to his native land, in order to establish his home in America, believing that he might have better busi- ness opportunities in this country. Accordingly he took passage on a sailing vessel, which, after a voyage of four weeks, dropped anchor in the harbor of New York. From the metropolis he made his way to Auburn, New York, and in that locality secured work as a farm hand. Later he spent a year and a half in following the carpenter's trade, and in 1854 he came to Republic, Ohio. Here he also was identified with building interests for about three years and he then secured employment in the carriage shop owned by Mr. Osborn, in whose service he re- mained for a few years, after which he was made manager of the car-
115
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
riage shop owned by Squire Stickney. But the country became involved in civil war and he could not content himself to remain at home while his adopted country was endangered by the rebellious spirit of the south. In May, 1864, he offered his services, and became a corporal of Company K, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which went to the south for one hundred days' service and was there engaged in the defense of the capital city.
On the expiration of his term of service Mr. Griffin returned to Republic and the following spring he removed to Reed township, where he carried on agriculture and worked at his trade for a year and a half. On the expiration of that period he once more came to Republic and established a wagon and carriage shop, which he conducted for many years, meeting with signal success in his undertakings, and acquiring the capital which now enables him to live retired, in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. Indolence and idleness have ever been utterly foreign to his nature, and although he started out in life on his own account empty-handed, he placed his dependence in the substantial quali- ties of perseverance and energy. These have served as an excellent foundation for his later success.
May 14, 1854, Mr. Griffin was united in marriage to Miss Eme- line Sutphen, a native of New York, and they now have four living children : Annie, the wife of William Dildine, of Green Spring, Ohio; Alton C., who is conducting a meat market at Chicago Junction: Mil- dred, the wife of J. L. Newcomer, a farmer of Bloom township, Seneca county ; and Edson C., who is employed as a brakeman on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. They also lost four children, Emma S., William H., Clinton, and one who died in infancy.
In his political affiliations Mr. Griffin has been a stanch Republican since he became an American citizen, and has done everything in his power to promote the growth and success of his party. He has been honored with a number of local offices. He was trustee of Scipio township for three years and for seven consecutive years served as as- sessor. In 1900 he was elected mayor of Republic and capably filled the office for eighteen months, his administration being progressive and
116
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
practical, but on the expiration of that period he resigned. For more than twelve years he has been a member of the school board and for several years he has served as a member of the town council, and whether in office or out of it he has always labored earnestly and ef- fectively for the public welfare. Fraternally he is connected with Re- public Lodge, No. 40, I. O. O. F., of which he is vice grand. He also belongs to Captain Robinson Post, G. A. R., in which he has served as commander. Upon the battle fields of the south he rendered his adopted country faithful allegiance, and among the native sons of America there is no more true or loyal citizen than Philip Griffin, who is greatly at- tached to his adopted country and her institutions., He has never had occasion to regret his determination to make his home in the United States, for here he has prospered, advancing to the plane of comfort and prosperity through determination and honorable effort.
HENRY A. KOLLER.
Henry A. Koller, who has a wide acquaintance in Scipio township and is numbered among the progressive and intelligent farmers, was born in Wooster, Ohio, November 1, 1839. His father, Henry Koller. was a native of York county, Pennsylvania, born August 5, 1800. When he arrived at years of maturity he married Elizabeth Smyser and re- moving to Wooster, Ohio, he there conducted a tavern on the stage road, continuing business at that place until 1843. when he removed to Perryville, where he operated a grist mill and saw mill. After six years, however, he crossed the plains to California, attracted by the dis- covery of gold upon the Pacific coast. During the last eight hundred miles he made the journey alone, meeting John C. Fremont, who was traveling eastward with provisions for the immigrants. For seven days he had lived on herbs and roots, for his supply had become exhausted. He was told by Fremont to go to Sutter's mill or ranch, and there he worked for three days, cutting grass for twenty dollars per day. He
117
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
then began prospecting, which he followed through the summer, and in the succeeding autumn he secured a position as superintendent of the United States Mining Company, acting in that capacity for several months. He then erected a sawmill on Yuba river, near Sutter's ranch, where he remained for two years. After his mill was in successful operation he admitted Isaac Brecker, of Shelby, Ohio, to a partnership in the business. In 1852 he returned to the east on a visit, but again went to California, when he sold his mills. During his absence, a man to whom he had given the power of attorney over his property suc- ceeded in beating him out of seventy thousand dollars.
In the spring of 1853 Henry Koller, the father of our subject, took up his abode in Bloom township, Seneca county, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, which he owned and operated until 1866, when he sold that property and removed to Clinton town- ship. On the expiration of that period he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in the latter township, making his home thereon until his death, which occurred when he was eighty-six years of age. He was a very industrious and energetic man, and when he was seventy- six years of age he cradled seven acres of oats in a single day. His wife passed away the year previous to her husband's demise. They were the parents of six children, four reaching maturity, namely : Sarah A., the widow of Philip H. Culler, of Scipio township: Caroline, who married Rev. J. Culler and who died in 1898; Mary C., the widow of Samuel Koller, of Scipio township; and Henry A., of this review.
Henry A. Koller was only thirteen years of age when he came to Seneca county. His education here was continued in the public schools and in Republic Academy, after which he became a student in Heidelberg College. A liberal education thus well fitted him for life's work. He is a man of more than ordinary intelligence and keeps well informed on questions and issues of the day. In 1861 he was united in marriage to Jennie E. Swigart, and they became the parents of two children: Lizzie M., the wife of J. W. Rollins, of Lima, Ohio; and Harry G., of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who is employed as a traveling salesman.
1
118 CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Koller took up his abode in Bloom township, where he had a valuable tract of one hundred and seventy- two acres. Upon this he built a fine residence and substantial barn. In 1866 he purchased three hundred and ninety acres of land in Scipio township, and made his home thereon until 1874 when he removed to Tiffin, which continued to be his place of abode for two years. He then purchased a hotel in Muncie, Indiana, conducting it for four years, after which he took charge of the Oak Ridge Sanitarium at Green Spring, Ohio, which he superintended for four years. On the expira- tion of that period he went on the road as a commercial salesman, and three years later returned to Ohio. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Clinton township, besides other property. In his busi- ness affairs he has been very successful, capably controlling his interests and thereby winning creditable prosperity.
Mr. Koller has always been a loyal citizen, and at the time of the civil war he manifested his patriotic spirit by responding to his coun- try's call for troops, in 1864. He joined Company G, One Hundred Sixty-fourth Ohio Infantry, and went to the front for one hundred days' service, the regiment being assigned to the duty of defending Washington. Mr. Koller has always been a Republican in politics. Wherever he has resided he has been widely and favorably known as a man who has true regard for his duties of citizenship and toward his fellow men.
JACOB EPPLER.
Back to stanch old German stock does Jacob Eppler trace his line- age, and that in his character abide those sterling qualities which have ever marked the true type of the German nation, is manifest when we come to consider the more salient points in his life history, which has bcen marked by consecutive industry and invincible spirit, eventuating in his securing a high place in the confidence and respect of his fellow men.
119
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Eppler was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 4th of March, 1827, being the son of Jacob and Christina (Bitzer) Eppler, of whose five children three now survive, namely : Mary, the wife of George Zink, of Lucas county, Ohio; Christina, the wife of John Stutz, of Williams county; and Jacob, the subject of this sketch. Jacob Eppler, Sr., was a farmer by vocation and passed his entire life in his native land, where his death occurred in 1850, his widow passing away three years later. The following spring ( 1854) our subject was married and immediately afterward he and his bride embarked for America, being accompanied by two sisters and one brother of our subject, said brother, John, having entered the service of the Union as a member of an Ohio volunteer regiment, in the war of the Rebellion, in which he sacrificed his life. They all settled in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Eppler secured employment in the iron and zinc mines, and he continued his residence in Pennsylvania until July, 1862, when he came to Fostoria, Ohio, where the first year was devoted to working in a brick-yard and a tannery. In the fall of 1863 he purchased a farm of forty acres in Hancock county, two miles south- west of Fostoria, and there gave his attention to the improvement and cultivation of the place for a period of six years, when he sold the property to one of his neighbors and purchased an eighty-acre farm in the same vicinity. Four years later he exchanged this for an adjoining farm of one hundred and twenty acres, where he maintained his home until 1888, when he disposed of the same and bought his present fine homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Loudon township. three miles east of Fostoria, Seneca county, where he has since gained prestige as one of the progressive and successful farmers and stock-growers of the county, his farm being a model of neatness and thrift and having improvements of the best order, including a spacious and comfortable residence. He is one of the most prosperous citizens of the township, and the success which is his is all the more gratifying when the fact is taken into consideration that it has been attained entirely through his own well directed efforts. His integrity of purpose has never been questioned in all the years of ceaseless toil and endeavor, and he is well
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.