USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 12
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On the 10th of October, 1873, Judge Bunn was united in marriage to Miss Laura Groff, who was born in Tiffin, the daughter of Hezekiah Groff, and whose death occurred on the 12th of July, 1880.
WILLIAM HENRY WADE.
The Wade family is one of the oldest in Seneca county, and through many long years has been noted for the sterling traits that are so char- acteristic of the subject of this sketch, constituting him a fitting repre- sentative of the name. He was born in Loudon township, this county, on the 29th of October, 1852, a son of George W. and Catherine ( Rich- ard) Wade. His grandfather, Abner Wade, was one of the early pio- neers of Seneca county, and here the father of our subject was born about 1829. After attaining to years of maturity he located on a farm in Loudon township, and some years later opened a hotel in Bascom, which he conducted for two years, while for a short time thereafter he was engaged in the grocery business in that village. Removing thence to Fostoria, he was there engaged in the same line of occupation until his life's labors were ended, in 1892, when he had reached the sixty- third milestone on the journey of life. In his political views he was a Republican. Of the six children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Wade five are now living, namely : Catherine, the widow of Anson Malloy and a resident of Toledo; Oscar, a prominent farmer of Loudon township : Lewis, who makes his home in Fostoria; George W., also of Seneca county ; and William H., the subject of this review.
William H. Wade has been an agriculturist from his youth up, and has made a success of his enterprise in this line. After his marriage he located on a farm in Loudon township, two miles west of Bascom, and as the years passed by and prosperity attended his efforts he added to that property until he became the owner of seventy acres of well
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improved land. He subsequently sold his possessions in that township and purchased the land which he now occupies, located three miles west of Tiffin and consisting of ninety-five acres of valuable and well improved land, constituting one of the finest farms in the township. He has ever taken an active and commendable interest in the public affairs of his locality, and on the Republican ticket he was elected to the positions of treasurer and trustee of his township.
On the 24th of December, 1878, occurred the marriage of Mr. Wade and Miss Elizabeth Haverstick. Her father, John Haverstick, is one of the prominent farmers of Hopewell township, Seneca county. Three children have been born unto this union,-Ira, who is employed in the Morcher drug store, in Tiffin; and John and Clair. Mr. Wade is a member of the United Brethren church. Both he and his wife have hosts of friends and well-wishers in this neighborhood, and with one accord they speak in the highest terms of the Wade household.
EPHRAIM NORRIS.
One of the native sons of Seneca county who have been identified with its industrial life from the early pioneer epoch until the present is Mr. Norris, whose father located here more than seventy years ago and who is now numbered among the prosperous farmers of this section of the state. He resided in Illinois about five years, and with that excep- tion his entire life has been passed in his native county.
Mr. Norris was born on the old homestead farm in Scipio township, Seneca county, on the 16th of December, 1833. the son of Lot and Lorena (Todd) Norris. His father was born in Frederick county, Maryland, whence he emigrated to Ohio in 1830, locating in Scipio town- ship, Seneca county. where he was shortly afterward married. He estab- lished his home on a tract of ninety acres of wild land, upon which he erected a log house and here he devoted his attention to the reclaim- ing of the land from the virgin forest and placing the same under cul-
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tivation. He developed a good farm of one hundred and ninety-one acres, and here continued to reside for more than a quarter of a century, his death occurring in the city of Tiffin in 1868, at the age of sixty-two years, his devoted wife having passed away in 1858. They became the parents of four sons and four daughters, of whom six are living at the present time.
Ephraim Norris, the immediate subject of this review, was reared on the old homestead farm, early beginning to assist in the work of development and cultivation and securing such educational advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the place and period. He remained at the parental home until he had attained the age of twenty- four, after which he was employed on a farm in this county during one summer. He then removed to the state of Illinois, renting a farm in Mason county, where he maintained his home for five years. He then came again to his native county, and here, on the 21st of December, 1865, occurred his marriage to Miss Sarah Long, who was born in the state of New York, being the daughter of Anthony and Catherine Long. Her father was a carpenter by trade and was numbered among the pio- neers of Seneca county.
Shortly after his marriage Mr. Norris located on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, in Adams township, the same being an integral portion of his present landed estate, comprising two hundred and forty acres of as fine land as is to be found in this favored section of the Buck- eye state. Under his careful and progressive management he has re- claimed and improved the place, upon which he has erected a commodious and attractive modern residence and other excellent buildings, and he here gives his attention to diversified farming and also to the raising of horses, cattle and sheep, his success in each department of his business having been pronounced and gratifying. In politics he supports the Republican party, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Brick Chapel, of the United Brethren church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Norris five children were born, and of this number three survive, namely: Elnora, who is the wife of Edward Grover, a farmer of Scipio township; and Olive and Lily, who remain at the
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parental home. The family occupy a place of prominence in connection with the social life of the community, and our subject is regarded as one of the public-spirited and progressive citizens of the county.
HENRY H. BRUNDAGE, M. D.
The medical profession in Seneca county has an able representative in the subject of this review, who is not only a scion of one of the pioneer families of the Buckeye state, but follows the same noble profes- sion to which his now venerable father has given his attention, gaining prestige as one of the representative pioneer physicians of the state. The subject of this review maintains his home in the attractive little city of Bloomville and controls a large practice throughout that section of the county, where he is held in the highest esteem as a physician and a citizen.
Henry H. Brundage is a native of Delaware county, Ohio, where he was born on the 5th of November, 1859, being one of the seven children of Dr. Israel and Mary J. (Duckworth) Brundage. The children all are living at the present time, and of them we enter brief record, as follows : Mary is the wife of Sebastian Alspach, of Van Wert county ; Charles is likewise a resident of that county ; Henry H. is the subject of this re- view : Etta is the wife of Samuel Hill, of Johnstown, Ohio; Nora is the wife of B. A. Roloson, an attorney of Lima, this state; Dora is the wife of William Miller, of Van Wert county ; and Norman is a physician of Delphos, Ohio.
Dr. Israel Brundage was born in Delaware county, where he was reared to maturity, securing his early educational training in the public schools and later entering the old Cincinnati Medical College, where he was duly graduated. Shortly after his graduation, with the coveted degree of M. D., he located in Sunbury, Union county, where he re- mained for a brief interval and then located in Delphos, Van Wert county, where he has continued in the practice of his profession for the
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past forty years, holding the esteem and affection of the community where he has so long ministered to those in affliction. His wife was likewise born in Delaware county and is still living, so that it is pleasing to note that death has never invaded the immediate family circle.
Dr. Henry H. Brundage, the immediate subject of this review, received his early educational training in the public schools of Van Wert county, and in 1881 he began the study of medicine under the careful and effective direction of his father, thus continuing for some time and becoming well grounded in the various branches of medical and surgical science. In 1887 he was matriculated as a student in Fort Wayne Med- ical College, where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Med- icine, in 1892, his brother Norman having been a graduate of the same class. After leaving college the two brothers located in the city of Del- phos and there became associated in the practice of their profession, building up an excellent business. In 1895 our subject took a post- graduate course of study in the Chicago Medical College, and in the spring of the following year he removed to his present location, in Bloomville, Seneca county, where he has since continued his professional work, securing a representative support and controlling a fine practice, as has already been stated. His technical ability is fortified by that deep sympathy which adds so greatly to the success of a physician, and his personality is such as to make his presence in the sick room invigorating in itself. The Doctor has won warm and abiding friendships in the community and is an acquisition to the fraternity in the county. He is a member of the Seneca County Medical Society, and through this medium keeps in touch with his confreres, as does he also through reading the best medical literature of the day, ever aiming to be abreast of the ad- vances made in the profession to whose humane work he is devoting his life. In politics the Doctor is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, being a member of the council of Bloomville at the present time, while fraternally he is identified with Pericles Lodge, No. 192, Knights of Pythias, of Bloomville.
On the 20th of March, 1888, Dr. Brundage was united in marriage to Miss Mamie E. Emshoff, who was born in Galion, Crawford county,
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Ohio, the daughter of Christ Emshoff, who is now a prominent merchant tailor of Frankfort, Indiana. Dr. and Mrs. Brundage have one child, Lulu. Both the Doctor and his wife are leaders in literary work, par -. ticularly in the Bloomville Literary Society, which has done much to shape the literary tone of the community. This society was organized three years since, the Doctor being the prime instigator. Its public ses- sions, held each year, have afforded a wholesome recreation and enter- tainment to the citizens, and its income is devoted to the sustaining and expansion of the public library.
SAMUEL B. SMITH, M. D.
As one of the native sons of Seneca county and as an able young representative of the medical profession in this section of the state, we are pleased to incorporate a review of the life of Dr. Smith, who is a member of one of the county's pioneer families and is held in the highest esteem as a man and a physician, being now established in the practice of his profession in the attractive little city of Bloomville.
Dr. Smith was born on the parental homestead, in Venice town- ship, this county, on the 29th of August, 1871, being the son of Samuel and Margaret ( Miller) Smith, who became the parents of eight children, of whom seven survive, namely : Sarah, the wife of E. S. Mckibben, of Humboldt, Tennessee; Elizabeth, the wife of Jacob P. Myers, of Attica, this county ; Samjuel B., the subject of this sketch : Joseph, who is a resi- dent of Attica; Margaret B., the wife of Harry Leppard, of Bucyrus, Ohio : and Anna and William, who remain with their mother, on the old homestead farm. The father of the Doctor was born in Londonderry, Ireland, whence he came with his uncle, Samuel Smith, to America when a lad of five years. His uncle first located in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, where they remained seven years, at the expiration of which they came to Seneca county, Ohio, and located on a farm of eighty-six acres, two and one-half miles south of the village of Attica. Later the
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uncle purchased forty acres adjoining his farm, thus making its total area one hundred and twenty-six acres, and there the father of our sub- ject was reared, assisting in the work of the farm and securing such educational advantages as were afforded in the district schools. After his marriage he continued on the homestead, which came into his pos- session upon the death of his uncle. There he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred on the IIth of March, 1895, at which time he had attained the age of fifty-three years. He was a man of the highest integrity, was successful in his farming operation and was one of the influential citizens of the community. Though he accorded a stanch support to the Democratic party, he never sought the honors or emoluments of public office, but such was his interest in educational affairs that he consented to accept the position of school director, in which he rendered effective service for a number of years. He was a member of the Reformed church, as is also his widow, who was born in Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Joseph Miller, a pioneer of Seneca county.
Samuel B. Smith passed his boyhood days on the old homestead and his early educational training was received in the public schools, being supplemented by courses of study in the Northwestern Ohio Nor- mal School, at Ada, and the academy in Fostoria. When twenty-one years of age the Doctor placed himself on the list of pedagogues and was for four years engaged in teaching in the district schools of his native county, proving popular and successful in this profession. In 1896 he was matriculated in the medical department of the Ohio State University, at Columbus, where he was graduated on the 24th of April, 1900, having devoted his vacations to study and practical work in the office of Dr. C. A. Force, one of the leading physicians of Attica. Soon after his graduation the Doctor opened an office in Bucyrus, where he was engaged in the work of his profession until April, 1901, when he located in Bloomville, where he has already attained prestige in his pro- fession and is rapidly building up a representative practice, his unmis- takable ability and his genial personality insuring a cumulative success and precedence. In political matters the Doctor pins his faith to the
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principles and policies of the Democratic party, and his religious views are indicated by his membership in the Reformed church, of which his wife likewise is a zealous adherent. Fraternally he is identified with the time-honored order of Freemasonry, being a member of Bloomville Lodge.
On the 23d of July, 1896, Dr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Buchman, who was born in Crawford county, the daughter of Jacob Buchman, now a prominent citizen of Carrothers, Seneca county. The Doctor and Mrs. Smith take an active part in the social affairs of the community and their home is a center of refined hospitality.
ISAAC GAULT.
As long as history endures will the American nation acknowledge its indebtedness to the heroes who, between 1861 and 1865, fought for the preservation of the Union and the honor of the starry banner which has never been trailed in the dust of defeat in a single polemic conflict in which the country has been engaged. Among those whose military records, as valiant soldiers of the war of the Rebellion, reflect lasting honor upon them and their descendants, is the subject of this sketch, who is now living a retired life in the pleasant little city of Bloomville and who is known as one of the sterling citizens of Seneca county, where he was for many years successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Gault is a native son of the Buckeye state, having been born in Wayne county, Ohio, on the 17th of September, 1842, the son of Moses and Rachel (Borders) Gault, both of whom were born in West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, where the respective families were estab- lished in pioneer days. The father of our subject was reared on the old homestead farm in his native county and upon attaining maturity he was there married and there continued in agricultural pursuits for a number of years, his first three children having been born in that county. He removed to Wayne county, Ohio, where he remained until 1851, when he located in Hancock county, where he continued in the
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vocation of a farmer until his death, in 1878, at the age of seventy- one years. He was a man of noble character and excellent mental gifts, and for thirty-five years he did a zealous and effective work in the uplifting of his fellow men, being a local preacher in the Church of . God, in whose service he continued active until his life's labors were ended. He was a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities, and for a period of about nine years he held the office of township treasurer in Hancock county, his tenure of the office being terminated only by his refusal to continue longer in the same. His cherished and devoted wife preceded him into eternal rest, her death occurring in 1861, at the age of fifty-six years. Of their ten children five are yet living, namely : Mary, the wife of Elisha Todd, of McComb, Hancock county ; Susan, the wife of John Briggs, of Ionia county, Michigan; Lydia, the wife of Frederick Myers, of McComb, Ohio; Daniel, a resident of Bowling Green, this state; and Isaac, the subject of this review. Those deceased are Richard, Jacob, Moses, William and Eliza.
Isaac Gault was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and was surrounded by the beneficent associations of a refined Christian home, while his early educational discipline was received in the public schools. He continued at the old homestead until called upon to respond to the caller of a higher duty, when the integrity of the nation was threatened by armed rebellion. The parents of our subject gave four of their sons to battle in defense of the Union,-William, who was a member of the Ninety-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Moses, who went to the front as a member of the Ninth Iowa Infantry, known as the Grey- hounds, was wounded at Vicksburg and died from the effects of his injuries, being buried in Louisiana; Richard, who was a member of the Sixty-fifth Indiana Volunteers, was captured and held prisoner in the notorious pen at Andersonville for a period of eighteen months ; and Isaac, our subject, of whose military service further mention will be made. Three brothers-in-law of our subject were also soldiers in the Civil war,-Elisha and William Todd and John Briggs,-so that the family certainly contributed its quota to the defense of the old flag in this great internecine conflict.
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Isaac Gault enlisted in Company L, First Ohio Heavy Artillery, in July, 1862, and with his command took part in a number of the memorable engagements of the war. His first active service was in a skirmish at Cynthiana, Kentucky, and thereafter he participated in engagements at Point Burnside, that state; Lookout Mountain ; the siege of Knoxville, where the regiment became a part of the Twenty-third Army Corps, and thence proceeded to Atlanta, taking part in the siege and battle at that point; thence back to Knoxville; then to Bull's Gap and on to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Salisbury, and forward toward the Confederate capital, the command being within one hundred and fifty miles of Richmond at the time of Lee's surrender. Mr. Gault returned with his command to Tennessee, where he received his honor- able discharge, and then came on to Camp Chase, at Columbus, Ohio, where he was mustered out, in August, 1865. Mr. Gault was wounded in a skirmish on Tillico plains, Tennessee, and on the 29th of October, 1862, he was badly injured in a railroad wreck, in Kentucky, being incapacitated for service for several months. After his discharge Mr. Gault returned home, and on the day following his arrival was attacked with neuralgia of the bowels, from which he suffered intensely, having been unable to lie in bed for a period of sixteen weeks. After regaining his strength he again turned his attention to farming, and in 1868 he located on a farm of eighty acres in Pleasant township, Hancock county, where he was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock- growing until 1881, when he took up his residence in Bloomville, where he has ever since made his home, being practically retired from active business life, with the exception of two years, during which time he conducted a meat market in Fostoria, in 1892-3. In politics he gives a stalwart support to the Democratic party and the principles for which it stands sponsor, and fraternally he retains a vital interest in his old comrades in arms and is prominently identified with W. T. Brown Post, No. 191. G. A. R., of which he was for several years senior vice-com- mander, while in December, 1901, he was elected to the office of com- mander of his post, this preferment being a signal indication of his pop- ularity in the organization. While not a member of any church organ-
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ization, he has the highest regard for the religious and spiritual work accomplished by the various denominations, and he and his wife are ever ready to support the cause and to aid in charitable work of collateral nature. Our subject is held in. the highest esteem in the community, and the pleasant home is one in which a gracious hospitality is extended to a wide circle of friends.
On the 24th of October, 1867, Mr. Gault was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Shoop, who was born in McComb, Hancock county, Ohio, the daughter of Samuel Shoop, who was one of the successful and influ- ential farmers of that county, and of this union two children have been born,-Charles L., who died in childhood; and Mary Lenora, who is the wife of R. J. Free, of Toledo, Ohio.
NATHAN RINE.
We now take under review the career of one of the sterling pioneer citizens of Seneca county, where he has practically passed his entire life and where he has ever commanded unequivocal confidence and esteem. The name which he bears has been prominently identified with the annals of the county since the early days when the work of reclaiming the sylvan wilds of this section of the state was inaugurated, and here he is now known as one of the large land-holders and successful farmers of the county. He rendered valiant service to the Union cause during the war of the Rebellion, enduring the privations and sufferings of the southern prison pens, and during his etire life has manifested the same loyalty of spirit that led him to follow the old flag on many a battle-field. Thus it may be seen that he is peculiarly worthy of representation in a work of this character, his character, services and long residence in the county making him thus eligible.
Mr. Rine is a native of Adams township, this county, having been born on the pioneer farm of his father, on Wolf creek, four miles west of the present city of Tiffin, on the 18th of April, 1831. His father.
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Jacob Rine; was born in Pennsylvania, on the 17th of April, 1796, being the son of Jacob, Sr., who was a soldier in a Pennsylvania regiment during the war of the Revolution. This hero of the war of independ- ence came from the old Keystone state to Seneca county, Ohio, after his son and namesake had located here, and the former purchased a tract of eighty acres in Adams township, where he passed the greater portion of his remaining life, having been in Indiana for a few years. He died in his ninety-fifth year, honored as one of the patriarchs of the community. The maiden name of our subject's mother was Elizabeth Drake, and she was born in Pennsylvania. By her marriage to Jacob Rine she became the mother of nine children, namely: Margaret, who became the wife of Peter Weaver and who is now deceased; Abraham, Joel and John, who died in youth; Elizabeth, also deceased; Nathan, the subject of this sketch; Mary, the wife of Monro J. Kistler, of Adams town- ship: Fletcher, a resident of Sandusky county ; and Alvin, a resident of Missouri.
Jacob Rine, father of our subject, was reared in Pennsylvania, where he learned the tailor's trade in his youth, never following the sarre after coming to Ohio. He emigrated to the wilds of Seneca county in the early '20s and purchased eighty acres of government land in Adams township, where he remained a few years. In 1833 he removed to Wood county, where he purchased and improved a farm and where he maintained his home until the death of his wife, in 1840. He then came again to Adams township, and here he eventually consummated a second marriage, Mary A. Steele becoming his wife. She died about two years later and his third marriage was to Miss Catherine Dunn, who survived him several years, his death occurring at the age of sixty years. It may be consistently noted in the connection that his brother Abraham, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1800, came on foot from that state to Seneca county, Ohio, in the early days, here entering claim to forty acres of government land, then returning on foot to his old home, whence he was accompanied by his brother Jacob on his final return to Ohio. Both secured land in Adams township, and here Abraham Rine erected a log cabin, which was their first home. He continued to reside
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