USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 17
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
190
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. King is a native of the city of Tiffin, where he was born on the 13th of August, 1844, being one of the six children of Timothy and Margaret King, pioneers of this section of the state. The family com- prised five sons and one daughter, and of these four of the sons are living at the present time, while two of them, our subject and his brother Lawrence, were soldiers in the Civil war. While William T. was still a boy his parents removed from Tiffin to Fremont, Sandusky county, where he was reared and educated, attending the public schools. He was but eighteen years of age when the dark cloud of civil war obscured the national horizon, and his innate loyalty was quickened to responsive protest, as is shown in the fact that, on the 2d of January, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company I, Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infan- try, for a term of three years. He proceeded to the front with his com- mand and the first notable engagement in which he participated was the battle of Shiloh, and after this he was in active service in the battle of Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg and the battle of Chattanooga, after which he was with Sherman in the ever memorable march to the sea. On the 3d of December, 1864, he was in company with fourteen of his comrades on a foraging expedition and was captured by the enemy and taken to the stockades at Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he was imprisoned for three months, or nearly until the close of the war. He weighed one hundred and forty pounds when incarcerated, but such were the hardships endured that when he left his prison he weighed only eighty pounds. This loss of sixty pounds with the period of three months is not to be considered strange when we revert to the fact that his average rations during the greater portion of the time consisted only of four teaspoonfuls of corn meal and about an equal amount of peas once each day. It is needless to say that our subject will never forget his experience during that critical period of his youth. After his release, wasted in energy and incapacitated for any active duty, Mr. King returned to his home, in Fremont, where he recuperated his strength within a short time. his sturdy constitution soon bringing him back to nearly a normal standpoint of health, and he then came back to Tiffin, and has ever since made Seneca county his home. In 1867 he located
191
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
on the farm where he now lives, the same comprising eighty acres of valuable and productive land in Eden township, and here he has ever since been engaged in diversified agriculture, in which he has been very successful, while all the improvements made on the place show his pro- gressive energy and scrupulous care. In politics Mr. King is a stal- wart supporter of the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church ; he is a communicant of St. Mary's church, in Tiffin. He perpetuates his fraternal interest in and association with his old com- rades who followed the stars and stripes on the battlefields of the south, by retaining membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, being idntified with General Willialm H. Gibson Post, No. 31, at Tiffin.
In October, 1867, Mr. King was united in marriage to Miss Cath- erine Kennedy, and they became the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, namely: Nellie, Minnie, Frank, Loretta, Kittie, Will- iam, Jennie and Edward. Mrs. King is a daughter of John and Mary Kennedy and was born in Pennsylvania, but reared in Tiffin, where she was living at the time of her marriage.
JAMES D. McDONEL.
In an analyzation of the character of James McDonel we find the qualities of an upright manhood,-loyalty in citizenship, reliability in business, conscientiousness in the discharge of the duties of private life,-and these are so combined as to make his a strong personality, commanding respect and confidence. He has for many years been actively identified with business affairs in Tiffin and is now for the second time filling the office of county treasurer of Seneca county, his re-election coming to him in recognition of his ability and fidelity during his first term in the office.
Mr. McDonel was born in Fostoria on the 7th of November, 1863. His father, John W. McDonel, was a native of Rochester, New York, and, in his early childhood, accompanied his parents to Ohio, the family
192
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
settling in Fostoria, where he was reared and has since remained. He is a harnessmaker by trade, and through a long period carried on business along that line; but, at the age of seventy-two years, he is now living retired, enjoying a rest which by years of earnest labor he has justly earned. He married Ellen Dorner, who was born in Pheroda, county Kilkenny, Ireland, and came with her parents to America when four 'years of age. She was reared in Detroit, Michigan, and is now about sixty years of age.
In his native city James D. McDonel spent his boyhood days, pur- suing his education in its public schools. At the early age of thirteen years he began to earn his own living by clerking for the firm of Ports & Company, dealers in hardware, with whom he remained for seventeen years. What higher testimonial of his ability and faithfulness could be given? He enjoyed to an unusual degree the confidence and respect of his employers, and only severed his relation as a clerk to buy their busi- ness. On making the purchase he organized what became known as the Alcott Hardware Company, of which he was chosen secretary and treas- urer, and after filling the dual position for five years he became president of the company, remaining at its head until elected to his present posi- tion, when he sold his interest in the store. Under his capable manage- ment the business had constantly increased until the company enjoyed a very liberal patronage and theirs became one of the more extensive commercial establishments of the county. Mr. McDonel is also interested as a director and stockholder in the Toledo, Fostoria & Findlay Rail- road, which is now under construction. He owes his success almost wholly to his own efforts, and his business ability, diligence, persever- ance and reliable methods have formed the foundation stones for the superstructure of prosperity.
On the 7th of November, 1888, Mr. McDonel was united in mar- riage to Miss Laura Alcott, a daughter of Roger Alcott, a very promi- nent business man of Fostoria, in which city she was born. They now have two children : Mary Gretchen, born January 14, 1890, and Leonore Alcott, born August 4. 1898. Mr. and Mrs. McDonel are widely known in the county and not only have many warm friends in their old home,
193
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Fostoria, but have gained many such in Tiffin, who esteem them highly for their sterling worth. Mr. McDonel belongs to the Catholic church, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is also identified with the Knights of Columbus, and in his political affiliations he is a Democrat, warmly advocating the principles of the party. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, and is therefore able to support his position by intelligent argument. In November, 1897, he was elected county treasurer, by a majority of seven hundred and thirty- six, and in November, 1899, he was again chosen for the office, by the increased majority of fifteen hundred and ninety-seven, the largest vote given to any candidate on the ticket. This was certainly a tribute to his personal popularity and worth and an evidence of the fidelity with which he discharged his duties during the first term. His loyalty in citizen- ship has ever been above question, as has been his honor in business. His social qualities have gained him many friends and one of the most popular residents of Seneca county to-day is .James D. McDonel.
NICHOLAS WALL.
One of the native sons of Seneca county who has here passed his entire life figures as the subject of this sketch, and it is not irrelevant to state that he is one of the most popular and highly esteemed citizens of Hopewell township, where he is successfully engaged in farming, having a well improved and highly cultivated farm of sixty-five acres. As a member of one of our leading pioneer families we here enter record of the more salient features in his career.
Mr. Wall was born on the old homestead farm, in Seneca township, on the rith of December, 1839, being the fourth in order of birth of the ten children of Philip and Susanna Wall and one of the seven who still survive, the others being as follows: George, a resident of Iowa county, Iowa ; Joseph, who resides in Labette county, Kansas : Andrew, of Chicago, Illinois ; Catherine, the widow of John Yeager, of Spring-
194
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
field, Ohio; Elizabeth, who resides in Toledo; and Teresa, the wife of John B. Bonhoser, of Putnam county. The father of our subject was a native of the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, where he was reared and educated, there learning the trade of carpenter. He was married in his native land, and there his two eldest children were born. About the year 1826 he emigrated with his family to America, coming to Ohio, where he entered claim to forty acres of government land in Seneca township, the same being entirely unreclaimed and covered with heavy timber. He built a primitive log cabin on his place, and this continued to be the family home for a number of years, while the work of clearing and otherwise improving the farm was pushed vigorously forward. Here the father passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring about the year 1850, prior to which time he had increased the area of his farm by the purchase of an adjoining fifty acres. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church, in which he was reared. His devoted wife survived him many years, her death occurring at the home of her daughter Teresa, in Putnam county, on the IIth of Sep- tember, 1896, at an advanced age.
Nicholas Wall, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the old homestead farm, becoming familiar with the labors incidental to its reclamation and cultivation at an early age, and securing such educa- tional advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the place and period. He was but eleven years of age at the time of his father's death, and thereafter he was associated with his brothers in the manage- ment of the farm until 1862, when the household was broken up, the mother going to the home of her daughter Teresa, where she was cared for with loving solicitude until she was called upon to obey the inexorable summons of death. After thus leaving the old home our subject asso- ciated himself with Jeremiah Rex in the operation of a sawmill, in Seneca township, and was identified with this enterprise for a period of about twelve years. In 1874 he leased the Judson Lookinbill farm, in Seneca township, and there continued in agricultural pursuits for eight years, at the expiration of which he purchased a tract of forty acres in Clinton township, at a point three miles east of Tiffin, disposing of this
195
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
property a year later, and then, in 1882, purchasing his present fine homestead, where he has since been successfully engaged in diversified farming and the raising of a high grade of live stock. He has a good residence, and all other improvements on the place indicate that the owner is a progressive and energetic business man. Mr. Wall exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic . party, and in religion he holds to the faith in which he was reared, being a communicant of St. Patrick's Catholic church.
On the 3d of May, 1870, Mr. Wall was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Adelsperger, who was born in Loudon township, this county, of which her father, John Adelsperger, was a pioneer settler. Mr. and Mrs. Wall are the parents of three sons and one daughter, namely : Frank E., who is engaged in farming in Hopewell township; and John A .. Leo and Mary, who still remain at the parental home.
SAMUEL FEASEL.
One of the prominent and honored early settlers of Seneca county is the gentleman of whom this sketch is penned. He is a practical, thorough-going farmer, understanding every department of the work connected with the proper supervision of a country home, and success has abundantly rewarded his persevering labors. Now, in his declining years, he may look backward over the pathway he has traversed and truly feel that his efforts have been blessed, while he can have few regrets for idle days and wasted moments.
Mr. Feasel was born in Franklin county, Ohio, on the 29th of Sep- tember, 1826, a son of Henry and Mary J. (Kennell) Feasel. The father took up his abode in Liberty township, Seneca county, in 1833, at that time locating on the farm on which our subject now resides, at the center of Liberty township, entering the land at the same time that his brother George became the owner of his farm, in 1828. The father erected a log cabin in the midst of the dense wilderness, and there
196
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
he made his home throughout the remainder of his life, passing to his final reward in the eighty-fourth year of his age. By his marriage to Mary J. Kennell he became the father of nine children, but only five of the number are now living: Catherine, the wife of John Chaney, of Liberty township; John, a resident of Bettsville; Susan, the wife of Edward Pope, of Lansing, Michigan; Jacob, who makes his home in Liberty township; and Samuel, the subject of this review. Those who have passed away are: Polly, George, Alexander and Elizabeth.
Mr. Feasel, of this review, has spent nearly his entire life on his present home. place. Early in life his time was chiefly employed in clearing new land, and thus his educational privileges were somewhat limited, but practical experience, reading and observation have con- tinually broadened his knowledge and have made him a well informed man. After his marriage he continued the operation of his father's land, and after the latter's death he and his brother Alexander became the owners of the old farm. Our subject has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful and progressive agriculturist, always known for his prompt and honorable methods of dealing, and thus he has earned the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow men. Until within the last few years he gave his political support to the Republican party, but he is now identified with the Prohibition party, and to its principles he gives an earnest and unfaltering support. For the past forty years he has been a worthy member of the Zion's Temple United Brethren church, in which he has served as one of the trustees since the building of the church.
When twenty-two years of age Mr. Feasel was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Powell, but after two years of happy married life she was called to her final rest, leaving one child, Mary F., who is now the wife of A. E. Alderton, of Saginaw, Michigan. Three years after the death of his first wife our subject wedded Miss Martha Kime, and two chil- dren blessed their union,-Belle, who is the wife of Lewis Glick, a resi- dent of Bascom, Seneca county; and Alice, who died in childhood. For his third wife. Mr. Feasel chose Miss Elizabeth Armstrong, their mar- riage being solemnized on the 4th of May, 1858, and unto them have
197
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
been born the following children : Laura J., who is the wife of John P. Lynch, of Liberty township; Irvin, who died at the age of twenty-five years ; Albert, who passed away at the age of thirty-four; Homer, who operates a stave factory at Grafton, Ohio; Roscoe, who carries on the work of the homestead ; Lucetta, who became the wife of Norman Mow- rey, died at the age of twenty-five years, and her two children, Bessie and Russell, now make their home with our subject; Eva is the wife of James Blue, of Toledo, Ohio; Edna, who remains at the parental home, taught the school in her home district for a period of four years, being one of the successful and popular teachers of the county; and Mandie died at the age of three years. Our subject has eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Feasel is one of the most honored and highly esteemed citizens of his community, and it is safe to say that no man in Seneca county has a wider circle of friends and acquaint- ances.
GEORGE BENHAM.
George Benham has since 1896 filled the office of justice of the peace in Fostoria and has been very prominent in public life, always laboring earnestly for the welfare and progress of his community. He is numbered among the native sons of Seneca county, his birth having occurred in Big Spring township, where his father, William Benham, located in 1832. The paternal grandfather, Shadrack Benham, was a native of New England, the family coming from Connecticut to the Buckeye state. When William Benham arrived in Seneca county he entered land from the government and at once began developing and improving a tract for his farm. He married Julia A. Chappelle, a daugh- ter of Caleb and Charlotte (Sperry) Chappelle. Her father settled in Wayne county, Ohio, on emigrating from Vermont to the west. He was a builder by occupation and became one of the earliest residents of Loudonville, Ohio, laying out a part of that town upon his farm. His efforts were very helpful in promoting the early progress and improve-
198
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ment of this portion of the state. Mr. Benham, the father of our sub- ject, continued to carry on agricultural pursuits, making farming the means whereby he provided for the wants of his family. At an early date he served as justice of the peace, and his rulings were strictly fair and impartial, being in accordance with his honorable career throughout life. He died in 1847, at the age of forty-five years. In his family were four children, the only brother of our subject being William Frank- lin Benham, who went to the west in 1854. For many years he was in the United States service and when last heard from was making his home in California.
George Benham early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, assisting his father in the develop- ment and improvement of the old homestead in Big Spring township, but when the country became involved in civil war he put aside all per- sonal considerations and enlisted, at Findlay, Ohio, in 1861, being sworn in at Tiffin on the 6th of August, as a member of Company A, Forty- ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the 13th of October, 1864, his regiment being a part of the Army of the Cumberland. He was wounded at the battle of Stone River, but on recovering from his injuries rejoined his command in time to take part in the Atlanta campaign, participating in all of its engagements. He was a brave and true soldier, ever found at his post of duty, whether on the picket line or the firing line.
Returning to his home in 1865, he has since that time been a resi- dent of Fostoria. In early life he learned the trade of carpenter and builder, and he has been closely associated with building interests in this place, his handiwork being seen in many of the substantial and fine - structures of this city. He has always lived faithfully up to the terms of a contract, and, with high regard for the strict ethics of industrial and commercial life, he has commanded uniform confidence and esteem. His fellow townsmen recognize his worth and ability and have fre- quently called him to public office, and he has been an active factor in that department of service which maintains law and order. For ten years he was constable, and in 1896 he was chosen justice of the peace,
199
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
to which office he was re-elected in 1899, so that he is the present incumbent in the position in Fostoria.
In Hancock county, Ohio, Mr. Benham was joined in wedlock to Miss Eunice Eliza Thomas, a daughter of Liverton and Anna (Wade) Thomas, of Washington township. Prior to his death her father removed to Fostoria, where his last days were spent. He came from Wayne county, Ohio, to Seneca county, and was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until he took up his abode in this city. For some years he filled the office of justice of the peace and was a prominent and influential man. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Benham was blessed with six children: Bruce Burris, who is connected with the Lake Erie & Western Railroad and resides in Muncie, Indiana; Minnie Belle, the wife of Walter A. Hamilton, of Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Anna Cordelia, who is a trained nurse in New York city; Ralph W., who is a clerk in the service of the Wabash Railroad Company, at Chicago, Illinois; Lillian Florence, who is a teacher in the public schools of Fostoria; and Frank Judson, who is engaged in dredging the Grand river, in the government employ, at Grand Rapids, Michigan. They also lost two children. Mrs. Benham and her family are active members of the Pres- byterian church, and she is a most estimable lady, enjoying the high regard of many friends. Mr. Benham gives his political support to the Republican party, and belongs to Norris Post, G. A. R., and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
MONROE J. KISTLER.
In reverting to the lives and deeds of those who initiated the onerous work of developing the virgin wilds of Seneca county and thus laying the foundations for that prosperity and precedence which now char- acterize this favored section of the Buckeye state, it is imperative that recognition be had of the Kistler family, who have been identified with the history of the county from the early pioneer epoch and whose mem-
200
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
bers have invariably maintained the highest standard of integrity and honor, commanding unequivocal respect and esteem. Of his immediate family the subject of this review is now the only survivor, and he has passed the age of three score years and ten, while his life and labors have granted dignity and honor to the industrial and social fabric of the county in which he has made his home from his early youth.
Mr. Kistler is a native of the state of Pennsylvania, having been born in Lehigh county on the 12th of August, 1827, one of the seven children of Michael and Mary ( Hoppes) Kistler, who were likewise born in the old Keystone state, of stanch German ancestry. Of their children we record that John died in Seneca county at the age of sixty- five years ; Michael in Adams county, aged sixty-five; Selma became the wife of John Garman and died in Indiana, aged seventy-six years; Judith married William Evert and died in Seneca county, aged forty- eight; Joseph died in Adams township, aged eighty-two, and Nathan in Illinois, aged fifty-eight ; Monroe J., the youngest member of the family, is the immediate subject of this review. Michael Kistler came with his family from Pennsylvania to Seneca county, Ohio, in the year 1832, there having been ten other families in the company which made the trip from the old Keystone state with teams and wagons, all locating in the practically unbroken wilds of Seneca county .. Mr. Kistler pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of timbered land in Adams town- ship, about the only improvement on the place being a primitive log cabin, in which the family duly installed the household effects and prepared to grapple with the problems of pioneer life. The father cleared and improved his farm, with the assistance of his sons, and there continued to reside until death ended his labors, in 1866, at which time he had attained the venerable age of eighty-four years, being honored and revered as one of the patriarchs of the com- munity. His wife entered into eternal rest in 1852, both having been devoted members of the Lutheran church, in which they were zealous workers and original members.
Upon attaining his legal majority Monroe J. Kistler, the immediate . subject of this review, began the work of clearing a piece of wild land
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 201
in Adams township, for the purpose of establishing a home of his own1. On the 4th of April. 1852, at the age of twenty-five, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Rine, who was born in Fostoria, Ohio, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Drake) Rine, who were numbered among the early settlers in Seneca county. Being but six years old at her mother's death, she lived twelve years with her uncle, Abraham Rine, on the farm where she had made her home for the past thirty- five years. A few months afeer his marriage Mr. Kistler located on an- other farm of one hundred acres, in Adams township, improving the place and there continuing to reside for a period of ten years, after which he purchased his present homestead of Abraham Rine, his wife's uncle, who had entered it from the government. He did not take up his resi- dence there until five years later, having passed the interim in cultivating another farm. In the home farm are one hundred and six acres, and in addition to this our subject owns an adjacent tract of forty acres, in Thompson township. He has brought his farm to a high state of cul- tivation, has made the best of improvements on the same and has one of the most attractive homes to be found in this section, the success which has attended his earnest and indefatigable efforts in the past years being shown in the general air of thrift and prosperity which pervades the homestead.
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.