USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 22
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Although Mr. Norris has reached the psalmist's age, there is small indication of failing powers in either mind or body, the strength of youth still remaining to a remarkable degree. Mr. Norris rightly attrib- utes his excellent health and freedom from many of the ills of advancing
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years to his perfectly temperate life, as he has never indulged in either strong drink or in the use of tobacco in any form. He is a man of integ- rity and of noble purpose,-one who has done his share in the upbuilding of the prosperity of his section and who most justly deserves the high measure of esteem in which he is held.
LORENZO SHERMAN.
This venerable pioneer and representative agriculturist of Seneca county has lived on the farm which is now his home for more than half a century, while he has been a resident of the county from his infancy, thus having witnessed and taken an active part in the development of this section of the state from a sylvan wild to its present condition as an opulent agricultural and industrial community, with admirably im- proved farms and thriving cities and villages. From the rude forest lodge of the early days, the primitive schools and the meagre advan- tages of the pioneer epoch, he has seen the varied transitions and in the evening of his life is enabled to enjoy the fruits of his long years of earn- est toil and endeavor. He early began to contribute to the work of clear- ing the land from its heavy forest, later assisted in the establishing of better schools and better public improvements, while his life course has ever been so directed as to retain to him the unqualified approval and esteem of the community in which he has passed practically his entire life. As a sterling representative of one of the pioneer families of this section of the Buckeye state, it is imperative that a due tribute be incor- porated in this publication.
Lorenzo Sherman is a native of the old Empire state of the Union, having been born in Oswego county, New York, on the 27th of April, 1823, the son of Japhet and Hannah (Holmes) Sherman, the former of whom was born in the state of Rhode Island, in the first year of the nineteenth century. They became the parents of six children, namely : Lorenzo, the subject of this sketch; Elkanah, who was in the one hun-
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dred days' service during the war of the Rebellion, and who is now deceased: Hiram, a resident of Kansas; Caroline, deceased; Warren, a resident of Oregon: and Franklin, who is deceased, having also been a Union soldier in the Civil war.
Our subject was but two years of age when his parents removed from New York state to Ohio, in 1825, settling on a tract of land in Eden township, the father having here purchased eighty acres, all of which was still covered with the primeval forest, the place being now cwned by J. R. Holmes. Here he erected a primitive log cabin of one room, utilizing the logs in their original shape, as there was not sufficient time or the needed assistance for the hewing of the timber. This rude domicile was equipped with a slab roof and such other meager fittings as were available, and yet the toil, deprivation and isolation were borne with stanch fortitude and the humble home was worthy the name. On this farm the father of our subject passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring when he was forty-three years of age. His widow lived to attain remarkable longevity, passing away at the age of one hundred years and eleven months. Our subject grew up on the pioneer farm, and while still a youth attained a local reputation as an ox-driver and logger, having contributed in the work of clearing out roads and making other necessary improvements in the locality. He remained on the old home- stead until the time of his marriage, having attended the primitive sub- scription schools as opportunity afforded, the same being held in log houses, with puncheon floors, slab seats and wide fireplace, familiar in the early days, and yet in "scholastic institutions" of this type many of the eminent men of the nation have received their early discipline.
In the year 1847 Mr. Sherman purchased a tract of sixty acres of wild timbered land in Eden township, paying ten and one half dollars per acre for the same; and this he cleared and improved and it is interesting to note that it is still his homestead, though he has added to the area of the same by the purchasing of one hundred acres, thus having two fine farms, both being under a high state of cultivation and devoted to diver- sified agriculture. His long years of earnest effort have not been denied the reward due and he has long been known as one of the substantial
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farmers of the township, while he has retained the confidence and good will of the people of the community, being kindly and charitable in nature and ever regarding the wishes and rights of others, as is evidenced in the fact that he has never been a party to a lawsuit during his entire life. His political support is given to the Republican party.
On the 7th of May, 1846, Mr. Sherman was united in marriage to Miss Leah Stalter, and their two living children are Hiram J. and Mary E. Hiram J. Sherman operates one of the farms. He married Miss Frances Jane Culver and they have two children,-Myron A. and L. Katie. Mary E. Sherman began to teach at the age of seventeen years, and taught in the schools of Seneca and Wyandot counties for twenty terms. Both she and her brother were educated in Heidelberg University. Two children are deceased,-one in infancy, and William H., who died of typhoid fever at the age of thirty years.
HENRY KIRGIS.
One of the leading citizens and substantial and representative farm- ers of Seneca county, Ohio, is Henry Kirgis, a large landholder who has been identified with the interests of Bloom township since 1872.
On the paternal side Mr. Kirgis is connected with a long line of German forefathers, his father, Jacob Kirgis, having been born in Wur- temberg, Germany, coming to the United States with his father, Jacob Kirgis, in 1834. The latter settled in Seneca county, Ohio, and here bought large tracts of land, in Seneca township, the old farm now being the property of Lewis Kingseed. Jacob Kirgis was married, in this latter township, to Mary Schaffer, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsyl- vania, her parents also being pioneers in Seneca county. A family of six children was born to Jacob and Mary Kirgis, namely : Henry, who is the subject of this biography: Elizabeth, who married John Sponsaller and lives at New Washington ; Julia, who married Mathias Bippees, of To- ledo, Ohio; William, who lives in Lykens township, Crawford county ;
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Daniel, who also lives in Crawford county ; and Caroline, who married Lewis Buck, of Bucyrus, Ohio. In 1834 Mr. Kirgis also entered a tract of government land in Wyandot county, but he never resided upon it.
After his marriage Jacob Kirgis removed to the farm on which our subject was born, erecting there a comfortable log cabin Although containing but one room, its construction made it warm and perfectly adapted to the needs of the occupants. Here he reared his family and engaged in the clearing of the surrounding land, continuing to improve it until 1848, when he moved to Lykens township, Crawford county. Here Mr. Kirgis bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, cleared and im- proved this property also, and continued residence upon it until 1866, when he returned to his former farm. His death occurred in New Wash- ington, in 1875, at the age of seventy-eight years, his widow surviving him two years. Both parents of our subject were worthy and con- sistent members of the Lutheran church, and they had lived lives of industry and honor, and had accumulated a competency.
Henry Kirgis was the eldest child of his parents, and he was born in Seneca township, Seneca county, January 16, 1840. He had attained his seventh year when his parents moved to Crawford county, and there he grew to manhood, having been educated in the common schools. In February, 1862, he was married to a most estimable young lady of Crawford county, Miss Mary Shellhorn, and to this union four children were born, namely : William, who is a resident of Scipio township, Seneca county ; Mattie, who married Samuel Haines, of Bloom town- ship; Ann M., who married George Claire, a banker in Sycamore. Ohio; and Henry M., who is a resident of Venice township.
Soon after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kirgis came to Bloom township, where the former purchased one hundred and fifty-six acres of land, and they lived on that farm for six years, then disposing of the property and buying another tract of eighty acres. In 1872 Mr. Kirgis removed his family to the farm where he now resides, making a first purchase of two hundred and forty acres of land, and now owning here three hundred and eighty acres. Thus he has a home farm of large extent, and this, under the excellent methods pursued by the owner, has become one of the most
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productive in this township. In addition to this valuable property Mr. Kirgis is also the owner of a farm of eighty acres and another tract of one hundred and forty-nine acres, in Scipio township, while this does not include two hundred acres which he has generously given to his chil- dren. Mr. Kirgis has used good judgment in his investments in real estate, and his ample fortune has been accumulated by thoroughly hon- orable and legitimate means. In connection with general farming and stock raising. he has dealt in wool for the past fifteen years.
In his political views our subject has always been devoted to the prin- ciples of the Democratic party, but he has been personally a much es- teemed citizen aside from politics, and he was continued in the office of township trustee for a period of eleven years. He is regarded as a liberal, public-spirited citizen, living up to the demands of the day and taking a deep interest in his section. Both he and his wife are among the leading members of the Lutheran church, to which Mr. Kirgis has long been a liberal contributor and of which he has served as trustee for several years.
PAUL W. ZUTAVERN.
One of the leading farmers of Seneca county, Ohio, is Paul W. Zutavern, who was born in Bloom township, this county, June 20, 1859, being a grandson of Conrad Zutavern and a son of Henry and Margaret (Geiger) Zutavern, who had a family of eleven children,-three sons and eight daughters,-of whom seven survive.
Henry Zutavern was a son of Conrad Zutavern, and both were born in Baden, Germany. Conrad Zutavern brought his family to America and settled in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and later his son Henry came to Seneca county and here entered one hundred and sixty acres of govern- ment land, while still later he entered six hundred acres in the state of Michigan. At one time he thus owned large tracts of land, some of which he improved, and some of which he sold. Henry Zutavern died in 1874, at the age of sixty-five years, after an industrious and worthy
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life. His estimable wife survived until 1879, her death occurring at the age of sixty-seven. Both parents had been consistent and valued members of the German Reformed church.
The early rearing of our subject was on his father's farm, where he assisted in the work of improvement and cultivation, while he attended the district schools. At the age of nineteen years there devolved upon him the duty of taking charge of his father's estate, and he successfully carried on operations there until 1881, managing the farm with econ- omy and ability, gaining in the meantime an experience which he has put to good use in the conduct of his own agricultural enterprise. Mr. Zutavern comes of a long line of farming people and there are few details of this industry which he does not fully understand. Being a man of progressive ideas and intelligent comprehension, he makes use of modern machinery, understands drainage and succession of crops, dis- playing in every branch of his business the interest and knowledge which have enabled him to take the leading position he does among Seneca county farmers. The improvements which Mr. Zutavern has made on his property are substantial and permanent, his commodious barn, which is ninety-eight by forty feet in dimensions, having been erected in 1897. All of his other buildings are in proportion, and there are few farms in this township which are so desirable in every way. Our subject has here a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of arable land, well adap- ted to the production of all grains and vegetable growths, and equally well suited for stock-raising, the latter being an important feature in Mr. Zutavern's operations.
The marriage of Mr. Zutavern was solemnized on November 5. 1881, when Miss Alvada Spaulding became his wife. She was born in Bloom township, the daughter of Samuel D. and Mary ( Trail) Spauld- ing. Three children have been born to our subject and wife, namely : Harry B., Rollo H. and Ethel B., all of whom have been given excellent educational opportunities.
Mr. Zutavern has been devoted to the principles of the Republican party all his life, and has exerted considerable influence in party ranks in this township. He has served in local offices, and is at present, and
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has been for the past three years, one of the valued trustees of Bloon township, having recently been elected for a second term. He is a man of upright life and character, holding the esteem of all his neighbors and having a wide circle of friends. Both he and his estimable wife and family belong to the Bloomville Reformed church and are prominent in the good work it carries on. For several years he has served as deacon of the church, and he was a member of the building committee under whose direction was recently completed the erection of the present church edifice, at a cost of eleven thousand dollars. Mr. Zutavern belongs to that class of men whose word is as good as their bond. He is highly esteemed in public life and much beloved in his family, where he is a kind and careful father and husband, devoted to the welfare of those de- pendent upon him.
ISAAC B. STINEBAUGH.
One of the substantial and representative men of Seneca county, . Ohio, is Isaac B. Stinebaugh, who is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Bloom township, where he owns and operates a large and valuable farm. For many years he has been identified with the indus- trial development and public life of this section, and is widely and favor- ably known.
Mr. Stinebaugh is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having taken place on the site of the present thriving town of Republic, Novem- ber 14, 1829. He was the only child of Adam and Susannah ( Bowser) Stinebaugh, and was born on his honored mother's nineteenth birthday. His father, Adam) Stinebaugh, was born February 20, 1799, in Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, in which state the family has many repre- sentatives. Adam had married early in the spring of 1829 and in the fall of that year, with his father-in-law, John Bowser, drove from Penn- sylvania to Ohio, and in Seneca county he purchased a farm of sixty acres, on which stood a log cabin, this occupying the only spot which had been cleared by the previous owner. Here Mr. and Mrs. Stinebaugh
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settled and here our subject was born. After seven years of hard work on this place, Mr. Stinebaugh sold it advantageously, the Miami River and Lake Erie railroad having been built through it. He then purchased eighty acres of the farm which is now owned by his son. Here Mr. Stinebaugh continued to live until his death, which occurred in 1885. He was a man of great industry and was a very prominent worker in the Bloom and Scipio Freewill Baptist church. The death of his wife occurred in 1856. She was born in Washington county, Maryland.
Isaac B. Stinebaugh, of this sketch, grew up on the farm and was given as good educational opportunities as the local schools afforded, finishing his studies in the Republic Academy. Before he was seven- teen years old he became a teacher, and filled that position very satis- factorily for two winters, but then he returned home to take charge of the farm. Being the only son, his services were needed by his father.
Mr. Stinebaugh was married on July 3, 1856, to Miss Nancy Long, who was a native of Scipio township, this county, being the estimable daughter of Michael and Hepzibah (Famuliner) Long. To this union was born a family of six children, all of whom still survive with one exception, namely, Susan B., who was the wife of Everett Cooley, and who died in 1886, aged twenty-nine years. The others are as follows : Isaac L., a graduate in civil engineering, at the Ohio State University, is now following his profession as a civil engineer; Sceva is the wife of Dr. A. F. Walker, of Sycamore, Ohio; Maggie J. is the wife of Hannibal L. Keller, of Clinton township, this county ; Charles E., a well known educator and a graduate of the Ada Normal School, is principal of a school in Rising Sun, Ohio; and Lilly D. is the wife of Nathaniel Loose, of Detroit, Michigan. In his children, Mr. Stinebaugh has been peci1- liarly fortunate, all of them developing into respected members of society.
Mr. Stinebaugh owns two hundred and forty acres of well improved land in Bloom township and is one of its leading agriculturists. His home is one of comfort and plenty, and although time has touched him and silvered his hair, it has done it gently and he is still quite capable of carrying on his business affairs and taking his part in matters of public interest. He is a man of enlightened and progressive ideas, and
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for thirty-five years has been one of the directors of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, and for fourteen years was township trustee. In political life Mr. Stinebaugh has always testified to his adherence to the Republican party by ardently supporting its men and measures, being one of the intelligent citizens of this community, and one who has always kept in touch with the trend of public life. For almost a lifetime he has been actively connected with the Baptist church. in which he was reared by a careful father and mother, and for thirty-three years he was its quarterly clerk, and one of its trustees. In every relation of life Mr. Stinebaugh has lived up to high ideals, and he is one of the most re- spected men of this township, honored for his public spirit and integrity of character.
SAMUEL B. SNEATH.
The honored subject of this sketch bears a name which has been intimately identified with the annals of the city of Tiffin and of Seneca county since the early pioneer epoch. His father was one of the first to engage in mercantile pursuits in the little town which has developed into a prosperous and attractive city, and was otherwise concerned in the industrial progress of this section of the state; while our subject him- self is a native son of the county, has here passed his entire life and has contributed to its material progress and prosperity to an extent equaled by but few, if any, of his contemporaries. He has been an important factor in its commercial, public and industrial affairs for a long term of years and thus has done much to advance the gen- eral welfare. Few lives furnish a more striking example of the wise application of sound principles and safe conservatism than does his. The story of Mr. Sneath's success is short and simple, containing no exciting chapters, but in it lies one of the valuable secrets of the marked prosperity which it records, and his private and business life are preg- nant with interest and incentive, no matter how lacking in dramatic action, for in the connection we find the record of an honorable and
SAMUEL B. SNEATH.
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useful life, consistent with itself and its possibilities in every particular. His interests are of diversified and important nature, his attitude has ever been essentially public-spirited, and it may safely be said that no man in the county has done more to forward the march of improvement and material progress in this section than has this sterling pioneer and honored business man.
Samuel B. Sneath is a native of the city in which he now main- tains his home and in which he holds prestige as president of the Com- mercial Bank and as the leading business man, his birth having taken place in the family homestead, on Washington street, opposite the site of the present court house, while the date of his nativity was December 19, 1828. His father, Richard Sneath, of Scottish lineage, was born in the state of Delaware, where the family had been found in the colonial epoch of our national history, and there he was reared and educated, finally removing to Maryland, where his marriage to Miss Catherine Baugher, a native of Frederick county, that state, was solemnized. In 1826 he came with his family from Maryland to Seneca county, Ohio, locating in Tiffin, where he engaged in the mercantile business and also in manufacturing, continuing to be identified with these lines of enter- prise until his death, in 1842, at the age of fifty-six years. He was numbered among the first merchants in the pioneer town and was an energetic and able business man ; though he met with financial reverses shortly before his death. His political support was given to the Whig party, but he was not actively concerned in public affairs of a political nature. His wife survived him, her demise occurring in Tiffin, at the age of about sixty-eight years. She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of eight chil- dren, all of whom grew to maturity, and of whom four survive at the present time, the subject of this sketch having been the sixth in order of birth.
Samuel B. Sneath was about thirteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and he continued to attend the public schools of Tiffin till the age of fifteen, when he began his practical career by securing. work in the fanning-mill manufactory which had been established by
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his father: while shortly afterward he became a clerk in a local dry- goods establishment, where he remained about three years. In 1853 he entered into partnership with Jesse Shriver. under the firm name of Shriver & Sneath, and engaged in the dry-goods and clothing busi- ness in his native town. At the expiration of about eight years Mr. Sneath disposed of his interests in this enterprise and turned his atten- tion to the produce business, in which he continued for the long period of thirty years, within which time he had expanded the scope of his en- terprise by engaging in the grain business upon an extensive scale. He purchased an elevator in Tiffin and also became a stockholder and director of the National Exchange Bank (now the Tiffin National Bank), in whose organization he was prominently concerned. In the Centennial year, 1876, Mr. Sneath effected the organization of the Commercial Bank, of which he acted as cashier for a time, finally be- coming president of this important financial institution and having held this chief executive office for the past decade. About 1890, his other interests placing imperative demands upon his time and attention, he turned over his produce and grain business to his son, who then entered into partnership with A. A. Cunningham, as will be noted in the ap- pended sketch of Ralph D. Sneath.
The magnitude and importance of the enterprises and undertak- ings which have felt the governing hand of Mr. Sneath can not be lightly estimated in any work which has to do with the development and progress of this favored section of the Buckeye state. In 1897 he inaugurated the construction of the Tiffin, Fostoria & Eastern Elec- tric Railway, the line of fourteen miles between Tiffin and Fostoria being completed in 1899, together with an operating plant of the best modern order. The cost of this enterprise was very large, demanding a preliminary investment which would have thwarted the designs of one less confident of ultimate results and of his own powers of accom- plishment than is Mr. Sneath, the road being now in full operation and upon a paying basis, while its value to the localities touched can not be overestimated. Mr. Sneath is also the largest individual stockholder in the National Machinery Company, in Tiffin, owning one-third of
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the capital stock, which is placed at three hundred thousand dollars. He placed the enterprise on its feet, through his far-sighted and progressive policy, and it may well be said that his interposition in any undertak- ing is practically a voucher for its success. He is the owner of a half interest in the business of the firm of Sneath & Baker, conducting the most extensive carpet house furnishing establishment in the county, and he also owns what is known as the "Green Line" city railway in Tiffin, while he also figures as an extensive land-holder, having three fine farm properties in the county, in addition to valuable real estate in his home city. Mr. Sneath has been identified with every public enterprise in Tiffin, having been one of the committee of three to which was assigned the task of securing the right of way and the putting through of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in this section, and he has been known for years as the leading business man and one of the prominent capitalists of Tiffin, his success having been at- tained by worthy and legitimate means and through his own efforts, so that to him has always been accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem, the citizens of the county being appreciative of the value of his influence and co-operation in connection with any project or undertaking conserving the general welfare. In politics Mr. Sneath has given a stanch allegiance to the Republican party, but he is essen- tially a business man and has invariably refused to accept public office. Though he has now passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, this honored pioneer retains the vigor of a man of fifty, being alert and active and giving his personal supervision to his varied financial and industrial interests. He has passed his entire life in Tiffin, having witnessed its growth from a mere hamlet in the forest to its present position as a modern and thriving city, and in all these years he has maintained a secure hold on the respect and good will of the people of the community.
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