A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio, Part 3

Author:
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 864

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John H. Ridgely was born in Allegany county, Maryland, on the 16th of August, 1847, being the son of William and Catherine (Hoye) Ridgely, who were likewise natives of that state. In fact, it may con- sistently be said that the eastern part of Maryland figured as the cradle of the Ridgely family in America, five brothers of the name having come thither from England in the seventeenth century and hav- ing become prominent in the colonial history. Indeed, historical data assure us that representatives of the name, in the first and in succeed- ing generations, became distinguished in both the civil and military service of the nation. William Ridgely, the father of the Judge, was a prominent merchant of Grantsville, Maryland, and was also the owner and operator of a fine farm in that locality, conducting operations in this line somewhat as a diversion from his commercial business, which was of important scope. John H. Ridgely was but one year of age at the time of his father's death, and in the town of Grantsville his early educational discipline was secured, since he there attended the public schools until he had attained the age of fifteen years, when, in 1862, he came to Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, for the purpose of completing his classical education in Heidelberg College. He was duly matricu- lated in this institution, where he continued his stuides until June, 1863, when he enlisted for service in the Civil war, as a member of Company I, Eigthy-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which entered into active service under General Burnside, in command of the Army of the Po- tomac. From Kentucky the regiment was sent to Tennessee, and it thereafter remained in the vicinity of Knoxville until March, 1864. when the command was mustered out. The subject of this memoir then returned to Tiffin and resumed his interrupted studies in Heidelberg 2

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College; but, in the following February, his patriotic ardor prompted him to again enter the military service of the Union. He accordingly enlisted in the One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served in the vicinity of the national capital and in his native state until victory had crowned the Union arms, being mustered out in August, 1865. He then resumed his work in Heidelberg, where he was graduated in June, 1867, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Shortly after his graduation he proceeded to Cumberland, Mary- land, where he began the reading of law in the office and under the direction of George A. Pierce, one of the leading members of the bar of the state of Maryland. Judge Ridgely was a close and avidious student of the science of jurisprudence, as is evident from the fact that he was duly admitted to the bar of his native state in 1869. In January of the following year he came again to Tiffin, where he established him- self in the general practice of his chosen profession, proving himself thoroughly equipped for the same, both by natural talent and predilection and by scrupulous study and preparation ; so that he held high prestige at the bar of this section of the state when he was elevated to the bench of the court of common pleas of Seneca county, in 1887. He brought to his judicial office the dignity of a sterling manhood, a wisdom mature and practical and an intrinsic appreciation of justice which could not be swerved by any matter of expediency or by any ex- traneous pressure or influence. His knowledge of the law was so wide and so exact that he was ever able to base his decisions on the equity involved and the facts presented, his conservatism and self-control being such that he could never be led aside from the main issues. In his de- cisions he had no friends, no enemies; his integrity was never ques- tioned. Through the reputation which he made on the bench he gained still wider confidence and recognition, and at the expiration of his term of office, in 1893, he found awaiting him in his private practice a large and representative clientage, while no member of the bar of the state held in his own district a higher degree of public confidence and estecm than did Judge Ridgely in Seneca county. His political allegi-

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ance was given to the Republican party, and fraternally he was identi- fied with the Masonic order, having passed the chivalric degrees in DeMolay Commandery of Knights Templar in Tiffin, while he was also a prominent member of General William H. Gibson Post, No. 31, G. A. R., of the same city, having served as commander of the same for one term. He was a member of the directorate of the Tiffin National Bank and of the board of trustees of Heidelberg College. His re- ligious faith was that of the Reformed church and was an essential influence in his strong and generous nature. Judge Ridgely was sum- moned into eternal rest on the 24th of January, 1899, and the com- munity mourned the loss of one of its most honored citizens and most noble and trustworthy men. He was an honor to his profession and to true citizenship, and such men never fail to gain the appreciative esti- mate of those among whom their life work is wrought.

On the 16th of August, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Ridgely to Miss Ella E. Bacher, who survives him. She was born in Tiffin, where she still maintains her home, and was a classmate of her husband in Heidelberg College, of which she likewise is a gradu- ate. Mrs. Ridgely is the daughter of Jacob T. and Eliza (Rinker ) Bacher, both of whom were born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and where their marriage was solemnized. They re- moved thence to Tiffin in 1847. and here Mr. Bacher was engaged in the merchant-tailoring business until his advanced age compelled him to retire from active pursuits. He is now living in Tiffin, having attained the venerable age of seventy-six years. His cherished and devoted wife passed away in 1882, aged fifty-five years. Both were of German lineage and representatives of prominent old families of the Keystone state. Mr. Bacher is one of the honored and devoted members of the First Re- formed church of Tiffin, in which his wife also was an active worker, and the same is signally true of their daughter, Mrs. Ridgely, who has passed her entire life in Tiffin and who has been prominent in the social and religious life of the community, being a woman of gracious refine- ment and one who has gained a wide circle of appreciative and cherished friends.

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JOHN ROSPERT.

There is no element which has entered our composite national fabric that has been of more practical strength, value and utility than that furnished by the sturdy, persevering and honorable sons of Germany, and in the progress of our Union this element has played an important part. Intensely practical, and ever having a clear comprehension of the ethics of life, the German contingent has wielded a powerful influence, and this service cannot be held in light estimation by those who appre- ciate true civilization and true advancement.

Among the most prominent German-American citizens of this sec- tion of Ohio is John Rospert, who was born in the town of Berus, in a Rhenish province of Prussia, October 21, 1841, a son of George and Catherine (Haas) Rospert. The father was also a native of that locality, where he was born on the Ist of April, 1815, and there he learned the trade of weaver which he followed in his native country until 1850. In that year he emigrated to America, embarking at Havre de Grace and landing at New Orleans after a voyage of forty-two days, on the 28th of November. From that city he made the river voyage to Cincin- nati, but during the trip his wife and one daughter died, and the third day after their arrival in Cincinnati a son died. Two weeks later another son was called to the home beyond, thus leaving the father and our subject the sole survivors of the family. In the spring of 1851 they came to Seneca county, arriving in Thompson township on the 19th of March of that year, and there the father found employment at farm labor, while the son was left with a friend of the family, John Glassner, where he remained for about two years. From there he was sent to St. Mary's Institute, at Dayton, Ohio, where he continued his studies for the following two years. In the meantime his father had been a second time married, a Mrs. Fisher, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Heitz, becoming his wife. They became the parents of five children, but of this family one only is now living, Catherine, the wife of Jacob Kuhn, Jr., of Miriam, Michigan. After leaving the Dayton institute our subject returned to his father's home, the latter having

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purchased a small farm in Thompson township, but three years later he sold that place and bought the land on which his son John now re- · sides, in Reed township, and there he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on the 6th of November, 1887, caused by injuries received in the burning of his house on that date.

John Rospert, whose name introduces this review, grew to years of maturity in the Buckeye state, and at the age of sixteen he entered the teacher's profession, that occupation claiming his attention during the winter months, while during the summer season he followed the tilling of the soil. Continuing as an instructor in the parochial schools from 1863 until 1871, he then abandoned that occupation and returned to the old home farm, which subsequently came into his possession, together with about one hundred and seventy acres of adjoining land. He has erected substantial and modern buildings on his land, has placed his fields under an excellent state of cultivation, and his is now one of the most valuable and best-improved homesteads in this locality.

The marriage of Mr. Rospert was celebrated on the 2d of May, 1865, Miss Catherine Wagner becoming his wife. Their union was blessed with eight children, namely: Mary L., the wife of Roger Palmer, of Bellevue, Ohio; Pius A., who became a sailor and was drowned May 8, 1891, in Saginaw Bay, Michigan, at the age of twenty- three; Oranna M., at home; Cornelius, who carries on the work of the home farm; Addie, the wife of Peter A. Burens, of Bellevue, Ohio; Mary J., the wife of Theodore Thiry, of Toledo; Leo A., an employe of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company ; and Col- leta T., at home. The wife and mother was called to her final rest on the 14th of December, 1886, and on the 3Ist of September, 1890, Mr. Rospert was united in marriage to Miss Anna V. Hann, a native of Thompson township, Seneca county, and five children came to brighten and bless their home,-Anthony T., Ruperta M., Anna C., Frederick G. and Rose M. The mother of these children also has passed away, her death occurring on the 17th of December, 1899.

The Democracy receives Mr. Rospert's hearty support and co- operation. In 1871 he was made a notary public, which position he has

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ever since continued to fill, and he has also served at various times as a justice of the peace, has been a member of the school board for many years, and at the present time is filling the position of township treas- urer. He is a member of St. Mary's Assumption Catholic church at Reed, of which he has long served as secretary and trustee.

In 1901 Mr. Rospert and three friends made a tour of Europe, where they spent the summer and visited the principal points of interest, Rotterdam and other Holland cities, then to Cologne, Coblentz and Treves, Strasburg, and into Switzerland, thence through St. Gotthardt tunnel to Milan, Italy, Genoa, along the Mediterranean to Pisa and the Eternal City, where they visited the Vatican, including audience of the pope as he took his walk. They saw the sights of the city, including the catacombs. Thence they went to Venice and Padua, returning over the Alps, through the Tyrol to Innspruck, Austria, and back through the Rhinish provinces and through Alsace and Lorraine to Paris; thence they went to Rheims and Boulogne, where they boarded steamers for home, which was reached after an absence of three months.

HENRY MANSFIELD.

One of the leading citizens of Tiffin, Ohio, is Henry Mansfield, who has been prominently identified with both commercial and political life in his native state for a long period.

The birth of Henry Mansfield occurred in Bellevue, Ohio, Septem- ber 6, 1850, and he is a son of Christian and Frances ( Bauman) Mans- field, the former of whom was born in Bavaria, Germany, on January 9, 1808. By trade Christian Mansfield was a tanner, and he carried on the tanning business in Bellevue, Ohio, until 1852, when he located in Seneca county. He engaged in the same industry in Republic, and con- tinued the enterprise until 1872, retiring at that time from active life, and he died there, at the age of eighty-three years. He was a self-made man, a leading and consistent member of the Lutheran church, and was prominently identified with the Democratic party. His wife, whose

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maiden name was Frances Bauman, was born in Switzerland, whence she came to America when she was a child of ten years. To this marriage six children were born, Henry Mansfield of this biography being the eldest. The others were as follows: Louise; Frances; Christian; Man- die, who died in her nineteenth year; and one child which died in in- fancy. Mrs. Mansfield still resides in Republic, and although she has reached the age of eighty-one years, time has touched her lightly and she is the center of family life.

As early as the age of sixteen years Henry Mansfield became inter- ested in business, his first experience being as a clerk in a store, in Re- public. In 1872 he embarked in the mercantile business on his own account. For six years he conducted a very satisfactory business, but he then suffered a loss by fire, and his two-thirds insurance but partially enabled him to reorganize his enterprise. Later he again entered into business, in association with his brother, Christian, and the firm now stands as H. Mansfield & Brother, our subject still retaining his interest, although since 1894 his residence has been in Tiffin. For a long period Mr. Mansfield was the leading merchant in Republic and was also an extensive operator in grain.

In the fall of 1893 Mr. Mansfield was made the choice of the Democ- racy for county treasurer, and in November of the same year was elected to that responsible position. In 1895 he was re-elected. He has been actively engaged in public life for years, was treasurer of Republic and of Scipio township for some years and was also a member of the local board of education and prominent in all progressive enterprises. In all his official acts as treasurer, in the administration and management of the office, he has given the best of satisfaction to the taxpayers of the county.

On January 12, 1876, Mr. Mansfield was married to Miss Isabella Kimmel, who was a daughter of Henry and Eva Kimmel, and who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, on June 19, 1857. The family residence is located at No. 245 East Perry street, Tiffin, where are enjoyed the com- forts of a handsome and well appointed home, and where a generous hos- pitality is offered to a large circle of friends.

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Fraternally Mr. Mansfield is connected with Hildreth Lodge, No. 165, F. & A. M., of Republic; Republic Lodge, No. 40, I. O. O. F .; and Tiffin Lodge, No. 94, B. P. O. E., taking an active interest in all of these organizations and being highly valued therein.

Mr. Mansfield from his young manhood has been recognized as honest, energetic and enterprising, and the record of his life shows that he has been active in the promotion of those measures which have been for the advancement and uplifting of his locality. Although an active partisan, he is a man of such kind impulses and genial personality that he is justly popular with all casses. His attitude has been that of a public-spirited citizen who has conscientiously labored for the honor and progress of the nation, the commercial development of his state and section and the welfare of his family and friends.

JEREMIAH REX.

There is no man in Seneca county that has longer occupied political positions or borne himself with more signal honor and uprightness than Squire Jeremiah Rex. Almost continuously for a half century did popular ballot continue him in office, and he ever bore an unblemished reputation by reason of his capability and unquestioned honesty in the adminis- tration of the duties devolving upon him. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, October 9, 1836, and is of Swiss lineage, his first American an- cestors having come from Switzerland to America at a very early period in the colonization of this country. They located in Pennsylvania, and for several generations that state was the home of the family. William Rex, the grandfather of our subject, was born and reared in Pennsyl- vania and eventually came to Ohio, spending his last days in Stark county. He was a farmer by occupation. William Rex, Jr., the father of Jeremiah, was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, in 1802, and during his early boyhood his parents removed to a farm near Pittsburg, where he was reared. When a young man of about twenty years he

JEREMIAH REX.

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came to Ohio, settling at Osnaburg, Stark county, where he followed the blacksmith's trade until 1844, when he came to Seneca county and pur- chased eighty acres of timber land in Seneca township. This he cleared and improved, and ten years later he bought a farm of one hundred acres four miles south of Tiffin, in Seneca township, whereon he erected a saw mill and engaged in the manufacture of lumber until his death, which occurred in 1872, when he was seventy years of age. He was a self made man and met with a fair degree of success in his undertak- ings. His political support was given to the Democracy and he held a number of township offices. His religious faith was that of the Lutheran church, in which he held membership. He married Susan Sloss, who was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1797, and at an early age came to Ohio, where she married and spent her remaining days, her death occurring in 1882, when she was eighty-five years of age. She also was a member of the Lutheran church and took an active part in its work. By her marriage she became the mother of six children, four sons and two daughters: Mary, who died in 1850; John, a wealthy farmer of Wells county, Indiana; Susan, who married David Stoner, and died in Henry county, Ohio, in 1876, when about forty-five years of age; Will- iam, who died in this county, when about fifty-five years of age; Jere- miah, of this review'; and Simon, who is engaged in teaming in Tiffin.

Jeremiah Rex was about eight years of age when he came to Seneca county. As no railroads had been built through this part of the state the journey was made by wagon. His boyhood days were passed upon the home farm and he attended the public schools, while through two sum- mer terms he was student in Heidelberg College. When sixteen years of age he began teaching, and for about seven years he continued to follow that profession. He then engaged in the sawmill and lumber bus- iness, three miles south of Tiffin, the manufacture and sale of lumber occupying his attention for seventeen years, at the expiration of which time was elected, in 1876, to the office of clerk of the court, by a majority of two hundred and forty. He then sold his mill and removed to Tiffin. In 1878 he was re-elected by the marvelously increased majority of fourteen hundred. On his retirement from that office he engaged in the

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shoe trade, and thus continued for two years, but the new venture did not prove profitable. Most of the time since he has been continued in office. For fifteen years he held the office of justice of the peace, and his fair and impartial rulings won golden opinions from all sorts of people. For eight years he was trustee, for seven years city clerk and for four years mayor, while altogether he served about fifty years in the city council and on the school board. He has held office for a longer period than any other man in Tiffin. Many who enter the political field will, after but a brief service, leave office wealthy men; this is not so in the case of Mr. Rex. His office yielded to him but the salary allowed by law, but he gained something better than wealth,-an untarnished reputation, over which there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and he may rejoice in the possession of that "good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches."

On the 26th of October, 1865, Mr. Rex was united in marriage to Miss Laura J. A. Barrick, a daughter of William Barrick. She was born in Frederick county, Maryland, and when three years old was brought to Seneca county by her parents and has since resided here. By her mar- riage she became the mother of seven children, of whom two died in childhood, the others being Oliver C., who resides in Tiffin; Irvin C., who is acceptably filling the position of county clerk; Claude C., who is engaged in manufacturing cigars in Tiffin; Ralph J., a printer; and Grace L., at home.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Rex are consistent and faithful members of the First Reformed church. He is a man fearless in defense of his own con- victions-a man over whom threats or bribes could have no influence, but who will ever continue steadfast in the course he has marked out, because he believes it to be the right one. While he has usually been a stanch adherent of the Democracy, he did not hesitate to cast his vote with the opposition party when slavery was the paramount issue. He opposed the repeal of the Missouri compromise and indicated this by his ballot, and when the Republican party was formed to prevent the further ex- tension of slavery he endorsed the movement and voted for Lincoln. When the question was settled he returned to the ranks of the Democracy,

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for his views are usually in accord with its principles. Socially he is identified with the Benevolent, Protective Order of Elks. In every re- lation of life in which he has been placed his has been an upright man- hood, and there is no man in Tiffin more widely or favorably known than Jeremiah Rex, whose efforts have been of the greatest possible benefit to the city.

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SOLOMON WOLFE.

One of the fine farm properties of Hopewell township, Seneca county, is that owned by Mr. Wolfe, who has here maintained his home for two score years and who is known as one of the progressive and successful business men of this section of the state, and as a citizen whose life has been dominated by high principles and a determination to achieve a success worthy of the name, so that he has not been denied the fullest measure of confidence and esteem. Such are the men who are particu- larly worthy of consideration in a publication of this nature, for though they have not stood in the "great white light" of publicity, they have been of the world's workers and have played well their assigned part in the making of history.

Mr. Wolfe claims the old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity, since he was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, on the 8th of February, 1838, one of the fourteen children of Michael and Mar- garet (Engleman) Wolfe, both of whom were likewise born in Union county, of sterling German ancestry, the respective families having been established in America in the colonial epoch. Of their children six are living at the present time, our subject being the eldest of these, while the others are all residents of Sandusky county, Ohio,-Josiah; Andrew J. ; Ellen J., the wife of A. D. Hook; Catherine A., the wife of William H. Baker, of Fremont; and Margaret S., the wife of James Hensel. The father was born about the year 1808 and was reared on the paternal farm in Union county, Pennsylvania. His marriage occurred in his native county and there four of his children were born. In 1843 he

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came with his family to Sandusky county, Ohio, purchasing a farm of one hundred and seventy-seven acres, three miles west of Fremont, and there developing a fine property, continuing to reside on his farm until his death, which occurred in 1881. He was a man of influence in his community, was a Democrat in his political adherency and in religion held to the faith of the Lutheran church.

Solomon Wolfe remained on the old homestead in Sandusky county until he had attained the age of eighteen years, his educational advan- tages having been such as were afforded in the common schools of the place and period. At the age noted he secured a clerkship in a general store in Fremont, and followed this vocation for four years, after which he devoted a year to farming on rented land. In 1862 he married, and soon afterward came to Seneca county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm, three miles northwest of Tiffin, where he has consecutively maintained his home during the long intervening years. To his original purchase he added subsequently an adjoining tract of eighty-six acres and he also has a farm of sixty acres in Pulaski county, Indiana. He has made the best of improvements on his home- stead, having a good residence and other farm buildings, and has brought the place under most effective cultivation and productivity. In addition to his agricultural enterprise Mr. Wolfe is also one of the extensive raisers of cattle, sheep and hogs in this section of the state, and for several years he conducted a large business in the buying and shipping of live stock, but has now withdrawn from this branch of enterprise. His progressive spirit and executive ability have been still further man- ifested, for, since the year 1888, he has operated two threshing outfits and a corn shredder, securing a representative support throughout the county and giving the most careful service with his fine equipments. He has ever shown a deep interest in all that tends to conserve the progress and general prosperity of the community, though he has never been an aspirant for public office, and his franchise is used in support of the principles and policies of the Republican party. He is one of the influential members of the Bethel Methodist Protestant church, of which

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A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio, Part 3

Author: Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 864

Author:
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 864