USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 42
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LEVI BOYD.
Within the confines of Seneca county will be found many success- ful and honored business men who are of the second generation of their families to have become prominently identified with the industrial act- ivities of this favored section of the Buckeye commonwealth, and such is true in the case of Levi Boyd, who is a native son of the county and who has here passed his entire life, being now numbered among the influen- tial and prosperous farmers of Jackson township and a citizen who con- mands the confidence and esteem of the community where he has lived and labored to goodly ends.
Mr. Boyd was born on the homestead farm in Jackson township, on the 12th of November, 1846, being one of the ten children of William and Eliza (Dick) Boyd, and one of the five sons who still survive, namely : Sarah E., the wife of David Wirick, of Jerry City, Wocd county ; Eli W., of Jackson township, Seneca county ; and Edwin D., Ellis, and our subject, also residents of this township. William Boyd was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1816, and as a
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young man he emigrated to Ohio, locating in Seneca county, where for a number of years he devoted his attention to making shingles, cross- ties, etc., all the work being accomplished by hand. Later he purchased forty acres of heavily timbered land in Jackson township, reclaiming the same to cultivation and eventually adding to his possessions until he had a good farm of one hundred and eighty acres, the greater portion of which was cleared under his personal direction. Here he continued to maintain his home until his death, in 1891, when he passed away in the fullness of years and well earned honors. His original political affilia- tions were with the Whig party, but he joined the Republican party at the time of its organization and ever continued to give it his support. He was a devoted and active member of the Reformed church, as is also his wife, who was born in Pennsylvania, about 1822, and who still main- tains her home on the old farm.
Levi Boyd early became inured to the various duties of the farm, and his educational privileges were such as were afforded in the public schools of the locality. Upon attaining his legal majority he assumed charge of the homestead, which he worked on shares, and thus continued until one year after his marriage, in 1868, when he removed to his present fine farm, which was then the property of his father-in-law. After oper- ating the place for two years he purchased forty acres adjoining it on the south, and there maintained his abode until 1890, when he purchased eighty-four acres of his father-in-law, simultaneously removing to the same and also purchasing forty acres lying contiguous on the east. In recent years he has made some changes, and his farm now comprises one hundred and twenty-six acres, well improved and under most effective cultivation. He has given his attention to diversified farming and has been very successful in his operations. In politics Mr. Boyd has given an unswerving allegiance to the Republican party, and he served six years as trustee of his native township, where he is held in the highest regard by all who know him. He is a member of the Canaan United Brethren church and is serving on its board of trustees, being treasurer of the same and also holding the office of steward in the church, in whose
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work, as in all that concerns the general welfare, he maintains a deep interest.
August 19, 1868, Mr. Boyd was united in marriage to Miss Melissa J. Long, who was born on the farm which is now his home, the daughter of Benjamin L. Long, one of the representative pioneers of this township. Mrs. Boyd was summoned into eternal rest in the year 1890, leaving three children,-Elsie R., now the wife of Charles Nichols, of this town- ship; Benjamin F., who remains at the paternal home ; and Margaret M .. the wife of J. B. Stein, of Morgantown, West Virginia. February 28, 1893, Mr. Boyd was married to Mrs. Mary (Bloom) Sprout, who was likewise born in this county, being the daughter of William Bloom, one of the well-known business men of Fostoria, and widow of Daniel Sprout.
JOSEPH RODEGEB.
The family of which the subject of this memoir is a most honored representative is a pioneer one of Seneca county, and its members have borne their part nobly in the work of progress and improvement. He was born in Bloom township, Seneca county, November 4, 1847, a son of Jacob and Magdalena ( Neiswander) Rodegeb. The father traced his nativity to the Old Dominion, where he was born on the 31st of January, 1795. When a young man he came to Seneca county, Ohio, where he entered two hundred and forty acres of land in Bloom township, a part of which is now owned by John Newcome, there erecting a log cabin in the forest. He was one of the early pioneers of the township, and his life's labors were ended in death on the 9th of August, 1850. His wife was called to her final rest in 1877. This worthy couple became the parents of ten children, four of whom still survive, namely : Henry, a resident of Michigan; Magdalena, the wife of William Ringle, of At- tica, Ohio; Daniel, who makes his home in the state of Washington ; and Joseph, the subject of this review.
Joseph Rodegeb was reared to manhood at the old family home in Seneca county, and the educational privileges which he received in his
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youth were extremely limited. When he was but sixteen years of age he was left in charge of the homestead, three of his brothers being in the Union service and the other in Michigan, and with the exception of eighteen months spent in the lumber regions of Michigan he remained on the old place until his mother's death. He then exchanged his interest in the homestead for an eighty-acre tract in Bloom township, to which he removed, and there he made his home for the following nine years. Selling that property in 1888, he then purchased his present home farm in Venice township, two miles east of Attica, which consists of one hun- dred and one acres of rich and productive land. He has made many im- provements on his place, has placed his fields under a fine state of culti- vation, and in many ways has added to its value and productiveness and attractive appearance.
In 1871 Mr. Rodegeb was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Summers, and afterward, April 5, 1894, Miss Emma Long became his wife. She is a native of Venice township, Seneca county, and a daugh- ter of Adam and Elizabeth (Swartz) Long, now deceased. This union has been blessed with two children,-Lorena May and Joseph Fred. Mr. Rodegeb gives his political support to the Republican party, and he is an active worker in its ranks.
During the war five of the Rodegeb brothers served in the army, two losing their lives as the result of the exposure. They were Jacob, who was in the Fifty-fifth Ohio and died at Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Isaac was in the Forty-ninth and died also in hospital ; Henry enlisted from Michigan in the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, and served three years; and Daniel and Joseph both were in the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Regiment, and after a short service his mother secured Joseph's release on account of his minority.
PHILIP KISSABERTH.
In the history of the agricultural interests of Seneca county the name of Philip Kissaberth occupies a leading place, for through many years he has been one of the representative farmers of the county, pro-
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gressive, enterprising and persevering. Such qualities always win suc- cess, sooner or later, and to Mr. Kissaberth they have brought a hand- some competence as the reward of his well directed efforts.
A native of Tiffin, Ohio, he was born September 5, 1845, a son of George and Catherine Kissaberth. The father was born in Hesse-Darm- stadt, Germany, where he was reared and married, and some time in the '3os, in company with three brothers and a sister, came to the United States, locating in Tiffin, where for several years he was employed in a warehouse. He then removed to a farm in Hopewell township, and later purchased the tract of fifty acres on which our subject now resides, and there he passed away in death in 1864, in his fifty-first year. By his marriage to Catherine Osman he became the father of eight children, six now living, namely: Gabriel, a resident of Fostoria; William, a prominent farmer of Putnam county, Ohio; Jacob, an agriculturist of Loudon township; Philip, the subject of this review ; George, of Gilboa, Putnam county; and Sophia, the wife of George Cramer, of Bucyrus.
Philip Kissaberth, of this review, was reared from a child on the farm on which he now resides, and the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth were those afforded by the common schools of the neighborhood. After his father's death he took charge of the home farm and continued to care for his aged mother until she, too, was sum- moned to the home beyond, at the age of eighty years, after which he purchased the interests of the other heirs in the old homestead and thus became its sole owner. He is now the possessor of one hundred and twenty acres of rich and fertle land. From his early years he has been industrious and persevering in whatever enterprise he has undertaken, and by diligence and economy has accumulated a competence for his de- clining years. He has been a life-long supporter of the Democracy, and has been called upon to fill many positions of honor and trust within the gift of the people of his township. He has served with efficiency as supervisor of Loudon township, and was long a member of the school board, of which he was made a clerk and director.
May 8, 1866, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kissaberth and Miss Susan Smith. She is a native daughter of Seneca county, where
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her father. Jacob Smith, was one of the early pioneers, settling upon a tract of wild land near the present Kissaberth house, and there Susan was born. Her parents both died there, he at eighty and her mother, whose maiden name was Susannah Deppler, at seventy-six. He came to the United States from Switzerland, his native land, and settled in Buffalo, and later moved to Wayne. Four children have been born unto this union, as follows: George, who farms his father's land, living on the old Smith homestead; Jonah, a resident of Seneca township; Rosa, the wife of Andy Frankert, of Loudon township; and Jesse, deceased. The family are members of the Zion German Reformed church at Bascom, in which Mr. Kissaberth has long served as a deacon.
JOHN G. DROLL.
One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful agri- culturists of Seneca county is John G. Droll. He is public-spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intel- lectual and material welfare of his locality, and for many years he has been numbered among its most valued and honored citizens.
A native son of the county, Mr. Droll's birth occurred in Seneca township, March 21, 1859, a son of George and Catherine (Brown- stetter ) Droll. The father was born in a little German home across the sea in 1829, but in 1846 he came with his parents to America, locating in Seneca township, Seneca county, Ohio. After the death of his father he became the owner of eighty acres of land in that locality, and there he made his home until 1874, when he sold his possessions there and bought the farm on which our subject now resides. That property con- tinued to be his home until 1892, and in that year, leaving his son John on the place, he located on a small farm of eight acres near New Rigel, where he has since lived in quiet retirement, enjoying the rest which he has so truly earned and richly deserves, The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Droll was blessed with twelve children, eleven of whom still survive, ยท
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namely : Mary, John G., Catherine, Rosa, Mathilda, Frank, William, Killian, Edward, Anna and Margaret.
John G. Droll, whose name introduces this review, has spent his entire life in Seneca county, and to its public-school system he is in- debted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youth and early manhood. As a life occupation he chose that to which he had been reared, and throughout his entire business career he has been en- gaged in the tilling of the soil, his efforts in this direction having been crowned with a high and well-merited degree of success. His political tendencies connect him with the Democratic party, and religiously he is a member of St. Patrick's Catholic church.
The marriage of Mr. Droll was celebrated on the 17th of Novem- ber, 1885, when Miss Elizabeth Hug became his wife. To this union were born six children,-Josephine, Charlie, George, Barbara, Leo and Sophia,-all at home. Death entered this happy family circle on the 12th of September, 1898, when the wife and mother was called to the home beyond. Her life was beautiful in its purity and Christian virtues, and her memory will long remain as a blessed benediction to her immedi- ate family and friends.
COMMODORE P. MEEKER.
This sterling representative of one of the pioneer families of Ohio is a native son of Seneca county, where he was reared to maturity upon a farm, early beginning to assume the practical responsibilities of life and lending his aid in connection with the reclamation and improvement of the old pioneer homestead. That he has lived and labored to goodly ends is clearly indicated in the position which he holds in the confidence and high regard of his fellow men and in the success which has crowned his efforts as an exponent of the great basic art of agriculture, which has been his vocation throughout his entire business career. His fine farm is located in Jackson township, and no resident of the community commands a fuller measure of respect and esteem. This epitome of his
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life history will be read with interest by his many friends and will serve as a permanent memorial to his sterling character and worthy life.
Named in honor of the distinguished hero of the battle of Lake Erie, Commodore Perry Meeker was born in Eden township, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 4th of September, 1833, the son of Charles and Rachel (Clark) Meeker, of whose eleven children eight survive at the present time, namely : Jacob, Angeline, Charles, Jane, Charity E., Thomas, Commodore Perry and Hannah. The father of our subject was born in Pennsylvania, and when he was twelve years of age he accom- panied his parents on their removal to Ohio, and they first located in Fairfield county, but later came to Seneca county, where the grandfather of our subject took up eighty acres of government land in Eden town- ship, being one of the first settlers in that locality and there reclaiming his farm from the forest. Here he passed the residue of his life, having been successful in his operation and having acquired about three hun- dred acres of land. Charles Meeker was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm in this county, and shortly after his marriage he began his independent operations as a farmer, eventually becoming the owner of a large landed estate and standing as one of the influential men of Eden township, where he lived to attain the patriarchal age of ninety- two years.
Commodore P. Meeker, the immediate subject of this review, re- mained on the old homestead' during his youthful days, and as his services were early in requisition in connection with the farm work, his educational advantages were reduced to a minimum, but by personal application and association with practical affairs in later years he has become a man of broad general information and strong mentality. At the age of eighteen years Mr. Meeker went to Wood county, where he was employed at farm work until his marriage, at the age of twenty-one, when he located on a tract of eighty acres owned by his father in that county. There he continued to reside until 1863, when he located in Eden township, Seneca county, and there remained one year, at the ex- piration of which he settled on his present homestead farm, in Jack- son township, where he has since maintained his home. The farm com-
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prises eighty acres, and was covered with a heavy growth of timber when he located on the place. He cleared all but fifteen acres of the land and placed it under most effective cultivation, making the best of improvements as opportunity permitted and developing the place into one of the most attractive and valuable in this section. The value of the farm is greatly enhanced by the fact that there are nine productive oil wells on the same, this being a source of no inconsiderable revenue. Though he has ever taken a proper interest in public affairs of a local nature, Mr. Meeker has never sought office and has maintained an in -- dependent attitude in politics.
Mr. Meeker was united in marriage to Miss Emma Bassett, who was born in Wood county, Ohio, and of this union seven children have been born, of whom five survive, namely: Charles, a resident of Hatton, Wood county ; Nelson, who is a farmer near Rising Sun; Percy, who resides in the same locality ; William, a resident of Findlay ; and Minnie, .. the wife of Daniel Baker, who has charge of our subject's farm.
MARTIN LICHTLE.
Among the honored and venerable citizens of Seneca county is the subject of this review, who has here maintained his home for a period of half a century, winning a definite success by means of the agricultural industry, to which he devoted his attention during the long years of an active business life. He is now retired and is enjoying that repose and rest which are due to him now that the shadows of his life begin to lengthen in the golden west. His career has been without shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and thus he has ever commanded the con- fidence and esteem of his fellow men, his more than four-score years resting lightly upon him and being crowned with honor.
Mr. Lichtle is a native of the province of Alsace, Germany, which at the time of his birth, on the Ist of November, 1817, was still a part of France. There he was reared to years of maturity and there he learned.
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the trade of weaver, to which he devoted his attention until 1852, when he emigrated to the United States, making the voyage on a sailing ves- sei, Maria Teresa, and arriving in the port of New York city forty-two days after embarking. From New York he came to Tiffin, Ohio, and for three months after his arrival he was employed in connection with the construction of the Big Four Railroad, after which he purchased thirty acres of land in Loudon township and here settled and began his career as a farmer. Success crowned his energetic and well-directed efforts and he was enabled to add to his original tract until he had accumulated a finely improved landed estate of two hundred and sixty acres. He continued in agricultural pursuits in an active way until his advanced age led him to lay aside the cares involved, and he recently sold his farm property to his sons John and Andrew and his son-in-law, Joseph Brickner, and he now makes his home with the son first men- tioned. In politics he has ever given his allegiance to the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church, of which he has been a communicant from his youth. At the age of twenty-seven Mr. Lichtle was united in marriage to Miss Therese Murey, who like- wise was born in Alsace, France, and who accompanied him on his re- moval to America. She died twenty-two years since, and his second wife, who is still living, was Mrs. Christina Roth. Of their nine chil- dren six survive, namely: Elizabeth, the wife of Peter Caser, of Indi- ana; Rosa, the wife of Joseph Brickner, of Loudon township: John, also of this township; Andrew, who likewise operates a portion of the old homestead ; and Michael and Joseph, who reside in the city of Cleve- land.
John Lichtle, son of the subject of this sketch, still resides on the old homestead farm where he was reared, having purchased one hun- dred acres of the same of his father, and he is known as one of the energetic and progressive farmers and stock-growers of this section, while his course has ever been such as to retain to him uniform respect and esteem. Like his honored father, he is Democratic in politics and a communicant of St. Patrick's Catholic church. He was born on the 3d of July, 1857. John Lichtle has been twice married,-first to Miss
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Sophia Sigman, who died in August, 1897, leaving seven children, namely : Anna, Mary, Emma, Dora, Frederick, Isabel and Henry. On the 25th of January, 1899, Mr. Lichtle wedded Miss Catherine Myers, who was born in this township, the daughter of Joseph Myers, and of this union one child has been born,-Florence.
HENRY RINEBOLD.
Throughout his entire life Henry Rinebold has been numbered amoung the residents of Jackson township, Seneca county. His birth occurred on the farm on which he now resides, on the 18th of August, 1856. His father, Jacob, was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1821, but when a boy he was brought by his parents, John and Catherine (Wun- inger ) Rinebold, to Seneca county, the family locating in Loudon town- ship, where the son Jacob grew to years of maturity. He was here mar- ried to Mary A. Lambright, and they became the parents of nine chil- dren, seven of whom still survive : Noah, Elizabeth, Henry, Ann, Mahala, Rachel and Jacob. The two who have pased away are John and Margaret. After his marriage Mr. Rinebold purchased eighty acres of school land in Jackson township, to which he afterward added another eighty-acre tract and still later another tract of eighty acres, and in addition he also had forty acres in Wood county. His remaining days were spent in his home in Jackson township, and his eyes were closed in death on the 4th of March, 1894. During his entire life he was a stanch sup- porter of the Democracy, and was a worthy and acceptable member of Zion German Lutheran church. His wife passed to her final reward on the 16th of August, 1887. In coming to Jackson township he located on the present farm, which had been leased to another man, who had made some slight improvements, including a log house, and this was his home until erecting the present brick residence in 1861. He cleared out the greater part of one hundred and sixty acres and his life was de- voted to the cultivation of his farm.
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Henry Rinebold, whose name forms the caption of this review, received a common-school education in his youth, and from an early age he has been identified with the work of the farm. After his mar- riage he assumed the management of the homestead farm, and here he has spent his entire life. After his father's death he became its owner, and the place now consists of one hundred and twenty acres, all of which is under an excellent state of cultivation. This farm also con- tains eleven oil wells, all of which are excellent producers, and are yield- ing to their owner a handsome financial return. Although his business interests are such that they claim nearly his entire time and attention, he is at all times a public-spirited and progressive citizen, actively con- cerned in all that pertains to the welfare of his fellow men, and his political support is given to the Democracy. He is generally found in the party conventions and has often been called upon to be a party rep- resentative in various campaigns, generally polling a handsome vote.
Mr. Rinebold was married May 27, 1877, to Miss Lodema Sheffler, a native of Wood county, Ohio, and a daughter of Conrad and Presida (Buchtle) Sheffler. Three children have blessed this union, namely: Ora Z., the wife of W. R. Mazey, of Delphos, Ohio; and Harvey D. and Wilbert Henry, at home. The family is one of prominence in Sen- eca county, and their pleasant home is the center of a cultured society circle.
JACOB ECKER.
In a recent editorial touching the German element in our complex social fabric a leading Chicago daily spoke as follows: "The German is thoughtful, deliberate; the nation is fortunate in which he is numerous. His mind, profound, thorough, painstaking and free from sudden emotion, acts as a balance wheel for its environment. Germany has sup- plied to the United States splendid elements of citizenship." None can doubt the truth of these statements, and in nearly every section of the United States the German-American figures as a valued and potent
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factor. The subject of this review is a worthy representative of this type, and his life has been one of signal usefulness and honor, while he has commanded uniform confidence and esteem by reason of his ster- ling character. He has passed the greater portion of his life in Seneca county, and here he has attained success through his own efforts, being numbered among the substantial farmers of Jackson township. He has depended on his own resources from his boyhood, and through his well- directed efforts and determinate purpose has achieved independence and a high degree of prosperity.
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