USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 48
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Mr. Matthews is a native son of the Buckeye state, his birth hav- ing occurred near Lexington, Richland county, on the 23d of Septem- ber, 1841, a son of Jeremiah and Mary (Creeger) Matthews. About 1852 or 1853 the father came with his family to Seneca county, a Io- cation being made in Hopewell township, where he purchased a farm, and there his death occurred, at the age of sixty-five years. The mother is still living with her son George, at Niles, Michigan, being remarkably well preserved for a woman of eighty-five. Our subject is the eldest of his. four living children, the others being Augustus, who is engaged in the lumber business in Michigan: Jeremiah, engaged in the same vocation in South Bend, Indiana; and George, who is engaged in the manufacture of bicycles in Niles, Michigan.
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The educational privileges which Henry W. Matthews was per- mitted to enjoy in his youth were those afforded by the common schools of his neighborhood, and on a farm in the county of his nativity he was early inured to the labors of the field and meadow. At the age of twenty- two years he began without means the active duties of life on his own account, and after following agricultural pursuits for a time he engaged in the lumber and milling business on Wolf creek, erecting a sawmill by borrowing three hundred and fifty dollars to make a first payment of four hundred dollars. In the three years following he had cleared off that debt and had about fifteen hundred dollars to use in erecting the second mill at that point. This he conducted for three years and then erected the present mill at Bascom. To his skill and ability is due the erection of the first circular-saw mill in this section of the country, which was located on the present site of the boat factory of his son, S. J. Matthews, and this he conducted as a saw and planing mill until 1895. In 1885. in company with his brother, J. H. Matthews, he ex- tended his milling business into Tennessee, where at one time they owned six sawmills, while in addition thereto they also became the own- ers of eighteen hundred acres of timber land in that commonwealth, a part of which they have cleared and converted into a valuable farm of seven hundred acres.
Throughout the period of his connection with the interests of Seneca county Mr. Matthews has exerted a wide and helpful interest in its affairs, and the prosperity which the thriving little city of Bascom now enjoys is due in a large measure to his untiring energy and ability. He was instrumental in securing the right of way for the street railroad from Tiffin to Fostoria, and is now a stockholder and director of the company. He is an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party. and on its ticket he was twice elected to the position of trustee of his township and three times as treasurer. He has served about thirty years on the township board of education, being responsible for the first brick school-house in Bascom, more than thirty years ago, as well as for the present new three-room building-one of the best in the county- which was demanded by the growth of the village, though secured
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against strenuous opposition. The Bascom Sand Ridge Cemetery As- sociation was also organized by him. To a considerable extent he has been a builder, especially in the village of Bascom, where he still owns a dozen or more residences; and besides he is also the proprietor of a choice farm a mile and a half northwest of the village.
His religious tendencies connect him with the United Brethren church, in which he has long served as a trustee. He has given his aid in many generous ways to the perpetuation of those forces which con- serve the best interests of the community, and the course that he has followed in political, business and social circles commends him to the high esteem of all.
He was married on the 26th of May, 1868, in Frederick county, Maryland, to Miss Linnie C. Smith, of that county. They have but one child, named Scott J., of whom separate mention is made in this volume.
GEORGE C. LAKE.
As one of the able and progressive newspaper publishers of Seneca county and as representative of two of its honored pioneer families, it is with distinctive gratification that we here accord a review of the career of Mr. Lake, editor and publisher of the Attica Weekly Hub, a vigorous and ably conducted paper and one which is a valued exponent of local interests.
George Clifford Lake was born in Venice township, this county, on the 2d of April, 1866, being the son of Wilson D. and Mary L. (Cain) Lake, who became the parents of three children, of whom two survive, namely: Charlotte A., the wife of J. L. Williams, of Reed township, this county; and George C., the immediate subject of this sketch. That the name borne by Mr. Lake has been long identified with the annals of this county is evident when we revert to the fact that his father was likewise born in Venice township, in the year 1825, and that he here passed his entire life,-having been a resident consecutively of Venice township with the exception of three years passed in Reed town-
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ship. He was a son of David L. and Ruth (Lester) Lake, both of whom were born in Geneva, New York, whence they came to Seneca county, Ohio, directly after their marriage. The latter was a sister of Marvin Lester, who achieved distinction as a scout and Indian fighter and whose name is familiar in the history of this section of the Union. Upon arriving in the wilds of Seneca county the grandparents of our subject took up a quarter section of government land, two miles west of the present town of Attica, and there they erected their primitive. log domicile, with puncheon floor and other rudimentary equipments. David L. Lake set to himself the task of clearing and improving his. frontier farm and he reclaimed the greater portion. When well ad- vanced in years he and his wife removed to Barry county, Michigan, locating near Hastings, where they passed the residue of their lives .. The father of our subject was reared on the old homestead in Venice township, early beginning to contribute to the arduous work of reclama- tion and cultivation, and securing only such educational advantages as. were afforded in the subscription or district schools precariously main- tained by the isolated settlers of the pioneer locality. After his mar- riage he settled on what is now known as the Samuel Nesbitt farm, two miles southeast of Attica. Here he purchased eighty acres and there- after devoted his attention to the improving and cultivation of the place, where he maintained his home until April, 1867, when his residence: was destroyed by fire, and he then disposed of the farm and removed to Attica, where he was for some time employed as an engineer in the local planing mill and blind and sash factory. Incidental to the excite- ment attending the destruction of his home by fire he suffered a stroke of paralysis, and was ever afterward crippled from the effects. He died on the 20th of March, 1875, and he commanded unequivocal confidence and esteem in the community, being a man of absolute rectitude and one whose life had been one of consecutive application, even in the face of serious physical infirmities. He originally gave his support to the Dem- ocratic party, but early espoused the cause of the Prohibition party, it having been his honor to deposit the first Prohibition ticket ever voted in Reed township. While deeply appreciative of spiritual verities and hay-
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ing a firm belief in an all-wise Providence, he never identified himself with any religious body, though his ideas were to a large extent in har- mony with the tenets of the Universalist church.
Hugh B. Cain, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was for many years high sheriff of New York state and was a man of influence in political affairs in that state, as was he later in Seneca county, Ohio, having located in Attica in the year 1835 and here erected a residence of octagonal form, the same being one of the most pretentious and unique dwellings in the town at that period. He was a man of fine mentality and was an important factor in the Democratic party in this section of the state. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Susan B. Lemon, both died in Attica, in whose best social life they were con- spicuous figures. The mother of our subject was summoned into eternal rest on the 18th of August, 1898, having been a resident of Attica for sixty-three years and having been its oldest inhabitant at the time of her demise.
George C. Lake grew up under the influences of farm life, but was only twelve years of age at the time when his father's misfortunes made it necessary for him to contribute to his own support, and thus he has depended upon his own resources from his boyhood to the present tinie. As may be inferred, his early educational privileges were thus very lim- ited in scope, but as a boy he began an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, and it has been well said that to thus serve in a newspaper office is equivalent to a liberal education, and through his intimate association with the "art preservative of all arts" Mr. Lake has acquired a broad and exact fund of information and is an able writer and thinker. At the early age of fourteen he was made foreman of the Attica Journal, and two years later he assumed the editorial chair. He continued in the employ of the Journal for sixteen and one-half years, within which time he had won his spurs in the field of journalism and had developed a distinctive executive capacity, fortified by intimate knowledge of all details of the line of enterprise to which he had thus given his attention. On the 10th of March, 1896, Mr. Lake severed his connection with the Attica Journal and founded the Attica Weekly Hub, which he has con- ducted with signal success, developing a valuable paper and an excel-
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lent business in the other departments of his enterprise. The paper is independent in politics, is a seven-column folio and is issued on Wednes- day of each week, while it now has a circulation of nearly one thousand copies, going into the best homes in this locality and exploiting local interests and affairs in the most approved style. The job department of the Hub office is well equipped and the work turned out is of the high- est type. Mr. Lake is one of the representative newspaper men of the county and is popular in both business and social circles, having a wide acquaintanceship in this section and being a progressive and public- spirited citizen. In politics he exercises his franchise in support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party. Fraternally he is identified with Attica Lodge, No. 302, Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the official chairs ; with Attica Lodge, No. 212, Junior Order United American Mechanics; and with Attica Lodge, Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Lake has been twice married. On December 17, 1891, he was united to Miss Susie L. Goodnough, of Wheeler, Gratiot county, Michi- gan, she having been the daughter of Romanzo Goodnough, a promi- nent factor in the ranks of the Democratic patry. He and his wife were both born in Seneca county, whence they removed to Michigan a number of years ago. Mrs. Lake was summoned into the eternal life on the 18th of January, 1898, having been the mother of three children, of whom Durell Bird and Ferris Mckinley survive. On the 14th of Oc- tober, 1900, Mr. Lake married Miss Lulu Honey, who was born in Sen- eca county, the daughter of Christ Honey, who was born in Baden, Germany, and who became one of the pioneer settlers in Seneca county. Mr. and Mrs. Lake have one daughter, Beulah Angeline.
CHARLES H. FEASEL.
Charles H. Feasel is a self-made man, who from early boyhood has been dependent upon his own resources. Unaided he has fought the battles of life and has come off conqueror in the strife. To-day a valu-
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able farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres pays to him a golden tribute and is the visible evidence of his life of industry and perse- verance.
Mr. Feasel is numbered among the native sons of Seneca county, his birth having occurred in Liberty township, April 5, 1857. His par- ents, Alexander and Mary A. (Turner) Feasel, were also natives of Ohio, and the former was born in Liberty township, the paternal grand- father of our subject, Henry Feasel, having been one of the honored pioneer settlers of the locality. Coming here in early days, he entered land from the government and began the development of a farm, making a good home for his family. Alexander Feasel spent his entire life here and after attaining to man's estate devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-five years of age. In his family were four children: William, a resident of Seneca county ; Elmer, who is living in Jackson township; Charles H., of this review ; and Mariette, the wife of Frank Brown, an agriculturist of Lib- erty township.
On the old home farm Charles H. Feasel was born, and in the com- mon schools he pursued his education. When a little lad of seven sum- mers he went to live with his grandparents and at the age of thirteen he began earning his own livelihood by working as a farm hand in the neighborhood. The compensation was not great, but it made him inde- pendent and he developed a self-reliance and a force of character which have proved important elements in his later business prosperity. When nineteen years of age he left Ohio, going to Michigan, but after a few months he returned to this state and for a year was employed as a farm hand in Seneca township and has since been a representative of its agri- cultural interests.
At the age of twenty-one, August 6, 1879, Mr. Feasel was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Jane (Flack) Updegraff, a daughter of Lewis and Margaret Ann (Null) Flack and the widow of John Andrew Updegraff, and their home has been blessed with seven children, as follows: Alex- ander; Nora Augusta, who died when three years of age; Eva Belle, LeEtta, Hattie E. A., Mary Jane and Franklin E. J. Mrs. Feasel
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has two children by her former marriage, Ernest and Minnie May Updegraff, now wife of Herman Barton. Eva Belle is the wife of James Cheney, Alexander married Viola Cheney and Ernest Upde- graff married Ada Sheets. Mr. and Mrs. Feasel began their do- mestic life upon the farm which is still their home. Our subject here owns and operates one hundred and twenty-five acres of rich land and is carrying on general farming. His fields are well tilled, his buildings are substantial and kept in good repair, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. He deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, having from his early boyhood been dependent upon his own resources. His life has been quietly passed, yet there is much in his history that is worthy of com- mendation. He has ever been straightforward in his dealings with his fellow men and has placed his dependence upon the substantial quali- ties of industry, careful management and resolute purpose, so that he now occupies a prominent position among the substantial farmers of Seneca county.
NORMAN DUNN.
Norman Dunn, one of the leading and representative agriculturists. of Seneca county, was born on the farm on which his brother, Deroy C. Dunn, now resides, on the 20th of March, 1853, a son of William Nel- son Dunn, the history of whom will be found in the sketch of Arling- ton Dunn in this volume. Our subject received his education in the common schools of the neighborhood, and at the age of eighteen years: secured employment in the molding department of the Tiffin Agricul- tural Works, where he remained for one year, and for eight months thereafter worked on the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road, while for the following two months he was employed by the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company. Returning thence to the old home farm, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits with his brother Deroy until May, 1875, when he began farming a forty-acre tract belonging to
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his father, located where the Belgian Glass Works were later built. After his marriage his father gave him thirty acres of the tract, and about three years later he was able to purchase the additional twenty acres, but in 1889 he disposed of that property and the following year became the owner of his present valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where he has ever since resided. On this place he has erected a handsome brick residence and a commodious barn, has placed his fields under an excellent state of cultivation, and his is now one of the best developed and most desirable homesteads in the county.
In February, 1876, Mr. Dunn was united in marriage to Miss Jennie B. Wagner, a daughter of John Wagner, now deceased. Three children have been born of this union : Ida May, the wife of John Eitz, of Tiffin, Ohio; Ralph Clark, at home; and Parker W., who also is with his parents. The Democracy receives Mr. Dunn's hearty support and co-operation, and although he takes an active interest in the public affairs of his locality he has never been a seeker for political preferment. He has attained prominence in business circles, while in private life no man in Hopewell has more friends than he, and they have been won and are being retained by his attractive personality, his outspoken devotion to the best interests of the community and his mental ability.
JAMES T. WALTERMIER.
During the war of the Rebellion, representing a most crucial epoch in our national history, Seneca county sent forth a due quota of her valiant sons to defend the integrity of the Union, and one of the number to be thus honored as a veteran of this great fratricidal conflict is the gentleman whose name initiates this sketch and who has made his home in the county during his entire life, being now a successful farmer of Jackson township.
Mr. Waltermier was born in Big Springs township, this county, on the 24th of June, 1844, the son of John and Gertrude (Carter) Wal- termier, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, whence they came
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to Seneca county in an early day. They became the parents of ten children, of whom three are living at the present time. James T. was but seven years of age at the time of his father's death, and he was then taken into the home of Martin Fiant, of Jackson township, by whom he was reared, assisting in the work of the farm; and attending the public schools as opportunity afforded. He was a youth of but seventeen years when the thundering of rebel guns against the ramparts of old Fort Sumter aroused a loyal protest in his heart, and he did not long delay tendering his services in defense of his country. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company B, Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, his term of enlistment being for three years. His command was assigned to the Second Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, and he took part in some of the most fiercely contested and ever memorable battles of the great war which determined the integrity of the Union. Among the number were the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Resaca, Vicksburg and Chickasaw Bayou, and later he was with General Sherman in the famous march to the sea. At Dalton, Georgia, Mr. Waltermier was cap- tured by the Confederates, and was held prisoner from May 27, 1864, until the close of the war. He was released and duly mustered out of the service, and then returned to Jackson township, greatly broken in health by reason of the many hardships he had endured on the field and while in captivity. On this account he was practically unable to do any active work for a period of nearly two years, but finally resumed the occupation to which he had been reared and in which he has ever since continued. He is one of the few survivors of the ill-fated "Sultana," whose boilers exploded and fifteen hundred returning Union prisoners were drowned. He is a member of the Sultana Memorial Association.
After his marriage, in 1867, Mr. Waltermier purchased a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, and there resided for two years, at the expiration of which period he sold the property and rented the farm on which he now lives, purchasing the same in 1883. Here he has a well-improved and highly cultivated farm of eighty acres. and through his well-directed efforts he has been successful in his farm- ing enterprise and is one of the substantial men of the township, where
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he is known and honored for his sterling worth of character. His political support is given to the Democratic party and his religious faith is that of the Reformed church, of which he is a devoted and prominent member, having been a deacon of Olive Chapel for a period of about twelve years.
On the 24th of January, 1867, Mr. Waltermier was united in mar- riage to Miss Mahala Swope, who was born in this county, the daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Hampshire) Swope, pioneer settlers. Of the. seven children of this union five are living and all remain at the parental home except the eldest, their names, in order of birth, being as follows : Ella, the wife of Charles Master, of Wood county; and Etta M., Nora A., Oscar J. and Irvin T.
Mrs. Waltermier was born in the house in which she now lives, December 7, 1845. Her father, Daniel Swope, was born in Morgan county, this state, as was also her mother, they being married there, and he entered this tract of land from the government. settling here about 1831 in the woods before there was another house between here and Fostoria, five miles distant, and there were very few in the entire county. Indians were thick about them, with whom they were on pleasant terms. The present residence, built about 1835, was one of the first frame. residences erected in the county. Her parents lived here till her mother's death, at fifty-five years of age. Later her father removed to Knob- noster, Missouri, about fifteen years ago, and there died, in his ninety- sixth year. They had six children, all but one still living ( 1902). Lydia is the widow of Levi Wertz, of Wood county; Eli Swope lives in Mis- souri ; Noah died at the age of fifty-two years : Israel and Samuel, also of Missouri ; and Mahala, who has lived, except three years, on a farm in Kansas.
ELI L. ROSENBERGER.
One of the prominent old pioneer families of Seneca county is that of the Rosenbergers, which has been well represented in Liberty town- ship from a very early day. They have ever borne their part in the up-
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building and development of this region, and have invariably been ex- ponents of progress and liberal ideas upon all subjects.
Henry Rosenberger, the founder of the family in this portion of Ohio, came from Virginia to Clinton township, Seneca county, in a very early day. In this locality Anthony Rosenberger, his son and the father of our subject, was born about 1829. When the time came for him to choose a life occupation he continued in the vocation to which he had been reared, farming, and after his marriage he rented his father's farm and land adjoining. Later he became the owner of forty acres in Hope- well township, but remained there only a short time and then located on land belonging to his father-in-law. In 1863 he became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of our subject's present farm, which con- tinued to be his home from that time until 1872, when he purchased and removed to a farm of one hundred and twenty-seven acres in Pleasant township, there spending his remaining days, his death occurring about 1880. He was a Republican in his political affiliations and was a mem- ber of the Methodist Protestant church, in which he was an active and efficient worker and for many years he led the singing therein, having a fine bass voice. For his first wife Mr. Rosenberger chose Jane Michaels, and they had three children, namely: Jennie, the wife of Edward Heilman, of Clinton township; Mary, the wife of David Zim- merman, of Hamilton county, Indiana ; and Eli L., the subject of this review. The wife and mother passed away in death in 1862, and for his second wife the father chose Miss Margaret Zimmerman, by whom he had one child, Ida, now the wife of Frank Edwards, of Pleasant township. Mr. Rosenberger is still living at the old homestead, aged sixty-seven.
Eli L. Rosenberger received his elementary education in the com- man schools of this locality, and later he was a student for one term in Heidelberg College, where he enjoyed superior educational advantages. He was twenty years of age at the time of his father's death, and in the following spring he removed to his present home farm, near the home- stead, where he owns ninety-seven acres of rich and productive land. The place is extremely fertile and well improved and is considered one
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