USA > Ohio > Seneca County > A centennial biographical history of Seneca County, Ohio > Part 50
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
David W. Brown was a lad of seven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Seneca county, and here he was reared to maturity, his educational advantages being necessarily limited, so that it may be said that he is self-educated, even as he has been the architect of his own fortunes in a temporal way. When twenty-two years of age he began learning the shoemaker's trade at Bascom, serving an appren- ticeship of one and a half years, and thereafter he worked at Fort Sen- eca, from 1852 to 1854, and then removed to Liberty township, where
36
570
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
he continued to follow his trade for a year, and next extended the scope of his enterprise by also engaging in agricultural pursuits and the rais- ing of live stock. He had, indeed, begun his business career by buying farm animals at the early age of seventeen years. He has continued to reside in Liberty township to the present time, and has followed his trade to a greater or less extent in connection with his farming and stock-raising industry. His efforts have met a merited success and he is now the owner of a well-improved and highly cultivated farm of eighty acres, having retained this amount of the estate of two hundred and forty-eight acres which he here owned at one time.
In politics Mr. Brown is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, with which he has been allied from the time of attaining his ma- jority, and during all his years of toil and endeavor he has been broad- minded, upright and public-spirited, and has commanded the confidence and esteem of those among whom his life has been passed.
On the 28th of March, 1852, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Susanna Null, who was born in Hopewell township, this . county, the daughter of Jacob and Susanna ( Puffenberger ) Null, who were born and married in Virginia, whence they came to Seneca county about 1830, settling on a heavily timbered tract of land in Hopewell township, whence about two years later they removed to Liberty township, where Mr. Null purchased eighty acres, subsequently adding to his property, owning four hundred acres at the time of his death, when eighty-two years of age. His wife died at the age of seventy-six years. six months and two days. Mrs. Brown is one of five children . living, the others being W. H. Null, retired, a resident of Kansas, Ohio; Lovina, now Mrs. Dr. Joseph Cessna, at Kalamo, Michigan; Sarah, the wife of John Chester, of Tiffin; and Clarinda, the wife of Samuel Shrodes, of Tiffin.
The ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Brown are: Thomas J., who read law at Tiffin, was admitted to the bar, practiced at Chicago, was married in Illinois to Miss Susie Mccullough, and is now a practitioner of law and an insurance agent at Atlanta, Georgia: Albert, who was reared on the farm, married Luella Astry, is a farmer in Williams
571
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
county, this state, and has two children,-Lottie K. and Ariel; Cath- erine, now the wife of William Wagonhouser, of Sylvania, Lucas county, Ohio, with four children,-Claude W., David Albert, Alva and Myrl : William H., a farmer of Hopewell township, who married Malinda Alt- man had has six children,-Ladema, Viola, Maud, Alvernon ( who died at the age of seventeen years), Isora and Virgie; Susan E., who married Jacob H. Wagoner, of the same township, and whose children are George, Marie, John and Louisa ; John D., who read law at Valparaiso, Indiana, practiced his profession at Kansas City, has been engaged in editorial work in Missouri, married Mary Young and has one daughter, named Mabel; Elander, who died in infancy; Awilda, who is the wife of Henry Puffenberger, her husband having the farm of the old Puffen- berger homestead in Liberty township; they have lost one child in in- fancy and are now rearing a nephew, George A. Brown, aged at pres- ent five years ; Jessie, now Mrs. John Smith, of Wood county, this state. with two children,-Ethel Leone and Eva; and Charles S., who married Mrs. May McCall and has three children,-Clio, George and Susie. He is engaged in the oil business in Wood county.
JOHN BALL. ·
One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful business men of Seneca county is John Ball. He is public-spirited and thor- oughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the community, and for many years he has been numbered among the most valued and honored citizens of Seneca county.
His birth occurred in Huron county, Ohio, November 18, 1851, a son of Joseph and Celia (Clous) Ball. His father was born in Ger- many about 1820, and he was there reared and married, and prior to his removal to this country three children were born to him in his little German home. In 1850 he crossed the broad Atlantic to the United
572
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
States, spending about fourteen weeks on the voyage, and after arriving. in New York he made his way to Huron county, Ohio, there purchasing fifty acres of land in Norwich township. About 1862 he sold his pos- sessions there and removed to Venice township, Seneca county, here becoming the owner of an eighty-acre tract, but later sold that property and removed to Bloom township, where his last days were spent, his. death occurring in 1894. Eight children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Ball, namely : James, a prominent agriculturist of Seneca county ; Ben -- jamin, deceased; Margaret, the widow of Frank Schank and a resident of Huron county, Ohio; John, the subject of this review; Frank, who. is employed by his brother Joseph; Catherine, deceased; Mary, who wife of Michael Brown, of Huron county; and Celia, the wife of Leo Layman, of Ottawa county, Ohio.
To the public-school system of his native locality John Ball is in -- debted for the educational privileges which he received in his youth, but his advantages in that direction were extremely limited. About six years prior to his marriage he rented the Jacob Funk farm of one hundred and sixty acres, but in 1890 he removed from that place to the Jacob Hossler farm of two hundred and forty acres, on which he made his home for one year. While residing there he became the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Bloom township, exchanging for the sante a tract of sixty acres which he had purchased some time in the 'zos while making his home on the Funk farm. He gives his entire attention to the raising of the cereals best adapted to this soil and climate, and in the line of his chosen vocation he is meeting with a high and well-merited degree of success. In matters of national importance he gives his politi- cal support to the Democracy, but at local elections he supports the men. · whom in his best judgment he regards as best qualified to fill positions of honor and trust.
On the 14th of October, 1879, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ball and Miss Catherine Reiderman. The lady is a native of Erie. county, Ohio, and a daughter of January Reiderman, whose birth oc- curred in Germany. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ball four now survive,-John C., Bertha M., Celia B. and Christian O., ---
573
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
all at home. The family are members of the Catholic church, in which Mr. Ball is serving as councilman and as a member of the building com- mittee, having assisted in the construction of the St. Stephen's church, parsonage and school building. Many years of his life have been spent in Seneca county and among its best citizens he is widely and favorably known.
OWEN P. GREEN.
Owen P. Green owns and cultivates sixty acres of land in Scipio township and is a progressive farmer, following modern methods. He was born in this township August 7, 1843, and is a son of Elias and Mary A. (Lapham) Green. His father was a native of Cayuga county, New York, and in an early day emigrated westward, taking up his abode in Scipio township when the work of progress and improvement was in its incipiency. When our subject was nine years of age the father re- moved with his family to Hardin county and there spent his remaining days. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Green were born five children: Eliza J., now deceased; Timothy ; Owen P .; Ansel C .; and Lavinia A., who has passed away. After the death of the father the family returned to Scipio township, where Owen P. Green was reared to manhood. When a youth of fourteen he began earning his own living, working as a farm hand by the month.
After the inauguration of the Civil war he felt that his duty was toward his country, and to the government offered his services on the 7th of August, 1861, becoming a member of Company H, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was sent to the front and the first engagement in which he participated was at the battle of Stone River. He was also in the engagements at Chickamauga and Franklin. At the battle of Chickamauga he was wounded by a shell and for four months lay in a hospital. On the 19th of June, 1865, the war having ended, he received an honorable discharge. His record was ever characterized by fidelity to duty and bravery in the midst of battle and he returned to his home with a creditable military record.
574
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Again Mr. Green took up his abode in Scipio township. He was married February 2, 1871, to Miss Sarah E. Wilkerson. Mrs. Green was born on the farm where she now lives, a daughter of Charles and Jane (White) Wilkerson, who were both born in Cayuga county, New York, where they were married September 10, 1837, and they came to Seneca county in 1840. Mr. Wilkerson secured this tract of land in the woods, erected a log house and in 1858 built the present residence. Both himself and wife died here, he October 19, 1889, in his eighty-first year, and she August 31, 1901, aged eighty-nine years. They had three daughters,-Della, now the widow of Edgar S. Lamkin, and Celia C., Mrs. Stephen Howland, both residing in Republic ; and Mrs. Green, the youngest. She was educated in the academy at Republic and taught for a time in the home school.
Mr. Green is carrying on general farming and stock-raising with good success, his place being neat and thrifty in appearance, indicating his careful supervision. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and believes firmly in its principles. He is to-day as true to his duties of citizenship as when he followed the old flag upon the battlefields of the south.
GEORGE BRINEY.
George Briney was born upon the farm where he now resides, Au- gust 4, 1843, and is a son of John Henry Briney, a native of Alsace, Ger- many, who came to America with his parents about 1827, being at the time thirteen years of age. His father was Henry Briney, who with his family took up his abode in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, where he became connected with business interests as a clerk in a hotel. In the Keystone state John Henry Briney was reared to manhood and as a companion and helpmate on the journey of life he chose Rebecca Line- baugh. They became the parents of six children: Jacob, who died at the age of seventeen years; Caroline, the wife of George Detterman, of
575
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Adams township; Henry, a resident of Henry county, Ohio; George, of this review ; Catherine, who has passed away ; and Mary, the wife of T. F. Mohr, of Scipio township. In the year 1838 the father of these children made his way to Ohio, settling in Scipio township, Seneca county, upon the farm where our subject now resides. He had pur- chased this in connection with his father at a previous date, the tract comprising ninety-three acres. Upon it a log cabin of one room had been built and five acres of the land had been cleared, but the remainder was covered with heavy timber. Upon this farm the grandfather of our subject died at the age of eighty-four years, and here John Henry Briney passed away in 1890, his wife surviving him only one year. Both were seventy-eight years of age when called to the home beyond. The father had been very successful in his business pursuits and had accumu- lated three hundred and twenty acres of land. He was a member of the Lutheran church and was widely known and highly respected for his sterling worth.
On the old family homestead George Briney of this review was reared, early becoming familiar with the work of cultivating the fields from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the autumn. During the winter months when the farm work was practically over for the year he attended school and until twenty-three years of age he gave his father the benefit of his services. At that time he removed to the farm upon which his brother-in-law, Mr. Mohr, is now living, and later took up his abode upon the original homestead of ninety-three acres where his birth occurred. He has devoted his attention to agricul- tural pursuits and stock-raising and has made excellent improvements upon his place, which now returns to him annually a good income.
October 18, 1866, Mr. Briney was united in marriage to Catherine Detterman, and their union has been blessed with eight children : Clara, the wife of B. D. Yundt, of Scipio township; Frank, of Thompson township; Warren, who is with his father; Nellie, who became the wife of H. Hileman ; and Claude, Edith, Lena and Gladys. The parents hold membership in St. Jacob's Reformed Lutheran church and Mr. Briney belongs to the school board, on which he has served for twenty years.
576
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the cause of education finding in him a warm friend, who exercises his official prerogatives for the substantial advancement of the schools of his neighborhood. Having always resided in this locality, he is well known, and the fact that many of his warmest friends are numbered among those with whom he has been acquainted from boyhood is an in- dication that his career has ever been honorable and upright.
JACOB SOUDER HUSS.
From the early pioneer epoch the life of the honored subject of this review has been identified with the industrial activities of Seneca county, of which he is a native son and in which he has maintained a consecu- tive residence. He has now passed the psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, and this fact is significant, since it indicates the early date at which his parents must have cast in their lot with the pio- neers of this now prosperous and opulent section of the old Buckeye state. His father exercised a potent influence in the development and advancement of the county in the early days, and this is also true of the son, who has here lived and labored to goodly ends, so ordering his life as to command the unreserved confidence and regard of all who know him. To a review of his earnest and honorable life we turn with a feeling of respect and satisfaction, since the same offers both lesson and incentive.
Jacob S. Huss was born on the old pioneer farm, amid the sylvan wilds of Eden township, this county, on the 5th of December, 1828, being one of the three children of David and Nancy (Olmsted) Huss. Ann, the wife of Jacob Holtz, died at the age of seventy-eight years, and Elizabeth is the wife of Lysander Reynolds, of Clinton township. David Huss was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of that state, where he was reared and educated and where he learned the trade of carpenter. When a young man he re- moved to Frederick county, Maryland, where his wife was born and
577
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL ·HISTORY.
where their marriage was solemnized. Soon after this important event they emigrated thence, in 1827, to Seneca county, Ohio, where the father purchased forty acres of heavily timbered land, in Eden township, later buying additional land until he had one hundred and twenty acres. He cleared his farm and gradually brought the same into cultivation, his original domicile being a primitive log cabin, which he erected in a small clearing in the forest. He continued to reside in this county until his death, in 1873, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His political alle- giance was originally given to the Whig party, but upon the organiza- tion of the Republican party he identified himself therewith and con- tinued to be an earnest supporter of the same until his death. He wielded a strong influence in public affairs of a local nature, and served with ability and for long periods in various township offices, including those of justice of the peace, assessor and trustee. He was a man of spotless integrity and never violated the confidence reposed in him by any of the relations of life. His widow survived him nearly ten years, her demise occurring in 1882, in her eighty-third year.
Jacob S. Huss was reared on the old homestead, early beginning to contribute to the work of development and cultivation and conning his lessons in the little log school-house as opportunity presented. He cou- tinued to work for his father until he had attained the age of twenty- four years, when he assumed charge of the home farm, later becoming the owner of seventy-two acres, contiguous to his father's farm, having purchased the land in three different portions. In 1867 they disposed of their property in Eden township and removed to Clinton township, where our subject purchased a tract of one hundred and forty-nine acres, to which he subsequently added twenty acres, and here he has ever since given his attention to general farming and stock-growing, having rc- claimed the farm and made the best of improvements on the same. His father continued an inmate of his home until death ended the labors of a useful and active life. The mother of our subject also continued in his home until her death, and her memory remains as a benediction to all who came under the influence of her noble and gentle character. In pol- itics Mr. Huss has given an unqualified support to the Republican party,
578
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
but he has never permitted his name to appear in connection with can- didacy for public office.
On the Ioth of April, 1855, Mr. Huss was united in marriage to Miss Almira E. Reynolds, who was born July 17, 1834, in Cayuga county, New York, the daughter of Abraham and Harriet (Goldsmith) Reynolds, who came to Seneca county, Ohio, about 1835 and here passed the remainder of their lives, having cleared and improved a good farm in Eden township. The father here died at an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Huss became the parents of two children: Jessie, who is the wife of Frederick Dudrow, of Adams township, and has two children, -- Harry Huss Dudrow and Byron Fred Dudrow; and Ella, who married Frank Trout and died at the age of eighteen years. Mrs. Huss became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in her youth and has ever continued a devoted adherent of the same.
JOHN BIGHAM.
The great basic industry of agriculture, which must ever figure as the bulwarks of our national prosperity and progress, has in Seneca county an able representative in the person of Mr. Bigham, who is a representative citizen of Liberty township and one of the substantial and prosperous agriculturists of this section of the state.
Mr. Bigham was born in Fredericktown, Knox county, Ohio, on the 5th of March, 1832, being the son of John and Eliza (Lewis) Bigham, both natives of Pennsylvania. They became the parents of eight chil- dren, of whom only three are living at the present time,-Margaret, who is unmarried and who resides in Melmore, this county; Samuel, a resi- dent of Ionia county, Michigan; and John, the subject of this sketch. John Bigham, Sr., was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, in 1800, and was there reared to maturity. He there married, and in 1832 he came with his family to Ohio, locating in Knox county, at Frederick- town, where he remained until July of the following year, which repre-
579
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
sents the date of his arrival in Seneca county. Here he purchased eighty acres of heavily timbered land, near the present village of Melmore. erecting a primitive log cabin as a home for his family, and then setting himself valiantly to the task of reclaiming his land and placing it under cultivation. As time passed, the evidences of his success became each year more distinctly marked, and he here made his home until his life's labors were terminated by his death, in September, 1883, when his estate. was represented by the old homestead of one hundred and sixty acres and several hundred acres of valuable land in Ionia and Eaton counties, Michigan. In politics he was originally an old-line Whig, but eventually transferred his allegiance to the Republican party, whose cause he there- after gave a zealous support. He was a man of distinct ability and ster- ling character and was highly esteemed in the community. His wife passed away in 1840, at the age of thirty-six years.
John Bigham, Jr., the subject of this sketch, grew up on the old homestead farm, in Eden township, and that he made the most of the scholastic advantages which were offered in the public schools of the place and period is evident from the fact that as a young man he became a successful and popular teacher in the district schools, engaging in such pedagogic work for eight terms, in Seneca and Crawford counties and in Washtenaw county, Michigan, and showing himself to have been a diligent and appreciative student. In 1857 he went to Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he was employed in a sawmill for three months and thereafter as a farm hand until the winter season came on, when he secured a position as teacher. The following spring his marriage was solemnized, and with his bride he soon afterward returned to Ohio. locating on a farm in Crawford county, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits on his own responsibility, becoming the owner of one hundred and ten acres. After about six years had elapsed he disposed of this place and purchased another farm, of one hundred and thirty-two acres, in the same county but about two miles southeast of Melmore, and ad- joining the old homestead. He disposed of this property in 1870, pur- chasing a tract of one hundred and eighty acres in Jackson township. Seneca county, which he still owns, having made excellent improvements
580
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
on the place and there retaining his residence until 1889, when he re- moved to the farm of one hundred acres owned by his wife, in Liberty township, and this has since been the family home,-one of the most attractive in this section. Mr. Bigham supervises the operation of both these fine farm properties and on every hand are to be seen the evidences of the careful and discriminating attention bestowed and the progressive methods employed. In politics he is a loyal supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and while a resident of Crawford county he served two terms as trustee of his township and also held the office of assessor. In 1891 he was appointed postmaster of Angus, Ohio, and has since been the incumbent, the office being located on the farm, through which passes the Nickel Plate Railroad. Fraternally he is identified with Fos- toria Lodge, F. & A. M., having been a member since 1861, and his religious views are in harmony with the tenets of the Presbyterian church, though not a member, while Mrs. Bigham holds views more in accord with the Dunkard church.
In 1856 Mr. Bigham was united in marriage in Washtenaw county, Michigan, to Miss Jane Clarke, who was born in the state of New York, and who died in 1888, leaving three children,-Mary E., wife of U. N. Keller, of Iler, this county; Robert, of Iler; and Martha J., wife of N. B. Flack, of Amsden. Subsequently Mr. Bigham consummated a second marriage, his union to Miss Sarah Ann Flack being solemnized on the Ist of October, 1889. Mrs. Bigham was born on the farm where she now lives, being the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth ( Bach- tell) Flack, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former having been born in Fayette county and the latter in Franklin county. Jacob Flack was the son of John L. and Barbara (Snyder) Flack, who were numbered among the earliest settlers of Seneca county, having come here in 1826 and locating on the farm now owned by More Flack, of whom mention is made on another page. The land was heavily timbered and here the grandfather of Mrs. Bigham erected his log house and duly installed his Lares and Penates. He reclaimed his farm and became the owner of several hundred acres of land in the county, dividing the estate among his children and passing to his reward at the age of sixty-five years.
581
CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
one of the honored pioneers of this state. Jacob Flack was born on the 19th of December, 1813, and he entered into eternal rest on the 4th of May, 1867, after a life of signal honor and usefulness. After his marriage he settled in the woods on the farm now owned by Mrs. Big- ham and her home during her entire life. Here he owned two hundred acres, which had been given him by his father, and here he remained until his death, having been one of the prominent and influential citi- zens of the county and having been held in the highest regard by all who knew him. He was a Democrat in politics and his religious faith was in touch with the Dunkards. His wife is now deceased, having passed away August 7, 1899, in her eighty-first year. They were the par- ents of two daughters, the younger being Barbara Ella, who married E. M. Williams and who died in 1868, aged twenty-seven years. Sarah Ann had ever lived with her parents, her life being devoted to the de- mands of home and family.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.