USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1 > Part 19
USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1 > Part 19
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Madison L. Bowyer was reared on the farmn
and educated in the district schools, with two terms of select school at Lima and one year at the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware. His father's death occurred when our subject was seventeen years old, but the latter took charge of affairs and operated the farin for two years, when he attended school for a short time and taught school for three terms. Oc- tober 29, 1846, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth S. Priddy, daughter of William and Eliza Priddy. After their marriage he located on the old farm and engaged in general farming and stockraising, in which he has ever since been very successfully engaged. He has become one of the largest landowners in Allen county, his estate consisting of 800 acres at one period, but at present of 600 acres only. In July, 1893, he moved to his present home, a half-mile out of the city of Lima, where he owns twenty-five and one-half acres of land, on which he has erected a handsome modern residence. Politically he is a stanch repub- lican and a substantial figure in the party of the county. He was a liberal supporter of the Union cause in the late war, giving of his ample means ungrudgingly, has always been interested in the matter of education and in- tellectual advancement, and contributed to the endorsement of the female department of the Ohio Wesleyan university. His first wife, who was born in 1827, died March 20, 1870. The fruit of this marriage was eleven children, viz: Mary E., Anna E., Josephine E., Martha J .. Isaac W .. John N., Clarinda A., George A .. Charles M .. William A., and Amanda E. Mr. Bowyer was married a second time January 4. 1877, his bride being Miss Della Strayer. daughter of Daniel and Priscilla Strayer. She was born near Sugar Grove, Fairfield county. Ohio, February 18, 1839. One child was born to Mr. Bowyer in this marriage, a daughter. Of Mr. Bowyer it could be difficult to say 2oo Iminch, and yet his many good deeds are his
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best orators; as men like our subject increase in numbers, so fast does the world become bet- ter and life more worth the trouble of living.
Holland, who with her husband, Breloff Janson, or who was known as " Jans, " came from Hol- land in 1630, and settled in New Amsterdam. the chief Dutch settlement in the new world. Her first husband, Breloff Janson, died in 1638, and for her second husband she married Dominie Everardus Bogardus, a clergyman by profession. Her daughter Sara married Cor- nelius Van Borsun. The next in line was a Van Twiller, next a Valentine, next a Robin- son, and then the Vickers, which brings it down to the present time, and our subject, Mrs. Bowyer, who was one of four children, viz: Sarah E., Emily E., wife of Robert Wil- son, William C. and Martha J., the wife of our subject, John Nelson Bowyer. The mother of Mrs. Bowyer married a second time, the last time to John Hommel, of Snyder county, Pa. She died in 1876, leaving five children by Mr. Hommel, one of whom died in infancy-Etta, wife of Cornelius Dusenberry, of New York city; John, deceased in 1870; Mary, deceased same year; Ora, a student in Lewiston. Penn- sylvania, college, and Wilbur, a resident of Snyder county, Pa.
J OHN N. BOWYER, one of the best- known men of German township, Allen county, Ohio, is among the representa- tive citizens of the township. He is a native of Allen county and German township, was born on the Bowyer homestead. July 19, 1858, and is a son of Madison L. and Elizabeth (Priddy) Bowyer. His early life was that of the majority of farmers' boys-full of farm work, school attendance, contentment and rustic enjoyment. January 30. 1885, he was united in marriage to Martha J. Craig, after which they came to Elida, where they now live, and where he is still engaged in farming, having under his supervision ninety acres of good land. He is one of the progressive men of the township and is ever on the alert and enterprising. In politics Mr. Bowyer is a re- publican, and a conscientious christian worker. Mrs. Bowyer is the daughter of John and Emeline (Vickers) Craig, both deceassd. Her father died at Point Pleasant, W. Va., May 30, 1862, at the age of thirty-two years. He EORGE BREESE, of Shawnee town- ship, Allen county, Ohio, the eldest son of Griffith Breese, was born Octo- ber I; 1817, in Franklin county, Pa. Griffith Breese was among the earliest settlers of Shawnee township, Allen county, Ohio, and was a son of John Breese, a native of Mont- 1800, his wife having previously died. His children he brought with him. So far as is known to his descendants his first permanent location was near Chambersburg, Pa., in Franklin: comity. A few years later he came to Oltio, settling near Bellefontaine, in Logan was a soldier in the late war, enlisting at the beginning at Ada, Ohio. He married his wife at Fort Wayne, Ind., and she was born in Wayne county, Ind., and the daughter of Jesse and Eliza (Robinson) Vickers. She is a direct descendent of the Anneka Jans Bogardus. who came from Holland and over whose immense , gomeryshire, an inland county of Wales. estate in . New York city there lias been so | From Wales he came to the United States in much litigation and which is still pending, in- solving property of 175 acres of land in the ! center of the city, on which Trinity church now stands. The date of this grant was in 1054. Mrs. Bowyer was connected with Anneka Jans Bogardus in the following order: Anneka Jans Bogardus was a daughter of the king of ! coanty, where he lived until his death, in ts15.
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His children were as follows: Susan, who mar- ried Humphrey Evans, and who died in Cin- cinnati; Griffith; . Mary, who married Evan Evans, and who died in Franklin county, Ky .; Robert, who married Lydia Henry, and lived and died in Logan county, Ohio, and John, who died in Pennsylvania.
Griffith Breese was born in Wales in 1790, and coming, as has been intimated, to the United States in 1800, was reared in Pennsyl- vania. He early learned the trades of mason and of weaver, working at the former in sum- mer and at the latter in winter. In company with Humphrey Evans and Evan Evans, his two brothers-in-law, he removed, in 1819, by way of the Ohio river, on flatboats, which they had purchased, to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence he went to Butler county, Ohio, where he pur- chased eighty acres of land, upon which he carried on farming and also his trades of mason and weaver. Here he remained until 1832, when he removed to Allen county, and lived in the Shawnee council house until Janu- ary, 1833, at which time the sale of the reservation lands took place. Of these reserva- tion lands Griffith Breese purchased eighty acres in section No. 10, and an equal amount in each of sections Nos. 6 and 21, and kept on purchasing other tracts and parcels of land until before his death he owned 1, 100 acres at once, all in Shawnee township, which he ulti- mately divided up among his children. On the eighty acres in section No. 10 he settled, cleared it of its timber in part, erected a brick . residence thereon, and lived upon it the re- mainder of his days, dying November 2, 1848.
Griffith Breese married Miss Mary L. Mowen, daughter of Lewis Mowen, of Frank- lin county, Pa. She died in 1852. The chil- dren born to this marriage were as follows: Nancy, who resides on the old homestead; George, of Shawnee township ; John (deceased) : William D .: David M., of Shawnee township,
and Griffith, who was a member of the Ninety- ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, and died from exposure while in the service of his country. Mr. Breese was one of the most prominent men of his day in his township, and he took great interest in all matters pertaining to the development of his county's prosperity. In the early days he was a democrat, and in later life a whig. While not a member of any church, yet he favored the doctrines of the. Baptist denomination, and was always upright and true in his conduct. Public office he never sought nor desired, but he was always alive to the interests of the political party with which he identified himself, and also was ready to further any movement promising to promote the public good.
George Beese came with his parents to Ohio, and remained upon the homestead until after the death of his mother. His education was such as the schools of that day afforded. which, supplemented by intercourse with the world, has always been sufficient for his neces- sities. In 1856 he settied upon a portion of his father's land, in section No. 9, containing 160 acres, and in 1862 he removed to section No. 21, on 240 acres. This latter farm he cleared and improved, making of it an excel- lent piece of property. In 1865 he removed his house to section No. 16, on the same 240- acre tract, and he there engaged in farming until 1882, when he purchased his present farm in sections Nos. 6, and 16, where he is living, retired from active business. At the time of his retirement from the active control of his property and business he owned 320 acres of land, which he has divided up among his children.
In 1855 Mr. Breese was married to Miss Sarah Yoakam, daughter of Solomon and Ruth Yoakam, of Shawnee township, and to this marriage have been born four children. viz: Charles L., deceased; Mary E., wife of 1
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C. D. Strawbridge; Ina, and John O. Politi- cally Mr. Breese is a republican, but cares not for office, the performance of his private duties having always been uppermost in his ambition. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a trustee of the church of which he is a member. Mr. Breese is one of the original settlers of Shawnee township, and as- sisted in its organization. He well remembers the Shawnee Indians, who were still living on their reservation when he came into the county. That they were dissatisfied with its sale is also one of the things he distinctly remembers, and also that they spent considerable time in trying to re-purchase it, which of course they could not do. He has pleasant recollections of this tribe of red men, and says that they were hon- orable to a high degree, which is in accordance with what many early travelers among them and writers about them also state.
ALVA BREESE, of Shawnee town- ship, Allen county, Ohio, is a great- grandson of John Breese, who was born probably about 1780. John Breese had a son, Griffith, and Griffith Breese had a son, William D., who was the father of G. Alva Breese, the subject of this sketch, who was born December 26, 1859.
Most of the incidents of the life of William D. Breese are well remembered by his child. He was reared on the old Griffith Breese home- stead, and there received his education in the schools of his day, which were not so well sup- plied with teachers and apparatus as those of the present day. Upon this old homestead he lived the greater part if not the whole of his life, which extended mich beyond the ordi- nary span, he dying in 1892. William D. Breese was a prominent man in many ways, and was honored by his party friends with the offices of justice of the peace and treasurer of
his township, holding the former for many years. In politics he was a republican and labored earnestly and successfully for his party's prosperity. He was a man of ideas, was a great reader, and was tolerably well versed in law, his necessities as justice of the peace requiring him to read both general and statute law. In his religious convictions he was a Methodist, and he was a member of the Shawnee Methodist Episcopal church, always living consistently with his convictions as a religious man. William D. Breese married Miss Ellen Yoakum, daughter of Solomon and Ruth Yoakum, who were among the early set- tlers of Shawnee township. To their marriage was born one son, G. Alva, the subject, and they are both now deceased, lying in the cem- etery at Shawnee.
G. Alva Breese, the date of whose birth has already been stated, was, like his three di- rect ancestors, whose names have been given, brought up to a farmer's life. His education was received in the common schools of the township in which he lived. He has always followed the time-honored pursuit of his ances- tors, that of agriculture, and to that industry, as carried on by his father, Mr. Breese has added the department of dairying, keeping at the present time nineteen cows. In all he cul- tivates 130 acres of land. In this calling he has met with abundant success, and by keep- ing himself fully informed as to the improve- ments that are constantly being made, even in agriculture, he is enabled to keep abreast of the times and to make farming not only profit- . able, but at the same time somewhat attract- ive, a feature which some people think it can not possess.
In politics Mr. Breese is a republican, but is not actuated in his party fealty by any con- sideration of office. His ambition does not lie in that direction, although as far as qualifica- tion is concerned, of that there is no doubt.
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But he believes the post of honor is the private station. Mr. Breese was married to Miss Iva John, daughter of Jehu John, of German town- ship, who is a descendant from Welsh Quaker ancestry, and who was among the early set- tlers of Northumberland county, Pa. To this marriage there have been born six children, four of whom are still living, viz: Clifford E., Vida M., Don C. and Villa I. Mr. Breese is descended from a long line of honorable ances- try, and is himself no discredit to their record. He is upright and square in his dealings with men, and desires to see all men prosper. Nothing in the shape of underhanded tricks or schemes find any countenance with him, feel- ing convinced, as he does, that what is done is done forever, and can not be recalled.
AVID BRENNEMAN, of Marion township, Allen county, Ohio, is a son of Jacob and Caroline (Ogden) Brenneman, and was born in Fair- field county, Ohio, November 28, 1840. He was brought to Allen county in September, 1853, by his parents, and was here reared to manhood. August 12, 1862, he enlisted in company A, One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years or during the war, and was honorably dis- charged at Knoxville, Tenn., June 20, 1865. His regiment left Lima September 12, 1862, and in October of the same year was engaged in guard duty on the Kentucky Central rail- . road; later, he was at the siege of Knoxville, and was twenty-one days and nights under fire; next had a hard fight at Mossy Creek. in Tennessee; then returned to Knoxville and was engaged in building pontoon boats until the spring of 1864. when he went on the At- lanta campaign, fighting at Resaca, Buzzard's Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Snake Creek Cap, Peach Tree Creek, and at Atlanta. After the
fall of that city Mr. Brenneman was with Gen. Thomas in Tennessee, was at Strawberry Plains, Jonesboro, Morristown, and on to Salisbury, N. C .; was also at Lynchburg, Va., and several other points, doing good work in the engineer branch of the service until his final discharge.
Returning from the war, Mr. Brenneman engaged in the saw-mill business for four years, but in the meantime, September 27, 1856, married Phebe A. Lutz, who was born De- cember 13, 1846, a daughter of John and Sarah A. (Griffith) Lutz. John Lutz was of German descent and his wife of Welsh extrac- tion. The former was born in Perry county, Ohio, January 13. 1820, a son of John Lutz, who was born in Maryland in 178; and mar- ried Louisa Leese, who was born October 14, 1794. To John and Louisa Lutz were born nine children-George, John, Jacob, Solomon, Michael, Noah, Catherine, Mary and Sarah. John Lutz, the father of Mrs. Brenneman, was thrice married-first to Sarah A. Griffith, who was born March 19, 1837, a daughter of David Griffith, who bore him four children; his second wife Elizabeth Miller, who also be- came the mother of four children, and his third wife was Sarah Doner, who bore him four children, likewise.
After his marriage, Mr. Brenneman located in Amanda township, Allen county, lived there four years, and then came to his present farm of 160 acres in Marion township. There have been born to him four children, named Laura A., Irvin E., Sarah E. and Stephen A. Mr and Mrs. Brenneman are members of the Methodist church, and for nine years Mr. Brenneman has been trustee in that body. In politics he is independent, and has served as trustee of his township four years. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to Armstrong post, at Lima Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. brenneman.
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Laura married David Williams, a farmer of Van Wert county, and is the mother of three children, named Groen Lenora, William David and Anna; Irvin married Ollie Kircofe, and is working on the home farm; Sarah E. is mar- ried to Albert Morris, a blacksmith in the Lake Erie & Western Railroad shops, at Lima.
The Brenneman homestead was first settled by Christian Stukey, the deed having been signed by President Andrew Jackson, May 2, 1833. The next owner was Daniel Conrad, and by him it was transferred to Jacob Brenne- man in March, 1853. It is now one of the finest farms in the township, is one of the'old- est settled in the neighborhood, and Mr. Bren- neman has cleared up the greater part of it. Mr. Brenneman relates many reminiscences of the Civil war, which are too voluminous for repetition in a sketch of this character. He was a brave and faithful soldier, and his con- duct in civil life has been such as to win the esteem and heartfelt regard of all who know him. He is upright, public spirited, and gen- erous in his impulses, and few citizens of Marion township stand in a better light before the public than he.
The fainily originally were German Men- nonites, who fled from persecution in Germany and sought shelter in 'the country where all religions and sects are given freedom to wor- ship in their own way. They were faithful followers of Menno Symons, and the founder of the branch of the family to which John L. Brenneman belongs was Abrahanı, his grand- father, who was born about 1745, so that it was probable that the family first settled in southeastern Pennsylvania, some time prior to the Revolutionary war. Abraham Brenneman first married a young lady named Maria, who was born about 1747, and died March 29. 1788, the mother of seven children. viz: Mag- dalene, boru December 6, 1770; Elizabeth, born February 10, 1773; Malachi, born May
11, 1775; Francis, born October 18, 1777; Barbara, born January 13. 1780; Daniel, born March 24, 1782, and Abraham, born April 10, 1785. Abraham, after the death of his first wife, married Magdalena Schenk, who was the mother of seven children, viz: Henry, John, Jacob, Catherine, Mary, David and Abraham.
Abraham Brenneman. when grown to man- hood, left the home in Pennsylvania, and set- tled on a farm in Rockingham county, Va., where he prospered and reared his family, and there died March 8, 1815, in his seventy-first year. He was well remembered by many peo- ple of his latter day, as he was noted for his hospitality and liberality to all poor people; he always kept a large store of wheat on hands to give to the poor and needy, and many were those who could look to him as their bene- factor. He was honored and respected br all, and from him fourteen children have descended, of whom all grew to manliood and womanhood and raised families, excepting Catherine, who had no children. All the Brenneman family who are settled in Allen county, except Chris- tian Brenneman, who lives in Sugar Greek township. trace their descent back to this Abraham Brenneman, while Christian Brenne- man traces his descent to a brother of Abraham.
Jacob Brenneman, the third son of Abra- ham, by his second wife, was the father of the subject of this sketch, and was born on the old homestead in Rockingham county, Va., October 7. 1796, and married Mary, the daughter of John Berry. After marriage he settled on the old homestead in Rockingham county and eight children were born to them, the four oldest of whom, John L., Abra- ham, Barbara and Isaac, grew up and reared families; the four youngest died while quite young after moving to Ohio. About 1828 Mr. Brenneman moved his family from the old home in Virginia to Fairheld county, Ohio, where he bought a farm of 120
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
acres of partly cleared land; this he improved and was prospering when his wife died, about October, 1832. In the fall of 1836 he mar- ried Caroline, the daughter of David and Re- becca (Frey) Ogden, who were natives of Vir- ginia and of English descent. By this mar- riage Mr. Brenneman had eight children, viz: Catherine, David, Jacob, Rebecca, Noah, William F. (deceased), Sarah A. and Charles B.
About September, 1853, Mr. Brenneman moved his family to Marion township, Allen county, and settled on a farm of 160 acres, a small part of which had been cleared. He improved this land and made it his home the remainder of his life, dying January 1, 1865, being in his sixty-ninth year. He was a pros- perous and very successful farmer, and a hard- working and honest man, and taught his chil- dren that hard work was honorable, and that they should be honest and upright in all things. It may be well said that his word was as good as his bond. He was a democrat in politics," and a faithful member of the Mennonite church, and was honored and respected by all who knew him.
BRAHAM BRENNEMAN, one of the oldest settlers of Sugar Creek town- ship, and one of the most successful and wealthy farmers in Allen county, comes from sturdy German ancestry. His grandfather, Malachi Brenneman, was a farmer of the state of Virginia, and David Brenneman, son of Malachi, was the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Rockingham county, Va., May 14, 1805, was a farmer by occupa- tion, was a well educated inan, and was a member of the Christian church. He married Miss Catherine Myers, who was born January 15, 1809, in Shenandoah county, Va., she being the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Crumpacker) Myers. Mr. Brenneman moved
to Fairfield county, Ohio, October 1, 1842, and there rented land, and resided upon two different places for three and a half years. He then removed to Franklin county, where he remained one and a half years, and in 1847 finally removed to Allen county (then Putnam county), and settled in Monroe township. His wife had some inoney and they together bought IIO acres of land, a little of which had been cleared by some former owner, or, possibly, squatter. With the assistance of his sons he cleared the rest of this land, and afterward bought eighty acres more, becoming one of the substantial and prosperous farmers of his day. David Brenneman and his wife were the par- ents of twelve children, viz: Daniel F., Abra- ham, Elizabeth A., Samuel C., Rebecca J., Mary A., Sarah E., Lydia F., David D., John H., Jacob P. and Martha A. Mr. Brenneman was a deacon in his church for many years, and Mrs. Brenneman was a member of the same church. and he assisted in building the first Christian church in Monroe township. He was a democrat, and was honored by his fel- low-citizens by being elected to the office of township trustee, but cared less for political affairs than for general matters of interest to all, such as religion, education and social progress. He was a hard-working man, and reared his family to habits of industry, econ- omy and honesty. September 4, 1892, he died at the age of eighty-seven years and four months.
Abraham Brenneman, the subject of this sketch, was born February 21, 1831, in Rock- ingham county, Va., was reared a farmer, and has followed that occupation with more than ordinary success all his life. When he was about eleven years old his parents removed from Virginia to Fairfield county, Ohio, mak- ing the journey with wagon and horses. This journey is still fresh in his memory. Coming with his father in 1847 to Allen county, he
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here assisted in clearing the farm, and was educated, as were other boys of that day, in the common school. On August 21, 1856, he was married to Eliza Ward, born July 18, 1835, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Ridenour) Ward.
William Ward was the grandson of an Englishman who came to America before the Revolutionary war, and fought in that war as an American soldier. His name was William, and his son's name was William, bringing the name down to the father of Mrs. Brenneman, so that there were three generations of Will- iam Wards. William Ward, father of Mrs. Brenneman, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, July 1, 1810. He and his wife were the parents of four children, viz: Sarah, Eliza, Mary A., and John H. Their marriage oc- curred in 1833, and Mr. Ward died October 12, 1894. He was a member of the United Brethren church. The first wife of Mr. Ward died when Mrs. Brenneman was six years old. that is, in 1841, and he was then married to Sarah Faustnaught, a widow, née Sarah Wright. To this marriage there were born four children, viz: George H., Marion, Will- iam and David. After the death of his second wife he married Hanna Angus, by whom he had two children-Elizabeth and Leslie.
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