USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1 > Part 22
USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 1 > Part 22
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Mr. Cochran in politics is a republican. He is one of the representative men of the township and has served his fellow-citizens in several of the minor offices, more from a sense latter place of starvation in October, 1864. The | of duty than from any gratification of politic:il
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ambition; he is recognized as one of the ablest farmers of his neighborhood and his premises fully indicate that he thoroughly understands his vocation; he is public spirited, and is a strong supporter of the educational interests of his township, an advocate of good roads, and always take an active part in the advancement of measures designed for the promotion of the general good. His integrity has never been called into question, and his social standing is with the best people of the county, whose good will and esteem he has fairly won through his moral rectitude.
AMBERT Y. COCHRAN, the leading dry-goods inerchant of Spencerville, was born in Allen county, Ohio, An- gust 3, 1849. He has been engaged in business in Spencerville for the past seven- teen years, and is the oldest merchant in the place.
Lambert Y. Cochran is a son of Simon and Lucinda (Miller) Cochran, the former of whom died February 11, 1895, at the age of seventy-three years. The latter is a resident of Spencerville, and is seventy-five years old. The father of Simon Cochran, Wesley Coch- ran, was the first of the name to settle in Allen county, locating here about 1832, and settling four miles north of the present city of Lima. There he entered land, began to make im- provements thereon, and lived upon it until his death, at the advanced age of eighty-five years, his wife dying at the still greater age of eighty-eight. Mr. Cochran was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and an en- thusiastic defender and supporter of religion and the church.
Wesley Cochran and his wife were the par- ents of seven children that grew to mature years-three sons and four daughters: John, who located in Franklin county, and spent the
rest of his life there as a farmer; Simon, who was the second son, and of him more will be said in this sketch; William, who was a farmer of Putnam county, during the latter years of his life; Rebecca, deceased; Susan, residing on the old homestead, wife of A. G. Pogue, now deceased; Jane, a resident of Texas, wife of a Mr. West, and Sarah, a resident of Ada, Hardin county, widow of a Mr. McGuire. Simon Cochran was a resident of Allen county from the time he was ten years of age until his death, his home being on a small farm in Amanda township from the time Lambert Y. was about six years of age. Both he and his wife were consistent and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had a family of five children, viz: James G .. a butcher of Spencerville; Lambert Y. ; William and Elizabeth, both dead, dying at the age seventeen and twenty-two years respectively. and Jasper L., a farmer and stock dealer of Amanda township.
Lambert Y. Cochran was reared on his father's farm until he attained his sixteenth year, having received by that time a good common-school education. Afterward he took a thorough course at the National Normal col- lege at Lebanon, Warren county, Olio. Be- ing unusually intelligent for his age, and having made the best possible nse of his time, he began teaching school when he was seventeen years of age, and followed this profession for five years; he then formed a part- nership with Joseph August in the hardware and grocery business. This was in the spring of 1875, and the partnership continued for eighteen months. Mr. Cochran then withdrew from the firm and again engaged in teaching school, following this employment tor tuo winters; in the spring of 1878 he purchased a stock of groceries, and opened a grocery store in a small frame building which stood on the ground upon which his present business block
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stands. The next year he purchased the lot and the building, improved the building con- siderably, making of it a fine room and adding to his stock of groceries a fine line of boots and shoes. He was prospering finely when, in 1884, the entire establishinent was destroyed by fire. He then erected his present brick building, which was the second brick building erected in Spencerville. It is two stories high and 26x80 feet on tire ground. This he has filled with a fine stock of dry goods, groceries, etc. ; but since then he has gradually abandoned the grocery trade and turned his attention more to dry goods, carpets, notions, boots and shoes, etc., and is now carrying the most com- plete stock in these several lines that has ever been seen in Spencerville.
Mr. Cochran is one of the live, energetic and progressive men of the town, is public spirited, and always ready to aid any cause promising to promote the public good. In politics he is a democrat and has held many of the minor offices within the gift of his party, having been corporation clerk two terms, town- ship treasurer two terms, and for thirteen years a member of the school board, for eight years of which time he was the treasurer of the board; has been township clerk one term and a member of the town council six years. He has also been selected by his democratic friends to represent them in county and state conventions, and withal is one of the most popular men in the place. Fraternally he is a member of Spencerville lodge, No. 251, K. of P., and was one of its charter members, and he is also a member of the uniform rank. He and his family are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Cochran was married March 31, 1872, to Miss Margaret E. Berryman, daugh- ter of Russell and Elizabeth Berryman. Mrs. Cochran was born in Auglaize county, Ohio, July 5, 1852. By this marriage they have had five children, viz: Bert C., Carrie M., Jeunie,
Raymond F., who died at the age of six years, and Frank W. Bert G., the eldest child, as- sists his father in the store and is a very useful and promising young man.
Thus it will be seen that Mr. Cochran is one of the self-made men in Allen county. Beginning at the bottom of the ladder, he has gradually climbed it step by step until now he is thoroughly established in a successful busi- ness, and all through his own efforts and per- severance. His example is worthy of study and emulation by the young. It shows that it is not impossible to become independent, and that in acquiring that independence one may be at the same time useful to one's fellow-men. Mr. Cocliran lives in a residence on Pearl street, which he has remodeled and made one of the pleasantest honies in Spencerville.
ESLEY COON, of Shawnee town- ship. Allen county. Ohio, descends from a family whose meinbers were in America prior to the Revolution- ary war. George Coon, father of Wesley, was born in Pennsylvania in 1783, and after arriving at his majority he removed to Ken- tucky and married there. Some time later he removed to Ohio, settling in Belmont county. where most of his children were born. Subse- quently he located in Logan county, Ohio, and still later, in 1832, he purchased eighty acres of land in section 4, Shawnee township, Allen county, to which he afterward added forty acres. On the original eighty acres he erected his log cabin in the woods, and cleared up his farm, and followed farming there the remainder of his days, dying in 1873. He was married twice, first, to Miss Christiana Moore, in Ken- tucky, in the year 1So4, and by her had fifteen children: Phoebe, who married Thomas Hall; Alexander, Wesley, Mahala, Asa, Noah, all of whom are dead; Margaret, deceased, who mar
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ried William Miller, deceased; George J., de- ceased; Abigail, who married William Cattles and died in Paulding county, Ohio; Tobias, who resides in Michigan; Amy, who married Franklin Reese and died in Amanda township; Mary, who married Thomas Young, and after his death married Thomas Gaylord, and died in Paulding county, Ohio; Elizabeth, who married Phillip Coon, and died in Shawnee township: Isaac, who resides in Amanda town- ship; and John. who died in infancy. The second wife of Mr. Coon was Susannah Wright, whom he married in 1843 or 1844. By her he had five children, viz: Maria, Martha, Joan- nes M .. of Paulding county, Franklin, of Sugar Creek township, and Susannah. George Coon, the father of these twenty children, was a prominent member of the Church of God, and lies buried in the Shawnee township cemetery. He always took great interest in public affairs, but was at the same time domestic in habits and devoted his life to his family affairs. He was a good citizen and was highly respected by all who knew him.
Wesley Coon. the third child of George Coon, was born in 1807, in Belmont county, Ohio. In this county he was reared and edu- cated in the old log school-house. Upon ar- riving at mature age he located in Logan county, Ohio, with his brother Alexander, fol- lowing various employments until 1832, when he removed to Allen county. Here he entered eighty acres of land in section No. 4, which he converted into a good farm, upon which he lived the remainder of his days, his death oc- curring in 1866. Politically, in his early life he was a whig, but later became a republican. Religiously he was reared a Quaker, and through his entire life adhered to this faith. He mar- ried Mary Flynn, daughter of Thomas and Polly Flynn, who were of Irish descent, and residents of Shawnee township, of which town- ship they were among the carly settlers, Mrs.
Coon died in 1856, leaving five children, viz: Joshua B .; Philena, of Van Wert county; Caleb, of Shawnee township; Sarah A., wife of Thomas Gorham, of Ontario, Canada, and Mary A., wife of Henry Nungester. For his second wife Mr. Coon married Caroline Craft, by whom he had three children, viz: Lydia, wife of William Benedum; Rachel, wife of Scott Rembaugh, and Nettie, wife of William Neley.
Joshua B. Coon, the eldest son of Wesley Coon, was born January 23, 1842, on the old homestead. He was brought up on the farm and inured to all kinds of farm labor, and he received his education in the common schools. When the war of the Rebellion broke out in 1861, he enlisted in company E. Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served his country as a soldier three years and nine months. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg, Miss .; in the battles of Missionary Ridge, of Resaca. Ga .; of New Hope Church, of Kenesaw Mountain, of Peach Tree Creek and of Atlanta, and he went on the march through Georgia to the sea. From Savannah he went on up through the Carolinas, and was a portion of the grand re- view at Washington, D. C. He served under Gen. John A. Logan, in the Fifteenth army corps, which corps veteranized in IS54. At the close of the war he returned to Allen county, and purchased his present farm in section No. 5, Shawnee township. His pur- chase comprised eighty acres of land, which he himself cleared and to which he subsequently added forty acres more, so that now he has 120 acres of excellent farming land. In 18so he began dairying and in 1891 began making a specialty of butter making, which he has continued ever since, making on an average 3,000 pounds per year.
Mr. Coon has three times heid the office of township trustee, and he has also held other
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minor offices. He is an active and influential member of the republican party, always inter- ested in his party's success. He is also a mem- ber of Mart. Armstrong post, No. 202, G. A. R., and of the Methodist Episcopal church, and takes an active interest in its work and success. He was married to Mary B. Buckley, daughter of William and Eliza Buckley, the ceremony taking place in 1866. By this mar- riage he has the following children: Naocia, Maud, both deceased, Charles, Mary A., and Virgil N. Mr. Coon is, as will have been seen by those who have read this brief sketch, a most prominent, enterprising, and patriotic citizen, earnest in all good work for every honorable department of human interest.
EORGE W. CORLETT, junior inem- ber of the hardware firm of Wolford & Corlett, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, having been born there Novem- ber 24, 1869. The hardware firm of which he is a member is located at Spencerville, and was formed August 10, 1895, succeeding to the business of J. B. Sunderland. This firm car- ries a full line of general hardware, agricul- tural implements, buggies, etc., in fact the most complete stock of their various lines in the city of Spencerville. They occupy two rooms, . having a frontage of forty-four feet, and a depth of 100 feet. They are in every way well equipped to transact a successful and prosperous business. The members of the firm are both young men, are ambitious, ener- getic, have business ability and are determined to succeed.
George W. Corlett is a son of Robert and Christiana (Caine) Corlett, the former of whom was born on the Isle of Man, and the ancestry of Mrs. Corlett, the Caines, were also from the same island. Mrs. Corlett, however, was
born in Cleveland, Ohio, 'and both she and her husband are still living, near Painesville, Ohio. on a farm. George W. Corlett was reared on a farm near Painesville, and was educated in the public schools in the vicinity. When twenty years of age he entered the employ of the Lockwood, Taylor Hardware company, of Cleveland, Ohio, and by this company was employed for about five years, both in the house and on the road, his territory consisting of northwestern Ohio and northeastern In- diana. At the end of the five years mentioned he formed his present partnership with W. J. Wolford, and located at Spencerville. where he forms a part of one of the prominent busi- ness firms of the town. Both are well known as active, pushing and reliable young men, a reputation which will doubtless prove to be the next best thing to their caslı capital.
Mr. Corlett was married in May, 1895, to Miss Eva Disbrow, of Wauseon, Ohio. He is a member of the Cleveland Travelers' associa- tion, and is well known generally throughout the state. The success with which he has so far met, is altogether due to his own efforts, and although yet young he has made and is inaking commendable progress in his line of business. Being one of the broad-minded business men of the county, and acting on correct business principles, there is no reason why he should not become one of the most solid and substantial men in the country.
EVI COUNTS .-- The late Alexander Counts was a Virginian by birth and his boyhood days were passed in the Old Dominion. When about fifteen years of age he came to Ohio and worked on a farm until twenty-one years of age, when he married Miss Annie Peterson, and in 1835. moved to Allen county and settled on the Six Miles, north of Spencerville, but later moved
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near Elida, in German township, and still later to Hartford, and assisted in building the lock on the canal. In 1844 he again moved, this time to section No. 1, later called Arcadia, and now Spencerville. For two years he was employed as lock-tender on the canal, but in 1850 began clearing a farin in the woods. After getting his farm partially cleared he turned it over to his boys and returned to the canal, where he was employed in making re- pairs, at which he spent the greater part of his life, which ended in 1860. . Six sons and four daughters had been born to his union, as fol- lows: Susan, John H. Levi, William, Squire, Isaac, Alexander C., Mary, Augustine and Jane.
Levi Counts, the subject of this biography, was born September 1, 1835. At twelve years of age he began clerking, receiving at first $5 per month, and continued in this until twenty years of age, when he began dealing in timber, hauling ties, hoop-poles, butts, shorts, etc., and has probably handled more material of this class than any other one man in Allen county. For forty years-a half of a long life- time -- he had devoted himself to this business, and in the one product of ties handles 50,000 every year, furnishing them for a number of railroads. He still owns the homestead and has made many valuable and handsome im- provenients upon it. He also owns a pretty farm of thirty acres just outside the town cor- poration, where he lives, and another one of twenty-seven acres north of the village. He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Minerva Berryman, a daughter of William Berryman. Four children were born to this union. viz: Florence, Sallie, John and Jinkey. After the death of this lady Mr. Counts mar- ried , Helena E. Welch, daughter of L. D. Welsli, a native of Madison county, Ohio. Mr. Counts is a stanch prohibitionist and practices what he preaches. He is a man full of nerve, energy and push, believing in the gospel of
work and get-ahcad. He and wife are both prominent in the social circles of Spencerville, in which they are held in high esteem.
PILLIAM G. CRANE, the popular and accommodating liveryman of Harrod. Auglaize townsnip. Allen county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Union county February 14, 1862. His grandfather, James Crane, was a native of Ireland, and on coming to America settled among the pioneers of Union county, Ohio, entered land and cleared up a good farm, on which he passed the re- mainder of his days. His son, Thomas Crane, father of our subject, William G., was born on this home in Union county, there grew to manhood, and married Almina Akinson, daugh- ter of Ralph and Hannah Akinson, to which union were born three children, named Julius M .. William G. (our subject) and Hannah Adelia, deceased. After the birth of the youngest child the father entered the army, but never returned, in all probability having been killed while in the service.
William G. Crane, being left with his mother at a very tender age, found it neces- sary to begin seeking his livelihood quite early in life with an uncle, David Whitehill, of Logar county, Ohio, with whom he lived fifteen years, and by whom he was reared to farmning, which calling he followed for about three years-both in Logan and Allen counties, coming to the latter county in 1801. Here. in June. 1893, he married Emma O. Winegard- ner, who was born September 28, 1870, daughter of Anthony Winegardner and wife, Elizabeth (Auspach) Winegardner. of whom a full biography is given below. Mr. and Mrs. Crane. since marriage, have resided in Harrod. and to their union have been born two chil- dren-Lena E. (who was born 2and of April.
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1894, died October 16, 1894), and Ernest D., who was born April 24, 1895. Mr. Crane was already popular and successful in the livery business at Harrod when married, and his patronage continues to increase from day to day. His barn is commodious and substantial, well equipped in modern style, both as to vehicles and animals, and is fully worthy of the custom it always commands.
Mrs. Crane is a member of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Crane is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Silver Creek, Hardin county, Ohio. In politics Mr. Crane is a stanch republican. This brief record of his life shows to some extent the worthiness of an orphan who, through his own enterprise and intelligence, has lifted, himself to a position that compares favorably with that occupied by any young man in the township.
Anthony Winegardner, a retired fariner of Auglaize township, is of German origin, but descends directly from an old American colo- nial family of the Shenandoah valley, Va., of which his grandfather, Herbert Winegardner, was a native, and where Herbert was born in 1758, and where his wife, Elizabeth (Barb) Winegardner, was born in 1764. At a very early day the pair came to Ohio and were among the pioneers of Fairfield county, where the husband entered a large tract of land, which he lived to clear up to a great extent, and on which he operated a large stillhouse, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the county. Here he lost his wife August 10, 1826, and here he died December 17, 1830- both highly respected members of the German Reform church.
Absalom Winegardner, son of Herbert and Elizabeth (Barb) Winegardner, and the father of Anthony, was born in Virginia in 1799, and was a mere youth when brought by his parents to Ohio; liere he was reared a farmer, an occupation he followed all his life, with the
exception of a few years, during which he was engaged in milling. He married Mary Stum- baugh, a daughter of John and Eve (Reed) ·Stumbaugh, natives of Pennsylvania and pio- neers of Perry county, Ohio. Soon after mar- riage, Absalom Winegardner removed to Perty county and settled on a farm which his father had given him, and which was slightly im- proved, but which he subsequently devoloped to a large extent and had mostly under culti- vation, when he was seized with cholera and died, in 1833, a member of the German Re- form church and in politics a democrat. His widow kept the family together and continued to improve the farm, on which she died in Au- gust, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, having been identified with Perry county since the age of four years, and consequently widely known and respected.
Anthony Winegardner was born in Perry county, Ohio, January 13, 1831, was reared on the home farm, and in his youthful days split the logs which later formed the seats for the log-school house in which he was educated. December 2, 1852, he married Elizabeth Aus- pach, who was born in Perry county, June 29, 1833, a daughter of George and Sarah (Swine- heart) Auspach-which union was blessed with the following-named children: Mary A., who was first married to John Witham, and is now the wife of James Vermillion: George F .; Sarah E., who died young; William A. ; Lewis J .; Emina O., wife of William G. Crane. For three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Winegardner continued to reside in Perry county, and then, in 1855, came to Auglaize township, Allen county, where Mr. Wine- gardner bought a farm almost entirely in the woods, but which he succeeded in clearing up and converting into one of the finest home- steads in the county. He is, or has been, probably the largest land-owner residing in Anglaize township, owning at one time 399
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acres in Allen county, 272 acres in Fairfield county, and fifty-four acres elsewhere, the major portion earned through his own hard labor, but of which he has generously donated portions to his children. In politics he is a democrat, but has never been an office seeker, preferring to devote his time to his family and his agricultural interests. He is a pillar of the Lutheran church, which he aids very liberally and in which he has filled all the offices. On the occasion of the death of his wife-a recent occurrence, it will be observed-the Times- Democrat, of Lima, Ohio, contained an obitu- ary, from which the following extract was made: " In infancy she was consecrated to God in baptism; early in life she confessed Christ in confirmation, whom she has since served with faithfulness and in whose redemption and salvation she especially found comfort and peace in sickness and to the hour of her death. She was a christian wife and mother and her loss was a sad blow to the home she adorned so well. She deceased May 17, 1894, aged fifty-nine years. ten months and eighteen days. Her father and mother married and settled in Perry county, Ohio, but soon moved to Thorn township, with which they were ever after identified. Early settlers, also, of Perry county, Ohio, they came, in early life, from Pennsyl- vania, and were leading people in the Lutheran church."
During his long and useful life Mr. Wine- gardner has performed a vast amount of labor that has redounded to the benefit not only to himself and family, but to the community at large, and is now living in retirement at Har- rod, Allen county, in the enjoyment of the ripe harvest resultant from the good seed he planted
: in the novitiate of his youth, in the year of his early manhood, and in his meilow middle age, honored in his declining years by every member of the community which he has done so much to serve.
HE CRITES FAMILY .-- The name Crites is of German origin, signines cross, and was originally spelled Crieutz. The ancestry of the Crites family in Ohio, and more particularly in Allen county, may be traced as follows:
John Crientz was born in Germany in 1710. He was by occupation a farmer and a weaver, and was the father of three sons, viz: George, Adam and Simon. In 1750 he immi- grated, with his family, to America and settled in Northampton county, Pa.
Adam Crieutz, son of John Crieutz, was born in Germany in 1740, and immigrated with his parents to America when but a lad of ten years. His occupation was the same as that of his father. farming and weaving. In 1762 he was married to Miss Anna Catharine Schmidt, who was born in Holland in 1743. The marriage was consummated in Northamp- ton county, Pa., where they continued to live until 1779, when they removed to Lehigh county. To this union were born eight sons and one daughter, viz: John, born in 1764: Adam. in 176 ;: Henry, in 1769; George, in 1772; Christian, in :775; John Daniel, in 1778: Jacob, in 1780; Samuel, in 1782; and Cath- arine, in 1785.
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