A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 18

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1248

USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 18
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 18

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Richard Jarvis grew to manhood in his native country, was reared a farmer, and at the age of twenty-one married Miss Mary Bebb, who was born August 2, 1819, relative of William Bebb, formerly governor of Ohio. To this union were born nine children. Rich- ard, whose first anniversary of birth was cele- brated on board the vessel, while the parents were making their voyage to the United States; he is now in the real estate business in the city of Minneapolis, Minn. The second in order of birth was Margaret Ann, who first married William Owen, after whose death she became the wife of Richard Chapinan; her third hus- band is Morgan H. Morgan, one of the most influential and prosperous farmers of Jennings township. She was the first Welsh child born in Venedocia, and was also first to receive

baptism in the church of that place. The third child, Laura by name, married Joseph E. Thomas; James, the next, died at the age of thirty: Mary Ellen; and Mary Jane, wife of William Meredith, to whom she was married February 27, 1896. The mother of these chil- dren, a most excellent woman, noted for her piety and many good works, was called from the scene of earthly labors January 2, IS91, her death being not only a sad bereavement to her her husband and children, but a great loss to the neighborhood, where she is held in kind and lov- ing remembrance. She was a member of the Calvinistic Methodist church, and exemplified her religious profession in her daily life.

Mr. Jarvis, in the fall of 1847, engaged in the boiler-makers' trade in Cincinnati, and was thus employed until 1848, in the spring of which year he came to Van Wert county and located on a tract of sixty acres of land in the township of York. Upon his arrival he found himself considerably in debt, and the aforesaid land was deeded him by William Bebb, who required pay for the same in labor. The land was densely wooded at the time, and required an immense amount of toil to be cleared and fitted for cultivation. Mr. Jarvis was equal to the task, however, and in due season had the place fairly well improved, but disposed of the same in 1858 and purchased his present farm. consisting of 200 acres, lying in Jennings town- ship. Subsequently he disposed of a part of the latter place and made many substantial improvements on the part retained, and now has one of the finest and most valuable places the township of Jennings. He has been a suc- cessful farmer and stock raiser, and as a citi- zen stands high in the estimation of the com- munity where he resides. His life has been characterized by honorable and upright deal- ing, and his reputation is without a blemish. Mr. Jarvis is a remarkably well- preserved man, and inherits many of the noble traits. both

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physical and mental, of his respected ancestors. For many years he has been an active mem- ber of the Calvinistic Methodist church, in which he held the office of trustee for three years, and for some time served as superin- tendent of the Sunday-school. He has filled other positions of public trust, among them that of school director. He believes that the liquor traffic should be suppressed by the strong arm of the law, and hence is a prohibi- tionist in politics.

I RA W. JOHNS, a farmer and assessor of Pleasant township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born April 23, 1854, the youngest son of Jacob W. and Eliza J. (Houston) Johns, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Welsh and Irish extraction, respectively. The paternal grandparents were married in Wales, and on coming to America first located in Keystone Valley, Pa., and later came to Ohio. Jacob W. Johns was born June 5, 1816, and in early youth accompanied his par- ents from New Athens, Penn., to Richland county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood, was educated, and followed farming there until his marriage, June 10, 1837, with Mrs. Eliza J. Ellar; the following October they came with ox teams to Van Wert county, Ohio, where, reaching the Auglaize river, Mr. Johns cut his road through the forest to Harrison ' township. This incident occurred when there were but two houses in what is now the city of Van Wert, and after reaching their destination Mrs. Johns did not see a woman's face for over three months, their nearest neighbor being seven and a half miles distant. They lived in their wagons until Mr. Johns could cut the timber and build a log cabin, and for food they lived, in the meantime, on a 500-pound bear Mr. Johns was so fortunate as to kill soon after arrival. He had brought with him a drove of

sixteen fine hogs, which persisted in laying around the cabin, and Mr. Johns, remembering an old saying, threw in their midst a paw of the bear he had killed, and the sixteen fine hogs, in accordance with the saying, were soon lost to his sight and future profit.

Mr. Johns lived eighteen months on this entered tract of eighty acres, and in 1839 sold out and bought eighty acres, on which his widow and youngest son still live, and thus for the second time cleared. up a home from the forest. There was an abundance of game in those early days, and Indians were numerous, but peaceable. Wolves also abounded and were destructive of young stock, and on one occasion Mrs. Johns had the temerity to face the depredating beasts and rescue from them a young calf and carry it into the cabin. Mrs. Johns carded and spun the linen and wool for making into clothing for the family, and thus all the hardships, as well as pleasures, of fron- tier life were experienced. But Mr. Johns prospered and became the owner of 160 acres of good land, of which he sold eighty acres, reserving eighty acres for a homestead. He bought and sold furs and pelts, became later quite an extensive dealer in live stock, and in prime of life, March 23, 1865, was called away from his sorrowing family -- a member of the Baptist church, and in politics a democrat. He was a free contributor to his church, and assisted to build the first Baptist house of wor- ship that was erected in his township. His children comprised six sons and six daughters, who were named as follows: Margaret Ann, Alfred D., Sarah L., Dallas W .. Ivan D., Lucy A., Caraline, Ira W., a deceased infant, Clara A., Mary E., and William Crayton. Of these, Margaret A. became the wife of Andrew Flutter, of Fort Wayne. Ind .; Sarah L., the wife of R. J. Wyburn; Lucy A., the wife of E. R. Baker, Van Wert; Dallas W. married Frances Gaylord, of Columbia City, Ind., and

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then Julia Wyburn, of Fort Wayne, Ind .; Clara A. is the wife of Louis Keihm, of Mil- waukee, Wis., and Mary is married to Jerry Kreider, of Van Wert, Ohio.

Mrs. Eliza J. Johns was born December 13, 1818, in Beaver county, Pa. a daughter of Alexander and Peggy (Feasel) Houston, and of German parentage; these parents passed their lives in Beaver county, Pa., where Mrs. Hous- ton, the mother, died when her daughter, Mrs. Johns, was but three or four years old, leaving the latter to be reared, to the age of sixteen, by her grandmother, Elizabeth Houston, at which age she was first married at Mansfield, Ohio. After locating in Pleasant township, Van Wert county, she united in the Baptist church, of which she is still a faithful and devout inember, at the age of seventy-seven years. The first marriage of Mrs. Johns was with Frederick Ellar, to whom she bore one daughter, Lucinda, now Mrs. Jonathan Tum- bleson. Mr. Ellar died about twenty-seven months after his marriage, and soon after that event his wife became Mrs. Jacob W. Johns, the mother of our subject. Mrs. Johns has borne thirteen children, is the grandmother of forty-four children, and the great-grandmother of twenty-nine children.

Ira W. Johns, whose name opens this biog- raphy, was born on the farm on which he is now living, and was educated in the common schools of his township. At the age of twenty years he began life for himself, moving to Lafayette, Ind., where he worked he worked on the Wabash railroad for ten years-two years as brakeman and eight years as con- ductor. October 1, 1877, he married Miss Virginia Colegrove, who was born in Lafayette, January 9, 1859, a daughter of James and Louisa (McNeal) Colegrove, of German and Irish descent. To this union were born five children, of whom three are living -- Guy V., Edna A. and Robert A., and two who died in

infancy-Myrtle P. and Lucy B. In January. 1884, Mr. Johns abandoned railroad work and located on the T. S. Gilliland farm, on the Ridge road, northeast of the city of Van Wert, where he resided six years, and then returned to the old homestead, to care for his mother. In politics Mr. Johns is a democrat, and in the spring of 1895 was elected assessor by a majority of twenty-nine in a republican dis- trict; fraternally he is a Knight of Maccabees. For four years he has been most favorably known throughout the county, having been an auctioneer of note for several years.

James Colegrove, father of Mrs. Johns, was a very prominent citizen of Tippecanoe coun- ty, Ind., and died in the prime of life, while serving his third term as county sheriff. Mrs. Johns has two brothers-Alonzo, a farmer near Lafayette, Ind., and William A., an engineer on the B. & O. railroad, living at Garrett, Ind. These three now constitute the sole representa- tives of the Colegrove family.

ENRY GUNSETT is a native of Tully township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born December 3, IS41. and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Smith) Gunsett, the former of whom was one of the original pioneers of the county. Henry, the father, was born in Germany, and when a lad of eleven years came to America with a brother, from whom, in some way, he became ' separated in New York city and never again met. Henry first located in Pennsylvania, in Schuylkill county, in which state he was mar- ried and had born to him five children-Anna, Josiah, Harriet, Henry and Jacob, of whom the first three were born in the Keystone state. the inference being that the parents settled in Van Wert county about 1839 or 1840. He first located in the thick woods in the western part of Tully township, where he cleared up a

Fleury Sunset

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MRS. HENRY GUNSETT.

357-388

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

small farm, and then moved to the eastern part of Harrison township, where he bought 120 acres, which he mostly cleared up, assisted by his sons, and made into a good home. He lost his first wife, and for a second, married Magdelina Stamm, who bore two children- John and Magdelina-the latter of whom died at the age of eight years. Mr. Gunsett lived to be over sixty years old and died on his farm, a member of the Lutheran church and an honored citizen.

Henry Gunsett, the immediate subject of this biography, was educated in the log school- house of his early day and was trained to the toil of farm life, and also learned the trade of a carpenter. July 11, 1863, he enlisted, at Van Wert, in company K, Eighty-eighth reg- iment, Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years, or during the war, under Capt. Walter T. Davis, but served two years only, being' honorably discharged on account of the clos- ing of hostilities. His services were rendered chiefly at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, guarding prisoners, and being held in readi- ness, with the troops, to suppress any attempt at disturbance on account of draft, or any that might be made by the Knights of the Golden Circle. During his term Mr. Gunsett was sick with typhoid fever for three months, from September, 1863, and from January, 1864, was laid up with small-pox until May follow- ing, and he still feels these attacks. On hisre- turn to Van Wert county he bought forty acres of the home farin, and on January 15, 1867, married Catherine, daughter of Jacob and Fanny (Anthony) Zimmerman, an old pioneer family of the county. In 1877 Mr. Gunsett sold his original farm, and in 1881 bought his present pleasant home of eight and a half acres. He and wife are devout members of the Lutheran church, and in pol- itics Mr. Gunsett is a republican. He has been a member of the board of education 16

three years and has filled several vacancies in the town council of Convoy, and has always been a hard-working and respected citizen.

Jacob Zimmerman, father of Mrs. Gunsett, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, De- cember 15, 1809, of German parents. His first wife, Christina Schnolenberger, was born in Germany, December 31, 1809, and was mar- ried to Mr. Zimmerman in Columbiana county, Ohio, May 9, 1837, and to their union were born five children, of whoin four died in infancy, the survivor, E. W., being now a farmer of Van Wert county. After the death of his first wife Mr. Zimmerman married Miss Fannie E. Anthony, who was born July 9, 1848, and bore her husband three children-Catherine, Lydia A. (who died at thirty-eight years of age, a married woman), and David (who died at the age of twelve). Mr. Zimmerman settled in Van Wert county about 1839, when there was about one house in the city of that name, and the county was one un- broken forest-the house mentioned belonging to the Buckingham family. Mr. Zimmerman entered eighty acres in the dense woods, and with many hardships succeeded in clearing up a farm. He endured more than the usual hard lot of pioneers, as his first wife was an invalid and he himself in very poor pecuniary circumstances. He was obliged to work out at day's work in order to gain means on which to live while clearing up his land, and to leave his sick wife at home with no companion save a little son, E. W., at her bedside. After his day's work for Gordon Gilliland, a well-known pioneer, he would repeat his walk of eight miles to his home; harrowed with the thought that his wife might have perished during his absence with no attendant, save this little four- year old son. He suffered, also, the added hardship of a scanty supper of food, and was accustomed to sift the coarse home-made flour and to use the finer part for inaking gruel for

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his sick wife, while he converted the bran into bread for himself and child. Finally, Mrs. Zimmerman passed away, as many another pioneer wife and mother in the county had done, through the privation and hardship of frontier life. Soon after his deprivation, Mr.

. Zimmerman married, as indicated, Miss An- thony, in whom he found a noble and energetic helpmate. She was a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish descent, was a woman of good management, as well as great force of character, and capable of the hard work needed to make the pioneer home a success, which. she aided in doing beyond a doubt, as, when Mr. Zimmerman died, he owed no man a dollar and owned a good farin of 120 acres, improved with substantial buildings. He was a straightforward and industrious man of the strictest integrity, of whom it was always said that his "word was as good as his bond, any day." The lamented death of Mr. Zimmer- man occurred, at the age of sixty-eight years, on January 10, 1877, revered and honored by a host of friends.

Mr. Zimmerman sprang from Holland- Dutch stock. His father, John Zimmerman, married Catherine Callahan, and in Columbiana county, Ohio, of which he was a pioneer, reared a family of twelve children, named as follows; Jacob, Henry, Mary, John, Lewis and Elizabeth (twins), Christian, David, Thomas, Catherine (died at the age of twenty-one), Frederick and Conrad-all of whom reached maturity without a doctor ever having been called in to render his professional services. The father of John Zimmerman and the grand- father af Mrs. Gunsett, on first coming from Holland, located in Canada, but later settled in Columbiana county, Ohio, with eleven other families, in the early history of the state, and in their conflicts with the hostile Indians ten men from the number of incomers met with death.

J OHN A. JOHNSON, an enterprising and well-to-do farmer of Ridge town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Butler county, Ohio, June 15. 1851. a son of William and Ellen (Burcaw) Johnson, both natives of the Buckeye state. On March 8, 1856, William Johnson came from Butler to Van Wert county, and settled in Ridge town- ship, where he purchased 160 acres of farm land. He brought with him his family, which was then comprised of his wife and six children named as follows: Joseph, now a farmer of Van Wert county; Martha, now married to Peter Kessler, of Illinois; Wesley, a farmer of Van Wert county, Ohio; John A., the subject of this sketch; Amos, farmer, now in Van Wert county, and William, farming in Ridge township. Another son, Frank, was born after the arrival of the parents in Van Wert 1 county, and now owns a part of the original homestead. After improving his 160 acres, and, indeed, during that process, William Johnson added adjoining acres, and other lands, until he became the owner of nearly 500 acres. which he subsequently divided among his chil- dren. In politics Mr. Johnson was an ardent republican, and at one time held the office of infirmary director. He was popular in the community, was public spirited and enterpris- ing, and died in 1882, honored and respected by all who knew him; his widow survived until September, 1894.

John A Johnson, being but five years of age when brought to Van Wert county, re- ceived his education in the common schools of Ridge township and was reared to manhood on the home farm, becoming a thorough agricul- turist. August 10, 1876, he was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Clara Weaver. daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Price) Weaver -the fornier a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Butler county, Ohio. Samuel Weaver was brought to Ohio when a lad of eight years.

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and subsequently became one of the most prosperous farmers of Butler county. He reared a family of nine children, who were born in the following order: John E., of Butler county, Ohio; George, a farmer of Clinton county, Ind. ; William A., now on the old home- stead in Butler county, Ohio; Sarah, deceased wife of William H. Stout; Silas, of Butler county; Laura, who died when but two years of age; Mary (twin of Martha, whose name follows), wife of William Johnson, Jr., whose biography appears first in order after this sketch; Martha, (twin sister of Mary as above), wife of William Bell, of Clinton county, Ind., and Clara, wife of John A. Johnson, our sub- ject, as has been previously stated. To the happy marriage of John A. and Clara Johnson have been born the following children; Lewis Ambrose, William Samuel, Frederick L., Ora Homer, Blanche Viola, Daisy Edith, (who died in early childhood). Clara Etta and Goldie Gladys. Mr. Johnson is one of the most in- telligent, and consequently one of the most thriving agriculturist of Ridge township, and his farm of 217 acres, adjoining the county farm, and his tasty and elegant dwelling-his substantial barns and other out-buildings and orchard, and well tilled fields-are a sight to gladden the eye of every passer-by. He is in politics a republican, but has always ignored any offer of public office. He is large hearted and public spirited, and may always be relied upon when any project designed for the public welfare needs a helping hand.

J K. P. JOHNSON, a skilled a prosper- ous farmer of Ridge township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Butler county, Ohio, November, 19, 1844, and is the youngest son of Joseph and Eliza- beth (Mustard) Johnson, of whom a detailed sketch is given in the biography of Joseph

Johnson, also of Ridge township, and which precedes this sketch. Mr. Johnson, our sub- ject was disciplined in the severe school of agriculture as well as in the common schools of his native county, where, in 1869, he was united in wedlock with Miss Emma Yakel, daughter of Michael and Susan (Troutman) Yakel, of whom the father was a Pennsyl- vanian by birth and the mother a native of North Carolina, both of whom are now de- ceased. They had born to them a family of seven children, as follows: A son that died in infancy; David, who died in middle life; Mary, the widow of William Bell; Elizabeth. wife of James Beckett, of Butler county, Ohio; Julia, married to Robert Stevenson, of the same county; Katie, deceased wife of Seth Shierd, and Emma, now Mrs. J. K. P. Johnson. The parents of these children are both deceased. In the year 1870, shortly after his marriage, Mr. Johnson came from Butler county to Van Wert county and settled on that part of the estate of Mr. Yakel that had been inherited by his daughter Emma (now Mrs. Johnson). where he has since made his home, To the marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss Yakel have been born eight children in the following order: Harry, who died in infancy; Charles, Susie, Willard, Nellie, Herman. Alonzo and Rush. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are Luther- ans, to which denomination the parents of Mrs. Johnson also belonged, and in politics Mr. Johnson is a democrat.

As stated, Mr. Johnson is a skilled agricul - turist, and the products of his farm equal those produced on any farm in the township. He is open-hearted and generous in his support in all measures of merit that tend to the public good, and is a warin friend of public education -the bulwark of American liberty. As an agriculturist he ranks among the foremost of the township of Ridge, and in his social rela- tions is respected by all who know him.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

HE GILLILAND FAMILY .- The Gilliland family is of Scotch-Irish de- scent, and their home was in county Down, in the north of Ireland. There were eleven in the family, seven sons and four daughters. Their names were as follows: John, Thomas, Hugh, Adam, Andrew, Robert, James, Jane, Mary, Sarah and Catharine. Three of the elder brothers came to the United States first, all the rest apparently intending to follow, and were on board the vessel when it was getting ready to sail; but when the sig- nal was given to take in the gang-plank, Cath- arine ran ashore, and refused to accompany her brothers and sisters. Soon afterward, to the great sorrow and indignation of the rest of the family, who were all Presbyterians, and whose ancestors, on both sides (the Gillilands and the Gordons), were also Presbyterians, she married a Catholic, and her name was never again mentioned in the family.

At an early age, John Gilliland, the father of the Van Wert branch of the family, in com- pany with one of his brothers, went into north- western Pennsylvania, and there took up what was known as a "tomahawk right;" that is, they blazed the trees around a piece of land, and this gave them a title to it. On their re- turn they were pursued for thirty miles by Indians .. Upon reaching the top of one hill and looking back, they could see the Indians coming over the next hill behind them, and the pursuit was only abandoned when they were in sight of Fort DuQuesne, now Pittsburg. John Gilliland, in his flight, killed a fine horse, and was so disgusted with the results of the trip that he never returned to claim his "right," but gave his interest to one of his brothers, who improved it; but his descendants are quite numerous in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York at the present day.

of the rest of the family, who were greatly opposed to the holding of human beings in bondage. One peculiarity of the family is this - that both males and females retain the family name; and wherever there are Gillilands found, they are Presbyterians, if in reach of a church of that denomination. Of more than fifty families, some in New York, some in Pennsyl- vania, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ten- nessee, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Washington, Illinois, Indiana, and' Ohio, all trace their ancestry back to some one of the ten brothers and sisters whose emigration has been described in the beginning of this sketch.

John Gilliland, after his escape from the Indians, returned east and lived in Maryland. He served in the Revolutionary war, was at the battle of Yorktown and at the surrender of Cornwallis, being then but little over eighteen years of age. He married Jane Briggs, by whom he had a family of nine children. viz : James, Gordon, John. Thomas, Adam, Robert. Hugh, Nancy (Mrs. Peter Wills), Sarah (Mrs. George Guy) and Jane (Mrs. Theopilus King). John Gilliland was born in 1763 and died in 1826, and his wife was born in 1775 and died in 1858.

James Gordon Gilliland, nanied after Lord Gordon, of Ireland, was born May 7, 1800, at Hagerstown, Md., where he lived until he was twenty-two years of age, when he learned the trade of millwright. After his father's death he removed his mother's family to Adams county, Pa. There he worked at lis trade. and afterward learned that of miller, which he followed until he moved to Ohio. In 1828 he married Margaret Lawson, who is still living (1896) in Van Wert county, at the age of eighty-seven years. To them were born nine children, viz : Elinira Frances (Mrs. W. H. McCoy), Ann Eliza (Mrs. James Montgomery). Thaddeus Stevens, Harriet (Mrs. J. J. McMil-

Two of the brothers went south, married and became slave-holders, much to the regret i len), Susan Mary (Mrs. G. G. Parrott, of Mer-

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A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 18

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen Number of Pages: 1248

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1248