A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 24

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 24
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 24

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

rooms to care for, and, in addition, the five acres of ground surrounding the building.

On December 8, 1872, Mr. Lamerson mar- ried Mary Elizabeth Heckathorn, a daughter of Henry and Esther (Hartle) Heckathorn, na- tives of Winchester, Va., and of Georgetown, Pa., respectively. When a young man Mr. Heckathorn came to Ohio, and died in Wyan- dot county, in 1852, at the age of forty-two years. Mrs. Heckathorn with her family re- moved to Van Wert in IS6S, and is still living, at the age of seventy-seven, her home being with her daughter. Mrs. Hechathorn is a granddaughter of Capt. Andrew Poe, a pioneer of Pennsylvania, noted in American history as the man who killed Big Foot, and his com- panion, two Indians that attacked him on his travels through the woods, he being engaged for years in purchasing at Pittsburg and caus- ing them to be transported to the western pioneers, and having, during those years, many hair-breadth escapes, it being necessary for him to travel alone at all hours day and night. Every school-boy is familiar with the name and fame of Andrew Poe. Mrs. Heckathorn is a first cousin of the celebrated poet, Edgar Allan Poe, whom certain English writers con- sider the finest and most original poetical genius yet produced in America. George Poe, father of George, Andrew and Adam Poe, was one of the nobility of Germany. Mrs. Hecka- thorn is also a descendant of the Paton, Capt. Andrew Poe's wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Paton Poe, was of the lineage of the great missionary, John G. Paton, whose books on his life and labors among the savages of the New Hebrides thrill all who read them.

Mrs. Heckathorn's only son, John O., saw three years' hard service during the war of the Rebellion in the One Hundred and Twenty- third Ohio volunteer infantry, was a prisoner of war two months at Belle Isle and three months in Libby prison. He was with Gen.

Grant through the campaign in the Wilderness. and was present at the surrender of Lee, April 9, 1865. He brought home with him a por- tion of the famous apple tree at Appomattox court house, which Mrs. Heckathorn still has in her possession, the tree being that under which the terms of surrender were agreed upon. He came home broken down in health and died in Van Wert in 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Lamerson live in a comfortable home on Dick- erson avenue, in Van Wert, with their three children, Charles Edgar, Maude Hazeltine and Gracie Marie. One child, Orlenthus Albert. is dead. Mr. Lamerson is a republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Pres- byterian church.

OSEPH JOHNSON, one of the pioneer farmers of Ridge township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of Butler coun- ty in the same state, was born January 2, 1826, and is a son of Joseph and Betsy (Mustard) Johnson, who in all probability were also natives of Butler county, and born, re- spectively, October 23, 1794, and December II, 1804. Joseph, Sr., inherited some land from his father, Eli, (grandfather of our sub- ject), and thus had a fair start in life. The brother and sister of Joseph Johnson, our sub- ject, were born and named in the following order : William, deceased, who came to Van Wert about the year of 1856 and became a large land owner; Eli, who reared a large fami- ly, and in middle life, while threshing, fell dead on a straw stack; John, deceased; Joseph, our subject, is next in order of birth; Nancy, widow of George Morton, of Liberty, Ind. : Thomas, a resident of Butler county, Ohio: Ruth, widow of Michael Weaver, also of But- ler county; Elizabeth, who died in maidenhood; Jason, who served in the late war, and now re- sides in Butler county; Daniel, who was also a

Joseph Johnson 417-418

Magdalene Johnson

419-420

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

soldier, died of small-pox; Elijah died in boy- hood; Bennet reared a family and died in But- ler county; James, the youngest of this family, owns a farm in Ridge township, Van Wert county, having come here in 1870.

Joseph Johnson, whose name opens this sketch, was reared on the home farm in But- ler county and had but meager educational ad- vantages, but his preceptive powers were keen, and his memory retentive, and he readily ac- quired a knowledge of men and things in prac- tical life that he could never have gained in the school-room. He first became the owner of realty in 1859. then he came to Van Wert county and purchased 160 acres in Ridge town- ship, about five miles southeast of the city of Van Wert, on which he has made many sub- stantial improvements and brought under a state of cultivation that will place it on a favorable comparison with any farm of its size in Ridge or any of the surrounding townships.

The marriage of Joseph Johnson took place in Butler county, Ohio, in the year of 1849, to Magdalene Forlow, daughter of John and Catherine (Wallsmith) Forlow, and the result of this union has been the following children : William, a farmer and justice of the peace, of Ridge township; Delilah, at home with her parents; Margaret Ann, wife of Stephen Wal- ter, a farmer of Shelby county, Ill .; James, who wedded a Miss Palmer, and died in 1893; Richard M., of Ridge township; Thomas, a farmer of Liberty township, who married Eliza- beth Hertel; Jason L., who wedded Eve Gam- ble, and resides in Ridge township; Harvey Allen, who married Minnie Longwell, and re- sides in Shelby county, Ill. ; Daniel Edward, who married Samantha Dunifou, and lives on the old homestead in Ridge township; Amos Irvin, also a resident of Ridge township and married to Laura Sanders; Scott E., at home; Joseph Perry, a clerk in the city of Van Wert and married to Teressa Faber; and one child

that died in infancy. In politics Mr. Johnson is a republican and has for several terms served as township trustee, and in 1882 was elected infirmary director. He has also been popular with his fellow-cizens, and is known to be a man of sterling integrity. That he is a man of indomitable will and untiring, is proven by the fact that he is what is generally called a self-made man, and while his wealth was hard to obtain, he is free and generous in its expend- iture for all projects intended to be of benefit to the public at large or for the improvement of the township and county.

J OHN C. LAMPE, now deceased, but once a most prosperous farmer and re- spected citizen of Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Westphalia, Prussia, in 1814. He received a very good education in his native land, was reared to farming, and in 1840 came to America, landing in Balti- more, Md., and making his way at once, via Pittsburg, Pa., to Zoar, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he worked for six years in an iron furnace. In 1847 he came to Van Wert county, Ohio, and purchased a farm in the woods of York township. This farm he im- mediately proceeded to clear up and otherwise improve, and at the end of four years sold the property, removing to Mercer county and pur- chasing another tract. For twenty-five years he lived on this farm, which he thoroughly cleared up and improved, every rod of it show- ing the marks of his care and manipulation. In 1877 he disposed of his carefully cultivated Mercer county property, came to Pleasant township, Van Wert county, and purchased the present home of the family, on which his death took place April 15. 1877.

The marriage of Mr. Lampe was solemnized in October, 1844, with Miss Mary Marbough. daughter of John and Mary (Garber) Mar-

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

bough, natives of canton Berne, Switzerland, but residents at this time of Tuscarawas county, Ohio. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lampe were born five children, namely : Mary C., wife of Jacob Hartel, of Dixon, Ohio; John G., who died in infancy; Annie E., who lives with her mother on the old home place; and Henry and Christian F., who constitute the well-known firm of Lampe Brothers, stock breeders of Van Wert county. Mrs. Mary Lampe was born in canton Berne, Switzerland, in 1823, and when eleven years of age was brought to America by her parents, who located in Starke county, where they resided until 1838, and then moved to Tuscarawas, where the father continued farming until bis death, in 1941, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lampe were active members of the Evangelical church, and politi- cally Mr. Lampe was a democrat. He was prominent as a Freemason, and as a member of the Patrons of Husbandry he did much to advance the agricultural interests of the county, being a progressive and successful farmer, as well as a patriotic and public-spirited citizen. He was conscientious, upright and honorable in all his dealings, and won the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. Mrs. Lampe has now passed her three score and ten years, and can look back on her life with com- placency, she ever having lived in the exercise of the Christian virtues and in the performance of her duties as a true woman.

Mrs Mary C. Hartel, elder daughter of John C. and Mary (Marbough) Lampe and their eld- est child, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1845, grew to womanhood in the country home of her parents and received a good common-school education. To her mar- riage with Jacob Hartel, of Van Wert county, have been born eight children, namely: Cath- erine E., wife of Burt Dibble, of Tully town- ship; Mary E., wife of Leo Stover, of Mercer 1

county; William N. and Joseph C., of Dixon, Ohio; Emma S., Cora A., Henry E. and Olie I. Miss Annie E. Lampe, the younger daugh- ter of John C. and Mary Lampe, was born in York township, Van Wert county, and resides with her mother on the old homestead in Pleasant township.

William H. Lampe, of the live stock firm of Lampe Brothers, was born in Mercer county in 1856, and the foundation of his edu- cation was laid in the village school of Men- don. He was reared a farmer, and this nat- urally led to stock breeding, in which pursuit he has become quite famous. September 9, 1891, he was united in marriage with Miss Sadie Baker, daughter of E. M. and Mary Baker, and one child, Ruth B., came to bless this union, but was early called away. In politics Mr. Lampe is a democrat and is a member of the state board of agriculture. in the transactions of which he takes a deep and active interest. Christian Frederick Lampe. the youngest member of the family, was born in Mercer county, October 30, 1858, was edu- cated at Mendon village and was reared on the home farm. At the death of his father he associated himself with his brother, William H., in the breeding of thoroughbred horses and swine, and the firm now rank among the most successful breeders in the state and com- mand a large patronage. January 27, 1892, Christian F. Lampe married Gertrude Hays, daughter of Morgan and Eliza B. (Larrimer) Hays, of Fayette county, Ohio, and this union also has been blessed with one child -- Willard M. Mrs. Gertrude Lampe was born in Fay- ette county March 8, 1867, her father having been born in the same county in November. i 820; William Hays, father of Morgan Hayswas. was a native of Fayette, county, Ky., and was of English descent. Morgan Hays and Eliza B. Larrimer were married in 1844 and became the parents of ten children, as follows: Almeda, wife

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

of Abel H. Janes, of Fayette county; Mary D., who died in childhood; Edmond, a farmer of Illinois; Harlan, farmer of Fayette county, Ohio; Jane, wife of L. E. Parrett, of Fayette county; William, farmer of Illinois; Thomas L., of Fayette county, Ohio; Letitia, wife of Frank Dill, of Fayette county; Scott, on the old home in Fayette county, and Gertrude, now Mrs. Lampe. The mother of this family was born in Pennsylvania in 1825 and came when a child to Ohio with her parents. She was an active and devout member of the Presbyterian church, and died in that faith October 1, 1879. Mrs. Gertrude Lampe is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but her husband is not a communi- cant of any church, although he takes a deep interest in every thing that tends to elevate the morals of the community or promote its welfare. In politics he is a republican. He is a careful and progressive farmer and stock- breeder, and few men of his years can be con- gratulated on making so successful a business career.

land for three years, and then came to Tully township, Van Wert county, where he had entered forty acres of land prior to his mar- riage to Susannah Roop, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Eshelman) Roop, of Crawford county. In 1844, John Lare and wife came with their two children, Sarah and Elizabeth, to Tully township, and settled on this farm, which was deep in the woods, cleared up the land sufficiently to form a space for a log cabin, and by hard labor Mr. Lare increased his property to 360 acres, and made as good a farm as there was in the county. In politics Mr. Lare was a know-nothing, a free-soiler, then a democrat, and finally a republican; he was the first postmaster in Tully township (now Convoy postoffice); he was township trustee, an early member of the school board, and of the board of education. To him and wife were born eight children, viz: Sarah A., Elizabeth, Peter (died young), Rebecca, Joseph P., Susannah, John D., and Mary A., who died when but one year old. The father of this family lived to be seventy-six years of age. and died on his farm September 25. 1823, respected by the entire community.

J OHN D. LARE, one of the successful John D. Lare was reared to farming, but received a very good education in the district schools and in the schools of Convoy, and for two terins taught school in Tully township. December 27, 1877. he married Miss Mary Tracy, daughter of Elijah Tracy. of whom mention is made on another page. Mr. Lare then farmed on the old homestead until he purchased his present farm, which then con- sisted of eighty acres, covered with tiniber, brush and swamps; but he retrieved his farm from this wilderness, and added to it until he now owns 160 acres of as fine farm land as may be found in the township, and all cleared and improved (with the exception of a twelve- acre wood-lot), with a fine. commodious resi- and substantial farmers of Tully town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born January 31, 1853, on the family home- stead in this township, where he has lived all his life. John Lare, his father, was a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., born October 3, 1817, and was a son of Samuel and Mary Ann (Leap) Lare, parents of five children- John, Mary A., Maria (died young), Elizabeth and William, all born in Westmoreland county. Samuel was a shoemaker by trade, but came to Ohio in 1833 or 1834, bought eighty acres of land in Crawford county, and farmed until his death, at eighty years of age. John Lare, father of subject, was married in Crawford county December 24, 1840, farmed on rented | dence built in ISS9, and drained with 2, 000

.41 ....

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

rods of tiling. To Mr. and Mrs. Lare have been born four children, viz: Ira, Jay, Iris and Ray. The parents are members of the Meth- odist church, in which Mr. Lare has been a class leader since the organization of the con- gregation in Tully township. In politics he is republican, and has served as assessor one term; he is a member of the grange and is deputy master of the county, he being a prac- tical and most skillful agriculturist, and his farm being a model of itself. Mr. and Mrs. Lare stand very high in the esteem of the com- munity in which they live, are giving their chil- dren every advantage of the educational privi- leges afforded by the enlightened system of the present day. The personal character of Mr. Lare has never been impeached, and he has fully maintained, in his own person, the integ- rity of character that characterized his father, who was one of the pioneers of Tully township.

AGDALENA KLINE, widow of Adolphus Kline, was born in Baden, Germany, April 2, IS38. Her father, John Christopher Exley, was a native of Baden and an owner of a large stone quarry. He was a contractor and builder of several large buildings and one cathedral in the fatherland, but was a farmer after coming to this country. The mother's name was Catherine Fischer, also a native of Baden. When thirteen years old Mrs. Kline came to this country and settled in Bucyrus, Ohio, where she remained for four years, and then moved to Van Wert, where she has since re- sided. January 1, 1862, she was married to Adolphus Kline, now deceased, who was born in Ottweiler, Prussia, October 26. 1824. His parents were Conrad and Caroline (Wagoner) Kline both of whom died in Prussia.

In 1848 Adolphus Kline came to America

and settled in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he re- mained until 1854, when, on November 9, he enlisted in company Four, Second regiment of dragoons. U. S. A., Capt. Alfred Pleasonton commanding. He served in the Indian terri- tory for four years, when, on account of rheu- matism and asthma, he was obliged to quit the service before his five years of enlistment were up. He was discharged in accordance with instructions from the adjutant-general's office, dated September 7, 1857, and received the same in camp near Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 1, 1858, was signed John B. Villepigue, first lieutenant Second dragoons, and P. St. George Cooke, lieutenant-colonel, Second dragoons. After his discharge Mr. Kline re- turned to Fort Wayne, where he remained but a short time and then moved to Van Wert. where he remained until his death, May 9. ISS4. He was a quiet, unassuming man and a tanner by trade. He was the father of seven children: Julia, born November . 25, 1862. a graduate in the Van Wert High schools, who has taught in the public schools in Van Wert. Ohio, and in Plymouth, Ind. ; she was married August 28, 1895, to Jerry Blaine, a prominent business man of Plymouth, Ind. ; Charles, born December 12, 1864, now a resident of Van Wert and a printer by trade; William Robert. born September 4, 1868, now a carpenter in Van Wert and married to Rebecca White of Payne, Ohio, on July 1, 1894; John Chris- topher, born June 2, IS71, now a stone-cutter. residing in Van Wert; George W., born April 25, 1874, now a clerk in D. L. Clippinger's grocery, Van Wert, a graduate of Van Wert high school in 1896; Adolph, born May 21. 1876, graduated from the Van Wert high school in 1895, and is now employed in a bicycle factory in Plymouth, Ind. ; Byron, born May 2, IS79, who is now attending high school at Van Wert. Mrs. Kline is a spiritualist, and is the leader of the organization in Van Wert which

MRS. MAGDALENA KLEIN.

425-426

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

is known as the "Society of the Faithful." She delivers a lecture to the society twice every week, and has published a book on spiritualism entitled "The Everlasting Gospel." She is quite eloquent in her addresses and is the means of keeping this unique organization to- gether. She has attended a number of the conventions of Spiritualists of the United States, and is recognized as a leader among them.

Mrs. Kline is not, however, what she terms a radical Spiritualist. She is altogether con- servative, but still maintains that the radicals are doing good, that they are filling their niche in the development of thought and the world of humanity. She is what she terms a " Chris- tain Spiritualist," and in her lectures, and in private conversation, frequently alludes to "orthodoxy," in terms altogether too kindly for the radicals. The divinity of Christ is one of the principal doctrines of her teachings; but that divinity was in no sense physical. but was only spiritual in its origin, its character and its power over the spiritual forces of the universe. This power was greater than that exercised by any other spirit or of any angel, and was next to that of the Deity himself-the Supreine Mind, from which all intelligence, of which there is an infinite number of classes of degrees, draw their intellectual and spiritual supplies. From some one of these classes of intelligences mediums receive their inspiration, the class depending upon the intellectual and spiritual elevation the medium. Christ, being superior to any other niedium that was ever on the earth, was able to draw upon the highest spiritual elements for his strength, and was thus better, purer and stronger than any other individual that has ever lived, to secure such benefits to all humanity for time and eternity, as no other can. His mission was not under- stood when he lived on earth. He says in Saint John 16:12, " I have yet many things to

say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." They have never been told, but will be given now, for he has prepared the world by his constant and powerful manipulation of nature's silent but active force, thereby making the revelation and demonstration of his mission to humanity possible.

On the night of February 8, 1870, Mrs. Kline says that she received her first visit from the " Justice Band," which communicated to her their mission, which was to induct her into the position of a meduim for them. In 1874, the "Society of the Faithful " was or- ganized to carry forward the publication of a monthly journal, called " The Morning Star," which had been published the preceding year by Mr. G. A. McConahy and his son, James, under the advice of the Justice Band. In 1879 this society began holding public services for adults, and a lyceum for children; but the lyceum feature was found impracticable, ow- ing to the intense prejudices of a portion of the community. But services for adults have been held regularly ever since. The society was chartered in the year 1893, by the state of Ohio, under the name of the " First Society of Christian Spiritualists," and while it has not accomplished all it could have desired, yet it feels that it has gained much knowledge and experience that will be of great value in com- ing years, and it feels much encouraged to go on with its work, as the conditions necessary for its complete success will improve steadily as time rolls on.

ARLAN F. LARUE, one of the most successful educators of Harrison township, Van Wert county, is a son of Joseph LaRue. Harlan was born September 15, 1861, on his father's farm in Harrison township. He was educated in the

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

district school and at the Worthington (Ohio) Central normal, and for two years, also, was an attendant at Denison university, at Gran- ville. In ISSo he began the work pertaining to the profession in which he became so prom- inently identified as the seasons passed by. The Center school district, No. 5, Harrison township, was the second scene, for four months, of his initiatory triumph, followed next by two terms in his home district; and then the school in district No. 8, Pleasant township, was under his charge one year; next, in the same township, No. 6 was taught under him for a year; then he returned to district No. 6, and devoted another year to that school, following which he taught two years in his home district; for the period of two years following he taught in the Central high school of Harrison township, and then took a neces- sary rest for a year; the following two years he had charge of district No. 2, thus making the longest record of any other instructor in Har- rison township. Mr. LaRue has been an active · member of the Van Wert Teacher's institute. He is not a believer in corporal punishment, but has never failed to maintain an effective discipline by other and milder methods.

The marriage of Mr. LaRue was celebated March 31, 1887, with Miss Mary Lonisa Baus- erman, who was born September 25, 1863, a daughter of Jacob and Jane (Harvey) Bauser- man, who were of Irish descent and the par- ents of four children: Ruth, Eliza, Mary L., and Allie. Mr. Bauserman was a farmer of considerable consequence, owned 120 acres of land, which he pre-empted and died in July, 1865, a member of the Presbyterian church. After his marriage, Harlan F. LaRue passed two years in Pleasant township, and then set- tled in Harrison township, where he now has a most pleasant home on a farm of forty acres (belonging to his wife, being purchased with money she inherited) which he has partly

cleared from the woods. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. LaRue were named according to birth, as follows: Ethel Leora, February 7, 1888; Vere Princess, November 6, 1890: Zora G., May 14, 1892, and Frank Irving, November 15, 1894. In their religious affilia- tions Mr. and Mrs. LaRue are Baptists. Po- litically Mr. LaRue is a republican. For one year he was a lecturer for the Patrons of Husbandry.

Joseph LaRue, father of Harlan F. LaRue. a substantial farmer of Harrison township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a son of Lainbert and Jane (McBride) LaRue. His paternal grand- father came from France, settled in Virginia, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Alexander McBride, the maternal grandfather of Joseph RaRue, was of Scotch-Irish descent and was also a patriot of the Revolutionary war. Lambert LaRue, grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Washington county, Va., was reared on a farm, was a soldier in the war of 1812, was married in his native state, and thence came to Ohio, where he located, first on Long Island, some forty miles below Wheel- ing, then moved to Richland county, where he cleared up a good farm, and finally came to Van Wert county, in 1854, and settled on a farm of eighty acres in Pleasant township, and here died in November of the same year, at the age of about sixty-two years. To Lam- bert LaRue and wife were born ten children. as follows: Alexander, Jane, John, Abraham. Elizabeth, Margaret, Martha, Mary, Joseph. and another. Mr. LaRue was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which his wife was also a devout member; in politics he was a whig.

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A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 24

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