USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 40
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 40
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William H. Nicodemus, the subject of this sketch, has has passed the greater part of his life in agricultural pursuits, but for fifteen years was successfully in saw-milling, being thoroughly practical in both vocations. June 5, 1856, he was united in wedlock with Miss Elizabeth Torrence, daughter of Matthew and Julia (Hess) Torrence, of Crawford county Ohio. There have been born two children to this union, John Wellington, who married Miss Satalia Clippinger, and William Edgar, who wedded Miss Nannie McIlwain and became the father of one child-Fauna Fern.
July 23, 1863, William H. Nicodemus enlisted in company K, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until July 5. 1865, when he was honorably discharged, the greater part of his term having been passed as steward at the quarters assigned to rebel pris- oners at Camp Chase, Ohio. His brother Phillip Nicodemus, was also a soldier in the Rebellion, doing gallant service for over four years in the Thirteenth Iowa volunteer infan- try. In politics W. H. Nicodemus is an ardent republican, and in 1883 was elected justice of the peace, which position he held twelve con- secutive years, and it may be added, to his credit and honor, that not a judgment ren- dered by him during this long incumbency was ever reversed by a higher court. In their re- ligious faith Mr. and Mrs. Nicodemus are firm believers in the doctrines of the Methodist
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Episcopal church, and they show, by their daily walk through life, the sincerity of their belief. Socially the family of Mr. Nicodemus enjoy the respect of the entire community, and their well conducted lives justify to the full the esteem in which they are personally heid.
HOMAS NOBLE, now a well-known and leading real estate dealer and broker of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, May 23, 1843, a son of John and Ruth (Dicen) Noble. The father of John Noble, also a na- tive of Yorkshire, was born in ISII, and in early youth was apprenticed to wire-drawing, a trade which he followed in England until 1844, when, with twelve companions, he came to America and entered the employ of Robert Cocker, and subsequently was superintendent of a wire-mill at Peekskill, N. Y .; he then took charge of the wire-mill of Hayden & Co., in Columbus, Ohio, and here made the first wire from American iron. Remaining in Co- lumbus until 1860, he returned to New York and engaged in the same branch of business until his death, in 1890. He had been mar- ried, in England, to Miss Ruth Dicen, who became the mother of the following children: Elizabeth, wife of J. C. Coats, stone-carver of Albany, N. Y. ; Judith, wife of William Green- alch, of New York city; Thomas, subject of this biography; John W., building contractor of the city of New York; Richard, deceased, and William, builder and contractor of New York. The mother of this family died in 1878. Both parents, in their religious faith, were Presbyterians and in his political predilec- tions the father was a republican. He held the esteem of all who knew him and left be- hind a comfortable competence.
Thomas Noble, it will have been pre-
ceived, was but fourteen months of age when brought to the United States. He remained in New York until 1859, when he came to Ohio and attended school at Columbus until July. 1860, when he went to Miami county, where he was employed in manufacturing brooms and also in farm work until he mar- ried, August 22, 1863, Clementine Covault, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, July 23, 1842, a daughter of W. W. and Harriet (Har- vey) Covault. The two children which re- sulted to Mr. and Mrs. Noble were named Henrietta, the wife of L. E. Gleason, and Minnie, at home. Immediately after his mar- riage Mr. Noble located in Cleveland, Ohio, and re-engaged in the manufacture of brooms until 1865, when he went to Mercer county, Ohio, where he was engaged in buying and shipping live stock until 1869, and then fol- lowed farming for a year in the same county; he next moved to Willshire, Ohio, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1875. when he moved to Van Wert and conducted a saloon until I891; he then sold out his estab- lishment, and has since been doing a large brokerage and real estate business-owning three business blocks and a half-interest in the Spencer Hotel property; he also owns 160 acres of farming land in this county and 145 acres in Mercer county. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Noble are Presbyterians, and in politics he is a democrat; fraternally he is a member of the A. O. U. W., and as a business man he bears a reputation without a blemish.
a HARLES HENRY NOELL, the pop- ular manager of the drug store of F. P. Hill & Co., was born in Cumber- land county, Pa., August 11, 1854. He is the only son of Edmund P. and Eliza- beth (Heffelfinger) Noell, both natives of Penn-
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sylvania. The latter was a native of Cumber- land county, and of German descent, and the former of French Huguenot extraction.
Beginning with the grandfather of Mr. Noell, it may be stated of him that his name was Jacob Noell, the name " Noell " being the French name for Christmas. At the time of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, in 1572, his ancestry fled to the German Palatinate, and from the Palatinate Jacob Noell emigrated to Baltimore, Md., in 1798. Thence he moved to York county, Pa., where he settled on the Susquehanna river and married Catherine Elizabeth Kreidler, a native of Tulpehocken, Berks county, Pa. In August, 1814, he marched as an independent volunteer to Balti- more, and on the 12th of September following he was shot by a British bullet, through the body from left to right, dying at length from . the effects of the wound. Catherine Elizabeth Kreidler's father was named Daniel Kreidler. He was born in Tulpehocken, Pa., was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and died from the effects of exposure at Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778.
Edmund P. Noell, the son of Jacob, was reared in his native state, and when yet quite young married Miss Heffelfinger, who was reared to womanhood in her native county. To this marriage there were born seven chil- dren, one son and six daughters, as follows : Charles Henry, the subject of this sketch; Catherine; Emma, who died in infancy; Mary, Martha, Louisa S. and Annie C. Edmund P. Noell was put out to earn his own living when but ten years of age, and to a most cruel mas- ter. Hard work was his lot from the begin- ning, for when his father died. the means he left was soon expended in caring for his fami- ly. Though small of stature, he was a very active man and a man of great endurance. He and his wife were worthy members of the United Brethren church. During his early life
Mr. Noell was a democrat in politic, but in later years became a republican. He was also a member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity and exemplified the principles of that order in his every day life. He was born in 1817 and died in 1895, at the age of seventy-eight.
Charles Henry Noell was reared in his na- tive county and received a good common- school education. He was reared to habits of activity and industry, and when eleven years of age began working on the farm by the month, remaining with his parents until 1876. He then started out in life empty handed to take care of himself, locating, at first, at Na- poleon, Henry county, Ohio, where he found work in a drug store as clerk, the first year re- ceiving only his board in payment for his serv- ices. After remaining in this position two years he resigned, and secured employment in a drug store in Defiance, where he also re- mained two years. He then removed to Van Wert, where he has since remained. Upon reaching the latter city he entered the employ- of Hill & Wilson, and was with that firm five years, at the end of which time Mr. Wilson withdrew, and the firm then became F. P. Hill & Co., as it is at the present time-Mr. Noell, since the change of style in the firm, having been the manager of the business, which has by him been managed with great care and with abundant success. The firm controls a large amount of trade both in the city of Van and in the surrounding country.
Mr. Noell has always been a republican in politics, and cast his first presidential vote for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the Blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Noell was married September 10, ISS4, to Miss Olive L. Miller, daughter of Peter H. Miller, deceased, whose biographical sketchi appears elsewhere in this volume. One
SAMUEL NEEL, DECEASED.
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daughter has been born to bless this union, Sibyl Marie, born October 15, 1892. Few people anywhere are more sociable in disposi- tion than are Mr. and Mrs. Noell. Their kind hearted and pleasant ways render both very popular, and each has a large circle of warm and admiring friends.
S AMUEL NEEL, deceased, ex-sheriff of Van Wert county, Ohio, and ex- postmaster of Van Wert city, was born in county Down, Ireland, June 9. 1824, and at the age of five years was brought to America by his mother, who first located in Montreal, Canada, but later removed to Wheeling, W. Va., and then to Jefferson county, Ohio, where Samuel learned the blacksmith's trade under his brother, John Neel. He next moved to a point near Mans- field, Richland county, Ohio, where he re- mained until 1849, when he joined the exodus to California caused by the discovery of gold, more, however, to explore the wild western country than with the hope of acquiring sudden and great wealth. This trip, which acquired many weeks' travel impaired his supposed iron constitution, and while on the Pacific slope he worked his way along under a load of sickness and proverty. He returned home by a route through Central America and from the gulf of Mexico up the Mississippi river to New Orleans.
It was in 1853 when he came to Van Wert county. In the early days he followed his trade, which doubtless had an influence in molding his strong will and emphatic character. He was elected county sheriff in 1857 and per- formed his official duties with diligence and fidelity. Under President Johnson's adminis- tration he was appointed special agent to take charge of the post-office on the failure of Waldo, who was the regular postmaster, in which capacity he served the public efficiently and
honorably. His later life was devoted to farming, and it was he who introduced the Walter A. Woods farming machinery into Van Wert county.
Mr. Neel was twice married-first, at Mansfield, Ohio, to Miss Elsie Painter, a native of that city and a daughter of John Painter. To the union of Samuel and Eisie were born two children-John P. and Mary Alice, both now deceased. The mother of these died August 20, 1863, and the second marriage of Mr. Neel took place in 1869 to Mrs. Elizabeth Hammell, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, March 16, 1838, and is a daughter of O. P. and Eliza (Patterson) Clark. Mrs. Elizabeth Neel had been pre- viously married to William Hammell, a farmer of Jefferson county, but later of Van Wert county, where he passed from life, leaving his widow with two children, viz : Alice, of Saint Louis, Mo., and Ida, wife of G. W. Tumble- son. by her second Mrs. Neel is likewise the mother of two children-Josiah Sibley, living with his mother, and Ora Marie, deceased. Mrs. Neel is a Presbyterian in her religious belief and devout in her observance of that faith. She and her son, Sibley, are the owners of a fine farm of ISI acres of arable land, of several residence lots in the city of Van Wert and also of considerable stock in the Natural Gas company.
Samuel Neel, during life, was also a pious Presbyterian in religion, and in politics was a stanch democrat. He was prominent as a Freemason, and the esteem in which he was held by the members of that ancient order may be expressed by a simple allusion to his final obsequies, which were held under the auspices of Shawnee commandery, No. 14, Knights Templar, of Lima, of which deceased was always an enthusiastic member. Rev. J. A. Gordon delivered a brief eulogy, reciting the historical points of interest in the life of the
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
departed and giving the most prominent traits of his character. The commandery came to Van Wert in a special train and marched to the house, a mile west of town, in a body. There were thirty-three knights in line from Lima and Delphos and thirty-three from Van Wert, all under command of G. W. Van Rensselaer, E. C .; C. Holiday, G., and W. K. Bone, C. G. There were likewise seventy master Masons in line. At the house the im- pressive hymns, " Greenwood " and " Lead, Kindly Light," were sung, and at the cemetery, "Thou art Gone to the Grave, We Will not Deplore Thee." The funeral procession was very long, and no such assemblage was ever gathered in the cemetery as witnessed the burial service, all denoting the high esteem in which the deceased was held.
Josiah Sibley Neel, son of Samuel Neel, was born in the city of Van Wert January 23, 1872. He was reared on his father's farm and during his youthful days had the excellent advantages furnished by the Van Wert public schools. He has always been a very indus- trious young man, and at his father's death took charge of the farm, managing it with judg- ment and producing satisfactory results.
Mr. Neel was married October 30, 1895, to Miss Iowa McDonald, and he is now living on a fine ninety-acre farm of his own, which adjoins the city limits of Van Wert on the west. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity of high standing and is a knight templar, and in religious faith a Presbyterian. Miss Iowa Mc- Donald, his wife, was born July 28, 1872, was reared in Van Wert, Ohio, and received her edacation in the public schools of that city, graduating from the high school May 27, 1891. After her graduation she taught school several ternis with signal success. In religious faith she is a Lutheran and is in every respect a most estimable young woman, an ornament to society and has a host of friends.
ANIEL NORMAN, an ex-soldier of the Civil war and a retired business man of Middlepoint, Ohio, was born in Pickaway county October 12, 1827, and is of English origin. Our subject was a mere child when he lost his father, re- received a common pioneer education, and at the age of twelve years came to Van Wert county with Daniel M. Beard, to whom he had been bound when a child until twenty-one years of age. Mr. Beard settled in Ridge township, on a farm, and with him our subject remaimed until he reached his majority. At the age of thirty-five years, he enlisted in com- pany H, Fifteenth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, under Capt. T. S. Gilliland, for three years or during the war, served out his time, was honorably discharged at Chattanooga, Tenn., immediately veteranized in the same organization, and served until his final dis- charge, on account of the close of the war, at San Antonio, Tex., December 27, 1865, with the rank of corporal. He took an active part in the battles of Pittsburg Landing, Peach Tree Creek, Missionary Ridge, Chat- tanooga, the Atlanta campaign (where he was under fire for nearly three months), Dalton, Resaca, Buzzard's Roost, Pumpkin- vine Creek, Lovejoy's Station, Kenesaw Moun- tain, Atlanta, and Jonesboro; he was with Gen. Thomas in pursuit of Hood and took part at Columbia and in the two days' fight at Nashville, and in many skirmishes. He was fortunate in never having been taken prisoner, nor with ever meeting a casualty, although he was active in every engagement in which his regiment took part, excepting Stone River, when he was on a detail of three months as hospital nurse. It will thus be seen that Mr. Norman faithfully served his country for nearly five years, and has one of the longest martial records of any soldier of Van Wert county.
The marriage of Mr. Norman took place in
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Van Wert county, March 25, 1852, to Miss Mary A. Smith, a daughter of George Smith of Illinois, this marriage resulting in the birth of four daughters-Mary J., Harriet A., Rose B. and Annie Viola. After he became of age, Mr. Norman learned the shoemaker's trade in Madison county, Ohio, and followed this call- ing for a long time at Middlepoint, coming here in 1865, after the war, to join his wife and family, who had settled here in 1864. He lost his first wife in 1869, and in 1870 chose as his second helpmate Priscilla Manship, and this union has been blessed by the birth of one child-Oleta M. In 1878 he engaged in the grocery business and was very successful, and is now the owner of a fine residence property, and stands very high in the esteem of the community. He and wife are members of the Methodist church, and live in harmony and peace with their neighbors and in accordance with the teachings of their faith. In politics Mr. Norman is a stanch republican and is a member of the Zeller Hamilton post, G. A. R. No. 260, at Middlepoint, in which he has held all the offices, or nearly all. except that of commander. He was one of those soldiers who was inspired with patriotism at the very incipiency of the war and never tired of bat- tling for his country's flag until he saw it wave indisputably triumphant.
J OHN W. NORRIS, senior member of the firm of Norris & Son, proprietors of the Crescent Steam laundry of Van Wert, Ohio, is a native of Harrison county, this state, and was born February 5, 1826. His parents, Nathaniel and Sarah (Todd) Norris, were born and were married in Maryland, from which state they came to Ohio in 1824 and settled in Harrison county, where the father engaged in farming until 1827, when
the family removed to Seneca county, where the same vocation was followed until the father's decease. They were the parents of four chil- dren, viz: Thomas, of Paulding county, Ohio; Basil, deceased; John W., whose name opens this biography; and Lloyd, of Seneca county, Ohio. Nathaniel Norris, besides being an ex- tensive and skillful agriculturist, owning and cultivating a half-section of fine land, was a successful veterinary surgeon. In politics he was a republican, although he came from a slave state, and in religion both he and wife were adherents of the Dunkard doctrine.
'John W. Norris, at the age of twenty-one years, left the parental abode and for eighteen months worked his future father-in-law's farm. In 1852 he entered 1 32 acres of farming land in Putnam county, Ohio, which he made his home until 1861, when he sold his property and located in Kalida, in the same county, entered the ministry of the United Brethren church, and for four years was pastor of that circuit. In 1852 he was called to Van Wert to take charge of this pastorate, which he most accepta- bly filled until 1854, when he removed to Ridge township, Van Wert county, and re-engaged in farming until 1890, when he returned to this city and purchased the Crescent Steam laundry, which he has since been actively and success- fully superintending.
John W. Norris, on March 29, 1849, formed a most auspicious inatriinonial alliance, in Seneca county, Ohio, with Miss Harriet L. Morton, who was born in Bucks county, Pa .. March 31, 1829. This young lady was the daughter of Evan Morton, the gentleman who owned the farm which was the scene of the early labor of Mr. Norris when he first entered on his business career at the age of twenty- one, alluded to above. The result of the union has been the birth of seven children : Andrew, Sylvester, Wesley and an unnamed infant, all deceased; Sylvanus, in business with his father:
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Emma, at home; and Tally, wife of J. Will- iamson, of Van Wert.
Sylvanus Norris, son of Rev. John W. and the partner of his father in the proprietorship of the Crescent Steam laundry of Van Wert, was born July 2, 1851, in Seneca county, Ohio. He was educated in the union schools of Van Wert, and has always been an ininate of his father's house. He was married in Van Wert January 22, 1874, to Calista J. Tomlinson, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a repub- lican. He has been effective in his aid to his father in conducting the laundry, which is well equipped with the most improved modern machinery and is capable of turning out results unsurpassed by any similar establishment in the state. The family all make their home together on North Market street.
I SAAC NORTH, an old and well known farmer of Ridge township, Van Wert county, and a native of Allen county, Ohio, was born October 22, 1837, a son of Thomas and Susannah ( Stuckey ) North. Isaac North, our subject, grew to manhood in the woods of Allen county, and on January 24, 1867, was married to Irean T., daughter of Jolin and Catherine ( Long ) Campbell. John Campbell was a blacksmith by trade, and had drifted about the world considerably be- fore he settled in Van Wert county, when Mrs. Irean T. North was but eleven years of age. The children born to John and Catherine Campbell were named as follows: Ann, who died in infancy; Mary, wife of John Steel, of Richland county, Ohio; Samuel, of Delphos, Ohio; Emeline, widow of Abram Hornley; John, of Van Wert; Jacob, who died, leaving a wife and five children; William, of Kansas; David, of the same state; Irean, wife of our subject; Ellen, wife of Joseph Gilbert, of
Kansas, and Theodore, an artist of Van Wert. The death of John Campbell took place in December, 1872, and that of his wife oc- curred in 1869.
Isaac North made his first purchase of land in Ridge township in November. ISTI, the tract consisting of twenty-seven acres, to which he added, in 1886, forty acres; he also inherited a part of the old homestead, and is now the owner of a totality of 106 acres. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac North were named as follows: Alice Ophelia, who died in infancy, ; Mary Ellen, wife of Walter Conwell and mother of two sons, Elmer and Ora Isaac; Susan Catherine, who died in child- hood; William Thomas, at home; Ada Bell, wife of William Glass, of Van Wert county, and mother of one daughter, Lulu L. ; Nettie Lou; Minnie B .; Franklin Theodore; Pearl May and Bessie Hazel. The mother of this family is a member of the society of friends, and the father is in politics a republi- can. The home of Mr. North is neat and tidy in every respect and his farm surpasses in many respects any other of its size in the town- ship, being most skillfully cultivated. In their social relations the North family holds an envi- able position, and through their urbanity and charitableness and benevolence have won the esteem of the entire community.
ANIEL S. NORTH, an enlightened and prosperous farmer of Ridge township, Van Wert county. Ohio. is a native of what is now Sugar Creek township, of Allen county, in the same state, and was born March 21, 1836, a son of Thomas and Susannah (Stuckey) North, wh were born natives of Fairfield county, Ohio, and the parents of eight children, as follows: Daniel S., our subject; Isaac: Ira, who was a soldier in the Twenty-seventh Ohio volunteer
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infantry during the late Civil war; Matilda, deceased wife of Jacob Haines; Christian, who died in the service of his country, at the age of twenty years, being then in the sanie regiment with his brother Ira; Enos, who also lost his life in the war of the Rebellion, being then a member of the Forty-sixth Ohio in- fantry; Mary Margaret, who is the wife of William E. Ireland; and one child, the eighth, that died unnamed. Thomas North moved from Fairfield county to Allen county while yet a single man, and there followed his trade of tanning, which he had learned in Lancaster, Ohio, under Tunis Peters; he also owned eighty acres of land, which he sold on coming to Van Wert county, in March, 1856, and here bought 160 acres, which are yet held by his sons, Daniel, Isaac and Ira. Thomas North died in Ridge township, November 13, 1892, his wife having died in October, 1890, mourned by many friends.
Daniel S. North, being the eldest of the family above named, had charge of and worked on his father's farm, while the latter attended to his tanning interests. The first land owned by our subject was a tract of forty acres in York township, which he exchanged with his father for ten acres of the homestead in Ridge township, on which his father built him a dwelling. Our subject . relates that when the family first came to Van Wert county, the only visible evidence of a prede- cessor was a roofless cabin, in which were growing saplings as thick as a man's thigh, and this land was cleared and converted into a farm by our subject and his brother, Isaac. In 1859, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Lettie Meeker, daughter of Lot and Margaret (Arnold) Meeker, to which union have been born the following children: Lu- cetta Jane, wife of George Fosnaught, of Fort Wayne, Ind .; Loretta E., married to Andrew Harp, of York township, Van Wert county,
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