A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 42

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 42
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 42

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Michael F. Ossing was brought to the United States when he was between five and six years of age, and came with his parents to Marion county Ohio. Here, upon arriving at suitable age, he learned the trade of shingle- maker, at which he worked until 1864, when he enlisted in company A, Fifty-fourth regiment of Ohio troops. In this regiment he served until 1865, when he was discharged, and was for some years on the pension list of Uncle Sam. In politics Mr. Ossing was a democrat,

and he was a member of the Saint Peter's Evan- gelical church of Van Wert. At his death, which occurred November 7, 1891, he left his family in moderate circumstances. In character he was a just and liberal man, doing by others as he wished to have thein do by him.

Mr. Ossing was married, in 1857, to Miss Wilhelmina Geyer, who was born in Saxony August 1, 1837. Her father, Frederick Geyer, was a native of the same country, and was a successful tailor there. In 1834 he married Miss Eva Beyer, of the same country with him- self, and in 1852 emigrated to the United States, landing in New York, and coming direct to Marion county, Ohio, where he remained for two years, and then came to Van Wert county, where he still resides on his farm. Politically lie was a democrat, and religiously a member of the Evangelical church, being a member of Saint Peter's church of Van Wert. He and his wife, Eva, are the parents of nine children, as follows: Albertina, Albert, Wilhelmina, Edward. Ferninand, Charles, Robert, Mary and Theres. All are living except Albert, who was killed while serving in the army of the Union, and Theresa. Edward, Ferdinand and Charles live in Indiana. To Michael F. Ossing and his wife, Wilhelmina, were born six children, viz: Albert, Edward, Caroline, Emma, Josephine, and Henrietta, all of whom are living in Van Wert. The two sons have trades, Albert being a carpenter and Edward a painter. The entire family are in good standing in the community and are highly respected by all who know them.

ENRY POHLMANN, one of the well- known citizens and farmers of Van Wert county, Ohio, residing two miles and a half northwest from Del- phos, in section No. 14, Washington town- ship, is a native of Hanover, Germany, and was born in July, 1842. He is the son of

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

Mathias and Gertrude (Applebaum) Pohlmann, both natives of Hanover, where they were married. In 1843 they came to America and stopped first in Detroit, Mich., where they re- mained a few weeks. From Detroit, Mathias Pohlmann walked to Fort Jennings, Putnam county, where he found his old friend, Casper Geise. The same winter his family came to Fort Jennings, and when the digging the canal began he went to work on it, at which he continued for a year or two. He was a carpenter by occupation and did considerable work at his trade. Afterward he bought land in section No. 13, Washington township, Van Wert county, and then began farming, work- ing at carpentering work also when there was work to do. He owned thirteen acres in sec- tion No. 23, and 120 acres in section No. 14, making his home in the first-named section. He was twice married, and had born to him two daughters by the first marriage, both of whom dead. By the second marriage he became the father of three sons, one of whom, Mathias, died when twelve years of age; the living sons are Henry and Casper. The par- ents were members of Saint John's Roman Catholic church, and in its faith the father died in 1888, and his wife died in 1893.

Henry Pohlmann was brought up on the farm, and was educated in the district schools and at Delphos. He remained on the farmn with his parents until his marriage, and then moved to the farm of eighty acres where he now lives, which then belonged to his father, and after his deathi he received forty acres more, all in section No. 14. Since then he has purchased land as follows: Sixty-six acres in section No. 14: eighty acres in sec- tion No. 14; and sixty-five acres in section No. II. Altogether he owns 331 acres, all but forty acres being improved. In 1873 he built his present two-story residence, which is one of the best in the neighborhood.

In 1870 Mr. Pohlinann was married to Elizabeth Kohlschmidt, daughter of Henry Kohlschmidt. She was born in Hanover, Ger- many, in 1851, and came to America when she was seventeen years old. To this union eleven children have been born, as follows: Mathias, married to the daughter of J. M. Geise; Gertrude, married to Frank Hotz, of Allen county; Mary, married to Ignatius Knoe- ble, of Van Wert county; Henry, Clara, Jos- eph, Leo, Frederick, Otto, Allie, and George. Mr. Pohlmann has served as school director and road supervisor. He is a member of the democratic party, and he and family are mem- bers of the Saint John's Roman Catholic church. Mr. Pohlmann is one of the thor- oughgoing and benevolent citizens of Wash- ington township, Van Wert county, and he and family are highly esteemed where known.

HARLES F. PETERS, one of the most substantial farmers of Wash- ington township, Van Wert county, Ohio, descends from one of the old colonial familes of Maryland and was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, July 6, 1860. His an- cestors were early settlers of Baltimore, Md., and were engaged in mercantile business, and thence came Samuel Peters, the great-grand- father of our subject, who was a pioneer of Clear Creek township, Fairfield county, Ohio, where he cleared a farm from the wilderness and reared a family of thirteen children, who were named Henry, Nathan, Ebenezer, Ster- enson, Robinson, Andy, Leah, Rachel. Mary, Samuel, Lewis and two whose names have lapsed from the memory of the present gener- ation.

Robinson Peters, the grandfather of our subject, married Elizabeth Gallager, and by her became the father of five children. who were named Zebulon, Newton, Mary, Elvira

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and Jennie. The father of this family was a farmer of much consequence in his neighbor- hood and the owner of a large tract of land. He was also prominent in inatters military, and died at the advanced age of eighty-nine years.

Newton Peters, son of Robinson Peters, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, in September, 1829, was a well educated gentleman, having graduated from Greenfield academy and later becoming a school-teacher. He married Miss Lydia Eversole, daughter of David and Eliza- beth (Miller) Eversole, settled on a farm, and reared the following children: Preston E., Charles F., Lizzie, Robinson J., Mattie, Clark and Jessie. In politics Newton Peters was a republican, and in religion he and his wife were strict Methodists. He has always taken great interest in matters educational, has given all his children good school training, and his son Clark is now a school-teacher in Van Wert county.

Charles F. Peters also received a good education, was thoroughly trained to agricul- ture, and March 23, 1887, married, in Fair- field county, Miss Nannie Trimble, who was there born September 13, 1861, a daughter of Thomas and Samantha (Hooker) Trimble-an old and prominent family of the county and parents of five children, viz: Joseph, Jennie, Elizabeth, William and Nannie. The father, Thomas Trimble, was a pioneer cattle dealer and drover of Fairfield county, and died, in 1861, one of its most respected citizens. After mar- riage, Mr. and Mrs. Peters lived in Lancaster, Ohio, for one year, and then, in April, 1888, came to Van Wert county and settled on 160 acres of land, which Newton Peters, the father of Charles F., had purchased in 1883. Here Charles F. has since been engaged in practic- ing farming, and his only child, Agnes, has been born. In politics Mr. Peters is a repub-

lican, and in religion he and wife stand high in the membership of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Peters has proven himself to be a skill- ful farmer and a useful citizen, and well worthy of the esteem which is reposed in him by his fel- lowmen. He is ever ready to lend a helping hand to the needy and never falls behind in his aid to movements designed for the promotion of the interests of the public in general. Up- right in all his actions, with a name untarn- ished by the slighest stain, he walks through the paths of life with a genial smile on his face, shedding sunshine on all whom he meets.

HOMAS DYDAMUS PRIDDY, one of the oldest living settlers of Van Wert county, Ohio, has been a resi- dent of Washington township since 1835, having located here in April, of that year. He is a son of William and Eliza Butt- ler) Priddy, of English and Irish origin and good old Virginia colonial descent, coming from an American family that ante-dated our Revo- lutionary war. The progenitor of the Priddy family in America was the great-grandfather of our subject, who had three sons, of whom one, John, the grandfather of the subject of this notice, settled in Ross county, Ohio, an- other located in Warren county, Ohio, and one remained in Virginia.

John Priddy, grandfather of Thomas D. Priddy, the gentleman whose name opens this biographical memoir, was born in the Old Dominion, was a patriot in the war of the Revolution, and was married in Greenbrier county (now in West Va.), to Martha Row, after which he came to Ohio, and, as hinted above, made his home in Ross county, but sub- sequently moved to Fayette county, where he cleared up a farm, and had borne a family of five children, viz: William, Elias, George, onle that died young, and Lucy. John Priddy Was

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a man of iron constitution, and in the fall of 1835, when seventy-nine years of age, rode horseback 130 miles, in company with his son George, to Van Wert county, and returned to Fayette county in the same manner. He was a good citizen and a pious christian, and died on his farm, in the faith of the Methodist church, between his eightieth and eighty-first year of mundane happiness and usefulness.

William Priddy, father of our subject, was also born in Greenbrier county, Va., his birth occurring in 1793, and was still a young man when he came to Ross county, Ohio, with his father. Here he married Eliza Butt- ler, of Delaware, a daughter of Benjamin Butt- ler, who came from Ireland, was four times married, was the father of fourteen children, and lived to the extreme age of 108 years. William Priddy was a soldier in the war of 1812, and from 1815 until November 29, 1832, resided on his farm in Fayette county and there entered land on the Auglaize river, in Putnam county, but by a change of boundaries this farm became a part of Marion township, Allen county; Mr. Priddy, however, never took pos- session of this land, as it was never thrown into market until after he had come to Van Wert county, in March, 1835, and entered eighty acres in Ridge and Washington town- ships, on the " ridge," on which he settled in April, building a log cabin in the woods and eventually clearing up a productive farm and increasing it to 160 acres. To the marriage of William Priddy and wife were born eight chil- dren, as follows: S. W., A. T., Thomas D., Mary A., Martha J., John N., Elizabeth S. and William B., the sons growing up to assist in clearing away the forest, and in hunting the deer, bear and other wild game that reigned in the umbrageous groves of that early day. Mr. Priddy was a Methodist in religion and in pol- itics a whig, and died in 1848 at the age of about fifty-five years.

Thomas D. Priddy, the subject of this bio- graphical mnemoir, was born in Fayette county, Ohio, August 18, 1820, and was about fifteen years of age when brought by his father to Van Wert county, where he grew up among the old pioneers, and where he has witnessed the won- derful transformations that have taken place between then and now --- then having wild game and corn dodger or hoe cake for his daily food and the log cabin for a shelter, but now viands fit for a prince and a dwelling no gentleman in the land need be ashamed of to abide in ---- all earned by the exercise of the strong muscles of his good sturdy arms. He had received a slight education in Fayette county, which was supplemented by a further attendance at the schools of Van Wert county until he reached the age of eighteen years. In 1835 Mr. Priddy and his father erected the first round-log house in Van Wert for the proprietors of the town- George Marsh, Peter Puterpaugh and James Riley --- and then continued at the work of im- proving the home farm; and the farm, town- ship and county, indeed, owe much of their development to the strenuous efforts of Mr. Priddy. April 18, 1843, Mr. Priddy married, in Van Wert county, Miss Caroline DeCamp, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, Febru- ary 21, 1822, a daughter of John and Hannah (Springer) DeCamp, who settled in Ridge town- ship, Van Wert county, in 1841. The father of Mrs. Priddy was a blacksmith, was a pio- neer of Van Wert county, and died about 1850, the father of ten children. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Priddy settled on the home farm, which he increased in a short time to 206 acres, improved in a most excellent man- ner, and by half a century's attention has made it what it is -- the nonpareil of the town- ship. To their marriage were born two chil- dren-S. N. E. and Emerson. The elder, S. N. E., is in the oil business in Findlay, and Emerson is a lawyer of some prominence in

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Tiffin, Ohio, although most of his time is spent in the oil business.

. In 1847 occurred the death of Mrs. Caroline Priddy, and in 1852 Mr. Priddy married Mrs. Lucinda Pangle, a daughter of Thomas and Millie Cochran and born in Franklin county, Ohio. Thomas Cochran was an old settler of Allen county, Ohio, with his wife was a mem- ber of the Methodist church, and in his day was a man of considerable consequence. This second union of Mr. Priddy was blessed with fonrteen children, of whom nine lived to years of maturity, viz: Millie J., Lucy A., Ann M., John L., Charles F., Lester Bliss, Edward H .. Watson H. and Josie. The second Mrs. Priddy died August 4, 1892, also a member of the Methodist church, and in 1895 Mr. Priddy married Mrs. Julia A. Packham, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, October 13, 1837, a daughter of John and Rebecca (Vickers) Martin, pioneers of that county. Mrs. Priddy is an ardent member of the Methodist church and Mr. Priddy has long been an advocate of the cause of temperance. He votes with the re- publican party, and his eldest son was a soldier in company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infan- try during the late war, serving three years. Mr. Priddy has been a very prominent and popular man in his day and has been honored with several local offices, which he really never sought, but which he filled from a sense of duty as a citizen-every duty as such being cheer- fully undertaken by him and faithfully per- formed when called upon. In the spring of 1894 he announced his name as a candidate for congress, and made a most favorable race. being one of the leading candidates 'until the fourth ballot was taken, at which time Mr. U. H. Hester, of Van Wert, announced his name, taking with him sixteen of the delegates froin Van Wert county, which showed to him a treacherous move on the part of some of his would-be friends, and there was a shifting of

votes from other counties as well, which he did not approve of; thus he withdrew his name and bid adue to political life. Mr. Priddy has been a prominent factor in home politics from the early pioneer days of Van Wert county up to the present time, and by his manly and most honorable life has won for himself and main- tained a most enviable position in the esteem of the residents of his township and county, and one seldom attained by the ordinary inhabitant.

Mr. Priddy, late in the fall of 1895. forsook his country home and retired to a most pleas- ant and comfortable residence in the town of Middlepoint, where he expects to enjoy the fruits of his earlier life. He was for many years a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church and rode the circuit for four years; of late years, however, he has withdrawn from active church work, owing to the position taken by some of its leading ministers toward the temperance question, he having been suspended by them for charging one of the leading mem- bers with frequenting saloons, which charges were fully sustained by him, but which the church failed to recognize.

S ETH PAINTER, of York township. Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the state and was born in Colum- biana county on Independence day, in 1822. His parents were Samuel and Mary ( Hendricks) Painter, the former a native ,of West Virginia, born May 28, 1794. and the latter a native of Mauch Chunk, Pa .. born December 12, 1793. They were married in Columbiana county, Ohio, where Samuel Painter afterward carried on farming until his death. July 29, 1851, his widow surviving un- til June 1, 1874. Their children were born in the following order: Nathan, who died in in-

SETH PAINTER.

6.09-610

MRS. SETH PAINTER.

611-1012

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

fancy; Lorenzo, who accumulated great wealth and died in California at the age of seventy- two years; Stephen, who died aged twenty- four years; Seth, our subject; Louisa, widow, first, of John Thompson to whom she bore three children, and secondly, widow of John Marshall-Mrs. Marshall living at the present with her daughter, Mrs. Harris, in Pittsburg, Pa. ; Lucinda, widow of John Grimmessey, and residing in Warren, Ohio; Lydia Ann, wife of Robert Grimmessey, of Salem, Olio; Samuel, who died in Salisbury, N. C., a prisoner of war; Mary and Susan, who both died in in- fancy. Orris Painter, the only child of Stephen, mentioned above as one of the sons of .Samuel Painter, was also made captive in the war and died in Libby prison, after having endured all the torments of hunger usual in the rebel prison dens.

Seth Painter, whose name opens this biog- raphy, passed his early life on his father's farm, and was an attendant at the subscription school till twelve years of age, and then, the district schools being established, he attended the latter until he reached his majority. June 12, 1845, he wedded Miss Margaret Lyman, daughter of James and Margaret Lyman, the former of whom was a native of England, and the latter, whose maiden name was Toole, a native of county Kildare, Ireland. James Lyman was for thirty-one years a sailor, and died in New Orleans at the age of sixty-four years, an American citizen; his widow survived until eighty-seven years of age, and also died in New Orleans. Seth Painter and his wife came to their present home in York township in June, 1849. The land had previously been entered by his father, Samuel, during the ad- ministration of Martin Van Buren, the original tract consisting of 333 acres, which his father divided equally among his three sous. The land was an utter wilderness, with no evidence of ever having been invaded by a white man,

with the exception of a tree cut either by a coon-hunter or the wild honey-bee hunter. The whole tract of 333 acres eventually came into the possession of our subject, and this he increased, by purchase, to 488 acres.

To the union of Seth Painter and wife have been born eight children, as follows: Clarke and Stephen, who died in childhood; Samuel, who resides on a farm near his father's, and who married Priscilla Rank, who bore hini eight children; Mary Ellen and Francis, both deceased; John, who also resides near his father, who was first married to Jennie Rigdon and secondly to Olive Roberts; Annie is the wife of Joseph Wollam, and is the mother of one child -Grace; Lucy is married to Milton Roberts, and is the mother of three children -- Glenn, Viola and Amber. The children born to Sam- uel and Priscilla Painter, alluded to above, were named Guerney, Lulu, Seth, Minnie (deceased), Harry, Horace, Otto, and one that died unnamed; to the first marriage of John Painter was born one child, Russell. and the children born to his second marriage were four in number and were named Mabel, Pearl, Velma, and Emma.

In church matters our subject is a member of the Society of Friends, while his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church; in educational matters he has always been foremost, and the second school in the district was taught in a cabin built by him for the use of Mrs. Painter as a kitchen. The name of Seth Painter is a household name in Van Wert county, while his splendid farm has a charmn for and is the delight of every passer-by. His influence is felt everywhere, and every enter- prise of merit bears the impress of his touch. Mrs. Painter says the change in the moral con- duct of the inhabitants of York township since her coming here has been wonderful, and in- stead of hunting and carousing on Sunday the people now attend church.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ATTHEW A. PARLETT, of Ridge township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Cumberland county, Pa., October 16, 1846, a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Tauser) Parlett. While living in Pennsylvania Philip Parlett was mana- ger of a blast furnace, but in 1856 brought his wife and six children to Ohio. two of his sons, William and George, having preceded him a year or more. The children, besides Matthew A., who came with the father, were named Daniel, David H. (deceased) and Margaret (wife of Charles Emerine). The family first located in Champaign county, but in 1858 re- moved to Wyandot county, where the death of the mother took place in 1859, and that of the father in 1863. The latter had been a soldier in the Eighty-second Ohio infantry dur- ing the recent war, and there contracted a dis- order which was the radical cause of his death.

Matthew A. Parlett passed his life on the farm until he reached his sixteenth year, when he enlisted in Company B, Sixty-sixth Ohio infantry, for three years, and took part in the battles of Port Republic, Gettysburg and Chan- cellorsville; was next at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, and, indeed, was with his regiment in all its marches and engagements until his discharge, August 15, 1865, at Louis- ville, Ky., having served three years and eleven months. July 2, 1868, Mr. Parlett was first married, his bride being Miss Jennie Graham, who bore him three children, viz: Ollie, wife of Douglas Longbrake, of Hardin county, Ohio; John Wesley, at home, and Nelson, deceased. The mother died May 29, 1878, and Novem- ber 24 of the same year Mr. Parlett married Caroline McCleary, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Todd) McCleary, natives of Pennsylva- nia and parents of four children, viz: Char- lotte, wife of Israel Gibbs, of Pennsylvania: Caroline, Mrs. Pariett; Jennie, wife of John Sophield, of Wyandot county, Ohio, and Will-

iam, of Van Wert county. Mr. and Mrs. McCleary were early settlers of Wyandot county and there ended their days-the father dying in 1862, from disease contracted in the late war, and the mother dying April 26, 1873. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. (McCleary) Parlett are six in number, and are named May Elizabeth, Ralph A, Lela May, Clara Guella, Ethel and Nora Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. Par- lett are consistent members of the Methodist church, and in politics Mr. Parlett is an ar- dent republican. Matthew A. Parlett, our subject, came to Van Wert county in February, 1882, and located on his present farm of eighty acres in Ridge township, having previously purchased the place. Since his residence here he has made many friends, and is fully recog- nized as a model farmer and useful citizen.

ENRY PRICE, a stationary engineer of Van Wert, Ohio, was born Octo- ber 28, 1838, and is a son of Amos Price, who was born in Montgomery county, Pa., in October, 1808. By trade Amos Price was a stone-mason, but for many years, instead of working at his trade, he was a contractor on railroad building. In 1829 he married Miss Sarah Bergy, and in 1845 re- moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he was also engaged in contracting. Remaining in Montgomery county until 1862, he removed to Van Wert county, where he gave up con- tracting for the reason that the Cincinnati. Jackson & Mackinaw Railroad company owed him a good deal of money. For some years he then lived retired from active business of any kind, except that he lived on a farm and did a little work on that property. There he lived till his death, which occurred in 1882.

He was a man of unusual ability and en- ergy and amassed a considerable fortune. At the time of the Philadelphia riots in 1843 he

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

was a member of the militia and aided in sup- pressing the disturbance. He was a firm re- publican in politics, and a true believer in the German Baptist or Dunkard faith. He was a man that gave freely of his means, and was very popular with all classes of people. He and his wife were the parents of the following children: John, James, Elizabeth, Margaret, Henry, Amos. Sarah, Daniel and Caroline, nine in number, and of these, Daniel, while serving in the army, was wounded in the battle of Lookout Mountain, was taken prisoner, and was never heard of again; John is living in Van Wert; James died in August, 1862; Eliza- beth and Margaret died in Celina; Amos is living in Van Wert; Sarah in Paulding county, and Caroline is living in Van Wert county.

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A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 42

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