USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 43
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 43
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Henry Price, the subject of this sketch, was born in Montgomery county, Pa., and at an early age learned the trade of a turner. Soon afterward, however, he learned engineer- ing and in 1868 removed to Celina, Ohio, where he was engaged for nine years as sta- tionary engineer. In 1877 he removed to Van Wert and has been similarly engaged ever since. He has always been noted for his hon- est, straightforward way of transacting his business and of treating his fellow-men. He is popular everywhere and has many good, warm friends. In politics he is a republican, and in religion a member of the Methodist church. He is now in very comfortable cir- cunstances and lives a quiet, unobtrusive life, with his family in his beautiful little home in the city of Van Wert.
Mr. Price was married April 7, 1862, to Miss Hattie Hawn, by whom he has had the following children: Amanda, born in 1862; Mattie, born in 1864: Emma, born in 1867; Charles, born in 1877; Lulu, born in 1878; May, born in 1879; Ida, born in isSo, and Nora, born in 1881. Beside these, there was one child that died in infancy. Mrs. Hattie
(Hawn) Price is a daughter of George W. Hawn, who was born in Cincinnati September 14, 1812. He was by trade and by life-long occupation a painter, and met with most grati- fying success. He was married February 17, 1834, to Miss Mary Martin, by whom he had four children, as follows: Sarah, born Sep- tember 4, 1835; Walter, born March 25, 1837: George, born March 15, 1840, and Hattie, born September 24, 1843.
The-ancestry of Mr. Price, it may be said in closing this brief sketch, were among the nobility of Italy. His great-great-grandfather was a very wealthy man, and was banished from his native country to England because he was a strong and persistent advocate of the people's rights. From England he emigrated to the United States, where after some years he died.
SA POLLOCK, an old and well known citizen of Jennings township, and a representative of one of the pioneer families of Van Wert county, is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Graham) Pollock, and dates his birth on the 24th day of Septem- ber, 1823. His parents were natives of Penn- sylvania, but became residents of Ohio as early as 1812, settling in Columbiana county, where they reared a family, the names of their chi !- dren being as follows: William, died in 1894; John, deceased; Mary, deceased wife of John Hyer; Nelson, deceased; Robert; Asa; Jane, deceased, wife of Josiah Wolford; Elizabeth, deceased; Martha, deceased; Harris P., killed at the battle of Lookout Mountain; James. who died in childhood; Ellen, deceased wife of William Lindsey.
Thomas Pollock and family moved to the county of Van Wert, in 1838, locating in what is now Ridge township, the country at that time being a comparative wilderness. Mr.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Pollock built the first court house and jail in Van Wert, and it is a fact worthy of note that the subject of this sketch, then a boy in his 'teens, did the cooking for the builders. It is stated, as a matter of historical interest, that the first two occupants of the jail were Jobn Myers and Samuel Mattocks, who usually re- mained in their cells during the day and rambled at will through the village and country of nights. There were few roads at that time in the country, and the subject relates that deer, wild turkeys and other kinds of game were plentiful, and formed much of the diet of the early settlers. Thomas Pollock died in No- vember. 1865, his wife in 1868.
Asa Pollock was born in Columbiana county, spent his boyhood at farm labor, and ended his school days at the early age of twelve years. It might be said that he literally grew up with ax in hand, and he assisted in felling the forest on his father's place in Van Wert county, performing a man's labor when but a lad, and learning the lessons of industry for which he has since been noted. He is proud of the fact that his parents were godly people, and they failed not to instruct him in his duties to his Maker and his fellow man.
Mr. Pollock was married, in 1853, to Mary Leathers, daughter of Christian and Catherine Leathers, the issue of which union is as fol- lows: John, who died in early childhood; Alfretta, wife of Jacob Turner; Ellen, wife of Jacob Dibert; Abrahamı L., inarried to Amanda Zeigler; Allen B .; Katie, wife of John Wilcox; Hugh G., who married May Norman; Lewis Otto, married to Daisy Williams; William H. ; Charley, who died in infancy, and Jesse.
Mr. Pollock can truthfully say that he earned every dollar that he possesses, and he is now the owner of 220 acres of valuable land in the townships of Jennings and Washington. He has served as trustee of his township four terms and discharged the duties of the office in
a highly satisfactory manner. Mr. Pollock is a Presbyterian in his religious belief, while his wife subscribes to the creed of the Lutheran church.
HOMAS POLLOCK, an agriculturist of the modern school, and consequent- ly progressive, was born in Ridge township. Van Wert county, Ohio, July 9, 1858, and here he still makes his home. His parents, Robert and Elizabeth (Sutton) Pollock, were also natives of the Buckeye state, and settled in what is now Ridge township, Van Wert county, in 1838, Thomas Pollock. the father of Robert, having entered, some years previously, 160 acres in the wilds of Washington township, the farm being later merged with Ridge. Robert Pollock followed farmer all his active days, with the exception of two years, when he held the office of county treasurer under the auspices of the democratic party, of which he was an adherent. To Robert and Elizabeth Pollock were born be- side Thomas, our subject, two children, viz : Samuel, who reached the age of thirty-six years, and Ella, now the wife of Aaron Zeigler. of Adams county, Ind. Robert Pollock died November 13, 1888, and was deeply mourned by a host of sincere friends, who had honored him for the upright and useful life he had led. and loved him for his benevolent disposition and gentle manners.
Thomas Pollock, beside his agricultural training, enjoyed excellent school advantages in his native township, also attended a com- mercial college at Delaware, Ohio, October 14. 1884. He wedded Ida McMillan, daughter of Jackson and Harriet (Gilliland) McMillan. Mrs. Ida Pollock is an accomplished lady and an excellent scholar, having been. a school- teacher in Van Wert prior to her marriage. To the congenial union of Thomas and Ida
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Pollock have been born four bright children, who have been named Walter, Robbie, Nellie and Gordon. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Pol- lock cling to the faith of our subject's parents -that of the Presbyterian church; in his fra- ternal affiliations, Mr. Pollock is a Knight of Pythias, and is a charter member of the Nor- mal lodge, No. 640, at Middlepoint; in his political views he follows the teachings of his father, who, as will have been seen, was a democrat. As a farmer, Mr. Pollock has been progressive and has kept himself well abreast of the improved and advanced position which agriculture now holds in the industries of the world, and this vocation he has made a life- long study and the labor of his hands since a boy, with the exception of the period passed as an assistant to his father in the county treas- urer's office. He is now the owner of 120 acres of well improved land, that will compare favorably with any tract of equal size in the county, and he stands as high in the social ranks of his township as he does in the rank of his agricultural associates.
J OHN E. PRICHARD, a native of Cin- cinnati, Ohio, was born August 30, 1868, a son of John and Elizabeth (Evans) Prichard, both natives of Wales. About 1845 the parents came to America, and when landing in New York the father found himself without a dollar. He succeeded, how- ever, in borrowing enough money, of D. O. Evans, to carry him to Cincinnati, Mr. Evans accompaning him. There, Mr. Prichard en- gaged in boiler-making, after having passed through a severe spell of sickness, his faithful wife keeping vigil at the bedside, binding shoes in order to keep the wolf from the door. The father worked in Cincinnati for twenty years, laying aside a little money, and then came to Van Wert county and purchased eighty acres
of land, now vested in the name of our sub- ject, J. E. Prichard. In 1859 John Prichard brought his family to his pioneer home, em- ployed a carpenter by the name of Russell to put a cover on his unfinished cabin and to assist in hewing out the puncheon floor: here he re- sided until his death, which occurred in March, ISSI, at the age of fifty-nine years; his wife survived until March 11, 1892; they were the parents of ten children, viz: Richard, who died in Wales in infancy; Ann, the wife of John Bevington; John E., our subject; Jane, de- ceased; George, a farmer of York township; Elizabeth, deceased wife of John Jones; Richard, on the old home place: William, of York township; Jennie, wife of Thomas Hughes, and Mary Jane, who died in infancy.
John Prichard spent his boyhood days ou the farm assisting his father, having but few if any school advantages. October 15, 1873, he married Mary Elizabeth Culver, a daughter of Cummings and Melchoir (Heath) Culver, the former a native of New York state. They be- came the parents of the following children: Nancy Jane, wife of William Coe, of Findlay, Ohio; Franklin, of Upper Sandusky; John, Ozias, William and Asel, all of Upper San- dusky, and Ebenezer, who resides with his uncle, William Heath. At the age of ten years Mrs. Prichard lost her mother, and Mr. Culver, her father, married Catherine Meyers. and after her death Mr. Culver married the Widow Stoneburnner. To Mr. Prichard and wife have been born two children, Nannie, an accomplished young lady who has taught school for three years, and Williamn, who aids his father on the farm. Mr. Prichard owns a handsome farm of 120 acres having " taken it from the stump." His farm is now adorned with fine buildings and is thoroughly improved in all respects; Mr. Prichard has held the office of township trustee since 1890, and also served as a member of the board of school directors.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
He is recognized as an enterprising and public- spirited citizen, whose word has never been violated and whose thrift is proverbial through- out the township.
J OHN RAHRIG, a wealthy and old-time farmer of Jennings township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Alsace, Germany, April 1, 1825. His father, Philip Rahrig, was born in the same Franco- German province in 1797, was a weaver, and by his first marriage became the father of three children -- George, Philip and John. In 1830 the father and his family sailed for America, but on the voyage the wife was confined with child and died, and she and the new-born infant were buried in the deep, deep sea.
On landing in Baltimore, Philip Rahrig had only two five-franc pieces, which he paid to a teamster for hauling himself and children to the country where he had secured employ- ment among the Pennsylvania-Dutch then settled thereabout. Shortly afterward he went to Franklin county, Pa., worked there five years, and then came to Ohio, locating in Seneca county, bringing with him his second wife, whom he married in Pennsylvania and who bore the maiden name of Mary A. Myers, a daughter of Michael Myers, a native of Alsace. To this union were born seven chil- dren, viz: Elizabeth, Michael, Joseph, Jacob, Peter, Patrick and Barbara. Mr. Rahrig cleared up forty acres in Seneca county, on which he lived until about 1865 or 1866, when he moved to Allen county, bought 160 acres in the woods in section No. 11. Marion township. and made a good farm, and when years came on apace he retired to Landeck, where he died at the residence of his son, Joseph, in 1888, at the extreme age of ninety-one years and three months, in the faith of the Catholic church.
John Rahrig, our subject, was but five years old when brought to America by his father, and was reared to farming in Pennsylvania and Seneca county, Ohio, and in December, 1848, came to Van Wert county and entered forty acres in the woods of Jennings township-a part of the farm on which he still lives. He then returned to Seneca county, where he married, September 7, 1851, Miss Barbara Bockey, who was born November 4. 1831. The marriage of John and Margaret (Simons. Bockey resulted in the birth of six children. viz: Joseph, Mary, August. Elizabeth. Bar- bara and Matthias. In 1852 Mr. Rahrig made a trip to California, via New Orleans and Pan- ama, to San Francisco, worked in the mines and returned with some gold. In 1854 he settled on his present farm, built a log cabin, cleared up the place, increased his possessions to 240 acres, improved it throughout, and made it one of the best farms in the county
Mr. Rahrig lost his wife in 1868; she was yet a comparatively young woman, dying at about the age of thirty-six years, a devout member of the Catholic church. In IS;o Mr. Rahrig secured. as his second helpmate, An- toinette Deming, a native of Germany, who bore four children-Thomas. Frank, Lena and Rose-and died in 1878, also in the Catholic faith. Mr. Rahrig's third marriage took place January 17, 1885, to Mrs. Mary A. Williams, widow of Michael Williams. This lady was born in Germany December 19, 1832, a daugh- ter of Matthias and Margaret (Wiker) Frank- ert, the father being an old settler of Seneca county, Ohio, where he owned a good farm. on which he ended his days, a devout Catholic and the father of seven children-Jane. Nich- olas. Mary, Marion, John, John Nicholas and Katie. Mrs. Rahrig, by her first marriage. was the mother of nine children. all of whom lived to maturity, viz: Tillie, Margaret, Johu. Jacob, Peter, Mary, Katie, Emma and Mi-
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
chael. Mr. Rahrig has acted as councilinan in the Catholic church for twelve years, and assisted to build the first church belonging to that denomination in Landeck, of which his wife is equally a faithful member as him- self. Mr. Rahrig was also among the first to start the movement that resulted in the erec- tion of the present Catholic church in Lan- deck, and he and wife are recognized as antong the most liberal of its supporters. As a citizen no resident of the township is more respected than Mr. Rahrig, and Mrs. Rahrig is esteemed as a lady of exceptional womanly virtues.
O WEN O. PUGH, a native of Wales, was born in June, 1843, a son of Hugh and Martha ( Edwards ) Pugh. In 1850 Hugh Pugh with his wife and two sons, Owen O. and David, came to Amer- ica and located in Mahoning county, Ohio, where Hugh, the father, engaged in mining for a year and a half; he was also a minister and often filled the pulpit. From Mahoning he went to Portage county, Ohio, where he was engaged in the ministry for two years, and then came to Van Wert county, and located on the farm now owned by our subject and which contains 120 acres, at that time all in the woods. This farin he cleared up and im- proved and lived upon for twelve years; he then moved to Putnam county and purchased 120 acres, on which he resided until his death in 1878. Hugh Pugh was the first resident preacher in this part of the state, and followed his calling until the end of life. Mrs. Martha Pugh resides in Venedocia, the mother of six children, viz: David, who grew to manhood and died at the age of twenty-nine years; Owen O., our subject; Hugh, who died at the age of three weeks; Margaret, who also died in childhood; Jane, the wife of Thomas W. Hughes; and John E., who resides on the old
homestead in Putnam county and is married to Anna Jones.
Owen O. Pugh, our subject, was reared on the home farm, where he performed the most of the work, his father being an invalid. May 4, 1865, he was united in wedlock with Eleanor Evans, a daughter of Rowland and Jane ( Jones ) Evans. Mrs. Pugh was born in New York state, where her father had located on coming from Wales, in 1842, whence, three years.later, he moved to Butler county, Ohio, where he made another stop of three years, and then, in 1848, came to Van Wert county, and located on a farm near Venedocia, which he had previously purchased. Rowland Evans and wife are the parents of six children, viz: Mrs. Pugh; Margaret, deceased wife of John M. Jones; William, who grew to manhood, reared a family and died in Gomer, in 1891; Mary, wife of Rich Breese, of York township. Van Wert county; John, who died in the full vigor of manhood; and Robert, who died in childhood. In 1885 Mrs. Pugh lost her mother, and the father subsequently married a Welsh lady named Ann Jones, and is now a resident of Venedocia. To Owen Pugh and wife have been born nine children, viz: Mar- garet Jane, who died just in the fulness of womanhood; Martha, who died at three months of age; Hugh E., inanaging his father's farm; Martha Ann; Elizabeth, Marion, Eleanor: Laura and David Garfield, the latter born on the day of Garfield's inauguration as president of the United States, at home; and John, who died aged four months. In politics Mr. Pugh is a republican, and in 1877 was elected trustee of the township and served two years, and in 1895 was re-elected to the same office. Our subject and family are devout members of the Welsh Presbyterian church, of which he was for three years a trustee. In October, 1892. Mr. Pugh and his wife made a trip to the old country, visiting the scenes of his boyhood.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
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Mr. and Mrs. Pugh in their social affiliations mingle with the best society of the town, and he is honored for his true integrity and broad public spirit.
AMES POTTER, the genial proprietor of the Avenue Hotel, at Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Bedford county, Pa:, November 15, 1845, and is a son of George and Catherine (Yon) Potter. George Potter, the father, was born in the same county and state, a son of William and Geor- gianna Potter, who came from Germany in early life and settled in the Keystone state, where William engaged in milling. George was but sixteen years of age when his father died, and he was left in charge of the mill, which his father had never completed, but which George operated for a few years. Then, disposing of it, he bought a mill in the same county, which mill he operated fifteen years; then sold and moved to Martinsburg, Pa., in 1864, where he remained until 1866, when he settled at Altoona, Pa., where he dealt in real estate until his death, in 1878. His wife, Catherine Yon, was born in Maryland, but their marriage took place in Pennsylvania. To this marriage there were born twelve chil- dren, viz: John, William, Jacob, Loretta and twin a sister died in infancy; Leora, Levi (killed at Kenesaw Mountain, a member of the , Twenty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, com- pany C), Simon, Caroline, James, Jeremiah, David and a deceased infant. The mother of this family also died in 1880, a member of the Lutheran church, of which her husband had also been a member. In politics the father was a democrat, and the estate be left was valued at $30,000.
James Potter, the subject of this biogra- phy, was an inmate of his parents' home until eigliteen years of age, when, February 29,
1864, he enlisted in company A, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania volunteer in- fantry, was assigned to the Second army corps, army of the Potomac, participated in the bat- tle of Spottsylvania C. H., and at Cold Har- bor was wounded in the left ankle by a giin- shot. He was at once taken to the Emory hospital at Washington, D. C., and confined therein until June 27, 1864, when he was transferred to the Darby hospital, at Philadel- phia, and a short time afterward removed to Satterlee hospital of the same city, where he remained until the spring of 1865; he was thence transferred to the Germantown hos- pital, where he veteranized, became a member of the One Hundredth veteran reserve corps, and remained there until September 15, 1865. when he was honorably discharged and re- turned to his home at Martinsburg, Pa. There he lived until the following October. when he came to Ohio and entered into the milling business in Morrow county with a brother for a partner. The following spring he made a trip to the west, but soon returned and rejoined his brother until 1868, when he went to Marseilles, Lasalle county, Ill., where he was employed in a mill for four months. Then he worked in a mill in Westfield, Ohio, until 1869, when he was married, November 14; then engaged in the restaurant business at Ashley, Ohio, for three months. In March. 1870. he opened a meat market in Van Wert, but three months later sold out and entered the Eagle and Van Wert stave works, where he continued for the long period of eight and a half years, or longer, acting as chief engi- neer. In 1879 he sold washing machines for three months; he next was employed for twenty-two months in a meat market, and then for twenty months kept a restaurant. In June, 1882, he opened the Avenue Hotel, which popular house of entertainment he has conducted ever since. This house has twenty-
JAMES POTTER.
621-622
MRS. NETTIE POTTER.
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
eight rooms, measuring on the average 10 x 14 feet, which are furnished to the public at $1 per day, or board and room for $4. 50 per week. Mr. Potter was married, in Westfield, Ohio, November 14, 1869, to Miss Nettie Terry, who was born in Westfield, April 8, 1848, and this union has been blessed with seven children, viz: Addie, wife of E. O. Riffle, agent of the C., J. & M. R. R. at Paulding, Ohio; Harry, de- ceased; Mollie, deceased; George; Frankie, de- ceased; Kittie, deceased, and Elmer. Mr. Pot- ter is a member of the G. A. R. and of the Nathional Union: he is also a member of the Lutheran church, while Mrs. Potter is a con- sistent and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mrs. Nettie Potter was born in Westfield, Morrow county, Ohio, April 8, 1848, and is a daughter of Edward and Rossetta (Higley) Terry. Edward Terry was born in Connecti- cut, in 1805, and was a son of George W. and Deborah (Brondage) Terry, both natives of New York, and whose home was at Tioga Center, and there they both died. Mr. Terry was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and a man of much learning and elo- quence. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, Edward being the third son.
Edward Terry was educated in his native county, remaining at home until he was eight- een years of age. Then going to Poughkeep- sie, N. Y., he there learned the trade of shoe- maker, which he followed in Spencer, Tioga county, N. Y., until 1838. Locating then at Westfield, Ohio, he still followed his trade until 1861, and then enlisted in company D, Sixty- fifth Ohio volunteer infantry for three years. He served for three months, when he contracted a severe cold, and being unable longer to serve his country as a soldier, he was discharged, and returning to his home he remained until his death, which occurred December 5, 1866.
On June 21, 1842, he married Miss Rosetta 27
Higley, who was born in Auburn, N. Y., March 14, 1822, and was a daughter of Chauncey and Margaret (Head) Higley, both natives of New York. Mr. Higley was a distiller and moved to Ohio in 1840, locating at Westfield, where he resided until his death, August 2, 1887. His widow resides at Ashley, Ohio, aged ninety- one. They were the parents of eight children, of whom five reached mature years. Mr. Hig- ley was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics was a democrat. His widow still adheres to the Methodist faith, and her standing is high in the social circles in which she moves.
AWSON RADER is a well-known resident of Washington township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is an ex-soldier of the Civil war, and was born near Columbus, Ohio, four miles north of the state house, February 4, 1844.
Frederick Rader, father of our subject, was born in Germany, March 4, 1807, and came to America in 1825, at the age of eighteen years, became a butcher and stock dealer, and located in Fredericksburg, whence he moved to Column- bus, Ohio, where he married Mary Welsh, and by her became the father of three children -- John, Rawson and Elmira-the last named dying a married woman. The father did a successful business in and near Columbus for a. number of years, and then moved to Delaware county, whence he came to Van Wert county in 1869, and located on a forty-acre tract in Washington township, which tract he con- verted into a good farm, on which he passed the remaining years of his life.
Rawson Rader, our subject, received a fair education in the common schools of Ohio. and was taught the woolen manufacturing trade in Marysville, Union county, which he began at the age of fourteen years, and at the
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
end of three years had learned thoroughly. September 10, 1870, he married, in Delaware county, Ohio, Miss Minnie Daniels, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Hall) Daniels, of New York state. and of English origin, but prox- imately of New England Puritan descent. Da- vid Daniels was a lumberman, was a success- ful business man and reared a family of six children, viz: Martha, Jane, Mary, John, .Phebe and Minnie. Mr. Daniels died in York state, and his widow later came to Ohio. She had been married, in Bath, N. Y., to Henry Manchester, who died in 1860, and by whom she had one child-Ebbie. She afterward married A. Smith, and died in 1892. Nine days after his marriage, Mr. Rader found him- self settled on a farm of forty acres in the woods, which he cleared up and occupied until 1881, having had born to him in the meanwhile six children, viz: Eva, Elmer, Estella, Enos, George and Celia, and later occupied a small farm of thirty-two acres on the ridge. Mr. and Mrs. Rader are sincere members of the Methodist church, while the republican party claims his franchise. He is a thorough friend of education, and has seen to it that his chil- dren have not been neglected in that respect.
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