USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 49
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 49
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Mrs. Eleanor (Day) Shaw was born in Fair- field county Ohio, January 22, 1823, a daugh- ter of Ezekiel P. and Margaret (Barr) Day. Mr. and Mrs. Day were natives of New York and Pennsylvania respectively, but were mar- ried in Fairfield county, Ohio, where Mr. Day engaged in coopering and where he and family resided until 1832 and then moved to Han- cock county, Ohio, where Mr. Day died in October, 1856, his widow surviving until March 5, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Day were the parents of ten children, of whom Mrs. Eleanor Shaw 1
is the eldest, and who is herself the mother. by her union with the late John Shaw, of seven children, as follows: James B., deceased; Frances, widow of William Engleright, and the mother of three children-Harry, a grocery merchant, Anna, wife, of H. H. Hill, and Eleanor S., wife of G. H. Center; Melville D., ex-senator, a very prominent citizen and states- man, and now a resident of Wapakoneta; Elva, deceased; Emma J., the wife of John Redrup; Stephen A., a fruit merchant of Arkansas City, and John J., deceased. Mrs. Shaw's years are filled with honor, and no one in the county is more highly respected as a lady and a christian- like member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
AMUEL SHEETS, a pioneer farmer of - Harrison township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the Buck- eye state, and was born in Unity township, Columbiana county, September 20, 1813: His grandfather was a native of Ger- many, was an early settler of Pennsylvania, but moved from that state to Columbiana county, Ohio, bringing his family and settling in the wilderness. John Sheets, a son of the original pioneer above alluded to, was born in Pennsylvania, came to Ohio, when a boy, with his parents, and was reared in Columbiana county, where he married Catherine Rupert. daughter of Adam and Catherine Rupert, and to this union were born fourteen children. all of whom grew to maturity, and were named Samuel, Adam, Jehu, John, Solomon, Fred- erick, Benjamin, Isaiah, Elias, William, Mar- garet, Barbara, Mary and Ann. About the year of 1850 John Sheets sold his farm of 190 acres in Columbiana county and came to Van Wert county and purchased a partly cleared farm of 160 acres in Willshire township, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying at the age of over eighty-four years, an elder in the
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Lutheran church and a democrat in politics. He had served in the war of 1812, and was highly respected by all who knew him.
Samuel Sheets, a son of John and Cath- erine (Rupert) Sheets, was reared on his father's farm, receiving about three months' education in a subscription school of the neighborhood. In September, 1837, he married, in Columbi- ana county, Miss Mary Cress, a daughter of George and Barbara Cress, natives of the Key- stone state and parents of ten children --- Cath- erine, Susan, Sarah, Barbara, Laura, Mary, George, Michael, Isaac and William. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sheets, after the birth of their first child, John, started in the fall of 1840 for Van Wert county, and, after a journey of four- teen days, arrived at their destined home on October 1. Samuel's father had entered this land in 1836, but Samuel paid him the govern- ment price, $1.25 per acre, and thus secured the 160 acres for $200. The tract was covered with a dense growth of timber, but in due course of time Mr. Sheets, after expending an immense amount of labor and energy in the task, succeeded in hewing out from the woods a farm that easily rivals any other in the town- ship. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sheets, John, mentioned above, died at the age of four years; Catherine was married to Joseph Lare, a farmer of Tully township, and is the mother of seven children: Barbara, the wife of Patterson Rummel, a farmer of Harrison township, is the mother of five children; Elias, who married Alvira Thorne, is the father of four children; Adalina, mar- ried to Allen Pancake, a farmer of Harrison township, is the mother of seven children; Olivia, wife of Abrahain Pancake, has two children; Laura B., wife of Cornelius Bresler, hes three children, and William, who married Rachael Bowers, is the father of three chil- dren. Mr. Sheets is now, as will be seen, the grandfather of thirty-eight children, and is also
great-grandfather of one child. Mr. and Mrs. Sheets were united with the Lutheran church in Columbiana county, and since coming to Van Wert county have been instrumental in the formation of the congregation in Harrison township. He contributed freely of his means in aid of the erection of the first Lutheran church building in the township, and has also contributed over $400 in cash and labor toward building the present edifice. For many years he has been an elder. In politics he is a strong republican, and has held the office of township trustee for a number of years. He was a stanch Union man during the late Rebellion and sent two of his sons to join the Union army. These boys served 100 days each and were in several skirmishes, but came out un- harmed. Mr. Sheets is well known through- out Harrison and adjoining townships as an en- terprising farmer and as a man of the purest integrity. His wife died February 25, 1895 -- a lady of many womanly excellencies, whose death was, although not unexpected at her ripe age, a sad loss to her family.
ANIEL SHEPARD, of Convoy, Van Wert county, Ohio, and prominent as a manufacturer of staves, heading and lumber, is a man formed to en- dure adversity and to overcome the obstacles of business life. Primarily he is of Danish de- scent, and from Denmark his forefather reached France, and from the province of Nor- mandy reached England with William the Conqueror. Two brothers, Thomas and Rich- ard, descendants of these Norman-invaders. were soldiers under Oliver Cromwell in his in- vasion of Ireland, and after the protector's conquest of that green isle, the brothers inen- tioned made their home there and founded the family which eventually found a home in America by settling in New Hampshire, where
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Thomas Shepard, grandfather of our subject, passed his life as a farmer and died at the great age of ninety-seven years, or over, the father of the following children : Thomas, Richard, Joseph, Sarah and Elizabeth. Of these children, Richard, the father of our sub- ject, was born in New Hampshire, and when a young man located one-half mile north of the Vermont line, in Canada, and cleared up a farm of 300 acres, on which farm he passed the remainder of his life. To his marriage with Christine Bresee, a daughter of Nicholas Bresee, were born six children, in the follow- ing order : Corinne, Electa, Richard, Charles, Daniel (our subject) and Thomas P. The father of this family died at the age of fifty-six, on his own farm, a member of the Episcopal church, while his wife was a Baptist.
Daniel Shepard, whose name opens this sketch, was born April 11, 1819, on his father's farm in Canada. At the age of eighteen years he forsook the parental roof to learn the cooper's trade at North Toronto, and, having learned it, followed it for twenty years or more at various places. He married, in Hamilton, Catherine McNamara, the result of the union being three children-Richard, Anna and Electa. After his marriage Mr. Shepard lo- cated in Antwerp, Ohio, and engaged in grist- milling, and in that town Mrs. Shepard was called to her final rest. In 1873 Mr. Shepard came to Convoy and engaged in his present business in partnership with his son Richard, under the firm name of D. Shepard & Son. Richard, however, died in 1891 and since then Mr. Shepard has been settling up the business of the firm.
Richard Shepard, the son of Daniel, was married in York state to Sarah M. Dunn, who bore two children, Daniel and Edward. The father of these two children was always asso- ciated with his own father in business and died at the age of forty-seven years. a member of
the Masonic fraternity and a republican in poli- tics. Anna Shepard was married to W. G. Edwards, a business man of Van Wert; Electa remained at home. Mr. Shepard may well be called a business man and a self-made one, as he began life with no capital, but, through de- termination, aided by a strong constitution, has won his present competency and reputa- tion for integrity and business capacity.
OHN SHERBURN, a reliable and ex- perienced farmer of Hoaglin township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Fairfield county January 20, 1846. His grand- father was a native of Pennsylvania, of Ger- man descent, and was born in Lancaster county, where he was reared and was married, and whence he moved to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he followed farming until the end of his days. Joseph Sherburn, father of our subject, was born in Fairfield county in De- cember, 1818, and there married Mary Lutz, daughter of John Lutz; they now are ranked among the old and wealthy families of the county, and are leading members of the United Brethren church. Their children are nine in number, and were born in the following order: Eli, Sarah, Lydia, john, William H., Minerva, Ellen, Calvin and Isabel.
John Sherburn's patriotism was early aroused by the clang and crash of war, and as soon as old enough, at the age of eighteen years, he enlisted in defense of his country's flag, February 24, 1864, in company A, Sev- enteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and gallantly served until the close of the war, participating in the entire Atlanta campaign and seeing eighteen months of active and severe service, being confined, however, at its close, for a few weeks in hospital. He married Catherine Huddle, daughter of Daniel and Barbara Hnd-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
dle, and by this union became the father of seven children, named as follows: Ida B., Daniel E., Charles E., Joseph, Edith, Mamie and Earl; of these Ida B. graduated from the Middlepoint Normal college, and for eight terms was a most successful school-teacher.
Mr. Sherburn owns a well cultivated farm of eighty acres, improved with a good dwelling house and barn, and supplied with all modern conveniences and modern farm implements, and stocked with choice cattle and other farm animals. Mr. Sherburn has served as town- ship treasurer, and is a leading member of the church of the United Brethren in Christ. Mr. Sherburn is not only honored for his early mil- itary record, but is esteemed for his usefulness as a citizen and for his moral and straightfor- ward course as a neighbor. In politics he is a republican.
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D F. RICHIE, deceased, was born in Beaver county, Pa., September 19, 1807, a son of Samuel, also a native of Pennsylvania and of Irish and French extraction. When but a mere child, M. F. Richie was brought to Ohio by his parents, who located in Columbiana county, where he was reared a farmer, was married and followed his calling until 1835, when he moved to Crawford county, farmed until 1839, then came to Van Wert county, and located in Harrison township, whence he moved, in 1860, to Ridge township; finally, in 1873, he returned to the town of Convoy, where his decease oc- curred October 14, 1892. Sarah Eaton, to whom he was married in Columbiana county, Ohio, was a native of that county, and a daugh- ter of John Eaton, a native of the Buckeye state. The children born to M. F. Richie and wife were ten in number and named as follows: Olivia, wife of W. N. Longswortli; Catherine, wife of D. R. Bonewitz; John E., common
pleas judge of Lima, Ohio; Ruth A., now Mrs. J. H. Bailey; George, who died in 1856; Per- melia, deceased: Horace G., wliose biography will be found below; Elmira, wife of Samuel Price; Walter B., one of the most influential and leading citizens of Lima, Ohio; and Eber, deceased.
ORACE G. RICHIE, prominent as an attorney, was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, August 18, 1844, a son of M. F. and Sarah (Eaton) Richie. He was reared on his father's farm and edu- cated in the common schools of Harrison town- ship, his birthplace, until sixteen years of age; he then attended two terms at the school in Ridge township; at nineteen he engaged in farming, which he followed until 1875, when he began the study of the law at home, and this he continued until 1877, passing less than three months in a law office; in May of this year he opened his office in Van Wert, and met with success from the start, his earlier clients being his boyhood friends, and these are still among his patrons. The marriage of Mr. Richie took place in Harrison township May 17, 1863, to Miss Mary M. Brittson, who was born in Adams county, Ind., November 30, 1842, a daughter of Isaac Brittson. This lady died March 24, 1892, and on May 30. 1893, Mr. Richie took, for his second wife, in Nevada, Iowa, Mrs. Minerva B. Scott, widow of John H. Scott, formerly of Van Wert and a manufactuer, who died in Story county, Iowa. in 1889. Mrs. (Scott) Richie was born in Ridge townshtp, Van Wert county, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel Brown, who was one of the very early pioneers. Mrs. Richie, by her first husband, was the mother of three chil- dren. viz: Elizabeth, Lutie and Margaret Scott, who all make their home with Mr. Richie, at his pleasant residence on Washington street.
H.G. Richie 677-6418
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Mr. Richie is a Knight of Pythias, being the first past chancellor and first representative of that order in Van Wert. Outside of his fam- ily and fraternal relations, Mr. Richie's time is almost exclusively devoted to the duties per- taining to his large and growing practice, and he is considered to be one of the most success- ful and prosperous general attorneys within the limits of Van Wert county.
J R. SHOTWELL, a prominent real estate dealer and loan agent at Scott, Ohio, is a son of John C. and Elizabeth (Conn) Shotwell, and was born in Perry county, Ohio, September 18, 1855. The father, John C. Shotwell, was born in Penn- sylvania in 1817, and was a son of Joseph Shotwell, a native of Germany, who, while still a young man, came to America and set- tled in the Keystone state on a farm, and took an active part in the war of 1812. To Joseph and his wife (who died five days, only, prior to her hundredth birth-day) were born two children-Clarissa. who died in infancy, and John C. The latter was reared to farming, and in early manhood came to Ohio, locating in Carroll county, where he married Miss Eliza- beth, daughter of Alexander Conn, a native of Carroll county, the result of the union being ten children, viz: George C., who, after serv- ing his country three years, was wounded in battle and died in hospital in South Carolina: Fannie, wife of Joel Nuzum, farmer of Vernon county, Wis .; Hester, now Mrs. Newton Deaver, of the same place: John W., of Okla- homa; Rebecca, wife of Henry Silbaugh, also of Vernon county, Wis .; J. F., a farmer of Lawrence county, Tenn .; Sarah E., wife of S. N. Shaw, of Oklahoma; Willie, who died in infancy; J. R., our subject, and Mary C., who also died in infancy. The mother of this
family died in Wisconsin April 10, 1892, a de- voted member of the Presbyterian church.
John C. Shotwell, upon locating in Carroll county, Ohio, bought a farm, on which he re- sided with his wife and elder children for a number of years, and then moved to Perry county and purchased a farm on which he lived for twelve years; he then sold out and moved to Hocking county, where he bought still an- other farm, on which he lived twenty years, then sold out again and went to Wisconsin, to act as superintendent of a farm belonging to Gov. Rusk, and at the end of four years died, while holding this position, a prominent mem- ber and officer of the Methodist Episcopal church, and universally recognized as an up- right and useful citizen.
J. R. Shotwell, the subject proper of this biographical sketch, was reared to the pursuit of agriculture and received the education im- parted at an ordinary country school. In Hock- ing county Ohio, February 13, 1878, he was united in marriage with Phebe Poling, a native of what is now West Virginia, born August II. 1856, and a daughter of Remus and Nancy (Weaver) Poling. In 1865 this lady was brought to Hocking county, Ohio, by her par- ents, her father having been compelled to leave his native state on account of his Union senti- ments. He had acted as a scout for Federals in West Virginia, was captured by his neigh- bors, and his life spared only on account of old and friendly relations and his promise to leave the country. He is still living in Hocking county, and of his five children three still sur- vive, viz: Mary E., wife of E. H. Bennett, a merchant of Scott; Arinda, wife of B. Brian, and Phebe, the wife of our subject. Mr. Shot- well and wife continued to reside on a farm in Hocking county until 1883, when they came to Hoaglin township, Van Wert county, and purchased a farm about two miles from Scott. on which they lived until 1886, when they
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moved to their pleasant home in town. Here Mr. Shotwell established his present real estate and loan business, of which, through his native shrewdness, he has made a grand success, his transactions being carried on in Ohio, Kansas, and several other states.
Mrs. Shotwell is a sincere member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Shotwell is a republican and takes a deep and active interest in the success of his party. By his energy and enterprise, his foresight and in- nate business qualifications. he has greatly aided the growth of Scott, and has been a potent factor in promoting its general prosper- ity. Scrupuously just and inflexibly upright in all his transactions, he has won the respect of all his follow-citizens, and well deserves the high esteem in which he is held.
J OHN F. SIDLE, ex-county treasurer of" Van Wert county, Ohio, and at present a prominent business man of the city of Van Wert, is a son of James and Elizabeth (Julien) Sidle, and was born in Hocking county, Ohio, November 30, 1851. James Sidle was born in Maryland in 1826 and was a son of Daniel Sidle, a farmer who came from Maryland to Ohio and located in Fairfield county, where he resided until 1872, when he came to Van Wert county with his son, James, and here expired in 1875, the father of seven children, viz: Harriet, John, Eliza, Henry, Jane, Isabella, and James, who was the father of John F. Sidle, our subject, and was reared on the home farm until eighteen years of age, when he began learning the car- penter's trade, which he followed until 1865, when he re-engaged in farming, settling in Van Wert county, where his decease occurred Sep- tember 19, 1885. His wife, Elizabeth, was a native of Piqua, Ohio, a daughter of Richard Julien, and bore her husband twelve children,
as follows : Caroline, Zelda Jane, John F., Catherine, Mary, G. W., Malinda, Jacob, Charles, Josephine, Lucy and Hattie. The father of this family was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics was a democrat. He died possessed of a very comfortable fortune, and was a highly respected gentleman. The mother and companion was a member of the German Reform church.
John F. Sidle passed his early years in the usual training for the life of a farmer. He was educated in the district schools, and at the age of twenty-one years left the parental roof and for three terms taught school in Liberty township, Van Wert county; then married and engaged in farming in Pleasant township for a year on a lease of land in the woods given him by his father; then rented a tract known as the Johns Farm, which he oc- cupied eight years; he next purchased eighty acres of timber land, which he cleared and cultivated, and on which he made his home until 1888, when he was elected by the demo- crats as treasurer of Van Wert county by a majority of 185, and so great was the satis- faction given by him in executing the duties of the office, that he was re-elected, in 1890, by a majority of 700 votes. On the expiration of his second term as county treasurer, Mr. Sidle. in company with S. Balyeat, engaged in the furniture business at Van Wert under the firm name of J. F. Sidle & Co., and in this trade he has met with the most flattering success. the stock invoicing at about $7,000. Mr. Sidle is also the secretary of the Van Wert Building & Savings company, one of the most prosper- ous in the state; he also owns 135 acres of finely improved land in Van Wert county, be- side valuable city property, the result chiefly of his own industry and skillful management. The marriage of Mr. Sidle took place October 30, 1872, in Pleasant township, Van Wert county, to Miss Sarah Edson, who was born in
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Portage county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of John and Sarah (Atwater) Edson, and by this marriage four children have been born and named Harry, Charles, Mabel and Norina. Mr. and Mrs. Sidle are members in the Pres- byterian church, and in his fraternity relations he is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the National Union, and also of the Grange. He is a genial and popular gentleman, is practically self-made, and is prominent in all his relations with his fellow-citizens.
J OSEPH A. SIMPSON, formerly a prominent farmer of Union township; Van Wert county, three and one-half miles west of Scott, was born in the historic old Mormon town of Nauvoo, Ill., in 1843, and is a son of Samuel and Elinor (Griffith) Simpson, and now resides in the township of Blue Creek, Paulding county, Ohio.
Alexander Simpson, our subject's paternal grandfather, was of good old sterling Scotch ancestry. and was one of the earliest settlers of the Green Mountain state. Alexander Simp- son was a carpenter by trade, and also by oc- cupation a farmer. He was born about 1766, and while still a young man came with his two brothers to Licking county, Ohio, at that time unorganized and a part of the great North- west territory. There they probably entered a tract of government land upon which they built homes, and where the three lived until 1842. In that year Alexander Simpson sold his farm and moved to Hancock county, Ill., and entered a tract of government land adjoin- ing the great Mormon settlement. Here he lived until his death, which occurred in 1846.
Samuel Simpson, son of the above men- tioned, and father of our subject, was born in Vermont in 1821, and received his education in a little log school-house in Licking county, Ohio. He grew to manhood and became a mechanic,
and accompanied his father to the new home of the family in Illinois. In 1846 he went to Peoria, where he built boats first for himself and afterward on contract, the boats being used for the Illinois river trade. In August of 1848 he sold his ship-yard and started for his old home, going by steamer. The boat, the Edward Bates, blew up at Hamburg Landing, Ill., and he was badly scalded, taken to St. Louis, and died there August 18, 1848. He was a man of genius, enterprise and ability, and at the time of his death was rapidly win- ning his way to the front rank of the business inen of the day. In politics he was an old line whig, and ever took a deep interest in the pub- lic affairs of his country. Our subject's mother was born in Wales in 1816, and when twelve years of agr age came with her parents to Butler county, Ohio, where they were among . the earliest pioneers of that section. In 1831 the family removed to the then new county of Allen, where she was married to Samuel Simp- son in 1842 and became the mother of three children: Cylinda J., wife of James S. Zim- merman, of Nebraska; Josephine M .. deceased wife of Horace Kohn of Van Wert county; Joseph A., subject of this mention. She was left a widow in 1848, and in 1849 was married to S. R. Morton, of Nauvoo, Ill. To them were born three children: Lucius W., Edwin W., (deceased), and Alonzo A. The husband died in 1892, since which time the widow has made her home with her family. In 1853 the family moved to Allen county, and the follow- ing year to Van Wert county. She is an ear- nest christian lady, and a member of the M. E. church, in which she takes a deep interest.
Our subject, Joseph A. Simpson, laid the foundation for his education in the common schools of Nauvoo, Ill., and Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, and then learned the carpenter's trade. At the carly age of eigliteen I he enlisted, in April of 1861, for three montlis'
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
service in company E, Fifteenth Ohio volun- teer infantry, and saw active duty for this length of time in West Virginia, until his dis- charge, August 28, 1861. October 18 of the same year he re-enlisted, this time in the Sixth Ohio independent battery, John Sherman's brigade, and was sent to Louisville, Ky., thence to blockade the Cumberland river. After the fall of Nashville they were sent to Pittsburg Landing, thence on to Corinth, Miss., doing continuous duty all of the way. After its evacuation they went across Alabama, to Louis- ville and Perryville, then to Nashville, having been on the march almost continuously for fifty days. Then they returned to Murfrees- boro and fought the battle of Stone River, where our subject was captured, but released by Union cavalry in a few minutes. They took part in the Tullahoma campaign and the battle of Chickamauga. After this he received a furlough of thirty days, and visited his family, afterward rejoining his command at Chattanooga. Then he started with Sherman ·on the famous Atlanta campaign, and in the battle of Resaca he was wounded in the arm, but kept his post with his right arm disabled. After the fall of Atlanta he was sent back with his battery to Pulaski, Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., where they encountered Hood. After the numerous encounters in this vicinity he went to New Orleans, en route to Mexico after Maximillian. He received honorable discharge :September 1, 1865, after having fearlessly and faithfully served his country all through the war. At Bull's Gap, April 8. 1865, he was run over by a heavy gun, and suffered a frac- ture of his ankle, but refused to go to the hos- pital, and was taken care of by the comrades of his battery. He was first a corporal and later a sergeant.
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