USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 50
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 50
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After the close of his military career he be- gan farming in Van Wert county, but his dis- abled ankle caused him to give this up and re-
turn to the carpenter trade. Three years later he went to the vicinity of Vincinnes, Ind., as foreman for a lumber company, and in 1871 he engaged in the mercantile business at Vaughns- ville, Ohio, being quite successful in this line. In 1874 he purchased a saw-mill, and in 1877 he added thereto a tile factory, continuing in the business until 1881. At this time he re- entered the store and remained four years, after which he again engaged in the mill and tile business until the mill burned, .July 14. 1894. Then he bought a farm of eighty acres in Union township where he resided until his removing to Paulding county, as mentioned in the opening paragraph.
Our subject was united in marriage, No- vember 28, 1867, to Miss Rachel Collar, daughter of Joshua and Jane (Weddle) Col- lar, natives of Warren county, N. Y., and resi- dents of Putnam county, Ohio. Mrs. Simpson was born in 1845. To them have been born three children, the order of birth being as fol- lows: Jessie A., Effie and Joseph S. Mr. Simpson is a member of the Masonic order, by which he is held in high esteem. He is also a comrade of Joe Collar post, No. 192, G. A. R .. and is reckoned as one of the successful busi- ness men and public spirited citizens of this section. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are members of the Methodist Episcopal society, to the sup- port of which they contribute most liberally.
ILLIAM SMITH, M. D., of Van Wert, Ohio, and one of the oldest practitioners in the county, was born in Washington county, P'a .. February 28, 1822, and is the fifth of a family of twelve children born to William and Mary (Lyle) Smith, the former born November 5. 1788, and the latter February 1, 1794, and married in Washington county, Pa., June 23. 1814, where they resided until the summer or
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fall of 1822, when they came to Ohio and located in Richland county, near Mansfield, where the father was chiefly engaged in mill- ing and farming until 1844, when he sold his farm of 120 acres and his mill and retired to Mansfield, where his death took place May 5, 1846, at the age of fifty-seven years and six months; the widow continued her residence in Mansfield until 1856, after which she made her home alternately with our subject and her daughter, Mrs. Sarah Ann Clark, near Mans- field, dying at the home of the latter, October 3, 1876, at the age of eighty-two years and eight months. Her remains were interred beside those of her husband in Mansfield come- tery. The seven sons and five daughters of the deceased were born in the following order: James, February 7, 1815, married Ellen Ham- mer of Mansfield, emigrated to California in 1853, died in Sacramento August 9, 1863, leaving a widow and one son-Charles Ray Smith; the widow subsequently married but is now deceased; Sarah' Ann (deceased), born April 1, 1816, married James Clark of Mans- field November 14, 1850, and had two chil- dren-Allen E. and Anna M .; Robert Lytle, third child of William and Mary Smith, was born April 11, 1818, died December 14, 1831; Abigail McF., born June 28, 1820, died Octo- ber 6, 1831; William, our subject; David Lyle, born April 27, 1824, emigrated to California in 1850, and engaged in business with Weister & Co., of San Francisco, traveling most of the time on the Pacific coast; Mary Jane, born March 4, 1826, died July 3, 1828; Rebecca, born May 24, 1826, died August 29. 1828; Ebenezer, born August 1, 1829, was a school- teacher and printer, emigrated to California in the spring of 1850, and died in San Francisco May 23, 1851; Robert Ray (deceased), born October 9, 1831, emigrated to California with his brothers, David and Ebenezer, in 1850, remained there until 1853, when he returned
to Mansfield, Ohio, and cast his first vote, which was for John Sherman for congress. March 9, 1858, he married Esther Ann Grant, of Mansfield, who has borne four children, viz: George Ray, born March 7, 1859, a black- smith; May Elizabeth, born November 3, 1861 ;. Eleanor Eureka, born November 29, 1865,. and Robert Grant, born September 1. 1877. After the birth of his first child, Robert Ray Smith revisited California, returned to Mans- field, Ohio, October 2, 1862, and followed his vocation of sign painter and stencil cutter until death. Samuel Lyle (deceased), the eleventh child of William and Mary Smith, was born December 26, 1833, near Mansfield, came to Van Wert county in 1856 and engaged in mill- ing until the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861, when he enlisted in the Sixth Ohio bat- tery and served throughout the entire struggle, and on his return, in 1865, resumed milling, which he followed until his death, November 17, 1874; he had married, November 12, 1860, Citney Ann Saltzgaber, who bore him four children, viz: Emma Gertrude, born October 10, 1861 -died April 25, 1878; Saphronia Grace, born December 13, 1865-died Febru- ary 10, 1877; Manona Lyle, born February I, 1868, and Samuel Saltzgaber, born January II, 1871. The mother of this family died in Van Wert June 4, 1886. Issabelle, the youngest child of William and Mary (Lyle) . Smith, was born May 18, 1836, and died March 29, 1837.
In May, 1846, on the first call for volun- teers for the war with Mexico, our subject and his eldest brother, James, enlited at Mansfield, Ohio, James being at that time engaged in the photograph business, and William, our sub- ject, in the study of medicine and its practice with his preceptor, Dr. A. G. Miller, of Mans- field, who gave him strong letters of recom- mendation to Gov. Bartley, of Ohio, and Gen. Curtis, for the position of assistant sur-
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geon, but these letters were not used, as, on its organization, his company elected him their second lieutenant, and he stayed with them until mustered out at New Orleans, June 30, IS47: James acted as assistant in the commis- sary department. The doctor and his youngest brother, Samuel L., both enlisted at the break- ing out of the great rebellion in 1861, Samuel L. attaining the rank of sergeant in the Sixth Ohio battery, and the doctor entering with the rank of second lieutenant, and advancing to captain, major and lieutenant-colonel in the Forty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry. In this last war the doctor carried the same saber that he wielded at Buena Vista, and still has it in his possession.
To revert to the medical career of this sol- dier-physician, it may be stated that, on his return from Mexico, he resumed his study of the science and attended lectures at Cleveland, Ohio, and after graduation located in the vil- lage of Ganges, Richland county, Ohio, where he practiced his profession from the first day of April, 1848, until April first, 1856, when he came to Van Wert. While a resident of Ganges the doctor wedded Miss Almira Mul- ford, of New Haven, Huron county, Ohio, De- cember 5, 1848, died July 4, 1892, the result of this union being eight children, viz: Mary Eveline, born December 14, 1849; she was married to George W. Clark, July 21, 1870, and their only child, Emma Georgianna, was born December 27, 1872, and died April 7, 1873. Mr. Clark died December 12, 1872, of pulmonary consumption: his widow then made her home with her parents until June 20, 1883, -when he married Henry Butler, a manu- facturer of staves, at Van Wert. Harriet Loretta, the doctor's second daughter, was born March 18, 1852, and married George Martin Hall, May 28, 1873; Mr. Hall is a dry-goods merchant of Van Wert and he and wife are parents of six children, viz: Eva
Barbara, born April 9, 1874; Jessie Lucille. born September 29, 1878; Grace Mulford. born March 8, 1883, and Mabel Loretta de- ceased), born January 17, 1885; Erma Joyce; Raymond Richards; Mira Bell, the doctor's third daughter, was born November 18, 1854; she married, July 3, 1880, Aaron Lewis Doram, a stave manufacturer of Van Wert. William Mulford, the doctor's eldest son, was born July 19, 1857, studied medicine, graduated in the spring of isso, and on November 18. 1880, married Harriet Lucretia Harnley; they have two children, Roxana Burt Smith, born December 1, 1881, and Donald Harnley, born January 4, 1891. Wilbur Simpson Smith, the doctor's second son, was born May 5, 1859. and died of brain fever, May 3, 1860. Ida May, the fourth daughter of the doctor, was born November 26, 1864, and married Charles W. Webster, June 26, 1895. Thomas Morton Smith, the third son, was born September 30, 1866-married Hannah Brenner, October 16, 1889, and has one son, Roy Brenner. born November 16, 1890. Zora Lyle Smith, the fifth daughter and youngest child of the doctor, was born February 14, 1871, and is still at home, unmarried.
APT. TOM M. SMITH, of company D, Second Ohio state infantry. (Gilli- land Guards), was born in Van Wert. September 30, 1866, and is a son of Dr. William Smith, whose biography appears in close proximity to this sketch. Tom M. Smith was educated in his native city, in the high-school, and when but eighteen years of age, while yet a student, began his business life as an assistant to A. W. Scott in the gro- cery trade during vacations, continuing in this employment until July, 1881. Leaving school in 1884, he engaged as clerk with G. W. Sidle in the restaurant and grocery business, with
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whom he remained until July 14, 1886, and then clerked for S. K. Ream. & Co., in the grocery line of trade, until 1888, when he en- tered the store of his brother-in-law, G. M. Hall, a dry-goods merchant. July 22, 1884, Mr. Smith began the study of military tactics under Capt. D. M. Boreland, of Van Wert. In eight months after entering Boreland's company he was promoted from private to corporal; in 1886 he was elected second lieu- tenant, and as such served two terms, and on July 14, 1889, was elected captain. He has proven to be an efficient disciplinarian as well as tactician, and is, withal, very popular with his company and in general military circles. The marriage of Capt. Smith took place Octo- ber 16, 1889, in Van Wert, to Miss Hannah Brenner, who was born in Willshire township, Van Wert county, Ohio, July 13, 1871, a daughter of John and Mary (Kreiselmeyer, Brenner, the fruit of the happy union being one son -- Roy B. Capt. Smith is a member of lodge No. 130, Knights of Pythias, also of the National Union, and with his wife, is a member of the German Lutheran church. He has a large side interest in the poultry busi- ness, and resides in a pleasant residence on West Main street, where he and wife enjoy to the fullest extent the respect of their neighbors.
0 AVID SMITH, one of the pioneer farmers of Willshire township. Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Washington county, Pa., June 5, 1826. His grandfather, Nicholas Smith, came from Holland when a boy, lived several years near Philadelphia, and then settled in Wash- ington county, Pa., where his death occurred. His son, John A. Smith, was born in Wash- ington county, Pa., April 23, 1798, and was reared on his father's farin. April 19, 1818, he married Mary Zedeker, daughter of Lewis
and Catherine (Smith) Zedeker, and by this marriage became the father of the following children: Sarah A., Lewis (deceased), Marga- ret, David, John, Elizabeth and Catherine. In 1838 the family caine to Ohio and lived for some time in Franklin county, but later, about 1847, came to Van Wert county and settled on eighty acres in Willshire township. Here the mother died, October 29, 1854, and the father died January 7, 1870, both in early life having been members of the Presbyterian church, but later becoming associated with the United Brethren.
David Smith, subject of this sketch, was twenty-one years of age when he came to Van Wert county with his parents, and here he has since been identified with the agricultural in- terests of Willshire township, besides having rendered for some years his services as an educator. In February, 1849, he married Mary Hartzog, daughter of Solomon and Cath- erine (King) Hartzog, originally from Pennsyl- vania, but later pioneers of Fairfield county, Ohio, and finally settlers of Van Wert county. To David Smith and his wife were born the following children: Mrs. Mary L. Walters; John H., a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church; Wilbur P., deceased; Mrs. Eliza H. Harrod; Emma J., deceased; Mrs. Clara A. Johnson (her husband being an assistant pro- fessor in the Ann Arbor (Mich. ) Law school, and also ex-representative in the Ohio legisla- ture); Jesse M., deceased; and the remaining two are King B. and Barda M. Soon after marriage our subject and wife settled on his present farm of 160 acres, which is now well improved, but which he wrenched from a state of wilderness. Mr. Smith had the misfortune to lose his wife August 15, 1876, and after his children, who felt disposed to do so, had mar- ried, Mr. Smith took for his second wife, April 21, 1892, Mrs. Sarah A. Byer, widow of George Byer, and daughter of Peter Fisher.
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In politics Mr. Smith is a republican, and for three terms has served as township trustee; for fifty years he has been a class leader in the Methodist church, in which he has taken great interest since the days of his youth. He is one of the oldest pioneers of Van Wert county, and stands very high in the estimation of his fellow-citizens.
J UDGE OBADIAH WELLINGTON ROSE, deceased, was born in Guern- sey county, Ohio, June 9, 1820, a son of Robinson and Elizabeth (Mosier) Rose, who were natives of Somerset county, Pa., were there married, and about the year 1818 came to Ohio and settled in Guernsey county, where the father followed farming and stone-masonry, and where both parents passed the remainder of their days. There had been born to them nine children, named as follows: Chilnissa, Abraham, William, Obadiah W., all now deceased; Perry, of Kansas City, Mo .; Carolina; John, deceased; Joseph, of Van Wert; Johnson, deceased. The father of this family was a republican in politics and in re- ligion a Presbyterian, while the mother was a Dunkard.
Obadiah W. Rose remained with his par- ents until twenty-one years of age, and then worked as a laborer in a saw-mill at thirty- seven and one-half cents per day, and at odd jobs, until 1845. Being devoid of an educa- tion, and keenly feeling this deprivation, he formed a rigid resolution to acquire knowledge sufficient, at least, to enable himself to be of some use to society, and. if possible, to make his mark in the world. Accordingly, from his meager earnings he saved sufficient money to purchase books, and with indomitable will be- gan a course of self instruction, which resulted in his becoming competent to be a school- teacher, which vocation he followed for sev-
eral winters, and continued at hard-labor work in the summers. In the meantime, also, hav- ing come to Van Wert county in 1844, he be- gan the study of the law in 1846, and in 1848 was admitted to the bar. In the interval, in 1847, lie was elected county recorder, served two terms, and in the spring of 1848 was elected justice of the peace, but persisted continuously to pursue his studies and practice his profes- sion. In 1865 Gov. Brough appointed him judge of the court of common pleas, an office he filled for eighteen months with an unswery- ing sense of justice that won the approbation of the legal fraternity; he then resumed the practice of his profession, which he followed until his lamented death, September 23, 1867. Judge Rose was a sir knight of the Masonic fraternity, an honored Odd Fellow, and a member of the Young Men's Literary con- gress. His remains were interred under the imposing auspices of the Masonic order, and the obsequies were attended by members of the various societies to which he belonged, in- cluding the Bar association. Suitable resolu- tions were passed by Van Wert lodge, No. 218, F. & A. M., Van Wert lodge, No. 257, I. O. O. F., by the officers and members of the court and bar of Van Wert, and by the Young Men's Literary congress, held November I, 1867. In religion, Judge Rose had first been a Methodist, having joined that denomination in 1850, but seven years later became a Uni- versalist, and died a Spiritualist. To quote from a local newspaper, "To young men the example of Judge Rose will furnish the highest motives to diligence and a noble spirit of em- ulation. To will and to do were the main- springs of the judge's success in life. Such efforts must ever succeed." In politics the judge was a republican.
The marriage of Judge Rose took place in Liberty township, Van Wert county, Ohio. January 11, 1847, to Miss Nancy Slater, who
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was born in Somerset county, Pa., February II, 1828, a daughter of John and Phebe (Dull) Slater, pioneers of Van Wert county, Ohio. To the judge and his wife were born three children, viz: Orlando P., deceased; Ora Cum- berland, at home; and Maud P., deceased. The estate of the deceased comprises twenty acres within the corporate limits of Van Wert, and a residence on South Washington street. The wife and daughter are enthusiastic mem- bers of the Christian Spiritualist church.
ENRY SCHUMM, one of the lead- ing farmers of Willshire township. Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the place, and was born Novem- ber 2, 1844. His father, Louis Schumm, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1817, and was sixteen years of age when he came with his father's family to America-said family then consisting of the father, John Schumm, and his five children. viz: Rosanna, George M., Frederick, Jacob and Louis-the mother having died in Germany. After passing about five years in Holmes county, Ohio, Louis, about 1839 or 1840, came to Van Wert county, about two years later than an elder brother, who had settled here, bringing his wife, Bar- bara Pflueger, whom he had married in Holmes county. This lady was a daughter of Chris- tian Pflueger, who lived to the remarkable age of ninety-six years. Louis and his wife imine- diately settled on a farm of 160 acres in the primeval forest, erected a log cabin, and after undergoing the inevitable hardships attendant on pioneer life for fifteen years, succeeded in inaking a beautiful home, embellished with a fine frame dwelling and all other necessary improvements. Here Mr. Schumm continued diligently to labor at his vocation until his . death, which occurred August 22, 1855, at the comparatively early age of thirty-eight years. 30
Henry Schumm. who was reared on the home farm, received an excellent education both in the German and English languages. October 20, 1872, he was united in the bonds of wedlock, first with Miss Rosa A. Schinnerer, daughter of Frederick Schinnerer, and this marriage resulted in the birth of the following children : John M., Clara R., Minnie M., Hannah B., Edward Z. (deceased), Gustavus J., William I., Tillie S., Joseph H. and Charles F. (the last named also deceased). Mrs. Rosa A. Schumin was called to her final rest Janu- ary 15, 1890, in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which she had long been a devout member. The second marriage of our subject took place January 27, 1891, to Anna M. Geisler, daughter of George and Rosanna (Hoffman) Geisler, and this union has been blessed by the birth of two children: Lewis F. and Andrew, both being trained to speak in German and English. In politics Mr. Schumm is a stanch democrat, but has never been am- bitious for public office; with his wife he is a member of the Lutheran church, of which he is a trustee, and in which he has held several other offices, contributing, at the same time, liberally toward its support. Mr. Schumm's farm comprises 171 acres, is well improved and stocked, and is in all respects thoroughly cared for and cultivated. The social standing of Mr. Schumm and family is inferior to none in the county, as throughout his life he has been a rigidly honest gentleman and has been. a credit to his pioneer ancestry.
MOS SLATES, a skillful and success- ful carpenter of Van Wert, Ohio, was born December 30, 1846, and is a son of Adam Slates, a native of Car- roll county, Ohio. John Slates, grandfather of our subject, was born in Loudoun county. Va., August 2, 1784, and was married April
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
10, 1807, to Miss Elizabeth Ruse, also a na- tive of Loudoun county, the union resulting in the birth of seven children, viz: Mrs. Cath- erine Albaugh, Mrs. Elizabeth Shanover, Mrs. Margaret Woods, Mrs. Mary Richey, Adam, John and Frederick Slates. In 1811, John Slates came to Ohio and entered the land in Loudon township, Carroll county, now occu- pied and owned by Adam Albaugh. He was by trade a shoemaker and was also a farmer; he accumulated considerable property, gave to each of his children an eighty-acre tract, and still had enough left for his own needs. In politics he was a democrat, and in religion was a member of the Lutheran church, in the faith of which he died in 1859, having lost his wife in 1855.
Adain Slates was a farmer by occupation, and resided in Carroll county until his death. Being a man of industrious habits and an ex- cellent manager of his property, he left his family in comfortable circumstances. His death occurred in Carroll county in 1851. Politically he was a democrat, and he was a Lutheran in religion, and always a straightforward and up- right man. He married Miss Mary A. Sawvel, of Harrison county, Ohio, by whom he had four children, viz: William, John, Amos and Martha, two of whom are still living, viz: William and Amos, the latter the subject of this sketch.
Amos Slates was born in Carroll county, Ohio, was brought up on his father's farm, educated in the common schools, and at an early age learned the carpenter's trade, for which he was found to possess especial fitness, and at which he has always been unusually successful. In 1872 he removed to Van Wert county, where he has resided more than twenty years, successfully following the trade he early took a fancy to, and he has long been consid- ered one of the most skillful carpenters of the city of Van Wert. He has also given some
attention to architecture, and is now one of the principal reliances of Mr. Rumph, of Van Wert, in this line.
After arriving in Van Wert Mr. Slates mar- ried Miss Mary Jane Goff, October 5, 1872. She is a native of Harrison county, Ohio, was born March 27, 1849, and is a daughter of William Goff, who was born in Carroll county, January 13, 1812. Mr. Goff was a farmer and followed that occupation all his life. In 1848 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Markley, of Harrison county, and by her he became the father of seven children, viz: Mary J., only child of his first wife, and the rest by his sec- ond wife: Elizabeth, William, Samuel, Frank- lin, Edgar and John. Elizabeth died in in- fancy, and Franklin on October 5, 1877. The rest are still living. Mary Jane Goff was four years old when she was brought to Van Wert county by her parents. She and Mr. Slates. as stated above, were married in 1872, and they are the parents of one child, Lelia Maud, who is at present attending school in Van Wert. Mr. Slates is a democrat iu politics and a Lutheran in religion, while Mrs. Slates is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. This small family live in their beautiful home in Van Wert, mingling in its polite and fash- ionable society, and enjoying the respect of all. Independence and self-reliance are the princi- pal characteristics of the American people, and these two qualities have been the combined cause of whatever of success has fallen to the lot of Mr. Slates. These, together with hon- esty and integrity of motive, will in most cases lead to success in life, and are what those who desire independence must cultivate and rely upon.
Miss Lelia Maud Slates was born in 1878. She is a beautiful young lady of rare accom- plishments and of most charming . disposition and engaging manners. She has fine musical talent, and takes great delight in entertaining
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her friends, all of whom are strongly attached to her. Being the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Slates, she is the idol and the comfort of their declining years.
Q HRIST SPARBER, one of the oldest and best-known farmers of Pleasant township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in Germany in 1819. His father, Conrad Sparber, also a native of Ger- many, was born in 1789, married Barbara E. Kerfes, and of the six children born to this union two only now survive, Christ and Mary -- the latter now the wife of Franz Halfridge, of Dayton, Ohio. After having served three years in the German army, in which he took part in the famous battle of Leipsic, Conrad Sparber, in 1846, brought his family to the United States, and located in Dayton, Ohio, where he died in December, 1855, a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Conrad Spar- ber, also a native of Germany, was born in 1791 and died in Dayton, Ohio. December 25, 1855, preceding her husband to the grave one week, and also dying within the pale of the Lutheran church.
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