USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 53
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 53
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likely to engage the thoughtful mind. For fif- teen years or more he had been an active mem- ber of the Van Wert Medical society and the Northwestern Ohio Medical association. The high esteem on the part of the Van Wert county medical staff was manifested by their presence at the funeral in a body. As a hus- band and father he was affectionate, pure and . faithful, as well as indulgent, yet firm, in his life's amenities.
Albertus C. Stutsman, son of Dr. John M. and Ella N. (Hyre) Stutsman, was born in Harrisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, De- cember 3, 1871, and was but five years of age when brought to Van Wert by parents, and here he attended school until sixteen years of age, when he was employed in clerical work in the office of the auditor of the C., J. & M. Railroad company, under G. H. Wappner, and as chief from 1890 to 1892 under F. C. Cheney, and then, in July, 1892, succeeded H. A. Keller, and now holds the auditor's po- sition. He is industrious and competent, neat and accurate, and is obliging and courteous- qualities that render him exceedingly well adapted for the position, the duties of which he is performing to the entire satisfaction of the company and to the public.
J OHN W. SWARTZ, a prominent farmer of Pleasant township, Van Wert county, and a gallant ex-soldier, is a native of Ohio, born in the county of Van Wert, April 17. 1844, having first seen the light of day on the old paternal homestead in the town- ship of Willshire. His father, William Swartz, was born in Lycoming county, Pa., about the beginning of the present century, and was a descentant of the stanch old German settlers who did so much toward the development of the latter state.
When a young man, William Swartz emi-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
grated to Richland county, Ohio, being one of the earliest pioneers of that section, and was there united in marriage with Elizabeth Mozier, also a descendant of an old Pennsylvania fam- ily, who bore him the following children: Henry, deceased; John W., Jacob A., Lewis P., and Lydia J., wife of Samuel Young. Mrs. Swartz was born in Pennsylvania about the year of 1818, and her marriage with the sub- ject's father occurred in the year 1841, she being his second wife. She is remembered as a woman of excellent character, a devout member of the Wesleyan Methodist church, in which she always manifested a great interest, and her death occurred in 1856. Mr. Swartz's first wife was Peggy Mozier, also a native of Pennsylvania. The issue of this marriage was three children -- George, William and Katie, all deceased. In 1858, Mr. Swartz was mar- ried . third time, choosing for his wife Mrs. Laura Allen, who died in 1873. Subsequently he was again married, his last wife being Mrs .. Eliza Johns.
William Swartz was identified with the farming interests of Richland county for a period of five years, at the end of which time he became a resident of the county of Van Wert, locating upon a tract of wild land which he previously purchased from the government. At that time the country was in a wilderness state and the town of Van Wert contained but three or four rude log cabins, giving little promise of the development which it subse- quently attained. Mr. Swartz built a rude cabin on his land, set to work with a will to remove the forest growth and make a home for his young family. That he succeeded in his new undertaking goes without saying, and in due season a good farm was cleared and put under cultivation. In 1850, actuated by a desire to acquire a fortune in the gold fields of of California, he made an overland trip to that far-away state, spending several inouths on the
road, enduring many harnships, and meeting with numerous adventures during the journey. After spending a year in the mines with but fair success, he returned to Ohio, making the trip from San Francisco to New York by the long and perilous passage around Cape Horn. He remained upon his farm in Van Wert county until 1875, at which time he disposed of the same and removed to Kent county, Mich .. where he spent the remaining years of his life, dying there at the age of eighty-five years. In his early life he was identified with the demo- cratic party, but at the breaking out of the Rebellion changed his political faith, and until his death supported the principles of tlie repub- lican party. He was a man of energy, enter- prising in everything he undertook, and was public spirited in all matters pertaining to the moral and material well being of the com- munity in which he lived.
John W. Swartz, some of the leading facts of whose life are herewith presented, laid the foundation of his education in the common schools of his native county, and grew to man- hood on a farm, assisting his father in the work of the same. At the breaking out of the great Rebellion he responded to his country's call for volunteers, enlisting, October 12, 1861, in company F, Sixteenth Ohio volunteer infantry. for three years or during the war. His com- mand was at once sent to the front, and in January, 1862, he participated in the battle of Mill Springs, Ky., from which time until June 18 he was almost constantly engaged in skir- mishing with the enemy. He took part in the battle of Tazewell, Tenu., September, 1862. and the same year was captured and remained a prisoner of war for about one month. Sub- sequently he was exchanged, and, rejoining his command at Vicksburg, took part in the siege of that city; he also distinguished himself in the bloody engagements of Chickasaw Bayou. Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Champion Hills,
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Black River Bridge, and the general charge at Vicksburg. Later, his command was sent to New Orleans, and took part in the Bayou Tesche campaign; was afterward transferred to Texas and the Red river country, with almost continuous fighting for several months. His next move was again into Louisiana, where on the Atchafalaya river, his command was en- gaged in skirmishing for some time, and then went by river to Cairo, Ill., thence to Colum- bus, Ohio, where he was honorably discharged in September, 1864. Mr. Swartz feels justly proud of his military record, as he gave freely and unreservedly some of the best years of his life to the service of his country. His was, in- deed, a trying experience, and for injuries re- ceived while doing battle for the national Union, is now receives from the government a liberal pension. On quitting the service, Mr. Swartz returned to Van Wert county, and on the 22d day of December, 1864, was united in marriage to Matilda E. Walters, daughter of William aud Harriet (McDermot) Walters, to which union the following children have been born: William E., of Farmers City, Ill., Ker- enhappuch, wife of Frank Johnson, of Will- shire township: John C., of Decatur, Ind. ; Ersa V., Mary M. and Charles W. Mrs. Swartz was born in Petersburg, Ohio, in 1834, her father being a native of Pennsylvania and one of the earliest settlers of Richland county, Ohio, where for many years he followed the trade of tanner, and was also engaged in general farming.
Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Swartz settled on a farm in Liberty township, Van Wert county, where he resided until 1884, in which year he purchased his present place in the township of Pleasant, where he now lives. He is a progressive man in all the term im- plies, and an example of what may be accom- plished by industry and energy, when directed and controlled by good judgment. Politically
he is a republican, in the success of which party he has manifested an active interest ever since he attained his majority.
ENRY SAUM, one of the original pioneer farmers of Washington town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Licking county, July 14, 1828. Louis Saum, his grandfather, came from Germany when about seventeen years of age, served five years under the old apprenticeship system to reimburse his passage money and expenses, and found a home near Richmond, Va. His son, Adam Saum, the father of our subject, was born in the vicinity of Richmond; in the Shenandoah valley, Va., was reared to farm- ing, and in that state married Margaret Miller, a daughter of George and Margaret Miller. The father, George Miller, served through the Revolutionary war and later was held a cap- tive by the Indians of Kentucky for three years, he having been one of the compatriots of the famous Col. Daniel Boone.
Adam Saum and wife were the parents of thirteen children, named as follows: Levi, David, Gideon, Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Leah, Rachael, Henry, Adam, Jacob, John and George, all of whom lived to become adults, with the exception of Rachael, who died in infancy. The father, Adam Saum, lived in the Shenandoah valley until after the birth of his eighth child, when he came to Ohio and settled in Licking county, where he cleared up a farm from the woods, but later moved to Knox county and purchased a farm of 160 acres near Centreburg, and also cleared it from the wil- derness. November 4, 1847, he came to Van Wert county, and settled on eighty-eight acres near Middlepoint, Washington township, and while he had his residence on this farm fell dead at Delphos, in April, 1854, of heart dis-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
ease, at the age of seventy-one years. He and wife were members of the Lutheran church; in politics he was a democrat, and as a citizen no man was more respected.
Henry Saum, our subject, received the usual schooling granted to farmer lads, and in 1847 came to Van Wert county with his father. Before he had reached his twenty-fifth year he had purchased 129 acres of his present farm, and at the age named he married Miss Re- becca Clendening, who was born September 27, 1828, in Vermont, a daughter of John Clendening, of Irish birth and a resident of Montreal, Canada, after coming to America, and later of Vermont, and then of Holmes county, Ohio, and then, about 1847, settled on eighty acres in Van Wert county. He was a whig in politics, and for eight years a post- master, and for many years a member of the school board. A highly respected citizen at all times, he died at the age of seventy-six years.
After marriage Mr. Saum worked at his trade as cooper, also followed farming, and by thrift and industry acquired 202 acres of good land, which he tiled and fenced, cultivated and made to " blossom as the rose." He erected a first-class brick dwelling in 1866, and made Every out-building on his premises correspond in appearance and substantiality with his man- sion. He has been blessed with a family of seven children, who have been named, in order of birth, as follows: Nettie, Frank, Elnora, Vasta, John, Jennie, and Bell. Mrs. Saum always led a christian life as a member of the Methodist church, and died, in 1875, at the age of about forty-five years, in the full hope that simple faith imparts. By a second mar- riage Mr. Saum had two children-Beuben and Garfield, and his third marriage was to the widow Pott, who bore the maiden name of Jennie Reding. Mr. Saum is a typical pioneer, has expended a very large amount of capital and intelligently applied labor in developing
the material prosperity of his township, and he deserves the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-townsmen.
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APT. WILLIAM C. SCOTT, deceased, was born in Washington county, Pa., July 1, 1833, a son of William and Rebecca (Hughes) Scott, both natives of the Keystone state, in which they were mar- ried and in which the father was a prosperous farmer, until his removal, with his family, to Richland county, Ohio, where he followed his vocation until the end of his days and where his wife also died.
William C. Scott was the eldest in a fami- ly of eight children, and was a mere child when brought by his parents to Richland coun- ty, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood, and received a sound preparatory education, which was supplemented by a three years' course in Haysville college (Dubois county). where he was prepared for school-teaching, which profession he followed in Richland coun- ty until 1853. when he came to Van Wert and taught until 1859, including two years in high school. During this period he began reading law, in 1857, with his brother-in-law, Judge I. D. Clark, and was admitted to the bar in 1858, but never entered upon active practice. In 1859 he bought the Van Wert American, but changed the name of the paper to that of the Van Wert Bulletin, which he edited until the spring of 1861, when he sold out and assisted in recruiting a company of infantry, with which he served as first lieutenant, in the late Civil war, until after the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing, when he resigned and came home, anima- ted with a nobler, higher, and more patriotic ambition, and recruited company A. Ninety- ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, was elected and commissioned captain of the company and was assigned to the army of the Cumber-
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
land, with which he marched and fought until the battle of Stone River, January 2, 1863; here he was mortally wounded, surviving only two days after sustaining the fatal injury. For meritorious conduct on the field and for other valuable service rendered, Capt. Scott had been brevetted major; the commission had been prepared and would have been presented to him, had he survived his wounds.
Capt. Scott had married, in Van Wert county, Ohio, August 25, 1856, Miss Missouri T. McConahay, who was born in Lewistown, Mifflin county, Pa., October 10, 1833, a daugh- ter of John and Margaret (Lovell) Mcconahay, who were also natives of the Keystone state. To the union of the captain and Miss McCon- ahay were born two children-Avery Wasson, now an engineer on the C., J. & M. R. R., and Jennie A., deceased. The captain was mild in his disposition, was self-contained, and was a member of the Presbyterian church. In poli- tics he was a republican, had served as special school-examiner. He left a comfortable home to his widow and orphaned children, and his untimely death was deeply deplored by a large circle of devoted friends. The marriage of his widow to C. P. Richey has been duly recorded elsewhere.
HARLES C. SHEETS, a well-known veterinary surgeon of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Ashland, in the same state, in October, 1849. His father, William Sheets, was the first white male child born in Ashland county, and his mother, Mary (Swineford) Sheets, was born in Pennsylvania, a sister of Simeon Swineford, of whom a biography is given elsewhere in this work. These parents were married in Ash- land county in 1840 and there resided on a farm; the mother died in October 1886, a member of the Presbyterian church. Their
family consists of the following children: Joseph, Alfred M., Almond, Eli, Charles C., John S. and Emma.
Charles C. Sheets was reared on the home farm in Ashland county, and attended the pub- lic schools until twenty-one years of age, when he came to Van Wert (in 1871) and for six years clerked in the dry-goods houses of J. S. Brumback & Co., and Mckim & Hall, follow- ing which he returned to Ashland county and resumed .the vocation of farming, which he pursued until the spring of 1887. He then entered the famous Ontario Veterinary college, studied diligently, and graduated in the spring of 1889, locating at once in Van Wert. While in college he made a specialty of the study of dentistry as applied to his particular science, in the practice of which he has achieved an enviable reputation.
Mr. Sheets was auspiciously united in wed- lock in Van Wert, October 18, 1876, with Miss Lizzie McGavren, a daughter of Judge McGavren, and this felicitous union has been crowned by the birth of one child-Fred F. Dr. and Mrs. Sheets are members of the Pres- byterian church, and fraternally the doctor is a member of the Royal Arcanum and of canton No. 251, I. O. O. F. The doctor resides in a neat modern home on Sycamore street, is con- nected with the best families in the county, and is personally quite popular. In politics, like his father, who still resides in Ashland, he is an ardent republican. He was elected to fill a vacancy on the school board in the spring of 1894, and again elected in the spring of 1895 by a large popular vote.
S AMUEL W. SHAFFER, the obliging proprietor of a line of drays at Van Wert, was born in Mercer county. Ohio, March 20, 1859. a son of Francis M. and Maria (Putnam) Shaffer. The
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
father, Francis M., was born in Carroll county, Ohio, and the mother, Maria (Putnam) Shaffer, was born in Stark county, Ohio. They were married in Van Wert county, in 1857, and soon after this event located in Mercer county, where the father was engaged, in a saw-mill until 1873, when he was given the position of foreman of the Middlepoint stave factory, in Van Wert county, which position he held about two years; he then engaged in the sale of machinery, a calling he still follows, making his home in Van Wert, to which city he came in 1874. He is the father of two children -- Samuel W., whose name opens this sketch, an : Mary B., who resides with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer are members of the Friends' church. In politics Mr. Shaffer is a republican; was assessor of Pleasant township several terms, was assessor in Mercer county two terms, and has served as councilman two terms in Van Wert.
Samuel Wellington Shaffer was reared in Mercer county and was educated in the com- mon schools. At the age of twenty-one he engaged in general labor and so continued until 1886, and then entered into general merchandising, which he followed nine months; in 1887 he purchased a dray line, which has since claimed his attention, and he now owns fonr drays and is one of the most accommo- dating teamsters in the county. He also buys and sells horses, as opportunity offers. The marriage of Mr. Shaffer occurred in Van Wert, October 29, 1884, with Miss Minnie Hott, a native of the city, born April 23, 1866, a danghter of Philip and Mary (Hoffman) Hott. This union has been blessed with two children -Frances R. and Frederick Earl. Mrs. Shaffer is one of German descent and is a de- vout member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Shaffer is in politics a republican, and in 1891 was elected a member of the city council, was re-elected in 1893, and is one of the leading
men of his party in the city and county. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the I. O. R. M., and he and family enjoy the esteem of the en- tire community. He owns two residence prop- erties on Chestnut and Franklin streets, and also four vacant lots.
AVID SHINDOLLAR, a prosperous farmer of Jennings township. Van Wert county, and a gallant ex-sol- dier, was born February 2, 1842, in Delaware county, Ohio, son of Michael and Frederica (Yager) Shindollar, both parents na- tives of Germany. Michael and Frederica Shindollar were acquaintances in the old coun- try, but were not married until after leaving the fatherland and coming to the United States. They resided in Delaware county, Ohio, where the husband's death occurred in 1846; his widow survived him until 1878, on the 20th of October of which year she was called to her final reward. They reared a family of nine children, eight sons and one daughter, and it is a fact worthy of note that all the sons served with distinction in the late war, and did valiant
service in defense of the flag. The following are their names: Henry, a member of company E, Sixty-sixth Ohio infantry, died from disease contracted in the army; John served in the Seventeenth Illinois, and is now a resident of Delaware county, Ohio; Philip died while in the service of his country, at Saint Louis, Mo .; Louis, who was a member of company E. Sixty-sixth Ohio, lives in Spencerville, Allen county, Ohio; Reuben served in the Seven- teenth Illinois, and is now a resident of Spen- cerville; William, who was a member of com- pany H, Fourth Ohio infantry, was killed at Spottsylvania C. H., Va .; David, subject of this sketch, and Samuel, a resident of Mercer county, fought during the war in the One Hnin- dred and Seventy-first Ohio volunteer infantry.
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
The daughter, Sevilla, became the wife of Levan Miller, and makes her home in Dela- ware, Ohio.
David Shindollar remained with his parents in Delaware county until his nineteenth year, at which early age he responded to the coun- try's call for volunteers, enlisting April 17, 1861, in company I, Fourth Ohio regiment, being among the first to go to the front in re- sponse to President Lincoln's first appeal. He served three months in the aforesaid regiment, and on the 5th of June, 1861, re-enlisted for three years being mustered out June 21, 1864.
During the long and varied experience of Mr. Shindollar while in the army, he partici- pated in many of the bloodiest battles of the war, and his record as a brave and gallant soldier is one of which he feels deservedly proud. It will be impossible, in a sketch of the nature of this biography, to give more than a passing notice of the leading events of his military career. The following are among the more important battles and campaigns in which he participated: Rich Mountain, July 12, 1861; Romley, September 23, 1861; second battle of Romley, October 26, 1861; Winches- ter, March 23, 1862; thence across the mount- ains, 116 miles, to Fredericksburg, to join the forces of Gen. McDowell; then to Front Royal, where the regiment did some fighting of minor importance, after which the army marched up the valley to Port Republic, and Alexandria, joining the army of the Potomac at Harrison's Landing. The next battle was at Fredericks- burg, which Mr. Shindollar considers the hardest fight in which he was engaged; thence to Chancellorsville, where the Union forces were defeated in May, 1863. The next move- ment was the pursuit of Lee through Maryland, and then the bloody battle of Gettysburg, and the pursuit of the Confederate forces back into Virginia. About August 15, Mr. Shindollar's regiment was called to New York city, in order
to enforce the draft, and after a short tinie there, it returned to the army of the Potomac at Culpeper, Va., thence to the Rapahannock and back to Bull Run, where the rebels were forced back, and the regiment went into winter quarters. In February, 1864, Mr. Shindollar accompanied his command across the Rapidan, then re-crossed the river, and went into winter quarters until May, 1864, at which time the camp was broken and the regiment ordered to the front, to take part in the bloody battle of the Wilderness. From May 6 until his dis- charge, on the 24th of the following June, Mr. Shindollar was engaged in almost continuous fighting, under Grant, in that general's opera- tions against Richmond.
After leaving the army, Mr. Shindollar re- turned to the home of his birth, and for some time worked as a helper in a blacksmith shop in the city of Delaware. On July 5, 1866, he married Anna Sperchberger, of Crawford coun- ty, Ohio, after which he began farming, in that county, as a renter. One year later he moved to the county of Auglaize, where he followed farming until 1883, and then became a resident of Allen county; thence he moved to the county of Mercer, where he remained one year, and in 1885, purchased his present farm in Jen- nings township, Van Wert county. Mr. Shin- dollar has pursued agriculture with success and financial profit, owning, at this time, III acres of land, upon which may be found a comfort- able modern dwelling and other improvements in keeping. The condition of Mr. Shindollar's farm bespeaks the presence of one who thor- oughly understands agriculture, it being one of the best improved places of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Shindollar have a family of four chil- dren -- Cora, Henry, Albert and John; they are also raising a little niece, Bessie May, daughter of Samuel May. In politics Mr. Shindollar is a republican; in religion, a member of the German Methodist church, and he belongs to
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
the G. A. R. Mrs. Shindollar is also a mem- ber of the aforesaid church, and an active worker in the loca! congregation with which she is identified.
e LISHA F. SUNDERLAND, a sub- stantial farmer of Union township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a son of Daniel and Lucinda (Washburn) Sun- 'derland, and was born in Allen county, Ohio, August 14, 1835. The father, Daniel Sunder- land, wa. born near Dayton, Ohio, June 4, 1805, and when a child was taken by his par- ents to Allen county, where he was reared to farming. July 5, 1824, he married, in Allen county, Miss Washburn, a native of the county, born March 2, 1806, and to this union were born five children, viz: Ruth, deceased; Lydia, wife of Jonathan Hamilton; Samuel, deceased; Ebenezer, a farmer of Allen county, and Elisha F., our subject. About the year 1837 Daniel Sunderland moved with his family to Michigan, where he lost his wife in 1838, when he soon returned to his old home in Allen county, Ohio, where he was laid to rest on December 12, 1841.
Elisha Franklin Sunderland, it will have been observed, was left an orphan at the early age of six years, and was reared by his grand- father, Samuel Washburn, of Allen county, until fourteen years of age, acquiring in the meantime a good common-school education; he then worked on a farm in the northern part of the county for five years; in 1855 he went to Missouri, where he worked the following year on a farm, when he joined a company of emigrants and went overland to California, consuming three months' time on the trip, ex- periencing exciting adventures and having sev- eral skirmishes with the Indians. Having arrived at his destination, he devoted his at- tention to gold digging the Sierras until 1861,
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