USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 58
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 58
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Mr. Custer, on the 28th day of September, 1856, was united in the bonds of wedlock with Sarah J. Smith, daughter of James and Sarah (Grogan) Smith. The father and inother of Mrs. Custer were natives of South Carolina, in which state they were married, November 12, 1812. and immediately thereafter moved to Mercer county, Ohio, of which they were among the pioneers. Mr. Smith became a substantial farmer, was an old-line whig in politics, and served in the war of 1812. He
was a devout Methodist, and his name appears in the list of charter members of the old Bethel church in the county of Mercer. Mr. Smith died December 3, 1852, and his wife June 16, 1879. The following are the names of the children born to James and Sarah (Grogan, Smith: Elizabeth M., born October 10, 1813. died September 11, 1840; Mary G., born No- vember 13, 1815, died September 12, 1843; John, born December IS, 1817; Daniel, born December 14, 1819; Sallie L., born August 23, 1822, died in 1824; James H .. born Sep- tember 22, 1824, died June 6, 1853; Wilham F., born December S, 1826; Nancy K., born May 21, 1829; Martha Ann, born October 12. 1831; Drury J., born September 21, 1834, died in February, 1894; Sarah Jane, born February 12, 1838.
After their marriage the subject and wife located on a farm in Van Wert county, with the growth and development of which Mr. Custer was for many years prominently identi- fied. As a farmer, he has met with success such as few attain, has accumulated a com- fortable fortune, including a considerable amount of as valuable land as lies within the limits of the county, and he is now spending his declining years in retirement from the act- ive duties of life. As an evidence of the esti- mation in which he is held by his fellow-citi- zens, it is only necessary to mention the fact of his having, for the last twenty years, filled the office of trustee of his township. Mr. Cus- ter has always taken an active interest in local politics, and was for six years elected on the republican ticket to the office of trustee in the township of Pleasant, being the first repre- sentative of his party honored with the position in said township. He is a man of public spirit. is a liberal patron of all movements and enter- prises for the well being of the community, and, while quite liberal in his religious beliefs. contributes of his means to the support of
DAVID H. EDWARDS.
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
various church organizations. He belongs to the Odd Fellows' order, holding membership with Wide Awake lodge. No. 771. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Custer, all of whom are living, are named as follows: William, Ade- line, James, John, Louella, Ida M., Joseph D. and Ira C.
O AVID H. EDWARDS is a represent- ative of one of the old and substan- tial Welsh families which settled in the southern part of Van Wert county, and did so much toward the moral and material improvement of that section of the country. Mr. Edwards was born April 25, 1860, in Hamilton county, Ohio, and is a son of Thomas and Margaret (Thomas) Edwards, both par- ents natives of Wales-the father coming to the United States when about six years of age, and the mother before she had reached her tenth year. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards were wed- ded in Covington, Ky., and they became the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, viz: John, a resident of Venedo- cia; David H .; Sarah J., wife of David J. Evans; Thomas L., a physician of Caba, Wis. ; Margaret, who died in early youth, and Rees F., a student of McCormick seminary, Chicago. For some years Thomas Edwards followed steamboating on the Ohio river, but in 1866 moved his family to the county of Van Wert and purchased forty acres of land in Jennings township. now in possession of his son. He died February 8, 1872, and on September 30, 1892, his widow was laid to rest.
David H. Edwards was but eleven years old when his father died, from which early age, until his twentieth year, he was deprived of the advantages of acquiring such an education as he desired to obtain. When twenty years old he entered the Normal school of Ada, Ohio; later attended one term at Angola, Ind., after
which he engaged in teaching, following that profession for a limited period. He next pur- chased forty acres of land adjoining the home- stead, and after the death of his mother bought the home farm, which he now owns.
Mr. Edwards early displayed a decided preference for matters of public interest, be- came a republican, and when but twenty-one years of age was elected assessor of Jennings township, which position he filled very credit- ably during two terms. He was then elected to the more responsible position of township trustee, and discharged the duties of the same in a manner highly satisfactory to all con- cerned, for a period of six years. He was postmaster at Venedocia during President Har- rison's administration, was also elected three times justice of the peace, and, in 1893, was elected to the office of county commissioner, being one of the youngest nien ever called to fill that position in Van Wert county. He de- feated his competitor by a handsome majority, although the county for a number of years previous to the election had been largely dem- ocratic. Mr. Edwards displayed excellent busi- ness qualifications and executive ability of a high order in various positions with which he has been honored. It is a fact worthy of note that, during his incumbency as justice of the peace, not a single appeal was ever taken from any of his decisions, and since becoming a member of the board of commissioners his good judgment, conservative course, and deep interest in the welfare of the people, have commended him to the citizens of the county.
In 1887 Mr. Edwards engaged in the mer- cantile trade at Venedocia, in partnership with Thomas E. Williams, under the firm name of Edwards & Williams, but disposed of his in- terest in the business when elected to the office of commissioner. Mr. Edwards was happily married June 20, 1885, to Mary D. Jones, daughter of David S. and Ann Jones, and
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
their home has been brightened by the birth of five children, viz: Anna, Frances (deceased), Margaret Lena, Rachael Caernogwen, and Thomas. Mr. Edwards has taken an active interest in the party's success ever since at- taining his majority. In religion he is a mem- ber of the Welsh Presbyterian church, to which · his wife also belongs.
S HAPHET DWIRE, an old settler and substantial farmer of Harrison town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a son of Joseph and Lucinda (Johnson) Dwire, who were natives of Somerset county, Pa., respectively of Irish and German descent, and the parents of four children, viz: Benja- min, Matilda, Shaphet and Rebecca. The father, Joseph Dwire, shortly after marriage, came to Ohio, and settled in New Harrisburg, Carroll county, where he was employed in the county offices as clerk, and where he died a comparatively young man.
Shaphet Dwire was born in New Harris- burg, March 9, 1831, and was but four years of age at the time of his father's death. From the age of six until twenty-two years he lived with David Maple, a substantial farmer of Car- roll county, receiving a fair education and acquiring a knowledge of farming. September 13, 1853, Mr. Dwire married Sarah J. Figley, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Dennison) Fig- ley. Joseph Figley was a native of Pennsyl- vania, was a farmer and blacksmith and an early settler of Carroll county, where he be- came quite prominent in politics, having served as justice of the peace for many years and hav- ing been quite prominently mentioned as a candidate for the state legislature. He owned 500 acres of land and died in Carroll county at the age of fifty-one years-the father of twelve children, viz: Andrew, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary A., Matilda, William, Mary and Ellen,
twins, James, Robert, George and Mrs. Dwire. After his marriage Mr. Dwire farmed for a few years on the Maple homestead, then, in 1858, came to Van Wert county, lived one year in Pleasant township, and then located on eighty acres in the woods of Harrison township. He later sold this property, and in the fall of 1865 bought eighty acres of his present farm, which he has increased to 120 acres, and on which he has erected a tasteful dwelling and substan- tial farin buildings. His fields are remarkably well tilled, and drained with hundreds of dollars' worth of tiling. In politics Mr. Dwire was one of the earliest of free soilers and re- publicans, and voted for John C. Fremont and Abraham Lincoln, the first candidates of those parties for president of the United States. He also served from September, 1864, until June 18, 1865, in company F, Sixty-fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, and has ever shown himself to be a patriotic and public-spirited citizen. Mr. Dwire has had, also, some considerable experience as a salesman of agricultural imple- ments and machinery, and sold and put up the first Buckeye mower in Van Wert county.
Mrs. Dwire is a member of the Presbyterian church in good standing, and Mr. Dwire is a member of Scott post, No. 100, G. A. R., of Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs. Dwire have had born to their marriage eleven children, viz: Rebecca, Lemuel, Edna, William, Orlando, Joseph F. (who died at the age of seven years). Laura (died at sixteen years), Endorie (died at two years), Flora, Minnie (died at one year). and Leroy. Of this family, Rebecca married William Brown, of Van Wert, and has eight children; Lemuel married Esther Robinson, lives in Tully township, and has three chil- dren; Edna was married to the late George Sheehan, and has three children, who, with their mother, are living with Mr. Dwire: Will- iam married Lizzie Holmes, and is the father of two children, and Flora is married to John
-
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
Hurless, farmer of Harrison township. Mr. Dwire has been a successful man in business, is most highly respected by all who know him, and his children move in close touch with the best people of the county of Van Wert.
ILLIAM B. HARD, the subject of this memoir, was born in Erie coun- ty, N. Y., on May 4, 1817, of New England ancestry. His father, Cy- rene Hard, was born in 1783, in the state of Vermont and reared on a farm. His wife, Nancey Barney, a granddaughter of Gov. Chit- tenden, of Vermont, was also a native of that state. To them were born nine children, viz: Fondany, married, deceased; Rollin C., mar- ried, deceased: Affa, deceased; Harriet, de- ceased; Mary E., married, deceased; Lucy. married, deceased; Ezra B., married; Erastus, who died in infancy, and William B., the sub- ject of our sketch. Of this numerous progeny William and Ezra are the only ones living.
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Cyrene Hard, the father, after his marriage emigrated to Erie county, N. Y., where he purchased a tract of fifty-five acres of forest land, and began the arduous life of a pioneer, clearing and fencing, and struggling to over- come the obstacles which nature had placed in his way. There he lived some twenty years, and reared his family. About the expiration of this time he sold his farm and moved to Licking county, Ohio, where he bought a farm of about fifty-five acres, upon which he lived the remainder of his days. Mr. Hard, Sr., was long a member of the Presbyterian denom- ination, and in politics a whig. His death oc- curred in 1848. He had ever borne the repu- tation of a very liberal-hearted man, and left his family in somewhat close circumstances at his demise. His wife, who was also a devout member of the Presbyterian faith, survived him some twenty years, dying in 1868.
William B. Hard, the immediate subject of this biography, was born and reared on the homestead in Erie county, N. Y .; he led the usual life of a boy in pioneer settlements, at- tending the neighborhood schools in the win- ter, and plowing. sowing and reaping in the spring and summer months; he remained with his father until his marriage with Miss Mary A. Jones, of Brown county, which was sol- emnized in Licking county, Ohio, in 1846. At his father's death, in 1848, he fell heir to the paternal acres, upon which he lived and labored for four years, after which he sold the homestead, bought twelve acres in the same neighborhood. upon which he lived two years, and in 1874 sold this place. He then moved to Van Wert county, Ohio, where he bought a tract of eighty acres of timbered land, and and set to work to clear up a home. This he did, but in 1872 sold it and moved to Willshire, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business, which he carried on successfully for a period of four years. He then bought a property containing six acres, which he improved with a commodious resi- dence in which he lived some four years, when he traded it for one in Ohio City, in which he now lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Hard have been born seven children, named as follows: Jasper C., deceased; Elvira, deceased; Flora E., married; Ezra C. deceased; Martha C., mar- ried; Francis E., deceased; William Dayton, married. Mr. Hard and his amiable spouse are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which denomination they are liberal . contributors. In politics Mr. Hard is a stanch republican. He has been a township trustee. school director, assessor, and supervisor, which positions of trust he has discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his fellow- townsmen. Mr. Hard from his boyhood days was an earnest worker in the Sabbath-school. and was instrumental in organizing the first
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
Sabbath-school in Liberty township, Van Wert county. The greater portion of his life he has labored earnestly as superintendent of some Sabbath-school, beginning at the age of ninteen, and also filled many official places in the church. All his life he has been a strong advocate of temperance and organized the first temperance society in Lima township, Licking county, Ohio.
NDREW HARP, a native of York township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born October 30, 1854, a son of Jonas and Mary (Putman) Harp, and was early taught the lessons of industry, thrift and agricultural skill on his father's farm. Although his early school advantages were slight, he has been a close observer of men and things, and his knowledge of books is self- acquired. On reaching the years of maturity he wedded Loretta North, a daughter of Daniel North, of whom an extended biography ap- pears in this work, his residence being now in Ridge township. To Mr. and Mrs. Harp have been born five children, named as follows: Goldie M., William E., Stella R., Gracie I. and Alma S.
Mr. Harp is the owner of 120 acres of fer- tile land, which he has wrested from the wil- derness, improved with commodious and sub- stantial farm buildings, and thoroughly under- drained with tile, and whose blooming fields are now the admiration of all beholders. This . beautiful farm is the result of Mr. Harp's own laborious exertions, and much credit should be given him for the magnificent result which he has produced, especially when it is remem- bered that the land was in the wildest possible condition when he first applied the ax. In politics Mr. Harp is a democrat, but has never : sought public office, being content to exercise his franchise, and never neglecting to attend
the polls. In his social position Mr. Harp stands with the best people of the township, and like all other members of his family, enjoys the highest respect of the citizens of the com- munity in which he lives.
ILLIAM DAYTON HARD, an en- terprising young business man of Van Wert county, Ohio, of the firm of Dunathan & Hard, dealers in agricultural implements, was born in Liberty township, Van Wert county, August 5. 1862. Of his parents, William B and Mary A. (Jones) Hard, mention is made in detail on another page of this volume, to which the attention of the reader is respecfully invited. When our subject was but eight years of age, he was taken by his parents to Willshire township, where he was educated until the age of eight- een, when he came to Van Wert city and engaged as clerk with L. F. Zimmerman, with whom he remained five years, gaining a thor- ough knowledge of mercantile affairs during the engagement. He then purchased one-third interest in the retail business of the firm of T. S. McKim .& Co., general merchants, which interest he retained two years, and then, in 1887, joined Capt. D. P. Dunathan in the agricultural implement business, under the firm name of Dunathan & Hard, to which firm allusion is made elsewhere in these pages, and which is now doing one of the largest and most prosperous trades in its line of any in northi- west Ohio. Mr. Hard was most happily wedded in Delphos, Ohio, October 24, 1888, to Miss Viola M. Mills, who was born October 12, 1864, and to this union have been born two bright little daughters-Ethel, on August 19, 1889, and May, on June 5, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Hard are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics Mr. Hard is a republican; he is also a Mason of the council
w Taylor ·
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Elizabeth Taylor
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
degree (Knights Templar), and is very popular in the community in which he lives, both as a business man and a member of society, of which latter, Mrs. Hard is quite an ornament.
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ILLIAM TAYLOR, one of the trus- tees of Tully township, Van Wert county, Ohio, springs from an old colonial family of Orange county, Va., of the same stock from which descended the late Zachary Taylor, the famous general and president of the United States. Richard Taylor, grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, was a school- teacher, and was for many years a resident of Page county, Va., where he was a county officer most of his life and a highly respected citizen, as well as official.
Jacob M. Taylor, the father of our subject, was born in Shenandoah county, Va., in Pow- ell's Ford, December 22, 1804, was educated in the old time subscription schools and also learned shoemaking. He made several trips to New Orleans, to Ohio, and to Indiana, on foot, when under twenty years of age, work- ing at his trade. About 1828, at Urbana, Ohio, he married Miss Anna M. Kane, who was born January 22, 1808, a daughter of Asa Kane, a soldier of the Revolution. Mr. Taylor lived in Urbana two years, then for a year at Woodstock, Va., and then moved to Millers- town, Ohio, where he resided until 1855, at which time he settled in Monroe township, Allen county, Ind., purchased eighty acres of land in the woods, cleared up a good farm and made a comfortable home. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor had born to them ten children, of whom the following lived to maturity: Lavina, Silas, George W., Catherine, Philip, Joseph and William. Of these children, Silas served in the Civil war in an Ohio regiment for three years, took part in several battles and in the
Atlanta campaign, was at one time captured and confined in Libby prison four months and twelve days, and was twice wounded in battle. Jacob M. Taylor, the father, was an honored old settles of Allen county, Ind., was a con- sistent member of the Baptist church, and was a democrat in politics.
William Taylor was born at Westville, Champaign county, Ohio, March 15, 1841, was educated in the district school and was a mere lad when he cleared up sixteen acres of the home farm in Monroe township, Allen county, Ind. November 4, 1862, he married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Eleanor (Tipton) Bower, the former of whom was one of the original pioneers of Allen county, Ind., and descended from a German family from near Little York, Pa. Jacob Bower was born in 1812. His father was one of the pioneers of Harrison county, Ohio, where he settled when Jacob was ten years of age, or about 1822. At the age of twenty-two, or about the year of 1834, Jacob walked from Harrison county, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, Ind., and en- tered 160 acres of woodland in Monroe town- ship, Allen county, Ind., where he afterward cleared up two farms and became a wealthy man. There were but eight cabins in Monroe township, and a few log huts in Fort Wayne when Mr. Bower made his entry of land in Allen county. Here he reared a family of eight children, named as follows: Christian, Elizabeth, John T., Mary A., Delila, Henry, Jacob and Eleanor. Mr. and Mrs. Bower were members of the new school Lutheran church, in which he was a deacon and an elder for many years. In politics he was a demo- crat. He was a warm friend of public educa- tion and was a liberal donator at the founding of Wurtemberg college at Springfield, Ohio. He was upright, charitable and kind-hearted. and at his death left a goodly estate to his children.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
After his marriage our subject lived on his farm in Monroe township, Allen county, Ind., until October 8, 1879, when he moved with his family to Spencer, Tenn., and there bought a farm of 237 acres, on which he lived for two years, and then came to Tully township, Van Wert county, Ohio, and bought his present farm near Convoy. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born nine children, three of whom died when young; the six surviving are named Levi F., Matilda C., Henry K., Jacob B., John M. and Bessie. Mr. Taylor is an hon- ored citizen and has the full confidence of the people. In politics he is a democrat, has been a supervisor for many years and takes great interest in matters pertaining to public educa- tion, having served as a member of the school board for a long time and as trustee of Tully township for five years, and he and wife have been life-long members of the Evangelical Lutheran church. Their son, Levi F. Taylor, is a student of Wurtemberg college, studying for the ministry, and has passsed two years of the nine necessary to the course. Another son, Henry K., is a highly respected farmer of Paulding county, Ohio, is married to Sua B. Coil, and is the father of six children.
1
HRISTOPHER HOFFMAN, of Lib- erty township, Van Wert county, Ohio, and the well-known gentleman, whose name introduces this biography is an American by adoption, and has had a long and varied career as soldier, official and citizen. His father, Adam Hoffman, was a wealthy fariner of Bavaria, Germany. He was a liberal in politics, and on account of his radical opinions he incurred the displeasure of the government during the troublous times of 1848, in consequence of which his property was confiscated. He married Caroline Schaf- fer, daughter of Christopher and Magdaline
(Schoffer) Schaffer, and became the father of one child, the subject of this sketch. Christo- pher Schaffer was a prominent man in Bavaria, was chosen for two terms of six years each as representative in the legislature at Frankfort on the Main, and for twenty years served as mayor of the city of Thuncen; he became quite wealthy and lived to the unusually great age of 105 years.
Christopher Hoffman was born May 31, 1831, in Bavaria, attended the high school in his native country, and at the breaking out of the Revolution of 1848, entered the patriotic army and participated in two desperate battles. His property, which was by no means incon- siderable, was also confiscated, and he only escaped with his life by concealing himself in a dry-goods box, which was shipped from Frank- fort to Moentz. On arriving at that city, he was unloaded so roughly that his shoulder was dislocated, and he received other injuries, which for some time rendered his life most miserable. He soon afterward took ship at Rotterdam and escaped to America, having been forty-nine days making the voyage on a sailing vessel. Immediately after landing on the shore of the new world, Mr. Hoffman made his way to Richland county, Ohio, where he soon became interested in local politics, identifying himself with the democratic party. He made a canvass of the township in which he located, speaking at all public points, and carried the same by a majority of seventy votes, the township having formerly been strongly republican. In recognition of his services in this campaign, Mr. Hoffman was appointed to the office of deputy sheriff. which position he resigned at the end of eighteen months in order to become clerk with a steam- boat company at Sandusky, Ohio. About this time the country was visited by the terrible cholera scourge, during the prevalence of which he did much to assist the sufferers, fearlessly
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
devoting his life to their comfort. He helped to care for the sick and assisted in burying the dead during that dread period, but escaped the disease himself.
During the three succeeding years Mr. Hoffman was engaged in agricultural pursuits in the county of Richland, and in 1853 came to the city of Van Wert, where for thirteen years he carried on the bakery business, in which he was very successful, realizing thereby the foundation of the comfortable fortune which he now enjoys. In 1865 he located on his present farm in the vicinity of Ohio City, where he purchased valuable land, the greater part of which he recently sold for $100 to $150 per acre. He retained a small farm of forty-five acres, upon which he expects to pass the re- maining years of his life. As already stated, Mr. Hoffman is a democrat, and as such has done yeoman service for his party in Van Wert county. He served nine terms as assessor of This township, discharged the duties of real estate appraiser two terms, and for a period of eighteen years served as a member of the school board. He planned and superintended the construction of the large modern school building near where he resides, and has done much for the cause of education in Liberty township. He is a man of progressive ideas, has been successful in his various undertakings, and stands high in the estimation of his fellow- citizens of Van Wert county. In religion he is a Lutheran; his wife belongs to the Meth- odist church.
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