USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 6
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 6
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Ella Dustman was born on the farm Jan- uary 1, 1853, and has lived there ever since. For sixteen years she was a teacher in the country schools of Van Wert county, and was eminently successful in that profession. Ella is the only child remaining with her parents, the rest of the children being married. She is giving them in their old age that same tender care they gave her when a child. She has a wide circle of acquaintances, and is almost always entertaining some of the many friends of the family in the old home. She is a mem- ber of the Van Wert Lutheran church.
Ross, of Liberty township. They now live at Shasta, where Mr. Ross is conducting a black- smithing business and overseeing his farm. Their home life is a happy one, and they are so situated that they extract a good share of pleasure out of life. Both are members of the Methodist church.
Freeman L. Dustman, the youngest of the family, was born on the old home farm in the fall of 1860. His education was obtained in the school-house situated on his father's farm, going to school in the winter months and work- ing on the farm in the summer. When he reached his majority he devoted himself to farming, living with his parents and assisting in cultivating the home place. In the fall of ISSS he left the farm and took the position of city editor on the Van Wert Bulletin, remain- ing with that paper for three years. In 1891 he went to Toledo as state editor of the Toledo Blade. For some months he had charge of the telegraph service of The Blade, and in the winter of 1893-4, represented that paper as legislative correspondent at Columbus. In October, 1894, he assumed the managing editorship of The Blade. In December, 1 890, he was united in marriage to Gussie C. Rand, at Lathrop, Mo. This most happy union has been blessed with two children, Rand J., and George T.
OHN DAVIDSON, resident of Jack- son township, Van Wert county, Ohio. and an ex-soldier of the late Civil war, was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, December 22, 1842. His grandfather, Joshua Davidson, was born in Scotland, and when a young man came to America and settled in Coshocton county, where he reared a family, of whom the names of James, Henry and Joshua can only be recalled. Of these, Joshua,
Lydia Dustman was born in October, 1854, and her early life was spent at the old home. In May, 1888, she was married to Joseph : the father of our subject, married Catherine
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Ross, and about 1846 located in Jackson town- ship, Allen county, Ohio, having bought forty acres of land east of Lima, cleared it up, and in a short time sold out and purchased eighty acres in Amanda township, west of Lima, which he also cleared up and turned into a first-class farm. To him and wife were born fourteen children, of whom eleven lived to maturity, and were named James, Lucinda, Richard, Margaret, John, George, William, Peter A., Catherine and Joshua, of whom the first five were born in Coshocton county and the remainder in Allen county. Five of the sons-James, Richard, John, George and William, were patriots in their souls, as were the chieftains of their fatherland, Bruce and Wallace, and fought for the preservation of the Union in company I, Thirty-fourth Ohio vol- unteer infantry -- James excepted, who served with the Thirteenth Wisconsin. The father of these brave boys was called to his last rest- ing place in 1867, dying in Allen county at the age of sixty-five years.
John Davidson, the gentleman whose rec- ord of life is here briefly detailed, was but an infant when taken to Allen county by his par- ents. Here he was reared to the hardships of pioneer farming and enjoyed such feeble edu- cational accessories as the log-cabin schools of the country districts of that day afforded. January 22, 1862, not yet having attained man's estate, he enlisted in company I, Thirty- fourth Ohio volunteer infantry, to serve three years or during the war, and faithfully served until honorably discharged at Cumberland, Md., June 27, 1865, on account of the close of the conflict for which he had enlisted, hay- ing served three years, five months and eight- een days. He took part in the battle of Cedar Creek, and was wounded at Fayetteville, W. Va., September 22, 1862, by a minie ball through the right thigh; he was in hospital for a month, and then given a furlough for thirty
days; he then reported for duty, but was placed in invalid camp at Point Pleasant for a month and then returned to his regiment. He next fought at Princeton: next at a forgotten battle in West Virginia, then at Meadow Bluffs, Green River, Fisher's Hill, and in the Shenan- doah valley at Winchester and Mount Jackson. At Beverley, W. Va., February 1864, his regi- ment was surprised while asleep in camp and Soo taken prisoners. After confinement in Richmond, Va., for thirty-five days, was sent home for final exchange, and this was effected two months later. After rejoining his regi- ment, Mr. Davidson took part in a number of battles and skirmishes, but with no further mishaps. His brothers had about the same experience, with the exception of George, who met with the sad fate of being captured at Martinsburg, W. Va., and of dying of starva- tion in Salisbury prison, N. C., in 1864.
After returning from the war Mr. Davidson engaged in the saw-mill business in Allen county in partnership with his brother Peter. and in 1878 came to Van Wert county and ran a saw-mill in Convoy until 18So, when he came to Jackson township, bought a farin, cleared it up, and in 1886 bought a saw-mill, and has since done an excellent business. The marriage of Mr. Davidson took place in Allen county, Ohio, in April, 1866, to Miss Mary S. Culp, who was born in Ross county, October 23, 1848, a daughter of Conrad and Sarah (Dinkle) Culp. Conrad Culp was of Pennsyl- vania-Dutch stock. Peter, his father was a pioneer of Pickaway county, Ohio, and Con- rad moved to Auglaize county in 1852 and to Allen county in 1856, and there had a good farm of 120 acres. He was twice married. and died in Allen county, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, in August, 1888. To the congenial union of Mr. and Mrs. John Davidson have been born thirteen children: George W .. Florelle, Phebe A., Emma, Charles M. (died
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ut eight years of age), Addie (died when six years old), Richard, William, John, Alonzo, Frank, Florence and Hattie -- five of whom were born in Allen county and the remainder in Van Wert county. Mr. Davidson has always been a hard-working and industrious man and has acquired his own fortune; he has deservedly earned the lofty position he holds in the estimation of his neighbors, and as a useful citizen ranks with the best in Jackson township.
George W. Davidson, the eldest son of John Davidson, of whom mention has been made above, is associated with his father in saw-mill and farming. owning one-half interest in the saw-mill in Jackson township, Van Wert county, and one-half interest in a similar mill in Washington township, Paulding county, and together are doing a line of business which "leads on to fortune."
A NDREW E. DECAMP, an ex-soldier of the late Civil war and a resident of Jackson township, Van Wert county, Ohio, is of Gallic descent and a true American citizen. His grandfather, John De- Camp, a native of France, was a skillful ma- chinist and tool-maker, was a young man when he came to America and settled in New York and there married, and had born to him the following named children: Job, John, Charlotte, Mary, Hannah, Henrietta and Or- ville. In an early day he came to Ohio and carried on edge-tool making in Licking county for several years, then came to Van Wert county, in 1840, and for twelve years carried on a blacksmith shop in Ridge township, and there died of cholera within a year of the opening of the late Civil war.
Job DeCamp, son of John and father of the subject of this biography, was born in the city of New York, lived for some time in Johns-
town, Pa., and there married Lydia Cavette, a daughter of John and Lydia Cavette, and in 1840 came to Ohio and located in Ridge township, Van Wert county. To Job De- Camp and wife were born the following chil- dren: Mary, William, Andrew E., Joseph, Hannah, Ainsworth, Orvilla and Thomas. Mr. DeCamp entered eighty acres of land in Ridge township and succeeded in clearing up an excellent farm and in rearing his family in respectability. Two of his sons, William and Andrew E., served in the Civil war, in com- pany H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, and he did all things pertaining to the life of a good citizen. In politics he was first a whig and then a republican, and he and wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Andrew E. DeCamp, whose name opens this biography, was born in Ridge township. Van Wert county, Ohio, June 9, 1842, re- ceived the usual common-school education, and was taught the trade of blacksmithing, be- coming, under his father's skillful training, a inore than ordinary expert. At Lima, Allen county, Mr. DeCamp enlisted, at the age of twenty years, in September, 1864, in company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, served one year in the Civil war, and was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, June 8, 1865. He served in Tennessee, Georgia, South Caro- lina and North Carolina-taking part with Gen. Sherman in his famous march to the sea. During his absence he was entangled in the pursuit of the rebel Hood. At Ringgold, Ga .. he received two saber cuts on the right arın and hand from one of the rebel guards, Joe Wheeler's cavalrymen, but soon recovered and fought it out to the conclusion of the terin of his enlistment, and then came to Van Wert county. In 1867 he married Catherine Geeth- ing daughter of Thomas and Hester (Crates) Geething, to which union have been born twelve children, of whom the following are
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
still living: Edward, Frank, Minnie, Mary, Myrtle, Martha, Job, Lawrence, Katie, James, and Edith. The father of Mrs. DeCamp. Thomas Geething, was a saw-miller of Ridge township, and is now living in Hoaglin town- ship, Van Wert county, the father of five chil- dren-Catherine, Sarah, William, Ollie and Eliza.
Mr. DeCamp, after his marriage, lived in Washington township for eight years, then moved to Middlepoint, and for ten years was employed as an engineer on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad. He now has a good farm that he has hewn out of the woods, and is enjoying life amid a surrounding circle of devoted friends. Mr. and Mrs. DeCamp are sincere members of the Methodist church, and in politics he is a republican. He has reared his family in respectiability, and has won for himself the esteem of his neighbors and the respect of the community in which he has passed the better portion of his useful life.
OHN M. GEISE, one of the well-known citizens of Van Wert county, Ohio, and a leading and successful farmer of Washington township, now residing two miles northwest from Delphos, is a native of Germany, having been born in the kingdom of Hanover on February 5, 1831. His parents were Casper and Elizabeth (Hemker) Geise, both natives of Hanover, where they were married. The parents, with their two sons, left the old country in the fall of 1841, and reached New York city in the month of No- vember, after a voyage of seven weeks and six days. From New York city they went to Al- bany by boat, thence to Buffalo, N. Y., by canal, and thence to Cleveland by the lake. From Cleveland they went to Toledo by lake steam-boat, and from that point they made their way by river to about three miles front
Napoleon, Ohio, where the boat was frozen in the ice, and they made the balance of the trip to Fort Jennings by sled, reaching that point in January, 1842. At Fort Jennings they re- mained until the following April, and then moved upon ten acres of school land in sec- tion No. 16, Putnam county, which they rent- ed. They lived there three years, and theu came to Washington township, Van Wert county, where they purchased forty acres of government land, and began farming. When the work of digging the canal was begun, Cas- per Geise went to work on it, and continued at work until it was completed, and it was there he earned the money to make the first pay- ment on his land. To the original forty, he added forty and then eighty acres, and alto- gether had a farm of 160 acres. Casper Geise was one of the very first settlers as well as one of a very few of Washington township, and the township was one dense forest with but few roads. The country was a forest and the woods full of wild animals. He lived, however. to see the county cleared up and converted into as fine a farming district as can be found any- where in the state, and to see Deiphos grow from woods into a thriving, progressive little city. He helped to build the first house in Delphos, which was the log cabin owned by Ferdinand Bredeick, brother of Father Bred- . eick, who founded Delphos and established the present Saint John's Roman Catholic church. He was born in 1799 and died in IS81. His wife died in 1846, being then about fifty-eight years of age. They were both among the first members of the Catholic church of Delphos. of which he was a trustee for several years. To these parents three children were born, the eldest one dying in the old country at the age of three years. Our subject was the second son, and Conrad was the third, all being born in the old country.
John M. Geise was reared upon the farm.
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
He got his education by attending school in good of the community. His conservative, yet generous nature, has made him very popu- lar, and he has been many times called by his fellow-citizens to public office. He has served as township trustee of Washington township eight years; he was director of the county in- firmnary two terms of three years each, making six years in that office; and for twenty-two years he was treasurer of the German Mutual Fire Insurance company, for Putnam, Van Wert and Allen counties. For many years he was a member of the council of Saint John's Roman Catholic church. the old country and the schools at Fort Jen- nings and Delphos. He remained at home un- til 1855, when he married and moved on the land where he now resides, which at that time contained eighty acres in section No. 14. Here he has since continued to live. In 1884 he built his present large and handsome resi- dence, which is one of the best in the town- ship. He has at different times added to his original eighty acres until he has now 160 acres in one body. He also owns sixty acres in sec- tion No. 12, Marion township, Allen county, which is known as Sulphur Springs. In 1889, In 1855, Mr. Geise was married to Clara Kramer, of Fort Jennings, who?was born in Glandorf, Putnam county, Ohio, and was the daughter of Bernhard Kramer, who was a na- tive of Germany. She died in ISSo, at the age of forty-seven years ... She was a devoted wife and mother, and was a member of Saint John's Roman Catholic church. To Mr. and Mrs. Geise nine children were born, six of whom are living, as follows: Joseph, Otto, Fred, Theresa, Annie and Sallie; the three deceased were John, David and Heury. Mr. Geise and family are all members of Saint John's Roman Catholic church and are num- bered among the best families in Washington. during the oil excitement, Mr. Geise leased his Sulphur Springs land to Sam Jones & Co., who were succeeded by the Geyser oil com- pany. This company had much trouble in procuring leases of oil lands, and until Mr. Geise leased his land, not a single well had been secured. He then let his influence and service to the company, and through him the company leased over 50,000 acres. In testi- mony of the company's regard and apprecia- tion of his services, they presented him with a handsome gold watch, upon which is inscribed the following words: "J. M. Geise, from the Geyser Oil company, December 25, 1889," which testimonial he values very highly. The following Christmas Mr. Geise reciprocated by sending each member of the company a fine fat J OHN GEORGE, a prominent citizen of York township, Van Wert county, Ohio. is a native of Wales and was born Jan- uary 20, 1829, a son of George and Ann (Jones) George. John George, the father. with his wife, son Thomas and his daughters. Mary and Ann, came to Van Wert county in 1856; his son, John, having preceded him four years, and, having written his father of the fertile lands abounding in Van Wert county, and the plenty arising therefrom, the father and his family were induced to come here, turkey. Mr. Geise has for many years been one of the leading citizens of Van Wert county, and has always been prominent in public mat- ters. He has always been a democrat in poli- tics, but is a liberal and independent voter, and while generally voting the democrat ticket, he does not hesitate to scratch a bad nominee, if he is certain it is best for the welfare of the community. He is broad and liberal in his views, enterprising and progressive, always doing his full share toward the support of all worthy enterprises having for their object the ! and here resided on a farm to the time of his
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
death, at the age of sixty years, his wife dying at three-score and ten. Thomas George, son of John, the immigrant, resides in Elgin; Ann, the elder daughter, is the wife of Thomas Tib- bett, and resides in Elida, Allen county; Mary, the second daughter, became the wife of Grif- fith Evans, but is now deceased.
John George, our subject, shortly after his arrival in the United States, found himself in Cincinnati, sixty dollars in debt. He had, however, a friend by the name of John Davis, who divided what means he possessed with our subject, and thus assisted in the time of distress, which act was never forgotten-either as a debt of gratitude or a financial debt-and both debts were subsequently repaid. In his youth, our subject, John George, had learned the carpenter's trade, having served an ap- prenticeship of six years, without any financial remuneration. While in Cincinnati he fol- lowed his trade four years, and for four years longer he followed this vocation in Louisiana. In the fall of 1859 he came to Van Wert county, Ohio, and here bought 160 acres of land, being the farm which he now owns. He was to pay $1,000 for this property, of which he paid $500 on taking possession and subse- quently paid the balance, having earned tlie money through his own exertions.
In 1856 he married Miss Elizabeth Jones, of Paddy's. Run, Butler county, Ohio, the union being blessed with four sons and two daughters; of these, Moses lives on his father's farm; William lives near Elgin; John, at Ven- edocia; Elizabeth Ann is the wife of Hugh Thomas; Richard lives in Van Wert, and Dora resides at home with her parents. In politics Mr. George is an active republican and has served as township treasurer, having been elected in 1882, and serving twelve years consecutively. In religion he is an adherent of the Congregational church, of which his parents were also members. His farm is now
highly improved, and is the admiration of all beholders. He is highly respected in the com- munity in which he moves, and no one more deserves the esteem in which he is held than he.
EORGE JOSEPH EBLEN, M. D .. one of the most talented physicians of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Vevay, Switzerland county, Ind., September 22, 1852. His father, David Eb- len, was born in Virginia in 1806, and was quite a child when taken to Switzerland county, Ind., where he was educated in the pioneer schools and reared to manhood-his first busi- ness for himself being brick-laying and farm- ing. For some years later he was engaged in merchandising at, Vevay, where he resided until 1882, and died while on a visit to Chris- tiansburg, Ky., in the fall of 1882. His mar- riage had taken place in Switzerland county, Ind., in 1830, to Miss Sarah Buchanan, and to this union were born eight children, viz: Sarah, deceased; James, Elizabeth, John Law- son, Nettie, Fletcher, deceased; George J .. and Charles, deceased. The mother, Mrs. Sarah Eblen, died in I858; she was a mem- ber of the Christian church, and was known as a lady of many admirable traits of mind and heart. For his second wife, Mr. Eblen chose Mrs. Mary Sachwell, of Ghent, Ky., who bore him one child-Laura. Mr. Elben was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a republican in politics, and a man of consider- able prominence in the community where he resided.
George Josepli Eblen, at the age of ten years, abandoned the parental domicile, and sought a home with John B. Gordon, a fariner of Switzerland county, Ind., with whom he lived until nineteen years of age. attending in the meantime the district school
4.
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G. J. EBLEN, M. D.
225-226
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
and studying assiduously and profitably, so that, when at the age mentioned, he made application for a license to teach, and secured at the examination the best rating of any appli- cant in Switzerland county-that of ninety- three . and a fraction. He thus secured a license to teach for twenty-four months. He next attended Bryant & Stratton's business college at Louisville, Ky., for a year, gradu- ated in 1873, and then taught a year in the same institution. He was similarly employed a year in Hollingsworth & Johnson's business college in the same city; and then returned to Switzerland county, Ind., and taught school mutil 1875, when he attended a course of lec- tures at the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louisville, Ky. Subsequently, he pursued his professional studies at Cross Plains, Ind., with Dr. J. M. Sweezy, for five years, teaching school in the interim, and then attending lectures at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was gradu- ated in 1880. Dr. Eblen began the practice of his profession in the town of Shasta, Van Wert county, Ohio, and for six years met with marked success; in 1886, he effected a co- partnership with Dr. W. H. Christopher, at V'an Wert, for one year, and since then has been alone in the practice.
Dr. Eblen's professional career presents a series of continued successes, and his reputa- tion as a practioner is of the highest order of excellence. He brought to the practice a mind well fortified with intellectual and pro- fessional training, and he possesses a presence and sympathetic nature which at once gains him the confidence of his patients, and skill mark him as a true friend of suffering human- ity. In the sick room he is a typical family physician, and his conscientious fidelity to duty and principle has won for him the love and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact as a medical adviser. The doctor, 11
while engaged in the general practice, makes a specialty of female and rectal diseases, and his reputation in the department of surgery is regarded as second to that of no other prac- titioner in the city of Van Wert.
Dr. Eblen belongs to the Ohio State Eclec- tic Medical association, and in 1890 added to his professional knowledge by taking a post- graduate course in the Polyclinic of New York city. The doctor possesses a vigorous person- ality and commanding presence; both of which have contributed not a little to his professional success. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows' orders, and also of the Royal Arcanum and National Union, and financially has been quite fortunate, owning valuable property in Van Wert and the city of Cincinnati.
Dr. Eblen was united in. marriage in Cin- cinnati, December 7, 1881, with Miss Carrie Niles, the accomplished daughter of Barnabas Niles, of that city. Mrs. Eblen is a native of Cincinnati, born January 19, 1854, and is a lady of culture and refinement, moving in the best social circles of Van Wert. The Eblen home on South Washington street is the abode of a genuine, open-hearted hospitality, and the genial nature of the doctor, and the affable manners of his aimable lady, add new charms to the pleasant domicile. Dr. and Mrs. Eblen belong to the Methodist church, being es- teemed members of the Van Wert congregation.
OHN C. GEORGE, son of John George. whose sketch has been given, was born on the old homestead in Van Wert county, Ohio, in 1862, and still con- tinues to reside in the same township, where he is a prosperous and enterprising young farmer, thoroughly instructed in agricultural pursuits; he received his preliminary education in the district schools and then attended the
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
normal school at Mansfield, Ohio, thus fitting himself for teaching, a vocation he followed for five terms in Van Wert county. November 27, 1886, he married Sarah O. Jones, a daugh- ter of John M. and Mary (Owens) Jones, two children being the result of this union and respectively named John Gilbert and Maurice Nelson. Mr. George and his wife worship at the Calvinistic church. In politics Mr. George is a stanch republican. Mr. George owns and occupies a beautiful modern dwelling in the suburbs of Venedocia, and cultivates a nice little farm just southwest of town.
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