A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 64

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1248

USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 64
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 64

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which he lived and labored until old age com- pelled him to retire from active business. In 1857 he went back to Pennsylvania on a visit to friends, and died there, that year, from a stroke of paralysis. His wife died October 13, 1865. Mr. Walls was a whig in his early life, and until the organization of the repub- lican party, and then for the last year or two of his life he was a republican. He was buried in Pennsylvania, where he had died. Both he and his wife were members of the United Brethren church, and were excellent people in every way.

Jesse Walls, the subject of this sketch, while yet a boy, learned the art of spinning, and worked at it more or less until old age came on. When his father brought his family to Van Wert county, he was nineteen years old, and for several years thereafter he worked on his father's farm. In 1850, when he was twenty-two years of age, he married Miss Anna Rigby, of New Castle. Pa. She was a mem- ber of the Christian or Disciples' church, bore him four children, and died in 1855. The names of these four children were as follows: Margaret, Jessie D., Mary J., and Cyrus, the last of whom died in infancy. The others all married and had families of their own.

In 1855 Jesse Walls was married to Miss Marinda Joseph, of New Castle, Pa., by whom he had fourteen children, as follows: John E., born December 3, 1856; Lydia J., born Feb- ruary 6, 1858; William W., born March 10, 1859; Samuel S., born June 10, 1861; Caleb J., born July 2, 1863; Carrie, born August 16, 1865; Lulu R., born May 10, 1867; Warren. born March 4, 1869; Maud E., born Septem- ber 19, 1872; Iona, Daniel and Ida, all born December 8, 1876; Harry J., born December 5, 1877; and May, born December 13, 1880. Lydia died February 20, 1858; Samuel, De- cember 4, 1862; Lulu, October 5, 1864: Ida, December 10, 1876; Daniel, December 22.

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

1876; Iona, January 9, 1877, and Caleb, Au- gust 6, 1890. The other seven are still living.

May 2, 1864, Mr. Walls enlisted in com- pany A, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, Col. Marble commanding. The regiment was a 100-day regiment, and was sent to Washington, D. C., to aid in protect- ing that city from capture by the rebels, and at the end of his term of service he was honor- ably discharged. Then, returning to Van Wert county, he again took up the duties of civil life, and he is now receiving a pension of $8 per month.

Miss Marinda Joseph, second wife of Mr. Walls, was born June 22, 1837. Her father, William Joseph, was a native of New Castle, Pa., was reared on a farm, and lived thereon until his death, which occurred September 7. 1851. His wife was Lydia Brown, of Beaver county. They were the parents of the follow- ing children: Marinda, John, Caleb, Call, Mary, Ella, William and Josephine; Call, William and Josephine are dead. After the death of William Joseph, his widow married Robert Stevens, of Indiana. William Joseph was a Methodist, while his wife was a Seventh Day Adventist. Miss Marinda Joseph was born in Beaver county, Pa., and resided with her par- ents until she married Mr. Walls. She now resides with her husband in Van Wert, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in every way a most excellent woman.

ILLIAM G. WALTERS, a leading farmer of Willshire township, Van Wert county, was born in Richland county, Ohio, February 10, 1842; and is of German descent, paternally, his great-grandfather having come from Germany and engaged in farming in Washington county. Pa., but dying in Van Wert county, Ohio.

George Walters, grandfather of our sub-

ject, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Washington county, and there married Mary Shaffer; he then came to Ohio and first located in Jefferson county, where he cleared up a farm, but sold it and moved to Richland county, where he again cleared up a farm of 160 acres from the wilderness, on which he died, a member of the Lutheran church, his wife dying a Baptist.

William Walters, son of George and father of our subject, was also a native of Washing- ton county, Pa., and was but a small boy when brought to Jefferson county, Ohio. Here he was reared to manhood on the home farm, in the meantime learning the tanner's trade. He purchased a farm in Richland county, as his first, business venture, but later sold it and bought a tanyard in Richland county; a few years later he disposed of this, and in 1845 settled on a part of the farm now owned by our subject in Van Wert county-which land had been previously entered by his father-in- law, James McDermot. Mr. Walters was married, in Richland county, to Miss Harriet McDermot, daughter of James and Jane ( Bell) McDermot, the former of whom lived to be 104 years of age. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Walters were named as follows: Jane, Mary A., Eliza, Elsie, Dorcas, Matilda, Rebecca, Melissa, William G., Wesley J. and Hadessah.

William G. Walters enlisted, in May, 1863, in company H, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Ohio national guard, and served on guard duty at Point Lookout, Md .; after his return home he was drafted and assigned to company B, Thirty-second Ohio infantry, was again de- tailed for guard duty, and was honorably dis- charged in May, 1865. April 17, 1866, lie married Jane M. Anderson, daughter of Thompson Anderson, of Guernsey county, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with the following children: Maria, William (deceased).

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Chalmers S. and Summer E. Mrs. Walters, whom Mr. Walters first met when she was teaching school in Harrison township, Van Wert county, was reared to the faith of the United Presbyterian church, but on her mar- riage united with the United Brethren Radical church, of Willshire township, and in this faith she died February 10, 1881. Mr. Walters se- lected for his second wife Miss Emma J. Adel- blue, daughter of Wilson and Mary A. (Badger) Adelblue, and to this union have been born the following children: Mary G., John S. ( deceased ), Xanthus, Maud B., Lulu P., Stanley and Russell B. Of the children of the first marriage Chalmers S. and Sumner E. have attended Middlepoint Normal college- Chaliners S. having also successfutly taught school four terms. Sumner E. has attended the Toledo Business university, and has also taught school three terms. Mr. Walters is a stanch republican, has filled various township offices, and is a pillar of the United Brethren church; he is a man of broad caliber, is a suc- cessful farmer and a very highly rgespected and useful citizen.

J OSIAH WALTZ, a native of Tuscara- was county, Ohio, was born February 22, 1839, a son of Andrew and Sophia (Angler) Waltz, natives of Pennsyl- vania, and came to Ohio in childhood. An- drew Waltz was an experienced farmer, like- wise a gunsmith and general blacksmith, and an allround inechanic. The children born to himself and wife were: Emanuel, of Union township, Van Wert county; Josiah, our sub- ject; Lewis, who died while serving in the late war of the Rebellion; Sylvester, who grew to manhood but is now deceased; Henry, who re- sides in Paulding county, Ohio, and Hannah, deceased, wife of Jonas Harp, also deceased. In 1854 these parents came to Van Wert

county, and located in Ridge township, where the father, Andrew, died of heart disease, having been preceded by his wife to the grave five years previously.

Josiah Waltz, our subject, was reared on his father's farm until eighteen years of age, when he began working out, his occupation being principally wood-chopping, but he gained at the same time a thorough knowledge of agriculture. Many acres, once the scene of his labor in the uncleared forest, have been converted by Mr. Waltz, into blooming fields. Mr. Waltz relates that the first school he at- tended was crude to the extreme, with a cat- and-stick chimney, and a puncheon floor, but he nevertheless acquired a fair education.

October 2, 1862, Mr. Waltz was wedded to Sally Ann Dustman, daughter of George and Milly (Peters) Dustman, of whom an ex- tended notice will be found elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Waltz have been born children as follows: William Edgar, who died at fifteen months of age; Emma Alice, wife of Henry Smith; Eva May, married to Henry Maisch, of Lima, Ohio; Henry C., who wedded Minnie Woolery; Mary Gertrude, married to Elma Bevington; Alvin and Alma. twins, who died in infancy; Isaac Wilbur and Oscar Burt. Mr. Waltz enlisted July 1, 1862, in company K, Eighty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, and served until honorably mustered out in 1865, having done garrison duty most of the time, and having also been confined about three months by illness.

Mr. Waltz's first purchase of land was forty acres, to which he added eighty acres, all in the wilderness when the purchases were made : this land he has converted into one of the neat- est and best kept farms in the county of Van Wert, all being thoroughly drained and en- tirely free from stumps. Mr. and Mrs. Waltz are members of the Methodist church, as are all the family, and in politics Mr. Walt za

WM. N. WATT.

835-836

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MRS. MARGARET T. WATT.

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

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stanch republican. Mr. Waltz stands high in the esteem of his neighbors, being recognized as one of the foremost and most substantial citizens of the township, ever ready to lend his aid, financially and otherwise, to every enter- prise designed for the welfare and advancement of the interests of the township and county.

ILLIAM N. WATT, a popular and substantial farmer of Liberty town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, and one well worthy of the confidence of his fellow-citizens, is of Scotch-Irish descent. and possesses within himself all the good quali- ties inherent to that wonderful race. His grand- father, Joseph Watt, and his wife, were the first of the family to come from Ireland and found a home in America. They located in Chester county, Pa., at first, but afterward came to Ohio and were among the early set- tlers of Guernsey county, and there the grand- father died in peace, an honored citizen. A son of the Joseph above mentioned, also named Joseph and also a native of Ireland, was but two years of age when he was brought to America by his father. Here he grew up, and was married in Guernsey county, Ohio, to Barbara Williams, daughter of Charles and Sarah (Rosenberry) Williams. In 1870 the family came to Van Wert county, where the father died February 26, 1881, and the mother October 30, 1889, both members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. The father was a highly respected gentleman, owned 265 acres of good farm land, and in politics was a repub- lican. He participated in the war of 1812, and was stationed near Sandusky, Ohio.

William N. Watt was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, February 2, 1835, and was reared to farming. On December 24, 1857, he married Margaret T. Willson, daughter of Jesse and Rachel (Powell) Willson. Jesse 36

Willson was born in November, 1809, in Fayette county, W. Va., and his wife, a native of Chester county, Pa., was born in February, 1810. Jesse and Rachel Willson were married in Guernsey, Ohio, in 1832; the father died in Richland county, Ill., August 31, IS44; his- widow is now a resident of Robinson, Craw- ford county, Ill. Our subject and wife, after marriage, resided on their farm in Guernsey county, Ohio, for eight years, and then, March 1, 1866, came to Van Wert county, purchased, in partnership with a brother, a saw-mill, which they together operated prosperously for nine years, and shortly afterward our subject bought the present farm of eighty acres, which they have occupied fifteen years, Mr. Watt, in the meantime, winning for himself the golden opinions of all his neighbors. In politics Mr. Watt is a strong republican, has served as justice of the peace, is a notary public, and once made a splendid race for the office of county commissioner. He is a steward of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member, and is also a member of Liberty grange, No. 322, P. of H. Mr. and Mrs. Watt have had born to them a happy family of five children. named as follows: Alice B., Minnie F., Henry G., Isabelle M. and William WV. The young ladies_have all been school- teachers, Minnie F. having attended the Mid- dlepoint Normal college, and also the Angola norinal of Angola, Ind., and Isabel M. having attended Methodist college at Delaware, Ohio. No family in Liberty township stand in a higher position socially than that of Mr. Watt's. and but few excel him personally in popularity.

EORGE HENRY WAPPNER, junior member of firm of Long & Wappner, the well-known real estate brokers. of Van Wert, Ohio, born in Mans- field, in the saine state, May 6, 1846, a son of

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Peter and Martha C. (Ries) Wappner. The ' Van Wert, as well as assistant in the express father, Peter Wappner, was born in Helmers- hausen, Germany, in 1824, and when a child was brought to America by his mother, who settled in Mansfield. There Peter grew to manhood, became a stone-cutter, and in 1844 married Martha C. Ries, who was born in Germany December 25, 1825, a daughter of Christian and Mary Ries, To Peter and wife were born two children-George Henry and D. P., the latter an employee of the Standard Oil Company at Lima, Ohio. The father, Peter Wappner, in following his trade, had laid the foundation of a large barn, at Mans- field, and in February, 1849, while assisting at the raising of the structure, met with a sudden death through the falling of the timbers. He was a well educated man and a great lover of music, a member of the Pioneer volunteer fire department of Mansfield, and a devout Christian. His widow is now a resident of Elkhart, Ind., is a devout member of the Chris- tian church and is highly respected by her neighbors.

George H. Wappner, from the age of two and one-half years until six, was cared for by his maternal grandparents, at that time residents of Van Wert county; he then returned to his · mother, and at the age of fourteen was em- ployed by Judge McGavren, of the probate court of Van Wert county, and also attended school until sixteen years of age. He was then, in 1862, employed as assistant to W. A. Clark, postmaster of Van Wert, with whom he remained four years; then attended Tuttle's select school and assisted Judge McGavren in the probate office one year, when he felt him- self prepared for marriage, of which important event mention will be made of further on. He then went to Grand Traverse county, Mich., where he was employed in farm labor six months, but, being tendered a position as book- keeper by W. A. Clark, in the book store at

office, he returned and remained with him two years; then, for the next four years, he was book-keeper for the Ohio Stave company; the next four years, he was book-keeper in Mc- Cardy's hardware store, and then formed a partnership with John Matthias and William Phingstay in the Van Wert Carriage Manufac- turing company, which partnership lasted three years. He was then appointed auditor and purchasing agent for the C., J. & M. R. R. company, in which capacity he acted until January, 1888, when he associated himself with S. W. Long in the real estate and insur- ance business until 1890; he then went to Chi- cago and was there connected with H. E. Wells in the real estate business for a year, when he returned to Van Wert, kept books for T. S. Gilliland until September, 1892, when he again joined Mr. Long in the real estate and insurance business, The firm represent, in the insurance branch, the Phoenix, Northi- western Mutual, Masonic Mutual, Accidental and other responsible companies, and in the real estate branch their list of realty is exten- sive and varied-the firm making a specialty of handling both foreign and local capital, and of dealing in farms of Van Wert and Paulding counties.

In August, 1867, Mr. Wappner drew up the license for his own marriage, while assist- ant in the probate court, to Miss Jennie Mc- Peek, a native of Washington county, Ohio. and daughter of John and Jane McPeek. This union has been blessed by the birth of one child-May W., the wife of J. G. Rowland. , jeweler, of Van Wert. Mr. and Mrs. Wapp- ner are members of the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Wappner is the superintendent of the Sunday-school. Fraternally, Mr. Wappner is a member of F. & A. M., and of the Knights of Maccabees; politically he is an influential republican, has served as a member of the re-

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

publican central committee, and in 1890 was appointed land appraiser of Van Wert county. He is a useful and prominent citizen, and he and family rank high in the social circles of the city and county.

ENRY WASSENBERG, a master wheelright and dealer in agricultural implements and manufacturer of and dealer in carriages, wagons, bicycles, etc., at Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Tusca- rawas county, Ohio, December 16, 1850, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Allman) Wass- enberg. The father, Andrew Wassenberg, a native of Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, was born about the year 1811, and in 1845 came to America. He located at Canal Dover, Tus- carawas county, was employed in a tannery until 1847, when he married Miss Allman, and then worked one week in a cooperage as a journeyman; he now opened a shop of his own for the manufacture of flour barrels, and carried on this business until his death, in 1871. His wife, Elizabeth Allman, was born in Germany in 1809, and died in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1869, the mother of two chil- dren-Henry, whose name is at the opening of this paragraph, and Catherine, the wife of J. F. Rice, a merchant of Mineral Point, Tus- carawas county. Andrew and Elizabeth Wass- enberg were both sincere followers of the Evangelical Lutheran faith, while in politics Andrew was a democrat.

Henry Wassenberg, subject of this biogra- phy, acquired a good, solid general education in the schools of Canal Dover, and remained with his parents until he had reached the age of seventeen years, when he began learning the trade of a wheelwright, at which he worked, in Canal Dover, until 1868, or for a little more than a year, when he went to New Philadelphia, a pleasant little town in Tusca-

rawas county, and there followed his trade until 1871, when he came to Van Wert, and for three years worked as a journey- man for W. H. Himmelreich; in 1874, he opened, on his own account, a small shop on North Jefferson street, worked industriously and prospered, and at the termination of two years bought the lot, 44 x66 feet, on which his present substantial shops are erected, and where he has since been actively occupied in the manufacture of carriages and wagons and in doing all kinds of repair work, as well as in handling a fine line of agricultural imple- ments and bicycles-making sales, in 1894, of thirty-nine of the last named articles.

Mr. Wassenberg was united in matrimony, at New Philadelphia, Ohio, November II, 1872, to Miss Lizzie Buss, a native of Switz- erland, and to this union have been born two children-Charles, a clerk in G. M. Hall's dry-goods store, and Catherine May, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Wassenberg are members of the Lutheran church, in which he is an elder. Fraternally, Mr. Wassenberg is a Free Mason. and also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and of the National Union; in poli- tics he is a republican, and in 1893 was elected a member of the city council, and is one of Van Wert's most popular, prominent and use- ful citizens. Through his own business tact, added to suavity and a disposition to oblige, and his strict integrity and unwillingness to misrepresent, Mr. Wassenberg has won his way to the high position he now holds in the public esteem, and which he so well deserves.

W. WARD, postmaster of Cavett, Van Wert county, Ohio, and also mer- chant, was born in Paulding comty, August 14, 1865, and is a son of Joseph and Mary J. (Patrick) Ward, the former of whom was born in Champaign county, Ohio,

.. .

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

February 16, 1829, the son of a Virginian, who was born about 1800.

I. W. Ward, our subject, was reared a farmer, and was educated partly in Paulding county, but chiefly in Van Wert county, and in November, 1884, married Miss Ella Hattery, who was born in Van Wert county, August 30, 1866, a daughter of Andrew and Laura (Kennedy) Hattery, of whom further mention is made on another page of this volume. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ward three chil- dren have come to brighten their home, viz: Joseph M., Violet and Henry W. (the last named now deceased). After marriage, Mr. Ward employed himself in farming in Union township until 1891, when failing health com- pelled him to relinquish agricultural pursuits and enter upon a less laborious occupation. Consequently, he purchased his present mer- cantile establishment, and April 20, of the same year. was appointed postmaster; May 20, 1892, he was made ticket agent for the rail- road company, which position he held until the fall of 1895. He enjoys a good country trade and has the full confidence of his patrons, and as an official has given thorough satisfac- tion to the public as well as to the post-office - department. Politically Mr. Ward is a re- publican and is a stanch supporter of his party's principles; in religion, his wife is an adherent member of the Methodist church; fraternally he is a member of lodge No. 251, I. O. O. F., and as a citizen stands deservedly high in the esteem of the general community. See sketch of the Ward family, on page 532, in the Allen county department of this work.

was born in 1828, and came to the United States in 1834. His people located in York. Pa., and about 1837 came to Ohio, and set- tled in Muskingum county, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying in 1889. His widow yet survives, having borne her husband eleven children, viz: George C., Maria, Mat- tie, Carrie, Thomas, Reuben, and Lizzie all still living. and Emma, Clara, Ira and Eddie. deceased. The father was a shoemaker and was of much respectability; with his wife, he was a member of the Lutheran church, and in his politics he was a democrat, under the auspices of which party he filled the office of township assessor at one time, and that of land appraiser in 1880.

George C. Weaver was reared to manhood in his native county and there received his pre- liminary education in the common schools, and this was supplemented by a full course in the Ohio Central Normal school, at Worthington. where he was fully prepared for teaching, and this vocation he followed with great success in Wood and Muskingum counties for fifteen years; he then engaged in farming in Wood county until 1888, when he engaged in hand- ling musical instruments, locating in Jerry City, Wood county, until 1891, when he came to Van Wert and embarked in the same line of trade. He handles chiefly the Estey and Star pianos, and also the Estey, Farrand & Votey, and Kimball and other makes of or- gans, and has won for himself a large clientage. Mr. Weaver was most happily married, in his native county. December 25, 1879, to Miss Alice E. Swingle, who was born in Morgan county, Ohio, June 5. 1857, a daughter of Frank and Lucretia (Springer) Swingle, five EORGE C. WEAVER, of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, June 2, 1852, a son of Philip and Adaline (Dozer) Weaver. Philip children being the result of the union, viz: Oliver F., Pearl G., Florence M., Paul L. and Charles F. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are Lu- therans in their religious belief and in politics Weaver was a native of Bavaria, Germany, I Mr. Weaver is a democrat, having served as

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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.

justice of the peace in his own and in Wood counties. Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Weaver has built up a large trade since coming to Van Wert, and is very favorably and widely known throughout this and adjoining counties.

ENRY WEGESIN, one of the well- known citizens and a leading farmer of section No. 36, Washington town- ship, Van Wert county, Ohio, is a native of Hanover, Germany, where he was born July 6, 1836. He is the son of Henry and Catherine ( Luebrecht ) Wegesin, both natives of Hanover, Germany. The father was a farmer and he and his wife lived and died in the old country, his death occurring in 1852, and that of his wife in the same year, in the faith of the Catholic church. There were seven children born to the parents, six sons and one daughter, all of whoin, with the ex- ception of our subject, are now dead. One brother, Herman Wegesin, came to America in 1844, and became a farmer and citizen of Van Wert county, living in Washington town- ship, where he died in 1885, leaving a widow and six children.

Henry Wegesin was reared on the farm in the old country, was given a good public- school education, and at the age of fifteen years began an apprenticeship at the stone- mason's trade. In 1854 he came to America, arriving at New York city, on the second day of November, after a voyage on the sailing vessel Audubon, an American ship, lasting five weeks and three days. He camne on to Del- phos, Ohio, direct from New York, going first by rail to Buffalo, N. Y., thence by lake to Toledo, Ohio, and then by the canal to Del- phos. The first winter after getting to Van Wert county he spent with his father on the farm. He was next on the farm of John H.

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A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2, Part 64

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen Number of Pages: 1248

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : A.W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1248