USA > Ohio > Allen County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 68
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > A portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert counties, Ohio, v. 2 > Part 68
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develop the oil and gas interests of this sec- tion, but failing to obtain a sufficient supply of gas in Van Wert county, succeeded in interest- ing eastern capital, which was brought to bear upon the Mercer county (Ohio) gas fields. Within the same year this company piped its gas into Van Wert and surrounding towns. Mr. Williams and his eastern associates are also interested in the gas and oil fields of Fair- field county, Ohio, which supply Sugar Grove, Circleville, Chillicothe and other neighboring towns with fuel gas. They are at the present time (November, 1895,) engaged in putting a plant into the city of Circleville. N. L. Will- iams also owns good oil property at Saint Mary's, Ohio, and holds a number of other valuable leases . of similar character, all in profitable working order.
The marriage of our subject was consum- mated, at Sharon, Pa., September 18, 1862, when he was united to Miss Lucretia Leslie, who was at the time a resident of that city. though a native of Brookfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, where she was born on the 24th of November, 1837, being the daughter of Robert and Eliza (Boyd) Leslie. To this felicitous union have been born two children: Bertha L., deceased wife of Fred N. Chambers, of Oil City, Pa., and Harold L., who is associ- ated with his father in business. Mrs. Bertha Lin Chambers died December 26, 1895, at her home in Oil City, Pa., after an illness of twenty-four days, her disease having been ty- phoid fever. All who had the pleasure of her ac- quaintance knew her as a most lovable woman. When in health she was a perfect picture of beautiful womanhood. She was accomplished in person, mind and heart, pleasant and cheer- ful in manner, and possessed of a large circle of warm and admiring friends. She was in all respects a most admirable lady, one of whose presence in their midst any community would be justly proud, and whose sense of
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
loss at her death would be, as it was at her home, correspondingly great. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are Presbyterians in their religious faith, and in politics our subject is a stalwart republican. He is a man of fine physique and attractive personality and holds high rank in the respect and esteem of the people of Van Wert county. In his fraternal relations Mr. Williams is prominently identified with the Masonic order, in which he has advanced to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite, being also a member in good standing of Van Wert lodge, chapter, council, and also of Ivanhoe commandery, Knights Templar, being a charter member of the last named body.
Harold L. Williams, son of our honored subject, was born in Sharon, Pa., July 16, 1868, and was educated in the public schools of Pennsylvania and New York, supplementing this discipline by attending Oberlin college for two terms. He began his business career in Van Wert, being associated with his father, with whom he remained one year, or until the natural gas company was fully organized, when he went to Minnesota, where he remained a year and a half, being there associated with his father-in-law. D. Stevenson, in the insurance business. He then returned to Van Wert and has since been identified with the management of the Van Wert Natural Gas company, which has a capital stock of $300,000, of which two- thirds are paid in. Harold L. Williams was married, at Rochester, Minn., December 1I, 1889, to Miss Frances H. Stevenson, daughter of D. and Helen Sanborn) Stevenson. The offspring of this union is one child, Leslie San- born, who was born November 4, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the Presby- terian church, and in his fraternal associations Mr. Williams is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees, while in politics he exercises his franchise in the support of the men and measures of the
republican party. Both he and wife are active in social affairs and enjoy a distinctive popu- larity in Van Wert.
LLEN BERTRAM GILLILAND. M. D., a young and rising physician of Van Wert, Ohio, was born De- cember 20, 1864, a son of Thaddeus Stevens - and Ruhannah (Baker) Gilliland, of whom a memoir in full will be found on page 364, of this volume. To the same parents were also born a daughter, Adda, who was married to I. H. Lynch, of Greenville, Chio, and who died at San Diego, Cal., January 2, 1896; alsoa son, a younger brother of our sub- ject, now living in Sidney, Ohio, and named Llewellen Gordon Gilliland.
A. B. Gilliland laid the foundation of his literary education in the high school of Van Wert, and then, at the age of seventeen years, entered Wooster (Ohio) college. which he at- tended three years; he next attended Cornell university, at Ithaca, N. Y., from which noted institution of learning he graduated in 1887, receiving the degree of Ph. B., and at once be- gan his professional studies in the medical de- partment of the university of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, receiving his diploma as M. D., in May, 1890 For practice he at first located in Englewood, Ill., where he passed a novitiate of two years and then settled in Van Wert, where, having brought with him a profound knowledge of the science of medicine, the re- sult of arduous study and two years of practical experience, he has been constantly employed ever since.
Dr. Gilliland was united in the bonds of wedlock, in May, 1894, with Miss Anna M. Alter, who was born December 9, 1866, near Saint Paul, Minn., a daughter of Joseph Alter. and this congenial marriage of the doctor and his wife has been blessed with one son ---- Thad-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
deus Stevens, born February 22, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland are conscientious members of the Presbyterian church, and their social standing is most excellent.
J OHN MEDAUGH, a practical and pros- perous farmer of Willshire township, Van Wert county, Ohio, was born in this county March 2, 1842, and is de- .scended front a very old colonial family of Pennsylvanians, of Holland-Dutch extraction, his great-great-grandfather, Dered Medaugh, ·having been the founder of the American fam- ily, and his great-grandfather, Ephraim, hav- ing been the first American born of the name of Medaugh. Ephraim probably had his na- tivity in Westmoreland county, Pa., and there married Lydia Hattery; later he became a pio- neer of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and here both he and wife passed the remainder of their days. Richard Medaugh, son of Ephriam and also a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., .married Charity Anders, and they also came to Ohio with the pioneers of Tuscarawas county, and here Richard built and operated the first grist-mill in the county; it was run by water, and its patrons came on horseback for many miles from all directions. Richard and "wife were members of the Methodist church, and in that faith both died.
The son of Richard and Charity Medaugh, the second in the family named Ephraim, and the father of our subject, was born in West- moreland county, Pa., May 25, 1814, and was fourteen years of age when brought by his parents to Tuscarawas county, Ohio. He here 1 married Jane Slater, daughter of Samuel and Barbara (Robinson) Slater, formerly of the Keystone state, the result of this union being Sarah A., Elmira, Mary, John, Andrew, Char- ity and William, all now deceased excepting . Norman R., Hanna A., William M., Nima L.
Sarah A., Andrew and our subject. After a residence of three years in Tuscarawas county, Mr. and Mrs. Medaugh came to Van Wert county in 1837, and here the father hewed from the forest what is now a fine farm of Iso acres, making an excellent home.
In 1864 death took from him his first wife, and his second marriage took place in 1865, to Miss Christina Snyder, daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Dauge) Snyder, but from this union there is no offspring. In politics Mr. Medaugh is a republican, and he and family have long been identified with the radical branchi of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Beside his wide celebrity as a farmer, Mr. Medaugh is widely known throughout Van Wert and adjacent counties as an auctioneer, a calling he has followed over forty years.
John Medaugh, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, received a good common- school education, and also assisted on the home farm until he responded to his country's call in August, 1862, when he enlisted in com- pany A., Ninety-ninth regiment, Ohio volun- teer infantry, and served in the campaigns of Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, skirmishing for three months with the rebel, Braxton Bragg, and enduring much heavy marching and fighting until severely injured in his hip and back by an accident, in consequence of which he was honorably discharged, on account of disability, in March, 1863. Becoming con- valescent, he enlisted, in October, 1864. in the western army, and gallantly served until the close of the war, receiving his final dis- charge in the fall of 1865. In ISgo he was granted a pension for his valiant services of $6 per month. The marriage of Mr. Medaugh was celebrated November 19, 1868, with Miss Emily Carter, daughter of Ardalus and Hannah (Julick) Carter, of Virginia, the union being blessed by the birth of the following children:
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878-877
G M. ZEIGLER.
879.
OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
and John G. - all of whom have been highly educated.
With the exception of two years, passed at Rockford, Ohio, in hotel keeping and the gro- cery business, Mr. Medaugh has followed farn- ing as a life pursuit. His farm, which is a model in itself, contains twenty-five acres, and his modern two-story brick mansion is probably as handsome a dwelling as there is in the coun- ty. In politics Mr. Medaugh is a stanch re- publican, and has been township trustee for four years. A member of the United Breth- ren church, he has long been a class leader. His son, Norman R., is a graduate of Middle- point Normal college, and is married to Annie M. Ballenger; Hannah A., daughter of sub- ject, is the wife of Charles Walters, and Will- iam M., another son, is married to Rosa A. Brown.
EORGE W. ZIEGLER, a highly re- spected citizen and a retired manu- facturer of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, January 28, 1828. Jacob and Catherine (Stonehill) Ziegler, his parents, were respectively natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland, but were mar- ried in Stark county, Ohio. Farming was the occupation of the father until he was most untimely killed by an accidental fall from the court house at Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1829. To Jacob and Catherine Ziegler were born seven children: viz: Harriet, Josiah, Amzia, Henrietta, Jeremiah, George W .. and Mary A. After the lamented death of her first husband, Mrs. Ziegler, who was still a young and attractive woman, ac- cepted for her second spouse Daniel Ball, by whom she had four children, viz: Nicholas, Benjamin, Harry and Harrison. The mother of our subject made her home in Bucyrus, Ohio, until her death, in 1838.
Ziegler went forth in this world to seek a live- lihood as best he could, and, young as he was, found employment as a farm laborer until 1841, when he began to learn cabinet making, which trade he followed until 1848, when he came to Van Wert city and followed carpen- tering until he entered the stave factory of Warren & Wells as superintendent, there he remained three years, and then accepted the position of foreman of the Eagle stave works, buying $1, 800 worth of stock in 1867, and re- maining with the concern seven years; he then bought a farm of 130 acres in Pleasant town- ship, cultivated it for five years, and then vir- tually retired from business, although he oc- casionally accommodated a friend by taking a contract for carpenter work, until stricken with paralysis in April, 1889, since which time he has of course entirely withdrawn his attention from all business.
The first marriage of Mr. Ziegler was cele- brated in Van Wert in 1854, when he led to the altar Miss Caroline Strothers, who became the mother of two children-Alice, now de- ceased, and Burt, a railroad man. Mrs. Caroline Ziegler died in 1868, and in 1872 Mr. Ziegler chose for his second wife a Miss Sarah Slade, and to this union two children also were born-Leonia, deceased, and Earnest. In 1880 death again bereaved Mr. Ziegler of his fond mate, since when he has kept house alone. In religion Mr. Ziegler is a Methodist, and in politics he is a republican. His life has been one of activity and usefulness, and he is greatly esteemed by the community for his integrity and past industry.
O WEN MORRIS, deceased, was among the well known farmers and stock growers of York township. Van Wert county, and was one whose influence Upon the death of his mother, George W. I was not only felt in the community in which he
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
resided, but throughout the southern part of Allen county and the northern part of Mercer county. He was one of the model farmers of his day and kept well abreast of the times, and one who readily indorsed all public or benevo- lent enterprises.
He was born in Wales in 1831, where he was reared to eighteen years of age, when, feeling the necessity of bettering his condition financially he emigrated to America, and here started out almost empty-handed in life. He located in Jackson county, Ohio, where he subsequently purchased land and became a tiller of the soil. Here, in the year 1855, on July 31st, he was married to Miss Margaret Jones, who was also a native of Wales, but who had come to America in her childhood with her parents. She was a lady well edu- cated, was one experienced in household duties, and well fitted to be his helpmate. To this congenial union were born four daughters and seven sons, namely: Thomas, who died in in- fancy; John A., a practicing physician of Wells county, Ind .; Margaret ; Thomas Edwin; Mary ; Ebenezer, married to Mattie Jones; Anna, wife of Robert Thomas; David C .; Edward New- ton, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; and Fred- erick O., still living.
In 1861, Mr. Morris sold his property in Jackson county and moved westward, locating on eighty acres of land in York township, Van Wert county, this piece of land being an ap- preciated gift by the father of Mrs. Morris. At the time of locating here it was yet in its natural state, but Mr. Morris immediately set about to improve it and make a home thereon. He and wife here experienced many of the hardships of the early pioneer, yet both, being young and in good health, soon mastered the situation and were enabled to enjoy a home equal to any of the neighbors of their com- munity. Not long after locating in Van Wert county, Mr. Morris, being one of the patriotic
sons of his adopted land, enlisted in company C, Forty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer in- fantry, and did active service until honorably discharged, May 29, 1865, at Camp Dennison. He was with Sherman on and during the Atlanta campaign until near the close, when he was compelled to go to the rear on account of sickness. Afterward, he returned to his home in Van Wert county and followed the life of an agriculturist during the rest of his days, dying January 21, 1891, having been a devout member of the Calvinistic church, to which his wife and children also belong. He had increased his farm by the purchase of sixty acres, so that he left his family a good home, well improved, where his widow now lives. Mrs. Morris is a lady highly respected in her community and is an active worker in the church and Sabbath-school. She is sur- rounded by her children, whom she has raised and educated, and who are a credit to the coin- munity in which they live. David C. Morris was born in 1870, March 6. He attended the country school until the age of eighteen years, and also attended the normal schools at Middle- point, Ada, and Angola, where he learned book-keeping. He also taught school for three or four terms. In 1895 he began in the gen- eral merchandise business in Venedocia, with Robert Morris, and met with success. He is a strong republican in politics, and is gaining in popularity as a tradesman and politician day by day.
ILLIAM T. WISHER, of Jackson township, Van Wert county, Ohio. was the youngest soldier in the Civil war, as was stated in the National Tribune, Washington, D. C., at the time. He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, May 16, 1848, and was attending school when he enlisted, at Bremen, in his native county,
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
under Capt. Nicodemus Hufford, in company H, Sixty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, and was enrolled September 7, 1861, at Zanesville, to serve for three years or during the war, and faithfully performed his duty until honorably discharged in the field, near City Point, Va .. November 1, 1864. He then re-enlisted in the same organization, for a similar term, was granted a furlough home, and January I, 1865-the "cold New Year day "-rejoined his regiment, after an absence of only thirty days. It will be seen that our subject was but a little over thirteen years of age when he en- listed, and but seventeen after his long service of over four years at the close of hostilities, and thus gained the proud distinction of being the " youngest soldier in the war."
James Wisher, grandfather of our subject, was a bladksmith by trade, was of German descent, resided near Bremen, Ohio, and lived to the advanced age of ninety years, dying in Fairfield county. His son, James G., the father ot our subject, was probably born in the county named, was a carpenter by trade, and married, in Fairfield county, Miss Sarah Evans, of Welsh descent. Later he bought a small farm near Bremen, and there his chil- dren were born and named as follows: Maria, William T., Amanda and Samuel. In 1869 the family moved to Allen county and settled near Elida, and here the father died about the age of seventy years, in April, 1895, a mem- ber of the United Brethren church, in which he had been a class leader, and a republican in politics.
After his return from the war, Mr. Wisher moved with his father to Allen county in 1869, and there married. May 25, 1873, Miss Sarah A. Brenneman, who was born November 10, 1849, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter of Jacob and Caroline (Ogden) Brenneman. Jacob Brenneman was born in Virginia, be- came the father of eight children by his first
wife, and by his marriage to his second wife, Miss Ogden, had born to him eight others, in the following order: Catherine, David, Jacob, Rebecca, Sarah, Frank, Noah and Christian. Mr. Brenneman settled in Allen county, Ohio. Marion township, about 1853, became a promi- nent farmer, owning 160 acres of land. and more of his biography may be learned from the sketch of David Brenneman. on another page .. In 1875 our subject, Mr. Wisher, came to Jackson township, Van Wert county, pur- chased forty acres of land in the wilderness, which he has converted into a beautiful farm and has largely increased. To his marriage have been born nine children, named as fol- lows: Fannie, James, Charles, William, Dasie, Jennie, David, Elsie and Mary. Mr. Wisher is a member of the G. A. R., Melrose post. No. 632, Paulding county, Ohio, and in poli- tics is a republican. Mrs. Wisher is a member of the Christian Union church, and no family in the county stand higher in the esteem of their neighbors. The youthful military career of Mr. Wisher in itself is enough to place him a head and shoulders above his fellow-patriots.
DWARD W. WOLCOTT, attorney at law of Van Wert, Ohio, is a native of the state and was born in Gran- ville, Licking county, April 20, 1871. and is a son of William P. and Amanda Kear Wolcott, the former of whom was also a na- tive of Licking county, Ohio, born February 29. 1836, and was a son of and
Ann (Winchell, Wolcott. Mrs. Ann Wolcott was a sister of the Mr. Winchell who founded the Ann Arbor niversity and was a native of Connecticut, as was her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott settled in Licking county, Ohio. in an early day, resided on a farm, and both passed away in 1875. the parents of the fol-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
lowing children: Ruth, William P., Lucy, Horace, Oliver and Orleana.
.
William P. Wolcott, father of our subject, was reared on the home farm and also learned the trade of tanning, and was educated in the common schools and at Dennison university .. He followed tanning in Licking county until 1874, when he moved to Petersburg, Ill., where for six months he was book-keeper for a large corporation. Being then thrown out of his permanent position, he went tempora- rily to work in a sand-bank, which caved in and dislocated the back of Mr. Wolcott and paralyzed his lower limbs for life. He re- mained in Petersburg until 1875, when he came to Van Wert, a helpless cripple, unable to assist himself in the slightest act physically. In June of this year, Dr. Stemen, of Fort Wayne, Ind., performed on him an operation wonderful in the history of surgery, through which he restored to Mr. Wolcott the use of his limbs to a considerable extent, and also invigorated his mental faculties to such a de- gree that, in 1878, he was able to permit his name, by request, to go before the republican county convention as a candidate for county recorder, to which position he was elected the ensuing fall, and re-elected for three succes- sive terms, served in all, nine years. He then engaged in the insurance and real estate busi- ness and as agent for the American Express company, in partnership with his son, our subject, under the firm name of W. P. Wol- cott & Son, and was thus engaged until his death, March 14, 1892, a devout member of the Presbyterian church and an honored Free- mason. Mr. Wolcott had been married in September, 1867, in Van Wert, to Miss Amanda. Kear, sister to Wiley M. Kear, whose biography appears on another page. Mrs. Wolcott was born in Van Wert, March 12, 1839, and became the mother of four children, viz: Two infants, that died unnamed; Harry
K., an attorney at Norfolk, Va., and Edward W., whose name opens this biographical notice.
Edward W. Wolcott was reared in the town of Van Wert and was educated in the city schools. In May, 1889, he entered the insurance business with his father, with whom he remained until the latter's death, when he began the study of the law and was admitted te the bar in June, 1894, when he relinquished his insurance business entirely and devoted himself to his profession. The marriage of Mr. Wolcott occurred in Van Wert September 14, 1893, to Miss Ada Mounts, a native of this city, born in 1874, and a daughter of E. F. Mounts, and by this union has been born one child-James M. Mr. Wolcott is a republican in politics, a Knight of Pythias, a inember of the I. O. R. M., and his wife and he are truly faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JJ AMES WILLIAM WHITMAN, a suc- cessful farmer, contractor and builder, living in Van Wert, was born in Nich- olas county, Va. (West Va. , Septem- ber 27, 1855. He is a son of Holly J. Whit- man, who was a native of Virginia, and who died in March, 1894, at the age of seventy- two. Holly J. Whitman married Mary E. Ewing, who still survives, and lives on the old home farm in West Virginia. Mr. Whitman was one of the soldiers from West Virginia in the war of the Rebellion, serving faithfully throughout the period of his enlistment, al- ways ready to perform any duty, no matter how arduousor dangerous, and won the esteem and praise of all his fellow-soldiers and offi- cers under whom he served.
James William Whitman removed from West Virginia to Ohio in 1877, locating in Logan county, where he remained one year,
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.
L.
J. W. WHITMAN.
2
885 886
FLORA H. WHITMAN.
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OF VAN WERT COUNTY.
going thence to Champaign county, having taught school five terms in West Virginia and one terin in Logan county, Ohio. There he remained until 1885, when he removed to Union township, Van Wert county, where he purchased a farm in the midst of the woods. Upon this farm he lived for several years, en- gaged in clearing, improving and building up his home. It did not take long for Mr. Whit- man to become well known and popular throughout his township and the entire county of Van Wert. For four and a half hears dur- ing his residence there he was clerk of the township; for seven and a half years he was a member of the school board, and in 1895 he received the nomination by acclamation for county clerk; but in the election, which went republican by an average majority of ninety- five he was defeated by the slender majority of twenty votes, Mr. Whitman being an uncon- promising democrat. With the exception of the first year of Mr. Whitman's residence in Van Wert county, which was devoted exclu- sively to farming, he has been engaged also in contracting and building, and many of the best and most substantial farm dwellings, and barns, and seventeen of the best school houses in Van Wert county, were erected by him. In the fall of 1895, he removed to the city of Van Wert, where he has since lived.
Mr. Whitman was married in Champaign county, Ohio, to Miss Flora A. Atha February 20, 1879. She was born in Logan county, Ohio, February 16, 1861, and is a daughter of Mr. Thomas Atha, who married Miss Sabina Hearvey, who died in November, 1895. He is living in Van Wert. Mr. Whitman, by his marriage to Miss Atha, has three children, viz: Jennie, born April 12, 1886; Ethel May, born June 23, 1892, and Ilo Bell, born No- vember 6, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Whitman are among Van Wert city's best people. He is yet in the prime of his life and powers, and 38
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