USA > Ohio > Erie County > A standard history of Erie County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, civic, and social development. A chronicle of the people, with family lineage and memoirs > Part 56
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Mr. Scheid is found aligned as a stalwart advocate of the principles of the democratic party and has given effective service in behalf of its cause. That his popularity in his home township is unequivocal is indi- cated by the fact that though it is a veritable republican stronghold he is now serving his third term as township trustee. For ten years he has served as a member of the school board of his district, and for seven years of this period he has been its president. He has been an earnest advo- cate of centralization and consolidation in the affairs of the rural schools, and labored earnestly for this improvement in the educational service fully four years before the state authorities of Ohio began to give the matter active consideration. In his own school district he manifested his initiative, well formed opinions and liberality by individually having constructed a wagon of proper equipment for the transportation of pupils to the school, the service which he thus provided having been extended also into an adjoining distriet.
In the City of Huron, Mr. Scheid is affiliated with Marks lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, besides holding membership in Milan Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Huron Council. Royal and Select Masters. Mr. Scheid's wife is affiliated with the adjunct Masonic organi
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zation, the Order of the Eastern Star. They hold membership in the Presbyterian Church at IFuron and are numbered among the popular and influential members of Huron Grange, Patrons of llushandry, of which he served for a long period as overseer, besides having been an official of the Pomona Grange of the county. Mrs. Scheid has been the popular and efficient incumbent of the office of lecturer of Inron Grange since 1911, and in 1913 had the distinction of being elected to the same office in the general or Pomona Grange of the county, a position of which she continued the incumbent in 1915. She introduced the system of pro- viding printed programs for the important meetings of the Grange and her inspiring influence has done much to vitalize and make interesting and profitable the work of both the Huron and the Pomona Granges. She, as well as her husband, has been active also in the affairs of the HIuron Athletic Association, in the organization of which they took a prominent part. In all things pertaining to the advancement of social and general eivie interests they are foremost, and to such loyal and enter- prising citizens it is due that the life of the farmer and his family is made to vie in attractiveness with that of the metropolitan centers, the best type of the modern farm associations being the most pleasing and benignant of all that can compass intelligent and aspiring people. Mrs. Seheid is a woman of most gracious personality and broad intellectual ken, the quality of leadership in thought and action coming to her as a natural prerogative. She has made numerons contributions to local newspapers and her journalistic correspondence has eovered a period of a quarter of a century. the while she has attained to high reputation in the presentation of interesting and valuable papers and addresses before the Patrons of Husbandry and the Farmers' Institutes. She has also devoted much of her time to art, being especially proficient in water colors and china painting. Not only is the Scheid homestead, "Cedar Towers," one of the ideal places of Northern Ohio, but the family also maintain during the heated summer term a beautiful cottage, "Winona Lodge," at Rye Beach, on the shores of Lake Erie and near the City of Huron, this county.
In the year 1895. at the home of the bride's parents, in Perkins Township, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Scheid to Miss Minnie Greiner, who was born in the City of Sandusky, this county, on the 7th of May, 1875, and who was there reared and educated, though in the meanwhile her parents established their home on a farm in Perkins Township. She is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Weis) Greiner, both natives of Germany, where the former was born in 1833 and the latter in 1832. Henry Greiner was a lad of about fourteen years when, in 1847, he accompanied his parents on their immigration to America, and, proceeding to their destination in Erie County, the parents were attacked with cholera after they had arrived in the City of Cineinnati, and both fell victims to the prevailing epidemie of this dread disease, one having survived the other by less than an hour; both were communi- cants of the Catholic Church. Henry Greiner was one of the younger members of a large family of children who were thus tragically orphaned, but he was energetic and self-reliant and soon after arriving in Erie County he found employment, by entering the service of a man named Lea, who was a prominent figure in the fishery industry at Sandusky. After continuing this association several years Mr. Greiner engaged in the draying business in Sandusky, and in the meanwhile he had taken unto himself a wife, who proved from the beginning a devoted and versatile helpmeet, as is shown by the faet that with her own hands she laid the foundation for the modest little dwelling which constituted their first real home. Mr. Greiner was a man of energy and ambitious purpose,
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and his very nature was such that he could not long remain in obsenrity. In Sandusky he eventually sold his original residence property and pur- chased a tract of vacant land on Monroe Street, that city, between Meigs and Perry streets. He thus became the owner of two bloeks of land, and upon the same he erected small houses, which he sold upon easy terms to persons in modest circumstances, thus aiding them in providing homes and proving himself a publie benefactor. Ile later purchased a tract of land opposite the present Soldiers' Home, in Perkins Township, and near the City of Sandusky. There he developed one of the fine farms of Erie County and there he continued to reside until his death, in, August, 1900, his loved and devoted wife having been summoned to eternal rest in January, 1897, and she having been a devout communicant of the Reformed Church. Concerning the children of this sterling couple, the following brief data are given: Elizabeth is the wife of August HIoph, of Cleveland, and they have two sous. Lena became the wife of Henry Ritter, whose death occurred in June, 1907, she having passed away in October, 1911. They are survived by three children-Carl, who now holds a responsible business position in the City of Minneapolis, Minne- sota ; and Ilelen and Florence, who are loved members of the family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Scheid of this review, Itelen having been grad- nated in the Iluron High School as a member of the elass of 1915. IIenry Greiner, Jr., who is married but has no children, is a prosperous farmer near Monroeville, Huron County.
The concluding paragraph of this article is devoted to brief data concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Scheid : Wayne died at the age of eight years; Lyndon Erie was graduated in the Huron High School in the class of 1915, and Denver Alston is a member of the elass of 1918 in the same school ; Melbourne Emerson, La Verne Winona, and Randall Durward are the younger children of the family circle. The pervading kindliness of Mr. and Mrs. Scheid has been shown not only in their gra- cious care of the children of the latter's deceased brother, but also in their rearing of a foster-daughter, Matilda Miller, who is now, 1915, a young woman of twenty-three years.
CHARLES STICKRETHI. An Erie County farm that represents many of the ideals in the way of cultivation, productiveness, arrangement and equipment is that of Charles Stiekreth, known as the Sand Ridge Fruit Farm in Florence Township. It is located on the Central Ridge Road in the northern part of the township, and the daily mail delivery comes to his home over Rural Route No. 2 out of Vermilion.
At that location Mr. Stiekreth has seventy acres, fifty acres of which are devoted to his diversified enterprise as a farmer and fruit grower, while a valuable feature of the place is twenty acres of timberland. In the general department of farming he grows wheat, eorn, oats and pota- toes, and his fruit orchard comprises thirty-five hundred trees of all vari- eties, and he has a considerable acreage in small fruits. Mr. Stickreth has always followed the plan of feeding the erops on his own land and keeps good stoek, sheep, cattle, horses and hogs. One of the first build- ings to attract attention is the barn, 30x66 feet in foundation, a large red building with white trimmings. It is surrounded by sheds and other buiklings, including granary, an ice house which he does not regard as a luxury but as a necessary part of his farm equipment, and a comfort- able dwelling of nine rooms. Mr. Stickreth may properly take pride in the fact that he has constructed nearly all the improvements on the farm with the exception of the house. He also has his fields well drained, and the soil is of the best quality.
It was ten years ago that Mr. Stiekreth bought this farm, and that was his first venture as an independent farm owner in Erie County. Vol. II 24
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Since then he has put up the various buildings mentioned. and has brought ten aeres under cultivation from its original condition in stump. Most of his life has been spent in Erie County and he was born near Ruggles Corner in Vermilion Township, May 14. 1869, a son of August and Elizabeth (Peters) Stickreth. His father was born in Iesse-C'assel, Germany, in 1839 and his mother was born in Baden in 1845. They were married in Germany and came to the United States in 1867, bring- ing with them their two children, August, Jr., and Anna. It required forty days to make the trip in the sailing vessel which landed them in New York City, and from there they came on to Vermilion Township in Erie County. August's brother Jacob had located there several years before and in his home August and family lived for three years. Ile then moved to Birmingham in Florence Township, bought land and occupied it for a time, but then soll and purchased other land in the same township near the county line. This was also sold and he finally purchased sixty acres near Florence village. where he lived until his death in 1909. while his wife passed away in 1913. They were members of the German Reformed Church, and in polities, after he gained citizen- ship, he became a democrat. Of the children born in this country, Charles was the first, and the other two are Jacob, who died in young manhood, and Emma, who is now a capable trained nurse at Oberlin.
Most of his boyhood Charles Stickreth spent in Florence Township and his education was finished with the local high school. Ile was mar- ried in this township to Miss Minnie M. Jarrett. She was born in Flor- enee Township in 1877, and was educated in the same schools which her husband attended. Her parents were George and Sarah (Mason) Jarrett, the former a native of England and the latter of New York State, and both came to Erie County when quite young and were mar- ried in Florence Township. They lived on the old home farm for forty- seven years, and Mr. Jarrett still lives there, his wife having passed away in July, 1913, when about seventy years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Stiekreth have two children: Erma, who is now ten years of age and is an invalid ; and Mildred L., aged seven and beginning her school career. In politics Mr. Stickreth is a republican.
GEORGE I. BAKER. A representative of the third generation of the Baker family in Erie County, and the name which he bears has been prominently and worthily connected with the development and progress of the county, where the paternal grandparents of the subject of this review established their home nearly a century ago.
George I. Baker, now one of the progressive farmers and influential and popular citizens of his native township, was born in Florence Town- ship, this county, on the 7th of January, 1880. His paternal grandpar- ents, Jeremiah and Nancy (Burgess) Baker, representatives of sterling colonial families in New England, came from Connecticut to the Ohio Western Reserve of that commonwealth and became pioneer settlers in Erie County. At the northeast corner of the intersecting roads consti- tuting what are locally known at the present time as the Florence Four Corners, in Florence Township. Jeremiah Baker entered elaim to a traet of Government land, the greater part of which was marked by the virgin forest. On this tract, comprising 750 acres, this sturdy pioneer estab- lished his primitive home in the year 1818, and set to himself the hereu- lean task of reclaiming a farm from the wilderness. Later he erected on his farm a large tavern, which became widely known and a popular stop- ping place for those who traversed the pioneer roads through this section, the old tavern having been situated at the junction of two of the prin- cipal highways through Erie County. This pioneer hostelry provided entertainment for the wayfaring persons and homeseekers and in the
Geo. I. Baker
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early days was a center of much social activity in the county, a stopping place for the stage-coaches and provided with a large dance hall and other facilities of excellent order, as gauged by the standards of the locality and period. In the large barn maintained in connection with this pioneer inn it is known that P. T. Barnum, the great showman, found accommodation for his gigantic elephant, "Jumbo," and other animals in the days when his cirens traveled through the country with teams and wagons.
Jeremiah Baker brought an appreciable part of his large landed estate under effective cultivation and was known as one of the most lib- eral and public-spirited, as well as one of the most honored and influ- ential citizens of Erie County. In the early days he became associated with a man named Beebe in the operation of a stage line between Cleve- land and the Village of Milan, Erie County, and to provide proper facilities for the stage-coach transportation they felled the heavy tim- ber and constructed a turnpike road over much of the distance between the two points noted. Near Florence Corners he gave three acres of land as a resting-place for the dead, and this was the first cemetery in Florence Township. Mr. Baker and his associate, Mr. Beebe, erected at their own expense the first schoolhouse in the township, and for a num- ber of years they also paid the salary of the teacher in this pioneer scholastic institution. Jeremiah Baker and his wife, both well advanced in years. died about the close of the Civil war and their remains rest in the old-time cemetery which he himself had founded. They became the parents of two sons and five daughters who attained to years of matur- ity : Jeremiah, Jr., continued his residence in Erie County until his death and is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Mary Boyd, who is a resi- dent of Russell, Kansas. George Perry, father of him whose name intro- duces this review, is more specifically mentioned in appending para- graphs. Georgiana, who resides in the little Village of Florence, this county, is the venerable widow of Alfred Babcock, and her only child, Georgia, died after marriage. Theresa, who became the wife of Alonzo Hinckley, was a resident of the City of Buffalo, New York, at the time of her death and was survived by a large family of children. Mary, who likewise resides in Cleveland. is the widow of George Chandler. Nancy became the wife of a Mr. Spaulding and both were residents of the City of Toledo at the time of their death. The other daughter, Melissa, became the wife of a clergyman named Foote and both are deceased.
George Perry Baker, named in honor of the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, Commodore Perry, of whom he was a distant kinsman, was born on the old homestead farm in Florence Town- ship, Erie County, on the 21st of November, 1841, and in his youth he received exceptionally excellent edneational advantages, as he prosecuted his studies not only in Oberlin College but also in the celebrated Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. Notwithstanding his high intellec- thal attainments he was content and proud to continue his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture, and he became the owner of 165 aeres of the old homestead at Florence Corners, besides which he pur- chased from one of his two sisters her inherited farm of 185 acres, the latter being now owned and occupied by his son George I., to whom this sketch is dedicated. George P. Baker became one of the most vigorous, prosperous and influential citizens of his native township, his character and mentality well fitting for leadership in popular thought and action and his prominence in the local councils of the republican party having been shown by his service on its township committee, though he mani- fested naught of ambition for person preferment along the line of publie office. Prior to the construction of the present interurban electrie line
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through Florence Township he had become prominently associated with other influential citizens of the county, including Mr. Lockwood, of Milan, and Mr. Bellamy, of Berlin Township, in the promotion and carrying forward of the important enterprise, but about the time the right of way was obtained for the new line his death occurred, on the 24th of May, 1901. The project was later brought to completion by another company, now known as the Cleveland, Columbus & Southwestern Railway Com- pany. Mr. Baker was a man whose life was ordered upon the highest plane of integrity and honor and he thus commanded at all times the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men, the while his broad mental ken and civic loyalty and progressiveness made him a leader in community affairs.
At Florence was solemnized the marriage of George Perry Baker to Miss Harriet E. Klady, who likewise was born and reared in Erie County, the date of her nativity having been March 14, 1844. She sur- vives her husband, is one of the well known and loved pioneer women of Florence Township and is a zealous member of the Congregational Church at Florence, her only child being George I., whose name intro- duces this article. Mrs. Baker is a daughter of Isaae and Juliet (Row- land ) Klady, descendants of old colonial families of New England, their ancestors having been early settlers in Connecticut. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Klady was solemnized at Mount Morris, New York, in 1835, and within a few years thereafter they came to Erie County, Ohio, and settled in the little Hamlet of Florence, where Mr. Klady estab- lished a smithy, he having been a skilled blacksmith and wagonmaker. Ilere he continued in the work of his trade for many years, and later he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, as the owner of one of the excellent farms in Florence Township. He was originally a whig and later a republican in polities and served for a time as deputy sheriff of Erie County. His death occurred February 6, 1871, and his wife survived him by more than a score of years, she having been summoned to the life eternal on the 16th of September, 1893, when of venerable age; she was a devoted member of the Congregational Church and her husband was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both having been honored pioneers of Erie County.
On the old homestead farm of his grandfather George I. Baker was reared to adult age; here he received excellent educational advantages, and here, as a citizen and as a progressive and substantial agriculturist and stockgrower, he is well upholding the prestige of a name that has been signally honored in the annals of Erie County history. He now owns the homestead farm of 185 aeres, eligibly situated on the State Road and near the Village of Florence. The place is specially well im- proved, eight acres being devoted to a fine peach orehard, and his atten- tion is given to diversified agriculture and to the raising of excellent grades of horses, cattle, sheep and swine. The permanent improvements on the farm include the attractive house and fine barn 36 by 70 feet in dimensions, with basement and with slate roof. In national polities he gives support to the cause of the republican party, but in local affairs he is independent and exercises his franchise in the upholding of means and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. Both he and his wife attend and support the Congregational Church at Florence, and both are popular in the social activities of their home community.
At Berlin Heights, this county, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Baker to Miss Nina E. Fowler, who was there born and reared and whose education included a course in the high school and also in a business college. She is a daughter of George and Jennie ( Blake) Fowler, the former of whom likewise was born in Berlin Township, a representative of a pioneer family of Erie County, and the latter of whom was born
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in Huron County, their marriage having been solemnized in Berlin Township. Mr. Fowler, who was a sterling and popular citizen and a staunch republican in politics, died at the age of forty years, and his widow, who eventually contracted a second marriage, still resides at Berlin Heights. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have one child, a winsome little danghter, Frances E., who was born March 4, 1912.
EDWARD J. IIUMM was born on the farm he now occupies and operates in Florence Township. It is one mile east of the Town of Florence on the State Road, and is undeniably one of the finest places in the com- munity. Corn, wheat and oats are the favored prodnets of the farm, and blooded Holstein cattle thrive in Mr. Humm's pastures, with fine horses, a goodly number of hogs and a herd of about seventy-five head of sheep to make up the proper complement of livestock for such a place. Mr. Humm is first and last an agriculturist. He is well content to be a prosperous and successful farmer, as well he might be, for no man can boast so great a degree of independence as can a thrifty farming man.
Edward J. Inmin was born on October 6, 1867, and is the son of Jacob and Catherine (Roach) IIumm, natives of the Canton of Arguile, Switzerland. (See sketch of Robert J. and William Humm for family sketch in detail.) It may be said here briefly that Jacob IFumm was the father of seven children by his first marriage, and a similar number by his second. Edward J. Humm was a child of the second marriage, and he was born after the family had settled down to farm life on the place he now owns.
The early fortunes of the family in America were none too bright. After a long and trying voyage of seven weeks they arrived in New York, soon after coming to Ohio and settling in Cleveland. The father had in his possession just seventy-five cents when they reached ('leve- land, and they met with a good many adversities in the time they spent there. Jacob Humm found work in the ship yards for a time, earning a wage of fifty cents per day, and the children did what they could to help out. When work in the ship yards ceased, he tramped through the country and worked in the harvest fields to gain a livelihood for the family. In time he found it possible to get possession of a small piece of land in Erie County, and he made haste to get the family out of Cleveland and established in the country. They prospered, and soon Mr. IIumm purchased a, 100-acre farm at a bargain price, and they be- gan their American farm life amid the stumps of the partially cleared land. All were willing workers, and they prospered with the passing years. In time the place presented a very different appearance to the world, and the father lived to see it one of the finest farms in the town- ship. He replaced the small log house and barn with roomy frame structures and one improvement after another brought up the standard of the place. ITere children were born to the parents, and here they were reared and educated in the schools of the community. Here, too, the parents spent their latest days. The father, at the age of eighty- two years, was kicked by a playful horse, and his injuries proved Fatal, death coming in the fall of 1894. Five years later his widow followed him to her last rest. These were sturdy and well-meaning people, and their lives meant much in the community wherein they lived. They were widely known and held in the deepest regard wherever they went. The German Reformed Church of Henrietta, Lorain County, gratefully acknowledged their unfailing support, and they were long among its foremost members, while JJacob Humm was a member of its board of trustees for years. He was a democrat in his political faith, though his activities in that field were not especially marked, being content with fulfilling his duty as a citizen and leaving polities to others.
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