USA > Ohio > Fulton County > A standard history of Fulton County, Ohio, an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. II > Part 4
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This land was not only covered with timber, but parts of it were swampy, and the brush was very heavy. He cleared off about thirty acres, and built a log cabin, and then decided to secure some assis- tance. It was not as difficult to get men as it was to buy the requi- site amount of whisky these men regarded as a necessary adjunct to their daily labor. Mr. Taylor kept on improving his property, among other things setting out an orchard of peaches and other fruits. He says he many times sold peaches from this orchard for 121% cents per bushel, and was glad to get that price, for in some seasons there were no purchasers for them and he fed them to his hogs. As the country settled up he became associated with its devel- opment, and among other enterprises with which he was connected was the Fulton County Fair Association, which he assisted in or- ganizing.
On February 13, 1840, Mr. Taylor was married to Susannah Ozmun, born in Liverpool Township, Medina county, Ohio, in March, 1815, a daughter of Israel and Susan (Mallard) Ozmun, natives of New York state and Medina county, Ohio, respectively. Mr. Taylor walked a distance of thirty miles to the county seat and back for the license, and at the time thought nothing in partic- ular about the trip, such journeys being the ordinary thing. He
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and his wife became the parents of the following children : Lucy A., who was born April 4, 1841, died in January, 1915; Orrin O., who was born on November 17, 1842, died at Allentown, Virginia, on April 9, 1865; Jesse, who was born on September 10, 1844, served as a soldier during the war between the states, and died at Wash- ington, District of Columbia, on November 12, 1903; Charlotte, who was born March 2, 1847, died in July, 1853; Emeline, who was born on February 20, 1849, married Milo Hart Barnum, and he died on June 24, 1919, and she is now a resident of Newburg, Ohio; Ida E., who was born February 4, 1851, is Mrs. Edward Herriott; Susanetta, who was born November 9, 1853, is Mrs. John Luke; Olive L., who was born December 29, 1855, is connected with the Toledo, Ohio, Hospital; and Henry L., who was born November 8, 1858. The grandchildren of Mr. Taylor are as follows: Rosa Barnum, who was born January 2, 1872, is Mrs. Edward Alonzo Lund, of Bedford, Ohio; Benjamin Nelson Doyle Barnum, who was born on August 4, 1873, resides with Mr. Taylor; Orrin Ozmun Barnum, born Sep- tember 4, 1875, has lived at the old home since he was born; and George Milo Barnum, who was born March 10, 1886, lives at Bed- ford, Ohio; Elwin Herriott, who lives at Toledo, Ohio; Ollie Herri- ott, who is Mrs. Mike Whalen, who lives in Lucas county, Ohio; Pearl Luke, who is Mrs. Isaac Everett, of Fulton Township; and Vern Luke, who is a resident of Fulton Township.
On the anniversary of his 100th birthday Mr. Taylor had a photograph taken of himself, his daughter, granddaughter, great- granddaughter, and great-great-grandson, and this very unusual picture is cherished by the members of his family. Since the organ- ization of the republican party Mr. Taylor has given it his hearty support, and he has served as township trustee. When the war broke out between the North and the South Mr. Taylor was regarded as be- ing a little past the age for active service at the front, although he was a member of the home guards during the period of the war. He has lived to see practically all of the "young" men who were taken into active service buried, and is today more active and mentally alert than many who were not born until the time he was relegated to local service. During the late war Mr. Taylor was active in his expression of his interest, and it was remarkable how he followed the various campaigns and kept abreast of current events.
Although Mr. Taylor was not permitted to enter the army dur- ing the early '60s, his sons were, and one of them, Orrin, gave up his life in defense of his country. He had left $600 with his father for the purpose of applying it on the erection of a new home for his parents, and this was built in 1867, of bricks made from clay produced on the homestead. At that time Mr. Taylor, then over fifty years old, worked at pitching clay into the grinder to make the bricks. It was in this home that Mrs. Taylor passed away on Jan- uary 30, 1892.
Mr. Taylor has lived during the greatest period of American history. James Monroe had only been in office as president of the United States a few months when Mr. Taylor was born. The Mis- souri Compromise was not enacted until he was three years of age, which piece of legislation opened the great Northwest for settlement. During his lifetime he has witnessed the outbreak and close of the Black Hawk, Mexican, Civil, Spanish-American, Philippine, Mexican Border and World conflicts, and in all of them he has seen the United States emerge a victor.
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During the more than one hundred years that Mr. Taylor has lived he has seen two very remarkable changes made in the Consti- tution. One occurred when the colored raee was declared to have the same constitutional rights as the white raee, and the other when the liquor traffic was made illegal.
Mr. Taylor has followed the growth of practically all of the terri- tory west of the Mississippi River; he passed through the great gold exeitement of 1849, when gold was discovered in California, and then witnessed much the same action on the part of the people over the Klondyke gold fields. Railroads have sprung up; automobiles been invented and perfected, and of late years the air has been eonquered.
Locating on the land he bought, Mr. Taylor painfully and la- boriously cleared off and developed his farm, taking weeks and months for operations that his great-great-granehildren ean per- form in a few hours with their improved machinery and appliances. Nearly every kind of work performed by hand in his youth and young manhood is now done by machinery. He has seen the vari- ous development in the grade of stock; the remarkable changes in business systems; the development of the banking houses; the estab- lishment of mighty trusts; the organization of capitalistic interests, and of trades unions.
When Mr. Taylor was a young man Japan and China were hide- bound despotisms; the monarchies of Europe were regarded as un- changing as time itself, and yet he has been spared to witness the introduction of Occidental interests in the Orient; and the overthrow- ing of thrones and the rise of republics on the ruins.
Looking backward over the nearly one hundred years within his recollection, Mr. Taylor can calmly make his own deductions, and it may surprise some that he is not at all inclined to award all the praise to conditions and methods of today. He misses the genial interest, the generous hospitality, the kindly sympathy, and the friendly relations between employer and employe. Having expe- rienced life under varying conditions and in different periods, he is qualified to judge, and speaks in all sincerity when he urges the present generation to learn from the past and to look forward to the future, knowing that when his youngest descendant reaches his present age he, too, will look back over just as many and important changes and marvel that the people of 1920 were able to accomplish as much as they did considering the way they were hampered by lack of the facilities which the twenty-first century has provided.
FRANK BARNUM REYNOLDS, a well-known and successful mer- ehant of Wauseon, Ohio, first became responsibly identified with Wauseon business twenty-eight years ago, when he was part owner of the hardware business he latterly has owned. And during the period he has taken an interested part in the responsibilities of the community, supporting its institutions and endeavoring as far as he was able to further its prosperity. He has an enviable reputation in the eity and county both as a business man and as a citizen.
He was born in Ridgeville township, Henry county, Ohio, in 1867, the son of John E. and Elizabeth (Mosher) Reynolds, of that place. He attended the public school nearest his father's farm dur- ing the winter term, and each summer gave his vacation to duties upon the home farm. From the elementary school he graduated to the Wauseon Normal School, eventually entering business life well grounded in general academic knowledge. He elected to follow
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
commercial pursuits, and his first experience was in a clerical ca- pacity, in the hardware store of Vernier & McLoughlin at Archbold, this connection influencing his later life, for he has throughout his active career of trading held almost exclusively to the hardware line. After three years with the Archbold firm he went to Wauseon and purchased an interest in the hardware business of Moyer & Biddle, taking over the interest of Mr. F. W. Moyer. The store, which was then (1892) situated where Mr. Reynolds still conducts the business, was a good one, and the business substantial. Under the reorganiza- tion the company name changed from that of Moyer & Biddle to that of the Biddell & Reynolds. The company continued thus con- stituted for three years, when Mr. Biddle sold his interest to Mr. F. B. Ufer, the firm name with the change becoming Reynolds & Ufer. Another change of trading name occurred when Mr. Ufer disposed of his interest to Mr. J. S. Rychener, the name then becoming Rey- nolds & Rychener, under which partnership it was conducted for five years, when Mr. Reynolds acquired the whole business, the store then becoming known as the Reynolds Hardware Store. Two years later, in 1904, he sold the business to Mr. H. J. Gelzer. He soon afterward became interested in a hardware business at Gibsonburg, Sandusky county, Ohio, and for several years he successfully con- ducted a store at that place. Having decided to retire, he disposed of that business and spent some time without active business con- nection. Returning to Wauseon in 1914, he bought his old busi- ness from the then owner, John A. Cron, and from that time until the present Mr. Reynolds has been its sole owner. As a hardware merchant he is known throughout the county, and is known to trade in products of reliable grade. Consequently the business is a steady and satisfactory one, the trading being both with city people and country folk.
Politically Mr. Reynolds is a republican; religiously he is a Methodist, a member of Wauseon Methodist Episcopal Church; and he and his wife have many friends. in Wauseon.
Mr. Reynolds has been married for twenty-eight years, since 1892, his wife having been Ida Stotzer, daughter of Fred and Eliza- beth (Snyder) Stotzer, of Archbold, Ohio.
CHARLES E. MATTISON, a native of Wauseon and an enterpris- ing, energetic business man of that city, has had very promising success since establishing the Central Garage of Wauseon, with Ralph Merrill and G. Scott Roos as partners. They operate the Willard Service Station, and specialize in storage batteries and do general garage work, vulcanizing, and trade in tires and auto acces- sories generally.
Mr. Charles E. Mattison was born in Wauseon, Ohio, on Decem- ber 24, 1880. the son of Joseph and Sarah (Frazier) Mattison, respected residents of that place. He attended the local public schools until he had reached the age of seventeen years, thus gaining a good fundamental academic knowledge. He was more inclined to occupations connected with mechanics than with commercial affairs, and when he entered upon the serious occupation of life it was in the capacity of telephone repairer for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Thus he became connected with electrical work, and in course of time became an expert electrician. During the five years of his connection with the American Telephone and Tele- graph Company he traveled to many widely-separated parts of the
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United States, but eventually returned to Wauseon. He then became connected with the automobile business.
Politically Mr. Mattison is an independent republican, and fra- ternally belongs to the Masonic order, being a member of the Wau- seon Blue Lodge and Chapter. He takes a lively interest in the progress of his native place, and is well regarded in the city.
In 1914 he married Gertrude, daughter of C. C. and Margaret (Wheeler) Close, of Swanton, Olio.
GEORGE WILLIAM HARTMANN, M. D. The work that any busy, conscientious physician and surgeon performs during an average lifetime fills an important chapter in the history of the medical pro- fession, whether it becomes public or not. In his own experience every such practitioner at some time or another comes upon emerg- encies for which no rule of practice has prepared him, when he must depend entirely upon his own judgment and medical skill, and from such conditions more than once liave come discoveries that have had wide-reaching beneficial results. One of the eminent medical men of Fulton county, who has devoted a long and busy life to the allevia- tion of the bodily ills that afflict humanity, is Dr. George William Hartmann, who is one of Wauseon's most highly valued citizens.
Doctor Hartmann was born in Clinton township, Fulton county, Ohio, January 9, 1852, and is a son of John Conrad and Charlotte (Houghtby) Hartmann, who were early settlers and farming people of Fulton county. He grew up on his father's farm, attended the district schools, and still later had advantages in the Wauseon High School and a normal school at Bryan, Ohio. He then became a medical student under Dr. Philo E. Jones at Wauseon, with whom he remained one and a half years. In the fall of 1878 he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which great institution he was graduated as one of the ten best men at the head of his class, on July 1, 1881, with his covcted degree.
Doctor Hartmann entered into practice at Archbold, Ohio, where for seven years he had the advantage of working with the noted prac- titioner, Dr. A. J. Murbach. In 1892 he came to Wauseon, and this city has been his home and his main field of practice ever since. He is a valued member of numerous medical bodies, including the American Medical, the Ohio State, the Fulton County and the Northwestern Ohio Medical Associations.
At Archbold, Ohio, in 1881, Doctor Hartmann was united in mar- riage to Miss Emma E. Stotzer, who is a daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Miller) Stotzer. Of six children born to Doctor and Mrs. Hartmann three survive, namely, Carl Floyd, Florence Edna and Helen Elizabeth. Carl Floyd Hartman was graduated with the degree of A. B. from the University of Michigan in 1907, from Rush Medical College in 1909, with the degree of M. D., and afterward served as an interne in St. Vincent's Hospital. When the United States became involved in the great war he entered the National Army as lieutenant in the medical corps, and in 1917 at Camp Grant was promoted to a captaincy, on May 18, 1918, being made major, and was placed in charge of the medical detachment of the Three Hundred and Forty-third United States Infantry. On August 27, 1918, he sailed for France, later was placed in command of the Medical Department of Air Service for the armies at Colombey-Les Belles, France. In February, 1919, he became acting lieutenant-colonel in charge of the Medical Department
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of the American Air Forces connected with hospitals in the entire war zone in France, and continued so to serve until he was mustered out of the service May 29, 1919, with a marvelous record for executive efficiency. In 1910 he was married to Miss Pearl Reynolds, who is a daughter of William Reynolds, a well known resident of Fulton county, and they have two children, Floyd Wel- lington and Ruth. Florence Edna, the older daughter, is a gradu- ate of the Wauseon High School and the Toledo Business College. Helen Elizabeth, the youngest of the family, is a graduate of the Wauseon High School and the University of Michigan, also of the Detroit School of Music and Art, and teaches these sciences in the public schools at Wauseon and Delta.
Both as physician and public-spirited citizen Doctor Hartmann has many times proved his deep interest in the welfare of Wauseon and this section, always being ready to lend his influence to practical welfare movements. In politics he has been a republican voter since early manhood. Twice he has served as coroner of Fulton county, and for a number of ycars has been a member of the school board. He is a Knight Templar Mason, and belongs also to the order of Modern Woodmen. With his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
FREDERICK B. FOWLER. There is no vocation that commands greater respect and few which offer better opportunity for the dis- play of character and ability than does that of the legal profession. Wauseon's bar has long ranked with the most distinguished of Ohio, and the profession here represented has numbered among its mem- bers many men of high standing and statewide reputation. In pre- paring a review of the careers of men whose names stand out prom- inently in the legal profession of this city, who, by character and achievements, have attained notable distinction, the record of Fred- erick B. Fowler is found to be one that compels more than passing attention.
Frederick B. Fowler was born in York township, Fulton county, Ohio, in 1870, a son of William and Catherine (Heuriclc) Fowler, and grandson of William Fowler. The Fowler family was founded in this country by the great-grandfather of F. B. Fowler, who came from England to Massachusetts, and was there occupied with farm- ing. During the war of 1812 he served his adopted country as a sol- dier. His son, William Fowler, went to Fairfield county, Pennsyl- vania, and later came to Ohio, he and his son, William Fowler, secur- ing government land in Fulton county, which they cleared and improved. The original deeds to this property are in the hands of F. B. Fowler, and the latter was born on the property his father secured in York township.
ยท Growing up in his native country, Frederick B. Fowler attended its schools. and then for nine terms he was a student of the North- western Ohio Collegiate Institute at Wauseon, taking the seientific and literary courses. He studied law in the offices of Fuller & Hardy, attorneys of Wauseon, and was admitted to the bar in 1900. Immediately thereafter Mr. Fowler located at Wauseon, where he is engaged in the practice of his profession, specializing in criminal law, and being noted for his ability as a trial lawyer. Some of his important cases have been the following: J. R. Linthcomb case at Wauseon, the J. Roscoe Carter case in the Federal Court at Toledo, Ohio, in both of which he secured acquittals, and many of minor importance. He lost his case when he defended Fred Lehman,
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charged with murdering his wife, which lasted six weeks. and cost $10,000. Hlis associate in this case was Judge John W. Winn, of Defiance, Ohio. Mr. Fowler has been connected with important jurisprudence in the Federal and State courts of other states, and is recognized as a man of unusual ability and powerful eloquence.
In 1907 Mr. Fowler was married to Clara Vocke, a daughter of Joseph and Genevieve (Keihn) Vocke, of Napoleon, Ohio, there being no children. Mr. Fowler is a democrat and was nominated by his party for prosecuting attorney in 1911, and although running in a strongly republican district was only defeated by 100 votes. In 1918 he was again his party's nominee for the same office, but was defeated in the great republican landslide of that year. He was a candidate for judge of the Court of Pleas in 1915 and ran third. At present he is secretary of the Democratic County Central Com- mittee, and is recognized as one of the leaders in his party.
Mr. Fowler is an attorney who by reason of his eloquence and address, dignified deportment, reasoning powers, and persuasive address is so effective in his addresses to jurics. He fully under- stands how to present facts so clearly and forcibly as to convince his hearers of his sincerity and his own belief in the innocence of his client, and it is seldom that he fails to secure an acquittal.
WILLIAM R. CLARK, V. S. Of so much value have become the scientific knowledge and skill of the veterinarian that governments make provision for their services, competing to secure the most ef- ficient, for in a way, the commercial interests of a country depend, in large measure, on the production of stock and its wholesomeness as food for the world's teeming millions. Humanity's dumb brethren of farm, field and forest are subject to ills that, unattended, deci- mate herds and flocks, and the stockman and dairyman find no better friend than the skilled veterinary surgeon. Equally is he indis- pensable to the horseman, to the owners and trainers of wild animals, and to the possessors of priceless household pets. A recognized au- thority in this line of medical science in Fulton county is Dr. Will- iam R. Clark of Wauseon, where he operates a modern animal hos- pital.
William R. Clark was born in Clinton township, Fulton county, Ohio, in 1862. He can trace ancestry back to the Mayflower, has proofs of Revolutionary stock and is very proud of this unquestion- able American genealogy. His grandfather, Ebenezer Clark, was born in Ohio in 1801, and his parents, John A. and Elizabeth (Krantz) Clark, were born in the same state. Mr. Clark was born on his father's farm and very early took an interest in the line of work in which he has met with so much success. After completing the common school course in Fulton county he determined on his future career, and to make himself thoroughly proficient in 1895 entered the Ontario Veterinary College at Toronto, Canada, from which he was graduated with honors and with the degree of vet- erinary surgeon, authorized and made legal in 1898. He returned then to Fulton county and located at Pettisville, which he made his headquarters until the fall of 1899, when he came to Wauseon, which city has been his home ever since. He has established an animal hospital here. and at different times has had pedigreed horses in charge, together with many other examples of the animal kingdom, notably animals for exhibition purposes. His practice extends over many adjacent counties to Fulton, and in his professional capacity his advice is often asked (and paid for) by owners of stock interests
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much farther away. He is a prominent member of the Ohio State Veterinary Medical Association, and belongs also to the American Veterinarian Society.
In 1889 Doctor Clark was united in marriage to Miss Leah Hind, who is a daugliter of Joseph and Cordelia Jane (Boyer) Hind, resi- dents of Wauseon. Doctor and Mrs. Clark have two children, namely : Mazola, who is the wife of Clarence Bates, has two children; and Harold H., who was born in 1904. Although too busy to serve in any public office, Doctor Clark does not feel that he is thereby relieved entirely from the responsibilities of citizenship. He gives political support to the principles of the independent wing of the democratic party in national matters, locally looking out for the welfare of Wauseon. He belongs to the order of Knights of Pythias in this city.
CLAIR SCHOFIELD CAMPBELL, M. D. The call of duty has ever been a clarion summons to the true physician. In recent days this country has had occasion to note the quick responses that brought unselfishly to the front in the service of their country the ablest men of scientific attainment in this line, men who proved their love of humanity, as well as their professional skill, in as dangerous situa- tions as has brought to their hands the shattered soldier comrades they strove to rebuild. Wauseon can lay claim to medical heroes of this kind, and will long remember the patriotism and the profes- sional ability of Dr. Clair S. Campbell, who, fortunately, was spared to return from such duty to his former field of effort at Wauseon.
Clair Schofield Campbell was born in Ohio, January 2, 1872. His parents were Dr. G. P. and Sarah (Huldy) Campbell. His great-grandfather Campbell immigrated from Scotland to the United States and established himself near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, se- curing land and rearing his family there. The father of Doctor Camp- bell was born in Pennsylvania, later moved to Ohio, and completed his medical education in New York, from there coming to Fulton county, where he engaged in medieal practice until his death, which occurred in 1904. Of his family of children, Doctor Campbell of Wau- seon was the first born.
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From the public schools Doetor Campbell entered the Northern Ohio University at Ada, from which he was graduated in the scientific course. He then spent one year in the Davis Military Academy at LaGrange, North Carolina, which was followed by two years of study at Bethany College, West Virginia. In 1890 he entered the De- troit College of Medicine and Surgery, and from this institution was graduated in 1894, since when, as time and opportunity has offered, he has taken post graduate work in Chieago colleges, during almost his entire practice having specialized in the eye, ear and throat, be- coming an authority on the same.
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