USA > Ohio > Hardin County > A twentieth century history of Hardin County, Ohio : a narrative account of its historical progress its people and principal interests, Vol. II > Part 12
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Mr. Williamson married, April 12, 1855, Serena Davis, who was born in March, 1835, in Marion county, Ohio, a daughter of Walter Davis. It was a member of that branch of the Davis family to which she belonged that gave Ohio its nickname. He was pitted against
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY
another man in a wood chopping contest, each man to select a tree. IIe chose a buckeye, won the match, and the state has since been called, in his honor, the "Buckeye" state. Walter Davis removed from Marietta, Ohio, to Marion county, and purchased land lying on the Hardin county line, and there engaged in tilling the soil, at the same time operating a sawmill, which was run by water power, continuing his labors until his death. He married Caroline Otis, who was born in Connecticut, a daughter of Stephen and Mary (Claudy) Otis. Her grandfather, Barnabas Otis, served in the Revolutionary war, enlisting in Litchfield, Connecticut. He and his wife, Mehitable Turner, subsequently settled in Marion county, Ohio, and at his death was buried in Paw Paw ceme- tery. Mrs. Williamson received an excellent education, and prior to her marriage was engaged in teaching.
Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Williamson, namely : Ida, Florence R., Walter D., Mamie E., Carrie, Belle O., Lillie M., Nettie V., William, Sheridan and Edna A. Five of these children became teachers in the public schools, and one became a musie teaeher. When young, Mr. and Mrs. Williamson united with the Church of Christ and brought up their children in the same religious faith.
JAMES S. WETHERILL .- A man of push, enterprise and ability, James S. Wetherill, of Kenton, is actively identified with one of the important industries of this part of the county, being manager of the Crystal Ice and Cold Storage Company, which is carrying on a sub- stantial business in this vicinity, facilitating the business growth and prosperity of the city in ways unthought of when it was first established. He is a native of Hardin county, his birth having occurred, September 14, 1869, in the town of Alger. His father, James G. Wetherill, was likewise born in this county, having drawn the first breath of life, in 1843, in Marion township. John R. Wetherill, grandfather of James S., was born in Lincolnshire, England, and came with his parents to Ameriea. After living for awhile in Richland county he located in Hardin county, becoming a pioneer of Marion township. Buying a traet of timbered land, he labored with unceasing toil and in course of time reclaimed a farm from the forest, and was there an honored and respected resident until his death, at the advanced age of four score and ten years.
James G. Wetherill attended the pioneer schools of his day, and in tender years began to assist his father in the work of the farm. At the breaking out of the Civil war his patriotic spirit was aroused, and early , in 1861, being then eighteen years old, he enlisted in Company C, Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and immediately going to the front. was with his regiment in all of its marches, campaigns and engagements until after the battle of Chickamauga, being left in the field. Just before that memorable battle James A. Garfield, colonel of his regiment, ealled upon him to hold his horse while he made observations with a field glass. During the battle that followed Mr. Wetherill was severely wounded in the right hand, was taken prisoner, and kept thirteen days without proper surgieal care. Being then exchanged he was sent to the
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Camp Chase Hospital, where he was treated for several months, after which he was honorably discharged and returned home. He subse- quently became a buyer and shipper of live stock, and conducted an extensive business, becoming widely and favorably known. IIe died when but forty-four years old, being accidentally killed while moving a building, gratuitously, for a widow in his neighborhood. He married Emily Donaldson, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Donaldson. She died in September, 1909, leaving two sons, Emer E., a farmer of Clyde, Ohio, and James S., the subject of this sketch.
Receiving his elementary education in the schools of Cessna town- ship, James S. Wetherill afterward entered the Fostoria Academy, where he spent one year, and he then spent two years at the Ohio Northern University at Ada. He engaged in teaching, first in a dis- triet school northeast of Kenton, afterward teaching drawing in the Kenton schools for four years. Embarking then in the mercantile pursuits, he was actively engaged in the grocery business three years, He then served two years as deputy county surveyor, giving it up in 1907 to accept his present position as manager of The Crystal Ice and Cold Storage Company, a prominent and growing industry.
Mr. Wetherill is married, his wife being Miss Roberta Gage, of Forest, Ohio. To this union were born four children, namely: Grace, True, Fern and Gage. In his political affiliations Mr. Wetherill is a steadfast Republican, and is now a member and clerk of the Kenton school board. Fraternally he is a member of the Amicitia Lodge No. 79, I. O. O. F., and belongs to the Epworth Methodist Episcopal church.
LLOYD HI. CLARK .- This well known citizen and representative busi- ness man of Hardin county is a seion of one of the old and honored families of this section of the state and the major part of his life has been passed in Hardin county, where he has gained distinctive suecess through his own well directed endeavors, being now the president of the Alger Clay Manufacturing Company, the leading industrial and business concern of the thriving little eity of Alger, of which he may well be considered one of the founders, as he was the second to ereet a residenee in the village, which is eligibly located on the line of the Erie Railroad. His status in the community well entitles him to consideration in this history of Hardin county.
Lloyd H. Clark is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born on a farm in Seneca county, Ohio, on the 30th of August, 1845, and being a son of Thomas and Mary (Juda) Clark. The father was engaged in farming in Seneca county until about 1853, when he moved with his family to Hardin county, where he purchased a farm in Marion township. He developed the property, and there continued to be en- gaged in agricultural pursuits during the residue of his active career. He passed the closing years of his life in the village of Ada, this eounty.
The rudimentary edueation of Mr. Clark was secured in the common schools of his native county and he was a lad of eight years at the time of the family removal to Hardin county, where he continued to attend
Lloyd, He. Clark
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school at irregular intervals, in the meanwhile finding demand for his services in connection with the work of the home farm. He was but sixteen years of age at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, but his youthful patriotism soon found definite exemplification. On the 4th of July, 1863, before he had attained to the age of eighteen years, he enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served until the ex- piration of his term of ninety days, when he reenlisted as a veteran, be- coming a member of Company A, One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in active service until the close of the war. He took part in a number of the important battles marking the progress of the great fratricidal conflict, besides participat- ing in innumerable skirmishes. Hle was mustered out in 1865. and duly received his honorable discharge after his return to his native state.
After the close of the great conflict through which the integrity of the nation was perpetnated Mr. Clark returned to Hardin county and rented his father's farm, to whose operation he gave his attention until moving to Michigan, where he secured a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land. He reclaimed much of the land to cultivation and made other improvements on the property, which he retained in his possession for a period of eight years. at the expiration of which he sold the same and returned to Hardin county, Ohio, where he again rented his father's farm. On this old homestead he continued to be actively engaged in farming and stock-growing for the ensuing eight years. He then became one of the first to establish a home in the present village of Alger, where, as already stated, he erected the second house to be built in the new town. Ile took up his residence here in the year 1883, and for a short time he was employed by the Erie Railroad Company, after which he conducted a hotel for a time. In 1884 Mr. Clark became asso- ciated with two other citizens in the manufacturing of tile at Alger, beginning operation with a capital of only fifteen hundred dollars. Some time later he purchased the interests of his partners, and eventually he admitted to partnership his sons C. C. and I. G. Clark. Under these auspices the enterprise increased rapidly in scope and importance, and today it represents the principal industrial concern of Alger, the busi- ness being condneted according to progressive policies and being based on ample capitalistic support and able executive management. In 1899 Mr. Clark left this business in charge of the two sons mentioned and with his other sons went to Virginia, where he established an enterprise of the same order. He remained in the Old Dominion state until he returned to Alger and resumed his active association with the business which he had previously founded, as already noted. In 1902 a reorganization was made and the business was incorporated under the laws of the state. At this time the present title, the Alger Clay Manufacturing Company. was adopted, and its officers are as here noted: Lloyd II. Clark, presi- dent : C. C. Clark, treasurer ; and I. G. Clark, secretary. In 1902 the company also purchased the lumber yard and business of Howard Smith. and this enterprise is now a department of its large and substantial business. The company manufacture drain tile from three to twenty
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inches in diameter, and also hollow bloeks and common briek. They are dealers in coal, cement, fire brick, lake sand, Fishack plaster, build- ers' hardware, handle all kinds of Inmber and interior finishings, mill work of all descriptions, and roofing of slate, galvanized iron, asbestos and rubber. The concern controls a large and widely extended trade and the volume of its business shows a material increase each successive year, making it one of the important contributions to the industrial prestige of Hardin county. The president of the company is also a stockholder in the Alger Savings Bank.
Mr. Clark is a staunch Republican in his political proclivities but has had no desire for public office of any description. He is an enter- prising, reliable and straightforward business man and a loyal citizen, thus having worthy claim to the unqualified esteem in which he is held in the community.
The two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Clark are C. C. Clark, the treasurer of the Alger Clay Manufacturing Company and also the manager of the business, and his younger brother, Il. G., the secretary of the company. Emma, the only surviving daughter of the subject of this review, is now the wife of Frederick Montville.
C. C. Clark, treasurer and manager of the Alger Clay Manufactur- ing Company, is recognized as one of the representative business men of Hardin county and he is a factor of distinctive influence in connection with public affairs of a local order, being at the present time the able and popular treasurer of Marion township, to which he was chosen as his own successor in his second election, so that he is now serving his second term. He was born on his father's farm in Michigan on the 15th of February, 1871, but was reared to manhood in Hardin county, where he was afforded the advantages of the public schools. Ile has shown marked initiative and administrative ability both as a business man and publie official, and no further evidence of his personal popularity in the community is demanded than that implied in his having been chosen to his present township office. He is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and he has given effective service in the promotion of its cause in a local way, being at the present time representative of Marion township in the Hardin county Republican central committee. He takes a loyal and insistent interest in all that pertains to the well being of his home village, town- ship and county, and in addition to the official incumbency already mentioned he is also treasurer of the Alger union school district. He and his wife are valued and zealous members of the Alger Methodist Episcopal church and he is a member of its board of trustees. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Golden Shield Lodge, No. 757, Knights of Pythias.
C. C. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Austin, a daugh- ter of Martin Austin. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have one daughter, Ruth, who was born on the 12th of July, 1893, and who is a member of the class of 1911 in the Alger high school, being one of the popular young ladies in connection with the social activities of the community.
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ELMER J. CAREY .- Endowed by nature with the talents and gifts that win success in the business world and command the respect of his fellow associates, Elmer J. Carey, of Ada, has always identified himself with the leading interests of this part of Hardin county, and has proved himself a valuable and worthy citizen. Ile is a man of financial ability, and is now serving as cashier of Liberty Bank and as county auditor. He was born, June 3, 1870, in Liberty township, a son of Samuel Carey. A native of Perry county, Ohio, Samuel Carey was there brought up and educated. Coming to Hardin county in 1857, he began farming in Liberty township, subsequently removing to Wash- ington township, Hardin county. Ile married Rachel Heim, a native of Perry county, Ohio, and of the children born of their union three sons and two daughters are now living. Elmer J., the special subject of this sketch, being the fourth child.
Attending as a boy the district schools of Liberty and Washington townships, Elmer J. Carey completed his early education at the Ohio Northern University in Ada. When in 1902 the Liberty Bank was organized, Mr. Carey was made assistant cashier, and in that capacity proved himself so capable and trustworthy that four years later, in 1906, he was elected cashier of the institution, a position that he has since retained. Active in public affairs, he stands high in the Demo- cratic party, and has served in various official capacities, having been city elerk of Ada, and in 1908 was elected to his present position as county auditor. Ile is a stockholder in the Liberty Bank and one of its directors, and is also the secretary and treasurer of the Ohio Northern University.
Mr. Carey married, June 18, 1902, Dora Pfeiffer, daughter of George and Mary Pfeiffer, of Kenton, Ohio, and they have one son, Donald V. Carey. Fraternally Mr. Carey is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of the Knights of Pythias; and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
J. P. NAUS, a retired farmer living in Forest, was born in Richland county, Ohio, October 6, 1841, and is a son of Jacob and Naney ( Pieker- ing) Naus, both natives of Bedford county, Pennsylvania. Jacob Naus and his wife came to Hardin county, Ohio, in 1847, among the first settlers, and they became prominent citizens. Nancy Pickering's uncle served as secretary of war in 1791 and as lieutenant general in 1795. Jacob Naus followed his trade of shoemaker most of his life; in 1834 he moved to Richland county and lived there until 1841. In 1843 he bought forty acres of land, but continued to work at his trade, and in 1847 located in Hardin county, where he spent the remainder of his life. Hle had six children, namely: Joshua, D. A., Amanda (MIrs. Gilpin), William (deceased) and Washington. William served in the Civil war for one year as private in a company of the Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, it being part of the Army of the Potomac.
J. P. Naus was reared and educated in Hardin county, and has spent most of his life in agricultural pursuits. Soon after the breaking out of the Civil war he volunteered, August 21, 1862, as a private in
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Company H. One Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Samuel Mott commanding. This regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Twenty-third Corps, Army of the Ohio. Mr. Naus participated with his regiment in many important engagements, among them : Paris (Kentucky), Kingston, Mossey Creek. Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, siege of Atlanta, Waynesboro, Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville, Fort Ander- son, Town Creek, Wilmington, Kingston (North Carolina), Goldsboro (North Carolina), besides many minor engagements. On May 14, 1864, Mr. Naus was wounded in the left thigh at the battle of Resaca, Georgia,
and was prostrated by a shot at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee. He was detached on various duties at different times, and had many hazard- ous and narrow escapes. He was recognized as a brave man, who would not shirk in his duty, no matter where it might lead him. On June 6, 1865, he was honorably discharged on account of disability.
At the close of the war Mr. Naus returned and took up farming again, and became a successful farmer. He is a public-spirited citizen and stands well with his neighbors and fellows. He belongs to Stanley Post, No. 283, Grand Army of the Republic, and both he and his wife are earnest members of the Baptist church at Forest.
Mr. Naus married, February 15, 1866, Mary A. Ketch, who was born in Jackson township, Hardin county. in 1841; she is a daughter of Thomas and Mary Ketch, residents of Columbia county, Ohio. They both came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1835, in their youth, and they were married in 1841; their children were: George, John, Joel, Sarah, Ames and Mary, all of whom survive. Mr. Naus and his wife became the parents of children as follows: Alva T., William, Sarah A. (deceased), Mary E., Cora M., Flora E., Martha B., Arnetta Z. (de- ceased ), Lillian D. and John A. (deceased).
LEWIS C. ANKERMAN .- This well known citizen and sterling busi- ness man of the village of Alger, of whose first common council he was a member, is to be designated as one of the world's gallant army of pro- ductive workers, and he has achieved a worthy success through his own well directed efforts. He owns and conducts a well equipped black- smith and general repair shop in Alger and has other local interests of important order.
Mr. Ankerman is a native of the old Buckeye state, having been born on the parental farmstead in Miami county, Ohio, on the 2d of December, 1868, and being a son of Christ and Mary (Stein) Ankerman, both of whom were born in Germany, whence they came to America when young, their marriage having been solemnized in Miami county, Ohio, where they still maintain their home and where the father has long been known as a successful farmer and sterling citizen. Of their eight children, four sons and three daughters are now living.
The initial experiences of Lewis C. Ankerman in connection with the practical duties and responsibilities of life were those gained through his early association with the work of the home farm, where he was reared to the age of sixteen years, in the meanwhile having duly availed
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himself of the advantages of the district school near the old homestead. At the age noted he went to Wapakoneta, Ohio. where he served an apprenticeship to the blacksmith trade, in a shop conducted by his elder brother, William, with whom he thus remained for a period of four years. within which he became a skilled workman in both iron and wood. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. Ankerman went to the city of Toledo, where he was employed at his trade for somewhat more than one year. Returning to Wapakoneta, he was there employed abont six months, and on the 1st of June, 1891, he established his residence in the newly founded village of Alger, Hardin county. where he rented a blacksmith shop and engaged independently in the work of his trade. Three months later he purchased the building and its equipment, and there he has continued business up to the present time. He enlarged and otherwise improved his shop, and which is now equipped for the handling of all kinds of blacksmith and general repair work in both wood and iron, a specialty being made of the repairing of wagons. carriages and other vehicles, as well as farming machinery and imple- ments. Mr. Ankerman owns five lots in the village,-three of these being the land on which his shop is located and the other two being his residence property. He is a stockholder in the Alger Savings Bank and also in the J. W. Kirts Company, organized with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars, for dealing in general merchandise.
In polities Mr. Ankerman is aligned as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratie party, and after the incorporation of Alger he was elected a member of its first village conneil, holding this office for four years. He is a member of Ada Lodge, No. 344, Free and Accepted Masons, at Ada, this county, and in his home village he is affiliated with Golden Shield Lodge. Knights of Pythias, and with Tent No. 479. Knights of the Maceabees.
On the 2d of September, 1891, Mr. Ankerman was united in mar- riage to Miss Jennie Huffman, who was born at Coldwater. Mercer county Ohio, and they have four children. Their names and respective dates of birth are here indicated: Frederick, July 2. 1892; Margaret. July 25, 1895; Raymond. November 1, 1896; and Mildred. April 7. 1899. Frederick is now (1910) attending a business college at Lima, Ohio.
ALEXANDER G. TIDD .- This representative farmer and honored pio- neer citizen of Hardin county, which has been his home from the time of his nativity to the present, is a sejon of a family that was founded in the county more than eighty years ago. He has gained success and inde- pendence through hard work in earlier years and later through effective management of the forces at his command. Ile is one of the substantial landowners of the county and is a citizen to whom is accorded the most unreserved confidence and esteem in the community. It was his to represent his county as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. and in the "piping times of peace" he has shown the same loyalty that led him to go forth to defend the integrity of the nation when it was menaced by armed rebellion. His landed estate, comprising four hundred and twenty aeres of productive land. is situated in Marion and Roundhead townships, in the former of which his residence is located.
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Alexander G. Tidd was born on a pioneer farm in section twenty- one, Roundhead township. this county, on the 24th of April, 1838, and is a son of Hugh H. and Mary (Givins) Tidd, both likewise natives of Ohio. Hugh HI. Tidd was born in Logan county, this state, and was a son of Samuel Tidd, who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and who took up his residence in Roundhead township. Hardin county, in 1820, having moved hither from Logan county. He settled on the northeast quarter of section twenty-one, Roundhead township, and with the assistance of his sons he reclaimed much of the land from the forest before he was summoned from the scene of life's mortal endeavors. Ilis son Hugh H., father of the subject of this review, became owner of the old home- stead, which continued to be his place of abode until his death, when he was about sixty-four years of age. He was twice married. and of his six- teen children, nine of whom were born of the first and seven of the second marriage, seven are now living.
Alexander G. Tidd was reared amid the scenes and conditions of the pioneer days in Hardin county .- a period necessarily marked by many hardships and privations as well as by the most arduous toil on the part of the settlers who were bending their efforts to reclaiming the heavily timbered land. He assisted in the work of the home farm until he was twenty-two years of age, and his early educational advantages were very meager, being confined to a desultory attendance in the primitive distriet or subscriptions schools. In 1860 he was married, and he and his bride began life on a rented farm, without financial resources of any kind and dependent entirely upon their own exertions. They were, however, well equipped with courage, ambition and mutual love and sympathy, and with the passing of the years they were not denied a generous measure of prosperity and happiness. Mr. Tidd finally bought a small tract of land in Roundhead township, and both he and his wife labored without ceasing to bring the same to compensating productiveness. As he prospered in his efforts he added to his landed possessions from time to time, and. as already noted. he is now the owner of one of the valuable farm properties of his native county.
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