USA > Ohio > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of Wayne County, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 21
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
Isaac Bechtel, the subject proper of these lines, had but limited school advan- tages, and early worked on his father's farm. He was twenty years old when he came to Ohio. In 1843 he was married to Caroline, daughter of Jacob and Eliza- NDREW MILBOURN is a son of Josiah and Eunice (Pratt) Mil- bourn, and was born on the home- stead he now occupies, in East Union Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, June 26, 1822. Josiah Milbourn, with his mother, Jemima, and two brothers and four sisters, came from Columbiana County. Ohio, in 1816, and located on Section 3, in East Union Township, Wayne County. An- drew, his oldest brother. was in the War of 1812, and died in Michigan; Thomas, the next brother, died in Richland County. Wis .; Keziah died in De Kalb County, Ind .: Jane died in Huron County, Ohio; Sarah died in lowa; Deborah died in East Union Township. Wayne County. Josiah was born in Londonn County, Va .. in 1799, and died in 1950. He was the youngest of the family, and when first starting out for himself he worked on the ! farm now owned by our subject, on Section 10. East Union Township. In 1827 he purchased one- half of the present quarter of land ocenpied by the latter, where he beth Troutman, all natives of Berks County. Pen. Her mother died in Hemy County, Ohio, and her father in Wooster Township, this county. Our subject and his wife have had but one child, Lizzie, who attained the age of nine years, when she joined the silent majority. In politics Mr. Bechtel was first a Whig, and on the formation of the Republican party joined its ranks, and acted with it until he became convinced that the canse of prohibition, of which he is an earnest advocate, would never be aided by either of the old parties, and he ' then joined the Prohibition party ranks, | of which he is now one of its most active members. In the fall of 1877 Mr. Bechtel became superintendent and troas- urer of the Wooster Cemetery Asso- ciation. Since 1846 he has been aflili- ated with the Odd Fellows order, and he and his wife are members of the En- glish Lutheran Church. Widely and favorably known throughout the county, Mr. Bechtel will long be remembered, , died. He was a prominent Democrat, and
2.12
WAYNE COUNTY.
held various township offices. His widow died in Wayne Township in 1889. Their family consisted of six children: Maria, wife of Samuel Swinchart, of East Union Township, Wayne County; Andrew, our subject; Sarah, deceased wife of Charles Boydston; Eunice, deceased wife of Peter Mowrer: Sophronia, wife of Israel Grady, of Wooster; Jane, who died in infancy.
Andrew, whose name heads this sketch, attended the schools of that period, and has always followed farming. December 7, 1815, he married Miss Matilda, daughter of Henry Mowrer, of East Union Town- ship, Wayne County, and by this union were born eleven children, two of whom (sons) died in infancy. Those living are Maria, who is the wife of Thomas Grody, of Illinois, and has two children -- An- drew and Samantha; Amanda, wife of Stephen Mowry, of Smithville, Ohio, has one child, Effie; Martha, wife of Joshua S. Bowman, of East Union Township, has three children: Walter, Sloan and Alma; Mary, wife of William S. Fisher, of East Union Township, Wayne County, has one child, Perry; Laura, wife of Jacob Holt- ser, of Orrville, has one child, Ellis; Eunico, wife of Isaac J. Smith, of Wayne Township, Wayne County, has three chil- dren: Harvey, Laura and Glen; Kate, wife of Calvin Culler, of Wooster Township, Wayne County, has one child, June; Alma, wife of J. Edgar Frick, of Wayne Town-
ship, Wayne County, has two children. Charles and Gail; Tillie, wife of William Culler, of Wooster Township.
Mr. Milbourn is a Democrat in politics. He served as postmaster at East Union for four years under the administration of President Buchanan, and has been super- visor and trustee of the township. He has also been treasurer of the East Union Insurance Company. He and family at- tend the Lutheran Church. His mother was a daughter of Oliver Pratt, a native of Boston, and his wife, Jedidah Luce, was a native of Martha's Vineyard. They settled in the State of Maine, where the mother of Andrew Milbourn was born, and then moved to Albany, N. Y. Com- ing to Ohio in 1811, they remained in Trumbull County for one year, and in 1815 they entered the traet of land which was afterward purchased by Josiah Mil- bourn, and is now owned by our subject. Mr. Pratt engaged in farming and the raising of silk-worms. He was a promi- nent member of the Baptist Church.
C W. LESSITER, son of William Lessiter, a native of England, who came to the United States in IS 13, was born November 10, 1SIS, in Frank- lin Township, Wayne Co., Ohio. His
1
WAYNE COUNTY. 243
father came to Wayne County, Ohio, from Doylestown, Ohio, and to Jefferson, Plain Township, in 1853.
The subject of this biographical me- inoir was educated at the local schools of his township, and learned harness-mak- ing, a trade he has followed for a consid- erable period of time. He was also for some time United States mail carrier be- 1 tween Wooster, Wayne County, and Ash- land, Ashland Co., Ohio, and in 1881 he : was appointed postmaster at Plain, which 1 office he still holds. In same year Mr. Lessiter opened a general country store at Jefferson, Plain Township, in connec- tion with harness-making, and is meeting with good success. March 10, 1870, he married Emma H. Gardner, of Plain Town- ship, Wayne Co., Ohio, and by her had the following-named children: William W., Frank W. and Frederick C., all yet living. !
RED. H. HARDING, of the firm of Harding & Co., hardware mer- chants, of Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1858. His father, William A. Harding, is a native of the city of New York, born in a house on Vandewater Street, the site of which now forms a part of one of the arches of the great Brooklyn bridge. He
went to Wisconsin in 1843, and there re- mained a number of years in the mercan- tile business, when he returned to New York, and went into the Panama Railroad office, and afterward for some years he was a dry goods jobber. He is now a pro- fessional accountant. His father was an Englishman by birth. On the maternal side, our subjeet's great-grandfather was of French Huguenot blood; his mater- nal grandfather was born in America, and held for many years an official position as harbor master at the port of New York. William A. Harding, father of Frederic II., was united in marriage, in the city of New York, with Miss Kate S. Fountain. daughter of Capt. Gideon Fountain, who was of an old Staten Island, N. Y., fam- ily, and was born in New York. Of this union seven children were born, of whom Frederic II. is the only one living in Wayne County, Ohio. A brother, Will- iam A. Harding, Jr., had preceded him to this county, coming here about 1578, but he died in 1581.
The subject of this sketch came to Wayne County in 1878, and was estab- lished in the hardware business with his brother, William A. Harding, Jr., as Harding & Co., and has ever since been engaged there. He is one of the younger merchants of Wooster. and by his thorough business-like ways and sernpulous honesty in all his transactions has acquired the
244
WAYNE COUNTY.
confidence of the people, and in conse- quence thereof he has a good and growing trade. He is well known, and is respected by all. He is a Republican in politics, and socially has membership in the T. O. O. F., K. O. T. M. and National Union.
D AVID W. BECHTEL, merchant, Wooster, was born in Wooster Township, July 1, 1843. He is of German ancestry, and his father, Jacob B. Bechtel, was a native of Pennsylvania, a farmer by occupation, and the owner of a saw-mill. Upon reaching manhood, Jacob B. was married to Elizabeth, daughter of George Ridenhour, and in 1842 the family came to Wayne County, and settled upon a partially improved farm. Here the parents of our subject passed the remainder of their lives, the Father dying in December, 1885, at the age of seventy-three years, and three months later the mother followed him to the grave, also aged seventy-three. Hle was a member of the German Reformed Church, and she of the German Lutheran Church. This worthy couple were the parents of Fourteen children. nine now surviving, and all but one making their homes in Wayne County. Jacob Bechtel was an industrious man, who made his
own way in the world. He started a poor boy, but died fairly well off. He idways bore the reputation of an honest and trustworthy man.
David W. Bechtel attended the common schools in winters for a few months, and stayed on the home farm until he was sev- enteen years of age, then going to San- dusky City to learn the trade of carriage- making. The firm failing, he returned to Wooster, where for a few months he worked at his trade. August 13, 1862. he offered his services to his country, eu- listing in Company F, One Hundred and Second Ohio Infantry, and served almost three years. After receiving his dis- charge he returned to Wayne County, and in October, 1865, became a clerk in a dry goods store, in which he remained ten years. For a year after that he traveled for a Philadelphia firm, and then for six years he was in the office of the supreme reporter of the K. of H. at Wooster. Following this he was again employed in a dry goods house, and in June, 1555, began for himself, dealing in wall-papers, window-shades, toys, fancy goods and nov- elfios, of which he keeps a large and well- assorted stock.
In 1865 Mr. Bechtel was married to Rebecca, daughter of A. C. PImmer, sketch of whom appears elsewhere, and four chil- dren have been born to them, Harvey C., Mary A., Bessie and Julia, all at home.
245
WAYNE COUNTY.
Mr. Bechtel is a member of the Knights of Honor and of the Royal Arcanum, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Wooster. He is one of Woos- ter's bright young business men, who is by his upright character and life winning the esteem of all who know him.
RANK SNYDER was born in Bucks County, Penn., in 1830. His grand- father, Andrew Snyder, was a native of Zweibrücken, Germany, on the Rhine, and came to this country in 1760, and for over five years served in the Revolution- ary War. He had a family of twelve children, one of the older ones being George, the father of our subject.
George Snyder married Mary Mickley, whose father, Philip Mickley, served seven years in the Revolutionary War. Her grandfather also came from Zwei- brücken, Germany, in 1720. Part of the family were killed by the Indians in one of their groat massacres. Philip escaped by hiding in the underbrush, while a little brother and sister were tomahawked near by. The family owned the grounds at Gettysburg upon which is now the National Cemetery, and their family burial grounds are still there, having been set aside and preserved by the National Gov-
ernment. To George Snyder and wife were born ten children, as follows: Cath- erine, now Mrs. John King, of Bedford, Iowa; Aaron, of Osage, Iowa; Lewis M., for a long time a map publisher, of Chi- cago, Ill., died in 1858; Eliza, married to William Miller, died in 1853; Henry died in 1848; Frank, whose name heads this sketch; William, a map publisher, of Chicago, died in 1878; Mary, now Mrs. Philip fine, of Spencer Centre, Ohio; Sophia, wife of Rev. Sammel Coaklin, of Rows, Ohio, and George W .. pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Davenport, Towa, who served three years in the vol- unteer service and one year in the regular service during the War of the Rebellion.
George Snyder remained in Backs County until after his father's death, when he was appointed administrator of the estate. In 1834, with his family, con- sisting at that time of his wife and seven children, he moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and settled in the southern part of Chester Township, near the present town of New Pittsburgh, buying forty acres of land. He afterward soll his first pur- chase and bought a larger adjoining farm. He lived to make many valuable improve. ments in his township, and to realize, in a measure, at least, the consummation of his fond hopes in regard to his adopted county, dying at the advanced age of nearly eighty years.
1
246
WAYNE COUNTY.
Frank Snyder was reared in Chester "Township, being but four years of age when his parents settled here. He was carly innred to the work of the farm, receiving the edneational advantages af- forded in the common schools of those days. When twenty years of age he be- gan to learn the carpenter's trade, and when twenty-two years old, the trade of a millwright, at which he continued thirty- two years, building and remodeling a munber of the mills of Wayne and adjoin- ing connties. In 1884 he bought the farm where he now lives of John Myers' heirs. It contains 200 acres of choice land, and the improvements are among the best in the township. Mr. Suyder married Miss Ella Myers, daughter of John Myers, and they have two children: Wayne and Mary. Mr. Snyder is a member of the Methodist Church, while his wife is a member of the Baptist Church. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party.
Pitt, and was said to be the first white child born west of the Alleghanies. He was a farmer by occupation, and was mar- ried to a Miss Lowery. Lazarns Plumer was married to Jane Craig, whose parents were born and died in Pennsylvania. Of their union ten children were born ( three of whom are yet living), three in this county. In 1840 the family migrated to Wayne County, to make it their future home. The parents had first come here in 1822, but on account of the sickness of the mother had returned to Pennsylvania. They settled in Chester Township, where the mother died in 1843, aged forty-four years. Her husband broke up house- keeping in 1816, and died in 1863, at the age of seventy-one. Both of the parents had been members of the Presbyterian Church.
J. C. Plummer received a common-school education, and early began to learn the trade of blacksmithing, but after coming here worked with his father on the farm. In ISH4 he was married to Mary, dangh- ter of Robert and Margaret Patterson, and a native of Wayne County. In the C. PLUMER, a well-known old resi- spring of 1816 he volunteered for the dent of Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio, Mexican War. and on June 9 left Woos- was born in Westmoreland County. , ter as a member of Company E. Third Penn., September 25, 1821, and is a son . Ohio Infantry, and served thirteen months of Lazarus and Jane Plummer, both na- @ and four days. He lived in Wayne Town- tives of the Keystone State. His grand- father, George Plumer, was born at Fort
ship until April, 1515, when he removed to Adams County, Ind., where he worked
247
WAYNE COUNTY.
at his trade until November, 1855, when he came back to Wooster, and followed his trade there for some time. In the fall of 1856 he was made a deputy sheriff, holding the position for two years. In April, 1561, he removed to Congress Township, and on the outbreak of the Rebellion he enlisted in Capt. Bailey's company for three months' service. In forming the Sixteenth Ohio Regimeut, Capt. Bailey was made major and Aquila Wiley was made captain, and our subjeet second lieutenant of Company C. Soon after he was attacked with varicose veins and rheumatism, when he resigned his position, returning to Congress Town- ship, removing to Wooster in the fall of the same year. Following spring he en- tered the employ of Baumgardner & Co., with whom he remained until May, 1562, when he again enlisted for three months, this time in Company E, Eighty-fifth Ohio Infantry, being second lieutenant thereof. They served their term at Camp Chase. and on the expiration of service, in Sep- tember, returned to Wooster, where he has since made his home.
Our subject and his wife had three children: Rebecca, now wife of David W. Bechtel, living in Wooster, and Mar- garet J. and Washington J., both de- ceased. Formerly Mr. Plumer was a Democrat, but in 1854 became a Repub- lican, and voted for Abraham Lincoln for
President in 1860, and has since been a Republican. He takes much interest in the fraternities. Since 1855 he has been connected with the Odd Fellows order- both branches; since 1869 has been a member of the Knights of Pythias, and in 1875 joined the Knights of Honor, being elected supreme reporter, and afterward grand reporter, holling the first position six years and the latter eight years. At present he is grand treasurer of the Knights of Honor. In 1578 Mr. Plumer joined the Royal Arcanum and the G. A. R.
S H. BOYD, of the firm of Lanbach & Boyd, is a native of this county, born in Wooster Township, near the city, February 21, 1551. His father, Hugh Boyd. was born in County Clare, Ireland, and was a surveyor and school- teacher in his native land. le came to America about 1540, and made his home in Wayne County, on a farm in Plain Township. About 18IS the family re- moved to Wooster, and there, in 1552, the father died. He was a Whig in his po- lilical preferences, and a member of the United Presbyterian Church. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Boyd has re- sided in Wooster. She was born in Dem-
24S
WAYNE COUNTY.
sylvania, and her maiden name was Aman- da Brown, being a daughter of Robert. and Jane Brown, both of whom died in Wayne County. Of her union with Hugh Boyd, four children were born, viz .: Jen- nie A., living with her mother; John, a printer by trade, and a resident of Mans- field, Ohio; Robert B., who resides near Columbia City, Ind., and our subject.
S. H. Boyd was educated in the public schools of Wooster, and in October, 1867, at the age of sixteen, entered the employ of Zimmerman & Co. as clerk. There he remained seventeen years, at the end of which time he bought the interest of Mr. Donnelly, and entered into his present business relations. January 5, 1876, Mr. Boyd was united in marriage with Miss Mary, daughter of John Maxwell, and a native of Ashland, Ohio. Her father, who was a stone-entter by trade, died in Woos- ter in 1870, and her mother, whose name was An, followed him to the grave in November, 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd have two children, William and Robert.
Mr. Boyd is one of Wooster's rising young business men, enterprising, saga- cious, and of unimpeachable integrity, and stands high wherever he is known. with a bright future before him. He is a member of Ebenezer Lodge, F. & A. M., Wooster Chapter, and of Wayne Conneil of Massillon Commandery, K. T., also of the Royal Arcanum; he is a Republican.
H ON. HIRAM B. SWARTZ, probate judge of Wayne County, Ohio, was born in a single-roomed log cabin, in the woods, on what was known as the old home farm of Samuel Swartz, in Milton Township, this county, May 27, 1846, being fourth in a family of twelve children. His early life, which was spent on the farm, was very much that of other farmer boys, with nothing special to dis- tinguish it, unless it were his nprightness in dealing with his school-boy friends, and an unconquerable desire to always lead, which latter disposition was so plainly marked as to win for him the sobriquet of "Bully;" not, however, in the sense in which the word is usually applied, but merely to denote leadership. So closely did this appellation cling to him that it was afterward inserted as a middle letter in his name, and thus is explained tho "B" which the Judge invariably places in his antograph.
He remained at home, attending the country school, until the winter of 1-62, when he entered the academy at Seville, to which he returned in the sneceeding school season. The winter of 1864 found him installed as pedagogue in the dis- triet where he himself was first taught, and where some five of his own brothers and sisters were placed in his charge. In the winter of 1865 he went to Gran- ville, where he entered upon a college
-
251
WAYNE COUNTY.
preparatory course, and there remained until he had completed the Freshman year of the classical course. But . his work having been too ineessant, his health began to fail, thereby necessitating a rest and change of climate, and he fe- turned to his home. In the fall of 1868, having sufficiently recovered, he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.
After some months of study in this de- partment, and his old desire for a thor- ough classical education asserting itself, he at onee abandoned temporarily the law, and entered the literary department of the college in January, 1569. Being an earnest and devoted student, he found he had some time still remaining after preparing his lessons for his regular classes. This time, however, he did not i allow to be wasted, but employed it to still further advance himself in his law studies, to which he intended ultimately. to return. Thus earnestly he worked, unbeknown to his professors, carrying a double load, and many a silent morning hour found the carnest student bending diligently over his books. Thus he con- tinued until, with the class of 1872, he graduated from both the literary and law departments of the university, some- thing contrary to the laws of the institu- tion, and only permitted by the special permission of the faenlty, who, npon in-
vestigation of his work and standing, fonnd no reason for withholding their consent. This is the only case of the kind occurring in the history of the school.
Both departments of the university aim to give their respective students sufficient to keep them fully employed. Tedious, indeed, and irksome must prove the task of him who endeavors to carry, at once, both branches of work, even under the most favorable circumstances. How much more, then, must be the effort, the deter- mination, the self-sacrificing zeal of him who, like our subject, found it necessary to do all manner of mannal labor in order to secure the requisite funds to enable him to pursue his studies, boarding him- self, or engineering a boarding club of fellow students? Carrying coal, sawing wood and similar work, by which he could carn a dime, was not beneath his dignity. his motto being that " all honest work is honorable if well done," and whatever he undertook to do he did thoroughly. Thus was Mr. Swartz's time fully ocen- pied, and during his entire college course he says he never attended any merry- making, concert or festivity of any kind. Indeed, time would not have permitted him, even had he the disposition. In his college work he developed a strong love for the languages, and not only did le become proficient in them, but even in-
14
252
WAYNE COUNTY.
strneted private pupils in Latin, Greek, French and German.
In 1873, at Newark, Lieking Co., Ohio, he entered into partnership with his brother John, who was then also a begin- ner, and is now prosecuting attorney of the atoresaid county. Here he remained until October, 1875, when he removed to Woos- ter, and opened an office with Hon. Jolm K. McBride. At thistime, crippled by por- erty, he found himself compelled to bor- row $50 wherewith to pay for moving his household goods and family, and, being short of work in his chosen profession, he dng potatoes on shares to obtain his win- ter's food.
In the spring of 1877, without any solicitation on his part, he was elected mayor of Wooster, in which capacity he served with remarkable success two terms, or until 1881. During his incumbency he revised the criminal ordinances, and had them bound in book form without expense to the city, and this book thus became the first real code of ordinances the city ever had. He was an especial friend of the volunteer fire department, and did all in his power to advance its interests. He also reformed the city prison system, and opposed excessive fines, but insisted on collecting all fines that were imposed. In fact. during his administration the people enjoyed one of the best city gov- eromeuts it ever had. Let the praise rest
where it belongs. His administration was " mild but firm," and without favor or partiality, and under his care the office of mayor was recognized as one of great advantage and dignity, insomuch that criminal causes were brought before him for trial from all parts of the conty.
During his terms of office as mayor he built for himself his present home; work- ing morning and evening before and after his business hours, he cut and prepared every stiek himself, and now has the satis- faetion of knowing the building is all his own handiwork. In 1881 he again en- tered a law office, and continued building up a good business until 1887, when he was elected to. the office of probate judge, the duties of which he entered upon in February, 1855, and has since maintained its responsibilities to the satisfaction of all. In office he has no friends to reward, no enemies to punish. His political friends are mostly among the common people, and by them he is highly esteemed. His po- litical victories have been, undoubtedly. , the result of his singleness of purpose. He does no wire-pulling, knows nothing of political schemes, and, although very successful in his political ventures, he can not be called a politicinn. He has always in his political life been a Democrat, and since 1861 has never shrunk from any of the party responsibilities laid upon him. On August S. 1573. concluding "it is
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.