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 40
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
447
WAYNE COUNTY.
(she was the second wife of Daniel Yntzy, and had six children-Jeremiah, Joseph, Simou, Barbara, Elizabeth and Lydia ) ; Christian B., born June 24, 1821; Daniel, born July 8, 1824, is now living in Garrett County, Md., and is the father of nine children-Joel, Simon (of Smith- ville), Samuel. Catherine, Elizabeth, Anna. Harriet, Leah and Mary: Barbara, born April 5, 1827, is the widow of Jo- seph Swartzendiuves, of Johnson County, Iowa, and has had eleven children-Jacob, Joel, Daniel, George, Noah, Gideon, Jo- seph, Solomon, Elizabeth, Mary and Anna.
Christian B. Brenneman, the subject of this sketch, was, like his parents, born in Hesse-Darmstadt. He was brought up to farming, and worked for his father until he was nineteen years old, when he was given his freedom. For six or seven years he labored diligently at whatever he found to do, mostly at chopping wood and clearing land for others, saving carefully his earnings to bny his future home. The year ISH he spent in Canada with his undles, and following spring came to Wayne County, staying here but a year, when he revisited Canada, and in the spring returned to Wayne County, where to make a permanent home. Here. also, he worked out until his marriage. and in the spring of 1819 bought the farm which has ever since been his home. It. com- prises 128 acres, but he had also several
other pieces of land near by, which he has since sold. On this place he put up a fine brick house, in which he has lived for many years, and until he retired from act- ive labor in 1881, when he erected a neat frame residence adjoining, into which he moved, giving up the family home to his son, Daniel, who has carried on the farm ever since. October 5, 1848, Mr. Brenne- man was married to Hannah Plank, born May 1, 1829, daughter of Jephtha Plank, whose history is given elsewhere in this work, under the name of his son, S. K. Plank. Mr. and Mrs. Brememan are the parents of four children, as follows: Dan- iel, born July 19, 1850, married to Eliza- beth Forrer, and farms the home place; Mary, born March 1, 1855, married to John Klopfenstein; Lydia, born January 23, 1859, is the widow of Daniel Coonrad, and is living with her parents; and Annie, born May 3, 1862, married to Myron Lichenwalter, of Greene Township. Wayne County.
Mr. Brenneman is well known in Wayue County as one of the best of its farmers, careful in cultivating his land, giving his whole time and attention to his business, and has, therefore, been more than ordi- marily successful. For this he deserves munch eredit, the independent position he now holds being entirely due to his own efforts, aided by a good, industrious wife. His true personal character is that of a
-
448
WAYNE COUNTY.
thoroughly upright man. He and his / Nachtsinger, and bought an adjoining wife are consistent, worthy members of the Oak Grove Amish Momonite Church.
A DOLPH K. SCHAAF, farmer and notary public, in Smithville, Wayne Co., Ohio, is a native of that county, born in Canaan Township, April 5, 1836, his parents being Adam and Anna |quent purchase, in 1871, twenty acres. Maria ( Müllar) Schaaf. natives of Zwei- bricken, province of Alsace, now a part of the German Empire, but then belonging to France.
Adam Schaaf was born April 25, 1804, and lived in his native place until he was eighteen years of age, when, to escape con- scription, he left home and came to Amer- ' his life sued any person. He avoided pub- iea. He settled in Somerset County, lic office, but was compelled by his neigh- Penn., where he learned the trade of i bors to serve two or three terms in township wagon-making, having in his nativo land offices. He joined the Lutheran Church when but fourteen years old, and was al- ways a consistent Christian. For many years before his death he was deacon and older. He was married in Somerset County, Pom., to Anna Maria Mallar, a cousin, born in 1805. Her parents first located in Somerset, but afterward ro- moved to Greene Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, where both died. Mrs. Schnat died March 13, 1873, in her sixty-ninth year. She was kind, sympathetic and charitable, never turning the poor or needy empty- worked in a grist-mill owned by his father. He lived in Somerset until after his marriage and the birth of his first child, and then removed to Ohio, settling a mile north of the site of Smithville, which had then but one house, owned by a Mr. Smith, from whom the town derives its name. Here he established a shop, which he carried on for a year or two, when he removed to the adjoining town- ship of Canaan, where he carried on his business until 1812, when he sold to Peter
farm, where he made his home for five years, selling it in 1847 to John Mc- Clellan, and buying a forty-acre farm in Wayne Township. On this place he built a shop, which for five years he con- dneted in connection with his farm. In 1852 he again sold out, and bought a place of eighty-three acres three-fourths of a mile south. to which he added by subse- On this latter place he erected a new dwelling, where he lived a retired lite until his death, which ocenrred July 19, 1886. Mr. Schaaf was an excellent mem- ber of society, and universally liked. Of a kind and peaceable disposition, he never quarreled with his neighbors, and never in
-
A. K. Schaaf
WAYNE COUNTY. 451
handed from her door. Like her husband, she was all her life a member of the church, and was a good Christian woman. Mr. and Mrs. Schaaf were parents of eight children: Rosanna, widow of Jeremiah Stutsman, of Wayne County: Caroline, wife of Jacob Walters, of Mansfield, Ohio; Mary, wife of Victor Gallagher, of Wayne County; Adolph K .; Edward C., also of Wayne County: Elizabeth, wife of Allen Schaffer, of Orrville: Michael M., in Wayne County, and one who died in infancy.
Adolph K. Schaaf, the subject of this sketch, has been a resident of Wayne County all his life. In his youth he helped his father in the shop, and had charge of the forty-acre farm when they lived there. At the age of twenty-two he entered Fredericksburgh Academy, which he attended for three terms, subsequently attending for a term the school of James B. Taylor, in Smithville. Then he began teaching, following that profession for eleven winters. On giving up teaching he gave his entire attention for a year or two to farming, but his wife, to whom the property belonged, subsequently sold it, buying the place of about twelve aeres in the corporation of Smithville, where they now live in a comfortable and commodi- ous home. Jannary 22, 1868, Mr. Schaaf was married to Mrs. Mary Greiner, widow of Jacob Greiner. Her maiden name was
Bollinger, and she was born in Ashland County, Ohio, December 10, 1827. Her parents emigrated from Dauphin County, Penn., to Ohio in 1827, removing thence to Huntington County, Ind., where they died. Her father was a distiller in the East, but after coming West he gave his entire attention to farming. He and his wife were members of the Intheran Church, of which for many years he was a deacon and elder. He bore an unblem- ished reputation, and was highly esteemed for his charity and other estimable quali- ties. Among both whites and Indians, who were numerous then, he was univer- sally known as " Unele Bollinger."
In politics Mr. Schaaf is a Democrat. He has held the office of justice of the peace for three years, and has been notary publie for the past three years, and is now in his second term. He is a member of the Knights of Maccabees, and is held in high esteem by his fellow-townsmen. He and his wife are members of the Lu- theran Church.
F REDERICK RICE, retired farmer, Chester Township, was born in Westmoreland County, Pen., in 1815. His grandfather, Frederick Rice, was also a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1760, and for five years was a soldier !
25
452
WAYNE COUNTY.
in the Revolutionary War, serving under Washington at Valley Forge and Trenton. He married a Miss Lauffer, of Westmore- land County, Penn., and to them were born ten children, all of whom have been dead for many years. In 1812 he moved with his family to Wayne County, Ohio, and settled on a traet of wild land south of Wooster, where he improved a good farm, making it his home forty years. His death occurred in 1850. His son, Chris- tian Rice, was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., in 1793, making that coun- ty his home until 1819, when he followed his father to Wayne County, Ohio. He located near Tylertown, settling on a tract of land his father had entered, on which he lived a number of years, when he purchased and moved to the farm now owned by his son Frederick. Christian Rice married Charlotte Hine, a native of Westmoreland County, Penn., and to them were born ten children, three of whom are now living.
Frederick Rice, subject of our notice, as has already been seen, is a representa- tive of one of the earliest pioneer fami- lies. He was early innred to the work of the farm, his education being only such as was obtained at the log school-house. He has been successful in the vocation of his choice, and now owns 100 acres of valuable land, which is divided into several farms, all being under cultivation.
He is one of the prominent citizens of Chester Township, and is now enjoying the rest from labor and the esteem of numerous friends which his early life of usefulness so much merits. He was mar- ried in 1840 to Diana Firestone, daughter of John Firestone. They have had twelve children, eleven of whom are living: Margaret Ann, Elizabeth, John, Charlotte, Simon, Rachel, Frank, Lydia, Jane, Frederick and Ann. Mr. and Mrs. Rice are members of the Lutheran Church. In polities he is a Democrat.
ACOB SCHMUCK. This well-known citizen of Wooster has been a resi- dent of Wayne County for about fifty-five years. His grandfather, also named Jacob, a German by birth, came to America with his parents when nine years old, settling in Pennsylvania; his son, Henry, born in that Stato, was mar- ried in the Keystone State to Elizabeth Hymiller, who was also born there, and they became the parents of our subjeet. Seeking a better opportunity to acquire a home, the parents decided to take ad- vantage of the rich soil of Wayne County, and came here in 1884, with a family of eight children, viz. : Margaret, Henry, Jacob, Emanuel, Leah, Samuel, Elizabeth and Fanny, four of whom are deceased;
,
WAYNE COUNTY. 453
one is living in Indiana, and the remain- ing three in Wayne County. The parents settled on a farm in Plain Township, and there spent the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1860, aged seventy- four years, and the mother in 1875, at the ripe age of ninety-three years. After lo- cating here Henry Schmuck had to clear his land, living in a log cabin until able to build a better house. At his death he left a finely improved farm. For some time after coming to this county he also followed his trade of a weaver.
The subject of this sketeh was born in Lancaster County, Penn., September 14, 1818, and, for his times, had good educa- tional advantages in German. His father taught him his own trade, of weaving, in his boyhood, and after coming to Wayne County he worked hard through the day, and at night attended school, to learn to read and write the English language. In 1843 Jacob Schmuck was united in mar- riage with Miss Catherine Reiner, a na- tive of Wooster, and six children were born of this union: Reason A., one of the leading farmers of Stark County, Ohio; Solomon Henry, manufacturer of an adjustable chair, at Cleveland, Ohio, having in his employ over thirty hands; Jacob F., manufacturing and retailing furniture, and also engaged in the under- taking business, under the firm name of Landis & Schmuck, Wooster; Harriet, de-
ceased, was the wife of David C. Herr, a dealer in real estate and insurance, Cleve- land, Ohio; Catherine, deceased, was the wile of Stephen Day, formerly dealer in stoves and tinware, Wooster, but now a farmer of Wayne County; Ethelinda is the wife of D. Y. Landis, of Wooster. In 1856 the mother passed to her last sleep, at the early age of thirty-five years, and Mr. Schmuck was subsequently mar- ried to Miss Rebecca Moon, a native of Stark County, Ohio, who is the mother of two children: Wallace Emmet and Amelia Jane, both living with their parents, and attending school. In 1869 onr subject gave up farming and came to Wooster, where he built his present fine residence on North Bever Street, where he is now enjoying the results of a long life of in- dustry and thrift. He began poor, and worked in Wayne County often for twenty or twenty-five cents a day. By enter- prise, hard work and economy, he has reached a place where, in his declining years, he can enjoy an ample competence, the legitimate reward of his industrious life. He still owns his fine larm of over 200 acres, in Franklin Township, besides other property. He is a Republican in his political belief, but is invariably guided in his action by his mature judg- ment as to both men and measures. Himself and part of his family are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
454
WAYNE COUNTY.
and to-day he is probably as well and fa- vorably known by its people as any citi- zen of Wayne County.
I SAAC MILLER, farmer, Chester Township, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, August 8, 1534, a son of Abra- ham and Sarah ( Rough) Miller, Abra- ham Miller was born in Berks County, Penn., in 1803, and in 1805 his father, Jacob Miller, moved to Columbiana County, Ohio, where he was reared. In 1829 he moved to Wayne County, and settled in Chester Township, where he bought eighty acres of land, to which he subsequently added until he owned 210 acres. He was by trade a blacksmith, at which he worked in connection with farming twenty-five or thirty years. He was twice married: first to Sarah Rough, and to them were born thirteen children, viz. : William, Jacob, Abraham, Mary, Isaac. Sarah, Samuel, Jolui, George W. Daniel, Franklin, Amanda Jane and Benjamin N. Four of these children are deceased. Alter the mother's death the father married Lizzie Shenberger, and they have had four children: Matilda and Malinda (twins), Rebecca and Mathias.
Isaac Miller was reared in his native county, receiving fair educational advan- tages. When seventeen years of age he
learned the blacksmith's trade, following that vocation three years. He is now one of the prominent farmers of Chester Township, where he has a good farm of sixty-eight acres, all under cultivation. with good building improvements. He was married, in 1864, to Sarah Gaerte. daughter of Henry Gaerte, of Stark County, Ohio, and they have a family of four children, viz .: Ella J., David F., Zeno A. and Anna Z. (twins). In poli- ties Mr. Miller is a Democrat. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.
D AVID Y. LANDIS. This well- known business man of Wooster is a native of the Keystone State, born in Lehigh County, January 10, 15-10. His father, William Landis, was also born in the same county, and was of Swiss extraction, his forefather having come to this country to escape religions persecution in his native land, where two of the family had been burned at the stake as hereties. They were believers in the Mennonite faith, and besides being a farmer, William Landis was until his death a preacher of that denomination. His wife was Mary Young, daughter of Peter and Susan Young, all natives of Pennsylvania, Mr. and Mrs. Win. Landis were blessed with eight children, of whom
-
455
WAYNE COUNTY.
six are still living, three, Peter Y., Will- iam Y. and David Y., in Wayne County, and three, Enos Y., Owen Y. and Nathan Y., in Philadelphia, Pen. In 1848 the husband and father was called to his last home, and his widow continued to live in Pennsylvania until 1558, when she re- moved to Wayne County, and is still liv- ing here, aged eighty-two years.
David Y. Landis, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the com- mon schools of his native State, and at fonrteen years of age began life for him- self by learning the trade of cabinet-mak- ing and carving at Allentown, Penn. In 1860 he followed his mother to this county, and worked at his trade in Wooster until 1869, when he formed a
made more certain by the reputation he has justly acquired of being a thoroughly honest business man, whose word can at all times be relied upon. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity and of the I. O. O. F. He was a member of Capt. James H. Robinson's Company 1, One Hundred and Second Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, enlisting August 5, 1862, and served for three years. He is now a member of Given Post, No. 133. G. A. R.
A DAM FOREST JOHNSON, a well- known farmer of Wooster Town- ship, was born in Salt Creek Town- ship, Wayne County. Ohio, March partnership, and has ever since been en- 19, 1856. His grandfather, James John- gaged in business in Wooster. His : son, a native of Pennsylvania, married present partner is Jacob F. Schmuck, and : Mary White, and in 1516 they came to 1 they carry on the furniture and under. taking business, having the largest stock of goods in their line in Wooster.
In 1878 Mr. Landis was united in mar- riage with Miss Lhmie Schmuck, a sister of his partner, and a native of Wayne County. Two children have been born to ! them: Lillie Belle and Daisy Dell, who three sous and one daughter, were born are still under the parental roof.
Mr. Landis has had to make his own way in the world, and the snecess he has achieved is due to his energy and in- , Grant, in Stark County, Ohio. One son, dustry, backed by good judgment, and , William Johnson, father of Adam F., was
Wayne County, settling in Salt Creek Township on a piece of wild land, where the sound of the white man's ax had never been heard. Here they died, the grandfather in 1569, at the age of seventy Iyears, and the grandmother in 1881, at the age of eighty-four. Four children,
to this conple, two of whom are yet living: St. Clair Johnson, in Salt Creek Town- ship, Wayne County. and Mrs. Ruth
456
WAYNE COUNTY.
born in Fayette County, Peun., in 1815, and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age, at which time he married Mary Hatfield, a native of Wayne County, and daughter of Robert and Nancy Hatfield. In 1868 onr sub- jeet's parents removed to Wooster Town- ship, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of ten children, as follows: James W., who was for three years a soldier, and is now living in Salt Creek Township, this county; Nancy M., deceased; Ruth E., residing in Wooster: Margaret L., now Mrs. Rob- ert Mackey: Catherine, now Mrs. B. C. Smith, of Fredericksburgh; Jennie, living in Wooster; Adam F .; Lucinda B., a teacher in Wooster; Homer R., deceased, and Ezra D., a resident of Indiana. The parents of this family died, the father in 1873, at the age of fifty-eight years, and the mother in 1883, at the age of sixty- two, both members of Apple Creek Presbyterian Church, then of Fredericks- burgh, later of Wooster, of which church the family are also members. William Johnson passed a busy life, and did much toward the development of the county. He won success solely by his own exer- tions, and without help from any adven- titious circumstances. Politically he was first a Whig, and afterward, on the for- mation of the party, an active Republican. Adam F. Jolison has most of his life
made his home near his parents' place, his sister keeping house for him part of the time. After some five years' residence on the "lower farm," he removed to the parental homestead, where he has since remained. In 1885 he was married to Miss Laura J. Searight, a native of Fred- erieksburgh, Wayne County, and a daugh- ter of Gilbert and Matilda J. (MeCul- lough ) Searight. Mr. and Mrs. Adam F. Johnson have one child, named Adam Forest. The parents are members of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics MIr. Johnson is a Republican. He has met with success in life, and socially is highly esteemed and warmly beloved by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
Gilbert Searight, father of Mrs. Adam F. Johnson, was a native of Salt Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio, and was born on the farm on which he died. Here he grew to manhood, and in 1819 was married to Matilda J., daughter of James and Sarah ( McCall) MeCullongh, natives of' Holmes County, Ohio. December 2, 1879, Mrs. Gilbert Scaright died, aged nearly forty-seven years, and the mother of ten children, viz. : Ohio J., living in Fredericksburgh: William A., in Carlisle, Penn. : John F., deceased; Leonard M., in Cook City, Montana: Laura J .. now Mrs. Adam F. Johnson; Lneinda F., now Mrs. I. C. Bishop, in Mount Vernon, Knox County : Sadie M. and Frank D., at home :
457
WAYNE COUNTY.
Annie D. died in 1875; Gilbert S. died in October, 1888. For his second wife Mr. Gilbert Searight married, June 30, 1885, Miss Naney Haley, and on July 7, 1888, he departed this life, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was a stanch Re- publiean, and a member and deacon of the Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburgh. Before there were any churches in the locality services were held in his house, and he gave the land for the church. His widow, Mrs. Nancy Searight, continues to live at the old home place, at Fredericks- burgh. .
residence of Gilbert Searight. William was a man of large physical proportions, weighing 300 pounds. He died July 16, 1846, and his wife in February, 1848. The paternal and maternal grandparents of Mrs. Adam F. Johnson came to this country together (from Pennsylvania), her maternal grandparents settling in Holmes County, becoming the nearest neighbors of William Searight, and the first block- house in the country was built there.
William Searight, father of Gilbert C HARLES A. LERCH, M. D., was born in Plain Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, in 1852, one of four chil- dren born to Philip and Margaret Lerch, namely: Luther, born in October, 1547; Eliza Jane, born in 1849: Charles A .: and Laura H., born in 1855, and died in 1862. The family moved from Pennsyl- vania to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1850. Searight, was a native of Carlisle, Cum- berland County, Penn., born October 17, 1779, the son of a Revolutionary soldier, who came from Ireland in about 1760, settling in Carlisle, Penn. William Sea- right married, in Carlisle, Miss Jane Johnston, and in 1811 they removed to Salt Creek Township, this county, where they settled on the 460-acre tract he had The subject of this biographical me- moir attended Smithville High School three years, entering in 1870, and then engaged in teaching and studying medi- eine for several years, pursuing a course at Cleveland ( Ohio) Medical College, from there going to Cincinnati, where he graduated from the Cincinnati College of entered shortly before, and which now constitutes the home farm of the family. Here they endured all the trials and hard- ships of pioneer life, and for a long time were the only family in Salt Creek Town- ship, their nearest neighbors being resi- dents of that part of Hohnes County now known as Prairie Township. William | Medicine and Surgery in 1577. The Searight built, in 1813, the first saw-mill Doctor then located at Burbank, Wayne on Salt Creek, a short distance from the Co., Ohio, where he practiced medicine
P
1
458
WAYNE COUNTY.
for about two and a half years; thence moved to Huntington, Ohio, remaining for about the same length of time in the practice of his chosen profession, and then located in Blachleyville, Plain Township, Wayne County, and from there moved to Wooster, Ohio, January 3, 1889, where, as a successful medical practitioner, he enjoys, both in the town and a wide coun- try ride, unqualified confidence and re- spect. Dr. Lerch was married, in 1874, to Jennie Fish, of New Brighton, Penn., by whom he had the following-named children: William L., born November 19, 1876; Ethel Annie, born March 13, 1879, and an infant that died in 1882. The Doctor and family are members of the Lutheran Church of Wooster.
C HARLES GASCHE. This old and honored citizen of Wooster has been a resident of the place for more than half a century. He was born in Wetzlar. Kingdom of Prussia, June 10, 1810, and is now, therefore, well advanced in years. His father, also named Charles, was married to Catherine Eisengarth, and came with his family to America in June, 1833, locating first in York, Penn., but moving later to Wooster, where they ar- rived October 13, 1535. He was a phy- sician and surgeon in his native land, be-
ing for thirty years connected with a hospital there, and he continued the prac- tice of his profession in this country. He was a man of wide experience and of great skill, particularly in surgery. His wife died in Holmes County in 1542, aged fifty-eight years, and he in 1862, in Ful- ton County, Ohio, at the ripe age of eighty-three years: both were members of the Lutheran Church. They were the parents of eight children, one of whom died in the old country, the other seven accompanying them to America.
The subject of our sketch was edu- cated in his native land, and when a boy was apprenticed to the trade of a carpen- ter and cabinet-maker. He also served his allotted time of three years in the Prussian army. After his immigration to this country he worked at his trade in York, Penn., and in Wooster, Ohio, he continued actively engaged in same until 1884, when he retired to enjoy a well- earned repose. April 7, 1835, in York, Penn,, Mr. Gasche was united in marriage with Barbara Minich, a native of Bavaria, who when seventeen years old came to this country with her parents, who settled in Pennsylvania, where both died. Of this union seven children were born ( six of whom are still living) : Catherine, wife of Ernest Thomen, in Wooster; Anna, wife of Frederick Aumann, living with her parents; Charles C., a resident of
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.