USA > Ohio > Williams County > Commemorative biographical record of northwestern Ohio : including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams and Fulton, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 10
USA > Ohio > Fulton County > Commemorative biographical record of northwestern Ohio : including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams and Fulton, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 10
USA > Ohio > Henry County > Commemorative biographical record of northwestern Ohio : including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams and Fulton, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 10
USA > Ohio > Defiance County > Commemorative biographical record of northwestern Ohio : including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams and Fulton, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families > Part 10
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ment, made some money, and for twenty-two years conducted the mill. Those years were the happiest years of my life, it was here where all but two of our children were born and raised. We had excellent church privi- leges and enjoyment."
The following is supplemental to the account written by Thomas Crook: After Thomas Crook's twenty-two years as a woolen manufac- turer, he operated two farms, up to 1866, near the village of Elkton, and subsequently entered into the mercantile business at Elkton in partnership with his brother John, the business continuing for three years, when he re- tired, and lived a quiet life on his place of some six or eight acres in the same village. The brave and true-hearted wife and mother with whom he left England, died in January, 1864, at the age of forty-eight years, leav- ing seven children (six of whom were born in Ohio), named as follows: Martha, born in England, married George Jeffries, of New Waterford, Co- lumbiana county, Ohio; Mary married W. T. Culler, of Elkton, Colum- biana county, Ohio; Sarah married A. R. Martin, also of Elkton; Edward WV. is our subject; Emma married John Y. Williams, of Alliance, Ohio; John Frank was twice married, first to Jennie Fisher ( deceased), and sec- ond to Dora Williams (also deceased), and now resides in East Liverpool, Ohio; and Ida, who married Cyrus DeRhodes, of near Columbiana village, Ohio.
The father of this family, for his second wife, married Dorcas Burford, a native of England, who died leaving no children. For his third wife he married Mary Ann Eaton, by which union there was one child, Homer Crook, who now lives with his widowed mother at Niles, Ohio. Thomas Crook, the father of the children named, died in the fullness of his years, at his home in Elkton, and his remains lie buried beside those of his wife Jane (Batchelor) Crook, in the cemetery at Kimball.
Edward W. Crook, whose name introduces this sketch, was born near Elkton, Ohio, December 23, 1847, and up to the age of thirteen years as- sisted in his father's woolen factory, there learning habits of industry that stood him in good stead in after years. He received such advantages of an education as the common schools of the vicinity afforded, and which were supplemented by one term at the New Lisbon high school, to and from which he walked, four and one-half miles, each morning and night. In 1866, when nineteen years of age, he began learning the carriage-making business, serving at his trade two and one-half years at Elkton, and six months at New Lisbon, Ohio. During the following six years he con- ducted that business at East Fairfield, Columbiana county, Ohio. In No-
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vember, 1876, he removed to Defiance, Ohio, and purchased a one-third interest in the Kerr Brothers' manufacturing business, which was then in its infancy, employing only one hand outside of the proprietors. Ten years afterward, about 1887, Mr. Crook bought sufficient stock to make a one- half interest in the business, which has continued to the present time. The business has vastly grown since 1876, and from the small space it then occupied it has so increased as to require many large buildings. The firm employs over one hundred men, giving support to many people, and the plant is an industry that adds immensely to the prosperity of Hicksville.
Mr. Crook was married at Hicksville, July 14, 1875, to Alice M. Kerr, a daughter of Joseph Kerr (mentioned elsewhere), and to them have been born two chiklren: Thomas Leonard, October 25, 1884; and Edward Leon- ard. July 14, 1888, who died in infancy. Mr. Crook is a thorough and cap- able business man with large interests to look after, yet is most genial and courteous, popular among all classes of citizens; is a man of unquestion- able integrity, of pure morals, and temperate habits, and since baptism as a child in the M. E. Church, has been one of its consistent members. He has served many years, as an officer of the church, either as trustee or stew- ard. His train of thought and mind have caused him to affiliate with the Republican party, and he has served his fellow townsmen in minor offices, such as member of the village council, etc. As a business man Mr. Crook occupies a high position and as a citizen and Christian gentleman his rec- ord is clear, honorable and upright.
REV. JOHN B. HEILAND.
Rev. John B. Heiland, pastor of St. Michael's Catholic Church, in Adams township, Defiance county, was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, August 30, 1839, and in 1855 came to America. He was edu- cated at St. Mary's College and Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio, and after being ordained to the priesthood was first in charge of the Rockport pre- cinct, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where he remained two years. His next charge was the Shelby settlement at Shelby, Ohio, and, after five years spent at that place, he was for nine months assistant pastor at St. Joseph's Church, Tiffin, Ohio. He was then for fifteen years pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, at Landeck, Allen county, Ohio, and from that place he came to Adams township, Defiance county, January 1, 1893, since which time he has been the beloved pastor of St. Michael's Church.
This Church was organized in 1861 with about forty families, and
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the following year the present church edifice was built, it being a frame structure 77x28 feet. The Church has had several pastors, Rev. Father Bell preceding Father Heiland, and remaining two years. For several years a parochial school has been in successful operation in connection with the Church, and in 1889 a commodious and comfortable parsonage was erected.
The congregation, which now numbers about seventy families, has been constantly gaining under Father Heiland's pastorate. He is a man of good address and winning manners, is a zealous, active and efficient worker for the Church, and is held in high esteem not only by the people of his own congregation, but by the residents of the community generally.
WILLIS A. SNIDER. .
The well-known and popular auditor of Defiance county, Willis A. Snider, is one of the leaders of the Democratic party in his section, his large acquaint- ance and unbounded popularity giving him an influential following, while his shrewd judgment of men and affairs makes his counsel of value in all im- portant movements.
Our subject was born January 24, 1860, in Evansport, Defiance county, the eldest in the family of seven children born to Samuel and Lorinda (Fuller) Snider, the former of whom was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, November 1, 1836, the latter on April 17, 1839. He passed his boyhood and youth in Evansport, where he continued to reside until he assumed the duties of his present position. Obtaining a good practical education in the common schools, he was well-fitted for teaching, and successfully followed that profession in Tiffin township, Defiance county, for eight terms. In 1884 he accepted the position of clerk in the drug store of M. F. Newcomer, of Evansport, and at the end of two years bought out his employer, continuing business there on his own account up to the present time.
Mr. Snider was married November 16, 1882, to Miss Belle Bennett, of Evansport, Ohio, by whom he has one child, Gertrude, born Sunday, Sep- tember 9, 1883, who at the present time is attending the public schools of Defiance. The mother was a daughter of Aaron and Rebecca (Shafer) Ben- nett, of Evansport, Defiance county, Ohio. She was born December 12, 1860, in Evansport, and received her education at the schools of that village, in which she was a teacher for several terms prior to her marriage. She died at Stryker, Ohio, February 25, 1885, and Mr. Snider was again married, this time May 5, 1892, to Miss Minnie Speiser, of Evansport, Ohio, by whom
O.U.Snider
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he has one child, Lois Ethel, born Monday, July 17, 1893. Mrs. Snider was a daughter of Frederick and Louisa ( Hayes) Speiser, the former of whom was born in Germany, whence he came to this country prior to his marriage. and is now a boot and shoe merchant in Defiance, Ohio.
Solomon Snider, grandfather of our subject, was of Pennsylvania-German stock; was born in Perry county, Ohio, near Thornport, and died at Metz, Indiana, in 1888. His name is found among the early settlers of Tiffin town- ship, Defiance county, where he followed his trade, that of tanner. He was married to Nancy Lantz, at Lancaster, Ohio, and by this union had four children: Samuel (father of our subject), Amos, Elizabeth ( Mrs. Dr. J. S. Cameron, of Evansport, Ohio), and Louisa ( who died at Evansport, Ohio, December 31, 1852). He afterward married Delilah Bowser, of Fulton county, Ohio; by this marriage grandfather Snider had three children : Curtis, Dora (Mrs. James Porter, of Metz, Indiana), and Jennie (deceased). The maternal grandfather of our subject was John Fuller, a native of Ver- mont (born in 1796), whence he migrated to Henry county, Ohio, where he died in January, 1846. He married Miss Sarah Thayer in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in December, 1820. She was born in Onondaga county, New York, in March, 1802, and died in Clay county, Indiana, in June, 1875.
Since attaining his majority Mr. Snider (our subject) has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and has taken a deep interest in political affairs, doing much to insure the success of his party. For seven years he acceptably filled the office of township clerk of Tiffin township, and in June, 1893, was appointed postmaster at Evansport, serving in that position for four years with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the public. In November, 1896, he was elected auditor of Defiance county, and is now discharging the duties of that office. In business circles he takes foremost rank, his success as a merchant being all the more notable from the fact that he has been secured by his own judicious management. Socially, he is identified with the Masonic fraternity, and in religious faith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
REV. JOHN ROLAND HARRIS LATCHAW, D. D.
This reverend gentleman, who is president of Defiance College and pastor of the Assembly of God of Defiance, Ohio, is a man of high intel- lectual attainments combined with rare force of character, and the follow- ing brief account of his career will endear him to all who honor conscien- tious devotion to principle, as he has shown that he has the courage to
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stand by the truth as he sees it, even though his action may entail material loss.
He has occupied his position as president of Defiance College but a short time. but his record as one of the best educators, organizers, and ad- ministrators of educational institutions in Ohio is a sufficient guarantee that the institution now under his charge will maintain an enviable posi- tion among the colleges of the country. He may be said to have always been a student, as from his youth to the present time he has constantly been storing his mind with knowledge of many kinds, and his investiga- tions of great social, political and religious problems in his mature years have placed him in the front rank of the intellectual men of his day. His scholastic attainments are acknowledged by his compeers to be of the broad- est, while as a divine he is forceful and eloquent.
The Latchaw family is of German origin, but there have been frequent intermarriages with French stock. On the maternal side he is of Scotch- Irish descent, and thus the blood in his veins is tinged with the studious mien of the German, the vivacity of the French, the argumentativeness of the Scotch, and the wit of the Celt-a happy combination of race and of traits which is calculated to produce under the free air of America the high- est type of Republican citizenship. John Latchaw, our subject's grand- father, came from Germany with his wife, Nancy, and located near Lancas- ter, Pennsylvania, for a time, but in 1830 he removed with his family to the neighborhood of Harmony, Butler county, Pennsylvania. He was a man of substance, following farming as an occupation, and he was a de- vout member of the Church of God. He had a family of children, among whom was a son, Samuel.
Samuel Latchaw, the father of our subject, was married in Venango county, Pennsylvania, in 1850, to Ann Ross, a daughter of John and Jane (Ayers) Ross, and three years later he removed with his family to Cedar county, Iowa, where he subsequently owned four hundred acres of land. He operated that farm until 1879, when he removed to Riley Centre, Riley county, Kansas, where he purchased six hundred forty acres of land, which he cultivated until 1893. He then sold his property in Kansas and removed to Findlay, Ohio, where he bought a home, and he now resides in the city, although he also owns a farm near by. He is an earnest Christian. a mem- ber of the Church of God, and is highly respected as a citizen.
Doctor Latchaw was born at Barkeyville, Venango county, Pennsyl- vania, September 7, 1851, and when three years of age accompanied the family to Iowa, where he passed his youth upon his father's farm. At an
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early age he manifested a great liking for study, and he took full advan- tage of the course offered in the district schools. When nineteen he at- tended for one term the Iowa Collegiate Institute at Wilton, Iowa, and during the following winter (1871-72) he taught school. In the spring of 1873 he attended another term at the Collegiate Institute, but in the fall of that year he went to Rochester, Minnesota, on a business venture and soon afterward was offered charge of a school near that place, where he . taught during the winter of 1873-74. He succeeded so well that he was employed for the spring term, and in the fall of 1874 he returned to Iowa and became a student at the Collegiate Institute at Wilton for another term. The winter of 1874-75 he was occupied in teaching the school near his fath- er's house; but in the spring of 1875 he visited Minnesota and was there married in Kalmar township, Olmsted county, to Zella Amanda Kimball. the ceremony being performed April 27, 1875, at the home of the bride's parents. The lady of his choice was also an accomplished teacher, and their tastes were in every way congenial. After his marriage our subject returned to Iowa with his bride, but in August, 1875, he disposed of his effects there and removed to Hillsdale, Michigan, to become a student in the preparatory school attached to Hillsdale College. Two years in that school were followed by an attendance at Hillsdale College for four years, and in June, 1881, he was graduated with the degree of A. B., receiving his master's degree A. M., in 1884. During his college course he had given much of his time to the study of theology; which he zealously con- tinued, and subsequently, in 1891, the degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater.
In 1881 he removed with his wife and two children to the place of his birth-Barkeyville, Pennsylvania-and by solicitation of his friends became pastor of the congregation of the Church of God at that place. At the same time he established the Barkeyville Academy, which under his charge became a flourishing school with seventy-five students. Later, he was offered the presidency of Findlay College at Findlay, Ohio, and in the spring of 1885 he removed with his family to that city and assumed charge of that institution, also the pastorate of the Church of God, connected with the college. He administered the affairs of the college with great suc- cess, making it one of the most prosperous institutions of learning in the State, and the manner in which he built up the institution marked him as a most able organizer and a man of superior administrative ability. The college was conducted under the auspices of the Church of God, and in 1893, through some minor differences with the board of elders as to church
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polity, Doctor Latchaw resigned the presidency of the institution, as well as the pastorate of the church. This was done much to the regret of a majority of his congregation and of the citizens of Findlay, who had learned to love and honor him, and had witnessed with pride the growth and pros- perity of the college under his able management. The Doctor was asked to take the chair of Biblical Theology in the college, but declined until the board of elders could listen to two of his sermons; but after these were delivered the elders "declared the Chair of Biblical Theology vacant for one year." They also failed to renew his yearly license as a minister (ac- cording to the usages of the Church of God) without preferring charges of any kind, although he was entitled to a hearing under the church rules.
In 1893 Doctor Latchaw attended the World's Fair at Chicago, and while there met the Rev. George Northrup and also Rev. Hulbert, con- nected with the University of Chicago, with whom he held lengthy con- versations, exchanging views on theological subjects. He found that they did not differ materially, and soon afterward he received a call from the First Baptist Church at Zanesville, Ohio. This invitation he would not accept until a church council was called at Zanesville, before which he ap- peared and was examined, and as he differed but slightly with the council on some minor points they voted to unanimously ordain him as a minister of the Baptist denomination. He took charge of the church at Zanes- ville on the first Sunday in November, 1893, and continued as their pastor until October, 1895, when he resigned to devote some time to post-gradu- ate studies at Chicago in the Semitic languages, Christology and German theology. While there he acted as pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church in that city, but he resigned that position in June, 1896, to take charge of his present work at Defiance.
After moving to Defiance, Ohio, Doctor Latchaw accepted a unani- mous call of the First Baptist Church of that city to become its pastor, devoting such time as he could spare from his college work. He served in this capacity a year and a half. Though he never had any friction in his affiliations with the Baptists, and was in harmony with the more pro- gressive thinkers of that denomination, yet he was always somewhat rest- ive under the restraints and constraints of ecclesiasticism. He never in- dorsed the denominational or sectarian idea, but always believed and taught and practiced the essential unity of all believers, recognizing all Christians of whatever name or sect, provided only they were Christians, as his bretli- ren in Christ: and refusing to know any divisions among them. He preached that the Gospel should not only evangelize the world, but that
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it must also fraternize the race. That all who are born of God belong to the family of God, the All-Father. That the Word of God is the all-suffi- cient rule of faith and practice, and that every child of God, as he attains his spiritual majority, is entitled to the right of private judgment and in- terpretation of his own duty and privileges under the Gospel of Christ, who prohibited his followers from judging one another. That human creeds and ecclesiastical dictation are at variance with the spirit of the Gospel, oppressive to the reason and conscience of man, a positive hindrance to the progress of truth and human freedom, and the direct cause of much of the strife and confusion so prevalent among men and nations. These views he boldly declared. And as a natural result they collided with sec- tionalism, exclusiveness, and bigotry. And though he would have been sustained by the majority of the church, he did not care to oppose a fac- tional minority even upon denominational grounds. But preferring 10 stand upon a thoroughly cosmopolitan basis, he resigned his pastorate in Defiance to preach simply to any and all who are willing to affiliate as Chris- tian worshipers in the liberty wherewith Christ makes all free, irrespective of creed or sect. Such constitute the Assembly of God, and to such Doctor Latchaw feels himself called to preach.
Doctor Latchaw has a pleasant home at Defiance, where he has re- ceived a warm welcome as a citizen. He is identified with the I. O. O. F. and the Knights of Pythias, and he and his accomplished wife are highly esteemed in the best social circles of the city. They have seven children: Elsie Grace, Charles Samuel, Henry Arthur, Fred Angelo Emerson, May Pauline, Maud Anna, and John Rolin Harper.
BARTON SELLERS PETTIT.
This prominent business man of Hicksville, Defiance county, comes of Revolutionary stock resident many years in Pennsylvania, but of French birth.
The Pettit genealogy has been carefully and thoroughly traced to the original family in France, by one of its lineal descendants, Judge John Pet- tit, of the Supreme Bench of Indiana. The first of the ancestry to come to this country were three sons of this family, who immigrated here during the Colonial period prior to the Revolutionary war, and in that struggle served as soldiers in the Patriot army. After the close of the war one of the brothers settled in New York, one in Virginia, and one in Pennsyl- vania; and each became progenitor of a numerous posterity. The brother
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last mentioned was the forefather of the Defiance county branch of the family, and the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. His name was John Pettit, and he resided at or near Lancaster, where he reared a family.
One of his children, a son named John, removed in 1798 to Kentucky, but a few years later changed his home to Miami county, Ohio. This was about 1808 or 1810, and in 1816 he made Miss Elizabeth Dye, of that place, his wife. She was a young maiden of English extraction, and pos- sessed the distinction of being the first white child born in that county. She was born in 1800. Her father, Benjamin Dye, was the proprietor of the "Inn" at the trading post, which has since become the town of Troy, Ohio. Strange, indeed, must have been the scenes of her childhood days, and striking the contrast between the social pastimes and events of the period of her young ladyhood, and the social interests of the society lead- ers of to-day; and if we picture to ourselves the home life on the farm near Troy-then in the "far West"-to which John Pettit took his bride, the eye finds little that is attractive in that primitive scene; yet we are glad to feel that each and every age is fraught with its own peculiar pleasures and enjoyments as with its labors and interests, inasmuch as happiness comes not by arbitrary rule, and "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." The whole of the married life of this couple was passed on the home farm, the children came to the home to the number of sixteen-eleven boys and five girls. The husband and father died there in 1844, and the widowed mother afterward changed her residence to a location near Marion, Ma- rion county, where she passed from earth in 1874.
Benjamin Pettit, a son of John, was born in 1822, and in 1849 was married to Patsy Morris, a daughter of Owen Morris, a farmer of Troy. They made their first home near that place, but at the end of two years located on a farm in Marion county, near the city of Marion, where their seven children were born, except the subject of this sketch, who was born near Troy. Mr. Pettit pursued the vocation of agriculture. In 1866 the family removed to a farm in the vicinity of Brookston, White county, Indiana, which became their home during the remainder of the father's life. His death occurred in 1879. The mother now lives with her young- est daughter, Mrs. Emma Ripley, at Hicksville. The Pettit family for years were communicants of the Christian Church; Mrs. Benjamin Pettit is a member of the Baptist Church.
Barton Sellers Pettit, son of Benjamin and Patsy (Morris) Pettit, was born November 17, 1850, and passed his youth and the earliest years of
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his manhood in the parental home, receiving his first literary training in the common schools of that section, and supplementing it with a regular course of study at Brookston Academy, from which institution he was grad- uated at the age of twenty-three. During the following year he left home and began to learn the drug business at Delphi, Indiana, where he remained two years. In 1879 he purchased the drug store with its entire stock, sit- uated on the southwest corner of Main and High streets, Hicksville, where he conducted the business for five years, when he removed to the northwest corner, just opposite, and has been located there ever since, occupying one of the finest business rooms in the city. In 1885 his brother became associated with him in business, which is now conducted under the firm name of E. M. Pettit & Co., and which is probably the most exten- sive of the kind in this section.
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