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 24
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 24
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 24
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 24
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A native of Ohio, Mr. Markel was born January 1, 1825, in Pickaway county, a son of Abraham and Mary (Stumpf) Markel, natives of Berks county, Pennsylvania. In connection with farming the father also fol- lowed carpentering for some years in Pickaway county, Ohio, whither he had removed in an early day. There he died in March, 1845, aged sixty-two years, and his wife passed away at the residence of her daughter in Jefferson township, Williams county, at the age of eighty- two years. Eight children constituted their family, namely: Amos, Jacob, Margaret, Mary, Jonathan, Hester, and two who died in infancy.
On his father's farm in Pickaway county, Jonathan Markel continued to reside until coming to Williams county in the spring of 1845, working for his
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brother Amos, in Jefferson township, three seasons, and for A. W. Boynton, at Pulaski, for one year. In 1849 he located upon his present farm in Pulaski township, which he had purchased the year previous, and to its cultivation and improvement he has since devoted his energies with gratifying results. In March, 1882, he had the misfortune to have his house and its contents de- stroyed by fire, but has since erected a pleasant residence, and the other build- ings upon the place are in harmony therewith.
On July 4, 1849, Mr. Markel was married to Miss Sarah Jane Clampitt, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, May 8, 1825, a daughter of John and Mary (Beeson) Clampitt, both natives of Guilford county, North Caro- lina, the former born May 21, 1803, the latter on June 12, 1804. In 1840 Mr. and Mrs. Clampitt came to Pulaski, Williams county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade of blacksmithing until his death, which occurred June 2, 1854. Sub- sequently his wife found a pleasant home with our subject, where she passed away February 21, 1882. They were the parents of nine children: Sarah J., David A., Elizabeth E., Edward B., Benjamin F., Mary, Samantha C., John W. and Jabez B. Mr. and Mrs. Markel have reared two children, namely : Sarah E. Boynton, now the wife of Bartlett Thompson; and Florence Rose Leek, wife of Sherman Kelly.
Politically Mr. Markel is a Republican, and his fellow citizens, recog- nizing his worth and ability, have elected him to several local offices of honor and trust. For the long period of seventeen years he creditably served as trustee of Pulaski township, and for six years was infirmary director. Both he and his wife are leading and active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Pulaski, and enjoy the respect and esteem of all who have the pleas- ure of their acquaintance. For almost fifty years they have traveled life's journey together, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity, and now in their declining days they are surrounded by a host of warm friends who appreciate their sterling worth.
PHILIP JOHNS.
The popular and efficient postmaster at Foss, Defiance county, Philip Johns, of whom we write, is one of our leading German-born citizens, and his courage and patriotism were shown in early manhood by gallant service in the Union army during the Rebellion.
A native of Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, he was born there March 25, 1839, and when about four years old came with his parents, Philip J. and Katharine Johns, to this country. They located upon a farm in Washtenaw
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county, Michigan, and both died there a few years later, leaving our subject to make his own way in life. He remained in the same locality until he reached the age of eighteen, being reared upon a farm, and he then began to learn the mason's trade, which he followed for some years. When the Civil war broke out he was among the first to offer his services to the government, enlisting on May 20, 1861, in Company E, Fourteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, for three months. At the expiration of his term he returned to Michigan, but later went to Buffalo, New York, and enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth New York Volunteer Infantry, "for three years or the war." He saw much active service, taking part in the first and second battles of Bull Run and other engagements with the Army of the Potomac, and while on duty in Virginia at a place called Hill Farm, on the James river, he was slightly wounded on the right leg. He remained with his regiment as long as there was any fighting to be done, and on his return to Michigan he resumed work at his trade.
After eight months, having concluded to engage in farming, he purchased a tract of seventy acres in Washtenaw county. He followed agricultural pur- suits for about a year, when he sold out and again took up his work as a mason. For about five years he continued this business in Freedom township, Wash- tenaw county, but, having had the misfortune to lose his home there, he removed to Adrian, Michigan, and worked at his trade for three and one-half years. In the fall of 1874 he came to Defiance and found employment for two years, then removing to Brunersburg and conducted a saloon some eighteen months while following his trade as opportunity offered. He next located at Sherwood, Defiance county, continuing his trade there with other business, and in 1882 he traded his property there for one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 1, Mark township, Defiance county, where he has since made his home. The land was covered with the primitive forest, but he has cleared and improved it, erecting good buildings, and now has an attractive home- stead.
On August 18. 1865. Mr. Johns was married in Washtenaw county, Michigan, to Miss Mary C. Lindensmith, a native of Germany, and seven children have blessed the union, viz .: Frederick C., Charles C., Franklin V. (who died March 27, 1891, at the age of twenty-one), Albert B., William L., Edward T., and Clara E. The family is identified with the German Reformed Church, of which Mr. Johns is a leading member. He takes great interest in local affairs and in the political issues of the day, his sympathies being with the Democratic party in the main. While residing in Freedom township, Washtenaw county, Michigan, he held the office of justice of the peace for six
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years, and since settling at his present home he has served in that position for an equal length of time. In June, 1894, he was appointed postmaster at Foss, and has since held this office without interruption.
JACOB GARVER.
Mr. Garver is successfully engaged in general farming in Section 29, Pulaski township, Williams county, where he owns a fine farm of two hundred acres, the land of which has been brought to an excellent state of cultivation, and is embellished by good and substantial buildings. He is a worthy repre- sentative of a prominent family of Swiss origin, which was early founded in the New World. His paternal grandfather, Martin Garver, Sr., was a native of Washington county, Maryland, born March 29, 1764, and died April 19, 1850, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, when past the age of eighty-six years.
Martin Garver, Jr., our subject's father, was the fourth in the order of birth in a family of ten children, all of whom reached years of maturity. He was born in 1804, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared, and where he married Susan Shaffer, who was also a native of Fayette county, born in 1808. In the fall of 1829, soon after their marriage, they removed to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where they continued to make their home until com- ing to Williams county in the fall of 1853, at which time they located in Wil- liams Center, where the father died in 1864. The mother spent her last years in Bryan, dying there January 31, 1897. Wherever known they were held in high regard, and made many warm friends in Williams county. Their family consisted of eight children, namely : Jacob (our subject ), John, George, Anna, Mary, Benjamin, David and Martin V.
Jacob Garver, our subject, was born April 4, 1829, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and was therefore but six months old when his parents removed to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he continued to live until he had attained the age of twenty-three years, aiding his father in the work of the farm. In August, 1851, he married Miss Catherine Garver, who was born August 16, 1829, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where she grew to womanhood. Her father, Joseph Garver, died in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1882, at the age of eighty-five years. Our subject and his wife have become the parents of seven children : Franklin ; Jane, who married Peter Donze, and died in Pulaski town- ship, Williams county, July 5, 1891 ; Susan; Alma, who died in childhood; Ada, wife of William F. Musser; Edward and Charles.
In May, 1852, Mr. Garver removed to Williams county, and located in Williams Center, where he continued to make his home until the spring of
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1864, when he removed to a farm in Section 31, Pulaski township, to the cul- tivation of which he devoted his attention for four years. On selling out he removed to Wauseon, Fulton county, Ohio, where he engaged in the hardware trade for two and one-half years, returning to Williams county at the end of that time, and settling upon his present farm in Section 29, Pulaski town- ship. Aside from the fifteen years he was engaged in merchandising with his brother John in Williams Center, and the short time spent in Wauseon, he has always devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, and, being a thorough and systematic farmer, he has met with excellent success. He has efficiently served his fellow citizens in the office of township trustee in both Center and Pulaski townships, and has ever borne his part in the work of development and progress in this region. At the age of forty-seven years he united with the German Baptist Brethren Church, and is now one of its consistent and active members.
GEORGE W. FISHER.
The well-known postmaster of Holgate, Henry county, G. W. Fisher, needs no special introduction to the readers of this volume, but the work would be incomplete without the record of his life. No man in the place has been more prominently identified with its public affairs, or has taken a more active part in its upbuilding and progress.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Fisher was born April 19, 1837, in Muskingum county, a son of Mathew and Susanna ( Mitchell) Fisher, natives of Pennsyl- vania, the former born in Allegheny county. During pioneer days they emi- grated to Ohio, and the mother died in Patterson, Hardin county, in April, 1876, the father in Holgate, on October 13, 1896. In their family were twelve children -- eight sons and four daughters-our subject being sixth in the order of birth.
At the age of seventeen George W. Fisher accompanied a family by the name of Whitaker on their removal to Polk county, Iowa, where he was engaged in farming for three years, and at the end of that time went to Deca- tur county, that State, buying there a tract of land, which he operated until the fall of 1862, when he returned to Ohio. Locating near Patterson, in Hardin county, he there cleared and cultivated a large farm, making it his home for eleven years, and then removed to the village of Patterson; there engaging in general mechandising for about eighteen months, after which he successfully conducted a grocery store until his place was destroyed by fire. This proved a very serious loss to him, and he at once decided to leave Pat-
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terson. He was next engaged in the hotel business in North Baltimore, Ohio, for a few months, and at Deshler, Henry county, he found employment as porter in a hotel for a short time. Coming to Holgate in 1881, he clerked in a general store for four years, and during that time was elected justice of the peace, a position he is still creditably filling, and when the present term is completed it will make a period of fifteen years.
While a resident of Polk county, Iowa, Mr. Fisher was united in mar- riage with Miss Caroline Howey, on December 21, 1857. She was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, June 13, 1837, a daughter of John and Saloma (Barnes) Howey. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have become the parents of twelve children, namely: Mary D .; Laura; Calvin, who died in infancy; Nora; William S., who died in Holgate, February 18, 1888; Ida ; Della L .; Burton A .; Nellie G .; Avice L .; Harry and Lulu. Of this family the daughters have all been industrious and dutiful. Mary (who was a school teacher), Nora, Ida, and Avice are married; Della and Nellie are now teaching in the Holgate schools; Laura, who was her father's assistant in the postoffice during his term as postmaster, is now clerk in the postoffice under the present post- master at Holgate, and occasionally clerks in the Holgate Commercial Bank ; and Lulu is attending school, with the expectation of graduating this year (1898). Of the sons, Burton A. enlisted in the recent war, in Company C, Thirty-first Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and is now in camp at Knoxville, Tennessee, and Harry is an all-round busy boy, aiding his father in looking after his out-door and office work.
Mr. Fisher always supports the Democratic ticket, and is an earnest advo- cate of the principles of that party. His fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, have elected him to a number of official positions, including that of township assessor, in which he served for nine consecutive years. He has also been a member of the school board and town council, and December 16, 1893, was appointed postmaster of Holgate, assuming the duties of the office February 1, 1894. He has ever proved a popular and trustworthy official, leaving office as he entered it, with the confidence and respect of the entire community. Since 1885 he has been agent for the Defiance Land Company, and as he has prospered in his business undertaking, he is now the owner of valuable property in Holgate. True to every trust reposed in him, he has been called upon to serve as administrator of several estates, and has probably done more along this line than any other citizen of Henry county. Since 1868 he has affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a charter member of Forest Camp, No. 160, I. O. O. F., of Forest, Ohio; is also a charter member of Holgate Lodge, No. 271, K. of P. Each fall Mr. Fisher
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takes an extended hunting trip, as he is exceedingly fond of that sport and is an excellent marksman.
HON. HENRY GEORGE BAKER.
This leading attorney of Defiance, and one of the representative citizens of this section, is a descendant of a well-known family, his ancestors having been prominent residents of Manchester, England, many generations ago.
Our subject's great-grandfather, also named Henry George Baker, was a shipowner engaged in the East India trade, and about 1733 he went with his family to Rotterdam, Holland, where his death occurred. A son, John Henry Baker, the grandfather of our subject, succeeded to his business at Rotterdam, but, meeting with reverses, he brought his family to America in 1839, hoping to find a better opportunity here to retrieve his fortunes. He died at Glan- dorf, Putnam county, Ohio.
His son, Henry George Baker, our subject's father, was born and reared in Holland, receiving a collegiate education in Rotterdam, and for some years taught school in his native land. When twenty years old he came to the United States and located at Rochester, New York, where he followed suc- cessfully the occupation of teaching until the opening of the Mexican war. He then enlisted at Rochester in a New York regiment, and served under General Winfield Scott during the entire war, taking part in all the engage- ments from the battle of Vera Cruz to the storming of Chapultepec. At the battle of Puebla he was partially deafened by the bursting of a shell very near him, and this infirmity lasted throughout his life. It prevented him from serving in the Civil war, although he assisted in recruiting and organ- izing a company in Putnam county, Ohio.
At the close of the Mexican war he returned to Rochester, New York, and was married there to Miss Regina Bugle, daughter of John Herman Bugle, who was also a native of Holland. After his marriage our subject's father located in Cleveland, Ohio, engaging in business as a merchant tailor until 1857, when he moved to Glandorf, Putnam county. There he carried on a general mercantile business until 1867, and also established a pearl-ash factory, which was the largest plant of the kind in the West. It was destroyed by fire in 1867, together with the store and the family residence, the loss being estimated at fifty thousand dollars. In the same year Mr. Baker, Sr., went to Defiance to spend his remaining years in retirement, and here breathed his last in 1879. He was a member of the Catholic Church, having united with that faith while in a hospital in Mexico, where he was cared for in his ill-
Very Truly H& Bakes
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ness by Sisters of Charity, the unspoken teachings of their consecrated lives affecting him even more than their doctrinal belief. He left a family of three children : Cornelia, wife of Bennett Smith, of Defiance; John H .; and Henry George, our subject, of whose life we will now give a more particular account.
Mr. Baker was born September 22, 1857, at Cleveland, Ohio, and was educated mainly in the schools of Defiance. His business abilities were mani- fested at an early age, and at the age of sixteen he was conducting a gro- cery store at Defiance. After about five years of successful work in this line, the store was burned out, and he then, at the age of twenty, began the study of law with Hill & Myers. He was admitted to the Bar on examination before the supreme court at Columbus, in January, 1881, and in the same year he engaged in practice at Defiance; after this he passed two or three years of his time in travel and observation through all the Western States, and Territories, including the Republic of Mexico, which gave him an oppor- tunity of observing and studying the various conditions in the laws, manners and customs of the people upon our Western frontier and of its Mexican neighbors. He is a man of pleasing address, exceedingly urbane and cour- teous to all with whom he comes in contact, and, though not possessing a classical education, he impresses himself upon strangers as a thoroughly edu- cated man. He is an advocate of more than ordinary power, and is a natural orator. Though young in the practice, he has already attained a reputation as one of the best lawyers and advocates in Northwestern Ohio. On the first of January, 1897, he formed a partnership with Hon. W. D. Hill, his former preceptor, and the firm of Hill & Baker now enjoys a lucrative practice at Defiance.
It is conceded by everyone, both friends and political opponents, that in every public position he has filled he has done it with great credit to him- self and to the service in which he was employed. His old-time popularity in Defiance county and Northwestern Ohio has more than returned to him and wiped out the sting of his defeat in 1894, which was brought about by financial failures in Ohio, with which he was supposed to be connected, but in which he was really not interested to the extent of a single dollar. In 1896 his friends urged him to be a candidate for his old position, probate judge, but he declined. His subsequent experience has shown that he would have been elected by an immense majority, but his law practice is more lucra- tive than the salary of that office. He is a man of untiring energy, and of sleepless vigilance in the prosecution of his business, never neglecting a single detail which he thinks might be of service to his clients. If he continues to grow in reputation and usefulness as he has in the last two or three years,
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he is destined to become one of the most eminent lawyers of the State. He is not actively connected with Church or Society affairs, but attends the Catholic Church.
Mr. Baker was married, September 12, 1881, to Miss Lilian M. Steele, of Henry county, a cousin of Chief Justice Waite. Their only child is Myrtle, born September 1I, 1882. The family have their home in a com- modious and tasteful residence, built by Mr. Baker himself, at the corner of Wayne and Juliet streets, Defiance.
In public affairs Mr. Baker's influence has been widely recognized. He has been an active worker in the Democratic party since he attained his majority, speaking from the "stump" in every campaign up to the present and serving every year, if in the State, as a member of the county central and executive committees. In the fall of 1889 he was elected probate judge by the largest majority ever given a candidate for that office in his county. His work as a commissioner from Ohio to the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893, to which office he was appointed by Governor Campbell, should be specially noted. He was chairman of the committee on education, and among other duties which he performed with characteristic tact and skill was the delivery of an address of welcome to the Ohio visitors and the Ohio "Colony" in Chicago, at the dedication of the State building on those historic grounds.
HUGH NELSON.
Doubtless many of our readers in tracing their ancestral lines to the point where uncertain tradition brings their researches to an early and un- satisfactory close, have realized the value to future generations of this at- tempt to preserve in substantial form the information yet obtainable con- cerning the genealogies of our citizens, together with such accounts of the men and women of to-day as will serve to continue the record for posteri- ty's use.
The subject of this sketch, a well-known resident of Hicksville, Defi- ance county, is a descendant of an old Irish family, and his grandfather, John Nelson, came to this country from Ireland between the years 1780 and 1790, locating in Harrison county, Ohio, where he was one of the earliest pioneers. He died in Guernsey county, Ohio; his wife, Martha (Harper), died in Tus- carawas county, Ohio; leaving a family of seven children-six sons and one daughter.
Hugh Nelson, Sr., the father of our subject, was born in 1791 at the old homestead in Pennsylvania, and was married in Harrison county, Ohio,
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in 1817 to Mary Wilson, a native of Virginia. About the time of his mar- riage he bought a tract of government land in Rush township, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, consisting of two hundred and eighty acres covered with heavy timber and surrounded by almost unbroken wilderness. His first cabin was built upon an Indian trail, and the Redmen were his principal neighbors. He maintained friendly relations with them, and found them well-disposed toward him, although at times when he was away from home they amused themselves by frightening his wife and family, laughing heartily at the dis- may their appearance caused. With the help of his sons he cleared two hundred acres of his land, making a fine homestead. In politics he was a Whig during the greater portion of his life, but he became identified with the Republican party at its organization. He was one of the leading men of his locality in his day, and held various township offices, including those of trustee and justice of the peace.
In his later years he did effective work as a local preacher in the Metho- dist Church, and from the first his home was open for the use of itinerant ministers for their services. In this connection an amusing story has been handed down. He was a very industrious man, finding time in the inter- vals of his farm labor to do considerable work as a blacksmith and shoemaker, and as there were no calendars in those days he made a mistake one Sunday and, thinking it Saturday, began to work upon a pair of shoes. Soon a company of neighbors arrived, all ready for the religious services appointed for the day, and he then discovered to his surprise and chagrin that he had been breaking the Sabbath. The implements of labor were laid aside amid painful embarrassment, and the services were held as usual.
His first wife died January 3, 1853, aged fifty-seven years, six months, and twenty-six days, and he afterward married Anna Vasbinder, who sur- vived him, his death occurring February 25, 1861, at the homestead. His remains were interred beside those of his first wife in the burial ground at "Kennedy's meeting house." He had eleven children, all by his first mar- riage, and of these one died in infancy, unnamed. The others were Thomas (deceased), John, Jane, Samuel (deceased), William, Lavina (deceased). Hugh and Mary (twins), Eliza (deceased), and Elizabeth.
Our subject's birth occurred on May 8, 1831, and his youth was spent at the old home in Tuscarawas county. On September 5, 1850, he was mar- ried there to his first wife, Miss Lucinda Davis, and for two years he re- sided at the homestead, which he managed for his father. He then pur- chased eighty acres of the old farm, and remained there until September, 1861, when he removed to Newville township, De Kalb county, Indiana,
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