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 42
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 42
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 42
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 42
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Casebeer has always been a strong and vigorous man. Throughout early manhood and middle life he accomplished a great amount of hard manual labor, and though he has now passed his eighth decade (he was eighty years of age in June, 1898), is still blessed with good health, and retains much of his former vigor. As a hunter he was always very fond of the chase; killed a black bear, many a deer, wild turkeys, which were very numerous, and many other kind of game; also trapped foxes and hunted wolves; and the fond- ness for this kind of sport still clings to him. When seventy-six years of age, while on a trip to Wisconsin, he killed three deer, one of them being shot when it was on a full run, the dogs being in full chase and then close upon it.
Mr. and Mrs. Casebeer have had a jolly family of eleven children, as follows : Martha Jane, Samuel Jacob, John Edward, William Henry, Cather- ine, George T., Sarah Elizabeth, Susannah, Mary E., Benjamin Franklin, and Alice Louisa. Martha Jane married Bruce Miller, and died at her father's house. Samuel Jacob died when one year old. John Edward served his country in the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry; he married Dorotha Miller, and is now landlord of a hotel in Harper, Kansas. William Henry, a volunteer in Company D, Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, was killed in the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, and on that battle- field was buried by his brother John E .; his remains now rest in the National cemetery adjoining that historic ground. Catherine has been twice married; first to James Miller, and after his decease to George Rings, of West Unity, Ohio. George T. married Martha Jackson, and lives on a part of the old home- stead. Sarah Elizabeth married Christopher Lehman, and resides at Marion, Indiana. Susannah married Alpheus Baltsley, and died in Stark county, Ohio, at the age of twenty-seven years. Mary E., a milliner at Waldron, Michigan, is unmarried. Benjamin Franklin married Belle Bunnell, and resides on the old homestead. Alice Louisa died in infancy.
Politically Mr. Casebeer was originally a Whig, and has been identified with the Republican party since its formation ; was one of its charter members ; voted for Salmon P. Chase for Governor of Ohio, in 1854; for John C. Fre- mont for chief executive, in 1856; for Abraham Lincoln in 1860; and for every Republican candidate for the Presidency from that time to the present. He was a Free Soiler, advocating exemption from slavery, and free homesteads, being totally opposed to allowing speculators to own and control large quanti- ties of government lands. His fellow townsmen have shown their appreciation of him by electing him to offices of trust, which he filled with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He has served as a justice of the peace six years, as trustee of the township several terms, and as a member of the Hicksville council several years. He has taken a prominent part and in-
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terest in public enterprises and improvements, and has always been a friend and supporter of the cause of education. He is numbered among the most highly respected citizens of Hicksville, and, though not a member of Church, has contributed more or less to every religious body when called upon. Mrs. Casebeer has been a member of the United Brethren in Christ Church for more than sixty years, and is an amiable and devoted Christian wife and mother.
TIMOTHY B. GODDARD.
Among the prominent agriculturists of Adams township, Defiance county, ranks the subject of this sketch, who is a descendant of good old New Eng- land stock. His industry, thrift, and enterprise are characteristic of the sturdy ancestry from which he inherited them.
Our subject was born November 28, 1823, in Windham township, Wind- ham county, Vermont, the youngest in a family of eleven children-eight sons and three daughters. Enoch Goddard, his father, who was born January 26, 1783, in Orange, Massachusetts, was married March 1, 1805, to Miss Esther Bliss, a native of Royalston, Massachusetts, born May 13, 1785. They settled in Windham county, Vermont, soon after their marriage, and their remaining years were spent there, the mother dying December 26, 1863, and the father January 3, 1867.
Mr. Goddard was reared to farm work under his father's direction, and like many farmers' sons he cherished a desire for city life. When about twenty years old he left home for Massachusetts, where for a short time he worked upon a farm near Boston, but as soon as possible he secured employ- ment in the city, where he spent four or five years, following different occupa- tions as opportunity offered. The experience taught him the advantages of a quiet country life, and he decided to return to his native county and settle down upon a farm of his own. He accordingly purchased a place there, but six years later he sold it and bought a farm in Bennington county, Vermont, where he remained until July, 1866, since which time he has been a resident of Ohio. He first bought a farm in Lorain county, which he conducted for two seasons, and in the meantime (in April, 1867) he purchased his present homestead in Defiance county. In November, 1867, he sold his property in Lorain county, and settled permanently at the homestead. It contains one hundred and sixty acres of land, which was partially improved at the time of his purchase, and he has erected good buildings and brought the place to a high state of cultiva- tion. While his agricultural work has occupied his time almost exclusively, he has been interested at times in real estate, and has made some profitable.deals in that line. As a citizen his sympathies have always been on the side of
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progress, and he especially favors religious advancement. Politically he is a stanch Republican, but he has never sought or held office, preferring to give his attention to his own business.
On April 19. 1848, Mr. Goddard was married in his native county to Miss Fanny Jane Abbott, who was born in the same locality in 1827. She died May 8, 1861, in Bennington county, Vermont, and on March 19, 1863, our subject was married in that county to Miss Betsey L. Robinson. By his first marriage he had seven children, viz .. Fanny A., who died in Bennington county, Vermont, at the age of sixteen; Lyman B., a farmer in Oklahoma ; Esther B., wife of F. E. Wible; Frank A., a farmer in Noble township, De- fiance county ; Laura Jane, third wife of Rev. S. J. Colgan; Mary M., who married Rev. S. J. Colgan, and died in Williams county, Ohio, August 7, 1894; and Sarah Ellen, wife of Fred Coombs, of Windham county, Vermont. Of the three children by the second marriage, the eldest. Allen T., born in Ver- mont, resides in Adams township. Defiance county; Enoch John, born in Lorain county, Ohio, died at the age of five years; and Lucia D., born in Adams township, Defiance county, is at home.
HENRY SNYDER.
Like many other residents within the bounds of Williams county who started out with naught but an abundance of determination and indefatigable industry, and who have succeeded through their own diligence, energy and economy, we classify the gentleman whose name opens this sketch. He is now actively engaged in agricultural pursuits upon his fine farm of one hundred and twenty-three acres in Brady township, pleasantly located a mile and a half north of West Unity.
Born in Morrow county, Ohio, November 18, 1843, Mr. Snyder is a son of John and Mary L. (Held) Snyder, the former a native of Pennsylvania, where his father located on coming from Germany during Colonial days. In his native State John Snyder grew to manhood and learned the weaver's trade, which he followed for some time; later in life he removed to Ohio, and subsequently to Indiana, where he purchased a farm and continued its cultivation until called from this life in 1851. In religious faith he was a member of the Mennonite Church. His brothers and sisters were Leah, Abram, Jacob, Henry, David and Jonas.
In the house built by our subject upon his farm, his mother is still living at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. After the death of her first hus- band she married Frame Freeman, an Englishman by birth, and two children blessed this union : William and Jennie, both born in Indiana, where the former
Henry Snyder
Sirena A Suyohar
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is still living, while the latter is a resident of Illinois. The mother is a daughter of Henry Held, who on coming to this country from Germany first located in Pennsylvania, later removed to Morrow county, Ohio, and in 1862 became a resident of Williams county, making his home with his daughter until his death, which occurred in 1864. With the Mennonite Church he held membership. In his family were nine children, namely: Lewis, Henry, Christ, Daniel, Mary L., Sally, Peggy, Harriette and Katherine.
Henry Snyder, the subject proper of this sketch, was about seven years old at the time of his father's death, and since then he has been dependent almost entirely upon his own resources for a livelihood, at first doing chores and other work upon different farms. His school privileges were therefore limited. At the age of nineteen he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Butler, the regiment being assigned to the Western Department, Fourteenth Army Corps. It was stationed most of the time in Kentucky and Tennessee, doing guard duty and assisting in the construction of Fort Butler at Nashville. For one year Mr. Snyder was in active service, was then mustered out at Nashville and honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in 1865, as the war was over. He has never fully recovered from his army service, and now receives a small pension.
Before entering the service Mr. Snyder had engaged in blacksmithing to some extent, and for a time after his return home he followed that occu- pation, but during an eighteen-months' illness all the money that he had saved was exhausted. In the fall of 1867 he went to the lumber camps of Michigan, where he worked for two years, saving enough in that time to purchase eighty acres of heavily-timbered land in Fulton county, Ohio, after his return to this State. After his marriage in 1870, he located upon his grandfather Held's place, only one-half mile from his own land, and the following fall he and his wife selected a site and erected a cabin upon their place. While he cut and prepared the timber, she gathered the brush for burning. Into their hewed-log house they removed, and during their ten years' residence there sixty acres were placed under cultivation, a more mod- ern dwelling erected and a large barn built. On selling out at the end of that time Mr. Snyder purchased his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Brady township, Williams county, all of which was cleared with the exception of twenty acres, and to general farming and stock raising he now devotes his attention. Upon the place is a commodious residence, good barn and substantial outbuildings which stand as monuments to his thrift and industry. Since attaining his majority he has always cast his ballot with the Republican party, has creditably filled a number of township offices, and
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is now acting as administrator of estates. Socially he is an honored member of Rings Post, No. 637, G. A. R., of West Unity.
In 1870 Mr. Snyder married Miss Eliza J. Reynolds, who was born October 30, 1846, in Richland county, Ohio, of which her father, Benjamin J. Reynolds, a native of Pennsylvania, was an early settler. In 1848 he came to Williams county, where he bought land and improved a farm, making it his home until called to his final rest in 1890. When a young man he worked at wagonmaking, but after coming to Williams county devoted his energies to agriculture. His wife died in 1887. Both were faithful members of the Church of God. Their children were Jacob, Hezekiah, Eliza J., Henry L., Mary E., and Franklin. Mrs. Snyder, who was a devoted wife and mother, died March 13, 1893, leaving four children : William A., a farmer of Brady township; Benjamin J., also a farmer ; Lewis M., a resident of Kansas ; and Charles, at home.
Mr. Snyder has again married, his second union being with Mrs. Sirena J. Shultz, who was born November 20, 1847, a daughter of I. N. Sheets, a retired farmer now living in Montpelier, who in 1852 came to Williams county from Columbiana county, Ohio, and has since been prominently identified with its interests. He is an ardent Republican in politics, and has filled a number of important offices in both township and county, including those of auditor and county commissioner. During her girlhood Mrs. Snyder mar- ried Charles Chancy, and after his death became the wife of Samuel J. Shultz, by whom she had one son, Earl Shultz, now living in West Unity. There are no children by her first or last marriage. In religious belief she is a Methodist.
JOHN C. AMES.
Mr. Ames is a leading representative of the agricultural interests of De- fiance county, his farm of one hundred and sixty acres being pleasantly situated in Section 4, Hicksville township. He is a thorough and systematic farmer, and through that occupation he has secured a comfortable competence.
Born May 29, 1828, in Washington township, Washington county, Penn- sylvania, Mr. Ames is a son of Nehemiah and Frances (Craven) Ames, also natives of Pennsylvania. At an early day they emigrated from Washington county, that State, to Wayne county, Ohio, and after living there for six years, took up their residence in what is now Farmer township, Defiance county, where the mother died at the age of fifty-five years, and the father at the advanced age of ninety-three. Nehemiah Ames, grandfather of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1760, and died in 1835.
In their family were twelve children, of whom ten reached years of matur-
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ity. James, the eldest, died in Williams county, Ohio, in May, 1897; Mary wedded Henry Harman, and died in Michigan; William died in Williams county, Ohio, at the age of forty-four years; Eliza married William R. Max- well, and died in Hicksville township, Defiance county, in the early '70s; Hannah is the widow of A. Ocker: John C. is next in the order of birth ; Theophilus died in Farmer township, Defiance county; Nehemiah died at Nashville, Tennessee, while in the Union army during the Civil war; Julia Ann married O. Hulbert, and died in Farmer township; and Henry died near Bryan, Ohio.
John C. Ames was eighteen years of age when he accompanied his par- ents on their removal to Defiance county, in 1846, but two years later he re- turned to Wayne county, Ohio, where he remained for two years. On again coming to Defiance county, he took up his residence in Hicksville township, where he has since made his home. He has served as trustee of the town- ship, and has taken an active interest in all enterprises which he believed cal- culated to advance its welfare.
In Hicksville, Mr. Ames was married November 23, 1854, to Miss Sarah Dutterer, who was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, April 29, 1837, a daughter of George and Catherine ( Wolford) Dutterer, both natives of Pennsylvania, where they were married. From that State they removed to Trumbull county, Ohio, later to Crawford county, and about 1853 came to Defiance county, locating in Hicksville township, where they spent their remaining days. The father died at about the age of sixty-five years, and the mother passed away in April, 1893, aged eighty years. Only four of their eleven children reached manhood and womanhood, viz. : Levi, who died in the army; Sarah, wife of our subject; Eliza, widow of N. Ames, who also died when in the service of his country during the Civil war; and Ephraim, a farmer of Mark town- ship, Defiance county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ames have been born thirteen children: Andrew ; Emanuel, who died in infancy ; William; Henry Franklin, in Michigan; Eph- raim; Mary, wife of Hiram Nye; Noah; Nettie, wife of Fred Limpert, of Hicksville township; Grant; Winfield, a railroad man; Sarah F., wife of George Warfield, of Hicksville; Carrie; and Hasy, who died when a year and a half old. Mr. and Mrs. Ames are consistent members of the Chris- tian Church, and by all who know them they are held in high regard, hav- ing the confidence and esteem of the entire community. In politics he is a Republican.
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
JOSEPH SHULTZ.
One of the most energetic and successful farmers of Jefferson township, Williams county, is the subject of these lines. He is a native of Ohio, born in Knox county, April 5, 1830, a son of William and Barbara (Snyder) Shultz.
The father was born in Maryland of German ancestry, and in Stark county, Ohio, married Miss Snyder, who died in Richland county, leaving seven children : Jesse, who removed to Iowa, where he enlisted in the Union army, and died in the service; Joseph, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Susanna Degraff ; Jacob, a resident of West Unity, Ohio; Mrs. Elizabeth Miller ; Lewis, a farmer of Michigan; and Mrs. Sarah Marks. After the death of his first wife, William Shultz married Catherine Long, by whom he had four chil- dren, namely: John, who was killed while serving his country in the Civil war; William, who was also a Union soldier ; Samuel, deceased ; and George, who was also one of the "boys in blue," and is now a farmer. The father followed farming in Knox, Stark and Richland counties, at different times, previous to 1848, when he traded his property in the last-named county for two hundred and forty acres in Jefferson township, Williams county. After clearing away the heavy timber and making other improvements upon the place, he sold it to Robert Burns, and bought a smaller farm, which he later traded for land in Fulton county, Ohio. On selling that place he purchased property near Hamer, and died in that village in 1870, aged sixty-five years. Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican. His second wife sur- vived him about six years, dying in 1876. All of his children were born prior to his removal to Williams county.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the common schools and remained with his father until he was married, in 1855, to Miss Nancy J. Aungst, of Richland county, a daughter of Samuel and Catherine ( Spades) Aungst, who were of German descent, though the former was a native of Virginia, and the latter of Ohio. Both died in Richland county, where the father followed the occupation of farming. Their children, eleven in number, are still residents of that county with the exception of Mrs. Shultz, and Julia A., who lives in Fulton county. In the order of birth they are as follows : George, Julia A., Elizabeth, Nancy J., Lavina, John, Mary, James, Calvin, Eliza and Catherine. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shultz, namely: Mrs. Catherine Tressler; George W., a farmer; Sarah, who mar- ried George Lattanner and died in 1889: and Arwildia. The wife and mother, who was a most estimable lady and a faithful member of the United Brethren Church, was called to the world beyond in March, 1896.
After his marriage, Mr. Shultz located upon his present farm in Jef-
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ferson township, Williams county, comprising one hundred acres of partially improved land, the deed to which he obtained from the Governor of Ohio, it being school land. The land is now under excellent cultivation, and is im- proved with good, substantial buildings, which add greatly to its value and attractive appearance. During the last four years of the Civil war Mr. Shultz bought and shipped cattle, hogs and sheep quite extensively, but with that exception he has devoted his time principally to farming throughout his busi- ness career. As a Democrat, he takes quite an active interest in political affairs, has been called upon to fill a number of offices of honor and trust, serving as township trustee ten years, township treasurer twelve years, and in many other local positions. He is one of the popular and influential citizens of Jefferson township, is widely and favorably known, and has a host of friends throughout his adopted county.
LEVI W. WILDER.
Defiance county can boast of quite a number of enterprising and thor- ough-going farmers, who have given considerable attention to stock dealing, and enhanced materially the value of stock in this section of the State. Among that class is the subject of this narrative, who has met with eminent success in his operations, and is numbered among the prosperous agriculturists of Farmer township, his home being in Section 20.,
Mr. Wilder was born at Three Rivers, Canada, December 27, 1830, a son of Daniel and Elizabeth ( Blake) Wilder, natives of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, respectively. They were married in the latter State, and at an early day emigrated to Portage county, Ohio, whence in 1847 they came to Defiance county, locating in Section 20, Farmer township, where both died. Our subject is the youngest of their eight children, and was five years old when his parents removed from New Hampshire to Portage county, Ohio. In 1847 he came to Defiance county, and has since been a resident of Farmer township. Here he purchased fifty acres of land (on which he now lives) before he attained his majority, by working by the month at from $6 to $11.50 per month, and to agricultural pursuits has since devoted the greater part of his time and attention. However, after he reached the age of twenty-one he was employed on the Rouse's Point, Lake Cham- plain & Ogdensburg railroad, after which he superintended the building of eleven miles of the Wabash road, and he was also connected with other roads in New York State and Indiana, being altogether in the railroad service for about five years.
In Farmer township, May 28, 1854, Mr. Wilder was united in marriage with Miss Olive A. Stone, a daughter of Alpha and Rhoda Stone, who came
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to Defiance county in 1846 from St. Lawrence county, New York, where Mrs. Wilder was born. Our subject and his wife have two children: (I) Lillie C., who is now the wife of Abner S. Nisley, of Farmer township, and they have one son, Lee A .; and (2) Otis L., who married Alice Bryan, and resides in Farmer township.
Since his marriage Mr. Wilder has lived upon his present farm, which now comprises two hundred and forty acres of good land under a high state of cultivation, and improved with excellent buildings. At one time he owned about four hundred acres, but has since disposed of a part of it. For several years he was actively interested in the live-stock business-buying and selling, etc .- but does not now do much in that line, though he deals in horses to some extent, owning at the present time some of the finest animals in northwestern Ohio. He has demonstrated the true meaning of the word "success," as the full accomplishment of an honorable purpose, and through his own unaided efforts, he has acquired a comfortable home and competence, being properly classed among the self-made men of the county.
Politically Mr. Wilder has always been identified with the Republican party, and he has taken quite an active and prominent part in local affairs. He has held the office of township trustee two terms, and township assessor for eight successive years, discharging the duties of those positions in a prompt and able manner.
BENJAMIN F. KNIFFIN.
The world instinctively pays deference to the man who has achieved suc- cess, overcoming the obstacles and difficulties in his path until he reaches a high position in the business world. This is a progressive age, and he who does not advance is soon left far behind. Mr. Kniffin, by the improvement of opportunities by which all are surrounded, has steadily and honorably worked his way upward, and has attained a fair degree of prosperity. He is now numbered among the wealthiest citizens of Williams county, his home being in Stryker.
Mr. Kniffin was born April 13, 1825, in Huron county, a son of Benja- min and Bloomy C. (Hobby) Kniffin. The father on coming to Ohio from Cayuga county, New York, in 1817, located upon an old Revolutionary claim in Greenwich township, Huron county, but afterward returned to Cayuga county. In 1823, however, he located permanently upon his claim, and upon that place his death occurred when he was eighty-one years of age. His wife also died there at the age of seventy-five years.
The subject of this sketch is second in the order of birth in their family
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of six children, and in the county of his nativity he continued to make his home until forty years of age. In the meantime, however (in 1850), he made a trip to California, spending two years in gold mining on the Pacific slope, and meeting with a fair degree of success. On his return to Huron county, Ohio, he engaged in buying and driving stock over the Allegheny Mountains for two years, and in 1854 purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in that county, operating it in connection with stock dealing until coming to Williams county in 1865. For many years he shipped his stock to New York, doing a large and profitable business along that line. He is now the owner of one thousand one hundred acres of valuable land in Springfield township, Williams county, also owns two farms in Huron county and some Western lands. He continued to be actively engaged in agricultural pursuits upon his home farm in Springfield township until November, 1893, when he removed to the village of Stryker, where he is surrounded by many comforts and luxuries which honest toil in previous years have brought him.
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