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 43
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 43
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 43
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 43
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At Kalamazoo, Michigan, in November, 1859, Mr. Kniffin married Miss Margaret E. Popino, a native of Richland county, Ohio, and a relative of the late Bishop Harris. Five children were born to them, as follows: Josephine, now the wife of R. L. Schaeffer; Arminda C., Benjamin F., Jr., Harry W. and Alta. The family is widely known, and is one of prominence in Will- iams county. Mr. Kniffin has made for himself an honorable record in busi- ness, and as a citizen, friend and neighbor, he is true to every duty, therefore winning the high regard of all with whom he comes in contact.
WILLIAM R. CLELAND.
This gentleman, who is proprietor of Sugar Ridge farm, stands sec- ond to none among the representative and prominent agriculturists of Hicks- ville township, Defiance county, his home being in Section 19. As a ju- dicious tiller of the soil he has met with success, and as a man and citizen holds a high position among his neighbors.
Born in Crawford county, Ohio, October 9, 1833, Mr. Cleland is a son of William and Rachel (Ramsay) Cleland, both of whom died in that county. He was fifth in the order of birth in their family of eight children, and upon the home farm he was reared to habits of industry and thrift. In the county of his nativity he continued to reside until 1859, when l' came to Defiance county, with whose agricultural interests he has since been prominently identified. His farm, comprising two hundred and sev- enty-seven acres of land, he has placed under a high state of cultivation,
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and has erected thereon excellent buildings, making it one of the most de- sirable places of the community.
In Hancock county, Ohio, Mr. Cleland was married, March 11, 1860, to Miss Nancy J. Ramsey, by whom he had three children, as follows : William S. : Ella M., now the wife of Alexander Haver ; and Rachel Emma Ann. The mother of these children departed this life March 11, 1865. Mr. Cleland was married May 11, 1876, to Mrs. Lydia Ann (Hook) Myers, who was born in Paulding county, Ohio, January 24, 1852, a daughter of John and Mary Hook. To this marriage five children have been born, namely : Lottie B., who died at the age of two years; John J .; Clyde L .; Vida P. and Fred. All through the changes of a busy life, Mr. Cleland, while laboring for his own interests, has in nowise set aside the interests and well-being of the community around him, but in common with other enterprising and progressive citizens has given his support to all meas- ures calculated to prove of public benefit. Mrs. Cleland is a member of the Disciples Church of Hicksville. In politics Mr. Cleland is a Demo- crat. In addition to general farming he deals extensively in Durham cattle, Norman horses, Delaine sheep, Poland-China hogs, Scotch Collie dogs, etc. William Cleland, grandfather of our subject, was born and reared in County Down, Ireland, where he was married. Coming to the United States, he made his home chiefly in New York City, but he died in West Virginia, the father of seven children-three sons (John, Arthur and Will- iam), and four daughters; all of same, excepting one daughter, lived to be ninety-six years of age.
JACOB H. ROBERTSON.
This gentleman has for almost a quarter of a century been prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Defiance county. He is a native of the Old Dominion, born March 3, 1844, in Loudoun county, Virginia, a son of Seth D. and Christine ( Mason) Robertson, the former also a native of Loudoun county, the latter of Fauquier county, in the same State. Both died in the former county, honored and respected by all who knew them. By occupation the father was a miller and millwright.
The subject of this sketch, who is the youngest in the family of five chil- dren, was reared and educated in his native county. During the Civil war he enlisted in Company A, Thirty-fifth Virginia Battalion of Cavalry, C. S. A., and served three months, being honorably discharged at the end of that time on account of physical disability, as he was seriously wounded during an
& # Robertson v
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engagement in Loudoun county. On leaving home at the age of twenty years, Mr. Robertson came to Ohio, and for ten years engaged in farming in Seneca county. In 1875 he removed to Defiance county and located in Tiffin town- ship, where he bought eighty acres of land, to the cultivation and improve- ment of which he at once turned his attention. As his financial resources in- creased, he added to the original purchase one hundred and twenty acres, and now has one of the best and most highly cultivated farms in the township.
In Seneca county, Mr. Robertson was married October 19, 1876, to Miss Minerva Berger, who was born and reared in that county, and died March 16, 1881, aged thirty-three years six months four days, leaving two children : Edgar M., born September 14, 1877, and Howard E., born April 17, 1880. They lost one son, Worth D., who died in infancy. Mr. Robertson uses his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Populist party, and takes a commendable interest in political affairs. As one of the leading and representative citizens of his township, he has been called upon to serve in a number of local positions of honor and trust, the duties of which he most ably performed.
REV. SEBASTIAN LIPE.
There is probably no history so interesting to the American people as that which Switzerland furnishes. The love of liberty has forged many a link in common for the two republics so widely separated. Many of the sturdy sons of the mountain republic have sought homes across the sea, and lent the fruits of their toil to the trade of the New World.
Rev. Sebastian Lipe, whose name opens this brief sketch, was born April 12, 1829, in Siblingen, canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, a son of Jacob and Ann (Keller) Lipe. Jacob Lipe was born in 1782, and for a long time followed the trade of a mason and stone cutter. He had his own quarry, and in connection with that he began contracting, building houses and furnishing stone, his business increasing until he employed many hands. Religiously he was a German Baptist, consistently following the laws of that sect up to his death in 1852. In his family were the follow- ing children: Rachel; Barbara, wife of John Weber; Conrad, a tailor in Germany; Henry, who came to America and died two years later; George, in Switzerland; Jacob, who emigrated to America, and died in 1850; Se- bastian, our subject ; and Margaret and Anna (both deceased). The mother of this family passed to her last rest in 1855.
At the age of eighteen years Sebastian Lipe left the mountains of his native home, to cast his lot with the workers of the Western hemisphere. He first found a home in northern Ohio, Toledo, and along the banks of
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the Maumee, and here he worked as a carpenter and joiner, finding em- ployment in the first cabinet shop in Toledo. At this time Toledo was only a small village, and could boast of but one brick store. The year 1849, well remembered as the great cholera year, found Mr. Lipe in the cabinet and china business in Toledo, Ohio. The prevalence of cholera had deadened trade for most branches, and Mr. Lipe did almost nothing but make coffins. He then bought a farm and gave up trade. In 1854 he sold his first land and invested the proceeds in seventy acres in Spencer township, Lucas county, Ohio, but later he sold off a portion, retaining only fifty acres, and then removed to Swanton, Fulton county.
In 1852 Mr. Lipe was ordained a minister of the German Baptist faith, and while he still worked at his trade, six days in the week, he preached on the seventh, and for the past thirty years he has given most of his time to Church work. The results of his good work have proven that he was wise in listening to the inner voice calling for his service in the Master's vineyard. In deeds first, and then in works, he follows the light he has, and quietly and unostentatiously, like the faith he professes, is build- ing his house upon the rock.
In 1853 Rev. Sebastian Lipe was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Berthoud, who passed to the unseen life in 1880. No children were born of this union, but Mrs. Lipe had a son by a former marriage, Jacob Berthoud, who now lives in Spencer township, Lucas county, Ohio. After the death of his first wife Mr. Lipe was wedded to Barbara Ciegler. In 1892 they left the farm, and in 1893 removed to Swanton, where Reverend Lipe preaches every Sunday, as does he also in Spencer.
N. H. NEWCOMER.
N. H. Newcomer, farmer, post office Bryan, Williams county, Ohio.
THEODORE M. GEHRETT, M. D.
In comparison of the relative value to mankind of the various profes- sions and pursuits, it is widely recognized that none is so important as the medical profession. From the cradle to the grave human destiny is largely in the hands of the physician-not alone on account of the effect he may have on the physical system, but also upon the mental and moral develop- ment. One of the ablest representatives of this noble calling in Henry county is Doctor Gehrett, who is successfully engaged in practice in Deshler and vicinity.
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Our subject was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, November 27, 1854, and was brought to Henry county in 1863 by his parents, Henry and Lydia (Valentine) Gehrett. The mother died in 1864, but the father is still liv- ing, and has been prominently identified with the agricultural interests of the county since locating here. The Doctor completed his literary educa- tion in Hiram (Ohio) College, graduating from that institution in 1875, and subsequently he entered the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, where he was granted the degree of M. D. on his graduation in 1879. In the fall of 1880 he opened an office in Deshler, where his skill and ability soon gained for him a large and constantly increasing practice. He is now the oldest physician in the village, and being one of the best in the county, he was ap- pointed a member of the United States examining surgeons for Henry county in 1888 by Mr. Tanner. In the ranks of the medical fraternity he has won an enviable place, and is now an honored member of the Northwestern Ohio Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the Ameri- can Medical Association.
On March 13, 1879, in Napoleon, Henry county, Doctor Gehrett was united in marriage with Miss Alice Thrapp, a daughter of William Thrapp, of that city, and they have become the parents of two children: Carol and Madge. The family is one of prominence, its members being leaders in social circles of the community.
STEPHEN HORSEY.
If one desires to gain a vivid realization of the rapid advance in civili- zation which the last few decades have brought about, he can listen to the stories that men who are still living among us, and by no means overbur- dened with years, can tell of their boyhood. The log cabin home in the clearing, the still ruder school house with its rough seats made of slabs, its limited range of studies and its brief terms arranged on the subscription plan, the routine of work at home unrelieved by any of the modern devices by which machinery is made to do in a short time what formerly occupied the entire year-these and many similar descriptions will bring up in sharp contrast the advantages of to-day. The subject of this sketch, a highly respected citizen of Noble township, Defiance county, has many interest- ing reminiscences of this sort. He is a native of the county, his birth oc- curring in Defiance township, May 26, 1836, and in its development and prosperity he has borne an important part.
Thompson Horsey, father of our subject, was born in Maryland about
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18II, was one of the first settlers of Defiance county, where he was united in marriage with Matilda Travis. They began housekeeping in Defiance township, and took an active and prominent part in its upbuilding and ad- vancement. Both died in Defiance county, the father in 1853, the mother in 1843. Our subject was the only son in their family of five children, and amid scenes of frontier life he grew to manhood, aiding in the arduous task of transforming the wild land into cultivated fields. In Defiance county he was married, in 1857. to Miss Susanna Hilton, a native of Noble town- ship, that county. and they have had eight children, namely: Walter and Wallace (twins, Wallace being deceased), Harriet (deceased), William L., Ezra, Franklin, Irvin and Ernest. Harriet died at the age of nineteen years. Of this family, Walter married Harriet Kennedy, of Noble town- ship, Defiance county, and they reside in Toledo; William L. is in North Dakota; Ezra married Agnes Bergmyer, of Defiance township, and they make their home in the city of Defiance; Franklin wedded Mabel Smith, of Defiance, and they reside in that city; Irvin married Edith Coulp, of Defiance, and they live in Toledo.
After his marriage, Mr. Horsey located upon his present farm in Noble township, consisting of two hundred and eighteen acres of fine farming land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and improved with good buildings. Throughout life his occupation has been farming, and in his chosen calling he has met with excellent success. He has held the of- fice of treasurer of Noble township, but has never cared for political posi- tions, preferring to devote his entire time and attention to his business in- terests. He is always mentioned as one of the invaluable citizens of his community, and on the rolls of Defiance county's most honored pioneers his name should be found among the foremost.
CORNELIUS W. KYLE, M. D.
The world has little use for the misanthrope. The universal truth of brotherhood is widely recognized, also that he serves God best who serves his fellowmen. There is no profession or line of business that calls for greater self-sacrifice or more devoted attention than the medical profession, and the successful physician is he who, through love of his fellowmen, gives his time and attention to the relief of human suffering. Doctor Kyle, who is an able representative of this noble calling, has for several years success- fully engaged in practice in Sherwood, Defiance county.
A native of Ohio, our subject was born in Stark county, December I,
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1838, a son of Peter Kyle, a farmer and blacksmith by occupation. He was reared on his father's farm, acquiring his early education in the com- mon schools of the neighborhood. For several years during early life he lived at Massillon, with his uncle, Doctor A. Metz, who was for ten years a professor in the Cleveland Medical College, and with him our subject be- gan the study of medicine. He continued his researches along that line under direction of Doctor Coombs, the present auditor of Defiance county, and subsequently attended medical lectures in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since 1860 he has made his home in Defiance county.
During the Civil war Doctor Kyle manifested his patriotism by enlist- ing in September, 1861, in Company E, Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, but after serving for seven months he was discharged on account of physical disability. However, he afterward re-enlisted, this time in Com- pany I, First Ohio Heavy Artillery, and was later detailed as hospital stew- ard at Washington, D. C., serving in that capacity some sixteen months. He then returned to Ohio, and in June, 1871, commenced the practice of medicine in Defiance county, locating in Sherwood about 1880. He is one of the leading physicians of the community, and in the village and vicinity has built up a large and lucrative practice. He is a representative of the "old school."
In Seneca county, Ohio, Doctor Kyle married Miss Marietta Smith, a native of that county, born December 6, 1842, by whom he has two child- ren : Alma, now the wife of Johnson Miller (they have one daughter, Ethel) ; and Homer, telegraph operator and train dispatcher at Van Wert, Ohio. He married Beatrice Miller, of Sherwood, and they have one daugh- ter, Fern.
Mrs. Kyle, wife of Doctor Kyle, is a daughter of William T. and Cath- erine Ann (Boucher) Smith, the father a native of Pennsylvania, the mother of Ohio, in which latter State they were married. Eight children were born to them-five sons and three daughters-of whom are deceased four sons, the survivor being John B. Smith, of Alvada, Ohio. The daughters are: Elizabeth (Mrs. Amos Mohler, of Fostoria, Ohio), Marietta (Mrs. Kyle), and Sevilla A. (Mrs. J. A. Boley, of Upper Sandusky). Mrs. Kyle opened the first milinery store in Sherwood, and has been in the business since 1884. She is a member of The Temple Church, and of the Woman's Relief Corps, No. 282.
Doctor and Mrs. Kyle have a nice home in Sherwood, where hospi- tality reigns supreme. Socially he is an honored member of Hancock Post, No. 579, G. A. R., of which he is past commander, and also belongs to the
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Knights of Pythias and other societies. He takes a deep interest in the welfare of his adopted county, giving his support to all enterprises which he believes will advance its educational or moral interests. Wherever he goes he wins friends and has the happy faculty of being able to retain them.
REV. FATHER JOSEPH PETER GLODEN.
Father Gloden, who is pastor of the Church of St. John the Evangel- ist, at Defiance, commonly called the German Catholic Church, has gained, during his comparatively brief stay in that city, a high place in the regard of its best citizens. Coming with an enviable record of effective work as a pastor at other points in the diocese, he has added new laurels to his repu- tation by his able administration, which has resulted not only in substan- tial improvement to the church property, but in the deepening of the spirit- ual life of his people.
Father Gloden was born in the village of Remerschen, in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, January 12, 1842, a son of Nicholas Gloden and his wife, Susan (Klein). His father being a prosperous agricultur- ist, the best educational facilities which the locality afforded were secured for the talented boy. Until the age of eleven he attended the schools of his native village, and he then entered the college at Luxemburg, where he spent a year and a half. During the next seven years he pursued his studies in the classical seminary at Metz, France, philosophy being made a specialty. On leaving this institution in 1867 he came to the United States, and took the course in theology in St. Mary's Seminary, at Cleveland, Ohio, and on September 30, 1869, he was ordained to the priesthood. On the follow-
ing day he was appointed assistant pastor of St. Peter's Church at Cleve- . land, and held that post until May 28, 1870, when, owing to ill health, he returned to his old home for a year. The Franco-German war was at its height during his visit, and the Gloden farm being only fifteen miles from Metz, the sound of the cannonading could be heard there during the progress of the memorable engagement at Metz. In July, 1871, Father Gloden re- turned to this country and took charge of St. Nicholas Church at Ber- wick, Ohio, remaining there until May 26, 1886. During this interval he built a brick school building for the Berwick parish, and a church at Carey, Ohio, where there was a small congregation, of which he also had charge. On leaving Berwick he went to Fostoria as pastor of St. Wendolin's Church, and here under his energetic management the church was remodeled and enlarged, and a brick school house erected, thirty-five by sixty feet. His
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health again became impaired, and a change being deemed advisable he was transferred, on March 19, 1891, to the pastoral oversight of St. Joseph's Church at Randolph, Ohio, where he remained during the summer.
On November 1, 1891, Father Gloden received his appointment to his present charge at Defiance, and with characteristic energy he has worked to strengthen and enlarge the influence of the church, his labors being crowned with success. One phase of his work was the erection of a new church edifice, which was begun in 1894 and completed in 1896 at a cost of nearly forty thousand dollars. It is one hundred and thirty-five by fifty- three feet, built of brick in Romanesque style, and has a seating capacity of seven hundred on the lower floor, with a gallery accommodating one hundred. The church property occupies a whole block, the parish school, which averages about one hundred and ninety pupils, being also located there, and the new church stands on the corner where Jackson and Fourth streets meet. Its dedication, September 13, 1896, was the occasion of great rejoicing, and Bishop Horstman, of Cleveland, was present to aid in the imposing ceremonials.
REV. WILLIAM L. FISCHER.
Lives devoted to high ideals produce an effect far beyond all outward indications, for throughout the intricate and wide-spread ramifications of association the silent yet potent influence of a Christian character exerts its persuasive power. The work and influence of this well-known clergyman, who has been for a number of years pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Napoleon, Henry county, is an acknowledged force for good, and it is most appropriate that a record of his life should be preserved in this volume in order that the descendants of those to whom he ministered so faithfully may honor his name.
Mr. Fischer was born May 10, 1842, in Berleburg, Westphalia, Prussia, a son of Christian and Eliza (Ritter) Fischer. The father, who held a high public office, died in that town in the fall of 1869, the mother not long surviving, as her death occurred in Germany in the spring of 1874. Our subject was the sixth in a family of twelve children. The first fourteen years of his life were spent in his native town; he then entered Giesen Gymnasium, where he was graduated in 1863, and in 1864 he came to America to make his home, landing in Baltimore in the spring of that year. After passing a few months in that city he went to Pennsylvania, where he was employed as a private tutor until 1869. The year 1870 he spent in study in the theo-
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logical department of the Capitol University, at Columbus, Ohio, and in 1872 he was ordained as a minister of the Lutheran Church. His first charge was at Milan, Ripley county, Indiana, but in 1876 he removed from that place to Cape Girardeau county, Missouri, where he remained until 1880. He was then called to Fulton county, Ohio, where he spent four years, and in 1884 he located at Napoleon. In addition to the care of the congrega- tion there he has charge of the Churches in Freedom and Flat Rock town- ships, his parish comprising in all two hundred and eighty-five families, and his ministry has been notably successful.
On October 28, 1872, Reverend Fischer was married in Columbus, Ohio, to Miss Mary Barth, who was born in that city May 16, 1852. She passed to the unseen life February 22, 1877, during his residence in Mis- souri, and on August 28, 1878, he was married in Evansville, Indiana, to Miss Caroline Eissler, a native of New York City, born September 19, 1857. By his first marriage he had two children: Augusta, Lydia (who died in infancy). By his second union he has had five children: Paul G., Martha L .. Adolph H., Theodore W., and Oscar M.
GEORGE TRACHT.
This gentleman owns and operates a fine farm of two hundred acres, which is pleasantly located in Section 23, Hicksville township, Defiance county. The well-tilled fields and excellent buildings, including a handsome residence, testify to the industrious habits and progressive spirit of the proprietor. He is a man of sound judgment and intelligence, and is well worthy of representa- tion in a work of this kind.
Mr. Tracht is a native of Ohio, born in Crawford county, September 18, 1847. His father, Peter Tracht, was born March 8, 1802, in Germany, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Elizabeth Heist, who was born in the same country July 2, 1808. In 1832 they emigrated to the New World, the voyage occupying eighty-two days. The vessel struck on a rock, and the passengers and crew had to be landed by means of lifeboats. For the first two years after their arrival they lived in Maryland, at the end of which time they removed to Crawford county, Ohio, where they made their home until November, 1864, and then came to Defiance county, locating in Hicksville township, where the father died February 28, 1898, an honored and highly respected citizen. The mother departed this life in 1883.
Of their children, Elizabeth married Peter Tracht, and died in Craw- ford county ; Anna is the wife of William Beck, of Morrow county, Ohio;
Matilda Fracht
Geo. Trackh
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Margaret wedded George Rozman, and died in Hicksville township, Defiance county ; Michael and John are the next of the family; Eli died in Hicks- ville township at the age of thirty-seven years ; Catherine is the wife of Albert Farnsworth, of Hicksville; Agnes lives at the homestead; Caroline is the wife of Peter Huffman, of Milford township, Defiance county; George is the sub- ject of this sketch; and Mary is the wife of Frank Maxwell, of Hicksville township.
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