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 5
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 5
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 5
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 5
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JOHN MARSHALL.
This the senior member of the well-known firm of John Marshall & Son, of Defiance, is one of the representative business men of that thriving town. As manufacturers of patent coil elm hoops the firm conducts a large business, their product finding a market in all parts of the United States, the bulk of it going to Buffalo, New York, to New England, and to Minneapolis, and other points in the Northwest.
Before entering upon the details of Mr. Marshall's successful career, it will be interesting to note the ancestry on both sides. In the paternal line his great-grandfather was John Marshall, who came from Germany with a colony early in the eighteenth century. The band of emigrants set sail from a port in Holland, and after a voyage much more tedious than a modern tourist need experience, John Marshall, with his parents, located, between 1736 and 1740, in Berks county, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Tulpehocken. He had made an agreement in. Germany to pay for his passage after his arrival in America. During the Revolutionary war he served as a soldier under Washington, and his son Conrad, our subject's grandfather, who was born in 1767, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Con- rad Marshall (2), the father of our subject, was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1798, and followed farming in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and Logan county, Ohio. He married Anna Sophia Debinder, a native of Canada, and in 1848 removed with his family to Jefferson township, Logan
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county, Ohio, where he spent his later years in agricultural pursuits, his death occurring in 1866. His widow died at New Rutland, La Salle county, Illinois, in 1868.
The DeBinder family was of French origin, and our subject's grand- father. Doctor George DeBinder, and his wife, Theresa, came to America with General La Fayette. Doctor George DeBinder served with distinc- tion in the war of the Revolution as a surgeon in the Colonial forces, and at the close of the struggle settled in Canada, where he practiced medicine during the remainder of his life.
The subject of this sketch was born in Port Clinton, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. June 25, 1830, and was educated there in the subscription schools of that time. Coming to Ohio with his parents as a young man, he saw the opportunities open to a mechanic, and in 1849 began to learn the carpenter's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. At twenty-five he was united in marriage with Miss Hulda Sharp, and the same year estab- lished a sawmill in Bokes Creek township, Logan county, remaining there from 1855 to 1865. He then went to Milton, Indiana, and built a distil- lery, which he sold after conducting it one year. Returning to Ohio in 1866, he bought a sawmill in Hale township, Hardin county, but in 1869 he was obliged to go back to Milton, as the party taking the distillery had failed to make the payments agreed upon, and it came again into :Mr. Marshall's hands. After operating it a year it was destroyed by fire, with a loss of twenty thousand dollars. Mr. Marshall's next venture was the purchase, in 1870, of a sawmill and grocery at Bellefontaine, Ohio, and these he conducted successfully until April, 1874, when he sold the gro- cery and moved his mill to Pauiding Center, Paulding county, Ohio. In August, 1874, he again moved the plant, locating this time in Defiance, where he has ever since remained. He engaged in the sawing of lumber, in the manufacture of felloes and gearing, and other materials for wagon- making.
In 1882 the firm of Marshall & Greenler was formed, consisting of John Marshall, Louis A. Marshall, his son, and John S. Greenler. On the death of Louis A. Marshall in 1892, his interest was purchased by his father, and the firm continued as John Marshall & Greenler until 1894, when Mr. Marshall sold his share to Mr. Greenler and entered into the present part- nership with his son, Charles E. Marshall, in the hoop business. They operate a plant requiring about thirty-seven hands, and use a steam en- gine of eighty-horse power, turning out, approximately forty-nine thousand dollars' worth of goods annually. The firm is also interested in cider mak- ing, conducting a large mill with a capacity of seventy-five barrels a day.
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Mr. Marshall has had three children: (1) Louis (deceased), married Miss Johanna Rule, by whom he had one son, John Chauncey Marshall. (2) Charles E., the junior member of the firm, was born in Logan county, Ohio, in 1863, married Miss Kate Hall, and they have four children-Wal- ter, Garwood, Jennie and Ralph. (3) Miss Carrie D. Marshall, the young- est, is bookkeeper for the firm.
Mrs. Marshall's father, John Sharp, was a native of Virginia, and came to Ohio with his parents at a very early day in one of the first colo- nies. They located at Chillicothe in 1797. The Sharp family settled in Logan county, on the head waters of the Big Darby creek, in 1802, where Mrs. Marshall was born.
JOHN MARION AINSWORTH.
The Ainsworth family is remotely of Irish origin, and the subject of this sketch, a prominent resident of Hicksville, has inherited many of the best characteristics of that ancient and high-spirited people. During his half- century of active business life he has won a leading rank in financial and commercial circles, not only for business acumen and sagacity, but for hon- orable, upright dealing, his name being a synonym wherever he is known for honesty and integrity. While his time has been chiefly occupied with his extensive business operations he has not failed in his duties as a citizen, as he has been identified with nearly every movement calculated to benefit the community in which he resides, and his purse has always been open to further the cause of education or religion.
The first of the family to settle in this country was James Ainsworth, our subject's grandfather, who came from Ireland in early manhood and located in Ohio, first in the vicinity of Dayton and later in Miamisburg. William S. Ainsworth, the father of our subject, was born in the latter place in 1811, and as a young man learned the hatter's trade there. In 1834 he was married at South Charleston, Ohio, to Miss Susan Mitton, daughter of John Mitton, a well-known wheelwright and manufacturer of spinning wheels and similar articles. After his marriage our subject's father made his home for a time in West Jefferson, Madison county, Ohio, and in 1848 he removed to Van Wert county, this State, where he engaged in farming. He was a man of influence in the county, taking an active part in all important movements, and at one time served ably as sheriff. His wife died in 1855, and in 1862 he met a soldier's death at Corinth, Mississippi, while with the Union army.
Our subject, who was the eldest in a family of eight children, was born
J.M. ainsworth
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September 10, 1835, at West Jefferson, Ohio. He attended the schools of that place until he was thirteen years old, and the next five years he spent in farm work. At the age of eighteen he went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he spent four years as a clerk in a dry-goods store; and so well did he perform his duties that in 1857 he was sent to Hicksville to manage a branch establish- ment for his employers, N. B. Freeman & Co. After spending about two years and a half in this work he decided to engage in mercantile business on his own account, and in the spring of 1859 he opened a large general store in partnership with Hon. A. P. Edgerton, under the firm- name of J. M. Ains- worth & Co. From 1872 to 1894 the firm name was Ainsworth, Boone & Bevington. This firm became widely known through its extensive trade in all kinds of farm products.
Mr. Ainsworth's upright methods and his genial manners won for him a wide popularity, and his store became at an early day a gathering place for the best element in the community, a sort of headquarters where travelers and citizens could meet to talk over the general news or discuss the questions of the time. Pipes and tobacco were furnished to the patrons, and many an evening has been spent there by interested groups in listening to the best story tellers of the neighborhood, and many a debate was conducted there upon politics, religion, or kindred topics. News of all kinds generally reached that store first, and its importance as a place for quickly distributing information cn current happenings can scarcely be understood in these days when news- papers are in the hands of all.
In the spring of 1894 the partnership that then existed was dissolved, and in the following autumn Mr. Ainsworth organized a stock company under the name of The Ainsworth-Shepard Company, which now occupies a large two-story double store for general mercantile business, while the business in connection with the buying and shipping of grain and stock is the most exten- sive in this section, amounting to about two hundred thousand dollars per year. In all these years Mr. Ainsworth has been the controlling and directing mind in guiding the destinies of the firm, and he has fairly earned his place among the principal merchants of his county.
Mr. Ainsworth has always affiliated with the Democratic party, politi- cally, being one of its most influential and enthusiastic supporters in his locality. His public spirit has been shown in many ways, and during the early days, when the country around Hicksville was greatly disturbed by horse thieves, he took an active part in organizing and managing the Hicks- ville Detective Society, which was formed in 1867 for the promotion of law and order. This association was composed of the best citizens of the locality,
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with James Casebeer as president; Mr. Ainsworth, treasurer ; and Doctor Kin- mont, secretary. One man, Daniel Hilbert, had a large number of horses stolen, and the people were so excited over the depredations as to be ready to treat the thieves with severity. The active and energetic measures of the Society resulted in clearing the locality of the objectionable element, five thieves being apprehended and sent to the penitentiary through their efforts. Among these were two noted characters who were surrounded in the woods north of town, and captured after a well-directed search lasting two days. In the effort to induce these men to confess they were hung by the members of the Associa- tion out of Mr. Ainsworth's store windows until they were nearly dead, but they were finally let down and tried by due process of law, convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary.
On December 29, 1869, Mr. Ainsworth was married to Miss Sarah A. Parker, a daughter of Allen and Esther ( Osborne) Parker, who were the first couple married in Hicksville. Mr. Ainsworth has a pleasant home at the corner of Maple and Smith streets, Hicksville, the house having been built by himself in 1873. Of his four children-Carrie married Charles Bassett, of Anderson, Indiana: Miss Nettie is at home; Alda is the wife of W. E. Dittenhover, cashier of the First National Bank of Hicksville; and Miss Susie resides at home. Socially, the family is prominent, and Mr. Ainsworth is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Methodist Church.
EDWARD PAYSON HOOKER.
To the men of "Merrie England," and their ever civilizing influences, the whole world is to a large extent indebted for its progress, during past centuries. Go where you will to any part of the habitable globe, and there you will find Englishmen in the van of commerce and enterprise. Stout- limbed, with "hearts of oak," they have been marked figures on thousands of battlefields, not only in their own "tight little island," but in every por- tion of the wide world. England's men of renown are innumerable; the marks they have left on the pages of law are precedents for our own code of the present day; as statesmen, they are quoted and cited from every civ- ilized rostrum; while in religion they were the earliest champions and de- fenders of the inalienable right of everyone to worship God according to his conscience. To the United States England gave a Washington, the Patriot, General and President, besides thousands of others who have done with historic lustre upon the scroll of the great Republic's fame. Her citi- zens have ever been in the fore-front as educators and statesmen, as well
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as warriors upon many a bloody field, where the fight was for liberty and right. To such lineage is authentically traced the ancestry of the subject of this review.
As far back as the fourteenth century, the Hooker family were of such prominence in wars, statesmanship and religion, that records of them were kept and inscribed on the pages of history. They were a family of sub- stance and of the higher class of gentry, among them being Knights and Baronets, while one of them, Sir Richard Hooker, was Lord Mayor of Lon- don. The known genealogy of the Hooker family, in direct line to our subject, begins about 1450 or 1460 with John Hooker, mayor of the City of Exeter, England. His son, Robert, was also a mayor of that city, and the latter's son, John Hooker, was a member of Parliament, and also "An- tiquarian and Historian Chancellor of the City of Exeter." The last named son, Thomas Hooker, was the father of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, who founded the family in America in 1633. Remotely, members of the fam- ily were among the stanchest supporters of the Church of England; but some of them became "dissenters," for which they were persecuted, not- ably one, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, who fled to Holland to escape arrest on account of his religious belief and practices. He was an able and de- vout man, one of great influence among his compatriots. He afterward secretly returned to London, and very narrowly escaped arrest, had which occurred, these lines would doubtless never have been written, as they made "short shrift" in those days, and religious martyrs were numerous. In 1632 he emigrated on the ship "Griffin" with a colony of congenial spir- its, locating and for four years residing at Newtown (now Cambridge), Mas- sachusetts, then with a company of about one hundred others, went to Con- necticut, and there founded the city of Hartford, in 1636. He built and was pastor of the first church ever erected in that city, or in Connecticut, and was one of the formers of the Constitution of the Colony of Connecti- cut, of which he wrote the greater part, and which was so like the princi- ples laid down in the Declaration of Independence of 1776, that both may almost be said to have originated from his pen. He was a man of marked piety and learning, and was the author of Congregational Polity in the United States. He was born July 7, 1586, was married in 1624 to Susanna -, and died July 7, 1647, leaving a family of five children, two sons-John and Samuel-and three daughters. John Hooker returned to England, and there became a minister of the Established Church. Many of Rev. Thomas Hooker's descendants have become historical characters of national prominence, among whom may be mentioned: "Fighting Joe
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Hooker," a famous Union general of the great Rebellion; Commander Ed- ward Hooker, of the United States Navy; John Hooker, chief justice of Connecticut, whose wife was Isabella Beecher, sister to Rev. Henry Ward Beecher; and others.
Rev. Thomas Hooker's son, the Rev. Samuel Hooker, was born in 1633, was married September 22, 1658, to Mary Willett, and died in the ministry at Farmington, Connecticut. November 6, 1697. Mary Willett was a daughter of Captain Thomas Willett, who was the first mayor of New York City. She was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, November 10, 1637, was married there September 22, 1658, and died at Norwalk, Con- necticut, June 24, 1712. From her nine sons come all Hookers who are de- scended from Rev. Thomas Hooker, first settler of Hartford, Connecticut. Her remains lie buried in the graveyard attached to what is known as "the First Church" at Hartford, Connecticut. The grave was marked by a slate head-stone, which, after being exposed to the elements and storms of over two and a half centuries, became sadly defaced, and some of her descendants replaced the old slab by a substantial granite monument, which was finished in 1890, and now marks her grave. The contributions for its erection, costing $342, came from all points-from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts-in one case from Italy.
Rev. Samuel Hooker and his wife had a family of eleven children, the fourth child in the order of birth being John Hooker, who was born Feb- ruary 20, 1664, was married in 1687, and had a family of ten children. Of this family was a son, Hezekiah Hooker, who was married October 30, 1717, and had a family of ten children, among whom was a son, William Hooker, born at Hartford, January 20, 1729, married twice, (first) to Rachel and (second) to Mary Rachel had four children, and Mary had eleven children, among whom was a son, Increase Mosely Hooker, born November 4, 1765, at Hartford Connecticut, and was married
17, -, to Lois Wilcox, who died in Truxton, New York, 1813. He moved to Truxton, Cortland county, New York, where he was a pioneer, entered land, erected a grist and saw mill, and operated same, becoming a man of mark in his vicinity. He was possessed of fine physique, stood six feet three inches in height, and when of advanced age stood erect and straight as an arrow. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, Samuel Foreman, at Onondaga Hollow, Onondaga county, New York, in 1849, aged eighty- four years.
Of his family, two sons, Harley Hooker and Chellis (a twin brother ) were born at Hartford, Connecticut, December 9, 1792, and as soon as his education
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was far enough advanced Harley began the study of medicine at Auburn, New York, where he graduated. In 1827 he was married at Salina, New York (now included in the city of Syracuse), to Miss Mary Beardsley, who was born at Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1801. Doctor Hooker began the practice of his profession in Salina in 1825, thence moved to Auburn, New York, in 1828, and for five years was the physician and surgeon for the State's prison at that place. Subsequently he practiced for six years at Henrietta, Monroe county, New York, and in 1839 migrated west with his family, locating same year at Rockton, Winnebago county, Illinois, where he continued in the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred March 16, 1867. He was a man of fine attainments, and as a member of the medical profession ranked among the foremost of his time. His widow died at Rockton May 27, 1877. They had a family of six child- ren namely: (1) William C., born at Auburn, New York, September 13, 1828, married Mary C. McQuary; he is an attorney at Carthage, Illinois. (2) James H., born June 23, 1830, moved to Sacramento, California, in 1853, where he was engaged in fruit growing; he was married there to Elizabeth Spencer in 1871, and died there in 1874. (3) Edward Payson, the subject of this sketch, born September 1, 1832, at Auburn, New York. (4) Mary Lewis, born August 24, 1834, married Gustave Streckewald, at Rock- ton, Illinois, in 1862, moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1863, removing thence in 1891 to Los Angeles, California, where they now live. (5) George R., born September 24, 1836, married Minnie Martin, and died at Rockton, Illinois, in 1874, where his widow also died in 1875. (6) Frances Eliza- beth, born September 18, 1838, was married in 1862 to G. Henry Hollis- ter, at Rockton, Illinois, and is now a widow, living at Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Edward Payson Hooker, one of the last named family, and the subject of this sketch, was born September 1, 1832, at Auburn, New York, and was a lad of seven years when he was brought by his parents to Rockton, Illinois. There he passed his early years, attending school winters and helping on his father's farm in the summers. At seventeen he attended school at Beloit, Wisconsin, which was only four miles from Rockton, to prepare for college; but on account of failing eyesight he was obliged to give up his studies, during the first year, and returned home. During the two following winters he taught school, and then spent a full year under pri- vate instruction at Rockford, Illinois, in the study of higher mathematics, surveying, civil engineering, etc. His twentieth year was the last he spent at the old homestead, at Rockton, and in the winter of 1852-53 he went
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to Chicago, where for three years he was employed in the wholesale and retail drug store of J. H. Reed & Co., and the succeeding three years was in the employ of M. D. Gilman & Co., wholesale grocers, same city. Hav- ing thus acquired a thorough business training, he came to Defiance, Ohio, March 3, 1859, where he had made provisions for a partnership under the firm name of Backus, Lindenberger & Hooker, they opening up a large general store, which for five years was profitably conducted. In 1864 he sold his interests in the business. In the summer of 1865 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and there engaged in the commission business- flour, grain, seeds, etc .- under the firm name of E. P. Hooker & Co., con- tinuing the same about five years, until 1870, in which year he returned ,with his family to Defiance, where he took an interest in the Defiance Manu- facturing Co., a large concern, of which he was made secretary and treas- urer, filling the duties of that responsible position for fifteen years or un- til the affairs of that company were wound up. For some years he had been assistant cashier of the Merchants National Bank of Defiance, Ohio, and in 1886 was appointed cashier, succeeding Benjamin L. Abell (de- ceased), and has in that position efficiently looked after the best interests of the bank to the present time. In addition to his other interests, he in 1880 with John Crowe, under the firm name of Crowe & Hooker, operated a plant for the manufacture of elm staves and hoops, which was success- fully conducted until 1895, when the firm closed out their business. On the death of his brother-in-law, William C. Holgate, who was president of the Merchants National Bank, August 13, 1888, Mr. Hooker, as joint ex- ecutor of the large estate, has looked after the various interests faithfully, until now (1897) final settlements will soon be made, and he will be thus released from great care and responsibility, as the estate amounts to about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or over.
In politics he is an ardent Republican, and active in advocating the principles of the party; was chairman of the Republican County Executive Committee six or eight years, and has been sent as delegate to various Re- publican State and Congressional Conventions. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity; since twelve years of age he has been a member of the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches, serving as elder of the lat- ter for twenty-five years.
On September 27, 1860, Mr. Hooker was married to Arabella E. Hol- gate, a half sister of William C. Holgate (deceased), who came to Defiance in 1835. Their father, Curtis Holgate, moved from Utica to Defiance in 1837, laid out and was half owner of the original plat of the village (now
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city) of Defiance. She was the youngest child, and was born in Defiance November 16, 1839. By their union there are four children, namely: Fannie Annette, born May 29, 1862 (unmarried); Minnie E., born Decem- ber 28, 1864, married Charles F. Ferguson, of Defiance; William H., born August 9, 1868, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Edward Bernard, born February 5, 1871. All the children were born at Defiance except William H. The mother of this family died very suddenly of pulmonary apoplexy at midnight, New Year's eve, January 1, 1892. As her spirit passed into im- mortality the bells were ringing in the glad New Year, and before their sweet cadence had ceased her soul had sought the far beyond in everlast- ing peace. In her life she was a true woman, wife and mother, a devout Christian, and very earnest and active in church and society work, and was sadly missed not only by the loved ones at home but by the entire com- munity.
In describing the salient characteristics of Edward Payson Hooker, one verdict is given by those who know him best, and that is pre-eminent and practical truthfulness and integrity, combined with great executive ability, place him upon the plane of business as the equal of any of his compeers; while as a citizen and gentleman his whole life has been one of integrity and Christian consistency. Mr. Hooker and family reside at No. 667 Jefferson street, Defiance, in a commodious house, built by himself in 1872.
HENRY KIMBLE.
This deceased gentleman was for many years one of the leading and prominent farmers of Pulaski township, Williams county, and was also an honored veteran of the Civil war. His entire life was passed in Williams county, his birth occurring in Springfield township, December 15, 1842. His father, Daniel Kimble, a native of New York State, was one of the earliest settlers of Williams county, and died in Springfield township when about fifty-one years of age. He made the first wooden auger for boring wells in this part of the county.
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