Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 100

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 100
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mrs. Hartman's parents, Garhard and Mary (Wilker) Sielschott, also natives of the Fatherland, were born in 1806 and 1805 respectively, and they both died in May, 1882, the mother on the 6th, the father on the 24th. They were married in about 1830, and were pioneers of Wood county, Ohio, where they spent their days, and where, in Troy township, they now lie buried. To them were born four children: Engel, widow of Harmon Schroeder, of Wood county, who has had five children; Anna Marie Louisa, Mrs. Hartman; Mary, Mrs. Henry Frier, of 43

Wood county, who has seven children; and Fred, who has been twice married, first to Julia Mirosey, who had seven chil- dren, and died March 20, 1882, after which he married Mary Welling, by whom he had five children. Mrs. Hartman's paternal grandmother, Mary Otten, was born about 1760 in Germany, and was the mother of four children, all of whom are now deceased.

C ARMI G. SANFORD. One of the pioneer families of Sandusky county is represented at Clyde by an individual whom all delight to honor-the venerable Carmi G. Sanford, first president of the People's Bank.

Mr. Sanford was born December 28, 1818, in Ontario county, N. Y., son of Zachariah and Mary P. (Mantor) Sanford. The father was born near Saybrook, Conn., in 1790. In 1808 he left Connecticut with his widowed mother, and settled on a farm in Madison county, N. Y. There he married Mary P. Mantor, who was born in Massachusetts in 1798, and had migrated with her parents to central New York. After their marriage Zachariah and Mary Sanford moved to the western part of the Empire State, settling on a farm in Ontario county. On the farm a fam- ily of children was growing up about them, and again the spirit of migration moved the pioneer. In the fall of 1832 the fa- ther brought his family to Townsend township, Sandusky county, where he purchased an eighty-acre tract entirely covered with forest. With the aid of his half-grown boys Mr. Sanford built a cabin, and during the winter made a clearing for the spring crops. Gradually the wilder- ness was converted into fertile fields, and here the peace-loving father concluded his life's history. His death occurred May 6, 1862, and the wife survived until March 17, 1868. It has been said that Zachariah Sanford died without an enemy. He had brought with him from New En-

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gland the gentle but invincible spirit of the Puritan. He was unobtrusive in manner, and hospitable. His neighbors always spoke well of him. The wife and mother had deep religious convictions, and sought to impress the habit of piety upon her children. Carmi G. remembers that in his boyhood days he was presented by his mother with a sheep as a reward for hav- ing read the entire Bible. Seven children were born to Zachariah and Mary San- ford, as follows: Elias M., who was born July 17, 1817, and died in Townsend township, May 31, 1843, leaving a wife and one child; Carmi G., subject of this sketch, born December 28, 1818; Henry A., who was born March 4, 1820, married Mary, daughter of Daniel Rice, and now lives on the home farm; Sally M., born December 27, 1826; William B., born April 7, 1828; Almira, born July 10, 1832, married Samuel H. Tibbals, and died leaving no children; George W., born February 2, 1839, a resident of Townsend township.

Carmi G. Sanford was fourteen years of age when he came with his parents to Sandusky county. He had attended the public schools in New York, but in the pioneer Ohio home educational facilities were few, and the work of clearing the farm was imperative. He was an indus- trious and willing worker, and remained on his father's farm until after he reached his majority. Then he purchased for himself a forty-acre wooded tract, which he afterward traded for another. He was married, March 9, 1844, to Lydia Allyn, daughter of Isaac and Permelia (Down- ing) Allyn. Isaac Allyn was born in Con- necticut, September 21, 1786, and at the age of eighteen years left home for the West. After traveling from place to place for several years, he settled in Erie coun- ty. About 1820, in company with Jonas Gibbs, he settled on the prairie in the northern part of Riley township, Sandusky county, and there engaged extensively in stockraising. He raised horses and cattle,

and was a primitive porkpacker on a large scale. For a few years he lived at the Gibbs cabin, then kept bachelor's hall until his marriage, June 12, 1827, to Mrs. Permelia Daniels. She was born June 24, 1795, in Windom county, Conn., daughter of Cyrus Downing, who, with his family, migrated in 1797 to New York, and in 1809 to Erie county, Ohio, settling near Huron. He was then in hostile Indian territory, and prior to the outbreak during the war of 1812 was compelled to abandon home and seek refuge in the fort at Cleveland. Permelia was married in April, 1813, to Jeremiah Daniels. At that time about twenty families lived at Huron, and so active were Indian depredations in the vicinity that they were compelled to leave their homes nine times during one year. After the death of Mr. Daniels, the widow married Isaac Allyn. The latter died January 30, 1839, and Mrs. Allyn survived until Sep- tember 18, 1874, living during the last eighteen months of her life with her daughter Lydia. Mrs. Allyn was a woman of considerable business ability and very industrious. One year with her own hands she salted more than one hundred barrels of pork. To Isaac and Permelia Allyn three children were born: Lydia, born March 20, 1828; Isaac M., of Riley township, born February 8, 1832; Per- melia, born November 6, 1837, died June 25, 188I.

After his marriage to Lydia Allyn, Carmi G. Sanford began housekeeping in a small cabin in Townsend township. It was made entirely of logs and puncheons, except the door, which was fashioned from the boards of a store box. In this cabin Mr. Sanford lived for about ten years. Only a small part of his little farm was cleared, and he had an abun- dance of work before him. He kept pace with the new methods and machinery for farming, and by economy and industry added to his possessions until he owned 400 well-improved acres. Like his father,

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he was a Whig in politics, and in later years became a Republican. Sostrong were his political convictions that he quite natur- ally became a leader in the community in which he lived. During the war he was active in encouraging enlistments and in caring for the families of soldiers, spend- ing time and money freely. When the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth O. V. I. was formed he was chosen captain of Company C, composed of volunteers from Riley and Townsend townships, and at the regimental organization in Fremont he was chosen lieutenant col- onel, Nathaniel Haynes being elected colonel. Lieut .- Col. Sanford had charge of the regiment on its march from Fre- mont to Sandusky, but through the ca- price of Col. Wiley he was relieved from service before he had been mustered in, much to the regret of the regiment, which had become very much attached to him. Mr. Sanford has served Townsend town- ship as clerk and justice of the peace, and his county as infirmary director and as county commissioner. He was a mem- ber of Clyde Lodge F. & A. M., and of Erie Commandery No. 23. In 1882 he removed to Clyde. He was one of the organizers of the People's Bank, and was elected its president, a position he held until his death which occurred Sep- tember 13, 1894. He was also a mem- ber of the marble firm of Sanford & Hughes, one of the largest and most act- ive business houses of the kind in this part of Ohio.

To Mr. and Mrs. Sanford seven chil- dren were born, as follows: Mary P., born April 24, 1846, died in infancy; Win- field Scott, born August 16, 1847, who mar- ried Eliza McCartney, by whom he had three children-Carmi G., Jr., Cora and Charles F .- and who died September 8, 1889; Flora A., born February 3, 1850, who married James Gaw and died Febru- ary 28, 1872; Morgan C., born July 25, 1861, who married Ida White, and has three children-Blake, John H. and Flora;

Kate L., born November 7, 1864, died March 1, 1868; Hattie M., born January 24, 1868, and married to W. E. Hughes, of the marble firm of Sanford & Hughes; Charles G., born January 24, 1871, died October 6, 1872. Mrs. Lydia Sanford died February 11, 1893. She was a whole-souled woman, happy and cheerful in temperament, and deeply devoted to her husband and children. She made her home one of the most attractive in the county, and was beloved by all who knew her. Her death was a severe blow to her husband. Carmi G. Sanford inherited the gentle and courtly manners of his father, and by his ever-present considera- tion for others he seemed a survivor of an earlier type of men. No man speaks un- kindly of Carmi G. Sanford, and no man in Sandusky county ranks higher in pub- lic esteem than did he. He had a striking individuality, and such a whole-souled, good-natured disposition that all knew him and none knew him but to like him. He was a friend of the people-the capi- talist, the business man, the laborer and the street urchin.

C APTAN JOHN L. COLE, a pio- neer of Sandusky county, was born at Greenbush, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., in 1807. He was a son of Lucius and Esther Cole, who died about the year 1815, leaving three children- John L., Mary and Lima-who then be- came separated and were reared by strang- ers. It fell to the lot of our subject to be bound out to a sea captain by the name of Tift, and to spend his time from the age of eight to twenty-one years on a sailing vessel in the New York and Liverpool trade; so that he did not have the privi- lege of attending school a single day After he had served his time with this salt- water captain, he went to visit his sister, Lima, at Cortland, N. Y., and wintered there. In the following spring he re- turned to New York City, married Miss

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Elizabeth French, daughter of a Baptist minister, and took a position as captain on a packet boat on the Hudson river, where he remained until he was twenty- four years of age.

In 1830 Mr. Cole was.solicited to come to Buffalo, N. Y., to rig out a brig. This he did satisfactorily, and subsequently sailed as master of the vessel, for several seasons, on the upper lakes, his interven- ing winter seasons being spent in rigging out other vessels for similar service. He sailed for several seasons as captain of the " Wabash." About the year 1833 he made his first voyage to Lower Sandusky, in quest of pipe staves for the Southern sugar trade, and in the fall of that year laid up his vessel at that port to await its spring cargo of staves. While here he made the acquaintance of Sardis Birch- ard, a leading merchant and a large land holder, and bought of him a tract of 480 acres of land in Scott township, on which he made a temporary settlement a few years later. In 1842 Mr. Cole and Mr. Birchard went to Huron, Erie county, and built the schooner "Sardis Birchard." On this vessel, owned by these two men, Mr. Cole sailed as captain, hailing from the port of Lower Sandusky and running the chain of lakes for a number of years, until he abandoned the business. He carried many cargoes of grain from the port of Chicago when the site of that city was little better than a malarious marsh. About the year 1850 Capt. Cole sold his land in Scott township and bought upwards of three hundred acres of the Whittaker Reserve, to which he added by later purchases from other parties un- til he had six hundred acres. This tract, which was then a dense forest, he cleared up and improved, and it remains to-day a fine monument to his industry and skill. He was a man of small stature, but pos- sessed of untiring energy, practical tact and good common sense. Though cast upon the wide world without book learn- ing, he learned to read men instead, and

later mastered the rudiments of English by the aid of his intelligent and helpful wife, so that he could manage his large business interests with marked success. He was a Republican in politics, and his wife was a member of the M. E. Church, Fremont. The children of Capt. J. L. and Elizabeth Cole were: Frances M., wife of J. C. Barnes, of St. Lawrence county, N. Y., a student five years at Oberlin College (their children were John, Arthur, Charles, and Frank); John W., who died at the age of fifteen; Sardis B., sketch of whom follows; Hannah E., wife of George W. Stull, residing on the Cole homestead (their children were-Ida, El- bert, Frank, Robert, Eva, Claud and Fanny); Mercy, wife of Judge William F. Bailey, of Armenia, N. Y., who removed to Eau Claire, Wis., where she died, leav- ing no children. Sarah L., wife of A. L. Dodge, druggist, of Eau Claire, Wis., whose children were-Bert, Sadie, Jessie and Jamie; Emma, wife of S. J. Ludwick, of Fremont, Ohio (she died without issue); and Evaline, wife of L. G. Hamilton, jeweller, Fremont (they have one child- Mildred).

After the death of his wife, Elizabeth (French), June 3, 1872, Capt. Cole mar- ried on January 14, 1875, Miss Sarah A. Hineline, a daughter of Hugh B. and Re- becca (Lattig) Hineline. His death oc- curred March 18, 1889, and he was buried in Oak Wood Cemetery. His widow re- sides in Fremont, Ohio.

S ARDIS B. COLE, retired farmer, of Fremont, Sandusky county, was born in Scott township, San- dusky Co., Ohio, September 8, 1842, a son of Capt. J. L. and Elizabeth (French) Cole. His early life was spent in the heart of the Black Swamp, in his native township, and when eight years of age he came with his father's family to live on the historic Whittaker Reserve, about two miles north of Lower Sandusky.

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Here he grew to manhood amid the cares and labors of farm life, and attending the home schools and thoseof Fremont village.

In the year 1860 he entered Oberlin College with the object of taking a course of study, but on the outbreak of the Civil war, when farm laborers became scarce, he was obliged to abandon his books and assist his father on the home farm. He afterward took a commercial course at Oberlin. Ohio, and served as bookkeeper for I. T. Lyon, of Cleveland, Ohio. He retained his home with his parents until 1866, when he married Miss Margaret E. Hyatt, daughter of J. WV. Hyatt, of Sandusky township. They settled upon a farm in that township, comprising about 240 acres of choice land, where they lived about twenty-two years. Their children were: Charles W., a banker at Hartford City, Ind., who mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Winning, of that city; John B., a farmer who married Miss Mat- tie Ernst, and lives on the Sardis Cole farm; Grace E., who died at the age of seventeen, just after having completed a course of study at St. Paul, Minn. ; Sar- dis B., Jr., a grocer of Hartford City, Ind .; George D., and Jessie, attending the Fremont city schools.

Sardis B. Cole is a Republican in poli- tics, and a member of the M. E. Church. He is also an active member of Croghan Lodge, No. 77, I. O. O. F .; a member of the Pioneer and Historical Society of Sandusky county; president of the Agri- cultural Society, and a liberal contributor to various benevolent enterprises. In 1892 he removed to Fremont, and now occupies a residence near the M. E. Church, on Main street.

J AMES ROSENBERGER, a promi- nent farmer of Sandusky township, Sandusky county, was born in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, near the famous battle-ground, January 1, 1819, a son of Henry and Jane (Shawl)

Rosenberger, the former of whom was born in Virginia, and was a farmer. His parents came from Germany.

Grandfather Henry Rosenberger came to this country in early life, and was mar- ried in Virginia. The grandfather of our subject, on mother's side, was bound out to work for payment of passage to this country; he settled in Virginia. Grand- father Nicholas Shawl came to Seneca county after our subject's father came here. Both grandfathers came to Seneca county in 1818, bought land, and returned to Virginia. The paternal grandfather died in Virginia, the maternal grandfather in Seneca county, Ohio. The father of our subject came to Ohio in October, 1823, locating in Seneca township, Seneca Co., Ohio, on land his father had bought. Our subject's uncle John was a distiller and a miller in Virginia, in the Shenan- doah Valley, which occupations he gave up, entering a quarter section of land in Seneca county, Ohio, in 1822. The near- est neighbor'the Rosenberger's had at that time was four miles distant. When go- ing to see their neighbors they were guided by blazed trees along the way. Uncle John lived there about twenty-five years, and then moved to Iowa. The father of our subject was one of three sons who went there. There were six children by the first marriage, two by the last: Our subject's father lived in Seneca county until 1853, and died in Tiffin, aged eighty- nine. Our subject's mother was born in Virginia, and died at the age of seventy- four. The father was a Republican in politics, originally a Whig. They were members of the M. E. Church. James Rosenberger was one of eleven children: Subject, Elizabeth, William, George, Har- riet, David, Martha, John, Eliza, Jacob, and Anna, who died in infancy. Ten of these grew up to maturity.

Our subject attended school in a log schoolhouse which had a chimney built of sticks plastered with mud or clay mor- tar. In 1843 he married, in Sandusky

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county, Miss Mary Ramsberg, who was born in Maryland, November 3, 1817. She is yet living. There were eight chil- dren born to this union: (1) Mariba M., born January 10, 1845, married Silas Saffel, and had children-William, Gus- tave, Jennie, George, Bertie, and Pearl. (2) Lucinda, born April 13, 1848, mar- ried Wallace Knight, whose children were-Oliver, Bertha, Clara, George, Robert and LeRoy. (3) Perry F., born March 15, 1850, married Anna Hummel, whose children were-Arthur, Burt, Er- mie, George, Ollie, and Willie. (4) Amos E., born June 17, 1852, died in infancy. (5) John A., born June 28, 1854, died when twenty-one years old. (6) Theo- dore, born July 12, 1856, by his first mar- riage had one child-Clarence-and by his second marriage had two children, LeRoy and one whose name is not given; they live in Kansas. (7) Mary Jane Rosenberger, born January 24, 1859, married David Burgoon; they have no children.

In 1846 our subject came to Sandusky township, locating on Muskallonge creek, and he has been on his present farm since 1854. It was then all woods. He cleared it up himself. He remembers distinctly the political campaign of 1840, known in history as the "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign, which resulted in the election of Gen. William H. Harri- son to the Presidency. Mr. Rosenberger helped to build a log cabin out of all buckeye logs, at Tiffin, Ohio, on which they put a clapboard roof, a barrel of hard cider on top, a flagstaff with the United States flag, and on top of the pole a live raccoon.

J AMES H. McRITCHIE, postmaster at Port Clinton, Ottawa county, was born in Bay township, Ottawa Co., Ohio, September 24, 1854, a son of David and Jane (Yule) McRitchie, who were married in Forfarshire, Scotland.

The parents of our subject emigrated to America in 1832. After arriving in New York City they journeyed westward to Buffalo, there taking passage on a ves- sel, bound for Chicago, where they ex- pected to meet some friends. The ves- sel, however, was wrecked in a storm near the harbor of Port Clinton, and they were taken ashore at that place, stopped at a brick hotel that now forms part of the "Lake House, " kept by John Mitchell. This was in August, 1832. Mr. Mc- Ritchie relinquished his plan of going to Chicago, and instead bought a farm of 120 acres of timbered land in Bay town- ship, Ottawa county, which he cleared and which served him and his family as a home for many years. The country was then almost a wilderness, and the pio- neers endured many privations. There was no work for laboring people at which they could earn money, except in the quarries at Plaster Bed, and that was seven miles from his farm. He was ac- customed to go to his work on Monday morning, returning on Saturday evening, carrying provisions with him for a week, and was often obliged to take his pay in dry goods and groceries and such like, in lieu of money. As soon as he was able to purchase an ox team he got his supplies from Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), which occupied two days-one to go and one to return. Having received a fairly liberal education in Scotland, Mr. Mc- Ritchie was well qualified to fill various positions of honor and trust to which he was afterward elected. He held the of- fices of township clerk and justice of the peace; later (1848) was elected auditor of Ottawa county, which office he held nine years, and in 1874 was elected county treasurer, in which incumbency he served four years. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and was an enter- prising and public-spirited citizen. He died April 7, 1883, after which his widow remained on the homestead until 1888, when she went to live with her son James

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H., at Port Clinton. Their children were: Jeannette, William, Maria, Ellen, John D., Jane, Nancy, David and James H., all born in Bay township, Ottawa Co., Ohio. Of these, Jeannette died in childhood; William died at the age of twenty-six; Maria married Darwin Hyde, and lived on Catawba Island, where they both died, leaving three children-Ho- mer, Ora and Lemuel; Ellen married Charles Darr, and lived in Bay township, where they both died (one of their sons, William, lives on the family homestead, the other, Frank, died at the age of six- teen); John D. married Sarah Legget, lived on a farm for a time, then moved to Port Clinton, and followed butchering (their children were-Emma, William, Mary, Charlotte, Ida, Ora, Clara and George); Jane married J. W. Mizner, hardware merchant, Port Clinton (their children were-James H., Clara, Edward and Grace); Nancy married James L. Mackey (they lived on a farm in Bay town- ship, where he died, after which she moved to Port Clinton; their children were Pearl, David and Alma); David married Alice Hyde, and follows the butchering business in Port Clinton (they have one child, Charles S.). In politics Mr. McRitchie was a Democrat and all his sons are Democrats.

James H. McRitchie, the subject proper of this sketch, was raised on his father's farm and attended country schools during the winter seasons. In 1888 he commenced the butcher business, and so continued until May 22, 1893, when he was appointed postmaster at Port Clinton by President Cleveland. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge, No. 627, and passed all the chairs of Lake Erie En- campment, No. 232, and of Canton Ot- tawa, No. 60; also the National Union, No. 60. On November 6, 1879, he was married to Miss Clara E. Lattimore, who was born September 25, 1854, daughter of John and Mary (Park) Lattimore, and their children are: Irma A., Mack A. Mc-

Ritchie, Hattie A. and Mabel. Mr. Mc- Ritchie is a typical self-made man, one whose record is without a stain, and, whether in prosperity or adversity, he has ever been upright, conscientious and hon- orable.

D ENNIS FAMILY. Arthur Nelson Dennis and his wife were both born in Maine, and in their native State eight children were born to them, one son and seven daughters, as follows: Lucy, who became the wife of a Mr. Churchill, and after his death wedded Elder Wire; Polly; Sarah; Hannah, who wedded Horace Flower; Betsy, who mar- ried Alpheus Barber; Fanny, who wedded Solomon Drown; Rebecca, who married John Kilbourne; and John. Of this family two came to Ohio-Mrs. Drown and John.

Arthur Dennis moved into New York State, locating in the vicinity of Lyons, but later in life moved to Erie county, Penn., where he spent the remainder of his days. His occupation was that of shoemaker. Politically he was a Whig.

John Dennis followed farming all his life; after leaving the Keystone State he located, in about 1845, in York township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, and he owned 160 acres of land in Lucas county, Ohio. In New York State he married Malinda Hatch, a native of Maine, to which union came thirteen children, namely: Alvira, who became the wife of Washington Collom; Hiram; John; Hatch; Spellman; Malinda, who was the wife of William McLain; Arthur Nelson; William George; Syrenus; two who died in infancy; Fla- vel; and one unnamed, a twin to Malin- da. All are now deceased except Will- iam. The mother of this family died August 10, 1854, and the father in Sep- tember, 1864.

William Dennis was born in Erie, Penn., November 28, 1833. When sev- enteen years of age he entered upon an ap- prenticeship to the blacksmith trade, in

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learning which he spent three years, and which he pursued until September, 1862. At that time he enlisted, serving until the close of the war; he participated in many skirmishes, and was in the engagements at Nashville, and with his command made a thirty-one-days' march with but six hours rest. On April 3, 1855, Mr. Dennis wed- ded Jane Nottage, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, who died in South Dakota November 3, 1885. Three children came to bless this union: Clara, wife of Foster Thompson, of Stillwater, Minn .; Flora, wife of James May, of Seneca county, Ohio, and William N., foreman of the old White Lime Co., Bowling Green, Ohio. For his second wife William Den- nis wedded Ella Hinton, and to this mar- riage was born one child, Harry B. Will- iam Dennis is engaged in dealing in horses.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 100

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago, J.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1040