Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 11

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 11
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 11

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Mr. Lockwood has never desired or sought the honor or emoluments of public office, preferring to give his time and at- tention to the duties of his farm, yet he has, by the earnest solicitations of his friends, accepted and efficiently filled var- ious positions of trust in the township. In his political views he was formerly a Whig, giving his first vote for William Henry Harrison, and when the Republi- can party was formed he joined its ranks, and is still one of its earnest advocates. Although well-advanced in years, and one of the oldest citizens in Ottawa county, Ohio, he is still hale and hearty and more active than many men that are some years his junior. He gives his personal atten- tion to his large and productive farm, and spends his evenings amidst the surround- ings of his comfortable home in Port Clin- ton, where he has many friends who hold him high esteem.

J UDGE MALCOLM KELLY, wlio since the latter part of 1891 has been judge of the court of common pleas of the first subdivision of the Fourth Judicial District of Ohio, is a

native of Ohio, son of Hon. John Kelly, having been born July 31, 1844, in Dan- bury township, Ottawa county, on his father's farm. Here he grew up, going to school winters and working on the farm summers.

During the years 1860 and 1861 he attended the high school at Sandusky, and the winter before he was twenty-one years of age he taught his first country school. During the winters of 1865-66 and 1866-67 he again taught school, and in spring of the latter year entered the Business Institute at Oberlin, Ohio, but in consequence of sickness did not finish his course till the latter part of the sum- mer of 1868. As soon as his course was completed he was offered the position of teacher in that institute, which he ac- cepted, and he continued in that position till the spring of 1870, when he returned home, remaining there for a year. In the spring of 1871 our subject began the study of law in the office of Homer Goodwin, at Sandusky, Ohio, and in the following October entered the law department of Michigan University, Ann Arbor, Mich., where he was graduated in March, 1873, and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Immediately thereafter he was admitted to practice in the State of Michi- gan. In April following he formed a partnership and commenced the practice of law in Chicago, having been admitted to the bar of Illinois. During the entire winter following he was suffering from ill- ness, and had to submit to a severe surg- ical operation; afterward, in April, re- turning to Chicago, where he remained till late in the fall. At that time he sold out his interest in the partnership, and removed to Port Clinton, Ohio, where he has ever since made his home.

Early in 1875 Judge Kelly was admit- ted to practice in Ohio, and he then formed a partnership with T. L. Magers (now of Tiffin) under the firm name of Magers & Kelly, which partnership was dissolved in 1878. Our subject continued

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the law practice without any other busi- ness connection till the fall of 1891, when he was elected judge of the court of com- mon pleas, to fill the unexpired term of Judge J. L. DeWitt, and was elected for the full term next following. He assumed the duties of the office in the latter part of 1891, and has ever since been acting in that capacity with his characteristic abil- ity and zeal.

In 1876 Judge Kelly was married to Miss Susie Smith, and they have three children-two daughters and one son. The Judge in his political preferences is a Republican, has served on the board of school examiners of Ottawa county, and was mayor of Port Clinton one term. In religious faith he is a member of the Con- gregational Church. For the past two years he has held the position of presi- dent of the German-American Bank of Port Clinton.

W ILLIAM D. SHERWOOD, re- tired farmer, Fremont, San- dusky county, was born in Sen- eca county, Ohio, April 22, 1822, a son of William D. Sherwood and Martha (Allen), daughter of David Allen, of Es- sex county, N. J., who was a brother of Col. Ethan Allen, of Vermont, famous for bravery in Colonial days.

The father of our subject was born on a farm in Dutchess county, N. Y., which lay on the Hudson river, and has since become a part of New York City. He was educated in the city schools, studied law, was admitted to the bar and prac- ticed law a few years. During the war of 1812 he served as captain of a com- pany of Jersey Grays, and also as colonel of a regiment; during the latter part of the war he served as commissary. After his marriage he began the manufacture of edged tools, at Plainfield, N. J., and con- tinued at the same with good success about ten years, employing usually about forty men. In 1820 he sold his plant and | The children of William D. Sherwood,

moved to the then wilds of Seneca coun- ty, Ohio, north of Tiffin, where he en- tered 820 acres of government land, on which not a stick of timber had been cut except sufficient to open a winding road through the woods from Lower Sandusky to Delaware, Ohio. He cleared about fifty acres for farming purposes and erect- ed a double hewed-log house, a part of which was afterward sided up with boards, and is still (1895) standing as one of the oldest pioneer landmarks. Six years later he sold this land to different parties, among whom were the Souders and the Stoners, and himself located on 160 acres of government land on Green creek, three miles east of Lower Sandusky. This was in 1826, when the country was a wilder- ness, and Indians and wild animals roamed the forests in all directions at their will. With herculean labor he cut the heavy timber from one hundred acres, and cleared the land for farming pur- poses, using ox-teams and pioneer imple- ments.

Physically, Mr. Sherwood was a heavy-set man, muscular, five feet eight inches in height, of light complexion, with blue eyes, and in the enjoyment of robust health, regarded as one of the most pow- erful men in the settlement. He could wield an axe or a maul, or drive a yoke of oxen at loggings, or plow among roots and stumps to pioneer perfection. Among his scattered neighbors he was public- spirited and progressive, and held the offices of school director and township clerk for a number of years. In politics he was an Old-line Whig, and in religious faith a Universalist. His first wife died near Tiffin in 1822. For his second wife he married Miss Lois Emerson, sister of Jesse Emerson, late of Ballville township. Mr. Sherwood's death occurred in Au- gust, 1846, and he was laid to rest in a burial lot on his farm which he had pre- viously given to the public for a ceme- tery, now known as the Dana Cemetery.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Sen., by his first marriage were: James, Mary, Janette, Ruth, Nancy, Joseph, John and William D.

William D. Sherwood, our subject, spent his childhood among Indian play- mates, and grew up to hard work on his father's farm. He helped to set out one of the first apple orchards in Sandusky county. In 1839 he went to Iowa, then a territory, to locate land, and spent a year among the Musquaka Indians, whom he taught many things, and by whom he was a petted hero. He next took a trip to Tennessee and Kentucky, to visit his brother James, and while there engaged in steamboating. In 1845 he returned to Ohio, where he married Miss Mary E. Scovill, and farmed for his father. In the fall of the same year he moved to Burlington, Iowa, where for four years . he assisted his brother, Joseph, to run a steamboat wood-yard. In 1849 his wife died of cholera, and he then abandoned business for a time. In the spring of 1850 he started for California with a party of prospective miners, by the overland route. They drove ox-teams, and took a herd of cattle with them over the plains and mountains and across the rivers, oc- cupying six months and one day on their journey. They operated gold mines chiefly on the Yuba and Feather rivers. In the winter of 1853-54 Mr. Sherwood re- turned to Fort Seneca, Ohio, where, after farming one year, he married Miss Frances Elizabeth Harris, daughter of Mark Har- ris. In 1856 he engaged in the tanning business at Fostoria, and continued there until 1861, within which time he held the offices of township trustee and mayor of the village. At the outbreak of the Civil war, in 1861, Mr. Sherwood, as first lieu- tenant, joined Company B, Fifty-fifth O. V. I., under Col. J. C. Lee, of Tiffin, and served with his regiment about a year, when, on account of impaired health, he resigned and returned to Fostoria. In 1865 he came to Fremont, and bought a tannery of Jesse S. Van Ness. This he

worked about two years, when he sold out and purchased the property now oc- cupied as a parsonage by the pastor of St. Ann's Catholic Church, where his family resided several years. Here he suffered another attack of the gold fever, and went on the newly-constructed Union Pacific railroad westward as far as he could, to Evanston, 300 miles east of Salt Lake City, from which place his party were obliged to "stage it" to Diamond City, a distance of 1,200 miles, crossing the Rockies twice, and suffering many hardships. In 1870 he returned again to Fremont, and for two years, kept the "Croghan House " billiard saloon, and for one year a saloon on Front street. In 1874 he sold out, and went again to Cali- fornia to engage in mining on the Yuba river. He operated a hydraulic mine, at great expense, on Slate creek, and sunk about ten thousand dollars. Two years later he returned to Ohio, and for six years kept a saloon on Croghan street, Fremont, where the News office is located. In the meantime he bought lot 1018, on Hayes avenue, which he improved as a place of residence. Later he kept a sa- loon, two years, on the corner of Garrison and Front streets. His second wife died October 2, 1 884, and on December 26, 1888, he married Miss Ida May Hawk, daugh- ter of Joseph Hawk, a pioneer of Green Creek township. His children by his first wife were Alice and John, those by the second wife being Norman C., Eugene H., and William D .; those by his third wife being Harry Allen and Olive May.

Mr. Sherwood has held various local offices. He has been sanitary policeman, health officer, street commissioner, asses- sor, and since he quit keeping saloon has been janitor of the Union Club room. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity and of Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R .; in politics a Republican, and in religious faith a Universalist. A full account of his exploits would fill volumes. Though past his three score and ten years his

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

health is good, his mind clear and his memory undimmed; results which he at- tributes to the fact that he never used tobacco in any form, nor intoxicating drinks, nor indulged in gambling, nor in any social impurity.

NORMAN C. SHERWOOD, treasurer of the Trommer Extract of Malt Co., Fremont, was born at Fostoria, Ohio, May 17, 1857, a son of William D. and Frances E. (Harris) Sherwood. His childhood was spent at Fostoria where he attended the village schools, and at the age of eight years he came with his parents to Fre- mont, where he grew to manhood, mean- while attending the city schools. At the age of twenty he took a position as book- keeper in the above named company, and has remained with them, serving in vari- ous relations, for a period of more than eighteen years, and becoming a stock- holder in the same. Being possessed of a genial and social nature, he is popular in the various social circles of Fremont. He has served as chorister of the M. E. Church for a number of years very ac- ceptably; is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and in politics is a Republi- can. On April 19, 1882, he married Miss Susan Lewis, who was born November 16, 1858, at Fremont, Ohio, daughter of B. W. Lewis. Their children are: Charles Lewis, Norman Dickinson, Jeannette and Norma, all born in Fremont.

L EVI WOLFE, a farmer of San- dusky township Sandusky county, was born April 10, 1836, in Union county, Penn., a son of Michael and Margaret (Engleman) Wolfe, who were of German descent.

Mr. Wolfe's paternal great-grand- father was one of three brothers who emigrated from Germany to America, and served with Washington in the Revolu- tionary war, and later settled in Union county, Penn. This great ancestor of

the Wolfe families, from whom our sub- ject is descended, died in Union county, Penn., at the age of eighty years. Amongst the first settlers in the Buffalo Valley was George Wendell Wolfe, who served as a private in Capt. Clark's company, Col. Patton's regiment, in the Revolutionary war, in 1776. He had seven sons: Mich- ael, Peter, John (surnamed the strong), Jacob, Christian, Leonard and Andrew.

Michael Wolfe, the eldest, and grand- father of our subject, was a man of large stature and robust health, as were also his father and brothers, who were noted for feats of strength. He was a black- smith by trade. He married Miss Cath- arine Smith, and settled on a farm in Union county, Penn., where he died. Their children were: George, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Abraham, Julia, John, Michael (Jr.), and Catharine, of whom all except John became heads of families, and only three are now living-Elizabeth, Julia and Catharine, who are widows.

Michael Wolfe (Jr.), father of our sub- ject, was born August 6, 1809, in Union county, Penn., and on January 31. 1833, married Miss Margaret Engleman, who was born August 17, 1812, in Union county, Penn. She was the daughter of Solomon and Anna M. (Bruner) Engle- man, the former of whom was born Octo- ber 2, 1753, in Maryland, the latter on December 1, 1753, in Lehigh county, Penn. They died in Union county, Penn. Their children were: Elizabeth, David, Amelia, Jonathan, John, Margaret, Rachel and Tobias, all of whom became heads of families except Jonathan. Of these, only Margaret, mother of our subject, is now living. In 1843 Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe came to Ohio, moving from Pennsylvania in a one-horse and a two-horse wagon, and located on a farm two miles west of Fremont, on Muskallonge creek, in San- dusky township. Michael Wolfe had twice previously walked and staged the distance, a journey of more than four hundred miles through the forests.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

The record of the children of Mich- ael and Margaret Wolfe is as follows: Two sons, one born June 2, 1834, and another March 28, 1835, died in infancy. Levi, born April 10, 1836, is mentioned farther on. Solomon Wolfe, born Feb- ruary 8, 1838, was married January 16, 1862, to Mahala Bowlus, who was born, April 21, 1839, and they had five chil- dren-George W. (who was killed by a traction engine when a young man), Rosa, Catharine, Jessiah and Howard; they live in Seneca county, Ohio, where Solomon Wolfe is a farmer and grain thresher; he is a Republican in politics, and a member of the M. P. Church. Jessiah Wolfe, born February 17, 1840, was married May 9, 1867, to Elizabeth Loose; they had three children-one that died in infancy, and Clarence and Monroe; they live at Lindsey, Ohio, where Jes- siah is engaged in the grain, produce and live-stock business. Andrew J. Wolfe, born July 19, 1842, married Jemima Stults, February 16, 1865 (he is men- tioned farther on). One son, born June 6, 1844, died in infancy. Jane Ellen, born May 27, 1845, was married in July, 1879, to A. D. Hook, of Fremont, Ohio, proprietor of a shirt factory; they have no children. Catharine Ann, born No- vember 29, 1847, was married February 16, 1871, to William L. Baker, of the firm of Engler & Baker, grain and pro- duce dealers, of Fremont; they have two children-Harry M. and Verna L. Mar- garet Savilla, born January 25, 1850, was married in 1872 to James D. Hensel, a farmer west of Fremont; they had five children-two living, Nora and Mabel, and three deceased. Two other children of Michael Wolfe died in infancy. In the spring of 1865 Michael Wolfe moved from his farm on the Muskallonge creek to his farm on the Western Reserve and Maumee pike, to enjoy the fruits of his labor and economy, where he lived until his death, April 15, 1879. He was ever a kind and devoted husband, an affection-

ate father, always looking after the wel- fare of his children, and it is said of Mr. Wolfe that he never had an enemy.

Levi Wolfe, our subject, came with his parents from Union county, Penn., to Sandusky county, Ohio, when seven years of age, and grew to manhood on his father's farm. He received his early education in the country schools, and later attended several terms in the Fre- mont schools and at Oberlin College. On December 17, 1857, he married Chris- tiana M. Lantz, who was born July 31, 1836, in Northumberland county, Penn., daughter of John and Elizabeth (Dieffen- bach) Lantz, whose other children were Mary Ann, Simon, Nicholas, Rosanna, John, Henry, Philip, and Emanuel, all of whom came to Ohio about the year 1846, and settled on a farm in Washing- ton township, Sandusky county. In May, 1864, Mr. Wolfe enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment, O. V. I., under Col. Nathaniel E. Haynes, in Company H, Capt. Jacob D. Thomas, and served four months at Fort Ethan Allen, Virginia, one of the defences of Washington City, when Gen. Early at- tempted to take it. Mr. Wolfe was hon- orably discharged in September, 1864, and resumed farming in Jackson township. A year later he removed to the old home farm, which he conducted, and also en- gaged in grain threshing. He operated one of the first steam-threshing machines in the county. In 1883 he abandoned farming, moved to Fremont, and sold farming implements and machinery. In 1884 he went to his mother's farm, to man- age and care for her, and continued the sale of farm machinery. In 1895 he re- moved to Fremont, his present residence.

The children of Levi and Christiana Wolfe, which includes two pairs of twins, are: (1) Robert Andrew, born October 31, 1858, who married Miss Jane Druck- enmiller, November 6, 1879, and had six children-Blanche B., Harry and Clyde, who are living, and Claude, Daisie E.,

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and James O., deceased. In 1885 the family moved upon a prairie farm in Edwards county, Kans. (2) Lydia Ce- cilia, born February 25, 1860, died Feb- ruary 17, 1862. (3) Catharine Cadilia, born February 25, 1860, married Feb- ruary 20, 1882, to John J. Stein, whose children are-Essie A., Minor W., Mary C., and Matilda W. Mr. Stein is a butcher by trade. In 1890 he removed with his family to Lewisburg, Penn., where he had formerly resided, and is at present engaged with the Quaker City Meat & Provision Company, at Sunbury, Penn. (4) Emma Rosanna, born April 28, 1861, married Elliott T. Fox, Feb- ruary 23, 1887, whose children are-Adda Corinne, and George Chester. Soon af- ter their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fox moved upon a new prairie farm in Ed- wards county, Kans. (5) Ellen Helena, born July 19, 1862, who, August 10, 1883, married David Swinehart, and whose children are-Alva A., and Merrill James. Mr. Swinehart lives on his father's farm in Washington township. (6) James H., born October 31, 1863, married November IS, 1891, Miss Kate Boyer, of Fremont, and has one child, James Robert. J. H. Wolfe is assistant secretary of the Lehr Agricultural Company, Fremont. (7) Chester Edward, born November 28, 1865, married November 28, 1889, Miss Hattie Waggoner, and lives on the Samuel Waggoner farm, five miles west of Fre- mont. (8) Michael John, born No- vember 11, 1867, married September 18, 1889, Miss Minnie Boyer, of Fremont, and has one daughter-Corinne W .; M. J. Wolfe is a butcher in the em- ploy of the Quaker City Meat & Pro- vision Company, Sunbury, Penn., where he resides. (9) Margaret Elizabeth, born November 11, 1867, married June 26, 1890, Calvin Benner, a blacksmith, of Fremont, and has two sons-James Levi, born March 27, 1891, and Robert Rice, born January 18, 1894. (10) Adda Savilla, born August 5, 1874, marfied, August 8,

1894, William H. Hensel, a farmer, four miles west of Fremont.

In politics Levi Wolfe is a Republi- can, and has held various local offices. He has cared kindly for his aged mother who has been an almost helpless invalid for the last two years, and who has now reached the advanced age of eighty-three.

W ASHINGTON GORDON. For more than half a century the name of Gordon has been closely identified with the growth and progress of Ottawa county, more particu- larly with Salem township. The family is of Scotch ancestry on the father's side, while the mother is of Yankee parentage. The parents and grandparents of our sub- ject were natives of Somerset county, N. J. The first members of the family to settle in Ohio were John and Rachel (Smith) Gordon, parents of our subject, who removed from Somerset county, N. J., in 1831, and located in Salem town- ship. After residing here for about six months, they removed to Harris town- ship, where they remained three years, at the end of that time returning to Salem township, making it their place of abode during the remainder of their lives. They were honored and respected people, and had a large circle of warm friends. The father passed away Noveniber 7, 1851, preceded to the grave by the mother, who departed this life March 3, 1842.

In every community various pursuits are followed which add to the material prosperity of the neighborhood, while ad- vancing the interests of the individual. Among the worthy representatives of the . commercial class in Ottawa county, there is no one more highly respected than Washington Gordon, of Salem township, a self-made man, who is now a prosperous lumber dealer of Oak Harbor. He was born in Harris township, Ottawa Co., Ohio, January 9, 1834, and since his in- fancy has resided in Salem township,

Gordon 2

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

being to-day one of its oldest residents. His educational advantages in early life were of a very limited nature, his boyhood having been largely occupied with the arduous duties that accompany farming in a new region. Not wishing, however, to engage in agricultural pursuits through his entire business career, he turned his attention to the manufacture of lumber, and is one of the leaders in this line of in- dustry in Ottawa county.

On July 7, 1857, in Portage town- ship, Ottawa county, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Gordon and Miss Mar- garet Rymers, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, January 25, 1834, daugh- ter of Frederick and Catherine (William- son) Rymers, who came to Ohio, and settled in Ottawa county in 1841. By this union there were six children: Will- iam H., born June 13, 1858, and died December 8, 1860; Frank, born August 13, 1860, died February 25, 1867; Will- iam, born December 15, 1862, now prosecuting attorney of Ottawa county (on September 12, 1893, he was married to Elizabeth Gernhard, who was born December 8, 1874, daughter of Conrad and Augusta (Wilke) Gernhard, who came from Germany); Eva, born Janu- ary 31, 1865, married October 11, 1882, to William Bleckner, postmaster at Oak Harbor (Mr. Bleckner was born Febru- ary 14, 1854); Nora, born June 20, 1867, wife of H. A. Kilmer, of Oak Harbor; and Harry J., born November 7, 1870, now a school teacher.

Mr. Gordon capably served for many years as treasurer of Oak Harbor, for four years was county treasurer, was jns- tice of the peace three years, and was a member of the board of education of Oak Harbor. In all these positions he discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity, and won the commendation of all concerned. Socially, he is connected with Oak Harbor Lodge, No. 495, F. & A. M., and in his political affiliations he is a stanch advocate of Democratic

principles. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Gor- don is a man of more than ordinary natural ability, and has made good use of his opportunities in life. With a gener- ous sympathy, kindliness, and a desire to live an upright and helpful life, he has endeared himself to a large circle of friends. He has devoted himself to his business-pleasure coming as an after consideration-and his success, therefore, has been but the consequence of a natural law. His prosperity is well merited, and his honorable straightforward career has earned for him the prominence he now enjoys in the community.

P ETER SPIELDENNER, farmer and importer of thoroughbred horses, Fremont, Sandusky coun- ty, was born October 25, 1840, in Lorraine, France, a son of Francis and Elizabeth (Gerber) Spieldenner. The father was a native of the same place, and a farmer by occupation. In 1845 he emigrated to America with his family, and locating in Washington township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, bought forty acres of the forest land, which he cleared up for a home. Here he died September 15, 1850, aged forty-seven years, four months, three days, leaving a wife and five chil- dren, viz .: Peter, the subject of this sketch; Frank, who resides in eastern Ohio; Margaret, who married John Nomene, and resides in Putnam county, Ohio; Elizabeth, who married Peter Nomene, and resides in Putnam county, Ohio; and John, who lives with his broth- er Frank. The mother of this family passed away February 28, 1895, at the advanced age of eighty years, six months, three days.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 11

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