Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 14

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 14
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 14

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whose daughter, Minnie E., died shortly after the death of her mother, who was aged twenty-one; (10) William, a clerk in Toledo, who married Miss Sarah Unger, who has a son-Earl A.

Since the war Capt. Nuhfer has been engaged in mercantile business, the sale of hardware, the management of his farm property, fifty acres just outside of the Woodville village limits, and in the over- sight of his real estate in the oil region. For fourteen years he was village post- master, under the administration of Presi- dents Grant and Hayes. He has twice been nominated for county treasurer by the Republicans, and in each election polled more than his party's vote. He has been township trustee six years, and a member of both township and village school boards for some twelve years, and a mem- ber of the city council. He has always tried to promote the interests of his adopt- ed county in the lines of education, tem- perance and religion. For the last thirty years he has been a member of the Evan- gelical Association. During his residence of fifty-five years in Woodville, he has seen it grow from a collection of half a dozen scattered houses to hundreds of handsome homes occupied by well-to-do and happy families. Of the early pio- neers of the place, only he and his faith- ful wife remain.

H ON. JOSEPH ZIMMERMANN, editor of the Fremont Courier, the German organ of the Sandusky county Democracy, was born in the city of Mainz, Germany, June 19, 1851. After his graduation in the Prot- estant public schools of his native city he studied the languages and prepared him- self for mercantile pursuits, under private tutors. In 1866 he came to America, and, after eleven years of newspaper work in Pennsylvania and Ohio, he in 1877 took editorial charge of the Fremont Courier, to succeed Judge F. Wilmer. In 1883

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he was elected member of the board of education, and was re-elected in 1886 and 1889, serving as president of the board six years and clerk two years. While presiding over the deliberations of the board he displayed great executive ability, and under his administration three fine new school buildings were erected in Fremont, while all his dealings with school officials, teachers and the public, were characterized by good tact and judg- ment. He is a stanch friend of the pub- lic-school system, and keeps thoroughly informed on all matters pertaining to ed- ucational peogress.

In 1885 Mr. Zimmermann was elected State senator of the Thirtieth District of Ohio, consisting of the counties of Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky, and was re-elected in 1887. As a State senator he was in favor of every measure tending toward educational progress, and was also one of the most active promoters of the compulsory education law now on the statutes of Ohio, which has worked so well for the promotion of the interests of Ohio's school youth. Though a Demo- crat in a legislative body which was two- thirds Republican, he was elected chair- man of the committee on public printing.

On October 6, 1891, he was ap- pointed, by Gov. Campbell, probate judge of Sandusky county to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge E. F. Dick- inson, and in November following was elected to that office by the people, by a large majority. Since that time he has devoted his attention to professional duties as editor of the Courier. His of- fice is in the New Opera House, corner of Arch and State streets, and is well supplied with literary helps, a well se- lected library, maps and pamphlets. Judge Zimmermann is the author of the Criminal History of Sandusky County, published by Williams Brothers in 1882, giving a detailed account of the Sperry and the Thompson murder trials. He also wrote the first Masonic history of

Fremont. Socially he is a member of Fort Stephenson Lodge, F. & A. M., Mc- Pherson Lodge, 1. O. O. F., the Knights of Honor, B. P. Order of Elks, and other organizations. Since 1877 Mr. Zimmer- mann has been local representative of the Cunard, the Hamburg-American and the North German Lloyd lines of ocean steamers.

A B. LEVISEE, familiarly known as Judge Levisee, was born in Livingston county, State of New York, March 18, 1821. In 1832 he migrated, with his mother, an older brother and a sister, to Ohio, and settled in Sandusky county, where the brother and sister still live. The mother died, in July, 1845, at the home of an elder daugh- ter in Michigan.

Sandusky county was at that time es- sentially a wilderness, interspersed here and there with hardy pioneer settlers- most of them located right in the solid woods, with but little to aid them save their brave hearts and strong arms. Here the subject of this sketch, with an axe or a hoe in his hands, from one end of the year to the other, practically *grew up with the country." The only educational facilities he enjoyed in his youth were those afforded by the primitive log school- houses, with such teachers as the time could furnish. It was in these circum- stances that he lived and grew to the years of early manhood. In the meantime he had become inspired with a purpose to improve his education. Under the impulse of this thought he labored in season and out of season to accumulate the necessary means wherewith to accomplish this great purpose. At length, in March, 1844, with the few hundred dollars thus gather- ed at the slow rate of $10 to $II per month, he went to Ann Arbor and became a student at the University of Michigan, where he pursued the regular undergrad- uate course until November, 1847. For

Seviser

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want of means to continue his studies longer at the University, he left without a degree and went directly to Louisiana, where he taught in a private school in Baton Rouge a short time, and then went to Alabama. He spent about two years teaching in Selma and Montgomery, and in the spring of 1850 went to Talladega, and there established an independent private school, which he continued to con- duct some three years, and which won for him a wide reputation as a successful teacher. One of his students entered the Junior Class at Princeton, New Jersey, while one entered the Junior Class of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and others in the lower classes. The board of regents of the last-named school recog- nized his scholarship and efficiency as a teacher by conferring on him the honorary degree of A. M.

During the years 1853 and 1854 our subject attended law lectures in New York; then returned to Alabama and was tendered the presidency of the teaching faculty of the Female Collegiate Institute at Talladega, which he accepted tempor- arily to accommodate the board. At the close of 1854 he resigned the same, and went to Louisiana to enter upon the prac- tice of law, and located at Shreveport in March, 1855, where he continued to practice until 1877, including nearly five years, during which he occupied the bench as judge of his district. The Judge's thorough education, previous mental train- ing and studious habits, brought him rapidly forward in his new profession in which he achieved a high degree of finan- cial success, and an enviable reputation as a jurist and attorney. In 1875-76 he held the position of commissioner of United States Circuit Court.

In politics Judge Levisee was a fol- lower of Clay and Webster while they lived. He was a Republican and Anti- Secessionist in 1860, and took a decided stand against the secession movement. He remained in Louisiana during the en-

tire war; was nominally in the Confeder- ate service from July, 1863, to the close, as an attache of the Inspector General's department, with the rank of first lieuten- ant. He was never assigned to any com- mand. In April, 1868, he was elected judge of his Judicial District, and was re- elected in the general election of 1872 by at least 1, 500 majority and was " counted out." By that time the survivors of the lost cause had partially recovered from the fright incident to their defeat. The returned brigadiers and their subordinates, together with the small politicians, were reorganizing the Rebellion under the auspices of the White League. It was the same old fight under changed circum- stances and a new name. The White League was the paramount authority in the State at that time, and, of course, dominated all elections and dictated the results. In 1874 Judge Levisee was elect- ed a member of the State Legislature, and was "counted out; " but under the Wheeler Compromise the leaders of the White League were themselves compelled to admit that he was elected and he held his seat. In the National campaign of 1876 he was a candidate for Presidential elector for the Fourth Congressional Dis- trict of Louisiana, comprising an area of not less than ten thousand square miles. He made at his own individual expense a thorough canvass of the entire District, which was the first time that it had been undertaken by any Republican. He went up and down throughout the District, rallied the negroes in great mass meet- ings, told them their rights, and encour- aged and emboldened them to assert their rights in a proper and legal way by regis- tering and voting. The result was a larger majority in that District than the entire Republican majority in the State. But he was "counted out " again; and this time it required the National Elec- toral Commission to settle the matter. At length, disgusted and weary of the insane | strife that had raged about him so long,

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he determined that the opportunities of life were too valuable to be further thrown away in such bootless contest, and at the cost of professional prestige and wealth honorably earned by useful service, he abandoned the home of his adoption to find again a place where he could live a free life and enjoy the equal privileges of a citizen.

For three years from July, 1878, he held the position of a Government Agent in the Internal Revenue Service, at the close of which period he resigned that position, and in 1881 located, with his son, in North Dakota. In addition to his other professional labors in Dakota, Judge Levisee rendered a highly appreciated service to the bar of that then Territory by the preparation and publication of an annotated edition of the Dakota Codes, which was approved and adopted by the Legislature and the profession, and is still in general use.

After experiencing the vicissitudes of frontier life for twelve years in North Dakota, the Judge began to feel that it was time to retire from active pursuits, and to prepare for the end. He returned to his old home-the home of his child- hood and youth. Here in the beautiful village of Clyde, Sandusky Co., Ohio, he has built for himself a sumptuous place of abode. Here, in elegant retirement, amid his books and maps, he spends the evening of his long and useful life, sur- rounded by all that can make old age agreeable, blessed with excellent health and cheered by the merited friendship and esteem of all who know him.

R W. SANDWISCH, ex-sheriff of Sandusky county, was born in Woodville township, that county, July 20, 1846, a son of Hermon and Catharine ( Mergel) Sandwisch. The father was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1811, and died at Woodville in 1854, of Asiatic cholera. He had come to this

country a young man, married in this country and worked at the blacksmith trade. The mother was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1810, came to this country, and is still living as one of the pioneers of Woodville. Their children were: Mary Jane, wife of Jacob Bishoff; Louisa, wife of Benedict Emch; R. W., our sub- ject; J. G., in Bowling Green, Ohio; and Emeline, who married C. G. Bradt, a contractor, living at Atlanta, Georgia.

Our subject grew to manhood in Wood- ville township, on a farm, learned the blacksmith trade in early life at Wood- ville, and later worked two years at the same in Toledo, Ohio. In the fall of 1868 he opened a blacksmith shop in Woodville, which he operated himself for eighteen consecutive years, making twen- ty-two years of work at his trade. For several years past he has been promi- nently identified with politics in Wood- ville township as an ardent Democrat. He was first elected supervisor of roads, and afterward justice of the peace for three terms. He became the regular nominee of the Democratic party for sheriff, and was elected to that position in 1885, taking charge of the office in January, 1886. In 1887 he was re-elect- ed, serving a second term. After leaving the sheriff's office he engaged in selling farming implements, and in that capac- ity traveled extensively over Sandusky county.

Mr. Sandwisch was married, in 1868, to Miss Clarinda Swartzman, who was born in Woodville township, January II, 1849, a daughter of Isaac Swartzman, a native of Pennsylvania, and an early pioneer of Woodville township. They have children as follows: Albert H., born May 30, 1869, who was his father's deputy when he held the office of sheriff, and is engaged with him in business at the present time. Catherine Lovisa, born September 20, 1871, living at home; and Adolph Franklin, born January 18, 1877. Mr. Sandwisch is a member of the

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

I. O. O. F., McPherson Lodge, No. 637, Fremont, and has filled all the chairs in the subordinate lodge, having been a mem- ber since 1870. He is also a member of Fort Stephenson Masonic Lodge, Fre- mont, and has taken the third degree.

C APTAIN B. S. OTTEN. In scanning the pages of this volume one will find the history of many men who have made a success of life in various lines of terrene occupations; but the subject of this sketch is a man who has been highly successful not only on land, but also on the sea.

Many a time has Capt. Otten stood on the deck of his vessel in the night time and gazed at the great clock whose face is the blue heavens, the markings on which are the glittering stars, and whose hand is the silver moon. With his sextant he has measured the moon's distance from some prominent star, thus determining the variation of his chrononieter. Then on a beautiful morning we again see him, measuring the altitude of the sun, by which means he determined the latitude and longitude of his vessel, thus enabling him to guide her safely into port.

Capt. B. S. Otten, the subject of this sketch, now one of the most prominent merchants of Woodville, Sandusky coun- ty, was born in Hanover, Germany, Jan- uary 26, 1835, son of Herman and Anna (Juils) Otten, both of whom died in their native country, the former at the age of eighty-five years, and the latter at the end of her three-score years and ten. Tc them were born six children, as follows: Margaret and Etta, who now live in Germany; Marie, who came to America, and settled in Woodville; Herman, a commission merchant in Germany; B. S .; and Gerhard, who lives in Pemberville, Ohio.

Our subject attended the public schools of his native place until about sixteen years of age, when he went to sea

on the Atlantic as mast-boy, in which capacity he served six years. He then returned to Germany and took a full course in navigation at one of the leading schools of that country, graduating there- from in 1859, after which he resumed sailing, putting into practical use the studies of his college course. Mr. Otten now entered marine life as mate, in which position he served for two years, when he was given a ship and made captain there- of, serving ably in this capacity for thir- teen years. Be it said to his credit as a sea captain that while he encountered severe storms, he never, in the entire time he had charge of a boat, lost a man by accident. His first wife, Betty Bring- man, who accompanied him many a time on long journeys on the sea, was born in 1850, and they were married in 1872. To their union came one child, Otto D., born July 19, 1874, in Baltimore, Md., who never saw his mother, as she died the next day after his birth. She was the daughter of John and Rebecca (Bring- man) Bringman, the former of whom was a sea captain for many years, and now resides in Wood county, Ohio; his wife died some time ago. In January, 1876, Capt. Otten married Miss Matilda Bring- man (a cousin of his former wife), who is a daughter of Borchard and Marguerite Bringman. Borchard Bringman was also a sea captain, and was drowned in the Atlantic while on a voyage; the mother still lives in Germany. To them were born five children, of whom Mrs. Otten is the second; her brother Gustav was washed overboard in a high sea and buried in a watery grave, as was also her brother Borchard. The grandfathers on both sides were sea captains.

On leaving the sea, Capt. Otten was for two years engaged as ship chandler in Baltimore, Md., after which, in 1876, he sold out, and came to Woodville, San- dusky Co., Ohio, where two years later he embarked in the general mercantile business, which he has ever since suc-

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cessfully conducted. Mrs. Otten is a thorough business lady, and is well ac- quainted with their extensive mercantile business, being often found assisting in the different lines of their enterprise. To Mr. and Mrs. Otten have been born six children, three of whom are living, name- ly: Anna, who is now in the store; Etta, who is devoting her time to study in the public schools of Woodville; and Olga. The family is one of the most prominent in Woodville, in both a business and social way. Capt. and Mrs. Otten are highly esteemed by all who know them, while their beautiful brick residence on Main street is a standing witness to their admiration of a modern home.

I SAAC MARVIN KEELER, senior editor of the Fremont Journal, and one of Fremont's most respected citi- zens, is of Puritan parentage on both sides of his family. Of his ancestors to the seventh generation, Ralph Keeler came from England in 1639, settling at Hartford, Conn., and Matthew Marvin preceded him in 1635. His grandfathers, Luke Keeler and Isaac Marvin, emigrated with their families to Ohio in wagons from Norwalk, Conn., in 1817, coming by way of Pittsburg and making the trip in six weeks. Two of their children, Eri Keeler and Sally Marvin, both born in Connecticut in the last year of the pre- ceding century, were married in July. 1821; and Isaac Marvin Keeler was born in Sharon township, Richland Co., Ohio, September 8, 1823. Five years later the father, Eri Keeler, and the grandfather, Luke Keeler, were among the incorpora- tors of the town of Norwalk, Ohio, named after their old home, Norwalk, Conn. Eri Keeler died April 11, 1894, lacking but a few days of being ninety-five years of age.

The subject of this sketch lived at Norwalk until 1840, when he came to Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), and en-

tered the office of the Lower Sandusky Whig as an apprentice. Between 1843 and 1849, Mr. Keeler was temporarily in Milan, Norwalk, Sharon and New York, and in 1850 was commissioned postmaster at Fremont, serving in that capacity two years. In 1854 lie purchased the Fre- mont Journal, the predecessor of which was established in July, 1829, which he edited and published until 1865, during all the bitter years of the Civil war, sell- ing the office at last on account of poor health, and going into the insurance and real-estate business. In December, 1877, he repurchased the Journal, and in asso- ciation with his son, S. P. Keeler, con- tinues to edit the paper.

Mr. Keeler was married June 23, 1847, to Anna F. Hulburd, of Lower Sandusky, who died October 26, 1850, leaving one child. On May 12, 1857, he married Janette Elliot, daughter of Judge Samuel and Linda (Hayes) Elliot, of Brattleboro, Vt., by whom he has two children-one son and one daughter. In the more than fifty years of his residence in Fremont Mr. Keeler has not only watched its de- velopment from a rough frontier hamlet into a beautiful and thriving city, but he has been prominently instrumental in that development; and while his voice and pen have ever been on the side of muni- cipal progress they have never swerved in time-serving expediency from what was pure and just and of good report.

B YRON A. FOUCHE, attorney at law, Fremont, Sandusky county, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, September 8, 1858, a son of Josiah and Susannah (Stutzman) Fouche. The father of our subject was born in Somerset county, Penn., in 1830, where he grew to manhood, and whence he came at the age of twenty-three to Wayne county, Ohio, where he still re- sides. He was a school teacher by pro- fession, and followed his vocation in

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas coun- ties for many years. He finally settled on a farm where he is now passing his declining years.

Our subject's mother was born in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1833, and here she grew to womanhood and became the wife of Josiah Fouche. Nine children- two sons and seven daughters-were the fruits of their marriage. Our subject's paternal grandfather was born in 1793, either in France or in Somerset county, Penn. He emigrated thence to Holmes county, Ohio, where he died in 1873. His father (subject's great-grandfather) was a native of France, enlisted under Lafayette, came to America, and assisted the Colonies in the Revolutionary war.

Byron A. Fouche attended the com- mon schools in his native place, and then the University of Wooster, at Wooster, Ohio, from which he graduated in the class of 1883. He worked his own way through college by teaching school. He studied law in the office of the famous criminal lawyer and advocate, John Mc- Sweeny, and was admitted to the bar in 1886. He located in Fremont, Ohio, in 1888. He is at present Deputy State Supervisor of Elections for Sandusky county. In politics he is a Republican. On December 31, 1887, he married Miss Jane Parmeter, at Caanan, Wayne coun- ty, Ohio.

W RIGLEY BROTHERS, proprie- tors of the Daily and Weekly News, Fremont, Sandusky coun- ty, are sons of James and Mary (Haywood) Wrigley. James Wrigley was born in eastern Pennsylvania, September 25, 1821, and died December 16, 1878. His wife was born in Lancashire, England, in 1824, and came when a child with her parents to America. She resided at Deni- son, Iowa, where she died July 15, 1895. To them were born ten children, of whom seven are living: Alfred C., December 19,

1849; Mark H., July 12, 1853; James B., February 21, 1859; Alice J .; Ger- trude V .; Anna A., wife of Philip A. Schlumberger; and Mary H. All of the daughtersreside at Fremont, Ohio, except- ing Mrs. Schlumberger.

The Wrigley Brothers are natives of the town of Conshohocken, Penn., where they grew up, attended the public schools and learned the printer's trade. They were proprietors of the Conshohocken Recorder, a weekly paper, from 1877 un- til 1881, when they sold it and removed to Denison, Iowa, where they bought the Denison Review, which they published in English and German. In 1888 they sold out, and next published the Boone Week- ly Republican, at Boone, Iowa, about four years. In June, 1892, they purchased the Fremont News, the only daily paper in Fremont, Ohio, with a circulation of 1,250, and also publish a weekly, which has a circulation of 3,200. It is devoted to the business interests of Fremont and Sandusky county, furnishes fresh and re- liable news from all parts of the world in a brief and attractive form, and is neutral in politics. The proprietors are sparing no pains to make it the best local paper in northern Ohio.

H G. EDGERTON, D. D. S. The name Edgerton is of English origin, but representatives of that family have been many years in the United States.

Prominent among the business men and manufacturers of Fremont, Sandusky county, for nearly half a century has been Chester Edgerton, who was born in Pawlet, Vt., in 1819, and came to Ohio in 1844. He is now seventy-six years old, and is living retired. He was an at- torney in his day, and a very successful collector. He was also for a number of years engaged in the lumber business, as a member of the firm of Edgerton Bros .; by fair dealing and close attention to busi-

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ness he accumulated a small fortune, and is recognized as one of the most success- ful men of the early days of Fremont. He is a Republican in politics, and in the year 1847 was elected mayor of the city. In 1845 he married Miss Augusta F. Fusselman, who was born in 1826, and six children were born to them: Frank, now living in Tennessee; Hattie, wife of G. Kinney, an attorney at law, of Fre- mont; Fannie A., who died in 1879; Maude, wife of Lieut. John Garvin, U. S. N .; Chester, living in Kansas City, Mo .; and H. G.

Dr. H. G. Edgerton was born in Fre- mont, Ohio, April 23, 1859, and was edu- cated in the Fremont public schools and at Oberlin College. He began the study of dentistry in 1875, and graduated from the Dental Department of the University of Ann Arbor (Mich.) in 1881, with the degree of D. D. S. He practiced his pro- fession at Toledo, Ohio, one year, and then came to Fremont, where he has had a leading practice for several years in his pleasant rooms over the First National Bank. He is a Republican, a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the National Union, and is connected with several social clubs of the city. On January 29, 1884, he married Miss Clara Meek, daughter of B. Meek, an attorney at law, and four children have been born to them: Mary B., Rachel, Dorothy and Henry Meek.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 14

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