Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 15

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 15
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 15

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).

J OSEPH KINDLE, attorney at law, Fremont, Sandusky county, was born at Caroline, near Republic, Seneca county, Ohio, December 9, 1858, a son of Gottlieb and Mary Magdalena (Michels) Kindle.

Our subject's father was born in Triesen, Principality of Lichtenstein, Germany, and emigrated to America in 1852. He had followed the trade of blacksmith in the Fatherland, but on settling in Seneca county, Ohio, upon a

farm, he devoted his time to agricultural pursuits, and did only his own black- smithing. Our subject's mother was born in Baden, Germany, in 1837, and came with her father's family to San- dusky county, Ohio, when three years old. Here she grew to womanhood, be- came the wife of Gottlieb Kindle, and died March 1, 1866. Their children were: Regina, who married Frank Bin- sack, of Fremont, Ohio; Rosa Ann, who died at the age of eighteen; Mary Ann, who is unmarried; and Joseph, our sub- ject.

Joseph Kindle came with his parents at an early age to New Riegel, Ohio, where he attended school until he was fourteen years of age, also a parochial school, in which he was at the head of his classes at the age of eleven, and kept his place as they progressed upward for three years. In August, 1871, the family removed to Green Creek township, Sandusky county, where they remained about five years. In March, 1876, they moved to Sandusky township, near Book- town, at the mouth of Muskallonge creek, upon a farm where the parents lived and died. After settling up his father's estate, our subject, being of a literary turn of mind, sought the halls of learning to qualify himself for an occupa- tion better suited to his tastes. He at- tended school two years at Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind., devoting the first year to a commercial course, from which he graduated, and received his diploma, and the second year he took a mixed course, scientific and literary, in a line with the study of law. On his re- turn from school he followed the occu- pation of bookkeeping for a year, and then went into a general mercantile busi- ness for himself, in which he continued with good success for ten years, most of the time at Fremont, Ohio. He then sold out and resumed the study of law with the firm of Meek & Dudrow, and, was admitted to the bar on December 8,

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1892. He now has an office on Croghan street, Fremont, opposite the First National Bank.

Mr. Kindle is a man of large stature, manly form and commanding presence. He possesses great strength and power of endurance, physically and intellectually, which, coupled with his ability to use the German language as fluently as the English, gives him a vast advantage over the ordinary man. He is a Democrat in politics, and, as were his parents before him, he is an ardent Roman Catholic. He is one of the most prominent mem- bers of Branch No. 290, Catholic Knights of America, also a member of Branch No. 8, Catholic Knights of Ohio, of which Branch he is the present president, and is a member of St. Joseph's Parish. He has been an officer of trust in these so- cieties during nearly all the time of his membership therein, and has represented them in different state councils.

Mr. Kindle was married April 28, 1884, to Miss Mary Drum, daughter of Jacob and Anna (Durnwald) Drum. Her father was a Union soldier in the late war, and is now a member of Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R., Fremont, Ohio. The children of Joseph and Mary Kindle are: Frank J., Edward A., Gertrude M., and Laura Ann.

F RANK E. SEAGER, prosecuting attorney for Sandusky county, was born in Ballville township, San- dusky Co., Ohio, October 17, 1861, a son of Charles D. and Caroline (Hoover) Seager, natives of Sandusky county. Charles. D. Seager was an only son of Charles L. Seager, a native of New York State, who came west in 1835, was one of the early pioneers of Sandusky county, and died in 1843. Our subject's maternal grandparents, Lawrence Hoover and wife, were natives of Germany, and also came at an early day to Sandusky county; they are both now dead. Our

subject's parents were married in Ball- ville township, Sandusky county, in 1858.

Frank E. Seager was reared in the place of his nativity, attended the com- mon schools and the Fremont city schools, later the Normal University, at Ada, Ohio, where he completed the clas- sical course in 1886, and then attended the Northwestern College, at Naperville, Ill., from which he graduated in 1887. He then began studying law, alternating that with teaching winter schools. He located in Fremont in 1888, and entered the law office of Finefrock & Brinkerhoff, for the purpose of continuing his law studies and engaging in the insurance and loan business. He was admitted to the bar in 1893, and in 1894 was elected prosecuting attorney, which office he still holds.

Socially, our subject is a member of Croghan Lodge, No. 77, I. O. O. F., and Fremont Encampment, No. 64. He is also a member of the Uniformed Rank, Patriarchs Militant, and, of the Masonic Fraternity, a Royal Arch Mason. He is an active member of the Church of the Evan- gelical Association; was for several years its efficient Sunday-school superintendent; he also superintends a Sunday-school at Ballville village. In politics he has al- ways been a Republican, and takes an interest in local and national affairs. On May 16, 1895, Mr. Seager was married. at New Carlisle, Clark Co., Ohio, to Miss Marie Gates.

F RED R. FRONIZER, attorney at law, Fremont, Sandusky coun- ty, was born near Buffalo, N. Y., in 1852, son of Henry and Mary (Young) Fronizer, natives of Germany, who emigrated to New York, where they were married. In 1853 they came to Sandusky county, Ohio, locating in Ball- ville township, where they followed farm- ing. The mother died in 1885. Their children were: Fred R., our subject;

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John, a carpenter, of Fremont; Simon, a contractor and grocer; Matilda, who died at the age of four; Lana; Susan; Katty, and Joseph.

Our subject was reared to farm labor, and attended the country schools. At the age of eighteen he entered upon life for himself, attended the Fremont city schools, and taught country schools in the winter seasons to pay his way. Later he went to a Normal school at Fostoria, Ohio, for a few terms, and then taught the Woodville High School two years. In the spring of 1874 he commenced the study of law in the office of J. T. Garver, in the meantime continuing to teach winter schools, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1877. He held the office of justice of the peace in Ballville township six years, and in 1887 was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney for San- dusky county, which he held six years. He was county school examiner from August, 1881, to 1887. Mr. Fronizer is a life-long Democrat, and a member of the M. E. Church of Fremont. Socially, he is a member of Croghan Lodge, No. 77, I. O. O. F. He was married, in Sandusky county, to Miss Isabella Boyer, daughter of George Boyer, a pioneer of Washington township, that county, and two children have blessed their union- Irvin F. and Harry L.

D AVID GORDON. For more than half a century the name of Gor- don has been closely identified with the growth and progress of Ottawa county, and more particularly with Salem township. The family is of Scotch ancestry on the father's side, the mother's people being Yankees.

The parents and grandparents of our subject were natives of Somerset county, N. J., and the first members of the fam- ily to settle in Ohio were John and Rachel (Smith) Gordon, who removed from Som- erset county, N. J., in 1831, and located

in Salem township. After residing here some six months they removed to Harris township, where they remained for three years, and returning then to Salem town- ship made 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 November 7, 1851, the mother on March 3, 1842.

It will thus be seen that the family has been identified with Ottawa county since pioneer days, and David Gordon is now the oldest living resident of Salem township. He is numbered among the prominent and progressive farmers and stock raisers, and has a home pleasantly situated about one mile and a half from Oak Harbor. Born in Somerset county, N. J., March 19, 1827, he came to Salem township with his parents when only four years old, and since 1831 has been a con- tinuons resident of the farm he now owns. The township in those days was an un- broken wilderness, without roads and without schoolhouses, the latter being at that time considered a needless luxury. In consequence David Gordon received very meager privileges for obtaining a literary education. From early life he was ob- liged to engage in the arduous duties of developing a new farm, a work that had to be accomplished with rude machinery, for the wonderful inventions in farm im- plements were then a thing of the future. He perseveringly continued his labors, however, and is still engaged in farming, now on an extensive scale, being number- bered among the most prosperous agricul- turists of his adopted county.

Mr. Gordon was married, December 1, 1851, in Erie township, Ottawa county, to Miss Caroline Redding, who was born in Warren county, N. J., February 9, 1827, daughter of David B. and Anna (Engler) Redding, natives of New Jersey, who located in Ottawa county in 1839. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, but the eldest died when

Duvid

Gordon

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only a few hours old. The others are John, who was born September 10, 1854, and is now a prominent farmer of Erie township; Rachel and Cornelius (twins), born February 22, 1857, of whom Cor- nelius was drowned February 27, 1859, and Rachel is the wife of W.A. Eisenhour, who was clerk of Ottawa county, and is now a farmer of Erie township; David and George (twins), born January 9, 1859, the former a resident of Montana, the lat- ter a prominent farmer of Salem town- ship, Ottawa county; Evaline, born Feb- ruary 3, 1860, deceased in infancy; Cath- erine, born July 26, 1862, who died in in- fancy; Marian, born September 15, 1864, who also died in infancy; and Helen, born May 16, 1865.

Mr. Gordon is a charter member of Oak Harbor Lodge No. 495, F. & A. M., and belongs to Fremont Chapter No. 64, R. A. M., and Fremont Council No. 61, K. T. He and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in poli- tics he is a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratic party. He is numbered among the honored pioneers of Ottawa county, who have witnessed its growth and develop- ment from the days of its infancy, and in the work of progress and advancement he has ever borne his part as a faithful citizen.

D R. FRANK CREAGER, the well- known dentist of Fremont, San- dusky county, was born July 25, 1850, in York township, San- dusky Co., Ohio, on the farm of David Moore, about four miles southwest of Bellevue, Ohio, son of Jacob and Mar- garet Ann Creager. The parents, who were of German descent, came from Hagerstown, Maryland.

In early life our subject removed with the family to White Pigeon, Mich., and thence to Elkhart county, Indiana, where he was reared on a farm, and where he received a common-school edu- cation. In 1865 he commenced the study 7

of dentistry with Dr. H. B. Boswell, of Rochester, N. Y., and in 1870 accepted a situation as an assistant in the office of Drs. Cummins and Hawk, of Elkhart, Ind., remaining with them three years. To these gentlemen he is indebted for much of his early education in dentistry. In 1873 he located in Fremont, Ohio, for the practice of his profession, soon establishing a large and lucrative busi- ness, and gaining the national reputation he now enjoys. He also enjoys the d s- tinction of having spent more years in active practice than any other dental practitioner in the history of Sandusky county. It is needless, however, to speak of him in a professional light, for his skill as an operator and his mechanical abilities are extensively known. The prominent positions he has occupied in the various dental societies of the country are also matters of history. He has one of the finest dental offices in the State, provided with all the modern improve- ments and appliances known to the pro- fession, many of which are of his own invention.

On March 1I, 1875, Dr. Frank Creager was married to Miss Clara L. Moore, of Ballville, Ohio, daughter of John and Eliza Moore; the children born to them were Edna, Volta, Grace, Bes- sie and Frankie Bon. The first two died of diphtheria in the latter part of the winter of 1880, Edna dying February 19, and Volta on the 29th of the same month, only a difference of ten days in the time of their deaths. When twenty-one years of age Dr. Creager joined the Masonic Fraternity at Bris- tol, Ind., but shortly afterward he took a dimit and united with Brain- ard Lodge No. 336, F. & A. M., Fremont, and has been an active mem- ber ever since. He is now the master of the Lodge, a position he has held con- tinuously for three terms, and under his guidanceship it has acquired an enviable reputation. In fact it is conceded to be

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one of the best working Lodges in the State. He is also a member of the Grand Council, Royal Arcanum; but the efforts which brought him most prominently be- fore the people were in the interest of the National Union (a similar beneficial organization), and especially the local Council which was named, in honor of his little girl, "Edna." The loss of this child, their first-born, was a severe blow to the parents, and the honor thus be- stowed by his associates in naming the Council after her perhaps made the Doctor take more than the usual interest in its welfare. Edna Council was instituted

December 3, 1883, with forty-nine charter members, and Dr. Creager was chosen its first president. The following January he was re-elected, and the of- ficers and members went to work in such an earnest manner that in less than six months the roll was swelled to more than a hundred members, and Dr. Creager's nameappears on nearly all theapplications.

At a meeting of the Ohio State As- sembly, which was held in the city of Fremont June 10, 1884, he was chosen Senator for two years, being one of the first Senators elected by the Councils to represent the Order in that Supreme body. The Edna Ritual was exemplified by the Council to the members of the Assembly during their stay in the city, and although in rather a crude state, it was well re- ceived. At the session of the Senate in 1884 Dr. Creager was elected speaker, and also a member of the Finance Com- mittee. At the session of 1885, held in the city of Chicago, he was elected vice president, and was also retained on the Finance Committee, of which he was a valuable member. During 1885 he was a member of the Committee on Laws. At the session of the Senate held at Mans- field in 1886, he was chosen president, and on his return home was met at the depot by the council in a body, and es- corted to his residence on Main street, where he was most cordially received by

his neighbors and the members of his Council. The following year he was unanimously re-elected president of the Senate, and was also made a life member of that Supreme body-one of the highest honors within its gift. In 1888 he re- vised the Ritual originally prepared by him, which has been unanimously en- dorsed by every Council and member of the Order.

In 1891, during the session of the Senate at Milwaukee, Wis., he presented to the assembly a beautiful and impres- sive Burial Service, in perfect keeping with the tenets of the Order, which has been universally admired. His last and best effort, however, in ritualistic work, was the Public or Private Installation Ceremony written and arranged by him in 1894. It is a scholarly production, and commends itself to nearly all the fra- ternal societies of the country. It can truly be said that Dr. Creager has tried to serve the order faithfully and well- "With malice toward none, with charity for all." Taking the office at a time when affairs at headquarters were not in the best condition, he has triumphantly come through it all, and to-day the National Union is recognized as one of the leading beneficial societies.

Dr. Creager is a pleasant and fluent speaker, most of his addresses being in connection with the Grand and Supreme bodies with which he is affiliated. In 1895 he entered actively into the cam- paign which terminated in the nomina- tion of Col. Horace S. Buckland as a can- didate for common pleas judge, announc- ing his name to the convention in an elo- quent speech, which was most enthusias- tically received.

ACOB GABEL. The value of a biographical work, such as the one in which these sketches are found, is readily conceded when one realizes how fast the old landmarks are disappear-

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ing in the onward march of time, and how few are left of that generation of brave pioneers under whose patient strokes the forests gave place to well-tilled fields with their wealth of golden grain, and these, in their turn, to busy, thriving villages, which anon grew into cities, the smoke of whose countless industries ascend without ceasing, and the names of whose citizens, famous in statesmanship, war or com- merce, have become known throughout the world.

The men and women who contributed, even in the humblest way, to the planting and growth of this great commonwealth, must feel a laudable pride, when, them- selves in the sere and yellow leaf, they can look back on lives spent in honest industry and patient toil, and see the re- sults in the happy homes and wonderful progress of the State, which has been the birthplace of so many great men, and which holds so enviable a place in the Union. Of the early settlers of this State, as well as others, many were of German birth, and to no class of people is the country more indebted for its substantial properity. Hardy, industrious and frugal, they were well adapted to confront the obstacles which lay in the path of the pioneer, and to them and their children are due the thanks of those now enjoying the benefits of their labors.

Jacob Gabel, the subject of this sketch, who is now enjoying at his pleas- ant home in Fremont, Sandusky county, the rest earned by a long life of activity, was born May 4, 1821, in Alsace, Ger- many. His parents, Jacob and Barbara (Lebald) Gabel, who were natives of the same place, sailed for America in 1829, when their little lad was about eight years old. Their first location was at Buffalo, N. Y., where they were engaged in farming for seven years. In 1836 they removed to Ohio, and settled in what was known as the Black Swamp, in Jackson township, four miles from Fremont. Their home was a small log cabin, in the midst

of a dense forest; no roads through the timber, no neighbors, no comforts or con- veniences of any kind, and mud, mud everywhere. Nothing daunted, their busy hands cleared away the trees, tilled the ground, sowed and reaped the abundant harvests and reared the children who came to cheer their loneliness. On this farm, wrested from the wilderness by in- cessant toil, Jacob Gabel, Sr., lived his long life, dying in 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, five months and some days. The mother passed away in 1866, at the ripe age of eighty-two years.

To this worthy couple were born six children-three sons and three daughters -all of whom lived to a goodly age: Joseph, a farmer in Ballville township, Sandusky county, who lived to be eighty- two years old; Michael, who followed farming in Jackson township, and died when sixty-two years old; Jacob, our sub- ject; Catharine, who married Louis Schutz, and resided in Ballville township, where she died at the age of sixty; Eliza- beth, who married George Rimmelspach- er, and Magdalena, wife of Adaın Bien- sack.

Jacob Gabel, the subject of this sketch, grew up on his father's farm, and at the age of twenty-three was married to Miss Magdalena Durr, who was born January 20, 1826, in Wurtemburg, Ger- many, and came to this country when twelve years old, making her home in Ottawa county. Their marriage took place in Fremont, May 12, 1845, and the young couple took up their abode with the father of our subject, where they resided until the death of the former. A large family, eleven children in all, was born to this estimable couple, and on February 13. 1876, the beloved wife and mother passed away, leaving behind her a most gracious memory of a loving and well- spent life. The following brief record is given of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Gabel: (1) Catherine, born May 8, 1846, married Joseph Dolweck, and lives in

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'Ottawa county, this State; she is the mother of six children-Clara (who mar- ried Fred Bauer; they reside in Cleveland and have one child, Helen), Lena, Jacob, John, Frank and Alpha. (2) Peter, born October 25, 1847, married and living in Fremont, has seven children-Rosa, Anna, Katie, Mamie, Alois, Herman and Estella. (3) Caroline, born May 22, 1850, married John Busold, and lives in Fremont; they have had four children, of whom the following are living: Rosa, Frances and Lidwina. (4) Jacob, born November 20, 1852, is married, and lives in Jackson township; his children are seven in number: Henry, Ella, Minnie, Edward, Herman, Max and Clara. (5) Mary, born March 3, 1855, married Joseph L. Fegelist, lives in Bellevue, and has three children-Ervin, Leander, and Oliver. (6) Charley, born April 21, 1857, lives in Jackson township, and has had four children-Frances, Lucy, Leo, and Hedwig (deceased). (7) Frank, born May 25, 1859, lives in Fremont, and has four children-Lidwina, Alphonse, Oscar and Olive. (8) Louis, born May 28, 1861, lives in Jackson township, and has four children-Ida, Roman, Cletus and Clem- ent, the latter two being twins. (9) John S., born June 23, 1864, lives in Jackson township, and has three children-Flo- rine, Walter and Bernard. (10) Albert, born September 29, 1866, lives in Jack- son township, and has one child-Anna. (11) William, born September 1, 1870, was educated in the Ohio Normal University, and subsequently clerked in the drug store of Thomas & Grund, in Fremont, after which he accepted the position which he now holds, that of bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Fremont. He is a Democrat, and an active member of the Young Men's Sodality of St. Jo- seph's Church.

Jacob Gabel, the father of this inter- esting family, has for fifty years been a successful farmer in Jackson township, where he now owns some 600 acres of

land, accumulated by industry and econ- omy. He gives the credit for his success to his noble wife, who, he thinks, was the best woman in the world. After her death he could not bear the loneliness of country life, and came to Fremont, where he resides with his daughter Caroline. Although he has given up the care of his farm to his sons, he frequently goes out to it and looks after his interests there. He also owns a grocery store in Fremont, which is managed by one of his sons. In politics Mr. Gabel is a Democrat, and in religion a devout Catholic. His father was one of the founders of St. Joseph's Church in Fremont. The last years of his life are passing peacefully by in the society of his numerous children and grand- children, with the sustaining thoughts of a life well spent, and the hope of a glori- ous immortality.

C ALEB TAYLOR (deceased) was born in Maryland, October 20, 1800. His parents moved to Vir- ginia when he was a lad of seven years, and after living there two years located in Belmont county, Ohio, where they remained until 1828, in that year moving to Richland county, Ohio,

In the spring of 1822 Caleb Taylor was united in marriage, in Belmont coun- ty, with Sarah Yost, who was born in that county, October 21, 1802. Her parents were of German ancestry. For nine years, or until 1837, Caleb Taylor worked at his trade of blacksmithing and also at farming, and in that year located in Sandusky county, Ohio, on an eighty- acre tract of timberland, the greater part of which he had cleared by the time of his death. He passed away on January 12, 1871, at the age of seventy-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Taylor had eleven children, as follows: John, a carpenter, who married Barbara Shrively, and had six children; Elizabeth, who married Eli Reeves, a retired carpenter of Gibsonburg,

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Ohio; Lydia, who lives in Oregon, mar- ried to Christian Rheinhart, by whom she had five children; Ben, who died in 1864 in the war of the Rebellion; Will- iam, who died at the age of seventeen; George, who died in Michigan June 12, 1893, at the age of sixty years; J. B., a resident of Gibsonburg, Madison town- ship, who married Cynthia Campbell, and has had two children; Enoch, born April 1, 1837; Hannah, who married Eli Rhein- hart, a farmer of Indiana; Mary J., who married James Wells, a weaver, and lives in Bradner, Wood Co., Ohio; and Aaron, who died in infancy. Mrs. Taylor is still living, at the advanced age of ninety- two, having her home with her daughter at Gibsonburg part of the time, and on the old homestead. She has for the greater part of her life been a devout member of the German Baptist Church.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 15

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