Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 28

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 28
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 28

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).

When Orson Higley was but two years old his parents came to Ohio, where the meager education which was granted him was obtained. He remained at home helping his father until 1851, and on June 15, of that year, was united in marriage with Miss Permelia A. Twiss, who was born December 21, 1831, in Wayne county, N. Y., and they had one child. a daughter, Lydia L., born June 24, 1860. Mrs. Higley's parents, Clark and Polly (Tyler) Twiss, came to Huron county, Ohio, in 1844. After a few years they went to Riley township, from there com- ing to Townsend township, where Mrs.

Twiss died. Mr. Twiss died in Michigan while visiting his daughter Lovina, wife of Sullivan Davenport; she died March 16, 1883. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Higley bought forty acres of land from his father, and, when his brother went to the army, purchased the remainder of the farm. He cared for his father nineteen years prior to his death. Mr. Higley has had the privilege of seeing the virgin for- est give way to well-tilled fields and pretty meadows, which are monuments to the industry and energy of the pioneers. In politics Mr. Higley has been a Republican since the organization of the party.

Lydia L. Higley, who was an only child, was married December 25, 1878, to Jerome Bixby, of Castalia, Erie Co., Ohio, and they have had one child, Pearl J., born March 25, 1885. Mr. Bixby was formerly a general merchant at Cas- talia, but is now an insurance agent. For nine years Mr. Higley was interested with Mr. Bixby in the store; but city life was not congenial to a man of Mr. Higley's temperament, and he returned to the farm.

S AMUEL F. JONES, a prosperous and influential farmer of Green Creek township, Sandusky county, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, October 9, 1825, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Pierce) Jones.

Nicholas Jones was a native of West Liberty, Penn., and his father, Samuel Jones, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Nicholas was reared in Pennsylvania, and when a young man migrated to Wayne county, Ohio, where he married Elizabeth Pierce (a first cousin to President Pierce), and lived for some years. About 1835 he moved to Thompson township, Seneca county, and had his home there for many years. He died .near South Bend, Ind., about 1868, at the age of seventy-five years, and was buried there; his wife lived to the age of eighty-two years.

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Nicholas Jones was a man of about medium weight-135 pounds. In relgi- ious belief he was a Universalist, and in politics a Whig and a Republican. His ten children were as follows: Emeline, who married Joseph Highland, and died in Indiana, aged fifty years; Uriah, who died near South Bend, Ind., aged seventy- one years; John, who now lives near South Bend, Ind .; Elizabeth, who died aged thirty-two years, wife of David Clay; Samuel F., subject of this sketch; Lu- cretia, widow of Sylvanus Wright, of Fremont; Johanna, wife of C. Rector, of Norwalk; Mary, wife of James Shoup, of Clyde; Margaret, wife of Daniel White- man, living in Indiana; Silas, a resident of Illinois.

At about the age of sixteen years Samuel F. Jones left the home farm in Seneca county and came to Sandusky, where for ten years he engaged in farm- ing. He then began railroading at San- dusky City, and for ten years ran an ex- press train engine on the Baltimore & Ohio road (then the old Sandusky, Mans- field & Newark railroad). From the loco- motive Mr. Jones stepped down to the farm in Green Creek township, which he has ever since operated. On October 30, 1854, he was married to Miss Ellen M. Almond, who was born in. New Jersey August 3, 1832, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Lachlison) Almond. To Mr. and Mrs. Jones four children have come, as follows: Alice, born in May, 1860, wife of W. B. Lay; Lawrence, senior member of the Cutlery Works Co., who married Miss Jessie Russell, a cousin of Gen. Mc- Pherson, and has three children-Lamar, Margaret and Maurine; Nellie, at home; and Robert, engaged in the cutlery busi- ness at Clyde, who on October 18, 1894, wedded Miss Ione Smith, and has one child-Dorothy. Mr. Jones has ninety- eight and one-half acres of fertile, well- improved and very productive land, well tilled and laid out in fine fruits, and is engaged in general farming and fruit-

growing, raising wheat, oats, potatoes, etc .; and all the buildings and improve- ments that now are upon the place were put there by his own hands. In politics Mr. Jones is a Republican, and while not a church member he inclines toward the Universalist belief; Mrs. Jones is a mem- ber of the Episcopal Church. He has by his good judgment and business ability, aided by natural industry, accumulated a comfortable competence, and is one of the most prosperous citizens of his town- ship.

S AMUEL SPROUT is numbered among the native sons of Sandusky county, and has not only witnessed the growth and development of this region, but has also borne an active part in the work of progress and upbuild- ing, and well deserves mention among the honored pioneers.

Mr. Sprout was born in Scott town- ship, October 1, 1840, on the farm which he now owns, and which has al- ways been his place of residence. His parents, Samuel and Nancy (Long) Sprout, cast in their lot among the early settlers of Sandusky county when it was largely an unbroken wilderness. The father was born in Pennsylvania, June 15, 1807, removed to Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1825, and ten years later came to Sandusky county, where from the gov- ernment he entered a claim that has never passed from the possession of the family. His wife was born April 27, 1812, and died January 10, 1887, her husband surviving until April 21, 1890. Ten children graced their union: Mrs. Margaret Doll, John, Sarah Elizabeth, Samuel, Michael (born September 27, 1842), Marion, Casaline, James (de- ceased), Mrs. Mary Jane Hayes, and Mrs. Nancy Hipple. The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in Ireland about 1766, and died in Seneca county, Ohio, about 1856, surviving his wife several years.

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In her maidenhood she was Mary Hilter- brand, and was a native of Germany. The maternal grandfather, Daniel Long, was born in Sweden, and married Miss Brill, a native of Germany. In the war of 1812 he served as a soldier, and he was numbered among the pioneers of Ohio.

In a manner not unlike that of other farmer boys, our subject spent his youth and bore his part in the development of the old home farm, working hard through summer months, while the winter afforded him an opportunity for education in the district schools, which he eagerly utilized. Thus he was employed until August, 1862, when, at the age of twenty-two years, he joined his country's troops in defense of the Union, and was a member of Company K, One Hundred and First O. V. I. until the close of the war. He participated in a number of hotly-con- tested engagements, and at the battle of Stone River his clothing was pierced by no less than nine bullets, and his canteen completely shattered. He also partici- pated in the battles of Perryville, Liberty Gap and those of the Atlanta campaign, and followed Hood from Columbus to Franklin. He was also in the two-days' battle at Nashville, which resulted in vic- tory for the Union soldiers, and altogether was a very faithful, loyal citizen, one who gallantly followed the old flag until it was planted in the capital of the Southern Confederacy. At the close of the war Mr. Sprout returned to the farm where he now lives, and began operating 120 acres, which he purchased in 1883. His landed possessions now aggregate 170 acres, and all that he has has been acquired entirely through his own efforts. He certainly deserves great credit for his success in life, and his example should serve as a source of encouragement to others.

On February 13, 1889, Mr. Sprout married Miriam Kuhn, of Fremont, Ohio, who was born in Allen county, Ohio, March 11, 1854. Her parents, John and

Mary (Miller) Kuhn, were pioneers of Sandusky county, as was also her grand- father, Adam Kuhn, who was born about 1800, and died at the advanced age of eighty-two. Of his family of nine chil- dren, six are yet living. The maternal grandmother, Maria Myers, was born about 1796, and departed this life in 1866, having for many years survived her hus- band. The parents of Mrs. Sprout were both born in 1823, and are still living. Their family circle numbered ten children: Maria, wife of John Myers, of Wood county, Ohio; Harriet, who became the wife of George Gephart, and died about 1882; Charlotte, at home; Mrs. Sprout; Paul Luther and Isaac N., who are resi- dents of Wood county; Philip M. ; John W .; Charles M. ; and Theodore Allen.

Mr. and Mrs. Sprout are highly- esteemed people of Scott township, and their pleasant home is noted for its hospi- tality and good cheer. The farm is well developed, the fields being under a high state of cultivation, and the improve- ments in keeping with the accessories of a model farm of the nineteenth century.

N B. MASON, who has been act- ively identified with both the busi- ness and agricultural interests of Sandusky county, is a native of New York State, born in Canandaigua April 9, 1839.

Our subject's parents, John B. and Laura (Shaw) Mason, were natives of Massachusetts and Canandaigua, N. Y., respectively. In 1856 they came to San- dusky county, Ohio, but after a residence of two years here migrated still farther west, to Wisconsin, where they made a permanent home. The father died there in July, 1888; the mother, while on a visit to her son in Clyde, in 1885, was suddenly taken ill and died. This worthy couple lived to celebrate their golden wed- ding. Their family were as follows: Van-

13 Jason

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Rensselaer, who was lost when only eight- een years of age while on a whaling voy- age to the South Pacific Ocean; Joseph, who died in 1885 from disease contracted while in the service of his country (he was in the Thirtieth Wisconsin In- fantry); Eliza, wife of Martin Booth, of Plainfield, Wis. (he served in the Six- teenth Wisconsin Infantry); N. B., our subject; John Colby, who resides at Fre- mont, Ohio (he was in the Eighth O. V. I.); Mary, who wedded Bemis Culbert- son, who was a soldier in the Thirty-sec- ond Wisconsin Infantry, and who died shortly after the war from disease con- tracted while in the service, and Brooks H. Mason (they now reside at Lake Mills, Wis. ); and Fred E., who died at Ashland, Wis., when a young man. The father of this family was a soldier in the Mexican war. He was first a Methodist clergy- man, later becoming a minister of the Baptist Church.

The school privileges enjoyed by N. B. Mason were those of the common schools, and he also attended Madison Academy for one and a half years. At the age of fourteen he engaged to carry the mails and passengers on the old stage coach between Ontario and Rochester, sometimes driving four horses, and some- times three abreast, conveying mail, ex- press and passengers. In 1856, at the age of seventeen years, he came west with his parents to Sandusky county, locating near Clyde. On February 22, 1859, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth L. Carlton, daughter of Rev. Thomas J. Carlton, and to this union came children as follows: Nellie, wife of R. G. Tyler, of Greene, Iowa, who has one son and one daughter-Carl and Vira; Elizabeth, who died when six years of age; Nate H., a postal clerk between Cleveland and Chicago on the Lake Shore railroad (he wedded Allie White, and they have two sons-Howard and James); George A., who wedded Annie White, and has one daughter-Nellie; Maude, wife of O. C.

Perrin, of Greene, Iowa; and May, at home.

On October 12, 1861, Mr. Mason en- listed in Company A, Seventy-second O. V. I., and served until July 21, 1865, participating in all engagements in which his command took part until the time of his capture by the enemy, June 11, 1864; he was taken near Davis Mills, Miss., and conveyed to Andersonville, where he was kept until the following September, when he was transferred to Florence, S. C., and paroled at Wilmington, N. C., March 1, 1865. During his service he was cap- tured three times, escaping twice, and he was in every southern State but Texas. After the war he returned to Clyde. Since residing here he has followed various pur- suits, having been engaged in merchan- dising, publishing and farming. Mr. Mason is a member of the U. V. U. and G. A. R., was first post commander of McPherson Post, G. A. R., in 1867, and was first captain of McPherson Guards, organized August 15, 1878. On March 17, 1873, he organized the first hook and ladder company, of which he was made foreman. Socially he has been an active Odd Fellow for twenty-seven years, pass- ing all the Chairs in the Subordinate Lodge and all save one in the Encamp- ment. In politics, he is a radical Repub- lican; he is now serving as justice of the peace, and also as trustee of his township.

While a prisoner of war at Florence, S. C., Mr. Mason was chosen by his com- rades chief of the Federal Police, a force of 270 men organized among the prisoners to keep good order in the prison, the ap- pointment being confirmed by Col. Iver- son, the prison commandant. He de- clares the sufferings of the prisoners there were even greater than at Andersonville. Most of them had been prisoners for many months, and were very destitute of clothing, many being almost naked and barefooted. About fourteen thousand persons were taken to Florence; about three thousand were paroled in October

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and November: the balance (except those who died) remained until the first of March, 1865. Their only shelter was holes dug in the ground, some of them roofed over with limbs and pine boughs covered with earth. Their food was one pint of corn-meal per day, and for ninety- three days no other was issued except two rations of salt, a table-spoonful to five men; two rations of sorghum molasses, one barrel to 11,000 men; two rations of rice, one pint to five men. Many ate their corn-meal raw, and what was cooked was mostly mush cooked in tin cups and tin cans. Mr. Mason says the most of his regiment (the Seventy-second Ohio In- fantry) were from Sandusky county. Of the 1,400 on the muster rolls about 380 are yet living. His regiment lost heavily at Shiloh and at Vicksburg, and at Gun Town, or Brice's Cross Roads, the regi- ment lost eleven officers and 238 men. About 170 landed in Andersonville; seven- ty-eight (or over 45 per cent) died while prisoners of war; six were shot after being captured, and nine perished on the steam- er "Sultana," above Memphis, on April 27, 1865.

Mr. Mason asks: " Do the people of this country appreciate the sacrifice made by the Union prisoners of war ? Do they realize that 34,000 men died in the prison pens of the South, as men were never called upon to die before ?" Men have died for home and country, and for prin- ciple upon the scaffold, the wheel and the rack, in the dungeon and upon the bat- tlefield; but never before did thousands of men refuse liberty with a dishonored name, and suffer on from hunger and ex- posure until they died gibbering idiots. The subject of our sketch went with his parents to the State of New York when he was about eleven years old, and lived with them at various places until the age of twenty-three. He then came to Ohio, spent one winter in Thompson township, Seneca county, and the next spring located in York township, San- And now even before one generation has passed these same men are almost for- gotten! They are remembered only in the homes made sad and desolate by their tragic death! Millions upon millions of money have been paid for "Piles of Granite" and "Heaps of Bronze" to commemorate the heroism of a few, while | dusky county, on land where he has since

the graves of these martyrs are marked by gray marble tablets that cost two dollars and forty cents each; and more-thous- ands of these same markers are inscribed " Unknown."

H ENRY MOOK, farmer of York township, Sandusky county, was born in Union county, Penn., January 10, 1814, son of John and Rosina (Sorrel) Mook, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His grand- father was from Germany.

John Mook, the father of our subject, died in the State of New York, whither he had removed from Pennsylvania, and he subsequently took up his home in Ohio. After living some years with his children in that State, he was taken back to New York State at the request of his son Samuel, a minister of the Evangel- ical Association, so that in his old age he might be cared for in his former home, and he died there in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was the father of twenty- three children, and our subject is the youngest by the first wife, and the four- teenth child. The children of John Mook by his first wife were: Jacob, three that died in infancy, Samuel, Polly, Betsey, Anthony, Conrad, John, Catharine, Su- san, Daniel and Henry. Of this family, Henry Mook is at this writing (1894) the only surviving member. After the death of his first wife, John Mook married Polly Polkie, by whom he had nine children: Mary, Benjamin, Ambrose, Elias, Effie, Solomon, Sampson, Barbara, and one that died in childhood.

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resided. Here he erected a log house and kept bachelor's hall for several years while engaged in clearing up a farm. In addi- tion to agricultural pursuits Mr. Mook spent the fall of eight seasons threshing grain for his neighbors with an old-fash- ioned eight-horse-power, open-cylinder machine, without separator, going as far south as Lodi, in Seneca county. He threshed in this way as many as 400 bush- els per day. He has been an active, ener- getic, hardworking, economical farmer, and has accumulated a handsome prop- erty for his children; a substantial brick house and a convenient bank barn adorn his farm. In religious connection he and his family are members of the Evangelical Association. He contributed liberally for the erection of a church building not far from his residence. He has reached the age of four score years with a vigor of body and mind which enables him to see and appreciate the wonderful changes going on in the world about him, and especially the great improvements in the method of farming.

In 1837 Henry Mook married Miss Catharine Boyer, who was born in Penn- sylvania, June 26, 1814, and died in York township, August 17, 1890. Their chil- dren were: Sarah, born October 4, 1841; Christina, born August 7, 1844, died June 23, 1866; James Milton, born July 20, 1847, and Lovina, born April 30, 1852. Christina Mook married Michael Filsinger December 22, 1864, and they have one son, John, who is married and has two children-Pearl and Morris; after the death of his first wife, Christina, Mr. Filsinger married her sister Sarah, by whom he had four children-Emma, Ver- nie, Martin and Charles. Emma married Daniel Swartz, and they have one child- Lulu. James M. Mook married, in 1870, Miss Mary Gahn, who was born in the Black Swamp, west of Fremont, Ohio, a daughter of Rev. Conrad Gahn, and was educated in the Cincinnati schools; their children are-Charles, Granville, Myrtle

and Lovina; James M. Mook is at present manager of his father's farm, and is taking care of his father in his declining years. He is a Republican in politics, a member of the Evangelical Association, and of the Farmers' Alliance. Lovina Mook, daugh- ter of Henry Mook, married Martin Rich- ards, and they live on one of Mr. Mook's farms, east of the homestead; they had one child that died; she is a member of the Evangelical Association.

L EONHARD SCHNEIDER was born August 31, 1842, in Austria, Europe. His father, Martin Schnei- der, was born November 1I, 1806, in Austria, and married Anna Maria Flatz. They came to America in 1859, landing in New York, where they remained for a short time, after which they continued their journey to Ohio, locating in Jackson township, Sandusky county. The mother died shortly after their arrival. In that family were seven children: Frank, who was born in 1831, and died September 1, 1887; John G., born in 1836, and mar- ried Mary Reineck; Regina, born in 1834, and became the wife of Casper Haltmeier; Martin, born in 1844, and now living in California; Johanna became the wife of Ferdinand Fischer, by whom she has one son, named Frank, born in 1874; Mary became the wife of Peter Spieldenner, and they have two children: Fredolina, now the wife of John Reineck, and a son named Adolph.

Leonhard Schneider, our subject, spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the land of his birth, was reared in his par- ents' home and obtained his education in the public schools of the neighborhood. When the family sailed for America he bade adieu to friends and native land, and came with them on the long voyage across the Atlantic, which took them thirty days. He has since been a resident of Ohio, and to-day is numbered among the leading and influential farmers of Rice township, San-

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dusky county. Having arrived at years of maturity he chose, as a companion and helpmate on life's journey, Miss Rosa Bin- sack, and their home has been blessed by the presence of five children: Anna, the eldest, is now the wife of Albert Darr, a resident farmer of Rice township, San- dusky county, and they have three chil- dren; the other members of the family- Ida, Rudolph, Edward and Arnold-are still under the parental roof.

In 1861 the father of our subject pur- chased seventy-three acres of land in Rice township-the place upon which Leon- hard now resides-paying for the same at the rate of seven dollars per acre. Eight years later, in 1879, he sold the place to his second youngest son, Leonhard, for $2,000. It is a good property, highly cultivated and improved, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the place indi- cates the careful supervision of the owner. In 1887 he built a new barn, and in 1892 he erected the new house, at a cost of $3,000. In connection with general farm- ing he successfully engaged in stock deal- ing, raising cattle, horses and hogs. He successfully manages his business inter- ests, and his energy and industry have brought to him a comfortable competence, which numbers him among the representa- tive farmers of the neighborhood. In politics he is a Democrat, and in religious belief he is a Catholic.

G EORGE W. KING, a well-to-do farmer of Ballville township, San- dusky county, was born in Pick- away county, Ohio, March 20, 1849.

His father, John King, was born March 2, 1819, in Fairfield county, Ohio, and married Miss Mary Mowry. Their children were: (1) Catharine, wife of Val- entine Moshier; she died at the age of twenty-one years, leaving one son, John, living in Allen county, Ohio. (2) Mary is the wife of Valentine Moshier, a farm-

er, residing in Allen county, Ohio. (3) Elizabeth is the wife of David Roberts, of Scott township; she died at the age of forty-four years, and is buried in Oak- wood Cemetery. (4) Lydia is the wife of William Reichelderfer, by whom she had four children-Hattie, George, Frank and Lettie-and after his death she mar- ried, in 1890, William Slates, a farmer of Tipton county, Ind. (5) George W. is our subject. (6) Sarah, born in 1851, in Pickaway county, is the wife of Jacob Mowery, a farmer of Michigan. (7) John, born 1854, married Miss Carrie Hunlock, and has one son, John Clarence. (8) Jacob, born November 20, 1856, is a farmer in Ballville township, married to Miss Fredie Crites, and has two chil- dren-Omer and De Witt. (9) Elmira, born in 1859, is the wife of John Searfoss, a farmer of Scott township, and has two children-Bessie and Stella. (10) Perry, a farmer of Scott township, born in 1861, married Sadie Hunlock, and has four children-Pearl, Iva, Hazel and Carrie.

Our subject started out in life for him- self at the age of twenty-two with the health, pluck and perseverance which en- sures success. He worked three years in the oil fields of Warren county, Penn., then returned and worked at his trade as a carpenter until December 9, 1875, when he married Miss Mary J. Ludwig, daughter of Jacob and Louisa (DeLong) Ludwig, farmers of Allen county, Ohio. He next farmed in Jack- son township one year, then five years in Allen county, and on his return to San- dusky county, bought eighty acres of Jacob Ludwig for $4,500. On January 30, 1882, he moved upon the farm where he now lives, remained nine years, then located near Fremont, where he remained three years, finally moving back on the farm of 133 acres, which cost him $10,000. Here he follows mixed farming, raising grain, grass, fruit and live stock, with good success. He is a man of enterprise and public spirit, and has held various

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public offices. The children of George W. and Mary King are: M. Louisa, born April 7, 1880; Ada M., September 19, 1883; Charles L., July 9, 1885; and Evan M., September 11, 1889. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. King are Isaac, John, Charles, Obed and Jacob.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 28

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