Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 3

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 3
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 3

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).

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD.

tions have brought him in contact. Dr. Rice has for some years taken considera- ble interest in agricultural pursuits, having greatly improved and reclaimed a large tract of land by means of a steam-pump apparatus used to remove surface water whenever required. He aided in the or- ganization of the Sandusky County Medi- cal Society, of which he has been secre- tary since its organization, and he is also a member of the Ohio State Medical So- ciety, and of the American Medical Asso- ciation. He has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity for nearly thirty years, and has repeatedly served as presiding officer of that body. Dr. Robert H. Rice was married June 14, 1865, to Miss Cyn- thia J. Fry, daughter of Henry and Abi- gail (Rideout) Fry, and their children are: Henry C., Anna and Ada.

WILLIAM A. RICE was born in Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), Ohio, July 31, 1 829, a son of Dr. Robert S. and Eliza Ann (Caldwell) Rice, who were among the early pioneers of Sandusky county. Nearly all his life was spent in Fremont, Ohio, where he was widely known and universally respected. For twenty-five years he was one of the leading dry- goods merchants of that city, retiring from business in 1883. He was a member of the Protestant Methodist Church, an unostentatious and consistent Christian. Socially he was a member of Croghan Lodge I. O. O. F., for thirty years, and a member of Fremont Lodge K. of H. He was a successful business man, a pub- lic-spirited citizen, a loving husband, father and friend. He died at Fremont, Ohio, April 24, 1893. On October 8, 1858, William A. Rice married Miss Juliet M. Moore, of Ballville township, by whom he has four children, two of whom are deceased. A son, Dr. James M. Rice, lives with his mother on the farm homestead, and a daughter, Mrs. Hattie E. Bates, resides in Illinois.

JAMES M. RICE, M. D., was born November 5, 1859, at Fremont, Ohio,

a son of William A. and Juliet M. (Moore) Rice. His boyhood and youth were spent at the Fremont city schools, helping his father in his dry-goods store, or working with other hands on his father's farm near the city. In the years 1879-80-81, he attended achool at the Adrian (Michigan) College, and, returning to Fremont, studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. J. B. Rice, about one year, after which he attended the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati. one year, and then took a course in the Medical Department of the University of Louisville, Ky., from which he graduated, March 13, 1894. Shortly after this he opened an office for the practice of medicine, in the same room formerly occupied by Dr. J. B. Rice, opposite the City Hall, in Fre- mont, Ohio.

L ORENZO DICK, the popular ex- sheriff of Sandusky county, was born in Erie county, N. Y., May 15, 1838, a son of Jacob and Catharine (Vogel) Dick, who were natives of Lorraine, France, married there, and emigrated to America, locating in Erie county, N. Y., where the father died at the age of forty, and the mother when eighty years old.

Our subject grew up in Erie county, N. Y., and there learned the trade of cabinet-maker. In 1858 he removed to Fremont, Ohio, where he followed his trade for several years with success. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted, at Fremont, Ohio, October 15, 1861, in Company H, Seventy-second Regiment, O. V. I. The regiment was assigned to the first brigade, first division, Fifteenth Army Corps. Mr. Dick was elected or- derly sergeant by the men of his company, November 18, 1861. He veteranized January 1, 1864, at Germantown, Tenn., entering the same company as first lieu- tenant. He had been commissioned second lieutenant, April 6, 1862, at the

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

battle of Shiloh, for meritorious conduct. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Champion Hills, Jack- son, Black River, the siege of Vicksburg. and numerous other engagements. The first move of the regiment after veteran- izing was to Paducah, Ky., where they drove out the enemy, and then to Mem- phis, Tenn. They soon after started on the Guntown expedition, and here they encountered the enemy, who had their lines drawn up in the shape of a horse- shoe, and into this trap the Union boys were led. Lieut. Dick and about thirty men of his company were taken prisoners, and were first sent to Andersonville, whence Lieut. Dick was sent to Macon, Ga., where he remained until the first of Sep- tember. While in prison, Mr. Dick was commissioned captain, but did not know of the promotion until he reached home. He was sent to Charleston, S. C., as prisoner, and placed in a building called the " Workhouse," which was under fire from the Union guns. At the end of three weeks he was sent to Columbia, S. C., thence to Raleigh, N. C., thence to Wil- mington, N. C., thence to Annapolis, Md., where they were paroled and sent home on thirty days' furlough. Owing to severe exposure in the field and privations during his prison life, Mr. Dick contracted rheumatism and other physical disabili- ties. He was honorably discharged, May 15, 1865.

For some years past Mr. Dick has been engaged in the restaurant and grocery business in Fremont, receiving a liberal patronage. He was nominated for coun- ty sheriff by the regular Democratic cau- cus, and elected in 1889; served two terms, his last one expiring, January I, 1894. At the spring election held on the first Monday in April, 1895, Mr. Dick was elected mayor of the city of Fremont, Ohio, which position he now holds. He is a member of the Engene Rawson Post, No. 32, G. A. R., of which he has re- cently been elected commander. He has

for many years been a member of Fort Stephenson Lodge, F. & A. M., is a member of Humbolt Lodge, K. of H., and of the German Mutual Aid Society.

At Fremont, Ohio, April 4, 1864, Lorenzo Dick married Miss Catharine Renchler, who was born in Germany, September 27, 1841, a daughter of John and Mary (Eisenhart) Renchler. The names and dates of birth of the children born to this union are as follows: Lo- renzo, Jr., January 9, 1865, died Jannary 24, 1873; Charles F., October 25, 1866, died at the age of twenty-seven years; Jacob, May 9, 1869; Katie, August 6, 1872; George, March 4, 1876; Gertrude, December 12, 1882, died in infancy.

G EORGE SLESSMAN, sheriff of Sandusky county, Ohio, was born June 27, 1853, in Adams town- ship, Seneca Co., Ohio, a son of John M. and Mary (Freymoth) Slessman, natives of Germany, who came to America when young, and after their marriage, which took place in Huron county, Ohio, settled on a farm in Seneca county, which they made their permanent resi- dence,

The father of our subject was born in 1806. By trade he was a wagonmaker, but he followed farming in Seneca county, and died in 1862; the mother is still living on the old Slessman homestead, six miles south of Clyde. They were the parents of eight children, four of whom are living, namely: Barbara, deceased wife of Charles Drumm, a farmer of Erie county, Ohio, who had two children, one living, Lizzie, and one deceased; John, a farmer, who married Phyan Peters, of Seneca county, and had seven children; Catharine, who died in 1885, and who was the wife of Jacob Trott, a farmer of Seneca county, by whom she had five children; Mary, who married Samuel Swartz, a farmer of York township, Sandusky county; Mar- garet, who married Herman Baker, a

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

farmer of Seneca county, and had five children (he died in 1894); Samuel, who died in childhood; Henry, who died in childhood; and George, our subject.

George Slessman grew to manhood on his father's farm, and attended the public schools. In 1872 he married Miss Clara E. Whiteman, who was born October 16, 1852, a daughter of A. G. and Mary (Myers) Whiteman. A. G. Whiteman was born in Ohio, August 25, 1808, and died February 8, 1869; his wife was born in Virginia February 8, 1811, and died November 30, 1878. He was a Repub- lican, and they were both members of the Free-will Baptist Church. Our subject, after marriage, settled on the Slessman homestead, where he dealt in live stock for about nine years. He then moved upon a farm in Sandusky county, one mile south of Clyde, where he engaged in farm- ing, also buying and shipping live stock, and running a meat-market in Clyde, for about eight years. He then sold out and went into the grain business in Clyde, with which he is still connected.

Mr. Slessman has for some years been recognized as one of the efficient men of the Republican party of Sandusky county. In November, 1893, he was elected to the office of sheriff of the county, on the Re- publican ticket, and entered upon the dis- charge of his official duties January 2, 1894. He has an honorable standing in society circles, being a member of the Knights of Honor, Royal Arcanum and Knights of Pythias. In religious connec- tion he is a member of the Lutheran Church. To George and Clara Slessman were born children as follows: Lena, Allen, Martin, Frank, Mary, and two who died in childhood-Charlie and Leta.

E DWARD LOUDENSLEGER .- Among the honored pioneer citi- zens of Fremont, Sandusky coun- ty, the more prominent of whom find place in this volume, none enjoys to

a greater extent the confidence and es- teem of the community at large than the gentleman whose name is here recorded.

He is a native of Seneca county, Ohio, born February 28, 1836, of Penn- sylvanian ancestry, proverbial for their healthy vigor and traditional probity and virtue. Daniel Loudensleger, his father, was of Union-county (Penn.) birth, where he was reared to manhood and married to. a Miss Barger. In 1831 he and his young wife moved to Seneca county, Ohio, lo- cating in Flat Rock, Thompson town- ship, until 1844, in which year they came to Sandusky county, making a new home in York township, with by no means favorable prospects, having a large and helpless family of children to support. For several years Mr. Loudensleger main- tained them by renting farms, which he worked; but as the children grew up to usefulness, they prevailed on their father to purchase a farm (which he did), the boys promising to remain at home, and assist in the clearing up and improving of same-and it was in the performance of this duty that our subject learned his first lessons of industry and privation. Ac- cordingly, with the assistance of the sons, the father paid for and improved his farm, which, in 1863, he sold, removing then to Monroe county, Mich., where, on a farm, he passed the rest of his days, dying February 28, 1881. In his polit- ical sympathies he was a Jacksonian Democrat, and in religious faith he was an adherent of the Evangelical (formerly known as the Albright) Church. His wife, who was also of Pennslyvania birth, born in the same locality as he, passed from earth in Sandusky county, when the subject of these lines was a fourteen- year-old boy. They were the parents of ten children, of whom the following brief mention is given: Mary Ann married John Brand, and now lives in Columbia City, Ind. ; George is a farmer and stock raiser at Blue Hill, Neb. ; Edward is the subject of this sketch; Lovina married

E. Loudenseger

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Daniel Wagner; William was a farmer until recent years, and is now in the prod- uce business at Rockwood, Mich .; Ar- ıninda married a Mr. Boyer, and is liv- ing near Delta, Ohio .; Matilda died at the age of eighteen years; Franklin, a painter by occupation, resides in Churu- busco, Ind .; two died in infancy. For some years after the death of the mother of these, and until after the marriage of his eldest daughter, Mr. Loudensleger re- mained a widower, and he then married a widow lady, Mrs. Wagner, by whom he had four children, viz .: Daniel, who lives on the old homestead in Michigan; Charles Wesley, who resides in the same lo- cality; Allen, a minister of the United Brethren Church. and living near his brothers; the youngest child died when five years old.

The education of the subject proper of this article was limited to such as was acquired at the common schools of his boyhood, consisting of three months' at- tendance in the winter seasons, many of the scholars, our subject included, having to travel long distances through frozen swamps, and cross running streams by jumping from one chance-fallen tree to another; yet, notwithstanding all these difficulties and obstacles, the lad succeed- ed, by natural acumen and persistent study, in securing sufficient education to enable him to teach in the public schools of the county. As an illustration of his fidelity to his parents and home, it is worthy of record that the salary he earned during his first term of school he freely and filially handed over to his father. In 1848 Mr. Loudensleger saw Fremont for the first time, and he well remembers it as an essentially "wooden town," com- posed for the most part of small unpainted frame buildings; and little did he then dream that he would ever see the place in its present advanced condition, much less that he himself would play such an important part in its development and progress as the tide of time has proven. 2

On November 23, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Seventy-second Regiment O. V. 1., which was attached to the army of the Tennessee, and the first battle he took part in was Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, April 6-7, 1862, after which the regiment participated in the siege of Corinth, and was then stationed at Mem- phis, Tenn., where it lay till the fall of 1862. It was then ordered to Vicksburg, but our subject, being invalided in the hospital, could not accompany it, and as a conse- quence was placed on detached duty in the Commissary Department, in which he served until mustered out of the army at Columbus, Ohio, December 13, 1864, the term of his enlistment having expired.

Mr. Loudensleger's domestic history, sad, it is true, in some particulars, has been strongly interwoven with his life, which has always been pacific in the ex- treme, and which has been made the more noble by many self-sacrifices. He has been thrice married: first time, in 1856, to Miss Emma Bellows, a native of New York State, who died in 1859, the mother of one child, Frances E., now the wife of Frank J. Tuttle, an attorney at law of Fremont, Ohio (she has two children: Howard and Florence). Mr. Loudensleger's second marriage, which occurred after his enlistment in the army, was with Mrs. Mary Jane Stevenson, néc Stahl, who unfortunately was soon griev- ously stricken with consumption, and during her husband's absence with his regiment was well nigh at the point of death. Obtaining a furlough, Mr. Lou- densleger returned home and took his wife back with him to Memphis, Tenn., where she remained a couple of winters, her health thereby improving to such an extent that she became a much stronger woman than she had been for several years. When her husband received his discharge they returned to Memphis, Tenn., for the winter, then coming north to Fremont, and Mr. Loudensleger, hav- ing no special vocation, concluded to

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

purchase a lot whereon to build a home, later to look around him for some suita- ble business in which to engage. The residence he built, and the good taste he exhibited in the beautifying of it, etc., attracted such general attention that he soon received many offers from bidders for the property at advanced prices. Sell- ing this house and lot accordingly, he proceeded in the same way with a second and even third residence, before he moved into any as a permanent home for him- self and family; thus in this unexpected manner was laid the foundation of his future vast real-estate business in Fre- mont, where for years he has been recog- nized as one of the leading dealers and improvers of city property. The hand- some block which bears his name, erected in 1888, and situated in the business center of Fremont, is acknowledged to be one of the finest in the city, and he still owns and deals in a considerable amount of property.

A short time after their return to Fre- mont from Memphis Mrs. Loudensleger's health again gave way, and Mr. Louden- sleger subsequently made many trips with her to the balmy South, sometimes at heavy expense, being absent from home and business entire seasons; but he never complained, and when his wife at last, in 1874, succumbed to the dread disease that clung so cruelly and tenaciously to her, he had left at the least the conscious- ness of having done for her all that lay in human power. He started anew, a poorer man than when he came home from the war, and entered with renewed vigor and resolution into the insurance and real-estate businesses. His third wife, a sister to his second, was Mrs. Nina A. Mil- ler, who, by her first husband, had a son, Isaac T. Miller, whom Mr. Loudensleger reared as his own; he is now deputy postinaster under his stepfather, and mar- ried to Miss Libbie Setzler, by whom he has one child, William. By his present wife Mr. Loudensleger has one daughter,

Nellie, who is in her seventeenth year, and now attending Lake Erie Seminary, at Painesville, Ohio.

Mr. Loudensleger has filled many po- sitions of trust in his city, and is highly esteemed in business and social circles for his sound judgment and unquestioned in- tegrity. In 1875 he was chosen one of the trustees of Oakwood Cemetery, in 1878 was elected secretary of same, and has served in that incumbency ever since. His associate trustees were Gen. R. B. Hayes, Stephen Buckland, C. R. McCul- loch and Dr. L. Q. Rawson. In his polit- ical affiliations he has always been active- ly identified with the Republican party, and his influence therein has ever been felt for good. In 1880 he was elected a member of the city council, and in the second year of his term was chosen pres- ident of the same. At that time the mayor in office died, only one month of his term having expired, and the council chose Mr. Loudensleger to fill the vacant chair, into which he was accordingly in- stalled. He pursued the course repre- sented by the policy on which his prede- cessor had been elected, a policy known in the main as the "Law and Order " movement, and his administration was remarkable for the stand he took against the saloons, many of them being so ob- trusively open on Sundays that he issued a proclamation to the effect that all such establishments should be closed on the Sabbath. This proclamation was re- spected, and to all intents and purposes its requirements were complied with under Mr. Loudensleger's wise jurisdiction; but as soon as he retired from office some of the saloons were again thrown open. He also caused the city to be purged of all manner of "fakirs" et hoc genus omne, thereby protecting not only the merchants but the citizens in general.

On September 19, 1881, occurred the death of President James A. Garfield, the funeral on the 26th, and Mayor Louden- sleger issued the following proclamation:

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Concurring with Hon. Charles Foster, Gov- ernor of Ohio, in his suggestions to the people of Ohio, and in view of the deep solemnity of the occasion, and as a most deserved and fitting act of respect to the memory of our lamented President, I would respectfully suggest to the citizens of Fremont that upon Monday, the 26th inst., all business pursuits be suspended, also that memorial services be held next Sunday in the city churches, and that the bells in the city be tolled during the last hour (11 to 12 o'clock) of the solemn funeral rites, on Monday.

Of this the following acknowledge- ments were received from James G. Blaine, Secretary of State at the time; By telegram September 22, 1881, "To Hon. E. Loudensleger: In the name of the sorrowing family of our beloved President of the Government I tender heartfelt acknowledgements of your touch- ing tribute of the love and sorrow of the people of Fremont .- James G. Blaine, Sec'y of State." Also by letter dated Department of State, Washington, Octo- ber 13, 1881 :

His Honor, E. Loudensleger, Mayor of Fremont, Ohio:

Sir :

It affords me sincere, although mournful, gratification to make feeling acknowledge- ment, in the name of the late President Gar- field's grief-stricken family, of the many heartfelt tributes of sorrow for our common loss, and of admiration for the high character of the revered dead, which come to them and the American Government and people in this hour of deep affliction from every part of the Union, and especially for the touching notifi- cation of the President's death, made by you to the citizens of Fremont on the 23d ultimo, a copy of which I have received.

I have the honor to be, Sir, your obt. ser- vant,

JAMES G. BLAINE.

In 1888 Mr. Loudensleger was induced to allow himself to be nominated for the mayoralty by the "Law and Order" party, but at the primaries the opposition to that party proved too strong. To his position of postmaster, as, in fact, to all other offices he has held, he was appointed without any solicitation on his part, and he lias filled same with characteristic ability and fidelity from 1891, the year of his appointment by President Harrison, to 1895, the affairs of the office never

having been more satisfactorily conducted in the history of Fremont; and Mr. Lou- densleger ascribes much of the success of the department to his stepson, Isaac Tickner Miller, who, as already stated, was assistant postmaster under him.

In religious faith our subject is an ad- herent of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is a trustee, having been elected to that office in 1867; and he has been an elder of the same for about ten years. He was a charter member of Eugene Rawson Post, G. A. R., and is now a member of Moore Post, of which he was also a charter member. He is the owner of one of the most attractive and pleasant residence properties in Fremont, adjoin- ing that of the family of the late President Hayes.

A NSON H. MILLER, banker, of Fremont, Sandusky county, was born at Hinsdale, N. H., May 2, 1824. His father, John Miller, was a descendant of Nathan Douglas, whose property was destroyed by the burning of New London, Conn., by the British, during the Revolutionary war, and to whose heirs was granted a portion of the "Firelands," in New London township, Huron Co., Ohio. John Mil- ler, by inheritance and purchase, came into possession of a large tract of these " Firelands," and in 1825 he removed with his family to Norwalk, Ohio, set- tling on the lands in New London in 1839. His children were Celemene, John, Anson H., Thomas D., and Eliza- beth D .- five in all-of whom John and Thomas D. are deceased.

During the residence of the family in Norwalk Anson H. Miller attended the seminary at that place, and during the year 1845 continued his studies at Milan Academy. In 1847 he entered the em- ploy of Prague & Sherman, lumber deal- ers at New Orleans, remained there about fourteen months, and after his return in

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

1 848 was engaged in farming on the New London lands until 1852, when he took a course of study in the Bryant, Lusk & Stratton Commercial College, at Cleve- land, after which he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the office of the treasurer (Dr. William F. Kittrege) of the Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland railroad, which he held about two years. In 1854 he was offered the position of cashier of the banking firm of Birchard & Otis, Fre- mont, Ohio, made vacant by the resigna- tion of Rev. F. S. White. He accepted the offer, and coming to Fremont August 2, 1854, entered at once upon the duties of the position. Judge Otis, being about to move to Chicago, retired from the firm of Birchard & Otis, and on the first day of January, 1856, Mr. Miller became a partner with Mr. Birchard, under the firm name of Birchard, Miller & Co. One year later Dr. James W. Wilson came into the bank as partner, the firm con- tinuing under the name of Birchard, Miller & Co. They occupied a small, one-story brick building on the east side of Front street, between Croghan and State, and the bank did a good business and prospered, without further change, until 1863, when it was merged into the First National Bank of Fremont, with a paid-up capital of $100,000, and an au- thorized capital of $200,000. This bank was the fifth National bank organized in the United States. The articles of asso- ciation were signed by Sardis Birchard, James W. Wilson, Anson H. Miller, James Justice, R. W. B. Mclellan, Jane E. Phelps, La Quinio Rawson, Martin Bruner, Robert Smith, Abraham Neff and Augustus W. Luckey. The first board of directors was elected May 27, 1863, and consisted of Messrs. Birchard, Wil- son, Justice, Bruner, Smith, Luckey and Miller. The first officers of the board were Sardis Birchard, president; James W. Wilson, vice-president; and A. H. Miller, cashier.

At the time the old bank wns merged

into the First National, Mr. Miller, with the help of a young clerk, did all the routine work of the bank, which now re- quires six experienced men. The bank occupies the ground floor of its fine three- story block, with Amherst stone front, erected by the stockholders, on the south- west corner of Front and Croghan streets, Fremont. Mr. Miller still holds the po- sition of cashier. There were five pioneer National banks organized in 1863 in the United States, and Mr. Miller and Mor- ton McMichael, of the First National Bank of Philadelphia, are the only men still living who are occupying the same positions in the same banks that they did at the beginning.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 3

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