Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 41

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 41
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 41

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).

the next morning, while Lord Howe was preparing for his capture, he had made his escape, and was miles away surprising and defeating another body of English forces. Philip Spohn lived to be ninety- four years old, and his wife also lived to an advanced age. They were both of Holland-Dutch descent. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Adam Anspach, who died when Jonathan was eight years old. He was the father of eleven children, of whom we have men- tion of Benjamin, Adam, David, John, Mrs. Adam Binkley, Mrs. Philip Dupler, Mrs. Emanuel Binkley, Mrs. Ludwig Ridenaur, and Barbara (the mother of our subject). Barbara Anspach first married Jonathan Zartman, by whom she had four children, all now deceased, viz. : Kate, who married D. Binkley; Mollie, who married Benjamin Humberger, and lived in Perry county, Ohio; Barbara, who was married in Sandusky county to Christopher Spohn, who now lives in Perry county; and Elizabeth, who married John King, and lived in Fairfield county, Ohio. Jacob Spohn was one of eleven children: Henry, Daniel, John, Adam, Samuel, Jacob, Mrs. Jacob Anspach, Polly Stomp, Mrs. Lawrence, Christena (who married John Horner) and Mrs. Henry Ridenaur. Jacob and Barbara Spohn had seven children, of whom Margaret died when seventeen years old; Solomon died at the age of fifty-nine years; Jonathan is our subject; Anthony died at the age of twenty-one; Joel now resides on the old homestead; Leo is de- ceased; Isabella married George Swine- hart.

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road from his present residence, and in this he worked for farmers and teamsters about twenty-two years. This was before the days of railroads, when the pike was the great highway of commerce in that section, and when the constant stream of settlers was moving westward. So im- passable were the roads that he often saw people stop two and three days at one hotel, the trip being so slow on account of the mud that they would walk from their teams to the hotel. There was then an average of one hotel to each mile of the pike.

In 1844 Jonathan Spohn married Miss Elizabeth Brunthaver, who was born in 1825 in Fairfield county, Ohio, and they had four children: Francis, who died in the army, at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Mo., while serving as a member of the Seventy-second Regiment, O. V. I., and whose remains were brought home by our subject for burial; Adam F., who married Samantha Strohl, and has ten children- Lottie, Hadie, Franklin, Alvin, Mabel, Thurman, Waneta, Lizzie, Willis, and one who died in infancy; Allen, living at home, who married Miss Annie Riden- hour and has three children-Walter, Harry and Enid; and Mary, wife of O. Grover, of Wood county, Ohio, whose children are Howard, Ethel C., Nelson and George. Our subject is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first vote for Mar- tin Van Buren. In religious connection he is a member of the Reformed Church at Fremont, as is also Mrs. Spohn. Dur- ing the Mexican war he served as a sol- dier under Gen. Scott, and was also a sol- dier in the Union army during the Civil war. Socially he is a member of Croghan Lodge No. 77, F. & A. M., Fremont. Mr. Spohn has held various civic offices in Green Creek township; in the fall of 1879 he was elected to the office of in- firmary director, serving two terms, six years in all, with credit to himself and sat- isfaction to all concerned. Our subject owns seventy-six acres of valuable land;

and the prosperity he now enjoys is due entirely to his own good management, thrift and economy.

W ILBERT PHILLIPS, son of John and Mariam (Baker) Phil- lips, was born in Montgomery township, Wood Co., Ohio, June 14, 1861. He lived at home until his marriage, October 23, 1884, to Ellen Bowe, daughter of George and Mary (Bordner) Bowe. To Mr. and Mrs. Phil- lips have come two children-Durbin, born April 25, 1886, and Floyd, born October 27, 1887. After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, they settled in Wood county, on a farm, where they lived two years. They moved to the David Phillips' farm, in Scott township, where they have lived for the past nine years, during which time Mr. Phillips has worked his grandfather's farm of 160 acres, and done teaming for the oil com- panies. On October 13, 1894, he pur- chased eighty acres of wild land in Scott township. This land is within the oil belt, and he expects to lease it to the oil company.

The father of our subject was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, March 18, 1834. When he was six years old his parents came to Scott township, and purchased eighty acres of land in Section 31, for which they gave a horse, and $250 in money; later they purchased another eighty acres. On this farm the father of our subject grew to manhood. Wilbert Phillips, our subject, is the eldest of a family of eleven children, the others being: Wilby, Zerusha, Ettie, Delbert, John, Retta Jane, David, George, Charles, and Daisy. Mr. Phillips' mother was born in 1840, near Findlay, Ohio, died in 1878, and was buried in Trinity Cemetery, Scott township, Ohio.

Our subject's paternal grandfather, David Phillips, was born September 6, 1804, in the State of New York; his

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wife, Mary Ann (Bates), was born April 15, 18II, in Pennsylvania. They were married December 27, 1827, in Stark county, Ohio, and reared a family of chil- dren, their names and dates of birth being as follows: Mary Ann, Octobor 26, 1828; Lucinda, April 22, 1830; Henry, Decem- ber 23, 1831; David, December 3, 1833; Sylvester, May 17, 1836; John, March 18, 1838; Hiram, Jannary 15, 1841; Eliza Jane, February 7, 1843; Mariar, November 19, 1844; and George, Feb- ruary 26, 1847. Grandfather and Grand- mother Phillips are now living on the farm which is being worked by our subject.

The paternal great-grandfather of our subject, Vespasian Phillips, was born in Pennsylvania about 1756. When about seventy-five years of age he left home, and was never heard of afterward. The date of his wife's birth is not known; she died in 1813 the mother of ten chil- dren. Our subject's maternal great- grandfather, Andrew Bates, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1765; he was a cooper and farmer. His wife, Ann (Homan), was born about 1772. They had a family of ten children, six of whom are living.

J OHN L. DONNELS, a leading, pro- gressive and influential citizen and present mayor of Gibsonburg, San- dusky county, is a native of Ohio, born in Scott township, Sandusky county, March 30 1852.

James Donnels, his grandfather, a na- tive of Ireland, emigrated in an early day. For a time he lived in what is now West Virginia, later moving to Ohio and settling in Scott township, Sandusky county, as one of the pioneers, where he was engaged in farming up to the time of his death. He was married in Scotland, and his chil- dren were: John, who died in Scott township, Sandusky county; Gilbreth S., father of our subject; Margaret, wife of Nicholas Bowlus, of Madison township, Sandusky county; Becky Ann, wife of

Henry Fansey, also of Madison township; James, a resident of Helena, Sandusky county; Ellen (Mrs. Hess), who died in Virginia; and Amos, living in Scott town- ship, Sandusky county.

Gilbreth S. Donnels, father of John L., was born in 1820, in what is now West Virginia, and was a boy when his parents removed to Scott township, San- dusky Co., Ohio. There he was reared to agricultural pursuits, which he followed in both Scott and Madison townships all his life, owning over 137 acres of land at the time of his death. In Madison town- ship, Sandusky county, he married Nancy Wolcott, who was born in 1817, in Chau- tauqua county, N. Y., whence when a young woman she accompanied her par- ents to Ohio. To this union children as follows were born: The eldest died in in- fancy unnamed; Lonisa died at the age of seven years; John L. is the subject of this sketch; William is a farmer of Madison township, Sandusky county; one died two weeks old, unnamed; Lindon is a merchant and farmer of Helena, Ohio; Franklin lives in Woodville township, Sandusky county; Stanley and James A. are both in Madi- son township, Sandusky county; Jessie died at the age of seventeen years. The father of these was called from earth in 1855. In politics he was originally a Whig, later a stanch Republican.

John L. Donnels, the subject proper of these lines, received a liberal education at the common schools of Madison town- ship, and ever since the age of thirteen years has been engaged more or less in the sawmilling business in Sandusky coun- ty. In 1864 he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment, O. N. G., and served one hundred days at Fort Ethan Allen, after which he re- turned home and established a sawmill in Madison township, buying land in the county, the timber on which he lumbered himself. He thus continued till 1872, when he entered the employ, in a similar line, of Daniel Smith, for several years

J . J. Donelo

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working for him and other parties. While in the employ of G. F. Aldridge, of Scott township, he had two of his fingers acci- dentally cut off by the saw, but neverthe- less lost only five days' work, immedi- ately recommencing with another em- ployer, with whom he remained until, in 1885, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the position of Justice of the Peace of Madison township. This office he filled with characteristic ability and fi- delity nine years, or until his election to the mayoralty of Gibsonburg, in the spring of 1894. He is the owner of 120 acres of land in Madison township, on which there is a good oil field.

In 1871 John L. Donnels was married to Miss Catherine Bowser, who was born in Bedford county, Penn., July 8, 1858, and died September 30, 1884, the mother of five children, of whom the following is a brief record: Emma is the wife of John Vantine, of Gibsonburg, and has one child, Winnie; Minnie is the wife of David Blausey, also of Gibsonburg, and has one child, Willie; Louis, on his father's farm in Madison township, is married to Susie Lattimore, and has two children-Clar- ence and Alta; Alma is the wife of David Biddle; Mattie is married to Henry Blau- sey, and has two children. For his sec- ond wife Mr. Donnels wedded Mrs. Jen- nie (Henry) Ridley, who was born in Jack- son township, Sandusky county, in 1848, and by her first husband had two children -Arthur and Carrie. Mr. Donnels is the only Democrat in the family; in fra- ternal membership he is an Odd Fellow, and in religious faith he is identified with the Disciples of Christ.

J I ACOB KLINK, a well-known and popular citizen of Woodville town- ship, Sandusky county, was born December 9, 1839, and is a son of Caleb and Mary (Brunthaver) Klink, who were born, respectively, May 7, 1811, in 18

Wittenberg, Germany, and January 12, 1813, in Columbus, Ohio.

Caleb Klink came to America at the tender age of six years. His parents were very poor, and he was bound out until his eighteenth year to pay for their passage across the ocean. After this he went tohis parents, at that time living at Mansfield, Ohio, remained there but a short time, then walked to New Orleans, and worked on a boat one season. He was there during the yellow fever epidemic in 1832 (when six thousand died in seventeen days), contracted the fever, and was sick for two months. After his recovery he went to Philadelphia, and attended a Centennial celebration in that city, and later worked on the Erie canal and helped to build the first railroad in the United States. The year of that Centennial he walked 3,300 miles, and was in every State in the Union. Mr. Klink cut the lumber to build a flouring-mill at Green Spring, Sandusky Co., Ohio, which they were six weeks in raising. Afterward he worked in a sawmill for seven years, and lost only two days during that time.

On September 27, 1836, Caleb Clink was united in marriage with Mary Brunt- haver, and four sons and four daughters were born to them, as follows: Louisa, born August 11, 1837, at Green Spring, Sandusky county, now deceased, married Henry Peters, a farmer, by whom she had six children, and he resides in Woodville township, Sandusky county ; Jacob is the subject of this sketch; Charles, born De- cember 23, 1841, married Caroline Pem- ber, by whom he has had three children, and they live in Woodville township; Leah, born March 1, 1844, married Elexix Nolan, by whom she had four children, and both she and her husband are now deceased; Ellen, born June 15, 1846, and died at the age of eighteen; Adam, born September 15, 1848, was united in marriage on May 28, 1878, with Sarah Caris, daughter of Adam and Julia Caris, of Wood county, Ohio, born January

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3. 1860, and by her has one child-Lester, born December 13, 1880 (he lived at home the greater part of his life, and has worked for the pipe line company, there being fourteen oil wells on the Klink estate, all in good flow); Catherine, born February 12, 1853, married John Foster, by whom she had two children, and they live in Elmore, Ottawa Co., Ohio; and Reuben, born January 11, 1853, now a farmer in Woodville township, married Addie Tucker, by whom he has had four children.

Two years after his marriage Caleb Clink moved to Woodville township, San- dusky county, where at that time he had eighty acres, on which there was no clear- ing. He put up a house, moved in and began clearing the land. There was a great deal of fever and ague in those days, and all of his family were sick with it. Mr. Clink at one time owned over twelve hundred acres of valuable land, and when he died left six hundred acres in Woodville township, and forty acres in Michigan. He raised many valuable horses and cattle, giving considerable attention to stock-raising. Mr. Clink was a Democrat in politics. After a long busy and useful life, beloved by a large circle of friends and neighbors, he passed away at the old homestead No- vember 26, 1894, at the age of eighty- three years, six months and nineteen days, and was buried in Woodville township, Sandusky county, November 28, 1894.

On October 12, 1866, Jacob Klink was united in marriage with Miss M. J. Mc- Crary, who was born December 12, 1846, and three children have been born to them, as follows: Rosa, Frank and Henry. At the age of twenty-six Mr. Klink went to Woodville township, San- dusky Co., Ohio, entered into partnership with Henry Rancamp, and they con- ducted a general store there for six months, then removed to Pemberville, Wood Co., Ohio, where they conducted a store for two years. In 1865 and

1866 Mr. Klink was the postmaster there. He bought out his partner and carried on the store alone for a short time; then sold it and moved back to Woodville town- ship, Sandusky county, on the farm where he now lives. He has always bought and sold cattle and horses, and at times has very large herds.

Socially, Mr. Klink is a Free Mason, in politics a Democrat, was supervisor and school director for several years, and is highly spoken of. Mrs. Klink was one of eight children. Her father was born July 4, 1812, and now lives in Toledo, Ohio, with a daughter. Her mother died in 1850.

H ENRY KLINE, one of the promi- nent representative citizens of Fremont, Sandusky county, was born in Union county, Penn., February 20, 1849, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Swartz) Kline, who were also natives of the Keystone State, of Ger- man descent. They were farming peo- ple. The Kline family migrated to Ohio, and finally settled in St. Joseph county, Mich., where Mr. Kline still lives at the age of eighty years, and where Mrs. Kline died at the age of sixty-six. They had fourteen children, all of whom be- came heads of families, namely: Barbara M., Jesse, Susan, Catharine, Leo, Lydia Ann, Jacob, Joseph, Henry and John (twins), Mary Ann, Libbie, George, and Frank E. (who died at the age of twenty- eight).

Henry Kline was reared on a farm about six miles north of Bellevue, San- dusky Co., Ohio, where his educational advantages were very limited. At the age of seventeen he went to Michigan and remained there with his parents about four years, engaged in farm work, return- ing to Bellevue, Ohio. Here, after working on a farm one year, and clerking in a store two and a half years, he mar- ried Miss Kate Gearhart, and moved on

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the N. P. Birdseye farm, living there for one summer. He next moved to Fre- m'ont, and located in the Baumann Block, on Croghan street, where he remained five years, keeping a saloon and restaur- ant. In 1880 he removed to East Fre- mont, where he bought property, and for twelve years carried on a thriving grocery business in a wooden building opposite the Clauss Shear Works. He then re- built his brick residence, removed his wooden building, and erected in its place a fine, three-story brick block, consisting of four flats, one large hall and three business rooms, with a cellar for each de- partment. Mr. Kline has made all his money by his own efforts, being a wide- awake, energetic hustler. He formerly kept a grocery and feed store, was a con- tractor, a pork packer, dealt in real es- tate, and sold river sand. He now keeps a saloon and restaurant in his back room. To Mr. and Mrs. Kline were born two children: Hattie E. and Jesse Hermon.

M RS. JOSEPH CLEMONS, whose maiden name was Caroline Lewis, is a wide-awake and pro- gressive resident of Townsend township, Sandusky county, having charge not only of a well-ordered household, but of a farm of one hundred and forty-five acres as well.

Joseph Clemons (deceased) was born in Pennsylvania, February 23, 1832. His father had served in the war of 1812, and Mr. Clemons would have enlisted in de- fense of the Union in the war of the Re- bellion had he not been incapacitated by an accident which befell him in 1857. That year he severely cut his left leg, which caused a stiffness sufficient to ex- clude him from the list of able-bodied men. On April 1, 1855, Mr. Clemons was united in marriage with Caroline Lewis, who was born March 24, 1837, in Seneca county, Ohio, and they lived in

Adams township, Seneca county, for seven years. They had eleven children, as follows: Levi H., born February 16, 1856, a resident of Pullman, Ill .; Mary Jane, born November 19, 1857, and died in December, 1858; Harriet F., born February 16, 1859, now Mrs. Ira Met- calf, of Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio; Albert M., born May 18. 1860, and died in November, 1862; Mahala I., born Au- gust 3, 1861, now Mrs. Charles Combs, of Bloomingville, Erie Co., Ohio; Aldora M., born September 23, 1863, and mar- ried to A. J. Beaghler, of Townsend township, November 24, 1881; Henry E., born June 28, 1865, now at home; An- drew S., born December 17, 1866, now of Erie county; infants who were born July 12, 1868, and March 1, 1872, and died on September 10, 1868, and March 14, 1872, respectively; and Ami J., born August 17, 1873, living at home.

In 1862 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Clemons moved to Thompson township, Seneca county, whence, in 1871, they came to their present home, which Mr. Clemons purchased that year. In 1875 he bought one hundred acres of prairie land in Erie county, on which property his son Andrew now lives. Mr. Clemons was an infant of but four weeks old when his parents moved to Ohio, and he lived here the remainder of his life. He died May I, 1889. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Lutheran Church. His widow is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mrs. Clemons in her girlhood received a common-school education. Her par- ents, Isaac and Susanna Lewis, were both born in Lancaster county, Penn. Mr. Lewis taught school in Pennsylvania be- fore his marriage, and, being a scholar, accumulated quite a library. Among his books was a Bible, now highly prized by Mrs. Clemons; it is in German type, and the date of its publication is 1771. Mr. Lewis came with his family to Seneca county, Ohio, in 1832. They lived

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there for many years. Then, retiring from active work, Mr. Lewis and his wife moved to Bellevue, Huron Co., Ohio, where both passed away.

A P. JOHNSON, one of the reliable, solid citizens of Madison town- ship, Sandusky county, is a native of Ohio, born December 11, 1848, in Holmes county, son of Prelate and Phœbe (Cutler) Johnson.

Prelate Johnson was born in 1808 in Connecticut, where he was married, and whence in an early day he came to Ohio, settling in Holmes county, where he fol- lowed his trade, that of carpenter and joiner. He died in that county at the age of fifty-five years. Afterward his widow returned east with her children to live with her father, Jonathan Cutler, in Mas- sachusetts, and there died at the age of fifty-four years. The father of our sub- ject was a Baptist in religious faith, an old Henry Clay Whig in his political leanings, and in later life a strong sup- porter of Lincoln. The maternal grand- father Cutler, who was born in 1786, was a silversmith, following his trade up to his death, which occurred at Brimfield, Mass., when he was eighty-five years old.

A. P. Johnson, the subject proper of these lines, is one of a family of eight children-three sons and five daughters --- as follows: Alonzo, who died in hospital at Gettysburg, Penn., at the age of twen- ty-four years; Charlotte, wife of John Wilson, of Holmes county, Ohio, who died at the age of twenty-nine years; Horatio, who died when twenty-two years old; Helen, when fifteen years old; A. P., our subject; Phæbe, deceased at the age of twelve years; Fidelia, who died when sixteen years old; and Martha J., the wife of J. B. Tice, residing in Eaton county, Michigan. Our subject was fif- teen years old when he went to Massa- chusetts to live with his widowed mother, but after a residence there of eighteen

months he returned to Ohio, and for three months worked on a farm in Madi- son township, later taking up the saw- milling business, which he has since suc- cessfully followed; he is also superintend- ent of Zorn, Hornung & Co.'s stave and heading factory at Gibsonburg. He now owns twenty acres of arable land within the corporation limits of that village, and is well known and highly respected through- out the county for his sterling qualities as a citizen.

On April 17, 1870, Mr. Johnson was married in Madison township to Miss Elizabeth Tice, who was born in Penn- sylvania April 24, 1853, and children as follows have blessed their union: Effie, born April 15, 1871, wife of James Will- iams, of Rising Sun, Wood Co., Ohio (they have one child, Lester); Horatio, born June 21, 1873, who is employed in the oil fields; Delbert, born October 21, 1876, who works in the stave factory of Zorn, Hornung & Co .; and Verna, born June 12, 1888. In his political prefer- ments Mr. Johnson has always been a stanch Democrat, and in 1893 he was the regular nominee on the Democratic ticket for county commissioner, but was de- feated with the rest of the party in the fall of that year. In 1887 he was elected a justice of the peace, which incumbency he held six consecutive years. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. and K. of P.

Mrs. Johnson's father, A. H. Tice, was born in 1821 in Pennsylvania. In 1844 he was married to Catherine Noggle, who was born in 1822. They came to Ohio in 1853, settling in Sandusky county. Here he lived until 1884, when he re- moved to Michigan, and, his wife dying there in 1888, he returned to Gibson- burg, where he died in 1890, leaving nine children, twenty-three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He served eighteen years as a justice of the peace. Socially, he was a member of the I. O. O. F. fraternity.

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C HARLES LIVINGSTINE, a suc- cessful farmer and prominent and public-spirited citizen of Riley township, Sandusky county, was born September 12, 1828, in Stark county, Ohio. He is a son of Jacob and Eliza- beth (Weimer) Livingstine, who were born respectively in June, 1794, and on Febru- ary 8, 1792, in Germany.

Jacob Livingstine was united in mar- riage with Elizabeth Weimer, in 1815; they then came to America, settling in Stark county, Ohio, where he entered 160 acres of land. He sold out in 1833, set- tled in Sandusky township, Sandusky county, and bought 120 acres, and, later, 105 in Riley township. He lived in San- dusky township until his death, which oc- curred October 9, 1866; his wife died January 7, 1856. They had seven chil- dren, as follows: Saloma, born in 1816, married George Hilt, by whom she had ten children, and they lived in Ballville township, Sandusky county, Mrs. Holt dying there in 1884, Mr. Holt in 1887; Barbara, born 1819, was married in 1840 to Henry Hoffman, who lives in Jackson township, Sandusky county, and died March 7, 1890, the mother of nine chil- dren: Maggie, born in August, 1822, married John Newman, in 1841, in San- dusky township, and they live in Fre- mont, Sandusky county, with their family of five children; Elizabeth, born in Febru- ary, 1825, married George Hendricks in 1847, and they had two children (she died in 1874, Mr. Hendricks in 1878, and both were buried in Green Creek town- ship, Sandusky county); Charles is the subject proper of this sketch; Annie died young, and one child died in infancy.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 41

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