Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 68

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 68
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 68

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).

H ENRY FRY, farmer, Ballville township, Sandusky county, was born in Prussia, Germany, May 3, 1813, a son of Lambert and Mary (Shoetler) Fry, natives of Germany. Lambert Fry, born in 1775, was a cab- inet-maker by trade, and also kept a grocery store; he died in 1859 at the age of eighty-four. Their children were: (1) Lambert, Jr., born September, 1803, died in 1849; (2) Mary, deceased in in- fancy; (3) John, born February 28, 1810, retired farmer, Ballville township; (4) our subject; (5) Mary, born September I, 1819, who married Lambert Speller, in Germany, and whose children are: John, Henry, Augustus, Fred, Lissette and Wilhelmine, all of whom have died, ex- cept two, and are buried in Oak Wood Cemetery.

Our subject grew to manhood in the

German Fatherland. He emigrated to America March 26, 1834, landing in Bal- timore on the Ist of July following, hav- ing been forty-two days at sea. On the IIth of April their ship was wrecked on a sand-bar, during a terrible storm, but Mr. Fry managed to keep on the wreck, and with several others subsisted on the contents of a keg of rum which they found in the wreck. They were out in the sea from Thursday until Saturday be- fore they were rescued by small boats pro- cured from shore, by the efforts of the second mate and two seamen. Mr. Fry was the only passenger who saved all his clothes. . Many died from the effects of exposure, and thirty-one out of one hun- dred and fifty were drowned. After reaching land Mr. Fry had the choice of his passage money back or passage on another ship. He chose the latter, and a few days later engaged passage on the "Neptune," Capt. Williamson, with 164 passengers, in which he made the voyage in safety. Mr. Fry made friends with the captain, and received special favors from him during the voyage. After land- ing in Baltimore he remained there only three days, then walked to Cumberland, Md., where he worked at his trade of cabinet-making, and then started on foot to meet his cousin, Philip Fry, in Ohio, walking nearly all the way. He subse- quently came to Ballville township, San- dusky county, and worked for Samuel Treat. He put up several buildings for Mr. Treat, and then assisted in building a gristmill for James Moore. For the latter he worked five years at one dollar per day. In 1837 he went to Logans- port, Ind., remained there one year and built canal locks. On his return to Ball- ville township he married, September 4, 1841, Miss Abigail Rideout, daughter of John and Sarah (Randall) Rideout.

John G. Rideout was born in Augusta, Maine, of English parents. Sarah Ran- dall was born in Connecticut, and after their marriage they removed to Ross coun-

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ty, Ohio, and in 1825 to Ballville, San- dusky Co., where they resided until their death. The names and dates of birth of their children are as follows: William, February 10, 1819; David, May 6, 1821; Abigail, April 30, 1823; Ebenezer, April I, 1825; Margaret, March 6, 1827; Horace, December 22, 1829; Elizabeth, November 4, 1831; Alice, January 28, 1833. Abigail (Rideout) Fry was born in Ross county, Ohio, and came with her parents to Ballville, Sandusky county, in 1825, where she has resided for more than seventy years, and has seen the country grow from a wilderness, inhabited by In- dians and infested with wolves, to its pres- ent beautiful and prosperous condition.

Henry Fry and his brother John bought a farm of 190 acres, where they lived together about eight years, after which Henry moved to a piece of 160 acres, which he had bought some years before, and which has been his place of residence since 1850. He lives about five miles south of Fremont, was a Whig and is now a Republican in politics, and is much esteemed wherever known.

The children of Henry and Abigail Fry were: John Lambert, who died in infancy; Cynthia J., born March 9, 1843; and Amelia S., born April 18, 1846. Cynthia attended school at Oberlin College about three years, and was married June 14, 1865, to Dr. Robert H. Rice, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Amelia also attended school at Oberlin College, and was married December 26, 1866, to Elias B., son of John and Eliza (Rutter) Moore, of Ballville.

Elias B. Moore attended school at Oberlin College, and at the outbreak of the Rebellion, enlisted in the Seventy- second Regiment, O. V. I., was appoint- ed sergeant of Company F, with many others was taken prisoner at the battle of Guntown, Miss., and for many months suffered the horrors of Andersonville and other Rebel prisons. After the close of the war he was engaged in business in

Fremont, was twice elected treasurer of Sandusky county, and afterward with his family removed to Fort Wayne, Ind., where they now reside. Their children are Abbie, Mabel, Elias, Henry and Ruth.

L OUIS A. DICKINSON, the pres- ent postmaster at Fremont, San- dusky county, was born in that city May 16, 1860, a son of Abner J. and Louise P. (Mitchener) Dickinson. Abner J. Dickinson was born in New York State May 13, 1817, a son of Alpheus and Martha Dickinson, whose family con- sisted of seven sons and three daughters: Rodolphus, Rodolphus, Alexander, Al- pheus, Obid, Martha, Sarah (Mrs. David Beard, of Greene, N. Y.), Satira (Mrs. George Grant, of Fremont), Champion, and Abner J. Louise P. Mitchener, moth- er of our subject, was born in Lancaster county, Penn., December 23, 1815, the eldest of the seven children of Ryner and Lydia Mitchener, viz .: Louise P., Hon. Charles H. (late of New Philadelphia, Ohio), Mrs. Ann French, Mrs. Rachel Bartlett, Lydia, Mrs. Margaret Evans, and Mrs. Henrietta R. Dickinson (wife of Hon. E. F. Dickinson, a nephew of Abner J.), all of whom were reared and educated among the Society of Friends. The father of Louis A. came to Ohio at the age of twenty-one, and six years later settled in Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), where for many years he was engaged in general mercantile business. In politics he was a Democrat, and in 1854-56 he represented his county in the General Assembly of the State of Ohio. During the Civil war he entered the ranks of the Union army, and died May 28, 1863, at Camp Triune, Tenn. His widow now resides at No. 316 S. Arch street, Fremont. To them were born three children: Martha J., deceased wife of James H. Fowler, an attorney at law,

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of Fremont; Charles J., who died in 18;4; and Louis Abner.

Louis A. Dickinson was reared in Fremont by his widowed mother, was educated in the city schools, and gradua- ted from Fremont High School at the age of seventeen, taking the combined Latin and English four-years' course in three years. At the age of twenty-two he was elected county surveyor of Sandusky county on the Democratic ticket, and served in that capacity for six years. In 188; he was elected to the city council from the First Ward, and in 1889 was appointed city civil engineer, which po- sition he held until February 25, 1895, when he was appointed, by President Cleveland, postmaster of the city. He is a member of Brainard Lodge, No. 336, F. & A. M., and of Fremont Lodge, K. of P. In 1886, he married Frances H. Mitchener, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, and to this union were born two daughters: Christine M. and M. Louise. Mrs. Dick- inson died in Fremont, August 9, 1890.

R ICHARD HAGEL, a progressive merchant of and the efficient post- master at Gypsum, Ottawa county, is a native of Ohio, born in Plaster- bed. Portage township, Ottawa county, March 26, 1862.

He is a son of Louis and Wilhelmina (Hartenfelt) Hagel, both of whom were natives of Germany, and are now resi- dents of Plasterbed. The father was born in Baden, Germany, October 17, 1828, and is a son of Andrew and Eliza- beth Hagel, who spent their entire lives in the Fatherland. He was there edu- , cated and learned the trade of a stone- mason. Crossing the broad Atlantic to America in 1852, he resided for two years in Newark, N. J., and in 1854 came to Portage township, Ottawa Co., Ohio, where he engaged in farming and quarry- ing. In 1856 he removed to Carroll township, same county, where he pur-

chased land, and for two years carried on agricultural pursuits. In 1858 he sold his farm and removed to Plasterbed, which has been his place of continuous residence since. His wife was born in Saxony, Germany, November 9, 1832, and was a daughter of Frederick and Hannah Hartenfelt. With her parents she emigrated to America in 1852, and they lived in Erie township, Ottawa Co., Ohio, until called to their final rest.

Mr. and Mrs. Hagel were married June 15, 1856, in the town which is still their home, and their union was blessed with ten children, six of whom are liv- ing: John, born March 26, 1857, and residing at Plasterbed; Emma, born De- cember 27, 1858; Richard; Sarah, born January 18, 1872, now the wife of George Austin, of Plasterbed; William, born Feb- ruary 11, 1864, now residing in the same place; and Annie, born April 27, 1878.

Our subject acquired a fair English education in the district schools of Port- age township, Ottawa county, and when his school life was ended entered upon his business career as a clerk in the store of Charles C. Peet, of Gypsum. He has since been connected with mercantile in- terests. For nine years he was employed in that capacity, during which time he became familiar with merchandising in every detail, and the experience thus ac- quired well fitted him for his own career along this line. In 1884, after the death of his employers, he purchased of the ad- ministrators the store, and has since been sole proprietor. He has a well-appoint- ed establishment, carries a large stock of goods, and is doing a flourishing business.

Mr. Hagel was married in Gypsum, November 23, 1892, to Miss Hannah E. Hess, a daughter of Christian and Paulina (Warner) Hess, both of whom were na- tives of Germany, residing in Gypsum. Mrs. Hagel was born at Plasterbed, Feb- ruary 20, 1869, and is an estimable lady, having many friends. Socially, our sub- ject is connected with Port Clinton Lodge,

Richard Hagel

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No. 361, K. of P., and O. H. Perry Lodge, No. 627, I. O. O. F. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and has ably served as postmaster at Gypsum since 1884. He attends the Methodist Church, and is interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and upbuilding of the com- munity. He has served as treasurer of the Island & Gypsum Fruit Co. Mr. Hagel is one of the progressive young business men of the county, and by thrift and energy has raised himself to an im- portant position in the community; by fair dealing and perseverance has built up a large and rapidly-increasing mercantile business which ranks him among the solid commercial men of his locality. In 1891, finding his quarters too small, he erected the spacious store which he now occupies.

W J. ALESHIRE. The subject of this sketch, who is the edi- tor and proprietor of the Gib- sonburg Derrick, is recognized as one of the leading business men of San- dusky county, and his paper shows evi- dence of his ability as a journalist, it be- ing a readable, newsy sheet, fully up to the times, and an acceptable visitor in homes throughout that section of the State.

Mr. Aleshire is a son of William and Sarah (Ewing) Aleshire, the former of whom was born October 19, 1814, in Vir- ginia, where he grew to manhood, coming thence to Ohio, where, in Meigs county, he was married. He was a farmer by occupation. In 1846 he went to Fulton county, Ill., and there remained a year or two, afterward removing to Hancock county, that State, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying Oc- tober 3, 1890, shortly after his wife, who passed away July 17, that year. For twenty years he was engaged in the hotel business. Mr. and Mrs. Aleshire were the parents of ten children, of whom

three left their home at the call for loyal men during the war of the Rebellion, and served their country well and faith- fully, one finding an early grave in the Sunny South. The record of this large family is briefly given as follows: San- ford, who was a soldier in the One Hun- dred and Eighteenth Illinois Infantry, during the Civil war, is deceased; Virgil, who served four years in the same regi- ment, and was wounded in Vicksburg, is also deceased; Mary, who married Thomas Swan, lives at Granger, Mo .; Orlando, who was in the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, died at Napoleonville, La .; Margaret is the wife of Uriah Ashcraft, and lives at La Harpe, Ill .; W. J. is the subject of this biography; E. E., who is an attor- ney at law, resides in Stanberry, Mo .; Albert is carrying on a hotel and livery business in Burnside, Ill .; Henry died in early youth; O. E. received an excellent education, and at one time was superin- tendent of schools at Buchanan, Mich., throughout which State he became well- known owing to his oratorical powers and other good qualities, and was sent to the Legislature; growing tired of politics, he went to Chicago, where he engaged in business, and he has since made his resi- dence in that city.

The subject of this sketch was born February 15, 1849, in Hancock county, Ill., and grew to manhood in that State. He received a collegiate education, and turned his attention to teaching, follow- ing that occupation, for which he was ad- mirably fitted, for nineteen consecutive years. During the last twelve years of this time he was principal of schools in four different towns. In 1889, Mr. Ale- shire decided to combine newspaper work with teaching, and purchased the Good Hope Torpedo, which he carried on for three and a half years. Selling out this paper he came, in 1892, to Gibsonburg, and purchased the Derrick, of which he is editor and proprietor. When he took hold of the paper, it was a seven-column

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folio, which he changed to an eight-col- umn and then six-column quarto. The paper is independent in politics, and has a good circulation.

Mr. Aleshire was married November 30, 1882, to Miss Mary McClung, who was born April 22, 1860, in Pike county, Ill., and they have two children, Oscar and Harry. Mrs. Aleshire is the daugh- ter of George and Nancy (Wayfield) Mc- Clung, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, and served through the Civil war. Two children were born to them- Mary (now Mrs. Aleshire), and Martha (Mrs. Charles Kennedy, of Quincy, Ill.). Socially, Mr. Aleshire is a member of the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F.

C APTAIN W. E. GILLETT, town- ship and corporation clerk, and ex-officio clerk of the school board of Green Creek township, San- dusky county, is one of the leading citi- zens of Clyde. His birth occurred in Groton township, Erie Co., Ohio, on the 4th of September, 1860, and he is a son of William and Elizabeth (Hearson) Gil- lett, both natives of Lincolnshire, Eng- land, where the father was born in 1833, and the mother in 1835. The father is a son of John Gillett, with whom he came to America when quite small, locating near Sandusky, Erie Co., Ohio, where he grew to manhood. His parents both died in Sandusky county, where for about ten years William Gillett conducted a shoe store, but he now makes his home in Bellevue, Ohio.

In this vicinity the Captain spent the days of his boyhood and youth, no event of special importance occurring during that period. His education was com- pleted in the high school of Clyde, and on the farm he assisted in the labors of the fields. At the age of twenty-one he be- came a drug clerk, and later entered a grocery store. For about eight years he was with his father in the shoe business,

being a member of the firm of Gillett & Sons. Since that time he has mostly filled official positions, being secretary of the water-works, and, while holding the office of township and corporation clerk, was also connected with the electric light plant.

Eleven years ago Capt. Gillett joined the McPherson Guards as a private, was later promoted to sergeant and then to first sergeant, afterward to lieutenant, and finally to captain of his company, which position he now fills. He has had charge of his company during the recent strikes in the coal mines, and on several other occasions where they were called to aid civil authorities.

Capt. Gillett was united in marriage with Miss Ida Day, of Sandusky, Ohio, and to them has been born a daughter, Edna. The Captain is one of the most popular men in Clyde, and is spoken of as a probable man for future honors in San- dusky county. He is enterprising, ener- getic and progressive, and takes a deep interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community, where he is so widely and favorably known. In politics he is a Republican, and is a stalwart sup- porter of its men and measures. Socially, he belongs to the Royal Arcanum.

S TEPHEN D. TERRILL. This well-known farmer of Green Creek township, Sandusky county, and for many years a successful busi- ness man of Clyde, has made the most of his opportunities. Instead of yearning for the distant and unattainable, he has cheerfully and resolutely done the work that lay before him, and by diligence and steadiness of purpose he has demonstrated by his success in life the golden value of those sterling qualities.

He was born in Chenango county, N. Y., June 26, 1818, son of Elias and Hannah (Hickox) Terrill, sterling Presby- terians. Elias Terrill was born of Scotch

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parentage in Waterbury, Conn., August 7, 1775, and was married May 6, 1798, to Hannah Hickox, born July 2, 1781. He was a cooper, and followed his trade in his native town until about 1815, when with his family he moved to Pitcher, Chenango Co., N. Y., where he died August 14, 1835, his wife surviving until November 6, 1856. They were the par- ents of the following twelve children: Irene, who in 1817 married Solomon En- sign, and reared a family in New York, where she died; Julia M., who in 1819 married James Hinman, reared a family, and died in New York City; Beulah S., who married Harry Chandler, and died in Bellevue, Ohio; Susan H., who married Amos Leonard, and died in the West; Lenora, married in 1831 to J. R. Freeman, and died in Schenectady, N. Y .; Elias G., who married Penina Dimmick in 1834, and died in Pennsylvania; Shelby W., married to Mary Ann Ruddock in 1835, and died in Pitcher, N. Y .; Jo- siah R., who went to Ogdensburg, N. Y., and was never heard from afterward; Stephen D., subject of this sketch; Nancy Judson, married Asa Ensign, and died in New York; Samuel N., who died in Cali- fornia; and Eunice Celestia, who married Henry Warner, and lives in New York. The mother lived to see all her twelve children married, and all were living when she died.

Stephen D. Terrill, at the age of fif- teen, left the home of his parents and came to Ridgeville, Lorain Co., Ohio, to live with his sister. Two years later he went to Cleveland, and for two years en- gaged in teaming. He then drove team at Vermilion for over two years, and engaged in the manufacture of potash at Republic for about the same period. For a season he was second engineer on the old steam- er "Columbus," on Lake Erie, and after making potash at Milan during the fol- lowing winter he there purchased a black- smith shop in the spring of 1842, hired a blacksmith and learned the trade. He

was married, June 4, 1843, to Martha Norton, born in Vermilion, Ohio, July 18, 1825, daughter of Leonard and Mary (Bartow) Norton. Leonard Norton was born July 11, 1798, and died in July, 1845. He was a Universalist in religious belief, and in politics a Democrat. His father, David Norton, a member of the Church of England, came to America from Thruxton, England, and was twenty- four weeks on the voyage. Mary Bar- tow, wife of Leonard Norton, was born in New York State in 1796, and died in 1860; she was a member of the Baptist Church. Leonard and Mary Norton had nine children, as follows: A child who died in infancy; Mary Ann, who married Peter Chance, and is now deceased; Leonard, who died young; Lorin, who died at Milan, aged thirteen years; Mar- tha, wife of Mr. Terrill; John G., engag- ed in real estate at Toledo; Alfred, who died in Pennsylvania, aged forty years; Adeline, wife of Myron Mills, of Milan; Eliza J., who married George W. Hayes, and died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After his marriage Mr. Terrill re- mained in Milan until 1854, when he came to Clyde. He here followed his trade for a while, then engaged in cabinet making, and later operated a sawmill. About a year ago he removed to the farm in Green Creek township which he now occupies. He had seven children, three of whom died young, and those who lived to adult age were (1) Stephen H., born October 31, 1844, who enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth O. V. I., and died March 5, 1865, after his return home. (2) John G., born January 6, 1847, a stationary engineer at Chicago, who is married to Mary Youman, and has three children-Gertrude, wife of Henry Denhart; Bessie A., a graduate of the Chicago Conservatory of Music, and Nel- lie, a graduate of a business college at Chicago. (3) Alfred N., born September 6, 1854, now in charge of an extensive sawmill at Portland, Oregon. (4) Charles

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D., born August 24, 1856, killed May 6, 1873. by accident, in a sawmill in Toledo. Mr. Terrill has been a member of the Clyde board of education. He has been a lifelong Democrat, first voting for Mar- tin Van Buren and every Democrat can- didate for Presidency since. His wife is a member of the Universalist Church.

J OHN T. SIVALLS, the courteous and popular postmaster at Wood- ville, Sandusky county, where he is a well-known and highly-respected citizen of several years' standing, is a na- tive of the city of New York, born August 22, 1828. He is of English descent on the paternal side, his grandfather Sivalls having come from England to America, settling in New Rochelle, Westchester Co., N. Y., where he died.

James Sivalls, father of John T., and of the same nativity, followed the occupa- tion of grocery merchant in New York, and died there in 1837 at the age of fifty- two years. He was twice married, and by his first wife had two children-George and Franklin -- both of whom died in New York; by his second wife, Cornelia (Lewis) he had five children, namely: Carolina, who married DeWitt Brinhap, and died in New York in April, 1894; William, who also died in New York; John T., the subject of these lines; Tracy, now a resident of Chicago, Ill. ; and Ben- son, who went to California, and has never since been heard of.

As will be seen, our subject was nine years of age at the time he was bereaved of his father, and he then left his native city for Ithaca, N. Y., where he lived with an uncle a few years, attending school and learning the trade of shoe- Inaker. From there he moved to Ashta- bula county, Ohio, and then after a short time returned to Ithaca, remaining there some eighteen months, all the time fol- lowing his trade. This brings us now to 1846, the year of the breaking out of the

Mexican war; and our subject, then a lad of barely eighteen summers, fired with military enthusiasm and patriotic ardor, proceeded to New York, where he en- listed in Company E, Third Light Artil- lery, commanded by Brev. Maj .- Gen. Sherman, and attached to the army under Gen. Zachary Taylor. He served twenty- two months, participated in the battle of Buena Vista, and, receiving an honorable discharge in New Orleans, at once re- turned northward. For a time he moved from place to place, looking for work-in Rochester, N. Y., remaining one year; then in Toledo, Ohio; later in Maumee, same State. He worked on the Wabash canal about three months, after which, in 1849, he located in Wood county, mak- his home with a family by the name of Truax, whose acquaintance he had formed.

In 1849 he came to Woodville, where he followed his trade some time, then worked on the canal five seasons; after which he bought a farm in Woodville township, on which he lived five years, cultivating and improving it. In 1861 he moved into the town of Fremont, same county, but shortly afterward again lo- cated in Woodville, and here continued his trade until 1863, in which year he en- listed in Company C, Third Regiment, O. V. C. He served in the Western com- mand about twenty-two months, was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, and returned to Woodville, where he re- sumed his trade, in connection with which he also sold sewing machines some ten or twelve years. On June 23, 1851, he was married to Miss Mary Truax, of the family above referred to, and a native of Penn- sylvania, born in Bedford county in 1830, to which union eight children were born, a brief record of whom is as follows: Abner, Benson and Caroline died at the ages of ten, twenty-four and four years, respectively; Stilwell is now following the trade of cooper in Woodville; John mar- ried Susan Moore, and has three children R -- , Ralph and Frank; Mary is assist-

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 68

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