Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 95

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 95
USA > Ohio > Ottawa County > Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens > Part 95

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H ENRY DIERKER. Among the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to Ohio, to become prominent in her agricultural in- terests, is the gentleman whose name opens this review. and who was born in

Hanover, Germany, on the 8th of July, 1851.

The father of our subject died during the early childhood of the latter, after which the mother, whose maiden name was Gertrude Buck, came to America. In the family were eleven children, six of whom are now living. Mrs. Dierker spent her remaining days in Ohio, and her death occurred in Wood county, March 24, 1879. Henry Dierker remained in his native land until nine years of age, and then came with his mother to America. His first home in this country was in San- dusky county, Ohio, and in 1863 he re- moved to Wood county, where he spent the succeeding ten years of his life, com- ing to Ottawa county in 1873, at which time he located in Section 6, Harris town- ship, where he has since made his home. Mr. Dierker here cleared a farm, fenced and tiled it, and has made all the improve- ments that are found upon a model farm of the 19th century. The land is highly cultivated, and the neat and thrifty ap- pearance of the place indicates the care- ful supervision and systematic manage- ment of the owner. He is also success- fully engaged in stock raising, making a specialty of cattle and hogs.

On April 6, 1873, Mr. Dierker mar- ried Miss Mary Zilch, of Lorain county, Ohio, where she was born January 28, 1854. In 1860 her parents came to Har- ris township, Ottawa county, and here she was educated. Her father was born in Hessen, Germany, February 18, 1809, and came to America in 1851, his death occurring in Harris township, Ottawa county, in 1892. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Gertrude Schuch, was born in Hessen, Germany, October 27, 1816, and their marriage was cele- brated in that country in 1838. By their union was born a family of eight children, only two of whom are now living-Mrs. Dierker and Mrs. Konetzka.

Our subject and his wife are the par- ents of nine children, namely: Henry,

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born January 21, 1874, died February 8, 1874: Anna, born February 8, 1875, died March 2, 1875; Emma, born August 17, 1876, died August 10, 1888; Eliza, born July 15, 1878; Mary, born December 9, 1880; Louisa, born July 4, 1883; Ger- trude, born December 30, 1887; Freder- ick, born December 5, 1890; and Clara, born January 24, 1893. The family is widely known in Ottawa county, and Mr. and Mrs. Dierker have the warm regard of many friends.

G EORGE E. POST. This promi- nent and enterprising gentleman, who is extensively engaged in the manufacture of lumber, at Mar- tin, Clay township, Ottawa county, was born in Twinsburgh, Summit county, Ohio, March 28, 1844, and was one of seven children composing the family of Eben and Maria (Davis) Post, the former of whom was a native of Ohio, the latter of Connecticut.

Zina Post, paternal grandfather of our subject, was born about the year 1775, and was a pioneer of Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming. His wife, Rena Post, was about ten years younger than he, and survived him several years. They had a family of eight children of whom are living the fol- lowing: Aurelia, married to Augustus Foote, for many years connected with the Second National Bank of Cleveland, Ohio; Alvira, married to Chauncy Fowler, a carriage trimmer at Hudson, Ohio; Ann, inarried to Horace Chamberlin, a farmer, also living at Northfield; Cynthia, wife of Nelson Wate, a miner in California; Brad- ford, who for several years was a farmer, and is now a retired merchant. William, one of the sons, lived on the old home- stead, taking care of his parents to the close of their lives. He bought up all the shares in the property, and when he died, about nine years ago, he was worth some $30,000. His death was caused by

blood poison, the result of a wound he received in one of his fingers, a common table-fork having struck it.

Eben Post, the father of our subject, was born in 1816, in Ohio, and was a farmer in Twinsburgh township, Summit county, He died in Hudson June 5, 1887, aged seventy-one years; his wife, who survives him, is living on the old homestead at Hudson. They were the parents of seven children, as follows: Lewis A., born June 20, 1842, at Twins- burgh, Summit Co., Ohio, is now in the cheese business in Andrew county, Mo. (he married Miss Mary Pease, and they have had three children, of whom two survive); George E. is our subject; Will- iam, of Hudson, Ohio, married Cora Morse, of the same place; Aurelia was also born and educated in Hudson, and married Lyman Laudenslager, a liveryman of that place; the remaining children were Clark, Zina and May, the latter of whom died at the age of seventeen, in Hudson. When a young man, Eben Post bought an eighty-acre lot in Twinsburgh town- ship, Summit county, a portion of which he cleared, and getting it well cultivated, and converted into pasture land, he com- menced keeping a dairy, and making cheese. Prospering in this, he bought two more forty-acre lots, and in the spring would go west to purchase cows for dairy purposes, and then sell to the farmers, in which line he continued year after year. Later in the season he would buy cattle for the Standard Packing House Co., at Cleveland. He then bought a farm, near Hudson, of 125 acres, to which he moved, and afterward he would buy cows by the car-load, in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Missouri, shipping them by rail in- stead of driving them by road.

Georg E. Post, the subject proper of these lines, remained at the place of his birth until he was seventeen years old, receiving all his education at the schools of the neighborhood, with the exception of two or three terms attendance at the

S. E. Pral.

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schools of Hudson, Summit county, whither the family had removed in 1860, when our subject was sixteen years old. His first work was as a farmer boy upon his father's farm, and in 1866, when twenty-two years old he went south with his uncle, Bradford Post, traveling through Kentucky, Tennessee and Geor- gia, the uncle buying a farm east of Chattanooga. Our subject remained with him all winter, selling a few lots of cheese in Atlanta, Ga., then in the spring re- turned home, remaining there until he came to Clay township, and took up work in a lumber mill at Martin, which was then owned and operated by H. W. Salisbury. He worked in this mill for a year, learning all branches of the busi- ness, and the following year bought a half interest therein, the name and style of the new firm being Salisbury & Post. Being a man of good executive ability and progressive ideas, Mr. Post soon suc- ceeded in acquiring control of the busi- ness, bought out the interest of his part- ner, and for fourteen years has operated it in his own name, building up an ex- tensive trade and giving employment to a large number of men. By his strictly honest and enterprising business methods he has made of it a financial success, and to-day is the only lumber manufac- turer in Martin, which heretofore has continued several similar industries. Not contented with his work at Martin, Mr. Post has pushed his enterprises as far as Cleveland, where he has purchased a building lot in the southern portion of that city, on which he is erecting, at a cost of upwards of $3,000, a fine busi- ness block, 20 x 65 feet, which will be an ornament to the city, and no doubt, will prove a good investment. The building and lot are valued at $5,000.

Mr. Post was married, at Kent, Ohio, November 1I, 1865, to Miss Frances Brewster, who was born in 1844, daugh- ter of John Brewster, a prominent farm- er, of Stow township, Summit county, 41

and one child has come to this union, Clarence, born July 2, 1875, at Martin. He received his education in the public schools of Martin, Ohio, also attending for one term the high school at Hudson; he is now in Hudson, Ohio, with his uncle, in the livery business. Mrs. Post, who was a devoted wife and mother, and a woman of most estimable character, passed away March 26, 1891, having fallen a victim to that dread complaint, Bright's disease, and her remains were deposited in the cemetery at Hudson, Ohio. Her memory will long be cher- ished by her bereaved husband and son, and the hosts of friends who have enjoyed her hospitality and friendship.

Mr. Post is a man of genial disposi- tion, a pleasant conversationalist, very popular with and highly esteemed by his fellow citizens. He is a Republican in political views, and votes from principle, being in no sense an office seeker, and is interested in whatever tends to the de- velopment or progress of the commun- ity in which he lives.

OHN L. WHEELER, a well-known highly-respected resident of Oak Harbor, is a native of Ottawa coun- ty, Ohio, born in Salem township August 22, 1857, a son of Charles and Mary (Fought) Wheeler. J

The father of our subject, a retired agriculturist of Salem township, first saw the light near Bridgeport, Conn., April 27, 1827, being a son of John and Mary (Wheeler) Wheeler, both natives of Con- necticut and very early settlers of Ottawa county, they having located near Elmore in 1833, and they were highly-respected residents of that township up to the time of their decease. Mr. Wheeler's educa- tional advantages were confined to those afforded by the old log schoolhouse of half a century ago, his early life being spent in acquiring a thorough knowledge of the many duties in connection with the farm.

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When a lad six years of age he came with his parents to Ottawa county, and has been a continuous resident thereof for nearly fifty years, honored and respected by the entire community as a man of sound character and many other excellent qualities.

Mr. Wheeler was married in Hessville, Sandusky Co., Ohio, July 13, 1847, the lady of his choice being a Miss Mary Fought, daughter of George and Mary Fought, early settlers of Sandusky county. To this union were born seven children, as follows: Samuel, Levi, John L., Al- bert, Laura E. (wife of George Fry), Mary Melissa (wife of George Gordon) and Harvey. The mother passed to the home beyond November 16, 1888. In 1864 Mr. Wheeler enlisted in Company I, Fifty-fifth O. V. I., and served until the close of the war, being mustered out near Cincinnati in June, 1865, shortly after- ward returning to his home in Salem town- ship. Our subject is one of the few old pioneer settlers who have lived to see what was at one time a vast, unbroken wilderness transformed into thriving towns and prosperous villages. In his political preferences Mr. Wheeler is a stanch sup- porter of the Republican party.

John L. Wheeler, the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, re- ceived his preliminary education in the public schools of his native township, on leaving school served an apprenticeship term to the trade of a plasterer, which vo- cation he has followed throughout his en- tire life, and his reputation as a workman and as a citizen who has ever been found willing to do all in his power to advance any cause which has had for its culmina- tion the welfare of his town and county, is a most enviable one indeed. He was united in marriage, August 22, 1892, with Mrs. Angeline Alice (Young) Smith, widow of Duncan Smith, whose death occurred November 16, 1883, and a daughter of George Young, of Carroll township, Ot- tawa county. This union has not been

blessed by the birth of any children. Mrs. Wheeler had three children by her former marriage, viz .: George D., a prominent photographer of Oak Harbor, born Octo- ber 16, 1874; Alice M., born October 18, 1876, and Emma Jane, born January 1, 1881. The family enjoy the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends. Mrs. Wheeler has conducted a millinery bazaar and fancy-goods business ever since her first husband was drowned, some seven years ago; in fact she raised her family in business, and is one of Oak Harbor's brightest and most industrious women.

George Young, an enterprising agri- culturist, trapper and lumber manufac- turer, of Carroll township, father of Mrs. J. L. Wheeler, is a native of Center town- ship, Berks Co., Penn., born November 30, 182-, a son of John and Susannah (Keen) Young, natives of Pennsylvania, of German ancestry. When a lad six years of age Mr. Young came with his parents to Stark county, Ohio, where he received his primary education. When twenty years of age he left the parental abode and went to Harrison county, Ohio, where he found employment at his trade, that of a carpenter, remaining there about six years. He then moved to Sandusky, Erie county, where he remained until 1850, being employed in the car shops. In 1851 he embarked in the fishing in- dustry at Port Clinton, Ottawa county, and has since been a continuous resident of that county, for the past twenty-five years extensively engaged in the manu- facture of lumber and also in the building of bridges. He was united in marriage April 28, 1846, with Miss Maria Jane Zouvers, daughter of Solomon and Susan- nah E. (Hoy) Zouvers, born October 2, 1828. To this union have been born nine children, their names and dates of birth being as follows: John, May 15, 1847; Angeline Alice, January 6, 1850, now the wife of John L. Wheeler, of Oak Harbor; Susanna E., March 26, 1852, wife of George Reid, of Oak Harbor;

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Mary Jane, May 15, 1854, wife of Mor- gan Sharpe; Catherine E., September 3, 1856, wife of Louis Daly, of Havana, Huron county; Emma P., October 20, 1858, wife of Martin Smith, of Toledo; Marian A., March 18, 1861, wife of H. C. Mylander, of Oak Harbor; George D., April 26, 1863; Robert Eugene, October 6, 1865. Mr. Young has been a member of the board of directors of the Oak Har- bor Infirmary for the past six years.

L I YSANDER CURTIS BALL. The subject of this sketch was born in Rockingham county, Vt., March 26, 1795. His father, Eusebius Ball, a native of Massachusetts, served in the war of 1812, and died in the State of New York at about the age of sixty years. When eighteen years old, Lysander C. Ball went to Trenton Falls, N. Y., where he learned the trade of blacksmithing. At twenty-three, he moved to Boston, Mass., and soon after started westward for Detroit, on foot, arriving at Lower Sandusky, Ohio, in April, 1818. He saw but one house on the present site of Cleveland when he came through there, and on reaching the Sandusky river there was no way of crossing it but in little In- dian bark canoes. t Fremont there were but three or four log cabins, and very little enterprise, yet he found em- ployment with Thomas L. Hawkins, who owned a good pair of oxen, and Mr. Ball, being very skillful in the management of them, helped to build the first dam across the Sandusky river, his compensation for one month's labor being a pair of shoes.

The roads westward through the old "Black Swamp," as it was then called, being perfectly impassable at the time, Mr. Ball was persuaded to establish him- self in business at Fremont, and like many others with small means took "Hobson's choice." He placed his little

blacksmith shop on ground now occupied by State street, between the Croghan House Block and Buckland's corner.

Mr. Ball was married, February 23, 1823, to Miss Eveline Patterson, daugh- ter of Reuben and Eunice (Danforth) Patterson, and took up his residence in a log cabin adjoining the back part of what is now "Croghan House" lot. In this cabin two children were born to them, the first dying in infancy. He afterward built and for many years occupied a resi- dence and shop on Front street, north of the Wheeling depot, which property was in later years purchased by the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad Company. In 1853 he moved thence to a farm north of the city, but adjoining the corporation, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred March 21, 1877, when he was at the age of eighty-two years. His residence was on high ground overlooking a bend in the river from which the scenery is delightful. Being a lover of the beauties of natural scenery, he employed his sound, well-balanced mind and his industrious hands in work- ing a magical change in his home sur- roundings.

In the life and character of Mr. Ball, the virtues of industry, temperance, frugality, truth and integrity, order and peace, were conspicuously displayed. A model husband and father, a good and generous neighbor, carried away by no excitement, misled by no shams or false appearances, loving his home and family so that except on duty he was seldom away from it, he led that peaceful and complete life which entitles him to a last- ing and honored remembrance.

Mrs. Eveline Ball was born February 15, 1800, in Onondaga county, N. Y. At the age of sixteen she came with her par- ents, in large moving wagons, to Ohio, and in 1818 they located at Lower San- dusky, and spent the first winter in one of the block houses of Fort Stephenson. Mrs. Ball (then Eveline Patterson) taught

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a small school in one of the block houses, and one of her best and most capable pupils was an Indian boy. Mrs. Ball was a most excellent and highly-respected lady, who, with her husband, embarked in mar- ried life and bravely met their many trials with womanly fortitude, until separated by death. She passed away December 25, 1883. Their children were-(1) Eve- line and (2) Alvira, the eldest of the family, both unmarried, who reside on a part of the old homestead, where they wish to remain during their natural life. (3) Thaddeus Ball, born November 9, 1830, who was reared and educated in the best schools and society the country afforded in pioneer days. In 1860 he married Sarah E. Kelley, formerly of Fostoria. His occupation was farming and fruit growing, in which he took much pleasure, until he became broken down in health. He died November 2, 1886. Their chil- dren were-Katie E. Ball, Thomas L., Frank I., Emma A., and Hattie, all of whom now reside in Oregon. (4) Oscar Ball, born April 4, 1833, rose from the humble occupations of farm life to posi- tions of honor and trust in his community. In 1862 he became auditor of Sandusky county, and held the office until the fall of 1865, when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term as treasurer. He is now postmaster in McMurray, State of Wash- ington. On October 11, 1858, he mar- ried Miss Ella Amsden, of Fremont, and their children are-Edward A., Jennie E., Sarah D., and John R., all living at home. (5) Sarah Danforth Ball, born June 23, 1836, was for a number of years a teacher in the country and in the city schools. She married, October 26, 1859, Stephen M. Emerson, attorney at law, Ballville town- ship, who died in Kansas, August 12, 1863. Mrs. Emerson passed away in Fremont, April 7, 1886. They had a son who died in infancy, and a daughter, Jessie Eunice Emerson, whose home is at Green Spring Sanitarium, Ohio. (6) Ly- sander Curtis Ball, Jr., was born in Lower

Sandusky, December 3, 1839. He lived on the farm with his father and family until the fall of 1862, when he spent some time in Kentucky, having, in company with many other citizens of Fremont, re- sponded to the call for troops to defend his native State from invasion. On Oc- tober 20. 1863, he enlisted in the navy of the United States, as master's mate, to perform duty in the Mississippi squadron. He was in several engagements along the Mississippi river and on the Yazoo, and in the one which occurred April 22, 1864, our vessel, the "Petrel," was captured and destroyed by the Confederates. Mr. Ball was then ordered to the ram " Vindi- cator " for duty, where he served until March 16, 1865, when he was promoted to acting ensign, and sent to the U. S. steamer "Juliet" for duty, where he re- mained until the close of hostilities. He reached home July 12, 1865, and was honorably discharged November 1, 1865. In the same year he married Miss Hannah Morrison, and is now living on a farm in North Dakota. Their children were- Eva, Charles, Alma and Ball. In 1893, the eldest, a most lovable daughter, was taken from them by death. A son and a daughter are now clerking in a dry-goods store in Jamestown, North Dakota.

R EUBEN PATTERSON. The early settlement of Sandusky township, Sandusky county, was not so rapid as that of the eastern part of the county, because the land was more low and wet, the timber more dense, and the air more full of malaria, which caused fever and ague. Such was the condition of the country when Reuben Patterson and his wife, Eunice (Danforth) Patterson, and family, in the fall of 1816, came in wagons from the State of New York to the wilds of Ohio. They located first at Huron, in Erie county, which was then the stopping place of many western immi-

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grants. The following spring they re- moved to the Peninsula, in Ottawa county, but here sickness so afflicted them that their new home with improvements had to be abandoned. In the spring of 1818 they moved to Lower Sandusky, and found temporary shelter in a small log house in the old fort, which had been used during the war of 1812-13 by U. S. military officers. Comforts and conven- iences were out of the question, and the floor of the house was made of clay. There was but one bedstead, in a corner, and during the day all the clothing was piled upon it. At night the beds for eight persons were made mostly on the bare ground. One gate of the fort served as a part of the floor. Mr. Patterson and his sons during the winter cleared a piece of land on the west side of the river, and in the spring of 1819 the family moved into the log cabin they had constructed on this place, which is known as the Whit- taker Reserve, in Sandusky township. In the meantime his eldest daughter, Eve- line, taught school in one of the block houses of the fort, having some Indian as well as white children under her care.

About the year 1821-22 Mrs. Eunice Patterson, being well provided with pur- chase money, mounted her horse and, in company with Lysander C. Ball and James Whittaker, traveled through the wilderness, one hundred miles, to attend the government sales of public lands at Delaware, Ohio. She there bought the tract which became their homestead, and it has for many years been known as the Patterson Farm, on the east side of the Sandusky river, just north of Fremont. The incidents of this heroic trip were often related by her to her grandchildren. She was remarkably determined and cour- ageous in business matters, but kind and generous to a fault in her home.

The children of Reuben and Eunice Patterson were: (1) Sear Patterson, who retained his residence in the State of New York. (2) Alvord Patterson, who married

Miss Julia Webb, in New York State, and subsequently came to Lower Sandusky, where he died; their children were-Eve- line Patterson, who married John Shan- non, and died at Fremont in 1893; Will- iam Patterson, now married and living in South Dakota; Fanny Patterson, who married, lived and died in Iowa; Cordelia Patterson, who died in childhood at Lower Sandusky. (3) Eveline Patterson, mar- ried to Lysander C. Ball, whose sketch appears above. (4) Danforth Patterson, who married Miss Sarah Perry, and for a number of years lived on the Patterson farm, where each passed away, leaving no children. (5) Harriet Patterson, mar- ried to James Moore, whose sketch is given elsewhere. (6) Julius Patterson, married to Miss Margaret Leary, by whom he had eight sons and two daugh- ters -- Robert C., Danforth, Rodolphus D., Sardis B., John P., Rawson, Oscar, Charles M., Sarah and Juliette. Julius Patterson was for many years a successful farmer, also a contractor on public works. He led an honest and temperate life. He was born May 17, 1808, and died at his residence in Fremont May 23, 1887. (7) Caroline Patterson died at the age of twelve years from the effects of a fall on the ice in the river, which she crossed in attending school. The death of Reuben Patterson occurred June 1, 1840, at Lower Sandusky, and that of his wife, Eunice Patterson, December 17, 1839, the latter at the age of sixty-five years.

Mrs. Eunice Patterson was a daughter of Gen. Asa Danforth, who was born July 6, 1746, at Worcester, Mass .; he entered military life at fourteen years of age, served in the war of the Revolution, was at the battle of Lexington, and dis- tinguished himself by many brave and patriotic achievements. He was one of the first to begin the manufacture of salt at Onondaga, N. Y. He died September 2, 1818, at the age of seventy-three. The stories of his eventful life are stranger than fiction.

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J OHN W. WORST. Prominent among Sandusky county boys, who, by their own exertions under difficulties, worked their way up from the com- parative obscurity of life on a farm to that of holding responsible offices at the county seat for several successive terms, and retired from the same with a clean record and the good will of their fellow citizens, is the subject of this sketch.

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Commemorative biographical record of the counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, Part 95

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