USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 1 > Part 93
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In 1851, the Richard family was removed from Ashland county to Wood county, arriving, March 29, at their destination on what is now the farm owned by W. S. Richard, a mile north- east of Bloomdale. All was wilderness and dis- couragement. The little round-log, one-story cabin stood in the inidst of a dense forest. With- out, on every hand, were water, and frogs, and owls, and wild game-in short, all the elements of pioneer life in a new country. With brave heart and resolute will. assisted by a loyal wife and industrious boys, the father went to work to establish a home and hew out a fortune. Grad- ually, as by magic, the heavily timbered forest was converted into fertile fields and blooming or- chards, and the very elements of discouragement became sources of rich development and substan- tial comfort.
Time passed on. The family of boys be- came one of meu. Mr. Richard, the father. was honored by his neighbors with their confi- dence, aud several times he served them in the responsible position of township assessor. The trying period of war came. Five sons went into the service of their country-Reuben in Company B, to2nd O. V. I .; John, Charles and J. Fraise
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in Company B, frith O. V. I .; and W. S. in Company E, 144th O. V. I. The first four en- tered the service in the autum of 1862, and all returned except Reuben, who, as an exchanged prisoner from the Cahaba death-pen, was a vic- tim of the "Sultana" disaster.
Jacob Richard was a man of good judgment, somewhat impulsive, but generous, kind, honest, industrious and law-abiding. Politically, he was reared a Democrat, and supported Douglas for the Presidency in 1860. When the war broke out, and his sons and neighbors entered the service of their country, he abandoned his old party and became first an ardent Unionist, and afterward, by necessity, a determined Republic- an. Religiously, he was reared a Presbyterian, but some five years, prior to his death he was immersed and joined the Church of Christ, at Eagleville, in whose faith he peacefully expired on the night of April 1, 1891.
Rebecca, his wife, was reared a member of the Reformed Church, but during her residence at Ashland, Ohio, she became a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which her husband was a deacon at that time. She was kind, affec- tionate, industrious, devoted to her family, and a considerate and peaceable neighbor. She was known in the community as " Aunt Becky," and was universally beloved. She had no enemies. Her later life was saddened by several trying events: first by the sudden death of her son George, on May 18, 1861, by a falling plate in the raising of a large barn at the home of Robert Jacobs, two and one-half miles north of her home: secondly, by the enlistment of her five sons in the army; thirdly, by the tragic death of Reuben; fourthly, by the death of John, October 8, 1878, after enduring, unhurt, the experiences of an active soldier's life for three years; and, lastly, by the death of her life part- ner, as related.
It may not be amiss to note a peculiarity or two respecting these families. (1)-On the paternal side Jacob and John were favorite names. In the present instance Jacob had two sons whom he named John and Jacob. He was the son of John, who, in turn, was the son of Jacob, and so on. (2)-So far as the record goes, tlie two ancestral familes were always law-abiding citizens, not one of them having ever been convicted of a henious crime. (3) --- On the maternal side three generations had representatives in three wars, all of whom were named Charles -- all musicians: Charles Richard was a fifer in the Revolution, his son Charles in the war of 1812, and his grandson Charles in 1
the war of the Rebellion. (4)-All of them have been intensely American and patriotic in their sentiments. [Contributed by Prof. ]. Fraise Richard, of Washington, D. C.
PROF. J. FRAISE RICHARD, Educational Evan- gelist, historian and literary writer, was born near Ashland, Ohio, January 18, 1844, and is the seventh son of Jacob and Rebecca Richard.
At the age of seven our subject removed with his parents to Bloom township, Wood county, and his youth was spent in clearing up and work- ing the farm which 'Squire W. S. Richard now possesses, near Bloomdale. His education prior to the war was secured in the district school known as " Hopewell," and included the ordi- nary English branchies. His intense thirst for knowledge was not gratified, however, by simple school studies. He read all the books and papers which came within his reach, and did his most effective study in front of the fireplace whose light was furnished by burning chips and hickory bark. By these aids he was enabled to teach his first school at Eagleville, in the winter of 1860-61, he being then but sixteen years of age. The autumn of 1861 was spent by him at Seneca County Academy, under Prof. Aaron Schuyler, the prince of mathematicians, logicians and psychologists.
On the 5th of August, 1862, his books packed to return to the Academy, Prof. Richard re- sponded to President Lincoln's call for troops, and enlisted as a member of Company B, frith O. V. I., and went with his regiment to the field, serving in Kentucky and Tennessee. Unsolicited on his part, he was made postmaster of the regi- ment, and served successfully as chief clerk at brigade, division corps, army and department headquarters, a portion of the time for Gens. Cox, Foster, Stoneman, Schofield and Palmer. He was twice offered a captain's commission. the latter time as assistant adjutant-general in the regular army. All such military honors he declined, however, and in September, 1865. he. returned to civil life, to enter upon his educa- tional work which had been interrupted for three years. He attended the Northwestern Christian (now Butler) University, at Indianapolis, and after one year's study of language, mathematics and logic, transferred his studies to Lebanon. Ohio, where he graduated from the business. scientific and classic courses at the National Normal University, in August, 1869. He was an instructor in the institution until August, 18;0. when he organized the Northwestern Normal School at Republic, in the building previously oc-
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cupied by Profs. Thos. W. Harvey and Aaron Schuyler. This institution soon outgrew its facil- ities; and, the citizens neglecting to supply ampler apartments, it was, upon the request and assur- ance of Charles Foster and other citizens, re- moved to Fostoria in the autumn of 1874. The attendance the first year in the new site was 508 students, exceeding the facilities possessed. Ow- ing to lack of suitable buildings, the school was consolidated, in the autumn of 1875, with the Normal School at Ada, which fact gave that school its strength and efficiency. The Republic school was the progenitor of the large schools at Valparaiso and Angola, Ind., and of others in the West. It was an educational leaven, whose influence has extended from ocean to ocean.
Prof. Richard superintended the public schools at Alliance, Ohio, in 1877-78; was prin- cipal of a flourishing Normal School at Mansfield from 1878 to 1882; lectured in institutes in a number of States from 1882 to 1885; spent his time in historical writing from 1885 to 1889; and since 1890 has been employed in the City of Washington (his present home) in official, educa- tional and literary work. For thirty-five years he has been a writer for the secular, religious and educational press, his writings being pub- lished in mediums of general circulation.
On October 6, 1867, our subject was married, at Freeport, to Miss Emma D. Strong. From this union have issued two sons: Livy S., and Vernon I. The former is editor-in-chief of the Scranton (Penn.) Tribune; the latter is a mere boy, living with his mother in Ohio.
Prof. Richard's first vote was cast in 1864, at Knoxville, Tenn., for Lincoln and Johnson. Since then his affiliation has been with the Re- publican party. He is a stanch Republican, but does not belong to the party in a servile sense. Religiously, he has been identified with the Church of Christ since June 2, 1862. He has never smoked a cigar nor chewed a quid of to- bacco in his life, nor has he tasted a drop of any intoxicants, even beer, since May, 1859. Indeed it can truly be said his life work has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to the young.
J. C. LINCOLN, M. D., who is one of the best known and most highly respected physicians and surgeons of Bowling Green, where he also carries on an extensive drug business, was born in Albany, N. Y., May 22, 1844.
Leonard Lincoln, the father of our subject, was also a native of Albany, where he was born in 1812, and where he was married, in 1835, to
Miss Ada Boughton. The Lincoln family were among the early settlers of New York State, as were also the ancestors of Mrs. Lincoln, among the latter being Maj. Reuben Boughton, a hero of the Revolution. Mrs. Lincoln was born in the same city and the same year as her husband, and was the only daughter among eighteen chil- dren, her father having been married three times. In 1844 Dr. Lincoln's parents came west, settling first in Watertown, Wis., where the father fol- lowed farming until 1852, when his wife died and he removed to Winona, Minn. There he resided about ten years, when he went to Mar- shalltown, Iowa, where he still lives. He be- longed to the Democratic party until the war of the Rebellion, when he became a Republican; in religious faith he is a member of the Baptist Church.
Our subject is the youngest of two children. His elder brother Charles was born in 1841, and the story of his life reads like a romance, although similar to that of many who took part in the try- ing scenes of the war between the North and South. At that time the family was living in Minnesota, and he joined the first regiment of volunteers, going at once to the front and taking part in the first fatal battle of Bull Run. There he was taken prisoner, with a number of others, and carried first to Richmond, afterward confined in the terrible stockade at Andersonville, and later at Castle Pinckney, where he was finally exchanged and sent home. Three times during this period he inade his escape, hiding in the forest, and for days living upon raw and parched corn. Each time he was recaptured, the last time when within only two or three miles of the Federal lines. This was a few days previous to his exchange, and when he was released he was sent to the hospital at Washington completely broken down in health, and a shadow of his for- mer self, being reduced, by a course of slow star- vation, from a strong young man weighing 190 pounds, to an emaciated invalid whose weight was but eighty pounds. When sufficiently recov- ered, he returned to Minnesota, and during the Indian troubles in that State, in 1863, he assisted in organizing the Second Minnesota Cavalry, of which he was made first lientenant, afterward promoted to captain, and which was stationed at Fort Ridgely, where he died from the effects of hardships endured during his life in Confederate prisons.
Dr. Lincoln made his home with his parents. and had commenced the study of medicine when the Civil war broke out. After the battle of Bull Run, in which his only brother, above mentioned.
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was engaged, and whose name was reported in the list of the killed, our subject determined to offer his services to the cause for which his brother had sacrificed his life. He accord- mgly recruited 347 men for the ist Minne- sota Regiment, the same in which his brother had served, and joined the command at Camp Stone as assistant surgeon. A year had passed since Charles had been taken prisoner, and the family was still under the impression that he was dead, as his letters to the members had been intercepted by the Rebel authorities. Dr. Lincoln was at this time camped with his regi- ment near Savage Station, when an officer in- formed him that a boat-load of Federal prisoners was being exchanged, and he received intimation that his brother was among them. The boat, however, passed out of sight just as he reached the landing, and he was unable to confirm the report. Some time later Dr. Lincoln was seri- ously wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks, and was sent to hospital in New York City, where he remained three months, it afterward transpiring that his brother was in the same city all the time, although neither knew of the other's presence.
On recovering from his wound, Dr. Lincoln returned to his home in Minnesota, after which he became a student in Lawrence University, at Appleton, Wis., remaining there three years. He then read medicine for a year with Dr. Ford, of Winona, after which he entered Rush Medical College, at Chicago, from which he was gradu- ated with the degree of M. D. in 1871. In Franklin county, Iowa, he began the practice of his profession, but, the climate not agreeing with him, he came to Ohio and located near Fostoria, where he remained until 1873. Since that date he has been a resident of Bowling Green, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice, identifying himself also with the leading interests of the city, taking a leading place in all matters pertaining to its advancement. He has been a member of the city council and of the board of education; was medical pension examiner under President Harrison, and was the unanimous choice of Wood county for congressman some two years ago. He has large property interests in Bowling Green, among which is his handsome residence, one of the best in the city, built at a cost of $14,000, and the fine brick structure oc- cupied by his large and well-kept drugstore and office. He is also half-owner of the Lincoln & Tuller block, and it is chiefly due to his enter- prise that these handsome structures have been erected. He is a member of the State Medical Society, and also of the American Medical 20
Association, and belongs to the I. O. O. F., the G. A. R., and F. & A. M.
Dr. Lincoln has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Emma Norris, of Fostoria, Ohio. who was born November 1, 1854, and died De- cember 12, 1883. Two children were born of this union: Jolin H., a graduate of the high school of Bowling Green, and now a partner in his father's drug store; and Eudora, who gradu- ated from the Bowling Green High School, in 1895, and is now a student in Oberlin College. The second wife of Dr. Lincoln, who was Miss Nettie Willard, is a cousin of Miss Frances E. Willard, of W. C. T. U. fame. Dr. Lincoln and his wife are popular in society, and their charming home is the abode of refined and cultured hospi- tality.
E. B. BEVERSTOCK, a prominent agriculturist of Washington township, living near Tontogany, was born in Rutiand county, Vermont, October 5, 1835.
His grandfather Beverstock came from Eng- land in the latter part of the last century, but of his history and that of his family but little is known. Daniel Beverstock, our subject's father. was born in Swanzey, N. H., in 1793, and dur- ing the war of 1812, he took charge of the family of his brother Silas, who entered the army. Among the family relics treasured by our subject are two artistically designed specimens of Indian workmanship, a peace club and a war club, cap- tured from the savages by his uncle, Silas. Daniel Beverstock, who was a farmer by occupation. married Miss Sabrina Barney, a native of Ver- mont, and came to Ohio in 1855. After one year passed in Wood county, he located in Rich- land county, where he died in 1876; his wife in 1865. He had been a Democrat throughout his life, but his last vote was cast for Hayes. There were nine children in his family, namely: Alma S. is the widow of Asa Spaulding, of Richland county; Constant resides near St. Paul; Lyman W. died in Vermont; J. B. (deceased was formerly a grain dealer in Richland county, and later in Huron, Ohio; Silas is a farmer at Lex- ington, Ohio; Fannie is the wife of Homer Wells. of Cass county, Mich. ; Loraine, who never mar- ried, lives in Cassopolis, Mich. ; our subject comes next: and Ann lives in Lexington.
E. B. Beverstock, to use his own words, "graduated out of a spelling book at the com- mon schools of Vermont," and his parents being poor, he commenced working at the early age of eight years. He was nineteen years old when he came with his parents to Wood county, and for
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some time worked by the month; but finally set- tled on a farm of his own on the confines of the present village of Tontogany, where he now owns 150 acres of land. On December S, IS59, he married Miss Victoria Virginia Kuder, a native of this county, born June 12, 1839, a daughter of Solomon Kuder, a sketch of whom appears else- where. She died January 14, 1882, leaving seven children: Otis, a well-known resident of Bowling Green; Edward and Ella (twins), the former a rising young attorney of Bowling Green, member of the firm of James & Beverstock, while Ella is the wife of Reuben Johnson, of Tontogany; Arthur J., born March 24, 1866, and married March 1, 1890, to Miss May Klinepeter; Belle, born November 13, 1867; Clarence, born Sep- tember 4, 1877; and Edna, born January 25, 1880. are all at home.
Mr. Beverstock entered the army in 1862, en- listing in Company G, Ist Regiment, O. L. A., assigned to the Army of the Cumberland, first in the Fourth, and later in the Fourteenth army corps. He took part in over thirty battles and skirmishes, among them the engagements at Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Franklin and Nashville. At Stone River he received two bullet wounds within five minutes ---. one in the ankle and one in the instep-on which occasion eight men and twenty-two horses were killed, twenty-two men wounded, and four guns and two caissons were taken by the enemy. Re- turning home, in June, 1865, he resumed the peaceful occupation of farming, which he still continues. His present residence, a fine build- ing, was erected in IS78. A Republican in poli- tics, he is a leader in his party. He served as county commissioner six years, and was one of the four appointed by the Judge of the Common Pleas court, in March, 1894, to act on the build- ing and furnishing of the new court house, which cost in the neighborhood of $300,000; for sev- eral years he also served as township trustee. Socially, he is a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of P., and G. A. R., has been president of the agricultural society and is now its treasurer. Mr. Beverstock is a man of superior intelligence, a great student of the Bible and of the better class of literature, and he takes an interest in all pro- gressive measures, both at home and abroad.
EDSON GOIT (deceased), for many years a prominent and successful member of the Wood County Bar, and an extensive merchant and land owner, was born in Oswego county, N. Y., October 17, 1808.
While he was yet an infant his father died,
and during his boyhood be found but little time or opportunity to improve his inind by the aid of books, but such chances as presented themselves he availed himself of, and by the time he was twenty years old he was capable of teaching, and did teach a district school. Before he was of age he started for the Western country, as Ohio was then called, at which time, when there were neither railroads or canals, and but few wagon roads, a journey from New York thither was of no small magnitude. However, with all his worldly effects tied up in a bundle, young Goit surmounted all difficulties, " took the road," and soon found himself at Tiffin, in Seneca county. Here he worked at odd jobs, taught school both there and in Fremont, comparatively insignificant villages in those early days, in the meantime reading law with Abel T. Rawson. In due course he was admitted to the bar to practice law, and, being desirous of seeking the best possible place for a young attorney to establish himself at, he chose Findlay to commence business in, a village some thirty-five miles distant. Mr. Goit had but little money, but plenty of energy and muscle, so with his rather scanty wardrobe and a few law books tied up in a package, he set out on foot for his new destination. On his arrival at Findlay. then the small country town of Hancock county, which had recently been set off from Wood county, he took up his abode with the family of the late L. Q. Rawson, and became the pioneer of the legal profession in that part of the State. But there was no demand for his services: Black- stone and Coke were at a discount, and by the end of six months, nearly all his means being gone, he decided to leave the place. However. things suddenly took a torn for the better, pros- pects gradually brightened; business came, cli- ents increased in number, and all thoughts of leaving Findlay vanished from his mind. Mr. Goit now went to board with William Taylor. who kept the tavern. While he was here Mrs. Tavlor's sister, Jane Patterson, and brother. arrived from Pennsylvania on horseback, and 110: long afterward (February 21, 1833), Mr. Goit and Miss Patterson were married. From that time on his fortune seemed to be inade. Frank. straightforward and generous, he made friends with all with whom he came in contact; settlers began to come in very fast. and business rapidly increased. By the year 1840 he had accumulated quite a competence, at that time owning nearly 2,000 acres of the best land in and aboat Find- lay, besides having over ten thousand dollars in ready caslı.
Owing to close application to business and
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overwork, his health began to fail. so he decided to vary his occupation somewhat, which proved to be an unfortunate step. He engaged exten- sively in mercantile business, and, besides a large store in Findlay, he opened branch establish- ments in Bluffton, Gilboa and Ottawa, all of which he liad to entrust largely to the manage- ment of clerks, for he was still carrying on con- siderable law practice, as well as much other business, and taking an active part in politics, and in every public enterprise in the town and county. He endorsed notes, and went bail for young men who were trying to get a start in business, than which nothing seemed to afford him more pleasure, for he was a man of broad generosity, and had a large confidence in his fellow men. Such, and other generous traits in his character, led him, unfortunately, into much pecuniary difficulty, and in 1857, when the finan- cial panic swept over the country, he found him- self but ill-prepared for it, and by the time the dark clouds had passed he beheld his fortune a mere wieck. In the midst of all this others as well as himself had been ruined, and where he happened to be bondsman, creditors fell back on him, so that he found himself harrassed from all sides. But he did not succumb to the storm, and at this point is where his manhood and sterling honesty shone brightest. He made no assign- ment, nor did he go into bankruptcy, but went to work with renewed power and energy. Every one had faith in his integrity, and as he went on converting his property into means whereby to pay debt after debt, dollar for dollar, he found himself at the end with but little of his former fortune left. It is a satisfaction to know that in spite of all his misfortunes, Mr. Goit had in his later days a comfortable competence left for him- self and remaining family, and as he himself said a short time before his death, "After so many ups and downs in my life, I am glad that if I do not get well I shall at least die square with the world."
To the marriage of Mr. Goit with Miss Pat- terson were born Edson Goit, Jr., January 8, 1838; William, June 26, 1840; Laquirna, April 14, 1843, and Theodosia, April 8, 1846. Mrs. Goit's death occurred April 24, 1863, at Findlay, Ohio, and on December 19, 1865, Mr. Goit was mar- ried to Sara Ann McConnell, and to the marriage were born: Ida Mary, May 19, 1867 - died June 29, 1869; and Theodoro E., September 11, 1869 -- died January 9, 1886.
Edson Goit, Jr., in 1885, was married to Mary Beck, and they are residents of Kincaid, Kans. William Goit, on January 27, 1861,
married Mary K. Freeman, and to them was born one son, L. C. William died September 1, 1896. Theodosia Goit, on March 29, 1366, was married to George W. Trichler, M. D. Dr. Trichler was a native of Bellefontaine, Logan Co., Ohio. He was a gallant officer of the 57th O. V. I. during the late Civil war, serving as captain of Company G, and after the war re- moved to Riga, Mich., where he practiced his profession for twenty-three years, and where he was actively and prominently identified with the affairs of the place. He served several terms as postmaster, and for years conducted a drug store. In 1889 he removed to Bowling Green, Ohio. His death occurred September 27, 1890. To the marriage of Dr. Trichler and Miss Theodosia Goit were born: W. S. Trichler, December 29, 1867, now a practicing physician, who, on Oc- tober 9, 1893. was married to Theresa Thiel (born May 4, 1867), and to them was born, Octo- ber 7, 1895, a daughter - Lucile: Alice, born September 30, 1871, was on June 23, 1890, married to E. C. Lossing, of Bowling Green, associate editor of the Tribune, and they have two children-Milton, born April 2, 1891, and Gladys, born September 20, 1894; and Theodosia May, born May 1, 1879.
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