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. 2 > Part 49
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Mr. Kramp belongs to the Evangelical Asso- ciation, and in politics is a Prohibitionist. He is one of the representative citizens of Wood coun- ty, and is enjoying the reward of a well-spent, industrious life.
WILLIAM NELSON is a representative farmer of Center township, where he owns a fine farm of 250 acres. His operations have been marked with uniform success, and in addition to being a thorough and skillful agriculturist, he is a busi- ness man of more than ordinary capacity, wise and judicious in his investments, and taking ad- vantage of the facilities afforded at this day and age by improved machinery, and all the other ap- pliances, required by the modern tiller of the soil. Mahoning county, Ohio, was the earliest home of our subject, where he was born June 30. 1820. His parents, James and Sarah (Evenings Nelson, were natives of Buffalo Valley. Union Co., Penn., where the father engaged in farming until coming to Wood county to make his home with his son. Here his death occurred in 1873. and his wife, who had preceded him to the world beyond, died in 1865. In their family were ten children, named as follows: Jane. Lid fie. Jonat- than, Katherine, William, James, Mary, John D., Sarah and Jesta.
William Nelson received his education in the district schools, while his farm training was re-
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ceived on the old homestead. At the age of fourteen years he began selling goods on the road, which occupation he continued to follow for sixteen years, during which time he managed by strict economy to save enough money to pur- chase 160 acres of land in Hancock county, Ohio. A portion of the farm had been placed under cultivation, and to its improvement he de- voted his time and attention until 1865, when he disposed of that property and removed to Mis- souri, remaining there a short time. Coming back to Ohio, he located in Center township. where he bought 100 acres, half of which had been improved. He cleared the balance, and as his financial resources increased, added 150 acres to his farm. Starting out in life with very little capital-in fact, nothing but his strong hands and resolute will-the present condition of Mr. Nelson, socially and financially, reflects great credit upon him, both as an agriculturist and a business man.
In August, 1852, Mr. Nelson was married in Hancock county, the lady of his choice being Miss Rebecca Bowman, who was born March 20, 1830, and is a daughter of Henry Bowman. a prominent farmer of that county. Eight chil- dren were born of this union, all of whom survive, and in order of birth are as follows: James L., born July 23, 1853, is a farmer, and, by his mar- riage with Ellen Shinew, has eight children; William H., born July 26, 1855. carries on agri- cultural pursuits in Gratiot county, Mich .; Sarah E., born January 4, 1858. is the wife of Thomas Shinew, a farmer of Portage township; Liddie E., born August 31, 1860, is the wife of James Davis, a contractor and builder, of Plain town- ship, Wood county; John A., born May 24, 1864, is a farmer living on the homestead; Louisa J., born October 10, 1866, is the wife of George Crom, a farmer of Michigan; Elmert, born August 7, 1868, married Della Stacy; and Emma R., born November 28, 1872, is the wife of Arthur Vermillia, a farmer of Henry county, Ohio.
Mr. Nelson still resides upon his farm, which is now conducted by his son John, but has laid aside business cares, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He has liberally aided his children in securing good homes, and to all objects for the good of the conimunity. he has been a cheerful and liberal contributor. His early education was quite limited, but his natural intelligence and habits of observation have served to keep him well informed upon matters of gen- eral interest. He is politically at true-blue Re- publican, and there are few people held in higher
esteem than William Nelson and his excellent wife, who has been his faithful and sympathizing companion for upwards of forty-four years.
SAMUEL CASE, one of the most highly re- spected and influential citizens of Bowling Green, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, March 25, 1832. His great-grandfather, Joshua Case, was born either on Long Island or in Connecticut, and was a farmer by occupation. He reared a family of six children, of whom Augustus, our subject's grandfather, was born July 17, 1759. on. Long Island, was there married and removed to New Jersey in 1792.
Augustus Case raised six children, two of whom were born in New Jersey, after which the family removed to Greene county, Penn. The father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and received a pension until the time of his death, which took place in Wayne county, Ohio, in 1852, he having reached the advanced age of ninety-three years. The record of his children is as follows: Anna married John Culberson, and they removed to Lawrence county, Ill., where she died; Samuel Y. comes next: John B. died in Indiana; Elizabeth married William Kean, of Wayne county, Ohio; Onesimus died in Wayne county; and Joshua died in Wayne county when thirty-two years old. All of those deceased left families. Dr. Augustus Case, of Miami county, Ind., is a son of Onesimus, and Harvey B. Case, of Loudonville, Ohio, is a son of Joshua.
Samuel Y., the father of our subject, was born September 22, 1796, in Sussex county, N. j .. and, as will be seen, was two years of age when, in 1798, the family removed to Pennsylvania. In 1814 he came with his father to Wayne county, Ohio, where he was married, August 20, 1817, to Jane Eakright. The young couple at once set- tled on a farm in Plain township, Wayne county, which had been given to Mr. Case by his father, and which was their home for forty-five years, and until the death of the husband, which took place in 1870. Mrs. Case was born in Monongahela county, Penn., in 1795, and after the death of her husband made her home with our subject until 1876, when she, too, passed away. This worthy couple were both lifelong members of the Methodist Church, with which body they had worshiped over sixty years. A church was built upon their farm, which was named for them, and in the burying-ground adjacent many members of their family are laid to rest.
Nine children were born to Sammel Y. Case and his wife, of whom the following mention is made: Milton B. died at Grand Junction, Colo ..
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March 29, 1896; he reared a family of sixteen children. Augustus B. died in Cass county, Neb., in 1865. Youngs C. died in Bowling Green March 22, 1894. Reason B. lives on a part of the old farm in Wayne county. Aaron B. was a farmer in Schuyler county, Mo., where he died in 1886. John B. is a farmer in Sheridan county, Neb. Samuel, our subject, comes next. Eliza- beth J. is the wife of M. A. Faws, of Bowling Green. W. H. H. died near Lyons, Colo., December 10, 1885.
The subject of this sketch spent his early days on his father's farm in Wayne county, and when eighteen years old began teaching school, which, in connection with farining, he carried on until he was twenty-eight years old, in the mean- time, however, also attending school for two terms in Loudonville, also the O. W. U. at Delaware. After his marriage in 1 860 he engaged in the mercantile business for one year at Big Prairie, Wayne county, afterward proceeding to Crestline, Crawford county, where he , con- ducted a dry-goods store for six years. He then removed to Portage, Wood county, keeping a store there for one year, when, in 1868, he took up his residence in Bowling Green, and, in con- lection with Addison Fay, opened a store which they conducted some four years. Our subject then sold out his interest, and spent some time in traveling, after which he bought land on Liberty Prairie, in this county.
In 1874 Mr. Case was elected auditor of Woud county, on the Republican ticket, and served seven consecutive years, after which he engaged in the real-estate business, to which he has devoted the most of his attention up to the present time. For two years he was the secre- tary of the Bowling Green Natural Gas Co., in which he had an interest, and has been largely interested in the production of oil and the develop- ment of the oil field in his county. He received ninety-seven votes in the Republican State Con- vention, held in Columbus in 1881, for member of the Board of Public Works, and was only defeated because of his location.
Mr. Case was married September 6, 1860, to Miss Mary E. McMahon, who was born May 23, 1840, in Jeromesville, Ashland Co., Ohio. Of this union four children have been born, namely: Laura May, who married Rev. Lemuel Lee Warner; he died December 19, 1888, at Genoa, leaving two children-Marie L. and Donald C. Myron L. married Agnes Boyd; he is cashier of the National Bank at Dunkirk, Ind .: this couple have one daughter-Marjorie. Rosella C. is the wife of Rev. Elmer E. McCammon, pastor of the
Methodist Episcopal Church at Marysville, Ohio; they have two children-John W. and Myron B. Samuel R. married Kate, only child of Dr. Whitehead; he is a merchant tailor in Bowling Green.
Mr. Case has been an important factor in the growth and development of the city and county, where he has made his home for so many years, and has always used his influence to promote their best interests. He took an active part in raising the subscription for the building of the T. & O. C. railway through Bowling Green, and has materially assisted in various other public en- terprises. He was a member of the school board some eleven years, and a justice of the peace for one term in Plain township. He has been a consistent member of the Methodist Church since sixteen years of age, and his upright, honorable life is an example which any young man would do well to follow. He possesses the love and esteem of all who know him, and wields a power- ful influence for good throughout the community,
NATHAN HOWARD MILLS, one of the leading and honored citizens of Wood county, prominent in business, political and social circles, was born in Perry county, Ohio, June 1, 1862, and is a son of Greenbury Mills. His father was born in Maryland, August 19, 1823, and when a boy left his native State, removing with his parents to Perry county, Ohio, the family locating on a farin near New Lexington. Before the war the father of our subject removed to Hancock county, where he was employed as a farm hand for a few years. There he was married in 1843, and soon after returned to Perry county, where he resided until 1862, when he went with his family to Hancock county, taking up his residence near Findlay. In 1871 he came to Wood county, and purchased forty acres of wild land in Jackson township. Part of the the town of Hoytville now stands upon this place, and the first grocery store there was built upon the father's land. Mr. Mills at once began to clear and improve his farm, and some years later erected thereon a comfortable dwell- ing, which he made his place of abode until his death, which occurred April 12, 1895. Mrs. Mills died August 17, 1891. She was a kind and faithful wife and mother, and dearly beloved by all who knew her. She was an active worker in the Christian Church, and the father also held membership with that Church. In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and was an honored and esteemed citizen.
Mr. and Mrs. Mills had a family of eleven " children, namely : Mary, wife of T. J. Dowu-
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hamn, of Jackson township; John T., a farmer of Jackson township; Delilah Jane, wife of W. M. Clarke, of Arkansas; Catherine, wife of John Eaken, of Hoytville: James E., a carpenter of Hoytville; William H., of Swanton, Ohio; Liddy M., wife of A. P. Kiger, of Hoytville; Nathan H .; Lucinda H., wife of John Embrey, of Athens county, Ohio; Henry C., of Hoytville; and Sarah, who died at the age of sixteen years. Our subject was only a year old when the family removed to Hancock county, Ohio, and a child of eight when they came to Wood county. He acquired his education in the district schools of these two counties: but at the age of fourteen left the school room to learn the harder duties of of practical business life. He then entered the employ of . the Dewey Stave Company, with which he has since been connected, working his way steadily upward, until since April, 1892, he has served as superintendent. Fidelity to duty is numbered among his chief characteristics, and was the secret of his advancement.
In Hoytville, on October 27, 1882, Mr. Mills married Miss Amy C. Wall, who was born Feb- ruary 4, 1862, in Hancock county, Ohio, daugh- ter of Henry B. and Mary Jane (Green) Wall. They now have three children-William W., Mabel G., and Arnold E. They began their do- mestic life in Hoytville, Mr. Mills erecting a home close to his place of business, and there re- sided until June, 1895, when he sold his dwelling and removed to the old homestead. His business career has been one of success, and he now has considerable capital out at interest.
In his political affiliations he is a stalwart Re- publican, and in 1895 was elected mayor of Hoyt- ville, but his pressing business duties forced him to resign: He has served as councilman for two years, and in all possible ways has promoted his county's welfare. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, has filled all of the chairs, and represented the local lodge in the Grand Lodge. He also holds a life insurance policy in the En- dowment Rank, K. P., and is secretary of Sec- tion 1,498. He has been dependent entirely upon his own resources since the age of fourteen years, and is the architect of his own fortune. Upon the solid foundation of diligence, enter- prise, and sound judgment, he has erected the superstructure of success, and to-day is a sub- stantial citizen of the community.
DAVID H. WIRICK, who has lived retired in Jerry. City since the spring of 1891, is one of the successful self-made fariners of Wood county. He is a native of Ohio, born May 15, 1835, in 1
Monroe township, Richland county, son of Henry and Catherine (Spade) Wirick, who had a family of ten children-seven sons and three daughters. Henry Wirick was born in Pennsylvania, and learned the trade of cabinet maker in Baltimore when a young man. He was married in Penn- sylvania, where he lived for a time, moving from that State to Ohio in pioneer days, and locating in Richland county, where his wife died. He subsequently removed to Wyandot county, this State, where he passed his remaining days, dying at the home of his daughter Sarah; he and his wife rest side by side in the cemetery in Monroe township, Richland county. Mr. Wirick was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a Democrat in politics, and in religious faith was an adherent of the Swedenborgian Church.
Our subject was the sixth child and fifth son of his father's large family. During his boyhood he attended the subscription schools then in vogue in the home neighborhood, and received a thorough training to agriculture under his father, working at home until he reached his majority. On commencing life for himself he worked for from three shillings to fifty cents a day and board. On November IS, 1859, he was married, in Richland county, to Mary A. Smith, a native of that county, who was born November 15, 1834. daughter of John H. Smith, and the following spring the young couple came to Wood county, where they commenced housekeeping. They made the trip by team, and on their arrival located on an eighty-acre tract which he had pur- chased, situated in Section S, Bloom township. and which cost $Soo. Mr. Wirick paid down $200 of this amount, and settled the remainder in installments of $50, so it will be seen that he did not have an over-abundance of capital with which to begin. The land was timber covered, and the five acres which had been partly cleared. were, if anything, in a worse condition than the remainder. A log cabin was the only dwelling on the place, and they commenced in true pio- neer style, Mr. Wirick working steadily until he had transformed the place fromn a wilderness to a fertile, productive farm. In 1888 he had an at- tack of "la grippe," which undermined his health so much as to imfit him for active labor, and he has since lived retired, having removed to his pleasant home in Jerry City, in the spring of 1891. He acquired a comfortable competence. and was able to give to each of his two sons an eighty-acre farm.
To David H. and Mary A. Wirick were born three children, viz .: Francis M., who is a fariner of Bloom township; Laura C., who died
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in infancy; and Charles, who is also a farmer in Bloom township. The mother of these passed from earth April 9, 1870, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery, and Mr. Wirick wedded, for his second wife, Mrs. Lavina Edgar, widow of Hector Edgar, and daughter of John Davis, of Henry township, Wood county. She died June 3, 1880, without issue, and was laid to rest in North Baltimore cemetery. December 28, 1882, Mr. Wirick was again married, thistime, in Bloom township, to Mrs. Sarah (Boyd) Swope, a native of Jackson township, Seneca county; no children have come to this union. Mr. Wirick is a most highly esteemed citizen, and he is as well liked for his kindness of heart as for his integrity and industry. Possessed of good common sense and judgment, he was an influential man in his com- munity, and served as trustee and constable in Bloom township. He is a Democrat in political faith, but usually votes for the best man, re- gardless of politics.
WILLIAM H. MINTON, one of the pioneers of Wood county, now an honored resident of Plain Center, Plain township, was born March 7, 1828, in Morris county, N. J., where his ancestors had settled at an early period.
His grandfather, Nathan Minton, was a sol- dier in the war of 1812, and his great-grandfather, Isaac Johnston, was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war. His father, Jacob Minton, was born February 26, 1796, and was in early life a wagon maker. He married Miss Philetta Willison, also a native of New Jersey, born September 27, 1798, and, in 1834, they moved to Ohio, traveling part of the way by water. They stopped for a short time at Fort Miami, and then after a few months at the old missionary station on the banks of the Maumee river, twenty miles above Toledo, they settled upon land in Plain town- ship, Wood county, where they established their home in the clearing. They were both members of the Presbyterian Church, of Morristown, N. J. (Rev. Albert Barnes, pastor), but after com- ing west they united with the Plain Congrega- tional Church, of which they remained through- out life, faithful and active members. Before the war issues arose, Mr. Minton, Sr., was a Whig, and then became a Republican, and later joined the Prohibition party. He died April 6, 1884, followed two years and a half later by his wife, who breathed her last on the eve of her eighty-eighth birthday. They had eight children: Hannah M. (deceased) married Martin Warner, of Tontogany, now an elder in the Presbyterian Church; Robert B. died in Carlinville, Il., and
was a professor in Blackburn University at the time of his death; Nathan W. lives in Wash- ington county, Ky. ; William H. ; Sarah (deceased); Martha B. is the wife of Luke Carr, of Bowling Green; Jacob was a soldier in the Civil war in Company H, 67th O. V. I., and was killed at Fort Wagner; Phileta died when four months old.
Our subject, who is the fourth child of this family, spent his boyhood upon his father's farm, and attended the neighboring schools. Later he studied for one year in the academy at Castalian Springs, Tenn. On October 23, 1850, he mar- ried Miss Sallie S. Woodbury, who was born in Falmouth, Mass., December 15, 1832. Their seven children are all living. Benjamin H. is a photographer at Bellevue, Huron county; he married Miss Eliza Clark. Alice J. married Fred Smedley, of Berea, Ohio, who is a gradu- ate of Oberlin College and a photographer, and has four children-Grace, Ruth, Clifford, and Bessie. Lillie C. married Henry A. Ross, of Caldwell, Kans., and has four sons-Minton, Harry, Marshall, and Elbert. Charlotte M. is the wife of Thaddeus W. Heermans, a machinist of Evanston, Ill .; they have two children- Thomas and Miriam. Henry M. is a captain in the Salvation Army in the Hawaiian Islands. Jacob D. lives in Enid, O. T. ; he married Miriamn - Lee, of Kansas City, and has one son-Harvey L. Mabel married Edwin Munn, of Portage, Ohio, and has one child -- Lelia F.
Mr. Minton served his country during the Civil war by enlisting in Company B, 144th O. V. I. Both he and his wife are membrs of the Plain Congregational Church, with which Mr. Minton united at the age of fourteen. He is a prominent Prohibitionist, and has been a delegate to several State conventions, and his integrity and devotion to his principles win the respect of even political opponents.
IRA B. BANKS, deceased. The subject of this sketch, formerly a leading business man of Wood county, was born in New York State December 4, 1826. He came west early in life. locating first in Woodville, Sandusky county. and, later, on a farm near by, at what is now known as Banks' Corners.
In 1864 he canie to Wood county, and started a inercantile business at Pemberville, which in 1865, he moved to Westou, where a few years afterward Mr. H. C. Uhlinau' became his junior partner. The business was confined to general merchandise, and finally limited to dry goods. Mr. Banks was an active agent in the development of trade in his vicinity, and his
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sterling qualities of mind and heart made him friends wherever he was known. His death, which occurred October 21, 1891, was widely mourned by a wide circle of acquaintances. His mother (who resides at Elmore, Ohio), his wife and five children survive him. He was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, and had for many years given generous support to its work. In politics he was a Republican, and he belonged to Phoenix Lodge, F. & A. M., at Perrysburg.
Mr. Banks was married, in Fremont, Ohio, to Miss Jemima Smith, who was born in Essex county, N. J., August 10, 1834. She was the daughter of John and Catherine Smith, who came from New Jersey to Ohio in 1851 and set- tled near Woodville, where their last days were spent. Mrs. Banks still resides in Weston, and with her sons conducts the old business under the firm name of I. B. Banks Co. Her eldest son is Fred J. (2) Bradley D., born March 26, 1858, was educated in the Weston schools, and for some time clerked for his father-in ISSo taking a one-half interest in the hardware busi- ness. In 1884 he assumed charge of the branch hardware store at McClure, Henry county; but four years later sold out and returned to Weston. He is non-partisan in politics, and, fraternally, is a member of the F. & A. M. (3) George R., born October 20, 1862, was educated in the Weston schools. ' He has been connected with the store from boyhood, clerking there prior to his father's death. At that time, having been appointed exec- utor of the estate, by his father's will, he took full charge of the business, which he has ever since conducted with eminent success, and in a manner highly creditable to himself. He is a stockholder in the Exchange Bank, and, though yet a young man, is regarded as a leader in busi- ness circles. Politically he is a Republican, and is at present serving his second term as village treasurer. Socially, he is a member of the K. O. T. M., at Weston. (4) John B. is in the furni- ture and undertaking business at Perry, O. T. (5) Julia is the wife of L. E. Long, of Deshler, Ohio. The Banks family have always been noted for sound business judgment and a spirit of enterprise, and the present generation are worthy representatives of the old stock.
LEWIS DIENST, one of Wood county's promi- nent farmers, and residing in Portage township, was born on a farm in Upper Canada, December 10, 1834. His father was born in Germany, and when a young man crossed the Atlantic to Canada, where he met and married Miss Barbara Unsicker, also a native of Germany, who came with her
parents to America during her early girlhood. He died when our subject was a young lad, leav- ing but two children: Lewis, and Daniel, who is now engaged in farming near Lincoln, in Platte county, Neb. The mother afterward became the wife of Nicholas Dienst, and our subject has always borne the name of his step-father. Six children were born by the second union, namely: Eliza, wife of Rufas Sumner, of Trumbull county, Ohio; Nicholas, a mechanic and farmer living in Portage township, Wood county; Mrs. Barbara Jones, of Akron, Ohio; John, a farmer of Kan- sas; Henry, an agriculturist of Michigan; and one that died in infancy.
Our subject was only about two years old when he accompanied his mother and step-father to the United States. They made their way to Cleveland, Ohio, thence to Sandusky county, and subsequently removed to Lucas county. The year 1847 witnessed their arrival in Wood county, and they located in the town of Portage, where Mr. Dienst, Sr., purchased a house and lot. He was a tailor by trade, and followed that business throughout the greater part of his life. He passed away in Portage many years ago; his wife died in 1854.
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