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 50
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The educational privileges which Lewis Dienst received were very limited. He was fourteen years of age before he began to learn the alphabet; then walked a quarter of a mile to the home of Henry Hoskins, to receive instruction, and subsequently attended the schools of Portage. Through experience and observation he has be- come a well-informed man, but is self-educated as well as self-made. He began to earn his liv- ing by working as a farm hand for Collister Has- kins, at $6 per month and board. His wages were afterward increased froin time to time until. on attaining his majority, he was receiving $14 per month and board. He remained in the em- ploy of Mr. Haskins fifteen consecutive years. Trustworthy and reliable, he had the unqualified confidence of that gentleman, as is well indicated by his long service. He then operated the farm on shares for a few years, after which he pur- chased forty acres of prairie land in Liberty township, continuing its cultivation some four years. The labors of Mr. Dienst were then in- terrupted by his service in the Union army. Ou August 6, 1862, he enlisted at Portage, in Com- pany K, ILIth O. V. I. During his service he was once slightly wounded, but remained until the close of the war, and took part in every en- gagement in which his regiment participated He received a wound in his left shoulder at the battle of Franklin. Tena., and several times his
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MRS. ELIZABETH DIENST.
LEWIS DIENST.
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
clothes were pierced with bullets. He served as sergeant, and was promoted from first sergeant to second lieutenant, April 12, 1864, and was first lieutenant at close of the war, or when his regi- ment was discharged. The war having ended, he was mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, July 27, 1865, and at once returned to his home.
In the fall of 1861, in Trumbull county, Ohio, Mr. Dienst was -united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Shaffer, and to them have been born four children: Albert, who became a conductor on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, lost his health through exposure in that service, and died (a Christian man) at the age of twenty-four; Altha A. is the wife of Curtis Munn, of Portage, Ohio; Jennie E. is the wife of John Friend, of Rudolph, Ohio; one child died in infancy.
Before going to the war Mr. Dienst sold his first farm, and in the fall after his return he pur- chased 128 acres in Portage township, a wild and unimproved tract, but with characteristic energy he began its development. His first home was a log cabin, 16 x 20 feet, which he helped to build during his boyhood. He now has a large and comfortable frame residence, and a well-improved farm of fifty-two acres, having sold the remainder of the property. He also owns 392 acres of land in Sheridan county, Kans., situated within two miles of the county seat, Hoxie (in this vicinity Albert L. Dienst pre-empted seventy-two acres, and it was there he died). Success has attended his enterprising efforts, and his prosperity is the just reward of his labors. In politics he is a stal- wart Republican. He has been offered various offices, but declined to serve, though he acted as assessor some four years, has been school director of the corporation for nine years, and was coun- cilman for several years. The cause of educa- tion, and all interests calculated to improve the community, receive his support, and he is a valued and esteemed citizen of Wood county. He holds membership with the United Brethren Church, with which his wife and children are also connected.
MRS. MARY J. BECK, wife of A. D. Beck, was born in Beaver, (now Lawrence) county, Penn., on April 30, 1837, and is a daughter of Robert and Mary (McCarter) Mackey. Her father was a farmer of the Keystone State, and in 1850 drove across the country to Wood county, Ohio, locat- ing on a new farm of 160 acres in Section 18, Bloom township. He continued to clear and cul- tivate his land until his death, which occurred November 16, 1871, and on the same farm his wife died November 28, 1874, being interred in
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Whitacre cemetery. In their family were the fol- lowing children: (1) Daniel, born February 20. 1822, died in Lawrence county, Penn. (2) Will- iam, born July 13, 1825, died in Pennsylvania at the age of four years. (3) Alexander, born March 4, 1827, makes his home in North Baltimore. Ohio. (4) James, born July 5, 1829, died in Bloom township, Wood county, in 1861. (5) Robert, who makes his home in Perry township. was born April 17, 1831, and for twenty-seven winter terms and one summer term engaged in teaching, while for fifteen years he conducted a saw- mill. (6) Joseph, of Fannin county, Texas, was born December 22, 1832, and served throughout the Civil war as a member of the 9th Ill. Cav. (7) Mary J. is the next in order of birth. (S) John, born February 28, 1840, resides in Putnam county, Ohio. The political affiliations of the father were with the Democratic party.
On July 12, 1864, was celebrated the marriage of A. C. Russell and Miss Mary J. Mackey. The former was born in the Empire State, in 1838, and was a son of Norman Russell, an early set- tler of Perry township. He engaged in farining in Perry township until 1881, when he removed to Van Zandt county, Texas, where, in November of the following year, he died, and his remains were brought back and interred at West Millgrove, Ohio. On December 18, 1887, in Texas, Mrs. Russell became the wife of A. D. Beck, who was born in Washington county, Ind., June 19, 1831, son of Andrew and Susan (Diven) Beck. The father was born in 1800, in North Carolina, and when only eight years old was taken by his father to Washington county, Ind., where the latter was one of the honored pioneers.
In 1852 Mr. Beck went to Texas, but the fol- lowing year returned to Lawrence county, Ind .. where he wedded Catherine Horsey. by whom he had four children-Susan, now Mrs. Kemp Mor- ley, of Greenville, Texas; Emma, wife of John Roberts, of Van Zandt county, Texas: Clara, who died in childhood, and John, of Van Zandt coun- ty. The mother passed away December 1. 1866. in Martin county, Ind. In October, 1864, Mr. Beck enlisted from Indiana, in Company B, 31st Ind. V. I., and served nearly a year. He had again married in his native State, and in 188o removed with his wife to Texas, where she died. He was again married, in the Lone Star State, but this wife died there about ten months after their marriage.
In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Beck returned North. locating in Perry township, Wood Co., Ohio, and here have a good farm of 100 acres, which he is successfullyoperating. A large willow tree, which
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
stands on this farm, has grown from a little riding whip, brought from Perrysburg, nearly sixty years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have a large circle of friends, who hold them in the highest esteem and confidence. Mrs. Beck has no children of her own, but is rearing a little niece, Mary Mackey, the daughter of Joseph Mackey. In politics Mr. Beck is an ardent Democrat, and he is a member of the Disciples Church.
LEWIS C. CAROTHERS, a well-known and highly esteemed hotel-keeper, of Rudolph, was born in Portage township, Wood county, May 23, 1844, and is the son of Francis and Elizabeth (Garthwaite) Carothers.
Francis Carothers was born in Pennsylvania," and was there married, October 17, 1815, to Miss Margaret Fitzsimmons, who was born February 20, 1788. She died in November, 1839, and was buried in Sargent cemetery. His second wife (the mother of our subject) was the widow of Pascal Besanson. She and Mr. Carothers were married August 5, 1841, in Wood county. Mr. Carothers died five years later in Portage town- ship, and was buried in Sargent cemetery. Mrs. Carothers died in 1881, and was buried in Port- age township. She always lived on the home farm, in Portage township; in religious faith she was a Presbyterian. Mr. Carothers took a proin- inent part in all matters pertaining to the county, and was associate judge and assessor of Wood county. In fulfilling the duties of the latter office he was obliged to go over the entire county. The children by his first wife were: James H., born November 18, 1816, died in California in 1878; William R., born January 1, 1818, died in Port- age township in 1883; Samuel, born November 16, 1820, died in California in 1873; Nancy J., born February 18, 1823, died in April, 1852, un- married: Eleanor, born February 14, 1825, died September 10, 1849; David N., born August 7, 1827, followed the sea all his life, traveled all over the world, and " came home to die" ; Mary Margaret, born April 1, 1830, married William Brokaw, and died October 9, 1882, in Galion, Ohio. By the second wife two children were born: Francis, September 22, 1842, died May 28, 1845; and Lewis C., our subject.
Lewis C. Carothers was reared on the farin near the village of Portage. In 1862, he enlisted in Company D, ILIth O. V. I., under Capt. J. E. McGowen. The regiment's first engagement was at Huff's Ferry. Tenn. Mr. Carothers par- ticipated in all the battles of his regiment, being with it continuously, with the exception of two weeks, until his discharge in June, 1865. The
war now over, he returned to his home on the farm. When oil was discovered in Pennsylvania. he left home to work in the oil-field there. For a year he worked at the business until he had done all kinds of work that was to be done in the field, except the dressing of tools (at that time the driller was below the tool-dresser in rank). Returning to the farm, he remained until Octo- ber, 1872, when he went to California, and em- barked in the sheep business. Pleased with the prospects before him, he returned home at the lapse of a year and married a lady well known to the teachers of Wood county, she having taught for five years in the county. Miss Rose Call now becomes the happy Mrs. Carothers. On the 20th day of November, 1873, they are married, and on the same day started for the Pacific Coast to be- come partners in the sheep business, as well as all affairs pertaining to their future life. During the drouth of 1874-75 (nineteen months without a drop of rain), the sheep business became a general failure, and Mr. Carothers lost so heavily that he was forced to give up the business. In farming, however, and other work, he gathered a little means; but getting 'badly hurt by being thrown from a horse, which accident unfitted him for business for the time, he decided to return to the home farm once more, and care for his aged mother and brother, now very anxious for his return.
In 1878 he again finds himself on the old homestead. Two years later his mother died, and three years later his brother William fol- lowed, leaving Mr. Carothers the only representa- tive of his father's family. On his farm he re- mainedeuntil the spring of 1892, when he took up the management of the Ruth-Miller farm, in Portage township, near Mermill. He farmed this place for three seasons, then embarked in the hotel business at Rudolph.
To Mr. and Mrs. Carothers have come the following children: Herbert L., born in Tulare county, Cal., September 7, 1874, died in same place, February 3, 1876; Frank L., born in Pacheco, Cal., March 20, 1878, died at Portage (on farm), February 23, 1891; William G., born June 12, 1881, and Leonard V., born February 26, 1886, both at home: and Jessie M., born October 24, 1890, died July 23, 1894. Politic- ally, Mr. Carothers had always been a Democrat until 1884, when his great interest in the tem- perance reform led him out of the old party, and he declared himself, out-and-out, for Prohibition. His wife is an ardent lover of the W. C. T. U., and has been for years a faithful worker in the cause of temperance. They are members of the
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Christian Church. Mr. Carothers is of a genial nature, and his kind-hearted wife is a woman of noble character. They carry on their business in a very commendable and successful manner, and are highly spoken of by all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance.
PROF. W. G. ELLIOTT, a prominent educator of Wood county, and one of the leading citizens of Bloomdale, was born in Loudon township, Seneca Co., Ohio, November 7, 1860. His family is of English origin, his great-grandfather, Sam- uel Elliott, having come alone from England when a boy. He married, and reared a family of six children: George, Samuel, Joseph, Susan, Winnie and Lydia. Joseph Elliott, our subject's grandfather, was born near Fredericksburg, Md. He married Eleanor McKenny, who was born in the United States of Irish parentage, and had nine children: David, Frederick, Augustus, Will- iam, James, Ann, Susan, Eliza, and Melvina, all of whom lived to adult age. He was a suc- cessful farmer in Maryland until 1850, and then moved to a fine farm near Little Washington, Rappahannock Co., Va., where he and his wife lived to a ripe old age.
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David Elliott, our subject's father, was born near Fredericksburg, January 31, 1824. He had but limited education, as the subscription schools of the locality only furnished instruction in read- ing and writing, and, while his parents were com- fortably situated, they could not afford the cash needed for schooling elsewhere. He lived at home until after the removal of the family to Vir- ginia, and in 1851 started for California in search of wealth, but impelled chiefly by a dislike for slavery. The only employment open to him was the guarding of negro slaves, and these he often allowed to escape. He stopped in Missouri, where he spent about a year, but the total sever- ance of old ties of friendship proved too painful. A former neighbor, Mrs. Sarah Updyke, and her family, had settled in Seneca county, Ohio, in April, ,1853, on an eighty-acre tract, and this fact led to.a visit, in September, 1853, to that locality. He was married there, on October 4, 1853. to Miss Lydia A. Updyke, who was born in Rappa- hannock county, Va., October 20, 1826. She was one of a family of seven children: Rufus, who died in Fairfield county; Susan, who mar- ried Christopher Santemyer, and died in Bloom township, Wood county; Elizabeth, the widow of George Worley, of Bloom township; Lydia A. (Mr. Elliott's first wife); Jane, who died in Vir- ginia at eighteen years of age; Mahala, now the widow of Caleb Werley, of Montgomery town-
ship; and Mary E. (Mrs. Elliott). Mr. Updyke died in 1840, and his widow kept a home for the family until her children were all settled in life, when she sold the farm and lived with her chil- dren. Her death occurred in Bloom township in 1894 at the age of ninety years.
After his marriage David Elliott located upon forty acres of land near his wife's family. where he remained until 1866. His first wife died February 13, 1855, leaving one child -- Marshall H., born January 15, 1855, now a farmer in Bloom township. Mr. Elliott was married April 17, 1856, to Miss Mary E. Updyke, a sister of the former wife, born in Virginia, January 18, 1833. Four children were born of this union : Mary A., June 26, 1857, who is at home; William G., our subject; Sarah E., January 29, 1862, now Mrs. George W. Markwood, of Perry township, and David F., April 2, 1864, a resident of Ionia county, Mich. In April, 1866, David Elliott sold his farm and came to Wood county, purchasing forty acres in Bloom township, to which he add- ed until he owned 160 acres, which he sold in 1887 for $15,000. In September, 1887, he moved to Perry township, and bought 100 acres, where he made his home. He was a tall, robust man, and until five years before his death, which occurred September 5, 1891, he had enjoyed the best of health. He was a Republican in politics, but sympathized strongly with the Prohibition party. He never allowed his name to be pre- sented as a candidate for office. He and his wife were prominent members of the U. B. Church to which he gave liberally both of money and time, holding many different offices. His widow still lives at the homestead, passing her declining years free from care and highly respect- ed by all who know her.
WV. G. Elliott was a boy of five years when he first came to this county. and the district schools of Bloom township gave him his first draught at the well of knowledge. Their facili- ties were very limited, however, and when he had finished the common branches, they could do no more for him, and his later extensive knowledge of the higher branches was obtained by private study. He attended Fostoria Acad- emy (Prof. Jackson, principal) for four months. His first teaching was in isso, in the Kimber- lin school, in Weston township, and he has since become one of the best known instructors in the county, holding the position of superintend- ent of schools at Bairdstown, Bloomdale and Millbury. His information is accurate, and cov- ers a wide range of moderu thought, and it has been won by his almost unaided efforts. He is
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
peculiarly fitted to understand and smooth away the perplexities of other students. In the fall of 1893 he was elected superintendent of schools for Perry township, which position he held for three successive years, and is the only official of that rank in Wood county who succeeded in holding that position for more than one year. He is a shrewd business man also, and, as executor of his father's will, he displayed excellent management. From 1890 to 1893, he was engaged in the gro- cery and queensware business in Bloomdale, and erected a fine business block with two store rooms, and this building he still owns. In 1893, Mr. Elliott began the study of law, under the tutorship of Hon. Benjamin F. James, of Bowl- ing Green, Ohio; in April, 1896, he entered the law school at Ada, Ohio, where he was admitted to the Senior class, from which institution he graduated with honors, and was admitted to the bar to practice in the Ohio courts, June 25, 1896. He is at the present time completing the post- graduate course in law from the same institu- tion. He is a stockholder in the Bloomdale Building and Loan Association. He was married October 12, 1887, in Genoa, Ohio, to Flora A. Shaner, a native of Perrysburg, and a daughter of Wesley Shaner, of Genoa, Ohio. She is a lady of rare ability and culture, a member of the M. E. Church, and was a teacher before her marriage. With the exception of a few years in Millbury, their home has been in Bloom town- ship. They have had three children: Ruth L., born January 4, 1890, died June 1, 1892; How- ard W., born October 13, 1892; and Marion E., born February 24, 1895.
In politics Prof. Elliott is a stanch Republic- an, and his first vote was cast for James G. Blaine. He has always been an active worker in the ranks of his party. He is a member of the K. of P. Lodge No. 278, Bloomdale.
ABRAM HYTER, a prosperous agriculturist and sawmill operator of Montgomery township, is one of the most respected citizens of his locality, and he and his estimable wife have been identi- fied with many progressive movements-social, religious and charitable.
He is a native of Carroll county, Md., where he began his earthly pilgrimage June 4, 1829. His parents were Jacob and Margaret (Koontz) Hyter. They came to Ohio when our subject was very young, and his early years were passed in Seneca county as a pioneer fariner's boy with only the district schools, often times two miles distant, to supply his thirst for knowledge. His time was mainly spent at home until his mar- on his own land.
riage, April 26, 1855, in Tiffin, Ohio, to Miss Mary Stewart, who was born in Lycoming coun- ty, Penn., November 8, 1830, the eldest child of Thomas D. and Fannie (Riddle) Stewart. In 1838 they came to Seneca county, Ohio, where Mrs. Stewart died in 1843; and in 1854, Mr. Stewart located in Perry township, Wood coun- ty, where he passed his remaining years. Mrs. Hyter, for three years before her marriage, taught in the district schools, her salary being sometimes as low as $10.00 a month, and of course, " boarded round."
Mr. Hyter bought forty acres of land in Perry township, upon which little clearing had been done, and here they began housekeeping. The land was very wet and sadly in need of ditching. A year later they returned to Seneca county, and Mr. Hyter there rented land of his father-in-law, for a time; but in 1859 he purchased ninety-five acres in Section II, Montgomery township, and removed thither, occupying a log cabin which, with a small log stable, was the only building on the place. There were but a few acres of cleared land, and the ensuing years were full of toil; but he prospered, and now has 135 acres of land, with fine buildings and improvements. In the spring of 1871 he went to Genoa, Ohio, and remained until the spring of 1881, during his stay there conducting a wooden-bowl factory. For several years past he has engaged in the sawmill business, and his success in acquiring a competence dem- onstrates his business ability.
Mr. and Mrs. Hyter have had six children : Anna F., who married E. R. Kirk, of Ottawa county, Ohio, and has one son; Jennie A., who died in childhood; Nellie C., who married A. A. Stump, of Bradner, and has three sons; Charles E., a resident of Bradner, married Jennie Clark. and has two sons and one daughter; Schuyler C. married Gail Hamilton, and has one daughter (they live in Bradner), and Inez G. is at home. The parents are leading members of the M. P. Church, of Bradner, in which he now holds the office of trustee. Mrs. Hyter is a woman of noble character and fine mentality, whose help- fulness in varied lines of work has done much for the locality. She is a valued member of the Woman's Relief Corps, and of the Rebekah Lodge. Mr. Hyter belongs to the I. O. O. F. at Genoa. He has been a Republican from the formation of the party, and has taken an active share in the local work, serving as township trus- tee for six terms, and for some time as member of the Bradner District school board. He holds an interest in fourteen oil wells, nine of which are
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Abram Hyler
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
JONAS FRY. The early pioneers of the great State of Ohio are becoming few in number. The years which have seen the wonderful develop- ment and growth of the country where they built their log cabins in the dense forests, or on the wide stretch of uncultivated prairie, have also seen their hair become silvered and their stal- wart form bend beneath the infirmities of old age. But they have the satisfaction of knowing that, by their industry and toil, patient endurance of pri- vations, and hardships, and unbounded faith in the future of the magnificent country about them, they have made the State what it is-one of the greatest in the Union. Among the early settlers of Wood county is to be found the citizen whose name introduces this sketch, and who is entitled to share in the gratitude of the present genera- tion for the part he has taken in developing the resources of this section. After a busy life full of useful activity Mr. Fry is now enjoying a well- earned rest in a beautiful house in North Balti- more, having moved there, in 1891, from the farm whereon his youngest son is now living.
Our subject was born in Lehigh county, Penn., July 10, 1825, the youngest of the five children of Adam and Catharine (Sourwine) Fry, both natives of Pennsylvania, of German extrac- tion. The father of our subject came, in 1828, to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he purchased a farın in Jackson township. Here he lived until the death of his wife, who was eighty-two years of age at the time, after which event he made his home with his children until his death, which occurred when he was eighty-four years old. Jonas was reared to manhood in Ohio, attended the district schools, and assisted his father upon the farin until his marriage, May 24, 1849, with Miss Elizabeth Greenawalt, who was born De- cember 11, 1829, in Schuylkill county, Penn. Her father, Peter Greenawalt, and mother, Eliz- abeth (Kistler), were both born in Pennsylvania, and died when she was an infant. She is the youngest of six children, and the only one now living. To Mr. and Mrs. Fry came seven chil- dren, asfollows: (1) Sylvester A., born March 4, 1850, married Miss Sarah Fackler (who is now deceased), and had eight children-Emma V., Allen T., Effie A. (deceased), Elizabeth E., Cora May (deceased), Altie A. (deceased). Vemba L. and Sarah Hallie. (2) Elizabeth, born May 26, 1852, is the wife of J. W. Cole, and has had ten children-Cora A., Charles J., William E. (de- ceased), Oscar H. (deceased), Jonas Lloyd, Mary E., Maggie May, Nancy P., Florence M. and John W. (3) J. W., born January 16, 1855, married Miss Charlotte E. Graham (now de-
ceased), and has had six children-Bert Clyde, Frank F. (deceased), Minnie E. (deceased), Lottie Hazel, Flora G. (deceased), and John H. (4) Mary Jane, born February 8, 1858, married Lewis Whitacre, and has one child-Frank S. (5) Augusta A., born July 17, 1860, married Henry Halboth, and has one child-Fred A. (6) Charles A., born February 10, 1862, married Miss Alice Haines, and has one child-Elizabeth M. (7) Emma A., born September 6, 1863. died in infancy.
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