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 52
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HERMAN W. DEAN was born in Milton town- ship, March 27, 1867, and is a son of James T. Dean, a native of Sandusky county, Ohio, and a fariner by occupation. He married Maria Cran,
and sometime afterward came to Wood county, settling on a farm which he purchased in Milton township. Later he purchased a 100-acre farm in Jackson township, which he at once began to clear and place under a high state of cultivation. In the fall of 1893 he sold that property and went to Indian Territory, where he leased a farm, and also purchased a tract of land. He continued in the West for about a year, and then returned to Wood county, since which time he has lived in Milton Center. The children of the family are James T., who is now farming in Kansas; Her- man W .; John, a fariner of Jackson township: Charles, who died at the age of four years, and Alta, at home.
In Deshler, Henry Co., Ohio, on May 14. 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Dean and Miss Lizzie Laney, who was born in Adair county, Mo., May 10, 1870, a daughter of Charles and Margaret (White) Laney, natives of Fairfield county, Ohio. They were married, however, in Missouri, and since 1874 have resided in Wood county. They had nine children, namely: Mrs. Alice Nutter, who died at the age of thirty years: Edwin, of Henry county, Ohio; Sarah, wife of George Whitney, of Weston; Rebecca, of Bowl- ing Green; Mrs. Dean: Jennie, wife of Lincoln Hill, of New York; Peter, of Henry county; William, who died at the age of fourteen; and Thomas, at home. Two children grace the union of our subject and his wife: Earl, born April 5, 1890; and Floyd, born December 25. 1893. Their home is noted for its hospitality. and their circle of friends is extensive. In his political affiliations, Mr. Dean is a stanch Re- publican.
JAMES ROGERS, a prominent citizen of Scotch Ridge, Wood county, now holding the offices of postmaster, justice of the peace, and clerk of Webster township, is a native ot this county. born in Freedom township, January 27, 1860. He is a son of one of our honored pioneers. Amos Rogers.
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Our subject had the training in farm work which usually falls to the lot of a country boy, but his education was not neglected, and he sup- plemented his district-school studies by a course in the high school at Genoa. At an early age he started in business as a decorator of interiors, having learned the trade of painter and paper- hanger at Bowling Green. In 1879 Mr. Rogers married Miss Susan South, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, August 23, 1861, the daughter of Robert South, a well-known resident of Web- ster township. They have one child, Gertie, now attending school. In March, 1892, Mrs. Rogers died at her home in Scotch Ridge, and November 22, 1894, Mr. Rogers was married to Frankie Gerding, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. Orr, of Pemberville, Ohio.
A stanch Democrat in politics, and a man of great public spirit, Mr. Rogers has been a favor- ite candidate of his party, and has held a number of official positions. He was appointed post- master under Cleveland's first administration, and is now serving a second time with satisfaction to all concerned, and as township clerk aud justice of the peace his efficient services meet with hearty appreciation. He has a comfortable home, and he and his wife take a prominent part in the social life of the village. He is past grand of the I. O. O. F., Freedom Lodge No. 723, of Pemberville, and also, with Mrs. Rogers, belongs to the Daughters of Rebekah, No. 239.
C. D. YONKER is the proprietor of the only drug store of a metropolitan nature in Wood county, dealing exclusively in drugs, and articles of a similar character, and having an extensive trade both in Bowling Green and the surrounding country. He was born in Portage township, Wood county, August 10, 1855, and is a son of H. H. and Mary (Gunsaulus) Yonker.
Charles Yonker, his grandfather. was born, in 1795, in Germany, and in 1830 came to Ohio, and to Wood county in 1850. In 1866 he drilled a well with a horse drill on the Johnson farm, near East Prairie Depot, and at the depth of fifty feet struck oil. He died in 1878.
The father of our subject was born in New York State, September 20, 1830, and in 1854, after his marriage. which took place at Wads- worth, Medina Co., Ohio, he came to Wood county. He first located in Portage township, where he purchased a farm, which he afterward sold, and in 1867 removed to Bowling Green, where he entered the company of Kitchen & Lindsay, and they operated the first planing-mill, and sash, door and blind factory in that place,
having also a lumber-yard in connection with these establishments. Later, disposing of his interests in these enterprises, he and his brother, in part- nership, engaged in the undertaking business, in which he remained until his health failed, and he was compelled to retire from active life. He still resides in Bowling Green, and is one of the most esteemed citizens of the place. In politics he is a Republican, and in religious faith he is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the father of seven children, namely: C. D. Yonker, our subject; John L., killed by acci- dentally falling down an elevator shaft in a hotel at . Van Wert, Ohio; Sarah M., who married Edgar Sears, and lives in Bowling Green; M. E., deceased in infancy; L. L., a dentist in Bowling Green; Frank C., in business in the same city; and Arthur A., clerking in our subject's store. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Yonker, whose name was Charles, was born in Germany, and died in Prairie Depot, Ohio. He was a con- tractor on the Maumee and Western Reserve pike, and discovered oil in Wood county many years ago.
The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood days at Bowling Green, where he attended the public schools, and when fourteen years old be- came an apprentice in a drug store which stood on the same corner he now occupies. Three years later he went to Weston, where he took charge of a store for one year; then returned to Bowling Green, and worked for another year in the same store in which he was first employed. Subsequently he read medicine for a time with Dr. Lincoln. His father then bought a drug store, and the son took the management of it from 1875 to 1878, when it was sold to Bolles & Manville. Mr. Yonker then went into the res- taurant business, which he carried on some six years, at the end of that time investing in a patent-right, from which he made enough money to start in business for himself. In 1889 he es- tablished his present store, with the object of carrying on a business in drugs exclusively, which was in direct opposition to the advice of his friends, who thought it an unfavorable field for a high-grade drug store. He has. however. proved the fallacy of their judgment, as he now owns the finest establishment of the kind in northern Ohio, outside the large cities. His is the only drug store kept open on Sunday in the city, and is the first to open and the last to close every day in the week.
Mr. Youker was married October 4, 1870. to Miss R. L. Leonard, who was born in Seneca county, Ohio, December 17, 1853. Two chil-
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dren have blessed this union: Pearl N. and Earl E. Mr. Yonker and family are owners of a beau- tiful residence, which is one of the finest in the city, and is the scene of many delightful social events. Mr. Yonker is one of the most promi- nent workers among the Knights of Pythias in Bowling Green, of which society he is a charter member, and was the first master-at-arms. He has been representative to the Grand Lodge, was district deputy grand chancellor, and is now master of finance; is also captain of the Uniform Rank, K. of P. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bowling Green Improvement Co., also one of the executive committee.
HENRY O. NEARING, a progressive farmer of Washington township, was born December 14, 1827, at Waterville, Wood (now Lucas) county, Ohio, and is a son of Guy and Betsy (Fletcher) Nearing. (The family name was originally spelled Van Nearing).
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The father of our subject was born in Ger- many, whence he came to the United States when young, locating in Onondaga county, N. Y., where he married and had three children: Horatio, deceased; Neptune, father of G. C. Nearing, of Wood county; and Zepimah, who died in New York. For his second wife Mr. Nearing wedded Betsy (Read) Fletcher, and to them five children were born: (1) Emulus, who died in Williams county, Ohio, where he resided with his family. (2) Minerva, wife of Judge Ewing, of Miltonville, by whom she had three children: Theodore, deceased; Mary, widow of William L. Decker, who now makes her home in Haskins; and Lucien B., who died in that place. (3) Eunice and (4) Freeman, both deceased in in- fancy. (5) Henry O., our subject. The father first came to Ohio in 1817, a year later returning to New York, and bringing his family to this State. He located at Waterville, where he was engaged in contracting, and in 1833 built a saw- mill at Otsego, which he operated for a year or more. He also, in 1835, erected a sawmill for Fowler and C. W. Beard, on what is known as the John Creps farm in Middleton township. Prior to building the Otsego mill he purchased and lived on a farm of over 200 acres opposite Waterville. He tere made his home some twelve years, during which time hie greatly im- proved his land, and then removed to Miltonville, where he built a large hotel, which he conducted up to his death in iSão. His wife died at the home of our subject in January, 1857. He was an Old-line Whig in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Baptist Church. While 1
engaged in contracting the father built the first jail in Perrysburg. For a number of years he served as justice of the peace, during which time he married many of the pioneer couples. and the decisions he rendered in the cases he tried were usually sustained.
The early educational privileges of Henry O. Nearing were somewhat meagre, being limited to three months attendance at the district schools during the winter months, the remainder of the year being passed at farm labor. When nine- teen years of age, however, he worked for one month at steamboating on Lake Erie. On Janu- ary 1, 1852, he wedded Matilda Whitney, daugh- ter of David and Margaret (Carr) Whitney, the former a native of Vermont, of English descent, the latter of Scotch-Irish lineage; they were mar- ried in Allegany county, N. Y., and to them were born eight children, as follows: Lucy, who married John Bamber, and had three children, Archibald, Mary and Thaddeus. Samuel, Nancy and Maria all three deceased. Matilda, the wife of our subject, born April 7, 1832, in Alle- gany county, N. Y. Charles, an expert ma- chinist, who conducts a patent office in Chicago, making his home in Winnetka, not far from that city. Caroline (widow of Oscar Snyder), resid- ing in the northern part of the State of Washing- ton. John, who was a member of a Minnesota regiment during the Civil war, and was held prisoner for ten months at Helena; Ark., during that struggle; he has since died at St. Louis, Missouri.
After his marriage, Mr. Nearing worked a short time at the cooper trade, but in April. 1852, he started for California, a trip of 2, 100 miles, which was made with an ox-team, and oc- cupied seven months. There he remained two years, during which time he was employed as a hostler and miner, meeting with good success. In connection with David Bamber, Jolin Buttles and Milton Beard, he also owned a toll road, known as the Bamber & Nearing toll road, near Deer Creek, Cal. On his return to Ohio, he came by way of the Nicaragua route to New York City. For three years he then had charge of his father-in-law's place, at the end of which time, on June 17, 1858, he removed to Minne- sota, returning to Wood county in the following March. For four years he made his home in Miltonville, and in 1881 he purchased a farm in Fulton county, where he resided five years. In December, 1887, he purchased his present farm, to the cultivation of which he has since devoted his time and attention. He and his worthy wife have no children of their own, but have reared
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Henry M Vearing
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five whom they have adopted. As a souvenir of his California mining experiences, Mr. Nearing has a scarf pin made of a nugget of gold dug by him during his last days in the "diggings," and which is set in its natural state, and is valued at twenty dollars.
During the Civil war, Mr. Nearing enlisted at Tontogany in Company B, 144th O. V. I., un- der Capt. Black and Col. Miller, and was mus- tered in at Columbus. After faithful service he received an honorable discharge at Columbus, September 1, 1864. Politically, he supports the Republican party, and has been supervisor of Mid- dleton township, and school director of District No. 1, Washington township. He takes an active interest in the I. O. O. F., belonging to Rouche-de-Boeuf Lodge No. 530, and also to the Encampment, No. 267, both of Haskins, and he and his wife are members of Rebekah Lodge No. 365; in the I. O. O. F. he has been past and noble grand and also vice-grand. He also holds membership with Walter A. Wood Post, G. A. R., of Tontogany. In all the rela- tions of life, he has been true and faithful, and no man is more deserving the high regard in which he is held than Henry O. Nearing.
HENRY ROLFES. This gentleman worthily illustrates the commonly accepted view of the character of the enterprising citizen, who made his way into northwestern Ohio at a time when strong hands and stout hearts were needed, and putting his shoulder to the wheel gave a decided impetus to the car of progress, and assisted in the development of Wood county. As early as 1836 he came with his parents to Troy township, where his father purchased land in Section 25. In the kingdom of Hanover, Mr. Rolfes was born, May 28, 1828, and is a son of Frederick and Julia (Hunefelt) Rolfes, natives of the same province. At Bremen the family embarked on a sailing vessel, which, after a voyage of seven weeks, dropped anchor in the harbor of New York, and from there they proceeded by water to Toledo, Ohio, They arrived in this country in the fall of 1836, where the father purchased a tract of wild land in Troy township, on which no improvements had been made, and no road led to the place. He became a prominent mem- ber of the community, and served as trustee of his township. He died of cholera, September 1, 1852, which disease terminated the life of the mother on the 7th of the same month. Our subject was the eldest in their family of children, others being as follows: William, who died of cholera on the 5th of September, 1852; Herman, who died
while young; Mary, also deceased: Mrs. Eliza Meyers, of Woodville, Ohio; and Lewis, who re- sides in Troy township.
Our subject was about eight years of age when he came to this county, and in the prim- itive schools of Troy township he received his ed- ucation, but most of his time was employed in work upon the home farm. After leaving the parental roof he worked on a farm near Perrys- burg, Ohio, and for three seasons sailed on the lakes. On August 11, 1853, in Troy township. was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rolfes and Miss Julia Hilker, a native of Germany, and a daughter of Gerhard and Engel (Simpson) Hil- ker, also born in the Fatherland. About 1840 her parents located in Troy township, where the father's death occurred in 1851, and his wife died at the home of our subject in 1871. To Mr. and Mrs. Rolfes have been born the following chil- dren: Marie, who died in childhood. and Sophia, also deceased; Eliza, now Mrs. William Meyers, of Luckey, Ohio; Lewis H., who makes his home in the same place; Louisa, deceased; Julia A., who resides in Toledo, Ohio; Minnie, of Luckey.
After his marriage, Mr. Rolfes located upon the old homestead, in Section 25, Troy town- ship, where he owns 120 acres of fertile and pro- ductive land. Upon his place are nine oil wells, which also add materially to his income. In 1879 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, a most estimable lady. At the time he came to Wood county, few settlements had been made, the work of cultivation had scarcely be- gun, and he has watched with interest the great changes that have taken place, in the work of development and progress, always taking his share. Their nearest market at that time was Perrysburg, whence he would carry his purchases home on his back; but he bravely and cheerfully endured the trials and hardships incident to a life in the forests far from the haunts of men.
FLOYD D. HUFFMAN, the popular young editor and proprietor of the Grand Rapids Triumph. was born in Grand Rapids, Wood Co., Ohio, July 8, 1873, and is a son of John and Emma ( Mins) Huffman, both natives of Pennsylvania, but now residing near Grand Rapids.
Here our subject passed his boyhood and youth, attending the common schools, and at the early age of fourteen years began learning the printer's trade, at which he has since worked. with the exception of one winter. when he at- tended school. He experienced all the vicissi- tudes incident to the life of a printer's " devil." and soon became an expert type-setter, as well
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as becoming versed in the all-round duties of a newspaper office. Being possessed of an ener- getic spirit, good executive ability, and an excel- lent judgment, he determined to establish himself permanently in some literary work, and accord- ingly in December, 1890, purchased his present paper, of which he is sole proprietor. The Grand Rapids Triumph is a five-column quarto sheet, independent in politics, and does a large amount of advertising, while, as a literary production, it is numbered among the foremost papers of the county.
HENRY MANDELL, a prominent pioneer agri- culturist of Wood county, now residing in Perrys- burg, was born in Hardwick, Worcester Co., Mass., January 12, 1814. His family has filled an honorable place in the history of this country. Paul Mandell, the great-grandfather, came from England and settled in Massachusetts. He had a son, Moses, our subject's grandfather, who served in the Revolutionary army with the rank of major. Martin Mandell, father of our subject, was a farmer in Massachusetts, a man of great intelligence and independence of thought, and one of the earliest supporters of the Unitarian faith. He married Miss Fannie Marsh, and reared a family of four children, of whom our subject was second in order of birth. He died at the age of sixty-seven years, and his wife in 1878, at the age of ninety-one.
Henry Mandell remained at the old homestead until he was twenty years old, when he came west to seek his fortune. In 1838 he located in Perrysburg, where for three years he traded with the Indiana and settlers in groceries, boots and shoes, and other commodities. He was married there to Miss Frederica Kreps, a native of Penn- sylvania, who was about one month older than himself. Shortly after their marriage Mr. Man- dell moved to Otsego, where for two years he held the position of postmaster under appoint- ment from President Tyler. He then moved to a tract of land in Perrysburg township belonging to his wife, and cleared it, in time transformning it into a fine property. He still owns 100 acres there, which has risen in value from nothing to $60 or $70 an acre. Mrs. Mandell died in 1874. after thirty-two years of happy, helpful compan- ionship. Seven children were born of this union: (1) Henry E., who lives at the old farmn, is mar- ried and has seven children-Fred, Mary, Alice, Dwight, Kittie, Ernest and Ruth. (2) Phila E. lives with her father. (3) Catherine married Charles Drayton, of Perrysburg township, and has six children-Frederica, Jennie, William,
Frank, Grace and Ralph. (4) William Arthur, a sketch of whom follows. (5) Dwight died at the age of fourteen. £ (6) Ada married Leroy Weliver, of East Toledo, and has three children -- Delia, Clarence and Ada. (7) Frederick died aged ten years. About two years ago Mr. Man- dell came to Perrysburg, with his daughter, Phila E., to spend his declining years, free from busi- ness cares. He has always taken an active in- terest in politics, and his first vote was cast for Van Buren; he is now a Republican, and his last vote at the age of eighty-two was for Mckinley.
GEORGE KLOPFENSTEIN, a prominent citizen of Center township, and one of the leading fruit growers of northwestern Ohio, was born in Wood county, March 20, 1847, and is a son of Peter and Henrietta (Moore) Klopfenstein. He has taken a commendable interest in the moral, educational, and material welfare of the commu- nity, and has made an untarnished record and unspotted reputation as a business man. In all places, and under all circumstances, he is loyal to truth, honor and right, justly valuing his own self-respect as infinitely more preferable than wealth, faine and position.
Mr. Klopfenstein has been twice married, his first union, which was celebrated August 5, 1874, being with Miss Prudence D. Craw, who was born October 4, 1855. One child came to them -Walter, born April 26, 1875, who is a gradu- ate of the Bowling Green High School; he is now in his second year of a four-years' course in the Chicago Homeopathic College, and is studying medicine with Dr. Thomas, of Bowling Green. On August 15, 1333, Mr. Klopfenstein was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Jane Drake, who was born July 5, 1852, and the following chil- dren blessed their union: The first, born July 13, 1884, died in infancy; Ira Lee, born August 16, 1885, died August 3, 1887; Mabel Henrietta, born May 14, 1888; Floyd, born January 25, 1890; George M., born December 23, 1892; and the youngest, born January 17, 1895, died in infancy.
On the paternal side our subject is descended from Peter Klopfenstein, who was born in France in 1742, and was there married in 1768. In his family of nine children Christian Klopfenstein was the eighth in order of birth, being born June 17, 1788. In October, ISIo, the latter married Catherine Stooky, who was born in France May 15, 1788, and they became the parents of ten children, namely: Peter. born November 3, 1$11. was the father of our subject. Barbara, born in November, 1812, married A. R. Mead, by whom
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she had nine children; her death occurred in Summit county. Catherine, born in 1814, died in 1851. Mary, born January 1, 1817, was mar- ried January 6, 1842, to Jacob Grauber, and be- came the mother of ten children. Ann, born February 16, 1819, was married in 1839 to Christian Roth, by whom she had eleven children ; she died in 1863. Christian, born in 1821, died in 1823. Joseph, born January 13, 1823, was married May 4, 1848, to Mary Ann Hevehill, and became the father of thirteen children. All of the above named children were natives of France. Benjamin, born in 1827, in Wayne county, Ohio, married Catherine Stooky, in 1850, and they had fourteen children. Fanny, born September 19, 1829, in Wayne county, married Jacob Roth, and became the mother of thirteen children; she died February 28, 1874. Eliza, born in 1830, in Utica, N. Y., died there the same year. The father of this family departed this life in Fulton county, Ohio, in March, 1871, and the mother in 1836.
Peter Klopfenstein, the father of our subject, was married in Wood county, Ohio, September 19, 1837, to Miss Henrietta Moore, who was born January 5, 1819, in Mogadore, Summit Co., Ohio, and came to this county in 1833, at the age of fourteen years. To them were born the follow- ing children : Lee M., born September 30, 1838, who was married May 13, 1860, to Julia Ann Elliott, and has had five children; Joseph, born February 23, 1842, who married Sarah Hill, and has five children (he was a soldier in Company A, Jooth O. V. I., in which regiment he served three years; he is now a farmer, living in Rollersville, Sandusky county); George, subject of this re- view; Amelia E., born October 30, 1849, wife of George W. Houskeeper, of Center township; James E., born February 14, 1852, who is a dentist in Longmont, Boulder Co., Colo .; Mary Ann, born August 26, 1858. who died September 15, 1872, at the age of fourteen; and Chloe M., born March 26, 1861, died September 18, 1872. The mother's death occurred September 16, 1870.
On the maternal side our subject is descended from Samuel Moore, who was a native of Con- necticut, where his father, who was from the British Isles, had located at an early day. Na- than Moore, the son of Samuel, was united in marriage with Julia Ann Lee, a daughter of John Lee, who, at an early day in the history of New England, sought refuge there from the rulers of his native land-Ireland. Mrs. Moore was also a native of Connecticut, and with her husband removed to Summit county, Ohio, where they
both died at the age of fifty-five years. In their family were the following children: Chloe, born in Vermont, in 1788, became the wife of a Mr. Cook; Laura, born in the same State. in 1792. married Thomas Hall; Lee, born in Verinont, March 13, 1793, was the maternal grandfather of our subject; Lucy, born in 1795, married a Mr. Van Gorder; Betsy, born in 1797, married a Mr. Briggs; Julia, born in 1800, married a Mr. Ripson; and Nathan, born in 1807, died at the age of five years.
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