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 55
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tia Elenor Fillmore, who was born October 23, 1864, a daughter of Timothy and Patience (Allen) Fillmore, the former of whom was born in New Brunswick, Canada, July 28, 1836, the latter in Nova Scotia, April 12, same year. Timothy Fillmore was a son of William Fillmore and wife, also natives of New Brunswick, and whose par- ents were English. In 1839, when Timothy was a small boy, the family moved by way of the St. Lawrence to Upper Canada (now province of Ontario), and on board the same vessel was his future wife, little two-year-old Patience Allen. who was accompanying her parents westward. She and Timothy were married August 3, 1856, in Canada, and in 1868 they moved into Michi- gan, settling in Midland county, where they are still living on their farm. They were the parents of eleven children, one of whom died in infancy; the others were: Julia D. (Mrs. John Marsh): William H., of Midland; James W., of Weston; Celia (Mrs. B. Canfield), now deceased; Letitia Elenor (Mrs. Avery); and Carrie, Sarah, Millard, Mahlon, and Corra, all five at home. The par- ents of these are both Methodists, and Mr. Fill- more is a Republican.
Mrs. Avery is affiliated with the Woman's Relief Corps, also with the L. O. T. M., and is a member of the Methodist Church.
CHARLES W. BRADSHAW, a well-known farmer and contractor, of Weston township, was born in Northampton, England, February 12, 1851.
John W. Bradshaw, the father of our sub- ject, also a native of England, was there married May 4, 1846, to Charlotte Wortley, who was born in Northampton. In 1851, he set out with his wife and two little children-Emily and Charles W .- for America, embarking at Liver- pool on a sailing vessel, the voyage occupying four weeks and four days. His first location was in Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio, and his sole possessions on arriving there was $15 in money. and a few bedclothes. For a time he worked on a farin there, and in October, 1860, came by team to Portage, Wood county, where he bought ninety acres of land, on which he made his home until his death in 1883, his wife surviving him until 1893. In civic affairs, he held the offices of trustee, supervisor, and director of the school board; in religious faith he was originally a Meth- odist, later in life becoming a member of the Church of Christ. Five children were born to this worthy couple. as follows: Emily is the wife of Joseph Horn, of Bowling Green; Charles W. is our subject; Elizabeth H. married Henry
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
Swope, and they reside in Columbus, Ga .; George is practicing medicine at Bluffton, Ohio; Lottie L. is the wife of H. B. Saylor, a hardware dealer, of Portage.
The early education of our subject was ob- tained at Hunt's Corners, in Huron county, and in the district schools of Wood county, which he attended until he was nineteen years old. He then taught some five winters, after which he spent two years in Ada, and there took the com- mercial and teachers courses, also higher mathe- matics and surveying, at the Northwestern Ohio Normal School, the average grade of his studies being 98. He left the institution in August, 1877, at the time of the great railroad strike at Mechanicsburg, Penn. In the meantime he as- sisted his fatlier, and worked as a bridge con- tractor and carpenter during the summers. For six years he taught during the winters, and worked at his trade the remainder of the year. From September, 1881, to June, 1888, he was superintendent of public schools, at Tontogany and Portage. Mr. Bradshaw was married May 2, 1880, in Weston, to Miss Louisa Phillips, who was born in Troy township, Wood county, Oc- tober 6, 1857, a daughter of Solomon and Maria (Chollette) Phillips, the former born in West Virginia, February 14, 1816, of English descent. the latter a native of New York State. They were married in Fremont, Ohio, where the fa- ther followed farming, and was a supervisor and contractor. He died at Weston, his former home, March 27, 1896, aged eighty years; his widow. who is of French extraction, is now sixty-two years old, and one of a family of thirteen chil- dren. She commenced teaching school at the age of thirteen years; is a member of the Meth- odist Church, and has been a great Sabbath- school worker. To this worthy couple were born two children: Lonisa (Mrs. Bradshaw), and Eva, who died when two years old. Mrs. Bradshaw taught school until she was twenty-four years old, some eight years in all, having taught two years after her marriage. She is a lady of much culture and refinement, and is highly es- teemed in the community.
In 1882 Mr. Bradshaw purchased forty acres in Weston, where he now resides. He has a pleas- ant home with fine barns and out-buildings, and is a prosperous and well-to-do farmer. Some six years ago he began operating as a contractor and builder, and has been very successful in that line. His family consists of four children: John W .. born July 5, 1882; Pauline Louise, born March 17, 1884: Charles Blythe, born June 29, 1887; and Gladys Marguerite, born February 2, 1893.
Mr. Bradshaw is a stanch Republican, and an active worker in the interests of his party. So- cially, he is a member of Weston Lodge No. 681. I. O. O. F. He has been a councilman for six years, and is looked upon as a worthy citizen. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member. Mrs. Bradshaw is also a member of the Foreign Mission Aid Society, of the M. E. Aid Society, of which she held the office of secretary for three years, and is always ready to assist in philanthropic work.
GREENBURY BURDITT, JR., a valued and esteemed agriculturist of Washington township, where he has a farm of sixty acres of good land, is meeting with a merited success in his farming operations, and bids fair to achieve an easy com- petence, so that in his declining years he may rest peacefully from the cares of life. The build- ings upon his place are neat and substantial in character, and betoken thrift and prosperity.
The birth of Mr. Burditt took place in Wash- ington township, September 12, 186;, and in his youth he attended school at Maple Grove; but owing to ill health his work in the school room was rather limited. He remained beneath the parental roof, surrounded by all the tender influences of that home until his marriage, which occurred April 26, 1888, Miss Ollie Long becom- ing his wife. She was a daughter of George Long, and her birth occurred in January, 1871. Two children blessed this union: Gracie Ann. born March 7, 1889; and Flossie Edna, born June 23, 1891. The mother died November 3. 1893, and for his second wife, Mr. Burditt wedded Charicie Jennie Lynn on April 15, 1895. Born October 15, 1866, she is a daughter of Mel- vin Lynn, a prominent farmer of Huron county, Ohio; she is a faithful member of the United Brethren Church.
On starting out in life for himself, Mr. Bur- ditt first rented forty acres of land, which he operated for a year, and then purchased his pres- ent farm, in connection with the cultivation of which he is also engaged in the breeding of Jer- sey cattle. He is not strictly partisan, though he usually votes the Republican ticket; but at local elections his support is given to the man he thinks best qualified for the office, regardless of party ties. He attends the Christian Umon Church.
E. H. CHILCOTE, M. D., a prominent physi- cian of Bloomdale, senior member of the firm of E. H. & A. M. Chilcote, was born in Perry town-
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ship, September 9, 1848. Heis of English descent, the first of the American branch of the family being his great-grandfather, John Chilcote, who settled first in Maryland, and later came to Rich- land county (now Ashland county), Ohio, where his death occurred at the age of ninety-six. His son, Mordecai, our subject's grandfather, was born in Maryland, and was married there to Ruth McCrill. In 1814, they removed to Ohio, set- tling in the then unbroken wilderness of Ashland county. Their journey caused much alarm to them and their friends, as Indians were numer- ous and troublesome. Mordecai Chilcote died at forty-seven, before his farm had been fully brought under cultivation. His wife survived him and died at the age of eighty-one, in the home of her son Samuel, in Ashland county, where the remains of both of these brave pio- neers now rest. They had seven children, none of whom are now living: John, formerly a farmer, died in Perry township; Rachel died in Ashland county; Delilah died there also, at the age of sixteen; Mary married William Murray, and died in Ashland; Elizabeth died at the old home; and Mordecai, in Hillsdale county, Michigan.
Samuel Chilcote, the youngest of this family, and the father of our subject, was born in Amanda township, Lancaster county, June 2, 1813, and was only a year old at the time of the removal to Ashland county. He had but limited educational advantages in that frontier neighbor- hood, but was an apt scholar, and made good use of his time when not working upon the farm. On February 21, 1833, he was married, in Orange township, Ashland county, to Miss Susan Hatfield, a native of Harrison county, born October 16, 1816, the daughter of William and Nancy (Craig) Hatfield. Her mother having died in 1823, she had been reared by strangers from the age of seven, until an older sister, Marian, was married to James Worley, and she then made her home with them, and came to Ashland county on their removal there. Samuel Chilcote was only nineteen years old when he married, and his portion of his father's estate could not be secured, so he continued to work upon the farm as before. After attaining his majority he came to Perry township, Wood county, where he arrived October 21, 1834, in the primeval forest. without even a roof to shel- ter his family. A shanty was hastily raised with bass bark roof and three sides made of slabs, the opening being toward a huge log fire where they did their cooking. He and his brother John then owned 160 acres, which they divided. "Uncle Sam," as he was called by everybody, became a
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leading man of his day in this county, first as a Democrat, and later as a worker in the Repub- lican party. He held various offices, serving six years as county commissioner, twelve as justice of the peace, and he was also trustee for some time. He held various offices in the M. E. Church, with which he and his wife had united in early life, He had a genial nature, and pos- sessed most admirable qualities of mind and lieart. His physical strength was unusual. and he was six feet tall and built in fine proportion, weighing over 200 pounds. He met his death December 9, 1885, from being thrown from a double wagon box, injuring his spine, and he was buried in Perry Center cemetery by the Masonic fraternity, of which he had been a leading member. His widow remained at the old farm until 1890; but since that time she has lived with her three sons, who care for her with a filial devotion which does them honor. All are residents of this county: Russell A .. the eldest, born February 16, 1841, is a farmer in Perry township; E. H., our subject; and Allen M., the youngest, born April S, 1851, who is in partnership with the latter.
Our subject was reared as a farmer's boy, and attended the district schools until the age of six- teen, when he began to study at Fostoria. He learned rapidly, and at eighteen was competent to teach, and taught two terms in London township, Seneca county. Afterward he attended school at Fostoria for some time, and then entered Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, graduating in March, 1871. He began the practice of his pro- fession in Van Buren, Hancock county, and three years later moved to Bairdstown, where he re- mained two years, but failing health compelled him to relinquish his work, in which he was un- usually successful. He spent a few years at the old home, and in 1890, with his health restored, he resumed his professional labors in partnership with his brother, they being now the oldest prac- titioners in Bloomdale.
In 1884 Dr. Chilcote was married in Cleve- land to Miss Fannie Cooper, a native of Wood county, and a daughter of George Cooper, a prominent farmer of Perry township, Wood county. They have just built a beautiful resi- dence, one of the finest in Bloomdale, and three children, Eva M., Florence Edna and Russell Cooper, make it merry. Mrs. Chil- cote is active in all social and philanthropic movements, and is a leading member of the W. E. Church. The Doctor is aa admirer of fine horses, and owns some fine specimens. In poli- tics he is a Republican and a regular voter, but he has never been an office seeker.
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GEORGE MURRAY BROWN, ex-sheriff of Wood county, Ohio, was born in Otsego county, N. Y., August 23, 1843, a son of Joseph and Cynthia (Jones) Brown, the former of whom was born in Otsego county, N. Y., in 1806, where he took up farming, thence coming, in 1856, to Wood county.
Mr. Brown traces his ancestry to one Nathan- iel Brown, who, in 1730, came from England to the New World, settling in the town of Killingly, Conn. He had two sons, Jacob and Zacharias, the latter of whom died in Connecticut when yet comparatively a young man, leaving a family. Jacob, the elder of these brothers, married Lucy Russell, a French lady, and in 1780 moved to Columbia county, N. Y. In 1797 he journeyed to Decatur, Otsego county, on a wood-sled, drawn by oxen, bringing with him a few house- hold chattels, among which were a Bible, tea- kettle, chair, table and some pewter dishes, which will be further mentioned presently. He was a farmer by occupation, and lived to the age of seventy years, dying in 1810. Eight chil- dren-three sons and five daughters-were born to him and his wife, the eldest son dying without issue. The second son, Barzillai, grandfather of our subject, was born, in 1764, in Connecticut, and went to New York State, where he engaged in farming. He married Miss Sarah Scoville, who was born in 1767, and they had ten children -seven sons and three daughters. Barzillai died May 7, 1844, his wife on February 9, 1847. Nathaniel, their eldest son, married Orpha Sew- ard, and had nine children. At a reunion of the Brown family, held September 4, 1879, at De- catur, Otsego Co., N. Y., on the old farm, the articles brought by Jacob Brown, in 1797, to Decatur-the Bible, tea-kettle, etc., above men- tioned -were used, the old Bible being read from, and the chair, table and pewter dishes used. On that day there were living 279 de- scendants of Jacob and Lucy Brown, and seventy descendants of Barzillai and Sarah Brown. The Brown family, as far as can be traced, have al- ways been loyal, and records show that they were represented in every war in which this country was engaged. from the Revolution of 1775 down to the Civil war of 1861. Three members who lost their lives in the Rebellion are buried in Otsego county.
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Joseph Brown, the father of our subject, lo- cated in Perrysburg township, Wood Co., Ohio, in 1856; in 1858 he moved to Bowling Green, in Plain township. When a young man he was employed as an overseer on a plantation in Vir- ginia. He was well acquainted with Andrew
Jackson, of whom he was a personal friend, and was a Democrat of the old school. His wife was born in Lewis county, N. Y., March 16, 1808, and died in Wood county, November 14. 18So, Mr. Brown died November 15, 1892, in Bowling Green, at the residence of George M. Brown, where he made his home. To this couple were born the following children: Paul J .. born June 5, 1837, is a farmer of Plain township; Paulina, born August 27, 1840, married Lafayette Borden, of Lucas county, Ohio, where they live on a farm; George M. is our subject; Banyer Blakely, born July 12, 1845, left home, in 1867, for Cali- fornia, and was never heard from after he reached Kansas City; Gibson Lamont, born December 22, 1847, died September 24, 1863; and Gibbs F., born December 22, 1847, died in 1848.
George M. Brown, the subject proper of these lines, attended school in Perrysburg until 1857- 58, after which he came to Bowling Green, where he completed his education, and was reared on the farm. In 1864 he entered the army, joining Company C, 144th O. V. I., and took part in en- gagements in Maryland and Virginia, being pre- sent at the battles of Monocacy (Md.), and Berry- ville (Va.). In the fight at the latter place several of the regiment were taken prisoners, some of whom afterward died in prison. Our subject was captured, but managed to escape after being detained only a few hours. He then joined Company K, 185th O. V. I., with which he served until the close of the war. He was promoted to the rank of corporal during his first service with Company C, which lasted about four months, and was sergeant of Company K.
After the close of the war Mr. Brown returned home, settled on a farm, and on February 14, 1868, was married to Miss Lucy Brown, a (daughter of Isaac and Cassia (Rhinehart) Brown), born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1843, and whose death occurred February 14, 1895, the anniver- sary of her wedding day. They had one child, Mary Bertha, born June 27, 1874, who married Fred W. Hankey (they also have one child named Don Brown Hankey, born January 17, 1895), and one adopted son, Banyer B. Brown, born in October, 1876, whom they took when three- months old. After his marriage our subject set- tled on his farm, and he and his brother have about 350 acres of land near the town of Bowl- ing Green, and our subject has also forty acres within the corporation, on which he lives. He has also a royalty in ten or twelve oil wells. [i ISgt he built what is known as the . Brown Hotel " in Bowling Green, which is considered to be the best of its kind in the county.
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A stanch Democrat in his political predilec- tions, Mr. Brown has been elected on that ticket to various offices of honor and trust, several terms as trustee of the township. In 1883 he was elected sheriff, and re-elected in 1885, the first time receiving a majority of 200 votes, and on the second occasion a majority of 700, being the frst Democratic sheriff of Wood county since the war. While in office he hung two men, one each term, one of whom, a murderer, he followed to northern Wisconsin, near Eau Claire, where he captured him, took him back to Bowling Green, convicted him and hung him in the peni- tentiary, he being the last man hung by any sheriff in the State, as all now condemned to capital punishment are hung by the warden of the penitentiary. Socially, Mr. Brown has been a Mason since 1866, and is in the thirty-second degree; belongs also to the Blue Lodge and Chapter in Bowling Green Commandery No. 7, and in the Cincinnati Consistory. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F., K. of P., and G. A. R., and has passed all the degrees in each of them. A typical whole-souled American, he justly deserves and enjoys the confidence and esteem of the community at large.
ABEL COMSTOCK, a well-known justice of the peace of Bowling Green, was born September 4. 1843, in Mercer county, Penn., and is the son of Robert and Sarah (McDowell) Comstock. His father was born August 8, 1818, near Burlington, Vt., and his mother April 13, 1817, in Mercer county. Their marriage took place in the latter county,' in 1842.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, Abel Comstock, was born in Connecticut, about the close of the Revolutionary war, and was a mill- wright by trade. He removed to northern New York, near Lake Champlain, and soon after his son Robert came to Ohio he went to Dubuque, Iowa, where he died at the age of ninety-seven years. He was one of the old Scotch Covenanters, of stern demeanor, adhering strictly to what he believed to be right, and was deeply imbued with the spirit of the old Blue Laws of Connecticut. His wife was a Miss McClintock, who was born in the Highlands of Scotland, and who died some- time in the "sixties," in Iowa. The maternal grandfather of our subject, John McDowell, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he followed farming. At the battle of Fort Meigs, he com- manded a company of State volunteers, and was a brave soldier.
The father of our subject went to Pennsyl- vania about 1840, and engaged in lumbering and
milling, operating a grist and saw mill. He came to Ohio in September, 1848, locating two and one-half miles from Bowling Green, on the old Findlay road, where he bought land from a man named Frank McGinnis, and where he has made his home ever since. His wife died May 17, 1889. Mr. Comstock, Sr., in his early life, be- longed to the old Scotch Covenanter's Church, aft- erward, with his wife, going over to the Seceders, but is now a member of the Congregational Church. He was originally a Whig, later, on the formation of the Republican party, adopted its platform, and has cast his vote for both the Har- risous for President. To Robert Comstock and his wife were born eight children, as follows: Abel; John, who died in 1846; Robert H., who resides in St. Louis, Mich .; Jennie, married to Everett Chapman, and living at West Mystic, Conn .; Isabelle, who became the wife of S. C. Woodberry, and died in 1873: George, deceased in infancy; William, a commercial traveler, resid- ing at Perrysburg, Ohio; and Edward, living on the old homestead.
The subject of this sketch was reared in Wood county, where he attended the common school, finishing his education at a university. When the guns of Fort Sumter were fired, the military spirit inherited from his brave ancestors broke forth in the young man, and, although he had not yet attained his majority, he enlisted in August, 1861, in Company C, 2Ist O. V. I., under Gen. Nelson, his regiment being sent to eastern Ken- tucky, and later to Louisville. It was then assigned to the 14th Army Corps, army of the Cumberland, and there remained until the close of the war, in 1865. Mr. Comstock took part in all the engagements in which his regiment partic- ipated during this time, until the spring of 1864. when he was stricken with smallpox, and was sent to the hospital at Chattanooga. On his re- covery he again went to the front, and was with Sherman on his inarch to the sea. While sta- tioned at Savannah, Ga., he went on December 16, 1864, on a foraging expedition, and was taken prisoner by a band of guerrillas. He was sent to Augusta, thence to Florence, S. C., and to Goldsboro, N. C., where he remained in prisons until March 4, 1865, suffering all the horrors en- dured by the captives in those terrible days, some idea of which may be gained from the fact that in these few montlis his weight was reduced from (So to 90 pounds. He was very ill a greater part of the time, being delirious with fever, and was unconscious at the time he was paroled at Wilmington. N. C., March 4. 1865. He was lionorably discharged June 8. 1865, having
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served his country well and faithfully during the entire war. His regiment made a brilliant record during its service. In the battle of Chickamauga, history states that it went into the fight with 448 privates and non-commissioned officers, and caine out with 106 privates and two officers, our subject being one of the latter.
At the close of the war, Mr. Comstock re- turned home, and engaged in farming, but soon afterward removed to Michigan, where he taught school, and also worked at lumbering. His health failing, he came back to Bowling Green and opened up a lumber yard, which he carried on until the spring of 1879, when he began reading law with Col. J. A. Shannon, with whom he afterward formed a partnership, which continued until the former left the city in 1886. Mr. Com- stock has made a specialty of pension cases, hav- ing had charge of over five thousand claims, and has practiced in the department at Washington. He was elected justice of the peace of Bowling Green in September, 1890, was re-elected in 1893, and is holding that office at the present time. He is an ardent Republican, and, as may be inferred from his war record, a loyal supporter of the government. He is a leading member of the G. A. R., belonging to Wiley Post No. 46, of which he was first adjutant for six years, and commander for two years. He also belongs to the K. of P. On February 21, 1864, he was married, in Wood county, to Miss Rosamond Davis, who was born in Perrysburg, October 12, 1846. They have had five children, of whom two are now living: Helen I., a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, who has attained a local reputation as a contralto singer, and also as a pianist; Herbert, a telegraph operator in Chicago for the C. M. & St. P. R. R .; Harry, who died when twenty-two years old; James A., deceased in infancy; and Itana B., who died when sixteen years old of typhoid pneumonia.
BENJAMIN B. HOILES, deceased, was for a number of years one of the most prominent and influential agriculturists of Montgomery township. He was a native of Ohio, born in Georgetown, Columbiana county, September 18, 1825, and was a son of Joshua and Rachel Hoiles, who moved to Alliance, Ohio, when our subject was quite small, making their home in what is now known as Mount Union, a part of that city. In religious belief they were Friends, and were origi- nally from Philadelphia, Penn. The father never accumulated much of this world's goods, but was an industrious, honest man, who was employed mostly at day labor in clearing land.
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