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 79
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
Mr. Phillips was born in Trumbull county, March 18, 1838, and was five years old at the time of the removal to Sandusky county, where the advantages in schooling were indeed limited at that day. His education is practically self-ac- quired, and his sympathy with the movement to
secure better schools for the rising generation is doubtless the result of his own restrictions. When a boy he went three years on crutches, and had a narrow escape from losing his left linib entirely. At twenty years of age he began to work for others, and August 20, 1860, he assumed the re- sponsibilities of married life, his bride being Miss Marian Baker, who was born December 20, 1843. a daughter of Henry Baker. Ten children were born of this union: Wilbert, June 14, 1861, is a farmer in Scott township, Sandusky county; Zerusha, January 22, 1863, is the wife of Frank Smith, of Cleve, Tenn .; Mary E., March 4, 1865. married David Loc, of Scott township; Delbert. April 18, 1867, lives at Risingsun; John A., Feb- ruary 22, 1869, is a resident of Perry township; Retta J., July 29, 1871, died April 18. 1873; David F., November 2, 1873, died in November. 1875; George H., December 10, 1875, is a car- ponter by trade; Charles, July 9, 1877, is at home, and Daisy B., August 30, 1878, lives in Fostoria. The mother of this family died December 30. 1878, and her remains now rest in Trinity ceme- tery. Scott township, Sandusky county.
On December 10, 1879, Mr. Phillips formed a second matrimonial union, this time with Miss Hannah Ash, who was born June 20, 1852, in Bedford county, Penn. Her parents, Emanual and Elizabeth (Rose) Ash, came to Wood county in October, 1859, locating in. Perry township. where her mother died. Of her eleven children Mrs. Phillips was the fifth child and second daughter. Mr. Ash married a second wife, Eliza Cessna, who bore no children. He was an ex- cellent farmer. and owned over two hundred acres of land. On December 6, 1885, he departed this life, and his interment took place in the cem- etery at Fostoria. Mr. Phillips has two daugh- ters by his second marriage: Elsie M., born De- cember 7, 1880; and Rose Ellen. born January 27, 1883, both at home.
The first farm owned by Mr. Phillips was an eighty-acre tract in Section 25, Montgomery township, Wood county, for which he went in debt. Later he went back to Sandusky county. and after a short time came to his present farm. In 18; t he settled upon his present farin in Sections 25 and 26, Montgomery township, near Rising- sun, purchasing eighty acres at first, to which he has made additions until he now owns is6 acres of excellent land. His improvements are of a very high order, his residence, built in 1803. be- ing elegant and commodions. Ile is known as a shrewd and careful business man, and he is now engaged in settling his father's estate. Zealous in his duties as a citizen, he never fails to express
56
882
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
his convictions at the polls, voting the Demo- cratic ticket; but he does not seek political place for himself, although he has served as supervisor. He is active in local improvements, and was a member of the school board of Risingsun when the new school house was built.
WILLIAM R. BARTON, a prominent educator, now residing near Grand Rapids, was born in Killbuck township, Holmes county, September 17, 1848. His family is of German origin, and his ancestors emigrated at an early date to Penn- sylvania where his grandfather, Samuel Barton, was born. He married Elizabeth Read, of Ire- land, and settled upon a farm in Jefferson county, Ohio. In later years he moved to Holmes coun- ty, and from thence in IS48 to Wood county, where he purchased forty acres of land in what is now Grand Rapids township, on which he made his home until his death in 1855, at the age of seventy-eight.
Hugh Barton, our subject's father, was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1812, and grew to manhood in Holmes county. In 1833 he was married there to Miss Sarah Garwood, a native of the same county, who was born in Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, in 1814. They came to Wood county in 1850, and both died at the old homestead in 1884. Twelve children were born of their union: Elizabeth, deceased; Nancy J., the wife of William Keller, of Grand Rapids township; Margaret deceased; James, who died in Libby prison, in December, 1863; Lavinia, deceased; Sarah A., deceased, formerly the wife of John Ervin; Matilda J., deceased; William R., our subject; Samuel R., a farmer of Grand Rap- ids township; Harvey K., a farmer in Alabama; Silas R., who conducts the old homestead; and John V., a farmer in Grand Rapids township.
Prof. Wmn. R. Barton attended the district schools near the old farm during his early boy- hood, and later studied at Grand Rapids, and in Lebanon, Ohio, taking the classical and scientific courses in the latter place and graduating in 1879 with the degrees of A. B. and B. S. He taught as professor in graded schools for twenty-two years in parts of Ohio, and also in Kentucky. In 1864 he enlisted, at the age af fifteen, in Com- pany I, 144th O. V. I., with Capt. McKee, and participated in several battles. July 9, 1864, he was wounded in the right leg at Monocacy, and, after seven weeks in a hospital, he returned home and resumed the work of teaching. In politics Prof. Barton is a Republican, but he has never sought or held public office.
On April 2, 1878, he was married at Leban-
on, Ohio, to Miss Nettie Manson, a native of Portsmouth, N. H., born March 15, 1852. They had two children: Sprague, born May 19, 1879, died July 14, ISSo; and Clara B., born November 20, 1885, died July 20, 1887. Prof. Barton bought a farm of forty acres in 1885, added many substantial improvements, making one of the pleasantest residences in the township, mental culture and genial manners combining with out- ward attractions to create an ideal home. He recently sold this forty-acre farm, and purchased fifty acres one and one-fourth miles southeast of the town of Grand Rapids.
SIDNEY GREELEY, an honored resident of this county, is now carrying on agricultural pursuits in Jackson township, where he owns a valuable farm of eighty acres, whose many improvements stand as monuments to his thrift and enterprise. A native of Lorain county, Ohio, he was born February 16, 1848, and is a son of Abel Greeley. who was born in Weston, Vt., and when twenty- one years of age removed to Ohio. He located in Carlisle township, Lorain county, where he married Amanda Sweet, and carried on farining until after the death of his wife in ISS5. The following year he sold his farm, and has since lived with his children, being now with a son in Michigan. In politics he is an unswerving Demo- crat. The family numbered the following named members: Charles, of Milton Center, Ohio, who died June 8, 1896; Julius, who was killed in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., during the Civil war: Russell, who died in the hospital at Memphis, Tenn., while in the Union army; Emily, wife of Ben Campbell, of San Francisco, Cal. ; Albert, who died in infancy; Horace, who died at the age of eighteen; Alva, who works in the steel plant in Lorain county, Ira, a farmer of Kalamazoo coun- ty, Mich. ; Elbert, a carpenter in Lorain county. who died December 6, 1895; D. Abel. a farmer of Michigan; and Frank, of Holgate, Ohio.
Mr. Greeley, of this sketch, acquired a district school education in his native county, and to his father gave the benefit of his services on the home farm until his seventeenth year. Our subject worked as a farm hand for about two years, and then removed to Michigan, where he was em- ployed in the lumber woods for two years. On the expiration of that period, he came to Wood county, and purchased forty acres of land in Mil- ton township, entirely destitute of improvements, but he continued its development until 1874. when he sold that property. In the spring of 1875. he purchased his present farm of eighty acres, in Jackson township, and has made upon
1
. ..
t
868
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
it many excellent improvements, including the erection of a comfortable home and substantial barns. The fields are well tilled, and indicate the careful supervision of the owner, and at the same time yield to him a golden tribute.
Mr. Greeley was married in Milton Center, Ohio, September 9, 1874, to Cynthia Keiffer, who was born April 27, 1849, in Hocking coun- ty, Ohio. They have one child, Melvin. In politics, our subject is a stalwart Republican, and capably served for two years as township trustee. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, at Custar, Ohio; the Masonic fraternity at Grand Rapids, Ohio; the Odd Fellow's Lodge at Milton Center; and the Grand Army Post at Custar. His public and private life are alike above re- proach, and Wood county numbers him among its valued citizens.
ISAAC SMITH, a prominent farmer of Web- ster township, was born February 27, 1831, near Harrisburg, Penn. Abraham Smith, his father, was a native of the same State, born in 1806. He was married in 1826 to Miss Elizabeth Shutt, and in 1837 moved to Crawford county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives upon a farm. Ten children were born to them: Josiah; Urias; Isaac, our subject; Eliza, the wife of An- drew Deppler: Lavinia, deceased; Simon, de- ceased: Matilda, deceased: William, deceased: Caroline, the wife of George White, of Galion, Ohio; and Sullena, wife of John Hayes, of Sul- phur Springs, Ohio.
Mr. Smith's early life was passed mainly in Crawford county, where he attended school dur- ing the winter months, and in summer helped to clear and cultivate his father's land. In 1860 he came to Wood county. and bought land in Web- ster township, which he has improved and made into a fine farm, with a dwelling house costing $1,800, and barns built upon modern principles. He enlisted early in the Civil war in Company F, 144th O. V. I. (Capt. Cook and Col. Miller com- manding), and served one hundred days, receiv- ing his discharge at Columbus, August 24, 1864.
On October 21, 1858, Mr. Smith was mar- ried, at Bucyrus, to Miss Susan Wolf, a native of that place, born October 11, 1836. She was one of the eleven children of Michael Wolf. a well-known citizen of Crawford county, a shoe- maker, mason. and farmer by occupation. Two children were born of this union: ( 1) Mary E., born in Crawford county, March 27, 1860, mar- ried William Phillips, and has two children, El- norah and Walter. (2) John Andrew, born January 27, 1862, died February 1, 1865. The
family attend the Presbyterian Church, and take a prominent part in various lines of social and religious life. Mr. Smith's industry, thrift. and sound business judgment give him a high stand- ing among those who know him. In politics he is a Democrat.
JOHN E. CLARK, a prominent business man of Weston, and the proprietor of a leading grocery store there, was born in Milton township, March 21, 1840. His grandfather, John Clark. was a native of New York State, and came to Ohio in 1827, locating iu Seneca county, where he died in the spring of 1851. His ancestors had been early residents of New York, and among his pos- sessions was a silk handkerchief over one hundred years old, and which is now the property of John E. Clark. Alvin Clark, our subject's father, was born in the same State at Mecklenburg, August 15, 1815. They were married in Seneca county, Ohio, where both had come with their respective families at about the same time. In 1836 they moved to Milton township, in this county, and settled upon land which had been entered by John Clark in 1822. Alvin Clark was one of the substantial citizens of his locality, an Old-line Whig in early life, and afterward a Republican. and he was a member of the Presbyterian Church. as were his ancestors before him. He died in 1872. His wife, who still survives him, at the age of eighty years, is a Methodist, to which faith our subject also adheres. He was the third in a family of six children, the others being as follows: Elizabeth is the widow of Henry Atkins, of Tiffin, Ohio; Emeline is the widow of Byron Baldwin. of Weston; Anna is the deceased wife of George Pore, of Loudonville. Ohio; Daniel, is a resident of Weston; and Ella is the wife of Edward H. Baggelly.
Our subject received his first instruction in a log school house in his district, and later attended the public schools of Tiffin and Defiance. In 1858, after clerking a few years, he opened a store in Weston, dealing in groceries and other supplies. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B. IlIth O. V. I., and served in Kentucky, in the army of the Ohio; but was taken sick and dis- charged for disability in December, 1862. Re- turning home, he resumed business after his recovery, keeping a general store which is now the oldest mercantile establishment in the town. and enjoys a well-earned reputation for enter- prise and fair dealing. He has engaged in other lines, being at one time a large shipper of stock. and he now owns and cultivates 188 acres of land. He is a director of the Exchange Bank ot
884
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
-
Weston. On January 1, 1866, he married Miss Sarah Bonney. who was born in Penn Yan, N. Y., August 11, 1845, and they have had five chil- dren, two of whom -- Samuel C. and Glenn-died in childhood; the others are: William L., born December 17, 1867, now living in Toledo (he married Miss Jennie Rosenberger December 6, 1887, and has two children, Joy and John); Edson, born May 9, 1872, was married to Miss Jessie Harrison, September 18, 1895: and Alvin, born April 20, 1882, is at home. Mr. Clark is an influential Republican, and a member of the G. A. R., and of the K. of P., Kenilworth Lodge No. 340, Weston, Ohio.
Benjamin Bonney, grandfather of Mrs. Clark, was a native of Connecticut, whence, in 1801, he moved to Madison county, N. Y., where was born, November S. 1813, his son Lester, father of Mrs. Clark. In 1817 the family moved to Penn Yan, N. Y., where, on December 31, 1842, Lester married Miss Caroline Merritt, of Hamn- mondsport, N. Y., and on October 18, 1863, they came to Weston, Ohio. To them were born six children, as follows: Adelbert, who married Miss Frances Hubble, of Monroeville, Ohio, and they now live in Missouri: Sarah L. (Mrs. Clark) comes next; Lucy J., married to John W. Brownsberger, of Weston; Jethro, who was accidentally killed on the railroad October 4, 1879, while in the employ of the L. E. & W. R. R., at Elliott, Ill .; Merritt H., who married Miss Phoebe Elliott. of Martin's Ferry, Ohio, and is now living in Weston; and James F., who died in infancy.
F. G. SWARTZ, one of the active, prominent and enterprising citizens of Montgomery town- ship, is quite extensively engaged in general farming in Section 18. He is a native of Wood county, born in Troy township, April 21. 1858, where his parents, John and Dora Swartz, lo- cated on their emigration from Germany, their native land. They made a home in this new country, clearing and developing the land, and there reared their family of six children. They are still living, and have the esteem of all who know them.
with the exception of one summer, when he worked for his uncle, Jacob Swartz, in LaGrange township, Lorain Co., Ohio. On April 15, 1886, Mr. Swartz married Miss Annie Hastings, who was the daughter of R. C. Hastings, a highly re- spected citizen of Montgomery township. She died the following year, and her remains werein- terred in Rochester cemetery. In Freedom town- ship, Wood county, our subject was again mar- ried, on January 31, 1889, his second union being with Miss Mary Ruch, who was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, June 18. 1865, and is the daughter of Peter and Mary (Messer) Ruch. In that country her father was employed as a butch- er, and in 1872 brought his family thence to the United States, sailing from Havre, France. At the end of nine days they landed safely in New York, whence they came to Wood county, the father purchasing sixty acres of land in Webster township, where he and his worthy wife still re- side. In his family are nine children, one son and eight daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have two children-William L., born June 5. 1890; and John Arthur, born June 25, 1895.
In February, 1883, Mr. Swartz bought seven- ty-four acres of land in Section 18. Montgomery township, paying $25 per acre for the saine, which was then in its primitive condition, and not a building of any kind stood upon the place. He at once began the work of improvement, clearing away the timber, and placing the land under cul- tivation, and spent a portion of three winters in a little shanty, keeping . bachelors hall " while he was developing his land. He encountered on his farm the same conditions that the earliest settlers were forced to meet. The land was heavily timbered, and of the character of all the wild land in the " Black Swamp." However, he went in- dustriously to work, and has transformed the place into one of the best farms of the community. making every improvement thereon, so that it now stands a monument to his titrift, enterprise and persistent efforts. The buildings are of a substantial character, and in 1896 he erected an excellent new barn. He is a man of the strictest integrity and reliability, and is regarded as a valued citizen, progressive and public-spirited.
Our subject, being the eldest of the children, was called upon at an early age to assist in the S. S. LONG. Among the wide-awake and en- terprising citizens of Prairie Depot, this gentle- man holds a leading position. He is a native of Wood county, born in Section 34. Montgomery township. November 25, 1857, and a son of John W. and Elizabeth (Sampsel) Long. During his boyhood he attended the district school near liis work of the farm. His educational privileges were consequently limited, and at the age of eighteen his school days were over His father could always find plenty of work for his five sons, and under his able guidance our subject became a thorough and painstaking agriculturist. Until his marriage he remained upon the home farin, , home, his first teacher being Emma Gould. He
1
885
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
remained upon the farm where his birth occurred until his marriage, with the exception of the one season, when, at eighteen years of age, he worked elsewhere.
In October, 1882, Mr. Long led to the mar- riage altar Miss Sarah M. Gangwer, of Montgom- ery township, who bore him one son, Virgil, who died in infancy. The mother's death occurred October 22, 1883, and they were buried together. In Michigan, May 25, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Long and Miss Lettie A. Algyre, who was born in Fremont, Ohio, May 24, 1868, and is the daughter of David H. and Sarah (Kel- ler) Algyre. After his marriage, Mr. Long lo- cated on the home farm, but shortly afterward removed to Prairie Depot, where he remained until 1890. He next lived upon his farm in Sec- tion 34, Montgomery township, but since Octo- ber, 1894, he has made his home in Prairie Depot, occupying his comfortable and handsome resi- dence on Maple street. He has done consider- able contract work in Wood, Seneca and San- dusky counties, building bridges for township and county authorities, and has also been extensively engaged in ditch contracting. He still owns the home farm of sixty acres in Montgomery township, and also forty acres of land in Somerfield town- ship, Monroe Co., Michigan.
Mr. Long takes an intelligent and earnest in- terest in public affairs, and is active in promoting every scheme that will in any way benefit the town. He upholds the principles of the Repub- lican party, but takes no prominent part in polit- ical affairs; and he is eminently worthy of the trust and high regard in which he is held by his fellow-citizens. A thorough business man-his success is entirely due to his own unaided efforts, and be justly ranks among the representative self- niade men of Wood county.
J. W. UNDERWOOD, the well-known assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Bowling Green, was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, October 2, 1858. His father, the late Gideon Underwood, was born August 22, 1820, in Law- rence county, Penn. His mother, Mrs. Margaret (McMahan) Underwood, was a native of Lowell, Mahoning Co., Ohio, born in 1822, and is still living in Center township, where she has had her home since November, 1861.
The subject of this sketch was but three years old when his parents came to Wood coun- ty, and he obtained his early education in the country schools near his home, and in the graded schools of Portage. At an early age he became a clerk in a drug store at Bowling Green,
and after serving in tliat capacity three years, went to Weston and engaged in the drug busi- ness on his own account, in partnership with Dr. Ranger. Two years afterward he sold out his interests there and came back to Bowling Green, becoming a partner with Dr. Lincoln in a similar enterprise, to the building up of which business he devoted himself for five years, and then he disposed of his share, and bought a farm in Plain township which he still owns. He mar- ried a native of that township, Miss Allie J. Hartman, a daughter of John Hartman, and he built on his property a pleasant and commodi- ous residence, which they occupied for some time But the busy marts of trade are more congenial to Mr. Underwood than the solitude of farm life, and, after spending some months in im- proving his land, he again engaged in the drug business with a brother-in-law, at Weston, under the firmn name of Underwood & Hartman. Seven months later he sold out and returned to Bowl- ing Green, where he has since remained. The work of selling out the stock of a grocery store occupied some time, and then, in March, 1891, he assumed the duties of bookkeeper in the First National Bank, of which he became assistant cashier January 1, 1893. He possesses excellent business judgment, and holds the entire con- fidence of the stockholders and the community. Still young, he has the best of his life before him, and is regarded as one of the "coming men " in this locality.
Mr. and Mrs. Underwood are members of the Methodist Church, and are among the leaders in the social and philanthropical activities of the city. They have two daughters, Stella and Esther. Mr. Underwood is a member of the I. O. O. F.
JAMES M. FORRESTER. The fine farm occu- pied by our subject in Center township, invariably attracts the eye of the passing traveler, as being under the supervision of a thorough and skillful agriculturist, and a man of good business qualities. The residence of Mr. Forrester in Wood county, dates from his birth, which occurred May 8, 1859. and he is a son of Thomas Forrester, a native of Scotland.
The district schools of Webster township afforded our subject his educational privileges, and on completing his literary studies he gave his entire time to the operation of his father's farm until :886, when he bought izo acres of land in Center township. This he has since cultivated and improved with excellent buildings, and there are found all the conveniences that go to make
886
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
up a model farm of the 19th century. Besides his rich fields of grain he has a good orchard, and the place yields him a bountiful return for the care and labor he expends upon it.
On June 8, 1886, James M. Forrester was married to Miss Iona Ickes, the only daughter of Levi Ickes, of Webster township, Wood county. Their union has been blessed by the birth of a son-Hugh, born on September 28, 1890, and a daughter-Lola, born May 5, 1896. Mr. For- rester is numbered among the most industrious and enterprising farmers of the county where his entire life has been passed, and those who have known him longest are numbered among his stanchest friends. He filled the position of school director for four years, and is at present trustee of his township.
JOHN W. CLEMENS, who is now living retired on his farm in Portage township, is a native of Ohio, born March 18, 1844, in Loudon town- ship, Seneca county, a son of Daniel Clemens.
Daniel Clemens came to Ohio when a young man, from western Pennsylvania. He entered land in the woods of Seneca county, where he married Hannah Kizer, and there lived for some years, coming with his family to Wood county when our subject was a mere child. He had bought eighty acres of new land in Section 26, Portage township, near Six Points, and as there was no house on this place, the family lived with a neighbor until a board shanty was erected. At this time the old corduroy road was the only one leading to Six Points, and the entire country was sparsely settled and unimproved. Mr. Clemens commenced at once to clear his land, also following his trade of shoemaker, which he worked at evenings on a bench in the corner of their shanty.
In those days each customer would bring his own leatlier, and the work was usually paid for in farm labor or provisions. Mr. and Mrs. Clemens were the parents of four- teen children, four sons and ten daughters, all of whom lived to maturity but Charles, who died in infancy, and only three of the others are now deceased-Jacob, Charles and Delilah. The parents both lived to advanced ages, dying when seventy and seventy-two years old, respectively, and both are buried in Mt. Zion Church cemetery.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.