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 9
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In politics he is a Republican, and in religions belief is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Greek letter fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon, is a member of the board of education, is serving his second term as a member of the city council, and is, and has been for ten years, a member and the
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secretary of the board of managers of the Way Public Library. Mr. Hanson is a citi- zen of high standing, and a leading man a his community, end although rather reserved in disposition, is found on nearer acquaintance to be a most genial and companionable man. He is very domestic in his tastes, and although giv- ing much time and attention to the details of his business, and to matters concerning the public welfare, he finds his greatest happiness when sur- rounded by his books and family in his pleasant home.
GEORGE W. WILKINSON, one of the self-made men of Ohio, a prominent editor of Wood county, and a worthy representative citizen of North Bal- timore, is a native of the State, having been born March 15, 1859, in Logan county.
At an early age he was left an orphan, his father having died when he was an infant, suc- cumbing to exposure experienced at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, in 1862; after which, until he was eighteen years old, young George made his home with his grandfather, John G. Wilkinson, during which period he acquired a common-school education. Fully realizing he was not yet prop- erly equipped in an educational point of view,
for suitable life work, our subject, on leaving the home of his grandfather, went to Sidney, Ohio, where for three years he attended the public schools, at the end of which time he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed several years. For one year he had charge of the gram- mar department of public-school work at Deshler, and for two years he served as superintendent of schools of that place. During the year 1885-86 he leased and conducted the Deshler Flag, and then purchased the Beacon, of North Baltimore, which, under his able management, has become one of the leading journals of Wood county.
Politically, Mr. Wilkinson is a Republican, and a representative in his party. For several . years he has been a member of the County Cen- tral Committee, of which he has been chairman and secretary. He has also been several times a member of the executive committee, serving now in that capacity; is also serving as member of the County Election Board, by appointment from the Secretary of State, and is chairman of that board. Mr. Wilkinson has served four ternis as trustee of the North Baltimore Gas Co., during which time he was its secretary. At this writing he is president of the board of examiners of teachers, for the city of North Baltimore. He is also serving his second terin as secretary of the Buck- eye Press Association, of Ohio, an organization 1
of printers and editors, consisting of about two hundred members, he being one of the origi- ators of the association. He is a practical. artistic printer, and has one of the finest and best equipped offices in the State.
In 1885, Mr. Wilkinson was united in mar- riage with Miss Ella M. Thomas, daughter of Rev. A. C. Thomas, of North Baltimore, born April 21, 1868, and educated in the common schools of Ohio. Mrs. Wilkinson is a valuable assistant to her husband, being in perfect sym- pathy with his work, and taking editorial charge during his temporary absence. To their union have come two children, namely: Gerald T., born in 1889, and Claire W., born in 1892. Mrs. Wilkinson is a member of the M. E. Church, at North Baltimore, and she and her husband enjoy the highest regard of the best citizens of the com - munity in which they live.
GILBERT DUCAT, a wealthy retired agricultur- ist of Bowling Green, and a descendant of a well- known French-Canadian family, was born in Michigan, near the Ohio line, July 10, 1839.
His father, Joseph Ducat, was born in Detroit. Mich., in 1805, and on arriving at manhood he married a native of the same city, Miss Vic- toria Jacob. He was a farmer by occupation. and some years after his marriage came with his family to Ohio, locating first in Wood county. later removing to Ottawa county, where Mrs. Ducat died in 1864. The family soon after re- turned to Wood county settling in Liberty town- ship, and here, in 1871, the father died. Both par- ents were devout adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. Eleven children were born to them: Joseph, a resident of East Toledo; Exea, of Bowling Green: Alexander, deceased; Julius, de- ceased; John, of Rudolph, Wood county; Gilbert, our subject; Theodore, residing in Toledo, Ohio: Marshall, in Bowling Green; Frank, in Ducat. Wood county (named in honor of this family): and Frederick and Victoria, who both died in infancy.
Gilbert Ducat, our subject, spent his early life chiefly in Wood county. The conditions of pioneer life were not favorable to education, and he received no schooling; but good natural abili- ties enabled him to overcome in a measure this lack of opportunity for learning. On November 25, 1865, he was married to Miss Amelia Ganger. a lady of French-Canadian descent, who was born March 31, 1844, in Michigan, the daughter of Lewis and Olive (Roe) Ganger. At the age of thirteen she came with her parents to Rudolph. Wood county, where her father still lives at the
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DEo. H. Wilkinson
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age of seventy-seven. Her mother, who was born in 1818, died in 1890. Mrs. Ducat was the second of their eleven children. The eldest, Victoria, now deceased, was the wife of Julius Ducat. The third, Harriet, is the wife of Paul Groneau; Mary married Victor Puye; Matilda married Fred Crostalker, of Bowling Green; Ellen is the wife of Lewis Sanglier; George lives in North Baltimore, Wood county; Daniel, in Lib- erty township; Cyril, near Rudolph; and Napo- leon : the youngest child died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Ducat settled upon a farm in Liberty township after their marriage, where four chil- dren were born to them, none of whom lived to maturity except the third, Napoleon, who was born August 21, 1868, and is now at home. The names of the others with the dates of birth and death are as follows: Henry, born January 30. 1867, died February 9, 1868; Louis Franklin, born November 6, 1873, died in May, 1875; Abra- ham, born in 1869, died in 1882. Fortunately for our subject his farm lies within the "oil belt," and some years ago four wells were sunk upon it from which he has since derived a good income. In 1889 he retired from active business and re- moved to Bowling Green. He and his wife are faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church, as all their ancestors have been, and their wealth enables them to take an active part in many worthy enterprises. In politics Mr. Ducat is a Democrat.
ABNER CUMMINGS (deceased) was a prominent and representative citizen of Wood county, highly esteemned by all who knew him. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, April 23, 1829, and acquired his education in the public schools of that city. He afterward removed to Tontogany, Ohio, where he learned the carpenter's trade, and later entered eighty acres of land from the government in Washington township, and bought an additional eighty acres. This he operated and improved for a time, and then sold eighty acres and purchased the Crum farm of eighty acres. On selling this property, he removed to Haskins, where he pur- chased a farm of similar size, which is now the abode of his widow.
In 1855 Mr. Cummings was united in marriage with Christina Cameron, who was born in Cale- donia, N. Y., a daughter of James and Maria (Davis) Cameron, of Scotch and English descent. Our subject and his wife became the parents of six children: Helen, born June 29, 1858, now the wife of G. A. Repass; Lillie, born December 19, 1861, now the wife of Edward Conture, a railroad man, Toledo, Ohio; Lucy, born April 9, 1864;
Annette, born August 28, 1866; Fred, born March 12, 1870, and in 1892 married Jennie Jenson, by whom he has two children, the eldest, Lenore, born April 30, 1893, and Delos Abner, born Au- gust 28, 1896; and Mary, who was born Decem- ber, 1867, and died in 1869.
During the Civil war, Mr. Cummings enlisted in Company B, 144th O. V. I., under Capt. Black, and participated in a number of engagements. In politics he was a - Republican, served as trustee and supervisor of Weston township, and for a number of years was school director at Tontogany. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was superintendent of the Sun- day-school, and his many excellent qualities gain- ed him high regard. He died in 1878, respected by all who knew him. His widow still resides on the old homestead, and the family is one of prominence in the community. Mrs. Cummings is a member of the Methodist Church at Tonto- gany; her daughters are members of the Baptist Church, and their circle of friends is limited only by the circle of their acquaintances.
AMOS DEWESE, a well-known resident of Wes- ton township, was born August 18, 1823, in Paris township, Stark county, Ohio. The first ances- tor of the family of whom a record is given was Carl, the great-grandfather of our subject, who lived in Berks county, Penn., and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He had seven chil- dren-John, William, Elizabeth, Samuel, Powell, Thomas and David. His son Samuel became a captain in the Revolutionary army, and also served in the war of 1812, a biography of his life being published previous to his death.
Thomas Dewese, who was the grandfather of our subject, was born in Berks county, Penn., May 4, 1770. He was a school teacher in early life, and later became a farmer. He was married to Miss Catherine Bessey, who was born May 18, 1767, and they emigrated to Stark county, Ohio, in 1808, where they both died at advanced ages. Their children were as follows: (1) Lutice. was married July 7, 1808, to Jasper Daniels, who was a preacher in the Disciples Church. They emigrated to the West, and he died in Illinois; (2) Samuel, the father of our subject: (3) Elizabeth was married July 18, 1815, to John Wickerd (he died in Hancock county, Ohio, and she in Michi- gan); (4) Catherine became the wife of Thomas Ebe September 7, 1817, and both died in Wayne county, Ohio; (5) Sarah was married March 19, 1820, to Andrew Livingstone, and both died in Wayne county; (6) Martha W. married Christian Shiveley October 30, 1821, and both died in
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Wayne county; (7) Uriah married Mary Snyder ' February 22, 1824, and died in Stark county; (8) Rebecca married Isaac Kelley August 23, 1827, and she was accidentally burned to death (her husband removed to the West); (9) Thomas was married October 6, 1830, to Sarah Watkins. Thomas Dewese and two other families were the first pioneers who settled in Paris township, Stark county, Ohio.
Samuel Dewese, father of our subject, was born in Bucks county, Penn., March 5, 1793. and emigrated with his father's family in ISOS to Stark county, Ohio. On May 13, 1814, at the age of twenty, Mr. Dewese enlisted at the village of Canton, under Capt. James Drennan, for the war of 1812, and served under Gen. Harrison until the expiration of his term of service. He was discharged at Detroit, Mich., May 14, 1814. When first enlisted he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and from there to Fort Stephenson, now Fre- mont, arriving there the day after the battle, when the fort was so gallantly and successfully defended by Major Croghan. From this place his regiment was sent to Fort Ball, and. from there to the mouth of the Portage river; there the command took flat boats and crossed over the lake to Detroit. While at Detroit in the winter of 1814, Mr. Dewese was sent by order of Gen. Harri- son as a scout to the Thames river. The mis- sion was a difficult and dangerous one, but the young man accomplished his object. After his discharge Mr. Dewese returned home and labored on a farm. On May 16, 1815. he married Miss Sarah Boyer, who was born in Stark county February 19, 1798, and died August 6, 1824. They had six children, as follows: Margaret, born February 20, 1817, married Asa Hutchin- son, and was the mother of thirteen children. and died in Wood county; Thomas, July 26, 1818, died in Canton, Ohio, July 20, 1892; Caroline, May 10, 1820, was postmistress in Fork Top, Mecosta county, Mich., and was the oldest in- cumbent of that office in the State, when she lost the position in 1894; Amy, December 26, 1821, married James Hutchinson, and died in Bowling Green March 14, 1891; Amos, the subject of this sketch; the sixth child died in infancy. Mr. Dewese was married, a second time, November 16, 1828, taking for his wife Miss Annie Switzer, of Stark county, who died after the birth of twelve children, and was buried at Weston, Ohio. The children of the second marriage are as follows: Jesse died in Wood county, and left a family; Dennis died when a boy; Franklin died in child- hood; Mary Ann married John Wade, and died in Wood county; Noah died in childhood; Samuel
was a soldier in the Civil war, and resides in Michi- gan; Uriah, a farmer of Weston township, was also a soldier in the Civil war; Parmilla married W. Wade, and lives in Iowa; Gurselda is the wife of Charles Bassett, and lives in Weston: Chaun- cey died while a prisoner at Danville, Va., No- vember 6, 1864, during the Civil war. The other two children died in infancy.
Amos Dewese, the subject of this sketch, re- ceived but meager school advantages before coming to Wood county, and of his first experi- ences in this wilderness let the following article, written by him, for the Weston Herald, and pub- lished in 1883, speak for, itself:
DEWESE CORNERS, February 17, 1883. "Ed. Herald: As this day is my fortieth anniversary in Wood county, I will, with your permission, give your many readers a brief sketch of my first year of pioneer life in the county. I came here February 17, 1843. The snow was eighteen inches deep when I started from Han- cock county without one cent of money, but a few clothes, and a dry chunk of bread constituting my pack; my shoes out at the toes; and carrying a few books. In the evening I crossed the line and saw a hunter riding an old horse, to the tail of which was tied a large deer. I followed a trail and came to a Mr. Robbins', of Blooin town- ship, where I stayed all night. Early next morn- ing I started for Mr. Frankfanter's, at Bloom Centre, found my old friend Joseph Shelia, and made my home with him, and went to chopping to get me a pair of boots. Mr. S. and I rode through the woods to Risden and Rome (now Fostoria), for an axe. We found a few, but as they wouldn't trust either of us, we had to return without it. Then I went back to Hancock county, got my axe, and was rich. I took a job of a Mr. Buisey to chop seven acres, for which he gave me a rifle and some second-hand cloth- ing. I finished the job on March 24, when the mercury was twenty degrees below zero, that winter being still known as the ' hard winter.
" I began work for Mr. Solether April 1; snow and ice on the ground, and sleighing. He gave me a watch. While working there a Mr. Jona- than Stull came into the clearing. He had a bag on his shoulder with a peck of ears of corn that he had got from a Mr. Daniel Milbourn. Mr. Stull was much depressed and discouraged on account of the terrible hard winter. We talked of Adventism, as the Millerites said the end of the world was at hand. Mr. Stull said le prayed for it every day, as he had seen all the trouble he had wanted to sec. He said he had
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eight head of horses, and all had died; twenty- eight head of cattle and two hundred and sixty head of hogs, and all were dead. I had to pass Mr. Stull's cabin often. He told me that he had been married twelve years, and they had ten children, all of whom were almost nude. Not one had a full snit of clothes. They hadn't a bed nor a window in the house. He was the owner of a three-quarter section of good land. ' There,' said Mr. Stull, 'I have one peck of ears of corn in this sack, and when I take it home and grind it in the hand-mill, and mix it with water, bake and eat it with my wife and ten children, God knows where the next will come from. They must starve.' He wept like a child. [Mr. Stull was the founder of Jerry City. ]
"During my stay with Mr. Buissey I had to go to and from Mr. Shelia's. I had to pass a num- ber of cabins, forsaken and uninhabited. They looked gloomy enough, surrounded by ice and water and the dismal swamp. A number of wild hogs had taken possession of a new one which had belonged to a Mr. John Ford. They had piled in on top of each other, and there perished from cold and hunger. When out hunting for coons and minks, whenever we found hogs they were invariably dead. I next worked for Mr. Whitaker two weeks, and received $3.25 in June. Then I went to Milton Center, and cleared five acres for James Hutchinson for a pair of two- year-old steers. In July I went to James Bloom's. worked for Bloom and Henderson Carothers, helped cut forty-five acres of wheat, and cut and haul a hundred tons of tame prairie hay, for which I received one pair of boots and fifty cents in money - a sum total in money for the year, $3.75. In the beginning of the winter of the year 1843 I went to Ralph Keeler's to work for my board and go to school in the old log school- house in Weston. Mr. Keeler took sick, and as I had to take care of him and his stock, I lost the benefit of the school. I worked for him three months for twenty-five dollars, to take my pay out of the store.
"I will attempt to describe the old Taylor school house. It was located in the back part of the lot now owned by Mr. Henry, on Main street. It was true pioneer in style, with punch- eon floor, benches and desks made of the same. Round logs cut off, with ribs and weigh-poles to hold down the clapboards; windows, one row of glass, each eight by ten; writing desk, puncheon laid on pins driven in the wall. The teacher, Mr. Jesse Osborne, of New York State. received twenty-five cents a day, or five dollars a montli. The scholars were Miss Mary Taylor, George,
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Lewis, Thomas and William Taylor; Samuel McAtee, who lived with . Andrew Moorhouse; Olmsted, Amelia and Melicent Keeler. The teacher was paid by the parents, there being no school fund at that time. Mr. Taylor lost about forty-five head of cattle: Mr. Keeler seventy- five head, while the Sargents, Elsworth, Sauls- bury and Green lost about the same proportion during that terrible winter, never to be forgotten by the old settlers. Many had to move out of the Black Swamp before spring. So ended my first year as a PIONEER."
The vicissitudes of Mr. Dewese's early life were relieved by the sports of the hour, and he often engaged in the hunt and the chase when heavy game was abundant in the Black Swamp. He was not content, however, and yearned to cast his fate with the possibilities of the "Far West." He had all the preparations made to take a Western trip, when his father came to Wood county, entered land, and prevailed upon our subject to do the same and remain with him. True to a strong impulse of family unity that has been handed down to the latest genera- tion of the Dewese family, he allowed the par- ents' advice to prevail, and on March 1, 1851, he entered the land which forms a portion of his present magnificent estate. On this he built a log house and commenced to make general im- provements, and for two years kept "bachelor's hall." On November 3. 1853. Mr. Dewese was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Green, who was born Angust 17, 1829. in Liverpool, Eng- land, and came to this country with her parents in 1834.
Of this marriage three sons were born, of whom the following record is given: (1) William. born March 21, 1856, was married January 25, 1887, to Miss Caroline Elizabeth Sautter, who was born in Huron county, August 17. 1866. They have two children, Donald R., born Sep- tember 17, 1891; and Floyd M., born May 4. 1893. (2) George J., born April 30, 1858. was married November 29, 1881, to Miss Lucy Lee. whose birth took place January 7, 1864. They have one child, Sarah E., born January 20, 188 ;. When twenty-three years of age George J. en- tered the mercantile business in Weston under the firm naine of Oswald & Dewese, they being the successors of A. J. Mann. Two years later he sold out his interest and went to farming. which he carried on until June, 1885, when he was appointed postal clerk, his run being be- tween Toledo and Cincinnati. He hekt this position for about fifteen months when he re turned to agricultural pursuits, in which he finds
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his most congenial occupation, and now resides in a pleasant home on a portion of the Dewese estate, close to the suburbs of Weston. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the latter place. (3)*Amos R., the youngest son of our subject, was born Angust 24, 1865. He is unmarried, and assists his father in the manage- ment of his estate.
Of the many pioneer couples whose names link the present advanced state of affairs in Wood county with its most primitive conditions, none have taken a more active part in the prog- ress made than Mr. and Mrs. Dewese, and but few have been spared to such a ripe and health- ful old age as this worthy pair, who still retain all their faculties and evince that eager interest in passing events which they manifested in the vigor of life. The following account of their silver wedding is taken from a Toledo paper:
"At an early hour last evening, November 7, 1878, the many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Dewese began to gather at their elegant residence, about two miles north of Weston, until about from seventy to ninety guests had assembled to participate in the festivities of the occasion, and to congratulate the happy couple upon the joyful return of the twenty-fifth anniversary of their wedding day. We must say that a more pleasant company it was never our good fortune to wit-
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ness. Every one seemed to catch and imbibe some of the happiness of the bride and groom. As we wandered through the elegant home of our .. hosts, and noticed the gentlemanly deportment and manly bearing of their sons, and the marks of comfort and luxury on every hand, and thought that twenty-five years ago the then young bride and groom, in what was then almost a wilder- ness, with no other fortune than brave, honest and willing hands, with no other wealth but in- dustry, integrity and economy, had grappled as pioneers with poverty and nature's unbroken soil, we could not refrain from admiring the work of a quarter of a century, and almost envied the wedded pair their joy as they looked back over the twenty-five years of their happy union. After an hour and a half spent in social greetings, friendly congratulations and kindly expressed wishes of future happiness for the bride and groom, the company assembled in the parlors, and the Rev. M. L. Donahey.invoked upon the happy couple the blessing of God, and in a neat and appropriate speech, in behalf of the donors, pre- sented to thein the many beautiful gifts of their friends, to which Mr. Dewese, with his wife lean- ing upon his arm (with as much of happiness and less of doubt than twenty-five years before), re-
sponded with a grateful acknowledgement. After some good music and singing, the company gathered around the bountifully spread tables and partook of a repast, which they all seemed to enjoy. Then, after a little more chatting, a little more visiting, a little more singing, and (alas in some instances, we are informed) a little more flirting, the guests scattered to their re- spective homes, each one saying, 'What a pleasant time we have had;' 'How nicely every- thing passed off.'"
Honorable citizenship with financial independ- ence has been the ambition of Mr. Dewese, and that this has been more than satisfied is easily learned in Wood county. There is no name in the county better known than his, nor is there a home more abundantly filled with the choicest products of the earth. The hospitality of the Dewese family is known far and near, and as agriculturists they are accepted authorities for miles around. Two of the sons live with their par- ents on the old homestead, which is a palatial resi- dence erectedin 1877. The harmony that exists in the family is remarkable; the interest of one is the interest of all, and although each of the sons has an individual property of his own, the main estate is held in common. The sons of Mr. Dewese received only a common-school education. as did their father, but the breadth and scope of their reading, and their original manner of think- ing, make them among the best informed people of Wood county. As samples of physical man- hood, these men have certainly no equal in any one family in the county, the father having the frame of a giant, and the smallest of the three sons weighing one hundred and ninety pounds.
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