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. 3 > Part 11
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On November 1, 1855, Mr. Brooks was mar- ried in Bloom township, Wood county, to Miss Catherine Walker, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, and was twelve years old when her parents, Adam Walker and wife, removed to Wood county. She died in May, 1875. and was
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buried in the Weaver cemetery, in Bloom town- ship. On January 6, 1876, Mr. Brooks was again married, his second wife, who is still living, being Miss Matilda Walker, who was born Feb- ruary 9, 1848, in Bloom township, daughter of Andrew and Nancy (Fellows) Walker. They have four children-George, Fannie, Clarence and Herbert, all living at home.
Mr. Brooks is in sympathy with the Demo- cratic party, although he is no partisan, and looks more to the character of the men who run for office than to any party affiliations. His wife is a member of the United Brethren Church, and, although not a Church member himself, he con- tributes liberally to religious enterprises and charitable objects. In many respects he is a remarkable man. Without any schooling, he has accomplished what many a man of education has failed to do, and his reputation for honesty and upright dealing is known throughout the county. He is one of the most industrious men living, and is considered one of the best citizens of the community.
JAMES W. WILLIAMS, M. D., Weston, was born February 3, 1849, in Delaware county, Ohio, whence about a year later his father moved to Hancock county.
When our subject was eight years old his mother died, and he returned to Delaware county to live with his uncle, Joseph C. Cole. About the year 1864 his father married again, and young James returned to Hancock county, where he taught school for one term, later attending Findlay Union Schools, graduating, after four years, from the Normal department thereof. For one year he taught in the grammar depart- ment of the Findlay Union Schools, then attend- ed the Normal School at Worthington, Ohio. Later he taught in Prospect, Marion county, and in the district schools of Delaware county, in the meantime occupying his leisure moments in read- ing medicine. In Delaware, Ohio, he was asso- ciated with his uncle, Ephraim Llewellen, M. D., in the drug business, and studied with him. After his preliminary preparation he sold his in- terest in the store to his uncle, and went to Cin- cinnati, where, in 1874, he again attended school, graduating in May, 1875. After looking around, he finally located at Weston, and in June, 1875, opened an office. In 1884 our subject went to Chicago, and took the practitioner's course in Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, de- riving considerable benefit from visiting various hospitals, including Cook County and Mercy Hospitals. He then returned to Weston, where
he has since continued the practice of his pro- fession.
Politically the Doctor is a Republican, and has held the office of mayor for one term, was a member of the council, a justice of the peace. and a member of the school board, at present holding the office of township trustee. In relig- ious faith he is identified with the Presbyterian Church. Socially he is affiliated with the follow- ing societies : Weston Lodge No. 560, F. & A. M., of Weston; I. O. O. F., Weston Lodge No. 681; Subordinate Lodge and Columbian En- campment No. 274 (representing this district in the Grand Lodge of Ohio); Kokosing Lodge No. 303, Daughters of Rebekah; the Ohio Home- opathic Medical Society, and the North Western Ohio Homeopathic Medical Society.
On January 17, 1878, Dr. Williams was mar- ried to Miss Mary M. Murphy, and their children are: Sarah Edna, born April 2, 1879, and May M., born September 2, 1882. Mrs. Williams died March 26, 1885, and on September IS. ISSS, our subject was married at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, to Miss Devella E. Starr, by which union there are three children: Elda, born September 2, 1889; Ruth. born August 1, 1892, and Nehemiah Starr, born November 4, 1895.
The Williams family trace their ancestry back to Nehemiah Williams, great-grandfather of our subject, who was born May 5, 1737. in New York State. From information received by Dr. Williams from the War Department at Washing- ton, it appears that Nehemiah Williams, during the Revolutionary war, was enlisted August 6, 17-, as a sergeant in Capt. Christian Getman's company of Rangers, known as the Second Com- pany of Tyrone, N. Y. This company was re- viewed August 29, 1776, by Isaac Paris, muster- master, and on that muster roll the name of Ne- hemiah Williams appears as sergeant. It also appears that he was appointed a sergeant March 8, 1777, in Capt. Giles Wolcott's company, in the battalion of Continental forces commanded by Col. Seth Warner, and his name is borne on the rolls to include June, 1779. Some time after the latter date Nehemiah Williams removed to Wash- ington county, Va., and about the year Ist; came with his wife and three children to Olio. settling in Troy township, Delaware comty. where he died October 20, 1821. By occupation he was a farmer. His wife, Mary, was born in Ireland, March 14, 1759, and died in Troy town- ship, Delaware Co., Ohio, May 21, 1822. Their eldest sou, James grandfather of our subject . was born March 2. 1800, and died in 1824. He married Saralı Cole, and two sons were born to
James Wright Williams
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them: Nehemiah and James, the latter of whom died when a young man. Both were farmers by occupation.
Nehemiah Williams, father of our subject, was born September 27. 1822, and lived in Dela- ware county until twenty-six years of age, when he moved to Orange township, Hancock county, there passing the remainder of his life. He died March 17, 1895, on the same farm which was held by a patent presented to him from the Pres- ident of the United States, and which never changed its title until just before his death, when it was divided among his children. He was twice married, first time on December 30, 18.47, to Janet Trindle, who was born March 9, 1830, and died August 23, 1857. Their children were: James W., our subject; Joseph, born July 20, 1851, died March 7, 1865; Sarah Ann, born July 12, 1853, died April 4, 1876; and Emma, born October 21, 1855, died July 7, 1884. For his second wife, Nehemiah Williams, in the fall of 1864, married Catherine Longworth, and they have seven children: Hugh, who lives in the old home in Hancock county; Mary (Mrs. Henry Foltz), of North Baltimore; Jesse, a farmer, liv- ing on part of the old farm; George, also a farmer, residing on part of the old farmn; Mattie, wife of Jesse Agin, who is a farmer in Hancock county; Ada, wife of L. Heite, a farmer in Wyandot county, Ohio; and Floyd, who is still unmarried, and lives on a part of the old homestead. The father of this family, when a seventeen-year-old boy, united with the Marlboro Regular Baptist Church, and continued a member of the Regular Baptist Church to the day of his death. In his political predilections he was a Republican,
R. B. ROGERS. Prominent in the history of Wood county are the representative business men and enterprising farmers, and among them is the subject of this personal history. He was for sev- eral years engaged in the sawmill business, but now devotes his energies to agricultural pursuits. in which he is meeting with well-deserved success. A native of England, he was born in Cornwall, April 24, 1854, and is the third child of William and Margaret (Baker) Rogers, the others being William, a farmer of Lake township; Anna, who was the wife of Morris Marsh, and died in Lucas county, Ohio; and Ellen, now Mrs. Robert Tip- laday, of Lake townslrip.
The mother died in England. and with the hope of giving his children a better start in life, the father resolved to emigrate to the New World in the spring of 1863. In May the family em- barked on the steamer .. Kangaroo, " at Plymouth,
and fifteen days after leaving Queenstown, Ire- land, they landed at New York. Their destina- tion was Lorain county, Ohio, where for four years the father rented a farm in Pittsfield town- ship; in 1867 he purchased eighty acres of new land in Lake township, Wood county, which was entirely unimproved, not even a road being laid out to his place, the most of which was under water. Two of his children, William and Anna, accompanied him to Wood county, but our sub- ject and his sister Ellen remained with relatives in Lorain county until 1871. Here the father was again married, his second union being with Mary White, and they now have a pleasant home in Lake township, the land having been converted into a highly cultivated and desirable farm. He has been quite successful in his business transac- tions, securing a comfortable competence, and still superintends the management of his affairs, although he has reached the age of seventy-seven years.
Mr. Rogers, of this sketch, began his educa- tion in the subscription schools of England, and then attended the government schools, where a tuition was paid. He was about nine years of age when brought to the United States, and, with the exception of two years spent at the home of his uncle, Edward Rogers, in Pittsfield, Lorain county, he remained with his father until the age of sixteen. For one year he was then employed on government work in Toledo, after which he entered the sawinill business, being thus engaged for several years, with the exception of six months spent in Missouri at farm labor and threshing, where he had gone in the spring of 1878. It was in the early part of 1888, that Mr. Rogers removed the sawmill, in which he owned a third interest, to the north half of the northwest quarter of Section 13, Bloom town- ship, in the midst of timber, where he began to fell the trees and manufacture lumber. Two years previous to the time, J. B., T. A., and R B. Rogers had purchased the eighty acres of land where the sawmill was afterward located. In the fall of 1890, J. B. Rogers sold his inter- est to the other members of the firm, and in Auf- gust, 1895, our subject disposed of his share in the mill to his partner, and bought the eighty acres of land, which he is now successfully operating.
On the 28th of November, 1883, in Monroe. Mich., Mr. Rogers married Miss Merilla Marsh. a native of Lake township, and a daughter of Lnke Marsh, a farmer. They have no children of their own, but have an adopted daughter. Flossie, who has made her home with them since
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the age of two years. In his political views Mr. Rogers is a Republican, and has served as a member of the school board of District No. 11, Bloom township. He is classed by his fellow- citizens as one of the public-spirited and repre- fentative men of the township, and the com- petence he has secured is the just reward of his own labors, as he has had to make his own way in life since the early age of fourteen years.
ISRAEL BOROUGHF was born in Sandusky coun- ty, Ohio, May 13, 1842, and is a son of Peter and Sophia (Felger) Boroughf. His parents were na- tives of Pennsylvania, but were married in Wayne county, Ohio, whence they afterward removed to Sandusky county. The mother died January 19, 1889, at the home of our subject. The children of the family were Eliza, who died in infancy; Eli, a machinist and engineer of Toledo, Ohio; Sarah, wife of James Daringer, of Richland coun- ty, Ohio; Israel; Mary Catherine, who died in girlhood; Caroline, deceased wife of Horatio Van- Tassel; and Samantha. who died at the age of eleven years. Frederick Boroughf, a member of the family, was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Our subject was a child of eleven years when the mother removed with her family to Bellevue, Huron county. In July, 1863, he enlisted in the ist Ohio Heavy Artillery, then went from Cin- cinnati to Covington, Ky., and on to the South. After the close of the war, he was honorably dis- charged in July, 1865, and arrived home on the Ioth of August. He has since followed agricul-
tural pursuits. His educational privileges were limited, but, through extensive reading and ex- perience, he has become a well-informed man. In February, 1866, he arrived in Wood county, where he worked as a farm hand for a time, and later operated land on shares. He was also employed in a brickyard near Weston for two seasons.
In Milton township, May 3, 1870, Mr. Bor- oughf married Miss Emma Jane Morehouse, who was born September 20, 1852, in Wood county. Their children are: Elmer, who is married, and lives in Milton township; Charles, Henry and Fred, at home; Carrie, who died at the age of seventeen months; and Lucy and John.
In 1874 Mr. Boroughf purchased sixteen acres of land, which he afterward sold, and rented a farin in Grand Rapids, for three years. His present home comprises forty acres in Section 11, Milton township, improved with good build- ings, while the well-tilled helds yield to him a comfortable income. He started out in life a poor boy, but diligence and unfaltering determi-
nation have secured to him a comfortable home. In politics he was formerly a Republican, but for ten years he has been a stalwart Prohibitionist.
WILSON HAMILTON, a prominent stockman and agriculturist of Montgomery township, was born in Richland county, Ohio, August 15, 1841, a son of Edward and Louisa (Miller) Wilson, who moved to Huron county when our subject was five years old. As they were poor, young Wilson's schooling was necessarily limited, for at an early age he was put to work on the farm, and remained at home until he was twenty years of age, working for as low wages as $4 per month.
On August 4, 1862, Mr. Hamilton enlisted at Havana, Huron county, in Company D, 10Ist O. V. I. under Capt. H. C. Sheldon. The regiment camped at Monroeville until September 4, of that year, then went to Cincinnati, and later to Kentucky, where its first battle was fought at Perryville. Our subject participated in all the engagements of his regiment until September 20. 1863, when he was wounded and taken prisoner at Chickamauga; for thirteen days he was confined at Crawfish Springs, Ga., and was then paroled and sent to the field hospital at Chattanooga, and later to Bridgeport, Ala., and Hospital 19, at Nashville; he was then sent to the parole camp at Columbus, Ohio, thence home on a furlough. At Camp Chase he was discharged in August, 1864, and returned home in a much-used-up con- dition; he, for one year, was engaged as a stage driver between Havana, Steuben, North Fair- field, Peru, and Norwalk, Ohio, making tri-weekly trips of forty-five miles a day. Previous to lo- cating at Prairie Depot, he had been in the gro- cery business on a small scale at Havana. In July, 1865, he was employed by Halladay & Owen in Huron county, and later became a partner in the firm, after which he became identified with the Toledo Wheel Co .. of Toledo, Ohio, and later had charge of their mill at Portage, Wood county. Returning to Huron county, he entered into partnership with E. P. Halladay in the lumber business, until 1890, which business is now conducted under the firm name of Halladay & Hamilton. This firm continued in the lumber business at Prairie Depot from 1871 to 1890. since which time they have been exclusively carrying on agricultural pursuits, and are among the most extensive farmers in Wood county.
On October 8. 1879. Mr. Hamilton was mar- ried to Miss Frances E. Spalding, h native of Michigan, and a daughter of Carlos Spalding. J farmer of Eaton county, Mich. The following children were born to them: Irma A., still at
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home; Louisa L., who died at the age of four years; Fanny A., and Wilson E. also at home. Mr. Hamilton is a Republican, and has held the offices of township treasurer, township clerk, mayor of Prairie Depot, member of the city coun- cil, and was appointed county commissioner to fill a vacancy, but declined to accept. He is a man who deserves great credit for the manner in which he has managed his business, and his success may be attributed to his thorough knowl- edge of all its details, no matter how trifling. He is quiet and unassuming, and is regarded as one of the representative business men of Wood county. He has one of the most luxuriously fur- nished homes in Prairie Depot, in which it is his pleasure to entertain his many friends and warm admirers.
BARNARD PHILLIPS, a farmer in good stand- ing in Washington township, successful as a tiller of the soil, and one who has been prominently identified with local affairs, is the proprietor of a fine farm of 120 acres, well improved and sup- plied with a good set of farm buildings. He is one of the pioneers of his township, and there the greater part of his life has been passed, aid- ing in all those interests calculated to promote the welfare of his local community, and the county at large. The Empire State has furnished many worthy citizens to Ohio, and not the least among these is our subject, who was born in Kinder- hook township, Columbia county, December 27, 1827. His father, John Phillips, was of German parentage, born in the town of Ghent, Columbia Co., N. Y., in 1805, and there he grew to man- hood. In New York he met and married the mother of Barnard, who bore the maiden naine of Elsie Van Valkenburg, and was of Holland origin. Their union was blessed with eleven children, who were named as follows: Almira, wife of Lemuel Johnson, of Massachusetts; Barn- ard; Eliza, who died in infancy; Jane E., a resi- dent of Evanston, Ill., and the widow of George Shaw; Sarah A., who is the widow of Lyman Chapman, and lives in Tontogany; William and Francis, both deceased; Caroline, wife of Daniel Huffman, of Wood county; John, a farmer of Washington township; Byron, of this county; and Elsa, wife of Jeremiah Hoffman, of Grand Rapids, Oliio. While a resident of Massachu- setts, the father was, for some time, superintend- ent of a cotton mill; but on coming to Ohio, in 1855, he purchased too acres of partially im- proved land in Washington township, to which he devoted his entire time and attention, and there passed his remaining days.
The school training which Barnard Phillips received was quite meagre, being limited to only a six-months' attendance at a public school when ten years of age, so that he is almost entirely self-educated. Learning the machinist's trade, he followed that occupation for six years; but, owing to ill health, he was compelled to seek some other employment, and bought 100 acres of land in Washington township, which he afterward sold to his father, then becoming the owner of the fine farm which he still has in his possession.
Mr. Phillips was united in marriage with Eliza Kuder, a daughter of Solomon Kuder, the cere- mony taking place on the 17th of October, IS58. The lady was born on Christmas Day, 1831. By her marriage she has become the inother of four children, as follows: Elsie, born October 25, 1859, died while young. John S., born Novem- ber 6, 1861, was married January 16, 1890, to Harriet N. Ross, by whom he has one child, Aldace, born November 19, 1894 (his vocation is that of farming, and he still resides on the old homestead, aiding in its development); Katie E .. born August 7, 1866, is a music teacher. Lucy M., born August 12, 1872, completes the family.
Mr. Phillips was one of the brave boys in blue during the Civil war, having enlisted at Tontog- any, May 2, 1864, in Company B, 144th O. V. I., under Capt. Black and Col. Miller, and from there the troops went to Columbus, on to Fort McHenry and then to Camp Parole, where our subject was taken prisoner in July, 1864, near Frederick, Md. He was first confined in Lynch- . burg, then sent to Danville, and later to Rich- mond, and on being released weighed only ninety pounds, having, during the seven months of liis incarceration, lost fifty pounds. He was honor- ably discharged at Columbus, April 6, 1865, and has never yet fully recovered from the effects of his army service. He now belongs to Walter A. Wood Post No. 48, G. A. R., of Tontogany, and in politics is identified with the Republican party. His son and two daughters are consistent aud faithful members of the Presbyterian Church. and his wife holds membership with the Woman's Relief Corps. In their pleasant home they are surrounded by all that makes life worth the liv- ing, and in the enjoyment of the respect and con- fidence which they have won from their neighbors by their beneficent and upright lives.
FRANCIS M. WIRICK, a popular and leading citizen of Jerry City, is a native of Wood coun- ty, born December 30, 18oo, at the home of his parents, David H. and Mary Ann (Smith Wir- ick. During his early years he attended District
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School No. 3, of Bloom township, where he acquired a fair common-school education, while at home he received the training which has been so valuable to him in carrying on agricultural pursuits. He remained upon the family home- stead, assisting his father in his daily labors all through his boyhood, and for one year after his marriage
That happy event was celebrated on June 22, 1885, Miss Mettie Swope becoming his wife. She was born in Jerry City, December 22, 1868, and is a daughter of Daniel H. and Sarah (Boyd) Swope. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children-Ida E., born May I, 1886, and died in infancy ; David C., who was born July 30, 1887, and died November 17, 1894; and Orpha M., who was born September 15, 1889. Mr. Wirick became the owner of eighty acres of land in Section 5, Bloom township, re- siding there until the spring of 1891, when he re- moved to Jerry City. there making his home for one year, but on the expiration of that time re- turned to his farm. Since November, 1894. however, he has resided in Jerry City, where he owns a pleasant home, though he still superin- tends the cultivation and improvement of the excellent eighty-acre farm. He is a practical, far-sighted business man, energetic and progress- ive, and takes a commendable interest in the welfare and advancement of his town and county. He uses his right of franchise in support of the Democratic party, and has been elected to the office of councilman.
ROBERT PARGELLIS. Among the residents of · foreign birth who have sought homes in America and become valued citizens of their adopted land is this gentleman, a well-known farmer of Mid- dleton township. He was born in Glasgow, Scot- land, July 29, 1838, and is a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Wright) Pargellis, also natives of Scot- land, the former born in 1800, the latter in 1808. They were married in Glasgow, where the father carried on business as a wholesale stationery mer- chant for some years. In 1843 he brought his family to the New World, and became a resident of Wood county, purchasing 160 acres of land on Hull Prairie. To the city-bred man, who had enjoyed all the advantages and conveniences of metropolitan life, the difficulties of frontier life and the labor of developing a farin miglit well seem appalling, but after a time the land began to put on a semblance of a good home and a well- cultivated farm. Mr. Pargellis died in 1835, his wife in 1888. They were consistent Presbyteri- ans in religious faith, and the first members of
Hood Church, on Hull Prairie. In politics he was an Old-line Whig.
The family numbered seven members-Alex- ander, a farmer of this county; Robert; Andrew, a farmer of Middleton township; Duncan, who in early childhood was burned to death while his father was clearing the land; Margaret, who is keeping house for her brothers; Oswald, who died in Kansas; and one who died in infancy.
Our subject was a child of five summers when the family crossed the Atlantic, and on the home farm was reared to manhood. After attending the district schools he spent one term at Perry's- burg. He was married November 1, 1863. to Emily Crook. a native of Perrysburg, born August 8, 1842. The following children graced their union: Frederick R., of Toledo; Etta, wife of Frank Horton, by whom she has three children, Ilo, Leo, and Laura: Mortimer B., who is em- ployed in Toledo: Ella, who is keeping house for her brothers in that city: Gertrude and Margaret. at home; and Wright and Henry, twins. The first child died in infancy.
Upon his marriage Mr. Pargellis located ou his present farm, where he now owns eighty acres of rich land that is under a high state of cultiva- tion and well-improved. He manifested his ioy- alty during the Civil war by enlisting, in 1861, in Company C, 21st O. V. I., in which he served for three months, in West Virginia. He now belongs to the Grand Ariny of the Republic, and his religious connection is with the Presbyterian Church. The Republican party claims his polit- ical support. and he is a progressive citizen, who co-operates with all measures calculated to ben- efit the community. He is a well-informed man. of high moral principle and genuine worth, and has the respect of all.
DANIEL SCHEREIN was born December 23. 1817, in Mecklenburg, Germany. His parents. Johan Kaspar and Katrina (Bircher) Scherein. were also natives of that locality, where the father carried on business as a florist. His en- tire life was spent in his native land. His chil- dren were Benjamin, deceased; Caroline, Dena and Theodore, who have passed away; Ferdi- nand, who is living in Cleveland, Ohio, and Damel.
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