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 14
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
was captured August 13, 1864, near Berryville, Va., and died at Annapolis, Md., October 23, 1864; (7) Servetus L., who enlisted in same company and regiment as Simon, also captured near Berryville same time, and died at Wheel- ing, W. Va., March 25, 1865; (8) Naomi, who died in childhood; (9) Mary, also deceased; (10) David, our subject: (11) John, a real-estate dealer in Toledo; and (12) Rosanna.
Our subject attended the old "Prospect School," which had a fireplace of the primitive sort, and one of the tasks set the larger boys was the cutting and bringing in of huge logs for it in winter. The instruction of that day was also of a primitive order, and Mr. Edmonds has always been a warm supporter of advanced movements in educational matters, giving his in- fluence, as president of the Bradner school board a few years ago, to the project of securing the new school house. As a boy, he experienced the life of a pioneer, and until the age of twenty- five, he remained at home assisting his father. In November, 1871, he was married in Montgom- ery township, to Miss Adaline Plantz, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Plantz. She died a year and four months after their union, leaving no children. For his second wife he married Miss Josephine Smith, a native of Sandusky county, and daughter of David Smith, and of this union two children were born: Wilbur P., August 4, 1884; and Roy McK., June 24, 1891. Mr. Ed- monds' home was again darkened by death, this time on July 12, 1895, when his second wife passed over the borders of the unseen world. During the life of his parents, Mr. Edmonds made his home with them, caring for them as their health declined. In 1890 he built his pres- ent comfortable residence, on the corner of East and Crocker streets, Bradner.
As a business man Mr. Edmonds holds high rank. He owns a one-half interest in 123 acres in Section 12, Montgomery township, and some of the best oil territory in that locality, there be- ing seventeen producing oil wells on his farm, of the products of which he has a one-sixth interest. Patriotic in spirit, he is wide-awake to the value of improvements, and in politics he is a stanch Republican. Aside from his valuable service on the school board, he has held a number of offi- ces, including those of constable and assessor, and he was once elected mayor, but resigned a few days later. In religious affairs he is very active, holding various offices in the Methodist Protestant Church, and he belongs to the l. O. O. F., the Red Cross, the Royal Home, the Daughters of Rebekah, the Masonic Order (32nd
degree and a Scottish Rite Mason), and was a charter member of the K. of P. Lodge No. 429. at Bradner.
W. S. DEWITT, who is a successful farmer and a very popular citizen of Perry township, was born in Carey, Wyandot Co., Ohio, August 15, 1846, son of Charles and Alvira (Robinson) De- Witt. His father was born in Delaware, Ohio, December 20, 1816, and his mother March 29, 1815, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The grandparents of our subject settled in Wyandot county at a very early day. They were a hard-working couple, and passed away at a good old age, the grandfather being buried in Delaware county, the grandmother at Millgrove. Wood county. He was a mason by trade. and built the first brick house erected in Wyandot county, the completion of which he celebrated in a unique manner, by standing on his head on top of the chimney. Charles De Witt was reared in Wyandot county, the family living in true pioneer style during his boyhood. The paternal home was a double log building, of which a por- tion was used as a school house in the early days. He learned the mason's trade of his father, and built many chimneys for the partially-civilized Wyandot Indians, whose language he learned to speak. On September 17, 1840, he was married in Wyandot county, and on January 2, 1855, re- moved with his family from Findlay, where he had been living for a year, to Perry township, where he had bought 160 acres lying in Section 4, paying cash for it. The journey was made in wagons, and Mr. DeWitt began at once improv- ing his land and making of it a fine farm. He employed his time principally at this, although he did occasional work at his trade, and was very successful financially. He was a public-spirited man, and did much for the growth and develop- ment of the section in general. At the time of his death he was the owner of 204 acres, which he had acquired by his own exertions. Mr. De Witt had a good common-school education, and taught school eighteen terms. He was a great reader. especially of the newspapers, and was better posted on current events than the average farmer. and a very entertaining companion. In his po- litical affiliations he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and a stanchi supporter of his party. although never an office-seeker. He was a stout. robust man, and his death was sudden, taking place January 25 1865. His wife survived hun until August 26, 1848, and they lie side by side in the cemetery at West Millgrove. Both were members of and liberal contributors to the Pres-
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WOOD COUNTY, OMIIO.
byterian Church at West Millgrove, with which they united in 1855. The children of this worthy couple were as follows: Oliver P., born January 19, 1842, died October 3, 1844; Henry C., born February 25, 1844, lives in Ottawa, Kans .; W. S. is our subject; Alvin C., born November 10, 1848, died September 4, 1850; Emma J., born January 6, 1852, died August 18, 1853.
W. S. DeWitt, whose name opens.this sketch, obtained his first schooling at Carey and Find- lay, and, after his parents' removal from the lat- ter place, at West Millgrove, where his first teacher was Miss Cornelia Holcomb. He was a student for one term at Oberlin College; but his father's sudden death put an end to his school days, as he was needed at home to look after the estate. He went to work on the home farm, and in 1871 bought out the interests of the other heirs, and became its sole owner, his mother liv- ing there with him during the remainder of her life. He now has 220 acres of land under fine cultivation, and one of the best farms in the vicinity.
On February 1, 1872, Mr. De Witt was mar- ried, at West Millgrove, to Miss Alma, the daugh- ter of Seneca and Sarah (Foote) Leonard, who was born in Osceola, Ohio, October 25, 1851. To this union the following children have come: Charles Howard, who is teaching in Perry town- ship; Frank, born June 11, 1875, who is also teaching school in Perry township; Althea, born October 8, 1877; Herbert, born November II, 1880; Fred, born November 14, 1883; and Do- retha, born November 15, 1892.
Mr. DeWitt has always been a stanch sup- porter of the Republican party, but has never cared to hold office. He has been a member of the school board in his district, and takes a deep interest in the cause of education. His wife is a meniber of the Congregational Church, and is a liberal contributor to religious and benevolent enterprises. Mr. DeWitt is an intelligent man, whose opinions are highly valued by his neigh- bors, and he is looked upon as a representative citizen of Perry township. He is a successful farmer, and has hosts of friends, who appreciate his many good qualities.
REUBEN SHOEMAKER, a well-known business man and agriculturist, of Bloom township, and a veteran of the Civil war, was born July 27, 1840, in Mahoning (then Trumbull) county, Ohio.
Joshua Shoemaker, his father, was born in eastern Pennsylvania, of wealthy parents, and was married there to Miss Polly Sitter, with whom he camne, in 1838, to Ohio, one of his
brothers accompanying them. For some years the young couple made their home on a farm of sixty acres in Mahoning county, where our sub- ject's mother died in 1842. His father afterward married Susan Renala, and moved to Homer township, Medina Co., Ohio, where he bought a tract of 101 acres of comparatively new land; but he died in 1848 before it was fully improved. He was a strong and energetic man, six feet in height and of good proportions. As he was prosperous in all his undertakings, he would doubtless have accumulated a fortune had he lived to carry out his plans. Three children were born of his first marriage : William, who died of scarlet fever at the age of seven; Leanda, now Mrs. John Mc- Gowan, of Youngstown, and our subject. The second wife was the mother of three sons : Charles, now of Perry county, Mich., who was a soldier in the 17th Mich. V. I. ; James F., of Grand Rapids, who served in the O. V. I., and Joshua, who enlisted in the O. V. I., and died in the army.
Mr. Shoemaker's mother died when he was only two years old, and for some time he lived among strangers. After his father's second mar- riage he was brought home, and he accom- panied the family on their removal to Me- dina county. He was eight years old at the time of his father's death. after which event he was sent back to Mahoning county, there making his home with Jonathan Mantz un- til he was twelve years old, when Mr. Mantz and his wife died of typhoid fever. He then went to live with John Handwork, remaining with him until he was seventeen, when his guard- ian hired him out to one Gabriel Cline at $45. per year. He gladly returned to Mr. Handwork at the end of his term, and received $6 per month for the summer season, and worked for his board and clothes during the winter. attending the district school. This was the last schooling he ever received, and previously his opportuni- ties had been very limited. His native abilities are of a high order, and had he enjoyed better ad- vantages he might have filled any station he chose. At nineteen he began to learn the cabinet maker's trade with John Gilbert, in Austintown, serving without a break for two years for $25 and $25 worth of tools. Coffins were made by hand in those days, and it was often necessary to work all night to complete an order, as none were kept on hand. He spent four years in all with Mr. Gilbert, and then entered the army, enlisting August 27, 1862, in Company F. 4ist O. V. I .. with Capt. Holloway. After three weeks drill at Warren he was sent to Cleveland to do guard
Reuben Shoemaker
Mary u. E Shoemaker
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
duty at the jail, a riot being threatened at the ume of the first draft. Later he went to the front by way of Columbus and Louisville, being detailed on the 17th day of December, 1862, to do engineer duty, and at Stone River, his first battle, the stern realities of war were realized. His company was detailed to build bridges under fire from the enemy, and he was employed in that important and dangerous work many times before the close of the war. The 4Ist Regiment was one of the first to go to the front, and on the expiration of their term many re-enlisted, while a volunteer engineering regiment was formed to which Mr. Shoemaker was transferred, and when his term expired, two years later, healso re-enlisted, remaining with it. They often worked night and day, sometimes in water up to their necks, and no service done throughout the struggle required more courage and devotion to the cause than that of these unnoticed heroes. Mr. Shoemaker was promoted, in 1864, to the rank of corporal, and, in the spring of 1865, became sergeant of Company A, First U. S. V. V. Engineers, his command being given the charge of the stores used in his department-the Cumberland. He was discharged September 28, 1865, at Nashville, and, although he was offered a lucrative position at his trade in the South, he returned to his former employer, with whom he remained until the spring of 1866, when he went to Youngs- town and engaged in painting. In July, 1866, he came to Wood county and invested his sav- ings in a one-third interest in a sawmill at Bloom Center; but the investment was an unfortunate one for him, and he found it best to sell his share two years later for what he could realize. For some time he worked as a farm hand and at painting, as opportunity offered. He managed to save about $800, and began to look forward to owning a home of his own.
On July 1, 1869, he was married in Henry township to Miss Mary A. E. Hamman, a native of Austintown township, Mahoning county, born December 30, 1852, the daughter of Samuel and Amanda Hamman, who came to Bloom township in the spring of 1853. Two children brightened this home, but were taken away in the first flush of youth: Liberta A., who died September 3. 1887, at the age of sixteen, and Charles S., who died August 24, 1887, at the age of twelve. Both are buried at North Baltimore.
the work of transforming this place into a habit- able and productive farm, a task in which he suc- ceeded most creditably. The railroad cut off a portion of the estate, and he now has seventy- seven acres under cultivation. Always an admirer of horses, he has given attention to the breeding of good ones, and owns some excellent animals. Since 1888 he has been unable to do manual work, being sadly crippled by rheumatism, in which affliction he has the heartfelt sympathy of all who recall the exposures of his army life, from which, in all probability, it arose. He owns nine lots in North Baltimore, and is a stockholder in the furniture factory there, being at the present time its vice-president. Seven oil wells are in operation on his farm, out of fifteen that have been drilled, and he receives one-sixth of the oil, having an average income of $125 per month from this source.
In politics Mr. Shoemaker is a stanch Repub- lican, but he takes no interest in party work be- yond the selection of competent officials. He is deeply interested in educational progress, desir- ing better opportunities for the children of to-day than he himself had, and he has been a school director for six years. Socially he was a charter member of Sill Post No. 57, G. A. R., at Nortl: Baltimore, and is also a charter member of Gen. Day Command, Union Veteran Union, of North Baltimore.
G. MAYO COOPER. There is probably not a finer farm in all its appointments in Perry town- ship than the one being built up by the subject of this sketch, who is a young man still, and of whom, on account of his enterprise and industry, great things are expected in the future. He op- erates 208 acres of fertile land, the greater part of which is under cultivation, and admirably adapted to general farming.
The boyhood home of our subject was always in Perry township, and, in Section 20, his birth occurred September 19, 1859. At the age of seven years, he was taken by his parents, George and Emma ( Jacques) Cooper to his present home. where he has acquired a good knowledge of agri- culture in all its branches under the able instruc- tion of his father, and liis literary training was re- ceived in the common school of District No. 2. Perry township.
On May 4, 1892, Mr. Cooper was united in marriage with Miss Nora Adelsperger, the wed- ding ceremony being performed in Seneca town- ship, Seneca Co., Ohio. The lady is a daughter
For two years Mr. Shoemaker conducted his father-in-law's farm, and in August, 1871, he bought eighty acres in Section 18, upon which no clearing had been done, and the road east and , of John and Mary A. (Albert) Adelsperger, the west was hardly passable. He at once began | former a native of Maryland, and the latter of
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
Pennsylvania. They were married at Tiffin, and became the parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom are still living. One child graces the union of our subject and his wife-Camilla, born March 31, 1893.
Since the age of twenty-two, Mr. Cooper has had charge of the old homestead, 116 acres of which he bought April 1, 1896, has been very successful in his life work, and is one of the most prosperous citizens of the cominunity. In pol- itics he is a steadfast adherent to the principles formulated by the Republican party, although not a seeker after official position. With the Union Methodist Church he and his wife hold membership, and he is a teacher in the Sunday- school.
MARCENE HOBART, one of the leading busi- ness men of Pemberville, was born in Nelson township, Portage Co., Ohio, August 10, 1845. His father, John S., a native of New Hampshire, born in 1806, came to Ohio in company with his parents in 1814, settling in Fairfield county. The family has been represented in American history since the days of the " Mayflower" -- the original members in this country having come over in that historic ship. The paternal grand- father, Benjamin F., was born in New Hamp- shire, and served as captain of the militia during the war of 1812. His father, William Hobart, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war; he par- ticipated in the battle of Lexington, and was with Washington at Valley Forge.
The father of our subject, whose life occupa- tion was that of an agriculturist, settled in Port- age county, in 1830, and died on the old home- stead in 1885, aged seventy-nine years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Moore, was born in Parkman, Geauga Co., Ohio, and died at the age of thirty-six years. Her fa- ther, Thomas Moore, was a native of England, and her mother was born in Ireland. Our sub- ject was one of twelve children, there being ten sons and two daughters. All but three of the family are still living: Thomas is an attorney at Decatur, Ill. ; Elmer, who was a soldier in the 3d Ill. Cav., resides in Mattoon, Ill .; Mary E. is the wife of Monroe W. Seibert, of Oberlin, Ohio: Free- dom is principal of the schools at Hillsboro, Ill .; Jefferson is a prominent physician at Ashmore, Ill .; M. W. is in the insurance business at Fre- mont, Obio: A. D. is a successful physician and surgeon of Toledo; and John S. lives at Grand Rapids; William, Allison and Hannah all grew to maturity and married, but are now deceased.
Marcene Hobart was the sixth in order of
birth among the children comprising the family. and spent his early days on the home farm. In the fall of 1863, when only eighteen years of age, he enlisted in defense of his country, becoming a member of Company F, 105th O. V. I., which was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Di- vision, Fourteenth Army Corps. He was with Gen. Sherman in the Atlanta campaign, and in front of that city he received injuries that dis- abled him to such an extent as to render further active service impossible. He was detailed as hospital steward, which position he held until the close of the war, and was discharged August 10, 1865, upon the twentieth anniversary of his birth.
On returning to Ohio, Mr. Hobart took a course at Eastman's Commercial College, after which he settled on a farm near Fremont. About the same time he established domestic ties, choosing as his wife Miss Catherine M., daughter of Henry Bowlus, a farmer of Sandusky county. After a short period spent as bookkeeper in the office of H. Bowlus & Co., at Fremont, Ohio, he engaged in the sawmill business, and for four years was in that and the planing-mill business. In 1871 he came to Pemberville, where he at once embarked in the grocery business, and a year later opened a hardware store. In 1876 he erected his present large brick block, and ten years later he bought a dry-goods stock. Asso- ciated with him in business is Henry F. Bowlus. a brother of his wife. Such has been the indus- try and energy with which they have prosecuted their trade, that they are now proprietors of one of the largest dry-goods, grocery and hardware stores in Wood county. Their customers include not only the people of Pemberville, but the resi- dents of the neighboring towns, and the farmers of the surrounding country, among all of whom they have established a reputation for fair, hon- orable and reliable dealings. In addition to the establishment with which his name is inseparably associated, he and Mr. Bowlus are the owners of the grain elevator at that place; they were among the first to engage in the development of the Wood county oil fields around Peinberville, hav- ing. with a number of other gentlemen, drilled about sixty wells near that city. At present they own some four hundred acres of leases. and have thirty-five wells in operation.
In the Masonic order Mr. Hobart is active and prominent. He is a charter member, and for a time was master of Pemberville Lodge No. 516. and is also a member of Crystal Chapter Lodge. of Bowling Green. Officially he has rendered efficient service in a number of responsible post-
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WOOD COUNTY, CHIO.
tions. He has been a member of the Board of Education, and has served two terms as treasurer of the corporation of Pemberville. Since assist- ing in the organization of the Presbyterian Church at that place, he has been active in its various enterprises and generous in its support. For nine or more years he was superintendent of the Sunday-school. Politically he is a Republican, and, in common with other veterans of the Civil war, takes an active part in Grand Army affairs.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Hobart consists of six children: Clayton S., the eldest, is a partner in his father's store, and is superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday-school; he is a young man of decided business talent, a graduate of the Pemberville schools, and has a bright future be- fore him; he married Miss Marguerite Hisler, of Pennsylvania. Anna, also a graduate of the Pemberville schools, was married to Nelson L. Jones, August 26, 1896, and now lives in South Bend, Ind., where he is engaged in the under- taking business. Harrison W., a graduate of the Pemberville school, also of the Western Reserve Academy at Hudson, Ohio, and of the Oberlin Business College, after two years at Amherst College entered business with his father. Ray- mond, a graduate of the Pemberville schools, is now attending school at Hudson, Ohio; Earl and Lee are still in school at home.
EMANUEL CONSTABLE is of English descent, his parents having been born in Herefordshire, where his birth also took place in March, 1827. William Constable, the grandfather, was likewise a native of Herefordshire, England, where he died at the age of seventy-four years. He was the father of four children: William was the father of our subject; James, a weaver by trade, became a farmer, and amassed considerable wealth (he was born in 1787, and died in 1864, leaving $4,000 to each of nineteen heirs, our sub- ject being one of the number); Frances died un- married; while Walter, a contractor by trade, lived in Monmouthshire, England, and died there. The maternal grandfather, William Burnett, was also born in Herefordshire, England, and de- farted this life when seventy-four years old. His children were: Alice, our subject's mother; Richard, who was a carpenter and saloon-keeper; Daniel, a farmer of Herefordshire; Ellen, who !ed unmarried; and Francis (deceased), who was a farmer of Herefordshire.
William Constable, the father of Emanuel, Was born in Herefordshire in 1781, and his With occurred February 2, 1855. A weaver by trade, he followed that and job work all his life.
He was married to Miss Alice Burnett, who was born in 1787, and died May 26, 1856, and they became the parents of fourteen children-seven sons and seven daughters-as follows: William died in England in 1855; Alice married John Barry, of Herefordshire, and they both died there; Harriet became the wife of Thomas Morgan, and both are deceased; Frances was married to William Powell, and they both died in England; James married Ann Burnett, his first cousin, and they both died in Herefordshire; Louisa married J. T. Hooper, and died in Monmouthshire: Rich- ard lives in Birmingham, Warwickshire: Daniel died in Gloucestershire (he was a warden in a public asylum all his life); Eleanor became the wife of George W. Palmer, a retired gentleman of Liverpool, and both are deceased: Emanuel is our subject ; Priscilla married Richard Pritchett. and they live in Herefordshire; three children died in infancy.
Emanuel Constable passed his boyhood days at his home in England, and at the age of eighteen years entered the British Regular service, enlist- ing for a term of twenty-one years in the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, but at the close of elcven years his uncle, James Constable, purchased his discharge. While in the service our subject was stationed in Canada for a time, and in Montreal, during the riots of 1849, was one of the governor- general's body-guard. The mobtried toassassinate the governor-general, but, fortunately, they did not succeed, though they burned down the gov- ernment house. On May 6, 1850, while he was voyaging between Port Stanley and Port Maitland, on Lake Erie, the vessel he was on, the "Com- merce," was run into by the American ship .. Dis- patch," and sunk in twenty minutes after she was struck. The "Dispatch" hove to, and en- deavored to rescue the passengers from the sink- ing vessel, yet with all their efforts as many as forty-nine men, seven women and three children were drowned. Mr. Constable's next service was in the Crimea, during the famous " Russian war " of 1854-56. His experience on that occasion was the experience of nearly every soldier who landed in the Crimea-a truly ardnous and dis- piriting one. The supplies and clothing sent from England for the Royal Welsh Fusiliers was lost by shipwreck, and the men were in sore need of both. Mr. Constable participated. among other battles, in that of Balaklava, made famous by the "Charge of the Light Brigade." At the close of that war he retired from the army, as related above. Accompanying the medal he received for service in the Crimea, and of which he is justly proud, are clasps for " Balaklava " and " Sebas-
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