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 16

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) cn; J.H. Beers & Co. cn
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1140

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 16

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PHILIP BARNHISEL. Among the influential and representative agriculturists of Bloom town- ship, this gentleman occupies an honorable posi- tion. Almost his entire life has been passed upon his present farm, where he was born June 1I, 1851. His father, Martin Barnhisel, came to

Army of Hemminger Samuel Hemminger

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this county from Mahoning county, Ohio, buying eighty acres of land in Section 21, Blooni town- ship --- sixty acres of which ars still in the posses- sion of our subject. He was a small, delicate man, and on his death was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery. In the family were three chil- dren: Sarah, who became the wife of Henry Jacobs, and died on the home farm; Lottie, who is now Mrs. Louis Mominee, of Lucas county, Ohio; and Philip. The mother later became the wife of John Slatterbeck, who is now deceased, and she makes her home near Toledo, Ohio.

Philip Barnhisel acquired his early education in the Bloom Center schools, taught by a Mr. Trumbull; but when about nine years of age he was compelled to start out to make his own liveli- hood, and with his first money purchased a pair of red top-boots, which he thought was all that was lacking to make him a man. For some years he worked for others, and, when about eighteen, went to Whiteside county, Ill., remain- ing there some eighteen months. He began farming for himself upon the old homestead, and, before his marriage, his sister Lottie was his. housekeeper.

In Bloom township, on January 7, 1875, Mr. Barnhisel married Miss Diana Baker, who was born in Marion' township, Hancock Co., Ohio, February 16, 1852, and is a daughter of Jacob . and Susanna (Bright) Baker, the former a native of Westmoreland county, Penn. They have be- come the parents of seven children: Claren, who was born July 25, 1876, and is a teacher by pro- fession; Ella M., who was born July 28, 1879, and died July 23, 1881; William S., who was born August 27, 1881; Olive B., who was born September 29, 1883; Nettie, who was born Oc- tober 1, 1885; Florence, who was born May 30, 1889, died August 7, following; and Bessie, who was born May 30, 1891, and died April 30, 1893.

At one time Mr. Barnhisel sold his interest in the homestead, but later purchased the farm from other heirs. The farm buildings are neat and substantial, and everything about the premises is creditable to the taste and industry of the pro- prietor. His labors have been crowned with suc- cess, and he is deserving of the highest praise, for all has been attained through his own indus- trious and well-directed efforts. He is upright and honorable in all things, never stooping to anything low or mean to gain a point or secure money. He takes an active interest in political affairs, generally voting the Republican ticket, though not strictly partisan, preferring to cast his ballot for the man whom he thinks best qualified to fill the position, and has served as a director in

School District No. 5, Bloom township. Since the age of eighteen, Mr. Barnhisel has been a devoted member of the Church of God.

J. Y. HOUSEL, a respected citizen of Bowl- ing Green, who has an honorable record as a sol- dier in the war of the Rebellion, and who for many years was active in his occupation, but is now living retired, was born in New Jersey, November 13, IS42.

Tyler Housel, the father of J. Y., was a na- tive of Hunterdon county, N. J., but spent most of his life in Franklin township, Warren Co., N. J .. where he carried on farming, and was also a railroad contractor. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith. In politics he was a Democrat. His father was born on the Hudson river, and was a farmer by occupation. He married a Miss Cook, and died in Hunterdon county. The Housels are of Dutch descent. the great-grand- father of our subject being a native of that coun- try. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Catherine Rupel, was born in Hunter- don county, N. J., to which State her great- grandfather came from Ireland, where the family were wealthy farmers. Her father's name was Thomas Rupel.

The children of Tyler Housel and wife were as follows: Asher was a railroad man, and died in New Jersey; Margaret married James Hagerty, and lives in Bucks county, Penn. ; Lucy married Joseph Davis, then, after his death, wedded a Mr. Fox, and lives at Easton, Penn. ; Mary Ellen was the wife of George W. Cowel, deceased, and lives in Phillipsburg. N. J. ; William B. lives in Hunter- don county, N. J .; J. Y. is our subject; John re- sides in Warren county, New Jersey.

The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood and youth in his native State, where he was work- ing at plastering when the outbreak of the Re- bellion aroused the whole nation, and young men and old offered their services to maintain the su- premacy of the national government. Mr. Housel enlisted in Company C, 31st Regiment of State Guards, in which he was made color-bear- er. They were stationed near Washington, D. C., and were in the first battle of Bull Run. When the three months had expired he re-enlisted Au- gust 20, 1861, in Company C, ;th N. J. V. I., in which he served until after the battle of Gettysburg, when he was honorably discharged July 17, 1863. In the winter of (864 he again entered the army, this time enlisting in Company B. (84th O. V I, of which he was made ser- geant, and while at Nashville served as drill master and transfer officer. He saw active serv-

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ice throughout the remainder of the war, and was finally discharged in September, 1865. Among the important engagements, in which Mr. Housel took part, were those of Bull Run, Yorktown, An- tietam, and South Mountain; was with Mcclellan in the seven-days' fight at Richmond; in the first battle at Fredericksburg, in December, 1862; the second battle of Fredericksburg, the battles at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, besides many less important engagements. He was wounded at the battle of Antietam, on account of which he receives a pension.

After the close of the war Mr. Housel located at Napoleon, Henry Co., Ohio, where he fol- lowed the trade of a plasterer for a time, after- ward removing to Liberty Center, in the same county, where he resided for a number of years. In 1888 he removed to Bowling Green, where he has since made his home, and where for some three years he followed contracting, since that time, however, having given up active business. He owns a house and two lots in the city, and is one of its substantial citizens. In politics he is a Democrat, and fraternally belongs to the I. O. . O. F., in which he has passed most of the chairs, and now holds the office of standard-bearer in Canton Alpine. He is also a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, and of the G. A. R., Wiley Post.

Mr. Housel was married August 10, 1867, to Abbie M. McCauley, who was born in Adrian, Mich., January 14, 1838, and is the daughter of William R. and Marie Antoinette (French) Mc- Cauley. Her great-grandfather, Hugh McCau- ley, was a captain in the Revolutionary army, and at the close of the war took up his residence in the South, where he died. He left three chil- dren: Samuel; Alexander, who was married and had one daughter; and Nathaniel, who was a soldier in the war of 1812, and died unmarried.

Samuel. the grandfather of Mrs. Housel, had three children: Hannah, who married Joshua Kelley, and lived in Vermont; Abigail, who died when fifteen years of age, and William R. The father of these children was a farmer, and, after his marriage to Abigail Wilson, lived in Vermont until 1836, when he removed to Michigan and settled near Adrian, where they both died, the father in 1841, and the mother in 1844.

William R. McCauley was born in 1804 and died in June, 1876. He came to Ohio in 1849, and settled on a farm at Damascus, Henry county. He was made a justice of the peace in 1868, which office he held for three years. His wife, who was born in 1808, died in 1869, and was the mother of five children, namely: Fred-

erick W., who died in his twenty-fourth year: Henry Augustus, who died in his twenty-second year; Nathaniel, residing at Napoleon, Henry Co., Ohio; Phoebe Ann, the wife of Edwin Free- man, of Toledo; and Abigail.

Mrs. Housel spent the first ten years of her life in Michigan, coming at that time with her parents to Henry county, Ohio, where she at- tended the public schools until she was seven- teen years old, from which time until her mar- riage with our subject, August 10, 1867, she was employed in teaching. She is a woman of cult- ure and refinement, of much strength of charac- ter, and holds a prominent place in various or- ganizations, being a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, the Woman's Relief Corps, the W. C. T. U., and the School Suffrage Club. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and takes an active part in all religious and philan- thropic work.

W. B. BEACH, the well-known proprietor of a large blacksmith shop at Bowling Green, was born December 22. 1849, in Licking county, where, in Kirkersville, his father died in March, 1896, at the age of seventy-eight.

His grandfather, Horace Beach, was born in Connecticut, of old New England stock, and died in Granville, Ohio, aged eighty-eight. He was a farmer and blacksmith by occupation, and was for some time engaged in the manufacture of edge tools. He had six children: Eli, deceased, a resident of Providence, R. I .; William B., an attorney at Providence, also interested in insur- ance business; Horace, a wealthy resident of Providence, R. I., who mysteriously disappeared some years ago, and probably met with foul play; Charles, our subject's father; Deborah, the wife of H. H. Austin, of Licking county; and Philura, who married George Davis, of the same county.

Charles Beach, the father of our subject, was born near Keysville, N. Y., in April. ISTS, and came to Ohio with his parents when a boy. He received his early education in the schools near his father's farm in Licking county, and learned the blacksmith's trade in early manhood. He inarried Miss Margaret Gardner, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1817, and came to America with her parents when six years old-the two families settling upon adjoining farms at about the same time. Four children of this umion have lived to an adult age: Emma, the wife of Eleazer Evans, of Licking county; our subject; Clara, the wife of [. B. Buckland, oi Chillicothe, Ohio; and Alice, who married H. H.

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Gunder, of Licking county. Charles Beach ha's followed the blacksmith's trade all his life in Kirkersville, Licking county. He was the pat- entee of the first double-shovel iron-beam plow with convex shovel and guard, for cultivating corn. He wasa Democrat, and took a prominent part in local affairs, although never an office- seeker. He was a leading member of the New School Baptist Church, in which his wife still holds membership ..

Our subject's early life was spent with his parents at Kirkersville, where he attended school until the age of sixteen, when he began to learn his trade. After six years of work at home he went to Utica, Licking county, where he re- tained five years and a half, and then moved to Cardington, Morrow county, and carried on his trade for some time. In 1886 he came to Bowl- ing Green, and opened the shop where he has since conducted a general blacksmithing business. He was married in 1871 to Miss Ann C. Sim- mons, who. was born February 28, 1854, at Balti- more, Ohio. They have two children: Clara Belle, who lives at home, and Russell Simnions. The family are prominent members of the M. E. Church. Mr. Beach is a Republican in politics, and takes great interest in all worthy public movements. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the K. of P., of the Royal Arcanum, and the National Union.

N. J. WIREBAUGH. This substantial citizen, and farmer of Montgomery township, was born December 15, 1834, in Fox township, Carroll Co., Ohio, the son of John and Elizabeth (Potts) Wirebaugh.

The father of our subject was born in Trum- bull county, Penn., in 1806, and came to Ohio when a boy with his parents, who settled in Co- lumbiana county. He was twice married, his first wife, the mother of our subject, dying in 1841. Her children were as follows: William H. lives in Portage township: Harriet died in in- fancy: Mary A. died when eight years old; N. J. is our subject: Elizabeth married George Braden, and died in Morrow county; Sarah C. is now Mrs. Isaac Kiefer, of Crawford county; Nathan lives in Risingsun; John F. is a resident of Miami county, Kans. The second wife of John Wire- baugh was Miss Elizabeth Horner, to whom he was married in Carroll county. She bore him the following children: Cyrus lives in Indiana; Mar- tha died when four years of age; Stewart resides in Crawford county; Ledora lives in Freeport, Ohio; I. V. is a physician in Prairie Depot. The mother of these children is still living in

Prairie Depot. The family came in 1847 to Craw- ford county, Ohio, and settled near Osceola, where the father died when over eighty years old. He was a Jackson Democrat.

Our subject obtained his education in the com- mon schools of Carroll county, which were very different from those of the present day. He has seen great changes for the better in educational matters, and takes an active interest in schools of all kinds, being a firm believer in higher educa- tion for both men and women. He was only a lad when his parents removed to western Ohio, and until sixteen years of age worked upon the farın. He then was employed as an engineer in a sawmill, and for many years held the same po- sition in a gristmill. On April 18, 1861, Mr. Wirebaugh was married in Richland county, Ohio, to Miss Martha Ralston, and in June of the same year bought eighty acres of land in Section 5, Montgomery township. The money for this pur- chase he had saved from his small earnings, and with this he made his first start in life. The land was all woods with no improvements, and he at once went to work, his first clearing being six acres, which he put in wheat. He also built his first home which, as may be imagined, was no palatial residence. It was a happy home, liow- ever, until the death of his wife, which took place November 18, 1863, leaving with him one child, Mary, who died when two years old. The family being broken up, Mr. Wirebaugh returned to Crawford county, and again took up his occupa- tion of an engineer. being thus employed for the eight years following.

In September, 1871, our subject was married in Custar, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Roberts, and re- turned to his farm in Montgomery township. where he resided until 1879. In that year he went to Fostoria, Ohio, where he was for a short time in the grocery business, and then took up his residence in Freeport, where he purchased a pleasant home. He resumed his business as an engineer, at which he was employed until 1890. since which time he has been engaged in agricult- ural pursuits. He has an excellent farin of 200 acres in Sections 5 and 6, Montgomery township. which is nnder fine cultivation, and he has made a success of the business. For over forty years Mr. Wirebaugh was a machinist, and became thoroughly familiar, in his capacity as engineer, with all kinds of machinery. He stood high as a good workman, and during all these years was in the employ of but four individuals.

He is a man who reads extensively, and is a patron of literature and the arts. In politics he inclines to the Democratic party, but is not a par-

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tisan, and votes for a man according to his fitness for office rather than his political affiliations. He has served eight years as a member of Prairie Depot city council, but is no office seeker. No man is more highly respected or more deserving of esteem, than the gentleman whose sketch is here given.

GOTLIEB OTTERBACH, whose success in life is attributable entirely to his own efforts, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, January 7, 1837. His father, Christian Otterbach, was a native of the same locality, and was a farmer by occupa- tion. He married Miss Helen Greiner, and died in Wurtemberg in 1863. In 1868, his widow came to the United States, accompanied by a son and daughter, and spent her last days in Michigan, where her death occurred in ISSS, she having reached the advanced age of ninety years. She was quite ill at the time she came to the United States, and many feared that she would never live to complete the voyage. Her children were John, who was a soldier in Germany, and also in the Civil war, and died in Michigan in 1888; Jacob, a farmer of Michigan; Regy, now a widow; Gotlieb, our subject; Christian and Gotlobe, both farmers in Michigan.

Our subject acquired a good education in his native land, and with his father learned the · weaver's trade. At the age of fourteen he began work in a factory in Hall, and continued to fol- low weaving until crossing the Atlantic to Amer- ica in 1857. He took passage at Bremen on the "President Smith," a sailing vessel, which, after a rough voyage of sixty-four days, reached New York. Mr. Otterbach at once made his way to Toledo, and thence to the home of an uncle who lived in Liverpool, Medina Co., Ohio. He soon secured employment in a blacksmith shop, where he worked for eight months for $5. Afterward he followed any pursuit that would yield him an honest living, and in the winter of 1858, he re- ceived $6 per month.

In 1862, Mr. Otterbach enlisted in Medina county, Ohio, in Company K, 103rd O. V. I., and was mustered into the service in Kentucky, while at the close of the war, in June, 1865. hc was mustered out at Raleigh, N. C. At the bat- tle of Resaca, he was wounded in the right leg, and only twenty-five inen in all the regiment were left uninjured after that engagement.

The war over, Mr. Otterbach returned to Me- dina county, and in the fall of 1865 purchased his present farin of eighty acres in Wood county, lo- cating thereon in the spring of 1866. In 1868, in Liberty township, he married Miss Hannah

McCrory, who died in October, 1872, leaving one son, Samuel, now at home; a twin sister, Mary Elizabeth, died at the age of eight months. In 1875, Mr. Otterbach wedded Mrs. Mary E. Leffler. widow of Mathias Leffler, and her death occurred May 12, 1891. The children of the second mar- riage are Annie, a student in a music academy at Findlay, Ohio; and Lena. The present wife of Mr. Otterbach, who bore the name of Hulda Harris, was born in Germany in 1848. She was only four months old when brought to this coun- try by her parents, John C. and Anna Dorothy (Henning) King. Our subject and his wife were married in Defiance, Ohio, January 30, 1894. She had five children by her former marriage, namely: William, and Charles, both of Holgate. Henry Co., Ohio; Frank, at home; Mrs. Della C. Ernhart, of Bays, Ohio; and Matilda, at home. The father, William Harris, was born in Wood county, in 1832, and in 1861, in Company K, 3rd O. V. C., he was wounded in the neck, but con- tinued at the front until the close of the war. Mrs. Otterbach's brother, Albert W. King, was one of the survivors of the " Sultana."

Our subject is a stalwart Republican, and has served as school director for one year. He is a member of the Disciples Church, and takes a deep interest in religious work, as well as all that per- tains to the welfare of the community. He has developed upon his farm eight oil wells, and now occupies a position among the substantial citizens of Wood county. He has, however, worked his way steadily upward from humble surroundings, pressing forward step by step to the goal of success.

JOHN H. JONES. The family from which this gentleman descended is of Welsh and German ex- traction. The ancestors came from Europe at an early date, locating in Virginia, where they became land owners and business men, and were prominent in the different walks of life. John H. Jones was born near Martinsburg, Berkeley Co., W. Va., August 2, 1836, where he was reared and educated. He is a son of Hiram and Isabella (Crowell) Jones, of Welsh and German extrac- tion, respectively. Hiram Jones and wife were both natives of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, he, a patriot and soldier of the war of 1812, was a substantial man, and an honored citizen, who throughout life took a deep interest in military matters. He was present. and a prominent figure, at every muster of the State Militia in his section. oftentimes acting as a drummer. He was a Dem- ocrat of the old school. He was identified with the Baptist Church. Their children were:

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& OMerbach Hulda EMelia Ellerbach

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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.

John Harrison, onr subject; Hiram S., of Mar- tinsburg, W. Va. ; Lydia Ann, who married a Mr. Lewis, and lives in California; Charles Ross, who died while a soldier in the Confederate army; William R. and Joseph T, residents of Martins- burg, W. Va .; Margaret (married) and Helen, also residents of Martinsburg.

John H. Jones, the eldest child was reared on the homestead farm, and educated in the schools of that vicinity, and when old enough learned the business of a miller in the mill of John Graham, near Martinsburg, W. Va. At the latter place he was married January 31, 1866. to Miss Mar- tha Ann Graham, and after this event he carried on the milling business at Martinsburg until 1874, when with his family he moved to near Tiffin, Seneca Co., Ohio. Here he located on a farm which he operated until 1882, when he removed to Wood county, and purchased a farm three miles north of North Baltimore, on which he lived with his family for a period; then sold the prop- erty and purchased a farm of eighty acres near North Baltimore, which, later, proved to be one of the best oil-producing tracts in that section. It has at this writing (December, 1896) seven pro- ducing oil wells on it. In 1892, Mr. Jones re- moved with his family to Tiffin, Ohio, but in 1895 came to North Baltimore, Ohio, where he has since resided, and where he and family are held in high esteem. He is a stanch temperance ad- vocate, believing in total prohibition, and uses his influence to assist that cause on all occasions from the rostrum, and otherwise. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, with which denomination he has been connected for thirty-five years, and of which he has been a trustee at different times for many years, and a teacher of the Bible class aggregating fifteen years or more. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the par- ents of the following children: Jacob Carleton (engaged in the oil business), born November 28, 1871, was married in July, 1889, to Miss Mary E. Bruner, and they have two children-Robert H. and Jeannette; and W. Robert, born August 28, 1874, a prominent young citizen of North Balti- more, mentioned elsewhere. In addition to their own children, our subject and wife reared a little girl from the age of two-and-a-half years, now a young miss of twelve summers, and one of the family-her name formerly was Vernie Mand Warden, but she is now known as Pearl Jones.

Mrs. Martha Ann (Graham) Jones was born in 1844, in Fairfax county, Va., a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Gruber) Graham, of Scotch and German progenitors, respectively. John Graham was the owner and operator of a mill at

Bunker Hill, in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., for many years, and was one of the most substantial and highly honored citizens of Berkeley county, W. Va. He was a man of high and pure char - acter, thoroughly well-read and well-informed, and a general advisor of the vicinity, in which he lived, on law and other matters. He is said to have been the most popular man in his county, for many years, and could have been elected to any office in the gift of the people of the county. He was not a politician, or seeker after office. having large affairs of his own to look after. During the war his property was located at Bunker Hill, in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, where Union and Rebel troops were continually con- testing; his home would one day be in the Union lines and the next in the Rebel lines, and vice versa. He was an ardent Republican and Union man, which was well-known by both sides; but such was his high character as a citizen and non- combatant, that he was the only Union man who dared to stay in the vicinity when the Rebels had control. He entertained, at his home, many noted Rebel and Union officers-of course on different occasions, as they did not mix very well in those days. With other young men, he organ- ized a home independent military company, for protection against the Rebel guerrillas and other depredators. In this way he served through inany exciting skirmishes, where men were killed; he personally conveyed news to the Union of- ficers on many occasions, often going at night through cold, rain and sleet to aid the Union cause-regular passes as a scout gaining him ad- mission, at all times, to the Union lines. His death occurred in 1870. His widow, who is now seventy-seven years of age, makes her home with her daughter, the wife of our subject.

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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 16

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) cn; J.H. Beers & Co. cn Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1140

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) cn; J.H. Beers & Co. cn
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1140