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 19
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To Mr. and Mrs. Harman the following chil- dren have been born: Hattie, now Mrs. Henry Whitman, living in Portage township, and has two sons. Fred is a pumper, and lives in Montgomery township; he married Cora Albert, and has one child. D. Frank is also a pumper in the sam . township; he married Miss Hattie Wise, and has one child. Nelson and Tillie are a: home.
LIEUT. W. ROBERT JONES. Among the best known of the younger citizens of North Balti. more, is the gentleman whose name introduces this review. He was born August 28, US;4. neair Martinsburg, W. Va., and the same year, h. father, John 1l. Jones, and family moved to Ohio. From his childhood Mr. Jones has taken an enthusiastic interest in military affairs. He is
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a graduate of the Military School at Columbus, Ohio, and froin the age of seventeen has been a member of the National Guard, being the insti- gator and organizer of Company K, of the end O. N. G., raised at North Baltimore, which is made up of the leading young men of that city, and of which he was commissioned first lieuten- ant. Although still a young man, his activity in military affairs has made him widely and favor- ably known throughout the State of Ohio. Lieut. Jones has served in arduous duty with his com- pany on various occasions when it was called out by the governor of the State to preserve the peace in cases of strikes. He is one of the most capable and popular officers of the regiment. The lieutenant has been a student all his life, first in the schools of Seneca and Wood counties, and later at the Fostoria Academy, where he paid some attention to the study of chemistry, in which, together with philosophy, he took a special course at Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio. This was followed by a three-years' course in pharmacy at the Ohio State University at Co- lumbus. Mr. Jones now contemplates a five-years' course to thoroughly qualify himself as a physi- cian and surgeon. He is a young man of talent, and superior natural ability, which, combined with excellent mental training, class him as the peer of any of his associates. Of undoubted in- tegrity, and the best of personal habits, his friends have cause to predict for him a bright and successful future. In politics he is a stanch Re- publican, and, like his father, is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Among his associates and acquaintances he is genial and popular, is en- thusiastie and loyal to every enterprise that will benefit his city, State or country; of high character and honorable purpose, he is a worthy represent- ative of worthy ancestors, mentioned elsewhere in this volume.
ROBERT H. WOLLAM, an intelligent and well- to-do agriculturist of Montgomery township, is a member of one of the most highly respected pio- neer families of that locality.
In still earlier times his ancestors came from near Winchester, Va., and were settlers on the then frontier line of eastern Ohio, his grandfather, Henry Wollam, who was born September 15, 1777, having been among the first to make his home in Columnbiana county. On December 17, 1800, he married Mary Bough, who was born October 11, 1783, and they reared a family of thirteen children, of whom our subject's father, the late Joseph Wollam, born February 8, 1824, was the next to the youngest. He was excep-
tionally gifted mentally, but the common schools of his day were poor, and he had no good oppor- tunity to develop his powers in early life. He learned the carpenter's trade, and for some time worked at boat building in Wellsville, Ohio. On June 27, 1844, he was married, in Columbiana county, by Rev. O. S. Patterson, to Miss Mary A. Sloan, a native of that county, born February 7, 1827. Her father, Robert Sloan, came from County Antrim, Ireland, at the age of eleven, with his parents, Allen Sloan and his wife, who located in eastern Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood. He married Elizabeth Stapleton, and eight children were born to this union: William, a farmer in Davis county, Iowa; Mar- garet, who married William Chambers, and died in Iowa; Joshua, formerly editor of the Keosaqua (Iowa) Republican; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Butler Sloan, of Missouri; Mary A., our subject's moth- er; Martha, who married Mr. McClure, and died in Iowa; John, deceased, formerly a resident of Bloomfield, Iowa, and a prominent politician, holding various county offices; and Robert, a well-known member of the Iowa bar, and at pres- ent a judge, residing at Keosaqua.
For some time after his marriage our subject's father lived upon a farm in Columbiana county, but later moved to New Lisbon. In 1834, when he was ten years old, he came to Wood county with his brother Benjamin, remained through the summer, and then returned home to Columbiana county with his father. In 1851 he again came to Wood county, this time with his family, loca- ting first at Hatton. Soon after he reinoved to Montgomery township, Section 25. N. W. }, where he settled in the primeval forest in true pioneer style. building the first house ever on the place, a log cabin. As prosperity came he erected a larger home, and in 1876 he built a third, a substantial brick residence, which is still in use. He worked at the carpenter's trade while his farm was being redeemed from the wood and water. finding plenty to do, and at one time he conducted a plant for making inolasses from sugar cane. At the time of his death he owned 200 acres of land, and was regarded as one of the representative farmers of the township. A prominent member of the Disciples Church, he was in sympathy with all movements tending to benefit the people, and was an early patron of newspapers in his section, being an interested reader of all questions of his time. Until the assassination of Lincoln he was a Democrat: but after that event he gave his in- fluence to the Republican party, and was several times elected to township offices on that ticket.
Since his death his widow has continued to
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R. H. Wollam
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cupy the old home, where she has long been held in high esteem, not only on her husband's account but for her own good qualities. Robert Henry, our subject, is the eldest of their family of six children; the names of the others. with dates of birth, are as follows: William, September 2, 1847; C. F., May 15, 1851; Mary E., Septem- ber 8, 1853, died February 6, 1878; Martha A., May 25, 1859, married David Myers, and died at Risingsun, April 13, 1882; and Joseph H., March 7. 1863. The four sons are all residents of Mont- gomery township, and are engaged in agricultural pursuits.
R. H. Wollam, the subject proper of this re- view, was born in New Lisbon, Columbiana county, June 25, 1845, and was about five years old when he first looked upon the swamps of Wood county, where he was educated in the schools of District No. 7. His first teacher was Mary A. Stahl, a sister of Jacob Stahl, ex-com- missioner of Wood county, and the building was a hewed-log structure. He was apt in learning, but lacked application, and his course of study only formed a slight foundation for his present knowledge, which has been gained by reading and observation. There was always plenty of work to do at home, and there he stayed until March 6, 1865, when he enlisted in Company C, 193rd O. V. I. His regiment was stationed near Win- chester, Va., where he served as a patrol guard for some time, receiving his discharge in August, 1865. Soon after he returned home he bought forty acres of partially cleared land in Section 25, Montgomery township, which he cleared and im- proved. In March, 1874, he purchased a one- half interest in forty acres in Section 24, where he now resides. He has ninety-three acres of ex- cellent land, and a comfortable income, and is highly respected in the neighborhood.
Steady and quiet in his habits, fond of read- ing, and well-informed upon general topics, he is one of the best of citizens. He has never worn the Hymeneal yoke. In politics he has been a Republican since the close of the war; but previous to that his sympathies were with the Democrats. Although he is not a seeker for office, he is a reg- ular voter and influential worker, and has been a delegate to several county conventions.
C. F. CHAPMAN, a prominent manufacturer of Perrysburg, was born August 16, 1843, in Berea, Ohio. His family is of old New England stock, and his grandparents, Nathan and Mary /Whit- ney) Chapman, were among the first to come from Connecticut and settle on the Western Reserve. Typical pioneers, hardy and self-reliant, they
lived to the patriarchal ages of ninety-six and ninety-nine, respectively. They located in Port- age county, where their son, Nathan M., our sub- ject's father, was born, in 1816. He married Miss Orra Collins, a native of New England, and in 1840 moved to Berea, where he engaged in the stone business and in the manufacture of wooden bowls. In 1862 he came to Millbury, Wood county, and is now living there, retired from act- ive business. His wife died in 18So, at the age of fifty-nine. They had three children: George W., who resides at Millbury, Ohio; C. F., our subject; and Stella Angus, of Toledo.
The subject of this sketch was educated in Berea, and in 1862, when only eighteen years of age, he enlisted in Company B, 103rd O. V. I., assigned to the army of the Ohio. He served as a private, and later as a non-commissioned officer, and took part in every battle in which his command was engaged, not absenting himself from duty a single day from the time he went to the front until the close of the war. Returning home, in 1865. he engaged in the wooden-ware and luinber business, at Millbury. Under his management the manufacture of specialties in wooden ware was largely increased, the trade of the firm now extending to all parts of this coun- try, and to Europe as well. On January I, 1887, he formed a partnership with the late A. G. Williams, continuing until 1892, when the latter sold out to H. H. Sargent, of Monroeville, Ohio, the firm opening an office in Perrysburg, from which Mr. Chapman still manages his wide and varied business interests. Their factories have been located at various points in Canada, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, and they still have one at Aylmer, Canada, although their work is principally carried on in Michigan, in the fac- tories at Boone and Copemish.
Mr. Chapman was married December 4. 1367, to Miss Philinda P. Tracy, who was born in Bowl- ing Green, Ohio, July 13, 1844. They have four children: Edith, Charles F., Jr., Gertrude. and Linda Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are both leading members in the M. E. Church. In polit- ical connection he is a Republican; socially he is a member of the G. A. R. , and of the Knights of Honor.
SAMUEL SLAUGHTERBECK was born in West- moreland county, Penn., January 1, 1831, and may be counted among the early settlers of Wood county, as his father. John Slaughterbeck, came with his family to what is now known as Perry township, in 1836. He bought land in the tim- ber, and building a rude cabin, such as sheltered
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the early comers, proceeded to make a home. It. was hard work clearing away the large trees and thick underbrush, and, far from neighbors or so- ciety of any kind, the young farmer grew lone- some, and longed to return to his old home in Pennsylvania. He accordingly took the long journey on foot; but, after spending a short time among his early friends, again came west and took up his old occupations.
John Slaughterbeck lived to the good old age of eighty-two years, and died in Lucas county, near Toledo, where he spent the later years of his life. He was originally a Methodist in his religious connections, but subsequently united with the Presbyterian Church. Rachel (Ander- son) Slaughterbeck the mother of our subject, was about sixty-eight years old at the time of her death, which took place at Eagleville, Bloom township, Wood county; by her marriage with Mr. Slaughterbeck she became the mother of .' twelve children, of whom the following record is given : Sarah married Edwin Turnham, an Englishman by birth. and died a number of years ago; Edwin died after reaching manhood: Henry is deceased: Leah is the wife of William Cook, and lives in Bloom township; Mary married Peter Mominee. of Lucas county, and there died; John was a soldier for three years in the war of Rebellion. and died. aged twenty-two, in Bloom township; Jacob lives in Hancock county; George lives in Wood county; Catherine married Wesley Cobus, and is deceased: Samuel is our subject; the others died in childhood.
Samuel Slaughterbeck, the fourth child of the above family, grew to manhood in Perry town- ship, and on July 20, 1862, enlisted in Company B, Hith O. V. 1 .. for. three years, to serve his country in the war of the Rebellion. His com- mand was assigned to the Western army. He was wounded through the left wrist while on picket duty near Louisville, Ky., and was sent home on furlough. afterward receiving his dis- charge September 18. 1863, at Columbus, Ohio. While Mr. Slaughterbeck was in the army his family remained with his father, and after his .
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discharge he settled on a farm belonging to the : Clay Junction, now Millbury, and purchas. ! 1 forty acres of land where the village of Latchi now stands.
latter in Bloom township. This place he after- ward soll, taking up his residence in Henry town- ship, where he carried on farming until 1892, at which time he removed to North Baltimore. Mr. Slaughterbeck has a good farm, upon which oil was discovered in isso, and he now has an in- terest in eight wells, deriving a handsome income therefrom. He is an enterprising, active man, a good citizen. and is held in high esteem by his neighbors. He is a Republican in his political
views, and is a member of the Union Veteran Union.
Mr. Slaughterbeck was married, in 1855, to Miss Mahala Ann Copus, of Bloom township, b! whom he had eight children, as follows: Mary. who died when five years old; Peter, living in Hancock county, who married Marinda Laney. and has five children: George, living in Henry township. Wood county, who married Laura Chance; Samuel, who married Jennie Jennings. and has four children (he lives in Henry town- ship); John, who married Jennie Graham, and has four children (they reside in Henry township ; Selina Jane, married to James Fife, of North Baltimore. and they have eight children; Alfred. married to Fannie Durham, and living in Ham- mansburg. Wood county (have one child); Grant. a farmer in Wood county, married to Miss Min- nie Cupp, and has four children. The mother of this family died in 1873, and. for his second wife. Mr. Slaughterbeck married Mrs. Mary Buone !!. Of this union one child was born, Jason, who married Ella Downs, and has two children. and lives in North Baltimore. In 1883 Mr. Slaugh- terbeck married Miss Malinda Feller, by whom he has four children-Louisa, Burley, Benjamin and Harrison.
Our subject used to grind corn by hand, three grains at a time, for the family. The mill was located centrally for three families, Jacob Rhines John Swinehart, and John Slaughterbeck. While the children were grinding the corn the father stood guard against the wolves, firing his rifie to frighten them away. John, the father, had to go many miles to buy corn, and they called the journey " going to Egypt for corn." The In- dians camped around the house for seven years. furnishing them with wild meat in exchange for corn. They never molested the white settlers.
JOHN MARSH, an influential and progressive farmer residing in Section 33. Lake township. came to Wood county in 1857, locating first > Plain township, but the following year remove to Lake township He made a settlement a
He was born in Sussex county, England. :. 1839. That country was also the birthplace his parents, Joseph and Frances . Mathews) Mars who never left their native land. Four of their children became citizens of Ohio: Luke, 11! became a farmer of Lake township, where he arrived in 1854, and died at Latchie in isso. Mark, who located in Lucas county, in 1855.
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and there died in 1888; John, of this review; and Morris became a resident of Sylvania, Lucas county, in 1867, and still makes his home there.
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When in his eighteenth year, Mr. Marsh, our subject, bade good-bye to home and friends, and started for the New World, boarding a sailing vessel at Liverpool, and at the end of seven weeks reached the shores of this country, since which time he has made his home in Wood county. He was married in Lake township, in 1863, to Miss Margaret Akerman, and to them were born three children: Jacob, who is mar- ried and lives in Lake township; Oscar M. ; and Frances M., now the wife of James Wagoner, of Stony Ridge. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Marsh was again married, his second union being with Miss Sarah Moore, a native of Lake township, where their wedding was celebrated October 8, 1871. Her parents were born in Pennsylvania, where they were married, and emigrated by team to Lake township, Wood county, where they entered the land now owned by our subject, and immediately settled thereon, being numbered among the earliest pioneers of the locality. There the father's death occurred October 25, 1880, and the mother died August 6, 1883. In their family were nine children, namely: George, who was born in 1822, died on the home farm in 1849; Mary is the wife of John Aken- berger, of Millbury; John died in Lake township, in 1856; James is married, and lives in Nebraska; Mrs. Elizabeth Thornton died in Perrysburg township, Wood county, in 1872; Susanna died in Troy township, in 1833; Mrs. Margaret Shure resides in East Toledo, Ohio; Joseph, who now makes his home at Curtis. Ottawa Co., Ohio, en- listed in Lake township, in 1864, in Company K. 25th O. V. I., for three years, and served until the close of the war; Jacob enlisted in the same township, in 1862, becoming a member of Com- pany K, 111th O. V. I., and died at Bowling Green, Ky., in 1863; and Sarah completes the family. It was in 1331 that this family located in Wood county, making a home in Troy town- ship, on the ridge, near the village of Stony Ridge; bnt three years later they located upon the farm now owned by Mr. Marsh, which was then a vast wilderness, entirely unimproved. The parents were both faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Five children came to bless the union of our subject and his wife, as follows: Rachel, now the widow of Jesse Wagoner, of Lake township; Eliza, who died in 1887; and Adelia, Sarah and Perry Earl.
Prompted by patriotism for his adopted coun-
try, Mr. Marsh joined the Union army during the Civil war, enlisting at Latchie, in 1861, as a mem- ber of Company E, zend O. V. 1., and was mons- tered into the United States service at Columbus. Ohio, being assigned to the Western army. After the battle of Shiloh he was taken ill, and at Columbus was honorably discharged, in 1862. after which he returned to Latchie. He is a true representative of the Republican party, and has always been a firm supporter of its principles.
CHARLES WELLS THOMAS was born April S. 1845, at Chili, Monroe Co., N. Y., and when he was six months old his parents moved to Ohio, settling upon a farin known as . The Islands," in Perry township, Wood county. At that time the farm was owned by the late Charles W. Fos- ter, who was'a brother of Mrs. Catherine Thomas (our subject's mother), and after whom Charles W. Thomas was named. C. W. Foster was the founder of Fostoria, Ohio, and father of ex-Go .. Foster.
Young Thomas received his early education at the common school in District No. 1. Perry township-two of his teachers being Maj. Thomas C. Norris and Capt. F. R. Stewart, while some of his schoolmates were Omar P. Norris (after- ward captain); James Norris (afterward sergeant : and Charles F. Munger, Thaddeus Fletcher. George Kamphor, John Johnston and Volentine Ash (afterward privates in the O. V. I.). In Perry township Mr. Thomas enlisted as a private in Company G. Capt. Charles D. Dennis, 189th O. V. I., and was discharged at Huntsville, Ala .. when he returned home. He then went to school again, during the winter of 1865-66, after which he worked three years in the L. E. & W. Rail- way Company's office in Fostoria, Ohio. Later he was bookkeeper for The Roberts Co. Found- ry and Machine Shops, closing out their bust- ness as receiver for the same. He was electe l and served two terms as city councilman ot Fos- toria, Ohio; for five years served as second lieu- tenant of Company D, Foster Light Guards. Six- teenth Regiment. O. N. G. He helped to con- struct the Toledo & Ohio Central railroad, and had charge of the inspection of all ties during the construction of the N. Y. C. & St. L. R. R. : WIS also transfer clerk, for two years, for The West . ern Transit Company, of Chicago, Ill .. and tor ten years was connected with the wholesale gro- cery house of Davis & Foster. Fostoria, Ohio, The northern street of Fostoria was named Thomas, in honor of C. W. Thomas. For two years he was connected with the municipal con- tractors of Jamestown, N. Y. He is a thirty -
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second degree Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Mason. He has one son, Ralph F., who is in The Mechanics Savings Banking Co., at Fostor- ia, Ohio .- Monday, September 7, 1896.
JACOB W. URSCHEL, the well-known lime manufacturer, of Sugar Ridge, was born March 6, 1845, in Stark county, Ohio.
Daniel Urschel, his father, was a native of Germany, where he followed agricultural pursuits. He was married there to Fraulein Barbara Zints- master, and in 1834 came with his family to Ohio, settling upon a farm of 160 acres in Stark county. His wife died in 1885, and two years later he too passed from earth. They had ten children, three of whom were born in Germany: Catherine, deceased wife of Peter Rosche, of Stark county; Daniel, a farmer in Stark county; Barbara, wife of Peter Strauss, a farmer in Stark county; John, a fariner in Stark county; Andrew. a farmer in Indiana; Phoebe, wife of Fred Lifer, a farmer in Indiana; Jacob WV., our subject; Eli- zabeth, deceased wife of John Muskopf, and two who died in infancy.
Our subject attended the schools of his native township during his boyhood, assisting also in the farm work, and at the age of nineteen he be- gan to learn the tanner's trade. After working at this for three years in Stark county, he moved to Lucas county, and engaged in the same busi- ness in the village of Monclova. In 1876, he went to Kansas and bought 140 acres of land, which he cultivated some six years, when he sold it and moved to Topeka, in order to engage in the butcher's trade, which same he followed three years. He then returned to Lucas county, and remained six years upon a farm of sixty acres, which he sold in 1890, in that year coming to Wood county. Here he bought eighty-three acres in Middleton township, which he has im- proved until it is now one of the finest farms of its size in the county, with commodious barns and a handsome dwelling house, costing $2,000. Shortly after his arrival he became interested in the lime business, of which he has made a suc- cess. On his coming to Wood county, in 1890, he and his wife's brother, F. W. Van Fleet, and W. N. Spencer, entered into the manufacture of lime, beginning in a small way. Soon, however, they put in patent kilns and doubled the capacity of their works, in 1895 turning out 80,000 barrels of lime, which they shipped to several States, both near and distant. In January, 1895, Van- Fleet and Spencer sold out to A. F. Christman, and the business has since been known as the "Sugar Ridge Stone & Lime Co." As a self-
made man, noted for his integrity as well as his ability, onr subject takes high rank in business circles.
On April 4, 1872, Mr. Urschel was married to Miss Helen I. Van Fleet, who was born itt Waterville, Ohio, November 10, 1847, a daugh- ter of Charles and Sarah (Webb) Van Fleet. Four children were born of this union: Cora M., February 4, 1876, a successful teacher in Bowl- ing Green; Burtis H., June 30, 1878; Charles, July 10, 1874, who died in infancy; and Clyde V., October 20, 1880. Mrs. Urschel's father was born March 19, 1822, in Dayton, Ohio, of Holland descent, and was a son of Matthias Van- Fleet, a native of Pennsylvania. By occupation he was a farmer, and was among the pioneers of Ohio, first locating near Dayton, and ultimately moving to Lucas county, where he died. Of his children, Charles, born March 19, 1822, was a farmer, and died November 10, 1884, the father of six children, two of whom died in infancy; Mrs. Urschel comes next; Henry F., born De- cember 13, 1849, is a farmer at Waterville, Ohio; Cora, born June 21, 1852, is now the wife of W. U. Spencer, of Delaware; Fred W., born March 2. 1857, lives in Bowling Green. The mother of these in her maidenhood was Miss Sarah Webb, born at Syracuse, N. Y., March 13, 1828, daugh- ter of John (a carpenter) and Hannah Webb, who came to Lucas county in 1834. Mrs. Urschel's inother, who was of English descent, died at Bowling Green, August 30, 1889.
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