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 2
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When Bowling Green's school facilities were found to be inadequate, and the new central building was projected, Mr. Evers, in command of the Sentinel, led the van against virulent op- position; and though defeated in the first attempt. made a second fight with better results, and our elegant central school building is the result. He led a similar fight to secure the purchase of the city park grounds, about fifteen years ago. when the land could be bought cheaply, and he could foresee that the time would come when they would be wanted and would cost much more. Many more instances of his leadership in the in- ception of worthy public projects could be told of Mr. Evers, but in no instance was he ever known to stay to receive any of the credit or share in the glory of conquest.
His genius as a writer is not excelled by many
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who claim authorship to more numerous and pre- tentious works that have appeared from his pen. The pioneer sketches which appeared from time to time in the columns of the Sentinel years ago, from his writing; the hearty sympathy with all those advance guards of the nation endured, as evinced by those writings; their truth to life, early in his career as a newspaper man, endeared him to the hearts of every old citizen, and make him respected by their children of to-day. The most considerable bit of literary work ever pub- lished from his pen was the adventures of the Mitchell raiders, a true story of the war, written for his old friend Alf. Wilson, who was one of the raiders. It is one of the most touching and thrilling narratives ever put in print.
If ever the writer knew a man utterly void of fear, C. W. Evers is that man. Not reckless, foolhardy fearlessness, but a bravery backed up by an iron will that leaves danger out of every calculation, has been the characteristic of the man. As some incidents in connection with his official career are part of the county history- as the history of nations is largely made up of bat- tles fought and men brought low -- the writer is tempted to give a few in confirmation of the assertion of his absolute fearlessness.
To be sheriff of Wood county, even as late as the close of the war, was no joke. Much of the year the roads were almost impassable; and allthe year the immense forests in some portions of the county afforded hiding places for gangs of horse- thieves, counterfeiters, and other marauders, who were much more numerous and bold than at present. In his official capacity Mr. Evers had to do with many of the worst criminals in the Northwest. and his dealings with them were not often in the nature of Sunday-school picnics. A remarkable judge of human nature, he seldom had to give a man a second look to size him up. He was, and is, if he would exercise his talents, a natural detective -- of the school not made by politics or supported by blackmail, a species now almost extinct-and it went hard with a criminal when he got after him, for lie was pretty certain to come to book sooner of later.
At one time he arrested a great big ruffian up near Milton Center, and was riding in the " ca- boose" on an evening train on the C. H. & D. R. R., on the way to Perrysburg, when the fellow, though handcuffed, and the train going twenty miles an hour, jumped ont by the side door, which was open. Without a moment's hesitation Evers sprang after him, and was severely injured by falling on a pile of ties at the side of the track. Staggering up, however, he gave chase and finally
overhauled his man, and was walking back toward Tontogany, near which village the escape oc- curred, when the fellow struck him a terrific blow on the head with the handcuffs, knocking him momentarily senseless. Arousing himself, he heard his man climbing a fence a little distance off, again gave chase, and by firing a couple of shots at the man induced him to stop. The two men then sat down on the ground, only a few feet apart, and glowered at each other; both bleeding profusely from the wounds and bruises, both com- pletely dead-beat. A posse from Tontogany, who had been informed of the escape by the train- men, who had run the train back when the men were missed, came out, attracted by Mr. Evers' shots, and, when they found how badly used up the sheriff was, were only prevented by stern threats from using violence to the prisoner on the spot.
Late one Sunday evening he went in to lock the prisoners in their cells, when one of them. secreted at the entrance, struck him a heavy blow on the head with a stick of wood, and at the same time threw a cup full of ashes in his eyes; the in- tention being to let all the prisoners escape, and all preparations had been made with that end in view. But in this they reckoned without their host ; for Mrs. Evers, who always accompanied her hus- band on these occasions, quickly closed and barred the corridor door as soon as she saw the first blow struck, and then called coolly to the men, telling them that under no circumstances would she ope: the door. This was not what the men had counted on. They had presumed that she, woman-like. would, on seeing her husband in danger, either run screaming away, or run in the corridor, in.either case leaving them free to go as soon as they could dispose of Mr. Evers. But she was not that kind of a bride. With a wit quick as lightning, and a nerve as cool as her husband's, she took in the situation at a glance, and knew that, with the doors closed against them, the men would have no further provocation to hurt her husband, as they could not secure indeninity for themselves for so doing by flight. And she judged rightly, for no sooner did she get the men to understand that the door was locked than they became docile, and apologized, and went mneekly to their cells: though Mr. Evers was so blinded by the ashes, and stun- ned and exhausted by the terrific struggle and blow, that Mrs. Evers had to call the servant giri to come and let her into the corridor to lock the cell doors, and find her husband's keys which had been dropped on the floor in the mnelee. It will be observed, by the way, that Mr. E. does pot possess quite all the old-fashioned grit there is fi that family.
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"Naturally secretive and undemonstrative, one has to run across Mr. Evers'tracks, as I have done" (continues the writer), "to detect the inany acts of unassuming but liberal charity which have -- I was near saying-marked the course of Mr. Evers' life; but it was not so, for it has been his way that these things should leave no mark. But, nevertheless, they have filled many a flour bar- rel and warmed many a heart and body, just as well as if performed with brass-band accompani- ment.
"A great lover of nature, both animate and in- animate, I believe he observed, almost with re- gret, the gradual but sure retirement of the great forests of Wood county before the advance of the hardy pioneers, and, at the same time, no man has evinced throughout his life a stronger affec- tion for, and sympathy with, those same pioneers. It seems as if in his fancy he has always asso- ciated his memory and reverence for them with the lordly oaks of the primeval forests which they tamed, and felt that they, like himself, possessed, truly. 'hearts of oak.
" I have trod with him the great forests of the far north, and with him admired, hours long, the gorgeous, changing hues of the maple, oak, and birch, as the frosts of autumn touched them with their magic hand; drank from the same spring; eaten our venison and bacon from astride the same log: slept under the same blanket, and watched the alternating clouds and stars in the grand vault of the heavens, and listened to the many voices of the night together; toiled many a long day together, in sunshine and shower; and now. with all the vicissitudes of his extreme- ly useful life, past and to come, I say, most heartily, I want the Almighty to send me no truer, more unassuming or more appreciable com- panion, to the day or occasion, than Charles W. Evers. And this, and much more, I deem his due and history's due, when it is being written of Wood county."
HENRY F. ARNDT. Among the well-to-do agriculturists who came to Wood county in the latter days of its prosperity, and who are becom- ing identified with its material interests; is the citizen whose name begins this sketch, who resides in Section 5, Lake township. His birth occurred in Toledo, Ohio, January 4, 1857. His father, Christ Arndt, was born in Mecklenburg, Ger- many, in 1821, and was single on coming to the New World, but in this country married Fredreka Sanders, also a native of the Fatherland, born in 1822. They were sincere members of the Lu- theran Church, and the mother now finds a pleas-
ant home with our subject. To them were born two children, Henry F., of this review, being the only one now living. His education was obtained in Lake township, he having attended the schools at Walbridge.
In 1878 was celebrated the marriage of Henry F. Arndt and Miss Dorothea Consor, who was born in Germany December 10, 1860, and they have become the parents of five children, who, in order of birth, are as follows: Fred; Elsie; Walter, who died at the age of two years and four months; Amelia; and Leona, who died at the age of one year and ten months.
Mr. Arndt has lived on his present farm since he was four years old, and he has his land under a high state of cultivation, being numbered among the most thoroughly reliable and enterprising farmers of Lake township. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party, in whose principles he sees the best guarantees for the preservation of our popular form of government; is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his religious views are those held by the Uni- Versalists.
CORTLAND R. HOPKINS, whose well-known probity and upright character class him among the valued 'citizens and representative business men of Custar, well deserves mention in the his- tory of Wood county. He was born in Blanchard township, Hancock county, April 23, 1848, and is a son of Matthew E. and Mary Maria (Runnels Hopkins. He is of Scotch extraction, and a de- scendant of John Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who emigrated to America with his two brothers. The parents of our subject were both natives of Ohio, and the father was a farmer by occupation. After their marriage they removed to Hancock county. lo- cating on a farm of 450 acres which Mr. Hopkins cultivated until his death. His widow still sur- vives. In the family were eight children, namely: Cortland R .; Amanda, wife of Joab Moffet, of Putnamcounty, Ohio; Meroa, wifeof Jasper Dukes. of Hancock county; Caroline, wife of Nelson Cole- man, of Hancock county; Cary M., a farmer of Harper county, Kans .; Laura, who died in in- fancy; Nora, wife of F. M. Hummons, of Put. nami county, Ohio; and Alma, who died at the age of five years.
Our subject completed the course of the pub- lic schools of his native town, and then pursued a three-years' scientific course in Oberlin College. after which he entered Cornell University, New York, where he remained for two terms. After his return home he was married at Warsaw, Ind ..
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September 23, 1873, to Miss Quincie A. Sor- bie, who was born in Hancock county, Ohio, in September, 1852. Mr. Hopkins then went to the West through the influence of an uncle in lowa, who offered him great inducements to go to that State. He located on a 1, 000-acre tract of land owned by his uncle, and farmed that suc- cessfully for five years, after which he purchased eighty acres of wild land in Liberty township, Wood county, and returned to his native State. He afterward added, to this, 300 acres, and became the owner of a valuable farm. In the fall of 1892 he was taken ill, and for a year was unable to engage in active business. Owing to financial difficulties with one who pretended to be his friend, he was forced to sell 400 acres of his land. Previous to his illness he had built a grain elevator in Custar, and in the spring of 1894 he removed to this place, and has since given his attention to the business there, handling coal, hay, grain and straw, and enjoying a good bus- iness. He also owns considerable town property in Custar, and through his own efferts has ac- quired a comfortable competence.
Mr. Hopkins is a Republican in politics, and was elected mayor of Custar in the spring of 1896; although the town is strongly Democratic, he was elected by a large majority over his com- petitor for the office, which he fills to the satisfac- tion of the people, and with credit to himself. He is an intelligent, popular and enterprising citizen. He and his wife had two children, but both are now deceased. Minnie, born in Iowa, October 12, 1874, died December 20, 1879. Mabel, born in Wood county, died at the age of six months.
F. K. STACY, one of the leading business men of Bloomdale, was born in Lowellville, Ma- honing Co., Ohio, on August 5, 1846, and is a son of Thomas and Margaret (McGill) Stacy. The father, who was also a native of Mahoning county, was by trade a carpenter, and died in that county at the age of seventy-three years. The mother died at Lowellville when past the age of eighty years. They were the parents of a large family, only a few of whom lived to adult age. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Thomas Stacy, became one of the early settlers of Ma- honing county, where he owned a great deal of land, and was very wealthy.
Leaving home at the age of sixteen, Mr. Stacy, of this sketch, began work on the Beaver & Ohio canal, there holding different positions for two years, at the expiration of which time he went to Hancock county, Ohio, having an ac-
quaintance living in Cass township. For a few years he there worked as a farm hand, receiving $30 for six months' work. Later he learned broom making, which trade he followed in Cass township until 1876, when he came to Bloomdale, being. the first broom maker in the place, and there engaged in that pursuit for seven years. In 1883 he became a member of the firm of Stacy, Linhart & Co., who owned 320 acres of timber land in Pleasant township, Hancock county. where they were engaged in getting out lumber until the fall of 1888, during which time his fam- ily lived in a small plank house in the midst of the woods, near the sawmill. Mr. Stacy then re- turned to Bloomdale; but for two years still con- tinued to buy lumber with the firm, and also con- ducted a restaurant. In the spring of 1891, he purchased the interest of S. W. Strimple in the elevator business, becoming a partner of T. J. Campbell, and also carried on a grocery store. He has been identified with the tile factory at dif- ferent times, having built the original factory about 1878, and was one of the company that platted the Star addition to Bloomdale. On Feb- ruary 1, 1895, he became sole owner of the grain and elevator business, which is the only business of the kind in the city.
In Allen township, Hancock county, on De- cember 21, 1871, Mr. Stacy led to the marriage altar Miss Alice E. Markle, a native of Canada. and a daughter of E. C. Markle, a pumpmaker by trade. The father is an own cousin of W. F. Cody, so well known as "Buffalo Bill." She was but a child when brought to the United States. By her marriage with our subject she has become the mother of two children-Jennie I. and Eugene C. The latter was a member of the first class to graduate from the Bloomdale High School (1895), and has been engaged in writing biographical sketches.
Mr. Stacy is one of the foremost citizens of Bloomdale, enterprising and public spirited. wide-awake to every improvement and advance- ment of that beautiful little city, and was one of the party who built the first sidewalk and set out the first shade trees, and also contributed ten dollars toward the completion of the school house. He was a charter member of Mc- Comb Lodge, Knights of Pythias order, and for over twenty years belonged to the Odd Fellows Society, but has now dropped his membership. His politicalsupport isgiven the Republican party. For two terins he served as alderman, being a member of the first city council, and was elected mayor to fill out the unexpired terni of T. J. Campbell, after which he was re-elected, serving
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in all three years. For years he has been a member of the hunting parties from Bloomdale to northern Wisconsin, Michigan and the Rocky mountains. On September 27, 1895, while on one of these hunting expeditions in the Rocky moun- tains, being alone, and a half mile from camp (which was about twenty miles north of Meeker, Colo.), he killed a large male mountain lion measuring seven feet and two inches from the end of the nose to the tip of the tail. When Mr. Stacy shot, the animal was just thirty feet from him, and was creeping slowly toward him, looking him in the face all the time.
Mr. Stacy has been quite successful in his business ventures, for which he deserves much credit, as his property has all been acquired through his own unaided efforts and persever- ance. Mrs. Stacy, a most estimable lady, is a member of the Lutheran Church.
J. F. SMITH, the senior partner of the firm of Smith & Wineland, well-known brick and tile manufacturers of Bloomdale, is one of the repre- sentative self-made men, and belongs to a prom- inent family. He is an Ohioan by birth, of Scotch descent, and first saw the light in Logan county, July 12, 1858. He came to Wood county with his parents, W. E. and Margaret Smith, when he was but seven years old, and passed through the ordinary experiences of the boys of that time, with an abundance of work, and but limited edu- cational privileges. The improved schools of to- day have no firmer friend than Mr. Smith, his own deprivations giving him a keen appreciation of their value. Up to the age of twenty-one he remained at home, except for two seasons on the farm of Thomas and Jerry Loman, in Perry township. In the fall of 1879 he went to Page county, Iowa, and, after working for one year on a farm, he bought a team and rented a farm, starting in business on his own account. He re- turned home, and on April 24, 1882, was mar- ried, in Bloom township, to Miss Dillie Loman, youngest daughter of Richard Loman, a pioneer of Perry township. For two years after this happy event, he clerked in the store of Emerson Bros., of Bloomdale, where he bought a home. In the fall of 1885 he went to Iowa again, and rented a farm for two years, in Page county, ex- pecting there to make his home; but in October, 1887, yielding to the desires of others, he came back to Bloomdale, and resumed his work in the store. Early in 1889 he bought a one-third in- terest in the Bloomdale Brick and Tile Works, the firm being Stacy, Smith & Co., and in 1891 he became a half owner, with Mr. Wineland.
This business has prospered under his energetic management, and he has engaged in other enter- prises at the same time, helping to organize the Bloomdale Building & Loan Association, and serving as its first president, a position which be declined the second year. He is a stockholder in the Bloomdale Creamery Co., and managed it in 1895. He is also a stockholder in the Lakeside Encampment, at Lakeside, Ohio. It is said that it is the really busy people who can find time to do things, and Mr. Smith furnishes an example to support the rule, as he is an active worker in the Radical United Brethren Church, a trustee, class leader, and superintendent of its Sunday- school. He is a liberal contributor to Church work, and to all measures designed to benefit the community. His pleasant home is brightened by two children: Hazel, now eleven years old, and Ruth, aged two years.
In February, 1895, Mr. Smith met with a sad accident. While feeding a chopmill at the works, on a very cold morning, his right hand, on which he wore a glove, was caught, neces- sitating its amputation one inch above the wrist. Mr. Smith is one of the active managers of the Prohibition party in this vicinity, having left the Republican fold in 1888. He has been secretary of the county organization, and in 1894 was the candidate for county recorder. He was elected village councilman for the one-year term, in the spring of 1891, and in 1894 was elected for three years, in which position his abilities and qualifi- cations for righteous government are manifest. In the recent Presidential campaign, Mr. Smith took great interest; he is a strong advocate of the free coinage of silver, and was a candidate for Presidential elector on the National ticket.
THOMAS W. TAYLOR. Among the well-known and prosperous farmers of Wood county, is the gentleman whose name we here present.
Thomas Taylor, father of Thomas W., was born in Huntingdon county, Penn. . April 19, 1800. At a mature age he was married to Miss Sarah Keeth, who was two years his junior. she being born in the same county, January 3, 1802. His occupation was that of a farmer and stock-dealer. Some time after their marriage they moved to Richland county, Ohio, and while here six chil- dren were born to them: Levi, September 30. 1821; Mary Jane, September 10, 1823; George W., August 23. 1825; Louis K .. November 15. 1827: Thomas W., March 22. 1830, and William. October 30, 1832. In April of the year 1534. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor moved to Wood counts. Ohio, and while here four more children were
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born to them: Andrew J., April 11, 1836; Martha A., September 10, 1838; James, March 20, 1841; and Harriet M., August 29, 1843. On June 27, 1852, Mrs. Sarah (Keeth) Taylor died. In the spring of 1854 Thomas Taylor, Sr., married Mar- garet Warner Clark, and to them were born three children: John W., September 19, 1856; Henry L., April 7, 1860; and Sarah E., August 15, 1863. Thomas Taylor, Sr., died April 9, 1870, and his widow followed him January 12, 1892. Six of the children are yet living, namely: Louis K., Thomas W., Martha A., Harriet M., John W., and Henry L. Three of the boys were in the army: William was a member of Company H. 21st O. V. I., and was killed at Stone River, January 2, 1863; James was a member of Com- pany H, 21st O. V. I., and was killed at Vining Station, Ga., July 9, 1864; Thomas W. was a member of Company K, 11Ith O. V. I. He en- listed August 21, 1862, and by reason of a "Sur- geon's certificate of disability," was discharged at Bowling Green, Ky., after eight months and twelve days service.
The early education of our subject was ac- quired by working nights and mornings for his board, and paying for his tuition by working at from 25 cents to 50 cents per day. At the age of twenty-three, in company with his brother Levi, he crossed the Plains with a drove of sheep, trans- porting their provisions with three yoke of oxen, two horses and a mule. When they left Council Bluffs, Iowa, their flock consisted of over nine hundred head; but, before they reached their des- tination, it had dwindled to about four hundred; they also lost four oxen. In 1859 he returned to Ohio and engaged in farming, which occupation he again resumed on his return from the army. By hard work and good management Mr. Taylor has made himself a financial success, being the possessor of three fine farms besides considerable town and personal property.
Although Mr. Taylor has never married, he has been a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless, always kind, and liberal to charity and to enterprise. He has been a member of the town council; is a member of the G. A. R. and K. of P., and has held several positions of trust. He has always been a great reader, and has a large library well-stocked with choice books; is a well- posted man on almost any subject, and is always "up to date" on the political issues of the day. Both Mr. Taylor and his father voted the Demo- ciatic ticket until 1860, when they joined the Re- publican forces.
In 1853, Thomas Taylor, Sr., laid off thirty- one lots of what was then " Taylortown," but later
on was called " New Westfield," and later still "Weston." The town has now grown to be a thriv- ing village of 1,500 inhabitants-in fact there is no better town in northwestern Ohio. It has finer residences, is morally better, and has church and business ability second to none. Its schools give a complete course preparatory to a college edu- cation.
JOHN OSBURG, one of the oldest German pio- neers of the vicinity of Perrysburg, and a retired farmer, is a native of Prussia, Germany, where he was born June 24, 1816. The parents of Mr. Osburg both lived and died in Prussia. Mr. Osburg, Sr., was married four times, our subject being the only child by his first wife. His second marriage resulted in two children: Ignatius, who died in St. Louis, Mo., and Mary, who married Mr. Cenging, and died in Lucas county, Ohio.
Our subject was educated in Prussia, and served in the German army one year, after which he learned the blacksmith's trade. He was mar- ried in Prussia, October 16, 1836, to Miss Doro- tha Nolte, who was born March 4, 1813. They embarked from Bremen for America in a sailing vessel, and after a voyage of seven weeks landed at New York, and came direct to Perrysburg, reaching here November 10, 1848. In 1851 Mr. Osburg bought six acres of land then heavily timbered, but now comprising a part of the cor- poration of Perrysburg, besides which he has twelve more acres, also inside the corporation. He followed the occupations of teaming and farming until he retired, in 1880. Mrs. Osburg died April 12, 1895, at the age of eighty-two. Of their ten children, a record of the following is given: Marguerite died at the age of ten on the way to America, and was buried in inid ocean. Mary was born in Germany, came to Perrysburg. this county, with her parents, and in 1854 married John Snyder, a native of Switzerland, who came to the United States when a young man, and set- tled in Perrysburg, where he now resides. His wife died in 1862. Three children were born to them: Mary was married in 1886, to C. F. Koschland, and died in 1888; Elizabeth be- came the wife of John C. Hahn, in 1890, and has one child-Arthur J. (they now live with our subject at Perrysburg); Carrie is now living in Toledo. Mr. Snyder's second marriage re- sulted in five children: Alice, now Mrs Fred Henry, of Perrysburg: Frank, Harry, Ada and Clarence. Mr. Osburg is a Democrat, and a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and in spite of nearly eighty-one years, is a prominent factor in his community.
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