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 24
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HENRY LUSHER has spent his entire life in Wood county, his birth having occurred in Per- rysburg township, on March 20, 1854. His par- ents were Henry and Harriet (Reamer) Lusher. The father was a native of Switzerland, and when a child of seven years caine with the grand- father to America, locating in Seneca county, Ohio. He was married in Bettsville, Ohio, in 1843, to Miss Reamer, a native of Berks county, Penn., and immediately afterward caine to Perrys- burg, Wood county. Here he purchased forty acres of land on Road-track 21-22, Perrysburg township, and there carried on agricultural pur- suits until his death, which occurred December 26, 1875. He was killed by a falling limb blown from a tree, while he was returning from a neigh- bor's,. and was found the next day, his skull com- pletely crushed. His widow still survives him, and is now living near Lime City. They had twelve children: Sarah, of Michigan; Mary. Wesley and Malinda, who reside in Perrysburg township; Betsy, who died in childhood; Annie. and Susan, who are living in Perrysburg town- ship; Amelia, who died in childhood; Matilda. who makes her home in Michigan; David, who died in infancy: Harriet, who is living in Perrys- burg township; and Henry.
The subject of this review was educated in that township-his first teacher being William Morris. At the age of sixteen he left school to work for his father, with whom he remained in- til he had attained his majority, being engaged in general farming and threshing. On December 23, 1874, he was joined in wedlock with Miss
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Dora Baumgartner, a native of Wood county. They have an adopted child, Caroline, who was born July 22, 1878, and is a niece of Mrs. Lusher.
After his marriage, Mr. Lusher engaged in teaming for a year, and then operated the old homestead until his father's death. In the spring of 1876 he purchased twenty acres of land in Section 36, Perrysburg township, and removed to that farm in the fall. Its boundaries he has since extended, until he now owns 120 acres of land, highly cultivated, and well improved with a comfortable residence, good outbuildings, and all the conveniences of a model farm. He re- ceived from his father's estate $578.00, but the remainder of his property has all been acquired entirely through his own efforts. Mr. Lusher is an advocate of the Republican party, and al- though living in a Democratic township, he has held the office of supervisor for five successive terins, a fact which indicates the confidence re- posed in him by his fellow townsmen. It is a trust that has never been betrayed, and in all the other relations of life he is true and faithful, while to him is given the warm regard of many friends.
WILLIAM SMITH is one of the honored and esteemed citizens of Middleton township, and his well-spent life is in many respects worthy of emu- lation. Educational, social and moral interests have found in him a friend, and he has been an important factor in agricultural circles, thus ad- ding to the material welfare of the community.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Smith was born in York county, July 23, 1823, and is descended from honored Revolutionary ancestry. His grand- father, Samuel Smith, was one of the heroes of the war for Independence, and the father, Will- ianı Smith, Sr., a native of York county, Penn., served in the war of 1812. His wife bore the maiden name of Christiana Snyder, and was born in Germany. They had a family of ten children, but Samuel, Liza, Sarah, Liddie and Willianı are the only ones now living. The parents both died in Crawford county, Ohio.
Our subject acquired his education in the public schools near his home, and worked on the old honie farm until twenty-four years of age, when he started out in life for himself. He pur- chased a farm of forty acres which he continued to cultivate until 1858, when he came to Ohio. He made his first location in Sandusky county, where he rented a farm of eighty acres for three years, and then removed to Seneca county, tak- ing up his residence near Kansas, where he op- erated 160 acres of land. During the war, how-
aid in the protection of the Union, enlisting. in 1863, as a member of Company F, 126th O. V. I. He participated in all the engagements of his company, and valiantly did his duty until the war was over, when he was honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in 1865.
Mr. Smith then returned to his farm in Seneca county, subsequently coming to Wood county. and located in Portage township, where for two years he engaged in the operation of fifty-six acres of land. He then came to Middleton township. and purchased forty-two acres of land, which con- stitutes his present farm. This is now a very valu- able tract, and the well-tilled fields yield to him a golden tribute, while the buildings upon the place stand as monuments to his thrift and enterprise
In 1847 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Smith and Miss Catherine Snyder, a native of York Co., Penn., and a daughter of Adam Sny- der, a blacksmith of that county. Ten children were born to them-Albert. a farmer of San- dusky county; William, a farmer of Wood county: Edward, an agriculturist of Nebraska; Levi, who operates a tract of land in Michigan; Barbara A .. wife of Peter Bobey; John. a farmer of this county; Angelina, wife of J. H. Carnes, of Plain township; Jane, wife of Henry Schuyler, of Con- voy; Mary; and one who died in infancy.
In politics, Mr. Smith is a stalwart advocate of Republican principles, and is a faithful mem- ber of the United Brethren Church. He was one of the first to suggest the erection of Union Hall, gave $200 to the enterprise, and by his labors aided in its construction. He is now sery- ing as one of its trustees, and does all in his power to promote its interests, and to advance the moral and educational welfare of the com- munity. Over his life there falls no shadow of wrong, and his exemplary character and manly qualities have made him a popular and highly esteemed citizen.
ALMON BAKER. The eighty-acre farm in Sec- tion 23, Montgomery township, belonging to this gentleman, is conspicuous for the manner in which it has been improved and cultivated, and is evi- dently the homestead of one of the most enter- prising men of Wood county. He is an Ohio man in the best sense of the word, born at Adrian. on May 27, 1855. and is the son of John and Louisa (Strauss) Baker, who brought him to Montgomery township. Wood county, when he was a child of six years.
The first school which our subject attended is what is now District School No. 5. his teacher be- 1 ever, he laid aside all business cares in order to | ing Jane Adams, and he later became a student
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in the Freeport school. He remaincd upon the home farm until 1881, at which time the Nickel Plate road was being built, and for nine months he served as foreman on the grading for sub- contractors. He was then made night watch- man on the same road, and in March, ISS2, be- came fireman on a freight engine, running between Bellevue, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Ind. For two years following he was fireman on a passenger engine running between the latter city and Chicago. He was promoted to engineer on a switch engine running between Stony Island and Chicago, and then ran a transfer engine between Fort Wayne and New Haven. He was later a freight engineer, running cast and west from Fort Wayne, and was connected with railroad work until 1891.
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In January, 1874, in Seneca county, Ohio, Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Mary Dern, who was born in that county in August, 1854, daughter of Hezekiah and Susanna ' Hyter) Dern. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children -- Gettie, who died at the age of three years, three months and nineteen days: and Bert, Willard and Myrtle, all at home. After his marriage Mr. Baker made his home upon the farm of his father, in Section 14, Montgomery town- ship, but later removed to Risingsun, Ohio, and during his railroad career lived at Fostoria, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Ind. Hc then returned to Montgomery township, where he now has a fine farm of cighty acres in Section 23. In addition to general farming he is also engaged in oil pump- ing and teaming. He has made considerable money, always having lived well, and has spent what would be a good lifetime accumulation for many; but, notwithstanding all this, he has secured a good competence, and is now quite prosperous. He has a thorough knowledge of steam and its workings, as well as the business to which he now turns his attention. In politics he is a Democrat, and, socially, holds membership with Onward Lodge, K. of P., of Risingsun, and with several railway organizations. He is recognized as an honest, upright citizen, one who would be an honor to any community. His estimable wife is a consistent member of the Disciples Church at Prairie Depot.
W. A. FINKBEINER. a well-known, prosper- ous merchant of Perrysburg, is one of the most clear-headed and enterprising young business men in the county.
Born in Perrysburg, Ohio, September 13. 1869, he is a son of Chris. Finkbeiner, formerly recorder of Wood county, and now a leading fur- niture dealer of Bowling Green. Our subject has
spent the greater part of his twenty-seven years in the county, attending the public schools dur- ing boyhood, and serving as an apprentice to the mercantile business in his father's store. For four years he was employed in the wholesale house of E. C. Saw & Co., of Toledo, and then, returning to his native placc, he bought his pres- ent store, where, as sole proprietor, his cnergy and good judgment have met with gratifying success.
On June 30, 1891, Mr. Finkbeiner was mar- ried to Miss Winnifred See, who was born Octo- ber 4, 1871, in Cleveland, Ohio. They have one son-Donald Arthur. In politics Mr. Finkbeiner is a Republican, and socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F., and the Royal Arcanum.
JOHN McMASTER, a popular, intelligent and esteemed citizen of Milton township, traces his ancestry back to one of the earliest families of New York. His parents were Levi and Charity Newberry McMaster, the former born in Cayu- ga county, N. Y., in 1800. They were married in Chautauqua county, that State, and in 1825 removed with their family to Huron county. Ohio, carrying on farming for a number of years in Greenfield township. He afterward removed to Richmond township, of the sanic county. where he purchased 100 acres of land that he afterward traded for a farm in Greenfield town- ship. When he had lived on the last place for seven years, he sold it and rented another farm. His death occurred in March. 1851, and his wife passed away in 1872, at the home of her daugh- ter, Mrs. John Jones, of Weston township. In the family there were the following children: John; Caroline, born June 12, 1829, now the wife of Joseph Horn, of Paulding county, Ohio: Ade- line, born January 26, 1831, now the wife of John Jones, of Weston township; Emeline, born June 28, 1838, died at the age of three years; Myron. born July 10, 1833, a resident of Louisville, Ky. . Levi, of Tuscola county, Mich .. born January 28. 1835; Sidney, born August 10. 1839; Charles, of Huron county, born September 14, 1841 ; Dexter. of Lucas county, born December 20, 1842; Enie- line, born August 21, 1843, wife of Horton Tay - lor, of California ; Mark, born December 8, 1855. now of Jefferson county, Kans. ; Deal, born July 31, 1847. wife of Peter Bliss, of Jefferson county. Kansas.
Our subject was born in Chautauqua county. N. Y., September 20, 1827 His educationa' privileges were limited, for there were none bi . subscription schools in the neighborhood. IH- school days were over at the age of fifteen, and
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he then turned his attention to farm work, was also employed for one year in a sawmill owned by his uncle, Hiram McMaster, and drove a team m connection with a gristmill for a year. Subse- quently he worked as a farm hand for $12 per month, and the next season received $13. Sav- ing his wages, he then purchased a small farm of thirty-three acres in Greenfield township, making a home for his mother and the younger children of the family. For ten years he lived on that place.
Mr. McMaster was married in Greenfield township, January 20, 1858, to Elizabeth Jane Grieves, who was born in Bergen county, N. J .. October 2, 1829, and came to Huron county with her parents at the age of six years. Her father and mother, Thomas and Elizabeth (Stewart) Grieves, spent their remaining days in Huron county. They had seven children who died in one summer, and the others are Thomas, also now deceased; and David, of Greenfield township. Huron county. To Mr. and Mrs. McMaster have been born the following named-John D., who was born March 12. 1859, and has always aided in the work of the home farm; Della, who was born March 29, 1863, and died at the age of three years; Myrtie, born May 16, 1870; and Laura. born February 27. 1875.
In November. 1860, Mr. McMaster removed to Wood county, and purchased forty acres of land on which stood a log house. The following January he brought his family to the new home, and for twenty years they lived in a log cabin, which was then replaced by the present capa- cious and substantial dwelling. He had only $300 and a team of horses when he came to the county, but has become the possessor of a com- fortable competence, and in connection with his son owns 147 acres of land, all under a high state of cultivation.
In his political views, Mr. McMaster and his son are both Republicans, and he has served as township trustee for two years, assessor for one terin, and school director for many years. He is deeply interested in whatever tends to advance the welfare of his adopted county, and well de- serves representation in its history.
LORON CLARK POTTER is a worthy representa- tive of the agricultural interests of Washington township, and is one of the prominent and highly respected citizens of the community. He was born in Sherman township, Huron Co., Ohio, August 8, 1849, and at the age of twenty-one une to Wood county with his parents, David G. and Mary Ann (Bates Potter, the former of
Weish, and the latter of English, descent. Our subject had five sisters, but two have now passed away- Celia Josephine and Roselia. Those liv- ing are Emma Jane, wife of Israel Huffman, of Grand Rapids, Ohio; Elnora, who resides in Toledo; and Alice, wife of William Bemis, of Waterville, Ohio.
The early life of Mr. Potter was spent after the manner of most farmers' sons, in a compara- tively uneventful manner, and during which he attended the common schools of Huron county. and made himself useful around the homestead as his years increased. In 1872, he was married to Miss Minerva Ann Wade, a daughter of John Q. Wade, a prominent farmer of Weston town- ship, the wedding being celebrated in Tontogany, and four children have come to bless their union. (1) Dudley A., born May 28, 1873, graduated at . the schools of Tontogany, and is now teaching in District No. I, Washington township. (2) Mary Ann, born January 3, 1875, is the wife of Frank Thomas, foreman of the Democrat office at Bowl- ing. Green, Ohio. They have one daughter. Helen, and lost a son in infancy, Harry Arthur. (3) Viola, born January 2, 1877. Birdie, born October 27, 1885, completed the family.
Mr. Potter has ever resided upon the home farm, to the cultivation of which he gives his entire time and attention, making it one of the highly productive tracts of the neighborhood. Politically. he votes the straight Democratic ticket. Not- withstanding his busy and active career as con- nected with the general welfare of his township, he has never sought office, content alone to see the people around him steadily advancing social- ly, morally and financially. He has, however, served for two terms as assessor. holding that office in 1890 and 1891, and four times was a inember of the central committee of his party. and at present is a member of the executive com- mittee. He takes quite an active interest in the Odd Fellows fraternity, belonging to Tontogany Lodge No. 755. I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all the chairs, and is now past grand, while both he and his wife belong to Onana Rebekah Lodge No. 400, of Tontogany.
HARMON HOLEMAN, the well-known merchant tailor of Pemberville, was born August 3. 1851, in Kappeln. Prussia, the youngest of the three children of Frederick Hollman, a stone masoft there, and his wife, Elizabeth Hollman.
When a young man, our subject learned! he. trade at his native place. mad wishing to while opportunities, at the age of twenty-two, he came to this country. For some time he followed hus
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trade in Tiffin, Ohio, then came to Bowling Green where he worked one year before finally locating in Pemberville. During the first year of his stay there he was employed, but soon established an independent business which he has since con- ducted successfully. He now owns the only merchant tailor shop in the town, and his well earned reputation for honesty and efficiency bring him a constantly extending trade.
In 1879 he married Miss Sophia Bimedick, a native of Seneca county, Ohio, born September 27, 1855, the fourth in a family of ten children. Her parents, Henry and Margaret (Telemyer) Bimedick, were both born in Germany in 1826, and came to Ohio in early life, locating first in Seneca county, and later settling in Wood coun- ty. Mr. Bimedick was one of the first settlers of Freedom township, and well and favorably known. He was a poor man when he camne here, and died March 26, 1893, the owner of a fine farm; his wife died December 26, 1890. Their family consisted of nine daughters and one son, Lewis, who died June 12, 1896; seven of the daughters are yet living. The parents were prominent members of the Lutheran Church at Pemberville for many years. Mrs. Hollman received an ex- cellent education in the public schools and those of the Lutheran Church, is one of the most ac- complished ladies of Pemberville, and with her husband takes an active part in Church work, and in every worthy cause. They have had two chil- dren: Edwin, born March 7, 1882, at present attending the public schools of Pemberville, and Clarence Lewis, who was born September 19, 1894, and was an exceedingly bright child; he died April 6. 1896, of scarlet fever, after ten days' illness. In politics Mr. Hollman is a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party.
JAMES PINNIGER. Among the reliable, pro- gressive and energetic farmers of Lake township, there is none better known or more highly res- pected than the gentleman whose name intro- duces this record. His farin is pleasantly located in Section 16, where he located in 1868, and was at that time covered with a dense growth of tim- ber; but he has transformed the land, making it one of the most highly improved places of the locality.
Mr. Pinniger was born in Berkshire, England, in 1844, and is the son of James and Sarah A. (Martin) Pinniger, also natives of the same coun- try, where the mother died in 1850. Two years later the father brought his family to the United States, locating first at Cleveland, where he worked at the barber's, trade and later engaged
in the grind-stone business at Berea, Ohio. From there he came to Lake township, Wood county, in 1858, and in the midst of the woods hewed out a farm, which ever afterward continued to be his home. By his first marriage he had three children: James, of this review; Sarah Ann, now Mrs. J. Parker, of Toledo; and Mary, also a resident of that city. In 1853. in Cleveland. Mr. Pinniger wedded Miss Ann M. Deacon. She died upon the farm in that township, leaving five children: Charles, William H., and Albert, all of Toledo: Caroline, wife of William Sanders. of Lake township; and Rosa, wife of John Selfe, of the same township. The father cast his ballot with the Republican party, and served as the first postmaster of Millbury. Wood county; for thir- teen years was clerk of Lake township, which office he was holding at the time of his death in 1870; was a member of the school board, and assisted in organizing the school district.
The education of our subject was such as the public schools of Cleveland and Berea, Ohio, afforded, and at the age of thirteen years he be- came a resident of Lake township, where he assisted his father in clearing and developing the home farm. From 1868 to 1870 he engaged in the manufacture of wooden bowls, at Perrys- burg, Wood county, and the following two years were spent in general merchandising in Millbury. It was in 1874 that he located upon his present farm, then comprising sixty acres of timber land, but is now one of the inost highly cultivated tracts in the township, supplied with an excellent set of farm buildings, modern machinery, and everything to be found on a first-class farm).
In September, 1869, in Lake township, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Pinniger and Miss Phillippa A. Bailey, a native of England, where her parents, John and Catherine (Beckle) Bailey. were also born. They were among the pioneers of Lake township, where they arrived in 1852. and there both died, the father's death occurring in 1890, and the mother's some years previous. In 1885. Mr. Pinniger was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. To them had been born seven children: Arthur J., who died in 1895. leaving a wife and one child; Mrs. Anna Wight. a resident of Millbury; John H. ; Edith P. : Harry G .; Walter E .; and Frank D. In Isgo, Mr. Pinniger was again married, this time to Miss Sabina Youngs, of Millbury. a daughter of Nicho- las and Sarah J. Youngs, born in 1857 in Syl- vania, Ohio, and educated in Millbury and Toledo.
Mr. Pinniger endorses the principles of the Republican party, with which he always votes.
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and has served as township clerk and trustee, and as a member of the school board. Religiously he is connected with the Evangelical Church, of Millbury, and socially with the Knights of Honor, of that place, and with the " Tribe of Ben Hur," of Crawfordsville, Ind. His genuine worth gives him a high place in the regard of his fellow citizens.
G. G. MYERS, a substantial self-made busi- ness man and leading citizen of Risingsun, is also the leading contractor and builder of that growing city. He was born February 28, 1854, in New York State, the son of Garman and Judith (Ever- hart) Myers, who left Germany in the fall of 1853. shortly after their marriage. They had a long and difficult voyage, and after many weeks upon the water landed in January, 1854. Their means were limited; but they were industrious, and secured a livelihood from the first. After spend- ing a short time in New York State they moved to Akron, Ohio, where the father worked two years in a brick yard. In 1857 he came with his family to Wood county, making his home for a time with a brother-in-law, Chris Kern, of Montgomery township, and afterward rent- ing a farm in Section 36. Later he and Mr. Kern bought eighty acres in Scott township, Sandusky county. Mr. Myers incurring a heavy debt for his half. Building a log cabin 12 x 14. and 7 feet high, he began the task of paying for his home and supporting his family, and as his small farm could not do this he would work at various employments, such as ditching. He also made quite a little nioney by skinning cattle that died while at pasture on the Torway Prairie, ad- joining his farm, from becoming fastened in the mud and mire. Their carcasses were rendered into soap and tallow, and he received half the proceeds. Although he was a hard worker and lived most economically, he found it impossible to pay for his place, and finally threw up the bargain, losing the $50 paid at the first. He rented a farm in Perry township for one year, and then moved to the "Charles Stahl farm " in Scott township, Sandusky county, where his death and burial occurred in 1870, when he was aged forty years and eleven months. In early life he had been a Catholic, but his wife was a Luther- an, and in later years both united with the Evan- gelical Church, known as the Mt. Tabor Church.
The story of their early privations is graph- ically and briefly told in the following words of our subject: " In 1863 and '64 wheat was a fail- ure in the country, so we had to resort to buck- wheat and corn for bread-buckwheat and . john-
nycake.' When our parents went to town, instead of bringing home candy. oranges, etc., they would bring a loaf of wheat bread, which cost ten cents, and that was quite a treat to us. Our clothes were home-made; in winter they would be made of half cotton and half wool, and in summer they would be made of flax." Our subject was the eldest of their six children, the others being: Amelia, who married Noah Rheinbolt, and died in Montgomery township; Joseph, a resident of Risingsun; William, a farmer in Scott township, Sandusky county; Charles, who lives in Fostoria; and Louisa, now Mrs. Levi Harley, of Jackson township, Sandusky county. The mother still survives and lives with her daughter, Louisa.
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