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 51
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his favorite topics, and his well-stored memory gives him a ready command of facts in our polit- ical and financial history, which causes the aver- age politician to dread to meet him in debate. He has held numerous offices; those of postmaster in Weston, while a mere youth, member of the city council of Bowling Green, acting chief of police on several occasions, and deputy U. S. marshal, being among them.
B. B. ROCKWELL, merchant miller and oil operator of North Baltimore, is regarded as one of the most popular and influential of the younger clement of business men in the city. His birth occurred at Findlay, Ohio, October 24, 1866.
P. V. Rockwell, the grandfather of our sub- ject, came from Vermont to Ohio before his mar- riage, and settled in Holmes county, where he married Miss Eliza Ann Freeman, who was born in Lancaster county, Penn., in 1813, aud died in Holmes county, in 1883. They were members of the Presbyterian Church; he was deputy sheriff of Holines county for several years, and also taught school there. In politics he was a Demo- crat. He died August 15, 1886, in North Balti- more. Twelve children were born to this couple, ten of whom grew to maturity. The great-grand- father, Jeremiah Rockwell, died in Holmes couil- ty, Ohio. He was of Puritan stock, his ancestors being among those who landed at Plymouth Rock.
G. G. Rockwell, father of our subject, was reared in Wayne county, Ohio, whence he went to Ashland county, and then to Holmes county. He received a common-school education, and learned the trade of a miller. At the solicitation of his son he came to North Baltimore, in 1880. and purchased what is now the North Baltimore Rolling Mills. He has since completely remod- eled it from the old-fashioned flouring-mill with its old-time millstones to its present condition, with an entire outfit of inodern machinery, and a capacity for grinding 100 barrels of flour daily. It is the pioneer mill of the town, being built in 1874, by Dr. Eaton, Mr. Rockwell buys and ships grain and flour, and sells all kinds of feed and coal. He was married December 31, 1860, to Miss Hannah Cromley, who was born in Find- lay, Ohio, July 16, 1844, and they have three children: B. B. our subject; Charles J., book- keeper in the First National Bank of North Bal- timore; and Fred B., who lives at home.
Our subject grew up in Findlay, Ohio, and went to school there; he learned telegraphy, but made no practical use of it. He induced his fa- ther to move to North Baltimore and go into the
inilling business. To this he applied all his energy, and by his perseverance and enterprise made himself popular among all classes of peo- ple. He was president of the S. F. A. in 1895. For the last year and a half he has been engaged in operating oil wells.
He was married Dec. S, 1890, to Julia Martin, who was born May 22, 1870, and they have one child, Nellie G., born November 18, 1891. He is a Democrat in politics, and was the nominee of his party in 1896 for sheriff of Wood county, and ran ahead of his ticket; but, as the county is Republican by a large majority, he was not elected.
JOHN G. WATTS, a resident of Haskins, Mid- dleton township, one of the most enterprising and successful business men of Wood county, was born November 23, 1854, in Somersetshire. Eng- land, where his ancestors on both sides had re- sided for many generations. His parents. Joseph and Mary (Hayines) Watts, were both born there.
Joseph Watts, his father, started in life as a day laborer, and in 1856 came to Ohio, spending a few years in Cuyahoga county, also at Clyde, Sandusky county, finally moving to Wood conn- ty. in 1864 locating at the present site of Has- kins. At that time there were but few houses there; but, sceing the fine opportunities for the lumber business, he bought a sawmill, and event- ually established a large trade. He kept abreast of the tide of progress, which, indeed, his own en- ergy did much to strengthen, and he will always be remembered as a leader among the founders of the town. In early days he was a Republican. but later a Democrat. He died in 1891, his wife in 1888. Of their seven children, five grew to ma- turity, viz .: Joseph, a lumberman at Penning- ton Gap, Va. ; Ann, the widow of John Slawson, of Haskins; Alfred, who died at the age of twen- ty; John G., our subject; and Elizabeth, who married Henry Brooks, of Haskins.
John G. Watts, whose name introduces this sketch. acquired his early education mainly in an old log school house near Haskins. In his boy- hood he became of valuable assistance to his fa- ther, for whom he worked until he was twenty- six years old, when he bought the Haskins saw - mill from him. In ISS! he purchased the Has- kins gristmill, and combined the two, to which he has since added a feed-mill and a large plan- ing-mill and lumber yard. He also engaged in the grain business, and is now the principal bover and shipper in his vicinity. In addition to the-e he conducts a farm of 120 acres, and is interested in some oil wells. He was among the first to de-
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J.G. Watts
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velop the oil industry in his section of the coun- ty, and to his personal energy mnuch is due in this line, as in other lines of enterprise. In his business interests he gives employment in. all to a large number of hands.
In 1875, Mr. Watts was married to Miss Ellen Hogland, a native of Haskins, born March 12, 1857, one of the ten children of John and Arri- etta Hogland, highly respected farining people, who were of New Jersey birth, in which State they were married, about 1840. moving to Butler county, Ohio. There they remained some eight years, and then came to Haskins, where they passed the remainder of their days, Mr. Hog- land dying in March, 1874, his wife in June, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Watts have two children: Charles, born August 8, 1878, and Ross, born July 19, 1885. Mrs. Watts is a member of the Baptist Church, while Mr. Watts is a liberal supporter of both Church and school. He is justly classed among the solid, well-to-do men of Middleton township, a leader in all measures tending to the prosperity and improvement of the county at large. In politics he affiliates with the Demo- cratic party, but in voting he is not influenced by political ties. He has no time for office, although he has served in the council. Socially he is a .member of the F. & A. M., and at the present time is a member of Tontogany Lodge.
A. B. GOODYEAR. The name of this gentle- man is widely and favorably known throughout Bloomdale, and the surrounding country, where he is prosperously engaged in the blacksmithing and plumbing business. His birth occurred in Southampton township, Franklin Co., Penn., September 24, 1856, and he is a son of Conrad and Elizabeth (Hasfield) Goodyear. In the fam- ily were eight children, three sons and five daugh- ters, seven of whom are still living. The mother passed away in the Keystone State; but the fa- ther, who is a shoemaker by trade, now finds a pleasant home with our subject.
A. B. Goodyear is the third son and sixth child in the family. His education was obtained in the common schools, and at the age of seven- teen years, he began learning the blacksmith's trade, at which he served an apprenticeship of two and a half years. He was then employed in liis native State until the fall of 1876, when he came to Bloomdale, working for Jesse Andress, and later for John Hyter. When the blacksmith- ing business was dull, he learned the shoemaker's trade, at which he worked for a year and a half. In 1886 he opened a blacksmith shop on Walnut street, conducting same until the fall of 1894,
when he removed to his new building in the Lin- hart addition, where he also has a plumbing es- tablishment, he having embarked in the latter business in 1887.
Since casting his first vote Mr. Goodyear has ever supported the Democratic party. He has served two terms as a member of the city council. Socially he is a member of Bloomdale Lodge No. 278, K. of P. He is a stockholder in the Build- ing and Loan Association of Bloomdale, and also in the Bloomdale Creamery. He is a straight- forward business man, enterprising and progress- ive. On his arrival in Bloomdale he was but a laborer in search of employment; but by perse- verance and ceaseless activity he has secured a liberal patronage, and won the confidence of all with whom he has had business or social dealings. Besides his shop he also owns a pleasant home, where he and his father reside, the latter, who came here in 1886, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-three years.
JOSEPH HORN, a. prominent retired agricult- urist of Bowling Green, was born in Blanchard township, Hancock Co., Ohio, March 6, 1847. the son of Christopher Horn. His mother died when he was only six months old, and his father, a year and a half later, leaving him to the kindly care of a neighboring farmer, Mr. John Dukes, with whom he lived until his marriage. He en- joyed the usual educational advantages furnished in the country schools, and worked upon the farm until the age of twenty-six, when he married his first wife, Miss Elizabeth Wood, and settled in Milton township, Wood county, upon a farm of eighty acres, a gift from his foster-father. His wife was a native of Hancock county, born near Findlay in 1852. She died February 9. 1877, leaving one child, J. E., born September 21, 1876, now a clerk in a store at Bowling Green, Ohio.
On October 4, 1877, Mr. Horn was married to Mrs. E, M. W. McMahan, who was born in England December 8, 1848, and came with her parents to this country when she was four years old. By her first union, with George M. MeMa- han, she has one daughter, Luella C., now Mrs. Lashuay, of Liberty township, this county. One daughter was born of the second marriage, Can- dace L., who is at home.
In 1891 Mr. Horn moved to Bowling Green. Subsequently he sold his farm in Liberty town- ship, on which he had resided before coming to Bowling Green, and bought a farm near that city. on which oil was found later in paying qu untities, and he lias since disposed of it to good advantage by sale and lease, investing the proceeds in real
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
estate in Bowling Green, where he has resided since IS91. He is an active worker in the Church of Christ, in which he has held positions of honor and usefulness. He was the superintendent of the Sunday-school at Bethel Church for three years, and State delegate to the International Sunday-school Convention at St. Louis in June, 1893. Mr. Horn has voted the Prohibition ticket of late years, but he was formerly a Republican; socially he is a member of the K. O. T. M., is also a member of the A. T. U.
EDGAR KNODLE is at present a general mer- chant of Bairdstown, where he is also serving as agent for the Baltimore & Ohio railroad and the United States Express Company. His father, Rev. Hiram Knodle, was born in November, 1829, at Fairplay, Md., where his school days were passed, after which he entered the employ of his father, who owned a general merchandise store and shoe factory, having under him about ten men. Slavery prevailed in the community at that time. At the age of twenty-four he entered a Lutheran University near Hagerstown, Md., and after his graduation began the work of the ministry at Hancock, that State, where he re- mained for seventeen years, during which time his father died and he was left a good legacy. At that place he was married, and by the union had two children-Mattie, who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Freeland, a resident of Sharpsburg, Md. In 1856 his wife died, and he later married Susan Mason, of Indian Springs, Md. Of the three children born of this union two reached adult age-Jeremiah Mason, who for the past two years has been superintendent of the Minster Manufacturing Company, at Min- ster, Ohio; and Edgar.
The last named was born at Moresville, Md., July 23, 1865. and was only two years of age when his mother died. At the age of five years he entered the schools of Clear Spring, that State, which he attended for two years, his first teacher being Miss Lizzie Gardner, and as his father removed to Little Cove, Penn., a distance of eighteen miles, he there continued his studies for the following two years. The family then became residents of Mercersburg. Franklin Co., Penn., eighteen miles from Chambersburg, where the father was foreman of several mills engaged in taking out ship timber and tan bark. The education of our subject was com- pleted at Convey. Ohio, where his father was then preaching, and, at the age of sixteen, he went to Middle Point, Ohio, where he was em- ployed at $1 per day in the stave-jointing busi-
ness. Being offered an increase in salary, he went to Belmore, where he gradually worked his way upward, and received a recommendation from his employer. George Marsh, to a position as foreman of a factory at Danville, Tenn. He held that position until failing health compelled him to go to the mountains to recuperate; but as he seemed to derive no benefit therefrom, he re- turned North, and for a time worked at his trade at Belmore, Hectar and Elm Center, Ohio, re- ceiving from $3 to $3.50 per day. Inheriting some money from his mother, which property had been in the Orphans Court at Hagerstown. Md., for twenty years, he went to Nevada, Ohio. where he served an apprenticeship as a watch- maker in his father's store, and at the end of three years he started a jewelry store at New Riegle, Ohio. Being called to the aid of his father, he returned. after a few months, to Ne- vada, where, for about a year, the firm of Knodle & Son existed. The father then resigned the ministry, and took complete charge of the store. After a few months then spent at New Riegle. Mr. Knodle came to Bairdstown, where he has since resided, and to his stock of jewelry he ad- ded general merchandise. In August, 1890, he was appointed postmaster, which office he re- signed to Frank H. Crawford in January, 1894. and he has since devoted his time to his present occupations.
On November 24, 1892, Mr. Knodle was united in marriage with Miss Hester Estella Weaver, and to them have been born two children -- Carl E. and Helen G. Politically he is a stanch Republican, and has been elected clerk of the corporation by a handsome majority. He is identified with Rathbone Lodge, K. of P., and is a sincere and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is now trustee. Mr. Knodle is a man of good financial ability and excellent judgment, and, since becoming a resident of Bairdstown, has won the respect and confidence of the community, occupying a lead- ing position among its influential citizens.
JONAS HANELY, one of the early pioneers of Wood county, located first on forty acres of land in Troy township. Here since that time he has wisely continued to live, and given his time and attention to the building up of a homestead. and judging from present appearances he has succeeded in an admirable manner. His fine farm, comprising 100 acres, has been placed under a good state of cultivation, and he has erected suitable buildings thereon. He looked! upon this portion of the county during its early
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WOOD COUNTY, OIIIO.
settlement by white men, and has watched with the deepest interest its development and pros- perity.
Lebanon county, Penn., was the early home of our subject, where he was born in January, 1826, on the farm of his parents, Michael and Susanna (Stoner) Hanely, also natives of the Keystone State, and, in 1830, was brought to Stark county, Ohio, where the father opened up a farm in the midst of the wilderness, and there died. His wife, who survived him, departed this life in Defiance county, Ohio. Of their children we have record of the following: Elias resides in Lake township, Wood county. Moses died in Richland county, Ohio. Mrs. Catherine Shriner died in Troy township. Jonas is next in order of birth. Andrew makes his home in Defiance county, Ohio. Mrs. Sally Gockly, a widow, lives in Stark county.
On coming to Ohio, our subject was only four years old, and the common schools of Stark county afforded him his educational privileges. At the age of twenty-two he became a resident of Troy township, where he was married, in 1855, to Miss Susanna Smith, a native of Wayne county, Ohio, and a daughter of John and Eva Smith, who were born in Pennsylvania and removed to Wayne county, at an early day, whence they came to Troy township. Her parents both died in Wood county, the father in Lake township, and the mother in Troy township. To Mr. and Mrs. Hanely were born six children, but two are now deceased-Joseph, who died in Valparaiso, Ind., and William, who died in Troy township. Those living are Mrs. Mary Ream, of Lemoyne, Ohio; Mrs. Sarah Crawford, of Paulding county, Ohio; George, who is married, and resides in Lake township; and John, at home. Mr. Hanely is a member of the Lutheran Church, and in politics votes independently, not caring to be bound by party ties.
CHARLES COUTANT, a son of Jasper and Phoebe (Birdsall) Coutant, was born in Northampton county, Penn., March 28, 1822. His father, who was born in 1793, was the son of Samuel Cou- tant, a fariner. Jasper Coutant also followed farining and lumbering. He was the eldest of nine children, and was reared in Ulster county, N. Y. In that State he married Miss Phoebe Birdsall, who was born January 22, 1796. They had eleven children, five of whom are yet living: Gideon and Joseph, both of Greenwich: Charles, the fifth child; Benjamin, of Cleveland, Ohio; and Birdsall Z., of Bloom township. The fa- ther lived for many years in Pennsylvania, where , of Bloomdale.
he died in February, 1855. In 1856, his widow removed to Greenwich, Ohio, where her deatlı occurred May 7, 1896, at the extreme old age of one hundred years, three months and sixteen days.
Our subject's educational privileges were very limited, as his services were much needed at home. At the age of twenty-three, he began work at the carpenter's trade, and in the fall of 1845, he removed to Huron county, Ohio, work- ing at his trade in Greenwich. He was married in Bronson township, Huron county, April 13, 1848, to Rebecca Taylor, who was born in So- phiasburg, Canada, February 18, 1824, a daughter of Oliver and Eleanor (King) Taylor, the former of whom was for several years a butcher of Nor- walk, Ohio.
In the fall of 1845, Mr. Coutant came to Wood county, and purchased eighty acres of land in Section 36, Bloom township, for $250. His capital then consisted of but $15, but by working at the carpenter's trade he succeeded in paying for his land. This necessarily made the improve- ment of his farm slow work. He returned to Huron county, where he followed carpentering. and it was not until after his marriage that he erected a building on his place. The first was a log cabin, 18 x20 feet, into which he moved be- fore doors and windows had been put in. There was wild game in the forest, and it seemed that the work of civilization had hardly been begun. He vigorously prosecuted his work, and in the course of time bought eighty acres of land adjoin- ing his first purchase, transforming the whole into an excellent farm. His wife proved him a faithful helpmeet: before her marriage she learned to do tailoring, and by her needle saved many a dollar to the family.
The children were all born on the home farm. and are now all in homes of their own. Jasper O. is deputy county auditor of Iowa county, Iowa; David B. is a farmer of Bloom township; Phoebe died at the age of three years; Mary A. is the wife of J. W. Smith, of Bloom township; and George B. is a farmer of the same locality. The parents also reared an adopted daughter, Jennie Pitcher, who lived with them from the age of three years until her marriage with Foster Fer- guson, of Perry township.
In politics Mr. Coutant was originally a Whig, but has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and has been tendered a number of offices, which he has always declined. In relig- ious faith he is a Quaker, and his wife is con- nected with the Liberal United Brethren Church
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
AMOS HAMPSHIRE, a prominent and influential agriculturist of Perry township, is descended froin one of the earliest pioneer families of Seneca county, Ohio. His birth occurred there March 20, 1849, and he is a son of Adam and Mar- garet (Shonts) Hampshire, the former a native of Muskingum county, and the latter of Stark coun- ty, Ohio. At an early day the paternal grand- father, Adam Hampshire, removed to Seneca county, where the parents of our subject were married, and the father purchased thie forty-acre farm of new land in Loudon township, where our subject was born. He later moved to Jackson township, where he resided for over forty years, his death there occurring at the age of seventy- two; but his wife had passed way eighteen years previous, and he had married the second time. By the first union ten children were born, three sons and seven daughters, six of whom are still living-Annie, Amos, Lucinda, Reuben, Rufus, and Amanda. In his farming operations the fa- ther was very successful, leaving at his death a property valued at $17,000, all of which had been accumulated through his own hard work and good management. Though not an aspirant for political honors, he held several minor offices, and ever discharged the duties with promptness and fidelity.
As Amos Hampshire was the eldest son, there was always plenty of work for him to do on the farm, and education was considered a secondary matter. Though his own privileges in that direc- tion were limited, he is a great friend of the cause of education, and does all in his power for its advancement. He remained upon the home farm until his marriage, which was celebrated in Perry township, November 19, 1872, when Miss Emma Strouse became his wife. A native of Montgomery township, Wood county .. she is a daughter of George Strouse, and, by her marriage, she has become the mother of two children- Amanda M. and George A., both of whom are well-known young people of the community.
for over seventeen years has been school director of District No. 7. Socially he is connected with the Odd Fellows Lodge of Risingsun, Ohio; in religious faith, his wife is a member of the Evan- gelical Church.
R. A. HUGHES. Foremost among the lead- ing citizens and wide-awake business men of Cygnet, Ohio, is the subject of this sketch. He is a native of Aroostook county, Maine, born Sep- tember 10, 1853.
The father of our subject, Alexander Hughes, was a farmer of Maine, and died when R. A. was sixteen years old, the mother dying three years later. - Two children were born to this couple- R. A. and Alice, and, on the death of his parents, our subject was left the care of his sister, and the home farm, which he still owns. He educated his sister, who was five years his junior, and she is now the wife of M. A. Siphers, of Toledo, Ohio.
On August 23, 1874, Mr. Hughes was united in marriage with Miss Lena Martin, a native of Aroostook county. Two years later he moved to the Pennsylvania oil fields, locating at Grease City, Butler county, at which time he was only a day laborer. Later he went to Belle Camp. McKean Co., Penn., where he opened a small general store, which was his first experience in that line, and, although his means were limited, and his stock small, he prospered in the business. In the fall of 1880 he began to operate in the oil territory; and in August, 1890, he moved to Cyg- net, and built a frame business office, which was destroyed in the great fire. He then erected his present substantial brick block, one of the best in Cygnet, in which he conducts a general store, doing a leading mercantile trade, in addition to which he is a member of the Jim Oil Company. and of the oil firm of Barnum & Hughes, and has individual holdings in the oil territory. He is an extensive producer and well-known operator. In 1894 he started in the coal business, which he conducts in connection with his other enterprises. On January 1, 1896, the first electric light in Cygnet was produced from the plant put in by Mr. Hughes, of which he is sole owner. The plaut is a modern one, supplied by the Jenny sys- tem, with a capacity of Soo volts, forming one of the most complete plants, for the size of the town, in Ohio. This piece of public-spiritedness has been a great help to the place.
Mr. Hampshire located on his present farmi of eighty acres in Section 11, Perry township, where he has made many excellent improve- ments-a good home has replaced his first log house, and, where at present is one of his best fields, he once cradled wheat when the water covered the ground about one-half foot deep. It was an arduous task, but he succeeded in making his place one of the best in the township. He Our subject is a member of Lodge No. 272. F. & A. M., at Butler, Penn., and of White Swan Lodge, K. of P., at Cygnet. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and has the interest of is a wide-awake, public-spirited man, and very popular with all who know him. Politically Mr. Hampshire votes the straight Democratic ticket, has served as constable in Perry township, and , his party at heart, although no office-seeker. He
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