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 52
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served one terin in the city council, and has been chief of the fire department since its organization. Mr. Hughes is an extensive real-estate owner, and has several fine houses in Cygnet, of which he is one of the substantial business men, popu- lar, admired, and respected by his many friends.
WV. A. ESTERLY. a well and favorably known citizen of Portage township, is a son of Jacob Esterly, who was a farmer of that township for about twenty years.
Jacob Esterly was born in September, 1822, in Wittenberg, Germany, son of Jacob Esterly. Sr., and when seven years old was brought by his parents to the United States, the family set- tling in Ohio in an early day. They lived for a time in Columbiana county, and thence removed to Hancock county, near Mt. Blanchard, where . Jacob Esterly, Sr., died. Jacob Esterly mar- ried Miss Rhoda Armantrau, a native of Knox county, Ohio, whose mother died in that county when she was but a girl, and, her father remarry- ing, she left home and went to Hancock county, supporting herself until her marriage. She be- came the mother of two children, viz. : Henry, a carpenter of St. Mary, Ohio, and W. A., whose name opens this sketch. She died in Oc- tober, 1860, when the latter was only a few weeks old. She was laid to rest in Hancock county. On October 31, 1861, Mr. Esterly re- married, in Hancock county, his second wife being Annie Bowers, who was born January 27, 1839, in Stark county, Ohio, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Rangeler) Bowers, who settled in Big- lick township, Hancock county, when Annie was but nine months old. To this union were born four children: Mary (Mrs. Wesley Gilson), of Portage township; Samuel, who died at the age of twelve years; Annie (Mrs. Alonzo Clem- ens), of Portage township, and Ada, who died when seventeen years old.
In March, 1864, Jacob Esterly came with his family to Wood county, making the trip with an ox-team, which afterward often took them to church. They settled on eighty acres of new land which he had purchased, situated in Section 23. Portage township, and an old log house with rough floor, and altogether rudely constructed was their first home. Only the higher portions of the ground were cleared, the lower portions having been merely cut over, and a dense growth of brush covered the portions where the timber had been felled. Mr. Esterly continued to, work this place the remainder of his life, and made a fine property of it. He was a self-made man, having begun life with nothing but his own en-
ergy and ambition, though, after he had been fairly started on the road to prosperity, he re- ceived a little help in the shape of $200. which had been left to him. He died November 30, IS84, of typhoid fever, and was laid to rest in Mt. Zion Church cemetery. He was a member of the German Baptist Church, in which he served as deacon, and in political belief he was a Repub- lican. He served as school director of Portage township, but was no office-seeker, attending strictly to his own affairs. After his death Mrs. Esterly lived on the farm until June, 1895, when she removed to Six Points, and on July 4, 1805. she became the wife of Israel Whisler. She is a member of the German Baptist Church.
W. A. Esterly was born September 26, 1860, near Vanlue, Hancock Co., Ohio, and, being a mere child when his parents settled in Wood county, received all his education in District No. S, Portage township, having Miss Loomis for his first teacher. He attended school until about eighteen years old, and has since been a great reader, acquiring in this way much useful information. He remained at home until twenty years of age, and, having learned the carpenter's trade under his brother Henry, followed the same until 1885, since which time he has been engaged in agriculture on his present farm in Section 23, Portage township, where he owns forty acres of good land. When he took this farm but four acres of the land were cleared, and he has not only succeeded in placing the whole tract under cultivation, but has also done all his own carpen- ter work, a fact which speaks volumes for his en- terprise and industry.
On March 13, 1880, in Portage township, Mr. Esterly was married to Miss Emma Red- man, daughter of George W. Redman: she was born in Portage township, and died July 10, 1882, leaving no children; her remains rest in Mt. Zion Cemetery. On May 13, 1886, in Portage town- ship, our subject married, for his second wife, Miss Leora Whitman, who was born in July, 1869, near Syracuse, N. Y., daughter of Luther Whitman, a farmer, who died in Portage town- ship in 1894. One child has come to this union, Georgie M., born May 13, 1887. Mrs. Esterly is a member of the Methodist Church, while Mr. Esterly affiliates with the U. B. Church. He has been an active man in his community, where he is widely and thoroughly acquainted, and his in- flnence in all local matters has ever been given to those measures he considers best for the wel- fare of his town and country. In ISSt he was elected constable of Portage township, and served one year in that office; in 18844 he was
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elected assessor on the Union ticket, holding that office eight years in all. In the spring of 1895 he was elected to his present position, that of justice of the peace, and in all these offices he has proved himself worthy of the trust reposed in him, and has gained the respect of all with whom he has come in contact. Up to 1885, Mr. Esterly was an ardent Republican, but since that time he has been independent in local matters, supporting the candidates he considers best fitted for offices; in National affairs, however, he votes with the Democratic party. In 1894 he was the candidate of his party for recorder of Wood county. Owing to the large Republican major- ity in the county, he was defeated by his Repub- lican opponent, Herman Hinkly. August 25, 1896, he was nominated by the Democratic and Populist Fusion Convention for auditor, but was again defeated by the Republican candidate.
WILLIAM JEFFERY, deceased, was a worthy representative of the farming interests of Lake township, and was numbered among its pioneer settlers. He was one of the first to locate with- in its borders, where he arrived in 1832, and, in Section 32. entered land from the government, which he continued to improve and cultivate un- til October, 1844, when he traded that property for the present homestead of the family in Section 18. He endured all the hardships and trials that fall to the lot of a frontier settler; but, by per- severance and determined effort, he succeeded in in placing his farm of forty acres under a high state of cultivation Mr. Jeffery came from across the sea, being born in Cornwall, England, June 10, 1806, and was a son of William and Mary Jeffery, natives of the same place. His father was a whaler, and died while away from home on a long cruise. While a young man, William determined to come to America, and embarked on a sailing vessel at Liverpool, Eng- land, which was three months in making the voyage. After his arrival in New York City, in July, 1832, he had the cholera, but on his recov- ery started at once for Wood county.
In Lake township, in 1842, he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Lewis, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, and was a daughter of Philip Lewis. Her parents both died in Eng- land, and at the age of ten years she came to the New World, being six months upon the ocean. She came direct to Wood county where she had a sister living-Mrs. Goss, then a resident of Lake township, but who died in Troy township. To Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery were born ten children -Isaac, who enlisted in April, 1865, in the roth
O. V. I., was taken sick at Nashville, Tenn., and after coming home died August 8, 1865 : Mrs. Sarah Haskell died in Lake township, June 17, 1895; Hannah is at home; Cornelia died on the home farm September 16, 1867; Mary A. died June 30. 1870; Jane died March 11, 1855; JAMES is upon the home farm; George is next in order of birth; Wesley was married October 19, 1895, to Mrs. Anna Cole; and Charles died January 8. 1864. The family is one of the oldest and most highly respected in the township.
Mr. Jeffery took a prominent part in public affairs, assisting in the organization of Lake town- ship, where he served as the first assessor, and held-that office for many years, while for several years he was trustee. For three years he held the position of State assessor, and throughout the county he was well and favorably known. He did much toward the development of his township, clearing 100acres of heavily timberedland, and was numbered among the liberal-minded and public- spirited citizens, who, while carving out their own fortunes, contributed, as they had opportunity, to the well-being of the people around them. In early life he was a member of the Evangelical. Church, but later was connected with the Meth- odist denomination, and he was a conscientious, Christian gentleman. His earthly career was ended December 13, 1890, that of his wife, on the 13th of March, 1875.
DANIEL N. EASLEY, deceased, was one of the well-known citizens and highly respected men of Bloomdale. He was a native of Switzerland, born in Canton Berne, January 30. 1831, and was a child of only three years when he emigrated to America with his parents. His father. Jacob Easley, was a farmer of limited means in Switzer- land, and hoped by coming to the United States to better his financial condition. Landing on the shores of this continent, he remained in the the Empire State for about a year: but, as land was cheaper farther west, he removed to Craw- ford county, Ohio, and in Cranberry township. that county, died, March 30, 1847, aged fifty- four years. He was twice married, the mother of our subject being the second wife, and his family was quite large.
The boyhood days of Daniel N. Easley were spent upon his father's farm, aiding in the ardu- ons task of clearing and developing the land with the primitive machinery of that early day. HEis father dying when he was quite young, he was deprived of the care and advice of that parent. but he had, however, a kind and loving mother. who endeavored to teach him the principles of
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good citizenship, in which she succeeded, as his later life plainly demonstrated. Learning the carpenter's trade, he afterward followed that occupation in Missouri and Illinois, and while in the latter State attended a business college at Aurora, from which institution he was gradua- ted in February, 1860. He later taught school in both Illinois and Wisconsin.
In Crawford county, Ohio, July 5, 1863, Mr. Easley was joined in wedlock with Miss Rosanna Bittikoffer, a native of Stark county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Bittikoffer, who was born in Switzerland, and was a farmer by occupation. Eight children blessed this union, as follows: (1) Justin L. is a carpenter and contractor, and is the present mayor of Bloomdale. (2) Francis died at the age of ten years. (3) JACOB N., of Bowling Green, is one of the three gentlemen comprising the Wood County Abstract & Loan Company, and his business has given him a wide acquaintance throughout the county, where he is well and favorably known. He was formerly a teacher in the public schools of Bloomdale, re- moving in February, 1890, to Bowling Green. (4) John C. was a teacher in the public schools of Bloom township. but is now the carpenter and joiner in Bryant & Linhart's planing-mills at Bloomdale. (5) Paul M. died when five years old. (6) Webster D. died August 16, 1896, aged twenty-two years. (7) Ida M. is at home. (8) Edna R., who is also at home, completes the family.
Mr. Easley began his domestic life upon a fifty-acre farm which he owned in Crawford county, and about 1874 he removed with his family to Cass township, Hancock county, there remaining until 1881, when they came to Bloom- dale. A comfortable home was here erected, and, on disposing of his land in Cass township, he purchased eighty acres of land in Section 20, Bloon township, Wood county, which is still in the possession of the family, but was never occu- pied by thein. Here Mr. Easley followed car- pentering and contracting until his untimely death, August 15, 1893. His remains were in- terred in Van Buren cemetery, Hancock county. While a lifelong Democrat, always taking a deep interest in the success of his party, he was : by no means a politician, and after regularly casting his vote his interest subsided. Notwith- standing this, however, he was elected the first city treasurer of Bloondale, and also served as a member of the city council, which position he held at the time of his death. He was con- nected with Odd Fellows Lodge No. 406, of Bloomdale, and also with the Daughters of i
Rebekah. Religiously, he was a leading member of and liberal contributoi to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was an intelligent. hard- working man, a good mechanic and a prominent citizen, and every enterprise for the advancement and welfare of the community received his sup- port. Since his death Mrs. Easley, a most highly respected lady, has resided in their comfortable home at the corner of Main and Vine streets,- Bloomdale.
BYRON FREDERICK. The subject of this per- sonal narrative is one of the most successful and progressive farmers of Bloom township, and is most highly esteemed and respected by those who know him best. He is descended from a family that has resided in this State from an early day, his father having been born in Green town- ship, Ross county, September 24, 1816, to Jacob and Elizabeth (Bitzer) Frederick. The grand- father's birth occurred in 1778, in Northumber- land county, Penn., where he married Miss Bitz- er, born in 1786, a daughter of a New Jersey family. They continued to reside in Pennsylva- nia until after the birth of their eldest children: but in the early part of the present century crossed the Alleghany mountains, locating in Ross coun- ty, Ohio. In 1834 they removed, in wagons, to Big Spring township, Seneca Co., Ohio, driving their cattle, and located on a quarter-section of land, which Jacob Frederick had previously en- tered, and on which he erected a log house, into which the family moved. He died on that farm at the age of seventy years, and his wife at the age of eighty-five. They were members of the German Reformed Church, and in politics he was a Whig. In their family were the following citil- dren: William, who died in Seneca county; Peter, John and Jacob, who all died in Ross county: Susanna, who became the wife of Samuel Pontius. and died in Ross county; Solomon, who passed away in Bloom township, Wood county ; Anthony. the father of our subject; Jonas, of Bowling Green, Ohio; Samuel, who died in Ross county; Daniel. who entered the one-hundred-days' service, dur- ing the Civil war, and died at a fort near Wash- ington, D. C .; and Maria, who married J. W. Laughead, and died in Seneca county.
At the age of about nineteen years Anthony Frederick came, with his father. to Seneca conuty. By agreement he and his brother, Solomon, were to remain at home and clear half of the 160-acre tract, and receive a deed for the other eighty acres; but the father died suddenly before the deed was made, and the two brothers divided the land, receiving forty acres each On November
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3, 1838, in Seneca county, he married Miss Rhoda Nafus, who was born in Hopewell township, On- tario Co., N. Y., April 15, 1817, daughter of William and Saloma (Carpenter) Nafus. Her father was a shoemaker by trade, and, in the fall that Andrew Jackson was first a candidate for the Presidency, came to Ohio, locating in Wyandot county, near the present site of Mccutchenville, where he bought three acres of land close to his two sons, John and Cornelius, who had preceded him. There he built a shop, where he carried on shoemaking. His first wife died at the age of sixty-two, after which he was again married, and he died, in Wyandot county, at the age of seventy- seven years.
After his marriage Anthony Frederick located on his forty-acre timber tract. where a log house 16 x 18 feet had been erected, and carried on the improvement of his place until 1852, when he removed to Adrian. Seneca county, there conduct- ing a sawmill, in connection with his brother Jonas, for two years and a half. On disposing of his interest, he secured a position as foreman of a sawmill in Berwick, same county; but after a short time he returned to his farm in Big Spring township. Later he went to Benton. Crawford county, where he also engaged in the sawmill business, following that pursuit in several places until January, 1861, when he came to Jerry City. Wood county, there operating a sawmill until 1865. In the year 1867 he went to Bloom Cen- ter, and there engaged in the same business for awhile; but he now operates his farm of forty acres at that place. His first vote was cast for William H. Harrison, the Whig candidate, but he has supported the Republican party since its organization. For five years he served as con- stable and for two years as assessor of Big Spring township, Seneca county, while he was assessor of Bloom township, Wood county, for five years, and trustee for one year during the war. He and his estimable wife belong to the Church of God, in which he is at present an elder. In their family were the following children: Solomon S .. of Henry township, Wood county; William H., of Jerry City; Nathaniel, who died at Bloom Center, at the age of forty-three years; Charles, who died in the same place; Byron, whose name introduces thiis sketch; Susan E., who married J. A. Bailey, and died in Bloom township; and Rosa E., wife of W. H. Dennis, of Bloom Center.
In Big Spring township, Seneca county, By- ron Frederick first opened his eyes to the light of day, July 16. 1850, and at the age of ten years was brought by his parents to Jerry City, Wood county. He received a common-school educa-
tion, and became familiar with farming. milling and several otlier lines of business. On October 26, 1873, at the home of W. S. Richard, in Bloom township, he was united in marriage with Miss Amanda J. Bailey, who was born at Bloom Center, November 5, 1853, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Simon) Bailey. They have become the parents of two children-Naman O . born July 15, 1875; and Harry B., born March 23, 1883. After his marriage Mr. Frederick took up his residence in Bloom Center, where he became interested in a sawmill, in connection with George Dennis; but he disposed of his in- terest before they began operations. At the end of six years he removed to Jerry City, entering the employ of the Dewey Stave Company, for which he continued to work until March. 1885. when he removed to his present fine farm in Section 3, Bloom township, on which an old house was then standing; in the fall of 1890 he completed his present comfortable residence. He is a nat- ural mechanic, taking great delight in machinery. with which he is quite familiar. Politically he is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. so- cially he is a member of Vitus Lodge No. 602. I. O. O. F., of Jerry City, and religiously he and his worthy wife belong to the Church of God. in which he was formerly an elder, and is now su- perintendent of the Sunday-school, while she is a teacher in the same. They are earnest Christian people, and well deserve the high regard in which they are held.
RUFUS A. EMERSON, the pioneer merchant of Bloomdale, was born October 21, 1855, in Wyandot county, Ohio. He is descended from an old Virginia family, a son of Noble and Mary (Keesecker) Emerson, who were the parents of ten children, three of whom were born in Ohio.
His grandfather Emerson was a slave-holder. but his father, Noble Emerson, being opposed to this, in early manhood determined to seek a home in a free State. He had been employed in boy- hood as a boatman on the Potomac, and as } steersman on the Chesapeake and Ohio cana !. but later learned the cooper's trade which he fol- lowed throughout his life. In 1833 the family moved to Beaver county, Penn .. and in May. 1848, they came to Mexico, Wyandot Co .. Ohi .. traveling in a small two-horse wagon. Our sel- ject's father had but limited means, and on reach- ing Mexico he found employment at his trade, an ! later bought the shop, the trade in potash and pork barrels furnishing him a good inconte. In 1859 he moved to Sycamore, where our sobiec! - mother died December ;, 1862. The tathe
Pet Querson
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never married again. He survived her thirty years, dying September 10, 1892, at the age of eighty-three, and their remains now rest in the cemetery at Sycamore. Two years after his wife's death, he moved to the vicinity of Frank- fort, Pike Co., Mo., and bought a farm, which he later sold. He worked at his trade for some time, and in 1871 came to Eagleville to live in the home of our subject's elder brother, Hon. E. P. Emerson. He was a man of industrious habits, and was over 6 feet, 2 inches tall, but spare in flesh. While he was no politician, he took an intelligent interest in all the questions of his time, and was a regular voter, being a Whig in his early years and later a Republican.
Our subject is one of six surviving children in the following family: Samuel B. died in Ohio, a wealthy man, after many years spent in the practice of medicine at Eagleville. Elijah P. resides at Bloomdale. John M. enlisted in Com- pany G, 123d O. V. I., and, it is believed, was one of the many who perished in Andersonville prison. Rachel A. died in Virginia. William WV. lives in Bloomdale. Enoch died in Virginia. Mary J. is the wife of Rufus W. Lundy, a hard- ware merchant of Myrtle Point, Ore. Milton L ... is a prosperous resident of Sycamore, Ohio, a blacksinith by occupation. Frank N. lives in San Francisco. Rufus A. is our subject.
Until the age of ten years Rufus A. Emerson attended the schools of Sycamore, Ohio, but after that his educational opportunities were less satis- factory. In 1869 he returned to his native coun- ty, and for two years made his home with a brother-in-law, R. W. Lundy, then returning to Missouri. In the spring of 1870 he accompanied Mr. Lundy to Mitchell county, Kans., then a frontier section, where buffaloes were plenty. The journey was made . by wagons, and Mr. Emerson walked, driving the cattle. He came to Eagleville, Wood county, in March, 1871, and assisted his brother, E. P. Emerson, in the work of his store and farm, attending school in the winter. Remaining there until 1874, he was then employed for a short time in a brickyard in Han- cock county, belonging to Isaac Hale, returning in July of that year to Eagleville to haul stone for the first building constructed in Bloomdale for business purposes exclusively, and here, on December 22, 1874, his brother, E. P. Emerson, opened a general store, our subject being employed as clerk. In April, 1877, Mr. Emerson and another elder brother, William W., bought out the business and conducted it under the firm name of Emerson Bros., until August 15, 1882, when he became the sole owner, having in the mean-
time built a new store which was first occupied in February, 1882. Courteous in manner, up- right in character, and possessing keen per- ceptions and judgment, he enjoys the confidence of a wide circle of acquaintances. One seldom finds a town like Bloomdale which has only one dry-goods store; but so strongly is this one in- trenched in the favor of the community that when opposition has been attempted it has failed. Mr. Emerson takes an active interest in the im- provement of the town, and is connected with a number of business enterprises, being a director in the Bloomdale Building & Loan Association, of which he was an organizer, a stockholder in the Lakeside Co., owners of the assembly grounds at Lakeside, and, since March, 1894, he has been sole owner of the Bloomdale Gas Company,
Mr. Emerson was married, October 24, 1878, in Bloom township, to Miss Ellen Shirk, a na- tive of Mercer county, Penn., whose parents, A. J. and Harriet May Shirk, came to Wood county during her childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson have had nine children: Jay N. and Edna, at home; Max C., who died at the age of three years; Lois, Mary and Roland R., at home; Ro- bert B., who died when nearly three years old; Nellie A. ; and one unnamed. Mr. Emerson and his wife are leading members of the Radical U. B. Church, of which he is a trustee. In 1890 he built one of the finest residences in the town. He was a Republican until 1887, since when he has given his support to the Prohibition party.
JOHN SCHUTZEBERG. Success in any calling is an indication of persistent effort, enterprise and sound judgment -- qualities which are pos- sessed in a high degree by the subject of this review. From a humble position he has worked his way upward to one of affluence; has sur- mounted difficulties and overcome obstacles, and, to-day, as the reward of his earnest labor. has one of the fine farms of Middleton township.
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