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 55
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ten of them gas wells which yield an average of 55,000,000 feet of gas per day. The remaining three, which are oil wells, are not yet in opera- tion. The officers of the Palmer Oil Company are Andrew Emerine, of Fostoria, president; C. E. Palmer, of Fostoria, treasurer; William A. Jones, of Bairdstown, field manager; James S. Rodgers, of Toledo, S. Z. Foster, of Toledo, William Hardee, of Toledo, Joseph L. Wolcott, of Toledo, Andrew Emerine, of Fostoria, C. E. Palmer, of Fostoria, and M. C. Briggs, of Bairds- town, directors.
In addition to giving to the details of his business enterprises that close attention which ensures success, Mr. Briggs finds time to keep well-informed upon general topics, and to take an active part in local affairs. He is a generous supporter of various philanthropic movements, and contributes to the M. E. Church, of which his wife is a prominent member. He is a leader in the Republican party in his locality, and served a term as postmaster at Bairdstown under Arthur's administration. He has also been the clerk of the village, and is now village treasurer.
SAMUEL KNIGHT. Prominent among the act- ive citizens of North Baltimore, as well as influ- ential officials of Wood county, is found the. gentleman whose name is here recorded. Mr. Knight is a native of Guernsey, one of the Chan- nel Islands, in the English Channel, having been born there July 10, 1859, a son of Thomas W. and Eliza (Warren) Knight. The family came to America in 1861, making their first New World home in Erie county, Ohio, on Kelley's Island, and here remained until 1872, in that year re- moving to Sandusky county. Our subject re- ceived his education in part at Sandusky City. and in part at Clyde, Sandusky county, remain- ing under the parental roof until November 23, 1882. On November 10, 1881, he was united in marriage with Miss Ella Hostetter, who was born April 4, 1863, in Meigs county, Ohio, a daugh- ter of James and Mary J. (Daugherty) Hostetter. She received her early schooling in her native county, made a study of elocution, and in June. 1895, was graduated from the Cleveland School of Elocution and Oratory. She is now a highly efficient teacher in her chosen profession, having classes in Bowling Green, Fostoria and North Baltimore, and is an officiating member of the National Association of Elocution and Oratory.
Some time after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Knight took up their home at Mungen, Wood county, and were residents of that village until 1866, when they purchased a farm in Henry town-
ship, from ex-Gov. Foster, for whom Mr. Knight was land agent at the time. On this property they lived until 1892, then sold and bought a place in Milton township, which, also, they re- cently sold. In the same year (1892) they pur- chased a neat home on Tarr street, North Balti- more, where they have since resided, and where their many friends enjoy unstinted hospitality.
To our subject and his amiable wife was born at Mungen, Wood county, November 23, 1883. one child, named Earl Alonzo. In his political preferences Mr. Knight is a Republican; in I891 he was elected a member of the board of com- missioners of Wood county, and is still filling that incumbency, having been re-elected in 1894. The parents of Mrs. Knight are both natives of Virginia, the father born in 1831, the mother in 1833. They had a family of two sons and four daughters. Mrs. Knight's grandfather, James Hostetter, was born about the year 1800, and his widow is still living, at the patriarchal age of ninety years.
LEWIS CRAMER, a wealthy citizen of Bowling Green, and now retired from active life, was born April 6, 1830, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a son of Jacob and Louisa (Moore) Cramer.
The great-grandfather of our subject, on the paternal side, was born in Germany, and, when ten years old, came to America with his parents. They located in Pennsylvania, in what was then known as Penn's Valley. He was a farmer by occupation, and a soldier and pensioner of the Revolutionary ariny. Lewis Cramer, the grand- father of our subject, was a resident of Fairfield county, Ohio, where he died when nearly seven- ty years of age. In the early part of his life he was a farmer, and a minister in the United Breth- ren Church, afterward, in that county, operating a flouring-mill and sawmill, by water-power, on Walnut creek. He was one of a large family of children, the following being the names of some of them: Lewis, Philip, John, Michael, Adam, Jacob, George, and Sarah. Lewis became the father of eight children, namely: Jacob, George. Adamn, Lewis, Sarah, Margaret, Mary, and Christina.
Jacob Cramer, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1808, was married in Fairfield county, Ohio, to Louisa Moore, who died in Fairfield county, in 1836, at the age of thirty-three. They followed farming for many years. Jacob was three times married, having five children by his first wife, namely : Levi, who died in Wood county, when sixty-one years old. Susan, married to Daniel Knepper, of Fairfield
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county, and died when about twenty years of age; Lewis, our subject; Irvin, who enlisted from Fairfield county, in the regular army, during the Civil war, and died in Libby prison; and Louisa, married to Henry Knepper, and now residing near Carey, Wyandot county. Mr. Crainer's second marriage was to Miss Sarah Derr, and of this union three children were born: William, who died when seven years old; Margaret, who is married, and residing in Lancaster, Ohio; Sarah, married, and living near Warsaw, Ind. Jacob Cramer's third wife was Mrs. Annie Moore (widow of George Moore), by whom he had no children. Mr. Cramer died in Ohio, about the year 1873. Mrs_ Louisa (Moore) Cramer, mother of our sub- ject, was a daughter of Levi and Mary (Bright) Moore, natives of Delaware, and who were among the first settlers of Fairfield county, where they followed farming. They were the parents of several children, named respectively: John, Lou- isa, Edward, Abigail, George, Elizabeth, Sarah, Levi, and Erwin. The father was a very highly respected citizen, and a leader among men. Both parents died on the farm they had settled on.
The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in Fairfield county, remaining on the home farm with his father until he was some twenty-two years old, when he moved to Hancock county, on to a new farm whereon he lived twenty-one years, and then came to Wood county. At the age of twenty-three he married Miss Martha Carnes, who died in 1852, and December 13, 1855, for his second wife, he wedded Miss Jennie Black. In 1876 he purchased land in what was then the suburbs of Bowling Green, but which is now a part of the city, and has an elegant and comfortable home. He has spent a busy life, dealing in real-estate, flour-milling and loaning money; but is now taking his ease and comfort, his chief occupation being to look after his prop- erty, and his interest in the Union Flouring Mills of the city, of which he is one of the proprietors. Mr. Cramer cast his first Presidential vote for James K. Polk, his last Democratic vote going for James Buchanan, and for many years past has exerted his influence in behalf of the Republican party. He is a member of the United Brethren Church, liberal in his contributions to all worthy causes, and is highly regarded as one of the val- uable citizens of Bowling Green. Mrs. Cramer was born in Fairfield county, in 1838, and is a daughter of Lemuel and Sarah (Bogart) Black. the former of whom was born in Fairfield county. the latter near Reading, Peun. Mr. Black was a wheelwright and chairmaker by trade, and died when about sixty-five years old, a member
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of the United Brethren Church; his wife died in June, 1894, aged eighty-two years. Lemuel Black was the son of John Black, who was of Scottish descent, and whose family comprised six children: Lemuel, Ira, John, Millie, Susan, and Catherine. Mrs. Cramer was the eldest of seven children, the others being Maggie and Martin, both deceased; William, living at Findlay, Ohio; Elroy, living in Smithton, Mo .; Elmer and Cloe K., living in Hancock county. Mrs. Cramer died suddenly at Bowling Green, mourned by many friends by whom she was beloved, and held in the highest respect for her many virtues, her amiability, and her sweet disposition.
J. H. SMITH, a retired agriculturist of Jerry City, was born November 13, 1817, in Mifflin township, Richland county, on the "Black Fork of the Mohegan river."
John H. Smith, his father, was born in Fred- erick county, Md., in 1789, but he came to Ohio when a young man, the family settling in Harri- son county. During the war of 1812 he, and a brother-in-law, went to Richland county, and spent their time making improvements upon a tract of land: they returned home for a supply of clothing, expecting to be drafted, but while there peace was declared. Mr. Smith was married in Harrison county to Miss Elizabeth Keefer, aiso a native of Maryland, and soon after moved to Richland county. Of their ten children our sub- ject was the second in order of birth. but the eld- est living, the first child, Margaret, having died in childhood; the others were Henry, who died in Bloom township; Maria, who died in infancy; Jacob, who died in 1859; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Asa Brown, of Michigan: Solomon, still living; Sarah A., who died in infancy; Mary A., deceased wife of David Wirick, of Bloom town- ship: and Ellen, deceased, who married Abraham Myers.
Mr. Smith attended the district schools of his day, such as they were, and, as the eldest son, found no lack of employment at home, where he remained until his marriage, April 23, 1841. to Miss Sarah Wirick. She was born March 18. 1822, daughter of Henry and Catherine (Spade Wirick, early settlers of Richland county. They began their housekeeping on land belonging to his father, and their shanty, though rude in con- struction, was clean, and their furniture good for the time. On November 1, 1849, Mr. Smith moved on his eighty acres of land in Crane town- ship, Wyandot county, all of which was in its primitive state, and lived there for over two years in true pioneer style. Game was plenty, but
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Mr. Smith was too busy with his farm work to do mnch hunting. Later they bought a tract of 160 acres of wild land, which they cleared and cultivated, making a fine farm which they still own. He also has seven oil wells in operation at the present time. Mrs. Smith has been her husband's faithful helper in all his efforts, and he takes manly pride in acknowledging her share in his success. Five children were born to them, all of whom are living: Mary married William B. Woolsey, of Wyandot county; Frank H. lives in Cedar county, Mo., Lodemia married S. P. Balliet, of Wyandot county; Samantha mar- ried Samuel Suder, who died seven months later, and she now resides with her parents; Almarine is the wife of Samuel B. Bowman, of Wyan- dot county.
Although now advanced in years, Mr. Smith is vigorous and well preserved, and still works occasionally by way of exercise. Since October 1, 1889, he has lived in Jerry City, and he owns ninety-one acres of land near by. He has never been a believer in unnecessary self-denial, and while he has saved as he could, he has always lived comfortably. He and his wife have been active members of the M. E. Church for a num- ber of years, and they take a generous interest in the welfare of others, and in all public movements. Politically, Mr. Smith is a Demo- crat.
GEORGE D. CHASE, a retired agriculturist, came from Liberty township, Hancock Co., Ohio, where he was born July 10, 1842. He is the son of Justus and Mary Ann (Jones) Chase. Justus Chase was born in New York, August 29, 1817, and went to Hancock county with his parents when he was thirteen years old." He was mar- ried in that county to Miss Jones, who was born in Westmoreland county, Penn., July 24, 1821. After their marriage they settled on the farm where Mr. Chase resided until 1895, in which year he went to Findlay, the mother having passed away June 27, 1889. They reared the following children: Martha J. married William Bryan, who died while in the army; George D. is the subject of this sketch; Elizabeth is the wife of C. Porter, and lives in Michigan; Serelda M. mar- ried Isaac Taylor, and now lives in North Balti- more; Mary M. is the wife of Mr. Thompson, now living in Olympia. Wash. ; Aretta is the wife of John Osbourne, of Hancock county; J. Z. lives at home; James W. died in Chillicothe, Mo ; Robert H. died at the old homestead. Grand- father George Chase was born in New York, and died in Hancock county, Ohio. The maternal
grandfather, James Jones, was born in Pennsyl- vania, and also died in Hancock county.
Our subject remained at home until the out- break of the Civil war, when, on February I, 1862, he joined Company G, 2Ist O. V. I., Four- teenth Army Corps, and served nine months and ten days. He again enlisted, on February 10. 1864, in Company I, 2Ist regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Chattahoochee River, Resaca and Buzzard's Roost, and was wounded at Jonesboro, Ga .. Sep- tember 1, 1864, by an exploding shell. After the war Mr. Chase came home and located on a farm in Henry township, Wood county, and in 1867 he was married to Mary . M. Caskey, who was born in Henry township December 10, 1846. They became the parents of the following chil- dren: John W., born December 14, 1867, mar- ried Norah Frederick (they live on a farin and have three children, Iva, Edith and Naoma Cleo : Thomas is unmarried; Edith married A. C. Se- guyne, and died April 4, 1894; Mattie A., and Clyde H.
Mr. Chase followed farming until 1873, when he went into the sawmill business, continuing in that until 1890. He then became interested in the oil fields, and at present has a large income from the wells on his land, which he leases. His income from this source averages over $200 a month, and has been as high as $1,700. He is a Republican, and a member of the U. V. U. Mr. Chase is one of the substantial citizens of North Baltimore, and does everything in bis power to promote the interests of the community in which he resides.
WILLIAM DUNIPACE, one of the honored old pioneers of Webster township, has dwelt on his present homestead for the past fifty-eight years. In his early manhood he took up a tract of gov - ernment land, paying therefor $1.25 per acre. and, from that time forward, he devoted his en- ergies to its improvement and development. The place was heavily timbered, and barely five acres a year could be cleared by the most industrious efforts. Mr. Dunipace helped to lay out the roads, to erect school houses, and in other ways to advance the interests of the community.
The birth of our subject occurred in the parish of Liberton, Edinburghshire, Scotland, January 19, 1816-his parents, William and Margaret (Gill) Dunipace, being likewise natives of the country. Their children were as follows: Rob- ert, Margaret, Jeanette, Isabella, Mary Mr. James Muir, James, Annie, and Charles. M.T. garet was born January 4, 1813, and January Do.
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1836, married William Weddell, a mechanic, who died in 1843, aged thirty-two years; his son George is deceased; another son, William is a farmer of Webster township; his only daughter was named Margaret, in honor of her mother. Jean- ette, the second sister of our subject, died in in- fancy; and the next sister, Isabella, was born July 24, 1814. Robert and James are deceased.
On March 28, 1834, William Dunipace, Sr., and his family, started for the United States on a sailing vessel, and for eight weeks were tossed to and fro on the Atlantic. Finally landing at New York City, they proceeded by way of the canal and the great lakes to Perrysburg, Ohio, arriving there July 3. In that place the father died about one month later, in his fifty-fourth vear. His wife, after surviving him many years, died in 1878, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years.
William Dunipace came to America at the same time as his parents and brothers and sisters. and, by the death of his father, was early obliged to make his own livelihood. He obtained a posi- tion as a farm hand near Perrysburg, and worked for $13.00 a month. In 1837 he removed to the homestead, which he has since cultivated, and which was situated in what was formerly known as Freedom township. As the years passed, he added to his possessions until he now has over five hundred acres of valuable and improved land. He experienced all the hardships which fall to the lot of a pioneer, and for years his humble abode was in a log cabin, 18 x 24 feet in dimen- sions. Though those years were full of toil and difficulties, yet they were not unhappy, as he was full of hope and ambition, and could not but feel pride in the success which he was achieving. Mr. Dunipace received but a limited education, as he was able to attend school only until he was thir- teen years of age, and he has had to rely upon his own private study and observation for the practical knowledge which he possesses. In poli- tics he is a Republican, and religiously is identi- fied with the Presbyterian Church. He can look back upon a life well spent in doing good to his fellows, and is now passing his declining years surrounded with comforts which his toil has pro- vided, and in the secure enjoyment of the confi- dence and respect of his many friends and neigh- bors.
GEORGE ADAMS. One of the finest and best- conducted farms in Bloom township is the result of the labors of this gentleman, and it is also the : place of his nativity. He was born September 18, 1855, and is a member of a well-known pio- ;
neer family, his parents being David and Lucinda (Henry) Adams, who were married in this county. The father's birth occurred March 30, 1821. in Beaver county; Penn., while the mother was a native of the Empire State, born December 27. 1825. The former came with his father. David Adams, Sr., to this locality, first locating in Montgomery township, but in April. 1837, bought from the goverminent the northwest quarter of Section 2, Bloom township, making his home there when the nearest post office was Fremont.
The father of our subject was a remarkably active man, stout and robust, and was one of the best financiers of the township; and had it not been for his untimely death he would probably have become one of the wealthiest men of the county. He served as trustee and school director, always voted with the Democratic party, and he and his wife always attended religious service. He departed this life June 9. 1866, but hiswife long survived him, dying February 1, 1895. and they were laid side by side in West Millgrove ceme- tery. Their children were as follows: Emeline, wife of Norrington Beadall, of North Baltimore, Ohio; Henry, a farmer of Portage township; Sarah, who married Peter Landis, and died in Perry township; Thomas J., of North Baltimore; Mary E., who became the wife of Lorenzo Hat- field, and died in Bloom township; George ; Almira. now Mrs. Jerry Blair, of Bloom township: Min- erva, wife of Erastus Bosler, of Portage town- ship; and Madison, a farmer of Perry township.
Our subject in his boyhood received the edu- cation that the district schools of the neigh- borhood afforded, and at the age of thirteen assumed charge of the home farm, while two years later he had almost absolute control, as his father had died when he was only eleven. On December 29, 1876, in Bloom township, Rev. Isaac Feasel, a Methodist Episcopal minister, performed the wedding ceremony that united the destinies of Mr. Adams and Miss Etta Enos, who was born in Jackson township, Seneca Co., Ohio, danghter of Joseph and Elizabeth Enos, farining people. The date of her birth is July 12, 1855.
The first land owned by Mr. Adams was a tract of forty acres in Section 4. Bloom town- ship; but he never lived upon the place or upon any of the numerous tracts he later purchased. his residence always being on the old homestead. which he still cultivates. In the spring of 1877 he began its operation on shares, which system was continued until the death of the mother. whom he had always cared for hke a dntitul son. having the greatest regard for his parents.
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Besides the home place, which comprises seventy- two acres of valuable land, he also owns a half interest in the celebrated Alva Thomas farm, in Perry township, which is the acknowledged ban- ner farm of Wood county. He is a wide-awake, progressive business man, and in addition to general farming also deals quite extensively in fine stock. He is an excellent judge of horses, which he handles in considerable numbers, and has sold many fine animals. In politics Mr. Adams votes for the candidates of the Democratic party, and, although not taking an active part in public life, he conscientiously performs his duties as a good citizen. He is intelligent and public- spirited, deeply interested in the advancement of educational affairs, and for three years accepta- bly served as school director. His excellent wife is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Adams' parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Shakespeare) Enos, were born in Pennsylvania and Delaware, respectively. The father was a miller in the East, but after his removal to Ohio engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he con- tinued to follow the remainder of his life. He passed away October 2, 1856, near Fostoria, in which city Mrs. Enos now resides. She has been a resident of Wood county for over fifty years. She is the mother of seven children, two sons and five daughters, six of whom are yet liv- ing, one daughter, Mrs. Carrie Cellors, having died in 1874.
FRANK W. STRATTON is proprietor of the gen- enral store and a livery stable in Portage, and it is to such enterprising, progressive citizens that the upbuilding and welfare of a community is at- tributable. He was born in Monroeville, Huron Co., Ohio, February 13, 1852, and is a son of Matthew T. and Jane (Smith) Stratton. His early school days were passed in Milan, Huron county, and at the age of sixteen he accompanied his parents on their removal to Plain township, Wood county, where he continued his studies for two years. He was reared on the farm and re- mained at home until his marriage. His parents lived in Plain township only one year, and then removed to Liberty township, where in 1863 the father purchased 165 acres of wild land. He erected a rude board shanty in which the family lived for many years, and then made more sub- stantial improvements upon the place.
Mr. Stratton was married in Weston, June 22, 1875, to Hattie L. Caswell, who was born in Michigan, September 19, 1852. They began their domestic life on the old homestead-his par-
ents having removed to Michigan-and in Jan- uary, 1876, our subject and his wife took up their residence at Averill, Midland Co .. Mich., where Mr. Stratton opened a general store, and also speculated in lumber, meeting with excellent success in both undertakings. On the expiration of eight years, Mr. Stratton returned with his family to Wood county, and established a general store at Weston, where he remained for two years. He then came to Portage, where he es- tablished a general mercantile store, and in the spring of 1895 began the livery business which he is now conducting.
Mr. and Mrs. Stratton have four children- Fred, Charles, Lenna and Howard. The family attend the Methodist Church, of which our sub- ject is a member. In politics he is a Republican. and has served as an officer in the township for many years. In his business dealings he has won success, and is the owner of considerable val- uable farming land in the county; progressive and enterprising, he is recognized as one of the leading merchants of his locality, and well de- serves representation in this volume.
GEORGE DOIL. Among the citizens whose well-spent lives entitle them to representation in the history of Wood county is this gentleman. who is a leading and influential farmer of Henry township.
Mr. Doil was born November 9, 1858, in Sen- eca county, Ohio, son of Michael and Catherine (Souders) Doil, the former of whom was a native of Ireland, the latter of America. The father came to this country when a young man, locating in Seneca county, Ohio, where he followed farming. There he was married, and about 1860 he re- moved with his family to Bloom township, Wood county, where he purchased eighty-eight acres of wild land, erected a log cabin, and at once began to improve the property. As his financial re- sources increased he added to it. and, at the time of his death, owned a valuable farm of 168 acres. Both he and his wife spent their remaining days on the old homestead, the former passing away in March, 1886, at the age of fifty-six, while the latter died in 1879, aged forty-five years. Their children were: Anna, deceased: George; James. deceased; Emma, wife of William Pattee, of Tit- fin, Ohio; and Ella, wife of James Gilder, of Port- age township.
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