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 56

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) cn; J.H. Beers & Co. cn
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1140

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 56

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George Doil was only two years of age when his parents came to Wood county. He attended the district schools of Bloom township, and mal his marriage gave the benefit of his services to his father in the development of the old home

Doil

Anna Dail

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farm. On April 2, 1891, he wedded Miss Annie Shatzer, who was born . January 25, 1870, in Richland county, Ohio, and was educated in Richland and Henry counties. They began their domestic life on the old homestead, and there re- sided until March, 1894, when they removed to North Baltimore, residing there the succeeding year. In the meantime Mr. Doil sold his inter- est in the old homestead. In connection with his brother, he owned 246 acres, which they sold at $100 per acre. He then, in November. 1892, purchased his present farm, comprising 160 acres in Henry township, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation, while the well- tilled fields and many improvements upon the place indicate the thrift and enterprise of the owner. He located thereon in March, 1895, and to-day has one of the most desirable farm proper- ties in the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Doil have three interesting little children: Mabel, born May 16, 1892; George, born May 21, 1894, and Reah, born May 25, 1896. Mrs. Doil is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a most estimable lady. Mr. Doil gives his political support to the Demo- cratic party. He owes his success in life to the honest pursuit of a persistent purpose, to his en- ergy and sound judgment, and to-day he is num- bered among the substantial citizens of the com- munity.

WINFIELD BARBER. Among the native sons of Ohio who well deserve representation in this volume, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, and who in all the relations of life has proved himself a valued citizen. He was born in Seneca county, March 19, 1836. His father, Jonathan Barber, was born in Orange county, N. Y., and was the only child of Joseph Barber, a farmer of the Empire State, who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Jonathan learned the shoe-maker's trade, which he afterward followed in connection with farm- ing. In Cattaraugus county, N. Y., he married Esther Millerman, and located in Steuben coun- ty, that State. In 1848 he brought his family to Medina county, Ohio, making the journey by wagon, and in the fall of 1852 came to Wood county, locating on forty acres of land in Milton township. His death occurred in 1855, and his wife survived him fifteen years. Their children were: Rachel, who became the wife of John An- nobel, and died in Medina county, Ohio; Han- nah, who became the wife of Amos Knapp, and died in Michigan; Nancy, who died in Steuben county, N. Y., and was the wife of George Bird; 74

Mary, who was the wife of William Brower, and · died in Steuben county; Joseph, William and Jonathan who are residents of Michigan; Israil is a resident of Oklahoma; Chauncey, who inys- teriously disappeared in 1894 and has never been heard from since; Betsy, who was the wife of Joseph Clark, and died in Medina county; and Winfield.

Our subject is indebted to the district schools for his education. At the age of eighteen he came with his parents to Wood county, and in 1857 he left home, going to Hancock county. where he worked through the winter, then rented a farm of his brother in Lenawee county, Mich. After operating that farm for two years, he re- turned to Hancock county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits and carpentering. In 1861 he was found among the loyal defenders of the Union, enlisting in Company F, 2Ist O. V. I., un- der Capt. Alban. He participated in the battles of Ivy Mountain, Stone River, and Resaca, and on August 9, 1864, was transferred to the Ist United States Engineer Corps. 'On September 28, 1863, while building a corduroy road, he was quite severely injured by a log falling on his chest. He served sixteen months in the pioneer brigade, under Gen. Rosecrans, and when the war was over received an honorable discharge.

Mr. Barber was married in Hancock county. February 21, 1864, to Elizabeth Fox, a native of that county, and in 1868 they came to Wood county, where our subject purchased eighty acres of land, living first in a log house. For many years he has been engaged in ditching, and is num- bered among the industrious, progressive citizens of the community. His wife died July 8, 1892, leaving two children-George, at home; and Nora, wife of Elder Salisbury, of Milton town- ship. On January 28, 1894, Mr. Barber married Sarah Jane Kramer, widow of Emmet Thomas: In politics he is an ardent Republican, and his religious belief is in harmony with the doctrine of the United Brethren Church. His success in life is the result of his own exertions.

ISAAC J. DENT, a prominent resident of Fen- ton, is a native of Cambridgeshire, England, born April 1, 1848. Charles Dent, his father, was also boin in England, and was married there to Miss Frances Johnston. He came to the United States with his family in 1853, locating first on a farm in Medina county, Ohio. He afterward lived for a short time in foram county, but finally settled in Wood county, where he died Novem- ber 6, 1872, his wife having passed away ten years previous. Seven children were born to

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this worthy pioneer couple: Sarah, the wife of George Bell; Mary, who married John Whitney, a carpenter in Lorain county; Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Bales, of Kipton; Isaac, our subject; George, who died at the age of twenty-three; Lutisha; and Adolphus, a resident of Kipton, Ohio.

Mr. Dent was only six years of age when he came to Ohio, and his boyhood was spent mainly in Medina and Lorain counties. He worked for two years as a farm laborer, and then, in 1869, came to Wood county, and bought forty acres of land, improving and adding to it, until he now has a fine farm of eighty acres. He also carries on & general supply store and for eleven years has been postmaster at Fenton. Energetic, pro- gressive and honest, he holds the esteein and con- fidence of the entire community, which he has served as school director, and supervisor, in addi- tion to his otlier important trusts. On July 11, 1871, he was married, in Webster township, to Miss Martha Emmett, a native of Huron county, and a daughter of P. G. Emmett, of Fenton. Three children were born to this union: Mary F., a young lady of fine mental gifts and rare womanliness, is a teacher, and also assists her father in conducting the store; Emily and Ida are attending school. The family are active and prominent workers in the U. B. Church of Webster.

JAMES CASKIE, a farmer, was born in Wig- townshire, Scotland, March 17, 1834, and is the son of Alexander and Mary (Wilson) Caskie. Our subject attended the common schools in the old country continuously until fourteen years old, at which time he worked on the farm in summer and went to school in the winter. In the fall of IS53 he carried out an idea that he had enter- tained for some time, that of coming to America, where there was a better chance of getting a home, which he must do by his own efforts. In October, 1853, he left Liverpool on the sailing vessel "Schackmaxon," and after a voyage of seven weeks, landed in Lehigh county, Penn., where he had an acquaintance in the slate quar- ries. Here he secured his first employment and received seventy-five cents a day in winter, and one dollar in summer. After working there one year he left for the West, and located at Carey, Ohio, working on a farm near that place, where he received $8 a month in the winter season, and $13 a month in the summer.

On March 17, 1855, Mr. Caskie was married at Carey, Ohio, to Miss Matilda Smith, a native of Scotland, where she was born October 5. 1835.

the daughter of James and Martha (Elder) Smith. Her father was Scotch, and was an officer in the British army for many years. After marriage our subject located near Carey, Ohio, on a rented farm, where he lived until thefall of 1859. In 1857 he bought eighty acres of land in Section IS, Montgomery township, then in a primitive condi- tion, for which he paid $200, going in debt for part of the amount. In order to meet the last payment he was obliged to return to the slate quarries of Pennsylvania, where wages were higher, and where he stayed one year. In the fall of 1860 Mr. Caskie made the last payment, on his land, to which he moved. He and his fam- ily lived in a cabin made of round logs, which was the first home our subject could call his own. A portion of his farm was wet and swampy, and a small part of it was sandy, and on the latter he raised his first crop, fifty bushels of wheat. He farmed other lands, and was in this way able to support his family. He added sixty acres to his other land and built a larger log house, which was his home until, in 1883, he moved to his present place of residence, where he has 120 acres of good land and a fine house, all the im- provements on the place being made by Mr. Caskie.

To Mr. and Mrs. Caskie have been born the following children: Mary, December 22, 1856, married Albert Faatz, of Montgomery township. and they have two children; Martha, May 3. 1858, became the wife of F. T. Hedge, of Mont- gomery township, and they have two children: Alexander R., August 21, 1861, married Miss Emma Sutton (they live in Jerry City and have one child); William C., October 7. 1863, a farmer of Perry township, married May Wet- more, and they have five children: John, De- cember 9, 1865, married Frankie Spielman, and lives in Toledo (they have one child); Daisy, May 9, 1868, married William Odell, of Montgomery township; James R., March 29, 1872, died Feb- ruary 19, 1873: Milton, August 1, 1875, is at home. In 1882 Mr. Caskie went to Scotland and revisited the scenes of his childhood, after an absence of twenty-nine years, spending six weeks there. He went over on " The City of Rome and returned on "The City of Berlin."

Politically Mr. Caskie is a Republican, and cast his first vote for Lincoln's second term. He has served his party in various offices, amory; them being township trustee and school director. holding the latter position for over twenty years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, of which he has been steward and is at present one of the trustees.

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Alexander Caskie was a laborer, and made his living by farming and working by the day. Our subject was the only child. In 1854 he brought his wife to the United States, and one week after their arrival Mrs. Caskie died at Slatington, Penn. Mr. Caskie lived with his son until his death at the latter's home in Montgomery town- ship, at the age of seventy-eight years. He is buried at Prairie Depot. Thegrandfather of our subject was David Caskie, a farmer.

V. R. PORTER, a wealthy retired farmer, re- siding at Bowling Green, was born August i. 1837, iw Chautauqua, New York.

His father, Truman Porter, was a native of Vermont, born in ISO1, and left his native hills in early manhood, to carve out for himself a fort- une in the West. Locating first in Pennsylvania, he met his future wife, Miss Maria Darrow, who was born there in 1812. They were married, and a few years later came to Ohio, settling upon a farm in Ottawa county, where they lived seven- teen years. In 1847 they moved to a farm in Plain township, Wood county, near Bowling Green, where Mr. Porter, Sr., died in 1878, and the farm is now owned by our subject.

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V. R. Porter was just entering manhood when his parents came to Wood county. On January I, 1858, he married Miss Lydia A. Sizer, who was born in Huron county in 1835. They went to housekeeping on a rented farm in Portage town- ship, making their household furniture out of dry- goods boxes, and building a stove out of " nigger heads." After one year they moved to Plain township, but returned the following year to Port- age. Fortune's frowns had but little effect upon the happy young couple, and they worked hard, and soon began to prosper. In 1863 they bought a farm in Plain township, in the corporation of Bowling Green. Finding a good opportunity to sell, they did so, and for some time Mr. Porter speculated in a small way in real estate, " coming out ahead " on every deal. The proceeds of the first sale bought sixteen acres in Plain township. The price of that bought forty acres in Weston township, and when that was sold Mr. Porter purchased sixty acres in Portage township, which lie still owns. He has since bought other prop- erty, including forty-two acres in Plain township. and at the present time owns 1593 acres in dif- 1 ferent places, upon which he has three good ou wells. His first wife died in 1877, leaving four children. (1) Sophronia, now deceased, born December 11, 1862, married Edward Woodruff, of Michigan, and had two children, of whom only ; one -Linnie - is now living. (2) William, born

November 15, 1864, married Miss Rosa Freen, and lives in Jackson township. They have one child. (3) Milo, born July 18, 1866, married Miss Sadie Kromer, and resides in Center town- ship; three children were born to them - Archie, Claude, and Ina. (4) Rosa, born January 10, 1868, married Charles Strubble and lives on the old farm in Portage township; they have three daugh- ters - Linnie, Vernie, and Hazel. Mr. Porter married for his second wife Miss Jennie Miner, who was born in Michigan in 1850. She died in 1893. Of their three children, one died in in- fancy; the others are -- Fred H., born December 17, 1882, and Ada, born April 19, 1885.

Mr. Porter's present wife was Miss Ina Dan- iels, who was born in Oneida county, N. Y., July 4, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Porter are leading mem- bers of the M. E. Church of Bowling Green, and take a prominent part in the social and philan- thropical enterprises in the community, using their wealth to advance every good cause. Mr. Porter is a Republican, politically, but has never sought office. He has now reached a point where his past hardships can be surveyed with satisfac- tion, as a sharp contrast to the present, although, with youth, and all its blessings, and with hope to gild the future, life was happy then.

CHARLES ROPER, a prominent agriculturist of Webster township, residing near Fenton, was born in Lincolnshire, England, June 9, 1830. Noah Roper, his father, who was by occupation a laborer, married Miss Lucy Dorr, also a native of England, by whom he had nine children, our subject being the eldest. Four others grew to maturity, Eliza (now deceased); Ann (married), George, Fannie, and four died in infancy. Both parents died in England.

Mr. Roper availed himself of the educational opportunities afforded by the schools near his home. In 1855 he married Miss Elizabeth Em- mett, who was born in Lincolnshire. April 8. 1829. He worked as a laborer until 1856. when, desiring a better outlook in life, he emigrated to AAmerica. He first located in New Castle county, Del., but a year later came to Erie county, Ohio, and worked upon a farm for a year. In 1861. he bought twenty acres of land in this county, which formed a nucleus for his present fine farm of sixty acres. His time mainly is devoted to dairy- ing and stock raising. His energy and wise man- agement have met reward, and he is one of the miost highly respected citizens of the community. He is one of the stockholders in the Luckey Creamery Company. He and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian Church. They have

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had five children, whose names with dates of birth are here given: Lucy A., May 4, 1857. married Robert Forrester; Perry, January 23, 1859, is a farmer in Webster township; Jeannette. May 24, 1867, is now.deceased; Mary, February 8, 1870, married Anthony Siefert, of Webster township; and Charles, June 28, 1865, died in infancy.

In politics Mr. Roper is a Democrat, and he takes an influential part in local affairs. He has served two terins as -supervisor and trustee of his township.

HARRY MAIDLOW. Among the native sons of Maryland, who have emigrated westward in search of homes, and have become valued and esteemed citizens of the localities in which they reside, is numbered this gentleman. A son of Charles and Sarah (Care) Maidlow, he was born in Baltimore, Md., February 12, 1859. His father was born near Evansville, Ind., in 1821, and during his childhood, went with his parents to the Oriole City, where he learned the trade of brick laying, and also engaged in clerking in that city. There he was married to one of the native daughters of Baltimore. Her death occurred June 25, 1885, and the father has also passed away. Their children were Isabel, who died in : infancy; James, who died in childhood; Mary, who became the wife of Robert Brooks, and died in Putnam county, Ohio; Charles, who died in Baltimore, Md .; Kate, wife of James Bowers; Harry; and Edward, of Baltimore.

Mr. Maidlow, of this sketch, acquired a good education in his native city, and entered upon his business career with his father, in the whole- sale and retail produce business. He afterward engaged in traveling for several years, and was married in Baltimore in 1887, to Miss Mary Maidlow. The lady was born in Vanderburg county, Ind., April 24, 1863, and is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Earl) Maidlow, who re- side near Evansville, Ind. Our subject's wife had always remained at home until her marriage, and was one of a family of eleven children- John, who died in childhood, Leslie, Alice, Will- iam. Maria, Emma, Mary, Kate, Fannie, Rich- ard and Elizabeth.

In 1889, Harry Maidlow removed with his wife to Liberty township. Wood county, and purchased eighty acres of land, the greater part of which was still wild and unimproved. He erected a good residence and substantial out- buildings, and now has one of the valuable and desirable farms of the community, his land being under a high state of cultivation. The home is !

blessed by the presence of two daughters-Sarah and Ruth. Mr. Maidlow has been the architect of his own fortunes. All that he has. has been secured through his own efforts, and his diligence and enterprise have been the factors in his suc- cess.

F. G. ENSMINGER, the efficient and capable foreman of . the Dewey Stave Company, of Bairdstown, Wood county, is a native of Han- cock county, Ohio, born in Van Buren February 22, 1862, son of A. G. and Lucy (Ishman) Ensminger. By occupation the father was a carpenter and cooper. He reared a large family of children. He is now deceased.

Our subject passed his early life under the parental roof. receiving his education in the com- mon schools, and when a child was brought by his parents to Bairdstown, arriving soon after the village had been laid out. He remained at home until his marriage, which important event occurred May 3. 1888, Miss Frances E. Ault be- coming his wife. She is a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter of John Ault, an agri- culturist, and by her marriage has become the mother of three children-Ralph W .. Bertha and Elsie. At the time of his marriage Mr. Ensminger was engaged in drilling water wells. which business he continued to follow for three years, and in Bairdstown began his domestic life. He later entered the employ of the Dewey Stave Company, where he had previously worked. and has since remained with that firm, with the exception of five months, when he was hired by the Montpelier Stave Company. In June, 1894. he was made foreman, and is now filling that im- portant position to the satisfaction of all con- cerned. It is one of the most extensive plants of the kind in the county, and he enjoys the highest confidence of his employers.

Mr. Ensininger has served as a member of the city council of Bairdstown, was treasurer for one term, and in 1894 was elected city marshal. His public as well as his private duties are always faithfully discharged. He uses his right of fran- chise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He is a straightforward, up- right gentleman, highly regarded by all, and out. who has fought his own life's battle unaided from boyhood.

FREDERICK WITTMER. Among the most suc- cessful and reliable citizens of foreign birth, who make their home in Bowling Green, is to be found the subject of this sketch. He is the soll ti David and Mary Maitrot) Wittmer, who wer

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natives of France, where the former was born in 1805, and died in !873. He was a butcher by occupation, and carried on a meat market and bakery. His family consisted of three children, our subject and two daughters, Catherine and Louise, who still live in France, and own a large amount of property.

The grandfather of our subject was also a Frenchman by birth, but during the Napoleonic war was forced to join the German army. He was finally able to make his escape and return to the assistance of his countrymen. He died when only thirty-three years of age.

Mr. Wittmer is the only one of his family who Came to America. He landed at New York City January 18, 1866, and soon after came to Wood county, where he settled in Center township. He was a butcher by trade in the old country; but as he could not speak English, he engaged in farming, which he carried on for eleven years, removing to Bowling Green in 1877. Unlike mnost Europeans who come to America, Mr. Witt- mer brought considerable money with him, and soon became known as one of the most success- ful business men ot Wood county. He possesses remarkable financial ability, and it may truthfully be said that no business enterprise with which he has been connected, has ever been a failure. He has assisted materially in the development of the oil fields in the vicinity of Bowling Green, and his investment in this line is now paying him a handsome annuity. He is a man of progressive ideas, of untiring energy, honorable and straight- forward in all his dealings, and is one of the most respected and substantial citizens of Bowl- ing Green. He at one time owned a farm of 120 acres, in Wood county, which he afterward sold, his other numerous interests demanding his entire time and attention.

Mr. Wittmer was born in the southeast part of France, May 26, 1840, and was there married to Miss Marie Marchand, whose birth took place in 1846. Six children have been born to them, namely: Marie, Frederick, David, George, Eugene, and Henry.

HERMAN H. SCHROEDER, deceased, who was a pioneer agriculturist of Perrysburg township, was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1818. In 1842 he came to America and settled in Wood county. where, in Perrysburg township, he bought eighty acres of land, which formed the nucleus for further acquisitions. So successful was he, that at the time of his death, in 1891, he owned 400 acres of the finest land in the county. He was a leader in his community, and delighted in his

later days to tell the story of early times to the generation which is reaping the reward of the la- bors of the pioneers. In 1847 he was married to Miss Angeline Sielscott, who was born in Han- over, Germany, in 1831. Six children were born to them, named, respectively, Henry A., John F., Louis, Louise, Frank and Sophia, all of whom are yet living except Frank, who died at the age of one year and four months. The widowed mother is yet living on the home farm, in vigor- ous health for one of her advanced years, and is tenderly cared for by her son John.

JOHN F. SCHROEDER, the second in the above named family, received his education in the dis- trict schools. On entering business life he was for a time engaged in business at Toledo, Ohio, and then returned to the farm, where he assisted his father in his declining years, and of which he has now entire charge. Possessing great energy and much tact, he operates the homestead by modern and progressive methods. Politically. he is a Republican, and in religious faith he is a member of the Lutheran Church.

JOHN KATON, deceased, was a well-known re- tired agriculturist of Grand Rapids, and a veteran of the Civil war, born in Fairfield county, Ohio, October 18, 1841. His ancestors have been for inany generations people of culture and good standing, and his grandfather, Thomas Katon. was a farmer of Fairfield, Ohio. Jesse Katon, our subject's father, born in Pennsylvania, May 3, 1808, was a teacher, and in 1834 moved to Hancock county, Ohio, where he married Miss Nancy Johnson, who was born June 19. 1812. Seven children blessed this union, whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Thomas, April 25, 1835, a resident of Hillsdale, Mich. ; Anna M .. March 4, 1837, who died in early youth; Mary E., April 28, 1839, the wife of E. A. Moore, of Weston, Ohio, died September 24, 1896: John, our subject; Sarah D., December 31, 1843, the wife of James Barrett, of Fulton county, Ohio: William F., April 2, 1845, and James H .. Sep- tember 1, 1854, who resides Hear Deshler, Ohio. In 1860 our subject's father sold his farm in Han- cock county, and moved to Michigan, remaining five years, and then located in Wood county, where he bought forty acres of land in what is now known as Grand Rapids township. Here le passed to his final rest March 24, 1881, his wife having died two years before, on December 8. 1879.

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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 56

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) cn; J.H. Beers & Co. cn Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1140

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) cn; J.H. Beers & Co. cn
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1140