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 59
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Soon after his marriage, Mr. Whitson re- moved to a forty-acre farm, one mile south of Liine City. To this he has added until he now owns 120 acres of valuable farming land, im- proved with good buildings, and all modern ac- cessories and conveniences. His political sup- port is given the Republican party, and he was
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elected and served as trustee of Perrysburg town- ship, although the township is strongly Demo- cratic. His election certainly evidenced his per- sonal popularity, and it is said of Mr. Whitson that he has not an enemy in all Wood county. Socially, he is connected with Fort Meigs Lodge No. 774, I. O. O. F., and Wolford Post No. 54, G. A. R. He usually attends the National En- campments of the G. A. R. In 1890 he visited his old home in. Iowa, and in 1893, he had the pleasure of attending the World's Columbian Ex- position in Chicago.
HOWARD H. MCCLARAN, M. D., is one of the rising young physicians of Wood county, and has also taken an active part in the public affairs of his locality, where he enjoys great popularity.
His father, Avery McClaran, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, of Scotch-Irish extraction, and became a successful medical practitioner. He graduated at the Wooster Medical College, Cleveland, later followed his profession in Nash- ville, Holmes Co., Ohio, and in Seal; Wyandot county, and then came to North Baltimore, Wood county, where he was successfully engaged in practice at the time of his death. He passed away December 23, 1887, at the age of fifty- eight years, and was buried at North Baltimore on Christmas Day. He married Eleanor Boles, who still makes her home at that place, and to them were born the following children: Mary A., wife of W. W. Lemon, a shoe merchant of Mansfield, Ohio; William B., agent for the Lake Erie & Western railroad at Frankfort, Ind .; Florence, wife of B. H. Peters, of North Balti- more; Howard H .; and Zella M., wife of J. W. Borough, of North Baltimore. The father was a self-educated as well as a self-made man, hav- ing been left an orphan at the age of seven years, and he managed to secure a good education, and, later, a comfortable amount of worldly goods. He took an active interest in the welfare of the Democratic party, with which he always cast his ballot, and intended in later life to take a more active part in politics.
Howard H. McClaran was born at Nashville, Holmes Co., Ohio, February 4, 1867. When he was a boy of about nine years, his parents re- moved to North Baltimore, where he completed his literary studies in the public schools. At the age of seventeen lie began work in a stave fac- tory, and, after being employed there for some time, learned telegraphy, which he followed from 1885 until 1 890, during that time filling various po- sitions: On November 25, 1885, he became night operator at St. Joe, Ind., and was then stationed
at Hoyts Corners and Holgate, Ohio, at the latter place working for both the Baltimore & Ohio and Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City mow Cloverleaf ) railroads. He later went to North Baltimore, remaining there until April 14, 1890. when he resigned to accept the position of book- keeper for J. S. Hamilton, in the lumberyard and planing-mill business, at North Baltimore. In Sep- tember, 1890, he was offered a higher salary by the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, with which he went to Station 33, one and one-half miles north of Jerry City, Wood county, as engineer and oper- ator. At the end of a year, however, he resigned and began the study of medicine, entering Starl- ing . Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, on Sep- tember 5, 1891. At the end of six months his means were exhausted, and he was compelled to secure work, being employed at driving a delivery wagon for a time. Later he resumed his studies at the Nashville (Tenn.) Medical College, where he was graduated February 23, 1893. and. re- turning to North Baltimore, practiced there for a short time. On April 22, 1893. he located at Bloomdale, where he has since built up a good practice.
In Bloomdale the Doctor was married. No- vember 15, 1894. to Miss Mary George. of that city, daughter of David George, who was at one time a miller, but later engaged in farming. Dr. McClaran has always been a strong supporter of the Democratic party, and in the spring of 1894 was elected mayor of Bloomdale on the Demo- cratic ticket, although the village is Republican by 100 majority. This honor was conferred upon him after only one year's residence in the place. and there is probably not another instance of the kind in Ohio. His administration was highly satisfactory, and he displayed careful judgment and sound common sense in his management of affairs. The Bloomdale Derrick, which is op- posed to the Doctor in politics, gave him the following highly complimentary .send-off" -- "DOWN AND OUT: This week the mayor. Dr. McClaran, steps down and out, and his succes- sor, J. L. Easley, takes his place. The Doctor has proved to be a careful and pains-taking officer. His administration of the village govern. ment has been one of conservative action. He has always taken pains to be on the safe side of the public questions." He enjoys the confidence of the best citizens, and by his successful practice in his chosen profession has gained a liberal pat- ronage. He takes quite an active interest in city. societies, belonging to Bloomdale Lodge No.2;S. K. of P., also the Rathbone Sisters of Bloomdale. and was formerly a member of Fostoria Division
Howard & Mchan mad Mano OM Claran.
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No. 32, Order of Railway Telegraphers. The Doctor is a stockholder in the Bloomdale Build- ing and Loan Association, and owns an interest in a business block at North Baltimore.
JACOB METZGER, a valued and esteemed agri- culturist of Perrysburg township, has his resi- dence upon Section 24, where he has a farm of seventy acres of mnost superior land, which is un- der excellent culture and well improved. The buildings upon the place, including a good brick residence, are of a neat and substantial character, betokening thrift and prosperity. He is meeting with a merited success in his farming operations, and bids fair to achieve an easy competence, so that in his declining years he may rest peacefully from the cares of life.
Mr. Metzger was born in Liverpool township, Medina Co., Ohio, and is the son of Jacob and Catherine (Struble) Metzger, natives of Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, where they were reared and married about 1835. Coming to the New World, they located in Liverpool township, Me- dina county, where the father opened up a fifty- three-acre farm in the midst of the woods, and there his death occurred in 1882, while his wife died in 1888. In their family were nine children, namely: Fredericka, who was the wife of Jacob Kurfus, died April 14, 1883, in Troy township, Wood county; Lewis resides in that township; Mrs. Julia Hager makes her home in Michigan; John was killed in Troy township, March 19, 1855; Mrs. Kate Bordner lives in Onawa, Iowa; Jacob is next in order of birth; Mrs. Margaret Brooker died June 21, 1874, in Litchfield, Me- dina county; Mrs. Eliza Messmer resides at Er- hart, Medina county; and Andrew lives upon the old homestead farm in that county.
Mr. Metzger, of this review, was reared and educated in his native county, and has always fol- lowed the occupation of farming, working at home until coming to Wood county in 1861, when he located in Troy township; but the following year found him a resident of Perrysburg township, where he has since made his home. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, ILIth O. V. I., for three years, or until the close of the war, and was mustered into service at Toledo, being as- signed to the Western army. He was first on guard duty at Bowling Green, Ky., was then in the East Tennessee campaigns, after which he joined Sherman's army and participated in the siege of Atlanta Returning to Tennesse, he was in the battles of Franklin, Nashville, and Clifton. was then ordered to Cincinnati, whence he pro- ceeded to Washington, D. C., and later was in
the Carolina campaigns. At Salisbury, N. C., he was discharged, and was paid off at Cleveland, Ohio, in June, 1865. On the termination of his war experience he returned to his home in Per- rysburg township.
In November, 1865, in Liverpool township. Medina county, was celebrated the marriage ot Mr. Metzger and Miss Catherine Snyder, a native of that county, and a daughter of Daniel and Amelia (Swartz) Snyder, who were born in Ger- many and became residents of Medina county. Ohio, at an early day. Since 1852 her father has made his home in Troy township, Wood county, where her mother died in 1892. To our subject and his wife were born five children, two of whom died in infancy. Those living are Anna, who is preparing for a teacher; William, at home; and Bertha.
Politically, Mr. Metzger is a stanch Republic- an, always taking a deep interest in public af- fairs, and socially is connected with Wolford Post No. 51, G. A. R., of Perrysburg, of which he is past commander. Both himself and wife are inembers in good standing of the Lutheran Church. and have a large circle of friends and well- wishers.
GEORGE W. SLOTTERBECK, an agriculturist of energy and ability, who is residing in Section 23, Bloom township, is a native of Wood county. born in Perry township, February 15, 1840. He is a son of John and Rachel (Anderson) Slotter- beck, both of whom were natives of Westmore- land county, Penn., where their marriage was celebrated. As early as 1833 the father entered land in Perry township, where he brought his family the following year. Several children were born before coming to this county, namely: Sarah, Henry, Leah, Samuel, Mary and John, and the family circle was later increased by the birth of three-Jacob, Catherine and George W .. of whom three sons and one daughter yet survive. From Pennsylvania the trip was made in a cov- ered wagon, and from Fostoria to their farm the road lay through an almost unbroken forest. There were few settlers in Perry township on their arrival, and they experienced all the suffer- ings and privations of life on the frontier. The father was a strong man, of powerful build, and lived to the ripe old age of nearly eighty years. dying June 27, 1880. He was born July 4. 180o. His wife had preceded him to her final rest, passing away in 1870, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery, wh le hi- comuns ware interred at East Toledo, Ohio. For his second wife he
married a Mrs. Barnhisel. He was originally a
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Whig in politics, was a stanch Abolitionist, and on the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks. Four of his sons served in the Union army during the Civil war, two being wounded, though none killed.
The educational privileges of George W. Slot- terbeck were such as the district schools of Perry township afforded, and his first teacher was Ellen Keiger, of West Millgrove, Ohio, while his early farm training was received under the supervision of his father. On the outbreak of the Rebellion he resolved to strike a blow in defense of the Union, and on April 15, 1861, joined company H, 2Ist O. V. I., under Capt. Blackman. From Fostoria the troops went to Columbus, where their guns were secured, on to Gallipolis, Ohio, and pursued the enemy through West Virginia to Charleston, where their term expired. At Colum- bus our subject was discharged in July, 1861, and he returned to his home in Perry township.
In Toledo, Ohio, in the following November, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Slotterbeck and Maria Prentice, a native of Wood county, and a daughter of Augustus Prentice. They be- gan their domestic life upon the home farm in Perry township, our subject remaining there until 1862, when he re-enlisted, this time becoming a member of Company B, IIth O. V. I .; but at Perrysburg, Wood county, he was taken ill and was ordered home by Capt. Norris. Later he went to the recruiting office of the 57th Regiment and joined Company B, under Capt. Faulhaber. They met the regiment at Memphis, Tenn., and his first active engagement was at Chickasaw Bayou, which was followed by the battle of Ar- kansas Post, where he was wounded, a ball graz- ing his chin, taking away a small portion of his beard, and entering his right arm near the shoul- der. For eight months he was at Lossing Hos- pital, St. Louis, after which he was discharged, but his wound has never entirely healed, and still bothers him.
After remaining for a time in Perry township, Mr. Slotterbeck removed to a farm near Toledo, in Wood county, where, besides farming. he also engaged in hauling wood to that city. On his father's removal to Bloom township, he also came here, securing an eighty-acre tract in Section 23, which was partially improved, though no build- ings stood upon the place. With the exception of fifteen acres, the land is now under a high state of cultivation. and the improvements found thereon include a good class of farm buildings and an excellent orchard. all of which has been ac- complished by our subject's persistent energy and unfaltering determination to succeed. He now
has in his possession the patent deed to his land, signed by Andrew Jackson, which he preserves as a relic.
To Mr. and Mrs. Slotterbeck have been born eight children, namely: William A., of Eagleville. Ohio; Charles, who died in infancy; Frederick, of Freeport, Wood county; Bert. of Eagleville: Frank, a farmer of Henry township. Wood coun- ty; Maud, the wife of Dr. Charles D. Dibert, of Millbury, Wood county; and Clyde and Edward. at home. The parents are earnest members of the Disciples Church of Eaglesville, and are peo- ple of refined tastes, genial and social in disposi- tion. . Mr. Slotterbeck is a charter member of Urie Post No. 11O, G. A. R., of Bloomdale. He cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lin- coln, since which time he has been an ardent Republican, and he has served as a member of the school board.
D. C. FAST. Among the sturdy, energetic and successful farmers of Bloom township stands prominent the subject of this sketch. On both the paternal and maternal sides he is of German descent, and was born in Greenwich township. Huron Co., Ohio, July 25, 1834, a son of John and Sarah (Hess) Fast, the former born in Penn- sylvania, July 10, 1809, and the latter on June 13, ISII. David Hess, the maternal grandfather, born in Germany, married a Miss Hess, a lady of English extraction.
The father of our subject was the youngest son of Christian Fast, who, for a time, was held in captivity by the Indians. The parents were married in Richland county, Ohio, November 11. 1830, and there the father carried on farming nntil 1839, when he brought his family to Bloom township. Wood county, locating in Section 27. Their first home here was a structure made of poles and clapboards, which was soon replaced by a substantial log building, and the land was still in its primitive condition, not a road even leading to the place, while wild game of all kind. was plentiful. There the father died of cholera. September 22, 1854. and in less than a week two of his children, John and Eliza, died of the same disease. This left the mother with five smal! children, whom she kept together. She passed away January 17, 1888, and she and her husband and deceased children now lie side by side in the Bloom Chapel cemetery. Mr. Fast was a strong. muscular man, standing five feet nine inches in height; in politics he was an earnest Democrat In the family were twelve children, nantely: I Hannah J., born August 27. 1831, became the wife of James McGiffin, and died in Henry conn-
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ty, Ohio, at the age of sixty years. (2) Eliza C., born January 31, 1833, died in young woman- hood, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery. (3) D. C., the subject of this sketch, is next in order of birth. (4) Nancy A., born January 23, 1836, married Cornelius Keeran, but is now the wife of David Farral, of Eagleville, Ohio. (5) Sarah A., born August 31, 1837, died at the age of sixteen, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cem- etery .. (6) John B., born April 22, 1839, died at the age of about sixteen, and was buried in the same place. (7) Anna B. was the first child of the family born in Wood county. the date being February 25, 1841 ; she married Asa Loman, and died in Bloom township. (8) Mary M., born No- vember 12, 1842, is now Mrs. E. L. Stove, of Bloomn township. (9) Ephraim, born February 7, 1845, makes his home in Jefferson county, Kans. (10) George W., born July 3, 1847, is a school teacher of West Plains, Howell Co., Mo. (11) Charlotte E., born July 3, 1849, is the wife of George Black, of Bloom township. (12) Ma- thias J., born September 13, 1851, died, and was buried in Bloom Chapel cemetery.
The education of our subject was acquired in District No. 8, in a log school house on the Leathers farm, furnished with rough benches and having a huge fireplace at one end, while the floor was puncheon, and a desk ran along the en- tire side of the room. He has watched with satis- faction the improvements made in the schools and takes an active interest in the cause of edu- cation, although his own advantages in that re- spect were somewhat limited. At the age of twenty he assumed the management of the home farm, which he controlled until his enlistment, on August 29, 1862, at Fostoria, in Company H, 49th O. V. I., joining the regiment at Murfrees- boro; soon after, however, he contracted rheu- matism, and for three months was unfit for act- ive service. After being examined at Nashville, Tern., he was consigned to the Veteran Reserve Corps at Louisville, Ky., and later entered Hos- pital No. 7, near that city, as nurse, filling that position until May 13, 1864. He was then sent to Washington, D. C., as a member of Company H. 12th Regiment V. R. C., and did guard duty in that vicinity and in Virginia until discharged, June 29, 1865, after which he returned home and resumed farming.
On May 31, 1866, in Montgomery township, Wood county, Mr. Fast was married, by the Rev. William Dowling, to Miss Calesta Smith, who was born in Madison township, Sandusky Co., Ohio, February 25, 1843, the daughter of Dan- iel and Jeannette (Holcomb) Smith. To this
worthy couple have been born two children. ROLLA B., who completed his education by two years' attendance at the Ohio Normal University, of Ada, has since taught school, and is at present clerk of Bloom township (in 1892 he held the office of constable); and Mary M., still with her parents.
Mr. Fast works 107 acres of rich, arable land, eighty of which are comprised in the home farm, and all the improvements found thereon have been the work of some member or other of the Fast family, as it was still in a wild state when they located there. For fifty-six years our sub- ject has known no other home and throughout the community he is widely and favorably known. His first vote was cast for the Democratic party, but since the Civil war he has been an unswerv- ing Republican. He has served as supervisor and school director. He and his estimable wife are active members of the Christian Church at Eagle- ville, Ohio, in which he has served as deacon, and to the support ot which he has contributed liberally when the house of worship was being erected, and since.
G. F. CLAUS, whose name is familiar to many people in this county, has been engaged in the boot and shoe business in Luckey since 1881. and has built up a fine trade. His first store here was conducted in a building near the depot, now used as a dwelling-house, where he carried on operations for seven years. At the end of that time he traded that property for a frame building, which was destroyed by fire on July 12, 1893; but, in the fall of that year, he erected a one-story double-brick block, where he carries a large line of boots, shoes, harness, etc. In 1888 he had added harness to his stock, and, in both lines of trade, has secured a liberal patronage.
Mr. Claus comes from the far-away Father- land, his birth having occurred in Hanover. in 1859, and he is a son of Frank and Mary ( Rochl) Claus, natives of the same kingdom, where the mother died, in 1864. In 1879 the father crossed the Atlantic and located in Pemberville, but his last days were spent near Perrysburg, where he passed away in 1888. In his family were four children, namely: Mrs. Mary Kahlen- brink, of Perrysburg: Ernest. who came to Ohio in 1874, and makes his home in Pemberville: G. F., of this review; and Henry, who died in Chi- cago in 1882. Our subject received a very fair education in his boyhood days in the schoolis of Hanover, where he remained until 18-8, when he determined to try his fortune on this site of the Atlantic. In his native land he had learned
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the trade of a shoemaker, at which lie worked for three years, and, on coming to America, in 1878, was employed at that occupation in Pern- berville, Ohio, until his removal to Luckey, in 1881. The marriage of Mr. Claus with Miss Julia Landwehr took place in 1884. The lady of his choice was born in Troy township, and is a daughter of Frederick Landwehr, now de- ceased. One son has been born of this union -- Frank.
Mr. Claus votes the straight Democratic ticket. and, in February, 1895, was appointed postmas- ter of Luckey, which office was established in 1881. In religious affairs he is identified with the Lutheran Church, and, his fair dealing and systematic methods of doing business have won for him the confidence and respect of all with whom he has had any transactions.
A. L. THOMPSON is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Wood county, and has been a prominent factor in its develop- ment, so that his identification with its interests well entitles him to representation in a volume of this character. His father, Aaron Thompson, was born in Hunterdon county, N. J .. December 31, 1811, a son of Cornelius and Frances (Gano) Thompson. The grandfather was a farmer who spent his entire life in New Jersey, and died at the age of seventy-seven, while his wife survived him several years. Their children were William, Mary, Wilson, Eliza and Aaron, who reached adult age; and George, who died in infancy.
Aaron Thompson was reared on his father's farm, receiving but limited school privileges. At the age of twenty-four he began earning his liv- ing at whatever work he could find to do, and afterward followed the cooper's trade for some time. At the age of twenty-eight he removed to Lorain county, Ohio, where he was married in August, 1841, to Lucetta McBride, who was born in Leroy, N. Y., November 13, 1825, a daughter of Amos and Clarissa (Brown) McBride, who re- moved to Niagara county, N. Y., during Lucetta's early girlhood, and later to Lorain county, Ohio, where they died. They had nine children -- four sons and five daughters-and the father followed farming as a means of livelihood.
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Aaron Thompson began his domestic life in Elyria, and afterward lived in Ridgeville, Ohio, until his removal to Pemberville, being there en- gaged, in the manufacture of potash. Subse- quently he came to Woodville, where he also worked in an ashery until about 1856, when he purchased a small farm in Webster township, ou which he has since lived. He has made all the
improvements on the place, including the erection of the buildings and the transforming of the wooded tract into cultivated fields. In August. 1861, he joined Company K, 2Ist O. V. I., and was discharged on account of disability in Sep- tember. 1862, but in February, 1864, joined the construction corps, and was in the vicinity of Chattanooga until hostilities had ceased. He has always been a stanch Republican, is a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a highly respected citizen. He and his estimable wife have lived together for more than fifty-five years. Their children are: Victoria, wife of James Van Buren, of Mendon. Mich. : Caroline, wife of William Meeker. of Mendon; A. L. : Angusta, wife of Adelbert Wright, of Gratiot county, Mich .: John, of Freedom township: Salina, wife of Walter Davidson, of Webster township; and Wesley, of Woodside, Ohio.
A. L. Thompson, of this review, was born in Pemberville, May 23, 1851, and was an only child when his parents located in Webster town- ship, near Scotch Ridge. He there attended school, and has ever been a warm friend of edu- cation, being deeply interested in its progress. He was married, in Webster township, to Emma Bassor, daughter of John Bassor, who lives near Blissfield, Mich. He then rented a home near Scotch Ridge, and was employed at various places in the neighborhood, mostly at farming. until the spring of 1884, when he bought sixty acres of land in Section 27, Freedom township. This land was then but slightly improved. It was undrained, and hard labor has been required to transform it into the valuable farm which it is to-day. Oil has been found upon the place, and is a profitable source of income. He has been largely engaged in clearing timber tracts, having cleared over So0 acres, probably more than any other man of his age in Wood county. Industry and energy are numbered among his chief char- acteristics, and have been the means of bringing to him the success which crowns his efforts.
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