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 8
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Jacob Huffman
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
county and in the West. In 1882 he erected his tile and brick factory, the second in Wash- ington township, which he has since successfully managed, finding a ready sale for his products in Wood and adjoining counties. In this enterprise he employs from six to twelve hands. He is en- terprising and industrious, and his honest deal- ing and straightforward business methods have won him a liberal patronage. He is also en- gaged in stock dealing, selling in Buffalo and Eastern markets.
In 1858 Mr. Huffman was married in New York to Miss Elizabeth Kraus, a native of that State, born in 1839, daughter of Melchior and Elizabeth (Letwyler) Kraus. Her father, who was a farmer, was born in Wurttemberg, Ger- many, whence, when eighteen years old, he came to America. Her mother was born in Switzer- land, and was fourteen years old when she came to this country; both her parents died on the voyage, leaving four children on the ship without any means; but when they landed in Philadel- phia, they found homes. The mother of Mrs. Huffman died November 10, 1884, the father, a farmer by occupation, on August 18, 1885, in Erie county, N. Y. They had a family of five children: Anna (Mrs. Shiffley), living in Ohio; John, a farmer in Erie county, N. Y., a member of the Legislature, and holding other prominent positions; Fannie (Mrs. Stutzman), also of Erie county; Susan (Mrs. Rupp), of Lucas county; and Elizabeth (Mrs. Huffman). Mr. and Mrs. Huffman have no children of their own, but have an adopted son, who is nineteen years of age, and was four years old when adopted. During the Civil war, Mr. Huffman served as a member of Company B, 144th O. V. I., under Capt. Black and Col. Miller. Politically he is a Republican, and for several years he served his township as supervisor and trustee, discharging his duties with strictest fidelity.
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ANDREW BURDITT is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Wood county, and was born in Washington township, July 3, 1855, his parents being Greenbury and Martha (Grey) Burditt. The common schools of the neighborhood afforded him his educational priv- ileges, and at the carly age of nine years he be- gan the work of clearing land, thus aiding in the development of his father's farm. His early years formned a period of labor, but he developed thereby a self-reliant spirit and force of charac- ter that have been important factors to him in his business career. In 1879 he started out in life for himself, and for three years owned and
operated the Van Tassel farin, which he then sold and bought sixty acres of the Chubb farm. which, when he had improved it, he traded for forty acres of the eighty-two where he now re- sides, receiving the other forty-two for taking care of his parents. The same he has placed under a high state of cultivation.
On November 11, 1878, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Burditt and Miss Clara Coleman, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, in 1860. They have two children-Georgie and Frankie. They hold membership with the United Brethren Church, and Mr. Burditt gives his political sup- port to the Republican party. The true worth of his character is shown by the fact that for the past five years he has supported his parents, of whom it will be interesting in this connection to note something further.
Greenbury Burditt, who is now living with Andrew, was born May 1, 1818, near St. Clairs- ville, Belmont Co., Ohio. His parents, William and Ruth (Fitzgerald) Burditt, were natives of Montgomery county, Md., and were of English and Welsh lineage. They had the following children: Elias, deceased, who was a resident of Guernsey county, Ohio; James, who resides in Washington township; William, who served in the Mexican war, and was killed by a horse in Tuscarawas county, Ohio; Meletha, who became the wife of John W. Tullis, and died in Hardin county, Ohio; Tamzon, deceased wife of John Peters, of Tuscarawas county; and Bentley, who was wounded during his service in the Civil war. and died in Tuscarawas county. The parents of this family also passed away in that county, and of the children only Greenbury is now living. He obtained the greater part of his education by the side of the home fireplace in Belmont county. and in the subscription schools. When he was eighteen years of age the family removed to Tus- carawas county, where he remained for four years. At the age of twenty-two he went to Port Clinton, where he was employed on his brother's farm for four years, and then leased a tract of land on which he located.
He was married September 12, IS41, to Margaret Bowlus. They had three children, two of whom died in the war of the Rebellion, Lewis Hanson and George, William H. Burditt, of Washington township, being the survivor. The mother died in 1847, and the following year Mr. Burditt married Martha Ann Gray, by whom he had eight children: Maletha Ann, wife of Lau- rence Long; Lucy Ann, wife of Zahin Stevens; Andrew; Martha Jane, wife of William Digby : Maggie, wife of Newton Petteys; Levi, who died
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
in infancy; Sarah Jane, wife of L. S. Woodruff, a minister of the U. B. Church, and Greenbury.
In 1855, Mr. Burditt came with his family to Wood county, and after renting land for a time purchased seventy-eight acres. Of this he re- tained possession of thirty-eight acres for some time, then traded it for eighty acres of land on the river, to which he afterward added another eighty-acre tract. Later he traded a portion of this for eighty-two acres, the farm which Andrew now occupies, and later increased its size by the additional purchase of 120 acres His property he has divided among his children, thus aiding them in getting a start in life.
Mr. Burditt cast his first Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, and on the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks. His sons have also given their stalwart support to its principles. He has served as supervisor and school director for several terms, acceptably dis- charging his duties. His has been a noble and honorable life. For more than fifty years he has been a member of the United Brethren Church, and has a life membership in the Bible Society of Bowling Green.
JOHN W. HAMLIN, a worthy representative of the agricultural interests of Wood county, was born in Marion township, Hancock Co., Ohio, March 28, 1857. There his father was born in 1830, and in Findlay, Ohio, wedded Mary Cork- rell, also a native of the same county. The mother's death there occurred in 1865. Her children were as follows: Susan, wife of Dennis Sloan, of Michigan; Sarah, wife of John Full- wiler, of Hancock county; Isaac, of Hancock county; John W .; Samuel, a farmer of Hancock county; David, of Findlay, Ohio; and Margaret, wife of Sherman Powell, of Hancock county. After the death of his first wife the father married Deborah Long, widow of John Hidecker, and by this union were born five children, namely: William, of Wood county; Theodore, of Findlay; Fred, of Wingston, Wood county; Sadie and Net- tie. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Hamlin, was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he emi- grated to Fairfield county, Ohio, and subse- quently to Hancock county.
Mr. Hamilin, of this sketch, acquired his edu- cation in the district schools, and J'uring vacation worked in a handle and stave factory, also as a farin hand. During four years of his life he was employed as an engineer in a sawmill, but with the exception of that period has always carried on agricultural pursuits. He was married in Find- lay, Hancock county, December 8, 18St, to Miss
Ella Powell, who was born in Liberty township, that county, June 15, 1861, a daughter of Andrew and Caroline (Dotson) Powell, both natives of Ohio, the former born in Fairfield, and the latter in Allen county. The father was only about six years old when his parents went to Hancock county, and he is now a prosperous farmer there, His wife departed this life in 1878.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin have been five chil- dren-Ellsworth J., born June 6, 1883; Emerson Kenneth, born April 2, 1885; Howard Elroy, born July 9, 1888; Florence Ermo, born December 20, 1890; and Edna May, born January 14, 1893. The parents began their domestic life on a fifty- one-acre farm in Hancock county, but after a year Mr. Hamlin sold that property and came to Wood county, where he purchased eighty-one acres in Henry township. This is improved with a good house and barns, is fenced and tiled, and the well-tilled fields indicate the care and super- vision of the owner, who is an energetic, wide- awake farmer, owing his success in life to his own enterprise. In politics he is a Democrat, and in religious belief he is a Methodist.
FRANK SNYDER, a retired capitalist and farm- er of North Baltimore, is a native of Lehigh county, Penn., born January 9, 1846. His father, Peter Snyder, was born in the same county, in 1822, and died in 1895. He was a stonemason and farmer by occupation. His wife, Rebecca (Weaver), was born in Pennsylvania in 1827. and died in 1882. Our subject's paternal grand- father, Peter Snyder, was born in Lehigh county. Penn., and was a soldier in the war of Iste. He was over seventy years old at the time of his death. The maternal grandfather, James Wea- ver, and his father, Jacob Weaver, were both of old Pennsylvania stock. The subject of this sketch was one of five children, the others being: Nathan, now living in Lehigh, Penn. : Levi, who died after attaining manhood; Edwin, who now lives in Wood county, and Mantana, who mar- ried H. Kunkle, and lives in Lehigh county.
Mr. Snyder passed the early part of his life in his native county, remaining on his father's farm until twenty-one years old, and securing in the meantime a limited education. He then moved to Mahoning county, Ohio, where he stayed about eight months, at the end of that time returning to his home in Pennsylvania. He made several trips between Mahoning and Lehigh counties. and finally, in 1869, settled in Henry township. Wood county. He engaged in the sawmilling business. as it was the only possible means of making money at that time, was successful in his
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931
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
venture, and purchased land in Liberty township on which he built a comfortable home. He re- tired in 1891, and is to-day one of the prominent citizens of North Baltimore, where he owns a block, among other interests too numerous to men- tion in detail. He also has 160 acres of land in Liberty township.
Mr. Snyder was married, November 2, 1869, to Lucy Brobst, who was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, October 16, 1842. She is a daughter of Daniel and Magdalena (Fullweiler) Brobst, the former of whom was born in 1798, and died in 1894; the latter was born in 1797, and died in 1858. They had ten children, six now living, of whom Mrs. Snyder is the youngest. Mrs. Snyder has one daughter, Belle, born in 1863, who now resides in Alma, Mich. Our subject is a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of the German Reformed Church. He is one of the leading men in Wood county, and does everything in his power to further the in- terests of his community. A man of upright pur- poses and conscientious principles, he commands the respect of all who known him.
WILLIAM A. KINNEY, a prominent agricult- urist of Grand Rapids township, was born July 24, 1842, in Crawford county, Ohio. Abraham Kinney, his father, was born in Berks county, Penn., February 4, 1806, of Irish parents, and learned the trade of shoemaker there. In early manhood he came to Ohio and located first in Stark county, but finally bought 240 acres of land in Crawford county, 160 acres of which he cleared and improved. He was married in Stark county to Miss Catherine Lichtenwalter a native of that county, born July 23, 1829. Some years after his marriage he moved to Indiana, where he died in 1890, his wife having died two years previous (1888). Fourteen children were born to them: Isaac, a farmer residing near Milford, Ind .; Mary, deceased, who married the late Henry Brubecker: Elizabeth, the wife of Jacob Lichtenwalter, of Milford. Ind .: Emeline. the wife of Wesley Pinkerton, of near Milford, Ind .: Michael, deceased; John, deceased; William .A., our subject; Melissa A., the wife of John Pinker- ton, of near Warsaw, Ind .; Anna, deceased; Harriet, the wife of Edward Beckwell, of Elkhart county, Ind .; George C., deceased; and three who died in infancy.
twenty, he enlisted in Company C, 10Ist O. V. I., and served throughout the war. He took part in a number of engagements, the most im- portant being the battles of Stone River and North Gap, and the siege of Nashville. He was wounded at Stone River and taken prisoner, and received only one meal in twenty-six days, while confined in Libby prison, enduring, besides, other hardships too numerous and painful to record. On giving his parole he was released, and soon after rejoined his regiment at Franklin, Tenn., and was mustered out at Camp Harker, Tenn., June 12, 1865.
After his return home, in 1865, he went to Indiana and bought eighty acres of land, where he lived for ten years. Selling out in 1881, he came to Wood county, and bought eighty acres of im- proved land near Grand Rapids, which is now a valuable property, with a good orchard, first class farm buildings, and a handsome brick resi- dence.
On March 9, 1857, he was married to Miss Sarah Shafner, daughter of Samuel Shafner, a well-known agriculturist of Crawford county. Six children were born to this union: Henry F., June 28, 1869, and Samuel O., October 17, 1871, are employed in the Clayport factory at Findlay, Ohio; Edgar B., March 23, 1876; Ira Calvin. August 12, 1882, and Roy A., January 5, 1884. are at home; and Catherine died in infancy. Mr. Kinney's energy, integrity, and progressive spirit as shown in his generous support of all worthy local movements, as well as in the. management of his individual affairs. He is especially interested in educational matters, and has been a member of the township school board for four years, and a school director for several terms. In politics he is a Prohibitionist, and he is a leading member of the M. E. Church. He belongs to the G. A. R., Bond Post No. 24, at Grand Rapids.
JOSEPH H. SANDS, president of the Bowling Green Natural Gas Co., Bowling Green, and a representative self-made man, is a native of Penn- sylvania, born July 3, 1852, at Rohraburg, Co- lumbia county. Joseph E. Sands, father of our subject, was also a native of Columbia county. Penn., where he first saw the light July 18, ES10. By occupation he was a woolen manufacturer. during the Civil war operating two wooleu-nulis William A. Kinney remained at his father's farm during his youth, attending the district school and enjoying the usual initiation into farm work, which forms so large a part of the life of a in Pennsylvania, the first of which was estab- lished in 1835 at Rohrsburg, the second one at Mordansville in 18;8, which latter is now being operated by his son, Charles L. Joseph E. Sand- 1 country boy. On August 7, 1862, at the age of ! married Miss Esther Lundy, also of Columbia
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WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
county nativity, and eight children were born to them, all of whom lived to maturity, there being no death in the family until that of the eldest son, (1) John, who died in Pennsylvania at the age of forty-five years. '(2) Henry H., the next in order of birth, resides in Pennsylvania; at the com- mencement of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army, in the 132nd, later in the 210th P. V. I., and served till the close of the Rebellion. (3) William E. also has his home in Pennsyl- vania; he served in the war of the Rebellion one year. (4) Thomas E. first enlisted for one year, in the P. V. I., then joined a scouting party com- posed of a company of one hundred picked men, in which he served till the close of the war, over three years in all. (5) Anna M., the only daugh- ter in the family, married W. W. Eves, of Millville, Penn., and died December 8, 1894, leaving five children. (6) Charles L. lives in Pennsylvania. (7) Joseph H. is the subject of sketch. (8) James, who was a merchant in Pennsylvania, died in 1889. The father of this family, who during the later years of his life fol- lowed mercantile pursuits in Columbia county, Penn., died February 24, 1881, at the age of seventy years, the mother passing away at Mor- dansville, that county, September 3, 1886, aged seventy-three years. Mr. Sands was a strong Union man during the critical years of 1861-65, a member of the State militia, and, had his health permitted, would gladly have entered active serv- ice at the very commencement of hostilities. Jobn Sands, his father, who was a miller by trade. died in Pennsylvania at the advanced age of eighty years, and his father (the great-grandfa- ther of our subject), came fromn England to America, and died on Block Island, New York.
Joseph H. Sands, the subject proper of these lines, lived in his native State until seventeen years of age, and then became a student at the Starkey (N. Y.) Seminary. On leaving school he came west, determined to "grow up with the country," arriving in Bowling Green, in 1871. After about a year he moved to Cincinnati, so- journing there only a short time, however, as he returned to Bowling Green, where for a time he was employed as clerk in a hotel. He then moved to Portage, and clerked for a Mr. McMa- han four years, at the end of which time he once more came to Bowling Green, and in partnership with William Goit, later with R. W. McMahan, conducted a hardware business. The venture proved a success financially, but, Mr. Sands' health becoming impaired through overwork. he was obliged to sell out his interest in the busi- ness and seek some other less confining occupa-
tion. He then became a member of the oil- producing firm of Hankey Bros. & Sands, and was one of the organizers of the Bowling Green Natural Gas Co., of which he became president, in 1891.
On September 5, 1877, Mr. Sands was mar- ried to Miss Mary D. Turner, who was born April 22, 1856, in Huron county, Ohio, daughter of Rev. Elisha B. and Catherine (Bross) Turner, all of Portage, Ohio. In politics our subject is a stanch Republican. Socially he is a member of Lodge No. 589, I. O. O. F., of Portage. For sev- eral years he has spent the winters in the South and on the Pacific coast, for the benefit of his health. In spite of his poor health. Mr. Sands has always been energetic in his ideas, and fore- most in all good works, looking to the advance- ment of Bowling Green and Wood county. He is one of the leading men in the county, one who has risen in the world entirely unassisted, and is highly esteemed by all with whom he comes in contact.
JOHN PHILLIPS, an enterprising and success- ful agriculturist of Grand Rapids township, was born February 24, 1854, in Holmes county, Ohio. where his grandparents were among the earliest residents. John Phillips, his father, and his mother, whose maiden name was Susan Mets. were both born there, but removed after their mar- riage to Wayne county, where the father died February 22, 1864, and the mother, January 7. 1895. On the paternal side Mr. Phillips is of English descent, while his mother's people came originally from Germany.
John Phillips spent his boyhood mainly in Wayne county, where he attended district school. and worked until the age of nineteen upon his father's farm. In 1875 he came to Wood coun - ty, and rented a farm of sixty-four acres near Grand Rapids, which he conducted some seven- teen years, the half of which his wife owns. and which he still cultivates in a scientific way and keeps in a high state of improvement. He was married in 1877, to Miss Mary J. Keys, a native of Grand Rapids township, born September 11. 1856. She is the daughter of George Keys, one of the pioneer settlers of that locality, and a sister of D. W. Keys. Two children came of this marriage: James F., born April 16, 1883. still with his parents, and one that died in in- fancy.
Progressive in thought, and industrious in habits, Mr. Phillips has a promising future before him. He is a Republican politically, and has served one term as supervisor, giving to his pub-
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WOOD COUNTY, OIIIO.
lic duties the sanie energy which brought him success in his private business. He is associated with the I. O. O. F., No. 529, of Grand Rapids.
EDSON K. SMITH, one of the most extensive agriculturists of Henry township, is also one of the youngest to achieve prominence in that line of work, and his management of the 400 acres which he has under cultivation would do credit to a man of fifty years of experience. He was born in Eagle township, Hancock Co., Ohio, July 21, 1865, the only son of Jacob B. and Eliza J. (Helms) Smith. His education was begun in the district schools near his home, and he supple- mented this rudimentary instruction by a course in the Normal School at Ada, Ohio, and in 1887 enjoyed still better advantages in Findlay Col- lege. From an earnest student he became a suc- cessful teacher, as is evident from the fact that for twenty-one months he was employed in the same school where he received his own elemen- tary training. All who are familiar with the pro- fession will recognize the difficulties which he must have overcome in the place. where his pupils were among his own immediate acquaint- ances; success, there, being a test of personal worth as well as of ability as a teacher. He afterward taught successfully in Wood county for some time.
On September 30, 1888, Mr. Smith married Miss Adda L. Hartman, who was born in Craw- ford county, Ohio, January S, 1868. Her par- ents, J. N. and Mary E. Hartman, removed later to Allen township, Hancock county, and she was educated in the Van Buren High School. The young couple began their married life at the Smith homestead, where they remained five years. March 22, 1893, they came to Wood county and took up their abode upon a tract of eighty acres which they had previously purchased in Section 17, Henry township. Since April 1, 1895, Mr. Smith has rented the farm of 320 acres belong- ing to the Fellers estate, and operates the two ! properties with marked ability. In politics Mr. Smith is a Democrat, and in religious faith he and his wife adhere to the doctrines of the Predes- : tinarian Baptists, but they are not members of any Church.
The late Jacob B. Smith, our subject's father, was born October 21, 1841, in Adams township, Seneca Co., Ohio. He was a man of remark- able intellect, and, from 1871, wasa preacher in the Baptist Church, although he was indebted to no man for a livelihood, working in early years as a blacksmith, carpenter and farmer. He left a good estate in Hancock county, and in his will
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his son was appointed executor. Politically he supported the Democratic party, and in various township offices he proved his efficiency and trust- worthiness. On August 10, 1864, he married his first wife, our subject's mother, who departed this life July 9, 1873, leaving three children, Ed- son K., the eldest; Laura I., now Mrs. F. M. Hartman; and Nellie I., who died April 10, 1881. On December 13, 1874, the father married a sec- ond wife, Miss Evaline Barnd, and of this union five children were born, of whom, two, Mary O. and Elva J., are the only survivors. They reside with their widowed mother in Hancock county. The father's death occurred under circumstances of peculiar sadness. He had been in Cleveland to undergo treatment for fibroid tumors, and an operation had been performed upon them, and while on his way home, May 29, 1896, he took in- flammation of the brain, and died at Fremont. Ohio, among entire strangers.
JEREMIAH S. BENSCHOTER, a well-known ag- riculturist of Grand Rapids township, and a vet- eran of the Civil war, was born in Erie county, Ohio, September 19, 1843, son of Samuel Wether- low and Nancy Ann (Bassett) Benschoter, who were pioneers of Grand Rapids township, having settled there upon a tract of wild land in 1853.
Samuel W. Benschoter was born March 27, ISII, in Erie county, Ohio, near the mouth of Rock river. His education was somewhat limited, but he was a briglit and industrious man, and, by hard work and judicious management as a farmer and stock dealer, accumulated a comfortable competence. In 1838, in Milan township, he married Miss Nancy Ann Bassett, by whom he had ten children, as follows: Sarah A., who died at the age of three years; William A .. of Bowling Green; Jeremiah S., subject of these lines; Charles W., a farmer of Grand Rapids township; Ella Eugene, now the wife of J. J. Black, of near Tontogany, Ohio; J. W., in the insurance and real-estate business at Bowling Green; Lucy M., single; Alice H., who died in 1862, when eight years old; Jennie, who also died in 1862, at the age of five: and Curtis E .. of Bowling Green. The mother of this nne family is still living. The father passed from earth September 2, 1884, at Lakeside, Ohio, a consistent member of the M. E. Church: during the later years of his life he was a strong advo- cate of temperance. Politically he was originally a Democrat, but in 1861 he voted for Lincoln, and ever afterward supported the Republican party.
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