USA > Ohio > Williams County > County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical > Part 60
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DANIEL J. HUNTER is a native of Defiance County, Ohio, and was born in 1828. His parents, William and Lucy (Gardner) Hunter, in the fall of 1829 crossed the country with an ox team to St. Joseph County, Mich., and located near Sturgis. Here, within a few years, the father died, leaving a widow with six small children. In 1849, Mrs.
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Hunter sold the farm and moved to this township with her family, and bought the farm on which Daniel J. Hunter now lives. Daniel had been reared to all the hardships of a pioneer life, and was of great assistance to his mother on the farm, devoting the greater part of his time to its care, to the neglect even of the limited educational advantages given by the schools of his early days. April 9, 1854, he married Miss Eliza- beth Jennings, daughter of Peter and Catherine Jennings, and born in Carroll County, Ohio, in 1829, and to this marriage there were born six children-Peter J., William J. (deceased), Sarah C., George W., Mary P. and Della J. Mr. Hunter is a Republican in politics, but was for- merly a Whig, having cast his first vote for Gen. Scott.
HENRY KAHN, a native of Germany, was born in 1852, and is the son of Leopold and Rosa Kahn. At the age of sixteen, Henry came to America and engaged in clerking at Waterloo, Ind., where he remained two years; thence moved to Marshalltown, Iowa, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits for six years, and then made a visit to his native land. On his return to this country, he located at Edgerton, where he opened a fine business room, now filled with a well-selected stock of dry goods and clothing. Mr. Kahn was married, March 1, 1882, to Annie Straus, of Ligonier, Ind., and daughter of F. W. Straus. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and an Odd Fellow, and is recognized as being an enter- prising and upright business man.
ROBERT S. KARR (deceased), was born in Franklin County, Penn., in 1780, and by trade was a blacksmith. In the war of 1812, he enlisted under Gens. Scott and Brown, and during the latter part of the struggle was detailed as a spy, and at Queenstown Heights had his right forearm shot half away by a musket ball. He was discharged at Fort Vincennes in 1816, and at this point he fixed his dwelling, and opened a blacksmith shop. Shortly after, he married Hannah Drill, of Vincennes, and of French descent, and to this union eight children were born, of whom five still survive. Soon after his marriage, he moved to near Fort Har- rison, thence to Dayton, and thence, in 1833, to this county ; entered land on Section 14, in the fall, and the February following moved his family to what is now known as St. Joseph Township, being one of the first settlers, and the first, and, for a long time, the only, blacksmith in the township. He was at the organization of the township, and was several times elected Township Trustee. Mr. and Mrs. Karr died respect-' ively in 1856 and 1874, aged seventy-four and seventy-six years.
JOHN KISSINGER is a native of Lancaster County, Penn., and was born in 1809. In February, 1834, he married Mary Cassler, daugh- ter of Samuel and Catharine (Young) Cassler, natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. In 1836, he moved to Stark County, Ohio,
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where he worked in a distillery till the fall of 1852, when he removed with his family to this township, and located on the eighty-seven acre farm, where he now leads a retired life. At first he and family lived in an old log schoolhouse on this place, and underwent many privations, but eventually overcame all obstacles, and he now possesses as comfortable a home as there is to be found in the township. His children were eight in number, of whom six are still living-Anna, Maria, Rosanna, Barbara, Henry and Samuel. The last named was born in Stark County, Ohio, in 1846, and has now the management of the homestead. He married, in September, 1866, Miss Caroline Richart, daughter of John and Wilhel- mina Richart, both natives of Germany, and to this union there have been born two children-Estella and Clarence. Samuel Kissinger is the present Secretary of Grange Lodge, No. 1082.
SOLOMON LIND (deceased) was born in Pennsylvania in 1795, and was reared a farmer and miller. He married Nancy Moore, who bore him twelve children, of whom three sons and four daughters are yet living -Sarah, Juliann, Mary J., John B., William, Solomon and Adelaide. The family came to Stark County, Ohio, in 1829, and for six or eight years Solomon engaged in milling, after which he purchased a farm and mill near Louisville, he and his sons working the farm, and hiring help to run the mill. In the summer of 1847, he moved to this township, and late in the fall purchased eighty acres of land on Section 10. Here he began, with the assistance of his sons, to open up a farm, but was taken by death the year following, at the age of fifty-three. In 1870, his widow followed him at the age of sixty-seven. The homestead was willed to her two younger sons, William and Solomon, who continue to occupy and improve it.
JOHN LONG, a native of Stark County, Ohio, was born May 9, 1832. His parents, John and Catharine (Lantz) Long, were natives of Alsace, and came to America in 1822, locating in Stark County, where they passed the remainder of their lives, dying at the ages of eighty-one and seventy-two, respectively, parents of nine children. John Long, our subject, was reared a farmer, and received the education usually given in the primitive log schoolhouses of his youthful days. When he reached the years of manhood he went out to work on his own account, and with his hard-earned savings came to this township in May, 1853, and pur- chased the eighty-acre farm which is now a part of his homestead. In 1859, he returned to Stark County and married Margaret, a daughter of Philip and Margaret Long, of French extraction. . Returning to his farm, he worked diligently until he had cleared it from the wilderness, and by degrees added to it until it now comprises 173 acres, well im- proved and cultivated. Here Mrs. Long died May 18, 1880, aged forty-
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four, leaving a family of seven children-Emma L., Louetta, Jennie, Myron, Hiram, Harvey and Alma. In politics, Mr. Long is a Green- backer; he is also a member of the society of Grangers.
M. C. MCGWIRE, station agent at Edgerton, was born January 1, 1850, in Dover, N. H .; is the son of Martin McGwire, and came to Ed- gerton in 1855, and was here reared. From 1861 to 1863, he worked on a farm, and then for one year was news agent on the Lake Shore & Michi- gan Southern Railroad Company ; then for a short period attended school at Toledo; then took a three-year course in telegraphy, secured a situa- tion as night operator for the railroad company, and at the expiration of four months became its day operator and agent, which position he still holds. Mr. McGwire began a poor boy, but was industrious, affable and economical, and has succeeded in acquiring a comfortable property. He established a telegraphic institute in 1870, in the business portion of the town, which is connected with his office at the railroad depot. He has sent out over one hundred practical operators, many of whom are filling first-class positions. Mr. McGwire was married, August 10, 1871, to Clara Thornburgh, who was born in Philadelphia in 1850, and is the daughter of Benjamin Thornburgh, one of the pioneers of Defiance County. Mr. McG. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is the father of two children-Sylva and Myrta.
J. C. MORTLAND, M. D., is a native of the Keystone State, hav- ing been born in Paris, Washington County, May 23, 1835. His parents, Robert and Jane Mortland, were natives of Ireland, and reared a family of ten children. J. C. spent his early life on a farm in educating him- self and teaching ; the latter he followed three years. He studied his profession for three years with Dr. D. A. Arter, of Carrollton, Ohio, afterward attending lectures at Ann Arbor, Mich., and graduating at Bellevue Hospital College, N. Y., in 1871. Dr. Mortland began the practice of medicine in this vicinity in 1864, and in 1869. established himself in the drug business in connection with his practice, and by strict attention to business has made a success of his undertaking, and built up a large practice. His spirit of enterprise has not been confined to his own affairs, as he has served two years as Town Treasurer, and has al- ways lent his aid and sympathy to all projects for the public good. Dr. Mortland was united in marriage in 1872 to Miss Anna K. Snider, of this place, a daughter of Mr. John Snider, who is a native of Germany. Dr. and Mrs. Mortland are parents of two children, viz., Arthur and Elvie.
J. H. NEWMAN is a native of Germany ; was born in 1814, and emigrated to this country in 1847. His parents were poor, his educa- tion was limited, and his success in life is entirely due to his own ex-
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ertions. Upon his arrival here, he stopped in Wisconsin for a year, from there he went to Toledo, remaining a year, where he was employed on public works, after which he went to Michigan, near Adrian, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. While there, in 1852, he was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Wilson, a native of New York, and one daughter was the result of this union. In 1857, Mr. Newman and family removed to this county, and purchased his present farm of 100 acres, to which he has added another eighty, and, after many privations and much hard labor, has succeeded in bringing its present valuation to over $12,000. He has also served his neighbors in the capacity of Town- ship Trustee and School Director to their entire satisfaction. In 1861, Mr. Newman had the misfortune to lose his wife, and the second Mrs. Newman, to whom he was married in 1862, was a Miss Sarah White, of New York. She is the mother of two children, one son and one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Newman are both active members of the Presbyterian Church.
- FRANCIS A. SANDERS was reared a farmer in Prussia, where he was born in 1825, and where, until 1840, he worked upon the farm of his parents, Anthony and Mary Sanders. In the last-named year, the family came to America and located in New York, where the parents died in 1852 and 1874 respectively. Francis A. Sanders, late in the fall of 1868, came to this township and settled on his present farm of 250 acres, which is improved with good, commodious buildings with all the modern conveniences, all gained through his own industry and energy. The years 1879 and 1880 he spent in Saline County, Kan., whither he went to recover his shattered health, in which he happily succeeded. He married, in 1849, Miss Mary L. Siever, who bore him five sons and one daughter, as follows : Frank T. (deceased), John C., Joseph, William A., Martin D. and Mary A. Mrs. Sanders died in the early part of 1867, and in the latter part of the same year Mr. Sanders married Miss Anna Kernhof, who, as was his former wife, is a native of Prussia. Mr. Sanders, who is a strong temperance man, is master of four distinct trades, learned in his earlier days. He is a strong anti-secret society man, and, with his wife, is a member of the Catholic Church.
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT is a native of Ohio, and a son of William and Sarah (Kirkendall) Scott, who had their residence in Wayne County until 1855, when they moved to Hicksville, Defiance County, where Mrs. Scott died. Mr. Scott then came to Edgerton, where he ended his days in the fall of 1862. Christopher Scott lived upon his father's farm until his marriage, in February, 1844, to Naomi Franks. He then came to this township and bought eighty acres of woodland on Section 35, which he paid for by parting with his team and all the money he had, leaving
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himself with nothing but his hands and an ax with which to make a liv- ing for himself and wife. He prospered, however, and has since owned 770 acres in this part of the country-mostly in this county-the greater portion of which he has given to his children. He is now owner of 360 acres in this county, and 1,000 in Texas. He has been one of the most enterprising farmers of this region, and with his own hands has cleared up over two hundred acres of wild land. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are parents of nine children, viz .: William and Peter, residing in Kansas; Martha Lambshiar, Sarah Newman, Frank, Manoat, Julia, Nancy and Lucretta Yoder. William Scott enlisted as a private in Company F, Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the late war, and at the end of three years was mustered out a Sergeant; and Peter, the next son, served one year, near the close of the war. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are members of the Methodist Church, and in politics he is a stanch Republican.
EDWARD SLATER had his birthplace in Richland County, Ohio, November 21, 1833, and was one of a family of fourteen children born to Samuel and Margaret Slater, natives of Virginia and of Dutch descent. They both came to Ohio when quite young; were married in Richland County, where they remained until August 19, 1834, when they removed to this county, locating on land entered the previous year. They were among the earliest settlers, and in their log cabin home-with puncheon door and floor and stick chimney ; with limited means, and struggling for dominion over the crude and inanimate forces of nature-became but too familiar with all the details of pioneer life ; but the refining influences of time assisted in the transformation of the home of the red man to that of civilization, which they were permitted to witness before their death. Mr. S. died in 1850, and Mrs. S. in 1877, aged respectively fifty-one and seventy-seven years. Edward Slater was but an infant when his parents came to this county, and his childhood and youth were spent in his forest home, with the education and fun generally found in the pioneer school- house. Like Adam, he tilled the soil, until 1864, when he responded to his country's call and enlisted in Company D, Tenth Ohio Volunteer Cav- alry, with six of his brothers. One of their number, Samuel, sleeps at Bowling Green, Ky., where he died from typhoid fever. Edward S. was with Gen. Kilpatrick, and " marched to the sea; " in a cavalry charge near Macon, Ga., was struck by a cannon ball, which carried away his right foot, necessitating the amputation of the limb below the knee; he was transported 200 miles by ambulance, and remained for months in the hos- pital, when he was able to return home, and received his discharge June 16, 1865. After his return, he acted as mail-carrier between Edgerton and Camden City, Mich., for a year, when he adopted the profession of photography, studying with Samuel Arnold, and afterward purchasing his
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establishment at Edgerton, where he has since continued in business, and by diligence and economy has acquired a competence. Mr. Slater has been twice married ; his first wife, Fanny H. Snow, died in 1870, after ten years of wedded life, leaving ono child-Ella. The present Mrs. Slater was Miss Julia M. Stone, of Defiance, Ohio, to whom he was mar- ried July 21, 1872.
JAMES STULLER was born in Carroll County, Ohio, in January, 1836, the eldest of the nine children of Henry and Nancy Stuller, who came to this county in 1852, and settled in Florence Township, near Edon, on timber-covered land, which was transformed, however, by the united labor of father and sons, into a comfortable home. Here the father died in 1864, aged fifty-seven years. James Stuller acquired a fair education in his youth, and at twenty-one began life on his own re- sponsibility. He began by working at jobs until he had made enough to buy a small farm, which he cultivated until 1878, when he moved to Edgerton and purchased the Arlington House, which he conducted in good style for nearly two years ; he then rented out the hotel, and has since carried on a feed and livery stable, and is doing an extensive and satisfactory business. In 1858, he was married to Phobe A. Foster. a native of Ohio, who has borne him five children-William, David (de- ceased), Abigail, John and Almira. In 1862, he served two months in the army, as a drafted man, and February 22, 1865, enlisted, serving until the October following, when he was honorably discharged. In poli- tics, he is a Republican, and has served as Constable for seven years.
JAMES B. TAYLOR, M. D., was born in Salem, Columbiana Co .. Ohio, January, 1821. His parents were natives of New York, and of Scotch and English descent. James attended the public schools, and assisted his father in his wagon shop until he became a proficient at the business. In 1841, he was married to Miss Sarah P. Hall, a daughter of Dr. Ed- ward Hall, a native of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch descent. Twelve children have blessed this union, but six-three sons and three daughters- surviving. One son is a sewing-machine agent, and the two elder are both able physicians. Soon after Dr. Taylor's marriage, in connection with his daily labor, he began the study of his chosen profession, but his failing health obliged him to discontinue these arduous duties, and he traveled with a wagon, selling goods, for four years. He then engaged in the lumber business until 1853, when he removed, overland, to Steu- ben County, Ind., locating at Angola, where he followed mercantile pur- suits for three years ; thence to Hamilton, in the same line, and in 1862 beginning the active practice of medicine in Newville, Ind., after further pursuing his studies at Ann Arbor, Mich. ; he suffered the loss of his drug store and contents, by fire, while at this place, and, after fourteen
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years' practice, removed to Edgerton, where he acquired a large practice and a fine home. He is a strong worker in the Temperance cause, a stanch Republican and a public-spirited, enterprising citizen.
WESLEY TERPENING, a native of the Empire State, was born in Cayuga, 1833. His parents were among the first settlers in Michigan, coming there when he was but two years of age. They located near Adrian, on a farm, with their family of eight children. They were natives of Pennsylvania and Canada, respectively, and of Dutch and Scotch extraction. After finishing his education, Mr. Terpening began work on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, where he was engaged for one year, when he purchased land near Adrian, Mich., for a home. In 1853, he was employed as contractor on the Air Line divis- ion, and worked in that capacity for four years, running from Toledo west to Waterloo, Ind. He afterward was engaged in business as mer- chant, stock-dealer and landlord, having charge of Edgerton's first hotel. He was foreman of grading work on the Canada Southern Railroad, be- tween Edon and Montpelier, and in 1875 contractor on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, since which time he has been engaged as contractor and builder. He has made a success of life, and is owner of a fine farm of 100 acres, town property in Edgerton and a quarter-section of land near Worthington, Minn. Mr. Terpening has enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-men, serving as Township Assessor for five years, and Councilman for several terms. He was married, May 17, 1857, to Miss Mary A. Curtis, a daughter of David and Charlotte Curtis, natives of New York, and of English, French and Scotch extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Terpen- ing are parents of five children-three sons and two daughters.
JOHN L. TERPENING, Postmaster at Edgerton, is a native of Cayuga Co., N. Y., and was born March 7, 1835, the fourth child of Peter and Lovina Terpening. He was brought to Lenawee County, Mich., when but a child, and there reared on a farm till sixteen years old, when he began the apprenticeship as jeweler with Ellridge Conant, at Hudson, Mich. He did not serve his apprenticeship in full, but bought eight months of his time from his employer for $125, engaged with another jeweler in the town, and a year later bought out the store and conducted it for a year or more, and then, in the spring of 1858, removed to Edgerton, where he established the first jewelry store in the town, which he still manages. He received his appointment as Postmaster in 1870. He had been employed as enrolling officer for the drafts during the late war, and performed his duty impartially, fearlessly and to the satisfaction of the people. He has also served as Township Clerk for five years, and as a member of the School Board. He was married in October, 1857, to Georgiana Calwell, a native of Connecticut, born September 30, 1841,
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and daughter of Orson and Mary Calwell, and to this marriage have been born two children-Minnie E. and John L. (the latter deceased). Mr. Terpening is a Knight of Honor, a stanch Republican, and has served the people in various offices for twenty or more years to the entire satisfaction of his party and the general public.
JAMES WARBURTON is a native of England, and was born Sep- tember 25, 1822. At the age of eighteen, he parted with his parents, Abraham and Ann Warburton, his two brothers and a sister, and came to America, locating in Medina County, Ohio, 1841, since when he has been but once out of the State-on a visit to Indiana and Michigan. He began working in a flouring mill at $12 per month, and thus became a miller. Two years later, he moved to Cuyahoga, and thence to Summit County, where he married Miss Diana Salter, who was born in England, but had been a resident of this country since six years of age. Here he remained until 1873, when he came to this township and settled on a 240- acre tract he had purchased about 1850, and which he had caused to be so improved as to become one of the very good farms in this township. Mrs. Warburton died in 1860, leaving five small children-Albert H. Mary E., Alice A., Frank S. and Lizzie J., now all married and in good circumstances. Mr. Warburton remained a widower until December 9, 1879, when he married Mrs. Mary A. Morse, a native of Canton, Ohio, who has borne him two children-Hannah (deceased) and Ida. Mr. Warburton has led a strictly temperate life, and his success has been greatly due to this fact. He arrived in this State wholly exhausted of means, but through the virtues of sobriety, industry and economy has been enabled to go into retirement and await the close of his useful career on earth in peace and comfort.
ADAM WEITZ, son of Joseph Weitz, is a native of Germany, and was born in 1810. He was reared a Catholic and taught the weaver's trade in the old country ; served his six allotted years in the army there, and at the age of twenty-seven emigrated to America, locating in Portage County, Ohio. He began work on the canal ; attended school one winter and acquired a knowledge of English, and then went to learn the stone- cutter's trade. His temperate habits and industry soon gained for him a position of overseer, and for twenty-four years he followed this trade. In 1846, he bought his farm in this township; went to work at stone- cutting, hired help to clear away the forest trees; built a small frame house, yet an adjunct of his present dwelling, and soon was the owner of as comfortable a home as there is in the township. In 1839, he married Elizabeth Yeager, a native of Pennsylvania, and to this marriage have been born eleven children-nine now living-Daniel, Harriet, Lovina, Lucina, Joseph, Wesley, Thomas, George and Frances. Mr. Weitz has
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proven himself to be one of the most energetic citizens of St. Joseph Township, and was largely instrumental in causing the new survey to be made, which permanently fixed the legal boundaries of St. Joseph. For- merly he was a Democrat, and cast his first vote for James K. Polk, but. in 1856 changed his political views, and cast his vote for John C. Fremont for President, and thenceforward became stanchly Republican. He is now a Protestant in religion, and, with his wife, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
PHILO B. WILLIAMS was born in Licking County, Ohio, Feb- ruary 5, 1829. His parents, Gilbert and Catherine Williams, were na- tives of Vermont and New York respectively, and of English and French descent. They removed to De Kalb County, Ind., adjoining St. Joseph Township, in this county, in 1840, when the country was new and un- settled, and for ten years worked at subduing the forces of nature and improving and cultivating their land, when they returned to Licking County, Ohio, and thence to Iowa, where the father ended his days, leav- ing the mother with seven children. Philo B. assisted his father in his early pioneer labors, receiving but slight educational advantages. At that time the trip to Defiance to dispose of their produce required three or four days, efforts almost forgotten in these days. He returned with his parents, in 1850, to his native county, and was joined in wedlock, September 29, 1853, with Miss Julia Hastings, a native of Licking County, and daughter of William and Susanna (Skeels) Hastings, natives of New Hampshire and Vermont, and of English and Scotch descent. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have had a family re children, four surviving, viz., Madora, Arthur, Josephine and Eunice. The family returned to Edger- ton in 1855, where Mr. Williams has been engaged as carpenter and joiner, and later at farming and lumbering. He has acquired a fine home of forty-three acres, besides village property in Bryan and Edgerton. Mr. W. enlisted in Company K, Sixty-eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry in 1861, and participated in active service under Sherman at Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, Fort Donelson, Corinth and Atlanta, and re- ceived an honorable discharge in 1864.
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