County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical, Part 68

Author: Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 885

USA > Ohio > Williams County > County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical > Part 68

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GEORGE RINGS was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., April 25, 1834, and is the son of John and Anna (Brinker) Rings, of German ancestry. His father, John Rings, was born in the same county, Sep- tember 2, 1804, was a farmer, and also a teamster in the days of six- horse teams. He came to this county in 1835, and settled on land now partially occupied by the town of West Unity, then a dense forest. Some years after, he had a portion of his land surveyed and laid out into town lots, started the village July 20, 1842, and named it after Pleasant Unity,

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a town in his native county and State. December 8, 1831, he married Miss Anna Brinker, who became the mother of his four children, viz., Catherine, who died in 1840, aged about eight years ; George, the subject of this sketch ; Susannah, now Mrs. Samuel Shafer, of Montcalm County, Mich., and Margaret, now wife of James W. Howard, present Treasurer of Fulton County, Ohio. Mrs. Rings died August 25, 1840, in her thirty-fourth year, and September 7, 1841, Mr. Rings married Mrs. Rachel C. Hanzey, daughter of Samuel Cliffton, and to this marriage six children were born-Anna, now Mrs. Dixon Sindel; William C., who, at the age of seventeen, enlisted in Company H, Third Ohio Cavalry, and died of typhoid fever at Murfreesboro, Tenn .; his remains were brought to West Unity and buried with the honors of war; John C., of Gratiot County, Mich. ; Harriet, now Mrs. Fred Spade, of Hillsdale County, Mich. ; Joseph, who died September 7, 1852 ; and Mary E., who married James Walkup and died in February, 1874. Mr. Rings was the first Justice of the Peace elected in Brady Township ; he was elected County Commissioner in 1837, County Treasurer in 1852, re-elected in 1854, and died in his second term, April 18, 1855. He was the part owner of the first saw-mill erected in the village, also one of the owners of the first grist-mill ; at the time of his death was engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was at all times foremost in enterprises tending to the improvement or development of his town and county. George Rings, our subject, has grown to manhood in this township, being hardly a year old when his parents came to the county. He is a farmer and miller, and one of the proprietors of the Unity Woolen Mills and Flouring Mills. He was educated in the first schoolhouse erected in Brady Township, but was able to attend only two or three months in the year ; however, experience has given him a thoroughly practical education. In politics, he is a Demo- crat, and in 1858 was nominated for County Auditor, but, neglecting his canvass, was defeated by a small majority in a strongly Republican dis- trict ; in 1877, however, he was elected to fill the office by & hand- some majority. August 6, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the One Hundredth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but, before being mustered in, was elected First Lieutenant and then appointed Adjutant. He was captured by the enemy near Jonesboro, Tenn., September 8, 1863, incarcerated in Libby Prison for eight months, then taken to Danville, thence to Macon, thence to Charlestown, S. C., where, with about 1,200 Federal officers, he was put under fire of the Union batteries then bombarding the city. Under this fire he was held one month, when the yellow fever broke out, and in September, 1864, he was removed to Columbia. At this point he and O. G. Doughton managed to escape, and after many privations made their way to Sherman's army in front of Savannah. During his

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captivity, he was promoted to a Captaincy, was ordered from Savannah to New York and thence to Washington, where he was granted leave of absence for thirty days. At the expiration of this time, he rejoined his regiment at Wilmington, N. C., and remained with it till the close of the war, when he was mustered out at Cleveland. February 16, 1871, he married Mrs. Kate L. Miller, widow of James H. Miller, daughter of James Casebeer, of Hicksville, Ohio, and mother of one son, James Hay- wood Miller, who was born June 29, 1867. By this lady Mr. Rings became the father of five children, viz., George C., born December 4, 1872; Mary E., May 25, 1874 ; John Edward, July 20, 1875 ; William G., March 9, 1877 ; and Lucy A., April 6, 1878. Of these, William C. died of cerebro spinal meningitis, April 21, 1882. Mr. Rings is Post Quartermaster of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R., and is one of the most prominent of West Unity's business men.

JAMES N. RUNNION, M. D., was born in Richland County, Ohio, July 21, 1830, and was next to the youngest of seven children of Joseph and Rachel (Logan) Runnion, natives respectively of Sussex County, N. J., and Washington County, Penn. When a young man, Joseph Run- nion crossed the Alleghany Mountains on foot to Washington County, Penn., where he was afterward married. In January, 1820, he moved with his wife and family to Belmont County, Ohio, and settled on eighty acres of land in the wilderness, and passed the first winter in & cabin without either doors or windows. In 1826, he moved to Richland County, and in 1863 came to this township, where he died April 15, 1874. His wife died in Richland County in 1862. Mr. R. was a sol- dier in the war of 1812, and his father, Conrad Runnion, served seven years in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington. James N. Run- nion received a good early education, and worked on his father's farm and taught school until 1853, when he began reading medicine with Dr. J. W. Craig, of Ontario, now of Mansfield, Ohio, and graduated at the Western Reserve Medical College of Cleveland, in 1856. After a short practice at Lexington, Johnsville and Shelby, he came to West Unity in 1863, and is now the oldest practitioner in the town. He was married, October 11, 1850, to Minerva A. Dunham, of Richland County, and daughter of Lucius and Mary (Clark) Dunham, and of their offspring there are left two boys and one girl. Mrs. R. died in 1873, a member of the Baptist faith. December 17, 1874, the Doctor married Isabel V. Long, of Knox County, and daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Conaway) Long, and to this union have been born one boy and three girls. The Doctor was a member of the first Town Council of West Unity, and con- tinued a member for several years; for six years he was Clerk to the

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Board of Education. He belongs to lodge and encampment in the I. O. O. F., is a K. of H., and with his wife is a member of the M. E. Church.

WILLIAM HENRY SHILLING is the son of John Shilling, Jr., and Anna (Hoffmester) Shilling, and was born October 9, 1850. John Shilling, Jr., was born June 24, 1825, the son of John and Catharine (Shillinger) Shilling, natives respectively of Wurtemberg and Lauterbach, Germany. John Shilling, Sr., was married January 22, 1822, and had born to him a family of four sons and four daughters, of whom John, Jr., was the second. John, Sr., died at Columbiana, Ohio, August 17, 1880, aged eighty-seven years; his wife had died at the same place, February 11,-1878, aged seventy-eight years. They came to America when John was about twenty-five years old, and settled in Mahoning County, Ohio. John Shilling, Jr., was reared on the home farm until he was twenty-two years old, and then he learned the milling business at Poland, Mahoning Co. October 25, 1849, he married Miss Hoffmester, by whom he has had the following children-William, born October 9, 1850; Matilda, October 4, 1854; Celestia Jane, December 2, 1856; Curtis E., Sep- tember 24, 1858; Leander S., May 30, 1860 ; Clarissa, September 16, 1862; Rachel Catherine, November 10, 1864; Mary Etta, February 27, 1868, and John Franklin, November 22, 1871. Mr. Shilling re- mained at milling until 1853, and then went to farming, which he fol- lowed until 1869, when, in addition to farming, he engaged in the sale of agricultural implements. In June, 1875, he formed the project of organ- izing a mutual fire insurance company, to be known as the "Brady Mutual Fire Insurance Company," and the scheme proved a success, the company now carrying a risk of $1,200,000. Mr. Shilling was made its President, but is now acting as its general agent. William H. Shilling spent his youth on his father's farm, and received a good common-school education. January 2, 1869, he married Miss Levina Mclaughlin, who was born in Williams County, April 3, 1850, and has borne her husband three children-Charles William, born July 26, 1871; Rachel Catharine, June 10, 1874, and Joseph Edwin, December 16, 1880. Charles Will- iam died of spinal fever at West Unity March 13, 1882. In the spring of 1881, William H. Shilling entered into a partnership with his father in the sale of agricultural implements. . They erected a suitable building in West Unity, but this was soon after destroyed by fire. With remarkable energy and ceaseless labor, they had another erected, and, ever since, the trade has been conducted in a most satisfactory manner. William H. Shilling is also Secretary of the "Brady Mutual Fire Insurance Company."

EDMON SHUTT was born in Lebanon County, Penn., February 20, 1840, and is the second of five children born to George and Lucy A.

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Shutt, natives of the same county. Edmon's mother died when he was eight years old, and until fifteen he worked out for his board and clothes, and then by the month till 1866, at from $6 to $22 per month, when he began farming on shares in Richland County, Ohio, and so continued for about seven years. In 1874, he brought his wife and children to this township ; bought eighty acres of land ; improved it, and now owns 100 acres in first-class condition. He was married, in Richland County, Ohio, January 18, 1866, to Polly, daughter of Leonard and Catharine (Wertz) May, and a native of Richland County. To this marriage have been born three children-Henry, who died in June, 1868, Anna and Jennie May. Mr. Shutt commenced life with no other fortune than good health and a stout heart, but by industry, economy and integrity, has ac- quired a competence. He at first went in debt for his farm in this town- ship, but he has not only paid for the original plat, but also for the added acres, which are all now highly improved. In politics, he is a Repub- lican, and he is looked upon as an enterprising farmer.

HENRY J. SMITH was born in Fayette County March 7, 1819, to Jonathan G. and Rachel Smith, and is of German ancestry ; he was reared on a farm, inured to hard labor, and is of remarkably strong con- stitution. Though now past sixty-three, the gray does not show in either his hair or beard. Jonathan G. Smith was born in Germany April 22, 1795, and came to America when quite young, locating in Fayette County, Penn., and moving thence to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1822; in 1841, he moved to Richland County, where he died November 20, 1876. Henry J. Smith was married, March 9, 1842, to Miss Mary Ann Moore, and has by her six children-Elizabeth, Mary, Jonathan, Samuel, Margaret and Anna-all now living. Mrs. Smith died February 22, 1876, and in September, 1879, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Lydia (Deauel) Smith, widow of William Smith, who died in Michigan, in 1878. Mr. Smith came to Williams County in May, 1844, and settled in Madison Township, where he resided about five years, and then came to Brady Township; here he owns a fine farm one and a half miles north of West Unity, well-improved and cultivated; he gives considerable attention to the rearing of South- down sheep and other stock, in addition to general farming. Mr. Smith is a member of the Baptist Church, and was baptized by Elder Jones, near Wooster, Ohio, in 1836; on coming here, however, he found no church of his denomination convenient, and so united with the Disciples ; he is the possessor of .numerous heirlooms, including a pair of spectacles worn by his great-grandmother, the frames of which contain sufficient metal to furnish six or eight modern pairs, and has, besides, many similar curiosities hundreds of years old.

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ALLEN SPENCER, born in Harrison County June 8, 1822, was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Turner) Spencer, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Maryland. They were married in July, 1821, in Jefferson County, Ohio, and died February 4, 1863, and March 11, 1880, respectively. Allen Spencer married, October 12, 1843, Jane Rockwell, daughter of Justice K. and Miriam Rockwell, and born in Richland County, Ohio, August 7, 1827. To this union seven children have been born, two of whom have been taken by death. Mr. Spencer came to Williams County with his parents at an early day, and remained with them on their farm until his marriage. December 4, 1861, he en- listed as a private in Company G, Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served till July 21, 1864, when he was discharged on account of disability incurred in the performance of duty, and now draws a pension, but not one sufficient to support a man unable to do any kind of work ; he was at the capture of Fort Donelson, the battles of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Champion's Hill, Black River, Jackson, etc. He is a member of Royer Post, No. 109, G. A. R .; a member of the United Brethren Church, and in politics is a Republican. In 1839, Mr. Spencer assisted in the survey of the first east and west road laid out through Williams County.

JOHN D. STEIBE is the third in a family of five, and was born in Lycoming County, Penn., October 13, 1841. His parents, Charles L. and Mary (Waltz) Steibe, are natives of Germany, where the father was & baker. In the spring of 1833, Charles L. married, and immediately emigrated to America, arriving with his wife in New York City, where he remained a year and a half; then moved to Lycoming County, Penn., bought a small farm, which he cultivated until 1873, when he came to this township and purchased another farm, which he worked until his death, in 1878. He was at first of the Baptist belief, but afterward united with the German Methodists, and died in this faith. John D. Steibe worked with his father until twenty-two years of age, and then engaged for about six years in milling and lumbering. He then bought a seventy-acre farm in Lycoming County, Penn., on which he resided till 1867, when he sold out and came to Brady Township, where he farmed on shares for two years. In 1869, he bought eighty acres, to which he has since added forty more, and now has as well an improved farm of 120 acres as there is in the township. January 25, 1866, he married Mary A. Drum, a daughter of Peter and Catharine (Fisher) Drum, and a native of Lycoming County, Penn., who has borne him five children-Peter W., Mary E., Gertrude, George W. and Clara E. Mr. and Mrs. Steibe were once members of the Evangelical Church, he hav- ing been converted at the age of twenty and she at the age of seventeen ; but in 1867 they both found reason to change their religious convictions,

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and joined the German Methodist society, of which they are still consist- ent members. In politics, Mr. Steibe is a Republican.

TUNIS STIRES is the second of a family of eleven children, ten now living, born to Jacob and Hannah Stires, and was born in Hunter- don County, N. J., January 16, 1824. He is of German and Scotch descent, and his ancestors, as far as he can trace them, died in Hunter- don County-his father in 1878 and his mother in 1874. Mr. Stires has been three times married-first to Elizabeth Starnar, by whom he had two children (Mary H. A. and John Jacob); second, to Margaret Ann Ely, by whom he had four children; and third, to Mrs. Nancy J. Olm- stead, the daughter of John H. and Lydia B. Cameron, natives of Penn- sylvania. Simon M. Cameron, father of John H. and grandfather of Mrs. Stires, was half-brother of the father of ex-Secretary of War, Si- mon Cameron. Mrs. Stires has four brothers and one sister living, viz. : Robert B. and John S., practicing physicians at Evansport, Ohio; Si- mon M., Deputy Clerk of Defiance County; John W. P., attorney and Clerk of the Court of Defiance County. John S. was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and is now a pensioner. Mr. Stires is a member of the Town Council of West Unity and is considered to be one of the reliable business men of the place, and does a thriving trade in pianos, organs, other musical instruments of various descriptions, fancy goods, etc.

JAMES STEVENSON, son of William and Jane (McAlpin) Stev- enson, was born in County Down, Ireland, May 27, 1842. His grand- father, James Stevenson, was a Lieutenant of British cavalry, and was wounded at the battle of Corunna, in which Sir John Moore was killed, and his father, William, was born just prior to said battle and during the retreat of the British forces, the wife of Lieut. Stevenson having accom- panied her husband on the campaign. William Stevenson came to Amer- ica in 1831, but returned to Ireland in 1836, was married there in 1841, and again came to this country in 1851 and settled at Pittsburgh. In 1855, he moved to New Lyme, Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where his wife died September 9, 1858, and January 5, 1880, he also died. James Steven- son, at the outbreak of the recent war, was among the first to enlist in the army of the Union. April 25, 1861, old Ben Wade made a speech at West Jefferson, Ohio, calling for volunteers. Wade was the first to sign the enlistment papers and James Stevenson immediately followed. He was assigned to Company I, Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Capt. W. J. Hoyt, under the first call for 75,000 men. He was at the battle of Rich Mountain and in several skirmishes, and was discharged the following August. The 22d of the same month, he enlisted in Com- pany F, Second Ohio Cavalry. This company had its first engagement

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with Quantrell's guerrillas, near Independence, Mo., next with Marma- duke's forces, at Newtonia, Mo., and next at Cane Hill, Ark. Return- ing to Columbus, Ohio, to recruit, the regiment subsequently joined Burnside's army, and was all through that officer's campaigns. Mr. Stevenson fell into the hands of the enemy December 22, 1868, and was held prisoner at Andersonville and other points until January, 1865, when he made his escape, rejoined his regiment at St. Louis in July and was mustered out September 18, 1865. He was married, September 30, 1878, to Miss Amanda Stump, who has borne him one child-Will- iam F., born July 1, 1879.

JOSEPH C. STROCK, son of John and Susan Strock, was born in Franklin County, Penn., May 28, 1830, and came with his parents to Richland County, Ohio, when but two years old, where he was educated in a log schoolhouse and reared to grubbing, chopping, log-rolling and brush-burning and other hard work. At the age of eighteen, he entered an apprenticeship with Miller & Emerson, harness-makers, of Shelby, Ohio; served two and a half years, then worked as a journeyman two years, when, his health beginning to fail, he was forced to resume out-door work, and has ever since employed himself at farming. June 17, 1852, he married Miss Rebecca Bargahiser, who was born in Richland County, Ohio, June 9, 1880, the daughter of Levi and Susan Bargahiser, natives of Virginia ; this lady has borne him four children-Charles, Samuel, Susan and Levi. In 1857, Mr. Strock came to this township and settled on Section 10, where he now has a pleasant and attractive home. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundredth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and served as teamster until discharged in 1865, having taken part in the campaigns of Kentucky, East Tennessee and North Carolina.

WILLIAM SWISHER is the seventh of nine children born to John and Barbara (Henry) Swisher; is a native of Cumberland County, Penn., and was born March 8, 1819. His father was a blacksmith and farmer and came with his family to Crawford County, Ohio, in 1826. In 1889, he died while on the road to his old home in Pennsylvania, which he had thought to visit once more, and his widow expired at her home in Craw- ford County. William Swisher, at the age of twenty-one, cleared up a tract of land his father had given him in Crawford, and seven or eight years later bought the interest of the other heirs in the home farm, which he rented out for a series of years. In 1863, he sold the old farm, and in 1865, disposed of his own and came to Brady Township, where, the previous fall, he had bought a farm of 344 acres. This he has increased to 525 acres, and owns, besides, valuable property in West Unity. In 1840, he married Miss Rebecca Kniseley, & native of Tuscarawas

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County, Ohio, and a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Shanks) Kniseley, also natives of Tuscarawas County. To this marriage ten children have been born, of whom nine are still living. One of these, Samuel K., served for three years during the late war. Mr. Swisher and wife are members of the U. B. Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. His farm is probably the largest in the county, and it is also the best tilled. Live stock is largely dealt in by Mr. S., and his position as a business man and agriculturist is an enviable one.

EDMOND THOMAS was born in Bedford County, Penn., March 4, 1840, and is the eighth child of a family of ten born to Frederick and Susan (Koffman) Thomas, natives of the same State. Frederick Thomas, & farmer, came to Wayne County, Ohio, with his wife and family in 1847, and farmed on shares for five years. In the spring of 1852, he came to Springfield Township, this county, and in the following fall moved to Brady, farmed on shares for five years, then for three years in Fulton County, and then, in 1860, bought the farm of eighty acres in this town- ship, on which Edmond now lives, and on which he died April 23, 1881, a member of the German Reformed Church. Edmond Thomas worked for his father till twenty-one, and in October, 1861, enlisted in Com- pany K, Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; took part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Champion's Hill, Raymond, siege of Vicksburg, all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, the fight at Jonesboro, and was with Sherman on his famous march ; he was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, and on his return bought his father's farm in this township, where he has since resided. He was married, September 20, 1869, to Mary M. Kek, a native of Crawford County, Ohio, and a daughter of Andrew and Lavinia Kek, natives respectively of Germany and New York. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have two children-James A. and Charles F. In politics, Mr. T. is a Republican, and is now one of the Trustees of Brady Township.

JOSEPH P. THRUSH was born in Richland County, Ohio, March 22, 1842, and is the son of Jacob and Anna (Nazor) Thursh, natives of Pennsylvania. When a young man, Jacob Trush came to Richland County, where he was afterward married. He bought a small piece of land near Mansfield, on which he built a cabin and began clearing, but sold out in 1831 or 1832, and bought 160 acres about eleven miles west of Mansfield. Here, in the woods, he built another cabin, and in this he and wife passed their lives, she expiring June 5, 1876, and he June 15, 1881. Joseph P. Thrush received an academic education, and has taught six terms of school in Wabash County, Ind., and in Richland and Craw- ford Counties, Ohio. In August, 1867, he came to West Unity, and was employed as a clerk in the dry goods store of S. Pierce & Son for ten

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years; then in the store of A. P. Grisier for three years ; then for nearly a year in the store of S. Kent. In the spring of 1880, he took charge of A. P. Grisier's store as business manager, which position he still holds. In 1871, he married Melvina Gamber, a native of this county, and daugh- ter of George W. and Mary A. (Miller) Gamber, of Pennsylvania. One boy and two girls have been the fruit of this union. Mr. Thrush is a member of Superior Lodge, No. 179, A., F. & A. M., of which he has been the Secretary for the past eight or nine years; in politics, he is a Democrat, and he is one of the most popular of the rising young business men of the town.

JOHN P. VAUS was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, December 12, 1830, and is the oldest child of Tilghman W. and Elizabeth (Towers) Vaus, both natives of Caroline County, Md. Tilghman Vaus went to Pickaway County when a young man, and was there married. In 1887, he came to Brady Township, entered 160 acres of land, built a cabin with puncheon floor and clapboard roof, and here he and family underwent all the privations of pioneer life, but lived to see all the vast forest about him yield to the advance of civilization, and closed his eyes on the re- generated scene March 31, 1880. Mrs. Elizabeth Vaus is still living, and residing on the old homestead with her son, our subject. John P. Vaus was reared on the farm till twenty-one, receiving his education in the old log schoolhouse of the district. He cleared up and worked & piece of land he and his father jointly owned in this township, and on this he resided a number of years. April 22, 1855, he married Mary Fickle, a native of Crawford County, Ohio, and daughter of Isaac H. and Nancy (Young) Fickle. To this union have been born three children- Amelia A., now Mrs. Charles B. Cromer ; Nancy E., now Mrs. Samuel Fogle; Mary E., now Mrs. Sylvester A. Hillard. In February, 1865, Mr. Vaus enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and served until mustered out at Cumberland, Md., July 24, 1865 ; he then resumed farming on his old place, but in 1868 moved to Hillsdale County, Mich, where he bought and cleared up forty acres unim- proved land, and farmed until March, 1875, when he returned to Brady Township, where he has ever since resided on the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Vaus are members of the Church of God, and in politics he is a Republican. He belongs to one of the oldest families in the township. and is one of its most prominent citizens.

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County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical, Part 68

Author: Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 885

Author: Weston A. Goodspeed, Charles Blanchard
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 885