USA > Ohio > Allen County > History of Allen County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part Two > Part 14
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. William A. Bowers was reared and edu- cated in his native township, where he engaged in farming for several years. He owned 104 acres of land situated in section 31, German township, and section 36, Amanda township,
He lived on his farm until 1901, when he moved to Lima and purchased the Botkins livery stable, which he conducted in partnership with Jacob Shobe. Later he sold his interest in the business to his partner and purchased the Fisher livery barn, which he ran for about 18 months. This was then sold and Mr. Bowers moved back to the farm. He purchased a farm in Wyandot County, which he traded for the Lima truck line, moving to Lima to take charge of the business. After operating it for 75 days he sold it to John Harley, and again returned to his farm in the spring of 1905. The follow- ing October he purchased the Shobe farm, which contains 65 acres, thus giving him 90 acres in one tract.
Mr. Bowers was married October 4, 1883, to Nona B. Highland, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth ( Berry) (McDonald) Highland, of Allentown. Joseph Highland was born March 7, 1837, and died December 26, 1891. His wife was a daughter of David and Elizabeth (McIntyre) Berry, who came from Westmore- land County, Pennsylvania, to Ohio, stopping a short time in Clark County and then locating in Allen County, when Mrs. Highland was about eight years of age. Mrs. Highland was born November 27, 1832, and was twice mar- ried, her first husband being William Wesley McDonald, who died in 1855 leaving two child- ren ; Mrs. Sarah Kennedy, of Lima and Gilbert McDonald. Mrs. Bowers has one sister, Ida Herring, and a brother, Marion, who died at the age of five years. Mr. Bowers has three children, Verne Lester, born August 16, 1887, who is a student at Elida; Myrtle Leona, born April 21, 1894; and Zelma Irene, born Septem- ber 28, 1897. Mr. Bowers is a trustee of the Christian Church in Amanda township, of which he is a inember.
Lima.
F. STOLZENBACH, president of the Stolzenbach Baking Company, and of the Allen County Building & Loan Association, is a prominent figure among the business men of Mr. Stolzenbach was born at Roseville, Muskingum County, Ohio, where he was reared and educated.
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
After completing his schooling, Mr. Stol- .zenbach entered his uncle's bakery at Zanes- ville, Ohio, with whom he remained for six years, in this time becoming a skilled baker. His uncle, Conrad Stolzenbach, is still in the business and is associated with the National Biscuit Company. From Zanesville our sub- ject went to Pittsburg, Detroit and Columbus, working in all these cities and learning every "chemical secret of the trade as well as perfect- ing himself in the manufacture of every kind of bakery product.
Mr. Stolzenbach then located at Newcom- erstown, where he opened up a first-class bak- ery: but he soon found that the place was too small for the goods he was able to put upon the market and he remained there only until 1889, when he bought the Diamond bakery at Lima, entering into partnership with a Mr. Benton under the firm name of Stolzenbach & Benton. After conducting the business for six months under that style, Mr. Stolzenbach bought the Benton interest and admitted his father to part- nership. The new firm became Stolzenbach & Company which continued thus until 1904, when the business was incorporated as the Stolzenbach Baking Company, with a capital stock of $30,000, fully paid up. The officers of the company are: C. F. Stolzenbach, presi- dent; J. H. Stolzenbach, vice-president; and Martin Stolzenbach, secretary and treasurer. "The plant turns out weekly some 35,000 loaves, their specialties being "Butternut" and "Moth- er's" bread, both these brands being in large demand. The plant is equipped with every modern and sanitary appliance, its capacity be -. ing 10,000 loaves daily.
In 1892 Mr. Stolzenbach was married to Magdalen Hickey, who is a daughter of Henry Hickey, of Putnam County, and they have six children : Edward, Mary Louise, Magdalen, Charles Henry, Robert W., and an infant daughter. The family belong to the Lutheran Church and Mr. Stolzenbach has been a deacon of St. Paul's congregation for the past nine years.
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Mr. Stolzenbach is a prominent member of the National Bakery Association of the United States. He attended the annual meeting of this body at the Arlington Hotel, Washington
City, on September 11, 1905, joining the Chi- cago contingent on a special car. He is one of Lima's capitalists, a stockholder and director in The Lima Telephone & Telegraph Company and is treasurer of the National Roofing Tile Company. For a number of years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, he has been a member of the city Board of Health. He is always prominent in all public- spirited movements, gives largely to charity, and fulfills every duty incumbent upon a con- scientious, broad-minded man and citizen.
ARON FISHER, one of the leading citizens of Delphos, and a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, was born January 1, 1847, near La Fayette, Allen County, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Long) Fisher.
The Fisher family originated in Germany, and the descendants have widely scattered, hav- ing been always distinguished as solid citizens, good home-builders, and industrious, intelli- gent and thrifty members of the communities in which they have lived. The father of our subject was born in Pennsylvania and accom- panied his parents to Perry County, Ohio, where he was reared and learned the black- smith's trade. In 1835 he settled in Allen County, locating on a tract of 80 acres of wild land which was situated in section 25, Jackson township, a mile and a quarter from LaFayette. As illustrative of those primitive days, Mr. Fisher recalls the stories told by his father of how he lived comfortably, for a time, under the shelter of an old oak tree, while the building of the log cabin took place. With an abundance of game of all kinds, including flocks of wild turkeys, the question of subsistence was merely a nominal one. The clearing of the farm fol- lowed, the old log house gave way to a modern, convenient frame residence, where, surrounded by an affectionate, obedient family, the father's life closed at the age of 70 years.
It is interesting to recall those days of early settlement in Jackson township. Considered in the light of the present, there seems to have been many drawbacks to content and comfort,
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but in those days they were taken as matters of fact and were looked upon with an indifference begotten of familiarity. The cultivation of the land was carried on entirely with the sickle, rake, old-fashioned horse plow and harrow, and the grain was threshed out on the barn floor with flails. Clothing was almost entirely of home manufacture, that for summer wear be- ing made from the flax grown on the farm and that for winter from the wool sheared from the flocks of sheep which formerly were raised in great numbers. The wool was taken to Del- phos and St. Marys to be carded. In a remin- iscent mood, our subject can recall how, as a little lad, he had to make a trip to mill, and was so small that he had to be strapped to the horse's back with the bag of grain, in order that both should not come to grief on the way. He re- calls that on a later occasion he took the grain to mill on a vehicle made of a wagon tongue and two wheels. This journey sometimes con- sumed several days, as each customer at the mill had to wait his turn, and the old-time con- struction of the grist-mills was such that exped- ition was impossible.
Mr. Fisher vividly recalls the boyish de- lights hovering around the cooking of the corn pone before the open fire-place in the old log cabin kitchen, with its pots and kettles in close proximity, and remembers the toothsome viands prepared in the old Dutch oven. In those days hospitality was an accepted virtue, and in no home was it more honored than in that of Jacob Fisher. His pioneer cabin was a traveler's inn, and on its threshold the weary stranger found the willing hand of brotherly friendship extend- ed. Especially welcome was the coming of the pioneer preacher, who brought with him news, not otherwise obtainable, of other sections of the State, and Mr. Fisher can remember when lie and his brothers climbed on the fence to eagerly watch for his coming.
Especially welcome on account of the many engaging qualities which he possessed, with his tried and true Christian zeal, was a Mr. Doner, who made the home of Jacob Fisher his headquarters when in Jackson township. The latter was the real founder of the Lutheran Church in his district, and assisted in the con- struction of the log edifice which was also used
as the first schoolhouse. Jacob Fisher was one of the men who should never be forgotten in Jackson township. Of his nine children all reached maturity except one. He gave three sons to the service of his country during the Civil War-Joseph, Benjamin and Noah -- the last mentioned of whom never returned to his home, but fills a soldier's grave at Memphis, Tennessee. The three surviving daughters are: Susanna, who is the widow of Simon Fos- ter, of Middlepoint, Van Wert, County; Nancy (Hallman), a widow, who resides near La Fay- ette; and Mary Ann (Ernsberger), now of Decatur, Indiana, where she has resided for the past year, but formerly for 35 years a resi- dent of Delphos.
Aaron Fisher was the youngest child in the above family. He attended school in the near- by log schoolhouse, and learned to write with a quill pen and with ink made from bark and the berries of the poke weed. The advantages af- forded for an extended education were' some- what meagre, but a taste for learning was in- spired and, for all practical purposes, a suffi- cient familiarity with reading, writing and ar- ithmetic was acquired by the pupils. At the age of 21 he married and moved to LaFayette, where he hired out as a carpenter and during the first year his wife taught the village school. For the next eight years he worked as a thresh- er, and also operated a rented farm. In the spring of 1870 he removed to Delphos.
After settling at Delphos, Mr. Fisher car- ried on a teaming business for a number of years. He began with a very small capital, but, through good management and industry, soon increased it, bought a livery stable, later ran an omnibus line, and started the first street sprinkler in Delphos. Subsequently he sold the site of his stable to the city, and the present Town Hall now occupies it. Later, through trading, he acquired a farm on which was an excellent stone quarry. This he operated for some years, and then purchased a tract of land inside the corporate limits of Delphos, which he afterward sold to his son and son-in-law. and which is still known as the Fisher stone quarry. In addition to his teaming and livery enterprise, he embarked in an ice business and all these lines are continued by his son. His
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own interests, however, are still important. He purchased the business block on the corner of Main and Second streets, first the south one-half and later the north, and this is known as the 'r Block. He also owns and con-
ducts cigar and tobacco store on the
block on the banks of the canal. He
is a di f the Delphos Foundry Company
and has ¿ considerable interests.
The . th of Mr. Fisher's first wife oc-
curred in cember, 1899. She was a lady much admire and beloved, a popular teacher and an active church worker. Of the four children, two sons survive, viz: Arthur, his father's business successor, who lives in Van Wert County; and Orville D., of Lima. An adopted daughter, Nellie M. Fisher, resides with our subject. Mr. Fisher's present wife, formerly Mrs. Margaret Ward, had two child- ren by her first marriage: May, who is a teacher, and Dana, who is in business with Mr. Fisher.
Throughout his life Mr. Fisher has been actively identified with the Democratic party, and in 1894 was elected sheriff of Allen Coun- ty, giving four years of active effort to the hon- est enforcement of the law. The record of this period is one of loyal faithful service to his fellow-citizens. At the close of his term he visited the West, mainly in the hope of restor- ing his wife to health, but these efforts proved unavailing. After his return, he built a fine livery barn on West Spring street, Lima, which is 50 by 200 feet in dimensions-one of the largest establishments of its kind in the city.
Mr. Fisher is serving his second term on the City Council at Delphos. He is chairman of the fire committee, and a very useful mem- ber of the improvement and of the sanitary and sewer committees. He has been sent as the representative of his party to many county and congressional conventions and was honor- ed with the appointment of sergeant-at-arms at the Democratic National Convention at Chi- cago when President Cleveland was nominated the second time. He is a member of the Ma- sonic bodies from the Blue Lodge to the Mystic Shrine, attending the lodges of the higher branches at Dayton, Ohio; he is also connected with the order of Elks.
EORGE P. CONNER of Lima, one of the leading Masons of the United States,is a native of Armstrong Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, born in 1858, and is a son of James A. Conner. The father was also born in the Keystone State, where he died some 40 years ago, being a steamboat pilot on the Alleghany River nearly all his life.
Our subject left Pennsylvania in 1876. In boyhood he had moved to Philadelphia where he was educated and later mastered the busi- ness of sign painting. In the year mentioned he located in Ada, Ohio, and four years there- after (1880) in Lima, two years later remov- ing to Topeka, Kansas. He followed his pro- fession in that city for 13 years, and then spent some four years traveling in the interest of the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company and Carter's White Lead Company. In 1902 he returned to Lima, and this city has been his place of res- idence ever since.
In 1880 Mr. Conner was married to Fan- nie L. Funk, a daughter of Randolph M. Funk, and they have two daughters-Rhea Lillian and Mabel Pauline. The former married Charles R. Lingo, a locomotive engineer re- siding at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is at pres- ent manager for P. F. Collier & Company. The latter resides at home. Mr. Conner and family attend the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Conner enjoys the distinction of being one of the most competent cryptic Masons in the Union, and is probably one of the most widely known members of the fraternity in the United States. He has a national reputation as an expounder of the Masonic work. In 1893 he was the exemplifier of cryptic rite work be- fore the General Grand Council of the United States at Topeka, Kansas, and is thrice illus- trious master of Lima Council, No. 20, R. & S. M .; is the grand representative of the Grand Council of Kansas near the Grand Council of Ohio.
In this fraternal connection is quoted the following extract from the proceedings of the M. I. Grand Council of Royal and Select Mas- ters of Kansas, at their 37th annual assembly, held in the city of Wichita, Kansas, February 13-14, A. D., 1904. A. Dep. 2905 :
C. C. BLISS, M. D.
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"It has been my pleasure during the year to issue a commission to Ill. Comp. George P. Conner, now of Lima, Ohio, and formerly a member of Zabud Council, No. 4, Topeka, Kan- sas. Comp. Conner, with his usual energy and devotion to the work of Cryptic Masonry, be- came interested in Lima Council and in the Grand -Council of Ohio. When Comp. Brom- well, our Grand Representative near the Grand Council of Ohio, became acquainted with Comp. Conner, he immediately insisted that he should resign and that the Grand Master of the Grand Council of Ohio should recommend the appointment of Comp. Conner, which was ac- cordingly done, and a commission issued to Comp. Conner. We are pleased to be able to enroll his name among the Grand Representa- tives of this Grand Council."
Great pleasure is also taken in quoting from the proceedings of the Grand Council of Royal, Select and Super-Excellent Masters of Ala- bama, held in the city of Montgomery, as fol- lows :
"One of the most interesting gatherings in the Masonic history of Montgomery and indeed in the State, was in the Odd Fellows' Hall which had been kindly tendered for the occa- sion, last evening, when Montgomery Council of Royal and Select Masters received 26 candi- dates into the beauties and mysteries of Cryptic Masonry. Companion George P. Conner, of Zabud Council, No. 4, Topeka, Kansas, one of the brightest and most intelligent Masons of the Union, had kindly consented to be present and assist in the work. To him the greatest credit for the success of the assembly is to be accorded."
C. BLISS, M. D., mayor of Delphos, whose portrait is herewith shown, is one of Allen County's most promi- nent citizens and comes from a fam- ily which has been connected with the important events in this section of the country for more than a half century. Dr. Bliss was horn at Lima, Allen County, Ohio, and is a son of Col. Lester and Aldulia (Curtis) Bliss, grandson of Dr. David Bliss and great-grand-
son of Samuel Bliss, a patriot of Revolutionary fame whose ancestry was both English and Dutch. Early records make Samuel Bliss a man of note in peace as well as in war.
Dr. David Bliss was born in Vermont and married Mary Van Trees, who came from an old Holland family that became established in New York at an early date. Dr. David Bliss was one of the pioneer physicians of Sparta, Morrow County, Ohio, and there he practiced his profession until his death in 1846, at the age of 60 years. He was a man of local prom- inence outside his profession, and served as a justice of the peace for very many years. The children of Dr. David Bliss and wife were: Morgan L., a physician; and Maria, Mason, Mahala, Porter, Lester and Mary A., who have passed off the scene of life's activities.
In Col. Lester Bliss, the father of our sub- ject, Ohio possessed a man of intellectual ver- satility, one who attained wide repute as a law- yer, soldier and statesman. The sixth child of his parents' family, his birth took place at Cooperstown, New York, August 10, 1817. His education was the most liberal that the time and locality afforded, his literary training being secured at Gambier, in Knox County, Ohio, and at Granville, in Licking County. At an early age he turned his attention to the study of the law. pursuing his studies under Hon. Henry B. Curtis, a leading attorney. While a resident of Lima, he was also interested for a time in a store and foundry business.
When Colonel Bliss removed to Delphos, he transferred his business to his new location and it was continued here for a number of years under the firm name of Bliss & Hover, his part- ner being a connection through his first mar- riage. In 1850 Colonel Bliss was elected the first mayor of Delphos and administered the af- fairs of the town to its benefit and became so generally popular with his fellow-citizens that in 1852 he was elected to the Legislature under the new State constitution. In 1853 he was nominated for the office of Lieutenant-Gover- nor of Ohio, but before the final contest came he withdrew his name in the interest of party concord. It was during this memorable cant- paign that he lost his wife, who was the mother
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
of our subject, a lady to whom he was devoted- ly attached and one upon whom he greatly de- pended for advice and counsel. Her death had much to with his loss of interest in political ad- vancement.
Later Colonel Bliss accepted the position of superintendent of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad now a part of the Pennsylvania system, which position he filled for several years. In 1859 he disposed of his business at Delphos and moved upon a farm west of the city, on which he lived for some years, subsequently trading it for a beautiful property of 312 acres situated along the Auglaize River, some five miles south and east of Delphos, which he secured while at home on furlough from his duties as an officer in the Civil War.
When the 118th Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., was recruited in 1862, Colonel Bliss was dele -. gated to visit Governor David Tod in order to make arrangements for its efficiency in the field and the Governor immediately appointed Colo- nel Bliss as quartermaster, with rank of major. One year later he was commissioned lieutenant- colonel and with the regiment was sent to serve with General Burnside in the East. He took part in the siege of Knoxville and in many other engagements of a more or less serious character and continued in the service until his health, caused by army hardships, compelled him to resign in 1863. He returned to the quietude of his country home and resided there in retire- ment until his death in 1898.
Colonel Bliss was thrice married : first, in 1844, to Belinda Hover, who was a daughter of Emanuel and Caroline ( Adgate) Hover, of Shawnee township, Allen County. At her death in 1847, Mrs. Bliss left two sons, viz : David M., of Lima, who is associated with the Western & Southern Life Insurance Company ; and Lester LeGrande, a veteran of the Civil War, who died at Fort Scott. Kansas. Colo- nel Bliss married, second, Mrs. Aldulia Ken- nedy, who was a daughter of William Curtis and the widow of a prominent early attorney of Lima. The most estimable, beloved and ad- mired lady passed away as above stated, leaving an only child, C. C. Bliss, of this record. The third marriage of Colonel Bliss was to a sister
of his first wife. Mrs. Bliss still resides at Del- phos. For many years Colonel Bliss was very active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and filled the greater number of the offices in the local church at Delphos. In political sentiment he began his political career as a Democrat ; at the opening of the war he became identified with the party known as War Democrats; but in later years he became affiliated with the Re- publican party. He was a very prominent mem- ber of the G. A. R. Post at Delphos and, as he would have chosen, his funeral was conducted with military honors.
C. C. Bliss came to Delphos in boyhood and first attended the public schools here and enjoy- ed still better advantages at Mount Vernon, in Knox county. Determining to become a phy- sician, he studied and worked for three years under Dr. H. P. Wagner, of Delphos, as pre- ceptor and in 1874 was graduated from the Bellevue Hospital, Medical College, of New York. His preceptor was a graduate of the same college, had enjoyed post-graduate work in Europe, was one of the censors of the To- ledo Medical College, and came to what is now Delphos in 1847, settling in what was then known as "Section 10." After the death of Dr. Wagner, Dr. Bliss opened an office of his own and continued in practice for four years and then was interested in a paper mill which he purchased and operated for a time. Later he resumed practice for a short period, after which he engaged for some years in farming. In February, 1883, he again took up profession- al work and also entered into a drug business with J. W. Evans.
Dr. Bliss has always been active in politics and in 1899 he was elected, on the Republican ticket, mayor of Delphos. After serving two years in this position, he was succeeded by G. W. Wilson for one year, was then re-elected in 1902 and is still the incumbent. In his official life he has ever shown that he has the best in- terests of the community at heart and has dem- onstrated that he is a true friend of education, culture and progress.
Dr. Bliss was married to Sophronia O. Her- rick, who was born at Mount Gilead, Ohio, and is a daughter of Simeon and Tirza ( Nichols)
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Herrick. Fraternally Dr. Bliss is a Mason of very high degree and has filled many official positions. He is a director of the Commercial Bank at Delphos and secretary of the Delphos Building and Loan Asociation. :
INOR T. LONG, one of the promi- nent citizens and substantial, reli- able and representative men of Al- len County, residing in his com- fortable and attractive home on his farm of 350 acres, located in sections 28, 33 and 34, Marion township, was born August 24, 1845, in Clermont County, Ohio, and is a son of Jacob and Rebecca A. (Westerfield) Long.
The Long family is a typical American one, the record of past generations showing loyalty to country and good citizenship in upholding her laws. Jacob Long, the grandfather of Minor T., and a son of Jacob, removed with his first wife. Elizabeth Carlinard, from Fay- etteville, North Carolina, to Hamilton Coun- ty, Ohio, settling with the pioneers on the site of the present city of Cincinnati. He had done good service in the War of 1812. After some years of residence at Cincinnati, he decided to press still farther into the wilderness. much of which was then almost unknown territory, and after making his decision shipped the house- hold effects from Cincinnati to Clermont Coun- ty, and in the spring of 1852 he came by canal- boat to the neighborhood of Delphos, and set- tled on 73 acres, which comprise a part of our subject's farm. The land is beautifully sit- uated. sloping gently to the Auglaize River, and has every advantage of location and fer- tility to make it one of the most valuable es- tates in this section of Ohio. On this land, en- gaged in clearing and tilling, in looking after the interests of his family and paying attention to the welfare of his community, Grandfather Long spent the rest of a long. useful and wor- thy life, dying May 6. 1869, aged 87 years, 2 months and I day. His second wife, Mrs. Minerva (Free) Westerfield, who was the widow of Jacob Westerfield, died seven years later, on November 25, 1876, aged 76 years, 8
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