History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 113

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 113

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Mr. Lake was married in Bucyrus to Miss Abaline Seizer, who was born in Crawford county and died in 1890. They had three children: Edward, who died at the age of seven years; Fannie, who died when aged 16 years; and Helen, who is the wife of James Aylward, who is a native of Toledo, O., and a prominent business man of Bucy- rus, who is now manager of the jewelry store owned by Mr. Lake. Mr. Lake has never been very active along political lines, business claiming the larger part of his at- tention. He votes with the Republican party. He owns the block in which he car- ries on his business together with other

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property. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. With interest Mr. Lake has watched the growth of Bucyrus and at all times has been ready to lend a helping hand when opportunity presented or occa- sion demanded.

WILLIAM L. FERRALL, a leading rep- resentative in the real estate line at Bucyrus, established his office in this city some eleven years ago, from 1903 until 1906 being in partnership with E. B. Foster but during the rest of this period has been alone. He was born in Liberty township, Crawford county, O., Jan. 12, 1838, and is a son of Edmund and Nancy (Eaton) Ferrall.

Edmund Ferrall was born in Ohio and his wife in Washington county, Pa. She came to Columbiana county, O., in young woman- hood and was there married and soon after Mr. and Mrs. Ferrall moved to Stark county. From there, in 1835 they came to Crawford county and settled on a farm in Liberty town- ship, the same being known at present as the Joshua Meyers farm on the Sulphur Spring road, northeast of Bucyrus. A few years afterward they traded the farm mentioned for another tract of unbroken land in Liberty township. To the second tract Mr. Ferrall kept adding until he owned a half section of land and lived on the place until the death of his wife, when she was 63 years of age. He no longer desired to remain on the home- stead and sold it to advantage, moving to a small farm near Bucyrus, on which the closing years of his life were spent, his death occur- ring after his 8Ist birthday. He was a man of sterling character and was held in the high- est esteem by his neighbors. In all his deal- ings with them he showed his Quaker hon- esty and on certain occasions, when he had escaped misfortunes that fell on others, he displayed the generosity and true charity that accorded well with his religious principles. Of his nine children all but two reached matu- rity.

William L. Ferrall was the fourth son and fifth child in his parents' family. He grew up on the old homestead in Liberty township and after completing his education taught school for about eight years during the winter sea- sons. In 1894 he came to Bucyrus and dur-

ing much of the time since then has been a real estate broker and has handled many valuable properties in Crawford county in this capacity. Mr. Ferrall has long been one of the influen- tial Democrats of this section of the state and during some of his campaigns through Craw- ford and Allen counties, was advertised as the Farmer Orator, possessing a ready wit and being a fluent and forceful speaker. He has always been a loyal party man, ever ready to work for his friends but never a seeker of office for himself. He has also been a con- tributor to the press for many years.

Mr. Ferrall was married first to Miss Re- becca Kiefer, who was born in Whetstone township, Crawford county, and died at the age of 52 years, leaving five children, namely : Frank K., who lives at Memphis, Tenn .; Sam- uel L., who is engaged in the real estate busi- ness at Galion, O .; Hattie E., a resident of Toledo, O., who is the widow of Harry A. Sherer and has two children-Harold and Viva; Charles E., a carriage painter by trade, who lives at Galion and has two sons; and Alma, who is the wife of Arthur Gladhill, of Galion. Mr. Ferrall was married (second) to Mrs. Mollie J. (Songer) Foster, who has one son born to her former marriage, Elzie B. Foster, who is a resident of Bucyrus. Mrs. Ferrall is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church while Mr. Ferrall belongs to the Christian church.

EMANUEL HEINLEN, a member of one of the old and leading families of Whet- stone township, Crawford county, O., where his farm of 46 acres is situated, was born June 27, 1845, in the old pioneer log house that then stood on this farm, and is a son of Lewis and Hannah (Wise) Heinlen.

Lewis Heinlen was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and came to the United States when a young man. He was a butcher by trade, and also made pumps during his earlier years but mainly followed farming after settling in Whetstone township. He erected the log house in which his children were born and which stood until 1900, when it was torn down to make way for the pres- ent handsome brick residence. He married Hannah Wise, who was born in Lycoming county, Pa., and they had the following chil-

WILLIAM L. FERRALL

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dren born to them: Sarah Ann, deceased, who was the wife of John Stump; Samuel; George; Elizabeth, who was the wife of Isaac Stump; Reuben; Jonathan; Henry ; Mary Malinda; Emanuel, and Josiah and Isaac. The parents were members of the Reformed church.

During boyhood Emanuel (Heinlen at- tended the district schools when his help was not required on the farm, and after- ward continued with his father and re- mained until the latter's death. In the dis- tribution of the estate of 240 acres, Mr. Heinlen received 46 acres of the homestead. Here he carries on general farming, grows fruit and raises poultry and stock sufficient for family use.

In 1870 Mr. Heinlen was married to Miss Catherine Bittikofer, a daughter of Fred- erick and Barbara (Heimlich) Bittikofer. The parents of Mrs. Heinlen were born in Switzerland and the father was a weaver by trade. To this first marriage of Frederick Bittikofer three children were born: Abra- ham Frederick, deceased; Lena, deceased, who was the wife of Philip Heckler; and Catherine, who is Mrs. Heinlen. His sec- ond marriage was with Rebecca Myers and three daughters were born to that union: Sarah, who is deceased; Allison; and Laura, who is the wife of Joseph Johnson.

A family of eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Heinlen, as follows: Eliza- beth Malinda, Samuel, Della May, Allen, Harvey, Alfred, Leo Howard and Bessie, all surviving except Allen, Elizabeth Ma- linda and Della May. The youngest daugh- ter is a student in the Bucyrus high school, a member of the class of 1912. Mr. Hein!en and family belong to St. John's Reformed church of Whetstone township, in which Mr. Heinlen has been both a deacon and elder and a teacher in the Sunday-school, as well as its superintendent. In his po- litical principles he is a Democrat. Fre- quently he has been chosen for public of- fice by his fellow citizens and has served many times on the school board, for seven years was township assessor and for seven years was one of the board of directors of the Crawford County. Infirmary.

ROBERT M. AURAND who for more than twenty years, has been connected with the government mail service, is second clerk on the P. F. W. & C. Railroad on the route running west from Pittsburg to Chicago, and first clerk on the route running east. He was appointed from Monroeville, Allen county, Ind., and came to Bucyrus, O., in 1891, this city being conveniently located as to his business. He was born Jan. 23, 1863, in Wyandot county, O., and is a son of Daniel and Mary A. (Deppler) Aurand.

The original spelling of the family name was Aurandt and during the life of the grandfather, Jonathan Aurandt, this orthog- raphy was preserved, after his time the final letter being dropped. Jonathan Aurandt was of German ancestry but he was born in Pennsylvania. During his earlier years he was a preacher in the German Reformed church. He was twice married and shortly after his second marriage came to Crawford county, about 1830, and here he and his wife lived into old age, their deaths occur- ring on their farm two miles north of Oceola. They were among the early work- ers in the Methodist Episcopal church. Jonathan Aurandt married sisters and all of the ten children of his second union were born in Crawford county, and of these the following survive: Jonathan, a retired car- riage upholsterer, living at Mt. Gilead, who has one daughter; George, who is a farmer on the old homestead, and who has four children; Enoch, who lives in Merrick county, Neb., and has four children; and Rufus, a retired farmer and justice of the peace, who has seven children.

Daniel Aurand, son of Jonathan and father of Robert M., was born in Crawford county, O., Jan. 26, 1835, and died near Monroeville, Ind., Jan. 4, 1908. Some years after his marriage he lived on a farm near Logansport, Ind., and then returned to Crawford county, where he resided for nine years. In 1872 he moved to Allen county, Ind. He followed farming all his life. His father had been a Whig in politics and he was a Republican. During the latter part of his life he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Mary A.

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Deppler, who was born in Crawford county in 1840, and died January 19, 1875. Her father, John Deppler, was born in Ger- many and when he came to the . United States settled near Sulphur Springs, Craw- ford county, O., where he engaged in farm- ing, and was eighty years old at time of death. He was thrice married and three children were born to the first wife and one to the third, the latter being George W. Aurand, who is a resident of Michigan. Of the first union two survive: Robert M. and Mary A .; the latter is the wife of John V. Lutz, a farmer in Crawford county, and they have two children, Esther and Maude. One son, Daniel A., who was born in 1873, died unmarried in 1893.

Robert M. Aurand was nine years old when his parents moved to Allen county, Ind., and there he attended the public schools and prepared himself for education- al work, and later taught school in Indiana and also in Nebraska, spending three years in that state. He then received his appoint- ment to the railway mail service and through fidelity and efficiency has been ad- vanced to his present position.

Mr. Aurand was married at Bucyrus to Miss Esther S. Shifley, who was born in Crawford county and was educated at Bu- cyrus and Toledo, and for five years was a stenographer and bookkeeper in a large business house in the latter city and for two years in the former city. Her parents were John and Anna (Krauss) Shifley, the former of whom was of German extraction but was born in New York, while the latter was of Swiss parentage but was born in Pennsylvania. They were married near Buf- falo, N. Y., near which city they lived until after the birth of five children, when they came to Crawford county, where two more. children were born. The father died at Bu- cyrus in 1876, being then in middle age. The mother of Mrs. Aurand passed away in the latter's home, in 1907, when almost 82 years of age. Both she and husband were mem- bers of the Mennonite church, good, worthy, virtuous people, the influences of whose lives were beneficial to all with whom they came in contact.

Mr. and Mrs. Aurand have two children: Robert Ray, who was born March 4, 1895, and is a member of the class of 1913 in the Bucyrus high school; and Helen Magda- lene, who was born December 10, 1896. This young lady is the possessor of musical gifts which are being developed under the direction of Prof. Snyder, a well known mu- sician of Bucyrus. Mr. Aurand and family are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Aurand is a Knight of Pythias and belongs also to the Railway Mail Association.

CHARLES ARNOLD, who has been en- gaged in the manufacture of native wines at Bucyrus, O., for the past 20 years, en- joys a wide business reputation as his bev- erages are in demand all over the country and have consumers wherever they have been introduced. Mr. Arnold was born Feb. 17, 1850, in the province of Baden, Germany, quite near the division line be- tween France and Switzerland. His parents were John Jacob and Anna Mary (Schmidt) Arnold, also natives of Baden. The mother died when aged 40 years, but the father lived to the age of 73 years. Like his own father, also John Jacob Arnold, he was a man of impressive figure, six feet, two inches in height and weighing 250 pounds. Grandfather Arnold, with four of his broth- ers, enlisted in the German army in 1813, serving for six years. He survived to be 96 years old and died in his native neighbor- hood. Of the six children born to the par- ents of Charles Arnold, he is the eldest. Anna M., the next in order of birth, lives in Germany, unmarried. Ernest follows the butchering business in Germany and resides with his family there, a well known citizen of Baden. Frederick still lives on

the old homestead on the Rhine. Herman came to America and follows the butcher trade in the city of Chicago, Ill. He mar- ried a lady from Kansas and they have chil- dren. Elsie married Frantz Huber, a gold engraver at Lahr, Germany, and they have children.

Charles Arnold attended the schools near his home in boyhood and then began to learn wine waking as a trade. In 1869 he

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emigrated to America and located at Bucy- rus, O., reaching this city on Sept. 29th of that year. Finding no attractive opening in the wine business at that time, he learned the machinist trade and worked along that line for 26 years, during this time being em- ployed in eleven different shops and work- ing in every department. All these years, however, he had been quietly making ex- periments and taking note of the product- iveness, the hardiness and the chemical qualities of the native grapes in Ohio, and after retiring from his hard work in the ma- chine shop embarked in the wine making business, in which he has prospered. He has carefully studied the fruitage of the Ohio vines and has come to a thorough un- derstanding of the business from this point of view. His plant consumes two car loads of grapes to produce 8,000 gallons of wines and his cellars have been specially con- structed to store the same for its maturing. His specialties are Delaware, Catawba and Claret, and he produces a very fine line of special table claret, not to be excelled in flavor and wholesomeness by any exported product.

Mr. Arnold was married first in this city to Miss Mary Flocken, who died at the age of 42 years, the mother of two children: Charles Frederick, who lives at Akron, O .; and William E., who is a dental surgeon. Mr. Arnold's second marriage also took place at Bucyrus, to Miss Mary Kraft, who died in 1911, leaving no children. Mr. Ar- nold is a 32nd degree Mason and is promi- nent also as an Odd Fellow. He casts his political vote with the Democratic party. He is a well known and highly respected citizen, active in public charities and liberal in supporting local enterprises.

JOHN PHILIP GERSTENSLAGER, who is one of the representative men of Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., resides on his valuable farm of 87 acres, which he purchased in 1893. He was born at Bucyrus, O., Jan. 14, 1858.

John P. Gerstenslager had but meager educational opportunities and never went to school after he was 13 years of age, his

time being engaged until his mother's death three years later, in helping to clear up the farm of his step-father. He then started out for himself and for nine years worked in the neighborhood where he was known, for farmers by the month, and continued for several years after his marriage, at the end of that time renting the farm which he now owns. It belonged to his father-in-law, John Deebler, and after the latter's death Mr. Gerstenslager purchased it and ever since has carried on general farming and done moderate stock raising, his many years of experience giving him advantage over younger men in the business, of whom there are always examples in every neighborhood, who work by theory instead of along prac- tical lines.

In 1877 Mr. Gerstenslager was married to Miss Anna Elizabeth Deebler, a daughter of John and Magdalena (Heinlen) Deebler, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Gerstenslager had three sisters and one brother : Sarah, deceased, who was the wife of Charles Lutz; Rebecca, deceased, who was the wife of Isaac Albright ; John Lewis; and Amanda, who is the wife of Henry Ger- stenslager.

To Mr. and Mrs. Gerstenslager the fol- lowing children have been born: Harvey William, who married Della Christman, and has three children, Florence, Inez and Del- ma; John Harry, who married Emma Shu- maker and has one daughter, Edna; Albert Lewis, who married Carrie Laughbaum, and has two children, Lucile and Irene; Bertha, who married Otto Neumann, and has three children, Harland, Edwin and Frederick; and Nellie, who is the wife of Philip Frank. The family attends the Re- formed church in Whetstone township. In politics Mr. Gerstenslager is a stanch Dem- ocrat. He is a man who stands high in the esteem of his fellow citizens and they have testified to the same by electing him to a number of important offices. For six years he served as township trustee and for sev- eral years was road supervisor, while for two years he filled the office of township health officer.

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L. FRANK HEINLEN, a prosperous merchant of Bucyrus, O., who conducts a large grocery store at No. 812 North San- dusky Avenue, established the same in February, 1908, for four years previously having been a farmer. He was born in Wyandot county, O., Nov. 3, 1859, and is a son of Samuel and Margaret (Keiss) Heinlen.

... . Samuel Heinlen was born in Crawford county, O., in 1836, a son of Louis Hein- len, who was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- many, and came to America when aged twenty years, locating in Whetstone town- ship, Crawford county, O., southeast of Bu- cyrus. He worked at his trade of tailoring among the early settlers, according to the practice of the times going with shears and goose to one house after another and fitting the male members of the family with gar- ments. He had married in Pickaway county before reaching Crawford, a Miss Starger, also a native of Germany. Their old farm in Whetstone township still be- longs to the family and there they spent their lives into old age, dying when about eighty years old. They were members of the Mennonite church. Of their children, two sons and one daughter survive: John, who lives with his family at Des Moines, Ia .; David, who lives on his farm near Bu- cyrus; and Mrs. Sarah Wise, who lives in Marion county, O. Samuel Heinlen followed farming, locating in Whetstone township after marriage and a few years before the birth of their son, L. Frank, moved to Wy- andot county, where they lived several years and then returned to Crawford county. He married Margaret Keiss, who was born in Pennsylvania and was thirteen years old when she accompanied her parents to Crawford county. Five children were born to them, namely: William A., who is a dealer in sewing machines at Bucyrus and has two daughters, Ruth and Gladys; L. Frank; Reuben, who is a railroad agent and lives at Great Bend, Kans .; Mary E., who is the wife of William Stump, a farmer in Dallas township, and has one daughter, Vella; and Edward, who was accidentally killed in an explosion in a saw mill at Bu-

cyrus. In 1887 Samuel Heinlen and wife retired to Bucyrus and here his death oc- curred in January, 1911. His wife survives, well and active in mind and body, at the age of. 75 years.

L. Frank Heinlen was small when his par- ents returned to Crawford county and he was reared to manhood here and obtained his education in the local schools and the university at Ada, O. He was connected with several business houses in a clerical capacity before he engaged in farming, after which, as stated above, he embarked in his present business at Bucyrus. Like his late father he is a Democrat in politics and prior to coming to Bucyrus was clerk of Whet- stone township for six years. He is a good citizen and as a business man is wide awake to honorable opportunities.

Mr. Heinlen was married in Jefferson township, Crawford county, O., to Miss Eliza Shumaker, who was born there, a daughter of Jacob Shumaker, of German ancestry, Her parents came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. They were members of the German Reformed church. Mrs. Heinlen is one of a family of eight children. Mr. and Mrs. Heinlen have three children: Clinton, who not only has been well educated in a literary sense but has a technical education in wireless telegraphy and is an operator on the vessels in the Great Lakes during a part of the year and is with his father as an assistant during the other months, a very capable and reliable young man for his twenty-two years; Hazel, who was credit- ably graduated from the Bucyrus high school in the class of 1910; and Grace, who is a student in the city schools, and is now nine years old. Mr. Heinlen and family are members of the Evangelical Associa- tion, to which organization his parents also belonged from his childhood.

GEORGE W. FENNER, deceased. Per- haps no old resident of Bucyrus, O., was held in higher esteem than was the late George W. Fenner, who was identified with the material development of this city for 43 years. He was born at Delaware Water Gap, Pa., April 26, 1825, and died at his

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beautiful residence situated on the corner of Charles and Poplar Streets, Bucyrus, O., Oct. 9, 1900. His parents were Abram and Eliza (Pickering) Fenner.

Both the Fenners and Pickerings bear names linked with epoch-making events in America history, the former tracing an an- cestry from that stanch old skipper, Captain Fenner, who successfully guided the May- flower to the shores of New England in 1620, while during the War of the Revolu- tion the Pickerings were financial support- ers of the Patriot cause. In every succeed- ing generation these names have been borne by people of sterling worth whose lives have reflected credit on the noble ancestry from which they came.

Abram Fenner, father of the late George W. Fenner, was born in Delaware county, Pa., and died at Ashley, Pa., at the age of 82 years. He was a farmer and millwright, a man of peaceful life and a member of the Society of Friends. He was twice married and both wives bore children. His eldest daughter was the wife of Joseph Coleman. Hiram, the eldest son, came to Bucyrus in 1852 and here followed the tailoring trade during his active years, retiring before his death, in 1894. Benjamin lived and died at Almira, Pa. George W. was the youngest of this family.

Of the boyhood of George W. Fenner little is known, but it is possible that the stern Quaker discipline of the household in some ways chafed him and led him to leave home and become a clerk in a store and then to enlist for service in the Mexican War, in which he performed so creditably in several departments that he was espe- cially honored by General Winfield Scott. At first he was attached to the quartermas- ter's department and it is evident that he displayed rare soldierly qualities or he would not have been selected to lead the party of volunteers in the attempt to raise the country's flag over the citadel in the city of Mexico. It was indeed a hazardous although successful expedition; neverthe- less all did not live to return. General Scott was so impressed by the bravery of young Fenner that he presented him with his

sword, which honorable trophy is carefully preserved in the family. Not only was Mr. Fenner thus distinguished, but when the war closed and he was discharged, it was found that by a special provision, his com- mission as an officer was permitted to ex- tend to the end of his natural life. He re- turned to Pennsylvania and from there came to Bucyrus, where his older brother was already established, in September, 1857, having, in the meanwhile, learned the car- penter trade and become a skilled mechanic. He reached Bucyrus when it was awakening to its needs and for many years he was en- gaged here in the planning and erecting of many of the fine business structures as well as the handsome residences which adorn this city. While he never became active in politics because of his disinclination to bind himself by any party tie, he was an alert and interested citizen and gave hearty sup- port to all measures of which his own judg- ment approved. At one time he was iden- tified with the Odd Fellows and also was a member of the order of Royal Arcanum.

At Delaware Water Gap, Mr. Fenner was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Bush, who was born at Shawnee, on the Delaware river, May 6, 1827, and died at Bucyrus, Oct. 21, 1894. She came also of old Quaker stock and throughout life was an exemplar of the simple unostentatious faith in which she was reared. Her parents were Benjamin Van C. and Sarah (DePuy) Bush. Four children were born to this mar- riage, namely : Frank, Foster, Amandus and Eliza. The eldest son, who died Sept. 10, III, was a carriage and sign painter by trade and was engaged in business at Bu- cyrus. Foster Fenner, the second son, was born in Pennsylvania but was reared and educated at Bucyrus. He resides with his sister in the old home in this city. In po !- itics, like his late father, Foster Fenner is in- dependent, and fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and with the order of American Mechanics. Amandus, the third son, who died at Bucy- rus, Sept. 9, 1908, at the age of 52 years, is survived by his widow and one son and three daughters. The only daughter, Eliza,

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History of Crawford County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 113

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1302

Author: Hopley, John E. (John Edward), 1850-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago,Ill., Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1302