USA > Ohio > Henry County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 65
USA > Ohio > Fulton County > History of Henry and Fulton counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 65
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On January 1, 1864, Lieutenant Allen, on account of disabilities that un- fitted him for active field service, resigned, which resignation being accepted, he returned to Fayette the same month. For the succeeding four or five months Mr. Allen acted as enrolling officer at Fayette, and rendered efficient service in that capacity during the latter part of the war.
In October, 1865, Charles L. Allen was married to Susan Gamber, the daughter of Henry and Mary Gamber, of Fayette. Of this marriage two chil- dren have been born.
In this same year Mr. Allen engaged in the mercantile business at Fayette, in partnership with his brother, Joseph O. Allen, which firm relations were maintained and the business conducted with a fair degree of success for about four years, when our subject became its sole owner and so continued for a period of about ten years, when the mercantile department was disposed of, and he thereafter continued the produce dealing branch until the month of No- vember, 1885, when this department was discontinued.
In this year the Bank of Fayette was established, and in it Mr. Allen took an interest ; he was chosen its cashier and has so acted to the present time, having practically the management of its business. The success of this well conducted and growing institution fully attests the business capacity of our subject.
During the years 1880-1 Mr. Allen represented Fulton county in the sixty- fourth General Assembly of the State, and upon the expiration of his first term was re-elected to the sixty-fifth General Assembly.
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Upon the organization of Gorham Lodge, No. 387, F. and A. M., Charles L. Allen was one of its charter members ; he is also a member of Stout Post, G. A. R., and A. D. C. on the staff of the department commander.
B ARBER, COLONEL E. L. Epaphras Lord Barber is a native of Ohio, and was born at Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, December 16, 1830. Of the five children born to Epaphras L. and Jerusha T. (Sargent) Barber, he was the third. The days of his boyhood and youth were spent on his father's farm at work, and in attending the district school during the winter terms. At the age of eighteen years young Barber joined an engineer corps and was em- ployed on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, where he had a practical education in surveying and civil engineering. After a few months engaged in this work he attended a private school for nearly two years, but again returned to engineering and perfected himself in that profession. After leaving the C. C. & C. road he was engaged on other work of the same char- acter, and in 1853 came to Fulton county, being then employed on the Air Line, now the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. In connection with the work in this county he had headquarters at Delta.
Mr. Barber continued his connection with the construction of this road until about 1856, when, having become interested in lands in the vicinity of Wauseon and elsewhere in the county, he severed his connection with the road to give attention to the real estate business. Two years later he was appointed station agent at Wauseon, and held that position for two years, resigning in 1860 to resume his real estate business, but to continue therein for a single year only, when loyalty and patriotism called him into an entirely new field of action.
When, in April, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired upon, in answer to the president's call for troops, a company was at once raised at Wauseon, and among them Mr. Barber's name was found. At the election of officers he was made captain of Company H, of the Fourteenth Ohio Infantry, and served with that command during the term of their enlistment, and was mustered out at Toledo in August, 1861. Prior to the muster-out, and while awaiting that event Captain Barber re-enlisted and was appointed major in the Thirty-eighth Infantry, which was then forming. With this regiment he served for a period of eight months in Kentucky, when, on account of the death of his business partner, Nathaniel Leggett, he resigned his commission and returned home.
Not long, however, was he to remain there, for he was soon called to Co- lumbus by Governor Tod, advanced to the rank of colonel and directed to organize the One Hundredth and the One Hundred and Eleventh Regiments. This he did promptly and well, and was placed in command of the latter and went to Cincinnati with them to repel the threatened invasion of the State by the rebel forces under General Bragg. The duties assigned him by the gov-
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
ernor being fulfilled, Colonel Barber returned to his business interests at Wau- seon in the fall of 1862.
In connection with the military career of our subject it may be remarked that at the time of his enlistment, in the spring of 1861, he had no special desire for advancement to a position more exalted than that occupied by his comrades; but they made him captain, knowing his capacity as a man of busi- ness, and having full confidence in his ability as a commanding officer. As an officer, in preparing his command for the field, Colonel Barber was a strict disciplinarian ; so rigidly, indeed, did he enforce the rules and regulations of tactics, and so thoroughly did he instruct and drill the men, that murmurs of discontent were not infrequent; yet, after the three-months men were dis- charged and re-enlisted, of those of his company that returned to the service no less than twelve were made commissioned officers, thus reaping direct ben- efit from the instruction received at his hands. Again, as an organizer he was no less efficient ; insomuch that the governor called him from private life to organize two regiments for the service, besides the other important duties en- trusted to his charge.
Having returned to Wauseon in the fall of 1862, Colonel Barber resumed his business of dealing in real estate, and to this he has devoted more or less of his time to the present day. In the spring of 1863 he established a bank- ing house at the place, of which he was sole owner and manager until 1865, at which time Naman Merrill became a partner therein. The firm remained unchanged until the month of June, 1879, when E. S. Callendar became a partner. In November following Mr. Merrill died, since which event the bank has been owned and managed under the firm name and style of Barber & Cal- lendar. In November, 1885, Colonel Barber became interested in a bank es- tablished at the village of Fayette, and known as the Bank of Fayette, but his interest therein is, in the main, an investment, the management of the business being in charge of residents of that place. As a man of business Colonel Bar- ber occupies a position in the county second to none ; his integrity, his hon- esty and his careful business methods are well known, and he enjoys the confidence of the people. His manner of doing business is strict, as it is acknowledged that to be successful, banking must be done on strict business principles ; he has been successful and no man has deserved success more than he; he is public spirited and generously aids every enterprise looking to the advancement of his town and its people.
On the 20th of day of October, 1853, Epaphras L. Barber married Sophia H. Watkins, daughter of Timothy Watkins, of Cleveland. Of this marriage two children, one son and one daughter, have been born.
B RIGGS, FRANK, the subject of this sketch, was born in Wayne county, O., on the 15th of February, 1842, and was the third of seven children, sons and daughters of Francis and Sarah (Cuffle) Briggs. The father, Francis
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Briggs, was a physician of much repute in Lucas county. As a youth, Frank was about his father's office much of the time when not at school, or at work on the farm, and there he gained a fair knowledge of pharmacy that was of great benefit to him after he came to reside in Fulton county.
In April, 1861, young Briggs enlisted in Company I, of the Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the three months service. This was a Lucas county company, and with it he served until the month of August following, when he was mustered out. He, in October, 1861, re-enlisted in Company K of the Sixty-Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a private, but was promoted for meritorious service, first to sergeant, then to second lieutenant, and, still later, to first lieutenant, which latter commission he held at the time of his final muster-out. With the Sixty-Seventh regiment Mr. Briggs served three years and six months.
Unlike the great majority of the young men that entered the service, Lieu- tenant Briggs saved the earnings of those years, and upon his coming to Delta, in December, 1864, he had five hundred dollars in cash. With this he pur- chased the stock of drugs and business formerly conducted by Dr. Young at this prosperous village. After making the purchase, Mr. Briggs added to the stock as the requirements of trade and the rapid growth of the town de- manded. About twelve years ago he enlarged his business enterprises by the addition of an extensive hardware stock. These he had in adjoining stores, and were successfully conducted by him until the month of September, 1887, when the drug stock was sold and replaced by a large assortment of crockery, glass, and queensware.
Since his residence in Delta, Mr. Briggs has always been in the mercantile business, and, although his beginning was small, it has continued to steadily grow until he is now recognized as one of the leading merchants of the village ; nor does his stock in trade represent his whole business, as he is interested in real estate in this vicinity. But whatever of success has attended his efforts, there is no man to say it is undeserved, as his accumulations are the result of his own personal endeavor, and his acknowledged honesty and integrity. This is the common report among the people of the town and locality in which he lives. While Frank Briggs has never been an aspirant for political honors, he has, nevertheless, taken great interest in all that pertains to the political welfare of the county at large, and in the just and economic administration of its affairs. In Delta he has held various town offices-clerk, councilman, and perhaps others of minor importance ; but in the advancement of the educa- tional interests of the town, and in keeping up the high standing of the schools he has been especially prominent. In his political preferences, Mr. Briggs is a staunch, determined Republican.
A no less commendable zeal has been shown by our subject in the spiritual welfare of the community. He is prominently connected with the Methodist 73
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
Episcopal Church, and is one of the trustees of that society. Of his means he has been a generous contributor to the several funds used for the purpose of maintaining and advancing the strength of this and other church societies.
In the Masonic fraternity, Frank Briggs is a member of the lodge and chapter at Delta ; also of the Toledo Commandery. In this ancient order he has advanced step by step until he is now what is termed a thirty-second de- gree member.
While the business and social relations of our subject have been entirely pleasant and successful, and his progress in these have been marred by no untoward event, his home and fireside have been invaded by the Destroyer, and wife and children alike have been taken from him. Mr. Briggs has been thrice married : First, on March 20, 1864, to Laura Trowbridge, daughter of Elisha Trowbridge, of Delta. She died October 20, 1871. On the 20th of June, 1872, Mr. Briggs married Mattie Hill, daughter of Robert Hill, of Port Washington, Tuscarawas county. Of this marriage two children were born, neither of whom is living. His wife, Mattie, died February 14, 1878. On the IOth day of July, 1878, Mr. Briggs married Emma, daughter of Jacob Gelzer, of Delta.ยช% Of this marriage four children have been born, all of whom are living.
H AAG, HON. J. M. For more than twenty-five years has Judge Haag been in active practice at the bar of the courts of Henry county.
In the thousand and one details that go to make up the character of a suc- cessful lawyer, noticeable in the work of Judge Haag, are industry in collecting facts, sagacity and foresight in collating them, broad and comprehensive views of the legal principles applicable to them, and absolute fearlessness in the pre- sentation of his client's cause. Added to these is a memory that is seldom at fault, either regarding a fact or the law. His knowledge of the statutory code laws of Ohio, even after the codifiers had exhausted their capacity to obscure it, is something unusual. He is rarely mistaken as to the existence or force of any statute. Judge Haag loves the practice of the law, not because he partic- ularly loves litigation of itself, but because it is a profession in which men of erudition, high legal attainments, and honorable feelings, have full scope for all their powers, and yet can aid in the honest and able administration of jus- tice. His clients know that he is incapable of betraying their confidence, his professional associates know that he is incapable of trick, the bench knows that candor and entire fairness are his characteristics.
Again, as a lawyer his character is, in many respects, a model for imita- tion. In the examination and preparation of a cause he exercises the greatest care, especially if the case be one of vital importance. He is careful and con- scientious in his conclusions and in his advice to his clients ; determined and unyielding in the vindication of the rights of his client, and in his defense of
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the principles which he has asserted with the energy of thorough conviction ; properly deferential, but never more than that, to the court ; courteous to his antagonist, and never more so than when dealing his severest blows, and es- pecially always kind and considerate in a marked degree towards the younger and more timid members of the profession. In his practice of the law, accord- ing to his impulse, he would rather defend than prosecute even a criminal. There is also another characteristic of the man in his legal work. His mind is studious and practical as well, and in investigating any question, he will search for principles first and expedients afterward.
It is natural and fit that such a man should be entrusted with public duties and a brief review of his history will show that, though this is so to a degree, office was not even a secondary pursuit to him, but all that he has filled he has discharged with ability and fidelity. [These expressions are not the sen- timents of the Henry county bar alone, but are as well the result of an acquaint- ance that the writer of this volume has had with Judge Haag of some months' standing.]
John Marion Haag was born at Mifflinsburg, Union county, Pa., on the 16th day of August, in the year 1836. During his early childhood his parents moved to York county, where they lived a short time and then moved to Lan- caster county, of the same State. At about the age of seventeen years young Haag left home and came to Millersburg, Holmes county, O., where he en- tered the Free Press office to learn the printer's trade, and afterward accepted a position on the editorial staff of that paper. After this he went to New Phil- adelphia, Tuscarawas county, to which place his parents had removed, where his time was employed on the newspaper, The Ohio Democrat, and, in part, in a course of legal study in the office of Belden & Haag, attorneys at that place ; he also received a no small part of his early legal education under the instruction of Judge McIllvaine. In 1859 Mr. Haag was admitted to practice, and soon afterward established himself in an office at Canal Dover, in Tuscarawas county. Three years later, in 1862, he became a resident of Napoleon, and a member of the Henry county bar. He formed a law partnership with S. R. McBane, esq., which continued until the death of that person in 1863, after which Will- iam Sheffield and James G. Haly became partners with our subject, under the firm name of Sheffield, Haly & Haag, but the senior partner soon after- ward accepted a government appointment, and Mr. Haag purchased the Dem- ocratic Northwest, and became its editor and publisher. This was in June, 1864. In the fall of the same year Mr. Haag was made the nominee of the Henry county Democracy for the office of probate judge, and at the polls in October was elected. He then retired from the law firm.
In the succeeding year, 1865, on the 17th of August, Mr. Haag was mar- ried to Martha J., the daughter of John M. Meek. Of this marriage five chil- dren were born, three of whom are now living. In the fall of the year 1866
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HISTORY OF HENRY AND FULTON COUNTIES.
Judge Haag was re-elected to the office of probate judge. In this capacity he served in all five years, still retaining, during the time, his ownership and control of the Northwest, but at the expiration of his second term he sold his interest in the paper and resumed the practice of the law, in partnership with J. L. Robertson, esq., and this relation was maintained until Mr. Robertson's death.
In the fall of 1871 Judge Haag was elected to the Legislature of the State, and re-elected in 1873. During his last term in the State Legislature he was chairman of the judiciary committee. After the expiration of his second term Judge Haag returned to his practice at Napoleon, and to this has his time ever since been devoted. His partnership with James P. Ragan was formed in 1880.
In the politics of the municipality of Napoleon, Judge Haag has been a somewhat conspicuous figure, and in the selection of its officers he is governed by a desire to secure the best men, and not held strictly by party ties. In 1882 he was elected mayor for the express purpose and with the avowed in- tention of correcting certain existing evils. Besides this he has held other offices of importance in the village.
Judge Haag, during his journalistic experience, contributed his full share to the current anonymous newspaper literature, of which much of the uncredited emanated from his pen. The following stanzas, indited to his two daughters, are worth preserving :
MY LITTLE GIRLS' DISPUTE.
To meet me on the way As homeward turned my feet, To be the first with kiss And give me welcome greet,
At childhood's greatest speed Two little maidens came -
Mary the name of one And Kate the other's name.
"O, pa ! We had dispute," The eldest called to me,
" And you must tell who's right, For we cannot agree ; Which do you like the best, Which prettiest of us ? Now tell us quickly, pa, And still our little fuss."
Like birds of plumage same, Or flowers from one vine, A choice I cannot make 'Tween little girls of mine ; You must not urge me more, I cannot tell you why --- One's the morning sunrise And one's the evening sky !
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H OWARD, HON. D. W. H.
The hazy Indian summer skies, The autumn leaves that strew the way, I've seen for three score years and ten, I'm seventy this November day.
My mind goes back to twenty-one (1821 ;) The Maumee pioneer appears ; And I, a boy of but four summers then, Have lived to count my seventy years.
I've seen the seasons come and go, With plenty and tranquillity ; And thank my God for each and all The seventy years he's given to me.
These verses are taken from a poem written upon the occasion of the sev- entieth birthday of Colonel Howard, and they recall to the biographer the words of a famous writer : "Dear are the days of youth ! Age dwells on their remembrance through the mist of time. In the twilight he recalls the sunny hours of morn."
The events of the life of this man have been so many, and are so well known to the people of Northwestern Ohio, especially among the older resi- dents, that, in narrating those events we shall confine all statements strictly to facts, and indulge in no comment and draw no conclusions. But, before enter- ing upon this narrative, we must say, that in the past history of this region there stands out clear and distinct the name and life of this man, and his ancestors. As the narrative will show, it has not been the lot of Colonel How ard to possess an education through the school or the college, but his intelli- gence and judgment have so matured by observation and reflection and experience, that he has been able to do much good, and set an example in life worthy of praise and imitation. His naturally well balanced mind has never for a moment yielded to the novel vagaries of the day, either in theory or practice, but have led him safely through the windings and turnings of life's path ; but misfortunes unforeseen and insurmountable have come, and through them he has been a sufferer, as have all men. But it is as a citizen, neighbor and friend that Colonel Howard is known and remembered most fondly. His genial and kindly presence, his uprightness and purity of life, his truthfulness and singleness of mind, his liberal hand and free heart, his thorough contempt for all knavery and sham, his unhesitating assertion and support of his honest convictions, in short, his Christian faith, and the Christian morals and Christian life by which that faith is evinced, these form the memories of him which will longest endure in the hearts of his friends.
Dresden Winfield Huston Howard was born in the village of Dresden, on the east bank of Seneca Lake, Yates county, N. Y., on the 3d day of Novem- ber, in the year 1817. In 1821, then being but four years old, with his
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parents, Edward and Nancy (Haight) Howard, his grandfather, Thomas How- ard, his two uncles, Richard M. W. and Robert A. Howard, and his aunt, Sidney Nelson Howard, he came to the Maumee country. They came by wagons to Buffalo, where the party divided, a portion taking passage on the thirty ton schooner Eagle, while the balance continued the wagon journey overland. After an unpleasant voyage of eight days, the schooner arrived under the picketed walls of Fort Meigs, on the evening of June 17th. The land party were some weeks on the road before they reached their destination -the Maumee.
The scene that was presented to this little party of emigrants upon reach- ing the mouth of the river was far from inviting or encouraging ; the dark and dreary forest stretched unbroken in every direction; the habitation of the white man was nowhere seen, save the Indian agency building ; but the wig- wams of the savages were in every opening, and the smoke from their camp- fires curled upward in blue columns above the dark green forest. Even the stoutest heart might fail at such an outlook for the future. Their neighbors were to be the bear and the wolf, and the hardly less savage red man.
It was the intention of these families to go to the then new settlement at Ann Arbor (properly written An-aw-ba, the Pottawatomie word for "boy"), but the fatigue of the long journey and the dread on the part of the women to enter the dark and seemingly interminable, forests, changed their plan, and they were easily persuaded by the few white settlers to remain on the murky waters of the "Miami of the Lakes," and they were soon provided with small log cabins and a few acres of cleared land on the river flats, on which they planted corn, potatoes, and other necessary earth products. To this work the attention of our pioneers was given, but in its performance, however slight that labor was, they were much delayed and their work retarded by the ever pres- ent and ever ready ague, but with the approach of cold weather the severity of these attacks was much relaxed. During the next summer lands were pur- chased on the right bank of the river, at the head of the Rapids, or at Grand Rapids, as it is more commonly known. Here three log cabins were built for the accommodation of the families, and to which they moved in March, 1823. To reach their home with wagons new roads were required to be cut through the woods. On the opposite side of the river was the Ottawa Indian village of between one and two thousand people, and these, save one, were the only neighbors of our pioneers. The exception just noted was the kind hearted and ever willing Frenchman, "Uncle" Peter Manor and his good wife.
The young Indians of the village were soon the companions and playmates of Dresden Howard, and he soon learned to speak their simple language. His association with them became so friendly and intimate that he as often slept in their wigwams, on their beds of blankets and skins, as in the comfortable cabin of his parents. His good mother was in a state of almost constant
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anxiety for the safety of her son in the camp of the dreaded Indian-but the free, wild life in the woods, under no restraint-how soon the boy learned to love it !
The Presbytery of Massachusetts had established an Indian mission (church and school) at a point eight miles down the river from Edward Howard's cabin, and here Dresden attended school from the age of six to nine years, and, other than this, the days of youth and boyhood gave him but little chance for an education at school.
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