USA > Ohio > Huron County > History of Huron County, Ohio, Its Progress and Development, Volume I > Part 50
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Fred A. Beckstein obtained his education in the district and special schools of his native township and was reared in the usual manner of farm lads. He worked in the fields when not busy with his textbooks and early became familiar with the
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best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. In 1908, he purchased his present farm of seventy-eight acres from Daniel Eichenlaub and has since added many improvements to the property, in the cultivation of which he is meet- ing with a gratifying and well merited measure of prosperity. He is practical in his methods and his intense and well directed activity constitutes the basis of the success which has crowned his efforts.
In 1904, Mr. Beckstein was united in marriage to Miss Flora Seible, whose birth occurred in Lyme township. October 18, 1878, her parents being Anthony and Mary (Sipe) Seible, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father, whose natal day was May 31, 1834, passed away on the 22d of July, 1898. while the mother, who was born December 30, 1837, still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Beck- stein have one child, Clara, born on the 30th of January, 1905. In his religious faith, Mr. Beckstein is a Lutheran, belonging to the church of that denomination in Bellevue. Both he and his wife have always resided in Lyme township and enjoy in large measure the confidence and esteem of those with whom they have come in contact, while the hospitality of their pleasant home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends.
LEVI L. COLE.
Levi L. Cole, who is numbered among the progressive and enterprising agri- culturists of Bronson township, is a worthy native son of Huron county, his birth having here occurred on the 19th of October, 1850. His father, Lyman Cole, who was born in New York on the 10th of March, 1810, passed away when his son, Levi I .. , was but three years of age. The mother, marrying a second time, afterward became the wife of J. S. Fuller.
Levi L. Cole supplemented his preliminary education, obtained in the country schools, by a course of study in the normal school at Milan, Erie county. When eighteen years of age he hired out as a farm hand for one season and subsequently took charge of the home farm, caring for his mother until she was called to her final rest on the 2d of February, 1892. He then bought the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead place of one hundred and one acres, which he has since owned and operated, the fields annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which he bestows upon them. He has added to his landed holdings by the additional purchase of fifty acres on the opposite side of the road, where he resides with his daughter, Mrs. West.
On the 20th of October, 1880, Mr. Cole was united in marriage to Miss Elva T. Boyle, who was born on the 5th of January. 1857, her parents being Richard and Eliza Boyle, of Huron county. Mrs. Cole passed away on the 12th of Octo- ber, 1889, leaving a daughter, Anna E., who gave her hand in marriage to Niles A. West on the 2d of August, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. West have a little daughter. Elva Margaret.
In his political views Mr. Cole is a stalwart and unfaltering republican and has capably served as trustee of Bronson township for twelve years. He was largely instrumental in furthering the movement which resulted in the building
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MR. AND MRS. LEVI L. COLE
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of the new stone road from five points south on the old state road, and his aid and influence are ever given in support of those measures which tend to advance the general welfare or promote the country's growth along substantial lines. His entire life has been passed in this county and that his career has ever been an upright and honorable one is indicated by the fact that the associates of his boy- hood and youth are still numbered among his stanch friends and admirers.
BENJAMIN BOURDETTE WOOD.
The record of Benjamin Bourdette Wood is such as to make his history of general interest, for he today occupies a prominent position in professional and business circles in Norwalk. Moreover he is a representative of two of the old- est and most prominent families of this part of the state, families whose activity has been a most potent element in the work of general progress and improvement here. His own lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith and his record reflects credit upon the history of the community. One of Huron county's na- tive sons, Mr. Wood was born at Hunt's Corners in Lyme township, October 19, 1870. His father is also a native of the same locality but his grandfather, Joseph Wood, was born in England and became the founder of the family in the United States, where he arrived in 1833. Making his way westward to Huron, he drove from that place to Lyme township, settling on the farm, which continued to be his place of residence for many years. James B. Wood also followed farming in Lyme township for a long period and in 1874 removed to Bellevue, where he engaged in the furniture business and also in the grain trade. He is now vice- president of the First National Bank, of Bellevue, and occupies a prominent and honored position in commercial and financial circles. He has attained a most gratifying measure of success and the methods which he has always pursued have won him the honor and respect of his associates. He has been quite active in public affairs, and his influence has been no unimportant factor in promoting prog- ress and improvement. His wife, Mrs. Julia L. Wood, was a daughter of Bour- dette Wood, the youngest member of a family of five sons and four daughters. He became one of the most distinguished and influential men in his section of Huron county, Bellevue owing much of its growth and progress to him. He was a man of liberal thought, of progressive and patriotic purposes and of undaunted enterprise. As the years passed by and he prospered in his undertakings he be- came a large land owner and was also the president of the old Bellevue Bank. James B. Wood likewise holds extensive land interests, together with considerable realty in Bellevue. In addition to his other business interests he is a director in the Gilchrist Transportation Company, owning one of the largest independent fleets in the world. He still makes his home in Bellevue, but in 1901, was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 8th of June of that year at the age of fifty-four. She was very active in society and in the Episcopal church and her influence was ever given on the side of the right, the true and the beauti- ful. The family numbered but two children, the daughter being Mrs. Martha
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Collins, the wife of E. T. Collins, who is connected with manufacturing interests in Toledo.
The only son, Benjamin Bourdette Wood, pursued a public school education to the time that he was graduated from the Bellevue high school, while later he entered Kenyon College and subsequently matriculated in the law department of Michigan University at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in June, 1892. He began practice in Norwalk in September of the same year and for a short time was in the office of Judge Wildman. Later he undertook the task of building up an independent practice and his success is indicated by his high standing in his profession, the general public and the legal fraternity both acknowledging his ability and the efficiency of the work which he does in the courts. He was city attorney of Norwalk for two terms and he has always been active in public affairs, prominent as a leader in the local ranks of the republican party. Aside from his professional interests, he is a director of and a member of the finance com- mittee of the Huron County Banking Company and is one of the receivers of the Laning Printing Company.
In September, 1898, Mr. Wood was married to Miss Harriet Belle Rood, a daughter of R. K. Rood, a man of note in Huron county, who at one time served as county clerk. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Louise Hadley, was a representative of an old Huron county family and her father was prominent in manufacturing circles. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have become parents of two children: James, born July 13. 1899 : and Bourdette, born July 27, 1902.
Mr. Wood is an exemplary representative of the Masonic order and has taken the degrees of the York Rite up to the including that of the commandery. He is a member of the Episcopal church and is now a member of its building committee and its secretary. He is also a vestryman of St. Paul's church and his interest in the church work is manifest in many tangible ways.
CHARLES W. PARSONS.
Charles W. Parsons, who is actively and successfully identified with general farming and stock raising interests in Wakeman township, was born in Town- send township, Huron county, Ohio, on the 26th of November. 1853. his parents being Charles C. and Elmina M. (Arnett ) Parsons. The father's birth occurred in Florence township, in what is now Erie county, March 17, 1820, while the mother was born in Warren, Warren county, Pennsylvania, on the 13th of May. 1831.
Peter Parsons, the great-great-grandfather of Charles W. Parsons, was a seafaring man, trading between the colonies and Great Britain. About the year 1760, he brought his family, consisting of seven sons and two daughters, to Fair- field. Fairfield county, Connecticut. Five of his sons lost their lives in the Revolu- tionary war. He was intensely patriotic and at a critical period in the war. after hearing of the death of three of his sons on the same day, he took the weights of his old English family clock and, with the assistance of a son, molded them into bullets, which he contributed as ammunition to the Colonial army. Subsequently
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he and the son also joined the army, aiding the colonists in their attempt to throw off the yoke of British oppression.
Joseph Parsons, a son of Peter Parsons and the great-grandfather of our sub- ject, served as a soldier throughout the entire period of the Revolutionary war. He and his wife reared a family of two sons and three daughters, of whom the eldest was Aaron Parsons, the grandfather of Charles W. Parsons. Joseph Par- sons and his son Aaron left Connecticut in 1811 for the Ohio Firelands, or the Connecticut Reserve. Aaron Parsons only went as far as New York, but his father continued the journey to Ohio and took up the land for himself and his son. The latter remained in the Empire state for five years and while there was married to Miss Betsy Case. In the year 1816, he made his way to Ohio, settling at Florence in Florence township, which was then in Huron county, but is now in Erie county. At that time this section of the state was entirely covered with timber, which had to be cut down and cleared away before the land could be util- ized for farming purposes. In 1826, Aaron Parsons established his home in Wakeman and engaged in general agricultural pursuits as a means of livelihood. The remains of the original log house which he built for his family are still stand- ing near the home of his grandson, Charles W. Parsons. Unto Aaron and Betsy (Case) Parsons were born seven children, the record of whom is as follows: two who died in infancy ; Electa A., whose birth occurred in New York, prior to the removal of her parents to this state; Julia; Charles C .; Joseph W .; and Mary J. Of these, Charles C. Parsons, the father of our subject, is the only one who still survives. He has now attained the venerable age of eighty-nine years and is in possession of all his faculties.
Unto Charles C. and Elmina M. (Arnett) Parsons, were born seven children, two of whom died in infancy, the others being Charles W .. George A., Frank J., Andrew E. and Elmina Mae. All are still living with the exception of Frank J., who was accidentally drowned while bathing at Valparaiso, Indiana, on the 25th of July. 1886. He was at that time a young man of twenty-five years and a law student at Valparaiso.
Charles W. Parsons, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the district schools of his native township and spent his boyhood and youth on his father's farm. Hle was married at the age of twenty years and brought his young bride to the home in which he had been born. In the year 1881, they took up their abode in Wakeman township, where they have since resided. Through- out his active business career, Mr. Parsons has devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising and at times has also been quite extensively engaged in teaming. In association with his son, James C., he owns one hundred and eighty-three acres of fine farming land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation and improvement. He has displayed sound judgment in all he has undertaken and his energy has been one of the potent features in his success.
On the 27th of October. 1873. Mr. Parsons was united in marriage to Miss Deborah J. Brewer, a daughter of James and Lydia ( Bracey) Brewer, the former a farmer of Townsend township. Their union has been blessed with five children, as follows: Nora, now the wife of Homer Ohmo, of Washington, D. C .; Elmina, who is the wife of William Felton ; James C., who is engaged in agricultural pur-
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suits on a farm adjoining that of his father ; and two who died in infancy. He is a young man of excellent business ability and sound judgment and his progres- sive, alert and enterprising spirit will andoubtedly carry him forward toward the goal of prosperity. On the 21st of December, 1907, he wedded Miss Rosalia Schocttle, a daughter of Alexander and Ursula Schoettle, of Townsend town- ship.
Charles W. l'arsons gives his political allegiance to the men and measures of the republican party, being a stalwart advocate of its principles. He has cap- ally served his fellow townsmen in the position of road supervisor. For almost a century the name of Parsons has now figured prominently and honrably in the annals of this county in connection with its agricultural interests and Mr. Parsons of this review has ever fully maintained the enviable reputation which the mem- bers of the family have borne. He is widely recognized as an influential and re- spected citizen of the county in which his entire life has been spent. while his many sterling traits of character have won him the warm friendship and re- gard of those with whom he has come in contact.
DELOS O. WOODWARD.
Delos O. Woodward, a member of the firm of Mead & Woodward, of Nor- walk, was born on the 10th of January, 1852, a son of Orris P. and Clarissa D. (Fenn) Woodward. The father, whose birth occurred in Lyons, New York, in 1822, was a tailor by trade and during his early business career, followed mer- chant tailoring. Subsequently he purchased a farm in Huron county, Ohio, in the cultivation and improvement of which he was successfully engaged for a period of eighteen years, at the end of which time he sold the property and took up his abr de in Norwalk. Here he erected a handsome new residence and continued a worthy and respected citizen of Norwalk until called to his final rest in 1873. On his arrival in this city, he became identified with mercantile pursuits, conduct- ing a grocery establishment in association with his two sons, I. J. and Delos O. Woodward, under the firm style of O. P. Woodward & Sons. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Clarissa D. Fenn and was born in Clyde, Ohio, in 1828, passed away in the year 1866. U'nto this worthy couple, were born ten children, six of whom still survive, namely : Dewey A. ; Mrs. Lucinda L. Mead; Delos ()., of this review ; Mrs. Laura C. Fuller : Mrs. Ada J. Blair ; and Mrs. Azell S. Suydam.
Deles O. Woodward supplemented his preliminary education, obtained in the common schools, by a course of study in the Norwalk high school. As before stated, he became associated with his father and brother, I. J. Woodward, in the conduct of a grocery business and subsequent to the death of the father the broth- ers carried on the enterprise for about fifteen years longer, when it was sold out on account of the failing health of I. J. Woodward, who is now deceased, his de- mise having occurred in 1906. After severing his connection with the grocery trade, Mr. Woodward of this review formed a partnership with J. L. Mead. un- der the firm style of Mead & Woodward, and they have since carried on an ex- tensive and successful business as buyers and shippers of grain, wool, hay, etc.
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and also as dealers in coal, wood and seeds of all kinds. Mr. Woodward is also interested in real estate on quite an extensive scale and has long been numbered among the prosperous, progressive and most highly respected citizens of the com- munity. He well merits the somewhat hackneyed, but altogether expressive title of a self-made man, for his success has come as the result of untiring energy, good business ability and honorable, straightforward dealing.
On the 21st of August, 1878, Mr. Woodward was joined in wedlock to Miss Harriet S. Mead, who was born on the 23d of May, 1849, her parents being Joel E. and Betsy Aun (Lewis) Mead. By this union, there are two children, as fol- lows: Charles Lewis, who was educated in the schools of Norwalk and in the Cleveland Business College ; and Katherine W., who first attended school in Nor- walk and then pursued a course of study in Lake Erie College at Painesville.
Politically Mr. Woodward is a stalwart republican and on that ticket was elected to the office of township treasurer, serving for two terms. The cause of education has ever found in him a stanch champion and he was a member of the school board for three years, but resigned because of his defective hearing. He is one of the elders in the Presbyterian church and fraternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Maccabees. His friends, and they are many, speak of him in terms of warm praise and good will and his life record shows that he is well entitled to mention among the distinctively representative citizens of Huron county.
HARRY W. SNYDER.
The agricultural interests of Huron county find a worthy representative in Harry W. Snyder, who owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred acres in Bronson township, where he engages in general farming and stock-raising. He was born on the 11th of September, 1865. on the farm which is now his home, and is a son of William Henry and Hannah ( Hinkley) Snyder. The former, who is a son of Jolin and Harriett (Watrcus) Snyder, was born in 1835, while the latter, a daughter of Benjamin and Maria (Paine) Hinkley, was born in 1836. Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Snyder are the parents of four children, Harry, Benjamin, Ida and Luta.
No event of especial importance occurred to vary the routine of daily life for Harry W. Snyder in his boyhood and youth, which were spent on the old Hinkley homestead. where his entire life has been spent. He acquired his education in the district schools, which he attended during the winter months, while the summer sea- sons were devoted to assisting his father in the cultivation of the fields. That his early training along agricultural lines was thorough and practical, is indicated in the atmosphere of progress and prosperity which surrounds his place today. He now owns the old homestead which was originally the property of his grandfather, Benjamin Hinkley, and which constitutes one hundred acres located in Bronson township. He has directed his efforts toward its further improvement and cultiva- tion and the place, which is now in an excellent condition, is one of the valuable and desirable farms of the township. He is progressive and up-to-date in his methods.
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having equipped the place with all of the modern conveniences and devices for the purpose of facilitating farm labor. He possesses good business ability, which is manifest in his management of his general farming and stock-raising interests, which are proving remunerative as the years go by.
In the year 1888 Mr. Snyder was united in marriage to Miss Sadie F. Snyder, who was born in 1869, and is a daughter of William T. and Sarah Perry, the for- .ner a son of William H. Snyder, and the latter a daughter of Horace Perry, who traces his ancestry back to Commodore Perry, of Lake Erie fame. Mrs. Harry W. Snyder is the eldest of a family of eight children, born into her parents, the others being Clarence, Charles, Mary, Anna, Nettie, Laura and Florence. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harry W. Snyder have been born two children, Florence and Dorothea.
In politics, Mr. Snyder casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the republican party for a close study of the principles and platform of that or- ganization has led him to the belief that thereby the best interests of the community will be best conserved. He was elected township trustee, which office he filled for about seven years, during which period he discharged his duties with promptness, faithfulness and loyalty. Public-spirited in his citizenship, his influence can at all times be depended upon to further all matters having for their object the substan- tial and permanent upbuilding of the community. In Huron county where his en- tire life has been passed, Mr. Snyder has won a large circle of friends, who en- tertain for him high regard and esteem, and he is numbered among the prominent and valued citizens of Bronson township.
JOHN F. DELLINGER.
In reviewing the lives of men it is interesting to note how many of them continue in the same line of business from boyhood on through mature years, developing their capacities and abilities and gradually accumulating a com- petency that insures freedom from care during declining years. Jolin F. Del- linger of Richmond township, Huron county, is an excellent example of this class of man, and he has become one of the substantial farmers of his locality, now owning one hundred and ten and one-half acres of rich farming land, all of which is in a good state of cultivation. Mr. Dellinger was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, August 27. 1864. being a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Sennett ) Dellinger. His paternal grandparents were John and Betsy Del- linger, while his maternal grandparents were Oliver and Elizabeth Sennett, all born in the Keystone state.
Henry Dellinger was a cooper by trade and found employment in Pennsyl- vania and afterwards in Crawford county, Ohio, to which locality he removed and in which he lived a year before coming to Richmond township, Huron county, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying January 12, 1897. His re- mains are interred in U'nion Bethel cemetery in Richmond township. His widow survives. The following named children graced their union: Susan, who mar- ried William Rapp and lives in Bellevue, Huron county; William, who lives in Seneca county ; Catherine, who married Edwin Hofford and lives in Philadelphia;
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JOHN F. DELLINGER AND FAMILY
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John F., of this review ; Carrie, who married Charles Sage; Howard, who lives in Richmond township; and George, who died in Pennsylvania.
John F. Dellinger alternated attendance upon the district school with as- sisting his father, in both Pennsylvania and Ohio, and when but sixteen he left school and engaged in farming, working by the month until his marriage. After that event he rented a farm for three years, when he bought sixty-four acres and owned it for eleven years. Selling this farm, he purchased, in 1902, his pres- ent property from the heirs of his father-in-law's estate, and it has been the family home ever since.
On February 29, 1888, Mr. Dellinger married Mary Sage, a daughter of John W. and Catherine (Miller) Sage, natives of Oswego county, New York, and Columbiana county, Ohio, respectively. The parents of Mrs. Sage were from Pennsylvania, but emigrated to Columbiana county, Ohio, a short time prior to her birth. Mrs. Dellinger was one in a family of four children, as follows : Julia, who married A. W. Harmon; Sanford; Charles ; and Mary, who is the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Dellinger have had a family as follows: Earl, who was born in February, 1891, and died in 1898; Cloyce, who was born in July, 1894; Edna, who was born in September, 1897; and Ilo, who was born in August, 1900.
Mr. Dellinger's efforts in behalf of the republican party have been appre- ciated as is shown by his election to the offices of road superintendent, school director and twice as assessor. The religious affiliations of the family are with the United Brethren church, and they have many friends in it as they also have throughout the neighborhood where they are so well and favorably known.
ERNEST W. BECHSTEIN.
Ernest W. Bechstein is a retired agriculturist of Huron county, now residing on his fine farm of sixty-six acres in Lyme township. He was born in Witten- berg, Germany, on the 20th of March, 1843, his parents being Louis and Kather- ine (Strecker) Bechstein, who spent their entire lives in the fatherland. Their family numbered seven children, namely : Katherine and Julia, who are deceased; Anna; Ricka, who has also passed away ; Louis ; Ernest W., of this review ; and William, who is likewise deceased.
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