History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 128

Author: Kinder, George D., 1836-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1744

USA > Ohio > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions > Part 128

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1285

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

short distance southwest of Ottawa, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Feltman) Kottenbrock) and a sketch of whose family is found elsewhere in this volume. To this union five children have been born, Adelia Elizabeth, John Henry, Alexander William, Albert Frank and Mary Magdalene, a lively family of youngsters who make merry the home of the genial township trus- tee. The members of this family are devoted adherents of the Catholic church at Glandorf, in the various beneficences of which they take a proper interest.

Since his marriage, Mr. Klausing has continued to follow agricultural pursuits and has made his home on the Kottenbrock farm, the girlhood home of his wife. Both he and Mrs. Klausing own land, their combined holdings comprising an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres. In addition to serving his second term as township trustee and serving on the Glandorf school board, Mr. Klausing has received other evidences of the re- gard in which the voters of his neighborhood hold him and has held various other local positions of public trust. He is a Democrat and his counsels are considered of value by the party managers in the county, who have learned to rely upon the soundness of his judgment in the making up of estimates concerning political conditions in his own neighborhood. In the community which he serves so creditably in a public capacity, Mr. Klausing is deservedly held in high repute and he and his family are very popular in the social circle which stands for all good things in Ottawa township and the Glandorf neighborhood.

JOHN ROSENBAUER.

One of the enterprising and successful farmers of Putnam county, Ohio, who has succeeded in his chosen vocation, largely because of his own courage, persistency and good management, is John Rosenbauer, of Ottawa township, a man who believes in lending what aid he can to his neighbors and the gen- eral public, while advancing his own personal interests. Consequently, he is regarded as one of the best citizens of Ottawa township, and a man eminently entitled to representation in a work of this character.

John Rosenbauer was born in 1877, just west of Glandorf, Putnam county. He is the son of Barney and Agnes (Nuevemann) Rosenbauer, the former born on the same farm as his son, John, in September, 1847. Barney Rosenbauer is a son of John and Mary (Berning) Rosenbauer. John Rosen- bauer came from Saxony and his wife from Emsdetten, Germany. They

I286

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

were married in America and were early settlers in Putnam county, where they purchased their land from Professor Horstman and lived and died in Glandorf.

Barney Rosenbauer grew up here and was married to Agnes Nueve- mann, who was born in Glandorf, Hanover, Germany, and who lived there when Hanover was taken by Prussia. She is a daughter of Theodore and Catherine (Hoffman) Nueveman. Her father died in the old country and she and her two sisters, Mrs. Fred Michel, of Ottawa township, and Mrs. George Recker, of Sheppard, Michigan, came to this country in 1871, arriv- ing at Glandorf in June of that year. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Barney Rosenbauer lived nine years on the old homestead, at Glandorf, and then one year in Union township, after which they purchased a farm from George Uphaus, one and one-fourth miles west of Glandorf, just south of the railroad, and here they lived until Mr. Rosenbauer's death. He purchased eighty acres of land and was a successful farmer. John is the eldest of three children, born to this union. Barney Rosenbauer died on April 6, 1905; Mary also is deceased, and his widow still lives on the home place.

John Rosenbauer, the subject of this sketch, was married, June 9, 1903, to Elizabeth Birkemeier, who was born in the western part of Ottawa town- ship, along the Kalida road. She is the daughter of William and Bernardine (Uphaus) Birkemeier.

William Birkemeier was born on March 4, 1842, about two miles south- west of Glandorf, Putnam county, the son of William, Sr., and Catherine (Dickman) Birkemeier. William Birkemeier, Sr., was born in Glandorf, Germany, and grew up there and married Catherine Dickman. They came to America in pioneer times and located on the farm where William, Jr., was born. This they bought and made their permanent home. William, Sr., died about 1875 and his widow about 1890. William, Jr., grew up there and in 1863 was married to Mary Bernardine Uphaus, who was born about one and one-fourth miles west of Glandorf near where the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad now runs. She is the daughter of John G. and Catherine (Poeppelman) Uphaus, who came to America in 1835, where they located in section 30 of Ottawa township on a farm of one hundred and four acres, containing a round-log cabin. A few acres of their farm were cleared and improved. Cultivation was continued with assiduous care by the father until his death in January, 1884, at the age of eighty-two years, his wife having died on May 19, 1881, at the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. Uphaus was a stanch Democrat and held several local offices. He was treasurer of Ottawa township for nine years and was one of the organizers and incorporators of

1287

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Putnam county. For twenty-five years, he was its president, also being a carpenter and farmer. He was a devout member of the Catholic church at Glandorf and in all ways was a useful citizen.

After William Birkemeier was married, he spent the remainder of his life on the farm of about one hundred and twenty acres, where he was born and where his son now lives. He died in 1910 and his wife in 1912. They were devout members of the Catholic church at Glandorf. Their children were as follow: William; Henry; Frank; Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Rosen- bauer; Mary, the wife of William Ellerbrock, and Bernard, living at Kalida.

Since his marriage, Mr. Rosenbauer has farmed the place where he was reared and where he now lives. He and his wife are the parents of three children, Mary, Harry and Raymond. The family are all members of the Catholic church at Glandorf and liberal contributors to its support.

JOHN DIEMER.

One of the most public-spirited and popular residents of Ottawa town- ship, this county, is John Diemer, whose name engages the attention of the reader of this page of the biographical section of the "History of Putnam County." Mr. Diemer not only has made a success of his farming opera- tions in this county, but has firmly fixed his place in the regard of his fellow citizens. Mr. Diemer is at present serving his second term as trustee of Ottawa township.

John Diemer was born in the year 1871 at New Bavaria, Henry county, Ohio, the son of Peter and Isabelle (Zoll) Diemer, the former of whom also was a native of New Bavaria, a son of John and Catherine (Wien) Diemer.

John Diemer, paternal grandfather of the subject of this biographical review, came from Germany, probably from Bavaria, and located at New Bavaria, Ohio, where he spent the rest of his life, and it was here that Peter Diemer, father of Trustee Diemer, grew to manhood and spent the most of his life. Peter Diemer engaged in farming in Henry county, remaining there until late in life when he retired and moved to Leipsic, in this county, where his death occurred four or five years later, on January 23, 1907. During his long residence in Henry county, Peter Diemer also was engaged in the saw- milling business and also managed a threshing-machine outfit for many years. He was a man of substance, one of the leading citizens of his neighborhood

I288

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

and several times was called on to serve the public in offices of trust and responsibility. For several terms he served as trustee of Pleasant township, Henry county, and also had served as assessor of Marion township, in the same county.

Peter Diemer's wife, Isabelle Zoll, mother of the subject of this sketch, was born in Findlay, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Zoll, Pennsylvania Germans, who moved to Hancock county, where Mrs. Diemer was born, later, while the latter was a little girl, they moved to Henry county, where they spent the rest of their days engaged in farming. Mrs. Peter Diemer now lives. in Leipsic, this county, and is regarded with the highest respect by all who know her. To Peter and Isabelle (Zoll) Diemer four children were born: John, Mary, Charles and Christina. Mary is the wife of John Żenz and Christina is the wife of Lawrence Seimet.

John Diemer lived on his father's farm, in Henry county, until his mar- riage, in 1894, when he started farming on land which he rented from his- father in that county. In 1905 the latter sold this farm and bought another place, about two miles northeast of Ottawa, where John Diemer has lived. ever since, and where he has a farm of eighty-three and one-half acres, under a high state of cultivation. He has been a good manager and public-spirited citizen, a good "mixer" in the neighborhood, and consequently, is popular with all the people of that section of the county. He has served on the town- ship school board and is now township trustee, having been elected, in 1913,, to succeed himself to the office to which he came by appointment in 1911, his. administration having proved so popular as to recommend him for re-election.

On November 27, 1894, John Diemer was united in marriage to Mary Werner, who was born near New Bavaria, but across the line in Putnam county, the daughter of Matthias and Catherine (Gedart) Werner, both of whom were natives of Prussia.

In the year 1846, when Matthias Werner was nineteen years of age, he accompanied his parents to America, the family first locating in Lorain county, later moving to St. Louis, Missouri, where the father died. The mother later married Mr. Baumgardner and moved to New Bavaria, Henry county, where she spent the rest of her life, her death occurring on March 12, 1910.

Matthias Werner remained in Lorain county many years and there, about the year 1850, married Catherine Gedart, the daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Schmitz) Gedart, who had come from Prussia, when she was about ten years of age, and who spent the remainder of their lives in Lorain county. Following his marriage, Matthias Werner moved to Putnam county

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO. 1289

and was counted among the early settlers of the northern part of Palmer township, where he spent the most of his life. His last days, however, were spent with Mr. and Mrs. Diemer, in Ottawa township, his death occurring on January 6, 1911, his wife having preceded him to the grave the previous year, her death having occurred on March 12, 1910.

Matthias and Catherine (Gedart) Werner were the parents of thirteen children : Jacob, who died at the age of two years; John; Joseph; Emma, deceased; Nicholas, deceased; Kate, deceased, all of whom died of diphtheria within ten days while the family was living in Lorain county, it having been this tragic succession of death which prompted the family to leave Lorain and move to Putnam county ; Peter ; Kate, who married John Melcher; Frank; George; Jacob; Josephine, deceased, and Mary, the wife of Mr. Diemer.

To John and Mary (Werner) Diemer have been born nine children, all of whom are living and all of whom are at home, making the Diemer home one of the liveliest and pleasantest, from a social standpoint, of any in that section of the county. This lively family of youngsters are: Clara Isabelle, Bernard Peter, Charles Raymond, Christina Loretta, Agnes Cecelia, John Al- bert, Martha Marie, Lidella Lucetta and Alice Dorthy.

Mr. and Mrs. Diemer and their children are all devoted members of the Catholic church at Ottawa, and are active participants in the various benefi- cences of the parish, being very properly regarded among the leaders in the good works of the community in which they live and whose most vital interests they have so deeply at heart. Both in his public and in his private relations, Mr. Diemer is trying to do his duty by his fellow men and is counted as one of the substantial and influential men in his part of the county. He is a Democrat and in the local councils of his party his voice is listened to with respect, consideration being given his judgments regarding men and measures when such matters come up for public discussion.

BARNEY KOTTENBROCK.

Among the numerous families which came with, or later joined, the historic colony which Father Horstman established in Putnam county, Ohio, at an early day in the settlement of the county, few family names are better known than that of Kottenbrock, there being numerous representatives of the family who have done well their part in the development of the various valu- able resources of the now substantially established commonwealth.

1290

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

One of the best-known representatives of this family, Barney Kotten- brock, a prosperous farmer of Ottawa township, was born on January 5, 1873, about one mile southwest of Ottawa, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Kottenbrock, well-known pioneers of that section, further mention of whose part in the development of the neighborhood in which they so long lived, is made on another page of this interesting volume of biographical sketches.

Barney Kottenbrock grew up on his father's farm, receiving the benefit of the schools of that day and the additional and very valuable benefit of the conscientious instructions of an earnest father and mother who instilled into his mind many wholesome lessons that are not taught at school, and pre- pared him for the active life of a farmer, which vocation he, early in life, decided was the thing for him to follow. At the age of twenty-five years, Barney Kottenbrock married Anna Fembert, who was born about one and one-half miles south of Ottawa, the daughter of Bernard Herman and Anna (Herlager) Fembert, and who died at the age of twenty-four, about a year after her marriage, leaving a daughter, Elizabeth.

The Femberts are an old family in Putnam county. B. Herman Fem- bert, father of the late Mrs. Kottenbrock, was born on a farm just south of Ottawa, in Ottawa township, in August, 1845, the son of Bernard Herman and Adelheid (Stegeman) Fembert, who were married in Hanover, Ger- many, and who came to America and located in the southwest part of this county not long after the establishment of the Horstman colony. Upon com- ing here, the Femberts, for a time, settled in a shanty located between Ft. Jennings and Delphos and for two years Mr. Fembert worked on the con- struction of the old canal. He then bought forty acres in section 34, Ottawa township, the land being just as the Indians left it, absolutely without im- provements of any sort. At that time the Indians were taking their final de- parture from this part of Ohio and Mr. Fembert was brought much in con- tact with them. He liked the aboriginals and found that they always were good so long as they were treated right. In this unbroken forest he built his primitive cabin and cleared the land, between whiles going back to the canal work for the purpose of earning enough money for the subsistence of himself and family until his farm could be brought to a productive state. He was not only a farmer, but an expert wooden-shoe maker, at which latter handi- craft he turned an additional penny from time to time. On this farm, which eventually contained one hundred and forty acres, the Femberts lived for many years and prospered. To Mr. and Mrs. Fembert nine children were born, three of whom died in their childhood. The elder Fembert re- mained on this farm until his children married, and then, his wife having died

I29I

· PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

when the son Herman was sixteen years of age, made his home during the rest of his life with his son Herman and family, his death occurring on June 16, 1894.

Bernard Herman Fembert, Jr., grew up on the farm, receiving such advantages as could be given the youth of that period, and at the age of twenty-two, in the year 1867, married Anna Herlager, who was born in Greensburg township, this county, her parents having been among the colon- ists who came over from Glandorf, Germany. Upon his marriage, the younger Fembert moved on to the farm on which he now resides, and which at that time was unbroken timber. He built on this place a cabin sixteen by twenty and started married life in the depths of the forest. As he cleared and improved this land, he gradually added to the original tract until now he has ninety-five acres of well-improved farming land. His wife died on September 15, 1877, leaving five children, Catherine, Mary, Anna, Frank and Bernard, the latter of whom died at the age of eleven months. Catherine, the wife of Frank Gramling, lives at Toledo, Ohio, and has four children, Charles, John, Arnold and Adeline; Mary, the wife of Barney Uphaus, lives at the northern edge of Pleasant township, this county, and has six children, Helen, Anna, Mary, John, Gertrude and Edward; Anna married Barney Kottenbrock, the immediate subject of this sketch, and died a year thereafter, leaving a daughter, Elizabeth; Frank, who was born in 1877, married Cath- erine Kottenbrock and lives on the home farm with his father. He has seven children, Bernard, John, Frank, Adeline, Albert, Lawrence and Lucile. The Femberts are all earnest members of the Catholic church.

After his marriage to Anna Fembert, Mr. Kottenbrock went to farming for himself on the farm where he now lives, two and one-half miles south- west of Ottawa. He started with eighty acres and now has one hundred and twenty acres of well-improved land, nearly all of these improvements, includ- ing a good house, barn and numerous outbuildings, having been added by himself.

Mr. Kottenbrock was married in 1900, a second time, to Mary Anna Duling, daughter of the late F. William and Mary Ann (Schroeder ) Duling, who was born in Ottawa township on the paternal farm south of where she now lives.

The Dulings are an old family in Ottawa township, the late F. William Duling having been born in that township on March 20, 1845, the son of John H. and Mary K. (Holdmyer) Duling, who came from Osnabruck, Ger- many, in 1834, and settled in Putnam county, taking a farm in Ottawa town-

1292

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

ship, west of Glandorf, being among the first settlers in that part of the county. On this farm, the late F. William Duling lived until his marriage on April 17, 1872, to Mary Ann Schroeder, who was born in Greensburg township on September 12, 1852, the daughter of John H. and Mary K. (Hohenbrink) Schroeder, both natives of Germany. John Henry Schroeder was born in 1821, the son of Nicholas H. and Anna L. (Trahine) Schroeder, who settled in this county in 1843, and his wife was born in 1820, the daughter of John WV. and Christina (Pues) Hohenbrink, who settled in this county in 1843. They were married in 1846 and were long among the best-known residents of that section of the county, Mr. Schroeder dying on November 28, 1875, Mrs. Schroeder surviving many years, her death not occurring until October I, 1899, at the age of seventy-eight years.

After Mr. Duling's marriage, he and his wife moved to the farm where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on September 18, 1909, his widow, still surviving, continuing to make her home on the old home place. When they entered upon possession of this farm only about one-half of it had been cleared and there had been no attempt at drainage. The Dulings started life together in a one-room, round-log cabin with clap-board roof, in typical pioneer fashion, but gradually extended the style of their living until, pres- ently, they had a nice house and a good barn, with other improvements to match, and had enlarged the farm by the addition of forty acres across the road to the east and eighty acres south of the base line.

F. William and Mary Ann ( Schroeder) Duling were the parents of four children, Henry John, who married Adeline Recker, and lives in Ottawa township; Mary Katherina, married Ignatius Kahle of Cuba, this county, and has six children, Frances, Amos, Clara, Henry, Hubert and Anna; Mary Anna, who married Mr. Kottenbrock ; Frank Joseph, married, May 27, 1914, Rosa Barlage, who was born in Greensburg township, the daughter of B. Henry and Mary Barlage, and lives on the old home place with his mother. The Dulings are all earnest members of the Catholic church at Glandorf.

To the union of Barney and Mary Ann (Duling) Kottenbrock, nine children have been born, three of whom died in infancy, the others being Frances, September 4, 1902; Clarence, March 12, 1905; Mary, November 3, 1907; Emma, August 27, 1909; Anna, November 10, 1911; and Mildred, May 22, 1914, a lively little family, the pride and joy of their parents' hearts. The Kottenbrocks are devoted adherents of the Catholic church and are earn- estly interested in the various beneficences of the Glandorf parish, doing their part in all the good works of the community. They are popular and highly esteemed and are regarded as among the leaders in their large social circle.

I293

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

JOHN FERDINAND ELLERBROCK.

There is nothing which stimulates a man to deeds of worth and a life of uprightness and rectitude more than the recollection of the strength of character and examples of right living which have been shown by his for- bears. In this respect, John F. Ellerbrock was fortunate beyond the ma- jority of men in being descended from ancestors who have been men of strength and influence in their communities, and who have done their duty well, whether in the peaceful pursuits of ordinary life or in positions of pub- lic trust. A heritage of such memory is of more value than the heritage of material wealth. In the business and agricultural affairs of his community, Mr. Ellerbrock occupied a position of importance among those who conserve the commercial and social resources of this community, and none occupied a higher standing among his associates.

John Ferdinand Ellerbrock was born on November 9, 1832, at Glandorf, Hanover, Germany. He was a son of Theodore and Mary (Kracht) Eller- brock. John F. was two years old when his parents brought him to America. They settled first in Glandorf, Putnam county, Ohio, where they engaged in farming. Theodore Ellerbrock came to the United States with no resources whatever, and for many years was a farmer. He succeeded in a liberal meas- ure, by dint of steady and persevering industry, and was the owner of a good farm. He was the founder also of the Glandorf woolen mills, and, associated with others, operated the mill as long as he lived.

John Ferdinand Ellerbrock grew up at Glandorf, and had the usual ex- periences which fall to the lot of a lad reared in a farming community, re- ceiving his education in the public schools of his day.

Mr. Ellerbrock was married to Theresa Kleman, who was born south of Glandorf and was a daughter of Andrew and Mary E. (Gerdeman) Kle- man. She was a sister of John H. Kleman, whose life story is found else- where in this volume. After Mr. Ellerbrock's marriage, he made his home in section 28, Ottawa township, where he lived until his death. He was a life- long farmer and lived on the same farm several years more than half a cen- tury. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children: Catherine, de- ceased, was the wife of Henry Meyer, and lived at Cleveland; Mary, the wife of Barney Schmenk, lives southwest of Leipsic; Elizabeth, the wife of Joseph Meyer, a farmer living southwest of Leipsic; Theodore died in May, 1899, and left a wife but no children; Joseph, a farmer living in section 5 of Pleas- ant township, married Bernardina Siebeneck, and they have five children ;

1294

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.

Andrew, unmarried, lives on his father's farm; Anna, the wife of Henry Meyer, lives in section 8 of Pleasant township, and they have five living chil- dren; Theresa, the wife of Theodore Meyer, lives in Blanchard township, south of Leipsic, and has four living children; Bernard, living on the home farm, married Agnes Schroeder, and they have two children; Lucy is the wife of Henry Wise, a resident of New Cleveland, and they have five chil- dren; Agnes is the wife of Anthony Wise, of New Cleveland, and they have five children.

Thus Mr. and Mrs. Ellerbrock lived to rear a large family of children, who have been a credit to their father and mother, and who, in turn, have become heads of families themselves. In this respect Mr. Ellerbrock has- done more for the present generation than he possibly could have done in any other way. His sons and daughters are highly respected citizens in the vari- ous communities where they live, a fact which, no doubt, was a source of great comfort and cheer to their parents while they lived. Mrs. Mary Eller- brock died on March 27, 1884, and John F. Ellerbrock died on the home farm on December 25, 1914. The family were all devout members of the Catholic church, in whose welfare they always took an active interest, and to the sup- port of which they add both physical and material assistance.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 128

Author: Kinder, George D., 1836- Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1744

Author: Kinder, George D., 1836-
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1744