History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 129

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 129

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JOSEPH MCGINNIS.

It is proper to judge the success of a man's life by the estimation in: which he is held by his neighbors and fellow citizens. They see him at work, in his family circle, in church, hear his views on public questions, observe the nature of his code of morals, witness how he conducts himself in all the re- lations of life, and are, therefore, competent to judge of his merits and demerits. In this connection, it is not too much to say that Joseph McGinnis. lived a life of exceptional merit in Putnam county.

Mr. McGinnis was born on September 12, .1835, in Fairfield county, Ohio. He was a son of William and Rebecca (Guyton) McGinnis. William McGinnis was born in Huntington county, Pennsylvania, while his wife was. born near Hagerstown, Maryland. They moved to Putnam county, Ohio, in an early day. Mr. McGinnis went to Wapakoneta, Ohio, and entered his land from the government, and was on his return from that place to Putnam county at the time of the great meteoric shower which took place in 1833. He entered land in section 7, of Ottawa township, and moved into the woods ..

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There were no roads at that time, except a wagon track up and down the Blanchard river. Here he spent the remainder of his life. He was a man of considerable political influence in his community and held several local offices. Joseph McGinnis was one of four children, of which number one died in infancy, and one died in early childhood. Margaret, one of the living children, is the widow of Samuel Hamilton.

Joseph McGinnis grew up as a pioneer on his father's farm. Early in life he married Mary Kraft, who was a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, a daughter of Abram Kraft and wife, who first moved to a farm near Colum- bus, after leaving Muskingum county, and later to a farm on Powell's Creek in Monroe township.

After his marriage, Mr. McGinnis lived on his farm of two hundred and fifty-three acres of land, in section 6, Ottawa township. He prospered in his- agricultural efforts. Joseph McGinnis gave his children a good start in life as the consequence, of his frugality, industry and good management. While he made farming his chief occupation, he was a splendid mechanic, and to some extent had been successful in various other lines. Although Mr. Mc- Ginnis had always been prosperous and able to have all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life, he had never ridden on a steam railroad; had never been out of the county in his life, and had never played a game of cards. or taken a drink of whisky. He believed that eternal vigilance is the price of success, and that the saving of time and money, in addition to his other habits, had proved their value.

Joseph and Mary (Kraft) McGinnis were the parents of three sons: Aaron, Elmer and William. Aaron was born on June 4, 1876, on the farm where his father lived. In 1899, he married Daisy Ury, who was born in pleasant township, and who is a daughter of Christ Ury and wife, who are still residents of Pleasant township. Aaron lives on a farm of his own in section 7. He is the father of four children : Lillian, Ida, Clifford and Will- iam Nelson. Elmer was born on July 10, 1879, on his father's farm, was educated in the district schools of his home neighborhood, as were his brothers, and on December 27, 1907, married Mabel Tingle. She was born in Liberty township, in this county, and is a daughter of Cloyd and Catherine (Bell) Tingle. Elmer McGinnis and wife are the parents of three children, Alta, Lucile and Mary Catherine. They live in section 6, of Ottawa town- ship. William N., the youngest son, died at the age of twenty-one. The mother of these children died in the autumn of 1905.

Joseph McGinnis was a broad-minded man with a refreshing philosoph- ical turn. He was possessed of a good, clean character, and never used pro-

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fane language. He believed in a supreme being, who guides and controls all, although he was not a member of any church.

Although not a man of any established religious faith, he lived a useful life and did his duty in the community where he lived with the fearlessness of a man who follows his convictions. He was a man whose counsel was sought by those who were looking for wise guidance. Joseph McGinnis died on January 29, 1915.

JOHN D. BUESCHER.

Among the active, alert and progressive farmers of Putnam county, Ohio, is John D. Buescher, of Ottawa township.

John D. Buescher was born on September 2, 1857, about a mile from Ottawa, Putnam county, the son of John Henry and Elizabeth (Fenger) Buescher. John Henry Buescher was born on December 23, 1832, in Han- over, Germany, and came to America at the age of fourteen with his mother and step-father, Mr. Aversman. The latter bought a farm just north of the Findlay branch of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad and just west of Blanchard river. In 1845, when the family came to America, Putnam county was a new country, the land was all timber and Mr. Aversman first erected a log cabin, where John Henry Buescher grew up and spent a number of years on this place. He married Elizabeth Fenger, who was born in Ger- many and came to this country, in 1835, with her parents. John H. Buescher's step-father started the grist-mill at the east edge of his farm on the Blanchard river, the first mill in this part of the country. He was also a pioneer veterinarian. He was killed in the mill.

John Henry Buescher spent his boyhood on the farm, where John D. Buescher now lives. As a young man, he helped to build the canal, and saved his earnings, which were invested in a farm, one and one-half miles east of Ottawa. After his marriage, the young couple took up their home on the new farm. About one-half acre was cleared and there was an immense amount of labor involved in clearing the land and burning timber, so that crops might be raised. There was almost no sale for timber then.

On this pioneer farm, in a log cabin, John D. Buescher was born. He lived there until thirty years of age. When John D. was twenty-eight, his father bought the farm where the family had first settled, it having passed out of the family's possession before then. John Henry Buescher bought it at a sheriff's sale. He died on February 28, 1902, at the age of sixty-nine.

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He was a life-long farmer and was possessed of a mind of a turn of an in- ventive genius. At one time he patented a gate for which he was offered two thousand dollars and forty acres in land.

John D. Buescher was married on October 12, 1887, to Jane Marie Hoff- man. She was born northeast of Ottawa and is the daughter of Ferdinand and Catherine (Feldman) Hoffman. Ferdinand Hoffman was born in Ger- many on September 8, 1832, and came to Putnam county in 1835, with his parents, Henry Hoffman and wife, who located at Glandorf, just west of Cranberry creek, where the boy lived until fourteen years of age, when he went to Cincinnati and worked five years in a printing office. He returned to Glandorf, and, before he was twenty-one, married Catherine Feldman. She was born in Glandorf, Germany, in 1832, and when six weeks old, came to Glandorf, Putnam county, with the second set of colonists from Glandorf, Germany. Her parents located in Glandorf and spent their lives there.

For twenty years after his marriage, Ferdinand Hoffman lived on the farm northeast of Glandorf and then he moved to Pleasant township, where he lived the rest of his life. About two years before his death, he bought a home in Glandorf, improved it, but persistently said he would never get to live there. He did not. He died on the farm, February 19, 1905, at the age of seventy- two. Since his death, his widow has lived in the home in Glandorf.

On the day after John D. Buescher and wife were married, they moved to the farm, which he has farmed since, where they now live and where his father had been reared. His house was new then, but he has since added to it and remodeled it until now it is very large and commodious. In 1894, he built a splendid barn with a slate roof, the name of the owner and the date of its erection being shown by the color of the slate.

In 1904, he engaged in the hardware business in Kalida, which he con- tinued for only six months. Although the business was successful, he found that he could not conduct it and the farm also, so he gave up the business and stayed on the farm.

In April, 1910, Mr. Buescher moved to Lima and engaged in the glove manufacturing business, being in that business about two years, but, as a result of causes over which he had no control, he lost heavily. He followed the carpenter trade in Lima for a time. After three years off the farm he moved back and has lived there since that time.

John D. and Jane Maria (Hoffman) Buescher are the parents of five children, John Henry, Frederick Albert, Catherine Luella, Louis Joseph and Mary Hildegard. John Henry married Helen Krathwoohl and lives at Ft.

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Wayne, Indiana. They have two children, Lewis Henry and Joseph Christian. He is employed in the office of the Domestic Coal Company of Fort Wayne, and is a graduate of the Rensselaer College at Rensselaer, Indiana, and also of the International Business College at Fort Wayne; Frederick Albert grad- uated from the school at Glandorf and attended college at Rensselaer. While there he developed an unusual ability, both as a baseball and basket-ball: player, and is well known in his own county and the counties surrounding. During the flood of 1913, Frederick Albert, then living in Lima, helped to organize a relief committee of young men in Lima and loaded a car with provisions and boats and brought them to Ottawa and did heroic work in rescuing and succoring those in distress; Catherine Luella attended the Glan- dorf schools and took five years in music. She is a talented musician. She graduated from the Ottawa Business College and for a time was head stenographer in the offices of Moskin Brothers at Lima; Louis Joseph died at the age of two years, and Mary Hildegard is attending high school at Ottawa.

Mr. and Mrs. Buescher live in a splendid brick house of two stories, neat, substantial and heated with steam and equipped with a private lighting plant until recently, when electricity was installed.

Mr. Buescher is an ardent adherent of the Democratic party. He and his family are devout members of the Catholic church at Glandorf.

HENRY EDGAR REEDER.

The life history of Henry Edgar Reeder is closely identified with the agricultural history of Ottawa township, Putnam county, Ohio, which has long been his home. His life has been one of untiring activity, and has been crowned with a degree of success commensurate with his worthy efforts. He belongs to the very highest type of progressive citizens, and none more than he deserves a fitting recognition among those whose enterprise and ability have awakened the admiration of the community where they live. In all the relations of life, family, church and in the civic life of the community, he has displayed a consistent Christian spirit, and his natural worth has endeared him to all classes of people. His integrity and fidelity have been manifested in every relation, and he is today one of the leading farmers of Ottawa town- ship.

Henry Edgar Reeder was born on August 11, 1875, in Paulding county, Ohio. He is a son of Wesley Clark and Sarah Ann (Pease) Reeder. Wes- ley Clark Reeder was born in northwestern Ohio, probably Van Wert county,

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and was a son of Joseph Reeder and wife, who came from Pennsylvania in an early day and who were of high German ancestry. Sarah Ann Pease was born near Grover Hill, Paulding county, Ohio. Mr. Reeder's parents lived near Grover Hill after their marriage, and when Henry Edgar was an infant his mother died. He was the only child of this marriage, and his father afterward married Mary Jane Stover, and lived a few years in Allen county, after which he moved to Liberty township, Putnam county, where he lived the remainder of his life. He was a good carpenter and worked at this trade most of his life. He was also engaged somewhat in farming. His death occurred in December, 1912.

Henry Edgar Reeder lived at home until his marriage on November 19, 1898, to Elmira Guyton. She was born in the northwestern part of Ottawa township, and was a daughter of William and Mary (Burkhart) Guyton. After his marriage Mr. Reeder began farming in Greensburg township, fol- lowing this occupation until about ten years ago, when he moved to his pres- ent home on the Defiance road northwest of Ottawa, at the west line of Ot- tawa township. Mr. and Mrs. Reeder have one hundred and four acres of land, which is well improved and highly productive. They have one daugh- ter, Elizabeth, born on July 10, 1900. The family are earnest and devout members of the United .Brethren church, and contribute liberally of their means to its support.

Mrs. Reeder's father, William Guyton, was born in Maryland and came to Putnam county in 1837 with his parents, Vincent and Anna (Davis) Guy- ton. They located in the northwestern part of Ottawa township in the early days, having begun life in the dense forest in a log cabin home. William Guyton's wife, who before her marriage was Mary Burkhart, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, and came, about 1840, with her parents, John and Magdalena (Harder) Burkhart, to this county. After the marriage of Wil- liam Guyton he and his wife made their home where Mr. and Mrs. Reeder now live. They were well-known people in this community. Mrs. Reeder is one of six children: Angeline, the wife of Solomon Myers; Orlando, of Ottawa township; Mary Ann, the widow of George Werth; Elizabeth, the wife of Jacob Prowant; one who died in infancy, and Mrs. Reeder. William Guyton died in 1899, while his widow survived him until 1907.

Mrs. Reeder's grandfather, Vincent Guyton, entered the land from the government, and conducted a country tavern on the Defiance road, just east of the line between Ottawa and Greensburg townships. This property has never been owned by any one outside the family. After the death of Vincent Guyton, it was owned by his son, and is now owned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Reeder.

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BERNARD J. LAMMERS.

In this century, when every modern device for farming is attainable, and when success depends, for the most part, on the wise management of the farm, it is hard to realize the handicap of the farmer of the last century, when farming implements were so crude and so much depended upon mere manual labor. But these early farmers were willing to toil incessantly for success. One of the most successful farmers of this period, in Ottawa town- ship, Putnam county, was the late Bernard J. Lammers, who was born on April 29, 1839, in Bochhold, Westphalia, Germany, and who died in Ottawa township, Putnam county, Ohio, July 1, 1914.

Bernard Lammers was the son of Bernard Lammers and wife. At the age of eighteen he came to America and here joined his brother, Henry, who lived and died on the northern edge of Ottawa township, Putnam county, where the lad worked out until he was married.

When about twenty-four years old he married Theresa Recker. She was born in Glandorf and grew up south of that place, where her parents were early settlers. Before his marriage Bernard Lammers had bought forty acres, and after which time he made his home there and spent the rest of his life in the middle of the north half of section 2 of Ottawa township. His land was all wild wood, dense thickets and ponds, when he came in possession of it, but he cleared and improved it.

Two children were born to his first marriage, Henry J. and Katie. Katie married Theodore Meyer and lives in Toledo, and Henry J. lives in Liberty township near the old home. The mother of these two children died in Oc- tober, 1870.

In April, 1871, Mr. Lammers married Mary Verhoff, who was born at Glandorf, the daughter of Francis and Ann (Kremer) Verhoff. Francis Verhoff was born in Prussia and while a boy came to America, but his par- ents spent all of their days in the old country. In this country Francis Ver- hoff learned the blacksmith trade, at Maumee, and later came to Glandorf, where he married Anna Kremer. She was born in Prussia, the daughter of Theodore Kremer and wife, and came to America with her parents, who lo- cated on a farm near Glandorf. After his marriage Mr. Verhoff continued blacksmithing for many years and also engaged in farming.

After the second marriage of Bernard Lammers he bought more land until he owned one hundred and twenty acres, where he built a nice big house, with handsome cedar trees around it, in Ottawa township. Here he lived

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until his death. To his second union were born seven children, of whom three died in infancy. The four living children are Frank J., Mary, Theresa and J. Bernard. Frank J., who married Katie Weis, lives on a farm in the southern part of Liberty township and has four children, Waldo, Raymond, Luella and Gilbert; Mary, who married Frank Drerup, lives in Texas and has a family of children; Theresa, who married August Meyer, lives at Sheppard, Michigan, and has five children, Albert, Ida, Alphonse, Raymond and Florence. J. Bernard, the youngest son, was born on November 22, 1874, and is now farming the home place. He married Lucy Weis and has two children, Clara and Urban.

The late Bernard Lammers was a man who loved his home and family exceedingly, and farming, his vocation in life, was always a great delight to him. The Lammers family are highly respected residents of Ottawa town- ship and interested in every good work which concerns the public. They are devout members of the Catholic church at New Cleveland.

JOHN KLAUSING.

The biographies of successful men are instructive as guides and incentive to those whose careers are yet to be made. The examples they furnish of patient purpose and consecutive endeavor, strongly illustrate what is the power of each to accomplish. John Klausing is a conspicuous example of one who has lived to good purpose and who has achieved a definite degree of success as a farmer and stockman. He is a man well known in the community where he resides and a man who is universally respected for his many good qualities.

John Klausing was born in 1847, in Cincinnati, the son of Henry and Gertrude (Uphaus) Klausing, the former of whom was born in Hanover, Germany. Henry Klausing was married in Hanover, Germany, to Gertrude Uphaus, about seventy-five years ago, they moved to America, landing at Baltimore, from which place they came to Cincinnati in wagons drawn by six horses. The men walked beside the wagon on the overland journey and the party camped along the way at various points. In the spring of 1860, they moved to Ottawa. Henry Klausing was a blacksmith, but after arriving in Putnam county, he purchased a farm and lived upon it for three years. He then purchased a blacksmith shop at Glandorf, where he lived until his death. He died on March 28, 1880, at the age of sixty-seven.

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John Klausing lived with his father until he was about seventeen years old and learned the carpenter trade and worked at it for about four years.

John Klausing was married on January 18, 1871, to Mary Magdalene Leopold, who was born in Glandorf on October 16, 1849, the daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth (Siemer) Leopold, the sketch of whom appears else- where in this volume.

After Mr. Klausing's marriage, he followed teaming and, subsequently, took a contract for building the first gravel road at Glandorf. He also farmed a part of the time. About twelve years after his marriage, he moved to a farm of seventy-seven acres inherited by Mrs. Klausing, located two and one- half miles northeast of Ottawa. They have lived on this farm since that time. Mr. Klausing now owns about two hundred acres of land.

To John and Mary Magdalene (Leopold) Klausing ten children have been born, William, Frank, Joseph, Henrietta, Elizabeth, Henry, Philomena, Elida, Frances and Theresia. William married Frances Kihm, of Leipsic, and has a harness store in Ottawa; Frank married Frances Bohr and lives on the farni next to his father. He and his wife have four children, Alfred, Cletus, John and Louise; the sketch of Joseph is given on another page of this volume; Henrietta is the wife of John Bohr and lives two miles north of her father. They have six children, Alphonse, Joseph, Frank, William, Gertrude and Louise; Elizabeth is the wife of Ben Klausing, who is very distantly related to her by blood kinship, and they live near Delphos. They are the parents of three children, Carle, Frank and Bernard; Henry married Katie Schmenk and lives between Leipsic and Belmore. They are the parents of four children, Clarence, Leonard, Richard and Dorothy. Leonard and Richard, aged fourteen months and two years and two months, respectively, were killed while playing on the trolley line in front of Mr. Klausing's home, June 13, 1913; Philomena is the wife of Joe Clements and lives at Delphos. They have five children : Frank, Magdelena, Henrietta, Frances and Gilbert; Elida is the wife of Ben Kruse and lives one mile east of her father's home. They have two daughters, Mildred and Elizabeth; Francis is the wife of Frank Kruse and has one daughter, Agnes. They live about one mile north of Ottawa, and Theresa is the wife of Edward Lammers and lives in the southern part of Liberty township.

John Klausing has been prominent in politics in Ottawa township for many years. He served as school director for eighteen years and then refused to accept the position any longer. For a time he was trustee of Ottawa town- ship, and, still later, was assessor for a period of nine years. The Klausing family are all members of the Catholic church at Ottawa and are interested

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in its many activities. Mr. and Mrs. Klausing have lived to see their family grow up and marry and to become useful members of society .. In their declining years, they have the satisfaction of knowing that they have lived to good purpose, and that they have reared a family who respect them, and they are honored in return by the people in the neighborhoods where each live.

HENRY HALKER.

Germany has furnished thousands of good citizens to the state of Ohio, and Putnam county, especially, has been fortunate to count these people as a part of her body politic. The descendants of the early German settlers of Ohio, are characterized by the same thrift and economy which made their fathers the leading farmers and business men of the various communities in which they settled. Henry Halker, one of the leading farmers and stock men of Ottawa township, Putnam county, is a worthy son of one of its early Ger- man settlers, and during his life of more than forty years in the county, he has so conducted himself as to win the universal commendation of his fellow citizens.

Henry Halker was born on September 20, 1869, south of Glandorf, where he now lives. He is a son of William and Louise (Vogeding) Halker, the former of whom was born in Glandorf, Hanover, Germany, in 1818. He came to America at the age of twenty-one and lived first at Cincinnati. He was married in that city to Louise Vogeding, who was born in Germany, and after her marriage lived for a time in Cincinnati, and then came to Glandorf, Putnam county, and settled on a farm in Ottawa township, where they lived until death. For further particulars, the reader is referred to sketch of George Halker, subject's brother, found elsewhere in this volume.

Henry Halker grew to manhood on the farm where he now lives, south of Glandorf, assisting his father with the farm work and thus learning early in life all the fundamental principles of agriculture.

In October, 1900, Mr. Halker was married to Minnie Recker, who was born about one mile south of Glandorf, and who is a daughter of John Henry and Pauline (Kahle) Recker, the former a native of this county, born south of Glandorf, in Ottawa township, in a log cabin, and was a son of Nicholas Recker and wife, who were early pioneers of the county. Pauline Kahle is a sister of Ignatius Kahle, whose sketch, found elsewhere in this volume, tells of her family history. When Mrs. Halker was seven years old

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the family moved to a farm east of Kalida, where her parents lived the re- mainder of their lives.

After his marriage, Mr. Halker, the subject of this review, moved to the farm upon which they now live and have since remained. Mr. Halker has been a life-long farmer, owning one hundred and twenty acres of well-im- proved land and is a progressive citizen in every respect, kind and loving to his family, and honored and respected in turn by them.

Henry and Minnie (Recker) Halker are the parents of three children : George, Mary and Loretta, all of whom are living at home. The Halker family are all faithful and earnest members of the Catholic church at Glan- dorf. Henry Halker is a man who has devoted his life energies to the hap- piness and comfort of his family. He is public-spirited in the best sense of the word, but his first consideration has always been his wife and children, to whom he is intensely devoted.

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History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 129

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