USA > Ohio > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions > Part 42
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remained in the canton of Berne all his life, as did all the others, with the exception of Jacob, Jr.
Jacob Schutz, Jr., was married, when about twenty-eight years of age, to Anna Gruber, who was also born in the canton of Berne, Switzerland, in April, 1822. She was the daughter of Samuel Bruber and wife, both natives of the canton of Berne, Switzerland. The former was a cabinetmaker by trade. Anna had one brother, whose name was Samuel, and who was a cabinetmaker. After Jacob Schutz was married, he rented a farm in the canton of Berne, and it was on this farm that Albert A. and his brother John, referred to elsewhere in this volume, were born, as well as the three eldest children.
When Albert Schutz was five years old, his parents moved to Neuchatel .canton, Switzerland, on the Swiss-French frontier. Here they lived until 1885, and here the remainder of the fourteen children were born. Elizabeth resides in Indiana; Jacob died in infancy; Jacob, the second, also lives in Indiana; Gottfried died in 1903, in Switzerland; Albert is the subject of this sketch, John is referred to elsewhere in this volume, Anna came with her husband, John Zumbach, to America, but returned to Switzerland; Mary died at the age of two; Louisa lives at Pandora; Andrew died in infancy ; Emile lives in North Dakota. There were three boys, also, who died in infancy.
Jacob Schutz, Jr., and wife came to America in 1885, and settled first in Allen county, Ohio, where they remained one year, and then moved to Tip- pecanoe county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his life on a farm. The farm is located near Lafayette. Here he died at the age of seventy-five years in 1895. After his death his wife, Anna, spent the remainder of her life with her daughter, Mrs. Louisa Suter, at Pandora. She died in 1901.
Albert Schutz, at the age of twenty, came to America, in 1879, coming direct to Riley township, Putnam county. Here he obtained work in a stone quarry in the summer time, and worked at ditching in the winter. He fol- lowed this employment for five years, when he was married at the age of twenty-five.
Mr. Schutz was married to Elizabeth Geiger, January 17, 1884. She was born in Allen county in June, 1861, and is the daughter of Christian and Anna (Thut) Geiger, who were pioneers of Allen county. To this happy union one child has been born, Mary M., who was born on October 22, 1885, lives at home. Mrs. Schutz died, July 29, 1887, after a lingering illness.
Two years later Mr. Schutz was married to Sarah Bixler, November 12, 1889. She was born in Riley township, Putnam county, September 29, 1863,
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and is the daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Welty) Bixler. The former was a native of Wayne county, Ohio, born in 1831. He died in Riley town- ship, Putnam county, in 1886. The latter was born in Wayne county, April 14, 1832, and died at Mr. Schutz's home, May 6, 1912, at the ripe old age of eighty. Jacob and Barbara Bixler had but two children. The eldest, Mary, is the wife of Mr. Schutz's brother; John A., the youngest child, is Albert A.'s wife.
By his second marriage, Mr. Schutz has been the father of eight chil- dren, J. Raymond was born on August 3, 1890. He is a graduate of Otter- bein University, class of 1914, and is now principal of the Pandora high school; Elizabeth was born on December 18, 1891; Walter was born on August 9, 1893. He is a student at Otterbein University; Bertha was born on June 21, 1896. She is a senior in the Pandora high school; Edmund was born on May 26, 1898. He is a junior in the Pandora high school; John P. was born on September 12, 1900. He is a freshman in the Pandora high school; Albert was born on November 22, 1902. Another child died at birth.
After his marriage to Sarah Biler in in 1889, Mr. Schutz took up his residence on the Stuter farm, of a hundred and twenty acres, two miles of Pandora. This farm he purchased at this time. It had an old adobe house, and a forty by seventy foot frame barn. About seven years later, in 1896, Mr. Schutz built a beautiful modern brick residence of eleven rooms, and in 1910, he enlarged and remodeled his barn. He built a cattle shed in addi- tion, thirty by eighty-one feet in 1914. These, with other buildings and im- provements in keeping with the surroundings, make one of the finest im- proved farms in Putnam county.
Mr. Schutz purchased the Lehman farm of eighty acres adjoining. his farm on the east in 1903, which gives him a total of two hundred acres. The land is unsurpassed, for fertility and productiveness, anywhere in Putnam county. Mr. Schutz has always done general farming and stock feeding and is an extensive raiser of thoroughbred Holstein cattle.
Mr. and Mrs. Schutz are members of the Grace Mennonite church, while he is serving as one of its trustees. He is a Democrat, and was a member of the Riley township school board for a number of years. He served in this position during the time the new high school was being erected and completed. He is vice-president and a director of the Pandora Banking Company, and is president of the Pandora Hardware Company. He is one of Riley township and Putnam county's most substantial and progressive farmers; a citizen who is well and favorably known, and a man of exception- ally high standing.
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HERMAN W. MORMAN.
Anyone interested in the history of Putnam county does not have to carry on a very great research before learning that Herman W. Morman has long been one of its very active and leading citizens in the agricultural and stock-raising life of this community. For many years he has carried on the business of general farming, gradually improving his valuable place, and his residence in this neighborhood has strengthened his hold on the hearts of the people with whom he has been associated, who esteem him for his integrity of character, kindly disposition and good business ability.
The subject of this review was born on his father's farm in Greensburg township, this county, February 1I, 1853, and is the son of William and Gertrude (Wortkotter) Morman. William Morman was born in Germany, November 30, 1822, and came to this country with his parents when he was nine years old. Gertrude (Wortkotter) Morman was a native of Germany, born on January 6, 1822, as also were her parents who immigrated to this country and probably first settled in Toledo, Ohio, but later removed from there to Pleasant township, Putnam county, where her husband first met her.
William Morman's father first settled on a forty-acre tract of heavily timbered, wild and swampy land in Ottawa township, near the town of Glandorf, Ohio, where he underwent the hardships of the pioneer and, be- sides farming to some extent, drove teams for the canal boats which passed through this section. At the age of twenty-one years Herman Morman's father was married to Gertrude Wortkotter and then bought a farm consist- ing of eighty acres in Greensburg township, this county, and continued farming for the rest of his life and where he died on January 29, 1908, at the ripe old age of eighty-five years. He was a consistent advocate of the principles of Democracy, though not active in politics, and a life-long mem- ber of the Catholic church in Glandorf, Ohio. Mrs. Morman lived to be eighty-three years of age and died on April 22, 1905. To them were born seven children, Frank, Herman, Mary, who is now Mrs. Mary Maas, resid- ing in Custer, Wood county, Ohio, and Mrs. Minnie Maas who resides in Greensburg township, this county; besides those named there were Henry, Katherine and Anna who are deceased, the latter two dying in infancy.
Herman W. Morman was married on September 23, 1875, to Josephine Maag, a daughter of Theodore and Catherine (Pursell) Maag, both natives of Germany, the former immigrating to this country when about twenty years of age, the latter, together with her parents, left their native country
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and settled in the city of Cincinnati. Theodore Maag first settled in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where he was employed in the yards of a boiler-making indus- try where, after serving three years, he was given work on the inside of the shop. Owing to his small stature the employer found him a convenient worker at riveting boiler sheets. In the old country he had acquired a good knowledge of the wagonmaker's trade which helped him considerably in the boiler works. It was in Cincinnati that he married his wife and then decided to move- to Glandorf, Ohio, where he purchased a tract consisting of two hundred acres of virgin timber land and, after clearing it of the timber, de- voted his energies to general farming, incidentally doing a little wagon- making and repairing business for the neighboring community. In this par- ticular line of work he was well-skilled and it was always a pleasure for him to furnish first-class material and do the work in a high-class manner. Instead of receiving actual cash for his services in repairing, he would exact a certain amount of clearing to be done on his land. Reaching the age of seventy-three, he died in 1879, after having spent a most useful and rep- utable life. His wife died on May 1, 1901, after having attained the age of eighty-eight years. Her life was ever one of true devotion and loyalty to her husband and children. To them were born ten children, William, Denia, Frank, Mary, Agnes, Barney, Joseph and Josephine, all of whom are now deceased. The living children are Edward, who resides in Pleas- ant township, this county, and Meania Brinkman, who lives in Greensburg township, this county.
Henry W. Morman spent his youthful days about his father's farm, assisting in every possible manner to make the work of his parents less arduous, and he was so much needed around the home that little time was found for him to attend the township schools. In those days the knowledge he gained can be credited mostly to his keen observation and constant and careful perusal of newspapers, particularly the Putnam County Sentinel, and this is one way by which he acquired a fluent speech in the English language. For about a year after his marriage, he remained on hs father's farm, and then located on the present farm consisting of eighty acres, which he after- ward purchased .. Originally, this entire eighty-acre tract was covered with virgin timber, which he cleared, ditched, drained and fenced, and where he built the residence and made other necessary improvements toward advan- tageous farming. Besides raising general farm crops, Mr. Morman gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock, particularly to hogs, in the breeding and care of which he is very successful.
Herman W. Morman is the father of seven children, Rosa, who died
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when eight years of age; Edward, who married Elizabeth Korte, and has five children; August, who married Agnes Brinkman, and has three children; Martha, who married Benjamin Warnecke, and lives on the home farm: and has three children; Caroline, who died in infancy; Amelia, single and at home; Hildagard, single and at home.
In a political way Mr. Morman gives his consistent support to the- Democratic party, but does not aspire to political office, though he served the people faithfully for a time as a member of the local school board. The entire family are members of the Catholic church in Glandorf, Ohio, from which church his beloved wife and helpmate was buried after her death, which occurred on June 27, 1911. Personally, Mr. Morman is a man of pleasing personality, fair and square in his dealings with his fellow men, and full worthy of any trust that may be reposed in him.
CARL REGIL VAN METER.
Men who have attained success in their life vocations are always honored and respected by the community in which they have lived and have ac- complished so much. Dearly loved are those who always find time to work in the interests of the community at large. Inspiring others to loyalty and faithfulness. Able men never fail to raise the standard of their community, and the public generally is proud to record the chief incidents of their lives. A well-known farmer of Riley township, who has been the recipient of unique honors, is Carl Regil Van Meter. Mr. Van Meter was elected trustee of Riley township as a Republican, although the township is overwhelmingly Democratic, and he is one of the first Republicans to have been elected to this office in many years. His election is an evidence of the esteem in which he is. held by his neighbors and fellow citizens.
Carl R. Van Meter was born on October 6, 1882, in Monroe township, Allen county, Ohio, the son of George S. and Hannah (Reeder) Van Meter. George S. Van Meter was born in Monroe township, Allen county, and is- the son of James Van Meter and wife, the latter of whom was a Miss- Schriver, before her marriage. James Van Meter was born near Mansfield, Ohio, and came to Allen county in the early days, settling in Monroe township. Here he owned over two hundred acres of land. It was here that he reared his family of two sons and six daughters, Susanna, John, Nancy, Mary, Louisa, Rachel, George and Elizabeth. It was on the old homestead here
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that Carl Van Meter's father, George S. Van Meter, was reared, and here he secured his education in the typical log cabin school. He remained with his. parents until he was twenty-nine years of age, helping his father clear the land. He also worked for neighbors and cleared the forest under contract. at the rate of ten dollars an acre.
At the age of twenty-nine, George Van Meter was married to Hannah Reeder, the daughter of Willian and Hulda (Howey) Reeder. She was. born in Monroe township, Allen county. Her mother had come from near Pottsville, Pennsylvania, with her parents in an early day. After his mar- riage, George Van Meter settled on sixty acres, a part of the old home place, and since that time has added twenty acres to the farm. He has always been engaged in general farming and has very greatly improved his farm. It was here that his children were born. They are as follow : Harley, of Mon- roe township; Carl R., the subject of this sketch; George Howard, who died at the age of two; Carrie, the wife of Joseph Steele, who resides in Michigan ;. Ralph, who is unmarried and who lives at Niagara Falls; Clark, who is un- married and at home; Paul, who died in infancy.
Carl R. Van Meter grew to manhood on the old homestead of his parents- in Monroe township, Allen county. Here he attended the district schools and helped his father on the farm until he was twenty-three years old.
Mr. Van Meter was married on March 28, 1906, at the age of twenty- three to Eva Belle Bowers, who was born in Monroe township, Allen county, September 12, 1886, and who is the daughter of Charles H. and Anna. (Wright) Bowers. Charles H. Bowers was born in Monroe township, Putnam county, the son of John and Ann (Cook) Bowers. Anna Wright was born in Tuscarawas county, and is the daughter of George and Jane (Holmes) Wright. George Wright and wife came to Allen county when their children: were small, settling in Monroe township.
After his marriage, Mr. Van Meter rented the Alfred Mayberry farm,. a farm in Monroe township, Allen county, and after one year, in January, 1907, he moved to Riley township, Putnam county, Ohio, to the old Mark Laib farm, which he rented for three years. It comprised one hundred and seventy-five acres. After this time, he purchased eighty acres, which farm has been his residence ever since. Mr. Van Meter has always been engaged in general farming, but has paid particular attention to the raising and breeding of hogs. He has one of the best eighty-acre farms in this part of Putnam county.
Mr. Van Meter is a Republican. He is now serving as trustee of Riley
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township. The fact that he was elected to his present office in a community where the Democratic party is greatly in the majority, indicates his position of high standing in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Van Meter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Pandora. He is a trustee of the church and has served as assistant Sunday school superintendent. Formerly, he was choir leader in the church at Rockport. Carl R. Van Meter deserves to rank as one of the representative citizens, not only of Riley township, but also of Putnam county, where he has lived for many years. He has made a splendid record in the office to which he was elected by the people of Riley township and has thus further established himself in the esteem and confi- dence of those with whom he comes in contact.
GEORGE A. STAUFFER.
The Stauffer family have been residents of Putnam county, Ohio, since 1870, when the parents of George A. Stauffer located in Ottawa township. Mr. Stauffer engaged in general farming and stock raising, until the fall of 1907, and then came to Ottawa and engaged in the real estate and loan busi- ness, which he has since made his occupation. He has been very active in political affairs and, as a member of the Republican party, has held various positions with it since 1895.
George A. Stauffer, the son of Abraham D. and Annie E. (Sigler) Stauffer, was born on April 14, 1874, in Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio. His father was born in Washington county, Maryland, April 16, 1844, and was a son of Dillon and Mary (Myers) Stauffer, natives of Swit- zerland. Annie E. Sigler was also a native of Washington county, Mary- land, and was a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Vogel) Sigler, who came to this country from Germany. Abraham Stauffer and wife were reared and married in Washington county, Maryland, and lived there until 1870, when they moved to Putnam county, Ohio, and located in Ottawa township. A few years later they moved to Perry township, where Mr. Stauffer engaged in farming and carpentering. A. D. Stauffer was born with but one hand, but when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted from Hagerstown, Maryland, and served four years and nineteen days. During the war he enlisted three times and received an honorable discharge for each enlistment, first from the infantry; second, from the artillery, and third from the cavalry.
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George A. Stauffer was reared on the farm and received a good com- mon school education in the schools of his home neighborhood. As a youth he learned the carpenter's trade with his father, working with him as a contractor and builder in this county. After his marriage in 1901 he en- gaged in farming in Perry township and continued in agricultural pursuits until in October, 1907. At that time he moved to the county seat and en- gaged in the real estate and loan business with B. L. Griffiths. They were partners until in June, 1908, since which time Mr. Stauffer has been con- ducting the same business alone. He and H. I. Kahle organized the Stauffer Investment and Loan Company in March, 1913, which company has built up a thriving business in a short time. George A. Stauffer purchased the interest of H. I. Kahle, January 1, 1915, and is conducting it alone.
Mr. Stauffer has been a leader in the affairs of the Republican party of his county for more than twenty years. He was elected committeeman for Perry township in April, 1895, and served the central and executive com- mittees of his party continuously until 1908. In that year he was elected sec- retary and treasurer of the Republican county central and executive com- mittees and the same year was made vice-chairman of the Republican league of Ohio, a position which he still retains. He was elected a member of the state central committee for the Fifth Congressional District in 1912, and was chairman of both committees in Putnam county. He was re-elected to the same position in 1914. He was a member of the board of deputy state supervisors of elections for Putnam county for eight years, during which time he served as clerk of the board for two years.
Mr. Stauffer is president of the Ottawa Gazette Publishing Company, a position which he has held since 1912. He is a stockholder in the Farm- ers State and Savings Bank of Continental, Ohio. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, a member of the blue lodge, chapter and council. He became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Dupont, when he was twenty-one years of age and has filled all of the chairs of that lodge since that time. He is also a member of the encampment and the Daugh- ters of Rebekah. He holds his membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, at Findlay, Ohio.
Mr. Stauffer was married in December, 1901, to Grace G. Varner, who is a native of Greensburg township, this county, the daughter of Isaiah and Fanny (Landes) Varner. She lived in Greensburg township until her mar- riage, and for four years was a successful school teacher in the district schools of her home township. Mr. Stauffer and his wife have an interest-
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ing family of five children, Audrey Gail, Annie Mildred, George A., Jr., Lila May and Glenna Naomi.
On February 8, 1915, Governor Willis notified Mr. Stauffer that he had appointed him inspector of oils for the state of Ohio, which position he declined. The governor, however, insisted he should be a member of his cabinet and held the position open for two weeks, urging him to take it, to show the appreciation of his assistance in the campaign. Mr. Stauffer, not want- ing any political appointment, declined, and the governor released him with an acknowledgment of the full appreciation of his services, with the mutual understanding that Mr. Stauffer was not in politics for revenue, but for the benefit of his state and party.
ELMER E. BRACY.
Among the men of sterling worth and strength of character who have made an impression on the life of the locality where they live, no one has achieved a larger measure of success than Elmer E. Bracy. Mr. Bracy has spent his entire life in Putnam county and the people have had an opportunity to know every phase of his character. That he has been true to life in its every phase is manifest by the esteem and regard in which he is held by all those who know him. He has won success by his own honest endeavor and indomitable energy, and has placed himself in the front ranks of the farmers. of his community, by exercising these splendid qualities. Mr. Bracy has out- stripped the less active plodders on the highway of life and achieved marked success in agricultural affairs. He has won for himself a name, which all men who know him, delight to honor.
Mr. Bracy was born on January 17, 1870, in Blanchard township, Put- nam county, Ohio, the son of John C. and Esther ( Harris) Bracy.
John C. Bracy was born in Blanchard township, Putnam county, in 1849, the son of John Bracy, Sr., and wife. The family history of the- Bracys may be found in the life-story of Isaac Bracy, an uncle of Elmer E. Bracy, elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. John C. Bracy died in May, 1912.
Elmer E. Bracy was born on his father's old homestead, about two and. one-half miles southwest of Gilboa. Here he spent his childhood and youth, and here he attended the old district school No. 2. After finishing school, he helped his father to clear up the old home place. He remained with his parents until he was twenty years old.
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At this time Mr. Bracy was married, May 1, 1890, to Sarah Helen Buck- land, who was born in Blanchard township, April 25, 1874. She is the daughter of Lewis and Mary (Agner) Buckland and her family history is to be found in the sketch of Elah Buckland, her uncle, contained elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Bracy was one of seven children born to her parents, two of whom died in infancy. Those living are Sarah, Melvin, Nettie, Clyde and Della. Mrs. Bracy's parents are both deceased. Her father died in February, 1912, and her mother died in September, 1898.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bracy, eight children have been born, Flo Z. May, born on June 8, 1891, and died on February 27, 1893; John Lewis, born on October 31, 1893; Roxie Marie, born on December 6, 1895; Gladys Jemina, born on February 14, 1897; Maver Caroline, born on February 17, 1903; Brenia Mildred, born on June 5, 1907; Ruby Lucile, born on April 6, 1913; Sadie May, born on April II, 1915.
After his marriage, Mr. Bracy worked for the neighboring farmers during the first year, but the following year he rented land of Duff Bracy in Riley township and, subsequently, rented his father's old home place. After operating this farm for one year, he moved to forty acres of his father's land, three and one-half miles northeast of Pandora. This farm has been his resi- dence ever since. He purchased this place from his father and also pur- chased one hundred and twenty acres in Lakefield township, Saginaw county, Michigan. Mr. Bracy has always been engaged in general farming and has enjoyed more than an ordinary success in this vocation.
Mr. Bracy is a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Bracy attend the Radical Brethern, of which Mrs. Bracy is a member. Elmer E. Bracy is one of Riley township's progressive farmers. He comes from one of the best families of Putnam county, of old pioneer stock, and he is well and favorably known for his sterling integrity and genial disposition.
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