History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 58

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 58

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To John and Rebecca (Sanford) Grant were born ten children, two of whom died in infancy, the others being as follow: David, who died on December 13, 1910; John, who died on January 27, 1865; George, who died on March 8, 1861 ; Franklin, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Joseph, who lives at Armuchee, Georgia; Mrs. Electa Pool, who died in 1892; Mrs. Alice Pool, who died in 1894, and Lewis, who is living on the original home farm in Monroe township, Putnam county, and is known as one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of that neighborhood. The mother of the above children died on July 23, 1893, and John Grant married, secondly, on April II, 1894, Elizabeth Jones, who died on January 2, 1913, without issue. John Grant died on February 15, 1915, at the age of ninety- two years, seven months and four days, having for many years done well his part in the upbuilding of the community, of which he was so honored and respected a member. For three years or more before his death, he had been more or less retired from the active duties of the farm, his youngest son, Lewis, having taken over the management of the home place.

Franklin Grant was reared on the paternal farm and received a very good common school education near his early home, being thus fully qualified with

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the book learning necessary for the practical affairs of a business life, as far as it pertains to the successful prosecution of farming and the transactions connected therewith. Until his marriage in 1880, Mr. Grant remained on the home farm and after that happy event made his residence in Defiance county, Ohio, where he remained for four years, at the end of which time he returned to Putnam county and settled on his present farm in Monroe township. Here he erected a fine dwelling, built a good, substantial barn and suitable outbuildings, and otherwise improved it with thorough tiling and judicious cultivation, soon having one of the best moderate-sized farms in the township. This farm consists of a fraction over seventy-six acres, on which general farming is judiciously mixed with stock raising, Mr. Grant being an extensive breeder of hogs, the profit from which he finds one of the most remunerative phases of the farm life. He is a good farmer and keeps his place in admirable condition.

On December 26, 1880, Franklin Grant was united in marriage with Jannettie Thornton, who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, on May 22, 1862, a daughter of David and Sarah (Fifer) Thornton, who spent their last days in the city of Ottawa; the death of the former occurring on June 9, 1909, his wife having predeceased him in 1905.

To Franklin and Jannettie (Thornton) Grant have been born eight chil- dren, as follow: Orpha V., who married Franklin Shubert and lives in Defiance county, Ohio; Lloyd Elmer, who lives in Michigan, married Vesta Reynolds and has four children, Homer, Ray, Theodore and Franklin; Inis Mabel, who married Leonard Kilpatrick, of Michigan, and has three chil- dren, Raymond, Marie and Irene; Edwin Harrison, a prosperous farmer in Paulding county, Ohio, who married Iva Gordon and has two children, Gladys and Athal Leverine; Otto Earl, who married Voe Ice and lives on the home farm with his parents; Chloe B., who married Lee Barringer, of Fos- toria, Ohio, and had two children, Bernard, and Donald, deceased; Lester, at home, and one child who died in infancy.

Mr. Grant is a Republican and has always taken an active part in the campaigns of that party in Monroe township, his counsels being regarded as valuable by the party managers. He was appointed trustee of Monroe town- ship in April, 1914, and served since that time. During the existence of the Patrons of Husbandry in this section of the state, he was an earnest worker in that association of farmers and for a long time was master of his local grange. Mr. Grant and his wife are earnestly concerned in all movements looking to the advancement of conditions in the social and civic life of the community and are regarded as among the leaders in that neighborhood, where they are both held in the highest esteem by all.

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NATHAN C. SHIRLEY.

Examples that impress force of character upon all who study them, are worthy of record. By a few general observations may be conveyed some idea of the characteristics and worthy career of Nathan C. Shirley, who is now living in Monroe township, Putnam county, Ohio, having, through his industry and perseverance, accumulated a competency. He has pursued the even tenor of his way in a quiet and unostentatious manner, which never courts publicity, attending strictly to his own affairs, doing the right as he understands it, and keeping his conscience void of offense toward God and man. It is not a matter of wonderment that the elements of a sub- stantial and practical nature, which unite in his composition, should win him a conspicuous place in his community, when we learn that he comes of a. sterling family, a family that believed, not only in keeping busy along legitimate lines of endeavor, but also in living up to the highest standards of citizenship in every respect.

Nathan C. Shirley was born on December 1, 1862, in Perry township, Putnam county, Ohio. He is the son of Philip and Elizabeth (Prowant) . Shirley.

Philip Shirley was a native of Ross county, Ohio, born in February, 1820, and a son of Nathan and Mary (Minear) Shirley. Nathan Shirley was born in Burks county, Pennsylvania, in 1800, and left Pennsylvania, coming to Ohio during his boyhood days. His parents were Robert and Mary (Gilbert) Shirley, who were natives of Pennsylvania, also. They settled in Ross county, where they farmed, but later moved to Defiance county. He farmed in Ross county for a time and removed to Defiance with his family in 1825. After his marriage, he made a trip to New Orleans by flatboat down the Mississippi river with flour, pork and shoes, and sold the outfit and boat, returning to Portsmouth, Ohio, from here by horseback to his farm in Ross county. He was gone a long time, and waited for in- creases in the market prices of his commodities. The family made the trip with several other families in covered wagons to Defiance county during the Indian scare, and made use of the blockhouse at Defiance, Ohio, for a while. Nathan was captain of a military company at that place and served as drill master. Robert Shirley died in 1840, in Defiance county, where he is buried, near the west terminal of the upper Auglaize bridge. His wife died there also. At the time they first came to Defiance county, Robert Shirley and his family spent some time in the blockhouse at Defiance. The

MR. AND MRS. NATHAN SHIRLEY.

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Indians were not thoroughly pacified, and there was continual fear of up- rising. This caused much unrest among the settlers. Robert was among the early settlers, a brave and courageous man, who lent a willing hand in all the work of the little community. In his later years, Robert Shirley con- ducted a tavern at Defiance, Ohio. He was largely identified with the his- tory of the town, having been in charge of the canal at that point. He was a hard worker, a man of sterling character, and suffered all the privations incident to the early pioneer life. He experienced many sorrows and also much happiness.

Nathan Shirley was reared a farmer, and this he followed to his death, in 1871, at Junction, Paulding county, Ohio. His wife died about 1850. After her death, Nathan was again married to a widow, Mrs. Hankins, who survived him a number of years, and died in 1885. Nathan also experi- ence the hardships of pioneer life, and did his share for the uplift of the county. Philip Shirley, the father of the subject, grew up in Defiance county,. being only five years old when he was brought to the county with his. parents. He grew up on the homestead farm, and located at the Power dam, where his father, Nathan, owned two farms. He married Eilzabeth Prow- ant, daughter of Christian and Catherine (Gable) Prowant, who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, and who came with her parents to Putnam county about 1834, where she grew to womanhood and married. She was born on June 5, 1829, and died on February 13, 1914, at the age of eighty-four years, eight months and eight days. Philip Shirley came to Putnam county,. Ohio, and settled in Perry township, about 1847, and was married in 1848. He died in Dupont, Ohio, March 29, 1901, at the age of eighty-one years, one month and twenty-four days. Originally, Philip Shirley owned a farın, upon which the town of Dupont is now situated.

The seven children born to Philip and Elizabeth (Prowant) Shirley were as follow: Mary C .; Clara M., who is Mrs. Remus R. Brown, of DeKalb county, Indiana; Anna E., later Mrs. Thomas Conkle, who died in 1890; Nathan C., the subject of this sketch; Nancy R., now Mrs. Oscar Lamont, of Belmore, Ohio, whose husband is the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad agent at that place; Alice D., now Mrs. George Lafferty, of Edmore, Michigan; Jennie C., who is now Mrs. George Cockrun, of Alluwee, Oklahoma.

Nathan C. Shirley grew up in Perry township, on the homestead farm, and was educated in this township. He spent one year at Delphos, Ohio, in the high school, and one year at the Northern Indiana Normal College, at Valparaiso, Indiana, as a student in the scientific course. He taught school

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in Paulding county, Ohio, for two years prior to going to school at Val- paraiso, Indiana, and subsequently taught school in Putnam and Paulding counties for thirty-three terms. After his marriage, he removed to a farm of seventy acres, and farmed and taught school in the district near by. He removed to his present farm in Monroe township in the spring of 1898. This farm originally consisted of one hundred and sixty-six acres, but Mr. Shirley now farms one hundred and eighty-six acres.

Nathan C. Shirley was married, August 12, 1888, to Emma Ridenour, who was born in Perry township, Putnam county, January 16, 1863, and who is the daughter of Jacob and Fanny (Fretz) Ridenour. Jacob Riden- our was born in Fayette county, Ohio, and came to Putnam county, Ohio, with his parents when nine years of age. He grew up in Perry township, where he was reared a farmer. He died in 1888, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a Democrat in politics. His wife, Fanny Fretz, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Nathan C. Shirley six children have been born: Ashley R. was born on June 22, 1889, she married Preston H. Miles and lives at Syracuse, Indiana, having no chil- dren; Hazel I. was born on November 21, 1890; Ross R. was born on Octo- ber 16, 1892; Mary E., who was born on October 19, 1894, married Floyd Groff, of Monroe township, who lives near the farm of Mr. Shirley; Lynn L. was born on November 18, 1898; Claude L. was born on August 13, 1905.

Nathan C. Shirley has made most of his present farm by his own ef- forts and has cleared most of the land, and built all of the improvements to the farm. He has a fine barn, with modern appliances and conveniences and a milking machine. He believes strongly in progressive farming. The dimensions of his barn are ninety-six by fifty-six feet on the south side and ninety-six by eighty feet on the north side, and is laid out with six thousand feet of cement floor and twelve hundred feet of cement outside. A silo has been erected, equipped with trackage for cleaning out barn and carrying feed. A cement water tank, with a capacity of fifty barrels, has also been erected.

Mr. Shirley has been township trustee of Perry township for one term, and has also been a member of the board of school directors of Con- tinental city schools three different times. He is not now active. He is a stanch Democrat. He is a member of the United Brethren church at Con- tinental, and has always taken a prominent part in church work. He has held most of the offices in the church, and is now secretary of the congre- gation, a circuit comprising five churches. He is also actively identified with the Sunday school, is a class leader and a teacher of the young men's and

PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO. 603

women's bible class. Nathan C. Shirley is a strong advocate of temperance, and, locally, has been closely identified with the farmers' institute. He was among the organizers of the Continental Farmers' Institute. His wife and family are members of the United Brethren church and take an active inter- est in the work of the church. Nathan C. Shirley is a man well liked. He bears a high standing for honesty of purpose and integrity in the commun- ity where he lives, is a man of strong and fixed convictions, and is frank and open in his dealings with his fellow men. In every way he is entitled to representation in this volume.

WILLIAM J. UNTERBRINK.

Putnam county has been fortunate in the number and character of its farmers, those advance agents of civilization and indispensable aids to social and industrial development. The farmer is recognized as an institution and no other agency has done so much for the world in general. This is par- ticularly true of Putnam county. Some men grow tired and others weary of the march, and fall out, but the enterprising, up-to-date farmer who works with a vision never ceases in his endeavor. Of the industrious and self- sacrificing farmers of Putnam county, men who have succeeded in a large way, is William J. Unterbrink, a well-known farmer of Greensburg town- ship. Mr. Unterbrink has contributed financially and otherwise in develop- ing and upbuilding this great county. His work has been unselfish for the most part, but he has managed to acquire a large farm and is one of the most progressive farmers of this section of the state.

William J. Unterbring was born on September 15, 1866, in the house where he now lives, in section 14, Greensburg township. He is the son of Ferdinand and Mary G. (Rotterman) Unterbrink.

Ferdinand Unterbrink was born in the German empire on November 29, 1824, and died in Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, July 14, 1895. He was a son of John H. and Maria G. (Meilenbrink) Unterbrink, who settled in this county in 1841. The wife of John H. Unterbrink was Maria G., who was born in Germany on April 30, 1835, and who was the daughter of Herman H. and Maria G. (Kamper) Rotterman, who came to this country in 1838. She was married to Ferdinand Unterbrink in this county on September 7, 1852. Ferdinand Unterbrink was a farmer in Greensburg township who served as a member of the board of county com-

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missioners in Putnam county, and who held several other important offices. He had a family of eleven children: Anna M., the wife of Judge Joseph Mersman, of Ottawa; Bernard H., of Cloverdale, Putnam county; Joseph, who lives north of Glandorf, in Ottawa township; Frank F., of Ottawa; Ignatius lives at Riviera, Texas; Maria C., deceased, was the wife of Will- iam Schmiedebusch, who resided at Cloverdale; William John, of Greens- burg township; John R., of Lima; Herman H., of Ottawa, where he is pro- bation officer ; Albert F., of Ottawa, and Amelia M., the wife of Anthony B. Overman, of Ottawa. The mother of these children died on June 28, 1914. Ferdinand Unterbrink was county commissioner six years. Before that he was justice of the peace in Greensburg township for many years. He was one of the most successful farmers in Greensburg township. He came here a very poor man and started in the woods. He worked at digging the canal in the west part of the county at thirty cents a day and boarded himself. He was diligent and a good manager and owned about three hundred and forty acres of land at one time; he owned a number of different farms. His home farm was a beautiful place. He and the family all belong to the St. John's Catholic church. He was a rock-ribbed Democrat in politics. In his youth he taught school in Greensburg township and was one of the first teachers there, making it a point to see that each child learned something every day. He was a very practical man, able to accomplish much where others, perhaps, would have failed. He was a man to whom many came for advice regarding their own personal affairs, as he was regarded as being possessed of keen insight and sound judgment and took a kindly interest in assisting others.

Ferdinand Unterbrink came to America when about seventeen years old with his parents and sisters. Here he bought a farm in section 14, Greens- burg township, which was all covered with timber, the country being still new. Here his parents lived and died and here he spent his life, engaged as a life- long farmer. His wife, Mary G. ( Rotterman) Unterbrink was born in Ger- many and came to this country in her infancy, with her parents.

William J. Unterbrink is one of eleven children, eight boys and three girls, as heretofore related. He grew up on the home farm. In 1892 he was married to Magdelina Kracht. She was born in Glandorf, Germany, on April 14, 1825, and is the daughter of William and Anna Catherine ( Doep- ker) Kracht. William Kracht was born in Glandorf, Hanover, Germany, February 28, 1818. He came to Cincinnati when a young man and was there married to Anna Catherine Doepker. She was born in Glandorf, Hanover, and came to America while a girl, after her parents died in Germany. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Kracht lived in Cincinnati for several years.

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Subsequently, Mr. and Mrs. Kracht settled about a mile north of Glan- dorf, and there they lived many years. They spent their last years in Clover- dale.

Mr. and Mrs. William J. Unterbrink for many years have lived on the same farm where Mr. Unterbrink was born. He owns one hundred and eighty acres of fine farming land and has added excellent improvements to the farm, which was formerly owned by his father.

To Mr. and Mrs. William J. Unterbrink five children have been born, as follow : Alfred, on September 15, 1894; Lawrence, on November 9, 1898; Idella, on April 10, 1902; Marcella, on March 9, 1905, and William, on July 4, 1907. The family has a fine country home with beautiful surroundings. There is a private lighting plant in the house. The Unterbrinks are as fine people as are to be found anywhere in Putnam county and all of them are devout members of the Catholic church, at Glandorf.

HARRY E. BRINKMAN.

Harry E. Brinkman is a representative farmer and stock raiser of Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, and is known as one of the alert, progressive and successful agriculturists of this favored section of the Buckeye state. In his labors he has not permitted himself to follow in a rut in a blind, apathetic way, but has studied and experimented and thus obtained the maximum returns from his enterprising efforts. At the same time, he has so directed his career at all times as to command the confidence and regard of the people of the community where he lives. He is a man of honorable business methods and advocates strenuously whatever tends to promote the public welfare.

Harry E. Brinkman was born November II, 1887, on the farm where he now lives in the center of Greensburg township. He is the son of John H. and Philomina (Maag) Brinkman. John H. Brinkman was also born on the same farm in 1848 and is the son of Johann Henry and Mary Gertrude (Rieman) Brinkman. Johann Henry Brinkman was born in Oldenburg, November 8, 1802, and was the son of Johann Rudolph and Elizabeth Jo- hann (Bergmann) Brinkman. He died in 1890 at the age of eighty-seven years and nine months. Johann Henry Brinkman lived in Germany until he was twenty-eight years old and then came to America. He was among the very early settlers in Greensburg township.

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Johann Henry Brinkman purchased land in section 15 in an early day when the country was all new, not a road and not even a track having been laid. A trail was blazed to Glandorf settlement and to other neighbor- ing points and at night hickory bark torches were carried. He started with a. most primitive cabin and did not have a fireplace. There was no floor and the fire was built in a hole in the middle of the cabin. There was no drainage and at times water flooded the cabin. It was not unusual on arising in the morning to find their wooden shoes floating and the fire drowned out. Al- though it was necessary to endure many hardships, yet these early pioneers. bore them cheerfully because their work meant a home for them and their children. In the old country, the earnings only went to enrich the land- owners. Here, Johann Henry Brinkman spent his life, clearing the land and rearing his family. His wife was born, January 22, 1829, in Osna- bruck, Germany. She came to America with her parents when she was three years old. She was the daughter of John H. and Mary Elizabeth (Phone) Rieman, who came to America in 1832 and lived at Cincinnati a few years, when they came to Glandorf. They purchased a farm on the northwest edge of Ottawa township, west of Glandorf. There Mary Ger- trude Rieman grew to womanhood and was married.

On the farm, in section 15, John Henry Brinkman grew up among the pioneers and here was married on October 28, 1872, to Philmonia May Mag. She was born one miles west of Glandorf church on May 14, 1851, and was the daughter of Theodore and Catherine (Purs) Maag. Theodore Maag was born in Glandorf, Hanover, Germany, in May, 1807, and grew up there. When a young man he came to Cincinnati and was there mar- ried to Catherine Purs, who was born in Glandorf, Hanover, December 8, 1813. She came to America at the age of twenty-two and went immediately to Cincinnati. At the age of twenty-three she was married to Theodore Maag. Two years later they moved to the west edge of Ottawa township and in 1838 settled a mile west of Glandorf in the new country, where tim- ber covered the land and wild animals abounded.

Theodore Maag was away from home much of the time working on the canal. His wife and two babies were compelled to stay alone, while the Indians roamed nearby through the woods.

After John H. Brinkman and wife were married they lived on the Brinkman farm. He was a lifelong farmer and very successful. He man- aged to acquire a good farm and owned two hundred and forty acres. He was public spirited and held various township offices at different times. He be-

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gan life with eighty acres and after his father's death, bought his sister's interest in his father's farm of one hundred and sixty acres. John H. Brink- man was an able farmer and could plow a long furrow as straight as a rule,. having a good eye for distance and levels. He raised thoroughbred cattle, hogs and sheep, and took great interest in his live stock. He was known by all as a good neighbor, a man of sound judgment and reliable. He was a man of much value to his community. His traits have been largely trans -- mitted to his son, the subject of this sketch, who is like his father and one of the well-known citizens of this township. John H. Brinkman died on' January 16, 1910, leaving a widow and two sons. A daughter, Mary Fran- ces, died at the age of sixteen. The two sons are Frank and Harry, both of whom live on the home farm with their mother. Harry E. Brinkman man- ages the farm and since his father's death has added improvements to the- place.

Herry E. Brinkman was married on August 12, 1913, to Mary Eliza- beth Rose. She was born at Fort Jennings, Putnam county, and is the daughter of Alton and Bernardine (Pavel) Rose. Anton Rose was born at Ottoville, Putnam county, December 25, 1861, the son of Adolph and Cath- erine (Mersman) Rose. Adolph Rose came from Germany and owned a. farm on the canal not far from Ottoville. Later, he moved to Fort Jen- nings. Catherine Mersman was from Glandorf, Germany, and came to this. country at the age of eight years. Anton Rose was an engineer at Fort Jennings. Three years ago he moved to Delphos, where he now lives. His- wife was born two and one-half miles south of Ottoville, along the canal, and was the daughter of Henry Pavel and wife.

Mary Elizabeth Rose grew up at Fort Jennings, where she lived until she was seventeen years old; since that time she has lived in Greensburg township. To Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Brinkman one son, Cornelius Anton. Johann, was born on February 2, 1914.

Harry E. Brinkman is secretary of the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company. The family all belong to the Catholic church at Glandorf and are faithful to their religion. The family are kind and hospitable and well liked by all who know them.

It is a pleasure to see the live stock which Mr. Brinkman raises. It is- not only good stock but is well kept. He uses the very latest methods in his farm management and is in every respect a truly progressive farmer. He is one of the leading citizens of Putnam county and a man whom one does not soon forget.

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SANFORD SMITH.

The business of farming has been revolutionized within the last fifty years and the farmer of today knows few of the disadvantages which sur- rounded pioneer farmers of Ohio. Scores of inventions have been put on the market which enable the farmer to lead a life of ease as compared with the arduous labors which his father had to undergo. The result is that an ever-increasing number of our best young men are remaining on the farm in preference to trying their fortunes in the cities. The farmer is certainly the most independent man of the country, and all other professions and occu- pations must bow to him. Ohio is known throughout the length and breadth of the country as one of the best agricultural states in the union, and Putnam county ranks with the best farming sections of the state. Put- nam county farmers are not to be excelled by any other county, and among its many excellent farmers no one occupies a more prominent place than Sanford Smith, the subject of this review. The ancestral history of Sanford Smith has been intimately identified with the pioneer annals of Putnam county and the state of Ohio.

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History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 58

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