History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 74

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 74

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John E. and Lovetta M. (Weaver) Thomas have had four children, Grace and Glenn, twins; Juanita and Bernice. Grace and Glenn were born on April 7, 1890, and the latter died on September 7, 1890; Grace, who gradu- ated from Defiance College, is now a member of the faculty of the Paulding high school; Juanita, January 25, 1892, is now the wife of J. C. Slusser, of Ada, Ohio, and has one child, Roger Weaver; Bernice, March 23, 1896, is a graduate of the Vaughnsville high school.

John E. Thomas has always done general farming and has been very successful. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 711,

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of Vaughnsville. John E. Thomas and wife are members of the Ottawa Christian church where Mr. Thomas is treasurer of this congregation. John E. Thomas is one of Sugar Creek township's well-known and progressive farmers; in fact, he is rated as one of the best farmers in this section of the state. His standing in the community is of the very highest and he is popu- lar with all classes of people. Mr. Thomas has served as justice of the peace for one term and for several terms as a member of the township school board. In addition to his interests in farming, he had considerable success in buying and selling live stock.

WILLIAM E. REIGER.

Dependent, very largely, upon his own resources from his early youth, William E. Reiger, of Sugar Creek township, has attained no insignificant success. And though he may have, like most men, encountered obstacles and met with reverses, he has pushed steadily forward, ever willing to work for the success he has achieved. His tenacity and fortitude are due, no doubt, in a large measure to the worthy traits inherited from his sterling father and ancestors. His high ideals and correct principles he has ever sought to per- petuate in his relations of life.

William E. Reiger was born on March 31, 1876, four miles north of Dayton, in Montgomery county, Ohio. He is the son of Ephraim and Chris- tiana (Busche) Reiger. Ephraim Reiger was born in November, 1841, at Baden, Germany, and was the son of Leopold and Christine (Sipe) Reiger. Leopold Reiger was a farmer by occupation, who also conducted a vineyard. He came to America in 1847 and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, near Dayton, where he purchased a farm and remained for the balance of his life. There were three children born to Leopold and Christine (Sipe) Reiger, Ephraim, the father of William E .; Minnie, the wife of Valentine Henne, who resided in Dayton, and Barbara, deceased.

Ephraim Reiger came to America with his parents at the age of six years and spent his childhood in Montgomery county, where he attended the common schools and as a young man was employed as a farmer in Mont- gomery and adjoining counties. He also worked some time in Van Wert county. At the age of twenty-seven he was married to Christiana Busche, of Montgomery county, who was born there in September, 1851. She was a daughter of William and Christiana (Arrat) Busche, both of whom were natives of Germany. William Busche was a farmer by occupation and spent

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practically all his life after coming to America in Montgomery county. Will- iam and Christiana (Arrat) Busche had eight children, five daughters and three sons, William, Jacob, Charles, Callie, Rosie, Matilda, Annie and Chris- tiana, the mother of Mr. Reiger. Christiana spent her childhood in Mont- gomery county and remained there until her marriage. After the marriage of Ephraim Reiger he remained in Montgomery county for sixteen years, where he was engaged in farming. Subsequently he moved to Putnam county, settling in Sugar Creek township, where, five years previously, he had pur- chased eighty-six and one-half acres two miles east of Vaughnsville. It was known as the Nichols farm. This farm had a four-room log house and a log barn. The land at this time had been about half cleared, Ephraim Reiger clearing the remainder, excepting six acres. He improved the farm by the erection of a commodious nine-room residence, a large barn (forty by one hundred and eleven feet), and other buildings in keeping with home-like surroundings. To his original holdings Ephraim Reiger added forty acres on the north, making a total of one hundred and twenty-six and one-half acres. This farm comprises as fine land as is to be found anywhere in Putnam county. Ephraim Reiger continued to live on the farm until the spring of 1904, when he retired and moved to Columbus Grove, where he now resides. He and his wife have had six children: Lorena is unmar- ried and lives at home; William E. is the subject of this sketch; Lenora is un- married and lives at home; Arthur resides at Dayton, Ohio; Myrtle is the wife of Benjamin Seitz, Jr., and they have three children, Emerson, Chris- tine and Mildred; Edna is unmarried and lives at home.

William E. Reiger came with his parents to Putnam county, at the age of eleven years, and attended the district school, known as "Abe's College." After finishing the common schools he continued to help his father on the old home place, where he has resided ever since. At the age of twenty-seven, on March 2, 1904, Mr. Reiger was married to Ida Smith, who was born one and three-fourth miles east of Vaughnsville, in Sugar Creek township, March 23, 1878. She is the daughter of James F and Eliza (Slusser) Smith. James F. Smith was born on the old Smith homestead, two miles northeast of Vaughnsville, on April 10, 1842. He is the son of James and Mary ( Stoner) Smith. The complete history of the Smith family is to be found in a sketch appearing elsewhere in this volume, of C. R. Smith, whose father was James F. Smith's brother. Eliza Slusser was born in Shelby county, Ohio, January 7, 1845, and died in Columbus Grove, December 16, 1907. James F. and Eliza Smith had eleven children, as follow: Ira; James and Joseph, twins; Ollie, the wife of Elias Williams; Benjamin, who lives at

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Vaughnsville; Emma, the wife of C. H. Huffman; Ida A., the wife of Mr. Reiger; Anna, who died at the age of sixteen; Leuella, the wife of Alfred Newton, of Bowling Green, Ohio; Jennie, the wife of Gomer Williams, of Cambridge, Ohio, and Jesse. Ida A., the wife of Mr. Reiger, spent her childhood on the old home place and remained there until her marriage.

William E. Reiger took charge of the home farm after his marriage, and has lived upon it since that time. He has always done general farm- ing and is an extensive breeder of thoroughbred Polled-Durham cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs.

William E. Reiger is a member of the Christian church at Vaughnsville. He has been a trustee and chorister of this church for many years. His wife is also a member. Mr. Reiger is one of Sugar Creek townships most sub- stantial farmers. He is well and favorably known and enjoys the confidence of all his neighbors. He is a Democrat and is a member of Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 711 at Vaughnsville.

BENJAMIN KIRKENDALL.

Few residents of Putnam county, Ohio, are as well and favorably known as the enterprising farmer and representative citizen whose life story is here briefly told. None stands higher than he in the confidence and esteem of the community in which he resides, and for the material advancement of which he has devoted much of his time and influence.

Benjamin Kirkendall, a well-known farmer of Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, is descended from patriotic stock, and was born on a farm in Greensburg township, January 4, 1851, the son of Daniel and Eliza- beth Kirkendall, who moved from Columbiana county, Ohio, to Putnam county, where they lived only two years, returning to their former home, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Elizabeth Kirkendall was a daughter of John and Ruth Crawford, life-time residents of Columbiana county, Ohio. Their children were David, Perry, who was killed during the Civil War; Sarah, Elizabeth, the mother of Benjamin Kirkendall. The Crawford family figures prominently in the early history of Ohio. Colonel Crawford, one of the ancestors of Benjamin Kirkendall, was captured by the Indians and burned at the stake.

Benjamin Kirkendall was educated in the public schools of Greensburg township. When a young man he worked on his father's farm, and also on

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other farms of the neighborhood, working by the day and month. He also made considerable money chopping rails and constructing ditches.

Benjamin Kirkendall was married on December 25, 1895, to Minnie Campbell, the daughter of John and Ellen (Mckinley) Campbell, the former a native of Putnam county, and the latter of Columbiana county, Ohio. John Campbell was a son of Robert and Winifred (Guy) Campbell, the former a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Columbiana county, Ohio. They were married in Pennsylvania, and, shortly after their marriage, came to Putnam county, Ohio. They lived here for a short time and purchased forty acres of land. This land Mr. Campbell traded for a horse and sleigh and returned to Pennsylvania. Subsequently, he came back to Putnam county, and located on a farm here, where he also established a blacksmith shop. Their children were: Matthew, Sarah Jane, Jesse, Richard, John, George, Henry, Elizabeth, Rachel, Almira and three who died young. Ellen (McGinley) Campbell was a daughter of Charles and Mary Ann Mc- Ginley, the former a native of Ireland. They settled on a farm in Putnam county, and were the parents of the following children: Sarah Ann, Mar- garet, Elizabeth, Mary and Ellen.

John Campbell, the father-in-law of Mr. Kirkendall, was a soldier in the Civil War, having served in Company C, One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After his marriage, he moved to a farm in Perry township, and one year later moved to Greensburg town- ship, where he now lives. He is the owner of two hundred and five acres of fine farming land. Mrs. Campbell died in 1914. They had eight children, Robert, Albert, deceased; Minnie, Ivy, Gertrude, deceased; Chester, Leo, deceased, and Benjamin.

Before his marriage, Benjamin Kirkendall lived for a time in Michigan with his parents, where the family lived for one year, at which time they returned to Putnam county. After his marriage, he moved to a farm which he had previously purchased in Greensburg township. This farm consists of fifty acres, and here Mr. Kirkendall and his wife have lived for nineteen years. Mr. Kirkendall is a general farmer and makes a specialty of raising Shorthorn cattle.

Benjamin Kirkendall and wife are the parents of three children. only one of whom is now living, Gertrude, was born on December 6, 1896, and died in 1907; Dorothy, born on April 21, 1902, died at the age of nine months, and Datha, born on January 16, 1904.

Benjamin Kirkendall and wife formerly belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, but are now active members of the United Brethren church.

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Mr. Kirkendall is a Democrat, and has served his party and the citizens of his township in several important public positions, among which was the office of township trustee, member of the school board and road supervisor. Mr. Kirkendall is an industrious, honored, honest and hardworking farmer, and is a man possessed with a genial temperament and is popular where he lives.

GEORGE W. MILLER.

Putnam county is indebted, perhaps, to the Miller family as much as to any other. for its wondrous transformation to one of the treasures of the Buckeye state; for members of this family have been leaders in agricultural, industrial and civic affairs since the early days. Each, with a fidelity to duty and a persistency of purpose peculiar to that class of men who take the lead in large affairs, has performed well his duty in all the relations of life, and while advancing his own interests, he has not been unmindful of the general welfare of his fellow citizens. Thus the members of this family rightfully deserve an honored page in the history of this locality.

George W. Miller was born in Sugar Creek township, on April 25, 1864, a son of Jacob W. and Catherine (Best) Miller. Jacob W. Miller was born near Piqua, Ohio. on September 19, 1831, a son of Jackson and Margaret (Teegarden) Miller. Jackson Miller and wife were both natives of Pennsyl- vania, coming to Ohio in a very early day, and locating near Piqua, where they were married. Shortly afterward. when George W.'s father, their son Jacob, was about one year old, they came to Putnam county, locating on what became a part of Sugar Creek township, Allen county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Margaret Teegarden's father, Peter Tee- garden, came to Putnam county in the early days, and entered government land, buying twelve quarter sections in one body. This land he distributed among his children, one of whom, Margaret, was the subject's grandmother, who received one of these quarter sections. On this old homestead, Jacob Miller was reared to manhood, and received his education in the schools of the neighborhood. At about the age of twenty-seven years, he was married to Catherine Best. He was one of nine children born to his parents, eight of whom grew to maturity, namely: Jacob, Elizabeth, Nancy Ann, Margaret, Lucinda, Mary, who died in infancy, Jackson, Elisha and William. Each of these received from his parents eighty acres of land. That inherited by Jacob lies one and three-quarter miles east of Vaughnsville. After his mar-

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riage to Catherine Best, at the age of about twenty-seven years, he continued to operate the old home place, and there remained until his death, which oc- curred on January 17, 1906. His wife, Catherine, who was born in 1841, died on February 17. 1914. She was the daughter of George and Hannah (Sneary) Best, natives of Tuscarawas county, who settled in Union town- ship when Catherine was about twelve years of age, and there George Best and wife spent the remainder of their lives. Jacob Miller was a hard-work- ing man, and by good management and strict economy accumulated an estate of four hundred acres, from which, at his death, each of his children re- ceived forty acres. To him and his wife were born a large family, all of whom grew to maturity, namely : William, now deceased; George; Sarah, deceased; James ; Jane; Ann; Margaret, deceased; Mary, and Allen.

George W. Miller was reared under the parental roof, securing a good, practical, common school education, and on the death of his father, received the northwest forty-acre tract of the original one hundred and sixty acres of his father's estate. To this he later added fifty acres of the north and twenty acres on the east, thus giving him a splendid farm of one hundred and ten acres. He remained, continuously, on the old home place, until about 1913, when he moved to his present residence and the farm which was formerly known as the James Garner place. Here he carried on general farming operations and also gave some attention to the breeding of thoroughbred Double Standard Polled Durham cattle. He is progressive and wide-awake in his methods of farming and has earned a high reputation in his com- munity because of his success. The buildings are kept in the best of repair, and the general condition of the farm indicates the owner to be a man of good ideas and splendid taste.

George W Miller was united in marriage on January 27, 191I, to Ruhama Vandemark, who was born in Union township, on June 20, 1888, a daughter of Elmer and Dora (Osborn) Vandemark, the former a native of Union township, and the latter of Allen county. To this union has been born one child, Kennith Ewing, on August 28, 1914.

George W. Miller is an earnest Democrat, while his religious views are those of the Christian church, of which his wife is also a member, and to which they give earnest support. Mr. Miller is well and favorably known throughout his section of Putnam county as a result of the industrious life he has lived here, being regarded by everybody as a man of sound business principles, thoroughly up-to-date in all phases of agriculture and stock rais- ing, and as a man, who, while advancing his individual interests, does not neglect his duties as a citizen.

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FRANK EDELBROCK.

In most agricultural communities there are farmers who stand out among the citizens of the community, not so much for the volume of their wealth, or the amount of land they own, as for the skill, care and intelli- gence with which their farms are cultivated; for their native and acquired interest and information in the larger phases of the vocation of farming; for their breadth of sympathy and general information on public questions; for their innate personal ability, aside from any material success which they may have attained. One of the farmers of Jackson township, Putnam county, Ohio, who belongs in this class is Frank Edelbrock, whose home is a model of neatness, comfort and hospitality, and is graced with the womanly charm of a devoted and intelligent wife and mother.

Born near Glandorf, in Putnam county, Ohio, May 28, 1864, Frank Edelbrock is the grandson of Peter and Anna M. Edelbrock, who were natives of Prussia, and who, after their marriage in that country in 1823, farmed there until 1834, when they emigrated to the United States, landing at Baltimore, Maryland, and later coming to Glandorf, in Putnam county, Ohio, where they were pioneer farmers, and where they lived until their death. He died in 1844, and was survived by his wife, who lived until 1864. Of their nine children all are now deceased. William and Frank, both of whom were volunteer soldiers in the Civil War, and who served in the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, gave the best years of their life to the service of their country, and Frank died in the service. The other children were Henry, Louise, Mrs. Mary C. Bruskutter, Edward, Theo- dore, an infant buried at sea during the voyage to America, and Andrew, who was Mr. Edelbrock's father.

Andrew Edelbrock was a lad six years old when his parents emigrated to America. Born near Vilda, Prussia, on January 6, 1827, he lived on his father's farm near Glandorf, in Greensburg township, attended the public schools of his generation, and, when fifteen years of age, worked for a short time as clerk at Shiloh, Ohio, returning to Greensburg township in 1856. Four years later he was married to Catherine Herlage, and, after his mar- riage, lived on a farm of eighty acres in Greensburg township. He moved to a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Jackson township in 1870, and in 1907 removed to Kalida, where he lived retired until his death, July 6, 1913. He and his wife were members of the St. Michael's Catholic church. Of their twelve children, six are living and six are deceased, as follow:

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William H., Mary, Frank, Ignatius, Albert and Emma, living; and Barney, Helena, John, Amalia, Peter and Anna, deceased.

The parents of Mrs. Catherine ( Herlage) Edelbrock came to this coun- try before their marriage, settled on a farm in Greensburg township after their marriage, and reared a family of four children, all of whom are de- ceased, as follow : Catherine, Helena, Mary and Anna. They were mem- bers of St. John's Catholic church at Glandorf.

Educated in Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, and reared on his father's farm in that township, Frank Edelbrock, after having reached his majority, rented the Kimmerle farm, in Jackson township, and remained there until some time after his marriage, when he removed to the Pott farm, in section II, of Jackson township, where he lived for about two years, hav- ing previously purchased eighty acres in section 12 in Jackson township. After leaving the Pott farm, he moved to this farm, and here he has erected substantial buildings. including a splendid barn and residence. Mr. Edel- brock owns forty acres in Greensburg township, which he uses for pasture, and which he has cleared and drained. He does general farming and makes a specialty of raising Hereford and Durham cattle. His farm is very attrac- tive, has a splendid driveway which appears to the very best advantage dur- ing any season of the year.

Frank Edelbrook was married on November 25, 1895, to Katherine Summers, a daughter of William P. and Mary Summers of Union township, the former of whom was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1823, and who was the son of Thomas and Katherine Summers. Thomas Summers was the son of a wealthy contractor whose property was confiscated as a conse- quence of the part he took in the Rebellion of 1798 in Ireland, and with his children he was forced to flee the country. At the age of ten years, William P. Summers became a clerk to a priest and, while acting in this capacity, ran away to sea and became an able seaman, visiting almost every country in the world. He sailed around Cape Horn to California, in 1849, became a gold miner of that country and later was a gold miner in Australia. Returning to Ireland, he was married, March 15, 1857, to Mary Martin, and coming to America with his bride shortly after their marriage, they settled first in Seneca county, Ohio, and in 1861 came to Putnam county, living first in Kalida and later on a farmi. During the last few years the venerable William P. Summers and his wife have lived in Kalida. He has served as postmaster of Kalida, as township clerk, as constable, and in other minor offices. He has always been a Democrat. He is well-versed in travel lore and, being possessed of a brilliant intellect, is able to tell many interesting tales of his

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extensive travels. William P Summers and wife were the parents of nine children.

Mrs. Edelbrook has been the mother of three children: William, born on August 1, 1896, and who died on September 28, 1898; Mary, April 18, 1898; and Edward, January 5, 1903. She was a school teacher before her marriage, and is a woman of splendid intellectual attainments. Possessed of remarkable literary ability, she has been a prodigious contributor to news- papers and magazines, especially the Ohio Farmer and Orange Judd weeklies. Her contributions to the various farm papers have been admired for their practical utility. Coming as they do from the practical wife of a practical farmer, and dealing with the commonest matters of farm life from a woman's point of view, they have been widely read. Mrs. Edelbrook has applied her scientific knowledge of the farm successfully to the management of her poultry farm and has been very successful in all of her undertakings. Her co-operation and sympathetic interest contributed largely to the success of her husband.

Frank Edelbrook and wife are members of St. Michael's Catholic church at Kalida. Mr. Edelbrook is a popular, industrious and enterprising farmer, a valuable citizen in his community and one who is widely admired by the people of Putnam county.

DAVID S. EVANS.

The student interested in the history of Putnam county, Ohio, does not have to carry his investigation far in its annals before learning that David S. Evans has been an active and leading representative of the agricultural inter- ests and that his labors have proven a potent force in making this a rich farming region. For a number of years, Mrs. Evans has carried on farm- ing, gradually improving his farm and, while he has prospered in this, he has also found ample opportunity to assist in the material development of the county and his co-operation has been for the general good.

David S. Evans is descended from a sterling line of Welsh ancestry, being the son of David and Elizabeth (Davis) Evans and the grandson of William and Margaret Evans. David Evans, Sr., was born in North Wales in 1827 and, in his native land, was reared during his youth and received his early education. In young manhood, he came to America, settling first in Butler county, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming. Later he came to Allen and Putnam counties and, after his marriage in 1871, set- tled one mile south of Rimer in Sugar Creek township, where he bought

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eighty acres of land. This land had a two-roomed log cabin and a frame barn with about twelve acres of land cleared, the remainder of the tract being in a virginal state of wildness and most of it heavily covered with tim- ber. He proceeded to clear this land and cut the timber from fifty-two acres, having sixty-four acres in all in comfortable condition at the time of his death. He tiled much of this land and, in other ways, improved it so that he was considered an intelligent and progressive agriculturist, being numbered among the leaders in his community. His death occurred on September 27, 1877, he being fifty-one years of age.

On January 30, 1871, David Evans, Sr., married Mrs. Elizabeth (Davis ) Davis, the daughter of Henry and Mary (Evans) Davis. She was born in Butler county, Ohio, January 31, 1833. She had previously been married to Richard Davis, who was born in North Wales in 1818, the son of Thomas and Sarah Davis, their marriage occurring in Allen county, August 17, 1851. To this union were born three children, Henry R., on August 8, 1852, who resides in Illinois; Thomas A., June 25, 1853, who resides in Nebraska ; and William L., June 5, 1855, who lives in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Davis died in 1855. Another child, Rhoda R., born November 17, 1863, is the wife of Richard Davis and lives in Allen county. To David and Elizabeth Evans were born four children, the first of whom died at birth, January 30, 1871 ; John B., born on June 26, 1873, and died August 21, 1877; David S., Novem- ber 10, 1874; and Robert, November 5, 1876, and died February 20, 1877. The mother of these children died in Gomer, Allen county, May 24, 1899, at the age of sixty-six years. It is noteworthy that she had four brothers in the Civil War, Abner, Henry, Silas and Ebenezer, Henry being killed dur- ing that conflict.

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History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 74

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