USA > Ohio > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions > Part 75
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David S. Evans, who is the only survivor of his family, was born, as above stated, on November 10, 1874, on the farm where he now resides. He received his education in the common schools of his township and then took a commercial course at the Lima Business College. He then took em- ployment with a clothing concern at Lima, Ohio, with whom he remained for two years and at the end of which time he returned to the home farm, to the cultivation of which he has devoted himself, continuously, since. He is wide-awake and up-to-date in his farming methods and has met with good success, his efforts being rewarded with a due measure of success.
On January 18, 1899, Mr. Evans was married to Anna McBride, who was born in Amanda township, Allen county, August 24, 1874, the daughter of Levi and Druzilla (Cremean) McBride. Levi McBride, was was of Scotch-Irish descent was born at Adelphia, Ross county, Ohio, June 21, 1832, and died December 10, 1904. He was the son of Alexander McBride, who
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was probably born in Ireland. Druzilla Cremean was born in Allen county, Ohio, on May 18, 1835, the daughter of John Cremean and wife, who were pioneers of that locality. Levi McBride came with his parents to Allen county in 1838, and settled in German township, near Allentown, where he grew to manhood. After his marriage, he settled in Amanda township where he continued to live the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born ten children, John, who died at the age of fourteen years; Willis, who resides in Allen county ; Clara, the wife of James Baxter, of Amanda town- ship, Allen county; Theodore, who died in infancy ; Harvey, of Los Angeles, California; Caddie, the wife of B. S. Brenneman, of Lima, Ohio; Anna, the wife of Mr. Evans .; James, who resides in Yuma, Arizona; Dora, who died at the age of twenty-two years, and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Evans is a Republican and has, for many years, taken an active part in public local affairs. He has been a director for three years of the Allen County Mutual Relief Association, of which he is now serving a second term as treasurer and is also a director of the Ohio Mutual Tornado and Wind- storm Insurance Association. In his political party, he is held in high esteem and served as a member of the county central committee for about eight years and also four years as a member of the executive committee. He is a mem- ber of the Congregational church at Gomer of which his wife is also a mem- ber. Because of his upright life and conspicuous success in his private affairs, he has achieved an enviable reputation in his community and is numbered among the substantial citizens of Sugar Creek township. A man of broad experience and exemplary character with an intelligent conception of life, he exerts a marked influence in favor of the best interests of his community.
GEORGE C. DeVORE.
George C. De Vore is recognized as one of the energetic and well-known farmers of Putnam county, who, by his enterprise and improved methods, has contributed, in a material way, to the agricultural advancement of Riley township and the community where he lives. In the course of an honorable career he has been very successful, and enjoys the prestige of a successful man among the representative men of his community. It is eminently proper that attention be called to his achievements and due credit be accorded to his work as a public-spirited citizen.
George C. DeVore was born on May 11, 1867, in Blanchard township,
OLD LOG CABIN HOME OF GEORGE C DE VORE.
RESIDENCE OF GEORGE C. DE VORE.
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GEORGE C. DE VORE AND FAMILY.
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Putnam county, Ohio, the son of George W. and Mary Jane (Bracy) De- Vore. George W. DeVore was born in Carroll county, Ohio, July 4, 1840, the son of William and Fannie ( Alfred) -DeVore. William De Vore, great- grandfather of George C., was of French parentage, but a native of England, where he spent his youth. Here he was educated and graduated from England's best institutions of learning. He came to America in the early days and settled in Carroll county, Ohio, where he owned a farm. He and his wife were the parents of four children, all born in Carroll county. They were as follow: Mrs. Mary Ann Green, George W., James and Mrs. Eliza- beth Richards.
George W. DeVore, the father of George C., lost his parents when he was a small child, probably not more than four or five years of age. After the death of the parents the children were taken to be reared by neighbors. George W. and Elizabeth were reared by Charles Robinson. The family which took the other children, later went West, and George W. did not see his brother and sister again until five years ago, in 1910, after a lapse of sixty-five years. James finally located his brother, George W., when it developed that the former had gone to the Civil War and had been educated at Valparaiso University. Mary Ann had married a man by the name of Green, who was a minister in Iowa, and she had died, about 1904, in that state. George W. DeVore spent his youth and young manhood on the farm of Charles Robinson, in Carroll county, Ohio, and received his early educa- tion there. At the age of nineteen, or about 1859, he came to Putnam county, Ohio, and worked for George Kober, in Blanchard township.
Two years after coming to Blanchard township Mr. DeVore was mar- ried to Mary Jane Bracy, who was born in Blanchard township, June 30, 1840. She was the daughter of John Bracy, Sr., and wife, whose family history is contained in the sketch of Isaac Bracy, her brother, found else- where in this volume. After his marriage George W. DeVore continued, for a time, to work for George Kober, and then started to work for himself, locating north of Gilboa. Shortly after this, in 1863, he enlisted in the Civil War and served until its close, when he returned home and took up farming on forty acres, which his wife had inherited from her father, John Bracy. George W. DeVore was a successful farmer, and managed to acquire about three hundred and fifty acres, eighty acres of which George C. now owns and lives on.
Mrs. George W. DeVore died on March 1, 1903, at the age of sixty- two. She and her husband were the parents of nine children, all of whom
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are living. They are as follow : Jolin W., James Isaac, George C., David A., Henry E., Lillie May, Samuel H., Mary Ellen and Jennie Alice.
George C. DeVore was born on a part of the John Bracy, Sr., farm, in the south central part of Blanchard township. This place is now owned by John Bracy, Jr. A year or two later his parents moved to Blanchard township, Hancock county, and here George C. spent his childhood and youth, attending the common schools of that township. After finishing school he continued to help his father on the old home place, until twenty- one years of age, when he began farming for himself. He rented neigh- boring farms for about four years, and the next year he worked for John Moffat, Sr., by the year. Following this he rented a farm for one-third of the crops.
George C. DeVore was married on August 23, 1893, to Leah Alecta Engle, who was born in Riley township, Putnam county, Ohio, December 28, 1869, and who is the daughter of Noah and Mary Catherine (Stover) Engle. Mrs. Engle taught school for five years in Putnam county. Her father, Daniel Stover, came to Putnam county, Ohio, in 1831, and was one of the first pioneers of Putnam county. He entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Riley township, and it was on this farm that Mrs. De Vore was born, as was also her mother.
After his marriage, in 1893, Mr. DeVore rented a farm of eighty acres in the northern part of Riley township, belonging to his father, and the following year, in 1894, he purchased the same farm from his father. At this time the farm had a one-roomed log house and a frame barn. Fifty acres of the land was cleared, and Mr. De Vore has managed to clear the remainder, with the exception of six acres. In addition to other improve- ments, he has built a modern residence of ten rooms and a bath and other buildings, in keeping with the surroundings. Mr. DeVore has added one hundred and twenty acres to his original holdings, until he now owns one of the finest farms in Putnam county.
To Mr. and Mrs. George C. DeVore two children have been born, Howard Engle, born on August 1I, 1894, who is now a junior in the State University, where he is taking the agricultural course. He served on the editorial staff of the agricultural department of the State University, having won his scholarship, a two-year free course, in oratory and examinations from Putnam county, and Mary Laoma, born on November 16, 1898, who is a student in the Pandora high school. She won a free trip to Columbus in domestic science.
Mr. DeVore is a Democrat. He has been a member of the school board
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for ten years and president of the board for seven years. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church, and his wife is also a member of this church. Mr. DeVore is a class leader and chairman of the board of trustees.
George C. DeVore is one of Riley township's and Putnam county's most substantial citizens. He is a wide-awake and enterprising farmer and citizen; a man well and favorably known, whose reputation and integrity are above question.
JOHN A. LEWIS.
One of Sugar Creek township's agriculturists and stock men, who is deserving of a place in this work, is John A. Lewis, a man of courage and self-reliance and of the utmost integrity of purpose, as a result of which he stands high in the estimation of his neighbors and friends whose interest he has sought to promote while endeavoring to advance his own.
John A. Lewis was born in Butler county, Ohio, on September 5, 1861, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Jones) Lewis. In his paternal line, he is descended from Welsh ancestry, his grandfather, Ellis Lewis, hav- ing been born in 1796, in North Wales, in the Parish of Llanbrynmair, and died in Butler county, Ohio, in the spring of 1879, at the age of eighty-three years. Mary Rowlands, his wife, was also born in North Wales in 1795, and died in 1878, at the age of eighty-three years. Ellis Lewis was reared on a farm in his native land, where his marriage occurred, and to this union was born one child, Evan, before the family came to America. Their immi- gration occurred in 1829, passage being taken on a sailing ship, which re- quired about three months in making the journey across the Atlantic. Dense fogs interfered seriously with the navigation of the vessel and it is note- worthy that it was his grandmother who first discovered the much-sought land-mark which guided them safely to harbor. After landing in America, they came directly to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Ellis Lewis engaged in glass blowing, the family remaining in that city for a few years. There William, the father of John A., was born, and when he was about seven or eight years of age, the family moved to Butler county, Ohio, making the trip in a covered wagon, as was common in those days. Ellis Lewis bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Butler county, of which only a few acres had been cleared, and on it, he erected a two-story, four-roomed log cabin and a log barn where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, rearing their family of seven children, four boys and three girls, all of
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whom grew to maturity. These children were Evan, William, Mary Ann, Margaret, Martha, David and Richard, all now deceased, with the exception of Martha.
William Lewis, the father of John A., spent his boyhood days in Butler county and there, in 1858, at the age of twenty-nine years, he was married to Elizabeth Jones, who was also a native of North Wales, born on March 14, 1832. She came to America, about 1856, with her brother, Israel, and sister, Leah, all of whom are now deceased. After William Lewis's marriage, he took charge of his father's farm for several years and then entered upon agricultural pursuits on his own account. His wife, Elizabeth, died on Aug- ust 28, 1868, two of her sisters also dying within a few days of that time. To William and Elizabeth Lewis were born four children, John A., the im- mediate subject of this sketch; Mary, the wife of J. B. Edwards; David, who died at the age of two years, and one daughter who died when two weeks old. William Lewis continued his occupation of farming in Butler county until within about seven years of his death, when he came to Putnam county and made his home with his daughter, Mary, until his death, which occurred on April 10, 1900.
John A. Lewis spent his childhood years under the parental roof and received his education in the common schools. At the early age of fifteen years, he began to take up life's burdens on his own account, working on neighboring farms in the county, and in testimony of his faithfulness and efficiency, it is noteworthy that during all the years of his employment, he worked for but three men. About the time he attained his majority, Mr. Lewis came to Allen county, where he remained for three years, and then for two years was employed as clerk in a store in Vaughnsville. After his marriage, in 1889, he located on eighty acres of land, two miles west of Vaughnsville, a part of the Williams estate, and here he has since remained, giving his undivided attention to his farming operations, in which he has won well-deserved success. At the time he took possession of the land, about thirty-five acres were cleared and the improvements consisted of a six-room frame house. Mr. Lewis proceeded to clear the remainder of the land, ex- cept about fourteen acres, and has also done a large amount of tiling and drainage. He has added to his residence, making it a commodious and well- arranged house and, in the spring of 1894, built a large barn with modern conveniences, besides other buildings in keeping with the surroundings. Mr. Lewis bought forty acres adjoining his farm on the west in 1892, which gives him a total acreage of one hundred and twenty acres, comprising one of the choice farms of the township. Up-to-date in his ideas and progressive
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in his methods, Mr. Lewis has won an enviable reputation as an enterprising farmer and is numbered among the influential men of his community.
John A. Lewis was married on January 16, 1889, to Kate Williams, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, on October 14, 1863, the daughter of David L. and Mary Williams. When about three years of age, she was brought by her parents to Sugar Creek township, Putnam county, where she lived until her marriage to Mr. Lewis. To John A. and Kate (Williams) Lewis have been born two children, Mary Elizabeth, on May 8, 1890, and David William, July 20, 1892.
John A. Lewis is a stanch Republican and has taken an important part in local public affairs, having served as township assessor from 1905 to 1907, and in other ways evidencing an interest in the advancement of his com- munity. He is a member of Vaughnsville Lodge No. 711, Knights of Pythias, of which he has been master of finance for the past fourteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are members of the Congregational church, to which they give their earnest support. Mr. Lewis is a close observer of modern agricultural methods and a student, at all times, of whatever pertains to his chosen life work, and he has, therefore, met with encouraging success all along the line and taken his place among the leading agriculturists of the com- munity, which is noted for its fine farms and progressive husbandmen.
IGNATIUS RIEMAN.
Union township, in Putnam county, is noted for the substantial charac- ter of the farmers which compose the greater part of its sterling citizenship. Not only in the main are these farmers men of the most enterprising and energetic type, but they are firm believers in the efficacy of many of the newer methods of farming which in recent years practically have revolu- tionized the ancient science of agriculture, in consequence of which they are prospering probably beyond what would have been thought possible, even in the wildest flights of fancy indulged in by their forefathers, the stalwart men who cleared the forests, making possible the wonderful development of this favored region, a measure of development which places this county in the forefront of all that inspiring galaxy of counties which makes up the noble commonwealth of Ohio. These farmers are not only good agricul- turists, bringing to the tillage of the soil the best of their intelligently-di- rected industry, but they are ardent home-livers, which homes in this section
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will compare well with those of any section in the Union, in point of com- fort and genial hospitality. Among the well-known and prosperous farmers of Union township is Ignatius Rieman, a member of one of Putnam county's oldest and most respected families, to whom the reviewer here calls the at- tention of the reader.
Ignatius Rieman was born on a farm in Greensburg township, Put- nam county, Ohio, on December 6, 1869, a son of Frank, Sr., and Mary (Kar- hoff ) Rieman, both of whom were members of old and well-known families in this county. The genealogy of the Rieman family is set out at length in the biographical sketch relating to Frank Rieman, Sr., father of the im- mediate subject of this sketch, which the reader will find presented elsewhere in this volume.
Ignatius Rieman was reared on his father's farm and received his edu- cation in the schools of Greensburg township, remaining at home until his marriage, in 1897, in which year he moved upon an eighty-acre farm in the same township, purchased from his father. He lived on this place for five years, at the end of which time he moved to his present farm in section 33 in Union township, where he has lived ever since. Upon entering upon this farm he had but eighty acres, but as his affairs prospered, he prepared to enlarge his holdings, and in 1911 bought an additional forty acres, this addition giving him a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, and upon which he has erected a fine type of buildings, the latter being regarded as among the neatest and best-kept in that part of the county. In other respects, also, Mr. Rieman has improved his place and demonstrated that he is a good farmer.
On June 1, 1897, Ignatius Rieman was united in marriage with Berna- dina Smith, daughter of Joseph and Theresa (Kahle) Smith, members of two of Putnam county's oldest and most influential families, for many years prominent residents of Union township, the former of whom is still living on his farm of two hundred and nineteen acres in that township. Mrs. Smith died on November 25, 1914.
To Joseph and Theresa (Kahle) Smith were born children, in order of their birth as follow: Mary, who married Joseph Warnecke, a well- known farmer of Union township, this county, to which union were born nine children, eight of whom are still living; Bernadina, who married Mr. Rieman; Helena married Henry Erhart and has one child; Amelia, who married Joseph Missler, of Ottawa, this county, and has three children, and Francis, deceased, who married Harry Nienberg, of the town of Glandorf.
To Ignatius and Bernadina (Smith) Rieman were born three children,
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two of whom died in infancy, the survivor, Cletus, was born on March 17, 1904, now being a student in St. Michael's parochial school at Kalida, Igna- tius Rieman and wife being devoted members of this parish and active in its various good works. Mr. Rieman, for seven years, was a trustee of St. Michael's church, to the affairs of which he gave his most intelligent atten- tion, his service having proven of no small value to that parish. He is an active member of the Knights of Columbus and is a member of St. Joseph's Benevolent Society and Catholic Knights of Ohio, in the affairs of which organizations he is deeply interested.
Mr. Rieman is a good farmer and a good citizen in whom his neighbors repose the utmost confidence, and both he and Mrs. Rieman are held in the highest regard throughout that whole community.
WALTER E. WILLIAMS.
The occupation of farming, to which all of the active life of Walter E. Williams, a well-known farmer of Sugar Creek township, has been devoted is the oldest pursuit for a livelihood known to mankind. It is the one which will ever be the most independent. The Williams family have long been connected with the progress and prosperity of Putnam county, of which Walter E. Williams is a native and where, in fact, he has spent all of his life. While primarily attending to his own farming interests, his life has been devoted somewhat to the interest of his neighbors and fellow citizens. Mr. Williams has been untiring in his efforts to inspire a proper respect for law and order and he has been ready at all times to lend his aid toward uplifting the civic and social spirit of the community where he has lived.
Walter E. Williams was born in Sugar Creek township, on November 26, 1878. He is the son of David L. and Mary Elizabeth (Griffith ) Will- iams, whose family history is to be found in the sketch of John D. Williams, a brother of Walter E., on another page in this volume. Walter E. was born on the old homestead of his father, one mile south of Vaughnsville, where he spent his childhood and youth. He first attended the old Michael district school and later the public school of Vaughnsville. After finishing school, he continued to help his father on the old home farm and remained here until his marriage.
Walter E. Williams was married on March 19, 1902, at the age of twenty-three, to Ellen Garner, the daughter of James W. and Lydia (Slusser)
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Garner. She was born in Sugar Creek township, Putnam county, on March 4, 1876. The complete family history of Mrs. Williams is to be found in the sketch of J. H. Miller, whose wife, Mrs. Carrie Miller, is a sister of Mrs. Williams and which history is to be found elsewhere in this volume. To Walter E. and Ellen (Garner) Williams two children have been born. The first on August 3, 1903, died shortly after birth; the second, Leland L., July 27, 1904. Mrs. Williams died on August 8, 1904. She was a member of the Christian church and a devoted and faithful wife and mother.
Mr. Williams was married on September 25, 1905, to Sicily Elizabeth Garner, a second cousin to the first Mrs. Williams. She was born in Sugar Creek township, Putnam county, on December 14, 1876, and is the daughter of Rev. George B. and Sarah Anna (Webb) Garner, the former a native of Sugar Creek township, Putnam county, born on September 18, 1850, and the latter born on October 18, 1851, at Pittsfield, Lorain county, Ohio. Rev. George B. Garner was reared and educated in Putnam county and here entered the ministry. He was twice pastor of the Christian church at Vaughnsville, which charge he filled with rare credit. He is now attached to the Northwestern Ohio Christian conference and presides over the Chris- tian church at Berkey, Ohio. Rev. George B. and Sarah A. (Webb) Garner had five children, Joseph Franklin, born on June 9, 1874; Sicily Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Williams ; Zoe and Zella, twins, July 28, 1878, died in infancy ; and Mrs. Blanche Heffner, November 20, 1880. Mrs. Williams's mother, Sarah Anna Garner, died September 17, 1902.
Walter E. Williams has continued to live on the old home place, where he was born and where he now resides. After his first marriage, he took charge of the home farm. It consisted of one hundred and twenty acres, which his father bequeathed to him and to which he has added forty acres since his father's death. Mr. Williams has always done general farming and has engaged, to a limited extent, in raising thoroughbred Shorthorn Dur- ham cattle. He has also fed a considerable number of cattle for the market.
To Walter E. and Sicily E. (Garner) Williams, his second wife, six children have been born, Garner L., on August 13, 1906; Anna Marion, May I, 1908; Maurice W., February 3, 1910, died on August 8, 1912; Arthur L., October 15, 1911; Joseph F., May 27, 1913; and Charlotte B., March 28, 1915.
Walter E. Williams is a member of the Christian church at Vaughns- ville and is assistant superintendent of the Sunday school. Mrs. Williams is a member of the First Christian church at Lima, Ohio, and was a charter member of that church. Mr. Williams is a member of Knights of Pythias
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Lodge No. 711, at Vaughnsville. He is a Republican, he having served as township assessor from 1910 to 1912, inclusive. Mr. Williams is one of Sugar Creek township's and Putnam county's clean-cut and progressive young farmers. He is well liked and favorably known throughout this sec- tion of Ohio and enjoys the respect and confidence of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. From any standpoint, he is a farmer who is thoroughly entitled to representation in a volume of this character.
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