USA > Ohio > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions > Part 78
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146
The earliest representatives of the Hoffman family in America came from the village of Glandorf, in the Province of Hanover, Germany, and settled near Glandorf, Putnam county, about one year after the arrival of Father Horstman and his colony, who founded Glandorf, Putnam county. They were the paternal grandparents of John Henry Hoffman, the immediate subject of this biographical review, who is a farmer in Jackson township and owns eighty acres of land in section 12. Mr. Hoffman has not lived upon this farm continuously during his marriage, but a part of the time occupied the old Hoffman homestead. For many years Mr. Hoffman was a vocalist in the St. John's Catholic church choir at Glandorf. He now sings in the choir of St. Michael's church at Kalida. The paternal grandparents of John Henry Hoffman were the first Hoffmans to settle in this county. They had only two children, Ferdinand, deceased, and William F., the father of John Henry.
John Henry Hoffman was born in Glandorf, Putnam county, Ohio, on December 8, 1867. His parents were William Frederick and Clara ( Schroe- der ) Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman's maternal grandparents came from Germany and settled near Glandorf, in Greensburg township. Among their children were Henry, Carl and Clara. William Frederick Hoffman attended school at Glandorf in his early youth and lived on his father's farm. He learned the carpenter trade and worked at it at Glandorf. Later he became a school teacher and was an accomplished musician and was organist at St. John's church at Glandorf for many years. He was also organist at St. Paul, Ot-
797
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
tawa and at St. Mary's church at Leipsic. He established a dry goods store and general mercantile business at Glandorf and divided his attention between business and farming. He owned about eighty acres of land. His teaching experience covered a period of about twenty-five years. William Frederick and Clara Hoffman had the following children : John, deceased; Mary, Will- iam, Theresa, Amelia, who died when two years old; Frank, John Henry, Anna, who died in 1908, and Charles. William Frederick Hoffman died on April 29, 1915, on the old home place with his son Charles. Mrs. William F. Hoffman died on February 6, 1898. Her remains were interred at Glandorf. as was also those of her husband. William F Hoffman was a member of the Ohio General Assembly for two terms, having been nominated and elected on the Democratic ticket. He served for many years as justice of the peace at Glandorf.
John Henry Hoffman was educated in Glandorf, and in early youth worked on his father's farm, where he also worked at the carpenter trade. Mr. Hoffman was married on June 12, 1895, to Elizabeth Hertzog, the daugh- ter of Barney and Mary ( Wilkins) Hertzog. After his marriage Mr. Hoffman remained one year on the home farm and then removed to his present eighty acres in section 12 of Jackson township, land that he had bought previous to his marriage. He lived on the eighty-acre farm for two years and then returned to the home farm, where he lived for three years, at the end of which time Mr. Hoffman again returned to his farm in Jackson township. He erected the buildings which are now standing on the farm and improved the place generally. He cleared forty acres of the land and has thoroughly drained it. John H. and Elizabeth (Hertzog) Hoffman have had five chil- dren, Hugo, born on March 29, 1897; Clara, January 30, 1899; Louisa, Sep- tember 4, 1901 ; Alma, September 13, 1904, and Alwin, September 9, 1908. All of these children are attending St. Michael's parochial school at Kalida.
Bernard Hertzog father of Mrs. Hoffman, was born in Germany, and his wife was born in Dayton, Ohio. He came to this country and settled in Dayton and was there married to Mary Wilkins, the daughter of Henry and Agnes (Siefker) Wilkins, who lived near Dayton. Four children were born to this marriage, two of whom, John and Clemens, are deceased. The other two are Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Hoffman, and Frank. Mrs. Hertzog died on April 19, 1879, and after her death Mr. Hertzog was remarried to Mary Smith and had two children by this marriage, Herman and Anna. Mr. Hertzog died on October 23, 1914. Of the Hertzog children by the second marriage Frank married and lives in. Sycamore, Illinois. Herman married Mary Timmer and lives in Dayton, Ohio. Anna married Carl Zink and lives in Dayton also.
798
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
John Henry Hoffman and family are members of St. Michael's Catholic church at Kalida, where Mr. Hoffman is a prominent member of the church choir. Mr. Hoffman is a Democrat in politics and served on the school board of Jackson township. He is well known and highly respected in this com- munity. His wife and family are greatly admired and this family may well be counted among the best families of Putnam county.
IGNATIUS KAHLE.
Prominent among the younger generation of progressive and successful farmers of Putnam county, Ohio, is Ignatius Kahle, the well-known citizen of Greensburg township. Mr. Kahle is a descendant of some of the earliest pioneers of this section, men and women who have left the impress of their personalities upon the life of the community, and in his own day and genera- tion Mr. Kahle is so ordering his life as to also make of himself an example of exemplary manhood. He is ambitious to make for himself a success of life not only in material matters, but in the things that count for most and are of lasting value, and, judging of the esteem in which he is held, he is already succeeding in the undertaking he has in mind.
Ignatius Kahle was born on the family homestead in Greensburg town- ship, Putnam county, in February, 1876, a son of Frank and Bernadina (Brinkman) Kahle. Frank Kahle, Sr., father of Ignatius Kahle, was born on December 21, 1839, on the family homestead in Greensburg township, and passed his entire life in the one spot, his death occurring on February 23, 1898. He was a son of John F. and Bernadina (Wilberding) Kahle and in early manhood was united in marriage with Bernadina Brinkman, born in 1846, in this county, who was a daughter of Henry and Mary (Rieman) Brinkman. The Brinkmans were natives of Germany, who had emigrated to this country early in their married life and, after locating in one or two different places, finally settled permanently in this county.
Ignatius Kahle is one of a family of twelve children, for particulars of which the reader is respectfully referred to sketch of the career of Frank Kahle, Sr., elsewhere in this volume, and when a youth received his education in the common schools of his home township. From earliest boyhood he was carefully trained in the art of successful husbandry by his painstaking father, and by the time he had reached manhood he was well versed in the practical side of agriculture.
799
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Kahle was united in marriage on April 16, 1902, to Catherine Duling, a daughter of William and Anna ( Schroeder) Duling and a native of this county. William Duling, father of Mrs. Ignatius Kahle, was born in this county and educated in its public schools. His parents were both natives of Germany, who lived for many years in Ottawa township, this county, where they were known as successful farmers. Anna Schroeder, wife of William Duling, was a daughter of Henry and Catherine Schroeder, who came from Germany directly to this county, where they located in Greensburg township and were actively engaged in farming for many years. She was one of a family of thirteen children; the others living are: John, William, Charles, Matthew, Frank, Katie and Theresa. After William Duling and Anna Schroeder were married they moved to a farm of eighty acres in Greensburg township, on which spot their family was reared. At the time they obtained possession of it there was not much done to it in the way of improvements, but they bravely set to work, cleared the greater part of the land, put it all into an excellent state of cultivation and built many buildings, so that it came to be one of the comfortable homes of the com- munity. They were the parents of four children, namely : Henry, Catherine, wife of our immediate subject; Anna and Frank. Henry married Adeline Recker and resides in Ottawa township, this county; they are the parents of five children. Anna became the wife of Barney Kottenbruck, a farmer of Ottawa township, and is the mother of nine children, three of whom are dead. Frank chose Rosa Barlager as his helpmeet, and they make their home with his widowed mother on the old Duling homestead, where he carries on farming.
After marriage Ignatius Kahle and wife took up their residence on his present homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, which land was at one time a portion of his father's estate. He has made all the improvements on this land in the way of buildings, having erected fifteen structures in all, which are accounted among the best farm buildings in the county. This is saying considerable when the excellent conditions prevailing in this county are considered. Mr. Kahle carries on general farming, conducting his busi- ness along lines most approved by modern scientific experiment and is, there- fore, meeting with well deserved success. He also pays particular attention to the rearing of Shorthorn cattle, finding this a most remunerative side line to his regular business as agriculturist. In all, Mr. Kahle owns three hundred and thirteen acres of some of the best farm land in this section, and every acre of it bears silent witness to the excellent care given it by the owner.
To Ignatius and Catherine (Duling) Kahle have been born an inter-
800
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
esting family of six children, namely: Frances Mary Bernadina on March 22, 1903 ; Amos Frank John, July 7, 1905; Clara Mary Ann, June 26, 1907; Henry Frank William, November 2, 1909; Herbert Barney Ignatius, March 15, 1912, and Anna Mary Katherine, May 21, 1914. Mrs. Kahle is a woman of charming manners, who is much admired among her circle of friends and whose true mother heart is anxious that the little ones in her care shall be so trained as to be able to fill places of usefulness in the world when they come to years of manhood and womanhood.
Ignatius Kahle and family are devout members of St. Michael's Catholic church at Kalida, while the others mentioned within this sketch were of St. John's at Glandorf. Mr. Kahle votes the Democratic ticket, although he has no aspirations for the doubtful honors of a political career. He is an excellent specimen of sturdy young manhood and such as he form the foundation upon which the structure of our national wholesomeness is built.
ORREN BRYANT GURNEY.
A distinguished veteran of the Civil War and a resident of Putnam county, Ohio, since 1883, Orren Bryant Gurney is one of the highly respected citizens of Van Buren township, where he has long made his home. As a youth he was very anxious to serve his country during the war, and made two attempts to enter the service before he finally succeeded, his father spoiling the first two attempts he made to get into service. He has been a life-long farmer, and has met with excellent success in all of his agricultural operations.
Orren B. Gurney, the son of John and Ruth (Pearson) Gurney, was born on February 4, 1844, at Alexandria, Licking county, Ohio. His father was born on January 31, 1815, at Cummington, Massachusetts, a son of Asa J. and Lucy (Bryant) Gurney, natives of the same place. Asa Gurney was a son of Asa Gurney, Sr., a Revolutionary soldier, who enlisted no less than seven different times during the struggle for independence.
The family record of the Gurney family has been distinctly traced back through generations to Mollie Reed, who was one of the Mayflower party, now famous in American history. It is stated on reliable authority that Orren B. Gurney can trace his ancestry without a break in the lineage to 1603, and with one or two breaks in lineage to 950. Asa Gurney, Jr., was a woolen manufacturer in Massachusetts, and made annual trips to Ohio in the early part of the nineteenth century to buy wool. In these trips it was
MR. AND MRS, ORREN B. GURNEY.
801
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
his custom to purchase a horse and saddle, which he used to ride over the country in buying wool for his factory. After finishing his trip he would trade his horse and saddle for a piece of land, and in this way accumulated two hundred and fifty acres of farming land in Licking county. He bought the best quality of Merino wool, which he shipped through the old Ohio canal to Cleveland, from which point it was sent by lake and the Erie canal to its destination in Massachusetts. Asa Gurney, Jr., sold out his woolen mill interests in Massachusetts along about 1831 and moved to Alexandria, Licking county, Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life, with the exception of about fifteen years, when he lived in Granville, Ohio.
John Gurney came to Alexandria with his parents at the age of sixteen, after which time he helped his father on the farm until he was married on May 27, 1840, to Ruth Pearson, of Auburn, New York. To this union seven children were born-Paul Pearson, born on May 27, 1842; Orren B., born on February 4, 1844; Heber, born on April 1, 1846; David, born on May 16, 1848; Willis, born on August 2, 1850; Lucy, born on January 27, 1852; Winona B., born on December 8, 1853. John Gurney continued to live on the old Gurney homestead, in Licking county, until within a year of his death, in April. 1888. His wife was of Revolutionary stock, a member of the Episcopal church and died in 1873.
Orren B. Gurney attended the common schools of Licking county, and remained at home until the opening of the Civil War. After two ineffectual attempts to enlist he succeeded in being mustered into the service, May 2, 1864, and became a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was honorably discharged at the end of his enlistment, on September 1, 1864. During his service he participated in the battle of John Brown's school house, near Harper's Ferry, and during this fight his company lost fifteen killed and two companies were taken prisoners just prior to the opening of the battle.
After he returned from the war he went to Lyons, New York, where he attended the high school for a time. He then returned to Ohio and took a commercial course at Oberlin College, and on leaving college took a trip to Missouri, where he remained a year. Upon his return, in 1869, he mar- ried and continued residing in Licking county until 1883. In that year he came to Putnam county and bought twenty acres of land at that time in Van Buren township, which he cleared and still retains. Subsequently, he added about one hundred acres more to his farm, and now has one of the best improved and most highly productive farms of the township.
5I
n
802
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Gurney was married on April 1, 1869, to Martha J. Holler, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Holler, of Newark, Ohio, and to this union three children were born-Roberta Blanch, R. H. and Ruth. Roberta Blanch became the wife of William Riches, of Townwood, Ohio, and has four children, Adeline, Bryant, Robert and Tracy; R. H. Gurney married Christina Sechrist, and they are the parents of four children, two of whom are deceased; Ruth is the wife of James W. Jennings, who lives near Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and has eight children.
The first wife of Mr. Gurney died on January 14, 1910, and on Novem- ber 6, 1913, Mr. Gurney was married to Mrs. Mary A. (Niebel) Dunn, a daughter of Obed and Hannah (Nease) Neibel. She was born near Mc- Cutchenville, Wyandot county, Ohio.
Mr. Gurney is a charter member of the North Ridge Grange, No. 1421, of which he has been the master for about six years. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Leipsic, and has served as its commander. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Leipsic. He was formerly a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but now he is a member of the Evangelical church, to which denomination his wife also belongs.
LOUIS KONST.
Not a few of the enterprising citizens of Putnam county, Ohio, were either born in the little Kingdom of Holland or are descended from people who were born in that thriving domain. The people who have come from Holland and their immediate descendants are among the best citizens not only of Putnam county, but of any county where they have settled. The Konst family has long been known in this section of the state, and one of the enterprising and progressive members of that family is Louis Konst, of Miller City, who is now engaged in the retail liquor trade in Miller City.
Louis Konst was born on February 19, 1872, in Ottawa township, Put- nam county, Ohio, on a farm, the son of Lucas and Caroline (Burkhart) Konst, the former of whom was a native of Holland and the latter a native of Ottawa township, this county.
Lucas Konst was born in Holland, and when six years of age came to America with his parents, who brought with them their entire family, as follow: John, deceased; Katherine and Lucas. The family first settled in Cincinnati, where Lucas attended school, and in that city he learned the car-
803
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
penter trade. When a young man he came with his father and the rest of . the family. to New Cleveland, Ohio, where they settled on a farm of eighty acres. Lucas Konst's sister, Katherine, married Mathias Otto, and lives at New Cleveland. After coming to New Cleveland Lucas Konst worked at his trade as a carpenter. and here married Caroline Burkhart, the daughter of Adam Burkhart and wife, and after his marriage he engaged in farming on what is known as the John Beck farm. For some time Mr. Konst farmed on shares. Later he moved to the Kinnecke farm, near Columbus Grove, where he remained for three years, when he bought a farm at Elm Center, consisting of forty-seven acres, where he lived until 1910, and then removed to Ottawa, where he lived until his death on January 8, 1913. He was sur- vived by his widow and the following children : Frank, Charles, John, Joseph, Louis, Thomas, Martha, Rudolph, William and Mathias. Of these children Frank married Anna Yenner, and lives in Continental, Ohio; Charles first married Mary Barlager, and after her death he married Caroline Yenner, who died at Continental, Ohio, after which he married Clara Vanvlera, and now lives near Hicksville, Ohio; John married Catherine Krouse and lives at Leipsic, Ohio; Joseph married Zine Riggs and lives in Ottawa; Louis is the subject of this sketch; Thomas married Emma Laird and lives in Toledo, Ohio; Martha became the wife of William Hammond, and they live at Sher- wood, Ohio; Rudolph married Gertrude Alt, and lives in Ottawa; William lives in San Diego, California; Mathias married Jennie Klass, and lives in Miller City.
Louis Konst received his education in the schools of Elm Center, Ohio. During the early years of his life he lived on a farm, where he worked for some time. Later he was employed in a stave factory.
Louis Konst was married on April 5, 1898, to Imus I. Kiefer, the daugh- ter of Marion and Mary (Gingrich) Kiefer, who were residents of Conti- nental, and were the parents of the following children : Benjamin, Amanda, Imus and Ovel. Mrs. Kiefer is now deceased, and her husband is still living at Continental. After his marriage Mr. Konst lived in Ottawa and was engaged in the restaurant business. He also worked for a time in Conti- nental and then engaged in business with Joseph Gingrich. Subsequently he engaged, on September 1, 1900, in business for himself at Continental and later moved to a farm of one hundred and forty-nine acres in Defiance county, Ohio, which he purchased. He lived there for two years, and improved the farm in many ways, erecting a house, barn and other outbuildings. He then bought one hundred acres additional on January 1, 1915. Subsequently he moved to Defiance and later engaged in the meat business on June 1, 1910,
804
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
in Continental, after which he purchased the business of his brother, Rudolph, on November 28, 1910, and formed a partnership with his brother, Mathias. on March 1, 1914, which has continued ever since.
To Louis and Imus I. (Kiefer) Konst have been born two children, Beulah, on January 1, 1899, and Curtis, August 28, 1901 .. Beulah is a student in the Miller City high school and Curtis is also attending school at Miller City.
Mr. Konst owns his property in Miller City, and also owns two hundred and forty-nine acres of land in Defiance county, Ohio. In every respect he is a self-made man, and deserves the confidence and respect of the people of the county for his industry, frugality and good business management.
Mr. Konst is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and in politics is a Democrat, but has not been active in political matters. He has devoted his attention to his own personal and private business affairs, which accounts in a large measure for his success in life.
CHARLES W. BEARD.
One of the well-known farmers of Putnam county, Ohio, is Charles W. Beard, who owns a fertile and productive farm and one which is well im- proved in every respect. He is a man who has encountered many obstacles in life, but he has never been discouraged and has always succeeded in sur- mounting whatever obstacles that might arise. Mr. Beard's predominant trait, perhaps, is his optimism, and on this account he is popular among his neighbors, highly respected and admired by them. Charles W. Beard comes from one of the oldest families in Putnam county ; one which has been inti- matcly connected with the history of this county almost from its beginning. He is, therefore, in every respect a representative citizen and one entitled to representation in this volume.
Charles W. Beard was born in Greensburg township, Putnam county, Ohio, on December 6, 1860, the son of John and Mary Beard. John Beard was born in 1830 in Fairfield county, Ohio. He is the son of John, Sr., and Mary (Carey) Beard. The paternal grandfather of John Beard was a native of Ireland, who settled in the state of Maryland, where he was a teacher. He lived to be one hundred years old. John Beard, Sr., was born in North Carolina and came to Fairfield county, Ohio, when a young man. His wife, who before her marriage was Mary Carey, was born in Maryland on July 4, 1802, the daughter of John and Mary Carey. To John, Sr., and Mary Beard were born six children, Mrs. Margaret Pickering, George, Jacob,
805
PUTNAM COUNTY, OHIO.
Samuel, John and Cornelius. John Beard, Sr., was a miller by trade, and died of cholera in 1832. His widow was later married to J. M. Allen and, after bearing him six children, died on January 13, 1889.
John Beard, Jr., the father of Charles W., was reared as a farmer and educated in the common schools. He began on his account at the age. of fourteen. In the fall of 1855 he taught his first school at Cuba, in Putnam county, and taught four winter terms after that, continuing his professional work, however, until 1866, in Greensburg and Jackson townships and in the town of Ft. Jennings. After living for a time in Putnam county Mr. Beard moved to Franklin county, but subsequently returned to Putnam county and purchased a farm near Ft. Jennings in 1866. He purchased a farm in Greens- burg township in 1872 and moved to this farm in that year. John Beard was married on November 2, 1854. at Columbus, Ohio, to Mary Jane Case, a native of New York and the daughter of Jacob and Anna Case. There were two children born to this union, William H., who died in infancy, and Charles W., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Beard died in 1866 and on Sep- tember 22, 1867, Mr. Beard was married to Mrs. Sophia (Shank) Guyton, who was born in Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio, and who was the daughter of Henry and Barbara (Meyers) Shank, natives of Maryland. Henry Shank was born near Hagerstown, and was the son of Christian Shank, Sr. Barbara Meyers, his wife was born in Maryland and was the daughter of John and Mary Meyers. She married Henry Shank in Maryland, soon after which they moved to Putnam county. To this second marriage of John Beard six children were born, Christian, a farmer near Auburn, Indiana, who married Maude Bibler, and has four children, Joyce, Elsie, Samuel and Charles; Lucy A., who married John Bibler, of Greensburg township, and has had ten children, eight of whom are living, Flossie, Fay, Velma, Coral, Ella, Della, Raymond, Dale, Pauline and Woodrow Wilson; John F., of near Edgerton, who married Mary Wynkoop, and has four children, John Milton, Icy, Preston and Zola; Margaret, who died in infancy ; Ella E., who lives on her father's farm, married Clyde M. Fletcher and has one son, Paul Clarence, and Samuel S., who lives south of Kalida, married Minnie Kirkendall and has three children, Doyle, Helen and Annabel.
Charles W. Beard, a son by the first marriage, was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools of Putnam county. He remained on this farm until he was twenty years of age.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.