History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 80

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 80

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REV. HENRY GERWERT.

Putnam county, Ohio, has been the home and the scene of the labors of many men who have not only led lives which serve as a lesson to those who follow them on the stages of life's activities, but who have also been of im- portance in the service of the moral and civic life of the community. The honored and highly-esteemed Rev. Henry Gerwert is a man of well-rounded character, sincere, devoted and loyal. Standing, as he does today, at the head of one of the most important churches in Putnam county, his labors have long been directed for the amelioration of the people of his community. He is not an old man, but in fact, is comparatively young. and has made rapid progress in ecclesiastical affairs.

Rev. Henry Gerwert was born on October 29, 1881, in Rheinland, Ger- many, the son of Henry and Katherine (Koehne) Gerwert, where he re- ceived his elementary education in the schools of his native land, and then became a student in the University of Bonn, Germany. Later he entered Mt. St. Mary's Seminary at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he studied for one year, completing a course in English. He was ordained to the priesthood in Toledo, August 28, 1908, by the Rt. Rev. Joseph Koudelka, auxiliary bishop of Cleveland, now bishop of the diocese of Superior, Wisconsin. After his ordination, Rev. Henry Gerwert was assigned to the church at Ottoville, Putnam county, where he remained until January 17, 1914. He was then assigned to St. Nicholas's church, at Miller City, Putnam county, with the

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mission at Continental, Ohio. A new school building has been built in con- nection with the church at Miller City, and is a substantial, one-story brick building and will have been erected largely through the efforts of Father Gerwert. The parish of St. Nicholas comprises about one hundred and thirty families. Father Gerwert is well versed in modern and ancient languages and while in college mastered Italian and French and is the author of many poems. His poetry is characterized by simple beauty and rythmical con- struction.

Henry Gerwert's brother, John, completed college course in 1914 in Rensselaer, Indiana, and is planning to study medicine in the near future. Henry Gerwert's sister, Catherine, who was also born in Germany, came to America in 1914 and at the present time keeps house for her brother. She is a charming young lady, with many accomplishments.

In his ministrations to the people of Putnam county as pastor and priest, the Rev. Father Gerwert has won for himself a distinct place in the hearts of his parishioners. He is a man who is truly loved and widely admired, both for his devotion and for his learning.

JACOB G. KNEPPER.

The final causes which shape the fortunes of individual men and the destinies of states are often the same. They are usually remote and obscure, their influence wholly unexpected until declared by results. When they inspire men to the exercise of courage, self-denial, enterprise, industry and call into play the higher moral elements; when they lead men to risk all upon conviction, faith-such causes lead to the planning of great states, great nations, great people. That country is the greatest which produces the most manly man. The intrinsic safety depends not so much upon methods and measures as upon that true manhood from whose deep sources all that is precious and permanent in life must at last proceed. Such a result may not be consciously contemplated by the individuals instrumental in producing the civilization of a country, pursuing each his personal good by exalted means, they work out this by a logical result. They have wrought on the lines of the greatest good. In reviewing the life of such a person we look back over the pathway he has trod and note its high-water mark of usefulness, its points worthy of emulation and perpetuation. What Jacob G. Knepper, of Gilboa, Putnam county, Ohio, has done for his fellow-men and the com-

JACOB G. KNEPPER.

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munity in general, might in a manner be told in words, but in its far-reaching influences cannot be measured. For two generations Jacob G. Knepper has been a power and influence in Gilboa and surrounding country.

Jacob G. Knepper was born on June 14, 1839, in Hancock county, Ohio, seven miles west of Findlay. He is a son of John and Elizabeth (Fogle- song) Knepper. John Knepper was born in 1802 in Fairfield county, Ohio; was a son of Jacob Knepper and wife, who were both natives of Germany, and who emigrated to this country in the early days and settled in Fairfield county. He was a miller by trade, which vocation he followed after coming to America. He owned and operated a grist-mill for a great many years, which was located on Walnut Creek, seven miles west of Lancaster. John Knepper was one of twelve children. He remained with his father and assisted in operating the mill until he was thirty-two years of age, when he moved to Hancock county, Ohio, where he entered land from the govern- ment in Blanchard township, one mile east of Benton Ridge. He moved into the woods, cleared his land and built a log cabin. Later he entered land in several sections, in all, about six hundred acres. He was more fortunate than most of the pioneers of those days, as he had some money.

When about twenty-one years of age John Knepper married Elizabeth Foglesong in Fairfield county. She was born in October, 1802, and was a daughter of Christian and Susan (Arnold) Foglesong. Her parents came from Maryland in an early day and settled in Fairfield county, Ohio. To this union were born nine children, of whom Jacob G. Knepper was the youngest. John Knepper died on June 1, 1840, in Hancock county, Ohio, and in 1845 Mrs. John Knepper married Peter Wise, but there were no children born to this union.

Jacob G. Knepper received his education in the district schools of Han- cock county, Ohio, and was a student for one year at Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, and subsequently attended school one year at Findlay. He remained at home until the outbreak of the Civil War, and in August, 1862, Mr. Knepper enlisted for service in the Union army in Company D, Ninety-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving until July 17, 1865. He served under Gen. Thomas Van Cleave, and also under General Schofield in the Army of the Cumberland until January 1, 1865, when he was transferred to the army of the east. He took the boat at Alexandria and landed in North Carolina, where his corps met the army of General Sherman at the end of its march from Atlanta to the sea. He was finally mustered out of the service at Salisbury, North Carolina, on June 26, 1865,

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and was discharged on July 17, 1865, at Camp Dennison, Ohio. He was taken prisoner at Stone River, Tennessee, in the fall of 1862, but was held only two hours, when he made his escape to the Union lines. He partici- pated in the battles of Stone River, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Resaca, Jonesboro and Kenesaw Mountain, and finally at the battle of Nashville.

After the close of the war Mr. Knepper returned home and worked on: his mother's farm, and in March, 1866, was married to Mary E. Foltz, the daughter of Noah and Mary Foltz, who were residents of Eagle township,. Hancock county, Ohio.

After his marriage Mr. Knepper continued to farm the old homestead until August, 1873, when he moved to a farm in the extreme western part of Blanchard township, Hancock county. Here he remained until May, 1897, and during all of this time he was engaged in general farming, and was unusually successful.

He retired from active farm life in May, 1897, and moved to Gilboa, Putnam county. He became interested in the Gilboa Stone Company in 1900, which connection he retained until 1904. He retained his interests, however, in this company until 1907, in which year Mr. Knepper became a stockholder in the Gilboa Banking Company and a director of this bank. He was elected president of this bank in January, 1913. He holds this office at the present time.

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob G. Knepper are the parents of nine children, namely : Noah W., married Jennie Laub, and they have four children, one of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Noah Knepper died about five or six years after her marriage, and Noah Knepper later married a widow of Marine City, Michigan, and to this union one daughter has been born. They reside at Marine City. Jennie, the second child of Jacob Knepper, is the wife of Kelly Laub, and they have three children, two daughters and one son, and reside in Findlay ; Mary Elizabeth and Ada C. both died in early childhood; Viola is the wife of J. B. Thomas, and they have one daughter and live near West Cairo, Allen county, Ohio; Adam M. married Lilly Haddox, and they have four children, one dying in infancy, and reside at Delphos, Ohio; Charles Albert married Sylvia Tullis, and are residents of Leipsic, Ohio; Nellie died at the age of eighteen, December 31, 1903; Laura L. is the wife of L. A. Kemerly, and lives at Carey, Ohio; N. Harrison married Stella Buchland, and they have three children, two sons and one daughter.

Mr. Knepper is an ardent Republican, and has always taken an active- interest in local political matters. He served as land appraiser in 1890 in

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Hancock county, and was also tristee of Blanchard township, that county, for one term, his term of office beginning in 1876. He was appointed post- master of Gilboa and took this office on April 1, 1904, and held it until July 31, 1912, a period of eight years. He also served on the town council sev- eral terms. Mr. Knepper is a member of Lindsay Post, No. 75, Grand Army of the Republic, and also belongs to Gilboa Lodge, No. 459, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

That Jacob Knepper is a highly respected and influential citizen, is evi- denced by the many positions of honor and trust which he has held. He is a man of sterling integrity and a progressive citizen.

PROF. HARRY MILES JAY.

It is not always easy to define the hidden forces that move a young man to large professional success. Little more can be done than to note the forces and call attention to them. The career of Prof. Harry Miles Jay, the pres- ent superintendent of the Kalida public schools, is a striking example of the power of well-defined purpose. Professor Jay has been able to make his abil- ity count in the attainment, not only of his own ambitions, but for the good of his fellow men as well. For several years he has held distinctive prestige in the educational field, which requires for its success particularly strong men- tality, rigid discipline of a high order and wide professional training. Al- though a comparatively young man, Professor Jay has attained a high de- gree of success and has an excellent standing among the educators of Putnam county, Ohio.

Harry Miles Jay was born in Newton township, Miami county, Ohio, three and one-half miles west of Pleasant Hill, November 4, 1888. He is the son of James and Susana (Miles) Jay, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The Jay family were of English origin and were among the very ear- liest settlers in Miami county. The paternal grandfather of Professor Jay, who settled on two hundred acres of land in Miami county, which he cleared of the primitive timber. He drained the land and made out of it a productive and fertile farm. His children were Joseph, Jonathan, William, Moses, Mar- tha, and James, the father of Professor Jay. Jonathan became a minister in the Friends church and preached for many years.

The maternal grandparents of Professor Jay were Henry Miles and wife, who were early settlers in Miami county, where they lived on a farm. Their

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children were Cora, Linnie, Mark and Susana, the mother of Professor Jay. They were members of the Friends church.

James Jay, the father of Professor Jay, was educated in the common schools of Miami county, Ohio. He also took a course in the Northern In- diana University at Valparaiso, and, after returning from college, worked on his father's farm. He purchased and cleared forty acres of land in Newton township, in Miami county, before his marriage. After his marriage to Su- sana Miles he moved to his farm, where he had previously erected a dwelling. He continued farming on this place until 1892, when he died, and was buried in Union cemetery in Miami county. His wife now resides with her son, Pro- fessor Jay, at Kalida. James and Susana (Miles) Jay were the parents of six children, Della, Matilda, Alice, Wade, Russell and Henry. Of these chil- dren, Della married Henry Klopfer, who live on the Red Top farm near Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, and have five children: Matilda married Moses Tucker, of Nebraska, and they live in Idaho, where they moved in 1913, from Nebraska, and they have six children; Wade married Clara Agnes, and they live near Covington, in Miami county, and have two children; Russell mar- ried Rosa Good and is the pastor of the First Christian church at Elkhart, Indiana. He was educated at Defiance College and took the four years' academic course. He also took a four years' theological course at Defiance. Harry Miles Jay was educated first in district No. 7, Newton township, Miami county, Ohio, and was graduated from the county schools in 1904. He then attended the Pleasant Hill high school for four years and was grad- uated in 1907. After that he took a collegiate course in Defiance College and was graduated in 1911, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After this, he took a post-graduate course of one year, taking the degree of Master of Arts.

Professor Jay was married on January 1, 1914, to Mabel Adams, of Defiance. Ohio, the daugher of John and Phoebe ( Rettig) Adams, who were the parents of the following children: Irving, Lester, Mabel, Grace and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. John Adams are still living in Defiance. Mr. Adams is a machinist.

After their marriage, Professor and Mrs. Jay moved to Kalida, Ohio. He had accepted a position as principal of the Kalida high school and served for two years, from 1911 to 1913. During 1913 and 1914 he was superin- tendent of the Kalida schools, and from 1914 to the present time he has served as district superintendent of supervision No. 8, Putnam county, Ohio. To Henry Miles and Mabel (Adams) Jay have been born one child, John Adams. He was born on October 26, 1914.

Prof. Henry Miles Jay is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons

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at Ottawa. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Professor Jay is a master of the Masonic lodge No. 280 at Kalida. He is generally regarded as a man of high professional attainments, is a man of pleasing disposition and of splendid executive ability. He has advanced steadily in the educational sphere of this county and has filled several posi- tions with great credit.

J. AUGUST SMITH.

The object of a work of this character is not so much to portray the vir- tues of the present generation as to preserve for posterity the family records upon which, in succeeding generations, a proper degree of family unity may be based and maintained. The compilation of the records herein presented, and in which the leading familes of Putnam county have taken so large and so commendable a degree of interest, is not only valuable as a source of informa- tion to the present generation in this county, but will be the object of deepest gratitude on the part of generations yet unborn, for here are arrayed facts of family history, which, without being thus assembled and preserved, in- evitably would have been lost, at least in a large part, to the very great deprivation of that sense of family unity, so properly prideful a quality in human kind. Among the old families in Putnam county which have been properly aroused to the value of this form of preservation of family records, the family of L. Jacob Smith is entitled to special mention, for in this volume of biography five of Mr. Smith's sons have modestly sought to preserve the data upon which their families are founded, for the benefit of posterity, a most commendable ambition and one worthy of the widest emulation. In the biographical sketch relating to the eldest brother of this family, Frank Smith, presented elsewhere in this volume, the genealogy of the family is set out at length, and it will be sufficient, in this connection, to deal in a merely intro- ductory fashion with that feature of the biography of the gentleman whose name is noted above.

J. August Smith was born on a farm near the town of Kalida, in Union township, Putnam county, Ohio, May 13, 1882, the son of L. Jacob and Flor- entine (Verhoff) Smith, both of whom were members of old and prominent families in this county. J. August Smith was reared on the paternal farm and received his early education in the excellent schools of Union township. He remained on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began working the farm of his brother-in-law, Joseph Kahle, where he re-

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mained four years, at the end of which time he bought ninety-three acres of land in sections 20 and 21, in Union township, a portion of the Frank Kahle estate, and moved upon this farm after his marriage, in 1908, and has lived there ever, since, firmly establishing himself as one of the leading young farmers of that part of the county, his progressive and up-to-date methods of farming having insured his success in his chosen calling.

On May 6, 1908, J. August Smith was united in marriage to Leonora Annesser, daughter of William and Theresa (Myers) Annesser, who lived at that time in Union township, but who later moved to a farm in the province of Ontario, Canada, where they now reside. Mrs. Smith is the eldest of the six surviving children of Mr. and Mrs. Annesser, the others being John, Wil- helmina, Anna, Helena and Alice.

To J. August and Leonora (Annesser) Smith have been born three children, as follow : Harry, on January 10, 1911; George, May 28, 1913, now deceased, and Gerald, February 25, 1915.

J. August Smith and wife are members of St. Michael's Catholic church at Kalida, and are warmly interested in the good works of that parish, Mr. Smith being one of the trustees of the local branch of the Catholic Knights of Ohio. He likewise is interested in all other good works in the community, and is, as well, interested in the general public welfare, being an earnest pro- moter of public improvements of a general character. He is one of the di- rectors of construction of the Mutual Telephone Company, at Kalida.

J. August Smith is a substantial young farmer and he and his wife are deservedly popular in their large circle of acquaintances, their unvarying cour- tesy and gentle qualities making them favorites with all

WILLIAM SMITH.

Elsewhere in this volume of biography of the important citizens of Put- nam county, there is presented at some length the genealogy of the Smith family, so long and so'well known in the Kalida neighborhood in Union town- ship, this county, the fourth generation of which in this section of the state is now doing well its part in the development of the best interests of that ex- cellent community, following nobly the admirable example of social and civic worth set by the forbears of that family in this county. So admirable has been the spirit uniformly displayed by the members of this family in its attitude toward the communal interests, that it is a pleasure to present here

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another sketch relating to one of the present-day active members of the fam- ily, and to this end the biographer asks the reader's attention to the following brief review of the life of the gentleman whose name appears above.

William Smith, one of the sons of L. Jacob and Florentine (Verhoff) Smith, was born on the paternal homestead near Kalida, in Union township, Putnam county, Ohio, October 28, 1879, and has lived all his life in that neighborhood, occupying today the position of one of the leading men in that community, as were his father and his grandfather before him. Though the local readers of this biography need no introduction to the Smith family in Union township, it may be said, in passing here, that further details of the genealogy of William Smith may be found in the sketch pertaining to his elder brother, Frank Smith, presented elsewhere in this volume, which traces the family descent from the first of that line to locate in this section. The genealogy of the Verhoff family, the family of Mr. Smith's mother, may be found in the sketch relating to Theodore Verhoff, of Greensburg town- ship, her brother, elsewhere in this volume.

William Smith was reared on the paternal farm in Union township, the same on which his brother, Frank, now resides, and received his early educa- tion in the schools of that neighborhood, the period of his young manhood being spent on the home farm. For six years previous to his marriage, he worked on the farms of others in the neighborhood, the labors of the home farm not requiring the services of all the stalwart sons of the proprietor, but after his marriage, in 1909, he moved to the farm of eighty acres on which he now lives in Union township, he having previously bought this place in anticipation of marriage and the establishment of a new home. He moved the house in which he now lives to its present location, it having stood a short distance to the north at the time he bought the place. In many ways he has improved this place and has brought it up to a high standard of cultivation, making it a productive and attractive farm. Mr. Smith is an intelligent and industrious young farmer and is contemplating numerous other improve- ments to his already well-ordered place In addition to his own farm of eighty acres, Mr. Smith works a tract of twenty-three acres adjoining, which belongs to his father, the venerable L. Jacob Smith, who is living a life of pleasant retirement in Kalida, where he established a comfortable home some years ago upon coming to the decision to retire and enjoy the fruits of a long life of honorable activity.

On October 20, 1909, William Smith was united in marriage to Clara Rampe, the daughter of Frank and Anna (Doepker) Rampe, members of one of the oldest and best-known families in Putnam county, frequent refer-

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ence to which family is made in this volume, both of whom were born in the Glandorf neighborhood, where Mr. Smith's bride grew to womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Rampe some years ago retired from the farm on which they had so long resided and are now living in retirement in the town of Kalida, this county, where they have the esteem of all who know them. They are the parents of five children, three sons and three daughters, the others being Frank, Hubert, Anna, Ella and Clark.

To William and Clara (Rampe) Smith four children have been born, as follow : Louise, August 30, 1910; Rudolph, April 14, 1912; Edwin, Decem- ber 15, 1913, and Stephen, March 10, 1915, a most interesting little family which makes the Smith home a continuous scene of merriment and joy.

William Smith and wife are members of the St. Michael's Catholic church at Kalida, in the various beneficences of which they are earnestly in- terested, and Mr. Smith is a member of the St. Joseph's Benevolent Society, in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest, being one of the most gen- erous contributors to the general work of the parish. The Smith family, in that section of the county, are all interested in the good works of the com- munity in which they live. With an honorable ancestry back of them it is not unnatural that they should possess a pardonable degree of family pride and it is gratifying to note that this commendable regard for family and a proper desire to perpetuate the family records has prompted five of the sons of L. Jacob Smith to furnish data to the present biographer upon which to construct biographical sketches for this valuable history of the prominent citizens of Putnam county, an instance of family consideration which their descendants will appreciate greatly in the years to come and for which generations yet unborn will thank them.

ANTHONY SMITH.

Pride of family is one of the most commendable of human virtues. "Rely upon it that the man who does not worthily estimate his own dead fore- fathers will himself do very little to add credit or do honor to his country." This quotation, from William E. Gladstone, touches at the very heart of the matter. The desire, therefore, on the part of so many of the prominent citi- zens of Putnam county to preserve family records in this volume bespeaks a very high degree of patriotism as well as the most justifiable pride of family and the community at large cannot but be bettered and strengthened by this

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display of patriotism, this interesting manifestation of a general desirc on the part of well-thinking people to create a closer degree of family unity and to preserve for the coming generations invaluable family data that in- evitably would be lost without this or some similar form of preservation. The readers of this volume will notice with interest that the five sons of L. Jacob Smith have very properly availed themselves of this general medium as a means of handing down to their posterity in orderly array the data upon which to base a family unity that will be a source of pride of the most com- mendable sort to generations yet to come. Frank, William, Hubert, August and Anthony Smith have furnished to the biographer data relating to their immediate families and it is a pleasure here to present the biography of the last named, the others being found on other pages in this volume. In the biography of Frank Smith, the eldest son of L. Jacob and Florentine (Ver- hoff) Smith, therc is presented at length the genealogy of the paternal branch of this family in Putnam county, while elsewhere the Verhoff side finds equally interesting presentation under the head of Theodore Verhoff, of Greensburg township, brother of the mother of the Smith brothers.

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History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions, Part 80

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