History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c., Part 141

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c. > Part 141

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).

GETMAN, J. B., druggist, Plymouth ; was born in Columbia, Herkimer"Co., N. Y .; received his education at Whitestown. March 30, 1857, came to Plymouth, where he was engaged to teach in the public schools, which position he held for seven years without inter- ruption. On the 5th day of December, 1863, he en- gaged in the drug business, and has been known throughout the country as a reliable and proficient druggist. He has been a member of the School Board twelve years, and has done much to elevate the schools to their present condition ; has been a member of the Couucil four years. Was married, July, 1859, to Miss Helen M. Wicks, who was born at Genoa, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and who came to Ohio when 4 years old ; they have three children-Ida C., born in June, 1860; grad- uated at Ohio Wesleyan Female College when she was 17 years old, and is now a teacher in the Plymouth schools ; Walter Wix, born Sept. 30, 1867; Mable Helen, born in January, 1877.

GUNSAULLUS, F. DORR, attorney and counselor at law, Plymouth ; was born Aug. 22, 1854, in Plym- outh Township, receiving his education at the high schools of Plymouth. At the age of 15, he went into the foundry and machine-shops to learn the business, where he worked till July, 1872 (during this time, he attended school during the winters); in 1872, he ac- cepted a position in the First National Bank as Teller, which position he held for two years, and had the con- fidence of all with whom he did business; in 1875, he began reading law, after which he attended the law school of the Cincinnati College; was admitted to practice April 18, 1877. Was married in October, 1877, to Miss Jennie E. Gettings, and on the evening of their wedding he and his bride started for the West, and landed at Aurora, Hamilton Co., Neb., Dec. 18, 1877; he was admitted to the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the State ; May 6, 1878, was admitted as a counselor at law and solicitor in chancery of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Nebraska at Omaha. While at Hamilton, Neb., he organized a building association and was elected its President, he having the privilege of seeing built, by the aid of this association, the finest building in the county. At the earnest solicitation of his mother, and sickness of his father, he was induced to return to Plymouth, which he did in May, 1878; June 20, 1878, he opened a law office, and has been amply re- paid for it, having the patronage of most of the

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business men, and the confidence of the community at large ; he being a man of integrity and good business principles, his clients always feel that he does his duty for them.

HOFFMAN, G. W., jeweler and watchmaker, Plym- outh, was born Oct. 18, 1832, in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1844, the family moved to Plymouth, which then had a population of about four hundred. Soon after their arrival, Mr. Hoffman's father engaged in the jewelry and watch business, and for more than thirty-five years this business has been carried on by some member of the family, and latterly by Mr. G. W. Hoffman, who now has one of the finest jewelry establishments to be found anywhere. His stock consists of watches, clocks, jewelry, in endless variety, guns and revolvers, also, watch repairing in all its branches. Store, south side of public square. Was married April, 1858, to Miss Frye ; they have two daughters-Bell, born in January, 1859; Maud, born in July, 1861.

HOLTZ, DR. SAMUEL S., homeopathic physician, Plymouth, was born in Cumberland Co., Penn., Oct. 24, 1850 ; was raised a farmer .. In 1870, he attended the " Baldwin University," of Berea, Ohio ; graduated in pharmacy March 14, 1873 ; subsequent to graduating he began the study of medicine with Dr. J. M. Fackler, and received the degree of M. D. Jan. 17, 1877, at Pulte Homoeopathic Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio, after attending one term of lectures at Hahne- mann Homoeopathic Medical College, of Chicago, Ill., since which time he has been practicing with Dr. Fackler. Was married July 4, 1878, to Miss Mattie A. Flora ; they have one child, born Aug. 8, 1879. The Doctor is a man of integrity, and an excellent physician. Office on Sandusky street.

KIEL, J. E., confectionery and grocery, was born in Philadelphia, l'enn. In the spring of 1872, came to Plymouth and engaged in the manufacture of candies of all descriptions for the wholesale trade, which has proved to be a very profitable business. Mr. Kiel came from Mansfield to Plymouth ; the family came to Rich- land Co. thirty years ago, and they have seen old Rich- land when it was pretty wild, and are numbered among the early settlers. His bakery and confectionery are on the north side of the square. Was married in March, 1872, to Miss Mary McCormick ; they have one child, Maud, born Feb. 1, 1876. Mr. Kiel is numbered as one of Plymouth's reliable business men.

KIRKPATRICK, WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Plymouth ; was born May 25, 1822, in Plymouth Township, where he has always lived ; he has traveled considerably, having visited most of the large cities of the United States ; his father came to Plymouth Town- ship in 1815 ; it was then almost an unbroken wilder- ness, there being only six families in the township, and but six little log cabins ; he entered his quarter-section of land from the Government, where his brother and mother now live ; after entering his land, he cleared ten acres and built a log cabin and then returned to Washington Co., N. Y., and was married in 1818, and moved, together with two or three other families, to Ohio ; they came by wagons ; they had two ox teams and two horse teams ; they came through part of Penn- sylvania, crossing the Alleghany Mountains ; were six weeks on the way from the time they started till they

arrived in Richland Co. Mr. Kirkpatrick remembers hearing his father tell of the spring after they came here ; how and when he first got potatoes for seed, there being none in Plymouth Township, he and a neighbor concluded to go to Mansfield for some, and they started on foot, there being no roads, only a " trail " blazed through on the trees-by way of Truxville (now Ganges) then containing two or three houses ; they arrived in Mansfield, which then had only six houses, and a block-house for protection against the Indians, at that time very numerous in the county. They bought a bushel of potatoes, for which they paid $2, and shouldered their bushel of potatoes, and started for home. When night overtook them, they lost their trail and had to lay out all night. They protected themselves from the wolves by building a fire of logs and brush, and laying by the side of the fire, the wolves would howl around them all night. But the worst of all was they had no supper, and nothing to eat but the potatoes, so they roasted about a peck of them for their supper and breakfast. By hunting around for some lit- tle time, they succeeded in finding the trail for home, and arrived home in the evening. He remembers another incident of his father killing a big deer with a club. He was out hunting his cows as they ran in the woods with a bell on, as was the custom, and his dog started a deer which he chased till he got tired, when he turned to fight the dog, when Kirkpatrick came up and the buck came at him, and he told the dog to " take him," which he did, while Mr. K. killed him with a club, by a well-directed blow on the head. They used to go to church or to meetings held in an old log church, and would ride behind their ox teams. The first schoolhouse that was built in the township was on their old farm, it being built of logs, and the first teacher was Robert Mackelvey. Mr. Kirkpatrick attended his school, together with an older sister. In 1848, he moved to his present farm, three- quarters of a mile west of the old homestead. He has been Township Trustee two terms, and is now Land Appraiser for the township, and is perhaps one of the oldest citizens living in the township, who was born and raised in it, and is one of the best men in the county. Was married, in 1847, to Miss Elizabeth Emmerson, of Richland Co .; they have six children- Emaline, born Oct. 31, 1850 ; Harriet, March 30, 1853; John Albert, Dec. 8, 1856; Mary Elizabeth, Dec. 8, 1858; William Henry, Dec. 10, 1860 ; Franklin Ells- worth, Feb. 6, 1863.

LOCKWOOD, I. L., Agent B. & O. R. R., Ply- mouth ; was born in Cincinnati in 1847; educated in Kentucky. He was connected with the general office of the B. & O. R. R .; he commenced for the company in 1872, at Columbus, Ohio, where he remained about one year, when he went to Toledo, as Chief Clerk of the "Globe Line" offices, the B. & O. R. R. Co. being at the head of the line, which position he held up to the time that he was appointed to the agency at Plymouth to take charge of their offices, Dec. 1, 1874, the position he still holds to the satisfaction of the railroad company and the citizens generally. Mr. Lockwood is called one of the most gentlemanly agents on the railroad, and the company gave him credit for an increase of freight of over $14,000 in the last two

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years ; the company highly appreciate his services, as he is a No. 1 man in every particular. Was married, May 18, 1876, to Miss Lilla A. Bowlby, of Plymouth ; their residence is on Trux street.

LOVELAND, G. W., farmer ; P. O. Plymouth ; was born in New Haven, Ohio, in 1832; has always lived on the farm there until 1861, when he bought a part of what was then the Ammerman farm, which had been settled and improved for many years, he making the present improvements in the shape of buildings ; he has perhaps one of the finest residences in the town- ship, and everything around him to make home and life comfortable; he used to teach school in an old schoolhouse that was situated on the northeast corner of his farm; there was an old house and barn on the place when Mr. L. came here ; five or six years after he moved here, he built his present handsome build- ings. Mr. Loveland has served three years as Town- ship Treasurer, and one term as Township Trustee ; he is a man who well deserves the position which he holds in society. Was married in 1857 to Miss Delila H. Parker, daughter of Samuel Parker, Esq .; they have two children-Jessie Eugenia, born Aug. 18, 1861, and Polly, born Feb. 17, 1878.

MCDONOUGH, ROBERT, JR., furniture and under- taking, Plymouth ; he was educated at Kenyon Col- lege, Gambier, Knox Co., Ohio; May 1, 1879, he bought out the firm of Kaylor & Sweet, furniture dealers ; Mr. McDonough has one of the best selections of fur- niture, etc., to be found in town, and, although one of the youngest firms in town, yet he has a fine prospect before him, and tries to gain the confidence of the pub- lic. February 7, 1879, he was married to Miss Bell Hoffman, of Plymouth. Mr. McDonough's father, Robert, Sr., was born in Washington Co., Penn., Feb. 9, 1811 ; when but 9 years of age, he came, with his parents, to Millersburg, Ohio, where they remained until he was 18 years of age; thence he removed to Mansfield, Ohio, where he remained until 1832, when he came to Plymouth, where he resided until his death, which occurred May 17, 1873, he having been a resident of Plymouth forty-one years, consequently one of the earliest settlers in the town. Mr. McDon- ough was born of Scotch-Irish parentage, and, at the age of 23, he united with the Presbyterian' Church ; was engaged in the mercantile business thirty-eight years, and the two last years of his life he was in the banking business, with general favor and success, as had been shown him by the confidence of the business and farming community ; in respect to his memory, all the business houses were closed, appropriately draped in mourning.

NIMMONS, E. H., farmer ; P. O. Plymouth ; was born in Plymouth Township in 1846 ; his parents came from Binghamton, N. Y , to Plymouth at a very early day; his father died in April, 1857; his mother now lives in town. Mr. Nimmons bought his present farm in 1872; has always lived within one and one-half miles of Plymouth till he came to his present farm. In Janu- ary, 1865, he enlisted in Company G, 191st O. V. I., where he served till he was discharged, which was on Aug. 27, 1865, at Winchester, Va .; he went out under Thomas Kinney, as Captain. Was married in January, 1870, to Miss Brumback, of Plymouth ; they have four

children, two boys and two girls-James K., born Dec. 21, 1870; Frank, born Jan. 9, 1872; Edessa, born July 2, 1874; Mary E., born July 19, 1876. Mr. Nimmons has a nice farm and a very pleasant home, only three miles south of Plymouth, on the Shelby road.

PARKER, HURON M, merchant, Plymouth ; was born in West Haven, Ohio, Sept. 24, 1845; in 1857 the family came to Plymouth ; he learned the wagon and carriage trade of his father, and has since been in other branches of business ; has been connected with the dry-goods trade of Plymouth for several years ; on July 17, 1875, he opened his present business, which comprises dry goods, notions, and in fact everything pertaining to a first-class establishment. Mr. Parker is regarded as one of Plymouth's reliable men ; is on the north side of the public square.

PARKER, SAMUEL, proprietor carriage and wagon factory, Plymouth; was born in Meriden, Conn., in 1803 ; in 1833, he came to New Haven, Ohio, and opened up a wagon and carriage shop, having learned the trade in 1821. In 1857, moved to Plymouth, and there carried on the above-named business. Mr. Parker is one of the successful business men of his day, and is counted as one of the best of citizens. He has been a stanch member and support of the Methodist Episcopal Church here for over thirty-nine years, hav- ing become a member in March, 1840. Mr. Parker has raised a family of children that he may well feel proud of, as they are all industrious, hard-working and hon- orable citizens. About nine years ago, Mr. Parker turned his business over to his son, Samuel R.

PARKER, SAMUEL R., carriage and wagon man- ufacturer, Plymouth ; was born Jan. 24, 1848, in New Haven, Huron Co .; he came to Plymouth with the fam- ily in 1857 ; he learned his trade and business of his father : he took great pains while learning it, and fully understands it in all of its branches, besides being the largest and best establishment in town ; he keeps con- stantly on hand other and cheaper work from the large factories in the cities, and can accommodate his patrons with all the popular styles and prices ; his own work recommends itself wherever used. He is regarded by his many friends and patrons as a reliable and good business man, and as a successor to his father will do credit to the business which he represents. Ware- house and shops corner of Plymouth and High streets.

PACKER, J. II., school teacher, farmer and stock- raiser ; P. O. Plymouth ; was born in 1847, in the State of Pennsylvania ; in 1849, the family came to Ohio ; he lived on the old homestead, on the Bucyrus road near the B. & O. R. R., in Plymouth Township, till he was about 8 years old, when he went to Shelby, where he attended school for several years, after which he attended the Savannah Academy for a period of four years, when he entered the University of Wooster, Ohio, where he gradu- ated in 1871 ; soon after graduating, he was engaged by the School Board of Galion as Principal of the high schools of the town, which position he held for two years, when his health failing made it necessary for him to seek outdoor exercise, and he came back to Plymouth Township, and in the spring of 1876 pur- chased his present farm, about one mile south of Plym- outh, on the Bucyrus road. He is a member of the Township School Board, and a good and efficient

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member of the Presbyterian Church in Plymouth. Mr. Packer is a thorough-going business man, and has one of the finest farms in Plymouth Township, and as a farmer is a success, as also a successful school teacher. He was married in 1872, to Miss Mary L. Ammerman ; they have one child, Mildred E., born in January, 1875.

RALSTON, JAMES, farmer ; P. O. Plymouth ; was born in Washington Co., Penn., in January, 1799; came to Richiland Co. April 13, 1814; he lived twenty years in the vicinity of Ashland ; in 1834 he removed to his present farm about three miles west of Plymouth ; there was but little improvement on the farm when he came here, and by hard and honest labor he has succeeded in making for himself a fine farm and a pleasant . home ; Mr. Ralston is perhaps the oldest settler in the town- ship now living, having been in the county over sixty- five years ; he has never been out of the county since he moved here, more than four weeks at a time ; he has lived through the "pioneer" days, and fully under- stands the term "pioneer ;" they first settled in Mont- gomery Township; there were but seven other families in the township when they moved in ; the first thing that they could get money for was "ginseng"; about 1819 they began to find a cash market for their corn by selling it to distilleries that had come into the county ; they paid from 20 to 25 cents per bushel for it; Mr. Ralston at one time sold 160 bushels of wheat at 3 shil- lings per bushel, and waited a year for his pay, to get the cash for it; they used to trade wheat, rye and corn to the distilleries for whisky, and then trade whisky for other merchandise at the lakes, and sometimes got money enough out of it to pay their taxes with ; they were not high, only about $2; they could realize about 50 cents for wheat in trade; had to go to Knox Co. to mill, on horseback ; he did the milling in this way for twelve of the family ; usually took five days to go and come ; they came soon after the war, and were com- pelled to move into a little log cabin about thirteen feet square, with no chimney or chamber; the first coffin that was made in the neighborhood Mr. Ralston's father helped make; they split a walnut log, hewed and planed it, and made a box, which they thought was pretty nice ; he well remembered old Johnny Apple- seed ; he had a nursery near where Mr. Ralston lived. Mr. R. was married first in 1824, to Miss Murray ; they had two children ; she died in the spring of 1827; he was married again in December, 1828, to Miss Lincoln ; they have eight children now living-one son in Ten- nessee, one in Texas, one in Illinois, and one in West Virginia ; one son was accidentally killed in Montana Territory : he was Sheriff of the county where he. lived, and went out to quell a riot, and was shot by- mistake; one daughter in Indiana, and two in Rich- land County. The first salt they got he and a neighbor took maple sugar in sacks and went down to Huron, following an Indian trail down the river, and traded it for salt and carried it home, nearly fifty miles ; there were no houses till they reached what is now called Milan.

REYNOLDS, BENJAMIN, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Plymouth ; was born Jan. 26, 1820; at an early day the family lived near Mansfield ; the country was very wild, and the woods full of game, such as deer, turkeys, bears and wild hogs ; they moved near where the town

of Shiloh now is; Mr. Reynolds remembers well when the land that Shiloh now stands on was an entire wilder- ness, and the brush and timber were so thick that they could scarcely see through it, and the wolves would make night hideous with their deafening howls; he first moved to Plymouth in 1854; his first purchase of real estate was in Ripley Township, Huron Co .; he bought 50 acres at $8 per acre ; he now has a very fine farm and residence only three-fourths of a mile south of the town, which makes it a desirable location, both as to church and school privileges. He was married in 1834 to Miss Sarah Jane De Witt, of Huron Co., Ohio; they have five children now living. Mr Reynolds is one of the solid men of the township, and has been a member of the M. E. Church in town for fourteen years ; their children are all grown up, and they are a fine and re- spectable family. When Mr. Reynolds first started out for himself, it was with his ax, to cut and split rails, and thus got a start in this world by hard and honest labor. His son, W. G., now lives about two miles south of his father's, and has a nice little home of 25 acres, all well improved. In 1876, he was married to a Miss Parsel, of Plymouth Township ; they have one child- William Orrin, born June, 1879.

ROGERS, WELLS, boot and shoe dealer, Plymouth ; was born in Delaware Co., N. Y .; came to Ohio in 1832; moved to Plymouth in 1851, and opened a grocery store and continued in this business till 1863, when lie retired for a short time. In 1864, he enlisted and commanded Co. H, 163d O. N. G., and did service under Gen. Butler, in and around City Point and Peters- burg; in the fall of 1864, he returned home, and the following year engaged in the boot and shoe business, and has remained in it to the present time. He has occupied nearly all offices of trust in the gift of the people, from Mayor to Councilman, and has been a mem ber of the School Board for more than twelve years, and perhaps has done as much toward making the schools of the town what they are as any other man in Plymouth. He was married first in 1854, to Miss Bra- ven, who, a few years after, died, when he married for his second wife a Miss Day, in 1862, daughter of Esq. B. F. Day, of Plymouth ; they have four children- Hattie, born in 1855; Mack, born in 1859; May, born in 1867; Nellie, born in 1877. Mr. Rogers' store is situated on the north side of the public square. He is regarded as a good, reliable and thorough-going business man.

RUCKMAN, JOSEPII, farmer; P. O. Plymouth ; was born in Hampshire Co., Va., in 1811. The family came to Plymouth Township in 1817, and entered three quarter-sections of land under the dollar and a half per acre act; there were only one or two other families in the township when they moved here. The Indians were very numerous, and used to camp near where they now live. He tells a story of a squaw who came to the house one very cold day to warm herself, and had her "pappoose" tied to a board. As she came into the house, she left it standing up against the house, out of doors, in the cold and snow, and an old sow that belonged to Mr. Ruckman came along and rooted it over, and was in the act of making a dinner of the pappoose, when the old squaw heard a noise and went out in time to rescue her little one. He tells about

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going to Coal Creek to mill, some thirty miles distant, where they had a water mill ; they would have to go on horseback, and would take two days for the trip ; they had their horses trained so they would carry a sack of corn on their backs through the woods and not brush it off. There wasn't an acre cleared between his house and town, and he remembers well when Plymouth was first laid out for a town. He owns a part of the old home- stead. His father was the first to propose to establish a Baptist society, and the first meetings were held in what is now Auburn Township: the society was or- ganized about 1820, and the Presbyterian Church was built near their land ; built of logs ; the following lines were found tacked up on the church-door :

" Rusty-looking church, without any steeple ; Money-catching priest and a scurvey sett of people."

At one time, when the people of Plymouth wanted guide-boards, the Supervisor put up some rather rude- looking ones in town, and the citizens thought they would better the first ones, and they therefore put up a new set; John Webber came along and saw the boards, and went into a store and wrote these lines and put them on the " guide-boards :"

" If finger-boards direct the way To hell or Tartaris, Oh, great God, we all must say, 'Twill go hard with Paris."

Mr. Ruckman has lived and grown up with the country, so to speak. Was married, Nov. 28, 1840, to Miss Elizabeth Young ; they have ten children-Alzina, born July 29, 1842; Peter, Feb. 20, 1844 ; Josephine, April 25, 1846; Lavinia, Nov. 8, 1848 ; Dolisca, Aug. 27, 1850; Emma, Dec. 3, 1852; Laura, March 26, 1855; Benton H., Aug. 21, 1857; Ethan A., Dec. 13, 1859; Nora P., Jan. 31, 1862; they have lost three children, as follows : Alzina, died July 9, 1850 ; Dora, April 14, 1866; Laura, Dec. 21, 1877. Mr. Ruckman and his family are well known throughont the country, and they have all seen as hard times in their day as any one ; he now lives to enjoy his fine farm and pleasant home. The farm was in Auburn Township, but now, since the change of boundaries, is in Plymouth Township.

SEILER, M. K., harness-maker, Plymouth ; was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., Sept. 18, 1842; the family came to Ohio when Mr. S. was quite young; he re- ceived his education at Plymouth ; in 1858, commenced to learn his trade. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Co. D, 32d O. V. I .; he remained in this company till September, 1864, and participated in the following battles: Green Briar, W. Va., Alleghany Mountains, McDowell and Cross Keys, after which they returned to Winchester, Va., thence to Harper's Ferry, where they were captured on Sept. 15, 1862. (See history of the regiment.) Mr. Seiler endured many privations and hardships incident to war, and was a brave and valiant soldier; on their return up the Mississippi River, they had orders not to stop at Ft. Pillow, or they would all suffer the same fate as did the brave boys who were there; he was with Sherman's army during the battles and siege of Atlanta, he receiving a shot in the shoulder which laid him up for a time ; after his discharge, he went to Little Rock, Ark., where he worked in the Government harness-shop till June, 1865, when he returned to Richland Co., where he has lived ever since, and to-day is numbered as one of

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Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968