USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vo. II > Part 24
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Mr. Mourer married Miss Alberta Chance, daughter of Henry Chance, an honored citizen of Fostoria. They have one daughter, Gladys V. who was born on the 4th of June, 1896.
FRANCIS R. STEWART .- Seneca county has been the home of Captain Stewart from the time of his infancy and as nearly three quarters of a century have elapsed since his parents took up their residence in this county it may be seen that he is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this favored section of the Buckeye state. He has wrought out his own success through the persistent application of his energies and abilities and is at the present time, with one exception. the oldest business man in the city of Fostoria, where he has been engaged in the retail hardware trade since 1866. To him belongs the distinction of being a veteran of the Civil
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war, in which he served with fidelity and patriotic ardor of a true son of the Republic, taking part in many of the important battles of the long and sanguinary struggles through which was per- petuated the integrity of the Union. He has been influential in business and civic affairs and is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the county that has so long represented his home and in which he has ever directed his course in such a way as to keep the needle of life true to the polestar of integrity.
Captain Stewart claims the old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity and he is a scion of a family founded in America in the old Colonial days. He was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of December, 1835, and is a son of Thomas D. and Fannie ( Riddell) Stewart, both of whom were likewise natives of Pennsylvania. In 1838, when he was three years of age. Captain Stewart's parents came to Ohio and settled in Clinton township. Seneca county, where the father instituted the reclamation of a farm from the forest wilds. He finally removed to Perry township, Wood county. this state, where both he and his wife continued to reside until their death and where both held a secure place in the confidence and esteem of all who knew them. Their names merit perpetuation on the roll of honored pioneers of the Buckeye state.
Captain Stewart was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and well recalls the scenes and incidents as well as the herculean labors that marked the pioneer epoch in Seneca county, with whose development and upbuilding he has been successfully identified. His early educational discipline was gained in the primitive district and subscription schools of Clinton township, this county, and his ambition was of such definite order that he spared no effort in the furtherance of his education. When twenty years of age he proved himself eligible for pedagogical honors and for many years he devoted the winter months to teach- ing in the district schools, while in the summer seasons he was identified with farm work and also applied himself to study along higher branches. For one year he was a student in Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, this county, and. for some time he also continued his studies in a select school in Fostoria. He was still engaged in active work as a teacher at the time when the dark cloud of the Civil war cast its pall over the national horizon and his intrinsic loyalty and patriotism prompted him forthwith to subordinate all other interests to his country's call. Responding to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, on the 15th of August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company H, Forty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He soon passed through the various grades of promo- tion until he was made captain of Company A of his regiment, which was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. The history of his gallant regiment practically constitutes the record of his faithful and efficient service as a soldier of the Union and he parti- cipated in many of the important battles marking the progress of the war. He was thrice wounded in action and was twice com- mended in general orders for gallantry in battle. He continued in active service until the close of the war and he received his
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SURVIVORS OF THE 49TH REGIMENT OHIO VETERAN VOLUNTEER INFANTRY TAKEN AT THE FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REUNION AT TIFFIN, SEPTEMBER 28, 1910. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY PRESENT. COLONEL M. F. MILES, PRESIDENT, CAPTAIN F. R. STEWART, SECRETARY.
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honorable discharge on the 31st of December, 1865, having been in service with his command in Texas after the surrender of the great . Confederate commanders.
After the close of his military career Captain Stewart re- turned to Seneca county and on the 1st of January, 1866, he ar- rived at Fostoria, where he forthwith established himself in the hardware business, with which he has continued to be actively identified during the long intervening years and in connection with which he has won well merited success. Upon his career as a citizen and business man there rests no shadow of wrong or suspicion of unfairness and the high plane upon which he has ordered his life has not lacked popular appreciation. He is exemplar of the most loyal and liberal civic spirit and has contrib- uted of his aid and influence to the promotion of many enter- prises that have had important bearing upon the material and social development and upbuilding of his home city and county. He is one of the most influential and valued members of the Presbyterian church in Fostoria, in which he has served as ruling elder consecutively since 1866. He assisted in the laying of the corner stone of the Fremont Street Presbyterian church in Fostoria in 1858, and he has been a most zealous worker in the vineyard of the divine Master since the days of his youth. For forty-four years he has been the teacher of the Bible class in his church, and both he and his wife are active in all departments of church work. The political allegiance of Captain Stewart has been given without reservation to the Republican party and he has given effec- tive service in the promotion of its cause, having been public speaker in various local and state campaigns and being known as an eloquent and effective orator. His services in this capacity have also been in much demand outside of political lines and he is a man of broad inclination and fine intellectual powers, so that his addresses are invariably interesting and well turned. He served one term as mayor of Fostoria and for several terms was a valued mnem- ber of the city council. He assisted in the organization of the first board of trade in his home city and was vice president of the same for a period of fifteen years. He has been an instrumental factor in connection with the securing of nearly every industrial enter- prise in Fostoria and is a stockholder in several of the leading manufacturing and commercial corporations of the city. He was a factor in locating the old academy, was a member of the building committee and for several years a trustee. On the reorganization of the academy by Prof. W. E. Ashcraft, Captain Stewart was again elected trustee, and at the death of Hon. Charles Foster succeeded him in the presidency. He has ever retained a deep interest in his old comrades of the Civil war and is one of the honored mem- bers of the Norris Post, No. 27, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he has served as commander for several terms. He is affiliated with Fostoria Lodge, No. 288, Free and Accepted Masons, and in this organization has passed various official chairs. He is well known throughout this section of the state and his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
Mr. Stewart married on October 3, 1866, Miss Roxanna C.
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De Witt, of MeCutchenville, Ohio, a daughter of John C. and Artemecia De Witt. To this union were born five sons : Frank D., who died November 10, 1894, aged twenty-four years; Lee R., Homer V. D., Jessie C. and Victor W. The four living sons are all prosperous and influential business men. Homer V. D., is in partnership with his father; Lee R., is a civil engineer for the Bethlehem Steel Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with head- quarter office in Pittsburg; Jesse C., is a very prosperous whole- sale flour merchant of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Victor W., is a large stockholder and the secretary and treasurer of The Colonial Pine Company of Pittsburg Pennsylvania, and Wilson, North Carolina. He is located and has charge of their mills at Wilson. The father gave all his sons a liberal education. Captain Stewart's wife died April 12. 1890. He married for his second wife, Mrs. Mary B. Peugh, the widow of Jesse Peugh, of Grand Rapids, Ohio. The present wife had two daughters when married to Captain Stewart, both of whom have since died.
HARRY W. ROBINSON .- One of the prime functions of this publication is to accord recognition to those who stand representa- tive of the various fields of business activity, and one of those who adds materially to the prosperity of Greenspring, whose constantly expanding business is carried on along the most progressive lines, is Harry W. Robinson, engaged in the hay and grain business and owning and operating a grain elevator under the name of H. W. Robinson & Company. Mr. Robinson is an authority in the line he represents, and this has received general recognition in his elevation to the presidency of the Ohio Grain Association, while he is connected with various other organizations of a like nature. The possessor of inexhaustable information on the subject of the grains of the state and their commerce and gifted with native eloquence, he has made many notable addresses, and his reputa- tion is national, rather than confined to the limits of the state.
Mr. Robinson was born on a farm in Seneca county, July 20, 1872, and is the son of Joseph and Mary (Watson) Robinson, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state and of Seneca county. Henry Robinson, the subject's grandfather and who founded the family in America, was a native of Scotland, who left "the land o' cakes" when Joseph Robinson was a small boy, found his way to Ohio, and settled near Attica, this state. Mr. Robinson is thoroughly Scotch, for on the maternal side he also traces his descent to Caledonia, from whence the Watsons have come to America. Mr. Robinson's parents are successful farmers and large land holders, owning five hundred acres of valuable land near Rockaway. He is the oldest in a family of four children, the other members of the family being: C. G. R .. of Greenspring; Dr. Rush Robinson, of Columbus, Ohio, and Alice M. Robinson.
Harry W. Robinson received his education of an elementary character in the district schools and afterward entered Heidel- berg University, at Tiffin, where he took a classical course and was graduated with the class of 1895, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His first occupation was as an educator and in 1896
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he was made principal of the Greenspring Academy, in which capacity he served for three years. In 1895 he was appointed school examiner by Judge Alexander Kiskadden, and was at that time the youngest person in the state to serve as such, his years being but twenty-three.
Subsequently Mr. Robinson turned his attention to the hay and grain business. in which he has achieved signal success. In 1900 he built the large elevator at this place and under his management the business is continually broadening in scope. Important as this industry may be Mr. Robinson does not confine himself to this, but is also president of the Robinson Kraut Company. of Greenspring, which was established in 1895 on the N. Y. C. & St. P. Railroad. This concern produces between fifteen and twenty thousand barrels yearly of White Line Kraut.
Mr. Robinson is one whose natural abilities fit him to take an active part in public affairs. For a number of years he has been an active member of the Hay Dealers' Association. having been a director since forming his first connection with this organi- zation, and in 1909 he was elected to the presiding office. Also since June. 1909. he has held the office of president of the Ohio Grain Association. In short his affiliation extends to all the local and state grain associations, all of which are eager to possess the memberhip of a man of such thorough information.
Mr. Robinson is loval to the policies and principles of "the grand old party" and has had some experience in the public life, but has never had political ambitions. He is an enthusiastic lodge man and finds much pleasure in his connection with the Masonic order. He belongs to the Blue lodge of Greenspring and to the chapter at Clyde. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias at Greenspring and he holds membership in the Presbyterian church at Tiffin.
Mr. Robinson joined the Benedicts when on September 9, 1896. he was united in marriage to Grace Holtz, a daughter of C. D. Holtz, county commissioner of Seneca county. They have one child. a daughter named Marion. born November 16, 1900, and in attendance at the public schools of Greenspring.
S. LEROY GHASTER, the efficient and highly appreciated assis- tant postmaster of Fostoria. Seneca county. was born on a farm near that place, but in Hancock county, a son of Solomon and Mary (Fox) Ghaster. sturdy and progressive citizens and well known and respected farmers in this part of the state. Young Ghaster was reared to a knowledge of farming. and as a farmer's boy of all work he attended district schools whenever he could be spared from the labors of the place. His thirst for knowledge and his apptitude for study later brought him to the pursuit of a scientific course at the old Fostoria Academy, from which institu- tion he was graduated at a comparatively early age in 1884. After leaving school he became a drug clerk and was employed as such three years, until he established a drug store which is now owned and operated by Cunningham & Pillars. Progressive, energetic and of excellent habits, he won well deserved success and eventual-
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ly Mr. Cunningham became associated with him in business. This partnership enabled him to gratify a desire for the acquisition of a broader knowledge of his profession, and for a time he was a student in the medical department of the Western Reserve College of Cleveland. The demands of his business, however, prevented his graduation with the degree of M. D.
Mr. Ghaster married Miss Myra Wilson, who had for several years been popular at Fostoria as a school teacher, and they have a son, Karl L., who was born June 1, 1890, and who was graduated from the Fostoria High School with the class of 1908. Mrs. Ghaster is refined and cultured to an uncommon degree and is devoted to her home, where generous hospitality is dispensed. Besides his fine apartment house in Fostoria, Mr. Ghaster owns a large, well improved farm in Hancock county and a half interest in the good business structure in which the drug store before men- tioned is located. The gradual accumulation of this and other property, including a fine cottage on Catawba Island, testifies to his success and marks him as a self made man of more than com- mon ability.
Politically Mr. Ghaster is a stanch Republican. He has served as a member of the Republican County Central Committee of Seneca county and has been otherwise influential in public matters. Many of his fellow townsmen, regardless of political affiliation, frequently seek his counsel as to the management of affairs of local, county, state and even of national importance, and his views are appreciated and given much consideration be- cause his fellow citizens respect him not only as a man of good attainments and sound judgment but as a man of the highest sense of honor. Ilis obliging disposition and friendly manners have won for him many friends far beyond the limits of Fostoria or of Seneca county.
Mr. and Mrs. Ghaster are regular attendants upon the services of the Presbyterian church, of which organization he is a liberal supporter. Having taken an active interest in the ancient and beneficent order of Masons. he has risen in it to the thirty-second degree and is past commander of Fostoria Commandery. No. 62. Knights Templars and a charter member of Toledo Consistory. He is a member also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a past noble grand of Lodge No. 305, of Fostoria.
JOHN A. SHRODES. proprietor of a livery establishment on East Market street. Tiffin. Ohio, ranks under the head of self made men. A brief review of his life is appropriate in this connection and is as follows :
John A. Shrodes was born in Liberty township, Seneca county. Ohio, January 13. 1866. and until he was fifteen years old attended school during the winter months and in summer worked on his father's farm. His father was a veteran of the Civil war. having served from 1861 until the close of the conflict in 1865. He was overtaken by financial trouble when his son John A .. was a youth of fifteen, which made it necessary for the young man to start out on his own responsibility. Familiar with farm work, young John
John Strodes
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naturally looked for a job of this kind when he left home. He worked on a farm and in a brick vard. and later turned his atten- tion to the timber business and to teaming. and was thus occupied up to the time he was twenty-five. In the meantime he had come to Tiffin, where he had made many friends and acquaintances and was noted for his fine physique and his fearlessness. These qualities gained for him, in 1891. appointment on the police force. where he developed a character not only for fearlessness but also for uniform courteousness. He remained continuously on the police force until January, 1909, when he resigned in order to engage in business, and bought a meat market. which. however, he sold a short time later. Then he invested in the livery business on East Market street, which he is now conducting. having with him in business his son, Earl W.
In 1891 John A. Shrodes and Miss Dora Maxwell were united in marriage, and the only child of their union is Earl W., who was born in 1892. He is a graduate of the Tiffin High School and has spent some time at Heidelberg College.
Mr. Shrodes is a member of the Junior Order of United Ameri- can Mechanics and an associate member of the William Gibson Post, G. A. R. Politically he has always adhered to the teachings of the Republican party .. Personally he is genial and courteous. honest and upright. and in every way is justly entitled to the high esteem in which he is held by the people among whom he has spent his life.
CHARLES E. PALMER .- A strong and noble character was that of the late Charles E. Palmer, who exerted an emphatic and bene- ficient influence in connection with business and civic affairs in Seneca county, who gained success through his individual ability and application and who ever stood exemplar of that integrity of purpose which figures as the plumb of character and invokes oh- jective confidence and esteem. His strength was as the number of his days and he was summoned from the mortal life in the fullness of years and well earned honors, his death occurring in the city of Fostoria on the 26th of August. 1905.
Charles E. Palmer was born in Chester township. Geauga county. Ohio, on the 19th of June. 1838. and was a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of the historic old western reserve. He was a son of Chester and Achsa Palmer, who continued to reside in Geauga county until their death. Charles Palmer's first wife was Betsy Rising. who died four years after her marriage. and at her death left one daughter. Emma, now the wife of J. T. Jamison, of St. Joseph. Missouri.
Charles Palmer was reared to maturity on the home farm and early began to assist in its work, while in the meantime he availed himself of such advantages as were afforded in the common schools of the pioneer days. He supplemented this preliminary discipline by a course of study in Geauga Seminary, where he formed the acquaintance of Miss Mary Dickerman, who later became his wife and who survives him. As a young man. Mr. Palmer removed to the northwestern part of the state of Missouri, where he eventually
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became the owner of large and valuable tracts of land, the greater portion of which was effectively developed under his supervision and direction. He was a resident of that state during the Civil war and his earnest support of the Union canse was indicated by his service in the state militia, which was subject to call into service at any time. He became one of the extensive farmers and stock growers of Missouri, where he continued to reside until 1876. when he exchanged his real estate interests for a number of barrel and stave factories in Michigan and Ohio, sixteen factories in all : he took up his residence in Fostoria. Ohio, and continued to main- tain his home there until his death. The several factories were conducted under the title of the Dewey Stave Company, and he was secretary and treasurer of the company for a time, later be- coming its president. Ile was also a most influential factor in connection with the development of the oil and gas industries in this section of the state and his operations were carried on upon an extensive scale. IIe was a man of pronounced constructive and administrative ability and through his well directed efforts along normal lines of enterprise he gained a large and substantial for- tune. He was a stanch Republican in his political adherence. though never a seeker of public office, and gave a zealous support to the party cause. Ile was a member of the Columbia Club of Fos- toria, was indentified with various other social and fraternal organizations. He attended the Presbyterian church. of which his widow is a member.
On the 11th of February. 1864. in the city of Cleveland. Ohio was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Palmer to Miss Mary Dicker- man, who was born at Masonville. New York, on the 15th of Decem- ber, 1841, and who is a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Ann (Ferry) Dickerman. Nathaniel Dickerman was born September 27. 1797 and died December 4, 1845. They came to Ohio when their daughter was a child and settled in Cleveland. Ohio. where she was reared to years of maturity. Her father was a farmer by occupation and both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives in Cleveland. On July 8. 1855. Mrs. Dickerman mar- ried Erastus S. Stibbin, by whom she had no children.
She died in July, 1859.
Mrs. Palmer was afforded the advantages of Geauga Seminary. a well conducted institution of the early days. and she is a woman of broad culture and most gracious presence. having been identi- , fied with the best social activities of Fostoria for many years. Here she is a valued member of various literary societies and her beautiful home at 252 West Tiffin street is a recognized center of gracious hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer became the parents of three daughters: Nellie, who is the wife of Marion Miller. of Toledo. Ohio; Gertrude Lillian, who died at the age of six years ; and Mary E., who is the wife or John B. Rogers. of Fostoria.
The subject of this memoir left the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and his life and labors were prolific in good even as his character was moulded upon the most generous scale of integrity and honor.
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AARON SEITZ .- We come now to the consideration of a man who by his own push and energy. by his own determination and tenacity has succeeded, and we regard with pleasure the work of recording the interesting events in his life of labor and of useful- ness. These lines are written with the thought in mind that not all self styled self made men are truely self made. This memorial is here printed to convey to readers in ages to come something of the personal worth of this man, who by sheer force of good charac- ter has made a place for his name not only in the history of his township but in that of his county.
Mr. Seitz is one of the well known and representative farmers of Bloom township, Seneca county. Ohio, where he owns a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-six acres. on which he has lived since 1871. His farm is well enltivated. yielding abundant crops which year by year he turns into bankable wealth. It has fine and ample buildings, its machinery is strictly up-to-date and of the most highly efficient makes. His environments. taken as a whole. tell a story of work and of thrift that may be read by the swift- est passerby. The owner of this productive home was born in Bloom township March 12. 1844, a son of the Rev. Louis and Barbara K. Seitz. natives, respectively, of Fairfield county. Ohio. and of Virginia. He was reared on a farm and educated in com- mon schools near his boyhood home. He deliberately chose the comparatively uneventful but almost always independent life of the American tiller of the soil. In the fall of 1864, when he was not yet twenty-one. he possessed a pair of gray colts and two dollars and fifty cents in money. Those, with health. good char- acter, determination and invincible courage, were his capital in full; but with such a foundation for success he was the very one to build a splendid edifice of achievement. On October 4 of that year he married Miss Eliza Shoek, daughter of Jacob and Lena Shock. Children were borne to him as follows: Irwin E., who married Rose E. Sponseller. who bore him four children. Louis D., Orlo .J .. Alvin H. and Herman D .; Alvin J., deceased; Mattie M .; and Myrtie B., who married A. Watson.
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