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 27
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tember 6, 1910, to Miss Gladys Hahn. Her father, J. W. Hahn. is editor of the Greenspring Echo. and formerly he was associated with his father, Fred Hahn, in operating a tannery. Mrs. Gladys (Halın) Perin is the only child of her parents, who have resided in Greenspring and vicinity for thirty years. This young woman was bookkeeper for the local telephone company and in addition to those duties, gave music lessons and saved her wages and out of the wages of herself and her husband they were able to purchase an attractive eight room cottage and to furnish the same in excel- lent style. Their courtship began in school days, dating almost from childhood. Lotia. the third child of Mr. and Mrs. Perin. was born September 17. 1890, and her death occurred January 21. 1904. She was drowned and her death was mourned by all who had known her, for with old and young she was a general favorite. Some of the circumstances of the death of this admirable and love- able child were very remarkable. particularly those which showed that she had a premonition of her coming fate. She had her own room, furnished to suit her young fancy and hanging upon the wall was a calendar. The January leaf was uppermost and around the date "21" she had taken her pencil and marked. saving as she did so. "I wonder what is going to happen on that date." Later she learned that Professor Zeis' little son had been accidentally drowned and she then remarked that she too. would meet her death in a similar way. On January 21. the creek-Flag Run-which runs close to the school house was swollen with heavy rains and a piece of timber lay across the creek. At noon Lotia watched two other girls cross on this improvised bridge and thought that she too could cross. She attempted this, but missed her footing and fell in and it was at least two hours before her body was recovered. Thus was wiped out in untimely fashion, a young life of excep- tional promise. Her parents keep her room just as it was when she left it for the last time. clothing. the calendar, and the rest. having never been disturbed. Reynor G .. the youngest child, was born June 12, 1906. Mrs. Perin's parents were members of St. Jacob's Reformed church.
Mr. Perin upon removing to Greenspring engaged in market Vol. II-14
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gardening for fourteen years and has been in the grocery business since 1895. £ He is one of the promoters of the Greenspring tele- phone line and is a director in the company controlling it. He was a prominent member also of the committee which had its construc- tion in charge. He is recognized as a friend of the village. one of its upbuilders, greeting all with words of encouragement. helping substantially, whenever practicable and possible. He is a Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as of the Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Perin is prominent in connec-
tion with the Order of the Eastern Star. The Perins' is a beauti- ful home in the western suburbs of the town. situated upon sixteen acres of very valuable land, which Mr. Perin has put out in garden truck of various kinds. He has served as councilman and for years has been connected with the schools. For seven years he was clerk of the Adams township board of education and he is also treasurer of Adams township. By virtue of changes in laws govern- ing, Mr. Perin retains all three offices.
CHARLES BRUSH .- The history of Seneca county and its worthy citizens is honored by including within its pages the ensuing auto- biographical sketch from the memory of Charles Brush. one of the oldest and most venerable of the remaining pioneers whose dauntless struggles with the difficulties of the new country made possible the present high state of development. He is within four years of attaining to the remarkable distinction of being a centenarian. and is still in the possession of all his faculties, and is held securely in the affections of a host of friends.
"I was born in Great Bend. Susquehanna county. Pennsyl- vania, March 30. 1816. My parents were Charles and Armida (Waller) Brush. £ My grandfather. Jonas Brush, was a Revolu- tionary soldier and he was wounded in the service. Although he entered the ranks as a private. at the close of the war between the Mother Country and the Colonies he had been advanced to the captainey of a company of men. Three of my grandmother's brothers and two of her brothers-in-law were killed in the Wyoming Massacre, which occurred on July 3. 1778. I remember seeing an old history of the massacre and also a history of Susquehanna coun- ty, which was formerly a part of Luzerne county. where the mas- sacre occurred. My grandmother's maiden name was Weeks. ">
"My father moved from Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. to Gates county, New York. when I was in my fourteenth year. and we went to Ohio in the year 1833. There were no railroads and we made the journey over very bad roads and during very bad weather. When we finally arrived in the Buckeye state we located on fifty- five acres of government land in Green Creek township, section 28, which adjoins my present farm. A road had been laid out there in 1834. We bought a cheap yoke of oxen for thirty-five dollars and a cow for twelve dollars. five dollars cash down and the balance on time, for our funds ran out. and built a rude log house, the door and chimney not being built in until the arrival of warm weather.
"In 1834 my father built the Stem mill race from Sulphur
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Lub Hilary
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Springs to where the mill now stands, the present site of the sana- torium being covered with heavy timber, and not far away was the place where the Indians had been wont to raise their corn. There were at that date but three loghouses in Stem Town. now called Greenspring. One belonged to Daniel H. Dana. father of George Dana of Fremont, and the store was kept in his cabin. The others
belonged to Bishop Adams and James Watrous. At Hammer Corners, now Clyde. William Hammer kept tavern, and a man named Turk kept a store there. he dying subsequently with cholera. William McPherson, father of General James McPherson. con- ducted a blacksmith shop and there was a school house. In the vear 1833 Mrs. Chase taught school there. She afterward became Mrs. Slocum. My wife was one of her pupils and I have heard her say that the teacher was the grandmother of General McPherson.
"In the spring of 1836 my father died at the age of forty-six years, I being twenty years old at the time, and my sisters ranging from three to thirteen years younger than myself. the youngest being only a little past seven. We were in something of a dilemma, with the head of the house taken away and five hundred miles from «any of our relatives. When our friends in the east heard of our misfortune they urged us to come back, offering to pay our way. and to come or send for us. My mother, who had a great deal of pride and fortitude, talked it over with me and we decided to stay in the new country. In the fall of 1836 Mr. Stem built the mill and engaged me to build one hundred and fifty dollars worth of road east of it. which it is needless to say, helped us out very much. In the year 1849 Mr. Stem, Hiram Hurd and myself un- dertook the job of clearing seventeen acres of heavy timber. the former using the logs for the construction of his mill. That fall, when the presidential election occurred, I voted for William Henry Harrison, and in 1856 I voted for Jolin C. Fremont.
"I was married in 1856 to Hannah Swartz and until that time my mother kept up the home. I providing for the same. Mother died in 1881, on her ninety-first birthday.
"You will believe me when I say that there have been a great many changes in my time. For instance I have ridden in an ox cart. the best conveyance to be had in its time; and I have covered the miles in an automobile. Is there not some contrast ? And there are many other contrasts just as startling. Charles Brush."
JOHN D. WILSEY .- For nearly two score years Mr. Wilsey has maintained his home in Bloomville. and here he was long identified with industrial interests. though at the present time he is living virtually retired. Mr. Wilsey claims the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, as he was born near Binghamton. Broom county. New York, on the 9th of November. 1828, and he is a son of Tunis and Naney A. (Lukin) Wilsey, representatives of families that settled in the state of New York in the pioneer days. Mr. Wilsey was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality and period and as a young man he engaged in the manufacturing of boat oars and fork and shovel
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handles. With this line of enterprise he continued to be identified for more than half a century, having first established himself in this line of business in Erie county, Pennsylvania. and later. about 1863, in Ohio. £ He built up a large and substantial business as a manufacturer and continued to be actively identified with the same until 1894, when he turned the business over to his son. Frank D. Wilsey, who has since continued the same with unquali- fied success. The son has a well equipped mill in Stryker. Wil- liams county, Ohio, as well as one in the state of Mississippi and two in Arkansas. Frank D. Wilsey has well maintained the prestige of the honored name which he bears and is known as a careful and competent business man. having been thoroughly trained in the line of enterprise with which he is identified and having been associated with his father in the same from his youth- ful days. His official headquarters are maintained in the city of New York, which is the distributing point of his business. The subject of this review initiated his manufacturing business in his native state, from which he eventually removed to Pennsylvania. where he remained until 1863, when he came to Ohio and located in Defiance county, this state. He later established himself in business in Williams county, which continued to be his home for a decade and at the expiration of the same, in 1873, he removed to Bloomville, which has represented his home during the long inter- vening years. He gained precedence as one of the leading busi- ness men of this attractive village and is at the present time one of its venerable and highly honored citizens, having directed his energies along normal lines of enterprise and having ordered his course upon the highest plane of integrity and honor. He built up in this place a large and important industrial enterprise, in connection with which he gave employment to about fifty men, while the products of his factory found sale throughout the Union. as well as in foreign countries. In connection with his business he established his distributing headquarters in New York city and his son has successfully continued the business which he founded in Bloomville nearly forty years ago. His attractive residence is located on a small farm contiguous to the village, and here he is enjoying that well earned repose and comfort which are the just rewards of earnest toil and endeavor. Mr. Wilsey has been essentially loyal and public spirited as a citizen and has given his support to all measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is affiliated with Eden Lodge, No. 310, Free and Accepted Masons.
In the year 1854. was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wilsey to Miss Calfurnia Otis, who was born near Detroit, Michigan. and who was a child of six years at the time of her parents' removal to the state of New York, where they remained for a period of six years, at the expiration of which the family home was estab- lished in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where her marriage was solemnized. Mr. and Mrs. Wilsey became the parents of six chil- dren, namely : Jay F., Frank D., Ora P., John H., Helen B. and
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Gladys. Helen B. is a trained nurse and is engaged in the work of her profession in New York city; Frank D. is associated with his father in business, as noted; and Gladys remains at the parental home.
WILLIAM D. HECKERT .- The present city treasurer of Fostoria has here maintained his home since 1891 and he is recognized as one of the substantial and reliable business men of Seneca county, where he commands the high regard of all who know him. Mr. Heckert is a native son of the Buckeye state within whose borders his parents took up their abode many years ago. He was born at Leesville Crossroads, Crawford county, Ohio, on the 18th of April, 1872, and is a son of B. Franklin and Louisa (Groh) Heckert, both of whom were descendants of stanch Pennsylvanian German stock. The parental ancestors in Pennsylvania were of Hessian and Hanovarian extraction and settled in that state in pioneer days. The father of the subject of this review was a gallant sol- dier in Company K, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and was promoted to the office of corporal. He was variously engaged during his active business career and he passed the closing years of his life in Crawford county, Ohio. He is survived by two children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the elder and May is the wife of Charles D. Hoyt, of Cleveland, Ohio. The mother of William D. Heckert, Mrs. D. M. Mitchell, resides at Galion, Ohio.
William D. Heckert passed the first six years of his life in his native county and then accompanied his parents to the state of Iowa, where he received the advantages of the public schools of the village of Wheatland and that he made good use of the oppor- tunities thus afforded him is evident when the statement is made that he secured a teacher's license before he had attained the age of sixteen years. After teaching school a short time in Crawford county, Ohio, he secured employment in a stone quarry, in con- nection with the operation of which he finally won promotion to the position of bookkeeper. After the death of his father he was reared in the home of his maternal grandfather, John Groh. He was enabled to advance his educational status by a course in Otter- bein College, at Westerville. Ohio. In 1891, Mr. Heckert located at Fostoria, where he became bookkeeper and timekeeper for Harry C. Karg, who was a leading contractor of this place. Later he entered the employ of the First National Bank, with which institu- tion he continued to be identified for twelve years. In 1900 he purchased a half interest in the business conducted by the firm of Emerine & Berrenger and in 1903 he became the sole owner of the business, which he has since conducted with marked success.
In politics Mr. Heckert is a stanch supporter of the principles and polities for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and he has been called upon to serve in local offices of distinctive public trust and ability. In 1907 he was elected city treasurer of Fostoria and the estimate placed upon his administration of the fiscal affairs of the city was shown as his election as his own successor in 1909. His second term expires in January, 1912.
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On the 17th of May, 1910, he received the nomination of his party for the office of county treasurer and in the ensuing election he was elected to the office. He has said to his constituents, "I have tried to deserve your vote and will try as hard to win your praise while in office," and his sincerity is evident. He served as chair- inan of the Democratic executive committee of Seneca county in 1908-9 and he has given yeoman service in support of the cause of his party. For two years he was secretary of the Fostoria board of trade, during which time local business was greatly revived.
Mr. Heckert has attained to the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Masonic fraternity and he is treasurer of both Fostoria Lodge No. 288. F. & A. M., and Fostoria Chapter, No. 150, R. A. M., and a member of Fostoria Commandery, Knights Templars. Ile is also affiliated with the I. O. O. F .. Woodmen, Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The University Club of Fostoria also claims his membership. By reason of his father's service in the Civil war he has been honored with asso- ciate membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He also is identified with the Junior Order of the United American Mechan- ics. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church and are active in the work of the parish of Fos- toria, Ohio, in which the subject has served as a member of the vestry.
On the 15th of January, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Heckert to Miss Laura A. Florian, who was born and reared in Fostoria and who is a daughter of Joseph Florian, one of the representative citizens of Seneca county. Mr. and Mrs. Heckert have two children : Helen L., who was born on the 20th of July. 1897, and Otto E., born on the 8th of February. 1900.
Mr. Heckert is secretary of the Temple Company, a company organized to erect a new three story business block at Fostoria. He will probably take up his residence at Tiffin, Ohio, about September 1, 1911.
WILLIAM HOLTZ EGBERT is one of Pleasant township's repre- sentative and estimable citizens; a farmer of advanced ideas; a man of excellent education ; and the descendant of one of the dough- ty early pioneers of Seneca county. He was born December 19. 1865, in Pleasant township, thus being a native son of that com- munity in which his interests are centered. His parents. Norman . D. and Susan C. (Holtz) Egbert, were likewise natives of this county, and his paternal grandparents were Jeremiah W. and Lucy (Rule) Egbert. The former was born near Lancaster and the latter in this county. The great-grandparents. Uriah and Susannah (Williams) Egbert were of northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. They came to Seneca county in 1823 and settled primarily near Tiffin, but eventually became the owners of a tract of land, which is still in the family, one of Mr. Egbert's brothers now residing upon the old homestead in Pleasant township.
The Egberts are first heard of in America in the Dutch settle- ments on Staten Island about 1663. Govert and Barent Egbert
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were either brothers or cousins and they now have hundreds of descendants in many of the states. Govert is called a Dutchman and taxable in an old document of 1685. The dates of the birth and death of his son Tunis are unknown but he had a son James who was born in 1695 and who married Catharine Denny, who bore him a son John, born in 1722. John had a large family, one of whom was James, born in 1759. He married Sarah Smith in Henderson county, New Jersey and two of their sons, David and Uriah, came to Seneca county, Ohio in 1823 and bought land from the government. David soon moved to Hancock county and there and in Wood county his descendants still live. Uriah's family was very large and at present there are nine households of the name in Seneca county.
The mother of William Holtz Egbert. whose maiden name was Susan C. Holtz. was a daughter of William and Catherine (Cramer) Holtz, natives of Frederick county, Maryland, a section of the country which furnished a good many early settlers to Seneca county. They came here in 1834 and located in Pleasant town- ship a little later. The Rule family, that of Mr. Egbert's paternal grandmother, were among the early settlers in this part of Ohio and none were more highly respected or played a more praiseworthy part in the many-sided life of the community. Norman D. Egbert served two enlistments in the Civil war, and was a private in the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry and a lieutenant in the One Hundred and Sixty-fourth.
As before suggested William Holtz Egbert enjoyed the advant- ages of a good education. He attended in boyhood the White Hall school in Clinton township and he afterward entered Heidel- berg College at Tiffin and was graduated with the class of 1884. Having finished his education Mr. Egbert taught several terms of school in Ohio, Kansas, Minnesota and North Dakota. He be- lieved, however, that a more congenial and independent field of endeavor was presented by that of agriculture, in which so many of his forbears had engaged with entire success. His eighty acre farm in Pleasant township is a good home and a hospitable one. Mr. Egbert is a Republican in his political convictions, but never took an active part in politics.
The marriage of Mr. Egbert was celebrated January 2, 1894, Miss Mary L. VonBlon, daughter of John and Catherine VonBlon, becoming his wife. She was born November 19, 1872, in this county. Philip VonBlon. her great-grandfather, a native of Rhenish Bavaria, was the founder of the family in America and he was the first president of the German Reformed church in Tiffin. The names of Mrs. Egbert's father and mother were John and Catherine (Staib) VonBlon and their birth dates were February 3, 1842, and February 2, 1845. respectively. John VonBlon was a soldier in the Union army at the time of the Rebellion. He en- listed in Indiana and was wounded at Nashville upon the occasion of Hood's defeat. He served in Company A. Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, under Colonel Stuart and Captain LaFlesh. The pater- nal grandfather was Jacob VonBlon, who was born in Waldmor, Rhenish Bavaria, and came to this country when young, and he
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married Nancy Wagner, a native of the Keystone state. The maternal grandparents were Lewis and Catherine (Emich) Staib, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany. Mrs. Egbert finished her education at Heidelberg College in Tiffin and has taught school in this county. She is a valued member of the Reformed church of Tiffin. Her only brother, John L. VonBlon, is one of the editors of the Los Angeles ( California) Times. To the subject and his wife have been born three children, all daughters. Julia, born May 30, 1896, died in infancy ; Hilda, born February 4, 1898; and Frieda, December 13, 1909.
He whose name initiates this article is one of a family of four children, the others being Knott C., now located in the state of Oregon, where he has a position in the Indian schools, was educated at Heidelberg, at the Ohio State University and at Cornell Univer- sity; Norman D. is a farmer on the old homestead in Pleasaut township, Seneca county; Frances is the wife of Thomas Crabill and resides on the farm with her parents.
JOHN H. LENNARTZ .- By a continuous devotion to the demands of his official position, with an ability equal to its responsibilities and an integrity that has never deviated from the true line of duty, the career of John H. Lennartz, of Tiffin, as auditor of Seneca county, has been one of usefulness and honor. A native of Ohio, he was born, May 23, 1863, near Fort Recovery, Mercer county, and was there reared and educated. His father emigrated from Germany to this country when young, bringing with him the habits of industry native to his sturdy German ancestors. Locating permanently in Ohio, he is still a resident of this state and one of its successful agriculturists. He married Sarah Weaver, who was born in Pennsylvania, where her ancestors settled on coming to America, about 1700. Mr. Lennartz comes of patriotic stock, his great-grandfather, John Weaver, having served in the Revolution- ary war under General Washington. An active participant in many engagements of that struggle for independence, he was killed at the battle of Long Island, and in grateful memory of his heroic services the United States government erected over his grave at Long Island a stone, which is now, in 1910, standing.
Trained to habits of industry, John H. Lennartz began when a boy to help his father on the farm, and assisted in clearing a sixty-acre tract of woodland, working during the summer seasons, but attending school during the winter terms until sixteen years old in his home district. The ensuing two years he worked on the farm during seed time and harvest, but in the winter seasons continued his studies at the village school in Fort Recovery. At the age of eighteen years Mr. Lennartz taught his first term of school, and being an ambitious student gradually worked his way upward in his profession, becoming an efficient and popular in- structor. At the age of twenty-four years he had the misfortune to become partially deaf. an affliction that changed all of his pre- arranged plans for a professional career. Being forced to hustle for himself he came to Tiffin in 1883, and. still laboring under the disadvantage of partial deafness, worked at whatever labor he could find.
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In 1885 Auditor Stoner, late of Tiffin, becoming aware of Mr. Lennartz's fine scholarship and clerical proficiency, secured for him a position as clerk in the office of the county auditor. Serving most ably and faithfully, he retained the position until 1892. work- ing under Auditor J. A. Norton. In 1893 Mr. Lennartz, an ardent Democrat, was removed from office on account of his political faith. In 1898 he was appointed deputy auditor, and served in that position under both Lee Nighswander and R. R. Bour, auditors.
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