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 46
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Mr. Mench married Miss Rose E. Stief. of Carey, Wyandot county, Ohio, who was educated there and at the seminary at Glendale. She has borne her husband a son and a daughter-J. - Rishel in 1900 and Catherine E. in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Mench live in a fine home on Main street in Bettsville. Of this he is the owner, also of a fine improved farm of eighty acres in section 16, Liberty township. In politics he is a Republican of deep and abiding interest in all public questions and especially helpful to the growth and prosperity of Bettsville. Mr. and Mrs. Mench are communicants of the Presbyterian church at Tiffin, to the various interests of which they are lovally helpful.
LOUIS JONES is one of the well known and enterprising citi- zens of Kansas, Seneca county. He is an exponent of both manu- facturing and commercial interests, for he is a salesman of cement and cement block and a dealer in building supplies, while at the same time engaging in the manufacture of cement posts. He is one of the younger generation of progressive business men, his birth having occurred in Liberty township April 18, 1880, his parents being John A. and Emmeline (Flack) Jones. The father, who is living in Kansas, Liberty township, where he is retired, is a native of Pennsylvania and is a veteran of the Civil war, he having served during the conflict between the states as a member of Company B, Fifty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He moved here in the year 1907. The mother was born in Liberty township. Mr. Jones is the youngest in order of birth in a family of five children, the other members of the family being: John H., Rell. L., Byron, and one sister, deceased.
Mr. Jones was unfortunate enough to lose his mother when he was about a year old. and he was reared by his grandmother. His early years were passed in Fostoria and it was there that he re- ceived his education. graduating from the high school with the class of 1900. His education was interrupted at the time of the Spanish- American war by his enlistment with Company D of the Sixth Ohio, this being one of the regiments which were sent to Cuba, and there he saw four months' service. After the declaration of peace and the disbanding of the army, he returned to the home town, finished his schooling, meanwhile living with his father. Soon after this he embarked in business, identifying himself with the cement and cement block industry, his trade being largely in Seneca county. The manufacturing plant of which he is the head is situated in Kansas, Liberty township.
On June 20, 1905. Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Amelia Kimmet, daughter of Adam F. and Eva (Hammer) Kimmet, of Liberty township, and they are the parents of two sons: Melvin, aged five and Walter, aged three. Mr. Jones owns the attractive home on Jacob street.
The subject is a loyal Republican and he and his family belong to the Catholic church of Kansas. Ohio. Fraternally he is affili- ated with the Modern Woodmen of America.
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EDWARD T. NAYLOR .- The name of Naylor is one which has for a great many years been associated in the most honorable and prominent fashion with the affairs of Seneca county. Edward T. Naylor, a retired hardware merchant and identified with the Tiffin National Bank, has spent fifty-four years within the boundaries of this progressive Ohio eity. Not only does this gentleman combine in himself all the fine qualities which make for ideal citizenship in the quieter walks of life, but although a very young man at the time the first guns were fired at Fort Sumter he was one of the earliest to offer his services for the preservation of the integrity of the Union, and few can look back upon a more inter- esting Civil war record.
Mr. Naylor is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred at the village of Alexandria, Licking county, Ohio, March 22, 1843. Until his ninth year he resided with his parents upon their farming property near Alexandria, but when he was about that age they removed to Newark, Licking county, and there re- sided for one year. They then went farther afield, taking up their residence in Berlin, Wisconsin, where they resided until 1857, or, more accurately, Mr. Naylor's tenure of residence ended with that year, when in October he came to make his home with his brother, the late J. N. Naylor, who at that time was in the hardware business under the firm name of J. N. Naylor & Brother. The subject had attended the schools of the various places in which his early years had been spent and he continued his studies in the schools of Tiffin, literally leaving his desk in the school room to shoulder a musket in the defense of the nation. He became a member of the first organization of Seneca county, Company A, Eighth Ohio Volunteer Regiment. The first enlistment was for ninety days and at the termination of that period he re-enlisted and served until the close of the war. His regiment was incor- porated in the Army of the Potomac, under General Winfield Scott Hancock. The Eighth Ohio found itself in the thickest of the fight and participated in seventy-six battles and skirmishes, among them some of the greatest engagements of the war, such as Gettysburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, Spottsyl- vania and Cold Harbor. At one engagement in Virginia he was captured by Mosby and prior to that he had several hair-breadth escapes from guerrillas. For a short time he was United States mail agent and upon being attacked upon one occasion he made his escape in the following manner. He was the bearer of about twenty thousand letters and a large amount of money which the soldiers were sending home to their families. As he was making his way through a narrow pass between the two armies. he was suddenly covered by the guerrillas. Believing himself at their mercy he would gladly have surrendered, but. as he himself ex- presses it, the mule that conveyed him "thought different." The mule started to run and as he did so some of the guerrillas' shot found lodgment in Mr. Naylor's shoulders and also in the anatomy of the mule, which increased the speed of the latter to record- breaking point, and the pursuers were soon outdistanced. Thus a remarkable escape was effected by a member of that much ma-
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ligned species of the brute creation. On the occasion of the above-mentioned capture by Mosby, Mr. Naylor was released only upon condition of his turning over his horse and equipage. His captors were also robbing him of his clothing when he made a personal appeal to Captain Thompson, who restored to him all of his personal effects, among them a solid gold watch in a hunting case, the same being still in his possession.
The Eighth Ohio Regiment for meritorious service at Gettys- burg with others was chosen to go to New York to quell the draft riot in August, 1863. At Gettysburg the company to which Mr. Naylor belonged lost fifty per cent of its members. He was mustered out at Cleveland, July 13, 1864, and thereupon returned to Tiffin. In the "Reminiscences of Gettysburg" an interesting narrative by Mr. Naylor published in a Washington, D. C., paper, is related that the sharp shooters of the advance guard of the Rebels were located along Emmetsburg Road and General Hancock commanded General Carroll to send one of his regiments down that way. The Eighth Ohio, of which Mr. Naylor was a member, was chosen. In the battle his particular company served through the night of the second day until the charge of Pickett's command. Mr. Pickett was in front of the charge and would have been cap- tured, but owing to the cannonading, which was so heavy it made great breeches in the charging party, they would close up to it and pour in cross fire. The regiment brought in 13,005 battle flags and at Antietam Mr. Naylor's regiment captured some three hun- dred of these banners. At the battle of Fredericksburg on Deceni- ber 13. 1862. the regiment lost thirteen color bearers, the last one sinking the staff in the ground as he fell. and when the smoke of the conflict at last cleared away Old Glory was still waving.
One of Mr. Naylor's friends, Tommy Connor, when but a lad sought to join the army, but owing to his youth he was refused admission to the ranks. Upon the journey Master Tommy was hidden by Mr. Naylor under the seat in the railway coach, was fed by the soldiers, who thonght it a huge joke and rather admired the lad for his plucky persistence, and he remained with the army until after Gettysburg. when so many of his heroes were slain and the real meaning of war so impressed upon him that he was willing to return home. While in the army young Connor sent eight hun- dred dollars back to Tiffin by Mr. Naylor, who was on leave. He subsequently became a famous speculator of Joplin, Missouri, but he did not forget his well loved Tiffin and gave the city one hundred thousand dollars, also donating an equal amount to Joplin.
Soon after returning to Tiffin Mr. Naylor began upon the business career which was to prove so successful, associating him- self with the firm of J. N. Naylor Brothers, hardware merchants. Mr. Naylor continued thus engaged for a great many years and it is doubtless due to his executive ability, sound judgment and ability to inspire confidence that the business became one of the most substantial and prosperous of any to be found throughout the length and breadth of Seneca county. He retired in 1899 from the active duties and management of the concern.
On the 14th day of February, 1871. Mr. Naylor was united in
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marriage to Miss Louisa Pettinger, a representative of one of the fine families of the locality, born June 2, 1842, and a sister of the wife of the late J. N. Naylor. This happy union was further cemented by the birth of two children : Edna Marie, born December 27. 1874. the wife of Thomas Wylie, of Ripley, Ohio; and Earl Benjamin, born December 4. 1878, residing with the subject and associated with the banking house founded by the late J. N. Naylor, now under the caption of the Tiffin National Bank.
Mrs. Naylor's father was the late Judge Benjamin Pettinger, who was one of those pilgrims from Fredericksburg. Maryland. to Seneca county in the '20s. When he first made the journey across country he was accompanied by his wife, and he subsequent- ly returned to bring back that lady's sisters, one of them, Martha. becoming the wife of the late General William H. Gibson. one of the country's greatest orators and a noted veteran of the Civil war. A famous monument has been erected to his memory. Another of the sisters married John D. Breslin, who founded the Tiffin Ad- vertiser and later was elected state treasurer, succeeding Mr. Gibson.
Mr. Naylor was a member of the Gibson Memorial Committee and also of the Ohio Antietam Battlefield Committee. Naturally he takes a great interest in his comrades of other days. and is a Grand Army man. having been one of the organizers of Gibson Post. No. 31, G. A. R. In politics Mr. Naylor gives allegiance to the Republican party, his suffrage having ever been at the disposal of the Grand Old Party. The Naylor residence is a handsome and commodious one. situated at 200 Monroe street and it is one of the favorite social centers of the city, its hospitality and at- tractiveness being proverbial.
Earl Benjamin Naylor was graduated from the higher depart- ment of the Tiffin public schools with the class of 1897. He sup- plemented this educational discipline with attendance at Ohio Wesleyan College at Delaware. After finishing his education he went to St. Louis, where he became associated with the Emerson Electrical Manufacturing Company. and remained in that city for four years. His ability was of a high order and he was sent by them to New York city and there placed in charge of their eastern business. continuing with this important trust for two years. But attractions of his home place never grew dim with him and he returned to Tiffin. becoming associated. as previously
mentioned, with the Tiffin National Bank.
He has large interests
in this important institution.
His wife before her marriage was Miss Beckley. youngest member of the family of John M. Beckley, a native of Germany, and one of those loval adopted sons of America who gave her valliant service in her day of need. Mr
Beckley was a member of the Seventy-second Ohio Regiment. Mr. Naylor and his wife have one young daughter, Jane Cornelia.
The subject's daughter, Mrs. Wylie, and her husband have two children, William Naylor, born October 14. 1907, and Emma Louisa, born January 15, 1906.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY
ELMER E. FEASEL. one of Liberty township's most pro- gressive agriculturists. has been a resident of this township for only about three years. for he came here in the year 1907. For twenty years previously he had been identified with agricul- tural interests of Jackson township and preceded this by valuable service to the educational cause of Seneca county, having for thir- teen years been a teacher in the district schools. He was born in Liberty township. near Centre. on September 9. 1861, and is the son of Alexander and Mary (Turner) Feasel. who were natives of Fairfield and Seneca counties, respectively. He came from Fair- field county. Ohio, in the year 1837 and became identified with the agricultural life of the county. He passed on to his reward in the year 1881. but the death of the mother occurred in June. 1863, when the subject was a child only a little under two years of age He was reared by an uncle and aunt, Jacob and Sarah Feasel, citizens of Seneca county. He received his preliminary educa tion in the district schools and in the meantime engaged in various occupations, saving sufficient money to pursue a supplementary course in the college at Ada. Ohio. Receiving a license to teach when he was twenty years of age. he at once secured a position in the county schools and for thirteen years was recognized as one of the most excellent and enlightened of local instructors. He fol- lowed farming in the summer and eventually found it expedient to devote his entire attention to that industry. He purchased a property in Jackson township and there lived for twenty years. engaging in general farming and meeting with unqualified success. but in 1907 he changed his residence to Liberty township where he is the possessor of a tract of eighty fertile and well situated acres. He likewise owns one hundred and two acres in Jackson township.
In 1885 Mr. Feasel was united in marriage to Lenora Bower. born in Liberty township in 1866, the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Lyberger) Bower. She died October 4. 1888. without issue. On the 12th day of September. 1889, he married Leona Gilson. daughter of Jeremiah and Eliza (MeLaughin) Gilson of Jackson township. They have two daughters, Bessie, aged twenty, and Cora, aged twelve.
Mr. Feasel is Democratic in his political convictions and has been very active in the work of the party. his support and endorse- ment being sought as a valuable adjunct. £ He is a member of Kansas Lodge. No. 405. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. in which he holds the office of past noble grand, and he also has mem- bership in the lodge of Rebekas, No. 171. Mrs. Feasel and their daughter Bessie likewise holding membership in this organization.
In addition to general farming Mr. Feasel engages in stock raising. He must be counted one of the self made men, all that he has made of himself being through his own efforts.
ERNEST A. WETZEL .- The battle for life and success is no long- er physical ; it is mental. And in order to maintain one's own in this busy world a practical education is essential, and for those who cannot afford or who do not wish to go to college the public school
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is the best substitute that we have. Teaching. formerly a make- shift to fill in odd time. is now a profession, commanding the best talents of men and women who would have as easily become good lawyers or good doctors as good teachers. These thoughts are sug- gested by the busy and useful career of the subject of this notice, who has been a teacher since 1896.
Ernest A. Wetzel was born in Seneca township. Seneca county, - Ohio. August 19. 1877. a son of Jacob and Barbara M. (Ruehle) Wetzel. His parents. natives of Germany. were brought to America by their parents. They married in Seneca county. The father was a baker by trade and in the Civil war served the Federal government in that capacity. He was the father of five children, all of whom except Ernest A. are dead. The immediate subject of this notice was reared on the farm which is now his home and obtained his education in public schools and at Ada University, Ada. Ohio. At the last mentioned institution he pursued the regular scientific course and a special course in civil engineering. He began teaching when he was about nineteen years old and has since made that his life work. He is at this time employed in the Mccutcheonville. Ohio, schools.
On January 1. 1910. Mr. Wetzel married Miss Myrtle Gruble, of Mccutcheonville. Ohio. They are members of the Lutheran church of that town and he is a member of the Mccutcheonville Masonic lodge (Number 314) and was for two years its presiding officer. He is identified also with Crawford Chapter. Royal Arch Masons, of Carey. Ohio. A Democrat politically, he has been elected and re-elected township clerk of Seneca township and has served in the office about five years. He has also represented his township in the Democratic county central committee. A man of broad views and of much public spirit. he is a progressive citizen. helpful to all his fellow citizens, of whom they are proud and whom they like to honor. Ilis fine farin, in section twenty-one, Seneca township, comprises forty aeres.
Mr. and Mrs. Wetzel are the parents of one child, a daughter named Margaret Clementine, born on the 14th of February, 1911.
FRED O. VOORHIES, was born in Sandusky county, Ohio. September 3. 1880, a son of O. D. and Sophia (Stahl) Voorhies, both of whom are living in Bettsville. He was reared on his father's farm and attended public schools in his home district. When he was about eighteen years old he became a student at a business college in Toledo. from which he was duly graduated in 1900. Ile came from the institution well grounded not only in accounting but in the general principles of merchandising. Thus equipped to enter the field of modern business. he established a hardware store and plumbing shop at Bettsville, with his brother W. B. Voorhies as his partner. They enlarged their facilities from time to time as their business increased until their concern became one of the best of its kind in the county. Recently the Voorhies Company combined with the H. W. Auld dry goods store, the style of the firm becoming the Bettsville Mercantile Company, and this is the leading mercantile establishment of Bettsville.
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Mr. Voorhies married Miss Dora Soloman of Sandusky county, Ohio, and they have a son. Vaughn Voorhies, who was born January, 1904. In his political affiliation Mr. Voorhies is Repub- lican. He takes an active and public interest in local, state and national affairs. He is not without considerable local influence in his party. Without any expressed wish on his part that political honors should be conferred upon him he was in the fall of 1909 elected clerk of his township, an office which he is filling with signal ability and success greatly to the admiration of his fellow citizens of Liberty township irrespective of party differences. He has brought to this work in this capacity the same conspicuous talent that has made for his success in his private business and is hailed throughout the township as a public official who has the welfare of the community always in mind.
LEONARD B. TOMB .- Much of the prosperity of Seneca county depends upon her agricultural element, and one of the ablest ex- ponents of the great basic industry is Leonard B. Tomb, whose property is located in Pleasant township. Here he engages in general farming and stock raising and has met with success in both departments. Mr. Tomb was born October 7, 1871, and is the son of Benjamin F. and Leonora (Benham) Tomb, the family origi- nally coming from Connecticut. The grandfather, Benjamin Tomb, was the first of the family to come to Ohio and he became one of the leading factors in the life of Seneca county. Benjamin Tomb's grandfather was Jacob Tomb and his father, Philip Tomb, the latter born March 22, 1782, in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, near the present site of Harrisburg, both of his parents being of German extraction. He settled on Pine Creek in that state in later life. When Philip was a child his father in 1786 moved the family up the Susquehanna river, about ninety miles, making the journey by keel boats, this mode of transporation being necessary from the fact that there were no roads. He had hired some men to build a house for him on his new tract and he expected that a shelter would be waiting his wife and little ones, but the men, dishonestly, had not completed the contract.
The journey was begun November 1. 1791, and on the keel boat was stowed not only the family and a few household goods and provisions, but also iron to be used in the construction of a mill. When they reached Pine Creek the water was not sufficiently deep to float a boat, and he had to secure canoes to complete the trip. The remainder of the progress was tedious in the extreme, it re- quiring six days to go five miles. When on November 20 Jacob and his family reached their destination what was their despair to find the house quite incomplete. The walls were up and covered with a roof, but there were no chimney, doors nor windows. They managed to pass the night there, although nearly perishing with the cold, and the house was finished in a manner in the next two . days. They plastered it and made it otherwise habitable and on the 25th they began work on the mill, splitting and hewing the logs and building a race and dam. By March 1 the mill was finished. As it was three miles to the nearest mill, in the meantime they had to make their meal by pounding their corn in a mortar.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY
Philip, in his day. had many adventures, such as were the lot of the pioneer. and he related many interesting hunting. fishing and snake stories. Game was plentiful and included panthers, bears. elk, deer. bears in particular being very plentiful. The father, who was a great sportsman. made a wager to catch an elk alive. the stake being two hundred and fifty dollars. and he really accomplished this daring feat. which made him a hero among all the hunters of the locality. The elk. which was the first one caught in Pennsylvania. was sixteen hands high and its horns were five and one-half feet across. with eleven branches. The streams were filled with trout. these finny creatures then, as now. being considered a rare delicacy. Rattle snakes were far too numerous and made travel very dangerous. Upon one occasion a party when going up the river found the shore so alive with rattlers that they could not make a landing and were obliged to anchor their boat in the stream where they remained over night.
Members of the Tomb family still reside in the vicinity of Pine Creek and in Philadelphia and Pittsburg. The branch of the family with which this review is most concerned came to Ohio. first locating in Warren county and then removing to the Spicer section in this county. where two of their descendants. Leonard and Harry Tomb. reside and are influential and admirable citizens, worthy of the stanch stock from which they spring.
Benjamin Tomb, grandfather of the subject. married Ann Blackwell. She was the mother of R. H. Watson. mentioned else- where in this volume. The father of R. H. Watson. Thomas Wood Watson, was ninety years of age when he died. after a life of great worth and usefulness. His funeral was conducted by the Rev. Dr. D. D. Bigger. assisted by Rev. J. H. Steele. Dr. Bigger read an excellent sketch of the venerable gentleman. which is in the keeping of his son Robert H. Watson. Extract is made from said sketch with only such paraphrase as is deemed expedient for the purposes of a compilation of this nature. He spoke of his life as a simple and unassuming one and that he was tenderly loved in the home and as a friend and neighbor. He was respected universally and remained modest and unobtrusive as a child even to his ripened old age. He was marvellously free from glitter, tinsel and pretense and he was cordial. genial and never failing in courtesy. His nature was such as to lead him into the quieter paths of living and he achieved all that was of genuine worth in life. Thrown upon his own resources when in his teens he determined to have an education. and to secure the training he desired he toiled early and late. After graduating at the academy he chose law as a profession and when fully prepared met with a bitter disappointment. His health failed and his physician told him that if he hoped to live he must give up all thought of practic- ing law and take up work that would keep him in the open air. He obeved this counsel and took the life of a farmer. He finally acquired a competency. every dollar of which represented in- dustry and toil. Many farms were cleared by his hands and form the valuable and attractive homes of his descendants today. He
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