History of Seneca County, Ohio, containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, school, churches, industries, etc., portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of the Northwest territory; history of Ohio; statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc, Part 93

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1088

USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, Ohio, containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, school, churches, industries, etc., portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of the Northwest territory; history of Ohio; statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 93

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JOHN A. HALL, United States gnager, and store-keeper. Tiffin, was born in Tiffin, Ohio, February 12. 1841. son of Luther A. and Cynthia A. (Hedges) Hall, the former a native of Onondaga County, N. Y .. and the latter a daughter of Josiah Hedges, Esq. They rearel four sons: Josiah, now in the South; James H., in Orange, Los Angeles Co., Cal. : John A., and Dr. Albon Eugene, in Visalia. Tulare Co .. Cal. The subject of our sketch was reared in Tiffin, Ohio, and in January. 1863. he was appointed assistant assessor of internal revenue for this district. which position he held till Janu- ary 1. 1873. He married in Tiffin, Ohio, in June, 1867, Mary B., daughter of John A. and Sarah Baltzell Stoner, who were natives of Maryland. By this union there are two daughters. Grace and Mary Edith, and two sons, Lewis Baltzell and James Hedges. Mr. Hall and family are attendants of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. He is a worthy member of the Masonic fraternity, and has passed all the chairs to the Chapter, and is a member of the Royal Arcanum.

GEORGE HEABLER, JR., of Heabler Bros., proprietors of Attica Mills and dealers in grain. flour, etc .. at Attica and Tiffin, was born in Millville, Co- Inmbia Co., Penn .. in 1828. His parents. George and Hannah (Klingeman) Heabler, were natives of that county and of pioneer German ancestry. George Heabler, Sr., a practical miller, located in Venice Township, this county, in 1835, and was prominently connected with milling in this locality for many

years. Our subject was reared to the business in all its departments and in 1863 united with his brothers. John and Henry, in forming the present firm. He married in 1852. in Attica, Catharine, daughter of Peter and Anna Troxel, natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Heabler died in 1871, leaving two sons and two daughters: William Oscar. a harness-maker; David Troxel, a miller: Maria; and Emma. now the wife of A. L. Stokes. a blacksmith of Mount Vernon. Ohio. Our subject was married on the second occasion to Hannah, daughter of Joseph and Mary Hassler. natives of Germany, and to this union were born two sons:

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Sherman and Sheridan. Mr. Heabler is an active business man and a public- spirited citizen, and has been an efficient official in the school board and in the councils of the city and township. He is a member of the Methodist Protest- ant Church. He did honorable service during the late war of the Rebellion. serving as a member of Company C, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ohio Na- tional Guards. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.

REV. FATHER .MICHAEL HEALY. pastor of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. Tiffin, Ohio. was born in the parish of Kilmoyly. County Kerry. Ireland, September 26. 1823, son of Francis and Elizabeth (Bric) Healy. The Healys and the Brics were of the better class of yeomanry of that locality. and reckoned among their number many clever professional people-clergymen, attorneys, physicians, etc. Father Healy obtained all the benefits the schools of his native place afforded, and in 1841 he became a scholar at Tralee. in the classical school of John McCarty, and finished in the school of T. Horan. of Tralee. At the age of twenty-five years he went to All Hallows College. near Dublin, and in 1849 left college to come to America. where he completed his theological studies in St. Mary's Seminary, at Cleveland. Ohio, in which city he was ordained in 1851 by Bishop Rappe, and is now the oldest living priest ordained by that bishop. Father Healy's first services were at Wooster, Ohio. where he at first served as assistant priest. and latterly as pastor. He resigned this position to return to St. Mary's Seminary, where he passed another year. and in the summer of 1853 he was sent to Elyria, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he built St. Mary's Church the following summer; he also built St. Patrick's Church, at Wellington, Lorain Co .. Ohio. in 1857. In 1859 he came to Tiffin, where besides liquidating a debt of $6,000 on St. Mary's Church. he has aided materially in improving, furnishing and beautifying the present handsome St. Mary's Church edifice, schools, cemetery, etc. (see History of St. Mary's Church and congregation, page 495).

J. UHLRICK HECHERMAN, M. D .. Tiffin. was born in Chambersburg. Penn .. November 22, 1825. His father, Jacob Heckerman, was a pioneer of Prussian ancestry in this country, dating back to 1730. The mother, Catharine (Stuple) Heckerman, was of pioneer Swiss ancestry in Pennsylvania. Dr. Heckerman was one of five children, all of whom, except himself. reared fam- ilies in Pennsylvania. He was left an orphan in infancy and was reared by his guardian. Jacob Heck, a merchant of Chambersburg. where he studied and graduated from the then Columbian School of Medicine. of Washington. D. C .. in March, 1846. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Cashtown, Penn., where he continued till in June. 1549, when he was persuaded to come to Tiffin, this county (through the influence of the late Rev. Hiram Shaull ), and where he has since devoted himself closely to his professional work. his first recreation being in the centennial year. when he visited the East. and. secondly, in 1883 (after the loss of his esteemed son). He married, in Mercersburg, Penn., in August, 1846, Jane Anderson Dick, and this union was blessed with two sons and three daughters. Mrs. Heckerman departed this life in 1861 in full communion with the Presbyterian Church, and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery with her two sons: Charles B., who followed her in 1862. and William H. in 1883, who, after receiving a careful literary and med- ical training in the schools of this country and Europe, passed away in his twenty-seventh year. The daughters are Mary E., wife of Dr. F. W. Swan; Anna Kate, wife of William S. Giesy, of Douglass, Kas., and Jane Anderson, at home. Dr. Heckerman was married, on second occasion, in 1870. to Amanda McBride, who died in 1879 without issue, and is also interred in Maple Grove Cemetery. The Doctor is a close student of his profession and a worthy citizen.

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JOSIAH HEDGES. founder of Tiffin, was a lineal descendant of Sir Charles Hedges, one of the Secretaries of State under Queen Anne, of Eng- land, and a member of the British Parliament. Joseph Hedges, who was a son of Charles Hedges, gentleman, and grandson of Sir Charles, came to America at an early day and settled in Prince George County. Md. He had nine children, two of whom -Charles and Joseph moved to Frederick County. The former of these became the father of fourteen children. one of whom was named Charles; the latter had only one child, a daughter, Rebecca. inter-

marrying, left their Maryland home and settled in Virginia. They were the parents of eleven children, including the subject of this sketch, who was born in Brooke County, Va .. April 9, 1778. Reared amid the incidents of a long war, inspired by contact with heroes of the Revolution, Josiah grew up a sturdy, resolute and self-reliant youth. At the age of eighteen he was en- gaged on his own account in shipping produce from Wheeling to New Orleans, the then seat of the French Government of Louisiana. About the same time he moved into the "Northwestern Territory." He was permanently located there in 1801, and when a year afterward Ohio was admitted as a State into the Union, the people of Belmont County conferred the honor of making him their first sheriff. Intelligent, energetic and upright. this executor of the law. young as he was. discharged the duties of the high trust with promptness and discretion, and secured the good will of his fellow citizens, for, upon the expiration of his term he was chosen clerk of the courts. He made a careful and efficient clerk and continued to hold that office until, turning his attention to mercantile pursuits, he devoted his time to the establishing of an extensive trade at St. Clairsville. There were no commercial agents on the road in those days, no facilities for exchange, and Philadelphia (300 miles away) was the nearest point at which to replenish a depleted stock. Thither on horseback, semi-annually, the enterprising merchant journeyed, with large sums of money on his person, to make selections and pay for the goods he might purchase. By prudent investment and judicious management Mr. Hedges made the St. Clairsville venture a success. and, in 1819, he started a new store in Mansfield, Ohio, and associated with him as partners, his brothers, Elza Hedges, a man of mark in his day, and Gen. James Hedges. a distinguished soldier of the war of 1812, on Gen. Harrison's staff. The Hedges Brothers, of Mansfield, were a prosperous firm. and a strong bond of friendship existed between its members throughout their lives. In 1820 Josiah Hedges visited Fort Ball, bought a tract of land opposite it. on the Sandusky River, laid out a town, which in honor of his warm personal friend, the first governor of Ohio, he named Tiffin. In 1822 he had put up a saw-mill. built a mill for making flour, erected a public hall. provided rooms for offices and shops and then by dispos- ing of building lots at moderate prices. and being lenient and magnanimous with purchasers the infant town of Tiffin grew apace. In 1824, upon the organi- zation of Seneca County. Mr. Hedges aspired to make Tiffin the county seat. It was centrally located and had many natural advantages, and its founder pro- posed donating ample and suitable grounds for county buildings. Across the river, however, was a troublesome rival. At Fort Ball a town called Oakley had been started, equally well situated, and which its proprietor, Jesse Spencer, declared outranked Tiffin in seniority and in its reminiscences of history. While the respective friends of these two places were studying how best to get ahead, Mr. Hedges, with his usual quickness of decision and promptness of action, cut the gordian knot by buying out Spencer, and becoming the owner of both Oakley and Tiffin. The county seat secured. the town increased steadily, the land office was removed to it from Delaware. manufactories sprung

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up, commerce flourished, and Mr. Hedges lived to see a wilderness transformed into a city of cheerful homes and busy industry. Enterprising and public spirited though he was, Mr. Hedges did not seek public position, but intelli- gence, integrity and sound judgment were qualities which his fellow citizens recognized in him, and of which they availed themselves, in 1825, by electing him to the Legislature. He represented in that body the counties of Sandusky, Crawford. Seneca and Marion, and discharged the duties of legislator with marked ability. In the good old days of Jackson and Clay, Mr. Hedges was an ardent Whig. He was frequently nominated by his party for political preferment. But the Democrats having the ascendancy, he held no political office until 1830, when he was re-elected to the Legislature by the district composed of Seneca, Hancock, Sandusky and Wood. His legislative career was characterized by industry and by an unswerving devotion to the young counties of the Northwest. Mr. Hedges possessed the attributes of a good citizen and Christian gentleman. Though a man of great firmness and decis- ion of character, he was benevolent and just. and was the last man in the world to drive another to the wall. He lent a helping hand to the honest poor, and was ready, at all times, to assist with his funds any good work need- ing aid. He gave building sites, and subscribed liberally to the churches. Itinerant ministers and visiting statesmen made his home a resort. for the "latch-string was always hanging out." and the cordial and generous hos- pitality was proverbial. In the domestic circle he was kind and indulgent, and was, as he deserved to be, the idol of the household. He was one of the original stockholders and directors of the first railroad constructed in Ohio- the Mad River & Lake Erie, now the Indiana, Bloomington & Western-and it was through his instrumentality that the benefits of that road were secured to the people of Tiffin. In religious faith the ancestors of Mr. Hedges were Episcopalians. He was thrice wedded. His first wife, Rebecca Russell, was of Ohio parentage, and died at the early age of thirty, leaving six children -three boys and three girls. Two of the boys. Thomas and Albert, died in early youth and Josiah at the age of thirty-six. Of the girls, Julia was mar- ried to Dr. Joseph Mason. and Rebecca to Joseph Walker, one of the earliest merchants of Tiffin. Clarinda. the only survivor, was the wife of the late William Hunter. Mr. Hedges' second marriage was with Eliza Hammerley. who came of a Virginia family; her father was Garrett Hammerley. Of the three sons and six daughters of this marriage, two of the sons died in infancy, the other. William C. Hedges, who died in 1876, was a graduate of the Har- vard Law School and a ripe scholar. He projected the first public library in Tiffin, and inaugurated a taste for literary and scientific lectures among its people by laboring for and securing the most talented lecturers. Of the daughters, Eva died at the age of twenty-one; she was the wife of Dr. Henry Russell, of Columbus. The five remaining daughters are Sarah, wife of W. C. W. Armstrong. ex-Secretary of State and editor Plaindealer at Cleveland. where he resides; Mary Jane, wife of A. C. Baldwin, a prominent manu- facturer of Tiffin: Minerva, wife of H. Noble, ex-mayor of Tiffin and pres- ent probate judge; Elizabeth, reliet of J. G. Gross (deceased). a leading manufacturer of Tiffin, and Cynthia A .. widow of Luther A. Hall. of the Tiffin bar. The mother of these children died in 1837. Seven years after Mr. Hedges married again: but without issue, Miss Harriet Snook; she died February, 1885. Mr. Hedges was a fine looking man. he was well built. erect, of robust physique and dignified mien. His forehead was high, eyes black, nose slightly of the Roman cast, and a mouth that indicated firmness and decision. At the age of eighty years he continued to give daily attention

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to his business interests, and up to the time of his last illness was in full pos- session of his mental powers. He died at Tiffin, July 15, 1858. When he departed there passed away a useful and honored life, a life full of activity consecrated by good deeds and enshrined in the affections of his children and friends.

JOHN HEILMAN, proprietor of the extensive Brick and Tile Manufactur- ing Works, Tiffin, was born in Bermersheim, Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, September 11, 1821; son of Daniel (a farmer) and Barbara Heilman. In 1843 he came to America and located in Tiffin, Ohio, and in 1850 he established a manufactory for making brick, to which in 1863 he added tile making. The business proved successful, and is now one of the most important industries of Tiffin. After accumulating a handsome competency from it, Mr. Heilman has turned it over to the care of his sons, William and Otto, who do a large busi- ness. The subject of our sketch was married. in Tiffin, to Mary Schnecken- berger, who died without issue. He was afterward married to Elizabeth Zeis, of Epingen, Baden, who bore him three sons and two daughters: Lizzie, wife of John La Bar, a hardware merchant: John G., a tinsmith, of Santa Anna. Cal. ; Kate, wife of George Diemer, of Carey. Ohio: William, married to Elva M., daughter of James M. Bore (have two daughters, Bertha and Edith), and Otto. Mr. Heilman buried his second wife in Tiffin. and subsequently married Fredericka Wetzel. of Wurtemberg, Germany, and by her has a son and daughter: Albert and Anna. The family attend the German Lutheran Church. Mr. Heilman, a worthy citizen of Tiffin, has contributed in no small degree to the growth of its interests and industries. Though he has ever been averse to holding public office he has served with credit as member of the council.

JOHN D. HEILMAN, grocer and saloon keeper, Tiffin, born in Tiffin. Ohio. December 15, 1842, is a son of Jacob and Mary (Wick) Heilman, who came to this county from Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, in 1839, and whose children are Susan. John D., Philip, Jacob, Elizabeth, Mary, Christian and William. Our subject was reared to brick-making. September 12, 1864. he enlisted in Company C. One Hundred and Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. and served till the close of the war: he was wounded in the left hand. and received an honorable discharge. Having contracted rheumatism he was com- pelled to give up brick-making. and then engaged in his present business. He married, in 1867, Margaret, daughter of Balthasar and Christina Rohe. of Landau, Rhine Bierne, Germany. and by her has two sons and two daughters: Jacob N., Mary, Libbie and John A. The family belong to the German Lu- theran Brethren Church. Mr. Heilman is a member of Leander Stem Post G. A. R., and has been a member of the fire department for fourteen years.

WILLIAM HEROLD, saloon keeper, Tiffin, was born in Naumburg, Sax- ony, December 23, 1823, son of Carl Tielo and Mina (Poose) Herold. In 1847 he came to America, and after following his trade, rope-making, in the East. principally in Sackett's Harbor, N. Y.,. he came to Tiffin. Ohio, and carried on the same industry for several years, retiring from it to enter his present busi- ness. He married in Tiffin. Elizabeth Mueller, of Harbisheim, Hessen Darm- stadt. Germany, who bore him two sons and two daughters: F. F. a harness- maker, who married Laura C. Hubert, and has one daughter -Gertie May: Marietta, wife of Frederick Eckhard, a barber, in Tiffin; Otto, a barber, in Cleveland; and Ida. Mr. Herold's first wife dying, he married again. By his second wife he has no children. He is a member of the Reformed Church, and his wife of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. Mr. and Mrs. Herold are prominent among the many worthy German families of this city, and are respected by all.

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HENRY KEGG HERSHISER. M. D., Tiffin. was born in Bedford Coun- ty, Penn .. July 7. 1831; son of Henry and Maria Barbara (Kegg) Hershiser. and grandson of Lewis and Polly (Smith) Hershiser Lewis Hershiser, a dis- tiller by occupation, was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany. Maria B. (Kegg) Hershiser was a daughter of Peter and Eva (Harchelroad) Kegg. of Bedford County, Penn. The parents of our subject came to Tiffin in 1833. and here reared four sons and two daughters: William A., engaged in the wholesale and retail lumber business at Columbus, Ohio (no children); Peter M .. farm- ing, in Huron County, Ohio (has one son); Ann Elizabeth, deceased wife of Edward Bradley, also deceased (left two sons); Henry K .; Mary E., wife of J. W. Bradley, a contractor and builder of Columbus (have a son and daughter); David F., a machinist at Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Hershiser read medicine under Dr. J. P. Kinnaman, and graduated from the Columbus Medical College at Columbus, Ohio. He spent considerable time in the late war. in a professional capacity, retiring at the close of the struggle as assistant surgeon of the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the war he was engaged in the drug business for nine years. retiring from it to take up the practice of medicine. in which he has attained considerable reputation. The Doctor married. in Tiffin, Susan D. Myers. of Clear Spring. Md .. who has blessed him with one daughter: Jessie Day, a lady of estimable literary and musical abilities. Dr. Hershiser has been a member of the Masonic order for fourteen years, and has attained to the degree of Knight Templar in De Mo. lay Commandery; has been a member of the I. O. O. F. for many years, and of the society of Chosen Friends; is also president of the Soldiers Decorating and Benevolent Society.

F. K. HEWITT, architect, Tiffin, was born in Owego, Tioga County. N. Y., December 28, 1839. His father, Horace Wheeler Hewitt (a millwright). comes of pioneer English stock in the State, cousin of the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt of New York; subject's mother, Huldah (Kingsbury) Hewitt, was of sim- ilar lineage. The subject of our sketch was reared in New York City, where he completed his professional training. In March, 1862, he enlisted his services in Company C. Fifth New York Artillery. and remained in service about three years when he received an honorable discharge at Harper's Ferry, February 13. 1865, as veteran, having re-enlisted. After the war he betook himself to pro- fessional work and traveled over the greater part of the Northern and Western States and California. locating in Tiffin, Ohio. in 1882. He was married at Elmira. N. Y., to Sarah F., daughter of Zeno Carpenter, and this union was blessed with two sons and four daughters: John Dudley, Lulu, Daisy. Kate, Hattie and Fred. Mrs. Hewitt is a member of the Episcopal Church: Mr. Hewitt is a F. & A. M., and a member of the A. O. U. W.

REV. H. H. W. HIBSHMAN, D. D., pastor of Grace Reformed Church, Tiffin, was born in Shaefferstown, Lebanon County, Penn., November 25, 1837, and is of Swiss lineage. His great-great-grandfather, Gerhard Hibsh- man, emigrated from Switzerland to America, in the year 1731 or 1732. and located about two miles north of Ephratah. Lancaster Co. Penn. His great-grandfather, Wendel Hibshman, was a major in the Revolutionary war. and a member of the State Legislature of Pennsylvania for four years. His grandfather, John Hibshman, a man of intelligence, possessed a knowledge of both the German and the English languages, as also did his wife, who was of English descent. John held office in the Reformed Church, of which he was a devoted member for many years, and was elder and treasurer of his congrega- tion at the time of his death. He was of mild disposition, a lover of books. fond of music, and wrote on a leaf of a music book. the artistic work of the

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pen of his mother: "God give him grace therein to look and to understand, that learning is better than money and land. December 12, 1798." He was of temperate habits, and had a reputation for honesty, integrity of character, for generosity to the poor, and was esteemed by all who knew him. Our subject's father, Hon. A. P. Hibshman, was by profession a scrivener and surveyor, a lover of books and learning. and in early years taught the parochial school of the congregation of which he was a member. He spoke and wrote both in English and German. He was a man of strictly temperate habits, untiring diligence, energy and perseverance. In civil and political life he wielded great influence in the community in which he lived. He was a member of the Reformed Church. He left some fine drawings of the counties of Lancaster. Lebanon, Dauphin. Chester and Berks. in Pennsylvania: also in manuscript form, written in easy style, " The History of the Hibshman family down to the year 1870." He was paralyzed at his desk in the first auditor's office, treasury department, Washington, D. C .. after holding his position there for eighteen years, and died at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, a most amiable woman, loved and esteemed by all who knew her, for her many excellencies. died at the age of seventy years.

H. H. W. HIBSHMAN. the only surviving son, and pastor of Grace Reformed Church, Tiffin, graduated with his younger brother. Henry (who was pro- fessor of Latin and Greek at Andulisa College. and died at the age of twenty years), in the class of 1861 of Franklin and Marshall College. Lancaster, Penn. He studied theology at the theological seminary of the Reformed Church of the Synod of the United States, and was licensed and ordained to discharge the functions of the office of the ministry by the Synod of Ohio. He received the degree of master of arts from his alma mater in course: and. at the age of forty-two. Ursinus College honored him with the degree of Dicinitatis Doctor. As a minister of his church, his record compares with many of his peers. He has been highly successful in every field of labor to which he was called. He founded two congregations. built four houses of worship and two parsonages. He also wrote considerably for both secular and religious journals: has several lectures on the question of temperance in print. and many of his sermons have been given to the public in published form. Rev. H. H. W. Hibshman mar- ried Miss Alice J. Clark, a graduate of the high schools of Lancaster City, Penn., and daughter of Edwin C. Clark, a man of great inventive genius. They have six sons and one daughter. all partaking of the energy and spirit of their parents. The work in which he is engaged in Tiffin. has progressed under his pastorate beyond the anticipations of the most sanguine members. He was forty-seven years old his last natal day (1884) and will remain permanently in Seneca County. Ohio, unless overruled by Providence. Of his children Edwin Clark has chosen medicine for his profession and is student in a classical, lit- erary course of Ursinns College at Freeland. Penn. : Allen Porter is engaged in merchandising in Tiffin; Albert Helfenstine has chosen the profession of law, is student at Heidelberg College; Henry Eberly and Walter Strickland are students at the high school of Tiffin. and have chosen the ministry. Roy Super and Margaret Murray are too young to attend school. Rev. Hibshman has been a worthy Mason since 1864, and was knighted in Crusade Command- ery, No. 11, Bloomsburg, Penn .. in 1866, and is at present a worthy knight of De Molay Commandery, No. 9, of Tiffin. He is also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi. The original of the Hibshman name was spelled Huebschman, and is so recorded by Gerhard Huebschman, one of the first settlers of the family in Pennsylvania.

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Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1088

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1088