USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 84
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98
793
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
is widely known and Mr. Smith may reasonably be very proud of the success that has attained his undertakings.
On September 27, 1883, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Marie Cox, who was born at Port Jefferson, a daughter of Noah and Mary E. (Brown) Cox. The father of Mrs. Smith died at the age of seventy-two years and the mother when aged sixty-eight years and their burial was in the Pleasant Hill cem- etery at Jackson Center. Mr. and Mrs. Cox had seven children : Joshua, resid- ing at Lima, O .; Rosanna, deceased: Marie.and John, twins, the latter dying when five years old; George living at Lima ; Triphena J., deceased; and Daniel, of Lima. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had four children: Roy E., who died at the age of seven weeks; Warren L., who died when aged three years; Edward Franklin, who is a successful teacher in Jackson township; and Oliver L., who is a student in the Jackson Center high school. Mr. Smith and family are members of the Christian church. He is a democrat in political preference but is perfectly satisfied to have others than himself assume the worries as well as the emoluments of office.
WALLACE A. LOCHARD,* one of the industrious and successful young agriculturists of Salem township, Shelby county, O., who operates the Wal- nut Grove Farm belonging to his father, a valuable tract of 160 acres, was born in Salem township, February 1, 1886, and is a son of Isaac A. and Alma (Fox) Lochard.
The parents of Mr. Lochard are well known people of Shelby county and when they removed from the farm in Salem township they retired to Sidney, where they still reside. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sidney. Their family consisted of three children: Wallace A., Iva and Charles.
Wallace A. Lochard was educated in the public schools and the Western University at Delaware, O., in which institution he remained one year and then returned to his father whom he assisted until he was twenty-two years of age. Afterward, for three years, he rented and operated a farm in Perry township and then took charge of the Walnut Grove Farm, all but twelve acres of which lies in Salem township. Farming and stock raising are the industries carried on and Mr. Lochard is meeting with the success his energy and progressive methods justify him in expecting.
On October 22, 1908, Mr. Lochard was married to Miss Grace Wooley. a daughter of William and Jennie Wooley, of Perry township. Mr. and Mrs. Lochard have one daughter, Beulah. They attend the Methodist Epis- copal church. Mr. Lochard is a wide awake citizen and is interested in all that promises to make better conditions all over the country, but he feels that he has no time for office holding. Like his father he votes the democratic ticket.
LEWIS J. METZ, who is a well known and highly respected citizen of Jackson township, a member of the township board of education and a general farmer, resides on his 160 acres of well developed land that lie three and one-
794
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY.
fourth miles northwest of Jackson Center, O. He was born one mile north of this farm, in Jackson township, March 28, 1878, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Gross) Metz.
Jacob Metz was born in Germany and was brought to America by his par- ents when an infant. They located in Stark county, O., but later moved to Shelby county and settled in Jackson township. In early manhood Jacob Metz married Catherine Gross, then a resident of Jackson township, and they had twelve children born to them, nine of whom are living. Mr. Metz has been a very successful business man and has given each of his children a farm and retains one of 39 acres just north of the farm of his son, Lewis J. Metz.
Lewis J. Metz attended the public schools in Jackson township and after- ward assisted his father on the home farm. He has been on his present place ever since he has carried on farming for himself. On December 13, 1905. he was married to Miss Cora Lee Ambos, who was born at Montra, in Jack- son township, Shelby county, July 12, 1887, and is a daughter of Jacob and Charlotta ( Allenbach ) Ambos. Jacob Ambos was born in Germany and was brought to the United States when eight years old. In Auglaize county, O., he was married to Charlotta Allenbach. To them were born eight children, seven of whom are yet living. The family home was at Montra for many years as he was a skilled carpenter and builder and many of the substantial barns all over the county are of his construction. He was a veteran of the Civil war and was a valued member of the G. A. R. Both he and wife be- longed to the Lutheran church and were people held in the highest respect. Mr. Ambos lived to the age of sixty-nine years.
Mr. Metz has a fine property, well drained and well improved and a gen- eral line of agriculture is successfully carried on, all of his land being under cultivation with the exception of forty acres still preserved in valuable timber. Two little daughters make up the family, Wiln.a Marie and Luetta Viola. Mr. and Mrs. Metz belong to the Lutheran church at Montra and have a wide cir- cle of friends and acquaintances. In politics a democrat, Mr. Metz takes pleasure in the success of his party but has never accepted any public office for himself except in school matters and since February, 1911, he has been a member of the board of education of Jackson township.
ELMER D. KISER, who is serving Shelby county most efficiently in the office of county treasurer, is one of the representative citizens of Sidney. He was born on the home farm in Miami county, O., not far from Fletcher, May 8, 1868, and is a son of B. L. and Mary Ann Kiser.
For many years B. L. Kiser was a farmer in Miami county and his death occurred just prior to his son's removal to Sidney, his decease being induced to some degree from the ravages of disease contracted while he was loyally serving as a soldier during the Civil war. He enlisted in 1861 in Company E, Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served out his first enlistment, then reenlisted and continued until the close of the war, in the meanwhile taking part in all the important battles in the western army. His family consisted of three sons and one daughter : Elmer D .; F. D., who is a practicing
ELMER D. KISER
797
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
physician at Casstown, O .; I. C., for a number of years a physician at Fletcher, in November, 1912, was elected to the Ohio State Senate; and Minnie, who is a resident of Piqua.
Elmer D. Kiser had only common school advantages in his youth. For some years his father was in an invalided condition, and, as he was the eldest son, many responsibilities early fell on his shoulders. Later on the other two younger brothers were sent to college and both became physicians. Elmer D. Kiser, however, did not profit in this way. His inclinations were directed by a very practical mind and after coming to Sidney, in 1895. he sought a business opening and after working in one of the manufacturing plants for a short time, opened a butcher shop and continued a dealer in meats until his election to his present responsible office, in the fall of 1910, to which, in November, 1912, he was reelected by the largest vote received by any candi- date in Shelby county. Mr. Kiser is a prominent factor in the democratic party in this section of the state. He has long been recognized as an upright citizen and public approval has been given of his management of the county finances. To the management of public matters he has applied the sound busi- ness principles that he has found secures the best results in his own affairs.
Mr. Kiser was married in 1888, to Miss Lulu D. Bird, a daughter of S. R. and Celina J. Bird. Mrs. Kiser was born and reared on a farm in Green township, Shelby county, but her parents moved to Sidney in 1894 and here her father died in the following year. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kiser : Dale, who died at the age of sixteen years : John B., who con- tinues his father's meat market at Sidney; and Hilda L., who lives at home. Mr. Kiser is well known and valued in fraternal circles, having membership with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, lower branch and Encampment, the Knights of Pythias and the Red Men.
THOMAS H. WARD, who resides on his well cultivated farm of eighty- nine acres, which is situated in Perry township, Shelby county, O., was born on this place December 21, 1856, and is a son of Thompson and Lucinda (Cargill) Ward.
Thompson Ward was born in Ohio and during his active years was both blacksmith and farmer. He was an excellent citizen, interested in all that concerned the general welfare, voted with the republican party and liberally supported the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a member. He married Lucinda Cargill, who was born in Zanesville, O., and a large family was born to them, the most of the children still living and the majority being well settled in life. The eldest, Mary, married Charles Gearhart: Ellen is the wife of James Monroe: Martha married Samuel Kiser ; Addie married Joseph Kerns; John; Lucy is the wife of Samuel S. Crumbaugh: Charles is deceased; Thomas H. : Alice is the wife of Elmer Maxwell; Belle is the wife of Jacob H. Baker; and David.
Thomas H. Ward has always lived on his present farm and has practically nad charge of it since his school days, carrying on a general line of agriculture. He has made many improvements here in the way of tiling and fencing and
798
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
erected the present comfortable and attractive residence. He is a man of enterprise and owns stock in the Farmers Telephone Company.
Mr. Ward was married November 11, 1880, to Miss Ida Forsythe Smith. Her father, Pearson Forsythe, gave her when a babe of ten weeks, on the death of her mother, to her aunt, Mrs. Maria Smith, whose name became practically hers although she was never adopted. She had four brothers and one sister : William, Ethan, George, Edward, and Maria, the last named being the wife of John Ogden. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have four children: Edna, who is the wife of James Woolley; and Cora, Lola and Donald. Mr. Ward has served several times as road supervisor, elected on the republican ticket, and is much interested in that subject, realizing that good roads are a necessity to an agricultural community. With his family he belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal church. He is identified with the local organization known as the Protective Association.
HENRY CARGILL,* who is one of the old and substantial business men of Port Jefferson, O., where he has conducted a general store for the past fifty years, and, in association with his son, owns five farms in Shelby county, was born at Zanesville, O., April 25, 1833, and is a son of David and Mary A. (Wyant) Cargill. They were natives of the state of New York. Their family consisted of three children that grew to maturity : Andrew, Henry and Mrs. Ward.
Henry Cargill attended the schools of Zanesville, afterward worked on a farm and at the cooper trade until he embarked in his store enterprise. In 1849 the family moved from Zanesville to Piqua and in the same year he came to Port Jefferson. In 1850 his parents moved on a farm north of this place and he made his home there until permanently established in his present busi- ness. He married Louisa Elliott, who was born in Shelby county and died here, her burial being at Port Jefferson. Four children were born to them, three of whom are deceased, the one survivor being David Judson, who is a representative citizen of this place.
David Judson Cargill, who, for a number of years was a veterinary sur- geon in active practice but now professionally retired, was born in Shelby county, O., September 1, 1867. After completing the common school course at Port Jefferson he attended the Normal School at Lebanon, O., for two terms and subsequently the Ohio Veterinary College, at Cincinnati, from which he was creditably graduated. Since then his home has been at Port Jefferson and he resides in the old homestead with his father, in association with whom he owns five valuable farms in Shelby county. He is identified fraternally with the Masons at Port Jefferson and belongs to the Commandery at Sidney, O., and also is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle at Maplewood, and the Odd Fellows at Port Jefferson. Both father and son are republicans and the latter served as town treasurer for a number of years and for several years past has been treasurer of the cemetery at Port Jefferson. Henry Car- gill is one of the pillars of the Methodist Episcopal church at Port Jefferson and the enviable reputation among those who know him best and with whom
799
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
he has spent the greater part of his life is that of a man of unswerving hon- esty, upright in thought and deed.
THOMAS STOCKSTILL, a highly respected citizen and retired farmer, residing at No. 806 South Main avenue, Sidney, O., for many years carried on large farming operations in Orange township, two miles south of Sidney. He was born on a farm in Miami county, O., May II, 1833, and is a son of Elias W. and Elizabeth (Schroyer) Stockstill.
Elias W. Stockstill moved with his family to Shelby county, and settled in Salem township in 1834, where he owned over 300 acres of woodland, which, with the help of his sons in after years, was cleared and a large part put under cultivation. He was the father of eleven children, eight sons and three daugh- ters, seven sons of the family still living, Thomas being the second in order of birth, a daughter being the first-born.
Thomas Stockstill was reared in Salem township from the age of one year and remembers going to school in the old log school house near his father's farm. The first work he ever was seriously engaged in was clearing off land and following the various industries carried on on the home place. Farm- ing continued his main business during his entire active life and he still owns IIO acres of his former farm of 160 acres. At one time he owned another farm of forty acres directly south of Sidney but he has disposed of it. In 1863 he moved into Orange township and at first rented land but later pur- chased the farm directly across the road, which he greatly improved, doing a large amount of clearing and ditching on the same. He made a specialty of raising fine hogs and in all his farm activities was counted a successful man. In 1911 Mr. Stockstill retired and moved to Sidney August 8, 1912.
Mr. Stockstill was married in 1853 to Miss Martha Ellen Mitchell, who was born in Miami county, O., a daughter of Wilson and Lottie Mitchell, who moved to Shelby county when Mrs. Stockstill was a girl. Eleven children were born to this marriage, namely: Addie, who died over thirty years ago, was the wife of Peter Rodecker and she left one child, Edith, who is the wife of Dr. C. O. Young, and they have one child, Mamie, the only great-grand- child in the family; Elizabeth Belle, who keeps house for her father, is the widow of J. H. Keplinger, who was born in Shelby county in 1852 and owned eighty acres of fine land in Green township, and died February 16, 1912, and they reared Mrs. Dr. Young; Elias, who is a retired farmer of Jackson Cen- ter, O .; Sarah Minerva, who is the wife of Louis Nauswander, who is one of the gardeners employed at the Toledo Asylum; Celia May, who died at the age of twenty years; William, who is a resident of the state of Washington; Peter O., who lives in Orange township; Webster, who is a minister in the Methodist church, is stationed at Bryan, O .; Etta, who is the wife of Charles Elliott, of Toledo, O .; Winters, who is a veterinary surgeon, lives in Clinton township; and Herman, who is a resident of Toledo-a large and creditable family. Mr. Stockstill has been almost a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal church. For many years he has been identified with the Masonic fraternity, in which he is a Knight Templar. He and family are known all over Shelby county.
800
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
WALLACE ROYAL HARBOUR, one of the excellent farmers of Perry township, Shelby county, O., where he owns 139 acres of well improved land, was born in this township, March 19, 1882, and is a son of Henry and Eliza- beth (Persinger) Harbour. The father, who was a veteran of the Civil war, died in 1906. He was born in Champaign county but carried on farming in Shelby county for many years and was widely known. He married Elizabeth Persinger, who was born in the latter county and still survives, and they had four children : Charles William Beatty, Elmer E., Harry P. and Wallace Royal.
After his school days were over Wallace Royal Harbour assisted his father until the latter's death, when he inherited sixty-eight acres, and on this land started out for himself. Subsequently he sold that property and then pur- chased his present farm of 139 acres and here has ever since carried on general farming and moderate stock raising, frequently inaugurating improvements in farm methods and taking the intelligent interest in all that pertains to his business that is the real factor in success in any line.
In June, 1902, Mr. Harbour was married to Miss Edith De Weese, a daugh- ter of Frank and Lottie ( Barnes) De Weese. The father of Mrs. Harbour was born in Shelby county and the mother in Logan county. They were sub- stantial people of this county and Mrs. Harbour and her two brothers, both younger, Hamilton and Grover, were all born on the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Harbour have two very attractive and intelligent daughters, Velma and Lucile. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Pemberton. Mr. Harbour belongs to the Quincy lodge of Knights of Pythias, and politi- cally is a republican.
T. K. MINNIEAR, who is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of Shelby county, now lives somewhat retired, having four acres of land surrounding his comfortable residence at Plattsville, still continues to oversee, however, the operating of his two farms, both situated in Green township. He was born in Orange township, Shelby county, in 1851, and is a son of Thomas and Lydia (Johns) Minniear.
Thomas Minniear was born in Miami county, O., and came very early in his life to Orange township, Shelby county, securing several heavily timbered, well watered tracts and at the time of death, when aged eighty-four years, owned about 100 acres of cultivated land. He married Lydia Johns, who died when aged eighty-one years. They had the following children : William, Mrs. Nisha Glasford, Mrs. Maggie Seibert, Mrs. Mary Francis, two babes that died in infancy, and T. K., the only survivors being the last named and his sister, Mrs. Glasford, who lives near Sidney, O.
T. K. Minniear attended school in his boyhood in a school house on one of his father's farms and afterward erected additions to the same and lived on that place for fifty-one years, his children attending the same school. For thirty-six years after marriage he lived in the old school house. He owns two farms, one of eighty acres and the other of forty-two acres and general farming, stock raising and fruit growing have been the industries which have
801
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
mainly taken up his attention. While his heavier responsibilities have been shifted to younger shoulders, Mr. Minniear still continues to be interested and in caring for the small tract around his village home, finds pleasant recreation.
Mr. Minniear married Miss Katie Atkinson and ten children have been born to them, namely : Mrs. Macy Miller ; Mrs. Grace Middleton ; Lee, a resi- dent of Dayton ; Joseph, who lives in Plattsville ; Mrs. Maggie White, of Green township; David, who lives at Sidney; Stanly, who is a resident of Plattsville : Charles, who lives in Green township; Hannah, who remains with her parents, and Harry, who died at eleven months of age. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Minniear has always been a republican and is known as an earnest and reliable citizen. He has served in local offices and has been township trustee.
H. P. AILES,* one of the representative men of Shelby county, who has served in the office of justice of the peace in Jackson township since 1882, has been engaged in the mercantile business for a number of years. He was born on the old home farm in Franklin township, January 25, 1853, and is a son of Alfred and Melissa Jane (Young) Ailes, and a grandson of Moses H. Ailes, who was the pioneer of the Ailes family in this section.
Alfred Ailes was born at Parkersburg, W. Va., and from there accom- panied his father, Moses H. Ailes, to Shelby county, the latter settling five miles southwest of Montra. For a number of years Alfred Ailes was a school teacher and afterward acquired a one-half interest in a saw mill, which he operated until 1868, when he retired to his farm, and then moved to Montra, where he lived during the remainder of his life. He was a man of importance in his section and on the democratic ticket was seven times elected assessor of Jackson township and was also a justice of the peace from 1870 until the time of his death in 1882. He was a lifelong democrat and his sons have followed in his footsteps. In his early years he united with the Seventh Day Baptist church. At the time of death he was aged fifty-seven years and his burial was in the Wesley Chapel cemetery. He married a daughter of Philip Young, a pioneer settler in Shelby county, and she survives and resides with her son.
H. P. Ailes attended school in Jackson township and later moved with his father to Montra and was associated with him in the saw mill business. From 1886 until 1907 he engaged in clerking in a general store, with the exception of two years, and then spent three years in other pursuits, after which he returned to the same store and continued his mercantile life.
Mr. Ailes married Miss Rebecca Jane Beech, who was born at St. John's, Auglaize county, a daughter of E. and Anna Beech, who still reside at St. John's after two years spent in Jackson township. Four children of Mr. and Mrs. Ailes survive and one is deceased. Mr. Ailes has served as a justice of the peace for thirty continuous years, succeeding his father in the office, and has also been road supervisor in Jackson township, but only for one year. He belongs to the order of Maccabees, attending the lodge at Anna, O
802
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
J. W. SHERER, whose three farms, all situated in Jackson township, aggregate 360 acres of land, is one of the well known and reliable men of Shelby county. He was born in Stark county, O., four miles east of Canton, October 18, 1863, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine ( Barnhart) Sherer.
Jacob Sherer and wife were born in what is now Alsass, Germany, and were seven years old when they accompanied their parents to America and settled in Stark county, O. After reaching maturity they married there and lived for some time in Stark county and then moved to Shelby county, settling in the Montra special school district. Later they disposed of their land and moved to Logan county and they died in Bloomfield township at the age of fifty-eight years, separated by but one year. They were members of the Lutheran church and their burial was in the Port Jefferson cemetery. In politics the father was a democrat but he never held any public office in Shelby county. Of their seven children four are yet living: J. W .; Matilda, who is the wife of G. H. Clayton of Salem township; George, who married Carrie Bruner, and they live in Logan county; and Orlando, who lives in Logan county, married Flossie Cole.
J. W. Sherer attended school in Logan county and assisted his father on the Logan county farm and afterward engaged in farming for his father- in-law, Thomas Wright, in Jackson township, Shelby county. Afterward, when his father gave him his present home farm. of 240 acres, he began to raise stock and makes a specialty of thoroughbred Percheron horses. Many improvements have been made on this farm and his other properties and he has nineteen buildings in use. He built the first farm elevator in Shelby county. For the past sixteen years he has occupied his present home farm and utilizes all of his land with the exception of twenty-five acres still in valuable timber. A part of his other land he rents to a tenant and another farm he rents by the field, all providing a satisfactory income on his invest- ments. For about nine years Mr. Sherer was connected with the Maplewood Elevator Company, owning a one-half interest, and he is also interested in the Farmers Telephone Company.
On February 18, 1894, Mr. Sherer was married to Miss Ida M. Wright, who was born April 26, 1874, a daughter of Thomas and Della ( Littlejohn) . Wright. Thomas Wright was born in Franklin county, O., and was eleven years old when he accompanied his parents, John and Sarah (Schultz) Wright, to Delaware county. They were natives of Pennsylvania. In 1865 the Wrights moved to Logan county, where Mr. Wright lived on the home farm of 320 acres. His first marriage was to Della Littlejohn, who was born in Jackson township, Shelby county, and died at the age of twenty-six years. her burial being in the Pleasant Hill cemetery near Jackson Center. She was a devoted mother to her two children, Ida May and Alice, the former of whom is Mrs. Sherer and the latter is the wife of Elwood Dunson, of Van Wert, O. Mr. Wright's second marriage took place December 31, 1881, to Elizabeth Geyer, a daughter of Philip and Amelia ( Herpst) Geyer, natives of Germany. Mrs. Wright died without issue, in 1889, and her burial was at Port Jefferson cemetery. On October 14, 1892, Mr. Wright married
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.