History of Van Wert County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 57

Author: Thaddeus S. Gilliland
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 870

USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > History of Van Wert County, Ohio and Representative Citizens > Part 57

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RS. HARRIET WEAVER, a well- known and highly esteemed resi- dent of Pleasant township, who owns a well cultivated farm of 80 acres, located in section 33, is the widow of the late Charles L. Weaver. She was born in Coschocton County, Ohio, April 18, 1848, and is a daughter of Michael and Margaret ( Albert ) Horn.

The parents of Mrs. Weaver were both born in Pennsylvania. When she was five years old they removed from Coschocton to Mercer County, Ohio, and there she was reared to young womanhood, obtaining her

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education in the district schools. After her first marriage, in 1866, she removed with her husband to Wisconsin, where she lived until his death, when, with her children, she re- turned to Mercer County, Ohio. After her second marriage, in 1877, she came to Van Wert County, and in 1878 she and her hus- band settled on the farm which she now owns. It is a valuable, well-cultivated piece of prop- erty, and under Mrs. Weaver's excellent man- agement is very productive. She carries on general farming.

On October 11, 1866, our subject was married, first, to George W. Fisher, who was born in Ohio and died in Wisconsin, leaving three children, namely: Euphemia, wife of Cyrus M. Uhrich, a resident of Des Arc, Ar- kansas; Lewis, of Harrison township; and George M., of Ohio City. On August 17, 1877, she was married, second, to Charles L. Weaver, who died July 9, 1884, leaving three children, namely : Catherine J., wife of H. A. Winkler, of Mercer County; and James L. and John C., of Pleasant township.

C HADDEUS STEPHENS GILLI- LAND, of whom a complete biog- raphy would be also a history relat- ing to the leading events of the cen- tral part of Van Wert County, during the last 70 years, was born about four miles from Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1834. His parents, James Gor- don Gilliland and Margaret (Lawson) Gilli- land, moved to Van Wert County in July, 1835, before the subject of this biography was a year old. They settled in Ridge township three miles east of Van Wert, on what is now known as the Ridge road. Their nearest neigh- bors were 15 miles distant, with the exception

of two families that had come a few days pre- vious and had not yet built cabins, but were living in camps covered with bark from the linden or basswood tree (then commonly called "linn") and open in front.

The family, consisting of the parents and three children came from Pennsylvania in a two-horse wagon as far as Bucyrus. There the father traded one of the horses for a yoke of oxen, and soon found that one of them had what was then called the "trembles" (milk sickness ) and when over-heated would fall down and shake like a person having the ague.

After reaching his land, the father and his brother Adam cut small logs such as four men could raise and then called upon his two neigh- borns, named Hill and Mark to help raise the house. Thus he had the first house in Ridge township. It had only one room but made a comfortable home. The glass and sash had been brought from Bucyrus. The roof was of clapboards split out of oak timber and held in place by weight poles-poles laid on so that by their weight they would hold down the clap- boards. The door was made of clapboards shaved. The door lock was a latch made of wood that of its own weight dropped into a notch in a piece of wood at the side of the door, and this formed a bolt which in the day- time was worked with a string passed through a hole in the door; to lock the door all you had to do was to go inside and pull in the string. From this originated the saying "you will find the latch string out," which was always true in those times. All comers were welcomed with rare exceptions.

We will let the subject of this sketch tell in his own words some of the incidents of his life:

"I recollect once or twice when the latch string was pulled in-that was when some drunken Indians wanted in. One incident of this nature is particularly fresh in my mem-

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ory : My sister next older than I and myself had each taken a tin of bread and milk and gone back of the house to eat our breakfasts. We heard some Indians coming and when they stopped we went around to see them; one had fallen off his pony and the other was trying to get him to his feet. As soon as we saw that they were drunk, we ran for the door but the string had been pulled in and we were locked out, and the drunken Indians were near us. We first went back of the house, but for fear they would come to the back window we went back farther to a brush heap about 10 rods from the house and secreted ourselves where we finished our breakfasts and waited until we heard the Indians leave. They wanted to trade a cake of home-made sugar for their break- fasts, but as father was not at home mother would not let them in. They would take a bite off the sugar to show that it was not poison and then offer it. Had they been sober, they would have gotten their breakfasts free, as Indians were never turned away either day or night if sober. But the sugar would not have been taken in exchange for anything, as this particular lot of sugar was not appetizing.

"An Indian by the name of Half John was a frequent visitor at our house; his hair was so long that it would touch the chair when he sat down. I used to slip up and pull his hair and then run away. He would laugh and say : 'That boy will be worth a thousand dol- lars to his pap.' He told my mother that she did not cook her venison right. He said that it ought to be cooked just enough so that the blood would run out of each side of the mouth when eating. He was an intelligent talker when none but our family were around; but if strangers were about he would not say a word. John Lake, a relative of Half John, would frequently stay over night at our house; he

would not sleep in a bed but would curl down on the hearth and there sleep all night.

"Father had to go to Piqua to mill and to buy corn to make meal. It took two weeks to make the trip with an ox team. When he arrived there, he wanted to buy flour but there was none for sale; they told him if he would say he had no money they would give him a barrel as there was plenty there that had been sent from Zanesville for those that were not able to buy. He would not take it as a gift but paid a dollar a bushel for corn. He went to Dayton for dishes, dry goods and groceries. One of my uncles went to Sandusky City for salt, and to Findlay for provisions, groceries and dry goods.

"After clearing six or seven acres during the fall and winter, it was planted in corn but at husking time fully one-half of it had been destroyed by the bears and raccoons. Bears would come within a hundred yards of the house and tear down the corn.

"After settlers began to come in larger numbers, a good part of my father's time was taken up helping raise houses and rolling logs. One spring he spent 27 days attending log rollings with the result that he got his corn out late. This showed him that there was a good deal of time wasted in going to the rollings late and starting home early, therefore he told his neighbors that it would not do to keep on in this way, as it was costing too much. From that time on he hired all his own farm work done, and still went to house raisings. I recol- lect of his going sometimes eight and ten miles to help raise houses and barns in Union, Hoag- lin, Pleasant, Liberty, Washington and York townships.

"Our food for a number of years was mostly corn bread and venison, and occasion- ally bear meat. Hogs were cheaply raised but

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the bears would kill many of them; what were left alone by the bears would fatten in the woods on the mast (acorns and hickory nuts). When there was land enough cleared to spare for wheat, it was sown and such a thing as a failure of crop was not known; but from the time it began to fill until it was in the stack it had to be watched to keep the blackbirds and squirrels from destroying it. The black- birds would come in flocks of thousands; then the whole family would get out with cans, boards and rattle-traps (some called them horse-fiddles) and make all the noise possible to scare the birds away. If we were successful in driving them to the next farm, we would not be bothered until towards evening. They always went east in the forenoon and west late in the afternoon, to their roosts along Town Creek.

"When I was about eight years old, there were three families-those of Peter Wills, S. S. Brown and my father's-in the neighbor- hood, with eight or ten children whose parents built a log schoolhouse which was 16 feet square, all built of basswood logs, with puncheon floor and seats of the same wood, with a clapboard roof and ceiling. The win- dow on the west was about eight feet long and ten inches high, made by cutting out a part of two of the logs forming the wall on that side; the one on the north was about three feet long and ten inches high; neither had any sash. The building stood nearly opposite where is now the house of Hugh Evans, who lives on the old Gilliland homestead farm. Our first teacher was Clarissa Gleason, an aunt of Julius A., Andrew J., Abram B. and Francis J. Glea- son. We had three months of school every two years by the parents of the pupils paying a part of the teacher's salary out of their own pockets. Our next teacher was Louisa Spear, who afterward married R. C. Spear, whose

son is a well-known newspaper correspondent and traveler, John R. Spear, of New York City.

"When I was 12 years of age, during the winter that we did not have any school at home, I went to school in the district east of where the County Infirmary stands, walking the three miles morning and evening, and missed only one day during the entire win- ter, and that day it was so stormy that there were only two pupils at school. The three miles were through the woods where bears, deer, wolves and other wild animals made their homes. Only one family-that of J. M. Young-lived on this road within the three miles. During the entire winter I was not tardy once, and as school was out at four o'clock it was after dark before I was half way home. It was a custom at that time to 'spell down' the last thing each day; I stood at the head of my spelling class most of the evenings, although there were half a dozen pupils several years older than I.

"Later on, when more families had moved into the district, we had three months of school each year. Many of our teachers had l'ever seen the inside of a grammer or had gone as far as the single rule of three in Smith's or Adam's arithmetics, which were then the textbooks."

In 1853 Mr. Gilliland entered Farmer's College at College Hill, now a part of Cincin- nati, where he studied one year, but met with an accident shortly before the opening of the next college year which resulted in a severe illness from which he did not fully recover for several years. He did not return to college again, much to his regret.

He taught school for two winters and was engaged two years in a dry goods trade at Elida, Allen County, after which he returned to the farm.

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In the fall of 1857 he was married to Ruhamah Baker, daughter of Jacob S. and Mary (East) Baker, of Allen County.

In 1858 he commenced teaching school in Van Wert and did not give up school work un- til President Lincoln's first call for 75,000 men, when he entered the service of his count try, enlisting in Company E, 15th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., being chosen orderly sergeant. The regiment was sent to Virginia and guarded the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for a time. Then his company with two others was de- tached from the regiment and sent to Philippi, where they had their first engagement on June 3, 1861; again at Laurel Hill, on July 8th; and at Carrick's Ford on July 14th of the same year. At the last named battle, he had com- mand of this company, although only a non- commissioned officer.

After the expiration of the term of ser- vice, he was mustered out with his company on August 27, 1861.

On the 7th of September of 1861 he re- enlisted for three years in Company H, 15th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and was chosen cap- tain. They were immediately ordered to Camp Mordecai Bartley at Mansfield, Ohio, for the purpose of drilling, and later were transferred to Camp Dennison, where they received their arms and other equipments. They were then sent to Lexington, Kentucky, and from there to Camp Nevins near Nolin Station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. There they re- mained in camp during the winter of 1861-62. While at Camp Nevin, he was taken ill with typhoid fever and the eight succeeding weeks are a complete blank to him; during this time his father and his wife brought him home- the latter had been obliged to secrete herself under the car seats in order to pass through the lines, as an order had been issued that no woman was to be allowed to travel to the front.

He remained ill for three months after return- ing home. Being very anxious to return to the front, he overdid himself and suffered a relapse, which detained him longer. He re- turned to his regiment in March, 1862, but was too weak to march, so was placed in charge of the wagon train, consisting of 80 wagons. When they reached Nashville, Tennessee, he joined the regiment and on the first day's march they were obliged to wade Chartier's Creek. After they had marched until quite warm, they went into camp at Columbia, Tennessee, where he was taken down with a severe case of catarrhal jaundice, which in his weak condition still further reduced him. When ordered forward to Savannah, Tennes- see, he was not able to march but was hauled in the ambulance until Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, when the battle of Shiloh began. The regiment was then 30 miles from Savannah. They hastened forward, one of his men carry- his sword and another his blanket; thus aided he marched those 30 miles from sunrise until II o'clock that night. The next morning they entered the fight and were engaged until 4 in afternoon. He says that he never felt better in his life than during the excitement of the battle but after the battle ceased he collapsed. As they did not receive their tents for 10 days and it rained every night and often during the day, he was soon in a condition far worse than ever. He remained, hoping for some improve- ment but in vain, until the first of May, when he resigned and returned home, where he con- tinued in poor health for six or eight years. Though thus handicapped, he could not remain idle and on September 14, 1863, he was com- missioned by Governor David Tod, colonel of the First Regiment of Ohio Militia for Van Wert County. On September 22nd of the same year he was appointed by Gen. Charles W. Hill, colonel of the Forth Regiment of the

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Third Brigade, at Camp Lucas, Toledo, Ohio. This regiment was composed of commissioned and non-commissioned officers from all parts of the State, assembled there to drill. Mr. Gilliland's experiences at the front and the fact that he was recognized as an unusually good drill-master and well up in tactics made him especially suitable for the position of colonel.

After peace was declared, he settled down to peaceable pursuits, converting the sword into a plow-share, but owing to the poor con- dition of his health, brought on by the ex- posures mentioned above, he was forced to give up. farming and moved into Van Wert where he engaged in the handling of grain and seeds, and later on added the produce business. For many years he carried on an extensive business in those lines. In 1893 he disposed of the produce business, and devoted himself to the grain, seeds and hay business and soon added coal. In July, 1905, after over 39 years in active business, he sold all his busi- ness, including the grain elevator which he had run for many years and which had re- placed the one destroyed by fire in 1891. His intention was to retire from active pursuits and enjoy the rest and peace earned by so many years of activity.

Besides the business relations, he did not neglect his duty to his neighbors. He was elected by them to the office of mayor, and af- ter one term was reelected, serving in all four years. While mayor, he suggested and formu- lated the plans for converting the old "Com- mons," which till then had been used as a place for hitching teams, into parks and in his offi- cial capacity as mayor appointed the first park commissioners and took the first steps towards protecting the magnificent elms, now the pride of the parks, from destruction. The parks were fenced in, trees planted and the begin- ning made of the parks of which Van Wert

can well be proud. To him the city must give the credit for the creation of the park system.

The first street improvements were com- menced during his term of office, when Main street was macadamized. The first sewer, the Jackson street sewer, was also constructed while he was mayor. Van Wert made her first active step forward to the position of an up-to- date city at this time, when a number of brick business houses were built, also the Court House.

He was a member of the Board of Health for a number of years and at the present time is a member of the Board of Public Service. Mr. Gilliland has always been very active in all measures for the improvement of the city. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, of which he has been an elder for over 40 years. He is a Mason, and a charter mem- ber of WV. C. Scott Post, No. 100, G. A. R.

10 ARRISON LEATHERS, deceased, formerly one of the leading men and highly esteemed citizens of Ridge township, and for many years closely identified with the township's various interests, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, October 30, 1834. His death occurred June 5, 1902, at his home in this county. He was a son of Christian and Catherine (Shoup) Leathers, his parents being among the hardy pioneers who first brought civilization to the wilderness embraced by Van Wert County of the present day. Although Harrison Leathers had but meager educational opportunities, he was en- dowe l with an active and receptive mind, ad- vancing therefore more rapidly than his com- panions of the pioneer schools and becoming a teacher of others. He grew to manhood as a practical farmer, fully capable of conduct-

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MR. AND MRS. GEORGE COVER AND FAMILY

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ing large agricultural operations even when little labor saving machinery had been in- vented or been put in use.

On April 15, 1858, Harrison Leathers was united in marriage with Martena A. Cum- mings, who was born October 4, 1836, in Guernsey County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Emanuel and Mary (Redman) Cummings, her father being a native of what is now West Virginia, and her mother of Ohio. Mrs. Leathers was four years old when her parents moved to Van Wert County and settled in Liberty township, where they lived until she reached her 21st year, when they located in Ridge township. The children born to Har- rison Leathers and wife were: Edmond A., William C. and Delora V. (Mrs. William C. Gilliland), all of Ridge township; and Flor- ence E. B., wife of John G. Prill, of Paulding County, Ohio. All the children are honorable and respected members.of society, and a credit to their parents and to themselves.

Mr. Leathers was a soldier of the Civil War, on August 12, 1862, becoming a member of Company A, 99th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and seeing much hard service until his honorable discharge in July, 1865, at which time he had devoted himself to the Union cause for a period of nearly three years.

The late Harrison Leathers was a man of sterling traits of character, his absolute relia- bility being recognized on many occasions when his fellow-citizens made him their choice for local offices. He served, with honest effi- ciency, as clerk of Ridge township and as assessor, and for years creditably filled some position on the School board. Politically he was a Republican, and is remembered gener- ally as one of the township's representative men-one whose standard of citizenship was high, and who invariably conformed to it him- self. The deceased was a man of excellent

business perceptions, accumulated a comfor- table competency and was numbered with the township's most substantial farmers. For a number of years Mr. Leathers had been an in- terested and active member of the Odd Fel- lows fraternity, and his burial was conducted according to the ritual of the order. For many years he was an elder in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the General Synod.

JEORGE COVER, residing on his well- improved farm of 147 acres, located in section 30, Washington township, is one of the prominent and progress- ive farmers of Van Wert County. Born in Perry County, Ohio, February 11, 1845, he is the oldest son of Henry and Mary Magdalene (Foster) Cover, who originally came from Pennsylvania. The Cover family is of German extraction, the great-grandfather of George C., who was born in Germany be- ing the first of the Cover family to come to America, his first location being in Pennsyl- vania.

Henry Cover, the father, was born in Fay- ette County, Pennsylvania, and when only a few years old accompanied his parents to Perry County, Ohio, where he was reared and edu- cated. He moved to Van Wert County September 17, 1848, settled on a farm of 160 acres in section 24, Ridge township, and mar- ried Mary Magdalene Foster, daughter of George Foster, who was also a native of Penn- sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cover became the parents of four children, two or whom are still living-George, of this sketch and Frances Marion. Christina (Mrs. Samuel Walser) died May 27, 1903, and William Henry, in infancy. The father of the family passed away December 16, 1903, his wife having died September 26, 1885.

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George Cover was three years old at the time of his father's removal to Van Wert County, and here he was reared and received a common-school education. He was married December 27, 1868, to Elizabeth Crooks, a daughter of Robert and Mary Ann (Foster) Crooks, and they have been the parents of six children-five living and one deceased. Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Ora Mohler of Ridge township, is the mother of five children- Harold, Ilo Abertus, Marie, Frances Ruth, and Chleo Ninetta. Henry E., the second born, died in infancy. Lawrence A., the third child, was reared and educated in the district schools, later studied music at Ada, Ohio, and is now a leading tenor with the Sho-Gun Opera Com- pany. His first season was with John W. Vogel's minstrel company, in 1902. The fol- lowing season he was with the Ada Rehan- Otis Skinner company, and, for a time, was also connected with the Parsifal Company. Marion F., the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. George Cover, was educated at the Lima (Ohio) Busi- ness College, and is now book-keeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Baltic, Ohio. He married Agnes Burkey, of Tuscarawas County, and has one child-Dorothy Marjorie. George Luther, unmarried, lives at home with his par- ents. Nettie La Verne, the sixth child, married G. C. Heist, of Washington township, and is the mother of one child-Virgil Marcile.

In 1878 Mr. Cover erected his present fine large frame house and is now preparing to build a new barn. For many years he was a breeder of Polled Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and a raiser of fine sheep, having won many premiums at the county fairs. Mr. Cover is one of the di- rectors of the Allen County Fire Insurance Company, serving now his sixth year, and is also a director of the Home Telephone Com- pany of Middlepoint. In his religious connec- tions he is a member and a deacon of the

Lutheran Church at Middlepoint. A picture of the Cover family accompanies this sketch, being presented on a foregoing page.

A LBERT E. FOUST, for upward of half a century a resident of Hoaglin township, was born June 11, 1835, in that portion of Marion County, Ohio, which has since been designated as Mor- row County. He is a son of Job and Sarah (Hardman) Foust, who died in this county many years ago. Job Foust was born in Mar- ion County and was a son of Jacob Foust, who came there at a very early day from Pennsyl- vania. The former was married to Sarah Hardman, who was a Virginian by birth and remained in Marion County until 1856, when he located in Hoaglin township. Three chil- dren survive them, namely : Albert E .; Lucy, wife of Milton Hemlinger, of Defiance Coun- ty, Ohio; and Chauncey M., of Indiana.

Albert E. Foust has been an agriculturist most of his life, but for about 12 years was employed as timber purchaser by the Oil Well Supply Company of Van Wert. His educa- tion was derived from both the subscription and the public schools and upon the founda- tion thus laid has been built a superstructure of information obtained from observation and experience, giving him a varied and useful fund of available knowledge which marks the well-read man. In 1864 Mr. Foust enlisted in Company G, 47th Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., and, while he was in service only about one year, he was under fire the greater part of the time and experienced all the vicissitudes and excitement of army life. He assisted in the taking of Fort McAllister, was at Bentonville. saw the capture and burning of Columbia. South Carolina, and accompanied Sherman's

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History of Van Wert County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 57

Author: Thaddeus S. Gilliland Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Number of Pages: 870

Author: Thaddeus S. Gilliland
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 870