USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 94
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George A. McIlvaine was married in 1875 to Anna Marsh, daughter of William and Syntha ( Benjamin) Marsh; the former was an early settler in Creston, Wayne county, where he farmed for some time, then engaged in merchandising until his death. To Mr. and Mrs. George A. McIlvaine the following children have been born: Roy, Earl, deceased; Benjamin, Ross and Deane.
Mr. McIlvaine and family are members of the Presbyterian church; he is a Democrat in his political affiliations.
PETER WEIKER.
Upon the roll of the representative citizens and prominent and progressive farmers of Wayne county consistently appears the name which appears at the head of this sketch. Mr. Weiker has been a resident of this county since his youth and has worked his way to a position of marked precedence in connection with agricultural affairs, while he is held in unqualified esteem by the people of the community.
Sturdy German blood flows in Mr. Weiker's veins, his ancestors having been natives of the Fatherland. His paternal grandfather, George Weiker, was a native of Pennsylvania, but came to Wayne county, Ohio, some time in the twenties. His son, Adam Weiker, father of the subject, and who had preceded his father to this state, was a gunsmith by trade and had fol- lowed that occupation during his life in his native state. During the twenties
PETER WEIKER
MRS. MARY WEIKER
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he emigrated to Wayne county, and after a time he bought a fine farm of one hundred and seventy acres located in Franklin township, which he greatly improved and on which he lived during the remainder of his life. He married, in Pennsylvania, Mary Read, also a native of that state, and their union was blessed in the birth of ten children, namely : Mary, deceased ; Samuel, William, Jane, Peter, the subject of this sketch : Rachael, Margaret, Sarah, Elmira and Caroline.
Peter Weiker, who was born in Wayne township, this county, April 7. 1834, was reared to the life of a farmer and as soon as old enough he was put to work assisting in the manifold duties of the farm. His opportu- nities for securing an education were meager, his attendance at the district school having been limited, but this deprivation was largely made up in after years by much reading and deep thinking, as well as through habits of close observation, so that Mr. Weiker has been considered a very well-informed . man. He remained with his father, assisting on the farm, until he had at- tained his majority, and then he and his brother Samuel took charge of the home farm and for twenty-one years they operated it together. In 1877 the subject purchased his present splendid farm of one hundred and fifty-four acres in Congress township, to which he has since given his undivided atten- tion. On this place he erected a splendid residence and a good set of farm buildings, commodious and well arranged, and he has been successful here to a very gratifying degree. He is progressive in his methods and energetic and persistent in his efforts, so that he has been able to realize large returns for the labor which he has bestowed so unstintingly. The appearance of. the place indicates to the passerby that the owner is a man of excellent taste and good judgment.
On the 26th of October, 1858, Mr. Weiker was married to Mary Cutter. who was born in Franklin township, this county, the daughter of John Cutter, an early settler and prominent farmer of that township. To this union were born these children, namely : Walter, a carpenter living at Cleveland : Harry. deceased : Maggie died in infancy ; Anna M. Mrs. Mary Weiker died in Au- gust, 1876, and on May 22, 1879, Mr. Weiker married Savilla Coup, the daughter of Dr. Jacob Coup, of Plain, Ohio. Her death occurred June 22. 1899. Mrs. Anna M. Holmes, the wife of Horace B. Holmes, now lives on the old homestead and keeps house for the subject.
In politics Mr. Weiker has given a consistent support to the Democratic party and has always been interested in his party's success. Ile has not, how- ever, ever sought office for himself. His religious connection is with the
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Progressive Brethren church, a branch of the Dunkards. In every relation of life Mr. Weiker has proven himself the possessor of such qualities as are bound to win in any line of effort and he has won and retains the esteem of all who know him.
DAVID C. AMSTUTZ.
A highly respected and influential citizen of Milton township, Wayne county, is David C. Amstutz, who was born January 4, 1842, in this town- ship, on the old homestead, the son of Ulrich and Katherine (Logabill) Amstutz, the former a native of Berne, Switzerland, born April 26, 1801, and died March 19, 1881. Katherine Logabill was also born in Switzerland, May 14, 1809, and her death occurred September 6, 1873. They were of ex- cellent families of the little republic that has sent so many good citizens to this country. It was about 1826 when they came to America with their par- ents. They came to Wayne county direct, locating in Greene township, and after a few years they were married here and bought a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres in Milton township, where Mr. Amstutz lived until his death. He was a hard-working man and made a very comfortable living for himself and family. Both he and his wife were prominent in the affairs of the Mennonite church. They were the parents of thirteen children, two dy- ing in childhood; two sons and two daughters died after reaching maturity ; five sons and two daughters are now living.
David C. Amstutz received a common school education in the public schools of Milton township, assisting in the meantime in clearing the home place, and there lived until his marriage, which event occurred on July 15, 1865, and was solemnized with Fannie Steiner. On March 20, 1866, he re- turned to his father's place and began farming, which he continued there until 1872, in which year he purchased eighty acres of the homestead and in 1882 bought another eighty acres of the old farm. There he lived and prospered until 1883, when he moved to about one-fourth mile south, where he had built a fine home, and since then he has lived there, the date of his occupation of the new home having been January 18, 1883. He carries on general farming and stock raising, but since 1882 he has lived practically retired, merely overseeing his farming operations. Politically he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Mennonite church, to which his wife also belonged. Mrs. Amstutz passed to her rest on November 3, 1902, without issue.
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Mr. Amstutz was married a second time, his last wife being named Fannie Steiner also, but no relation to his first wife; this wedding occurred on July 1, 1906.
Mr. Amstutz has been very loyal to the church and has so fixed his will that his entire real estate will divert to the Mennonite board of missions and charities, with the charge that it shall be devoted to the Old People's Home.
In 1899 Mr. Amstutz was the organizer and promoter of the building of the Old People's Home, and in 1901 several persons were placed in the home, since which time it has been under the management of a superintendent and matron.
Mr. Amstutz's first wife was the daughter of Christian Steiner, who was born July 29, 1806, and died May 16, 1885, when seventy-eight years old He married Maria Steiner (no relation). This was his third wife: the other two wives were Stanfer and Katherine Amstutz. To his first wife two chil- dren were born, both dying in childhood, then Mrs. Steiner died. He had six children by his second wife, two dying in infancy; then the death of Mrs. Steiner occurred. Fifteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Christian Steiner, seven of whom grew to maturity, six still living.
The parents of the second wife of David Amstutz were Daniel Steiner, born December 2, 1822, and Magdalena Steiner, born February 2, 1829. Mr. Steiner died December 16, 1909, at the age of eighty-seven years and four- teen days. His widow is still living north of Orrville, at an advanced age.
On February 15, 1872, Mr. Amstutz was ordained a minister in the Mennonite church and in 1885 he was ordained as bishop, thus proving that he is a man of unusual force of character and intellect.
The children of Christian and Katherine Steiner were: Lydia, born March 22, 1832; Peter, July 17, 1833; Christian, March 11, 1835, died in April, 1909; Barbara, born August 27, 1836; John, born July 25, 1838, is de- ceased; Anna, born December 29, 1840, died December 28, 1906. The broth- ers and sisters of David C. Amstutz are as follows, those deceased named first : Katherine, March 27, 1838, died March 16, 1873; married Peter J. Steiner, who was born May 24, 1835, and died March 8, 1883; Frederick, born March 17, 1828, died January 10, 1899; John, October 17, 1829, died February II, 1899; Lavina, wife of Abraham Burkholder, was born July 9, 1853, died August 3, 1903; those living are, Peter, at Smithville: Jacob, at Sterling; Daniel; Joel B., living at Sterling; Fannie, widow of Abraham Fisher, who was born in 1838 and died November 15, 1876; Lydia is the wife of Daniel Steiner.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MELLINGER FAMILY.
The history of the Mellinger family may be accurately traced to Melchor Mellinger, the great-grandfather of the writer, who was born in Baden, Ger- many. In 1772, while yet a young man, with his wife and two children, -- a son, Benedict, and a daughter, Anna,-he started to seek his fortune in the colonies of the new world. His wife fell ill while crossing the Atlantic ocean and died, her remains being left in the sea. After landing in America, he set- tled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and in a few years married again, to which union were born a number of sons and daughters, who, as they grew up, were scattered, some of them going to other states and some remaining in Pennsylvania. One son, Jacob, and one daughter, Elizabeth-as far as known to the writer-came to Ohio and lived in Columbiana county, where the city of Letonia is now situated. The dates of the birth and death of Melchor Mellinger are unknown to the writer.
In both Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and Columbiana county, Ohio. are still living quite a number of descendants of Melchor Mellinger. Bene- dict, the son of the first marriage, was born in Baden, Germany, October 25, 1770. He lived with his father and stepmother in Pennsylvania till grown to manhood, and was married to Barbara Binkley, to which union were born the following children while living in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania: Fro- nica, born February 6, 1794; David, December 31, 1795; Anna, April 12, 1797 ; Barbara, March 18, 1799; Mary, September 22, 1800; Elizabeth, Feb- ruary 3, 1803. They owned a little home and followed weaving for a liveli- hood; also raised flax, prepared it for the loom, and wove it into cloth suit- able for clothing such as was then used by both men and women during the summer season. They also carded wool by the use of hand-cards, spun it, and wove it into cloth. Money being very scarce and hard to get, even for the products of labor, they, in this way, were enabled to make the necessary clothing for the family, and the little money that could be made by weaving and selling cloth, was carefully laid by for a larger and better home in the future. By the most rigid economy they were enabled to accumulate suffi- cient money with which to purchase more land, and in 1805 they removed from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and came to Columbiana county, Ohio, where they purchased a small farm. They hired their farming done in part, and devoted their attention to raising flax and the manufacture of cloth from it; also the wool of their own growing, together with that brought to them to be spun and woven into cloth.
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While living in Columbiana county the following children were added to the family : John, born September 20, 1805; Benedict. March 20, 1808; Catherine, December 4, 1810; Esther, January 30, 1814. While living there. Benedict Mellinger's full sister, Anna, who came with the family from Ger- many, settled there and bought land adjoining that owned by the Mellingers, she being married to Harmon Brown. They remained in Columbiana county until 1816, when both families removed to Wayne county, Ohio, where one son, Christian, was born April 7, 1818. Mr. Mellinger bought a large tract of land in Plain township from the government, all in timber, which was cleared by the family, with some outside help, and prepared for the plow. The Indians, bears and deer were their neighbors. But in a few years other white settlers came from the eastern states and a community was formed. When they had cleared a part of the land and had erected suitable buildings, Bene- dict Mellinger and the family began raising flax and wool and started the spinning-wheel and the looms, which were the products of his skill as a me- chanic. They became experts in designing patterns for woolen coverlets and linen tablecloths, and the products of their ingenuity and skill are still to be met with in the form of linen cloth and woolen coverlets, manufactured by them from materials in their crudest form.
After living in a log cabin for some years, they built a large two-story frame house, thirty by forty feet, which was looked upon as almost a marvel in the then "back woods." They did all the carpenter work themselves, employing a mason to build the cellar walls and a plasterer to plaster the walls inside. Benedict Mellinger lived to see the country cleared of its timber and prepared for agriculture, the hills dotted with school houses and churches.
While living in Wayne county the following members of this family were married: John, to Hannah Casebeer: Benedict, to Sarah Casebeer ; Catherine, to William Spittler; Esther, to Henry Gines; David, to Mary Felger ; and Christian, to Elizabeth Showalter. The three oldest sons, John, Benedict and David, each received a farm from their father, the same being parts of the home tract purchased from the government, and lived there to the time of their deaths, except Benedict, who spent the latter part of his life with one of his daughters. Spittler bought a farm near Mohicanville, Ash- land county, Ohio, and remained in that vicinity the balance of his life. Gines went to Illinois, which was then the "far West," and purchased a farm there, remaining on the same the rest of his life. Christian lived with his parents until their deaths. The five older daughters, Fronica, Barbara. Anna, Mary and Elizabeth, never married, but remained on the farm with their par- ents and younger brother during their lifetime and were cared for by him in their old age.
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The family is remarkable for its longevity. The following are the dates of death and age of the family: The father, Benedict Mellinger, died Au- gust II, 1851, aged eighty years, nine months and seventeen days; Barbara. his wife, died April 27. 1863, aged ninety years and fifteen days; Fronica died July 3, 1887, aged ninety-three years, four months and twenty-seven days; David died November 27, 1862, aged sixty-six years, ten months and twenty-six days; Anna, February 5, 1884, aged eighty-six years, nine months and twenty-three days; Barbara, January 24, 1885, aged eighty-five years, ten months and six days; Mary, December 4, 1890, aged ninety years, two months and six days; Elizabeth, March 15, 1891, aged eighty-three years, one month and twelve days; John, October 23, 1872, aged sixty-seven, one month and thirteen days; Benedict, Jr., May 12, 1892, aged eighty-three years, one month and twenty-three days; Catherine, August 16, 1875, aged sixty-four years, eight months and twelve days; Esther, February 12, 1890, aged seventy-six years and twelve days; Christian, March 18, 1894, aged sev- enty-five years, eleven months and nine days.
The wife of Christian Mellinger survived him twelve years, dying June 23, 1906, aged eighty-four years, eleven months and thirteen days. The chil- dren of Christian and Elizabeth Mellinger are William, Daniel, Belinda and Franklin. William married Samantha Buckwalter, October 26, 1869, to which union were born three children, namely: Clement, George and Har- . vey. Clement died in infancy ; the other two boys are unmarried in 1909. Franklin married Alice Rouch and they are the parents of one child, a daugh- ter, Odessa. Belinda and Daniel never married.
Benedict Mellinger's full sister, Anna, married Harmon Brown, re- mained in Wayne county for some time, and then located in Licking county, Ohio, where many of their descendants are still to be found. Anna, a daugh- ter of the Browns, married Jesse Arnold, some of whose descendants are liv- ing in Wayne county.
One of Benedict Mellinger's half sisters, a descendant from the second marriage of Melchor Mellinger, married Jacob Oberholtzer, whose descend- ants are still found in Wayne county and in some other parts of the state.
-By WILLIAM M. MELLINGER.
WILLIAM HENRY DEUELL.
Admired and respected for his general intelligence and his progressive spirit, as well as for his sterling qualities as a neighbor and citizen, no man in Canaan township, Wayne county, stands higher in public esteem than the
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worthy individual the salient features of whose life and characteristics are herein set forth.
William H. Deuell was born at Canton, Stark county, Ohio, on July 12, 1856, and is the son of Jesse and Martha ( Becher) Deuell, the former a na- tive of Carroll county, Ohio, born in 1831, and the latter born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1835. The subject's paternal grandfather was Tobias Deuell, who was a native of Maryland and one of the first settlers in Carroll county, Ohio. He there became the owner of a large farm and lived there during the re- mainder of his life, dying at the remarkable age of one hundred and two years, eleven months and twenty-two days. The maternal grandparents of the subject, John and Polly Becher, were from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and were also early settlers in Stark county, Ohio, where the father acquired a half section of government land. He stood high in the community, having served as a justice of the peace for thirty-six years, and for thirty-two consecutive years he served as postmaster at Sparta, Ohio. Jesse Deuell, the subject's father, lived on his father's farm in Carroll county, until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Third Regiment Ohio Cavalry, with which he participated in a number of the heaviest engage- ments of that terrible struggle, including the battle of Gettysburg. He was captured twice, having escaped after his first capture on the way to Ander- sonville prison, and after his recapture he again escaped and found his way back to the Union lines. During the last two years of his service he was an orderly sergeant. After the war he went to Canton, Ohio, first carrying on farming operations near there, and subsequently entering the contracting busi- ness, in which he was successful. He was a Republican in politics. To him and his wife were born the following children: Corvan, William H .. Lizzie (who married Emanuel Young), Elmer, Alfred. Emma ( who married Perry Christy), Harry and Margaret, who became the wife of a Mr. Wolfred.
William H. Deuell received a good practical education in the public schools of Canton, but at an early age he went to work on farms by the month. being so employed for ten years. He then went into the sawmill and timber business at Canton, and shortly afterward became a contractor, and in this capacity he constructed many sewer systems and pavements at many points in Ohio. He followed that line of business until the spring of 1909. when he retired to a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres in Canaan township which he had purchased in 1904, and he has since made that his home. He carries on agricultural operations, to which he gives a fair amount of atten- tion, but his chief interest lies in the breeding and raising of fine horses, in which he is achieving a distinctive success. He has three fine pure-bred stal-
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lions, two Percherons, Sir George and President, and a coach horse, Duke. These are fine animals and Mr. Deuell is justifiedly proud of them.
Mr. Deuell has been twice married, first to Emma Markley, who was born in Paradise, Ohio, the daughter of John Markley, a successful farmer of that place. To this union was born one child, Harry, born February 2, 1883. On February 5, 1901, Mr. Deuell married Emma Boyce, who was born in August, 1872, near Mansfield, Ohio, the daughter of Josiah Boyce, an early settler and farmer there. In politics Mr. Deuell is a stanch Repub- lican, but in local elections he assumes an independent attitude, believing that the candidate's personal fitness for office should be paramount to all other considerations. Mr. Deuell is a thorough and broad-gauged business man, a progressive and public-spirited citizen, and is well known and uniformly re- spected throughout the county.
THOMAS ARMSTRONG, JR.
Wayne county, Ohio, is characterized by a full share of the honored pioneer element who have done so much for the development of the county and the state and the establishment of the institutions of higher civilization in this fertile and well-favored section of the old Buckeye commonwealth. The biographical sketches in this work are to a large extent in recognition of those who are pioneers or members of pioneer families, and it is signally fitting that there should be perpetuated records which will defy the ravages of time and betoken to the coming generations the earnest lives and devoted labors of those who have been such noble contributors to the state's pros- perity and pride. The subject of this sketch is one of the honored citi- zens of the county, where he has been for many years successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits and where he has maintained his home from the days of his childhood, representing a period of sixty-five years of consecutive residence in the county.
Tracing the ancestral history of the Armstrong family. it is learned that the subject's paternal grandfather. Thomas Armstrong, Sr., was born August 22, 1776. in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared to manhood. After his marriage he moved to Columbiana county, Ohio, and lived there until the war of 1812. After the surrender of General Hull at Detroit, the subject volunteered and was commissioned captain and
WILLIAM ARMSTRONG
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came with the forces under General Bell to Wooster, Ohio. On the con- clusion of hostilities he returned to Columbiana county, and in the spring of 1815 he came to Wayne county and settled on Clear Creek. Subsequently he came to what is now known as the Armstrong farm in Canaan township, which land he had entered from the government in 1811. Here he lived until his death, which occurred on March 2, 1842. His wife, who was born in 1779 in Columbiana county, Ohio, survived him a number of years, dying on April 14. 1856. His children were William, John, Thomas, Harrison. Eliza, Juliana, Hannah, David, Jane and Calvin. Of these William, who was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1802, came to Wayne county in 1815, with his father and the other members of the family, and during the first years of their residence here much strenuous work was per- formed in the clearing of the land and putting it in shape for cultivation. William was extensively associated with his father in the handling of land and at one time he was the owner of between five hundred and six hun- dred acres. William Armstrong was twice married, first to Mary Rose, a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, and to them were born the following children : Mrs. Jane Smith, of Medina county ; John, of Iowa ; Mrs. Julia Slemmons, deceased ; Thomas, the subject of this sketch ; Harrison, of Wayne township, this county ; Mrs. Mary Slemmons, of Sterling, Ohio. After the death of his first wife, William Armstrong married Catherine McFerson, of Columbiana county, and they became the parents of two children, William E., of Wooster, and Mrs. Isabelle Elizabeth Wilson, of Doylestown, Ohio. The subject's maternal grandparents, John and Mary Rose, were natives of Pennsylvania and in an early day came to Wayne county and took up land.
The life record of the subject of this sketch presents no exciting or thrill- ing chapters. He was born on the home farm in Canaan township, this county, in 1844, and received his education in the common schools of his home neighborhood. He remained with his father until he was twenty-three years of age, when he moved to another farm in Canaan township, where he has since devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. His place comprises one hundred and seventy-six acres, which are highly improved. and here Mr. Armstrong carries on a general line of farming, and in this line he has achieved a distinctive success. The property, which is eligibly located. is well improved and contains a full set of well built and conveniently arranged farm buildings, which are at all times maintained in the best of repair. the general appearance of the place indicating the owner to be a man of sound judgment and good taste.
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