USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 11
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In local affairs affecting the community generally Mr. Miller has always been found among the enterprising and progressive leaders. He has been instrumental in securing mail routes and telephone service and in other ways has demonstrated his ability and sound judgment. His political affiliation is with the Republican party, to which he gives an earnest support, and he has efficiently served several terms as trustee of Greene township. As a member of the township school board, he has rendered appreciated service as supervisor of the educational system of the township, the schools of which are now con- sidered as models for the rest of the county. He employs the teachers and in other ways maintains a personal oversight of the details of the schools. He is also president of the board of trustees of the Wayne County Children's Home, which is situated in Wayne township, and has been a member of this board for sixteen years. His appointment comes from the board of county commissioners and in his capacity of chairman of the board he practically manages the business affairs of the Home, though the entire board meets on the first Tuesday of each month. The members of this board. all of whom give their services without compensation, are Jacob A. Miller. president : John C. Shultz. Joseph A. Hurple. William Coon. W. E. Jarvis is superintendent of the Home and Mrs. Jarvis is matron. There are about forty-five inmates in the Home on an average, the institution being supported by an appropriation made by the board of county commissioners, the board of trustees filing a quarterly estimate of expenses. The Home farm comprises eighty-seven acres
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Company, at which he continued about sixteen years. During the first part of this period he made his home in Seneca county, Ohio, and later at Defiance, Ohio. He was financially successful in the lumber business and at length was enabled to buy a splendid farm in Defiance county. While living there, he took a deep interest in local affairs and served several terms as trustee. In March, 1887, Mr. Miller retired from the lumber business and returned to his old home in Greene township, Wayne county, which he purchased. He entered at once on the operation of the place, which he has greatly improved and brought up to a high standard of excellence, it being now considered one of the best farms in the township. In addition to the cultivation of the soil, Mr. Miller also gives considerable attention to the raising of livestock, in which also he has achieved a distinctive success. The farm comprises one hundred and sixty-four acres and the present condition of the place indicates to the passer-by the fact that the owner is a man of good taste and wise discrimina- tion. Everything about the place is kept in good shape and the farming opera- tions are carried on under the most favorable conditions, a full line of up-to- date machinery and other convenient accessories being here found.
In local affairs affecting the community generally Mr. Miller has always been found among the enterprising and progressive leaders. He has been instrumental in securing mail routes and telephone service and in other ways has demonstrated his ability and sound judgment. His political affiliation is with the Republican party, to which he gives an earnest support, and he has efficiently served several terms as trustee of Greene township. As a member of the township school board, he has rendered appreciated service as supervisor of the educational system of the township, the schools of which are now con- sidered as models for the rest of the county. He employs the teachers and in other ways maintains a personal oversight of the details of the schools. He is also president of the board of trustees of the Wayne County Children's Home, which is situated in Wayne township, and has been a member of this board for sixteen years. His appointment comes from the board of county commissioners and in his capacity of chairman of the board he practically manages the business affairs of the Home, though the entire board meets on the first Tuesday of each month. The members of this board, all of whom give their services without compensation, are Jacob A. Miller. president : John C. Shultz. Joseph A. Hurple. William Coon. W. E. Jarvis is superintendent of the Home and Mrs. Jarvis is matron. There are about forty-five inmates in the Home on an average. the institution being supported by an appropriation made by the board of county commissioners, the board of trustees filing a quarterly estimate of expenses. The Home farm comprises eighty-seven acres
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and at the time of Mr. Miller's appointment to the board in 1887 the institu- tion was not being handled in such a manner as to even raise enough cereals and vegetables to keep the table supplied. Under his able direction, these con- ditions have been changed and now wheat, corn, potatoes and other vegetables, as also hogs and cattle, are raised in sufficient quantity and numbers to keep the commissary well supplied throughout the year. This changed condition is largely attributed to the efficient management of the present superintendent, Mr. Jarvis, whom Mr. Miller was mainly instrumental in having appointed to the position, and it is a matter of much satisfaction to the taxpayers of the county. In all his affairs Mr. Miller has shown himself to be a man of unusual broad mindedness and sound judgment, being well supplied with that quality commonly called "horse-sense." He has given liberally of his time to the pub- lic duties which have been imposed on him and his services have been fully appreciated by his fellow citizens.
On March 4, 1884, Jacob A. Miller was united in marriage to Sarah Pittenger, a daughter of Peter and Jane (Buchanan) Pittenger. Peter Pitt- enger was born in Harrison county, Ohio, on October 1, 1800, and his death occurred on February 9, 1854. His wife was born in Pennsylvania July II. 1803, and at the age of three years was brought by her parents to Ohio. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pittenger lived in Carroll county, Ohio, where they entered upon a tract of wild and uncultivated woodland, which they in due time transformed into a fine and fertile farm. Their first buildings were of log, in accordance with the prevailing type of the day, but later these were replaced with fine frame buildings. Mrs. Pittenger died October 20, 1872. To this worthy couple were born ten children, namely : Samuel B., Mary, Margaret, John, Nancy, Joseph, Evan, Susannah, Abram and Sarah. Of these children, Sarah became the wife of the subject. She was born in Car- roll county, on October 24, 1848, and received a good education in the common schools. She is related to William Pittenger, of Civil war fame, who stole a railway locomotive in the interest of the cause, and who was author of the widely-read book "Daring and Suffering." Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the parents of one child, Grace, born May 6, 1889, but suffered an irreparable loss in the death of their daughter in March, 1894, her death being the result of a gunshot wound inflicted accidentally by a playmate.
Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Miller are active members of the Evangelical Lutheran church, in which Mr. Miller is an indefatigable worker, as he is also in the Sunday school which he served many years as superintendent and in other important official positions.
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Mr. Miller is a man of spotless integrity and never violates the confidence reposed in him in any of the relations of life, his word being considered liter- ally as good as his bond. He has been indefatigable in his industry, has ever been animated by the highest principles and has been a valuable factor in the development and progress of the county, where he has so ordered his life as to gain and retain the unequivocal confidence and high regard of all with whom he has come in contact.
HARRY B. BERTOLETTE, M. D.
The present age is essentially utilitarian and the life of every successful man carries a lesson which, told in contemporary narrative, is productive of much good in shaping the destiny of others. There is, therefore, a due meas- ure of satisfaction in presenting, even in brief resume, the life and achieve- ments of such men, and in preparing the following history of the well known and successful physician whose name appears at the head of this sketch, it is with the hope that it may prove not only interesting and instructive, but also serve as an incentive to those who contemplate making the medical profession their life work, for it shows how a man, not especially favored by inherited wealth or encouraging environment, may forge to the front and not only suc- ceed in the material things of this life but also be of inestimable service to his fellow men.
Dr. Harry B. Bertolette is a native of the community where he has elected to spend his life, believing that better opportunities were to be found right at his own door than in seeking uncertain fortune in some strange locality. He was born at Shreve, Clinton township, Wayne county, Ohio, July 13, 1867, the son of William John and Catherine A. (Greenwalt) Bertolette, the father a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, the mother having been born in Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, each representing excellent old families, highly honored in their respective communities.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. William J. Bertolette, named as follows : Frank, Edgar, and Harry B., of this review. Believing in giving their children every advantage possible, especially in the way of education, they placed Harry B. in the local schools as soon as he was old enough to at- tend and he proved to be a very ambitious student, making rapid progress. passing through the high school at Shreve at an early age, and, being desirous of gaining a higher text-book training, he entered the University of Wooster, where he made a good record, after which he began the study of medicine in
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the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his degree in 1892. In the same year he began practicing his profession at Shreve, which he has continued with increasing success, building up a very satisfactory practice with the town and surrounding community, having met with uninterrupted success and won the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come into contact. He has proved that he is well grounded in the science of medicine and is a man of excellent natural abilities required for success in the medical profession.
Politically the Doctor is a Republican, and he is a member of the board of pension commissioners, rendering very acceptable services on the same. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Masonic order, in which he has taken several de- grees. Mrs. Bertolette is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Doctor Bertolette was married on May 4, 1892, to Jessie M. Carl. a daughter of Alexander and Anna ( Aylesworth) Carl, a highly respected and influential family of Clinton township. Dr. and Mrs. Bertolette are pleasant people to know and have hosts of friends throughout the county.
HENRY JENNINGS.
The history of Wayne county is not a very old one. It is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilderness within the last century and has reached its magnitude of today without other aids than those of industry. The people who redeemed its wilderness fastnesses were strong-armed, hardy sons of the soil who hesitated at no difficulty and for whom hardships had but little to appall. The earliest pioneers, having blazed the path of civilization to this part of the state, finished their labors and passed from the scene, leaving the country to the possession of their descendants and to others who came at a later period and builded on the foundation which they laid so broad and deep. Among these is the prominent farmer and enterpris- ing citizen by whose name this article is introduced. He was born here and grew to the years of young manhood in the formative period and has done much to develop and advertise to the world the wonderful resources of a county that now occupies a proud position among the most progressive and enlightened sections of Ohio.
Henry Jennings, who is the owner of a fine and fertile farm in Saltcreek township, near Fredericksburg, was born on the farm on which he now resides, his natal day having been the 9th of November, 1830. His parents were Jacob and Nancy (Fisher) (Crozier) Jennings. Jacob Jennings was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1796, and in 1827 he came to Wayne county.
MR. AND MRS. HENRY JENNINGS
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Ohio, where his father had entered two quarter sections of land in section 8. The country was practically unsettled, a few settlers' cabins being scattered here and there in the midst of the dense forest which covered the country, and to create a home in this section of the state in that early day meant a vast amount of the hardest kind of labor and the undergoing of many trials and privations that we of the present day cannot appreciate. Added to the natural conditions, was the presence of wild animals in large numbers, some of whom were ferocious and would not hesitate to attack man as well as animals. The entry into and settlement of the country under such conditions required a high degree of courage and the country owes a debt of gratitude to these sturdy pioneers who strove persistently and with might and main to conquer appar- ently unsurmountable obstacles and who, succeeding, made possible the grand and wonderful civilization which today characterizes this same section. The subject's father, Jacob Jennings, and his brother David came together from Pennsylvania for the purpose of creating new homes and they succeeded far beyond their fondest dreams. Henry Jennings was a weaver and in connection with his farming operations he ran a loom in his home. The subject's mother was also a native of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, having been born near Smithfield. and by her union with Jacob Jennings she became the mother of three children, John Crozier, who died at the age of five years, Henry the sub- ject of this sketch, and Jane, who became the wife of a Mr. Knox and lives in Fredericksburg. Jacob Jennings was a Republican in his political views, and was an active worker for his party, though he never accepted public office of any nature. He was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and was a faithful Christian, being a strong advocate of temperance. He died at the age of seventy-two years and his wife at the age of seventy-five years.
Henry Jennings, the immediate subject of this sketch, received his educa- tion in the district school at Nebo, Saltcreek township, having first attended the subscription schools. He was reared on the parental homestead and has never lived elsewhere. He has devoted all the active years of his life to the pursuit of agriculture and has not been denied a commensurate return for the labor expended during these years. He has carried on general farming, hav- ing raised all the crops common to this section of the country, and his property has been kept up to the highest standard of excellence. The farm buildings are commodious and well-arranged and the general appearance of the place indicates Mr. Jennings to be a man of good judgment and excellent taste.
On the 14th of October. 1858, Mr. Jennings took unto himself a help- meet in the person of Margaret Jane Patrick, a daughter of Thomas Patrick, her parents being natives of Wayne county, Ohio, and her grandparents of
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Pennsylvania. She was born here July 1, 1839, on land which her grandpar- ents had entered from the government. To Mr. and Mrs. Jennings have been born twelve children, who are briefly mentioned as follows: Elizabeth is the wife of Robert Cook, of Toledo, Ohio, and they have three children ; J. B., of Fredericksburg, this county, married Laura Ellen Cook and they are the parents of three children; Jennie, who now lives with her father, is the widow of Royal Williams, who met his death in a railroad accident; James Martin, of Wooster, married Hildah Lawrence and they have two children; Sarah is the wife of George Krouse, of Toledo, and they are the parents of two children ; William H., of this county, married Maud Force and they have one child; Laura, now deceased, was the wife of John Harrison, by whom she had two children, one of whom is deceased; John C., of Saltcreek township, married Daisy Johnson, and they are the parents of two children ; Unice is the wife of Prof. Ira Amiet, of Wooster, and they have two children; three chil- dren died in infancy.
Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Jennings are members of the Presbyterian church at Fredericksburg, to which they give an earnest support. In politics Mr. Jennings has assumed an independent attitude, voting for the man rather than the party. He and his wife were formerly identified with the Patrons of Husbandry, but are not now allied with any secret order. Mr. Jennings is widely known as one of the progressive and successful business men of this section of the county and as a citizen whose life has been dominated by high principles and a determination to achieve a success worthy of the name, so that he has not been denied the fullest measure of confidence and esteem. An old gentleman of kindly manner and friendly feelings toward all, he has a host of warm personal friends.
DANIEL L. RUDY.
One of the substantial as well as one of the most experienced and skillful farmers of Sugar Creek township, Wayne county, is Daniel L. Rudy, who has spent the major part of his long and eminently useful and active life within the borders of this county, although he is a Buckeye by adoption only, having been born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1834, the son of Christian and Barbara (Myers) Rudy, the former born in 1790 and the latter in 1795. When Daniel L. was seven weeks old his parents migrated over- land to Wayne county, Ohio, and settled in Sugar Creek township in section 3, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in one tract, also sixty
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acres south of his first purchase. Christopher Rudy lived on the farm where he settled until his death, on July 13, 1875, his wife having preceded him to the silent land October 5, 1858. Mr. Rudy was an honest, unassuming man, a member of the Mennonite church. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living in 1910, namely : David; Mrs. Horner, living in Illinois ; Mrs. Snavely, living in Sugar Creek township, this county ; Mrs. Barbara Buckwalter, of Trumbull, Ohio; Daniel L., of this review.
Daniel L. Rudy has had the happy opportunity of spending his life on the home place, living now on the same farm where he grew up from baby- hood. He began assisting his father clear and develop the place when he was old enough to work in the fields. He attended the neighboring schools during the winter months and received a good common school education. When seventeen years of age he quit school and gave his entire attention to the farm. He was married December 31, 1857. to Esther Buckwalter, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1836, the daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Hartman) Buckwalter, both natives of Pennsylvania, having come to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1850. She was reared in Baughman township and received a common school education, principally in Pennsylvania.
After his marriage Mr. Rudy located on the old home place, which he has continued to develop until it ranks with the best improved and most productive farms of the township. He erected a substantial and attractive brick house in 1874, also a large barn. His farm now consists of one hundred and fifty-five acres. He has prospered by reason of his excellent management, and besides retaining his home place he has given each of his children an excellent start in life-equivalent to eighty acres of land. Fortune has favored his family not only in material things but in other ways, but little sickness ever having befallen them, although Mrs. Rudy has been blind for a period of twenty-two years: but she is of a cheerful and happy disposition and a woman of gracious personality.
Mr. and Mrs. Rudy are the parents of the following children: Bar- bara A., born October 5, 1858, is the wife of E. H. Wenger; Jacob, who was born November 7, 1859, married Mary Horst; Albert, who was born No- vember 18. 1860, married Margaret Saurer : Christ, born May 23, 1862, mar- ried Catherine Sprankle ; Clara M., born June 5. 1866, is the wife of Jacob Steele.
Members of this family belong to the Mennonite church. In politics Mr. Rudy is a Republican, but not an office seeker, having always found enough at home to keep him busy. This family is one of the best known and most highly respected in the eastern part of Wayne county.
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ALLEN BROWN.
One of the fine farm properties of Saltcreek and East Union townships, Wayne county. Ohio, is that owned by Allen Brown, who has here maintained his home for over three score and ten years and who is known as one of the progressive and successful business men of this section of the state, and as a citizen whose life has been dominated by high principles and a determination to achieve a success worthy of the name. so that he has not been denied the full- est measure of confidence and esteem. Such are the men who are particularly worthy of consideration in a publication of this nature, for though they have not stood in the great white light of publicity, they have been of the world's workers and have played well their assigned part in the making of history.
The family history of Allen Brown, on the paternal side, is traced back to his grandfather. Caleb Brown, who was one of the earliest settlers in Wayne county. having entered government land in section 9. Saltcreek township, in 1816. He always followed farming and became prominent in the county's early history. He was the father of seven children, five sons and two daugh- ters, and all the sons attained to prominence in the county. The names of the children were Elizabeth, John, Bealy, Noah, Robert. Samuel and Sarah. Of these. Samuel. the subject's father, was born in 1800 in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and when he was sixteen years old he was brought by his par- ents to Wayne county, where he lived continuously until his death, which oc- curred in 1882. He had received a fair education in the schools of his native state and when he came to the new Ohio home his attention and energy were directed to the task of clearing the land and rendering it fit for cultivation, a task of considerable magnitude. He remained at home until his marriage, at which time he located where the subject of this sketch now lives, his home at that time being in the midst of a dense forest. He was at that time the pos- sessor of the magnificent sum of fifty cents, which comprised his total cash capital, but, nothing daunted, he went bravely to work to carve out a fortune. He was a great worker and, despite some severe losses and other drawbacks. he eventually succeeded in accumulating a handsome property. He was an act- ive worker in the interest of the Democratic party and was a persistent and skillful debater on political questions. He was not an office seeker, however, though he did serve one term as constable. He was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and active in the work of the society, being one of the most prominent men in his church. From boyhood he was a licensed exhorter and class leader. He, with the assistance of the Armstrongs, founded the Methodist Episcopal church at Fredericksburg and always gave that society
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an earnest and liberal support. In addition to agriculture, he was a lover of horses, being considered one of the best judges of horseflesh in the county, and he dealt very extensively in them. He married Sarah Armstrong, whose parents were natives of Ireland, and she was born on the Atlantic ocean while they were en route to the United States in one of the old-fashioned slow-going sailing vessels. The Armstrong family was one of the first to settle in this part of Wayne county. To Samuel and Sarah Brown nine children were born, namely : Jane, who is the wife of Mr. Bartol, of Wooster, Ohio: Robert. Elizabeth, Christine, John, Rachael and Margaret are deceased ; Allen, the sub- ject of this sketch ; Whiteman, deceased.
Allen Brown was reared on the paternal homestead and secured his edu- cation in the old district schools of the county, though he was enabled to attend school nearer home than his older brothers and sisters had done, they being compelled to go to the neighborhood of Maysville, where the nearest school was located. Mr. Brown remained with his parents and when old enough he gave unmistakable evidence of that progressive spirit which marks his sub- sequent life, going into the threshing business and buying one of the first horse-power machines in this section of the country. He has spent his entire life in the pursuit of agriculture and in this line he has been successful to a gratifying degree. He is now the owner of two hundred and forty-six acres of fine land, one hundred and sixty acres being located in Saltcreek township and eighty-six acres in East Union township. The land is well improved and is maintained in the best possible condition, and on it Mr. Brown raises all the crops common to this section of the country. When about fifty years old, Mr. Brown went into the horse business and as a further evidence of his progressive spirit he determined to start right and accordingly he sent to Belgium and im- ported two of the finest stallions ever seen in this part of the county, one being a Clyde and the other a Norman. He was the pioneer heavy-horse breeder here and soon acquired a reputation as a successful and practical horse man. About twenty years ago he decided to advertise his horses by giving an exhibi- tion of their colts, which was held at his farm. It was the most successful affair of the kind ever held in the county and at that time was the first affair of the kind ever held here. Mr. Brown had a brass band hired for the oc- casion and food of all kinds in abundance was provided that the guests might be made as comfortable as possible, and in addition to the exhibition of the horses and colts there were a number of speeches by prominent men. The affair was a decided success and gave Mr. Brown and his horses an advertise- ment that they could have secured in no other way. Mr. Brown carried on the horse business a number of years, but since losing the sight of his right eye he has practically retired from active labor and is living practically retired.
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