USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 50
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
Mr. Rudy was married December 14, 1886, to Margaret Saurer, the daughter of Abraham Saurer, a well-known and highly respected citizen of East Union township, where Mrs. Rudy was reared and where she attended school. Her birth occurred in 1863. This union has resulted in the birth of four sons, namely: Raymond, May 10, 1888; Troy, December 10, 1890; Allen, 1891, and Warren, January 1, 1894. They have all received good educations in the common schools.
Mr. Rudy is the owner of a very valuable farm of eighty acres, on which is located the Dalton coal mine, No. 14. General farming is carried on very successfully, and a large part of Mr. Rudy's annual income is de- rived from the sale of his heavy draft horses, which he buys and feeds, always finding a ready market for them owing to their excellent quality. He is re- garded as an excellent judge of livestock, especially horses.
Politically, he is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church at Dalton, being highly esteemed members of the local congregation.
DANIEL A. SOMMER.
The motto, "Merit always commands its reward," is strikingly exempli- fied in the modest career of D. A. Sommers, a business man of much influ- ence locally in Wayne county. He early learned that knowledge, backed
I373
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
by well-directed energy, is the key with which the poor boy could open the door of success and cull its choicest fruits, and although he began life in a rather humble way, he is now very comfortably situated and enjoys a liberal patronage as a merchant and business man in the town of Kidron, Sugar Creek township, in which locality he was born on January 16, 1861. the son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Lehman) Sommer. The former was the son of Isaac Sommer, who was born in Switzerland, and who came to the United States in an early day and devoted the rest of his life to farming here.
D. A. Sommer was the next to the youngest of his father's family, and he was reared on the home farm in section 16, Sugar Creek township, which he assisted in developing, having begun work on the same very early, but he found time to attend the district schools during the winter months and became fairly well educated.
When he reached maturity Mr. Sommers married Mary Saltzman, who was born and reared in Sugar Creek township, whose father was long an influential citizen in his community. This union has resulted in the birth of three children, namely: Alvin B., born January 2, 1888; Carrie, born June 24, 1891 ; Willis, born October 28, 1893.
Mr. Sommer started in life as a farmer and continued in that line of endeavor until 1902, making a success of its diversified phases, but he long entertained a desire to enter the mercantile life, and, when an opportunity presented itself in 1902, he took advantage of the same and purchased a stock of goods at Kidron, Sugar Creek township, having since given his almost exclusive attention to the same. He has built up an extensive trade with the surrounding community and he always keeps a carefully selected stock of goods which he displays neatly in his well-kept place of business, and the fact that his trade has constantly increased is a criterion that he is giving his customers the worth of their money and at the same time accords them courteous treatment. He very creditably served as acting post- master of Kidron for a period of three years. He owns four acres of land, on a part of which his store building stands. This furnishes opportunity for a good garden, orchard, etc. Mr. Sommer is president of the Kidron Telephone Company, which is incorporated and which is well patronized throughout this vicinity, much of its success being due to his efficient man- agement : but it is in the proper handling of his large stock of general mer- chandise that his excellent business qualities are brought out.
Politically, Mr. Sommer is a Democrat, active in the affairs of his party. and he very capably served as trustee of Sugar Creek township for two terms.
1374
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
WILLIAM A. BARDEN.
The enterprise of William A. Barden has been crowned by success, as the result of rightly applied principles which never fail in their ultimate effect when coupled with integrity, uprightness and a congenial disposition, as they have been done in the present instance, judging from the high standing of Mr. Barden among his fellow citizens whose undivided esteem he has justly won and retained, being one of the leading agriculturists of Plain township, Wayne county ; also one of the leading school teachers of the same.
William A. Barden was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1865. He is the son of William Barden, whose sketch appears in full on another page of this work. Young Barden attended the common schools, receiving a good primary education in district school No. 5, Plain township, into which com- munity he moved when a small boy with his parents, who located on a farm there. He also attended the Shreve high school for one year, also the West Salem high school, and he took one term at the Ada Normal School, also tak- ing a business course in one of the leading business colleges of Oberlin, Ohio, thus receiving an excellent text-book training, for he applied himself very carefully, being ambitious to get a good education in order that he might become a teacher. While attending school he worked on the home farm during the summer months.
Mr. Barden began teaching in 1886 and he has taught every year since that time with the exception of three years, having done all of his teaching in the three districts, Nos. 5, 9 and 10 of Plain township, his services having been in great demand, for Mr. Barden has the happy faculty of pleasing both pupil and patron. He is well grounded in the fundamental principles of peda- gogics, and he is a master in the art of elucidation. He always kept well abreast of the times, being a wide reader of general scientific and literary subjects ; he also keeps well informed on agricultural and horticultural sub- jects and his farm is a model owing to his knowledge of such subjects and their practical application, which he carries out, having followed farming for several years, now owning a highly improved and very productive place consisting of one hundred and ninety-five acres in Plain township, just west of Blachleyville. He carries on general farming in a way that stamps him as a gentleman of sound judgment and industry, and about his place may be found some excellent varieties of livestock and poultry, in which he takes considerable interest. He has a cozy and substantial home and a good barn and outbuildings.
:
I375
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
In 1898 Mr. Barden was united in marriage with Nora Swart, daughter of Casper L. Swart, of Plain township. She is a sister of A. C. Swart, men- tioned in detail in this work. She was reared and educated in this county and she has proven to be a worthy helpmeet in every respect to her enterprising husband.
Mr. Barden is a member of the Evangelical church and a liberal supporter of the same, and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is loyal to the principles of the Republican party ; however, he does not find time for office seeking, being content to devote his attention to his many indi- vidual affairs, but always doing what he can toward the general good of the community.
ALONZO D. HORN.
The Horn family have been identified with the development of Wayne county, Ohio, from the early days, especially the western portion, and each member has been careful to prudently guard the honorable traditions of their worthy ancestors. They are known as a hard working, peaceable and neigh- borly people, always taking an interest in whatever looks to the welfare of their community. The immediate subject of this biography, Alonzo D. Horn, was born in Reedsburg, Plain township, this county, in 1855, the son of David and Lydia (Ewing) Horn. His paternal grandparents were John and Katy Horn, who came from near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and settled near Jeromeville, Ashland county, Ohio, in an early day, having made the trip overland in covered wagons. They later moved to Spencerville, In- diana, where John Horn died, after an active life as a farmer.
David Horn, father of the subject, was a wagonmaker by trade, having followed this successfully in both Jeromeville and Reedsburg for a period of forty years, the products of his labors having been eagerly sought for, ow- ing to his great skill in that line. His death occurred in Reedsburg. Al- though he lived a quiet life, he was an active member of the Lutheran church and in politics he was a Democrat. The maternal grandparents of Alonzo D. Horn were William and Katy Ewing, who came to Ohio from Pennsyl- vania in an early day, settling in Ashland county, south of Jeromeville, where they remained the rest of their lives. In his early life Mr. Ewing was a teamster, but later a farmer, having cleared a tract of land south of Jerome- ville.
1376
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Alonzo D. Horn was educated in the schools of Reedsburg and he very early began farming, which he has always continued, having been successful not only in general farming but also in stock raising, especially horses, of which he is an excellent judge and which he keeps a large number of, always finding a ready market for them, owing to their high-grade qualities. He is now the owner of a fine and highly-improved farm of one hundred and sev- enty-six acres in the edge of Reedsburg. He has a splendid home and out- buildings sufficient for his every requirement, his place showing that a man of excellent taste has its management in hand.
Mr. Horn was married in 1877 to Emma Della Baker, a native of Plain township, the daughter of an old and highly honored family. To Mr. and Mrs. Horn the following children have been born: Elva, Esta, Miner, and Mila, who died November 26, 1908. Mrs. Horn died October 3, 1909, and was buried in the beautiful cemetery at Reeds. She was a lady of beautiful character, highly esteemed by all who knew her. She was a member of the Disciple church. Mr. Horn is a Democrat, but he has never aspired to offices of public trust, preferring to devote his attention exclusively to his individual affairs.
JACOB FRICK.
In the constant and laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a creditable name on the part of business or professional men. there is little to attract the reader in search of a sensational chapter, but to a mind thoroughly awake to the true meaning of life and its responsibilities there are noble and imperishable lessons in the career of an individual who, early thrown upon his own resources and without other means than a sound mind, fertile per- ceptive faculty and a true heart, conquers adversity and not only wins a prominent position in the industrial world, but what is equally as great, the deserved esteem and confidence of his fellow men. Such a man was Jacob Frick, for many decades a prominent business man of Wayne county, who has been called to close his earthly accounts and take up his abode in the "window- less palaces of rest." His name was long so intimately associated with the material and civic interests of the community where he resided, as to reflect great credit upon the locality, and at the same time gain him the undivided respect of all who knew him because of his well directed life.
Jackfrick
-
I377
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Frick was born four miles east of West Union, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1834. His parents were of German an- cestry, and his father followed the trade of blacksmith throughout his life. Jacob, who was among the younger members of the family, was cast upon his own resources at the age of eighteen. his father being in somewhat humble circumstances. He received but a limited education and knew no trade, con- sequently hard work was allotted to him; he first hired out to do farin work for two years at very meager wages, and in order to get a start he economized and saved his money. He moved with his father and the rest of the family to Hancock county, Ohio, in 1855, and in that year the father died, and young. Frick again took up hard work, first driving a team about the village of Van Buren, in the above named county, receiving the sum of six dollars per month in wages, and he followed this for twelve months. Having an ambition to enter the mercantile field, he sought and found employment in a produce and dry goods establishment, as a clerk and general subaltern, being detailed prin- cipally as egg-packer, lard-receiver, etc. He continued at this about one year, during which time the proprietor died. Then Mr. Frick, although with small capital and limited experience, resolved to start in business for himself. Ac- cordingly he opened a provision store of his own, and met with encouragng success from the first. About a year later his brother joined him in the store, and they enlarged their sphere of business, embracing within its circle a dry goods department, and did an excellent business for about three years.
Mr. Frick, seeking a broader field for his business enterprise, canie to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1859, and located at Smithville, and at once embarked in the mercantile business, soon enjoying a large share of the dry goods trade of that section of the county. After following this for one year, he gave up merchandising and began buying and selling grain, for which he seemed to have a special ability and aptitude, his first labors in this line being at the "Summit," northeast of Wooster, but, desiring a point where conveniences would be more ample and facilities more inviting, he established himself in Wooster in the spring of 1865, where he continued in the grain and milling business for thirty years. In 1881 he purchased a controlling interest in the Wayne County National Bank and becante its president, which office he filled with signal success until the time of his death.
Mr. Frick was a man who everybody trusted implicitly, for his life was exemplary in every respect. His death, which occurred on November 17. 1901, was a distinct loss to the community in which he had labored so long and successfully, and his memory will long be cherished by all who knew him.
(87)
1378
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
JOHN A. KISTER.
The gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biography did not feel the call of the unseen wanderlust in his youth like so many boys, who become impatient to leave their parental rooftree and seek uncertain fortunes in distant lands, but he was content to remain in his native vicinity, which he has seen develop in a wonderful manner during the past half century. The birth of John A. Kister occurred on October 7, 1850, in Millbrook, Wayne county. He is the son of George C. and Mary Ann (Smith) Kister, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia, each repre- senting fine old families. The paternal grandparents lived and died in the old Keystone state, while the maternal grandparents, John Smith and wife, came to Millbrook, Ohio, where Mr. Smith followed his trade of carpenter and reared a family of boys, all of whom, to some extent, followed the same trade. Here John Smith lived until his death. His son, R. H. Smith, was a soldier in the Civil war. A brother, R. H. Smith, lived in Virginia during the war and was a strong Union man. George C. Kister, father of John A., was educated in Pennsylvania. In 1833 he came to Wayne county, Ohio. on foot, and settled in Millbrook, where he first followed working on a farm, later becoming a distiller. He was a Republican and a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and led a quiet life. His family consisted of three daughters and one son.
John A. Kister was educated in the Millbrook schools and at Smithville and Shreve academies. He applied himself very carefully to his studies and received a good education. After leaving school he devoted himself to the trade of millwright. In 1880 he began the manufacture of some specialties in mill machinery and he has built up an extensive local business. He is asso- ciated with two of his sons and they operate a chop mill and cider press, having the reputation as the best makers of corn meal in Wayne county, and they enjoy a liberal patronage throughout this vicinity.
Something of the natural inventive talent of the subject is learned from the fact that he has invented several excellent machines for milling. In the early eighties he patented a "middlings purifier," which has been extensively used by mill men, and to some extent he has continued the manufacture of his inventions. He has prospered in a financial way owing to his close atten- tion to his business and he is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and seventy acres, one-half mile west of Millbrook. He has managed this in a very skillful manner, rotating his crops and employing all the up-to-date methods of farming, until he has one of the choice farms of the township. He has a modern dwelling and substantial outbuildings.
I379
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Kister was married on January 15, 1879, to Emily Samis, who was born in Canada, the daughter of James Samis, a Baptist minister and a prom- inent man in his community. To Mr. and Mrs. John A. Kister the following children have been born: Melvis S., who was a member of Company H, Eighth Regiment Ohio Infantry, who took part in the Cuba campaign dur- ing the Spanish-American war. Later he went to the Philippine islands and was a recruit in the Twelfth United States Infantry. He made an excellent soldier and on a return trip home, en route from Manila to San Francisco, he died on the Pacific ocean of a chronic disease contracted in the tropics, and he was brought to Millbrook, Ohio, where he was buried. The other children are, Guy S. is living at home and is in business with his father; James L. has also remained with his father; Mabel M. is living at home. The father and the two sons work together in the shop and in the millwright business. They have been very successful in all their undertakings. Mrs. J. Kister died September 10, 1898, and was buried in Millbrook cemetery. She was a mem- ber of the Baptist church. Fraternally, Mr. Kister is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the chapter and the council. He is a Republican in politics. He has always taken more or less interest in the affairs of his coun- ty, and he is now a member of the board of education, having accepted the place three different times.
WILLIAM BARDEN.
Of all the foreign nations that have sent their citizens to America there is no question but that England has had more to do with our development than any other, and wherever her sons have dispersed in our constellation of states they have been among the most welcomed newcomers, for they are enterprising, cool, calculating, persistent and, as a rule, people of the best per- sonal traits. One of this vast number deserving specific mention in this his- tory was the late William Barden, long a highly respected citizen of Plain township. He was born in England in 1840, and he is the son of William and Ann (Ralph) Barden, both born in England. They came to America in 1852, coming westward to Ohio and settling at Massillon, where they con- tinued to reside, at which place the father worked at various occupations. They brought eight children with them to this country. The latter part of the life of the father of the subject was spent on a farm near Massillon and he ended his days there, becoming fairly well fixed in reference to this world's affairs. One of his sons, Samuel, served a short time in the Federal army during the Civil war.
1380
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
William Barden, Jr., was educated chiefly in the common schools of England. However, being only a boy when he arrived in America, he at- tended school here for a; time and devoted his life to farming. It was in 1869 that he came to Wayne county, Ohio, and purchased a forty-acre farm in Plain township, and he continued to carry on his farming operations until his death, which occurred in January. 1908. Politically he was a Republican and he took some interest in local political affairs, and he served as trustee of Plain township for several years.
Mr. Barden was married on November 11. 1864, to Katherine Brum- baugh, daughter of Samuel and Susan (Egla) Brumbaugh, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former having come to Ohio, locating near Canton with his parents, John and Mary Brumbaugh. Susan Egla was reared near Mas- sillon, Ohio, near which city they married and continued to reside. To Mr. and Mrs. William Barden, Jr., the following children were born: Cora, who died when two years of age : William A., whose life record is given on another page of this work ; Edwin A., Minnie, Nettie, Curtis and Nellie. Religiously, this family belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church.
William Barden, Jr., was a man in whom the utmost confidence was reposed by his neighbors, for his life was above reproach. He was scrupu- lously honest, always generous and kind, public spirited and deeply interested in the education and welfare of his children. He was possessed of the warm- est sympathies and charities, a simple man in his tastes, without a particle of ostentation, simplicity emphasizing every phase of his life. dred I.
DAVID BEAL.
The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed is among the foremost carpenters and builders in Wayne county and he has by his skill, enterprise and progressive methods contributed in a material way to the advancement of the county throughout which stand as enduring monuments to his ability as a workman many houses, barns and business blocks.
David Beal is a descendant of honored ancestors of the Prairie state. he having been born in Pike county, Illinois, October 28, 1851, the son of William and Rebecca ( Sterner) Beal, the former a native of New York and the latter born in Pennsylvania December 16. 1825. David Beal's paternal grandpar- ents were natives of the state of New York. His father was a cooper by trade. and when a young man he left his native state and came to Ohio, and it was
MR. AND MRS. DAVID BEAL
I381
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
while living in Summit county that he met and married Rebecca Sterner. He there followed his trade for many years. About 1850 he moved to Illinois and for nine years made his home in that state, then returned to Ohio and in a short time located in Wayne county. He moved to Michigan and died there a short time afterwards. He was prominent in the official life of the Dunkard church, but he lived a quiet, retired life. He was a good and useful man and highly skilled at his trade. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, seven of whom are living at this writing. The mother of these children, a woman of gracious personality, is still living at the age of eighty-four years.
David Beal was educated in the common schools of Summit county and there learned the carpenter's trade, having a natural inclination for this line of work, consequently he has become a very high grade workman and his services have always been in great demand. During the forty years that he has followed his trade he has turned off a very large number of big jobs, and his work is always satisfactory owing to his knowledge of all forms of archi- tecture and his desire to please. In 1878 he moved to Doylestown, where he built a modern and beautiful home on Howard street and lived there for many years, still making his home in Doylestown. He has a lucrative business around this town, and his work is at present confined chiefly to contracting.
Mr. Beal was married, October 9, 1873, to Elizabeth Cassel, daughter of Charles and Mary Cassel, old settlers of Doylestown, and this union has re- sulted in the birth of three children, namely : Mary Rebecca, who was educated at Berea College, is now the wife of Fred W. Deutsch; Florence Odell was also well educated and both she and her sister became school teachers: Willis Roy has followed the traditions of his father and grandfather and become an architect, now assisting his father.
Mr. Beal is a Democrat politically and he has been a very faithful mem- ber of the council of Doylestown for the past two years, and he has been a member of the school board for the past three or four years. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and he formerly belonged to the Ameri- can Mechanics AAssociation. No man in this part of Wayne county is better known than Mr. Beal and none more highly respected.
GEORGE RICKABAUGH.
The problem of ridding the soil of its heavy growth of timber and un- derbrush has been a leading one with the settlers of this and other sections of the country for the past century and more. The earliest settlers wantonly wasted the woods, believing that the timber was of little value and that the
1382
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
virgin soil was all that was worth their attention, but the value of lumber afterwards caused the settler to conserve the larger growth of timber until now a scarcity is experienced. The saw-mill man has always been a leading factor in a new country and those who have followed this line of endeavor have, as a rule, become prominent in their communities and fairly well fixed financially. The same may be said in reference to those who have operated the threshing machines. One of this number is George Rickabaugh, who was born in Plain township, Wayne county, July 6, 1861, the son of John and Mandy (Willour) Rickabaugh, the former mentioned at length in the sketch of F. L. Rickabaugh in this work, and the mother is a sister of Thomas Wil- lour, whose sketch is also found herein.
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.