USA > Ohio > Auglaize County > History of western Ohio and Auglaize County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of pioneers and prominent public men > Part 52
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Mr. Bitler has been married twice. In 1859, he was wedded to Miss Margaret Baughman of Auglaize county. Six children were born to them, of which two are living, William, engaged in the grain business and sale of agricultural machinery, and Delila, wife of A. Klipfel, who is engaged in a flourishing grocery business. Mrs. Bitler died May 20th, 1865.
Mr. Bitler was married the second time in 1865 to Miss Elizabeth Davis of this county. Of this marriage six children
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were born, of whom four are living. His second wife died March 20th, 1884, at the age of forty-three years.
After his retirement from office as county treasurer he engaged in the pork packing business for several years, and later did an extensive business in the purchase and sale of the grain products of the county. He has always been noted for his strict integrity, enterprise and liberality. His interest in the educational affairs of Wapakoneta is well known and appre- ciated by the community. For many years he served as a mem- ber of the Board of Education, and most of the time as treasurer of that body.
L. N. BLUME was born at St. Johns, Ohio, June 21, 1846. While yet a small boy, his father, Leon Blume, moved to Wapa- koneta, thereby affording his son the opportunity of attending the village school. The boy proved to be an apt pupil, and at the age of seventeen had so far mastered the elements of an English education that he entered upon a business career in which he has been eminently successful.
In 1866 Mr. Blume was married to Miss Harriet C. Sallade, daughter of Frederic and Harriet Sallade of Auglaize county. Mrs. Blume is noted for her benevolence in the community in which she resides. She is an active member in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a liberal contributor to its support.
In 1864 Mr. Blume engaged in mercantile pursuits, and during his moments of leisure he studied law under the tutorship of Hon. W. V. M. Layton, then a prominent attorney of Wapa- koneta, and was admitted to the bar in 1874. He soon after- ward entered into partnership with attorney R. D. Marshall, now of Dayton, Ohio, in the practice of law. At the end of two years his mercantile business had grown to such proportions that he withdrew from the practice. After eighteen years of experience as a merchant, he organized the First National Bank of Wapa- koneta. Since 1884 he has served in the capacities of director, cashier and president of the bank. During the eighteen years that have elapsed since its organization, the First National Bank has commanded the confidence of the public, and has taken the lead in the banking business of the county. Besides being one of the most energetic business men in the community, he has
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always taken a lively interest in the political affairs of the county, and has served as a delegate in state and national conventions of the Democratic party. He has also served at different times as member of the county central committee, city clerk for eight years, member of the Board of Education for twelve years. and President of the Board for eight years. In social matters he is a Knight Templar, a Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Royal Arcanum.
JOHN C. BOTHE, one of the early settlers of Wapakoneta, was born in Prussia, Dec. 23, 1807, and came to the United States in 1823, stopping first at Baltimore, from which place he soon proceeded to Dayton, Ohio, where he was employed as a clerk until 1833, when he came to Wapakoneta. Here he pur- 'chased two town lots, after which he went back as far as Sidney, where he located about a year in the interest of his Dayton employers. He was next sent by the same firm to Wapakoneta to conduct a branch house, with which he was identified until 1835, when he visited Europe, and on his return the following year he established himself in the dry goods business at Wapa- koneta. In 1860 he built a warehouse and became an extensive dealer in grain. He continued in this business until 1875, when he retired from active business. In 1878 he again visited Europe. but returned the same year. In 1834 he married Miss Mary Schemmel, who died in 1865. Two sons were born of this union, both of whom are dead.
Mr. Bothe was one of the wealthiest men in the county at the time of his death. His property, amounting to more than $100,000, was accumulated within the forty years in which he was engaged in business. His large estate was bequeathed to his legal heirs in Germany.
During the last few years of his life he lived with Mr. and Mrs. Pitthan of Wapakoneta. He died September 8th, 1886.
JOHN CRAFT, one of the early settlers of Wapakoneta, was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, August 15th, 1825. He was the third in a family of six sons. The following from "The School Bulletin" of Wapakoneta, dated November, 1897, will call to mind the quiet old wagonmaker, so long a resident of Wapa- koneta : "Recollections of John Craft of Wapakoneta."
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"My father, William Craft, moved from Lebanon, Pennsyl- vania, to the northeast corner of Pusheta township in the fall of 1833. My father entered two hundred and forty acres of land in that township, of which only one-half acre of it was cleared land. I lived on this farm until I was twenty years of age, and during that time I assisted in clearing the land of the heavy timber with which it was covered. Upon our arrival a cabin, consisting of one room, was built. It was similar to all the houses built by the early settlers. The roof was made of clap- boards, held in place by weight-poles laid on each course of boards. The floor was made of puncheons, split from trees, the door of boards riven from oak timber, and hung on wooden hinges. The fire-place was made of wood, and was walled on the inside with boulders daubed with a plentiful quantity of mud. The chimney was built of sticks, split from hickory elm, was plastered inside and outside with a thick coat of mud. Instead of glass the sash were covered with greased paper. We lived in this eighteen by twenty room for several years before additional buildings were erected. We had three horses, and about a year after settling on the farm father went to Butler county, this state, and bought two yoke of oxen, which were used until the farm was cleared. We also had four cows which supplied us with an abundance of milk and butter. We lived mostly on corn bread, wild turkey, venison and a small amount of pork.
"Wild game of all kinds was plentiful at that time. I have seen as many as forty deer in a drove. Wild turkeys were so plentiful that they had to be driven from the corn fields to prevent them from destroying the corn shocks. James Coleman, a neighbor of ours, was a great hunter. He used to catch turkeys in rail pen traps, catching as many as half a dozen at a time. My brother Ed. and I used to go after the cattle, and we often found them in the midst of a flock of turkeys. The turkeys were so tame that we frequently tried to drive them into the Indian shanties. Ed. used to be a good runner. I remember to have seen him run after a gobler, the fowl keeping just far enough ahead of him to avoid being overtaken. The Indians left the year before we moved to Pusheta township. Evidences, however, were to be seen on every hand that they had been here. Their shanties still remained and were in good condition. Hunt-
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ers often occupied them. We often amused ourselves by gath- ering moss from old logs and spreading it over the ground in the huts for carpet. The huts were generally constructed of poles, built square and covered with bark.
"Beside the deer and turkeys, commonly called game, the forests abounded in animals of a more savage nature, such as bears, wolves, wild cats and panthers. I never saw a bear in the woods, but frequently saw wolves.
"The fall that we moved to Pusheta township Mr. Coleman's sheep came to our house one day and lay against it at night, but they were all killed by wolves before the next morning.
"In my twentieth year I went to Wapakoneta to learn the wagon-maker trade. Tuto Duchouquet, a son of Francis Du- chouquet, and I boarded with Hammel on Auglaize street and worked with my brother William, who was a wagon-maker and who had married Hammel's daughter."
"Mr. Craft was of an unassuming and retired disposition, attending to his own affairs, taking little part in public matters. His acquaintance was never very extensive. But no man in his- community was more highly respected, or considered more trust- worthy. He died March 20th, 1901."
WILLIAM CRAFT, a brother of the preceding, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1819, and came to Butler county, Ohio, in 1826. From there he came to this county in 1835, and lived in Pusheta township for four years. From there he went to Piqua to learn a trade, and returned to Wapakoneta in 1840,. and opened a wagon shop. He continued in this business until 1852, when he commenced working at the carpenter trade, which. he followed the ensuing eleven years. In 1842 he married The- resa Hammel, who died in 1852. In 1856 he married Elizabeth Huttis. His wagon shop was the first one in the village. When he came to Wapakoneta it had a population of twenty-five. He. was appointed county commissioner in the spring of 1876, to fill the vacancy arising from the death of Christian Heisler, and in 1877 was elected for the full term. He died April 7th, 1902.
OTTO T. DIEKER was born in Prussia, June 2, 1827, and came with his parents to Wapakoneta when eleven years of age. His father was a tanner by trade. After six years of service in that business Otto went to New Bremen where he accepted
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. a clerkship in a store. This position he held about three years, when he took charge of a canal boat which he managed until 1848, when he returned to Wapakoneta, and engaged in the sale of dry goods in the east room of the Zint building on the corner of Auglaize and Blackhoof streets. Four years later he married Miss Clara Paul. Of this union nine children were born: Ma- tilda, Henrietta, Philomena, Amelia, Ida, George, Laura, Lulu, and Augustus, all of whom are living. In 1857 he purchased a building on the opposite side of the street, afterward known as the Burnett House. In this building he and John Keller of St. Marys opened a store. Two years later Keller withdrew from the partnership, and the entire management passed into the hands of O. T. Dieker. In 1863 C. P. Davis and O. T. Dieker erected what is still known as the Dieker and Davis building. In the same year he sold his property on the corner of Auglaize and Blackhoof streets to Edward Burnett, and purchased the brick residence of G. W. Andrews, into which he moved his family in the fall of the year. He moved his store into the new edifice in the fall of 1863. He was also engaged in the livery business in partnership with John Wenk, from 1864 to 1880. He prospered in all his business transactions up to the date of his death, which occurred December 4th, 1886.
CAPTAIN JOHN ELLIOTT, of whom frequent mention is made in this work, served in the war of 1812. He had command of a company under General Winchester and participated in the bloody defeat at the battle of the river Raisin. At the con- clusion of the capitulation he, with other prisoners, was marched through a deep snow and intensely cold weather to Malden. On the 23d of January, the five hundred and forty prisoners were hurried to Amherstburg, where they were crowded into a muddy wood-yard and exposed all night to a heavy cold rain, without tents or blankets. Three days afterward they were marched up the Detroit and Thames rivers through the interior of Upper Canada to Fort George on Niagara strait. On the journey they suffered great hardships from the severity of the weather, the want of provisions, and the inhumanity of the guards. At Fort George they were paroled and returned home by way of Erie and Pittsburg, and thence down the Ohio river. After returning to his home in Highland county, Captain Elliott
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engaged in blacksmithing for three years, when he moved to Miami county, Ohio. After doing a successful business for three years in that county, he was appointed government black- smith at the Wapakoneta Quaker mission. After eleven years of service among the Shawnee Indians, he was removed by James B. Gardner, or more properly speaking, the term of his appointment expired as soon as the government purchased the reservation. "Gardner refused to settle with him, and ordered him off the reservation, and confiscated his property."
In 1832 Captain Elliott moved to St. Marys, where he pur- chased property on which he resided the remainder of his life. After residing at St. Marys for a short time, he presented claims , to the general government for losses sustained at Wapakoneta. General Cass, then Secretary of War, refused to accede to the demand, "saying that there was no precedent for it."
"Captain Elliott then concluded to go and see President Jackson. He went, found no difficulty in getting an interview with the President and told him who he was, that he was the second man who set foot on the British shore at Malden, Canada, in the war of 1812, and President Jackson became interested in him, and inquired what brought him to Washington. Captain Elliott told him of the treatment he had experienced from Gard- ner. General Jackson lent a willing ear. He rose, took his hat and cane, and, merely saying, 'Go with me, Captain Elliott,' walked down to the war office. 'General Cass, this is Captain Elliott, of Ohio,' said General Jackson, 'audit his claim and pay it. Good morning, sir.' Nothing more was said. ‘Sit down, Captain,' said the Secretary. In about twenty minutes the ac- count was hunted out, Captain Elliott had a warrant upon the treasury for his money and was soon on his way home rejoic- ing.'
Captain Elliott was twice married. His first wife died in Miami county in 1817. Four years later he married Miss Jane Elliott of central Pennsylvania. Of these unions ten children were born: Robert, James, William, Alexander, Joseph Napo- leon Bonaparte, Margaret, Melissa, Elizabeth, Grizella and Nancy. Captain Elliott died at St. Marys, May 3d, 1859.
JUDGE LEVI HAMAKER was born in Dauphin county, Pennsyl- vania, June 6th, 1813, and died September 22d, 1885. The first
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eighteen years of his life were spent on his father's farm. At the end of his eighteenth year he left the farm to learn the milling trade, and afterward settled in Dayton, Ohio. In 1839 he moved to Chambersburg, a village north of Dayton, where he taught several terms of school. In 1840 he married Miss Susan Ran- dall of Butler township, Montgomery county, Ohio. Of this union there were born one son and two daughters. He was a candidate for auditor of Montgomery county in 1850, when C. L. Valandingham was a candidate for the Legislature from the same county. At the election both were defeated. The next year Mr. Hamaker moved to St. Marys this county, where he taught school and became deputy collector on the canal. In 1866 he was elected probate judge, in which office he served twelve years. At the April election in 1880 he was elected justice of the peace for Duchouquet township, and also mayor of Wapa- koneta. Judge Hamaker was a man of affable manners and he had the faculty of pleasing the people. His long tenure in office is an evidence of his popularity with the people.
In the latter part of June 1885 he was stricken with paralysis, of which he died in September.
DR. GEORGE W. HOLBROOK was a native of Palmyra, Ontario county, New York. He was born September 12th, 1808, and died At the age of eighteen he left home to study medicine and surgery in the office of Dr. William Robinson of Palmyra. After completing the usual two years course of read- ing under Dr. Robinson, he spent two years more in the medical department of the University of New York, where he received a medical degree. In the autumn of 1832 he came to Ohio, and located at Lockbourne, Franklin county, where he practiced his profession for two years, when he moved to Wapakoneta in the summer of 1834. Here he continued the practice of his profession until 1854, when he retired from practice. He was succeeded by Dr. John H. Nichols, who afterward became one of the leading physicians of the county. Dr. Holbrook orig- inated and drafted a map of Auglaize county in 1846, which he submitted to Alexander Van Horn, Robert J. Skinner and others. Van Horn pronounced the project "visionary," but added, "there is no telling what this. Yankee doctor may accomp- lish." The doctor did accomplish much, and the erection of the
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county may, perhaps, be considered the most important achieve- ment of his life. He attended the sessions of the Ohio Legis- lature while the bill for the erection of the county was under consideration. In the session of 1846 the bill passed the House, but failed in the Senate; it also failed at the next session, but Feb. 13, 1848, the bill passed both houses, and Auglaize county was enrolled with the other counties of the state. The same Legislature gave him a hearty indorsement by electing him to the office of Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which office he retained until the office was superseded by that of the Probate Court under the new Constitution.
The Doctor worked hard to secure the Pennsylvania Rail- road, and it was even engrossed, to pass through Kenton, Wapa- koneta and St. Mary's, and thence toward Chicago; but the citizens of St. Mary's opposed the road ; it was thus defeated, and running north of the county, passed through Lima. He also labored diligently and contributed largely of his means to secure the C., H. & D. Railroad. Acting with Colonel Andrews and other agents, they raised $75,000 toward the construction of the road.
Dr. Holbrook served as Representative from Auglaize county in the State Legislature from 1881 to 1885. He was elected township clerk of Duchouquet township in 1835, and treasurer of the township in 1842.
Notwithstanding his personal peculiarities, the Doctor was always willing to contribute his time and money to prosecute any worthy public enterprise. Dr. Holbrook died June 1, 1890.
JACOB ICE was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, July 4, 1818. and is a son of Jacob Ice, who served in the War of 1812. The father of Jacob Ice, Sr., was a veteran in the Revolutionary War. The members of this family have always been ready to serve their country in its hour of need. The subject of this sketch was a veteran in the Civil War.
The Ice family moved from Pickaway county to Auglaize township, Allen county, Ohio, in 1828, when Jacob was ten years of age. Here the boy assisted in clearing a farm in the wilder- ness. It was five years after the family settled in the township that the Shawnee Indians left the county. The Ice farm was located near the Indian trail leading from Wapakoneta to Upper
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Sandusky. During the first five years of their residence, it was a daily occurrence to see Indians going and coming on the trail. The Indian squaws were great beggars. Before entering the house, they would set their papooses in a row against the outer wall of the cabin, and upon entering, they would accost Mrs. Ice, a large, fleshy woman, by saying, "White rich - Indian squaw poor - me want some to eat." They were generally given some- thing, when they would take their departure without the formality of thanks. Weeks afterward, they would probably reappear at the door, with perhaps a pair of moccasins, a beaded belt, or a fancy basket, which they would tender as an equivalent for the kindness shown them on their former visit. There was but one house between Wapakoneta and West Minster, where the family resided. The house referred to was the residence of William Richardson on the Auglaize River, two miles north of Wapa- koneta. About 1835 Mr. Ice cleared a wagon road from Rich- ardson's to West Minster. At that time the forest abounded in game of all kinds. The subject of the sketch says: "I have, in my time, killed more than a hundred deer, and of turkeys I decline to make an estimate of the number, as it would appear incredible to the reader of to-day. Wild animals and wild birds were so numerous as to become a great pest to the pioneer. The corn crop was the most important one raised in the new country: and required great care and vigilance to prevent its being con- sumed by the inhabitants of the forest. As soon as the young corn began to come up two most acute and active enemies began to pull it up. They were crows and squirrels. The crows would alight on any part of the field ; the squirrels attacked the outside rows. It was my special business to arise at early dawn and patrol the field with dog and gun, and by much noise to frighten away the varments. The vigilance required for three or four weeks after the corn was planted had to be renewed in August, when the roasting-ears began to develop. At that time the rac- coon and opossum would enter the field at night, tear down the stalks, and devour the green corn. Coon and oppossum hunts were of nightly occurrence during roasting-ear season. As soon as the corn began to harden the tin grater came into use. The ear of corn was rubbed up and down on the instrument until it was reduced to meal. From the meal delicious bread was baked. When the corn became dry it was either pounded to meal in a
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hominy mortar or taken to a mill and ground. The nearest mills. were at Piqua, Springfield, Sandusky and Tiffin. I worked on the farm until I was twenty-two years of age, when I married and moved to Salem township, Auglaize county. During my residence in that township I was employed in digging the Miami canal. My service in that public work continued until it was completed to Spencerville.
"In 1861 I enlisted in the 118th Regiment of Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and was mustered out of service in 1865.
"About twenty years ago I purchased a farm adjoining the east corporation line of Wapakoneta, on which I reside at the present time. I am now in my eighty-fourth year, and am in a reasonably good state of health."
MRS. SARAH WHITNEY LAYTON was born in Shelby town- ship, Orleans county, New York, May 17, 1825. Her father, James Whitney, moved to Adrian, Michigan, when she was three years old. Prior to moving to Adrian he purchased a large tract of land adjoining the town. That portion of Michigan in 1828 was inhabited by various tribes of Indians. Mrs. Layton remem- bers that the Indians came to Adrian in the fall to trade, and that they camped on her father's farm. She also remembers that a tribe of Indians camped one fall near the village, and that they all became intoxicated in the afternoon and evening except Indian Jack, who was placed on duty to see that no acts of violence were committed. John Jackson, a lawless character of Adrian, with a few of his comrades, crossed the river in the evening to. visit the Indian carousal then in progress. Soon after reaching the encampment Jackson got into an altercation with Indian Jack, which resulted in his striking the Indian on the right temple, killing him instantly. Jackson escaped to one of the extreme. western territories, where he supposed he was safe from Indian vengeance. In after years, when the Indians moved West, Jack- son was located and killed by them.
James Whitney resided on his farm near Adrian until 1833: when he sold it and moved to Nottawa, St. Joseph county, and purchased eight hundred acres of land near Sand Lake. Here he resided until 1839, when he sold his property and moved to Logan township, Auglaize county, Ohio, where he resided until his death, which occurred August 28, 1851.
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After moving to Nottawa Sarah was sent back to Adrian to attend school, and remained there until the family moved to Auglaize county, when she left school and accompanied them. After remaining with the family for five years on what is now known as the Gochenour farm, she returned to Adrian, to com- plete her education. After an attendance of nearly three years at school, she sent for her brother and accompanied him on a packet boat from Toledo to St. Mary's, it not being considered safe in those days for girls to travel alone. When they arrived at St. Mary's, they stopped at John J. Rickley's hotel and made inquiry for a school. Teachers were scarce and in demand at that time. Within a few days, forty pupils were secured at two dollars per pupil. After a visit of five weeks with her parents, she returned to St. Mary's and taught the subscription school for three months. Her services having been satisfactory to her patrons, she was re-employed for the winter term. An attack of typhoid fever, however, prevented her from fulfilling her enegagement. The year following her recovery from typhoid fever she was invited to take charge of a subscription school to be taught in the old Methodist church in Wapakoneta. John Nichols and James Skinner each paid the tuition of a pupil, as they said, "to have another young lady in town."
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