USA > Ohio > Wyandot County > Past and present of Wyandot County, Ohio; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 13
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VOLNEY E. WILLIAMS
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liams, natives of New York state, where the father was born on the 17th of September, 1818, and the mother in February, 1817. Benjamin Williams was a farmer by occupation and spent the later years of his life upon his property in Pitt town- ship, where he died in 1911, having survived his wife for a number of years, her death having occurred February 20, 1900. He was one of the earliest settlers in Wyandot county and operated a saw and gristmill for the Indians in the early days and laid the foundations of his future prosperity in his trade relations with the savages. He and his wife became the parents of six children: Mary J., Anna, Volney E., John E., Franklin B. and one child who died in infancy.
Volney E. Williams attended district school in Pitt town- ship and high school in Upper Sandusky, leaving the latter in- stitution at the age of twenty in order to assist his father with the work of the farm. He left the homestead in 1881 in order to begin his independent agricultural career. That he has met with success in the years which have come and gone is indi- cated by the fact that he is today the owner of three hundred acres of fine land on sections 15 and 16, Pitt township. On his place stand a fine residence and substantial barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. Mr. Williams follows the most modern methods in carrying on his work and each year gathers abundant harvests of all kinds of farm pro- duce as a reward for the care and labor he bestows upon his fields. He is also extensively interested in stock-raising, own- ing twenty horses, three hundred sheep, seventy-five hogs and twelve head of cattle. Of his high-grade racing horses, of the breeding of which he has made a specialty since the begin- ning of his active career, "Bay Dick" was the first. He bought him for thirty-five hundred dollars and subsequently sold him to William H. Vanderbilt, in 1882, for seven thousand dollars. Another famous horse "Ambassador" he sold to Brown Stockbridge at Kalamazoo, Michigan, for the high sum of eighteen thousand dollars, these figures being indicative of the quality of his horses.
On the 20th of December, 1881, in Mifflin township, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Angenette Straw, a daughter of Joel and Mary (Swayze) Straw, the former a prominent farmer in that section. He died in 1867, at the age of fifty-eight, and was survived by his wife until 1898, her death occurring when she was eighty-eight years of age.
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Mr. and Mrs. Williams became the parents of two sons, Harry S. and Robert W.
Mr. Williams gives his allegiance to the democratic party and his interest in the cause of education is indicated by the able and effective work which he did during his term of serv- ice as a member of the school board. Having resided in this township during his entire life, covering a period of sixty- three years, he is well and favorably known here and is widely recognized as a prosperous and progressive business man as well as an upright and honorable citizen.
HARVEY F. SMITH.
Among the successful business men of Nevada, Wyandot county, Ohio, is Harvey F. Smith, who there conducts a livery barn from which he receives gratifying financial returns. A native of Whetstone township, Crawford county, this state, he was born June 27, 1881, a son of Edwin G. and Alice A. (Magers) Smith. The father was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1850 and during his active career conducted a general store, which he owned at North Robinson, Ohio, where he passed away in 1912. The mother is a native of Crawford county, this state, where she was born in 1850, and still makes her home in North Robinson. In their family were the following children: Clyde A., Belle A., Florence M., Harvey F., Myrtle E. and William P.
Harvey F. Smith was reared under the parental roof and early grounded in the old-fashioned virtues of honesty and industry by his parents, attending the public schools of North Robinson in the acquirement of his education until twenty years of age. He then became an associate of his father in the general store which the latter conducted and remained in that connection until 1911, when he removed to Wyandot county, coming to Nevada, where he bought a livery barn. Although he has been in business not yet two years, he has succeeded in gaining a representative and valuable patronage, his ever-increasing business giving evidence of his ability along that line.
On June 24, 1908, Mr. Smith was married, in Crawford county, to Miss Ella M. Miller, a daughter of Isaac and Cath-
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erine (Smith) Miller, the former an agriculturist of Crawford county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son, William Paul.
Although Mr. Smith has not as yet participated in the public life of Nevada, he successfully and efficiently served as town treasurer of North Robinson for eight years. His polit- ical views are independent and he largely follows his own judgment in giving support to candidates and proposed meas- ures. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. His faith is that of the Lutheran church. Although Mr. Smith's arrival in Nevada has been of recent date, he has already established himself in the confidence of his fellow citizens by his strictly honest and thorough business methods and has made many friends here. He owns his residence in Nevada and also has a half interest in a residential property in North Robinson. Personally he is a genial, pleasant-mannered young man, one whose hand everybody is glad to shake and who makes friends readily. This open-heartedness combined with true business ability, industry and reliability have rapidly brought him to the front and his position in Nevada, in business as well as social circles, is assured.
VICTOR K. KNAPP, M. D.
Capable, earnest and conscientious in the performance of his duties, Dr. Victor K. Knapp, of Nevada, Ohio, enjoys a reputation which not only extends throughout the city but far into the surrounding country and which has secured him an extensive and representative patronage in his region. A native of Nevada, he was born November 5, 1870, his parents being Jacob F. and Barbara (Glosser) Knapp. The father was a native of Richland county, born in 1841, and followed the occupation of carriage builder until his demise, which occurred in 1900. The mother was also a native of Ohio, born in 1841, and preceded her husband in death, passing away in 1899. In their family were the following children: Nora E., who married Miner Brown, a groceryman of Upper Sandusky, by whom she has one child, Wilford E., a carriage maker of Nevada; Dr. Victor K .; and Emery O., who married Grace
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Shroll, by whom he has two children and who follows harness making at Upper Sandusky.
Dr. Victor K. Knapp received his fundamental education in his native city, graduating from the Nevada high school in 1887. He subsequently received a certificate from the Ohio Northern University at Ada, in the pharmaceutical department in 1889, and graduated from the Cincinnati Med- ical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1896, with the M. D. degree. He also attended the Ophthalmological College at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1897, and subsequently improved his thorough education by a post-graduate course at Phila- delphia in 1908. In his native city he began to practice in 1896 and there he has ever since continued with increasing success, being now considered one of the most successful physicians and surgeons of the town. He specializes in ear, eye, nose and throat diseases and has given to this line deep study and particular attention. His general practice, how- ever, is equally extensive and year by year the list of his patients is growing. Genial, open-hearted and frank in demeanor, he inspires that confidence which is so necessary to a successful cure and is considered by those who call him more as a friend than as a doctor. He is most careful in making a diagnosis, yet after reaching his decision acts quickly and decisively and is seldom, if ever, at fault in select- ing the right course for a cure.
At Bowling Green, Ohio, on February 8, 1899, Dr. Knapp was united in marriage to Miss Blanche E. Luddington, a daughter of George and Caroline Luddington, of Toledo, Ohio, where the father is well known as a jewelry merchant. Dr. and Mrs. Knapp have one son, Robert Frederick.
Public-spirited and progressive, Dr. Knapp has, despite his arduous and onerous professional duties, found time to devote to matters outside of his profession affecting the gen- eral welfare and for two years has served as coroner of Wyan- dot county greatly to the satisfaction of his constituents. For nine years he has also been pension examiner. As prosperity has come to him he has become interested in financial and other commercial enterprises and is a stockholder in the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Nevada and a director of the Nevada Telephone Company. His political views coincide with the democratic party and fraternally he is a Mason, hav- ing taken the degrees of the chapter. Along more professional
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lines he is a member of the American Medical Association, the Ohio State Medical Society and is president of the Wyan- dot County Medical Society, this latter connection giving evi- dence of his standing among his colleagues on account of his ability, experience and knowledge. Having passed, with the exception of his years of study, all his life within the confines of Nevada, his record is well known to the residents of this locality, and in the fact that he has gained widespread confi- dence and regard, trust and esteem, lies his truest and most enviable success.
LEO A. FLECK.
Leo A. Fleck is proprietor of a cleaning and tailoring establishment in Upper Sandusky and the success he has achieved is the direct and merited reward of his earnest and intelligently directed labor. He was born August 26, 1878, in the city which is still his home, and is one of a family of thirteen children whose parents were Henry and Catherine (Orans) Fleck, both of whom were natives of Baden, Ger- many, the father's birth occurring in 1832 and the mother's in 1840. Mr. Fleck was a tailor by trade and after coming to the new world followed that business. He died in 1905 and his wife, surviving him for about four years, passed away in 1909. Their children were as follows: Frank; Joseph, a tailor of Upper Sandusky, who married Lena Keller; Theo- dore, who wedded Sallie Woods and is engaged in the tailoring business in North Baltimore, Ohio; Henry, who is engaged in the tailoring business at Upper Sandusky and married Ella Davidson, by whom he has three children; Catherine, the wife of H. E. Hedges, a retired farmer of Upper Sandusky, by whom she has two children; William, a clothier of Upper Sandusky, who married Fannie O'Brien, by whom he has six children; Edward, who is engaged in the tailoring business at Delaware, Ohio, and married Barbara Schweitzer; Sigmund, who married Agnes Burns, by whom he has one child, and is proprietor of a restaurant in Arizona; Louis, who married Rosie O'Brien, by whom he has two children, and is a hard- ware merchant of Upper Sandusky; Otto, who is with his brother Sigmund in Arizona; Leo, of this review; Isadore,
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who married Florence Plate and is a clerk in a clothing store at Upper Sandusky; and George, who wedded Mae Smith and is clerking in a hardware store in Upper Sandusky and is also filling the office of city clerk.
Leo A. Fleck was educated in the parochial schools of his native city and since starting in business here has made rapid progress in the successful conduct of a dry cleaning and repairing shop, the only enterprise of the kind in the city. He is a very energetic, wide-awake and progressive young man and he draws his trade from all parts of the county.
On the 22d of January, 1913, in Upper Sandusky, Mr. Fleck was united in marriage to Miss Nina B. Seligman, a daughter of Lewis and Ella (Atkinson) Seligman, the former a salesman. Mr. Fleck is a member of the Catholic church and fraternally of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while in politics he is an independent democrat. He concen- trates his energies, however, upon his business affairs and is rapidly building up a trade of gratifying proportions.
SYLVESTER B. GILLETT.
Perhaps no one is better known throughout Wyandot county as a breeder of fancy stock than Sylvester B. Gillett, who operates a large farm adjoining Carey and gives his attention to raising Poland China hogs and fine sheep. He was born in Delaware county, Ohio, November 21, 1846, and is a son of Harold and Permelia (Scribner) Gillett, the former a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and the latter of Virginia. The father is of French origin and he came to Ohio about the year 1821, accompanied by his father, Joseph Gillett, who was at that time an extensive farmer. The father and son entered seven hundred and forty acres of government land in Dela- ware county, cleared the timber and engaged in farming and stock-raising. The grandfather was at that time quite advanced in years and died a short time after removing to this state. He was an honored veteran of the Revolutionary war and was on the staff of General Washington during the entire period of that conflict. His sword was for some time in possession of the family but was later made into a corn knife by the subject of this review, who did not then realize its
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historical value as an object of interest to future generations. The father of our subject lived upon the home farm in Dela- ware county and became prominent and successful as a cattle dealer. He died in 1880, at the age of seventy-six. He was survived by his wife for four years, she passing away at the age of seventy-eight.
Sylvester B. Gillett was one of a family of nine children, six daughters and three sons. He attended school in a little log schoolhouse in Delaware county and after completing the course of studies there spent one term in the Troy high school. He improved all of his advantages along educational lines and was particularly efficient in mathematics, which became his favorite study. During the summers in his childhood he worked upon his father's farm and when he was eighteen years of age the entire responsibility of the enterprise fell to him and to his brother Edward, who carried the work forward steadily and along progressive lines. When Sylvester Gillett was twenty years of age he taught one term in the local school, but afterward resumed general farming. The two lads became interested in breeding and raising fine stock and kept large herds of Poland China hogs, Shorthorn cattle and Mer- ino sheep. They built up an extensive and profitable busi- ness, shipping to the eastern markets, but in 1878 Edward Gillett went west and, the farm being then too large for the subject of this review, he went into Morrow county and there rented land. After six or seven years, however, he returned to Delaware county and purchased the old homestead, which he operated for a short time. When he sold it again in 1883 he made a trip to France and there bought a shipment of blooded French stallions, which he imported into Ohio and sold here. For eleven years he devoted his time to buying and selling high-grade draft horses, but in 1889 purchased a farm adjoining the city and again establishing himself as a breeder, devoting his time entirely to raising Poland China hogs and fine sheep. He has probably done more than any other man in the county toward bettering the grades of stock raised, for his long experience, together with the profound study he has given to the business, has made him a recognized authority. When a boy he worked for a short time under a civil engineer and studied this profession at night until he became quite proficient in it, and at present he is often en- gaged on important engineering work.
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In 1887 Mr. Gillett was united in marriage to Miss Ella A. Webb, a daughter of William Harvey and Eleanora (Haines) Webb, who came originally from Carroll county, Maryland, to Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Gillett have one daughter, Irene, who is a teacher in the Carey public schools. Mr. Gillett has held various important township offices, including those of asses- sor and land appraiser. He is a man well known throughout the county, not only as one of its foremost stockmen but also as a man of straightforward and upright character. He merits the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact and is numbered among the most substantial citizens of his community.
CURTIS B. HARE.
While the record of a business man may be less spectacular than that of a statesman or military leader, it is none the less essential and none the less valuable. In fact the stable pros- perity and substantial growth of every community depend upon its enterprising and reliable business men who day by day perform their daily duties, advancing slowly yet steadily and utilizing every means that come to hand, not only to en- hance their own interests but also to promote the public wel- fare. To this class belongs Curtis B. Hare, president of the First National Bank of Upper Sandusky. Honored and re- spected by all, no man of the city occupies a more enviable position in its financial circles, not alone by reason of the suc- cess he has achieved but also owing to the straightforward business policy he has ever followed.
Mr. Hare was born in Seneca county, Ohio, October 13, 1844, and is a son of Levi and Jane (Berry) Hare. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1819, made farming his life work, and died in the year 1869. His wife, a native of Ross county, Ohio, came to Wyandot county as early as 1823 with her parents and here passed away at the age of thirty- nine years. Their children were Darius D., Curtis B., Celes- tia S., Cyrus D., Albert J., Adrian A. and Wellington R.
Curtis B. Hare pursued his education in the district schools of Crawford township and by three terms' study in the Carey Academy of Carey, Ohio. He then entered upon his business
CURTIS B. HARE
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career there as clerk in a general store, in which he was em- ployed for two years. He was ambitious, however, to engage in business on his own account and at the end of that time purchased a store in Upper Sandusky, which he conducted for five or six years. He then disposed of his stock and entered the store of the Hare Hardware Company, with which he was connected for thirty years. During that period he con- tributed much to the success of the business through his close application, his unremitting energy, his careful management and his straightforward dealing. He studied the needs and wishes of his patrons, carried a well selected stock of goods and as the years passed enjoyed a growing and gratifying trade. He turned from mercantile interests to concentrate his attention upon financial affairs, having been elected presi- dent of the First National Bank of Upper Sandusky in 1895, since which time he has remained at the head of the institu- tion, bending his energies to administrative direction and ex- ecutive control. He recognizes the fact that the bank which most carefully safeguards the interests of its patrons is the most deserving of public support and during his incumbency ·as president he has instituted and followed a safe, conserva- tive policy that, however, does not hamper progressiveness.
The only interruption to Mr. Hare's continuous business career came in 1864, when in response to the country's call for aid he joined the army, serving until August 25, 1865, with the United States Signal Corps at New Orleans. This entitles him to wear the little bronze button of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has membership in the post at Upper Sandusky and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades.
On the 23d of October, 1872, in Jefferson county, New York, Mr. Hare was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Brown, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Moses Brown of that county, the former a merchant. Mr. and Mrs. Hare have become parents of five children, but three of the number are deceased. Those living are: Adelaide, the wife of Mark W. Selby, a shoe manu- facturer of Portsmouth, Ohio; and Levi B., who married Net- tie Gottfried, of Upper Sandusky, and has one child, Eliza- beth. The family attend the Methodist church, of which Mr. Hare is a consistent and faithful member. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party, yet, while he stanchly upholds its principles, he has never sought nor de- Vol. II-10
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sired office as a reward for party fealty. In all matters of citizenship he is progressive, and has cooperated in many movements which have contributed to the material, political and moral progress of the community. Wyandot county owes not a little to his efforts and may well class him among her representative citizens.
PIETRO CUNEO.
The career of Pietro Cuneo is a striking and instruc- tive example of what industrious perseverance in a high purpose and indefatigable striving after self-betterment can accomplish, notwithstanding great natural drawbacks and obstacles. From a poor boy, unable to read and to write, beginning his career in a foreign land, he attained to a position of prominence as one of the foremost journalists not only of Wyandot county but of Ohio, one to whom came high public honor and who enjoyed the friendship of the most eminent . men of his time. All these accomplishments were achieved through his own efforts and by his own merit. His life's course presents an advancement from step to step which should prove an inspiration to every youth and keep aflame the fire of ambition in the most unfortunately placed, the most patience-tried. From a penniless boy he became a well known editor and as such an educator of grownups and chil- dren, a molder of political ideas, opinions and reforms and, to crown his efforts, a representative of the government of his selection to the land which he had left in dismal poverty. Upper Sandusky is proud to have numbered him among her residents and his memory remains a spur to the good efforts of many of her residents to learn the lesson which his life presented.
Pietro Cuneo was born in a small village named Pian de Cunei, about seven miles inland from the city of Chiavari on the Italian Riviera, about twenty-six miles south of Genoa. In his own language he tells of the causes of his emigration to America.
"My father had heard good reports of America. A neigh- bor of his had returned home with some money and enthu-
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siastic accounts of what he saw here, and the opportunities for making something of one's self, which gave my father the American fever. He saw no hope of ever improving his con- dition over there. Yes, the poor peasant is born in a rude, humble home, and there he must die. He cultivates his little hillside and fields of ground, eats his common coarse meal, admires the beauties with which nature has surrounded him, but no light of education enters his mind. There were then no rolling mills, factories or mechanical establishments to furnish him steady labor or even to incite him to endeavor. He was born poor-poor and uneducated he must remain. Nature has done all she could for him but he is the victim of cruel tyranny. I tell you, my friends, that it may be, and undoubtedly is, very pleasing to the eye to behold the very elaborate, terraced hillsides and valleys, decorated with grape- vines, fig and olive trees, but to reside and make a living there is altogether a different thing.
"What is still more unendurable is the stern fact of having to live under rulers who occupy their position not because of eminent merits, peculiar qualifications or the voice of the people over whom they rule, but simply by the right of hered- itary descent, a principle which was originated in hell-then, too, with the knowledge that those very despots are placed over you and your children for life! There is no alternative but to bow and submit. I wish you to think for a moment and to imagine what feelings would creep over you if you were now to be informed that you had no longer voice in the making of your laws and the choice of your rulers. In this country the people are the rulers and the officers the servants. In Italy a public functionary will pass you with less respect than if you were a cow. In this country he will stop to inquire as to the condition of your health and that of your family, espe- cially if he be a shrewd politician with aspiration for promo- tion or reelection. He knows that religiously and politically you stand upon the infallible rock of equality and he treats you accordingly. Here every citizen worships God as he pleases. If our public servants prove meritorious we honor them by reelection ; and if unworthy, we dismiss them and repeal the bad laws they have enacted. In Italy, although a man may have the qualifications of an ignoramus and the heart of a woman, yet, if he be the son of a king he is heir to the throne; and he, who was born poor, although endowed with the genius
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