USA > Ohio > Wyandot County > Past and present of Wyandot County, Ohio; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 23
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Mr. Montross in his political views is independent of all lines and parties. In the short time during which he has been identified with mercantile interests in Mexico he has won a gratifying measure of success, for he has sought prosperity through legitimate channels of trade and has based his claims to recognition upon honorable and upright business methods.
EDWARD O. GOTTFRIED.
No farmer in Wyandot county has achieved greater suc- cess in agricultural pursuits than Edward O. Gottfried, whose attractive homestead lies in Salem township. A native of Ohio, he was born in Upper Sandusky, April 29, 1877, a son of George Adam Gottfried, who left his native country of Germany in 1847 and came to the United States, settling in Salem township, Wyandot county. He opened a brickyard and a tile factory in Upper Sandusky, and his energy, perse- verance and adherence to high commercial ethics soon made
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him prominent and successful. He retired from active life in 1892 and died in Upper Sandusky in 1904.
Edward O. Gottfried acquired his education in the public schools of Upper Sandusky and when he was seventeen years of age he and his brother Aaron Franklin assumed the man- agement of the farm which their father owned in Salem town- ship and conducted it profitably for twelve years. In 1909 Mr. Gottfried of this review purchased a farm and has since operated this enterprise. He has made substantial improve- ments upon the property, has built a good house, barns and outbuildings, and a great deal of his time is occupied with the work of further development. In all of his business affairs he is determined and energetic, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by persistent and honorable effort. As a result success has rewarded his labors and he stands today in the front ranks of progressive agriculturists.
In 1909 Mr. Gottfried was united in marriage to Miss Edna May Ulrich, a daughter of Michael Ulrich, and they have one son, Dale Edward, born February 8, 1911. The parents are devout members of the German Lutheran church and are interested in its work and in all that pertains to the welfare of the community. Their good qualities of mind and character have gained for them the friendship of many and the high regard of all who know them while the business record of Mr. Gottfried commends him to the confidence of his associ- ates for he is at all times reliable and straightforward.
LAWRENCE J. MOORE.
Lawrence J. Moore, engaged in the auctioneering business in Wyandot county, his home being in Upper Sandusky, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, on the 21st of June, 1872. His father, James Moore, was also born in the neighborhood where his son's birth occurred, his natal year being 1824. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary J. Marlow, was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1837. She remained a widow for a number of years after the death of her first husband and in 1904 became the wife of Solomon Berry, a widower, who was a pioneer settler of Wyandot county, but who died in the same year. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Moore were two
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sons and a daughter: Clarence J., the eldest, now a farmer of Washington county, Pennsylvania, married Gertrude God- frey and has four children. Kate B., the sister, became the wife of Robert P. Cooper, a mechanic living at Martins Ferry, Ohio. They have seven children: May, Clarice, Bessie, Selda, James, Beulah and Letha.
Lawrence J. Moore is the youngest of his father's family and upon the home farm he spent the days of his boyhood, youth and early manhood. He attended the public schools of Belmont county and supplemented his studies there by a course in Frazier's Business College at Wheeling, West Vir- ginia. He afterward devoted twelve years to farm work upon the old homestead and on the expiration of that period came to Upper Sandusky, where he entered the auctioneering busi- ness. In this field of labor he has been very successful, being called upon to cry sales in various parts of the county. He is ready, resourceful, apt and tactful and is able to secure good prices for the seller and satisfy the buyer. He also engages in buying and feeding cattle on his own account and in addition is manager of his mother's farm in Crane township.
Mr. Moore gives his political allegiance to the democratic party but has never sought nor desired political honors and emoluments. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and also belongs to the Methodist church-asso- ciations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct.
ELIAS G. LAUGHLIN.
No history of Carey will be complete without mention of Elias G. Laughlin, who for seventeen years was an active fac- tor in the business life of the city and who for a still longer period has been one of the most prominent and influential figures in public affairs. He is now mayor of the city, in his second term of service, and has done work of a constructive character destined to take an important place in local politi- cal history. He was born in New York state, September 15, 1854, and is a son of John and Mary W. (Hill) Laughlin, the former a native of Ireland, born in 1810, and the latter of Middlesex, New York, born in 1818. The father crossed the
E. G. LAUGHLIN
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Atlantic at the age of eighteen and settled in New York state at Hammondsport, making that city his headquarters during the time that he followed the occupation of a steamboat cap- tain. He died in 1857 and was survived by his wife until 1889. In their family were twelve children, five of whom died in infancy. The others are Ambrose, John M., James H., Nancy E., Francis H., Emily J. and Elias G.
Elias G. Laughlin was educated in the public schools of Carey and laid aside his books at the age of sixteen, after which he spent two years upon the farm. At the end of that time he learned the blacksmith's trade and for eighteen years thereafter worked at this occupation, becoming skilful and proficient in it and building up a profitable patronage. He was afterward clerk in a hardware store for three years and then for fourteen years partner in a large hardware concern in Carey. His well directed activities brought him success and a comfortable competence, which enabled him to retire from active business life in 1907. He now devotes a great deal of time to the management and supervision of his real- estate interests, which are extensive and valuable, for he owns three fine residences in Carey and a one hundred and sixty acre farm in Big Springs township.
It is not alone along business lines, however, that Mr. Laughlin is well known in this city, for since 1889, when he was first elected mayor, he has been a force in politics, his name standing always for reform and progress. He was for fifteen years clerk of the board of education, and in 1912 was again elected mayor of the city. He has made an ex- cellent executive, giving to the people a businesslike admin- istration, characterized by progress and advancement and marked by the inauguration of many needed reforms and im- provements.
Mr. Laughlin has been three times married. In 1890 he wedded Miss Emma Bartlett, by whom he had one child, Loraine, mother and daughter dying in 1900. One year after- ward Mr. Laughlin wedded Miss Alice Bixby, who passed away in 1906, leaving two children, Mary Alice, and Lucy L., a third daughter, Martha, having died in infancy. Mr. Laugh- lin's third wife was Miss Ella J. Deardorff, whom he wedded August 18, 1910, at Detroit, Michigan.
Mr. Laughlin is fraternally connected with the Masonic order, in which he belongs to the Knights Templar, and the
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Independent Order of Odd Fellows. A resident of Carey during practically all of his active life, he has thoroughly identified his interests with those of the city and by con- stantly supporting progressive public measures has done a great deal of work in promoting development. His salient characteristics are such as have gained for him the friendly regard and good-will of all with whom he has been asso- ciated through either business or official relations and he is well entitled to a foremost place among the representative and respected residents of Carey.
EDWARD SWERLEIN.
Edward Swerlein, who owns ninety-two acres of land in Tymochtee township and who operates in addition the two hundred adjoining acres which he rents, is numbered among the progressive and representative agriculturists of this sec- tion. He is one of Wyandot county's native sons and was born in the village of Tymochtee, June 5, 1853, his parents being John and Theresa (Clitch) Swerlein, natives of Germany. The father was born in 1818 and when he was sixteen years of age came to America. He settled in Tiffin, Ohio, and there fol- lowed the shoemaking trade for some time. He later became identified with agricultural pursuits and won a position of dis- tinction and prominence in farming circles before his death, which occurred in 1893. The mother was born in Germany, April 25, 1823, and was seven years of age when she came to Tiffin, Ohio, She survives her husband and makes her home with the subject of this review. To Mr. and Mrs. John Swer- lein were born ten children, Joseph H., John A., William R., Mary A., Helena, Edward, Harmon, Mary, Loretta and Law- rence.
In the acquirement of an education Edward Swerlein at- tended district school in Tymochtee township and high school in Carey, laying aside his books at the age of twenty- one. For one year thereafter he worked upon his father's farm and then rented one hundred and thirty acres of land, upon which he continued to reside until 1890. In that year he bought thirty acres in the same locality but this property he sold in 1909 and bought his present farm, upon which he has
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since resided. The property is equipped with all the conven- iences and accessories of a model farm and in his agricultural pursuits Mr. Swerlein is meeting with a well earned and creditable measure of prosperity. In addition to the ninety- two acres which he owns he rents the adjoining two hundred acres, upon which he pastures his fine herds of thirty cattle, one hundred sheep and ten horses. His stock-raising forms one of the most valuable of his interests, for in addition to the animals which he breeds he buys every year two carloads of lambs and, after feeding and fattening them for a season, sells them in the local markets.
At Mccutchenville, on the 18th of May, 1881, Mr. Swerlein wedded Miss Edith A. Roberts, a daughter of John A. and Wilhelmina (Schmidt) Roberts, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Swerlein are the parents of thirteen children: John A .; Minnie, who married William Davidson, a farmer in Tymoch- tee township, by whom she has three children, Edith H., Roy G. and Florence P .; Edward E., a farmer in Sycamore town- ship, who married Ada Gibson; Homer S .; Jay M .; Ethel T., who married Fayette Cross, a farmer in Sycamore township, by whom she has one child, Irene Wanda; Robert G .; Mari- etta; Otto L .; Florence A .; Edith G .; Emma V .; and Laura I.
Mr. Swerlein gives his allegiance to the democratic party and, while he confines himself closely to business, he has yet found time to interest himself in affairs of citizenship, having served as township clerk for four years, as assessor for a simi- lar period of time and as land appraiser from 1890 to 1900. In addition he was justice of the peace for four years and a mem- ber of the school board for twenty-seven, having been presi- dent of that body for the last sixteen years of his service. He aids in keeping his township and county apace with the march of general advancement and has put forth effective work in the promotion of the public and agricultural development.
FRANK M. FOX.
The name of Fox is well known in Wyandot county, for three generations of the family have cultivated the soil in this section and the present representative, Frank M. Fox, is one of the most prominent and successful farmers of Mifflin town-
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ship. He owns a fine property on section 10, upon which he has resided since 1888, and in his agricultural operations is meeting with that success which always follows earnest, per- sistent and well directed energy. The family is of German ori- gin, the father and grandfather of the subject of this review having been natives of Wittenberg, and it was founded in America by John Fox, grandfather of our subject, who came with his family and settled in Richland county in pioneer times. He took up a claim of wild land, covered with a dense growth of timber, which he cleared, and upon this property he resided until his death. His son Augustus G. Fox, who was six years of age when his parents came to America, grew up upon the homestead and when he reached maturity followed farming. He married Miss Louisa Dome, a daughter of Sam- uel Dome, who came to Ohio in pioneer times. After his marriage Augustus G. Fox bought land in Mifflin township and there developed a fine farm, upon which he resided until his death, September 5, 1894, when he was sixty-eight years of age. He had survived his wife one year, her death having occurred May 21, 1893. To their union were born five chil- dren, Lorinda, George W., Daniel H., Mary and Frank M.
The last named was born on his father's farm on the 26th of October, 1859, and acquired his education in the district schools. After laying aside his books he worked upon the homestead for some time but in 1888 purchased the property which he still owns. In the intervening quarter of a century he has steadily carried forward the work of improvement and development, operating his farm along modern and progres- sive lines and being now the owner of one of the best im- proved agricultural properties in Mifflin township. In addi- tion Mr. Fox is well known in business circles of Upper San- dusky. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens Savings Bank of this city in 1907 and has been a stockholder and director since its organization. He has also been a director of the Wyandot Mutual Insurance Company, nine years, of which he was treasurer for seven years, and is connected with the Farmers Institute, of which he was president for two years. He served for nine years on the fair board.
In 1884 Mr. Fox married Miss Julia V. Kail, a daughter of Andrew J. and Sarah Kail, of Wyandot county, Ohio. They have six children: Bertha V., who married Edwin R. Leslie;
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Jackson A., who wedded Inez Justice; Ida M .; Zula B .; Wal- ter E .; and Florence L.
Mr. Fox is a leader in church circles of this community and has been active in the Methodist church, serving as super- intendent and a teacher in the Sunday school for many years. In public life he has been clerk of the township for three terms and was for two terms township treasurer, elected on the democratic ticket. He has won a gratifying degree of ma- terial success and a high place in the respect and esteem of all who know him, and he deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, for all that he today possesses has been ac- quired through his own careful management and well directed labors.
GEORGE W. COON.
George W. Coon, now living retired in Upper Sandusky, was for fifty years closely associated with agricultural inter- ests of Wyandot county. His spirit of perseverance enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertook and therefore he developed a good farm in Antrim township from which he annually derived a substantial in- come as the result of his industry and determination. He was born in that section of Wyandot county, May 21, 1846, and is a son of Jacob and Susan (Harmon) Coon, the former born in 1809 and the latter in Maryland in 1810. The father came to Ohio when he was nineteen years of age and followed farming in Wyandot county until his death. His wife passed away in 1871.
George W. Coon attended the district schools of Antrim township, pursuing his studies until he was ninteen years of age. Throughout the period of his boyhood and youth he assisted in the work of the fields and after attaining his majority farmed on shares for five years. At the end of that time he purchased eighty acres of land and after nine years bought, with his sister, part of the old homestead which he improved and developed along modern lines until his retire- ment in 1910. In that year he moved to Upper Sandusky and has since made his home in this city, where he is uniformly regarded with the highest respect and esteem. He is a stock-
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holder in the Morrel Elevator Company and the Toledo Life Insurance Company.
On the 18th of January, 1872, Mr. Coon was united in marriage in Antrim township to Miss Mary Alice Brown, a daughter of Abraham and Jane (Eckelberry) Brown, the former a prosperous farmer and an early settler in Wyandot county. Mr. and Mrs. Coon had five children: Charles E., who lives with his father; Susanna, who resides at home; Bertha A., who married Charles Weist, a farmer of Pitt township, by whom she has two children, Laura and May A .; Inez E., who is teaching school in Memphis, Texas; and Sarah E., who is employed as a stenographer in Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Coon passed away August 28, 1889, and is buried in Grand Prairie cemetery in Morrow county, Ohio.
Mr. Coon belongs to the Free Baptist church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. Antrim town- ship numbers him among her valued residents and the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from boyhood is an indication that his life has been at all times honorable and upright, worthy of the high esteem in which he is uniformly held.
ROBERT CARL VAN BUREN, M. D.
Dr. Robert Carl VanBuren, engaged in the practice of med- icine and surgery in Carey, is a native son of Ohio, born in Hancock county, September 15, 1876. He is a son of Martin and Maria M. (Alter) VanBuren, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father was born in Albany in 1836 and after he had attained manhood farmed in the Empire state until 1857, when he came to Ohio, set- tling three miles from Carey. Here he carried on general agricultural pursuits for some time, afterward removing to the vicinity of Forest, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1909. For a short time he lived in Hancock county, four miles north of the city of Findlay, and here the subject of this review was born. The mother still resides upon the farm near Forest.
Dr. Robert C. VanBuren was six years of age when his parents moved to Forest and his early education was acquired
DR. R. C. VAN BUREN
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in the public schools of the village. This was supplemented by a course in Ada University, which he attended for two terms, afterward entering the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati. After four years he was graduated from this in- stitution in 1901, with the degree of M. D. In May of the same year he opened an office in Carey, where he has since remained. He is deeply interested in his profession, of which he is a thorough and discriminating student and a skilled practitioner. That he has attained proficiency and that he has the confidence of the general public is indicated by the large patronage which is accorded him and which has given him rank among the successful members of the medical fra- ternity in Wyandot county.
In 1901 Dr. VanBuren was united in marriage to Miss Emma M. Cook, a daughter of Harlow Cook, a prominent resident of Hardin county, Ohio. They have two children, Harlow Kent and Stella Louise. Dr. VanBuren gives loyal support to the republican party but has never sought public office, preferring to give undivided attention to his profes- sional duties, which he discharges with a sense of conscien- tious obligation and with a thorough understanding of the many responsibilities which devolve upon him.
BURKE W. MARTIN.
Burke W. Martin, prominently connected with mercantile interests of Little Sandusky as a successful general merchant, is a native son of the city, born December 25, 1849, his par- ents being Caleb S. and Elizabeth (Coons) Martin. The father was born in Maryland in 1819 and from an early age followed the shoemaker's trade. He came to Ohio when he was about fifteen years of age and resided in this state until his death, which occurred in 1906. The mother was born in New York state in 1837 and died in Ohio in 1909. They were the parents of five children: Minerva, who died in infancy ; Burke W., of this review ; Mary P .; Alice L .; and Charles R., who met death by accident at the age of seventeen.
Burke W. Martin acquired his education in the country schools of his native locality, attending until he was eighteen years of age. He worked upon a farm until 1870, after which Vol. II-17
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he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, establishing himself as a grocer in Little Sandusky. After one year he added a general merchandise stock and has made both branches of his enterprise extremely profitable. The business has increased steadily and Mr. Martin now carries a five thou- sand dollar stock and enjoys an extensive and representative patronage which has come to him in recognition of his straightforward business methods and his well selected line of goods. He owns besides his business property in Little Sandusky, eighty acres of land in Antrim township and several town lots.
On the 4th of October, 1871, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Iva E. Hughes, a daughter of Barnett and Catherine (Woodcock) Hughes, the latter of whom passed away in 1908. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin were born five chil- dren: Luella M., who married William J. Burnsides, a farmer of Little Sandusky, by whom she has one child, Mabel M .; Alice B., who married Frank Barber, a farmer of Antrim township, by whom she has four children, George W., Ross, Francis C. and Barnett W .; Charles S., who died at the age of twenty-one; Sidney W., who is engaged in the automobile business at Upper Sandusky ; and Barnett H., at home.
Mr. Martin is a democrat in his political beliefs and has served as a member of the local school board for over twenty years. He has met with prosperity as a citizen and as a busi- ness man, his career proving conclusively that success is not a matter of chance, but is the outcome of clear judgment, experience and close application.
JACOB P. BEAR.
Jacob P. Bear has many claims to the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, for his upright and honorable life has at all times been high in its standards and purposes and bene- ficial in its results. He has been a resident of Ohio since he was twenty-two years of age, enlisting from this state for service in the Civil war and having since 1870 resided contin- uously upon the farm in Mifflin township which he now owns and operates. Pennsylvania numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Franklin county, that state,
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January 26, 1839, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Mooney) Bear. The father was born in Pennsylvania on the 17th of February, 1807, and after he grew to manhood followed the shoemaker's trade and also engaged in farming until his death, September 28, 1850. The mother, whose birth occurred in Maryland in 1809, died on the 11th of April, 1888. In their family were the following children: Mary A. E., Susanna, Joshua, Anna R., Jeremiah, Jacob P., Sarah A., Jonathan and Amanda.
The public schools of Pennsylvania afforded Jacob P. Bear his educational opportunities and he attended until he was eighteen years of age, after which he served a two years' apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade. He was in Ohio at the outbreak of the Civil war and from this state enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving for two years and ten months, and rising from the rank of private to that of orderly sergeant and as such receiving his honorable discharge on the 12th of June, 1865, at Camp Chase, Ohio. Following the war he followed the carpenter's trade for a time and then turned his attention to farming. In 1872 he purchased a farm in Mifflin township and on this property he has now resided for forty-three years, each year bringing him increased success. His first purchase consisted of sixty-three acres of land but to this he has added from time to time as his financial resources justified and he now owns one hundred and forty-three acres, lying on section 30. He gives a great deal of time to the cultivation of the fields, raising fine crops of corn, hay, oats and wheat, and he is besides extensively interested in stock-raising, keeping ten head of cattle, eight horses, fifty sheep and about the same number of hogs. His animals are all high grade and command a high price and a ready sale on the local markets.
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