USA > Ohio > Hardin County > Portrait and biographical record of Marion and Hardin counties, Ohio > Part 11
USA > Ohio > Marion County > Portrait and biographical record of Marion and Hardin counties, Ohio > Part 11
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Abraham Mounette was born in West Virginia, October 12, 1811, and was two years of age when his parents, Jeremialı and Elsie Monnette, brought him to this state and located in Pickaway Coun- ty. He was there reared on a farm, and on reach- ing his majority came to Marion County and en- tered land in Scott Township. On this his first work was to erect a log cabin, after which he be- gan to clear and improve the land.' The tract contained one hundred and sixty acres, and to it Mr. Monnette added until at one time he was the possessor of over eight thousand acres. He was also a large stockholder in tlie Farmers' Bank of Marion. He started out in life a poor boy, and by degrees worked his way up to be one of the wealthiest residents of this portion of Ohio. His death occurred in Bucyrus, Marcli 19, 1881, when about seventy years of age. He was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in his political relations was a stanch advocate of Republican principles. He was in no sense of the term a politician, and his large and varied in- terests occupied his entire time and attention. Although frequently solicited to become an office- holder, he firmly refused to do so.
The paternal grandparents of Oliver Monnette were born in France, and came to America when young, becoming pioneers of Pickaway County, Ohio. The grandfather was a minister of the Methodist Church, and became widely known in this locality for the work which he accomplished in converting men to the faitli of that denomina- tion.
Mrs. Catherine Monnette, our subject's mother, was born in Pickaway County, this state, No- vember 7, 1815, to Conrad and Catherine Brow- ker,-wlio were of German descent, but natives of Bucks County, Pa. The mother died on the old homestead in Marion County, February 8, 1875. She, too, was a member of the Methodist Church, and conscientiously lived up to what she believed to be right.
Abraham Monnette married for his second wife Jane L. Johnson, who now resides in Bucyrus. The early life of our subject was passed on his fa- ther's farm in Scott Township, in the vicinity of which he attended school. Later he became a student in the high school of Bucyrus, and on completing his education began life for himself by farming the estate which he purchased at that time from his father, and which is now included in his vast possessions. He began its operation prior to his marriage, and, being some distance from home, boarded with a neighbor until taking unto himself a wife. This event occurred August 15, 1867, when Miss Etta Rayner, of Crawford County, became his wife. To them have been born five children, viz .: Loran H., unmarried,- and engaged as a farmer and stockman of this section; Dimma,who died when twenty years of age; Millie, the wife of James M. Hamilton, of this county; Charles A., who is now teller in the bank at Bucyrus in which his grandfather was one of the largest stockholders; and Emma L., at home with her parents.
Our subject, like his fatlier before him, is a stanch Republican in politics, although he takes no part in political affairs. At one time, how- ever, he was prevailed upon to serve as a mem- ber of the School Board, and during his incum- bency of the office rendered valuable service.
Oliver Monette began life with the two hun-
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HON. A. W. MUNSON, M. D.
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dred and thirty acre farmi which lie had purchased from his father. He found agriculture to be a very paying business, and, possessing good judg- ment in conducting his affairs, added to his acreage, until now he is one of the largest land- owners in the state, having under his control over fourteen hundred acres. His farm is one of the best in point of cultivation and ricliness of soil, and its owner therefore reaps a handsome income each year from the sale of cereals and stock, which he raises in large quantities. Although not à member of any church, Mr. Monnette is liberal in aiding the various denominations in his neigh- borhood. He is an influence for good in the community where he has spent so many years of ·his life, and all of his deeds and acts are guided by the highest principles of right.
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A UGUSTUS W. MUNSON, M. D., of Ken- ton, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., November 2, 1819, and is the eldest of a family of eight children. The first of the name to come to America was Capt. Thomas Munson, who, about 1640, emigrated from the Highlands of Scotland and settled near the present limits of the city of New Haven, Conn. There Wilmot Munson, grandfather of the Doctor, was born in . 1752, and thence, in 1774, he moved to the Wyo- ming Valley in Pennsylvania. His family was among the few that escaped in the Indian mas- sacre there in 1778. He entered the Colonial army and gave his country valiant service during the Revolutionary War.
In the Wyoming Valley Wilmot Munson, Jr., father of our subject, was born in 1797, being the youngest of four brothers, and he also had several sisters. Rachel, the eldest, was born in 1781. Mishael, born in 1783, was married in 1801 to Sarah Cone, and in 1806 moved to Marietta, Ohio, but three years later settled in Delaware County. He died in the West in 1863. For many years he was a minister of the Methodist
Church. Almira became the wife of Cephas Cone in 1803, moved to Marietta in 1806, and afterward went to Delaware County, where lier husband died in 1852, leaving two children, Luther and John. By her second marriage, which united lier with Abraham Foust, she had two children, Al- mira and Wilson. Her descendants still live in Delaware County. . The next in order of birth, Vasta, was born in 1789, and married William B. Tillotson in Chenango County, N. Y. She later moved to Fremont, Ohio, where she died in 1853. She had several children, but little is known concerning their history. . Nicanor, the next member of the family circle, was born in 1791. Catharine was born in 1793, but nothing is known concerning her. In 1812 the father of Dr. Munson emigrated with his parents to Che- nango County, N. Y., and at the age of fifteen entered the War of 1812 as a substitute for an older brother, serving until the close of the con- flict.
October 6, 1818, Wilmot Munson married Eliz- abeth Salisbury, who was born in Brattleboro, Vt., about 1801, and about 1812 moved with her father's family to Chenango County, N. Y. The Doctor was the eldest child born to her marriage. Henry, the next younger, was born February 13, 1821. He came to Ohio with the family and en- gaged as a dealer in live-stock in the village of Wyandot, where he died. Jonathan S. was born October 18, 1823, went West, and has not been heard of since. Ambrosia, born February 22, 1825, married a Mr. Rockwell, and they lived in the West until his death, since which time she has made her home in the northern part of Har- din County. Christopher C. was born April 17, 1829, and died in Waldo, Delaware County, Ohio. Anna J., who was born June 13, 1831, in Delaware County, died in infancy. Elizabeth, whose birth occurred October 4, 1837, in Hardin County, married John Copeland, and is a resident of Har- din County. Rachel, born May 4, 1840, was mar- ried to George Spracklin, and lives in Hepburn, Hardin County.
In 1829 the fantily left Chenango County for the wilds of Ohio, making the trip in a two- horse wagon, and taking all of their household
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effects with them. The Doctor was then ten years of age, and his brother Christoplier was but a few months old. On the evening of July 4, 1829, they pitchied their camp in Sharon Town- ship, Richland County, where they remained for two years. The father then bought a small tract of land in the then wilderness, and after two years spent there he took the family to Newville, in the southern part of Richland County, where he taught school for one year in order to support them. In 1832 he went to the little village of Waldo, Delaware (now Marion) County, where in a small way he engaged in the manufacture of potash, continuing thus engaged until 1838. He then traded liis village property for one hundred and twenty acres lying in the northern part of Hardin County. To this unimproved tract, in the midst of the wilderness, he brought his fam- ily, moving into a log cabin. The latter was without a floor, and had openings for a door and window, and a place for a chimney, but no chim- ney. In the fall of 1839 he taught the first school in the township. November 25, 1839, he was elected Justice of the Peace, being the second incumbent of that office in the township.
A man of considerable natural ability and with an education superior to that of other pioneers of his section, Mr. Munson was looked upon not only as a leader, teacher and Justice, but also as a legal adviser, in which latter line he did an ex- tensive business. After improving the farm, he sold it and purchased a place near Kenton, but afterward settled on a valuable estate six miles north of this place, where he died May 9, 1887, at the age of ninety years. His first wife, our subject's mother, died April 3, 1864, and he afterward married Eliza Yauger, who is now living on the old home place.
At the time of coming to Ohio, Dr. Munson was ten years old. His early advantages for ac- quiring an education were very meager, being confined principally to the instruction received under his father's .direction. When fourteen he became clerk in a store at Newville, but after the removal of the family to Waldo he made up liis mind to follow them, and started out on foot, in which way he made the trip, a distance of forty-
two miles, much of it through a dense forest. On arriving at his destination, he assisted his father in the manufacture of potash, and also attended school. Receiving a certificate in 1838, he tauglit one term of school, and in the winter of 1838-39 he assisted his father in clearing his newly pur- chased farm in Hardin County.
In May, 1839, Dr. Munson left home on foot for Delaware County, where, with the assistance of his uncle, he purchased a scythe and snath, and proceeding to the northern part of Marion County, he was able to command seventy-five cents per day cutting hay. In the fall of the same year he secured a school in that neighbor- hood, and taught during the winter of 1839-40. There he met Miss Maria McMullen, a widow's daughter, whom he married in April, 1840, and who for more than fifty-four years was his de- voted and cherished helpmate. She was a miost exemplary member of the Presbyterian Church, and her death, September 30, 1894, was mourned by all who knew her.
Four children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Mun- son. Amanda M., whose birth occurred Decem- ber 26, 1840, married Hale Salisbury, and died April 6, 1888; her husband is also deceased. Their only child, Carrie, was born November II, 1882, and makes her home with Dr. Munson. Aura A., who was born in Marseilles, December 27, 1843, died in Kenton, August 14, 1863. Henry C., who was born in Wyandot in Decem- ber, 1846, died in infancy. LeRoy D., born De- ceniber 30, 1854, is a graduate of Columbus Med- ical College and a practicing physician of West Mansfield, Ohio. He married Miss Estella Hunt, of Cleveland, and they have two children, Wil- mot and Clare.
After his marriage, Dr. Munson cultivated his mother-in-law's farm for one season, and in the winter of 1840-41 taught a school near Bucyrus. Meantime his spare moments were devoted to the study of medicine. In the summer of 1841 he re- turned to Hardin County, built a cabin on his fa- ther's farm, and assisted in the cultivation of the home place, at the same time carrying on his studies. In the winter of 1841-42 he taught school in Marion County, and in the spring of
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1842 moved with his family to Marseilles. There he studied with Dr. Ferris, and also taught a summer school. He continued to teach and study until the summer of 1844, when he entered the office of Dr. Leighton, in Kenton, and in the fall moved his family to the village of Wyandot, where he taught school and began the practice of his profession. In the fall of 1849 he attended lectures at the Cleveland Medical College, and in the spring of 1850 he located at Kenton and en- gaged in the practice of medicine with his former preceptor, Dr. Leighton. He was graduated from the Cleveland Medical College in 1853, and the following year opened an office in Kenton on his own account. In 1859 he started a drug store, 'and in 1860 took in as partner J. N. McCoy.
At the breaking out of the war, in 1861, Dr. Munson became Assistant Surgeon of the Eighty- second Ohio Infantry, and served in that capac- ity until 1863, when he became disabled and re- signed, returning to Kenton and resuming prac- tice. In March, 1865, he again entered the mili- tary service, serving as Surgeon of the One Hun- dred and Eighty-eighth Ohio Infantry until the close of the war. From that time until a recent date he has carried on an extensive practice, but is now retired from professional work.
In 1850 Dr. Munson was instrumental in or- ganizing the first medical society in Hardin Coun- ty. In 1857 he became a member of the Ohio Medical Society, and in the same year repre- sented the local society in the state meeting. In 1856 he joined the American Medical Associa- tion, and the same year represented the county so- ciety in the national convention in Detroit. He performed a similar duty at Nashville in 1857, at Cincinnati in 1867, and at Philadelphia in 1872. In 1870 he identified himself with the Northwest- ern Ohio Medical Society, and at its meeting at Kenton in 1870 he was selected to deliver the address of welcome. Upon the subject of the practice of medicine he has written considerable. In 1868 he aided in the organization of the Har- din County Pioneer Association, was its first Sec- retary, and with the exception of one year, when he was President, has been its Secretary since the date of its organization.
In the politics of Hardin County the Doctor has been an important factor for many years. As early as 1840, when but twenty-one years old, he took an active part in the Whig campaign, and cast his first Presidential ballot for William Henry. Harrison. In 1856 he cast in his lot with the new and then untried Republican party, and has been a stanch advocate of its principles ever since. Under President Pierce he was Postmaster in Wy- andot. In 1882 he was elected Mayor of Kenton, being the second Republican elected to the office. In 1873 he was chosen to represent this district in the Legislature, and in that position acquitted himself with credit, introducing several import- ant bills that became laws, and otherwise pro- moting the welfare of his constituents.
Though now past threescore and ten years of age, Dr. Munson retains the symmetry of figure characteristic of his youthful years. He is tall and erect, of commanding appearance and stal- wart frame, a man whose physique and mental capacity might well be envied by men twenty years his junior.
ACOB SLAGLE is one of the old settlers of Marion County, where he has made his home for fifty-five years. In 1840 he moved to the portion of the farm which he yet cultivates, and which is situated on section 17, Scott Township. He has been a witness of vast changes in this sec- tion, and has assisted not a little in its prosperity and development.
Jacob Slagle was born in Maryland, near Ft. Cumberland, April 8, 1811, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret Slagle, who were of German and French descent, respectively. The latter died at the home of our subject, September 12, 1863, aged eighty-one years, one month and seven days. With his four brothers and three sisters our subject passed his happy childhood days on
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his father's farm, and when he was a lad of ten years lie emigrated with his parents to Pickaway County, Ohio, where lie dwelt for the next five years. He then went to Hocking County, where he grew to man's estate. On reaching his niajor- ity he began to " paddle his own canoe " by work- ing as a farm hand, and the very first month of his labor in this direction lie received liis board and $10, this being a large sumn for those days. He was so well liked by his employer that lie re- mained in his service until 1840, when he left of his own accord. His first purchase of land was a farm of sixty acres, part of his present home- stead of one hundred and sixty-five acres. On this place, which is one of the most valuable in this section, he has made all of the improvements himself. As was the custom of the pioneers, his first home was constructed of logs, the cabin be- ing 18x20 feet in size and comprising only one room. This was his dwelling for several years, but in time it was supplanted by a more modern and convenient residence.
Mr. Slagle has been twice married, his first union occurring in 1835, and the lady of his choice being a Miss Annie Linten, by whom he had three children, Isaac B., Andrew and Ja- cob. Andrew is a well-to-do farmer of Morrow County, Ohio. The lady who now bears our subject's name became his wife October 17, 1841. She was a Miss Dina Zuck, and was born August 26, 1818, in Ross County, Ohio. When fourteen · years of age she removed with her parents to this county, where her father had purchased a piece of Government land and placed thereon a log cabin. Eight children came to bless Mr. Slagle's second marriage, namely: John, Joseph, Thomas, Margaret, Wesley, Lydia J., and two who died in infancy. Lydia J. is the wife of John Owings, and now resides on the old homestead. Their family numbers five living children, two having died in infancy. Those living are, Eva Idell, Lula Edith, Blanche Elizabeth, Alonzo Milo and Harley Elma, and all but the youngest are attend- ing school. Joseph and Wesley are also deceased.
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Mr. and Mrs. Slagle have always been kind and affectionate parents to their children, and good neighbors in the community, having the respect
and estecni of all who know theni. They have long been earnest and zealous workers in the Methodist Church, to which they belong. Po- litically the former was first a Whig and is now a Republican. His first ballot was in favor of . Henry Clay. He obtained his education in the old-fashioned subscription schools, and often had to walk a distance of three and a-half miles to and from school each day. He is a gentleman who possesses a large fund of general information and his anecdotes of pioneer life make him a very en- tertaining conversationalist.
OHN T. MERCHANT, whose death occurred January 28, 1894, was a prominent citizen of Marion Township, Marion County. In poli- tics he was a Republican, and at various times held the offices of Trustee, Supervisor, School Director, etc. He was very generous and liberal in his disposition, and many a person has profited by his kindness and openness of heart. He was a member of the Masonic order, and at his demise the local lodges took charge of the funeral serv- ices. He was placed to rest in the Marion Ceme- tery.
Our subject came of an old and honorable Vir- ginian family, his parents being Isaac A. and Nellie (McCarty) Merchant, whose family num- bered five sons and five daughters. He contin- ucd to dwell in his native state until he was nine- teen years of age, when he went to Cincinnati, and for a short tinie worked in a paper-mill. After- ward he found employment on a farin, but at last secured a permanent position on the river, and thus spent his time until 1835. At that time he started for Marion County on foot. He soon wore out his shoes, however, and was obliged to go barefooted a large portion of the way, al- though accommodating farmers and teamsters gave him a lift now and then. For a couple of years he worked on a farm in Salt Rock Town- ship, and then rented land for two years.
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Mr. Merchant later rented a farm in Marion Township, and at the end of three years bought a tract of eighty acres, to which he added other land in time. He owned three farms prior to his removal to the homestead where his widow now resides. Here he took up his abode in the spring of 1860, and engaged in the cultivation of the place until he was called from his labors. The farm, which is just outside the corporation limits of Marion, comprises two hundred and five acres. When he had made a, start in life, Mr. Merchant returned to his old Virginian home and brought back with him his parents, who settled in Seneca County.
In 1838 John T. Merchant wedded Rebecca A. Gruber, by whom he had six children, as follows: Ann, Mrs. George Carhart; Eliza E., Mrs. W. . R. Burr, whose husband is a farmer of Carding- ton Township; Isaac A., who is a retired farmer living in Marion; Christian B., a farmer of this township; Jay T., also an agriculturist of this township; and John A., who died in infancy. His first wife having died, Mr. Merchant was mar- ried, November 31, 1875, to Salome Ulsh, who was born in this township, March 22, 1845. Her .father, Jacob A., was a native of Pennsylvania, born August 5, 1795, and was of German de- scent. His wife, Lydia, who before her marriage was a Miss Collins, was also born in the Keystone State. They had fifteen children, namely; Jacob, deceased; Joseph, who died August 27, 1824; Henry, who died April 7, 1861; Ann, who died July 9, 1885; Andrew, who died February 8, 1879; John, who died February 12, 1862; Eliza- beth, who died November 26, 1865; Isaac, who died August 19, 1836; Susan, who died Septem- ber 30, 1845; George, who is a farmer of Brown County, Kan .; Fannie, widow of Rolonder May; Abraham, who died October 7, 1852; Nancy, who died April 9, 1869; Francis, who with his brother John died in the service; and Mrs. Merchant, the youngest in the family. Francis and John were members of the Ninety-sixth and One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Regiments, respectively. Jacob Ulsh, the father of this family, was a farmer throughout life. He lived in Pennsylvania until 1822, when he started for this county by team.
Arriving in this township, he took up eighty acres of Government land at $1.25 per acre, and, having erected a log cabin of two rooms, contin- ued to dwell there for a few years. The Indians were numerous when he came to this vicinity. Marion contained but three or four log houses, and he was obliged to do his trading at Colum- bus, though he hauled his grain to Sandusky. He gave a piece of his old farm to the School Trustees, who placed thereon a log-cabin school- house. He was Township Supervisor and Trus- tee, and was active in all local enterprises. In 1846, a year and a-half after the death of his first wife, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Gru- ber, who died November 19, 1880. At the time of his death, which occurred October 27, 1873, he was a Republican. In the United Brethren Church he was a great worker.
Four children were born to the marriage of John T. Merchant and wife, Salome, namely: Jacob, October 20, 1876; Ida F., March 29, 1878; Betty B., September 11, 1879; and Thomas E., August 21, 1883.
ILTON B. DICKERSON, President of the City Council of Marion, is also General Agent of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company, and holds the same position with the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad Company. He is a man who brings to the details of his business a thorough experience, and so generally esteemed is he, that these few lines will find many interested readers.
Mr. Dickerson is a native of this city, and was born April 19, 1855. His father, Theodore H. Dickerson, was a native of New Jersey, where for many years he combined his profession of a dentist with the business of a jeweler. He came to Marion in 1853, and was living here on the out- break of the Civil War. He immediately volun-
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teered his services in defense of the Union, and went to the front as a member of Company H, Fourth Ohio Infantry, as a private. For three years he endured all the hardships of a soldier's life, and upon receiving his honorable discharge was mustered out with the title of First Lieuten- ant. He again engaged in business in Marion, where he remained until 1888, when he retired and moved to Galion with his son. He returned to Marion, however, in1 1890. His death occurred in that year, at which time he was sixty-three years of age. The father of this gentleman, the grandfather of our subject, by name Joseph Dick- erson, was a man of prominence in New Jersey, of which state he was also a native, and at one time was a member of the Legislature.
Mrs. Eliza C. Walker, the inother of our sub- ject, was the daughter of Col. Thomas H. and Eliza Walker. Her father was for thirty years Registrar of the Iowa Land Office, and was prom- inent in local affairs. Mrs. Dickerson was de- prived of the care of her mother when quite young, and, being taken into the home of Hon. John Bartram, of Marion, was there reared to mature years. During the later years of her life she was an active member of the Woman's Relief Association, and worshiped with the Presbyterian Church. Her death occurred in 1891, when fif- ty-three years of age. Her brother, Milton Walk- er, was Captain of a company during the Civil War, being in the service for four years. He later became prominent in Democratic circles, both in Iowa and Kansas, where he resided.
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