USA > Ohio > Fulton County > The County of Fulton: A History of Fulton County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, with Special Chapters on Various Subjects, Including Each of the Different Townships; Also a Biographical Department. > Part 36
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fully the examination of the Ohio State Veterinary board. Locating at Wauseon, he applied himself diligently to his chosen work, and the result is that he has built up a large and lucrative practice. His field of operations is not limited to Wauseon, but extends to all parts of Fulton and the adjoining counties. His services are in great demand, for he is recognized by all as a thoroughly competent practitioner in his line. Dr. Clark, together with his fellow veterinary surgeons, has done much to popularize the profession in this part of the State. In the successful treatment of the various diseases of animals they have demonstrated that their calling is indeed a profession, and not a mere theory. He married Miss Leah Hine, daughter of Joseph Hine, a pioneer settler of Clinton township. The names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Clark are Misola and Harold. With the thorough training that he has received and with the high degree of success he has at- tained, Dr. Clark is sure to continue to rise and to grow in favor with his fellow-men. Merit is readily recognized by the observing classes, and surely the Doctor possesses it in a high degree.
MARTIN COONEY, who is now identified with the rural free mail delivery service, being carrier on Route No. 15, from the village of Fayette, is one of the popular residents of this section and is an honored veteran of the Civil war, his health having been perma- nently impaired through the privations and other hardships which he endured while in service. He was born in Seneca county, N. Y., July 14, 1837, being a son of Henry and Rachel (Landis) Cooney, who were born in Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Seneca county, N. Y., where they remained until 1855, when they came to Ohio and took up their residence in Fulton county, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Martin Cooney attended the common schools of his native county, and early learned the lessons of industry, finding employment in various capacities. He accompanied his par- ents on their removal to Ohio, and at the time of the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion he was serving as section foreman on the Air Line division of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, continuing thus engaged until the spring of 1864, on the Ist of March of which year he enlisted as a private in Company B, Sixtieth Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he participated in the battle of the Wilderness, and in the conflicts of North Anna River, Spottsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor, and in the siege of Petersburg. He was identified with the placing of the mines by which the Weldon Railroad was destroyed, and on the 30th of September, 1864, at Poplar Grove church, he was captured, his regiment having been driven into the swamps of that locality. He was conveyed to the notorious Libby prison, in the city of Richmond, and about a fort- night later was taken to the stockade prison in Salisbury, North Caro- lina, where he was confined about five months, his exchange having been effected February 22, 1865. He weighed one hundred and six- ty-seven pounds when captured, and when released his weight was ninety pounds. He reached the Union lines about March 15th, at Wilmington, North Carolina, and was then sent home on an invalid
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furlough, before the expiration of which the war was ended by the surrender of General Lee. He received his honorable discharge at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, on the 16th of June, 1865. He then returned to Fulton county, passing the ensuing two years in Pettis- ville and being practically incapacitated for any employment during this interval, by reason of disabilities resulting from his prison life, during which he contracted rheumatism. Thereafter he followed farming two years and then took up his residence in Fayette, where he followed various lines of occupation, being in impaired health much of the time. . He was employed in Allen's grist-mill for ten years and then secured the star-route mail contract between Fayette and Spring Hill, being engaged in the transportation of the mail on this route until it was discontinued, after a period of five years. Since 1900 he has served in his present position as carrier in the rural free mail delivery service. He is a stalwart Republican, and served for some time as constable in Fayette, and he is a charter mem- ber of Stout Post, No. 108, Grand Army of the Republic. Septem- ber 21, 1858, Mr. Cooney was united in marriage to Miss Susan Dow- ner, of Union City, Branch county, Michigan, her father, Orimel Dow- ner, having been an early settler in that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Cooney became the parents of five children, namely: Marietta, who is the wife of Henry Pickard, of Mount Alton, Pennsylvania; Alfred, who is now a resident of Fayette; Cora, who is the wife of Harvey Russell, of Fayette; Leo, who also resides in this village; and Eliza- beth, who died at the age of three years. Mrs. Cooney is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps, No. 6, at Fayette, and is a member of the Disciple church.
LOUIE C. COSGROVE, M. D .- Among the practicing physicians and surgeons of Swanton, none stands higher, either in a social or professional way, than Dr. Louie C. Cosgrove. He is the only living son of the nestor of physicians, Dr. S. F. Cosgrove, who for more than thirty years has practiced so successfully in this vicinity. Dr. S. F. Cosgrove was educated in the medical colleges at Cleveland and Cin- cinnati, graduating from the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Sur- gery in 1875. With the exception of eight years spent in Sylvania and Toledo, he has been in constant practice in Swanton. Dr. S. F. Cos- grove was married to Miss Allie J. Cooper, a native of Ohio, and both are still living, being residents of Swanton. Louie C. Cosgrove was born in Swanton, on August 6, 1879. He received his elementary education in the public schools of his native town, and in 1896 gradu- ated from the Fayette (O.) Normal University. In 1897 he entered the Toledo Medical college and completed the prescribed course of that institution on April 26, 1901. With the prestige of a well-established practice by his father as a foundation, he has been singularly successful in his professional work. In 1903 he took a post-graduate course in Chicago Polyclinic hospital, covering the topics of Gynecology, Derma- tology, General Surgery and Obstetrics. Both he and his father are active members of the Fulton county and the Ohio State medical asso-
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ciations. In the counsels of Free Masonry Dr. L. C. Cosgrove is well advanced, holding membership in Swanton Lodge, No. 555. Free and Accepted Masons ; Octavius Waters Chapter, No. 154. Royal Arch Masons, of Delta; Wauseon Council, No. 68, Royal and Select Ma- sons; Toledo Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templar, and Zenobia Temple, Ancient Arabic order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Forresters, the Modern Woodmen of America, and Knights of Pythias, at Swanton, for each of which organizations he has been medical examiner. In his political views the Doctor is a Republican, taking an active part in the deliberations of the party. At present he is identified with both the executive and central committees of Fulton county, and in November, 1905, he was elected coroner of Fulton county for a term of two years, by a majority of 1, 176.
GEORGE LEWIS COTTINGHAM, who is an expert machinist, conducting a well-equipped general shop in Delta. and also owning a valuable little farm adjoining the town, has here passed the greater portion of his life and is one of the representative business men ot this part of the county. He is a native of England, having been born on the 27th of December, 1864, and having been about seven years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to America. He is a son of George W. and Elizabeth Cottingham, who took up their residence in Delta in 1871. For many years George W. Cottingham operated an ashery in Delta, meeting with marked success in this field of enter- prise, which was then one of importance. The sale of wood-ashes was a very considerable source of income to the pioneers, and Mr. Cot- tingham was one of the first to engage in the buying of this commod- ity in Fulton county, and thus he proved in a sense a benefactor to the community, as many of the settlers depended largely upon the sale of ashes for the securing of little luxuries which they would otherwise have been compelled to deny themselves. He manufactured the prod- ucts into pearl-ash, having a large plant devoted to this industry and acquiring what was considered in that day a goodly fortune. He was born in Swarford, England, and his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Larder, was also born in the same locality, where their mar- riage was solemnized. With their six children they came to America, and they took up their residence in Delta in 1871. The father rented one hundred and twenty acres of land and engaged in farming, in con- nection with his other business enterprises, having purchased the ashery from Josiah O.'Gates, a well-known pioneer, and having also handled lime, cement, salt and other commodities of the sort. The farm which he originally cultivated embraced most of the present site of Delta, and in later years he purchased the small farm which is now occupied by his son, George L., subject of this sketch, erecting the present fine buildings on the place and here continuing to reside until his death, in 1903, his wife having passed away in the same year which witnessed their arrival in Fulton county, 1871. The six children are all living, namely: Elizabeth, Emma, William, George Lewis, Anna and Ada. All are married except Ada. Emma resides in North Baltimore, Ohio;
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William is a resident of Leipsic, this State; and Anna has her home in Avilla, Ind., the other three being residents of Delta. George Lewis Cottingham was reared in Fulton county, working on the home farm and in his father's ashery until he had attained maturity and having duly availed himself of the advantages of the public schools of this section. He was a steam engineer for a period of eight years and then served an apprenticeship at the machinists' trade, becoming a particularly skilled artisan in the line, his practical apprenticeship hav- ing been secured in shops at Deshler, Henry county. In 1892 he re- turned to Delta and here established a general machine-shop on the site of the old ashery, and he has built up a very successful enterprise, his mechanical skill and careful attention to the demands of patrons having gained for him a wide reputation throughout this section, and his shop has the best machinery and other requisite accessories for the facile turning out of high-grade work. About 1893 he purchased the lot now occupied by the establishment of the Atlas Publishing com- pany, erecting the present substantial brick building, which has been utilized by that company for more than ten years and which withstood a disastrous fire which destroyed buildings on either side of it. Mr. Cottingham sold this property in 1904. His handsome home occupies a commanding eminence, overlooking the village of Delta, and is one of the most attractive places in this section of the county. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he is loyal to all the duties of citizen- ship, taking a deep interest in all that makes for the well-being of his home town and county. On the 15th of October, 1899, Mr. Cottingham was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Warfield, daughter of Rev. I. N. Warfield, a clergyman of the United Brethren church, now resident of Van Wert, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Cottingham have two children, Grace and Stanley, the latter dying when he was about eighteen months old.
EDWARD B. COTTRELL, who is engaged in the buying and ship- ping of live stock, is a native of Fulton county, having been born on the homestead farm, in Royalton township, on the 12th of October, 1871, and being a son of Austin and Lucinda (Richardson) Cottrell, the former of whom was born in Willoughby, Lake county, Ohio, and the latter in Royalton township, Fulton county. Austin Cottrell was a son of John and Betsy (Preston) Cottrell, and the family came to Fulton county in the early '60's. John Cottrell purchased eighty acres of land in Section 1I, Royalton township, clearing a portion of the same, and there passing the remainder of his life. His five children are here named in order of birth : Asa, Jacob, Duella, Polly, and Aus- tin. Polly is the wife of Thomas Ferguson. Austin Cottrell was reared to the discipline of the farm, and in initiating his independent career continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits, in which line of enterprise he was successful. He died on the 22d of February, 1900, at the age of fifty-five years, and his widow now resides on the old homestead in Royalton township. Three children were born to them-Estella, who is the wife of Stephen S. Lawrence, a farmer of
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Fulton county ; Edith, who is now deceased; and Edward B., who is the immediate subject of this review. Lucinda (Richardson) Cottrell is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Fulton county. She is a daughter of Hiram and Mary Ann Richardson, and her father settled in Royalton township in 1836, being a son of Thomas, who was the head of the family as represented in the pioneer annals of Fulton county. The latter was born in Niagara county, New York, a son of Thomas, Sr., a native of Vermont and one of the early settlers of Niagara county, New York. Edward B. Cottrell was reared on the homestead farm, in Royalton township, and duly availed himself of the privileges of the public schools. He early became asso- ciated in the stock-buying and shipping operations of his father, and since the latter's death, in 1900, he has been successfully engaged in this line of business in an independent way. He is a stanch Democrat, and in a fraternal way is identified with Lyons Lodge, No. 8346, Modl- ern Woodmen of America. October 11, 1894, Mr. Cottrell was united in marriage to Miss Winnie F. Bennett, daughter of Ora and Eliza- beth (Brockway) Bennett, of Lenawee. county, Michigan, and they have one daughter, Vera.
FRANK R. CRIPPEN, one of the representative farmers and stock-growers of the younger generation in Fulton county, being the owner of a fine property in Fulton township, is a native of the patric- ian Old Dominion State and a scion of one of its honored families on the maternal side, while the paternal ancestors were numbered among the early settlers in New England and later in the State of New York. Mr. Crippen was born in Dranesville, Fairfax county, Va., on the 6th of April, 1863, at which time that section was the scene of some of the most sanguinary contests between the Union and Confederate forces. He is a son of Minor A. and Miriam (Knight) Crippen, the former of whom was born in the State of New York and the latter in Virginia, in which latter Minor A. Crippen died at the age of eighty-four years. The old home estate was in sight of the famous Bull Run battle-field. The Knight family was one of the old and distinguished ones of Vir- ginia, and in ante-bellum days a large retinue of slaves was retained on the fine old home plantation, a heavy loss being thus entailed by the emancipation of the slaves, as well as through the general ravages of the war. The old estate, comprising seven hundred acres, was the birthplace of Mr. Crippen and was one of the beautiful and valuable places of Fairfax county in the days before the war, but such have been the changes in conditions that the property is almost worthless at the present time, neglect and deterioration being evident on every side, from causes beyond the control of the owners. Within the past two years Mr. Crippen, subject of this review, sold eighty acres of the tract for only four hundred dollars. Minor A. and Miriam Crippen became the parents of four sons, Americus N., Henry A., Frank R. and Asa M. All of the sons are living with the exception of Americus, who was a member of the metropolitan police in the city of Washington and who was shot and killed while in discharge of his official duties. His widow still resides in the national capital. Mr. Crippen's mother died
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December 14, 1874, in Fairfax county, Va. Frank R. Crippen secured his early education in a private academy in his native town, and at the age of eighteen years he came to Ohio, where he found employment principally at farm work. In Fulton county he was married in 1886, and for the ensuing two years he was engaged in farming on land which he rented, and he then, in 1889, located on his present farm, purchasing the property. The place comprises sixty-two acres, and is maintained under effective cultivation, being improved with a good modern house, a large and well equipped barn and other buildings. In addition to raising the various crops common to the locality Mr. Crip- pen has for the past three years devoted considerable attention to the propagation of sugar-beets, to which he gives twenty acres of his land. From this crop he has netted thirty dollars an acre above expenses. He is ever ready to adopt new methods and ideas that promise to facili- tate the work of his farm and increase its profits, and is one of the alert and progressive agriculturists of the county. In politics he is an active and uncompromising Republican, though never a seeker of office, and his religious faith is that of the United Brethren church, and his wife is a member of the Christian Union church. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Swanton lodge No. 528, of the I. O. O. F., and with the Encampment of the order at Delta, and also with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees at Swanton, and he has a host of friends in the community where he has proven so worthy a citizen. October 27, 1886, Mr. Crippen was united in mar- riage to Miss Georgia Dennis, who was born and reared in Fulton township, being a daughter of Philip and Eunice (Welch) Dennis, who were representatives of early pioneer families of the township, where the former's parents, Joseph and Mary Dennis, took up their residence in 1834. Their descendants in Fulton county now number fully one hundred and fifty. Mr. and Mrs. Crippen have two chil- dren, Floyd C. and Florence, aged respectively eighteen and sixteen years, in 1905.
WILLIAM W. CRONINGER, editor and publisher of the Demo- cratic Expositor of Fulton county, was born in Richland township, Huron county. He is the son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Upps) Croninger, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. Jonathan Croninger removed from Huron county to Fulton county in 1866, having held many offices in that county. In 1843 he married Miss Elizabeth Upps and by her had the following children: Lorenzo D., Francis D., William W., who is the subject of this sketch, Delphena and Florence. Jonathan, who was born in 1820, was the son of Jacob and Mary Croninger, both natives of Pennsylvania. They first settled in Stark county. O., then in Huron county, where Jacob died. His. widow afterwards removed to Fulton county and died there. Their marriage was blessed with fourteen children. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of his native township and those of the city of Wauseon and Bryan. While living on his farm in Clinton township he taught school for eleven winters. When he was
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appointed deputy sheriff by Daniel Dowling he moved into the county jail and occupied it for two years. In 1889 he was elected county auditor and administered the duties of the office so satisfactorily that he was re-elected in 1892 by an increased majority. He was elected as a Democrat in a county that generally gave a Republican majority of from twelve to fifteen hundred. After leaving the auditor's office he spent two years on his farm, enjoying a much needed rest. In 1899 he removed to Wauseon and purchased the Democratic Expositor, which he has since published and edited. In 1875 he married Miss Rebecca J. Robinson. They have two children, named Edna G. and Gwendolin. A. B. Robinson, the father of the wife of the subject of this sketch, was both teacher and farmer and for a time engineer of
Fulton county. He was born in Wayne county September 28, 1825. After graduating from Edinburg academy, Wayne county, he taught school successfully for twenty-eight years. On June 17, 1847, he mar- ried Miss Nancy Hutchinson, who was born in Wayne county. in 1824. Her parents originally came from Pennsylvania. George and Sarah (Fluhart) Robinson, the parents of A. B. Robinson, were natives of Wayne county, where George died in 1846, aged fifty-one years. At the age of twenty years A. B. Robinson was elected justice of the peace of his home county. Since coming to Fulton county, he has served in the same capacity for eighteen years. He was a delegate to the State convention in 1854.
DAVID CRUMRINE is a representative of a family which was founded in Ohio within a few years after the State was admitted to the Union and he is one of the progressive and substantial farmers of Franklin township, where he has a well-improved farm and at- tractive home. He was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, January 13, 1847, and is a son of Frederick and Christena (Routsong) Crumrine, the former of whom was born in Mahoning county, July 3, 1809, and the latter was born in Germany and was a child at the time of her parents immigration to America. The Crumrine family likewise is of German origin and was founded in Pennsylvania prior to the War of the Revolution. Frederick Crumrine was engaged in farming in Ma- honing county until 1854, when he disposed of his property there, and on the 12th of September of that year he located in Franklin town- ship, Fulton county, purchasing the farm now owned and occupied by his son David. He secured ninety adres, for which he paid nineteen dollars an acre, in gold. He developed and improved the farm, which continued to be his home until his death, on the 5th of November, 1899. His first wife, mother of the subject of this sketch, died when the latter was but sixteen days old, on the 29th of January, 1847, and the father later consummated a second marriage, children of the second marriage surviving him, but of the first marriage David was the only child. Receiving his educational training in the common schools, David Crumrine was reared to the discipline of the farm, remaining associated with his father in the work of the homestead place until he had reached his legal majority. He purchased a farm near Bryan, Williams county, but after his father's death, at the request of other
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members of the family, he returned to Fulton county and purchased ' the old homestead, where he has since continued to reside, having dis- posed of his farm in Williams county. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Telephone Company, of Fulton county. Though never a seeker of office he is a public-spirited citizen and has been a supporter of the principles and cause of the Democratic party from the time of attaining the right of franchise. October 24, 1869, Mr. Crumrine was united in marriage to Miss Mary Clifton, of West Unity, Williams county, a daughter of John R. Clifton, a pioneer of that county. They have one child, Charles Franklin, who remains at the parental home.
ELI CUNNINGHAM, one of the representative farmers and stock- growers of Fulton township, was born on the farm which is now his home, the date of his nativity having been July 10, 1859. He is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Munson) Cunningham, the former of whom was born in Chippewa township, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 28th of March, 1827, and the latter was born in Spencer township, Lucas county, about a mile distant from her present home, on the 29th of July, 1836. They were married August 29, 1854, and began their domestic life on the homestead farm, where they now reside, and in August, 1904, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, the occasion being a notable one in the community. They are well pre- served in both mental and physical faculties, and have the abiding friendship of all who know them and have cognizance of their worthy and earnest lives. Both are devoted members of the United Brethren church, and the father has been a stanch supporter of the Republican party from the time of its organization to the present. In 1863 he enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio volunteer infantry, for a term of one hundred and thirty days, and he was in active service in Virginia, participating in a number of important en- gagements, and he receives a pension in recognition of disabilities re- sulting from his army service. Of the seven children of Jacob and Elizabeth Cunningham five are living. Levi owns and operates a saw- mill and feed-mill at Maltby Mills, Geauga county ; Eli was the second in order of birth; Aden and Amy are twins, the former being a steam- fitter by vocation and being a resident of Toledo, and the latter is the wife of Dr. Eli L. Slough, of Defiance, Ohio; Martha J. is the wife of James M. Dennis, of Fulton township; Elizabeth died at the age of ten years ; and one child died in infancy. Eli Cunningham secured his educational training in the public schools of Fulton county, and he has always been identified with agricultural pursuits in his native town- ship, being now the active manager of the old homestead farm. In politics he has followed in the footsteps of his honored father and is aligned as a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and his religious membership is with the United Brethren church, of which his wife is also a member. June 14, 1887, Mr. Cunningham was united in marriage to Miss Sadie T. Merrill, who was born in Casnovia, Kent county, Mich., November 24, 1868, and her family history is fully detailed in the sketch of the life of F. C. Merrill, on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Cunning-
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