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 43
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Mrs. Fraker became the parents of three children, the eldest of . whom, Mabel, is now the wife of Lyman Eugene Wiley, who now has charge of the Fraker homestead farm, he and his wife making their home with the latter's mother. Mr. Wiley is a son of Isaac Wiley, of whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Wiley are the parents of one child, Frank Fraker Wiley, born December 7, 1901. Frank, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Fraker, died October 1, 1898, a promising and noble youth of seventeen years and a member of the senior class in the Delta high school at the time of his demise. Ethel, the youngest of the children, completed her education in Fayette Normal University, this county, and she has since been a popular teacher in the district schools of her native township. She is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, auxiliary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both she and her sister hold membership in the Rathbone Sisters, adjunct to the Knights of Pythias.
THOMAS H. FRAKER is one of those enterprising citizens who find a due measure of satisfaction and profit in carrying forward the various lines of farming industry and is one of the progressive and successful farmers and stock-growers of York township, where he owns and operates the old homestead on which he was born and reared. He was born April 23, 1863, and is a son of Isaac and Nancy Jane (Kizer) Fraker, both born in Wayne county, Ohio, the former on the 24th of April, 1826, and the latter on the 22d of April, 1837. They were married in October, 1852, at East Swanton, Lucas county, and forthwith took up their abode on the farm where their son, Thomas H., now lives, the fine farmstead being located on the eastern line of York township, and adjacent to the thriving village of Delta. This property was secured from the government, in the early pioneer days, by Thomas Fraker, grandfather of the present owner, and the original entry comprised a large tract of land, of which one hundred and six acres are retained in the present home- stead. In addition to this place Mr. Fraker also owns another farm, of eighty acres, in the same section, and a good farm of one hun- dred acres in Lucas county. He has always made his home on the ancestral farmstead except for one year, during which he was en- gaged in business in Montpelier. His honored father was one of the prominent farmers and business men of the county, having been for many years engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock and having also dealt somewhat extensively in real-estate. He was a man of unassuming worth, had traveled much and was broad in his intellectuality, and he commanded the esteem of all who knew him. He died January 24, 1901, his wife having passed away Janu- ary 11, 1889. Of their four children, Thomas H. was the only son and he is the only one now living. Elizabeth I., the eldest, was born October 11, 1853, and died in her eighteenth year; Susannah M., born February 20, 1858, died March 24, 1859; and Ida Ethel, born August 30, 1860, died November 17, 1864. Thomas H. Fraker was reared to manhood on the old homestead and duly availed himself of
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the advantages of the excellent public schools of the village of Delta. He finally purchased the home farm from his father, and he has become recognized as one of the leading representatives of the thrifty farming element of this favored section of the Buckeye State, each of his three farms being well-improved and conducted under his general supervision, though he gives his personal attention more particularly to the old home place. He is one of the leading growers of short-horn cattle in Fulton county, having made this department of his enterprise a specialty during the past eight years and breeding from thoroughbred stock. He has at the present time a herd of about twenty-five thoroughbreds, and he also has about twenty head of milch cows, selling his dairy product principally to the milk con- densery at Delta. In politics he clings to the ancestral faith and is an uncompromising Democrat, taking a lively interest in the party cause but never being an aspirant for office. April 2, 1889, Mr. Fraker married Miss Jennie L. Watkins, who was born in this county, being a daughter of Wesley and Catherine (Fesler) Watkins, concerning whom more detailed mention is made in the sketch of their son, George W., on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Fraker have no children.
SAMUEL FRYBARGER, one of the representative farmers of Fulton township, is an honored veteran of the Civil war and in all the relations of life he has shown the same loyalty and integrity which marked his course during the days when he followed his country's flag on the battle-fields of the South. He was born in Somerset county, Pa., on the 15th of October, 1843, being the eld- est son of John Henry and Mary (Schultz) Frybarger, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Pennsylvania, and the respective years of nativity were 1800 and about 1810. They were married in the old Keystone State, whence they went to Mis- souri where the father was engaged in farming for a time, finally returning to Pennsylvania, whence they came to Fulton county, Ohio, in 1854. They located on a tract of wild and heavily-timbered land in Fulton township, one mile east of the homestead of their son, Samuel, of this sketch, and there the father died in the following year, and his widow remained on the farm with her children until her death, in June, 1888. Of the twelve children eight are living: Caroline is the wife of Joseph Gehring, of Delta, this county ; Samuel is the subject of this review; Barbara is the wife of a Mr. Petty, of California; Margaret is the wife of Washington Hall and they reside in Oklahoma; John Henry is a resident of Delta; George W. re- mains on the old homestead, which he owns; and Henry is a suc- cessful farmer of Indiana. Samuel Frybarger secured a common- school education and remained at home until he had attained the age of twenty-six years. Exceptional burdens of responsibility were early placed upon his shoulders, since he was the eldest son and was but twelve years of age at the time of his father's death. Largely through his personal effort the home farm was cleared and reclaimed to cultivation, placing his loved mother in comfortable
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circumstances. The early years of toil were very rigid in their demands, and the utmost economy had to be observed by the family, but with the passing of years prosperity yielded its grateful tribute in compensation for past labors and self-denial. August 15, 1862, Mr. Frybarger enlisted as a private in Company K, One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he served three years in the Western army. He participated in the Atlanta cam- paign, returning with his command, under General Thomas, to the defense of Nashville, and taking part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, as well as in many other important engagements incidental to the great conflict which perpetuated the integrity of the Union. Among the engagements in which he was an active participant may be mentioned the battles of Knoxville, Campbell's Station, Hough's Ferry, Strawberry Plains, Siege of Knoxville, Burnt Hickory, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek and Atlanta, besides innumerable skirmishes. He was never captured or seriously wounded, though escaping by very close margins on several occasions. He received his honorable discharge, June 27, 1865, at Salisbury, N. C., having thus served until the close of the war, and in recognition of his fidelity and of disabilities resulting from his service he receives a pension. In 1875 Mr. Frybarger went to Kansas and secured a homestead in Pawnee county, where he remained four years. Two years of protracted drouth caused him to meet with entire failure of crops and he therefore left the Sunflower State and purchased a farm in Lenawee county, Mich., where he resided one year, when he disposed of the property and purchased his present fine home- stead of one hundred and two acres, where he has resided for a score of years, having sold his Kansas farm after returning to Ohio, He is engaged in general farming and stock-growing, and for a num- ber of years has also conducted a successful dairying business, being associated with his son John in the work and operation of the farm. He is a stalwart Republican in his political proclivities and while he has ever taken a lively interest in public affairs he has never sought or held office. Mr. Frybarger has been thrice married. Sep- tember 21, 1867, he wedded Miss Lucinda Schrock, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, April 4, 1847, and who died February 25, 1875, leaving one daughter, Rosa B., who is the wife of Herrick McArthur, of Fulton township. January 24, 1877, Mr. Frybarger married Miss Sarah Ann Cook, who died February 27, 1883, leaving two children: Laura, who is the wife of Norton Miller, of Pike township, and Eliza, who remains at the paternal home. February II, 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Frybarger to Miss Jane Ann Egnew, who was born in East Swanton, Lucas county, Ohio, being a daughter of James and Mary J. (Emmick) Egnew, both of whom died in that county in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Frybarger have two children, John and Grace, both of whom remain members of the home circle.
JOHN J. GAMBER .- Lying immediately contiguous to the little city of Fayette, on the northeast, is the fine farm estate of Mr. Gam-
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ber, who is one of the sterling pioneers and prominent farmers of Gorham township. He was born in Fayette, Seneca county, N. Y., on the IIth of September, 1835, and is a son of Henry and Polly ( Hartrauft) Gamber, both natives of Pennsylvania, whence they re- moved to Seneca county, N. Y., where the father was engaged in farming until 1852, when he came with his family to Fulton county, Ohio, having previously visited this section and selected a location for his future home. He and his wife and their six children made the entire trip with a team and heavy wagon and a one-horse buggy, being thirteen days enroute. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres, on the present site of Fayette,-eighty acres on each side of the town as now established, with Main street as the southern boun -. dary. He paid seven hundred and fifty dollars for the east half and eight hundred dollars for the eighty acres on the west side, and about one-half of the present town of Fayette is on the land which. he thus secured and which he cleared and improved. The old family residence was on the site of the present fine brick dwelling which constitutes the attractive home of John J. Gamber, subject of this sketch. . There were two log houses on the property when the father came into possession of the same, one on each tract described in the foregoing lines, one being situated on either side of the street and about ten rods south of the present residence of John J. Gamber. The entire west eighty acres have been cut up into town lots, and of the east eighty Mr. Gamber retains thirty-seven acres for agricultural purposes, the remainder being solidly built up with business buildings and residences. Save for the portions sold for village lots the property has remained in the possession of the family from the time of purchase, more than half a century ago. Henry Gamber was born June 11, 1808, and his death occurred May 29, 1854, only two years after he took up his residence in the county. His wife was born August 7, 1809, and her death occurred on Au- gust 1, 1884. They became the parents of seven children, of whom only the youngest was born in Fulton county. William resides near Norwalk, Ohio; John J., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Maria married a Mr. Tuesly and is now deceased; Sarah is the wife of Myron Smith, of Chesterfield township; Lorenzo is a resident of Fayette; Susan is the wife of Charles L. Allen, of Fayette; and Francis died in childhood. The father, who was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, held several local offices after taking up his residence in this county, and both he and his. wife were worthy members of the Lutheran church. John J. Gamber availed himself of. the advantages afforded in the common schools of his native county in New York, and was fourteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Fulton county. He remained at the parental home until the death of his father, after which he was engaged in work for others in this locality, principally in farm labor. In 1860 he located on that part of the ancestral homestead which is his present place of abode, and two years later he purchased a farm farther to the north, giving his attention to its cultivation and im- provement until 1868, since which time he has resided on his pres-
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ent fine homestead, which he owns partially through inheritance and partially through purchase. He is a worthy representative of one of the old and honored families of the county, and is held in uniform esteem in the community which has been his home for so many years. He has always been a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and has served in various local offices, and he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife was a devoted member of the Disciple church, their long and gracious companionship having been severed by her death, wnich occurred in September, 1898. In 1859 Mr. Gamber was united in marriage to Miss Elvira Sales, daughter of George W. Sales, who was numbered among the pioneer settlers of Fulton county. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Gamber is Lerichmod, who is a repre- sentative farmer of Gorham township. . He married Miss Clara Coffin, of Fayette, and they have two children, Howard and Louise.
HON. WILLIAM GEYSER, ex-senator- from the Thirty-third Ohio district, was born in Wurttemberg, Germany, on October 3, 1840. He came with his mother to Lucas county, Ohio, when about ten years old, where he resided until 1862, when he enlisted in Com- pany I of the Fourteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, serving in the army of the Cumberland, and participating in the battles of Mill Springs, Pittsburg Landing, the Atlanta campaign and the march to the sea coast under General Sherman. At the expiration of his time of service he re-enlisted in the field and remained at the front until the end of the . war. He followed the varying fortunes of the Third Brigade of the Fourteenth Army Corps throughout the war, the list of battles to his credit being a long one, and his military record unimpeachable. At Green River Bridge, Ky., while on the chase after the raider, Morgan, he sustained a hernia which has practically disabled him through life. This, at present, protrudes some nineteen inches, and is seventeen inches in circumference, and for thirty-five years the parts have refused to return to their normal con- dition. In consequence of this disability he receives a liberal pension from the National government. After his return from the war he engaged in the grocery business in Swanton. Beginning in a small way he rapidly increased his business until the sales averaged $40,000 a year for a number of years. He was the first merchant of Swanton and shipped the first grain from this station. He was extremely prosperous for many years, his credit being unlimited. His venture in the cold-storage business at Wauseon proved dis- astrous, owing to the indifferent management of his partner. In 1887, unexpectedly to himself and without solicitation on his part, he was chosen a delegate to the senatorial convention at Toledo, where he was nominated as one of the two candidates of the joint district embracing the counties of Lucas, Wood, Hancock, Henry and Fulton. The district was normally Democratic, but by energetic work and proper management Mr. Geyser and his colleague, William Carlin of Findlay, were triumphantly elected by a majority of eighteen hundred and forty votes. While serving in the Eighty-eighth general
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assembly he favored the Sunday-closing law, thereby incurring the displeasure of the saloon element, and at the election following he was defeated by four hundred votes. After serving as mayor of Swanton for several years he declined further honors in that direc- tion. For seven years he acted as a member of the board of trustees of the State Hospital for the Insane, at Toledo. At present he is serving as assessor for the incorporated village of Swanton. He has always been a power in the counsels of the Republican party and active and energetic in anything that he has undertaken. Mr. Geyser has been thrice married. By his first wife he had two children, both living. They are Maude and Lizzie, both married. Mrs. Geyser having died in young womanhood, he was wedded to Miss Catherine Schrock and by her had one daughter, the wife of Robert Finn of Fulton county. Two years after the death of his second wife he married Miss Amy Haubiel of Fulton county, who prior to her mar- riage had taught for eight years in the Delta public schools. To this union there have been born two children, a son and a daughter. William, Jr., the elder child, for the past two years has been book- keeper for the International Harvester Company of Chicago. He received a liberal education at Oberlin and Gambier and the Cleve- land Business College. Dorothy, the younger child, has achieved an enviable reputation as a musician and linguist, having spent two years at the German and French capitals. While her strongest forte is music, she has attained great proficiency in foreign languages. She is now engaged in teaching music and conducting musical concerts in New York City, where she has relatives of high standing in the musical world, and where she stands very close to the aristocracy. Mr. Geyser has always taken a deep interest in the organizations of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. Mrs. Geyser, as the granddaughter of a colonel in the Continental army, is actively identified with the Daughters of the Revolution, being vice-president of the Wauseon chapter.
WILBUR M. GIVIN, a representative farmer of Gorham town- ship, was born in Cadiz, Harrison county, Ohio, on the 21st of September, 1853, the place of his nativity having been a primitive log cabin, which was the family domicile for a number of years. He is a son of George and Eliza (Lavely) Givin, both of whom were likewise born in Harrison county, where the respective families were founded in the early pioneer days. The Givin family is of stanch Scotch-Irish lineage, and the original representatives in America were two brothers, who came from the Emerald Isle to this country as young men, one of them being Robert Givin, grandfather of Wilbur M., subject of this sketch. This worthy ancestor first settled in Lancaster county, Pa., whence he removed to Steubenville, Jeffer- son county, Ohio, and later he took up his residence in Harrison county, where he died in the year 1854. He was a paper-maker by trade, but after locating in Ohio he devoted his attention principally to agricultural pursuits, in which he was successful. George Givin made farming his principal vocation during his active career, and
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for several years he was a resident of Illinois, but he passed the closing years of his life in Harrison county, Ohio, where he died in 1902 at the age of seventy-seven years. His widow, who is of German and English ancestry, now resides with her son, Robert A., of North Platte, Neb. Of the three children, Wilbur M. is the eldest ; Robert A. is a resident of North Platte, Neb., as just stated, and Harvey L. is a resident of Harrison county, Ohio. Wilbur M. Givin was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Harrison county, after which he was a student for one year in Scio College. He was a successful teacher in the public schools of Harrison county for a period of three years, and since that time his vocation has been that of farming, in which he has met with marked prosperity, his efforts having been directed with consummate energy, intelligence and enterprise. In 1876 he removed to Crawford county, Ohio, where he maintained his home until 1900, when he took up his resi- dence in Gorham township, Fulton county, on his present farm, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, and the place has excellent improvements of a permanent nature. Mr. Givin is a Republican in his political proclivities, is serving in the office of justice of the peace, and he was a school director for several years in Crawford county. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of the Methodist church, as is also his wife. On Christmas day of the year 1877 Mr. Givin was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Bukey, of Franklin county, Ohio, daughter of William and Mary Bukey, prominent citizens of West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Givin have three children: Austin C. and Clark A. are residents of Crawford county, and Mary E. is the wife of Charles Young, of Toledo, Ohio.
JOHN W. GODDEN merits recognition in this compilation by reason of his being one of the prosperous farmers and sterling citizens- of Pike township, and he has passed his entire life in Fulton county. He was born in Amboy township, on the 8th of February, 1857, and is a son of William and Mary (Bennett) Godden. William Godden was born in county Kent, England, on the 10th of September, 1820, and his wife was born in the same county in November, 1820, and there their marriage was solemnized on the 27th of November, 1840. They immigrated to America in 1849, arriving in the month of May, and resided for a short time in Syracuse, New York, whence they came to Ohio, residing for a time in the city of Cleveland and thence coming to Fulton county about 1855. The father was a tanner and currier by trade, but after coming to Fulton county he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, developing a good farm in Pike township, where he died in 1902, his wife passing away in 1897. They became the parents of ten children, six of the number having been born prior to the removal to the United States. Robus is the wife of Sylvester I. Spring, of Fulton county; William is now residing on the old homestead farm; Martha has been thrice married and widowed, her last husband having been Ephraim J. Padgham, and she resides in Fulton county; Sarah is deceased;
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Mary resides in North Baltimore; Margaret is deceased; Stephen also resides on the old homestead; Phoebe is deceased; Eliza is deceased, and John is the immediate subject of this review. John Godden was reared on the homestead farm and has never wavered in his allegiance to the industry of agriculture, in connection with which he has met with excellent success in his independent opera- tions. He is indebted to the public schools of Fulton county for his early educational discipline, and is a man of broad and progressive ideas. His farm comprises thirty-four acres, is under a high state of cultivation and is improved with excellent buildings, including a fine modern residence. He is a Republican in politics. November 1, 1899, Mr. Godden was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Arnold, who was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, on the 8th of January, 1863, being a daughter of Levi and Nancy (Truman) Arnold, early settlers of the Wolverine State, both being now deceased.
NATHAN N. GORSUCH is one of the representative farmers of Pike township and has passed his entire life in Fulton county, where he commands the high regard of all who know him. He was born on the homestead farm, in Clinton township, on the 2d of December, 1864. and is a son of Ephraim and Anna M. (Cantleberry) Gorsuch, both representative of pioneer families of the old Buckeye State. He was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his home town- ship and was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, and he has shown excellent judgment in making agriculture his vocation
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throughout his mature career, finding in the connection ample scope for effective and profitable endeavor and enjoying that independence which is denied those who mingle in the "madding crowd's ignoble strife." Mr. Gorsuch is the owner of a well improved farm of 1001/4 acres, the same is devoted to diversified farming and stockgrowing, and special attention is given to dairying, which proves a profitable department of the farm enterprise. In politics Mr. Gorsuch is inde- pendent, and he is one of the prominent members of the Church of God in his native county, being a minister in the same and being a devoted worker in the vineyard of the divine Master, as is also his wife. On the 16th of December, 1886, Mr. Gorsuch was united in marriage to Miss Lucy S. Becker, who was born in Wayne county, this State, on the 3d of December, 1861, being a daughter of Charles and Lucy S. (Shaffer) Becker, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, their marriage having been solemnized in Wayne county, Ohio, where they continued to reside until 1874, when they came to Fulton county and located on a farm in Clinton township, where Mr. Becker died on the 19th of April, 1905, and where his widow still maintains her home. Mr. and Mrs. Gorsuch have four children, con- cerning whom the following brief record is entered: Florence M., who was born February 20, 1888, is the wife of Orrin Baughman, an engineer on the Lake Shore railroad; Robert W. was born January 10, 1893; Sophia, September 25, 1896; and Maria, March 23, 1900.
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