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 44

Author: Thomas Mikesell
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 717

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 44

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HARMON GASCHE, one of the repre- sentative farmers of the younger genera- tion in Clinton township, is a native of Fulton county and has here passed his entire life thus far, and he has maintained an unwavering fealty to the great funda- mental industry of agriculture and has met with marked success in his efforts. He was born in German township, this county, on the 29th of December, 1861, and is a son of George and Catherine (Honeberger) Gasche. His father was born in Wetzlor, Prussia, on the Ist of May, 1819, and in 1832 he severed the GEORGE GASCHE. ties which bound him to the fatherland and emigrated to America, settling in Cumberland county, Pa., whence he later came to Wayne county, Ohio, where he took up his residence in Fulton county in 1858, having purchased a tract of land in German township, in 1840. His wife was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, April 23, 1824, and came with her parents to America in 1837, the family first settling in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, and she was a resident of Holmes county at the time of her mar- riage. Her honored husband passed to the life eternal on the 24th of January, 1895, and she now resides with her daugh- ter, Amelia L. Sower, wife of G. H. Sower, of German township. Harmon Gasche was reared on the home farm and was able to properly avail himself of the advantages of the public schools of the locality, and he initiated his independent career by engaging in the vocation to which he had been reared. In 1887 be purchased his present farm, which com- prises eighty acres and which is one of CATHERINE GASCHE. the model places of the township, having the best of improvements in the way of buildings and being devoted to general agriculture and to the raising of high-grade live stock. In politics Mr. Gasche maintains an independent attitude, being a man of well defined con- victions and opinions and taking an intelligent interest in the issues and questions of the hour. He served two years as road supervisor, but has never been ambitious for public office of any sort. March 9, 1899, Mr. Gasche was united in marriage to Miss Maria Kimerer, who was born in Fulton county, July 23, 1864, being a daughter of Charles and Christena (Biddle) Kimerer, the former of whom was born in Preston county, West Va., October 21, 1812. In 1838 Mr. Kimerer married Christena Biddle, who was born January 3, 1822,

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and they came to Fulton county in 1842, the father here turning his attention to farming, which was his vocation during the remainder of his active career. He died October 26, 1898, his wife having passed away on the IIth of March, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Gasche have two children-Carl H., born May 15, 1902; and Catherine, born August 1I, 1904. In a fraternal way Mr. Gasche is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Patrons of Husbandry.

THOMAS E. GOODWIN, a representative of one of the old and prominent families of Fulton county, of which he is a native son, is one of the leading farmers and stock-growers of the younger generation in York township, where he has a fine property. He was born in Swan Creek township, this county, on the 7th of November, 1869, and is a son of Thomas and Rosetta (Keene) Goodwin, being the seventh in order of birth of a family of eight children. He was reared to the strenuous and wholesome life of the farm, and produc- tive agriculture, with its allied lines of enterprise, has never lost its attraction in his case, and he has so systematically and ably directed his efforts in that connection that he has gained recognition as one of the progressive and substantial farmers and stock-growers of his native county, and his status as a citizen is altogether creditable. On the 26th of October, 1889, Mr. Goodwin was united in marriage to Miss Ruth A. Tremain, and he thereafter operated rented farms until .1894, when he purchased his present place, which comprises sixty-two and one-half acres, and which was the original homestead of his wife's parents, having been entered from the government by her paternal grandfather, then descended to her father, and it remained under the Tremain title until Mr. Goodwin purchased the property, on the 25th of January, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin have four children : Piercie A., born August 9, 1890; Leon D., August 2, 1893; Helen F., November 2, 1899, and Charles E., Feb- ruary 20, 1905. In politics Mr. Goodwin has been aligned as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party from the time of attaining to his legal majority, and he has served two terms as township assessor, and for the past several years he has been a valued member of the township school board. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, and in a fraternal way he is identified with Delta Lodge, No. 460, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand, and with the Fulton Encamp- ment, No. 197, of the same fraternity. Reverting to the family his- tory of Mr. Goodwin, it has been stated that he was the seventh in order of birth of the eight children of Thomas and Rosetta (Keene) Goodwin, and of these children seven are living, Charlotte having died in young womanhood. The names of the others in order of birth, are as follows: John C., Adella, Jeanette, Agnes M., Lucy, Thomas E. and Albert P. Charlotte, who was the sixth child, became the wife of Allen Swartz of Fayette, this county, and was killed by a runaway team, in the very flower of her young womanhood. She is survived by two children. Lucy, the sister next older, is

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the wife of Harry Persing, of Clyde, Ohio; Jennette is the wife of James Pease, of Traverse City, Mich .; Agnes Margaret is the wife of Courtland A. Knapp, of York township; and the brothers all reside in Fulton county, as does also the eldest sister, Adella, who is the wife of Alfred Bloom, of Swanton. The father of these chil- dren was born at New Church, Radnorshire, in the south of Wales, and came to America when a youth, his marriage to Rosetta Keene having been solemnized in the eastern part of Ohio, of which State she was a native. She died in Fulton county in 1875, and her hus- band survived her by nearly a score of years, his death occurring September 3, 1894. Ruth Ann (Tremain) Goodwin, wife of the subject of this review, was born in Fulton county and is the younger of the two children of Daniel M. and Catherine (Markel) Tremain. Her sister, Lillie Arthilla, is now the wife of Robert Carpenter, and they reside in Henry county, Ohio. Daniel M. Tremain was born in York township, this county, January 25, 1840, being a son of Gardner and Elizabeth (Miller) Tremain, the former of whom was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, April 15, 1813, and the latter was born in Dutchess county, New York, March 8, 1814. They were married October 14, 1834, and came to Fulton county, Ohio, in 1836, here passing the remainder of their lives, and each attained advanced age. They were numbered among the early and honored pioneers of the county, which was not organized as such until nearly a decade and a half after they took up their residence here. They became the parents of eight children, of whom three are living, and their descendants are numerous in Fulton county. John J., the eldest of the children, died of smallpox, while serving as a soldier in an Ohio regiment during the war of the Rebellion, his death occurring in a hospital in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1864, at which time he was twenty-seven years of age, having been a member of the One Hun- dredth Ohio volunteer infantry. Daniel M., the father of Mrs. Goodwin, was the next in order of birth. He also was a soldier in the Civil war, having enlisted, in 1861, in Company K, Thirty- eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he was in active service four years and seventeen days. He escaped disabling wounds, but while in the service contracted disease from the effects of which he has never recovered, and in recognition of which he receives a pension. Phoebe E., the wife of John Schloff, died in 1872; Ben- jamin Tremain died in childhood; Abraham is a retired farmer, residing in Delta, this county ; Martha is the wife of A. A. Duamersq, a lumber dealer in Delta; Arthilla died in childhood, and Warren Benjamin, the youngest of the family, resides in Delta. The Markel family was early established in Fulton county. William and Ruth A. (Williams) Markel, parents of Mrs. Catherine Tremain, came here in 1844, shortly after their marriage. William Markel here traded a span of horses and a wagon for eighty acres of wild land, and initiated the development of a farm in the midst of the forest, his cash capital at the time being represented in the sum of six dollars. He became one of the well-to-do farmers of the county, where he died at an advanced age. Mrs. Catherine (Markel)

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Tremain died in Delta, in 1891, and five years later her husband was united in marriage to Miss Helen Bayhe, who was born in Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, being a daughter of George and Agnes (Hopplitzel) Bayhe, both of whom were born in Wurttem- burg, Germany, the death of the former occurring in 1884 and that of the latter in 1892. In his early manhood Daniel Tremain was employed four years as a government mail carrier, transporting the mail from Waterville, Lucas county, to Bryan, Williams county, and making one round trip each week. He encountered many hardships and perils during these years of service in the undeveloped country, and his reminiscences of the early days are graphic and interesting.

SOLOMON GOTSHALL is a representative of one of the pioneer families of Ohio and is one of the prominent and influential land- holders and business men of Fulton county, maintaining his residence near Fayette. He was born in Richland county, this state, on the Ist of February, 1836, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Castle) Gotshall, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, of sturdy German lineage, and the latter was of English descent and was born in Ohio. At the age of nineteen years, in 1833, George Gotshall came to Ohio and located in Richland county. About two years later his parents also took up their residence in the county, where his father, Solomon Gotshall, engaged in farming, there passing the re- mainder of his life, as did also his wife. George Gotshall continued a resident of Richland county until 1885, when he came to Fulton county, where he made his home until his death, though he was in Michigan at the time when the summons came to enter the eternal life, his wife having passed away several years previously. They became the parents of four children, of whom Solomon was the first born. Rachel is the wife of John Bard, of Gratiot county, Mich .; Daniel is a resident of near Fayette; and Mary is the wife of Adam Dare, of Mansfield, Ohio. Solomon Gotshall was reared on the home- stead farm, in Richland county, in whose common schools he secured his early educational training. After attaining his majority he there engaged in farming on his own responsibility, continuing operations in this line four years, at the expiration of which, in 1861, he re- moved to Williams county, where he was engaged in the same line of enterprise until 1866, when he removed to Gorham township, Ful- ton county, where he engaged in farming. He also became promi- nently identified with lumbering and stock-dealing interests, and for a number of years he conducted an agricultural store, in Fayette, and also controlled an extensive business in the handling of agricul- tural implements and machinery, such as engines and separators. His progressive spirit became further manifest in his operation of a threshing outfit, and he was the first man in the township to make a success of utilizing a steam engine for power in this line, the first person for whom he did work with the new outfit of this sort de- manding that Mr. Gotshall insure his barn against fire while doing the threshing. In 1881 he engaged in the lumber business at Arch- bold, where he purchased a saw-mill and planing-mill, also equipped

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for the manufacture of staves and headings. He was with his son, L. D., in this enterprise, and a branch factory is maintained in Delta and Toledo, run by his sons, L. D. and J. W. The Archbold institu- tion is the leading manufactory of the town and in the same employ- ment is given to about 160 men. Mr. Gotshall is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of valuable land in Fulton county, and has taken a foremost part in advancing the agricultural interests of the same. . He was the first man to propose the circulation of a petition for the improvement of Bean creek, which has been made to drain in an effective way the southeastern part of Gorham township, in- creasing the value of the swamp lands in that section by the amount of fifty to one hundred dollars an acre. He had a great deal of op- position in this project, and was compelled to give a bond of $10,000, signed by Heman A. Canfield. Mr. Gotshall was also one of the principal promoters of the Toledo and Western electric railway, coming into Fayette. In this project he also had opposition, many thinking it would be a detriment to the village. But it proved to be the reverse. Mr. Gotshall felt confident that it would be a great benefit to the village and surrounding county, and now feels a pardon- able pride in the results of his faithful work. Mr. Gotshall is a stal- wart supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and has held various local offices, including that of trustee of Gor- ham township, and he was secretary of the school board of that township for eighteen years. He is a charter member of the Fayette Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On the 21st of December, 1856, Mr. Gotshall was united in marriage to Miss Maria Whistler, who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, being a daughter of Christopher and Eliza Whistler, both of whom were born in Penn- sylvania, whence they removed to Ashland county, Ohio; and her parents took up their residence in Richland county when Mr. Got- shall was six years of age, there passing the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Gotshall became the parents of four children: Gran- ville is deceased; L. D. is a resident of Toledo and is interested in the mills with which his brother is identified in Archbold; Minnie is deceased; and I. W. is also concerned in the milling business at Delta, Toledo and Archbold, he residing at the latter place.

FRED GRANDY, who is engaged in the livery business in Delta and who is also the owner of a good farm in Fulton township, is a son of that sterling pioneer citizen, Henry R. Grandy, to whom a due tribute is paid on pages 385, 386 and 387, so that a recapitulation of the family history is not demanded in the present connection. Fred Grandy was born on the homestead farm now occupied by his father, in Fulton township, on the 29th of August, 1861, was reared to the discipline of the farm, and his educational advantages were those of the public schools of his native county. He has been engaged in the livery business in Delta since 1900, and controls a large patronage, having the only well-equipped livery in the town. He has done much to raise the grade of horses in this section, having kept thoroughbred breeding stock for many years and being a lover of the noble animals

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to whose breeding and raising he has thus devoted his attention. He and his wife own a fine farm of ninety-five acres, two miles north of Delta, and also have a handsome modern residence in Delta. He is a stalwart Republican in his political proclivities, and is affiliated with Fulton Lodge, No. 248, Free and Accepted Masons; Octavius Waters Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Aurora Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, of which last Mrs. Grandy also is a member. Feb- ruary 22, 1885, Mr. Grandy was united in marriage to Miss Eva F. Thompson, who was born and reared in this country, being a daughter of the late Abraham B. Thompson, one of the old and honored pio- neers of Fulton county, concerning whom more specific mention is made in the sketch of the career of his son, Addison B., published on another page of this volume. The only living child of Mr. and Mrs. Grandy is Grace Evelyn, who remains at the parental home. Mr. Grandy served several years as deputy sheriff of Fulton county, and he is at the present time a valued member of the village council of Delta, being one of the progressive business men and popular citizens. of this place.

MARSHAL TIMOTHY GRAVES, real-estate dealer and pen- sion attorney of Wauseon, was born in Glencoe, Ontario, Canada, in 1858. He is the son of Peter W. and Hannah (Warner) Graves, both natives of Pontiac, Mich. His grandfather Graves and John Graves, an uncle of the father of the subject of this sketch, saw active service in the War of 1812. The wife of the grandfather Graves, a native of Pennsylania, was Mary Cooley before her mar- riage. One uncle and three brothers of the subject of this sketch served in the Civil war. Marshal Timothy Graves came from Cana- da to Ohio when seventeen years old, having received his education in the schools of Glencoe. For four years he was a sailor on the fresh-water lakes and then for two years he was employed in the railway service for the Wabash Company. In 1898 he enlisted in company G. Sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, at the age of forty years, with the rank of corporal, and was discharged May 24, 1899. He was stationed at Cuenfuegos, in the Island of Cuba. In 1901 he came to Wauseon and bought a farm south of the city, and is now living in Wauseon. After coming here he embarked in the real estate business, establishing at the same time a pension agency. He has met with marked success in everything that he has undertaken. In the sale of real-estate he operates in Fulton and the adjoining counties. As pension attorney he does business in many States. Few pension attorneys have served their clients more successfully than he. Mr. Graves has always taken an active part in all matters pertaining to the general improvement of Wauseon. By subscribing liberally to its stock he succeeded in locating in his home city a large canning factory. He married Mrs. Emma C. Fenton, a widow, of Franklin township, Henry county, O. She is the daughter of Rev. N. S. Waden of Henry county, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church North, well-known all over the State of Ohio. The subject of this sketch is commander of Camp Candaleria, No. 20,

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United Spanish War Veterans, of Wauseon. He is a wide-a-wake, progressive business man and farmer, part owner of a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres, in a state of high cultivation, one and one-half miles south of the city. A fine modern residence and large barn are among the improvements he has erected on the land.

GEORGE GRAY, a leading contractor and builder of Lyons, is a well-known and popular citizen of this part of the county and is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Fulton coun- ty, which figures as the place of his nativity. He was born in York township, December 5, 1845, and is a son of Charles and Marilla (Donaldson) Gray. Charles Gray was born in England, whence he came to America when a young man, and he became one of the early settlers in York township, this county, where he reclaimed and improved a farm of 120 acres. With advancing years, he retired from active labor, taking up his residence in the city of Wauseon, where he died August 16, 1900, at the venerable age of eighty-two years. His first wife, Marilla, nee Donaldson, died in 1850, having become the mother of three children, George, James and Mary, the last-named having become the wife of Stephen Coff and being now deceased. For his second wife Charles Gray married Esther Cooper, and they had three children, Charles W., Amos A. and Jennie. After the death of his second wife he married Miss Mell Hodges, who died a few years later, leaving one daughter, Etta. Mr. Gray thereafter consummated a fourth marriage, wedding Elizabeth Cooper, who survives him. George Gray was reared to manhood in Fulton county and duly availed himself of the advantages of the common schools, and farming was his principal vocation for many years. He took up his residence in Royalton township in 1886 and has been a resident of the village of Lyons for ten years. He was identified with agricultural pursuits in this township until 1898, since which time he has followed the trade of carpentry, being an excellent work- man and being successful in his efforts. He rendered loyal service in the Union ranks at the time when the integrity of the Republic was menaced by armed rebellion. In October, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company K, Thirty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he took part in the memorable battles of Stone River and Missionary Ridge, after which he was detailed as division team- ster, in which capacity he served until the close of the war, receiving his honorable discharge, at Columbus, Ohio, June 22, 1865. He is a valued member of Baxter Post, No. 238, G. A. R., at Lyons, and in politics his allegiance is given to the Democratic party. February 20, 1867, Mr. Gray wedded Miss Mary Kane, daughter of Henry and Mary (King) Kane, who were born and reared in Ireland and who were pioneers of York township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Gray have two daughters: Cora, wife of Michael Heiner, and Clara, wife of William Seward.

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RUDOLPH GIGAX, a retired farmer of Elmira, Fulton county, O., is a native of Switzerland, having been born on a farm about six miles from the city of Berne, July 20, 1850. He is the son of Jacob and Magdalena (Burkholder) Gigax, both natives of Switzerland. Jacob Gigax was a successful farmer in the old country until 1854, when, with his family, consisting of wife and six children, he emigrated to the United States. Com- ing directly to Ohio, he located in Ger- man township, Fulton county, where the present village of Burlington is situated, and followed general farming until his death, on March 15, 1871, aged sixty-four years. His widow survived him until March 15, 1882, aged sixty-seven years. To these parents there was born a family of nine children, two of whom were born in this country. Their names follow: Fred, who died in 1904, aged sixty-five years, followed farming in Franklin township; Elizabeth, the wife of L. W. Brown, died in 1881; Godlip, a farmer of German township; Mary, now Mrs. John Keller of German township; Rudolph; Rosetta, the wife of Eli Wyse of Franklin township; Christina, (deceased), the wife of George Younges; John, of German town- ship, and Mary Ann, who died in infancy in Switzerland. Rudolph Gigax was reared on his father's farm and educated in the public schools. Until 1882 he was engaged in general farming, when he embarked in the mercantile business, conducting a hardware estab- lishment for two years. Then he purchased the general store at the village of Burlington and conducted it with unusual success for two years. Disposing of this business, he retired to his fine farm, a half-mile north of Elmira. In politics he has always acted independently, preferring to use his own judgment when passing on the fitness of candidates for public office. His success in life is largely due to his untiring energy, his close application to business and his scrupulous honesty in dealing with his fellow-men.

HENRY R. GRANDY .- The annals of the pioneer days read al- most like a romance to those of the younger generation, but stern real- ity robbed the era of much of its glamor for those who were active par- ticipants in the drama of initial development which has reached its denoument in the opulent material and civic prosperity of the present day, as the grand twentieth century rolls into the cycle of the ages. Mr. Grandy is one of those honored citizens whose memory links the formative epoch with that of latter-day prosperity, and he is now living practically retired on his fine farmstead, in Fulton town- ship, where he has made his home for nearly sixty years, being a scion of one of the well-known pioneer families of this section. Mr. Grandy was born in Clinton county, N. Y., on the 9th of Septem-

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ber, 1832, and is a son of Michael B. and Anna (Leggett ) Grandy, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts, December 5, 1802, and the latter was born in New Hampshire, December 21, 1809. They were married in Easton, Washington county, N. Y., on the 24th of December, 1827, and thereafter resided in Clinton county, that State, until 1838, when they came to Fulton county, Ohio, having four children at the time, and three more were born after they became resi- dents of this county. Betsy J., born October 17, 1828, was married, on the 8th of November, 1846, to Charles Thompson, who is now de- ceased, and she resides in Edgerton, Williams county, having five children. Judson W. was born August 2, 1830, and his death occurred January 30, 1858, his wife and one child having preceded him into eternal rest. Henry R., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth. Samuel P., born May 21, 1835, married Ann E. Harris, March 27, 1859, and of their three children two are living-Jennie, wife of Daniel K. Ladenburg, of Delta, and Charles, manager for the Pitts- burg Coal Company in the city of Toledo. Samuel P. resides in Delta and is employed by his nephew, Fred Grandy, of whom men- tion is made in the preceding sketch. John A., who was born. Janu- ary 31, 1839, resides in Delta, being a notary public and a pension attorney. Moses D., born July 13, 1841, was killed in the battle of Honey Hill, S. C., December 1, 1864, having been in service at the time as a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry. Ann E., born June 4, 1844, is the widow of William A. Lingle, to whom she was married, October 25, 1866, and she resides in the city of Owosso, Mich. Henry R. Grandy secured his early educational discipline in the pioneer schools of this section, and his earliest practical duties were in connection with the work on the farm, in the midst of the primeval forest. The family lived on rented farms in Swan Creek township until 1845, when the father purchased a tract of eighty acres, comprising a portion of the fine landed estate now owned by the subject of this review, this having been the first permanent home of the family after coming to Ohio. The land was wholly unimproved, and the father and sons found theirs the task of felling the giant forest trees and reclaiming the tract to cultiva- tion, all having rendered due quota of aid in the development of this section. The first house was constructed of logs, being sixteen by twenty-eight feet in dimensions, with a "lean-to," fourteen feet wide, running its entire length at the rear. This was one of the best houses in the locality at the time. A mammoth fireplace occupied one end of the living room, and when this was filled with the crackling logs of burning hickory a generous warmth was diffused and the interior made attractive in a homely way. The cooking was largely done in or in front of the fireplace, and bread was usually baked in an iron kettle, which was embedded in live coals and covered with a high- flanged lid, which also held its complement of coals. A later device was the tin reflector, which was supposed to catch and concentrate the heat from a roaring fire and thus do the baking. Mr. Grandy recalls that the roads of those days usually followed the ridges or highest ground, winding around through the forest, by blazed trail, until the

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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 44

Author: Thomas Mikesell Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Number of Pages: 717

Author: Thomas Mikesell
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 717