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 46
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sive land-holders of the county. He is a man of liberal views and much public spirit, and is held in unqualified esteem in the com- munity in which he has so long maintained his home. Mr. Gorsuch is now living essentially retired, having an attractive little place of five acres, improved with a fine residence and other buildings, and is here making his home near the scene of his former indefatigable labors as an agriculturist. After his marriage he located on a tract of eighty acres of land, of which only seven acres had been cleared, the remainder being covered with a dense growth of timber. In the reclaiming of the farm he utilized an ox team, a number of years passing before he secured horses, and in the early days he was accustomed to utilize his oxen in driving to the church which he and his good wife attended. He has contributed his quota to the development and progress of the county and is known as a worthy citizen. In politics he gives his support to the Democratic party, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. On the 3d of March, 1862, Mr. Gorsuch was united in marriage to Miss Maria Cantleberry, daughter of David and Louisa (Davenport) Cantleberry, who settled in Fulton county in 1844, here residing until death. He passed to his reward in 1886 and his wife died in 1895. David Cantleberry was born in Pennsylvania, in 1807, and as a young man he removed to Holmes county, Ohio, where he followed the trade of gunsmith, also engaging in farming. He was married in that county, and after his removal to Fulton county made farming his principal vocation. . Mr. and Mrs. Gorsuch have four sons, each of whom has been provided with a good farm, through the providence and kindness of their father. Edwin L., who resides in Section 30, Clinton township, married Miss Margaret Mohr; Nathan N., whose farm is in Sections 4 and 33, Pike town- ship, married Miss Lucy Becker; David W., whose farm is in Sec- tion 30, York township, married Miss Ida Bryant; and Frank P., who resides on the old homestead, in Clinton township, married Miss Henrietta Genter. The sons received good educational advan- tages and are numbered among the representative young farmers of the county.
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GEORGE B. HEISE, a prominent and well-known lawyer of Wau- scon, is a native of Pickaway county, O., where he was born on No- vember 6, 1862. He is the son of Solomon S. and Olivia (Coontz) Heise, both natives of Pickaway county. Solomon Heise is a repre- sentative of a very early established family in that section of the State. The father of Solomon Heise was George Heise, a native of Bucks county, Pa., who came to Pickaway county at the age of eighteen years and entered government land, a portion of which has remained in the family for nearly a hundred years. George Heise was a soldier in the War of 1812, being a member of a Kentucky regi- ment that participated in the campaign against Detroit. Martin Heise, the father of George Heise, was a Revolutionary hero. This family has been represented in America for more than two hundred years, the founders of the American branch being natives of Germany. The
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mother of Geurge B. Heise was a daughter of Henry Coontz, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Pickaway county in young man- hood, with his wife, a Miss Wall, a descendant of the well-known Wall family, who emigrated to America with Lord Baltimore. The Walls were a prominent and wealthy family whose influence did much towards establishing the right of Americans to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. Henry Coontz, a native of Virginia, was a teacher in the early history of that com- monwealth, and a man of influence and prominence. The parental home of George B .. Heise is still in Pickaway county, about twenty miles from that on which his father was born. George B. Heise grew to manhood on the parental home, near Circleville, receiving his elementary education in the public schools of his native county. He prepared for teaching at the Central normal school, Worthington, O., supplementing this by a course of study at the Fayette Normal University. Then for twelve years he taught in the schools of Ful- ton and Pickaway counties and earned the reputation of being a successful educator. But like most young men who enter the teach- ers' profession, he did not consider that calling permanent. Under the tutorship of John W. Roseborough, the nestor of the Fulton coun- ty bar, he read law and was admitted to practice on June 8, 1893. In September following he began his professional work at Wauseon, where he has since resided. Though engaged in general professional work, he has given special attention to probate business and the set- tlement of estates, and has built up a large and lucrative practice. George B. Heise easily ranks among the foremost lawyers of the Fulton county bar, being a thorough student and indefatigable work- er and the possessor of a valuable professional library. In politics he is an earnest Democrat and he wields a potent influence in the counsels of that party as an organizer of great strength. He was the prime mover in the organization of a successful opposition to a clique of corrupt politicians who for years dominated politics in Fulton county, dictating nominations and elections, and resorting to the worst questionable means to carry out their nefarious ends. The confidence of the people in the sincerity and honesty of Mr. Heise brought to his standard well-meaning men of every political faith, and through their energies the county was purged of its political leprosy and brought to a system of honest caucuses, honest conven- tions and honest elections. Being an earnest adherent to the prin- cipals advocated by the National Democratic conventions of 1896 and 1900, he believes that if any faction of the party needs "re- organizing," it is the one that followed strange gods and allied itself with the so-called party which came into existence for the purpose of defeating the nominees of the "regular" Democratic party. He is a thoughtful, careful writer upon political subjects, expressing himself in language that cannot be miscontrued, and has no patience what- ever with ambiguous political platforms. Recently Mr. Heise has become interested in the organization of the Mercer Co-Operative Department Store in Wauseon, of which corporation he is the treas- urer. The purpose of this establishment is to make the stockhold-
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ers participants in the profits arising from the sale of goods. A wide distribution of the stock of this concern is assured by the fact that it is non-transferable and limited to one hundred-dollar shares. A competent manager is employed to supervise the details of the busi- ness. As the experimental stage has been successfully passed, the promoters of the enterprise are planning to establish similar stores at suitable places throughout the United States. Mr. Heise, while at school at Fayette, became a member of the Good Templars, and he still adheres to the principles of that fraternity, using neither to- bacco nor intoxicants in any form. He is treasurer of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America, recorder of the local camp of the Court of Honor, and a member of the Encampment and subordi- nate lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his re- ligious views he is quite liberal, being nominally a Methodist, though not wholly in accord with the discipline of that church. George B. Heise chose for his helpmeet on life's journey Miss Minnie E. Reiger of Franklin township, a daughter of George and Barbara Reiger, both of whom are deceased. Two promising sons have come to bless this union. They are: Roscoe S., a student at the Ohio State Uni- versity, and Bryan, a pupil of the Wauseon city schools.
FREDERICK HELFRICH, mayor and prominent merchant of Swanton, Fulton county, O., is a native of Lucas county, having been born in Richfield township, nine miles northeast of Swanton, on October 18, 1859. Frederick and Mary (Pitzen) Helfrich, his parents were both natives of Germany, the former of Hesse Darm- stadt and the latter of Prussia. They emigrated to America with their parents and were married in Perrysburg, Wood county, O. From there they removed to Richfield township, Lucas county, Ohio, where Frederick Helfrich spent his life farming, dying in 1874, aged fifty-nine years. His widow, who survived him many years, died in November, 1903, at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. To these parents there were born seven children, of whom six are yet living. Their names follow : Frances, the wife of Adam Myers, a farmer of Lucas county, O .; Barbara, the wife of Henry Langenderfer, also a farmer of Lucas county; Anthony, an undertaker and furniture deal- er of Lorain, O .; Frederick; Mary, unmarried and living with her relatives; Stephen, a merchant of Raab's Corners, Lucas county ; and John, the eldest, who was killed when thirteen years old by a vicious animal. Frederick Helfrich was reared on a farm and received his education in the public and parochial schools of his native county. For some years after attaining to his majority he followed farming. Then he was employed for one year as salesman in a dry-goods store in Toledo, O. In 1886 he came to Swanton and engaged for the next nine years in the livery business. Quitting the livery busi- ness, he established the only exclusively crockery store in Swanton, in which business he has met with marked success. This establish- ment carries a full line of crockery-ware, tinware, lamps, notions, etc. In connection with this business he is also ticket-agent of the Toledo and Indiana Electric railroad. In 1903 he was elected mayor of
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Swanton, his term expiring January 1, 1906. In political views he is liberal, not controlled by party lines, though he usually supports the Democratic ticket in national elections. He has served several years as a member of the board of health and one term in the village council. He is a past chancellor commander of the Swanton lodge of Knights of Pythias and with his wife a member of St. Richard's Catholic church. On May 5, 1892, he was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Elida Reed, a native of Swanton and the daughter of A. A. and Sarah Reed, pioneer settlers of this locality. To Fred- erick Helfrich and wife have been born two children. They are :. Ruth, aged twelve years, and Fern, aged ten years.
WILLIAM HILL, retired farmer and highly respected citizen of Swanton, is a native of Tuscarawas county, O., where he was born on June 5, 1844. He is a son of Capt. John Hill, a native of Ohio, his modier in maidenhood being Elizabeth Buffington of Pennsyl- vania. In early life John Hill was a canal-boat captain, operating on the Miami and Erie Canal and the Wabash river, and to a lim- ited extent on the Great Lakes. When the canal was superseded by the railroad he was forced to give up his avocation. He died at the home of his son, William, in his seventy-third year, his wife having died just one month before. They were the parents of seven children, of whom only three are now living. Those living are : Wil- liam; James, a farmer of Fulton county; and Alice, the wife of James Berry of Swanton. Charles died at the age of seventeen and the other three in childhood. William Hill accompanied his parents ta Fulton county when he was ten years old. His education was quite limited, as his father put him to work on the canal-boat im- mediately after the removal of the family to this county, depriving him each year of a mother's care and attention during the eight months of the boating season. Tiring of this monotonous work, he ran away and enlisted in the Union army. After having once failed to pass the required examination, he finally succeeded in get- ting into the One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantry and served three years. His regiment was for a time under the command of General Brailey. He participated in fourteen battles, among which may be mentioned the following: Bowling Green, Ky., Resaca, Ga., Campbell's Station, Tenn., Siege of Knoxville and Dandridge, Tenn. At the last named engagement he received a dis- abling wound and was sent to the hospital at Lancaster, Ky. While convalescing at the hospital, he with others of different regiments and companies was organized into a company to take part in the race after the Rebel raider, Morgan. In 1865 he was discharged from the service at Cleveland, O., and at once returned to his paren- tal home near Swanton. For the first two years after his return from the war he was an employee of the American Express com- pany. At the age of twenty-five, after his marriage, he located per- manently at Swanton. After being engaged in different lines of work for many years, he has laid aside everything else except that of looking after his garden and fruit orchards. In politics Mr. Hill
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is a stanch Republican. For twelve years he served as constable and for four years as deputy-sheriff of Fulton county. He is a member of Quiggle Post, No. 289, Grand Army of the Republic, having filled the various chairs in that organization, and with his wife a member of the Baptist church. In 1870 he chose as his life partner Miss Mary Lucinda Berry, a daughter of Isaac and Arminda (Frost) Berry, pioneer settlers of this community. Of the five sons that have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill three are still living. The names of those deceased were John L. and Bert. Walter I., the eldest, is mas- ter-mechanic of the American Tin-Plate company, located at Mones- sen, Pa .. His position is as lucrative as it is responsible, and it is needless to state that he is filling it to the entire satisfaction of his employers: The maiden name of his wife was Miss Carrie Benz, a native of Fayette. Pearl D., the second of the living sons, is a mem- ber of the Regular Army, and holds the position of First-Sergeant, and' is stationed' in Arkansas. Louis G., the youngest child of the family, is foreman of the machine shops of the American Tin-Plate company at! Monessen, where he is living a happy married life. Wil- liam Hill is a progressive, public-spirited citizen. By industry and sobriety he has earned a fine home, where he and wife enjoy the pleasure oft perfect: domestic harmony. Their lives have been con- genial and happy, and the parental home is still the dearest place on earth to the devoted sons whose business life has called them to other localities. For the disabilities incurred in army life, Mr. Hill is now drawing a liberal pension. William Hill and his most esti- mable wife have just cause to be proud of the achievements of their sons, all of whom have attained prominence.
JOHN P. HOLLAND is a progressive farmer and honored citi- zen of Royalton township, where he has resided from the time of his birth, and it was his to represent Fulton county as one of the valiant "boys in blue" who followed the old flag on the battlefields of the South during the greatest Civil war known in the annals of history. Mr. Holland was born on the homestead farm, in Royal- ton township, on the 26th of December, 1844, and is a son of Thomas R. and Deborah M. (Thompson) Holland, both of whom were born and reared in Buckinghamshire, England, being repre- sentatives of sterling old English families, long settled in that section of the "right little isle." They came to America in 1832, and the father made his way to Toledo, Ohio, where he was employed until about 1835, when he came to Fulton county and settled in Royalton township, as one of the early pioneers of this section, which was then a part of Lucas county. He took up eighty acres of govern- ment land, the same being still covered with the native timber, and he reclaimed the greater portion of this tract to cultivation, the same being located in Section 24, and there the family home was retained until 1861, when he removed across the line into Fairfield township, Lenawee county, Mich., where he made his home for a score of years, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He then removed to the village of Weston, that county, where he lived retired until his death,
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October 24, 1904, at the patriarchal age of ninety-three years. His first wife, the mother of John P., died in 1849, five children having been born of the union, namely: Annie M., deceased, wife of Henry Ritchey ; Ezekiel U., a resident of Amboy township; Louisa A., wife of Joseph Southworth; John P., to whom this sketch is dedicated; and Esther J., deceased wife of Lewis Miller. For his second wife Thomas R. Holland married Mary A. Boyce, and after her death he married Elizabeth C. Hindee, who survives him. John P. Holland was reared to manhood in Royalton township, his memory links the pioneer era with these latter days of opulent prosperity and ad- vanced facilities in the section where his life has been passed, and his early education was secured in the common schools of the locality. On the 9th of August, 1862, when but seventeen years of age, he enlisted as a private in Company H, One Hundredth Ohio volun- teer infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Ohio, and he was with his command in the battle of Limestone, Tenn., September 8, 1863, being there taken prisoner and being taken to Libby prison, Richmond, Va., and later to Belle Isle, where he remained in captivity until March 13, 1864, when he was paroled, reaching City Point four days later and rejoining his regiment in the follow- ing June, at Big Shanty, Ga. He took part in the battles of Jones- boro, Ga., Wilmington, N. C., and Columbia, Franklin and Nash- ville, Tenn., besides many minor engagements, and continued in the ranks until the close of the war, having received his honorable dis- charge June 20, 1865, at Goldsboro, N. C., and the regiment was mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, on the Ist of the following month. After the termination of his military career Mr. Holland returned to Fulton county, and in the spring of 1868 he settled on his present farm, comprising eighty acres. In Section 13, Royalton town- ship, having reclaimed the greater part of the tract from its wild state and having made excellent improvements of a permanent nature, so that it is now one of the attractive and valuable farmsteads of this section of the county. In politics Mr. Holland is an uncom- promising Republican, he has ever shown a loyal concern in local affairs of a public nature, and he has served in various township of- fices. He and his wife are prominent members of the First Baptist church of Weston, Mich., about ten and one-half miles distant from their home. January 5, 1868, Mr. Holland was married to Miss Ann E. Sprague, daughter of Charles and Rebecca (Herrick) Sprague, natives of New York and New Hampshire, respectively, who settled in Royalton township, this county, in the autumn of 1857, here passing the remainder of their lives. Mr. Sprague im- proved a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and the property is now owned by his daughter Ann, wife of Mr. Holland, subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Holland have one son, Rupert, who is engaged in the practice of law in the city of Toledo.
ELMER W. HOLMES, who is incumbent of the office of trustee of Royalton township, is one of the progressive farmers of this sec- tion of the county. He was born in Fairfield township, Lenawee
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county, Michigan, on the 14th of September, 1865, being a son of John and Lucretia (Packard) Holmes, the former of whom was born in England and the latter in the State of New York. John Holmes was one of the early settlers of Lenawee county, having first located in the city of Adrian and having later taken up his residence in Fairfield township, where he was engaged in farming for many years. He died in Royalton township, Fulton county, Ohio, May 8, 1893, at which time he was sixty-two years of age. John and Lucretia (Packard) Holmes reared three children, Henry, who is a resident of North Dakota; Elmer W., who is the subject of this sketch; and Amanda, who became the wife of Ernest Spencer and who is now deceased. Elmer W. Holmes was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm, in Fairfield township, Lenawee county, Michigan, and his vocation throughout life has been that of farming, in con- nection with which he has attained marked success, and he has been a resident of Royalton township since 1891. He has a well improved farm of 160 acres, is one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of the county, and he is held in high esteem in the community. In pol- itics he is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he is now serving his first term as a member of the board of trustees of Royalton township. On the 15th of December, 1886, Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Wilda Onweller, daughter of Samuel and Amanda (Hilton) Onweller, of Royalton township, and they have three children : Frank, Ralph and Mabel.
CHARLES C. HOLT is one of the largest land owners and one of the most progressive and successful farmers of Royalton town- ship, where he made his home from the time of birth. He was born in this township, on the 26th of May, 1858, and is a son of Frederick and Jane (Gilmore) Holt. The father was born and reared in Prus- sia, whence he immigrated to America in 1837, passing the first two years in Rochester, N. Y., and then coming to Toledo, Ohio. About 1842 he took up eighty acres of government land in Royalton town- ship, Fulton county, reclaiming the same from the virgin forest, and thereafter, as his affairs prospered, he continued to add to his original purchase until he accumulated a landed estate of four hun- dred and eighty acres, of which he retained possession until his death, a large part of which he personally cleared and improved, and his success was entirely due to his own thrift and industry. His name was a synonym of integrity, and no man in the community com- manded more unqualified esteem and confidence. He died in 1896, at the age of seventy-four years, and his devoted wife passed away the same year, aged sixty-two. The latter was a daughter of Am- brose Gilmore, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and who settled in Royalton township in 1839, one of the earliest pioneers, passing the remainder of his life on the farm of eighty acres which he re- claimed from the wilderness. Frederick and Jane Holt became the parents of six children, of whom the following named attained ma- turity : Oliver, who is the present sheriff of Lenawee county, Mich .; James, who is a prominent farmer, owning land in Lenawee county,
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Michigan; Charles C., who is the subject of this review; and Hat- tie, who is the wife of Perry Carpenter, a leading merchant of Lyons, this county. Charles C. Holt was reared on the old home- stead farm, received his education in the public schools of the vi- cinity, and he continued to reside upon the home farm until 1904, when he removed to the village of Lyons, though he still maintains a general supervision of his extensive farming and stock interests. After his father's death, through inheritance and purchase, he came into possession of the home farm, being the owner of five hundred and seventy acres of most arable and well-improved farming land, all in one body, and he also owns his attractive residence in Lyons. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and is at the present time serv- ing as trustee of Royalton township. He is affiliated with Lyon Lodge, No. 622, I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife are prominent and zealous members of the Christian church, in which he is a deacon. November 18, 1880, Mr. Holt was married to Miss Mary Naylor, who was born May 7, 1858, in Ashland county, Ohio, and reared principally in Royalton township, being a daughter of James and Priscilla (Deibler) Naylor, and the two living children of this union are Pearl and Mabel, both daughters being still at the parental home.
MONTRAL B. HOYT, of York township, is employed by the Na- tional government in the capacity of general agent in the rural free mail-delivery service and is held in high esteem in this section of the county, where he has lived from the time of his birth. He was born on the homestead farm, in York township, November 15, 1858, and is a son of John and Rebecca (Mclaughlin) Hoyt, the former of whom was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and the latter in the state of Pennsylvania. Their marriage was solemnized in Fulton county and they located on a farm two miles west of the present home of their son, Montral B., subject of this sketch, where both passed the re- mainder of their lives. The father passed away when Montral B. was but one year of age, and the death of the mother occurred in 1882. Mr. Hoyt was reared to maturity on the farm which he now owns, his widowed mother having come to the place to reside with her mother, Mrs. Susan Mclaughlin, who then owned a portion of the farm. Mr. Hoyt duly availed himself of the advantages of the public schools of his native township and also attended the graded school in Delta. That he made good use of his opportunities is evi- dent when we revert to the fact that he engaged in teaching in the schools of his native county, following this vocation at intervals for fifteen years and meeting with marked success in his pedagogic lab- ors. For three years he gave his attention to farming and in 1889 he was elected county surveyor, in which office he served about seven years. In his official capacity he was identified with many important internal improvements in the county, notably the Bean Creek enter- prise, which resulted in protracted litigation and was finally settled by the supreme court of the State. In September, 1896, Mr. Hoyt re- tired from the office of surveyor and thereafter gave his supervision to the operation of his farm until 1900, when he was appointed route-
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