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 52
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GEORGE O. MEEKER, one of the representative farmers of York township, was born in East Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on the 18th of October, 1840, and is a son of John O. and Mary (Hendershott) Meeker, the former of whom was born August 20, 1816, in the State of New Jersey, and the latter was born on the 6th of December, 1819, their marriage having been solemnized in East Cleveland, Ohio, September 5, 1834. The father was an excel- lent mechanic and was employed as such for a considerable time, but the major portion of his active career was devoted to farming, in which he met with a due measure of success. In 1868 he came with his family to Fulton county and located on a farm in Royalton town- ship, where his death occurred in April, 1888. His devoted wife sur- vived him by a number of years, continuing her residence on the homestead farm until her demise, which occurred in February, 1905, a zealous member of the Disciple church. They became the parents of four sons-George Oliver, Walter Smith, Clarence Henry, and Frank E. Walter and Clarence were soldiers in Ohio regiments dur- ing the Civil war, and the latter died as the result of disabilities in- curred while in service, his death occurring December 28, 1863, at which time he was aged twenty years, six months and twenty-eight days. Walter and Frank are prosperous farmers and popular citizens of Royalton township. George O. Meeker was reared to maturity in his native county, receiving a good common-school education, and he accompanied his parents on their removal to Fulton county, in 1868. Here he assisted for some time in the operation of the homestead farm of his father, after which he engaged in the same line of enterprise on his own responsibility, eventually becoming the own- er of a farm in Royalton township, where he continued to reside until 1884, when he sold the property and purchased his present fine homestead, in Section 9, York township, the same comprising seven- ty acres and being equipped with excellent improvements. Mr.
Meeker has never been an aspirant for public office but has always taken a loyal interest in public affairs, and has exercised his fran- chise in support of the principles and policies of the Republican party. He served for a time as school director. He and his wife are members of the United Brethren church and are active in its work. On the Ist of November, 1864, in Morenci, Mich., was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Meeker to Miss Hattie McQuillin, daughter of David and Lydia McQuillin, early settlers of this county. Mrs.
Meeker's father and mother became the parents of five sons and six daughters. One son, James A., was first lieutenant in Company I, Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, in the early part of the Civil war, being later promoted to captain of his company and dying from the effects of a wound received in the battle of Missionary Ridge. His body was brought to the old home, in Fulton county, and was interred in the Salisbury cemetery, where his former comrades erect- ed a handsome monument to his memory. John and Thomas Mc- Quillin also were soldiers in the Civil war. Edward, Thomas and William are deceased, and of the sisters of Mrs. Meeker the following is a brief record: Eliza is the wife of John Hefflebower, of Michigan;
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Nancy is the wife of Jeremiah Miller, of Delta, this county; Delilah is the wife of Levi Alwood, of Tennessee; Rachel is the wife of William Daily, of York township. Mrs. Meeker is the youngest of the children. Mr. and Mrs. Meeker have one child, Abbie Mary, who is now the wife of John F. Hettinger, county surveyor of Fulton county. They reside in the city of Wauseon and their only child is Hattie Louisa. named in honor of her two grandmothers.
REUBEN J. KUMP has been a resi- dent of Fulton county since his childhood days and is numbered among the represen- tative farmers and stock-growers of Frank- lin township. He was born in Berlin, Ma- honing county, Ohio, June 23, 1856, and is a son of Levi and Sarah (Kime) Kump. The former was born in Dover township, York county, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1832, and he died on his homestead farm, in Franklin township, Fulton county, Ohio, September 17, 1904. When he was about one year old his parents removed from Pennsylvania to Mahoning county, Ohio, R. J. KUMP. where he was reared to manhood and where his marriage to Sarah Kime was solemnized, May 17, 1855. In the spring of 1860 he came with his family to Franklin township, Fulton county, where he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until his death. In early life he became a member of the Lutheran church, in whose faith he was reared, but after removing to Fulton county both he and his wife united with the Methodist Episcopal church, becoming faithful and zealous in the work of the same. His parents, Daniel and Elizabeth (Gross) Kump, were both born in Pennsylvania, of stanch German descent, and both died in Mahoning county, Ohio, being interred in the cemetery at North Berlin. Sarah (Kime) Kump, mother of the subject of this review, was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, April 11, 1832, being a daugh- ter of Henry Kime, who was a blacksmith by trade, a native of Pennsylvania and a pioneer of Mahoning county, Ohio, where he died. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Kemp has resided in the home of her daughter Ella D. Sayers, near West Unity, Williams county. Of the six children in the family Reuben J. is the eldest; Ada is the wife of Noah W. Bowser, a farmer of Franklin township; Oliver F. is engaged in farming in Gorham township; Sylvanus D. is deceased, as is also Orpha E .; and Ella D. is the wife of Artwell Sayers, a farmer near West Unity, Williams county. Reuben J. Kump was four years of age at the time when his parents took up .their residence in Fulton county, and he was reared to maturity on the homestead farm, in Franklin township, in whose public schools he secured his early educational training. He remained associated with his father in the management of the home farm until he had
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attained the age of thirty years, and he then located on his present farm, which he purchased ten years later. He has one hundred and fifteen acres of most fertile and productive land, he has been suc- cessful in both the agricultural and stock-growing departmnets of his enterprise, and he has made excellent improvements on his at- tractive farmstead. He has given much attention to the breeding of high-grade cattle, swine and sheep, and has had the best of breeding lines of full- blooded sort. Mr. Kump is a stanch Re- publican and is a loyal and liberal citizen, commanding uniform confidence and es- teem in the community which has been his home from childhood. ] He is affiliated . with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and with its adjunct, the Daughters of Rebekah, of which latter his wife also is a member. January 1, 1887, Mr. Kump married Miss Sarah Catherine Punches, who was born in Gorham township, this county, being a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Deal) Punches, who settled in SARAH C. KUMP. Fulton county in September, 1850. Henry Punches was born in Seneca county, New York, May 21, 1821, and he died in Fayette, February 7, 1895. His parents removed from Berks county, Penn- sylvania, to Seneca county, New York, in an early day, having been of German lineage. January 31, 1847, Henry Punches married Eliza- beth Deal, who likewise was born in Seneca county, New York, and she now (1905) resides in Fayette, aged seventy-eight years, being one of the honored pioneer women of Fulton county. She is a mem- ber of the Reformed church, as was also her husband. Mr. Punches was a carpenter by trade and followed this vocation for a number of years, but he gave his attention almost entirely to the work of his farm after coming to Fulton county. Of the nine children all grew to years of maturity: Frances, who became the wife of William Gamble, resides in Fayette; Edward died July 18, 1888, at the age of thirty-eight years; Lawrence is a resident of Fayette; Mrs. Kump was the next in order of birth; Mary is the wife of Horace Ford, of Fayette; Arthur is a resident of Springport, Michigan; Nathaniel is a farmer of Gorham township; Marion died in Colorado, when a young man; and George resides in Fayette. Mr. and Mrs. Kump have one daughter, Alma Elizabeth, who remains at the parental home, being one of the popular young ladies of the community.
MICHAEL MARZOLF, one of the representative farmers and honored citizens of Franklin township, of which he has served as trustee and treasurer, is a member of one of the pioneer families of Fulton county. He was born in Gorham township, this county, on the 6th of May, 1849, and is a son of Michael and Magdalena (Hagel- berger) Marzolf, both of whom were born in Alsace-Lorraine, France,
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which is now a portion of German territory. Their respective par- ents came to America in 1828, the two families locating in Erie county, N. Y., where the parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Marzolf passed the remainder of their lives. In that county Michael Marzolf, Sr., continued to reside until 1840, when he came with his family to Fulton county, locating in Franklin township, and in 1844 taking up his residence on the farm immediately across the road from the pres- ent homestead of his son and namesake, the subject of this review. He continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in this town- ship until his death, which occurred February 21, 1888, at which time he was seventy-six years of age. His wife passed to the life eternal December 28, 1894, aged eighty-two years. They became the parents of nine children, namely: Catherine, deceased; Eliza, wife of Christian Allian of Gorham township; Sarah, deceased; Joel, a resi- dent of Hillsdale county, Mich .; Susan, wife of Isaiah Town, of Gor- ham township; Hannah, wife of Josiah Town, of Hillsdale county, Mich .; Michael, the subject of this sketch; Jacob, a resident of Fay- ette, this county; and John, likewise a resident of Fayette. Michael Marzolf passed his boyhood and youth on the old homestead and was given such educational advantages as the schools of the locality and period afforded. He has been identified with the industry of agriculture throughout his independent career and is now the owner of a well-improved landed estate of 100 acres, the same being devoted to diversified farming and stock-growing. In addition to his farming operations Mr. Marzolf has traveled quite extensively, at varying intervals, as salesman of wire fencing, and he is at the present time an agent for the products of the Adrian Fence Company, of Adrian, Mich. Mr. Marzolf is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, he was incumbent of the office of township trustee for six years, and he served four years as township treasurer, giving an able and faith- ful administration of the duties of each of these positions, and he has been a member of the school board for several years past. Octo- ber 12, 1873, Mr. Marzolf was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Stockdale, who was born in Marion county, Ohio, and who was eight years of age at the time of her parents' removal to Gorham township, Fulton county, where her father, Robert Stockdale, passed the re- mainder of his life; her mother now resides in Franklin township. Mr. and Mrs. Marzolf have three children-William, who is asso- ciated in the work and management of the home farm; Clara, who is the wife of Albert Wallace, of Williams county; and Martin, who is engaged in farming in Gorham township.
JACOB J. MATZINGER has resided on his present fine farm, in Fulton township, for nearly thirty-nine years, and is an honored member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section. He was born in the canton of Schaffhausen, in the Rhine district of Swit- zerland, on the German border, the date of his nativity having been April 27, 1843. He is a son of Isaac and Rachel Matzinger, who immigrated from Switzerland to America and located on a farm in Lucas county, Ohio, in 1852, the old homestead being just across
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the road from the present residence of their son Jacob J., of this sketch, said road constituting the line between Fulton and Lucas counties. On the old homestead the parents passed the remainder of their lives, and the place is now owned by their son John. The mother passed away in 1863, at the age of sixty years, and the father died in 1879, at the age of seventy years. They became the parents of three sons and one daughter. Isaac, the eldest, died at the age of sixty-eight years; Elizabeth is the wife of Jonas Matzinger, a farmer of Lucas county; Jacob J. was the next in order of birth; and John resides on the old homestead, as before noted. Jacob J. Matzinger was about seven years of age at the time of his parents' immigra- tion to America, and his rudimentary education was thus secured in the schools of his native canton in the fair little republic of Switzer- land. He later attended the common schools of this section of Ohio when opportunity presented, and his aid was from his boyhood days in requisition in connection with clearing and otherwise improving the home farm. In 1867 he located on his present farm, which was a part of his father's landed estate, and he has made this one of the valuable places of the county, with substantial and well-equipped buildings and with well-cultivated fields, devoted to diversified agri- culture. He also raises live stock of good grade and is one of the energetic and substantial farmers of this section, where he commands the high regard of all who know him. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he has served in minor offices of local trust. Both he and his wife are members of the Reformed church, formerly known as the German Reformed. December 7, 1863, Mr. Matzinger was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Weiler, who was born in France, being a daughter of Erhardt and Barbara Weiler, who came to America and located in Fulton county, Ohio, in 1851, the mother dying in this county, and the father passed the closing years of his life in Richmond, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Matzinger have eleven children, five of whom reside in Bellevue, Huron county, Ohio; two in Frank- fort, Mich .; and the remaining four on the home place with their parents. Their names are here entered in order of birth: Erhardt Isaac, John- Albert, Louisa Harriet, Mary Martha, Lydia Hannah; Rosa Bertha, Lodema Catherine, Edward Jacob, Freonia Theoda, Amanda Ethel, and Arthur Benjamin.
FRANK C. MERRILL, at present township trustee of Fulton township, and one of the extensive farmers and popular citizens of this section, was born in the township where he now resides, on the 7th of August, 1859, being a son of Osias and Jane (Vaughan) Mer- rill, the former a native of the State of Maine and the latter of Holmes county, Ohio. They were children at the time when the respective families came to Fulton county and settled in the same neighborhood in Fulton township, about 1838. Osias and Jane (Vaughan) Merrill were reared and educated in this county, the latter dying on the homestead farm in Fulton township. Her husband later consum- mated a second marriage, and he was a resident of Swan Creek township at the time of his death. Of the four children of the first
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marriage Frank C. was the third in order of birth. Horace A. is a successful lawyer in the city of Toledo; James Eugene is the present auditor of Fulton county; and Minnie is the wife of William Biddle, residing on the old Merrill homestead, which was also the Vaughan homestead. Frank C. Merrill passed his boyhood days on the home farm, and after duly taking advantage of the local school privileges he continued his studies in the graded schools at Wauseon. After leaving school he resumed his connection with the agricultural in- dustry, with which he has ever since been prominently identified, save for a period of three years, during which he conducted a general store in the village of Ai. He inherited one hundred and thirteen acres, to which he later added by the purchase of a contiguous tract of fifty-six acres, his farm being one of the best-improved and best- managed in the township of Fulton. Mr. Merrill has always affi- liated with the Republican party, and has been a· zealous worker in its ranks, usually attending the county conventions and at all times showing a public-spirited concern in local affairs. He has previously been called upon to serve as township trustee, to which office he was again elected in 1904. His honored father was likewise promi- nent and influential in local matters, and for a period of six years, from 1865, he held the office of county auditor, and he was also a member of the State constitutional convention of 1873, a stanch sup- porter of the Union during the Civil war and he was an ardent Re- publican from the time of the organization of the party until the time of his death. His remains were laid to rest beside those of his first wife, in the cemetery at Ai. Frank C. Merrill is a member of Swan- ton Lodge, No. 555, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Berry Grange, No. 1111, at Ai. In 1882 Mr. Merrill was united in mar- riage to Miss Etta Nobbs, a daughter of James H. and Anna (Fet- terman) Nobbs, representatives of prominent pioneer families of Ful- ton county, where Mrs. Merrill was born and reared. Her paternal lineage is of English and her maternal of German extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Merrill have seven children: Herma, Clayton, Florence, Roy, Lucy, Koryl, and Mildred. Herma is now the wife of William Walters, and they reside on a farm adjoining that of her father. Mr. Walters is a son of Orlando Walters, mentioned elsewhere in this publication.
THOMAS MIKESELL, an honored citizen and retired. farmer of Wauseon, is a representative of old and prominent families of Fulton county, and it is fortunate that in this work it is possible to enter a concise genealogical record, in addition to touching the more salient points in his individual career. George Mikesell was the grandson of a German immigrant who settled in northern Maryland early in the eighteenth century. George Mikesell was born near Cumberland, that State, December 15, 1776, and he resided in that locality until he was about twenty years of age, when he removed to the vicinity of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and a few years later took up his abode in Somerset county, that State. There, about 1794, he married Mary Bayes, daughter of Stephen Bayes, her birth having
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occurred April 28, 1773. This worthy couple became the parents of eight sons and four daughters. In the autumn of the year 1830 George Mikesell came with his family to Ohio and located in Holmes county, and in September, 1837, he came to what is now Clinton township, Fulton county, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was a stone and brick-mason by trade, and followed this voca- tion until he was well-advanced in years. In the spring of 1838 he put up a small kiln of brick, and with the product from the same he built a substantial fireplace and chimney for his log house, the brick thus manufactured having been the first made in Clinton township, and perhaps the first in the county. George Mikesell died October 9, 1840, and just one week later his devoted wife followed him to the. life eternal. Both were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. William Mikesell, son of George and Mary (Bayes) Mikesell, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1810, and he was there reared and educated, remaining on the farm until he had attained the age of twenty years. In 1830 he accom -. panied his parents on their removal to Holmes county, Ohio, where he rented land and engaged in farming. In 1832 he went to visit his old home in Pennsylvania, and when he returned the great flood of the Ohio river was on, the steamboats being enabled to run through the streets of Steubenville, Ohio. He was taken across the river in a rowboat, the river being at that time about four miles wide at the crossing point. May 23, 1833, he married Margaret Bayes, who was born June 4, 1811, being a daughter of Thomas Bayes, and she died December 4, 1855. They became the parents of two sons and one daughter. In 1836 William Mikesell, in company with his brother-in-law, Thomas Bayes, Jr., came to the wilderness of what is now Fulton county, and they made entry of fourteen eighty-acre tracts of land, for themselves and certain friends, traveling about much of the time on foot, as they had only one horse, which they rode alternately. In April, 1837, William Mikesell came with his family to their new home, making the trip with an ox team. Their embryonic farm was located in Section 14, Township 7 north, Range six east. The roads were so deep with mud that the trip from Holmes county consumed about three weeks, and they arrived on the last day of the month mentioned. Their little log cabin was erected in a few days' time, and that first spring Mr. Mikesell cleared two acres of his land and planted the same with corn, securing a fair yield. By fall he had cleared five more acres, which he sowed to wheat, securing a goodly crop, having brought sufficient flour with him to last until he could raise grain for further supplies. Deer, wild turkeys, pigeons, etc., were plentiful, and there was never a scarcity of meat in the family larder, for he was a successful hunter. Wild honey was readily secured and a supply was always kept in the house, and wild fruits also offered a valued contribution to the fare of the pioneers. The market town for this locality was Maumee City, which was twenty- six miles distant in a straight line, but which was many miles farther in actual travel, as the primitive roads wound about on the higher ground. Grain had to be hauled to that town to be sold or ground
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for family use. Mr. Mikesell also sold many deer hams, as well as the skins of deer, mink and coon, and in 1840 he paid the entire purchase price of a horse through his sale of such commodities. He continued the reclamation of his farm and was prospered in his labors. He never held public office except that he served one term as justice of the peace and two terms as township treasurer. His actual attendance in school covered a period of only six months, and yet he gained a fair education and was well-informed and pos- sessed of mature judgment. He and his wife were converted soon after their marriage, and they ever afterward continued faithful and devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and their little home in the wilds of Fulton county was the stopping place of the early-day circuit riders of the church and was the place for holding the services. They were among the first members of the class which developed into the society which comprises the Methodist Episcopal church in Wauseon. Although it was the common custom in the early days to use whiskey freely at the harvest season and in the rais- ing of buildings, Mr. Mikesell never used it or furnished it to others. Notwithstanding his attitude in this respect he never had difficulty in securing help in his farm work. He was an official in his church for many years, thus continuing until within a few years of his death, which occurred July 13, 1883. His first wife died in 1855, as has already been noted, and in the following year he married Mrs. Cath- arine (Pfouts) Bayes, widow of Meek Bayes, and they became the parents of one son, David, who is now a resident of Toledo, Ohio. Mrs. Catharine Mikesell died December 26, 1869. Of the children of the first marriage the daughter died in infancy. John, born July 12, 1837, grew to manhood on the home farm, and in April, 1861, he enlisted in the Fourteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, for a term of three months, serving in West Virginia and receiving his discharge in August, 1861. He re-enlisted, becoming a member of the Sixty- eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he rose to the position of fife major, serving with this command until after the battle of Fort Donelson, when, through exposure in the storms of February, 1862, he contracted pneumonia, from which he died, on the 12th of March. The other son, Thomas Mikesell, figures as the immediate subject of this review and is duly mentioned later on in this context. William Mikesell continued to reside on the old homestead farm until his death. He was nearly six feet in height, weighing more than two hundred pounds, and was possessed of great strength. He was genial and kindly, tolerant in his judgment, and ever tried to avoid trouble with his neighbors and all others with whom he came in contact in any of the relations of life. Thomas Bayes was born April 30, 1775, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and he died, in Fulton county, Ohio, September 2, 1850. He was a son of Stephen Bayes, of English and Scotch descent. About 1797 he married Ann McMillen, who was born March 31, 1776, and they became the par- ents of six sons and three daughters. About 1820, in company with his family, Mr. Bayes removed from the old Keystone State to Holmes county, Ohio, where he bought a farm, upon which he lived
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