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 61
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married, first on August 28, 1885, the lady being Miss Maggie M. Zenk, a native of Richfield township, Lucas county. Three chil- dren were born to this union as follows: Grover A., since June 24, 1903, a musician on board the United States Cruiser Chicago, sta- tioned at San Diego, Cal. ; George O., employed in the hardware busi- ness in Toledo, and Arthur B., a student at Toledo. His first wife having died in February, 1892, he was wedded to Miss Mary J. Han- kins, a native of Indiana, in November, 1894. To this marriage there have been born the following children: Carmah M., Charles H. and Reville Raymond. Mrs. Regenold is a member of the Order of Eastern Star and of Christ's church.
FRANK H. REIGHARD, editor and proprietor of the Fulton County Tribune, was born in Swan Creek township, Fulton county, O., October 8, 1867. He is the son of George and Elizabeth Reig- hard. George Reighard, also a native of Swan township, was born November 24, 1846. He has always resided on a farm in that town- ship. For many years he served as township trustee and for twenty years has been a member of the school-board. The brothers and sis- ters of the subject of the sketch are Dell C., Sophia, Royal, Bert and Florence, all living at Delta, O., and all are married except Florence. George Reighard is the son of Jacob Reighard, who set- tled in Swan Creek township in 1839, having come there from Holmes county, O. He was an active citizen and died at the age of sixty-four years. Elizabeth Reighard was the daughter of Thomas Elton, a native of Wiltshire, England, who came to Medina county, O., in 1854, and seven years later to Swan Creek township, Fulton county, where he located on a farm. The maternal grandparents were both natives of Wiltshire county, England. The subject of this sketch received his elementary education in the public schools of his home township. He then attended the Fayette Normal, the Ohio Normal University at Ada and the University of Wooster. After leaving Wooster he was with the Baltimore and Ohio railway for a time as civil engineer. For ten years he followed the profes- sion of teaching and was then elected township superintendent in 1893, serving two years. Prior to his election to the office of county surveyor (1895), in which capacity he served two terms, he taught school in his own township two years. The paper of which Mr. . Reighard is now the editor and proprietor and which was started in 1883 by "Al" Smith, deceased, was purchased by him January 1, 1903. Under the successful management of Mr. Reighard the circulation of the paper has been largely increased, not only in Fulton county but also in the adjoining counties. The paper is now the official county organ of the Republican party. Mr. Reighard is as a Knight Tem- plar prominent in Masonic circles, having held various offices in the Council and Chapter degrees. He is also a Knight of Pythias. He married Miss Florence Tischer of Wauseon, a daughter of William and Sophronia Tischer, of German descent, who came from Medina county to this county in 1861. They have had only one child, Helen by name, who died in infancy.
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ALFRED REX merits recognition in this work as one of the representative farmers and stock-growers of York township and as one of the native sons of Fulton county. He was born on the par- ental homestead, in Pike township, within a quarter of a mile of his present home, on the 24th of June, 1862, being the son of John and Mary (McGinn) Rex, the former of whom was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1835, and the latter was born in Ireland, whence her parents immigrated to America when she was a child. Her death occurred October 5, 1899, at the age of sixty years, and her hus- band passed away February 11, 1900, aged sixty-five years. They be- came the parents of eleven children, of whom seven are living. The parents were consistent members of the Presbyterian church and were numbered among the honored pioneers of Fulton county, where the father reclaimed a valuable farm, continuing to be identified with agricultural pursuits until his death. Alfred Rex was reared on the home farm and was afforded the advantages of the public schools of the locality, and his vocation from youth to the present has been that of farming. When he was about twelve years of age he came to his present farm to live with his uncle, Robert Moore, who finally went to Ireland for the benefit of his health, being unable to recuperate and returning to the home farm, where he died. There- after Mr. Rex remained with his widowed aunt until her death, and she devised to him seventy-three acres of his present farm, after which he added fifty acres which he purchased somewhat later, mak- ing a total of 123 acres. Under his control the best of improvements have been made in the way of fencing, tiling, etc., besides the erec- tion of his attractive residence and other buildings, making the place one of the best farms in the county. The fine modern residence was built in 1895, and the barn was erected in the summer of 1905, being one of the most substantial and well-arranged and equipped in this part of the county. The barn is in the shape of an L, each section being 36x60 feet in dimensions, with eighteen-foot posts, self-supporting roof, and cement foundation and floors. The struc- ture is modern in its facilities and is admirably equipped for the care of stock and the storage of farm products. On the place is an ex- cellent orchard of six acres. Mr. Rex is a progressive and public- spirited citizen and a successful business man. His farm is a model one, thrift and painstaking management being in unmistakable evi- dence throughout. He raises high-grade live stock, and has made somewhat of a specialty of dairying, which has proven a profitable branch of his farming enterprise, and his new barn has been spe- cially equipped for the expansion of this feature of his business. Mr. Rex brings to bear the same methodical and systematic ideas that are demanded in other lines of business, and thus is able to deter- mine accurately as to the profits or losses in the various departments of his industrial enterprise, and he can also direct his course in such a way as to insure the maximum returns from effort and invest- ment. His example is one well worthy of emulation by the average farmer, and he is satisfied to remain a member of the sturdy yeo- manry of his native county, feeling that his lines are cast in pleas-
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ant places. Mr. Rex is one of the leaders in the local ranks of the Republican party and has served as township trustee since 1898, his long tenure of the office indicating the confidence and appreciation of the people of York township. He is identified with the Lodge and Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Delta, also with the Knights of Pythias and the National Union, and for years he served as county secretary of the Patrons of Industry. Sep- tember 6, 1891, Mr. Rex was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Salsberry, who was born and reared in Pike township, being a daughter of Israel and Belle (Draper) Salsberry, both of whom were likewise born in this county, Mr. Salsberry being a prosperous farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Rex became the parents of four children, three of whom are living: Mezzina was born January 8, 1893; Archie, born March 8, 1901, died at the age of seven days; Joseph was born March 19, 1903; and Ruby Belle was born July 17, 1905.
HENRY RICE is the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred and forty acres, in Franklin township, he has been signally prospered as an agriculturist, and his pleasant home is eligibly located and he has the excellent facilities afforded by the rural free mail de- livery, route No. 14, from the village of Fayette. Mr. Rice was born near Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 11th of November, 1851, and is a son of Henry and Eva (Weimer) Rice. Henry Rice, Sr., was born November 18, 1818, in Germany, where he was reared to the age of twelve years, when he accompanied his parents on their immigration to America. His father likewise bore the Chris- tian name of Henry, which has been common to the family for many generations. These worthy folk from a foreign land became pioneer settlers in Seneca county, Ohio, having located about ten miles from the present city of Tiffin, where the head of the family and its founder in America continued to be engaged in farming until his death, having developed a farm in the midst of the virgin forest; his wife also died in that county. The father of the subject of this re- view was reared to manhood in Seneca county, and as a young man he secured employment in connection with the construction of the canal through Defiance county, and later he became a fireman on one of the early railroads in this section, being finally promoted to the position of locomotive engineer, having been one of the pioneer railroad men of the Buckeye State. In 1847 he took up his residence in Wayne county, where he was engaged in farming until 1866, when he removed to Fulton county and located on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in German township, south of the village of Arch- bold. He had previously purchased the property and he made the homestead one of the valuable farms of this section, continuing to reside thereon until his death, on the 4th of November, 1892. He secured a tract of government land in Gorham township and also bought other land, from private sources, being one of the well known and honored citizens of this part of the county. His widow still re- sides on the old homestead, having attained the age of seventy-four years (1905). She is a member of the Reformed church, as was also
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her husband. They became the parents of nine children: Jacob and Daniel are residents of Gorham township and are farmers by voca- tion; Henry, subject of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Samuel is deceased; Sarah, who became the wife of Michael Seiler, is deceased; John is a farmer in Henry county; Philip, who was born January 1, 1860, died January 2, 1892; Mary died on the 18th of May, 1892; and Lizzie is the wife of Jacob. Linneger, of Gorham township. Henry Rice was reared to the sturdy labors of the home farm, and was a lad of about fifteen years at the time of the family removal to Fulton county, and his educational privileges had been such as were afforded in the public schools of Wayne and Fulton counties. In inaugurating his independent career he engaged in farming in Henry county, where he purchased one hundred and six- teen acres of land. He devoted himself to the improvement and cul- tivation of this place until 1883, when he sold the property, and in August of that year he located in Franklin township, Fulton county, where he now owns a well-improved estate of one hundred and forty acres, in Sections 34 and 3. He has served as township trustee and supervisor, and both he and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Zone, Ohio, in which he is a trustee. October 7, 1877, Mr. Rice was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Seiler, who was born in Switzerland, and who was one year of age at the time of her parents' immigration to America. Her father, Jacob Seiler, is now one of the sterling pioneer farmers of Franklin township, this county. In his younger years he employed himself as a German school teacher. In conclusion is entered brief record con- cerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Rice: Minnie Mary was born December 4, 1878, in Henry county, Ohio; and when she grew old enough she employed herself as a teacher for five years, after which she was married to Frederick Reuthirger, on the 17th of March, 1903, and she now resides in East Toledo, Ohio; Lillian Sarah was born December 10th, 1880, in Henry county. When she was two years old she came to Fulton county with her parents and remained there until she and her sister Minnie started to school. After her school work was over she remained at home until she was married to Frederick Bretthauer, on the 6th of May, 1903. They now re- side on their farm, near Zone, in Fulton county, Ohio; Lena Laura was born February 23, 1884, in Franklin township, Fulton county, and Alice Eva was born August 12, 1886, in Fulton county, and both remain in the parental home, being popular teachers in the local schools. Elizabeth Margaret, born June 30, 1889, and Alwin Henry, born February 6, 1894, were also born in Fulton county. They both employ their time in school work and have not yet decided what their future occupation will be.
HENRY O. RICHARDS, who resides on the old homestead farm on which he was born, in Fulton township, is one of the highly hon- ored citizens of the county and a member of one of its prominent pioneer families. He was born, February 17, 1837, and is a son of Ammi and Percia (Pease) Richards, the former of whom was born
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in Connecticut and the latter in Massachusetts. The parents were married prior to coming to the West, and they made their advent in Ohio in 1835, first locating in Medina county, where they remained about a year, after which they came to Fulton county and located on the farm now owned by their son, Henry O. The land was in its primitive state, being covered with a heavy growth of timber, so that the labors and vicissitudes of the true pioneers were the portion of Mr. and Mrs. Richards, who had left the pleasing associations and ad- vantages of the East to found a home in the practical wilderness. The father developed his farm, on which he made good improve- ments, and here he died in 1884, at the age of seventy-nine years and six months, and his devoted wife passed away in 1888, at the age of eighty-four years. They lived lives of signal usefulness, throwing a benign influence over all with whom they came in contact. They be- came the parents of two sons and four daughters, concerning whom a brief record is here given: Clarissa became the wife of Elmer Lacy and died in Paulding county, this State; Helen A., who became the wife of Joshua Taylor, died in Greene county, Iowa; Henry O. and Benjamin F. are both representative farmers of Fulton township; Emily, wife of Thomas Nobbs, died in this county; and Octavia is the wife of James Harrison, of Fulton township. Henry O. and Benjamin F. Richards have been intimately associated from their boyhood days to the present time. Both were afforded such advan- tages as were offered in the common schools of the pioneer days and both assisted in the work of the home farm up to the year 1864, when they turned from the plowshare to go forth in defense of the Union, both enlisting as members of Company H, One Hundred and Thir- tieth Ohio volunteer infantry, and their service continued for a period of one hundred and forty-two days, principally with the Army of the Potomac in front of Petersburg. Both received honorable dis- charges at the close of the term of enlistment. Henry O. Richards learned the carpenter trade as a young man, and he has devoted his attention to the same for many years, having been a contractor and builder and having erected many of the substantial residences and other buildings in his native township and elsewhere in the county, including two houses on his own farm. His farming operations also have his personal supervision, and he is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of his section. In politics he is a stanch Republi- can, and he has served two terms as township trustee, has been a school officer and has held other positions of local trust. He has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity since 1866, having been a char- ter member of Swanton Lodge, No. 555, in which he still holds his membership. He was transferred to this body from the lodge at Delta. He and his brother Benjamin are both active and valued members of Quiggle Post, No. 289, Grand Army of the Republic, at Swanton, with which they became affiliated in 1902, at the time of the lapse of organization on the part of Robert O. Nobbs Post, No. 521, at Ai, of which latter Henry O. Richards had served ten years as commander. He has twice been a delegate to the annual en- campments of the order for the department of Ohio. He and his
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wife have been members of Berry Grange, No. IIII, since 1875, and he has been honored with various offices in the same, being its treas- urer at the time of this writing. February 25, 1867, Mr. Richards was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jane Doren, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, June 20, 1843, a daughter of Thomas and Mary Jane (Gill) Doren, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in the State of Pennsylvania, and both died in Lucas county, Ohio, aged respectively seventy-six and ninety years. They became the parents of thirteen children, of whom eight are living, Mrs. Richards having been the eleventh in order of birth. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Richards is Irvin L., who resides on a portion of the old homestead farm and who is the present clerk of Fulton township. He married Miss Maude Pickles and they have one child, named Lucille.
BERNUM R. RICHARDSON is one of the representative citi- zens of the thriving village of Lyons, where he is engaged in the fur- niture and undertaking business, having a modern and well-equipped establishment. Bernum Reynolds Richardson was born in Royal- ton, Niagara county, N. Y., May 7, 1842, a son of Elisha and Julia (Tripp) Richardson, who settled in Royalton township, Fulton county, Ohio, in 1843, so that this county has been his home practi- cally during the entire course of his life thus far. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Richardson, was likewise born in New York State, passing the major portion of his life in Niagara county, where both he and his wife died. The maternal grandfather, Ira Tripp, was numbered among the pioneers of Richfield township, Lucas county, Ohio, where he settled in the early '50's, there passing the remainder of his life. Elisha Richardson was reared to manhood in the old Empire State, where he learned the carpenter trade, which he followed as a vocation for some time. In the '60's he purchased a farm in Lenawee county, Mich., where he resided thereafter until his death. The subject of this review is the only child of the first marriage of Elisha Richardson, whose second wife bore the maiden name of Jane Dobson, and after her death, without issue, he married Mrs. Margaret Jaycock, who bore him one son, Frank,-who is now a resident of Lenawee county, Mich. Bernum R. Richardson was reared in Royalton township, the common schools of the locality afforded him his early educational advantages, and he began his in- dependent career by working as a farm hand. He was thus engaged when the dark cloud of Civil war obscured the national horizon, and he forthwith offered himself as a volunteer in the Union service. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Forty-fourth Illinois vol- unteer infantry, serving under his enrollment until December, 1863, when he veteranized, re-enlisting in the same company and regiment, remaining in service for a total of four years and three months and then receiving his honorable discharge. He took part in the bat- tles of Pea Ridge, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Nashville and many other engagements, and was discharged from the rank of sergeant. On his return home he gave his attention variously to farming, lum-
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bering and carriage-painting, and since 1880 he has been engaged in his present line of business at Lyons, having a large and represen- tative trade and being one of the honored citizens and progressive business men of the community. In politics he is a stalwart Repub- lican; he is at the present time village clerk, and he has also served as township trustee, treasurer, clerk and assessor and as justice of the peace, his official record being one which redounds to his credit ยท in every particular. He and his wife are prominent members of the Christian church at Lyons, in which he is clerk, and he is affiliated with Baxter Post, No. 238, Grand Army of the Republic, and Lyons Lodge, No. 622, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. December 19, 1865, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Richardson to Miss Delia Hinkle, daughter of Ira and Sarah (Dowd) Hinkle, of Royal- ton township, and they have an adopted daughter, Goldie, the family being prominent in the social life of the community.
ELIAS RICHARDSON maintained his home in Royalton town- ship for more than half a century and ever commanded the unqual- ified respect and confidence of the people of this community, where he continued to reside until his death. He was born in Royalton, Niagara county, New York, on the 30th of July, 1812, and is a son of Thomas and Susannah (Whiting) Richardson, the former being a son of Thomas Richardson, who was born in Vermont and who be- came one of the pioneers of Niagara county, New York, where he continued to reside during the remainder of his life. Elias Richard- son took up his residence in what is now Royalton township, Ful- ton county, in 1836, securing government land and reclaiming the same from the virgin forest. His old homestead is the farm now owned by George Dennis. He first secured the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 10, and subsequently purchased an adjoining tract of eighty acres. On this homestead he resided for fifty years, removing to the village of Lyons in 1886 and there living retired until the time of his death, which occurred on the 26th of December, 1890. He was a man of inflexible integrity and he left his impress upon the history of his township and county, having held various public offices, including that of county commissioner, of which he was incumbent two terms. He was a Democrat in his political adherency, and both he and his wife were members of the Universalist church. Mrs. Richardson died September 3d, 1891. November 11, 1835, Mr. Richardson was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Doud, daughter of Gaylord and Phoebe (Bailey) Doud, natives respectively of New York and Pennsylvania. Elias and Lu- cinda Richardson became the parents of seven children, of whom only two attained maturity-Marvin D. and Minerva A. They also had an adopted daughter, Rose, who is now the wife of David D. Allen, of Carey, Ohio. Marvin D. Richardson was born and reared in Royalton township and was for many years engaged in the gen- eral merchandise business in the village of Lyons. He was a soldier in the Civil war, having enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio volunteer infantry, and having been a participant in
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a number of important engagements, receiving his honorable dis- charge at the expiration of his term of enlistment. On the 2d of August, 1858, he was married to Miss Roby Johnson, daughter of Sullivan and Fidelia (Worden) Johnson, of Amboy township, and they became the parents of four children: Cora, who became the wife of Frederick Stebbins and who is now deceased, having left two children, Helen and Thomas; Bettie is the wife of Martin L. Cromer, of Sturges, Mich .; Minerva is the wife of John J. Richmond, of Ann Arbor, and Aretus, who married Miss Jennie Gilman, is a resident of Michigan. Minerya, daughter of Elias and Lucinda Richardson, was married in March, 1865, to Thomas G. Richardson, who was born in Niagara county, New York, and who was chief bugler of the Eighth New York cavalry during the War of the Rebellion, serving three years and three months. He came to Fulton county in 1865, settling in Lyons and having been identified for a time with farming, and later he engaged in the mercantile trade and finally in the hotel business. He died, August 10, 1902, at the age of sixty-three years. His widow still resides in Lyons, as does also her brother, Marvin D., who is now living retired.
JAMES S. RICHARDSON, one of the representative farmers of Royalton township, is a native of Fulton county and a member of one the honored pioneer families of this section of the Buckeye state. He was born in Royalton township, on the 6th of November, 1849, and is a son of Martin and Jane (Dean) Richardson, who took up their residence in Royalton township in 1838, having come to this county from Niagara county, New York. The father secured forty acres of wild land, reclaiming the same from the native forest, and later he purchased the farm of eighty acres now owned by Cyrus Downer, likewise clearing and improving this place. In 1887 he removed to Gratiot county, Michigan, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring February 14, 1904. He was twice married, the two children of his first union being James S., subject of this sketch; and Joseph, now a resident of Adrian, Mich. By his second wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Haywood, he be- came the father of three children: Stephen, a resident of Gratiot county, Mich .; Silas, a resident of the same county in Michigan, and Maud, the wife of Lawrence J. Pugh, of Toledo, Ohio. Martin Richardson was a son of Thomas and Susannah (Whitney) Richard- son, of Niagara county, New York, and the former was a son of Thomas Richardson, who was a native of Vermont, becoming one of the pioneers of Niagara county, New York, where he passed the remainder of his life. James S. Richardson, subject of this sketch, was reared on the old homestead farm, in Royalton township, where he has made his home from the time of his birth and where he is the renter of a fine farm of 400 acres. In his political allegiance Mr. Richardson is a Democrat, and he has been called upon to serve in various local offices of trust and responsibility. He was township trustee for two terms and served several terms as school director. He is a member of Lyons Lodge, No. 622, Independent Order of
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