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 63
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.was born in Whitley county, Ind., and of their five children four are living, Ora having died at the age of nine years. Nellie, Florence and Mervin became members of the home circle, and Verna is the wife of William M. Marzolf, a prosperous young farmer of Franklin township.
MARVIN E. ROBINSON, a retired farmer and carpenter of Lyons, is one of the honored pioneer citizens of Fulton county, where he has lived from his boy- hood days, representing a period of about three-score years. He was born in_Cov- ert, Seneca county, N. Y., in the pictur- esque lake district of the old Empire State, on the 4th of August, 1833, and is a son of Barnett M. and Sally Ann (Hall) Rob- inson, natives respectively of Dutchess and Seneca counties, that State, and members of families long established on American soil. In 1834 the parents came to the West and located in Lenawee county, Mich., whence, in 1836, they came over into what is now Fulton county, Ohio, and settled in the wilds of Royalton township, where the father secured one hundred acres of government land, which he reclaimed from the forest, mak- ing good improvements on the place in later years and continuing to reside on the homestead until his death, at the venerable age of eighty-eight years. His connubial record is somewhat unique and exceptional, in that he was married seven times. His first wife, Sally Ann, mother of the subject of this sketch, bore him four children- Marvin E .; Sarah, deceased wife of John Gillis; James, deceased; and Hannah, wife of Vincent Smith. The maiden name of the sec- ond wife was Caroline Carpenter, who bore two children, Mahlon and Cassius. The fourth wife, Alice, nee Shaffer, became the mother of one daughter, Alice, now the wife of Frank Gardner. For his fifth wife Mr. Robinson married Louisa Hopkins, and their only daugh- ter, Ina, is the wife of Reed Loar. Marvin E. Robinson was three years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Royalton town- ship, and he has witnessed the development of this section from the sylvan wilds to its present status of advanced civilization and opulent prosperity, and he has contributed his quota to the work of advance- ment: In point of continuous residence he has the distinction of being at the present time the oldest settler in Royalton township. He secured his early educational training in the pioneer schools, trudging his way to the little log school house during the short win- ter terms and assisting in the work of the farm during the summer seasons, for each member of the family assumed a due share of responsibility, money being scarce and the labors of the pioneers most onerous. He has been known as one of the representative farmers of the township for many years, being actively engaged in agricul-
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tural pursuits until 1903, since which time he has lived essentially re- tired. He is possessed of excellent mechanical ability, and for thirty- five years he followed the carpenter trade, in connection with his farm work. He cleared and made substantial improvements upon a farm of eighty acres, in Sections 21 and 28, and he has maintained his home in the village of Lyons since 1903. To his honor stands Mr. Robinson's loyalty to the Union cause during the Civil war, in which he served as a soldier for a short period, having enlisted May 2, 1864, as a private in Company D, One Hundred and Thirtieth Ohio volun- teer infantry, with which he was on active duty until the 2d of the following September, when he received his honorable discharge, in the city of Toledo, Ohio. He is a member of Baxter Post, No. 238, Grand Army of the Republic, at Lyons, is a Republican in his politi- cal adherency, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. April 5, 1858, Mr. Robinson was united in mar- riage to Miss Lovina, daughter of William Onweller, a pioneer of Chesterfield township, and she was called to the life eternal in 1869, having borne four children, of whom two attained to maturity, Wes- ley and Eston. February 9, 1871, Mr. Robinson married Miss Or- lina Steadman, daughter of Alva and Thankful (Rogers) Steadman, of Amboy township, and they have one son, Herschel.
GEORGE K. RUSSELL is the owner of one of the valuable farms of Franklin township, where he has maintained his home from his boyhood days and where he enjoys the confidence and good-will of the community. He was born near Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pa., on the 21st of March, 1861, and is a son of William and Harriet (Neal) Russell, both of whom were born and reared in that county, where the respective families were early founded. John Rus- sell, father of William, continued a resident of Cumberland county until his death, having been the owner of a good farm and also having operated a saw-mill for a number of years. About 1866 William Russell removed with his family from Pennsylvania to Fulton county, Ohio, locating in Section 7, Franklin township, where he improved a good farm. He had learned the carpenter trade in Pennsylvania, where he followed the same as a vocation, and after coming to Fulton county he did a considerable amount of work in this line, having assisted in the erection of a number of school-houses in this locality, besides other buildings. He served several terms as township treas- urer and also held the office of land-appraiser, and his political faith was that of the Democratic party. He was a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife were mem- bers of the Christian Union Church. The latter was summoned to the life eternal on the 7th of November, 1894, at the age of sixty-one years, and he passed away on the 23d of the same month, at the age of sixty years. They became the parents of two children, of whom George K. is the younger. The elder son, John W., is likewise a representative farmer of Franklin township. After completing the curriculum of the public schools of Franklin township George K. Russell continued his studies under most favorable auspices, in the
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Fayette Normal University, at Fayette, this county, and he has been identified with the agricultural industry from his youth to the present and has found it a worthy and satisfactory field of enterprise. At the age of twenty-two years he began farming on the place which is now his home, after which he rented the Dunebarger farm, adjoining, continuing to operate the same for the ensuing fifteen years. He then located again on his present homestead, which comprises seventy- eight acres, and he has also purchased the Dunebarger farm, of eighty acres, thus having nearly a quarter of a section of as fine land as is to be found within the limits of Fulton county. The place is devoted to general farming and stock-growing, and Mr. Russell is known as one of the enterprising and successful farmers of the town- ship and as a substantial and liberal citizen. He is aligned in the local ranks of the Democratic party, served one term as constable and two terms as township trustee, and in a fraternal way is identified with Fayette Hive, No. 1188, Knights of the Maccabees. June 3, 1882, Mr. Russel was united in marriage to Miss Angeline Dune- barger, who was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, April 26, 1863, be- ing a daughter of William and Maria (Specht) Dunebarger, early settlers of that county. Her father died in 1900, aged seventy-six years, two months and one day, and her mother now resides with Mr. and Mrs. Russell being sixty-eight years of age (1905). She is the mother of two children, of whom Mrs. Russell is the younger. The son, Mahlon, resides in Auburn, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have three children-Hattie May, William Grover and Mahlon John.
DANIEL RYCHENER, a successful farmer and stock-grower of Swan Creek township, is a native of Fulton county and is of one of its prominent pioneer families. He was born in German township, December 21, 1848, and is a son of Christian and Magdalena (Grie- ser) Rychener, the former of whom was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, in 1813, and the latter was born in Germany, in 1817. Christian Rychener came to Ohio as a young man, first locating in Wayne county, where he remained until 1836, when he came to what is now Fulton county, the family of his wife coming a little later. Christian and Magdalena Rychener were the first couple to be mar- ried in this county after its organization. They located on a tract of land in German township, in the midst of the virgin forest, and there the father reclaimed and developed a good farm, being ably assisted by his sons. In the primitive log-house were born eleven children to this worthy couple, who passed the remainder of their lives on this old homestead, which comprises eighty adres and which is still in the possession of the family. Daniel Rychener early began to lend his aid in the work of the pioneer farm, and his educa- tional advantages were those offered by the somewhat primitive schools of the locality. In 1873 he was married, and he and his wife took up their abode on a small farm of their own, in German town- ship. There they spent the first twenty years of their married life, and there all of their children were born. In 1894 they sold this farm, which comprised twenty acres, and purchased their present
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homestead, which comprises eighty acres, in Section 22, Swan creek township. This place was at the time practically wild, covered largely with underbrush, with some timber. The land is of good quality and when properly tiled it is exceptionally productive. He has reclaimed much of the place to cultivation, has good buildings, including a com- fortable residence and large barn, while other improvements are of excellent sort. A wind-mill pumps water for domestic and general farm use, the water passing first to the house and then to the barn and stock-yards. In addition to his general farm work Mr. Rych- ener is giving much attention to dairying, selling his product to the milk condensery at Delta. On a fair average his cows produce in milk about six dollars' worth per head each month. In politics Mr. Rychener is a stanch Republican, but he has never sought or held office. Both he and his wife are members of the Mennonite church. Their son, who is one of the popular and sterling young men of the community, assists his father on the home farm during the summer seasons and attends school winters. December 18, 1873, Mr. Rych- ener was united in marriage to Miss Mary Eckley, who was born in German township, August 10, 1851, a daughter of Jacob and Mag- dalena (Kreiger) Eckley, the former of whom was born in Pennsyl- vania, September 22, 1822, and the latter was born in Holmes county, Ohio, February 9, 1829. They were married in German township, Fulton county, August 10, 1848, and save for two years passed in Michigan, they remained residents of that township during the rest of their lives. . Mr. Eckley died December 18, 1877, and his wife passed away October 15, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Rychener have three daughters and one son: Nancy, born October 7, 1874, is the wife of John Rashley, a farmer of York township; Esther, born August 15, 1876, is not married and still remains at the parental home; Louisa, born January 18, 1879, is the wife of Jesse Richardson, of Swan Creek township; and Aaron, the only son, was born February 10, 1889. All of the family are members of the Mennonite church.
DANIEL H. SAEGER is a scion of one of the stanch old pioneer families of Fulton county, and he has resided in Fulton township from the time of his birth to the present, being numbered among the representative farmers and stock-growers of this section of the county. He was born on the old homestead farm, one and one-half miles northwest of his present place of residence, on the 8th of January, 1856, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Nobbs) Saeger. Samuel Saeger was born in Pennsylvania, December 24, 1828, and his immediate family is now represented by two sisters, one of whom lives in Stark county and the other in Williams county, Ohio. The original American progenitor came from Germany in an early day and located in Pennsylvania, where numerous representatives of the name are found at the present day. Samuel Saeger resides in Delta, but still owns the old homestead, and both he and his wife are held in the highest regard in the community. The latter is a sister of John H. Nobbs, of this county, in connection with whose sketch a resume of the family history appears, on others pages of this work.
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Of the children of Samuel and Sarah Saeger the following is a brief record: Tillman died at the age of thirty-eight years; Sarah Jane is the wife of Daniel Beard, of Fulton township; Ida, who became the wife of Charles Hayes, of Pike township, is deceased ; Daniel H., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Lavina is the wife of James J. Born, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this publica- tion; Rosetta is the wife of Albert Dennis, of Pike township; Mary, deceased, was the wife of Richard Quilliams; Martha is the widow of James E. Mann and resides in Swanton, this county. Daniel H. Saeger was reared on the old home farm, and continued to be asso- ciated in its work and management until 1899, representing a period of forty-four years, and his educational training as a youth was secured in the public-schools of the locality. In 1899 he took up his residence on his present fine farmstead, which comprises eighty acres, in Section five, Fulton township, and he has made excellent improve- ments on the place, including the remodeling of the house and the practical rebuilding of the barn, both of which are now of modern type, and the other buildings are of substantial order. He has cleared ten acres of heavy timber on the place, has put up good fences and has made his homestead one of the best of the smaller farms of this section. He gives his attention to general farming and stock-raising, and does a somewhat extensive dairying business, selling his product principally to the milk condensary at Delta. In politics Mr. Saeger is a stanch Republican, and he has served in minor offices in his native township. He was reared in the faith of the Methodist church, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. Both are members of Berry Grange, No. IIII, as is also their daughter. March 20, 1885. Mr. Saeger was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Snyder, a daughter of Simon and Rachel (Biddle) Snyder, both families having been founded in Ohio in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Saeger have two children. Clarence R., who was born Feb- ruary 20, 1887, is associated with his father in the work of the home farm. Orpha M., born August 1, 1890, is a student in the high school at Delta.
OSCAR M. SARGENT is one of the sterling pioneer citizens of Fulton county, where he has lived from his infancy, having witnessed the development of this section from the virgin forest into one of the most attractive and prosperous agricultural and general industrial sections of the old Buckeye State. He is a representative citizen of Gorham township, where he has been engaged in farming during practically his entire mature life. He was born near Elbridge, Onon- daga county, New York, on the 28th of July, 1839, and is a son of Ephraim and Huldah (Collins) Sargent. His father was born in the State of Vermont, of stanch old English Puritan stock, and after the death of his mother, when he was about fourteen years of age, he accompanied his father to the State of New York, where he was reared to maturity . His father likewise bore the name of Ephraim, and in the family were five sons-Ira, George, Jeremiah, Ephraim, Jr., and Charles, all of whom are deceased except the last-named,
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who resides in Michigan. The venerable father came west with the other members of the family, and he passed the closing years of his life in Ohio, where he died in 1867, at the age of eight-eight years, his vocation during his entire active career having been that of farming, with which basic industry the family name has been closely linked for several generations. In 1840, when the subject of this sketch was about seven months old; the venerable grandfather and his five sons, with their respective families, came to Northwest- ern Ohio, making the voyage by boat on Lake Erie to Toledo and thence proceeding by railroad to Adrian, Michigan, from which point they came overland to their destination, not many miles distant. The father of Oscar M. Sargent settled with his family in what is now Fulton county, as did other members of the family, and they secured some land from the government and acquired other land through private purchase, reclaiming the same from the forest wilds and living in the primitive but wholesome manner common to the pioneer era in this section. Ephraim Sargent, Jr., became one of the influential citizens and prominent pioneer farmers of Gorham town- ship, and he passed the remainder of his life in Fulton county, where he died October 26, 1897, at the patriarchal age of eighty-eight years. He was a man of invincible integrity and honor, tolerant and kindly and charitable in his judgment of his fellow-men. He was never involved in a lawsuit and was essentially a man of peace and wise judgment; and in politics he was a stanch Democrat. His first wife, Huldah, nee Collins, was born in Onondaga county, New York, in which State the family early settled, and she died when her youngest child was about two years of age. Seven children were born of this union; Charles died in 1896; Warren resides in Hillsdale county, Michigan; Cynthia is the wife of Rev. Hoxie, and they reside in Onondaga county, New York; Roxana is the widow of Roland Ken- nedy, and resides in Morenci, Michigan; Oscar M. was the next in order of birth; John is a farmer in Gorham township, as is also Courtland, the youngest of the children. For his second wife Ephraim Sargent married Phoebe Ball, of Michigan, who died in 1890, their children having been seven in number, namely: Alma Ann, wife of Nelson Benedict, of Hart, Michigan; Mary became the wife of a Mr. Ball, of Hudson, Mich., and both are deceased; Martha is the widow of Elmer Todd and resides in Morenci, Mich .; Sarah is the wife of Frank Ferris, a prominent lawyer of Sioux City, Iowa; Elizabeth is the wife of Benjamin Robinson, of Morenci, Mich .; Seymour resides on the old homestead, in Gorham township; and Helen is the wife of Emerson Eager, of Seattle, Wash. Oscar M. Sargent was reared on the pioneer farm, receiving only such educa- tional advantages as were afforded in the primitive schools of the time, and his amusements in boyhood were of simple order and his labors onerous, as each of the family found ample work to do. He continued associated in the reclaiming and cultivating of the home farm until he had attained maturity, and afterward he was employed on various farms in the locality, earning and saving about
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one thousand dollars before he purchased a farm of his own. He now has a fine farm of one hundred and eighteen acres, in Sections 21 and 22, Gorham township, and is one of the prosperous and hon- ored farmers and stock-growers of this section, which has been his home during essentially his entire life. In politics he is a Repub- lican, but he has never sought public office. He was actively affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for many years, but is not active in his membership at the present time. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. March 4, 1873 Mr. Sargent married Miss Georgiana Cottrell, daughter of Joseph and Maria (Lloyd) Cottrell, the former born in Mas- sachusetts, and the latter in Bennington, Vt. Joseph Cottrell was a son of Gorham Cottrell, who was one of the very early. settlers of Fulton county, Gorham township having been named in his honor. The family were the first permanent settlers in this township, while Indians were still much in evidence in the locality. Gorham Cot- trell was the leader in the organizing of the township and was a man of much influence in the community. He continued engaged in farming until his death, at the age of seventy-three years. He mar- ried Althea Whitmarsh, and they had seven children: Erastus and Joseph are deceased; Gorham resides in Gorham township; Sardis is deceased; Lucy, now deceased, was the wife of George R. Joy, who resides in Pioneer, Williams county; Jane became the wife of Walter Norris and both died in Detroit, Mich .; and Althea became the wife of Bainbridge Belding, their home being in Fayette, O., at the time of his death, his wife having passed away several years pre- vious. Joseph Cottrell .was a successful farmer of Gorham town- ship and was a helpless paralytic for seven years before his death, October 9, 1890, at the age of seventy-six years. He was a promi- nent Republican of this section and served several years as post- master at Handy. His wife, whose maiden name was Maria Lloyd, was a daughter of Martin Lloyd, one of the early settlers of Wil- liams county, and she taught the first school in what is now Gorham township, Fulton county, the log school-house having been located in Section 21. She died December 2, 1897, aged eighty-four years. Seven children were born to Joseph and Maria Cottrell, of whom the eldest was Trowbridge, who is deceased, and Mrs. Sar- gent was the next in order of birth; Josephine is the wife of Court- land Sargent, of Gorham township; Henrietta became the wife of Edward Crane and both are now deceased; Edgar T. resides in Ashley, North Dak .; and Freeman and Elbridge are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sargent became the parents of two children; Wilbur was accidentally killed, at the age of fourteen years, in 1891 ; and Joseph D., a successful farmer of Gorham township, married Miss Jessie Baker, of Morenci, Lenawee county, Mich., where she was born and reared.
JACOB H. SCHAFFNER, a native son of Fulton county and one of the prosperous farmers of Franklin township, was born in Dover township, on the 23d of February, 1856, being a son of George
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and Anna (Slaughter) Schaffner, both of whom were born in the fair little republic of Switzerland. George Schaffner immigrated to America in his youth, and a few years later his father also came to the United States, passing the remainder of his life in the city of Toledo, Ohio. Ann (Slaughter) Schaffner came to the New World in company with her parents, and her marriage was solemnized in the State of Ohio. About 1850 George Schaffner took up his resi- dence in Dover township, this county, where he engaged in farming. reclaiming the greater portion of his land from the wild state, and for a number of years he worked at the potter's trade during the winter seasons, in Maumee, having learned this trade in his native land. He became one of the prosperous farmers and highly es- teemed citizens of Fulton county, where he continued to reside until his death, in the spring of 1889, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife died in 1870, in her thirty-sixth year, at which time her son, Jacob H., was a lad of fourteen years. Her remains rest in the Ayres cemetery, in Dover township, and her husband was interred in Spring. Hill cemetery. This worthy couple became the parents of eight children; Mary is a resident of Morenci, Lenawee county, Mich .; Jacob H. was the second in order of birth; Anna is deceased ; Eliza is the wife of Frank Miller, of Morenci, Mich :; Louisa died at the age of twenty-three years; George resides on a farm near the village of Fayette, this county; John makes his home in Morenci, Mich .; and Henry left home when a boy, his present address being unknown to his relatives. Jacob H. Schaffner was reared on the home farm, in Dover township, and was afforded the advantages of the public schools. He continued to be associated with his father in the operation of the home farm until the time of his marriage, when he rented a farm in Franklin township, on the Angola road, and six months later he rented old Darby farm, in the same township, remaining on this place seven years. He then purchased one hun- dred and twenty-five acres in Section 5, north of Bean creek, dis- posing of this property in February, 1896, purchasing one hundred and ninety-seven acres in Section 36, and in 1905, he bought an adjoining tract of one hundred and forty acres, so that he now has one of the largest and best improved landed estates in Franklin township, its aggregate area being nearly three hundred and forty agres. Mr. Schaffner is known as one of the progressive and repre- sentative farmers of his native county, and his success has been of unequivocal order, resulting from his well-directed industry and good business methods. True to the duties of citizenship and exer- cising his franchise in support of the principles of the Democratic party, Mr. Schaffner has never had any desire for public office. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. March 30, 1881, is to be recorded as the date of Mr. Schaffner's.mar- riage to Miss Mary Dunkle, who was born in Switzerland, where her father died when she was a child, and not long afterward her mother came to America with her children, locating in Franklin township, Fulton county, Ohio, in 1861, and here continued to reside until 1887,. when she removed to Kansas, where she died in 1893. Following is
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