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 66
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modious and attractive farm residence and otherwise added materially to the excellent improvements of the place. Somewhat over sixty acres are under cultivation, and the remainder is principally covered with good timber, whose value is constantly increasing. The land is to a large extent drained by effective under-tile system, and is exception- ally fertile. Mr. Sheffer is experimenting in the cultivation of sugar- beets for the Fremont factory, and the indications are that the soil of his farm is specially well adapted to the production of the beets, which may be made a very profitable crop. In politics he is a stanch Repub- lican, with no reservations, and while never seeking or desiring office he takes a loyal interest in local affairs, being one of the essentially progressive farmers and citizens of his native township, where he is held in high esteem. April 17, 1870, Mr. Sheffer was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Veness, who was born in Pennsylvania, being a daugh- ter of John and Permelia Veness, the former of whom was born in England and the 'latter in the State of New York. They came to Fulton county about forty years ago and here resided for many years, finally removing to Wisconsin, where they both died. Mr. and Mrs. Sheffer have five children: Carrie'is the wife of Frederick Gilmore, a farmer near Delta, this township, and they have two children-Ger- trude and Eva; Bertha is the wife of Louis Taylor, a farmer of Fulton township, 'and they have two living children-Leverne and Floyd; Maude is the wife of Loren Gambol, also engaged in farming in Ful- ton township, and they have one daughter, Marie; Leroy, a young man of twenty-four years, is'associated in the work of the homestead farm; and Lawrence, the youngest of the children, is a lad of fourteen at the time of this writing, in 1905. Mrs. Sheffer is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps of Swanton, Ohio.
FREDERICK B. SHEFFIELD, one of the representative farmers and honored citizens of Chesterfield township, is a scion of one of those sterling families which became identified with the history of Fulton county in the pioneer days, and which has rendered efficient service in the development and upbuilding of her institutions. He was born on the old parental homestead, in Chesterfield township, August 30, 1842, his parents being Jeremiah and Sarah (Waite) Sheffield, and he has here passed his entire life, except for the period of his service as a soldier in the Civil war. Jeremiah Sheffield was born in the State of New York, where he learned the business of manufacturing soap and candles, which vocation he followed for a number of years. In 1835 he came to what is now Fulton county, purchased forty acres in Chesterfield township and reclaimed the same to cultivation. He never had an ambition to acquire more land, finding his place adequate to demand his 'full quota of labor, and it provided amply for the needs of him- self and family. He erected a fine residence on his farm, and of the six sons and six daughters nine are still living. Sarah Waite was born in England, came to this country at the age of thirteen years and was but fifteen years old at the time of her marriage to Mr. Sheffield. Frederick B. Sheffield was reared on the old home farm and received a good common-school education. Upon the outbreak
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of the Civil war he left the farm and on September 20, 1861, he en- listed in Company H, Third Ohio cavalry, with which he served until October 12, 1864, when he received an honorable discharge on account of disability, having participated in eighteen engagements. Under the old law he was awarded a pension and still continues to receive this recognition of the government for his services. After the war he returned to his native county, where he has ever since been actively identified with farming and stock-raising, owning a well improved farm of seventy-five acres. He is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party and has been called to positions of distinctive public trust, having served three and one-half years as justice of the peace, two terms as township trustee, three terms as township assessor and as president of the school board. For two years he was master of Chesterfield Grange and he has filled the posi- tion of commander of Myron Baker post, Grand Army of the Re- public, at Morenci, Mich., which town is about two miles from his home. At the present time he holds the office of road supervisor and is the executor of the oldest estate in Fulton county, that of Miss Emma Parker. He was one of the organizers and a charter member of the Christian church in Chesterfield township, in which he is now an elder, his entire family being members of this denomination. In 1869 Mr. Sheffield married Miss Alma Hale, who was born in Massachusetts January 7, 1852, her parents being Israel and Amanda (Olds) Hale, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Mas- sachusetts. They located on a farm in Fulton county in 1867, here passing a great portion of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield were born the following children: Ella A., who graduated in sten- ography and typewriting from the Davis Business college, Toledo, O., and is now a popular teacher, having taught twenty-six terms, in the public schools; Addie M., who married Sanford Shaffer and died at North Morenci, Mich., leaving a daughter, Sarah Ella, and a son, Leo; Edward H., a farmer of Chesterfield township, married Bertha Abbott and has one son, Mason H .; Effie S., living with her father; Edith E., wife of Samuel Shaffer, of North Morenci, Mich., has one daughter, Alma Ella; Estell H., a son, seventeen years of age, and Alma T. are also at home and are popular young people of the community. Mrs. Sheffield, the mother of these children, died on June 25, 1905, at her Chesterfield home. She was a popular mem- ber of the Chesterfield Grange and Myron Baker Women's Relief Corps, each of which adopted appropriate memorial resolutions upon her death.
HENRY SHUMER .- Like many others of the substantial citizens of Fulton county, Mr. Shumer started out in life with only the sub- jective resources implied in an abundance of energy, determination and self-reliance, and his success has not only been won through worthy avenues of endeavor but has also been of unequivocal order. He first took up his residence in Fulton county about thirty years ago, but he remained only three years, and in 1894 he came again to the county and purchased his present fine farm, in Swan Creek town-
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ship. Mr. Shumer was born in Luxemberg, Germany, on the 15th of December, 1845, being a son of Eugene Shumer. He was but two years of age at the time of his mother's death, and when he was seven years of age his father, who had again married, came with his family to America and located in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, in which State both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Two sons were born of the first marriage, Henry having been the younger. His brother, Nicholas, died in Huron county, Ohio, when about thirteen years of age. Mr. Shumer was early thrown upon his own resources and became separated from the other members of the family, and he now has no definite knowledge in regard to any of his relatives, save his own immediate family. His educational advantages were confined to the common schools, which he attended at irregular intervals, and in his youth he provided for himself by working on farms in Huron county and elsewhere in this State. In the early '70's Mr. Shumer came to Fulton county and purchased a farm in Swan Creek town- ship, where he lived three years, during one of which he was pros- trated with ague, which was the scourge of this section in the early days, but which has been entirely abated through the clearing and effective draining of the country. His woeful experience with this very agitating and insistent malady was in a measure the cause of his . disposing of his farm here, and he then returned to Wood county, where he had previously resided for a number of years. There he accumulatd a good farm, continuing to be actively engaged in agri- cultural pursuits in that section until 1894, when he came again to Fulton county, where he now found every prospect pleasing. He then purchased his present farm of forty-eight acres, in Section II, Swan. Creek township, and the same has been given the best of im- provements in the way of buildings, tile-drainage, etc., the residence being a fine modern country home. Mr. Shumer gives his attention to diversified agriculture and to the raising of live-stock of good grade, and he is one of the energetic and successful farmers of this section, esteemed by all who know him. Though an advocate of the free-silver doctrine, Mr. Shumer is an adherent of the Republican party, and his religious views are in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal faith, of which church his wife was a devoted member. He is identified with the Independent Order of Qdd Fel- lows and the Patrons of Husbandry and is a man of broad views and forceful individuality. In the year 1865, in Huron county, Mr. Shumer was married to Miss Louisa Burch, who died on the present homestead, in August, 1895, having become the mother of five children -Howard, Mamie (deceased), Mabel, Eugene and Jennie. Howard, who is a baker by vocation, resides in the city of Toledo. He is married and has one child living, Henry Eugene. They had a daugh- ter, Wealthy by name, who recently was burned to death. Mabel is the wife of Cara Waltz and they also reside in Toledo, as does Eugene, who is an attendant in the State Hospital for the Insane. Jennie has been housekeeper for her father since the death of her mother and is popular in the social life of the community.
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JAS. H. SHERWOOD.
JAMES HUNTER SHERWOOD, editor and proprietor of the Wauseon Re-
publican, was born in Dutchess county,
N. Y., near Pine Plains. He is the son of Aaron and Maria (Youmans) Sherwood, the former a native of New York and the
Hon. Isaac Sherwood, was of Bridgeport, latter of Connecticut. His grandfather,
Conn., and was actively engaged in the Revolutionary war, entering the army at sixteen years of age. He and Daniel Sher- wood, an uncle of the subject of this
in the legislature of New York, to which sketch, both represented Dutchess county
State they had removed from Connecticut. Aaron Sherwood was born in Bridgeport, Conn. He belonged to the Quaker society and was a wealthy and highly-respected farmer. His wife was the daughter of Peter Youmans and wife, of Dutchess county, N. Y. Peter Youmans was born in New York city, his ancestors having come from Scotland. The subject of this sketch, James Hunter Sherwood, was educated in Reinbeck Academy on the Hudson. The farm which he owned in
Dutchess county he sold on removing to the
West. In 1865 he bought the Wauseon Republican, a paper started by Bayes & Hunter, in 1855, and purchased the follow- ing year by his brother, Gen. I. R. Sher- wood, of Toledo, O. During his brother's
absence in the army James H. Sherwood managed the paper successfully for him. Having purchased the Monitor, a paper published at Ottokee, the first county-seat of Fulton county, he combined it with the Republican and has ever since edited and published the official organ of
JAMES SHERWOOD.
the Republican party of Fulton county, excepting the few years that he was engaged in the real-estate businesss in Duluth, Minn. While he has always taken part in politics he has never sought an office. In the real-estate business he has been remarkably successful. He married Miss Samantha Yates, the daughter of William and Ann (Brazure) Yates, the former being a pioneer merchant of Bryan, O., who came to that State from near Chambersburg, Pa. The following are the children that have blessed the marriage of James H. Sher- wood and wife: Jennie, now Mrs. C. F. Baker, a merchant of Great Falls, Montana; Walter, at present engaged in the publishing busi- ness in Chicago, Ills .; Annie, the wife of Alex Anderson, telegraphic editor of the Toledo Blade; Lulu, the wife . of Fred Bollmyer, a
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stock-broker and commission-merchant of Toledo; William A., a jeweler of Dundee, Mich., and James Isaac, who lives in Waueson and is associated with his father in editing and publishing the Waue- son Republican. A brother of the subject of this sketch, Gen. I. R. Sherwood, lived at Bryan, O., at the time of the breaking out of the Civil war, and was there serving as probate judge and editing the Republican paper of Bryan. For the first three months of the war he served as a private. When the One Hundred and Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantry was organized he was first made adjutant, and step-by-step was promoted to the command of the regiment, with the rank of colonel. Later on, because of bravery and gallantry in action, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On his return from the war the citizens of Bryan presented him with a sword as a token of their esteem, a gift highly prized by him. By way of re- cognition of his true worth he was elected to the office of secretary of State of Ohio and later to Congress from the Toledo district.
EDWARD C. SINDEL, one of the sterling pioneers and much- beloved citizens of Pike township, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, on the 7th of December, 1832, being a son of John and Harriet (Dixon) Sindel, both of whom were likewise born and reared in New Jersey, where the respective families were early founded. This worthy couple had the true courage and fortitude which alone made it pos- sible for the work of development to be inaugurated in the midst of the forest wilds of the State of Ohio, and they endured their full quota of vicissitudes and deprivations after coming to the Buckeye State. In 1834 they took up their abode in what is now Fulton county, locating on a tract of heavily-timbered land in Section 10, Pike township, reclaiming a considerable portion of the same to cultivation and becoming prominent in the affairs of the pioneer community. Here they passed the remainder of their lives, honored by all who knew them. They became the parents of fourteen children, of whom six are living, three of the number remaining residents of Fulton county, namely: Edward C., the immediate subject of this sketch ;. John M., who is a well known farmer of Pike township; and .Helen M., who is the wife of Edwin H. Strong, of Delta, Ohio. Edward C. Sindel was about two years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Fulton county, and here he has continued to make his home during the long intervening period of more than seventy years, and to him has at all times been accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. He assisted in the reclamation of the home farm, availed himself of the advantages of the pioneer schools, and in his youth learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, to which he gave his attention for many years, being a skilled workman and having erected many buildings throughout this section of the county. For many years he conducted a general store in Winameg and during the first administration of President Lincoln he was ap- pointed postmaster at this point, continuing incumbent of the office for thirty years, during which he also conducted his general store. No man in the community is better known or held in higher regard,
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and his life has been one of signal usefulness and honor. He has held various local offices, including those of justice of the peace and land-appraiser, township trustee and treasurer, of which last he was in tenure eight years, and he also served two terms as township as- sessor. It should be noted that the family was among the very first to settle in Dixon township, within. whose confines Dixon Sindel, brother of our subject, was the first white child born. Mr. Sindel is a stanch Republican in his political allegiance, and both he and his wife have long been devoted members of the Christian church. On the 17th of January, 1863, Mr. Sindel was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Tappan, who was born in Pike township, this county, on the IIth of May, 1842, and they have three children : Estill L., who is in- dividually mentioned in the succeeding review; Elmer, who is a rural route mail-carrier, residing in Lyons, Ohio; and Edward E., who re- sides at the parental home.
ESTILL LEONARD SINDEL, secretary of the Fulton County Farmers' Mutual Insurance and Aid Association, and also secretary of the Mercer Co-operative Company, at Waueson, is a native of Fulton county and a member of one of its honored pioneer families. His fine homestead, known as Orchard Home, is located in Winameg, and is one of the beautiful places of the county. Mr. Sindel was born in Winameg, this county, on the 21st of May, 1865, and is a son of Edward C. Sindel, of whom individual mention is made in preceding review, so that a recapitulation of the family history is not demanded in the present connection. Mr. Sindel was afforded excellent educa- tional advantages, having attended the Waueson high school, the Fayette Normal University, and the Northern Indiana Commercial College, at Valparaiso, where he was graduated. He began teaching in the district schools when but sixteen years of age, and has ever since followed the pedagogic profession, in which he has labored with marked enthusiasm and has met with unqualified success. During this period of nearly a quarter of a century he has taught consecu- tively in Pike township, save for an interval of six months, having taught his first term in the Jordan district, in Royalton township, in the summer of 1881. He is now principal of the public schools of Winameg. In January, 1897, Mr. Sindel was elected secretary of the Fulton County Farmers' Mutual Insurance and Aid Association, which was incorporated on the 29th of June, 1877, and which now has a membership of two thousand and twenty-five policy-holders, with more than three million dollars of insurance in force. He has retained this incumbency from the time of his first election and has done much to further the beneficent functions of the association. He has been secretary of the Mercer Co-operative Company, of Waueson, since 1903. In politics Mr. Sindel is a stanch advocate of the prin- ciples and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, he served from 1890 to 1894 as clerk of Pike township, he is at the present time incumbent of the office of justice of peace, and he has held a commission as notary public for the past fourteen years. He became a member of the Christian church in 1895, has been for a
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decade superintendent of the Bible class, and is the present secretary of the Fulton County Sunday-school Association. He is affiliated with Fulton Lodge, No. 248, Free & Accepted Masons, and his wife is a member of the adjunct organization, Aurora Chapter, No. 75, Order of the Eastern Star, and both are valued members of Aetna Grange, No. 310. On the 26th of October, 1892, Mr. Sindel was united in mar- riage to Miss Lucy L. Geer daughter of Milo and Rebecca (Parker) Geer, of Delta, this county, and they became the parents of a daughter, who died in infancy, on the 31st of January, 1894. Milo Gear was a son of Barney. Geer, one of the early settlers of Clinton township, this county, the old homestead being what is now known as the Reynolds farm. Milo Geer was a valiant soldier of the Union during the Civil war, having been a member of the Third Ohio volunteer cavalry. His death occurred on September 5, 1899, at Delta, Ohio. Mrs. Geer is of Irish descent, being a representative of the well-known Knott family. Mr. and Mrs. Geer became the parents of nine children, and of those living Mrs. Sindel is the eldest. The others are: Commo- dore P., a member of the mercantile firm of Geer & Shoemaker, of Delta; Elsie G., wife of Solomon P. Dinius, a farmer of Pike town- ship; Oscar S., a successful farmer of the same township; Harvey B., an employe in the Briggs hardware establishment, in Delta; Min- nie B., wife of Dell C. Reighard, with the Snyder Grocery Company, of Delta.
THEODORE F. SIEBOLD, a civil-engineer of Waueson, O., was : born in Hancock county, O. He is the son of John H. Siebold and Rose M. (Nuding) Siebold, the former having been born in Stutt- gart, Wurtemburg, Germany, June 8, 1828. In 1852 he emigrated to America and located first in Hancock county, O., from which he re- moved to Dover township, Fulton county, in 1861, and settled on a farm there. February 13, 1864, he enlisted in the Sixth Michigan regiment and served until August 20, 1865. His regiment was a part of the army that operated in and about Mobile, Ala. He died in Dover township, Fulton county, in 1897, aged sixty-nine years. The children of John H. Siebold and wife follow: Catherine M., the wife of Philo Stoner, of Jefferson township, Williams county, O .; George J., of Napoleon, O .; William H., a merchant of Tacoma, Wash .; Theodore F., the subject of this sketch; Mary S., the wife of Eugene Aldrich, of Waueson, and Rose A., the wife of Adam Flohr, of Bucyrus, Crawford county, O. Theodore F. Siebold, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools of Fulton county, Ohio. He was thoroughly trained for the profession of civil- engineering, which he had made his life's calling. For fifteen years he taught school in the northwest part of Fulton county, meeting with an unusual degree of success. For two terms each he served as clerk of Dover and Clinton townships, Fulton county. For the past fifteen years, during the last twelve of which he has been a resident of Waueson, he has practiced surveying in all parts of Fulton and the adjoining counties. So successful has he been in this business that he has won the esteem and respect of all for whom he has been called
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upon to do work. Being accurate in his work, his surveys are always satisfactory. In the work of the society of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he has always taken an active part. He married Miss Mary E. Crittenden, the daughter of Henry A. and Cleora (Ufford) Crittenden, of Chesterfield township, Fulton county. This family came to Ohio from Berkshire county, Mass.
FREDERICK A. SLATER, who is engaged in the harness busi- ness in the village of Lyons, claims the old Green Mountain State as the place of his nativity, having been born in Essex, Chittenden county, Vermont, on the Ioth day of August, 1843, and being a son of Augustus and Laura D. (Littlefield) Slater, both of whom were born and reared in Vermont. Ezra Slater, father of Augustus, was born in Connecticut and was one of the early settlers of Essex township, Chittenden county, Vermont, being a farmer by vocation and having for many years served as justice of the peace. Daniel Littlefield, maternal grandfather of Frederick A. Slater, was a native of near Springfield, Massachusetts, and was likewise one of the pioneers and influential citizens of Chittenden county, Vermont, having represented his district in the State legislature several terms. Augustus Slater was a successful farmer in Vermont and was held in the highest esteem as a citizen, having served several years as selectman of his town. Frederick A. Slater was reared in his native township of Essex and after leaving the common schools was a student in Essex Acad- emy. On the roth of September, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, Thirteenth Vermont volunteer infantry, serving as fifer and taking part in the battle of Gettysburg and other engagements of minor order. He received his honorable discharge on the 21st of July, 1863, at the close of his term of enlistment. . On the 24th of the following December, he again tendered his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company I, Sixth Vermont volunteer in- fantry, with which he served until the close of the war, receiving his honorable discharge on the 26th of June, 1865, in Washington, D. C. After the close of his military career Mr. Slater learned the harness- maker's trade, and in 1870 he took up his residence in Lyons, where he has since maintained his home and where he has built up an ex- cellent business 'in the line of his trade. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, serving as township clerk for eighteen years, still holding the office, and he is affiliated with Baxter Post, No. 238, Grand Army of the Republic, in Lyons. " April 10, 1867, Mr. Slater was united in marriage to Miss Cynthia Chappell, daughter of James G. and Eliza (Butts) Chappell, of Morenci, Lenawee county, Michigan, and they have had eight children, six of whom are living. Laura D. is the wife of F. H. Farrand, of Essex Junction, Vermont; Mervin W., of Columbus, Ohio, is a printer by trade; James W., of Adrian, Mich., is a machinist by trade; Edith Ann is the wife of W. C. Kelley, of . Morenci, Mich .; Carlos B. is at home with parents; and Roy N. lives at home with parents and is in the printing business.
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