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 69
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ment thereafter was in service at Newbern, N. C .; Hiltonhead, S. C .; St. Helena island and Folly island, which last was captured; and then the regiment assisted in the taking of Morris island, in which locality they remained nearly all summer, and in the autumn of 1863 they assisted in an attack on Fort Wagner and in the siege of Fort Sumter. After a furlough of thirty days, which he passed at home, Mr. Spring returned to Virginia, taking part in the engagement of Bermuda Hundreds, and being in sight of General Lee's command at the time of his surrender. Mr. Spring was always found at the post of duty, and his military record is without blemish. He received his honorable discharge on the 3d of July, 1865. He then returned to his home in Fulton county, and in 1866 he rented a farm in the eastern part of the county, where he remained until 1869, when he purchased forty acres near Tedrow, where he was actively engaged in farming until 1882, when he sold the property and purchased his present well- improved homestead, which was practically in its primitive condition when he secured the same. Much of the land was still covered with timber and underbrush, and the buildings consisted of a log house and a barn of the same order. He has brought the farm, which com- prises ninety-five acres, under effective cultivation, and the attractive residence, large, modern barn, good fences, and well-tilled fields all bespeak good management and unequivocal thrift and prosperity. Mr. and Mrs. Spring are prominent members of the Methodist Epis- copal church at Ottokee, in which he is class leader and trustee and also assistant superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Patrons of Husbandry, and his political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He has been a member of the school board for twenty years, served a number of years as road-supervisor, and one term as trustee of Dover township, and he is now serving his second term as infirmary- director. March 13, 1864, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Spring to Miss Ruby S. Godden, who was born in Tenterden, Kent county, England, on the 16th of January, 1842, being a daughter of William and Mary (Bennett) Godden, who came to America in 1850, remain- ing for a time in Syracuse, N. Y., and then coming to Cleveland, Ohio, where they remained two years, then passing two years in Medina county, and in 1854 they came to Fulton county. William Godden was born, September 10, 1820, and he followed the tanning business until he came to Fulton county, where he engaged in farm- ing. He died on his farm, near Delta, this county, October 12, 1902. His wife, who was born November 27, 1820, died February 20, 1897. They became the parents of five sons and seven daughters, and of the number six are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Spring became the parents of nine children: Watson F., born July 28, 1866, married Nellie Sprague and is a farmer of this county; William Milton, born February 16, 1868, died July 7, 1891; Walter O. was born August 14, 1869; Mary E., July 26, 1871; Flora A., March 18, 1873; Dora E., July 29, 1875; Virgil S., August 25, 1877; James Garfield, Janu- ary 29, 1880; and Cornelius S., February 28, 1883.
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JOHN STAIR, one of the honored pioneer citizens and represen- tative farmers of Amboy township, was born in Richland county, Ohio, June 1, 1832, a son of William and Sarah (Miller) Stair. The father was born and reared in Pennsylvania and in the pioneer days came to Ohio and settled in Richland county, and in 1836 he located in what is now Fulton township, Fulton county, this section being then practically an unbroken forest wilderness. He secured one hundred and twenty acres of government land and in course of time, through herculean labor, he developed a good farm, finding its culti- vation a source of adequate income. Both he and his wife died on the homestead, and their names merit a high place on the roll of the sterling pioneers of the county. They became the parents of four children: Josiah (deceased), was a resident of Fulton township; Me- linda is the wife of Joel Witt; Elizabeth is the wife of Daniel Kline; and John is the immediate subject of this sketch. John Stair was reared under the influences and labors of the pioneer era in this locality, and his youthful days were filled with "ceaseless toil and endeavor," and such were the exigencies of time and place that his educational advantages were very limited in scope. He was one of the valiant sons of the Buckeye State who went forth in defense of the Union when its integrity was menaced by armed rebellion. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company H, One Hundredth Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he proceeded to the front, ever ready to discharge the duties which were assigned to him. At Lime- stone, Tenn., he was captured by the enemy, on the 8th of September, 1863, and was taken to the historic Libby prison, in Richmond, Va., being shortly afterward transferred to Belle Isle, from which place he received his parole, on the 13th of March, 1864. He rejoined his regiment in the following September, having been confined in the hospital at Camp Chase, in Columbus, Ohio, for some time after his release from the Confederate prison, and in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., it was his misfortune again to fall into the hands of the enemy. He was taken to Columbia, that state, and thence sent to Anderson- ville prison, where he was held in duress more than five months, his release coming only when the war ended and victory crowned the Union arms. He received his honorable discharge, in the capital city of his native State, in June 1865. After the war Mr. Stair re- turned to Fulton county, being engaged in farming in Fulton town- ship during the greater portion of the interim until 1879, when he located on his present farm, in Amboy township, where he has been successful in his agricultural and stock-growing enterprise, being one of the honored citizens of this community and county. He is a Republican in politics. In 1861 Mr. Stair was married to Miss Cevillia Wicks, daughter of Daniel and Harriett Wicks, of Lucas county, and they have two children: Emeletta, who is the wife of Thomas Livingston; and Mary E., who is the wife of Hudson Treadway.
JOSIAH STAIR was one of the honored pioneers of Fulton coun- ty and here attained success in connection with the great fundamental
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art of agriculture, which represented his vocation throughout life, and the old homestead farm is still in the possession of his widow, the same being located in Fulton township and being one of the valuable farms of the county. Mr. Stair was born in Franklin county, Pa., December 17, 1823, and was a son of William and Sarah (Miller) Stair, both of whom were likewise natives of the old Keystone State, the former having been born August 17, 1800, and the latter Decem- ber 26, 1793, and both passed the closing years of their lives in Fulton county, the death of the father occurring January 9, 1848, and that of the mother on the 15th of September, 1850. They came to Ohio and located in Fulton county in 1835, having been numbered among the earliest settlers in Fulton township, having located on the farm now owned by Mrs. Josiah Stair, widow of the subject of this memoir. Josiah Stair was about twelve years of age at the time of the family removal from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and he was reared to manhood on the homestead farm of which he eventually became the owner and upon which he was residing at the time of his death. He con- tinued to maintain his home consecutively in Fulton county during the long intervening years, save for a period of three and one-half years passed in California, whither he went in 1852, at the time when the memorable gold excitement was at its height. On the 30th of March, 1848, Mr. Stair was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Witt, who was born in Springfield, Hamilton county, Ohio, being a daugh- ter of John and Ann (Heller) Witt, who came to Fulton county in 1844, and were numbered among the pioneers of Fulton township, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Further reference to the family is made elsewhere in this work, in the sketch of Mrs. Clarissa A. Witt, widow of Horatio Witt, who was a brother of Mrs. Stair. In the autumn of 1848 Mr. and Mrs. Stair located on the homestead farm where the latter now resides, the place being at that time still the property of Mr. Stair's father. Josiah was the eldest of five children, the others being: Mary Belinda, born March 15, 1825; Ann Elizabeth, born October 19, 1826; Margaret, born February 4, 1829; and John, born June 1, 1832. The last named is the only one of the number now living, and he is a well-known farm- er of Amboy township, this county. Josiah Stair gave his attention to the reclamation and improvement of the farm of one hundred and twenty acres, of which he eventually became the owner, and he was known as one of the reliable, energetic and progressive farmers of the county, upright and honorable in all the relations of life and commanding the uniform confidence and esteem of the community which was his home during practically his entire adult life. In his death, which occurred on the 8th of February, 1897, the county lost one of its honored pioneer citizens, and in the immediate community his death was felt as a personal bereavement. In politics Mr. Stair was a stanch Republican, and he served in various local offices, in- cluding that of township trustee. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Stair has continued to reside on the old homestead, which is endeared to her through long association, and the farm is under the management of her foster son, Jonas Wicks, concerning whom in-
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dividual mention is made in the article following. For nearly twenty years Mrs. Stair's eye-sight has been affected, and during the last decade the affliction has become so definite that she has been able only to distinguish between daylight and darkness. Notwithstanding this infirmity, she shows her intrinsic power of character by bearing the affliction with equanimity and patience, not permitting it to dampen her genial and gracious temperament, being exceptionally genial and companionable, and her life is brightened by pleasant home environments and by the loyal devotion of a wide circle of apprecia- tive friends. She is far from being helpless, her general health being excellent, and she is able to perform many of the customary house- hold duties with as great facility as one not afflicted with blindness, idleness and supine ease having no place in her composition. She is fortunate in having the true filial devotion of her foster-son and his wife, Mr. Wicks having passed practically his entire life in the Stair home, as will be noted in the following sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Stair had no children of their own.
JONAS WICKS, one of the representative farmers and stock-growers of Fulton township, where he has for many years resided upon and had the management of the Josiah Stair homestead, besides owning an excellent little farm of his own, is a veteran of the Civil war, in which connection he showed the same determinate loyalty and fidelity that have characterized his course in all the other relations of his life. He was born in Wayne township, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 8th of February, 1844, and is a son of Daniel and Harriet (Farner) Wicks, both natives of Pennsylvania, where the former was born, May 24, 1810, and he died in 1879. The wife was born September 14, 1819, in Somerset county, Pa., and she died, in Fulton county, Ohio, on the 5th of March, 1897, having been resident of Lucas county at the time of her husband's death many years previously. They settled in Fulton county about 1852, and were residents later of Lucas coun- ty, the father having been a farmer by vocation. Following is a brief record concerning their children: Cevillia, wife of John Stair, was born April 25, 1842, and they reside in Fulton township; Elizabeth, born August 25, 1845, is the wife of George Surbeck, and they reside in Kansas; Christopher, born September 3, 1847, is a resident of Lucas county, where he and those previously mentioned were born, the other children being natives of Fulton county; Esther, born June 8, 1849, is the wife of Parl Houser, of Lucas county; Lucy, born June 20, 1852, is the wife of Dr. Hale, and they reside in Wayne county; John Emerson and Emma, twins, were born May 8, 1854, the former being now a resident of Swanton, Fulton county, and the latter is the wife of George Higgins, of Bryan, Williams county; Sarah, wife of Enoch Huftile, died in Swanton, at the age of seventy years, having been the oldest in order of birth, and Jonas, subject of this sketch, was the third child. Jonas Wicks was reared to man- hood in Lucas county, receiving a good common-school education and early becoming inured to the sturdy duties of farm work. August 7, 1862, he manifested his intrinsic loyalty to the Union by enlisting
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as a private in Company H, One Hundredth Ohio volunteer infantry, which was assigned to the Twenty-third Army Corps of the Western Army, and he continued in active service until the close of the war, participating in the various engagements and manouvers in which his command was concerned and receiving his honorable discharge at Greensboro, North Carolina, on the 20th of June, 1865. He was with Sherman on the ever memorable march from Atlanta to the sea, and his command returned into North Carolina to intercept Hood. Mr. Wicks received a slight wound in the head and incurred physical disabilities which have well entitled him to the pension which he receives from an appreciative government. After the war Mr. Wicks returned to Ohio and on the Ist of April, 1867, he entered the employ of the late Josiah Stair, and he has ever since resided on the old Stair homestead, employed in various capacities, and hav- ing been for a number of years manager of the farm. Mrs. Stair always considers him "her boy," and ties of deep affection have bound him to both Mr. and Mrs. Stair during an intimate association of nearly two score years, Mrs. Stair maintaining that in all this period no unpleasant word has ever passed between them, and mutual sympathy and helpfulness have ever been in evidence. In politics Mr. Wicks has been a stalwart Republican from the time of attaining his legal majority, though he was reared in the Democratic faith. He is affiliated with Swanton Lodge, No. 528, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Fulton Encampment, No. 197, of the same order, in Delta, having passed the official chairs in both bodies, and he is also an appreciative member of Quiggle Post, No. 289, Grand Army of the Republic, in Swanton. He owns a small and well improved farm in Fulton township and a good residence property in the village of Swanton, but practically his entire mature life since the war has been passed on the Stair farm, which he manages with consummate ability and discrimination. April 28, 1889, witnessed the marriage of Mr. Wicks to Miss Catherine Murbach, who was born in Lucas county, Ohio, being a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Rudy) Mur- bach and a sister of Caspar and Jacob R. Murbach, both of whom are individually mentioned in this publication. Mr. and Mrs. Wicks became the parents of three children, all of whom died in infancy.
RIAL CLARK STANDISH, a representative farmer and honored citizen of Royalton township, is a representative of one of the old and prominent families of Fulton county, where he has passed his entire life and where he has been continuously identified with agri- cultural pursuits from his youth to the present. He comes of his- toric old Puritan stock, as is evident when it is stated that he is of the seventh generation in line of direct descent from Miles Standish, the historic pilgrim who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, on the first trip of the good ship Mayflower, and one whose life is so beau- tifully depicted in the poem of the gentle New England bard, Long- fellow. . Rial C. Standish was born on the old Standish homestead, in Royalton township, this county, on the 23d of March, 1862, being a son of Clark and Harriet (Smith) Standish. Detailed record con-
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cerning the family is given in the sketch of William H. Standish, appearing immediately subsequent to this one, so that it is not neces- sary to canvass the data again for the present article. Mr. Standish was reared to manhood on the home farm, and was afforded such advantages as were to be had in the public schools of the locality. He has never severed his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture, and his thorough familiarity with all details of farm work, as well as with the local conditions of soil and climtae, has been so supplemented by energy and good judgment that he has been most successful in his independent operations, being the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and ninety acres, in Sections 18 and 19, Royal- ton township, and forty acres of the same was a part of the 'old home- stead on which he was born. In politics Mr. Standish is an uncom- promising Republican, taking an intelligent interest in public affairs, particularly those of a local nature, but having no ambition for public office. He and his wife are members of the Universalist church at Lyons, Ohio. September 10, 1884, Mr. Standish was united in mar- riage to Miss Adeline Ross, daughter of Edward and Betsey (Dis- brow) Ross, of Chesterfield township, and they have five children: Clark E., Austin C., Louis C., Donald M. and Mabel V.
WILLIAM HENRY STANDISH is one of the leading agricul- turists and stock-growers of Fulton county, being proprietor of the Royalton Stock Farm, at Lyons, and his lineage is of distinguished order, bespeaking the deepest Americanism, since he is in the eighth generation of direct descent from Miles Standish, the Puritan, who came over in the historic Mayflower, in 1620, landing at Plymouth Rock, and whose name figures so prominently and pleasingly in the annals of Massachusetts and in the idyllic poem of the illustrious New England bard, Longfellow. William Henry Standish was born in Royalton township, this county, May 17, 1864, and is a son of Clark and Harriet (Smith) Standish. The father was born in Sem- pronius, Cayuga county, N. Y., December 22, 1826, being a son of Rial Standish, who came with his family to Ohio in 1831, locating in Huron county, where Clark Standish was reared to manhood. April 14, 1850, Clark Standish married Harriet Smith, of that county, and shortly afterward they came to Fulton county and took up their abode in Royalton township, making the trip to this county with an ox-team. Clark Standish took up a tract of government land in Section 18, the same being covered with a dense growth of timber, and with the passing of years this place was developed into a produc- tive and well-improved farm. He retained his residence on the home- stead until the spring of 1889, when he removed to the city of Wau- seon, where he lived retired until his death, December 18, 1898, at the age of seventy-two years. His first wife, Harriet (Smith) Stan- dish, died on October 4th, 1873, and of their eight children seven are living: Phoebe is the wife of Orin Ranger, of Carson City, Mich .; Viola is the widow of Andrew Disbrow and resides in Lyons, Ohio; Miles P. remains a resident of Royalton township; Charlotte is the wife of Frank A. Camburn, of Royalton township; Rial C. is men-
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tioned in the preceding memoir: William H. is the immediate sub- ject of this review; and Orin C. resides in Wauseon. For his second wife Clark Standish married Minerva A. Camburn, who survives him, as does also their adopted daughter, whose maiden name was Anna Wheeler and who is now the wife of Frederick Bredee, of Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. Standish was a man of distinct individuality and great strength of character, unbending in his integrity and direct and unyielding in his views, but animated by a strong sense of justice, so that he ever commanded respect and confidence, though some- what reserved in nature. He reared a large family of children, giving them good advantages, and acquired a competency through earnest and well-directed personal effort. He was an uncompromising foe of the liquor traffic, never having tasted intoxicating liquors, and in this respect his four sons have followed his worthy example. His religious faith was that of the Universalist church. The fine farm- stead now owned by his son, William H., subject of this sketch, was the one on which he settled when he first came to the county. After reclaiming a portion of this place he sold it to his brother and pur- chased a farm adjoining on the south. clearing and developing the latter with the aid of his sons and there remaining until his removal to Wauseon, as already noted. William H. Standish has resided in Royalton township from the time of his birth to the present, has always been identified with agricultural pursuits, and his educational advantages in youth were those of the public schools of the locality. His farm is finely improved and practically the entire area is available for cultivation, but for the past fifteen years he has utilized the place more particularly for the breeding of fine Holstein cattle, his stock being registered and of the highest type, and he has been particularly successful in this branch of his farm enterprise and has done much to advance stock interests in this section of the State, being one of the representative breeders of the Holstein cattle in Northern Ohio, and he has exhibited his stock at state and county fairs in Ohio, Michi- gan and Indiana, and at the present time he has, undoubtedly, as fine a herd of Holsteins as can be found within the border of the Buckeye State. He came into possession of the old homestead, of ninety acres, in 1894, and most of the improvements of permanent order were made by him, including a large and substantial barn which, in design, equipment and facilities is unexcelled by any in the township. The attractive and commodious residence was erected prior to his coming into possession of the farm. Mr. Standish is recognized as one of the most progressive farmers and stock-growers of the coun- ty, being a man of fine business talent and a citizen of utmost loyalty and public spirit. He and his wife are members of the Universalist church, and in a fraternal way he is identified with the Knights of the Maccabees. In politics he is a stanch Republican, he served two terms as trustee of Royalton township, and his name has also become prominent in nominating conventions in connection with candidacy for important county offices. He is not, however, a "practical poli- tician," and has never offered subsidies for the sake of securing offi- cial preferment. He is a valued and active member of the Fulton
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County Agricultural Society, with which he has been identified for the past decade. July 12, 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Standish to Miss Caroline A. Campbell, daughter of George W. and Flore A. (Van Dorn) Campbell, the former of whom is deceased, and the mother is now the wife of Dr. J. H. Waddell, of Wauseon, where she herself is engaged in the practice of medicine. Mr. and Mrs. Standish have one son, George W.
JACOB GOTTLIEB STIRIZ, one of the sterling pioneer citizens of York township, is a native of Germany and possesses those char- acteristics which have made the true German type so valuable an element in the complex make-up of our republic. He was born in Lauffen-on-Neckar, Wurtemburg, Germany, on the 20th of April, 1849, and is a son of Jacob Gottfried Stiriz and Elizabeth (Rueckle) Stiriz, both of whom were likewise native of the kingdom of Wurtem- burg. In 1852 they left the fatherland and immigrated to America, being accompanied by their two children, the elder of whom, Chris- tina, is now the wife of Jacob Krauss, of Pettisville, Fulton county, where her husband is engaged in the mercantile business and is also postmaster. The family came to Fulton county and located at Luke's Corners, in Fulton township, where they remained about eight years. In 1857 the father purchased a farm of eighty acres east of the pres- ent homestead of his son, Jacob G., subject of this sketch, and there he continued to reside until 1865, when he sold the property and purchased two hundred acres in York township-the present fine homestead of him whose name introduces this paragraph. The de- voted wife and mother died on this homestead, on the 11th of August, 1889, and her husband later returned to his fatherland, where he died in 1893, at the age of seventy-nine years. He crossed the At- lantic six times in one year, having been restless and unsttled after losing his loved companion. Jacob Gottlieb Stiriz has been a resi- dent of Fulton county for a full half-century, and within this long period he has not only witnessed but has been closely identified with the civic and material development and progress of this most attrac- tive section of the old Buckeye State. His parents were in most modest circumstances when they came to America, and all that is represented or has been in the practical accumulations of the family has been the result of frugality and hard and unflagging effort. Mr. Stiriz thus appreciates to the full the dignity of honest toil and also the advantages which the years have brought and the opportunities which he has been able to give his children and which he was per- sonally denied in his own youth. He is, however, a man of broad information, having been a reader of the best standard literature and having kept in intelligent touch with the questions and issues of the hour, and he has been well-trained in both the German and the En- glish languages. He has at all times held the respect and confidence of the community in which he has so long maintained his home, has served in various township offices, and he has been a member of the school board for the past fifteen years. In national affairs he is an adherent of the Democratic party, but in local matters he is not
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