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 73
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
Digitized by Google
611
BIOGRAPHICAL
the eldest, is the wife of Milo Eldridge, of Spring Hill, this county; Orlando is the immediate subject of this sketch; Henry D. is a farmer of Chesterfield township; George W. is a dealer in hardware and agri- cultural implements at Spring Hill; Samuel and Jacob died while serv- ing their country as Union soldiers in the Civil war, the latter dying as a result of wounds received in the battle of Nashville. Orlando Walters secured his educational discipline in the common schools of York township, and he initiated his independent career as a farmer in Dover township, whither his parents had removed. He remained at home until he was twenty-four years of age, when, in 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Huffmire, who was born in Dover township, being a daughter of Abraham and Sarah E. Huff- mire, who were numbered among the honored pioneers of this sec- tion of Ohio. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Walters the eldest, a son, died in infancy. Lulu Viola is the wife of Albert Grie- singer, son of George Griesinger, of whom personal mention is made on another page. William Harley, who is a progressive young farmer of Fulton township, married Miss Herma Merrill, daughter of Frank C. Merrill, mentioned elsewhere in this work. Etta Me- linda remains at the parental home, being one of the popular young ladies of the township and having considerable musical talent. After his marriage Mr. Walters located on a small farm near Spring Hill, where he remained seven years, after which he passed two years on the old homestead farm of his parents. In 1882 he purchased one hundred and six acres in Section 7, Fulton township, and this tract comprises his present finely improved homestead, which is one of the best farms in the township, and which represents the tangible re- sults of his own well directed efforts, since he has been the artificer of his own fortunes. He cleared thirty-five acres of timber land and afterward provided a thorough system of ditch and tile drainage on his entire farm, whose fertility is now of the highest order. In 1895 Mr. Walters erected his handsome brick residence, at a cost of three thousand dollars, and in 1903, the farm was still farther en- hanced in value through the building of a large double barn, thirty- six by sixty-two feet in dimensions in the main, with a wing thirty- six by forty-eight feet, and the roof is self-supporting. The barn represents an expenditure of about twenty-five hundred dollars and is one of the best in this section. Mr. Walters raises horses, cattle and hogs, devoting special attention to the last mentioned stock, and in addition to the diversified crops customarily raised in this locality he raises large crops of potatoes each year, having machinery for both planting and digging. He is a man of broad views and progres- sive ideas, and has made his farming industry transcend the functions of old grooves, so that he realized from each department the maxi- mum returns, and he is ever ready to adopt new devices or methods for facilitating the work. He and his wife are valued members of Berry Grange, No. 1111, and in politics he is a stalwart Republican, has served two terms as township trustee, and has held other local offices. In 1902 he was elected infirmary director of Fulton county, having also charge of the poor'in Swan Creek, Amboy and Royalton
-
Digitized by Google
612
HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
townships, and he was re-elected to this office in 1905, his services in the connection having been earnest and effective. He is an influ- ential factor in the ranks of his party contingent in the county, is one of the stanch advocates of Republican principles and policies, and he has the esteem and good-will of all who know him.
CHESTER R. P. WALTZ, postmaster and general manager of the Atlas Printing Company, of Delta, was born in Knox county, Ohio, March 6, 1867. He is the son of E. L. and Lucinda (Pinkley) Waltz, both natives of Ohio. E. L. Waltz is a native of Tuscarawas county, and spent his early life in the mercantile business in Jelloway, Knox county, and Weston, O. At the former place he served as secretary of the Farmers' Home Insurance Company for about ten years, and as postmaster under the administration of President Lin- coln. In 1876 he removed to Delta, where he started the first news- paper in the town, called the Delta Avalanche, the first issue mak- ing its appearance February 22, 1876. Since that date he has spent five years in Jelloway, attending to the insurance business, with which he was there connected. Returning to Delta in June, 1885, he purchased the Avalanche, which he had previously sold, and estab- lished the Delta Atlas, one of the oldest and decidedly the strongest paper published in Fulton county. The policy of the paper has always been conservative. It has the unique record of never having solicited a subscription or of having offered a premium, preferring that the financial standing of the paper should depend wholly on its merits. E. L. Waltz is the editor, and his son, Chester, is the general manager. Chester R. P. Waltz grew to manhood in Delta, receiving a liberal education in its public schools. For four years he was connected with a dry-goods establishment in Jelloway. When the Delta Atlas was founded he took an interest in that company, and now holds the re- sponsible position of general manager, for which he is eminently fit- ted, being a skilled mechanic and a thorough job-printer. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster by President Mckinley and reappointed by President Roosevelt, and is still serving in that capacity. Mr. Waltz is at present the principal officer of Fulton Lodge, No. 248, Free and Accepted Masons, and holds membership in Octavius Waters Chapter, No. 154, Royal Arch Masons, in the Toledo Com- mandery, No. 7, Knights Templar, and in Delta Lodge, No. 199, Knights of Pythias. In religious affairs he and his wife are actively identified with the Presbyterian church, of which organization he is a trustee and Sunday School superintendent. In politics he takes a deep interest, being a stanch Republican. In 1891 he was wedded to Miss Grace Richardson. a daughter of Robert Richardson, of Wau- seon. They are the parents of two interesting children, Kathryn Florence and Richard Rinard, aged respectively eleven and three years.
GEORGE W. WATKINS is another of those worthy citizens who were born and reared in Fulton county and have here upborne the high reputation of a name honored in the county from the early pio-
Digitized by Google
613
BIOGRAPHICAL
neer days, and his also has been the wisdom to hold tenaciously and effectively to the great basic industry of agriculture, through con- nection with which he has met with a measure of success which stands to his credit and which can not be other than a source of grati- fication to him. He is one of the representative farmers of Fulton township and not far-distant from his present fine homestead, in the same township, was the parental home in which he made his debut in the drama of life, on the 25th of November, 1846. He is a son of Wesley and Catherine (Fesler) Watkins, the former of whom was born in Wayne county, Ohio, February 23, 1816, and the latter was born in Pennsylvania, January 3, 1825. Their marriage was, solem- nized in Fulton county, in January, 1846, and they became the par- ents of six children, of whom George W. was the first born. Julius Alonzo, born February 13, 1848, died September 20, 1878; Thomas, born August 8, 1851, is a successful farmer of Pike township; Lewis C., born May 21, 1856, is identified with railroading operations in the South; William W., born January 24, 1861, is a resident of Ne- braska and is a railroad man; Libbie Jane, born September 19, 1863, is the wife of Thomas H. Fraker, a farmer near Delta, Fulton county. The honored father died on the farm now owned by his eldest son, on the 24th of September, 1869, and his wife died September 16, 1889. They were well-known pioneers of the county, where they lived lives of signal honor and usefulness and where they held the unqualified esteem of all who knew them. George W. Watkins was educated in the district schools of his native township, where he has maintained his home from the time of his birth, and he has been continuously as- sociated with the work of the old homestead farm, of which he be- came the owner in 1880, having purchased the interests of the other heirs. In politics Mr. Watkins was originally a Democrat, but in 1884 he transferred his allegiance to the Prohibition party, whose cause he supported for a number of years by ballot and influence, and in the election of 1904 he exercised his franchise in support of the Republican candidates, National and- State. As touching the genealogy of Mr. Watkins it may be said that his grandfather, Chris- topher Watkins, was one of four brothers, and his brother Robert came to Fulton county in the early '30s, securing, in association with his son, Christopher, one thousand acres of land in Fulton and Pike townships. March 20, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of George W. Watkins and Miss Mary E. Biddle, who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, May 23, 1854, being the youngest of the children of George and Nancy (Lawrence) Biddle, the former of whom was born in Wayne county, and the latter in Pennsylvania, the respec- tive dates of nativity having been March 11, 1808, and January 25, 1813. Mr. and Mrs. Biddle were married in Wayne county whence they came to Fulton county in 1860, locating on a farm near Delta, and they passed the closing years of their lives in York township, the father passing away in August, 1878, and the mother was summoned to the life eternal, August 21, 1902. Concerning the children the fol- lowing brief data are entered: Henry, born January 4, 1833, died December 5, 1888; Nancy, born September 9, 1835, is the wife of
Digitized by Google
614
HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
Adam Geitgey, a farmer of Wayne county; Rachel, born December 18, 1837, is the wife of Simon Snyder, of Delta: Benjamin, born April 28, 1840, is a resident of Toledo; Jacob, born February 5, 1843, died in Delta, February 7, 1885; John L., born March 21, 1846. resides in Delta; Samuel, born November 11, 1848, died in infancy; George W., born November 23, 1851, is a resident of Clinton township; and Mary E., the youngest, is the wife of Mr. Watkins. Floyd B., the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Watkins, was born September 30, 1881, and is associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm. October 4, 1904, he married Miss Pearl McQuillin, who was born and reared in this county, and the daughter of John B. and ยท Clara (Simson) McQuillin.
MICHAEL F. WEBER, a prosperous farmer and highly-respect- ed citizen of Swan Creek township, is a native of Switzerland, born in Merishausen, Canton of Schaffhansen, March 24, 1833. In 1846 he emigrated to the United States with his parents, George and Eliza- beth (Meyer) Weber, and two sisters, landing at New York City. The voyage, begun at Havre, France, was made in a sailing vessel and consumed fifty days, the passengers suffering greatly because of the scarcity of food occasioned by the protracted trip. After a stay of twelve days in the metropolis the family proceeded by boat to Buffalo by way of Albany, from Buffalo by way of Lake Erie to Toledo, O., and from there by canal to Maumee. The parental home was finally established in German township, Fulton (then Lucas) county. Here Mr. Weber's parents ended their days, the father dying at the age of sixty-eight and the mother at eighty-two. To these parents there were born four children, one son and three daugh- ters, as follows: Anna, who died in Switzerland; Mary, who mar- ried Jacob Zeigler, of Maumee, and died at the age of twenty-eight years; Elizabeth, who died at the age of fifteen years; and the sub- ject of this sketch. Michael F. Weber spent his young manhood days helping to clear and improve the parental farm, working each day from four o'clock in the morning until dark. The land was most- ly covered with heavy timber. of little or no value at that time. He received his education in Switzerland. His attendance at school in this country was limited to three weeks at one time when a felon on one of his hands disabled him from cutting timber. Mr. Weber has always given all of his time and attention to agricultural pur- suits and has met with unusual success. In 1890 he purchased a farm in Spencer township, Lucas county, and there resided until May 17, 1904, when his residence and contents were destroyed by fire. With the exception of these four years he has spent all of his life since coming to America in Fulton county. . After the loss of his home he bought a handsome residence and a small farm near Swan- ton, where he now resides. Prior to the Civil war he was a Demo- crat, but since that time he has given his support to the Republican party. Although he did not enlist in the army. he contributed liber- ally by his means to the suppression of the Rebellion. In religious belief Mr. Weber, together with his family, is affiliated with the Ger-
Digitized by Google
615
BIOGRAPHICAL
man Baptist church. Generous and liberal-hearted, he has always shown a readiness to come promptly to the rescue of those in distress. At the age of twenty-one years he was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Zeigler, a sister of his brother-in-law. To this union six chil- dren were born, all living. They are: Mary, George, John, Lydia, Arnold and Sarah. His first wife dying in 1883, he later married Miss Maggie Shudel, a native of Switzerland, who came to Amerca with her parents in childhood. She is the daughter of Ulrich and Anna (Weber) Shudel, the parents of eight children, seven of whom are yet living. Their names follow: Barbara; George, who died in 1871, aged twenty years; Anna, William, Mary, Maggie, Jacob and John. Of the eight children born to the second marriage of Mr. Weber six are now living. The names of the children are: Anna, Dina, Rhoda, Emil, Freda, Paul, Gideon and Benjamin, the last two deceased.
VIRGIL W. WEEKS is not only one of the leading farmers of Pike township, but he is one of the brave "boys in blue" who repre- sented Fulton county in the Union ranks during the greatest civil war known in the annals of history. Mr. Weeks was born in Seneca county, Ohio, on the 2d of December, 1841, and is a son of David and Rebecca (McCarty) Weeks, the former of whom was born in New Jersey and the latter in Ohio. The father was a cooper by trade, and followed the same as a vocation for many years, having also become the owner of a good farm in Fulton county, whither he came from Seneca county in 1848. He passed the closing years of his life in Wauseon, as did also his wife, and both are interred in the cemetery at that place, a large portion of the tract having been cleared by him in the early days, and he selected the lot in which rest the mortal remains of both himself and his loved wife. David Weeks was a strong abolitionist in the crucial days leading up to the Civil war, and he was a conductor on the famous "underground railway," through whose beneficent operation many poor slaves were assisted to freedom. The subject of this sketch aided his father in this work, having transported a number of fugitive slaves from the station in Pike township to the one in the River Raisin or Quaker settlement. Two of his brothers also served in the Union ranks, as members of Ohio regiments, Rhinaldo L., who is now a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana; and Bruno L., who died in Andersonville prison. Virgil W. Weeks was reared to manhood in Fulton county, and duly availed himself of the advantages of the graded schools of Wauseon, where were numbered among his classmates many who later attained promi- nence in this and other States of the Union. Mr. Weeks responded to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers to aid in suppressing the Rebellion. On the 17th of April, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company H, Fourteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, with which he proceeded to West Virginia, where his first experience in active warfare was in the engagement at Philippi, on the 3d of June, 1861. He later took part in the conflicts at Laurel Hill and Cheat River, remaining at the front until the expiration of his three months' term
Digitized by Google
616
HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
of enlistment. He then re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company K, Thirty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, in which he served three years, having been made corporal of his company. He received his honorable discharge, by reason of the expiration of term of service, on the 31st of January, 1863, but forthwith veteranized, becoming a member of the same company and regiment, with which he con- 'tinued in service until the close of the war, receiving his final dis- charge as second duty sergeant, on the 12th of July, 1865, after hav- ing made a record as a faithful and gallant soldier, and having been an active participant in many of the important battles of the great conflict. While he was never confined to the hospital during his term of service, he was wounded at Hoover's Gap, a cannon ball passing under him so close to his right hip that it has ever since been partially paralyzed. He never recovered from the effects of this injury, in recognition of which he receives a liberal government pen- sion. After victory had crowned the Union arms Mr. Weeks re- turned home, and soon afterward, on the 31st of October, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Ruth A. Fewlass, who was born in Fulton county, on the 21st of February, 1840, being a daughter of William and Caroline (Trowbridge) Fewlass, who were numbered among the sterling pioneers of the county. Mr. Fewlass was a na- tive of England and came to America when a young man, and he first came to Fulton county in 1836, taking up his permanent resi- dence here two years later. He became one of the extensive farmers and wealthy and influential citizens of the county, where he owned two hundred and seven acres of land, much of which he reclaimed from the virgin forest. He passed the closing years of his life in the village of Delta, where he died on the Ist of September, 1884; the mother of Mrs. Weeks died in 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks have six children, namely: David, George, Ada, William, Emma and Caddie C. Emma is the wife of Justin Bartlett, a successful farmer of this county. Caddie C., who is the wife of Charles Prentiss, is one of the successful and popular teachers of Fulton county, having taught twenty-six terms in the public schools and having been a student in the normal school at Fayette, this county. Mr. Weeks is a stalwart Republican and he has served as constable ; was for twelve years in- cumbent of the office of justice of the peace, and for two terms was township assessor. He is one of the appreciative and valued mem- bers of McQuillin Post, No. 171, Grand Army of the Republic, at Delta, of which he is the present senior vice-commander. Mr. Weeks at the present time is entering upon his second term as justice of the peace, having been elected on November 7, 1905, by a large majority ..
CAPTAIN JOHN A. WEIR, local manager of the Northwestern Ohio Telephone Exchange, of Swanton, was born at Waterloo, De- Kalb county, Ind., February 3, 1868. He is the son of William and Elizabeth A. (Detrich) Weir, the former a native of Blantyre, Scot- land, and the latter of Pennsylvania. His grandparents were Alex- ander and Mary (Orr) Weir, both born in Blantyre. William Weir emigrated to the United States in 1854, when a young man, and lo-
Digitized by Google
617
BIOGRAPHICAL
cated in Waterloo, Ind., where he was married. Since the year 1855, with the exception of three and one-half years spent in the army, he has operated a cooperage establishment in Wauseon, where he and his wife are now living. Of a family of ten children that have been born to them nine are alive. Those living are: Capt. John A .; Jen- nie, married; Mary Alice, married; Catherine, single; Bessie, mar- ried; Libbie Pet, married; Frank R., Charles and Howard, single. Capt. John A. Weir was educated in the Wauseon schools. He learned the cooperage business and followed this occupation until September, 1897. In 1893 he became prominently connected with the Ohio State militia, assisting in organizing Company G, of the Sixteenth Ohio State Militia. Until 1896 he held the position of first lieutenant and then was promoted to the captaincy. On April 25, 1898, the regiment was mustered into the United States service as the Sixth Ohio volunteer infantry and Captain Weir still remained at the head of his company. After serving for thirteen months in the Spanish-American war, at Chickamauga Park and in Cuba, he was mustered out on August 28, 1899, the company disbanding. Since then he has not given any further attention to military affairs. Returning to Wauseon he engaged in telephone construction work, spending two years in West Virginia. In 1901 he came to Swanton in the capacity of local manager of the Northwestern Ohio Telephone Exchange at that place. He is prominently identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in- cluding the military rank of the former organization and the Encamp- ment of the latter. In politics he is a Republican. Capt. John A. Weir was married in Wauseon on May 25, 1888, to Miss Mary A. Fankhauser, of Fulton county. To this union two children have been born. They are: William and Clyde. Mrs. Weir is descended from German ancestors, her father and mother being natives of Ger- many.
ELIZER B. WELCH .- On the fine homestead farm on which he now resides, in Chesterfield township, Mr. Welch was born, on the 18th of February, 1845, but at that time the appearance of the place was far different than at present, since this section was then scarcely more than a sylvan wilderness, and the dwelling in which he made his debut in the drama of life was a primitive log-cabin of the kind common to the pioneer days. He is a son of James and Amy (Clark) Welch, and his father came from one of the Eastern States to Ohio in an early day, being one of the first settlers in what is now Chester- field township, Fulton county, where he secured a tract of govern- ment land, heavily timbered, and the Indians of the vicinity assisted him in erecting his log-cabin. The father reclaimed much of his land to cultivation, being the owner of two hundred and forty acres of the best land in Chesterfield township at the time of his death, in 1855. Amy (Clark) Welch was born in the State of New York, and accompanied her parents on their immigration to the wilds of Fulton county, Ohio, where she was married. Her father, George P. Clark, was one of the pioneer farmers of Chesterfield township, where his
Digitized by Google
618
HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
wife died, and he passed the closing years of his life in Morenci, Mich. James and Amy (Clark) Welch became the parents of four children: Mary J. is the widow of Joel Briggs, who died about 1885, and she resides on her homestead farm, in Chesterfield township; Elizabeth, the wife of Sidney S. Beatty, of Morenci, Mich., died in Ann Arbor, that State, May 3, 1905; Elizer B. is the subject of this sketch; and Chester is a resident of Morenci, Mich. The present residence of the mother is Morenci, Mich. Elizer B. Welch was reared on the old pioneer homestead, and had such educational privileges as were afforded in the common schools of the locality and period, and he has made farming his life vocation, and has made a distinctive suc- cess in his chosen field of endeavor. He now owns and operates eighty acres of the old homestead on which he was born, and is also the owner of another excellent farm, of one hundred and twenty . acres, in section 10, Chesterfield township, about one and one-fourth miles northwest of his residence place. He improved the second farm with good buildings and has reclaimed a considerable portion of it from a wild state. The political support of Mr. Welch is ac- corded, without reservation, to the Democratic party; he is essen- tially progressive and public-spirited, and he has served in minor Offices of local order. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Grange. December 30, 1868, Mr. Welch was married to Miss Har- riet M. Rogers, the nuptial ceremony being performed in Morenci, Mich., by Rev. John T. Hankinson. Mrs. Welch was born in Fulton county, December 1, 1847, and is a daughter of Leonard and Harriet Gillmore Rogers, both of whom were born in the State of New York, and their marriage was solemnized in Fulton county. Mrs. Rogers died, near Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1853, and her husband long sur- vived her, dying in the State of Washington, March 30, 1902, at a venerable age. He was a blacksmith by trade, but devoted the greater part of his active career to farming. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers became the parents of six children: Otis C. resides in the State of Washington; William P. is a resident of Missouri: George W. resides in Adrian, Mich .; Harriet M. is the wife of the subject of this review; Mary J. resides in Hillsdale county, Mich .; and Mary is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Welch have four children: James L., who was born February 27, 1870, was married. March 25, 1891, to Miss Minnie E. Baxter, and he is now engaged in the banking business in Lawrene, Mich., Van Buren county; Lillie A. was born January 29, 1872, and is now the wife of Charles Van Vorce. of Seneca township, Lenawee county, Mich .; Charles C., born October 30, 1883, is in Canada as a railroad employe; and Jennie E., born May 4, 1887, remains at the parental home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.