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 76
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stead where Mrs. Witt has ever since resided. The present residence was erected prior to their removal here, and at the time was looked upon as a veritable mansion. It was substantially built and stands practically intact, after a half-century, comparing favorably with the houses of modern type and being one of the stately old homes of the county. The original farm comprised forty acres, and Mr. Witt in- creased the same to one hundred and forty, and the homestead as at present constituted comprises one hundred acres. Mr. Witt, who was one of the most honored and influential men of the locality, was sum- moned to the life eternal on the 21st of January, 1905. and his widow has since given her attention to the management of her property and business affairs, employing a man by the year to operate the farm and directing its work and improvement to a large extent in a personal way. The property is a valuable one and is one of the model farms of Fulton township. Mrs. Witt is a valued member of the county horticultural society, in which she has been an officer at various times. Mr. and Mrs. Witt became the parents of one child, Mabel A., who was born June 18, 1859. She became the wife of Samuel Winpenny, of Philadelphia, a sailor by vocation, and she died at the parental home, in 1893, leaving one child, Miss Dessie, who has since remained with her grandmother, Mrs. Witt, being one of the popular young ladies of the community and the cherished and devoted companion of her grandmother.
FAYETTE S. WOLCOTT, one of the prosperous farmers and stock-growers of York township. is a native of the Buckeye State, having been born in Oxford township, Erie county, Ohio, on the 25th of November. 1844, and being a son of Newell and Elizabeth Wolcott, the former of whom was born in Connecticut and the latter near Har- risburg, Pa., and both were resident of Hillsdale county, Mich., at the time of death. the father passing away at the age of eighty-one years and the mother at the age of eighty-four. They became the parents of two children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the younger. His sister, Susan E .. is the wife of Charles P. McEnally, of Richmond, Va. Fayette S. Wolcott secured his early education in the public schools and has effectually rounded this out through individual appli- cation in later years and through active association with men and affairs. When the integrity of the Republic was placed in jeopardy through armed rebellion he was among the first to tender his aid in defense of the Union. April 12, 1861, he enlisted in an Ohio regi- ment, but was rejected at muster, by reason of his youth. His second enlistment was more successful, but was accomplished through a some- what equivocal statement regarding his age, his patriotism and ardor seeming to justify his action. On the 4th of June, 1861, he became a member of Company E, Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. forthwith proceeding with his command to Camp Dennison, for drill and equip- ment. The regiment was assigned to duty in General Kelley's com- mand, in West Virginia, and took part in the battle of Romney, one of the first battles of the war. The regiment remained in that locality until March, 1862, then going to Martinsburg and soon afterward
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assisting in the capture of Winchester, under General Shields. The . regiment then passed on through the Shenandoah valley, and in the last days of June, 1862, embarked at Alexandria, Va., and set forth to reinforce Mcclellan's forces at Harrison's Landing, after the Gen- eral had been driven from the peninsula. At that point the Eighth Ohio participated in a spirited engagement on the 4th of July, then returning to the defenses of the national capital and taking part in the manouvres leading up to the battle of Manassas, or Second Bull Run, though not actively engaged in said battle. The command then returned to. Georgetown and proceeded up the east side of the Poto- mac and took part in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, in the last named of which Mr. Wolcott was wounded. His injury led to his receiving his honorable discharge, on the 5th of March, 1863, but on the 29th of the following February, he re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company G, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, with which he served until the close of the war, in Sherman's army, taking part in the Atlanta campaign. After the capitulation of Atlanta his command fell back to Pulaski, Tenn., and took part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Thereafter Mr. Wolcott did not take part in further battles, though he remained in service until Octo- ber 3, 1865, receiving his honorable discharge at Victoria, Tex. He then returned to his home in Erie county, Ohio, where, on January 25, 1870, he was united in marriage to Miss Amanda MI. Roberts, who was born and reared in that county, being a daughter of Peter and Adeltha Roberts. In 1874 he came to Fulton county and purchased eighty acres of his present farm, in York township. the tract having but few improvements at the time and being largely unreclaimed. He has brought the farm to a high state of cultivation, has erected good modern buildings, fenced the property and installed an effective sys- tem of tile drainage, and he has added fifty acres to its area. In addi- tion to diversified agriculture he gives special attention to sheep-rais- ing and dairying, having high-grade Shropshire sheep and being ex- ceptionally successful in breeding the same. Mr. Wolcott was reared in the faith of the Republican party. whose principles he supported until 1896, when he espoused the cause of free-silver and gave his support to William J. Bryan for the presidency. The policies since represented by the Democratic party have maintained his loyal support. He served one term as township trustee, and for ten years he was a member of the directorate of the Fulton County Agricultural Society, in whose affairs he has taken a most lively interest. He is affiliated with the lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity, at Delta, and also with the Grand Army of the Republic. the Knights of Pythias and the Patrons of Husbandry. He and his wife are identified with the Raker Union church association, which has in view the erection and maintenance of a Union church in York township. Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott have seven children, all of whom have reached maturity: Arthur J., who married Rose Phillipps, owns and operates a small farm near the old homestead: Jessie has been a successful teacher in the public schools of Delta : Cora E. is the wife of William C. Sieble, of Mango, Ind .; Minnie T. is the wife of Charles A. Snyder, of York
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township; Ida Belle is the wife of John Gee, of South Delta; William W., who married Miss Mayme Ousterhout, resides on the home farm and is associated in its work and management; and Fay N. is like- wise a member of the home circle.
FRANK YARNELL, marshal and street-commissioner of the city of Wauseon, was born in Wayne county, September 24th, 1855. He is the son of Eli and Susan (Weirick) Yarnell, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. In 1860 Eli Yarnell came to York township, Fulton county, from near Wooster, Wayne county, O., where he was born November 3, 1825. He was a famous black- smith in his day and parties came as far as twenty miles to have work done by him, believing him to be superior to all others in that busi- ness. No other resident of his community stood higher than he, both as a public man and as a worker in church affairs. On the farm which he purchased in York township he spent the remainder of his happy and prosperous life. He died at the old homestead in 1883, at the age of fifty-eight years. His wife, Sarah Yarnell, born January 17, 1832, was the daughter of Philip Weirick, a native of Pennsylvania. She died November 3, 1904. The children of Eli Yarnell and wife here follow : Ittreman, a resident of Toledo, O .; Sarah, the wife of Henry C. Oldfield, the father of Barney Oldfield, the famous motor-car racer; Frank, the subject of this sketch; Ella, deceased; Lucy, the wife of George Jewell of Coldwater, Mich .; Laura, now Mrs. Edward Driscoll of Coldwater; William, deceased, who died in Toledo at the age of thirty-seven years; Grant, a resident of Wauseon, and Alice, now Mrs. Arthur Hill of Wauseon. Frank Yarnell, the subject of this sketch, was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of his home county. His first work done away from home was on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railway, in whose employ he remained six years. From railroading he went to farming in York township. He then removed to Wauseon, where he now resides. Here he has served the city in the double capacity of marshal and street-commis- sioner, having been elected to the former office in 1901, and twice to the latter. He has given very general satisfaction because he has been fearless and impartial in the discharge of the duties of both offices. He knows well how to keep order and to care for the highways. He married Miss Lydia Tedrow, daughter of Isaiah Tedrow, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Yar- nell have had one child, Harry H. Yarnell.
FRANK W. WOOD, the able and popular incumbent of the office of clerk of Fulton county, was born in Hancock county, Illinois, on the 24th of September, 1856, and is a son of Wyman C. and Marilla (Scott) Wood. The father, who now resides in the home of his son, Frank W., subject of this sketch, was born in Jefferson county, New York, whence he came to Ohio and located in Fulton county in 1868. He is a son of Timothy Wood, who was a pioneer of Jefferson county, New York. The latter married Phoebe Scott, who was born in Ellis- burg, Jefferson county, New York, being a daughter of Oliver S. Scott.
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Marilla (Scott) Wood, mother of the subject of this review, died in 1899. She was a daughter of Pandora and Eunice ( Whitmore) Scott, General Winfield Scott having been a member of the same family. Frank W. Wood was about twelve years of age at the time when his parents took up their residence in Fulton county, and he secured his early educational training in the public schools, including a period of attendance in the Wauseon high-school. After leaving school he was elected clerk of the village council of Fayette, remaining in tenure of this office four years, and he served eight and one-half years as a mem- ber of the school-board of the same village. In 1887 he was elected clerk of Gorham township, remaining incumbent of this position sev- eral terms, and for six years he was actively engaged in the insurance business. In 1899 Mr. Wood was elected county clerk of Fulton county, as candidate on the ticket of the Republican party, of whose principles and policies he is a stalwart advocate, and the most signifi- cant testimonial as to the popular estimate placed upon his faithful and able service was that given in his re-election to the office in 1902, by an increased majority. Mr. Wood is affiliated with the lodge, chap- ter and council of the Masonic order, taking an active interest in each of these bodies of the time-honored fraternity. In 1877 Mr. Wood was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Keith, daughter of Solon Keith, who came to Fulton county about 1840, from Erie county, Ohio, becoming one of the pioneer farmers of Gorham township. His father, Caleb Keith, was a native of Scotland, whence he immigrated to America when a young man. The maiden name of Mrs. Wood's mother was Lucy Ray, and she was born in Connecticut. Judge Caleb Keith, an uncle of Mrs. Wood, served twelve years on the probate bench of Fulton county. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have three children. namely : Leslie Arthur, who is a graduate of the Fayette Normal Uni- versity and the Perry Davis commercial collegiate institute, and who is now serving as deputy county clerk of Fulton county; Albert Edward, who is a graduate of the Case School of Applied Science, of Cleveland, Ohio, being a successful civil engineer : and Frank Wilbur, who is at- tending school in his home city of Wauseon.
CHARLES WRIGHT. one of the substantial farmers and popular citizens of Pike township, where he also conducts a successful dairy- ing business, was born in Summit county, Ohio, on the 29th of Sep- tember, 1841, and is a son of George and Ann Wright. His father was born in Derbyshire, England, on the Ist of November, 1802, and his mother was born in Yorkshire, England, July 12, 1811. They were: reared in their native land, where the mother continued to reside until the immigration of the families to America, about the year 1826. She was reared to maturity in the State of New York, and in Perry, Wyoming county, that State, her marriage was solemnized, on the 7th of July, 1833, her husband having come to the United States in 1830. In 1838 they set forth for Ohio, which was then considered on the frontier of civilization, and they located in Summit county, where they remained until 1853, when they removed to Fulton county, purchasing what is now the William Jones farm, four and one-half miles west of
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Delta. Here the father gave himself to the reclaiming and cultivation of his farm, developing one of the valuable places of this section of the county and continuing to reside on the homestead until his death, which occurred on the 14th of March, 1885, and his loved and devoted wife passed away on the 16th of the following September. They became the parents of eight children, of whom five are now living, and two of the sons, George and Thomas W., were valiant soldiers in the Union lines during the Civil war. Charles Wright secured his early educa- tion in the common schools of Summit county, and was about twelve years of age at the time of the family removal to Fulton county, where he continued to attend school at irregular intervals, in the meanwhile assisting in the improvement and cultivation of the home farm. He was here identified with agricultural pursuits until 1872, when he re- moved to Williams county, having purchased a farm southwest of the village of Pioneer. One year later he returned to Fulton county and located on his present farm, which is well-improved and under effect- ive cultivation, comprising eighty acres of fine land. In politics Mr. Wright is a stanch Republican, taking a loyal interest in local affairs ; he has served one term as township trustee, and he has also been road supervisor and a member of the school-board. At Fairfield, Hillsdale county, Michigan, on the 29th of September, 1870. Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Clarissa A. Tappan, who was born in Fulton county, Ohio, January 1, 1846, being a daughter of Wesley W. and Amanda M. Tappan. She died on the 3d of June. 1897, and is survived by three children, namely: Amanda A., who is the wife of Ernest F. Watkins, of Lyons. Ohio; George W., who mar- ried Mary Boynton and who is a successful farmer of Pike township; and Edna E., who is the wife of Walter A. Tappan. of Pike township. On the 18th of February, 1904, Mr. Wright was married to his present wife, whose maiden name was Cora B. McMannis, and who was born in Fulton county, on the 19th of February, 1865. being a daughter of William R. and Rebecca (Bayes) McMannis, well known residents of the county.
CHARLES E. YOST is a prominent and popular member of the newspaper fraternity in Fulton county, being editor and publisher of the Fayette Review, in the thriving little city of Fayette. He was born in Hebron. Licking county, Ohio, September 10. 1862, and is a son of John and Delilah (Markley) Yost, both of whom were born and reared in Ohio, being representatives of pioneer families of the old Buckeye State. The parents removed to Hancock county in 1872. and three years later took up their residence in Van Wert county, where the mother died on the 9th of August, 1902, at the age of sixty- seven years. John Yost was reared on the farm and devoted the major portion of his active career to agricultural pursuits, in which he met with a due measure of success, and in his young manhood he was engaged in teaching in the common schools for some time. He now resides in the city of Van Wert, having retired from active busi- ness and being seventy-two years of age at the time of this writing, in 1905. Of the eight children in the family the following is an epito-
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mized record: Lillie is deceased; Charles E. is the immediate subject of this sketch; William N. is a resident-of Meridian, Idaho; Catherine is the wife of David W. Poling, of Jackson, Mich .; Maud is a teacher in the public schools of Van Wert, Ohio; Leota remains with her father; Odessa is the wife of Burr M. Wilkinson, of Jackson, Mich .; and Augustine is deceased. Charles E. Yost accompanied his parents on their removal from Licking to Hancock county, and later to Van Wert county, being reared to the discipline of the farm and securing his educational training in the public schools and in the Fayette Nor- mal University, at Fayette, Fulton county. He began teaching in the public schools when seventeen years of age, and continued to fol- low the pedagogic profession, with marked success. until 1895, his labors in this line having been principally in Van Wert and Fulton counties. He was thereafter engaged in farming for a time, in Gor- ham township, this county, after which he devoted himself to the acquiring af the "art preservative of all arts," learning the printer's trade, so that he was amply fortified for effective newspaper work when, on the Ist of September, 1901, he founded the Fayette Review, the initial issue being sent forth on that date, and he has made the paper an excellent exponent of local interests and a model in its letter- press and general make-up and editorial consistency, the paper being non-partisan in politics and being published on Saturday of each week. It has gained an excellent circulation, which is constantly in- creasing, and the plant is well equipped, including a good job-depart- ment. Mr. Yost is a public-spirited citizen and is popular in both business and social circles. He is a Democrat in his political alle- giance and is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees. August 4, 1896, Mr. Yost was united in marriage to Miss Ada Purcell, daughter of Lott A. Purcell, a well-known citizen of Fayette. One son, Gaylord P. Yost, has blessed this union.
JOHN S. YOUNG was one of the pioneer newspaper men of Fulton county and was a citizen of much prominence and influence during the course of a signally useful and active career, having been intimately identified with the civic and material progress and upbuilding of the city of Fayette as well as the county in general, and having left an un- assailable reputation as a man of highest integrity in all the relations of life. It is thus most consonant that a tribute to his memory be entered and perpetuated in this publication. Mr. Young was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, April 3, 1838, and his death occurred at his home in Fayette, Ohio, on the 27th of January, 1905. His father, Jeremiah Young, was a native of the State of Vermont, was of Scotch ancestry and a member of a family founded in America in the Colo- nial days. He was a valiant soldier in the War of 1812, having been a member of the forces manoeuvering in the Maumee valley of Ohio and Indiana during the campaign of 1813. After the close of the war he returned to Vermont. where his marriage was solemnized, and he thence removed to the State of New York, settling on what is locally known as Scotch Ridge, near the present town of Madrid, St. Law-
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rence county. In 1845, imbued with the "Western fever," which was then animating many residents of that section, he set forth with his family for the scenes of his earlier experiences coming by boat to Cleve- land, which city was so far removed from Maumee valley, his in- tended objective point, that he settled near Medina, where he engaged in farming, being a pioneer of that section. There, John S., who was then a boy of seven years, secured his early educational discipline in the common schools, and he was early apprenticed to learn the printer's trade, his mother having died in the same year in which the family came to Ohio. Before the end of his apprenticeship. in 1853, he came to Fulton county, to work in the first printing office established in the county, the little office having been opened only a short time previously at Ottokee, which was then the county-seat, and the original proprietor was a man named Parker. Although in later years Mr. Young was temporarily diverted from the newspaper business into other lines of enterprise, and in other locations, it may be said that the greater por- tion of his life was passed as an employe or publisher of Fulton county's various newspapers. He was connected with the Wauseon Republican for more than thirty years, under several different manage- ments, and a detailed record concerning his career in Fulton county would be practically an epitome of the earlier journalistic history of said county. In 1891 Mr. Young became the publisher of the official organ of the Patrons of Husbandry of the State of Ohio, continuing editor and publisher of the same until it was abolished by the grand lodge of the order, after an existence of two years' duration. In 1894 he purchased an interest in the Fayette Record, removing to Fayette in December of that year, and soon afterward he secured the entire owner- ship of the paper and business, conducting the enterprise until the day of his death, having admitted his only son. Frank C., to partnership, in September, 1904. From his long and intimate connection with the county's newspapers, entailing, as it did, a knowledge of the people and their political and social relations, few men were better known within the confines of the county than was Mr. Young. He was a man of distinct individuality, well fortified in his opinions and ever ready to defend the same, but his kindly nature and broad and tolerant spirit gained to him warm and lasting friendships, and he stood high in the confidence and regard of the people of Fulton county, no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil darkening any portion of his long and hon- orable career. The ambition for political preferment never appealed to him, and though frequently urged to become a candiate for one office or another, only once did he yield to such overtures, becoming a candidate for the office of county clerk, on a third-party ticket, when he realized there was no chance of his election. February 20, 1859, Mr. Young was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Lozier, who was an infant at the time of her parents' locating in Clinton township, as pioneers of the year 1836, and the first family to locate in the township. She is still living and in good health. The two surviving children of John S. and Hannah Young are Frank C., who continues the publica- tion of the Fayette Record, and Nora A., who is the wife of Willis E. Patterson, of Chesterfield township.
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HENRY G. ZELLER, a farmer and contractor of Swan Creek township, is a native of Ohio, having been born in Huron county on July 2, 1864. He is the eldest of three sons living, born to Christian and Christina (Miller) Zeller, the former born in Huron county in 1837 and the latter in Germany in 1842. His grand-parents, George and Barbara Zeller, natives of Germany, emigrated to the United States in 1832, the ocean-voyage consuming one hundred and sixty days, and located on a farm in Huron county. where both ended their days. Of the ten children born to them seven are still living, residing in different sections of the country. Christian Zeller was wedded to Christina Miller in Erie county, O., and resided in that and Huron county until 1879, when he removed to Fulton county and located on a farm of sixty-four acres, to which he later added eighty acres. The farm is in a high state of cultivation and is well-equipped with substantial build- ings, including a large barn. A portion of this farm has been sold to his sons. Starting with comparatively nothing, Christian Zeller has been unusually successful in his life-work. During the period of the Civil war he furnished two substitutes at a cost of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. In politics he takes no active part. He and wife are earn- est members of the German Reformed church. To these parents there have been born five children, of whom three are still living. Those living are: Henry G., William, of Iowa, and Jacob, a Dakota farmer. Henry G. Zeller was educated principally in Erie county, whither his parents had moved when he was a child. At the age of fourteen years he accompanied the family to Fulton county, working on his father's farm until he began life on his own account. In his young manhood, in order that he might become acquainted with the better ways of the world, he visited the West and worked in thirteen different States be- fore his return home. The knowledge gained by his trip has been of great service to him in his life work. Immediately after his marriage he located on a tract of forty-one acres of unimproved land. By close attention to business and by hard, earnest toil he has brought this land to the highest state of cultivation, erecting upon it all the necessary buildings belonging to a first-class farm. Fortune smiled on his efforts, and he now owns an additional seventy acres one mile east of his home farm. In addition to these two farms he is the owner of other valuable real estate. For some years he was engaged in wholesale butchering and general gardening, meeting with marked success. About five years ago he began taking contracts in ditching and road-making. Since he began this work he has controlled some large contracts. He now has on hand the contract for digging a mile of ditching in Lucas county, for which he is to receive the sum of thirteen thousand dollars upon the completion of the work. In the building of roads he has been equally successful. A master of his own profession. he sees to it that the work is well and thoroughly done. In political views he is affiliated with the Democratic party. While he has served as school-director and town- ship supervisor he has at no time had political aspirations. He is a member of the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias. at Swanton. Mr. Zeller is not identified with any religious denomination. but he is a liberal contributor to the support of all of them. On September 6,
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