The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Part 84

Author: Warner, Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017

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JOSEPH KRANTZ, farmer of Dover Township, P. O. Canal Dover, was born September 14, 1842, in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He is a son of Joseph and Barbara Krantz, natives of Germany, who emigrated to America about the year 1833. They settled in Tuscarawas County, shortly after. They were the parents of twelve children, eight of whom are living, viz., Joseph, Catharine, William, Mary, Charles, Julia, John and Louis G. In his youth, our subject received the rudiments of education in a district school, and was reared on a farm. He was married, April 24, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Wakeman, born December 29, 1845, in Germany, and a daughter of Henry and Catherine Wakeman, both of whom are deceased. In April, 1872, our subject settled where he now resides, about a mile and a half east of Dover. Mr. and Mrs. Krantz are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Krantz is, at present, serv- ing as Trustee of Dover Township, and is also a member of the Board of Agri- culture. He owns 100 acres of land in a good state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Krantz are parents of five children, viz., Mary E., born July 30, 1869; Julia A., born July 4, 1871; William J., born November 20, 1873; Henry E., born September 11, 1876; and Clara L., born May 28, 1880.

WILLIAM KRANTZ, farmer, Dover, was born May 28, 1845, in Dover Township, this county and State, and is a son of Joseph and Barbara Krantz, of whom we have made mention in this work. He received in his youth his rudimentary education at a district school. On January 13, 1872, he married Catharine, daughter of George and Mary Weigand, the former of whom is de- ceased. This union has resulted in six children, viz., George, born July 4, 1878; Eda C., born February 15, 1877; Emma E., born March 24, 1879; Henry J., born February 20, 1881; Leo A., born April 2, 1883; and one de- ceased. Mr. Krantz is an industrious and successful agricultorist, the owner of 140 acres of good Jand, and a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

CHARLES H. KRANTZ, farmer, P. O. Canal Dover, was born March 19. 1851, in Dover Township, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, and is a son of Joseph and Barbara Krantz, who came from Germany. Our subject was reared on a

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farm, and received an ordinary common school education. January 2, 1877, he married Mrs. Mary Swickheimer, born March 27, 1855, and a daughter of John and Mary Swickheimer, of Dover Township, Tuscarawas County. They have two children-Josie C. (born December 23, 1877) and Ella E. (born Oc- tober 1, 1880). He owns 116 acres of land in a good state of cultivation. He has served as Assessor of Dover Township two years, and is a member of the Catholic Church at Dover.

SAMUEL KUHN, farmer, P. O. Canal Dover, was born December 14, 1809, in Maryland, and is a son of John and Hannah Kuhn, whose ancestors originally came from Germany. In 1832, our subject came to this county and remained a few months, when he returned to Maryland, and lived there three years, returning in 1835 to Ohio. August 18. 1842, he married Cather- ine Gloninger, born June 14, 1819, in Lebanon, Penn., and a daughter of Peter and Eliza Gloninger, who came to this county when their daughter was fourteen years old; they are both deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn have been born four children, viz., Francis, Henry J., Charles S. and Emma M. In 1845, our subject settled in Dover Township, in the pleasant homestead at present occupied by them, two miles nearly north of Dover. For many years he also followed the trade of a carpenter, and for six years served as Infirmary Director. He is the owner of 154 acres of land in a good state of cultivation.

PHILIP LAHM (deceased) is a worthy representative in this history of the citizens of Tuscarawas County, who have passed away after spending a life of great usefulness. He was born in Germany February 20, 1820, and his parents were Frederick and Margaret Lahm. His youth was spent on a farm, and although employed the greater portion of his time, he managed to secure a liberal education. Having reached the years of majority, he emi- grated to America, and for four years lived in Canada, thence came to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and resided in Dover for fourteen years. In the spring of 1869, he settled on the farm now occupied by the widow, in Dover Township. Our subject, as those who knew best can attest, was a self-made man, and in his dealings with his fellow-men had a keen knowledge of what constituted the principles of right and justice. He had served as Infirmary Director and also as Trustee of Dover Township, discharging the duties thereof with credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of his constituents. For many years the deceased pursued carpentering, at which he was unusually successful. August 24, 1846, he was joined in marriage with Miss Caroline, daughter of Louis and Caroline Wenz, born December 4, 1829. To this union have been born nine children, their names and dates of birth as follows: William, January 7, 1850; Samuel, January 27, 1852; Emma, September 12, 1854; Rebecca, September 6, 1857; Clara, August 8, 1860; Charles, March 5, 1863; Edward, February 27, 1866; Harry, June 16, 1869; and Eda, February 18, 1873. Mr. Lahm was a man respected by all who knew him. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and died October 30, 1882, leaving to his family 160 acres of well improved land.

JOHN LEWIS, farmer and dairyman, P. O. New Philadelphia, was born in Lancaster County, Penn., in 1834, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Weidner) Lewis, both natives of the same county. Samuel Lewis died there when our subject was a child, and the widow, with four children, came to the West in 1836 with her grandfather, Peter Weidner. The family settled in Trenton, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, where the widow and mother was mar- ried to Levi Evick; the latter is a blacksmith of Blicktown, near New Phila- delphia, of whom our subject learned his trade at Trenton, Ohio. The subject of this sketch followed his trade for seven years, and in 1857 purchased and settled on his present farm, consisting of 150 acres, where he has since re-

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mained. His mother has three children by her first marriage, viz., Edward, Mary A. and John; and one child surviving by her second union, Henry. Our subject was married near New Philadelphia in 1855, to Catharine, daughter of Andrew Swihart, and a native of this county. To this marriage sixteen chil- dren have been born, of whom eleven have survived, viz., Albert, John W., Ida M., Amanda, Carrie, Eva, George, Charles, Franklin, Margaret I. and Flos- sie. Mr. Lewis carries on an extensive dairy in connection with his farm, and numbers among the well established farmers of Tuscarawas County.

EDWARD C. LEWIS, physician and surgeon, Dover, Ohio, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, December 26, 1840. His father, William, born in Philadelphia, Penn., a descendant of Maj. Lewis, of Revolutionary fame, and of the celebrated Canby family, moved to Ohio in 1831, and there engaged in farming. His muother, Nancy, is a Virginian by birth. Our subject received his education in Berlin High School, Fredericksburg Academy, Ohio, and at New Wilmington, Del. In 1857-58, he taught school for six months at Mays- ville, Ohio. He studied medicine for four years under Prof. Hamilton, of Columbus Medical College, with clinical advantages. He was two years a pupil of the eminent Prof. Joseph Pancost, of Philadelphia, where he gradu- ated with first honors at Jefferson Medical College in 1862. The clinical ad. vantages there, under Prof. Da Costa, were exceptionally good, and it is, doubtless, in a great measure to the experience there acquired that he owes the great success which has attended his practice (it being the most extensive in this part of the State), and given him so distinguished a place in the profes- sion. In 1862, he passed a successful medical and surgical examination before the United States Navy Board in New York. After leaving college, he was offered, and declined, the position of Surgeon to an Ohio regiment. In the same year he accepted the commission of Surgeon to an army hospital at Louisville, but afterward resigned and established himself at New Phila- delphia. While there, he was Physician to the County Infirmary. At the expiration of two years, he removed to Dover. He was for some years Pres- ident of the Tuscarawas County Medical Society, and is a member of the Ohio State Medical Society. In 1877, he was tendered the chair of Jurisprudence in the Columbus Medical College, and at present is a member of the Board of Censors of Starling Medical College, of Columbus, Ohio. He has given special attention to surgery, performing amputations near the hip-joint, removals of the mammary glands, including the axillary glands, extirpation of the eye, ex- section of the long bones and tracheotomy. He has also obtained eminence as a surgical obstetrician. Taking an active interest in politics, he has served as Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, and has always furnished labor and means for the honest advancement of his friends. As a literary essayist, Dr. Lewis has acquired an enviable reputation, and has furnished many valuable contributions to the medical journals of the country. He served as a member and President of the Agricultural Society of Tuscarawas County for thirteen years. He is President of the Board of Trustees of the Children's Home, and has given efficient support to the lines of railway that traverse his county. He is also Surgeon for the Marietta, Pittsburgh & Cleve- land Railroads. In 1873, he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, to the Sixty- first General Assembly, where he was a member of several important standing committees and Chairman on Benevolent Institutions. Declining a re-nomina- tion to the House in 1875, he was elected to the Senate of Ohio by a larger major- ity than was ever previously given to any one upon the State or county ticket in his district. He is the author of several reformatory measures, and won a reputation and an influence gratifying to his constituents and creditable to himself. In the county convention in 1880, he carried Tnscarawas County for

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Congress, and in Congressional convention received other support, but was de- feated by his competitor claiming his second term. He is now retired from public life, devoting himself to his profession, although many of his friends are very desirous that he should again become the Congressional standard- bearer of his party. Personally, he combines the attributes of an agreeable, polished gentleman. On October 22, 1852, he married Mary E., the highly- accomplished and only daughter of the late lamented Dr. Joseph Slingluff, of Dover, Ohio. The results of this union are four children, one living- Anola S. Lewis. Mrs. Lewis died March 31, 1880. This event was, to her husband, a bereavement of more than ordinary severity. A graduate of ' the Cleveland Female Seminary, she was a woman of superior natural endowments and possessed a remarkable strength of mind and independence of thought. Her literary tastes were of a high order, to which she gave wide exercise by earnest study and extensive reading. Born and reared in luxury, her early life was uninterrupted sunshine, while her sweetness of temper and amiability of disposition-marked traits in her character-brought to her married life a harmony and a happiness seldom equaled. For years previous to her decease she was an invalid and a great sufferer, but patience, resignation and cheerful- ness often concealed from the outside world her secret sorrow. Her noble qualities of mind and heart, crowned by a deep and earnest piety, rendered her the cultured, Christian lady that she was. On April 26, 1882, he was mar- ried to Mary G., only daughter of Hon. Chauncey N. Olds, a distinguished attorney of Columbus and formerly Attorney General of Ohio.

WESLEY MINOR, farmer, P. O. Canal Dover, an elderly and esteemed resident of Dover Township, this county, where he settled about the year 1842, was born in Loudoun County, Va., October 15, 1811. His parents were Daniel and Plessie Minor. . When about five years of age, he came with them to Columbiana County, Ohio, where they remained a short time, and thence removed to'Jefferson County, where they located until about the year 1833. On April, 3, 1838, Mr. Minor married, in Carroll County, Susanna Welsh, daughter of John and Susanna Welsh. By her he had one child-Daniel (deceased). After his wife's decease, he married a second time, the partner of his choice being Margaret, daughter of John and Rebecca Machan. By her he has had eight children, of whom three are living-John, Rebecca and Har- vey. The second Mrs. Minor died in July, 1867. Mr. Minor was again mar- ried; this third time to Mrs. Amelia Bear, widow of the late Daniel Bear, of Tuscarawas County. This union has been blessed with two children-James and Bates. Mr. Minor is the owner of 373 acres of well cultivated land, and is a respected member of society.

JOHN J. MUNK (deceased) was born March 17, 1822, of German par- entage. He was in early youth trained to be a cabinet-maker, which trade he fol- lowed till the latter part of his life, when he began farming. When eighteen years of age he emigrated to America, by way of New York, and came to Tus. carawas County, Ohio. He married Doretha Gaisley, by whom he had six children, all of whom, however, are deceased. After his wife's decease, he again married; (in June, 1854), the partner of his choice being Mrs. Annie Crossgrove, born September 15, 1816, widow of the late Samuel Crossgrove, of this county. Her parents settled in Dover Township at an early day. To them were born two children-John J. and Naamah, the latter now Mrs. George Wertman. Mr. Munk was successful as an agriculturist; has served as Assessor of Dover Township; also as Trustee, which latter office he held at the time of his decease November 2, 1874. He was respected by all who knew him. His family have a comfortable homestead of 146 acres, located near Dover, Ohio.

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CHARLES MURNAY, farmer, P. O. Canal Dover, was born near Smith. field, Penn., July 2,1823, and is the eldest child of Andrew and Sarah (Hogans) Murnay; the former of English parentage. His father was born in Ireland, and crossed the ocean when seven years of age with an elder brother. He was among the 1835 pioneers to Tuscarawas County, and settled in Sugar Creek Township. where he lived to the close of his life. The widow died at the home of her daughter in Holmes County, Ohio. They raised a family of tive children, of whom three are living-Charles, Margaret (wife of Jonathan Funk, of Holmes County) and Isabel. The subject of this sketch was married 'in Tuscarawas County in 1859, to Catharine, daughter of Abraham Snyder, a pioneer preacher, and one of the county's earliest pilgrims. She was born in New Philadelphia. Ohio. This union has produced nine children, of whom four have survived-John, David, Charles and Alice. Mr. Murnay settled in Dover Township in 1855, and has since made it his home. He has been Su- perintendent of the roads for the past fifteen years, and has filled various offices of trust. He is connected with the Lutheran Church of the township, and is held in high estimation as a citizen and pioneer.

JOHN MYERS, grocer, Dover, was born in Wayne, now Franklin Town- ship, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in 1832, and is a son of Charles and Catherine Myers, both natives of Prussia. Charles Myers emigrated to the United States in 1843, and located in Dover, becoming a salesman in the business of Chris- tian Deardorff. He afterward bought land in Franklin Township, where he died in 1879. The widow and mother, with eleven children, survives. The subject of this sketch was formerly engaged in the butcher trade, and also pur- sned farming. He established his present business in March, 1883, and is pro- prietor of a first-class grocery. He has a good and successful trade, having a full line of groceries, and carries a stock of about $3,500. Mr. Myers was mar- ried in this county, in 1863, to Miss Martha Fitzgerald, who was born in Stark County, Ohio. The results of this union have been six children, of whom four are living, viz. : Clara, Louis, Edward and Florence. Mr. Myers is a member of the School Board, and of the City Council, to which latter he was elected in 1882. He is also connected with the German Lutheran Church, and is an ac- tive and enterprising business man.

CHRISTIAN B. PERSHING, farmer, P. O. Canal Dover, was born in Sugar Creek Township, this county and State, in 1824, and is a son of Christian and Mary (Busard) Pershing, both natives of Pennsylvania, who were among the early pioneers of this county. They settled in Sugar Creek Township, where Mr. Pershing died when over eighty years of age. His wife had died when our subject was but five years old, leaving a family of nine children, six of whom are living, viz .: Margaret, widow of Francis Putt; Catharine, widow of Joseph Zimmerman; Barbara, wife of Daniel Putt; Mary, wife of Albert Shank, resident of Portage County, Ohio; Solomon, Daviess County, Ind., and Christian. Our subject's father was again married to Mary Kornce, by whom he had nine children, five of whom have survived-Leonard P., David, Joseph, Daniel and Lewis. The subject of this sketch was married in 1845, to Eliza- beth, daughter of Conrad Zimmerman, a native of Columbiana County, Ohio. This union has produced four children, all living-Elmira, wife of Joseph Fritz; Elizabeth, Mary A., wife of Jacob-Shrouk, of Holmes County, Ohio; and Edward, of Saline County, Kan. Our subject left the home farm early in life, and empty-handed commenced the struggle of life in Allen County, Ohio, working by the month on a farm. He was faithful, frugal and persevering, and by due economy gathered a small sum with which he returned, and with his capital made a payment on his present farm in 1850. The farm is now all paid for, and a second residence erected thereon stands as a record to his tireless

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energy; the first residence was destroyed by fire in 1860. He again lost heav- ily on securities in 1874. His farm of 166 acres is a valuable and productive one, and its proprietor is well respected as a citizen and pioneer.

JULIUS RICKSECKER, jeweler, Dover, was born in Dover Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in 1848, and is the youngest in the family of Israel and Lizette (Blick) Ricksecker, natives of Bethlehem, Penn. His parents came to this county in 1837, and Mr. Ricksecker opened a jewelry store, which was the first of the kind in Tuscarawas County. The following year, Israel Ricksecker returned to his home where he was married, coming back to Dover, where he continued at his occupation to the close of his life. It may be worthy. of mention in this sketch, to state that he and his wife were both musicians, and brought one of the first pianos introduced in this county: their home was the resort of friends and neighbors from far and near to receive entertainment at their hands. Mr. Ricksecker was a School Director several terms, and was one of the unostentatious, steady business men of the early days. He reared a family of five children, three of whom survive, viz. : Addie, wife of Charles G. Harger, of Dover; Theodore, and the subject of this sketch. Theodore is a res- ident of Brooklyn, and a druggist in New York City; prior to his leaving his native city, he was editor of a monthly publication, published in 1861, called the Dover Monthly News, at that time the only paper of the city. The eldest son, Rufus (deceased), was born in Dover April 19, 1842, and enlisted in 1862 as a private, at Steubenville, Ohio, and shortly became Commissary of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which position he ably filled, being an expert penman, and won hosts of friends. On June 27, 1864, he was commissioned First Lieutenant and assigned to Company G, which office he retained until September 19, 1864, when he received a mortal wound on the famous field of Winchester, in the gallant charge of Sheridan and his followers. He was buried on the field where he fell in the defense of his country. He was possessed of fine social qualities, was a good musician, and his many friends will remember his bass voice and his fine performance on the violin. The subject of this sketch was educated at the schools of Dover, and entered his father's store to learn the trade. He was admitted as partner in the concern in April, 1870, and the association was carried on until his father's death, December 8, 1872. Israel Ricksecker had lost his wife by death, and was again married in Bethlehem, to Miss Mary J. Blick. By this marriage but one child was born. who still survives-Eugene, a civil engineer in the Government employ. The subject of this sketch was married in Dover, Sep- tember 16, 1873, to Miss Mary C., daughter of Madison Harger, and a native of Dover. The results of this union have been three children-Julius H., Ger- tie and John E. Mr. Ricksecker served as Councilman for three years, and is connected with the Moravian Church, of which his father was one of the orig- inal founders, as well as a trustee. The latter was a sound and solid support- er of the Union cause, aiding all in his power, at the time of the civil war, in raising men and money for the suppression of the rebellion. He was a man who performed his prayers, and was a liberal giver to the poor and needy.

ADAM SCHNEIDER, farmer, P. O. Canal Dover, was born September 9, 1839, in Germany, and is a son of Abraham and Mary E. Schneider, the former deceased. When eighteen years old, he came with his parents to America. They settled in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Our subject was reared on a farm, and received a liberal German education. He was married, January 12, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Wolf, daughter of John and Dora Wolf, of Tuscarawas County. They have had nine children, seven living -Peter, Elizabeth, John, William, Emma M., Caroline L. and Charles A. In the spring of 1869, he set- tled where he now resides. He owns 116 acres of land, in a fine state of cul-

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tivation. He is a member of the German Evangelical Church at Dover, and has served as School Director about six years. WILLIAM W. SCOTT. William W. Scott is a native of Dover Village, where he now resides, and is a son of Samuel and Mary R. (Burchfield) Scott, the former of whom came from New York in 1832. He received a fair com- mon school education in Dover, and made much progress in reading and com- position, for which he always exhibited great aptitude. In 1853, he was employed by John H. Baer in the drug business, and afterward clerked in the same capacity for John G. Coates. About 1856 to 1858, he worked at the printing business with V. Porter Wilson, and contributed numerous articles to the paper. In the winters of 1858-59-60, he taught school at Pleasant Hill, near Blicktown, two miles south of Dover. He was re-employed for the winter of 1861; but after teaching ten days resigned, and enlisted as a private in Company G, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front. In March, 1863, he was discharged for disability at Young's Point, La., and arrived home in April. He remained here till June, when Dr. B. Cloak, Sur- geon United States Volunteers in charge of Dennison United States Army General Hospital, wrote for him to come and assist in the drug department. He went, and was mustered into the Twelfth Regiment of Regulars, appointed Hospital Steward United States Army by Surgeon Gen. Hammond, and put in charge of the drug department of Dennison Hospital, near Cincinnati, the largest in the service. He afterward had the commissary, baking, farming and all other departments under his supervision, and in the fall of 1865 super- intended the sale of Government property, closed the records, and forwarded them to Washington, and was mustered out of the service on his own applica- tion the latter part of December, arriving home January, 1866. In 1867, he engaged in the drug business with Robert Figley, who sold his share a year later to George W. Crites, and the business was successfully run for several years under the- firm name of Scott & Crites. In October, 1867, Mr. Scott was appointed express agent at this place, and has performed the duties con- tinuously since, to the full satisfaction of his employers and the public. During eight years of this time, Mr. Scott was also route agent for the com- pany, and had a number of agents and messengers under his supervision. Since the close of his military service, Mr. Scott has been an almost constant contributor to the press, confining himself generally to local correspondence for the county papers. He has written extensively for the Reporter, from the first issue in 1872 to the present time, and to his racy delineation of passing events is due in a great measure the success and popularity of the paper. On October 1, 1868, our subject was married to Darley Brister, by whom there are two children, living-Will B. and Edith B.

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The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Part 84

Author: Warner, Beers & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1017

Author: Warner, Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017