Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 47

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1189

USA > Ohio > Hancock County > Findlay > Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens > Part 47

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).

Harry J. Morehart was educated in the pub- lic schools of Amanda Township and at Van- lue, after which he engaged in farming until

he accepted the position of assistant cashier of the Vanlue Banking Company, on May I, 1909. He has a wide acquaintance in the agri- cultural districts and enjoys the confidence of the whole business community.

In 1909, Mr. Morehart was married to Miss Cora Deidrich, who was born and reared in Wyandot County, O. They have one son, Ralph J. Mr. and Mrs. Morehart are mem- bers of the United Brethren church. He is identified fraternally with the Odd Fellows at Vanlue and the Knights of Pythias at Findlay.

DON C. HUGHES, M. D., who has been in the active practice of medicine and surgery at Findlay, O., since September, 1894, is num- bered with the leading medical men of his city and is in the enjoyment of a very satisfactory business. Dr. Hughes was born at Findlay, February 17, 1871, and is a son of Leonidas H. and Eva (Swapp) Hughes.

The Hughes family is an old Pennsylvania one and from that state went Great-grand- father William Hughes into the Patriot Army in Revolutionary days. The father of Dr. Hughes was born in the old home where his father had lived and died, and remained there until 1858, when he came to Hancock County, O. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Co. E, 59th O. Vol. Inf. On the dreadful field of Chickamauga, he was so seriously wounded that he was obliged to re- turn home permanently. He settled at Find- lay, and later he filled public offices.

Don C. Hughes is an only child and he was carefully reared and was given school advan- tages at Findlay, where he graduated from the High School in 1889. Prior to entering upon the study of medicine, he devoted more than a

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year to civil engineering, an accident at that time changing the current of his life. Un- doubtedly Dr. Hughes would have become a competent civil engineer for he possesses the carefulness and accuracy which that profession would have demanded and which are equally necessary in the one in which he has reached a high degree of success. His preliminary study was done with Dr. F. W. Firmin, and in 1893 he was graduated from the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, at Baltimore, Md. For eighteen months Dr. Hughes practiced in Chi- cago, during this time being one of the phy- sicians to the World's Fair Hospital Corps, and while there visited many times the great clin- ics in that city. His whole period of medical practice with this exception has been at Find- lay. Here his interests have been centered more or less all his life, and here, together with friends made in recent years, are those who have watched his career with interest, since his boyhood.

Shortly after his graduation from medical college, Dr. Hughes was married to Miss Maude Gleason, of Chicago, now deceased. He was recently married to Laura, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vallorous Brown, of Columbia City, her father being one of the wealthy and influential citizens of Indiana. Dr. Hughes has erected a handsome residence on North Main Street, with all modern conveniences. He is identified with the leading medical organiza- tions, including the Hancock Medical Society, of which he is now president; the Ohio State Medical Society; the Northwestern Ohio Med- ical Society, of which he is vice president : and the American Medical Association, and is sur- geon of the 5th Reg. O. N. G., with headquar- ters at Cleveland. Dr. Hughes is now, and has been for the last seven years, head medical

examiner for Ohio, of the Modern Woodmen of America, the largest insurance fraternal or- ganization in the world. In politics he is a strong Republican.

AARON J. GLATHART, a former well remembered citizen of Findlay, O., a veteran of the Civil War and a member of a prominent pioneer family, was born in Hancock County, O., February 14, 1844, and died at Findlay, January 8, 1909.

The father of Aaron J. Glathart was born in Switzerland, in 1802, and lived there until 1828, when he came to Hancock County, and settled on a farm in Big Lick Township. He was a stonemason by trade and was one of the men who helped build the old Erie Canal.

Aaron J. Glathart was reared on the home farm and when fifteen years old went to Law- rence, Kans., where his older brother, J. H. Glathart, was operating a bakery and provision store. In 1859, the younger brother was taken into partnership but in the early part of 1860 the business was sold and Aaron J. re- turned to Hancock County and in the same year his father died. In the following year Civil War was precipitated and in August, 1861, Mr. Glathart enlisted in a company or- ganized at Findlay, O. He was one of four Glathart brothers and was the only one to es- cape a violent death. Rudolph H., was killed by guerrillas of the Confederate force, on Brazos River, Tex., in May, 1865. Manassa G., who was a scout under General Lyon, was killed at Wilson's Creek, Mo., August 10, 1861. Leon L., who was a private in Co. C. 49th O. Vol. Inf. died of smallpox at Chattanooga, Tenn., February 29, 1864.

Aaron J. Glathart enlisted in Co. H, 57th O. Vol. Inf., Ist Brigade, 15th Army Corps, Army

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of the Tennessee, and perhaps he saw as much hard army service as any other man that went out from Hancock County. He was on many battlefields and participated in the struggles that took place between the contending forces at the following points: Fort Donelson; Shi- loh; Siege of Corinth; Morning Sun, Tenn .; Wolf Creek Bridge; Tallahatchie; Holly Springs, Miss .; Chickasaw Bayou; Yazoo Pass, Miss .; Arkansas Post, Ark .; second expedition to Chickasaw Bayou; Steele's Bayou; Deer Creek, Miss .; running the batteries at Vicks- burg, on the ram "Queen of the West" on April 16, 1863; Raymond, Miss .; Jackson, Miss .; first and second battles at Champion Hills; Big Black River, Miss., May 17, 1863; Siege of Vicksburg, May 18-July 4; Chattanooga; Missionary Ridge; Knoxville, Tenn .; Snake Creek Gap; Dalton; Resaca; Kingston; New Hope church; Big Shanty; Kenesaw Moun- tain; Pumpkin Vine Creek and Atlanta, Ga. During all this long and dangerous service he was a brave and ready soldier but it was not ordained that he should escape all the most se- rious trials of warfare. On July 19, 1864, the Army of the Tennessee swung around Atlanta and on July 22, just after the tragic death of the brave General McPherson, Mr. Glathart was made a prisoner. He was despatched with others to Andersonville, Ga., the mention of the horrors of which still blanches many a cheek, and there he was held from July 25, 1864, until October 1, 1864, when he was sent to Savannah and was held there for two weeks. From there he was sent on to Milan, Ga., and kept in a stockade there until December I, 1864, then passed on to Charleston, S. C., where, with other unfortunates, he was placed under the fire of the Federal batteries. About four days he was kept in that position and then

was turned over to the authorities at Florence, S. C., where a new stockade had been built. In the latter part of December, 1864, he was fi- nally paroled and sent to a hospital at Annapo- lis, where he was given a parole and returned home. At this time he seemed completely wrecked in health and for seven months after- ward was unable to speak aloud. A splendid constitution, however, and home care restored him sufficiently to attend the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., although he went against the protests of friends and physicians, and through excitement was stimulated enough to proudly take his old place as color bearer in his regiment, a position he had held for the last fourteen months of his service.

During the last charge on Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, Mr. Glathart was severely wounded in the abdomen, a ball piercing the twenty-seven thicknesses of his rubber blanket and a heavy brass belt plate. He was placed in a field hos- pital, but, in spite of his injury, managed to escape from his guards the same night and made a desperate march until he rejoined his regiment, being determined to not be left be- hind. The full history of these heroes of the great struggle will never be adequately told. His wound would not heal, however, and later it became so aggravated that he could neither carry his musket nor wear a belt, therefore he was detailed to light duty about camp and was made postmaster and was serving in that ca- pacity as well as color bearer when he was hon- orably discharged and mustered out at Little Rock, Arkansas, August 25, 1865.

Broken in health, Mr. Glathart returned to Findlay, but soon afterward went to Kansas and sought to regain his health by open. air treatment, camping out on the prairies for three months. He became well pleased with

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Douglas County and entered into the auction- eering business and in the following year bought a farm near Lawrence, on which he re- mained until 1874, when he returned to Han- cock County. He still continued to reside on a farm up to 1897, when he came to Findlay and in this city he passed away January 8, 1909, aged sixty-five years. He was interested in the Grand Army of the Republic and was a member of Stokes Post, No. 54.

Mr. Glathart was married to Miss Amanda J. Strother, who was born in Hancock County, O., and was a daughter of Anthony W. and Mary Strother. Her uncle, Robert Strother, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War from Virginia. To this marriage seven children were born, as follows: Lena, who married Capt. T. L. Huston, of the U. S Engineer Corps; Harry A., who is city engineer of Findlay, O .; Floy M., who married Levi K. Harvitt; Edna E., who was the wife of Harvey Warren, died August 25, 1897; Roland L., who was a mem- ber of Co. A, 2nd Ohio Infantry in the Span- ish-American War; Gail G., who married Harry Riemund, and Carl A., who enlisted in the U. S. Navy, June 6, 1900.

JOHN BAKER, whose 240 acres of valua- ble land all lies in Cass Township, Hancock County, O., 160 acres being in Section 26, and eighty acres in Section 27, farther west, is one of the substantial and representative men of this part of the county. He was born on this farm, January 5, 1847, and is a son of Alex- ander and a grandson of Grafton Baker.

Alexander Baker was born in Carroll Coun- ty, O., and was a young man when he came to Hancock County. His father was Grafton Baker who was probably a native of England but moved from Maryland to Virginia and

from there to Carroll County, O. When he came to Hancock County he entered 200 acres of land in Washington Township and a three- quarter section in Cass Township, and his son John has the old deed for this land, bearing the signature of Andrew Jackson as President of the United States. Grafton Baker died on the Washington Township land, leaving his property to his children. He had four sons- Elisha, James, Alexander and Garrett, and one daughter, Nancy, who was the wife of John Ebersole. In the division of the property, Eli- sha, Alexander and James took the Cass Town- ship land, while Garrett kept the old home- stead in Washington Township. Each one cleared up his own land, and erected cabins in the woods, but Alexander was better off as his father had built a frame house. All have taken pride in keeping this land in the Baker name.

Alexander Baker married Catherine Eckert, who was born in Fairfield County, O., and had accompanied her parents to Hancock County. After marriage Alexander Baker and wife set- tled on the 160-acre farm, on which John Baker lives, although at that time it was covered by the forest. Later he improved his residence and partly cleared the farm. He died in 1849, aged thirty-seven years, but his widow sur- vived until 1909, dying in her eighty-fourth year. They had the following children: Lu- cinda, deceased; John; and Amanda, who is the wife of G. W. Norris.

John Baker had but meager school opportu- nities as his father died when he was young, but he remembers the old log school house. Being the only son he was forced to take charge of the farm before he had reached man's estate, but success has always attended his well di- rected efforts. He no longer cultivates his land, renting it out, and he enjoys a consid-

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erable income from oil wells on the property. resided on by his grandson, Samuel E. The substantial buildings on his home place he put up and has done a large amount of improv- ing in one way or another. Mr. Baker has ad- ditional interests, being vice-president and one of the directors of the Arcadia Bank and Sav- ings Company, at Arcadia, O.

On January 16, 1868, Mr. Baker was mar- ried to Miss Sarah Binger, who died in 1887. Mr. Baker has three children : Alexander, Lem- uel and Amanda. Alexander lives on a part of his father's land. He married Marion Tay- lor and they have three children: Earl, Helen and Garnett. Lemuel married Mary Belle Dor- sey and they have four children: Lois, Harry, John and Frances. Mr. Baker is a Republican in politics, and at times he has served in public office, having been township trustee and for twenty-four years has been a justice of the peace.

SAMUEL EDGAR MOOREHEAD, president of the Portage Township School Board and a leading citizen of this section, owns 125 acres of valuable land, all in one body, although thirty-three and one-half acres lie in Henry Township, Wood County, O. The Portage Township land is situated in Section 4, on the Sand Ridge road and the Wood and Hancock County line runs through the farm. Mr. Moorehead was born on his father's farm in Portage Town- ship, May 4, 1860, and is a son of John E. and Catherine (Morris) Moorehead.

John E. Moorehead was born in Stark County, O., and was a son of Samuel Moore- head who came to Hancock County when the former was ten years old. Samuel Moorehead was a native of Pennsylvania. In 1834 he entered the land now owned and

Moorehead, and cleared and developed a farm. Later in life he went to live with a daughter in Big Lick Township, where he died. The Morris family came from Stark County to Hancock at the same time that the Moorehead family settled here. John E. Moorehead married Catherine Morris, a daughter of Mahlon Morris. She died in Portage Township in February, 1891. Her husband survived until May, 1908. At one time he owned 370 acres of fine land. They had six children and five of these are living.

Samuel E. Moorehead obtained his educa- tion in the country schools and has made farming and stock raising his main indus- tries ever since and is numbered with the successful agriculturists of the township. He was married August 16, 1883, to Miss Sophronia Deter, a daughter of Jacob and Mary J. (Lewis) Deter. The mother of Mrs. Moorehead died at North Baltimore, in Wood County, O., in 1905. For a num- ber of years Jacob Deter was a prominent farmer but he now lives retired at North Baltimore. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Moorehead went to housekeeping on the Jacob Deter farm and moved from there, in 1905, to his present farm which he pur- chased in June of that year. Mr. Deter gave Mrs. Moorehead a farm of forty acres, in Section 9, Portage Township, and it was on that place, a part of the old Deter home- stead, that Mr. and Mrs. Moorehead lived before coming to their present one. Mr. Moorehead bought forty acres, also in Sec- tion 9, and twenty acres, in Section 8, mak- ing 100 acres, and this they sold when they came to the old Moorehead homestead. Im- provements of various kinds have been made

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on the farm since then, the most important he was reared and has since lived. He has one being the building of the commodious and substantial barn in 1910, one of the best in the township.

Mr. and Mrs. Moorehead have had seven children, namely: Pearl, who died in in- fancy ; Maude, who died when one year old; Clarence; Mary; John; Florence and Mor- ris, the last named dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Moorehead are members of the United Brethren church at Ten Mile, of which he is one of the trustees. He is a Republican in politics and has served seven years as township trustee and for two years has been a member of the school board, and for the past year has been president of this important body. He is one of the town- ship's representative men.

DAVID A. BIBLER, a well known gen- eral farmer and a trustee of Jackson Town- ship, has been a lifelong resident of Han- cock County, O., and was born April 14, 1853, on his grandfather's farm in Jackson Township, Hancock County, O., a son of John and Marietta (Smith) Bibler.

John Bibler, father of subject, was born about 1818 in Fairfield County, O., and in 1834 came to Hancock County with his father, Abraham Bibler, who entered 240 acres of land, in three eighty-acre tracts in Jackson Township. His father spent the remainder of his life here engaged in farm- ing. The mother of our subject was a na- tive of New York state and came to Han- cock County, O., during her girlhood.

David A. Bibler spent his early boyhood on the farm in Jackson Township, where his grandfather settled, and in 1866 came with his parents to his present farm, where

always followed farming and resides on a tract of sixty-five acres located two miles west of Houcktown, on the Houcktown road, and also is the owner of a tract of fifteen acres located about two miles north of where he lives. Mr. Bibler learned the trade of a mason with Joseph Alge of Find- lay, O., and with the assistance of Albert Sampson did all of the work on his new brick residence, which was erected in 1906.

Mr. Bibler was married to Martha E. Swinehart, who is a daughter of George Swinehart, and they have four children liv- ing: Charles E., who married and has two children-William and Thelma; Homer, who is engaged in farming, married Grace Claybaugh; Oscar L., who lives two miles east of his father's farm; and Ray, who lives with his parents. Mr. Bibler is a mem- ber of the Grange, in which he has served as treasurer. He belongs to the Baptist church. In politics he is a Democrat and in 1910 was elected a trustee of the town- ship.

WILLIAM M. KAGEY, president of The North Side Department Store Com- pany, carrying on a very large and constantly increasing business, with quarters at Nos. 818-822 N. Main Street, Findlay, O., has been a resident of this city since 1892, but was born at Mifflin, Ashland County, O., July 18, 1867. His parents were John C. and Elizabeth (Kohler) Kagey.

The late John C. Kagey came to Findlay from Ashland County, in 1892, and for a time operated a planing mill at Ashland, later was in the grocery business and still

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later in the shoe line. He died in 1898, hav- on which he raised quantities of fruit, in ing survived his wife six years.

When William M. Kagey was three years old, his parents moved from Mifflin to Ash- land, O., where he attended school until he was sixteen years of age, leaving then in order to begin to learn the grocery busi- ness. He was a grocery clerk at Ashland for seven years before coming to Findlay, where he was in the grocery line as a mer- chant up to the organization of The North Side Department Store, in February, 1907. Of this enterprise he is president and C. F. Fisher is vice-president. They have an abundant capital and handle groceries, dry goods, shelf hardware, patent medicines, granite and tinware, and employment is af- forded eleven people. It promises to be- come one of the most important general stores in the city, its managers and owners being practical, trained men in the mercan- tile line. The business is incorporated with six stockholders and a working capital of $10,000.

Mr. Kagey was married to Miss Frankie McBride, of Wooster, O., and they have one child, Ralph. He belongs to the order of Maccabees.

ELBERT B. AUTEN, druggist, who has been identified with the business interests of Rawson, O., for the past twenty years, was born in Knox County, O., December 4, 1867, and is a son of Clinton and Mary (Harbin) Auten.

Clinton Auten was born in Pennsylvania and was a son of J. C. and Rebecca Auten, with whom he came to Ohio and settled on a farm in Knox County. He learned the blacksmith trade and later purchased a farm

Knox County, and died there in 1870. He married Mary Harbin, who was born in Guernsey County, O., where her father fol- lowed the trade of a cooper. She resides with her son at Rawson.

Elbert B. Auten was reared in Knox County and attended the public schools. In 1890, after preliminary study, he entered the Ohio Normal University at Ada, O., and was graduated there in 1891, with his diploma as a pharmacist. His first profes- sional position was at Cardington, O., and from there he came to Rawson and in 1902 he purchased his present place of business and has been identified with the leading in- terests of this section ever since. In politics he is a Democrat and on that ticket has been elected to responsible offices, for the past fifteen years having served as city treasurer and for four years prior to 1901 was also treasurer of Union Township.

In 1895, Mr. Auten was married to Miss Rachel Buckwalter, of Knox County, and they have two children: Agnes and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Auten are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Rawson, of which he has been a trustee for ten years. For fifteen years he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, identified with Lodge No. 418, at Rawson, of which he has been worshipful master. Mr. Auten is widely known and is one of the town's most reliable and useful men.

J. P. MARQUART, a representative citi- zen and retired farmer of Van Buren Town- ship, Hancock County, O., of which he is a trustee, owns 105 acres of valuable land for which he receives a satisfactory. cash rent.

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He was born in this township, August 23, 1854, and is a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Heckler) Marquart.

Philip Marquart was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. When eighteen years of age he came to Amreica, landing at the port of New York in 1846 and came directly to Hancock County, O. He married Eliza- beth Heckler, a daughter of Andy Heckler and they had five children: Mary, J. P., Catherine, J. G. and J. W., both daughters being now deceased. All the children were born on the old home farm of eighty acres, situated in Section 16, Van Buren Town- ship. Philip Marquart acquired other land. He bought forty acres which adjoined the home farm and later eighty acres more and also the 105-acre farm now owned by his son, J. P. Marquart, together with property in Jenera which he gave to his daughters. He was a very industrious man and had ex- cellent judgment and made his investments carefully. He cleared up his home farm and built his log cabin on the first spot cleared, and as he recognized the value of drainage he put down wooden drain pipes according to the best known methods of the time and thereby made his land very productive. In 1864 he built a comfortable frame house which is still standing. Later he moved to Jenera but his wife died soon after, in 1900, and he then returned to the farm with his son William and lived there until his own decease, which took place in March, 1910. He attended the Lutheran church and was always very liberal in his donations to the same. He was a Democrat.

J. P. Marquart, with his brothers and sisters, attended a German school in Van Buren Township and then worked for his

father on the home farm until he was twenty-four years of age. After he mar- ried he settled on the present farm. All of the land is tillable except ten acres yet in woods. Mr. Marquart built a new house and remodeled the barn and other farm buildings and also attended to the draining of the land and carried on farming and stock raising until 1908, when he retired from business activity.

Mr. Marquart married Miss Maggie Ret- tig, a daughter of John and Catherine (Piper) Rettig. She was born in Van Buren Township. Her parents came from Germany in 1836 and bought a farm of forty acres in Van Buren Township and when she was eleven years old they moved to Madison Township, buying eighty acres of land, where the father still lives, being now over eighty years of age. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Rettig were: Lizzie, Maggie, Adam, Catherine, Philip, Samuel, George, Henry, Minnie, Charles, Emma and Mary, and all of these who lived to maturity re- ceived a farm from their father.

Mr. and Mrs. Marquart have three chil- dren, as follows: Matilda, who married Ed- ward Wilch, of Eagle Township and they have three children-Ida, Fairy and Mabel : Mary, who married William Wertenberger, and they have two children-Effie and Roy ; and Lucinda, who married Adam Wilch and they have one child, Fern. Mr. Marquart and family are members of St. Paul's Ger- man Lutheran church of Van Buren Town- ship. He has always voted the Democratic ticket. He is a man of very high standing in his township and served one year on the school board and twelve years as township trustee.

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Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 47

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1189

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1189