Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 61

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 61

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).

On October 12, 1887, Mr. Twining was married to Miss Florella Bushong, a daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Cooper) Bushong, and they have one son, Carl, who is a member of the graduating class of 1911 at Findlay Col- lege. He is talented in music and is proficient on the cornet. Mr. and Mrs. Twining are members of the Church of God. In his views on politics he is a Republican but does not call himself a politician, merely a good citizen who cheerfully upholds the laws by his ballot.

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Isaac Bushong was born in Portage Town- ship, Hancock County, a son of David and Elizabeth Bushong. Isaac Bushong enlisted for service in the Civil War, entering Company B, 21st O. Vol. Inf., and while in the service was so injured that he lost his voice for six months but finally recovered and at the close of the war returned to Portage Township. He died at the age of fifty-six years and his burial was in Maple Grove Cemetery. He married Nancy Cooper, a daughter of Amos Cooper of Portage Township. She died at the age of fifty-four years. They were leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was a class leader for some years. He owned over 220 acres of land and was a man of high personal standing in Liberty and Portage Townships and served in numerous township offices.

JAMES W. KIRKBRIDE*, deceased, for- merly one of Findlay's capitalists and a highly esteemed citizen, was very prominently identi- fied with the business interests of this section and for a number of years was one of the larg- est independent oil producers in Ohio, and also owned oil leases and properties in other states. He was born November 22, 1854, at Ogdens- burg, New York, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Nugent ) Kirkbride, natives of England.

James W. Kirkbride was thirteen years of age when he accompanied his father in the fam- ily removal to Warren County, Pa., where his education was completed, after which he as- sisted his father for four years in contracting and building oil derricks and tanks. In this way he gained a thorough knowledge of the oil business, of its methods and its possibilities, and as soon as he had accumulated a little capital he made not unsuccessful ventures for himself.

He became interested in the Butler and Arm- strong County oil fields, in Pennsylvania, and remained there until 1880, when the finding of a rich oil field in Alleghany County, New York, attracted him to that point. In 1886, when the promising field was opened in Hancock County, Ohio, he established his permanent home at Findlay, investing a large amount of capital in oil leases as well as in the lumber regions, and for years afterward he carried on both a retail and wholesale lumber business. He became a power in this line as well as in the oil industry.

The drilling of the wonderful Kirkbride oil well, in November, 1894, in which successful enterprise he was associated with his brother, and which was the largest well ever opened up in the Ohio fields, is easily recalled, as it was a most notable event in oil history. Mr. Kirk- bride had never entered into the wild specula- tion which so greatly affected the fortunes of many of the oil men of the day, his natural bus- iness caution and unusual foresight preserving him from the failures which on every side marked the want of wisdom of many one-time capitalists. He owned stock in some of Find- lay's financial institutions and owned numerous mining properties in the West. He had shown his faith in the future of Findlay by also in- vesting largely in real estate here and he erected the handsome Kirkbride Block. As a citizen he was public spirited and open-handed. Personally he was held in affection by a de- voted family, and in highest esteem by friends and associates. He was a worthy member of the Howard Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1877 Mr. Kirkbride was married to Miss Amy C. Carson, of Parker, Pa. They had three children: Charles W., who is largely in- terested in the oil business, and resides at 202 Hancock Street; Amy G., the' wife of C. H.

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Messinger, a prominent business man of Tole- do, Ohio; and Harry C., who resides with his mother in her beautiful residence situated at . No. 941 South Main Street.

MARION SWARTZ, who owns an excel- lent farm of eighty acres, which is situated in Jackson Township, Hancock County, Ohio, was born in Hardin County, Ohio, September 3, 1867. His parents were Samuel and Sarah Elizabeth (Obenoure) Swartz.

Samuel Swartz was born in Muskegon Coun- ty, Ohio, January 27, 1839, and died in Kan- sas in 1890. He married Sarah Elizabeth Obenoure, who was born in Ohio, January 12, 1847, and resides at Pacific Grove, California. They had five children, namely : Marion; Clar- ence E., who died when aged twenty-four years; Mertie Ann, who married Silas Jeffer- son, who belonged to the same branch of the Jefferson family as did President Thomas Jef- ferson (they live in California where he is a stock buyer) ; Alberta Ellsworth, a railroad man in California, who married Ida Linguist ; and Lydia Melvina, who is the wife of Arthur Durba, a barber at Fresno, California.

When Marion Swartz was eight years old his parents moved to Henry County, and as the family home continued there for eleven years, he secured his schooling there. Removal was then made to Kansas and while living there he worked out on farms by the month for his father, and after reaching his majority he en- gaged in farming for himself for two years. In October, 1891, he went on a trip that ex- tended through Colorado, New Mexico, Ari- zona and California, after which he went back to Kansas for two years. In 1894 he again visited California and remained in the far west for five years. He then returned to his native

state to marry, and then went back to Califor- nia for one year more. In 1901 he came to Hancock County and bought his present farm from Mary Vanhorn. This land was entered from the Government on July 10, 1837, by George Goodell, and the legal papers bear the signature of President Martin Van Buren. Mr. Swartz has done considerable traveling and has seen many other parts of the country than the one in which he was born, but when he decided to locate permanently he found no section quite equal in every way to beautiful Ohio. Many other natives of this noble State have felt the same way and for that reason her citizenship, natural born, is of so high and loyal a type.

In 1900 Mr. Swartz was married to Miss Elizabeth Winemiller, a daughter of J. J. Wine- miller and wife, who live in Jackson Township. Mrs. Swartz is the second born in a family of three children, having a brother and a sister : Frank, who is a farmer in Henry County, where he owns eighty acres of land; and Min- nie J., who is the wife of Frank Alger, who owns eighty acres of land in Jackson Town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have two children, Ervin T. and Ama Marcella. Mr. Swartz has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Houcktown since he was twenty-two years of age and for about the same time has been a member of the fraternal order of Wood- men of the World, No. 333, California. He votes with the Republican party but the only township office he has ever accepted was that of school director. He is numbered with the reliable and representative men of Jackson Township.

HILTON A. VICKERS*, M. D., who has been engaged in medical practice at Findlay, Ohio, since 1893, has become identified with

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the interests of this city to a very large degree lent land, was born in this township, No- and numbered among his personal as well as vember 12, 1862, and is a son of Christian and Regina (Stauffer) Matter. professional friends, the representative people of the community. Dr. Vickers was born June 18, 1857, at Old Plainfield, Ohio, a son of the late Dr. W. H. Vickers, for many years a phy- sician in Coshocton County, Ohio.

Dr. Hilton A. Vickers attended the schools of his native place until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Indiana, where he al- ternated going to school with working on a farm, in Henry County. Subsequently he taught school in that State for several years, after which he returned to Ohio and entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. A. E. Walker, a well known physician of Old Plainfield, and in 1884 he was graduated from the Columbus Medical College. For eight subsequent years, Dr. Vickers engaged in a general practice at Evansburg, and for two years at Deshler, in Henry County, and then came to Findlay, where he has been established ever since. He is a member of the Hancock Medical Society and of the Northwestern Ohio Medical Asso- ciation, and keeps closely in touch with all mat- ters of scientific research in the profession to which he has devoted his life. His office with its library and expensive equipments which successful modern practice demands, is located in the Goodwin Block on North Main Street, Findlay. In 1881, at Old Plainfield, Dr. Vick- ers was married to Miss Sallie Smith, and they have an interesting family. Their comfortable home is situated at No. 804 Franklin Avenue. Politically, Dr. Vickers is a Republican and fraternally he is a Mason.

DANIEL MATTER, a successful farmer residing in Section 31, Orange Township, where he owns ninety-four acres of excel-

Christian Matter was born in Richland County, O., and in childhood was brought to Allen County by his parents, who were Samuel and Elizabeth Matter. He grew up there and married Regina Stauffer and ten of their eleven children were born in Allen County. They were as follows: John, Samuel, Daniel, Noah, Peter, William, Theopholis, Sarah, Anna, Katherine and Henry, Daniel being born during a period of eighteen months that the family lived in Hancock County near the Allen County line. The parents of the above family were members of the Reformed church. In pol- itics the father was a Democrat. His death occurred July 10, 1895, at the age of fifty- six years and his burial was at Bluffton. His widow and youngest son reside on the old home farm.

Daniel Matter attended the district schools in boyhood and youth but after he was nineteen years of age his time was mainly given to farming and about the time he reached his majority he began to man- age property on his own account, in Allen County. After his first marriage he came to Orange Township and for two years operated the farm on which D. D. Hilty resides, after which he came to his present place, where he erected the fine buildings which add to the attractiveness and value of his property. He carries on general farming and also is interested in breeding cattle. For some three years he has been pumping oil from six wells on his land and they are still producing.

Mr. Matter was married the first time to

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Miss Lizzie Jane Stratton, a daughter of Asa Stratton, of Bluffton, O. She died De- cember 3, 1901, and was buried at Bluffton, She was a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Two children survive her: Grace May, who married Clyde Klingler, of Allen County, and they have one daughter, Rhea; and Edith Lillian, who resides at home. His second marriage took place on July 8, 1903, to Miss Lillie E. Welsh, of Hardin County, O., and they have had two children : Don Edgar, who died at his home, aged eight weeks, and Daniel Emerson. They are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, in which he is very active, be- ing a trustee and steward and superintend- ent of the Sabbath school. He is a Demo- crat in politics, served six years as township constable, also was on the school board and is at present a trustee of the township. Mr. Matter is one of the representative men of this section and one of the busiest. In ad- dition to cultivating his own farm he also operates another of eighty acres which he leases.

HON. S. N. E. PRIDDY*, president of the Buckeye Traction Ditcher Company, of Findlay, of which city he has been a prom- inent business man for almost twenty years, was born February 21, 1844, in Van Wert County, O., a son of Thomas D. and a grandson of William Priddy. The latter was the pioneer of the family in Ohio, a native of Virginia and a son of a Revolu- tionary patriot. On the maternal side Mr. Priddy is a descendant of General Warren of the Revolutionary War.

S. N. E. Priddy attended the district schools in Van Wert County and grew to

manhood on the home farm. The opening of the Civil War aroused in him the old patriotic spirit of his great-grandfather and September II, 1861, saw him an enrolled soldier in Company H, 15th O. Vol. Inf., in which he served faithfully until he was obliged to accept his discharge on account of physical disability. His spirit, however, was not quenched nor his enthusiasm damp- ened, and in November, 1863, when his health had been re-established, he re-en- listed in his old company and regiment and continued to face all the many hardships and dangers of his command until the close of the Rebellion. His military record is one of which he may well be proud.

After the close of the war Mr. Priddy re- turned to the home farm and remained there until 1871, when he embarked in the business of supplying railroad ties for one of the great transportation lines then creep- ing across the country, and two years later went into the milling business and for about a dozen years operated a saw mill, a grist mill and a planing mill, at Middlepoint, O. He there became a man of affairs, honored and respected by his fellow citizens, serv- ing on the city council and school board and for five successive years was elected mayor. In 1890 Mr. Priddy transferred his interests to Findlay and in this city identified himself with both public and private interests.

Mr. Priddy was married in 1872 to Miss Elizabeth Price, a daughter of John and Rachel (Coslett) Price, of Middlepoint. Of their children, Thomas D. is a drainage contractor now in business at New Or- leans; John E. is a prominent attorney of Findlay, and has his offices in the Commer- cial Bank Building and his residence at No.

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121 Baldwin Avenue; Edgar is a mechani- cal expert with the Buckeye Company of Toledo, O .; Vernon is now general man- ager of the Western branch of the Review of Reviews at Chicago, Ill .; Miss Edith is the one daughter. Mr. Priddy and family reside in one of the most beautiful homes in the city, at No. 1109 South Main Street, Findlay. They are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church. In his polit- cal views, Mr. Priddy, with his sons, is a Republican.

J. M. RUCKMAN, M. D., one of the lead- ing medical practitioners of Jenera, Ohio, was born April 24, 1872, in Big Lick Town- ship, Hancock County, Ohio, and was there reared to maturity. After obtaining a com- mon school education in Big Lick Town- ship, he taught five years in the schools of the county, then spent two years at the Ohio State Normal at Ada, and in 1900 graduated from the Starling Medical Col- lege of Columbus, Ohio. He then came to Jenera, Ohio, where he has established an extensive practice, and enjoys the confi- dence and esteem of his fellow citizens to the fullest extent. Dr. Ruckman was mar- ried June 4, 1901, to Caroline Edwards, a native of Findlay, Ohio, who taught for five years in the schools of Hancock County. Of their union have been born: James Merritt; Kenneth Edwards; and Lucia Adele. Dr. Ruckman is an adherent of the Democratic party in politics and is a mem- ber of the Hancock County and the North Western State Medical Societies.

CHARLES E. VANHORN, one of Amanda Township's prominent citizens,

successful farmers and stockmen, resides in Section 7, Amanda Township, Hancock County, O., eight miles southeast of Find- lay, where he owns 165 acres of valuable land. He was born in Amanda Township, April 17, 1843, and is a son of Charles and Sarah (Twining) Vanhorn.

Both parents of Mr. Vanhorn were born and reared in Bucks County, Pa. They came to Hancock County in 1833 and the father bought 200 acres of land in Amanda Township, at $4 an acre, which is almost beyond belief, considering the price of the same land at the present time. Later he again invested, in 1835, purchasing fifty-four acres situated in Section 6, in the same township. The parents lived in this town- ship during the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1881, at the age of eighty- one years and the mother passing away in 1879, when aged seventy-six years. They had ten children, namely: George W. and J. M., both of whom are deceased; Robert; Mary, who is Mrs. Aurand; Martha, who married a Mr. Marvin; Phebe, who is Mrs. Grove; Harrison; Sarah, who is Mrs. Car- uthers, lives at Findlay; Charles E .; and John.

Charles E. Vanthorn obtained his educa- tion in the township schools and helped his father on the farm. He has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. For forty-five years he has been engaged in buying and shipping livestock and wool and in carrying on general farming. .

Mr. Vanhorn was married first in 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of Rev. Smith, of Amanda Township. She died in 1894, and was survived by two daughters, Agnes and Garnet. Agnes is the wife of

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Joseph Shull, of Amanda Township, and situated in Orange Township, Hancock they have six children : Edith, Esther, County. Ethel, Russell, Harold and Erma. Garnet Mr. Bloom married Miss Mary Ford, a daughter of John Ford, of Hancock County, and their children are: Jacob P., Edgar B., and William F., Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Bloom are members of Grace Episcopal church. Their pleasant home is situated at No. 414 North Cory Street. He is an Odd Fellow. married George Davis, of Findlay, and they have one daughter, Mary. Mr. Vanhorn was married second to Mary M. Suther- land, of Amanda Township. Mrs. Vanhorn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Vanhorn is one of the leading Republicans of his township and has served for ten years in the office of land appraiser.

WILLIAM F. BLOOM*, county re- corder of Hancock County, Ohio, was born in Union Township, Hancock County, No- vember 13, 1864, and is a son of Jacob and Mary (Zelert) Bloom.

Jacob Bloom was born in 1841, in Tus- carawas County, Ohio, and died in Hancock County in 1872. He married Mary Zelert, who is a sister of Professor Zelert. They had four children.

William F. Bloom was educated in the public schools of Union Township and the Normal School at Ada, Ohio. He engaged in teaching for a time and then returned to agricultural pursuits, which he continued until he was first elected to his present office, in November, 1901, on the Repub- lican ticket, by a plurality of 349 votes. It is very evident that he gave satisfactory service, as when he was re-elected in 1904, it was by a plurality of 1,470 votes, a re- markable increase. The people of Hancock County speak well of him and in these days of corruption in public office in many sec- tions, they feel well contented with their officials who have many times proved their honesty and integrity. Mr. Bloom owns a well improved farm of fifty acres which is

HENRY WILLIAM BRINKMAN, who is engaged in general farming on a tract of sixty-five acres, located in Section 15, Cass Township, was born April 23, 1842, in Han- over, Germany, and is a son of Lewis and Dorothy (Trader) Brinkman.

Lewis Brinkman and his wife were both born in Hanover, Germany, and spent their entire lives in their native country. They were the parents of one child, Henry Wil- liam, the subject of this record. The mother of our subject first married Henry Agathon, by whom she had the following children: Frederick Coberg, Henry, Det- rich, Dora, and Lenora, all of whom are now deceased.

Henry W. Brinkman grew to maturity in Hanover, Germany, where during his early manhood he worked in a factory, and in 1880 he came to the United States. He had saved some money before coming to this country, but the expenses of the trip, to- gether with sickness, swallowed up the greater part of it, leaving him just sufficient capital with which to buy a cow and some furniture. For the first two years after coming here he worked out by the day at seventy-five cents per day. In 1890, how- ever, he purchased from L. Stacey his pres- ent farm, where he has since carried on gen-

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eral farming, and has made all the improve- proved land, was born in Blanchard Township, ments on his property, having erected a Hancock County, June 28, 1864, and is a son of Samuel H. and Elizabeth Deter Robinson. good substantial house and other buildings.

Mr. Brinkman was first married in Ger- many in 1868, to Margrethe Schuhlenber, and of this union were born five children, namely : William; Henry, who married Emma Lyons, and has three children, Floyd, Bertha and Ruth; Minnie, who is the wife of Frank Harrold, and has six chil- dren, Clara, Alice, William, Edward, Clar- ence, and Floyd; and John and Sophie, who are deceased. Mrs. Brinkman died in 1880, and Mr. Brinkman formed a second union with Marie Flinert, who died about three and a half years after their marriage. On August 20, 1884, Mr. Brinkman married Minnie Nickie, a daughter of Fred and Mary (Doll) Nickie, both natives of Ger- many. Mrs. Brinkman was born January 18, 1863, in Hancock County, Ohio, the other children being: Carl, Sarah, Mary, Dora, Josie, and one that died in infancy. Mrs. Brinkman's father subsequently mar- ried Augusta Cuert, which union resulted in the following issue: Augusta, Lena, Emma, Anna, Martin, and Elva, the three last mentioned being now deceased. The father died in January, 1892.

Mr. and Mrs. Brinkman have had the fol- lowing children: Charles, who died in in- fancy ; Edward, who married Ethel Wilkes : Nora, who is the wife of George Drake; Lewis; Dora; Emma : Lydia, and Augusta. Mr. and Mrs. Brinkman are members of the Lutheran church.

JACOB MELVIN ROBINSON, a success- ful farmer and representative citizen of Pleas- ant Township. Hancock County, O .. where he owns eighty acres of valuable and well im-

Samuel H. Robinson was born in Colum- biana County, O., in 1833, and is a retired res- ident of McComb. He was a mere boy when his father, Jacob Robinson, moved to Wood County, O., near Hoytsville. The latter later moved to McComb, where he and wife died. Samuel H. Robinson lived in Hancock County, near the Putnam County line, for forty years, and owned a farm of seventy acres in Blan- chard Township. Before the railroad was built through McComb, he engaged in teaming for some years for the firm of Snyder & Bar- ney, of McComb. He has always been a re- spected and useful citizen. He married Eliza- beth Deter, who died in 1902, at the age of seventy years. They had three sons born to them: John Wallace, who is a farmer in Union County, near Marysville, O .; Peter Amos, who is engaged in the poultry business at McComb, and Jacob M., of Pleasant Township.

Jacob Melvin Robinson was educated in the public schools of Hancock County. Farming has been his main business. His unmarried life was spent in Pleasant Township. After marriage he lived for five years in Blanchard Township and then removed to Richfield Township, Henry County, where he resided for eleven years.

In the spring of 1905 he purchased his farm from his father and immediately began improv- ing the property, building his comfortable and attractive residence and a modern, well pro- portioned barn, with dimensions of 60 by 36 feet and with a crib and wagon shed that is 16 by 36 feet in dimensions. He carries on gen- eral farming and stock raising, following mod- ern methods and considering the use of im- proved farm machinery one of the necessary

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RESIDENCE OF OZIAS E. BENINGTON, BIG LICK TOWNSHIP

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adjuncts. In politics he is a Democrat, but takes only the interest of a good and intelligent citizen in public affairs, entertaining no desire to hold office.

In 1889 Mr. Robinson was married to Miss Ida Alwilda Bowers, a daughter of Daniel Bowers, of Blanchard Township, and they have three children, namely: Harold Clinton, aged eighteen years; Carrie Alta, aged fifteen years; and Velzora Marie, aged ten years, all of whom are being given educational advantages.

OZIAS E. BENINGTON, who owns sev- enty-one acres of valuable farm land which is situated in Section 3, Big Lick Township, Hancock County, O., ten and one-half miles east of Findlay, is one of the successful farm- ers of this neighborhood. He was born Feb- ruary 27, 1861, in Seneca County, O., and is a son of George S. and Amanda (Spragg) Ben- ington.

George S. Benington was born in Carroll County, O., November 10, 1825, and died on our subject's farm, May 27, 1910. He mar- ried Amanda Spragg, who was born in Penn- sylvania and died in 1905. They had eleven children : Ignatius, Susan, Calvin J., Uriah C .. Libbie, Ozias E., Jane, Benson A., Alice, Belle, and Cora.

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Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 61

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

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