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Source:
History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County
with
Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of
Pioneer and Prominent Public Men
by C. W. Williamson
Columbus, Ohio
Press of W. M. Linn & Sons
1905
BIOGRAPHIES
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BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
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Moulton Twp.
THOMAS COGAN was born in Sligo county,
Ireland, in 1834. His parents, John and Mary (Sheridon)
Cogan was also born in Ireland, where they spent their
entire lives.
"IN 1847, our subject, in company with an elder
brother, sought to better his condition by crossing the ocean to
America, and after reaching this country the former was engaged
for some time in driving teams on the Delaware and Hudson
canals. This he continued for about six months, and
afterwards for about a year was engaged in repairing the canal.
This was his first start in business for himself. Although
his educational advantages had been limited in youth, he
possessed a naturally bright mind and was quick to pick up all
new methods and ideas.
"In 1850, he emigrated to Ohio and with the money he
had saved he bought eighty acres of canal land in Moulton
township, where he now resides. This land was then wild
and uncultivated
[Pg. 786]
and infested with wild animals, but Mr. Cogan went
actively to work to improve and cultivate his property.
To the original tract he added from time to time, and in after
years became the owner of two hundred and sixteen acres, all
well improved and well cultivated. In 1891, oil was
discovered on Mr. Cogan's farm, and there are now five
oil wells and a gas well on the farm. These wells have
yielded him a large income up to date, and are still in
operation.
"In 1866, Mr. Cogan was wedded to Miss
Margaret Glynn, a native of Ireland and the daughter of
Owen Glynn, who was also a native of the Emerald Isle.
After marriage Mr. Cogan and wife settled on their
present farm, in Moulton township, and here their seven children
were born: John F., May E., Owen P., Anna B., Thomas
P., Maggie T., and Julia A. Being deprived of
good educational advantages in his own youth, Mr. Cogan
greatly desired that his children should be well educated and
has given them every opportunity. His eldest son followed
teaching for a few years and his now an ordained priest in the
Catholic church.
"Mr. Cogan and wife have been members of the
Catholic church nearly all their lives, and are active in their
support of the same. In his political views, our subject
inclines toward the Democratic party, but usually votes for the
best man, irrespective of party. His first Presidential
vote was cast for James Buchanan."
[From Walsh's Biographical Sketches.]
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page |
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Clay Twp. -
JAMES H. COLEMAN was born in Kentucky,
Jan. 14th, 1792. When he was fourteen months old his
parents moved to Warren county, Ohio. He had a district
recollection of the great "Peace Treaty made at Greenville."
His family, like many other pioneer families, moved about once
every ten years. When James attained the age of
twenty-two years he moved to Shelby county, and a few years
later moved to Logan county.
In May, 1833, he entered two hundred and seventy-three
acres of land in section six in Clay township. In making
his selections of lands, attention was given to the good natural
drainage of them, a precaution that redounded to his benefit in
after years. Like some of the other early pioneers, he and
his family resided in an Indian cabin, until an acre of timbered
land was cleared and a house erected on his farm.
The first township election was held at his cabin,
December 20th, 1834, at which election he was elected fence
viewer.
Mr. Coleman was the first Justice of the Peace
elected in the township, which office he held for eighteen
years. In 1834 he was elected commissioner of Allen
county, receiving the unanimous vote of his township. This
is the only case of unanimity at an election in the township.
Mr. Coleman died April 2nd, 1883.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 720 |
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Washington Twp. -
HENRY COOK was born in New Bremen, Aug.
6th. 1835. His father, William Cook was born in
Westphalia, Germany, in 1810. He became a carpenter in his
youth, and after marriage he sailed for America with his bride,
to build up a home in this country, where he deemed he could
better his fortunes. He landed at Baltimore, and came
directly to Ohio, making his way hither on foot in company with
a colony. He and his fellow travelers sought work in
Cincinnati, and not being successful, continued northward along
the route of the Miami and Erie canal that had just been
surveyed. They finally arrived at New Bremen, and from
there went to Fort Wayne, Indiana, before employment was found.
Six months later, Mr. Cook returned to New Bremen, and
was one of the first to locate there. He worked on the
locks and did other work about the canal until it was completed.
About that time he removed to Washington township, and settled
on land that he purchased of his father-in-law, who had just
come over from Germany. That land was bought of the
Government at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acres, and
was in the midst of a country that was all new. Deer were
so plentiful that they frequently came into the yard, and
sometime were shot from an open window. Wolves were
numerous, and many a night the slumbers of the tired pioneers
were disturbed by their howls. Indians were frequent
passers. They were remnants of tribes that went wet in
1832.
Mr. Cook was a sincere Christian, who clung to
the faith of his fathers, and was one of the organizers of the
Lutheran Reformed society in this part of the country.
Elizabeth Fledderjohann was the maiden name of his first
wife, who died in 1850, leaving five children, of whom our
subject is the eldest. The father married Elizabeth
Burnsman for his second wife, by whom he had eight children,
of whom five are living.
Henry Cook did not have very good school
advantages in his younger days, as schools, which were taught on
the subscription plan, were only open one or two months a year.
They were held in rude log buildings, and had furniture of the
roughest description, slabs serving as seats, and a board placed
against the wall was the only desk for the scholars to write
upon. Our subject helped his father clear his farm until
he was fifteen years old, and then began to learn the carpenter
trade. He worked with his father, who was a skilled
mechanic, and was the only carpenter in the locality at the
time. His father used to take contracts, and after our
subject had thoroughly mastered the trade, he did the work.
He continued thus engaged for fifteen years, during which time
he put up a number of buildings in the vicinity, which are still
standing.
When he abandoned carpentering, he entered the
mercantile business with his father-in-law, Henry Venneman
at New Knoxville. After Mr. Venneman's death in
1882, Mr. Cook took entire control of the business, and
has been carrying it on since that time. He has a general
store, in which may be found dry goods of every description,
besides groceries, boots and shoes, and every thing that is
usually sold in such a store. In 1901, he and his son,
Benjamin, erected a large brick building in which they are
conducting a lucrative business at the present time.
Besides this valuable property, he has a quarter section of land
in Washington township and eighty acres in Van Buren township in
Shelby county. He was appointed to the postmastership of
the village soon after Abraham Lincoln was elected to the
Presidency, and has held the office ever since, excepting when
Cleveland was in the Presidential chair, and discharged the
duties incumbent upon him in a manner entirely satisfactory to
all concerned. He is a stanch Republican in politics.
He has held responsible public offices, and was treasurer of
Washington township eight years. Both he and his wife are
among the most valued members of the Lutheran Reformed Church,
and they stand high in the estimation of the entire community.
Mr. Cook was married in 1860 to Miss
Elizabeth Benneman, who is of German birth but has passed
the most of her life in this country, whither she came with her
parents when eighteen months old. Her father located on a
farm just north of New Knoxville; cleared and improved his land,
and he also engaged in keeping store with our subject seven
years. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have three children
living: Sarah, Benjamin and Elizabeth. Their two
eldest died.
(From Portrait and Biographical record.)
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 774 |
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Clay Twp. -
AMOS COPELAND was born August 10th, 1816, in Green county, Ohio,
and was twenty years of age when his parents moved to Clay
township. The family located in section six, and occupied
a cabin, formerly the residence of Du Chien, son-in-law
of the chief Blackhoof. Amos remained under
the parental roof until he was twenty-three years old, when he
established a home of his own. November 23, 1839, he was
married to Miss Mary J. Layton. Of this marriage
nine children were born, of whom six are living: George,
who married Eva Graham; Julia, Mrs. Samuel Brackney; William
N., who married Ellen Robinson; Elza B., who
married Anna Herring; Miriam, the wife of Casper N.
Chenoweth; Scott W., who married Emma Chambers.
Two sons, John and George served in the Civil War,
the latter being killed in the battle of Resaca.
After his marriage, our subject located on the
northeast quarter of section three, Clay township, on which a
log cabin was situated. Here he resided for six years,
when he exchanged the tract for an unimproved piece of land in
section four. He operated this farm for twenty-four years,
during which time he cleared over one hundred acres and added
two hundred acres to his original purchase. In the fall of
1875 he moved to St. Johns where he resided until his death,
which occurred July 25th, 1898.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 721 |
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Union Twp. -
JOSEPH COPELAND, son of Abner Copeland,
was born Feb. 5, 1818, in Green county, Ohio, and was eighteen
years of age when he accompanied his parents to Union township.
He was given a fair education in the subscription schools of
that period and, being trained to farm pursuits, remained under
the parental roof until his twenty-third year in the meantime
aiding his father in clearing and placing under cultivation the
home farm.
Oct. 4, 1840, he married Miss Mary Ann, daughter
of John and Elizabeth (Fennemore) English natives of New
Jersey, who, on coming to Ohio in 1833, made their home in
Franklin county. Several years later they took up their
abode in Auglaize county and located in section 22, where they
were residing at the time of their decease. Mrs.
Copeland was born May 23, 1832, in New Jersey, and after her
marriage located with her husband on a wild tract of land in
Clay township, upon which they made their home for three years,
when they removed to Union township, and located on section 27.
When Mr. Copeland moved to the township, "it was new and
wild, and he encountered all the difficulties and inconveniences
of pioneer life. His first team was a yoke of bulls,
and after the death of one of them the other was worked alone
like a horse. Mr. Copeland relates the following
incident concerning the bovine. "One of his neighbors, who
then owned the bull, had him bridled and saddled to take a grist
to mill. All went well enough until they et another bull,
when both animals evinced such fury that the rider of the one
soon saw fit to dismount. This he did, and removed his
grist, saddle and bridle, and permitted the beasts to settle
their difficulties, after which he saddled and bridled his game
horse and proceeded on his way."
Before his death he became the owner of nine hundred
acres of land. He died June 19, 1902.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by
C. W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 765 |
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Duchouquet Twp.
JOHN CRAFT, one of the early settlers of
Wapakoneta, was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, August 15th,
1825. He was the third in a family of six sons. The
following from "The School Bulletin" of Wapakoneta, dated
November, 1897, will call to mind the quiet old wagonmaker, so
long a resident of Wapakoneta: "Recollections of John
Craft of Wapakoneta.
"My father, William Craft, moved from Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, to the northeast corner of Pusheta township in the
fall of 1833. My father entered two hundred and forty
acres of land in that township, of which only one-half acre of
it was cleared land. I lived on this farm until I was
twenty years of age, and during that time I assisted in clearing
the land of the heavy timber with which it was covered.
Upon our arrival a cabin, consisting of one room, was built.
It was similar to all the houses built by the early settlers.
The roof was made of clapboards, held in place by weight-poles
laid on each course of boards, held in place by weight-poles
laid on each course of boards. The floor was made of
puncheons, split from trees, the door of boards riven from oak
timber, and hung on wooden hinges. The fire-place was made
of wood, and was walled on the inside with boulders daubed with
a plentiful quantity of mud. The chimney was built of
sticks, split from history elm, was plastered inside and outside
with a thick coat of mud. Instead of glass the sash were
covered with greased paper. We lived in this eighteen by
twenty room for several years before additional buildings were
erected. We had three horses, and about a year after
settling on the farm father went to Butler county, this state,
and bought two yoke of oxen, which were used until the farm was
cleared. We also had four cows which supplied us with an
abundance of milk and butter. We lived mostly on corn
bread, wild turkey, venison and a small amount of pork.
"Wild game of all kinds was plentiful at that time.
I have seen as many as forty deer in a drove. Wild turkeys
were so plentiful that they had to be driven from the corn
fields to prevent them from destroying the corn shocks.
James Coleman, a neighbor of ours, was a great hunter.
He used to catch turkeys in rail pen traps, catching as many as
half a dozen at a time. My brother Ed, and I used
to go after the cattle, and we often found them in the midst of
a flock of turkeys. The turkeys were so tame that we
frequently tried to drive them into the Indian shanties.
Ed, used to be a good runner. I remember to have
seen him run after a gobler, the fowl keeping just far enough
ahead of him to avoid being overtaken. The Indians left
the year before we moved to Pusheta township. Evidences,
however, were to be seen on every hand that they had been here.
Their shanties still remained and were in good condition.
Hunters often occupied them. We often amused ourselves by
gathering moss from old logs and spreading it over the ground in
the huts for carpet. The huts were generally constructed
of poles, built square and covered with bark.
"Beside the deer and turkeys, commonly called game, the
forests abounded in animals of a more savage nature, such as
bears, wolves, wild cats and panthers. I never saw a bear
in the woods, but frequently saw wolves.
"The fall that we moved to Pusheta township Mr.
Coleman's sheep came to our house one day and lay against it
at night, but they were all killed by wolves before the next
morning.
"In my twentieth year I went to Wapakoneta to learn the
wagon-maker trade. Tuto Duchouquet, a son of
Francis Duchouquet, and I boarded with Hammel on
Auglaize street and worked with my brother William, who
was a wagon-maker and who had married Hammel's daughter.
"Mr. Craft was of an unassuming and retired
disposition, attending to his own affairs, taking little part in
public matters. His acquaintance was never very extensive.
But no man in his community was more highly respected, or
considered more trustworthy. He died March 20th, 1901."
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by C.
W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 626 |
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Duchouquet Twp.
WILLIAM CRAFT, a brother of the preceding,
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1819, and came to
Butler county, Ohio, in 1826. From there he came to this
county in 1835, and lived in Pusheta township for four years.
From there he went to Piqua to learn a trade, and returned to
Wapakoneta in 1840, and opened a wagon shop. He continued
in this business until 1852, when he commenced working at the
carpenter trade, which he followed the ensuing eleven years.
In 1842 he married Theresa Hammel, who died in 1852.
In 1856 he married Elizabeth Huttis. His wagon shop
with the first one in the village. When he came to
Wapakoneta it had a population of twenty-five. He was
appointed county commissioner in the spring of 1876, to fill the
vacancy arising from the death of Christian Heisler, and
in 1877 was elected for the full term. He died April 7th,
1902.
Source: History of Western Ohio & Auglaize County - by C.
W. Williamson - Columbus, Ohio - Press of W. M. Linn & Sons -
1905 - Page 629 |
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