OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS


 

CRAWFORD COUNTY,
 OHIO

BIOGRAPHIES

HORACE EUGENE VALENTINE.  In the affairs of state, as taken aside from the extraordinary conditions of warfare, there are demanded men whose mental ken is as wide and whose generalship is as effective as those which ensure successful maneuvering of armed forces by the skilled commanders on the field of battle.  The nation's welfare and prosperity may be said to hang as heavily upon individual discrimination and executive ability in the one case as the other.  It requires maser minds to marshal and organize the forces for political purposes and produce the best results by concerted effort.  One of the honored Democratic political leaders of Crawford county is Hon. Horace Eugene Valentine, who served for two terms as state senator from the thirty-first senatorial district, and his public record reflects credit upon his constituents and district which he represented.  He is also an active man-of-affairs in business circles, being the cashier of the First National Bank of Bucyrus, which position he has occupied since 1898.
     Mr. Valentine is one of the native sons of Crawford county, his birth having occurred in the village of Benton in Texas township, April 8, 1859.  He represents an old New York family, his ancestors having come from the Empire state.  His father, James Valentine, removed to Crawford county from the city of Syracuse, New York, about 1830, his wife and his parents coming with him.  He secured a tract of land in Texas township and there devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in the year 1861.  His wife bore the maiden name of Angeline Clark.  She was born near Syracuse, New York, and was a daughter of Edward Clark, who served in the New York Militia in the war of 1812.  Mrs. Valentine was called to her final rest in 1866.  They had four sons, the eldest being Edward, who enlisted for service in the Civil war and died in Libby prison; Jabez Clark, deceased; George B., deceased, and Horace Eugene.  There was one daughter, Emily, now deceased.
     Throughout his entire life Horace Eugene Valentine has been a resident of Crawford county.  His preliminary education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by study in the Ohio Normal University, at Ada, Ohio, where he was graduated in the class of 1888.  The following year he was elected county surveyor of Crawford county and was re-elected in 1892, serving continuously until 1895, covering a period of nearly seven consecutive years.  Before his retirement from that office he was elected, as a Democrat, to the position of state senator to represent Crawford, Seneca and Wyandot counties, or the thirty-first district.  He served for four years and filled the position so creditably that in 1897 he was re-elected.  He was one of the active working members of the senate and gave to each question which came up for consideration earnest thought and study and left the impress of his individuality upon the legislation of the two terms served by him.  He was the author of the anti-trust law of Ohio, known as the Valentine Anti-Trust Law.  It was declared constitutional by the state supreme court and if enforced would effectually do away with injurious and unlawful trusts.  His labors were untiring in behalf of the people and his record is creditable to the district which honored him.
     In 1889 Mr. Valentine was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Nedry, of Texas township, a daughter of Joseph Nedry, one of the pioneer settlers and native sons of Crawford county, who is now seventy-five years of age.  His father came to Ohio from Pennsylvania at a very early period in the development of the state.  Unto Mr. and Mrs. Valentine have been born two children, Allen Gladstone, and Florence Emily.
     Mr. Valentine is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and on the political stage such is his popularity and such his personal magnetism that his appearance to address the people is the signal of due enthusiasm.  He is a sturdy American character and a stalwart patriot, and has ever had the strongest admiration for our free institutions, being ever ready to make any personal sacrifice for their preservation.
Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Chicago: 1902 ~ Page 26 (Portrait available)
FRANK M. VIRTUE

Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Chicago: 1902 - Page 516

CHARLES VOLLRATH - The subject of this sketch is a native of Saxony, Germany, born May 16, 1835, a son of Gottlieb and Fredericke (Meissner) Vollrath.  He attended the schools of his native land seven years, and came to this country with his father's family, which lived the first year in Rochester, New York, and in May of 1849 came to Bucyrus.  Here Charles Vollrath learned the carpenter's trade and followed it till 1855, when he became interested in a planing-mill, a business in which he prospered for years.
     March 23, 1858, he married Elizabeth Hocker, a native of Baden, Germany, born in June of 1831.
Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Chicago: 1902 - Page 84
COLONEL EDWARD VOLLRATH.  Prominent among the lawyers of Crawford county, and well known in public affairs is Colonel Edward Vollrath, of Bucyrus, in which city his birth occurred forty-three years ago.  His parents, Charles and Elizabeth Vollrath, were natives of Germany.  HE attended the Bucyrus public schools, graduating at the high school in 1878.  After attending Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio, he graduated in 1883.  In youth he worked at the carpenter's bench, but predilection led him to the study of law.  In 1885 he was admitted to practice as an attorney at law by the supreme court of Ohio, and has since practiced with success as a member of the Crawford county bar.
     In 1884 Colonel Vollrath entered the Ohio National Guard as a private.  He rose to the rank of major, in which capacity he volunteered with his regiment- the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry - in the Spanish-American war, and participated with Shafter's corps in the siege of Santiago, Cuba.  He was mustered out of the United States service as major of volunteers, and was chosen colonel of his regiment - the Eighth Ohio - upon its reorganization into the Ohio National Guard.  Colonel Vollrath has a large and lucrative practice, and is also largely interested in manufacturing and real estate.
     In 1888 he married Miss Millie C. Wise, and his home is celebrated for its generous hospitality.  Fraternally Colonel Vollrath is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity.  He is a member of the St. Paul's English Lutheran church at Bucyrus; has been a deacon in the church for more than fifteen years, and for several years he has superintended the Sunday-school.
     Unassuming and genial in manner, and always fair and jsut in all dealings, Colonel Vollrath is highly esteemed by his fellow citizens, and enjoys the confidence of a wide circle of friends."
Source: A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio - Chicago: 1902 - Page 61
 

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