Biographies
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)

Source:
 A Portrait and Biographical Record of
Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio
Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent and Representative Citizens,
together with Biographies and Portraits of all the
Presidents of the United States
and Biographies of the Governors of Ohio
CHICAGO: A. W. BOWEN & CO.
1896

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	MRS. MARGARET WELLS, widow of Justice Wells, and daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Boyer Caigins, was born in Miami county, Ohio, Sept. 19, 1821.  Her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother in Virginia.  Jonathan Caigins' father was named Thomas, and he was born in Ireland.      Jonathan Caigins was reared on a farm, was educated in Pennsylvania, and when young followed the occupation of a lumberman, hewing timber for a living.  He removed as to Miami county while the Indians still lived there, and while they were still at war with the early pioneer settlers.  He frequently had to go to the fort at Troy for protection against them.  There he married Elizabeth Boyer, a daughter of LEWIS and ROSANNA BOYER, and to their marriage there were born ten children, as followed: Minerva, deceased wife of Joseph Baltzell, of Mercer county, who is also deceased; Mary, deceased wife of Andrew Clawson, also deceased; Rosanna, widow of Cyrus Decker, of Dublin township; Lewis and James both deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Alexander Irick of Delphos; Margaret, the subject of this sketch; Catherine, deceased wife of John Blackwell, formerly of California, also deceased; Harriet, widow of Elijah Hooks, of Wisconsin, and Charlotte, deceased wife of Michael Burns, of Illinois.  Louis Boyer, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Wells, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving as one of Washington's body-guard.  He went to Dayton, Ohio, previous to the election of Gen. Harrison to the presidency, there met the general and was honored by being placed on a white horse and permitted to ride along with Harrison's escort with Washington's trappings on his person, he being at the time the only one living that had served under Washington as body guard.  After his marriage the father of Mrs. Wells lived in Miami county until 1828, removing then to Mercer county and buying there sixty acres of land from a Mr. Roebuck, and upon this land he lived until his death.  Politically he was an old-line whig and his wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.      Mrs. Wells was married, first, in February, 1838, to Ishmael Roebuck, a brother of Branson Roebuck, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume.  Ishmael Roebuck was born in Fayette county in September, 1810.  To Ishmael and Margaret Roebuck there were born six children, as follows: Mary, who died at eleven years of age; Jasper, who died in Mercer county; Harriet, who died at six years; Harrison, who died when eleven years old; Eliza Jane, wife of S. N. Dysert, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, and Ellen, deceased wife of George Dysert.  Mr. Roebuck was a whig in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.  He and his wife, after their marriage, located on sixty acres of land which he purchased, entering 300 acres more, and there he lived the rest of his life, dying in 1852.  IN December, 1853, his widow married Justice Wells, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, Aug. 23, 1826, three to this second marriage there were born three children, as follows:  James Franklin, a clerk in Cleveland, Ohio; Martha, living at home, and Florence, wife of David Archer, a carpenter of Rockford.      Justice Wells was a democrat in politics and a good, kind-hearted, liberal-minded man.  He died in June, 1893.  Mrs. Wells is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having united with that denomination more than fifty years ago.  She is one of the good women, whom every body loves, is in fact one of the mothers in Israel, and is known all over the township is which she lives as Aunt Peggy.  She is one of the pioneers of the land, and is as widely known as any other of the pioneers, of whom there are now not many left, and their numbers are ste4adily diminishing every year, to the sorrowing regret of the survivors. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 609
	ALLEN G. WILEY, one of the old time, solid and leading farmers of Dublin township, Mercer county, Ohio, was born in Jeffersonville, Fayette county, Ohio, July 28, 1828, a son of Robert and Rhoda (Wood) Wiley, natives, respectively, of Pendleton county, Va., and Fayette county, Ohio.  The great-grandfather of Mr. Wiley was a native of Ireland, was an early settler in Virginia and was a farmer; William and Elizabeth (Benson) Wiley, grandparents of our subject, came from Virginia, lived some years in Fayette county, Ohio, and later removed to Illinois, where the grandfather died, whild also engaging in farming.      Robert Wiley, the father of our subject, was but six years of age when brought to Ohio by his parents, was reared to farming in Fayette county, and there married Miss Rhoda Wood, daughter of Joel and Elizabeth (Miller) Wood, of English and Pennsylvania-Dutch descent.  In the spring of 1835 Mr. Wiley came to Mercer county and rented a farm for two years, and then purchased eighty acres of slightly improved land in section No. 22, Dublin township, which land he fenced and ditched, added thirty-nine acres to it, made it a comfortable home, and cultivated it until 1858, when he was elected, by the democratic party, sheriff of the county, the duties of which office he performed so satisfactorily that the public re-elected him to succeed himself; but, just prior to the termination of his second term, his death took place, Nov. 22, 1862, his wife having died July 22 of the same year.      Robert Wiley had been one of the leading politicians of his county for years prior to his death, and had served as township trustee and as member of the school board for many years.  He had also been very successful in his business affairs, and beside his home farm in section No. 22, purchased eighty acres in section No. 27, which he later gave to Allen G., our subject; he also owned 240 acres in Liberty township, a part of which he gave to his children, and owned 320 in Saint Joseph county, Ind.  He took an active interest in everything pertaining to the public welfare, particularly in good roads, and built some of the old ones.  For several years he kept a tavern on the old plank road at his own house, and entertained many a weary traveler.  He was an ardent friend of church and school, and liberal in his contributions to the establishment and maintenance of both.  He was a man of strong character, and, although beginning life a poor renter, became one of the most solid and influential men of the county, being sustained in all his efforts by his faithful and devoted wife, who was a lady of rare merits and superior judgment.  To Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wiley were born ten children, as follows:  Joel A., a farmer of Saint Joseph county, Ind.; William H., a soldier in the Mexian war and a farmer who died in Iowa; Allen G., our subject; Narcissa, wife of William Frysinger, of Plymouth, Marshall county, Ind.; Andrew J., who was a large land holder and miner, and was killed by the Indians in Senora, Mexico, in 1872; Margaret J., deceased wife of John Burns, of Iowa; Delinda, deceased wife of Alford Kiggins, of Van Wert county, Ohio; Irene, wife of Elijah Street, of Rockford; Mary, wife of John Lockhart, of Middlepoint, Van Wert county, and James K. P., who served through the Civil war in the Seventy-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and is now a resident of Williams county, Ohio.      Allen G. Wiley, our subject, was reared on his father's farm in Dublin township, Mercer county, Ohio, was educated in the subscription schools, and at the age of twenty-one years began his business career by operating a threshing machine and farming for three years, after which he devoted his time and attention exclusively to farming and stock raising, and in November, 1852, settled on eighty acres of his present farm, which then had about ten acres fenced and some of the small timber and underbrush cleared off.  He erected a hewn-log two-story house, 18½x20 feet, this being then considered to be one of the finest residences of the neighborhood; this building, a few years later, he weather-boarded and plastered and made his home until 1876, when he erected his present modern frame two-story dwelling, 32x29 feet.  He has also on his place two good barns for stock and grain, the main one being 33x60 feet.  He has taken especial interest in the improvement of the live stock of Mercer county, and for years has kept thoroughbred Durham cattle and Berkshire hogs, being one of the first to introduce them; he was also one of the first to introduce tile drainage, and he has now about 4,000 rods laid on his farm of 200 acres, eighty acres of which lie in Hopewell township.      Allen G. Wiley was united in marriage, Mar. 11, 1952, with Miss Rachel E. Deal, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, Apr. 1, 1832, a daughter of JOHN and Elizabeth (Buck) DEAL.  Of the nine children that blessed this union, two died in infancy; the seven that reached maturity were named as follows: Sarah, deceased wife of B. McChristy; Emma F., wife of Daniel Fisher; Ellen R., married to Hiram Clutter all of Dublin township; Lucinda B., now Mrs. Levi Rutledge, of Black Creek township; Mahala C., wife of Rev. William E. Street, a minister of the United Brethren church, of Champaign county; Anna M., wife of David Robinson, of Dublin township, Mercer county, and John A., who married Miss Lola Tickle, and has his home with his father.      John and Elizabeth Deal, the parents of Mrs. Allen C. Wiley, came to Mercer county in 1837, and rented a farm in the southern part for several years, and the npurchased160 acres in section No. 28, Dublin township, on which they located in April, 1848, but, sad to relate, Mr. Deal here died on the 29th day of May following, at the age of fifty-five years.  He was a native of the Keystone state and a son of Frederick and Elizabeth Deal, of German descent, and was of a quiet, domestic disposition; his widow survived until about 1868, when she was called away at seventy-one years of age.  They were the parents of ten children, viz:  Priscilla, Catherine and Anna, deceased; Leonard, in Iowa; Elias and Maria, deceased; Leah, wife of Milton Hays, of Dublin township; Rachel E., now Mrs. Allen G. Wiley, and John and Ezra, deceased.  Both parents of this family died in the faith of the Lutheran church.  The maternal grandmother of Mrs. Wiley died in Mercer county, in 1854, at the extremely advanced age of ninety-four years.      Mr. and Mrs. Wiley are devoted members of the United Brethren church, and which he has been a trustee for many years, and to the support of which both have been very liberal in their contributions; they have given their children all good opportunities for schooling, and Mr. Wiley has seen to it that they all have had a good start in life.  In politics Mr. Wiley is a democrat and has served as township trustee for several years, also as appraiser of this township, and has long been, and still is, a member of the school board.  As an early comer to Dublin township, he still has a vivid recollection of the Indians that infested the county inhis childhood days, and remembers when deer and other game were as plentiful as the sheep of his bucolic neighbors.  He has grown up with and aided materially in the progress of the county, and his name stands among the foremost of the respectable, substantial and enterprising citizens of the county and township. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 614
G. J. C. Wintermute Mrs. G. J. C. Wintermute	G. J. C. WINTERMUTE, M. D., one of the leading members of the medical fraternity of Celina, and senior member of the well-known firm of Wintermute & Hattery, was born in Licking county, Ohio, July 22, 1841.  He is a son of ARASON and Virenda (Wayland) WINTERMUTE, the former of whom was a native of Fayette county, Pa., born in 1809, and the latter of Madison county, Va., born in 1807.  The grandparents of Dr. Wintermute, on both side of his family, settled in Muskingum county, Ohio, at an early date, on adjoining farms.  It was in that county the parents of the doctor were married, in 1828, but in 1832 they removed to Licking county, where they resided the rest of their lives.  In 1883 his mother visited the doctor in Celina, and on her way home she fell ill at Columbus, was taken to the home of her daughter in Licking county, and there died September 2, of the same year.  In 1889 his father visited him at Celina, and on his way home also fell ill at Columbus, was taken to the home of his daughter in Licking county, and there died on Oct. 17, the same year.  To this venerable couple there were born twelve children, four of whom died in infancy, eight reached mature years, and seven are living at the present time.      Dr. Wintermute was reared on the farm of his father, attending as he could the public schools until 1860.  He then entered the Wesleyan University, remaining there until 1862, in the meantime teaching school three terms.  In this way he earned the money needed to pay his expenses.  On May 26, 1862, together with other students, Dr. Wintermute enlisted in the Federal army, joining company C, Eighty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was mustered in at Camp Chase, Ohio, on June 5, following, serving until his discharge, on Sept. 28, 1862.  During the succeeding winter he taught school; in April, 1863, he was appointed to a position in the commissary department, and was commissary of the railroad department, with headquarters at Nashville, until October, 1865, during which period he spent some time in Georgia and Alabama.      The winter of 1865-66 he spent at home in Ohio, and in the spring of 1866 he went to Howard county, Mo., where he purchased a farm and began farming.  He remained there thus engaged until the fall of 1870, and then engaged in mercantile business in a mining town near his farm, in partnership with a capitalist and physician, he having charge of the business as manager.  He remained in the store there two years.  The physician-partner kept his office and library in the rear of the store, and, as business was never very lively, Mr. Wintermute had plenty of time to study and so began reading medical books in order to pass away his time.  In this way he became interested in medicine, and ultimately he determined to prepare himself for the practice of the profession.  He continued in the study of medicine with his physician-partner in business as his preceptor for three years.  In the winter of 1874 he took his first course of lectures in the Missouri Medical college at St. Louis, and in 1875 he attended the Cincinnati college of Medicine and Surgery, from which he graduated the same year.  He immediately returned to Howard county, Mo., in order to settle up his business affairs there, continuing there, however, a year, practicing his profession as opportunity offered.  In 1876 he sold his farm, settled up his business, and returned to Ohio.  After attending the Centennial exposition at Philadelphia, he located at Lewis Center, Delaware county, Ohio, in August, 1876, and practiced there until 1880, when he was induced by friends to remove to London, Madison county, Ohio.  A brief stay there, however, was sufficient to convince him that London was not a place suited to him, so he sought another location.  After a period of a few weeks spent in visiting his home and other points, on Nov. 10, 1880, he moved to Celina, where he became m permanently located, entering at once into active practice in the city.  In the spring of 1892 he attended the Post Graduate school and hospital of New York city.  In the spring of 1892 he attended the Post Graduate school and hospital of New York city.      The doctor is largely interested in a window-glass manufactory at Dunkirk, Ind., he being president of the company.  He was made a member of the Northwestern Ohio Medical association, and was a member of the Mercer county Medical society.  He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, is a knight templar, and is a member of Mount Vernon commandery, No. 1, of Columbus, Ohio.  He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Methodist Episcopal church.      Dr. Wintermute was married in Covington, Ky., Oct. 5, 1880, to Mary Ella Darrah, who was born near Hannibal, Mo., Sept. 4, 1862, and is a daughter of Rev. James A. Darrah, a deceased Presbyterian minister.  To this marriage of Dr. Wintermute with Miss Darrah there have been born three children, as follows:  Georgia, born July 20, 1883; Leta, born Oct. 18, 1885; and Katharine, born Feb. 7, 1888. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 588

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