OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS - Seneca Co., Ohio

J. C. KANNEY, grocer, Green Spring, was born in Reed Township, Seneca Co., Ohio, Feb. 12, 1855, son of Jacob and Mary (Reiner) Kanney, of Seneca County, Ohio, Feb. 12, 1855, son of Jacob and Mary (Reiner) Kanney, of Seneca County, Ohio, who were early settlers in the county and are still living in Reed Township. They are the parents of eleven children: Alford, Charles, Katie, John, Francis (deceased), Anthony (deceased), Jacob (deceased), Elydeth (deceased), Francis 2d, Anthony 2d, and Michael. Until he arrived at the age of twelve years the life of our subject was passed upon a farm. After receiving a common school education he commenced clerking in West Lodi and in 1871 came to Green Spring. In April, 1881, he embarked in the grocery business, and by close attention to business and the courteous manner in which he attends to the wants of his many customers, he has gained a leading and successful trade. He is an active F. & A. M.; politically a stanch Republican; is the present treasurer of the corporation. Mr. Kanney was married, Oct. 21, 1874, to Miss Ella Burton, daughter of C. S. Burton. * pg

JOHN KELLER, The father of Levi, Lewis and Joel Keller (the sons are all still living) was an early settler and a man of wonderful industry and perseverance. He took a very active part in all public affairs and became intimately acquainted with the business of the public offices. He filled the office of county commissioner several years, and after he got his mill on the river in running order, there was scarcely a farmer in Seneca county but was acquired with Uncle Johnny Keller. He was very talkative when he had time, and always ready to give information when required. With his knowledge of farming he combined much mechanical skill, and he was in his place on the farm or in the mill. His practical good sense, his friendly nature and honesty of purpose made Uncle Keller a very popular person.
He was born September 17, 1785, in York county, Pennsylvania, near Little York. He was married to Elizabeth Mitsell, in 1804, and soon after moved to Fairfield county, Ohio. At the land sales in Delaware he bought the land the old Keller mill was on, in 1821, and moved on to it in 1828. In 1824, he let out a job of clearing four acres. In the fall of that year he came up with the team and a lot of apple trees, with which he planted an orchard on the four acres. When he came back the following spring, his apple trees were all gone. Somebody had stolen them. This was probably the first orchard planted in the county.
Mrs. Keller died in September, 1857. John Keller died October 9, 1859.

G. B. KEPPEL was born May 8th, 1845, in Hopewell township, Seneca County, Ohio. He graduated at Heidelberg college in 1869; was admitted to the bar in 1871, and is now the prosecuting attorney of the county.*
SHARON's NOTE: Gilford B. Keppel, wife Emma and son Walter K. can be found in the 1900 census of Seneca County, Ohio in Clinton Twp within the City of Tiffin. - Film Series T623 - Roll 1320 - Page 117. - ALSO found in 1860 Census Seneca County, Ohio - Hopewell Twp. - Film Series M653 - Roll 1034 - Page 198 with his father Henry, mother, Elizabeth, siblings - Hiram, William, Rebecca, John & Charles.

H. C. KEPPEL was born in Hopewell township, March 20th, 1847. He is a graduate of Heidelberg college, and was admitted to practice law in 1872, and is now of the law firm of H. C. & G. B. Keppel; was married at Indianapolis to-day, June 29th, 1880.*
SHARON WICK'S NOTES:
1860 Census - Seneca County - Hopewell Twp. - Film Series M653 Roll 1034 Page 198 - Dwelling 744 Family 734 -
Henry Keppel age 38 - Farmer; Elizabeth age 32; Guilford age 15 - Farmer; Hiram age 13; William age 9; Rebecca age 7; John age 5; Charles age 1/12.
1880 Census - Seneca County - 2nd Wd. Tiffin - Film Series T9 Roll 1065 Page 197 - Sandusky Street - Dwelling 204 Family 208 -
Henry Keppel age 59 - Teamster; Johana age 53 - Wife; Hiram age 32 - son - Lawyer; John age 28 - son - Drug Clerk; Rebecca age 22 - daughter; Charles age 21 - son - Printer; James age 14 - son.

GEORGE KING (formerly Koenig), farmer, P. O. Bascom, was born on the river Rhine, in the province of Baden, Germany, July 14, 1808, son of Michael and Julia A. (Hass) King, who with a family of four children came to America in 1817, settling in Frederick County, Md. The children were all sold to service to pay for their passage across the ocean. George, being the youngest, was sold for twelve years. The other members of the family were Barbara, widow of Chrsistly Schwoverland, in Ashland County, Ohio; Christian, deceased, leaving a family in Richland County, Ohio; and Michael, deceased, leaving a family in Noble County, Ind. In 1859 our subject removed to his present farm, coming from Richland County, Ohio. He was married, January 10, 1833, to Catharine Lambright, who was born in Lancaster, Ohio, Jan. 4, 1814, daughter of John and Annie C. (Smith) Lambright, natives of Frederick County, Md., who settled in Richland County, Ohio, in 1812, the former a son of Henry Lambright, and the latter a daughter of John and Ann M. Smith, natives of Germany. To this union were born eleven children: six died young; John died, leaving a family in Jackson Township, this county; Henry, in Jackson Township, this county; Louisa, married to William Anderson, by whom she had one son (her second marriage was with John Corigan, of Bascom, this county); Susan, wife of Milton M. Grove, in Hillsdale County, Mich.; and Rachael, wife of Joseph Babcock, by whom she has three children: Charles B., Gertrude and James. Mr. King, who is one of the leading farmers in the county, has accumulated a fortune by his own energies. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church.

MONROE KISTLER, farmer, P. O. Clyde, Sandusky County, is a native of Lancaster County, Penn., born Nov. 7, 1830, and is a son of John T. and Eve (Brish) Kistler, who came to this county in 1833 and settled in Adams Township, where they reared a family of three children: Polly, Saran and Monroe John T. Kistler died July 14, 1870, aged sixty-six years, and his widow, Jan. 8, 1878, at the age of seventy-two. Our subject was married, Sept. 11, 1849, to Catharine Setzler, of Adams Township, this county, a native of Germany, born Mar. 7, 1830, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Swan) Setzler, who came to America in 1834, settling first in Huron County, Ohio, where they remained fourteen years, and then moved to this county, where they died, former in 1861, aged sixty-six years, latter in 1866, aged seventy-one years. They were the parents of six children, of whom John, Lena, Elizabeth and Catharine are living, and George and Philip are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Kistler are the parents of ten children; those living are John M., Henry, Lena, George, Monroe, Nathan, Franklin, and Anna; Philip and Augustus are deceased. Mr. Kistler has improved many acres of land in this county, and has served his township in several of its offices. He and his wife are prominent members of the Lutheran Church, of which Church his entire family are also members. Mr. Kistler has given all his attention to general agriculture. He has owned several hundred acres of land, most of which he has distributed among his children, and still has 220 acres. In politics, Mr. Kistler is a Democrat. * pg

C. O KNEPPER was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, on the 20th of October, 1836, the oldest son of Jonathan and Margaret Knepper. He graduated from Heidelburg college in the class of 1862, and from the seminary in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1864. He was superintendent of the schools of Waterloo, Iowa, and of Waverly, in the same state on the 24th day of June, 1868, he was married to S. Grace Dunnell, daughter of David Dunnell, of Massachusetts, the bride then living in Waterloo. This union was blessed with three children, one son and two daughters. In 1871 he was elected professor of the Alumni of Heidelberg and took charge of his position in 1872. In the spring of 1879 he was elected a member of the school board of Tiffin. pg 334*

Big Spring Twp. - Page 723
AUSTIN KNOWLTON, P. O. Adrian, one of the pioneer farmers of Big Spring Twp., this county, was born in Massachusetts, Nov. 15, 1809, son of Timothy and Rhoda Knowlton, of English descent, natives of Massachusetts, where they were married and remained until the former's death in 1823. The family then came to Wyandot County, Ohio, and after residing there some years moved to Big Spring Township, this county, where Mrs. Knowlton died at teh age of eighty-six years. Our subject has resided in this county since 1830. He was united in marriage, Dec. 27, 1839, with Louisa McKenzie, by whom he had five children, only one now living, Mark L., born Nov. 1, 1841. Mrs. Knowlton departed this life in September, 1848, and Mr. Knowlton then married, Oct. 11, 1856, Mrs. Sarah E. Swigart, widow of Josiah Swigart, and born in Newark, Ohio, Jan. 19, 1819, daughter of Titen and Elizabeth Henderson, the former deceased, the latter living at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. To our subject and wife were born four children: Richard J., born Apr. 17, 1858, married to Ida S. Gladstone, May 8, 1884; Frank Y., born May 7, 1860; Lucy S., born Jan. 5, 1862, and Mary L., born Sept. 26, 1863. In early days Mr. Knowlton served as captain in the militia regiment of which ex-Gov. Foster's father was colonel. He has always engaged in farming, and now owns 160 acres of good land, most of which he has helped to clear. Mrs. Knowlton is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

ANTON KOENIGSAMEN was born June 26th, 1796, in Dreyson, in the Palatinate of Bavaria. On the 26th of Jan., 1816, he was married to Margaret Rauth, of Boerstadt, in the Palatinate also. She was born July 28th, 1796. They settled in this town of Boerstadt, where he followed the trade of a cabinet maker, until he moved with his family, then embracing six children, to America. He landed in New York in the fore part of Oct., 1832, after a short voyage of thirty-two days, and soon after located in Hamburg, Berks county, Pennsylvania, working at his trade.
     My old friend Martin Kingseed was noticed under the head of Fostoria, in chapter XXXVII. He was the oldest son of the family, and was born Nov. 19th, 1817. The other five were Catharine, Peter, Christian, Magdalena and Margaret. From Berks county Mr. Koenigsamen, in April, 1833, moved to Pine Grove, in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where he located on a farm and undertook farming. The mountains and the stony fields were not congenial to him, and in 1834 he sold out and came to Ohio by wagons.
     After a journey of six weeks he reached Tiffin, on the 18th of June 1834. Here he stayed a few weeks, and bought ninety-four acres of land six miles south of Tiffin, on the Sandusky river, in section fourteen.
     Here he opened up a farm, the land being all in the woods. He had but few neighbors. William Hitt joined on the east of him, Richard Connor on the south. Across the river lived Alex. Bowland and William McCormack.
     Starting here in the woods he experienced all the hardships of foreigners who had not practical knowledge of clearing land, for this was a peculiarly American science. Farmer in Europe are not compelled to remove the forest in order to make a farm. The first year is generally the hardest, because while you are not able to raise anything, you are compelled to buy all you need need, and live out of pocket. So with Mr. Koenigsamen, but the next year he had cleared ten acres and began to raise provisions. Mr. Koenigsamen speaks very feelingly of the kindness of his old neighbors in assisting him with everything needful until he got a better start in the world. The readiness and willingness with which neighbors would come to a raising or logging has frequently been mentioned. So here. Help was never refused. Now the opening grew larger, and grain was being raised in abundance. Everything prospered, and the family were happy until, on the 19th of May, 1842, Mrs. Koenigsamen died, a few days after giving birth to her tenth child. The babe died six weeks thereafter.
     Five years later, in 1847, Mr. Koenigsamen was again married, to Catharine Bauer, of this township, with whom he had three children, Joseph, Emelia and Catharine.
     On the 26th day of October, 1862, his second wife also died. The elder daughters then took charge of the household, and the youngest, Emelia, is now the matron of the homestead.
     For several years past his oldest son, Martin, has been in the habit of arranging surprise parties at the old homestead upon the anniversary of the old gentleman's birthday, when all the children would meet there, with their wives, husbands and children, and have a good time all around. They had another big time there again this year, when they celebrated his eighty-fourth birthday, showing him all honor and filial affection possible, and gladdening the evening of his life with renewed assurances of their love and devotion.
     Mr. Koenigsamen is still in the enjoyment of good health, and rather robust for his age. He enjoys his old pipe and a good joke as much as ever, and promises fair to so continue for many years yet to come. His son Anthony lives with him, and has charge of the farm.

Big Spring Twp. - Page 724
CATHARINE KRELL, hotel keeper, Adrian, was born in Luxemburg, Germany, Dec. 28, 1832, daughter of John and Susan Herrig, natives of Germany, who immigrated to Seneca County, Ohio, in 1851, settling near Bascom, where they remained until their death. Our subject was united in marriage, Sept. 15, 1857, with J. N. Krell, born in Belgium in 1826, a son of Peter Krell, who departed this life in Germany, Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Krell first settled in Tiffin, Ohio, where they remained until 1865, thence moved to Adrian, this county, where the family have since resided. They were the parents of six children, of whom five are now living; Jennie, Kittie, John P., Anna I. and William H. Alphonso is deceased. Mr. Krell clerked in a dry goods store for several years, then engaged in keeping the hotel which he continued in until his death, which occurred Apr. 3, 1868. The hotel is now managed by his widow and her children. The family are all members of the Catholic Church.

* SOURCE: History of Seneca County : from the close of the Revolutionary War to July, 1880 : embracing many personal sketches of pioneers, anecdotes, and faithful descriptions of events pertaining to the organization of the county and its progress
Springfield, Ohio: Transcript Print. Co., 1880, 717 pgs.

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