BIOGRAPHIES

*Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record of
City of Toledo & Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company -
1895
 

< CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO 1895 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
< CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIST OF BIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES >
 

VALENTINE HAHN, a worthy old citizen of Wood County, who makes his home on section 3, is the owner of several desirable farms in Troy Township.  He was born on the River Rhine in Germany, and continued to live in his native land until 1844,  when he sailed for America.  He arrived on the shores of the New World with but $60 as capital, but industriously went to work, and before many years had passed was in comfortable circumstances.      The parents of our subject were Henry and Barbara (Smith) Hahn, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany, the father dying about 1834, and the mother about 1829.  The former was a miller by trade, but in later life engaged in farming, and owned considerable property.  He and his wife were members of the Mennonite Church, and brought up their children in that faith.      In a family of twelve children, Valentine is the eighth in order of birth, and the others being as follows:  Peter, who emigrated to this county, where he died in 1861; Henry, who came to this county in 1852, and whose death occurred in 1891; Mrs. Catherine Cornelius, who died in Germany; Jacob, who passed away in Lucas County in 1885; Mrs. Elizabeth Missing, who died in Perrysburg; Barbara, whose death occurred in Germany, when she was about fourteen years of age; Mrs. Mary Stover, deceased; Christian, who died in this county in 1850; Daniel, a farmer in New York State; John, Deceased; and Jacob.      As our subject was born March 3, 1816, he was consequently twenty-eight years of age when he crossed the Atlantic to seek a home and fortune in the United States.  HE first located in Ashland County, Ohio, where he remained for five years, and then, coming to this county, bought forty acres of land, going in debt for a portion of the amount.  This place was thickly covered with timber, and Mr. Hahn was the first person to fell a tree on the farm.  He built a log cabin, which sheltered him for about five years, at the end of which time he sold the homestead.  Subsequently he purchased one hundred acres in this township, and with this as a nucleus he has extended his possessions until he now owns altogether four hundred acres.  He has erected all of the buildings which may be found on these farms, and has developed the land from its primitive state.      November 29, 1846, Valentine Hahn married Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Magdalene Berg, natives of Germany, who emigrated to Ashland County, Ohio, in 1842, where the father followed his trade of milling.  His eldest child, Elizabeth is deceased; Mary, the third of the family, is the wife of George Hoff, of Angola, Ind.; and Katie, the youngest, is Mrs. Samuel Edwards, now of DeWitt County, Ill.      To Mr. and Mrs. Hahn were born twelve children, all of whom are living and residents of this county.  They are as follows:  Julius, born November 29, 1847; Rudolph, May 15, 1849; Mrs. Elizabeth Brimm, July 16, 1855; Herman, July 31, 1857; Mary and Laura, twins, March 13, 1858; Theodore, September 5, 1860; Barbara, April 16, 1862; Katie, July 25, 1864; Albert, January 21, 1867; August, August 14, 1869; and Clara, October 21, 1873.  Mary became the wife of George Brown, and her twin sister, Laura, married William Andrews.  Mrs. Valentine Hahn was born August 3, 1829.  She has been a faithful and devoted mother, and feels very proud of the fifteen grandchildren granted her, for without exception hey are bright and interesting children.      Religiously our subject and his wife are members of the Mennonite Church.  Mr. Hahn, who is a Democrat politically, ahs served his district as School Director and Trustee. (Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 123)

WILLIAM M. HILL, M. D., one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Weston, Wood County, is a native of this state, and was born in the town where he now resides, on the 6th of September, 1845.  He is the eldest in the family of ten children born to John and Hester (Crum) Hill.  The father was born September 9, 182, in Stark County, this state, where he was reared and educated.  In 1831 he came with his parents to Wood County, and located in Milton Township, where his father purchased some Government land, and with the help of his son began the arduous task of clearing and cultivating the same.       John Hill remained on this farm with his parents for several years, but after his marriage to the mother of our subject he removed to Weston Township, where he purchased a farm, and immediately set about making the necessary improvements.  He soon had a comfortable home, and became one of the leading agriculturists of his section.  In early life he was a member of the United Brethren Church, but later on became identified with the Christian or Disciples Church, in which faith he passed away, having lived an exemplary Christian life.  His death occurred August 10, 1887, in the sixty-sixth year of his age.      The paternal grandfather of our subject was a native of England, where he was reared to manhood.  After attaining his majority he married and emigrated to America, settling in Ohio, in the early pioneer days of the country.  He served in the Mexican War, and was a true patriot and a brave man.  His wife was of German origin, her parents having emigrated to this country in a very early day.  The mother of our subject was a native of this state, and was born in Harrison County, January 5, 1821.  Her death occurred November 9, 1894, at the age of seventy-three years.  Her father was a prominent minister in the United Brethren Church, and a man highly respected by all who knew him.      The subject of this sketch was but ten years of age when he started out in life for himself.  His father was a man of limited means, and as the family was large it became necessary that the elder children should do all in their power to assist in maintaining the others.  William was young, but strong and willing to work, and soon found work on a neighboring farm, where he was hired by the month.  He was but fifteen years of age at the breaking out of the late war, but he was filled with zeal and enthusiasm, and though not old enough to enter the service as a regular soldier, he enlisted as a drummer-boy in Company K, Eighty-fourth Ohio Infantry, remaining in the service for three months, and receiving his discharge in November, 1861.  In the following spring he again enlisted, this time becoming a member of Company G,  Tenth Ohio Cavalry, serving three years, or until the close of the war.  On the 13th of March, 1864, he was wounded in the right hip by a shell, and received a scar that he will carry to his grave.  The wound was not serious however, and he did not go to the hospital, but remained with his regiment.  July 25, 1864, he received a gunshot wound in the right leg while in action, and carries the ball in his limb yet, it never having been extracted.  He seems to have been a mark for the rebels, as he was a third time wounded in very short time.  On the 20th of August, 1864, he was struck by a canister-shot, just below the left knee, causing a wound more serous than either of the others, and he was sent immediately to the Kingston Hospital, but was soon afterward transferred to David's Island, where he remained until the close of the war.      Dr. Hill was honorably discharged July 12, 1865, and returned to his home in Weston Township.  He never recovered from the effects of the shot he received in the last battle in which he took part, and for seventeen years was compelled to walk on crutches, and at last to have his limb amputated.  After his return from the war he attended the Weston schools for a time, where he received a very good education, and fitted himself for the position of a teacher.  He followed this profession for several years, and then became a clerk and bookkeeper, but after a short time decided to adopt the medical profession as his life work.  In 1874 he began reading medicine and in a short time entered the Western Reserve University at Cleveland, Ohio, and was graduated from that institution in March, 1879.      In Weston, the home of his birth, Dr. Hill began the practice of his profession, and from the start met with fair success.  His practice is now large, and is rapidly increasing throughout the town and surrounding country, and he is known as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Wood County.  Having started out in the world with nothing but his own hands and head with which to make his way, the prominence to which he has attained is due to his own individual efforts and perseverance.  In all matters pertaining to his profession he is interested and well informed,  and in addition to his duties as a general practitioner and family physician he does a large amount of of surgical work.      On the 25th of August, 1869, Dr. Hill and Miss Elvira W. Hathway were united in marriage, and to this union two children have been born.  Charles E., born March 10, 1872, is a prominent young business man of Toledo, being engaged in the grocery business.  Fred M., born March 31, 1874 makes his home with his parents.  Politically the Doctor is a stanch Republican, but cannot afford to take an active part in politics, as he is fully occupied in attending to the duties of his profession.  He is public spirited, however, and is ever ready to assist in every enterprise for the improvement of his home locality and the welfare of the community.  He and his estimable wife are both ardent members of the Methodist Church, and are foremost in all church work. ( Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895)

ADAM HINDS has cleared and improved a farm of eighty acres on section 8, Webster Township, Wood County, and is still making his home thereon.  He is a loyal Republican, and has frequently held township offices of honor and responsibility, among others those of Trustee, Supervisor and School Director.  He fought and suffered in the defense of the Old Flag during the late civil conflict, and has since been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.  He enlisted at the beginning of the war and was discharged at its close July 24, 1865, just four years less than one month from the date of entering the service.      The father of our subject, David Hinds, was born in Vermont, as was also his wife, who before her marriage the Philana McCarroll.  Their family comprised fifteen children, as follows:  Margaret, David, John, Betsy, Lydia, Daniel, Eliza, Adam, William, Martin, Margaret, Deborah, Lavinia, Philander, and one who died in infancy.  Of this large family but three now survive, those besides our subject being John, a farmer of Barry County, Mich., and Lavinia, widow of Addison Loomis, and now a resident of Cleveland, Ohio.  The father of this family, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, took part in the battle of Plattsmouth, and fought under Commodore Perry, being wounded by a minie-ball.  His life occupation was that of farming, and this he successfully followed in his native state, in New York and in Ohio.  He came to Buckeye State in 1844, but passed his last years in Barry County, Mich., where he died in 1872, when in his seventy-fifth year.      Adam Hinds was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., May 3, 1831, and was reared to farm labor.  When seven years old he removed to Jefferson County, N. Y., and in the fall of 1844 came with his parents to this state.  In 1845 he went to Michigan, and continued to live there for three years.  Since he reached his eighteenth year he has been independent and self-sustaining.  In 1852 he came to Wood County and purchased eighty acres of wild land on section 8, Webster Township.  He erected a plank shanty, and with energy set to work to clear the land from the thick forests with which it was covered.      Feb. 10, 1851, Mr. Hinds married Clarinda Van Gilder, by whom he had two children, Edward N. and Charles.  The present wife of our subject was before her marriage Miss Caroline Stevins, their union being celebrated Jan. 2, 1866.  Mrs. Hinds was born in Delaware County, Ohio, Feb. 22, 1839, and in 1865 came to Wood County.  Three children came to bless their home.  Fred married Daisy Smith and lives in Webster Township; Ralph S. and Earl are still living with their parents.      Aug. 24, 1861, Adam Hinds enlisted as a private in Company K, Twenty-first Ohio Infantry, being mustered in at Findlay.  He was sent to Camp Dennison, and his first engagement was that of Ivy Mountain.  Few soldiers from this part of the state took part in more noted battles or more important campaigns, and among others in which he was actively concerned we mention of following:  Nashville, Huntsville (Ala.), Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Jonesboro, Savannah, Bentonville, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and New Hope Church.  While on picket duty in North Carolina a rebel dressed in Federal uniform rode up to within eight paces of him and fired a revolver, the bullet striking Mr. Hinds above the left eye.  This memento of war days he still carries, as it has never been deemed wise to extract it.  He was discharged at the close of the war with the rank of Corporal. ( Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 319)

MURCENE HOBART, one of the leading business men of Pemberville, was born in Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio, August 10, 1845,  His father, John S., a native of New Hampshire, born in 1806, came to Ohio in company with his parents in 1814, settling in Fairfield County.  The family has been represented in American history since the days of the "Mayflower," the original members of this country having come over in that historic ship.  The paternal grandfather, Benjamin F., was born in New Hampshire, and served as a Captain of militia during the War of 1812.  His father, William Hobart, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; he participated in the battle of Lexington, and was with Washington at Valley Forge.      The father of our subject, whose life occupation was that of an agriculturist, settled in Portage County in 1830, and died on the old homestead in 1885, aged seventy-nine years.  His wife, who born the maiden name of Margaret Moore, was born in Parkman, Geauga County, Ohio, and died at the age of thirty-six years.  Her father, Thomas Moore, was a native of England and her mother was born in Ireland.  Our subject was one of twelve children, there being ten sons and two daughters.  All but three of the family are still living.  Thomas holds, a responsible position with a railroad at Decatur. Ill.  Elmer, who was a soldier in the Third Illinois Cavalry, now makes his home in Mattoon, Ill.  Freedom is Principal of the schools at Hillsboro, Ill.  Jefferson is in the real-estate business.  A. D.  is a successful physician and surgeon of Toledo.  John S. is an architect at Lansing, Mich.      The subject of this notice, who was the sixth in order of birth among the children comprising the family, spent his early years on the home farm.  In the fall of 1863, when only eighteen years of age, he enlisted in defense of his country, becoming a member of Company F, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Infantry, which was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Fourteenth Army Corps.  He was with General Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign, and in front of that city he received injuries that disabled him to such an extent as to render further service impossible.  However, he remained in the army until the close of the war, and was discharged August 10, 1865, upon the twentieth anniversary of his birth.      On returning to Ohio, Mr. Hobart took a course at Eastman's Commercial College, after which he settled on a farm near Fremont.  About the same time he established domestic ties, choosing as his wife Miss Catherine M., daughter of Henry Bowlus, a farmer of Sandusky County.  After a short period spent as a bookkeeper in the office of H. Bowlus & Co., at Fremont, Ohio, he engaged in the sawmill business, and for four years was in that and the planing-mill business.  In 1871 he came to Pemberville, where he at once embarked in the grocery business, and a year later opened a hardware store.  In 1876 he erected his present brick block, and ten years later he bought a dry-goods stock.  Associated with him in the business is Henry F. Bowllus, a brother of his wife.  Such has been the industry and energy with which they have prosecuted their trade, that they are now proprietors of the largest dry-goods, grocery and hardware store in Wood county.  Their customers include not only the people of Pemberville, but the residents of neighboring towns and the farmers of the surrounding country, among all of whom they have established a reputation for fair, honorable and reliable dealings.      In addition to the establishment with which his name is inseparably associated, Mr. Hobart  is the owner of a large tile factory on the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad, five miles from Toledo, and has a distributing yard at Pemberville.  He is also the owner of the grain elevator at this place.  He was one of the first to engage in the development of the Wood County oil-fields around Pemberville, having, with a number of other gentlemen, drilled several wells near this city.  At present he owns some four hundred acres of leases and has several wells in operation.       In masonic order Mr. Hobart is active and prominent.  He is a charter member and the present Master of the lodge at Pemberville, and is also connected with he Chapter.  Officially he has rendered efficient service in a number of responsible positions.  He has been a member of the Board of Education, and is at present serving his second term as Treasurer of Pemberville.  Since assisting in the organization of the Presbyterian Church at this place, he has been active in its various enterprises and generous in its support.  For nine or more years he has been active in its various enterprises and generous in its support.  For nine or more years he was Superintendent of the Sunday-school.   Politically he is a Republican, and, in common with other veterans of the Civil War, takes an active part in Grand Army affairs.      The family of Mr. and Mrs. Hobart consists of six children.  Clayton S., the oldest, is a partner in his father's store, and is Superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday-school; he is a young man of decided business talent, and has a bright future before him.  Anna S. is at present in Florida.  Harrison W. is a student in Amherst College, where he is preparing for the legal profession.  Raymond is in Florida.  Earl is at home.  Lee, the youngest of the family, is a bright boy of eleven years, and is a student in the Pemberville schools. ( Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 511)

HON. D. K. HOLLENBECK, Mayor of Perrysburg and one of the leading attorneys of Wood County, was born in Mumford, Monroe County, N. Y., Jan. 15, 1834.  He is a member of a family that has been honorably connected with the history of this country for several generations.  The first of the name to settle in America was Casper Jacob Hollenbeck, a native of Holland, who, emigrating to the United States and settling in Albany, N. Y., became prominently identified with the early history of that city.  From him the line of descent is traced through Isaac Casper, Hendrick and James to Henry Isaac, a native of New York, and a successful agriculturist.      The father of our subject, Francis, was a son of Henry Isaac Hollenbeck, and was born in Williamsburg, N. Y., in 1809.  He had two brothers, James and Hamilton.  The former, whose life occupation has been that of a farmer, is now living retired in Schoharie County, N. Y., at the advanced age of ninety-three years.  The latter, at the time of his death, was a hotel-keeper at Mumford, N. Y.  Francis Hollenbeck was the recipient of excellent educational advantages, and was a graduate of Wyoming Seminary.  In 1844 he came to Ohio in the interest of Eastern capitalists, and was so favorably impressed with the opportunities offered by this state that he decided to settle here permanently.  Opening an office at Miami, he remained there a few years, but in 1847 removed to Perrysburg.  Jan. 10, 1856, he was admitted to the Bar, and from that time until his death he followed the profession of an attorney.      An ardent supporter of the public-school system, Francis Hollenbeck was instrumental in promoting the educational interests of this community, and was a prominent factor in the building of the first schoolhouse at Miami.  For many years he was Principal of the schools of Defiance and Perrysburg but from 1856 until the time of his death, Aug. 31, 1884, he directed his energies wholly to the legal profession.  A man of progressive spirit and more than ordinary ability, he is remembered as one more than ordinary ability, he is remembered as one of hte most able lawyers and influential citizens Perrysburg has ever had.  His wife, Eliza (McNaughton) Hollenbeck, was born in New York and was of Scotch ancestry.  She died in September, 1893, at the age of eighty-three.      The subject of this notice is the eldest of five brothers, all of whom are living with two exceptions.  George W., who during the Civil War was Lieutenant of Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Ohio Infantry, was for some years a resident of New Mexico, during which time he served as Probate Judge of Socorro County; he is now engaged in the real-estate business at Los Angeles, Cal.  W. H., also a soldier in the late war, and Postmaster at Perrysburg under President Harrison's administration, died Apr. 3, 1895.  F. E., who was born May 4, 1840, was for many years in the railroad business at Rochester, N. Y, but since 1884 has been a partner of our subject in the real-estate business.  Charles J. died in infancy.      At the time of the removal o the family to Ohio, the subject of this sketch was ten years of age.  On completing his studies, he taught school for several years, after which he read law under the guidance of his father.  Admitted to the Bar, he was in partnership with his father until the death of the latter in 1884.  For years he has been prominent in local politics, and has been a member of the City Council and the Board of Education.  In the spring of 1894 he was elected Mayor of Perrysburg, and in that responsible position has been an important factor in securing many improvements and municipal reforms.      Since the organization of the Perrysburg Bank Mr. Hollenback has been one of its stockholders and one of the Directors.  At the request of the City Council, the executors of the will of the late W. V. Way expended the money set apart for the purpose of erecting the Way Library, concerning which mention is made elsewhere in this volume.  Mr. Hollenbeck was one of the executors.  In the growth and development  of Perrysburg he has been a leading factor, promoting its interests and increasing its resources.  No one deserves greater praise than he for the prosperity of the place and its high standing among other cities of northwestern Ohio.      By his marriage with Miss Frank Bruce, a native of Oswego, N. Y., but at the time of their union a resident of Clinton, Mich., Mr. Hollenbeck has four children, Fred Bruce, Ella E., Grace A. and Jean K.  His eldest son, a promising young man, has for some years been engaged in business in Seattle, Wash.; while his daughter, Miss Ella, is a successful teacher in the schools of Yankton, S. Dak. ( Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 461)

DANIEL HOUSHOLDER, an old and honored citizen of Webster Township, Wood County, has been a witness of its entire development, and has assisted not a little to bring about its present condition of prosperity.  Since 1859 he has made his home on a farm of sixty-one acres situated on section 18.  When he first came to this region he traded at Fremont and Perrysburg, taking two days to make the trip, and in his boyhood Indians frequently stayed over night under his father's hospitable roof.      The parents of our subject were Adam and Phoebe (Corbett) Housholder.  The former was born in Maryland, but at a very early day moved to Jefferson County, Ohio, and in 1833 came to this county, making the trip by team.  He settled in what is now Webster Township, taking up two hundred acres of Government land on section 10 for which he paid $1.25 per acre.  The land was covered with heavy timber, and after clearing a small place Mr. Housholder erected a log cabin of one room, with on immense fireplace on one side.  His death occurred in 1854 and he was placed to rest in the Loomis Cemetery.  He helped to organize and build the first schoolhouse in this township, situated at Housholder's Corners, now called Scotch Ridge.  In politics he was identified with the Whig party.  At the time of his death he was in his eighty-fifth year, and his good wife lived to be ninety years of age.      Daniel Housholder is one of eleven children, and is the third in order of birth.  The others were named as follows:  Isabel, John, Eliza, Eva, Betsy, Sallie, Lewis, William, Alfred and Nancy.  They are all deceased with the exception of Alfred, Eliza and Sallie.  Our subject was born April 11, 1812, in Knox Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, and was reared on his father's farm.  In 183232 he came to Wood County with his parents, but when twenty-two years of age he returned to his native county on foot, though the distance was about two hundred miles.  After a time he came back to Wood County and engaged in farming for two years, and subsequently made two trips to Jefferson County on foot, the last time about 18328.  Until he was twenty-seven he worked for farmers at stated wages, and then, having accumulated a small sum, embarked in farming on his own account.  He erected a log cabin containing one room on the old homestead, which he assisted in clearing and improving.      In October, 1844, Mr. Housholder married Irene Colvin, who was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and to them were born three children: Isabel, Eugenia, and Monroe, who died in infancy.  The wife and mother died in 1846, and the following year Mr. Housholder married Mrs. Rebecca A. Holly, who was born May 16, 1826, and who has become the mother of four sons: Elmer, Everett E., a resident of Jackson Township; John, whose home was in Baltimore; and Hiram.  Byrom, a son of Mrs. Rebecca A. Housholder by her first marriage, was in the war of fur years participating in a number of battles, but is now deceased.      In his boyhood, our subject attended the subscription with seats and benches made of slabs.  He frequently during the long cold winters walked three miles to school, and in other ways obtained his knowledge by the hardest method.  One night, when a young man, he went to see his "girl," and on returning home got lost in the thick woods, an easy matter in the almost trackless state of the country at that time.  The Indians had not all left the country, and on one of his trips to Perrysburg he met a party of them returning from a hunting expedition.  They, however, offered him no molestation.  In politics Mr. Housholder is a Republican, and prior to the formation of that party was a Whig. (Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 511)

JAMES V. HUFFMAN, one of the foremost operators of the Wood County oil-field, was born in Scott Township, Sandusky County, Ohio, October 23, 1858.  The family of which he is an honored representative originated in Germany, but the date of their emigration to America is not known.  The first of the name to come to Ohio was our subject's grandfather, James, a native of Pennsylvania, who removed to the Buckeye State about 1830, and twenty years later settled in Sandusky County, where his death occurred in 1858.      The father of our subject Oliver P. Huffman, was born in Medina County, Ohio, June 22, 1837, and grew to manhood in the place of his birth.  His mother was Catherine Wilson, a native of Wheeling, W. Va., whose father William was born in Ireland, emigrated to America in early life, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.  Her brothers, David and John, were both Captains in the War of 1812, and the family has always been distinguished for patriotic spirit and bravery.  On the paternal side, our subject had one uncle and two aunts, namely: Victor J., who enlisted in the Union army at the age of only seventeen and served with valor, and who is a wealthy resident of Holton, Kan.; Emily, wife of Henry Angus, who was a soldier in the Civil War and is now a resident of Brookfield, Mo.; and Lucy, who died unmarried a number of years ago.      During the Civil War our subject's father enlisted in the service of the Union, becoming a member of Company g, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Ohio Infantry, in which he remained until the close of the war.  Afterward he went to Omaha, then proceeded to Brookfield, Mo., where he and his family almost lost their lives in a cyclone.  Their house was blown down on top of them inflicting injuries from which they suffered for some time, and one child died from the effects thereof.  Alarmed by that catastrophe, and not caring to make his home permanently in a region subject to such disasters, he came back to Ohio, bringing with him his family and such household goods as were left.  For many years he was engaged in the hotel business at Bradner, and has also devoted considerable attention to the oil industry.      By his union with Martha Angus, a native of Ohio, Mr. Huffman had four sons and three daughters.  Lucy, the eldest, is the wife of Dr. J. E. Furst, of Bradner; Rena Married J. P. Evans, who is engaged in the drug business at Bradner; Ella, the wife of Charles H. Whelan, an oil operator, is also a resident of Bradner; Edgar and Frederick  are engaged in the oil business: William lost his life in the cyclone in Missouri.      Accompanying his parents in their removal to Nebraska, and later to Missouri, our subject had few opportunities for acquiring an education, as he was obliged, even at a very early age, to assist his father in the maintenance of the family.  Upon starting out for himself he was first employed as a teamster, and later engaged in the charcoal business.  For some years he had a livery stable at Bradner, which line of work proved remunerative.  When oil was discovered in Wood County, he became an important factor in the development of the field, and was engaged in making leases of oil land for P. A. Templeton, of Jamestown, N. Y., and D. C. Browley, of Butler County, Pa.  Soon becoming familiar with the business, he began to make leases for himself, and it is doubtful if any man in the Ohio oil-fields has leased as much land as he has; and few, if any, have put down as many wells.      In the development of the oil industry, Mr. Huffman has found a large field for speculation.  Starting with limited capital, he would stake his last dollar, and perhaps strike a "dry hole" and sink it all.  However, undismayed by misfortune, he persevered, and soon made another stake, in which he would perhaps strike a "gusher."  In this way he ad alternate adversity and prosperity, poverty and riches.  Doubtless, no one is more familiar than is he with the history of the oil industry in this section, and certainly no one has done more toward developing the same.  His experiences as an oil operator, where they fully told, would make a volume from which much of interest and value might be gleaned.  He has now in operation twenty-three wells, and has made a fortune out of his industry.      In 1885 Mr. Huffman married Miss Altie, daughter of the late Amos Fowler, and sister of M. M. Fowler, also an extensive oil operator.  They have one child, a son, Fowler, and have lost a son and daughter in infancy, Muriel and James V.  Socially Mr. Huffman is identified with the Odd Fellows, Masons, Knights of Pythias and Sons of Veterans.  In religious belief he is a Methodist, and holds membership with that denomination in Bradner. (Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 210)