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 >
 

JOHN A. McKEAN has been for over a quarter of a century an enterprising agriculturist of Wood County, and the farm where he now makes his abode is located on section 17, Webster Township.  He has held a number of township positions of greater or less responsibility, and has at all times fully justified the confidence reposed in him by his friends and neighbors.  In 1878 he was elected Director of the Infirmary, and served in that capacity for two terms, or until 1884, and he has also been Township Trustee.  He has always taken commendable interest in the cause of education and in worthy public enterprises.  Beginning life a poor boy, he has truly made his own way in the world, and has overcome difficulties which have appeared well-nigh insurmountable.      The first of John A. McKean took place in Franklin County, Pa., near the town of Fayetteville, May 25, 1827.  His father, Hugh McKean, was of Scotch descent, while his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Wetmore, was of German extraction, but they were both natives of Maryland.  They were the parents of eight children, as follows:  Robert, John, Hugh, William, Elizabeth (deceased), Mary, Melinda, and Jonathan, who died in infancy.      John A. McKean lived at home and attended the primitive district schools of that early day until about eleven years of age.  Often during the winter months he was obliged to walk two and a-half miles to the nearest school, and surely then more than now there was "no royal road to learning."  On arriving at a suitable age, he began learning the miller's trade, serving an apprenticeship of two years.  The first year he received $5 per month and board, and the second $12 and board.  When in his twenty-first year, or in 1847, he settled in Girard, Trumbull County, Ohio, and worked at his trade for nineteen years in that place.  In 1868 he purchased the farm which he has since cultivated, and which comprises eighty acres.  Here he is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is quite successful.  He has made nearly all the improvements on the homestead, as when he became its owner only twelve acres had been cleared.      Nov. 18, 1852, Mr. McKean married Harriet Bike, who was born in Pennsylvania, Sept. 27, 1834.  Five children came to bless their union: William who was born Mar. 30, 1854; Mary, whose birth occurred Christmas Day, 1855, and who died Jan. 3, 1856; John W., born Jan. 14, 1857, and now a resident of Rawson, Hancock County; Lucy, born Feb. 7, 1859; and Elsie, born Aug. 21, 1873, and who died Sept. 18, 1875.  John married Belle Perkins and has two children, Will H. and Grace O.  Lucy became the wife of Henry Wakeman, and is the mother of two children, Frank and Ida.      On the 12th of April, 1864, Mr. McKean enlisted as a Corporal in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio Infantry, and was mustered in at Sandusky.  He was assigned to guard the prisoners at that place, and while discharging his duties was taken sick and sent to the hospital on Johnson's Island.  Upon his recovery he joined his regiment at Camp Dennison, and was finally discharged Aug. 21, 1864.  Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order. ( Source: Portrait and Biological Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 354)

ADAM MARTIN, until recently a well-to-do business man of Millbury, was a member of the Village Council for eleven years.  He was a native of Bavaria, having been born in Gros Steinhauser, Dec. 22, 1822..  His father, Henry Martin, a native of the same village, was born in 1788.  He and his youngest son, Jacob, were lost at sea in 1852, while on their way to America.  The wife and mother, Louisa, daughter of John Sofel, both natives of Gros Steinhauser, died about 1850.      Adam Martin was the fourth in a family of nine sons, four of whom died before reaching maturity.  Those remaining in the Old Country are John and Henry  Fred, the second son, came to the United States about 1845, and lived for a year or so with his brother Adam in Buffalo, after which he started for Ohio, and was never after heard from by our subject.  The latter attended the public schools of his native village from the time he was six until he was fourteen years of age, when he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church.  Working on a farm until the Christmas following, he was then apprenticed to the miller's trade, and served for three years, after which he received wages for a year form the same man.  The next two years he was employed at Dahlheim, ten miles west of his old home.  For a similar length of time he worked in a mill in his native village.  Sailing from Havre de Grace on the "Queen Victoria," after a voyage of forty-two days he landed in New York, Sept. 15, 1846, and after spending a couple of weeks in the metropolis went to Buffalo, by way of the Hudson River to Albany and thence by railroad.  He had friends in Buffalo, but finding no work there he went to a village thirty miles east and worked for a farmer at twenty-five cents a day.  Some time later, returning to the city, he sawed wood throughout the winter, and continued to labor at various pursuits for five years.  In the spring of 1852 he rented a farm eighteen miles east of Buffalo, and cultivated the place for nineteen years.  In 1861 he bought a farm of eleven acres five miles from Buffalo, and when not employed on his own land worked for neighbors.      In the fall of 1865 Mr. Martin sold his New York farm and went to Toledo, where he remained for four weeks and then came to Millbury.  He bought nineteen acres near the village, and after living on the place for a year traded it for a fifty-acre tract a mile and a-half north of Millbury.  Later he sold this and bought a house adjacent to the town, and worked in a stavemill.  In 1873 he opened a saloon in Millbury, and operated this for thirteen years, at the end of which time, in 1866, it was destroyed by fire.      In October of the latter year, Mr. Martin bought the building which he owned at his decease, and opened a store, which he was conducting at the time of his death.  Up to 1864 he was a Republican, but after that time was a Democrat.  In May, 1844, he was married in his native village to Miss Anna Maria Sommers, who was born in Klein, Steinhauser, Oct. 30, 1819.  Her father, John Sommers, was a stonemason by trade.  The following children were born to our subject and his wife: Margueretta, wife of George Kalmback, a merchant of this place; Adam, a carpenter at Williston, Ohio; one who died in infancy; Fred, who was killed in Buffalo at the age of twenty-two years; Jacob, who died at the age of eleven months; Henry, who died at Millbury about 1880, leaving a family; Kate, wife of Harry Williams, a locomotive engineer of Allegheny City, Pa.; Jacob, a streetcar conductor in Toledo; Christian, who is in the railroad employ at Millbury; Charlie, a brakeman on the Lake Shore Railroad; Caroline, wife of Lee Davis, a stave-cutter at Williston, Ohio; and Peter, formerly a fireman on a locomotive, and now with his mother in Millbury.      Mr. Martin died Mar. 13, 1895, deeply regretted by his family, to whom he was most devoted, and by his fellow-citizens, whose esteem he had won by his honor and integrity as a business man and his kindliness of disposition.  Together with his wife, he held membership in the Lutheran Church of this place. ( Source: Portrait and Biological Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 260)

MILTON F. MILES, a prominent citizen of Montgomery Township, Wood County, was a gallant soldier during the late Civil War, and served from Sept. 14, 1861, until Nov. 30, 1865.  In times of peace and war alike, he has been a loyal and trusted defender of the liberties and welfare of his country, and is always to be found on the side of whatever makes for the public good.  In 1887 he was elected Sheriff and served efficiently for two terms, but with this exception has not held public office.      A son of Davis and Julia A. (Demman) Miles, Milton F. was born in Chesterville, Knox County (now Monroe), Ohio, Dec. 10, 1838.  His father was born in Chester County, Pa., in 1814, and died Aug. 6, 1865.  The latter's parents were born July 3, 1786, and Apr. 3, 1790, respectively, and died May 18, 1840, and Aug. 18, 1871, respectively.  The early years of Davis Miles were spent on a farm, and when he arrived at maturity he was married, at Chesterville, Ohio.  He had become a resident of this state a few years previously, and from that time until his death he continued to dwell in this state.  He was a very prominent man in his community and served for two terms in the Ohio Senate.      Milton F. Miles is one of three children.  He was given a good education, and at twenty years of age went to Delaware (Ohio) University for one year.  The next two years he spent in study at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.  While there he enlisted in the Students' Battalion, but their services were rejected on account of the quota of men being already full.  Mr. Miles returned home, and in the fall of 1861 enlisted in the Forty-third Ohio Regiment under Gen. C. Smith, and went into camp at Mt. Vernon, Ohio.  Jan. 9, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant, and was assigned to Company A, Forty-ninth Ohio Regiment.  After camping for a short time at Green River, Ky., he was ordered to Bowling Green, Feb. 14, 1862, and thence moved to Nashville, going to the assistance of General Grant.  On the 6th of the following March he took part in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and with the other forces of his command retained a position from eleven until four o'clock P.M., though under constant fire, but was then obliged to retreat.  His next important engagement was a Corinth, Miss.  Among the battles in which he participated were the following:  Crab Orchard, Murfreesboro, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, and the Atlanta Campaign, Nashville being  his last engagement.  In one battle in which he participated twenty-four out of fifty-six soldiers of his command were killed, and a number were also wounded.  After being assigned to the Western Army, Mr. Miles was stationed in Texas, where he was mustered out in the fall of 1865.      On returning from the South, Mr. Miles embarked in the drug business in Chicago, where he remained for two years.  In 1868 he came to this county and started in the flouring mill trade at West Mill Grove, and conducted a lucrative business there for twelve years.  Afterwards selling his interest in the mill, he moved to Montgomery Township, where he has since resided.      Oct. 11, 1866, Mr. Miles married Miss M. E. Diver, who was born June 30, 1843.  Her parents were Asburn and Esther F. (Robinson) Diver, natives of Portage and Medina Counties, respectively.  The former was born Aug. 23, 1809, and the latter Apr. 2, 1818, and their marriage was celebrated in Crawford County, Ohio.  Mrs. Miles is one of seven children, the eldest of whom died in infancy unnamed, and the others are Franklin, Laura, Armand A. and Harriet M.  Mr. and Mrs. Miles are members of the Church of Christ, and enjoy the friendship and esteem of a host of friends in this locality.  ( Source: Portrait and Biological Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 510)

HERMAN H. MOENTER has owned and conducted his homestead on section 33, Troy Township, Wood County, for the past twenty years, it having been deeded to him by his father in 1875.  In 1888 he erected very good and substantial farm buildings, and otherwise increased the value of his place to a great extent.  In addition to this he owns property in Pemberville, which makes him well off.  Politically he is a Democrat, and has served as Constable of this township.|      The birth of our subject occurred March 14, 1842, in Hanover, Germany, and until he was twenty-seven years of age he continued to make his home with his parents, Ernest H. and Annie Marie (Hepler) Moenter.  They left the Fatherland in 1846, and settled in this county soon after they arrived. Our subject received a common-school education, and possesses a good knowledge of English as well as of his mother tongue.  In early manhood he learned the carpenter's trade, and followed that calling industriously and uninterruptedly until his marriage.      June 2, 1870, occurred the marriage of our subject and Catherine, daughter of John H. and Florentina (Cook) Wiseman, natives of Prussia.  The family crossed the Atlantic about 1851, and became land-owners and respected citizens of this county.  Mrs. Melcher was born Sept. 7, 1846, and died Oct. 6, 1894, having been preceded to the better land by one of her nine children, John H. W., the eldest, who was born July 11, 1871, and died Dec. 11, of the same year.  The other children are as follows:  Anna Marie, born Jan. 5, 1873; Henry F., July 10, 1874; John W., Mar. 6, 1876; Florentina C., Dec. 26, 1877; Maria J., June 2, 1882; Mary C., Mar. 23, 1885; Margaret L., Nov. 30, 1886; and Frederick C., Mar. 23, 1889.  Anna, the eldest daughter, keeps house for her father, brothers and sisters.  The elder members of the family are identified with the Lutheran Church. ( Source: Portrait and Biological Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 354)

JOHN H. MOENTER, President of the Pemberville Creamery Company, and one of the most influential citizens of Wood County, is a native of Germany, but his life from the age of nine years has been passed in the vicinity of his present home.  He was born in Hanover, Jan. 6, 1837, and is the son of Ernest Moenter, a farmer of Germany, who, emigrating to America in 1846, settled in Troy Township, Wood County, and there spent his remaining years.  The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Anna Habler, and was born in Hanover; she attained the age of almost fourscore years, passing away at the family home of Wood County.      In the family of Ernest Moenter there were one daughter and five sons.  The former, Mrs. Clara L. Bushman, died many years ago; Frederick, a farmer of Wood County, and the owner of a valuable estate near Pemberville, has been Assessor of his township and is the present Trustee; H. H. lives in Troy Township; William resides on the old homestead.  John H., the subject of this notice, grew to manhood on his father's farm, and, the family being poor, he was not permitted to gain a good education.  At the age of fourteen eh began to learn the trade of a cabinet-maker, but later transferred his attention to the carpenter's trade, which he followed about twenty-years, meeting with fair success in that occupation.      Retiring from his trade, Mr. Moenter embarked in the sawmill business, building a mill at Pemberville about the time of the close of the Civil War.  On selling the mill, about 1888, he engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, and after disposing of that established his home upon a farm situated two and one-half miles from Pemberville, upon the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad.  His first marriage was to Miss Anna C. Scherarmeyer, who at her death left two children; Anna, who lives at home; and Catherine, wife of August Shurman, a farmer of Freedom Township.  The second wife of Mr. Moenter was Mary C., a sister of the first wife, and their union was blessed by the birth of three sons and four daughters: Henry W.,  who aides in the cultivation of the home farm; Caroline, Mary, Frederick, Julia, Dora and Ernest.      In the development of the oil fields of Wood County, Mr. Moenter has taken an active part, and has eleven wells on his farm.  He also owns the planing-mill at Pemberville, as well as several houses and other valuable property.  His political views have brought him into active co-operation with the Democratic party, of which he is a local leader.  For more than a quarter of a century he has been continually in office, and has held a number of responsible positions.  He first office was that of Township Trustee, after which he was Assessor for eight years and Treasurer for four years.  For many years he has served as Justice of the Peace, and he has also been treasurer of the School Board for some time.      In the settlement of estates Mr. Moenter has done a large amount of work, having doubtless settled more than any other resident of Wood County.  He was appointed a Commissioner to close up the affairs of the Pemberville Bank at the time of its failure.  With a number of the most important enterprises of Pemberville he has been intimately associated, and is justly regarded as one of the most liberal-spirited and energetic citizens of the most liberal -spirited and energetic citizens of the place.  He aided in the organization of the Pemberville Creamery Company, of which he is serving as President.  His membership is in the Lutheran Church, and he has filled the position of Treasurer of the congregation. ( Source: Portrait and Biological Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 143)

JAMES MUIR.  No one, perhaps, of the old settlers of Webster Township, Wood County, did more for its upbuilding and progress than did this worthy Scotchman, who for half a century labored industriously to make a good home for his family, and was always alive to the interests of his fellow-citizens.  He was one of the organizers of the township, and assisted in building the first schoolhouse and the first log church within its limits.  At the time of his death, which occurred Apr. 18, 1887, he was the owner of two hundred acres of land, which had been brought to their valuable condition mainly through his own efforts.  He is now sleeping his last sleep in the cemetery of Scotch Ridge.  He lived and died honored and respected by all who knew him, for his life was a most exemplary one in every respect, and his friends were legion.      In a family of seven children, James Muir was the second in order of birth, his brothers and sisters being William, Samuel, Jane, John, Frances and Margaret, who are all living with the exception of William and Frances.  The parents of this family were John and Mary (Prentice) Muir, natives of Scotland, and the former a farmer by occupation.      Like his parents, James Muir was born in Scotland, that event having occurred in July, 1811.  He continued to dwell in the mother country until reaching his majority, when he concluded to try his fortunes in the New World, and in 1832 crossed the Atlantic.  At first he settled in Perrysburg, Ohio, and for two or three years sailed on the Lakes.  About 1837 he located on a farm in Webster Township, the one where his widow still makes her home.  This tract comprised one hundred and sixty acres, which Mr. Muir bought of the Government at $1.25 per acre.  It is located on section 5, and bears little resemblance to its condition half a century ago, when it was encumbered with thick forests, on which the axe had made little impression.  Mr. Muir put up a log cabin, about 16x20 feet in size, and continued to live in this humble abode for several years.  Ox-teams were employed almost exclusively in early years in hauling away logs and in general farm work.  Perrysburg was the nearest trading-post, and the trip there and back consumed three days.  Frequently he was obliged to go as far as Fremont to have wheat and corn ground.      On the 12th of February, 1839, James Muir and Marian Dunipace were united in marriage.  Twelve children came to bless their union, and were named as follows: John, Margaret, William, James, Mary, Isabella, Francis, Susannah, Jane, Alice, Jessie, and one who died in infancy.  William, Isabella, Francis and Alice are also deceased.  Mary became the wife of John Hagemeyer; Susannah married Henry C. Swan; and Jessie is the wife of Charles Griner.  The mother of these children is now in her seventy-eighth year and is still living on the old homestead, her last years being spent peacefully and happily, surrounded by the comforts provided by her husband and children.       In politics Mr. Muir was a strong Republican, and though he was not an office-seeker was sometimes prevailed upon to hold local positions, such as Township Trustee or School Director.  He was a faithful and zealous member of the Presbyterian Church, and remained firm in the faith up to his last days. ( Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo & Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 315)

CHARLES MYERS have been a life-long resident of Freedom Township, Wood County, and is the proprietor of a desirable homestead of seventy-two acres on section 31.  He was only nineteen years of age when he offered his services for the defense of the Union, and from that time until the close of the war he was always found at the post of duty and in the front of battle.  Altogether he served three years and ten months, and was only absent from the ranks once, when he was detained at the hospital on account of a wound.  He participated in twenty-one hard-fought and well known battles, and was stationed in several of the Southern States.  He is now a member of Benedict Post No. 26, G. A. R., of Pemberville.      Charles Meyers is a son of Joseph and Frances (Smith) Myers.  His eldest brother, George, was killed May 31, 1864, in the battle of Pumpkin Vine Creek, during the war.  He was a member of Company K, Twenty-first Ohio Infantry.  His next younger brother, John, born in 1841, was killed in the battle of Stone River; and the youngest, Francis C., born Nov. 9, 1846, died while young.  The eldest sister; Maria, now deceased, was the wife of James H. Forrest, and had four children.  Anna married J. H. Forrest, a farmer of this township.  Louise, born Oct. 12, 1844, is the wife of Frank Addleman, a farmer of Huron County, Ohio.  The father of these children was a shoemaker in his early days in Massachusetts.  Later he went to Huron County, Ohio, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of Government land, but in the '30s he came to this county and here passed the remainder of his life.  He was buried in Fish Cemetery, and by his side reposes his faithful wife, who survived him ten years.      Our subject was born Sept. 21, 1842, and received but limited school advantages in his boyhood.  He helped to construct the roads of this vicinity in his early manhood, and in other ways was identified with the upbuilding of the community.  Many a time in the early days did he make the long journey to Maumee or Perrysburg to have corn or wheat ground.  and the usual experiences of pioneer life fell to his share.  In 1861 he enlisted at Findlay, Ohio, in Company K, Twenty-first Ohio Regiment, under Captain Canfield and Colonel Norden.  After drilling for ten days at Columbus, he was sent to Kentucky, and there took part in a small engagement.  The winter was passed in camp at Bacon Creek, and in the spring he went to Nashville, where for six weeks he was on guard duty.  Then, in the vicinity of Huntsville, Ala., he was present at several skirmishes, afterward being on guard duty for three months, and finally being returned to Nashville.  He was a participant in the siege of Atlanta, and for three months could hear the bullets flying day and night.  After the capture of Atlanta the company started to Chattanooga, and were in the two-days battle of Chickamauga.  Jan. 1, 1864, Mr. Myers was granted a thirty-days furlough and returned home.  On rejoining his regiment he participated in the battle of Resaca, and in that of Pumpkin Vine Creek, where his eldest brother was killed.  At the battle of Stone River he was wounded, but after being confined in the hospital for several days he returned to the front.  His honorable discharge from the service was granted him at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865.      Feb. 18, 1869, occurred the marriage of our subject and Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and Jeantte (Fenton) Stewart, natives of Scotland.  Their other children were John,  a gardener living near Cleveland; James, who married Sarah Heckman, and has eleven children; Robert W., who died in the army; Charles, who married Lillie Hill and is a carpenter; Fenton, whose death occurred at the age of twenty-six years; Joseph, a gardener of Pemberville, Ohio; Benjamin, who was drowned near San Francisco; Margaret, wife of Martin O'Conner, an oil speculator of this county; Mary, who married Lemuel Lockhart, who was killed in 1893 in an oil explosion; Frankie, who died in 1865; Lewis, a farmer of Fulton County; and William, who is unmarried and a resident of Indiana.      Five children came to grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Myers, the two eldest of whom died in infancy.  Lela M., born Oct. 24, 1874, is attending school at Lansing, Mich.; Florence Glenn, born June 15, 1880, is at home; and Vergie, born July 8, 1882, died when only eight months old.      In 1883 Mr. Myers went to Kansas with the intention of locating in that state, but remained only three weeks, and returned well satisfied to pass the remainder of his life on his old homestead.  He has cleared a good many acres of land, and has long been one of the progressive farmers of this community.  Religiously he is a Presbyterian, and helped to establish the church at Rochester, Ohio.  He is known far and near of uprightness and integrity, and as such commands the respect of all. ( Source: Portrait and Biological Record of City of Toledo and Lucas and Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 239)