Chapter Programs 13Chapter Contact Information 14First Families and Centennial Families 14News of the DCGS 15Dave’s Corner - Maple Sugaring 16War of 1812 Records Online 16Hayes Obituary Index 16OGS Free Databases 1750th Anniversaries 1916 18Brunersburg School Roster 1897 19Streets of Defiance 20News of Hicksville 1882 21Members of Masons Fighting in WW I 22Augusta Louisa (King) Glenn 23Printy Arthur 24Black Sea School Roster 1915 25County Physicians 1905 25

Page 2015-13 ISSN#1047-0077

Summer 2015 Vol. XXXIV Issue 2

Defiance County GenealogyChapter and Board Meetings

Regular monthly meetings of the De-fiance Chapter OGS are held at St. JohnUnited Church of Christ at 7:00 p.m. unlessotherwise stated. The address is 950Webster Street— on the northeastern cor-ner of the Defiance Colllege campus. Entryis on the north side of the church adjacentto the college gymnasium.

Chapter meetings are the 4th Mon-day of each month except May, August, andDecember or as noted.

Board meetings are held at 3:30 p.m.the third Thursday of the month at St. JohnUCC at 950 Webster Street.

Table of Contents

Yesteryears’ TrailsQuarterly Newsletter Published by the Defiance County

Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical SocietyP.O. Box 7006 Defiance, OH 43512-7006Web site: Http: www.defiancecountygenealogy.orgEmail address: defiancegenealogy2002@ yahoo.comBlog site: defiancecountyohiogenealogy.blogspot.com

Coming Meetings

Monday, June 21“The Moravian Church - History andHighlights from 15th Century Europe toAmerica” with Mary Williams, chaptermember

Monday, July TBA - Watch for a comingannouncement in local nwspapers.

August - no meeting

http://

Defiance County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical SocietyYesteryears’ Trails Vol.XXXIV Summer 2015

Officers and Trustees

President & Membership ChairCecelia BrownPhone: 419-658-2483Email: ccbrowngenealogy@yahoo.comVice-President & PR- Joanne AllisonEmail: ljallison1@frontier.comRecording Secretary - Mary WilliamsEmail: marywill@smta.ccTreasurer - Lavina Boesling

Email: lib10@embarqmail.comFirst Families - Mary ScrantonEmail - mjscranton 46@frontier.comNewsletter Editor - Mary WilliamsEmail: marywill@smta.ccTrustees:Gladys DonsonPat WiseDianne Kline

Change of Address or Email ?If you change your postal or email address,please make sure you email the chapter at

<defiancegenealogy2002@yahoo.com>or send the changes to Defiance Chapter OGS,POBox 7006, Defiance, OH 43512-7006 so thatyour current information is on file.

Become a Member of DCGSChapter dues are $12.00 for an indi-

vidual and $15.00 per family. An additional$5.00 is required for mailing the four an-nual newsletters through the U. S. PostOffice.

A membership form may bedowloaded at the following website.www.defiancecountygenealogy.org.

Page 14 - Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015

Defiance County First FamiliesIf you can prove

your ancestor resided inDefiance County beforeJanuary 1846, your an-cestor will be classified asa “Pioneer.” If he or shelived here between Janu-ary 1846 and December1860, that ancestor will beclassified as a “settler.”To prove your lineage back to your ancestor, youmay use birth records, death records, marriage li-censes, census records, Bible records, and otherprimary or supportive secondary records.

The application fee is $15.00 which coversas many ancestors as you can prove and also cov-ers your membership pin. You must be a membersof the Defiance County Chapter OGS to apply. Thismembership may be paid at the same time as yourapplication fee is paid. The cutoff date is August1st of the year in which you apply. For more infor-mation and to download the application for FirstFamilies, go to the Society’s web site atwww.defiancecountygenealogy.org or write to thechapter at PO Box 7006 Defiance, OH 43512-7006attention of Mary Scranton, chair.

Defiance County Centennial FamiliesTo acknowledge families which have been

in Defiance County for 100 years or more, our chap-ter has established a centennial recognition pro-gram. Just one item of proof showing that a familymember was here in 1915 or before is needed toregister a family. Upon registration, a certificate willbe sent from the chapter. For more information,please contact the chapter via email or by postalmail-- attention of Carol Ehlinger.

First Families of Defiance Countyand Centennial Families

Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015 - Page 15

News of the DCGS

Highlights of the DCGS Meetings

AprilPresident Brown noted at the April chapter

meeting, that over 500 visitations have been madeto the chapter’s new blog site. The site isdefiancecountyohiogenealogy.blogspot.com. It canalso be accessed through the chapter website link.

Rich Rozevink announced that he and DaveBennett are at work to place a cemetery marker onthe gravesite of Albert W. King who was a prisonerof war in the Civil War and also a passenger on theSultana which sank carrying prisoners of war homefrom the South. A Town and Gown presentationwill also take place aat a future date telling of Mr.King’s exploits. The chapter authorized the spend-ing of funds from the veterans memorial fund forthis project.

Dave Bennett noted that he has started ablog, Dave's History Corner, at blogspot.com. Hewill have items of interest in local history.

Following the business meeting, Steve Char-ter of the Center for Archival Collections housed atBGSU outlined some of the many types of materi-als available . The center is located in theuniversity's library building.

The archival collection was one of 8 regionsproposed and funded by the Ohio Historical Soci-ety in 1969. The northwest region takes in 19 coun-ties. Its goal is to collect and preserve historicalrecords and items. Funding now is through individualdonations.

The website for the archive is www.bgsu.ed/colleges/library/cac. There are three main ways tosearch for materials: use the BGSU catalog, browseor search the topical listing, or use the search en-gine to search the site To browse, click on the or-ange headers. There then will be a break down intosmaller topics. Items can be sent to the center byscanning the materials and emailing. The library isopen Monday 8-9 and Tuesday through Friday from8-5.

MayAt the May 18 meeting, chapter member

Dianne Kline told how genetic testing can augmentone’s genealogical research. Using her personaltesting with the company Ancestry.com, Dianneexplained the procedure for submitting DNA whichfor Ancestry is spitting into a collection tube andthen sending the tube to the company with an anony-mous, indentifying number.

Ancestry is currently using autosomal test-ing which can be used by either men or women. Ituses approximately 700,000 markers to comparewith the results of others who have tested at An-cestry to identify possible cousins within three gen-erations. Processing takes about 6-8 weeks be-fore test results are returned.

Using her personal test results, Dianne notedher ethnic breakdown and revealed 45 possiblecousins.

Ancestry will continue to notify those whohave been tested if any new relationships are re-vealed in the future.

Dianne cautioned that although DNA testingmay connect with possible new ancestors and rela-tives, it is only one avenue for establishing genea-logical connections. Standard genealogical re-search is still needed to confirm relationships andto confirm the genealogies gleaned from the newlydiscovered ”cousins.” Also DNAtesting cannot pro-vide those interesting and unexpected stories thatmake genealogy so much fun and addictive.

Tell Us About One of Your AncestorsWe all have interesting tales to tell from

our family research about that one courageous,notorious, beautiful, inventive or… well, you fillin the blank… ancestor. Tell us about one ofyour ancestors!

We are inviting each of our members towrite a brief account (about one page or less)about one ancestor for an article in this news-letter, “Yesteryears’ Trails.”

Please send your article along withpermission to publish to the newsletter editorMary Williams in care of the chapter addressor email it to marywill@smta.cc.

Hayes ObituaryIndex

Family Tree Magazinechose the Hayes ObituaryIndex and the Ohio MemoryProject as the top two Ohiogenealogy sites for 2014.

The obituary index iscomplied by volunteers and currently has over3,000,000 obituaries, death & marriage notices &other sources from Ohio from the 1810s to thepresent day.

The original index was compiled by Ruther-ford B. Hayes Presidential Center Library staff and

Page 16 Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015

Dave Bennett’sCorner

From Dave’s Files-Maple Sugar Making

It is the month of June, a littlelate for tapping the trees andgather the sap, but Dave’s cor-ner for this summer issue isbased upon an early articledescribing the importance ofmaple sugar making in ourarea.

We are in the season of maple sugar making.The run of sugar water this spring will be but of littleconsequence because of the great drought of the pastyear which continued through the winter. The seasonwill probably be ended by the first heavy spring-likefall of rain.

Our ridges were once a continuous line ofsugar camps; sometimes these were as wide as halfmile. Along the streams in the dense forests of the dryand second bottoms, sugar trees were also sufficientlynumerous to justify tapping. These ridges and bot-toms which were of the driest and most desirablefarming lands were a matter of course. The lands nowcleared for cultivation, have are almost entirely with-out trees, except for the ravines, or where a few havebeen left for house shade.

The first settlers on the Maumee were famoussugar-makers. Thirty and forty years ago the Waites,Lowerys, Kings, and Coles on the river realized morefrom their sugar and molasses than from all their otherproduce.

We remember one year, perhaps 1812, of JohnLowery selling in Maumee City three tons of grainedsugar and frequently large lots were marketed here.The price varied from six to eight cents per pound--usually selling slightly less than New Orleans sugar--not being as good for cooking purposes. We alsoremember Judge Waite selling to an amount of 1200pounds in Defiance for 6 cents a pound in 1843 whichwould now readily bring 53 cents. It was pure, clean,sharp-grained and of a rich god color-- exceedingly“toothsome.”

War of 1812 Pension RecordsAvailable at Fold3.com

The Federation of Genealogical Societies,in collaboration with Fold 3, is endeavoring toraise funds to make all War of 1812 pension-related records available free. The project isapproximately 64% completed.

According to Fold 3: “This series consistsof approximately 180,000 pension and bountyland warrant application files relating to claimsbased on service between 1812 and 1815. Thefiles generally contain documentation submittedin support of a claim, such as the original appli-cation form, affidavits, and statements fromwitnesses.

“The following information will be cap-tured with the images and available to research-ers when it exists in the file.

Veteran's name AgePlace of residence Widow nameService data & dates OrganizationsAcres Granted Marriage dateSoldier death date Widow death dateYear of BLM act Warrant numberAdditional names

To access this information, go togo.fold3.com/1812pension

Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015 - Page 17

Search Free OGS DatabasesEveryone loves FREE, searchable

databases. The following are available fromthe Ohio Genealogy Society at www.ogs.org.Lineage Societies

Century Families of OhioFirst Families of Ohio RosterOhio Mayflower Society IndexRoster of Society Of Civil War Families

of Ohio (SCWFO)Settlers and Builders of Ohio Roster

MilitaryNames of Union Soldiers with Civil War

Service in Ohio UnitsOhio's Revolutionary War Veterans

IndexWorld War I 83rd Division Personal

Information Cards IndexOGS Indexes

OGS Bible Records IndexOhio Cemetery Locations IndexOhio Obituary IndexWhissemore Photograph Collection

OGS Journal IndexesOhio Civil War Genealogy Journal -

Subject IndexOhio Civil War Genealogy Journal -

Surname IndexOhio Civil War Genealogy Journal

TOC Index

ORPF & OGQ Civil War Subject Index

White Cap BaseballThe Hicksville NewsApril 27, 1882"The following persons compose the White Capbase ball club of Hicksville: ALBERT RANDOLPH,HARRY REX, IRTAS ACKLEY, CHARLES LOVE,WILLIAM HENRY, HARRY DOWELL, FRANKLANDIS, IRA BABBITT, and ED THOMPSON.”

volunteers from original newspapers, in hard copyor microfilm. Starting in 2001, other Ohio librariesstarted entering their data into this index, so it nowextends beyond the holdings of the Hayes Presi-dential Library. Currenly 60 libraries are partners inthe Ohio Obituary Index and are indexing old andcurrent newspapers.

The obituary index is also available throughAncestry.com. Actual obits may be ordered fromthe participating partner libraries listed on thewebsite.

The map below shows in red (or dark) par-ticipating counties. For a complete listing of thenewspapers indexed and for what time periods,check the ”List of Newspapers” atindex.rbhayes.org.

Newspapers for the Defiance area that havebeen indexed are the following:

Defiance Democrat - 1844 - 1894Defiance Democrat - 1900 - 1901Defiance Democrat - 1911 - 1918

Crescent-News - 1903 - 1914Crescent-News - 1942 - 1945Crescent-News - 1972, 1974, 1977, 1988, 1989,

1991 - 1994, 1998 - 2002, 2011 to thepresent

Mr. and Mr. Samuel Shuter of Evansport en-tertained a company of their many friends at a de-lightful reception Wednesday afternoon and eveningin honor of the fiftieth anniversary of their wed-ding day.

Mr. and Mrs. Shuter were married atEvansport December 30, 1858, and have alwaysmade their home in that city.

They are the parents of four children, threeof whom are living: T. Shuter who is engaged inthe hardware business at Evansport, J. W. Shuterwho is in the telephone and undertaking businessin his home town, and C. R. Shuter who is in thetelephone business in Toledo.

Samuel Shuter was born December 8, 1834,in Montgomery Co., Ohio and was the fifth of afamily of 12, nine of whom are living.

He lived in Montgomery County until April1857 when he came to Evansport. In 1858 heentered into the mercantile business until August14, 1861, when he enlisted in Co. D 38th RegimentOVI and served in that company until musteredout July 23, 1865. He was in numerous engage-ments and accompanied Sherman on his famousmarch to the sea. After the war, he returned to hismercantile business in Evansport.

Mrs. Shuter was the daughter of John andNancy Snider who were among the oldest residentsof Tiffin Township. She was born December 22,1840 at Evansport where she has always lived.

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Shuter of Evansport

Couples Celebrate 50th Anniversaries

Kleinhen Anniversary CelebratedMr. and Mrs. John Kleinhen of Ayersville

entertained a happy company Wednesday De-cember 30 in celebration of their 50th anniver-

Happy Couple Celebrate 50th Year ofWeddingDefiance DemocratSeptember 7, 1916, p. 5

In the old log house on the homestead on thepike that sheltered for many years the family of Henryand Elizabeth (SHAFFSTALL) ROCK, August 23,1866, their daughter, Miss Susannah ROCK wasunited in marriage to Mr. Thomas JOHNSON, in thepresence of the relatives who a few years previous tothis had settled here from the east.

One of the most delightful events recorded onthe pages of time was the celebration, August 23,1916, in beautiful Crystal Fountain Park, Sherwood, ofthe golden wedding anniversary of this aged couplewho in their young days plighted their troth and intheir marriage vows pledged each other ‘ for betteror for worse.

In response to invitations issued, relativesgathered in the park with well filled baskets at about10:30 a.m. to join in the pleasures of the occasion.Great, long tables loaded with eats were ‘good tolook upon but the eating was better’ such eatables asfried chicken galore, cake cookies, pie, salads,buns, bread, pickles – and ever so many other goodthings to eat – and after ‘grace,’ all fell to and withkeen appetites did justice to the feast spread beforethem. Over fifty partook of the dinner.

Immediately after dinner, while seated at thetable, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were given a number ofnice presents, among them being six $5 gold pieces.But the gift which will be a source of pleasure to themwas a fine instrument – a meg-a-phone- from theeldest son, E. A. of Auburn, who was also spokesmanin presenting the other gifts. With a few remarksupon the music box and how it would be enjoyable tothem in their old days, as they both dearly lovemusic, he started the player with the beautiful, yetsad, song, ‘Silver Threads Among the Gold.’ Thisscene seemingly touched a tender spot in almostevery heart as the song was sung, but other morecheerful selections followed which eradicated thedampness as record after record was played.

Page 18 Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summet 2015

sary of their wedding day.The Kleinhens have been blessed with

eight children of whom six are still living, four ofwhom were able to attend the reception: Williamwith whom the aged couple make their home,George whose farm is four miles west ofBrunersburg, Mary now Mrs.. Laro of Ayersville,and Maggie Rothenberger of Henry County.

Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015- Page 19

Those attending the 50th anniversary werethe following: E. A. JOHNSON and wife of Auburn,Ind.; Emerson JOHNSON, wife and daughter, Leola,of Chicago Junction, Ohio; Mrs. Ivy WORTHINGTONand daughter, Gladys ,and son, Dale, of the village;children and grandchildren of the couple; Mrs. MaryBLAIR; Mr. and Mrs. Warren WATTS; Mr. and Mrs.Tommy WATTS of Defiance; Mrs. J. E. LONG of thevillage; Henry ROCK and wife of Sandusky; Mrs.Nancy HELLER; Mrs. Edna BLACKFORD; Mrs. MaryGREEN and Miss Huldah DURR from Crawford Co.;E. REYFF and wife; G. A. REYFF, wife and daughter,Doris; Lester SHIRLEY, wife and daughter, Lynn andBaby Mary; Dr. and Mrs. LINDERSMITH and MissIris; Mrs. J. E. ETCHIE and Miss HALEY; Mrs. LyrlLEHMAN and Little Evelyn from the village; F. L.ETCHIE, wife and son, Perry, of Hamler; Mrs. N. J.KLOTZ of Van Wert; D. L. PITTS and wife; G. W.RENZ and wife; also Mrs. Elva FLECK and children,Cyril, Elmer, and Baby Robert of Toledo; HarryJOHNSON and family of Defiance.

Beginning of Library in HicksvilleThe Hicksville NewsMarch 19, 1882

“A library association has been formed inHicksville, to be known as the Library of Hicksvilleand vicinity with 100 volumes of popular authorsand which embraces books of fiction, history, andscience. Every man and woman of a literary mindshould have a share in this association and thusobtain access to the library, as it is an effort topromote a taste for the best class of literature,enabling rich and poor alike to enjoy its advan-tages.

“The association intends to add new volumesfrom time to time, and swell its resources so that itwill be a credit to our town. Any person can be-come a member upon the payment of $2. A meet-ing of the shareholders was held on Tuesday andelected the following officers for the ensuing year:

President - Dr. B. M. RAKESTRAWVice-President - Dr. T. C. KINMONTSecretary - M. V. STARRTreasurer - A. D. F. RANDOLPHLibrarian - F. DALRYMPLE, at whose drug-

store the library will be kept. “

Brunersburg School, District No. 5Noble Township April - June 1897

John F. Dowe - Director

S. I. Gruner - Teacher

BoysJohnny AshbaughAlvie BeckJohnny BeckJoe BrownCharleyDoweClarence FelleyEarl GoddardDick HiltonCharley LehmanJoe LeroWill LeroDavid LowerHarry LowerRoy LowerCharley SmithFrank Smith

GirlsAnna AshbaughCora BeckGrace ChaneyCarrie DoweFlo DoweBeatrice DowePearl DoweElla FelleyDeetta GoddardNellie GoddardStella GoddardCarrie HallerRena HaywardHazeil HiltonAlice LeadersAlice LeroGeorgia LowerFern MackMary MackLody MyersIda PfeifleEmma SmithMinnie SmithHatie Worthington

a Wesley, Asa and Franklin, named after the War-ren boys.

Defiance folks have always been patrioticand a number of the streets have been named af-ter prominent military men, generals or commo-dores. The streets bearing the names of great mili-tary leaders are Hamilton, Logan, Perry, Pierce andWayne. Everybody knows where Perry and Waynestreets are located, but how about Douglas andPierce? Douglas is the street from East Second toEast Hopkins along the fourth ward school buildingand Pierce is from Harrison to Perry, crossing theWabash Railroad.

Many of the streets are named after localmen, pioneers who helped to build the town orwho owned large tracts of land. Holgate Avenue isnot named after the village of Holgate, but afterW. C. Holgate, apioneer of Defiance who ownedlarge tracts of land and who did much for the com-munity in its early development. Streets named afterlocal men are: Worthington, Williams, Wilhelm,Widmer, Warren, Turrell, Thurston, Thurman,Tiedeman, Stasel, Squires, Southworth, Sessions,Schultz, Schrack, Sauer, Rulf, Rowe, Phelps, Nicho-las, Neil, Martin, Leevre,Latty, Kintner, King, Karnes,Kahlo, Horace, Holgate, Hilton, Henry, Harding,Grover, Greer, Greenler, Greenie, Gray, Gorman,Gibson, Frances, Fales, Emery, Elbert, Downs,Davison, Dexter, Danforth, Corwin, Colby, Charles,Boughton, Berney, Beide, Allen, Wesley and Asa.

There are a number of streets with femi-nine names. Among these are Agnes, Arabella,,Maggie, Maud and Pearl.

A great many of the streets secured theirnames from their locations. There is a Water Street,so named because it is along the river; Summit,because it is at the rise in ground from the river inEast Defiance; Riverside, along the river; River,because it overlooks the river; Ridge, because it isalong a small ridge; Ravine, because it enters intoa ravine. Railroad, it being along a railroad track;Preston, after Preston Run and also after an earlypioneer character of the Maumee Valley. Pleasant,because it commands a pleasant view form the topof a bluff; High, because of being along the top ofthe North Defiance hill.

Others are Plain, North Hill, East High, WestHigh, Grove, Front, East Canal, Court and the streetsthat are in numerical order system like Front, First,

Page 20 Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015

Where Is Union Street?A Story about Defiance Streets

Defiance Democrat, December 19, 1913

How many people know all the streets inDefiance and how they were named? Just stop tothink a minute, and it’s a safe bet that you couldn’ttell where Emery Avenue or Columbus Avenue orUnion Street was located.

Defiance has eighty miles of public streets.In all there are one hundred and seventy streets.Some of them are only a block long and are grownover with grass and perhaps have only one houselocated on them or maybe none at all, but they arestreets just the same. Defiance has one of the long-est main stems of main drags as some folks like tocall it, of any town in this part of the state. It is likeColumbus with its famous High street.

Clinton starts at Defiance College at the northcity limits, crosses the Wabash Railroad on a via-duct, come downhill and crosses the Maumee River,goes through the business part of town, passessouth and over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroadand terminates at a street at the south city limits atRiverside Cemetery. It has a college at one endand Riverside Cemetery at the other, with a publicschool building in the middle. It crosses one riverand two railroads. It is paved with brick the entiredistance, except the section south of the B & Otracks which is stoned. It is two miles long.

Like all American cities, Defiance has manystreets named after presidents. These are Adams,Cleveland, Van Buren, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson,Lincoln, Madison, Washington and Wilson. Every-body knows where Jefferson and Jackson andWashington are located, but who can tell the loca-tion of Van Buren and Adams and Lincoln? VanBuren is located in North Defiance, Madison is anEast Defiance street. Wilson Avenue is in the newCollege Hill addition.

Among other prominent national characterswho have streets in Defiance named after themare: Blaine, Douglas, Franklin and Webster. Thereis a Wesley street, but it was not named after thevenerable Dr. Wesley of Methodist fame. It is oneof a group of streets named after the sons of IsaacWarren, a pioneer who once owned nearly all ofthe second ward. There is a Warren street and

Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015 - Page 21

Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth.There are none of the prominent streets

named after trees, but a number of the smallerthoroughfares bear the names of different variet-ies of trees. For instance, there is Ash, Cedar, Chest-nut, Linden, Locust, Maple, Oak, Pine, Spruce, Vineand Walnut. Walnut is in North Defiance. Linden isnear the B & O depot.

Defiance has a street named afterCleveland’s celebrated avenue, Euclid Avenue. It islocated in East Defiance. Defiance has a SundayStreet situated near Riverside Cemetery. Some ofthe streets in the outskirts are named after cities.Among them are Tacoma, St. Paul, and Columbus.The latter street secured its name through the build-ing of the Ohio Electric Railway, which when it wasbuilt was known as the Columbus, Lima & Milwau-kee railroad. Union street is located off of HighStreet in North Defiance.

Clinton street, the main thoroughfare, wasnamed after General Clinton of New York, who wasfamous in the Indian wars just previous to the 1812period. Hopkins street was named after a connec-tion of the Holgate family, getting its name fromHopkins-Holgate. College Place, is a new thor-oughfare, along the north side of the Defiance Col-lege grounds.

There is one sad fact about this story. Ofthe eighty seven miles of Defiance streets thereare only about eleven miles improved. Now youcan see why the street department has such aworrying job of it, with nearly ninety miles of streetsto keep in repair and only about a dozen miles im-proved.

June 22, 1882 - Respected citizen Mr. JOHNSWILLEY, aged 52 years, 11 months and threedays, died at the family residence on Monday, June19th, 1882. Mr. John Swilley was a German bybirth, being born in Wurttenburg, Germany in 1829whence he sailed for America in April 1849 at theage of 20 years, and settled in Preble County, thisstate, where he engaged in the manufacturing ofwagons and buggies. Here he was married to MissMARIA HUFFMAN, Oct. 6th, 1853, who surviveshim.

In 1855 he removed with his family to Defi-ance County and settled in Hicksville, and engagedin his former business, that of a wagon maker, andalso established a tavern which is now known asthe Union House. Mr. Swilley was honest and in-dustrious and very successful in business, havingaccumulated considerable property. His loss willbe greatly felt.

The funeral service took place on Wednes-day, June 21st, from the M. E. Church, under theauspices of the order of Legion of Honor, Rev. S.S. HYDE, delivering the address, after which hisremains were interred in the Hicksville Cemetery.His funeral was attended by a large concourse offriends and relatives. The family have the sympa-thy of all our citizens. In honor of the memory ofMr. Swilley our village council, at its session onMonday evening, adopted a resolution asking thebusinessmen to close their place of business form1 to 3 p.m. in the afternoon of the funeral, to whichall willingly responded."

-June 29, 1882 - " On Sunday afternoon at about3:30 o'clock, BENJ. WILLLITS, while bathing, withfour or five companions in the Maumee River be-low the Jackson Crossing, came to a sad and un-timely death. A pleasant wager was made to swimto the opposite side of the river, in which all joined,but when only part way across, young Willits, ei-ther from exhaustion or cramp, was unable to pro-ceed and sank. He made no sign of distress andwhen noticed from the shore, it was too late torescue him, although the greatest effort was madeby his companions. The alarm was immediatelygiven and steps taken to recover the body, whichwas accomplished after dredging the river for sev-eral hours.

He is the son of ISAAC WILLITS, living inJerico, four and one-half miles southeast of town,and was 21 years of age. Deceased was highlyrespected by his associates and those of his ac-quaintances. The stricken family has the warmsympathy of a large circle of earnest friends. Thefuneral services were held at the family residenceon Tuesday, Rev. S. S. HYDE officiating. The re-mains were interred in the Hicksville Cemetery."

News of Hicksville - 1882

Edson, Dale Greer, E. G.Hart, Lawrence Hartzler, L. S.Hook, Fred Huber, F. G.Jackson, F. D. *Jackson, Geo. D.James, Garrett Kincade, J. W.McCormick, C. Overholt, V. S.Patterson, George A. Smith, Ray M.Tract, C. E. Wagner, C. E.Walter, Clyde L. Wentworth, H. D.Wineland, Burr R, Wort, L. D.

Evansport Lodge, No. 511Christy, I. S. Kittredge, M. R.Little, D. D. Mignin, FredPartee, B. C. Rollin, LloydSteger, Otto

Sherwood Lodge, No. 620Conley, F. W. Dickey, A. M.Elder, Lavon A. Long, Ora FranklinMusselman, Forrest Renz, H. E.Streip, Earl Swigart, A. W.Ward, J. L.

Those with * in front of their names died duringtheir service.

Page 22 Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015

Members of Area Lodges of the Free andAccepted Masons in Service in WW I

Tuendawie Lodge, No. 195 DefianceBeardslely, C. L. Cole, E. B.Conrad, Raymond L. Dekay, A. B.Douty, George W. Emery, Bartlett E.Folk, John W. Goldnetz, A. J.Kerns, W. W. Lindhardt, Walter J.Marlatt, John C. Morse, Harry R.Mallett, Chauncy I. Martin, Richard W.Rath, Alva R. Rieckhoff, Fred’kRoberts, Laird K. Robertson, J. F.Seibel, Oscar F. Seibel, Peter F.Shore, W. H. Smith, Carol A.Spangler, Harvey D. Thompson, SamuelWinkler, Herman Woodward, J. W. R.

Omega Lodge, No. 564 DefianceBates, Harry D. Brown, Harry B.Chapman, Eldred M. Cobb, Frank N.Cook, Walter B. Conrad, RichardCoy, Glen R. Crist, Harry H.Davis, Bert E. Dalldorf, J. W., Jr.Deatrick, Bernard F. Deatrick, FrankDiamond, Emory G. Engel, William H.Ensign, Chet O. Etler, Ernst E.Gleason, Rollin L. * Hamilton, DallasHarley, Alonzo F., Jr. Hickman, Arthur R.Hagy, Lewis I. Heater, John T.Jay, W. M. Krull, Julius G.Lauber, Edward J. Longnecker, D. D.Merihugh, Justus Palmer, Harry R.Rakestraw, H. Clay Ramsey, Stanley B.Scheuerman, Roy Shaw, Eli E.Spieth, Herman Stephen, Joe E.*Ury, John B. White, Amsey R.

Hicksville Lodge, No. 478

Arrrowsmith, J. C. Battershell, E. R.Blalock, W. C. Blakeslee, H. G.Blosser F. R. Bricker, F. D.Bricker, F. C. Carey, L. D.Carr, H. H. Cottrell, I. C.Cottrell, E. R. Crow, R. S.Daniels, Wm. H. Deardorff, L. M.

Physicians1905

HicksvilleH. W. CookJ. M. CoombsN. T. DeanJ. HullJ. S. HullN. JacksonT.G. KinmontW. S. LawningWm. H. RichardsJ. W. RidenourS. F. Welty

Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015 - Page 23

My Great-Aunt AUGUSTA LOUISA(K?nig) GLENN

by Joanne AllisonAugusta Louisa K?nig was born in

Eicherhoefe, Prussia, to Johann Christian and AnnaDorothy (Henning) K?nig in 1837. Her father wasa schoolmaster for many years, and her earliestschooling and appreciation for education came fromhim. Also, her paternal grandfather was a war herowho fought under "Old Blücher" (Gebhard Leberechtvon Blücher,) helping to defeat Napoleon in thebattle of Waterloo.

Coming to this country in 1849 at the age of12, Augusta and her parents and siblings settled inDefiance County, Ohio, where her father workedas a teacher, a carpenter, and a boat builder. Hedied in 1874 followed by her mother in 1875, andboth parents are buried in Riverside Cemetery,Defiance.

In approximately 1855 while in Defiance,Augusta met and married a barber named GeorgeMathewson Glenn. I'm sure this marriage raisedmany eyebrows, and the newlyweds, no doubt,were the subject of much gossip because GeorgeGlenn was a black man. Augusta and George movedto Delphos in Allen County, Ohio, and lived thereeleven years.

By the time of the 1860 census, they hadtwo children. Like many others in the years thatfollowed, Augusta's brother, Albert W. King, still aDefiance resident, served in the Union Army, risk-ing his life to preserve the union and assure therights of black men like his brother-in-law. Racialtensions were extremely high during the Civil Waryears.

By the 1870 census, the Glenn family was

living in the village of Oberlin, Lorain County, andthat census lists six children. Providing an educa-tion for their mixed-race children was of primaryimportance to George and Augusta, which is whythey moved to Oberlin in 1866 after the close ofthe Civil War to gain Oberlin's educational advan-tages. Oberlin College was unique in that they werethe first to allow women students to enroll in col-lege level classes, thus making the Institute thefirst coeducational college in the country. Not onlywas Oberlin the first college in the nation to admitwomen students, but African American students,as well.

George spent his first seven years in Oberlinin the draying business (hauling large objects bywagon or cart) and then resumed his former occu-pation of barbering, which he continued for 50years. His shop was located on College Place, andhe advertised himself as "The College Barber." Inhis half century of business in Oberlin, he was ahighly respected citizen and member of the FirstCongregational Church of Christ which included anumber of African Americans, both students at thecollege and Oberlin residents. Augusta may haveattended church with him, but having been raisedin the Lutheran faith, she remained a member ofthe Lutheran Church.

In all, Augusta, a white German immigrant,and George, a black barber, raised ten children--seven boys and three girls. All of those childrenwere educated, and some became teachers orworked in other professions requiring a secondaryeducation, all during a time when the country washurting from the Civil War and society in generalwas not very tolerant of women's or black people'srights. Joanne Allison

Mr. G. M. Glenn - the College Barber

Pays his respects to the Students of Oberlin College.He will be found at 15 College Place

during business hours, or any week day.

N. B. Special attention is given to Ladiesin neat and attractive apartment.

Page 24 - Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015

The following article wassubmitted by DCGS member DebraPerry. It is reprinted from the Febru-ary 2015 issue of the “Bend of theRiver.”

Longtime Perrysburg, Ohioresident, Printy Arthur was a hospi-tal corpsman attached to the U. S.NavyAmphibious Battalion. He par-ticipated in five Pacific invasion,Saipan, Palau, Leyte, Lingyen Gulf,and Okinawa.

MR. Arthur was born inSherwood, Ohio in 1924. His fatherwas a Methodist minister and thefamily moved often. In 1939 the fam-ily relocated to Arlington, Ohio, justsouth of Findlay.

PrintyArthur led the footballand basketball teams to conferencechampionships! After school, heworked for a veterinarian earning 25cents an hour. “It doesn’t sound likemuch,” he said, “but with movies andgas only 25 cents, a dollar went along way.”

He grew up amid the GreatDepression and in 1942 enrolled atBowling Green State University inpre-veterinarian. “Most of the guyswere either in or on their way to theservice.\,” he said. “I decided to dropout of school and told the draft boardthat I was ready.” After tow monthshe joined the Navy.

Boot camp was in GreatLakes, Illinois. And, Printy Arthurwas recruited into a choir companyand alter selected for the Admiral’sBlue Jacket Choir. The elite groupsame with the Chicago Symphonyand on the “Meet Your Navy” radioBroadcast. It was aired on Fridaynight from Great Lakes. “It was

The “Meet Your Navy” Radio Broadcast Was onFriday NightsArticle by Richard Baranowski ,a freelance writer fromPerrysburg, Ohio

wonderful duty; we rehearsed andsang.”

Because of his pre-vet back-ground, Mr. Arthur became a hospi-tal corpsman. They were attache tothe Marines and provided medicalcare on the battlefield, shipboard andin hospitals. Printy began medicschooling.

Later, he was shipped toFlorida for intensive training with theamphibious battalion. “That waswhen we learned all the details ofmaking an invasion,” he said. “Welearned to set up an aide station onthe beach. It was tough, rigid train-ing.”

Four months later, Mr.Arthurwas shipped to Little Creek, Virginia,and assigned to the ship “USS Leon,”a troop transport. It was March of1944 when they sailed through thePanama Canal to Pearl Harbor.

He said, “Our task force leftPearl Harbor in late May. There wereabout 100 ships of all types, tenacross and ten deep. We headed tothe Marshall Islands where we metup with a full complement of ships.For a preacher’s kid from Ohio, itwas quite a sight.”

The troop transport carriedabout 1, 500 men. A beach party of-ficer was in charge of a stretch ofbeach about 200 yards wide. Thetroops were to land there. Mr.Arthursaid, “We handled all the casualtiesthat came to us.”

They landed on Saipan onJune 15, 1944, in the first wave. Itwas chaotic. “Nobody knew whatwas going on and we landed on thewrong beach.” He continued, “Weeventually found our group and forthe next three days we took constant

mortar fire. I recall once when I wason my knees giving plasma to a badlywounded Marine, a mortar fragmentkilled him. You come to love youfoxhole very much.”

Due to the great number ofcasualties, the “Leon” was turnedinto a hospital ship. He said, “Webecame a ship of meat ball surger-ies, working rapidly around the clockto stabilize patients as quickly aspossible.”

Some of the en died and wereburied at sea. “It was always a sadoccasion. The chaplain would speak,and the bodies had been sewn intocanvas bags with a five pound shellat their feet. From a stretcher drapedwith an American flag the bodieswere slid into the water.”

Later they sent some ambu-latory patients to a regular hospitalship. Mr. Printy said, :I went withthem in a landing craft and when theywere taken aboard we headed backand saw that our ship was headed outto sea.”

The Japanese sent a large air-craft counter attack and all transportswere ordered out. This was alterknown as the Marianas TurkeyShoot. The Hellcat fighters

(Continued on next page)

Printy Arthur

knocked down almost 100 Japaneseaircraft.

“After loading troops atPearl, we left for Palau and landedthere on September 15, 1944. Thecausalities were quite heavy.”

In October 1944, they landedon Leyte in the Philippines. The con-voy took several direct hits fromKamikazes.

Then with Army troopsaboard, they landed in Lingayen Gulfin the Philippines in January 1945.

At Pearl Harbor, Mr. Arthurwas assigned to the U. S. Naval Hos-pital, Alea Heights. He soon discov-ered there was a Big Band on thebase. He had played the trombonein high school and college, so he au-ditioned and was accepted,

“What a sweet duty!” he said.“We played for dances at the officerclubs all over the island, as many asthree times a week.”

Mr. Arthur was in Hawaiiwhen the atom bomb was dropped.He said, “When we heard about thebomb, we all thought it was so muchshuttlebut. But it was true, and thewar ended.”

Because Mr. Arthur had par-ticipated in five invasions, he wasamong the first to be discharged. Hereturned home in December 1945.

Richard Baranowski

Warning: Genealogy “Pox” Very ContagiousSymptoms: Continual complaint for need of names, dates and places. Patient has blank expres-sion; sometimes deaf to spouse and children. Has no taste for work of any kind except feverishlylooking through records at libraries and courthouses. Has compulsion to write excessive emailsand letters. Swears at computers when vital information can’t be located. Frequents cemeteries,churches, courthouses. May make secret night emails or calls. Hides phone bills from spouseand often mumbles to self. Has strange, faraway look in eyes.Treatment: NO KNOWN CURE! Medication is useless. Disease is not usually fatal, but getsprogressively worse. Patient should attend genealogy workshops, subscribe to genealogy maga-zines and online resources, and be given a quiet corner where he or she can be alone.Remarks: The unusual nature of this disease is-- the sicker the patient gets, the more he or sheappears to enjoys it!

Yesteryears’ Trails - Defiance Co. Summer 2015 - Page 25

Black Sea SchoolDistrict No. 5

Noble Township1915-191

Leorah Dreher - teacherFirst Grade

Dora LewisSecond Grade

Louis BeindorfDaniel Singer

Third GradeEdward HilerGertie HilerFrederick HilerJacob LewisWillie RauthAnges Weaner

Fourth GradeMable BeindorfAlbert HilerCarrie LewisGeorge WardGilbert WardThomas Ward

Sixth GradePearl BeindorfAubrey Dreher

Seventh GradeOtto BeindorfGladys LangMarie MultzEarnest KennedyDonald SmithWalter SmithMargaret Weaner

Physicians1905

Defiance CityD. S. BabbittNettie BelauE E. ChapmanJ. W. DavisR. W. FinchCatherine HooverG. W. HuffmanR. R. ParcherW. M. PowellG. A. RigrishJ. J. ReynoldsADele A. RohnC. E. SlocumM. B. StevensJ. B. UryJ. D. estrickCharles W. Zeller

EvansportM. V. RepogleG. E. Winn

SherwoodJ. K. DenmanH. G. LindersmithJ. L. Slager

JewellR. B. Cameron

Name_______________________________ Phone________________Address____________________________________________________City___________________ State________________ Zip_____________Description of Publications - Defiance County Genealogy Society Price QuantityReprint of 1876 Defiance County Atlas with Indices (Paper- pub. 2007) 25.00Plat Map Index or Biographical Index for the 1876 Def. Co. Atlas $8.00 eachIndex to the 1976 Defiance County History Book (pub. 2006) $15.00Index to the History of Defiance County 1883 (pub. 2008) $30.00Def. Co. Tombstone Index ‘78-’83: Book A-K or Book L-Z (pub. 2001) $30.00 eachEarly Death Records of Defiance Co. 1867-1884 (pub. 2001) $25.00Def. Co. Deaths 1884-1907: Book A-K or Book L-Z (pub. 2004) $25.00 eachDef. Co. Deaths 1908-1996: Book A-E, Book F-K, Book L-R or Book S-Z $30.00 eachDef. Co. Out of County and State Burial Permits 1973-1998 (pub. 2004) $25.00Def. Co. Riverside Interments: Jan. 1978-July 2006 (pub. 2007) $25.00Adams Township Def. Co. Inscription Book (Read in 2000; pub. 2005) $25.00Def. Twp. & City Tombstone Inscription. (New Riverside Cem. not included)(Read in ‘78-’82; pub. 2001) $25.00Defiance City New Riverside Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘78-’82; pub. 2001) $35.00Delaware Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘01-’02; pub. 2005) $30.00Farmer Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘94; pub. 2008) $30.00Hicksville Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘00-’02; pub. 2007) $35.00Highland Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ’01; pub. 2005) $25.00Mark & Milford Twps. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘01; pub. 2004) $25.00Noble Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘92; pub. 2005) $20.00Richland Twp. Def. Co./ Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ’78-’82; pub. 2001) $20.00Tiffin Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ’96-’06; pub. 2001) $25.00Washington Twp. Def. Co. Tombstone Inscriptions (Read ‘97; pub. 2005) $20.00Def. Co. Births 1867-1908: Book A-D, Book E-I, Book J-M (pub. 2001) $35.00 eachDef. Co. Births 1867-1908: Book N-Sm, Book Sn-Z (pub. 2001) $30.00 eachDef. Co. Marriages - Small Vol 1: 1845-1861 (pub. 2001) $30.00Def. Co. Marriages - Small Vol. 2: 1855-1885 (pub. 2006) $25.00Def. Co. Marriages Vol. 1&2: Feb. 1885-May 1897 (pub. 2009) $ $25.00Def. Co. Marriages Vol. 3&4: Jan. 1897-Nov. 1903 (pub. 2009) $30.00Def. Co. Marriages Vol. 5&6: November 1903 – December 1912 (pub. 2010) $25.00Def. Co. Marriages Vol. 7&8 Dec. 1912-Nov. 1925 (pub. 2011) $25.00Defiance County Naturalizations (pub. 2008) $20.001890 Defiance County Veterans’ Census (pub. 2007) $15.00Enumerations of Males in Defiance County 1847-1895 (pub. 2006) $25.00Def. Co. Probate Index 1845 - June 1995: Book A-K or L-Z (pub. 2001) $30.00 eachDef. Co. 1870 Census Index: Book A- La or Book La-Z (pub. 2001) $25.00 eachCampaigns of the Army of the Northwest 1812-1813 (pub. 2009) $10.00Civil War Journals of Darius W. Baird (38th OVI) of NW Ohio (pub. 2011) $10.00Reproduction of Turnbull Wagon Co. Catalogue 1904 (pub. 2011) $21.50Genealgoical Research Guide for Defiance County, Ohio $2.50TOTAL (Includes all taxes, shipping handling. Prices effective May 2011) TOTALPaid by Cash_____ Check#______ Order Received__________ Order Sent____ Form - March 2012Publications available from

Defiance County GenealogySociety - PO Box 7006,Defiance, OH 43512-7006