John B. Fisher - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Pleasant Township, Henry County, Ohio was the home of a young John B. Fisher.  His parents, Nicholas, 54, and Barbery, 50, were farming there in 1850, along with their children, Barbery, 17; John B. 15; Frederick, 13, all born in Bavaria, Germany. With them were two young boys, Henry and George Vierhner, born in Ohio, who may have been relatives.

When the call came for Union soldiers, John did not hesitate, enlisting September 5, 1861, into Company C, 44th Ohio Infantry, and he was promoted to full corporal. Discharged from that company in January, 1864, he was transferred to Company C, 8th Ohio Cavalry, a veteran company ordered by the Secretary of War, and there he stayed until the end of the war.  He was transferred to full sergeant in April, 1864, mustering out at Clarksburg, WV on July 30, 1865. Most of his time was spent in Kentucky and Tennessee, and he reported on the 1890 census that he was wounded in the head and in the right thigh. 

Upon his return, he married Kate A. Deamer (Katherine Amelia) on November 16, 1865, in Defiance.  

At some point, the family removed from Defiance to Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio, where John B. set up a blacksmith business.  He was 34 years old when the census enumerator found him there with children: Benjamin Jno, 5; Charles W., 2; Alice Hattie, 3 months, and his wife, Catherine A, 25.

By 1880, the family was expanded, and they had moved back to Defiance into a house at 123 Jackson Street.  Eugene, Finnette (Henrietta), and an infant boy had joined the family.  John worked as a blacksmith and the family kept a boarder, Charles Douglas, 28, a teamster from Canada.  Perhaps it was in this era that John B. became active with the G.A.R. in Defiance.  In August, 1881, one newspaper noted that "J. B. Fisher has a forty acre farm for sale. See advertisement."  In 1882, he was making home improvements on his home in the First Ward.

But, by 1900, he and the family were settled in at 197th 5th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio.  John was 64 by that time and he and Catherine had had seven children, with six living.  Eugene, Henrietta, and another son, Burton all lived at home.  Catherine (Kate) was keeping house for John, who was still blacksmithing; with Eugene, a freight inspector; Henrietta , a seamstress; and Burton, a machinist.  

John B. Fisher died in Columbus, Ohio, on December 30, 1918, at home, of cancer, according to his grave registration.  He was buried at Greenlawn Cemetery, Franklin Township, Ohio, on December 31, the very next day.  No obituary could be found at this time, but obviously, the family had prepared for his death after a long illness.  

Kate continued to live in Columbus with her son, Eugene, at a home at 909 Summit Street. Eugene worked as a motorman on the interurban railway.

The extent of John B. Fisher's involvement with the Bishop Post could not be determined, but his photo was included on the group photo taken around the turn of the century.

(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)

Murderous Assault

This account of criminal assault was reported in the Defiance Daily Express of October 17, 1900.  Did crime pay?

"MURDEROUS ASSAULT

 Farmer Badly Pounded by Two Tough Hobos.

JESSE HUFFMAN, who resides on the GEO. ROCK farm, one mile west of Sherwood, was assaulted by two desperate men at 6 a.m. Tuesday and had a close call for his life.  He had about completed his feeding and went back into the barn for something when he was set upon by two men, strangers.

The first blow was across the top of the head and knocked him down.  They continued the assault and battered Huffman's face up in bad shape.  There was one cut on his cheek that looked like it might have been made with the corner of a square stick.  He also had a cut on the lip and several teeth loosened.  

After the men left the barn, they threw a bomb back toward the barn and it exploded with great force.  The men moved away from Huffman's place in a leisurely manner toward the Cincinnati Northern railway and started south.

 An alarm was soon given and the officials at Sherwood telephoned the marshal at Cecil to look after the men.  They passed through Cecil before the marshal heard from Sherwood.  The officer took a hand car and with a posse followed the fellows and overtook them at the big woods where CHAS. HART killed the GOOD children several years ago.  The men fled to the woods and one of them was finally located in a tree and put under arrest.  He gave his name as EARNEST RICHARD LEWIS and had a revolver and several sticks of dynamite on his person when arrested.  The second man got away.

No reason is given for the murderous assault on Huffman.  The officials seem to think the men had been guilty of some crime at some other point and simply assaulted Huffman that they might escape identification.  Lewis admitted that he assisted in the assault on Huffman.

Lewis had a hearing before Mayor D. F. OPENLANDER, of Sherwood Tuesday and was bound over to the grand jury in the sum of $1,000 on the charge of attempted murder.  He was brought to this city this morning by Marshal L. F. CARTER, of Sherwood, and incarcerated in the county jail."

 

On November 29, 1900, LEWIS was indicted  for assault with intent to kill.  He pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary.

Sheriff John P. Elser and Jack Binney took

Lewis and another prisoner to the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus on December 6, 1900.  From there, the trail ends.

No mention was found of the other assailant.

East Defiance Community Band, circa 1913

For many years, Lloyd V. Tuttle contributed historic photos and information to the Defiance Crescent-News for his column: "A Backward Glance."  The East Defiance Community Band was discussed in an article printed on September 26, 1963.  Maybe you have an ancestor who played in this community band.

"East Defiance folks have always evidenced more than their share of civic pride.  It was a small group of dedicated East Defiance men who started Kingsbury Park.  By donations, money raising events and hard work, they managed to bring the park to a point that it became too big for them and they gave it to the city.

More than 50 years ago, East Defiance decided it should have a band.  At first it was a small organization but they, too, were a group of dedicated men and in due time, it was one of the finest bands in northwestern Ohio.  It gave summer concerts and played in many of the nearby towns.  A custom of the band was to ride all over town at midnight on New Year's Eve and serenade various neighborhoods.  The uniforms were dark red with white trousers.

W. F. (Fud) Kimberly was their leader and band music was a 'natural' with him.

Shown in the picture are, for left, back row: Glen Brubaker, Edwin French, Harry Hahn, Kimberly, Pete Doneyer, Harry Heidepreim, Harry Conn, Peter Zenz, Chris Krabach.
Middle row: Leo Kahlo, unidentified, Ernest Zeigler, Fred Heidepreim, unidentified, Orville Brubaker, Charles Cromley, and 
Front row: Bill Pracht, Ted Blue, Otto Pracht, unidentified, Ervin (Boots) Kesselmyer."

Winners of the Crescent-News Diamond Contest - December 29, 1908

It certainly was a race to follow as the women of Defiance County vied for prizes of diamond rings and watches given out by the Crescent-News.  All they had to do was garner votes from family and friends.  Voting ballots appeared in the newspaper every day.  If they wanted extra points, any new subscriptions to the paper gave them that.

Over $500 worth of prizes was offered by the Crescent to the top vote-getters.
The overall winner was Miss Edith Kopp of Defiance with 178,949 votes.  Miss Goldie Rethmel gained 131,000, Miss Tena Wilsberg of Washington Street, Defiance had 127,542 and Miss Della Kyle, Hicksville tallied 169,851. 

Florence Stoll of Second Street, Defiance; Godie Deatrick of Kintner Street; Dessie Lichty of Ney; and Celia Snyder of Evansport completed the winners' list.

Other participants were:

Miss Mabel Daoust, 202 Jackson Street, Defiance
Miss Mabel Elser, Wayne Street, Defiance
Miss Verona Reineke, 828 Wayne Street, Defiance
Miss Lettie Seibel, Perry Street, Defiance

Miss Ora Stripe, RFD 1, Ney
Miss Clara Johns, Sherwood
Miss Madge Reynolds, Ney
Miss Dessie Lichty, Ney

Miss Rose Bequillard, Hicksville
Miss Iva Slough, The Bend
Miss Laverne Hart, Hicksville
Miss Madge Donley, Farmer

Miss Audre Hoover, Sherwood
Miss Charlotte Fronk, RFD 4, Defiance (?)
Miss Mamie Hammond, Jewell
Mrs. Zeigler, Ayersville

Miss Rose McCauley, South Richland
Miss Blanche Cameron, North Richland

Peter Gilts - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Peter Gilts grew up in a large family with his parents, Lawrence and Martha Gilts.  In 1850, the farming family was settled in Auglaize Township, Paulding County, Ohio.  Peter was 11 at the time (born in August, 1838, according to one census), and he had three older siblings: Jacob, Mariah and Susan.  Five siblings were younger: Abram, Katharine, Daniel, Elizabeth, and Isaac.  His father's real estate holdings were valued at $200, so it was not a wealthy family.








By 1860, Peter, 20, was off on his own, working as a farm laborer on the farm of Philip and Margaret Holtzel.  Peter's brother, Abraham, worked a few farms down for John Sanford in Highland Township, Defiance County.  Peter was 22 when he was moved to enlist into Company B, 68th Ohio Infantry in December, 1861.  He served throughout the entire war in Mississippi (Vicksburg), and on to Georgia and the Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta campaigns.  At Vicksburg, the unit furnished many sharpshooters and was constantly in the trenches, before they were assigned to reconnaissance.  After Vicksburg, they had a short furlough home before joining General Sherman in Atlanta.  

Before the Atlanta campaign, maybe at Vicksburg, Peter was wounded in the jaw and shoulder, as reported in a 1915 local newspaper.  The Veterans' Census of 1890 reported a disability due to a gunshot wound; however, Peter returned to service until his mustering out on July 10, 1865, after the unit attended the Grand Review in Washington, D. C. 

Jane Scott became the wife of Peter Gilts in Paulding County on February 29, 1868.  By 1870, they were settled on a farm in Highland Township with their first child, Elizabeth, 1.  Peter had real estate worth just $50 at that time.  They went on to have other children, James and Martha and Susan, and they stayed in Highland Township until somewhere between the 1890 and 1900 censuses.

By 1900, the family was enumerated at 851 Ottoway (Ottawa) Avenue where they rented a home.  Peter was 61 and Jane, 56, and with them was their youngest daughter, Susie, 15, born in 1884.  Peter was not employed.  In 1902, the local paper noted that he had been awarded a pension increase to $12 a month.
Sadly, in 1907, their daughter, Martha Logan, wife of Albert, died in childbirth.  She was buried with the infant daughter in her arms.

Number 126, Auglaize Street, became the address of Peter and Jane Gilts sometime before 1910 - their own mortgaged home.  Their youngest daughter, Susie, (Sussie in the census) still lived at home and worked as a seamstress in the glove works.  Peter, at 71, had a job as janitor at the post office.  This was the home they would be in until Peter's death at 80 on January 15, 1920.

Defiance Crescent-News, January 16, 1920

 
Mt. Zion Cemetery is in Putnam County, Ohio.


 




 www.findagrave.com - Mt. Zion Cemetery, Continental, Putnam, Ohio


(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)

John Butler - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

John Butler was known as the blind veteran in Defiance.  He did not work, but was active in the G.A.R. and was well known throughout the city of Defiance.


 Born in 1840 or 1841 in Coshocton, Ohio, to John Washington Butler and Sarah DeVault,  the family was in Richland Township, Defiance County, at least by 1860.  John lived with his parents at the age of 18, in 1860, along with his brother George, 27.  His father was a farmer; his real estate holdings were worth $200.







John enlisted into the 48th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company F, in December, 1861.  The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio noted that he 
"transferred from Company E, 83d O. V. I. to Company D, 48th Battalion July 24, 1865.  Mustered out August 31, 1865, at Houston, Texas on Surgeon's certificate of disability."  In the 1890 Veterans Census, John noted that his disability was a loss of eyesight.  No record has been found as to the cause of his blindness.

As he really could not support himself, John lived with his parents in Richland Township for many years. He was enumerated with them on the census in both 1870 and 1880.  In 1880, a granddaughter, Georgianna Harris, lived with them to help with housekeeping.

In 1886, when John was in his forties, he married a younger Adella Bennett.
The Defiance County Express ran the announcement on October 14, 1886.

"MARRIED.  Butler - Bennett.  On October 5th, 1886 at the residence of the bride's sister, Mrs. S. M. Cameron, by Rev. J. L. Phillips, Mr. John Butler and Miss Adell Bennett, all of Defiance.  

Unfortunately, she died about nine months later on July 21, 1887.

 John's father died the next year, in 1888, and his mother in 1891.  These notes appeared in the newspapers of Defiance.

"John Butler, Sr. died Tuesday, May 8, 1888 at 4:00 in the morning at the advanced age of 82 years, 8 months, 2 days.  Deceased resided with his son, John, in 3rd ward.  Funeral on Thursday.  Services were conducted by the M. E. Church and by J. C. Phillips at 1 o'clock p.m."

"BUTLER - On Sunday evening, February 22, at the residence of her son, John Butler, Mrs. Sarah Butler, aged 81 years, of pneumonia.  The funeral occurred Tuesday afternoon at Independence, Rev. A. L. Jordan conducting the services.  The deceased was an old resident of the county and the mother of George and John Butler and Anna Harris of North Defiance."
Defiance County Express, 1891

Again alone, John married Tryphena Hughes on April 29, 1891 at the home of the bride.  They settled in at 130 East High Street.  In 1900, the census enumerator found John, 59, and Trypena, 41, with Nora Fosler, a servant.  John gave his occupation as landlord, so perhaps he was renting out his parents' place or some other property he had acquired.  

John lived until January 5, 1905, when he died and was buried in the Independence Cemetery.  His obituary appeared in the Defiance Express. 

Defiance Express - January 13, 1905

Independence Cemetery

Tryphena Hughes Butler died in 1911, and she was buried in an unmarked grave next to her husband, John.  This short obituary appeared in the Defiance Democrat on June 24, 1911.

"Mrs. Triphena Butler, who died at the Toledo State Hospital, will be brought to this city this evening and taken to the residence of B. Brickman.  Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 10 o'clock at the residence.  Burial in Independence."
 

(This is part of a series on Civil War veterans of Defiance County who were part of the G.A.R., Bishop Post, that headquartered in the city.  Formed in 1879, the post was named after a local man, Captain William Bishop, Company D, 100th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Army who died as a result of wounds received in battle.  The veterans' photos are part of a composite photo of members that has survived.  If you have other information or corrections to add to the soldiers' stories, please add to the comments!)

Scouting the Library Local History Room - County Histories

I always consider it lucky if one of the surnames I am researching is in a county history book. Some tidbit of information...or maybe more...may be just waiting to be found. Some books are online for a fee, but why not stop in at the library and see if what you need is here for free?

Defiance County has several history books available - 1883 and 1976 and an historical atlas of 1876 which has personal information on some landowners.

It's always a good idea to check the histories of adjoining counties. 

 Along with the history book, one may find other related books for that county.

Sometimes, folks from our county moved to the big city to work and ended up living there.  It just takes a minute to check the book's index.


All of these books and many more may be found in the Local History Room of our Defiance Public Library.