George H. Discus - G.A.R., Bishop Post

George H. Dicus owned and was president of the Dicus Cooperage Company in Defiance at the turn of the century and beyond.  

George grew up in Paulding County and was found in the 1860 census there with his parents, Burges and Hannah, and siblings, Joshua, Rachel, Henry, and Alonzo.  On December 8, 1863, at about the age of 22, he enlisted in Company C of the 68th Ohio Infantry.  He served 1 year and 8 months until his discharge on July 10, 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky.

He began his service in Mississippi, but quickly moved on to Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia and eventually participated in the Siege of Atlanta.

After his discharge, he returned home and married Anna Listerman Frick/Freck, a widow, on January 17, 1867.  Her former husband, John, had died at the age of 29, because of wounds received at Vicksburg.  By 1870, the couple had settled in Defiance where George worked as a cooper.  They had children Emmit, Della, and Lola.  Living with them was a boarder, Benjamin Lowe, 17, an apprentice to a wagon maker.

George and Anna left Defiance at some point and returned to Paulding County to take up the farming life.  They were enumerated there in 1880 in Auglaize Township with children: Viola F, 16; Emmett, 12; Emma, 10; Anna, 10; Generva, 8; Bertha, 7; Mary, 4; Tracy, 3; and Henry B., 4 month.  

Perhaps this occupation was not lucrative enough or George decided he was not suited for this life because by 1890, George was listed in Defiance on the Veterans Census. He ran for Second Ward councilman on the Republican ticket in 1892.  

In 1900, the family was settled in at 825 Jackson Street where George indicated his occupation was cooperage manufacturing.  The house was still full of children, including Bertha, 24; Tracy, 21; Henry, 18; Edith, 16; George, 14, and Ellen, 9.   Lydia Cornell, 79, a single boarder, also lived with them.  In a later census, Lydia was identified as an aunt.  

The caption on this photo refers to the Dicus Cooperage Company.  It appeared in the Crescent-News on January 25, 1968.

 Mrs. George Dicus died in 1908 and her obituary appeared in the Crescent-News on August 24, 1908:

 George Dicus lived on until 1921.  In the 1920 census, he lived at 723 Jackson Street with a single daughter, Jenate, 46.  His obituary appeared in the Crescent-News on March 14, 1921:

Both are interred at Riverside Cemetery in Defiance.

More information may be found on George H. Dicus at www.findagrave.com