Bennett Smith - G.A.R., Bishop Post

At sixteen years old, Bennett Smith was a private in Company F of the 48th Ohio Infantry.  Enlisting on December 16, 1861, he served until his discharge on August 28, 1862.  Perhaps he would have fought longer if not for a gunshot wound in his hand which he reported on the 1890 Veterans Census. Considering the time period, the wound could have occurred at the Battle of Shiloh in April, 1862, a particularly bloody battle that did not go well for the Union.  

Bennett was German, born in August, 1846, and naturalized here in 1850 or 1851. The 1860 census of Richland Township, Defiance County, enumerated Bennett, 14, with his parents, John and Frances, and nine children, of which Bennett was second oldest.  

 
In 1871, Bennett Smith married Cornelia Baker.  The couple had four children: John, Mary Mae, Karl and Bertha.  By 1880, they were settled into 250 Washington Street in Defiance, where Bennett worked as a carpenter, while Cornelia (who was born in Holland) minded the children and took care of their boarder, H. G. Baker, 22, a student at law and her brother.

The Defiance Democrat reported on December 14, 1882, that Bennett had his cousin (Potterf) from Germany into town.  What a tragic story that cousin had!

It wasn't long before Bennett became more of an entrepreneur, opening first a butcher shop on East Second Street.  Eventually, he expanded into other groceries, knickknacks, and even shoes.  One newspaper noted:

"You can purchase genuine home rendered lard at fourteen cents a pound of Bennett Smith, at his butcher shop on Second Street in Fourth Ward.  He also sells the best pork and beef steak at ten cents a pound.  Call and see him"

Advertisement from 1897

By 1900, he was a well established merchant in Defiance at the age of 52.  The census mentioned that two of his children, Karl, 15, and Mae, 22, worked as grocery salesmen - part of the family business.  Bertha, 19, taught school, and perhaps John had already left home.  The family lived in a home at 203 Auglaize Street .
In 1902, Bennett was severely injured in a runaway horse accident.  Three newspapers - The Defiance Express, the Defiance Crescent News, and the Defiance Weekly Express - all covered the story.

Defiance Express, August 9, 1902

 From the information provided in the stories above, it would appear that Bennett had given up his store and retired.  He did recover from his accident and in 1910, at the age of 64, he and Cornelia, 58, continue to live at the Auglaize Street home.  Two of their children lived with them: Mae, single and 30, was a shoe sales lady and Karl A., single and 25, was a civil engineer working out of the courthouse.

About 1919, Bennett and Cornelia and daughter, Mae, moved to Dustin, Hughes, Oklahoma.  Their oldest son, John, lived there with his wife, Jennie, and three children - Hayward, Lela, and Marvin.  John had a dry goods store there.  Bennett's daughter, Bertha, also resided there.  On January 6 1920, Bennett, 73, and Cornelia, 69, had their own home which they owned free of debt.  Mae was 39 and single, and perhaps cared for her parents. She was not employed otherwise.

On May 24, 1920, Bennett Smith passed away in Dustin, Oklahoma, and it was there he was buried in the Fairview Dustin Cemetery.  His obituary appeared in the Crescent News on May 26, 1920:

No photo was available of his tombstone.  Eventually Cornelia and Mae went back north where they settled in Adrian, Michigan.  Cornelia lived until May, 1934 when she died in Adrian.  Her body was brought back to Riverside Cemetery in Defiance.

 

Crescent News, May 21, 1934

Miss Mae Smith died in 1946 and was buried with her mother in Riverside Cemetery.

Crescent News, May, 1946

Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, 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!)

Highland Township School, District #6 - 1936

Defiance Box Company

In 1916, the Defiance Box Company appeared in a Chamber of Commerce book
about Defiance.  The company, at that time, had been in existence over 25 years, buying logs and timber "on the stump" from nearby land owners close to the company mill which was on the canal in Defiance.  The factory and offices were located at the junction of the Wabash and B & O railroads.

For many years, Lloyd V. Tuttle contributed historic photos and information to the Defiance Crescent-News for his column, "A Backward Glance."
This article, undated, featured the ladies who worked at the Box Company in 1925, while a later article discussed the history of the factory. 

"THIS PICTURE is of some of the girls who worked at the old Defiance Box Co., a factory now occupied by the Farm Bureau alfalfa dehydrator.  It was taken on the roof of the plant in 1925.

Those in the picture are, from left, back row - June Whetstone, Ocie McClure, Lucille Cooper, forelady - Mrs. Barbara Flannigan, hold 'Watermelon,' the cat that was a pet of Miss Jennie Markley.
Kneeling down in front were Rose Kiessling and Lula Miler.

The picture was submitted by Mrs. Ocie Switzer, 323 Auglaize St." 

Wire bound boxes, pottery crates, poultry coops, box "shooks*, and wheelbarrows were all produced at the Box Company and shipped around the U.S. and to Canada, and Central and South Americas. 

*Shooks were the parts to make a box for the 'do-it-yourselfers.'"

In 1916, the Box Company appeared in a Chamber of Commerce booklet, which indicated the company, at that time, had been in business for 25 years.  W. A. Kehnast was president; C. A. Fessel, Secretary-Treasurer, and H. D. Bokop, General Manager.  The company was located at the junction of the Wabash and B & O Railroads, and also had a large saw mill along the canal in Defiance.  
"Logs were bought locally from the timberlands of the area."

Photo brought to the newspaper by Bernard Sherry

"THIS PICTURE, taken 55 years ago, shows part of the force of the old Defiance Box Co., which manufactured out of native timber dovetailed box shooks, veneer egg cases, poultry crates, wheelbarrows, slot fencing, factory trucks and various other items.

The main plant was located where the Farm Bureau alfalfa dehydrator now stands.  There also was a two story sawmill on the site of the Cozy Corner where hub blocks and dimension lumber were fashioned.

The two Defiance plants, at their heights, employed 124.  A plant at Ullin, Ill., employed about a similar number and one at Oriental, N.C., about 60.  When the native lumber was used up, an effort was made to use timber from North Carolina, but it came from swamp land and could not be kiln dried.
H. D. Bokop was the promoter and general manager of the company.

The picture...shows only a part of the working force and among those he could name are: John Stickley, Andrew Brewer, Frank Cupp, John Rath, Barney Sauber, Tom Rout, John Sauber, Bernard Sherry, Earl Whetstone, and Bill Romer.  The main local plant had several bad fires, but was rebuilt each time as only part of it burned."

Jonas Waldner - G.A.R., Bishop Post

An immigrant from Switzerland in 1852, Jonas Waldner was settled in Defiance County by the 1860 census.  He was a farm laborer living with Ernest and Louisa Jones and their one year old son.  Two other workers and a domestic servant finished the household.  


On April 28, 1861, Jonas enlisted in Company D, 14th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Sidney Sprague.  His term of three months was quickly over, and he was discharged on August 18, 1861.  He listed his disability on the Veterans Census as chronic diarrhea.  

Jonas, born on April 20, 1834, found love in the United States.  He married Katharine Oster on September 12, 1861, in Defiance. Katharine was from Bavaria, Germany.
The couple would go on to have nine children: Anna E., Mary E., Andrew, Earnest, Berita, Harry, Henry, Adam, and Elmer.  From 1870 to near 1900, the family lived in the Defiance area where Jonas farmed.  In 1880, Katharine's father was enumerated with the family.  Jacob Oster, 64, and a widower, was a lock tender on the canal.  

Sadly, in July 1887, Katharine Oster Waldner died, leaving a host of small children for her husband to care for and support.  The Defiance Democrat reported on July 28, 1887:

"Mrs. Kate Waldner died last Saturday at an age of 47 years, 1 month, and 18 days after a protracted illness of jaundice.  Funeral services were held Monday at the Presbyterian church.  Rev. May officiating in the absence of Rev. Slagle."

 In 1891, Jonas was admitted into the U. S. Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers in Dayton, Ohio, when he was about 57 years old.  He was described as having dark hair, hazel eyes, gray hair and he was 5 foot, 7 inches tall.  He noted he was single.  At someone's request, he was discharged on July 18, 1892.

Anna Raubert married Jonas Waldner on September 14, 1894, in Defiance. The couple soon moved to Williams County where they were enumerated in 1900.  Jonas was 66 and Anna was 58.  Still at home with them were Alva (Adam?) Waldner, 17, and Elmer Waldner, 14.  They remained in Williams County - Pulaski, in 1910 - until Jonas died.   Elmer, 27, was still at home and working as an electrician at the time.

Jonas died on March 7, 1912, in Williams County.  No obituary could be found, but years after his death, E. B. Waldner (Elmer Waldner?) applied for a headstone for Jonas from the federal government. Jonas was buried in the older part of Riverside Cemetery, Defiance, along with his first wife, Katharine, and daughter, Bertha, who died when she was 12 and Andrew, who died at 18.  Four other names (Elizabeth, Nellie, Charles and Ferdinand) are on stones with no dates or other information in the Waldner area.

After Jonas died, his second wife, Anna, went to live with her brother in Ligonier, Indiana.  She died not long after Jonas, on October 17, 1912, and was buried in Ligonier.

Ligonier Leader, October 17, 1912

 

Death Certificate of Anna Raubert Waldner.  She had no children.

(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!)

Washington Township High School - Class of 1908

Class of 1908

Identified:
Bottom row: 4th from Left - Marie Strusaker Yeagley
                      5th from Left - Rella Walker

Please help identify these students.  Add names and placement in the comments.

Wilseyville, Farmer Township, Defiance County

In Section 31 of Farmer Township was Wilseyville (here misspelled as Wolsenville,) formerly known as the town of Arrowsmith.  From the plat map of 1866, Defiance County

Miller Arrowsmith, the surveyor of Defiance County and eventually Auditor, came early to Defiance County to survey and purchase large plots of land.  He developed the village of Arrowsmith in about 1842. After the Civil War, the town was eventually renamed Wilseyville by his nephew, William M. Haller.

It has been reported that the town once contained a grist mill, a sawmill, a tanner, a boarding house, a post office, and an oar factory.  In 1961, then Sherriff Don Kehnast took a group on a tour of some of the historical places in the county. The Defiance Crescent-News reported the guide as saying:

"It is known definitely that Miller Arrowsmith was post master there for 15 years.  Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour, who live in a century old house, north on Route 2 near there found and still have letters bearing the postmark of a station of both names.  The letters were stored in the attic of the home where the Ridenour family have lived for at least 75 years."

A Wilseyville correspondent sent regular news items to the Defiance County Express from the late 1870s to 1883.  Known as the Wilseyville Whittlings (compared with the Hicksville Hackings and the Bethel Blubbers!), all kinds of news from the village was reported.
This example was from December 15, 1881:

The Defiance County Express announced on May 24, 1883: "Hereafter the 'Wilseyville Items' will be known as the 'Lost Creek Items,' as the Wilseyville Post Office  'has gone up the spout.'  The end of Wilseyville was at hand.

Andrew J. Kiser - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Andrew Kiser must have regaled his family with stories of witnessing the end of the War of the Rebellion at Appomattox, as he watched from a ravine as a prisoner of war.  It was a well known family story, obviously, and published in his obituary. No record could be found to substantiate this.

Andrew J. Kiser was born in Seneca County, Ohio, on November 5, 1844.  He grew up as the oldest of a large family headed by his father, Daniel, and mother, Nancy.  Both the 1850 and 1860 showed the family near Loudon or Fostoria in Seneca County.

When he was eighteen, he enlisted into Company I, 123rd Ohio Infantry, on December 18, 1863.  The 123rd fought battles in Virginia from Winchester down to Appomattox in April, 1865.

Union Soldiers at Appomattox  by Timothy H. O'Sullivan

After the surrender, Andrew was discharged on June 12, 1865, as a private.  On the Defiance, Ohio, 1890 Veterans Census, he reported a disability - a gunshot wound to the leg.  He also "thinks he is suffering the effects of sunstroke, caused in service."

He returned to Seneca County after the war and married Alzina J. (Julia) Laughlin on August 6, 1867.  The 1870 census enumerator found them in Fostoria when A.J. Kiser, laborer, was 25, and Julia (Alzina) was also 25.  By 1880, they had added their only son, Delbert, to the family. Andrew was farming.

Sometime around 1882, according to Andrew's obituary, the family moved to the Defiance area where they remained to the end of their lives.  Andrew farmed and they lived beside their only son, Delbert, and family.  In the 1900 census, Alzina noted that she had had only one child and he was living.  

On August 30, 1907, Alzina passed away, and she was buried in a family plot at Riverside Cemetery.

Defiance Daily Crescent News, August 30, 1907

 Andrew continued to live alone on the farm on the 1910 census when he was 65, still next door to his son, Delbert.  But by 1920, Andrew moved in with Delbert and his wife, Emma and two daughters.  Delbert worked as a salesman in a clothing store and the eldest daughter, Emma, worked as a cashier in a 5 &10 store.  A boarder also lived there - Cora Garver - who worked as a seamstress in a dress shop.

Delbert and his wife went on to manage a bath system operation by 1930.  Andrew, 85, lived with them and the daughters were no longer home.  On September 22, 1931, Andrew died and was buried beside Alzina in Riverside.

Read below first and then continue to Column 2 above.

In the KISER plot in Section 30 of New Riverside Cemetery, the following rest:

Andrew J. 1844-1931, d. Sept. 25, 1931, Co I., 123 Reg O.V.I

Anna M., wife of Delbert, 1870- 1913, d. Dec. 8, 1913

Delbert D. 1871-1938, d. May 3, 1938

Alzina J. 1851 - 1907, d. Aug. 30, 1907, wife of Andrew J. Kiser

Emma Degler, 1879 - 1969

Nettie M. 1868 - 1907, d. Aug. 14, 1907

In looking at the dates, it would appear that Andrew Kiser lost a wife and Nettie, born 1868, within a few weeks of each other.   Born after an 1867 wedding, Nettie was apparently a daughter of Andrew and Alzina...yet, she appeared in no census with them ever.  She is a mystery to be solved.

(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!)

Mark Township, District 5, Primary Room - 1925

T. Roosevelt and W.H. Taft Make a Stop in Defiance - May, 1912

For many years, Lloyd V. Tuttle contributed historic photos and information to the Defiance Crescent-News for his column: "A Backward Glance."  This article was undated, but the story was from 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft campaigned for President in Defiance.  The article has one error, according to actual sources of the day.  T. R. visited first and a day later, Taft came to town.  They were not in town on the same day.

"WHEN Teddy Roosevelt ran against William Howard Taft for president of the United States, it just happened that both candidates arrived in Defiance at about the same time.  Teddy spoke from the court house steps and here he is shown mingling with the crowd.  Defiance was a great Bull Moose town.

A FEW MINUTES later Taft spoke from a big truck, owned by the Defiance Truck and Transfer.  This truck, which was equipped with a windlass, was pulled by three horses.

There was a very large crowd present to hear the two candidates and pickpockets got $400 from one of the listeners.

John J. Bridenbaugh, 511 Jefferson Ave., brought the picture in." 


  

Candidate Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive, visited Defiance on May 16, 1912, where the crowd gathered at the courthouse to hear him.  Edward Bronson was also there to memorialize the event in wonderful panoramic photos which may be
viewed in the Ohio Memory Project
here.

 

Defiance Daily Crescent News, May 17, 1912

 



When President Taft, Republican incumbent, came to Defiance on May 17, 1912, a Saturday morning, he was campaigning for a second term.  He chose to speak from the bed of a truck parked on the walkway to the courthouse.  Photos were taken by Bronson and may be found in the Ohio Memory Project here.

Defiance Daily Crescent News, May 18, 1912

Despite their campaign visits, it was a Democratic victory in the 1912 election with Woodrow Wilson accepting the victory.  The Democratic vote in Defiance County was the majority that year with 2,784 votes for Wilson, as opposed to 872 for Taft and 1,912 for Other, including T. R.

George Hooker - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Most sources agree that George Hooker was born on August 11, 1846, in Maumee City, Ohio.  He was enumerated with his parents in Lucas County in both 1860 and 1870 along with his siblings, Charles Edward and Elizabeth.  His father was a brick mason and by 1870, George and his brother were working in the same occupation.
In the 1870 census, his mother, called Eliza, was 58 and noted to be insane.  Sister Elizabeth was "keeping house."  

In July, 1863, George was listed in the Civil War Draft Registration in Springfield Township, Lucas County.  But George had already enlisted and was serving in the 1st Ohio Artillery. His pension card added that he was in Battery H of the Light Artillery.

He was just 17 when he enlisted on August 5, 1862, for three years.  He served mainly in Virginia and Pennsylvania, with presence at Winchester, Fredricksburg, and Chancellorsville, Virginia, and the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.  A monument stands to the Ohio 1st Light Artillery, Company H, called the Huntington Battery, at one end of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg.

This battery consisted of 123 men and 6 ordnance rifles who fought valiantly at Gettysburg on July 2nd and 3rd, 1863.  They took part in 12 general engagements, including the siege of Petersburg later, according to the official record.  At Gettysburg, 2 were killed, 1 mortally wounded and 4 wounded.  

In the 1890 Veterans Census, George reported that he suffered a disability because a gun fell on him and smashed his back and foot.  No mention is made where the incident occurred nor the nature of the gun.  Despite this, George mustered out with his unit on June 14, 1865 at Cleveland, Ohio.

On March 15, 1870, Sarah Elizabeth Smith became the wife of George Hooker.  They settled on the Brunersburg Road by the 1880 census.  George worked as a plasterer, and he and Sarah Elizabeth had two sons, Charles E. (Edward) and George L.  (Leroy). 

It would appear that the George Hooker family lived in the Defiance area for about fifteen or twenty years.  Like many of the G.A.R. men, George was involved in the Defiance community.  He served as a fireman and was financial secretary for the group in 1877.  In 1882, he ran for assessor of Defiance Township and lost to E.H. Gleason, but he was appointed delegate to the Republican City Convention that year, representing the 3rd ward.  That same year, he ran for Sheriff and lost to J. Sheffield.  M. J. Rourke defeated him when he ran for Defiance Township constable in both 1885 and 1887.

He kept his military years close by participating in a number of events related to them.

Defiance Democrat, February 10, 1876

 

Defiance County Express, April 2, 1885

Sometime between 1887 and 1890, George and Elizabeth moved to Seattle, Kings County, Washington.  It was there that he was enumerated on the 1890 Veterans Census.  He lived on Seventeenth Avenue in Seattle in the 1900 census, along with his wife, his son, Charles E., 29, a druggist, and Charles' wife, Catherine.  George reported that he worked as a brick mason at the age of 51.  In 1910, George had the job of department assessor for the city of Seattle and they had their own home at 14th Cor. S.

The last census that George appeared in was in 1920, in Los Angeles, California. He was living as a roomer with Martha Mallery and her daughter and son-in-law. His other son, Leroy, lived in California, so the move there was understandable.  But where was Sarah? She was in Los Angeles, too - a roomer at a different place on West 7th Street.  68 years old and born in Indiana - that's her.  What was happening?

George Hooker died on May 7, 1923, at the age of 76 in Glendale California. He iwas buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery there.  No obituary could be located for either George or Sarah Elizabeth, called Bessie, who died in 1928.

www.findagrave.com

(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!)

W. P. A. Cemetery Survey - St. Stephens Catholic Cemetery, Delaware Bend

The Works Progress Administration was formed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in reaction to the Great Depression as a means of employing Americans and stimulating the economy.  Established in 1935, one of the projects of the W.P.A. was to conduct Historical Records Surveys, one of which included finding information on cemeteries and the graves of veterans.  The W.P.A. was disbanded in 1943, but the historical information provided on these surveys continue to be of interest and are, thankfully, preserved.

In this series, some of the general surveys of Defiance County cemeteries will be shared, transcribed as written with a few punctuation and/or spelling changes for readability.  The surveys were probably done around 1936.
For more up to date information on the cemeteries, check out this chart on our website:
 http://defiancecountygenealogy.org/cemeteries.html

The Delaware Bend Catholic Cemetery

 of the St. Stephen's Holy Roman Catholic Church Parish

1. Name of Cemetery:

The Delaware Bend Catholic Cemetery of the St. Stephens Holy Roman Catholic Church Parish

2. Location; how reached:

On the hill across the road from St. Stephens Catholic Church, and along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the Delaware Bend crossing in the Village of Delaware Bend, which is eight miles from the city of Defiance, west along the Maumee River.  State highway #18 is one mile to the north and U.S. #24 one mile to the south.

3. Name and address of caretaker:

Members of the St. Stephens Parish of Delaware Township, the Rev. Father Paul Bissell is the pastor and supervisor.  His address is Delaware Bend, Defiance County, the Parish of St. Stephen's Catholic Parish.

www.findagrave.comwww.findagrave.com

 4. General description, size, appearance, etc.:

This is a well kept up, modern graveyard, fenced with ornamental wire and has an iron metal gateway.  It is laid out in lots and in all compromises about three acres.  It is interwoven with gravel paths, and is surrounded with shrubbery and dotted with a few trees which are now quite large.  It is well drained.  

It has around two hundred graves and numerous fine and stately grave stones, most of them the modern Roman, heavy granite type of white, gray and red granite. Most of them are surmounted with crosses; the crucifix sets in the center of the cemetery.  The cemetery is holy, consecrated ground and only thos of Catholic faith can be buried in it.

It is a sister graveyard of the Delaware Township Catholic graveyard on U.S. #24, described earlier as "Old Delaware Township Catholic Graveyard."  Some of the graves in this cemetery were moved here from the older graveyard on U.S. #24

5. Name and date of first burial recorded:

This graveyard was started in 1880, the same time as the church of St. Stephen; however, the oldest grave stone is that of James McNamara, 1868, but his body was moved here later.

Photo from www.findagrave.com

6. Names of important persons buried there:

The Wonderlys are the most important people, Levi Wonderly at one time being sheriff of Defiance County.

Photo from www.findagrave.com    No stone found for Levi Wonderly.

7. Markers of unusual appearance:

There are thirty or more magnificent markers, but of the modern type, none of the unique or unusual.  The highest is that on the McNamara lot which is of the pedestal and obelisk type, surmounted by a cross.

8. Unusual epitaphs:

None

9. Is cemetery used for new burials?  Yes.

C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters

Rev. Paul Bissell, Delaware Bend 

Jacob L. Bishop - A Civil War Soldiers from Hicksville

"BISHOP.

Jacob Luallen Bishop was born Nov. 2, 1843, in Logan county, Ohio, and died March 8, 1919, at the old homestead near Fountain Chapel, between Hicksville and Antwerp, Ohio, aged 75 years, 4 mos., 6 days.

Nov. 1, 1866, he was united in marriage with Emma Rilla Stuart of his native county.  To this union was born one child who died in infancy.

When the Civil War came, he entered the service in Co. C, 17th Regt. I.V.I. (Indiana Volunteer Infantry) and served three years.  He was a member of the W. H. Doering G.A.R. Post at Antwerp and of the Odd Fellows Lodge at the same place.

When the Rev. R. W. Munson was pastor of the church at Fountain Chapel, he was converted to Christ and united with the church in which he became very active.  He was public spirited responding quickly to any appeal of general interest.  His neighbors who survive him will ever remember him as a good comrade in the community life as he had been in the military life of the nation.

He leaves to mourn his going away, the companion of his life, bereft and lonely, (Emma Rilla Stuart,) one brother J. W. Bishop of Greenfield, New Mexico, an adopted daughter, Mrs. O. C. Diehl of South Bend, Ind., a grandson, Wilbur I. Diehl of Gardner, Mass. and a circle of faithful friends who will feel with the immediate family that they have sustained a heavy loss for today and who shall hope with them to be resigned to his fellowship in the long tomorrow."

An obituary from the Tribune, HIcksville, Ohio, March 20, 1919

More information at www.findagrave.com