Obadiah Webb Partee - Bishop Post, G.A.R.

Born to Lewis and Dianah Webb Partee, Obadiah entered the world on September 2, 1837 in Tiffin Township, Defiance County, Ohio.

He was the 6th child of ten living children named in the 1850 Federal Census of Tiffin Township: Mary Ann (Polly), George, Joseph, Rebecca, Jemima, Obadiah, John, Lewis, Sarah and Anna (twins).

He married Catherine R. Zeller on August 25, 1861.  Not long after, on November 9, 1861, he enlisted into the 48th Ohio Infantry, Company F, for three years service.  Joseph and John Partee also were in Company F, and may have been his brothers.

The Defiance boys in Company F gathered first at Camp Dennison in the winter of 1861, and left for camp in Tennessee in February.  They fought valiantly at Shiloh, Corinth and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and went on to New Orleans and Texas.  At Sabine Cross Roads, Louisiana, the regiment, (including company F) was captured.  When detained, the color bearer at the time threw down the regimental flag, but it was picked up by another soldier and stuffed into his haversack for safekeeping.

Eventually the second soldier was able to hand over the flag to Captain Gunsaullus, the company captain at the time.  Gunsaullus sewed it into the lining of his shirt at Camp Ford, Texas, where they were imprisoned.  The soldiers were kept there until October 23, 1864, when an exchange was negotiated after their captivity of six months and fifteen days.

The troops boarded a ship and left on the Mississippi River.  When they had reached a distance from the Confederacy, Captain Gunsaullus ripped the flag out, tied it to a staff and signaled for the band to play as the soldiers sang "The Star Spangled Banner."  It must have been quite a sight with handkerchiefs waving and shouts of joy rising.

A Confederate agent who was accompanying the group, commented,

"...it was one of the most exciting scenes he ever witnessed and that the regiment deserved a great deal of credit for preserving their colors during their imprisonment."

This must have been a very satisfying memory for Obadiah.

(This story is from the History of Defiance, 1883)

Obadiah did not reenlist, but was discharged after his three years of service on December 2, 1864.  He and Catherine gave farming a try in McLean County, Illinois.  By the 1870 census, he owned no land and had only $100 to his name. So, at some point, they moved back to Defiance where he obtained a job at the box factory.  Obadiah, 42, and Catherine, 42, lived on Warren Street in Ward 2.

In the 1890 Veterans Census, it was learned that Obadiah had been promoted to corporal sometime before or at his discharge.  He also reported that he had no disability as a result of his service.  He had filed for his pension on September 9, 1891, and after he died, Catherine filed for a widow's pension in May, 1922.

Obadiah and Catherine continued to live in at 922 Warren Street in Defiance until their deaths.  They had no children, but in 1900, a nephew, Francis C. Manchester, lived with them. Obadiah claimed that he had his own business as a day laborer and Francis, also a day laborer, might have been working for him.

Obadiah died on May 22, 1922, after a bout with bronchitis at the age of 84 years, 8 months and 20 days. The informant on his death certificate was probably another nephew, Clyde Manchester, who lived in Defiance.  Obadiah was buried in Riverside Cemetery on May 24, 1922.

"O. W. PARTEE

O. W. Partee, a veteran of the Civil War, late member of Company F, 48th Regiment Ohio Infantry, and member of Bishop Post, G.A.R., died yesterday at 5 p.m. at his home, 922 Warren Street, aged 84 years. All members of Bishop Post, G.A.R. and others desiring to attend the funeral will assemble at the residence Wednesday at 2 p.m. with Bishop Post in charge of the services.  The pallbearers will meet at Mansfield's Undertaking rooms at 1:30 o'clock.  Rev C. J. Yeisley will officiate."

(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!)

Shall Defiance County be Wet or Dry?

 In 1908, one of the biggest controversies in Defiance County revolved around the sale and intake of liquor. Should saloons exist in the villages of the county?  A big vote would be taken in October, 1908, to decide.

Long ago, the Hicksville folks had voted for "Personal Liberty," meaning that it was for each individual to decide whether to drink or not. It was well known that on Watson Richardson's lawn on the drive into town, a large maple tree drew men each day who stood under the cool shade to drink. Some thought that men could not resist the temptation to drink, so saloons were thriving, but many families were affected by this choice. Wages were bring drunk away and families suffered. 

By 1908, the Women's Christian Temperance Union was thriving, using their influence to convince men to stay away from strong drink.  According to one man's opinion, saloons cannot be reformed nor the habits of men changed, so it was best to take the temptation of drink away totally. But will it hurt the businesses in town and will the loss of the saloon tax have an effect on the economy of the towns?

In Farmer township, saloons were voted out by a huge majority and now no one wanted  them back.  Business was good!  Currently, a petition to oust the saloons was circulating in Hicksville, with a majority thought to support a dry county.  The problem was Mark Township...many went there to drink after it was banned in other areas of the county.  Many citizens of Mark Center apparently did not appreciate being the center of drink in Defiance County.

The Bryan Democrat, Bryan, Ohio, reported on 20 November 1908:

"DEFIANCE COUNTY SALOONS MAY SOON BE IN ONE TOWN, MORE DRY

On Dec 15, two saloons will pass out of existence in Mark Center, Defiance County, as the result of the decision of voters of Mark Township Saturday when at a Beal law local option election, the township voted dry by a majority of 87.  The unofficial figures are: dry 216, wets 129.

Two saloons both located at Mark Center villages are affected.  The saloons are conducted by Chas. Kisabeth and L. E. Ritterman.  They will pass out of existence thirty days from the day of the election.

Because of the result in Mark township, it is now said that a petition for a Beal law election in Sherwood village will be started.  There are two saloons in the village. Sherwood is an incorporated village and, for this reason, the election will simply be a municipal affair and will not include the township.  The drys also assert if Sherwood village votes dry, a petition will be started in Ney village.  If both Sherwood and Ney village vote dry, the saloon business of Defiance county will have been centered in Defiance city.

The voting out of the saloons in Mark township will make a change in the Hicksville situation.  Mark Center is located but a few miles from Hicksville and it has been the custom for many from the dry towns to visit Mark Center at different times during the week.  Hicksville drys assisted the Mark Center drys in the fight to oust the saloons in Mark township."

But it was not to be...

Della (Roan) Dull Rohn, Formerly of Mark Township

 

Mrs. Della Rohn

"Mrs. Della Rohn of Walkerville, Ontario, Canada, widow of the late Wm. Henry Rohn, passed away suddenly last Wednesday evening at the Crystal Fountain Park Hotel at Sherwood, shortly after she had alighted from the evening train on the C. N. R. R., which was late passing there, about 8:20.

She sat down to rest at the hotel, being on her way to her son, Walter, at Mark Center, and waiting for him.  She gave a few gasps and expired from heart trouble, from which she was ailing. Squire John Core, acting coroner, made an examination of the matter and the remains were taken to her son's.

Mrs. Rohn, whose maiden name was Roan, was married in the 80's to John M. Doll (sic Dull), of Hicksville, by whom she had two sons, Pearl Doll of Herschel, Saskatchewan, Canada, and Reo (also Rio, Reow, Rea) Doll of Clayton, Michigan.

By her marriage to Mr. Rohn, who died some years ago, she had four sons, Walter of Mark Center, and Clyde, Lisle (sic Leslie) and Wm. Rohn of Windsor, Canada, also two daughters, Susie (Mrs. O. G. Reynolds) of Ney, who was killed in the Moats auto accident, June 10, 1920, and Opal (Mrs. Stanley Fleming) of Windsor, Ontario.

Mrs. Rohn was nearly 63 years old.  The family formerly lived in Mark Township, where she had a brother George Roan.  She also had a sister in Michigan.  There are 16 grandchildren.

All the children except Pearl Doll attended the funeral at Mark Center, Sunday, the home being just east of the Mark Center high school on the Hicksville Pike, till 1911 when they moved on a farm near Windsor, Canada."

Bryan Press, Bryan, Ohio, 3 November 1921, p. 9

Born as Delilah Roan in Mark Township, Defiance County, she first married John Luther "Martin" Dull on March 2, 1878, in Ney.  They had two sons, Pearl Commodore Dull and Rio Dull.

On May 12, 1885, she married William Henry Rohn and had four sons and two daughters with him: George Walter "Butch," Clyde Leslie Cyril "Cy," and William, Susanna and Opal. Her husband and Susanna preceded her in death.

Delilah/Della died in Sherwood on October 26, 1921, and she was buried in Sherwood Cemetery. Her death certificate noted that her heart trouble was brought on by excitement - perhaps at seeing some of her children again.