JOHN A COLE

JOHN A COLE  Few residents of Allen County are more
favorably known or more generally esteemed than John A. Cole, who has
been engaged in the milling business at Harrod for many years, and whose
industry and integrity have placed him among the influential men of his
section.  Mr. Cole was born at Pemberton, Ohio, July 28, 1853, and is
the only surviving child of William and Angeline (Reams) Cole, who were
the parents of two children, one of whom died in infancy.  His
grandfather was Henry Cole, a native of Virginia, and of Scotch-Irish
descent.
    William Cole was born in Ohio and became a resident of Pemberton at
the time of the "Big Four" Railroad was built through.  In 1854 the
family moved to North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio, where the
father died two years later.
    John A. Cole began the battle of life for him- self at the tender
age of nine years when he secured employment on a farm.  He remained on
the farm until 1867, when he obtained work in a mill and learned to run
an engine.  For 28 years he was engineer in a mill.  This business has
appealed to his fancy as he has been identified with milling for almost
40 years, with the exception of a few months.  In 1873 he enlisted in
the regular army and was stationed at Newport until his discharge the
following spring.  He then resumed his career as miller, finding
practical training in the mills of Bloom Center, West Mansfield,
Rushsylvania, Westminster, Bellefontain and Harrod.
   The Harrod Mill was established about 1884 by James Harrod.  Becoming
part of the assets of the Bank of Lima which failed, the mill property
passed into the hands of Benjamin C. Faurot, by whom it was sold to
Donze & Day, who were the proprietors at the time Mr. Cole came here.
for four years he was an employee of this company and he then rented a
half interest in the business from Mr. Donze and carried on the
enterprise with Mr. Day.  He and Mr. Day continued to operate the plant
successful until 1900 when Mr. Cole disposed of his interest in the
business.  This step was taken that he might take advantage of what he
considered an excellent opening to engage in business at New Lexington,
Ohio.  However, owing to the shortcomings of his partner, the enterprise
failed, and Mr. Cole saw his money, which represented many years of
persistent toil and self-denial, slipping out of his hands.  This
misfortune would have meant complete financial ruin to a less courageous
and enterprising man, but Mr. Cole had been engaged in the contest for a
competency too many years to sit idly down and repine over his loss.
Instead, he gathered together the remnants of his shattered capital and
returned to Harrod, where he again purchased a half interest in the mill
and set bravely to work to repair his loss.  He returned to Harrod on
September 6, 1901, the day on which President McKinley fell a martyr at
the hand of an assassin.  Once more a partner of Mr. Day the mill was
operated by them until 1905, when Mr. Day retired from the business.  On
June 1, 1905, Dr. M. L. Johnston became an equal partner in the mill
with Mr. Cole and it has since been conducted under the name of  Cole &
Johnston.  This is one of the solid industries of Harrod and gives
constant employment to four men.  The output of the mill is 75 barrels
per day, the product finding a ready market in this vicinity.
    Mr. Cole was married on June 23, 1875, to Mary Louise Curl, who was
born in Logan County, Ohio, April 26, 1857.  Her grand- parents were
James R. and Louise (Bayliss) Curl, who came to Logan County, Ohio, from
the State of Virginia and were engaged in farming.  Her parents, John M.
and Caroline M. (Munsell) Curl, were natives of Logan County, and had
eight children, namely: Mary Louise; James Nelson, who lives in Logan
County; Clement, a resident of Lima; Emily, deceased; Nellie, who
married Sylvester Seigler and resides in Michigan; Robert, who died at
the age of 21 years; Hulda, who married Dalton Alexander and resides in
Union County, near York Center; and Charles, who lives at Columbus.  Mr.
and Mrs. Cole are the parents of three children who have passed to the
higher life and seven who are living, viz: Lindon, born June 16, 1878,
and residing in Columbus, who married Emma Ingledue, and has two
children Herbert and Florence;  John Jr., born December 27, 1879, who
married Rosetta Shockey and is the father of one son, Paul; Lillian,
born January 25, 1882, who married James Leroy Thomas and resides in
Pasadena, California; Leota, born February 26, 1884, who lives in Lima;
Raymond, born May 14, 1886, who died October 16, 1891, as the result of
a kick in the head from a horse; Lena Vivian, born May 7, 1888, who died
on August 17th following; Edna M., born May 11, 1891; Cleo H., born June
27, 1893;  McKinley Hobart, born November 6, 1896, the day of the
election of McKinley and Hobart; and Leland, born December 30, 1901, who
died October 9, 1902.  Mrs. Cole is a devout member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and a lady whose personal magnetism has made for her
many warm friends.  Mr. Cole is a Republican.  He was made an Odd Fellow
in White Lodge, No. 576, while residing in West Mansfield, Ohio, and has
always retained his membership in that order.

REUBEN  WHITE

REUBEN  WHITE, one of Lima's esteemed and honored
retired citizens, is a valued member of Mart Armstrong Post, No. 202,
Grand Army of the Republic, having gained his right to the same by over
three years of loyal, faithful service in defense of his country in the
perilous days of 1861-65.  Mr. White was born in Bath township, Allen
County, Ohio, November 7, 1837, and is a son of Adam and Rebecca M.
(Walton) White.
   The paternal grandfather of Mr. White, Adam White, was born in
Germany and came to Brown County, Ohio, as a pioneer.  His maternal
grandfather was Joseph W. Walton, a native of New York, who settled in
Bath township in 1826.  Adam White, the second, father of our subject,
was born in Kentucky and became a very prominent man of Allen County and
was its first treasurer, in the days when Allen County included what is
now Auglaize and Mercer counties.  He was a justice of the peace in Bath
township for many years and was a man looked up to the respected by his
fellow-citizens.
   Reuben White was reared and educated in Bath township, his education
being that afforded by the local schools.  Up to the outbreak of the
Civil War he led a quiet, agricultural life.  In October, 1861, he donned
the Union blue, became a member of Company E, 81st Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf.,
and soon, with his company, was sent to Benton Barracks, Missouri.  Here
he remained until March, 1862, when his regiment was sent to Pittsburg
Landing in time to make a record for gallantry at that great battle, and
then followed Corinth, a name which brings sad memories to many
households to this day on account of the brave soldiers who fell there.
Mr. White was kept with his command in that vicinity for 17 months, and
then entered upon the Atlanta campaign, taking part in all the
engagements, including the battles of Jonesboro and Lovejoy.  Mr. White
was honorably discharged at Rome, Georgia, October 3, 1864.  He had been
wounded only once during all these years of danger, and was one of seven
left in his company of the 85 who went to war with him, a fact which
tells its own tale of the dangers encountered by this gallant band.
    After the close of his service, Mr. White returned to his old home
and, as his parents were dead, bought out the other heirs and
subsequently improved the property very much, subsequently selling it to
great advantage.  Later he purchased another fine property, within two
miles of Lima; as indications there pointed to probable oil deposits, he
sold it during the first oil "boom."  Mr. White next engaged for about
five years in a mercantile business at Beaver Dam, and then retired to
Lima, where he owns a very comfortable home on Second street.
    On August 21, 1859, Mr. White was married to Ann Eliza Edgecomb, the
eldest daughter of Walter and Laura Edgecomb.  Mr. Edgecomb was an early
settler in Allen County, entering land here in 1838.  Mr. and Mrs. White
have had 11 children, namely: Sarah Alice; Ida Edella, deceased; Kirby;
Laura; Albert, Walter Edwin, Emmet Oscar, John Errett, Carey Mott,
deceased; Willis Adam; and Rebcca.  Sarah Alice married John F.
Witherill, of Spencerville, and to them were born nine children; Myrtle,
the eldest, married Charles Simmons and has four children living, the
eldest being named Hobart.  Ida Edella was the wife of Daniel E. Fetter.
Five of her children are now living; of these the eldest Eva, married
Lewis Wingate, and has one son, Edrow.  Kirby, who is postmaster at
Harrod, Ohio, has four children.  Laura is the wife of Frank Rudy, of
Allen County, and has five children.  Albert died in infancy; Walter
Edwin reached the age of 18 years; Emmet Oscar died at the age of two
years; John Errett, at his death, at the age of 29 years, left a wife
and one daughter; Carey Mott died as an infant of one year.  Willis
Adam, who is a resident of Huntington, Indiana, has two children.
Rebecca married Lee Higgins of Lima and has two children.
     Mr. White has always been a Republican and has held office in both
townships in which he has lived.  He is a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.  Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the Church of Christ.
  On preceding pages, in connection with this sketch, are presented two
group pictures of the White-Edgecomb family,  in each of which five
generations are shown, Mr. White and his mother appearing in one, and
Mrs. White and her mother in the other.  
  
OTTO  F.  RAMSEYER

OTTO  F.  RAMSEYER, of the firm of Woolevy & Ramseyer,
proprietors of the City Book Store, at Lima, Ohio, was born near
Bluffton, Ohio, in 1870, and is a son of Abraham Ramseyer, formerly
engaged in the book-binding business at Lima.
    Otto F. Ramseyer was five years old when his parents removed from
Indiana to Lima, and here he was reared and educated.  In 1885 he went
into the City Book Store, a business house which had been established at
Lima in 1870 by George P. Waldorf, who was succeeded by W. G. Nichols.
The latter was succeeded by Trevor & Robinson and this firm  by T. A.
Robinson.  Mr. Ramseyer remained with the store under its different
managements and in 1889 he became its manager.  In 1899 in partnership
with W. H. Woolevy, he bought Mr. Robinson' s entire interest.  Since
that time the business has been enlarged to cover other lines than
formerly, a fine art department having been added, which is the only one
in the city and the most complete to be found in this section of the
State.
    In 1898 Mr. Ramseyer was married to Laura E. Reynolds, who is a
daughter of D. R. Reynolds, of Lima, and they have one son, Richard Lee.
    Mr. Ramseyer is a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight of Pythias and belongs
also to the Maccabees.  He is a member of the German Reformed Church.

J. M.  LONGCOY, M. D.

J. M.  LONGCOY, M. D., a prominent physician and
surgeon of Lima, and proprietor of the X-Ray and Electro-Therapeutic
Laboratory at Nos. 214-218 West Market street, was born in New Jersey,
June 24, 1848, and is a son fo Jacob and Catherine (Fredenburgh) Longcoy
   Dr. Longcoy is one of a family of six children.  He was reared and
educated in his native State, entering Princeton College and graduating
there in 1868.  Dr. Longcoy  is entitled to write many degrees after his
name, both literary and medical, and he is a graduate of many of the
leading institutions of the country, viz: McGill University, Montreal,
Canada, in 1873; Joplin Medical College, Joplin, Missouri, in 1882;
Little Rock University, Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1884; National College
of Electro-Therapeutics, Lima, Ohio, in 1898; Institute of Pharmacy,
Columbus, Ohio, in 1900; and Chicago School of Psychology in 1901.
Since 1900 he has been professor of general electro-therapeutics in the
National College of Electro-Therapeutics at Lima.  Dr. Longcoy is also
associate editor of The Electro-Therapeutist,  Lima, and is consulting
surgeon at the Lima Hospital.
    In 1900 Dr. Longcoy established the Electro-Bathatorium on the
corner of Market and West streets, which soon became known all over Ohio
for the wonderful cures effected.  The X- Ray and Electro-Therapeutic
Laboratory, conducted by Dr. Longcoy, who is a scientific physician, is
an institution designed to cure those diseases not curable by ordinary
medical treatment.  The institution has been fitted with all forms of
electric currents, electric light baths, X-Ray, Minin's rays, hot air
cabinets, mechanical electro-vibrators, pneumatic massage, magnetones,
induction coils, high frequency solenoids, in fact every modern
appliance of value known to scientific medicine.  The diseases treated
are: Diseases of women, fibroid and other tumors, Bright's disease,
diabetes, cancer, piles, consumption, nervous prostration, varicose
ulcers, tuberculosis of the joints and spine, varicocele, neuralgia,
rheumatism and lumbago, insomnia, constipation, eczema, moles, warts,
cars, birthmarks, superfluous hair and all blemishes.  This institution,
with its various and modern facilities is recognized as the greatest
concern of its kind in the State and it numbers patients all over the
country.
   Dr. Longcoy was married to Marie C. Wolff, who is a daughter of John
Wolff, of Pennsylvania.  Their handsome home is located at No. 214-218
West Market street. Dr. Longcoy and family are Presbyterians.
    As a most intelligent man and good citizen, Dr. Longcoy takes an
interest in civic advancement and has done his part since locating here
to make Lima a business and scientific center.  In political sentiment he
is a Republican.  His portrait is here with presented.  

JOHN  W.   FETTER

JOHN  W.   FETTER, deceased, was one of Bath
township's most reliable and respected men, and one of the large farmers
of Allen County, owning and operating a well-improved farm of 100 acres.
Mr. Fetter was born on this farm October 21, 1855, and was a son of
George and Sarah (Ward)  Fetter.  He died January 2, 1902.
    The father of Mr. Fetter was born in Germany and the mother in Ohio.
They had a family of five sons and four daughters and John W. was the
eldest.  George Fetter operated a farm, a sawmill and a stone quarry and
his eldest son was his right-hand man for many years.
    Mr. Fetter remained with his father until his marriage and then he
rented the farm for a time, and subsequently bought 20 acres and his
father gave him 80 acres, and here he spent the remainder of his life.
He took much pride in the cultivation and improvement of his property
and he erected the excellent and substantial buildings which are now in
evidence.  In addition to carrying on his agricultural projects
successfully, raising some of the best crops produced in the
neighborhood, he did considerable teaming and grading and constructed
turnpike roads under contract.      
   Politically Mr. Fetter was a stanch supporter of the Democratic party
and on numerous occasions satisfactorily filled responsible offices to
which the votes of his fellow-citizens elevated him.  He served two
terms of two years each as township treasurer, and several terms as road
supervisor.
    Mr. Fetter was a man of the highest integrity and is recalled as a
good neighbor, an affectionate husband and a kind father.  He reared a
family which was a credit to him and left the well provided for.
    On March 3, 1878, Mr. Fetter was married to Ella E. Hadsell, who was
born in this township, December 20, 1856, who is a daughter of Anson M.
and Adeline (Thayer) Hadsell.  The father of Mrs. Fetter was born in
Connecticut and removed to Trumbull County, Ohio, with his parents.
Later he settled in Allen County, where he owned a fine farm and being a
man of education, taught school a number of terms.  He was a man of
local prominence, and was justice of the peace for a number of years.
In the latter capacity it is remembered that he often performed the
marriage ceremony without any charge, and that it was his habit to
present to the newly wedded couple a Bible, intimating that with in its
pages all the counsel needed for their future lives could be found.  He
was an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church and was notably
kind and benevolent in his conduct toward others.  He married, for his
second wife Adeline Thayer, who was the mother of Mrs. Fetter.
    The children of Mr. and Mrs. Fetter are:  Charles E., of Bath
township, who has two children Ella E. and Frank; Mary E., wife of Brice
B. Hefner of Jackson township, who has two children Elsie J. and Fred
A.; and Fred A., who has three children Brice B., Claud K. and Harry L.
    Prior to her marriage Mrs. Fetter taught several terms of school, as
did her sisters.  She is an intelligent, companionable lady who has a
wide circle of friends. 

D. CRAMER

D. CRAMER, a well-known druggist of Lima, was born
March 5, 1857, in Butler, Richland County, Ohio, where he was reared and
educated.  His father was Reuben Cramer, a prominent farmer of that
county, who died March 4, 1894.  Mr. Cramer was reared to agricultural
life and followed that occupation during his earlier years; later
teaching his home school and finally entering a grocery store as clerk.
He supplemented his early education with a course in the Ohio Normal
University at Ada, after which he again taught school, this time in
Auglaize County. Being offered a clerkship in the drug store of J. M.
Beard, of Spencerville, Ohio, he accepted the position and was with him
four and a half year, in which period he thoroughly learned the
business.  From Spencerville he went to Ludlow, Kentucky, where he
clerked for a time and then opened a drug store for himself, which he
conducted until he came to Lima in June, 1888, and engaged in the same
business here.
     Mr. Cramer was married to Ella Ridenour, a member of the Ridenour
family that has been prominent in the history of this section.  Mr.
Cramer is a Democrat and has held a number of local offices, having
served on the board of trustees of the Lima Water Works, the Board of
Education and has but recently been elected president of the City
Council.  Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of
the Odd Fellows.

CASPER LAUSE

CASPER LAUSE, whose well- improved farm of 48 acres is
situated in section 6, Marion township, belongs to one of the honorable
old pioneer families of this locality.  He was born in 1862 on his
father's pioneer farm, situated on the Spencerville road, one mile north
of the present home.  He is a son of Frederick and Mary (Pohlman) Lause.
    The paternal grandparents of our subject were Henry and Mary
(Giesker) Lause, and they had seven children, of whom Frederick was the
fifth in order of birth.
    Frederick Lause was born in Hanover, Germany, March 2, 1825, where
he attended the common schools and then learned the carpenter's trade
with Mr. Pohlman.  In 1844 he came to America, locating in Allen County,
where in 1850 he purchased a farm in Marion township.  the country was
all forest at that time and to settlers less robust and courageous than
was Mr. Lause, the clearing and cultivating of this land, within the
limits of a lifetime, would have seemed an impossible task.  But he had
come to America to found a home and in the years that followed no
discouragement of hardship was too great to interrupt his industry of
dampen his enthusiasm. He lived to see the forest cleared and the land
developed into a rich agricultural estate.  The old homestead in section
31 is still occupied by his widow and a son, A. W. Lause.
    Frederick Lause was married on April 3, 1856, to Mary Pohlman, who
was born in Hanover, Germany, May 2, 1838.  When six years of age she
accompanied her parents to America.  They were Casper and Clara
(Hensele) Pohlman. Casper Pohlman was one of the original colony to
settle in "Section 10," as Delphos was first called, and he crossed the
Atlantic on the same sailing vessel which brought here the late
venerable Rev. John Otto Bredeick, the founder of Delphos and the
organizer of the Catholic Church at Delphos, known as the Church of St.
John the Evangelist.
    Casper Pohlman was a carpenter  and his work, with that of his
son-in-law, Frederick Lause, may still be seen in Marion township.  This
locality soon outgrew log houses, and for many years the two men worked
almost constantly in season, at their trade.  Mr. and Mrs, Pohlman had
10 children, the two survivors being: Mary, the mother of our subject
and Clemens, who resides in section 19, Marion township.
     In the summer of 1884, Frederick use erected on his farm above
mentioned, a fine farm residence, one of the commodious and comfortable
homes of the locality.  Here his last years were passed and here his
wife and son enjoy comforts provided by his years of industry.  The
following children were born to Frederick Lause and wife, namely:  Mary,
wife of John Lower, of Ottawa, Ohio; Dinah, wife of John Laudick, a
farmer living in Kansas; Casper, of Marion township; Henry, deceased;
Frank, a farmer of Marion township; Clara, wife of A. J. Smith, of
Topeka, Kansas; Anna, deceased; Cemens, a farmer of Marion township;
Joseph, a blacksmith in the village of Landeck; Frederick, on the farm
north of that of our subject; and Aloysius W., who lives on the
homestead with his mother.  All this family are consistent members of
the Church of St. John the Evangelist.
    Casper Lause, our immediate subject, was reared on the pioneer farm,
and as the oldest of his father's six sons, he had more responsibility
placed upon him at an earlier age than on his brothers.  His education
was obtained in the district and the parochial schools; he also attended
night school at Delphos.  All his training was along lines to make him a
practical farmer.  He remained at home until the year of his marriage
and then settled on the farm which he now occupies.  At that time it was
a tract of 48 acres, all forest land- just the same kind of wilderness
as that into which his father had penetrated in 1850.   This land Mr.
Lause set about clearing and in the course of time, through persevering
industry, it was developed into a fertile farming tract.  Mr. Lause has
continued its improvement until the present time, setting out shade and
fruit trees, erecting substantial buildings and intruducing modern
methods of tillage wherever found advisable.  The present year (1906)
finds the family established in a beautiful, well_planned modern
residence, one which is a credit to the locality and an abode of great
comfort to our subject.
    In 1886 Mr. Lause was married to Elizabeth Trentman, who is a
daughter of John H. and Magdalena (Neidiken) Trentman.  The former owns
a farm in section 6, Marion township, and is in business as a florist at
Delphos.  Five children have been born to our subject and wife, namely:
Frederick, Lena, Hilda, Leo and Otto.  Four of the children are at home
but the eldest son is a student at Delphos.  He is a very promising
young man and is a member of the senior class of the Delphos High
School, having taken the honors of the class in the junior year.  Mr.
Lause has reared his family in the Catholic faith and they are
communicants at the Church of St. John  the Evangelist at Delphos.  In
his political sentiments he is a Democrat.
    Casper Lause is a thorough business man, a fine farmer and a most
highly respected citizen.  He is an earnest supporter of good schools
and he has served the township for nine years on the School Board.  He
was one of those nominated after the number of township members was cut
down to five, but declined to continue longer in office.  During the
building of the school-house in District No. 12, he was a member of the
building committee and is now serving as one of the township trustees.
    The Lause family is one of the best-known in the township. One
highly respected member is Aloysius W. Lause, the youngest brother of
Casper Lause.  He was born in Marion township, January 24, 1880, and was
educated in the district and parochial schools.  He has always lived on
the old homestead  He married Annie Gerdeman, of Van Wert County, and
they have one child, Edwin.  His aged mother resides with him.  She is
the center of a large family of descendants, having 27 grandchildren and
four great- grandchildren.  She is a devout member of the Catholic
Church, a noble, Christian woman.
    Among other kindred of Casper Lause, who have been more of less
concerned in the development of Delphos and vicinity, was Casper Mesker.
He ws born in Germany and came as one of the early pioneers to Allen
County. He worked on the canal in the early days, and assisted in the
construction of the first church at Delphos, clearing the ground on
which it was built.  He was one of the party who crossed the ocean with
Father Bredeick and was one of that pioneer priest's ready supporters.
He settled a half mile east of the Delphos brewery, cleared a 40 acre
homestead, added 36 acres more and lived there until his death, which
occurred September 10, 1878.  He married Clara Lause, an aunt of our
subject, who is a daughter of Henry and Mary (Mesker) Lause.  At the age
of 85 years this lady still survives, residing in "Marbletown" Delphos.
She tell many interesting tales of the early days here.  One of the
chief articles of diet was corn  In order to get it ground, one of the
family was obliged to carry a bag of the grain on his back to Fort
Jennings, in Putnam County.  On many occasions Mrs. Mesker ground enough
corn in her coffee mill to make cakes and then cooked her potatoes in
the kettle which later had to serve as the coffee boiler.