GOTTLIEB  F. HENNE

GOTTLIEB  F. HENNE, who is now living retired from
active business life in his comfortable and attractive home in Spencer-
ville, has been a resident of Spencer township for 39 years, during
which period he has been identified with the material development and
agricultural progress of the western section of Allen County.  Mr. Henne
is of German birth and ancestry, being born in Wittenberg, December 14,
1840.
    Our subject was the eldest of his father's seven children, and was
16 years of age when his parents decided to emigrate to America.  The
objective point was Marion County, Ohio, where William Britsch, Mr.
Henne's maternal uncle, had already settled.  The father possessed but
little capital, the sum total being $200 when he came to Ohio, in 1856;
but he was a man of very practical ideas and a good manager.  Two of his
sons were old enough to work, and he soon found work with a farmer for
our subject for $5 and for his brother William for $4 a month, to be
paid presumably in cash.  Sometimes this arrangement was not carried out
to the letter, as our subject remembers that on one occasion his father
came to his employer in Marion County and took, in payment for his
services, two likely shoats, which he trundled away on a wheelbarrow.
The father lived for a time in Monroe County but later returned to
Marion County, and in 1866 settled in Auglaize County.  This was Mr.
Henne's last removal.  He bought a tract of wild land situated half a
mile from what is known as Deep Cut, on the canal, and with our
subject's faithful assistance cleared this, added to it and placed it
under cultivation.  At the time of his death he owned 200 acres, which he
divided justly among his children.  He died on that farm, aged about 83
years, while the mother died near Celina, Ohio, at the same ripe age.
They were quiet, industrious, frugal people, finding enjoyment in
accumulating property and in following out the dictates of kind hearts
in their immediate neighborhood.  The children of these worthy people
who still survive are the following: Gottlieb F., of Spencerville;
William; Frederick, of Auglaize County; Kale, who is engaged in the
saddlery business at Spencerville; George and Jacob, the last named
being only one born in America.  Mr. Henne's brother William is a
veteran of the Civil War.  He served three months in the fourth
Regiment, Ohio Vol. Cav., and then reenlisted for three years.
    Gottlieb F. Henne came to Allen County in the spring of 1867, going
to housekeeping in a little log cabin in what was then a wild portion of
Spencer township.  Like many other settlers he had his belongings
shipped from Delaware, Ohio, down the canal to Delphos.  He had been
married but a few months and it was to a lonely and uninviting home he
had to bring his bride in those early days.  His cabin little resembled
the fine brick residence which is the family home at present.  This is
situated on the west side of the canal, one block from the Keeth House,
at Spencerville.  On every side may be observed evidences of Mrs.
Henne's industry and housewifely accomplishments.  To her frugality and
cheerful helpfulness Mr. Henne attributes a large part of his success in
life. In the years that followed their settling in Spencer township,
both she and her husband found hard and constant labor their portion,
and each one did work which their children have never been called upon
to perform.
    Prior to his marriage, at the time of the last call for volunteers
for the Civil War, Mr. Henne enlisted in the 186th Regiment, Ohio Vol.
Inf, but the services of this regiment were required only a short time
and he never participated in any great battle.   He has always been
interested in the Grand Army of the Republic since his army days, and
attends the meetings of the post at Spencerville.
    In recalling the early events of his life, Mr. Henne can show that
his present fortune has been built up through industry combined with
good management.  In his day the little things were considered of value,
and he says that he dates his rise to affluence from the time when he
bought for $3.00 a calf which he cared for until by the time of his
marriage it had grown to be a valuable cow.  This cow was the first of a
number that he owned, and was the beginning of the dairy business which
he successfully carried on for a number of years.  He is well- known in
Lima, where he supplied choice butter to some of the leading citizens.
He carried the mail for 20 years and also ran a livery and omnibus
business for a considerable period.
    After settling on his property in Spencer township, Mr. Henne not
only cleared his land and put it under cultivation, but he also did much
forest clearing and assisted in the building of public roads which were
cut through his property.  He broke his ground with horses, but he used
the old-fashioned plow and for many years employed the old-time cradle
in cutting his grain.  He raised good stock while on the farm.  By the
advice of his physician he left the farm in 1884 and located at
Spencerville, where he owns a large amount of valuable real estate,
still retaining his farming land in the country.  He has erected almost
all of the business blocks on Main street.
   Mr. Henne was married December 27, 1866, to Christina Schmidt, who
was born in Delaware County, Ohio.  Her mother was born in Germany and
came to Ohio when 13 years of age, where she married and became
possessed of large means.  She died in Allen County, where she had made
her home with Mrs. Henne.  While on a visit to the latter, she became
impressed with the fertility of the soil of Spencer township and the
general lay of the land, and purchased 200 acres with the understanding
that Mr. Henne should manage it for her.  This he did in connection with
his own business.  Mr. and Mrs. Henne have had three children: Irwin,
who is married and settled in Spencer township; Bertie, who is the wife
of George Haas, also residing in Spencer township; and Mary, who died in
her 15th year.  Mr. Henne gave all his children excellent educational
advantages.  His son is a graduate of the Lima Business College.  Mr.
Henne has always been one of the active supporters of educational and
religious work in his section.  When he first came to this locality,
there was a few houses and no church in Spencerville.  In a short time
Mr. Henne with John Long, Mr. Sweinfort and Mr. Gaberdiel, took the
matter in hand, and together they purchased the old building which was
made use of by the German Methodists until they later erected their
present church edifice, Mr. Henne being one of the trustees of this
church.  He has never taken any very active part in politics, his time
and interest being concerned closely in his own affairs.  He is a man
well known in the community where his name stands for honesty and
integrity and where he is respected and esteemed by his fellow-citizens.   

JOSEPH R. MARSHALL

JOSEPH R. MARSHALL, one of the highly esteemed
citizens of Lima, now living retired from business activity in his
pleasant and attractive home at No. 731 West High street, has been
identified with this city for the past 30 years.  He was born in
Champaign County, Ohio, in 1839, and is a son of Richard B. and Emily
(Bartlett) Marshall.
    Richard B Marshall was born in Fairfax County, Virginia.  In 1840 he
came to Allen County and entered a 40 acre tract of land in the woods,
where the growth was so dense that he was obliged to clear a spot before
he could erect his log cabin.  He became one of the leading farmers of
the county.  He married Emily Bartlett, who belonged to the Virginia
Bartlett, and they reared a family of 11 children, the survivors being:
Thomas B., a farmer of Perry township; Malinda, wife of Jacob Stevenson,
of Perry township; William, formerly a soldier of the Civil War, now a
resident of Lima; Mary, widow of Peter Tracy, of Lima; Hamilton, also a
survivor of the Civil War and a resident of Lima; and Joseph R., of this
record.
    Joseph R. Marshall was an infant when his parents came to Allen
County.  He was reared on his father's farm and was educated in the
district schools.  Early in the eventful year of 1861 the young man
offered his services to his country, enlisting in Company D, 54th Reg.,
Ohio Vol. Inf., and was mustered into the army at Camp Dennison.  His
regiment was hurried to the front and participated in the battle of
Shiloh, where Mr. Marshall had the misfortune to be so severely wounded
as to necessitate his final return home and retirement from the service
for some months.  In 1864 he reenlisted, entering Company A, 180th Reg.,
Vol. Inf., which was sent first to Camp Chase and then through
Tennessee, where it remained encamped for three months before being
transferred to Camp Stoneman, Washington, D. C.   The service given was
mainly guard duty.  The regiment then went to New Bern, North Carolina,
and thence to Wilmington in time to participate in the battle there.
Mr. Marshall was taken ill at this place and spent some two months in
the New Bern Hospital, three weeks at Fort Schuyler, New York, and was
then sent to Columbus, where he was honorably discharged in August,
1865.  During his second service he held the rank of 4th corporal.  He
belonged to a patriotic family, two of his brothers also giving their
services in defense of their country.
    Upon his return from the army, Mr. Marshall engaged in farming in
Perry township, where he remained until he moved to Lima, where he
engaged in a successful real estate business for 22 years.  He has also
been a notary public.
    On May 29, 1872, Mr. Marshall was married to Emma C. Bitner, who is
a daughter of Adam Bitner, of Indiana.  They have one daughter,
Gertrude, a resident of Lima.  Mr. Marshall and family belong to Trinity
Methodist Episcopal Church.  He is one of the leading members of Mart
Armstrong Post, No. 202, G. A. R., of which he has been both senior and
junior vice-commander.  In 1863, when home from the war he was elected
1st lieutenant of Company K, Second Reg., Ohio National Guard, and for
some years was quite interested in military affairs of a local nature.
Mr. Marshall is one of Lima's substantial and representative men.

ZALMON  R. MASON

ZALMON  R. MASON, a prominent farmer of Bath township,
whose farm is located in section 16, was born March 2, 1839, in one of
the first log houses erected in this township.  His parents were Jarvis
and Elizabeth (Hall) Mason, the former a native of Massachusetts and the
latter of Rome, N. Y.  They were married in New York , and in 1834 came
to Allen County, Ohio, settling in section 16, Bath township, where
Jarvis Mason cleared 160 acres of school land, which he rented several
years before he finally became its purchaser.  He died in 1854 at the
age of 65 years.  He was one of a family of seven brothers and three
sisters.  His wife survived him many years and died at the advanced age
of 96 years, after rearing a family of 15 children, who were as follows:
Eliza, widow of A. S.  Harrington; Henry F., deceased; Laura, widow of
George Long; Jane, widow of Dr. Nathaniel Hartshorn; Janette, widow of
John Shinnalerny; Julia, deceased; Eugene, deceased; Sumner, deceased;
Alden, deceased; Elizabeth, widow of James Boyd; Zalmon R.; Marquis D.,
of Bath township; Sarah H., who died in early life; Nancy A., wife of
Philip Roach, of Bath township; and Sarah H., who married James H. Neely
and resides west of Lima.
    Zalmon R. Mason lived on the home place until about his 20th year,
when he went to Wood County and there engaged in farming, at first on
rented land.  Later he bought 40 acres of timber land in that county,
paying therefore the sum of $400, and a few years afterwards he traded it
for 65 acres in Williams County.  This in turn was sold and Mr. Mason
returned to Allen County, where he bought 50 acres which was afterwards
traded for the property on which he now resides.  This tract contains 85
acres and has been the home of Mr. Mason for 23 years, most of the
improvements having been effected here by him.  He formerly owned another
tract of 80 acres which he sold to his two sons, 40 to each.
   Mr. Mason has been twice married; first, in 1858, to Maria Angus, who
was born in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, June 16, 1838, and was a
daughter of Jacob and Katherine (Monshire) Angus.  She died in 1877,
leaving nine children, namely: Jeanette, who was a successful school
teacher for 10 years and is now the wife of William Wright, of Monroe
township; Sumner F., of Bath township; Reuben, deceased; Franklin E., of
Monroe township, who has been a teacher since he was 17 years of age and
who is now a member of the Board of County School Examiners; Charles
Edward, of Bath township, who has been a teacher since his early
manhood; Ida, deceased; Jessie L., deceased; and Irving Hayes, who
taught school for some time and is now township clerk.  In 1878 Mr.
Mason was married to Elizabeth Kidd, who was born in Monroe township,
June 2, 1839, and was a daughter of Nat G. and Rhoda (Jennings) Kidd,
the former born in 1811 and now a resident of Monroe township. To the
second union was born one child, William Z., who died at the age of
seven years.  Mr. Mason is a Republican and cast his first vote for
Abraham Lincoln.  He has served as assessor of the township and has
always stood well with his fellow-citizens.  He was formerly a member of
the Methodist Church but is now identified with the United Brethren.

DAVID CULP

DAVID CULP, a retired farmer of Allen County,
supervisor of German township, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio,
October 10, 1838.  His parents were Christian and Elizabeth (Goode)
Culp, the former a native of Augusta County, Virginia.  When he was
about 15 years of age, the parents of Christian Culp moved to Logan
County, Ohio, and he later went to Fairfield County, where he married
Elizabeth Goode, daughter of Joseph Goode, of that county.  Nine
children were born to them viz: David, Noah, Christian, Magdalena, wife
of John Hawthorn, of Osborn, Ohio; Fannie, wife of Anthony Miller;
Nancy, wife of John Shank; Annie, wife of Ephraim Howard; Sophia, wife
of Jacob Amstutz, of Allen County, Indiana; and Elizabeth, wife of Henry
Goode, of Virginia.  All reside in Allen County except Magdalena and
Sophia.  When the parents moved to this county in 1851, they made the
trip in covered wagons, five wagons being required to convey them and
their goods here.  Our subject passed his 13th birthday while they were
en route to Sugar Creek township, here they lived several years.  David
Culp has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and has been
uniformly successful in his work returning a few years ago after years of
industry to enjoy the fruits of his labors.  He was married on June 20,
1861, to Nancy Brenneman, daughter of John Brenneman, of Fairfield
County, Ohio, formerly from Virginia.  They had the following children:
John B., who married Annie Steman and has six children; Elizabeth, who
died October 10, 1880 in her 15th year, just as she was budding into
womanhood; Emma J., wife of Samuel G. Moore, of Virginia; Nancy, who
married Moses D. Evers, formerly of Virginia, now of Oregon they have
five children; Malinda, who married C. H. Steinbuck, a native of
Virginia, and resides in Allen County they have three children; Martha,
wife of Thomas H. Steinbuck; Ellen Merilla, who died in 1884 at the age
of eight years; Sarah, wife of Burdette LaRue, of Allen County and the
mother of one child; Lena, who lives at home; and Christian, who married
Laura Showalter, of Virginia, and has one child. The subject of this
sketch has always supported the Democratic ticket.  He is a member of
the Mennonite Church and was trustee for many years.

C. C. HOSSELLMAN

C. C. HOSSELLMAN, who is general superintendent of The
Deisel-Wemmer Company's factory at Lima, was born in 1869, at
Middletown, Butler County, Ohio, and is a member of a respected family
of that section.
   When 16 years old, after completing the common school course and
learning the trade of cigar maker, he went to Hamilton, Ohio, where he
worked at this trade for nine months.  From there, in search of
employment, he went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked as a
cigar maker for 15 months, going thence to Connersville, Indiana, where
he had six months' of experience in a cigar factory. Other engagements
followed, Mr. Hossellman working at Marysville, Kentucky, and at
Wapakoneta, Ohio, through the following eight years, and then he came to
Lima.  Here he entered the employ of The Deisel-Wemmer Company, after
working on the bench for two years, he was promoted to be foreman of the
shops, and still later to be general superintendent.  This position Mr.
Hossellman has most efficiently filled for the past four years, during
which time the business has expanded to a remarkable degree.  His long,
practical experience makes him exceptionally well-equipped or his
present office, while his executive ability and his tact in the
management of a large force of skilled workmen make him almost
invaluable to his employers.  He also owns stock in the dry goods house
known as Feltz Brothers & Company.
    On February 25, 1892, Mr. Hossellman was married to Eliza A.
Sefered, who is a daughter of David A. Sefered, of Wapakoneta, Ohio.
They have two children, Vernon C. and Margaret E.  The family residence
is at No. 1,000 Wayne street.  The family belong to the English Lutheran
Church.  Mr. Hossellman is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and
of the Knights of Pythias at Wapakoneta, and of the German order of Red
Men at Lima.

REV. C. H. ECKHARDT       

REV. C. H. ECKHARDT received his ordination into the
Lutheran ministry in the spring of 1878, came to Lima on the 19th of
September, 1879, and for more than a quarter of a century has been a
prominent worker and an inspiration in the advancement and progress of
the community.  Born in Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, February 6, 1851, he
was four years old when his parents came to the United States and
settled near Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio, so that our subject is
an American by education and sympathies.  His father, George Eckhardt,
who passed away in December, 1904, at the age of 85 years, was a farmer,
and it was in the invigorating atmosphere of the country home that our
subject spent his boyhood and received his early education.
   Desirous of devoting his life ot the good of humanity, he entered
Capital University at Columbus, Ohio, and was graduated from the
theological department in 1878, when he was ordained and immediately
installed as pastor of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, near Cridersville,
Auglaize County, and is still the beloved leader of that flock.  He was
pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Lima for 10 years, and in addition to
the heavy demands upon his time found opportunity for doing much good
outside work.  Lima College, dedicated in 1894, was founded through our
subject's untiring efforts in its behalf.  He was president of the
college for many years and is still closely associated with it.  He is a
member of the Joint Synod of Ohio, and is a man who stands well, not
only with the members of his own church but with the general public.
      Rev. C. H. Eckhardt was married in 1876 to Ida May Dearth, whose
father, S. M. Dearth, is one of the prominent agriculturists of Warren
County, Ohio.  They have a family of four children, namely: Herman, who
is engaged in insurance work in Lima; Carrie wife of Frank J. Cupp, a
civil engineer engaged in the construction of railroads at Appleton,
Wisconsin; Ethel, who married Roland B. Mikesell, a teacher in the
commercial department of Lima College, and has one child, Byron; and
Ruth, who is at home.  Politically Mr. Eckhardt has always affiliated
with the Republicans.