OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 272 Today's Topics: #1 ANSON O.A. ROLL - DARKE COUNTY [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #2 CHARLES F. LOSCH - DARKE COUNTY [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #3 FRANCIS VINCENT GIGADET - DARKE CO [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #4 JOSEPH D.R.G. LOSCH -DARKE COUNTY [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #5 JAMES F. WOODS - DARKE COUNTY [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #6 D.R. ROBERTS - DARKE COUNTY [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 17:15:52, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: ANSON O.A. ROLL - DARKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF ADAMS COUNTY, INDIANA The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 385 ANSON A. O. ROLL, tonsorial artist, Geneva, was born in Darke County, Ohio, January 14, 1851, son of Orrin and Susan (Biteman) Roll, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Pennsylvania. They now reside in Defiance County, Ohio. Our subject remained at home until thirteen years of age, then went to learn the plaster's trade, which he followed about six years. He learned the barber's trade at Union City, Indiana, then removed to Geneva, where he opened a shop. He was married April 2, 1872, to Samantha Higgins, a native of Jay County, and they have one child -Louroy. ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 17:16:00, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: CHARLES F. LOSCH - DARKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 381 CHARLES F. LOSCH, deceased, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, November 24, 1833, a son of Charles and Julia Losch, who came to the United States when Charles was three years of age and made their home in Darke County, Ohio, and in 1841 moved to Jay County, Indiana, and settled in Pike Township, where they both died. Of their eight children, but five are living -Abraham and Joseph in Pike Township, and Elizabeth, Catherine and John in Illinois. Charles F. Losch was reared on a farm and became one of Pike Township's leading agriculturists. September 1, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Thirty-sixth Indiana Infantry, and after serving faithfully nine months was honorably discharged on account of sickness. November 4, 1863, Mr. Losch was married to Miss Melinda E. Heister, who was born in Boundary, Indiana, February 26, 1843, a daughter of Daniel Heister, a pioneer of Jay County. The spring following their marriage they went to housekeeping on the farm where the family still live. At that time they owned 120 acres, eighty acres being a present to Mrs. Losch from her father. Thirty acres had been cleared and a small house had been built, and from this beginning they by industry made a good home, adding to their estate eighty acres, and at the time of Mr. Losch's death 100 acres were under cultivation. Five children are still living under the home roof -Daniel J., Mary E., John H., Charles E. and Louisa A. A daughter, Alice, died aged two years, and two children died in infancy. Mr. Losch died May 30, 1879. His life was a worthy and honorable one, and his name is worthy of mention with others who were influential in making Jay County one of the best in the State. He was consistent member of the German Reformed church, and in politics he was identified with the Republican party. ------------------------------ X-Message: #3 Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 17:15:57, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: FRANCIS VINCENT GIGADET - DARKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 554-555 FRANCIS VINCENT GIGANDET, a prominent and enterprising citizen of Wayne Township, was born in France, June 14, 1830, a son of Nicholas and Mary (Papon) Gigandet, natives of France. His parents came to America a few years after their marriage, when he was about one year and a half old, and first settled in Stark County, Ohio. They subsequently removed to Wheeling, West Virginia, and later to Cincinnati, Ohio, remaining there three years. They settled in Darke County about the year 1836 or 1837, where the father died in October, 1847. He was a saddler by trade, and followed that avocation for several years after coming to America. F.V., the subject of this sketch, was reared a farmer, and received his education in the common schools of his neighborhood and by study at home. He was united in marriage, June 13, 1854, to Miss Mary Humbert, a native of France, and a daughter of Nicholas and Mary (Dodier) Humbert. Nine children have been born to this union, as follows -William Eugene, Martha Isabelle, Hubert Amos, Emanuel Isidore (born in 1863, and died in October, 1885), Walter Augustus, Aurelia Celina, Maria Flora, Francis Vincent and Lovina Ann. Mr. Gigandet continued to reside in Darke County until 1873, when he came with his family to Jay County, Indiana. He bought his farm in Jay County from Henry Ewing, almost unimproved. A few acres has been cleared and twenty acres deadened, and two log cabins and a log stable had been erected. He has made good improvements during his residence on the place, making it one of the best farms in his neighborhood. His farm contains eighty acres, of which fifty-two acres is cleared and under fine cultivation. He has a fine, substantial residence, built in modern style, and considered one of the best in Wayne Township. In connection with his general farming he devotes some attention to stock-raising, his farm being divided into different fields for that object. In his political views Mr. Gigandet is a Democrat, casting his first presidential vote for Franklin Pierce in 1852, and at all succeeding presidential elections he has voted the Democratic ticket. Although an adherent of the Democratic principles, he believes in a good, honest Government for the people; and in local elections where he is acquainted with the candidates, if his party nominates a candidate who in his judgment has not the qualifications of a good officer, able and willing to discharge his official duties in the interests of the people and the good of the country, he does not hesitate to look in the ranks of the opposing parties for an honest man, and if he finds him he votes without regard to party affiliation. Mr. Gigandet is one of the most active member of the Catholic church. In his religious views he is not bigoted, but rather liberal, and is always ready to hold out the hand of friendship and help to his dissenting neighbors and friends, having no ill-feeling toward them because they do not believe as he does. Nor has he any ill-will toward any man on account of his religious or political views, believing that all, let them be Jew or Gentile, Protestant or infidel, have rights which ought to be respected by all good citizens, and that if a man is honest and upright he should be welcomed in any neighborhood without questioning his creed or political views. He believes that all have a right to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience. Mr. Gigandet took an active part in the building of his church, of which he was one of the first trustees, and is one of its most liberal supporters. William E. Gigandet, the eldest son of F.V. Gigandet, was born in Darke County, Ohio, August 7, 1855, where he was reared, coming to Jay County with his father in 1873. He was married April 30, 1880, to Miss Edna Ann Miller, a daughter of A. Miller, of Wayne Township, Jay County. They are the parents of two children, named Agatha A. and Estella E. ------------------------------ X-Message: #4 Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 17:15:51, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: JOSEPH D.R.G. LOSCH -DARKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 671-672 JOSEPH D.R.G. LOSCH, one of the active and public-spirited men of Pike Township, residing at the old village of Bluff Point, was born on the homestead of his parents in Pike Township, in the year 1846. He is a son of Charles C. and Julia A. (Volk) Losch, who were born, reared and married in Wittemburg, Germany. With their three eldest children,they came to the United States in 1836, and first settled in Darke County, Ohio, and in 1841 made their home in Jay County, Indiana, on section 35, Pike Township, where they commenced improving eighty acres of timber land. There they made a good home, adding to their original purchase until the homestead contained about 400 acres. The mother died in 1863, aged fifty-two years. She was a member of the Reformed church at Boundary. The father married for his second wife Miss Mary Gates, who died about two years after her marriage. He was again married to Mrs. Elizabeth Dodson, who now resides at the old homestead with her stepson, Abraham. The father died in 1872, in his sixty-eighth year. He was an energetic man, having come to the county poor, passing through all the trials and hardships of pioneer life, and by his own efforts accumulated a fine property, and what is still better, gained the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. The parents of our subject had born to them the following children -Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett, living in Montgomery County, Illinois; Frederick, who died in 1864, leaving a wife and two children; John, who was a faithful soldier in the Seventh Indiana Infantry, is now living in Bond County, Illinois; Josephus was a member of the same company, and died at his father's residence during the war; Joseph D.R.G., our subject; Abraham H., now living on the old homestead, and Julia A., who died aged nine years. The three eldest children were natives of Germany, the rest of the family being born in Jay County, Indiana. Joseph D.R.G. Losch, whose name heads this sketch, remained on the farm until March, 1864, when he went to Randolph County and commenced working at the harness and saddle maker's trade, which he followed until twenty-eight years of age, with the exception of about one year, when in attendance at Liber College. May 29, 1873, he was married to Miss Mary E. Ware, who was born August 1, 1850, in Pike Township, where her parents, John E. and Susan Ware, still reside. At the time of his marriage Mr. Losch was engaged in harness making at Dunkirk, Jay County, and there he commenced housekeeping. He subsequently returned to Pike Township to the homestead of his parents. Since 1883 he has made his home in the village of Bluff Point, where he owns a very fine residence property. Politically he has always cast his suffrage with the Republican party. He has held the office of justice of the peace of Pike Township four or five years, and is now serving his second term as township trustee. Both Mr. and Mrs. Losch are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are classed among the best people of Pike Township, where they enjoy the confidence and esteem of all. ------------------------------ X-Message: #5 Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 17:15:47, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: JAMES F. WOODS - DARKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 683-684 JAMES F. WOODS, of Portland, one of the early settlers of Knox Township, Jay County, was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, the date of his birth being November 7, 1823, a son of Hezekiah and Mary (Oliver) Woods. The father was a native of the State of New Jersey, and in his youth removed with his father, Levi Woods to Pennsylvania, where he was married, and in 1833 removed with his family to Darke County, Ohio. Traveling in those days was slow and tedious, they making the journey from Pennsylvania down the Ohio River in a flat-boat to Cincinnati, and then with teams to Darke County. Hezekiah Oliver and wife lived in Darke County until their death. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eldest. Four of the sons and two daughters grew to maturity, but one daughter has since died, leaving four sons and one daughter the surviving members of the family. Levi Woods , the grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Joseph Oliver, was one of the well known pioneers of Pike Township, Jay county, Indiana. He was a native of Dublin, Ireland, where he grew to manhood. Soon after his marriage he immigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania, later removed to Darke County, Ohio, and from there he came to Jay County, settling in Pike Township. He lived in Jay County many years, and late in life returned to Darke County, where he and his wife lived until their death. He was a manufacturer of shingles, which he made his principal occupation. He was the father of a large family, thirteen children living at one time. James F. woods, whose name heads this sketch, was ten years old when his parents settled in Darke County, and there he was reared to maturity, and in his youth he often visited the home of his grandfather in Pike Township, Jay County. He was married in Darke County, to Miss Susanna Bailey, a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Porter) Bailey, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia respectively. To this union three children have been born -Melissa, wife of Henry Shofer; Susie, wife of David Barr, and John B. By a former marriage Mr. Woods has two children, named Martha and James C. Peter Bailey, the father of Mrs. Woods, was twice married, Mrs. Woods being a child of the second marriage. Some years after his marriage Mr. Bailey settled with his family in Perry County, Ohio, and in 1849 removed to Darke County. The father died in Darke County, and the mother of Mrs. Woods died near Briant, Jay County, Indiana, at the home of one of her daughters, in her eighty-fourth year. In 1856 Mr. Woods came to Jay County, and settled in Knox Township, where he and his wife lived for eight years. They then removed to Pike Township, where they resided a number of years, and in September, 1883, came to the city of Portland, where they have a pleasant home. In politics Mr. Woods affiliates with the Republican party. ------------------------------ X-Message: #6 Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 17:15:58, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: D.R. ROBERTS - DARKE COUNTY BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF JAY AND BLACKFORD COUNTIES, INDIANA The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887 - Page 475-476 D.R. ROBERTS, a prominent and successful business man, and a valuable citizen of Portland, is a native of Darke County, Ohio, born in the year 1848, his parents, Tunis and Lucenia (Lawrence) Roberts, being natives of the same county. He was reared on the home farm until eighteen years of age, when he began life for himself, following the avocation of his youth until 1884. Although he had commenced farming for himself at the age of eighteen years he remained at home with his parents until attaining the age of twenty-two years, when he was married to Miss Sarah A. Billman, a native of Darke County, Ohio, born in 1853, and a daughter of John and Hester Billman. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are the parents of three children -Charles F., born in 1873; Laure E., in 1875, and Frank C. in 1877. Mr. Roberts came to Portland, Jay County, Indiana, in 1884, and purchased the saw-mill of John S. Wilt, which he has since operated, his mill being on Water street between Wayne street and Garfield avenue. He also owns the house and lot he occupies in Portland, and a fine farm of sixty acres located seven miles northeast of Portland which he leases. Mr. Roberts is a member of the Odd Fellows order. Both he and his wife are members of the Society of Friends, and are much respected by all who know them. -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #272 *******************************************