Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/885

 PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP.

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��tering ia the summer. This mode of life he continued for seven years in the States of Ohio, Illinois and Iowa. In the spring of 1855, he bought of the Government olO acres of land in Boone Co., Iowa, about twenty miles from the capital of the State. Mr. Tranger then re- turned to Ohio and taught school the fallowing winter, and in June he started for Lake Superior, but at Detroit, Mich., he learned unfavorable news which changed his course, and he there took a boat for Chicago ; he after- ward went to Iowa and \vas engaged in various busi- ness. In May, 1860, he in company with forty others outfitted near Des Moines, Iowa, and traveled by wagon to what was then called Pike's Peak gold regions, a distance of about eight hundred miles, camping on the plains at night and doing their own cooking. They arrived at Denver, Colo., June 20. He and twenty others went on an exploring trip about eighty miles into the mountains, passing among and through the snow drifts larger than houses, crossing the range at Long's Peak, from which a magnificent view was had of mountains, valleys, plains, groves and cities, for a distance of more than a hundred miles. In the mines every foot of paying ground was claimed and held at fabulous prices. After searching a month for something that would pay, he and others purchased ranch claims in the valley and bought stock of emigrants and at the auctions in Denver, and drove it from the ranch to the mines : they pastured the year round, cattle getting fat in the winter ; snow never lies on the ground more than two days at a time until there will be places where stock can graze again. While snow is on the ground, the stock have to live on "sage-wood" bushes and brush along the creeks. They also marketed hay and vegetables in the mines. While there, he descended a shaft where quartz was being mined, wishing to see one of the miners that was 125 feet under the ground. It appeared to him as though he had climbed a thousand feet and causes an unpleasant feeling to go into these places. Yet thousands go deeper every day. The mines in this country are mostly quartz mines. There being but little rainfall, and the main dependence for moisture is snow, which falls in the spring ; people have to irrigate their land to raise crops. It consists of dig- ging long ditches from the streams that come out of the mountains. In the spring of 1864, Indian troubles having begun, Mr. Trauger returned home. In 1865, he purchased 150 acres of land on the New Haven Prairie, intending to raise stock, but the war closed at that time and prices of stock declined. Then he, in company with a brother and S. B. Day, now of Mans- field, bought the " Plymouth Foundry and Machine Shops." After running them successfully for more than a year, they sold out to parties who moved the shops away. Then a joint stock company was organized, with a capital of $10,000, and built a new foundry ; he being a Director, Treasurer, and a member of the executive committee. After two years, he sold out his stock and retired from the company. He then made a trip to Iowa and sold his lands at about $10 per acre ; also sold 200 acres in Crawford Co., Iowa, that he and his brother had taken on a debt. In 1872, he engaged in manufacturing ^agricultural implements, and has built up a prosperous and increasing business. He was married May 13, 1875, to Miss Sarah E. Hutchinson,

��of Plymouth Township ; they have one child, Grace Ann, born Feb 8, 1878.

TRAUGER, HENRY, farmer; was born April 25, 1829, in Pennsylvania; the family came to Plymouth Township in 18 i6, and purchased the farm that he now owns. In 1853, Mr. Trauger took a trip to California, Panama, and many other places of interest; has traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, and, as a con- sequence, is a well-informed man ; his trip to the Isthmus, etc., took him a period of six months ; when he returned he lived six years in Iowa, going there in the fall of 1854, as a farmer, and various other trades; run a thrashing machine for several years ; in 1860, came back to the old homestead and has there remained ever since, buying the old farm of his father. Mr. Trauger raises a large amount of grain, and keeps a fine lot of stock; theirs used to be the "premium" farm of the county. Was married Sept. 28, 1876, to Miss Stoutnour, of Mansfield ; they have one child, a little girl.

WAITE, T. D., blacksmith and agricultural imple- ment dealer, Plymouth; residence, warehouse and shop on Sundusky street ; was born in Soutli Wellingham, Lincolnshire, England, April 11, 1825. A brother of his, Mr. William Waite, came to Plymouth in 1853, their being six children in the family ; their father, Thomas Waite, together with Mrs. Waite, and the balance of the children, came the following year, 1854, and all located in Plymouth and vicinity. The follow- ing are the names of the families and their occupation : William, a farmer; T. D., blacksmith and implement dealer ; John, carpenter ; Charles, carpenter ; Sarah, the only daughter, married William Loffland ; George, butcher, at Shelby. The old folks are still living in New Haven Township; they follow farming ; three of the boys, .John, Charley and George, were in the army ; John enlisted in Co. H, 163d 0. N.G.; Charley enlisted in the spring of 1861, in Co. D, 32d 0. V. I.; George was in the 11th 0. V. C, and was all through the Western States and Territories, where he hoped to fight Indians and doing scout duty. Mr. T. D. Waite, the subject of this sketch, learned the blacksmith trade of his father and older brother, when quite a small boy, and has worked at his trade for twenty-five years, and it is safe to say that he is one of the best in the country, as he fully understands it in all branches; in the spring of 1879, he added a full line of agricul- tural implements to his shop, consisting of wagons, carriages, sleighs and all kinds of farming implements, and the business has been very satisfactory to him ; he being well-known as a reliable man in every way, and people have confidence in him. Was married, in 1872, to Miss E. Ladow, of Auburn Township, Craw- ford Co.; they have one child — Jesse, born November, 1865.

WEBBER, FRED. H., farmer ; P. 0. Plymouth ; he was born Dec. 29, 1853 ; was raised and always lived at home on the farm ; the balance of the family have all left, and leaves him at home to take care of his mother, who is quite an old lady, and to look after the interests of the farm. He was married in 1876 to Miss Har- riet Kirkpatrick, of Plymouth Township ; they have one little boy— Frank, born in 1877. Mr. Webber now owns the old farm where they live, it being the old

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