The Otstot Family of Clark County, Ohio

DANIEL OTSTOT, retired farmer; P. O. Springfield. Mr. Daniel Otstot is one of. the oldest of Clark's old citizens, hailing from the last century; born Aug. 27, 1795, in York Co., Penn.; four years after which, his parents moved to Lancaster, Penn., where he was raised. From 1811 to 1835, he worked at the trade of wagon-making; then farmer eighteen months, coming to Ohio in the fall of 1836; to Columbus, where he visited his brother, and, in the spring of 1837, came to Clark County. In 1818, he married Hannah Dushane, who died in 1801. Of their ten children (five of either sex), five sons and two daughters are living, two having died in infancy, and one, Mrs. William Bunyan, Sept. 23, 1877. Of the two surviving daughters, Mrs. J. W. Randall was so unfortunate as to lose all five of her children, and Miss Sallie C. Otstot resides with her father. Of his five sons, the first, John Dushane, is a pattern-maker here; Adam Hunter, a carpenter; Alfred Walraven, a packer and shipper in Whiteley, Fassler & Kelly's shops; Thomas Miller, a farmer in Butler County; and William Torbert, a farmer on the home place, in this county, which Mr. O. cleared up and established in 1837, working it until 1866, when he moved to Springfield, having since then lived in retirement at his quiet home, No. 81 South Center street, with his daughter, Miss Sallie C. Otstot, who is the loved companion of his declining years. Notwithstanding his advanced years, Mr. Otstot is in full possession of his faculties, and some physical feebleness is the only indication of his accumulated years, and no observer or acquaintance would think of taking him for over 65 or 70 at the farthest. His family is a Methodist one, and Mr. O. and daughter are earnest and devoted members of the Central and High Street Methodist Churches respectively. Having done his full part in life and full of, honorable years, Mr. Otstot is now ready for the call of the Master, with those cheering words, “well done, good and faithful servant,” etc., etc. William Torbert Otstot was three years a member of Co. I, 44th O. V. I, and returning home, re-enlisted in the 8th Cavalry, remaining in this service until the close of the war.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WILLIAM T. OTSTOT, a representative citizen and leading agriculturist of Springfield Township, who resides on his home farm of seventy-five acres, which is situated in section 31, owns thirty acres more, just across the road, practically in the same farm. Mr. Otstot was born in the old log house which then stood on this farm, December 19, 1837, and is a son of Daniel and Hannah (Dushane) Otstot.

Daniel Otstot was born in Pennsylvania, in 1795, and died at Springtield, Ohio, in November, 1881, aged eighty-six years. His father, Adam Otstot, was born in Germany. Daniel Otstot was married in Pennsylvania, to Hannah Dushane, who was born in Delaware, of French parentage, and die on the present home farm, in February, 1860. All of their ten children, with the exception of William T., the youngest, were born before the family left Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1837 there was a great movement of settlers from the East to Ohio, and among these came Daniel Otstot, wife and seven children, two having died prior to this, and after they reached Clark County, the father secured one hundred and sixty acres of land, sixty of which he soon transferred to a brother. A small clearing had been made, on which stood a log cabin, but all the remainder of the land was covered with forest. Daniel Otstot immediately began to clear up the land and to put it under cultivation. In 1850, he built the large brick house which his son

William T. occupies. He remained active until advanced in years, when he retired to Springfield. His children were: Martha Ann, who married AVilliam Bunvan, both deceased; John Dushane, residing at Springfield, aged eighty-six years; Mary Jane, who married John W. Randall, both deceased; Adam Hunter, Alfred Walraven, Thomas Miller and Sarah Catherine, all deceased; two children died young; and William T., of Springfield Township.

William T. Otstot obtained his education in the neighborhood schools and grew to manhood on the home farm, twelve acres of which he cleared of timber. Mr. Otstot is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted first on September 20, 1861, in Company I, Forty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and during his three long years of service, took part in many very serious battles through Kentucky and Virginia. Before the expiration of his first enlistment he re-enlisted in January, 1864, becoming a member of the; Eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and was finally mustered out at Clarksburg, West Virginia, July 30, 1865. Mr. Otstot is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Springfield. After the close of his military service, he returned to Springfield Township and has been engaged in farming here until the present. In 1906 he erected the comfortable frame residence adjoining his own, which is occupied by his son.

On January 2, 1868, Mr. Otstot was married to Mary A. Willis, who was reared near Columbus, in Franklin County, and is a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Shanks) Willis. They have had three children, namely: Nellie W.; Walter W., who was born in December, 1873, and died aged four years; and Harry M., who was born in December, 1877. He married Bessie Starliey. Mr. Otstot and family belong to the High Street Methodist Episcopal Church at Springfield.

Keifer was married in April, 1902, to Mary Wilson, a daughter of T. B. Wilson, of Madison Countv, Ohio.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WILLIAM T. OTSTOT.

William T. Otstot, well known as an enterprising agriculturist of Clark county, was born in December, 1837, on the old homestead farm which his father purchased in that year, and it is still his home. He is a son of Daniel and Hannah (Dushane) Otstot. The former was born and reared in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and by his marriage became the father of ten children, of whom the subject of this review is the youngest.

In early life William T. Otstot became familiar with farm work through the assistance which he rendered tó his father in cultivating the fields of the home farm. He was thus engaged until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when aroused by a spirit of patriotism he offered his services to the government, enlisting in September, 1861, as a member of the Forty-fourth Ohio Infantry, with which he served continuously until January, 1804. a member of the Eighth Cavalry, with which he continued until July, 1865. The war having closed, he was then mustered out at Camp Dennison. He had first enlisted in the Sprinfield fair grounds and he re-enlisted at Strawberry Plains, in east Tennessee. His duty largely took him to the outposts, but he participated in the siege of Knoxville

He then re-enlisted as and was always true to the old flag, faithfully responding to every call made upon him and to every military task which was assigned him. After his return home he resumed farming upon the old home place which his father had purchased in 1837, paying eighteen dollars per acre for it. In 1881 Mr. Otstot purchased this farm from the other heirs, paying one hundred dollars per acre for the tract of one hundred acres. This rise of value indicates the improved condition of the farm as well as the advanced progress caused by the growth in population in the county. He keeps his farm under a good state of cultivation and it is equipped with modern machinery and all accessories found upon a model farm of the twentieth century.

In 1868 Mr. Otstot was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Willis, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Willis, of Columbus, Ohio, both of whom are now deceased. _ Unto our subject and his wife have been born three children, but Walter, the second, died in infancy. The daughter, Nellie,. is at home, and Harry, who is now twenty-. four years of age, assists his father in the work of the farm. Mr. Otstot is connected with Mitchell Post, No. 45, G. A. R., and is to-day a loyal citizen, very deeply interested in the welfare of his county, state and nation, and their substantial progress.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected.

WILLIAM T. OTSTOT, farmer; P. O. Springfield. Mr. O. is the son of Daniel and Hannah (Dushane) Otstot, and was born Dec. 16, 1837, on the farm where he now lives, in the old house which stood near his present residence. He has always lived on the farm excepting while in the army. He enlisted, in 1861, in the 44th O. V. I, and served in said regiment until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. He was in every battle in which said regiment was engaged, and never received a wound. He was married, Jan. 2, 1868, to Mary A. Willis, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Shanks) Willis. They had born unto them three children—Nellie Willis, born Feb. 9, 1870; Walter W. Dec. 16, 1873; Harry M., Dec. 15, 1877; Walter, died Jan. 20, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Otstot are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and live consistent lives in accordance with the teachings of said church. Mr. O. is a man of true gentlemanly principles, and Mrs. O. is a noble-hearted lady, who knows well how to make home cheerful and pleasant. Mr. O.s parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio in 1837 and located in this county. Mrs. 0.’s father was born in England, and emigrated to America in 1837. Her mother was born in Pennsylvania.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected.

JOHN OTSTOT, a prominent citizen of Spring-field Township and a member of the township school board, owns three valuable farms which aggregate 290 acres. He was born on the farm which is now occupied by his son, John Frederick Otstot, in Springfield Township, Clark County, Ohio, March 28, 1847, and is a son of William and Rebecca (Knaub) Otstot.

The Otstot family came to Ohio from that old German stronghold, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Adam Otstot, the grandfather of John Otstot, came to Columbus, Ohio, in 1831, and was accompanied by his son, William Otstot, who had been born in Pennsylvania, December 25, 1811. The family remained at Columbus for two years and then came to Clark County, settling on the farm on which John Otstot was born. William Otstot was married in Clark County to Rebecca Knaub, who died in December, 1902. She was a daughter of George Knaub and was born in York County, Pennsylvania. The thirteen children of Wilham and Rebecca Otstot were reared on the farm south of Springfield, and all of them, with one exception, reached maturity. William Otstot died July 16, 1895, aged eighty-four years.

John Otstot attended school in the neighborhood of his home, but early began to assist in the farm work and has continued to be interested in agricultural pursuits up to the present time. His early training was not lost, for there is little pertaining to farm work that he does not thoroughly understand. After his marriage he went to housekeeping on the William Perrin farm, in Springfield Township, where he lived until the spring of 1883, a period of seven years, and then came to the present farm, which he bought in the spring of 1882.

Mr. Otstot married Sarah Kershner, who is a daughter of William A. and Ellen (Way) Kershner. Mrs. Kershner was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of Capt. Michael Way, who operated a shoe factory there. He was an officer in the War of 1812. After coming to Clark County Ellen Way attended and graduated from the old Springfield Seminary, and for a number of years afterward taught school both in Springfield and in the country. She married William A. Kershner, who was born in Clark County and who was a son of Jacob Kershner,' who came to this section from Hagerstown, Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Otstot have four children, namely: William A., who married Minnie

Hayman and has two children — Anna Ruth and Christel; Mabel who married August Getz and has one child — Lewis; John Frederick, who married Florence Self, and they have one child — John Edgar; and Harry, who is residing at home. Mr. Otstot has always taken a good citizen's interest in public affairs and on several occasions has consented to serve as a member of the school board.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOHN FREDERIC OTSTOT, residing on one of his father's farms, which is situated in section 20, Springfield Township, and consists of ninety-four and one-half acres of valuable land, was born in Springfield Township, Clark County, Ohio, September 26, 1882, and is a son of John and Sallie (Kershner) Otstot.

John Otstot was born in the house which is the present home of his son, John F.

His father was William Otstot, who was a native of Pennsylvania and an early settler in this section. AVilliam Otstot built this commodious brick house in 1832 and at that time it was one of the finest residences in all this part of the country, and many a social gathering has been held here and kind hospitality dispensed. It is still known as the old William Otstot place. John Otstot was reared in Springfield Township and trained to be a good farmer. When he reached manhood he married Sallie Kershner, who was also born in Springfield Township, and is a daughter of William A. Kershner. To John and Sallie Otstot were born four children, namely: William A.; Mabel, who married August Getz; John Frederic; and Harry, who remains at home. John Otstot is a large farmer residing east of Springfield, and is a member of the Springfield Township School Board.

John F. Otstot was reared in Springfield Township, and attended school during his boyhood and youth, in the neighborhood of his home. He grew to manhood acquainted with all the practical details of farming and has ever since given his attention to this business. For some months following his marriage he lived at home and then moved to the present farm which he has successfully operated for the past three years. He raises wheat, corn, oats and hay, also some stock, and keeps enough cows to have a good private dairy. He is one of the sensible, industrious and enterprising young farmers of the township.

On June 1. 1903, Mr. Otstot was married to Florence Self, who is a daughter of Joseph and Lettie Self. Mrs. Otstot was left an orphan when she was five years old and was reared by her grandfather, James Self, of Madison County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Otstot have one son, a bright little child, whom they have named John Edgar.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.