Hiram T. Betts

HIRAM T. BETTS.

Mr. Betts, who is a prominent resident of Stryker, Williams county, has been for some years actively identified with the business interests of that thriving town, having held until recently the presidency of the Stryker Manufacturing Company. As a citizen beds highly esteemed, his public spirit has been shown in his support of various worthy movements.

Mr. Betts was born near Trenton, New Jersey, on May 12, 1833, and on the paternal side comes of a long-lived ancestry. His father, John L. Betts, who was born in Nova Scotia January 21, 1803, died in April, 1898, at an advanced age. This venerable citizen was among the early settlers of Williams county, and his history will be of lasting interest. He was married in New York City on April 25, 1826, to Miss Sarah A. Pryor, a native of Philadelphia, born June 28, 1806, and after spending ten years of his married life in the East he decided to seek better opportunities for himself and his children in the newly-opened lands of this section. In 1846 he came to Ohio and secured one hundred and twenty acres of land in what is now German township, Fulton county, and then returned temporarily to New York City; but in 1848 he brought his family west, and settled upon his new homestead. In 1855 he sold his farm and went back to New York, in the following year, however, again locating in Fulton county, purchasing a farm near Archbold, where he resided several years. He then disposed of the farm and retired from active business, making his home with our subject. His estimable wife died April 28, 1883, in Springfield township, Williams county. Of their ten children two died in infancy, the others being John, Margaret, George, Hiram T., James, Clara, Robert, and Albert.

During his youth Mr. Betts, our subject, resided with his parents, but when nearly of age he found employment in the neighborhood of the homestead. While thus engaged he was married in Springfield township, Williams county, on August 22, 1854, to Mrs. Mary Ann Thurston, widow cl Samuel M. Thurston and daughter of Matthias Appleman. She was born November 5, 1816, in Columbia county, Pennsylvania. Soon after his marriage Mr. Betts located upon a farm in Section 12, Springfield township, Williams county, where he resided until 1891, and for about ten years of this time he represented the Dayton Hedge Co., and the Michigan Hedge

Co., in that locality. In 1891 he removed to Stryker, where he became interested in the manufacturing company mentioned above, and from 1892 to September, 1897, he served as its president. He has always taken an active share in local affairs, and while residing in Springfield township he held various official positions.

Since 1855 Mr. Betts has been a zealous worker in the cause of religion as a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has been continuously in office. The family is prominent socially, and his two sons, Franklin T. and Clarence R., have taken honorable positions in life.

As printed in Commemorative biographical record of northwestern Ohio : including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams and Fulton, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and (1899). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

HIRAM T. BETTS, one of the honored citizens of Stryker, where he is now living retired, has been prominently identified with industrial and business interests in Williams county, with whose history he Ins been familiar since the pioneer days, while through his own efforts lie has attained a success worthy the name, and has so ordered

2 84 his life as to retain at every stage therein the unqualified esteem and confidence of his fellow men. Mr. Betts was born near the city of Trenton, N. J., on the 12th of May, 1833, and is a son of John L. and Sarah Ann (Pryor) Betts, the former of whom was born at Digby, Nova Scotia, January 21, 1803, while the latter was born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 28, 1806, and their marriage was solemnized in New York city, April 25, 1826. As a boy John L. Betts was bound, out to learn the saddler’s trade but after serving a short time he ran away and went to New York city, where he was employed for a time by an express company, later by a book-publishing concern, then in a sugar refinery, and finally he became a reporter on the New York Tribune, under Horace Greeley, a fact indicating that he had become comparatively well educated through his own efforts; and those who recall this honored pioneer of Williams county will remember him as a man of ripe judgment and broad and exact information, for he read much and with discrimination throughout his later life. In 1846 he came to Ohio and secured one hundred and twenty acres of land in what is now German township, Fulton county. He then returned to the East, and in 1848 he brought his family to this pioneer homestead. I11 1855 he sold his farm, after which he passed about a year in the East. He then returned to Fulton county, purchasing a farm near Archbold, where he lived several years, while for the last thirty-five years of his life he resided with his son, Hiram T. Betts. It will be remembered that until 1850 a considerable portion of Fulton county was, still a part of Williams county, the former not having been created until the year noted. Mr. Betts was a man of no little mechanical genius, and he patented a farm gate and other useful devices. His wife died in Springfield township, April 28, 1883, in the home of her son, Hiram T., with whom the father also passed his declining years, his death occurring March 22, 1889, at which time he was in his ninety-sixth year. This worthy couple became the parents of ten children, of whom eight reached years of maturity, but only two are now living — Hiram T. and Robert H., the latter having been a resident of Washington. D. C., for eighteen years and being now a resident of Archbold, Fulton county. Hiram T. Betts had limited educational advantages in his youth, owing to the exigencies of time and place, but in his active and useful career he has made good this handicap, being possessed of a large fund of practical knowledge and ever having maintained an intelligent grasp on the questions and issues of the hour. After leaving the parental home he found employment in the neighborhood, principally at farm work, and while thus engaged he assumed the dignities and responsibilities of a married man, in 1854. Soon afterward he and his bride located on a farm in section 12, Springfield township, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1891, when lie took up his residence in Stryker, where he has since continued to make his home. For nearly a decade, while residing on his farm, Mr. Betts was a local representative of the Dayton Hedge Company and the Michigan Hedge Cornpan v. Upon locating in Stryker, Mr. Betts became one of the principal stockholders of the Stryker Manufacturing Company, of which lie was president from 1892 until 1897. He has been the owner of several farms in Williams county and also of valuable property in Stryker. In politics he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and in Springfield township has served in various local offices. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for a half century, and during the greater portion of this time has served as class leader, while he has been a trustee in the church for many years. Mrs. Betts also is a devoted member of the same church. On the 22d of August, 1854, Mr. Betts was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary Ann (Appleman) Thurston, widow of Samuel Thurston, of Bloomington, Pa., and a daughter of John Appleman, who came to Williams county in 1848 and settled in Springfield township. Mrs. Betts was born in Columbia county, Pa., November 5, 1816. For a number of years past Mrs. Betts has been a confirmed invalid, practically helpless in a physical way, and she has been cared for with the most assiduous devotion by her husband. They have two sons, Franklin T. and Clarence R. The former resides in Defiance, O., where he is engaged in the life insurance business. He married Miss Zylplia Coy and they have four children — Rufus, Bessie, Carey and John. Clarence Rufus Betts, the younger son, maintains his home in Stryker and is a representative of the firm of Bruns,' Bowersox & Co., manufacturers, of Shawneetown, Ill. He married Miss Lillian Snyder and they have three daughters — Mabel, Grace and Florence. Mabel and Grace are now attending Delaware University at Delaware, O.

As printed in The county of Williams : a history of Williams County, Ohio, from the earliest days, with special chapters on various subjects, including each of the different townships ; also a biographical departme (1905). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.