Biographies of Wyandot County

Albert Reber

Among the agriculturists of Crane township who have achieved prominence as men of marked ability and substantial worth is numbered Albert Reber, one of the extensive landowners and successful business men of this locality. His holdings aggregate twelve hundred acres and his farm is conducted along such modern and progressive lines that his activities have had an important effect upon agricultural standards in the state.

Albert Reber was born in Fairfield county, October 23, 1845, and is a son of Thomas V. and Rachael (Allen) Reber, both natives of the same section, the father born June 17, 1806, and the mother October 22, 1808. She was a member of a family that was well known in Wyandot county and for over one hundred years prominent in Fairfield county, and traced her ancestry back to the Pilgrims. The first of the family came to America was Samuel Allen, who emigrated from Bridgewater, Somerset county, England, and settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1620. his son Samuel (II), was born in 1632 and his sister born in 1639, married Joseph Standish, a son of Miles Standish, of the Mayflower. This Samuel Allen married Sarah Partridge and their sin

CONSTIEN BROTHERS.

The firm of Constien Brothers is one well known in Upper Sandusky, where they are conducting a growing and profitable business as growers of plants and flowers. These brothers, Bernhardt E. and Alvin A. Constien, are both natives of Upper Sandusky, the former born December 22, 1877, and the latter on the 19th of September, 1879. Their father, William H. Constien, was a native of Hanover, Germany, born October 16, 1839, and was a gardener by occupation. He spent the first twenty-five years of his life in the fatherland and then determined to try his fortune in the new world. Accordingly he crossed the Atlantic and for several years was a resident of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but in 1872 came to Upper Sandusky. He married Emily Benecke, who was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1843. Their marriage was celebrated in that country and after traveling life's journey together for a very extended period they were separated by the death of the wife on the 8th of August, 1902. Of their children Otto died in infancy. The others are Theodore, Emma, William II., Albert, Adolph, Bernhardt E., Alvin A. and Oscar. Bernhardt E. Constien pursued his education in the public schools until he reached the age of eighteen, when he turned his attention to the business in which he is now engaged. His brother Alvin was a pupil in the common schools until he readied the age of thirteen, when he became a high-school student in Upper Sandusky. He afterward attended college at Defiance, Ohio, and was graduated there when eighteen years of age. He also attended the Ohio Normal School at Ada, where he devoted one year to the study of pharmacy, at the end of which time he passed the examination before the state pharmaceutical board and became a drug clerk, tilling that position for two years. On the expiration of that period he took up the study of dentistry in the Ohio Medical College at Columbus and was graduated in 1894 with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He now practices at his residence but has been obliged to discontinue his professional work to some extent, owing to his health. He is associated with his brother in the growing of plants and in the sale of cut flowers, and they are prominent dealers in their line in the city. Bernhardt E. Constien was married on the 3d of December. 1902, to Miss Marie Miller, a daughter of Alpheus and Josephine Miller, of Chatsfield, Crawford County, Ohio. They have two children, Karl and Norman. Alvin A. Constien wedded Laura Fink, a daughter of John and Mary A. Pink. His marriage occurred November 14, 1901, and they have one child, Raymond John. The brothers are independent in their political affiliations. They hold membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Rebekahs, and their religious faith is that of the German Lutheran church. They have well equipped greenhouses and are conducting a successful business in plant culture while their sale of cut flowers adds materially to their own income. Their plant covers five thousand square feet but the business is growing to such an extent, that at this writing four thousand more feet of glass area are being added to their greenhouses.

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ALBERT H. MARTENS.

Stalling out in the business world as an errand boy Albert H. Martens has gradually worked his way upward and is now owner of au extensive brewery, his property in that connection being valued at twenty-five thousand dollars. Mr. Martens is a native of Germany, born June 17, 1871. His father, William Martens, whose natal year was 1839, was a laborer of that country and when he came to America in 1882 he settled at Detroit, Michigan. Ten years later he passed away. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Ott, was born in Germany in 1839 and died in 1897. In their family were five children: Rudolph, Bertha, Augusta, Louisa and Albert H. The last named remained in Germany until ten years of age, when the parents came with their family to the new world and he completed his education, begun in the schools of his native land, by study in the public schools of Detroit. At fourteen years of age, however, he put aside his textbooks and for a year thereafter worked as errand boy. He next began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed until twenty-one years of age, when he entered the grocery and saloon business, opening a store of his own in Detroit. With the exception of a year and a half spent as an employee in a brewery he continued in business there until 1911, when he sold his grocery store and saloon and purchased the Upper Sandusky Brewery. Since assuming its management he has been very successful, building up a trade which is constantly growing. The brewing plant is well equipped with modern machinery and is worth twenty-five thousand dollars, while its capacity is five thousand barrels annually. In addition to his other interests Mr. Martens is also extensively engaged in the ice business, employing several wagons in the delivery of that product in Upper Sandusky. On the 30th of January, 1906, in Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Martens was married to Miss Lillian Egle, a daughter of Henry and Bertha (Zimmerman) Egle, the former well known throughout the country as a pottery manufacturer. Mr. and Mrs. Martens have but one child, Allen. The parents are members of the German Lutheran church and he belongs to the Personal Liberty League of Ohio. His political indorsement is given to the republican party but he has never sought nor desired office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs. He has worked earnestly and persistently to achieve success and is now at the head of an enterprise which is bringing him good financial returns.

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WILLIAM A. GIPSON.
William A. Gipson is a dealer in coal and building supplies in Upper Sandusky. His success is due entirely to his own efforts, indefatigable labor and reliable methods having brought to him a gratifying patronage. He was born in Plymouth, Richland county, Ohio, January 26, 1843, a son of Lorenzo and Emilia A. Gipson. The father was born in Vermont, March 12, 1817, and was a mechanic. On coming to Ohio he settled in Mansfield in 1850 and on the 20th of February, 1868, he passed away. His wife, a native of Pennsylvania, was born May 16,1822, and died February 12,1877. William A. Gipson became a resident of Mansfield, Ohio, in his boyhood days and there pursued his education in the public schools to the age of sixteen years, when he put aside his textbooks in order to cam a living. He worked at coopering in a factory of that city for a year, at the end of which time the family removed to Upper Sandusky. Here he again worked at his trade until the outbreak of the Civil war, when his patriotic spirit was aroused by the continued attempt of the south to overthrow the Union and he enlisted in 1862 as a member of Company F, One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three years. During an engagement he was wounded in the left side by a spent ball, which forced him to remain out of active service for three weeks. He was twice taken prisoner and spent one night in Libby Prison. He was then transferred to Belle Isle, where he remained for sixty-two days. He was again captured at High Bridge and taken to Appomattox Court House, where Lee surrendered, and stayed there for three days, when he was exchanged as a paroled prisoner. He participated in sixteen hard-fought battles and many skirmishes and with a most creditable military record returned to his home, having been honorably discharged at Camp Chase, Baltimore, June 5, 1865.
In his business career Mr. Gipson has been quite successful and now owns and conducts a coal and building supplies business which he has carried on for many years. At different times he has been interested in various commercial and industrial enterprises in the city and now devotes his entire time to the management of his coal and building supplies depot, where he carries a large stock, being accorded a liberal patronage. He began with but a limited capital but he possesses unfaltering courage and determination and as the years have gone by his enterprise and perseverance have won him a most gratifying measure of success, finding tangible evidence in the judicious investments in property which he has made.
On the 12th of May, 1870, in this city, Mr. Gipson was married to Miss Addie K. Beistle, a daughter of Christian and Catherine (Houck) Beistle, the father a shoe merchant of this place. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Gipson are: Blanche, the wife of Fred W. Zander, a dealer in plumbers' supplies in Buffalo, New York, by whom she has one son, Frederick G.; Myram M.; William A.; Matilda E.; Lucy A.; Alice; and Arland F.
Mr. Gipson and his wife are members of the English Evangelical Lutheran church, and he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. He is also a member of the Commercial Club and active in its efforts to promote the business interests of the city. He votes with the democratic party and has held several local offices. For ten years he tilled the position of councilman and for twenty-one years has been a member of the school board. The cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He was also a trustee of the Ohio State School for the Deaf for twenty years, being first appointed by William McKinley and later by different governors of Ohio. He was chosen for this position for four terms of five years each. He is a very popular man, well liked by all, and his many sterling traits of character have gained for him enduring regard. In all his duties of citizenship in its broadest sense he has displayed the same loyalty which characterized his service when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields.

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CHARLES C. KOUNS.
A record such as that of Charles C. Kouns is not an unusual one in this country, where labor finds its just reward and close application and energy constitute the salient elements of success; and yet, such a record never fails to elicit attention and commendation. The world admires the victor and in a successful business career the struggle is continuously waged for supremacy over adverse conditions, competition and the obstacles which arise through the subversion of plans through outside influences. Without special advantages at the outset of his career. Mr. Kouns has made steady progress with the result that he has attained au enviable position in business circles, for he is today secretary and general manager of the Ohio Manufacturing Company at Upper Sandusky.
Mr. Kouns was born at New Holland, Ohio, September 26, 1885, his parents being Moses W. M. and Ella (Johnson) Kouns, both of whom were natives of Pickaway county, Ohio. The father, who was born in 1857. was for a considerable period president of the Ohio Manufacturing Company at Upper Sandusky, but his life's labors were ended in death in 1909. The mother still survives and is now living in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of fifty-three years. Their children are Leota. Jane, Charles C, Marie and Herbert. The eldest daughter is the wife of Dr. W. E. Robinson, a dentist of Washington Court House, and they have two children. Charles and William. Jane Kouns became the wife of A. B. Whitney, the president of the Ohio Manufacturing Company, and their two children are Richard and Virginia.
Charles C. Kouns attended the public schools of his native town, spent two years as a student in the schools of Dayton, Ohio, and two years at Bellevue, and then entered the high school at Washington Court House, from which he was graduated with the class of 1904. He immediately started in business with the Ohio Manufacturing Company, in which connection he has steadily worked his way upward until he is now one of its stockholders and its secretary and general manager. It is true that he entered upon a business already established hut he has been active and energetic in enlarging and developing this and has contributed much to its success. He votes with the republican party but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He is regarded as one of the enterprising young men of the city upon whom the future of Upper Sandusky will largely depend.

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Past and Present of Wyandot County, Ohio: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

By Abraham J. Baughman

Published by Clarke Pub. Co., 1913

Submitted By

Kim Torp