William Sunderman

WILLIAM SUNDERMAN, a well-known and substantial bachelor farmer and landowner of Washington township, now living retired on his well-kept place on rural mail route No. 1 out of St. Marys, a mile north of the pleasant village of New Knoxville, was born on that place and has lived there all his life, a period of nearly eighty years. Mr. Sunderman was born on February 12, 1844, and is the only son of William and Christina (Steinicker) Sunderman, natives of Germany, who were married in that country and then came to America and became pioneers of this section of Ohio. The senior William Sunderman was but a poor man, a shepherd and peat cutter in his home land, and after his marriage he decided that the thing to do was to go to America and seek the advantages and opportunities which he knew never could come to him in his own country. It required all the money he could raise to pay for the passage of himself and wife over and carry them out here into western Ohio which was his objective upon leaving the old country, and when he got here he began working on the canal, which then was being constructed up through this part of the state. By this means he earned a sufficient sum of money to give him a start as a landowner and bought a woodland "forty" in the south half of section 18 of Washington township, about a mile north of the then developing village of New Knoxville, erected a log cabin on the place and settled down to make a farm out of his woods tract. He did well in his operations and gradually increased his holdings until he became the owner of a farm of 133 acres, the place now owned by his son, William, and there he spent his last days. His widow survived him for years she and her son carrying on the operations of the farm in common until her death. There was another child in this family, a daughter, Mary (now deceased), who married William Grewe, and whose daughter, Emma, married William Schultz, who is now farming the Sunderman place, he and his wife keeping the house for Mr. Sunderman. It was in the little log cabin, the first home of the pioneer Sundermans on this place, that the junior William Sunderman was born, this house in time being supplanted by a substantial dwelling house. The boy William received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and until the death of his father was a valuable aid to the latter in the labors of clearing and developing the home place. Afterward he carried on the farm in his mother's behalf, and after her death took over the place and has continued to make his home there, his niece and her husband having been in charge since his retirement some years ago from the active labors of the farm. Mr. Sunderman has a well-equipped farm plant and his operations have always been carried on systematically. He is a member of the Reformed church at New Knoxville and in his political view is independent of party affiliation. William Schultz, who is now carrying on the operation of the Sunderman farm, also was born in Washington township, December 29, 1868, and is a son of Helmuth and Mary (Thielk) Schultz,. natives of Germany, who had come to this country with their respective parents in the days of their youth and after their marriage had settled on a farm of sixty-five acres adjoining the Sunderman farm on the south. For ten years after coming to this country Helmuth Schultz made his home at Dayton, Ohio, and then came up here and settled on his farm north of New Knoxville. He and his wife had eight children, four of whom are still living, William Schultz having three brothers, Joseph, John and Louis Schultz. Reared on the home farm, William Schultz received his schooling in the New Knoxville schools and worked along with his father until after his marriage, when he rented his father's farm and continued to make his home there until he rented the adjoining Sunderman farm, which he is now operating, his wife, Emma, daughter of William and Mary (Sunderman) Grewe, being a niece of Mr. Sunderman, as noted above. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz have three children, Laura, Oliver and ????. The family are members of the Reformed church at New Knoxville.