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Below is a family biography included in The History of Darke County, Ohio published by W. H. Beers & Co. in 1880.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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WILKINS RECK, farmer; P. O. Gettysburg. The subject of this sketch is one of the permanent settlers of Darke Co.; he was born in Adams Township, near Gettysburg, Nov. 14, 1841; he is a son of Michael and Mary Reck, whose life histories appear on the pages of this work. Our subject was raised in Gettysburg, and attended school, after he had attained a proper age, till he was 15 years old, when his father removed to the farm, and young Wilkins was installed there as an assistant at performing the labors of the farm. He assisted in agricultural pursuits till his 24th year, when he volunteered in the 152d Ohio V. I., one hundred-day men; the regiment was stationed in the Shenandoah Valley and took an active part in the Lynchburg raid, as the regiment marched 475 miles in thirty days’ time; they were “bushwhacked” by the notorious Mosby twice, and, in the last scratch, one man was killed in Co. H.; here many of the boys’ lives were saved by the inaccurate aim of Mosby’s men—by shooting too high. He was honorably discharged from his country’s service Sept 14, 1864, and returned to his home and engaged in farming. He was united in marriage with Miss Emma B., an accomplished daughter of Absalom and Sarah Hoover, Aug. 10, 1865; they were natives of Miami Co., and the parents of six children, of whom five are living, viz., Noah, Eunice, Charles, Celia and Albert; Mary A., deceased. Mr. Hoover was killed by a falling tree in May, 1858; he went into the woods one morning before breakfast for the purpose of cutting down a tree, and, as supposed, started for the house as the tree began to sway, calculating it would fall in an opposite direction, but, swinging around, he was caught by the branches and instantly killed. The accident happened on the farm where our subject now resides. Mr. Reck followed the farm till 1872, when he engaged in the butcher business in Gettysburg, which he followed four years, and was very successful, handling over $4,000 worth of stock in the first five months of his business; in 1876, he dealt exclusively in stock, and previous to this winter he has been engaged in butchering, and prosecuting his labors on the farm in the summertime. He only received the advantage of a common-school education, such as the county afforded in his day, but by studious habits has acquired a good understanding of things in general, and his correct business habits predict a successful career. He has been identified with the offices of the township, and also in the church, and is taking considerable pains in educating his children, and, with the aptness they display, we predict the full realization of their parents’ desires. He has 80 acres of land where he resides, all in a good state of cultivation, and well improved; he and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for nineteen years; they are observant, Christian people, and take a lively interest in their church, and are laboring for the advancement of Christianity. They are the parents of six children, of whom five are living, viz.: Harvey S., born Oct. 8, 1866; Harry G., born March 17, 1868; Lova P., born Oct. 7, 1870; Forrest, born Aug. 20, 1874, and died May 5, 1875; Berta F., born April 13, 1877; Celia M., born May 9, 1879. Mrs. Reck was born March 8, 1847.

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This family biography is one of 659 biographies included in The History of Darke County, Ohio published in 1880 by W. H. Beers & Co.  For the complete description, click here: Darke County, Ohio History and Genealogy

View additional Darke County, Ohio family biographies here: Darke County, Ohio Biographies

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