Never Assume... John Spangler

Awhile back I wrote a post about Ludwig Spangler from Germany, but recently I came across a newspaper article about another Spangler, this one from Switzerland.  John Spangler lived in Defiance County, rather than Henry County, Ludwig's home.  

Photos from Public Tree on ancestry.com, John Spangler, Jr., 1836-1921

Defiance Democrat, September 24, 1891

"Meeting John Spangler, candidate for Infirmary Director, one day last week, upon inquiry we learned that he was born April 4th, 1836, at Maryishausen, Switzerland, county of Shaffanhausen.  In 1845, with his parents, he came to America, locating in Franklin township, Fulton county, Ohio, where he resided for ten years.  He then came to Defiance county and purchased the Isaac Braucher farm in Noble township, now owned by Henry Roehrs, and continued farming until 1864 when he went across the plains to California with a drove of horses.  He stayed in California two years and returned to Defiance, where, in partnership with Messrs. Greenler and Swartz, he engaged for one year in the flour, meat, and feed business in the building on the corner now occupied by the First National bank.  He then sold out his interest and purchased the Florida flouring mills which he conducted for nine years, then bought the Weidenhamer farm, in North Richland, where he has since resided.

From '45 to '64, he was engaged the entire time in farming and since '76 has devoted his time to that business as his large, well-tilled farm in North Richland shows abundant evidence.  Everywhere he is known as a straightforward man of sterling integrity and excellent business qualifications and will make one of the most thorough and painstaking officials which could have been selected.  This fact is conceded not only by Democrats generally, but also by many Republicans, who will give him their support."

Never assume, first, that the only good information on a subject is to be found in the obituary.  This particular piece offers much information for the researcher to pursue.  Secondly, never assume that since one Spangler was from Germany, they all must be.  These are obviously two very different families.