My Genealogy Hound

LORENZO PLUMB. Among the young men who accepted the advice of the former journalist and came West to grow up with the country, none have shown more pluck and energy than Lorenzo Plumb. He had faith in the marvelous development of the West, and early in life determined to come hither and seek a fortune. In the fall of 1871, the subject of this sketch, then about twenty-four years of age, might have been seen wandering about the boundless prairie in the eastern portion of Buffalo county in search of a suitable quarter section of land to take as a homestead. He finally made a selection of the twentieth section of what is now Sharon township, on which he immediately proceeded to erect a small frame house. No one had yet dared to settle in that immediate locality, and one could look a long way without seeing a house or even a sign of one. He was accompanied by two companions, and the trio kept “bachelors’ hall,” and no doubt spent the long winter evenings of 1871-2 in discussing the future possibilities of the new country. Early in the spring of 1872, Mr. Plumb purchased a span of horses and began “breaking” preparatory to planting a crop. His idea was to break and plant all he could tend with one team, and he never stopped until he had turned eighty acres of sod upside down. In 1873, the crop was rather light, but he obtained seventy-five cents a bushel for his corn, and realized handsomely, after all. His first wheat crop yielded five hundred and fifty bushels, for which he obtained a dollar per bushel. In 1874, the grasshoppers harvested his crop on shares, but the portion left him afforded a small remuneration for the trouble and expense in planting it. The festive hoppers visited the Plumb ranch three years in succession, and seemed to grow more numerous each year. This was enough to discourage even a young bachelor, and made him even wonder what the world was coming to anyhow. But the grasshopper ceased to make his annual tour, and a succession of good crops followed, and Mr. Plumb took courage and prospered.

Our subject was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, June 20, 1847, and is the son of Gerard and Emeline (Hawkins) Plumb, both of whom were natives of New York State. They immigrated to Ohio in 1835, and were among the early settlers in that region known as the Western Reserve. The senior Plumb died in 1863. He followed the quiet and peaceful vocation of a farmer, and held the office of justice of the peace for many years. The mother now resides in Ohio at the advanced age of eighty-two They were parents of eight children — four boys and four girls, four of whom are now living. Mr. Plumb was married April 30, 1890, the lady whom he chose as a companion to share his fortunes being Miss Mary E. Golf, a native of Ohio, and born in 1859. He has represented Sharon township on the county board of supervisors, but has never aspired to public offices of a political nature. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres of choice land, which is already in an advanced state of cultivation. Mr. Plumb purchased most of this land from the U. P. R. R. Company for $3.00 per acre.