THOMAS C. BRANDEBERRY, a most genial and companionable gentleman, has made his home in Bloom township since pioneer days. He at once made his way into the esteem and confidence of the people of his locality, and is numbered among the most valued citizens. He was born in what was then Richland, but is now Ashland, Ohio, October 17, 1825, and is a son of Philip and Catherine (Zimmerman) Brandeberry, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Virginia. They were married before the war of 1812, in which the father participated, being in the engagements at Fort Meigs. They came to Ohio in the early part of the present century, locating first in Columbiana, later going to Richland, and on August 9, 1839, arrived in Wood, making a settlement in the geographical center of Perry township. The township elections were often held in their pioneer home. The father later purchased three eighty-acre tracts of land in Bloom township, which he subsequently gave to three of his sons. Thomas C. is one of the family of nine children, the others being Betsy, who became the wife of John Chilcote, and died in Perry township at the age of sixty years; Jonathan, who died in Portage township, Wood, at the age of seventy-one; Philip, who died in Bloom township at the age of sixty; William, who died in February, 1894, in the same township, at the age of seventy-four; Isaac, who was a wealthy farmer of Perry township, where he died in 1886, at the age of sixty-six years; Tena, who became the wife of William Burk, and died in Freedom township, Wood, at the age of fifty years; Mary, who was the wife of Henry Hays, and with her husband was poisoned in Perry township; and James, a farmer of that township. The father passed away in January 1867, at the age of eighty years, and the mother died in the fall of 1865. The former was a shrewd, far-sighted Pennsylvania-German, who made the best of his opportunities, and became a successful agriculturist. In early life he was a Whig, but later joined the Republican party, with which his sons also affiliated.

The educational advantages of our subject were such as the subscription schools of those early days afforded, and he remained upon the home farm until his marriage, which was celebrated in Freedom township, Wood County, in September 1850, Miss Catherine Miller becoming his wife. She was born in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1828, and is the daughter of David and Susan (Ketrie) Miller, who became residents of Bloom township, in 1842. At the time of her marriage she was working as a domestic, and out of her meager wages paid part of the funeral expenses of her father. Mr. and Mrs. Brandeberry became the parents of eight children, namely: Mary A., who was born April 21, 1851, and died when young; Albert, who was born August 2, 1852, and now operates the home farm; an infant daughter, who was born November 26, 1853, and died unnamed; David, who was born December 6, 1854, and, besides conducting his farm, also engages in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Lorina, who was born January 24, 1859, and is now the wife of William Rider, of Bloom township; T. J., who was born March 3, 1861, and died at the age of three months; Alice C., who was born March 6, 1864, and is now the wife of James E. Long, of Bloom township; and Charles, who was born November 27, 1866, and is a farmer of the same township.

Mr. Brandeberry was given eighty acres of land, by his father, in Freedom township, but this he traded with his brother Jonathan for a like amount in Section 27, Bloom township, where he still makes his home. His first dwelling was of logs, with puncheon floor, clapboard roof weighted down, stick chimney and large fireplace; but it was a happy home, where sociability and good cheer abounded.

The farming operations of Mr. Brandeberry were interrupted by his service in the Union army during the Civil war. On May 2, 1864, he became a member of the Home Guards, entering the United States service as a member of Company E, 144th O. V. I., for one hundred days, and was stationed at Relay House, between Washington and Baltimore, where he was detailed for post duty under the quartermaster. While handling heavy bags of grain for horses' feed he strained himself, from which he has never recovered. On the expiration of his term of service, he returned home, resuming agricultural pursuits, which he followed until 1880, when, on account of his physical condition, he was obliged to lay aside the more arduous duties of farm life, and for several years engaged in buying and selling stock. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the , and by his friends is familiarly known as " Uncle Tommie." He is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, but has refused all offices except that of school director of District No. 8, Bloom township, and he and his family are faithful members of the Methodist Church