WILLIAM MOLLETT, a retired and highly esteemed farmer living in McClure, Ohio, was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on December 26, 1839, the son of Daniel and Sophia Catharine (Monvela) Mollett, both natives of Germany. They were married in Germany and came to America about 1835, settling first in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where the father rented land and gardened for two years. He then bought a farm, on which he remained until 1860, when he sold out and removed to Flat Rock township, Henry county, where they bought a farm and made it their home during the remainder of their days. The father's death, which occurred in 1875, was very mysterious, his dead body being found floating in the bay at Toledo. His wife died about 1872. They were the parents of twelve children, Sophia, Catharine, Philip, Daniel, William, Charles, Caroline, Elizabeth, Harriet, Henry, Daniel and Elizabeth. The subject remained with his parents until almost twenty-two years old, receiving but a limited education. On November 25, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Sixty-eighth Ohio Regiment, and served until mustered out of the service, July 10, 1865, taking part in all the engagements in which that famous regiment participated. His only wound was while throwing up breast-works in front of Atlanta, when a bullet struck him a glancing blow on the skull, necessitating his confinement in the hospital for two months. Upon his return to Henry county he rented a farm in Napoleon township for five years, and then made a trip to Kansas, but not liking that section of the country he returned to Damascus township in 1872 and bought eighty acres of wild land, which he cleared and developed into a good farm, which he still owns, and on which have been erected a full set of modern farm buildings. In 1900 Mr. Mollett rented his farm and removed to McClure, where he bought a neat and comfortable residence property and where he and his wife are now passing their days in the enjoyment of that rest which they so richly earned.
Mr. Mollett married, after his return from the army, Miss Catharine Kaylor, a native of Stark county, Ohio, but who died in 1888, leaving three children, Henry J., who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume, Jennie, the wife of William Fry, of Toledo, and Charles William, of Frankfort, Indiana. In June, 1889, Mr. Mollett married Mrs. Elizabeth Detray, widow of the late C. F. Detray and the daughter of William and Hannah (Zabriskie) Ingle, her birth having occurred in Seneca county, Ohio, March 9, 1840. Her father was a native of Virginia and died in 1878, while his wife, who was born in New York state, died in 1868. Elizabeth Ingle married C. F. Detray in 1858 and for several years they lived near Tiffin, Ohio, coming to Damascus township, Henry county, in 1861. Mr. Detray was a noted hunter in his day, and was a highly respected citizen, as well as a kind husband and father. He died in 1880. He and his wife had eight children, Ida, Mary, Grant, Truman, Edward, Harry, Andrew and Forest. Politically Mr. Mollett is a Republican, fraternally a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while in religion he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church and are highly respected by all who know them.