In insurance circles of Williams County there is no name better known than that of William Felger. While he has not been indifferent to the opportunities offered for advancement in other lines of endeavor, notably that of farming, Mr. Felger has been first, last and all the time an insurance man, and at the present time, in addition to being the representative at West Unity for a number of leading companies, is secretary of the Brady Township Fire Insurance Association.
Mr. Felger was born in Brady Township, Williams County, Ohio, one mile north of West Unity, June 29, 1853, a son of Henry and Susanna (Herman) Felger. The father was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and as a young man went to Wayne County, Ohio, where he married a native of that county. In 1848 he went to California, where he remained about three years, during which time he saved $800 in gold, and, returning to Ohio with this sum, invested it in a tract of eighty acres of land in Brady Township, Williams County. There he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the active period of his life, but finally retired and moved to West Unity where he died two years later, his widow surviving him eight months. He was a democrat in politics, and he and Mrs. Felger were consistent members of the Reformed Church. They were the parents of six children: William; Conrad, a resident of San Diego, California; Frank, of Fayette, Fulton County, Ohio; Simon, a farmer of Mill Creek Township, Williams County; John, a resident of West Unity; and Sarah, the wife of David Laser, an agriculturist near Pioneer.
William Felger was reared on the old home farm in Brady Township, and in his boyhood and youth assisted his father in the work of the home property while securing his education in the public schools of West Unity and the Smithville (Ohio) Normal School. Later he took a course in the Wooster Business College, then starting to teach day school and penmanship, which he followed for several years. As an agriculturist he became the owner of ninety-five acres of land in Jefferson Township, in addition to which he possesses a fine home at West Unity. In young manhood Mr. Felger became interested in insurance matters and began as a local agent for several of the large companies. Meeting with gratifying success in this field, he increased the scope of his efforts and his patronage has constantly grown larger, until at the present time he is local representative for the Home Insurance Company of New York, the Fidelity Phoenix of New York, the Fidelity Casualty Company of New York, the Great American Indemnity Company of Mansfield, Ohio, the Ohio Windstorm Company of Columbus and the Cleveland National of Cleveland, Ohio. In January, 1907, Mr. Felger became secretary of the Brady Township Fire Insurance Company, a position which he has retained to the present time. The affairs of this institution are in a flourishing condition, and much of its prosperity is directly traceable to Mr. Felger’s ability and industrious efforts. He is likewise a notary public and is largely interested in the handling of real estate. From 1885 to 1901 he was agent for various express companions at Orrville. A democrat in politics, Mr. Felger has taken an active part in local affairs, and has served one term each as township clerk of Brady Township and as mayor of West Unity, displaying capability along executive lines. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Superior Lodge, No. 179, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Knights of the Maccabees, and he and Mrs. Felger are members of the Order of the Eastern Star, and of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Felger is a stockholder in the Farmers Commercial and Savings Bank.
Mr. Felger married Sarah Billman, of Wayne County, Ohio, and they had three children: Edmund J., of Akron, Ohio; Charles H., of Hillsdale, Michigan; and Mabel V., a graduate nurse at the Toledo Hospital. Mrs. Felger died June 28, 1904, and Mr. Felger later married Ina L. Miller. They have had no children.
Source: Bowersox, Charles A. ed. A standard history of Williams County, Ohio: an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development , 2 vols. Publisher Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. 1920.