AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 525 were and are still old and honored families there. Jacob G. Wagner was reared in Berks County and attended the country schools. From that county he entered into military service, being first attached to the quartermaster's department of the regular army, and later serving nine months as a member of the 167th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He has been very active in Grand Army affairs and for a number of years was commander of Langston Post No. 299, of Covington. In 1877 he came to Covington and purchased the old tile factory which was first started in 1863, on the Henry Mohler farm, this being the oldest industry of its kind in Miami County. It was operated on the Mohler farm for one year and then was moved to its present location on Piqua Avenue, being situated on the eastern line of the corporation. Mr. Wagner has done a large business, in one year having manufactured over 3,000,000 brick, and his product has entered into the construction of a number of the substantial buildings of the county, including the Brown Block and the Kyle schoolhouse at Troy. Mr. Wagner owns thirty-one acres of land in Newberry Township, one-third of which lies within the limits of Covington and is very valuable real estate. Mr. Wagner married Miss Harriet Pearson, who was born and reared on a farm in Newton Township on which her grandfather settled when he came to Ohio from South Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner have two daughters-Sarah, who is the wife of Conrad Drees, and Mary, who is the wife of J. L. Reck and has one son, Lloyd. During his residence of almost forty years at Covington, Mr. Wagner has been indeed an active citizen, for twenty-one years serving as a member of the City Council and performing readily every duty demanded of those who have had the best interests of this section at heart. JONATHAN TOBIAS, a prominent farmer of Staunton Township, Miami County, is the owner of and resides upon a farm of 109 acres in that township, and is the owner of a farm of seventy-eight acres in Lost Creek Township. He was born on a farm in Montgomery County, Ohio, March 17, 1848, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Whip) Tobias. Daniel Tobias, father of the subject of this record, was born in Greene County, Ohio, whither his parents had moved from Pennsylvania. He was united in marriage with Elizabeth Whip, who was born and reared in the State of Maryland. Jonathan Tobias spent his youthful days on the farm in Montgomery County, and there attended the district schools. After marriage he rented a farm in that county for about seven years, and in 1881 moved to his present farm in Miami County. He has always followed general farming, and being an industrious and farsighted business man, has prospered beyond the average. He has made many improvements on the home place, among other things. erecting a large and substantial barn. Jonathan Tobias was united in marriage with Mary Jane Smith, a daughter of Alexander and Isabella (Waymeyer) Smith, and they became parents of the following children: Minnie Bell, wife of Alvin Welbaum, a farmer of Lost Creek Township, by whom she has two children, Harry and Ralph; Nora, who was the wife 526 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY of Joseph Zile, and died at the age of twenty years Harry, a farmer of Lost Creek Township, who married .Lena Shaffer and has two children, Ohmer and Helen and Maude, who died at the age of eight years. Mr. Tobias is a man well known to the citizens of his community, and enjoys their highest esteem and confidence. DANIEL MORROW, a most highly es-teemed citizen of Piqua, who now enjoys a period of comfortable retirement after many years of agricultural life, resides in his pleasant home at No. 645 West Ash Street. He was born December 16, 1843, at Centerville, Montgomery County, Ohio, where he attended school through his boyhood and remained until he was seventeen years of age. In 1861 Mr. Morrow came to Miami County and located on a farm on the Clayton Turnpike, two miles west of Piqua, remaining there until 1864, when he enlisted for service in the Civil War. He was a member of Company E, 147th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was stationed at Fort Ethan Allen, near Washington, remaining in the army for 110 days. He is a valued member of Alexander Post, G. A. R., at Piqua. In 1866 Mr. Morrow went to Illinois and remained in that state for about ten years, during the greater part of this time operating hotels at Canton, Pekin and Decatur. When he retired from hotel-keeping, he resumed farming in Miami County, which he continued until 1907, when he retired to Piqua. He retains two valuable farms, one of seventy and the other of sixty-five acres, both of them being situated in Washington Township. In 1873 Mr. Morrow was married to Miss Emily Hawkins, who was then a resident of Logan County, Illinois, but was born at Providence, Rhode Island. They have three children : J. Henry, who is a farmer in Miami County; and Lester and Wilbur, both of whom reside at Piqua. Mr. Morrow and family are members of St. James Episcopal Church. Very recently Mr. Morrow has retired from the vestry of this church, having served on the board for many years. Within the bounds of quiet, good citizenship, Mr. Morrow has always taken an interest in public matters, has served as township trustee and is yet serving as deputy supervisor of elections. JOHN NEWTON SHOOK, one of Lost Creek Township's reliable citizens, resides on his well cultivated farm of sixty-five acres. which he devotes to grain and tobacco growing. Mr. Shook was born on this farm in Miami County, Ohio, February 18, 1860, and is a son of Isaac and Susan (Hufford) Shook. Isaac Shook was born in 1822. in West Virginia, not far from Wheeling. and when he was about seven years of age accompanied his father to Montgomery County, Ohio, where the latter died soon afterward. Isaac Shook remained in Montgomery County for twenty years, during this time marrying Susan Hufford, who was born in Maryland in 1819. In April, 1859, they moved to Miami County, and Isaac Shook bought the present farm of John Newton, from James L. Long, and here both he and wife died, his death occurring in April, 1900, and her death six years later. They had the following children: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Alexander Mumford, of Clark County, Ohio: AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 527 Samuel, who lives in Troy; Sarah and Jane, twins; Mary Ann, who died in infancy; Thomas, who lives at Springfield; and George and John Newton, both of whom reside in Lost Creek Township. John Newton Shook had but few school advantages in his youth, and when he was growing up hard work on the farm mainly occupied his time. After his marriage he continued to farm the old place, but lived at Casstown for one year and then went back to the country and remained with his mother after the death of his father, but at her death he bought the property. She was twice married, her first husband being Peter Syphord, and they had two children, Margaret and Peter, both deceased. The buildings standing on Mr. Shook's farm were put up during the life of his father, but he has made other improvements, and each year the place becomes more valuable. He carries on a general line of farming, and finds tobacco growing profitable. On March 1, 1883, Mr. Shook was married to Miss Matilda Ranzow, a daughter of Frederick and Catherine (Vanderhide) Ranzow, both of whom were born in Germany, from which country Mr. Shook's ancestors also came to America. The Ranzow family also contained six children, namely: Augusta, Matilda, Frederick, Henry, Charles, and Emma. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shook : Clarence, who died young; Della and Henry, both of whom also died young; Charles, who is a member of the graduating class of 1910 of the Troy High School ; and William, Bertha and Frederick. It is Mr. Shook's intention to give his children every educational advantage in his power and thus prepare them for lives of usefulness, either on the farm or in some other line that they may seem best fitted for. In politics Mr. Shook is a Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Christianburg. J. A. GERSTMEYER, senior member of the plumbing firm of Gerstmeyer & McKale, is one of the leading business men of the City of Piqua, and has various business interests. He was born in Piqua in 1875, and is a son of John Gerstmeyer, who was born in Bavaria, Germany. The latter, who is now living in retirement in Piqua, came to this country in 1873, and for many years had brewery interests in Miami. County, Ohio. J. A. Gerstmeyer was reared and educated in his native city, and after leaving school was employed in a printing house for one year. In 1891 he entered the plumbing business with Mr. J. A. Kloeb, with whom he continued two years. He was then for six years identified with the plumbing firm of Dailey & Bullock, and for three years with Dailey & Stephens. He was next with the Burr Hardware Company three years, and in 1903 engaged in the plumbing business as a member of the firm of Frederick & Gerstmeyer. They continued successfully until March, 1907, when the present firm of Gerstmeyer & McKale was formed. They do a general plumbing, heating and ventilating business, and have had contracts for the equipment of many of the late buildings of Piqua and vicinity. Mr. Gerstmeyer also has various other interests in the city. In 1902 Mr. Gerstmeyer was united in marriage with Miss Ida Hemmert, and they have two children, Mary and Martha. 528 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Religiously they are faithful members of St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. JOSEPH E. MENDENHALL of the firm of Mendenhall & Wilkinson, the leading one in the general insurance line at Piqua, has maintained his home in this city since 1859. He was born in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, November 5, 1838, and is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Stafford) Mendenhall. Isaac Mendenhall was born May 6, 1804, at Todd's Fork, north of Cincinnati, and died in 1892, aged eighty-eight years. He was brought in infancy to Miami County by his father, William Mendenhall, who settled in the woods at a point about two miles east of Tippecanoe City. In his early manhood Isaac Mendenhall purchased a farm located about one and one-half miles east of the old homestead and resided there until 1859, when he came to Piqua, and during the balance of his active life was engaged in a contracting business. He married Elizabeth Stafford, who was born about 1806, in Bethel Township, Miami County, and died at Piqua, in 1873. She was a daughter of Joseph Stafford, who was born in Ireland and came to Miami County at a very early day. The name of his wife was Saylor, and she had been brought from Ireland in childhood. Joseph E. Mendenhall was about twenty-two years of age when his parents moved to Piqua, and prior to that he had attended the country schools more or less continuously. He soon became a traveling salesman, and for twenty years was on the road with a wagon, for four years selling notions through Ohio and Indiana and during the rest of the time carrying only dry goods. For two year- his headquarters were at Dayton. for one year at Cincinnati, and for thirteen years at New York. In 1880 Mr. Mendenhall started into the general insurance business in partnership with a Mr. Graffiin, which continued until 1895, when he bought out his partner's interest, and with J. B. Wilkinson, organized his present firm. This firm as representing all the leading insurance companies of the country, does a very large amount of business, and on account of its careful and conservative methods, enjoys general confidence. They place risks with twenty-two of the most responsible fire insurance companies of the world. On February 18, 1873, Mr. Mendenhall was married to Miss Hattie E. Clark, who was born and reared in Miami County, and they have two daughters, Mary E. and Anna. The former is the wife of C. C. Jelliff, who is purchasing agent for the Favorite Stove and Range Company, of Piqua. The latter is the wife of Capt. Leon Roach, who is an officer in the regular army of the United States, belonging to the Fifteenth Regiment. which at present is stationed at Columbus barracks. Formerly Mr. Mendenhall took much interest in politics and he has never failed in any duty of good citizenship. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and for a number of years was a trustee and its treasurer, but when re-elected to the financial office, declined to again assume the responsibility. Mr. Mendenhall is one of Piqua's representative men. SOLOMON B. FRESHOUR, vice-president of the Citizens' National Bank of Covington, Ohio, has spent all but five AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 529 years of a long and useful life in Miami County, but his birth took place in Shelby County, Ohio, September 27, 1834. His parents were George and Mary (Byrkett) Freshour. From the pioneer farm in the then uncleared wilderness of Shelby County, the parents of Mr. Freshour moved to Miami County, in 1839, settling four miles west of Pleasant Hill, on a farm which the father purchased at that time and which remained the family home. On that farm Solomon B. Freshour grew to manhood, helping his father and preparing for an agricultural life for himself. His education was obtained in the country schools. When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Freshour was one of the first to respond to the call for troops, in his neighborhood, enlisting in April, 1861, in Company E, Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three months, later serving for 100 days as a member of the 147th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During this time he was taken sick and lay ill in the hospital at Fort Marcy, on the Potomac River, for a long time. After the close of his army service he returned to his father's farm, and as soon as strength came back he resumed farming and continued to live there until 1866. In the meanwhile he had married, and moved then to the vicinity of Greenville Creek Falls, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, which he still owns and continues to manage. He made the farm his place of residence until 1906, when he retired to Covington, of which city he is a respected and valued citizen. Freshour was one of the incorporators of the Citizens' National Bank of Covington, of which he has been a director since its organization, and vice-president since January 1, 1909. In 1862 Mr. Freshour was married to Miss Hannah E. Langston, who was born and reared in Miami County, her parents, Leonard and Frances (Krise) Langston being farming people residing not far from Kessler. To Mr. and Mrs. Freshour were born seven children, three of whom died in infancy. The eldest son, John William, whose death occurred in 1898, at the age of thirty-five years, a victim of typhoid fever, was a young man of brilliant promise, a graduate of the Miami Medical College at Cincinnati. After years of training he was just ready to enter upon the practice of medicine, when he was stricken in his prime. He was survived by his widow, formerly Miss Lillian Martindale. The three surviving children of Mr. Freshour are : Mary, who married J. W. Dowler and has two sons—Leonard and James; Maud, who married Vernor B. Grabill, of Delaware, Indiana ; and Thomas, who resides with his parents. Mr. Freshour and family are members of the Christian Church, in which he is a trustee. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, to the Masons, and for many years has been identified with the Grange movement. JOHN H. DRURY, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Troy, Ohio, and formerly postmaster, is interested financially in a number of the prospering enterprises of Miami County. He was born at Rowe, Massachusetts, January 12, 1850, and is a son of John C. Drury. The parents of Mr. Drury settled at Troy in 1855 and this city has been the latter's home ever since. 530 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY John C. Drury was engaged in a dry goods and grocery business until the opening of the Civil War, when he proved his patriotism by raising Company H, Eleventh Regiment O. Vol. Inf., of which he was elected captain. It went into service in 1861, and Captain Drury was out for one year, when he resigned his commission and returned home, but only to raise a second company, this being Company B, Ninety-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was also made captain. This regiment went to Kentucky, and in 1862, in the terrible battle of Perryville, Captain Drury fell at the head of his command, shot through the heart. J. H. Drury attended the common school at Troy and then went through the High School, after 'which he took a business course at Dayton. Upon his return he became a clerk in the Troy postoffice, his mother being postmistress for eight years, and in 1875 he succeeded her and served until 1879. In July of that year he entered the First National Bank, and has been associated with this institution ever since, and has been assistant cashier since early in 1881. He is a man of considerable business enterprise, and has identified himself with manufacturing and other interests in this section. In 1881 Mr. Drury was married to Miss Anna Clokey, who is a daughter of Rev. Joseph Clokey, formerly a prominent Presbyterian minister, but now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Drury are members of the Presbyterian Church at Troy, in which he is an elder. He belongs to the Troy Club. His interest in politics is only that of a good citizen. SAMUEL B. KEPNER, deceased, who was identified for over half a century with carpenter and building contract work in Miami County, with residence during the most of that time in Covington, was born January 11, 1843, on a farm in Darke County, Ohio, son of Absalom and Margaret (Radebaugh) Kepner. Absalom Kepner was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, where his father died, after which he accompanied his mother, in early manhood, to Darke County, Ohio. By trade he was a weaver, but his main business through life was farming. Prior to his marriage he ran a loom at Covington, but when he married Margaret, daughter of John Radebaugh, the latter gave him a farm in Darke County, on which he resided until 1859. He then came to Covington and shortly afterward started a little grocery store one and a half miles out in the country. Still later he operated a store at Clayton, where his death occurred in February, 1881. Samuel B. Kepner was only fifteen years old when he started to learn the carpenter's trade under his brother, Benjamin Kepner, and for a number of years they worked in partnership. At the age of nineteen he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-fourth O. V. I., August 7, 1862, and spent three years in the service of his country. In 1872 Benjamin Kepner went to the West, and subsequently died at Denver, Colorado. From that time on until he was sixty-five years old and felt he was ready to retire from business activity, Samuel B. Kepner was engaged in contracting and building and met with more than usual success. He did a large amount of farm building, constructing many comfortable farm residences and innumerable AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 533 barns. One of his large contracts was the building of the tobacco shed for Joseph Mohler, which was 116 feet long, with an extension of the old barn of eighteen feet, one end being thirty-five feet and the other forty feet in width. It was Mr. Kepner's policy to keep plenty of help and to use only the best material, and thus he was able to be punctual and satisfactory in completing his contracts. During his last years of active business life he utilized a larger force of men and did more business than in any one previous season. On August 12, 1869, Mr. Kepner was married to Miss Martha Boggs, a daughter of Aaron and Melvina (Hitt) Boggs. She was born and reared in Newberry Township, Miami County. Her father was born near Piqua, Ohio, and was a son of Ezekiel Boggs, who operated one of the early grist-mills on the Little Miami River. In January, 1873, Aaron Boggs moved from his farm to Covington, and there he died suddenly of heart disease, having been attacked while attending church. He married Melvina Hitt in Kentucky, of which State she was a native, and after his death she moved back to the farm in Newberry Township, where she died in January, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Kepner had five children, as follows : Cora, who is the wife of William Helman, resides on a farm two and a half miles west of Sidney and has three children—Maurice, Ruth and Etoile Amanda, who is the wife of Ora Wenrick, resides at Indianapolis, and has three children— Mildred, Pearl and Floyd; Melvina, who is the widow of A. L. Stahl, and has one child—Flossie; Charles, who married Nora Loxley, resides on his farm of sixty acres, in Darke County, and has two children—Naomi and Charles Ivor; and Pearl, who is the wife of J. W. Goudy, of Camden, Ohio, and has one daughter—Martha Catherine. In 1883 Mr. Kepner moved to his farm in Darke County, residing there until 1907, when he returned to Covington, and subsequently occupied a handsome brick residence which he built in the fall of 1906, and which is situated on North High Street, adjoining the Highland Cemetery. Mr. Kepner belonged to the Church of the Brethren—the religious society otherwise known as the Dunkards, of which his wife is also a member. The last dread summons, which came to him suddenly on April 14, 1909, found him prepared, like the Wise Virgins, with his lamp trimmed and burning. An earnest and consistent Christian, we cannot doubt that he heard the glad words of his Master, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." He was ever a devoted husband and a kind father, and to his children he left the priceless legacy of a good name. He was a man of high standing in his community, one who through a long business career made honesty and integrity its foundation stones. ISAAC H. KREITZER, nurseryman and farmer, residing on his farm of fifty acres, which is situated on the National Turnpike, in Bethel Township. Miami County, not far from Tippecanoe City, owns what is probably one of the finest homes in this section of the country, one of exceptional attractiveness during the summer seasons. Mr. Kreitzer was born in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. October 10, 1850, and is a son of John and Catherine (Haak) Kreitzer. The parents of Mr. Kreitzer spent their 534 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY lives in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where they were farming people of ample means. They had the following children : Henry, Jonathan, Michael, Andrew, John. Eliza, Aaron, William, Kate, and Isaac H. Many years have passed since Isaac II. Kreitzer left the old home and the beloved parents, but their memory is very dear to him and with pardonable pride he shows to the interested visitor a picture of his father and mother, done in pen and ink, bearing the date of 1824. It is a very artistic piece of work and the color has never faded in the least. Before he was seventeen years of age, Isaac H. Kreitzer had completed his college course in Lebanon County, and for one year thereafter he taught school. He then became interested in the milling business and continued to work in flour mills in his native section until he was twenty-one years of age, when he came to Ohio and worked for one year in a mill at Westerville, Franklin County. From there he went to Tippecanoe City, where he followed milling for four years, in the meanwhile marrying, and two years after this event moved to Montgomery County, where he operated his own custom mill for twenty years. When he retired from the milling industry he came to Miami County and located first on a farm adjoining the one he subsequently bought, in Bethel Township, which he cultivated for six years and then came to his present place. Here he repaired all the buildings and equipped them with modern appliances for comfortable living, including a modern system of heating, and spending a large amount on beautifying his grounds. A cyclone that passed through Bethel Township in 1907 destroyed much timber, but he still has four acres standing. He devotes seven acres to cherry, pear, apple and plum orchards and makes a specialty of raising strawberries, raspberries and blackberries and general nursery stock. He bought this farm from the late Robert Defenderfer, who formerly conducted a fruit farm. Mr. Kreitzer has his sons, Charles E., John and Ray, as his partners and the business is conducted under the firm name of I. H. Kreitzer & Sons. In association with his wife, Mr. Kreitzer owns considerable valuable city property in Dayton, Ohio. On October 10, 1875, Mr. Kreitzer was married to Miss Anna M. Ross, a highly accomplished lady, who was educated at Center Seminary, Indiana, and subsequently for nine years was a successful teacher in the schools of West Charleston and Brandt. Her parents were John and Eliza Ross. Mr. and Mrs. Kreitzer have had the following children : Harry C., John Ross, Charles E., George E. and Raymond Isaac. All survive except George E., who was a twin brother of Charles E., and did not survive infancy. Harry C. married Lucy, a daughter of William and Martha Johnson. Charles E., John and Ray reside at home. Charles E. is a partner with his father and is one of the prominent Republican politicians of this section, at present being a central committeeman. He is also a justice of the peace. Charles E. and Raymond I. graduated in the class of 1900 from Bethel High School and reside at home. The Kreitzer sons are musical, and in March, 1908, Charles E. Kreitzer organized the Phoneton Band, of fifteen pieces, he playing the E flat cornet. The band is fully equipped with fine instruments and an at- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 535 tractive uniform, and their playing met with such popular approval that in the first season they cleared $550. Charles E. Kreitzer is prominent in Odd Fellowship, belonging to Lodge No. 711 of Brandt and to Monroe Encampment, No. 140, of Tippecanoe City. REV. HENRY HUEBSCHMANN, Jr., pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Protestant Church of Piqua, is one of the young, earnest and scholarly clergymen of his religious body, and his strong and helpful influence has been marked since he has had charge of his present church. He was born at Princeton, Illinois, in 1876, and is a son of Rev. Henry and Martha (Hoffmeister) Huebschmann. Rev. Henry Huebschmann, Sr., was born in Germany, and engaged in missionary work in the cities of Hamburg and Berlin before coining to America. He served as a minister in the Evangelical Protestant Church in this country for thirty-seven years. He married Martha Hoffmeister. a daughter of Rev. C. Hoffmeister, who was one of the pioneers of this religious sect in America. To the above marriage were born the following children : Pauline, who is the wife of Carl Lichty, of Cleveland; John, who is a min- ister; Louise, who resides at Cleveland: Paul, who lives at Bloomington, Illinois : and Henry. Rev. C. Hoffmeister had two sons in the ministry—John and Simon—the former of whom is stationed at Palatine, Illinois, and the latter died while pastor of a church at Peru, Illinois. On both sides Rev. Henry Huebschmann comes of ministerial ancestry. Rev. John Kroenhke. pastor of St. John's Evangelical Church in San Francisco, California, married a. sister of his mother. His brother, John Huebschmann, is pastor of the Scheiflein Christi Church in Cleveland. Both young men were given excellent advantages. Rev. Henry attended school at Elmhurst, Illinois, and spent four years in a seminary of the Evangelical Protestant Church, graduating with honors in 1896. With seventeen others he was recommended to the directors of the Synod of Eden Theological Seminary, and in 1899 he was graduated from that institution and in the same year was ordained, immediately afterward being thoroughly tested, being placed in charge of two churches in the Kansas District. He remained two years in the Kansas District, and then was given a church at Floraville, Illinois, where he served most acceptably until he answered the call to St. Paul's Evangelical Church at Pekin. Illinois, and remained there from 1903 until 1906, when he came to St. Paul's at Piqua. He is recognized as one of the most active and valuable members of the association. and outside his own religious body is respected and esteemed for his personal and manly qualities. Mr. Huebschmann was married January 18. 1900, to Miss Johanna Kern, a daughter of Rev. Jacob and Phillipine (Kopp) Kern. At that time Rev. Kern was pastor of a church at Carmi, Illinois. His children are: Carrie, who is the wife of Dr. A. D. Lloyd, of Bloomington, Illinois : Johanna ; Ida, who is the wife of Adolph Bair, of Harrisburg, Illinois; Julius. who is county judge of White County. Illinois; and Louis, who is engaged in business at Carmi, Illinois. Rev. and Mrs. Huebschmann have one daughter, Esther. St. Paul 's Church is in a very prosperous 536 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY state, there being about 200 families in its communicant body. They are not backward in showing their appreciation of their young pastor, and under their encouragement his zeal and enthusiasm are increased and his Christian efforts strengthened, adding to both the material and spiritual advancement of the church. THE FAVORITE STOVE AND RANGE COMPANY, Piqua's largest manfacturing plant and the most extensive in Miami County, was established in 1848, by W. C. Davis, under the title of W. C. Davis & Co. This was succeeded in 1881 by The Favorite Stove Works Company, which, in turn, was succeeded by The Favorite Stove and Range Company, on July 1, 1888, when the business was removed from Cincinnati to Piqua. The plant in the latter city began to be operated in 1889. It is always interesting to record the growth of a great enterprise. When the present company began operating at Piqua, the quarters were all included in a row of buildings that extended over their ground east and west, and another north and south, while now they have six rows of buildings, which cover ten acres of ground, and the whole plant is said to be the most complete for its purpose in existence. Employment is afforded from 550 to 600 people. The present officers are : W. K. Boal, president; Stanhope Boal, vice-president; E. W. Lape, secretary and treasurer. The board of directors is made up of the following capitalists : W. K. Boal, Stanhope Boal, E. W. Lape, and Jacob Bettmann and Adam Gray, of Cincinnati. This plant manufactures only the very best class of stoves and ranges, and shipments are made to all parts of the United States. The universal trade-mark is "The Favorite," and it includes an extensive assortment of both steel and cast iron ranges, cooking stoves, base burners and all styles of heating stoves, together with gas ranges, gas heaters in a great variety of styles, and also furnace boilers and high grade, extra finished, cast-iron hollow ware. The company has branches in a number of large cities, and some fifteen traveling men go out from the Piqua office, covering a wide territory. The company has pronounced advantages in the manufacture of their products, such as the arrangement of their buildings, which do not extend high in the air, thus saving heavy and complicated machinery, while the equipments, in many cases, have been constructed from their own original designs, with a view to their utility. They have excellent transportation facilities, the location of the plant being on the corner of Young and Hydraulic Streets. The enlargement of this business has been one of annual growth from the time the plant was located at Piqua. The company has increased its capitalization from $100,000 to $600,000 preferred and $900,000 common stock. This wonderful prosperity not only indicates the superior quality of the products, but also proves that the men who have built up this great industry along the lines of modern business possess unlimited ability and financial stability. THEODORE L. ROGERS, proprietor of Fairview Farm, which consists of 265 acres of valuable land which is situated in Lost Creek Township, on the south side AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 537 of the Addison and Casstown Turnpike Road, and is further brought close to hundreds of interesting points by reason of the electric railroad running through the property, was born at Casstown, Miami County, Ohio, March 6, 1860. Charles P. Rogers, father of Theodore L., was born in Clermont County, Ohio, October 18, 1818, a son of Asa Rogers, who came to Ohio from New Jersey. Asa Rogers cleared up a farm near Addison, not far from the county line, lived on it for some years and died after he had retired to Casstown, when aged eighty years. He had the following children : Charles Parker ; John, deceased ; Furman, deceased; Mary Ann, deceased, wife of Almon Hammond, also deceased ; Jarvis S., who was captain of a company during the Civil War ; Joseph P., deceased ; Nancy Ann, deceased, wife of Charles Sayers, also deceased ; Harriet, deceased, wife of Dr. Deaver, also deceased; Sarah Jane, wife of George Causely, of Chicago, Illinois ; and others who died in infancy, Charles Parker Rogers was five years old when his parents moved to the neighborhood of Addison, and there he grew up and, being the eldest of the family, gave his father much assistance in clearing up the farm. The father was a very practical, sensible man, and insisted that each son should learn a self-supporting trade in addition to farming, and as this was an iron rule, Charles P. went to Addison and learned the blacksmith's trade and became so expert after serving an apprenticeship of three years that he could fashion anything in iron. After he returned to the farm he opened a shop at Casstown, which he operated until 1864, when he bought a farm of 100 acres, sit- uated north of Casstown, which was known as the "Old Webb Place." After living there for two years he sold it and bought 193 acres on the Addison and Casstown Turnpike, this transaction taking place in 1866. He resided there until 1892. His death occurred on October 20th of that year, when at the home of his son, Dr. S. T. Rogers, at New Albany, Indiana. He was married (first) to Sarah Cox, who died after the birth of one son, Firman C., who is also deceased. On September 20, 1847, he was married (second) to the widow of A. M. Walker, Mrs. Eliza Ann (Markley) Walker, a daughter of George Markley, who died when she was a child. Four children were born to this union, namely : Irene, who is the wife of A. B. Thackhara ; Theodore Lincoln ; Gilbert M., who died when aged nineteen years; and Sherman T., a graduate of the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati and a physician in active practice at New Albany, Indiana. Gilbert M., who was cut off in his brilliant youth, was a mechanical genius and the family preserve models that he had made for a phonograph before the Edison discovery was put on the market. The mother of this family survived until January 16, 1891, dying at the age of sixty years. Theodore L. Rogers was six years old when his parents moved to the farm and he continued to reside at home until his marriage, in the meanwhile securing an excellent common school education. He then bought 128 acres of land in Elizabeth Township. This he sold four years later to E. F. Sayers, from whom he purchased it in the beginning, and then bought 130 acres of his present farm, subsequently adding thereto until his total acreage has 538 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY amounted to 265—a large property, which he devotes to general agriculture and stockraising. He remodeled the house and has erected all the other substantial farm buildings and the place is known by the pleasant name of Fairview Farm. On December 6, 1883, Mr. Rogers was married to Miss Altazera Sayers, a daughter of E. F. and Caroline M. (French) Sayers, and they have two sons : Charles P., who is a member of the graduating class of 1910 in the Troy High School ; and Albert Markley. The family belong to the Methodist Church, in which Mr. Rogers is serving on the board of trustees. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and is one of the township's thoroughly representative citizens. C. W. MITCHELL, superintendent of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, is a thoroughly experienced insurance man and occupies a position of great responsibility. He was born in 1864, at Columbus, Ohio, but was reared from the age of four years in Union City, Ohio. Mr. Mitchell was educated at Union City and was twenty-one years old when he left there for Hamilton, Ohio. In 1889 he first became identified with the Prudential people, and worked for them for two years at Hamilton, and then up to 1895 he was connected with other insurance companies, in that year returning to the Prudential. He was made assistant superintendent at Fremont, Ohio, where he remained two and one-half years, when he was transferred to Springfield and worked as assistant superintendent in that field for two years. His next transfer was to Mansfield. Ohio, where he was superintendent for fourteen months, going then to Dayton, as assistant superintendent. Mr. Mitchell came to Piqua as superintendent in 1905, where he has his main office, from which the affairs of the district are looked after. He has an office at Troy, with E. L. Jacobs in charge as assistant superintendent, and from that office the southern end of the county is watched. The company maintains a third office at Greenville, one at Sidney and one at St. Mary's, the territory covered being from Tippecanoe City on the south to Cridersville on the north. Mr. Mitchell's energy has had much to do with developing the business of this section for his company, and he is justly proud of his record. In 1892 Mr. Mitchell was married to Miss Clara B. Whitehead, of Hamilton, Ohio, and they have two children : Collin Ford and Myrtle Laurene. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity. ELI HARRISON DRURY, a retired and highly respected citizen of Elizabeth Township. who during the greater part of his life was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Miami County, was born January 1, 1828, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Drury left his native State when about fifteen years of age and located in Perry County, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming until his marriage, in 1848, at which time he removed to Ross County, and there became a clerk, and later proprietor of a store. Subsequently he went to Woodstock and became the proprietor of a hotel at that place, but later removed to Charleston, Bethel Township, where he served as clerk in his brother's store. Some AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 539 time later he went to Miami City as a dry goods and grocery merchant, but sold out this establishment and purchased a farm of ninety acres from Benjamin Flynn, south of the city, on which he continued for fifteen years, operating as a general farmer. At the time of Mr. Drury's coming to this property nearly all the buildings on this property had been erected, but they were in need of repair, and this Mr. Drury accomplished, later selling the farm to Abraham Stortts. The next three years he spent on a farm of 105 acres, and he then spent one year on rented land at Brown's Station, but subsequently removed to another small farm, which he rented and which he devoted to the raising of grain for four years. After this Mr. Drury located on the L. Haines farm, and here his wife died July 27, 1907, interment being made at McKendree Chapel. After the death of Mrs. Drury her husband went to live with his son George G., who rents a general farm of Andrew Staley, of Elizabeth Township. On March 12. 1848, Mr. Drury was married to Mary Ann Stortts, who was a daughter of John J. and Mary Ann Stortts, and there were eight children born to this union, namely : James John H., who is deceased; Thomas J.; Alice A.; George G., who was married June 3, 1894, to Rebecca Ann Elliott, daughter of Fleming and Barbara Elliott Mary E., and two children who died in infancy. Mr. Drury is very well known in the community in which he resides, and bears the reputation of a man of honor, integrity and public spirit. A Republican in his political views, he has served as school director for two years. H. E. CLEMM, of The Francis & Clemm Company, retail lumber dealers at Troy, has been a resident of this city for the past fifteen years and is a native of Miami County, having been born November 21, 1863, in Union Township. The late Daniel P. Clemm, father of H. E., was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, after his parents had settled there on coming from Maryland, the original home of the Clemms. Daniel P. Clemm was a representative citizen and substantial farmer of Miami County. He was a man of intelligence and public spirit and was identified with the Republican party. H. E. Clemm secured his early education in the schools near his home, later attended the Georgetown Academy and spent one summer in the Normal school at Danville, Indiana. Following this he taught school in Miami County, Ohio, for nine years, and then came to Troy, where he went to work for Mr. Francis in his lumber yards. He was apt, capable and industrious, and in 1902 he was invited into partnership, the firm style then becoming W. H. Francis & Co., which continued until April, 1908, when the firm became the Francis & Clemm Company. The officers of the company are : W. H. Francis, president; H. E. Clemm, secretary; and N. _Rathbun, vice-president. The business engaged in is the manufacture of sash and doors, in their planing-mill, and dealing in lumber. Their well equipped plant is situated on Walnut and Race Streets, at Troy, Ohio. On April 7, 1889, Mr. Clemm was married to Miss Olive M. Mote, who was born in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a daughter of W. C. Mote. They have two sons, Merrill W. and Herbert H., 540 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY both of whom are students in the Troy High School. Mr. Clemm is a leading member.. of the First Christian Church, a deacon in the same, a member of the official board and superintendent of the Sunday School. This position he has held for the past fifteen years in Troy, Ohio, and three years at Ludlow Falls, Ohio, and by his enthusiasm and energy he has contributed largely to the membership and efficiency of both schools. He is a member of Troy Lodge, F. & A. M. No. 14, also a Knight Templar Mason. In business as well as in personal standing, he is one of the representative citizens of Troy. T. H. NORR, who is engaged in the tin, iron and slate roofing business at Piqua, with headquarters at No. 114 East Water Street, is one of the representative business men of this city, where his interests have been centered for the past eighteen years. He was born in 1871, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he attended school. When a young man, Mr. Norr learned the tinner's trade with Becker & Son, at Fort Wayne, and after he came to Piqua he worked for Lenox & Co., for one year, for J. M. Heim, for three years, and later for the Barnett Hardware Company and Dewees & Woodcox. In 1900 he formed a partnership with W. F. Lentz, under the firm name of Lentz & Norr, which continued until 1903, when he sold out to his partner and embarked in business for himself at his present location. He does all kinds of roofing and cornice work, making a specialty of heavy iron work, such as boiler building and smoke-stack construction, having the largest business in his line in the county, and affording employment to fourteen to twenty-three skilled men. His reputation for satisfactory work and materials extends far beyond the city and he is kept busy with contracts and orders from distant as well as local points. This business Mr. Norr has built up through his own industry and efficiency. In 1895 Mr. Norr was married to Miss Georgianna Schutte, of Troy. He is a member of a number of fraternal organizations : the Masons, including the higher branches and the Scottish Rite, the Red Men, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Eagles, and belongs to the Elks Club. WILLIAM ANTHONY, one of Staunton Township's representative and respected citizens, resides on his excellent farm of forty acres, which is situated in Staunton Township, about four miles north of Troy. He was born February 9, 1859, on the old Anthony place south of Dayton, in Montgomery County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Christianna (Baltz) Anthony. John Anthony, father of William, was born in Germany and lived there until he was about forty years of age, mainly engaged in teaming and working around a mill. When he came to the United States he lived for a short time in New Orleans, from there made his way to Cincinnati, Ohio, and was employed on the construction of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad in Montgomery County. There he bought a small farm, which he sold in 1872 and then came to Miami County and bought a farm situated southwest of Piqua, on which he lived until old age. He then retired to Piqua, where his wife died first and his death followed, at the home of his daughter Lena, having passed his eighty-seventh birthday. He was married in Montgomery County, Ohio, to Christianna AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 541 Baltz, who was also of German birth, and they had five children, namely : John, who died young; Jacob, who also died young; William ; Lena, who married John F. Cathcart; and John, who resides at Piqua. William Anthony obtained his education in the schools of Miamisburg and was fifteen years old when he came to Miami County. He remained at home and worked for his father until he was of age, when he started out for himself, working as a farm hand and also in the shaft and pole works at Piqua. In 1886 he bought his present farm with the large farm house on the place. It was a part of the old Sutton estate and has always been considered excellent land. Mr. Anthony carries on general farming. In addition to this property, Mr. and Mrs. Anthony own a valuable residence property on Wayne Street, Piqua. On February 22, 1887, Mr. Anthony was married to Miss Ida Scharff, who was born at Springfield, Ohio, and is a daughter of Charles Frederick and Wilhelmina (Uhlery) Scharff, both of whom were born in Germany, where they were married. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony have two children : Minnie Christine, who was married January 28, 1909, to Harry Free; and Ethel Louisa. Mr. Anthony and family are members of the Lutheran Church. In politics he is a Republican. J. B. WILKINSON, of the prominent general insurance firm of Mendenhall & Wilkinson, at Piqua, has been a resident of this city for over a quarter of a century and is numbered with its representative men. He was born in 1873, at Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Wilkinson was brought to Piqua when a lad of eight years and received his education in the common and high schools. His first business position was with the insurance firm of Graffiin & Co., and one year later, Mr. Grafflin became postmaster, but this did not interfere with the insurance business, and by the time Mr. Wilkinson was twenty-one years of age he had a pretty thorough knowledge of this line of work. About this time the firm became Mendenhall & Co., which was later succeeded by Mendenhall & Wilkinson, the senior member being Joseph E. Mendenhall. This firm does the largest general insurance business in Piqua and represents twenty-two of the leading fire insurance companies of the country. Independently, Mr. Wilkinson represents the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1897 Mr. Wilkinson was married to Miss Katherine Hughes, the eldest daughter of the late Rev. Dr. T. L. Hughes, of the Presbyterian Church, and they have two children, Jane Hortense and Ruth Clare. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson are members of the First Presbyterian Church. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and an Elk and belongs to the Piqua Club, of which he is secretary and treasurer. C. C. HOBART, president and general manager of the American Fixture and Manufacturing Company of Troy, Ohio, has been a resident of this city for a period of fifteen years. He was born in 1857, in Vermont. When about eighteen years of age Mr. Hobart left his native State for school at Colgate University at Hamilton, New York later spent one year in the Chicago Law School, and in 1881 was graduated from the law department of the Iowa State University. For two 542 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY years after that Mr. Hobart was engaged in teaching school and then became interested in operating a paper-mill at Middletown, Ohio. About 1888 he established the Hobart Electric Manufacturing plant at Middletown, which he subsequently moved to Troy, and which he then developed into one of the largest manufacturing enterprises of the city. In 1905 he sold his interest in that plant and established the American Fixture and Manufacturing Company, of which he is president and general manager. The business is the general manufacture of electrical material and cabinets. He is interested additionally in some enterprises outside this city. He has proved himself an active and useful citizen of Troy and served for two years as a member of the Board of Public Service. Mr. Hobart was married in 1886, to Miss Lou E. Jones, of Middletown, Ohio, and they have three sons : Edward, who is a student at the Ohio State University ; and Charles and William, students in the Troy schools. Mr. Hobart and wife are members of the Baptist Church. He belongs to the Troy Club and is a member of the fraternal order of Knights of Pythias. W. R. ELY, who is engaged in a commission brokerage business at Piqua, has been a resident of this city for the past six years, and in this time has shown himself an enterprising and progressive man of business. He was born in 1881 at Washington Court House, Ohio, and was educated in the schools of his native place. After qualifying as an expert telegrapher, Mr. Ely worked two years as an operator in the railroad service, and then took up the brokerage business. His meth ods are careful and conservative and he has a very satisfactory number of clients. Mr. Ely was married in 1903, to Miss Grace Surgeon, of Jamestown, Ohio, and they have two children, Hope and Ruth. Mr. Ely is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks and the Elks' Club and of other organizations. THOMAS B. STEWART, whose valuable farm, containing 120 acres, is situated in Staunton Township, is a representative citizen of this section and is a veteran of the Civil War. He was born September 22, 1840, in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Robert and Sarah (Barnett) Stewart. The Stewart family is of Scotch descent and both father and grandfather were lifelong residents of Pennsylvania, and both lived into old age. The mother of Mr. Stewart was also a native of Pennsylvania, and she only survived her husband for thirteen days. They had the following children : Robert, who is a minister; Sarah, Margaret E. and Nancy R., all three of whom are now deceased ; Thomas B.; John J.; Harriet C., who resides in Indiana ; and William C. Thomas B. Stewart passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm, always finding plenty of hard work ready for him to perform. After his marriage, in 1872, he came to Ohio, and in the spring of 1873 he bought his present farm from Daniel Sutton, and has done a large amount of improving here. His land is fertile and compares favorably with the old home farm in Dauphin County. In September, 1861, on his twenty-first birthday, he enlisted for service in the Civil War, becoming a private in the Seventh Regiment AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 547 Penna. Vol. Cav., and later for gallant action was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He served faithfully for three years, and took part in many important battles, including Stone River, Siege of Atlanta, and Chickamauga. He is a member of the Grand. Army of the Republic. In recognition of his services to his country when she needed them, he receives a pension of $12 per month. In politics he is a strong Republican. On December 31, 1872, Mr. Stewart was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Matilda McElheny, a daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Radel) McElheny, and eight children have been born to them, namely : Robert E., who resides at Troy, married Bertha Heikes, and they have one child, Robert Clair; John J., who resides in Staunton Township, married Harriet Free and they have two children, Earl and Elsie May ; Sallie E., who married Samuel McCurdy, of Troy, has three children—Ralph, Myrtle and Fred ; Thomas R.; Arthur, who died aged about seven months ; Nora; Charles G., who operates the home farm; and Pearl Edna, who married Murry G. Mill-house, of Spring Creek Township, and has one child, Helen Frances. HERMAN GRUNERT, a member of the Board of Trustees of Washington Township, Miami County, and engaged in business at Piqua as a cigar and tobacco manufacturer, is a progressive and enterprising citizen and one who is held in the highest esteem by those With whom he has business relations. He was born in 1861, in Germany, and when six years of age he was brought to America by his parents. Mr. Grunert's first year was spent on his uncle's farm, after which his rearing and educating were accomplished at Piqua. He learned the cigar and tobacco manufacturing business, which he has very successfully carried on in his own interest for the past ten years. He has taken quite an active part in town politics, and in the fall of 1906 was called upon to fill out an unexpired term of one of the township trustees, serving in the same very acceptably, and through election, 1907, still fills the office. In 1880 Mr. Grunert was married to Miss Mary Erb, who died in 1886, leaving no issue. ln 1901 he married Miss Lillie Lye, and they have two children, Marie and Lewis. They are members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, of which he is an official member and active worker. He is identified with both the Masons and Odd Fellows at Piqua. THEODORE A. DRAKE, one of Washington Township's representative citizens, residing on his valuable farm of 138 acres, which is situated about two miles southwest of the postoffice at Piqua, has spent his life here, having been born December 28, 1840, on the old Drake homestead, on the Washington Turnpike, Miami County, Ohio. His parents were Daniel and Margaret (Curry) Drake. Daniel Drake was born in New Jersey and in 1833 he accompanied his brother Jonathan and the latter's wife to Washington Township, settling on the farm which is now owned by Mrs. Jennie Drake. He married Margaret Curry, who died while her children were yet small, but he survived until 1892. The family consisted of five sons and two daughters, namely : Levi. who died in boyhood ; Eliza, who is now deceased, was the wife of A. M. 548 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Morrow ; John C. and Theodore A., both of whom are farmers in Washington Township ; Caroline, who married D. F. Licklider, of Piqua; and Thomas L. and George H., both of whom are deceased. Theodore A. Drake attended the neighborhood schools in his boyhood and grew to manhood as his father's main helper on the farm. When he married he immediately built a fine brick residence in which he lives and moved from the old house into the new one as soon as the latter was completed. With the assistance of his son Bernice L. he carries on general farming and fruit growing, making a specialty of strawberries, but having an abundance of all kinds of small fruit, which he markets, together with garden produce. The farm is one of the most productive in the neighborhood and shows intelligent and careful cultivation. In 1862 Mr. Drake was married to Miss Annie M. DuBois, who died on December 21, 1908. She was born in Warren County, Ohio, a daughter of William B. DuBois, but from the age of eighteen years lived in Miami County. Mr. and Mrs. Drake had eight children born to them, as follows : Edgar, who died aged six months; Meroa ; Edith V., who is the widow of Hart J. Reynolds, has three children—Martha, Mary and Wayne ; Alva D., who married Etta B. Rike, a resident of Miami County, resides in Van Wert County, and has three children—Helen, Margaret and Alma Dorothy; Otis, who died aged twelve years ; Gertrude, who married Eugene Peck, has two children—Ruth and Carl ; Bernice L., who resides on one section of the homestead, married Cora Farrow and they have two children—Theodore and Mary ; and Ruth, who is a graduate of Dennison University and for three years was a teacher at Duquoin, Perry County, Illinois. Mr. Drake and family belong to the Baptist Church at Piqua. He takes only a good citizen's interest in politics, but in matters of local improvement and progress he has accepted responsibilities, at present is serving as school director, has served two terms as judge of election and refused appointment to the assessor's office. CHARLES W. KISER, treasurer of Miami County, Ohio. The office of county treasurer has had no more popular, efficient and satisfactory incumbent than the subject of this sketch. Elected in November, 1905, he took office in September, 1906. By virtue of a change in the statute regulating the terms of county officers in this county, his term was extended one year, and he retired from office in September, 1909, having served three years instead of the statutory term of two years, as provided by the old law. His many friends, regardless of partisan ties, urged him to be a candidate for a second elective term, confident that he would have an excellent prospect for re-election, although making a contest in a county nominally against his party by 1,200 to 1,800 majority. This view did not meet with his approval sufficiently to overcome what he regarded as a sense of propriety in the matter. He uniformly acknowledged that his first election to the office was brought about by the help of his many personal friends, heretofore aligned with the Republican party. This he fully appreciated and was grateful for, moreover, the provisions of the new statute extending his term one year had weight with him in deciding to not ask his friends AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 549 again for their suffrage, and he preferred to retire with the good will of all his friends, regardless of party ties, and with the sense of duty well performed. Charles Walker Kiser is the son of W. I. and Martha A. Kiser, and was born in Fletcher, Miami County, Ohio, December 10, 1867, where he received his early education and training. He comes of worthy pioneer stock. His grandfather, the late Squire Isaac Kiser, was the first white male child born in Brown Township. Charles Kiser's father, W. I. Kiser, better known as "Billy Kiser," and who died suddenly a few years ago, was perhaps one of the best known men in Miami County and came within six votes of being elected county treasurer in this county in opposition to a strong man when the normal vote of the county was about 1,800 Republican. He was a member of Company E. 110th 0. V. I. and a brave and gallant soldier, as the many wounds received on the field of battle evidenced. In 1884 Charles Kiser moved to Piqua with his parents, where he assisted his father in the agricultural implement business with the firm of Kiser & Hall. So successful was the business, due as much to the enterprise, industry and shrewdness of the younger Kiser, that the father and father-in-law—Mr. Kiser in the meantime having married Miss Sadie Hall, daughter of the junior member of the firm—decided to reorganize the firm, Mr. Hall retiring and going to Sidney, where he established a thriving business, and Charles Kiser taking his place in the new firm under the name of W. I. Kiser & Son. The new firm was a most successful enterprise and the father, having implicit confidence in his son's ability, finally concluded to retire and turn the business over to Mr. Kiser, who afterward conducted it under the name of Charles W. Kiser at the old stand in Piqua. His successful and honest conduct of his own business affairs was an assurance to his friends that he would do likewise in a public office, and the people of this county in his election secured a model official, fully justifying their confidence. No man in the state has the confidence of his fellow business men to a greater degree than that enjoyed by Charles Kiser, due wholly to honest dealing. He is well and favorably known in church and fraternal circles and is every way competent and is an indefatigable worker and of a most obliging disposition, attributes which are sure to make a most popular official. JACOB D. DEITZER, general farmer and tobacco grower, residing on his excellent farm of eighty acres, which is situated in Concord Township, was born at Shelbyville, Indiana, May 24, 1860, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Posz) Deitzer. The father of Mr. Deitzer was born in Germany and was eighteen years of age when he came to America. He lived at Shelbyville, Indiana, when he married Elizabeth Posz, who was also a native of Germany. She was brought to America by her parents. Two children were born to this marriage : Margaret, who is the wife of Joseph Midkiff, of Johnson County, Indiana; and Jacob Daniel. The father died at the age of twenty-eight years, and prior to the birth of his son, who was given his name. Later the widow married Michael Shuler, and they had one daugh-