AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 825 Gainor Jennings received his early educational training in the public schools at West Milton, supplemented by a scientific course in Earlham College, at Richmond, Indiana. He then began preparation for his professional career, completing medical courses at Baltimore, Maryland, and at Cincinnati, Ohio. Immediately after graduation he opened an office for practice at West Milton. where he has since continued with the highest success. He is a thorough student, and keeps well abreast the rapid advancement being made in medical science; he not only has the confidence of the people, professionally. but as well their friendship and highest esteem. His office is in a brick building which he owns and had built. Dr. Jennings was united in marriage with Miss Amanda Pearson, of West Milton, and they have two sons: Paxton; and Ewing. who has been studying in Germany for more than a year. Politically, the Doctor is a Democrat. and is a member of the School Board. For more than twenty years he has been surgeon for the C.. H. D. Railway Company. Fraternally, he a member of Blue Lodge, F. & A. M.. Knights Templar, the Mystic Shrine, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Religiously. be and his wife are members of the Christian Church. BERNARD FELGER, a prominent and respected citizen of Newton Township, Miami County, Ohio, is the owner of two farms in Section 3. of that township, one of 141 acres, on which he lives, and another of sixty-six acres. He is now living practically a retired life but oversees the work on his farms; he is also interested in the Stillwater Valley Bank at Covington, of which he is a director. Mr. Felger was born in Wurtemberg, Germany; December 23, 1856, and is a son of Martin and Margaret (Steinhilber) Felger. Martin Felger was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, October 30, 1825, and lived in that country until he was forty years of age. He then set sail for the United States. with his wife and the two children then living, the voyage consuming seventeen days. He located in Covington, Miami County, Ohio, where he thereafter followed his trade as shoemaker during the remainder of his active days. He now lives at that place, enjoying life at the age of eighty-our years, and his wife has passed the eighty-second milestone of life. He owns a fine property there and also has stock in the Building and Loan Association. He is a Democrat in politics. Religiously both he and his wife are consistent members of the Lutheran Church. She was in maiden life Margaret Steinhilber and is a daughter of Bernard and Agnes Steinhilber. The following children were born to them : Peter, who died in infancy ; Agnes, deceased; Bernard; Agnes, who married William Routson and has four children, William, Glenna, Maude and May; and Rollen, who married Anna Steinhilber, of Covington, and has three children, Carl, Ivan and George. Bernard Felger attended school two years in his native country, then completed his educational training in the schools at Covington. After leaving the grade schools he worked on a farm for a time, then attended high school in Covington. He then began raising tobacco on shares on the farm he now lives upon, and he has farmed this place ever since. He purchased of Joseph Layton his farm of sixty-six acres 826 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY in Newton Township, but never moved upon it, and he later purchased the 141 acres comprising his home farm. He erected all the buildings on the Layton tract, cleared a portion of it and put in about 800 rods of tile for drainage. There are two sets of buildings on the home place, he having remodeled the house where his tenant lives in the spring of 1909, the others having been built before his occupancy of the place, but he built a tobacco shed in the summer of 1908. He has about twenty-five acres of timber on this farm. He follows general farming and also has raised considerable stock of a good grade. Mr. Felger was married March 6, 1881, to Miss Emma Musselman, a daughter of John and Sarah Musselman, and to them were born the following: Sarah, wife of Samuel B. Holfinger ; Margaret, who died in infancy ; Verna; and Edna, who is attending school. In religious attachment, they are members of the Lutheran Church of Covington. In politics Mr. Felger holds Democratic principles. He has served as a member of the Board of Education of the township, and at one time was candidate for the office of county commissioner. H. S. LAMBERT, D. D. S., who has been engaged in the practice of dentistry longer than any other man in West Milton, has an office on Miami Street. He has well arranged and modernly equipped apartments and enjoys an extensive practice. Dr. Lambert was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, November 7, 1863, and is a son of J. Lewis and Susan (Heirsman) Lambert; he is one of seven children, of whom five are now living. J. Lewis Lam bert was born in Virginia, but was a mere child when his parents moved to Montgomery County, Ohio. There he grew to maturity and for many years followed his trade as a carpenter. He died about the year 1890 at the age of sixty-five years. H. S. Lambert attended the public schools of Montgomery County, Ohio, and after completing the prescribed course began preparation for the profession of dentistry under a preceptor, receiving a certificate of examination. He first practiced at Lewisburg, in Preble County, where he continued for three years, and then for two years practiced at Salem, Phillipsburg and Brookville, all at the same time. In November, 1890, he located in West Milton, where he soon became well established. He is a member of the Miami Valley Dental Society and of the Ohio State Dental Society at Columbus. Dr. Lambert was united in marriage withlliss Emma Cruea, who is from near Brookville, and they have one son, Ralph, who is attending school. Religiously they are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics the Doctor is a Democrat and is serving on the Board of Public Affairs. He formerly was a member of the Council. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. HENRY CLINTON WHITMER comes of an old and well known family of Miami County, Ohio, and is the owner of a farm of eighty acres located three miles southwest of Covington, in Newberry Township. He was born at Pleasant Hill, Newton Township, Miami County, December 3, 1852, and is a son of Abraham and Mary (Deeter) Whitmer, and a grandson of Abraham Whitmer, Sr. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 827 Abraham Whitmer, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and when a young man came to Pleasant Hill, Miami County, Ohio, where he established the first blacksmith shop. He prospered there and became the owner of two farms near Pleasant Hill, each comprising eighty acres and adjoining. His death occurred April 11, 1908, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Hudson Gartley, at Sidney, Ohio, when he had attained the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was married at Covington to Mary Deeter, who was born in Pennsylvania and was a daughter of David Deeter, who moved west to Montgomery County, Ohio, and settled below Wolf Creek. She was a young girl when the family moved to Pleasant Hill, where she was reared to maturity. She died in middle life, in October, 1877, aged forty-seven years. Abraham and Mary Whitmer were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart ; Mrs. Hattie Ginn ; David, of Piqua ; Henry Clinton; Mrs. Lavina Gartley, of Sidney, Ohio ; Joshua, who lives in Michigan; and Mrs. Annie Flinn, who is now deceased. When but a small boy, Henry C. Whitmer was taken by his parents from Pleasant Hill to the farm, where he was reared to manhood. He attended the public schools of that district and at an early age turned his attention to farming, which he has always followed. After his marriage he and his father-in-law owned a farm of 100 acres located two miles east of Pleasant Hill, in Newton Township, and he continued to reside there until 1901, when he sold out and purchased his present farm in Newberry Township. He carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Whitmer was joined in marriage with Miss Nettie Bashore, a daughter of William Bashore, who lived just south of Pleasant Hill. They have the following children: Mary, who is teaching school near Tippecanoe City, and is a graduate of the Covington High School and for a time attended Juniata College, at Huntington, Pennsylvania ; Minnie, who married Raymond Anewalt, of Newton Township, and has a daughter, Marie ; Frank Robert, and Esther. Religiously the family are members of the Church of the Brethren, in which Mr. Whitmer is a deacon. W. S. KESSLER, a well known member of the bar of Miami County, Ohio, is located at West Milton, where he has been engaged in practice continuously since 1886. He was born in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of William B. Kessler, an old and respected citizen of this county. W. S. Kessler attended the district schools, and later the West Milton High School. He later completed a course in the Cincinnati Law School, and immediately after his graduation in 1886 opened an office for practice at West Milton. He has served as city solicitor for twenty-two years, and his clientele includes many of the foremost citizens of this section of the county. His office is in the City Bank Building on Miami Street. Mr. Kessler devotes a month each year to hunting big game, and has met with some remarkable results. He has specimens of various heads and animals, for which he has had flattering offers from, the Smithsonian Institute at Washington,. but has refused to part with them. One is- 828 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY that of a noose killed by him in northwest Ontario in 1908, which is hanging in the New Pearson Hotel. It measures sixty-one inches in spread of horns, and sixty-three inches from tip of nose to the end of the horn ; it was of mammoth size, being seven feet one inch in beight, and weighing over 2,000 pounds. He also has a magnificent specimen of the original gray timber wolf, measuring five feet from end of nose to tip of tail and weighing 100 pounds. W. S. Kessler was first married to Sarah Critton, who died in 1902, leaving three children, namely : Arthur A., who married Miss Josie Farley, and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana; Ethel, who is the wife of F. Niles, of West Milton, and has a son, Ralph ; and Dora, who is at home. In 1904 the subject of this record formed a second marital union with Miss Della Brewer, of Miami County, and they have one daughter, Hellen E., who is two years old. Politically he is a Republican and has served as mayor of the village. For six years he efficiently discharged the duties as referee in bankruptcy. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias. In religious attachment he and his wife are members of the Christian Church. LORAIN HARSHBARGER is a prosperous farmer of Union Township, residing three miles southwest of West Milton, where he owns a farm of fifty acres. He was born in this township February 8, 1877, and is a son of Lloyd and Electa (Sherer) Harshbarger, who reside a short distance west of West Milton. The first of the Harshbarger family to come to Union Township was George, the grandfather of Lorain. He came from Montgomery County, Ohio, where he was born, and lived here until his death. Lorain Harshbarger attended the district schools and assisted in the work on his father's farm. He later rented a farm for a period of six years, after which he purchased a tract of seven acres located between Laura and West Milton. He remained there for two years, and then in 1906 purchased his present farm of fifty acres from Samuel Hoke. He has made all the improvements on the place, and is engaged in general farming. Mr. Harshbarger was united in marriage with Miss Mary Thompson, a daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Thompson, who now live in Piqua. Six children have blessed their union : Ruth, James, Ruby, Edwin (who died young), Jacob and Roland. Politically, the subject of this sketch is a Republican. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. HENRY LANDIS, one of Newton Township's most progressive citizens and farmers, is the owner of 120 acres of well improved land, and follows diversified farming. He was born near Pleasant Hill, Miami County, Ohio, September 26, 1855, and is a son of Daniel and Susan Ann (Deeter) Landis, the father being a native of Greene County, Ohio, and the mother of Miami County. Daniel Landis was a prominent farmer and well-to-do citizen of Newton Township, and at his death was the owner of 180 acres of land in Miami and Darke Counties. In 1874 he purchased 210 acres, but of this he subsequently sold 110 acres. He died in 1899, at the age of seventy AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 829 years; his wife died in her sixty-seventh year, and both lie buried in Sugar Grove Cemetery. She was a daughter of Abraham and Barbara Deeter. Mr. and Mrs. Landis were parents of the following children : Hannah, Barbara, Henry, David, Lydia, Kate, Susan, Tina, Sarah, Abraham (deceased), John, Myra, and one who died in infancy. Henry Landis, subject of this biography, first attended the common schools of Darke County, and later those of Miami County. He turned his attention to farming in his youthful days, and continued to live with his father until three years after his marriage; then, in 1887, he moved upon the farm on which he now lives. He was for a period of seventeen years engaged in the butchering business, and during that time made two trips each week to market. In the meantime he carried on farming operations in a most active manner, raising the various small grains, hay and potatoes. During the past eight years he has raised tobacco quite extensively, each year devoting twenty-five acres to the growing of that product. The improvements on his farm are exceptional ; he has laid 3,500 feet of tile for drainage, and set out 500 cement posts for fencing. He has a wind pump, with gasoline engine attached, with which facilities he is enabled to irrigate ten acres of ground. He is enterprising and progressive in his ideas and farms along modern and approved methods. January 12, 1884, Mr. Landis was united in marriage with Miss Katherine Bashore, a daughter of W. H. and Hetty Bashore. The following children were born to them : John, deceased; Emma, who married Walter W. Jones, of near Covington, and has three children—Helen, Mary and Harriet ; Grace, who is deceased; Albert, who is a member of the class of 1912 in Ohio State University at Columbus; and Fred, deceased. Religiously they are members of the German Baptist Church, of which he is a deacon. Politically he is a Republican. HON. ALBERT F. LITTLE, mayor of Bradford. Ohio, and the able editor of the Morning Sentinel, a journal which he founded in 1884, is well known in fraternal circles all over the country, and has been particularly identified for years with the order of Red Men. He was born in Logan County, Ohio, in the pleasant town of West Liberty, February 10, 1864, and is a son of John M. and Mary (Jones) Little. The late John M. Little was a well known business man of Bradford for a number of years, moving to this place in 1879, entering into the drug business under his own name, and being associated for a time with his son, A lbert F. Later he moved to Magnetic Springs, Ohio, and there his death occurred on March 31, 1906. He was thrice married. His first wife, Mary Jones, was accidentally killed in a railway accident, in Logan County, in 1866, and he subsequently married her sister, Eliza Jones, and after the latter's death, married another sister. Albert F. Little was but eighteen months old when accident deprived him of his mother, and he was reared to the age of ten years by his aunt and step-mother. He then went to Darke County, where he lived on a farm, about five miles north of Bradford, for five years, in the meanwhile attending the public schools. He was fifteen years old when he came to Bradford and entered the High School, where he was 830 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY graduated in 1882, one of a class of three members, of which he is the only survivor. For several years he was associated with his father in his drug store before he really embarked in the printing business, toward which his inclinations were directed from early youth. He acquired his first press, a. hand press of ancient pattern, by trading an old overcoat, and he began, business on this little machine, and has been in the same line of industry from that day to this. In 1884 he purchased a printing plant and established his present newspaper under the name of the Sentinel. Later in the same year he bought out a little journal already in existence, the Independent, and, combining the two, issued the Independent-Sentinel for a number of years. When he found himself prepared to issue a morning edition of his paper he changed the name to the representative one of Morning Sentinel. The encouragement he has received has made it possible for him to provide the people of Bradford with a first-class newspaper two mornings in the week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and a constantly increasing subscription list and advertising support, indicates that ere long the issue will be daily. Mr. Little does a large business in the line of job printing, and makes a specialty, to some extent, of printing for fraternal organizations and secret societies all over the United States. He has built up a reputation for journalistic enterprise, and on more than one ,occasion has performed the feat, dear to every newspaper man, of making a "scoop" and being ahead of his competitors with the news of stirring events. This was exemplified on the occasion of the death of the lamented President McKinley, which occurred at Buffalo at 3:15 a. in., and at 4 a. in. the Bradford Morning Sentinel was offered on the streets with news and details of this calamity. His was probably the first country newspaper in the United States to announce this fact, and the enterprise would have done credit to a metropolitan sheet. In 1884 Mr. Little was married at Bradford to Miss Rebecca Haley, who graduated from the Bradford High School as valedictorian of the class of that year. Five children have been born to them, Kenneth, Faith, Carrol F., Russell and Edna. Faith Little graduated from the Bradford High School in 1902, subsequently took a course in music at Otterbein University, after which she was married to H. B. Eller, who is electrician for the Pennsylvania Railroad at Bradford. They have three children. Keith and Lucile and a babe. Kenneth Little graduated from the Bradford High School in 1903, and in the same fall entered the Ohio State University at Columbus, where he was graduated in the spring of 1908. He is engaged in the practice of law in Columbus. He married Miss Cora McCune. a daughter of A. W. McCune, postmaster at Bradford, and they have two children : Delmas and Albert Bernard. Carrol F. Little was graduated in 1907 from the Bradford High School, and is a student at Wittenberg College, at Springfield, Ohio. Russell Little is a member of the class of 1909 at the Bradford High School. Mr. Little is one of the eight representatives of the order of Red Men, appointed on account of special preparation for the honor, to the Great Council of the United States. He organized the uniform rank of the order in Ohio, and was the first major-general of the Department of Ohio, and is AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS- 831 now a retired major-general. At the time of the death of President McKinley he was great sachem of the Ohio Lodge, and he issued the first fraternal proclamation of sorrow over his death. He is also very prominent in the Knights of Pythias, and is past grand representative, and has organized the larger number of lodges in this section. Mrs. Little is past grand chief of the Pythian Sisters of Ohio, and is past representative in the Supreme Temple, which includes the whole of the United States in Pythian work. He is also an Odd Fellow, and has filled all the chairs in the Junior Order of American Mechanics in Ohio. Mr. Little has always found time to be interested in local matters of moment, and at all times has proven himself a citizen in whose judgment and fidelity to the best interests of Bradford all could rely. In 1894 he was first elected mayor of the town, and is serving in that honorable office in his fourth term. In each administration he has giyen his fellow citizens eyidence of his capacity and public spirit, and in each one great strides haye been made forward. With his sons, he is an ardent advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and in religious views all are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is a ruling elder in the church at Bradford, and is president of the Darke County Sunday School Association, and is religious director of the Bradford Y. M. C. A. ALBERT ALBAUGH, a prominent and influential citizen of Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, resides on a farm of 200 acres in all, and in addition owns the farm on which his daughter resides in the same township. He is a man of exceptional business capacity, and from a humble beginning worked his way to the front rank among the substantial men of the community. He was born in Darke County, Ohio, July 4, 1850, and is a son of John and Aseneth (Mendenhall) Albaugh. John Albaugh was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, whither his parents had at an early date moved from Pennsylvania. When a young man he moved to the vicinity of Gettysburg, Darke County, Ohio, where he farmed until early in the sixties. He then moved to Union Township, Miami County, where he spent the last years of his life. He had taken sick prior to his removal from Darke County, and never recovered his health, his death occurring at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife survived him but three months, dying at the age of sixty-five. They were parents of ten children. Albert Albaugh was but a baby when his parents moved to Union Township, and here he grew to maturity. His educational training in the schools was limited, as his father was disabled, and he, being the oldest son, was obliged to do the work on the farm. Thus hard work and self-reliance came to him at an early age, and proved the foundation for his future success. When nineteen years of age he purchased a team of horses, for which he incurred an indebtedness of $200, but soon was able to pay this off. He worked at home until he was thirty years of age, and was constantly laying by a part of his earnings, which he used to good advantage in discounting notes. He purchased the farm on which his daughter, Mrs. Younce, now lives, and made his home on that place for twenty-three years. In 1907 he purchased his present home farm for a cash. consideration of $11,000, and has since 832 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY lived upon it. He follows general farming and tobacco raising. He is a director of the Miami County Fair Board, to which he was elected in 1907. Politically, he is a Republican. Mr. Albaugh was united in marriage with Ida A. Herley, and they have three children : Leonard, who married Dorothy Rue and lives on the home place; Alma, who married Clark Younce and has a son, Aubrey ; and Esther, who also lives with her parents. Religiously, they are members of the United Brethren Church. A. F. MIKESELL, one of Newberry Township's well known citizens, who is now living in his handsome brick residence situated on a small farm of twelve and one-half acres on the Shelby County Turnpike, one mile north of Covington, was born on a farm one mile north of Pleasant Hill, Miami County, Ohio, July 3. 1842, is a son of John and Susan (Friedly) Mikesell, of Covington. A. F. Mikesell, who is better known as Fridly Mikesell, remained on the farm on which he was born until six years of age, when his parents moved to Clayton, Newberry Township, shortly thereafter, however, removing to Covington, where Mr. Mikesell obtained his education. When a young man he secured a tract of 133 acres of land situated two and one-half miles west of Covington, on Greenville Creek, and while living there he was married. For about five years after this event Mr. Mike-sell continued on this farm, and then sold out to purchase a property of 100 acres, located across the road from that which he now occupies, and he was here engaged in agricultural pursuits for a period covering thirty-five years. He became one of the best known farmers in Newberry Township, and after a long and active agricultural life retired to his present property, on which, in 1907, he erected a beautiful brick residence. He is also the owner of considerable property in New Mexico and Oklahoma. In 1867 Mr. Mikesell was united in marriage with Jane Beery, who was born in Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio, a daughter of Levi and Margaret (Short) Beery, who removed to Iowa when Mrs. Mikesell was about three and one-half years old. There Levi Beery was engaged in farming and milling. To Mr. and Mrs. Mikesell there were born eight children, as follows: Arthur L., who graduated from Covington High School, studied medicine at the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, spent eighteen months in the County Hospital, Chicago, and is now engaged in the practice of his profession at Fort Wayne, Indiana, married Harriet Isabelle Kimball, and they have one child, Helen B.; Alma, who married Charles L. Trump, died October 7, 1905, leaving one child, Florence Janice; Nora, the wife of Ira J. Gump, has four children, Lucile, Luther, Joseph and Rosella, and lives in Covington; Vinnie, the wife of J. S. Flory, lives at Bridgewater, Virginia, Mr. Flory being a teacher in the Bridewater College ; Maurice, general manager of the Miami Ranch, in New Mexico, married Elizabeth Rosenberger, and has two children, Margaret and Andrew Frank; John Levi, is a farmer and real estate dealer of Oklahoma; Margaret, the wife of Dr. Bernard J. Kendell, of Tippecanoe City, has two children, Sarah Jane and John Jacob; Wilbur B., is attending the Ohio State University, at Columbus. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 833 Mr. Mikesell was a school director in Newberry Township for many years, and was president of the School Board of Covington at the time the new school building was erected. He is a member and a deacon of the Brethren Church. H. I. BELCH, a substantial citizen and prosperous farmer of Newberry Township, who owns what was formerly the old Henry Finfrock farm, a valuable tract of eighty acres, located just south of Bloomer, Miami County, was born on a farm in Shelby County, Ohio, June 14, 1861, and is a son of Frederick and Susanna (Sweigart) Kelch. John Nicholas Kelch, the grandfather, came to Ohio from Germany when his son Frederick was about three years of age, settling on a farm adjoining the one now owned by the subject of this sketch, Harman Isaiah Kelch. He remained on that farm for only three weeks. moving then to Darke County, where he made his home until his son Frederick was a young man, when he purchased the farm on which Frederick resided at the time of Harman I. Kelch's birth. Frederick Kelch was a farmer during his earlier years. He was born in Germany. and now lives in Mercer County, Ohio. He married Susanna Sweigart, who died in September, 1892. Harman I. Kelch grew to manhood in Shelby County. and obtained his education in the township schools. When he started out for himself he purchased his father's farm, which had originally contained 140 acres, but then was 100 acres, and after operating the farm for some years he sold it to advantage, then spent one year in Darke County, and in 1906 bought his present farm in Newberry Township, on which he has since carried on general farming and tobacco raising. He is a hardworking man, and his industry and good management have brought him a large measure of success in his undertakings. Mr. Kelch married Miss Caroline Cronies, who was born in Pennsylvania but reared in Shelby County, Ohio, where her parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Neiswonger) Cronies, were substantial farming people. They both died in Shelby County. Mr. and Mrs. Kelch have had the following children born to them : Walter, Virgil, William, Elmer, Clara, Bertha, Pearl, Grace and Cora. With his family, Mr. Kelch belongs to the Lutheran Church. WILLIAM HARSHBARGER, a representative of one of the oldest families of Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, k engaged in farming on a forty-acre tract located about three miles southwest of West Milton. He was born near Laura, in Union Township, June 30, 1872, and is a son of Lloyd and Electa (Sherer) Harshbarger, and a grandson of George and Mary (Penny) Harshbarger. William Harshbarger received his educational training in the district schools of his native township, and at an early age began his business career. He worked for some years for his father, after which he farmed various places at different times until 1901, when he purchased thirty-two acres about three and one-half miles west of West Milton. He disposed of that place and purchased a tract near Laura, on which he lived until 1903, when he purchased his present farm. Always a hard worker and progressive in his methods, he has made steady progress in a business way, and enjoys high standing in the com- 834 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY munity. He has a well improved place, and follows general farming and tobacco growing. Mr. Harshbarger was united in marriage with Miss Clara Christian, a daughter of Aaron Christian, and they have a son and a daughter, namely, Lloyd A. and Margaret. Politically, he is a Republican. ROBERT MORRIS DICKSON, owner of eighty acres of land in Spring Creek Township, about four and a half miles east of Piqua, comes of an old family of this section and was born on an adjoining farm, March 15, 1860. He is a son of Samuel McKnight and Jane (Patterson) Dickson, and a grandson of John Dickson, who was of Scotch-Irish descent. John Dickson was born in Pennsylvania and early in life settled in Spring Creek Township, Miami County, Ohio, where he was one of the pioneers and where the family name has since been a prominent one. He located on what is known as the old Dickson homestead and erected a-brick house, of brick burned on the farm; this house is still standing. Politically he was a Democrat. He married Jane McKnight, and they became parents of five children —Samuel McKnight, Sarah Ann, James, Jane Eleanor, who died young, and Joseph. Samuel McKnight Dickson was born in Rossville, Spring Creek Township, September 1, 1824, and received his education in the district schools of the township. He worked on the home place and engaged in teaching during his younger days, and was known to possess a mind of unusual brilliancy. After he gave up teaching he settled on the farm across the road from the place of the subject of this record, and there farmed until his death, May 26, 1862. He was a Republican in politics, and served as township clerk, infirmary director and in various township offices. He was joined in marriage with Jane Patterson, who was born in Pennsylvania, August 31, 1832, and was six years of age when brought to the old Patterson homestead in Spring Creek Township, Miami County, Ohio, by her parents, Robert and Mary Patterson. They had two sons : John Charles, who was born December 29, 18,57, and never married, his death occurring May 9, 1899; and Robert Morris, whose name heads this record. Robert Morris Dickson attended the district schools of his home district, the normal school at Danville, Indiana, and Ohio Northern Uniyersity at Ada, Ohio. He then engaged in teaching for a period of eighteen years, being located successively in various parts of Miami County, also one year in Iowa and two years in Kentucky. After giving up his professional work he located on his present farm, where he has carried on general farming and stock raising. He has met with considerable success in raising pure blood Poland China hogs. Mr. Dickson was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Himmelright, a daughter of John H. and Mary Himmelright, her father being one of the leading contractors of Piqua. She was graduated from Piqua High School in 1883, being valedictorian of her class, and then attended Ohio Northern University at Ada, Ohio. Upon leaving that institution she was engaged in teaching in Piqua until her marriage, and also taught a class in Sunday school for twelve years. She is a lady of refinement and the highest accomplishments, and is AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 835 president of the Domestic Science Club. Mr. Dickson is a prominent member of the Grange and is one of the subordinate officers. He served as delegate to the State Grange, and Mrs. Dickson read a paper on household matters before the State Institute at Columbus. Politically he is an active Republican and has been delegate to various county, congressional and senatorial conyentions. He has served as secretary of the township organization, and has also served nine years as township trustee, and six years as road supervisor, and was for a time a member of the School Board. He is a trustee of the United Presbyterian Church of Piqua, of which he and his wife have been members for many years. OREL M. SUBER, general farmer and well known citizen of Brown Township, a member of one of the old and representative families of this section, operates the farm owned by him and his brother George W., of eighty-three acres, which is situated one-half mile north. of Fletcher. He was born July 21, 1877, on the old Suber homestead, situated northwest of Conover, Miami County. Ohio, and is a son of William D. Silber. Orel M. Suber was reared in Brown Township and received his education in the schools near his home. Previous to moving on his mother's farm, he worked on the homestead, where he had a very thorough and practical agricultural training. He raises grain, hay and stock, and is numbered with the wide awake farmers of the township. Mr. Suber married Miss Eva M. Furrow, a daughter of Frank Furrow, and they have one little daughter, Mary E., aged five years, and lost another, Cora F., when aged five months. Mr. and Mrs. Suber are members of the Presbyterian Church. In politics he is identified with the Democratic party. He belongs to the fraternal order of Golden Eagles. JOHN SCHRAM, general farmer, who resides on his valuable farm of eighty-one acres, which is situated in Section 3, Range 5, Newton Township, was born April 12, 1873, in Newton Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of George and Rachel (Schultz) Schram. George Schram, father of John, was born in Heistdannenstock, Germany, May 1, 1829, and came to America in 1853, landing at Castle Garden, New York, with five cents in his pocket. He immediately secured work as a hostler and later worked on a railroad and in this way managed to get to Montgomery County, Ohio, where he engaged in a carpet weaving business, remaining there until 1873, when he moved to Miami County and continued carpet weaving, at Pleasant Hill. He was also a small farmer, having sixteen acres, in Newton Township. He was married in Montgomery County, to Rachel Schultz, a daughter of Dayid Schultz, in February, 1865, and they had four children : David C., Lavina, Nellie and John. John Schram attended school at Pleasant Hill, and then assisted his father on the farm and later worked for neighboring farmers on his own account. After he married he resided at Pleasant Hill for two years, working by the day during the larger part of this time; he then rented his present farm for two years before he purchased it from S. Z. Williams. He now owns the old sheepskin deed for this land, which bears the signature of President An- 836 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY drew Jackson. After taking possession, Mr. Schram cleared off nine acres of timber, leaving five acres yet standing, and put in 350 rods of tile. He also put up all the farm buildings now standing, including the fine home, and made many other improvements. He raises some cattle, mainly for dairy purposes, and devotes three to five acres of his land to tobacco and the remainder of it to corn, wheat, oats and hay. He is an enterprising young man and has his whole farm in such a condition that it gives him excellent returns on his investment. Mr. Schram was married January 18, 1894, to Miss Emma Wackier, a daughter of Ernest and Barbara (Steinhilber) Wackier (both parents now deceased), and they have two sons, George Ray, born January 4, 1905 ; and Ohmer Melvin, born September 15, 1907, both of whom are bright students at the Rough and Ready School, in Newton Township. Mr. and Mrs. Schram are members of the Christian Church. In politics he is a Democrat. On June 9, 1909, at Mr. Schram's home will be held the seventh reunion of the Schultz family, at which 175 people are expected to be present. Mr. Schram is one of the following children : Catherine, who married David Myers ; Ernest; Maggie, who married Mathew Link; Frederick; Barbara, who married Asa Kelly ; Charles, and Emma, wife of the subject of this sketch. L. E. CONWAY, a representative citizen, farmer and stock raiser, of Newberry Township, owning 105 acres of good land, is a native of this township, having been born two miles northeast of Covington, October 14, 1857. His parents were John and Mary (Tobias) Conway, and his maternal grandfather was Michael Tobias. His father died in Iowa. His mother lives in Covington, Ohio. In his youth the subject of this sketch attended the district schools near his grandfather's farm, and. graduated from the Covington High School in the class of 1879. He taught several terms of school in Newberry Township, and it was here that he spent some of the happiest days of his life, and he looks back to this time as an oasis in life's journey. His chosen occupation through life has been farming, and his property gives evidence of his sound judgment and his practical methods of work. With the assistance of his son he raises grain and hay and some of the best stock produced in Newberry Township, having raised as much as 1,800 bushels of wheat in one season on his ground and on Mr. Mummert's farm. He has always been a citizen of Newberry Township, although he has made one trip to California and one to Nebraska, having visited besides a number of other western States. Mr. Conway was married first to Miss Catherine Seas, who died in 1893, leaving five children, namely : Arthur Scott, who resides on one of his father's farms and who married Myrtle Wise, by whom he has three children—Luther, Naomi and Lawson; and Clarence Minton, Edith Edel, Ruth Naomi and Frances May. Mr. Conway was married (second) to Mrs. Mary Shomber Cassel, a widow, and one son was born to this union, Lee Edward, who died when four years old. Mrs. Conway has two daughters by her first marriage—Nora, who is the wife of Harman Miller, and Florence, who is the wife of Forrest AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 837 Shellebarger. Mr. Conway has been able to give all his living children a good education, Clarence Minton, Edith Edel and Ruth Naomi having graduated from the Covington High School, while Frances May has just completed the first year in the high school. Clarence has taught school for several terms, and at present is completing a course in the commercial college at Piqua. Mr. Conway, his wife and all his children are members of the tipper Stillwater Church of the Brethren, in which he is a deacon. Raised a Lutheran, he has never regretted identifying himself with the Church of the Brethren. JAMES B. KINDELL, head of the firm of J. B. Kindell & Co., proprietors of the Sugar Grove Mills and Elevator, has met with almost phenomenal success with the enterprise mentioned. From an humble beginning he has built up a plant whose name is a household word throughout this section of the state. He was born in Johnston County, Arkansas, April 12, 1860, and is a son of Ezekiel and Nancy (Tate) Kindell. Ezekiel Kindell was born in Shelby County, Ohio, May 25, 1835. and there passed his boyhood days. He emigrated with his uncle, Alden Boggs, in 1855, to Arkansas to become his head miller, having learned the miller's trade with his father, Benjamin Kindell, in a waterpower mill on the Miami River between Piqua and Sidney, Ohio. During the Civil War be enlisted as a private in Company A, Second Regiment of Arkansas Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued throughout the service. He was advanced to the rank of first lieutenant and later served as acting captain of his company. He was discharged in August, 1865, after serving in the army four years. After the war he moved north to Miami County, Ohio, where he thereafter lived, following the carpenter's trade and millwrighting until 1882. In partnership with his son, J. B. Kindell, he was engaged in milling at Sugar Grove for many years, then moved to Covington and built an elevator, which business he conducted for five years, being succeeded by S. J. Rudy. He died in November, 1907, and was buried in the Covington Cemetery. Mr. Kindell was first married in Arkansas, to Miss Nancy Tate, a daughter of James M. and Anna (Mears) Tate. The Mears and Tate families were pioneer ones in Arkansas, removing there from Georgia at a very early period. This union was blessed with the following children: Nancy, deceased; Mary, Alice, Sarah, Dora, George Washington, and James Benjamin, whose name appears at the head of this record. Mrs. Kindell died in May, 1873, and was buried in the Covington Cemetery. Mr. Kindell formed a second marriage in the spring of 1875 with Miss Sarah Jane Fine, a daughter of David M. and Rebecca Fine, and they had four children—Clifford, Ray, Bessie, and Lulu, of whom the three first mentioned are deceased. Mr. Kindell's second wife died in 1906 and also was buried in the Covington Cemetery. Religiously he was a member of the Church of the Brethren. He was a Democrat in politics. James B. Kindell attended the public schools of Newton, Newberry and Washington Townships, and in 1877 he went to Arkansas to reside with his grandfather, whom he assisted on the farm for three 838 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY years. When he returned to Miami County he had $300, with which he started in the milling business in Newton Township, in partnership with his father, under the firm name of E. Kindell & Co. John Reid, Sr., was also interested in the business, which was conducted as a company. At the end of ten years it was reorganized as E. Kindell & Son, and the latest improved machinery for the milling of flour and meal was installed. In 1894, through his father's retirement from the firm, the subject of this sketch became sole owner and proprietor. He thereupon remodeled the mill to the latest sifter system, and built a new residence and the other buildings on the place. He also bought a farm of 100 acres, lying directly across the river from the plant. On February 26, 1898, the mill was entirely destroyed by fire, and resulted in a serious loss to him, only about one-half, or $3,700, being covered by insurance. Phoenix like he arose from the ashes and built the present mill. In order to clear his indebtedness, he sold his farm of 100 acres, and on October 14, 1898, he began operating his new plant. He installed the very latest and most approved machinery known to produce the highest grade of flour from soft winter wheat. He installed the roller system, with corn scourers and steam dryers, and the very best equipment for the manufacture of corn meal. He again started up with an indebtedness of $12,000 hanging over him, but phenomenal success cleared this away in a few years. He prospered to such an extent that he again bought land, purchasing eighty-four acres near the mill, on which he has erected tobacco sheds. In 1907 he purchased sixty-four acres in Darke County, which he has since sold (in 1909). Prior to 1895 Mr. J. N. Arendall was connected with the plant as head miller, and in recognition of his valued services he was at that time admitted to working partnership in the enterprise. Mr. Kindell owns all the real estate. The principal brands of this mill are Invincible Patent flour, Pearl and Golden Dent corn meal, and Germ Graham flour, all of which are well known to the public. The methods of this firm in doing business are progressive and original and have brought gratifying results. Anyone wishing to call them up on business can do so at the firm's expense from the following towns : Laura, Potsdam. West Milton, Ludlow Falls, Pleasant Hill, Fidelity, Union, Englewood, Polo, Bloomer, and Covington, as the firm is flat-rated both ways with the Covington Home Telephone Company. On September 22, 1889, Mr. Kindell was united in marriage with Miss Eva J. Graft, a daughter of David and Lavinda (Swihart) Graft. Her parents were formerly of Mexico, Indiana, and then settled at Peru, Indiana ; they were people that occupied a prominent position in that place. Mrs. Graft died in 1877 and was buried at Deedsville, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Kin-dell have a daughter, Alice Marie, who successfully passed the Boxwell examination at thirteen years of age, and graduated from the Newton Township schools in May, 1909, and will enter Covington High School in the fall of 1909. The family are members of the Church of the Brethren. Mr. Kindell is an independent Democrat in politics. It is seen by the foregoing that Mr. Kindell is a born miller. His grandfather, Benjamin Kindel], was a miller before his AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 841 father, and came from Scotland, where his father was a miller. Benjamin Kindell, the grandfather, built the original Sugar Grove Mills and improved the waterpower in 1830, having built himself and installed the first undershot water-wheels here in western Ohio. The present owner has had set two large turbine water-wheels of the Victor pattern, which produce ample power to drive the 50-barrel flouring mill, all scourers, corn mill rollers, making fifteen bushels of fine table meal per hour, together with the wagon dump and corn elevator taking care of a fifty-bushel load of corn every twenty minutes. Mr. Kindell is so infatuated with milling that he expects always to remain in the business at Sugar Grove, as he thoroughly believes in the community, from the support which he has received in the past. WILLIAM F. ROBBINS has for many years been prominently identified with the affairs of Piqua and Miami County, Ohio, both in public and private capacities, and takes rank among the foremost citizens .of the county—those who have given freely of their time and energy to the promotion of public enterprises and the improvement of public institutions. As head of the Piqua waterworks for many years he wrought a great and beneficial change, giving the city pure water and a new plant, in which the people take a justifiable pride, and making the department self-sustaining. He has also rendered valuable services as president of the county board of agriculture during his incumbency of that office the annual fairs were elevated to a higher plane than they had previously reached, and all departments of agriculture were stimulated in such a manner as to bring real and lasting benefit to the people. In business life Mr. Robbins has been closely identified with various important interests he has been actively and successfully engaged in the livery business for many years, being at the present time a member of the firm of Robbins & Moore. William F. Robbins was born on a farm in Brown Township, Miami County, Ohio, March 25, 1854, is a son of Alvernas and Sarah Ellen (Gearhart) Robbins, a grandson of Benjamin and Pamilla (Covault) Robbins, and a great-grandson of Richard Robbins, who was the pioneer of the family in Miami County. Ohio. The Robbins family is of Welsh origin, and was transplanted to American soil in the Colonial Days, being located in New Jersey. The Gearharts came to this country from Germany and were first residents of Virginia. Richard Robbins, great-grandfather of William F., came to Miami County, from Centel vine, Montgomery County, Ohio, at a time when Indians were numerous and still hostile, and the pioneer families in constant jeopardy of massacre. The country was wild and uncleared. and was sparsely settled. Benjamin and Pamilla (Covault) Robbins were the parents of eleven children, of whom five grew to advanced years, namely : Sarah, Alvernas, Madison, Erastus, and Benjamin M. The father of this family was a farmer by occupation, and was located in Lost Creek Township, Miami County. Alvernas Robbins was born in Lost Creek Township, December 14, 1832, and was reared on the home place. He followed the occupation of a farmer and hired out in his younger days, in that way earning 842 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY and saving enough to enable him in time to purchase a place of his own. A man of keen perception and foresight, he bought and sold different properties to good advantage, thereby adding more rapidly to his means. He continued his farming operations until about the year 1888, when he moved to Piqua, where he now lives in practical retirement. He was united in marriage with Sarah Ellen Gearhart, who was born in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio, September 12, 1829, and is a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Beaty) Gearhart. Her father was six years of age when he came from Virginia to Ohio with his father, John Gearhart, who was a native of Germany. The Beaty family is of Irish extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins were married May 12, 1853, and became parents of seven children, as follows : William F., Mary, Lena, Erastus, Bert, James, and Charles. William F. Robbins was reared on the old homestead and received his educational training in the common schools. He worked on the home place and lived with his parents until he was twenty-six years of age, then in 1880 moved to Piqua. He was for two years connected with the Strawboard Company, after which he embarked in the livery business, in which he has continued with uninterrupted success since. About the year of 1890 he formed a partnership with Mr. Moore, and the firm of Robbins & Moore became one of prominence in that field of business, enjoying the public patronage to a remarkable extent. In April, 1890, Mr. Robbins was elected to the City Council of Piqua, representing the Second Ward, being the first Republican ever elected from that ward, which had a natural Democratic majority of 300; his majority was thirty-seven. In 1894, he was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Piqua waterworks, and upon being sworn into office was chosen as president of the board. He served with marked efficiency, and in 1897 was honored with re-election as a member and president of the board, and was made superintendent of waterworks. The satisfactory discharge of his duties and his activity in behalf of a new plant resulted in his retention in office for a third term. With a capacity for work and possessed of keen business acumen, progressive and public spirited, his aim to place the waterworks on a paying basis was realized and the saving to the city duly appreciated by the people. Mr. Robbins was united in marriage, February 16, 1875, with Miss Mary H. Riddle, a daughter of Manning and Lydia Ann (Stillwell) Riddle, and a granddaughter of Jacob Riddle. The Riddles are of Irish and Welsh descent, but have long been established on American soil, and in Ohio. Jacob Riddle, the grandfather, was a native of Hamilton County, Ohio, and in the year 1836 moved to Miami County, taking up his residence in Staunton Township. Manning Riddle was also born in Hamilton County, Ohio, and accompanied his parents to Miami County. He served creditably in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was married to Lydia Ann Stillwell, a. daughter of Joseph Stillwell, whose ancestry lived in New Jersey. William F. and Mary H. Robbins have been the parents of two children, namely : Lee Carlton, a young man of considerable musical ability and training, who married Miss Bertha Singles and resides in Piqua ; Earl Clyde, who also has a taste for music AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 843 and is endowed with superior talent as an artist ; and Ella Jane, who died when she was one year old. Fraternally Mr. Robbins is a member of the Knights of Pythias. R. W. HIMES, secretary and treasurer of the Longnaker-Himes Gravel Company of Covington, Ohio, a man of scholarly attainments, was for many years one of the leading educators of this section of the state, and was for a period of eighteen years principal of the Covington High Schools. He was born on a farm in Montgomery County, Ohio, April 15, 1850, and is a son of Martin and Anna (VanCleve) Himes. Mr. Himes spent his early boyhood days on a farm near Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, and at Alpha, Greene County, coming to Miami County in 1865 with his parents, who located on a farm in Newberry Township, where they resided the remainder of their lives. After a primary education in the district schools, he graduated from the Covington High School in 1870 under Professor R. F. Bennett, then completed a course of study at Heidelberg College, of Tiffin, Ohio, after which he returned to Covington, where he accepted a position as principal of the High School. In 1891, he became associated with the Southern Illinois College, in White County, first as professor of languages for one year, after which he served as president of that institution for two years, when he resigned to return to his old position as principal of the Covington High School. He was subsequently elected and served eight years as superintendent of the Covington Schools and very efficiently met the demands of his responsible position. Since that time Mr. Himes has been associated with the Longnaker-Himes Gravel Company, of which he is secretary and treasurer, the pit being located in Possum Hollow, south of Pleasant Hill. In 1873 Mr. Himes was joined in wedlock with Jennie Ullery, a daughter of Aaron Ullery, and to them have been born the following children : Clara, who married D. C. Odell ; Arthur B., a well known jeweler of Covington; Ruth; and Alice. Mr. Himes is a member and president of the City Council ; he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is also an elder. GIDEON KEYT, deceased, who for many years was one of Miami County's substantial and respected citizens as well as prominent farmers, belonged to one of the pioneer families of this section. He was born March 8, 1828, at Piqua, Miami County, Ohio, and was a son of James D. and Elizabeth (Widney) Keyt. The first of the family to come to America was John Keyt, who married Elizabeth Chilcot. They settled in the colony of New Jersey, near Elizabeth. They had one son by the name of James and three daughters. James (1732-1800) married Elizabeth Jessup (1732-1824) by whom he had two sons and two daughters. One of the sons, Daniel, died in 1776 at the age of thirteen years. The other son, named James (17621800) married Elizabeth Ross (17621852) and they were the grandparents of the subject of this sketch. James D. Keyt, son of James and Elizabeth (Ross) Keyt, and father of Gideon, was born in New Jersey in 1794 and came to Miami County in 1819 as a pioneer settler. He married Elizabeth Widney (1801- 844 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY 1848), who was born in Pennsylvania and who was a daughter of John Widney, who had settled in Miami County in 1810. James D. Keyt was born in New Jersey in 1797 and came to Miami County. in 1819 as a pioneer settler. He married Elizabeth Widney, who was born in Pennsylvania and who was a daughter of Stephen Widney, who had settled in Miami County when she was a child. After his marriage James D. Keyt resided at Piqua until 1830, when he purchased the farm of 160 acres near this city which became the Keyt home. stead. Of this large tract he cleared and cultivated seventy-five acres, making also many improvements previous to 1842. In this year he retired to Piqua, where he subsequently resided until his death in 1849. He and his wife were the parents of nine children. James D. Keyt belonged to the better class of pioneer settlers who came here to found a home and who on that account were active in introducing the various conveniences of civilization, welcoming and upholding everything that made for the advancement of the community. He was one of those who worked hard to establish the early schools, to build the first churches, and to improve the highways, and, imbued with these ideas his son Gideon cherished the same ideals and worked for the same ends. Gideon Keyt took charge of the farm soon after the death of his father and resided on it thereafter until the close of his long and busy life. Both he and his father were stone masons by trade and they did at one time a large amount of work in that line, but later finding that the farm required his whole attention, Gideon gave up his trade and developed the farm into a valuable piece of agricultural property. December 27, 1864, Gideon Keyt was married to Miss Elizabeth Ward, who is a daughter of Elijah and Hannah Ward. They had five children born to them, namely : James Ward, Gideon E., Hannah Elizabeth, Laura Rachel, and Margaret Ellen. Their record in brief is as follows : James Ward Keyt was graduated from the Piqua High School in 1885 and from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1888. He subsequently attended the Cincinnati Law School, was admitted to the bar October 8, 1891, and is now a prominent attorney of Piqua. He was married November 5, 1896, to Edith Slauson, a native of Piqua, who is a graduate of the Piqua High School, and subsequently attended St. Margaret's School at Buffalo, New York. They have three children—Frances Elizabeth, Bernard S., and Isabel W. After graduating from the Ohio Wesleyan University and previous to his matriculation at the Cincinnati Law School he served as principal of Science Grove Seminary, at Robard, Kentucky, for one year. A Republican in politics, he served as mayor of Piqua for two terms—from 1893 to 1897. Gideon E. Keyt, the second child of the subject of this memoir, is now a leading lawyer of Toledo, Ohio. Hannah Elizabeth is now Mrs. Thomas Ferrick. Laura Rachel died in 1875. Margaret E. resides in Toledo. The late Gideon Keyt was an excellent type of citizen—a law-abiding, public-spirited man, and of tried and true patriotism. During the Civil War he served as a member of Company C, 147th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His death took place January 12, 1901. In glancing back over his genealogy, it is interesting to note that the female representative in each genera- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 847 tion in the direct line of descent from the immigrant ancestor, John Keyt, has been named Elizabeth. He himself, by his marriage to Elizabeth Ward, added. one more link to the genealogical chain thus formed. G. W. POLING, a substantial citizen of Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, resides in a splendid home located about one and one-half miles west of West Milton. He is a native of Union County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Sarah (Parks) Poling, both natives of Maryland and early settlers in Union County. His father died in 1856, at the age of fifty-six years; his mother died in 1895, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. G. W. Poling was educated in the schools of Union County and assisted his father on the farm until he reached his majority. He then began farming for himself and continued that occupation throughout his active business career, except for three years, during which he engaged in carpentering. He is a man of exceptional business acumen and foresight. In 1883 he moved to Union Township, Miami County. The 500 acre farm on which he resides belongs to Mrs. Poling, being left to her by her father. Three years after coming here Mr. Poling erected one of the finest homes in this section, in keeping with which are the other improvements he has made on the place. There is also a farm of 105 acres near Hamilton, Ohio, and another of eighty-five acres near Kokomo, Indiana, both in Mrs. Poling's name, having been received from her father. During the past fifteen years Mr. Poling has been practically retired from business, renting most of the land. He devotes his time to looking after his interests and buying and selling horses, of which he is a good judge. In 1884 Mr. Poling was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe Haskett, who was born and reared in Miami County, and is a daughter of John and Mary (Maddock) Haskett. She comes of one of the pioneer families of Miami County, where her father was born. He followed farming and lived here all his life, dying in 1880 at the age of sixty-six years. Mr. Haskett married Miss Mary Maddock, a native of Preble County, who died in 1900 they had two children—Phoebe (Poling) and Rebecca, who is deceased. Religiously, Mrs. Poling is a member of the Society of Friends. He is a Republican in politics. A. A. HUBER, who is one of Piqua's most respected retired citizens, enjoying the comforts of his pleasant home at No. 316 North Downing Street, for many years was actively engaged in business at different points in Ohio. He was born in 1841 in the Dominion of Canada and came to Ohio prior to 1861, having received his educational training in his native land. Mr. Huber lived at Cincinnati for some six months and then entered into the grain business at Kirkwood, Ohio, which he continued for eight years, moving from there to Bowling Green, where he embarked in a general mercantile business. From there he went to Toledo and lived in that city until 1900, when he came to Piqua and for eight years carried on business in this city, being a large dealer in coal and builders' supplies. For a short time he has considered himself retired, although this must be taken figuratively, as he has only closed out his retail interests, retaining the wholesale features. He has large real 848 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY estate investments here and much of his time is taken up in supervising the improvement and sale of his property. Mr. Huber was married in 1874, to Miss Celina Wise, of Lockington, Ohio, and they have one daughter, D. Myrtle, who resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. Huber are members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He is one of Piqua's capitalists. A. G. EIDEMILLER,* a well known resident of West Milton, Miami County, Ohio, is engaged in the real estate and insurance business and is also clerk of Union Township. He was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1862, and is a son of Martin and Elizabeth Eidemiller, his father a native of Germany and his mother of Pennsylvania. Martin Eidemiller was two years of age when the family came to the United States and located in Montgomery County, Ohio. There he was reared to maturity and followed farming until his death at the age of seventy-three years. His wife died at the age of fifty-six years. A. G. Eidemiller attended the district schools of his home community, and thereafter taught school and farmed for a period of twenty years. In 1901 he located at West Milton and engaged in the buggy and farm implement business, also dealing extensively in livestock. He continued with good returns until January, 1908, when he sold his interests to Mr. E. L. Miller. He then moved into his present office and began dealing in local real estate and handling fire and accident insurance, representing some of the strongest companies operating in this country. He was elected to the office of township clerk in 1907, and has discharged the duties of his office in a most satisfactory manner. Mr. Eidemiller was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Ella Fouts, a daughter of Aaron Fouts, who died in 1891. They have four children : Lester W., a railway postal clerk who married Miss Dorothy Becker of Dayton ; Neva, who attended Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, completing a musical and literary course ; Aaron Fouts ; and Cuba Manila, who is attending school. Politically, the subject of this sketch is a Republican. In fraternal affiliation, he is a Mason and a Pythian Knight. Religiously, he is a member of the Christian Church. JAMES B. HOUSER,* who resides on his 106-acre farm in Spring Creek Township, is one of the thriving agriculturists of this township and a citizen who has taken a useful part in public affairs. He was born on this farm, in an old log house built by his grandfather ninety years ago, and which is still standing and in a state of good preservation. It was one of the first houses in the township built from hewed logs—the logs being all poplar—and at a later date was provided with weather-boarding. Here the subject of this sketch first saw the light October 16, 1854, his parents being Aaron M. and Eliza N. (Inskeep) Houser. Aaron M. Houser, the father, was born in this same log house and spent his entire life on this farm. He died January 26, 1899. James B. was his second child in order of birth. The entire family in correct order was as follows : William S.; James B., our subject; Henry Lawrence; Samuel Franklin ; Joseph Merrill Carrie AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 849 Rose Emma, who married Bland Scudder, a justice of the peace in Piqua; and Albert Wesley. James B. Houser received his education in the district schools of Spring Creek Township, and after leaving school took up agricultural pursuits, which he has made his life work. After spending some years with his father on the home farm, he rented a farm in Brown Township, and while operating it led the life of a bachelor. On October 9, 1880, he was married to Amelia W. Fritsch, a daughter of August and Barbara (Wrote) Fritsch, farming people of Mercer County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Houser are the parents of two children—Lilly Pearl and August M. Lilly Pearl, born April 10, 1882, married Paul F. Berdier, and they have two children, Elden and Julia Lucille. August M. Houser, born September 19, 1886, is a veterinary surgeon at Versailles, Darke County, Ohio. Mr. James B. Houser served eighteen years as constable of Spring Creek Township, but finally declined to act in that office any longer. He has also served several terms as school director and as road supervisor, and was one of the committee that built the Fairview schoolhouse in Spring Creek Township. In politics he is a Democrat, and he is one of the charter members of Fletcher Lodge, Knights of Pythias. The family attend the Methodist Church. The parental homestead, on which Mr. Houser now resides, includes eight acres of timber, all the rest being farm land. In Mr. Houser's hands the land is made to yield the maximum crops and the buildings kept in good repair. Mr. Houser is a worthy representative of that impor taut class of citizens upon whose labors depends in large measure our national prosperity. WILLIAM EVERETT HOGAN, M. D.,* a physician and surgeon occupying a prominent place among the medical men of Miami County, has a practice that covers considerable territory but maintains his home at Fredericksburg, Ohio. He was born at Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio, October 20, 1869, and is a son of John W. and Maria Jane (Noel) Hogan. The Hogan family originated in Ireland. The paternal grandfather, Cornelius Hogan, was born in Montreal, Canada. He was a carpenter and farmer, and also a soldier, serving in the War of 1812 and in the Mexican War. On the maternal side, Dr. Hogan's ancestry goes back to France and his great-grandfather came to Ohio at a very early time, bringing with him his thirteen sons, having previously lived at Jamestown, Virginia. In that historic place, Grandfather Peter Noel was born. He married Mary Goldsburg, who was of English extraction but was born in Maryland, and they settled in Scioto County, Ohio, in 1800. John W. Hogan, father of Dr. Hogan, was born in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jackson Square, in 1845. He was left an orphan when young and in 1858 was sent to Darlington, Ohio, to complete his education. He enlisted for service in the Civil War soon after hostilities began and was a veteran of Company E, Thirty-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three years, eleven months and ten days. He married Maria Jane Noel and they reside in comfort in Scioto County, on their farm in the vicin- 850 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY ity of Portsmouth. They had seven children born to them, the three survivors being Edwin W., Martha J. and William Everett. Edwin J. Hogan resides on Silver Fox Island, in Puget Sound, where he is interested in growing apples. He married Bessie Lowery. Martha J. is the wife of Frank Ford, of Portsmouth, Ohio. Dr. Hogan completed the public school course at Portsmouth, and after graduating from the High School, entered upon the study of medicine. After four years of preparation he was graduated at the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati, in 1896. After a few months of practice at Portsmouth, Dr. Hogan came to Fredericksburg, where he has continued to reside, building up a large and lucrative practice and becoming one of the leading citizens of this section. Dr. Hogan married Miss Abbie B. Grainminger, a daughter of John J. and Rachel (Thomas) Grainminger. Her paternal grandfather, Leonard Grainminger, came to Scioto County, Ohio, from Reading, Penna., at a very early day. Her father, the late John J. Grainminger, was born eight miles north of Portsmouth, Ohio. He was a farmer all his active life. His death occurred in 1907, when aged seventy-five years. His widow still survives. She is a daughter of Benjamin and Charity Thomas and a granddaughter of James and Cath erine (McVeigh) Thomas. James Thomas was drowned in the Mississippi River. His widow survived until her ninety-seventh year. The grandparents of Mrs. Hogan settled near Piqua, in Miami County. Dr. and Mrs. Hogan have one son, who was born June 2, 1898, and attends the public school. Politically, Dr. Hogan is affiliated with the Republican party. He belongs to Aurora Lodge, No. 48, F. & A. M. and to the Junior Order of American Mechanics. He is identified with numerous medical organizations, including the Miami County Medical Society and the Ohio State Medical Society. FELIX GANGLOFF,* residing on the old homestead farm of 240 acres, which is situated in Section 26, Washington Township, was born on this farm in 1861, and is a son of Nicholas and Mary (Clouse) Gangloff. The parents of Mr. Gangloff were both born in Germany and came to America when aged about eighteen years. Nicholas Gangloff located first at Somerset, Perry County, Ohio, and there he later married Mary Clouse. Immediately afterward they came to Miami County and went to housekeeping on the present farm where the remainder of their lives were spent. Nicholas Gangloff died in 1898, at the age of eighty-seven years, and his widow died in May, 1905, aged eighty-five years. Nicholas Gangloff was considered a very successful farmer during his active years and an excellent business man, having acquired a large amount of property both in Miami County and also in Piqua. Both he and wife were devoted members of the German Catholic Church. They had seven children born to them, namely : Celia, who resides with her brother Felix on the old homestead and with him owns the property ; Aplonia, who is a sister in a convent in Cincinnati ; Lucy, also a sister, who died in a convent at Lafayette, Indiana ; Anthony, who resides in Missouri and has been a railroad man for many years ; Felix ; John; and George, who died in infancy. Felix Gangloff has always resided on the AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 851 home farm, as has his eldest sister. They manage it together, having a tenant who does a large part of the work and lives in one of the farm houses. Mr. and Miss Gangloff reside in a fine brick residence. This farm is one of the most valuable in Washington Township and one of the best improved. The family is well known and is held in the highest esteem. RICHARD H. SOTHERLAND, Jr.,* superintendent of the Troy Wagon Works, at Troy, Ohio, was born in this city on February 13, 1872, and is a son of Richard Sotherland. The latter is court bailiff of Miami County and for years has been identified with the public affairs of both city and county. Richard H. Sotherland was reared at Troy and obtained his education in the schools of his native city. His first business position was a clerkship in a local grocery store and for about four years he was freight clerk for the C., H. & D. Railroad, after which he became an employe of the Troy Wagon Works Company, with which he has been connected for fifteen years, during eight of which he has been superintendent. He owns stock in the enterprise, which is one of the most prosperous at Troy. He takes an interest in public matters and is serving his second term as a member of the Board of Public Service. In 1891 Mr. Sotherland was married to Miss Edith Harshbarger, of Van Wert, Ohio, and they have six children, namely : Cyril, Fay, Helen, Paul, Kenneth and Inez. Mr. Sotherland is an enthusiastic Elk, at the present time serving in the office of exalted ruler and belonging also to the Elks Club. GEORGE W. SHEPARD,* one of Lost Creek Township's representative citizens and leading business men, resides on his valuable farm of 156 acres, which is situated on the county line of Miami County. He was born in October, 1856, in Montgomery County, Ohio, and is a son of Ezra and Jane R. (Hufford) (Davidson) Shepard. Ezra Shepard spent his whole life in Montgomery County, Ohio. The business he followed was the digging of wells. He married Mrs. Jane R. Davidson, widow of Francis Davidson and a daughter of John Huff ord. The Huffords came to Ohio from Maryland. Mrs. Shepard lived into extreme old age, her death occurring in February, 1909, when within ten days of her ninety-fourth birthday. At that time she was the oldest woman in Lost Creek Township. Of the children born to her first marriage, two survive, Jacob and Daniel. One son died in the army and one at Camp Chase, during the 'Civil War, and another was drowned. George Washington Shepard was the only child of his parents and he lived at home until his marriage. During the summer of 1874 he worked for Michael Leffel, south of Springfield, having come with his mother to Miami County, in 1871. In 1882 be bought forty acres of his present farm from John Wilson, seventy-five and one-half acres from Elijah Priest and the remainder from George Ralston. He owns an additional farm of twenty-eight acres situated in Champaign County. He carries on general farming and raises tobacco on twelve acres, and for some years he has been interested in the horse and hog business. He belongs to a horse company that owns Defiance, which is a French draft 852 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY horse, three years old, weighing 1,850 pounds ; and a registered Percheron, Rosier, a three-year-old, weighing 1,500 pounds. The stables are on Mr. Shepard's farm. He also has a stable horse, Rube, a French and Belgian, weighing 1,500 pounds. In addition to cultivating his own land he operates a part of the old Leffel farm. Formerly he was in partnership in a butcher shop at Addison, under the firm name of Breganier. & Shepard and in the well drilling firm of Stephens & Shepard. He is a man of excellent business judgment and his advice is frequently asked by his less successful neighbors. On December 6, 1886, Mr. Shepard was married to Miss Emma Leffel, a daughter of Martin S. and Catherine (Huffman) Leffel, and they have had five children, namely : Delores, who attended college at Columbus and is employed in that city as a bookkeeper ; Sylvia, who graduated from the Christianburg High School, attended the Miami University at Oxford, and is a popular teacher in the public schools ; Otis, who is a graduate of the Addison High School, and a successful teacher in Champaigne County ; and Ruth, and Paul. Mr. Shepard's family is an unusually intellectual one and he has afforded his children every advantage he has been able. Politically he is a Democrat, but has always been too busy to accept public office. He is a member of the Odd Fellows at Addison and belongs also to the Encampment. ZENAS PIERCE,* who for twelve years has served as justice of the peace at Pleasant Hill, is one of the substantial as well as representative men of this section, owning two improved town properties and an excellent farm of forty-six acres situ ated in Newton Township. He was born in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, April 17, 1834, and is a son of Samuel and Millie (Iddings) Pierce. Samuel Pierce was born in Pennsylvania, October 15, 1785, and lived to be seventy-eight years of age. His parents took him to Virginia when eight years old and when nineteen he came to Ohio and located in Miami County, building the third log cabin that was erected in West Milton. He was a carpenter and wagonmaker by trade. Although he acquired many farms he did little actual farm work after clearing up his first property, finding profitable employment for his time in work at his trade and also in dealing in farm lands and in stock. He had fourteen farms at one time and to each of his twelve children he gave a good property. He was a Republican in politics and served for two terms as county commissioner. On May 3, 1810, he married Millie Iddings and they had the following children : Ruth, Margaret, Malinda, Gainer A., Almira, Samuel, William, Hannah, Mary, John, Clarkson, Zenas and Benjamin, the last mentioned of whom died an infant. Zenas Pierce attended the district school in Union Township nearest his home and then worked on the farm for his father until he reached his majority and then went to farming for himself in the same neighborhood and remained on the farm until he was about forty-five years old and then conducted a hardware store at Bradford for seven years, after which he moved his store to Pleasant Hill. He soon took so active an interest in the public affairs of the place that he was elected a member of the town council and subsequently justice of the Peace, in which office he has AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 853 served his fellow citizens to their entire satisfaction, dispensing justice impartially and according to legal procedure. He has been a zealous Republican ever since he cast his vote for John C. Fremont for President of the United States. Mr. Pierce was married (first) September 6, 1854, to Elizabeth McCormick, who died May 2, 1880. Her parents were Jacob and Hannah (Hiatt) McCormick, the latter being a daughter of William and Elizabeth Hiatt. The children of Jacob McCormick and wife were : Amy, Sylvanus, Lacy, Nancy, Eliza, Robert, Elizabeth, Rohanna, Aaron, Lewis, Hannah, Jennie, Margaret and William. Jacob McCormick resided on his farm of 160 acres in Franklin County, Indiana, and also owned eighty acres in Stark County. He died in February, 1871, and his burial was at Marion, Indiana. In politics he was a Republican. He was a member of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Pierce was married (second) September 27, 1880, to Hannah Jennie McCormick, a sister to his first wife. He has seven children, -all born to the first union : Clarkson, John, Hannah, Samuel, Abraham S., Zenas and Roland N. For a period of thirty-five years, Mr. Pierce has been a member of the lodge of Odd Fellows at Pleasant Hill, in which he has passed all the chairs. He is also a charter member of the local Grange. His religious connection is with the Society of Friends, in Union Township. SAMUEL CARRIE BECHTOL,* merchant and assistant postmaster at Brandt, where he does a business of $5,000 annually, was born at Brandt, Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, August 21, 1873, and is a son of Joseph and Helen (Blessinger) Bechtol. Joseph Bechtol was born in the town of German, Ohio, and obtained his education in the schools of Darke County, after which he learned the blacksmith's trade and in that capacity established himself at Brandt. Later he engaged in a mercantile business in Adams County, Indiana, eight months later moved to Greenville, where he followed merchandizing for twenty-one months, and then conducted a store at Brandt for three years. Mr. Bechtol then closed out his stock and resumed work as a blacksmith. For a time he resided on his farm of forty acres, which he had inherited from his father, in Darke County, and which is now operated as a truck and nursery farm by his oldest son, Charles Bechtol. Mr. Bechtol has not been active in business for some time, his health not being of the best. He has been postmaster at Brandt since 1905 and is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. He married a daughter of G. W. Blessinger and they have four children: Charles, who married Maude Brown, daughter of Hiram Brown, of Brandt George Harrison, who married Emma, daughter of John Harness Samuel Carrie and Joseph Earl, who married Grace Allen, daughter of Jackson Allen, and has one son, Howard J. Samuel Carrie Bechtol obtained his education at Brandt and Greenville, Ohio, and began to earn his first money by acting as a clerk in a grocery store, about 1899, and he has continued to be interested in the mercantile line ever since and now owns a first-class store stocked with general merchandise. In addition to this he conducts a wholesale and retail ice cream business and he owns four town lots at 854 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Brandt. Ever since his marriage he has lived continuously at Brandt and is one of the town's most representative citizens. On February 22, 1903, Mr. Bechtol was married to Miss Velma Iola Brown, a daughter of Hiram and Hattie (Gantz) Brown, and they have two children, Feta Iola, residing at home, and an infant. Mr. Bechtol was reared in the German Reformed Church, of which his parents are worthy members. JOHN C. RUDY,* who comes of an old and well known family of Newton Township, Miami County, Ohio, is the owner of eighty acres of land in Section 15, Range 5. He follows general farming and tobacco raising, and in addition has for many years been engaged in the threshing business. He was born in Newton Township, May 28, 1868, and is a son of Levi and Susan (Deeter) Rudy. Levi Rudy was born in Newton Township, Miami County, where his father was among the pioneer settlers. He attended the primitive schools of his boyhood days and at an early age began farming. He first owned a farm in Section 9, Newton Township, which he later sold to a brother, and then bought sixty acres in Section 4, which is now owned by his heirs. He died March 2, 1907, and was buried in the Covington Cemetery. He married Susan Dee-ter, a daughter of Abraham and Mary Deeter, and she now resides in Covington. The following were born of this union : Charles, John, Hannah, Samuel, Theodore, who died at the age of two years, and Jesse. Religiously, Mr. Rudy was a member of the German Baptist Church. He was a Democrat in politics. John C. Rudy first attended school in district No. 10, Newton Township, and grew to maturity on the home farm. When a young man he embarked in the threshing business for himself, and for a period of twenty-nine years has followed this business with good results. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Section 4, Newton Township, but later purchased of the M. L. Mowery heirs his present farm of eighty acres, all of which is cleared and well improved but six acres. He has made many of the improvements on the place, including the erection of a tobacco shed and a corn crib, but the main buildings were standing at the time of its purchase by him. He has from eight to twelve acres in tobacco each year, but otherwise follows mixed farming. He also farms the old home place. July 10, 1898, Mr. Rudy was united in marriage with Miss Della Furlong, a daughter of Samuel and Christiana Furlong, and they have one son living, Harold, who is attending the public schools. Two daughters, Ivy and Elma, died in infancy. Politically, Mr. Rudy is a Democrat, but aside from the office of township supervisor has filled no official positions. BERT A. REED,* who is serving in his second term as city auditor of Piqua, Ohio, is a member of the Piqua bar and a public spirited and progressive citizen. He was born at Piqua, in 1878, and is a son of E. C. Reed, who is engaged in the carriage manufacturing business. Mr. Reed was reared in his native place and attended the Piqua schools and after graduating from the High School, entered Phillips Academy, at Exeter, New Hampshire, going from there to the Ohio State University, where he was graduated in AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 855 law in 1900. After practicing his profession for about eight months at Tippecanoe City, he returned to Piqua, where he has been more or less prominent in public life ever since. In 1901 he was elected a justice of the peace and city clerk, and subsequently, under the new code, city auditor, an office he has acceptably filled ever since. In 1904 Mr. Reed was married to Miss Bessie E. Cathcart, of Piqua, and they have one son, Edward. Mr. and Mrs. Reed attend the Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, belongs to the Odd Fellows and is a Master Mason. IRA JACKSON,* president of the Board of County Commissioners of Miami County, a body of intelligent and public-spirited men, is a prominent citizen and a representative agriculturist, having resided all his life on a farm. He was born in 1867, in Butler Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, near the line of Miami County. J. L. Jackson, the father of Ira Jackson, was born in Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood. In 1864 he came to Ohio and located in Montgomery County and still resides on his farm in Butler Township. Ira Jackson was reared and educated in Montgomery County and continued to reside there until after his marriage in 1892. He then moved to a farm in Union Township, Miami County, which he continued to cultivate and improve until 1906, when he purchased his present valuable farm of 175 acres, which is situated in Monroe Township. Mr. Jackson has thus been identified with agricultural pursuits all his life and is one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of this section of Ohio. For a number of years be has made a specialty of Duroc Jersey swine and his annual sale, in February, is always eagerly anticipated by other breeders of fine stock. On December 16, 1892, Mr. Jackson was married to Miss Minnie Eidemiller, who was born and reared in Miami County, a daughter of the late George W. Eidemiller, a well known citizen. Mr. Jackson is a prominent factor in politics in Miami County and has frequently served in offices of responsibility. He was first elected county commissioner in November, 1902, and was re-elected in 1905 and made president of the board, his present term expiring on the third Monday in September, 1909. He is affiliated with the Masons and the Odd Fellows and belongs also to the International Stock Exposition of Chicago and to the American and National Duroc Jersey Association. SAMUEL M. FETTER,* a well known resident of Newberry Township, Miami County, Ohio, is the owner of 130 acres of farm land located three miles north of Bradford. He was born on this farm, December 7, 1861, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Brumbaugh) Fetter. Jacob Fetter was born about one mile east of the farm above mentioned, and was a son of Samuel Fetter, who was one of the pioneers of Newberry Township. Jacob was an early day school teacher and for more than forty years was a school director. He held numerous other local offices and was a prominent man of the township. He lived to reach the advanced age of ninety years. He was first married to Anna Hogan, by whom he had four children. His second union was with Catherine Brumbaugh, who also was born in Newberry Township and was a daughter of 856 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Jacob Brumbaugh, who came from Pennsylvania. They also had four children. Samuel M. Fetter was reared on the home farm and attended the schools of this locality. He has been in the threshing business ever since he was fourteen years of age, and has also dealt in horses for the same length of time. He raises a high grade of Percheron-Norman horses and has been more than ordinarily successful in that branch of his business. In addition he follows general farming. He erected a fine barn on the home place in 1901, and two years later built the comfortable frame house in which he lives. Mr. Fetter was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta Miller, who is a daughter of Abraham Miller, and they have three children—Myrtle May, who is the wife of Ashley Routson and has two children, Mildred and Marcella Otto and Raymond Le Roy. Mr. Fetter is a man of wide acquaintance and is held in high esteem. MORRIS J. STILWELL,* for many years a prominent farmer of WaShington Township, Miami County, Ohio, is now retired from active operations. His farm, located about three miles southwest of Piqua, was recently sold, and he and his estimable wife will in the spring of 1909 locate on West Boone Street, Piqua. Mr. Stilwell was born on a farm in Staunton Township, Miami County, Ohio, October 27, 1840, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Sayers) Stilwell. Joseph Stilwell was born in New Jersey and was first married there to a Miss Claypole, by whom he had three children. As a young man he came west to Miami County, Ohio, and here he formed a second union with Elizabeth Sayers. She was born in Penn sylvania in 1804, and was four years of age when her father, Thomas Sayers, moved with his family to Miami County, Ohio, settling southeast of Casstown. Morris J. Stilwell was reared on a farm in Staunton Township and attended the local schools. He was scarcely twenty-two years of age when, on August 12, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Union Army as a member of Company A, 110th Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf. He participated in many important engagements, eighteen in number, and September 19, 1864, was wounded at 0 'Puken Creek, Virginia. He was honorably discharged at Providence, Rhode Island, July 7, 1865. At the close of the war he returned home and resumed farming, which has been his occupation throughout his entire career. In 1882 he and his wife located upon the farm on which they have since lived. Mr. Stilwell was married March 20, 1866, to Miss Angeline Darnold, who was born and reared in Piqua, and is a daughter of William and Mary (Jones) Darnold. William Darnold was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, and was about ten years of age when his father, William Darnold, Sr., moved to Kentucky, settling on a farm near Carrollton. There the father died, and when about twenty-one years old, William, Jr., came to Piqua, Ohio, where he worked as a mason. He was the contractor in the construction of the First Baptist Church in this city. At the age of twenty-eight he was married for the third time. His first wife was a Miss McFarland and lived but four months after marriage. He was married a second time to Miss Mary Mitchell, whose death occurred four years after their union. His third marriage was with Miss Mary Jones, a daughter of Caleb AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 857 and Susan (Anderson) Jones, who were early residents of Miami County. Mr. Jones located on a farm three miles east of Piqua on the Urbana Pike and lived there until his seventy-fifth year, when he sold out and moved to Piqua. His wife, Susan Anderson in maiden life, was born in Kentucky but was a mere baby when her parents came to Miami County. Her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Morris J. Stilwell and his wife became parents of the following children : Mary Elizabeth, who died at the age of seven years of typhoid fever ; William Morris, who died of typhoid fever within eight days of the death of his sister, being five years old at the time ; Harold Clifford ; Joseph Creighton ; and Charles Carroll. Harold Clifford Stilwell, who is in the lum ber business at Helena, Arkansas, married Miss Amma Angle, a daughter of Henry Angle of Piqua. Joseph Creighton Stilwell, who is in the real estate business in Denver, Colorado, married Miss Ann. Thompson of Rochester, New York, and they have two children, Mary Elizabeth and Dorothy Margaret. Charles C. Stilwell married Miss Jean Thompson of Rochester, New York, and lives in Denver, where he has charge of the repair department of the National Cash Register Company. Clifford and Charles Stilwell were members of the Third Regiment of Ohio Infantry during the Spanish-American War, and were stationed at Tampa, Florida. Morris J. Stilwell and his wife are members of the First Baptist Church of Piqua, of which he is a deacon.