BIOGRAPHICAL
PAUL A. PATHE.
Mr. Paul A. Pathe is pre-eminently a business man, and one who has wielded a wide influence in the business circles of Clermont county, Ohio. His methods are intensely practical and his life of activity has been rewarded with a measure of prosperity that classes him among the foremost of substantial men of the community. His success is undoubtedly due to his wide experience and strict attention to business.
The Pathe family was originally from Germany where Adolph, the father of Paul A., of this mention, was born in 1815, and reared to young manhood with a university education at Berlin. His parents were people of quality. He took a prominent part in the insurrection of Palatinate and Baden in 1848, the failure of which gave to this country Carl Schurz and many other distinguished German-Americans, and which also obliged Adolph Pathe to immigrate to America. All the property he owned that he could not convert into cash was confiscated.
Sometime after arriving in this country he associated himself with the then famous Doctor Munde, who conducted what was known as a cold water cure establishment or sanitarium at Northampton, Mass., and which was patronized by the well-to-do people of that time. Mr. Pathe was the active manager of the establishment and succeeded in this position a man who a few years later became a National character— Henry Wirtz, superintendent of Andersonville prison during the Civil war.
Adolph Pathe was a scholarly man, his knowledge being very diversified. Music, language and chemistry were his special branches, but he was more or less familiar with other branches of science and art. In his spare time he made many musical compositions, principally for the piano, many of which he was induced to have copyrighted and published. He settled in Haverhill, Mass., in 1855, and was there united in marriage to Miss Ellen M. Smith, a native of Vermont, whose family was of Staffordshire, England, descent.
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Paul A. Pathe, the first born of this marriage, pursued his education in the common schools of Haverhill, Mass., following which he attended the Franklin Academy, of Dover, N. H. After his schooling was completed Mr. Pathe began his business career in the shoe business in Newburyport, Mass., in 1879, remaining with the same firm for nearly fourteen years. During this period he served several terms of office in the different branches of the Newburyport city government, and was also prominent in political and fraternal circles. He then moved to New York City, where he was manager of a shoe factory for several years.
Mr. Pathe came to Clermont county, Ohio, in 1896, where he purchased a large interest in a shoe manufacturing plant at Bethel, and became secretary and superintendent of the company. The plant employed about eighty persons in the beginning, which number has since been increased to more than two hundred employes under his management, and paying a high rate of wages, many of the employes owning their own homes. The company is known as the Cincinnati Shoe Company. Mr. Pathe became president in 1908, and his son, Paul A., Jr., is now secretary and superintendent.
Besides the plant at Bethel, the company has a plant at Georgetown, Brown county, Ohio, which employs at present nearly one hundred people, having been in operation less than two years at this writing. The buildings of both plants are substantially made of brick and are splendidly equipped. They send shoes all over the country, and their worth is proven by the large demand for the output of these factories.
The great event in the life of Mr. Paul A. Pathe occurred in 1878, when he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Elizabeth Rogers, a daughter of Tristram Gould Rogers, of Byfield, Mass., and Nancy Towle (Dow) Rogers, of Seabrook, N. H. Mrs. Pathe's mother was a first cousin to the American statesman, Hon. Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, attorney-general in the cabinet of President Pierce, and also the first United States minister and plenipotentiary to the courts of China and Spain. Mrs. Rogers's father, Capt. Daniel Dow, and Mr. Cushing's mother, Lydia Dow, were brother and sister. Charles Nelson Rogers, a brother of Mrs. Pathe, was a Civil war veteran, who died at Fortress Monroe.
One son and one daughter have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pathe. The daughter, Bertha M., died when a few years old. The son, Paul A., Jr., was born in Newburyport,
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Mass., in 1884, and came with his parents to Clermont county some seventeen years since. He married Miss Jennie Scott Cook, a graduate of Wooster University. They are parents of one son, Laurence Weissmann, who was born at Bethel in 1912. Paul A. Pathe, Jr., is an independent Republican, and has satisfactorily filled the office of mayor of the town in which he resides ; he is also a member of the Masonic order.
Mr. Paul A. Pathe is an independent Democrat, and has served in several local public offices, but it not an office seeker. He is a member of the fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias, and is a past chancellor of the organization ; and was als9 for several years a director in the First National Bank of Bethel. He is also a member of the Business Men's Club of Cincinnati. He is broad-minded and liberal in his views on all questions, and numbers his friends among all classes. There is perhaps no other man in the town who has been a greater benefit, commercially and socially, than has our subj ect.
The home and home life of Mr. and Mrs. Pathe is ideal, having rich simplicity and charming hospitality. Mrs. Pathe is a lady of high intelligence and one whom to know is a pleasure and privilege. She is thoroughly domestic in her tastes and her home is the best evidence of this pre-eminent virtue.
HON. EARL E. ERTEL.
One of the leading young business men of Clermont county, Ohio, who has attained more than local prominence in both commercial and political circles, is Mr. Earl E. Ertel, a man of versatile talent, whose business activity and energy combined with great intellectual ability, have been the salient features of his successful career. Mr. Ertel is a member of the mercantile firm of Flinn & Ertel, of Loveland, this association having existed for the past ten years. He is also connected with the Reading Iron Company, of Reading, Pa., as salesman, with offices in the Pickering Building, at Cincinnati. Mr. Ertel has, in addition to his many other business interests, done some journalistic work for the local papers and for the "Commercial Tribune." Mr. Ertel is a native of Clermont county, his birth having occurred at Loveland, June 13, 1883, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Emma (Prather) Ertel.
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Mr. Earl E. Ertel is a descendant of German ancestors, his paternal great-great-grandfather, who was a noted physician, was born in Germany, and came to America when a young man, locating in Pennsylvania, where, after a useful and successful professional career, passed to his eternal reward, some years before the beginning of the Nineteenth century.
Daniel Ertel, a son of the founder of the family in America, was born in Pennsylvania, and there grew to young manhood, and after reaching man's estate, married Catherine Myers, who came with him to Ohio, June 25, 1795, settling at Columbia, near Cincinnati. Daniel Ertel was a farmer by occupation and became the owner of the first farm on record in what is now Warren county, Ohio, purchasing this land from Colonel Paxton, who secured it by a land warrant for services in the War of the Revolution. The first orchard established in Warren county was probably planted by Mr. Daniel Ertel, from seed, and is remembered by the older residents of that locality.
Jacob Ertel, a son of Daniel and Catherine (Myers) Ertel, was born in Warren county, August 29, 1810, and was a progressive farmer, making a specialty of sweet potatoes and plants, being extensively engaged in this line of work. He was also an expert stone mason, which occupation he followed in connection with his farming interests. He was united in marriage with Miss Malinda Borum.
Benjamin F. Ertel, a son of Jacob and Malinda (Borum) Ertel, was born in Warren county, Ohio, October 4, 1846, and from his father learned the trade of stone mason. For a period of thirty-six years Mr. Ertel followed this trade and worked in twenty-seven states. In 1868, Mr. Ertel traveled through the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, finally returning to Illinois, where he located at Lincoln for four and one-half years, engaging in the grocery business. Mr. Ertel returned to Ohio in 1874, and in Newport, Ky., August 29, 1876, was united in marriage to Miss Emma G. Prather, who was born in Covington, Ky., June 23, 1856, her parents being Joshua Pigman Prather, born at Chilo, Clermont county, Ohio, and Mary Frances Crupper, born at Maysville, Ky.
By this union three children were born :
One child died in infancy.
Earl E., the subject of this mention.
Elma M., who is Mrs. 0. D. Walker, of Loveland, Ohio, has one child, Maxine.
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For a few years, Mr. Benjamin F. Ertel made a specialty of raising sweet potatoes and plants, after which he engaged in the contracting business. Benjamin F. Ertel cast his first presidential ballot for S. J. Tilden, in 1876, and has always been a Democrat. He has served his party, satisfactorily, in the capacity of justice of the peace and clerk of the council of 'Loveland.
Mr. Earl E. Ertel acquired his education in Loveland, graduating from the high school, at the head of the class of 1931, and the following year entered upon his business career in the employ of the Reading Iron Company, of Reading, Pa., and the next year became a member of the firm of Flinn & Ertel.
On June 21, 1911, Mr. Earl E. Ertel was united in marriage to Miss Mabel N:Blair, of Madisonville, Ohio, a daughter of William H. Blair, formerly county commissioner of Hamilton county, Ohio.
Mr. Ertel, as an intelligent citizen, has always taken an active interest in politics, giving his support to the Democratic party. It is almost impossible for a man of the character and ability of Mr. Ertel to avoid prominence in politics, and in 1913 he was elected by his party to the office of State representative in the Ohio General Assembly.
Fraternally, Mr. Ertel has membership with the Masonic order, of Loveland, and the Modern Woodmen of America, of Loveland. He is also a member of the Loveland Board of Education, and takes an active interest in school affairs.
Mr. Ertel is a regular attendant of the Methodist church, and gives liberally to the support of that denomination and to all worthy enterprises.
Mr. Ertel has made steady progress toward his objective point, his career being characterized by unremitting industry, laudable ambition and successful accomplishment. Moreover, the principles of his manhood have been such as to command the respect and confidence and Loveland numbers him among the representative citizens who are worthy of the trust and good will of their fellow men.
EDWIN C. ELY.
Edwin C. Ely, one of the most prominent attorneys of Clermont county, Ohio, whose intense and well directed efforts have brought him into connection with many lines of activity
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of so far-reaching effect that it is almost impossible to determine the most important chapter of his life history, was born at Savannah, Mo., October I, 1864, a son of Rev. William R. and Lavina (Weaver) Ely.
Rev. William R. Ely was born at Batavia, Ohio, May 9, 1827, and died September 13, 1903, at the home of his birth. He was a minister of the Methodist church and for over twenty years was active in the conference. He lived at Batavia until 1852, when he removed to Acton, Ind., remaining there until 1863. At this place, Rev. Ely buried four of his children in three days, of a malignant epidemic of flux. Mrs. Ely was also taken with the same affliction and it was thought best to change climate, which they did, returning to Batavia until she should have recovered her health. While they were away from their home, it and all the contents were burned. This was a great loss to them and they remained at Batavia for a time, and then went to Savannah, Mo., in 1864, where he was in active service in the Methodist Episcopal conference until 1884, when he was retired, returning again to Batavia, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Rev. William R. Ely was known all over the states of Missouri and Ohio as a horticulturist, knowing every tree, flower, grass and bird, their habits and nature. He was a great lover of Nature, and taught his son the love of all things beautiful. He did much to beautify his home and city.
Mrs. Lavina (Weaver) Ely was also a native of Clermont county, Ohio, being born in 1827, and died in 1907. She was buried by the side of her husband in the Batavia cemetery. They had five children born to them, all of whom, with the exception of our subject, Edwin C., died in childhood.
William Mount Ely, the father of the Rev. William, and the grandfather of Edwin C., was born in New Jersey, in 1802, and came with his parents to Clermont county in 1804. He was a son of George Ely, who was a native of New Jersey, and two years after he came to the county, 1806, purchased a tract of land under the James Johnson Survey, number 1,776. He had other lands also, and in 1814 be, with D. C. Bryan, laid out the town of Batavia, which comprised sixty-two and one-half acres. He was probably the first sheriff in the county, and was a Democrat. He had four children : Matilda, Rebecca, William Mount and George.
William Mount Ely, who was a farmer and stock raiser, also kept a hotel in Batavia, where he acquired the name of
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"Laughing Bill," on account of his hearty, whole-souled laugh. He was a big man, with great broad shoulders and fine physique. He was a great lover of horses and dogs, and it was considered a treat to ride one of his fine horses. He was generous to a fault and although, at one time he was the owner of six hundred and forty acres of land, he owned but forty acres at the time of his death, by reason of his liberality. He was the father of seven children, all of whom were born in Clermont county :
Harriet, married D. C. Everhart, of Batavia and Newtown. She died in 1852.
William, the father of our subject.
George, who lives in Chicago, is past eighty years of age.
Mary, who was the wife of William H. Hardin, died near Savannah, Mo., in 1871.
John, died in Chicago in 1899.
Daniel J., whose death occurred at Savannah, Mo., in 1890.
Achsah, married William T. Eddy, a grandnephew of the husband of the noted Christian Science leader, Mrs. Baker Grover Eddy. Their home is at Templeton, Cal.
All four of these sons were in the Civil war, enlisting from Indiana. William Mount Ely passed from this life in 1881, at Maitland, Mo. His wife's death occurred in 187o, and she is buried in Savannah.
Mr. Edwin C. Ely received his education in the public schools of Batavia, and graduated from the high school of Chillicothe, Mo., then studied law under C. H. Mansur, of Chillicothe, who was then general counsel for the Wabash & Pacific Railway Company, also second comptroller of currency, under President Cleveland.
At the age of nineteen years, Edwin Ely passed the competitive examinations at West Point, ranking first in them. He also passed examinations for admission to the bar the following year, but on account of his age was compelled to wait until his majority.
In 1887, Mr. E. C. Ely returned to Batavia, where he taught school for nine years, still reading law under E. Q. Crane and Mr. J. R. Woodlief. He was admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, in 1896, and ranked third in a class of fifty-two students. He began the practice of law at Batavia at once, where for nearly seventeen years he has carried on a general law business, with offices in the Clermont Hotel Building.
From 1900 to 1909, Mr. Ely served the community in which
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he lives as mayor, demonstrating with characteristic energy a spirit of devotion to the public good. With the co-operation of such gentlemen as Mr. Nichols, Mr. Speidel, Mr. Parrot and others, he was enabled to make many improvements in the town, such as the putting down of good cement walks all over the town, the installation of electricity, city water, and telephone, in fact advocating any and all measures that were for the good of the people and the beautifying of the town in which they live. Although not now in office, Mr. Ely still displays an interest in the welfare of his towns-people.
Mr. Edwin C. Ely was married, November 6, 1887, to Miss Patience Brown, also a native of Batavia, and was a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Brown) Brown, farmers of the county. She was one of a large family, but all have passed from this life but Mr. Frank Brown, of Batavia. To this union one child was born :
Miss Daisy, who was born at Batavia, July 17, 1894. She is in the senior class of the Batavia High School. Mrs. Ely died in 1898, and was buried in the Batavia cemetery. She was a devoted member of the Methodist church.
Mr. Ely's second marriage took place in 1899, to Miss Lou Medaris, who was born in Owensville, Ohio, in 1872, and is a daughter of Charles and Phoebe (Hill) Medaris, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Mr. Medaris was a prosperous farmer and stock raiser. There are two children : C. E. Medaris, who lives at Harveyville, Kan., and the wife of Mr. E. C. Ely. Mr. Ely is the father of two children by his second marriage :
Forrest Edwin, born at Batavia, April 1, 1901. He is an extremely bright boy and has made a fine record in school for one of his years. He does all of his father's banking business, and drafts mortgages, being an all round help to his parents. He won a pony, cart and harness as a prize for selling the largest number of Saturday Evening Posts in ten weeks, for the Curtis Publishing Company, of Philadelphia. He also owns the agency of the White Star Laundry, and has a bank account of over two hundred dollars.
Louise, who was born June 20, 1907.
Mr. and Mrs. Ely are members of the Methodist church, of which they are active workers, the former being on the official board and a teacher in the Sunday school, teaching the men's class of thirty-five members. Mr. Ely started this class some years ago, with a few members, and has devoted much thought and time to the enlarging of the class roll. He has
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been connected with the Sunday school for years as superintendent and teacher.
Fraternally, Mr. Ely is a Mason, and has filled all of the offices of the Blue lodge. Mrs. Ely is a member of the Eastern Star, and both are very popular both fraternally and socially.
Mr. Edwin C. Ely has been local counsel for the Bell Telephone Company for nine years, and is a Republican in politics. He still owns the farm of one hundred and four acres that belonged to his mother, and is what is considered a self-made man. Mr. Ely is a great reader of history and fiction, and is in possession of several poems of which his father, William R. Ely, was the author. Among them are "The Land of Somewhere," "The Reveries of Spring," which have been printed.
Mr. Ely is a man of deep feeling and sympathy, a man of pleasing address, who always has a good word for every one, and stands for all that is good, noble and true. He usually delivers the annual address at the Weaver Reunion, which is most interesting and entertaining.
NICHOLS FAMILY.
The name of Nichols has been identified with the history and progress of Clermont county from its very earliest settlement.
Nathan Nichols, the progenitor of the Clermont county Nichols, who had followed the sea for many years, was the first inhabitant of this county of that name now so widely known. He came from his Virginia home with the members of his family, making the long journey on horseback late in the Eighteenth century. Nathan Nichols seems to have been a man of some substance, and on his arrival in Ohio he bought 1,000 acres of land in Hamilton county, near what was then Fort Washington, now Cincinnati. After a short residence there, finding the location unhealthy he exchanged this land for a tract of equal extent in Monroe township, upon which he established his home and lived for the remainder of his life. The house which he erected on this land, of stone quarried with his own hands from the earth, was long a landmark in that locality.
Nathan Nichols was the father of thirteen children Philip,
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the ancestor of Judge Perry J. Nichols, William S. Nichols, John C. Nichols, grandfather of C. B. Nichols, of Batavia, and of John Nichols, and George W. Nichols, of Mt. Washington, Ohio, and Abner, Catherine, David C., Elijah G., Nathan, Robert, Elizabeth, Thomas J., and Jonathan C. Nichols. Among the descendants of the children of Nathan Nichols, above named, still residing in this county are David H. Nichols, now over eighty years of age, living near the old home in Monroe township, and Thomas J. Nichols, of New Richmond. Philip Nichols, the grandfather of Judge Perry J. Nichols, was born July 12, 1785, and among the children was Thomas L. Nichols, the father of the subject of this sketch, who died at an advanced age at his home near New Richmond within recent years. Thomas L. Nichols intermarried with Evaline Donham, daughter of Col. Jonathan S. Donham, a large land holder and a man for many years prominent in the public affairs of Clermont county. Among the children were the late Perry J. Donham, long a prominent lawyer in Cincinnati ; E. J. Donham, for two terms treasurer of Clermont county, from 1880 to 1884, and R. W. Donham, still a resident of New Richmond.
Judge Perry Jackson Nichols was the eldest child of the marriage of Thomas L. Nichols and Evaline Donham, and was born at the family home, on a farm near New Richmond, March 30, 1830. His boyhood was passed on the farm and his life was that of most farm boys, giving assistance in the work of the farm and enjoying such scant advantages for education as the country schools afforded. When thirteen years of age his father secured the contract for the carrying of the mail from New Richmond in this country to Blanchester, Clinton county, and Deerfield, Warren county, and the boy, who was in the future to hold so prominent a place in the community of his birth, took charge of this work and for several months, without regard to weather conditions, performed the long journey involved on horseback twice a week. In after life in referring to this episode in his career, he spoke of it with gratification, ignoring the hardships involved and dwelling only on the pleasure it gave him to reflect that he had been able thus to assist and make easier the labors of his father.
In 1856-7-8, he was employed under the direction of his father, who was a steam engineer, in that business, and acyuired a working knowledge of the engineering trade. In
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1850 he attended school at Parker's Academy, and later for a brief season at the Farmer's College, near Cincinnati. He then secured a certificate and taught school for two years, and during his spare time prosecuted the study of law under the direction of his uncle, Perry J. Donham, then engaged in the practice of law in New Richmond. At the September term of the district court, held at Batavia, in 1861, Judge Nichols was admitted to the practice of the law and shortly thereafter formed a partnership with Mr. Donham, which continued until the removal of the latter from New Richmond to Portsmouth. From about 1863 to 1867 he continued in the practice of the law at New Richmond alone, and in the last named year entered into a partnership with Judge Frank Davis, which continued until Judge Nichols was elected probate judge and removed to Batavia, in 1879. His success as a lawyer was a marked one from the beginning of his professional career, and this was due to his native ability, thorough grasp of the principles of the law and unflagging industry in the prosecution of his business. In 1861 he was elected mayor of New Richmond, and served in that office up to 1870. The period of his service as mayor of New Richmond is marked in the annals of that town as being the most satisfactory in improvements accomplished during the life of the village. The public spirit which was a marked feature of his character found scope in forwarding improvements of streets, sidewalks, and in the creation of the beautiful park, in which the citizens there still take a just pride. Elected probate judge in 1878, he moved to Batavia, and since then has been a resident of that town, retiring at the end of his term to resume the practice of law, and for a few years was associated in business with Judge Frank Davis and Thomas A. Griffith. This firm was dissolved by the death of Mr. Griffith, in 1885.
In 1886 his son, Hon. Hugh L. Nichols, now lieutenant-governor of Ohio, became his fatherls partner and this connection continued up to the death of Judge Nichols. In 1900 Allen B. Nichols, another son, was admitted to the partnership.
Judge Nichols was married August 21, 1862, to Jeannette Gilmore, a daughter of Hugh Gilmore, a leading merchant of New Richmond, and Jean Hayes Gilmore. Hugh Gilmore was a native of County Down, Ireland, and his wife of County Antrim. Hugh Gilmore was for thirty years a leading business man and respected citizen of New Richmond. There were born to the marriage of Judge Perry J. Nichols and Jeannette Gilmore, children as follows :
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Annie M., who intermarried with J. C. F. Tatman, now deceased, whose home is in Batavia.
Hugh L. Nichols, the above named now lieutenant-governor of Ohio.
Carrie B., who intermarried with E. W. Buvinger, and who passed away within a few years after her marriage.
Nellie M., the wife of Dr. Linn Moore, both of whom died young.
Florence E., who died unmarried.
Allen B., now a leading attorney of the Clermont bar.
All the years of Judge Nichols's professional practice were fruitful in accomplishment from a professional standpoint. Almost from the beginning of his career, he, as a lawyer, was recognized as a safe counselor and especially strong in the trial of contested cases. Trustworthy in the fullest extent of the term, those who confided their business to him soon came to recognize in him not only a professional advisor, but also a personal friend. 'There is perhaps no man who ever practiced his profession in Clermont county who possessed the complete confidence of those whose affairs he managed to a greater degree than did Judge Nichols. While his energies were largely devoted to the business of his profession he loved literature, and in his reading displayed a rare discrimination and taste. In books, he loved and appreciated the best. His love of order was made manifest in his methodical arrangement, in all business affairs, and his love of the beautiful was shown in his taste, amounting to almost a passion for improvements of every kind. This was especially manifest in his constant effort to make more beautiful the surroundings with
which he daily came in contact, both in and about his home and throughout the village where he dwelt.
Judge Nichols continued in his usual good health up to less than a year before his death, when signs of physical failing made themselves manifest, and it became apparent to family and friends that he was the victim of some insidious disease. Notwithstanding this, his buoyancy of spirit asserted itself triumphant over physical ails, and he continued up to a few weeks before his death to give his attention to the office, of which he was the head, and it was only then by the urgings of those who loved him most that he consented to lay aside the cares of business and retire to the repose of his home, and here in the midst of his family he passed away, closing a long and useful life, full of good deeds and rich in material achievement, on the 18th day of November, 1907.
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E. A. LOCKWOOD.
In no other business in life is there a greater demand for intellectual ability, strong characteristics and sound judgment than in the management of a modern newspaper. In no other vocation is there greater need for diplomacy and fearlessness in advancing ideas and policies. In the eighty-five years the "Clermont Sun" has been in existence there has been associated with the editing and managing of the paper none but competent and capable men.
The "Clermont Sun" was established at Bethel, in July, 1828, by Samuel Medary, who was Territorial Governor of Kansas during President Buchanan's administration, and who was a great uncle of the present business manager, E. A. Lockwood. The paper is operated under the firm name of Lockwood & Breeding, proprietors and publishers.
The "Sun" has been the Democratic organ of the county since it was first established, although the county was controlled by the Republican party from 1878 to 1885. From 1885 to 1992, Mr. E. A. Lockwood held the editorship of the paper and since then has been the busines manager. From 1932 to the present time Mr. John W. Lennin has attended to the editorial work.
Mr. E. A. Lockwood was born in Madison, Ind., January 19, 1855, which place was his home until in 1862, when the family removed to Clermont county, Ohio. He is a son of Elder J. H. Lockwood, more extensively mentioned elsewhere in these volumes.
Mr. Lockwood attended the public schools of the county until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he entered Parker's Academy, graduating in the class of 1875. He then spent two years at Butler University, at Irvington, Ind., near Indianapolis. From 1879 until 1882, Mr. Lockwood taught in the high school at Moscow, this county, and from then until 1885, he was superintendent of the schools at Bethel.
In 1879, Mr. Lockwood married Miss Susan J. Porter, who was born and reared near Nicholsville, a daughter of William and Asenath (Lane) Porter, early residents of Monroe township. They were of Scotch descent, and have been deceased for some years.
Mrs. Lockwood died in June, 1895, at the age of forty years, leaving three sons :
Howard T., who is a civil engineer, is at present asso-
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ciated with the Wood-Harmon Company, of New York City, as chief engineer. He married Miss Emma Zimmer, of Williamsburg, Clermont county, Ohio. They have two daughters, Mary Elizabeth and Helen Porter.
Allen P. is manager of the office of the Kelley Island Lime and Transport Company, of Buffalo, New York. He married Miss Pearl Cox, of Walnut Hills, Cincinnati. She is a granddaughter of the late Joseph Cox, ex-circuit judge. They have one daughter, Virginia Sue.
Henry A., of New York City, is connected with the Wood-Harmon, Real Estate Company. He married Miss Blanch MacDonald, of New Rochelle, New York.
Mr. Lockwood married a second time, in August, 1902, Miss Josephine Zimmer, a sister of his son's wife. Mrs. Lockwood was born and reared near Point Isabel, Clermont county, and later resided near Williamsburg, until her marriage. She is a daughter of Joseph and Mary Zimmer, who were early settlers of Clermont county.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood attend the Presbyterian church of Batavia, where Mr. Lockwood placed his letter when he removed from Bethel to that place. He united with the Christian church at Bethel years ago, changing only for the reason that there was no church of that denomination in Batavia.
In political views, Mr. Lockwood is always a Democrat.
DR. ISAAC REDROW.
Dr. Isaac Redrow is known throughout Clermont county, Ohio, as an able professional man of experience, ripened by years of practice in his profession, and the result of this experience gives ample proof of the esteem and confidence in which he is held in the community where he has practiced for forty- four years. His birth occurred in Cincinnati, March 1, 1840. The parents of Dr. Redrow were Enoch and Mary Jane (Snowhill) Redrow, the former of whom was a native of New Jersey, but who came to Ohio when quite young. While still in New Jersey, he learned the shipbuilder's trade, which he followed in Fulton, and later in Cincinnati. He lived an active life and died in 1861, at the age of fifty-five years. He was of the Methodist Episcopal faith. Mary Jane (Snowhill) Red- row was born at Lebanon, Ohio, and died in Cincinnati, in 1840.
Dr. Redrow was reared at Fayetteville, Brown county,
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Ohio, attending the public schools of that place, taking up the study of medicine with Dr. W. C. Hall, 1865 to 1869.
September 11, 1861, Isaac Redrow enlisted, in Cincinnati, in Company B, Fifth Ohio cavalry, as a soldier and corporal, serving three years and three months. He was in twenty-three important engagements, including Shiloh, Hatchie, Holly Springs, Coldwater; Lexington, Corinth, Pittsburg Landing, Davis Mills, Lebanon, Missionary Ridge and others.
A remarkable fact is that in all these battles Dr. Redrow was never once wounded.
Returning from the war, Dr. Redrow again took up the study of medicine, and began to practice in Fayetteville in 1868, continuing for one year, coming to Williamsburg in 1869, at which place he has resided until the present time.
The marriage of Dr. Redrow to Miss Katie Leffingwell was solemnized in 1875. Mrs. Redrow is a daughter of Sidney S. and Melissa (Byron) Leffingwell, who owned and operated the grist and saw mills at Williamsburg from 1848 to 1861. He also turned out chair material, probably the first ever made here. His father, Capt. Samuel Leffingwell, was in the government service and received as his remuneration some 1,100 acres of land within three miles of Williamsburg, which includes the farms owned by Mr. McKeever, Mr. Reed and others. He was a merchant in Williamsburg, coming here in 1832, from Norfolk, Va., where his wife's decease occurred in 181o. The Leffingwell family was founded in America by Thomas Leffingwell about 1636. Mrs. Redrow is one of nine children who grew to maturity, and is the only one who remained in Clermont county. The others are :
Mrs. Harriet C. Richards, of Lawrence, Kan.
Mrs. Olive B. Warden, of Choctaw City, Okla.
Charles H. Leffingwell, of California, who was a soldier in the Civil war.
Mrs. Judith P. Wageman, of Texas.
Horace Leffingwell, of San Marcus, Texas.
Dr. Redrow had one sister, Mrs. Matilda Lake, who died in 1873 ; one half brother, William Redrow, of Company B. Fifth Ohio cavalry, who was wounded at Shiloh, from the effects of
which he died later.
To the union of Dr. and Mrs. Redrow have been born two children :
Walter L. Redrow was graduated from the Ohio State University, class of 1900. He received the degree of Bachelor of
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Laws from Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., 1903, and the degree of Master of Patent Law from George Washington University in 1904. He is now in the patent office at Washington, D. C. He married Eleanor, daughter of George Daugherty, of Washington, D. C., and they have two children—Eileen and Allen.
Clara Redrow was graduated from the Ohio State University in the class of 1903. She married William Ireton, who is in the mail service. They have two children—Carl and Eleanor.
In political views, Dr. Redrow is a Republican, but does not care to hold office, believing that his first duty is to his profession. He is a member of the Clermont County Medical Association, and was formerly a member of the Ohio State and American Medical associations, and is also a Mason. Dr. Redrow is a member of the J. H. Jenkins Post, No. 242, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has filled all the offices. He has given his life to a profession which is of eminent service to his fellow men, and his zeal and enthusiasm in his chosen calling have won for him the kind regard from all. He lived during the Nation's peril and offered himself with courage and energy in her defense. His life has been one of usefulness to others.
JOSEPH R. SMITH.
One of the best known men in Clermont county is Joseph R. Smith, an extensive farmer and stock raiser, and a prominent member of the local organization of the Democratic party. He has held many township offices and has otherwise been active in political circles. He has a fine farm of two hundred acres, about three miles east of Milford, on the Milford and Woodville pike, his postoffice address being Milford, Rural Route No. I. He is a native of Cincinnati, born March 2, 1850, son of William F. and Eliza (Paylor) Smith. He was educated in his native city, living there until he was sixteen years of age, when his parents bought land in Miami township, but about thirty-five or forty years later his father retired from active life and returned to Cincinnati, where he spent the remainder of his life. He and his wife are buried in Greenland Cemetery, the latter having passed away a few years before his death. The father was a Democrat, but did not care for
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public office. He and his wife were devout members of the Methodist church.
Mr. Smith attended the public schools and took up farming upon leaving school. After attaining his majority he began farming on his own account, and about four years later was united in marriage with Miss Mary Garland, who was born in Wilmington, Ohio, in 1849, daughter of Rev. B. F. and Maria (Rybolt) Garland. Four children have blessed this union : Torston G., Tauszky, Oscar J. and Otta. Tauszky received a good common school education and is a merchant at Madisonville. He married Carrie Gatch, and they have two children, Florence E. and Mary Elizabeth. Oscar J. married Mrs. Florence (Batten) Garland, and now owns and operates his father's farm. He has one son, Carl Garland. Otta married Dr. Frank Batten, of Clarksville, Ohio,
Mr. Smith is a Democrat in political affairs, and since the age of maturity has been active in public affairs. He has served several times as delegate to various conventions, has held township offices. In 1900 he was appointed land appraiser by Auditor John Davis, but refused to accept the office on account of poor health. He is now county commissioner, having been elected in 1909, and re-elected in 1911, and during the term of his incumbency of this office new pikes have been constructed, also a large bridge with concrete floor at Edenton, the first in the county. There is another concrete bridge at Loveland. He has progressive ideas and is broad-minded in his application of intelligence and foresight to the questions which come up in connection with his office. He realizes that it is the cheapest and best way for the county to construct its bridges in a manner that will last a long time, even though the first cost seems high, and that the safety and welfare of the citizens of the county are best served by a careful study of present and future conditions.
Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Pleasant hill, of which he is a trustee, and was one of the building committee when the new church edifice was erected. He enjoys to a large extent the confidence and esteem of his fellows and is recognized as a man of careful judgment and integrity. He is fraternally connected with the Knights of Pythias of Milford. Mrs. Smith died in January, 19o8, at the age of fifty-seven years, sadly mourned by her family and many friends. She is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery, at Milford.
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FRANCIS E. SETTLE.
Francis E. Bettie, one of the most prosperous and enterprising farmers and stock raisers of Clermont county, owns and operates the beautiful farm of one hundred acres located in Ohio township, formerly the home of Mrs. Bettle's father, Mr. John Shaw. Mr. Bettie is well known throughout the county, having been born in Monroe township, November 1, 1836, a son of Samuel and Julia Ann (Simmons) Bettle, both of whom were of early Clermont county families.
Samuel Bettie, father of the subject of this review, was born September I, 1800, in Philadelphia, Pa., whose parents were Everard and Mary (Trump) Bettie, also of Philadelphia. Mr. Everard Bettie, grandfather of Francis, came to Newtown, near Cincinnati, about 1808 or 18o9, and shortly after bought a large tract of land, extending from the Franklin neighborhood to the river, settling in Monroe township. In the McGraw Survey, Mr. Bettie secured seven or eight hundred acres of wild land not far from New Richmond, making of himself a large land owner. He was of Quaker stock, but later joined the Methodist Episcopal church, where he took great pleasure in active Christian work. It may be said of both Mr. and Mrs. Everard Bettie that they were living examples of the faith which they possessed. Mr. Bettie passed from this life in 1835, and Mrs. Bettle's decease occurred in 1840. They were the parents of six children : Josiah, John Evard, Jr., Elizabeth married Mr. Gleason, Mary married Mr., McDonald.
Samuel was reared from childhood in Monroe township. He was a successful farmer, possessing two hundred and fifty acres of fine land at the time of his death, July 21, 1865. He served well and faithfully in several township offices. Both Mr. Bettie and his good wife were members of the Methodist church and helped to build the Franklin church. Mr. Bettle was a Whig in the early days. Mrs. Bettie, whose birth occurred September 20, 1806, died October 25, 1870. She was a daughter of Leonard Simmons, of an early family of Clermont county. They had eleven children born to them, eight of whom grew to maturity :
Eliza, Nancy, and Elizabeth, all deceased.
Francis E., the subject of this sketch.
DeWitt, died at five years of age.
Milton, deceased.
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John, died in the Civil war, in 1862, near Shiloh, being a member of a Kentucky regiment.
Julia, widow of Thomas Willis.
George, of Monroe township.
Francis E. Bettie received his education at a select school and at the Farmer's College, on College Hill, Cincinnati. After finishing the agricultural course, Mr. Bettie taught school for two years, then resumed farming for a time. Later, he studied surveying, which profession he has followed, successfully, for fifty years, doing a large amount of professional work for the county.
The marriage of Mr. Bettie to Miss Nancy Shaw was celebrated May 29, 1861, in the present home, then the John Shaw homestead. The young couple resided in Monroe township until 1882, when they removed to their comfortable home, where they have lived for thirty years. Mrs. Bettle, a daughter of John Shaw, was born, February 7, 1839. To this union were born six children :
Jessie C., who married Elmer E. Hunt, of Olive Branch, this county. They have two children : Francis Wayland and Elizabeth.
John S., of Texas, is farming near Crystal City. He married Miss Etta McCoy and they have two sons : Everard and Ossie Allen.
Ida H., at home.
Julia Viola, is the wife of John Carnes, a farmer of Monroe township. They are the parents of three children : Mary M., John F., and Mildred B.
Francis W., of St. Louis, Mo., a civil engineer, married Miss Grace Seagrist, and to this union have been born three children : Albert F., Catherine, and Margaret.
Elizabeth, the wife of Harry Layfield, a steamboat engineer in the government service, now on the rivers. Two sons have blessed this couple : William D. and Milton B.
Mr. Bettle's political views are Democratic, and he has served in the various township offices, offering to those with whom he has been associated, an example of one not only having opinions, but also having the courage to express them. He is well and favorably known in the community where he has spent his entire life, and that many of his stanchest friends have known him from his boyhood days to the present is an indication that his life has ever been straightforward and honorable.
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WILLIAM M. FRIDMAN.
The career of the business man has few of those spectacular phases which make the life record of the military or political leader of wide-spread interest, yet thinkers throughout all the ages have regarded the profession of law as that which most greatly conserves public stability and progress. It is to the work of the courts that William M. Fridman has given his time and attention since 1887, coming to the bar with good equipment and since that time making the most of his opportunities for advancement in the difficult and arduous profession of the law. He has practiced in Cincinnati since April, 1891, and the court records show his connection with various cases of importance. He was born in Clermontville, Clermont county, Ohio, February 26, 1863, son of Franklin and Milly A. (Bushman) Fridman, the former a native of Stolhoven, Baden, Germany, and came to America in 1830. Franklin Fridman was the pioneer merchant of Clermontville and more extended mention of his remarkable activities are to be
found on other pages of this work.
William M. Fridman attended the public schools, continued his studies in the Clermont Academy, at Clermontville, Ohio, until his sixteenth year ; next entered the Ohio Wesleyan Uni-
versity, Delaware, Ohio, graduating in 1884 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. His literary knowledge served as an excellent basis upon which to build the superstructure of his
professional knowledge. Mr. Fridman's law study began under the preceptorship of Frank Davis, the present judge of the common pleas court of Clermont and Brown counties, Ohio. He came to the Cincinnati Law School in 1886, and the following year won the degree of Bachelor of Laws upon his graduation in May, 1887. Mr. Fridman at once began practice at New Richmond, Ohio, where he remained until April, 1891, and then came to Cincinnati and formed a partnership with Marshall Moreton ; one year later engaged in practice in association with George G. Bright, under the firm name of Bright & Fridman, which firm was dissolved January 1, 1894. He was then associated with Edward J. Dempsey, until May, 1898, at which time Mr. Dempsey was elected judge of the superior court. He was then associate) with Edward Barton until the latter became general attorney of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. In May, 1903, he formed a partnership with Judge Edward J. Dempsey, as Dempsey & Fridman,
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until January, 1906. Mr. Fridman has since followed his profession independently, and with notable success. He has indicated his ability to cope successfully with intricate and involved legal problems and to present his cause in such clear and logical form that he never fails to hold attention of court or jurors and seldom fails to gain the desired verdict. Other business interests have to a limited extent claimed his attention, for he has been a director of the First National Bank of New Richmond, Ohio, and is now a director of the Fridman Lumber Company, and of the Fridman Seating Company, both paying enterprises.
June 12, 1900, at Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Fridman was married to Miss Katherine Tombach, a daughter of August and Rose Tombach. Her father was superintendent of the Powell Brass Work Foundry, but passed away in 1878. The mother, however, still survives. Mr. and Mrs. Fridman reside at No. 2256 Jefferson Place, Norwood. Mr. Fridman was elected mayor of Norwood in November, 1911. In politics always a Democrat, since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, and fraternally a Mason, widely known in the order. He is now past master of Vattier Lodge, No. 386, Free and Accepted Masons, and has also taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite and the Mystic Shrine. In sympathy with the benevolent and beneficent purpose of the order, he also enjoys its social relations, for he is a man to whom friendship means much and to his friends he is ever loyal. The same loyal spirit is manifested in his professional work, and his capability as a practitioner of law has enabled him long since to leave the ranks of the many and to stand among the more successful few.
CLAYTON H. CORBIN.
There is perhaps no line of business that demands more close and unremitting effort than does farming, and yet there is none that yields more safe and sure returns than this same occupation if pursued along progressive lines, responding readily to the care and labor bestowed upon it. Mr. Corbin has verified this assertion in the control and improvement of his excellent farm in Monroe township, near Laurel, where he carries on general farming and stock raising. Mr. Corbin is a native of Clermont county, his birth having occurred here,
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July 17, 1871, he being a son of Nicholas Dow and Elizabeth (Stilman) Corbin.
Nicholas Corbin was born in Clermont county, April 24, 1824, and died October 16, 1897. Mr. Corbin was a farmer, whose efforts along agricultural lines were crowned with success. He was an uncle of the late Gen. H. C. Corbin. Elizabeth (Stilman) Corbin was born in Cincinnati, in 1828, and passed away in 1902. Both Mr. and Mrs. Corbin were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. To this union were born six children, of whom but two are living:
Mrs. Alice Roudebush, is the wife of Mr. Lowell Roudebush.
Mr. C. H. Corbin, the subject of this sketch.
Those who are deceased are : Hannah, Belle, Hosea, and George.
C. H. Corbin received his education in the schools here and at Lebanon, Ohio. His life work has been devoted to general farming, in which occupation he has been very successful. His marriage to Miss Jessie Sapp took place on January 3o, 1895. They are the parents of two children :
Ward, who is fifteen years of age, lives at home.
Aldine, died in infancy, in 1907.
In political views, Mr. Corbin is Democratic, and he has served as township trustee at two different times. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and favors the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mrs. Corbin is a daughter of James H. Sapp, whose review follows.
JAMES H. SAPP.
Among the resident farmers of Clermont county, Ohio, who served their country in the Civil war, are numbered James H. Sapp, residing in Monroe township, not far from New Richmond. The farm which Mr. Sapp now owns and operates has been the property of some member of the Sapp family since it was obtained from the government. On September 27, 1843, James Sapp was horn, he being a son of Abel and Sarah (Hodge) Sapp.
Abel Sapp, a native of Clermont county, was born about 1812, and lived to the good old age of seventy-two years. He was born on this same farm in Monroe township, and followed farming as his life work. Abel Sapp was a son of
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Edward and Elizabeth (Seaton) Sapp, the former of whom came to this county 'from Kentucky, when he was a young man. He passed away in 1843, of cholera.
Sarah (Hodge) Sapp was born in Clermont county, about 1819, and died in 1886, a daughter of James and (Treece) Hodge, the latter of an old family of Washington township. James Hodge was an old resident of Nicholsville.
James H. Sapp is one of five children, of which one sister died in infancy ; the youngest is now living in Pasadena, Cal. He received his education in the schools of the county, and the Parker Academy. In 1863, Mr. Sapp enlisted in Company L, Ohio cavalry, under Captain Gatch. He served until the close of the war, nearly two years, being sergeant when he was discharged, never having been wounded.
After the close of the war, Mr. Sapp returned to his home and, has followed general farming since. His marriage to Miss Jane Ann Porter took place in the winter of 1865. Jane Ann Porter is a daughter of William and Asenath (Lane) Porter. The Lanes were of a prominent family, one cousin, Henry Lane, was at one time Governor of Indiana. William Porter, whose aprents were from Scotland, was born in Clermont county soon after the arrival of the family in the
county.
Mrs. Sapp has two brothers and two sisters living: Charles, superintendent of the Tenth district schools of Cincinnati ; John, a farmer living in Tennessee ; Mrs. Henry Maltox, of Washington State ; Mrs. H. L. Fridman, a widow living at Clermontville.
Mr. and Mrs. Sapp are the parents of five children :
Edward A., in the oil and gas business in Chautauqua county, Kansas. He is married and has three sons and one daughter.
Hattie, is the wife of Elmer Smith, of Pasadena, Cal.
Mary, a graduate nurse of Seaside Hospital, of Long Beach, Cal.
Jessie, is the wife of Clayton H. Corbin, a cousin of the late Gen. Henry Corbin.
Olive, was in business in Cincinnati, until her decease at twenty-three years of age.
Mr. Sapp is a member of the Frazier Post of Bethel Grand Army of the Republic, and in religious views favors the Methodist church. He is Republican and keeps well informed on all the political subjects of the day, although he has never
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accepted any office of the county, believing his family was his first consideration. He has given his business his entire attention with most excellent results. A man conscientious in all his dealings, he has the respect of all his neighbors and friends.
GEORGE HAND HILL.
Comparatively few men are spared, with unimpaired faculties, to the advanced age of four score and two years. George H. Hill was one of these and in reviewing his activities as an educator, civil engineer and inventor, considering also his estimable Christian citzenship, it is more than evident that the community in which he lived is most fortunate. That his influence was always for the best is testified to by scores now in middle life, and whom he taught in their younger days.
Mr. Hill was born in Stone Lick township, Clermont county, Ohio, March 5, 1830, and died at Milford, Ohio, May 8, 1912. He was the eldest of the twelve children of Charles and Rebecca (Hand) Hill, and was reared on his father's farm, attending school in the winter months. At the age of seventeen years he attended a private school in Milford, but owing to an outbreak of cholera, this and other schools were closed. Determined to secure an education, he taught for a few terms and ultimately purchased a scholarship in Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, and after two years graduated in the scientific course. Mr. Hill then decided to make teaching his life work and very acceptably conducted various schools in the county.
In 1871 he became principal of Milford public school and satisfactorily held the position for six years consecutively. He was the first to prepare a grade for this school and this he did at the reyuest of the board of education. After teaching for twenty-nine years, he was elected to the office of county surveyor. He made surveying and civil engineering his occupation until the time of his death. Mr. Hill was an active member of the Ohio society of civil engineers, and prepared several papers, which Were published in full in the society's annual reports.
He was twice married, first on April To, 1855, to Miss Sarah Thomas, of Radnor, Ohio. To this union were born three children, viz.:
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Emma Florence, formerly a teacher at Moore's Hill College, Indiana, and at Morristown Normal Academy, being an exceptionally fine pianist, and is the wife of Theodore F. Brown, who is with the Pere Marquette railroad, and resides at Detroit.
Miss Anna Gertrude, an artist, and the producer of several beautiful oil paintings, residing at home.
George Lewis, who died in infancy.
The mother was called to her heavenly home, March 7, 1873.
On Christmas Day, 1876, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Mrs. Sarah Eleanor Nichols, nee Applegate, born near Goshen, Clermont county, Ohio, June 24, 1826, and who still resides at the Milford home.
Mrs. Hill is a daughter of Elijah and Nancy (Champion) Applegate, who settled in Goshen township when Cincinnati was but a village. Elijah was a farmer and millwright, owning and operating a mill for many years ; also owned a finely improved farm. He died in 1840, aged forty-seven years, while his wife passed away in 1830. Both were born in the month of February, in 1703 and 1705, respectively. Their ten children are as follows : Perrine, Thomas Fletcher, John (the father of Mayor A. B. Applegate, of Milford, mentioned elsewhere in these volumes), Lydia Ann, married Rev. Mr. Barnes, and had two daughters who died in infancy, Eliza Jane, Sarah Eleanor (widow of our subject), Elijah, and Mrs. Nancy Elizabeth Anshutz. Mrs. Hill, who is a remarkably well preserved lady, taught for some twenty-two years, in Goshen township, and at Knightstown, Ind., Seminary, and formerly was principal of a girls' school at Versailles, Ind. In the former institution she taught the grammar department, being also first assistant, but her most pronounced success as an instructor was in the primary department.
Mrs. Hill's first husband was Robert H. Nichols, who died in 1872, he being an uncle of the later Judge Perry Nichols, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in these volumes. He was a prominent nurseryman, his home being in Laurel, in Monroe township, this county. He was born December 28, 1803, and his first wife, whom he married May 26, 1825, was Miss Mary Simmons, born December 22, 1802, and died March 16, 1863, daughter of James Simmons and an aunt of W. D. Simmons, now living retired at Laurel, and mentioned elsewhere in this work. Robert H. was a son of Nathan and Hannah (Hodgson) Nichols, whose children were :
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Phillip, born in 1785.
William, born in 1787
John, born in 1789.
Elijah, born in 1792.
Abner, born in 1795
Esther, born in 1796.
David, born in 1799.
Nathan, born in 1802.
Robert Hodgson and Elizabeth, twins, born in 1803.
Thomas Jefferson, born in 1806.
Jonathan B., born in 1809.
The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Hill was pleasant and happy, and she and the daughter who reside at the beautiful home in East Milford look forward to a reunion in heaven. Mr. Hill was converted in his youth, and in 1847 united with the Methodist Episcopal church, Mount Zion charge, Milford circuit. He was a useful and faithful member to the day of his death, being at that time steward and trustee and having occupied the positions of chorister and recording steward. He was a most exemplary Christian and a lifelong abstainer from the use of tobacco and intoxicating liquors. During the last eight months of his life he was confined to the house, his suffering at all times being severe, but he was patient with all. After having exceeded by over ten years the psalmist's allotted time of life, his fertile brain had perfected an automobile having a dozen or more advantages presented in a model which he constructed and in working drawings which he forwarded to the United States Patent Office. Truly his beautiful, active and useful life is worthy of emulation by all youthful aspirants for success and his memory will ever be held dear by all whose pleasure it was to enjoy association with this noble character.
PRATHER FAMILY.
The Prathers came from Sheffield, England. Such is the family tradition. They were settled in Western Maryland, however, not long after 1700. The last sale of lands conducted by Lord Baltimore, Proprietor of Maryland, was made at the home of Col. Thomas Prather, in Frederick county, Maryland, November 9, 1767, In 1756 "Major Prather" commanded one hundred and fifty men in the Indian wars in West-
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ern Maryland. In 1758, "Lieutenant Prather" and two privates of the Maryland troops were killed by the Indians near Fort Duquesne.
James Prather was a lieutenant, and Thomas Prather a colonel of Mary land troops in the Continental Army during the Revolution. They were both from Frederick county, and were active members of various Frederick county committees organized to carry on the war. These and other annals of the family in Maryland are found in "Scharff's History of Maryland," and "Scharff's History of Western Maryland." The Ohio Prathers removed from Frederick county, Maryland, to Fleming county, Kentucky, soon after the Revolution, but crossed to the north bank of the Ohio into Clermont county, about 1790, three brothers, Enos Prather, Erasmus Prather and John Garrett Prather, originally locating in Clermont county ; but Enos Prather removed to Piketon, in the Scioto Valley, not far from Chillicothe, about the year 1797, where some of his descendants still reside.
John Garrett Prather built what was afterwards known as the "Chilo House," on the banks of the river at the upper end of Chilo, about 1802, and also subdivided an addition to the village. His first wife was a Phillips, whom he married in Maryland, and who bore him two children, but died shortly after they settled in Ohio. He afterwards married Mary Ann Fee, a widow, whose maiden name was Sargent, and whose brother, James Sargent, was a member of the first Constitutional convention of Ohio. By his second wife, John Garrett Prather had eleven children. Through these he has a very numerous line of descendants. To this branch belonged James Prather, the captain of the "Magnolia," and who lost his life when that fine steamboat was destroyed by an explosion about 1870. John 0. Prather, James Prather, Samuel Prather, Ignatius Prather, Silas Prather, Joshua Prather, Walter Prather, Wesley Prather, Nelly Ann Wall, Nancy Slye, Susannah Owens, Amelia Tucker, and Mary Ann Molen were the children of this original John Garrett Prather. Nelly Ann Wall was the grandmother of James Wall, now of Batavia, and also of William Walker Smith, now in the diplomatic service and stationed at Constantinople. Griffith Prather, long a leading business man of St. Louis, Mo., and for eight years Democratic National committeeman for the State of Missouri, was a grandson of this original John Garrett Prather ; his father being Wesley Prather, who was also the father of Edward G. Prather, late of
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Chilo, Ohio, and grandfather of Miss Leona Prather, now of Cincinnati. Mary Ann Molen was the wife of Capt. Grafton Molen, a prominent steamboat captain of the early days.
Erasmus Prather, brother of the original John Garrett Prather, settled on the hill about half way between Chilo and Felicity. His wife was Elizabeth McKibben, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Their children were Joseph Prather, Samuel Garrett Prather, Erasmus Prather, Nancy, Susannah and Louie A. Prather, Elizabeth Slye (wife of Esquire John Slye, of Lindale), Sarah Wedding and Mary Lanham. Of these, Joseph Prather married Sarah McKinney, September 16, 1824, and to them were born Erasmus Jackson Prather, Joseph S. Prather, Wesley Washington Prather, John Garrett Prather (the second), Enos D. Prather, Ellen Goslin, wife of Peter Goslin, Mary Goslin, wife of James J. Goslin, and Caroline
Wedding, wife of William Wedding. The McKinneys are of Scotch descent.
This second John Garrett Prather, son of Joseph and Sarah McKinney Prather, was born in 1833, and resided all his life in and about Chilo, Clermont county, Ohio, where he died in 1891. His first wife was Susannah Muir, who died in 1856. His second wife was Eliza J. Shinkle, and the third Emily Dillon. By his first wife he had a son, John Seuvetus Prather, who was killed at New Orleans in 1896. His second wife, Eliza J. Shinkle Prather, bore him three daughters and one son, Mrs. Florence Richey of Felicity, Mrs. Mattie Terry of Covington, Ky., Mrs. Jennie Riley of Independence, Ky., and William Walter Prather, the attorney of Cincinnati. William Walter Prather graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science at the Northern Indiana Normal School in 1881, and received the degree of Bachelor of Law at the Cincinnati Law College in 1884. He was elected probate judge of Clermont county on the Republican ticket in 1884, at the age of twenty-six. He declined a second nomination, and has since been in active and successful practice of the law in Clermont and Hamilton counties. His offices are in Cincinnati, where he
now resides. William Walter Prather married Margaret Cornelia Bicking, a daughter of Joseph Bicking, of Batavia, formerly county treasurer. Their daughter, Florence Prather, graduated from Vassar College in 1908.
The Clermont Shinkles are descended from John Karl Schinkel, who emigrated from Edenkoben on the Rhine, and came over on the "Snow Ketty" in 1737.
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The Bickings came from Pennsylvania, where they were paper makers at Downingtown, near Philadelphia during the Revolution, and where a cousin, Samuel P. Bicking & Brothers, still operate several paper mills.
By his third wife, Emily Dillon, John Garrett Prather the second, had three children, Zelia, now deceased ; Joseph D., now living in Evansville, Ind., and Homer, residing in Los Angeles, Cal.
THE RICKER FAMILY.
The Ricker family is of pure English extraction, tracing its lineage through the celebrated Wentworth family to Rynold (Reginald) de Wynterwade, a baron of great wealth, renown, and power, who lived at the height of his greatness in the year 1066, the time of the Norman invasion.
After twenty-eight generations, we find Elder William Wentworth, the first of the name in America, 1639. Mary Wentworth, fourth generation from Elder William Wentworth,. Quarried Jabez Ricker, and they had ten children, of whom Samuel Ricker married, 1790, Susanna, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Jewett. They were the first of the family to settle in Clermont county, Ohio. To them were born, Rufus, who laid out the city of Davenport, Iowa, where he was a judge for ten years ; Jabez, who taught the first school in Union school house, in Monroe township ; Benjamin Jewett ; Samuel ; Susanna, who married John Fitzpatrick ; Eben, who married Harriet Pompelly.
Benjamin Jewett Ricker, born at Poland, Maine, was married November 24, 1816, in Campbell county, Kentucky, to Mary Reed Wilson, born in Durham, Maine, February 12, 1800. He died in October, 1861, and she died in December, 1859. Their children were : Elbridge Gerry Ricker, born in Clermont county, Ohio, July 31, 1818 ; Susan, born in Rush county, Indiana, in 1821, and married Joseph R. Foster ; Adaline, born in Rush county, Indiana, 1824, married Benjamin Frazee ; Mary Ann, born in Rush county, Indiana, married Jacob Clark, and William Wilson Ricker, the youngest child, born in Clermont county, Ohio, married Mary Doane.
Elbridge Gerry Ricker was liberally educated in the best schools in Southern Ohio. He made farming his profession, and became one of the most noted agriculturists in the State.
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He was a very well known and active politician, being a warm advocate of the rights of the negro slave, and helping to found the Republican party in Ohio, in 1854-55. In 1855, he was elected a member of the legislature 'of Ohio, and in 1858, left his farm at Locust Corner, Ohio, to become a member of the board of directors and professor of agriculture of the Farmers' College, of College Hill, Ohio, where he successfully operated the experimental farm until the beginning of the War of the Rebellion. In the war, he was major of the Fifth Ohio cavalry, and won a glorious name by his gallant conduct. He was elected treasurer of Clermont county in 1863, and served efficiently for a period of two years. On December 13, 1836, he was united in marriage to Margaret Foster, daughter of Lieut. Thomas and Sarah (Holly) Foster, and a granddaughter of Thomas Foster, who was a son of Nancy Trigg, she being a daughter of Col. William and Jane (Smith) Trigg, the former of whom was a son of Abraham and Dosia (Johnson) Trigg. Abraham Trigg came from Cornwall, England, in 1725, to Spottsylvania county, Virginia.
Leonard Raper, the maternal grandfather of Margaret (Foster) Ricker, received his education at Oxford College, England, and came to America with Lord Cornwallis, acting as the latter's secretary until the surrender of Yorktown, after which he became loyal to the States government and was appointed surveyor of the Second district of Ohio. He first lived at the old block house, but later moved to Williamsburg.
To the union of Elbridge Gerry and Margaret (Foster) Ricker were born seven children :
Benjamin Jewett, who was born September 14, 1840, and was major of the Thirty-fourth Ohio volunteers. Following the close of the war, he studied law, and was admitted to the Clermont county bar. He died at the home of his brother, Dr. J. T. Ricker, at Glen Rose, Ohio, September, 1907.
Rosella A., who was born April 1, 1842, married Dr. Edwin Freeman, a prominent surgeon of Cincinnati, who rendered gallant service to his country as a member of the Ninth army corps, and who afterward filled the chair of professor of surgery at the Eclectic Medical College. They had two sons and one daughter : Foster Freeman, unmarried ; Dr. E. R. Freeman, who became professor of dermatology in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, and was a member of the staff of the Seaton Hospital, dying unmarried in 1012, and Rosella Margaret Freeman, married Alan Ross Raff, and to them have been born one child, Rosella.
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Thomas Foster, lost his life as a result of a wound received while serving his country during the Civil war. He died un-married, 1874.
Maria, who was born July 24, 1845, died July 8, 1872, unmarried.
Edward, born October 8, 1846, died unmarried.
Joseph Trimble, born May 18, 1848.
Sarah Foster, born November 22, 1855, was educated at the Wesleyan Female College, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and married William T. Simpson, of College Hill, Ohio, who is vice-president of the American Rolling Mills Company, of Middleton, Ohio, and to them was born one child, Robert, who died in early childhood.
There is perhaps no family in Clermont county who has more intimate knowledge of the history of the county, its advantages, improvements and advancement than the members of the Ricker family, who for many years have witnessed its growth and through long years have taken an active part in the progress that conserves commercial development and general prosperity of the community.
PERCY FRENCH JAMIESON.
Percy F. Jamieson, president of the First National Bank of Batavia, Ohio, and one of the progressive and successful business men of Clermont county, was born at Batavia, Ohio, July 24, 1868, son of Milton Jamieson, extended mention of whom appears on other pages of these volumes.
Mr. Jamieson, of this review, graduated from the Batavia public schools in 1887, then attended the University at Wooster, Ohio, joining the "Phi Gamma Delta" college fraternity, of which he is still a member. Soon after leaving college Mr. Jamieson accepted the position of secretary of Jones Brothers' Electric Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio, resigning within a year to become assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Batavia. He served the bank in this capacity until 1007, when he was elected cashier, and since January, 1912, has been the institution's efficient president. He assisted in the organization of the Batavia Improvement Company, and has served as its president to the present time. In 1933 he formed a partnership with A. V. Carroll, of Williamsburg, Ohio, for the manufacture of machine tools, and one year later organ-
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ized the business into a stock company under the corporate name of the Carroll- Jamieson Machine Tool Company, serving since then as secretary and treasurer. The business has been very successful, the company owns its plant and ships machinery to all parts of the United States and is building up a foreign trade. In 1006, Mr. Jamieson started what is known as the Batavia Foundry Company as a partnership with James A. Norman, whose interest he purchased the same year ; the plant was completely destroyed by fire, in February, 1912, but he rebuilt at once a much better building and the foundry is now doing a good business. He is a director and a vice- president of "American Liability Insurance Company," of Cincinnati, Ohio, besides other business interests.
While never in any sense a politician, Mr. Jamieson has served on the Batavia council, was president of the board of public affairs for six years and is at present a member of the school board. He has ever taken an active interest and part in enterprises for the upbuilding of his home town. He was the organizer, in 1892, of the Batavia orchestra and is still leader.
September 26, 1804, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Jamieson and Miss Elizabeth Griffith, daughter of Thomas A. and Anna M. Griffith, of Batavia, Ohio. To this union have been born the following children : Donald G., born November 6, 1895; Katherine, born February 12, 1897; Robert B., born May 4, 1900 ; Elizabeth, born May 26, 1903 ; Mary. Virginia, born September 19, 1905 ; and John G., born June 3, 1911;
Mr. Jamieson is a member of the time-honored Masonic fraternity, including the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council. Both he and Mrs. Jamieson are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, in which he is an acting elder, being also superintendent of the Sunday school.
JAMES B. HOLMAN.
Mr. James B. Holman, an enterprising, energetic and prosperous farmer of Brown county, Ohio, is successfully engaged in the pursuits of agriculture on his well improved and productive farm of two hundred and two acres in Sterling township, two and one-half miles from Williamsburg. He also gives considerable attention to stock raising in connection with his general farming. Mr. Holman is a native of Brown
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county, his birth having occurred April 23, 1847, his parents being James and Sarah (Hosier) Holman.
Mr. James Holman was born near Trenton, N. J., in 1797, and grew to young manhood in his native State. In the year of 1819 or 1820, James Holman and his brother, Francis, were influenced to come to Williamsburg, Ohio, by an uncle, James Perrine, Sr., who had left New Jersey in 1803 and settled on the Hawkin's Survey on the road from Williamsburg to Bethel. One of his sons, James Perrine, Jr., married Polly Kain, a daughter of James Kain, the first of all to settle in the East Fork Valley. A daughter of theirs married John Jamieson, and they were the ancestors of the Milton Jamieson family, of Batavia, Ohio, whose sketch appears elsewhere on these pages.
James Holman traveled on foot from New Jersey to Ohio, and his possessions at the time of his arrival in Williamsburg was the sum of three cents. He at once engaged as stage driver from "Williamsburg to Chillicothe, and was thus occupied for several years. He followed other occupations as well and finally determined to become a farmer and stock raiser. As soon as he had saved sufficient money necessary to make the trip, Mr. Holman returned to New Jersey for his mother and father, the latter of whom was Joseph Holman. He secured a one-horse conveyance for their journey and he walked the entire distance to Brown county, where he established them in comfortable surroundings. The first land he was able to purchase, he deeded to his mother and thus enabled his parents to spend their declining years in comfortable enjoyment. He finally secured a fine farm of five hundred acres in Brown county and met with the success which he so well deserved. He operated a wood-working factory on his farm and hauled its products to Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. James Holman was one of and the eldest of five children, the others being: Frank, who died in Brown county, and Anna, who married James Kain, of Williamsburg. The others remained in New Jersey. James Holman was one of the self-made men of his locality and owed his prosperity to his own energy and determination. He died on the farm he had opened to civilization, June 15, 1875, at the ripe old age of seventy-eight years. He was a strong pioneer, and the influence of his industrious life will ever live in the hearts of his descendants. In politics he was a staunch Democrat.
Sarah (Bosier) Holman was born in New Jersey and departed this life in 1855, aged about forty years. To the union