GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 175 received in the South Vienna schools was supplemented by the instructions he received at home. As a boy he took part in the local literary societies and debating contests carried on in connection with the village school and when fourteen years of age successfully passed the examination entitling him to a license to teach school, but he was so small the school trustee would not hire him. For three years he worked about his father's saw-mill and 'then, stimulated by the course his uncles had taken, decided to "break into the newspaper game." With this end in view he secured a position on the Springfield Republic, three months later going from that paper to the Springfield Daily Gazette and thence: after a while, to the Champion City Times and was connected with the latter paper when the Springfield Daily Democrat was launched in 1888. He accepted a position as a reporter on the new paper and gradually advanced his connection with that paper, becoming successively city editor, managing editor and then owner of the paper, and continued its publication until he sold the same in 1905 to James M. Cox, now governor of the state of Ohio. During his connection with the Democrat Mr. Rice organized and for some time operated the Rice News Bureau. He was for years a member of the Clark county Democratic executive committee and while at Springfield also served for six years as a member of the city board of health. During his residence at South Vienna he. served for some time as captain of Harry Whittaker Camp of the Sons of Veterans and was also captain of a military company organized by that camp. In 1906, not long after he sold the Springfield Democrat, Mr. Rice bought the Xenia Herald and Democrat-News, a once-a-week paper of general circulation throughout the sixth congressional district, and has ever since been directing the destinies of that newspaper, the Herald's editorial columns maintaining the principles of the Democratic party. During the first Wilson administration it was generally understood in informed political circles that Mr. Rice was "slated" for appointment to. the post of United States minister to Portugal, but President Wilson had another appointee in mind and the Xenia editor's friends were disappointed in their expectations regarding Mr. Rice's reward for his long and unselfish labors in behalf of the party. A measure of reward came later, however, for on January 12, 1916, Mr. Rice received his commission as postmaster at Xenia and he has since occupied that position; Besides being a writer of forceful newspaper English, Mr. Rice has written considerable along more enduring lines, his notable book, "Eve and the Evangelist," published in 1908, having attracted wide attention and extensive newspaper comment. Mr. Rice also is possessed of a fine artistic taste and in other days did considerable toward developing his marked artistic talents, some of the oil paintings of bits of familiar scenery executed by him (luring the days of his boyhood displaying a promise of 176 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO ability along that line which his friends regret he did not further cultivate. When fourteen years of age he delighted his family and friends by writing frequent bits of poetry and numerous short stories came from his ready pen in the days of his young manhood. He has an unpublished novel which his friends would like to see come out some day. In 1902 Mr. Rice undertook the ambitious project of writing a book under the title of "World Peace," in which he sought to set out the expressions of every ruler in the world along that line, but inquiries to that end failed to elicit any response from either the kaiser or the czar and he perforce was compelled to abandon the undertaking. In addition to his newspaper and other interests Mr. Rice is vice-president of the Springfield Theater Company, proprietors of the Columbia Theater at Springfield. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On June 10, 1895, Harry E. Rice was united in marriage to May King, who was born at Plymouth, this state, daughter of David B. and Nora (Hoffman) King, the former of whom, a Scottish Rite Mason, is still living, proprietor of a general store at Plymouth, and to this union three sons have been born, namely : Robert K., a former midshipman in the United States navy and now a quartermaster in the Naval. Reserves ; Harry E., Jr., who after his graduation from the Springfield high school spent a year in Wittenberg College and in June, 1917, entered the United States Naval Academy as the "middy" appointee from this district, and David Busbey, who is a student in the Springfield high school. Mrs. Rice was graduated from Harcourt Place at Gambier, this state, and completed her schooling in .Germany, where she took art and languages. MARY H. BANKERD. Miss Mary H. Bankerd, superintendent of the Greene County Children's, Home and one of the best authorities on eleemosynary work in this part of Ohio, was born in this county, has lived here all her life and is thus thoroughly familiar with conditions hereabout, particularly in so far as these conditions relate to the noble humanitarian labors in which she has been engaged for years, her service in that connection having been begun during the time her late father was serving as superintendent of the county infirmary. Miss Bankerd was born at Xenia, daughter of Henry C. and Catherine (Manor) Bankerd, the latter of whom, a member of one of Greene county's old families, is still living. The late Henry C. Bankerd, a veteran of the Civil War and for many years one of Greene county's best-known and most useful citizens, was a native of Maryland, born in the city of Baltimore on September 17, 1846, son of GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 177 Peter and Hannah (Greiner) Bankerd, the former of whom was born in Morgan county, Virginia, in 1816, and the latter in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1818. Peter Bankerd was a glass blower, and his son, Henry C., was trained in the same art. When the latter, was but a boy the Bankerds moved from Baltimore to Lenox, Massachusetts, and there remained until 1863, when the elder Bankerd disposed of his interests in the East and came with his family to Ohio, .buying a farm one mile northwest of Xenia with the expectation of turning his attention permanently to farming, but a year later he returned to Lenox, where he resumed his vocation as a glass blower 'and where he remained until 1866, in which year he accepted the position of manager of the DePauw glass works at New Albany, Indiana, and removed to that city. A year later, however, he returned to Xenia and re-established his home on his farm in the vicinity of that city and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, both living to ripe old age. Peter Bankerd and wife were the parents of four children, the late Henry C. Bankerd having had three sisters, Margaret, who married D. S. Heath and is now living in Missouri; Mary, wife of John C. Andrew of Xenia, and Georgia, wife of Joseph S. Wade, of Xenia. township. Having been but a child when his parents moved from Baltimore to Lenox, Henry C. Bankerd received his schooling in the latter city and under the direction of his father became a skilled glass blower. He was not yet seventeen years of age when he came with his parents to Greene county in 1863, but in the following February, he then still being under eighteen years of age, he enlisted for service as a soldier of the Union and went to the front as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served, principally engaged in garrison duty in towns taken by the Union forces in Georgia, until the termination of his term of enlistment and was mustered out of service at Nashville, Tennessee, in February, 1865. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Bankerd rejoined his parents in Lenox and with them presently moved to New Albany, Indiana, where he was engaged in the glass works until the family returned to this county, when he became associated with his father in the operation of the home farm on the outskirts of the city of Xenia, after his marriage, in 1867 establishing his home there. In 1896 Mr. Bankerd was appointed to the position of superintendent of the Greene county infirmary and for years rendered useful service in that connection. After his retire- ment he continued to make his home in this county and here he spent his last days, his death occurring on December 27, 1914, he then being sixty-eight years of age. Mr. Bankerd was a Republican. He was an active member of Lewis Post No. 347, Grand Army of the Republic, and had filled all' the offices in that patriotic organization. He also had filled all the offices ( 11 ) 178 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the local encampment of the Patriarchs Militant. As noted above, Mr. Bankerd was married in 1867. To him and his wife were born five children, namely: Rosa,' who died at the age of eleven years; Esther, who is still living at Xenia, widow of Parker J. Wilson; Mary H., the immediate subject of this biographical review; Peter C., who married Belle McCarty and is still residing on the home place in Xenia township, and Myrtle, wife of Charles Faulkner, of Columbus, this state. The mother of these children is still living. She was born in Xenia, Catherine Manor, daughter of John W. and Margaret A. (Scott) Manor, the latter of whom also was born in this county, daughter of James A. and Elizabeth (Shannon) Scott, who were married in Pennsylvania and who in 1815 established their home on a farm in Xenia township, this county, remaining there until 1827, when they took up their residence in Xenia, where they spent the remainder of their lives, James A. Scott dying there on August 12, 1881, and his widow, October- 24, of that same year. John W. Manor was a Virginian, born in the vicinity of the city of Winchester, in Frederick county, August 24, 1824, son of Benjamin and Catherine (Marsh) Manor, both of whom also were born in the Old Dominion and who in 1828 drove through to Ohio with their family of eight sons and three daughters' and located in a house on Main street in Xenia, where they. remained until March of the next year, when they established their home on a farm just east of town on the Dayton pike. There Benjamin Manor and his wife spent the rest of their lives, the former "dying in 1860, he then being seventy-two years of age. His widow survived him for fourteen years, her death occurring in 1874, she then being eighty-six years of ago. Another child was born to them after they took up their residence in this county and they thus were the parents of twelve children, of whom eight grew to maturity and reared families of their own, the Manor connection in the present generation hence being a numerous one. John W. Manor was but four years of age when his parents came to this county and here he grew to manhood. He early learned the trade of carpenter and in time became one of the leading building contractors in the county, making his home in Xenia. He was a Republican, for some time served as chairman of the Greene county Republican central committee, served a term as coroner Of Greene county, was for years a member of the board of directors of the county infirmary and for nearly ten years served as superintendent of the infirmary. Mr. Manor was a member of the Reformed church and, fraternally, was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the encampment of that order. On June 12, 1844, John W. Manor married Margaret A. Scott, mention of whose parentage is made above. To GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 179 that union were born nine children, all of whom grew to maturity, those, besides Mrs. Bankerd being David T., William A., Samuel H., Asbury L., Nettie, Benjamin L., James S. and John E. The father of these children died at his home in Xenia on December 12, 1897, and his widow survived him until August, 1906. Mary H. Bankerd received her schooling in the Xenia schools and upon leaving school became engaged as a clerk in a commercial establishment in that city. During the period of her father's connection with the county infirmary as superintendent of that institution she acted as housekeeper for the institution and in this manner early became familiar with the details of institutional administration and at the same time developed a strong sympathetic interest in behalf of the less helpful of the county's charges. When Miss Bankerd later was made matron of the Greene County Children's Home this sympathetic interest was displayed in countless helpful ways 'in behalf of the little charges who thus came under her care and she did much to elevate the standard of administrative efficiency that marked the management of that institution. She did much to promote the plans for the erection of the new and beautiful home for children just west of the city, and on September 16, 1912, was made superintendent of the Home, a position she has since filled, her thoughtful and intelligent attention being given to the welfare of the youthful charges under her sympathetic care. Greene county is fortunate in having one of the best and most prudently managed Children's Homes in the state and it is a source of much satisfaction to the people of the county to know that the administration of the affairs of the Home is in such capable and experienced hands, M. iss Bankerd having for years devoted her energies unceasingly and tirelessly to the important administrative duties that thus became incumbent upon her. Miss Bankerd is a member of the Presbyterian church at Xenia, a member of the local corps of the Woman's Relief Corps, a member of the local lodge of the Daughters of Rebekah, and a member of the Daughters of Veterans. FREDERICK HEILMAN, D. C. Dr. Frederick Heilman, chiropractor, with offices at Xenia and Jamestown, was born in the city of Dayton, in the neighboring county of Montgomery, June 20, 1879, son of John and Sophia (Heffner) Heilman, the latter of whom was born in that same city and both of whom are still living there. John Heilman is a native of Germany, born in 1852, but was only six months of age when his parents came to this country with their family, locating near the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood on 180 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO a farm and learned the trade of miller. In the days of his young manhood he came to Ohio and became engaged in a mill at Dayton, later becoming bookkeeper for the Bimm Grocery Company, a position which he occupied for twenty years, at the end of which time he became engaged in the mill-ing business on his own account. At present Mr. Heilman is serving as sec-retary of the Adam Schantz estate and as superintendent of the buildings belonging to that estate. Some time after locating at Dayton, John Heilman married Sophia Heffner, who was born in that city in 1858, and to this union were born three children, of whom Doctor Heilman is the eldest, the others being Walter Heilman, who is married and is living at Dayton, and Grace May, widow of Asa F. Hague. Frederick Heilman received his schooling in the schools of Dayton and early became engaged with his father in business in that city, later, about 1902, taking employment with the Davis Sewing Machine Company in that city, with which concern he remained for ten years, at the end of which time he transferred his services to the National Cash Register Company at Dayton and was thus engaged for four years, or until 1916, when he entered the Universal Chiropractic College at Davenport, Iowa, from which institution he was graduated on July 12, 1917. Upon receiving his diploma Doctor Heilman returned to Ohio and opened an office for the practice of his profession in the Kingsbury building on Detroit street, Xenia. In addition to this office, Doctor Heilman maintains an office at Jamestown and divides his time between the two offices, the only doctor of chiropractic in Greene county. The Doctor is a member of the Reformed church and fraternally is affiliated with the local lodge of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. By political inclination he is an independent voter. JOHN R. NASH. Though now in the ninetieth year of his age, John R. Nash, one of the real “old-timers" of Greene county and a substantial retired farmer living on his old home place in Xenia township, on rural route No. 8 out of Xenia, where he has made his home for nearly sixty years, is a remarkably well preserved old gentleman, retaining his faculties in an astonishing degree for one of his years, his memory clear and distinct, his sight so clear that he is still able to read without glasses and his hearing practically unimpaired. Mr. Nash was born in Greene county and during the long period that has elapsed since he began to retain a recollection of events he has been a witness to some amazing developments in the manner of living and is able to tell many interesting stories of the days of the earlier settlers in the county. John R. Nash was born in a little log stable on a farm two miles south GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 181 of Cedarville, in this county,, May 25, 1828, and was cradled in a sugar trough hewed out of a log. His parents, Hugh and Rebecca (Graham) Nash, were members of two of the early families to settle in this part of the county, Hugh Nash having been a son of Nathan and Polly (Ward) Nash, who drove through with their family from Washington county, Pennsylvania, and settled in Greene county about the time the county became organized as a civic unit and here established their home. They later moved to Licking county and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Newark, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of ten children, William, James, Thomas, Hugh, John, Nathan, Sarah, Margaret, Nancy and Maria. The family was very poor in world's goods and it is a matter of tradition in the family that it was not uncommon for the children to have to go barefooted even after snow had fallen. Hugh Nash grew up in this county and lived here continuously save for a couple of years spent in Warren county, Illinois. Upon his return from there he settled in Xenia township and there spent his last days, his death occurring at the age of sixty-five years.... His widow survived him for years, she having been eighty-there years of age at the time of her death. They were members of the Associate Reformed church, but after the union of that church and the Associate church became affiliated with the United Presbyterian church. Hugh Nash was originally a Whig, but upon the formation of the Republican party became affiliated with the latter party. He and his wife had two children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Mary, widow of John Miller, of Columbus, Ohio. Reared on the farm, John R. Nash received but limited schooling in the days of his boyhood and the most of that was received during the period of two years the family lived in Illinois, he retaining distinct recollections of the little old log school house with its puncheon floor and with its greased paper for 'window "lights." Being the only son, he was from early boyhood a valued assistant to his father in the labors of the farm and he remained at home until his marriage when twenty-one years of age, after which he located on a farm on the Columbus pike in Xenia township, in the immediate vicinity of the present site of Wilberforce, and there lived for eight years, or until 1859, in which year he bought and entered upon possession of the farm of ninety-four and a half acres in that same township, on what is now rural mail route No. 8 out of Xenia, where he now lives and where he ever since has made his home. When he took possession of that farm there was standing on the same a house that was erected in 1840. He remodeled the house and made other improvements to the place and has for many years had a well-kept place. In addition to his general farming Mr. Nash gave considerable attention to the raising of . live stock and did well. He continued actively engaged in farming until 1912, since which time he has been 182 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO content to "take things. easy." Mr. Nash is a Republican; and for .three years served as supervisor in his district, was land appraiser in his township during the year 1900 and in that same year served as one of the local census enumerators for the federal census. He is a member of the First United Presbyterian church at Xenia and has been a member of the session of the same for the past forty years. It was in 1850 that John R. Nash was united in marriage to Mary Jackson, who was born in the neighborhood of Yellow Springs, this county, January 28, 1832, daughter of Gen. Robert and Minerva (Eddy) Jackson, the former of whom was born in Belmont county, this state, and the latter in the South. Gen. Robert Jackson, who gained his title by right of his commission in the old Ohio state militia, and further and extended references to whom is made elsewhere, was a farmer and miller who moved from the Yellow Springs neighborhood to Xenia, where he operated a mill for some time and later bought a farm two miles east of that city, where he spent his last days. His widow died in Yellow Springs., Mrs. Mary Nash died on September 28, 1904, survived by her husband and two sons, Robert Harvey and Hugh Leander, the latter of whom is still living. Robert H. Nash, who died on November 25, 1917, was a former member of the board of county commissioners of Greene county and a well-to-do farmer who lived two miles east of Xenia. He married on November 28, 1876, Agnes G. Watt, a daughter of William Watt, a former member of the board of county commissioners, and had four sons, Herbert W., Walter L., Charles E. and William H., further reference to which family is made elsewhere. Hugh L. Nash is farming the old home place east of Xenia, his father continuing to make his home with him there. He married Mary Ellsworth Frazier and has one child, a son, John F. John R. Nash has seven great-grandchildren, in whose companionship he takes great delight. WILLIAM HENRY BRETNEY. The late William Henry Bretney, a veteran of the Civil War, who died at his farm home in Cedarville township on November 5, 1912, and whose widow is now living at Xenia, occupant of the house in North Detroit street built by her father, Alexander McWhirk, many years ago, was a native son of Ohio, born in the city of Springfield, in the neighboring county of Clark, October' 23, 1846, son of Tobias and Emma (Gant) Bretney, the former of whom also was born at Springfield and the latter in the state of New Jersey, whose last days were spent in Springfield, both dying there on the same day during the cholera scourge of 1849. Tobias Bretney was a son of Henry Bretney, whose father was one of GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 183 the earliest settlers in Springfield. Henry Bretney was a tanner at Springfield and Tobias Bretney grew up familiar with the details of the tanning business and in turn became proprietor of a tannery of his own in Springfield and was in business there when stricken with cholera in 1849, both he and his wife dying on the same day. They were the parents of two sons, the subject of this memorial sketch having had a brother, Foster Bretney, who died at Dayton in 1893. William Henry Bretney was but three years of age when his parents died and he was reared in the household of his paternal grandfather, Henry Bretney. He received his schooling in the Springfield schools and it was his youthful desire to enter one of the newspaper offices with -a view to becoming qualified for the journalistic profession, but this ambition was discouraged by his grandfather, who, instead, required him to learn the details of the tanning business and he was working in his grandfather's tannery at Springfield when the Civil War broke out. Though then not fifteen years of age, young. "Billie" Bretney not long after the President's first call for volunteers was able to get into the service of the Union army as a bugler and in that capacity was attached to the Seventeenth Army Corps, with which command he served until the close of the war, being present with Sherman on the march to the sea and in the later Grand Review at Washington. The young bugler was much of the time right close to General Sherman. During one of the numerous desperate engagements in which he participated his horse was shot from under him. While he was standing disconsolate beside the body of his fallen steed, he was approached by the General, who said : "Never mind, Billie: let it go—here is another horse," and the boy bugler was quickly remounted and again in action. Upon the completion of his military service, William H. Bretney returned to Springfield, but instead of resuming his place in the tannery began working in a drug store and was thus engaged in his home town for a few years, at the end of which time he went West "to see the country." During this "prospecting" period he secured intermittent employment in drug stores in various towns and cities along the lines of his travels. and while thus employed got as far south as the Indian Territory. There he became employed in a government clerkship and was thus employed until 1884, when he returned to Ohio and for a time made his home on the farm of an uncle in Xenia township, this county. He was married the next year, 1885, and after his marriage became associated with his wife's brother, William Henry McWhirk, in the operation of the affairs of the Xenia Twine and Cordage Company, and was thus engaged until they sold the mill several years later. Upon retiring from the cordage business Mr. Bretney bought a farm of two hundred and fifty-five acres on the Kyle road in Cedarville township and 184 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO there established his home, continuing engaged in farming until his death in 1912. Mr. Bretney was a Republican and was a member of the Second United Presbyterian church at Xenia, as is his widow. On March 16, 1885, William H. Bretney was united in marriage, at Xenia, to Lilla McWhirk, daughter of Alexander and Matilda (Mitchell) McWhirk, then living retired in Xenia, where Mr. McWhirk had erected a handsome residence at 212 North Detroit street. Both Alexander McWhirk and his wife were natives of Scotland, the former born in the city of Glasgow and the latter in the city of Edinburgh. They first met on the vessel which was bringing them to the shores of America and upon their arrival hue were married in Boston. Alexander McWhirk had been trained as a tailor and cloth-finisher and for some time after his arrival in this country was employed at his trade in Boston and at Dedham, Massachusetts. He then moved to Cincinnati, where he became engaged in the grocery business, continuing thus engaged in that city until his retirement and removal to Xenia, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. Alexander McWhirk and his wife were the parents of nine children, of whom Mrs. Bretney alone survives. Her last surviving brother, Alexander McWhirk, a retired banker of Kansas City, Missouri, died on February 20, 1918. After the death of her husband Mrs. Bretney left the old home farm in Cedarville township and returned to Xenia, where she has since made her home in the house formerly occupied by her parents in North Detroit street. JOHN THORBURN CHARTERS. John Thorburn Charters, president of the Xenia city commission and for years one of the leading jewelers in this part of Ohio, was born at Xenia and has lived there all his life. He was born on March 4, 1873, son of George and Janet (Moodie) Charters, the former of whom also was born at Xenia and there spent all his life, establishing in that city in 1854 the business which is now being carried on by his son, whose connection with the same began in 1891 and who has been the sole proprietor of the establishment since his father's death in 1910. For thirty years the Charters jewelry Store was conducted in the room at 114 East Main street, but in March, 1915, Mr. Charters moved to his present location at 44 East Main street, where the business has expanded and increased steadily. George Charters, the veteran jeweler, who died at his home in Xenia on April 17, 1910, was born in that city, then a mere village, July 12, 1835, son of John and Margaret (Monroe) Charters, the latter of whom was a native of Scotland, born in the parish of Arisdale, Annandale county, and who was but a child when she came to this country with her parents. John GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 185 Charters was born in the city of New York, the son of a piano-maker, who later came to Ohio and who, in association with his son John, made the first pianos manufactured in the state of Ohio, one of these quaint instruments still being in possession of the pioneer manufacturer's great-grandson, the subject of this biographical .review. It was in 1825 that John Charters came to Ohio from New York and it was on April 15, 1829, that he married Margaret Monroe, who had come here with her parents from Scotland in 1816. To that union were born ten children, four sons and six daughters, who were reared in the faith of the Associate (Seceder) church, the family becoming one of the influential families in and about Xenia. John Charters died on January 6, 1870, aged sixty-eight, and was buried in Woodlawn cemetery. George Charters, one of the ten children here referred to, grew up at Xenia and early became skilled as a jeweler and watchmaker, presently engaging in business in that line in his home town and so continued the rest of his life, one of the best-established merchants in the city of Xenia, his death occurring, as noted above, in the spring of tw0, he then being in the seventy-fifth year of his age. In 1864 George Charters married Janet Moodie, who was born at Jackson Center, in Shelby county, this state, January 21, 1842, daughter of Robert Moodie, a member of one of Ohio's pioneer families, and to this union were born three children, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Robert Moodie Charters, now a resident of Cleveland, this state, and a sister, Margaret Isabella, wife of A. R. Collins, of Kenaston, Saskatchewan, Canada. The mother of these children died at Xenia on August 25, 1905, she then being in the sixty-fourth year of her age. John Thorburn Charters was reared at Xenia, the place of his birth, received his schooling in the schools of that city, and in 1891, he then being but eighteen years of age, became associated with his father in the jewelry business in Xenia business he had followed ever since, sole proprietor of the old-established concern since the death of his father in 1910. Upon. the adoption of the new city charter in 1917, the same providing for a change of local administration from the old common-council system of government to a commission form of government, Mr. Charters permitted the use of his name as a candidate for membership in the first city commission and in the ensuing election received the highest number of votes cast in that behalf, this very gratifying honor making him, under the provisions of the charter, president of the commission when the same in due time came to be organized, and he is now serving in that capacity, the only public office he has ever held. Mr. Charters is a 32 Mason, affiliated with the consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Valley of Dayton; is past master of Xenia Lodge No. 49, Free and Accepted Masons; past high priest of Xenia Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, 186 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO and paste thrice illustrious master of Wright Council; Royal and Select Masters. He and his family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal church. On January 1, 1896, at Xenia, John Thorburn Charters was united in marriage to Harriet Pearl Stull, who also was born in this county, May 22, 1877,, daughter of John and Harriet (Fries) Stull, the latter of whom also was born at Xenia. John Stull was born at Fredericksburg, Maryland. He and his wife were the parents of three sons, Charles, residing near Waynesville, Ohio; Ralph, a farmer near Xenia, and Edward, of Dayton, and four daughters, Mrs. Charters, Carrie B. (deceased), Mabel (deceased), and Alice May. Mr. and Mrs. Charters have two daughters, Anna Marguerite, born on October 18, 1896, and Ruth Janet, August 5, 1905. They have a very pleasant home at 126 East Second street. LEROY TATE MARSHALL. Leroy Tate Marshall, former clerk of courts for Greene county and a practicing lawyer at Xenia, is a member of one of Greene county's pioneer families, the Marshalls having been here since the year in which this county was erected as a separate civic unit of the then new state of Ohio. His great-grandfather John Marshall, who was born in the neighborhood of what is now the city of Lexington, in Kentucky, in 1784, was nineteen years of age when he. came up into the valley of the little Miami and settled here in 1803. He became the owner of a considerable tract of land in Sugarcreek township and after his marriage established his home there, all of which is set out at length elsewhere in this volume, together with further details of the history of the Marshall family in this county. John Marshall, the pioneer, was the father of six children, the youngest .of whom, Jesse Marshall; married and continued farming in Sugarcreek. township. He and his wife were the parents of, seven children, of whom three sons and two daughters are still living. Willis Marshall, the eldest of these sons and the father of the subject of this sketch, is now living on a farm over the line in Clinton county, not far from the village of New Burlington. He has been twice married, his first wife, who was. Emma Tate and who also was born in this county, a member of one of the pioneer families, the Tates having been here since the. second decade of the past century, having died in 1884, leaving two sons, J. Carl and Leroy Tate, the former of whom is now judge of probate for Greene county and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume. Willis Marshall later married Laura, Holland, of. Spring Valley. Leroy Tate Marshall was born on the old Marshall home farm in. Sugarcreek township on November 8, 1883, and was but an infant when his GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 187 mother died. He supplemented the schooling he received in the neighborhood district school by attendance at a normal training school at Dayton and by a course in the township high school at Bellbrook and then began to teach school, being thus engaged for two years, at the end of which time he entered Cedarville College and was graduated from that institution in 1907. Upon leaving college he was selected as principal of the Cedarville high school and was thus engaged when in the fall he was elected county clerk, having been made the nominee of the Republican party for that office in the preceding campaign. Mr. Marshall entered upon the duties of the office of county clerk in 1909 and served in that capacity for four years. In the meantime he had been devoting such leisure as he could command to the study of law and in December, 1911, passed the examination and was admitted to the bar. Upon the expiration of his term of public office in 1913 Mr. Marshall opened an office for the practice of his profession and for the sale of securities in Xenia and has since been thus engaged. Mr. Marshall is a Republican and for four years, 1912-16, rendered service in behalf of his party as chairman of the Greene county Republican executive committee. On June 4, 1908, at Cedarville, Leroy Tate Marshall was united in marriage to Nelle Catherine Turnbull, daughter of Edward and Jennie (Smith) Turnbull, both of whom are still living at Cedarville, and to this union have been born two children, Maxwell Edward, born on March 10, 1909, and Emma Jean, August 21, 1912. The Turnbulls also are an old family in Greene county, having been represented here for more than a hundred years. Edward Turnbull and his wife have three children, Mrs. Marshall having two brothers, Howard Edward Turnbull, a farmer living in the immediate vicinity of Cedarville, who married Letta Baumgartner and has one child, a daughter, Wanda, and Paul Beveridge Turnbull, who married Miriam Fudge and is now. (1918) a member of the National Army, in camp at Camp Sherman, in preparation for service in the war against Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall are members of the First United Presbyterian church at Xenia. WILLIAM SCOTT CHALMERS. William Scott Chalmers, a farmer of Xenia township, living on rural mail route No. 9 out of Xenia, where, he and his two sisters are pleasantly situated, was born on a farm in New Jasper township this county, June 2, 1862, son of William D. and Jane (Crawford) Chalmers, the former of whom was born in South Carolina and the latter in Ireland, she having been six years of age when she came to this country with her parents, the familysettling in this county. 188 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO William D. Chalmers was but a lad when his parents, James Chalmers and wife, came to this state from South Caroline and settled in Greene county, making their home on the place upon which their grandson, the subject of this sketch, now makes his home, in Xenia township. When James Chalmers bought the place it was partly cleared and there was a log cabin on it. He proceeded to clear and improve the place and he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives there. They were the parents of four children, Joseph, Jane, Charlotte and William D., the latter of whom grew up en that farm and after his marriage to Jane Crawford for a time made his home in New Jasper township, but later returned to the home farm, where he died at the age of seventy-one years. His wife had long predeceased him, her death having occurred when she was fifty-one years of age. They were members of the United Presbyterian church and their children were reared in that faith. There were nine of these children, three of whom died in early youth, the others being James, who is now living at Indianapolis, where he is engaged as foreman in a lumber yard; William Scott, whose name forms the caption for this biographical sketch ; John, who died at the age of eighteen years ; David, who died at the age of sixteen years ; Jane, unmarried, who is making her home on the old home place with her brother William and her younger sister, and Margaret E., also unmarried, who is making her home with her brother and sister on the home place. William Scott Chalmers grew up on the farm and the schooling he received in the neighborhood schools was supplemented by two years of attendance at school in Xenia. He and his sisters have always remained on the home farm and were in charge of the same when their father died. Their old house was destroyed by fire in 1902, but they rebuilt in the same year and n0w have a very comfortable home. They are members of the First United Presbyterian church at Xenia, In addition to his general farming Mr. Chalmers gives considerable attention to the raising of Shorthorn cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs. He and his sisters own the home farm of one hundred and three acres. WALTER M. LAURENS. Walter M. Laurens, who is operating the David S. Harner farm in Xenia township and residing on the place, rural mail route No. 10 out of Xenia, was born in that township, on a place two and a half miles north of the city of Xenia, February 27, 1872, son of A. P. F. and Josephine (Grisel) Laurens, the latter of whom also was born in this county, in the southern part of Xenia township, in April, 1851, and who is still living here, a resident of Xenia. Her widowed mother was for years the keeper of the toll GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 189 gate on the Cincinnati pike south of Xenia. Mrs. Laurens was the youngest of the three children of this widow. A. P. F. Laurens was born in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia on January 6, 1846, a son of Martin Laurens and wife, and was about twelve years of age when his parents came to Greene county. Martin Laurens was born in France and was but a boy when he came to this country with his parents, the family locating in Virginia, where he grew up and was trained to the trade of miller. After his marriage he continued working as a miller in Virginia for some time and then came with his family to Ohio to take charge of a mill in Clermont county, later coming up here to take charge of the Jacoby mill on the Little Miami river in the vicinity of Goes Station. That was in the late '50s and he continued in charge of that mill during the Civil War period, later taking charge of a mill on Buck creek at Springfield. He and his wife were Methodists and were the parents of twelve children, all of whom are now deceased. A. P. F. Laurens was about twelve years of age when he came with his parents to Greene county and when he was sixteen he enlisted for service as a soldier of the Union and went to the front as a member of the Eighth Ohio Cavalry, with which command he served until the close of the Civil War. Upon the completion of his military service he took up farming, after his marriage establishing his home on a farm, and continued thus engaged the rest of his life, his death occurring on October 19, 1898. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being the following: Alice, who married John Skelly and died at the age of thirty years; William, a resident of Xenia township; Etta, wife of William Betts, of Miami county, this state; Margaret, wife of William Lackey, of the Cedarville neighborhood ; James, of Caesarscreek township; Clara, wife of John Turner, of Cedarville township; Jessie, wife of Harry Bausman, of Miami county; Lee, now living in the neighboring county of Clinton; Edward, also a resident of Clinton county ; Clifford, who is engaged in the service of the Big Four Railroad, making his home at Miamisburg, and Olive, unmarried, who is making her home with her mother at Xenia. Walter M. Laurens was reared on a farm and received his schooling in the neighborhood schools. When twenty years of age he rented a farm and has ever since been actively engaged in farming. After his marriage in 1890 he rented a farm in the vicinity of Selma, later renting the J. B. Stevenson farm and on this latter place. remained until 1901, when he took charge of the farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres belonging to his father-in-law, David S. Harner, in Xenia township, and has since made his home there. Mr. Laurens is a Democrat, as was his father. His wife is 190 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO a member of the First Reformed church at Xenia and his mother is a member of the Friends church. On December 3, 1890, Walter M. Laurens .was united in marriage to Emma Harrier, who was born on the farm on which she is now living, daughter of David S. and Lavina (Wall) Harner, now living at Xenia, and to this union two children have been born, namely : Gussa, born on June 8, 1892, who was killed in a grade-crossing accident on the Springfield pike in 1908, and Freda, born on September 13, 1905. David S. Harner, father of. Mrs. Laurens, was born in Beavercreek township, this county, June 27, 1838, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Snyder) Harner, both of whom were born in that same township, members of pioneer families. Daniel Harner was a son of John and Sarah (Koogler) Harner, both of whom were born in Germany, but who had come to this country with their respective parents when mere children, both the Harner and Koogler families settling in Pennsylvania, where John and Sarah grew up and were married. It was in 1805 that John Harner and his wife came to Ohio and located in Beavercreek township, this county, settling on a timber tract which they proceeded to develop. John Harner and his brothers for some time operated a distillery there, marketing their product in Cincinnati. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, Jacob, Simon, John, Daniel, George, Mrs. Kate Showers, Mrs. Rebecca Augwell and Mrs. Sarah Miller. Daniel Harner grew up on the farm on which he was born and after his marriage to Elizabeth Snyder established his home on that portion of the place that had come to him and later added to the same until he had an excellent farm of one hundred and forty-five acres. He and his wife were members of the Reformed church at Byron and he was a Republican. They had four children, of whom David S. was the first-born, the others being Margaret, wife of Mathias Routzong, of Xenia township; Jonathan, a veteran of the Civil War, now deceased, who spent all his life on the home place, and' Sarah who married Warren Steele and is living on a farm in Beaver-creek township. Reared on the home farm, David S. Harner was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted' his services in behalf of the Union, but was rejected on account of a disability due to having broken one of his legs some time before. He therefore was compelled to stay at home, "doing his bit" not only by carrying on the operations of the home farm, but by harvesting the crops of several of his neighbors who were at the front, on one occasion driving a reaper for eleven days continuously, hands bringing on fresh horses to keep the old reaper going in order that the harvest might not be interrupted. After his marriage in the fall of 1865, Mr. Harner bought the farm that is now being operated by his son-in-law, Mr. Laurens, GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 191 part of which lies in Beavercreek township and part in Xenia township, and there he made his home until his retirement from the farm in 1909 and removal to Xenia, where he and his wife are now living, Mr. Harner having built a house on the Fairground road just at the edge of the city. Mr: Harner is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the Reformed church at Xenia. Mrs. Harner also was born in this county, in the vicinity of Clifton, in Miami township, a daughter of Andrew and Mary (Long) Wall, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Harner have three children, Mrs. Laurens having a brother, Kasper, who is living on a farm in Xenia township, and a sister, Mary, wife of P. C. James, a grocer in Xenia. JOHN W. ANDERSON. John W. Anderson,. retired farmer and building contractor living at Xenia, was born on a farm three miles south of Xenia on May 27, 1852, a son of. Thomas Maxey and Mary Jane (Stansfield) Anderson, both of whom also were born in this county. Thomas Maxey Anderson was a son of Daniel Anderson and wife, the latter of whom was a Dinsmore, who came to Greene county from Virginia and settled in Xenia township, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Reared on the farm on which he was born, in Xenia township, south of town, Thomas M. Anderson after his marriage continued to make his home on the home place, caring for his parents in their declining years. He was a Republican and for some time director of his local school district. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He lived to the age of seventy-two years and his wife died at the age of sixty-eight. They were the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being Charles, deceased; Clara, deceased; Florence,, who is living in Delaware county, Indiana, and who has been twice married, her first husband having been Henry Jones and her second, John Childers ; Sarah Catherine, wife of fames R. Stafford, also of Delaware county, Indiana; Amos Edgar, who is living on and farming a part of the old home place. south of Xenia; Ida. wife of Byron Adams, a farmer of the Spring Valley neighborhood; Horace, who is living on and farming a part of the old home place, and Harvey, who is engaged in the oil business at Cedarville. Reared on the home 'farm south of Xenia, John W. Anderson received his schooling in the district school of that neighborhood and early learned the carpenter trade, in time becoming a building contractor, a vocation he followed for twenty years. He remained at home until he was thirty years of age, when- he bought, a farm of his own and for five years was ,engaged 192 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO in farming, but later rented the farm, giving his attention to his building operations. Some years ago he sold his farm and moved to Xenia, where he has since lived practically retired, though still occasionally accepting a contract for building. Mr. Anderson has been thrice married. His first wife was Anna Buchanan, of Clermont county, this state, who died without issue. Mr. Anderson later married Mary R. Sanders, who was born in this county, daughter of Jesse Sanders and wife, the latter of whom was an Allen, and to that union was born one child, who, as well as the mother is now dead, the latter having died on January 21, 1917. On January 22, 1918, at Norwood, Ohio, Mr. Anderson married Mrs. Valura (Schooley) English, a widow, who was born in Clermont county, Ohio, a daughter of Eli and Susan Jane Schooley, both now deceased. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. LYMAN MORSE GARFIELD. Lyman Morse Garfield, who for forty-four years was actively connected with the operations of the great powder mills at Goes Station, in this county, and from 1875 to 1918 superintendent of the mills and still connected with the company as a stockholder, but who is now living retired at his home near Xenia, is a native of .Massachusetts, but has been a resident of Ohio and of Greene county since 1873. He was born in the town of Concord, Massachusetts, July 25, 1849, son of Moses B. and Lydia (Morse) Garfield, both of whom were born in that same state, members of old Colonial families, and the latter of whom spent her last days in Xenia. Moses B. Garfield was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1818, son of Daniel Garfield and wife. The Garfields are an old family in Massachusetts, the first of the name there having settled in Weston back in Colonial days. Moses B. Garfield was early, trained to the trade of harness making, but when thirty years of age he took up sign painting and thereafter followed that vocation, making his home in various towns in Massachusetts. He died in June, 1895, and his widow afterward made her home with her son at Xenia, where she died in 1912, she then being eighty-six years of age. She was born, Lydia Morse, at Marlboro, Massachusetts, a daughter of Lyman and Lydia (Brigham) Morse, the former of whom died of cholera during the great scourge of 1849. The Morses also are an old family in New England and had their origin there in three brothers who came over from Ireland in Colonial days, establishing a family connection which has been widely influential on this side, one of the notable descendants of this line having been Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph. Mrs. Garfield was a member of the Christian Union church. She and her husband were the GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 193 parents of two sons, the subject of this sketch having had a brother, Moses Howell Garfield, born in 1846, who was for years superintendent of the mills of the American Powder Company in Massachusetts and who died in 1906. Lyman M. Garfield was but a child when his parents moved from Concord to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and his schooling was completed in the schools of the latter city. When thirteen years of age he was placed to learn the trade of shoemaker and was thus engaged for two years. In the meantime the Civil War had broken out and he presently, in 1864, secured a position, though but fifteen years of age, in the commissary department and during the years 1864 and 1865 was stationed in that service at Camp Douglas, near Chicago, where Confederate prisoners were interned. Upon the completion of this service he returned home and his father by that time having moved to Boston, he became engaged with his father in the latter's sign-painting establishment in Union street in that city. While in Boston Mr. Garfield learned the art of telegraphy and in 1873, about two years after his marriage, came to Greene county with A. O. Fay, proprietor of the plant of the Miami Powder Company at Goes, and was installed as telegrapher for the company at that point. Two years later, in 1875, he was made superintendent of the powder-mills, and when the Miami Powder Company sold the plant to the Aetna Explosives Company in December, 1914, was retained in that position, continuing his service as superintendent of the plant . until his retirement in January, 1918. Not long after becoming thus connected with the powder plant Mr. Garfield became a stockholder in the concern and has ever since retained that interest. Years ago he was elected a member of the board of directors of the company and for many years was one of the most forceful figures in the operation of the great plant which has grown up at Goes and which is the practical support and stay of that village. It is interesting to note that there is but one other person still connected with the powder-mills who was there when Mr. Garfield became connected with the works in 1873. Mr. Garfield has a pleasant home on the Springfield pike, just out of Xenia, and he and his wife are very comfortably situated there in the days of their retirement. They are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church at Xenia and for fifteen years Mr. Garfield has been serving as treasurer of the congregation. He is a Mason and a member of the local lodge of the Royal Arcanum. On December 14, 1871, at Boston, Lyman M. Garfield was united in marriage to Maria L0uise Hawes, who was born in that city, daughter of E. W. W. and Diantha (Smith) Hawes, the former of whom, a stairbuilder, died in 1875; the latter surviving him for many years, her death occurring in 1905. To Mr. and Mrs. Garfield seven children have been born, namely : Adelaide Isabel, wife of Clarence Whitmer, of Chicago ; Ella C., wife of (12 ) 194 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO Walter Curry, of Xenia; Lillian Marie, who married Fred Moore and is also living at Xenia; Fannie Gertrude, wife of E. S. Davidson, of Xenia ; Arthur L., also of Xenia, secretary of the Bartlett-King Company; Ethel,, who died in, 1884, and Howell, who died on April 13, 1909, at the age of seventeen years. FRANK W. WALKER. Frank W. Walker, former director of public safety for the city of Xenia, former township treasurer and formerly and for years connected with the passenger department of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company and now and for nearly twenty years past engaged in the coal business at Xenia, was born on a farm in Caesarscreek township, this county, on August 21, 1867, son of Mordecai and Deborah (Painter) Walker, both now deceased. Mordecai Walker was born in the neighboring county of Clinton and was but ten or twelve years of age when his parents moved up into Greene county, where he spent the rest of his life. Here he married Deborah Painter, who was born in Caesarscreek township, and after his marriage established his home on a farm in that township and continued to reside there until his death in June, 1888. He and his wife were the parents of three children, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Alpheus D. Walker, born in 1872, now living at Jamestown, a traveling salesman, who married Belle Ireland and has three children, Clarence, Mabel and Hazel, and a sister, Grace, who married Clyde Lemmons, a Clinton county farmer, and has three children. Frank W. Walker was reared on the home farm in Caesarscreek township, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and remained at home until he was twenty years of age, when he became employed as a traveling passenger agent for the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company. He married when twenty-one years of age and continued his connection with the railroad company for ten or twelve years, or until 1900, when he became engaged in the coal business at Xenia. In connection with this business Mr. Walker two years ago established .a local motor transfer line. He is a Republican and for six years or more prior to the recent change in city government occupied the position of director of public safety for the city of Xenia. He also was for six years a member of the local board of control, for six years served as treasurer of Xenia township, his term of office in this latter department of public activity expiring on January 1, 1918, and also rendered service as a member of the workhouse board and .of the local board of health. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 195 On September 2, 1888, Frank W. Walker was united in marriage to Ella St. John, who also was born in Caesarscreek township, and to this union have been born four children, namely : Reva, Lora and Karl at home, the latter being engaged in business with his father, and Paul, who is now a resident of Daytona, Florida. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are members of the First Reformed church and Mr. Walker for the past seven years or more has been a member of the board of trustees of the church. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with the blue lodge at Xenia and with the consistory and the temple at Dayton. He also is affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Xenia. EUGENE D. SMITH. Eugene D. Smith, yardmaster for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Xenia, was born at Terre Haute, Indiana, December 25, 1880, a son of James and Frances (Lowe) Smith, both now deceased, the former of whom was born and reared at Xenia and the latter at Marshall, Illinois. James Smith was a son of Adam L. and Sarah (Gano) Smith, the latter of whom was a member of one of the oldest families in Greene county, her mother, Mary (Williams) Gano, haying been the first female white child born within what is now the precincts of the city of Xenia and was cradled in a maple-log trough in an old log house that stood on what is now the Roberts place on the north edge of the city. Mary Williams was a daughter of Remembrance Williams, of whom mention is made in the historical section of this work. Adam L. Smith was a native of Scotland, born and reared at Edinburgh, who came to this country as a young Man of nineteen and presently set up a carriage shop at Xenia. He spent his last days in Xenia and lived to be seventy-two years of age. He and his wife were the parents of a considerable family of children, among those still living being Ed M. Smith, former chief of police of the city of Xenia, now living on Church street in that city, and George H. Smith, also of Xenia, who lives on South Detroit street. James Smith was born and reared in Xenia and early entered the railroad service, presently becoming a fireman and then a locomotive engineer on the old Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, now a part of the Pennsylvania system, during that period of service being located at Terre Haute. He later became connected with the Wabash Railroad and during that period of service made his home at East St. Louis, where he later became. engaged in the hotel and restaurant business. James Smith was twice married and by his first wife was the father of two sons, the subject of this sketch having 196 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO had a brother, Albert Smith, now deceased, who also became engaged in the railroad service and was thus engaged to the time of his death. Following the death of his first wife, Frances Lowe, Mr. Smith married Sarah Capoe and by that union was the father of one child, a daughter, Edna. Eugene D. Smith was but a child when his mother died and he was reared by his grandmother Smith at Xenia; in the schools of which city he received his schooling. He then rejoined his father at East St. Louis and there became employed as a messenger boy for the Wabash Railroad, later becoming a yard clerk and then a locomotive fireman. In 1902 he returned to Xenia and there became employed as a pipe-fitter and plumber and was thus engaged for three years, at the end of which time he returned to railroad service and became a brakeman in the Pennsylvania Railroad yards at Xenia, presently being promoted to the position of yard conductor and served in the latter capacity for one year, or until 1906, when he was made night yardmaster. In 1913 Mr. Smith was promoted to the position of day yardmaster in the Xenia yards of the Pennsylvania Company and still occupies that position. On January 6, 1906, Eugene D. Smith was united in marriage to Cora C. Weddele, who was born at Dayton, this state, daughter of George and Mary Weddele, the former of whom is now engineer at the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home at Xenia. Mr. Smith was reared in the faith of the Episcopal church. SAMUEL B. HARNER. Samuel B. Harner, a farmer of Xenia township, one of the best-known residents of the Oldtown neighborhood and the patentee of the celebrated "Harner" milker which is attracting much attention among dairymen throughout the country, was born on the farm on which he is now living and has lived there all his life. He was born on November 16, 1865, a son of Charles and Mary Ann (Morgan) Harner, both now deceased, who spent their last days on that old home farm, their youngest son, the subject of this sketch, caring for them in their declining years. Charles Harner was born in this county on February 19, 1817, a member of one of the pioneer families of Greene county, his parents, Jacob and Anna Maria (Hefly) Harner, having come up here from the vicinity of Cincinnati and made their home in Beavercreek township at an early day in the settlement of the county. On March 19, 1840, Charles Harner married Mary Ann Morgan, who was born on March 11, 1823, and established his home on the place on which his son Samuel is now living. He died on August 14, 1908.. His wife's death occurred on January 1, 1907. They were the parents GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 197 of eleven children, of whom, as noted above, the subject of this sketch was the last born, the others being as follows : Martin, who married Mrs. jolly and lives in the New England states ; Mary, who is living at Oldtown, widow of James H. Jacoby ; David J., who. died on. February 19, 1911; Isabella, who is living at Xenia, widow of Andrew Hutchinson; Morgan, who is married and is farming in Xenia township; Rose Ann, who is living at Oldtown, widow of Samuel Clark; Martha C., wife of George Oglesbee, of Xenia ; Charles A., a farmer of Xenia township; Franklin J., who also is farming in Xenia township; and James H., the owner of a farm on the Bellbrook pike, south of Xenia. Samuel B. Harner has always made his home on the place on which he is now living and which he now owns, a farm of one hundred and forty acres. He acquired his schooling at Oldtown, at Xenia and at Yellow Springs and in time came into .the management of the home place, after his father's retirement from the active labors of the farm, and has been operating the farm since then. Politically, be is a Democrat. As. a practical dairyman Mr. Harner became interested in milking devices and discerned so much in the way of improvements that might be applied to such devices that he worked out a model of an improved milker and on January 2, 1917, secured a patent on the same. This machine, the "Harner" milker, is now being manufactured by the Harner-Jones Company at Springfield, this state, and is attracting much attention, it being declared that Mr. Harner's machine is "almost human" in its operation, besides being simple, gentle, durable, harmless, noiseless, economical, insuring better milk and all the milk, easy to clean, of unlimited capacity and positively sanitary. The "Harner" milker has been found to eliminate "all the objectionable features possessed by machines of the experimental period; easily trebles the number of cows a hand can care for; gets more and better milk per cow with less fretting and no harm to the animal ; increases profits and reduces labor, and transforms the dairy business from a hard, slavish one to an easy, pleasant and profitable occupation." This machine is the product of years of study and experiment on Mr. Harner's part and in three years of constant use has proved itself wholly free from fault, in design, construction and operation. On June 14, 1911, Samuel B. Harner was united in marriage to Isabel Fernstenmacher, who was born near Kutztown, in Berks county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Henry and Isabel (Deitrich) Fernstenmacher, of Long Swamp township, that county, the former of whom died on June 23, 1907, and the latter, August 23, 1914. Henry Fernstenmacher and his wife had two children, Mrs. Harner having a brother, Edwin R. Fernstenmacher, who is still living on the old home place in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Harner's schooling was completed in the Normal School at Kutztown, in the neighborhood of 198 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO her home, and she lived at home until her marriage to Mr. Harner. To that union four children have been born, Clara Belle, Wilbur Henry, Orville David and Paul Samuel. Mrs. Harner is a member of the B.aptist church. JAMES ANDREW McDONALD. The late James Andrew McDonald, who died at his home in Xenia township in 1894 and whose widow is still living on the old McDonald home farm there, was born on that farm and there spent all his life. He was born on August 6, 1856, son of John Nelson McDonald and wife, the former of whom was born on that same place, son of Isaiah McDonald, a Virginian and one of the first settlers in that part of Greene county, the house in which Mrs. McDonald is now living having been erected there by Isaiah McDonald more than one hundred years ago. It was in the year 1802 that Isaiah McDonald and his wife Edith came here from North Carolina and established their home in what later came to be organized as Caesarscreek township. Their son, Leavitt McDonald, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, married Susan Strong and had ten children, five sons and five daughters. Of these children, John N. McDonald, who was born on January 13, 1808, married Elizabeth Saville and after a continuous residence of sixty-five years on the old McDonald farm moved to an adjoining farm, where he died three years later, June 8, 1887. John N. McDonald was the owner of a farm of two hundred acres. He and his wife were members of the Reformed church and were the parents of three children, the subject of this memorial sketch having had a brother, Charles W. McDonald, a former farmer in Xenia township, who is now making his home in Florida, and a sister, Mildred, who died in the days of her girlhood. Reared on the home farm in Xenia township, James A. McDonald completed his schooling in a business college at Painsville and after his marriage in the fall of 1877 established his home on the old home place, which had been settled by his grandfather, and became the owner of one hundred and twenty-two acres of the same, continuing engaged in farming there the rest of his life, his death occurring on November 2, 1894. In addition to his general farming Mr. McDonald also for years operated a threshing-machine in his neighborhood. He was a Republican and at one time and another had held various township offices. By religious persuasion he was a member of the Reformed church. On September 12, 1877, James A. McDonald was united in marriage to Amy E. Ford, who was born in Caesarscreek township, and who survives him, continuing to make her home on her farm. Mrs. McDonald also is a member of one of the old families of Greene county. Her father, James M. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 199 Ford, grew up in Caesarscreek township and after his marriage lived for some time on the Jacob Peterson farm, in that township, later buying a farm in that same neighborhood, where he lived until his retirement from the farm and removal to Xenia, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. James M. Ford was twice married, and by his first wife, Mary Peterson, who also was born in this county, .daughter of Jacob Peterson, was the father of six children, of whom Mrs. McDonald was the first born, the others being Charles, deceased; Chauncey, who is farming in New Jasper township ; Hettie, who married Lawson Shambaugh and is now living at New Burlington ; Bena, wife of Milton Linkhart, of Wilmington, in the neighboring county of Clinton, and a daughter who died in infancy. The mother of these children died at the age of sixty-two years, after which Mr. Ford married a widow, Mrs. Alton, who died at Xenia in 1916. To James A. and Amy E. (Ford) McDonald were born nine children, namely : Orville, a farmer of Xenia township, who married Lena Middleton and has two children, Paul and Edith; Leavitt, a farmer of Caesarscreek township, who married Minnie Peterson and has two children, Mildred and Rosella; Ford H., who married Dessie Bayless and died at the age of thirty-five years, leaving three children, Ella May, Helen and Kenneth (deceased) ; Emma Pearl, who married Ray Huston, a merchant at Xenia, and has two children, Velma and Elizabeth ; Mayme Edith, who married Ray Sutton, of New Jasper township, and has one child, a daughter, Cleo ; Lucy, who married Volney Harness, of Xenia, and has one child, a daughter, Mabel; Mary, who married Glenn Bartlett, a farmer of New Jasper township and has two children, Elma and Donald ; James Ray, a farmer of Xenia township, who married Elsie Fudge and has one child, a son, Wilford, and Melvin, who is unmarried and who continues to make his home with his mother, farming the home place, sixty acres of which Mrs. McDonald continues to retain. Mrs. McDonald is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. GEORGE W. WHITMER. George W. Whitmer, assistant trainmaster of the Cincinnati division of the Pennsylvania Lines, with headquarters at Xenia, was born in Preble county, this state, and has lived in Ohio all his life, a resident of Xenia most of the time during the past thirty years or more, he having been train dispatcher for the Pennsylvania Company for some time before entering upon the duties of his present position with that company. Mr. Whitmer is a son of the Rev. David and Amanda Catherine (Gardner) Whitmer, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio, whose last days were spent in this state. The Rev. David Whitmer was born