775 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO deceased ; Charles Edward, who is a farmer in Bath township; Margaret Ann, who is still living on the home place ; Frank E., the present owner of the old Kellogg strawberry farm in the vicinity of Three Rivers, Michigan, where he is engaged in the cultivation of strawberries, and Martha Ellen, who is living on the old home place in Bath township. John A. Beatty grew up on the home farm, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and when thirteen years of age began to work on his own account, being thus engaged working at farm labor until he was twenty-two years of age, when he became employed in the grocery store of L. M. Bull at Xenia. Two years later he married and became employed in the furniture store of R. D. Adair, continuing thus engaged until 1893, in which year he moved to Urbana, this state, and there became engaged in the furniture business on his own account., a member of the firm of Arnold & Beatty. Two years later he sold his interest in that store and returned to Xenia and for two years thereafter was engaged in the hardware store of J. C. Con-well, later resuming his old position in the Adair store. A year later Mr. Beatty resigned that position to accept a position as a traveling representative of the Burkhardt Furniture Company of Dayton, a position he occupied until 1902, when he transferred his connection to the Cheboygan Couch Company and has ever since been connected with that concern. In the meantime, in September, 1915, Mr. Beatty opened a furniture store at Xenia, in association with his younger son, Ernest D. Beatty, under the firm name of J. A. Beatty & Son, his son taking the part of active manager of the store. On March 23, 1886, John A. Beatty was united in marriage to Carrie Lantz and to that union three children have been born, namely : Clark Adair, Ernest David and Mary Lucile, the latter of whom was a graduate from the Xenia high school in 1915 and is now studying in Christ Hospital at Cincinnati to equip herself for the profession of a trained nurse. Clark Adair Beatty, who makes his home at Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, married Vivien Lamb and has two children, Jane Reed and Mona Ruth. For six years he served as a member of Company I, Ohio National Guard, and during the Mexican border trouble in 1916 went with that command to the border and was thus engaged in active service for nine months. For the past year and more he has been engaged as a traveling salesman for the Cheboygan Couch Company, the concern with which his father has for years been connected in a similar capacity. For two years after leaving school Ernest David Beatty was engaged with the Dayton branch of the Sample Shoe Company and then accepted a position with the Burkhardt Furniture Company, for which concern he traveled for three years, at the end of which time, in 1915, he became associated with his father in business at Xenia, junior member of the firm of J. A. Beatty & Son, furniture dealers. He mar- 776 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO ried Oma Early and makes his home at Xenia. Both the Beatty brothers are members of the local camp of the Sons of Veterans, this affiliation being based upon the service of their grandfather, James L. Lantz. The Beattys are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. JAMES HARVEY LACKEY. James Harvey Lackey, proprietor of a farm in Ross township, was born in that township and has lived there all his life. He was born on May 17, 1857, son of Givens and Margaret Ann (Turnbull) Lackey, the latter of whom also was born in Ross township, daughter of James and Susan (Bull) Turnbull, both members of pioneer families in this part of Ohio. The late Givens Lackey was a native of the Old Dominion, born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1826, and was but three years of age when his parents, Isaac Lackey and wife, came to Ohio in 1829 and settled in Ross township, this county. Here Givens Lackey grew to manhood and in time became a farmer on his own account and a breeder of Shorthorns. On February 7, 1855, Givens Lackey married Margaret Ann Turnbull and of the five children born to that union four are still living, the subject of this sketch having three brothers, Cyrus C. Lackey, also of Ross township; William Hunter Lackey, a farmer of Ross township, and Dr. Joseph Clarke Lackey, a physician at Jamestown. Givens Lackey and his wife were members of the United Presbyterian church and their sons were reared in that faith. James H. Lackey was reared on the home farm in Ross township and supplemented the schooling he received in the neighborhood schools by attendance during the years 1875-77 at Xenia College, afterward resuming his labors on the farm, giving particular attention to the live-stock operations carried on by his father, and after his marriage in the fall of 1880 established his home on the farm on which he is now living. Ever since 1876 Mr. Lackey has been engaged in the breeding of Poland China hogs and also has for years maintained a herd of Jersey dairy cattle. He is a Republican and has served as director of his home school district, for ten years as president of the board of education of Ross township, for some time as township assessor and as land appraiser and is now treasurer of Ross township, a position he has occupied for more than four years. On November 10, 1880, James H. Lackey was united in marriage to Della Crawford, who was born in Xenia township, this county, daughter of Robert and Jane (Cherry) Crawford, and to this union have been born three daughters, Fay.De Ette, wife of James I. Patterson, a Xenia township farmer, and Myrtle May and Margaret Jane, at home. The Lackeys are members of the United Presbyterian church at Jamestown. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 777 KINGSLEY M. JOHNSTON. Kingsley M. Johnston, manufacturer of the products of the Johnston Remedy Company at Bowersville and since the death of his father, the founder of that company, the head of the concern, was born on a farm three miles west of the village of Bowersville on October 29, 1872, son of Lemuel V. and Lucinda (Devoe) Johnston, the latter of whom also was born in this county, three miles west of Bowersville, daughter of David and Mary (Ary) Devoe, pioneers of that section and further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Lemuel V. Johnston was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, that county since the time of the Civil War having been comprised within the bounds of West Virginia, in 1839, a son of Thornton and Elizabeth (Neil) Johnston, both of whom were born in that same county and the latter of whom died there. In 1855 Thornton Johnston came to this county and settled on a farm south of Bowersville, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring there in 1861. He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom Lemuel V. was the third 'in order of birth, the others being John W., who for some time after his father's death farmed the home place and then moved over into Fayette county, later returning to this county and located on a farm east of Bowersville and on the latter place spent his last days; Sarah, who died unmarried, and Jacob, who for some years followed the profession of teaching and then became engaged with his brother and the latter's son Kingsley in the manufacture of proprietary medicine at Bowersville and thus continued engaged until his death in 1915. Having been but sixteen years of age when he came to this county with his parents. in 1855, Lemuel V. Johnston grew to manhood on the farm south of Bowersville. After his marriage to Lucinda Devoe he located on a farm three miles west of Bowersville and there was engaged in farming until 1891, when he and his son Kingsley became engaged in the manufacture of proprietory medicines at Bowersville, under the name of the Johnston Remedy Company, and he continued thus engaged until his death in 1908. His wife had preceded him to the grave four years, her death having occurred in 1904. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he was a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Port William. Lemuel V. Johnston and wife were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being Emma, who married Lewis H. Wilson and died in 1890; Horace V., a farmer living west of Bowersville ; David A., a farmer of New Jasper township; Sarah E., wife of William J. Baker, living east of Bowersville, and Jesse P., a farmer, who died in 1908 and whose widow, who before her marriage was Jennie Perkins, is now living at Columbus, this state. 778 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO Kingsley M. Johnston grew up on the home farm west of Bowersville, received his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and was eighteen years of age when he became interested with his father in the manufacture of the Johnston remedies at Bowersville, put out under the manufacturers' title of the Johnston Remedy Company, of which Mr. Johnston has been the sole proprietor since the death of his father and his uncle. He also owns a farm of three hundred and five acres three miles southeast of town. On December 28, 1898, Kingsley M. Johnson was united in marriage to Myrtle Rittenhouse, who was born in Highland county, this state, daughter and only child of James and Sarah (Lucas) Rittenhouse, the latter of whom died on October 1, 1912, and the former of whom now makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Johnston at Bowersville. During the earlier years of his manhood James Rittenhouse was engaged as a school teacher. He then took up farming and bought and sold farms until 1896, when he located in Jefferson township, this county, where he remained' until his retirement. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are Mr. and Mrs. Johnston. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnston, Elizabeth, born on February 20, 1911; Alden, January 2, 1913, and James Robert, June 19, 1917. WALTER W. BARNETT. Walter W. Barnett, hardware dealer at Jamestown, former mayor of that city and formerly and for years a member of the common council, is a native son of Greene county, born on a farm in Xenia township on March 2, 1877; son of James H. and Martha. Ellen (Harper) Barnett, both of whom also were born in this county, and who are still living here. To fames H. Barnett and wife twelve children were born, namely : John, who is now living at Xenia; Walter W., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch ; Ernest, of Xenia ; Mary, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Harry. deceased ; Myrtle, of Xenia; Benjamin, deceased; James, of Xenia ; Moudy and Clarence, who are now (1918) connected with the National Army, stationed at Camp Sherman, and Henry, of Xenia. Reared on the home farm, Walter W. Barnett received his schooling in the common schools and for a while after leaving school was engaged in farming. He then became engaged in the lumber business at Jamestown, a member of the firm of Barnett Brothers, and was thus engaged for seven years, at the end of which time he became engaged in the livery business in that town, continuing thus occupied for two years, or until 1910, in which year he bought the Paullin hardware store at Jamestown and has ever since been engaged in the hardware business there. In 1910 Mr. Barnett was his party's nominee for the office of county commissioner from his district. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 779 From 1908 to 1912 he served as mayor of his home town and for eight years served as a member of the common council. He is a member of the local lodges of the Free and Accepted Masons, of the Knights of Pythias and of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics at Jamestown. On January 14, 1904, Walter W. Barnett was united in marriage to Stella Heifner, who also was born in this county, daughter of 'Samuel and Mary (Early) Heifner, and a sister of Harry N. Heifner, proprietor of the Wickersham House, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Barnett are members of the Friends church. JAMES G. CONKLIN. James G. Conklin, a retired farmer of Jefferson township, living on his farm a mile south of Bowersville, was born in the village of Lumberton, over the line in Clinton county, June 3, 1837, son of Harvey F. and Hannah (Noland) Conklin, the latter of whom was born in Virginia. Harvey F. Conklin was born in the vicinity of Albany, New York, and grew up there, becoming a blacksmith. When a young man he came to Ohio and located at Lumberton, where he opened a blacksmith shop and where he married. In 1849 he moved with his family up into Greene county and bought a farm of one hundred acres at Middletons Corners in Caesarscreek township, where he remained until his retirement and return to Lumberton, where he died at the age of seventy-three years. His wife died at the age of seventy-four. Harvey F. Conklin was a Whig and later a Republican and he and his wife were Methodists. They were the parents of eight children, those besides James G., being Sarah, who is now living at New Burlington, widow of Newton Shambaugh; William W., a veteran of the Civil War and a retired farmer, now living at Xenia; Henry H., a banker, living at Xenia; Thomas, retired, now living at New Burlington; Tunis, also of New Burlington; George, deceased, and Charles C., a farmer of Caesarscreek township. Having been but twelve years of age when his parents moved to the farm at Middletons Corners, James G. Conklin there grew to manhood and remained there until his marriage at the age of twenty-eight, when he bought a farm of one hundred acres in that township. Two years later he bought the Hussey farm of two hundred acres in Jefferson township, a mile south of Bowersville, and has since resided there, having made many improvements on the place, including the erection of a nine-room house. Mr. Conklin is now living retired from active farm labor. He is one of the stockholders of the Bowersville bank. Mr. Conklin has been twice married, and by his first wife, who was Kate Hussey, has two daughters, Mrs. Ream, wife of Doctor Ream, of Bowers- 780 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO ville, and Mary, wife. of Harvey Wilson, of Cleveland, Ohio. Following the death of the mother of these daughters, Mr. Conklin married Alice Elliott, of the Bellbrook neighborhood, and to this union four children were born, Zora, wife of Clyde Sutton, of Dayton; Guy, who married Ruth Sheeley and is farming in New Jasper township; Dorothy, who is now attending Wilmington College, and Robert, at home. Mrs. Conklin and her children are members of the Christian church at Bowersville. Mr. Conklin is a Republican. He formerly was connected with the Odd Fellows fraternity. ARTHUR UPTON CONFER. Arthur Upton Confer, the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty-four acres on the Dayton pike. in Miami township, was born on that farm on July 21, 1867, son of George and Ann (Johnson) Confer, the latter of whom also was born in this county, and who spent their last days in the village of Yellow Springs, to which place they moved upon their retirement from the farm in 1891. George Confer was a native of Maryland, born at Hagerstown, in Washington county, that state, February 8, 1827, and was but seven years of age when he came to this state with his parents, George and Elizabeth (Bowman) Confer, in 1834, the family locating on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Miami township, this county, where the Confers ever since have been represented. The elder George Confer gradually added to his holdings until he became one of the leading landowners thereabout, thus having been enabled to give to each of his children a farm. Originally a Whig, he became a Republican upon the organization of the latter party. He was a member of the German Reformed church and his wife was a Lutheran. He died in 1857, he then being seventy-two years of age, and his widow survived him twelve years, her death occurring at Xenia, to which city she had moved after the death of her husband. They were the parents of five children, Hannah, William G., George, Susan and Elizabeth. As noted above, the junior George Confer was but seven years of age when he came from Maryland to this county with his parents in 1834 and he received his schooling in the district school which for many years after the settlement of his parents there was known as the Confer school in Miami township. Upon reaching manhood he continued to make his home on the home place and after their father's death in 1857 he and his brother William continued farming that place, in partnership, but two or three years later the partnership was dissolved and George Confer bought more land adjoining the tract which his father had given him in that township and after his marriage in the spring of 1861 established his home on the latter place and GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 781 there continued engaged in farming and stock raising until his retirement thirty years later, in 1891, and removal to Yellow Springs, where he and his wife spent their last days, her death occurring there on March 12, 1913, and his, June 12, 1917. Mr. Confer was a Republican and had served the public in the capacity of township supervisor and as director of his school district. He and his wife were members of the Reformed church. On May 2, 1861, in Miami township, George Confer was united in marriage to Ann Johnson, who was born in that township on April 15, 1841, daughter of James and Catherine (Ehrler) Johnson, the former of whom was born in Kentucky and the latter in France, who were married in Clark county, this state, and later came down into Greene county and located on a farm in Miami township. There Mrs. Johnson died in 1849. Mr. Johnson married again and continued to make his home in Miami township, where his death occurred in 1890. To George and Ann (Johnson) Confer were born six children, namely : Mary Etta, who married Joseph Vernanda Shoemaker, a merchant at Goes ; George Albert, who married Anna Fogel and continues farming in Miami township; Arthur U., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch ; William W., of Yellow Springs, who has been twice married, his first wife having been Zella Fogel and his second Lillie Powers ; Howard T., who married Nora Ginneman and is engaged in the blacksmith business at Xenia, and Susan, who married John Conrad, a Springfield butcher, and died on June 7, 1905. Arthur U. Confer grew up on the farm on which he now lives, two and a half miles west of the village of Yellow Springs, and has always been a farmer. He received his schooling in the local schools and after his marriage in 1891 established his home on the old home place, his parents retiring to the village about that time, and he ever since has made his home there. On November 10, 1917, Mr. Confer bought the remaining interests in the old home place and is now the sole owner of the same. He has for years made a specialty of the raising of pure-bred live stock and Mrs. Confer has for a long time given particular attention to the production of poultry. Among the numerous evidences of the aboriginal occupancy of this beautiful valley of the Miamis, detailed reference to which is made in the historical section of this work,.there is on the Confer farm a well-defined Indian burial ground, evidently established by the Shawnees who formerly roamed up and down this valley and had their habitation here. On January 13, 1891, Arthur U. Confer was united in marriage to Clara K. Miller, who also was born in this county, July 13, 1868, daughter of Israel and Jane (Arthur) Miller, of the Osborn neighborhood, the former of whom died in 1900 and the latter, in 1906, and to this union have been born four children, namely : Florence Ann, born on August 16, 1896, who 782 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO married Chester Semler and lives on a farm four and a half miles west of Yellow Springs ; Chester Miller, August 14, 1897, who is at home assisting his father in the management of the farm; Harry Lamar, November 4, 1901, who is now a student in the high school at Yellow Springs, and Clarence, who died in infancy in 1905. The Confers ire members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Confer and his son Chester are members of the local lodge of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. WILLIAM R. BAKER. William R. Baker, a veteran of the Civil War, former auditor of Greene county and formerly and for years engaged in the mercantile business in Xenia, in which city he is now living retired, is a native son of Greene county, born on a farm in Silvercreek township, one mile west of the village of Jamestown, August 31, 1841, a son of John W. and Elizabeth (Towell) Baker, the former of whom was born in Kentucky in 1814 and the latter, in Virginia, in 1813, who were married in this county and here established their home, many years later moving to Columbus, where their last days were spent. John W. Baker was a son of William and Dorothy (Winans) Baker and was fourteen years of age when he came to this county from Kentucky with his parents in 1828. Two years previously William Baker had come up here from Kentucky on a visit to his kinsman, Doctor Winans, who was at that time practicing his profession at Jamestown, then a hamlet of fewer than a dozen houses, and had been so favorably impressed by the promising conditions here that .he decided to locate in this county. Returning to Kentucky he disposed of his interests there and in 1828 came with his family and took up his permanent abode at Jamestown, where he :erected a frame building on the site now occupied by Johnson's grocery store and there engaged in the manufacturing of harness. Not long afterward he established a tavern at Jamestown and Baker's Tavern was for years a popular stopping place both "for man and beast," a large yard and stable at the rear affording accommodations for the latter. That tavern occupied the southeast corner of Main and Limestone streets. William Baker and his wife were the parents of eight sons and three daughters and John W. Baker was the fifth son. The latter grew to manhood at Jamestown and there married Elizabeth Towel!, who, as noted above, was born in Virginia in 1813. She was a daughter of John and Sarah Towell, the former of whom died in Virginia, his native state, after which his widow came with her children to Ohio and after a sometime residence at Xenia located at Jamestown. After his marriage John W. Baker became engaged in the grocery business at Jamestown and remained there until his sons were well grown boys, when he moved to a farm he had GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 783 bought in Sugarcreek township, south of Jamestown, where he remained until in the early '60s, when, in order to secure better advantages in the way of schooling for the younger daughter he moved to Columbus, where he again became engaged in the grocery business and was thus engaged until his retirement. He and his wife spent their last days at Columbus, her death occurring there in 1900 and his, in 1901. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. There were seven of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being Sarah E., widow of James Alexander, now living with her daughters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; James C., who died in the days of his youth ; John H., also now deceased; Samuel T., a veteran of the Civil War, who is living on his farm in the Cedarville neighborhood; Erastus F., a traveling salesman, who died at Chicago in 1914, and Clarissa A., wife of W. H. Dye, now living in Florida. William R. Baker received his schooling in the schools of Jamestown and was a well-grown lad when his parents moved to the farm, where he was living when the Civil War broke out. In October, 1861, he enlisted for service, a member of Company A, Seventy-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served with that command for three years, or until the completion of his term of enlistment, being mustered out in the fall of 1864, when his younger brother Samuel took his place in the company. During that period of service Mr. Baker was attached to the Army of the Cumberland, Fourteenth Army Corps, Second Division, Third Brigade, and was an orderly at division headquarters when mustered out. He participated in many of the notable battles and engagements of the war, including those of Stone's River, Chickamauga, Jonesboro and the Atlanta campaign and upon the completion of that active service became an ambulance driver and thus continued his service until the close of the war. Not long after his return from army service Mr. Baker became employed as a clerk in the grocery store of H. H. Eavey at Xenia, beginning that employment in 1867, and two years later, in 1869, bought a half interest in the store. Soon afterward the firm again was reorganized, Mr. Baker's brother-in-law, W. B. Harrison, buying his partner's interest, the firm then becoming Baker, Harrison & Company, and Mr. Baker continued thus engaged in the mercantile business until his election in the fall of 1883 to the office of auditor of Greene county. He was retained in office, by successive reelections, until 1896, when he declined to .be the further nominee of the party that had honored him by these successive nominations without opposition. For four years after his retirement from the auditor's office. Mr. Baker was engaged in prospecting in the Scioto oil fields and since then has been living practically retired, his chief attention being given to the management of a 784 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO farm he owns in this county, making his home in the old W. B. Harrison residence at 202 East Market street. He is a Republican. Mr. Baker has been twice married. On March t, 1876, he was united in marriage to Anna Harrison, who was born and reared in this county, her home having been about eight miles east of Xenia. She was a daughter of James and Ruth (Hanna) Harrison and a sister of W. B. Harrison, who for years was a merchant and manufacturer at Xenia and a politician of more than local influence. To that union were born two daughters, Florence B., who married Frank Wickersham and now lives in Denver, Colorado, and Jessie R., wife of J. A. Chew, managing editor of the Xenia Gazette. The mother of these daughters died in October, 1892, and on September 12, 1905, Mr. Baker married Mrs. Agnes (Garrett) Harrison, widow of the late W. B. Harrison, mentioned above. Mrs. Baker was born at Wilmington, Delaware, a daughter of Elwood Garrett and wife, and was living in that city at the time of her marriage to Mr. Harrison, her home since then having been in Xenia. Her father, Elwood Garrett, a Quaker, who died in 1910 at the great age of ninety-three years, was a photographer and was quite an inventor, he having put up the first telephone in use in the city of Wilmington. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are members of the Church of Christ (Scientist) and Mr. Baker is a member of the Masonic order. CLARK K. BICKETT. Clark K. Bickett, proprietor of a farm on the Bickett road in Xenia township, rural mail route No. 2 out of Xenia, was born in that same township on March 28, 1866, son of Matthew A. and Caroline (Kendall) Bickett, both of whom also were born in that township and the latter of whom is still living there. Matthew Alexander Bickett was born on January 19, 183T, a son of William R. and Isabella (Alexander) Bickett, the former of whom was born in the Coaquilla valley of Pennsylvania about 1796, a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Reed) Bickett, natives of Ireland, who came to this country some years after their marriage and settled in Pennsylvania, where Adam Bickett's last days were spent, his death occurring there not many years after. His widow and her children, of whom William R. Bickett was the youngest, came to Ohio in 1818 and settled in this county, purchasing a tract of one hundred and fifty acres in Xenia township, which tract is still held in the family. There William R. Bickett grew to manhood, married and spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1865. His widow survived him for twenty years, her death occurring in 1885. They were members of the Second United Presbyterian church at Xenia and their children GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 785 were reared in that faith. There were six of these children, Adam R., Matthew A., .Mary Jane (Mrs. Solomon Foust), Elizabeth Isabella, Lydia Ann and W. Harvey. Reared on the home farm in Xenia township, Matthew A. Bickett established his home in that same township after his marriage in 1865 and continued to make his home there the rest of his life, his death occurring in November, 1911. His widow is still making her home on the old home place. She was born in that township, Caroline E. Kendall, a daughter of William and Eleanor ( Jackson) Kendall, who were married in that township and there spent their last days. William Kendall, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, was born in Kentucky, a son of Robert Kendall and wife, who later came up into Ohio and located in Greene county. His wife, Eleanor Jackson, was born in Xenia township, a member of one of the pioneer families of that part of Greene county. Of the six children born to William Kendall and wife, all are deceased except Mrs. Bickett. Matthew A. Bickett was a member of the Second United Presbyterian church at Xenia, as is his widow, and their children were reared in accordance with the tenets of the same. There are seven of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow : Charles A., a farmer and stockman of New Jasper township, this county, who married Edna Watt, of Greenfield, Ohio; William Albert, who married Margaret Harper and is farming in Xenia township ; Anna M., unmarried, who continues to make her home with her mother; the Rev. John W. Bickett, a minister of the United Presbyterian church, who married Leota Watt, of Greenfield, Ohio, and is now stationed at New Concord, this state; Eleanor 1., who married Herbert Tate and is now living on a farm in the vicinity of Bellbrook, and David. Cameron Bickett, who married Pearl McCampbell, of this county, and is farming the old home place in Xenia township. Clark K. Bickett grew to manhood on the old home farm, completed his schooling by a course in the old Xenia College on East Church street and after his marriage in the spring of 1889 began farming on his own account. He bought the William McQuiston place of one hundred acres on the Bickett road four miles east of Xenia, where he since has made his home and on which in 1916 he erected a new dwelling of nine rooms, the same being equipped with electric lights, hard-wood floors, two bath rooms and various up-to-date conveniences for housekeeping. He also built the forty-by-seventy-two barn on the place, erected two silos, one of a hundred-ton capacity and the other of seventy-five-ton capacity, and laid a cement floor one hundred and eight by one hundred and three feet on his barnyard. On his original tract of one hundred acres he laid twenty-two hundred rods of tile and on the tract of one hundred and forty acres adjoining, which he (49) 786 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO later bought, he also has done extensive tiling. In addition to his general farming Mr. Bickett has for years given considerable attention to the raising of live stock, feeding a couple of car loads of steers and two or three hundred head of hogs annually, feeding all the grain he raises, besides buying thousands of bushels for that purpose. He has a herd of Jerseys for dairy purposes and his specialty in the way of hogs is Duroc-Jerseys. Politically, Mr. Bickett is an "independent" Republican. On May 24, 1899, Clark K. Bickett was united in marriage to Margaret Turnbull, who was born in Ross township, this county, daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Spencer) Turnbull, and to this union four children have been born, Mary. E., Joseph T., Blanche and Robert, the two former of whom are now (1918) students in the Xenia high school, the first-named being a senior. The Bicketts are members of the Second United Presbyterian church at Xenia. CHARLES DILL DOBBINS. The late Charles Dill Dobbins, who died at his farm home on the line between Cedarville and Ross township on January 10, 1909, was a native son of Ohio and all his life was spent in this state, a resident of Greene county since the time of his marriage in 1876. He was born in the city of Lima, county seat of Allen county, March 10, 1853, son of Hugh and Mary (Elwell) Dobbins, the latter of whom was born and reared in Clark county, this state. Hugh Dobbins was born in Pennsylvania and was twelve years of age when he came to Ohio with his parents, the family settling in Allen county, where he grew to manhood and became a farmer and landowner and served for fourteen years as auditor of the county. After his marriage he moved to Lima and later lived at Yellow Springs. For years he was a Republican, but in his later years espoused the cause of the Prohibition party. He and his family were Presbyterians. Hugh Dobbins was twice married, and by his first wife, Mary Elwell, was the father of 'four children, of whom the subject of this memorial sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being Chalmers, also deceased; Libbie, wife of Clark Funston, of Yellow Springs, this county; and James, a farmer, living in the vicinity of Ada, this state. The mother of the children died in 1856 and Hugh Dobbins later married Mary Funston, who died in 1908. This latter marriage was without issue. Charles D. Dobbins was reared on the farm and completed his early schooling at Ada. He plowed the first furrow for the foundation of the main building of the Ohio Northern University and later entered the college, GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 787 pursuing his studies there with a view of entering the gospel ministry, but failing health interrupted his studies and he did not finish the course. After his marriage in 1876 Mr. Dobbins made his home in Greene county, buying here the farm of one hundred and fifty-two acres on the line between Cedarville and Ross township where he spent the rest of his life. In addition to his general farming he gave considerable attention to the raising of live stock, with particular reference to pure-bred Merino sheep and Poland China hogs. Originally a Republican, Mr. Dobbins in his later years became a Prohibitionist. On October 25, 1876, Charles D. Dobbins was united in marriage to Flora E. Turnbull, who was born in this county and who survives her husband, now making her home in Cedarville, to which place she moved in 1911 and bought a home on North Main street. She is a member of the United Presbyterian church at Cedarville, as was her husband. To Charles D. and Flora E. (Turnbull) Dobbins were born seven children, namely : Orlando, who married Alta Spangler and is living on the home place, a part of which he is farming; Alma, wife of Harry King, a farmer, living at Washington Court House, in the neighboring county of Fayette; Mary, wife of Omer Burrell, of Springfield, in the neighboring county of Clark ; Hattie, wife of Denver Wisecup, of Oxford, this state; Max Elwell, who died at the age of two years, and Zelpha, who is living with her mother at Cedarville. Mrs. Dobbins was born in Cedarville township, a daughter of Samuel K. and Catherine (Funston) Turnbull, both now deceased, the latter of whom died on September 5, 1913, she then being eighty-six years of age, and the former, January 5, 1917, he then being in the eighty-eighth year of his age. Samuel Kyle Turnbull, further reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume, also was born in Cedarville township, a son of John and Margaret (Kyle) Turnbull, the former of whom was a son of William Turnbull and wife, who had come up here with their family from the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee, and had settled in Cedarville township in the early days of the settlement of that region, all of which, together with further details of the history of the Turnbull family in Greene county, is set out at considerable length elsewhere. The stone house erected by William Turnbull upon coming to this county is still standing, now owned by the Fowler family, on the Columbus-Cincinnati pike, about three miles southwest of Cedarville. Catherine Funston was born in the neighboring county of Clark, a daughter of John and Keziah (Scott) Funston, the latter of whom was a daughter of Thomas Scott, who had come up here into Ohio from the vicinity of Lexington, Kentucky, and had settled in Clark county, not far north of the Greene county line. John Funston was a son of Paul Funston, whose parents had come to this country from Ireland. To Samuel K. and Catherine (Funston) Turnbull were born four children, those besides Mrs. Dobbins 788 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO being John Edwin Turnbull, who is living on the home place in Cedarville township; Fannie, wife of Charles Barber, of Cedarville, and Melda, who married Edwin Bull and who, as well as her husband, is now deceased. SAMUEL T. BAKER. Samuel T. Baker, farmer and stockman, a soldier of the Civil War, president of the Greene County Fair Association, former mayor of Jamestown and former township trustee, has been a resident of this county all his life. He was born on a farm on the Xenia-Jamestown pike, one mile west of Jamestown, March 17, 1847, son of John Winans and Elizabeth (Towell) Baker, the latter of whom also was born in this county, in Silvercreek township, in 1813, daughter of John and Sarah Towell, pioneers of that section, who had come here from Pennsylvania. John Towell was regarded as the strongest man in Greene county in his generation and he died as a result of putting his great strength to an excessive test. On a wager he carried four bushels of wheat up a stairway in a mill, but the strain was too much and he died shortly afterward, leaving his widow with four small children, of whom Mr. Baker's mother was the youngest, the others being John, who became known as Squire Towell and lived in Ross township, Samuel, who moved to Indiana, and Mrs. Caanan Brouse, who also moved to Indiana. The Widow Towell did not remarry and lived to be ninety-six years of age. John Winans Baker was born in Kentucky in 1814 and was but a child when his parents, John and Mary (Winans) Baker, came up here with their family in 1816 and settled in the immediate vicinity of Jamestown, where John Baker built a large house and became a considerable landowner. He did a large business in hauling to Cincinnati. He and his wife were Methodists and were the parents of thirteen children, Mathias, George, William, Douglas, John Winans, Hilary, Jacob, Andrew, Mary and four daughters who died young. John Winans Baker grew up in the Jamestown neighborhood and after his marriage became engaged in the grocery business at Jamestown, remaining there until his' sons were grown, when he moved to his farm southeast of the village. Upon his retirement he and his wife moved to Columbus, where in 1900 Mrs. Baker died from the effect of injuries received in a fall down a cellarway, she then being eighty-seven years of age. A year later John W. Baker fell down stairs and received injuries from which he died on Christmas Day, 1901. They were Methodists and he was a charter member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Jamestown. John W. Baker and wife were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fifth in order of birth, the others being the following: GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 789 James, who died in youth ; Sarah, now living at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, widow of James Alexander ; William Raper, of Xenia ; John H., who died at Columbus ; Erastus Frank, who died at Chicago ; Isadora, who died at the age of four years, and Arvilla, who is the widow of Willis H. Dye and is now living in Florida. Samuel T. Baker was reared at Jamestown, where he received his schooling and became familiar with the details of the grocery business in his father's store. He was but a boy when the Civil War broke out and in January, 1864, he then not being seventeen years of age, he enlisted for service as a member of Company A, Seventy-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and became an orderly to Major-Gen. Charles T. Walcott, commanding the First Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, and while thus detailed went with Sherman's army to the sea and participated in the Grand Review at Washington, being mustered out at the close of the war. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Baker returned home and not long afterward opened a grocery store at Grape Grove, but presently returned to Jamestown and was there engaged in the grocery business for three years, at the end of which time he and Alf Johnson started a horse-breeding farm just east of the village, making a specialty of breeding and training saddle, draft and coach horses. For twenty-five years Mr. Baker exhibited his horses at county and state fairs and in show rings and acted as judge and starter at race meets over a wide territory. He also made a specialty of auctioneering at horse and general farm sales and for forty--five years followed that vocation throughout this section of Ohio and over in Indiana. For the past five years Mr. Baker has been serving as president of the Greene County Fair Association. On the place on which he lives, the old Amos W. Creswell farm east of Cedarville, Mr. Baker has in late years given much attention to the raising of registered Berkshire hogs and in 1913 was the winner of the grand champion sweepstakes for boars at the Ohio state fair. Mr. Baker is a Republican, served for two terms as mayor of Jamestown and for two terms as township trustee. He and his wife are members of the Reformed Presbyterian church at Cedarville. Mr. Baker has been twice married. In 1868 he was united in marriage to Sarah Rebecca Townsley, a member of one of Greene county's pioneer families, and to that union two children were born, Harry T., now living at Columbus, and Raymond, now living at Cincinnati. The mother of these sons died in 1898 and on October 9, 1901, Mr. Baker married Ada L. Creswell, who also was born in this county, daughter of Amos W. and Rebecca (Ward) Creswell, who were the parents of five children, but two of whom, Mrs. Baker and William Ward Creswell, grew to maturity. Mrs. Baker is connected with two of the oldest families in Greene county. She completed 790 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO her schooling in the college at Delaware, this state. Her father, Amos W. Creswell, who was the owner of five hundred acres of land east of Cedarville, a part of which tract is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Baker, was born in that same neighborhood on March 13, 1827, son of Samuel and Letitia (Wilson) Creswell, the latter of whom, born in 1802, was a daughter of Amos Wilson, who, with his brother, Major Daniel Wilson, is traditionally said to have been the first permanent white settler in the region that came to be organized as Greene county, Amos Wilson being credited with having built the first house in the county, which he later sold to his brother Daniel, all of which is set out elsewhere in this work. The Creswells also have been here since the days before the organization of the county, as is set out at length elsewhere. Amos Wilson Creswell, father of Mrs. Baker, was a grandson of James and Catherine Creswell, the former of whom was killed by Indians in Kentucky, after which his widow and her children,, two sons and five daughters, came up here and settled on what is now the Andrew Jackson farm in Cedarville township. Samuel Creswell, born in 1778, was the fourth in order of birth of the children of this pioneer widow, the others having been Ann, who married Thomas Spence and had three children; Margaret, who married John McClellan and had six children : Betsy, who married Daniel Boyles; Catherine, who married William McClellan; Sarah, who married Simon Bromagem, and James,' who married Ann Junkin. Samuel Creswell was a soldier of the second war with England, 1812. To Samuel and Letitia (Wilson) Creswell were born five children, namely : James, born in 1821, who married Ellen Cregor and moved to Crawford county, Illinois, where he died in 1895; Ann, born in 1823, who remained unmarried, making her home with her brother Amos and died in 1904 ; Samuel R., born in 1825, who died at the age of sixteen years ; Amos W., father of Mrs. Baker, and Benoni, born in 1828, who married Mary Jane Marshall and spent all his life in Cedarville township, his death occurring in 1914. Amos Wilson Creswell was twice married. In 1864 he was united in marriage' to Hannah Rebecca Ward, who was born on April 27, 1841, and to that union were born five children, of whom Mrs. Baker, the first-born, was born on November 24, 1865, the others being William Ward, born on December 1 , 1867, who married Ethel May Fields; Samuel Lee, born in 1870, who died in 1877 ; one who died in infancy in 1872, and Anna Luella, born in 1873, who died at the age of six months. The mother of these children died on January 26, 1875, and Mr. Creswell later married Mrs. Margaret A. Raney, a daughter of J. N. Townsley. He died on December 20, 1899, and the brick house he erected on his farm in 1878 is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Baker. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 791 WALLACE FRANCIS ANDREWS. Wallace Francis Andrews, the owner of eight hundred and twenty-five acres of land in this county and now living retired in Xenia, was born on a farm in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1859, son of Samuel and Susan (Bryson) Andrews, who spent their last days in that county. Samuel Andrews also was born in Westmoreland county and his wife was born in Fayette county, in that same state. She died in 1892 at the age of seventy years, and lie died in 1897, aged seventy-five. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Anna, wife of Charles Cunningham, of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and Margaret, wife of John Stoner, a farmer, of Silvercreek township, this county. Samuel Andrews was the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Westmoreland county, the coal rights to which he sold for one hundred dollars an acre. He was a Democrat and he and his wife were members of the United Presbyterian church. Reared on the home farm in Pennsylvania, Wallace F. Andrews completed his schooling in the Mt. Pleasant Institute and when a young man went to Kansas, to "grow up with the country." From Kansas he went up into Nebraska and for a time was employed in the latter state on a big ranch. He later bought a tract of railroad land in that state and held on to it for ten years, occupying it, however, for but five years, at the end of which time he returned to Pennsylvania, married there in 1892 and took care of his father's farm until 1896, when he came to Ohio and bought a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Fayette county. There he lived for five years, or until 1901, when he came over into Greene county and bought a farm of two hundred and thirty acres in New Jasper township, on which he made his home. When Mr. Andrews came to this county he still held on to his Fayette county farm, but later sold the same, that transaction being the first one in which Fayette county farm land was sold for one hundred dollars an acre. Upon selling that farm he bought a tract of four hundred and twenty-five acres in Ross township, this county, which latter place his son is now operating. Since entering upon possession of his place in New Jasper township he has added more in Cedarville township, adjoining the same, and now has there four hundred acres on the Jamestown pike. In 1911 he remodeled the house, the same standing on that part of his farm formerly known as the old Watt place. In April, 1918, Mr. Andrews and wife moved to Xenia to live and now reside at 436 North Galloway street. Mr. Andrews is a Democrat. On January 29, 1891, Wallace F. Andrews was united in marriage in Pennsylvania to Anna Junk, who was born in the vicinity of Dunbar, in Fayette county, that state, daughter of Robert Junk and wife, the latter of 792 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO whom lived to the great age of ninety-six years, his death occurring in 1916, and to this union five children have been born, namely : Elbert, who is now managing his father's Ross township farm; Alice, who is at home with her parents; Samuel, who died at the age of seventeen years of typhoid fever; Howard, who died of the same disease at the same time, he being fifteen years of age at the time, and Mary, who was born in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are members of the United Presbyterian church. JAMES C. CUNNINGHAM. James C. Cunningham, a farmer of the Bellbrook neighborhood, a member of the board of the Greene County Fair Association and for years a member of the school board of Sugarcreek township, was born at Bellbrook and has lived in and about that village all his life, owner and occupant of the farm on which he is now living, a half mile out of Bellbrook, for the past eleven or twelve years. He was born on December 19, 1848, son of James and Sarah E. (Stratton) Cunningham, the former of whom came to Greene county from Shelby county, this state, when twenty years of age and located at Bellbrook. James Cunningham was a cooper by trade and upon locating at Bellbrook engaged in that business there, continuing thus engaged until 1858, when he located on the farm on which his son James is now living and there was engaged in farming until his retirement and return to his old home in Bellbrook, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring there in 1896. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, Robert, Frank P., Angeline, Charles, Martha, Elizabeth, Amanda, James C., William, Margaret and Minnie. James C. Cunningham was ten years of age when his parents moved from Bellbrook to the farm just east of the village. He received his schooling in the Bellbrook schools and for some time thereafter remained on the home farm, later going to the farm of his uncle, Matthew Berryhill, where he remained, engaged in farming that place, until his marriage in 1880, when he began housekeeping on a farm in the neighboring township of Spring Valley and there remained for seventeen years, at the end of which time he sold that place and bought the old home farm where his father formerly had lived just on the edge of Bellbrook, established his home there and has since made that his place of residence. Mr. Cunningham is a Republican and for nearly thirty years has been a member of the Sugarcreek township school. board. He also is a member of the official board of the Greene County Fair Association, while as a member of the Grange he has for years done what he could in, that connection to promote the general agricultural interests of his home neighborhood. He was reared a Presbyterian and his wife is GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 793 a Methodist. Mrs. Cunningham, who before her marriage was Grace Jeffries, was living at Xenia at the time of her marriage to Mr. Cunningham in 1880, her parents, Francis H. and Sarah C. (Needham) Jeffries, having moved to that city from Lewisburg, this state. PROF. JAMES HERBERT FORTNEY, M. A. Prof. James Herbert Fortney, supervisor of schools in District No. 2 of Greene county, is a native son of Greene county and has resided in this county most of his life, now a resident of Cedarville, though for some time during the early part of his educational career he was engaged in school work in neighboring counties. He was born in the village of Osborn, a son of David and Alta (Fuller) Fortney, both now deceased, who were born on adjoining farms in Pike township, four miles north of the village of New Carlisle, in the neighboring county of Clark, the latter on February 7, 1847, daughter of James and Mary Jane (Verdier) Fuller, who were born in Virginia and who had come to this state with their respective parents in the days of their youth, marrying and establishing their home in Clark county, where James Fuller became a fanner and stock buyer. David Fortney was born on February 9, 1842, son of Jacob Fortney and wife, natives of Pennsylvania and both of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, who were married in Ohio and here spent their last days. On the home farm in the northwestern part of Clark county David Fortney grew to manhood and early became a school teacher, farming during the summers and teaching during the winters. He married in Clark county and in 1875 came down into Greene county and located at Osborn, where he became engaged in the coal and lumber business and where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring there on December 30, 1913. In addition to his coal and lumber business at Osborn Mr. Fortney also was a stockholder in the Osborn Bank and in the Ohio Whip Company. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and for forty years he was an office bearer in the church and long a class leader and Sunday school worker. His wife had preceded him to the grave for more than fifteen years, her death having occurred in 1897, she then having been fifty years of age. They were the parents of four children, those besides Professor Fortney being Ann, wife of Harvey E. Snyder, of Osborn ; Mary, unmarried, who is also living at Osborn, where she has continued in charge of the business there built up by her father; and Carleton E. Fortney, a mining engineer, now following that vocation in southern Illinois. James H. Fortney completed his schooling at Ohio Wesleyan University, from which institution he was graduated in 1902. Upon leaving college he 794 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO was engaged as a teacher in the public schools of Clinton county and presently became employed as an instructor in the high school at Williamsburg. While there he was chosen by the school board of St. Paris to take the superintendency of the St. Paris high school and accepted the call. During his service at New Paris, Professor Fortney attended college during the summers and thus became qualified for his Master degree. When the new state school law became operative in 1912 the Professor was elected supervisor of District No. 2 in Greene county and has since then made his home at Cedarville, that point being rather centrally situated with respect to the territory comprised in his district, which includes the schools of the township of New Jasper, Ross and Cedarville and the Clifton consolidated school. In 1904 Prof. James H. Fortney was united in marriage to Carrie Ryan, who also was born at Osborn, daughter of William H. and Ellen (Folkerth) Ryan, both of whom were born in this county, and to this union one child has been born, a. son, James Herbert, Jr. Professor and Mrs. Fortney are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and the Professor is a teacher in the Sunday school. Fraternally, he is a Scottish Rite (32̊) Mason, affiliated with the blue lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Williamsburg ; with the commandery (Knights Templar) at Urbana and with the consistory (Scottish Rite) at Dayton. CHARLES THOMPSON. Charles Thompson, a veteran of the Civil War, formerly and for years engaged in the retail meat business at Xenia and later a rural mail carrier, now living retired in the city which has been his home for many years, is a native of the great Empire state, but has been a resident of Ohio since the days of his boyhood and of Xenia since the year 1867, having located there not long after his return from service in the army at the close of the war. He was born in Onondaga county, New York, October 6, 1839, a son of John Thompson and wife, the latter of whom was a Gail, both natives of the state of Massachusetts, whose last days were spent in Ohio. John Thompson was a ship carpenter. He was married in Massachusetts and after a sometime residence there moved to Onondaga county, New York, whence, in 1845, he came with his family to Ohio and located at Piqua, where he resumed work at his trade and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of ten children, Eliza, Deborah, John, Martha, Emma, Jane, James, Charles and two who died in early youth. Having been but about six years of age when his parents moved from New York state to Piqua, Charles Thompson grew to manhood in that city, receiving his schooling in the public schools there, and was living there when GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 795 the Civil War broke out. On April 18, 1861, three. days after President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers to put down the armed assault against the Union, Mr. Thompson enlisted for service and went to the front as a member of Company F, Eleventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving with that command until the end of his period of enlistment, four months. He later re-enlisted and was attached to Company A, One Hundred and Tenth Ohio, attached to the Eighth Army Corps, and with that command was sent into Virginia and with the Army of the Potomac participated in all the battles from the Wilderness to Spottsylvania Court House.. Mr. Thompson served as a soldier of the Union for three years, two months and thirteen days and received his discharge at Washington, D. C., June 25, 1865, the war then being over. During this period of service he served with the Third Brigade, Army of West Virginia; to December, 1862; Eighth Corps, Middle Department, to March, 1863 ; First Brigade, Second Division, Eighth Army Corps, Middle Department, to July, 1863 ; Second Brigade, Third Division, Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1864, and Second Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps, to the time of his discharge, the only period of disability he suffered during that time being a period of eight weeks when he was laid up with typhoid fever. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Thompson returned to Ohio and was employed in the neighboring county of Miami until 1867, when he moved to Xenia and there engaged in the retail meat business, continuing thus engaged in that business in that city for twenty-four years, during more than twenty-two years of which time he had his store on Main street. When the system of rural mail delivery was inaugurated in the Xenia postoffice Mr. Thompson was made the carrier on the first route thus established out of that office and continued to 'carry the mail on that route for seventeen years, or until his retirement in March, 1913, since which time he has been "taking things easy." Mr. Thompson has been quite a traveler in his time and has at one time and another visited most of the chief points of interest to travelers in the United States. He is a Republican and a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. On December 31, 1867, the year in which he took up his residence in Xenia, Charles Thompson was united in marriage to Ada P. Harner, who was born in Greene county, daughter of Jacob and Lydia (Kirshner) Harner, both of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, their respective parents having come to this county from Pennsylvania in pioneer days, and whose last days were spent in Xenia. Jacob Harner was a Republican and had served for some time as deputy sheriff of Greene county, as well as having served in township offices. He was a farmer and landowner. He was a member of the Lutheran church and his wife was a member of the Reformed church. They were the parents 796 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO of five children, of whom Mrs. Thompson is now the only survivor. Two of these children died in early youth and Solomon and Caroline, the two others who reached maturity, are also now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. JACOB I. WOLF. Jacob I. Wolf, who died at his home in Xenia in the spring of 1898 and whose widow is still living in that city, was for years one of Xenia's best-known business men. For thirty years or more he was engaged there in the grocery business, was for years a member of the board of directors of the Citizens National Bank and was an elder in the First Reformed church. Mr. Wolf was a native son of Greene county, born at Byron, a member of one of the pioneer families here, and nearly all his life was spent in this county, the exception having been a brief period in the early days of his business career when he was engaged in merchandising at Kenton. He grew up on a farm in the Byron neighborhood and was engaged in farming, occupying his winters by teaching school, until after his marriage, after which he became engaged in the mercantile business at Fairfield. Not long afterward he moved to Kenton and was there engaged in business for one year, at the end of which time he moved to Xenia and there became engaged in the grocery business, a member of the firm of Harner & Wolf, 48 East Main street, and thus continued to his death, which occurred on May 7, 1898. He was born on November 14, 1833, and was thus in the sixty-fifth year of his age at the time of his death. In addition to his mercantile business at Xenia, Mr. Wolf was for years a member of the board of directors of the Citizens National Bank of that city. He was a zealous worker in the First Reformed church and was an elder of the congregation of the same at the time of his death. Mr. Wolf took a particularly earnest interest in the work of the church and it has been rightly said of him that "his church was his home," for to it he gave the sincere devotion of his heart. For some years he was a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but was not an active member of that organization at the time of his death. During the Civil War Mr. Wolf responded to the call for hundred-day volunteers and thus rendered service as a soldier of the Union. Mr. Wolf was the sixth in order of birth of the seven children born to Jacob and Elizabeth (Kershner) Wolf, the others, all now deceased, having been Abraham, Joshua, Daniel, John Lewis, Sarah and Christina. The Wolfs are one of the pioneer families in this county, as are the Kershners, and elsewhere in this volume there is further mention of these families. Jacob Wolf was born in Pennsylvania and his parents were born in Mary- GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 797 land. They were early settlers in the Byron neighborhood in this county. Elizabeth Kershner's mother, Christina Philipina (Itenire) Kershner, was of European birth, a native of the grand duchy of Baden. On January 31, 1859, at Dayton, this state, Jacob I. Wolf was united in marriage to Julia Ann Folkereth, who was born in the vicinity of that city on September 4, 1838, and who is still living; continuing to make her home at 225 East Church street, Xenia, her home for many years. Her parents were Christopher and Hannah Folkereth and she had two sisters, Mrs. Kit Carson and Mrs. Jennie Serface, the latter of whom is still living, and one brother, Pierce. To Mr. and Mrs. Wolf were born five children. May, the first-born, died in childhood and the others are Mrs. D. K. Prugh, Mrs. Charles B. Gowdy, Marshall L. Wolf, cashier of the Citizens National Bank of Xenia, and Edna G. Wolf, special agent at Xenia for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. Mrs. Prugh has two children, Mildred W., now a junior at Wellesley College, and Philip W. Prugh, an artist at Chicago. Mrs. Gowdy has one son; Richard W. Gowdy, who is attending the University of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Wolf has two daughters, Julia and Josephine, both students in Xenia. WILSON COMPTON. The late Wilson Compton, who died at his home in Spring Valley in November, 1912, and whose widow is still living there, was born on a farm about a mile and a quarter northeast of the village of Spring Valley on September 7, 1841, son of Henry and Catherine (Mock) Compton, both members of pioneer families,in this county. Henry Compton was born in North Carolina in 1798 and was but seven years of age when he came to Ohio with his parents, Stephen and Dinah (Millhouse) Compton, Quakers, who drove through and settled on a tract of land ,about where now stands the mill at New Burlington, where they established their home. It was amid that pioneer environment that Henry Compton grew to manhood. He received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and for some years after his marriage continued to make his home on his father's land and then bought a tract of one hundred acres a half mile west of that place, to which he later added until he became the owner there of more than two hundred acres. He had other farm holdings in this county, his land here aggregating about four hundred and seventy-five acres, besides which he was the owner of six hundred acres in the neighboring county of Fayette. He spent his last days on his farm, his death occurring there on November 20, 1880, he then being eighty-two years of age. Henry Compton was twice married. His first wife was Mary Homer, member of 798 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO one of the pioneer families of this county. To that union were born three sons, Stephen and Ezra, who established themselves over in Fayette county, and Martin, who moved to Iowa. Following the death of the mother of these sons Henry Compton married Catherine Mock, who was born on the farm adjoining that on which her husband lived, December 29, 1810, daughter of John and Mary (Horney) Mock, and to that union were born three sons and one daughter, Eber, Amos M. and Wilson, who became Greene county farmers, and Cynthia, who married James Dougherty, a Xenia manufacturer. The mother of these children survived her husband about ten years, her death occurring on April 6, 1890. Her father, John Mock, came to this county from North Carolina in 1804, served as a soldier of the War of 1812, moved over into Fayette county in 1853 and there died in 1862. Wilson Compton was reared on the home farm in the vicinity of Spring Valley and in the schools of that village received his schooling. As the youngest son he remained at home and gradually assumed the management of his father's farming interests on the home place, making his home there after his marriage in 1867. After his father's death he inherited the homestead place of something more than two hundred acres and continued to reside there, until in 1889, in the fall of which year he bought "Oakhill," the highest point of land in Spring Valley township, and there resided until his retirement and removal to' the village of Spring Valley, where he built a house and spent his last days and where his widow continues to make her home. In addition to his farm "Oakhill," a little more than a mile east of Spring Valley, Mr. Compton retained possession of the old home place in the neighborhood. He was a Republican and in 1890 served as real-estate appraiser for the township of Spring Valley. On January 10, 1867, Wilson Compton was united in marriage to Rachel A. Gaddis, who was born in the vicinity of the village of Harveysburg, in the neighboring county of Warren, July 8, 1844, daughter of Allan and Rachel Ann (Mershon) Gaddis, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Kentucky, who had come to this state with their respective parents in the days of their youth and who were married at Kenton. Allan Gaddis was a farmer in Warren county. His first wife died in 1845, leaving two sons and a daughter, George, William and Rachel, and he later married and moved to Decatur, Illinois, where he died on November 8, 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. Compton were born two children, daughters, Rosa G. and Birdie, both of whom are still living. Rosa G. Compton married F. B. Smith, of Spring Valley, and has one child, a daughter, Rachel Smith, born on July 27, 1893, who married Lindley Marlett, of Springfield, this state, and has a daughter, Rose Marie. Birdie -Compton married William Alexander, a member of the old Alexander family of this county, further mention of GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 799 which is made elsewhere in this volume, and lives on the old Compton home place in Spring Valley township. She and her husband have three children, Mildred, Robert E. and Virginia. Mrs. Compton is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was her husband. JOHN HIGGINS. John Higgins, Sugarcreek township, proprietor of a farm of a fraction under one hundred and twelve acres, situated on rural mail route No. 12 out of Dayton, is a native of England, but has been a resident of this county since he was but an infant and therefore feels quite as much a "Buckeye" as though born here. He was born in 1854, son of Anthony and Winifred (Stanton) Higgins, both of whom were born in Ireland, who came to the United States with their family in 1855 and proceeded on out to Ohio and located at Bellbrook, in this county. Anthony Higgins was a stonemason and for some time after coming here followed that vocation at Bellbrook, but later took up farming in that neighborhood and died on the farm about twenty-five years ago. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, Thomas, John, Mary, Winifred (deceased), Anthony, Ellen and Gertrude. Reared at Bellbrook, John. Higgins received his schooling in the schools of that village and when his parents moved to the farm he became a practical farmer, a vocation he ever since has followed and is now the owner of a farm of nearly one hundred and twelve acres. Mr. Higgins became the possessor of that farm before he was thirty years of age and has lived there continuously since his marriage. He and his family are members of the Holy Angels Catholic church. Mr. Higgins is a Democrat and fraternally, he is affiliated with the Ancient Order of Hibernians. On June 18, 1896, John Higgins was united in marriage to Margaret Volkenand and to this union two children have been born, Winifred, born on April 23, 1898, and Herman, January 30, 1901. Mrs. Higgins was born in Beavercreek township, this' county, daughter of Herman and Elizabeth (Brod) Volkenand, who were married in this county in 1852 and who were the parents of the following children : Leonard, Anna, Elizabeth (deceased), George, Herman, John (deceased) and Margaret. The elder Herman Volkenand and his wife were both of European birth, born in what then was the state of Hesse-Cassel, but now and since 1866 a part of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, the former in 1826 and the latter in 1828. Herman Volkenand was a son of George and Elizabeth (Hayes) Volkenand, who were the parents of five children, of whom only Herman came to America. The latter received his education in his native land and when twenty-five years Of age came to the United States, sailing on March 1, 1851, and arriv-