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BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP.

AARON ARCHER, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; was born in Logan Co., O., Aug. 21, 1843, and was a son of W. W. Archer, of Fayette Co., O.; he moved to Logan Co., Miami Tp., in 1840. Mr. Archer has always been a resident of this county; was sent to school here, and married Miss Margaret E. Heath, formerly of Illinois. They now have three children living-Marion E., Allen J., and Jacob. Three died in infancy. They own 80 acres of well improved land. He is Democratic in politics.

HENRY BAUGHMAN, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; was born in Franklin Co., O., Dec. 28, l807, a son of Samuel Baughman, of Pennsylvania, who was oar of the first settlers of Franklin Co., O. He was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Fip, who was a native of Pennsylvania, on Aug. 28, 1832. He moved to Bloomfield Tp. in 1836, , and bought of the government 400 acres of land, and has devoted his life to the improvement of the sawn. Their children are-Gordon, Emma (wife of George Robins, Esq., of Shelby Co., O.); Eliza. Ann (wife of John Hosie, Esq., of Logan Co.) Mr. Baughman has, for a number of times, filled the offices of the township, but has always sought retirement. He has never belonged to any of the different societies or churches, but is one of "God's noblest and best works - an honest man."

A. M. BAYER, manufacturer of drain tile; Bloom Centre; was horn in Maryland, in 1853; he came to Ohio in 1873, and settled in Bellefontaine in 1878, afterwards moving to Bloom Centre, and with his brother, D. B. Bayer, who was also born in Maryland, in 1849, entered into the business of file-making. They employ four men, and are manufacturing all sizes of the at their works, where they are always glad to see their many friends. He was married to Miss Lucinda Deitrich, daughter of Philip Deitrich, Esq., of Logan Co., O., Dec. 25, 1879. They own their house and 2 acres of land, file-kilns, etc. He is a Democrat in politics.

RICHARD S. BRIGGS, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; was horn in Chowan Co., N. C., July 25, 1840, and was a son of Eldred and Rhoda (Holway) Briggs; they moved with their family to Franklin Co. in 1854, and in 1869 came to this county. Richard S. Briggs was united in matrimony on Jan. 14, 1869, to Miss Susan M. Kneif, of Logan Co., O.; they have been blessed with six children-Mary A. E., Angie A., Irena C., Allen L., Fred Tilton, Rosetta M. Mr. Briggs is one of the most enterprising young farmers of the county, owning a nice little farm of 38 acres. Mrs. Briggs is a member of the Reformed Church at Bloom Centre. Mr. Briggs has always voted the straight Democratic ticket, and is a member of Grange No. 484.

CHARLES E. CONLEY, miller; Bloom Centre; was born in Auglaize Co., O., Sept. 5, 1840; the son of John and Eliza (Marshall) Conley, of Ohio; he spent his boyhood in Auglaize Co., and was united in the holy bonds of wedlock to Miss Viola McBeth, of the same county, on Nov. 10, 1872.; he moved to Bloom Centre in 1878, and built the Bloom Centre

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Flouring Mill. It has three run of buhrs, and under the management of Mr. Conley is doing a good custom business. Mr. and Mrs. Conley have been blessed with one child-Emmet , Clyde-born July 6, 1880. He owns a good residence and several other dwellings in the prosperous village of Bloom Centre.



GEORGE W. COX, sawyer; Bloom Centre; proprietor of the "Hall Saw Mill;" was born Dec. 22, 18406, at Dayton, O.; he was a son of John and Rachel (Steeth) Cox, of Greene Co., O. Mr. Cox was raised at Osborne, O., until 1859, when he moved with his parents to Logan Co., O. At the breaking out of the late war he enlisted in the 57th O. V. I., Company K. for two years. He was captured at Cape Fear River, N. C., and sent to the rebel hells of Saulsbury, Milan and Andersonville, and was paroled at Charlottesville, N. C., in July, 1865. He was married to Miss Amanda Pence on Sept. 17, 1868. They have four children- Charles A., Lou Ellen, Florence and Gene Belle. He belongs to Lodge No. 621, Odd Fellows, at Bloom Centre.

JAMES DILLON, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre. Among the many grand old men of this county, none are grander than James Dillon; he was born in Clark Co.; O., in April, 1811; he was early inured to the hardships of a frontier life; his grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and his father, William Dillon, was in the war of 1812. James came to Bloomfield in Sept. 1833, and moved his family to his present residence November, 1833; he built his own house without nails or brick, and has now 80 acres of good land, well improved; he has one child living - Thomas Waite Dillon-and a daughter, who was the wife of Edwin West, died Dec. 6, 1874; he belongs to the Baptist Church, and is Republican in politics.

SOLOMON GARLING, farmer ; P. O., Bloom Centre. Among the prosperous well-to-do farmers of Bloomfield is Mr. Solomon Garling, who was born in Pennsylvania on the 26th of March, 1820, and moved to Ohio with his father in 1824. They settled in Fairfield Co., where he married Miss Marie Low in 1846. They came to Bloomfield in 1850, and settled on the place they now own. 'They have had four children-the first-born, Irving, died on Aug. 14, 1872; James Monroe, who was married to Miss Yates, of Hancock Co.; Mary and Catharine. Mr. Garling has been for ten years a Trustee of the township; belongs to the German Reformed Church at Bloom Centre, and is a Jacksonian Democrat.

DAVID HALL, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; he is a native of Logan Co. His father, Samuel Hall, .moved from Fairfield Co., O., to Stokes Tp., in 1835, where the subject of this sketch was born, on Aug. 4, 1844. Mr. Hall was raised in this county, and has been an eye-witness to the many changes that the civilization of the age has wrought for this county; he has spent all his time in this county, and was married to Miss Mary A., daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Diesback) Greenwalt, of Fairfield Co., O., on Dec. 28, 1865, and they moved to their present splendid residence near Bloom Centre, shortly afterwards. They have two children living, and one in the spirit land -Emma V., born Feb. 3, 1868; Jennie I.; L., Aug. 18, 1870, and Clara, Nov. 13, 1866, who died Feb. 3, 10867. Mr. Hall owns 237 acres of finely improved land, is a member of the German Reformed Church, also of Grange No. 484, and wants it understood that he has always been a Democrat.

ANDREW HALBOTH, farmer and merchant; Bloom Centre; was horn in Bavaria, 1823, and came to Pennsylvania in 1845; he married there in 1848, and moved to Ohio in 1852; in 1857 he purchased and moved to the land where his store now stands, and started the village of Bloom Centre, and has since been conducting a variety store. He has been Postmaster for ten years, to the satisfaction of all. They have been blessed with twelve children, of whom ten are now living. He owns 106 acres of fine land, and is one of the wide awake, enterprising men of Logan Co. He has always been a Democrat, but believes in voting for the best men; he did not go to the war, but furnished a substitute which cost him



NANCY HUBER, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; was burn Dec. 7, 1818, in the State of Kentucky, and was a daughter of Thomas Makeinson. She was married to Capt. Manasas Huber, Nov. 23, 1837. Capt. Huber was born Aug. 10, 1806, in the State of Kentucky. Soon after, they moved to Bloomfield Tp., and settled on the banks of the Miami River, where Mrs. Huber still lives. Mr.

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Huber was a descendant of some of the best blood of the old Revolutionary period, and for several yearn he was the popular Captain of the Logan Co. Light Horse Company, of Ohio State Militia. By industry, economy, and a good, clear head, he accumulated considerable of this world's goods, leaving at his death over 700 acres of good land. Their house was for many years the "meeting house " of the neighborhood, and has always been considered the Methodist Preachers' Home." Mr. and Mrs. Huber were among the first members of the Methodist Church in this county. They have been blessed. with ten children-Marion, born Oct. 4, 1838, died Aug. 27, 1839; 39; Elizabeth, horn April 12, 1840; Allen, Sept. 14, 1841; Margaret, July 15, 1843; Thomas W., April 23, 1846, died Nov. 1l, 1848; Sarah, now the wife of Noah Miller, Esq., born June 7, 1848; Isaiah, June 24, 1850; John W., May 30, 1852, died Oct. 6, 1855; Tiry A., born Dec. 13, 1854; Elsey L., Feb. 2, 1857. Capt. Huber died Jan. 31, 1872. Tiry A. is now the popular Town Clerk of Bloomfield Tp. The Huber brothers are stock dealers, and have a splendid reputation for dealing on the square, and as business wren they stand high.

ELIZA F. REARDON, Bloom Centre; was horn in Virginia May 5, 1807; she was a daughter of William Jeffries, and was married to Michael Reardon ( who was born in Pennsylvania, July 20, 1804), in Fairfield Co., O., in 1827. They came to Logan Co., and settled in Bloomfield Tp., in 1843. They had ten children-George, who died April 12, 1874; Michael, John, who died at New Orleans, May 25, 1864; was a soldier of the 96th O. V. I; William P., John I:, Richard H., Nelson L, May .J., wife of Isaac Harker, of this county; Loretta, wife of William Young, Esq., of Shelby Co., O., and Sarah E., wife of A. B: Young, with whom Mrs. Reardon is now living. Mr. Reardon died Feb. 20, 1874. Mrs. Reardon has been for a number of years', a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

DR. GEORGE M. SHAFER, physician; Bloom Center; was .horn Sept. 5, 1834, at Centerville, Montgomery Co., O. He was the son of Henry Shafer, of Kentucky, and Amy (Benham) Shafer, of Ohio. They were amongst the early settlers of this State. Dr. Shafer was educated at Lebanon, O., in 1857-58, enlisted as a private soldier early in 1861, and was a member of the renowned body-guard of Gen. Fremont, in Missouri. He was detailed as hospital Steward, in the fall of 1861. In 1862, he was appointed hospital Steward in the regular army, and was soon promoted to Assistant Surgeon in the regular service, which position he held until the fall of 1866; he was stationed for two years at the Government Hospital, at Natchez, Miss. He came to Bloom Centre, in December, 1866; and commenced the practice of medicine, and with that also is the proprietor of a general drug and country store. On the 13th of August, he married Miss Mary L., daughter of Andrew Halboth, of Bloom Centre. They had four children-Florence M., born Dec. 1, 1868; Minnie M., Nov. 15, 1870; Frank M., Oct. 26, 1872; Benjamin Earl, July 13, 1878. His wife was born Feb. 21, 1851. Dr. Shafer, is a member of Lodge No. 621, I. O. O. F., is a strong Democrat, and a good, useful citizen.



J. M. SMITH, farmer; P. O., Bloorn Centre; was born Nov. 13, 1827, in Franklin Co., O.; was a son of Jacob and Christina ( Hall ) Smith, of Pennsylvania. They emigrated to Ohio in 1808. Mr. Jacob Smith was a soldier of 1812, and his father a soldier of the Revolution. Mr. Smith had seven brothers and five sisters, who all lived to leave families of their own. At an election in 1864 there were eight brothers, five brothers-in-law, and five grandsons, who voted the Democratic ticket. J. M. Smith was married to Miss Elizabeth Smith, Jan. 22, 1852. They have nine children- Frank P.; Amy, wife of Dr. O. C. Wilson, of Bloom Centre; Elizabeth A.; Uri N., Jacob W.; Lyrnan S.; Olive R,; John E. and Hermann E. He owns 440 acres of good land, and belongs to Grange No. 484; also to the Reformed Church at Bloom Centre. He is a strong Democrat, and one of the leading men of Logan Co.

T. J. SPEELMAN, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; was born in Champaign Co.. O., Jan. 3, 1839; son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Swisher) Speelman. Mr. S. (the father) was born in Maryland, and Mrs. Speelman in Clark Co., O. The subject of this sketch came to Logan Co. in 1858, and improved his present home, consisting of 15U acres of good land. He was a member of the 132nd O. V. I, and was with the army under Gen. Butler at

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Petersburg, in 1864, but was mustered out in the fall of the same year. He was married to Miss Mary E., daughter of John Makeinson, of this county. They have been blessed with two children-Ida Bell and Aldo Elbert. His grandfather Swisher was a soldier in the war of 1812. He is Republican in politics.

W. H. STRAYER, farmer; Bloom Centre; was born in Berkeley Co., Va., Sept.. 3, 1823; son of John and Rachel Strayer, who moved to Ohio and settled in Clark Co., in 1829, where the subject of our sketch passed his boyhood; in 1858, he went to Iowa, but not liking the western country, came back in a short time and settled in Ohio; he was united in marriage to Miss Priscilla Ray, of Logan Co., Sept. 4, 1860; they had four children -Minnie M., James W., who died in 1864, Nannie G. and Grace Estelle; Mrs. Strayer died in De Graff, O., Feb, 1, 1876; Mr. Strayer owns 105 acres of the best "land in Bloomfield Tp.; he is a member of De Graff Lodge, No. 132, A., F. & A. M.

GEORGE SWICKARD, farmer : P. O., Bloom Centre ; was born in Pennsylvania, Feb. 14, 1811; came to Ohio and settled in Franklin Co., 1825, and again moved to Jefferson Co. Ohio ; was married to Miss Phebe Baughman, of Franklin Go., Oct. 7, 1837; moved to this township in 1837 where they have since resided ; have been blessed with ten children, viz : Clinton W.; Elizabeth, wife of A. Snyder, Esq., of Shelby Co., Ohio ; Davis, living at Greenup, Ill. ; Morgan, living at Cottonwood, Ill. ; Polly, Laura A., wife of Dr. Rodgers, of Shelby Co., Ohio ; George A. and Lincoln H., two children, died in infancy. Davis and Morgan were members of the United States Army during the late war, Mr. Swickard has bought and improved a large farm, has raised a splendid family and has never belonged to any of the secret societies or churches; is a Republican in politics and is an honest, conscientious, good citizen.

GEORGE TROUT, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; is a son of Alexander and Margaret Trout, who moved from Licking Co., Ky., and settled in Washington Tp., Logan Co., in 1840. The subject of this sketch was born Sept. 27, 1827, in Virginia. He was married to Miss Mary C., a daughter of Philip and Lucy Hoy, of Bloomfield Tp. Mr. Hoy settled and improved the place now occupied by Mr. Trout, in 1832, and died in 1858. Mrs. Hoy is living in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Trout have four children-Virginia, Rosetta, Henry Grant and Cornelius. Mr. Trout was elected Town Treasurer, but was robbed of $580, and then gave up the office, but has been unanimously elected Trustee at every election since 1871. He owns 152 acres of well improved land, is a member of the German Reformed Church, and is Democratic in politics.

JOHN WAGONER, Justice of the Peace; Bloom Centre ; was born in Fairfield Co., Ohio, in 1819, was reared upon a farm and was married in 1840 to Miss Margaret Slough, of Fairfield Co., Ohio. They have had four children, three of whom died in infancy ; the only surviving one is now the wife of John H. Nothstine, of Kansas. Mrs. Wagoner died in 1852, in Fairfield Co. In 1853 Mr. Wagoner came to Bloomfield Tp. and married Mary Coover, of Logan Co.; since, he has been engaged in farming ; he has been elected Justice of the Peace for four terms and gives entire satisfaction to all parties ; he has been Town Trustee two years. Mr. and Mrs. Wagoner are members of the German Reformed Society, and he is a member of Grange No, 484 ; he is a Democrat.

JOSEPH J. WRIGHT, farmer; P. O., Bloom Centre; was born in Stokes Tp., Logan Co., O., March 1., 1839; son of H. and Polly (Pence) Wright. Joseph's father, was born in Fairfield Co., O., and settled in Stokes Tp., Logan Co., 1835, where Joseph was raised. Joseph enlisted in the 13th United States Infantry (Gen. W. T. Sherman's Regiment) and after serving his term in that Regiment enlisted in the 96th O. V. I., and served three years; he was never absent from a roll-call, never was in an ambulance, or was he ever excused from duty while in the service, and was with his regiment all the time, except fifty-two days, which time he was a prisoner of war, captured at Grand Coteau, La,, Nov. 3, 1863, and was released the 20th of December, 1863; was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of enlistment, on the 1st of March, 1866. He was married to Miss Clara L. Hoover, of this township, and settled on the farm he now owns, containing 120 acres. They have three children-Ettie M., Frank E. and Abbie F.

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He is a Republican, and is a member of Lodge No. 292, A., F. & A. M., at De Graff, Ohio; he has been Master and is now Secretary of Grange No. 484. The hall of his society is built on his farm. He had six brothers - John L, William W., Martin M. (a member of the 96th O. V. I), David W., Horatio S., Andrew N. and one sister, Sarah J. His father died in 1856; his mother is now the wife of William Herndon, Esq., of this county.

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