AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 401 Knights of the Golden Eagle, the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics, and Franklin Lodge of the Masons. WILLIAM G. WILSON, county commissioner of Miami County and a. substantial retired farmer residing at Troy, was born in Concord Township, Miami County, Ohio, in 1862, and is a son of the late John Wilson, who died in May, 1907, and a grandson of Robert Wilson. The latter came to Ohio from England and was a pioneer settler in Miami County, but died in advanced age in Shelby County. William G. Wilson was reared and educated in Concord Township and for many years carried on extensive farming and stock raising in that section. In November, 1908, he moved to Troy. He has been a very active member of the Republican party for a long period, on many occasions proving his fealty and frequently gaining recognition in local circles. He is a member of the important party organization known as the County Central Committee, has served on the School Board in Concord Township, and in November, 1905, was first elected a county commissioner, approval being shown of his services by re-election to the office in November, 1908. On March 3, 1883, Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Emeline Kerr, who was born and reared in Concord Township and is a daughter of William and Rachel Kerr. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have one daughter, Verna Oletha, who is a popular and successful teacher in the public schools of the county. Miss Wilson made a brilliant school record for herself, graduating from the Concord Township school when but thirteen years of age and subsequently from the Troy High School. Mr. Wilson is identified with the Elks and the Knights of Pythias at Troy. JACOB A. DAVY, who for over twenty-five years has been engaged in the successful practice of law at Troy, Ohio, was born in Delaware County, Ohio, October 26, 1854, his parents being Henry D. and Catharine (Bosteter) Davy. He is of English ancestry, his paternal grandfather having emigrated from England to Philadelphia in 1706. Henry D. Davy, the father, was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in 1811, and at an early date entered the ministry, his duties in connection therewith taking him successively to various fields in this State. In 1868 he located on a farm in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, where he afterwards resided until his death, in September, 1895, at the age of eighty-four years. He was a minister of the German Baptist Church, and for twenty years was chairman of the executive committee and moderator of annual conference. He was united in marriage November 17, 1850, with Miss Catharine Bosteter, who was born near Frederick City, Maryland, in 1821, and who died in February, 1896. Ten children were born of this union, four of whom bore arms in the Union cause during the Civil War. Jacob A. Davy was about seven years old when his parents moved, in 1861, to Mr. Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, and during their residence of seven years there he attended the public schools. He accompanied them on their removal to Miami County in 1868, and there attended the district schools during the winter months, when he could be spared from the work on the farm. He continued farming 402 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY until August 19, 1879, when he went to Troy and began preparations for the legal profession under the preceptorship of Theodore Sullivan, who afterwards became circuit judge, and M. B. Barnhart, who later moved to Columbus and became police judge of that city. He subsequently attended the Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1881. In March, 1882, he opened an office for practice in the city of Troy, where he has since continued with uninterrupted success. It is needless to say that Mr. Davy's present high position at the bar was not brought about without hard and persistent effort. At the outset he realized his own deficiencies with respect to preliminary education, and with determined energy he accordingly pursued a literary and scientific course, reciting regularly to a gentleman noted for his scholarly attainments. This training has been of incalculable benefit to him in his court work. Well grounded in the law and always thoroughly prepared in his cases, employing the best diction, with a convincing style and manner, he makes a favorable impression on court and jury, and has been successful beyond the average. He has a fine library of literary and legal lore, in the enjoyment of which he spends much of his time. In the year 1900 Mr. Davy became a member of the law firm of Davy & Campbell, Mr. St. John becoming a third partner in the following year. On the subsequent election of Mr. Campbell as prosecuting attorney, that gentleman retired from the firm, which then became Davy & St. John. In 1907 Mr. St. John was appointed assistant probate judge, and accordingly severed his connection with the firm, but on account of the old style being well and favorably known to a large Eastern clientele, Mr. Davy has since retained it, though at the present time practicing alone. He has lately organized the National Law Collecting Company; incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000, of which he is president. Mr. Davy is an enthusiastic Republican in politics, and has spent much time and effort in bringing about party success in the county. In 1892 he was chairman of the Republican Central Committee and his activity brought out the full party strength in support of President Harrison, while nearly every other county in the State fell below. Mr. Davy was joined in marriage, February 4, 1886, with Gertrude Edith Mitchell, who was born near Fletcher, Miami County, Ohio, in 1864, the Mitchell family having long been one of prominence in the county. Her father, John Mitchell, was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1822, and at an early date became a resident of Miami County. He was a man of unusual ability, and accumulated a handsome competency, including 329 acres of land in the county. He was married at Fletcher in 1835, to Miss Henrietta Simmons, a daughter of William T. and Margaret Simmons, and two children were the offspring of this union—Mrs. Mary E. Spencer, of Piqua ; and Gertrude E., wife of Jacob A. Davy. Mrs. Davy is a lady of educational attainments and musical accomplishments, being gifted with a soprano voice of good power and pleasing quality. She received voice culture under the instruction of Professor Blumenschine, of Dayton, and other prominent teachers. The family home is at No. 6 South Plum Street, in Troy. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 403 GEORGE MUMFORD, one of Elizabeth Township's prosperous grain farmers, resides on his valuable farm of 140 acres, which is situated on the LeFever Turnpike road, in Section 16, Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio, was born in Clark County, Ohio, March 31, 1852. His parents were George and Ruth Ann (Martin) Mumford. George Mumford and wife were born in Maryland and came from there to Ohio, locating first in Clark County but subsequently removing to Miami County. He became the owner of a large amount of land, purchasing at different times tracts of 200 acres, of seventy-eight acres and of the 140 acres which is now owned by his son George. He was aged seventy years when he died. When he -lived in Maryland he was a Whig in politics but later became a member of the Republican party. For thirty-three years he served as a school director and in all matters of moment in his neighborhood, his judgment was more or less consulted. He was considered a poor man when he came first to Miami County but he was very enterprising and possessed excellent business qualifications. He cleared about one-half of his land, building a drain ditch in which he used 1,000 rods of tiling, and put up all the farm structures now standing, these serving during his lifetime, although they have all been remodeled and improved by the present owner. The children of George and Ruth Ann Mumford were : Martha Josephine, Elizabeth, Harrison, Isaac, Maria, George, Melissa and Belle. The mother of this family died in June, 1888, having survived her husband from September, 1882. George Mumford, Jr., who has served Elizabeth Township for fifteen years as a school director, obtained his own education in the Flinn school, near his home, after which he became his father's helper on the farm and remained at home with his parents and continues on the same farm on which he was reared from childhood. It is well drained, the Miami County ditch running north and south through it, and Mr. Mumford has so divided his land that each part of it returns a good income. He has an orchard of fifty trees, grows twenty-five acres of corn, the same of wheat and the same of oats each year, has fifteen acres in hay and the remainder of the land is in woods and pasture. He takes pride in the appearance of his buildings and keeps them repaired and painted, making everything around his home very presentable. He has a fine family also to enjoy life with, consisting of wife and four children. He was married December 23, 1883, to Miss Ellen Boswell, who is a daughter of George and Lavina Boswell, of Casstown, Miami County, and their family consists of three daughters and one son, namely: Blanche, Nora, Vernon and Ruth. Mrs. Mumford is a member of the McKendree Methodist Church of Elizabeth Township. He does not lay claim to being a politician but he is interested in all that concerns the welfare of his own neighborhood and of the country at large. He votes the Republican ticket. JUSTUS DIEHL, for many years one of the substantial business men and a public-spirited citizen of Troy, Ohio, is now living in retirement in that city. He was prominently identified with the wagon-making industry as a member of the firm of Repholz and Diehl, and now rents the 404 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY plant conducted by them to the son of his deceased partner. Mr. Diehl was born in Germany October 1, 1839, and was about seventeen years of age when he came to the United States in 1857, locating in the city of Dayton. There he worked as a cabinet maker one year for a Mr. Boyer, but not liking the work he hired out for a year as a gardener. In 1859 he went to Sydney, Ohio, where he learned the trade of wagon maker with Jacob Piper, in whose employ he continued for eighteen months. In 1861 he went to Greenville, Ohio, and in February, 1864, enlisted for three years' service as a member of the Eighth Ohio Battery Light Artillery, and was later assigned with his battery to the Army of the Mississippi. He contracted the typhoid fever but remained in the service until August, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. Upon his return from the front, he worked at wagon making for a Mr. Miller, in the same shop in which he learned his trade in Sydney. In the spring of 1866, he moved to Troy, Ohio, and formed a partnership with Frank Emerett in the wagon making business. They established their business on West Main Street, and in a short time Mr. Diehl purchased the interest of his partner and continued the business there alone for several years. In 1879 he entered partnership with Mr. Repholz and started a shop at No. 401 East Main Street. Their business association continued with uninterrupted success until Mr. Repholz died. Mr. Diehl then, on account of failing health rented the plant to a son of his former partner, who has since continued it. In 1867 Justus Diehl was married to Miss Mary Dunlap, who died in 1888, leav ing five children: Charles Diehl, an electrician of ability, at Tippecanoe City William Diehl, head engineer of the electric light plant of Lima, Ohio, with which he has been identified for a score of years; George Diehl, who also has been identified with the Lima Electric Light Plant for some twenty years, he and his brother beginning at that time as boys and working up to good and responsible positions M. Lida Diehl, who lives in Tippecanoe City and Elizabeth, wife of Henry Heiser, of Piqua, Ohio. Mr. Diehl, in 1891, formed a second marriage with Mrs. Catherine Shell, of Miami County. Religiously, he attends the Baptist Church in Troy, of which his wife is a member. Fraternally, he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. PERRY H. MOYER, deputy sheriff of Miami County and county recorder elect, has been a resident of Troy for the past thirty years. He was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, November 20, 1843. Mr. Moyer was reared on a farm and obtained his education in the public schools of Montgomery County. He enlisted for service in the Civil War, in February, 1864, entering Company E, Ninety-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he continued until his honorable discharge on December 5, 1865. At the battle of New Hope Church, Georgia, during the Atlanta campaign, Mr. Moyer was so seriously wounded that he could no longer serve on the field, and he was then attached to the mustering-out office, with headquarters at Detroit, Michigan. For about four years after the close of the war, he followed farming and then engaged for some three years in the grocery business. Since cora- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 405 ing to Troy he has been identified with various interests here, and on February 1, 1892, he was appointed deputy sheriff of Miami County. Mr. Moyer has proven himself an efficient public officer and his election, in November, 1908, as county recorder, is a signal mark of appreciation. He will assume the duties of the new office in September, 1909. On April 30, 1868, Mr. Moyer was married to Miss Mary Jane Huiet, of Montgomery County, Ohio, and they have one daughter, Irma. May, who. for seventeen years has been a valued teacher in the public schools of Troy. Mr. P. H. Moyer, with his wife and daughter, belongs to the Presbyterian Church. He is affiliated with the Odd Fellows and belongs to A. H. Coleman Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Troy. of which he is now commander. FRANK E. FREEMAN, nurseryman and farmer, residing on the valuable property of the Geo. Freeman heirs, consisting of 115 acres, which is situated in Section 25, on the National Turnpike Road, near Phoneton, Ohio, was born in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, June 28, 1862, and is a son of George Freeman and a grandson of Robert M. Freeman. Robert M. Freeman came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, settling in Bethel Township, where he was a farmer all his life. He married Hannah Puterbaugh, a daughter of David and Mary Puterbaugh, and they reared ten children: David, Isaac, George, John, Daniel, Hannah, Elizabeth, Minnie, Henrietta and Priscilla. George Freeman succeeded his father as a farmer and nurseryman in Bethel Township. He married Araminta D. Swindle, a daughter of John and Rebecca Swindle, and they have had the following children: Laura, who married R. W. Mitchell, who is principal of a High School in North Carolina Frank E.; Harry W., deceased, who was formerly in the nursery business at Tadmor, Ohio, and married a daughter of John Benham; and Arthur H., who is connected with a lime and cement company at Chicago, Illinois, and who married Laura Emerson. Frank E. Freeman first attended school in Bethel Township, later enjoyed four terms in the Normal School at Ada, Ohio, and still later took a commercial course in a business college in the State of New York. He then returned to the home farm, where he has continued in business ever since. He has cleared about four acres of land and devotes the larger part of the acreage to nursery plants, also raising some grain and hay. He is much interested in raising throughbred stock and the four colts that he raises annually might easily be registered for the race track, so excellent are their qualities. He has erected all the stock stables on the place and these are of modern construction, due regard having been paid to their sanitary conveniences, this being along modern lines of building. Mr. Freeman has additional business interests, being a stockholder of the Dye Fruit Company, which has its home office at Tippecanoe City, and a member of the board of directors. On March 10, 1887, Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Margaret O. Belleman, a daughter of Henry and Eliza Belleman, and they have six children, namely : Charles H., who is a lieutenant in the Philippine Constabulary and at present is stationed at Manila, Philippine Islands ; and 406 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Roy W., Ralph Egbert, Lillian May, George Henry and Ruth Mahala. Mr. Freeman is a member of the Reformed Church, in which he is a deacon. In politics he is a Republican and formerly served as a member of the Miami County Agricultural Society. Formerly he was also identified with the local Grange. He is a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Commandery at Troy, where he also belongs to the Elks. W. E. LYTLE, a leading member of the Miami County bar and prosecuting attorney elect, was born in 1871, near Lancaster, Ohio. Mr. Lytle passed his early life on a farm but his inclination lay more in the direction of a professional life. Like many other youths he found himself entirely dependant on his own efforts to secure the education he craved and, through many sacrifices, prepared himself for teaching and thus was enabled to spend three mid a half years in Ohio University at Ada, in the literary and law departments of that institution. In June, 1900, Mr. Lytle received his degree from the university and was admitted to the bar and in September, 1901, he located for practice at Tippecanoe City, `Miami County, since then earning his permit to practice in the Federal Courts and all the courts in the State. He was elected city solicitor in 1906, elected again in 1907, and served two and one-half years, resigning the office when he was elected to the still more responsible one of prosecuting attorney of Miami County, in November, 1908, the duties of which he will assume on January 4, 1909. In addition to paying attention to his large private practice, as well as his official duties, Mr. Lytle has interested himself in several business enterprises. He promoted and organized the Citizens' National Bank of Tippecanoe City, of which he is a director and attorney, and he was the chief promoter of the Tippecanoe Underwear Company, which is incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000. Of this company he is attorney and a member of the board of directors. Mr. Lytle is also concerned in valuable real estate lying in both Miami and Parke counties. He is a man of more than usual energy and enterprise and he possesses also the judgment which brings him success in his undertakings. This foresight and judgment will be valuable assets in the conduct of the office of prosecuting attorney, an office which no feebly endowed man could ever hope to satisfactorily fill at this day. In 1893 Mr. Lytle was married to Miss Zella Rank, of Parke County. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is an official of the same and also of the Sunday School, having been a teacher for over twenty years. Politically he is a strong factor in the Republican party in this section and a hearty supporter of Republican policies. For the past fifteen years he has been an active member of the Order of Knights of Pythias and belongs also to the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. H. J. WALKER. county surveyor of Miami County, Ohio, is one of the most capable and popular public officials of the county. He has been a resident of Troy for some nineteen years but he was born in Brown Township, Mjami County, Ohio. Josiah Walker, father of H. J. Walker, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 407 was brought to Troy from Pennsylvania, when small, and a large part of his life was spent on his farm in Brown Township, which he left in 1889 and has resided at Troy ever since, where he is one of the respected and substantial citizens. H. J. Walker was educated in the public schools of Troy and took special course of three years in the Ohio State University at Columbus, graduating as a civil engineer, and then took up railroad work in the Northwest, after which he came to Troy. He is interested in a number of local enterprises and has served as city engineer for about twelve years. In November, 1901, he was first elected county surveyor, was re-elected in November, 1904, and his term will not expire until September, 1909, when he will have served continuously in this office about eight years. Mr. Walker is an active member of the Elks and the Knights of Pythias, and he also retains his connection with the Sigma Nu fraternity of the Columbus University and is a charter member of the alumni chapel of the society. He belongs also to the Troy Club. Mr. Walker was reared in the Presbyterian faith. JOHN K. DE FREES, assistant cashier of the Troy National Bank and city treasurer of Troy, Ohio, was born in this city in 1878, and is a son of L. L. and a grandson of John W. De Frees. Both father and grandfather of Mr. De Frees were well known journalists. The grandfather, John W. De Frees, was the founder, proprietor and editor of the Miami Union, which he conducted for many years, and for a time he served as county auditor of Miami County. The father of Mr. De Frees early became associated with his father in newspaper work and on the death of John W. De Frees succeeded to the proprietorship of the Miami Union, which he successfully conducted until ill health compelled him to dispose of his interests. John K. De Frees was reared and educated at Troy, and after graduating from the Troy High School he spent two years in the Ohio State University. Shortly after his return to Troy he entered the Troy National Bank as bookkeeper, served later four years as teller and since then has filled the office of assistant cashier. He has ever been an active and earnest citizen and in November, 1907, he was elected city treasurer, the duties of which office he fills with the same carefulness and conservatism that has made him valued in the financial institution with which he has so long been connected. In June, 1903, Mr. De Frees was married to hiss Frances P. Brechbill, of Troy, and they have one daughter, Elizabeth. Mr. De Frees and wife are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Troy. He is a Royal Arch Mason and belongs also to the Troy and the Island Outing clubs. CHARLES F. RANNELLS, city auditor of Troy, Ohio, of which place he has been a resident since 1885, was born at New Antioch, Clinton County3 Ohio, in 1852. Mr. Rannells was educated in the public schools of his native place, later attended the Holbrooks School at Lebanon, Ohio, and still later took a commercial course at the Bryant & Stratton Business College, at Cincinnati. For some twelve years thereafter, Mr. Rannells taught school and after leaving the educational field he was bookkeeper for the firm of 408 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Allen & Wheeler for a number of years and then embarked in a nursery business, conducting this enterprise until 1903, when he was first elected city auditor of Troy. Mr. Rannells is serving in his second term in this office, his re-election in 1907 indicating the confidence he enjoys among his fellow citizens. In the promotion of good government, Mr. Rannells has been an active citizen and has taken a hearty interest in public affairs. In 1881 Mr. Rannells was married to Miss Nannie Cleland, of Martinsville, Ohio, and they have two sons, E. B. and C. W., both of whom are in the employ of the Edison Electrical Company, of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Rannells is a. thirty-second degree Mason and is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery, at Troy, and of the Consistory and Shrine, at Dayton, Ohio. HON. THOMAS M. CAMPBELL, formerly mayor of Troy, Ohio, of which city he has been a resident for some thirty years, is a leading member of the Miami County bar and is city solicitor, an office he has most acceptably filled on several occasions. He was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1840. Mr. Campbell attended the law school of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, but otherwise he secured his education in the schools of Montgomery and Preble counties, Ohio. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in Company B, Seventy-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for over three years of the great Civil War, receiving his honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee, December 3, 1864, having been promoted to first sergeant. Mr. Campbell survived all the usual dangers of army life and his record shows that he was never wounded, never sent to a hospital, and, what he is justly proud of, that he was never excused from duty. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Georgia, and Franklin, Tennessee, together with many less important engagements. In 1877 Mr. Campbell was admitted to the bar, and in the following year settled at Troy, subsequently being admitted to practice in the United States Courts. He is a member of the Miami County Bar Association. He has long been interested in local politics and in 1885 was elected city solicitor, serving in that capacity for two terms, and from 1892 to 1894, he was mayor of the city, and after the close of an excellent administration, he returned to private practice. In November, 1907, he was again brought forward by his party for the office of city solicitor, and was elected without opposition and is serving in that office at the present time. In 1889 Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Clara E. Shilling, who died May 23, 1907, leaving one son, Carlton W., who is a student in Dennison University. Mr. Campbell is a member of the First Baptist Church of Troy, and one of its deacons. He is prominent in Masonry, being past master of Franklin Lodge, No. 14, F. & A. M.; past high priest of Franklin Chapter, and past eminent commander of Coleman Commandery, Knights Templar. JOHN FISH, president of the Troy Tile and Brick Company, a successful manufacturing enterprise of Troy, was born in 1860, in Illinois, and in infancy was brought to Shelby County, Ohio, and when four years of age to Miami County, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 409 where he was reared and educated. Mr. Fish's boyhood was spent on a farm and he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until 1900, when he came to Troy, where for two years he conducted the sprinkling business for the city and then purchased a feed mill, which he operated for four years, in the meanwhile preparing for his present enterprise. The Troy Tile and Brick Company was incorporated in 1894, by R. W. Crofoot and Mr. Fish owns a one-half interest and since his purchase has been president of the company, with his brother, Charles Fish, as secretary. The business is the manufacturing of tile and brick and they deal also in cement, coal and grain. In 1885 Mr. Fish was married to Miss Jennie Hetzler and they have two children living: Roy, who is bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Troy ; and Earl, who is a High School student. One child, Freddie. died at the age of five years. Mr. Fish and family belong to the Baptist Church. In politics Mr. Fish is a. Republican and he has served four years as a member of the City Council, taking an active interest in promoting the welfare of this community. He has long been identified with the Odd Fellows and is filling the office of noble grand in the Troy lodge. He is one of the city's reputable and representative business men. JAMES R. McCANDLISS, general farmer and tobacco grower, residing on his valuable estate of thirty-seven acres, which is situated in Section 29, Elizabeth Township, one mile southeast of Casstown, is a representative citizen of this section. He was born July 29, 1850, at Young's Mill, near Piqua, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of James and Mary (Abbott) McCandliss. The McCandliss family is of Irish descent, but the grandfather, James McCandliss, was born in Pennsylvania. When he came to Ohio he brought his family over the Allegheny Mountains by wagon and settled first near Dayton and later near Piqua. He worked as a carpenter and also engaged in farming. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian and in his political sympathy a Whig. He died in 1878 and his burial was at Piqua. He married Nancy Hilands and they had the following children : John, Sarah, James, Mary, Nancy, Annie and Amos. James McCandliss, Jr., father of James R., was born in Pennsylvania and accompanied his parents to Ohio in his childhood. He assisted his father on the home farm near Piqua until his own marriage and then engaged in milling, in 1859 moving to the old Sheets mill in Elizabeth Township and from there to Coalville, where he died September 25, 1897. His remains rest in the Casstown Cemetery. He married Mary Abbott, who still survives and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Rosser, at Troy. The following children were born to James and Mary McCandliss : John F., who lives in Staunton Township; James R.; Laura L., who is deceased; Nancy, who married Charles Rosser ; Nellie, who married George Wolfe, and resides at New Carlisle ; William ; who married Mollie West, and is now deceased; Joseph, who is deceased; Isaac, who married Mattie, daughter of John Ross ; Charles, who married Amy Emory; Crozier, who is unmarried and resides in California ; Mabelle, who married Albert Cams ; and an infant, deceased. 410 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY James R. McCandliss secured a good public school education, attending the Brown School near Piqua, the Edward School in Troy and later the Walnut Grove School in Elizabeth Township, after which he assisted his father until his own marriage in 1878. He then rented Andrew Sayers' farm, moved from there to the Coleman farm near Stillwater for two years and from there to a farm north of Troy, on which he remained for two years more, coming then to his present farm, which he rented at first and purchased in 1900. He engages in mixed farming and devotes four acres to tobacco. When he came here he found it profitable for a time to quarry stone on the farm, but has since abandoned that industry. He has a fine orchard of about forty trees, which he set out himself, and has done considerable improving on the place. On November 1, 1878, Mr. McCandliss was married to Miss Priscilla F. Webb, a daughter of Lewis and Rebecca Webb. They are members of the Baptist Church at Casstown, with which he has been united for thirty years. Formerly he was an active member of the Grange and also of the Order of Red Men, but the only fraternal association he still continues to have interest in is the Casstown Lodge, No. 426, Odd Fellows, of which he has been a member for thirty-five years. having passed all the chairs and for the past twelve years having been a trustee. In politics, Mr. McCandliss is a Democrat and he has acceptably served his township in the office of supervisor. at different times. LOSH O. HARBAUGH, attorney-at-law and a well known member of the Piqua bar, was horn near Brandt, Miami County, Ohio, in 1874, and is a son of John C. Harbaugh. John C. Harbaugh is a veteran of the Civil War. He was born in Washington County, Maryland, and enlisted in 1862 as a member of Company L, First Maryland Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of hostilities, after which he settled in Miami County, where he has been ever since engaged in farming. Losh O. Harbaugh was reared in Miami County, attended the country schools and prior to studying law, took a commercial course in a business college in Dayton. In the fall of 1898 he received his degree of B. S. at Valparaiso College, Indiana, having taught school for four years previously. Undoubtedly this profession is a great training field for any other and Mr. Harbaugh has never regretted devoting four years to it. In 1901 he completed his law course in the 'University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, immediately locating at Piqua and practicing in all courts of the State. In addition to a large law business he is extensively interested in dealing in real estate. On June 11, 1902, Mr. Harbaugh was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Davidson, of Ironton, Ohio, and they have two children W. Davidson and John C. Mr. and Mrs. Harbaugh are .members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity and with the Piqua Business Men's Association. WILLIAM R. MUMFORD, one of Elizabeth Township's most substantial and representative citizens, resides in Section 3. his 500-acre farm being reached by the Dayton and Brandt Turnpike road. Mr.. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 411 Mumfurd was born in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio, June 7, 1841, and is a son of John and Mary (Crawmer) Mumford. The grandfather, John Mumford, spent his life in Maryland. He married Hannah Knickirict and they had eight children, namely : James, William, George, Richard, Hannah, Betsey, Amanda and John. Of the above family the youngest son was the father of William R. Mumford. In early manhood, following his marriage, he came to Ohio and engaged first in farming near Zanesville and then rented a farm in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, on which he lived until he purchased the one on which his son lives, buying 113 acres from John Helvey. He went into the grain growing and stock raising business and became a man of wealth and prominence. Both he and his wife were members of the Universalist Church of Miami City. His death occurred September 16, 1868. He married Mary Crawmer, who died in September, 1862, and they were both interred in the McKendree Church cemetery. They had eight children, as follows : James., John P., William R., Joseph. Matilda, Julia Ann, Mary Jane and Amanda. William R. Mumford was educated in the schools of Elizabeth Township and Miami City and grew to manhood a farmer under his father's practical training. He continued on the homestead for several years after his marriage and then settled on his present farm, which he lived on until the death of his wife, when he returned home for several years more, subsequently resuming his residence on his own farm. Of his large property about eighty acres lie in Pike Township, and twelve in Bethel Township, but all the rest is in Elizabeth Township and with the exception of twenty-five acres still in timber, all the land is well drained and ready for cultivation. Farm buildings are on different parts of the property, Mr. Mumford finding the erection of one barn being the only necessity. It is a magnificent property and its value is represented by many thousands of dollars. On November 7, 1868, Mr. Mumford was married to Miss Olivia Schindler, who died September 29, 1876. She was a most estimable lady, a daughter of John and Sarah Schindler. To this marriage were born four children, namely: Irwin, who married Susan Drake, a daughter of Ezra H. Drake, and has one child, Ruth; Eben, who married Luella M. Horn; Viola, who died when aged sixteen years; and Olivia, who died at the age of two and one-half years. In his political sentiments, Mr. Mumford is a Democrat. SHERMAN D. SYLER, dealing in real estate, bonds, loans, investments and insurance, is one of Piqua's representative business men. He was born September 29, 1872, near Troy, Ohio, a son of Samuel Syler. The late Samuel Syler was born in Miami County, in which his life was spent, he dying at the early age of twenty-nine years. The Syler family has been established in this county from its earliest days and in every important sense is a representative one. Sherman D. Syler was educated in the schools of Troy and when he put aside his books he became a clerk and served as such with different employers for seven years. He then came to Piqua and continued in mercantile pursuits for ten years. 412 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY In 1895 he engaged in a partnership in his present line of business, with Ira T. Swartz, and in 1896 he purchased his partner's interest and since then has continued in the business alone, through energy and business capacity placing himself in the front rank in this line. In 1898 Mr. Syler was married to Miss Bessie M. Knouff, a daughter of the late Dr. Knouff, a leading physician of Ansonia, Darke County, Ohio, and they have one little daughter, Mary Elizabeth. Mr. Syler and wife are members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has been treasurer of the Sunday-school for seven years. His activity in politics is not pronounced, but his duties as a public-spirited citizen are never neglected. ALONZO J. FURROW, deceased. The subject of this notice was a native son of Miami County, born in Staunton Township, October 18, 1842. His parents were Jeremiah and Sarah (Covault) Furrow, and he was a grandson, on the paternal side, of Adam Furrow, who was a native of the Old Dominion. The father and grandfather came to Ohio from Virginia in or about the year 1811, making the journey with a four-horse team. Adam Furrow entered a tract of eighty-three acres of land from the Government, which tract afterwards became the farm owned and operated by the subject of this sketch. Here he built a log cabin and afterwards erected a part of the house which in later years became the residence of his grandson, Alonzo. At that early date this tract was heavily timbered and most of the land around was in its primeval condition. Indians were still numerous, but usually not hostile to the settlers. Adam Furrow died September 30, 1854, having attained the advanced age of eighty-nine years. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Grimes, were the parents of eight children, namely : Abel, David, Jacob, John, James, Jeremiah, Elijah and Elizabeth. Jeremiah Furrow was brought up on the homestead in Miami County, where he resided most of his life. His time was not all devoted to agriculture, however, as he aided in building the canal and was lineman and paymaster of the canal for forty years. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and also a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died September 5, 1890, his wife having previously passed away—on June 6, 1888. Alonzo J. Furrow was about four years old when his father returned to the homestead, and he subsequently resided there all his life, except for a period during the Civil War, when he was in the army. On August 11, 1862, he became a member of Company A, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The first engagement in which he participated was at Winchester, Virginia. He later took part in the battle of Mine Run and in the Wilderness campaign, being captured in the latter by the enemy. He was sent to Danville Prison, where he remained for a week, and was then transferred to Andersonville Prison, where he spent four months of hardship and semi-starvation. At the end of that time he was transferred to Florence, South Carolina, Prison for three months, his total imprisonment lasting seven months to the day, he being captured May 6th and paroled on the 6th of October. Receiving a twenty days' furlough, he spent it in a visit home, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 415 afterwards reporting again for duty at Camp Chase. He was honorably discharged June 10, 1865, and returning home, devoted himself to agriculture and to the improvement of the homestead, on which he subsequently resided until his death. The latter event occurred on August 17, 1908. Mr. Furrow was a man of industry and intelligence, keeping well informed on the leading issues of the day. In politics he was a Republican. He was a member of Alexandria Post, G. A. R, and was held in high esteem, not only by his comrades who wore the blue with him through the trying days of the great struggle for a united country, but also by his neighbors and the residents of this and neighboring townships generally. This esteem he justified by his sterling character as a man and citizen. Mr. Furrow was married February 1, 1866, to Miss Louie Riddle, a daughter of Manning Riddle. Six children were born of this union-Edna, Nellie, Charles, Bertha P., Effie Maud, and Henry R. Edna, born March 4, 1867, is now the wife of Harry Cecil, and has two children-Earl K. and Lester L. Nellie, who was born October 12, 1869, died January 7, 1871. Charles, born June 4, 1872, married Jennie Du Bois, who died May 3, 1908. They had two children-Bernice, born January 21, 1899, and Ralph H., born January 16, 1906, both of whom are living. Bertha P., born December 16, 1875, died September 27, 1876. Effie Maud, born November 29, 1878, married F. M. Holmes, who died December 20, 1907. She has two children-Gladys, born .June 2, 1899, and Robert F., born September 4, 1903. Harry P. Furrow, born April 9, 1883, was mar ried November 26, 1902, to Lola Carson, and has two children-Dorothy, born June 3, 1903, and Aileen C., born September 26, 1904. MISS MARY SHEETS, who is one of Elizabeth Township's best known and most highlv esteemed ladies, resides on her farm of 260 acres, on which she was born and which has always been her home. Her parents were Isaac S. and Nancy (Knoop) Sheets. The paternal grandparents of Miss Sheets were Andrew and Catherine (Sills) Sheets. They were born in Pennsylvania and moved from there first to Tennessee and then to Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio. They had eleven children, five of whom died in infancy. Those who reached maturity were Sarah, Nancy, Elizabeth, Catharine, Eve and Isaac S. Andrew Sheets was both farmer and blacksmith. Isaac S. Sheets was born in 1799 and lived on his father's farm until his marriage, when he moved to the farm on which his daughter Mary now resides. He engaged in farming and was an extensive raiser of cattle and hogs. He was a man of great business capacity and not only put up the substantial farm buildings but also erected a saw-mill, a flour mill and a distillery and carried on these industries successfully. He married Nancy Knoop, who was a daughter of John and Barbara (Hultzstein) Knoop, and they had the following children : Elizabeth, lives in Al-cony, Ohio Andrew, who died in young manhood Mary, and John, Barbara and George, all deceased. Isaac S. Sheets died September 23, 1877, having survived his wife some fifteen years. 416 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY The Sheets homestead is a very valuable property. It is situated in Section 34, Elizabeth Township, lying along the Troy and Springfield Turnpike road. The Sheets and Knoops are old and representative families of this section. JOHN VOLENY HOWE, who carries on general farming in Concord Township and lives on his well improved farm of 160 acres, which is situated on the north township line, was born January 3, 1852, at Piqua, Ohio, and is a son of John Alexander and Rebecca (Stattler) Howe. John Alexander Howe was born at Oxford, Pennsylvania, and when he was very young, his father, Dr. Howe, died and his mother started with him, in 1824, to Ohio. The journey was made on horseback and in a wagon, and the mother settled first on a farm near Lockport, Shelby County. Some years later she married James Robinson and they had two children—Caroline, who married William AI aymyer, both now deceased ; and Mary, who married Thomas Miller, both being now deceased. The mother of these children then went to the home of her son, John Alexander, Mr. Robinson having also died, and there her last days were spent. John Alexander Howe had to go to work when quite young and for a number of years lived in the home of Stephen Woodney, who was as kind to him as a father. When he reached manhood he started out for himself and as he had no capital but his strength, he worked at different things and finally became a boatman on the old canal, where he continued for thirteen years. After his marriage he bought eighty acres of land from Henry Kitchen, in. Washington Township, near Piqua, and lived there all the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1891, at the age of seventy-three years. He married Rebecca Stattler, who was born south of Piqua, and died in 1893, aged sixty-nine years. Her father, Christopher Stattler, had settled in Miami County while Indians were still numerous. Four children were born to this marriage, namely : Laura, who is the widow of William Du Bois, of Piqua ; George, who lives on the home farm situated on the traction line three miles west of Piqua ; John V.; and William, deceased. John V. Howe was two years old when his parents settled on the farm, on which he grew to manhood. His education was secured in the district schools during the winter months, but he found it necessary to help his father, from boyhood up to manhood. He remained at home until he married and then settled on his present farm, secured from his father, and has remained here ever since. He has done a large amount of improving, including the building of his comfortable eleven-room frame house, and other structures on the place made necessary by his large farming operations. He makes no specialty, but carries on general agriculture, living in great comfort and putting aside a modest sum to enjoy when he retires. On November 23, 1881, Mr. Howe was married to Miss Nellie C. Graham, a daughter of James and Jane Graham. Many years ago the father of Mrs. Howe bought the present farm and here Mrs. Howe was born. It later was purchased by John A. Howe and subsequently became the property of its present owner. Mr. and Mrs. Howe have three children: Alexander, who assists his father ; Ethel, who married Hubert Tiser ; and Frona, who AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 417 attends the Troy High School. Mr. Howe and family are members of the Christian Church. In politics he is a Democrat. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Covington. L. H. SHIPMAN, a well known lawyer of Troy, Ohio, has been a resident of that city some twelve years. He was born near St. Mary's, Ohio, in October, 1874, and was reared on a farm. Mr. Shipman, after completing the prescribed course in the common schools, attended St. Mary's High School and the National Normal School, being a student in the latter institution two terms. He was then an instructor in the schools for four years. and in 1896 moved to Troy and entered the law office of Mr. Gilbert. He studied under his preceptorship and also attended the law department of the Ohio State University for one year. After his admission to the bar, March 17, 1899, he formed a partnership with Mr. Gilbert, but on March 3, 1909, it was dissolved. Mr. Shipman's office is now on West Main Street. He practices in the various state courts, and in June. 1905, was admitted to practice in the Federal courts. He has taken an active interest in political affairs, and served one term as city solicitor. April 17, 1901, Mr. Shipman was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Shannon, who was a teacher in the public schools of Troy. She was born and reared in that city and is a daughter of Samuel Shannon. One son, Franklin Shipman, was born of this union. The subject of this sketch is a prominent member of the Masonic Order, Knights of Pythias, the Troy Club and the Island Outing Club. He is a member and secretary of the board of the Feghtley Lutheran Home at Tippecanoe City. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Shipman are members of the English Lutheran Church. G. H. RUNDLE, president of the Piqua National Bank, president of the George H. Rundle Company and officially and financially connected with a number of other important and successful business enterprises, has been a resident of this city for the past twenty-three years and during this time has served as treasurer of Miami County. He is a native of the State of New York but he was reared and educated in Connecticut. In 1871, when a young man of twenty-three years, Mr. Rundle came to Lima, Ohio, and went into the patent medicine business in association with Dr. Porter, and in the following year he purchased Dr. Porter's interest and continued the business at Lima until 1875, when he removed to Fletcher and in the following year came to Piqua. In 1897 the business was incorporated as The G. H. Rundle Company, with a capital stock of $140,000, and with the following officers : G. H. Rundle, president ; J. C. Duncan, of Dayton, vice president ; A. D. Hance, secretary and general manager ; and Allen G. Rundle. An immense business is done, the company occupies a brick block with office at No. 327 North Main Street, and in addition to an army of chemists and workers, a force of 100 men are kept on the road. Mr. Rundle's additional interests are many. He is president of the Piqua National Bank ; is a director in the Stuart-Brown Underwear Company ; is vice-president of the Home Telephone Company ; is president of the G. H. Rundle and Son Com- 418 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY pany, of Windsor, Ontario, Dominion of Canada ; and has lesser interests. He has been an active and useful citizen and served with efficiency as county treasurer. In 1874 Mr. Rundle was married to Miss Amanda Hance, who was born near Cass-town, Miami County, Ohio, and they have two children : Allen G. and Ida. The former was educated in the Piqua Schools and Exeter Academy and is treasurer of the G. H. Rundle Company. He married Miss Grace A., daughter of W. A. Snyder, of Piqua. Ida was educated at Piqua and at an exclusive school in Washington City. She married Logan A. Frazier, of Piqua. Mr. Rundle and family are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Piqua. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council at Piqua, to the Commandery at Troy and to the Shrine and Consistory at Dayton. He is also a member of the Piqua Club. JOHN ORMOND MOORE, whose business has been that of painter and paper hanger at Piqua for many years, resides on a beautiful farm on the Troy Pike, in Staunton Township. He was born in Lost Creek Township, Miami County, Ohio, September 5, 1860, and is a son of William and Maria (Shidaker) Moore, and a grandson of Philip Moore. Philip Moore, who probably was a native of Scotland, came west from Pennsylvania in a wagon to Miami County, Ohio, and here passed the most of his days. He and his wife, Rebecca, were parents of the following children : Ruth, deceased ; Sallie. Susan, deceased; George, who was a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War ; Charles, deceased ; John ; William, also deceased. William Moore, father of the subject of this record, was born in the eastern part of Miami County, and spent his boyhood days in the vicinity of Addison. He became a painter by trade and after his marriage settled on a farm in Lost Creek Township. Later they moved to Georgia, where he died, but his widow now lives at the old home in Lost Creek Township, aged seventy-five years. She was in maiden life, Maria Shidaker, and came from near Tippecanoe City, where her father was the owner of 300 acres of land. They became parents of the following children : Minnie. wife of J ohn Mann ; Caroline, widow of Webster Shidaker ; George, deceased ; John Ormond ; Savannah Ellen, who died at nine years ; Rose, wife of Alva Gabriel; and Arthur E. John O. Moore spent his boyhood days on the farm and lived at home until his marriage in 1888, when he moved to Piqua and worked at his trade as painter and paper hanger. He continued there with uninterrupted success until 1895, when he purchased his present property of ten acres in Staunton Township, about three and a half miles north of Troy. He also owns three properties in Piqua, two of them on Boal Avenue, and one on South Avenue. Mr. Moore was married March 7, 1888, to Miss Sedora M. Angle, a daughter of John P. and Sarah G. (Orr) Angle, both now deceased. Her father died in February, 1897, at the age of seventy-five years, and her mother on October 28, 1908, at the age of ninety years. Five children were born to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Moore, namely : Bertha May, who is en- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 419 dowed with superior musical talents and has been an instructor on the piano since she was fifteen years old ; one who died in infancy ; Ormond A.; Gladys M. and Kenneth P. Miss Bertha May Moore is a graduate in music of the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, Michigan, and undoubtedly inherits a love of music from her father. She is the composer of three pieces of music of unusual merit. While. he has received no musical training, Mr. Moore has the talent and has always played on the organ ; his oldest son plays the cornet, and the three spend many pleasant evenings with their music. It is a very entertaining and hospitable family, as their many friends will attest, and in the summer there are few days passed which do not witness the arrival of crowds of young people from Piqua in search of entertainment in the beautiful little park and the fine bathing stream on their farm. In the winter many sled-loads come out to enjoy the hospitality of their home. Mr. Moore is a Republican in politics. In fraternal affiliation, he is a member of Piqua Lodge, No. 180, I. O. O. F. Religiously, he and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A. W. DE WEESE, a representative member of the Piqua bar, who has made this city his place of residence since 1899, was born in 1873, in Staunton Township, Miami County, Ohio. The De Weese family is one of the oldest in Miami County, and the grandmother of A. W. De Weese was the first white child born within its borders. His father, Henry G. De Weese, was a substantial farmer in Spring Creek Township. A. W. De Weese graduated first from the Spring Creek Graded School and then the Troy High School, after which he spent one year, with the Class of 1893, in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, graduating in 1895 from the Cincinnati Law School. Mr. De Weese then practiced for two years in partnership with Capt. Williams at Troy, and later conducted offices at both Troy and Piqua, in partnership with A. R. Byrkett, and after this association was dissolved Mr. De Weese took the Piqua business and now practices in all the State and Federal courts. He is a man of versatile gifts and for three years was editor of the Buckeye. He has always been active in politics and served on the Board of Elections from April, 1903, until August, 1908. He was the candidate for the anti-saloon party in both the mayoralty and city solicitorship contests, and in spite of the strong element gathered against him was defeated by the small margin of eight and thirteen votes, respectively. He has always upheld law and order and has thus stood for everything best in civic life. On December 25, 1900, Mr. De Weese was married to Miss Grace Doren, of Pekin, Illinois. They are members of St. James Episcopal Church. He is an Odd Fellow and for three years filled the office of exalted ruler in the Elks organization. THOMAS CHALMERS HARBAUGH. The subject of this sketch was born at Middletown, Maryland, January 13, 1849. He is the son of Morgan M. and Catherine Routzahn Harbaugh. At an early age he came to Ohio with his parents and settled at Piqua, but subsequently moved to Casstown, Miami County, where he has since 420 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY resided. Mr. Harbaugh served in the Casstown post-office during the Civil War and early took up literature as a profession. Since 1867, in which year he published his first fiction, he has been constantly engaged in writing. He has contributed acceptably to nearly all the prominent publications of the country and has written voluminously in every branch of literature. Mr. Harbaugh has published three volumes of poetry : "Maple Leaves" (1885), "Bugle Notes of the Blue" (1906) and "Lyrics of the Gray" (1907). The two last books have circulated largely in both the North and the South, receiving the commendation of prominent generals on both sides of the great conflict. His poem, "Grant Dying," was the only poem of that nature selected for publication in Stedman's "Encyclopedia of American Literature." Of the numerous novels written by Mr. Harbaugh it is unnecessary to speak. They run into the hundreds. His most famous novels are "The White Squadron," "Janet Sinclair," "Robespiere," "Alice of Maryland," "The Black Inn," "By Whose Hand?" and "The Czar's Spy." He is a contributor to the Sunday magazines, "The Chicago Ledger," "Youth's Companion," "The Ohio Farmer," etc. His contributions to the various county newspapers under the nom de plume of "Tarcomed" are well known. Mr. Harbaugh has visited every battlefield of the Civil War in search of data for his novels, many of which have a historical basis. He is also in demand at soldier reunions and on patriotic occasions, where he recites his own poems. He was educated in the public schools of Casstown and never had the chance of entering college, but he is a great reader and has stored his mind with every sort of information. He is unmarried. GEORGE W. ROUTSON, one of Ohio's prominent educators, superintendent of the schools of Staunton and Concord Townships, Miami County, and serving in his third year as a member of the Board of County School Examiners, has been identified with school and educational work ever since completing his own training. He was born December 7, 1861, in .Newberry Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of Reuben and a grandson of George Routson. George Routson, the grandfather, came to Ohio from Maryland, settling in Newberry Township, Miami County, in 1832. There his son, Reuben Routson, was born August 5, 1833, and the old homestead subsequently became the birthplace and boyhood home of the present George W. Routson. George W. Routson attended the best local schools and began to teach at an unusually early age, and in 1886 he became a student at Wittenberg College, where he remained until 1888. He then resumed teaching, for several years being connected with the schools of his native township, and then accepted the position of superintendent of the schools of Casstown. One year later he resigned this position in order to accept that of principal of the Covington schools, where he remained one year, and then spent the same period at North Clayton. About this time he purchased a farm in Staunton Township and resided there while he served for five years as township superintendent of schools and AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 421 later as a teacher. Mr. Routson is widely known in the educational field, not only as a man of scholarly attainments, but also as one whose heart is in his work and who, in a peculiar degree, is admirably fitted for it. His constant aim appears to be the formulating and trial of new methods to improve the efficiency of the schools and, although often forced to give way in his progressive methods until less intelligent co-workers have caught up with him, the superiority of all the schools with which he has been identified is easily proven. On July 21, 1892, Mr. Routson was married to Miss Angie Branson, who was born and reared in Newberry Township. She is a daughter of D.C. Branson (dec'd), who was born in Lost Creek Township, Miami County, Ohio, May 1, 1828. The Branson family is a pioneer one in Miami County and was an early one in New Jersey. Two brothers of the name came from England and founded the family, which has now representatives in many States. Mr. and Mrs. Routson have one son, Luther Branson. They are members of the Lutheran Church, in which Mr. Rout-son is an official. Although he retains his valuable farm in Staunton Township, Mr. Routson is residing in an attractive residence in the suburbs of Troy, having purchased the property in the fall of 1907. ISAAC S. SHEETS, general farmer and dairyman, residing on a farm of 400 acres and carrying on an equal partnership business with his mother and brother, Arthur K. Sheets, in Section 33, Elizabeth Township, was born in Miami County, Ohio, September 7, 1872. His parents were John K. and Elizabeth (Null) Sheets. The first of the Sheets family to come to Miami County was Isaac S. Sheets, the grandfather of the present Isaac S. He was a native of Tennessee and in 1805 he settled in Elizabeth Township on the farm now occupied by Mrs. Joseph Studebaker. He had the following children: Elizabeth, who resides at Alcony, Miami County; Mary, who resides on the old homestead; John K., who is deceased ; Barbara Jane; George M.; Andrew, who died in early manhood. Isaac S. Sheets was a farmer, miller and distiller and a dealer in stock and grain. For his day he was a most enterprising and successful man. He built the old mill in Elizabeth Township and shipped grain and stock to Philadelphia, constructing the wagons for carrying the grain to points of shipment, there then being no canal yet built and no railroads. John K. Sheets, father of Isaac S., operated the mill with his brother George for a number of years and then divided the homestead farm. In 1884 John K. Sheets bought the Gearhart homestead of 157 acres and then went extensively into the breeding of Jersey cattle, in which industry he remained interested until his death, in 1895. He married Elizabeth Null, a daughter of Jacob and Sybil Null, and they had three children, namely : Jennie, who died when aged sixteen years; Isaac S., who has charge of the home farm ; and Arthur K., who resides in Troy, Ohio. Isaac S. Sheets first attended the Knoop school, not far from his father's residence, later was a student in the Troy High School and then took an engineering course in the State University at Ann Arbor, Michigan. The serious illness of his father recalled him home, and after 422 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY the father's death he took charge of the latter's large interests, and has successfully carried them on ever since. Mr. Sheets has fine herds, including twenty-five mulch cows and twenty-five young stock, all being registered. About forty acres of the land is in timber, while the remainder is in cultivated tracts and pasturage. He devotes his whole time to his business and is numbered with the most progressive and enterprising young business men of this section. Mr. Sheets married Miss Carrie Schweinfurth, a daughter of John and Wilhelmina Schweinfurth of Ann Arbor, and they have one child, Miriam. Mr. and Mrs. Sheets attend the Methodist Episcopal Church at Troy. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and retains his interest in his college society, the Phi Gamma Delta. He is a Democrat politically but is not active. A. G. STOUDER, one of the business men of Troy, Ohio, is president of the Hobart Electric Manufacturing Company, and has been a resident of this city since 1888. He was born near Muncie, Indiana. Mr. Stouder was about six years of age when the family moved from Indiana to Iowa, where he was reared and educated. His mother died in the latter state. He was variously employed during his younger career in business and traveled extensively in the different sections of the United States. In 1888 he took up his residence in Troy, Ohio, and at that time established the Troy Sunshade Company he continued with that enterprise some ten or twelve years, then sold out, and with others purchased the Hobart Electric Manufacturing plant, of which he has since served as president. He is a stockholder and director of the Carriage Sunshade Company at the present time. He also is a member of the Troy Club. LAWSON D. SMITH, owner of 100 acres of rich farming land, situated in Concord Township, on the south side of the Swailes Turnpike Road, about two and one-half miles southwest of Troy, is one of the representative men of this section and a member of an old Miami County family. He was born April 7, 1854, in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of William and Mary (Davis) Smith. The grandfather, John Smith, came to Ohio from North Carolina about 1800, and after he selected his tract of land in Union Township, Miami County, had to cut down forest trees in order to find a sufficiently ample space on which to build his lonely little log cabin. He subsequently married the daughter of another early settler, by the name of Fouts, who died there, and many years later he died at the home of his son William, in Union Township, east of West Milton. They had three children: Mary, who married Edward Fenters, both deceased William; and Susan, who married Albert McCool, both deceased. William Smith was born in the little log house mentioned above, and with the exception of one year during which he lived at West Milton, spent his whole life on the old place. A large part of the clearing of the farm fell to his share and it all came to him as an inheritance. He died there in 1905, aged seventy-six years. He was married (first) to Hannah R. Pearson and they had two children, neither of AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 423 whom survives. He was married (second) to Mary Davis, who died in 1906, just one year and one month after her husband. She was the beloved mother of six children. namely : Lawson Davis ; Martha, who married William Pearson; Isabella, who married Benson Antonedies ; William Bronson ; Leslie, who married Edward Bowers ; and Elizabeth, who died when aged nine years. Lawson Davis Smith was born and reared on the old homestead farm, which had been the dwelling place of father and grandfather, and during his youth split many of the rails and set posts for many rods of fence, that being before barbed wire was thought of. After his school days were over he settled down to hard work on the farm, although he had more than once proved his strength at the plough handles when not more than nine years old, being robust from childhood. He continued to live with his father until his own marriage and then continued on the farm under other conditions. He remained on that place until he came to his present one in Concord Township, March 8, 1906. It is well improved property and Mr. Smith bought it of Dr. Means. He devotes about six acres to tobacco and the remainder of his land to grain farming. On June 9, 1875, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Rachel A. Wininger, who was born in Indiana and is the third child of her parents, George and Cinderella (Badger) Wininger, the former of whom is deceased. Mrs. Wininger still survives and is in the enjoyment of good health, and takes pleasure in the fact that her seven daughters and three sons are all living and have happy domestic circles of their own. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had three children: Carrie G., who is the wife of Prof. George Countryman, county superintendent of the schools of Plymouth County, Iowa, and has one son, Winston; Rose M., who is the wife of Charles Kessler, of Miami County, and has three children: Margaret, Alice and Elizabeth; and Edith, who died at the age of six months. In politics Mr. Smith is a Republican. For many years he has been a member of the Union Township School Board and was chairman for three years. AMOS M. HETZLER, chief of the Troy Fire Department, has been a resident of this city for some nine years and is one of its most valued citizens. He belongs to an old pioneer family of Miami County and was born in 1868, at Hetzler's Corners, a place named in honor of his grandfather. John Hetzler, grandfather of Chief Hetzler, came to Miami County when the country was little less than a great wilderness, and he was the founder of the village of Hetzler's Corners. There the father of Chief Hetzler, George Hetzler, was born in 1840, in the same house in which his son was born, twenty-eight years later. George Hetzler resides at Dayton, Ohio. Amos M. Hetzler was sixteen years old when his parents moved to the southwestern part of Kentucky, where he remained for seven years. He then came back to Miami County, where he worked on a farm and in factories until he came to Troy. He became identified with the fire department and was elected its chief on December 31, 1907. On many occasions his bravery and leadership have been tested and proven, and he enjoys the full confidence of his 424 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY fellow-citizens as to his official efficiency. On February 14, 1900, Chief Hetzler was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Hendershott, of Conover, Miami County, and they have two children : Irene and Harold. They are members of the Baptist Church. Fraternally Chief Hetzler is a Knight of Pythias. JOHN HEADLEY, one of the best known and most efficient public officials of Troy, has filled the position of chief of police for the past three years. He has been a resident of this city for seventeen years, but is a native of another State, having been born in 1869, at Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Headley remained in his native place until he had reached early manhood and then went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, coming from there to Troy in 1892. For several years he was variously employed, working a part of the time in the winters for a coal dealer and in the summers selling a certain excellent oil for harness, of his own manufacture. He first became connected with the public service of the city when he was appointed driver for the fire department, a position he so admirably filled for three years that he was then appointed chief of the department and that office he most acceptably filled until the latter part of 1907. The death of Chief Irwin, of the police force, left a vacancy which Chief Headley was appointed, in April, 1905, to fill, and on the first of May following he was elected to the office. In former years he was active in politics, but latterly he has given but scant attention to matters political. He is a member of the order of Elks at Troy. GEORGE A. FREY, one of Bethel Township's most substantial citizens and prosperous farmers, carries on extensive operations, having two hundred and seventeen acres in Section 36, Bethel Township, and nineteen acres in Elizabeth Township, all in one tract, situated on the Tippecanoe City and Elizabeth Turnpike: also other land in Elizabeth Township. Mr. Frey was born May 15, 1854, in Clermont County, Ohio, and is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Losey) Frey. The parents of Mr. Frey removed from Clermont to Miami County, and in 1862 the father settled on a rented farm of 200 acres, and later bought 136 acres on the Carlisle Turnpike, in Bethel Township, where he carried on mixed farming. After the death of his wife in 1904 he retired with his eldest daughter to Tippecanoe City, where they still reside. He married Sarah Losey, a daughter of Abiel Losey, and they had four children, namely: George A., Lucretia, Charles W., and Sedate. George A. Frey obtained his education in the Ten Eick school in Bethel Township, and then assisted his father up to the time of his own marriage in 1879. He then bought 172 acres of his present land, which is one of the richest farms in the township, and made improvements, which included the repairing of the farm residence and the building of a new barn. He purchased the remainder of his land from the Booher heirs, and this land he has also been improving. In July, 1879, Mr. Frey was married to Miss Anna M. Rudy, a daughter of Joseph and Louise Rudy, and they have three children, as follows: Norah, who married L. R. Wilson, of Monroe Township, and