AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 427 has three children—George H., Mary Frances, and Marjorie ; and Harry and Jessie, both. residing at home. Mr. Frey and his family are members of the Pisgah Methodist Episcopal Church, of Bethel Township. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and for nine years has served as township trustee, for three years being president of the Board of Agriculture. He is one of the representative men of this section of Miami County. DAVID C. MANNING, one of the most respected among the elderly residents of Brown Township, where he is now living retired from active life, was born in the northeast corner of this township February 3, 1835, son of Major Clarkson and Phoebe (Corey) Manning. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Manning, was. of German descent, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, serving with Washington's army at the battle of Trenton. Clarkson Manning was born in Warren Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, August 15, 1794. He was early trained to farm labor, and, the school of his district being some two miles away, his educational opportunities were in consequence very limited. In September, 1814, he was drafted, and served as a private under Captain John Logan, his company forming a part of the troops detailed for the guarding of New York Bay and being stationed in the vicinity of Sandy Hook. During this service he opened fire on some British vessels that were approaching, but which thereupon retreated. From that time, it is said, he was known by the title of major (the major of the company being sick, he had served in his place) ; he retained this title to the end of his life. His military service was short, as he was discharged in Jersey City in December of the same year1814. In later years he received two land warrants from the Government, one of forty and another of 120 acres, which were obtained for him by Squire Duncan, of Fletcher. On March 18, 1818, Major Manning married Phoebe Corey, who was born in New Jersey, January 7, 1791. Early in the following June they started in a two-horse wagon for Ohio, heading for Lebanon, Warren County. On arriving there they remained a short time, and then went to Middletown. Here they stopped until April, 1819, when they emigrated to Miami County and entered land in Section 3, Brown Township. While his family and belongings found shelter at the nearest neighbor's, some four miles away, Major Manning went to work to erect a habitation, building a log cabin 18x20 feet and opening up a road to his property. He then took possession with his family, and soon all were engaged in the strenuous work of developing a good farm out of the rough and wild land on which they had settled. This took a number of years, but was finally accomplished. In 1824, on the prospect of a new road being opened up to pass by his farm, Major Manning built a hewed-log house, which was one of the best in the township and was the first house taxed by the county; it was also the only one with a shingle roof in Brown Township. In this the family resided until 1833, at which time the Major erected a brick house on the Lena Pike. Here he spent the rest of his life, which was prolonged to his ninety-fourth year, his death taking place April 12, 1887, as the result of a fall on the ice several weeks pre- 428 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY vious. His wife attained a still greater longevity, dying in her ninety-seventh year, about eighteen weeks before her husband. At the time of her death they had enjoyed -almost sixty-eight years of happy married life together—a remarkable record, which few are privileged to repeat. To their latest days they were well preserved and intelligent old people, who took an interest in what was going on around them and kept informed witH respect to the leading events of the day. In politics Mr. Manning was a Jacksonian Democrat. He accompanied his wife to the Leatherwood Baptist Church, of which she was a member. Mrs. Manning was an active church worker, a true and loyal woman and of a good and highly respectable family. Major Manning and his wife were the parents of seven children, as follows : Parkus, who died at the age of nine years Elsie Anna, now deceased, who was the wife of David Counts and lived in Fletcher ; Isaac, who died at the age of forty years, on his farm near Lena, in Champaign County ; Johanna, who married John Hair, and died in Fulton County, Illinois ; Mary Jane, widow of William Wooley, and a resident of Palestine, Ohio ; John, who died at the age of eighteen years ; and David Corey, whose name appears at the head of this sketch. David Corey Manning was reared on the home farm and educated in the common schools of his neighborhood. When about twenty years of age he took a trip through northern Indiana, southern Michigan, central Illinois and Iowa, looking for a favorable location on which to settle. He purchased some land in Benton County, Iowa, but subsequently disposed of it with out having settled thereon. During the Civil War he took another trip, this time going east, overseeing a few loads of stock, and also visiting some friends in Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1865 he took charge of a steam saw-mill north of Conover, and operated it until it was destroyed by fire some three years later. In 1868 he purchased a farm in Brown Township from Daniel H. Knoop, which comprised seventy-seven and a half acres. This he paid for within ten years. He made excellent improvements on the property, including the erection of substantial farm buildings. At his father's death he became administrator of the property, dividing the land according to his father's wishes. He received forty acres of the old homestead, and afterwards purchased his sister's interest, also consisting of forty acres. He was engaged for many years in agricultural pursuits, being one of the most progressive and successful farmers in this vicinity. A few years ago he retired, and is spending his life on his home farm, known as Fruit Hill farm. Mr. Manning was married February 5, 1857, to Miss Caroline Throckmorton, of Brown Township, a daughter of George and Sarah (Lafferty) Throckmorton, who were New Jersey people. George Throckmorton, who was a carpenter by trade, came to Ohio with his parents and was married in Warren County. For some time he and his family resided in Piqua, but afterwards settled on a farm in Brown Township, where he made his home for a number of years. He removed to Clinton County, where he spent three years, but afterwards returned and purchased a farm adjoining his old place in Brown Township. Here he died, but in the meanwhile AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 429 had resided for a brief interval at Conover. His daughter, Mrs. Manning, was born in the homestead, October 25, 1838. Mr. and Mrs. David C. Manning have been the parents of two children—George D. and Charles E. The former, whose death occurred October 23, 1904, was an agriculturist and school teacher, being one of the best known educators in the county. He was married and was an enterprising and useful citizen, whose untimely demise was much regretted by the entire community. His brother, Charles E. Manning, residing in this township, is also married and is a successful farmer. Mr. Manning is a Democrat in political faith, but has taken little active part in politics. He was, however, elected trustee to fill an unexpired term of six months, was re-elected to the same office for one year and subsequently for three years more, his election being a voluntary expression of the confidence of his fellow citizens, as he had not solicited the office. On his father-in-law's death Mr. Manning successfully and satisfactorily settled the latter's estate. He was formerly active in the work of the Grange, and at various times held office therein. At the present time he is enjoying the repose which he has well earned by a life of industry and usefulness that has been marked by fidelity to every trust reposed in him. He now rents out his former farm and is one of the most esteemed among the older residents of Fletcher and township generally. NETH BROTHERS, who have conducted a first class meat business at Covington since June 1, 1897, with market on High Street and slaughter house in West Covington, are representative business men of this city, who, through their enterprise, have developed an important industry. J. B. Neth, a member of the firm of Neth Brothers, was born at Covington, Ohio, May 7, 1871, and is a son of Jacob and Barbara (Flammer) Neth. George Neth, the junior member of the firm of Neth Brothers, was born at Covington, December 16, 1873, and is also a son of Jacob and Barbara (Flammer) Neth. Jacob Neth and wife were both born in Germany, but their marriage took place in America. By trade he was a weaver and he was in business at Covington for many years, where his death occurred in September, 1908. His widow still survives. J. B. Neth was reared at Covington and when ten years old he began to work for the old firm of Dress, Neth & Co., the Neth of the firm being his uncle, Conrad Neth. He continued to work for that house until 1889, with the exception of one year, and then was employed for a few months, on three different occasions, in a grocery at Celina, Ohio, and later spent four months in a grocery house at Dayton. After coming back from Dayton and before entering into his present enterprise he worked for W. W. Witmer, undertaker, for three years. He is serving in his second term as chief of the Covington Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Neth married Miss Mary Koons and they have two children: Neva Barbara and Blanche Louisa. George Neth left school when fifteen years of age and began work in Charles Flashner's butcher shop. In 1893 he took a trip through the West, and while residing in California he worked as a butcher, returning in July, 1897. On March 1, 1898, he entered into partnership with his 430 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY brother in the present business, under the firm name of Neth Brothers. On July 5, 1898, Mr. Neth was married to Miss Maude Downey, a daughter of George Downey, and they have had six children, namely : Lee, who died aged seven years ; Grace; Gladys; Juanita, who died aged twenty-two months ; Frances and Irene Etoile. Both members of the above firm understand business principles and their own line of work in particular, and they are numbered with Covington's best and most prosperous dealers in what is, no less than bread, one of the staffs of life. Doing their own butchering, they can assure their customers of the quality of the meat they sell them and the large trade they enjoy shows that this is appreciated. GEORGE R. McCONNELL, who has attained wide prominence in insurance circles in the state of Ohio, has been engaged in that business at Troy since 1888. He also is president of the Troy Wagon Works Company, and a director of the Troy Star Storm Front Company, the Troy Telephone Company and various other leading enterprises, being one of the foremost business citizens of the city. Mr. McConnell was born in Hancock County, Ohio, in 1862, but was reared and educated at Van Wert, Ohio. Early in life he started in the insurance business at Paulding, Ohio, and in 1888 located at Troy. He represents practically all the leading fire insurance companies, and as fire insurance adjuster for Ohio has visited all parts of the state in adjusting losses. November 26, 1885, Mr. McConnell was joined in marriage with Miss Olive N. Hook of Van Wert, and they have a son, Glen G. McConnell, who is in attendance at Dartmouth College. Fraternally, George R. McConnell is affiliated with the Blue Lodge, F. & A. M., Knights Templar, and Knights of Pythias. Religiously, he and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church. MISS ELIZABETH SHEETS, whose valuable farm of 120 acres lies in Section 23, Elizabeth Township, belongs to an old and prominent family of Miami County, one which has been established here for several generations. Miss Sheets was born in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Isaac S. and Nancy (Knoop) Sheets. Andrew Sheets, the grandfather, was one of the early land owners in Elizabeth Township. He married Catherine Sills and they had It family of eleven children, of whom five died in childhood. The remaining six, who reached middle life, were : Isaac S.; Catharine, who married Samuel Youart ; Elizabeth, who married William Saunders ; Nancy, who married Michael Knoop ; Eve, who married Samuel Sherrill ; and Sarah, who became the wife of William Fuller. Isaac S. Sheets was a prominent farmer and for many years a valued citizen of Elizabeth Township. He was born Januarv 10, 1799, and died in September, 1876. V In June, 1824, he married Nancy Knoop, who was a member of probably the 'first family that ever settled in Miami County, far back in its earliest days. Mrs. Isaac S. Sheets was a daughter of John and Barbara Knoop. Seven children were born to Isaac S. Sheets and wife, as follows : Elizabeth, Andrew, Mary, John, Barbara Jane, George M. and a babe that died. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 431 Miss Elizabeth Sheets is a highly educated, cultured lady, obtaining her early education in the Scott school at Walnut Grove. Later she attended school at Troy, still later at Piqua and then became a student in the Cooper Female Academy at Dayton, completing her studies at Marietta, Ohio. She then returned home and engaged for some years in teaching school, finding much enjoyment in imparting knowledge to others. She taught the Scott School at Walnut Grove and taught at the home school, but after the death of her father she gave up teaching and returned to the homestead. One year later, when the home farm was divided, she received 120 acres, which is situated in Section 23. She immediately proved herself a woman of excellent business capacity, making many improvements on her land and putting up new and substantial buildings. She keeps an excellent tenant on the place. She also owns her comfortable residence in Miami City. She is an active and interested member of the Universalist Church at Miami City and serves both as a teacher and as superintendent of the Sunday-school. Personally Miss Sheets is a most interesting lady to meet. The family connection is large and in none of them are the social qualities more apparent. J. W. DAVIS, who has long been promi- nently identified with the affairs of Troy, Ohio, has been a resident of the city since 1880, and is engaged in the real estate and insurance business at the present time. He was postmaster of Troy during the second administration of President Cleveland, receiving his appointment in 1893, and during his tenure of office had the distinction of sending out the largest amount of first class mail of any postmaster of the same class in the United States, 300 mail pouches being required for use in the local office. This supremacy brought the city into prominence throughout the country. Mr. Davis was born in Tippecanoe City, Miami County, Ohio, in 1862, and was reared and educated at that place, being a graduate of the Tippecanoe High School. In 1880 he came to Troy and accepted a position as clerk with the wholesale and retail grocery firm of D. M. McCullough. After one year he entered the employ of C. L. Coolidge (dry goods, boots and shoes) in the capacity of bookkeeper and salesman, and so continued for three years. He next represented E. Levering & Company, coffee importers of Baltimore, Maryland, in the wholesale and retail trade through the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, continuing with that firm for seven years. He then became associated in business with Mr. C. T. Long, and under the name and style of Long & Davis they conducted a gentlemen's furnishings and fine tailoring establishment for a period of five years. In 1893 he was appointed postmaster, and upon his retirement from that office in 1897 he became associated with M. K. Gantz and George S. Long in the ownership of the Troy Democrat, which they conducted two years. Mr. Davis then embarked in the real estate and fire insurance business, with which he has since been successfully identified. He has always taken an active interest in politics and the success of the Democratic party, and has served as chairman of the executive 432 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY committee of that party and as chief state supervisor of elections for Miami County. In 1889 Mr. Davis was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Eliza Shilling, who comes of one of the pioneer families of Miami County and is the youngest daughter of Jesse Shilling Sr. One son, Brice Barron Davis, was born to them and died in infancy. Mr. Davis is past chancellor commander of the local lodge, Knights of Pythias; eminent commander of Coleman Commandery ; and a member of Antioch Shrine, A. A. 0. N. M. S., at Dayton. JOSHUA HUSTON COTTINGHAM, one of Elizabeth Township's most respected retired farmers, resides on the farm on which he was born, November 30, 1828, this being a tract of 125 acres, located in Section 25, on the Tippecanoe City and Elizabeth Road, in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, Ohio. His parents were Joshua Enniss and Elizabeth (Harritt) Cottingham. The Cottingham family came originally from England and the grandfather of Joshua H. Cottingham, William Cottingham, was born probably in Maryland or England. He married Mary Enniss, and in a few years moved to Kentucky ; they subsequently came to Ohio and resided until death in a home at Dayton, situated about where Woodland Avenue now extends. They had five children, namely : Joshua, Nancy, Leah, James and William. The father of Joshua H. Cottingham came to Miami City from Greene County, December 31, 1822. He was interested in agricultural pursuits all his life and acquired a farm of sixty-one acres in Elizabeth Township. For a number of years before the railroads were built he engaged in teaming, carrying produce frequently as far as Columbus and Dayton, this being very lucrative employment at that time. Stage coaches conveyed passengers, but all other transportation had to be done by the wagoners or teamsters. His father had built the brick house on the present farm in 1831, and here the father of Joshua H. Cottingham lived until his death, which occurred when he was aged eighty-six years. The house remains very much as it was in those days, little change having been made in the shape of the building when necessary repairs were made. The barn was built about 1858 and the present owner has added twenty-four feet to it. Joshua Enniss Cottingham married Elizabeth Harritt, a daughter of Robert and Abigail Harritt, and to this union were horn eight children, namely : Mary Leah, William, Robert, Abigail, James, Joshua H., Elizabeth and Louisa, all of whom are dead with the exception of Louisa and Joshua H. Joshua H. Cottingham first went to what was known as the Kepper school, not far from his home, and when he grew older he went to school in Troy for one winter. He helped his father on the farm and also, after he was twenty-one, frequently worked for farmers in the neighborhood, and spent one year as a farmer in Indiana. After he came back to Miami County he married and then rented the Rose farm in Lost Creek Township, for one year, going from there to Mrs. Haywood's farm, in the Bottoms, from there to his father-in-law's farm. He then moved to Troy for a time, later went on the Teneick farm and then went back to the homestead and bought his father's farm of sixty-one AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 433 acres, together with fifty acres from Jacob and John Mann. For many years thereafter Mr. Cottingham engaged in general farming and stock raising, and was considered one of the leading agriculturists of Elizabeth Township during his active years. On February 14, 1856, Mr. Cottingham was married to Miss Elizabeth Bousman, a daughter of Leonard and Elizabeth (Jackson) Bousman, and they have two children: Milton A., who married Jennie, a daughter of Peter and Sarah Fair, of Tippecanoe City ; and Freeman 0., who married Laura E., daughter of William B. and Annie Widener. Mr. Cottingham attends and gives support to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Tippecanoe City. In politics he is a Republican and has served for some years as township trustee. H. L. JOHNSTON, manager and chief engineer of the Hobart Electric Manufacturing Company, has been a resident of Troy, Ohio, for thirteen years. He was born at Bambridge, Indiana, in 1869, and was nine years of age when his parents moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Johnston attended the public schools of Cincinnati, and afterward pursued a course of study at the Ohio State University in electrical engineering, graduating with the class of 1892. He entered the employ of the General Electric Company, in the Cincinnati office, and continued in its service for three and a half years. In 1893 he represented that firm in the installation of the electrical work for the interurban railroad from Troy to Piqua, and continued here as superintendent of the work for six months. This was the third interurban road built in the State of Ohio, and the first to run big cars. After retiring from the superintendency Mr. Johnston became associated with Mr. Hobart in electrical manufacturing, the business being incorporated under the name of The Hobart Electric Company. He was vice-president and treasurer of the concern until about a year ago, when he was made manager and chief engineer. It is one of the principal manufacturing enterprises of the city and transacts an enormous business. Mr. Johnston is the mechanical expert of the Troy Sunshade Company, in which he is financially interested, and is the patentee of several valuable articles used by that firm. In 1900 Mr. Johnston was united in marriage with Miss Adeline Smith, a daughter of D. W. Smith, cashier of the First National Bank of Troy, and they have two children, Edward and Frances. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Troy Club. In religious attachment he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. EUGENE JOHNSON, the leading real estate dealer at Piqua and the pioneer in the business, has been a resident of this city for twenty-seven years, during twenty of which he has been actively engaged in the real estate business. He was born in 1851, in Gallatin County, Kentucky, but was reared from the age of nine years at Waveland, Montgomery County, Ohio, where his parents settled. Mr. Johnson was educated in the public schools and at Waveland Academy, an institution conducted under the supervision of the Presbyterian Church. In early manhood he went to Kansas, where he looked up land claims for two years. After 434 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY he returned to Ohio he engaged in the drug business at Waveland until he was twenty-two years old, removing then to Noblesville, Indiana. He continued in the drug line there until he came to Piqua, in 1881, where he carried on the same business for six years. He then turned his attention to the real estate business and has done considerable building and selling and has platted some 600 lots. He confines his activities to city and farm property. When he entered into the business at Piqua a real estate agency was a nuew venture, and be has been the practical builder of this line of trade. In his own operations he has never had a bad title given through his office and there has never been a foreclosure of a loan. He has negotiated for the larger number of Piqua's numerous factories, his latest contract relating to the immense plant to be erected by the Felt and Blanket Company, on South Main Street, during the summer of 1909. Among the other large transactions of this nature negotiated through him may be mentioned the sites of the Wood, Shovel & Tool Company, Miami Light, Heat' & Power Company, Union Underwear Company, Atlas Underwear Company, Piqua Furniture Company, Dayton & Troy street car barn, Piqua Dyeing & Bleaching Company, the DeArnion-McKinney Cement Block Company and the Colonial Saxony, Piqua's handsomest flat building. He has also had direct charge of the platting or subdivision of out lots of eleven additions to the city. At different times, also, he has been interested in other enterprises of more or less importance. A Democrat in politics, hheinterest in public matters is only that of a good citizen who desires the election of the best qualified candidates and the assurance of good government. In 1879, in Noblesville, Indiana, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Ally Loehr, and they have two children, Kate and Ray, the latter a resident of California. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Presbyterian Sunday-school and has been a trustee of the church for six years ; for more than henty years he has been a teacher in the Sunday-school. He is affewated with the Masonic fraternity. ROBERT S. SCOTT, for many years a prominent agriculturist of Miami County, Ohio, is now living in retirement in the city of Troy. He was born in Elizabeth Township, Miami County, in March, 1832, and is a son of John Scott, who first came to the county as early as 1820. John Scott was born in Pennsylvania, and there learned the trade of a millwright. Upon coming to Miami County, Ohio, he resumed his trade and became a very useful citizen, being at various periods identified with many of the old mills in this and adjoining counties. The latter years of his life were spent on the farm. He was one of the first abolitionists in the county, and for years was the only one to vote the Free Soil ticket in Elizabeth Township. Robert S. Scott has always lived in Miami County, and his business has always been that of a farmer. He was in 1856 united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Hearst, who was born in Pennsylvania and was in childhood when her parents moved to Miami County, Ohio. Her death occurred in 1878. Mr. Scott formed a second union with Miss Rebecca Wharton, who was born in Miami County, and is a AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 435 daughter of Oliver and Jane (Duer) Wharton. Oliver Wharton, father of Mrs. Scott, was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, May 17, 1807, and was four years old when his parents moved west to Warren County, Ohio, where they took rank among the pioneers. There he was reared and educated, and at the age of fourteen years began learning the trade of a wheelwright. He served an apprenticeship of seven years and then opened a shop of his own. He continued there until 1836, when he moved to Fletcher, in Miami County, Ohio, and established a successful business. He continued at Fletcher until 1865, when he moved upon his farm in Brown Township and spent the declining years of his life. He was married to Miss Jane Duer, who was born in Pennsylvania, but was living in Warren County, Ohio, at the time of her marriage. Two sons and two daughters were the issue of this union, namely : William, Samuel, Phebe and Rebecca (Scott). Mr. and Mrs. Scott are parents of three sons : Robert Stanley ; Alva Wharton, deputy surveyor of Miami County ; and Ernest H., who is an electrician by profession. Religiously they are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Troy, of which Mr. Scott is an elder. Politically he is a Republican. JOHN A. NUNLIST, proprietor of the City Hotel at Tippecanoe City, Miami County, Ohio, has been in the hotel business for a period of thirty-five years, which in length of time makes him the oldest man in that business in the county. He was born in Nieder Erlinsbach, Kan-ton Solothurn, Switzerland, December 5, 1844, and is a son of Victor and Catherine (Buser) Nunlist, both natives of Switzerland. Victor Nunlist moved with his family to the United States in 1860, arriving in New York City after a voyage lasting several weeks. They immediately afterward moved west to Berlin, Shelby County, Ohio, where Mrs. Nunlist died in 1861, at the age of forty-three years. He died on a farm in Shelby County in 1865, aged forty-five years. They were parents of the following children, all but the youngest of whom were born in Switzerland: John A. of Tippecanoe City ; David, deceased; Lena, wife of John Shaper of Dayton, Ohio ; William, a resident of Dayton; Emil, who lives at Springfield, Ohio ; Albert, also of Springfield ; Elizabeth, who married Charles Stuby and lives at Springfield, Ohio ; and three daughters who entered convents and became Sisters of Charity: Only one of these sisters is now living and is located at Phoenix, Arizona. John A. Nunlist worked on a farm with his father until 1862, then on May 2 of that year enlisted for service in the Union Army as a member of Company C, One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted at Sidney, Ohio, and was sent with the regiment to Kentucky. He remained in the service until June, 1863, when his father secured his release owing to the fact that he had entered the army before he had reached the required age. He returned home and the same year located at Tippecanoe City, where he learned the trade of a butcher, being in the employ of Fred Huber until 1871. He then started up a shop of his own and conducted it successfully until 436 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY 1874, when on August 1 he embarked in the hotel business. In 1878 he purchased the City Hotel and has conducted the establishment with uninterrupted success ever since. He has a well equipped and furnished hotel, and its popularity is easily explained after one has been entertained for a meal and enjoyed Mr. Nun-list's hospitality. He has acquired much valuable property in Tippecanoe City and is one of its heaviest taxpayers. He has been identified with all measures and enterprises for the upbuilding of the place and is most highly esteemed as a citizen. He is a fancier of good stock and has raised many standard-bred roadsters and good draft horses. June 19, 1871, Mr. Nunlist was united in marriage with Miss Julia Messmer of Tippecanoe City, and they became parents of the following children : Mamie, who married Jacob Hand, Jr., of Dayton, and has a daughter, Cecelia Hand ; Lulu, who married A. W. Taylor, a grocer and liveryman of Tippecanoe City, and has a son, John Nunlist Taylor Frank David, who is associated in business with his father ; and Edward Frederick, who conducts a plumbing business in Tippecanoe City. The last-named married Miss Bertha Prill, and they have a daughter, Catherine. Religiously the family belongs to St. John's Catholic Church. Mr. Nunlist is a Democrat in politics. N. W. CADY, a veteran of the Civil War and for many years a leading educator in Eastern Ohio, who now lives retired in his pleasant home on West Market Street, Troy, was born in 1837, in Morrow County, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. His first self-sup porting occupation was teaching, which he followed for three years in the Morrow County schools, and subsequently for the same length of time in those of Champaign County. He was teaching in the St. Paris school when the first gun was fired in the Civil War and he was the first volunteer from St. Paris in the three months' service. In 1861 he enlisted for three years, becoming a member of Company I, Forty-second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, having Col. James A. Garfield commanding, and during the three and one-half years of hard service he took part in the following serious and decisive battles: Middle Creek, Kentucky ; Chickasaw Bayou, Black River ; Arkansas Post, Arkansas; Thompson Hill, Champion Hill, Vicksburg, Jackson and Opelousas, Louisiana, together with many minor engagements. Mr. Cady served as sergeant of his company and although he was ever at the post of duty he survived all the dangers of camp and field and returned safely to his home after being mustered out in 1864. Mr. Cady came then to Miami County and engaged in teaching, and spent fully twelve years in educating work in Miami and Champaign Counties, a part of the time being superintendent of the township schools. In 1896 he took up his residence at his present location in Troy, his pleasant home being so situated that he can enjoy the benefits of city life with a rural environment. In 1861 Mr. Cady was married to Miss Anna Mott, who was born in Miami County. Her father, Josiah Mott, was born in Warren County, Ohio, and came to Miami County when a young man. Mr. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 437 and Mrs. Cady have six children, all daughters and all ladies of culture and high educational attainment, namely : Zella, who has been successful in educational work for some twenty-three years ; Nettie, who was a teacher for four years prior to her marriage to Elwood French of Oklahoma ; Mary, who is the wife of Charles Armstrong of Marysville ; Harriet, who taught school eight years before she married Frank French, a resident of Texas; Alice, who taught for seven years and then married Joseph H. Levering of Miami County ; and Elfie, who is teaching her third year in the Miami County schools. Mr. Cady has been an active citizen, taking an earnest interest in public affairs and lending his influence to all that has served to uplift the community. He has served as a justice of the peace and as assessor. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a member of the Universalist Church. FRANK E. D. KEPLINGER, secretary and treasurer of the Pioneer Pole and Shaft Company of Piqua, and additionally interested in other business enterprises of importance, was born in 1867, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was reared and educated. Mr. Keplinger's first work was done in the supply department of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he was employed for two years as a clerk, after which he was engaged for six years as bookkeeper in the First National Bank at Fort Wayne and subsequently for four years was assistant postmaster in that city. Mr. Keplinger then served two years as traveling auditor for the Fort Wayne Electrical Corporation. He then came to Ohio and embarked in the manufacture of poles and shafts, at Canton, where he owned a factory in connection with his brothers, C. W. and W. E. Keplinger, and he continued there until he became Secretary and Treasurer of the Pioneer Pole and Shaft Company in 1903, when he came to Piqua. He is a stockholder and director in the Metropolitan Paving Brick Company, of Canton, and also a stockholder and director in the Imperial Rubber Company. He is a man of acknowledged business ability and occupies a prominent place in the commercial life of Piqua. In 1890 Mr. Keplinger was married to Miss Clara Douglas Bond, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and they have one son, Livingstone Bond, who is a student in the University of Wisconsin, at Madison. Mr. Keplinger and family are members of the Episcopal Church. He is identified with the Masonic bodies at Piqua and belongs also to the Piqua Club. JAMES HARRISON ESTEY, general farmer and tobacco grower, residing on his fertile farm of seventy-two acres, which is situated in Section 25, Elizabeth Township, Miami County, was born near Conover, Miami County, Ohio, December 11, 1840. His parents were Michael and Mary (Swindler) Estey. David Estey, the grandfather, was an early settler in Miami County. He entered 160 acres from the Government, getting a sheepskin deed for the same. This land was situated four miles northwest of Casstown and his life was spent in agricultural pursuits. He married Mary 438 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Knoop and they had a family of nine children, as follows: Michael, James, Charles, George, William, Jotham, Mary, Lucy and Myra. Michael Estey, father of James H., resided at home on his, father's farm until after his wife's death. She left four children: Silas Virgil, who died while serving as a soldier in the Civil War ; James Harrison; Emily J., who married Silas French, and Alda Zera, who married Joseph French. In the spring of 185:2, Michael Estey went to California and later to Montana, following mining for about two years, and then settled on a farm in Jasper County, Missouri, where he resided during the remainder of his life, being about eighty-five years old at the time of his death. He married a lady of Jasper County after locating there and the children of his second union still live in Missouri. James H. Estey was a little boy when his mother died and he soon went to live with a Mr. Blaker, with whom he made his home until he entered the army. He first attended the Jones school, which was a log house in Lost Creek Township, and later had somewhat better advantages in the Lost Creek school, which was situated two and one-half miles north of Casstown. He had not much more than reached manhood when the Civil War was declared and he enlisted in Company A. Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving for three years and ten months. He took part in many important engagements. including Lewisburg, West Virginia, and Knoxville, Tennessee, in the almost continuous skirmishing which was more dangerous than real fighting. He received a wound about his ankle, in one meeting with the enemy, which not only prevented active service for about four months, but continued to afflict him for many years, never completely cured. When the war closed he returned to the old home above Casstown and remained there until his marriage in the spring of 1869, after which he went to Idaho and there followed mining for a year, after which he rented a farm in Boise Valley. Later he joined his father in Jasper County, Missouri, and remained there for some years, but subsequently returned to Miami County to make this section his permanent home. He purchased seventy-two acres of fertile land, with house and barn standing, from John Greer. and here Mr. Estey has been engaged ever since. A branch of the New York Central Railroad runs through his property. He has a fine orchard and his land Will produce any crop, but he devotes the larger part of it to tobacco and has put up sheds to take care of it when harvested. He has done quite a great deal of improving since purchasing this land and has a very valuable farm. Mr. Estey was married in 1869, to Miss Debby Roe, a daughter of John and Mary Roe. and they have one daughter, Elsie M., who is the wife of William F. Bohlen-der. residing in Tippecanoe City. Mr. Estey and family belong to the English Luthern Church at Tippecanoe City, in which he has been a deacon for two years. He is also a member of the D. M. Rouser Post, G. A. R., of that place, which is two and one-half miles west of his farm. He is a stanch Republican in his political views but takes no active part in politics in his township, having no desire to hold of AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 439 SAMUEL McCURDY is a prosperous farmer and well known resident of Concord Township, Miami County, Ohio. where he is the owner of two farms, consisting of 272 acres in all. He was born in Ireland in 1849 and is a son of Samuel and Eliza (Barr) McCurdy. Samuel McCurdy, Sr., was born in Ireland and there engaged in agricultural pursuits until about the year 1850, when he moved with his wife and children to the United States. They crossed the water in a sailing vessel, the voyage consuming five or six weeks, and locating at Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Mr. McCurdy was employed in the iron works for some three years. He then moved west. to Troy, Ohio, before the days of railroads. making the trip down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, thence north by the canal to Troy. He there engaged in pumping water for the railroad, which had just been completed through Troy, and during the three years he was thus employed he missed but a day and a half. He bought a farm of eighty acres in 'Concord Township, on which his daughter, Nancy. now lives, and with the help of his sons cleared the place. He farmed there until his death in 1894, at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife preceded him to the grave, dying at the age of eighty years. They were parents of the following children, all of whom were born in Ireland : Robert.; Isabella, wife of John Sype, both deceased; Eliza, who was the wife of William Fleming, both now deceased ; Jane. widow of Robert Pearson; Margaret, widow of John Minton ; Nancy ; Samuel, whose name heads this record ; and two who died in infancy. Samuel McCurdy, Jr., was about one year old when his parents came to this country from Ireland, and was quite young when they located on the farm in Concord Township. He has ever since lived within site of the old home, which place he helped to clear. He attended the public schools when not at hard work on the farm, and lived with his father until his marriage in 1871, then for a few years rented and farmed. He later bought a tract of forty acres, to which he added in time, but in 1890 he sold out and purchased his present home farm on the Troy and Covington Pike from the Correy heirs. He has made extensive improvements on the place and followed general farming with a high degree of success. December 28, 1871, Mr. McCurdy was united in marriage with Susan Correy, who was born and reared on the farm on which she now lives and is a daughter of Robert and Rebecca (Eaton) Correy, of Concord Township. They became parents of the following children : Charles, who died at the age of twenty-two years ; Samuel H.,. of Troy, who married Sarah Stew- art and has three children—Ralph, Myrtle, and Fred ; John, of Concord Township, who married Ella. Longendelpher, and has a. daughter, Helen; Joseph ; Mary; Jennie; Rosa ; Bessie ; William, and Walter. Politically Mr. McCurdy is a Democrat. DAVID W. TOBIAS, who has efficiently filled the arduous position of railway mail clerk for a period of fifteen years, is now employed as such on the Panhandle Railroad, between Indianapolis and Pittsburg. He was born on a farm to the north of Covington, March 28, 1859, and is a son of Elias and Elizabeth (Wenrick) Tobias. Elias Tobias was born in Berks County, 440 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Penna. In boyhood he came to Ohio and lived for a short time in Montgomery County and then came to Newberry Township, Miami County. He married Elizabeth Wenrick, who was born in Franklin County, Penna., and accompanied her parents to near Covington, Miami County, in girlhood. To this marriage four children were born, namely: Reuben, who died in infancy ; Rebecca, who is the wife of George Bench, of Covington ; David W.; and Samuel, who lives at Piqua. In 1867 Elias Tobias bought 102 acres of farm land at Greenville Falls, west of Covington, and resided there until 1902, when he retired to Covington, where his death occurred May 12, 1908. His wife had died November 18, 1884. They were most worthy people, respected and esteemed by all who knew them. David W. Tobias was educated in the public schools and in 1877 he graduated from the Covington High School, after which he engaged in teaching for some nine years and was considered an efficient instructor. During the next five years he traveled for a nursery, selling nursery stock and when he retired from that accepted the superintendency of a creamery near Covington, for about a year. Then he entered the mail service and is now one one the best trained and most reliable men on the line. He owns a share in the home farm, which is still in his father's name. October 31, 1880, Mr. Tobias was married to Miss Hulda Cassel, a daughter of John and Susan (Hartzell) Cassel, the former of whom was a farmer in Newberry Township, where he died February 24, 1887. Mrs. Cassel still survives, although she has outlived many of her contemporaries. She was born February 23, 1819, and is one of the most venerable residents of Miami County. Mr. and Mrs. Tobias have two children: Erla, who married W. W. Chaffin, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and has one son, Wendell Tobias; and Luther, who resides at Covington. Mr. Tobias belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows. C. F. CLASS is a prominent farmer of Newton Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is the owner of 154 acres of valuable land, eighty-two acres of which is in the farm on which he lives. He was born near Trotwood, in Montgomery County, Ohio, February 22, 1857, and is a son of Jacob and Louisa (Klopfer) Class. Jacob Class was born in Wittenberg, Germany, and was eighteen years old when he accompanied his parents to the United States. His father bought a farm near Trotwood, Montgomery County, Ohio. and also owned considerable land in Miami County. After his marriage, Jacob Class located on a farm in Randolph Township, Montgomery County, where he continued to reside until 1869, in which year he moved to the vicinity of the Fall Branch schoolhouse, in Newton Township, Miami County. He cleared a great deal of the land owned by his father, as well as his own farm, and continued to reside there until his death, in December, 1890. His wife died in October, 1868, and both were buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. He was married to Louisa Klopfer, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Klopfer, and they reared the following children : Philip, C. F. (subject of this record), John, Jacob, Louisa, and Isaac. Religiously they were members of the Lutheran Church. C. F. Class attended the Fall Branch AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 443 school and continued to help his father on the home farm until he became of age, when he began working out by the month. After his marriage he farmed his father's place for one year, and then moved to his present home farm. He cleared about two-thirds of his land, which was heavily timbered, laid about 400 rods of tile for drainage, and made other important improvements. He has a complete set of substantial buildings on his land, all of which he has had built, as the place was entirely unimproved at the time of his coming. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising and devotes about thirty acres of his land each year to tobacco growing, at which he has met with much success. He is a substantial and progressive business man, and among his other interests is a stockholder in the Pleasant Hill Banking Company. April 22, 1879, Mr. Class was joined in marriage with Miss Laura Kinnison, a daughter of George and Elizabeth Kinnison, and they became parents of the following children : Elsie, deceased ; Pearl, wife of Howard Furnas, of Dayton ; Ola, wife of Opal Bench ; Goldie, wife of Samuel Evervine ; Sylvia ; and Ica. Religiously they attend the Lutheran Church. In fraternal affiliation Mr. Class is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Pleasant Hill. He is a Democrat in politics. DR. WARREN COLEMAN, senior member of the well known medical firm of Coleman & Shilling, whose offices are located at No. 201 West Water Street, Troy, Ohio, was born in this city, September 22, 1865, son of Dr. Horace and Mary L. (Aldrich) Coleman. His paternal grandfather also, Dr. Asa Coleman, was a leading physician in his day. Dr. Horace Coleman, father of the subject of this sketch, was a man of good education, and a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio in the class of '49. He began medical practice in 1850 at Logansport, .Indiana, and remained there until October, 1861, at which time he entered the Federal army. He served as surgeon of the Forty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and subsequently of the One Hundred Forty-seventh Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, continuing until the close of the war. He afterwards settled in Troy, Ohio, where he became the leading physician and surgeon. He was also prominent in local politics and for a number of years was assessor of internal revenue for the Fourth District of Ohio. He also served on the City Council and was for some time president of the Board of Education. He was' one of the board of directors, also, of the First National Bank of Troy. In 1868 he was a delegate to the Republican convention at Chicago, which nominated Grant and Colfax for president and vice-president of the United States. He has attained an advanced degree in the Masonic Order. At the present time he is residing in Washington, D. C. By his marriage to Mary L. Aldrich, which took place November 9, 1847, he became the father of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the youngest. Warren Coleman, M. D., the date of whose nativity has been already given, acquired his literary education in the grammar and high schools of Troy, Ohio. He subsequently graduated from the Medical College of Ohio in the class of '88 and began the practice of his profession in 444 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Troy. In November, 1904, he formed the present medical partnership of Coleman & Shilling, which has, proved a happy combination both from a business and a professional standpoint. Dr. Coleman married Miss Francis Rinehart, a daughter of C. F. Rinehart. He is a member of the County, State, and American Medical Associations. In Politics he is a stanch Republican. Mrs. Coleman is a member of the Presbyterian church. They have a pleasant home at the corner of Main and Adams Streets, Troy. JOHN L. PRUGH, cashier of the Piqua Savings Bank and formerly treasurer of Miami County, has been a representative and useful citizen throughout his entire mature life. He was born in 1855, in Newberry Township, Miami County, Ohio. Jesse Prugh, the father of John L. Prugh, was one of Miami County's prominent men and for many years Y was very active in all public affairs. He was a native of Maryland and when he came to Ohio, in boyhood, lived first in Montgomery County and from there came to Miami County, settling in Newberry Township, where he cleared up a farm from the wilderness. He was a strong Abolitionist and was one of the founders of the Republican party in this section, and when Civil War was declared, he gave his most earnest efforts to the raising of troops and providing for the necessities of those families whose bread-earners left for the battle field. He was commissioned a recruiting officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and the county records bear testimony to the success of his efforts. He died in 1894. John L. Prugh enjoyed the educational advantages offered by the common schools of Newberry Township and the Piqua High School and his first business association led him into the clothing line and in this he continued for twenty-five years, a part of the time in connection with Mr. Flesh, under the firm style of Flesh & Prugh. In 1896 Mr. Prugh was elected treasurer of Miami County and was reelected to that office in 1898 and served through the two terms with the greatest efficiency. After retiring from public life, in 1901, he accepted the position of cashier of the Piqua Savings Bank, his recognition as a financier being general. In 1876 Mr. Prugh was married to Miss Mate L. Rayner, a daughter of Joseph Rayner, an old and prominent resident of Piqua. Mr. and Mrs. Prugh have three children, namely: Estella, who is the wife of J. F. Stewart, assistant manager of the U. S. Handle Company, resides at Piqua; Florence is a successful teacher in the public schools of Piqua ; Ray is a student in the Ohio Wesleyan College, at Delaware, Ohio. Mr. Prugh and family are members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has served on the official board for twenty years, a longer period than is credited to any other officer. He was one of the incorporators of the Y. M. C. A., at Piqua and has always been deeply interested in its work. Mr. Prugh is identified fraternally with the Masons and Odd Fellows. CORY HARRISON NOLAN, general farmer and well known citizen of Staunton Township, resides on his well improved farm of forty-one acres, which is situated on the Sidney Road, about two AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 445 and one-half miles north of Troy. He was born January 12, 1868, on his father's farm in Staunton Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of Michael and Phebe Kathryn (Conrad) Nolan. The ancestors of the Nolan family came to America from Ireland. The grandfather, Israel Nolan, was the first of the family to come to this county. He worked as a weaver for a time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then settled on a farm in Miami County, two miles east of the present Nolan farm. He had seven children, namely : John, James, Daniel, Michael, Elizabeth, Hannah and Sarah, all of whom are deceased. Michael Nolan, father of Cory H., was born in 1818, in Miami County, Ohio, where the greater part of his life was spent. In 1849 he went to California by way of the plains and remained in the gold regions for three years. He became the owner of a mine and met with more success than did many other prospectors, and when he returned to Miami County he possessed enough capital to purchase a cleared farm of eighty acres, situated three miles northeast of Troy, in Staunton Township, on the Urbana Turnpike Road. He resided on that farm for seven years and then bought a farm of 101 acres and later disposed- of his eighty-acre farm. This land was formerly the property of Hiram Smith. It lay about one mile north of his first purchase, near the De Weese schoolhouse. Eight years later he bought the eighty acres which is now the old homestead, but was the Eckert Shaffer farm, and also a farm of 101 acres adjoining his other 101 acres. He was an excellent business man and carried on blacksmithing in connection with his farming. He died in June, 1889. He married Phebe Kathryn (Conrad) Kaw, a widow, who had one child, Caroline K. To this marriage were born six children, namely : Emma ; John; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Charles Waters ; Cory Harrison; Hattie, who is the wife of Marc Kurtz ; and Nora. The mother still survives and resides on the home place. Cory H. Nolan was about one year old when the family moved to the second farm and eight years old when his father came into possession of the old homestead. He attended the country schools and remained at home until his marriage. For a short time after this event, he resided on his father-in-law's place, but in the following year, December 3. 1897, he moved to his present farm, which he had bought from the John C. Winans estate. Here he carries on farming and devotes eight acres to tobacco growing and six to potatoes. He erected a large tobacco shed on his property and he disposes of his cured tobacco to local dealers. His comfortable 12-room house was on the property when he bought it but he has considerably improved and added to the other farm buildings. Mr. Nolan was married December 16, 1896, to Miss Grace P. Speagh, a daughter of Lewis L. and Sarah C. (Marshall) Speagh, who was a graduate of the Troy High School class of 1892, and they have two children—Mary Catharine Speagh and John William. Mr. and Mrs. Nolan are members of Raper Chapel, Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Nolan is superintendent of the Sunday School. In politics he is a Republican and as a man of intelligence he is much interested in all 446 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY that concerns his county and especially in the public matters in which his own community plays a part. JOHN FENEMORE, a representative business man of Covington, who has been actively identified with the commercial life of this city for almost a quarter of a century, is a member of the well known firm of Ruhl & Fenemore, clothiers and gents' furnishers. Mr. Fenemore was born in England, January 15, 1842, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Rose) Fenemore. Mr. Fenemore was thirty-two years of age when he left his native land. After reaching America he spent one year at St. Louis, Missouri, working at his trade of tailor, after which he came to Ohio and was employed by Henry Flesh, of Piqua. for two years, and then established his permanent home at Covington. Here he worked until 1884, for A. Routson, and then, in partnership with Albertus M. Ruhl, purchased the clothing business of Fahnestock Brothers, and since then the firm of Ruhl & Fenemore has been one of importance in the business circles of Covington. Mr. Fenemore was married in England, in 1870, to Miss Elizabeth Catherine Bacon, and they had one son, John Henry, who died at Piqua, in infancy. Mr. Fenemore is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He is identified fraternally with the Knights of Pythias. MELVILLE W. MILLER, of the firm of Spencer & Miller, operating grain elevators at Piqua and extensive dealers in grain, is one of the representative business men of this city and one who has had a large experience in this particular line. He was born in 1868, at Carey, Wyandot County, Ohio, from which place his parents moved when he was four years old, to Monroe, Michigan, where he was reared and educated. Mr. Miller started out in commercial life as a grocery clerk and after some experience went to Detroit and there became connected with the Standard Insurance Company, with which he was identified for seven years. He then came to Piqua and for some years was in the grain business with the Eagle mills, after which, in partnership with his brother-in-law, George Harrey, started the Champion Feed Mills, which they operated for ten years. In 1901 Mr. Miller entered into partnership with Mr. Spencer, under the firm name of Spencer & Miller, and they operate an elevator in Piqua and one three miles south of the city and do a large business. In 1892 Mr. Miller was married to Miss May Louise Bates, of Piqua, and they have two children, Donald D. and Melville S. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is secretary of the official board. Fraternal life has attractions for him and he is identified with the Odd Fellows, the Maccabees and the Masons, in the latter organization belonging to the Blue Lodge and Chapter, being past worshipful of the former and the present high priest of the latter. Socially he is connected with the Cosmopolitan Club. J. NELSON CONWAY, proprietor of the Conway Laundry at Piqua, a model institution of its kind, was born at Piqua in 1867, son of Captain John and Sarah Jane (Manson) Conway. On his mother's side, as will presently be seen, he is of Revolutionary ancestry. AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 447 Capt. John Conway, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Pennsylvania, who became a resident of Piqua prior to the Civil War. For a number of years he was captain of a canal boat and was well known to the canal and river trade. Later he engaged in the transfer and storage business, and he introduced the first covered transfer vans ever seen in this city, and in Miami County. His death occurred in 1902. Capt. Conway was married in 1863 to Sarah Jane Manson, a daughter of James Nelson and Sarah (Harvey) Manson, the former of whom died August 15, 1870, and the latter December 27, 1900. Her great grandfather was David Manson, Sr., who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in October, 1753, and came to America prior to the Revolutionary War. In July, 1776, he enlisted from York, Pennsylvania, for two months, as private, in Captain Savage's Company, Colonel Smith commanding. He re-enlisted in September, 1776, for three and a half months, in Capt. W. W. Cosby's Company, Colonel McAllister's Regiment. He enlisted again, in January, 1778, for two months, in Capt. John Hippy's Company, Colonel McAllister's Regiment. During his service in the Revolutionary War, he was for some time a private in the body guard of General Washington. He was married February 1, 1780, in York, Penna., to Jean Johnston, and in 1807 they came to Miami County, Ohio. He died in 1836, and is buried in the cemetery attached to the Brown schoolhouse, eighteen miles east of Piqua. David Manson, Jr., son of the foregoing and next in the present line of descent, married Miss Sarah Cornwall, September 11, 1810. He and his wife resided on a farm three miles northeast of Piqua, in Springfield Township. He was a surveyor by profession, and during the winter of 1822-23 he took a severe cold, while on a surveying expedition, which developed into pneumonia and caused his death April 25, 1823. At this time his youngest child, Martha, was but a few months old. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, enlisting from Miami County as a private in Capt. John Williams' Company, Major Henry Prince's Regiment of Ohio Militia. His wife, Mrs. Sarah Cornwall Manson, died in 1838. Their son, James Nelson Manson, maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a grand nephew of Gen. Mahlon Dickerson Manson. Capt. John and Sarah J. (Manson) Conway were the parents of three children, namely : Mattie, who married H. M. Alexander, of Piqua, and died in March, 1905 ; J. Nelson, and William. J. Nelson Conway grew to manhood in his native city of Piqua, attending the public schools, including the high school, of which he is a graduate. He then became associated with his father in the transfer business and thus continued for several years, after which he accepted a position as a driver of a laundry wagon, which was his introduction to the business in which he has since been so successful. After some experience under several different employers, he entered into the laundry business for himself, with a partner, and conducted it for two years and a half under the style of Morton & Conway. He then purchased his partner's interest and has been the sole proprietor ever since. He purchased the building at No. 112-114 E. Ash Street and has equipped it with 448 - HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY the most modern machinery known to the laundry trade, having now one of the best and most up-to-date plants of the kind to be found in all this section. He gives employment to four men and twelve girls, and the quality of the work he turns out is unexcelled. In 1906 Mr. Conway was married to Miss Gertrude Raney, of Piqua, Ohio. Fraternally he belongs to the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He is one of Piqua's most representative and go-ahead business men. GEORGE DREES, one of Covington's representative business men, dealing in groceries, meats, fish and oysters, has been established on the corner of High and Spring Streets, Covington, for the past sixteen years. He was born at Covington, Ohio, February 15, 1861, and is a son of Henry and Agnes (Neth) Drees. Henry Drees, who is at the head of the dry goods and notion house of Henry Drees & Son, is one of the old and substantial business men of Covington. He was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, in August, 1833 and remained in his native land until he had almost reached his majority, in the meanwhile attending the German schools and learning the tailor's trade. On August 2, 1854, he landed at Quebec, Canada, made his way from there to Cleveland, Ohio, and then came to Covington, where he ran a tailor shop prior to establishing his present business, in 1863. In 1893 he associated his son, J. Henry, with him and the present firm style was adopted. He married Agnes Neth, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, September 25, 1835, and she accompanied her parents to America in 1854 and came to Cov ington in 1855. To Mr. and Mrs. Drees were born the following children: Rose, who is the wife of William Deubner, of Greenville, Ohio ; George, of Covington; J. Henry, of the firm of Henry Drees & Son; William, who operates a sawmill and coal yard at Covington; Agnes, who is the widow of George Brooks; Conrad F., who is a soap and talcum powder manufacturer at Covington; Mrs. Kate Motter; and Paul, who resides at Covington. George Drees was reared in his native place and attended the public schools and he began to work before he had completed his education, being employed by his uncle, Casper Brinkman, on a farm near Covington, and many a vacation hour was spent in farm duties. When he was fourteen years of age he began to learn the mercantle business, first with his father and later with Drees, Neth & Company, and later went into the wholesale and retail lumber business for himself. In this enterprise he prospered and continued it for some four years and then turned his attention in the present direction, establishing a business which is one of importance at Covington. Mr. Drees was married (first) to Miss Anna Kraighbaum, who left two sons at death : Harold and Donald. His second marriage was to Miss Lulu Brown, and one daughter survives her, Helen. Mr. Drees has been an active and useful citizen and has served as a member of the City Council for more than twelve years. He has also served as chief of the Volunteer Fire Department and for eleven years he was a member of Company E, Third Ohio National Guard, and was drum major, with the rank of sergeant, of the regimental band. He is social by nature and has numerous fraternal connections, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 449 these including membership in the Masons, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows and Encampment, Rebeccas, Red Men and the Order of Pocahontas. HORACE COLEMAN, M. D., whose many years of successful professional life at Troy gave him a place of prominence in medical circles in Miami County, but who is now a resident of Washington, D. C., was born December 27, 1824, at Troy, Miami County, Ohio, and was a son of Dr. Asa Coleman, a leading physician in his day. He enjoyed superior educational advantages and completed his literary studies at Gambier, Ohio. Partaking of his father's scientific tastes, he turned his attention to the study of medicine and under his father's supervision completed his preparatory reading, then entering the Medical College of Ohio, where he was graduated in 1849. In the early part of 1850 he opened up a practice at Logansport, Indiana, where he remained until October, 1861. He then entered the Federal army as surgeon of the Forty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for nearly three years. In May, a864, he became surgeon of the One Hundred Forty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and so continued until the close of the war. His experiences during this period served but to better qualify him for the practice of his profession, and after his return to Troy he easily became the leading physician and surgeon of his native city. Aside from his professional life, Dr. Coleman was intimately connected with the public affairs of city, county, and State. After his return to Troy he was appointed assessor of internal revenue for the Fourth District of Ohio, and was retained in office until the revenue system was reorganized. He was connected with a number of local organizations, including charitable and benevolent bodies, and served on numerous civic boards. He was a public spirited member of the City Council and was president of the Board of Education. His business connections included membership on the board of directors of the First National Bank of Troy. A steadfast Republican in his political views, he was always in the confidence of the party leaders, and frequently served on important committees, and in 1868 he was sent as a delegate to the Republican convention, held at Chicago, Ill., which nominated Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler S. Colfax for president and vice-president of the United States. For himself he claimed no political office, but he was notably loyal to his friends. He was prominently identified with the Masonic, fraternity. Dr. Coleman was married on November 9, 1847, to Mary L. Aldrich, of New England ancestry, and to this marriage were born seven children, the youngest of whom, Warren Coleman, maintains the professional name and standing of both his father and grandfather. Dr. Warren Coleman is the senior member of the prominent medical firm of Coleman & Shilling, whose offices are located at No. 201 West Water Street, Troy, Ohio. WILLIAM ELMER SEE, a representative citizen of Elizabeth Township, residing on his well improved farm of 157 acres, which is situated in Section 32, on the Springfield and Troy Turnpike, about four miles southeast of the latter place,