200 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY children was a native of Morrow, county. George M. O'Donnell received his education in the public school at Mount Gilead, and when less than fifteen years of age, April 1, 1887, started to learn the trade of baker at Troy. His parents moved to Covington October 1, 1887, and he joined them here May 1, 1888, completing his apprenticeship to his trade here and working in a grocery for eight or nine years. About January 31, 1915, Mr. O'Donnell became agent for the Ohio Fuel Supply Company at Covington and this position he has retained to the present time, having had satisfying success in his operations. In addition to the prominence that attaches to his name because of the importance of his business activities, Mr. O'Donnell has become well known throughout the splendid service which he has rendered in positions of public trust. He was township clerk for fourteen years, clerk and member of the board of education of the Covington district, clerk of the board of education of Newberry township, also corporation clerk of Covington, and otherwise identified with civic government. His public record is an excellent one, matching his reputation for integrity in business life. He is a member of the Covington Lodge, No. 168, Free and Accepted Masons, and Covington Chapter, No. 115, Royal Arch Masons, the Red Men and Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He belongs to the Presbyterian church. Mr. O'Donnell was active in the various war movements and worked faithfully as a member of all local committees. He married Margaret, daughter of Morton Steinhilber, of Covington, and they are the parents of three children : Mary, the wife of Rev. William M. Brandt, of Tuscarawas, Ohio ; Guy Franklin, connected with the Hobart Manufacturing Company, of Troy, and Lorena, who married Donovan J. Hill, of Covington. He is associated with The Hobart Manufacturing Company, of Troy, and there they reside. William R. Mumford. One of the oldest native-born residents of Elizabeth township is William R. Mumford, who has passed his entire life on his present farm. His career from early manhood has been one of honorable achievement and good citizenship and the reputation which he established and the friendships that he made during his early life have stood the test of years. Mr. Mumford was born on his present farm in Elizabeth township, June 7, 1841, a son of John and Mary (Crawmer) Mumford. His father, a native of Maryland, was a young man when he migrated to Miami county, and almost immediately settled in Elizabeth township, where he met and married Miss Crawmer. They rounded out long, honorable and useful lives in the pursuits of agriculture and when they died their community lost two of its most highly respected and beloved people. There were eight children in their family, of whom but two survive : William R., and Mary J., who has never married, and who now lives with her brother on the old home place. The educational training of William R. Mumford was acquired in the public schools of his native locality and his boyhood and youth were devoted to his studies and the work of the home farm. When he reached his majority he adopted farming as his life work, and MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 201 his entire career has been devoted to the property which he now owns and operates. This consists of 160 acres and is a well-cultivated and productive tract on which Mr. Mumford has made many improvements. In young manhood, Mr. Mumford was united in marriage with Olivia, daughter of John Schindler, a highly regarded agriculturist of Elizabeth township. Mrs. Mumford died September 29, 1876, leaving four children : Irwin, engaged in farming near the home place, who married Susan Drake ; Eben, in charge of an agricultural college at Lansing, Mich., who married Luella M. Horn ; Viola, who died when sixteen years of age, and Olivia, who died when two and one-half years old. Mr. Mumford has been a good citizen and one who has aided his community in numerous ways. The cause of education has found him a faithful and useful friend, and since he was twenty-one years of age he has served as a member of the local board of school directors. His contributions to war movement funds were generous and his support of local enterprises has been loyal. V. D. Mumford, a capable and worthy representative of the farming and stock-raising interests of Miami county, is carrying on successful operations on a well-cultivated property located in Elizabeth township. He is a native of this county, born November 14, 1891, a son of George and Ellen (Boswell) Mumford, long-time residents of this part of the Miami valley and people highly esteemed by their associates. Mr. Mumford was educated in the public school in the neighborhood of the home place and grew to manhood in a family where honesty and industry were highly valued. When he reached man's estate he engaged in farming operations on his own account, and for a number of years has farmed his property in Elizabeth township, a tract upon which he has erected good buildings and made many substantial improvements. He has always taken a good citizen's part in civic affairs, being a loyal and liberal supporter of good movements, and this was particularly noticeable during the war period, no worthy cause being refused assistance at his hands. Mr. Mumford was united in marriage, January 21, 1914, with Mae, daughter of Walter and Jennie (Edemiller) Tobias, and they have four children : Cecil L., Bernice M., Roger O. and Florence A. The pleasant and commodious home of Mr. and Mrs. Mumford is located on Casstown R. F. D. No. 2. James Guy O'Donnell, a prominent member of the Miami county bar, city attorney of Covington for twenty years and one of the leading fraternalists of this part of the State, was horn at Mount Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, April 28, 1875, a son of James and Mary (Williams) O'Donnell, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Morrow county. James O'Donnell was a young man when he immigrated to the United States and became a monument engraver, a vocation which he followed for many years at Mount Gilead and Washington Court House, where he died in 1878. He and his wife were the parents of three children : Carrie, the wife of William Kienle, of Dayton ; George M., an agent for 202 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY the Ohio Fuel Supply Company at Covington, and James G. James Guy O'Donnell attended the public schools of Covington, graduating therefrom in 1893, after which he began the study of law in the office of the late Judge William C. Johnston, of Piqua. Admitted to the Ohio bar October 18, 1896, he opened an office at Covington January 15, 1897, and in May, 1899, was admitted to practice in the federal courts. From 1902 to 1911 he was associated with T. A. Billingsley, who practiced at Versailles, Ohio, the firm being O'Donnell & Billingsley, but in the latter year the partnership was dissolved when Mr. O'Donnell was elected prosecuting attorney of Miami county, a position to which he was re-elected, serving in all four years. For twenty years he has also been city attorney of Covington. Mr. O'Donnell's practice is large and important, and he is general attorney for the Dayton, Toledo & Chicago Railway, general attorney and director of the Stillwater Telephone and Telegraph Company and attorney for the Stillwater-Valley Bank. During the recent war period he was untiringly active in behalf of the various campaigns for war funds. Few men of this locality are more prominent in fraternal circles. He belongs to the Masonic blue lodge at Covington, the Royal Arch Chapter at Troy, the Royal and Select Masters, of Troy, Coleman Commandery, Knights Templar, Troy, and Dayton Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Dayton, and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, belonging to Antioch Temple of Dayton. He also holds membership in the Eastern Star at Troy, where he belongs likewise to the Odd Fellows lodge and encampment. He is a member of the Junior Order United American Mechanics, Covington council, and is past exalted ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, holding membership in Piqua lodge. He is past great sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men and during the past six years has been one of the six representatives from Ohio to the Great Council of the United States. At this time he is acting high priest of the chapter of the Royal Arch Masons now being organized at Covington. With his family, Mr. O'Donnell belongs to the Presbyterian church. He married Emma T., daughter of Peter S. Colbert, of Miami county, and they have two sons : Jay Guy, a graduate of Covington High School, class of 1920, and now a student at Ohio State University, and Roger C., a Junior, in that school. W. L. O'Roark. Among the business citizens of Covington who have developed important enterprises from small beginnings here, one who is well known and greatly respected is W. L. O'Roark, proprietor of a thriving and flourishing milling business. Mr. O'Roark is a son of James O'Roark and was born in Virginia, where he received his education in the public schools and learned the trade of milling, a business which he followed for some years in the Old Dominion State. Feeling that opportunities for success were greater in the West, he came to Covington and established himself in business on his present site, first installing a water power, modern roller process mill, and has built up a splendid MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 203 business, maintaining friendly and mutually profitable relations with the agriculturists and the buying public. His mill's capacity is one hundred barrels per clay, for which there is a constant demand, and the "Pride of Covington" brand has found much favor wherever distributed. Mr. O'Roark is a public-spirited citizen who gives his support to all worthy measures, local or national, but has not cared for public life, preferring to devote himself to his business affairs. He married Miss Anna McGoon, also a native of Virginia, and they have been the parents of eight children : James, a progressive business man of Covington, who is associated with his father in milling; Josephine, the wife of Harry Beard, of Coy-- ington ; John, who is deceased, and Frank, Jesse, Catherine, Virginia and Ada, who reside with their parents in the pleasant family home. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the United Commercial Travelers and the Woodmen of the World. He is a member of the Christian church. Ray H. Parsons, a capable and reliable young business citizen of Tippecanoe City, and junior member of the firm of Smith & Parsons, dealers in automobiles and implements, and proprietors of a leading garage business, was born at Fairfield, Ohio, April 5, 1889, a son of. George Truman and Matilda Belle (Heffner) Parsons. The grandfather of Mr. Parsons was a soldier in a cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the Civil war, enlisting in the 100-day service. Before the end of his term of enlistment, he was thrown from his horse and incapacitated for further service. He spent the rest of the active years of his life in farming, and is still living at the age of eighty-four years. For many years George Truman Parsons was engaged in agricultural pursuits, later becoming proprietor of a hotel at Phoneton, which he conducted with success. At this time he is identified with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, at Phoneton. He and his wife were the parents of five children : Guy T., the proprietor of a grocery at Tippecanoe City ; Daisy M., the wife \of Joseph Snell, a farmer of Miami county ; John C., now the partner of his brother, Guy, who enlisted in the United States Army during the World war and was stationed at Camp Greenleaf, Chattanooga, Tenn., from March, 1917, to May, 1919; Ray H., and Harriet, deceased. Ray H. Parsons secured his education in the public schools of Bethel township, Miami county, and as a youth took up the trade of electrician. He was employed in this line of work for thirteen years, and at the outbreak of the war between the United States and Germany entered the Government service as an electrician at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, where he was placed in charge of the telephone maintenance and construction, enumerator systems, etc. He served for nine months, and upon securing his discharge came to Tippecanoe City, where he entered into the garage and farmer supply business with Stanley R. Smith, the concern being founded October 20, 1918, and adopting the business style of Smith Parsons. The firm now operates a modern garage and sales room, handling Oldsmobile and Chevrolet cars, for which it has 204 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY the Tippecanoe City agency, tires, automobile accessories and farm implements, and is doing a large and growing business. Mr. Parsons is a young man of energy and ability and has gained confidence and made many friends since locating at Tippecanoe City. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Parsons married Miss C. M. Link, of Cedarville, and they have two children : Earl Ray, born in 1916, and Carl Edward, born in 1918. Winfield Scott Poince. An illuminating illustration of what persistence, industry, integrity and probity will accomplish, when combined with a high sense of moral responsibility, is found in the career of Winfield Scott Poince, who has steadfastly adhered to his vocation of farming and plastering in Monroe township, on the same property, for a period of forty years. Mr. Poince was born in Berkeley county, West Virginia, March 3o, 1855, a son of John H. and Mary (Leopard) Poince. His parents and their family, with the exception of Winfield S., came to Miami county in 1872 and settled near Frederickstown. There the parents continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of their lives and were highly esteemed people of their community. As a boy Winfield Scott Poince attended the public schools of West Virginia, and when he had completed his education went to Washington, D. C., where he remained until 1875. Hearing favorable reports from the other members of the family as to the desirability of Miami county and the opportunities which it offered, in 1875 he came here and located on the property which he now occupies in Monroe township. Here he has carried on agricultural pursuits and plastering without interruption and has developed into one of the well-to-do farmers of his locality. He has always lived on this farm and has been its chief developer. In this quality of constancy, fixedness of purpose, the undeviating pursuit of a plan of action, is contained the secret of success in multitudes of cases, and to this, in conjunction with the other sterling traits already mentioned, is attributable the creditable and successful career of Mr. Poince. Mr. Poince married, February, 19, 1885, Anna, daughter of T. W. and Elizabeth (Shearer) Furnas, the latter of whom had four brothers who served as soldiers of the Union Army during the Civil war, Titus, John, Oliver and Alvin. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Poince : Edith, who married Jesse Blackburn, and who resides at Wapakoneta, Ohio. They have two children, Laverle and Edwin ; Howard, who married Edith Fenters, and they reside in Troy, Ohio ; Russell, and Ruth, who married Archie Syler, and they reside at Garland, Ohio. They have one child, Dorotha Eileen. Russell Poince 'was educated in the Monroe township school and graduated from the West Milton High school. He then taught school for two years in Union township, Miami county, then entered the Ohio State University, where he spent two terms. He enlisted during the World war, December 17, 1917, in the aviation corps of the United States Army, and after training at Fort Hancock, then Camp Merritt, was assigned to Company B. Seventh Infantry, Third division. He went to France April 1, 1918, MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 205 and while serving as a member of Company B, at the second battle of the Marne, July 15, 1918, met a hero's death. He was a young man who was greatly popular with his associates, both in and out of the army, and his death occasioned widespread sorrow. W. S. Poince is a member of the Knight of Pythias lodge and Juniors. He is a member of the Christian church, of which he has been a trustee for over thirty years. In politics he is a Republican, and is a member of the school board. Daniel W. Poince. In the fertile valley of the Miami there are numerous farms belonging to natives of West Virginia, and it may be something more than a coincidence that almost without exception these properties are models of their kind and their owners are men of influence and worth in their various communities. Among the farmers who belong to this class, one who merits attention is Daniel W. Poince, a progressive and successful agriculturist of. Monroe township, who was born in Berkeley county, West Virginia, December 25, 1852, a son of John H. and Mary (Leopard) Poince. John H. Poince was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, but resided in West Virginia for a number of years and it was from that State that he came to Ohio in 1872. He followed blacksmithing and farming in the vicinity of Frederickstown, Miami county, during the remainder of his life, and his industry and good management were rewarded by the accumulation of a good property. He was at the time of his death, in 1886, one of his community's substantial men, as well as one who was held in high esteem. He and his worthy wife were the parents of fourteen children, of whom four are still living: John, George, Scott and Daniel W . Daniel W. Poince received his educational training in the public. schools of Berkeley county, West Virginia, and was twenty years of age when he came with his parents to Miami county. He remained here until 1886, in which year he moved to Montgomery county, which was his home and the scene of his activities until 1917. He then returned to Miami county and settled in Monroe township, where he is now the owner of 139 acres of highly productive and valuable land. Mr. Poince is a skilled agriculturist and thoroughly conversant with all branches of farm work, but has not always followed this vocation. Prior to his marriage he was for twenty years devoted to the blacksmith trade, which he followed in several communities and in which he was accounted an expert workman. As a farmer he has adopted modern methods and has proved his ability by the manner in which he has won success. Mr. Poince married, November 8, 1885, Miss Nettie Jane, daughter of Samuel and Harriet (Vore) Furnas, and to this union there have been born five children : Ethel and Edna, twins, who died in infancy ; Jessie, who married Ernest Littleton, of Montgomery county, who is engaged in the automobile business ; Mira, who married John Antonides, a farmer of Union township, and Roscoe, who works with his father on the home place. Daniel W. Poince served as a justice of the peace in Butler township for four years and his record in that office was an excellent one, entitling him to the confidence 206 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY which was given him by his fellow-citizens. He has always supported the movements of good citizenship, and during the recent war period was in charge of his home school district in soliciting war funds. Tillman F. Palsgrove. One of the recent recruits in commercial affairs at Bloomer is Tillman F. Palsgrove, who, in 1920, after many years spent in agricultural pursuits in Miami and Franklin counties, became the proprietor of a garage at Bloomer. Mr. Palsgrove, who has already taken a position of recognized importance in the business life of the community, was born in Franklin county, Ohio, in 1874, a son of Tillman and Sarah (Whims) Palsgrove. There were four children in the family : William, Tillman F., Altus and George. Tillman F. Palsgrove was a child 'when taken by his parents to Miami county, where he was reared on a farm and received his education in the rural district schools, and resided at home until his marriage to Nora, daughter of John Rawn. For many years Mr. Palsgrove applied himself to agricultural pursuits, cultivating farms in both Franklin and Miami counties, but in 1920 he retired from farming and came to Bloomer, where he became the proprietor, by purchase, of the former Finfrock property, on which, in 1920, he built a garage. He has a prosperous business, and conducts a modern establishment, including a repair department, service station, etc., and handling tires and standard accessories. He has won public confidence and patronage by a straight-forward business policy and a courteous personality. Mr. Palsgrove, in the various communities in which he has resided, has displayed public spirit in his support of worthy civic enterprises, and was a liberal contributor to the various movements necessitated by the World war. He and his wife are the parents of six children : Russell, Ernest, Virgie, May, Floyd and Fay. Russell Palsgrove is an overseas veteran who saw much active service in France. He enlisted at Troy and after intensive training at Camp Chillicothe was assigned to Company F, Twenty-sixth division, subsequently being transferred to the Eighty-third division. He was gassed in the Argonne sector, and was in hand-to-hand encounters with the enemy in that region, taking part also in the engagements at Verdun and St. Mihiel. He married Fern Brandt, a daughter of Joseph Brandt, and they reside in Bradford, where he is engaged with the railroad company, and is one of his community's most popular young men. Guy Parsons. The career of Guy Parsons, the progressive and energetic proprietor of a thriving grocery business at TippecanoeCity, is one in which he has been identified with several lines of endeavor, in each of which he has won success. Mr. Parsons was born at Fairfield, Greene county, Ohio, and belongs to a family well known in Miami county, a history of which will be found elsewhere in this work in the sketch of Ray Parsons. Guy Parsons was a small child when taken by his parents to Bethel township, Miami county, and there he grew to manhood on his father's farm, his education being acquired in the public schools, and he graduated MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 207 from the Bethel. High School. When Mr. Parsons entered upon his career it was as an agriculturist near Phoneton, in the southeastern part of Miami county, and while thus engaged became interested in the raising of fancy poultry. Eventually he made a specialty of this line of work and became noted as a poultry fancier, his birds being exhibited at Dayton, Eaton and Springfield, where they won several silver cups and also took the sweepstakes for the best displays. In 1919 Mr. Parsons came to Tippecanoe City and subsequently purchased the grocery business of N. Buckles. This he has since built up to important proportions, and at this time is accounted one of the prosperous merchants of the city. Mr. Parsons is primarily a business man and has found little time for public affairs, but is known as a public-spirited citizen and has given his support to all worthy measures, whether in peace or war times. He possesses the qualifications of courtesy and amiability so necessary to the success of a retail merchant, and since coming to Tippecanoe City has attracted to himself numerous friendships. Louis Paul, ex-sheriff of Miami county, ex-chief of police of Troy, and one of the heroes of the flood of 1913, is now engaged in the tire and accessory business at Troy, at which place he was born January 10, 1870, a son of Louis and Anna (Scissler) Paul. Louis Paul, the elder, was a member of the Seventy-first regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the war between the North and the South, and sustained a wound at Pittsburgh Landing. For a number of years subsequently he was proprietor of the old Galt House, at Main and Cherry streets, Troy, and died January 8, 1876, being survived by his widow until December 8, 1888. Both were laid to rest in the cemetery at Troy. Their children were : Charles ; Edward, of Chicago, whose son, Edward Paul, Jr., was a soldier with the American Expeditionary Forces, and saw service in France during the great World war ; Anna, who is the wife of Frank Clements, and Louis. Louis Paul, the younger, graduated from the Troy High School and for some years was engaged in business as the proprietor of a popular and successful restaurant. In 1910 he was elected sheriff of Miami county, and his record during his first administration caused his re-election in 1912. In the following year during the great flood, he proved one of the outstanding heroes of the catastrophe, rendering valuable assistance and performing numerous deeds of bravery. He was appointed chief of police of Troy in 1916 and continued to act in that capacity until December 31, 1919, since which time he has been engaged in business at Troy as the proprietor of an automobile tire and accessory business. A man of broad and charitable views and tendencies, Mr. Paul is popular with all of his fellow-citizens and is loved by many for his human qualities and his unfailing good humor. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Martin Jenkins, of St. Paris, Ohio, and while they have had no children of their own, they have reared a nephew and niece of Mrs. Paul and have also assisted other children of worthy parents in gaining an education. Fra- 208 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY ternally, Mr. Paul is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. During the war period he was active in assisting the Government in promoting the various war movements, and in this was loyally and energetically seconded by his popular and estimable. wife. Harry Schmidlapp, who is conducting extensive and successful agricultural operations in Washington township, was born on the home farm in this township, June 3, 1881, a son of Caleb and Mary (Roberts) Schmidlapp. The Schmidlapp family is widely and favorably known in the Miami valley and has given to this locality a number of prominent citizens, including lawyers, physicians and philanthropists, as well as agriculturists, one of the name having donated the public library to the city of Piqua. One of the first of the name to settle in Miami county was the grandfather of Harry Schmidlapp, who passed his entire life as an agriculturist. Caleb Schmidlapp was a lifelong farmer in Washington township, where he had a useful and honorable career, and on his farm Harry Schmidlapp was reared. He secured a public school education and as a young man adopted farming as his life work, this having occupied his activities ever since. At the present time he is the owner of a 400-acre property, which he devotes to general farming, and is a progressive and enterprising agriculturist and a citizen who at all times has contributed to the community's welfare by supporting, worthy movements both in times of peace and war. Mr. Schmidlapp married Miss Jennie Martin and had one child, Helen. After the death of his first wife he married Miss Bertha Addington. Harold A. Pauly, one of the publishers and editor of the .Troy Daily News and the Miami Union (weekly), at Troy, Ohio, has been identified with journalism in Ohio for a period of twenty years, during which time he has edited and published newspapers in various communities and has been connected with many of the incidents that have made newspaper history during the past two decades. Born at Mason, Warren county, Ohio, March 31, 1879, he is a son of George W. and Clara (Cox) Pauly, whose other two children were: Frederick, who died in childhood, and William C., a resident of Los Angeles, Calif. Harold A. Pauly graduated from the high school at Mason, following which he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, being a member of the graduating class at that institution in 1899. Following this, he returned to Mason, where he became the publisher of the Warren County Appeal. When he disposed of his interests in that publication, Mr. Pauly went to Lebanon, Ohio, where he edited The Republican. Later for one year he was identified with the United States Civil Service Commission, at Washington, D. C. He resigned this position to become publisher of The Western Star, at Lebanon, Ohio, with which he was identified until August, 1908. At that time he came to Troy, where he purchased the Troy Buckeye, and one year later became the owner, through purchase, of the Miami Union, which he consolidated with the other publication. Several years ago he and A. C. McClung, who became associated with him as a MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 209 partner, purchased the Troy Daily News, and they still publish both newspapers. Mr. Pauly is a newspaper man of experience and capability and presents his readers with a newsy, reliable and interesting paper. He wields a facile pen, which becomes trenchant in behalf of good measures or in opposition to bad ones, and his writings are always pithy and to the point, timely and free from sensationalism. Mr. Pauly is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine and at present is commander of Coleman Commandery, Knights Templar. He likewise is secretary of the Troy Rotary Club, and holds membership in the Phi Delta Theta and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities. When the United States entered the great World war, Mr. Pauly offered his services and was in the first officers' training camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison. Later, however, he was released from service because of physical disabilities. On his return to Troy, determined to be of service, he was appointed as chairman of the home service department of the Red Cross, Miami county chapter. Mr. Pauly takes only a good citizen's and newspaper man's interest in politics, but has served as clerk of the county election board. Frank H. Phillippi. Among the business establishments of Piqua which have firmly established reputations for honorable dealing is that of Frank H. Phillippi & Son, dealers in harness and leather goods. The head of this concern, Frank H. Phillippi, was born at Piqua, Ohio, October 19, 1858, a son of Philip and Philomena Phillippi. Philip Phillippi was the father of eight children, as follows, the first-named being by his first wife : William, whose son, Leonard, served in France during the great war with the American Expeditionary Forces ; Frank H. ; Fred ; John ; Louise, the wife of Jacob Pfistnerr, of Troy, Ohio ; Mary, the wife of R. C. Chapman ; Emma, the widow of Charles Graham, who met his death in an automobile accident at Piqua, and Anna, the widow of George Mason, of this city. Frank H. Phillippi received a public school education and when still a youth became a tobacco stripper. This employment did not prove congenial, nor did it satisfy his ambitions, and he accordingly turned his attention to the trade of harness-making which he thoroughly mastered. In 1883 he established himself in business at the old, Brown corner, where the Favorite Hotel is now located, under the name of Fisher & Phillippi, but in 1891 sought larger quarters and moved to the present location, at 323 North Main street. In 1908, Mr. Fisher died. Since then, Mr. Phillippi and son, Jerome, have conducted the business. They carry a large and up-to-date stock of leather goods, harness, travelers' supplies, trunks, etc., and carry on a flourishing trade, which has been built up through their capable direction and honorable dealing. Mr. Phillippi married Mary, daughter of Mathias and Margaret (Kohler) Schnell, and to this union there have been born five children : Ruth, who died at the age of five years ; Jerome, who married Marjorie May ; Marie, who married August Hefele, and Gertrude and George, who reside with their parents. Mr. Phillippi was prominent in various war activi- 210 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY ties, being a generous supporter of the Red Cross and other movements. His fraternal affiliation is with the local lodge of Elks, in which he has numerous friends. The family belongs to St. Boniface Catholic Church. S. C. Philbrook. Like a number of other prominent business men of Piqua, S. C. Philbrook, head of the Philbrook Optical Company, traces his lineage back to the rugged colonists of Puritan faith who, settling first in New England, have made their mental and moral influence felt across the continent. In the New England states many of his ancestors on both the paternal sides were sea captains, as the Philbrooks and Ingrahams were seafaring people, and several of the name participated in the Revolutionary war. The family settled early in Ohio, where the father of S. C. Philbrook, E. Philbrook, was a prominent farmer and stockraiser of Licking county. He married Clara Ingraham, and they became the parents of six children : Seth C., of this notice ; Edith, a teacher in the public schools ; Gladys, the wife of 0. D. Williams-; Robert, Lurah and Charlotte. Seth C. Philbrook was born at Johnstown, Ohio, in July, 1885, and received his early education in the graded and high schools of his native community. Later he pursued a course at the Northern Illinois College of Optometry, and subsequently located at LaCrosse, Wis., later, in 1911, coming to Piqua. Having mastered every phase of the business, he founded the Philbrook Optical Company which, under his direction, has achieved great success and prosperity. Mr. Philbrook is an expert lens grinder and does all the lens grinding for his firm. He married Martha, daughter of Charles Simon, of Piqua, and they are devout members of the Green Street Methodist Episcopal Church. During the war period they were active in the work of the Red Cross and the various war measures, and as a citizen Mr. Philbrook has been helpful in his support of civic movements. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Cosmopolitan Club and has numerous warm friends in business and social circles of Piqua. John Henry Pohlman. During a period covering a quarter of a century, John Henry Pohlman has been identified with business affairs at Tippecanoe City, where he is now the proprietor of the leading dry goods establishment. Mr. Pohlman was born at New Bremen, Auglaize county, Ohio, May 15, 1857, a son of Henry Herman and Mary (coke) Pohlman, farming people who passed long and honorable lives in Auglaize county, where they were known as honest, God-fearing residents and kind and faithful friends. They were the parents of nine children, of whom five survive : Josephine, the widow of Mr. Juneman, making her home with her brother, John H.; Fred Benjamin, a retired resident of Tippecanoe City ; Henry L., formerly a merchant, and now living retired here ; Ferdinand, who is engaged in the confectionary business at Knoxville, Ohio; Levi, a resident of Xenia, Ohio, and John Henry. John Henry Pohlman attended the public school at New Bremen, following which he worked on the home farm with his father until he reached the age of twenty years, at that time going MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 211 to Kansas, where he remained about six months, working as a farm hand. His next location was in Nebraska, where he lived for seventeen years, during the greater part of his time being a general merchant, with stores in several different communities of that State. He returned to Ohio in 1895 and, locating at Tippecanoe City, embarked in the dry goods business, with which he has been connected ever since. He has developed this concern through constantly advancing stages into the largest and best enterprise of its kind at Tippecanoe City, and has a large, representative and constantly-increasing patronage. Mr. Pohlman has various other connections of a business nature, and is a director of the Citizens National Bank, of Tippecanoe City, and of the Mon-. roe Building and Loan Association, of this place. As a citizen he has been a supporter of all worthy movements, particularly during the war period when he contributed liberally to the various movements promoted by the Government and local organizations, and the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-citizens is shown in the fact that he held the office of town treasurer for eighteen years. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Tribe of Ben Hur, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Masons, in the latter of which he has attained to the Knights Templar degree, and in all of which orders he is very popular and has numerous friends. Mr. Pohlman's first wife was Alvina, daughter of C. H. Kuenning, of New Bremen, Ohio. She died March 20, 1900, leaving two children : Roy H., who is assistant cashier in the Citizens Bank of Tippecanoe City, and Ethel Louise, the wife of Prof. E. C. Rowe, a well-known educator of Elkhart, Ind. Following the death of his first wife, Mr. Pohlman was united in marriage with Anna, daughter of Thomas Grant, of Tippecanoe City. Mr. and Mrs. Pohlman have had no children of their own, but have reared Mrs. Pohlman's niece, Dorothy Beel Wagner, who entered their home at the age of three months and who is, at this time, seventeen years of age and completing her education. Five of Mr. Pohlman's nephews were in the United States forces during the World war. Louis V. Priller, one of the progressive business citizens of Tippecanoe City, where he is engaged in the conduct of a flourishing meat market in association with his brother, Charles, is a native of Indianapolis and a son of George J. Priller. A history of the Priller family will be found in this work in the sketch of Albert Priller, of Piqua. George J. Priller was for some years engaged in the meat business at Indianapolis, whence he went to Dayton and founded a similar enterprise. Later, members of the family entered the same line in various communities, so that the family name is prominently identified with this line of business endeavor. Louis V. Priller secured his educational training in the public schools of Piqua, and practically grew up in the meat business, which he learned in all its details tinder the tutelage of his experienced father_ Coming to Tippecanoe City with his brother Charles, he bought the meat business formerly conducted by Carl Frings, and this has since been built up to large proportions. Another brother conducts. 212 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY an establishment at Troy, while still another is at the head of a similar business at Piqua, all of these being large and growing concerns. The Tippecanoe City establishment is one that caters to the best people of the city, carrying a full and complete line of choice meats and such other products usually found in modern, first-class meat markets. The brothers are courteous and obliging, thorough masters of their trade and possessed of excellent business qualities, and these things have combined to make their venture successful and popular with the public. During the period of the World war the brothers were generous contributors to all war measures and movements, while in civic affairs they have displayed their good citizenship by a public-spirited support of worthy civic enterprises. They have a number of business, social and fraternal connections, and are greatly esteemed by those with whom they have come into contact. Louis V. Priller married Miss Marlah Lawrence, of Tippecanoe City. Charles Priller is also married, and both brothers own pleasant homes at Tippecanoe City. The firm of Priller Brothers consists of Frank C., Louis V. and Charles. Otis Grant Skillings. Since October, 1897, Otis G. Skillings has been numbered among the substantial agriculturists of Miami county and during this time has added to the reputation which he had established in his former home community of Clark county for capable agricultural work and worthy citizenship. Mr. Skillings, who is the owner of a well-cultivated farm of 120 acres in Bethel township, was born in Clark county, September 12, 1864, a son of Eben and Phoebe A. (Paullin) Skillings. His parents, farming people, now deceased, were well and favorably known in their locality, and were the parents of six children, of whom five are living. Otis G. Skillings was given the advantages of a public school education and attended Wittenberg College at Springfield, Ohio, and like other farmers' sons of his day and locality was brought up to appreciate the honesty of hard work and the value of money. A rigorous training brought him to manhood with principles of integrity and industry firmly imbued in him and in his early agricultural operations he evidenced a willingness for energetic labor and a desire to carry through all transactions honorably. He farmed in Clark county until October, 1897, at which time he came to Miami county and took up his residence in Bethel township, where he now has 120 acres of good land and a modern home on New Carlisle R. F. D. No. 5. The principles which Mr. Skillings adopted and espoused in his youth have been strictly adhered to and as a result he is accounted one of the reliable men of his locality in business as well as in citizenship. During the World war he rendered valuable service in soliciting for the various war chest drives. Mr. Skillings married, March 5, 1896, Bertha, daughter of Harrison and Henrietta M.. (Skillings) Inlow, of Clark county, both deceased, and to this union there have been born five children : Ruth, the wife of Floy Artz, of Elizabeth township, Miami county, and they are the par, ents of three children, Irene, Wesley, and Grant ; Glenn, a farmer of Bethel township, who married Vernona Studebaker, and Hazel, MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 213 Anson and Charles, who live with their parents on the home farm. Mr. Skillings is a Republican Prohibitionist, but independent in local politics. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church. Charles C. Proctor. The manufacturing interests of Piqua are worthily and capably represented by Charles C. Proctor, secretary of the Wood Shovel and Tool Company, who was born on a farm in Shelby county, Ohio, February 17, 1879, a son of G. W. and Sarah (Hetzler) Proctor. G. W. Proctor, in addition to being a successful and industrious agriculturist, was active in the political life of Shelby county, where he was the incumbent bf a number of minor public offices. He and his wife were the parents of seven children : William P., Elmer, Albert, Frank C., Charles C. Mrs. Jennie Snodgrass, the wife of L. T. Snodgrass, and Eva May, wife of E. N. Middleton. Charles C. Proctor was educated in the country schools of Shelby county and at the Sidney High School, after leaving which he entered the employ of the Wood Shovel and Tool Company in a clerical capacity. Through successive promotion he worked his way upward to the post of secretary, an office which he has capably filled since 1912. His abilities have caused him to be placed high in the estimation of his associates and those with whom he has come into contact in a business way. Mr. Proctor married Grace Elma, daughter of J. E. and Irene Moore, of Shelby county, and to this union there were born two sons : Clifford C. and Paul E. Mr. Proctor rendered a great deal of personal service in the various war movements, loan drives, etc., and as an official of the Wood Shovel and Tool Company also did much in an industrial way, as this concern manufactured a preponderance of the intrenching shovels carried by the American doughboys into the trenches of France. He is fraternally affiliated with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and belongs to the United Commercial Travelers and the Piqua Club. His religious connection is with the Methodist church, to which also belongs Mrs. Proctor, who was active in all the women's movements attendant to the successful carrying on of the war. O. O. Putterbaugh. The list of progressive and energetic agriculturists of Miami county includes the name of O. O. Putterbaugh, who has been connected long and prominently with the farming interests of Bethel township, where he at present is the owner of a substantial property. Mr. Putterbaugh is one of those who have passed their entire lives in this community, having been born on a Miami county farm in 1888, a son of William and Caroline (Swallow) Putterbaugh. His parents were agricultural people who were satisfied to round out their lives in the pursuits of the soil, honorably discharging their community responsibilities and rearing their children to lives of honesty and industry. O. O. Putterbaugh was given the advantages of a rural school education and was carefully trained in farming under the instruction of his father. After reaching his majority he began farming on his own account and has so continued to the present with constantly growing success. He is 214 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY the owner of a well-improved and fertile property and is numbered among the substantial and reliable citizens of his community, having always contributed of his time, abilities and means in the furtherance of objects calculated to be of benefit to his community. Mr. Putterbaugh married Belle, daughter of John and Nettie (Reel) Shoup, of Miami county. Tom B. Radabaugh. Prior to his election to his present office of auditor of Miami county, Tom B. Radabaugh, of Troy, was prominently identified with newspaper work as publisher and editor, and is still widely known in this connection, although since assuming the duties of his office in 1918 he has devoted all of his time to official matters. He was born January 21, 1875, in Darke county, Ohio, a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Ward) Radabaugh, and received his early education at Versailles High School. After learning the printer's trade, he owned and edited the Versailles Banner, published by Radabaugh & Fahnestock, and on April 1, 1902, came to Miami county and, with his brother Charles, purchased the West Milton Record. During the time that he was engaged in publishing this newspaper, Mr. Radabaugh became actively and prominently connected with public affairs, and in 1918 was elected auditor of Miami county. He has made an excellent record in this office and is numbered among the constructive workers in county affairs. Mr. Radabaugh has a number of business interests and is president of the West Milton Savings and Loan Association of West Milton, Ohio. During the war period he was captain of the "four-minute" speakers and served capably on various committees. He is a member of Milton lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, No. 577, of West Milton, Ohio, and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Radabaugh married Miss Edith I. Stevenson, of Versailles, and to this union there were born two children : Miss Truell, who acts as deputy to her father, and LeRoy. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Radabaugh married Miss Anna Fouts (deceased), and to them was born one child, Robert E. Lee Ralston, one of the highly esteemed retired farmers of Brown township, was born in this township and belongs to one of its most highly honored families. His paternal grandfather, Allen Ralston, was a native of Scotland, of Scotch-Irish blood, and immigrated to the United States in young manhood, settling in Lost Creek township, Miami county, Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life. Andrew Ralston, father of Lee Ralston, was born in Ohio, January 26, 1839, and was there married in October, 1889, to Elizabeth Ralston, also a native of that state. Shortly after their union they came to Lost Creek township, Miami county, where, under a buckskin land grant issued over the signature of Andrew Jackson, Mr. Ralston secured eighty acres of land in Lost Creek township. He continued to be engaged in agricultural operation's until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Tenth regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, an organization with which he saw service in twenty-three engagements. At the close of the war he returned safely to MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 215 his home and there continued to be engaged in farming until February 26, 1900, when he retired to Fletcher and here his death occurred March 16, 1909, when he was seventy years of age. He was a man of prominence in his community, accumulated a large property through industry and good management, and served as county appraiser and in other capacities. Mrs. Ralston, who survives him, lives at Fletcher with her unmarried children, Miss Vesta and Lee. Minnie, the eldest child, died when young, and Mary, the second in order of birth, is the wife of Justus Burnside, an agriculturist of Staunton township. Lee Ralston was educated in the public schools and engaged actively in farming until 1900, since when he has supervised the operation of his farms. He is the owner of about 134 acres of well-cultivated, highly-improved and productive land, which is devoted to general farming, and his sister, Vesta, owns 100 acres. He has a number of social, fraternal, including the Knights of Pythias, of which he is chancellor com- mander, business and civic connections, and has always discharged his responsibilities in a highly commendable manner. He is a Democrat. William A. Reed. Two generations of the Reed family have been engaged in the time-honored business of carriage painting at Covington, the present representative here being William A. Reed, a citizen of substantial worth and standing. Mr. Reed was born at Piqua, Ohio, January 26, 1873, a son of Elijah C. and Agnes B. (Croger) Reed. His father, a native of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, early adopted the vocation mentioned, which he followed from 1878 forward until the close of his active and honorable career, and was widely known in the vicinity of Piqua and Covington. He was a business man whose straightforward dealing won him confidence and esteem and a citizen who contributed in various ways to the development of the communities in which he resided. There were seven children in the family : William A. ; H. C., who is deceased ; Walter C., the proprietor of a carriage painting business at Piqua ; Hon. Bert A., a member of the probate bench in Idaho ; Clifford, who is identified with a ranching enterprise in Montana ; Lewis, who is deceased, and Florence, a resident of Columbus, Ohio. William A. Reed obtained his education in the public schools of Piqua, after leaving which he entered the establishment of his father, under whose teaching he learned the carriage business, later turning to automobile trimming and painting. He remained with the elder ,man as the latter's associate until 1905, at which time he entered upon an independent career, opening an establishment at Covington, which he has since enlarged and developed. He now controls an extensive trade and is accounted one of the substantial and reliable business men of his community, with a well-deserved reputation for veracity and integrity. Mr. Reed married Musetta, daughter of E. W. Hill, of Covington, and to this union there have been born four children : Josephine, born in 1898, who is single and resides with her parents ; Herbert, who is employed in the establishment of his father at Covington, and Elizabeth and Ernest, who 216 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY are still attending school. Mr. Reed has been a constructive citizen, interestingly active in all that pertains to the welfare of Covington, where he served for some years as a member of the city council. His patriotism was demonstrated during the World war period, when he was a liberal contributor to the various movements promoted to assure the success of American arms.. Warren F. Rhoades. Starting upon his independent career at the time he gained his majority, with few advantages save an ordinary district school education, Warren F. Rhoades has worked his way to the ownership of a farm of 170 acres and a place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens in Newberry township. Mr. Rhoades was born in this township, June 4, 1875, a son of Uriah and Dorothy (Routson) Rhoades, and a member of an old and honored family of Miami county, which was founded in Newberry township by his grandfather. Uriah Rhoades was also born in Newberry township, where he passed his .life as an agriculturist and was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens. He and his wife were the parents of six children : John Wesley, who is engaged in farming in Shelby county ; Ira, who is an agriculturist of Newberry township ; Jennie, the wife of Charles Fessler, of this township ; Fannie, the wife of George Finfrock, of Newberry township ; Mina, the wife of David Boserman, of Darke county, and Warren F. Warren F. Rhoades attended the school in the neighborhood of his father's farm in Newberry township, and as a young man engaged in agricultural pursuits on, his own account. Industry, close application and good management have combined to bring him into possession of 170 acres of valuable land, which he has put under an excellent state of cultivation, and upon which he has made numerous improvements of a modern character. Mr. Rhoades married, February 22, 1899, Jemima, daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Apple) Routson, of Newberry township, and to this union there have been born six children : Lowell, who married Pearl Fietance, and they have one child, Dorotha, and who is engaged in farming on his own account in Shelby county ; Ray, Sylvia, Selda and Florence, who live on the home farm with their parents, and Dorothy, who died in infancy. Mr. Rhoades is not an office-seeker, but as a man of intelligence and forethought he commands the esteem and good will of all who know him, and is recognized as one of his township's potent and upbuilding influences, and as a generous contributor to all worthy civic causes. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church. Augustus Lawton Richey, a prominent and capable business man of Piqua, where he is proprietor of a leading jewelry establishment, was born at Shelbyville, Ind., April 25, 1866, a son of M. F. and Julia Elizabeth (Benton) Richey. His father, a native of New Paris, Ohio, fought as a soldier during the Civil war, having been a member of the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He had come to Piqua in 186o, and after receiving his honorable discharge from the army re-engaged in the jewelry business at Piqua, continuing to be connected with this MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 217 enterprise until his death in 1901. He and his wife were the parents of four children : Charles B., Augustus Lawton, Robert and Walter W. After attending the public schools of Piqua, Augustus 'L. Richey studied photography for a time, but finally turned his attention to the jeweler's trade, which he mastered under the preceptorship of his father. Becoming his father's associate and partner, he continued with him until the elder man's death, when he succeeded to the ownership of the business. He has a modern establishment at No. 207 North Main street, where he carries an up-to-date line of jewelry, watches, etc., and controls a large and representative trade as a master of his vocation and a business man of the highest integrity. Mr. Richey is widely and favorably known not only in business but in social circles, and is treasurer of the Miami County Automobile Club. He is a Mason and belongs to the Knights. of Pythias, and he and Mrs. Richey are consistent members of the Presbyterian church. Both were active in all war activities during the period of the great struggle and were particularly generous in their support of the Red Cross Society. Mr. Richey married Blanche, daughter of the late Joseph Patterson, who was one of the prominent citizens of Piqua and at one time served as postmaster of the city. E. P. Riesenbeck. One of the energetic members of the younger business element at Piqua is E. P. Riesenbeck, proprietor of an electrical store at 121 West Ash street. He is a native son of Piqua and was born September 8, 1892, his parents being Alphonse and Margaret (Lechner) Riesenbeck. Mr. Riesenbeck was educated at St. Boniface school and as a youth applied himself to the electrical business as a student, subsequently -being employed by several Piqua establishments. Desiring to be independent of others, in 1915 he established himself in business on Ash street, west of his present location, and at first conducted a plumbing department in connection with his electrical store. The plumbing feature was later dispensed with and his activities are now confined to electrical contracting and wiring, with the sale of appliances, fixtures, etc. Mr. Riesenbeck is a capable business man of the highest integrity, whose training and equipment enable him to fulfill his contracts with the highest degree of efficiency and expedition, and whose workmanship testifies to his mastery of his vocation. He is a valued and popular member of the local lodges of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he and Mrs. Riesenbeck belong to St. Boniface Catholic Church. During the war period he was actively engaged in supporting the different war measures and in assisting in various ways to aid in the country's success. Mrs. Riesenbeck was formerly Miss Marie Ashburn, and is a .daughter of Clifford and Catherine Ashburn, of Lima, Ohio. Harry G. Rinehart. Among those who, while maintaining their business interests elsewhere, have had family connections in Miami county was the late Harry G. Rinehart. Mr. Rinehart belonged to an old family of Maryland, in which State he was born, Septem- 218 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY ber 4, 1864, and from which his uncle, Daniel Rinehart, went forth to serve as a Union soldier during the war between the states and rose to the rank of a captain. Harry G. Rinehart's people were for the greater part agriculturists, but he decided upon a different vocation, and after a course in Valparaiso University became an expert stenographer. This vocation caused him to be called to Chicago, where he was engaged in secretarial work with large concerns and prominent individuals for a number of years. His death occurred January 8, 1918. Mr. Rinehart was a man of kindly impulses and splendid character, and although he never sought public office, his personal interests being of a nature to preclude the idea of his engaging actively in politics, he always observed the rules of good citizenship and supported such worthy movements as were brought to his notice. He married, November 6, 1890, Martha, daughter of Rev. Isaac and Anna (Warner) Studebaker, of Miami county, and they became the parents of four children : Horace, deceased ; Frederick Grant, Eugene Frank and Grace Louise. Eugene F. Rinehart was a member of the United States Aviation corps during the World war, having trained at Waco, Tex., and later in England, and became inspector of aviation construction. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Rinehart has lived on the family farm in Elizabeth township, her pleasant home being situated on Casstown R. F. D. No. 1. Here she has a well-cultivated property, which is being operated by her sons under her supervision. Mrs. Rinehart is a woman of many accomplishments, and she and the members of her family are very highly esteemed in the community. Edward O. Ritter. The entire absence of competition in his line cannot account in full for the success which has attended the activities of Edward O. Ritter, proprietor of the only livery barn remaining at Troy, for Mr. Ritter is a man of sound business principles who has conducted his affairs in an able and judicious manner. He is a native of the city of which he. is now a resident, and was born in 1876, a son of Charles and Martha E. (Steinmetz) Ritter. There were six children in the family : W. H., Charles L., George S., Edward O., Mrs. Otto Smith and Mrs. John Heiser. Edward O. Ritter received a public school education and as a youth applied himself to learning the carriage trimming business with the Troy Carriage Company and the Troy Buggy Company. He also operated a bus for the transfer firm of Scobey & Vandiver and subsequently entered the livery business in partnership with F. E. Scobey, under the firm style of Scobey & Ritter, having an establishment on Cherry street, where the old creamery stood. This was quite a pretentious business, as the firm has sixty-five horses, but the business was sold to C. M. Smith. June io, 1904, Mr. Ritter embarked in business on his own account, renting from the county a barn in the rear of the county jail, where he started with four horses. This venture proved profitable, and in 1917 he removed, to his present location, on Jackson street, between Main and Water streets, a property which belonged to Joseph Barnett MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 219 and Harry Landis. This is now the only livery stable remaining in Troy and Mr. Ritter is doing a splendid business, having eleven livery horses and ten boarders. He is a man of sound integrity and very popular with his associates, while during the war period, as well as in normal times, he has always faithfully and fully discharged the full duties of citizenship. He is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he has numerous friends. Mr. Ritter married Elizabeth, daughter of Frank and Emma McDonald. Mrs. Ritter is a member of the Methodist church. J. Warren Safford, manager of the Troy Telephone Company, is one of the best-informed men in this line of business in the State. His experience has been broad and practical and has included personal contact with every phase of the industry. Born at Somerset, Perry County, Ohio, June 23, 1883, Mr. Safford is a son of George H. and Mary J. (Chilcote) Safford, and belongs to an old and honored Bay state family, which had its origin in England. His father came from Worcester, Mass., as a lad and made his home with an aunt, Mrs. Mary Manners, at Coshocton. While living at that place he met and married Mary J. Chilcote, following which they moved to Somerset, Ohio, where Mr. Safford engaged in the mercantile business. He was a practical tinsmith and followed that vocation in connection with the sale of hardware, and was known as one of the substantial business men of his city. He and Mrs. Safford were the parents of five children : J. Warren ; George, deceased, and Mrs. Otus Heiser, of Somerset, who grew to maturity, and two children who died in childhood. J. Warren received his education in the public schools of Somerset, and as a youth obtained his introduction to business affairs as a clerk in a general store. An opening offering in the Somerset Telephone Company, he secured a position with that new concern, which he assisted in establishing and of which he was later manager. From that point he went to Columbus, Ohio, and then entered the office of the company, in the traveling foreman's estimate and payroll department, for the division line foreman. Transferred to Nelsonville for a time, he later had charge of the Buchtel, Ohio, office, and was then given supervision over .the toll line including part of Perry, Hocking and Athens counties. In 1908, when he came to Troy as manager of the plant, there were 1,000 subscribers in the territory served by the Troy exchange. At the present time there are 2,30o telephones in use, which will give a fair estimate of how the business has grown here during the' period of Mr. Safford's administration of affairs. He is likewise prominent in civic affairs and can be depended upon to enter heartily into any movement which promises civic growth or betterment. In addition to being secretary of the telephone company, he is president of the Troy Rotary Club, and past secretary of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Few men were more active during the war period, when he was secretary of the Miami County Food Administration, local fuel administrator for the southern one-half of Perry county, chairman of the Red 220 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY Cross Society for Miami county and active in the work of accomplishing a full war chest. Mr. Safford married Bertha H., daughter of Charles Guerin, of New Lexington, Ohio, and to this union there has been born one daughter, Helen Marie. William Cook Rogers, president of the Piqua Handle and Manufacturing Company and one of the city's influential business men, is a native of the Empire State, having been born at Williamson, Wayne county, a son of William Hayward and Mary Caroline (Cook) Rogers. The Rogers family has been a noted one from the earliest period of American history, and this branch of the family, traces its ancestry directly back to the original progenitor, who came to this country with the other passengers on the Mayflower. William Cook Rogers graduated from high school at the age of seventeen years, following which he pursued a course in a business college at Philadelphia. Later, he became identified with the hardware business in the Quaker City, and on coming to Piqua established the W. C. Rogers Manufacturing Company. He later became associated with the Piqua Handle and Manufacturing Company, and the two concerns were subsequently merged, Mr. Rogers becoming vice-president. Later he succeeded to the presidency which he has since occupied, directing the affairs of this important enterprise in a manner that has greatly contributed to its success. Mr. Rogers has various other business connections and is president of the Munsing Woodenware Company, of Munsing, Mich., president of the United States Export Company, president of the Chapman - Sargent Company, secretary and treasurer of the French Oil Machine Company, a director of the Piqua National Bank, and vice-president of the National Association of Wood Turners. He is a vestryman of St. James Episcopal Church of Piqua and a member of the board of trustees of the local Young Men's Christian Association. During the war period he took a prominent part in the various war movements and has always been a generous contributor to all worthy civic causes. Mr. Rogers married Margaret, daughter of Robert Lansing and Margaret (Drake) Douglas, the father being the founder of the National Underwriters' Association. Mrs. Rogers is a woman of unusual literary gifts and is widely recognized in literary circles, being the author of several books which have met with exceptional favor at the hands of press and public. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rogers : Eleanor Margaret, who is a graduate of Oakhurst College, Cincinnati, and Ruth, who is attending 'Wellesley College. A more detailed statement of the history of the Piqua Handle and Manufacturing Company will be found in the industrial section of this work. Following is one of the best known of Mrs. Rogers' poems : RESURRECTION. They said that Hope was dead, and very deep They buried her, and made a heart her tomb, And Sorrow sealed it—set a watch to keep, So none might enter in that sacred room. MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 221 Then Sorrow turned, but closely at her side One, step for step, kept ever even pace; Till lifting tearful eyes, all deified, The risen Hope stood smiling in her face! Aye, when the Master conquered mortal clay Into a new, glad world Hope was re-born; Though buried oft, she smiles on each new day,— Each sunrise brings a Resurrection Morn. —Margaret Douglas Rogers. Hon. H. J. Ritter, a veteran of the Civil war, ex-State representative and ex-State senator, and a leading manufacturer of Tippecanoe City, was born at Reading, Pa., in 1848, a son of Israel and Amelia (Glase) Ritter. Mr. Ritter received his early education in the public schools of his native city, and was but little more than a lad when he entered the United States Signal corps, with which he saw service during the Civil war in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. When he had completed his service he returned to Reading and pursued a course in a business college, after which he engaged in the horse business, from which he transferred his activities to the oil business. Mr. Ritter continued in the latter line around Oil City and Titusville, Pa., for several years, then coming to Ohio, where he took charge of a large stock farm for Col. J. R. Woodward. This position indirectly led to his becoming a buyer for an important horse buying concern, which imported and bred horses, and for which he traveled in Great Britain, Germany, France and Belgium, in securing animals for his firm. He was the first purchaser from this country to buy Shetland ponies from the Shetland Islands, which he visited on his buying tour. When he returned to the United States, Mr. Ritter severed his connection with the horse business and entered manufacturing lines, in which he has been engaged with constantly growing success to the present time at Tippecanoe City. Mr. Ritter was elected to the Ohio legislature. in 1905 and served two terms in that body, during one session being chairman of the house finance committee. In 1918 he was elected State senator, as the only Civil war veteran serving in that body, and served as chairman of the senate finance committee: His work in both bodies was of a Highly constructive order and he conscientiously and ably conserved the interests of his state, county, community and constituency. Mr. Ritter married Ada L., daughter of Col. J. R. Woodward, his former employer. To this union there has been born one son, H. W., associated in business with his father, who married Miss Ruth Hayes, and has two children : Woodward and Bettie. During the period of the World war, Mr. Ritter was a member of all the local committees engaged in war work, and was chairman of the Red Cross and Young Men's Christian Association, for the latter of which he raised the sum of $3,000 from Tippecanoe City. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, and fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. 222 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY Frank C. Roberts, a highly esteemed resident of Troy, where he is engaged in business as an undertaker and funeral director, was born on a farm in Champaign county, Ohio, in 1861, a son of George W. and Diantha (Corbley) Roberts. George W. Roberts passed his life in agricultural pursuits in Champaign county, and he and his wife were the parents of nine children, all of whom are living : Frank C. ; Wilbur ; Mrs. J. W. Means, the wife of a practicing physician of Troy ; Mrs. Ida Guthrie, Mrs. W. L. Deaton, Mrs. Carrie Guthrie, Mrs. Elmer Suttzbaugh, Mrs. M. Bausman and Mrs. J. W. Heffner. Frank C. Roberts received his education in the public schools of Champaign county and was reared in a farming community, but did not find agricultural work congenial and accordingly decided to devote his energies to business life. To prepare himself he pursued a course at the Columbus Commercial College and then became a dry goods clerk. After several years he embarked in business on his own account as the proprietor of a furniture store and undertaking establishment, opening a place of business in 1893, in the public square, Troy, under the firm name of Shilling & Roberts. This association continued until 1912, at which time Mr.. Roberts engaged in the same line of business on his own account. In 1918 he disposed of his holdings in the furniture end of the business to Cappel & Wayne Company, retaining the undertaking business, which is one of the leaders in its line of Troy. He has a thoroughly modern establishment, with every facility for the careful and reverent handling of the dead, and his equipment includes an automobile hearse. During the many years that he has been engaged in business he has formed friendly connections with many of the leading families of Troy, in whose homes his tact and sympathetic perception have made him gratefully received during times of bereavement. During the war period he was an active worker in various activities, local and national, and served helpfully on a number of committees. He is prominent in Masonry, having attained to the thirty-second degree, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine of Dayton, and belongs to the Rotary Club and the Troy Club, in which he has numerous friends. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, where he is serving as a member of the board of trustees. Mr. Roberts married Mary E., daughter of Jesse Shilling, Sr., of Troy. Frank G. Rummell, D. D. S. Prominent among the professional men of Piqua who have contributed to the city's prestige as the home of men of learning and ability, is Frank G. Rummell, D. D. S. Doctor Rummell was born at Mansfield, Ohio, October 30, 1880, a son of Capt. J. P. and Eva R. (Redrup) Rummell. His father served in Company B, One Hundred and Twentieth regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and advanced to the rank of captain, -although enlisting as a private. Later he was transferred to Company D, One Hundred and Sixteenth regiment, and while serving therewith was captured by the enemy. He spent fourteen months in a prison at Tyler, Tex., (from which he escaped and was recaptured) and was then MIAMI COUNTY—BIOGRAPHICAL - 223 exchanged and rejoined his regiment. With a splendid war record, he was given his honorable discharge and located at Mansfield, where he founded the first suspender manufacturing company west of the Alleghenies, the Western Suspender Company, with which he continued to be identified until the time of his retirement. He and his wife then went to California, where his death occurred in 1920, Mrs. Rummell having passed away in the previous year. They were the parents of five sons and one daughter, of whom those living are : Dr. Frank G., of Piqua, and Fred R., of Ontario, Calif. Frank G. Rummell received his early education in the public schools of Mansfield, Ohio, and after his graduation from high school entered the Western Reserve University, Cleveland, where he applied himself to the study of dentistry. After receiving his degree he started practice at Piqua, in 1903, and here has built up a splendid practice, at present occupying well-appointed offices in the Ashton Building, 121 1/2 West Ash street. He is a close student of his calling, in which he enjoys a splendid reputation, and is a member of the Psi Omega Dental fraternity, National Dental Association., Northern Ohio Dental Association, Ohio State Dental Association, and the Dental Preparedness League. Doctor Rummell took an active part in the movements which assisted in carrying on the great war, having been a liberal contributor to the Red Cross and other enterprises. He holds membership in the Piqua Club and the Golf Club and is a Mason, and belongs to the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Rummell, who was formerly Miss Carolyn Houser, is a sister of Bond Houser, a resident of this county. William W. Sando, whose standing as a citizen of Miami county is very high and who has been intimately connected with the commercial growth and development of this locality for a number of years, is the proprietor of a flourishing tile mill at Bloomer. Mr. Sando was born on a farm in Monroe township, Darke county, Ohio, April 6, 1857, a son of Samuel and Celia (Hill) Sando. His father, who engaged in the timber industry and owned a sawmill, was held in high esteem in his community. He and his wife had ten children : 'William W., Sylvanus, Eulyases, who died when two years of age ; John, Mary, wife of W. W. Woods ; Judson, Warren, Rosella, and Russell, and a baby who died in infancy. John Sando had one son, Roy, who served in the United States Army Signal corps during the World war. William W. Sando was reared on the home farm in Darke county, where he acquired a public school education. As a youth he adopted the profession of school-teaching, which he followed for some five years in the rural districts, and then came to Bloomer, in 1880, and embarked in the sawmill business. Three years later he started his present tile mill, which he has since conducted with much success, although he continued the sawmill business until 1906, when he sold out. For two years he was also the proprietor of a general store at Bloomer, and made a success of all of his enterprises. In business circles Mr. Sando is well known as a man of sound integrity and straightforward deal- 224 - MEMOIRS OF THE MIAMI VALLEY ing, one who possesses the confidence of his associates and the general public. He has been industrious in his undertakings, making the most of his opportunities, but while his personal interests have been engrossing and important, he has found time also for community affairs, and has always discharged the duties of good citizenship in the fullest degree. He has not been a seeker for public office. Mr. Sando was united in marriage with Lucinda, daughter of Jacob and Rebecca (Hollinger) Hebb, and to this union there have been born three children : Iva, who is the wife of Hubert Smith, and Maude, the wife of Sherman Brubaker, both of Miami county, and a child who died at the age of sixteen months. Bernard B. Scarff, who is numbered among the progressive business citizens of Tippecanoe City, has been identified with several lines of commercial endeavor in this city, but since 1907 has devoted his attention to the hardware business conducted under the firm style of Scarff & Baldwin. Mr. Scarff was born on a farm in Clark county, Ohio, June 23, 1869, a son of William H. and Margaret (McKinley) Scarff. William H. Scarff was an Ohioan by birth and throughout his career followed the pursuits of farming with the exception of the period that he spent as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war. At the outbreak of the struggle between the North and the South, he enlisted in an Ohio contingent, as a 100-day man, and at the close of his term of enlistment re-enlisted in an Ohio volunteer infantry regiment, with which he fought faithfully and gallantly until the close of the war, four years later. He then returned to the peaceful pursuits of farming and rounded out his honorable career in Clark county, where his death was greatly mourned. There were four sons and two daughters in the family, those still surviving being: Nellie G., who is the wife of S. W. Baldwin, member of the firm of Scarff & Baldwin ; Clifford A., who is identified with the Troy Lumber Company, of Troy, Ohio, and Bernard B. Bernard B. Scarff acquired his educational training in the public schools of Clark county and grew up as a farmer's son. For a time he assisted his father in the work of the home property, then going to Missouri, where he was made manager of a large ranch and occupied that post for six years. Returning to Ohio, he spent the next four years in farming on his own account, after which he was foreman in the yards in the lumber business at Tippecanoe City. His experience therein was followed by his entrance into the Tippecanoe Building and Manufacturing Company, of which concern he was foreman of the lumber department for two and one-half years, and in 1907 he entered the hardware business when he bought his present place of business, which is conducted as Scarff & Baldwin, his partner being his brother-in-law, S. W. Baldwin. Under capable management this venture has been built up to important proportions and through his connection therewith Mr. Scarff has established the fact of his ability firmly in the minds of his associates, while at the same time impressing the buying public with his integrity. Mr. Scarff married Marion Augusta, daughter of P. W. Baldwin, of New Carlisle, Ohio. Mr.