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MIAMI TOWNSHIP.
GEORGE C. BARCALOW, farmer, P. O. Carlisle Station, Warren County, son of John and Nancy (Coon) Barcalow, was born in Madison Township, Butler County, Ohio, August 3, 1841. His grandfather, James B. Barcalow, settled in Butler County about 1800, where our subject's father was born, and his maternal grandparents settled in Warren County, Ohio. in 1795, where his mother was born. Of John and Nancy Barcalow's nine children, six are living, viz.: John C., Dirrick, Matilda, George C., Martha and William E. Our subject spent his boyhood days upon the farm, and when sixteen years old entered a select school, where he studied two years, subsequently spending one year at the Normal School of Lebanon, Ohio, which completed his education. He moved to Hull's Prairie, Wood County, Ohio, and engaged in the grain trade one year. Here he was married March 4, 1862, to Miss Olive Jones, daughter of A. and Sophia Jones, of Sandusky City, a native of Steuben County, N. Y. Her parents came to Ohio in 1851, and located on a farm east of Sandusky, thence removed to Put-in-Bay Island, where her father superintended the clearing of said island ; thence to Sandusky City, from where he removed to Chicago, Ill.; subsequently to Marengo, in the same State, from whence he went to Emporia, Kan., where he is engaged in cattle dealing, having a ranch of 900 acres. In April, 1862, Mr. Barcalow purchased his present farm, upon which he moved the same year, and which has since been his home, excepting a few months' residence in Chicago. They are the parents of two children, Minnie A. and Effie May, and are members of the Presbyterian Church at Carlisle Station, in which Mr. Barcalow has been Superintendent of the Sabbath school four years. When first settling on their farm they lived in the log cabin which had been built fifty years previously by Andrew Baird, but Mr. Barcalow, with his well-known energy, has erected other buildings and improved the farm generally, which now surrounds his happy home.
REV. W. A. BOWMAN, Lutheran minister, Carrollton, was born on the 29th of September, 1840, one mile south of New Reading, Perry Co., Ohio. His parents, George and Elizabeth Bowman, were devoted members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The subject of this sketch was baptized on the 30th of November, 1840, and in his youth enjoyed a common school education, extending from the year 1846 to 1856, the first
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two years in Bremen, Fairfield Co., Ohio, and the remainder in Hopewell Township, Perry Co., Ohio. During the years 1857-58, he attended three sessions at the Somerset Institute, Perry County, Ohio; under charge of C. Nourse, and from April to September, 1859, was engaged as teacher in District No. 1, Hopewell Township, Perry Co., Ohio. In the meantime his spiritual wants and desires were not neglected ; at the age of sixteen, he was received into full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Having an earnest desire to serve the Lord in the Gospel ministry, he entered upon a regular course of instruction at Capitol University, Columbus Ohio, beginning on his birthday, in the year 1859, and closing in the summer of 1865. His advancement in the studies of the several departments was in keeping with the other members of the class, excelling in mathematics, and excelled by but few in languages. At the commencement, in the year 1861, he opened the exercises by an address on the " Present Rebellion." At his college graduation in 1863, he delivered the valedictory, subject, " Value of Time," and at his graduation in the seminary, he delivered the English valedictory, subject, "The Study of' Theology." His ordination to the ministry took place at Germantown, Ohio, on the 23d of August, 1865, and he was installed by Rev. C. Albrecht, as pastor of Zion Church, Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, on the 1st of October, the same year. In addition to Zion Church, he has been serving other congregations. His present charge is known as the West Carrollton charge, embracing four congregations, all in Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. The charge is in connection with the English District Synod of the Joint Synod of Ohio. He has been laboring faithfully and unceasingly in this his first charge, during the past sixteen years. On the 28th of September, 1865, he was married to Amelia Ernestine Coutellies, who was born on the 5th of April, 1841, in Paris, France, and came to America in the year 1848 ; during her sojourn in Springfield, Ill., formed the acquaintance with a citizen who subsequently became the martyr President. Her father and brother, machinists, accompanied the train bearing the mortal remains of Lincoln from Columbus, Ohio, to Springfield, Ill. Three children were born to Rev. Bowman--Alfaretta E., in 1867, Amelia, in 1873, and Emma L,, in 1877. The second child departed this life in the year 1877. Three languages are spoken in the family--German, English and French.
M. S. BLOSSOM was born in Monmouth, Kennebec Co., Mc., in 1804. The family is of English extraction, three brothers of which settled in Barnstable, on Cape Cod, Mass. Mr. Blossom's grandfather, Josiah Blossom, was a seafaring man, commanding a whaler, and was a Captain in the continental army, in the war of 1776. sustaining wounds at the battle of Brandywine that disfigured him for life. In 1817, Mr. Blossom came with his parents to Ohio. The family traveled overland with teams until they reached the Monongahela, where they bought a flatboat and continued the journey by water. On the way, Mr. Blossom, then but thirteen years old, contracted small-pox. The boat was stopped, and the whole family vaccinated. Fifteen miles below Wheeling, at " Dille's Bottom," Mr. Blossom and his father, Ansel Blossom, disembarked, rented a cabin in the mountains, and remained six weeks, while the boat continued down the stream. Alone in the mountains, with this terrible malady, the faithful father watched, and prayed, and ministered to his son. Only once was he visited by a physician, Dr. Stanton, who rode twelve miles through the snow, and found the patient doing well. Father and son joined the family at Point Pleasant, where they remained one winter and then proceeded to Franklin, Warren County, where Mr. Blossom's father taught school, numbering with the subject of this article, as pupils, such prominent names as Robert Schenck, James Schenck, Lewis Campbell, and others. Mr, Blossom located in Miamisburg in 1827. There were then but two brick houses in the place, while many were built of logs in the primitive fashion of the day. At that time, the citizens of Miamisburg went to Centerville to vote, this being a part of Washington Township, and there were no railroads nor canals here. He engaged in the saddle and harness making business, occupying a room jointly with a tailor and a shoemaker. He served one term as Mayor of the town, and was for many years a member of the Board of Education. Born of a blood that throbbed with the boom of the sea,
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that flowed on Brandywine, toiling o'er the rocky soil, and inured to hardships along the rugged coast of Maine, the life of M. S, Blossom, with many dauntless spirits, is scarred into and inseparably linked forever with the early history of' Ohio. It is fitting, therefore, ere the mist of years, like the sod, shall hide, that these names and lives be gathered here,
ANTHONY BROWN, farmer, P. O. Miamisburg, was born in Schuylkill County, Penn., June 13, 1820. His parents were George and Elizabeth Brown, both natives of Pennsylvania, who emigrated to Ohio in 1822, settling in Greene County, where they resided till their decease. Our subject was educated in the common schools of that early period, but his principal education was got with the ax and grubbing hoe used in the clearing of the land for agricultural purposes. He married Miss Rebecca Lindenwood, daughter of John and Rosanna Lindenwood, who were natives of Virginia, in 1842, November 8. They resided in Greene County six years, when they removed to Montgomery County in 1848, where they have since resided. Their family consists of six children as follows, viz.: Rosanna E., born November 21, 1843 ; Rebecca A., April 26, 1845 ; Lydia A., November 13, 1847, died September 13, 1849 ; William, October 10, 1849 ; Leah F., born January 11, 1856 ; John A., June 13, 1858. Mr. Brown has a fine farm of 124 acres, finely located and well improved, two and one-quarter miles east of Miamisburg, on the Centerville Pike. Mr. Brown and wife are both members of the Reformed Church of Miamisburg.
GEORGE W. BYERS, farmer, P. O. Carlisle Station, Warren Co., was born December 23, 1832, on the old homestead farm, which lies three miles southeast of Miamisburg, Ohio. His father, Robert Byers, was a native of Ireland, near Belfast, and emigrated to America with his parents, locating in Pittsburgh, Penn. Here he became acquainted with Nancy Laughlin, a native of Belfast, Ireland, to whom he was married. The year prior to his marriage he made a trip to Ohio, and purchased the farm now owned by Nancy Byers, widow, and began the erection of a cabin, when he went back to Pittsburgh, was married, and with his young wife returned to Ohio, finished his house, and began clearing his land. They were the parents of seven children, of whom James L., Robert, Agnes J. and George W. are now living, and Alexander L., William J. and David B. are deceased. As the children grew to maturity, they began life's battles for themselves. Robert is now a miller in Olney, Ill.; James S., a broker in Leavenworth, Kan.; Agnes, now Mrs. David Marques, resides at Olatha, Kan.; George W. received his education in the district school, with the exception of one year he attended the academy at Monroe, Butler Co., Ohio. His occupation so far has been that of a farmer, at which he expects to continue. He was married October 27, 1857, to Miss Mary Ann Johnson, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Montfort) Johnson. She was born August 17, 1837, in Butler County, Ohio. Her father was a native of Kentucky. and her mother of Warren County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. George Byers have three children living, viz.: Henry L., William M. and Irene; and three dead, viz., Nettie May, Adda L. and Annie Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Byers are members of the Presbyterian Church at Carlisle Station ; Mr. B. has been one of the Trustees of said church some nine years. They moved to their present home (which is in the southwestern part of Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio), in 1868, where they own a well-improved farm of 118 acres of excellent land, and a pleasant home. David B. Byers, who died December 16, 1879, was born June 26, 1835. Was married October 17, 1866, to Mary E. Osborn, daughter of David and Eliza E. (Love) Osborn, who was born in Dayton December 28, 1839, where her father was a wholesale merchant for several years. Mrs. Byers had six children by this union, viz., Harriet, Nancy L., Erwin O., Ida R., Ella E. and Walter B.
NELSON CLARK (deceased) was born in New York State in the year 1801, and died at Miamisburg, Ohio, August 8, 1859. His father, with our subject when a child, removed to Indiana, settling on White River, where Nelson's boyhood days were spent, and there he learned the art of basket-making from his Indian playmates. About the age of twenty-one, he came to Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, and learned the trade of a gunsmith, the entire weapon being then made out of rough iron and
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steel by the gunmaker. In 1825, Mr. Clark located in Miamisburg, built the brick house at the head of Main street, where he resided and manufactured guns. He made the N. Clark rifle, an arm well and familiarly known throughout the West. He was a natural botanist, a practical chemist, an inventor, a musician, and a fair German scholar. In those early days, he had access to few books, but like Curran, " he read them well." In November, 1828, he married Sarah, daughter of Joseph Tapscott, the founder of the Jersey Settlement. Mrs. Clark had born to her two daughters--Anna S., the wife of Col. M. P. Nolan, of Dayton, and Elizabeth, who married the late John E. Kinder, of Miamisburg. Mrs. Clark died May 13, 1841, and her husband was again married, of which union five children survive.
SYLVANUS E. DERR, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville. was born in Frederick County, Md., June 18, 1842, and is the son of Jacob and Sophia (Gladhill) Derr, natives of Maryland, where his mother died April 15, 1860, and where his father now resides. Our subject is the eldest of eleven children--Sylvanus E., Mary, Ann M. (deceased), Ann R. J., Maria E., Sophia C., Jacob D., Sarah M., Amanda ML, Cyrus E., James M. and Martha E., who are scattered in different States of the Union. Sylvanus E. grew up in his native county attending the schools of the neighborhood, and, August 13, 1862, enlisted in the Seventh Maryland Volunteer Infantry, serving until the end of the war. He participated in the following battles: Haymarket Virginia, Wilderness, including the fights at Laurel Hill and Po River, Spottsylvania, Todd's Tavern, Spottsylvania Court House, Harris Farm, North Anna, including the fights at Jericho Mills, and North Anna River, Tolopotomy Creek, Bethseda Church, including the fights at Magnolia Swamp and Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, including the fights at Norfolk Railroad, Jerusalem Plank Road, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad. Peebles' farm, Chappel House, Hatcher's Run, Warren's raid on the Weldon Railroad, and the battle of Five Forks, ending with Lee's surrender at Appomattox, which he witnessed. After the war ended, he was mustered out at Washington, being present at the grand review, and was discharged at Baltimore, Md., May 9. 1865. He was married, February 11, 1866, to Amanda E. Summers, a native of Frederick County, Md., and daughter of Abraham and Catherine Summers of the same State, where her mother yet resides, her father dying many years ago. Of this union six children have been born--Jacob D. (deceased), Charles E., Laura V., Catherine A. M. (deceased), John L. and Ida F. In April, 1878, Mr. Derr came from Maryland to Ohio, and located in Miami Township, where he now resides. In politics, a Republican; he adheres to the new School Lutheran Church, and his wife to the Reformed denomination. Mr. Derr. although a newcomer to Ohio, feels a deep interest in the progress and development of his adopted county and State.
JOSEPH H. DRYDEN, JR., farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, was born in Van Buren Township, Montgomery County, February 3, 1837, His parents were Joseph H. and Nancy L. Dryden. Our subject was educated in the public schools of the county, and in 1856 took charge of his father's distillery, and continued in the business until abandonment of the business in 1863, since which time he has been engaged in farming. He married, April 7, 1859, Miss Harriet A. Miller, daughter of John and Elizabeth Miller, both natives of' Pennsylvania. Their family consists of seven children, viz.: Nancy Elizabeth, born August 14, 1860, married December 16, 1880. died January 24, 1881 ; Harriet A., April 17, 1862 ; Eveline J., May 16, 1864 ; Francis C., June 11, 1868 ; Willie, May 2, 1870, died May 18, 187 0 ; Joseph M., September 20, 1871 ; Emma J., October 8, 1874. Mr. Dryden was drafted in the army in the fall of' 1862, but was discharged at Camp Dennison October 13, 1862. He enlisted in Company A, Twelfth Regiment, Ohio National Guard. as a private, in July, 1863; was appointed Sergeant and was elected Captain September, 1865, and was discharged May 1, 1866, from the military service of the State of Ohio. They were called out in the one hundred days' service, and went to Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, serving about two weeks over their time.
JOHN T. DRYDEN, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, born in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, May 28, 1849. His parents were Joseph H. and Nancy
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L. Dryden. He was educated in the public schools of the county and the Miami Commercial College of Dayton. Ohio. He married Miss Charlotte E. Shuder, daughter of Daniel and Susan Shuder, October 3, 1872. Their family consists of four children, as follows : Susan C., born July 4, 1873 ; Joseph W., August 21, 1875, died December 21, 1876; Nancy V., born June 9, 1878; John L., January 2, 1881. Mr. Dryden and wife are members of the Zion Reformed Church, in Miami Township.
JOHN EAGLE, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, was born in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, December 15, 1815. His parents were Henry and Sarah Eagle, both natives of the State of Virginia, and emigrated to this county at a very early date in the settlement of this part of the country. Our subject received a limited education in the common schools of the township, his time being principally engaged in assisting his father in clearing up the land for farming on which he now resides. In the year 1839, in October, he married Miss Elizabeth Ulrich, daughter of Christian and Mary Ulrich, both natives of Pennsylvania." Their family consists of ten children; only five of whom are living, viz.: Mary, born February 5, 1840 ; Jacob, April 25. 1841, died February 20, 1842 ; Ephraim B., born August 30, 1842 ; Henry W., November 1, 1844, died July 9, 1861 ; Alfred C., born October 12, 1846; John B., December 27, 1848, died May 2, 1849 ; Louisa, born June 17, 1850, died May 9, 1861 ; Sarah A., born June 23, 1855, died May 22. 1861 ; John F., born November 9, 1859 Amanda, September 10, 1862, died June 14, 1881. Mr. Eagle and wife are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, known as St. John's Church, of Miami Township. They have a fine farm of 219 acres, in a good state of cultivation, and are well situated to enjoy the fruits of their labor the remainder of their lives.
ELIAS GEBHART, farmer, P. O. Miamisburg, was born in Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, August 9, 1817. His father, John Gebhart, and his mother, Christina Gebhart, were natives of Berks Co., Penn., where they grew to manhood and womanhood, and where they were married. In 1805, they moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, and settled on a farm about two miles southeast of Miamisburg. Mr. John Gebhart was a carpenter by trade, but devoted his time exclusively to farming after his arrival in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. G. were members of the Lutheran Church, and among the originators of the first organization of said denomination in their neighborhood. He died May 31, 1842, and she August 25, 1870. They were true followers of Christ, and were much respected by all who knew them. Of their nine children, but two survive--Jonathan and Elias. Elias learned the cooper trade, at which he worked until his marriage, and since then has followed farming. He was married March 22, 1840, to Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Christina (Hubler) Gebhart, who was born in Preble County, Ohio, June 20, 1822. Her mother died in 1850. The father is still living at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. G. have followed the teachings of their parents, and have been consistent members of the Lutheran Church since 1835, Mr. Gebhart serving officially in the church quite a number of years, filling the office of Deacon and Elder. Mr. G. financially is in very easy circumstances, having started a poor boy. Ile now owns 300 acres of land, besides a considerable amount of personal property.
JACOB A. GEPHART, farmer, P, O. Carrollton Station, was born in Jefferson Township, Montgomery County, July 10, 1839. His parents were John I. and Elizabeth Gephart, the father a native of Berks County, Penn., and the mother a native of Jefferson Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. The great-grandfather of our subject, on his mother's side, was one of the pioneers of this county. His father came to Ohio in 1827, when he was but nine years of age. Our subject was educated in the public schools of the county, but his education was quite limited. He married in the year 1860, April 5, to Miss Rebecca Strunk, of Shelby County, Ohio. She was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, December 23, 1839. The family consists of six children, three sons and three daughters, viz,: Minerva Ellen, born March 9, 1861 ; Sarah Elizabeth, February 8, 1864 ; Charles Franklin. September 17, 1866 ; John Calvin, July 25, 1869 ; Clara Aldora, January 23, 1872; Robert Marion, November 21, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Gephart and their eldest daughter are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Carrollton.
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Mr. Gephart has a well improved farm, and has been engaged in raising tobacco for thirty years, in which business he has been reasonably successful.
RICHARD M. GEBHART, farmer, P. O. Alexandersville, was born in Miami Township, September 22, 1846. His parents were John A. and Mary A. Gebhart, both natives of Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Montgomery County, and the Normal School at Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio. He was married, December 21, 1869, to Miss Katie G. Lamme, daughter of James and Susan Lamme, both natives of Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. Mr. Gebhart was elected Assessor of Van Buren Township, in the spring of 1879, and has held the office of Constable two years in Van Buren Township, and one year in Miami Township. Mr. Gebhart is a member of the Zion Reformed Church of the township.
DAVID HETZEL, retired manufacturer, Miamisburg. One by one those who saw this country as a wilderness, and have watched its transformation into the now well-improved farms, are passing away. Among the few who remain is our old and worthy citizen, David Hetzel, son of Peter and Catharine (Dumis) Hetzel, who was born in Berks County, Penn., May 4, 1806 ; came to Ohio with his parents in 1812, and settled on a farm in Miami Township. Peter Hetzel was a carpenter by trade, and after his settlement in Montgomery County, Ohio, carried on a manufactory of fanning mills, for cleaning wheat, etc. He also built handlooms and furniture. He died about 1863. Catharine died a few years before. They were the parents of five children, viz.: Catharine (deceased), Elizabeth, Godfrey (deceased ), David and Sarah. David learned the carpenter's trade with his father, and worked for him awhile in the shop, manufacturing the fanning mills, and while at work in his shop invented a sausage cutlet, which he afterward manufactured quite extensively. He also invented and built a velocipede for a crippled man, which enabled him to propel himself from place to place, Mr. David Hetzel was married April 29, 1830, to Miss Margaret Neibel, daughter of Jacob and Christina (Early) Neibel. They have had born unto them six children--Catherine (now Mrs. Jacob Wagoner), Jacob, Christina now Mrs. Benjamin Fornshell) Louise (now Mrs. Samuel Hager), Sarah (now Mrs. George W. Hubler), and Jeremiah. After a happy married life of' forty-eight years. Mr. Hetzel was called to mourn the death of his beloved wife September 18, 1878. Mr. Hetzel was one of the Trustees of Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, nine successive years. He retired from active labor in 187U, and since then has occupied his time in looking after his farm, conversing with old friends, and doing odd jobs, as beat suits him. Since his retirement from business, his son, Jacob, and son-in-law, Mr. Hager, have carried on the sawmill and the manufacture of the sausage machines.
FISHER N. McCREIGHT, grocer, Miamisburg, son of William and Elizabeth (Patton) McCreight, was born in Adams County, Ohio, October 16, 1848. His father died in the fall of 1850, when the care of their five children devolved upon the mother. In 1865, she sold their farm in Adams County, and moved to Montgomery County and rented the farm which now forms a part of the " Soldiers' Home, then owned by John C. Cole. In 1867, they removed to Miami Township, in this county, on a farm, and thence to Miamisburg, where she still resides ; she is now in her seventy-second year. In 1868, Fisher entered the store of Beachler & Werts as clerk, with whom he remained three years, and then with Hoff & Son two years. At this time, November 13, 1873, he married Miss Amanda Shupert, daughter of George and Mary Shupert. Mr. Shupert is one of the leading capitalists of Miamisburg, also one of' the leading grain merchants of the town, and whose parents were among the earliest settlers of Miami Township. In 1874, Mr. McCreight engaged in the grocery trade with Peter M. Gebhart, and in 1875 Mr. Gebhart sold his interest to Mr. Shupert. In 1879. Mr. McCreight took (sole charge of the store, at which occupation he is still engaged, keeping a full line of first-class family groceries. He is a member in good standing and a Past Grand of Marion Lodge, No. 18, and a Patriarch of Miamisburg Encampment, No. 82, I. O. O. F. He was a member of the Town Council during the years 1879 and 1880. Although a young man, yet he is a thorough and reliable business man, being honorable and upright in all his transactions. Mr. and Mrs. McCreight have two children.
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LEWIS MEASE, farmer, P. O. Miamisburg, was born April 18, 1822, in a log cabin which stood on the site of his present residence. His father, Lewis T., was a native of Dauphin County, Penn., and was raised upon a farm, but also learned the trade of a wagon-maker. He enlisted in the war of 1812, but the struggle closed soon after, and he was discharged. In 1817, he came on horseback to Ohio and purchased the farm where our subject now lives. He passed about two years in clearing and improving the same. In the winter of 1818-19, he returned to Pennsylvania, where he married Mary Zehring, whom he brought West to his new home in Ohio. Three of their children are living, viz.: Lewis, Levi W. and Samuel, the latter being a minister of the Reformed Church, of which denomination his father was a leading member, dying in that faith November 20, 1856, his wife surviving him many years and dying May 7, 1880. Our subject has always resided on the home farm, and was married September 27, 1849, to Sarah A. Dubbs, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Diet) Dubbs, who was born near Philadelphia, Penn., February 6, 1828. They have had seven children ; five living--Dora C., Florence E., Agnes V., Mary C. and Ira A. The deceased are Daniel N. and Cora C. Mr. Mease taught school from 1841 to 1849 ; served as Township Trustee some ten years; as School Director eighteen consecutive years, and served as Township Superintendent of Schools three years. He is one of the charter members of the Trinity Chapter, A., F & A. M., and he and wife have been members of the Reformed Church since 1840, in which he has held offices since that date. He was also one of the organizers of the Miamisburg Cemetery Association. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Mease has over taken an active interest in the progress and development of his native township. where his entire life has been passed.
ISAAC MOSES, farmer, P. O. Carlisle Station, Warren County, is the son of John B. and Catharine (Koontz) Moses, who were the parents of four children, viz.: Nancy, Levi, Robert and Isaac, of whom the latter is the only survivor. He was born in Augusta County. Va., February 27, 1802 ; worked at home until twenty-one years of age, and was married May 29, 1822, to Catherine Early, born in Augusta County, Va., November 25, 1803, and daughter of John and Christina Early. Isaac's mother was the widow of George Underwood, by whom she had one child, John C., when John B. Moses married her. In 1823, Robert Moses and John C. Underwood, with their families, came to Ohio and settled near Germantown, Montgomery County, the former on a firm and the latter erecting the mill now owned by James Hankinson. In 1825, our subject, with his wife. father, mother and grandfather, also came to German Township, where the mother died in 1830, and the grandfather in 1833. The father subsequently married Mrs. Nancy (Hall) Clark, and dying in Germantown in 1856. In the spring of 1821, Isaac returned with his wife to Virginia, remaining there until 1829, when he again came to Ohio and located in Warren County, where he lived until 1869, when he sold his farm and purchased his present home in Miami Township. They have had eight children--John C,, Nancy J., Mary B, and Ellen S.. living, and Hiram, Benjamin, Isaac R. and Catherine, deceased. In 1830, Mr. Moses brought his wife's parents to Ohio, who settled in Preble County, a few years afterward moving to Miami Township, where Mr. Early died in 1855, and his widow a few years subsequently. We might here say that she was not the mother of Mrs. Moses, her mother having died when she was bat fifteen years old, and her father marrying Magdalena Birely, who came with him to this State. Mr. Moses has been a member of the Baptist Church since 1826, and his wife since 1840, and have ever tried to do unto others as they would wish that men should do unto them.
WILLIAM NEIBEL, farmer, P. O. Dayton, was born in Rockingham County, Va., May 17, 1805. His parents were John and Elizabeth Neibel. Mr. Neible was a native of Pennsylvania, and removed to Virginia when he was twenty-two years of age, where he was married the following year, and remained until 1810. In the spring of that year. he visited the State of Ohio, with a view to emigrate with his family, if he was pleased with the country. He made the trip on horseback, and in the fall started with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, in a wagon. When only two days journey from their starting-place they met with a serious accident; the wagon
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was overturned and one son was killed. The bereaved parents buried this child and continued their journey for their future home in Ohio, where they landed in Miami Township in October, 1810. He resided in this township until the death of his wife, which occurred May 27, 1847, when he removed to Indiana ; built and ran a sawmill for several years, when he returned to his old home, in Miami Township, where he departed this life December 22, 1855. Our subject was educated in the common schools of the neighborhood. The first schoolhouse built in the district was in 1822, but school had been kept at different times in an old log cabin, and in a building formerly used as a tannery. He married Miss Susan Hamaker, daughter of Daniel and Frances Hamaker, natives of Pennsylvania (March 8, 1832). Their family consists of eight children as follows, viz.: John Elliot, born August 5, 1833. died May 10, 1863 ; Daniel W., June 12, 1836 ; David L., August 28, 1838 ; Susan E., May 19, 1840 ; Mary C., March 18, 1843 ; Joseph H. D., May 4, 1845, and two died in infancy. Mr. Neibel and wife are members of the Zion Reformed Church, and he has been an elder in the church a number of years. Mr. Neibel was elected Justice of the Peace, and served one term of three years. He has always taken an interest in education, and held the office of School Director for many years. He has a fine farm of 172 acres under a high state of cultivation, and grain and tobacco are the principle crops raised.
GEORGE PEASE, deceased, was a native of Suffield, Conn.. born November 25, 1798. He received a good education, and in his earlier years, followed the profession of a teacher, and in 1825, emigrated to Ohio, coming over the mountains in a stage to Pittsburgh, Penn., at which point he and a companion purchased a canoe and floated down the river to Cincinnati, arriving there late in October. When he got to Cincinnati, his whole capital was $5, and he there spent the winter with his brother Horace, who was engaged in business at that point. In the early spring of 1826, he came to Miami Township and stopped with his brother Perry, who was running a distillery at a point called Lamme's Mills. He was married, August 23, 1831, to Ellen Wheatley, to whom were born four children, viz,: Mary D. (deceased), Mindwell (deceased), Gamaliel and Ellen. His wife died November 16, 1839, and he was again married, April 6, 1841, to Mary A. Lamme, daughter of David Lamme, one of the pioneers of the Miami Valley. Of this union three children were born, as follows : Horace L., David W. and Harriet. At the opening of the canal, Perry Pease moved to Carrollton and built a mill, George taking charge of the old distillery, but shortly after he also removed to Carrollton, where he engaged with his brothers, Horace and Perry, and took charge of the office, in which capacity he was employed until 1848. when he retired from the mills, purchased a comfortable home and engaged in outside business. He was for many years Treasurer and General Manager of the Great Miami Turnpike Company, but in 1868, retired from active business to live quietly at his comfortable home, in the enjoyment and companionship of wife and family. Thus some seven years were passed when death again visited his happy fireside, taking from him his loving wife, who died August 30, 1875. He survived her until February 23, 1880, when he too passed away, leaving a name and record bright with good deeds. He became a Mason in April, 1822, joining Appollo Lodge, of Suffield, Conn., in that year, and at the time of his death was an honored member of Minerva Lodge, No. 98, at Miamisburg. by which the funeral services were conducted. He was also one of the organizers of' the Presbyterian Church of Carrollton, and at his decease one of its oldest members. Politically, Mr. Pease was always a Whig and Republican, and, although interested in politics and in early life an earnest worker for his party, he never held nor desired official position. Mr. Pease, through all his years of business, was a man of sterling integrity, whose word was ever as good as his bond, and he died respected and honored by the entire community in which he spent such a long and useful life.
ALFRED PEASE, deceased, was born May 26, 1793. His parents were Seth and Bathsheba Pease. Seth Pease was a distinguished mathematician, and a man of prominence, having been Surveyor General. He surveyed the Western Reserve in Ohio, also did important work in the survey of the Mississippi
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River. He was born January 9, 1764, and died September 1, 1819. Alfred Pease removed from Suffield, Conn., where he was born, to Washington City, with his parents, in the year 1810, where he engaged in the business of steamboating until he came to Hole's Creek, Montgomery County, in the year 1831. He was one of the firm that built the flouring-mill now used as a paper-mill at Carrollton, in which he had an interest for several years. He married Amelia Lowry, daughter of Robert and Margaret Lowry, of Washington City, January 19, 1820. The family consists of seven children, as follows: Lucy, born October 14, 1820, died September 20, 1869 ; Hannah, born December 15, 1821 ; Seth, February 23, 1824, died, December 16, 1869 ; James Alfred, born November 16, 1825, died September, 1828 ; Alfred, October 16, 1828, died August 30, 1838; Elizabeth, born June 8, 1832; and one son died in infancy unnamed. Mr. Pease was widely and favorably known, and was highly esteemed for his many virtues and sterling worth. He died October 25, 1870, and thus a wife lost a devoted husband, and his children a kind and gentle father. His wife is still living at the advanced age of eighty-five years, being born March 3, 1796, and enjoys good health and is in possession of all her faculties.
GAMALIEL PEASE, farmer, P. O. West Carrollton, was born in Miami Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio, May 31, 1837. His parents were George and Ellen Pease. He was educated in the public schools of this county and the " Miami Valley Institute," located in Miami City. In the year 1850, he went to Dayton and learned the trade of iron molder, at which business he continued till 1857. From that time to 1861, he was employed farming and working in the distillery of his uncle, Perry Pease. In 1861, December 14, he enlisted in the Sixty-ninth Regiment Ohio Infantry, participating in the battles at Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Mission Ridge. In 1864, he was transferred to the recruiting service, in which service he remained till the close of the war. While in this service, he visited nearly all the principal cities of the United States, both East and West. He was discharged February 14, 1865, having been in continuous service over three years. In 1869, March 18, he married Miss Mary Leisz, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Leisz, the father being a native of Germany and the mother of Pennsylvania. Their family consists of three children, as follows, viz.: Oscar M., born April 16, 1870 ; Jennie G-,, August 31, 1871 ; George, September 27, 1876. Mr. Pease has made the cultivation of' tobacco his principal business for several years.
DAVID W. PEASE, station agent and operator, West Carrollton, was born September 22, 1846. His parents were George and Mary A. Pease. He was educated in the public schools of Montgomery County, and also a graduate of the Miami Commercial College of Dayton, Ohio. He married, July 28, 1870. Miss Annie E. Lecompte, and their family consists of four children, viz.: Harry L., born July 13, 1871 ; George S., March 13, 1873 ; Louis D., December 6, 1875, and William B., July 7, 1880. Mr. Pease is employed by the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad Co., as station agent and operator at Carrollton, Montgomery County, Ohio, where he has been since the road was built in 1872. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. also Trustee of the same. He also was Postmaster four years at Carrollton during the first administration of President Grant, which office he resigned to accept the position he now holds. He is a member of Minerva Lodge, No. 98, A., F. & A. M., at Miamisburg, having been made a Mason October 16, 1867. He is also a member of Trinity Chapter No. 44, since 1868. Also a member of Reed Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 6, of Dayton, since September 6, 1869, at which time he was the youngest member of nearly three hundred members. He is also a member of Marion Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 18, since September 19, 1869.
OLIVER W. PEASE (deceased) was born in Henry County, Va., November 4, 1824, and emigrated to Ohio with his parents in 1832, locating in Montgomery County, where they lived continuously until the time of their decease. Our .subject was educated in the common schools of the county, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life. Mr. Pease was married, October 26, 1852, to Isabella Dodds, daughter of James and Mary Dodds. Mr. Dodds was a native of Ohio, and his wife
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a native of Virginia. Mrs. Pease was born November 8, 1825 ; Mr. Pease died September 24, 1878. He was a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio National Guards, serving four months. Their family consists of three children, two sons and a daughter; J. Edward, the eldest, was born August 31, 1853 ; Fannie E. was born October 6, 1857 ; and Harry D., who was born July 6, 1859. Mrs. Pease resides on the old homestead with her children.
HENRY C. SCHUBERTH, dealer in leaf tobacco, Miamisburg. was born June 7, 1848, in Wandsbeck, near Hamburg, Germany. Emigrated to America with his parents in 1852. He came to Miamisburg, Montgomery Co,, Ohio, in 1865, and began work at $5 per month for his cousin, C. H. Spitzner, who was connected with the firm of Bunzl & Dormitzer, of New York City, who are extensive tobacco dealers, By a close application to business, and his honorable and upright manner, won for Henry the confidence of the above-named firm ; hence, in 1873, when Mr. Spitzner removed to New York, Mr. Schuberth was given charge of the business at Miamisburg, Ohio, that of purchasing tobacco on joint account with said firm. Their trade at this place amounts to several millions of pounds yearly. Mr. Henry C. Schuberth was married, September 29, 1870, to Miss Sarah O. Shultz, daughter of the Hon. Emanuel and Sarah Shultz They have three children--Clifford M., Mary and Shultz Schuberth. After landing in America, and before coming to Miamisburg, Mr. Schuberth spent his time in Allegheny City, Penn., and Cincinnati, Ohio, clerking. In Masonry, he ranks as a Master Mason, e is a member of Marion Lodge, No. 18, also a Patriarch of Miamsburg Encampment, No. 82, I. O. O. F. Since his sojourn in Miamisburg, he has won many friends both in business and social circles.
HON. EMANUEL SHULTZ, manufacturer and member of Congress, Miamisburg, was born in Berkshire County, Penn., July 25, 1819. His parents, George and Mary (Vinyard) Shultz, were also natives of that State, and his grandfather, Frederick Shultz, was from Hesse-Cassel, Germany, coming to America sometime in the last century. Emanuel received a common-school education up to the age of eleven years, when, in consequence of his father's death, he was compelled to leave school and depend on diligent study and self-teaching. In boyhood, he learned the trade of shoemaking, and in 1838 came to Ohio, settling at Miamisburg, Montgomery County, where he established and for about eight years was engaged in the hoot and shoe business. At the end of this period he changed his vocation to that of a trader in general produce, and continued to be one of the largest and most successful operators in that branch of commerce in the Miami Valley. He soon took a leading place in the establishment, organization and development of all the prominent enterprises of Miamisburg. In 1865, he was one of the originators of the private bank of H. Groby & Co., and the principal projector of the Miami Valley Paper Company, which, in connection with Dr. William H. Manning, he organized in 1871, and in which he is a stockholder and Director. Both of these institutions are largely indebted to Mr. Shultz for their success and present strong financial position, his sound, shrewd, business judgment having rendered them panic proof, and above the consequences of business depression. Mr. Shultz has also been an extensive tobacco dealer since 1853, and has, therefore, done much toward encouraging the growth of this important staple of the commercial world. He was married, July 23, 1840, to Miss Sarah Beck, of Miamisburg, of' which union three daughters were born, viz., Mary A., the wife of Dr. William H. Manning ; Amanda M., wife of A. T. Whittich ; and Sarah O. Letta, wife of H. C. Schuberth, all of Miamisburg. Mr. Shultz is a member of the Lutheran Church, and has been a Mason since 1844, in which fraternity he takes a deep and active interest. He has held many minor offices in Montgomery County, and in 1875 was elected to the Legislature, but was not a candidate for re-election. In 1873, he was a member of the convention that revised the State Constitution. In October, 1880, he was elected to Congress, from the Fourth District of Ohio, which position of trust and honor he is now filling. He was one of the organizers of the Lima Car Works. in which he is a stockholder, and also Vice President of' the company. Few men are possessed of a more genial temperament, or endowed with such a faculty of winning friends as Capt:
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Shultz. Of quick perception, he reads at a glance the character of those with whom he comes in contact ; a ready conversationalist, he is never at a loss for a fitting subject to suit the occasion ; free, off-handed and courteous, he is withal dignified and earnest ; a representative man in the practical affairs of everyday life and business, of excellent judgment and clear discrimination, he is altogether one of the most useful members in the present House of Congress.
JOHN H. THOMPSON, farmer, P. O. Carlisle Station, Warren County, was born in Monmouth County, N. J., September 3, 1831; is a son of Samuel A. and Jane (Smock) Thompson. They came to Ohio in 1835, and settled in Butler County, where they lived two years, when they removed to Montgomery County, and located on the farm where our subject now resides. His father enlisted in 1862, in the Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served three years, when he re-enlisted and served to the end of the war. He died in 1865. The mother still survives. Their family consisted of nine children, viz. : Margaret (now deceased), John H., George S., Samuel L., Isaac S., Jacob, Joseph, Theodore F. and Sarah Jane (now deceased). Samuel and Jacob served in the first three months' service during the late rebellion, in the First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and at the end of said term Jacob re-enlisted and Joseph enlisted for three years, both in the Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Jacob rose from the rank of private to that of First Lieutenant and was breveted Sergeant Major for bravery. He was wounded at the battle of Chattanooga, Tenn., and died from the effects of said wounds in 1863. In 1862, Isaac enlisted in the Ninety-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served three years ; was wounded three different times. Nobly did this family answer their country's call for men to preserve the Union. John H. was married December 27, 1854, to Mary Ann Craig, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Schenk) Craig. She was born in Monmouth County, N. J., March 5, 1831, came to Ohio with her parents in 1839, and settled some thirty miles north of Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. John H. Thompson have one child--Rulef C. Thompson. Mr. T. has always followed farming, preferring that to any other occupation in life. He is one of the leading farmers of Miami Township. Isaac resides at present in New Jersey ; George, in Missouri ; Joseph, in Bloomington, Ill.; Samuel, in Darke County, Ohio, and Theodore in Montgomery County, Ohio.
DR. JOHN TREON, retired physician, Miamisburg. Of the pioneer medical men of Montgomery County, but few are left to tell of the trials and hardships of the early days, nearly all having long since been laid beneath the sod ; but in the gentleman whose name heads this sketch we find the oldest living physician of the Miami Valley, one who practiced his profession in this county from 1811 up to 1872, in fact, we might almost say from the first settlement to the present time. He was born in the town of Hamburg, Berks County, Penn., March 25, 1791, and is the son of Dr. Michael and Elizabeth (Selzer) Treon. When John was fourteen years old he began reading medicine in his father's office, afterward reading under the tutorship of Dr. De Weiss, one of the most prominent physicians of Philadelphia. In 1811, he, with his uncle, Peter Treon, started from Pennsylvania for Ohio, reaching the present site of Miamisburg October 3, of that year, traveling the entire distance on horseback. The Doctor served nine months as Surgeon in the war of 1812, and assisted in setting up the first picket of the fort built by Gen. Hull, at Greenville, Ohio. Upon arriving in Ohio, he was the possessor of 37 1/2 cents in money and a horse, on which he owed $50, but fortune favored him and he was soon able to join with his uncle, Peter, in purchasing 140 acres of land at 810 per acre, upon which they laid out a part of the present town of Miamisburg, in 1818. Dr. Treon's practice extended to a circuit of seventy miles, and was so extensive that he was compelled to keep horses stationed at different points in order to visit his patients, as one horse could not stand the long trips he made each day. He was married, November 13, 1818, to Miss Eve Weimer, who died May 20, 1873, after a happy and prosperous union of fifty-four years. Dr. Treon married for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Black, widow of Hezekiah Black and daughter of George and Elizabeth Weaver. Beginning in life a poor man, Dr. Treon has made a wonderful success, and although by trying to build up the manufacturing interests o f
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Montgomery County he lost about $120,000, he is yet worth over $100,000, all the legitimate result of his unremitting toil and business sagacity, coupled with steady habits and well-ordered economy. Besides being well versed in the English language, he can both read, write and converse in French and German, and has frequently contributed articles to the medical journals. He has been a man of wonderful endurance and possessed of a powerful constitution, and now in his ninety-first year, although feeble, retains much of his mental vigor. When eighty-five years old, he amputated a leg for a patient and even yet he is sometimes professionally consulted, though long since retired from active practice. Politically, he was a Whig, and afterward a Republican, and says he has never missed casting his vote for President from 1812 to 1880, a period of nearly seventy years. He has been a Mason nearly all his life, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church since 1808, giving liberally of his time. labor and money to the upbuilding of the church and the spread of the Gospel,
WILLIAM TURNER, farmer, P. O. West Carrollton, was born in Mifflin County, Penn.. April 17, 1820. His parents were John and Margaret Turner, both natives of Mifflin County, Penn., and removed to Ohio in 1820, making the journey by wagon, and landing at West Liberty, in Jefferson Township, in this county. August 7, 1820. John Turner was one of the representative wen of the county in that early day. In 1824, he was elected to the Legislature of this State, and. in 1826, moved to Union, Randolph Township, and, in the fall of 1829, was again elected to the Legislature. In 1831, he moved to Salem, and while there was appointed one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1840, he moved to White County, Ind., and, in 1834, returned to Ohio, settling in Greenville, Parke County. He returned to Salem after the death of his wife, where he again married. He died in October, 1866, at the age of seventy-seven years and seven months, thus ending a busy and useful life. The subject of this sketch went with his father to Indiana in 1840 and assisted in making a farm for his father ; then entered the land for a farm for himself, where he remained until 1853, when he moved to Greenville, Parke County, and engaged in milling and distilling with his brothers, H. M. and J. M. Turner, where he continued until 1865, when he returned to Montgomery County. locating at Carrollton. where he now resides. He married, September 14, 1843, at Monticello, White Co.. Ind,. Miss Susanna James, daughter of Richard and Mary James, by whom he had seven children --Mary Margaret, born August 17, 1844; John M.. February 1, 1847 ; Nancy. October 9, 1849 ; Sarah Cornelia, October 7, 1852 ; William Edgar, born June 15. 1855, died January 28, 1857 ; Franklin Pulman, born February 7, 1858, died March 12, 861 ; Louisa V., born August 14, 1863. His wife died May 5, 1878. He was married again, December 30, 1880, to Miss Katie Conley, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Conley, both deceased. Mr. Turner has been an active member of society all his life, and is still actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has one of the finest residences in the township.
SAMUEL M. UMBENHAUER, tobacco buyer and Township Treasurer, Miamisburg, son of Henry and Nellie (Miller) Umbenhauer; was born at Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1836. He came to Montgomery County, Ohio, with his parents in the fall of 1852. The parents bought and located on the John Tobias farm in Miami Township, where they still reside, and Samuel began as clerk in a store in Miamisburg, which he followed eight or nine years. In 1868. he engaged in the enterprise of buying and selling leaf tobacco. and is connected with the firm of Havemeyers & Vigelius, of New York City. They handle some two million pounds at this point. Mr. Samuel M. Umbenhauer and Miss Annie E. Wallace were united in marriage July 4, 1856. She is the daughter of William and Elizabeth Wallace, of Columbus, Ohio, who were both natives of London, England. Of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Umbenhauer's four children, but two are now living--Allie J. and Bertha M. ; Charles F. and Ida L., deceased. Mr. Umbenhauer is regarded as one of the honorable, upright young business men of Miamisburg. He was elected Treasurer of Miami Township in 1880, and having performed the duties of said office so satisfactorily. He was re-elected in 1881 on the Republican ticket.
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GEORGE W. WEAVER, merchant, Miamisburg. The grandfather of this gentleman was Jacob Weaver, a native of Pennsylvania, who there married Margaret Gebhart of that State, and, in 1804, came to Ohio, entering a tract of land on Little Bear Creek in Jefferson Township, Montgomery County. They had a family of ten children, but two of whom are now living, and as each child grew to maturity, the father presented them with a farm, Philip, the father of our subject, receiving a farm lying one mile west of Miamisburg, which is yet owned by his heirs. Philip married Magdalena Gebhart, a daughter of George and Elizabeth Gebhart, who came to this county from Pennsylvania in 1805, and by this union was the father of fifteen children, of whom our subject was the third oldest. Philip was an industrious, temperate Christian man, and died July 12, 1851, his wife surviving him thirty years, and dying in November, 1881, after a worthy Christian life of nearly eighty-one years. George W. was born on the old homestead September 27, 1824, and worked at home until twenty-one years old, when, with the small amount of $8, and $150 which he borrowed, he purchased a stock of groceries and opened a store on North Main street, Miamisburg, Ohio, where, by close application to business and an invincible determination to succeed, he rose step by step until, to-day, he ranks among the wealthy men of his native township. He was married, October 8, 1845, to Rebecca Rowe, daughter of Henry and Sarah (Squires) Rowe, who was born in Warren County. Ohio, October 22, 1827. They have had eight children Sarah M., Eliza E., George C., Mary Ann L,, Emma C., Charles E., Louisa J. and Harry C. He and wife have been members of the Reformed Church for the past twenty-five years, in which organization he has been Deacon, Treasurer and Trustee. Mr. Weaver carries the largest stock of goods of any house in Miamisburg, and is recognized as a man of integrity and honor in all his dealings, a man who is ever alive to the spirit and progress of this enlightened age.
JACOB ZIMMER, tobacco buyer, Miamisburg, was born in Bettenhausen, a village in Rhine Bavaria, Germany, September 3, 1815. His father having died in 1825, his mother, with a younger brother, in company with another family of seven persons, in November, 1827, left their native land, descending the Rhine from Bingen to a village near Rotterdam, where a merchant vessel awaited them. In January, 1828, they left the Netherlands and landed at Baltimore, Md., in March, from where they moved to Hagerstown, Washington County. In 1836, Mr. Zimmer came to Miamisburg, where he has since resided. He was married in 1839, to Mary M. Klinck, who bore him seven children--Eliza J., Mary L., Amelia M., George C., J. Charles, Otto M. and Henry E , all of whom are living, except Otto M., who died in 1861. His wife died in 1873, and, in 1876, he married Mary T. Emerick. From 1843 to 1853. he was engaged in the hotel business in the building now known as the Miami House, where the Canal Packet line and mail stage lines were quartered until the completion of the railroad. In 1848, he commenced the cultivation of the grape, which he continued until 1873, the vineyard being located on land west of the town and surrounding his present residence. The undertaking was successful for a number of years, but the northern part of the State proving better adapted to grape culture; the cultivation of the same on a large scale was generally abandoned in Southern Ohio. In 1852, Mr. Zimmer was elected County Auditor and served in that capacity two years. He was a member of the school board that built the first of a series of houses on the present site. and a member of the Council several years; was also one of the originators of the Miamisburg Cemetery Association," of which he Was first President, and is at present filling the same position. When the Miamisburg and Carrolton Hydraulic Company was organized, he was chosen as one of the Board of Directors, and was re-elected every year until the company was merged into its present ownership. In 1856, he assumed the agency of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company at Miamisburg, serving in that capacity over twenty consecutive years. Himself and brother are the only survivors of those who crossed the ocean with them in 1828. For several years Mr. Zimmer has been engaged in buying tobacco, and is intimately known throughout his vicinity as a man of progressive views and wide experience on general affairs. Politically, he was a Whig in early life, after which he joined the Re-
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publican party with which he yet affiliates. He is a member of the Reformed Church, a good citizen and worthy gentleman.
JOHN A. ZIMMERMAN, farmer, P. O. West Carrollton, was born in Germantown, Montgomery Co., Ohio, February 1, 1837. His parents were John and Mary Zimmerman ; his father was a native of Maryland, and his mother a native of Van Buren Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. He came to Ohio about the year 1821, settling in Germantown, where he resided until the year 1856, when he removed to Salem. Randolph Township, Montgomery County, where he lived until the death of his second wife, which occurred in September, 1865. He married, about 1823, Miss Mary Catrow, by whom he had ten children, as follows: Catherine, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Jacob. Francis, John A., Maria. Mary, David S., and Jane--only six of whom are now living. By his marriage with Harriet, his second wife, he had two children, viz.: Lovina and Jeremiah. He died at Winchester, Preble Co., Ohio, in September, 1876. His first wife died in October, 1845. Our subject left home to live with strangers soon after the death of his mother, and acquired a good common education in the public schools of the county, and, at the age of eighteen, passed an examination and taught his first school in Carrollton in 1856. He afterward attended the Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. He followed teaching for six years. He married Miss Elizabeth Pease, daughter of Perry and Emeline Pease, October 5, 1858. Mr. Zimmerman is engaged in farming, and is also Justice of the Peace, which office he has held for six years, although the township is Democratic, and Mr. Z. is a strong Republican. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and an active worker in the Temperance cause.