400 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

three-fourths of a mile long, with bituminous macadam, the expectation being to complete the work in 1915. The first mayor of Verona was E. M. McGriff ; V. J. Shilt, clerk.

The Werts grist-mill was moved from Pyrmout to Verona in 1864, by David Werts and two or three others, the people of the community turning out with wagons and teams to help, so they should have a mill. This mill is still -owned by the son, Perry Werts, and his family, who have had possession since 1890. The mill has a capacity of fifty barrels and has been a steam mill, but electricity is now being installed as the motive power. The Mill does good work and is well patronized by the people.

SCHOOLS, CHURCHES AND LODGES.

Until 1882 the children of Verona attended the township school, about one mile west of the village, but in that year the townspeople built a two-room brick school house. A movement is now being agitated for a larger and better building, which the town will soon have. The enrollment of the school the past year has been about one hundred pupils, and V. J. Shilt has been principal since 1899.

There is but one resident physician in the village, Dr. William I. Christian. Dr. H. Hunter practiced in the village for many years and died there some twenty years ago.

The United Brethren church organized a society in the town about the year 1850, holding meetings in the cooper shop. In 1855 the congregation built a brick church, just east of the county line, on land donated by Peter Snyder, who was a Baptist. Reverend Downey was pastor. The congregation grew and the building became too small. In 1906 they built the present brick church, at a cost of about four thousand five hundred dollars, and in 1904 they built a parsonage. The church now numbers about two hundred and twenty members, with a Sunday school enrolling over three hundred. M. I. Comfort is the pastor.

The Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1883, and in the same year the congregation built a frame church at the west edge of town, on the east bank of Swamp creek, at a cost of some one thousand six hundred dollars, much of the work being donated by the members. In 1905 the church was remodeled at about the same cost. When the church started it had twelve members. Reverend Kalbfuss, pastor. William Frye, who is still living, started the movement with a petition signed by those of that faith. The church

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 401

now numbers over fifty members, with a Sunday school of one hundred and twenty-five enrolled. Robert Gilpin has been pastor since 1913.

Lodge No. 544, Knights of Pythias, was organized on February 22, 1892, with twenty-seven charter members, P. D. Werts, first chancellor commander. At first the lodge rented a room over Werts' store, then bought a half interest in the building, which it later sold, and in 1909 built its own two-story frame building on the south side of Main street, just east of the electric railroad, at a cost of about five thousand dollars, renting the lower story for business purposes. The lodge now has one hundred and eighty members.

Lodge No. 151, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, was organized in 1902 in Shivadecker's blacksmith shop, with twenty-five charter members. It rented until 1910, in which year it bought the old Knights of Pythias hall on Commercial street and remodeled the same to suit, at a cost of over one thousand dollars. George Shivadecker was the first counsellor. This lodge now has sixty-five members and meets every Wednesday evening.

Verona Grange No. 1630 was organized. with sixteen charter members on April I, 1905, the first master being D. E. Hoffman. The grange owns its own building on East Mill street, costing over two thousand dollars. It now numbers one hundred and fifteen members, meeting weekly, Dan Weaver, master. The granges are doing much good for our agriculturists. To the writer's knowledge, the displays made by this and sister granges, at our county fairs for years past„ have been the finest ever made in the county by any parties.

(26)

CHAPTER XXVIII.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF INTEREST.

As the time drew near for the century mark for Eaton, our people talked of holding a centennial, but after discussion, it was decided to make it a county centennial instead, and July 2, 3 and 4, 1908, were fixed upon as the time. Committees were appointed, and it was decided to call it the "Preble County Home Coming." Months before the event, letters were sent to all known former residents of the county, who had removed to other states during the past fifty years, inviting them to "come home." When the time came, the town was decorated as never before or since. Processions. of people came on every road. Our streets were filled, bands were plentiful,. speeches were made, and the time generally given over to jollity and good fellowship. Men and women came from as far away as California and Mexico. Judges left the bench arid doctors forgot their practice to come home. It was a common thing to see some committeeman get old friends together who had been parted so long that faces were forgotten. The weather man even smiled on the event. So it may be said that when we got to be a hundred years old we had more happy people than ever before, and the pleasure of its memory will finger longer with our people than any other celebration ever held in the county.

A MEMORABLE GATHERING.

I presume the most spectacular political campaigns ever waged in this county were the two Harrison campaigns. The 1840 campaign, with its processions, log cabin raisings and hard cider, struck this county with full force; a big mass meeting was held in Eaton with a tremendous crowd present; a. procession went to Greenville, and the result was the Whigs swept the county. In 1888, when Ben Harrison, the grandson of Old Tip, was a candidate, the campaign managers concluded to duplicate the performance, and they organized what they called a "walkaround." On the day set the weather was. ideal and crowds and delegations began assembling at Eaton. Shortly after nine o'clock the procession started for Camden, all horses and vehicles profusely decorated and flying the flag. Reaching Camden, they circled the town

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 403

and, joined by other processions, started for West Elkton, where dinner was had about two o'clock in the afternoon; then north through and around Gratis and on to West Alexandria, where speaking was held in the evening.

The writer paused on Morning Star hill to get a good look at a procession of flags and bunting, waving over two miles long; and I think its memory will linger longer than that of any procession I ever saw. The result was the same. The Republicans swept the county. Locally, it will be long remembered.

LOST IN THE WOODS.

George D. Hendrix used to relate this story, that when his father came to Eaton on- April 2, 18o6, he brought with him, at first, a daughter, Julia, about twelve years old and a younger child whom he placed in a cabin near the west end of Decatur street, and returned to Camden to bring the balance of the family next day. In the evening the daughter started for the place occupied y Mills, now the northwest corner of Main and Beech streets, for water, and she got lost in the woods. It began getting dark, and she began to hunt a place to hide, when she heard someone chopping, and heading for the sound, came to Mill's camp, and he took her back to her cabin.' Mr. Hendrix said .that Julia always claimed that, as far as she could tell, her location when she heard the ring of the axe, was about where the court house square is located.

THE "UNDERGROUND RAILWAY."

Many stories of the "Underground Railroad" still linger. When it is remembered that anyone who assisted escaping slaves was proceeded against in the United States court, and that the penalty inflicted on those caught was very severe, the costs and fine frequently bankrupting the victim, even if he escaped the imprisonment which might be added, we, then, can better appreciate the grit and determination of those who voluntarily furnished the assistance. When they turned over the runaway to the next station, no explanations or talk, or telling each others names were indulged in; the black was turned over, and often had disappeared before the conductor got out of sight; no chances for conversations, which would be given in evidence. It was business and no questions asked. At West Elkton, one of the most fearless conductors was Thomas Stubbs, nicknamed "Mill" Tom Stubbs, to distinguish him. He was a man about medium height; light build, but wiry, strong, quick, absolutely fearless and very reticent. One winter during the fifties he hauled eight or nine runaways in a wagon-box on a sled, to a point

404 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

beyond Richmond. They were covered over with quilts, as if hauling dressed hogs. To all inquiries he replied he was loaded with meat. He reached Richmond about five o'clock A. M. and in turning a corner struck a rock and upset the sled, spilling the "meat" out in the snow. He ordered the blacks to right the sled and get in, and then he covered them again, drove on through the city and, two miles beyond, delivered the "meat," and came back to Richmond to feed his team. At another time, while taking one runaway to Richmond, and they were all taken after night, he drove up the Eaton and Richmond pike, and about midnight came to a toll-gate, near where the Campbelltown road strikes the pike ; it was closed. Tom knew the keeper of the toll-gate was a strong supporter of slavery, and he ordered the black to sit as far back in the buggy as possible. As the gate-keeper came out, he handed him exact toll to Richmond, and he unlocked the pole and let it up and then stepped forward, asking "who is with you," trying, in the darkness, to see the other man, when Tom spit in his face, whipped the horse and was gone. He came home another way.

At another time, some two miles northwest of Eaton, on a star-lit night, a man stopped him and tried to see into the buggy. Tom shoved the muzzle of an old-fashioned pepper-box revolver in the fellow's face, and he jumped backward and exclaimed, "No, I don't like pepper." Neither did Tom; he rove on.

At one time, the slave hunters came to West Elkton on the hunt of a couple of runaway black women from Kentucky. It was during the fall, and there was an apple party at Richard Randall's, just east of the village, and about eleven P. M. they were getting ready to go home. The girls

had put on their bonnets and veils, when the slave hunters, headed by a United States deputy marshal, came into 'the house, and compelled every girl to raise her veil, using force on one or two, so they could be sure they were white. It made every young man present a rank Abolitionist ever afterward.

Near Morning Sun one evening, two or three landed and were put away. Next morning, a man rode up at great speed and notified the man that a party was coming that day from Hamilton searching for runaways, when a young man shouldered his rifle, and with the negroes disappeared in the hills of Hopewell creek. In about two hours the hunters came with a dog, and he started on a trail. After going a half mile or more he met the young man coming back carrying a couple of squirrels ; when he saw the dog he surmised its purpose and promptly shot it, pretending that he was afraid and thought

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 405

it was after him, as he had hunted that way ; the squirrels confirmed his story. The negroes got away.

These stories and many others I have heard related by men who took part in those troubles, and whose veracity I never heard questioned y friend or foe.

At the settlement of the county, rattlesnakes were very numerous, and the early settlers were in constant fear of them, especially for their children. The snakes were very much more numerous in some localities than in others. When the settlers began to raise hogs in large numbers the rattlesnakes began a rapid decrease, because hogs, especially the old woods breed they then had, are the most deadly foe of the rattlesnakes.

Dr. Christian Sayler, of Gratis, related, that in the early clay, the Morningstar hill, just where it starts to break down to the north, was called Rattlesnake hill, because there was a small cave, yet visible, leading back into the Clinton rock, which was found to be much infested with rattlesnakes. They seemed to gather there every fall, and spread from there every spring. About the time of the 1812 War, the citizens set a watch one spring when the weather began to get warm, and when the watch notified them that the snakes .were beginning to make their appearance in numbers, they kept a detail of eight or ten men there for several days, to hunt the woods around the hill, and watch the cave. During the time they succeeded in killing over four hundred rattlesnakes, after which the neighborhood seemed to be much less affected by the pests. Some of our old men still call it Rattlesnake hill.

As illustrating the homesickness that must have seized some of those early settlers, Ebenezer Paddack, of Jackson township, some thirty years ago told the writer the following incident : About 1830, a man of forty years of age, who resided in Virginia on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge mountains, moved with his wife and some three or four children to Jackson township and rented a farm ; but the great level stretches of land made him lonesome, and within a year he desired to go back, but could not readily find a buyer for the property accumulated. After three or four years, he made a public sale, retaining horses and wagon, and it so happened that he found no bidder for three large camp kettles. He heard that Mr. Paddack desired to get some kettles, and he walked about a mile next morning to the house to inquire. A bargain was made ; Mr. Paddack counted out the money and paid him. As he walked from the door he faced the sun and throwing up his head, he exclaimed, "Old Virginy, I smell you now." He went back.

406 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

AN OX STORY.

George D. Hendrix often told this story; once in presence of the writer, substantially as follows : That when white men first settled near Eaton, they found a large ox roaming the woods. He was a majestic animal with long-spreading horns, and only one eye, and having no known owner. He was supposed to have belonged to one of the wagon-trains hauling supplies to Wayne's army, or to the garrison of Fort St. Clair, and to have strayed away in the Woods, and thus lost. He was caught by the early settlers ; easily tamed, and soon became very gentle. Many of the boys would climb on his back, the front boy guiding the old ox along the trail with a little switch, and when the house was reached the ox got a bite of the choicest feed the boys could find. Mr. Hendrix added, that as a boy he had often ridden the ox, that they all called "One-eyed." He was lent from house to house to help logging and plowing, and being so large and strong he easily drew his share of the load, and seemed so perfectly at home, at every and any house, that he was a general favorite, every settler seeming to feel an ownership. It was claimed that when he died he must have been some twenty-five years old. At his death, a large number of those pioneers turned out and buried him on Garrison branch, as one of them said, "a Christian burial."

About 1810 or 1811, the Indians abducted two little girls in Harrison township, one named Harper and the other Tharp. The trail was followed but lost, and no inquiry or search later brought any information, until, some fifteen or twenty years later, Harper learned that a white woman was with the Indians at Kaskaskia, Illinois, and supposed to have been taken from this county. He went there and, through an interpreter, established her identity as his daughter, but so thoroughly had her habits as an Indian become fixed that she refused to talk to her father and he returned home alone.

Some twenty-five years after the abduction, Mr. Tharp was informed by an Indian trader that a white. woman was the wife of a Miami chief called Captain Dixon, near Marion, Indiana. Mr. Tharp went to the house of William E. Hendricks, a nephew of Colonel Hendricks, who lived near there and knew them. A meeting was arranged with the woman, who turned out to be his daughter. All his efforts to induce her to return were unavailing, she saying that she was too old to form new habits and that she would be ridiculed among the whites. Mr: Tharp came home alone. Captain Dixon was a drunken character who, some four or five years later, came home drunk,

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 407

with a second wife and abused his white wife for objecting. The latter went to the Mississinewa river and drowned herself.

It is related of Henry Kesling, who settled just north of West Alexandria, about 1804-5, that about a year after he located he went into the woods to hunt a hickory pole to hoop a sugar-water tub, and saw 'one that he thought suitable growing just over a big log. He stepped over the log to cut it, when a black, bear that was behind the log, surprised, no doubt, by his sudden coming, rose up on its hind feet, only four or five feet away, with a "woof," and of course, Kesling was surprised, too. With the instinct of self-preservation, and without a thought of where to strike; he swung the axe, and, striking as hard as he could at the bear, was fortunate in hitting it in a vital spot, when it fell dead at his feet. He dressed it and the family had bear meat for dinner ; but he never hunted bear that way again.

A TALE OF A TURKEY.

James V. Acton came to Eaton from Virginia, about 1834. He was a lover of the rifle, and, of course, loved hunting. As illustrating the changes made, he related to the writer that, about a year after he came, while hunting one evening, he saw a flock of wild turkeys going to roost in the woods about the west line of Fred Earhardt's gardens and marked in memory the location. The next morning, before day, he quietly made his way to the location and, as daylight sifted down, he saw a turkey on the top of a .tall oak, and as soon as he could sight his gun, he shot. The turkey flew to the southwest, but slowly descended. He was sure he had struck the -bird and followed down the course, carefully searching for the turkey which he believed had only flown until life was gone. In the line was. a cabin about three squares north of the depot, and while looking around the cleared patch of ground, the owner of the cabin came out and asked him what he hunted. He told of shooting the turkey and its flight ; the fellow said, "I have your turkey," and went into the cabin and brought it forth. He had been making a fire in the fireplace, which contained an old-fashioned, wide chimney, when the turkey came tumbling down the chimney into the ashes. It had tried to alight on the chimney, when death overtook it Uncle James took his turkey, but said that fellow had a number of turkey dinners later' , and. they became life-long friends. Every one who knew Mr. Acton will credit his story.

Henry Paddack, in the spring of 1806, settled on section 29 of Jackson township. His son Ebenezer Paddack, born in 18o1, related to the writer in

408 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

1885, the story of a journey taken by him in 1808 with his father, as illustrating the traveling in those early days. His father planned to go to mill at the Bruce mill at Eaton, the boy begging hard to go along, and consent was given. Next morning he was called early, and at daylight they set out with two horses and a big wagon with two or three sacks of grain, and picked their way along the trail through the big woods, reaching the mill about 9 A. M. The horses were fed in the rear end of the wagon, while the father and son ate the lunch brought along, and waited for the grist, which was ready about three or four P. M. They immediately started on the return journey and got home just after dark, and the boy went to sleep at the supper table. It was nine miles only, but he said he had traveled many hundred miles since, in many kinds of conveyances, but no journey had left so deep an impression on his mind as that long one through the woods to the mill and back. I have known the round trip covered in the last year in less than forty minutes y automobile.

In the history of Preble county, the reader cannot but notice how liberal the early settlers were towards the religious bias of their neighbors, in fact, generally building Union or public churches in which every denomination could worship, when it was not otherwise in use. As illustrating the sentiment then prevailing, I give the following verse given me by George H. Kelly, who received it from his father, who had often heard it sung in the old public church in Eaton, in those, early days. If the poetry be not classic, the sentiment certainly is :

"My brethren, I have found a land,

That doth abound with food as sweet as manna,

The more I eat, I find, The more I am inclined

To sing and shout Hosannah. I care not for your name,

Religion is the same,

We all can meet together,

And as we pass along,

We'll sing a Christian song,

We hope to live forever."

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 409

THE COURSE OF A STREAM.

As illustrating the changes that nature is making, the following, related by Mr. A. L. Reid, who is well known over the county, and who was born and reared on the banks of the stream, is worth recording. Where Little creek crosses from section 15 into section 16, Jefferson township, it originally swung west around the hill through the farm now owned by Mr. Bragg, and after passing around the hill it flowed back into its present bed just north of the hill at the south ford. The old bed can now be plainly traced by the sand and gravel channel through the fields. Before the advent of white men, of course, the flow of the stream was much obstructed by fallen timber. The Indians related that beavers had built a dam near the hill, and the bank or low hill on the west extended east and joined the hill or ridge east of the creek. In this bank many muskrats burrowed and made their houses, probably for many years. Finally, just before white men came, the Indians related that a great flood prevailed all over this part of the county, probably the big flood of 1789, and the water seeped through the burrowed bank, and finally washed a hole through. Then the whole stream took the short cut and has now washed out a channel some eight feet below the former bed and, attacking the hill from the other side, washed it back some three hundred feet, leaving a sheer bluff some thirty feet high, where once the road ran over the hill. The early settlers related the story of the break to Mr. Reid's father, but the stream has washed the hill back at least one hundred and fifty feet within the memory of men yet living in the vicinity.

It is related that when the Bruce mill at Eaton was rebuilt, in 1810, into a three-story mill, the workmen hesitated about climbing to that dizzy height, overlooking the water, to place the rafters. The carpenter's wife nimbly climbed the ladders and walked around on the plates as though on the ground, then pulled a bottle of whisky out of her pocket, held it up and announced that any one who wished a drink, had to come up after it, and some half dozen went up. This story shows that woman and whisky could coax men into the most dangerous places in the days of those early pioneers, and they left many descendants who still dwell amongst us.

410 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO

STATISTICS.

POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS.

Townships and Villages

1820

1840

1860

1880

1890

1900

1910

Israel

College Corner (in county)

Dixon

Jackson

Jefferson

New Paris

Somers

Camden

Gasper

Washington

Eaton

Monroe

Eldorado

West Manchester Est.

Gratis

West Elkton

Gratis Village

Lanier

Twin

West Alexandria-All

Harrison

Lewisburg

Verona, Est. in County

838

-----

841

615

876

-----

1,171

------

------

1,562
255

303

-----

-----

1,000

-----

-----

1,096

865

-----

815

-----

-----

1,547

-----
1,290
1,260
2,164

-----

1,820

-----

836
2,459

------

1,176

-----

-----

1,931

-----

-----

1,618
1,675

-----

1,706

-----

-----

1,631

-----

1,213

1,578

1,842

-----

2,061

-----

901

3,166

-----

1,807

-----

-----

2,136

-----

-----

1,738
1,890

-----

2,217

-----

-----

1,799

-----

1,161
1,296
2,244

-----

2,172

-----

865

3,961

-----

1,823

-----

-----

2,150

-----

-----

1,916
1,965

-----

2,085

-----

-----

1,580

-----

1,038

1,213
2,069

842

1,869

846

729

4,566
2,934
2,067

365

-----

2,011

216

389

1,824
1,835

575

2,620

486

-----

1,440
183

978
1,255
1,916
790
1,823
905

694
4,875
3,155
1,781
358

-----

1,941
215

375
1,919
1,929

740

2,778

560

-----

1,401
198
942
1,157
1,946
870
1,839
899
732
4,913
3,187
1,741
321
450
1,792
230
410
2,075
1,998
1,030
2,853
672
400

Total County

10,231

19,482

21,820

24,533

23,421

23,713

23,834

To which must be added 1,084 mules. Oats, 210,826 bushels. Butter, 649,680 pounds. Eggs, 758,095 dozen; 19,000 tons of hay; sheep, 5,296; while in 1880 sheep were 13,428. In 1906 tobacco, 8,310,000 pounds. In 1911, 6,866,610 pounds. Automobiles, January 1, 1915, 1,143

BIOGRAPHICAL

GOV. ANDREW LINTNER HARRIS.

Of all the living citizens of Preble county, the best known throughout the country is former Governor Andrew Lintner Harris, a distinguished soldier of the Civil War, a widely known and able member of the Ohio General Assembly, lieutenant-governor several terms, a member of President McKinley's industrial commission and finally head of the Ohio state government. Governor Harris always has been one of the most beloved men, not only in the county of his origin and where he now lives, but throughout the state and nation where he is so well known. His life has been full of public service and he may now enjoy the reflection and self contemplation of a career. that has been well spent. Governor Harris's life has been successful in a large degree, but he has never won success that he did not first richly deserve.

Governor Harris was born in Milford township, Butler county, Ohio, November 17, 1835, the son of Benjamin and Nancy (Lintner) Harris, both natives of Ohio, who were the parents of seven children, Andrew Lintner, Margaret Ann, who was the wife of Robert Brasier and who died in 1867; Eliza Jane,. deceased, who was the wife of Levin T. Murray, and four who died in infancy, Joseph, Margaret Ann, Marietta and Elizabeth.

Benjamin Harris was born in Cincinnati but moved to Butler county with his parents about 1814 and there grew to manhood and married. In early life he was a school teacher and later a farmer. In 1838 he moved to Preble county and settled in Dixon township, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land and reared his family. He died there in 1872 at the age of sixty-nine. His wife died in 1891. Both were reared as Presbyterians. Benjamin Harris held several minor township offices and was a member of the school board. He wrote with a quill pen and was a beautiful penman, often being called upon to do writing for others. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and had the faculty of fine composition. He was a rheumatic invalid and suffered with this affliction for many years.

The paternal grandparents of Governor Harris were Joseph and Jane

414 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

(Kirkpatrick) Harris. Joseph Harris was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, and married Miss Kirkpatrick in Cincinnati in 1802, she also being of Irish descent. They were pioneers in Butler county, Ohio, where they spent their last days. Joseph Harris was a salesman in young manhood and later a farmer. He was married -three times, his first wife being Jane Kirkpatrick, to which union were born three sons and one daughter, Benjamin, Robert, Esther and Thomas. His second wife was Rachel Hornaday and to that union three children were born, John, Joel and Rachel. His third wife was Nancy Logan and y that marriage there were four children, William, Joseph, Harvey and Jane.

The maternal grandparents of Governor Harris were Andrew and Rachel (Lytle) Lintner, the former being of German and the latter of Irish descent. They were married in Butler county, but moved to Preble county in the early thirties. Andrew Lintner was a farmer and lived in Dixon township near a little village called Sugar Valley. To this couple were born eight children, Sarah, Nancy, Robert, Thomas, Margaret, James, William and Loretta. Both Andrew Lintner and his wife died in the year 1845, both then being past middle age.

Andrew L. Harris was about three years old when he came with his parents to Preble county. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, attending the country schools. He later attended Miami University at Oxford, Qhio, from which institution he was graduated in 1860 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He read law in 186o and 1861 for self improvement. He then began preparing for spring work on the farm, when the three months' call was made by President Lincoln for soldiers in the Civil War. The call was made on the 15th of April, and Governor Harris enlisted on the 16th. The company was accepted on the 17th, this company being Company C, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Harris served four months, being mustered out on August 18, by expiration of his term of service. He had entered as a second lieutenant and was promoted to captain in the service. As soon as he could adjust his business affairs, Captain Harris took a commission to recruit another company and speedily recruited Company C, Seventy-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and but he Served until January 15, 1865. On January 12, 1863, Captain Harris was promoted to the rank of major. In the terrible struggle at Chancellorsville, his regiment did gallant service. Col. Robert Riley was killed, and as a consequence of his death Major Harris was promoted to the head of his regiment May 3, 1863. On July 1, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg, Colonel Harris had command of the Second Brigade of the First Division

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 415

of the Eleventh Corps and distinguished himself and commanded in a daring charge. His command was under hot fire for three days and was the. first to enter Gettysburg after the battle. The Seventy-fifth Regiment lost heavily and its colonel was badly wounded. On August 18, the Ohio, Brigade was placed in the trenches of Morris Island and there remained until the fall of Forts Wagner and Gregg on September 7. On the night of September 6, 1863, Colonel Harris, with nine hundred selected men,. was detailed to make the assault on the sea front with instructions to march against the works at daybreak, but the enemy observing the ,operations,. abandoned the fort. In February, 1864, Colonel Harris, with his regiment, was sent to Jacksonville, Florida, where the regiment was mounted, there after doing gallant cavalry service until mustered out.

In May, 1864, Colonel Harris went to the headwaters of the St. John and Kissimme rivers and destroyed a large amount of cotton, salt and other Confederate stores. He also captured five thousand head of beef cattle,. and all this was accomplished without the loss of a single man. On August 14, 1864, Colonel Harris was sent by General Hatch on an expedition to the rear of the enemy with only two hundred men. It was an imprudent expedition, but Colonel Harris obeyed orders and took a few prisoners'. He was met by a large force and was compelled to ride night and day to keep out of the hands of the enemy. On August 17, he halted at Gainsville rest,. supposing himself to be temporarily secure, but was. soon attacked y fourteen hundred men. As a retreat was out of the 'question, he had to either cut his way out or surrender. The odds were seven to one, but desperate as was the chance, Colonel Harris succeeded in getting-away with one half of his little band. Colonel Harris was a brave, fearless and gallant officer. He took every precaution to save his men, yet when duty called he never faltered, and again and again he was in the thickest of the fight, where his own valor and daring inspired and encouraged his followers. He was mustered out of service as colonel of the Seventy-fifth Ohio on January 15, 1865, and on March 13, 1865, was breveted brigadier-general for gallant conduct on the field of battle. General Harris participated in many battles Of the war, and in all the battles of his regiment except the battle of Cross Keys, Virginia. Among the battles in which he was engaged were McDowell, Virginia, on May 8, 1863, the second battle of Bull Run, the battle of Chancellorsville, the battle of Gettysburg, the siege of Fort Wagner, South Carolina, and others. He was wounded at the battle of McDowell and was permanently disabled. He also was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg.

416 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

After the war had ended, General Harris returned to his farm in Preble county. The wounds he had received disabled him from manual labor and he continued preparing for the bar, having been admitted to practice by the district court of the county in 1865. He was an active member of the legal profession until 1875 and won distinction as a leading member of the Preble county bar. He was connected with much important litigation and displayed marked ability in handling intricate problems in jurisprudence. General Harris was elected to the state Senate in the fall of 1865 to represent Perble and Montgomery counties in the fifty-seventh General Assembly. He served two years in this capacity and later served in the House of Representatives in the sixty-seventh and sixty-eight General Assemblies. During his service in the Legislature he served on some of the most important committees in both branches. His painstaking investigation and mature judgment made him a valuable member of the Legislature. He labored earnestly in support of every movement and measure which he believed would prove of public benefit and the results have proved the wisdom of his acts.

General Harris continued his law practice in partnership with Robert Miller until 1876 when, having been elected to the office of probate judge of Preble county, the partnership was dissolved in order that he might enter upon his judicial duties. In 1878 he was re-elected and proved a faithful and capable judge. In 1891 General Harris became the choice of the Republican state convention for lieutenant-governor of Ohio and ran on the ticket with William McKinley. •He was re-elected in 1893. Governor Harris has always possessed the statesman's grasp of public affairs and his political actions are the result of earnest investigation and careful study. He has given much attention to the labor situation, and there are probably few men in the country better informed on industrial conditions than he. His efficiency was recognized by President McKinley, who appointed him as a member of the industrial commission, in September, 1898. This commission made an extensive and exhaustive investigation of labor and industrial questions and the report is considered to be one of the most important government documents ever issued. The commission was composed of five senators, five representatives and nine members at large appointed by the President. It was organized after the plan of the British royal commission and its report was based upon inquiries and investigations made into many subjects, agriculture, transportation, labor, immigration and general business matters. The work of this commission is now being repeated by the new industrial relation commission. The statistics gathered by the

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 417

industrial commission on conditions of labor, wages and method of payment, crop-sharing, partnership, tenantry, immigration and education have been of inestimable value to the new industrial relation commission in the investigation it is now making. Governor Harris was at the head of the commission on agriculture and agricultural labor. President McKinley well understood his ability when he was appointed a member of the commission, as throughout his life he had been identified with farming interests. Today he is the owner of considerable valtiable land in Preble county, which is cultivated under his immediate supervision.

Governor Harris has been a stanch Republican since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He is particularly able to uphold his political position by intensive intelligence and comprehensive argument. He retains his interest in military affairs through his connection with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion. He is a cultivated, polished gentleman whose position in life is due no less to his marked social qualities and admirable personal characteristics than to his learning and ability. He has long been a leader in thought and action in the political life of his state, and while he has enjoyed honors and triumphs in his public career, he has in private life gained that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character, deference to the opinions of others, kindness and congeniality. He has inscribed his name high on the roll of fame, yet is a very approachable, cordial gentleman.

In 1905 Governor Harris was elected lieutenant-governor for the third time. In that year Governor Herrick was defeated and Governor Patterson was elected. Governor Patterson died in June, 1906, and Lieutenant-Governor Harris became the governor, serving out that term. He received the nomination for governor in 1908 by acclamation, having no opposition, but was not elected. He was too strong a temperance advocate that year.

Governor Harris was married October 17, 1865, to Caroline Conger, the daughter of Eli and Lucinda (McWhinney) Conger, and to this union was born one son, Walter C., who was graduated from the academic department of the Miami University and who also took an electrical course in Ohio State University at Columbus, Ohio. Walter C. Harris was employed as an electrician at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893, and now has charge of the photographic division of the art department of the New York World. He married Ethel Sherman.

Governor Harris's wife was born in Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio, in 1840. Her parents were both born and reared in Preble county

(27)

418 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

and both died in Eaton, her father in 1902, and her mother in 1887 at the age of 66 years. They had four children, Caroline, James H., Elizabeth and Newton, the latter of whom died in infancy. Eli Conger was a farmer and a man of wide influence in the community in which his whole life was spent.

The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Harris were Josiah Conger and wife, natives of Ohio. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Harris were William McWhinney and wife, natives of Ohio, who were the parents of five children, James, Thomas, Samuel, Lucinda and Newton.

Concerning Governor Harris, the biographer writing in the "History of Preble County," printed in 1900, wrote : "He holds distinct precedence as an eminent lawyer and statesman, as a man of high scholarly attainments, a valiant and patriotic soldier, and his knowledge of the industrial interests is scarcely equaled throughout the length of the land. In every relation of life he has borne himself with such dignity and honor as to gain the respect of all. He has been and is distinctly a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, invincible courage and a most determined individuality have so entered into his life as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion. Prominent in the affairs of state and nation, his influence and reputation are y no means limited to the confines of his native state, and yet no history of Preble county would be complete without the record of his career, for it is here that he has spent almost his entire life. While respected and honored throughout Ohio and in Washington, where he is well known, he has in Preble county the warm friendship of those with whom he has had connection, and no man is more widely known in the county than he."

CAPT. GEORGE H. KELLY.

No citizen of Preble county, perhaps, occupies a more prominent position in the community life of the county than Capt. George H. Kelly, nor does Preble county have any more worthy citizen than he. Descended from a long line of illustrious forefathers, from men who fought bravely in the earliest war of this country, Captain Kelly has acquitted himself as becomes one in whose veins flows the blood of Revolutionary heroes. Captain Kelly is the type of the true patriot, and with the help of his good wife, who is descended from equally patriotic stock of Revolutionary days, he has maintained in

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 419

the county where he lives the nobility of a name of which he can be justly proud.

Capt. George H. Kelly was born just west of Eaton, Ohio, on a farm in Washington township, on the Eaton and Boston turnpike, July 2, 1849, the son of Matthew B. and Nancy (Stephens) Kelly, the former a native of Butler county, Ohio, and the latter of Campbell county, Kentucky. He was one of nine children born to his parents : Sarah Hester, who was the wife of Thomas J. Winters ; Jacob Clinton ; Jeremiah Dayton ; Nancy Margaret, who was the wife of John Dean Campbell, of Dayton, Ohio; Francis Matthew ; George H.; Mary Amanda, who was the wife of Robert D. White, and two who died in childhood, Malinda D. and James T. George H. is the only one of this family now living. Malinda was the first-born child.

Matthew B. Kelly, the father of George H., was born February 19, 1810, in Butler county, Ohio, and was always a farmer. He came to Preble county in an early day, and in 1828 entered land in section 3, Dixon township, and partially cleared and improved that farm, which he traded for a farm of two hundred acres in Washington township, near Eaton, where his family was reared, and here his death occurred August 24, 1869, at the age of fifty-nine years, five months and twenty-seven days. His wife, who was the mother of George H. Kelly, and who was born in Campbell county, Kentucky, died September 15, 1875, at the age of sixty-three years, six months and eleven days. Matthew B. Kelly and his wife were Old School Baptists. He belonged to the early-day militia of Ohio, and was a lieutenant-colonel. He was a member of the board of education and a member of the commission which constructed the Eaton & Boston turnpike. In the early pioneer days he hauled the produce of Preble county to the nearest market, then many miles away, and returned with dry goods and groceries.

The paternal grandparents of George H. Kelly were Joseph L. and Keziah (Blackford) Kelly. Joseph L. Kelly was born in Scotland and came to America and first settled in Connecticut. Later he moved to Virginia, where he joined the Continental army under General Washington, serving with distinction in the War for Independence. After the close of that war he came west to the present site of Cincinnati, Ohio, there then being only two cabins there. He built the third cabin in Cincinnati, and lived there five years, following various lines of activity. He was married in Cincinnati, and moved from that place to near Posttown, Butler county, Ohio, where he took up three hundred and twenty acres of land and partly cleared the same. He sold this tract and took up a new claim near Jacksonburg, on Killbuck creek, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring at the age of

420 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

ninety-seven. His widow, who survived him about two years, also passed away at the age of ninety-seven. They were the parents of fifteen children: Ambrose D., Nathan R., Matthew D., George N., Joseph L., Jr., Margaret, Phoebe, Keziah, Rachel, Hannah, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, Naomi and Nancy.

The maternal grandparents of George H. Kelly were James S. and Nancy S. (Shaw) Stephens, natives of Virginia and pioneers in Campbell county, Kentucky. They were tillers of the soil and died, well advanced in years, on the land they entered from the government. They were the parents of seven children : Sallie, James, Jerry, Thomas, George W., Nancy S. and Frank.

George H. Kelly was reared in Washington township and attended the country school located on his father's farm. He lived at home until he reached his majority and then engaged in the grocery business in Eaton with his father-in-law, John Rhea, the firm name being Rhea & Kelly. This partnership continued for ten and one-half years, when Mr. Kelly entered the service of the government, in the internal revenue department, and was United States storekeeper of distilleries and auditor of gaugers' accounts for five and one-half years, at the end of which time he resigned and came home and engaged in the insurance business, in which line he has since continued.

Captain Kelly was married December 24, 1871, to Emma Rhea, the daughter of John and Mary P. (Day) Rhea, who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, November 10, 1852, on the "governor's circle," where the soldiers' and sailors' monument now stands. Her parents, John and Mary P. (Day) Rhea, were natives of Preble county, Ohio. John Rhea was born March 19, 1827, and died December 11, 1901. His wife was born in 1838, and died August 17, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Rhea were married October 11, 1849, and to their union two children were born, Mrs. George H. Kelly and Frank Foster Rhea, the latter of whom was born May 5, 1856. John Rhea and wife are buried in Mound Hill cemetery, at Eaton, Ohio.

John Rhea was a son of James and Mary (Gray) Rhea, the former born in Kentucky in 1800 and the latter in Blount county, Tennessee, in 1801, who were married October 10, 1821. James Rhea died in Preble county, Ohio, in 1862, his widow surviving him until October 15, 1879. They were the parents of ten children : Ann, bbrn June 15, 1822, and a twin, who died ; Alexander; born April 27, 1824; John, born March 19, 1827; Jehu, born October 16, 1827; Elizabeth, born. April 15, 1832; George Washington and Nancy, twins, born September 17, 1834, and Mary, born May 29, 1838, also one of twins, the other having died. James Rhea was a son of Robert and Elizabeth

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 421

Rhea and his wife, Mary (Gray) Rhea, was a daughter of Major William and Ann Gray.

Maj. William Gray was born in Pennsylvania in 1755. He was the grandfather of Mrs. George H. Kelly, and was a captain of a company of cavalry in the army of Gen. Francis Marion, of Revolutionary fame. After several years of service, he held the distinguished post of major on the staff of Gen. George Washington. After the close of the War for Independence he married in Tennessee, and later moved to Ohio and settled in Dixon township, in this county, where his death occurred March 8, 1849, at the advanced age of ninety-four. His wife, Ann Gray, died December, 1854, at the age of ninety-five. Maj. William Gray and his wife are buried on the farm which is now owned y Ohio's famous war colonel and ex-governor, A. L. Harris.

Mrs. Kelly's mother, Mary (Day) Rhea, was the daughter of Nicholas P. and Lucinda (Spacht) Day. Nicholas P. Day, who was a son of John and Providence Day, was born in 1803, and died, on May 24, 1853, at the age of fifty. His wife was the daughter of John and Barbara Spacht, and was born in Eaton, November 8, 18o9. Nicholas P. Day and Lucinda Spacht were married March 29, 1827. Mrs. Day died on May 4, 1870, at the age of sixty-one. They were the parents of ten children, as follows : John Wesley, born April 28, 1828 ; Harvey Theodore, born June 3, 1830; Mary Philura, born August 31, 1831; Robert Daniel Webster, born May 3, 1834; Celia Jane, born June 29, 1836; Alzina Josephine, born July 4, 1838 ; Clay Isaac, born May 4, 1841; Emily Elizabeth, born December 23, 1843 ; Samuel Marion, born October 13, 1846, and Marks Kitely, born August 23, 1849. Nicholas Day and wife are both buried in the Mound Hill cemetery at Eaton, Ohio.

Capt. and Mrs. George H. Kelly are faithful and earnest members of the Presbyterian church, and Captain Kelly is president of the official board and one of the deacons of the congregation to which he is attached. Fraternally, Captain Kelly belongs to Bolivar Lodge No. 82, Free and Accepted Masons, and to Eaton Lodge No. 30, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Kelly has been a member of the Daughters of Rebekah since July 9, 1883, and has held membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution since October 4, 1894.

Captain Kelly is a Republican and served on the board of public affairs for twelve years, and also served as mayor of Eaton for two years, 1912 and 1913. He has made a splendid record in every official position he has been called upon to fill. He was a member of the Ohio national guard five and one-half years, having been elected second lieutenant February I I, 1902. He was

422 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

promoted to first lieutenant in the field by Governor Nash, July 15, 1902, and was commissioned captain on December 6, 1904. This commission was issued for life. He was one of the members of the board that built the old armory in Eaton. Captain Kelly is a stockholder and director in the Preble County National Bank.

Captain Kelly is now head of the firm of Kelly, Kline & Swihart, which deals in insurance of all kinds. The firm has enjoyed an unusual degree of prosperity, and is ranked among the most substantial and solid firms of the county.

HON. FELIX M. MARSH.

What a debt a civic community owes to the honorable profession of the law. When the conscientious practitioner at the bar comes to his profession bearing in his consciousness the best traditions of the bar as a guide to his conduct, a literal lamp to his feet; and particularly when he comes to that practice with the glowing memories of a brilliant inheritance of honorable practice on the part of the generation just preceding him as an inspiration to the performance of better deeds and a more useful service to his community, then we have a combination that rightly enough must redound to the public good, a veritable stay and support to the public weal. With such an honorable ancestry behind him and with the memories of the service of his distinguished father ever an inspiration to public service, it is not difficult to discern the mainsprings in the life of the Hon. Felix M. Marsh, mayor of Camden, Ohio, and one of the most brilliant and successful lawyers in Preble county, which have urged him on ever to higher things until, by natural and logical stages, he has reached his present eminence in the civic, moral and social life of the community in which he so long has performed such distinctive service for the benefit of his fellowmen. The lessons of the past are the guiding rules of the future and it is but proper, in a historical and biographical work of this character, that a brief, though modest, resume of the career of the gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical sketch should here be presented, not only for the intrinsic interest of the same, but as a matter of inspiration to the youth of coming generations whose aspirations may prompt them to the performance of equal public service.

The Hon. Felix M. Marsh, mayor of Camden, Ohio, was born in the

PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 423

town of Eaton, Ohio, May 15, 1843, the son of Felix and Rachael (Bloomfield) Marsh, the former of whom was born on a farm near Camden, New Jersey, and the latter of whom was born in Preble county, Ohio, on a farm three miles west of Eaton.

Felix Marsh, father of the subject of this biographical sketch, came west with his parents in 1818, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father followed his vocation of tailoring. In 1826 the Marshes moved to Camden, Preble county, Ohio, which ever since has been the family home, and where the father and the grandparents of Mayor Marsh spent the last days of their lives. The elder Felix Marsh received his education at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and was graduated from the law course. He entered upon the practice of his profession at Eaton, Ohio, and quickly took his place among the leaders of the bar in Preble county. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Preble county, performing the duties of that important office in a manner most satisfactory to the public. He also served his district in both branches of the Ohio General Assembly, his services, both in the House and in the Senate, proving most acceptable to his constituency. For thirty-eight years the senior Marsh practiced law in Preble county, and at his death, in 1872, left a name that not only was a priceless heritage to his family, but one of honor and distinction throughout this entire district. His wife, who was one of the best-loved and most useful women in this community, survived her distinguished husband many years, her death not occurring until the year 1909.

To Felix and Rachael (Bloomfield) Marsh were born four children, three of whom are still living: Amanda E., the wife of Theodore Hardy, who died in 1910; Frances, the wife of George Tittle, who resides at Eaton ; Felix M., mayor of Camden, and William B., who is engaged successfully in the practice of law at Richmond, Indiana.

Felix M. Marsh received his education in the public schools of Eaton, Ohio, which he supplemented by a course in Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, following which he studied law at Washington, D. C., and was admitted to the bar in the national capital in 1868. From that time until the - year 1872 he was in the government service, being a valued attache of the legal department of the Postoffice Department. In the year just named Mr. Marsh returned to Eaton and formed a partnership with his father, the declining health of the latter necessitating the assistance of his vigorous son. Unhappily, this promising partnership was destined to be of all too brief duration and was sadly terminated by the death in that year of the

424 - PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

elder Marsh. Felix M. and his brother, William B., then formed a partnership for the practice of law, which association was maintained for the extraordinary term of thirty-five years, continuing until the removal of Wil liam B. Marsh to Richmond, Ind. Felix M. Marsh continued to maintain his office and to practice his profession, and today enjoys the honorable distinction of being the oldest practitioner, both in years and in point of term of service, in Preble county.

Felix M. Marsh was united in marriage, December 1, 1865, with Emma Yost, daughter of Samuel and Maria (Robinson) Yost, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, who, about the year 1840, came to Preble county, smith, a man of much skill in his art and a citizen of the highest repute.

To Felix M. and Emma (Yost) Marsh four children were born, all of whom are living : Frances, a trained nurse, makes her home with her parents ; William A., one of the best-known and most popular newspaper writers in Eaton ; Maud, an artist of much ability, resides in Chicago; Edward, a popular tailor, who lives in Camden. The Marsh home is one of the most hospitable homes in this section of the state, and Mayor and Mrs. Marsh are never happier than when contributing to the pleasure and comfort of their guests or adding to the social interest of the large circle of their friends.

Mayor Marsh was reared in the principles of the Republican party,. and for many years gave his undivided allegiance to that historic party. Of recent years, however, he has become more independent in his political views and his re-election to the office of mayor in 1914, may be taken as an indication that his views in local political matters are shared y a majority of his fellow citizens. Mr. Marsh was first elected mayor of Camden in 191o, and his .administration was so successful and marked y the extension of so many public improvements in the town that his re-election, when he was renominated in 1914, was taken almost as a foregone conclusion. In his fraternal relations Mayor Marsh has given a fair share of his attention to the gregarious habits of mankind and is one of the most influential members of the order of the Knights of Honor in Ohio and for two years served most acceptably as grand dictator of the order in this state.

As the dean of the legal profession in Preble county, Mayor Marsh is entitled to and receives a just meed of honor in his own district. Following humbly in the footsteps of his distinguished father, he, too, has created a name in this community which will live long after him, and which future historians' of this county can not fail to take account of when they come to . make up an impartial verdict on the lives and the deeds of the present generation of those who are doing well their parts in the community life.

Township	Acres Farm Land	Value	Average Per Acres	Personal Property
Israel Dixon Jackson Jefferson Somers Gasper Washington Monroe Gratis Lanier Twin Harrison	22,880 22,570 21,570 22,095 22,279 14,883 28,032 22,054 23,166 22,837 22,032 22,347	$ 1,846,140 1,889,760 1,913,600 1,610,680 1,470,390 840,580 2,374,120 2,029,870 1,621,640 2,005,560 1,884,250 2,171,410	$76.72 81.78 84.68 71.76 64.36 55.85 83.95 91.15 69.64 86.33 82.97 91.08	$ 502,760 583,670 1,076,930 1,118,730 660,680 510,610 1,023,630 1,022,600 472,290 781,060 827,610 1,087,380
Totals	266,695	$21,679,190		$9,668,050
Village	Real Estate	Personal Property
College Corner New Paris Camden Eaton Eldorado W. Manchester West Elkton Gratis Village W. Alexandria Lewisburg Verona	$ 120,760 403,870 489,460 2,754,910 151,460 204,600 79,770 114,860 774,690 532,680 121,720	$ 100,630 409,910 405,520 1,681,400 180,100 258,440 34,650 46,190 486,560 376,910 178,230
Totals	$5,848,780	$4,158,540