202 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO
HARRISON
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
Hanson township is situated in the northeastern corner of the county, and is known as township seven of range three. It is bounded on the north and east by Darke and Montgomery counties, while to the south and west lie the sister townships of Twin and Monroe.
The country in this portion of the county is hilly, except along the banks of the several creeks, where the richest land in the township lies. To these bottoms the attention of the pioneers was called, and these were the first lands entered within the limits of the township. The western parts of this township are more level than those in the eastern portions.
The principal crops are corn and wheat. A good deal of attention is also paid to the cultivation of tobacco, and competent critics say that the quality is not much inferior to that raised in those States where tobacco culture is a specialty. Immense warehouses are being erected in different parts of the township for the storage of the fragrant weed.
About seventy-five per cent. of the soil of the township is cleared and under cultivation. Very little timber is now found along the banks of the several streams, but along the uplands it is still standing in large quantities. The soil on the uplands' is of a clayey nature, but in the bottoms a rich loam is found. Beech, oak, and poplar are the chief woods. Walnut is also found, but not in such large quantities as the others.
There are several quarries in the township which yield a good quality of gray limestone. This stone is in great demand for pavement and foundation work. At present there are as many as a dozen quarries in different parts of the township. There are also two lime-kilns which are in operation.
The prosperity of the township is doubtless largely due to the presence of two railroads within its limits. These furnish a ready means of transportation for the products of the soil, an advantage which is denied some of the other townships. Some years ago the people were led to believe that a railroad was to be built which would cross the southeastern corner, passing through Lewisburgh, but after spending an immense sum on the grading the work was abandoned, much to the disappointment of the inhabitants of Lewisburgh.
Four creeks flow within the boundaries of this township, viz.: Twin, Miller's fork, Swamp, and Price's. Twin crosses into Harrison from Monroe, near the northeastern corner. It flows along the western side of the township for several miles. It then flows nearly east through three sections and finally turns south again near Lewis- burgh. Miller's fork and Swamp creek are strictly
branches of Twin, but are of considerable size. The former rises a little north of the dividing line of this township and Darke county. Both Miller's and Swamp flow into Twin creek about the same place, just east of Lewisburgh. Swamp creek rises near the village of Verona, in the northeastern part of this township, and was named Swamp from the character of the country through which it flowed. Price's creek crosses the township in the southwestern corner. It only remains in the township a short while, confining all its meanderings to one section, number thirty-one, and then passes on into Twin township. The creek takes its name from Major Price, one of the earliest settlers of Twin township, who located on the banks of this creek. All of these creeks afford good fishing, and, in Twin creek, some members of the finny tribe often reach the weight of four and five pounds. In earlier days these, with the game of the woods, must have formed an agreeable, and, often, a timely addition to the larder of the settler.
Harrison township boasts of the possession of three or four pike roads, all in a fine state of repair. One of these, which runs due north and south through the center of the township, is a toll pike, as the traveller sometimes finds out to his discomfort. Of the other two, one extends from the toll pike in section twenty-one, to the northwest; the other is a part of the old National road, from Cumberland, Maryland, to St. Louis, Missouri. This road was the offspring of Heny Clay's genius, and was intended to further the interests of the emigrants, furnishing a good road through the best lands of the west. It was completed only in the mind of the great orator. A considerable portion is piked now-thanks to the efforts of the counties through which it passed. The other roads in the township are in a fair state of repair. The hilly nature of the country, and the fact that a board of supervisors is not now numbered among the regularly elected officers of the township, is in a great part the cause of the neglect of these roads in some portions of the township.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The rich bottom lands along the three creeks which cross this township were entered early in the present century. The land is of the finest quality, and settlements were soon made upon both banks of the streams. Twin was the first creek to be located upon. Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the date of the first settler's entrance, although all concur in the tradition that the first settler was George Leas, and that he settled on section twenty-one, on the north bank of Twin creek.
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Leas was a Pennsylvanian, born in Cumberland county, of that State. He probably entered the country soon after the beginning of this century, as there were quite a number of settlements in the year 1806.
The first settlement of any size was on Swamp creek, where old Tobias Tillman had located with his family. Tillman was an old man when he came to this country. He had served in the war of the Revolution, and was afterwards drafted into the War of 1812, but escaped service by sending a substitute. The year before his arrival in this county, his son, John, had arrived and entered his land. In the following year, 1805, Tobias Tillman, with his three sons and seven daughters—four of whom were married before they came, and possibly more—came to Harrison township and settled on Swamp creek, in the eastern part of the township. His sons were John, Jacob and Henry, and his sons-in-law were Martin Rice, husband of Barbary Tillman; Alexander McNutt, who had married Betsey; Jacob Loy, who had married Phoebe, and James Abbott, who had married Catharine. This made a colony of eight able-bodied men, sufficient for their own protection, and a strong addition to the force of the township. Tobias Tillman and wife Nancy (Sharp), made the journey from Tennessee on horseback, by riding turn about. His only possessions were a keg of powder and a horse. He immediately commenced clearrng land, and at the time of his death was the owner of one hundred and sixty acres
Mr. Tillman had eight children, none of whom are now alive. John, who died in 1850, had seventeen children, nine of whom are still living, viz.: Jesse, who lives in Darke county; John and Henry in Greenville, Darke county; Joshua and Anderson live in Harrison township; Martin lives in Darke county; Polly lives in Darke county; Rachel lives in Illinois; Sally lives in Manchester, Monroe township.
Anderson Tillman, grandson of the pioneer, was born in 1827, on the farm on which he is now living. He married, in the year 1852, Susan Emrick, who was born in Twin township in 1833. They have had six children born to them, four of whom now survive. Mr. Tillman owns a farm of about three hundred and twenty acres. Both his farm and his handsome residence are evidences of the prosperity of the owner.
Joshua Tillman was born in 1824. In the year 1842 he married Cynthia M. Estabrook, who was born in New York in 1822. Eight children have been born to them, three of whom survive. Mr. Tillman served three months during the war of the Rebellion in the Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry. He was engaged at Perrysville and Crabapple Orchard, in Kentucky, under General Jackson.
Alexander McNutt, a son-in-law of Tobias Tillman, came from Tennessee with his father-in-law. He was a native of Virginia, and served in the war of the Revolution. After moving to this State, he served in the War of 1812, and was stationed at Fort Recovery. He was at one time a lieutenant of the Ohio riflemen. To Mr. and Mrs. McNutt there were born thirteen children, five of whom are now alive, viz: John, Solomon, Peter, Jacob and Elizabeth. Mr. Alexander McNutt was the first county surveyor.
At the time of McNutt's settlement on Twin creek, there was an old Indian named Possum, who had located there, and had cleared up as many as eight acres. For many years these two men were neighbors until, at last, the Etzlers moved in and located near the place, where the Indian was living. This was too much for the son of the forest. Too much company drove him farther west, and he left his laboriously cleared lands for the settlers.
About this time Joseph Singer came into the settlement. He came on foot from Virginia, and camped with the Indians for a year or two. He afterwards settled on the west bank of Twin creek, on section thirty-four. His wife was Elizabeth Rape. He had thirteen children, all of whom lived to raise families. Two of his sons, John and Abraham, are now residents of Lewisburgh. John's present residence is on the site where his father built his first cabin, a litle affair about fourteen by eighteen feet.
The northeastern part of the township was settled by a party of Irishmen by the name of Cochrane. For a long time they lived there, but finally left in 1840.
Price's creek was chosen by John Judy, a Virginian, as a settling place, in the year 1812. It is doubtful whether any other settlements were made on this creek within the limits of Harrison township. Judy is said to have been the most powerful man in the settlements around, and some strange stories of his prowess are still related by the pioneers now living.
Tillman Rice was born in 1802, and died in 1875. His wife, Mary, daughter of John Meroney, was born in 1805. She died one year before her husband. Tillman Rice was the son of Martin Rice, one of the first settlers of this township. Martin came to Preble county with his father-in-law, Tobias Tillman, in the year 1805. He had married Tillman's daughter, Barbara, and settled on the farm now owned by Michael Horn, near Lewisburgh. He only stayed there a few years, and then moved to the farm now owned by Julius C. Rice. about one and a half miles north of Lewisburgh. Only two of the children of this pioneer are now living, viz: Jesse, who is living in Harrison township, and Dicey (Colville) in Darke county. Tillman Rice had six children, four of whom are living: John M., William H. and Levi live in Indiana, and Julius C. in this township. Mr. Rice owned a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, where his son, Julius, now lives. Julius C. Rice was born in Preble county in 1841. In the year 1862 he married Lydia, daughter of Christian Sheller. One child was born them. His first wife died in 1879. He afterwards married Sally A., daughter of Henry Horn. He owns a farm of ninety-four and a quarter acres, north of Lewisburgh—part of the farm entered by hrs grandfather, Martin Rice.
Alexander McNutt was born in Virginia, from which State he moved to Tennessee, and afterwards to Ohio, where he settled in Harrison township, in 1805. His wife was Elizabeth Tillman, a daughter of Tobias Tillman, who was among the first to settle in this town-
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ship. He had thirteen children born to him, five of whom are still living, viz: John, who is living in Wisconsin; Solomon, in Darke county; Peter, in Harrison township; Jacob, in Indiana; and Elizabeth, who has joined the Mormons. Peter McNutt was born in Harrison township, in the year 1811, and in 1832 married Margaret Vance, born in Preble county, in 1816, and who died in 1875. He had eleven children by this marriage, nine of whom are still living, In 1880 he married the widow Rogers, nee Catharine Etzler, born in Pennsylvania, in 1823. Mr. McNutt owns about one hundred and five acres of land, besides several lots in town. He has given up farming, and is now residing in Euphemia. Jacob McNutt was born in 1834, and in 1855 married Salome C. Lock, born in 1830. They have no children. Mr. McNutt has been township supervisor, and has always been identified with the interests of the township. He still owns a farm of fifty-one acres, a part of the old homestead.
John Lock, son of Captain John Lock, was born in Maryland, about 1780. From Maryland he moved to Euphemia, in Harrison township, about 1805. His wife was Elizabeth Stimell, who was born in 1775. John Lock was drafted into the War of 1812, but escaped service by sending a substitute. He owned the stone. mill at Rock Ridge, built by his father, and at present owned by Bowman & Co. He died in Harrison township in 1856, and his wife died five years later, in 1861. They had nine children, seven of whom still survive: Sarah, widow of Adam House, lives in Monroe township; Eva, wife of Samuel Bunger, lives in Harrison township; Peter is married and lives in Illinois; George C., married, lives in Harrison township; Catharine, wife of Levi Dillon, lives in Indiana; William M., married, lives in Illinois; Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Price, lives in Indiana
Abraham Hapner moved from Virginia to Ohio, and settled in Harrison township, about 1805. His wife was Sarah Ott, born in Virginia. Abraham Hapner was entirely without possessions of any kind on his arrival in this State, but by dint of hard labor and industry, he became possessed of a farm of two hundred and twenty acres, which he left unencumbered to his children. Hapner was in the War of 1812. He died in Harrison township. Seven children are still living, viz: Jacob, married, lives in Monroe township; Jesse and Abraham live in Harrison; Fred lives in Elkhart county, Indiana; Eli, Susannah (Mrs. Charles Lock), and Andrew, all live in Harrison township.
Jacob Werts was born in Pennsylvania in 1783. From Pennsylvania he move dinto Ohio, and settled in Harrison township, section twenty-one, in 1807. His wife, Katherine Bosler, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1790. She died in 1862, in Darke county, Ohio. Jacob Werts was constable during the War of 1812, and also captain of the Ohio riflemen.. He has had fourteen children, all of whom lived to raise families. Of these nine are still living. Christopher, married, lives in Mercer county, Ohio. John C. lives in Brown county, Indiana. Baltzer lives in Illinois. Elizabeth, widow of Richard Phillips, lives in Illinois. David, married, lives in West Baltimore. William, widower, lives in Darke county. Sarah Ann, widow of William Schlosser, lives in Jay county, Indiana, Jesse S., married, lives in Illinois. Nancy Jane, wife of Thomas Neal, lives in Allen county, Indiana.
In 1809 John Aikman migrated to Harrison township, section twenty-three, from Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. He was born in New Jersey about 1760. In the early part of the Revolution he served under Captain Brady as a private, and participated in several engagements. He afterwards held several township offrces in Harrison township. His wife, Mary Dysert, a Pennsylvanian, died in 1809 at Greenville, Ohio. He had six children, one only of. whom, Benjamin D., survives.
Benjamin D. Aikman was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1796. His first wife was Rebecca Piles, born in North Carolina in 1796, died in 1840. He had eight children, four of whom survive-William Franklin born 1827, Elizabeth, born 1825, widow of Lewis Thomas Benjamin E., born 1836, Joseph, born, 1838. Benjamin, D. Aikman was married again to the widow Rhinehart nee Elizabeth Sellers, who was born in Virginia in 1802. By the second marriage he has had no children. Benjamin D. Aikman has held several township offices, viz.: constable, trustee, supervisor, etc. He had a brother, John, who served in the War of 1812. He served for twelve months in a block-house built on the Daniel Wolf homestead in this township. Mr. Aikman has spent a lifetime in clearing, and owns one hundred and srxty acres of land. He has always lived on the old homestead.
Thomas Wilson emigrated from Berks county, Pennsylvania to Harrison township about 1809. His wife was Elizabeth Leas, born about 1802. Wilson was justice of the peace for six years—from 1872 until 1878, in which year he died in Harrison township. His son, F. J. Wilson is one of the leading business men of Lewisburgh, being largely engaged in dry goods, etc. His store is located on the site of the first store ever kept in the town.
John Ott, sr., was born in Virginia in 1785, from which State he emigrated to Ohio and settled in this township about 1809. He was engaged in fighting the- Indians at Forts Greenville and Recovery during the War of 1812. He was married twice. His first wife was Mary M. Lock, who was born in 1783, and died in 1848. He was married subsequently to Anna Hinkel.
John Ott, son of the pioneer, was born in 1820. He married for his first wife Matilda Brown in 1844. She died the next year at the age of nineteen, leaving one child-John A. Mr. Ott was married again in 1848 to Barbara Link, born in Virginia in x822. By this marriage there have been born eight children, seven living and one deceased, viz: Daniel, Matilda, Eliza Jane, Sarah, Barbara Ann, George F. (deceased), Eliza and Mary. The two last named are single, the rest are married.
Patrick McGriff was born in South Carolina in 1786. From South Carolina he moved to Virginia, and from there to Tennessee. From this latter State he moved to Ohio and settled in section six of Harrison township, about 1810. His wife was Elizabeth Price, of Mont-
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gomery county, Virginia. She was born in 1791 and died in 1864, surviving her husband about ten years. Patrick McGriff was constable for nearly fifteen years. During the War of 1812 he served under General Harrison as second lieutenant of the company commanded by Captain Phillips. The children are : Price, who lives in Darke county; Alfred, who lives in Darke county; Phoebe married Uriah Gard, and lives in Manchester, Monroe township; Jackson, who lives in Harrison township; Elizabeth, who lives in Darke county; Parker C., who lives near Ithaca, Darke county; Rachel, who married Joseph Clark, and lives in Darke county.
Jackson McGriff married Lucinda Baker, of Parke county, who was born in 1842. They have four children, all of whom are living at home.
Jacob Kesler emigrated from Virginia and settled about a mile south of where Lewisburgh now stands, in the year 1811. The farm is now owned by A. P. Zeller. Jacob Kesler was a soldier in the war for independence. He died at the residence of his son George, near Lafayette, Indiana, in 1837, at an advanced age.
About 1812 Abraham Lock moved from Maryland to section twenty-one in Harrison township. He was born in Frederick county Maryland, in 1796. His wife, Margaret Ott, was born in Virginia, in 1794; died in Harrison township in 1869. Abraham Lock was at one time the owner of a distillery in this township. He was a private in the War of 1812, and served in an engagement at Fort McHenry and at Baltimore. Lock was always a prominent citizen of the county. He died in 1872, in Harrison township. The members of his family were as follows:
John Lock married Deborah Dinwiddie, and lives in Kokomo, Indiana. George E. married Phoebe Combs, and lives in Harrison township. Abraham married Elizabeth Harsh (deceased); married a second time Jane Brightwell, and resides in Harrison township. Eli, married Sarah Brown, lives in Kokomo, Indiana. Sarah married Jacob McNutt, and lives in Harrison, township. Michael married Susan Lyons (deceased) lives in Kokomo, Indiana. Peggy married David Bender and lives in La Salle county, Illinois. Daniel married Amanda Hapner, and lives in Harrison township. Mary married George Faulkner, and lives in Kokomo, Indiana. George E. Lock married Phoebe Combs, and has four children. Franklin married Jane Kisching, and resides in Harrison township. Levi married Josephine Dequasie, and resides in Harrison township. Mollie married Byron Ozias, and lives in Versailles, Darke county. Daniel married Martha McGrew, and resides in Harrison township.
John Wikle was born in Pennsylvania in 1777. He emigrated from Virginia to Ohio in 1812, and settled at Lewisburgh, Harrison township. His wife was Catharine Shirer; born in 1777 in Pennsylvania, and died in Darke county in 1861.
John Wikle was drafted into the army in 1812, but sent a substitute. He cleared up about fifty acres of land near Lewisburgh. He died at Lewisburgh in 1829. Eleven children were born to him, of whom three only are living: William, living in Harrison township; Magdelen, widow of James Wilkinson, living in Darke county; Phoebe, widow of Thomas Walker, living in Phillipsburgh, Montgomery county.
William Wikle was born in 1801 in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia. He married, in 1828, Katharine Yost, born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1808. They have had seven children, four of whom are still living. Andrew married and lives in Twin township. Elizabeth married and lives in Dayton. Katharine—single-lives at home. Lewis married and lives at Euphemia.
William Wikle has been road commissioner, deputy sheriff, and tax collector, and has held every township office. He has also cleared up about one hundred acres of land and owns about the same amount; also two lots in town. At one time he owned about two hundred and forty acres. He has always been a prominent citizen and a hard working man. He had one son, Henry, who died in Jefferson barracks during the war of the Rebellion. He enlisted in an Illinois regiment. His brother, Lewis, was in the Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and saw three years of hard service under Sherman.
In 1814 Henry Hendrickson moved to section thirty- one from Virginia. He was born in 1787 in Roanoke, this State. He married, in 1821, Catharine Wilt, who was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, in 1784. Hendrickson was drafted in the War of 1812, but was never called out: His son was drafted in the War of the Rebellion but sent a substitute. Henry Hendrickson died in Harrison township in 1870. He has had four children, three of whom are still living: Zachariah, born in 1822, died in 1858; Katharine Jane, born in 1826—single—lives at home; David, married and lives in Harrison township; Amelia, born in 1829, wife of Samuel Covert. Mrs. Hendrickson holds the original patent of the land granted by John Quincy Adams to her husband, Henry Hendrickson. This is the only deed they have ever had.
David Hendrickson was born in 1827. In 1854 he married Katharine Hapner, born in Harrison township in 1832. They have had ten children, seven of whom are strll living.
Henry Horn was born in Germany, in the year 1755. At the age of nine years he came to America, and in 1815 he moved to Preble county from Rockbridge county, Virginia. He settled on the farm now owned by his eldest surviving son, Michael, on section twenty- seven, where he died in 1839. His body was buried in the cemetery at Euphemia. His wife died in Virginia the year previous to his removal to this county. He had thirteen childreen born to him, of whom four survive, namely: Sarah (Black), living in Lewisburgh; Michael, living on the old home farm in Lewisburgh; Susannah (McHuan), in Indiana, and Andrew in Logan county, Ohio. Michael Horn was born in Virginia, in 1802. He married Catharine, daughter of John Risinger, born in Germantown, Ohio, in 1808. They have had seven children born to them, six of whom are still living, viz: William, Elizabeth, Henry, Amanda, Allen T., and Isabel (Trimble). These all reside in Lewisburgh. Mr.
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Horn owns a farm of one hundred and forty acres, in sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight. His son, Allen T. Horn, was born in Lewisburgh in 1842, on the old homestead. In the year 1869 he married Frances B., daughter of William Sloan, born in 1850. Five children were born to them, three of whom are living. Mrs. Horn and the two children died in 1879. In 1880 he married Fannie M., daughter of Jeremiah Gilmore, of Hamilton, Ohio, born in 1857. Mr. Horn started business as a druggist, in Lewisburgh, in 1869. In the early part of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted in company H, Ninety-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and served about four months. He was then attached to the field hospital near Murfreesborough, and afterwards sent to Nashville, where he served over tw0 years as the assistant steward in charge of the drug department. He was discharged in 1865.
In 1816 John Etzler moved from Maryland into Harrison township. He was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1788. His wife was Susannah C. Lock, born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1776. She died' in 1846, surviving her husband twenty-eight years. She was married a second time to John Vance, of Harrison township, by whom she had four children. John Etzler was a lieutenant in the War of 1812, and was engaged in the battle of Fort McHenry. He had four childrenAbdiel, born in 1813, married Rachel Kelley—still living; Mary Magdalene married John W. Cullers, died in 1879. Two others died in childhood. Abdiel Etzler has been town assessor for twenty-five years, from 1855 to 1880, and township supervisor from 1854 to 1855. His son, John W., was in One Hundred and Thirty-first Ohio infantry as private.
John Brown was born in North Carolina in 1797. He settled in Harrison township about 1816. His wife was Eve Hoffman, who was born about 1793, and died in 1873. They have three children living, viz.: Adam, married, lives in Illinois; Jacob, married lives in Harrison; David, married, lives in Sonora.
In 1817 John Bunger settled in section twenty-seven, of Harrison township. He was born in Virginia in 1760, and from that State migrated into Ohio. His wife, Eve House, was born in Virginia in 1771, and died in Preble county in 1843. John Bunger was for six months in the Revolutionary war, and was engaged in several battles. His son Samuel still lives on the old homestead owned by his father. John Bunger died in 1821 in Harrison township. He had fourteen children, three of whom are living, viz: Samuel, Eli and Simeon.
Samuel Bunger was born in Virginia in 1806. In 1831 he married Eva Lock, who was born in Harrison township in 1815. They have had eleven children, of whom eight still survive. John lives in Harrison township; William lives in Euphemia; Elizabeth, wife of Levi Brown, lives in Euphemia; Rachel, wife of George Chambers, lives in Montgomery county; Sarah, wife of Andrew Redman, lives in Illinois; Samuel lives in Harrison township; Mary, wife of Baker Dye, lives in Harrison township, and Jacob lives at home.
Samuel Bunger's son William was out in the one hundred days' service in the last call of the rebellion, in the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Ohio national guard.
John B., born in 1834, was married in 1854 to Ellen Redman. They have had two children, one of whom, Ella, born in 1866, survives. John B. has been road commissioner and school director. He owns a farm of fifty-seven acres in Harrison township.
William Swisher was born in Pennsylvania, from which State he moved to Ohio, and about 1817 he settled in Gratis township. He was for twenty-one years a justice of the peace. His three children are living: Jesse, living in Darke county; Annie (Neff) who is living in Indiana, and Polly (Myers) living in Indiana.
William Swisher, a son of the above, was born in Pennsylvania in 1798, and died in 1863. He was married three times—first to Annie Boom, by whom he had one child; second to Charity Leas, who bore him two children, and third to Julia Ann Fouk, born in 1822. Mr. Swisher was a miller by trade, and for twenty years ran the mill at Rock Ridge. His son Robert was born in 1836, and married Lydia A. Greer, by whom he has had four children, all of whom are living. For four years he ran the mill, but after that time sold out, and since then devoted his time to his farm and quarry.
Henry Cassell moved into Harrison township in 1816. He emigrated from Virginia to Warren county, Ohio, in 1812. He was born in Virginia. His wife, Christina Bickel, was born in Pennsylvania, and died in Harrison township in 1852. Henry Cassell came to this country possessed of little or no capital. He came to Harrison township, entered a quarter section, and by hard labor cleared one hundred and sixty acres. He also had a farm of two hundred acres in Indiana. He died in 1857, in Harrison township. He has six children living, viz.: Catharine, married to Peter Klinger, resides in Marshall county, Indiana; Sarah, married to Isaac Klinger, lives in Allen county, Indiana ; Rhoda, single, lives at home with her brother; Eliza, married to Robert Calhoun (deceased), resides in Baltimore, Harrison township; Samuel, married to Mary Jane Nosworthy, lives in Richmond, Indiana; Allen, born in 1816, is still single, and resides on the old homestead. He was first lieutenant in the Ohio light infantry for five years and first lieutenant in Ohio volunteer cavalry four years. Mr. Cassell has always been a prominent citizen of this township, and is always identified with any improvements.
John Mills, father of Joseph Mills, county commissioner, located at Lewisburgh, Preble county, Ohio, about the year 1809. He was born in 1802, and was married to Marian Singer, who was born in Lewisburgh about 1809. Mr. Mills finally removed to Wabash county, Indiana, where he still lives. He had ten children, seven of whom are living—Joshua lives in Montgomery county, Ohio; Joseph in Twin township, this county, near West Alexandria; Henry in Wabash county, Indiana; Sebastian in Cass county, same State; Samuel in Wabash county; Elizabeth, widow of John J. Cunningham, with her brother Joseph; Rebecca, wife of William H. Legitt, in Whitely county, Indiana. Joseph Mills was elected county commissioner in 1875, and is now
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serving his second term. He was born in 1832 in this township, and was married in 1857 to Amanda L. Curry, the descendant of an early family in the county, and who is now deceased. Mr. Mills has had four children, three of whom are living.
John Schlosser was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, in 1781. In 1822 he moved from Pennsylvania into Ohio, and settled in section twenty-three of Harrison township. He married, in 1805, Magdalena Smetz, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1781. When he came to Ohio he had only a few dollars. He drove two blind horses, taking twenty-three days to make the journey. By hard labor and perseverance he became possessed of a farm of three hundred acres, which he distributed among his children. He died in 1868, in Harrison township, Preble county. There are four children now living-Moses, born in 1814, married and lives in Kansas; Jonas, born in 1817, married and lives in Harrison township; Samuel, born in 1821, married and living in Illinois; and John, born in 1824, married and living in Harrison township. John Schlosser was married in 1851 to Lydia Pease, who was born in Harrison township in 1833. They have three children-Noah; Mary Magdalena, wife of William Swank; and John. John Schlosser, sr., was drafted into the war of the Rebellion, in the one hundred days' service, but sent a substitute.
David Werts was born in Harrison township. At the age of seventeen he learned the trade of cooper with his brother. He followed this trade for twenty years, at the expiration of which time he moved on a farm near West Baltimore. He afterwards bought the mill at Pyrmont, Montgomery county, and in 1864 he moved it to West Baltimore. Mr. Samuel Arnold was his partner in this transaction. The firm was Werts & Arnold. Mr. Arnold sold out after fourteen months to Messrs. Stewart and Duncan. The firm was then Werts & Company. Stewart afterwards sold out his interest to Studebaker. At this time they built their saw-mill. Studebaker sold out to Stewart. The business was run for a time by Werts & Stewart. Finally, in 1871, Mr. Werts bought Mr. Stewart's interest in the business, and has been sole proprietor ever since. It is owing largely to the presence of the mill that West Baltimore has grown to its present size. Mr. Werts bought a portion of land of Mr. Hecathorn, and laid out part of the present town. In 1844 Mr. Werts married Elizabeth Piles, born in North Carolina in 1824. Eight children have been born to them, seven of whom are now living, namely: Rachel, Corilla, Amanda, Jane, Joseph, Perry, and Elizabeth.
Peter Studebaker was born about 1775, in Adams county, Pennsylvania. From this State he migrated to Ohio in 1825, and settled in section sixteen, of Harrison township. His wife, Barbara, was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, about 1780, and died in 1838. He volunteered in 1812, afterwards bought and cleared one hundred and sixty acres of land. He has two children now living: David Studebaker, born 1813, married in 1840, Rachel Mills. They have nine children living and three deceased. Mary married Jonas Schlosser, and resides in Harrison township. David Studebaker has always been a hard working, industrious man. He has always been identified with any improvements in the county. He has accumulated over five hundred acres of land, all but sixty of which has been distributed among his children.
Christian Disher, sr., settled in section thirty-five, in the year 1829, having previously purchased a half section of land. He was a native of Maryland, born in 1788, but when quite young removed to Botetourt county, Vir. ginia, where he afterwards married Frances Circle. He emigrated to Ohio in 1829, as above stated, and resided in Harrison township until his death, in 1872, at the age of eighty-four; his wife died previously at the age of seventy-two. They raised a family of five children, as follows: Captain Mathias Disher, born January I, 1817, and settled where he now lives, in Twin township, in 1843; Daniel, who lives in Euphemia; Frances, wife of David Kumler (deceased); Christian, who lives on the old homestead; and Catharine, wife of John Corder, also in this township.
Daniel Wolf was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1804. From Pennsylvania he moved to Maryland, and from there to Ohio. He settled in section twenty-one of Harrison township, in the year 1830. His first wife was Caroline Bentz, who was born in Maryland, in 1809, and who died in Harrison township, in 1852. He had twelve children by this marriage, nine of whom survive. His second wife was Mary Baker, born in 1832. He has three children living born of this marriage. Mr. Wolf had no capital when he came to this country. He afterwards received a legacy of one thousand eight hundred (1800) dollars, and with this as a start he finally became possessed of one hundred and sixty acres of land. He volunteered during the Mexican war, but was not called upon to serve. He 'served some time as township supervisor.
Peter Homan was born in Pennsylvania in 1797. About 1813 he moved to Ohio and settled in Warren county. In 1830 he settled in Lewisburgh, Harrison township. Mrs. Homan (Sarah Brunden) was born in Kentucky in 1799. Mr. Homan was a shoemaker and worked at his trade in Lewisburgh. He owned one hundred and twenty acres in Preble county. They have had seven children. Peter,. Homan died in Lewisburgh in 1860, and his wife died in 1866.
Vincent Homan, the only surviving child of the above, now living in Monroe township, was born in 1820. In 1844 he married Eliza Ann Ebersole, born in Preble county, in 1822. They have had five children, four of whom survive. Mr. Vincent Homan has been township trustee and school director. At one time he owned one hundred and sixteen acres of land, eighty acres of which he gave to his son. He also gave each of his daughters a home, and is now farming thirty acres.
Joseph, son of Matthias Corwin, was born in section six of Harrison township in the year 1830. In 1855 he married Jane Martin, who was born in Twin township. She died in 1857, leaving one child—Oscar. Mr. Corwin married again in 1861. His second wife was Barbara Pease, born in Harrison township in the year 1836.
208 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
They have eight children. Mr. Corwin served during the war of the Rebellion. He enlisted in May, 1864, in the Fifty-sixth Ohio national guard. Afterwards he was mustered into the United States service as private in company C of the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry. In September, 1864, he was mustered out at Camp Dennison. He was engaged at Cumberland, Maryland.
Andrew Zeeler was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania in 1791. From Pennsylvania he emigrated to Ohio, and in 1834 settled in section thirty-four of Harrison township. His first move into Ohio was made in 1806, at which time he settled in Montgomery county, Ohio. Mrs. Zeller, nee Mary Hontz, was born in 1793 and died in 1874. Mr. Zeller died in Euphemia in 1864. He was engaged in the War of 1812 after moving to this State. Six children were born to them, four of whom are now living. Sarah, widow of Adam Riggle, resides in Chicago, Illinois. Maria, wife of Samuel Flickinger, lives at Seven Mile, Butler county, Ohio. Andrew P. lives in Harrison township. Catharine, wife of Asher H. Mc- Cowen, lives in Cook county, Illinois.
Andrew P. Zeller was born in Montgomery county in 1824. In 1848 he married Maria Flickinger, born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1830. They have had nine children born to them, seven of whom still survive. Of these the six youngest still live at home. Mr. Zeeler has been township trustee three times. He owns a farm of four hundred and forty-seven acres, all of which is in a good state of cultivation.
Elias Bunger was born in Greenbriar county, Virginia, in the year 1809, and came to Preble county with his father in 1817. In 1840 he married Nancy Utz, who was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1812. Eleven children have been born to them. Mr. Bunger has been an elder in the Lutheran church for several years. His sons Samuel, William and Andrew were in the war of the Rebellion. At the time he commenced life for himself he had only fifty cents, which was all that remained after paying the marriage fee; but by dint of hard labor and economy he accumulated a farm of two hundred acres.
Frederick Miller was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1760. He afterwards moved to Virginia and from there to Tennessee. From this latter State he moved to Ohio, and in 1804 he settled in Twin towhship, where he died in 1835. His wife, Elizabeth (Sharpe), was born in Pennsylvania in 1762, and died in Twin township in the same year as her husband. Nine chiidren were born to them, one only of whom, Solomon, is living. Mr. Frederick Miller was at Yorktown at the time of the surrender of Cornwallis, and witnessed the transaction. He was also the first man that ascended Miller's fork, which was named from this fact. He took a prominent part in the War of 1812. The soldiers were in the habit of making his house a place of rendezvous.
He entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, and built the second brick house in the county, between Lexington and West Alexandria. The building is still standing on the old spot.
Jacob F. Miller was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, in the year 1792. His first wife was a Miss DeCamp, who bore him two children, neither of whom survive. In 1827 he married the widow Pierce nee Dicy Weaver, born in Virginia in 1799. Nine children were born them, eight of whom still survive. Mr. Miller died in Monroe township in 1849, and his wife died in 1880.
James W. Miller, son of the above, was born in Monroe township in 1837. In 1864 he married Ann Charman, who died in 1868. Two children were born him by this marriage, both of whom are dead. In 1871 he married Martha J. Banta, born in Preble county in 1845. They have two children. J. W. Miller attended the eclectic school of medicine in Cincinnati, where he graduated in 1862. Since that time he has practiced his profession both in Indiana and in this State. For the last five years he has practiced in West Baltimore, of this township, where he is at present residing.
Jesse Smith moved to Ohio from Adams county, Pennsylvania, and in the year 1833 settled in Preble county, near Euphemia. His first wife was Jane, daughter of Michael Deitrich, by whom he had eight children, seven of whom are still living. Mrs. Smith died in 1835. He soon afterwards married Mrs. Eliza Dephendall, by whom he had eight children, of whom six survive. Jacob, son of Jesse Smith, was born in 1824, and in 1844 married Julia Ann, daughter of William Swisher, born in 1822: He had two children by this marriage, one of whom is living. His first wife died in 1850, and the following year he married Sarah Keltner, born in 1833. Four children were born to them—all now living. Mr. Smith owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where he has lived since 1849.
David Hoffman came to Preble from Montgomery county, and settled on the farm he now owns, which is located in the northern part of the township. He was born in 1804, and in 1828 married Catharine Shuler, born in the year 1800. She died in 1870 leaving a family of three children. Mr. Hoffman married, in 1877, Sarah D. Hubley, born in the year 1813. He was at one time the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, all of which he divided among his children. His son, Ephraim, served during the war of the Rebellion, during the hundred days' service
Samuel Dinwiddie settled in section fifteen of Harrison township. He was born in 1777, in New Castle county, Delaware, and emigrated to Ohio from that State in 1803, but did not settle in Harrison township until 1834. His wife, Mary Reed, was born in 1785, in North Carolina, and died in Warren county in 1832. They have had five children: James R., born in 1817, married Sarah Niswonger, deceased in 1844—he resides in Sonora, Harrison township; Eliza married Louis Thomas, deceased; Deborah married John Lock, and lives in Kokomo, Indiana; Ruth married John Thomas, and resides near Baltimore, Harrison township.
James R. Dinwiddie has held several offices of trust. He was justice of the peace from 1860 to 1863, and is now township trustee. He has one child, Mrs. Michael Brown.
208A - JOHN BROWER
John Brower
John Brower, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, emigrated to Ohio from Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1801, and settled in Montgomery county, near Germantown. He lived there until his death, which occurred several years after his settlement. His wife Magdaline survived him, and died in Indiana. His children were John, Abraham, Jacob, George, Susan, Polly, and Betsey. All are now dead except George, who resides in Miami county, Indiana, and is over eighty years of age. Abraham, the father of our subject, was a native of Rockingham county, Virginia ; married near the close of the last century, Elizabeth, daughter of George Harter, who was one of the early emigrants from Virginia to Preble county. Abraham Brower, moved out from Virginia in 1801, and settled on Little Twin, in Montgomery county, where he resided until 1815, when he moved to Preble and settled in the woods on the farm now owned by George T. Potted. He died in 1821, aged about forty-two, his wife surviving him many years. They were the parents of twelve children, five boys and seven girls, viz.: John, Polly (Banta), Rebecca (Shively), Catharine (Hart), Nancy (Teal), Joseph, Susan (Parker), George, Elizabeth (Hart), Abraham, Henry, and Christen (Campbell). All are living except the first three.
George Brower was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, December 22, 1810. His educational advantages were limited to the subscription schools of pioneer days, and he attended those but very little after his father's death. His father died when our subject was but eleven years of age, and although he left his family a comfortable home, it was necessary for the children to be industrious, which term in those times signified to work hard. When about seventeen our subject cleared for Henry Brower six acres of land, and received for the work one dollar per acre. The six dollars were paid in silver, which seemed a large sum, and with the money he purchased a cassinet coat, which is remembered as an important event in his life. He continued to remain at home, but worked out at whatever offered itself. From 1836 to 1837 he conducted successfully with his brother John the Eagle hotel at Eaton. On April loth, of the latter year, he married Christina Swihart, daughter of Adam Swihart, of Gasper township, born July 1, 1814. For one year he resided on a small farm belonging to his mother, and in the spring of 1838 moved on to the old William Campbell place. The following autumn he moved on to the homestead, and soon after began purchasing the interests of the other heirs, eventually acquiring the entire ownership of the farm. Mr. Brower has since bought and sold a number of times, but has constantly increased his prosperity, and is now recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of the county. He was formerly a Whig, but since the formation of the Republican party has been a staunch adherent of that organization. He has never aspired to office, but the experience acquired in an active and busy life has qualified him for any office that he would accept. In the tall of 1866 he was elected county commissioner, and served three years. His wife died February 28, 1866, and February. 29th, of the following year, he was married to Mrs. Harriet Baker, widow of Evan Baker, esq., an attorney of Greenville, Ohio. Mrs. Brower's maiden name was Gain, horn in Baltimore county, Maryland, March 24, 1815. Mr. Brower is the father of nine children by his first marriage, as follows : William H., born May 30, 1838, living in Darke county; Annanias, born February 16, 1840, died November 9, 1845; Thomas J., horn December 20, 1841, living in Miami county, Indiana; Benjamin F., born March 22, 1844, residing in Wabash county, Indiana; Joseph S., born February 1, 1846, residing in Darke county; D. L., born September I, 1848, of Washington township, this county, an infant died February 14, 1850; Susan E., born November 2, 1852; wife of Jesse B. Rottman, of Washington township; Mary Etlen, born March 10, 1857, wife of Walter Surface, of Sonora.
208B - ALLEN L. CASSEL
Allen C. Cassel
Mr. Cassel's father was of English, and his mother of German, descent. His father, Henry Cassel, was a native of Wyth county, Virginia, where he was born Movember 20, 1773. He married Christena Bickel, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1777. They emigrated from Virginia to Ohio, with a company of eight families, in 1812. They crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati, which was then but an insignificant village, and while tarrying there, Mr. Cassel was offered a quarter section of land adjoining the town in exchange for his team and wagon. He, however, had left Virginia on account of the hills and could not see that a settlement among the hills of Cincinnati would better his condition. He continued his journey into the interior of the State untit he arrived near where Lebanon, the county seat of Warren county, now stands, where he rented a farm. Four years afterwards—m the fall of 1816—he moved to Preble county and settled in Harrison township, entering one hundred and sixty acres in section thirteen, which is now owned by his son, Allen. Here he erected his log cabin and began pioneer life. His cabin was replaced by the present residence in about the year 1836. In ago Mr. Cassel bought, or entered, two hundred acres in Alten county, Indiana, near Fort Wayne. He died May 14, 1857, his wife having preceded him nearly five years. They were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom they raised, viz. : Catharine (Klinger), born April 22, 1797, now aged nearly eighty-four, and living at Plymouth, Indiana ; Elizabeth (Klinger), born July 4, 1799 (deceased); Sarah (Klinger), born December 5, 1801, living near Fort Wayne, Indiana; Rhoda Ann, born June 10, 1806, unmarried and living with her brother, Atlen; Rachel and Eliza (twins), born August 31, 1807. Rachel (now deceased), was the wife of Christian Parker, of Fort Wayne, and Eliza is the widow of Robert Calhoun, and resides in West Baltimore, Preble county, Ohio. Samuel Cassel, born December II, 1809, lives in Richmond, Indiana; Allen C.,wasborn September 15, 1816; Daniel, born October 5, 1819, is dead. Two boys and a girl died when young.
Allen Cassel, the subject of this sketch, grew to manhood under the disadvantages as to education, which farmers' boys usually enjoyed in those times, never having attended school more than about six months. When a lad of not more than ten years he used to go on horseback to milt on the Stillwater, in Miami county. This was no smalr undertaking. There were but few settlements along his route, and the journey frequently consumed two days. From 1830 to 1940, when there was a large emigration to Indiana, our subject made a number of trips by wagon for the purpose of removing families to their new homes. As showing the difficulties of travel in those days it may be mentioned that on the occasion of moving his brother-in-taw, Christian Parker, to Fort Wayne, the journey required nine days, during which the party did not once sleep unde1 cover. On another occasion the foltowing incident occurred : While travelting along in the dusk of the evening Mr. Cassel saw by the side of a tog near the road what he supposed to be some wild animal. Taking his gun from the wagon he raised it to his face, when at that instant the movement of another object by the side of the other disclosed to his astonished gaze the form of a child. On going up to them he found a squaw and pappoose preparing a place for the night. Only a short distance away was an Indian village, and our subject had great reason to congratulate himself that he had not made the fatat shot. In the old militia times Mr. Cassel was first lieutenant of tight infantry, and also of cavalry. After the death of his parents he purchased the homestead, to which he has since added thirty acres. Mr. Cassel is a man of great energy and industry, of sound judgment, and is one of the substantial farmers of the county. He is unmarried
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 209
Jonathan Pease was born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, in 1806. He moved from New Jersey in 1838, and settled in section sixteen of Harrison township, where he now resides. His wife, Diana Stillwell, was born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, in 1799. Mr. Jonathan Pease has always been an active citizen, and is always identifred with any improvements in the township. They have a family of six children living, as follows: Ann Eliza, wife of William Cox; Cornelius, who married Ellen Robinson; William, who married M. Amy Sellers; Margaret Jane, single; Werta R., who married Isabel Childers; John N., who married Caroline Foster; all are living in Harrison, except Cornelius, who resides in Monroe.
Joseph Hoffman was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1780. He emigrated to Ohio from Maryland in 1838, and settled in section twenty-seven, of Harrison township. He was a minister of the United Brethren for fifty-two years, both in this county and Baltimore, Maryland. His wife, Susannah Limbert, was born in Pennsylvania in 1781, and died in Euphemia in 1847.
They have five children still living, viz: Eli, born in 1806, married and living in Harrison township; Henry, born in 1811, lives in Dayton, Ohio; Joseph, born in 1813, lives in Champaign county, Ohio; Kemler, born in 1826, lives in Harrison township; Susannah, born in 1815, married John Stife and lives in Dayton. Eli Hoffman was married in 1829 to Elizabeth Waymire and has four children now living. He was for twenty- eight years a minister of the United Brethren and a member of the Miami conference.
John Eberly was born in 1816, in Pennsylvania. From that State he moved to Ohio. About 1840 he moved from Butler county to Preble county, and settled in Harrison township. Mrs. John Eberly was formerly Sarah Wikle, born in Pennsylvania in 1815. She died in 1871, in Harrison township. John Eberly died in 1844. They have had four children, three of whom survive— Daniel, living in Montgomery county; Peter, living in Montgomery county; Eli, living in Harrison township. Eli was born in Harrison township in 1844; married in 1872. His wife, Henrietta (Smith), was born in 1849, in Twin township. He owns and farms about eighty acres in Harrison township, and is still living on the old homestead.
John W. Cullers was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in the year 1811, and moved to Preble county in 1842. The same year he married Mary M. Etzler, who was born in Frederick county, Maryland, and who died in Harrison township in 1879. Seven children were born them, five of whom still survive, namely: Catharine E, William S., Milton L., Rachel A., and Rosetta B. Mr. Cullers was constable while in Montgomery county, and school director for several years in Harrison township.
William T. Burk was born in 1799. He came to Ohio from Tennessee and settled where W. W. Burk now lives, a short distance north of Sonora. In 1823 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Ballard. Twelve children were born them, nine of whom are now living. W. W. Burk was born in 1838. In 1861 he married Locetta Odell, born in 1840. Two children have been born to them. Mr. Burk owns a farm of about fifty acres about a mile north of Sonora, on the pike.
John Yohe was horn in Montgomery county, in the year 1833. He moved to Preble county in 1847, and settled in Twin township. In 1857 he married Elizabeth A. Rape born in Twin township in 1831. They have four children. In 1857 he moved to Lewisburgh, and in 1863 he commenced to run a saw-mill, which he still owns and runs. It was first built, by Michael Cotterman, and was brought from Pyrmont, Montgomery county. Mr. Yohe has added many modern improvements, and has a mill capable of turning out six thousand feet of lumber a day.
Abraham S. Dye settled in Euphemia, Harrison township, in 1840. He was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1818. He was married five times. His first wife was Mary Marshall, of Montgomery county, died 1840 ; his second, Esther Ann Baker, of Darke county, died 1848; his third, Elizabeth Marshall, of Preble county, died 1849 ; his fourth, Susan Angel, died in 1862, and his last was Sarah, widow of Alexander Cooper, of Preble county. Of his children, William married Angeline Bonner, and resides in Harrison township; Clarke B. married Miss Bunger (deceased); his second wife was Mary Bunger; he is living in Harrison township; Charles W. married Amanda Ebersole, and lives in Missouri; Edmund S. is studying law with Judge Campbell, of Eaton, Ohio; Carl Dewitt and Joseph Earl live at home. Seth Dye, the father of Abraham, was born in Middlesex county, New Jersey, in 1790, and died in Harrison township in 1860. Margaret Simpson, wife of Seth, was born in Middlesex county, New Jersey, in 1793, and died in Harrison township in 1872.
Michael Cotterman, came to Preble county in 1845, and settled in Lewisburgh. He was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in the year 1821. In 1846 he married Mary E. Hapner, who was born in Twin township in 1818. Eight children have been born them, five of whom are now living, viz.: Elmira, Melissa, Dora, Oliver, and Caroline. Mr. Cotterman has been a township trustee for two terms and township treasurer for four years. During the war of the Rebellion he was drafted into service, and went as far as Fort Dennison, but was refused on account of disability. He is a carpenter by trade, and has always followed this business. He owns a saw-mill in West Manchester, Monroe township, which is valued at fourteen hundred dollars. At one time he was the owner of the saw-mill in Lewisburgh, now owned by John Yohe.
Dr. John M. Pretzinger was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in the year 1808. In 1835 he came to America. He moved to Preble county from Darke county in 1845, and settled in Euphemia, where he has since resided. His wife, Sophia, daughter of Christopher Rempler, was born in Prussia in the year 1814. They had thirteen children, all of whom lived to be married. Of these seven are still living. Dr. Pretzinger has two sons and four sons-in-law who are members of the medical profession. He himself belongs to the eclectic school of medicine.
210 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
John D. Niswonger, born in 1811, in Montgomery county, Ohio, settled in Sonora, Harrison township in 1848. He was township trustee for several years, and ever since his arrival in Sonora has been identified with the business interests of that place. In 1866 Mr. Niswonger, in partnership with William Leas, started a large dry goods st0re, and also began purchasing grain. Mr. Leas sold out, and Horace Niswonger, a son, was taken into partnership. The business is now conducted by the son, under the name of Niswonger & Son. The business of the firm has increased rapidly and they are now among the largest buyers of grain in the county. Horace was postmaster at Sonora for seven or eight years. During the war of the Rebellion he volunteered in the one hundred days' service in the One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Ohio volunteer infantry. Mrs. John D. Niswonger, nee Mary Ruse, was born in Montgomery county in 1822. They have six children.
John F. Davis was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1820. In 1850 he settled in section six. His wife, Mary Corwin, born in Warren county in 1818, is still living. Mr. Davis was drafted in the war of the Rebellion, but did not serve, inasmuch as the citizens subscribed and cleared the township. Three of his four children are living. James C. Davis, his eldest son, volunteered during the late war and became a member of the Seventy-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, company A. He was in the battles of Rocky Face, Snake Creek Gap, and Resaca. He was mustered out at the close of the war in 1865, after three years service. He lost a finger in one of the engagements with the enemy. Judge W. W. Wilson, of Lebanon, Ohio, was captain of his company, and H. G. Kennett, of Cincinnati, colonel of the regiment. B. F. Davis was in the one hundred days' service
R. W. Davis was born about 1826, in Warren county, Ohio, and with his brother settled in section six about 1850. His first wife, Rebecca Bradenburg, was born in 1829, and died in 1849. His second wife, Mary E. Smith, was born in 1829. By his second marriage he had four children, all of whom are living.
Leonard Brock moved from Virginia and settled in Harrison township about 1850. His wife, Mary Ann (Voze), died in Union county about 1843. They had five children, four of whom are dead.
Joseph, the sole survivor of the family, was born in 1833. He married Susan Vay, born in 1835, and has had eight children, six of whom survive: William, married, lives in Darke county; the remaining five, Joseph, Augustus, Noah, Perry, and Elmer, live at home.
Ferdinand Grupe was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1814. He came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in the year 1851. He settled in Somers township, and died in Harrison in 1879. His wife was Elizabeth Spice.— Louis E. Grupe was born in 1843. In 1864 he married Margaret Barnet, born in 1844, in Somers township. Mr. Grupe served for two years in the war of the Rebellion. He was a private in the Twentieth regiment Ohio national guard. He was discharged after the battle of Stone River. He was engaged in many hard fights. At present he owns a flour- and saw-mill at West Baltimore.
James Hunt was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1817. In 1854 he moved to section three, of Harrison township. Mrs. Hunt, formerly E. Seybold, was born in Warren county, in 1822. They had ten children, nine of whom are still living: Catharine, wife of Jesse Studebaker; Lavina, wife of Hiram Hecathorn, lives in Harrison township; George W., married, lives in Baltimore; Joseph, married, lives in Darke county; Aaron lives at home; Jane, wife of Edward Bowline, lives in Darke county; Mary, wife of Frank Pease, lives in Darke county; Lizzie, single, lives at home; Margaret, wife of Aaron Heller, lives in Darke county. Mr. Hunt is one of the most prominent and wealthy citizens in the township. He owns about three hundred and thirty acres, and his residence and buildings are the handsomest of their kind in that neighborhood.
Hiram Hecathorn was born in 1842, in Montgomery county, and settled in Harrison township, section ten, in 1855. He marrried Lavina Hunt, born in 1844, and has five children: Seymour, Elmer, Annie Mary, Luther, and Malinda. Mr. Hecathorn farms one of the best and largest farms in the township. He owns one hundred and sixty acres, and rents an additional one hundred and sixty acres. He has always been identified with any improvements in the township, such as churches, schools, roads, etc.
John W. Werts came to Ohio from Virginia in 1844. He was born in Virginia in 1804, and in 1829 he married Catharine Grisso, who was born in 1809. He first settled near Pyrmont, Montgomery county; from there he moved to Preble. Ten children were born to them, eight of whom survive. He died in 1873. His farm contained about one hundred and seventy acres in section ten. John Werts, son of John W., was born in Preble county in 1844. In 1870 he married Mary E., daughter of Tobias Selby, born in 1851. Mr. Werts has lived in West Baltimore for eleven years and has engaged in general merchandizing with David Werts, under the firm name of D. & J. Werts. During the war of the Rebellion he enlisted in company H, of the Ohio volunteer infantry, and served under General Jackson. He was afterwards discharged for disability.
George Ruff was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1821. In 1847 he emigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While there he married Annie Reahfus, born in Germany, in 1823. He moved to Preble county in 1855, and commenced business as a tanner in Harrison township. His building is the distil. lery built by Bolin, and which was discontinued. Mr. Ruff's business is the manufacture of shoe and harness leather. He has had seven children, three of whom are still living.
John Schneider was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1819, and came to America in 1847; he went to Cincinnati, and for three years followed the bakery business. In 1850 he moved to West Alexandria, where he stayed until 1856, at that time he moved to Lewisburgh, where he has lived ever since. For the first four years he fol-
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 211
lowed his trade as baker, at the expiration of which time he bought a small house from Franklin Payne. To this he built extensive additions and began business as proprietor of the Eagle hotel, and has been in that position ever since. In 1853, while in West Alexandria, he married Anna M. Schlotterbeck, born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1833. Four children have been born to them, all of whom are living. As hotel proprietor Mr. Schneider has been successful, and is at present at the head of an establishment that does credit to his skilful management.
Perry Turner was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1825. In the year 1856 he moved to Preble and settled at Lewisburgh. In 1847 he married Mary F. Martin, born in Kentucky, in 1828. Their only child, Oliver M. Turner, is married and living in Lewisburgh. When Mr. Turner first came to Lewishurgh he carried on a distillery, which he run from 1857 to 1871. In 1863 he took the flour-mill of which he has ever since been the proprietor. This mill occupies the site on which the first mill that was built in the township stood. The old mill was built as early as 1809, but who was the builder is a matter of doubt. Some claim the honor for Henry Horn, but Zachariah Hole was probably the one who built there. The first mill was of logs. In the year 1825 the mill was rebuilt; this building was a frame one, and the first of the sort in the township. The mill is forty feet square, and has three run of stone. It is furnished with every modern improvement, and is capable of turning out fifty barrels of flour in twenty-four hours. The mill may be run eifher by water or steam power.
Peter Cox was born in Virginia about 1793, from which State he moved to Ohio, and in 1818 he settled in Twin township, at Scuffletown spring. He died in Harrison township in 1862. He was drafted into the War of 1812. but sent a substitute. In 1812 he married Sarah Lip- trap, born in 1789, and who died in 1880, in Harrison township. He had six children: Susannah, Mary, Elizabeth, Hugh, William and Sarah. Mr. Cox had no possessions at the time of his arrival. He and Peter Wiseman came at the same time in one wagon, each owning a horse. He afterwards became the possessor of one hundred and eighty acres of land.
John Ozias was born in Guilford county, North Caroplina, in the year 1782, and in 1803 moved to Ohio, and settled in Twin township. He died in Harrison township in 1870. His wife was Elizabeth Higgins, who was born in 1793, and who died in 1847. They had ten children born to them, five of whom are still living, viz: Phoebe, John, Ann, William H. and Susan. Mr. Ozias was drafted into the War of 1812, but sent a substitute. William H. Ozias was born in 1825, and in 1847 he married Barbara Crider, born in 1827. Five children were born to them, four of whom are now living.
Samuel Gangwer was born in Virginia in 1807, and came to Ohio in 1837. In 1841 he married Elizabeth Lines, born in 1808. Three children were born to them, two of whom, John and Amanda (Lock), still survive, and are living in this township. John Gangwer was born in 1844, and in 1868 married Matilda Ott, born in 1851. He has had six children born to him, only two of whom survive. He owns a farm of one hundred and eighty- seven acres, located about three miles west of Lewisburgh. It is part of the same farm where his father has lived for twenty-three years.
Henry Surface came to Ohio from Virginia, and settled west of Eaton, in Jackson township. He entered a farm of eighty acres. His wife, Catharine Long, was also a native of Virginia. Eight children were born to them, seven of whom are still living, viz : Henry in Sonora; Elizabeth (Brower) in Jefferson; John L. in Iowa; Jacob L. in Jackson township; Christina (Howard) in Indiana, and George in Jackson township. Henry Surface, son of the above, was born about 1810, and about 1832 married Elizabeth Redman, born in 1815. Seven children were born to them, all of whom are living. Mr. Surface was at one time a dry goods merchant in New Hope, and was also mayor of that town at the time of its incorporation. He was afterwards a minister in the United Brethren church, but has since retired from all active work. Cornelius Surface, M.D., son of the above, was born in Jackson township in the year 1833. He married Catharine, daughter of Isaac Dickey, born in 1833. She died in 1857. One child was born of this marriage. In 1861 he married Mrs. E. A. Crume, born in 1838. He has had three children by his second marriage, all of whom are living. Dr. Surface was, for a few years, a farmer, but has followed the practice of medicine for the most of his life. He is a graduate of the Philadelphia Eclectic school of medicine, but is, at present, an adherent of no school in particular.
Ephraim D. Heeter was born in Montgomery county, Ohio in 1847, and in 1861 he came to Preble county with his father, Jacob, and settled in Twin township. In 1869 he married Eleanor Hapner, born in Twin in 1852. Two children have been born them. Mr. Heeter commenced the dry goods and general merchandising business in Lewisburgh in 1878, where he still resides.
Thomas Fletcher was born in Virginia in 1818, and in 1866 came to Preble from Warren county. In 1836 he married Anna, daughter of Christian Birkley, born in 1818. Six children were born them, four of whom survive. George Fletcher, father of Thomas, died in Virginia in 1838. He was a veteran of the Revolution and of 1812. Mr. Thomas Fletcher, on his arrival in Sonora, in 1866, commenced business as proprietor of the Fletcher house, and has occupied that position ever since.
George Weaver was born in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1824. In 1840 he settled in Lanier township, and worked there at his trade as blacksmith for three years, commencing in 1846. He was afterwards nine years in Enterprise, and nine years in Winchester. In 1869 he came to his present home in Harrison township, and has since then lived in section thirty-three. His wife, Mahala (Marker), was born in Maryland in 1825. They have had nine children, two of whom are deceased. Mr. Weaver has a farm of one hundred and fifty acres which he works with the assistance of his sons. He has also one of the largest shops in the county, and has held the
212 - HISTORY OF PREBI.E COUNTY, OHIO.
office of township trustee several times in the different townships where he has resided.
John Zehring was born in Montgomery county in the year 1841, and came to Harrison township, Preble county, in 1869. In 1868 he married Lucretia Jane Kumler, who was born in 1844. They have two children—Francis E. and Elizabeth C. Mr. Zehring was in the war of the Rebellion during the hundred days' service. He owns two farms consisting of ninety-seven acres in Harrison township.
W. F. Zehring was born in Montgomery county in the year 1849. He married Ida A., daughter of Dr. J. J. Antrim, of Germantown in 1877. She was born in the year 1853. They have one child. Mr. Zehring started in business as a dry goods merhant in Euphemia in the year 1876, under the firm of Zehring & Holp. After staying there for about twenty months Holp sold out to 0. W. Binkerd, and in the same year they moved to Lewisburgh, where they established a general merchandising business, the firm being Zehring & Binkerd. They own a large three-story building in Lewisburgh, the top story being used by the Odd Fellows as a lodge room.
Abraham McMitt was born in Harrison township in 1838. In 1860 he married Sophia Werts, born in 1839. Four children have been born them, three of whom are now living. Mr. McMitt owns and farms one hundred and eleven acres.
Andrew House, whose father lived in Monroe township, was born in Monroe township in 1843. In 1872 he married Clarabel Phares, who was born in Montgomery county in 1853. Two children have been born them, only one of whom, Nellie M., is now living. Mr. House began business in Lewisburgh in 1874, keeping groceries, hardware, queensware, etc. He has been councilman of Lewisburgh for one term. He served during the Rebellion in the hundred days' service, in company T, of the One Hundred and Fifty-second Ohio national guard. He was at one time on transport duty, taking provisions to General Hunter at Lynchburgh, Virginia.
LEWISBURGH.
Soon after the organization of Harrison township, in 1816, the town of Lewisburgh was laid out. The first man to take a step in this direction was Zachariah Hole, but his work was never recorded. The first work recorded is that of Henry Horn, who recorded the following statement in the recorder's office in Eaton, on the seventh of September, 1818:
“To all who shall see these presents, greeting :
"Know ye, that I, Henry Horn, of Preble county, in the State of Ohio, having laid out a town in the county and State aforesaid, on sections number twenty-seven and twenty-eight, in range three (east), on the southeast and southwest quarters of said sections which the town contains, twenty-eight in-lots, with one street running north, five degrees east, namely : Greenvitle street; with three streets running parallel with each other and crossing Greenville street at right angles, namely: Dayton street, Twin street and Water street. Greenville street and Dayton street are each four 1ods wide; Water street and Twin street are each two rods wide. There are two alleys crossing Greenville street at right angles, running parallel with Dayton street, and one alley crossing Dayton street at right angles and running parallel with Greenville street, with alleys extending around the town. The alleys are each eight (8) and one-fourth teet wide. The town shall be called Lewisburgh. * *
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord 1818.
"HENRY HORN.
''JACOB WERTS,[SEAL]
"ALEXANDER AIRMAN."
A good many additions have been made since, but this is the earliest recorded.
Lewisburgh is a quiet little town of some four hundred inhabitants. It is situated in the southeast part of the township, on the west bank of Twin creek. All the trades have representatives here, and some of them do a large business. It contains four churches, all of which are in a prosperous condition.
The following is a list of the business houses: Groceries—J. A. Rhinehart, A. House, A. E. May, and E. B. & J. McWhinney; drugs—A. T. Horn; dry goods—F. J. Wilson, Zehring & Binkerd, and E. D. Heeter; clothing A. Frankman; hardware—Z. T. Stevenson and M. G. Hollinger; harness—B. S. Horn and J. R. Emens; millinery—Miss Sally Johnson and Mrs. Louisa Rundle. Lewisburgh has one hotel, of which Mr. John Schneider is the proprietor. Under his skilful management it is well patronized, and is in a prosperous condition. The only tannery in the township is here—owned by George Ruff. It is one of the largest in the county. Large numbers of hides are stripped annually.
Lewisburgh labors under the disadvantage of being at a great distance from any railroad; the nearest station being at Sonora, a small town three miles to the north.
The following are the present officers of the town: Hiram Gay, mayor ; Washington Kelley, marshal; Randall Ayers, clerk; Jacob A. Rhinehart, treasurer; David Kumler, supervisor; A. T. Horn, L F. Palmerlee, Abraham Singer, Michael Cotterman, E. P. Ebersole and Andrew House, councilmen.
The council room is a fine and imposing edifice occupying a prominent position near the center of the village.
Lewisburgh is the place of residence of many of the oldest men in the township, some of whom were among the first settlers. The country immediately in this vicinity was that first selected for settlement, and either the settlers themselves or their immediate descendants now reside there.
EUPHEMIA
is a quiet little village on the National road, about a mile and a half north of the township line of Twin and Harrison. On the south it joins Lewisburgh, and is by many included in the latter town. It is, however, a separate village, ranking second in the township, and has a population of about two hundred and fifty persons. There is one church in the place, the Evangelical Lutheran. There are two stores here, a dry goods establishment kept by W. N. Albert, and a grocery, of which W. M. Bunger is the proprietor. Euphemia was laid out by John Muma, and the town was named after his wife
SONORA
is a small, unincorporated village, a little north of the center of the township, in the southern part of sections nine and ten. It is on the line of the Dayton & West-
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 213
ern railroad, and not only has a post oonefice of its own but also serves as the railroad office for Lewisburgh and Euphemia, which are situated about three miles south. It was laid off about twenty-five years ago by Hiram McNutt.
The first house that was built in the township was erected by Tillman and Leas, in 1851. It has about one hundred and seventy-five inhabitants. It has two churches, the Methodist Episcopal and the United Brethren, besides a large saw-mill and four flourishing business houses. The saw-mill is owned by Hosefoss & Ayers.
The following list shows the business houses: Drugs, William Leas; dry goods, Horace Niswonger, and N. W. Surface; grocery, John Binkerd.
VERONA,
or West Baltimore, as it is more commonly called, is situated in the northeastern part of the township, on the Dayton & Union railroad. It has about two hundred and seventy-five inhabitants. The business of Mr. David Werts, of this place, is the largest in the township. He has interests in the saw-mill and store, and also owns a large amount of land.
The county line of Preble and Montgomery counties pass through the place. The firm name of the dry goods store is D. & J. Werts. That of the grocery store is A. Doll. The saw-mill is owned by Werts & Sroup.
CHURCH HISTORY.
The first church to be erected in this township was a log one, built in the year 1817, by the united efforts of the Lutheran and Reformed churches. Of these two bodies the Lutherans were much the stronger. The lands for a building site had been donated a few years before by Adam Brown and Frederick Black, but for some reason the building of the church was delayed until 1817. Great preparations had been made to make the day of the raising a memorable one. Each man brought his wife, sister, or sweetheart, as the case may have been, and the enthusiastic builders were rewarded for their labors by partaking of a generous feast. A good deal of pains were taken to make the building a first-class one. The logs were all hewn square, and the work was so expertly done that no dent or chip showed that the logs had been squared with an axe. Many of the logs measured as much as twenty-four inches across the face when hewn square. Time and means were wanting to furnish the interior in the same style as the frame work. No pulpit was erected and the benches were of slabs supported by wooden pins. The first ministers in charge of this church were the Rev. Messrs. M0w and Winters. The former is a member of the Lutheran, and the latter of the Reformed church. A painful incident is connected with this pioneer church. The man to whom the contract for building the house had been given, committed suicide before completing his work, by cutting his throat from ear to ear. No cause for the act has ever been assigned.
The dimensions of the building were thirty-two by thirty-six feet. It was finally finished in 1831, by having a pulpit built and comfortable seats put in. At first the preaching was by no means regular. Often as many as eight weeks would pass without a service. In the winter months the house could not be used with any degree of comfort, on account of the incomplete finish. The cold would enter from all sides and chill the devotions of the worshippers, enthusiastic as they no doubt were. The site of this building was about one hundred and fifty yards northwest of where the present Lewisburgh Evangelical Lutheran church now stands. The place is now covered with graves, the lot being used as a burial place. In 1846 the two denominations had growns so that they determined upon building separate churches and the old log structure was taken down. Many of the logs were in such a good state of preservation that they were fit to be sawed into lumber.
THE SALEM EVANGELICAL CHURCH
at Lewisburgh was started in the year 1817 in connection with the German Reformed church in the log church mentioned above. Their present building was erected in the year 1848, at a cost of two thousand eight hundred dollars. The Rev. G. W. Busby is the pastor now in charge. The present membership is about two hundred persons.
THE FIRST REFORMED CHURCH
of Lewisburgh built their present building in 1846. For nearly thirty years this denomination had worshipped with the Lutherans in the old log church known as "Black's church." The new building cost about three thousand dollars. Their present pastor is the Rev. H. M. Herman, of West Alexandria. The membership is about one hundred and three persons.
UNITED BRETHREN.
The present brick church of the United Brethren of Lewisburgh was built in 1855, at a cost of about six thousand dollars. Their first church was also of brick, costing nearly one thousand six hundred dollars. It was built in 1840. Their present building is the largest in Lewisburgh. The Rev. S. T. Koons is the present pastor.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL.
In the year 1841 this denomination built a brick church, which stood until 1874. In 1875 the present church was built, costing three thousand five hundred dollars. A class had existed in Lewisburgh for a good many years before the building of the first church. In 1841 the membership was about fifty. It now numbers seventy-five. The first pastor to take charge of the class after the building of the church in 1841 was the Rev. Samuel Brown. Their present pastor is the Rev. J. L. Gregg. The Sunday-school was started in 1846.
THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
at Euphemia built their present building in 1854. It is a fine frame building, costing about one thousand six hundred dollars. At the time of the organization of the church the membership was about fifty. It now numbers over sixty persons. The first pastor in charge of the church was the Rev. W. C. Barnett. At present
214 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
the Rev. G. M. Grau has charge. Before the building of the church the congregation had the use 0f the buildings of the United Brethern and the Methodist Episcopalians.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
at Sonora was organized in the house of Mr. William Brown, of section seven, in the year 1835. For twenty- five years they were without a regular church building. In 1860 their present church building was erected, at a cost of about eight hundred dollars. At the time of the organization of the class, there were about twenty persons. The present number is thirty-five. The preacher in charge of the circuit at the time of the building of the first church was the Rev. G. H. Kennedy. The Rev. Mr. Hammen is now in charge.
THE CHURCH OF THE UNITED BRETHREN
at Sonora was organized about 1855, with a membership of twenty-five persons. They built a church immediately, the same as the one they now occupy. It is a fine frame building, pebble dashed, built at a cost of eight hundred dollars. At present the membership is sixty-five. The first pastor of the church and also the one to organize the church, was the Rev. William J. Shuey. Their present pastor is the Rev. J. D. Holsinger. The Sunday-school was organized in 1860.
CEMETERIES.
The burial grounds of Harrison are all in charge of the township. There arc five now in the township, which are named according to their location, as follows: Euphemia, Lewisburgh, West Baltimore, and Tillman. The fifth cannot be properly termed a Harrison burial ground, as it is partly in Monroe township. Of the cemeteries mentioned above the one at Euphemia is the largest.
The cemetery at Euphemia is the oldest in the township. It grew up around the old log church, built in 1817. The first man who was buried there was Henry Sharpe, who was buried in the place before the church was established.
ANTIQUITIES.
The Mound Builders have left several traces of their works in this township. Near the section lines of sections twenty-two and twenty-three, about thirty rods north of the Verona and Euphemia free pike, there is a circular mound about four feet high, with a diameter of thirty feet. Some excavations have been made in it, but nothing of any interest has been found. In the southwestern quarter of section twenty-tw0 there is a mound which is probably the work of these wonderful people.
In 1878, while engaged in digging gravel from a gravel bank, some skeletons were found, which are doubtless those of human beings. The bank was near Turner's mill, at Lewisburgh, a little distance southwest from the mill. As many as thirty skeletons were found lying in a promiscuous heap in an excavation, the bottom of which was formed of a hard, burnt substance. Some of the bones taken from the bank are now in the possession of Dr. E. P. Ebersole, of Lewisburgh.
SCHOOLS.
The first school was taught in an old carding factory, in the southern part of the township, in section thirty-four. The teachers were Jacob Kessler and his son Samuel. Jacob taught the German departments and Samuel the English ones.
In 1812, John Aikman, the father of Benjamin Aikman, who is now living on section twenty-three, taught a school in a log cabin near his house, but kept it up only a short time, as the attendance was small. There was a school kept at a very early date on the place now owned by Jacob Horn, then the property of Rev. Henry Kumler, on section twenty-two.
One of the earliest schools was kept by a German in the old log church in Lewisburgh. This was probably used as a school-house much longer than any of the other buildings.
The township is at present divided into three districts —the township district, the district of Lewisburgh, and a district in the central part of the township, which has seceded from township supervision. The board of education of this latter is A. S. Dye, John Siler, and F. B. Newman. That of the Lewisburgh special district is George Ruff, sr., E. P. Ebersole, and Emanuel Linck. The board of education of the school district of Harrison township is composed of the following gentlemen: Frank Lockwood, Abdiel Etzler, Simeon Hoffman, Jesse F. Burk, John F. Davis, Thomas H. Parks and Courtland Corwin. There are seven schools in this latter district, three in the central district, and one in the Lewisburgh special district.
THE MEDICAL STAFF.
The earliest physician to locate in Harrison, as far as tradition makes any mention, was a Dr. Evans, from Middletown, Ohio; and the second, according to the same authority, was Dr. John C. Fall. The township is at present well supplied with physicians, comprising experienced and skilled followers of Esculapius. At Lewisburgh reside Drs. W. B. and F. C. Gray, E. P. Ebersole, and L. W. Kepler; at Euphemia, Dr. M. Pretzinger; at Sonora, Dr. C. Surface; and at Verona, Dr. H. Miller.
SECRET ORGANIZATIONS.
There are five secret societies in this township: One lodge of Masons, two of Odd Fellows, one of Grangers, and a branch of the Sons of Temperance.
THE LIBANUS LODGE OF MASONS,
No. 80, Free and Accepted Masons, has at present forty- four members. The date of its dispensation was April 18, 1845; it was chartered in October of the same year. The following were the charter members : William Collens (deceased), W. M.; James Bolens (deceased), S. W.; W. B. Gray, J. W.; J. A. Bolens (deceased), John C. Werts, A. L. P. Varine, Irwin E. Freeman, Andrew McCampbell (deceased); and John Singer (deceased). The present officers are: John Yohe, W. M.; J. R. Emens, S. W.; Randall Ayers, J. W.; A. E. May, secretary; Charles Albert, treasurer; M. G. Hollinger, S. D.; George Ruff, jr., J. D., and Jacob Yohe, tyler.
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 215
The Masons have a fine lodge building, erected in 1866.
LODGE NO. 67, INDEPENDENT ORDER ODD OF FELLOWS
was organized the ninth of September, in the year 1880. The present officers are: Henry Heck, N. G.; Levi Werts, V. G.; Silas Laird, S. P. G.; James. Bennett, recording secretary; William Bater, permanent secretary, and William Leas, treasurer. The lodge has about forty- five members.
LODGE NO. 571, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS
was organized the sixteenth of June, in the year 1874. It is at present officered as follows: G. H. Earhart, N. G.; Hugh Garrett, V. G.; Samuel 1'. Zellers, R. S.; Samuel McNutt, P. S.; and A. Frankman, treasurer. The lodge has about fifty-six members.
THE LEWISBURGH SONS OF TEMPERANCE
were organized in 1880. They have twenty-five members. Their officers are: S. T. Zeller, W. P.; Emmie Brown, W. A.; Z. T. Stevenson, P. W. P.; Oliver Boerger, secretary; J. W. Etzler, treasurer; and A. E. May, chaplain.
THE GRANGERS.
The Twin Valley Grange, No. 657, was organized on the seventh of March, 1873. The first officers were: Mathias Disher, W. M., and F. M. Demott, W. S. The present officers are: J. D. Schlotterbeck, W. M.; C. B. Dye, overseer; A. P. Zeller, lecturer; Jacob McNutt, chaplain; Samuel I. Bunger, steward; A. E. Bunger, assistant steward; M. Disher, treasurer; David Bixler, secretary; Daniel Hapner, gate keeper; Mrs. Sophia McNutt, ceres; Mrs. Susan Schlotterbeck, pomona; Mrs. Vienna Bunger, flora; and Mrs. A. J. Bixler, lady assistant steward. The lodge-house of the Grangers is at Lewisburgh. It is a fine two-story frame building, the upper half of which is used as a lodge-room; the lower half is occupied by Zehring & Binkerd, dry goods merchants.
THE FIRST MILL IN THE TOWNSHIP
was built by Zachariah Hole, according to local tradition. He located at an early date on Twin creek, and erected his mill of logs and covered it with clapboards. This is supposed to have been as early as 1809. It was built in section twenty seven. The present mill, owned by Turner, stands on the site of this primitive log mill. The second mill was built by Dennison, where the one owned by Bowman & Thompson now stands, in the southwestern quarter of section twenty-one. Report says a mill was once built by Abraham Lock's grandfather, about two miles up the creek from Hole's mill, but whether it was the same as the present Dennison mill rs uncertain. The first stone mill built in the township was erected by Mr. Leas, on section twenty-one, or near the site of the first Dennison mill. There are at present three flouring- mills in the township, all of which are doing a large business. One at Lewisburgh, owned by Perry Turner; one at Rock Ridge, owned by Bowman & Thompson; and one at Verona, owned by Werts Grupe.
The mills at an early day were generally located at or near some point where the stream had been backed up by the accumulation of drift-wood. These drifts were made to do duty as dams, by a little additional work. When any break occurred at the end of the drift the only thing necessary was to fell a tree across the weak spot and the damage would soon repair itself.
THE BLOCK-HOUSE.
In 1812, at the time of the hostilities with the western Indians, a block-house was built on the northwest quarter of section eleven, and every man in that part of the settlement was required to serve a period of six months. No fighting was ever done in that portion of the county, but an armed force of men were kept there during the winter to Intimidate the Indians. The little garrison was commanded by Captain Simon Phillips. As many as sixty men served there during the winter. A copy of the discharge issued to every man at the expiration of his term of service is given below. It may not prove uninteresting to some of the descendants of those early settlers who assembled in this fort for the defence of the settlement. It was issued to Jacob Miller, and is now in the possession of his son, Dr. James W, Miller, of Verona.
"1 do certify that Jacob Miller, a sergeant of my company of Ohio riflemen, in the battalion, under the command of Major Alexander Lanier, has served a regular term of duty (six months), and is hereby honorably discharged.
"Given under my hand this fifth of April, 1814.-
At this date all of Captain Phillips' men were discharged, and no further use being made of the blockhouse, it gradually fell to decay. The place is now owned by Mr. Daniel Wolf.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
The first store opened in the township was by Cornelius Van Ausdal. It was situated in Lewisburgh, where the dry goods store of F. J. Wilson now stands. It was opened some time before the year 186, but the exact date cannot be ascertained. In this store the first post office in the township was held, in the year 1825. The first postmaster was Henry Espich. There are at present four post offices in the township—one at Lewisburgh, one at Euphemia, one at Sonora, and one at Verona. The two latter post offices being on the line of railroads, have the regular mails, but that for Euphemia and Lewisburgh is brought over in a hack twice a day from Sonora, the nearest railroad station. When the post office at Lewisburgh was first started the people were forced to be content with one mail a week.
The first distillery in the township was run by Henry Horn, in 1811, at Lewisburgh. One was afterwards opened at Hole's mill before 1816, and in 1835 James Fraser had one where the tannery in Lewisburgh now stands. Six distilleries have been run in the township at different times, but there is only one at present, which is at Lewisburgh, but is not now running.
The first man married in Harrison was David Price, who married Catharine Vantz. The first death in the township was that of Henry Sharpe, a native of Scotland. After spending a great part of his life in Germany, he came to Ohio, and died in Harrison township about
216 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
1814. He was buried in the Euphemia graveyard, and is said to be the first man buried on the spot now covered with tombstones. The second death was that of Peter Black in 1814.
There are two railroads in the township: the Dayton Western, and the Dayton & Union. The latter is the oldest, being built in 1849. The Dayton Western was built in 1851, and it is to its presence that Harrison township owes it rapid growth and active trade. A railroad was once laid out through the township, which raised the hopes of the inhabitants to a high pitch. It was the Evansville & Lake Shore railroad. It crossed the southeastern part of the State, passing through Euphemia and Lewisburgh. After completing the grading and bridging as far as the State line between Ohio and Indiana, and spending immense sums on the preparation, the company broke up in 1855, and nothing more has ever been done to it. In Euphemia they have left a lasting proof of their work. Across the National road they built large arches for an iron bridge. These are finished in fine style, and nothrng is wanting, but the body of the bridge. The stone work is solid and well put together, and will last for years.
EARLY INCIDENTS.
A great deal of trouble was experienced with the hostile Indians, both prior to and during the War of 1812. Most of the mischief was done by small bands, as there would have been too much danger of capture had raids been made by very large bodies of men. Their depredations were confined mostly to running of horses and killing cattle. Tradition mentions two attempts to murder whites, which failed through the failure of the guns to explode. A man by the name of Myers had stepped out on a back porch, and while there, he heard what he at once recognized to be the snap of a flintlock. The gun of the Indian failed him, and before he could aim a second time, Myers had escaped into the house. He afterwards saw the very Indian who had attempted his murder, and who mentioned having snapped at him on a certain morning as he was standing on his porch.
At another time John Aikman's life was attempted by a hostile Indian. He was tying fodder when he heard the snap of the flint against the steel. He did not stop to interview his dangerous neighbor, but in the words of th.e aged narrator he "cut for the house lively." Every precaution was used to ensure safety by night against the attack of the wily foe. Every one slept with some weapon at hand, ready at an instant's alarm to start up and battle for life. Traces were often found where the Indians had been prowling around during the night, probably only restrained from committing injury by their fear of the white man's vengeance. Although no record exists of any white being killed by an Indian in the township, reports to the contrary are found.
At one time an Indian came to the house of the Abbotts on Miller's fork, and demanded admittance. Upon its being refused him, he attempted to force his way into the dwelling, but was killed by Mr. Abbott by a fearful blow on the head with some heavy instrument. An Indian was buried by William Myers in the swamp near his house. Although no one can assert positively that he met his death by violence, nevertheless Myers was always regarded as the author of his death, but such was the dread in which the red man was held that no questions were asked. Any one who could dispose of an enemy so cruel and cunning, was held to have done the country a service timely and praiseworthy.
In 1812 Rebecca Sharpe, a sister of Henry Sharpe, was taken prisoner by some wandering Indians while visiting the Abbotts. She was carried to Darke county, and afterwards brought back to Preble county by her captors, who stopped on Swamp creek and made salt. They had a salt pit there which they guarded jealously from the whites. Miss Sharpe fixed the place in her memory, and after her release, which occurred at Greenville soon after, she came back and gave information concerning the salt pit. After the Indians were through with their salt making, they were accustomed to stop the mouth of the pit with large stones and then strew it over with elm bark.
Jacob Potter bought up a large tract of land in the neighborhood and went to work to make salt. He had dug down a good ways, when some one, who was either jealous of his prospects or who was a personal enemy, filled up the shaft with pieces of steel and iron and put an end to the work. Potter was out of funds, probably, and could not proceed with his work. At any rate, he sold out and made no more attempts at salt manufacturing.
At the time of Rebecca Sharpe's capture there were only four men in the township who were not drafted into the army. These four were John Lock, Jacob Werts, John Vantz, and William Lower. This act of the Indians in taking Miss Sharpe prisoner, caused such a fright that every one but old Vantz left in haste for the block-house at Lexington, leaving stock, crops, and everything to the mercy of the Indians. Vantz said that he had come all the way from Pennsylvania to find a home and that now that he had one he didn't propose to leave it to the mercy of "them pesky Injuns." They might kill him if they wished but he would not run. He was never molested during his stay, although the stock of the other farms were run off and the crops destroyed.
Upon her release Miss Sharpe went back to Tennessee. Four years later her relatives went after her and persuaded her to accompany them back to Ohio. She consented, but died on the journey when ten miles north of Cincinnati, within fifty miles of her destination.
THE FIRST ELECTION
was held in the year 1816. In 1815 the present township was severed from Twin township, and the first elections were held in the following year. There is no township house, but the elections are held either in the council room at Lewisburgh or the hotel at Sonora. The results of the first election were as follows: Trustees—Jesse Swisher, Daniel Rec and John Vautz ; clerk—Daniel Leas, Lester and Asa Sherman; treas-
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urer—Martin Rice; supervisors--Daniel Rec and John Lock, jr.; constables—John Aikman and Christian Kiser. The latter was also elected appraiser.
Overseers of the poor, Tobias Tillman and John Lock, sr.; fence viewers, John White and Jacob Ringer; justices of the peace, Jesse Swisher and Daniel Leas. The present officers are: James P. Reynolds, Hiram Gay, and A. S. Dye, trustees; A. E. May, clerk; William Leas, treasurer; Abdael Etzler and David Werts, assessors; Hiram Weiland and W. C. McGrew, constables, and James R. Dinwiddie, and Simeon Hoffman, justices of the peace.
POPULATION.
The present population of Harrison township is two thousand five hundred and forty-five persons. Of these, over six hundred are voters. At the last election the township went Republican, the town of Lewisburgh going Democratic.
PROPERTY VALUATION.
The valuation of property in the township, according to the latest assessor's returns, is as follows : The land and chattels are valued at eight hundred and seventy- four thousand, nine hundred and ten dollars, that of the buildings is one hundred and sixty-six thousand, five hundred and fifty dollars; a total of one million, forty-one thousand, four hundred and sixty dollars.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
THE OTT FAMILY.
The family of this name, which first settled in Preble county, emigrated from Rockbridge county, Virginia. They were among the first settlers of Harrison township, locating near where Euphemia now is. They had not been here long when some vague rumors of Indian depredations induced them, with the exception of the son John and an older brother, who remained to winter through the stock, to return to Warren county, Ohio. The following spring the family returned to Harrison, where they made a permanent settlement. At the time of the emigration of the family from Virginia, John Ott, sr., previously mentioned, and father of John Ott, whose portrait appears on another page, was a young man, having been born August 1, 1785. He married June 22, 1815, Mary Magdalena Lock, who came from Maryland in an early day. She was born October 12, 1783. After marriage John settled on the dry fork of Twin creek, not far from where his son John now re sides. He lived in Euphemia during the later years of his life, and died there May 22, 1857. His first wife died in 1848, and some two years before his death he married Mrs. Hannah Hinkle, of Euphemia. He was a great hunter, and often came in friendly contact with the Indians, concerning whom he frequently related in after life many interesting reminiscences. He was an industrious, hard-working man, and secured a good property and provided liberally for his children. He was a member of the Lewisburgh Lutheran church, and was a useful citizen. He had, by his first marriage, five sons— Abraham, George, Jacob, John and Jesse, all of whom, but John, live in Indiana. John Ott, jr., subject of the portrait elsewhere given, was born in Harrison township, March 23, 1820. He married April 18, 1844, Matilda, daughter of George Brown, who lived on Twin creek. His first wife died November 1, 1845, leaving one child—John A., born February 11, 1845. In 1848 Mr. Ott married Barbara Link, who was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, July 31, 1822. Her father, John Link, was among the early settlers of Harrison. The children by this marriage are as follows: Daniel, born May to, 1849; Matilda, wife of John Gangwer, born February 3, 1851; Eliza Jane, wife of William Glick, born January 15, 1853; Sarah, wife of Jasper Ott, born August 13, 1854, is living in Noble county, Indiana; Barbara Ann, wife of Henry Chambers, b0rn May 14, 1856; Elijah, born November 25, 1860; Mary, born July 11, 1863. An infant son, George Franklin, died, in 1859. All of the children, except Mrs. Jasper Ott, live in Preble county. John Ott remained with his father and farmed the place until 1854, when he removed to Noble county, Indiana. In 1860 he moved back to Harrison, and has since lived here. He is one of the largest landholders in this part of the county, owning nearly eight hundred acres.
COLONEL SAMUEL KESLER.
The subject of this sketch was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, on the seventeenth day of May, 1792, and with his father, Jacob Kesler, who served as a soldier in the Revolution, emigrated to Preble county, Ohio, and settled on a farm about one mile south of Lewis- burgh, in the year 1811. In the following year, 1812, reports having reached the settlements that the Indians were becoming troublesome, and that several families had been massacred near Greenville, Ohio, a company under Captain Fleming, in which he acted as a private, was sent out against them, but on arriving at their destination, they found that the Indians, after having murdered several persons, had fled. After doing garrison duty for some months, and there being no further need of them, the company was honorably discharged.
An amusing incident, as related by himself, occurred on their return. While halting at one of those refreshing springs that so much abound near where the village of Euphemia now stands, to partake of their last meal of rations before separating for their individual homes, a number of them, for diversion, engaged firing at a mark. The report of their guns was heard by one of the near-
218 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
est families, residing in the vicinity, and not suspecting the cause, imagined they were Indians, and without stopping to investigate, fled precipitately to their nearest neighbor, excitedly informing them the woods were full of savages, and that whole families were being murdered. Judging from the number of shots being fired, the whole settlement at once became thoroughly frightened, mothers snatching their little ones from their cradles, and in some instances leaving their unbaked bread in the ovens, all fleeing for their lives, as they supposed, before their merciless savage foes. Nor did they discover their mistake until some of them had proceeded as far as the settlements, where West Alexandria now stands.
Considering that the able bodied men had all gone to the front, none being left but decrepit old men, women, and children, and that they not having been apprised of the company's return, it is scarcely to be wondered that they became frightened. It is needless to say that the captain was soundly berated (whether justly or not) by the female portion for his indiscretion in allowing his men to frighten them in so unceremonious a manner.
In 1814 Mr. Kesler was married to Magdalene Potterf, whose father emigrated at an early day from the State of Maryland, and settled a few miles south of Eaton, Ohio. Having purchased one hundred and sixty acres of timber land a few smiles south of Lewisburgh, he built himself a log cabin in the usual style of those days, with a blanket for a door, hung over the entrance. .They commenced housekeeping in their rude home, and at once, with brave hearts and willing hands, commenced the arduous labors of converting their forest home into the more congenial wheat and corn fields, which resulted from their toil.
Right here an incident might be related as showing what material our forefathers, and especially foremothers, were composed of, and what trials they had to undergo in those early days. At one time, when her husband had gone on a trip to Cincinnati, which then occupied six or seven days, Mrs. Kesler remained in her cabin entirely alone, and this, too, when there were wild beasts and savages roaming through the forest. One day a couple of the latter unceremoniously entered the cabin, one of them at the same time flourishing a large butcher knife. Thinking they were going to murder her she became very much alarmed, which only amused the savages. The one with the knife uttering an "ugh," strode to the fireplace, plunged his knife into a firebrand, and with it, much to her relief, departed.
Having become tired of the hard labor incident to clearing up a heavily timbered farm, he purchased a woollen mill near Lewisburgh, and after successfully conducting that for a few years, he came into possession of a hotel in Lewisburgh, where he resided for some years, when he again moved to his farm one mile south of town. About the year 1830 St. Joseph, Michigan, was being talked of as the coming Eldorado, and with a friend he started on an exploring expedition to that town. The journey had to be performed on horseback, and through an almost trackless forest. On their arrival there they found only a few log cabins near the lake shore, and some of them were deserted. It is needless to say that they were disgusted with the place, and returned to their homes, thinking, after all, there was no place equal to old Preble county. He soon after purchased a large farm on Price's creek, two miles southwest of Lewisburgh, where he lived until within a few years of his death, which occurred at his residence in Euphemia on the twelfth day of February, 1867, at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Kesler had been married twice, his first wife having died in 1851, he married Mrs. Mary Steele, who survives him. During his lifetime he held numerous positions of trust and honor. In early life he became colonel of the State militia, a position he held until the law was repealed. He raised seven children, all of whom he lived to see grow to manhood and womanhood, and four of whom survive him.
SAMUEL BUNGER, SR.,
was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, November 29, 1806. When about twelve years of age, his father, John Bunger, emigrated with his family to Ohio. He rented a farm for one year near Hamilton, in Butler county, and then moved to Preble county and settled where his son, Samuel, now lives. He died September 16, 1821, aged sixty-one years, two months and ten days. His wife, Eva (House), died August 6, 1843, aged seventy-five years, five months and six days. They had fourteen children, twelve of whom they raised. Only three are now living, viz.: Samuel, Eli and Simeon. Eli resides in Euphemia, and Simeon in Darke county.
Samuel, the subject of the portrait given on another page, still lives on the old homestead where he settled over sixty years ago. After the death of his father, he continued to live with his mother until he became of age, when he assumed control of the home place and began to buy out the interest of the other heirs, and now owns a farm of one hundred acres, all the buildings on which he has himself built. Mr. Bunger has always been a hard working, industrious man, and has accumulated a good property and raised a large family. He married January 3, 1832, Eva Lock, daughter of John and Elizabeth Lock, who came from Maryland in the first settlement of the county, and settled in Harrison township, near Euphemia. Mrs. Bunger was born November 15, 1815. Samuel and Eva Bunger are the parents of the following named children: John, born May 10, 1834, living in Harrison township on a farm of fifty-seven acres; William, born April 22, 1836, is a grocer in Euphemia; Elizabeth, born August 16, 1838, is the wife of Levi Brown, of Euphemia; Rachel, born July 27, 1840, is the wife of George Chambers, of Montgomery county; Sarah, born May 6, 1842, wife of Andrew Ridenour, living in Illinois; Sophia, born March 13, 1844, was the wife of Michael Cupp, and died February 26, 1875; Aaron, born January 20, 1846, died May 28, 1851; Samuel, born April 9, 1848, lives on a portion of the homestead; Eliza, born February 20, 1850, was the wife of Clark B. Dye, died January 17, 1870; Mary Catharine, born Novem-
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ber 4, 1852, the second wife of Clark B. Dye, lives in Harrison township; Jacob A., born February 25, 1854, lives on the home place with his father.
Mr. Bunger has held the office of trustee of his township; is a member of the Lutheran church, and possesses the respect of all who know him.