Butler County, Ohio - Chapter 6, 1905 (part 5 of 18)

Mary Alma Sawyer

Little of interest can be said to biographical lovers of a woman wholly devoted to the noble and humane work of teaching, and whose life is a continuous consecration to duty faithfully and efficiently performed. Only through the results of her labors as they affect others, may glimpses here and there be obtained of the mind's struggles, of the heart's desires, and of the soul's hopes, and it is to the future alone that must decide her true worth and fix her proper place among the noble and self-sacrificing, whose efforts and influence have blessed the world and made humanity wiser and better. Among the successful and popular teachers of Butler county, Miss Mary Alma Sawyer, of Oxford, occupies a conspicuous place and it is with no little satisfaction that the biographer is permitted to present a brief outline of her career in this connection and to pay a just tribute to her professional and womanly worth. In the veins of Miss Sawyer flows the blood of a long line of sterling New England ancestors, and it was in the old historic commonwealth of Vermont that her birth occurred on November 26, 1854. Her father, O. S. Sawyer, also a native of the Green Mountain state, was of English extraction and a creditable representative of the sturdy Puritan element which figured so prominently in the settlement and history of New England and bore such an influential part in giving the people of that section of the union the moral and intellectual fiber for which they have so long been distinguished. The early life of Miss Sawyer was spent among the beautiful and romantic scenery of her native place and during her childhood and youth she attended the public schools, the training thus received being afterwards supplemented by a course in a village academy not far from the family homestead. In the latter institution she prosecuted her studies with the object in view of still more thorough intellectual discipline, and in searching the same she entered Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she was graduated with the class of 1879. Meanwhile, when- but sixteen years of age, she began teaching in the public schools and from that time to the present her life has been devoted to educational work, either as a student or teacher. She has always been actuated by a laudable ambition to excel in her profession and to this end has spared neither time nor expense in availing herself of the best means at hand for her improvement. A close and critical student, she has taken advantage of every opportunity to add to her knowledge and broaden her mind, and as a teacher she has been keenly alive to the exacting demands of the times by keeping in touch with the trend of modern educational thought, and by making every other consideration subordinate to the one object of utilizing her attainments skillfully and efficiently in her profession.

Miss Sawyer began her professional career in her own state, but since that time has taught in various parts of the union and in Canada. From 1882 to 1887, inclusive, she held a chair in Demill College, Oshawa, Ontario, and from the latter year to the present time has filled an important position in the Western College, at Oxford, Ohio, being one of the most efficient and popular teachers in the latter institution.

Miss Sawyer is a fine type of New England womanhood and embodies many of the sterling qualities which characterize the people of the Green Mountain state. By energy and consecutive industry, as well as by long and thorough intellectual and professional discipline, she has steadily forged to the front in her chosen calling and now holds an honored position among Ohio's successful educators. While perhaps best known in the field of endeavor to which her abilities have been devoted, she is also popular in social circles of the city in which she resides, possessing as she does a sweet and beauti ful moral nature and the happy faculty of winning and retaining the warm personal friendships of her companions and associates. Reared in the Congregational church, she has always remained loyal to the faith, and since coming to Oxford has been interested in the different lines of religious and charitable work under the auspices of the local church.

Harry W. Howard

Among the thriving farmers and stock raisers of Butler county the gentleman whose name introduces this article is especially conspicuous. Few men of his experience have achieved such marked results, none occupy a more prominent place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow men and it' is safe to presume that his example and influence have done as much if not more than any other agency to promote the interests of agriculture in the township of his residence. Harry \V. Howard is proud to claim Butler county as the place of his nativity and that he has honored it by a life of enterprise and successful endeavor is freely conceded by all who know him. He was born in Union township on May 4, 1864, and is the fourth in a family of five children whose parents, George W. and Lauretta (Krouskopf) Howard, were for many years well known and respected residents of this part of the Buckeye state. Reared under the wholesome discipline of the farm and receiving his first vivid impression from nature, young Howard grew up strong, sturdy and independent and having been early instructed in the virtues of industry, honesty and thrift, it was not long until their influence was manifest in the formation of a character which in due time developed into a well-rounded, symmetrical manhood. After attending the public schools until finishing the common branches, he received a sound mental discipline in the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, where he was graduated from the intermediate department with an honorable record, after which he returned home and turned his attention to agricultural pursuit*.

Mr. Howard's career since beginning life for himself presents a series of successes which speak well for his energy and wrelldirected industry and today he easily ranks with the most progressive farmers and stock raisers of Butler county, wdiile his enviable standing as 'a citizen has won him a reputation of which his family and many friends feel proud. His financial circumstances are such as to render him independent, as is attested by his beautiful farm of four hundred and thirty acres, a portion of which he leases, his valuable personal property and ample private capital, the whole constituting a fortune of sufficient magnitude to insure a liberal competency for the remainder of his days. Mr. Howard's farm contains one hundred and thirty acres of tillable land and the improvements on the same are among the most valuable in Union township. He displays good taste as well as commendable industry in the cultivation and management of his place, everything being kept in excellent order and it goes without the saying that he is thoroughly conversant with every branch of agricultural science and is a master of the art of advanced farming. In addition to cultivating the soil, he devotes considerable attention to live stock, especially cattle, in the breeding and raising of which he has a wrell established reputation. His other domestic animals are of the finest kinds obtainable and the sum annually realized from their sale constitutes no small share of his income.

On the 14th day of February, 1890, Mr. Howard was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Vettel, of Hamilton county, Ohio, the union resulting in the birth of two children, Odelia, born in December, 1892, and John, who first saw the light of day in the month of September, 1894.

In his political faith Mr. Howard is a Republican, but not a partisan in the sense of seeking office. He manifests an abiding interest, howrever, in the leading questions of the times, keeps in touch writh current events and is well informed concerning public affairs, being a wfide reader, an intelligent observer and a man with the courage of his convictions upon every subject which he investigates. For the last six years he has been a member of the Union township school board and during that time has labored untiringly to advance the cause of education and promote the efficiency of the schools in his jurisdiction. He is also actively concerned in the general welfare of his township and county, and gives his influence and support to all laudable enterprises for their growth and development. Mr. Howard believes in making proper use of the good things of this world and to this end he endeavors to get all the comfort and pleasure out of life there is in it. He has been liberal in the expenditure of his means to add to the convenience and beauty of his home, among the most pleasing features of which is the commodious and attractive modern dwelling the family now occupies, an imposing brick structure admitted to be one of the finest residences in the township of Union.

Andrew D. Hepburn David Pierce

David Pierce, a talented and successful attorney of Hamilton, was bom near Camden, Preble county, Ohio, on the 18th of October, 1857. He was reared on a farm, and grew to manhood amid the environments of country life, his early years being spent in the district schools of the neighborhood and in working upon the farm. This elementary education was supplemented by a course in the normal school at Danville, Indiana, where he prepared for teaching, and engaged in that honorable avocation. Mr. Pierce came to Hamilton as principal of the Fifth ward school in this city, and there achieved an enviable reputation as an educator and teacher and gave universal satisfaction. But his disposition led to the legal profession and he entered upon the study of law under the tutorship of Messrs. Banning & Davidson, of Cincinnati. After the necessary preliminary work in this direction, he entered the Cincinnati Law School, and was graduated therefrom in 1882. In the succeeding year Mr. Pierce was the Democratic nominee for representative of Preble county, in the lower house of the state legislature, but was defeated by a small margin at the polls. In 1885 he declined a unanimous renomination, which was tendered him by the nominating convention. Soon after this Mr. Pierce took up a permanent residence in Hamilton and has since been promi - nently identified with the legal profession in this city. Fie is a careful, methodical lawyer, well-versed in legal lore, and a wise and safe counsellor. He soon became prominently identified with Butler county Democracy and has been several times a member of the county central committee, serving two years as the treasurer of the same. He has been a member of the board of trustees of the Lane Free Library for a number of years.

The national campaign, following a period of great financial depression, led Mr. Pierce to the consideration of the money question as he had never before considered it. The more he studied, the more firmly he became convinced that the contention of William J. Bryan and his followers was the proper solution of the vexing problem, and he began the preparation of a volume entitled "Money Brief," which has created a perceptible stir in the financial world. It has been recommended by many prominent Democrats all over the United States, among whom may be mentioned W. J. Bryan, and Senator James K. Jones, chairman of the national Democratic committee. It contains the full text of all coinage laws from 1792 to 1898* with copious notes and comments thereon, from the view-point of a bimetallist. "Money Brief" is a masterly defense of the principles of free coinage of lx)th gold and silver, at the ratio of sixteen to one. The work is replete with interesting details, copious references and elaborate tables. Quotations from prominent men of all parties are freely given, some of which they very gallantly (?) repudiated when the subject of finance became a national issue. It is only just to say that "Money Brief" has been recognized as an authority by Democratic leaders, speakers and writers, and very generally indorsed by them. Had this work appeared and been generally circulated during the campaign of 1896, it would have proven a great educator of which the people were in sore need. It would have been a source of great profit to its author and possibly might have changed the result in that closely contested election. The volume comprises two hundred and fifty pages, quarto, carefully indexed, and written in a pleasing and convincing style, which at once places its author among the strong, forcible and capable writers of the day.

relative of Franklin Pierce, who was elected President of the United States in 1852. His ancestors, paternal and maternal, were closely associated with the colonial and Revolutionary history of America. The emigrant ancestor, Thomas Pierce, came from England in 1633, and settled at Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he became prominently identified with the history of his adopted country. Sergt. Thomas Pierce was of the committee for dividing the common lands in Woburn, and also of the general courts committee. Timothy Pierce, next in line, was one of the most prominent men in Plainfield, Connecticut, served as a member of the governor's council, a colonel of militia and a judge. David Pierce's greatgrandfather, Ephraim Ladd, marched in the "Lexington alarm," and John Railsback, who was a great-great-grandfather, was one of the farmers who came at the call of Benjamin Franklin, with teams, to assist in the moving of Braddock's army, was with Braddock in his defeat, and assisted at his burial. John Railsback came to Preble county in the beginning of the nineteenth century, and entered land which is still owned by Mr. Pierce, who also owns the land entered by another ancestor, John Pottenger. The Pottengers and Railsbacks were assisted by the Indians in clearing their lands and building their cabins. Other ancestors, the Enochs and Barnets. came to Butler county in 1800. They were millers, distillers, and fine mechanics. One of the first mills ever built on the Miami was built by the Enochs, in Lemon township. It consisted of a gristmill, a sawmill, and a woolen factory. They also built a distillery.

of Preble county and was closely identified with affairs of state during a long and useful life. He was twice a member of the constitutional conventions, and aided in framing the present constitution of the state. He had a voice in determining the great question of human slavery, being a strong abolitionist. Mr. Barnet was president of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Richmond Railway Company, and held other official positions, all of which he discharged with ability and fidelity.

Mr. Pierce is prominently identified with the Masonic order, having attained to the thirty-second degree in that timehonored fraternity. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and other beneficial societies. He is an able lawyer, a clean and companionable gentleman, highly esteemed for his geniality, high social standing and his fearlessness and frankness of opinion. His methods are honorable and upright, his motives pure and unselfish. This "certificate of character" is universal in the minds of his co-laborers in professional life and in the social circle. Backed by a degree of exalted intelligence and high moral instincts, it is not strange that he is popular with all.

Samuel H. Allen

A business man of respectable standing and wide influence, a leader in the industrial circles of his city and a forceful factor in its public affairs, Samuel H. Allen enjoys worthy prestige among the representative citizens of Butler county and it is with no little satisfaction that a brief review of his life and achievements is presented in this connection. Mr. Allen comes of good old colonial stock and is proud of the fact that his grandfather bore a brave and gallant part in the struggle for independence. Col. Ethan Allen, a member of the same family and one of the most daring and intrepid leaders of the above trying period, rendered such distinguished service that his name has become a household word and the records of his deeds forms one of the brightest pages of American history. For many years the Allens lived in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and it was about the beginning of the nineteenth century that the subject's grandfather emigrated to the territory of Indiana, settling in Franklin county, where he entered land, improved a farm and spent the remainder of his life as an industrious and thrifty tiller of the soil. Among his children was a son by the name of Eliphalet Allen, whose birth occurred in the county of Franklin and who devoted his life to agricultural pursuits; he married in his native state and became the father of five children, one of whom died in infancy, the subject of this review being the third of the family.

Samuel H. Allen was horn in Franklin county, near where his grandfather originally settled, August 12, 1853, and spent his early life on the farm, attending at intervals during his childhood and youth the district schools of the neighborhood. After acquiring a good practical education he took up the study of telegraphy and in due time became quite proficient therein, after which he entered the employ of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad, at Oxford, Ohio, in the twofold capacity of operator and station agent, a position he long held witii credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the company with which for eighteen consecutive years he was connected. Mr. Alle was one of the old and trusted employes of the above road and his long continuance in the important position demonstrated not only professional skill and ability of a high order, but also faithfulness in looking after the interests of the company that won him the esteem and unbounded confidence of his superiors. His quick observance of every duty devolving upon him, his promptness m meeting and discharging the responsibilities which came to him and his familiarity wit the various details of his profession and the railroad business generally made his services especially valuable, and there were few as efficient agents on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad as he. Mr. Allen severed his connection with the road in 1892. No one did more than he to bring about the mutually pleasant and satisfactory relations between the company and the public that have long obtained at Oxford. Mr. Allen is identified with various public improvements in Oxford, including among others the city water works, established in 1896, and the electric light plant, established in 1889. He has been secretary of these systems ever since 1895 and it is not too much to say that their efficiency and success are largely due to the untiring interest he has manifested in their behalf. He was also one of the first to agitate the matter of a local telephone system and took the initiation in organizing and incorporating the present company, being at this time secretary of the same and a member of its board of directors. In municipal affairs he has long been p leading spirit, every movement for the material advancement of the city meeting with his encouragement and co-operation, while not a

Mr. Allen is justly regarded one of the m enterprising citizens of Oxford, being uptoSte in all he does, a leader in matters of public import and an influential force along the various lines of industrial and genera business growth. His active brain, quick tellect and willing hands are nev«* 1

Mr. Allen is a firm and uncomprom.sig Republican and a politician, beuig an achv participant in the councils of h.s party and one of its recognized leaders in r. tier county. He is a good organizer, resourceful worker and, although - of his fellow citizens nor asked f any kind, his faith in the pnnap'e 0! ^ party and belief that it is acwmpl.shmg great mission which its founders hadi U j^fyinghimfor ^tasl^^ the sacrifices he has made P lady to whom Mr. Allen was united in the bonds of wedlock September 19, 1878, and who prior to that time bore the name of Julia Finch. Mrs. Allen was born and reared in Oxford township and received her education in the city schools; her grandfather, a native of New York, came to this part of Ohio about eightv-five years ago and in due time became one of the leading farmers of Butler county. Her father was born in Butler county in 1825 and moved onto his present farm in Oxford township soon after his marriage, and became a prominent farmer and stockraiser, his wife and family as well as himself being highly esteemed in the county. Although not blessed with any children, the married life of Mr. and Mrs. Allen has been mutually pleasant and agreeable in all the terms imply, their domestic relations being of the happiest character, while their worth as members of society is duly appreciated in the best social circles of the county. Both are interested in the various movements for the general good of the city along charitable, benevolent and moral lines, and those who know them best speak most highly of their many estimable qualities of mind and heart.

Linus P. Vail

Linus P. Vail is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Butler county and a man of integrity, mature judgment and high moral worth, and it is eminently fitting that specific mention be made of him among the leading citizens of the county of which this work treats. The Vail family is of English origin and its history in this country dates from the early settlement of New Jersey, in addition to which it is also closely identified with the pioneer period of different parts of the state of Ohio. The first ancestor of whom the subject has any definite knowledge is Samuel Vail, who was born in New Jersey, where his antecedents settled a number of years prior to the war of the Revolution. He married, in his native commonwealth, Keziah Jennings, and later migrated to southern Ohio, of which part of the state he was one of the earliest pioneers. Among the children of Samuel and Keziah Vail was a son by the name of Isaac, who married Fannie Clifton and reared a family, from which the subject of this review is directly descended. Isaac Vail settled at Cincinnati in about 1806, and one year later his son Moses was born at that place. All the above were tillers of the soil and they were noted for their great physical powers, each being over six feet in height and correspondingly developed and robust. Moses Vail came to the county of Butler, settling in Liberty township, where he was married, in 1827, to Miss Elizabeth Vail. He arrived here poor in this world's goods, but, possessing great energy, remarkable endurance and fine business abilities, he soon bettered his condition and in the course of a few years was one of the leading farmers and wealthy business men of this section of the state. He purchased and developed several large tracts of land, traded in various kinds of commodities, conducted successfully a country store, and in these different capacities money rapidly came into his possession, besides achieving considerable prestige as a leader in public affafrs. The family of Moses and Elizabeth Vail consisted of seven children, all of whom are living, their names being as follows : Ellen, wife of Elias Smalley; Sarah, who married Nelson Murphy, of Union City, Indiana; Linus P., of this review; Maria, wife of Samuel Enyart; Matilda, now Mrs. Joseph Kinikin, of Hamilton, and Eliza, who became the wife of Thomas Peak, of Illinois. The father died in 1876, the mother in 1894.

Linus P. Vail was born in Liberty township, Butler county, Ohio, July 12, 1836, and grew to manhood on the farm which h^ now owns and which was the house of his childhood. Endowed with the vigorous bodily powers characteristic of his ancestors and blessed with fine health and excellent parental training, he early made good use of his time by working in the woods and fields and in various other ways assisting his father in developing and cultivating the family homestead. During the winter months he attended such schools as the country afforded and by close application to his studies he obtained a good education for the times. He remained with his parents until his twenty-first year and then started in life for himself, choosing, in 1857, a wife and helpmeet by the name of Emmeline Jeffries, who was the fifth of the twelve children of Thomas Jeffries, an early settler and prominent farmer of Union township.

During the fifteen years following his marriage Mr. Vail farmed as a renter, but in 1872 purchased the home farm, since which time he has made additions thereto until he now has one hundred and five acres of excellent and highly improved land in Liberty township, besides owning valuable real estate near the village of Pueblo. While fortunate in the matter of general farming, his principal source of income has been live stock, in the breeding and raising of which his success has long been assured. He devotes much attention to fine cattle and hogs, keeping none but the best domestic animals, and his efforts in this important branch of farming have aroused a commendable interest among his neighbors in the matter of improving their breeds of live stock.

Mr. Vail began life considerably handicapped by lack of means and he has never received aid from arty outside source, his present independent condition and the ample competency laid aside for his declining years being the result of his own industry and well-directed business efforts. Although no longer under the necessity of laboring for a livelihood, he still looks after his agricultural and live-stock interests, manages the farm and attends to his business affairs, leaving the more difficult work to other and younger hands.

The political support of Mr. Vail is given to the Republican party and its candidates and he takes quite an active interest in local affairs, but has never sought nor desired office. The only public positions he has ever held have been judge of elections and school director, serving three years in the former and eleven years in the latter.

Mrs. Vail was born in the month of November, 1835, spent her childhood and youth in Union township and received the best education the public schools could impart. She has nobly seconded her husband in all of his endeavors, contributed not a little to the building up of his fortune, and without her assistance and co-operation it is doubtful if his success would have been so marked as it now is. She is a worthy and respected member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in the rearing of her children has endeavored to implant in their hearts a love of truth and right and to impress them with the necessity of guiding their lives by the religious principles which have ever been among her most pronounced characteristics.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Vail, viz : Ella, wife of Dr. Otto Mayer, of Hamilton; Charles, a married man with two sons, living in the city of St. Paul, Minnesota; Hubert, who married Miss Jessie Sinkey, and resides in Hamilton; Rosa, born August 3, 1858, died August 14, 1876; Jessie, born in October, 1863, died when about one month old.

Rev. Pius Niehaus, pastor of St. Stephen's Roman Catholic church, Hamilton, Ohio, is a native of Cincinnati, born on the 26th of November, 1853, his ancestors being of German nativity. Father Pius received his elementary education and preparation for college in the parish schools of St. John and St. Francis, in the city of his birth. He completed his collegiate studies in the colleges of St. Xavier and St. Francis, and entered the Order of Franciscans on the 25th of August, 1869. He was ordained a priest at Detroit, Michigan, in the Bishop's oratory, by the Rt. Rev. Caspar Henry Borgess, D. D., bishop of the diocese, on the 20th of December, 1876, and he immediately entered upon his ministerial duties as assistant pastor of St. Mary's church, Detroit. From that day to the present he has been an active servant in the cause of his Master and the church.

Father Pius Niehaus received his first pastoral assignment to St. Mary's church, at Bloomington, Illinois, in September, 1881, and from there he was transferred to the position of pastor and guardian of the convent at Oldenburg, Indiana. His next location was in the capacity of pastor of St. John's church in Cincinnati. He was then transferred back to Indiana, and was pastor of St. Boniface church, and chaplain of the hospital, at Lafayette. Next he was pastor of Sacred Heart church at Peoria, Illinois, and from there he was returned to Oldenburg, Indiana, and was chaplain at the' Sisters' convent and academy. His next assignment was at Louisville, Kentucky, where he was assistant pastor. In 1900 he was made rector of St. Francis College in Cincinnati, and in 1901 he was transferred to St. Stephen's church, in Hamilton, his pastorate beginning here on the 5th of August.

In the administration of the affairs of this church he has two assistant priests, Rev. Ignatius Wilkens, O. F. M., and Rev. Prosper Stehmann, O. F. M., who arrived here August 5, 1904, to succeed Rev. Herculan Zeug, who was assigned to St. Michaels. Apache county, Arizona, to labor among the Navajoes. The sermons are preached in both the German and English languages. The congregation comprises over four hundred German families. The parochial school, in connection with the church, has an enrollment of over three hundred pupils, in charge of two Franciscan brothers and four sisters of Notre Dame.

A Catholic church was erected on the present site of St. Stephen's church in 1832, and this became the property of the present occupants in 1848. The corner-stone of the present edifice was laid in 1852, and the church was completed and blessed in 1853. In the year 1893, under the pastorate of Rev. Raphael Hesse, O. F. M., the seating capacity of the church was much enlarged and the building' beautified by the construction of the transept.

The Rev. Nicholas Wachter, O. F. M.. was the first resident Franciscan priest in Hamilton, and also the first pastor of St. Stephen's church. Following are the names of his successors, in the order of appointment: Rev. Pirmin Eberhard, O. F. M.,

The social functions of St. Stephen's church have attained a high order of excellence, both in organization and efficiency for the purpose designed. The following list embraces the names of the leading societies having pastoral sanction and co-operation : St. Stephen's Men's Society ; St. Mary's Women's Society; St. Joseph's \oung Men's Society; St. Rose's Young Ladies' Society ; Married Ladies' Sodality B. V. M. ; Young Men's Sodality B. V. M. ; Young Ladies' Sodality B. V. M. ; the School Children's Guardian Angel Society, under direction of the school brothers and school sisters ; this organization has a membership of three hundred and fifty boys and girls; Tabernacle Society; Poor Soul's Society; St. Anthony's Orphan Society; St.

Raphael's Literary Union ; St. Stephen's Cemetery Association; St. Paul's Relief Society; Catholic Knights of St. John; Catholic Knights of America; Catholic Order of Foresters, and Catholic Knights of Ohio.

The underlying principle of each of these numerous organizations is to benefit humanity and elevate human character. The mission can not but commend itself to the world. There is no phase of human suffering which the broad philanthropy and diversified application will not reach. At the same time the members of the societies are brought in wholesome contact with each other and with the religious atmosphere which emanates from their social deliberations.

John A. Yager

This representative citizen and gallant ex-soldier is a native of Pennsylvania and was born in the old historic county of Lancaster on March 31, 1831. His paternal grandfather came from Germany a number of years ago and settled in Lancaster county, where descendants of the family still reside. George W. Yager, father of the subject, was bom in the above county and state and, being left an orphan at an early age, was obliged to struggle for a livelihood against many opposing circumstances and hardships. Shortly after attaining his majority he married Barbara Carpenter, whose ancestors were among the pioneer settlers of Lancaster county, and subsequently moved to Columbiana county, Ohio, thence to Park county, Indiana, and still later changed his residence to the county of Shelby, in the latter state, where he spent the remainder of his days. George W. and Barbara Yager were the parents of ten children, six of whom are still living, three of the sons having served with distinction in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion.

John A. Yager was reared in his native state until his eighteenth year and at intervals the meanwhile attended, as opportunities afforded, the common schools of the various localities in which he lived. At the age noted he accompanied his parents to Indiana, and until the breaking out of the Civil war assisted his father in cultivating the home farm in Shelby county, his out-of-door life, in close touch with nature, being the means of developing the strong and vigorous constitution which enabled him to encounter so many hardships and perform so much manual labor in subsequent years.

When President Lincoln issued the call for volunteers in 1861 Mr. Yager was among the first of Shelby county's patriotic young men to respond, and on October 17th of that year enlisted in Company K, Fortythird Indiana Infantry, which experienced its first active service in the campaign against Forts Henry and Donelson, under the leadership of General Grant. Later the regiment was brigaded with the Seventh Army Corps and took. part in the operations along the Mississippi river to Island No. 10, and later participated in a number of campaigns and hard-fought battles, in all of which the subject shared with his comrades their varied fortunes and vicissitudes, performing the part of a brave soldier whose record from this enlistment until mustered out of the service, on the 18th of October, 1864, i*s without a stain. Retiring to Indiana after leaving the army, Mr. Yager spent one year at the town of Rockville and in 1865 disposed of his interests there and came to Butler county, Ohio, locating at Seven Mile. On October 26th of the latter year he entered the marriage relations with Miss Mary E. Cornthwait, who was born in Butler county March 11, 1837, a°d whose parents moved to this part of the state from Maryland in an early day. For a number of years Mr. Yager devoted his attention to the carpenter's trade and in due time became a prominent contractor and builder, many of the better class of private dwellings, as well as a number of public buildings and other edifices in various parts of this county, bearing testimony to his skill and efficiency as a mechanic. By diligently prosecuting his chosen calling and exercising the thrift for which he has long been noted, he succeeded in accumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods to enable him to retire from active life, since which time he has resided at Seven Mile, where he owns a beautiful and comfortable home and where he is also greatly esteemed for bis manly qualities and genuine personal worth.

Mr. Yager has been interested in politics since old enough to cast a ballot, and his loyalty to the Republican party has made him one of its able leaders and trusted advisers in the town and township in which he lives. He has served as councilman ever since the incorporation of Seven Mile, was mayor of the town one term of two and a half years, besides serving two terms as a member of the school board, in all of which capacities his services were greatly appreciated by the public. Mr. Yager has been alive to the best interests of his town, has done much to promote its development and his activity and leadership in all worthy enterprises have won for him a conspicuous place in the confidence and affections of his fellow citizens. His ideas are essentially progressive, his aims have always been to benefit those with whom he came in contact, and every movement having for its object the moral advancement of the community is sure to enlist his hearty co-operation. In matters religious he has strong convictions and as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church his influence has tended greatly to the spiritual good of his fellow men, his daily life being in harmony with the faith which he has so long professed. Since becoming a resident of Seven Mile he has been a leading worker in the congregation worshiping at the town and for several years past he has held the office of trustee in the church, besides contributing liberally of his means to its material support, also to the furthering of all good works under its auspices. Mr. Yager is deeply interested in the welfare of the old soldiers and none appreciate more fully than he the deep debt of gratitude the country owes the remaining veterans who during the dark days of the Rebellion made such costly sacrifices to preserve the Union from dissolution. He was long a leading member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 96, at Hamilton, but of late does not attend its sessions very regularly, his age and infirmities naturally incident thereto preventing him from meeting with his old comrades of the iron days and recalling the scenes of their struggles, sufferings and triumphs in the Southland.

Mr. and Mrs. Yager have had three children, the oldest of whom, a son by the name of Walter M., was born September 26, 1866, and departed this life on the 2d day of April, 1900; he was a married man and for a number of years served as freight agent of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad at Cincinnati ; Luvemia, the second of the family, was born March 7, 1869, and is now the wife of Harry Snively, a well-known business man of Seven Mile; Oren C., the youngest, whose birth occurred on March 15, 1872, is single and lives under the parental roof.

Luther M. Hitchcock

Luther M. Hitchcock, a retired fanner and teacher in St. Clair township, was born in Prince George county, Maryland, on the 3d of December, 1826. His received a good education in the schools of Ohio, having accompanied his parents to this state when a child of four years. The trip across the mountains in that early day was fraught with perils and privations, the details of which came to him as family tradition in later years. His father paid a man two hundred dollars to haul the family equipage to Pittsburg, from which point they took the "flatboat route" to Cincinnati, finally landing in Butler county, where more than seventy years of Mr. Hitchcock's life have been spent. He is a son of Dr. Samuel and Maria (Lane) Hitchcock, who were natives of Vermont. The father was a man of liberal education, being a graduate of Westminster College. He was graduated in medicine from the Baltimore Medical College, and entered upon the practice of his profession in Prince George county. Matyland. After six years in practice of his profession in Prince George county he decided to seek a home in the then far West, and came to Butler county, Ohio, in 1830. Here he was in active practice for many years, and was deservedly prominent in his profession; but he subsequently purchased a farm and removed to Miami county, where he ended his days. His wife survived him for a number of years and, after his death, returned to Hamilton, and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Bell. Both parents attained to a ripe old age. There were nine children bom to Dr. and Mrs. Hitchcock, seven of whom are now living. Of this family, Luther M., of this sketch, was the eldest son. The names of the living members of the family are Holiday, of Mattoon, Illinois; William, of Hamilton, Ohio; Benjamin F., of Indianapolis, Indiana; Mrs. Harlan, of Indianapolis, and Laura, who resides with her sister, Mrs. Bell, in Hamilton. Henry L. died in Indiana, leaving a family, and Samuel died in Hamilton, unmarried, at the age of seventy years. Luther M. Hitchcock began his independent career as a teacher, and followed that profession in this and other states for twenty years. He purchased his present farm in St. Clair township in 1864, and has occupied it continuously since. This is a valuable property, embracing eighty-five acres, with good buildings and in a high state of improvement. The purchase price was 'one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. It is located on the line of the Cincinnati, Dayton & Toledo Traction Company, giving the advantages of city life, with the comforts and retirement of the country. Mr. Hitchcock has been retired from active labors on the farm for the last fifteen or twenty years and leases the property to tenants. During the closing months of the Civil war Mr. Hitchcock entered the military service and was stationed in the defenses of Washington for several months. While his military experience was not as varied and exciting as that of others at the front, he nevertheless showed his patriotism and faithfully performed the duties required of him. Returning from the war, Mr. Hitchcock was married on the 19th of December, 1865, the lady of his choice being Miss Sarah Smith, who was born in St. Clair township, Butler county, Ohio, in 1827. She is a representative of one of the early established families of the county. While they have never had any children of their own, they have not been strangers to the innocent prattle of childhood, but have reared several adopted children. Mr. Hitchcock has been a lifelong Republican, adhering to the doctrines of that time-honored and fire-tested organization from the birth of the party to the present. He is a bright and intelligent old gentleman, thoroughly posted on current events and a zealous and careful reader of high-class literature. He has witnessed with great interest the wonderful advancement in science, literature and art during the last fifty years, and has been a participator in the material prosperity of Butler county during the same period. He well remembers the time when the slowplodding stage coach was the only public conveyance between even the largest cities, when electricity, now the most useful motive power, was unknown except as a destructive agent. He has witnessed the passing of the hand sickle, the old "turkey wing" cradle, the "dropper," the hand rake, and all the crude implements of the farm, and the advent of labor-saving machinery, unthought of in his boyhood days. The blazed bridle path, through almost impassable mud, traversed with great difficulty even on horseback, has given place to well-kept roads, at convenient distances apart, passable at all seasons, in comfortable carriages, which were once a rare luxury. Steel bands unite the most distant portions of the continent and traverse the county in every direction. The "Golden Gate', is brought within fifty hours' travel, while the wealth of the Rockies may be reached in a few hours. These are but a tithe of the wonderful development of the New World within the memory of this venerable pioneer.

"The groves were God's first temples." and these, of pioneer days, and the crude log meeting houses in the woods have given place to modern churches in every neighborhood, while the poor man's colleges dot the landscape o'er. The circuit rider and the backwoods schoolmaster, useful in their day and generation, have been superseded by an educated clergy, advanced religious ideas, and a thoroughly competent teaching force whose mission in life is to study and develop child nature by kindly persuasive methods, relegating the hickory gad and dunce cap to the barbarous age.

Capt. Andrew J. Lewis

Capt. Andrew J. Lewis was born in Hanover township, Butler county, Ohio, February n, 1833. He is a representative of one of the earliest pioneer families, dating back to 1804, when the paternal grandfather, Andrew Lewis, came to Butler county. He was a native of County Armagh, Ireland, who emigrated to this country in company with his brother David. The latter settled in Newport, Kentucky, but Andrew located in Pennsylvania, where he married. He entered land in Hanover township, where he continued to reside until his death in 1848. Upon the old Lewis homestead James Lewis, the father of the subject, was bom, the property descending to him and through him to his heirs. The father married Maria Marshall, who was also a native of Butler county. The father of the subject was the youngest of seven children. He continued to improve and cultivate the old homestead until shortly before his death, in 1864, his wife surviving him until April, 1888. They were the parents of ten children, of whom eight are still living. Capt. Andrew J. Lewis was the third in order of birth, and received a thorough education in the public schools, at the Farmers' College and at Miami University. At the age of nineteen years he entered a general store at Venice, as a clerk, and remained there two years. In 1856 he was piarried to Miss Martha J. Dick, and the same year they established a home in Hamilton, where Mr. Lewis was engaged in the hardware business until the outbreak of the Civil war. Being inspired with the spirit of patriotism to the exclusion of business interests, he assisted in organizing a company of which Dr. Henry Mallory was the first captain, and Mr. Lewis was commissioned first lieutenant. On the resignation of Captain Mallory, in February, 1862, Mr. Lewis was promoted captain of the company, and served throughout the active campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee and Alabama, and until three months before the expiration of his term of enlistment. At the battle of Chickamauga the Thirty-fifth lost fifty of the men engaged on the battlefield.

Captain Lewis resigned his commission by reason of disabilities incurred in the service, and was succeeded by Captain Philip Pockenbush, and herein is a peculiar coincidence of the war: Three captains of Company I, Thirty-fifth Ohio Infantry, are now living, and all are located in Hamilton. For further details, the reader is referred to the personal sketches of the individuals. It is very doubtful if any company doing active duty at the front for three years can. after more than forty years from date of enlistment, show three captains now living. Captain Lewis returned to Hamilton, but in 1866 took up his residence at Decatur, Illinois. The death of his father-in-law, Mr. Dick, necessitated his return to Butler county in 1868, and he then took up his residence on the old Dick homestead in Ross township. This is also one of the pioneer farms of the county. The house which the Lewis family then occupied was built before the days of sawmills and cut nails. The lumber was sawed out by hand and the nails were forged by a blacksmith. But under the successful management of the Lewis family this ancient landmark soon gave place to a commodious and modern residence, fully in keeping with the progress of the times. Captain Lewis and his family lived upon this farm for many years, and still own it, in connection with other valuable farming lands in the county. While in Ross township. Captain Lewis served almost continuously as a member of the school board and took a very active part in educational affairs.

Mrs. Lewis died in 1885, leaving a family of six children, Harry D., James, Martha E., Charles G., Maude and David E. All are happily married and engaged in honorable and successful callings. In December, 1887, Captain Lewis was married to his present companion, who in maidenhood was Miss Ettie Engeart, a native of Troy, Miami county, Ohio, where she was reared and educated. At the time of her marriage with Captain Lewis she was the widow of John Howland. She is a devout Christian lady, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Captain Lewis has long been identified with the Presbyterian church, and has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for many years. Politically he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, since which time he has been identified with that organization. He is a radical temperance advocate and for some years espoused the cause as advocated by the Prohibitionists, but is essentially a Republican in political faith. The pleasant family home is located on Franklin street, in West Hamilton, where the Captain superintends his landed interests and enjoys the respite from active labors which earlier' years of industry have rendered possible.

Herman Goebel

Herman Goebel, a prominent business man of Trenton, Ohio, was bom in Madison township, within three miles of his present location, on the 13th of August, 1866. He is a son of Leonard and Dorothy (Kennell) Goebel, natives of Germany. They accompanied their parental families to this country in early life, and were married in Butler county, Ohio, where they have always lived. The father spent his productive years in agricultural pursuits, and became well-to-do. He and his estimable wife are now retired from active farm labor, and living in Trenton. They reared a family of two sons and two daughters, of whom John W. is the eldest. He is a prosperous farmer and merchant in Oklahoma territory. He was among the "boomers" of 1891 and secured a very desirable quarter section of land at the opening of that country to settlement. After securing his homestead rights, he located in town and engaged in merchandising, in which pursuit he has been very successful. Herman, of this sketch, is the second in order of birth. Mary is the wife of Emil Scheibert, who is cultivating the home farm in Madison township. Louesa married Jacob Ulm, and resides in Trenton.

Herman Goebel, of this article, received his education in the public schools of Trenton. Being inclined to mechanical pursuits, he learned the carpenter's trade with Bender Brothers, a well-known and extensive contracting firm in Hamilton, and remained in their employ for ten years, during which time he mastered all the details of his profession and left their employ a master mechanic in his line. On the 4th of June, 1902, he established his present business in Trenton, erecting a large and commodious shop and office building, lumber sheds, etc. There was an opening for just such a plant in Trenton and Mr. Goebel met with success from the start. He carried a large stock of lumber and builders' materials, supplying the trade with these commodities, as desired. He gives employment in season to a large force of skilled workmen and averages a complete structure each month of the building season. He prepares his own draughts.

specifications and estimates, his long experience under the most capable instructors enabling him to secure profitable contracts at figures below those of the village carpenters, whose facilities are limited. Mr. Goebel was the successful bidder on the construction of the First Presbyterian church, now in course of building at Trenton. This is quite an imposing edifice, modem in all features, and is a credit to the skill and architectural design of the builder.

Mr. Goebel was married March 3, 1891, to Miss Mary Imhoff, a native of Butler county and a daughter of Jacob and Lena Imhoff, of LeSourdsville, in this county. Four children have been born to this union, Clayton, Arthur, Stabley and Gordon. In political affiliations the subject is an active Democrat and wields a potent influence in the counsels of Democracy. He is president of the town council of Trenton. He is a member of Aerie No. 407, Fraternal Order of Eagles, at Hamilton. In religious affiliations he is a member of the German Lutheran church and his wife is a Mennonite. Mr. Goebel is an active, energetic business man who has made a success of life, though yet in the prime of his manhood.

Joachim T. Bock

Joachim Theodore Bock is a native of the noted seaport city of Kiel, Germany, bom on the 1st of March, 1846. He was reared and educated in his native city, where he received careful educational training, his father, Prof. Klaus Seigfried Bock, being a teacher in the national schools of Germany, in which avocation his life was spent. Both parents lived to a ripe old age, the mother, whose Christian name was Elizabeth, dying in 1900, while the father survived her but two years. There were seven children in the parental family, of whom the subject of this article was the second born. Their names are Hermann, Joachim Theodore, George Seigfried, Sophia, Margaret, William and Adolph. The four first named are in America and the others remain in their native country. Margaret married an officer in the Prussian navy, her present name being Wege; William is also an officer in the royal navy; Hermann is proprietor of a bookbindery in London, Ontario; George S. is a mechanic in Hamilton, Ohio.

Theodore Bock, of this sketch, learned the florist's business in his native country. On coming to America, in 1871 he soon secured profitable employment and occupied some very good positions. He was employed in Cincinnati for two years. In 1873 he formed a business partnership in Indianapolis, which existed for six years and proved a very profitable venture. Being alone, and unhampered by family cares, he decided to combine his business with pleasure, and see the sights of the New World. He severed his business connections at Indianapolis and went to the nation's capital, where he readily secured a lucrative position as landscape gardener and florist at the White House. He was employed there for three years, when he went to St. Louis, and accepted a position as foreman in a large greenhouse, remaining there two years. He then accepted a position in the well-known establishment at Reisig, near Riverside, in Chicago, remaining there one year. Following this, he made a pleasure trip to the

Pacific coast, and returning, re-entered the services of his old employer at St. Louis. He came to Hamilton in 1886 and leased some land directly across the street from his present plant. There he established a firstclass greenhouse, something to which Hamilton was then a stranger. He operated a successful business there for five years, when the owners raised the rent beyond the figures which he thought were just, and he purchased the land which comprises his present plant and moved his stock to premises of his own. Here he has been constantly improving and enlarging his domain, and today has the largest and best kept greenhouses in Hamilton. He has over twelve thousand square feet under glass, with fine equipments for managing his large business. Mr. Bock sells locally all of the product, and buys largely from foreign concerns to supply his trade. His annual sales reach above four thousand dollars and his business is prosperous and highly satisfactory. Two assistants are employed by the year, while other laborers are engaged as needed. Mr. Bock is a thorough-going business man, eminently qualified in his chosen field of labor and sustaining high reputation among the business people of Hamilton. He has made a success of life, yet has not denied himself the pleasures of travel and sightseeing nor the companionship of intimate friends. He is a bachelor from choice and not from necessity.

In his social affiliations, Mr. Bock is a member of Hamilton Lodge, No. 93, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church and is a believer in the doctrines of that religious organization, though denied the privileges of church affiliation by reason of his business demanding attention on Sundays. In political preferences Mr. Bock is a Democrat of the old school, though not in sympathy with "Bryanized" Democracy.

Leo L. Crider

The city of Middletown has long been noted for the character and standing of its representative citizens, prominent among whom is the well-known business man whose name appears at the head of this article. Leo L. Crider springs from one of Butler county's old and highly esteemed families and his career has added not a little to the honorable ancestral name he bears. The first of the Criders to settle in this part of Ohio was the subject's grandfather, who came from Pennsylvania in an early day and located in Madison township, where he purchased land, developed a farm and spent the remainder of his life as an industrious and fairly prosperous tiller of the soil. Among his children was a son by the name of Abram Crider, whose birth occurred on the family homestead and who afterwards became one of the county's most successful teachers, having devoted a number of years to educational work in the district schools of his own and neighboring townships. Still later he studied dentistry and acquired great proficiency in the profession, and for a considerable period he traveled from place to place and built up a large and lucrative practice. When a young man Abram Crider married Miss Daicos Smith, whose people were also early settlers of Madison township, and in due time became the father of three sons and one daughter, among the former being Leo L., of this review, who with his mother are the only members of the family now living.

Leo Crider was born March 24, 1854, on the home place in Madison township and grew up in close touch with nature as a country lad, becoming while quite young famjliar with the varied and rugged duties of farm life. At the proper age he entered the district schools where he prosecuted the common branches of learning until his sixteenth year, when he left home and took up the study of telegraphy, in which he became quite proficient. After acquiring sufficient skill to hold a position in the railway sendee, he engaged with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company as operator and from that time to the present, a period of twenty-eight years, he has been with this line, being now one of its oldest and most capable and trusted employees. Mr. Crider has charge of the office at Middletown, one of the most important stations on the road, and it is needless to state that his duties are ably discharged, his long period of sendee being evidence of the confidence reposed in him as an efficient telegrapher and faithful and conscientious agent. While devoted to the interests of the company and making his obligations to. the same paramount to every other consideration, his relations with the public have ever been of the most honorable and courteous character, which fact accounts very largely for the friendly feeling entertained for the road by the people of Middletown and surrounding country. Aside from the duties of his position, he manifests an abiding interest in the welfare of the community and for a number of years his name has been closely identified with the public affairs of his city and county. He votes the Democratic ticket and has long been an influential factor in local politics, doing much in various ways to promote the interest of his party and insure its success. As a slight indication of his standing among the voters of his township, it may be stated that for fifteen years he held the position of township clerk, in addition to which he has also acted in other official capacities, proving in such relations a most capable and obliging public servant. Mr. Crider gives his encouragement and support to various enterprises, including among others the local telephone system, which was established through the joint efforts of himself and Dr. C. H. Bundy, and from which he realized handsomely on the capital invested. He is indeed a public-spirited man, closely in touch with every agency for the material advancement of Middletown, and is none the less interested in measures having for their object the social, educational and moral well-being of his fellow citizens. Intelligent, broadminded and resourceful, he would naturally be looked up to as a leader in almost any community - one of those strong, aggressive characters who rise equal to every occasion ; the more trying and momentous the crisis, the greater the strength and resolution to encounter it.

Mr. Crider has been twice married, the first time to Miss Ida Robinson, of Middletown, who bore him one child that died in infancy, and sometime after her death he married his present wife, whose maiden name was Edith Lefferson. Mr. and Mrs. Crider are greatly esteemed in the social circles of Middletown and have many warm friends among the best people of the city.

Edward L. Frisch

Among the prominent and enterprising business men of Butler county is the subject of this sketch, who is at the head of the well-known firm of E. L. Frisch & Brothers, manufacturers of brick, in Madison township. He is a native son of the county and has here passed his entire life, while he and his brothers have well upheld the high prestige of the honored name which they bear and have succeeded their father in the business enterprise with which they are now identified. Our subject is likewise incumbent of the office of justice of the peace of his township, and this preferment indicates the high esteem in which he is held by the people of the community in which he has grown to manhood and in which he has proved himself a loyal and valuable citizen.

Mr. Frisch was born in Middletown, this county, on the 14th of July, 1864, and is a son of D. L. and Catherine Frisch, both of whom were born in Germany, whence they came to America in childhood, the former having immigrated to the United States when a lad of but twelve years, having at that time started out in life on his own responsibility and having come alone to the new world, his parents remaining in the fatherland until the close of their lives. The mother of our subject accompanied her parents on their immigration to America and they located in Butler county soon after their arrival. D. L. Frisch as a youth learned the trade of brick manufacturing, in which he eventually engaged on his own account, establishing himself in business in Middletown, this county, where he built up a most successful enter- prise in the line, continuing to be actively identified with the same until he retired, being succeeded by his three sons. The parents reside in their attractive home in Middletown and are held in the highest respect and esteem in the community. They have four sons and one daughter, the names of the sons, in order of birth, being as follows : Edward L., Charles, Homer and Gardner. Ida, the only daughter, is now the wife of Charles Bauman. D. L. Frisch is a stalwart Republican in his political proclivities and both he and his wife are devoted members of the German church.

Edward L. Frisch, whose name initiates this review, passed his boyhood days in his native place and here duly availed himself of the advantages of the public schools, after which he completed a course in a commercial college in the city of Dayton, thus preparing himself for the proper direction of his business affairs. He early began to assist his father in the work of his brick manufacturing business and became familiar with all details of the industry, so that he was well fortified for assuming control of the business upon the retirement of his father, while his brothers have proved most able and effective coadjutors. The c6ncern manufactures pressed brick of the best type, as well as the common building brick, and their plant has a capacity for turning out twenty-five thousand brick per day, while a very considerable portion of the output is shipped to points outside the limits of the county, the business being one which is showing a constant expansion in . scope and importance, while the members of the firm are known as reliable, progressive and straightforward business men, thus holding the confidence and esteem of those with

The subject is a stanch adherent of the Republican party and has taken an active part in furthering its cause in his section. In April, 1903, he was. elected justice of the peace, for a term of three years, and as incumbent of this important local office he has shown marked discrimination and ability and is giving a most satisfactory administration. That he was elected to this position in a township whose normal Democratic majority is fully five hundred votes stands in significant evidence of his personal popularity in his home township. He has been president of the Madison township school board for the past six years, which position he still holds. In a fraternal way Mr. Frisch is affiliated with Middletown Lodge, No. 257, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He remains a bachelor.

James Gray

Conspicuous among the representative farmers and public-spirited citizens of Butler county is James Gray, of Union township. He is a man of sterling worth, whose life has been very closely interwoven with the history of the community in which he resides and whose influence has always made for the material advancement of the same as well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow men.

later changed his abode to the county of Butler, purchasing land in Union township, where he engaged in farming and stockraising, in connection with which he also devoted considerable attention during the late Civil war to dealing in grain, meeting with encouraging success in all of his business undertakings. He was intensely loyal to the Union while the Rebellion was in progress, took an active and prominent part in inducing young men to enlist and few men in the county were as earnest in condemning secession or as influential in arousing and keeping alive a strong sentiment in favor of the government during the trying period when it seemed trembling in the balance. In politics he was one of the original Republicans of Butler county, earnest and enthusiastic in upholding the principles of his party and largely instrumental in promoting its interests and leading it to victory. Financially he was quite fortunate, accumulating a handsome competency and becoming one of the well-to-do men of the community honored by his citizenship, and in all that constituted the enterprising, wideawake man of the times he was easily the peer of any of his contemporaries. When a young man, William Gray married Miss Amanda Fost, who bore him thirteen children, of which large number there are four sons and five daughters living, the subject of this review being the sixth in order of birth. After a long and useful life, fraught with good to all with whom he came in contact, William Gray was called to the unseen world in 1892, his wife surviving him until the year 1895.

his life in Butler county', being, as already indicated, actively identified with its growth and development and an influential factor in all laudable enterprises making for its prosperity. His early training, under the wholesome influence of farm labor, was conducive to a strong and healthful physique, and he grew to rugged, symmetrically developed young manhood with a proper conception of life and its responsibilities and a well-defined purpose to make the most of his advantages, so as to become an honor to his family and a benefit to the world. During his boyhood and youth he attended the public schools until acquiring a pretty thorough knowledge of the branches taught therein and until attaining his majority he lived at home, assisting with the cultivation of the farm and contributing to the support of the family.

At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Gray accepted a clerkship in a store at Pisgah, but after a comparatively brief experience in that capacity resigned his position and turned his attention to agriculture, which he has since pursued with marked success, being at this time one of the leading farmers and stockraisers of Union township, as well as one of its most enterprising and public-spirited men of affairs. In connection with tilling the soil, he has been operating a threshing machine for a number of years and in this way no small part of his liberal income is earned, his experience as a thresher gaining him a large and lucrative patronage, as the demands for his labor during the busy seasons abundantly attest. Mr. Gray is an exceedingly careful and methodical farmer and keeps fully abreast the times in all matters pertaining to agricultural science. His place is a model of neatness, the beautiful and attractive dwelling, substantial barns and outbuildings, the excellent condition of h.s fields, and the presence of live stock of a kinds bespeaking the prosperity of the proprietor and indicating the home of a gentleman of intelligence and good taste, as well as industry and thrift.

In the year 1875 Mr. Gray was happily married to Miss Mary E. Stevenson, a native of Butler county, the union resulting in the birth of one child, James Frank. Mr. Gray provided handsomely for the education of his son, first sending him through the public schools, after which he was prepared for a business career by taking a fu course in a Cincinnati commercial college.

At this time he holds an important position with a well-known banking house of New York city, being an agent and bookkeeper and standing high in the confidence and esteem of his employers. He possesses business abilities of a high order and has already achieved an enviable standing in the financial affairs of the great metropolis in which he lives, being a married man and quite popular in the social circles in whic

Mr. Gray is a local politician of considerable note and for a number of years he has been one of the influential Republican leaders in Butler county. As a member of the county central committee from Union township he has rendered valuable service to his party, in recognition of which he was nominated in 1899 for the office of realestate appraiser, being opposed by one of the most popular men the Democracy could - put in the field against him. In the ensuing election he ran two hundred votes ahead of the other candidates on the ticket, overcoming a large normal Democratic majority and defeating his competitor by a majority of fifty-six, a fact of which he feels deservedly proud, being the first Repub .can elected to the office of appraiser in forty years. Mr. Gray proved a most capable and judicious official and filled the position to which he was chosen with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people o the county irrespective of political ties, sound judgment and mature *"j.

ties won the confidence of the public a there was comparatively little if any dissatisfaction with the manner in w met the duties and responsibilities o a office, which all concede to be ^ one of * most difficult and exacting within the g

°f Gray is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to Lodge No. 209, in which he has passed all chairs- livery relation of life h.s conduct has been upright and commendable and his high standing in the soc.a workh as well as his leadership in political «d public affairs, attest the esteem and co fidence with which he is regarded by the people of his township and county.

Cassius W. Carter

rarded H) ountyand carpenter. He spent the greater part of his life in Liberty township, where he owned a good home and was a man of sterling worth and excellent repute. He devoted his attention very closely to his chosen callings, exercised a salutary influence in the community, and his death, on the nth day of December, 1876, was deeply lamented by a large circle of friends and acquaintances who had learned to prize him for his high character and spotless integrity. Mrs. Carter, who is still living, resides in the town of Bethany and has reached her sixty-eighth year; she was her husband's able assistant and efficient adviser during their married life, reared her children in the way they should go and her wise counsel and judicious instruction had great influence in moulding their characters and shaping their lives for good.

Cassius W. Carter was born December 11, i860,, spent his early life on the homestead in Liberty township and received his education in the district schools. Owing to his services being needed at home, he was not permitted to prosecute his studies as long as the majority of country boys, a matter which he has always regretted, but for which he has largely made up by a wide course of reading and close observation in subsequent life, being at this 'time one of the intelligent and well-informed men of the community in which he lives. When a mere youth he quit school and engaged as a farm hand, in which capacity he continued for several years, retaining only enough of his wages to keep himself comfortably and respectably clad, the rest being generously turned over to his widowed mother, to whose support he contributed until a short time prior to his marriage, ai

In the year 1884 Mr. Carter contracted a matrimonial alliance with Miss Mary Allen, of Butler county, daughter of Martin Allen, a well-to-do farmer of Union township, and for ten years thereafter worked for a Mr. Kyle, following which he entered the employ of his father-in-law, whose farm he cultivated for a period of three years. Some time after the death of Mr. Allen he purchased the farm and has lived on the same ever since, the place, under his industry and effective management, being converted into one of the best improved and most valuable tracts of land sof its size in Union township. It consists of two hundred and thirty-three acres of excellent land, the greater part under cultivation, the buildings being modern and in good repair, the dwelling commodious and comfortable, the fields in fine condition; indeed, everything pertaining to the place indicates the energy and success with which it is cultivated, while the wisdom and enterprise displayed in its management bear eloquent testimony to the proprietor's skill and tact as a judicious, progressive and, in every sense of the term, representative agriculturist.

Owing to a severe injury caused by the accidental falling of a bridge Mr. Carter, for some time past, has not been able to do much manual labor, but he gives personal attention to his business affairs when able. Possessing mature judgment, sound discretion and keen forethought, he lays his plans wisely and well and in the main carries them to successful conclusion, being seldom mistaken in the outcome. In the midst of his various farm duties and business affairs he finds time to meet his obligations as a citizen and to give attention to those public matters in which every enterprising, wide-awake man should be interested. In state and national issues he is a Republican and an unswerving supporter of his principles, but, holding good local government above mere party, he usually votes- for the best qualified candidates in township and county affairs. In religion the Cumberland Presbyterian church represents his creed and for some years past he has been an elder and trustee of the congregation with which he holds membership. In common with the majority of humanity, Mr. Carter has experienced many of life's vicissitudes, but on the whole his career has been eminently successful and he stands today by common consent among the leading farmers and public-spirited men of affairs in the community honored by his citizenship. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carter, namely : Warren Kyle, born October 21, 1884, died when about four months old; Cora I., born December 17, 1885, novv at home; Edith Anna, born September 19, 1888, died July 19, 1892.

John A. Burnett. M. D.

This prominent young physician of Hamilton is a native of Butler county, born at Paddy's Run. Morgan township, on the 1 6th of January, 1879. His birthplace is quite noted as the former home of Murat Halstead and other natives of Butler county who have achieved renown in the world of affairs. The parents of the subject were William P. and Hyla (Campbell) Burnett, both of whom were natives of Hamilton county, Ohio. The father was torn in 1837, and was married at the age of twenty-six years and established his home at Paddy's Run immediately thereafter. The family came to Hamilton about 1887, and for several years Mr. Burnett was proprietor of the hotel on the west side which still bears his name. But the later years of his life were spent as an installment merchant, he being among the first here to engage in that line of merchandising. His death occurred on the 30th of December, 1903. His widow is still a resident of Hamilton, and occupies a pleasant home at 639 East Ludlow street. Her two unmarried sons. Coy E. and William J., reside with her. The mother was left in comfortable circumstances. A family of six children were tom to these parents, four of whom are living. The eldest is Clarence M., who is a salesman in the carpet department of Holbrock's extensivedry-goods establishment in this city. He married Miss Daisy Hurm. a native of Hamilton and a representative of one of the prominent families of the city. Coy E. is a window draper in the large mercantile house of Howell & Son; John A., of this sketch, is the next in order of birth, and William J. completes the family circle and is ticket agent in Hamilton, for the Cincinnati, Dayton & Toledo Traction Company.

Dr. Burnett received his elementary education principally in the schools of Hamilton, being graduated from the city high school in the class of 1897. Having decided upon a professional career, he at once entered the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, and was graduated from that wellknown institution in 1902. Returning to his parental home, he began practice in Hamilton, in which he has met with success beyond his highest expectations. His professional life has been all that he could de- sire and he is now well established in a lucrative practice, which is constantly growing. The Doctor promptly allied himself with the various professional societies of the eclectic school, including the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Society and the state and national association. He is local examiner for a number of fraternal insurance orders and a member of the fraternities which they represent.

Dr. Burnett was married October 29, 1902, to Miss Pearl G. Sheley, a native of Butler county. She was educated in the public school at Sheley Station and in the Hamilton high school. On the 28th of September, 1903, little Miss Marjory Hyla took up her residence with the loving parents and began to assert her infantile authority. Dr. and Mrs. Burnett are members of the Westminster Presbyterian church. The Doctor is a Democrat in political views, though inclined to be independent in his support of local candidates. He is a pleasant and agreeable gentleman, well-versed in the intricacies of professional lore. The pleasant home of these popular young people is located at No. 639 East Ludlow street, the Doctor's office being in the same building.

William C. Goshorn

William C. Goshom, the popular and efficient superintendent of Greenwood cemetery, Hamilton, Ohio, was born in the residence in which he now lives, on the 21st of March, 1855, ar,d is the only surviving child of Andrew J. and Sarah J. (Clements) Goshorn. They were both born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, the father on the 14th of June, 1819, and mother on January 26, 1821. They accompanied their respective parental families to Ohio, arriving in Hamilton in 1849 and 1837 respectively. Here, on the 24th of June, 1849, these parents were married and established a home of their own. They had six children born to them, four of whom died in infancy, and Margaret survived until the age of twentyfour, when she died.

Andrew J. Goshorn was a tanner by trade and soon after his arrival in Hamilton entered the employ of John W. Sohn, with whom he remained some six years. On the 7th of February, 1855, on motion of Dr. Cyrus Falconer, he was appointed superintendent of Greenwood cemetery. This position he filled acceptably until his death on the 21st of March, 1894, a period of nearly forty years. He was the third superintendent of Greenwood, assuming charge when there had been but eight hundred and twenty-eight interments, he himself joining the little army of silent sleepers, -which then aggregated nine thousand and ninety-four. During his incumbency the cemetery grounds were increased in size Jrom twenty-one to sixty-seven acres. The grounds had been greatly beautified and the work thoroughly systematized. Mr. Goshorn was a man highly esteemed in the community, and the large attendance at his funeral gave evidence of the universal bereavement. He was a devout Christian and his life was pure and exemplary. He and his estimable wife, who survives him, were members of the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Goshorn was an ardent Republican in his political affiliations. The aged widow is a member of the family of her son, the subject of this article.

William C. Goshorn received a good education in the city schools. His boyhood and youth were spent uneventfully, and in early manhood he became his father's assistant in the labors involved by his position, in fact many of his youthful days were spent in interested observations as his father's companion. A natural aptitude, combined with years of training, rendered him the most available person for the position when the vacancy occurred, and he succeeded to his father.'s position without question or comment. For more than ten years Mr. Goshorn has been superintendent, and during that period he has inaugurated some needed reforms in the interior arrangements, rendered necessary by the rapid aggressions upon the territory and the introduction of modern monumental work. Mr. Goshorn is thoroughly familiar .with his work and takes great interest in the adornment and beautifying of the grounds. Several men are employed in this work.

Mr. Goshorn was married on the 29th of November, 1877, to Miss Laura J. Tiddler, of Hamilton, and they have three daughters, Lou B., Ida M. and Sadie H. The family resides upon the property where Mr. Goshorn was born and where his entire life has been spent.

John Sipp

John Sipp is an enterprising and successful contractor and builder in Hamilton, where he was born on the 8th day of July, 1868. His parents, Christ and Mary (Thomas) Sipp, were natives of Germany, who came to this country with their parental families and were married in Ohio. Christ' Sipp was a successful farmer in Butler county for many years. At one time he owned a very large and valuable estate, the magnitude of which may be guessed at when it is understood that it required thirteen teams of horses to operate his lands. He was prospered and grew very wealthy, enjoying the distinction of being one of .the leading farmers in southern Ohio. He was a man of most credulous nature and believed implicitly in the statements of his fellow men. His credulity led him into troubles innumerable, and the too free use of his name on other men's paper swept away most of his fortune and left him broken and dispirited. He never fully recovered from the shock of betrayed confidence, and died on the 7th of December, 1898. His widow survives him, and is now a resident of Hamilton. They were the parents of nine children, of whom seven are living, their names being William, a well-to-do farmer in Oxford township; Mary, the wife of John Jacobs, a mechanic in Hamilton; Kate, who became the wife of John Elble, a contractor and builder in this city; Minnie married Fred Lentz, of Hamilton ; Clara is at the maternal home; Christie died in infancy, and David, who died in middle life, was a contractor and builder, and a partner of the subject of this sketch until the time of his death, in March, 1898.

John Sipp was the third born in the parental family. He remained at home until twenty-five years of age, employing his time in attending school and in working on the home farm. At the age above written, he began to work at the carpenter's trade, having previously demonstrated his liking for mechanics. The handling of tools came to him by instinct, even from childhood, and their use in profitable employment was only a change from the construction of kites, whirl-i-gigs and boyish playthings, to that of useful articles, which brought profit for the time and labor employed.

In 1893 he joined forces with his brother David and began his career as a contractor and builder. The partnership of the two brothers was severed in 1898, since which time Mr. Sipp has prosecuted his business alone. From the start he has been more than usually successful, seldom making an unprofitable estimate, and he has erected a large number of residences in Hamiltoii, the principal field of his labors. He gives employment during the building season to an average of six or seven skilled mechanics.

' The family home, at No. 907 Heaton street, is a model of neatness, comfort and convenience. Mr. Sipp was married on the 20th of June, 1894, to Miss Clara Fabing, a daughter of John and Mary Fabing, the father a native of Germany and the mother born in Butler county, of German antecedents, her maiden name being Fisher. Mr. and Mrs. Sipp have two bright and interesting children, Edith, aged eight, and Master Edward, an observing and intelligent little gentleman now serving as his sister's "guardian and protector," at the age of six. Mr. and Mrs. Sipp are members of St. John's German Evangelical Protestant church. Their entire lives were spent under the pastorate of the late Rev. Charles A. Hermann, D. D.. whose recent death brought sadness to the family circle as severe in degree as the removal of some near relative. Mr. Sipp was reared in the political faith of the Democracy, and supported zealously the candidates of that party until 1896.

Oscar N. Jones

Success in any line of endeavor or in any field of activity is not a matter of sudden growth, but rather the result of the application of talents and energies along the avenues where lies the greatest potentiality. He who has the judgment and discretion to perceive his own powers, and to follow their bent through the various exigencies of time and place, is the one to whom success is apt to come as a natural sequence. In a very important sphere the subject of this review has proved his ability and usefulness, having for a number of years been superintendent of the Fox Paper Company, one of the leading industries of Butler county, and an establishment in which the people manifest an abiding interest and pride. Oscar N. Jones is. proud to claim Butler county as his native heath, having been born in Union township on July 9, 1865, the youngest in a family of eight children whose parents were James and Jane (Hall) Jones. His father was a farmer and it was amid the quiet scenes of rural life and under the wholesome influence of outdoor labor that the subject spent his early years, receiving during his childhood and youth the bent of mind which led him to plan for his future so as eventually to rise superior to his circumscribed environment and become a useful factor in the world of affairs and an honorable citizen. At the proper age he entered the public schools, where he prosecuted his studies about the usual length of time, following which he turned his attention to farm work, in the townships of Liberty and Fairfield, until his fifteenth year. In 1875 young Jones entered the employ of the Fox Paper Company, beginning in the modest capacity of a common laborer, but his faithfulness and efficiency were such as soon to commend him to the favorable notice of the management of the concern, the result being his gradual promotion to positions of greater responsibility and trust. It may truthfully be said that he has liter-; ally grown up with the plant, and it is not too much to state that much of the steady growth and development of the industry are directly attributable to his abiding interest, effective service and judicious management. After working in various capacities and fully demonstrating his ability and usefulness in each, Mr. Jones finally rose to the responsible position of foreman, which he filled to the satisfaction of his employer until 1890, when he was further honored by being promoted to the superintendency, which post he still holds, discharging the exacting duties of the same in the able and business-like manner for which he had long been characterized, in the meanwhile bringing the establishment to a high state of efficiency, greatly enlarging its capacity and extending the scope of its influence as one of the leading industries in this part of the state. Mr. Jones is highly regarded in business circles as a man of sound, practical intelligence, mature judgment and commendable enterprise. He has fine executive -ability, as the successful management of the large concern with which he is identified attests, enjoys the confidence of his employers and the esteem of the men under his control, while his series of promotions from an humble and subordinate beginning to the present influential position he occupies in business and industrial affairs shows him the possessor of the strong powers of mind, the tact, resourcefulness, and wise forethought which never fall short of the accomplishment of well-devised plans and purposes. Mr. Jones is essentially a selfmade man and owes his present advancement to his own plans and energies rather than to fortuitous circumstances. He is also a man of action, knows how to take advantage of opportunities and bend them to his will, or, in their absence, possesses the ability to create them. While making every other consideration subordinate to his business interests, he finds time to attend to the duties of citizenship and to discharge his obligations to the public. He has ever had tHe welfare of the community at heart, gives his influence and support to all enterprises on progressive measures for the promotion of the same and encourages every laudable object whereby his fellow men may be benefited.

Mr. Jones has ever been a zealous and uncompromising Democrat, but in no sense a politician in the commonly accepted significance of the term, although an active worker for the success of the party. Aside from serving as township trustee, of which office he is the present incumbent, he has held no elective positions, never having entertained any ambition for public preferment, his chief aim being to fill efficiently his present station and to hold no other title than that of private citizen.

Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the lodge at Port LTnion. in which he has long been an active and influential worker and in which he has also twice passed the several chairs.

1868. Their pleasant and attractive home is brightened by the presence of four children, namely: Harry, Ruth, Raymond and Mildred, who with their parents constitute a happy domestic circle in which love, mutual forbearance and a reciprocity of interests have always predominated.

Thomas J. Kelly

The subject of this review enjoys distinction and precedence in the public affairs of Middletown and as chief of the city's efficient police force wields a strong influence in enforcing a wholesome respect for law and order. The important position which he now holds was not attained by political intrigue or personal favoritism, but came to him in recognition of merit and the able, impartial and fearless manner in which he has discharged his responsible and exacting duties, and the high reputation which Middletown has attained as one of the most orderly and law-abiding cities in the state of Ohio demonstrates his peculiar fitness as a conservator of the peace.

Thomas J. Kelly is a native of Butler county, Ohio, and the son of John and Mary Kelly, the father born in Ireland, the mother in the city of London, England. John Kelly came to America when a young man and settled in New Jersey, where in due time he married Miss Mary O'Brien, whose family was then living in Jersey City. By occupation he was a brick-mason, and after working at his trade in the above state until *857, he came to Butler county, Ohio, locating at Oxford, where he soon became a prosperous contractor. He built up a large and flourishing business, erected many of the most important buildings in the place of his residence, besides doing a vast amount of work in other cities and towns, and was long noted as one of the leading contractors for public work in his part of the state. He departed this life in Oxford some years ago, and his widow now makes her home in Richmond, Indiana.

Thomas J. Kelly, the second child ot John and Man' Kelly, was born in Oxford township. September 20, 1861, and remained at the parental home until his eleventh year, attending the public schools the meanwhile. At the above age he severed the bonds that bound him to the home circle and started out to make his own way, going first to Indiana, where he lived for several years with a family neai the city of Richmond. While there he devoted his leisure time to study in the district schools and later turned his attention to stone masonry, in which he soon became a very efficient workman. After following his trade in Richmond for a period of four years he accepted a position with Gaar, Scott & Co., of Richmond, Indiana, with whom he remained until 1885, during which time he rose high in the confidence and esteem of his employees and developed unusual capacity as a fine mechanic and successful business man.