Preble County, Ohio - Biographical sketches, 1915 (part 7 of 13)

Harry W. Bragg, a prosperous young farmer living on Rural Route No. 2, out of New Paris, Ohio, and the proprietor of "Brookside Farm," a beautiful place consisting of ninety-two acres two and one-half miles northeast of New Paris, Ohio, was born near Marion, in Grant county, Indiana, December ii, 1880. He is a son of L. D. and Lida J. (Mackey) Bragg, the former a native of Grant county, Indiana, who married Lida J. Mackey in New Paris, Ohio. L. D. Bragg is still living, while his wife died in 1906. They were the parents of four, children : Harry W., with whom this narrative deals; Emma, the wife of Vemie Lawrence, lives in Eldorado, Ohio; Edward, a farmer of Jefferson township, married Daisy Hogston, and Elbert, who is unmarried and living with his father.

Harry W. Bragg was four years old when he came with his parents to Preble county, and he received his education in the common schools of this county. He assisted his father with the work on the farm and early learned

Mr. Bragg was married on January it, 1902, to Rosa Emrick, a native of Darke county, Ohio, born on May 6, 1880, and to this union two children have been born: Orville J., bom September 28, 1904, and Esther G., bom March 17, 1909. Mr. Bragg and his family are loyal and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Paris, Ohio, and take an active part in the work of this denomination, Mr. Bragg being one of the trustees of the church, as well as a member of its official board. He also is superintendent of the Sunday school.

Mr. Bragg is an adherent of no particular political party, but votes independently, believing that in doing so he is best serving the interests of his community. Fraternally, he is a member of White Water Valley Grange No. 1837, in which he has passed all the chairs, being now a past master of this grange. Mrs. Bragg is also a member of the same grange.

On his fine farm in Jefferson township, Mr. Bragg makes a specialty of breeding high-grade live stock, and has a very fine herd of Polled Hereford cattle, headed by "Reginald No. 2054," whose dam was "Miss Reginald No. 143434." He also keeps a good grade of hogs and other live stock.

In all the avenues of life Mr. Bragg has performed well his part and well deserves the respect and esteem in which he is held by all who know him, and well merits representation in the annals of his county's history.

James B. Murray

The character of a community is determined in a large measure by the lives of a comparatively few of its members. If its moral and intellectual status is good, if, in a social way, it is a pleasant place in which to reside, if its reputation as to the integrity of its citizens has extended to other localities, it will be found that the standards of the leading men have been high and their influence such as to mold the character and shape the lives of those with whom they mingle. In placing the late James B. Murray in the front rank of such men, justice is rendered to him and to the community in which he lived. Although a quiet and unassuming man with no ambition for public position or leadership, he contributed much to the material, civic and moral advancement of his community, while his admirable qualities of head and heart, and the straightforward, upright course of his daily life won for him the esteem and confidence of the circle in which he moved. Although he is now sleeping the sleep of the just, his influence still lives, and his memory is revered by many.

James B. Murray was born in Eaton, Ohio, February 28, 1843, the seventh son of Mitchell and Lydia (Bfasier) Murray, both of whom were natives of Delaware, where they received their education, and where they were married. They located near Eaton, Ohio, and later moved to Darke county, Ohio, but after a sometime residence there they returned to Preble county, where Mr. Murray rented two hundred and seventy acres of land in Jackson township. After living there for some time he purchased a tract of land in Darke county, north of Eldorado. Mrs. Murray died on this latter farm, and Mr. Murray's death occurred subsequently in Preble county. They were the parents of thirteen children.

James B. Murray was a young man at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War, and enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was in the service of the Union for three months.

The late James B. Murray was married on January 1, 1868, to Martha J. Mills, who was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, September 13, 1848, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Swerer) Mills. George Mills was a native of Ireland, who came to the United States with his parents. He received his early education in this country and taught school for some time after reaching manhood, but later took up farming, which he followed through life. Three of his five children are now living: Joseph Mills, a resident of Miami county, Indiana; William, a resident of New Paris, Ohio, and Martha J., the widow of Mr. Murray. Mrs. Murray was reared on a farm in Jefferson township, receiving her education in the public schools of her home neighborhood, afterwards attending the high school at New Paris, where she afterward became a teacher. To James Murray and wife seven children were born: Olive May, who died in 1914, was the wife of William Tyler; Edwin O., a resident of New Paris; Charles A., of Jackson township; Elwood, unmarried, lives at home with his mother; Cora A., the wife of William Swisher, of Dayton, Ohio; Ethel M., unmarried, is living at home; Elbert J., born February 16, 1891, also is unmarried and lives at home.

township, where she has spent much of her life. She has always been devoted to the interests of her children and was a loving helpmate to her late husband, and as a wife and mother is more than worthy of any tribute which might be paid to her sex.

Joseph C. Steel

For nearly a century the Steel family has been represented in the affairs of Preble county, Ohio, and during all the intervening years has been recognized among the most prominent and influential families of the county. From the first the members of the family have devoted themselves principally to the occupation of farming, a calling in which they have achieved the highest success. The chief living member of this prominent family is Joseph C. Steel, who was born in this county and who is now one of its most prominent farmers and fruit growers.

Joseph C. Steel was born in Israel township, near Fairhaven, Preble county, Ohio, February i, 1845, the son of Samuel and Martha (Hays) Steel. Samuel Steel was born in North Carolina, October 29, 1814, and died in Preble county, Ohio, January 13 1897. His wife was born June 26, 1815, in Israel township, Preble county, in the same house in which she spent her life. There she was married and bore all her children and there she died July 26, 1879, aged sixty-four years and one month. She lies in Fairhaven cemetery in Israel township.

Samuel Steel came west with his parents in 1818, and was four years of age when the family settled in Preble county. He attended the subscription schools of the county and then entered upon his vocation as a farmer. In 1840 he married Martha Hays, and to this union eight children were born, but three of whom are now living. The children were : Joseph, the subject of this sketch; Mary Jane Elizabeth, the wife of Harvy Bell, of Eaton, Ohio; Robert, who lives on the old homestead in Israel township; John K., who died about 1894; Martha Ann, who died at the age of nineteen, and three children who died in infancy. Samuel Steel followed the calling of a fanner throughout his life, and was rewarded with great prosperity. He was an earnest Christian and on the Sabbath would always be found in his pew at church.

Joseph C. Steel received a common school education in the schools of Preble county, and, upon the completion of his school days, followed in the footsteps of his father by becoming a farmer. He gave his services to his country as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, and on March 3, 1868, he married Mary Jane Smith, a daughter of John and Nancy (Buck) Smith, who was born October 19, 1845, and died December 19, 1879. The union was blessed by six children, two of whom are living. The children were Lillie, who died at the age of two years; Eva Jane, the wife of Levi Reeve, of Camden, Ohio; Cora, who died at the age of fifteen; Samuel, who died at the age of twenty-two months; Walter A., who married Susie Brannon and was father of two sons, and who died May 2, 1906, at the age of twenty-eight, and Clarence, born in August, 1879, who lives at home and takes active charge of the operation of the farm, and is doing excellent work. Clarence married Alberta Johnson, and three children, Samuel, Vernon and Norman, have been born to them.

In 1872 Joseph C. Steel moved with his family to Kansas, where they lived for four years. At the end of that time they returned to Preble county, Ohio, making the entire trip back with a team, which they drove across the country. Mr. Steel and his father then bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Somers township, three miles southwest of Camden, Preble county, Ohio.

Mr. Steel improved his farm and has developed it as a fruit-growing farm until he now has one of the largest orchards in Preble county. The orchard contains more than eighty acres, and the place is known as the "Home Grown Fruit Farm." Care is taken to produce first-grade products for market, with the result that the fruit grown on this farm has become famous in the sections where it is offered for sale.

Mr. Steel is a member of the United Presbyterian church of Morning Sun, Preble county, Ohio, and his wife also was a member of that church before her death. Mr. Steel is a Republican, although he has never taken an active interest in the campaigns of that party. During late years he has had no partisan affiliation with any particular party, but has made it a point to vote for the men he considers best qualified for the office for which they are running.

Mr. Steel is an excellent example of the solid citizenship of Preble county. He has never attempted to get into the limelight politically or otherwise, but has always been satisfied to devote his entire time and efforts to the prosperity and comfort of his own family, and to the use of his influence in whatever direction he felt would best serve his immediate community. It is such men as Mr. Steel who form the backbone of any community, and whose example leads others to give to a county the best that is in them.

No business has made greater advancements during the last half century than agriculture. Practically all the disadvantages which beset the pioneer farmer have been eliminated by modern inventions which tend to lighten the farmers' labors. It takes less labor now to operate a farm of fifty acres than it did to operate a farm of ten acres fifty years ago. Inventions are coming into use every year which are helping the farmer to increase his sphere of usefulness. Ohio is recognized as one of the best farming states in the union and no county in this state has better or more prosperous farmers than Preble county. Among the hundreds of farmers who have made this county famous as an agricultural section, there is none more worthy of a place in a biographical volume of this character than John J. O'Dea, a farmer living on Rural Route No. 3, out of New Paris, Ohio, and the proprietor of the "Enterprise Stock Farm," of two hundred and eight acres, three miles east of New Paris.

John J. O'Dea was born in Richmond, Indiana, August 14, 1872, the son of Patrick and Bridget (Harrigan) O'Dea, both natives of County Clare, Ireland, who came to the United States early in life and located at Richmond, Indiana. They were married in Richmond and lived there six years after their marriage, at the end of which time they moved to a farm one mile east of Gettysburg, Ohio, where they lived until the death of Mrs. O'Dea after which Mr. O'Dea lived with his children. He made two trips back to Ireland. Mrs. O'Dea died in 1897 and he died July 4, 1913. They were devout members of the Catholic church.

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick O'Dea were the parents of four children, Mary, who was graduated from the New Paris high school and is a teacher in Jefferson township, having taught six years in that township; John J., the subject of this sketch; Catherine, the wife of John Cahill, of Dixon township, and Margaret, the wife of Joseph Wadick, of near Camden, Ohio.

John J. O'Dea was reared on a farm in Jefferson township and attended the district schools, where he received his early education. Upon reaching manhood he was for a time employed on the Pennsylvania railroad, but later began farming near Gettysburg, Ohio. He moved to his present farm in 1911, at the time he was united in marriage with Irene Doyle, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and there he built a modern house with basement, furnace, electric lights, hot and cold water and bath.

and shipper of cattle and has been especially successful in raising stock. Mr. O'Dea is one of the hustling and up-to-date farmers of Jefferson township and an honorable citizen of the community in which he has spent his entire life. He is a Democrat, although he has never taken an over-active interest in political affairs. He and his wife are members of St. John's Catholic church and Mr. O'Dea is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Reynolds

Eaton is proud of the career of Mrs. S. E. Reynolds, a distinguished resident of that city and a woman who has had a prominent part in practically every movement that has been inaugurated for the benefit of all the citizens of Eaton and Preble county. Mrs. Reynolds is a woman of distinguished ancestry and it must be conceded that she has fulfilled in her life work all obligations imposed upon her by virtue of the distinguished services of the men and women from whom she is descended. Her reputation extends beyond the boundaries of Preble county and this reputation, which is national in character, has been builded upon her notable achievements. Mrs. Reynolds is not only to be classed as a leader of her sex, but she has shown in her many works the ability to lead men as well as women. It is a pleasure to be the historian of this volume and to tell the life story of a woman whose years have been so filled with important deeds.

Mrs. S. E. Reynolds, who now lives at 109 West Decatur street, Eaton, Ohio, is a daughter of John M. and Sarah (Truax) Daugherty. John M. Daugherty was born in Jacksonburg, Butler county, Ohio, the son of John M., Sr., and Sarah (Hunt) Daugherty. The Daugherty family were natives of Ireland and came from that country to America in the eighteenth century, locating in Pennsylvania. The Hunt family located in Pennsylvania also, but they came from England.

John M. Daugherty, Jr., the father of Mrs. Reynolds, came from Butler county, Ohio, to Preble county when a child, with his mother, and grew to manhood in Dixon township. He died on the farm where his Grandfather Hunt settled. He was married to Sarah Truax, March 19, 1845. John Truax, the father of Sarah Truax, came from Kentucky and settled on government land in Dixon township, where he became a prosperous farmer and stock raiser. He was a Whig of considerable local prominence.

beth Reynolds, the subject of this sketch; John S., a former farmer of Dixon township, now living in Eaton, Ohio ; the other children, George Waddy and L. C., are deceased.

Mrs. Sarah E. Reynolds was reared on the Hunt homestead, in Dixon township, and was educated in the district schools of that township and in a private school, later teaching school. She was married to Roddie Reynolds, November 28, 1866. He was born in Blphin, Roscommon cormty, Ireland, August 15, 1844, and came to the United States at the age of five with his mother. He was the only child born to his parents. They first located in New Jersey, but came to Preble county, when he was seven years old, and he was reared in Eaton and educated in the public schools of that city. Mr. Reynolds was a successful hardware merchant and contractor. He was appointed secretary to General Ben LeFevre, congressman from the Eaton district, and for many years lived in Washington, D. C. He also served in the United States navy during the Civil War and was the youngest commander in that war. He was chief of the division in the sixth auditors office at Washington, D. C.; at the time of his death in 1884. Mr. Reynolds was a man held in high esteem by 'all who knew him. He and Mrs. Reynolds were the parents of three children, two of whom are living, L. C. and Nellie. L. C. is an attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, and has charge of the bonding division of the Maryland Casualty Company. He married Ada Gibbons, the daughter of John Gibbons. Nellie was graduated from the Bishop Strachan School, Wykeham Hall for Young Ladies (Episcopal), at Toronto, Canada, and married Prof. George R. Eastman, of Dayton, Ohio.

Mrs. S. E. Reynolds represented the women of Preble county, Ohio, at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. She was appointed by the Hon. Daniel J. Ryan, of Columbus, Ohio, one of the commissioners of the exposition board. Mrs. Reynolds organized a club of forty women and, as a token of appreciation for their work, Mrs. Reynolds was presented by "Uncle Jim" Bruce with the bole of a beautiful buckeye tree cut off the battlefield of Fort St. Clair op the one hundredth anniversary of the battle of Fort St. Clair. Lieutenant-Governor Harris and Mayor Risinger presented the logs at the one hundredth anniversary celebration held in the city hall. The members of the club were keenly interested and from the tree, which represented the state of Ohio, they made a beautiful cabinet, carved with buckeye leaves and implements representing Indian warfare. This piece was placed in the Ohio building at the exposition and proved to be the only historical and representative piece made by women and shown at the exposition. Mrs. Reynolds now has it in her possession and prizes it very highly.

This good woman has always been interested in the legends and traditions of the St. Clair history, including the trail of St. Clair from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Detroit, Michigan. This trail is full of legends and traditions, which make .the history not only beautiful but more interesting. Mrs. Reynolds has forty pieces of hand-painted china, each one representing St. Clair's connection with the early history of Ohio and these eventually will become the property of the state. She, also has many legends and traditions written more than one hundred years ago. Not very long ago Mrs. Reynolds obtained more than four hundred signatures to a petition asking the state Legislature, if possible, to purchase the battlefield of Fort St. Clair, which was then owned by Judge William Gilmore and now by his son, Clem, of Dayton, Ohio, if not for Preble county, then for the state of Ohio. Mrs. Reynolds is confident that this will sometime be done.

Mrs. Reynolds is the author of a little St. Clair booklet, which she wrote and presented to "The Little Children I Love." It is illustrated with St. Clair pictures and is an interesting little document. Mrs. Reynolds represented Louisa St. Clair at the one hundredth anniversary of Eaton and rode a pony at the head of the procession, with Mayor George H. Kelley, of Eaton.

To Mrs. Reynolds, perhaps more than to any other person in Eaton, is due the splendid public library which the people of that city now have. The funds for the organization of this library organization were started by the Research Society and consisted in the beginning of one hundred dollars. The idea originated with Mrs. Reynolds, starting with what books this fund would purchase, with a number presented to the society by friends. The small case of books was given a place in a comer of Homan & Randal's furniture store on North Barron street. The ladies, of whom, at that time, Mrs. Homan was president, kept the library open two days out of each week for almost two years before they reached the end of their "great expectations" of founding a public library for Eaton. The incorporators of the Eaton public library were Mrs. S. E. Reynolds, Mrs. Frank Homan, Mrs. William Ortt, Mrs. George Spacht, Mrs. Mary K. Stubbs, Messrs. Chrisler, John Gibbons, B. D. Moses and Dr. Prentis. It is now located at the comer of North Barron and West Decatur streets, one of the most valuable sites in town and the property of the library. Not only has Mrs. Reynolds done a large part in the building and maintenance of the public library, but she has devoted much of her time to the educational uplift of this city. She was editor-in-chief in 1897 of the Eaton Register, which was issued to provide

Mrs. Reynolds is secretary of the Abner L. Haines Humane Society, of Preble county, and also was a member of the women's board at the children's home. She is a captain commander of the National Naval Association of the United States, has served as secretary of this association, and was chairman of the Ladies' National Naval Association, which made the strewing of flowers upon the waters, in memory of the sailors and marines who lie buried beneath the waves, a national service. This beautiful service originated with Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes, of Pasadena, California, for which she has received hundreds of letters of congratulations from our Presidents, officers of the navy and of the army of the United States; also from naval officers of other countries. She is now president of the El-Camino-Real Sc^ciety, of California, marking "The King's Highway" - the old missions of California. This is one part of Mrs. Reynolds' work she is particularly proud of and for which she was made an honorary member of the Men's Naval Association of America. Mrs. Reynolds is one of the charter members of the Woman's Relief Corps, in which she is a past president. She is also past worthy matron of the Order of the Eastern Star and represented the chapter at Columbus, Ohio. Mrs. Reynolds is a member of the Pocahontas lodge and was the first Pocahontas in Eaton and is now one of the staff of the great Pocahontas of Ohio. She is a member of the State Historical and Archaeological Society of Ohio and a member o fthe Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1914 she was a delegate to the national convention at Washington, D. C., and is a member of the Richard Arnold chapter at Washington, D. C., being one of the first members of this organization. Mrs. Reynolds is a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Hunt, who was with the army of Washington at Valley Forge. Mrs. Reynolds' maternal great-grandfather, David Truax, was a veteran of four wars, the Revolutionary, the Blackhawk Indian War, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.

Mrs. Reynolds owns the old Hunt homestead of one hundred and twenty-three acres in Preble county and has a competence entirely sufficient for her declining years. It is a pleasure to recount the facts in the career of such a woman and it is a pleasure to know that they will be preserved in a historical work such as this. With all her accomplishments, however, Mrs. Reynolds is quite modestly unassuming, it being one of her greatest hobbies that it is to one's friends that one is indebted for whatever success attend one's efforts through life, she stoutly maintaining that no one can succeed alone.

Artie J. Hamilton

It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real history of a community. His influence as a potential factor in the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish. There is always a full measure of satisfaction in reverting even in a casual way, to their achievements. Such a man is Artie J. Hamilton, ex-postmaster and banker of Eldorado, Ohio, who, in every respect, is a representative citizen of Preble county.

Artie J. Hamilton was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, October 15, 1874, the son. and only child of W. W. and Sophia (Schreel) Hamilton. W. W. Hamilton is a native of Preble county, Ohio, but was reared in Montgomery county, Ohio, while his wife was born in Preble county, and reared on a farm in this county. After their marriage they moved to Pyrmont, Montgomery county, Ohio, where Mr. Hamilton was engaged in conducting a general store, which he operated for ten years, and is now living retired at that place. His wife died in 1877. W. W. Hamilton married, secondly, Eliza Mills, and to this union two children were born: Bessie,

After the death of his mother, Artie J. Hamilton lived in the family of his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George Schreel, of Preble county, remaining with them until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he entered his father's store at Pyrmont, Ohio, where he remained for three years. At the end of that time, in September, 1895, he moved to Eldorado, Ohio, and there learned the baker's trade, and for eight years was engaged in the bakery and restaurant business. On June 7, 1897, he was appointed postmaster of Eldorado, under President McKinley, and served in this capacity until October 1, 1914. Mr. Hamilton was with his brotherin-law, Jesse King, about three years in the operation of a general store, at the end of which time he purchased his brother-in-law's interest in this store, and has since conducted the store alone. He is now vice-president of the Farmers Banking Company, of Eldorado, and one of the directors of that bank.

Artie J. Hamilton was married to Flora King, of Pyrmont, Ohio, January 1, 1896, and to this union two children have been born, Ralph, bom on November 2 5, 1897, and Harold, born on February 21, 1907, the latter of whom is now taking a course in electrical engineering.

Mr. Hamilton is a member of the Knights of Pythias, having belonged to that fraternal organization since 1895. He is a past chancellor and member of the grand lodge of this order. He is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and is now president of the Eldorado board of education. Mr. Hamilton is a quiet, unassuming citizen and highly respected in Eldorado and Monroe township, where he has spent practically his whole life.

Prof. Walter Waggoner

The life history of one who has lived an honorable and useful life and obtained notable distinction cannot be repeated too often. Prof. Walter Waggoner, although one of the most successful, as well as one of the bestknown educators of Preble county, is still a young man. His character not only is marked by purity of purpose, but he is well disciplined in mind and has maintained the vantage point from which life presents itself in correct proportion. He has been guided by the highest principles of integrity and honor, and is simple and unostentatious in his habits, tolerant in his point of view and broad-minded in his judgments, his character being a positive expression of a strong nature. His career has been a busy and useful one and his name is respected by all those who have occasion to come into contact with him or who have knowledge of his life work. Professor Waggoner has added dignity and honor to the educational profession in this section of the state.

Prof. Walter Waggoner, superintendent of the Monroe township, Eldorado and West Manchester schools, is a native of Monroe township, Preble county, Ohio, and was born on June 13, 1883, the son of William and Sarah F. (Shiverdecker) Waggoner, both natives of Preble county, Ohio, the former of whom was born southwest of West Alexandria. William Waggoner is a son of Silas and Magdalene (Voorhiss) Waggoner, the former a native of Virginia. Silas Waggoner was twelve years old when he came from Virginia to Ohio with his parents and was a resident of Preble county the remainder of his life.

William Waggoner was reared in Preble county, Ohio, and married in that county. Roth he and his wife were educated in the common schools. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are living, Prof. Walter, the subject of this sketch; Mary, the wife of John Schlotterbeck ; Ruth, a graduate of the common schools, spent two years in high school;

Charles D., who was graduated from the common schools and spent one year in the high school. Mr. and Mrs. William Waggoner are members of the Evangelical church.

Professor Waggoner was reared on a farm and received his early education in the district schools, from which he was graduated with the class of 1898. He was later graduated from the high school at West Manchester in 1902. He has $pent a year in Earlham College and has done special work at Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. Professor Waggoner taught for seven years in district schools and was principal of the high school at New Paris for five years. He was later elected by the board of education as district superintendent of Monroe township, Eldorado and West Manchester, a position which he still holds.

On January 29, 1905, Professor Waggoner was married to Elsie May Imes, a graduate of the common schools, the daughter of Francis and Clara J. (Witteman) Imes, both natives of Preble county. To this union two sons and one daughter have been born, William H., who is nine years old; Ralph E., who is seven, and Frances I., who is two.

Professor and Mrs. Waggoner are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Paris. Professor Waggoner was superintendent of the Sunday school and treasurer of the church. He was also one of the trustees of the church and likewise president of the Epworth League for two years. Politically, he is a Democrat. Professor Waggoner is entitled to rank as one of the worthy sons of Preble county, a young man who by dint of his own labor, his own industry, foresight and judgment, has made unusual progress and for whom his friends could say even greater and better things.

Nathan Caldwell Sloan

Among the families prominent in the affairs of Preble county, Ohio, few possess greater historical interest than those founded by the heroes of our early wars - those early settlers who fought so ably to secure the independence of the United States, and who after the war had been prosecuted to a successful conclusion established new homes for themselves in the wilderness. They were inured to hardship, familiar with the difficulties of pioneer life and in every way qualified to meet and grapple w-ith the many obstacles which lie in the paths of the founders of any new community. One of the families of Preble county wrhich was founded by a veteran of the

War of 1812, is the Sloan family, which has since gained considerable prominence, not only in the affairs of this county, but in the affairs of the nation as well.

Nathan Caldwell Sloan, the subject of this sketch, was born in Morning Sun, Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, March 25, 1854, a son of Dr. Richard and Mary (Caldwell) Sloan. He is now the only representative of the Sloan family living in Preble county, Ohio.

The first members of the Sloan family to come to Preble county were Captain Richard and Mrs. Mary (Johnson) Sloan, who migrated from the Abbeville district, South Carolina, about 1803, and settled in Israel township, Preble county, one and one-half miles north of Morning Sun, soon after their arrival in Ohio. During the War of 1812, Richard Sloan raised a company bearing his name, and served for some months along the Canadian boundary in the warfare against the British and the Indians. Capt. Richard Sloan died in 1849, and is buried in Hopewell cemetery. He and his wife were charter members of the Hopewell United Presbyterian church. Capt. Richard and Mrs. Mary (Johnson) Sloan were the parents of five sons and three daughters, all of whom, except one, also are buried in the Hopewell cemetery. John and Nathan Sloan were farmers. John Sloan had no sons, but he had one daughter, who became the wife of Jeremiah Rankin. She died at Tarkio, Missouri, some years ago, leaving two sons and a number of grandchildren. Nathan Sloan had one son, William, who recently died in Glendale, California, leaving one son, Arthur, a mining engineer, who lives at Clifton, Arizona, and a daughter who resides at Glendale, California. Elihu, the youngest child, became a distinguished lawyer, first in his adopted state of Mississippi, and later in California, where he died in 1866. James Sloan, another son, died in early life. Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth were the three daughters born to Capt. Richard and Mrs. Mary (Johnson) Sloan.

Dr. Richard Sloan, Jr., one of the five sons above mentioned, was bom in 1808. In his early manhood he and his brother, Elihu, were the neighborhood tailors. They attended night school and studied Latin and chemistry. Dr. Richard Sloan was graduated from the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati in 1844, and practiced medicine as a skillful and faithful family physician in Morning Sun and vicinity for over forty years. He was born on December 28, 1808, and was married to Mary Caldwell in 1845, one year after he was graduated from the medical college. He was a devout and consistent elder in the United Presbyterian church for more than forty years. Dr. Richard Sloan died on February 17, 1884. His wife, Mary Caldwell, who was born on February 1, 1823, died on January 19, 1908. Mary

(Caldwell) Sloan was the daughter of William Caldwell, a colonel in the Revolutionary Army, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry, his parents probably having come from the north of Ireland. He, however, lived in North Carolina.

The union of Dr. Richard Sloan and Mary Caldwell was blessed by six children: Jane E., born on July 4, 1846; Mary Cora, born on January 3, 1849; James A., born on May 6, 1851; Nathan, born on March 25, 1854; Richard E., born on June 22, 1857; John M., bom on November 9, 1861. Jane E. is the widow of the late Dr. J. W. Harris, and resides in San Francisco, California, where she has a daughter living, also a son, R. S. Harris, who resides in Los Angeles, California. Doctor Harris died about 1905. Mary Cora died in August, 1850. James A. died on May 6, 1871. Nathan Caldwell is the subject of this sketch. Richard E. was for many years associate justice of the supreme court of Arizona. He served as governor of Arizona from 1909 to 1912, and was the first United States district judge for Arizona. He now resides at Phoenix, Arizona, where he is a prominent lawyer. Richard E. Sloan married Mary Brown and they have two daughters living, Eleanor and Mary Caldwell Sloan. John M. Sloan, the last of the six children born to Dr. Richard and Mary (Caldwell) Sloan, died on December 4, 1887.

Although Dr. Richard and Mary (Caldwell) Sloan had a large family, only one of their children or descendants is living in Ohio, Nathan Caldwell Sloan, the subject of this sketch, being the sole representative of the Sloan family remaining in Israel township, Preble county, Ohio. Nathan Caldwell Sloan received his early education in the schools of Morning Sun, Ohio, and later attended the Morning Sun Academy. After completing his studies he took up the vocation of a farmer, and has pursued that occupation all his life. He now owns one hundred and seventy-four acres of splendid land in section 27, within three-quarters of a mile of Morning Sun, Ohio. He also owns a home in Morning Sun in which he was born. In his farming Mr. Sloan specializes in the breeding and raising of high grade cattle and hogs.

Mr. Sloan has never married. In politics he is a strong supporter of the Republican party, although he has never been a candidate for any office of a political nature, having devoted his life to the management and direction of his farm.

In every respect Nathan Caldwell Sloan has fulfilled the promises of his worthy ancestors, a grandfather who fought in the War of 1812, as the captain of a company, a maternal great-grandfather who was a colonel in the Revolutionary Army, and ev£n the promises of his father, the pioneer physician, who during the Civil War was connected with the Ohio state militia, and who assisted in drilling the newly-enlisted soldiers of Morning Sun, Ohio. Nathan Caldwell Sloan and his brother, Richard E. Sloan, have also fulfilled the promises of wholesome, religious living established by their worthy father, who was an influential member in the United Presbyterian church at Hopewell and who late£ assisted in establishing a church of the same denomination at Morning Sun.

In fact, the Sloan family has always been distinguished for its devotion to the church, loyalty to the country, and faithfulness to duty in whatever vocation of life the members of this family have engaged. Throughout his Jong residence in Preble county, Nathan Caldwell Sloan has most ably upheld the traditions of his family, a most notable one from the date when Capt.* Richard Sloan first came to Preble county down to the present time. Nathan Caldwell Sloan is a substantial citizen in his community and is highly respected bv all' Tris neighbors and by all with whom he comes in contact.

David L. Fudge

The greatest of the natural resources of Preble county is the soil and naturally the real estate business is a substantial vocation in this county. In the business affairs of Eaton and Preble county, no man occupies a higher position or one of more importance among those who are conserving the commercial and industrial prosperity of Preble county, than David L. Fudge. None occupies a higher standing among his associates than Mr. Fudge.

David L. Fudge was born in Monroe township, Preble county, Ohio, April 26, 1853, the son of James and Rosabel (Pence) Fudge, natives of Virginia, who were the parents of seven children, five of whom lived to maturity: James Harvey, who died in 1865; Mary Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of Benjamin Richards; Thomas C., who died at the age of seventeen ; Oliver P., who died at the age of fifteen; Hulda Jane, deceased, who married Bernard McGee; David L., the subject of this sketch, and Peter M., deceased. David L. Fudge is the only one of these now living.

James Fudge, the father of David L., was reared in Washington township, Preble county r Ohio, and throughout his life was a farmer and stock raiser. He owned a farm of two hundred and fifty-four acres in Monroe township. Mr. Fudge and three sons died within six weeks time of typhoid fever, in 1864 and 1865. Mrs. Fudge died in 1884 at the age of sixty-five. She was a member of the Lutheran church.

The paternal grandparents of David L. Fudge were David and Elizabeth (Hunter) Fudge, pioneer settlers of Preble county, who settled in the northern part of Washington township, at Bonta's Fork, where they both died. David Fudge built a brick house, which is still standing. He had a large family: Jacob, George, Daniel, James, John, Robert, Joseph, Thomas, David and Catherine, the latter of whom married Daniel Pence. All of these children lived to maturity.

The maternal grandparents of David L. Fudge were Peter and Elizabeth (Harshman) Pence, natives of Luray Valley, Virginia. They were pioneers in Monroe township, this county, their home being on the National road* and both died at advanced ages. They had a large family, Reuben, Andrew J., Job, Peter, Rosabel, Delilah, Barbara, Sarah, Jane and Elizabeth.

David L. Fudge was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools. He lived at home until grown and then "huckstered" about four years, at the same time looking after a small tract of land which he owned. He then went into the stock business and continued in this business for eighteen years, during which time he controlled two hundred and fifty acres, part of which he owned. In 1901 he moved to Eaton and went into the real estate and loan business which he still continues. He sold and divided his farm property but still owns a splendid tobacco farm, although a small one, on North Barron street, close to the Eaton corporation line. He owns a fine home in Eaton, at. 115 East Somers street, and also owns other city property. Mr. Fudge is a stockholder in the Preble County National Bank and does a large real estate business.

On October 4, 1874, David L. Fudge was married to Sarah Jane Young,, the daughter of Levi and Hulda (Barnhart) Young, to which union six1 children were born, Tyler L., Laura Gennethe, Daisy Viola, Lilly May, Florence Elizabeth and Sylvia Azel. Tyler L. is a farmer and stock raiser in Washington township. He married Minnie Kimmel and has two children, Orley and Opal Bernice. Laura Gennethe married E. J. Ashman, of Dixon township, and has two children, Priscilla May and Daisy Viola. Dais>r Viola married Elmer Kimmel, of Monroe township, and has two children, Willard F. and Goldie Jane. Lilly May married Henry Miller, of Monroe township, and has one child, Anna Marie. Florence Elizabeth died at the age of nine months and twenty days. Sylvia Azel died at the age of eleven years.

Mrs. Fudge was born in Washington township, Preble county, Ohio, August 6, 1854. Her parents were natives of Ohio. Her father died in 1883, at the age of sixty, while her mother is still living at the age of eighty- eight. They were the parents of eleven children, Ephriam, Mary Ann Andrew, Sylvester, Sarah Jane, Catherine Kuntz, Henry M., Laura, Ella, Thurman and Caroline Elizabeth, the latter of whom died in infancy.

The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Fudge were Adam Young and wife. Their children were Henry, Eli, Alkana, Sarah and others. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Fudge were David Barnhart and wife, he dying at the age of ninety-two years. Their children were Hiram, John, Andrew, David, Samuel, Catherine and Hulda.

Mr. Fudge is a member of Waverly Lodge No. 143, Knights of Pythias. He also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for thirty-three years. He and his wife are members of the Pythian Sisters and he belongs to the Orientals. Mr. and Mrs. Fudge are members of the First Christian church at Eaton and Mr. Fudge is a trustee of that denomination. Mr. Fudge is a Democrat, but he has never held office, preferring to discharge his duties as a citizen in a private rather than in a public capacity. Mr. and Mrs. Fudge are held in high esteem in Eaton and Preble county and are widely popular.

Among those who stand out as distinguished types of the world's workers is Dr. C. A. Hawley, who is one of the able and honored physicians and surgeons of Preble county, Ohio. A man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, of most gracious personality, of strong and noble character, and one who has labored with zeal and devotion for the alleviation of human suffering, Doctor Hawley is clearly entitled to representation among the progressive and enterprising citizens of Preble county. He is devoted to his chosen vocation and has lent honor and dignity to the medical profession. In all his relations Doctor Hawley has maintained a due regard for the high standard of professional ethics characteristic of his profession, and from the beginning of his practice, has exhibited marked skill in the treatment of diseases.

Dr. Crittenden A. Hawley, a physician and surgeon of New Paris, Ohio, was born in Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, October 10, 1855* a son of Albert and Maria E. (Watts) Hawley, the former a native of Warren county, Ohio, and the latter a native of Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio.

and settled in Warren county, Ohio, where he lived until his death. Albert Hawley was twenty years of age when he came to Preble county. Here he married Maria E. Watts, and lived in this county the remainder of his life. He was a graduate of the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, and located at Gettysburg, Preble county, Ohio, where he practiced medicine for fifty years. He had two brothers, Dr. Andrew and Dr. Franklin Hawley, who also were physicians and surgeons in Preble county. Dr. Albert Hawley was one of the pioneer physicians and rode a horse on trips to his patients in the early years of his practice. He began the practice of his profession about 1842, and was successful from the beginning. Dr. Albert Hawley was bom in January, 1822, and died on October 15, 1913. His wife, who was bom in 1833, died in 1891. Dr. Albert Hawley and wife were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living: Dr. C. A., the immediate subject of this sketch; Mary E., the wife of B. F. Werley, of this county, and William A., a farmer of Jefferson township. Harvey A. C. Hawley died in 1890 and James G. Hawley died in 1914.

Doctor Hawley was reared in the village of Gettysburg, Jefferson township, and received his early education in the district schools. He afterwards attended the normal school at Ada, Ohio, and became a teacher in Preble county. He taught ten terms in the district schools. Subsequently he entered the Miami Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, and beginning this course in the fall of 1888, he earned the money with which to defray his expenses, and was graduated with the class of 1891, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He immediately began the active practice of his profession at Gettysburg, this county, and continued in the practice there until 1903, when he moved to New Paris, where he has since been actively engaged in the medical practice.

Doctor Hawley was first married to Carrie J. Spacht, who was born and reared in Preble county, and to this union was born one daughter, Hazel, who was graduated from the New Paris high school and attended Oxford Seminary for one year. She is the wife of Albert J. Hawley, and lives in this county. Subsequently Doctor Hawley married Lizzie P. Reid, and to this marriage three children have been born : Albert R., a graduate of the New Paris High School and of the Richmond Business College; Gertrude, a graduate of the New Paris High School, who also spent one year at Earlham College, where she was devoted to the study of music, and Scott A., a student in the public schools of New Paris.

Doctor Hawley has other interests besides his profession. His son, Scott, is an extensive breeder of Silver-laced Wyandotte chickens, as well

Doctor Hawley is a member of the Preble County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. For a number of years he served as secretary of the Preble County Medical Society. He is. medical examiner, for the New York Life Insurance Company; for the Cincinnati Mutual Life Insurance Company, and for the Modern Woodmen of America. Fraternally, Doctor Hawley is a member of Harmony Lodge No. 396, Knights of Pythias, at New Paris, and New Paris Lodge No. 304, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as of the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically, he is a Republican and served as county coroner of Preble county for two terms, a period of eight years, a position which he filled with painstaking efficiency. Doctor Hawley is at the present time both township and city health officer. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a member of the official board of the local congregation at New Paris. Not only has Doctor Hawley prospered in a professional way, but he has been enabled to acquire and accumulate a substantial competence. He is a rather heavy stockholder in the First National Bank of New Paris and for the past six years has been president of this bank, and has other property interests. He is a man well known among men and popular with all classes. From his boyhood days Doctor Hawley has been able to draw to him scores of admirers, who are attached to him because of his genial personality and his upright, honorable life.

Benjamin F. Earhart

The careers of self-made and successful men abound in lessons from which those of the rising generation can well take a large degree of profit. It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of a review such as this a man who has led an active and eminently useful life and who has, through his own individual exertions, reached a position of honor in the calling with which his interests are closely allied. However, biography finds justification in the tracing and recording of the salient facts of such a life history, inasmuch as the public claims a certain proprietary interest in the career of every individual and the time invariably arrives when it becomes proper to give such a career the proper publicity. It is a matter of considerable pleasure to inscribe the biography of Benjamin F. Earhart, a prominent farmer of Preble county, Ohio, who, from a humble beginning, has risen to achievements which are remarkable. From a young man with no capital other than industry and thrift he has risen to the ownership of a great farm and is now enjoying the fruits of his labors at his home, which he has appropriately named "Fair Acres.,,

Benjamin F. Earhart was born in Butler county, Ohio, August 21, 1863, a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Search) Earhart, the former of whom was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Ohio. The elder Benjamin Earhart was a shoemaker by trade and moved to Butler county, Ohio, when he was a boy. He followed his trade of shoemaking for a time, but later took up fanning, a calling in which he was engaged until the time of his death, which occurred about 1907. His wife died in 1905.

To Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Earhart, Sr., thirteen children were born, six of whom died in childhood. The seven who are living are : H. S. Earhart, who lives in Oxford, Butler county, Ohio; Mary, the wife of William Booth, living in Rush county, Indiana; Laura, the wife of Aaron Ridenour, who lives in College Corners, Butler county; Catherine, the wife of Isaac Smith, who lives in Union county, Indiana; Emma, the widow of James Shera, who died a number of years ago; Mrs. Shera now lives at College Corners; Benjamin F. is the subject of this sketch; Rosa is the wife of William Falk, and lives in Butler county.

Benjamin F. Earhart received a common-school education and afterward took up the calling of agriculture. On February 11, 1886, he married Bertha L. Kendall, a daughter of Richard and Mary E. (Creager) Kendall, both of whom were natives of Butler county, Ohio. Mr. Kendall was a carpenter, a vocation which he followed throughout his life. He died about 1911. Mrs. Kendall makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Earhart.

Seven children, all of whom are living, have been bom to Benjamin and Bertha L. (Kendall) Earhart, as follow: Elsie, the wife of Fred Bishop, of Bradford, Ohio; Grace, the wife of Murray Bake, now living at College Corners, where Mr. Bake conducts a general store; William and Emma, twins, living at home ; Murray, who is attending high school at College Corners; Mabel, who is attending high school at College Corners, and Gladys, who is still attending the district school.

Mr. Earhart commenced his career by working "on thirds" and operated a farm under that system for a year. He then rented a farm, which he occupied for a period of six years. By that time he had succeeded in saving sufficient money to enable him to become a landholder in his own right. His first farm was one of eighty acres, to which he later added another farm of eighty acres adjoining, and later still, another, also of eighty acres, thus gaining a farm of two hundred and forty acres of fine Preble county land. He improved the farm and built a modern house on it, also building a fine bam.

In 1913 Mr. Earhart bought one hundred acres of well-improved land near Morning Sun, and in August, 1914, he bought one hundred and sixtyfive acres of improved farm land in section 32, the last farm bearing the name of "Maple Row." Mr. Earhart operates his farms in conjunction and specializes in raising high-grade live stock. He also carries on an extensive "feeding" business, purchasing cattle in car-load lots and feeding them, and later shipping them to the markets and packing houses. His home farm, know as "Fair Acres," is situated in section 30, about two and one-half miles northeast of College Corners, Preble county. This farm is kept in a high state of cultivation and improvement and is ranked among the best farms of Preble county.

Mr. Earhart is a supporter of the Democratic party and has been active in the political affairs of his township and county. He is now serving as township trustee of Israel township and is conducting the affairs of his office with great success. Mr. Earhart and the members of his family are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church and are active in all church affairs.

Mr. Earhart has attained to a prominent place as a farmer and publicspirited citizen of the county, largely because he has never neglected an opportunity to identify himself with all those influences which tend to make a better community. His interest in public affairs and the honest methods which he has always pursued have naturally won for him the esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

Everett O. Reid

An enumeration of those men of the past generation who have won recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the locality to which they belong would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of Everett O. Reid, a farmer living on Rural Route No. 1, out of New Paris, Ohio. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful farmers of Preble county have also won for him the esteem of his fellow citizens. His career has been one of well-directed effort, of strong determination and honorable methods.

July 1, 1885, the son of Addie L. and Jennie (Roberts) Reid, the former of whom is a native of Preble county, born in March, 1852, and the latter a native of Wayne county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Addie L. Reid are living retired at Richmond, Indiana. They are the parents of three children : Goldie, the wife of Albert Daugherty; William, a resident of Richmond, Indiana, and Everett, O., with whom this narrative deals.

Everett O. Reid was reared on a farm in Jefferson township, this county, and was educated in the school of district No. 3, of that township. He was a student for one term at the New Paris high school. After his marriage Mr. Reid settled down to farming and has made a remarkable success in this vocation. He is an extensive breeder of thoroughbred Duroc- Jersey hogs and good grades of all other kinds of stock. Mr. Reid has received many premiums upon his Percheron horses. He farms two hundred and forty acres of land in Preble county, and owns a home in Richmond, Indiana.

On November 17, 1905, Everett O. Reid was married to Susan Wesler, who was bom in Wayne county, Indiana, and who attended the district schools of that county. To this union have been born three children: Olive, born in August, 1906; Laurene, born in October, 1907, and Ralph, born in January, 1909.

Mr. and Mrs. Reid are active members of the United Brethren church at Pleasant Hill, and the family are also active in the Sunday school. Mr. Reid is one of the leading members of the Whitewater Valley Grange. He is a progressive, up-to-date farmer and an honorable citizen, who is respected by his neighbors and honored by all who know him.

William Geeding

William Geeding, a farmer and thresherman of Jackson township, Preble county, Ohio, is a native-born Buckeye and justly deserves the title of self-made man, having worked his way unaided to an honorable position among the citizens of his community. No man in Jackson township enjoys a higher degree of genuine esteem and confidence than Mr. Geeding.

William Geeding was born in Gratis township, Preble county, Ohio, November 22, 1870, the son of Jacob and Catherine (Glaze) Geeding, who were married on October 3, 1868. His father was born in Montgomery county, this state, and his mother was born on July 2, 1852, in this county, the daughter of John and Sarah Glaze. Jacob Geeding enlisted in an Ohio volunteer regiment and served one hundred days during the Civil War. He and his wife were the parents of two sons, William, who is the subject of this sketch, and Ervin, who married Cora Furry and lives in Gratis township, this county.

William Geeding was reared on a farm in Gratis township and lived there until the spring of 1901, in which year he moved to Dixon township. In 1905 he moved to Jackson township and in 1908 bought sixty-five acres one mile south of Campbellstown. For the past nine years he has been a farmer and thresherman. In 1915 Mr. Geeding purchased a farm of seventy-two and one-half acres lying just west of his residence.

Mr. Geeding was married December 6, 1893, to Cora Nicodemus, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, and to this union three children were born: Charles E., who is a graduate of the Jackson township high school and still at home; Orpha, who also is a graduate of the Jackson township high school, and Roy, born in February, 1901, who is now a student in the common schools.

Mr. and Mrs. Geeding are members of the Christian church and active in the work of this denomination. Mr. Geeding also is a member of the detective association of Jackson township and is an ardent Republican. He has served as constable of Dixon township and performed the duties of that office in a creditable manner.

John M. Yost

To the wanderer in a strange region the word "home" has a great attraction. Home is undoubtedly the dearest place on earth to men. Those men who love and respect their homes are likely to be the best citizens. Be* ing kind husbands and fathers, they realize that any influence harmful to the community is harmful to that unit of society, the home.

A home-lover and a public-spirited man is John M. Yost, who was born in Lanier township. Preble county, November 26, 1877, the son of Enoch W. and Anna (Bursher) Yost, who were the parents also of Albert Yost, a successful farmer of W ashington township, and Everett, a commonschool graduate and also a farmer of Washington township.

the son of John and Mary (Rinehart) Yost, the former of whom was the son of John Yost, who was born in Virginia and came to Preble county when a young man, spending the rest of his life on a farm south of Eaton. John M. Yost's father and grandfather were reared in Preble county.

The youth of John M. Yost was spent on the home farm in Washing* ton township. During the winter months he attended the public schools and was graduated from the Eaton high school when he was nineteen years of age. Then he began teaching in the Eaton schools and was principal of one school for twelve years. In the spring of 1914 he resigned, because of eye trouble, and moved on to his farm in Dixon township, where he now lives.

A specialist in the breeding of Jersey cattle, Mr. Yost has a splendid herd of these cattle, the herd being headed by the high-grade "Fancy's Owl." On August 2, 1906, Mr. Yost married Ada Brower, the daughter of S. A. and Emma Brower, the former of whom died in 1901. Ada (Brower) Yost received a common school education, which she has supplemented by individual study and observation. To the union of Mr. Yost and Ada Brower one child has been born, James K., bom on August 19, 1908.

Mr. Yost is a Democrat, but he is not an office seeker, and has never held office. He is a quiet, unassuming man and an honorable citizen, who holds the welfare of his county, state and nation close to his heart.

Samuel M. Paxton

Many of the families of Preble county, Ohio, have descended directly from antecedents who were prominent, or who, at least, were citizens of this county, during the days when the foundations of the nation were being laid. It is far from uncommon in this county to find residents whose ancestors were pioneers in one or another of the original thirteen states. Of these, Samuel M. Paxton, of Israel township, Preble county, is an excellent example, his ancestors, no farther back than his grandfather, having been pioneers of the Old Dominion state, and having migrated by stages of varying length until the Paxton family now finds itself solidly represented among the leading citizens of Preble county.

Samuel M. Paxton was born in Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, July 29, 1861, a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (McQueston) Paxton. Jonathan Paxton, Jr., the father of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Jonathan Paxton, Sr., who was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in

1778. His wife, Agnes (Gilmore) Paxton, was also born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, the year of her birth having been 1783. Both Jonathan Paxton, Sr., and his wife died in the year 1852. In 1817 Jonathan Paxton, Sr., and his wife migrated to Franklin county, Ohio, and, in the following year, to Preble county, where they settled in section 20 of Israel township, at which point they spent the remainder of their days. They had seventeen children, all of whom lived to become parents of families.

Jonathan Paxton, Jr., was bom in Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, in 1819, and died there in 1902, after having spent his life in the pursuit of farming. In 1852 he married Elizabeth Jane McQueston, who was bom in 1831, and who died in 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Paxton were the parents of five children: Dellie J., who lives in Bloomington, Indiana; Edward, who died at the age of twenty; Samuel M., the subject of this sketch; Nannie G., deceased, and Mary S., who is a teacher of mathematics in the Bloomington, Indiana, high school.

Samuel M. Paxton was born in Israel township, Preble county, July 29, 1861. He received a common school education and, on November 26, 1890, married Margaret E. Hays, a daughter of William R. and Elizabeth (Marshall) Hays, the genealogy of whose family is set out in the sketch of William C. Fisher, presented elsewhere in this volume.

After his marriage Mr. Paxton moved to Union county, Indiana, where he rented a farm, which he operated for four years. He then returned to his father's farm in Israel township, which he rented for four years, at the end of which time he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in section 36 of Israel township. Mr. Paxton has greatly improved the farm since he became its owner, and has devoted it to the raising of high-grade Short-horn cattle. He recently built on it a fine modern residence, in which his family now lives.

born on January 9, 1893, who, after being graduated from the Morning Sun high school, attended Miami University during one term, and who also spent one term at Indiana University, at Bloomington, Indiana; Harold H., born on December 30, 1904, who was graduated from Morning Sun high school, and who later became a student at Muskingum College, and, still later, at Winona Agricultural College, and Robert H., born on March 8, 1907, who is at present attending high school at Morning Sun.

Mr. Paxton's career is a splendid example of the achievements of the pioneer families of this country. His perseverance and industry from the days when he started life independently, up through his period as a "renter," and later as a landowner, formed the fundamental factors on which he built his success. It is certain that no citizen of the county is more justly entitled to a place in the pages of this history than Mr. Paxton.

David F. Reinheimer

Among the representative men of Preble county, Ohio, there is no one who occupies a more highly-respected position than does David F. Reinheimer. As a self-made man he is a splendid example of what can be accomplished by foresight, by hard, conscientious work and strict attention to business. For many years Mr. Reinheimer was a successful blacksmith, and while working at this trade, he foresaw the chances for large profit in working the old stone quarry at New Paris, and is now the head of a corporation which does an enormous business in Ohio and Indiana, and which employs a great many men, being today one of the most thriving industries of Preble county.

David F. Reinheimer was born in New Paris, Ohio, March 25, 1857. He was reared in his native village and was educated in the public schools of that place. He was a blacksmith during his early life, but finally purchased the old stone quarry at New Paris, and went to work at building up a business in stone products. Mr. Reinheimer was associated with his brother, C. L. Reinheimer, in founding this large industry in 1898, and the company is now incorporated, with David F. Reinheimer as president; C. L. Reinheimer, secretary, and W. C. and E. L. Reinheimer, as well as Mrs. D. F. and Mrs. C. L. Reinheimer, as stockholders. It is one of the largest enterprises in Preble county, the company shipping many car loads of crushed stone to eastern Indiana and to southwestern Ohio. This large industry is an illustration of what may be accomplished from small beginnings. The company now employs about thirty men, and has just installed electrical machinery for quarrying the stone.

When Mr. Reinheimer was twenty-three years of age he was married to Florence Bunch, of Richmond, Indiana, who was born in August, i860, and was educated in the schools of Union City, Indiana, and Dayton, Ohio, receiving an excellent education. To this union have been bom two sons and three daughters: W. C., a representative of the Ohio Crushed Stone Company, is a pike contractor; Russell G., a clerk in a grocery in New Paris, both of whom are graduates of the New Paris high school and the Richmond (Indiana) Business College, and Lois, who is twelve years of age. Ruby A. and Freda are deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Reinheimer are members of the Christian church and Mrs. Reinheimer is a member of the various societies of the church. Fraternally, Mr. Reinheimer is a member of Harmony Lodge No. 396, Knights of Pythias, while his wife belongs to the Pythian Sisters, having passed the chairs in that order, and is a member of the grand lodge. Mr. Reinheimer is a stanch adherent of the Republican party and has always been active in the councils of his party, but has never aspired to office. The Reinheimer family are highly respected citizens of Preble county, and especially well known in Jefferson township, where they live.

Albert H. Christman

Nothing stimulates a man to deeds of merit or an upright life more than the recollections and memories of worthy parents who are gone from this earth. Albert H. Christman, dealer in hardware, implements and harness at Eaton, Ohio, is a worthy son of the late" Daniel J. Christman. In the business affairs of Eaton, Albert H. Christman occupies a position of importance among those who are promoting the commercial and industrial prestige of this community.

Albert H. Christman was born in Washington towmship, Preble county, Ohio, July 18, 1870, the son of Daniel J. and Louisa (DeGroot) Christman, natives of Preble county, who had two children, Edgar M. and Albert H.

Daniel J. Christman was reared in Preble county and w^as a farmer all of his life. He owrned two farms in Washington towmship, containing two hundred and seventy-three acres, wffiich he greatly improved. He moved to Eaton in 1904 and died there in 1905 at the age of seventy-one. His wife still survives and is now seventy-one. He and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he being an officer in the church. He was infirmary director for a number of years and was on the children's home board w hen it was. organized, remaining a member of this board until his death. Daniel J. Christman was interested in all public movements and gave much of his time and liberally of his means toward relieving the distress of the widows and orphans. Preble county lost a valuable citizen and an upright, worthy man in his death.

The paternal grandparents of Albert H. Christman were Solomon and Elizabeth (Shuey) Christman, natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland, respectively. They were pioneers in Preble county, Ohio, and followed the occupation of farming. Solomon Christman came to Preble county about 1802, bought land, cleared and improved it. He and his wife died on the home farm when about seventy-eight years of age. They had six children, Rosanna, Elizabeth, Eliza, Daniel J., John and Henry C. The maternal grandparents of Albert H. Christman were Robert and Nancy (Babbitt) DeGroot, natives of Maryland and early settlers in Preble county, Ohio, where they lived the rest of their days, he being about ninety years of age at the time of his death. They had four children, Abraham, Amzie, Louisa and Elizabeth, the latter now being ninety-one years old.

Albert H. Christman was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools and the Eaton public schools. He lived at home until he was grown and then farmed for his father until 1904, in which year he bought an interest in the implement store of Schertz & Alexander, the firm being Schertz, Alexander & Christman until 1906, when Mr. Christman and Mr. Alexander bought Schertz out, the firm then becoming Alexander & Christman. In 1908 Mr. Alexander sold out and since that time Mr. Christman has operated the business alone. In 1911 he added hardware to his business. He has a large store and has done a flourishing business from the beginning.

Mr. Christman was married on December 3, 1904, to Bertha Niswander, the daughter of Isaac and Mary E. (Baker) Niswander, to which union three children have been born, Edith L., Joseph N. and James D.

Mrs. Christman was born in Preble county, Ohio, her parents coming from Virginia and settling in Washington township during the Civil War. Her mother died on September 7, 1892, and her father died in 1910 at the age of eighty. They had nine children, Benjamin F., Isaac N., John M., Elmer E., David H., Laura B., Emma B., Eva and Bertha.

Mr. and Mrs. Christman are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and for many years have been active in religious works in Eaton. Mr. Christman is a member of the official board of the church. Politically, he is a Republican and although ardent in his political faith he is serving his city in a wider capacity than that of a strictly party office. He is now president of the board of education of Eaton, and was a school director in the country before moving to Eaton. Fraternally, he is a member of Bolivar Lodge No. 82, Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Christman is truly one of the representative citizens of Eaton and Preble county, a man of wide vision and faithful in all the affairs of life.

Agriculture has been the source of man's dominion on earth ever since the primal existence of labor. It has been the pivotal industry, and has controlled for the most part all fields of action to which man's intelligence and energy have been devoted. Among the farmers of Preble county whose labors have profited themselves and the community in which they live, is James O. McPherson. In view of the consistent life lived by Mr. McPherson, all of which has been passed in Preble county, with the exception of two years, it is particularly fitting that a brief story of his life's career be included in this volume.

Joseph O. McPherson, the proprietor of "Sunset Hill Farm," consisting of one hundred acres of fine land situated one mile south of New Paris, Ohio, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, February 26, 1858, a son of George W. and Mary A. (McDonald) McPherson, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Chester county and the latter of Allegheny county. George W. McPherson and Mary McDonald were married in Wayne county, Indiana, and after their marriage settled on a farm in that county. In i860 they moved to Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, and there they lived the remainder of their lives, Mr. McPherson's death occurring in 1908, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1891. They were the parents of six sons and five daughters: William A., a resident of Miamisburg, Ohio;

Jennie, the wife of Samuel Kessler, of New Paris, Ohio; Oliver, who died in 1884; Ella, the wife of B. F. Kemp, of New Paris; Charles, a resident of Liberty, Ohio, who conducts a blacksmith shop in that town; Catherine, the widow of Alexander Whitaker; Joseph O., the immediate subject of this sketch; Nathan J., a resident of Richmond. Indiana; Lillie, the widow of E. L. Thomas, who lives in Toledo, Ohio; John L., a resident of Muncie, Indiana, and Mellie, the wife of David Graham, of Dayton, Ohio.

Joseph O. McPherson was about two years old when he was brought to Preble county, Ohio, by his parents. He was reared on the farm and educated in the district schools of the neighborhood. When he was old enough he took up farming and has continued in this vocation all his life.

Mr. McPherson was married on December 24, 1885, to Mary E. Trucks, who was bom in Brown county, Indiana, a daughter of William and Diana (Carter) Trucks, of Hendricks county, Indiana, who subsequently moved to Blackford county, Indiana, where Mr. Trucks followed the trade of a blacksmith. He also worked at this trade in Camden, in Jay county. Mrs. McPherson came to Preble county in 1880. Her father died on March 31, 1904, and her mother died on March 21, 1906.

school, and afterwards a student at Earlham College, is editor of the Eldorado Bee. He married Elsie Commons, a daughter of E. E. Commons, and they have one daughter, Marion V., born on April 16, 1914. Paul J., the second son of Mr. and Mrs. McPherson, also is a graduate of the New Paris high school, and is now a student of Ohio University, at Columbus, Ohio, and will be graduated in 1917.

Politically, Mr. McPherson is a Republican, but he is a quiet, unassuming man, and has never taken an active part in political affairs. Mrs. Mc- Pherson is a member of the Christian church, at New Paris, Ohio. The McPherson family are prominent citizens in Jefferson township, where they live, and leaders in all things which have to do with the betterment of the community.

Very few professions have accomplished during the last half century, the same progress and development as that of the medical profession. The man of original thought and action whose text book is merely the basis of his work has always moved forward and taken the advantage of new discoveries in science, discoveries which look toward better methods and sure means of reaching the desired end. A man who was exceptionally well trained for his profession and has kept in the front ranks of modern investigation and discovery, is Dr. E. E. Bevington, of New Paris, Ohio. Doctor Bevington not only ranks among the leading members of his profession in Jefferson township, but he is also a man of broad culture and mentality. He has always been actuated by the highest motives and to the practice of his profession he has brought rare skill and resource. His quick perception and intuitive judgment have enabled him to make correct diagnosis necessary to the proper treatment of disease. He always has been a close student of medical science and has kept in touch with the marvelous development of this profession during the last decade. Because of his high attainments and exalted personal character, he is eminently entitled to representation in a work of this character.

Dr. E. E. Bevington, physician, of New Paris, Ohio, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, July 15, 1878, a son of Dr. H. S. and Miriam A. (Ebert) Bevington, the latter the third wife of Dr. H. S. Bevington. Doctor Bevington was Mrs. Bevington's second husband. She was a daughter of Dr. Philip Ebert, a Pennsylvania physician, who came to Ohio, locating near North Robinson, in Crawford county. He lived on a farm after locating near Ohio and from his residence there practiced his profession. Later in life he dropped out of the active practice of medicine and engaged in farming and was a prosperous and enterprising farmer.

Dr. H. S. Bevington was graduated from the medical college of the University of Michigan, with the class of 1858. After graduation, he practiced his profession in Defiance county, Ohio, for one year and then went to Crawford county, locating at De Kalb. At the breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted in the service and later became captain of Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was made a prisoner and confined in Libby prison for ten months. At the close of the war, after serving nearly four years, he took up the practice of medicine at Sulphur Springs, Ohio, in Crawford county, and practiced there until his death in 1899. Throughout his life, Dr. H. S. Bevington was active in local politics and served his community efficiently as township treasurer. He and his wife were the parents of two children, Dr. E. E., the subject of this sketch; and Rebecca M., a graduate of the high school and now a student in the Crawford county hospital in training for the profession of a nurse.

Dr. E. E. Bevington was educated in the public and high schools and was graduated from the Sulphur Springs high school in 1895. After his graduation, he entered the Starling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, now the medical department of Ohio State University, and after a complete four years' course, was graduated with the class of 1901, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his graduation. Doctor Bevington located at Sulphur Springs, Ohio, and remained there five years. He moved to New Paris, Ohio, in 1906, and has practiced there since that date.

On June 5, 1901, Doctor Bevington was married to Anna Charlton, the daughter of A. B. Charlton, of Crawford county, Ohio. Mrs. Bevington's father was a prosperous farmer and Mrs. Bevington taught in the public schools of Crawford county. One daughter, Vera, bom March 18, 1902, is the only child of this union. She is a student in the public schools.

Doctor Bevington is a member of the Darke County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Association and the American Medical Association, and is also a member of the Union District Medical Society, and is examiner for several life insurance companies. Doctor Bevington has come from a line of physicians on both sides of his family. His father was a physician and his mother's father, or his maternal grandfather, was also a successful physician. Religiously, Doctor and Mrs. Bevington are members of the Presbyterian church. - Fraternally, Doctor Bevington is a member of Fellowship Lodge No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons, and New Paris Lodge, No. 303, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Politically, Doctor Bevington is a Republican, although he has never been especially active in political affairs. First and foremost, Doctor Bevington is a physician, but he is also a nobleminded, honorable and public-spirited citizen, a man to whom his neighbors gladly look for counsel, professional and otherwise. His success is due partially to his splendid professional attainments and partially to his upright personal character.

Harry D. Collins

The advance of the automobile has created an ever-increasing demand for skilled mechanics. One of the men who has profited largely by the advance of power-driven vehicles, and who himself is a skilled mechanic, is Harry D. Collins, of New Paris, Ohio, who has been a successful mechanic for many years.

Harry D. Collins was born at Bethany, Ohio, September 18, 1880, a son of C. W. and Margaret (Taylor) Collins. C. W. Collins was born in Clermont county, Ohio, and at an early age learned the blacksmith trade. He married in Butler county, Ohio, and after his marriage settled in Pisgah, Ohio, where he was engaged at his trade for a short time. Subsequently he located at New Madison, Darke county, Ohio, and is there still engaged in his trade. His wife died in 1886. To this worthy couple were born six children, five of whom are living: Mary A., the wife of C. O. Clement, of Chicago, Illinois; Elizabeth, a graduate of the New Paris high school, is the wife of W. A. Thomas, of Ithaca, Ohio; Catherine, a graduate of the high school, is the wife of C. O. Kessler, of Richmond, Indiana; Harry D., the subject of this sketch; Florence, unmarried, lives in California.

school, with the class of 1898, and after his graduation engaged in business with his father under the firm name of C. \V. Collins & Son. He remained with his father seven years, when he disposed of his interests in the business and, in 1907, located in New Paris. Mr. Collins bought a shop there, going in debt for most . of . his, equipment. . He now owns a-fine building, fifty by seventy feet, and a garage is operated in connection with his machine shop and blacksmith shop. Mr. Collins also owns the dwelling in which he lives, and all of this he has made by his own efforts.

Harry D. Collins was married on November 17, 1900, to Cora E. Roberts, who was born at New Madison, Ohio, the daughter of Roscoe and Margaret Roberts, and to this union have been born five children, Claude, Violet, Sherman, Doris and Miriam.

The Collins family are members of the Universalist church at New Madison, Ohio. Mr. Collins belongs to Fellowship Lodge No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons, and is a past master in this lodge. He is also a member of Eaton Chapter No. 22, Royal Arch Masons, and of Matchett's Council No. 91, Royal and Select Masters, at Greenville, Ohio, as well as a member of , Lodge No. 546, Knights of Pythias, at New Madison. Mr. Collins is a Democrat, and has exercised a wide influence in local politics. He has served as a member of the town council and is now an efficient and capable member of the school board of his town. Mr. Collins is an honorable, upright citizen, and in every respect entitled to the esteem of the community where he lives and which he enjoys to the fullest extent.

Horace G. Bloom

The character of a community is determined in a large measure by the lives of a very few of its members. If its moral and intellectual status is high, if it is a socially pleasant place in which to live, if the reputations of its citizens have extended into other localities, it very likely is true that the standard set by its leading men has been high. In placing the late Horace G. Bloom in the front ranks of the citizens of Preble county, justice is rendered, not only to the memory of Mr. Bloom, but to his widow and family. Preble county was long honored by the citizenship of this distinguished man. Although quiet and unassuming throughout his life and not possessed of those great ambitions for public positions of leadership, he contributed much to the material, civic and moral advancement of his community. His affable qualities of head and heart and the straightforward, upright course of his daily life won for him the esteem and confidence of the large circle in which he moved. Although he is now sleeping the sleep of the just, his influence goes on. Mrs. Ella L. Bloom, the widow of Horace G. Bloom, is a modest* unassuming woman, well known in New Paris and much admired for her devotion to the memory of her date husband. ' Until the time of his death in New Paris, Ohio, October 2, 1906, Horace G. Bloom was one of the leading citizens of Preble county. Banking institutions are the index to the prosperity of a community and Horace G. Bloom had a large part in the financial institutions of Preble county. For many years Mr. Bloom was one of the most active business men in the northwestern part of Preble county. Mr. and Mrs. Bloom resided three and one-half miles southeast of New Paris, on a farm in Jefferson township, until the latter years of his life.

Horace G. Bloom was born on October 13, 1853, m Jefferson township, Preble county, Ohio, the second son and the fourth child in the family of Guy and Hannah F. (Jamison) Bloom. He spent his boyhood days on the farm and was educated in the district schools of Jefferson township. He continued to farm until 1889, in which year he engaged in the banking business. In 1889 Mr. Bloom established the Farmers Bank in New Paris and conducted it with marked success. He made it one of the most substantial institutions in this section of Ohio. Mr. Bloom also owned a bank in Eldorado and one in New Madison, Ohio. He also was interested in the telephone of New Paris, and the first line was extended to his farm.

The Farmers Bank, founded by Mr . Bloom, was reorganized after his death and is now known as the Farmers Banking Company, of New Paris and New Madison, Ohio. Mrs. Bloom is one of the largest stockholders in this bank and one of the directors.

Horace G. Bloom was a man of strict integrity and many important private business matters were entrusted to his hands. He was resourceful in business, energetic, wide-awake and enterprising. He was capable of Carrying forward to successful completion anything which he undertook.

Mr. and Mrs. Bloom, the latter of whom was Ella Kreider, were married January 18, 1877. Mrs. Bloom was born in Pennsylvania, October 31, 1851, the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Bandon) Kreider. Charles Kreider was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 5, 1812. His wife was born in the same place, March 10, 1812. They were the parents of eight children, three of whom are living, Benjamin, Leah, of Washington, D. C., and Mrs. Bloom.

In addition to her heavy banking interests, Mrs. Bloom owns two hundred and sixty acres, comprising the old home farm, and also owns another farm of ninety acres.

At the time of his death, Horace G. Bloom was a member of Harmony Lodge No. 396, Knights of Pythias. He was a charter member of this lodge and a past chancellor. Mr. and Mrs. Bloom also were members of the Parisian Temple No. 215, Pythian Sisters. Mrs. Bloom is a past chief of this lodge and represented Parisian Temple in the grand temple at Columbus, Ohio. Mrs. Bloom is a member of the Presbyterian church at New Paris, and is an active worker in the church, being especially active in the - Sunday school. No history of Preble county would be complete that did not contain the story of the life career of Mrs. Bloom as well as that of her deceased husband.

William Wright

Preble county has been fortunate indeed in being able to number among its resident families many which have descended from the early settlers of this county, as well as from the pioneers who aided in settling other important sections of the country. Not the least important of those early pioneers were those who came to this country from Ireland, bringing with them those sterling qualities of integrity and industry which have always characterized the Celtic race and ably applying them to the upbuilding of the new land of their adoption. Among such families is that of William Wright, the subject of this sketch, whose first paternal ancestor in this country came here from Ireland early in the eighteenth century and settled in Preble county in 1808.

William Wright was born in Somers township, Preble county, Ohio, December 10, 1838, a son of John and Margaret (Cook) Wright. John Wright, his father, was born in Ireland in 1788 and emigrated to this country at an early age. He lived for a time in South Carolina and then emigrated to Preble county, Ohio, in 1808, and settled on section 31 of Somers township, where he died in 1854. During the War of 1812 he enlisted in the army and well served the country of his adoption as a soldier throughout the war. By faith he was a Covenanter, and for years the religious scruples of that denomination kept him from exercising his right to vote on the political af- fairs of nation and county. He married Margaret Cook, who was born in Virginia, and came to Ohio at an early age. - The children born to this union were John, William, James and Eliza.

William Wright received a common-school education in the schools of Preble county, and, after having finished his studies, pursued the calling of agriculture. On December 21, 1864, he married Mary E. Ramsey, a daughter of John and Jane (Marshall) Ramsey. Mrs. Wright also was descended from a family of early settlers and pioneers who played an important part in the early life of the nation.

Mrs. Wright's grandfather was Hugh Ramsey, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1779, and whose wife was Frances Sheppard, who was born in 1776 and died in 1835. John Ramsey, Mrs. Wright's father, was born in 1804 and came with his father to Israel township, Preble county, Ohio, in 1807. There they settled on a farm in section 14, near Morning Sun, Ohio.

John Ramsey married Jane Marshall, who was bom in 1806, and who died about 1885. Thirteen children were born to them, all but three of whom are now deceased. The children were Hugh, Isabel, Sarah, Eliza, Francis, James, John, William, Joseph, Mary E, David, Albert, and one child who died in infancy. Those now living are Mary E., the wife of the subject of this sketch. John and Joseph.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. William Wright made their home on the old Wright homestead, where they are now living. Their union was blessed by eight children, six of whom are living. The children were John E., who was born November n, 1865, and who died in 1866, at the age of ten months. Margaret I., born November 4, 1867, is the wife of William McDill and lives in Israel township, Preble county. One child, born August 24, 1870, died in infancy before having been named. Jane E., born February 27, 1872, is the wife of Nathan Smith and lives in Columbus, Ohio. James A., bom May 24, 1873, lives in Israel township. Anna A., born May 4, 1875, is the wife of James Gilmore, and lives in Hamilton, Ohio. E. H. L. Wright, born February 3, 1879, married Myrtle Douglass on January 1, I9°4* and to them three children, Leila May, Wayne D. and Nellie Margaret, have been born. He is living on the old homestead. W. G. Wright, bom July 4, 1883, married Lois Sizelove on November 19, 1903, and their union has been blessed by two children, who are Mvrna F., born October 1, 1904, and Erdine L., bom May 12, 1907. W. G. Wright lives with his parents and operates the home farm.

William Wright is yet living on the farm that his father purchased in 1806, although he retired from the actual operation of the farm in 1903. On December 21, 1914, Mr. and Mrs. Wright celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

During the years when he was in active charge of the farm Mr. Wright improved it in every way and developed it until it became one of the finest farms in Preble county. He added many improvements which modernized the place and made the operation of it a more profitable and less arduous undertaking.

In politics Mr. Wright was originally a Whig, but later, when the Whig party gave place to the Republican party, he became a Republican and so remained until 1884. At that time he became a supporter of the Prohibition party, and was a loyal upholder of its principles until six years ago, when he again affiliated with the Republican party. He has always taken an intelligent interest in political affairs, but has never desired to attain to any political office himself, all his time being occupied with the affairs of his farm. Mr. Wright and all members of his family now living on the old homestead are affiliated with the United Presbyterian church of Morning Sun, Ohio, and are prominent in the affairs of that church.

Mr. and Mrs. Wright always have taken an active interest in the welfare of their community and have supported every movement which they thought would be to its benefit. They have always been held in the highest esteem by their neighbors, and have been deeply respected by all who have at any time come in contact with them. They are now living quietly on their old homestead, enjoying the fruits of their labors and surrounded by their children and grandchildren.